Withholding Secrets (34 page)

“Keri had been working with Skylar on some number games. Take this to Sky, but don’t tell her that it is Keri’s blood. She doesn’t need to know that.” Taking a seat, I brushed my fingers over the smear of blood that had to be from her face.
God, Keri. What you wouldn’t go through for those kids.
Knowing that she would go to these lengths for the people she loved, made me love her so much more. I would do anything to have her back, to get her back. “Can you tell Sky that I love her and I am still here? Tell her that it’s going to be okay.”

“I will. We will get you reunited soon.”

Pushing herself up to her feet, the young agent smoothed down the matching pinstriped pants and her heels clicked on the tiled flooring as she moved to the phone that was attached to the wall. Listening to the relay of the information, the tears built back up in my eyes. Keri was going to the longest lengths to help those girls, and I hoped it was all noted in her defense.

“She’s such an amazing woman.” Tears burned my eyes as I closed them, thinking of that last conversation we had; that horrible fight. I thought she wanted to walk away. I thought she was just done with us. It was so clear now; the fear that was scathing her, shredding her apart as those hate filled words poured from her.

“She beat her ex-husband nearly to death with a hockey stick. Do I need to show you what she did?” Seeing those images only intensified my love for her. What she brought onto the man who broke those two children and damn near ruined a great woman was well deserved. As Agent Cunningham strode around the room, her arms folded, drawing the neckline of her jacket to bunch up. I took in the beauty the tall and sleek woman had, but she was no Keri. Not even close.

“No.” A little smile popped out from nowhere and danced across my face. I would have liked to see her take him down for everything that the kids told me about him, and the way he treated her in that month they all lived together. I just couldn’t believe that Jordan said Joe beat Keri. She never mentioned that part of anything before. He had hit her and choked her, but…

My stomach tightened a little more. The kid didn’t hear Joe beating her. He heard something else. Something that no kid should ever hear. If that guy wasn’t under protection at the hospital, I would go in there and finish him off just for her.

“What is so funny about the fact that she beat him within an inch of his life?” Agent Cunningham’s lip curled, showing her pearly white teeth.

“Come on. Talk to Jordan. He will tell you why this…” Grabbing the folder, I pulled out the photo of the grown man spread on the floor in a pool of his blood and the stick beside him. “Why this is not a bad thing. Do you even realize that she stayed with him because of those kids?”

“That is no reason—” Her tight words were cut short, her swan like neck wrenched around to see the visitor.

An older, male agent stuck his head in the opening of the heavy, metal door, encouraging the anger to run away from the woman’s pinched face. “Bring him.”

Jumping up from the chair, my heart stopped hard and my stomach rumbled in pain. What if they were taking me to identify Keri’s body? What if they dumped her already and ran off with the girls while these so-called agents sat around drinking coffee and finding more reasons to make Keri out to be the bad person? But I followed to another door, matching the one I just came from.

When it opened, I saw Sky with her head buried in her arms, crying as hard as she could. Her red rink jacket was wrapped around her, and her hair was a mess. Shoving my way in, I picked her right up and held her like a child and let her cry into my shoulder. “I’m right here, sweetheart.”

“She’s dead, Coach Kane! She’s dead!” Her body trembled as she screamed breathlessly into the crook of my neck. Tears scorched my eyes as I just held her tightly. A few tears emerged to the surface and managed to sneak out. I wanted to find Keri for this little girl. I would do anything to find that woman alive.

“They don’t know that.” Swallowing the heavy lump in my throat, I pulled her back enough to look her over.

“That’s her blood. That … her … blood…” Her dark red and puffy eyes met mine, ripping a new hole in my stomach and letting the pieces of my heart fall in, one by one. “She’s gone. She left me, Coach Kane.”

“No. She did this to save you, Sky.” Taking a seat on the chair, I held her on my lap and pointed at the photo. “Sky, I think that this is a message she left for you. I think this is something these detectives need in order to find those girls, and Keri. Can you try to break this?”

“I can’t. I can’t do it! I’m not like her. I’m not, Coach Kane. I can’t do it.” The shiver of fear shot through her as she tried cowering into me for protection and comfort.

“Please, Sky. You have to try. You have to see what she is trying to tell us. This might save her.” A world of pain spun in my gut and spewed out all over in my intestines. This was our only chance in saving those girls, and maybe Keri if that was even possible.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what it says.”

Cupping her cheeks in my hands, I looked deep into her eyes, letting the tears roll down my cheek. “Please, Sky. Keri did all this to protect you, to keep you safe, and she went for Alicia to bring her back home. Please, help her now. Please, help her.”

“I don’t know. She is the one that knows this.” Her eyes shot over to the blood filled photo that was displayed before her.

“Please, try. Try for her. Please, Sky.” I begged, knowing that it was hard for me to see all the blood, too. Even more so for my little girl to automatically jump to the conclusion that it was Keri’s.

We needed Keri right now, and there would be no way that Sky would ever be calmed down enough to look at the message clearly. Not with the pain of losing Keri, the separation from me and her brother, and the fear that was deep in her. How was her life going to be after Keri? How would she ever go on without Keri there in her life? At least, if Keri could never be there again, Sky would always remember the lengths the woman went to keep her safe.

Wrapping her tight in my arms, I just let myself mourn the loss of Keri. I had to face the fact that we wouldn’t have her in our lives anymore. Now, I would have to focus on what to do with Sky. How do I get her through this? How would I get Jordan through it?

Even though that kid was just as strong as Keri, he would fall hard after this. Hell. I wasn’t even sure that I would make it without Keri in my life, but I had to. I had to be strong and get these kids through the loss.

“Mr. Bruton…” The newer detective, or agent, or whatever he was, cleared his throat while reaching across the table to point at the photo.

“You are not taking my kids away. I will not leave my daughter again. I am through with this. I want my son, and I will take them home.” My eyes drifted up to the door, seeing Agent Cunningham with Jordan at her side. Jumping to my feet, I wrapped my arm around him, I pulled him close to me and just held those kids while letting them cry.

We were allowed to stay together, and Chinese takeout was delivered and brought to us. Afterward, I tucked them in on the cots that were set up and rested on the wall near them.

Closing my eyes, I dreamed of Keri. The smile she wore the day we went to the ice rink and she had been so bad on the skates. I held onto her the majority of the time just to keep her on her skates, and though she didn’t like skating, she went right along with it. For once, she was able to let go of every worry, every fear, and just had fun. And it wasn’t very often that she would let everything go like she did that day. She tried, but a part of me wondered if she had a sixth sense that this would happen. I just wanted to find out how she had figured it all out and the FBI hadn’t even cracked one case or got anywhere close to finding any clue to the missing girls.

“Coach Kane!” Sky’s scream shot through the room, making me jump. Knocking into Jordan’s cot, I gasped while trying to catch my breath. Had I fallen asleep? And what was Sky doing awake? She was just asleep a minute ago. “Coach Kane! It’s an address!”

Before I could get to my feet, she was at the door, pounding on it, screaming, and crying, begging for someone to let us out.

“What do you mean?” Trying to rub the burn out of my eyes, I looked at the clock. Was it really three in the morning? “Sky—”

“I woke up after you fell asleep and I looked at it. The more that I looked at it, the more I missed her. But, then it came to me.” She pointed at the numbers. “It’s an address. It has to be the address where she was, and she said ‘love me’.” Her fists curled around my shirt as she pulled me down closer to her. “She said love me, Coach Kane. I love her. Please, tell them so that we can save her.”

“Um, Sky…” Putting my hand on her shoulder, the pain swelled up in my chest, imagining if that was all her blood, there was no way she made it out of that room alive. Just because her body hadn’t turned up didn’t mean she was still alive, no matter how much I was hoping she was. “They don’t think that she, um, she made it this long … not with all the blood…”

“She’s still alive. I know that she is.” Her eyes glassed over with tears as her chin quivered. “She’s still right here.” She patted the front of her gray t-shirt over her heart. “She hasn’t let go yet.”

“I hope that you are right, Sky. I hope that she is still alive, but we need to also prepare for the worse. If something…”

The door opened and Agent Cunningham walked in, an inch thick folder in her manicured hand. Holding it up, the stern and powerful mask was covering her face, but the excitement of a break in the case was coming forth for a change.

“Do you know what this is?” She paused, allowing me a moment to draw in the conclusion of what the case folder was. “This here is a file of all the crimes that your
hero
committed.”

“And here is the address where they are keeping the girls.” Patting Sky’s back, I straightened my shoulders, the pride sinking into my bones and settling right beside the warmth of love Keri left me with. “She wouldn’t have had to commit these crimes if you could’ve done your job.”

“Mr. Bruton, you just may want to let me talk.” Her eyes shifted over to Sky, a smile finally shattering the business mode. “Little girl, you just may have saved six girls’ lives.”

Wrapping my arms around Sky, and getting Jordan over to my side, my heart increased in size and finally managed to slow for a few beats … until Agent Cunningham held up a photo of a man who looked to be in his thirties with the same coloration of eyes that Keri had.

Sky’s eyes shot to the photo as the color drained from her face. “No.” Gasping for air, she took a few steps back as she held up her hands, covered her chest, and the fear filled into her eyes. “Coach Kane, don’t let him hurt me again.”

“Wait…” Taking the photo, I swallowed hard as I looked at Jordan, whose eyes were glazed over with anger. My intestines shriveled up and my dinner was threatening to come out. “Who is this, Jordan?”

“That’s the bastard I caught sneaking in Sky’s bed with her.” His fists balled and he tried to slam one on the hard, cold table.

“This is Charles Mercer, Keri Mercer’s brother. You would know her by her married name, which she kept from the divorce, Keri Borelli.” Cunningham’s brows eased back as the sympathy for the girl washed in. “Are you sure?”

“He’s the one who my mom was dating … the one that crawled in bed with Sky, Kane.” Jordan put his arm around Sky and turned her away from the photo and into his chest. “That’s him.”

“We have a team getting ready to surround the place. I will let you know what happens.” Those grassy green exhausted eyes turned to Sky, and the joy of bringing down this disgusting creature was settling in satisfaction in her pursed lips. “You will never have to worry about him touching you ever again.”

Going to the kids, I wrapped them in my arms. Keri’s brother. What would Keri do if she found out about her brother? Knowing that it was her brother that crawled in bed with Sky would really send her into the realm of insanity. That woman would never be able to live with herself if she was able to pull through this.

It was dark, as always. Pitch black, but I had taken in every step, creating a mental map in my mind. I knew that place in the dark. The pain in my shoulder was getting worse and I knew that he had broken it. My leg, well, that just dragged behind me most of the time. I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to try to get the girls out of there.

Just a couple hours ago, while being spread over the table in front of my own brother and his guests, I overheard them talking about the move, taking the girls to the border to a retreat where they would break the girls in for their final training before the auction block. If it wasn’t bad enough being on display for these monsters, the girls were chained beside the guests and not allowed to beg or eat. They were to sit on their knees like proper little pets, as my brother referred to them.

One of the guests offered up his weapons right away, placing them on the table beside my left hand. I could feel the crisp metallic air coming from the pistol and knew it was right by my fingertips. When they backed away from the table for the viewing of the pet show, I managed to sneak that gun and tuck it under the edge of the table for later before Chuck returned for me. Lucky for me, I was tethered back up in a looser restriction than before, all because the perverted excitement was gushing through him.

Sitting around waiting for the FBI to actually find us was becoming a passing thought. Maybe they hadn’t figured out that I left a message. But what if the house was destroyed after Chuck took me out of there? That could be why they weren’t coming for us. They never got the message. Tonight was going to be the night that I would get those girls out of there myself.

Slipping from my tether, I dragged myself out of my enclosure and tugged the blindfold off, but everything was still pitch black. Following the wall, I knew that in four steps, I would be at the door where the girls were chained to the wall. I would unhook them and turn them loose. As long as they fled, someone had to find them. One of them would escape and send help back to us. They would bring the FBI back. 

Three…

Two…

I just had to get the girls loose. I had to get them loose. There was one that I knew wouldn’t run away because of how long she’d been kept, but Alicia, she would. She would run and send them back here. If I could free at least her…

My head snapped back so fast and hard that my neck ached sharply, sending the instant pain to my brain. The spiky collar slipped around my neck with the spears pressing into my skin.

“I didn’t want to have to do this to you, Keri, but you are leaving me no choice.” Chuck’s voice softened as he ran his hand down my abdomen, spreading his hand over the tender and raw flesh. His front was pressing into my back as the warmth from his body surrounded me. “I woke up and you weren’t there.”

“I had to use the bathroom.” Being molded to him, the swirl of my vacant stomach uplifted, pushing the burn of bile into my throat. I had nothing to throw up anymore, and it wasn’t much longer I would last through the torture, or my own kin violating me in every way.

“You know where the bathroom is.” His hand jerked the collar once, letting me feel the pressure of the little spikes digging into my skin. “You have been a bad girl.”

“Please, just let the blonde go. The one that is Alicia. I promise. I promise, I will do everything you ask me to.” Reaching up with my good hand, I tried to slip a finger between the cold metal and my neck to relieve some of the pressure.

“I spared your little girl. What more do you want? Would you want me to go and claim her?”

“No.” Being too weak to fight him off once again, I let him drag me back to the table. The hard table where he enjoyed punishing me in every repulsing way possible. My skin was still raw and fresh with welts and cuts. When the first bite of the leather strap connected, I screamed in pain. Over and over, the smacking of the leather was more and harsher. Down my legs, over my back, my arms that were over my head. I couldn’t fight no more. The pain was unbearable
. Just let me die then. Please, let me just die.

When he finally stopped, his hand caressed the side of my face. “Why? Why, Keri? Don’t you know just how much I love you?”

“I do. I do.” The hot tears soaked my face and disappeared into the oily base of my hair. I waited for something more, another form of violation he would instill on me, but instead, I listened to the footsteps disappearing in the room. He walked away.

Sliding down the table, I felt for the gun that I hid under the edge.
God, just give me a little more strength. Please, just a little more and then you can take me.

But, his footsteps were coming back with the padding of smaller, adolescent feet and the jingle of a chain. He had one on a leash. He was bringing one out there.
Please, don’t let it be her. Please, let it be one who didn’t know me.
“Is this what you want, Keri? Do you want her?”

“No, please.” Standing up, I kept my arm behind my back. My left arm. The one that I could move. “Alicia?”

“Please, Keri. Please … help me. Please help me.” Her sobs came out as the chain clattered in a pile, on the cold dirty floor.

“Alicia.” The pain was taking me down. I had to do something before the darkness swallowed me up. Just as his heavy footsteps moved in the fuzzy haze that was covering my eyes, I pulled out the gun, aiming it at the area where I could vaguely make out his form.

“Keri, don’t do anything stupid now.” His voice was stern and sharp.

Reaching up with my bad arm, I wiped the back of my hand across the dampness that was sheeting my face. His body was standing right there, and I could barely make anything else out through the that pain was beginning to hinder my vision even more. Pushing my determination forward, I had to swallow the pain and the disgust and pray I had another five minutes left in me to get Alicia out.

“Pick that chain up, Alicia.” My hand trembled as I just stared into the gray heartless eyes of my own brother. I hated him. I hated him for what he had done to me, to Sky, and to all these girls who were locked in the dungeon.

She complied, the chain clinking and clanking in between her fearful cries. “Please, Keri.” Her hand reached out for me, but I shook her away in fear that any sort of body contact would bring me to the end of my life.

“You run when I tell you to.” Raising the gun, I stepped closer to him, fighting like hell not to fall, not to drop with the pain clawing at me. If I had given up now, Alicia would be gone. We were so close to the door, and if I could get her there ... if I could get her out of here, she would be sure to find some help somewhere.

“Keri, don’t do it. You will be sorry.” His eyes darkened with rage as he stepped closer to me. One hit and it would be over with. I would be down and Alicia wouldn’t even stand the chance.

“GO!” I pulled my curled finger over the trigger. She squeezed her chain tight to her chest and headed for the ladder. His swing connected with my shoulder and I was done. The agonizing pain sheered my throat and sent me down to the grips of hell. Dropping the weapon, I grabbed the shirt he was wearing and twisted it in my fingers for a better grip.

“Keri!” she screamed as she hesitated on the ladder.

“Go! Don’t look back!” I cried as hard as I could, making sure she was able to get the chance to run for help. His fist connected with my face, making the stars appear, but I held onto him. “Go!”

Just as he reached for the gun, the trap door thumped hard. Voices were screaming. Shouting came from everywhere. My heart was beating so hard and so fast, I couldn’t breathe. Reaching out, my fingertips brazed over the cold metal of the gun. Grabbing it, I pointed it at him while hearing my name being called over and over again.

His body lunged over the top of me, and I squeezed the trigger. A loud bang echoed in my ears as the pain shot through me more than ever. His hand was cupped over mine and the blistering heat filled my thigh with the dampness of gushing blood. With all my might, I pulled the trigger again. The second loud bang…

Then … blackness. Nothing.