Gage (Contract Killers Book 1) (11 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Neeka stared at the front door, trying to keep from crying. She sensed Theo right behind her, his hands landing on her shoulders, his fingers gently clamping down. She would never see Gage again, and that thought alone had her wanting to let her tears fall. She didn’t, though, and not because Theo was right behind her, but because she needed to be strong for her father, needing to see him, tell him she loved him so much.

She turned around and saw Theo’s hands falling to his sides. Neeka needed to be with her father right now, not worrying about a relationship with a man she would never have in her life in that way. She headed to his study and stepped into the master bedroom, smiling and crying at the same time when she saw her father sitting up in bed. Charles was a few feet away, along with two bodyguards she’d never seen before. She wasn’t surprised to see the extra muscle around. In fact, she was glad her father had the protection. As if he sensed her presence, her father looked over at her and started crying, as well.

“Charles, can you and the others please give me and my daughter some time alone?”

“Of course, Mr. McCarthy.”

The three men left, and as soon as the door shut, she rushed over to her dad. “Oh, Daddy.” Falling to her knees beside his bed, she cried harder, her happiness that she was actually home consuming her.

He stroked her hair, and she looked up to see tears tracking down his aged face.

“I spoke with Mr. Mack about the situation, honey.” His voice had gone deep and hard, his emotions clearly rising to the surface. “I feel responsible for all of this.”

“Please don’t say that. It isn’t your fault.”

“Shhh, honey. Let me say this. It is my fault. I am your father and was supposed to protect you, but instead I let your kidnapper into our home, become close with you.” He reached for a tissue and coughed before continuing. “I will have Rye’s head for this. He took the most precious thing I have.”

“Oh, Dad, it isn’t your fault. There was no way for you to know he’d do anything like this. I just want to focus on being here with you.”

He smiled and brushed away a tear moving down her cheek. “You must have been so scared.”

She breathed out and nodded. “I was. When I found out it was Rye, I couldn’t believe it.” She stopped and chose her next words wisely. “Did Gage tell you
everything
?” She could hear him grit his teeth. Even being sick he still had fire inside of him. That had her smiling.

“Yes. It’s blasphemous what Rye’s doing. I may not have physical strength on my side, but I do have power and money, and I’m damn sure not going to let him get away with it.”

She grabbed a chair and pulled it up beside his bed.

“Let’s just spend this time talking about us, about memories. I missed doing that, Daddy.”

He smiled again and nodded. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. I missed that so much, too.”

She sat there, holding his hand, and talking about things that were happy, that they’d done together in their life. They were memories of when she was younger, of when her mother was still alive. They were times she cherished. As long as she had these memories, of these times with her father to reflect on, she knew she could always find that happiness.

****

A week later

Neeka’s life was slowly going back to normal, or as normal as it could be given what had happened. She hadn’t gone back to work for the simple fact her father’s health was deteriorating and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with him. He was her priority, even if her trauma from being kidnapped, and her feelings for Gage, threatened to take a front seat.

She sat beside his bed as her father slept, the soft sounds of Bach, her father’s favorite composer, playing. A tray of food sat on the floor beside her, the chicken broth she’d prepared for him sitting cold and uneaten. He’d lost more weight, if that were even possible, and his skin had taken on an ashen hue, his eyes sunken in. He looked like he’d aged so much, the disease taking control, slowly eating away at him.

She held his hand, his breaths slow and uneven. She knew his time was coming to an end and that there was nothing to be done. It had been her father’s wish to pass at home, and she was thankful she was with him and could be here for when he did let go.

Neeka closed her eyes and leaned back in the recliner, never taking her hand from her father’s. She felt the slightest pressure against her palm and looked over at him, her father’s sleepy gaze meeting hers.

“Hi, sweetie.”

“Hi, Daddy.” She sat up and leaned toward him, kissing their conjoined hands as she smiled. He tried to sit up, but she shook her head.

“Save your strength, Daddy.”

“I love you so much, Neeka.”

“I love you, too, Dad.” He closed his eyes again, a smile on his chapped lips as he sighed in contentment.

She stayed hunched over his bed for the next hour, watching as his respirations slowed until he finally stopped breathing altogether. Everything in her froze as the realization of what had happened took root. She let herself cry. Theo came into the room and helped her out of the room, and she let him. Her father’s suffering was over, but that didn’t mean the pain had faded.

****

Neeka sat at her desk staring at her computer. The laptop was off, the monitor black as she looked at her distorted reflection on the screen. Three weeks had passed since Gage had taken her away from that hellhole and her father had left this Earth. But it still felt like everything had happened just yesterday. The pain was still there, the hurt, worry, and nervousness still strong.

She tried to get on with her life, knowing she didn’t have a future with Gage, and also knowing her father wouldn’t have wanted her grief to consume her. They’d talked about it plenty of times when they’d found out about his prognosis. She missed her father, and she missed the life she used to have. And on top of all that she missed Gage.

Despite the commonsense that she would never have any kind of future with Gage, and trying to really understand and process that, she’d been getting comfort from Theo. He was gentle with her, listened to her, even let her cry as he held her. It was nice not to be alone, but that didn’t mean it felt right having Theo hold her. She felt nothing but friendship for the man.

Despite Neeka getting comfort from Theo, she also felt strange having him hold her. Maybe it was because of her feelings for Gage and how she felt wrong having another man hold her so comfortingly.

The fact that Theo was always around her, hardly giving her any personal space was also not helping the situation, and she felt like she was being smothered.

“Hey.”

She looked over her shoulder to see Theo standing in the doorway, as if her thoughts conjured him. Her skin tightened at the smile he gave her and she hated that after everything she’d gone through she was feeling this way toward Theo. It had to be her, had to be because of the trauma she’d gone through.
Right?

He wore a tuxedo and held a single tulip. Feeling her brows knit in confusion, her heart started to beat a little faster.

“Hi.” She turned fully and looked down at the tulip. “Where are you off too so dressed up?”

“I thought you could use a night out on the town. You need to get out of this house. It isn’t good for you to stay cooped up in here all the time.”

She instantly felt the need to say no, that when she was ready she’d leave, but she didn’t say the words. “I’m not really in the mood to go out, Theo.”

“Neeka, I’ve been trying to get you out of this house for the past two weeks now. Just come with me to dinner, that’s all I’m asking.” He gave her a charming smile, but it didn’t move her, and in fact it looked a little off. No, something felt wrong about this.

“Maybe another night, but thank you for the offer. I’m pretty tired, anyway.” She smiled at him, not wanting to be rude but really in no mood to go out.

He stared at her for a second with a stoic expression, and then he started to crush the flower in his hand, shocking her. His face turned red, and he took a step toward her. Her heart started racing even harder as she gripped the armrests of the chair. Never had she seen Theo lose his temper.

“You know what, Neeka? I think I’ve been pretty fucking patient with you. I’ve given you space, time, and even a shoulder to cry on. What do I get in return?” His voice was raised now.

She stood, not feeling comfortable with this at all. “I think you need to leave right now.”

He smirked and tossed the now crushed flower to the ground. “What? You don’t want my comfort anymore? No, Neeka. I’m not fucking leaving, not until you realize you’re mine.”

She squared her shoulders, even though fear was starting to take root in her. Picking up the phone, she dialed Charles’s cell number, the security guard on the property that had been working for her father for the last five years. “Charles, could you please escort Mr. Millian out?”

Theo laughed, but it wasn’t a sound of amusement, but crazed lunacy. “I’ve sent him home for the evening. That’s the good thing about having the trust of the ones around you.”

She sidestepped the chair and inched her way toward the door when he moved closer. Theo had gone insane. That was the only explanation for how he was acting. She tried a sweeter tactic, because right now she had no clue what in the hell to do. “Can we talk about this downstairs? Maybe over a glass of wine?”

He stopped advancing on her, his eyebrow cocked. He shook his head and straightened his shoulders.

“For years, I’ve been trying to win you over. Have you been so oblivious to that?”

Yes, clearly I have.

“I’ve been nothing but gentle and patient with you, and what do you do in return?” He chuckled as if what he just said was comical. “I’ll tell you. You fuck the man who was hired by your father.”

She felt her eyes widen.

“Surprised? Give me a little credit, Neeka. I saw the way he looked at you, the same way a man looks at a woman he just screwed.” He ran a hand over his hair, mussing the perfectly slicked black strands and moving toward her again. “And to say that piece of information didn’t infuriate me would be an understatement. No, from now on, we do things my way.”

He charged for her, and she jumped out of the way, tearing off toward the door and running down the hall. The panic button Gage had given her was in her purse, a stupid move, she now realized. But she’d felt safe at home.

How wrong you’ve been.

She raced down the hallway, Theo’s heavy footsteps right behind her. Neeka swallowed her scream, her fear, and thought about staying calm, or trying to at least. She chanced a look behind her shoulder, and her eyes grew wide at his close proximity. Reaching out, she grabbed a decorative vase sitting on a carved podium. The porcelain crashed to the floor, shattering.

She could hear Theo grunt, and she looked over her shoulder again. He stumbled over the shards of porcelain as he tried to right himself. She took the stairs two at a time, each landing seeming miles away. When she finally reached the bottom, she raced toward the kitchen, grabbing her purse off the counter and tossing its contents out. She rifled through everything, grabbing the small metal button that glinted off the kitchen light.

“You’re being a very bad girl, Neeka.”

Her gaze shot up toward Theo. She reached over and grabbed a butcher knife off the wooden kitchen block, holding it out in front of her as she pushed the panic button over and over again.

“Stay away, Theo. I don’t want to hurt you, but I swear I will.”

He laughed at her as he reached behind his back. He pulled out a small, strange-looking gun and pointed it at her, his gaze roaming her body as he licked his lips lasciviously. “I’m going to have so much fun with you.”

She shoved the panic button in her pocket and held the knife with both hands, her entire body shaking as she stepped backward.

No. I won’t be taken. I can’t go through that again. Please let the panic button work.

Theo grinned before he pulled the trigger. She ducked, slipping on the floor because she only wore socks. The knife clattered against the tile as she tried to catch herself, her socks not giving her any traction as she ran into the dining room. She heard something whiz by her. A stinging pain landed in her neck, and she gasped out, instantly grabbing whatever it was and ripping it out. It was then, as she stared down at the dart, that she realized Theo drugged her.

Everything around her started to become slow, the edges of the room getting hazy and out of focus.

“Right now, a sedative is circulating through your bloodstream. In a matter of minutes, you’ll be unconscious.”

She tilted on her feet, his words becoming slow and distorted, his form wavering.

“Soon we will be together, Neeka.” He walked over to her, placing the gun at the small of his back as he embraced her.

She wanted to push him away, but her arms felt like lead and wouldn’t move. Her lids grew heavy, but she fought it, knowing she needed to stay conscious, even if that was impossible. It was a hopeless fight. The smell of his liquor-laced breath was the last thing she was aware of before she succumbed to the darkness.