All is Lost (All Series, Book 2) (14 page)

“
Yeah,” Sam whispers. “Thanks
Raithe.”

“
What was she doing with those
guys, Marcus?” Leaning with his back against the wall in front of
me, next to Sam, Kole stares at the floor with a fierce
determination etched on his face before glancing up at me. “You've
been watching her for a while now. Do you have any idea who the men
are?”

An angry growl deep in my chest forces its way
out, but not wanting to scare Breesan again I speak through gritted
teeth. “Hell no, I don’t know who they are! Breesan doesn't spend
time with anyone other than Anna and Tristan.” Breesan begins
moaning and her body tremors start up again. I watch her facial
features contort into pain as she whispering Anna's name
repeatedly. “What the hell?” I ask solemnly, staring at Sam who
also appears puzzled.

Before we have time to think about Breesan’s
odd reaction my cell begins ringing from the back pocket of my
jeans. I roll over and retrieve it from under me and read the
caller ID. The screen flashes “Mom” and I hesitate answering,
knowing that there could be any number of reasons for her to call.
It has been several weeks since we've spoken. She and my father
arrived back home two days ago and as usual neither of them have
tried to contact me.

“
Go ahead and answer whoever it is
calling.” Rhys say, leaving the room. “We're done for
now.”

I snort, giving a dismissive response.
“Alright, but it's my mother. There's no damn telling what she
could want.” I glance at Sam as I answer the call.

“
Hello Mom.”

Kole and Raithe quickly make an exit as well,
leaving me and Sam with Breesan. Switching to speakerphone, I allow
Sam to hear the conversation.

“
Marcus, have you seen your
brother?” Mom blurts out.

Shaking her head, Sam rolls her eyes. Of
course mom's concern is with Morgan. She never calls to talk about
anything that doesn’t include Morgan.

“
No mom. I didn't see Morgan at
Tristan's party. I was told he left before all the shooting began.
Why are you so worried about him?”

Out of respect for my mother I keep my voice
low and controlled, hoping that she doesn’t become upset. Breesan's
body stiffens suddenly and she crawls in closer against me.
Smelling her cherry scented lotion soothes my irritation, but
Breesan being out like this is really scaring the shit out of me.
With the mention of Anna’s name earlier and now Tristan, she
becomes agitated. My mind spins through the recent events and I'm
growing more certain that everything that has been going on may
really tie back to the woman lying practically catatonic in my
arms. I don't want to believe it, but fuck I can't deny all the
evidence pointing in Breesan’s direction. Mom is explaining her
reasons for worrying about Morgan, but being distracted with worry
about Breesan I don't really hear her. I do pick up the last couple
of sentences.

“…
Morgan went with some friends
down to that club in the city where the Gothic people hangout”
Mom’s voice is nearly a snarl before she takes a breath and says,
“No one has seen him since and I’m worried. Find him Marcus. We
have family issues and he needs to be here for the
family.”

“
Why mom?” Fearing the worst, I
stammer, “Is it…is Tristan okay?”

“
You're not listening again.” My
mother snaps, “No it's not Tristan. It's Elise. I said she has been
at the hospital for hours waiting on Morgan. He knew she would be
meeting today for brunch, but he never showed. She has been
calling…we've all been calling, but he's not answering. It is not
like Morgan to ignore my calls. Pull whatever strings you and your
sister have and find him. Now!” She pauses briefly then calmly
adds, “Please Marcus. Just for once, stop being selfish and think
about your brother and this family. We need Morgan
here.”

She cuts me deep with these words, knowing how
proud I am of my family heritage and she uses it against me at
every opportunity. Not wanting to argue with her I give in to her
irrational demands.

“
I'll be in touch mom.” I say,
wanting to end the conversation. Without another word, she
disconnects our call. “Fucking Morgan,” I growl angrily, through
gritted teeth.

“
Mom seriously has the worst
timing. Although it's pointless I can't believe you didn't tell her
what you were thinking. I saw Morgan on the yacht in the very early
morning hours, while staking out the harbor for signs of Dr. A.”
She sighs, “You know as well as I do that he's out there fooling
around with some girl, trying to impress her with his
big
vessel
.” She smiles and rolls her eyes at her stupid
joke.

Her laughing breaks up some of my tension
until I hear a small voice softly murmuring my name. Pulling away
from the tight grip I have on Breesan, I look at her face, seeing
sorrowful liquid pools of gray looking at me.
Finally
, I let
out a long breath and tenderly kiss Breesan’s forehead. Sam
silently slips out of the room giving us privacy. Her sadness stirs
my soul and all I want is to soothe it.

“
Baby?” I hear the quiet plea in my
tone. “Talk to me, please.”

Chapter Ten

Marcus

The day is growing darker and the thunder
vibrating the windows, echoing in the room is the only sound I can
hear except for our matched breathing. The chaos that the storm is
stirring up outside reflects Breesan’s current woeful mannerisms
and internal disaster. She attempts to speak several times, but her
voice is thick with emotion and all she can manage is a sad moan.
After the damn shooting last night, then finding out about Julia's
involvement with Dr. A, she must be on the verge of a nervous
breakdown.

Scanning over her tiny body earlier and seeing
all the injuries pains me. I reach over, take her into my arms
again and hold her while she battles her demons. My hand
methodically rubs over her arm until finally her breathing calms
once again. One thing is for sure, whoever the motherfucker is that
did this to my baby is going to pay with his ass. My heart is
shredded, knowing that she was fighting for her life and I wasn't
there for her.

“
M–M–Marcus, please…” Breesan
stutters a few times, trying to say my name and finally she gets
the words out after taking a deep breath. “Tell me you found
them.”

“
We'll find them.” Glancing down at
her begging eyes, I slide my hand from her arm, up to her head and
resting in her hair I rub soothing circles with my thumb. You're
safe here.” I stare deeply into her eyes, hoping to express that
truth that I know she can read. “I promise you we will find the
bastard that did this and I
will
make that motherfucker pay
for hurting you.” I kiss her forehead and glance down again,
stroking my thumb tenderly over her bruised cheek. “But please
don't worry about him right now. Just try to relax a little and
then later when you feel up to it we can talk.” My words do not
soothe her.

Instead, Breesan looks lost, and so
confused.

“
No, no, no. Marcus.” She closes
her eyes, and shakes her head as she sits up in the bed then moves
to the edge. “It's Anna.” She opens her eyes, completely tear free
now. Sadness has been replaced with a new emotion; she is
scared.

“
What?” Her mood shift has me
bolting up quickly, sitting next to her while panic rises in my
chest. “What do you mean Breesan?”

“
They took Anna.” A shiver runs up
her body. “And, Waverly was with us. They took her too Marcus.
Those guys took them!” Anger causes her voice to rise and she
repeats herself, “Anna and Waverly were at the hospital with me. Oh
god, they could be hurt or worse!” My thoughts jumble with this new
information. “Didn't Sam tell you they took them?”

“
Are you sure they
took
the
girls Breesan?” I ask reaching for my cell.

“
Yes! Yes!” Choking on fear, she
pants, “The girls couldn't have gotten away. Those men covered
their mouths with something that knocked them out and took them.”
Her voice softens. “I tried, but…I couldn't stop them.”

“
I need to let Rhys know.” I say,
pressing her tightly against me before standing and pacing the
room. I tap out a text message to Rhys, relaying the new
information. Checking my watch I estimate that we have already lost
an hour.
Not good
. On an island this size they could have
the girls hidden anywhere. Distractedly running through possible
motives for abducting Anna and Waverly, I didn’t notice Breesan
leave the room. Anxiety forms a tight ball in my stomach noticing
the empty bed. I spin around toward the bathroom and notice the
door that was just open is now closed. I rush over and knock a
little more forcefully than I mean.

“
Breesan!” Her failure to respond
has me knocking harder intentionally this time. Waiting for any
sound, I anxiously run my hand through my hair pulling roughly at
it while a mixture of panic, fear and rage urges my tone to rise.
“Breesan! Open the door.” I bang harder and repeatedly until
finally there is a clicking sound, indicating she unlocked the
door.

With eyes downcast, Breesan reluctantly opens
the bathroom door. Her gray eyes, typically bright are dull and
swollen encased with thick wet lashes. Her cheeks are flushed and
damp. She's changed out of the bloodstained clothes into the ones
that Sam left her.

“
Baby,” I say, struggling to
breathe looking at the angel standing before me.

Her white shirt fits tight across her
voluptuous chest arousing a raw desire in me to remove that tiny
scrap of material hiding them from me and cover them with my
lingering kisses instead. The black yoga pants shape her firm legs
and petite frame perfectly. Internally I battle an inappropriate
lust for her, fighting to escape.

“
God, I was afraid…” I avert my
eyes and take a deep breath. Pushing my hand through my hair, I
glance away so that I don’t follow through with the need my body
has seeing her like this. I desperately want to reach for her body,
marking every inch as mine and then dare some piece of shit to
touch my woman again. Possessiveness this strong is unlike anything
I've ever felt before.
Before looking at her
again, I force myself to compose my expression.
Studying her
face beyond the bruises and scrapes, I freeze at the sight of her
sweet pink pout and just want to kiss her so damn badly.

Unable to hold back another moment, I rush in
and take her in my arms. Her knees buckle so I scoop her legs up in
my arms then cradle her body before she falls. I turn around and
lean with my ass against the vanity before I make us both fall. She
wraps her trembling arms around my neck and tucks her head down
onto my chest, like she is holding on for dear life. Instantly, I
feel her wet tears on my chest.

“
I’ve got you, Baby.” I whisper
against her hair.

I can't fucking stand to see her hurting this
much. Mygod, I want to rip something apart with my bare hands, but
I have got to keep my shit together so she will know that she can
count on me. Breesan needs to feel that being in my arms is her
safe place. No matter what I must do, I will be her shield against
the chaos attacking her. Whatever the sacrifice, I will be her calm
in this storm and all others that she will face. There is nothing I
won’t do to keep Breesan safe and make her smile again.
I need
her smile
.

I smooth away stray hairs from her face and
lift her chin with my hand. She drops her eyes to my chest again,
snuggling closer. Her lingering cries caused her breathing to
hitch. Taking in several ragged breaths, she struggles to speak,
and then when she does talk all she can manage is to mumble their
names against my chest.

“
I'm so sorry Breesan. What can I
do?” Squeezing my eyes shut, I wish I could absorb her pain. I kiss
the top of her head and draw her closer. There is no more space
left between our bodies. “Please tell me what I can do to make this
better.” I beg desperately.

Inhaling sharply, she nods. Through broken
words and more ragged breaths she finally tells me what she needs.
“Find them Marcus. I need to find them.” Her rushed, sad words stab
my already pained heart. “Please, can we go find Anna and Waverly,
now?”

Keeping my voice steady, I say, “We have the
entire Willow police department looking for the car. Now that we
know that Anna and Waverly were taken the case went from being an
attempted to an actual abduction. The feds will take over soon.”
Pausing, I shift her body, securing my hold on her. “You and I are
waiting here for Rhys' instructions. He should be back soon and I
promise you, we will get them back Breesan.” She nods, “But you
have to stay here with me for now.” Tears prick my eyes as I take a
deep breath then release it before revealing my fears. “Ah god,
baby, someone tried to take you from me.”

She squeezes her arms around my neck tightly,
and I feel her desperation to hold on match mine. My voice grows
hoarse as I continue. “I just found you, and now some asshole out
there is trying to take what's mine.” I place a kiss against her
forehead. “I'm never going to give you up. And I swear to you, I
will never let anything happen to you ever again
Breesan.”

Long moments pass before I can breathe
normally again, and her hitching finally stops altogether.
Carefully, I allow her to slide down the front of me, gently
putting her feet on the floor. Scanning over her, I notice she has
minor cuts on her hands, but it is the bruises on her cheeks that
crush my heart.