“Crew,” she automatically called.

  “Don’t say that name,” a man screamed.

  Darla whipped her head around, then true fear filled her. “Steve?” she whispered. “What’s happening?” She hated how shaky her voice was.

  The raw anger in his expression evaporated as she said his name. He seemed . . . relaxed. He was sitting there in a chair, wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a button-down tropical shirt, and his eyes were bright as if there was nothing at all wrong with that picture.

  “How did you sleep?” he asked.

  She gazed blankly at him. Was the man insane? “I don’t understand. Where am I?” she asked.

  “We’re on an island. Our own private island. I knew we needed to get away from Crew. He was brainwashing you. So, we’re here. It’s beautiful. You’ll really like it,” he said.

  He rose from the chair and came closer to her. She shrank back, his eyes narrowed again, and he slapped her so fast she hadn’t seen it coming.

  “I’ve done all of this for you, so don’t look at me like I’m a monster,” he growled. Darla saw stars for a second as she tried to clear the pounding in her head.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. At this point she’d say anything to get the pain to stop.

  “I know you are. I’m sorry I had to hit you. Don’t make me do that again,” he told her, his voice instantly pleasant again. What kind of psycho was he? What was she dealing with?

  She looked around the room. She was on a huge bed, covers over her. She felt sick when she realized she was only wearing a slip of a nightgown that barely covered her. She wanted to grab the blankets and pull them up to her chin, but she didn’t want to make Steve angry again.

  The room was light and airy, looking like any other vacation place in the world. How was Crew going to find her? Were they even in the US?

  “How long was I sleeping?” she asked. Maybe if she knew how long she’d been out, she’d have an idea of where they were.

  “Twelve hours,” he said. She had to stifle a groan. They could be anywhere.

  “Can I have some aspirin? My head’s pounding,” she told him, keeping her voice as meek as possible.

  “Of course. I have some ready. I’m sorry I had to knock you out, but it was the only way to get you to come with me. I knew once I got you away from Washington you’d realize your mistake in ignoring me. Those damn Andersons are good at massive mind control. But it’s okay now. We’re here and we can continue our relationship.”

  She so badly wanted to tell him he was a psychotic nut job, but she knew better than that. She couldn’t rile this man. He handed her the aspirin and she took it. She had no idea if there were drugs in the water he was giving her, but she had to take the chance. She needed to get her wits about her in order to come up with a plan.

  “What did you give me so I’d sleep?” she asked. She didn’t say so you could keep me knocked out and do whatever you wanted. Her body ached, but she didn’t feel like she’d been raped, so there were small miracles. She prayed she’d be able to save herself before that happened. If she was friendly with him, maybe he’d take his time trying to woo her. She could only hope.

  “It was a shot,” he said nonchalantly. It won’t hurt you. You looked tired. I’m sure the rest has done you good,” he said. The man actually thought he’d been doing her a favor. Bile rose in her throat.

  “Thank you. I did need some rest,” she said, hearing the false note in her tone. From the smile he sent her, he didn’t hear the same thing.

  “You’ll love this place. I’m not sure how long we’ll stay, but I’m thinking we could have a wedding right here,” he said as he moved away from her and walked over to the open patio doors. She wanted to rush him and push him over.

  But she wasn’t sure if they were on the ground floor or higher. She wasn’t sure if she’d hurt him or just piss him off, and she had no idea where they were. She didn’t even know if he had goons around to help him control her. She needed information.

  “Where are we?” she asked again.

  “I told you, a private island,” he said.

  “Which private island. I feel so disoriented. It would help me to get my bearings,” she said.

  “We just arrived a couple of hours ago. It’s a nice little tropical place. The where doesn’t matter. We had to take a jet to a nearby airport and then boat in. It’s not easy to get to . . . or to leave.”

  She wasn’t sure if he was saying that as a good thing, or warning her that there was no escape. She smiled at him.

  “I do like getaways, but I’m not much into cooking. Is there staff here?” she asked. She prayed there was someone who’d help her.

  “Yes, we have servants,” he said with a wave of his hands. “They don’t speak English though, which is what I wanted. I like to be able to say and do what I want without worrying about people eavesdropping.” Those words held a definite warning. She felt close to tears again.

  “Why did you bring me here, Steve?”

  He glared at her a second before he regained his composure. Then he spoke in a warning tone.

  “I’ve told you, you’re mine,” he said very clearly. “I know you’ll understand that soon enough. You just need some time to accept the inevitable. It will happen.”

  “This isn’t the best way to romance me,” she finally said very carefully.

  “Do you realize the amount of planning this took?” he snapped at her as he stalked closer. It took a lot of willpower not to flinch from him again, but she sat there as if it was just the two of them having a normal conversation. “I did all of this for you.”

  She didn’t tell him that consent was a pretty damn good indication of whether someone wanted something done for them. It would go right over his damn head. She’d have to swim from the island. She would if she had to. She’d rather face sharks than be violated by this man.

  “Look, Darla, we’ve been connected from the first moment we met. I don’t know why you ran away. I can only assume it’s because of that damn best friend of yours who brought you to that man. They are both gone now so we can focus on us. If they continue to be a distraction . . . well, they’ll have to be taken care of,” he told her.

  A shiver ran through her.

  “No, they aren’t a problem,” Darla quickly said. She wasn’t sure how much power this man had, but she absolutely didn’t want him going after Daisy or Crew.

  “Is Daisy okay?” she asked, not daring to ask a single thing about Crew.

  Steve waived his hand in the air again as if that was a ridiculous question. “I haven’t needed to do anything about her . . . yet.”

  Darla suddenly felt her head grow a little fuzzy. The pain had diminished to more of an annoyance, but she was having a difficult time keeping her eyes open.

  “What did you give me?” she asked.

  He smiled through a blurry gaze. Then he moved to her and ran his hand over her face and through her hair. She tried to lift her hand to push him away, but she was so weak. It had come on that suddenly.

  He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, and she had to fight not to gag. Please, no, please, please no.

  “It’s okay, Darla. I have to get things ready so I need you to sleep a little longer. We need to be intimate. Once we are, you’ll stop fighting me so much. You’ll see how good we are together. You just rest up for a while and I’ll get everything ready. You’ll see how good we are together, you’ll see this is meant to be.”

  She blacked out just as he pushed his tongue into her mouth.

  ***

  “Wake up, darling, wake up.”

  There’d been no dreams this time. When Darla opened her eyes, it was dark outside. The moon was shining through the open patio doors, but the room was cast in shadows. As she pushed the sleep away, she noticed several candles burning, but that was all.

  A hand ran over her stomach and she jerked as she tried to scoot away, terror filling her. She tugged on her arms, but they were tied above her head. She was completely at this man’s mercy.

  “That’s my girl. Do you like the room? I wanted to make our first time special. I even got red candles and red roses for love,” he said. He leaned down and kissed her neck. Her skin crawled and she felt bile well up higher in her throat. She coughed as she fought back vomiting.

  He pulled back and loomed over her, anger flashing in his eyes. “What’s the matter with you?” he snapped. He slapped her, not as hard as last time but hard enough to make her cheek sting. “I’ve done all of this for you. Why don’t you appreciate it?”

  He was over her, his body pressing into hers. He had a shirt on, and she prayed he was wearing pants, but she only had a thin nighty covering her body. She had zero protection.

  “This is too fast, Steve. I’m not ready,” she said, not able to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks.

  His anger evaporated as he looked at her, his gaze suddenly one of adoration. He brushed back the hair from her temple, leaned down, and kissed her again. She didn’t kiss him back, but she didn’t protest either. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do.

  “I know, you’re a real good girl, and I know this isn’t what you normally do, but baby, it will connect us. It’s going to happen anyway, and I think it’s a good idea to just do it now so you aren’t so scared of it. The first time always hurts a little, but I’ll be gentle with you,” he said.

  He thought she was a virgin? Oh, holy hell, was he going to be even more enraged? This night couldn’t get any worse. She wasn’t sure what she could do to get out of it. She knew it was smarter to talk nice to him, to appease him.

  “Please, let’s just talk. I’m very hungry. I don’t have any energy,” she told him. “I might get sick. Those drugs really hurt my stomach. I wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything, and I’m scared,” she said, making her voice as weak as humanly possible. She was so damn afraid, it wasn’t too difficult to do.

  He seemed indecisive, as if he really wanted to do things that pleased her but he really wanted to have sex with her too. She pushed a little harder.

  “I feel dizzy, Steve. I really should eat some crackers or something,” she told him.

  She had to fight her nausea again when he shifted to the side and ran his hand down the center of her body, his fingers skimming over everything.

  “Okay,” he finally said. When he met her gaze again, his eyes were full of lust. She fought the revulsion as she gave him a thankful smile.

  “Thank you, Steve,” she said. “I really should use the bathroom too. I should also shower.” She was doing anything to stall him.

  “I gave you a sponge bath. You’re nice and clean,” he told her. “I wish you would’ve been awake. You’d have enjoyed it. I really did,” he told her. She pushed back the tears wanting to fall at the invasion of her body.

  She must’ve shown something on her face because he chuckled. “Don’t worry, my sweet Darla, I didn’t go too far. I want you to feel everything as we make love, not be asleep. After we’ve done it a few times, it’s okay if you aren’t conscious. I mean, a man’s needs are so much more intense than a woman’s, and it’s a wife’s job to please her man, but the first few times need to be special,” he said as if he were being perfectly reasonable.

  “Yes, Steve,” she said. “Can I have those crackers and use the bathroom?” she asked. She needed a few minutes alone to clear her head.

  “Of course,” he said. “I want you comfortable. But I don’t want you out of bed, so I got one of those bedpans,” he said.

  Her eyes widened in horror. She shook her head. “I can’t do that,” she told him.

  “It’s okay, darling. I won’t be grossed out. I like that sort of thing anyway. I’ll take good care of you. Besides, I don’t like hospitals, so when you have our baby, I’ll be delivering it. You have to get used to me caring for you.”

  Who in the hell was this man? How had he gotten through life without someone realizing how crazy he was? He was a senator’s son, for goodness sake. Had no one thought to lock him up? Why hadn’t she talked more to Crew about him? She’d thought she was so strong, thought she could handle him. She’d truly thought he’d go away.

  He stood from the bed to get her crackers and she allowed a tear to fall. Well, she couldn’t stop it was more like it. She was trapped and there was nothing she could do about it. This man was going to do terrible things to her and she’d be a shell of the person she’d been. Even if he didn’t kill her, he would kill her soul.

  More tears fell. She tried to take herself to another place, tried to leave her mind. Maybe if she wasn’t mentally there, she’d somehow survive.

  Please come, Crew, please come, she thought as she looked out the open windows. She didn’t know how it was possible, but she still sent the message out into the universe.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Crew shouldn’t have been surprised at how efficiently and how quickly the Special Ops team moved once they were on a task. He’d been going out of his mind with worry from the second he’d spotted that blood, but as he’d told Steve back then, he had friends — he’d never been so grateful he hadn’t been bluffing.

  “That man never should’ve gotten his hands on Darla. I swore to her nothing would happen,” Crew said.

  He was in same jet he and Darla had taken to Italy just a short time before. That trip had been full of magic and the two of them had known they were meant to be together. He’d told her he loved her, but he still hadn’t proposed. What if it was too late? What if he actually lost her?

  “It’s hard to know how psycho some people are,” Eyes said as he patted Crew’s shoulder.

  Brackish had found the private jet and the flight pattern Steve had taken within ten minutes of entering Crew’s house. Steve was psychotic. He didn’t think he was doing anything wrong and didn’t think he needed to hide his activities. Crew wasn’t sure if that was a very, very bad thing, or a stroke of luck for the good guys.

  “Tell me the plan again,” Crew said. They’d allowed him to come, pretty much because he’d refused to stay behind while someone else went after his woman. He knew if they wanted him bound and gagged and left in his own closet, they could make it happen, but they told him she’d want to see his face when she was found. They warned him it might not be pretty. He refused to think that way.

  “You understand that four out of five of us are Elite Special Forces trained. And the other is this guy who’s the world’s foremost computer genius, who also happens to be pretty damn deadly. We move without anyone seeing us,” Eyes said. “We’re incredibly loyal to Joseph, not because he created this group and hired us, but because we’ve been lucky enough to see the man he is. We’re going to get your girl.”

  “But how?” Crew asked. He was a doctor, he tried telling himself, but that wasn’t getting through. Right now he was a scared man, afraid of losing the woman who’d brought color into his black and white world.

  Brackish pulled out a map. Crew should have confidence just by his appearance and the way he spoke, but this was different. This was a matter of life and death. Crew knew Darla, and knew she wouldn’t go down without a fight. If Steve realized she wasn’t his willing submissive, he might decide she was more trouble than she was worth.

  “We’re landing right here in about thirty minutes,” Brackish said as he pointed to a place on the map. “From this place it’s ten minutes to the marina. The rest is all arranged.”

  Crew wanted to know details, but he didn’t want to push these men. They had a job to do and if they were catering to him they weren’t focused on what really mattered.

  Eyes reached out and touched his shoulder.

  “Look, I know this is difficult. If it were my woman out there needing help, I’d be going out of my mind. But, it’s your woman, and a damn fine one at that. You have to have faith in us. And, more importantly, you have to show more self-control than you’ve ever shown in your life. If one of us says jump, you jump immediately. If one of us says get down, you drop. Half a second can be the difference in you living or dying. You have to stay in control, and you have to listen. We let you come because we think Darla will need you. Don’t let us regret that.”

  Crew wanted to punch Eyes in the face. That was irrational. He knew the man was only doing his job. He wanted to tell him that nothing was going to stop him from getting to Darla, but he knew he had to let these men do their job.

  “I understand. It won’t be easy, but I’ll do whatever it takes,” Crew said.

  “Twenty minutes until we land. Let’s gear up,” Smoke said as he stepped from the back of the plane. “Crew, put this on.” He tossed some black gear at Crew.

  Crew was left alone as the five men went to the back of the jet. The plane was nearly on the ground when they came back out, and if Crew hadn’t seen their faces, he’d have no clue who they were. They were covered from head to toe in black with different straps and attachments all over their clothing.

  The men had the jet door unlocked and open before the aircraft came to a complete stop. They were on the ground before the jet’s turbine engines quit spinning. They moved in a symmetrical order to their contact who was waiting.

  “Eyes?” the man asked, as he approached, giving a wary eye to the six large men standing before him in full-on tactical gear.

  “Yes, do you have new information for us?” Eyes asked.

  The man was shaky as he stood there.

  “No new information. My cousin was the driver who picked up this Steve you’ve described. He had a woman he called his wife with him. My cousin was concerned because she was passed out. Steve said she drank too much and was sleeping it off, but I’ve never seen a drunk person who didn’t move a single finger. My cousin didn’t like it, but this man has clout and we don’t so there really was nothing we could do about it.”