CIARA
Lying next to Nolan, who’s sick as a dog, I listen to his wheezing breaths.
He’s been in and out of consciousness all night, and with every passing minute, my heart beats faster and faster.
I slowly turn my head and whisper, “Nolan?”
He doesn’t stir, and I cautiously sit up. Reaching for the chain, I carefully gather the metal links while creeping off the bed.
“Where are you going?” he mumbles weakly.
I freeze and glance over my shoulder. “The toilet.”
He tries to sit up but slumps down again, then hoarsely orders, “Be quick.”
I slowly blow out a breath of relief and climb to my feet.
I have no idea how long I’ve been with Nolan, but a while back, I managed to steal the key out of his pocket while he was asleep. I managed to unlock the chain, but before I could get the front door open, he was on top of me.
Since then, he’s left the key on the kitchen counter where it’s out of my reach.
I walk to the bedroom door and take a second to glance over my shoulder again. Nolan seems to be asleep. I crouch down and pull most of the chain toward me, careful not to make a sound as I gather it in my arms.
Slowly, I look at Nolan. His face is pale and sweaty from the fever. Earlier, he left to get flu medicine, but he took the key with him, so I couldn’t try to escape.
It’s now or never.
My heart pounds against my ribs as I begin to inch my way down the hallway, carefully setting the chain down so it doesn’t drag across the floor.
The minutes it takes for me to get to the kitchen is nerve-wracking, making my breaths burst over my lips in short puffs.
Months of hell flash through my mind, my panic skyrocketing because if Nolan catches me, I know he’ll beat me until I’m unable to walk.
That’s if he doesn’t kill me.
In the beginning, he used the belt on my butt, but with time that’s changed until he wouldn’t hesitate to beat me with his fists.
Luckily, he hasn’t raped me, but that doesn’t stop him from sexually assaulting me. Every day, Nolan will rub his release over my breasts and between my legs and force me to stay naked for the entire day before he bathes me.
For a second, I shut my eyes while I force the horrible trauma out of my mind so I can focus on escaping.
When I open my eyes, they settle on the key where it’s lying on the counter.
I glance around for anything I can use to get to it, but there’s nothing long enough.
Placing my hand on the back of the chair, panic wells in my chest, but then my eyebrows fly up, and I look at the chair.
Careful to be as quiet as possible, I lift the chair and move as close to the counter as the chain will allow me to. When the metal links dig into the skin around my ankle, I spread my legs as wide as they’ll go. With my thigh muscles burning, I stretch my arms out, struggling to keep the chair in the air.
Come on!
My breaths keep speeding up as I lift the chair higher, but then the back legs slam down on the counter, making one hell of a noise.
No!
Desperation pours through my body, and panicking, I scrape the wooden legs over the counter. One catches the key, and it drops to the floor.
Nolan’s weak voice comes from the bedroom. “Ciara.”
I fall to my knees and stretch as far as I can, my middle finger almost touching the key.
Letting out a frustrated cry, I grab the chair again and quickly move the key closer. Shoving the chair to the side, I snatch the key from the floor, and swinging around, I unlock the chain.
The moment I’m free, I dart up to my feet and run for the door. My fingers are trembling badly as I unlock the door, and as I yank it open, I hear Nolan coughing uncontrollably.
The moment I’m outside, my emotions spiral into a turbulent mess inside me. I flee around the side of the house and run as fast as I can.
There’s a wooshing sound in my ears, my heart thundering, and my breaths nothing but gasps. Darting through the trees, branches scratch my arms, but I don’t care.
The sun is just starting to break over the horizon as I run across a field, the grass wet beneath my bare soles, and my dress flapping around my thighs.
Filled with fear, I keep glancing over my shoulder to see if Nolan is coming after me.
Nolan pins me to the floor, his fists repeatedly slamming into my face and torso until all I can taste is blood, all I can feel is pain, and the world turns black.
He has controlled every single thing. I’ve never been allowed to do anything for myself. The only time he left me alone was when he locked me in the trunk.
Escape.
Run.
Get away.
Every degrading moment fills me, and like shards of glass, they cut deep into my soul.
Feral and on the brink of insanity, I’m unable to focus. I’m completely overwhelmed by despair and panic, my body on automatic pilot as I keep running as fast as I can.
SANTIAGO
In the early morning hours, I stand outside on the porch, staring over the field where the first rays of the sun are peeking over the horizon.
“Time to go,” Pedro mutters, drawing my attention to him.
“Next time I take a break, I’d like to come back here for a week,” I mention while walking to the second SUV.
Pedro opens the passanger door, then replies, “Just tell me when so I can make sure there’s food in the place.”
I climb into the SUV, and once all the guards are in their respective vehicles, Pedro slides in behind the steering wheel. He starts the engine, then talks over the two-way radio, “Let’s head out.”
When the convoy begins to move, I pull out my phone and shoot Dominik a text. My friendship with the Slovakian arms dealer happened quite fast. Where he’s grumpy and quiet, I’m the complete opposite. I was actually surprised when he didn’t tell me to fuck off.
I let out a silent chuckle while typing out the message.
Santiago: How’s Grace doing?
A moment later, he sends a reply.
Dominik: She just gave birth to a boy a few minutes ago. I’ll call later.
Santiago: Remember to name him after me. Congrats!
A wide smile spreads over my face, and tucking my phone back into my pocket, I glance at Pedro. “Dominik and Grace are the proud parents of a baby boy.”
“Good for them,” he mumbles, his eyes on the road.
I turn my head and look out the window, then my eyes lock on a woman who’s running through the field next to us.
One look at the fear on her face has me shouting, “Stop the car!”
Pedro slams on the brakes, and as screeching tires fill the air, I shove the door open and haul ass in her direction.
She keeps glancing over her left shoulder, the yellow dress she’s wearing flapping around her thighs.
“Santiago!” Pedro shouts behind me.
As I come up on her right side, she glances over her left shoulder again. All I see is ginger hair, the color of the rising sun, before I grab hold of her arm.
A horrifying cry escapes her as she swings around, and the moment I wrap my arms around her, forcefully bringing her to a stop, her body goes limp.
I sink to my knees, carefully lowering her, then my eyes latch onto her face.
Jesus fucking Christ.
Struck speechless, I stare at her ginger lashes, high cheekbones, button nose, and the perfect bow of her lips.
Lifting my hand to her cheek, I brush my fingers over her cold but soft skin. My heart hammers in my chest as the realization sinks in.
“I found you.”
Unable to stop myself, I wrap her in a tight embrace, holding her to my chest while I press a kiss to her clammy forehead.
My eyes drift shut, but then I smell her scent, and it’s wrong. She smells like another man.
My head lifts, and I quickly glance around us, but only my men are out here with us.
“Santiago?” Pedro says my name in a questioning tone.
I move her arms so they’re resting across her chest, then positioning my arms beneath her knees and back, I hold her tightly to me as I climb to my feet.
Walking back to the SUV, I mutter, “Let’s get out of here.”
No one questions me as I climb into the back seat of the SUV, and only when we’re driving again does Pedro ask, “Is that her?”
“Yes,” I answer, unable to tear my gaze away from her breathtakingly beautiful face.
Christ, there are no words to describe how I feel as I take in every inch of the woman in my arms.
“Mi sol,” I whisper with absolute awe, brushing my fingers over her cheek again. My eyes drift down her body, and it’s only then that I see the severe scarring around her ankles.
Intense rage pours like ice through my veins.
I know from experience how long a person has to be shackled to have scars like the ones she has.
Months. Years.
I fucking knew I was running out of time to find her.
My eyes snap back to her face, and I cup her cheek with my palm. Leaning over her, I say, “You’re safe now, mi pequeño sol.”
“Should I find a hospital?”
“No. Go straight to the airfield. Dr. Pires can look at her once we’re home.”
After I had to send my doctor and nurse to the island to run the hospital there, I hired a new doctor and nurse for the clinic on my compound. It has actually worked out for the best, as the new doctor is female, and the women feel more comfortable with her.
My second-in-command glances at me in the rearview mirror. “You’re just going to kidnap her?”
“Yes.”
He nods, then focuses on the road ahead.
When I glance over her again, I notice faint bruises on her upper arms and the side of her jaw.
She was running from someone.
My eyes snap to Pedro. “She was held prisoner and shackled.”
“Want to turn back so we can look for whoever had her?”
I think for a moment, then shake my head. “Have two of the men stay behind at the safe house. Tell them to check nearby houses for anything out of the ordinary. Once she wakes up and tells us who had her, they can find the fucker. Have the pilot of the other private jet come back to Ireland once he’s done refueling in Switzerland. He can be on standby for the guards and whoever they find.”
Pedro nods and issues the order over the two-way radio.
I turn my attention back to the woman in my arms and stare at her face.
I’ve been searching for a year, and now that I’ve finally found her, nothing will ever take her away from me.
