AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Two
Helios’ chest heavedas he watched the scene unfold before him.
A hand clasped over the girl’s mouth, preventing her from making any noise. But then, even if she wanted to, it would have been impossible. She had lost her voice that night, and she still hadn’t gotten it back.
She tried to struggle, but her efforts were futile, her strength puny when pitted against his. He dragged her by the hair, the heels of her sneakers carving out trails on the slightly muddy ground. When they reached the van, the sight of it made her eyes wide with terror. It was proof that this was no nightmare she could wake from. She was really being taken – and no one might ever find her.
Sheer desperation gave her a burst of power. She was able to break free, and her heart leapt with joy as his hand fell from her hair. But she had only taken a step forward before he was pulling her down again.
“Heeeeeeeeeliooos!”
Helios jerked at the sound of the name breaking out of the girl’s lips. And then she was turning towards him. Oh God, oh God, it was MJ, and she was hurt, bleeding, crying, and wondering why he wasn’t there to help her—
“Helios, wake up. You’re dreaming.”
Cold sweat had enveloped his body when Helios came out of his nightmare. For a moment, he was disoriented, breathing hard, his gaze wild as he tried to look for MJ. Another moment passed, and the remnants of his dream faded, leaving him with the stark emptiness of his reality.
He was inside his car, a bulletproof Range Rover, with his friends, and they were on their way back to the school where Katya Vlahos was. Helios gazed outside the window, trying to distract himself with his surroundings. But still he could see MJ’s tear-ravaged face—
Helios’ fingers curled around the handle of the car, and his inhumanly strong grip had the handle cracking.Wait for me, brat. Wait for me. I’m coming for you.
The MJ in his mind only gazed at him with accusation in her violet eyes.
He flinched at the sight. He had to remind himself that MJ was not like that. She was made of sterner stuff, and she would not give up without a fight.Be strong for me. Please, my love, my life, please, hang on for me.
“Helios? I’ve received word from the detectives we’ve set on James Cartwright’s tail.” Andreus cracked his fists, wishing there was someone he could beat the truth out of. This endless waiting was killing him, but he also knew that what he felt was nothing compared to how their club’s President was feeling. “The trail they’ve been following is a dead end.”
“Tell them to dangle more money. Or if necessary, hire someone to do the dirty job for them.”
“You mean kill?” Yuki questioned with a frown.
Helios returned Yuri’s look with a merciless gaze. “Yes. I mean fucking kill – and I don’t care who they kill. The people who took MJ must pay.”
“That’s not the way we do things—”
Helios’ hand slashed in the air in protest, cutting the other man off. “She’s been gone for five days now, Yuri. You know – you fucking know what that means. If I have to go to prison for this and if I have to kill a thousand men to find her – I will.”
In his mind, MJ still wasn’t crying. She was just staring blankly at him, wondering like a little girl why he had left her all alone to face the big bad world.
His chest constricted.Wherever you are, keep thinking I will save you, brat. Don’t lose faith in that. Because I will. I won’t stop until I find you again.
****
“Why did you do this?” It was not her first time to be alone with James. He had been there when she had left the E.R., and he had been the one to drive her back to Manolito Chavez’s house. Now, he was here inside her room, acting as a guard so she, his own daughter, would not escape captivity.
Like that was possible with her tied spread-eagled on the four-post bed.The thought was ludicrous, and she would have laughed if she wasn’t so scared it would start her descent to hysterics and, eventually, insanity.
Since her operation, Manolito liked visiting her at odd hours of the day, donning a fresh pair of surgical gloves before he inserted his fingers into her body. It was as if he wanted assurance that her newly reconstructed hymen was truly there, and that it was as flimsy as the doctor said it was.
One time, he had caught her looking at him, and he said, “I don’t want to feel your flesh against mine, my dear. Not just yet. I want our first time to be special.”
The memory of it made her stomach heave, and she looked at James despairingly. He was seated next to the door, smoking, a bored look on his face. “Why?” she demanded again, her voice scratchy with tears she didn’t want to shed.
James finally looked at her, and the hatred on his face stunned her. “You still don’t get it, do you? Stupid cunt. You’re not my own flesh and blood. You’re the fucking remembrance of your mother’s whoring days, and I’ve always hated the sight of you. I would have left you for dead – would have killed you with my bare hands if I thought I could get away with it.”
