AngerArrogance Page 16

  He didn’t want to frighten her anymore that she likely was, so he kept his voice as low and as calm as he could manage. “Baby, Kevin is close to finding you. We know that you are somewhere in the city. Please hang on sweetheart, we are coming for you.”

  For a long moment the sound of his heartbeat filled his ears. Then finally, her voice sailed across his ears. “I Love you.”

  Those three precious words caressed his eardrum and coated heart. Not caring if he was losing his mind, he believed he was talking to his wife. “I love you too.”

  Just as he was about to ask another question, Jessie sauntered in. After hearing about Alana, she left school, informing she had a family emergency and would make up her assignments. In the short time she’d had with Alana, Devin noticed their immediate connection.

  Jessie’s head darted around Devin’s Room. “Who in the world are you talking too?” She eyed him suspiciously.

  “No one. What’s up?”

  She continued to survey the room suspiciously. “Pop just got off the phone with Kevin, who has somehow narrowed the location to about a ten block grid.”

  Devin’s face lit up. “Did he say how long it will take to pinpoint her?”

  A hint of confusion remained on Jessie's face. “He didn’t say how much longer, but we are talking about Kevin. He has a way of solving difficult situations.”

  Devin noted of confusion remained on Jessie’s face, but didn’t comment. She had questions.

  “Do you have any idea how Kevin is tracking Alana? I don’t understand how you can track someone without a phone or tracking device.”

  Devin shrugged. “I don’t know. My best guess is they have spy toys and tricks we know nothing about. Kevin has help from Alana’s father. Between the two, there is no telling what kind of resources they have to locate people.”

  Devin didn’t understand it either. His cousin had no real evidence that he knew of that could aid in tracking Alana. How exactly he was narrowing down her location was a mystery. Each time he would ask, Kevin skirted the question. He would only say that he was known for being one of the best trackers in the business.

  Knowing that Kevin was closer to finding Alana bought Devin his first sincere smile.

  “You truly love her, don’t you?” Jessie asked.

  Walking to his window, Devin peered into the vastness of beautiful sun kissed water. “Yes. I truly do love her. I have never felt this way about anyone.”

  Rubbing his back, Jessie reassured, “We are going to get her back. When has our father ever let us down? When has our cousin not done what he says he is going to do?”

  Smiling, Devin took a deep breath and exhaled a little of his stress.

  Chapter 26

  El Diablo

  Alana had no idea how much time had passed but she couldn’t sit still. She needed a cigarette and didn’t even smoke. Today or tonight, whatever it was, she was going to meet El Diablo.

  Was she foolish to think her conversations with her husband were real? Probably, but she had to hang on to hope and he was all the hope she had. The premise of their last conversation whispered hope of Kevin narrowing down her location. She prayed she would be found before El Diablo got to her. The entity only sought to hurt, kill, possess or destroy and she was not interested in having any of those actions applied to her.

  Rubbing her arms in an attempt to produce heat, she shook off a sudden chill. Her blood froze in her veins. The hairs on the back of her neck stood like tiny frozen spikes. There was no doubt in her mind El Diablo was coming for her. Saying a quick prayer, she braced herself and sat motionless when the door slid open.

  Her eyes hadn’t adjusted to the additional light brightening the small space. When he stepped in, two things happened simultaneously, Alana lost her breath and her heart stopped beating. She didn’t need brighter lights to recognize who had entered the room. His presence had haunted her for years. She couldn’t move. Rooted to the bed, she was glad she had hovered over the toilet and used the bathroom earlier. Her pulse pounded hard, the thump vibrating through her entire body. She swallowed fear like a drowning victim, but like a person drowning she couldn’t drink an ocean of fear.

  The horrible past she thought she’d buried beneath anger had been unearthed. The man that helped create that past held the shovel. He stood at the foot of her bed, evil eyes glaring at her—Fred, her ex fiancé.

  Eyes adjusted to the brighter light, the first thing she noticed was Fred’s sinister smile. His voice flew at her, shooting into her ears with damaging force. “Hello Alana.” He sounded like what she imagined the Devil really would sound like. He had probably gotten the name El Diablo in prison.

  Prison!?

  He should have been in a maximum security prison. Seven years was what her father had said.

  Whatever happened next, she was sure she would have to fight or be killed.

  Stepping closer, the creases of his face shined with deadly intent. “Well. Well. Well. If it isn’t my beautiful little fiancé.”

  This may not have been the best time to inform him that she was married, but the thought crossed her horror filled mind anyway. She didn’t want to look directly into his face for fear she’d turn into a pillar of salt. With an urgent yank, he snapped her head upright forcing her to look at him.

  His touch made her skin liquefy as if melting from her bones. Her twitching left eye and trembling chin exposed her fear. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold in her urge to scream in horror-filled madness.

  Eyeing her approvingly, Fred continued to rant. “As a matter-of-fact, stand and greet me like you should. I heard you married up. Congrats. Let’s see if that rich family you married into can get you out of this. I can promise you, they can’t.”

  Arrogantly, he continued his tirade. “If anyone is looking for you, so be it. I’ll be long gone by the time they come close to finding your body.” Placing a hand over his mouth, he spitefully mocked her. “Opps. Did I say that out loud? Sorry.”

  Something magnetic poured into Alana’s body, urging her to take a sharp breath. Whatever it was had her fear making a swift exit. Anger filled in the gaps that fear was leaving behind.

  Fred continued shooting off his mouth. “You see, some dangerous people recruited me because I knew how to get my hands on you. I am supposed to turn you over to my boss, but seeing you, I am not so sure I want to do that anymore. I’m too tempted to hack your body into pieces.”

  Alana never understood why Fred hated her so much. Their relationship started out good enough, but one day he snapped and turned into an entirely different person, someone she didn’t recognize.

  Fred asked, “What have you gotten into since I have been away? I know them personally and can tell you that some bad boys are after you? Not even that wealthy new family of yours can keep us…them off your trail. You have a bounty on your head and they wanted you bad enough to bust me out of the pen.”

  Alana had no idea what he was talking about. Is he talking about the Cartel family Kevin mentioned? The thought made her wonder if her father was okay.

  Listening to Fred rant and rave angered Alana further. After a while, anger had completely eaten away her fear. No longer afraid, she didn’t give a damn about Fred or his new friends.

  Something in her had shifted. She hated this man so much; she no longer cared about his threats. She promised herself a long time ago that if she came face to face with this rabid hell-beast again, she would do her best to kill him. Folding her arms, she threw up her chin defiantly. She had no intention of listening to anything else he had to say.

  The move ticked off the Devil. His face grew menacing, his posture more imposing.

  He barked, “Stand your ass up and say hello to me.” Snatching her from the bed, he twisted her arm hard enough that she knew it would bruise. Glaring straight into his eyes, she didn’t blink. Only rage and hatred fueled her.

  Fred noticed. “I see you’ve grown some balls since we were last together.”


  She didn’t say anything.

  Grabbing both her arms, he forcefully shook her as he spoke, “Speak…to me…when…I’m talking…to you…bitch!” Slapping her across the face, she watched splatters of her own blood fly against the wall.

  Alana’s fuse was way beyond lit. Enraged, the slap had hardly registered. Quickly, she did a counter move that pulled her completely out of Fred’s grasp. Before he could be stunned by her move, she took the palm of her right hand, reached back into hell itself, and pushed with an upward motion. Striking, she aimed to push Fred’s nose through his brains.

  Staggering back, he held his nose and looked at her with such intense shock his eyes bulged slightly from the sockets. “You fucking bitch. You’re going to pay for that.”

  Not giving him a chance to get the upper-hand, she moved swiftly. She took a stepped back, twisted her body into positon and threw her leg up, kicking him square in the jaw. She jumped on him while he struggled to regain balance. They both fell hard to the floor. The fall nearly took her head off as the tight space had her head narrowly missing a collision with the wall.

  Alana punched, kicked and scratched Fred like a woman gone mad. She was intent upon scratching out his eyes and jamming them down his throat. Three years he had beaten her into every corner of their apartment as she would plead for him to stop. Three years he had punched and kicked her like an old useless rug. Three years of fear had been converted into Alana’s fuel filled rebellion against Fred, but it wasn’t enough. This devil was strong.

  He over-powered her, stopping her assault. Palming her hair, he dragged her from the floor. When he finally had her standing, he punched her in the face with merciless force, making her see stars for a few seconds. Swaying, her mind teetered on the brink of shutting down as she struggled to stay upright and in-focus.

  She saw Fred shake his hand like he’d hurt it hitting her face.

  A hint of madness eclipsed her senses, making her smile at his reaction. He had connected with the jaw he had broken previously. She hoped he’d broken his hand because her jaw was part titanium thanks to him.

  Harboring nothing but hate for this man, she fed off that hate to fight him. He’d taken her far enough into the abyss of sadness that she’d chosen to end her own life.

  Now that she finally had someone and something to live for, she planned on fighting until she or Fred went knocking on death’s door. If Fred wanted to make her pay for helping to send him to prison, she would ensure he had a hard time doing it. She attempted to knee him in the balls, but he caught her leg and punched her in the stomach. Her self-defense lessons were paying off. She tightened her stomach muscles as his punch connected, cushioning the blow. It hurt like hell, but at least he hadn’t broken her down like he used to. He was the reason she had enrolled in self-defense classes and attended the shooting range faithfully, promising herself that she’d never let another man lay a harmful finger on her.

  He had her by her ponytail, but she didn’t care. Since he was gripping her hair toward the tail end, he gave her just enough rope to maneuver.

  Ducking under his arm, she spun around and used her body’s force to connect with his face. A spinning elbow connected to his right eye and opened a deep gash above it. His back jammed into the wall as he fought to control his tumbling body.

  Not giving him a chance to recover, she executed a precise uppercut that connected with his jaw and part of his lip. His mouth flew open as blood painted her face and misted into the air. He’d let her hair go, but she could see that he’d uprooted a small chunk that clung to his fingers as he dabbed his damaged mouth. Bloody nose and mouth, he looked at her with rage filled eyes.

  He spoke through a bloody mouth and a cut lip, his words sputtering out of his throat. “I am going to kill you, you fucking bitch. You are going to wish you were dead.”

  Alana was filled with so much anger her pain became irrelevant. Fred punched at her again, but training had taught her how to block and deflect. His fist connected with the outside of her wrist, sending stabbing pain into her arm that rose to her back and shot down her spine. She didn’t wait around to see if she was causing him any damage because she knew him well enough to know he would make good on his promise to kill her.

  Alana fought Fred with all she had, punching him wherever her fists landed. Each punch sent fire up her arm, but she endured. He charged like an angry bull, using brute force to stop her. In one mad angry rush, he grabbed her through a hail of her punches and kicks and flung her into the wall.

  Determined, she fought to keep herself in the here and now. Shaking off the affects from the impact with the wall, she forged sheer will-power to keep herself upright. She was steadfast in her attempt to keep fighting this serpent of hell or die trying.

  Tackling Alana, Fred grabbed and harshly tossed her onto the bed. The back of her head struck the wall with a loud fleshy thump. Nauseated, she fought the urge to pass out as the taste of blood coated her mouth. Her lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich threatened to come back up.

  Surprisingly, Alana’s mind remained sharp and she pretended to be out cold. Calming her harsh breathing would be the key to pulling off her ruse.

  She sensed Fred hovering like a vulture. After a few suffocating seconds, he pushed her shoulder, testing her condition. A few more haunting seconds slithered by and drove him to stroke her face. It took every ounce of Alana’s strength not to cringe. His touch was the equivalent of a trail of acid-fire brushing across her skin.

  Just as Fred turned and took a few ponderous steps, Alana hopped off the bed. Pushing him with all of her might, she watched him collide into the wall head first. Her quick moving step back allowed space for his body to hit the floor. The sound of Fred's body hitting the floor was calming music to her ears.

  Alana wasted no time ripping the sheets apart to tie Fred up. Dragging him up, she used an enormous amount of strength to hoist him into the bed. Thankful that she had taken a one-day knot tying class, it was about to come in handy.

  She positioned him on his stomach and tied the ripped sheets around his torso and the bedframe first. She bent him so that his arms met his feet, first binding his arms and feet individually, then all together in a fashion that his body looked like a giant pretzel. He appeared as if he were doing a reverse back-bend. Now, whenever he turned the sheets would tighten around his mid-section. Another long piece of sheet was connected to the piece she had around his neck and looped to the portion that was tied around his legs, and finally the portion around his legs was tied to the foot of the bed.

  If he attempted to kick his feet away from his hands, he would choke himself in the process. If he moved his head too far left or right, up or down, he would choke himself.

  Taking a glance at her handiwork, Alana rejoiced as Fred slipped out of his stunned state.

  Pain coated the sound of his voice. “Alana, you have to believe me, it wasn’t me. He took control of my mind. He made me beat you. He said it would trigger your ability. That it didn’t matter if I hurt you because you were special. You would start to heal yourself. It wasn’t me Alana. You remember the first six months, I never hurt you. I would never hurt you on my own. He took my mind. Please Alana, you have to believe me.”

  Alana couldn’t stand hearing any more. Not making a bit of sense, Fred had clearly gone crazy.

  She forced the last of the sheets into his mouth until his cheeks stuck out like he was blowing a trombone. Only when he started gagging did she stop.

  Looking around, Alana hoped she had waited a bit longer before knocking Fred out. He could have led her to the secret of opening the door. She had to act fast or risk losing her chance at escaping. The two big guys who had taken her must have been away or far enough away that they hadn’t heard the commotion.

  She couldn’t worry about that now as she frantically searched for a notch or anything to get the door open. A glance back showed Fred desperately trying to free himself. She watched him lose the fight with every twist and turn
, choking and gagging each time he moved or jerked. His muffled yells were useless as he gagged with every strangling cry.

  If there’s no secret notch for the door, then maybe it’s electronic.

  Running over to Fred, she watched him close his eyes as if afraid she would attack him again. She didn’t care that she choked him in the process of searching his body. Smiling, she found a small device in his back pocket; some type of remote no bigger than a box of matches. Alana pressed buttons until the air in the room shifted at the slow slide and whine of the walled door.

  Escaping the room, Alana stepped into what looked to be a huge loft-type apartment. She was on the top level. Halfway down the stairs, the jingling of keys turning at the front door had her scurrying to found a place to hide. As the front door cracked open, Alana slid behind a huge black leather couch. The big kidnappers were back. Both giants moseyed to and sat on the couch at the same time, making it buck and slide back a bit. Alana held her breath and prayed as she lay hidden just out of reach of them.

  Mentally, she communicated with Devin hoping he’d receive her urgent message. "Devin, I’m in a huge loft apartment, with tall rounded windows. My ex Fred is behind this. Hurry. I had to fight Fred and am now hiding from his two henchmen. Please Hurry."

  Chapter 27

  Search and Rescue

  Riding shotgun in the front seat of his cousin’s SUV, Devin closed his eyes as Alana’s sweet voice filled his ears. He and Kevin had driven once around the identified square blocks. Devin never realized how vast ten square blocks could be until faced with the challenge of locating one individual.

  He managed a calm demeanor. “Kevin, don’t ask me how I know this, but is there some loft apartments around here?”

  Kevin sent questioning eyes at his cousin. “Yeah, about 4 blocks back the other way. Why?”

  Fighting to maintain a straight face without looking crazy, Devin added, “Because that’s where they have Alana. Her ex and a few of his helpers.”