Give Me Strength (33 page)

They both halted simultaneously when they saw my
face. Tears filled Evie’s eyes; anger narrowed Mac’s to slits.

Evie came around one side of my bed, Mac around
the other, and she put her bag down to take my hand in hers.

“What happened?” Mac barked.

“Mac! She’s tired. Save the inquisition for when
she’s up for it.” Evie turned back to face me and nudged a small
packet onto my bed. “Here,” she muttered. “I brought you a burger
and chips. I’ve seen my fair share of shitty hospital food, so I
figured you’d be hungry.”

My stomach pitched terribly at the idea of food,
but I didn’t have the heart to tell her considering she’d made such
an effort.

“Thanks,” I said and nudged the packet a bit
further down the bed. “You two don’t know what happened?”

“No. So tell us. All I got was some vague
message from Jared saying shit had gone down and you were okay but
in the hospital.”

“Travis has been arrested for manslaughter.”

Mac’s mouth fell open. “What?”

“David’s dead.”

I waited for the relief those words would give,
but no matter how much I wanted to see him pay for his actions, it
wasn’t this way. “We need to get down to where Travis is being
held.” I swung my legs over the bed and bit down on my tongue to
stop the whimper. “They said I could be released…” I lied “…so we
really should get a move on to make sure this mess gets sorted
out.”

Evie gave me a doubtful look. “You don’t look
like they should be releasing you.”

I wiped casually at the sweat on my brow. “Are
you saying I look like shit?”

“Pretty much,” Mac confirmed.

“Thanks a bunch,” I snapped. The pain and fear
for Travis was making me irritable, but Mac and Evie appeared to be
taking it all in their stride. “Help me find my clothes. I hate
feeling naked in these hospital gowns.”

“You’re a shitty liar, Quinn. What’s the
plan—bust you out of the hospital and then bust Travis out of
prison? Seems too easy. What’s the catch?” Evie asked.

“There’s no catch,” I replied. I just couldn’t
bear the thought of Travis being behind bars any longer than
necessary. How could the police have arrested him? I didn’t like to
think shitty thoughts towards the police, but their actions were
stupid. I couldn’t understand how Casey, Jared, or Mitch hadn’t
sorted any of this mess out.

“The catch,” Mac said, rummaging through the
little cupboard on the left of my bed, “is that you have to retract
your resignation. In fact, it wasn’t really official and I didn’t
accept it. So once you’re fully recuperated I want you back in the
office.” She pulled out a plastic bag of clothes.

Unfortunately they were the same clothes I was
wearing earlier and covered with dirt and blood. Evie helped me
dress while Mac went and collected a wheelchair. Soon after I was
standing outside the busy hospital entrance with Mac while Evie
went to get her car and bring it around. When a man came and stood
beside me I thought nothing of it. The entrance was busy and it
looked like quite a few people were loitering or waiting for their
respective rides. That was until I felt something hard press into
my side. The man leaned in a little and said softly, “Lose your
friend. Now.”

Without moving my head, my eyes shifted down and
saw the gun. My heart hammered hard in my chest, and I closed my
eyes.

Shit.

“Mac,” I croaked and cleared my throat. “I’ve
just realised I left my phone on the counter where we signed the
release papers. Would you mind ducking in to get it for me?”

Mac rolled her eyes. “It’s not like you to
forget shit, Quinn. Stay put. I’ll be right back,” she called over
her shoulder as she disappeared through the automatic doors.

They whooshed closed behind her as a black BMW
slid to a halt in front of me. The driver got out, came around, and
opened the back passenger door.

“Get in,” the man beside me ordered quietly and
nudged me forward.

I stepped towards the door and ducked my head.
What greeted me was a shock. In my limited experience, which was
based mainly on action movies, the bad guy was never attractive.
His face usually featured an identifying scar or a tattoo across
his knuckles that said MOM while hatred blazed from his evil eyes.
Whatever it was, it was a screaming beacon that told you he was the
bad guy—avoid this man at all costs! The man sitting in the back of
this car was none of those. His hair was short and light brown, his
suit sharp and fresh—right down to the gold monogrammed cuff links
on his shirtsleeves.

He grinned, showcasing a dimple that would melt
any woman’s heart and winked at me with his light blue eyes. “Hop
in, Quinn. I don’t bite.”

“Sure you don’t,” I muttered under my breath and
slid inside the car.

No matter how friendly or how good looking he
was, my stomach still rolled when the door slammed shut behind
me.

The car accelerated smoothly out of the hospital
zone and into traffic, stopping soon after at a red light. Being
high on painkillers, the decision to take a leaping dive out of a
moving vehicle might possibly be the best option in this scenario.
My hand reached for the door handle as we began to accelerate, but
no matter how many times I yanked on it, the damn thing was
determined to see me fail.

The man chuckled before saying, “Put your
seatbelt on.”

“Fuck you.” I folded my arms, not without a
measure of pain. “Who are you anyway?”

“Nice of you to offer…” he looked me up and down
“… but you look a little too sweet for my tastes. Now put your
seatbelt on,” he enunciated clearly. “If I have to tell you again,
I promise you won’t like the way I do it. I hate having to repeat
myself.”

My eyes narrowed but I slid the seatbelt
carefully over my aching shoulder and fumbled awkwardly as I
clicked it in place.

“Happy now?”

“I am, thank you. I have a vested interest in
keeping you alive. It wouldn’t do to see you harmed before we
arrive at our destination.”

“Who are you?” I ground out.

“No need to be rude, Miss Salisbury, it doesn’t
suit you, but I’ll answer your question. My name is Luka
Zampetti.”

My eyes went wide. “You...you’re…”

“Oh.” Luka’s eyes crinkled in pleasure. “You
know of me then?”

“
David was the one that sent the Zampetti
crime group your way to either get the money in cash or get their
use from you some other way. They went for the cash option
first.”

“I-I don’t have any money.”

“Quinn.” He tutted. “You could have gotten the
money if you tried hard enough, but as it turns out, I have another
use for you.”

“
Quinn, this isn’t just about drugs. It’s
exploitation of the worst kind. Women forced into
prostitution.”

I shivered in horror. “I won’t… I won’t do—”

“No, no, I wouldn’t be so horrid as to subject
you to that distastefulness, even though you would fetch a good bit
of money. I leave all that with my father to deal with. No, Quinn,
you’re like a little diamond in the rough that has fallen into my
lap. I have a much greater use for you than that.” He waved his
hand as though dismissing the subject. “You’ll find it all out
later. First I want to talk about this morning.” He grinned and it
was almost childlike in delight. “Did you like what I did for
you?”

My brow furrowed. “What you did?”

“Wow, you’re a bit slow, aren’t you? Never mind.
You
have
been in the hospital and a bit out of the loop I
suppose. I got rid of David for you. The stupid bastard. Kept
attacking you at every turn. So predictable. Once we realised who
you were, we couldn’t have him go off on one of his rages and
accidentally kill you. You’re far too important. So I had him shot.
How bloody marvellous it was that your cowboy happened to be in the
way. The police who arrived on scene were so daft they arrested him
for it. Soon enough they’ll work it out, but it got them out of my
hair long enough to get to you, didn’t it? Bloody Jamieson and
Valentine getting their fingers into every pie in Sydney. It’s not
good for business.”

I was completely lost. “You realised who I am? I
don’t understand?”

My phone vibrated from my back pocket and I
froze, having forgotten it was there.

“Quinn, I really don’t like repeating myself. As
I said, you’ll find it all out soon enough. Now hand over your
phone.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The slap was hard and fast, and I cried out as
my already pounding head copped another round of agony.

“Hand over your phone, Quinn.”

I used my right arm to reach behind me,
struggling to get to the back left pocket of my pants as tears
smarted my eyes. The phone stopped ringing, starting again only
moments later. I could only hope that if it was Travis and he was
still locked up, he wasn’t wasting his one phone call on me.

Luka snatched it from my hands, looking at the
display before answering with a smile.

“Mr. Valentine.”

I swallowed, wondering which Mr. Valentine it
was.

The voice on the other end was loud and
forceful, but I couldn’t make out the words over the rumble of the
car engine.

“You’re speaking with Luka Zampetti.”

“Fuck!” came the reply.
That
I heard.

“Such language you people have.” He said
you
people
as though we were lower class thugs. “Yes we have Quinn
if that’s what you were trying to ask me. We’re absolutely
delighted with her. She’s so very pretty.”

There was a pause while the voice on the other
end spoke.

“What was that? You want to talk to her?” Luka
shrugged. “Why not.”

He held the phone out towards me, and I took it
gingerly, my shoulder twinging at the casual movement. “Hello?”

“Quinn! Are you okay?” came the hoarse voice of
Travis.

“Oh, Travis,” I murmured, my heart pounding hard
as I tried to sound calm. “You wasted your phone call.”

“What?”

“Your one phone call,” I repeated patiently.

“Quinn, Jesus. It was a misunderstanding. They
let me go when they realised it wasn’t me who shot David. Have
they—”

I cut him off. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He didn’t sound fine. I could hear
Casey in the background yelling. He didn’t sound fine either. “Have
they hurt you?”

“No,” I lied. “I’m fine too.”

“Hold tight, sweetheart. I’m coming for you. I
promise.” Hot tears filled my eyes because I knew Travis would be
moving Heaven and Earth to fill that promise. “Just…I need to know
we’re okay—you and me,” he pleaded hoarsely. “I need to hear you
say it.”

The BMW purred along the streets, but the
scenery was a blur. I didn’t know where I was being taken or why I
was so valuable to the Zampetti’s. My future suddenly wasn’t so
certain.

“I’m sorry I didn’t trust in us. That I didn’t
give you a chance to explain before I ran. Nothing we have is a
lie,” I whispered, knowing the love I’d seen in his eyes was clear
long before he’d said the words. I was scared I’d never see that
again, or tell him he was beautiful and strong and so damn
relentless, and that he was my whole world. A tear spilled over and
rolled down my cheek. “I love you.”

“Oh, God, sweetheart,” he choked out softly. My
knuckles went white on the phone. “I love you so much.”

“I…Travis—” I cried out when Luka took the phone
and covered my mouth with my hand to smother the sob.

“Mr. Valentine,” Luka said into the phone.
“Quinn is going to prove very valuable to us, but we’re going to be
busy from here on in. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bother us
again.”

Luka depressed the button on the door and the
window slid down. He casually tossed my phone out onto the road and
slid the window back up. Travis had told me they could track me
anywhere as long as I had my phone. I had just watched my last
chance of seeing him again tossed out the window and my heart
sank.

Feeling numb, we eventually pulled into the
driveway of a suburban middle class house. Nice lawns, rendered
brickwork painted beige, black wrought iron fence—completely
nondescript—nothing that screamed evil-doers lived within.

Luka led me through the front door, down an
entryway, towards an open style living, dining and kitchen area at
the back. Our soft footfalls echoed through the open, empty space.
With dusk coming on, it was eerie and cold.

There were no furnishings apart from two single
high back chairs that sat facing each other and a solitary man. He
was standing, facing out into the yard, lost in thought. He was
tall, broad shouldered, with pale blond hair cut short and styled
carefully. Hearing our steps, the man spun around. My knees
buckled, and I reached out to grab hold of the chair as I sank down
into it, my eyes unable to look away.

His eyes went wide as he looked at me, and the
colour leached from his face.

“Luka,” he rasped. “Who…”

Luka stepped further into the room, and standing
to our right, he folded his arms. “Eric. I’d like you to meet Quinn
Salisbury. Quinn, this is my right hand man, Eric Donovan.”

Eric stumbled towards the chair opposite me and
sank into it. We sat there facing each other like two mirror
images. His hair was the same shade as mine, his brown eyes large
in his face, his lips full and soft, his skin fair and smooth.
Despite the obvious muscle and wide shoulders, he was pretty, his
features feminine.

“I-I don’t understand,” I stuttered.

Eric sat reeling. “Beth,” he whispered. “Beth
Salisbury.”

“That’s my mother,” I told him. I wanted to add
that
mother
was a loose term, but under the circumstances,
it didn’t really seem the best time to start explaining her fetish
for vodka and money.

“Oh my God,” he moaned. The hands he rested on
his thighs dug in until his knuckles turned white. “She told me she
had an abortion. I didn’t want her to do it, but we were so young
and then she moved away. God, that was a lifetime ago.”