They’ve had me here for hours. I’ve only seen them once, besides the time they threw me in this room. That was about an hour after I was here. One came back in and took a picture of me, then gave me a burger and bucket for what I presume is to be used as my bathroom. The accommodations are atrocious, but the screams and cries from the other room are heart-wrenching.

“Who’s there? Can you hear me? Please talk to me. Who are you?”

I ask over and over, but the answers never come; just her screams. My god, I have got to get out of here. Gabriel will come...I know he will.

I can tell night is coming; the light coming through the boards covering the window is becoming low, then nothing. Night falls, and by now I am in frantic mode. Please, Gabriel, find me.

I must have fallen asleep during the night. The morning comes, and I’m awakened by a man yelling. He’s asking questions about me. The other girl hears him, too; now she is in overdrive with her fears. You can hear it in the way her voice changes to a higher octave. What the hell is going on?

My door swings open, and I see him. A man I have met on several occasions. The man who wears a suit and perfect smile now looks devious and sadistic. The Senator appears in front of me without his mask, looking like Lucifer himself.

He carries a chair in with him. As he watches me crawl backward towards the wall, he sits and yells, “Shut that fucking bitch up!”

I hear shuffling, then a thud, like something being thrown through the wall. Then there’s silence, and no more screams. He looks my way and smiles at me, like this is a pleasant event.

“I must say, you are a beautiful girl. Shame, really, since you were supposed to be dead.”

Dead?! What the hell is he talking about?

“That’s right, you little bitch, you are my deadly little secret. My shame for all the world to see. I was promised that you and your whore of a mother were taken care of. I should have known William was fucking me over.”

With a shaky voice, I ask, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Did you know my mother, or maybe my father? Senator, what the hell are you talking about?” I screamed that last part, unable to control my emotions.

“Your father? Aww, you don’t know, do you?” He begins to laugh out loud. “You are my spawn. I’m your father.”

The tears begin to fall, and my body begins to tremble.

“No...no, you can’t be.”

“Oh, but I am. You were my one and only mistake. You never should have been born, but I was stupid back then. I never thought about the girls getting pregnant, until I heard about you.”

I can’t make a sound. I can’t move. None of this is making any sense to me. He knew my mother? How and why? What happened? I’m shaking, and my stomach turns as I try to piece together what he’s saying.

“It took me a while to figure it out, but it was your face and those eyes. You look so much like her. I watched you, not knowing why, but then it hit me; those eyes. Your mother was very beautiful, just like you are right now. Her eyes were what attracted me to her. They haunt my dreams. It’s a shame, really, if you think about it. Such beauty wasted on a whore’s body. See, I was nothing like William. I never believed you could take a whore off the streets and make the world accept her like our own. I treated your mother just like all the other whores. You, my dear child, have my blood running through your veins, but you are still nothing but the child of a whore.”

I violently throw up, vomit spewing towards the ground.

He laughs. “Come now, child, you think that’s going to distract me, make me feel sorry for you?” He waves to the next room. “She tries that shit all the time, thinking I will give her a reprieve, but I don’t. I quite enjoy making someone so distressed that their own body revolts back.”

“You are a sadistic fuck!” I scream through his laughter.

“That’s right. Let it all out. Tell me, did Catherine have you this whole time? Did that bitch bring you here to taunt me? She wants to destroy my family and me. Is she using you to do it? Well, is she? First, you show up and embarrass my daughter, then you make a fool out of my son. Well, fuck you bitches! If you think you can destroy me, you have another thing coming.

He throws his chair against the wall, then stares back at me. “I want to tell you, I found your mother when I put all the pieces together. She wasn’t the woman I remembered, but she still had those piercing eyes. I should have taken one as a souvenir when I ended her life.”

“NO!” I scream. I can’t take much more. “Why did you do that? I didn’t know anything about you.”

“That doesn’t matter. You are a liability I can’t afford. It would kill my career, and my family.”

“What are you going to do with me?”

“I’ve sold you. To a colleague’s son. He is more sadistic than I am. He likes to play with his slaves; he gets his pleasures through their pain, and it knows no bounds. He will ruin each and every part of you before you go poof!” His hands make the gesture of a bomb exploding. “He will make all my problems disappear, and you will be unrecognizable while I walk away free and wash my hands clean.”

He stands and leaves, locking the door behind him. I hear him talking to the other men, but I can’t make anything out. My ears are ringing, and my body is shaking as I get violently ill again.

The next thing I know, everything goes black.

She has been missing for more than twenty-four hours now. I need get to her fast. I can’t stand the fact that she could be hurt, or worse. I am going to tear apart anyone who stands in my way, limb from fucking limb.

The trip takes about two hours. The address we’ve been given leads us to an old boarded up house in the middle of nowhere. Liam parks the SUV, and we start scoping out the place. We see there is only one car, and after an hour we see two guards walk out. One is smoking, the other is on his phone. Now that we know what we’re up against, we wait for them to go back inside so we can make our move.

Zander and Vin go around to the back of the house. Liam and I take the front. We storm into the house from both entrances, taking the guards completely by surprise. A fight erupts. Once we have them subdued, I hear Fallon; she’s screaming my name. I kick in the locked door in and rush to my wife. Slamming our bodies together, unable to get close enough to her, I kiss her repeatedly, starting with her mouth, then her nose, cheeks, and forehead. I can’t possibly show how grateful I am that she is in my arms again.

“I knew you’d come for me! I just knew you would.”

With tears in my eyes, I say, “I love you, baby. I love you so much. I will always come for you.”

Refusing to let her out of my arms, I ask if she’s fine. Did they hurt her? Did they do something to her?

She shakes her head and says, “No, Gabriel, I’m all right.” She cries out, “I love you so much. We need to leave before he comes back. Gabriel, it’s the Senator; he took me. He says he’s my father. Please, Gabriel, bring me home.”

“No, baby, I have to stay. Now that I know you’re all right, I’ll have Liam bring you home, but I’m not going anywhere until I kill that son of a bitch.”

Fallon struggles for me to follow. “Gabriel, please, no, please come with me. He’s not worth it, Gabriel. Please.”

I reach out for her face and hold her between my hands. “I will, my love, but he has to die. Don’t fight me, Fallon; I need to end him. That’s the only way I can protect you forever. Please, baby, go. I will come to you when it’s done.”

I release her and walk her to the kitchen, where everyone else is. They all rush her one by one, hugging and showing their affection. The fear they have in their eyes lets me know they will always be by her side, no matter what, whether I am here or not. They all care for her in their own way. I am truly blessed for it, too.

“Gabriel, there’s another girl here. She has been screaming and crying since I arrived. Gabriel, we must save her, too.”

“Zander, check it out.”

He nods and walks back toward the hall. We hear him crashing through a door, then he hollers back at us to come see. Fallon, Liam, and I run towards the back. Through the door, we can see the shell of a girl. She is in the corner, scared shitless of us. She has been beaten, and you can tell she has suffered plenty.

Liam pushes his way through. He walks straight to the girl, bends down to her level, then softly calls out to her, “Avery...Avery, is that you? Avery, it’s me, Liam.”

He turns, and I see tears in his eyes. This seems strange; Even if he knows her, why would this affect him this way?

“Gabriel, it’s Avery Edwards. She’s been missing for a couple of months. Mom said her family had no leads. They thought she ran away.”

He turns back toward her, extends his hand, and says, “Avery, baby, it’s me, Liam, and I’m going to help you. I’m going to get you home.”

She starts to scream and begins swinging at him like an animal.  Fallon goes straight to them and grabs her arms. She looks in her eyes, catching her attention.

“Avery, I’m Fallon. I’m the one who was in the other room. This is my family. They are here to help us, to bring us home. I’m going to bring you to my house. Please, Avery, come with me. No one else will touch or hurt you, I promise.”

She thinks on what Fallon’s telling her, then she reaches for Fallon. My wife stands with Avery, never losing eye contact, with Fallon leading the way. She pauses by me and puts her hand in mine.

She says to me, “I love you, Gabriel. Please come home to me when it’s done.”

“Always, baby.”

I let them walk past me and out of the house. I watch as Fallon leads her to our SUV.

Liam is punching the fucking walls.

“Liam, stop. We need to be level-headed right now. You’re not helping her this way. Take them home. Mom will know what to do.”

“I’m not leaving. Did you see what they did to her? Did you?”

“Liam, I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to calm yourself. You are no good to anyone if you can’t calm yourself down.”

“Calm, Gabriel? Really? Is that what you want? I’ll show you calm.”

Liam rushes past me and storms into the kitchen. He takes his gun out, and before I know what’s going on, he fires and kills one of the guards with a bullet straight to the head.

He then aims at the next one and shouts, “Where the fuck is he?! When is he coming back!! Talk, motherfucker.”

The guard is so scared, he pisses himself, yet I’m somehow proud of Liam. He is getting what needs to be done, done.

Liam addresses the man again. “I said, tell me when he is coming back, or I swear to God, the next bullet is yours.”

With a whimpering voice, he tells us the Senator is returning tonight to meet someone here. We already know he’s talking about Dicky, and we already know about the scheduled meeting for tonight. We just needed to know if that was everything.

With all the facts, Liam looks at the man dead center in the eyes and says, “I lied!”

He shoots him in the head, too.

What the fuck is going on with Liam? I have never seen him like this. Blood was something Liam always hated, but now he’s the one spilling it. Thinking my baby brother may never be the same scares me.

I watch as Zander slowly walks up to a frozen, shell-shocked Liam and takes the gun out of his still raised hand.

Zander talks softly to him, “Brother, you’re going to be okay. Take the girls home. Gabriel and I will handle the rest. Don’t worry, we got you.”

He turns to Zander and nods. He walks out towards the truck. I tell Vin to drive them. I don’t want Liam to be alone right now. He agrees and leaves. Zander and I watch as they drive away. We cover the bodies and wait.

We wait for hours as we sit there, just getting angrier and angrier. That poor girl could have been Fallon. I know this was the Senator’s doing, and I’ve heard the stories about Dicky, but I never saw the effects. Knowing he would have done the same or worse sends chills down my spine. I’m going to have to find a way to end his life, too.

Both of us rise as we hear a car pull up. It’s just past dark, and Zander and I are ready for his ass. Zander gets into position behind the door, and I sit back in a chair in full view. I want the motherfucker to see me. I won’t hide from him. Zander knows he is just here as a precaution; he knows not to interfere. The Senator will come strolling in, like he has not a problem in the world. Well, as soon as he sees me, he’ll know he was wrong. Once he’s through the door, I see the recognition in his eyes, along with the fear.

“Hello, Senator, come sit down.”

The door slams behind him, and he jumps and turns, seeing Zander’s massive body now blocking his way. Turning back, he listens to me and sits.

In a threatening but calm voice, I say, “You stole something from me, something precious.”

The bastard laughs. “Precious? Is that what you call the whore?”

I fucking let loose on his ass, punching him until Zander pulls me off.

“Fuck you, Gabriel!” the Senator yells while wiping blood off his lip.

“No, Senator, fuck YOU!”

“You know, don’t you? I’m her father, and I have every right to do with her as I see fit. If your father wouldn’t have fucked me over, we wouldn’t even be here right now! This is all your father and the bitch you call a mother’s fault.

Zander growls from behind him; I see his anger rise.

“I don’t care who the fuck you are – she is mine! She was never yours, never! You tried to take my wife from me, and for that, you have to pay.”

“You can’t do shit! I’m a fucking Senator. Your fucking mother knows her place, and so should you.”

I say one word, “Zander.”

Zander takes the Senator roughly and strips him of his suit jacket and shirt. He then ties him down in the chair. Once he’s done, I give Zander one more order before he can sit down and enjoy the show.

“Make the call.”

Zander proceeds to call in our cleaning crew. They will dispose of the bodies and cars, along with making the house disappear, too. Like nothing ever happened.

“You take from me, and now I take from you.”

“What do you want, Gabriel? I know it’s not my real daughter. You chose trash over treasure. I hope you get yours, just like your father; I hope you suffer. So, what could you possibly want?”

“I want your slow and excruciating death.”

I proceed to torture and beat him for hours, even after the cleaning crew shows up. I’m exhausted, and the Senator is barely hanging on. Zander tells me it’s time to finish; I agree. I take my hands, wrap them around his neck, and squeeze with everything I have left. I need to feel his last breath. I need to feel his death in my hands. A bullet is too good to be wasted on him. I want him to struggle beneath my fingers while looking me in the eyes, until he takes his final breath.

Once I have strangled him to death, I walk out to the stares from people I have hired to make shit like this all go away. I see the fear in their eyes, but I also see the respect. Zander has planned for a car to be there, waiting to bring us back home. The drive is silent; no words are spoken. My brother and I know this life we lead is not for the faint of heart.

The drive home is long. I am so worried about Gabriel. Liam is also strangely quiet, something I have never witnessed. It makes me nervous; I don’t understand what is going on in his head. Vin drives as I calmly soothe Avery to sleep. She awakens every so often from nightmares, screaming out as she repeatedly swings her arms around. I even take a hit to the head by her arm. I tell Vin to keep driving as I continue to soothe her back to sleep. I don’t know what this girl has been through, even though I have some idea. There are visible signs on her body, as well as her face. Some will leave scars, but I’m afraid the scars from within are the ones that may never fade.

We get home, and I try to convince Avery to get out of the car. I tell her this is my home and she’ll be safe here. It takes one look from Liam, though, to convince her. With just one look, Liam has the ability to get her to come with us. I heard when he said he knew her, but how much did he know her?

Catherine and Theo come rushing out of the house. Catherine immediately pulls me in for a hug. She’s crying and whispering the whole time in my ear to please forgive her. I know from some of the things the Senator said Catherine is not telling me everything, but I also know she loves me. For now, I need to let it go. I’m so tired, and my stomach is still acting up. I just want to go to bed.

“Catherine, this is –”

“Avery,” she interrupts. She walks from me to get closer to her and says, “Avery Edwards. Your mother has been dying without you. Come, I have a doctor waiting to look at the both of you.”

Avery flinches as Catherine goes to touch her. All of a sudden, more tears are free-falling down Catherine’s face. She sees something in Avery, something that terrifies her.

“Come, child. I won’t hurt you. I promise you are safe with me. My sons will never allow any man to ever hurt you again. I’ll make sure of it.”

We both follow her in, with Liam, Vin, and Theo behind us.

Catherine tries to separate us, but Avery starts panicking. I tell Catherine I will stay with her for now. She agrees and leads us to a guest suite. The doctor comes in and starts to exam me, but I tell him to check out Avery first. It takes some doing, and we have no choice but to sedate her. Her injuries aren’t deadly, although he could tell one of her ribs has been broken and is on the mend. He also confirmed she had repeatedly been raped, from what he could tell. He informs us some of her injuries will scar. Catherine asks him to run a pregnancy test on her. I should have been shocked, but I wasn’t. If she had been raped, it was possible she could have gotten pregnant. Catherine also asks him to run a complete blood work up on her. She wants to know if Avery had contracted any STDs or was malnourished. Catherine continues to say we are going to bring her out of this as healthily as we can.

Once the doctor finishes with Avery, he returns to examine me. But the most shocking thing is when I hear Catherine tell him to give me a pregnancy test.

I clear my throat to get their attention. “No one touched me, Catherine. I’m fine.”

“I know, Fallon. I wanted to talk to you about this before you were taken, but I never got the chance. Fallon, you’ve been sick a lot lately. I think you might be pregnant with Gabriel’s child. I could be wrong, but you are showing the classic signs and symptoms.”

I start crying and shaking. Could I be pregnant? I had never thought of that.

“Do you really think so?”

“The doctor can run the test, and we will know for sure very soon.”

I decide to let the doctor run the test, and we wait it out. When he comes back in confirming I’m indeed pregnant, Catherine hugs me and we both start crying.

He interrupts us and says I need to make an appointment with an obstetrician. He tells us by the information I have given him, I should be somewhere around six to eight weeks along. We are having a honeymoon baby. Gabriel will be thrilled.

Zander and I get home very late in the night, and Fallon is already sleeping soundly. I don’t want to wake her, but I can’t stand another second away from her, so I sit and watch her while she sleeps.

I hear that little snore of hers; it’s so sweet, and intoxicating to me that I can’t stop myself, I let out a small laugh. I pray I never have to sleep without that sound by my side ever again. She must have heard my laugh because she stirs and opens her eyes. A gasp leaves her mouth when she sees me sitting there covered in blood. Standing she comes to me, and sits on the floor by my side.

“Is it over?”

“Yeah baby it’s over he will never get to you again.”

She kisses my hand I see her tears starting to gather in her eyes.

“I am so sorry; I failed you. I’ll never be able to forgive myself for not protecting you the way I should have.”

“Gabriel please, I love you. You didn’t fail me you found me.”

“But if something would have happened to you Fallon, I would have never forgiven myself.”

Fallon slowly stands, she pulls my hand, and lays it on her lower stomach. I look at what she’s doing, and then look back up at her questioning what this means.

“Gabriel I’m pregnant. You’re going to be a father. A better father than either one of ours. The father our child deserves.”

My tears are falling profusely, my hands slide around her waist, and I cry into her stomach.

“I’ll love you forever, Fallon, and I’ll never fail you again I promise.”

“Just love us, Gabriel, that’s all I have ever want.”

She takes my hands, and leads me to the shower. She washes the blood off my body. Then with her hands on my chest, she says,

“He told me he was my father. Is it true Gabriel? Am I his…”

Stopping her with a kiss, I tell her,

“He might have been your father, but you were never his, you were always mine.”

That night I made love to my wife as slowly as possible. I never wanted it to end. I could live inside this woman, and die a happy man. Knowing now that she carries my child just makes my love for her grow even more.