Infinite Ties (All That Remains #3) (17 page)

“Fuck!” Airen jerks his hand away. I’ve
never been so glad to hear his voice, and relief floods through me as I’m
jerked inside into a dim hallway, gritty with dust.

“You scared the shit out of me!”

“
I
scared
you
? Have you lost
your mind? What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Sammy, he’s gone,” Diane speaks up,
following us. “We can’t find him.”

Airen huffs and continues to drag me down
the hall by my arm like a wayward child. We step into an area lined with
washers and dryers, and as my eyes adjust I see everyone staring at us. Well,
glaring at us.

“Sammy!” Diane cries, running to sit
beside the sullen little boy. “What the hell is this?” She holds up his wrist.
A silver handcuff is locked around it, the other end secured to a thick metal
pipe.

“That’s what’s going to keep his ass here
while we raid the hotel. I guess we need two more pair,” Mac snaps.

“The fuck you do,” Diane replies. “I’m not
following you into a firefight. I just came for Sammy.”

“A pair for Abby, then,” Joseph says, his
voice hard as stone. Shit, he’s pissed.

“Try it and I’ll remove your balls, Joseph
Crane. No one’s chaining me up. I’ll stay here.”

Joseph grabs my shoulders. “Like you
stayed at Troy’s? Your word doesn’t mean shit now.”

Airen pulls him back. “Stop, Joey.”

“Stop! She’s going to get herself killed!”

“No, she’s not. She’s going to stay right
here with Sammy and Diane, aren’t you, Abigail?”

“Yes, I swear.”

“You need to be here. We’re sending the
kids and women to you. Keep them quiet and calm.”

“I will.”

Taking a deep breath, Joseph pulls me
aside. “I’ve never been so pissed at you. If you leave this place, put yourself
in more danger, I’ll never forgive you.”

“I’m sorry.” I choke out the words. “I
didn’t plan to…”

“Sit your ass down behind the row of
washers and keep it there until we get back.”

Christ. It’s like he’s channeling Airen. I
nod, and he hugs me hard.

“We need to do this,” Nic interrupts, “before
they see or hear us. The plan is the same. Meet back here when it’s over.”

Cold fear grips me again as Joseph
releases me, and Airen cups my jaw, his stern eyes gazing into mine, a silent
warning. “I’ll stay. Focus on staying alive.”

“We’ll be back.” Joseph stares at me until
I obediently sit down beside Sammy. The guys file out the back door, guns at
the ready. Joseph and Airen are the last two to leave, and I’m comforted by the
sight of Airen taking Joseph’s hand just before they disappear, taking my heart
with them.

Sammy hasn’t spoken a word. He sits with
his back to us, sulking. “Who has the key, honey?” Diane asks him.

“Nic,” he grumbles.

“They’re trying to keep you safe.”

“I should get to kill them. I’m the one
they hurt.”

“It won’t make you feel any better,” I
reply. “I’ve been there. No matter whose life you take, you carry the weight of
it forever.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Probably not, but I know an hour from now
those low life sons of bitches will be dead, and you’ll have a long happy life
to live.”

While Diane tries to reassure him, I have
a look around our hideout. Three rows of industrial washers and dryers separate
the front of the laundromat from us. The two large plate glass windows are
caked with grime. I can’t see out so I’m betting no one can see in. “Where are
you going?” Diane asks.

“To watch. Relax, they can’t see me.”

“Tell me what you see.”

Nodding, I lean against a long, formica
topped table that stretches the length of the windows. I have a perfect view of
the decaying hotel across the road. It’s all one level, but the rooms don’t
open into the parking lot. The only doors are the two glass office doors and
two metal gray doors I assume lead to maintenance closets.

Windows line the building, all covered
over by curtains. I watch as Nic, Gary, Mac, and Eric barge through the glass
doors. I can’t see Airen or Joseph, but I know they’re going in the back. The
curtains on the furthest room fly open, and the window shatters outward.

“What’s happening?” Diane calls.

“They’re going in now.”

Two tiny legs dangle from the broken
window before a toddler is lowered to the ground. He stands there bawling while
another child is thrust out onto the grass. Neither can be more than four years
old. They both scream and try to get back inside as a thin terrified woman
tries to shoo them away. Oh God. I have to help. I have to.

“I’m grabbing the kids!” I call to Diane.
“Stay here.”

“No Abby! Dammit!” As I run out the back
door I hear her tell Sammy, “They should’ve handcuffed her.”

I’m across the street in seconds, pulling
the kids away from the window. The air is filled with screams and gunshots.
They’re terrified. “Come on!” I shout to the woman, and she hands me a baby. It
can’t be more than a few weeks old. No wonder she was struggling. She climbs
out, and I point to the laundromat. “Hide in there. It’s safe. Go around the
back. My friend Diane is there. She’ll explain.”

“Thank you,” she sobs, taking the infant
from my arms. Just as I bend to pick up the youngest child, an arm wraps around
my neck. The woman’s eyes fill with terror, and I wave her away.

“Run,” I croak.

A rank odor fills my nostrils as a deep
voice screams in my ear. “You fucking bitch! You’ll take her place!” I’m
dragged backward through the window, the brick windowsill and crumbled glass
tearing through my skin. The man loosens the hold on my neck just as I’m sure
I’ll lose consciousness. My vision clears and I’m face to face with a snarling
madman. Another gunshot rings out from the corridor, and my eyes dart to the
door. “Don’t worry about that, bitch. That’s the sound of my guys taking down
your boys. Half of them’s dead already!” he sings.

No. Please, no. Airen. Joseph.

A small sob diverts my attention to a
young woman curled up in the corner of the room, her head buried in her knees.
Hope fills me when the door flies open, and Jon steps through. I never thought
I’d be glad to see him, but the relief doesn’t last long. A grin tilts his lips
as he surveys the scene.

At the sight of Jon’s rifle, my captor
grabs me by the throat again and moves me between them. “This bitch is mine.”

Jon laughs. “Have at it, buddy. Her pussy
sucks and she can’t suck dick to save her life. I’d fuck her ass if I were you.
Better hurry though.” With a hateful grin, he steps back out the door and
closes it behind him.

The man’s laughter is cruel. “Well, ain’t
today my lucky day.” He spins me around and shoves my face against the peeling
wallpaper. Terror streaks through me when his hands reach around to unbutton my
jeans and jerk them down.

“No!” I scream, fighting to escape, but
he’s too strong, too heavy. I’m pinned against the wall. No. No, please. The
cool air hits my bare ass before it’s squeezed hard by a rough hand.

“You do have a tight ass. Let’s see how
tight.”

Terror turns to panic and I scream, “No!
Please! Airen!”

He laughs and kicks my legs apart. “Nobody’s
coming, slut. Except me.” This can’t be happening. I’m not here. I can’t be
here. It’s time to take myself away.

The door bangs open, and Airen’s voice echoes
through the room. “Abby!” Then gunshots. So many gunshots. The world narrows
and slows. Airen’s horrified face, Joseph’s furious eyes, their mouths moving.
All I can hear is the thump of my heart in my ears. Hands pull my panties up,
and fasten my jeans. I try to talk, to ask what happened, but no sound comes
out. I want to reach for Airen, climb into his arms, but it’s like moving
through honey.

Airen embraces me, and my head falls to
his chest. Chaos rages around me, but I can’t seem to care. The last thing my
brain registers is the smell of Airen’s body. He’s got me. One way or another,
it’s over.

Joseph

Airen’s hand gives mine a quick squeeze as
we file out of the laundromat. “Joseph, I want you right behind me. Troy, Jon,
watch our backs. Grab the women and kids, get them out however you can, and
make sure they know where to hide. Shoot anything with a full grown dick.”

We’ve been over this multiple times, but
nerves are kicking in. Nic is going through the same spiel with his group. We
put our best marksman in the lead, and the plan is simple. Shoot the men and
shoot to kill. There are no innocents here. Child rapists don’t get to plead
their case.

Our team enters from the side, smashing
through an entrance by the swill filled swimming pool with a battering ram. I
can hear glass shattering as Nic’s team breaches the front entrance. A fat,
heavily bearded man looks at us in total shock when we crash into the tiny
hallway.

“What the fu…?” Airen’s bullet tears
through his eye, painting the wall with a spray of blood and brains before he
can finish his question. A thin blonde woman holding the hand of a little girl
watches him slump to the ground, her eyes wide with terror.

Troy steps forward as Airen and I guard
the hall in both directions. “Ma’am! Ma’am!” he grabs her chin. “Take the girl
and run. Hide in the laundromat across the street. Understand?”

“They’ll kill us…the babies.” Her head
shakes.

“Where are the kids?” Airen asks.

“Last room on the left.”

“None of these men will leave here alive.
Go! Now!” Troy orders, pointing to the exit. Finally, the woman yanks the girl
away, fleeing to safety.

We clear two more rooms, the sound of
gunfire from Nic’s group rattling my chest. The first room is empty, the second
houses a tiny scrap of a woman who shoves a young boy behind her. Troy smashes
the window and throws a bedspread across the glass, helping them outside. His
calm, reassuring voice is a balm in the cacophony of screams, gunshots, and
breaking glass.

“Jon took off!” I yell at Airen, realizing
he’s gone.

“Fucking coward,” Airen grumbles. “C’mon.
We’ll clear these rooms, then join Nic!” he yells over the din. Having no idea
what we were walking into, we were afraid of an all out firefight. So far we
haven’t even run into an armed enemy. From the sounds of firing from the front
of the hotel, I know Nic’s group hasn’t been as fortunate.

“We should help…” I gesture toward the
lobby.

“After we clear these rooms. Stick to the
plan. Get the kids.”

A shrill scream breaks through the chaos.
“No! Airen!” Terror distorts Airen’s features, and my heart comes to a complete
stop as we recognize the cry for help.

“Abby!” There’s no more orderly checking
of rooms. Airen and I kick open each door in search of our girl. Oh fuck. What
are they doing to her? If they hurt her…

Troy ushers another terrified woman to
safety as Airen kicks down the last door. The sight we’re met with will haunt
me until I die. A large man has Abby pinned face first against the wall, her
pants around her ankles. Screaming and crying, she fights as he positions
himself. We can’t shoot without the risk of hitting her. Airen tackles him,
knocking him to the ground. His gun lies forgotten as he pounds the man’s face
with his fists.

“Joseph!” Troy’s voice calls out, and I
look up just in time to see a tall blond guy pull the trigger. Where the fuck
did he come from? Plaster flies from the wall beside me, the air from the
bullet buffering my cheek. The man is forced backward when Troy empties his
gun, mostly into the man’s chest. Airen continues to beat the man who attacked
Abby, the sound of cracking bone echoing through the room.

Abby flinches when I step up behind her.
“Easy, ladybug, it’s me. I’ve got you.” Her expression is heartbreaking.
Confusion and terror have stolen her ability to understand. She lets me pull up
her panties and jeans, and thank fuck, it doesn’t look like he hurt her.
There’s no blood or evidence that we were too late.

Gary and Nic step into the room. “What the
fuck?” Nic curses. “Airen!” Airen swings at Nic when he tries to pull him off
the bloody pile. “He’s dead, Holder! They’re all dead. Stop it. Look at your
wife. She’s bleeding. We have to go.”

What? My eyes travel over Abby from head
to toe, widening at the sight of blood soaking through the right leg of her
jeans. “Did he shoot her?” Gary demands.

“No, I think…maybe a ricochet.” Troy looks
devastated. “There was so much gunfire.”

Airen scoops Abby into his arms. “Get her
to the SUV,” Nic orders, following him. “Gary, get everybody together. Women,
kids, everyone. Get ready to follow us.”

* * * *

“Shit! Nic, she’s still unconscious.”
Airen’s voice is teeming with fear.

“She’s lost a lot of blood. I’ve stopped
the bleeding, but…” My spine turns to ice as Nic shakes his head.

Airen and Nic sit in the backseat with
Abby’s limp body laid across their laps while Troy drives the borrowed SUV like
we stole it. “But what? Can’t we give her some blood?” I ask. Shit, I’ll shove
a tube in my arm right now.

“Do you know her blood type?”

“What? No…I don’t know.”

Airen’s face pales as he whispers, “O
negative.”

“She’s O negative? Are you sure?” Nic
questions.

“No, I’m O negative. Uni-universal donor,”
he stammers.

“Troy, take us to Home Medical Supply on
Tinner Street. Do you know how to get there?”

“Yeah, I got it.” They hold Abby as he
takes a tight corner.

Airen’s eyes meet mine. “Joseph, you’ll
have to…restrain me. T-tie me up,” he says, panic stealing his breath.

“I know, buddy.” His fear is palpable, and
I’m whisked back to the sound of a car horn in the dead of night. Memories of
Airen lying still and feverish. Even in his weakened state, he fought us over
the IV. I’ve never seen anyone as phobic of needles, of anything, but this is
Abby, and he’d face hell for her any day, as he’s about to demonstrate.

Noting the confused expressions of the
others, I quickly explain while Airen hangs his head, embarrassed, and focuses
on our girl. “Hang on, darlin’. You’re going to be fine,” he murmurs, sweeping
a lock of hair from her sweaty forehead.

Tears roll down my face when she remains
unresponsive. “Nic, did the bullet go all the way through?”

“No, it’s lodged in her thigh.”

“Oh, God.”

“We’ll deal with it,” he assures me, his
voice firm and strong. “Blood first, then we remove the bullet. You two need to
keep your shit together and do what I tell you. Understand?” He sounds every
bit the military man.

“Yes,” I reply, relieved to hear my voice
is steady.

“Holder?” Nic insists.

“I’m good. Just tell me you can save her.”

“I know what I’m doing,” he replies,
ignoring Airen’s plea.

“Nic. Don’t…she can’t die. I can’t…we
can’t lose her. She’s…everything…she...”

“I know. Save it to tell her when it’s
over. Right now, keep it together.”

“We’re here,” Troy announces, turning into
a crumbling parking lot.

The medical supply shop is dimly lit by
sunlight pouring through the plate glass windows. The faint smell of plastic
and rubber hangs in the air. As Airen begins to lower Abby onto a small leather
couch, Nic shakes his head. “No. Clear the counter under the window. I need her
on a flat surface where there’s light.”

Airen murmurs something to Gary, and he
darts off into the gloom. Abby doesn’t make a sound when Airen gently places
her on the counter. Nic returns with a pile of medical supplies just as Gary
shows up pushing a wheelchair filled with rubber tourniquets. Nic slices up the
sides of Abby’s jeans, leaving her in a pair of blood soaked panties. “Sorry,
doll,” he mumbles under his breath, “but I have to see.” Airen pales at the
sight of the hole in her leg, now slowly oozing blood. “Get ready,” Nic barks
at him. “She needs blood.”

Airen sits in the wheelchair, his body
trembling hard enough to rattle the frame. “No matter what I say or d-do, you
take what you need. I’ll freak out…fight…can’t help it.”

Gary nods. “I can handle you.” He wraps
the rubber tourniquets around his feet and ankles, tying them securely to the
legs and footrests. “Put your arms on the arm rests, wrists up,” he directs.

Sweat drips from every pore on his face,
and I can smell his fear. “Troy,” I call. “Please stay with Abby for a minute.”
I hate to leave her, and Airen begins to object, but I interrupt. “She’s out,
beautiful, and we’re only a few feet away.”

“I’ve got her, Airen,” Troy assures him,
taking Abby’s slack hand.

“Is it the sight of blood that sets you
off?” Nic asks, unfurling a length of tubing and a bag.

“It’s more the needle,” I answer for him
as I see the panic starting to take control.

“Fuck! I can’t! Not like this…let me up!”
His body arches away from the seat and Gary instantly shoves him back down.

“No, you don’t.” He holds him firm while
Eric runs a length of rope around his hips, pinning him down. Now all he can
move is his head.

“Fuck! No! Joey…please.” God, my heart
goes out to him, not just for how he’s suffering now, but for how he’ll feel
later when he realizes everyone saw him lose control. There’s not a man alive
who wants to be seen this way. Begging, crying, completely vulnerable. He turns
his head into my chest when I step up beside him, and I hold him there, helping
him hide. “I can’t, I can’t, Joey.”

“I’ve got you. Listen to me. Can you hear
me?” His head nods frantically, his chest jerking as he fights for air through
the panic attack. “What color are Abby’s eyes?”

“Wha…?”

I lean to whisper in his ear. “Picture
them. What color?”

“Br-brown, but there’s gold, a ring of
gold around the center, flecks of yellow.”

“And those freckles on the back of her
thigh, the ones you love to kiss, how many are there?”

A deep breath raises his chest before he
answers, “Three…Fuck,” he hisses as Nic sticks him in the bend of his arm. “Get
it out,” he pleads.

“Close your eyes.”

“Joey.”

“Close them.” When his eyes slide shut, I
plant a soft kiss under his ear and whisper, “Think about Abigail, babe. How
smooth her skin is, how good she tastes. The way her cheeks turn red when she’s
embarrassed, how the blush spreads down her chest.”

“Christ, Joey.” His breathing slows as he
concentrates on my words.

“Remember the way her hair brushes her
nipples when she rides you, making them hard. That little whimper just before
she comes. Isn’t that the most amazing fucking sound?”

“Yes,” he breathes.

“The sound of her voice, begging. Begging
for it. Harder and faster. Our little wildcat.”

“I’ve got enough,” Nic announces, and adds
with a chuckle, “I don’t know what you were telling him, but he definitely
doesn’t have a shortage of blood.”

“Fuck off, Nic,” Airen murmurs,
embarrassed by the visible hard on in his jeans. Airen’s whole body relaxes
when Nic removes the needle. “Abby?” he asks, staring past me as Gary unties him.

“Still out,” Troy replies.

Before he heads to her, Airen pulls me
into him, hugging me so hard I can’t breathe. “Thank you,” he chokes.

“You did great. Let’s take care of our
girl.”

Airen climbs onto the counter and sits
cross legged, placing Abby’s head in his lap while I wrap my fingers around her
palm. He looks away when Nic inserts the IV and hangs the bag of blood. After
scribbling a list of drugs on a scrap of paper, Nic sends Eric back to the
pharmacy counter to locate them. While he’s waiting, he cleans the blood from
Abby’s leg and studies the wound.

“It’s not too deep. I can see it. It must
have ricocheted before it hit her.”

“Can you remove it?” I ask.

“Yes, but it won’t be pretty.” He regards
Airen and adds, “You should take a little walk.”

“I’m not leaving her.”

A small whimper draws our attention to
Abby, and her eyes flutter open. “Oh!” she cries, her hand reaching for the
bullet hole in her thigh.

“No, sweetheart. Don’t touch. You’re
okay,” Nic assures her. Airen holds her shoulders, preventing her from sitting
up when she tries.

“Be still, darlin’. You’ve got an IV.”

“It hurts,” she squeaks. “Burns.”

“I know, doll,” Nic replies. “We’re going
to take care of that. Are you allergic to anything?”

“No,” she replies, her voice a little
stronger. “I feel so weak.”

“You lost a lot of blood,” I tell her,
squeezing her hand.

“We’re giving you blood, so you’ll feel
stronger soon,” Nic adds.

“Blood? Whose?”

“Airen’s,” I reply with a grin, and she
gazes up at him.