Electrified (38 page)

Thank God Ray was right behind Carson. He grabbed Charles and handcuffed him, then began reading him his rights. He’d be charged with kidnapping, taking a victim across too many state lines to count, and God only knew what else they could pin on that sucker.

The stupid-as-nails actor and the even dumber cameraman were no problem; they quickly submitted to the ground team. They were ready to roll on anyone to save their own asses, not fighting at all, walking easily out of the office and already spilling what they knew.

With the others under control and in custody, Carson was left to deal with Elon. He couldn’t take his eyes off Lila, fearing the worst.

Carson squeezed his fists open and closed, felt his biceps straining against his vest, wanted to pummel the bastard into the cold, dank floor, couldn’t stop imagining his skull fractured in a million pieces. He’d never experienced so many violent thoughts as he was when it came to his woman’s safety. He needed to reel himself way back in.

He inhaled deeply, deciding how to handle Elon, who currently had a death grip on Lila. He knew there would be dark bruises where Elon was tightening his filthy hands on her slim body, and that was enough to make him implode, but he had to remain calm, in control, and on task.

He noticed the veins that expanded and throbbed in Elon’s neck, making physical the rage running through the man’s body. He could practically see the gross thoughts the man was having, and when the asshole started to talk, Carson saw red.

Fuck staying on task.

L
ILA’S EYES
burned as more tears formed. She was sure they were leaking out of the blindfold when the yelling outside the office grew louder, closer. Elon was in such a state, he didn’t even seem to hear the commotion, and continued his efforts to pry her mouth open.

Elon was going to shove some random guy’s dirty, more than likely diseased penis in her mouth. She could feel it.

Why? She was still his wife, after all. Did he not value her? But he never did, so why would he start now?

With her face growing wet with salty tears, her jaw aching from trying to keep her mouth sealed, sick to her stomach from smelling the nasty man’s arousal, and her arms straining against the zip tie holding them behind her back, Lila felt Elon’s slap rip across her face at the same moment she heard the door slam open.

Elon yelled, “Open up, you slutty bitch. You’re gonna suck this guy off and he’s going to come all over your moneymaker face. I’ll make fucking millions.”

His tone and words were so much a direct opposite from the man she married, she wasn’t even sure who he was or used to be. The only certainty Lila knew was Elon was an animal, no matter what he said or did.

With a huge cracking noise, the door slammed open, the sound of many heavy footsteps in the building drifting through the doorway.

Lila knew Carson was near even with the blindfold on. She could smell his aftershave and feel the familiar electric current that passed between the two of them whenever they were in proximity. The sad thing was, she didn’t yet know if he was there as friend or foe.

Then he spoke. “You better back the fuck up and keep your hands to yourself. You’re done, Finder. Now, shove that nasty fucker with his even nastier cock hanging out away from Lila.”

At those words, one of the men—Sam Charles?—tried to leave the office, but she heard a different guy grab him, slap handcuffs on him, and read him his rights. Who was that? A partner of Carson’s?

Lila didn’t have time to ponder it because Elon suddenly lifted her by her hair, so quickly she didn’t have time to register the pain. He hoisted her tight against him, his nasty grip squeezing her so tightly she couldn’t breathe, much less speak.

“Did you hear me?” Carson said firmly. “You’re done, Finder. The FBI has enough evidence on you to put you away for a long time, not to mention the huge scandal that’s about to go public in your community. Instead of being revered as a religious and successful man, you’ll be known as the perverted fuck you really are. Now, get your scummy hands off of Lila.”

He was speaking calmly, but there was an authority to Carson’s voice. He wasn’t to be messed with, but Elon didn’t release her, so Lila began to shake. It was obvious Elon was throwing caution to the wind. Either he had no idea who Carson was, or he didn’t care because he was about to lose everything.

“She’s my fucking wife to do what I want with, till death do us part, you asshole,” Elon roared.

“Keep telling yourself that, Finder. She ran as far away from you as she could, and my guess is she’d rather die than be in your arms right now. Lucky for me, she’s not going to die now that I’m here, but
you
will if you don’t let go right the fuck now!”

A tiny piece of Lila surrendered to the idea of Carson being there to save her. She breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Elon snorted, then yelled, “Fine, no need to point that gun at me. I really couldn’t care less about Lila. She’s nothing, not worth the effort. The bitch couldn’t even have babies for me. I was just going to give her one last chance to make me some money now that she’s a whore.” But he didn’t loosen his grip on her.

Lila shuddered at the thought of a weapon. She didn’t even want to know what kind or what was happening on the other side of the blindfold.

“You deserve to die for saying that alone, calling Lila a whore, but I’m going to have mercy on you and let you rot in prison.” Carson’s voice sounded smug as he said, “There it’ll be your turn to feel what it’s like to have a dude shove his dick in your mouth, as well as other places.”

“Look, take her if you want, but I need a deal,” Elon said as he shoved Lila toward Carson.

Stunned at the sudden movement, Lila stumbled since she was still blindfolded and couldn’t see what was going on. Thank God, she didn’t think she could watch what just happened. It was bad enough hearing it, but seeing Carson face off with Elon would be too much for her to handle.

Carson caught her as she went flying forward and tucked her behind his back, keeping one arm behind him, holding her close to him. She buried her head into his back, breathing him in.

Carson isn’t part of this. He’s who he said he is, ex-FBI.

He’s actually rescuing me!

“Good thing you’re a dumb fuck, Elon,” Carson said. “See, if you want a deal, you need to hang on to the bargaining chip. Now I have Lila, and Ray’s coming to get you. No deals, my man.”

Lila heard the other man grab Elon and restrain him in handcuffs, like he did to Sam Charles.

The room was silent other than the man called Ray reading Elon his rights as Elon cursed and spit at him, and the noise drifting in from outside the office. Lila felt her arms being released from the ties behind her back. Carson took a moment to massage her sore muscles, then she felt herself being slipped into her yoga pants and tank top, the same clothes she had been wearing when she was taken from her house. They smelled awful, but she didn’t care.

Warmth flooded her when she was wrapped in a soft blanket and lifted into Carson’s arms. She didn’t even realize she was shivering until then. Cradled like a baby, her face snuggled into Carson’s neck, Lila let out a long sigh as he started walking.

She was so relieved to be covered up physically from whatever waited for her outside this room. Still without her sight, her eyes covered tightly in the blindfold, she wasn’t in a hurry to take in any more of the awful warehouse and its activities.

“Lila, leave the blindfold on until we get out of the building. I don’t want you to have any more memories of this place than you already do,” Carson whispered in her ear, verbalizing her exact thoughts, emphasizing their connection, and making her feel even more secure.

It also occurred to her that he was only referring to her as Lila, not Sienna. She wondered how much he knew about her past and what had brought her to this terrible place, but she stayed silent, still processing everything that had happened.

Carson dipped his chin and pressed his cheek against hers. “I got you now, and I’m not letting go. I’m going to take you someplace safe, and make it all better.”

Lila felt him smooth her hair down her back, brushing it behind her ear when he said softly, just loud enough for her to hear, “Lila. You’re safe, honey. You can stop running. You can be whoever you want to be. With me, I hope. But first I’m going to get you the hell out of here.”

C
ARSON COULDN’T
shake the bad feeling that nagged him, despite the fact that he finally had Lila in his arms. As soon as he could, he settled her into the back of a town car he’d called when it looked like the takedown was actually going to happen, not wanting to let Lila out of his sight long enough to drive. Someone from the Bureau could return his car. Adrenaline still coursed through his body as he slid in next to her, then pulled her onto his lap. He had saved his girl, busted the bad guys, and made the FBI look damn good in the process.

Technically, he was a “hero,” but he felt like anything but that. The truth had to finally come out about who he really was, what he was doing out west, and why he found and rescued her so quickly. And he dreaded Lila’s reaction.

Once settled into the backseat with Lila in his lap and the privacy screen up, Carson ran his hand down the side of her face, grazing his thumb along her temple, and gently removed the blindfold. She looked spent, emotionally and physically. Leftover eye makeup was smeared across her lids, both eyes were bloodshot, her soft, natural green eye color dulled from exhaustion, and her cheeks pale from stress. But the tiny fleck of spirit behind her eyes was still alive.

She was stunning.

He finally understood what the mysterious draw, the gaze that captivated him from the beginning, had been in her eyes. It was life, love, and unbridled passion waiting to be unleashed. It was only a little speck, but so vibrant it stood out from behind colored contacts and a well-constructed persona.

Carson expected the tiny flecks of life to grow bigger in time. He was trying to be hopeful that they would expand with him, and not after Lila ditched him. Would she dump him after learning the truth?

He nuzzled Lila closer to his body, careful to be extra gentle. He didn’t want to hurt her any more than she already had been by Elon. They settled into an embrace, faces buried in each other’s necks, while he silently convinced himself they were both okay. He breathed in and she breathed out as the car took them away from the warehouse.

There were still a lot of blanks to fill in with Lila’s story, but Carson had a pretty good idea of what had happened years ago. She probably always wanted to love, be loved, and grasp life in every way possible. Her awful, violent, and painful marriage didn’t break that desire. Lila had to tamp it down in order to survive.

She kept her desires hidden down deep, but it left a little twinkle, even behind contacts and spotlights. With the floodgates open to a new release on life about to be opened, Lila would be able to allow her eyes to shine all she wanted. Whether that was with him was to be determined, and that scared the shit out of him.

Carson didn’t care what all this emotion said about him. He never thought he’d have anything like this in his lifetime. He wasn’t even sure he deserved it, but he had something so precious in his arms, he wasn’t giving it up.

Not only had he convinced himself he didn’t deserve it, for years he told himself he didn’t want or need it. He never thought this would be the path his life took, but at the moment, he was damn happy. He needed Lila; he hoped she needed him, too.

She stirred in his arms, and he looked up to find her completely focused on him.

Lila just stared at Carson for the longest time, and he gave her that. He didn’t want to force her to talk, so he bit his tongue and gave her time to adjust at her own pace.

When she finally spoke, she said, “I’m sorry.”

You’re sorry?

“No, baby, don’t say that,” Carson started to say, but Lila interrupted him, shaking her head from side to side.

Running her finger mindlessly along his tattoo on his forearm, leaning into him, Lila said, “I don’t mean about today, but lying to you about my past. I had to protect myself. Oh God, I can’t believe you’re here and had to witness all that and him, Elon. I don’t know how much you know now. I assume you know that he was my husband, and he clearly still is a violent and mean man. I didn’t know he was in the porn business. Guess that’s how he found me, because people in my culture really don’t embrace public sensuality, or anything sexual, for that matter.” She hid in his chest, wiped her tears on his shirt, and continued to quietly cry and shake in his tight hold.

Carson listened without interrupting, merely stroked her arm gently and nodded, encouraging her to continue.

“He beat me when we were married. My parents were so enamored with him, I knew they wouldn’t believe it. They never wanted to hear about his controlling side, so I ran away. I ran to Vegas and started dancing because I thought I was safe in a world so far removed from the one I came from. I never meant to get involved, to fall for someone and get them stuck in this whole mess, like I did with you.”