The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone (167 page)

“There” Nate exclaimed as he pointed towards one of the screens and the security guy, whose nametag read Doug, poked at a couple of buttons and Red’s face became larger.

The terror and pain in her expression made my gut clench tightly and I grit my teeth against the fear that enveloped me.

Doug pressed a few more buttons and a sequence of images appeared on the largest screen. There were a total of nine split images and it relayed the route that Red and Diablo had taken, right through to where he ushered her into a black BMW.

Ava was already relaying the registration number to Mason on her phone and she handed what looked like an e-mail address to Doug, who then proceeded to e-mail the images through to Mason.

Ava smiled widely at him and then pulled a wad of notes out of her bag and passed them to Doug with a wink and a thank you.

Money actually did seem to buy everything, even confidential images from the airport surveillance.

As we exited the office and made our way across the airport I caught sight of someone who I had seen before but couldn’t place.

It was still bugging me as I climbed into my car.

We had arranged to meet back at Mason’s and develop some sort of plan to find Red, but I already knew she’d be halfway to Sheffield by now. But I would go and join the mob to figure out a strategy before I went gung ho and stormed every square inch of the Yorkshire city.

I fired up the engine and frowned as the man’s face swarmed my mind again. “Think Lucas, damn it!”

I sat silent with my eyes closed for a while, demanding myself to rack through every single memory to find the face.

My eyes snapped open when it came to me “Fuck me! Andrew.”

I shot back out of the car and raced back into the building, my eyes skimming every section of the huge open space.

“Come on . . .”

I moved rapidly through the throng of people, my eyes alert and searching as I combed every corner, every group of people and every piece of that damn airport but he was gone.

“Shit” I hissed out as I slammed my fist into a nearby information board, much to the disgust of an elderly woman who looked at me like I had just stolen her weekly pension.

I growled at her, my mood severely shameless as I pictured a bound and bleeding Red. She growled back, her large white dentures rattling with force against the rumble and I actually took a step away from her and held up a hand. “Sorry.”

She continued to glare at me as I backed up and then I turned and walked solemnly back to my car.

* * *

“His name is Dante Accosi, age 36, originally born in Messina, Sicily to a local whore Gia Accosi, who was brutally killed by one of her punters when Dante was 11. He currently has 3 estates in Italy, 2 in America; 1 in Dallas and 1 in San Diego and 2 in Britain; Sheffield and London” Sam informed us as Mason paced the room on the phone to a private security firm he used.

“I’m gonna take Sheffield. Just got a feeling about it, give me the address and I’ll make my way up now” I told Sam who frowned and tipped his chin to Mason.

“Better wait for the word, Lucas.”

“God damn it! Do you even realise what he’ll be doing to her while we sit here like a bunch of pussy’s and talk?” I growled.

Mason approached my side and placed his hand on my shoulder “You gonna fill me in what’s going off between you and little Willow?”

I sighed heavily and bit my lower lip, trying to control my temper about all the bloody time wasting.

“We . . . we got involved for a while but, it’s complicated, that’s all.”

“Like fuck complicated. You feel more than complicated over her; you’re chomping at the fucking bit over her!” Mason glowered at me and I clenched my fist in anger.

“Do you even know what that piece of fucking shit will do to her?” I retorted angrily.

Mason scoffed and widened his eyes on me. “If anybody has any sort of clue what he will do, then I have fucking witnessed it first-hand. Believe me Lucas, going in all guns blazing will not work with him. His security is tighter than a Vegas slot machine.”

“Do you think I’ll be able to get in?” Ava asked from where she sat on the floor with one of her kids.

Mason snorted at her and shook his head slowly. She shrugged “Worth a try.”

“I know you’d wipe the floor with him baby, but no . . . just not a fucking hope in hell.”

“Well we’ve gotta do fucking something!” I demanded and then a thought occurred to me, “Are you still good friends with William at the Panther?”

Mason nodded in reply and I proceeded to tell him about my hunch concerning Andrew, “I don’t think it’s a coincidence he was in that airport. If anything I think he was staking us out, watching what we did when Red went.”

Mason nodded then picked up his phone and phoned William and before long we had an address of the sly bastard and we we’re on our way to obtain Red’s location, and I knew with Mason present, we would acquire the information from Andrew.

Whether he would be breathing when we left was unknown as yet, but to be honest, as long as he gave us Red’s whereabouts, I didn’t give a shit what happened to him.

Chapter 15

Layla

I SAT SILENT on the bed already naked and full of shame.

The area he had brought me to was unfamiliar but I knew we were still in London. We hadn’t travelled long enough to be anywhere else.

I sighed deeply as I shivered, remembering his silent fury as he led me into the room that was now my holding cell.

His reticence had frightened me more than his rage and I knew he had something nasty in mind for my punishment.

I cast another glance over the suite I was situated in. It was plush, comfortable and modern and was complete with a walk-in wardrobe and en-suite bathroom and I timidly took a look in the wardrobe.

My heart sank when I realised he had filled it with clothes ready for me.

He had obviously been planning my suppression for a while and had prepared things beforehand.

I used the toilet and washed my face before settling back on the bed and just waited, waited for my punishment, waited for my Master’s calm wrath and waited for the pain that I knew would come.

As soon as I heard the door open, I slid off the bed and took position on my knees as I rested my forehead on the floor and placed my hands beside my head, palms down flat to the carpet.

He silently circled me and I physically felt the rage he emitted.

I groaned faintly as I felt the whip slash my back, its sear slicing through my delicate skin; skin that hadn’t been torn for six years and now unused to the harsh thrash.

“Why do you continue to plague me, Kayla?”

I didn’t answer him, I wasn’t expected to.

I closed my eyes as the crop hit again; knowing any outburst of sound would encourage further, harder beats.

“Do you even begin to comprehend what I have done to locate you?”

Another slash and this time I whimpered against the pain as he positioned it over the exact same position of the previous one.

He sighed heavily before he gripped my hair and pulled my head up. He crouched before me, his face close to mine as he stared straight into my soul.

“Who is he? You may speak” he merely asked and I felt the pull in my stomach when I knew what would happen when I refused to answer his question.

I didn’t speak, just looked at him and gulped. “Do not fucking challenge me, Kayla. I am so near to losing my self-restraint with you.”

“Just someone who goes into the club where I work, Master” I tried, praying with everything I had that he would take it as an honest answer.

I sighed in relief as he nodded and released his grip on my hair.

His heavy booted foot stamped on my head, forcing it flat on the floor as he kept its position atop my head, my face pushed into the pile of the plush carpet.

The room titled as my vision blurred at the force he had trampled me with and I closed my eyes as he ground his foot deeper against me.

“You have one more chance to pacify me before I really decide to hurt you” he hissed out as he pushed his foot further into me.

I was struggling to breathe in the deep pile and I frantically tried to turn my face to the side.

“I advise you to be truthful this time Kayla, and I may even be lenient when I take you, because currently I have the urge to rip you in fucking two and make you bleed. Does this knowledge slacken your evasiveness?”

“I only know him as Hunter, Master. He is a Dom at the club.”

I prayed that the half-truth would appease him and I gulped in large frantic breaths when he lifted his foot.

He stepped back and I remained flat to the ground awaiting his next command as I fought against the bile that was desperately threatening to choke me.

“Belly” he demanded and I instantly lay flat on my front with my hands draped the length of my body and my legs spread wide as I prepared for his intrusion.

I could hear his heavy breathing and I knew he was hard for me and my stomach rolled when I knew what was coming before he commanded it.

I closed my eyes as I heard him lower his zip and I prayed to God he would be merciful with me but I knew before I finished my prayer that he would make this as painful as possible.

* * *

When I woke it was dark and I groaned when every inch of my body screamed in agony. I tried to move my legs but everything was so sore, it was too painful.

I needed the toilet and grit my teeth as I pushed myself off the bed.

My head hurt where he had yanked forcefully at my hair and I squinted at the dim light that came from the small lamp in the corner of the room.

I stumbled as my knees gave way and I grabbed onto the en-suite doorframe before I ended up in heap on the floor.

I managed to relieve myself, wincing at the sting, and filled the heavy tub with water and some posh bubbly shit Diablo always had me bathe in.

He had once told me the smell of it reminded him of his mother so it was the only stuff I was allowed to use.

I groaned as I sank into it, the soap in the crème stung my back and between my legs, but I forced myself further down and closed my eyes, pressing my body to relax.

Lucas’s face swam in my head and I bit my lip as my heart ached. I had been as evasive as I could be when Diablo had demanded his name, and I had paid the price for my vagueness but I would never give up his real name or any other information about him. I knew that as soon as it left my lips, Lucas would be dead, just for touching me.

I hissed as I sunk further down into the water to wash the blood out of my hair, the thick scabs turned the water red and a tear slipped free as the colour reminded me of Lucas’s nickname for me.

My whole body stiffened when I heard the room door open and close and I hastily climbed out of the bath, knowing if I wasn’t ready for him, I would pay the price.

I frowned when Carl, one of Diablo’s minions, stood in the doorway with a malevolent smirk on his face as his eyes scanned my already broken body.

“Get on the bed bitch!” he ordered and I stared in confusion at him.

“Where’s Diablo?”

He took a step closer to me and grabbed a handful of my hair.

Fuck me, why the hair all the time?

“He’s had to go see to some business, so it’s just you and me sweetheart” he told me as he dragged me across the bedroom and flung me on the bed.

“He’ll kill you when he finds out what you’re doing!” I told him, hoping the warning would halt what he was about to do.

“But he won’t find out will he” he forewarned me and I glared and pushed at him as he clambered over the top of me.

“Get off me, Carl.”

He grabbed a handful of my breast as he unzipped himself with his other hand and I desperately tried to shove him away. “Please don’t Carl, I’m too sore” I begged but he released my hair and grabbed one of my thighs and pulled my leg up.

His face was epic, as was mine, when the door flew open and Mason and Sam burst in.

The roar that erupted from Mason when he caught sight of me made my bones crack and Carl urgently tried to scramble away but Mason grabbed hold of him, cast me a quick glance and then dragged him into the bathroom, closely followed by Sam and now Greg, who had just entered with Lucas.

Carl’s screams filtered through the room as Lucas just stood and gazed at me, his eyes examining every piece of my bruised and battered skin as his chest heaved with each of his extreme breaths.

I couldn’t breathe as relief coursed through every single inch of my body. My lungs screamed at me and I clutched at my chest in desperation.

Lucas swiftly took the gap between us with his long legs before he crouched in front of me and instructed me to breathe. “Come on Red, you can do it. In . . . out . . .” he coached gently as I followed his lead. The sob that was choking me burst free and I inhaled a huge lungful of much needed oxygen.

“Good girl.”

He scanned around the room and went into the wardrobe and exited with a white silk robe and wrapped it around me, wincing when he caught sight of my back.

His jaw clenched so tight I heard his teeth crack but he gently fastened the belt and scooped me gently into his arms and carried me through the house.

I noticed at least three big guy’s stood on guard as Lucas transported me through the large house and out to his car. He never uttered a word, just placed a tender kiss on my forehead as he gently settled me into the passenger seat and I fought the tears at his affectionate display, knowing that if I let them fall, they wouldn’t stop.

Chapter 16

Lucas

I KNEW IF I spoke to her I wouldn’t be able to hold the emotion back that was threatening to consume me, so I just silently drove us back to my place.

I flicked on the Bluetooth on the dash and dialled Mason’s number. “I have Red with me and I’m taking her back to mine” I informed him when he answered.

“Yeah, we’re gonna see what we can find here before we come back. I’ll inform Ava and Sara to meet at yours” he replied and I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me.

“It’s fine, I’ll take care of her.”

“Lucas. After what she’s been through, she’ll need a female friend not an emotional bastard” Mason growled out and I bit back the retort.