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“Anything?” Mercuri asked when Pope and Slayte returned from searching the grounds with half of Jamus Holland’s security staff. The two had set out with Gib and Rutger who’d taken the other half of the security force to search the outskirts of the property. Both Pope and Slayte shook their heads, expressions grim.
“No sign of her,” Slayte said. “Gib and Rut back yet?” he asked.
Mercuri’s expression was just as grim. “Not yet.”
“How are they doin’?” Pope inclined his head toward the Holland’s festively decorated library.
The others looked to where Tee, Bear and Prin were gathered around LuCarolyn and Reina.
“Thanks to our niece, I haven’t had to bully them about not leaving the house,” Mercuri explained. “They hate like hell staying put while everyone’s out looking for Nica.”
Slayte gave a look of uncharacteristic trepidation as he observed the women. “Think it’s safe for us to go in?” he asked.
Mercuri’s phone rang just then and he dove for it in his pocket like a drowning man reaching for a lifeline. “Suit yourselves. I’d join you, but-phone,” he gave a lopsided grin while waving the device.
Pope snorted. “Coward.”
Mercuri chuckled, though his humor faded when he noticed the phone screen. “Hey,” he greeted Bazile Lubin, “thanks for returning my call.”
“No worries, man,” Baz’s coolly accented voice was seasoned with slyness, “and thanks for thinking of me on Christmas.”
Mercuri’s laughter returned. “Well I do my best to think of the little guys around the holidays.”
There was more laughter between the old friends.
“How is your lady?” Baz asked.
“Good. Pregnant,” Mercuri grinned when the other man offered a cheerful sigh.
“Congrats man.”
“Thanks.”
“So tell me why you’re on my phone and not curled up with your love enjoying the Christmas lights?”
The happiness which had flourished for Mercuri in that moment, curdled. “Ben Haahs is in V.A.”
“Alone?” Stony calm fueled Baz’s voice then.
“We don’t know yet.”
“What can I do?”
“You can tell me what we’re dealing with, Baz. I didn’t know Mag and his crew as well as you did.”
“Slayte did.” Baz recalled.
“Yeah,” Mercuri winced over the reminder. “But his perception of the time is kind of...”
Baz chuckled. “So you’re saying I’m the only sane voice in a sea of nutjobs?”
“The only one I’m willing to trust.”
“You don’t need me for this, man. After your experience with Grant you already know a lot of what to expect.”
“Yeah well,” Mercuri tugged a hand through his hair and paced the corridor where he took the call, “looks like your friend’s trying to aggravate us from the grave.”
“Grant Zubin and I hadn’t been chummy for a long time. About all we had in common at the end was that our last names rhymed.”
“So no advice I can use to outwit these shits?”
“Only this-if you catch Haahs, don’t kill him. If he stays missing long enough, the others will surely crawl from the garbage to seek him out. Keeping him alive will give you something to bargain with.”
“And if we’re not trying to bargain?”
Enthusiastic laughter roared from Baz’s end of the line. “Well then, my friend, give the illusion that you are. At least question him before you slaughter him. Never know what he could share-maybe he’ll lead you to the rest of those maggots.”
“Counting on it,” Mercuri seethed.
“So may I request a favor in exchange for all this free advice?”
“Shoot.”
“I want to know if Haahs shares anything that may lead to his mates.”
“Why?”
Baz opted for silence.
Mercuri glanced down the corridor to confirm he was still alone. “You know you never did tell me who that favor was really for all those years ago.”
“What?” The conversation’s one-eighty threw Baz. “Where’d that come from?”
“Just an observation.”
“I was sure I’d explained that.”
“You said you had some friends in a jam and burned bodies were the only way out.” Mercuri countered. “I never questioned you beyond that. You watched out for Slayte when he was with Zoo, same as you did for Aug. I never forgot that and I never will.”
“What’s your question Mercuri?”
“Were those friends connected to Mag and his boys?”
“If I say yes will you cease the questions?”
“I will if you promise to come to me if these...friends are in danger again. Slayte aside, I haven’t forgotten the other favor you did for me not so long ago.”
“I’d hoped that would make us even,” Baz noted blandly.
“I never saw it that way.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“As for keeping you informed, I’ve got a file on the way to you now.”
“Thanks Merc. I’ll be on the lookout. Can I leave you with another piece of advice, man?”
“Go for it.”
“Watch your ass. Zoo was psychotic. His only plan was to wreak destructive havoc. Mag and his boys are megalomaniacal. The fact that they’ve never had any real power makes them even more dangerous because they feel they’ve got something to prove. Don’t underestimate them. They were sick from the moment the GAN pumped that shit into our mothers and long before we were twisted by the even sicker fuck who raised us.”
Mercuri nodded, catching Baz’s reference to the GAN’s chief Behavioral Scientist Dale Tankard. The man was revered for his success in ‘molding’ those prospects who displayed psychotic tendencies.
“They can be beaten, but don’t underestimate them,” Baz stressed.
“How did you guys beat them?” Mercuri asked.
“We never had the pleasure. Ours was a cold war. They hated us because the women they wanted loved us. We hated them because they had the women we loved.”
“Where are they? These women?”
“Ah...” hushed laughter embraced the sound. “It’s probably best that we don’t know.”
“Mmm...probably doesn’t sound like definitely. Merry Christmas, Baz.” Mercuri said before the man could speak. It was clear to Mercuri that the topic haunted the man on the other end of the line.
“Merry Christmas, Merc.” Baz said and ended the call.
Mercuri headed back to the library, arriving just as Rutger and Gib returned from their search. The grim set to the mens’ features clearly indicated the kind of news they’d come to deliver.
“No sign of Nica,” Rutger said. “But the news isn’t all bad,” he looked to Gib.
“Uncle Jame’s security team found tire tracks along the outskirts of the property.” Gib said. “No cars have been on or off the ranch since I got here with Nica from Richmond this morning.”
“That only clues us into what we suspected.” Rutger said once he’d kissed his wife and daughter. “The jackass took her right out from under our noses.”
“A shame she left her phone here-we could’ve tracked it.” Mercuri rolled his eyes when Tee sighed theatrically in response to his comment.
“Looks like you won’t have a chance to introduce another innocent party to your corrupt ideas about putting tracers on your girlfriend’s cellphone,” she said.
“Corrupt, perhaps,” Mercuri conceded, “but it saved your life.”
“Actually your fierce fighting skills did that,” Prin championed her brother-in-law.
“Thanks Prin,” Mercuri added a reverent nod.
“Fighting skills, my eye. It was that beat down Tee gave Van Deer that softened him up for Mercuri,” Slayte spoke up for his sister-in-law.
Tee preened. “Thank you, Slayte.”
The group’s quiet laughter adopted a roaring intensity when Reina babbled in with her opinion. The mood had lightened, if only briefly.
Gib was still grinning, even as his phone chimed with a notification. His expression sharpened as satisfaction layered over amusement. “No need for Mercuri to corrupt me today, Tee,” he waved his phone, “not when we’re working with this level of dumbness.”
***
Nica was questioning her abductor’s brainpower as well. “You brought me to Gib’s house?” She asked when Benjamin Haahs rolled his stolen truck into the driveway.
Haahs gave no sign that anything was amiss. “Don’t worry, we’ll have time to get settled in before he gets here.”
Nica didn’t want to know, but felt she had to ask. “Settled into what?”
Haahs’ wolfish smile prefaced his answer. “We’ll be fucking by the time your new lover gets here. Ah, don’t deny it-I know what you two were doing here the other night. Didn’t take long for you to open those gorgeous legs for him did it?” he raised one broad shoulder in a light shrug.
“Guess I can’t blame you for making up for lost time,” he said. “The GAN wasn’t too keen about letting you five mix with black dick, were they? Strange, considering you guys are black too. Oh well,” Haahs gave Nica time to think on that as he left the truck and came around to open her side door.
Nica used the time to weigh her options which were dismal. It wouldn’t take Gib long to figure she was there. His was, afterall, a cop’s house-one that had to be outfitted with the latest in home security. He’d probably been notified the moment Haahs pulled into the driveway.
Ben Haahs had made a surprisingly dumb move by bringing them there. And yet, he seemed to be expecting Gib as intently as she was. What was he planning? To win her back by fighting Gib? She was never going back-not to him or that life. She’d die first.
Haahs opened the passenger door and offered a hand to help her out. Nica ignored his hand and left the truck on her own. She was freezing-a fact that had nothing to do with temps in the low twenties or being without a jacket or shoes. She’d sworn the GAN was in her past and there she was in the grips of one of her biggest nightmares from that time. It was anger-deep seated and potent that had her frozen to the core.
It was only sex, she told herself. She could certainly handle that until Gib got there. Yeah, gets here and sees you in his bed with Ben Haahs!
Maybe it wouldn’t come to that, she thought. Her fighting skills weren’t as sharp as Haahs’ now, but she still had them. She’d fought him more than once in the past and won. Surely she could do it again.
Her retaliation proved as much when he pushed the small of her back to hasten her approach to the house. Nica rounded and punished the side of his face with a powerful backhanded fist that split his lip. She expected him to react in kind, but he only grinned, dabbing at the cut with the back of his hand. He nodded as if to approve.
“Finally. Nica’s come to play.” Smoothly, he retrieved a gun from his jacket. “Move.”
She held her ground, debating on whether to try her luck.
“Not much slows us down, beautiful,” he mused as if reading her mind, “but a bullet sure will.”
Slicing him with a fulminating glare, Nica did as she was told and moved toward the house.
––––––––
Nica paused at the bedroom door Haahs led her to. It was the same one she’d shared with Gib their first night together.
“I know it has sentimental value. It’s why I chose it,” he said.
Her light eyes narrowed mutinously. “You were here, weren’t you?”
“Right out back in that big ass yard,” he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “At first, I thought your Sheriff was on the take. Not many could afford digs like these on a cop’s pay. Then I learn the bastard comes from money-that his uncle’s a goddamn billionaire! Some folks have all the luck, huh?”
His words chaffed. “Gib made his own way,” she gritted out. “He didn’t have to sell his soul to do it.”
“Like I said,” loathing plumbed Haahs’ words, “some folks have all the luck,” his eyes drifted down her body then. “Don’t worry, I won’t be greedy. I only want a little. For now. Strip.” He cocked the gun when she hesitated.
It wasn’t such a hard order to follow, though she now bristled over her habit of not wearing bras. Having Ben Haahs oogle her was something she had never enjoyed. In the end, she reasoned that she’d fight much better without being hindered by the clothing she wore.
Haahs rested on the doorframe, his attractive, sun-kissed features set as he enjoyed the show. “Damn...” he sighed, “will you ever be anything other than insanely hot?”
Nica merely rolled her eyes and took a step forward.
“Ah, ah, ah,” he stopped her with a wave of the gun and inclined his head toward the lacy panties still hugging her waist.
Anger glinted like steel beads in her eyes, but Nica complied. She prepared to move forward again and again Haahs waved the gun. From another jacket pocket, he withdrew a pair of handcuffs. She fielded the restraints when he tossed them.
“You know what to do.”
She inwardly cursed over the cuffs, but tried to look on the bright side. At least Gib would know she was acting under duress when he walked in and found her in bed with another man. Haahs covered the distance separating them, shoving Nica around so that her back was to his chest. She winced, feeling the gun barrel propped against her spine.
“I missed you,” he moaned, his face pressed to her nape while he breathed in deep.
She chose to ‘play dead’ so to speak, refusing to react when he indulged in an invasive session of fondling-weighing her breasts, his thumb sliding across her nipples, sucking an earlobe and kissing the silken skin behind it. Soon, his fingers were skimming down her torso, over her hips en route to her sex. They were within reach of their destination when Nica discovered playing dead made her nauseous. In spite of being cuffed, she chose to fight and reacted with a headbutt. As the back of her head slammed into his face, she prayed playing dead wasn’t about to become her reality.
While Haahs spat blood and cursed her, Nica followed the headbutt with an elbow to his gut and a knee to his groin. The gun fired during the struggle and the bullet hit the carpet, missing her toes by scant inches. Haahs lashed out blindly, firing off several more shots. They all missed their intended marks.
Nica sprinted from the room naked and stumbling and made her way down the hall toward the staircase. She screamed, but kept moving when the tall glass vase on the landing shattered behind the force of the bullets Haahs fired into it. She made it back to the first floor, but one look at the front door told her it’d take too long to free the top and bottom bolts, both of which Haahs had set in place.
Desperate, yet still determined, her wide eyes scanned the spacious living room. The sliding glass doors at the far end looked promising. She didn’t waste any more time. Her shoulder was pressed into the chilly door and she was working to free the lock when more shots rang out.
“I don’t want to kill you Ny, not like this, anyway.”
“Let me guess! Hand to hand combat?” She snapped, still having a devil of a time getting the lock to disengage. God please don’t let it be stuck. “That’s a laugh, Ben!” She lashed out once again for form. “You don’t have the guts to face me without a gun!”
The jabs had the desired effect. With an anguished cry, Haahs carelessly hurled the clunky, laser-sighted weapon over the bannister.
Nica looked over her shoulder, watching the gun land on the cushioned long seat near the staircase.
“Impressive,” she said just as the lock disengaged.
The door slid open to admit a blast of frigid air. Nica paid it no mind and continued her race to freedom. The plan was to work her way back around to the front of the house and hopefully to the main road. With any luck she’d be able to flag down help or make it to one of Gib’s neighbors. Maybe someone heard the shooting and had already called the cops. The way her day was going however, that was a long shot.
There had been no gunfire since she’d cleared the doors. She took some comfort in the idea that her pursuer wasn’t quite ready to bring the whole of Leeds, Virginia down on him after all. She was still running full tilt and looking behind her at regular intervals.
Ben wasn’t there, but that did nothing to instill calm. Nica almost hoped to see him in pursuit-a strategic Ben Haahs was a dangerous thing. She was making another one of her over-the-shoulder checks only to be brought up short when a brick wall of flesh stopped her.
“Hello beautiful,” Haahs grinned down at her. The lower half of his hard, attractive face was smeared with blood from the contact Nica’s head made with his nose. “While I like you au naturale, I’d prefer to have you in bed.”
“And I’d prefer you didn’t.”
“Gib,” Nica shuddered, falling to her knees. She didn’t care one bit how relieved she felt at the sight of him dark and chilling where he stood behind Haahs. Her relief however, swan-dived when she remembered the gun.
“Gib, he’s-”
It was too late, Haahs was rounding with the weapon-ready to fire. But the Sheriff had skillfully anticipated his adversary’s tactics. One sleek, skilled move on Gib’s part, had the other man’s wrist in a crushing grip.
They grappled for what seemed like an hour. Their lethal dance rooted Nica to her spot in the deep snow. An odd silence encapsulated the wintry atmosphere, lending a heightened sense of grotesqueness to the violence in progress. The audible pop of bone breaking forced a combination gasp and cry from Nica’s throat. She watched both combatants tumble to the ground before her. They gained their footing soon enough, each giving as good as he got in terms of the blows thrown. Nica couldn’t tell who had been the recipient of the broken bone. Her heart lurched when she saw Haahs emerge clutching the gun. It slipped free of his hand though and she knew he’d been on the receiving end of the damning injury.
Gib reclaimed the high ground and punished Haahs’ back and flank with repetitive blows from his knees and fists. He straddled his quarry, laying into Haahs’ face with a series of bruising hits that sent blood oozing from the man’s mouth, eyes, nostrils and ears.
Nica looked on as if mesmerized. Only vaguely, did she sense her hands had curled into fists, a sign that she wanted in on the brutality.
Eventually, Haahs lay flat, unresponsive in the snow. Gib’s fury lost some of its edge and he finally planted his bloody fists on either side of Ben Haahs’ head. He glared down into the ravaged face as though checking to see if more pummeling was required.
“Gib?”
Nica’s voice, small in the quiet air, took Gib’s mind off his brutalized prey and on her instantly. Still, it took him a few seconds more to yank himself free of the murderous sensations toiling to devour him. He tugged free of the ripped quarter length peacoat he still sported and crawled over to Nica. Deftly, he wrapped her nude body into the cashmere garment and then pulled her in tight against him. He eased back when she gasped as though in pain.
“Let’s get you out of this snow.”
“The c-cuffs,” she stammered.
Menace returned to Gib’s face and Ben Haahs was once more at the forefront of his mind. “Piece of shit,” he murmured, leaving Nica to return to Haahs who was still taking shallow breaths in the blood-stained snow where he lay.
“Crazy fuck,” renewed rage motivated the blistering kick Gib powered into Haahs’ side. His steel-toed boots were gored when he finally stepped back.
Haahs curled into himself and moaned. Gib drew on every ounce of restraint he could muster. Soon, he was turning back to care for Nica. He carried keys that fit her cuffs and she was free in seconds. He rained kisses across her brow and cheeks, then dropped a hard kiss to her mouth. In an effortless move, he swung her high against his chest. He was heading for the truck when Mercuri, Slayte, Pope and Rutger came rushing across the lawn toward them.
“She alright?” Slayte asked while the others glanced toward Benjamin Haahs on the ground.
“Do we need an ambulance or a hearse?” Pope asked.
Rutger yanked Haahs to his feet, deaf to the man’s moans and weak attempts to free himself.
“Hands off!” He ordered, shrieking when Rutger discovered his broken wrist and squeezed for spite. “H-hey! Hey!” He shuddered once Rutger had eased up on the pressure. Ben Haahs wanted Gib’s attention. “Hey?! Hey, I’m talkin’ to you nigger!”
Rutger’s fist slammed into Haahs’ solar plexus. “That kind of talk upsets me,” he repeated the blow then used it to torture the horrific wound Gib had inflicted with his boot.
“Next one goes down your throat,” Rutger smiled with disturbing glee. “Shall I give you a preview. Please say yes.”
Haahs shook his head in a pleading fashion. Once more, Rutger drew him into a restraining hold-a hand digging into the injured side as he led him toward a dark van. The foreboding vehicle had shown up soon after Mercuri, Slayte, Pope and Rutger arrived at Gib’s. Haahs went along peacefully at first, only cutting his eyes toward Gib with Nica in his arms. The couple was nearing Gib’s truck, when Haahs’ peaceful demeanor corroded.
“Did she tell you I was her first, Sheriff!”
Gib’s steps slowed, but he kept moving.
“Course I almost missed out on the experience!” Haahs continued his rant. “That joy would’ve gone to another if she hadn’t killed him first!”
From the shelter of Gib’s embrace, Nica stifled a shudder. Resigned, she closed her eyes once the damning words hit the air. Gib slowed to a halt then.
“Uh-oh, did I say something?” Haahs’ nasty laugh, curbed on an unmanly scream when Rutger punished his kidney with an iron fist. Glee however, continued to underscore the crazed glow in Ben Haahs’ eyes. “What’s wrong, Sheriff?” He cooed, the smug query crisp on the wintry air. “Didn’t you know you were in love with a killer?”
Fisting a wad of Haahs’ shirt collar, Rutger yanked him up by the scruff of his neck and dumped him into the waiting van. “I hope you’re this mouthy when you get where we’re going.” Rutger was the one wearing the gleeful smile when Haahs’ face turned gravely pale.
Mercuri and Slayte waited with Gib and Nica. Meanwhile, Rutger and Pope greeted the van driver before they too got settled inside.
“I’m sorry this happened, Nica,” Mercuri said once the van sped off.
Nica’s smile was tense, yet appreciative. “It wasn’t your fault,” she said.
Slayte moved close, squeezed Nica’s hand just visible beneath the cuff of Gib’s coat. “We’re sorry anyway,” he said.
Nica’s smile remained. “Thanks Slayte.”
“Where they takin’ him?” Gib asked, glancing down the road the van had since disappeared from.
Slayte clapped his shoulder. “Better if you don’t know that, Sheriff.”
“Slayte’s right, Gib,” Mercuri looked toward the now silent road as well. “We’ll see he’s back to answer for what happened at the inn. See you guys back at the house,” he added, joining Slayte for the walk back to an idling SUV.
Gib continued the journey to his own ride with Nica in his arms. “What’d he do with your clothes?”
“They’re still in the house.”
Gib made an effortless about-face to take them back inside.
“Gib wait,” her fingers curled into his shirt. “Your house-it’s a mess. Maybe you shouldn’t-”
“You need your clothes, Nica. Are you okay to go back in there?”
She nodded. “I can walk.”
“I know you can,” he kept hold of her until they crossed the threshold.
Nica disappeared upstairs while Gib toured the smashed lamps, bullet holes and overturned tree in the living room. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered. None of it mattered, of course. He wouldn’t have cared if it were worse. All that mattered was that she was safe and unhurt. All that mattered was keeping her with him. He should’ve known better than anyone that was beyond his control.
Nica was on her way back into the living room and trying to motivate herself to begin the conversation they desperately needed to have. She watched Gib prowling his living room, before he dropped heavily to one of the large sofas furnishing the space.
“Did he hurt you?” He asked after nearly a minute had passed.
“He tried,” she shook her head. “But no. Gib, what he said-”
“You don’t have to, Nica.”
“But I want to,” she moved into the room one hand cradling its twin. “I told you my mother worked for a brothel and the madam saw dollar signs. I guess you gravitate toward what you know. I made my way to another brothel and this one wanted me on the payroll right away. They were small, disgusting jobs at first-no intercourse. Just assholes who wanted to...play. But the time came when I was expected to...the man I...killed-he was to be my first client. My...my first, first.” She expelled a breath, unexpectedly relieved to share even that much.
“He was rough and I...I was scared and angry...angry at the situation, angry at my mother for leaving me. I lashed out harder than I realized-harder than I thought I could. The brothel was part of the GAN too- I couldn’t believe my rotten luck. They sent people to take the body and one of the men they sent-he noticed me. He was curious. It didn’t take long to connect me to my mother. They figured I was long, lost property.”
A chill snaked its way up her spine as the words flowed. “They didn’t know what to do with me and I...I was too dangerous to be a companion. Someone known to kill her clients would be bad for business.”
Gib watched her smooth her hands down her sides. When she sat, the look of despair shading her face, broke his heart.
“They couldn’t-hmph, wouldn’t turn me away and leave me to my own devices and drugging me into compliance wouldn’t work. So that meant, they had to bargain with me and lucky for them, I was young. Too young to know my own worth. They preyed on my fear-painted all sorts of horrible scenarios about what could happen to me. They suggested...a partnership and pairing me with a guy who’d protect me. All I had to do was be his. He’d never hurt me, but he’d teach me to-to earn my way.”
“Jesus...” Gib closed his eyes and rubbed sudden tension away from the base of his neck.
“That was Ben Haahs,” Nica said. “He enjoyed the teaching process and I...earned my way. They sent me to live with Dorinda, but I didn’t work in the same venue as the other girls.”
She stood again. “None of it mattered, though. The fact was I knew a life outside of the GAN-for better or worse, I had been free and I wanted that back.”
“So you ran.”
She nodded. “It took a lot of doing, but my friends and I-we made it work. We never looked back.”
“And Ben Haahs took that personally.” Gib mused.
Nica smiled sourly. “I don’t think he ever thought I’d leave. That’s why he’s hurt-not that I left, just that he didn’t see it coming. I’d gotten very used to fooling myself-telling myself that my life wasn’t the horror flick my common sense told me it was.”
“I’m in love with you,” Gib said.
Tears she didn’t know she had, sprang free to moisten her lashes and spill down her cheeks.
“I can’t stay, Gib. Not after this.”
“I know.” With nothing more to be said, Gib stood and led Nica through the house, back to his truck, back to Ashland, back to her life.