Gage (Contract Killers Book 1) (3 page)

He gave one last look at the passed out security officer. Herbie would survive with nothing more than a headache when he woke up. Gage sheathed his knife and exited the same way he had entered, having a feeling this wasn’t some random kidnapping. Neeka had been targeted, and he’d find out who the fuckers were.

Chapter Three

Neeka took another bite of food, not hungry, but the gun pointed to her temple was a pretty good motivator for her appetite. Although she wanted to cry, she refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing her break down. She could have her walls fall when she was alone. They’d started making her eat at gunpoint when she refused to consume what they brought her.

She took one more bite, chewing as she kept her eyes shut tight, and swallowed, hoping that was sufficient so they would just leave. One guard picked up the tray at the same time the other removed the gun from her head. She breathed out and opened her eyes, watching them exit. Once they were gone and the door was shut, Neeka lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

The days were starting to mesh together, and although she didn’t know how long she’d been here, she knew it was too long for comfort. Wouldn’t her father have found her by now? Wouldn’t he have hired someone trained in searching for missing people? Was she even in the country anymore?

Her body, as well as her mind, was exhausted. It was always the same men who came by to either force her to eat or take her away for the blood draws. Sometimes they would give her a reprieve and wait a few days—or at least she thought they were days—before they came for her. Her time here was one long and endless cycle.

Her arms were riddled with track marks from their continuous injections and blood draws, and she didn’t even recognize herself anymore. The wounds weren’t even having time to heal because they drew her blood daily. The flimsy plastic mirror they’d provided over the sink showcased her ashen skin and the large, dark circles under her eyes. She wasn’t any closer to finding out why she’d been taken than when she first arrived.

She heard her door unlocking again and pulled herself up on the bed.

Why are they back so soon?

The steel door opened, and her heart pounded wildly behind her ribs. But the person who walked in had everything inside of her freezing, had her hope rising, and joy that she’d finally get out of here coming to the surface.

Dr. Rye Vincent, one of her father’s dearest friends and her physician since she was a child, smiled at her.

She got off the bed, stumbled once, and ran toward him.
I’m saved.
Neeka couldn’t stop the tears that slid down her cheeks, couldn’t help the sobs consuming her. She wrapped her sore arms around Dr. Vincent, breathing out when he held her in a familiar embrace. He just held her for several seconds, but then she pulled away, a steady stream of tears falling down her cheeks as she looked into his face.

He was an older man, with graying short hair and deep amber-colored eyes. She smiled weakly at him and laid her head on his chest once more, so thankful he was here. He’d finally take her home to her father. Neeka didn’t know how he’d found her, but she wasn’t going to think too hard on it. He was here, and she was rescued. That’s all that mattered.

I’ll finally be able to go home.

“Shhh, everything’s all right, Neeka. You have nothing to be afraid of.” He smiled at her again and wiped a tear off her cheek. “I’ve been out of the state while I gathered documents for my research, and if I’d known how they were treating you, I would have put a stop to it right away. They will be punished, don’t worry.” His voice was calm as he smiled down at her.

Dread, fear, and a torrent of other emotions slammed into her. She pulled away and knitted her brows in confusion. His words didn’t make sense. He spoke as if he knew that she’d been here all along. “I don’t understand.” She shook her head. “You knew I was here? I’m here because of you?”

“Yes, Neeka. I was the one who made plans to get you here.” He lowered his gaze up and down her body. “Look at you.” He clicked his tongue. “They will be severely punished for your state. There is absolutely no need for you to be running around barefoot and in a ratty hospital gown.” He took a step forward, and she took one back.

“What are you doing, Rye? Why are you doing this to me?”

He cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?” he asked as if he were truly confused as to what she was talking about.

Her confusion rose, and she took another step back. He mimicked her move by coming forward a step. The back of her legs hit the edge of her bed, and she looked around again, knowing there wasn’t an escape because he was blocking her only way out.

He chuckled. “Neeka, dear, you act as though you are terribly surprised. You honestly don’t understand why you’re here?” He shook his head. “You know, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” He placed his hand in his overcoat pockets, taking on a relaxed stance.

“Of course I’m surprised. You were like family.”

“You truly don’t realize
why
you’re here?”

She didn’t move or respond.

“No worries. All will come to light soon enough.”

“What are you talking about? Can’t you just explain what’s going on right now?” She finally found her voice.

“In due time, darling.” He narrowed his eyes and moved his gaze along her body again. “First we need to get you cleaned and dressed properly. I’ve just come to the facility, so I wasn’t aware of your state or these horrid conditions they have you in,” he said softly, looking around the cell. “I’ll have one of my men bring your things to a more accommodating room. We can discuss everything within the hour.” He turned and strode to the door, opened it, and left without another word or a backward glance.

Her knees buckled, and she sat on the bed, her eyes wide as she looked around the room again. Dr. Vincent had been like a second father to her, and the events that had just taken place rocked her to the very core. She wiped away her tears. It was maybe twenty minutes later before the door opened again. Neeka was so numb she didn’t even cower when a man in military-type gear walked in with a large box in hand. He set it on the ground without speaking or looking at her, and strode back toward the door, shutting it and engaging the lock.

Even though she was numb, she found the strength to rise off the bed and move toward the box. She could have been defiant, but she wanted answers. She’d been locked away for so long that staying one more minute in this hellhole was too much to bear. She’d find a way out. She had to, because giving up hope, even with the revelations she’d just been presented with, was not an option.

****

“Enough time has passed, Rye.”

Rye looked at the man that paced his office. “Calm yourself. You’ll have her when I’m finished. Patience is a virtue.”

“Fuck patience.” The man stopped, looking angry and annoyed, but Rye didn’t care.

“My work is more important than your perverse need to own Neeka. But a deal is a deal, and you’ll have her once I’m finished gathering all the details and data I need to make my research solid.” Rye stared at the man hard, not about to back down. “Now leave my office, and don’t come here again making demands.”

The man breathed out, his hands at his side, clenching, his face red, his annoyance and impatience tangible.

“I’m on a thin wire here, Rye. I’ve waited years to have her, and I want this deal settled.” Without another look he turned and left Rye’s office.

Rye had known Neeka since she was an infant, and although he had a fondness for her, his research and work were of far more importance than anything else. That was the way life worked, and she’d have no choice on either matter.

****

Neeka was led down a long, white hallway as two big men stood on either side of her. The held semi-automatic rifles, and their expressions were emotionless. She swallowed roughly, the shoes she’d been given making minimal sound against the white tile beneath her feet. They took several more turns, and soon the all-white hallway turned less sterile and hospital-like. One of the men placed his hand on a glass, black plate on the wall, and the door slid open. She felt her mouth open slightly at the hallway that was revealed.

Oriental rugs graced the granite flooring, and oil paintings covered the walls. There were actually windows, and she could see the bright sun and clouds outside. Wincing from the brightness and from being locked away for so long, she blinked past the pain. Although she saw outside, she was high enough up that all she could see were the tops of a few scattered trees. Everything else was dead land, sand, and nothingness.

They kept moving down the hallway, took several more turns, and then stopped in front of a set of wide double doors. One of the goons knocked on the wood, the sound loud as it echoed off of the walls. Her heart was beating so damn fast, her nerves, and the betrayal she felt having her muscles tighten and lock up.

The doors opened to reveal a man no older than she was. He stood on the other side, the suit he wore all black. He didn’t even glance at her, just stepped aside to let them in. His light hair was brushed back from his face, and his expression was unmoving. The assholes on either side of her pushed her forward, causing Neeka to stumble. Sitting behind a large desk was Rye, his focus on the papers in front of him.

“Leave us,” he barked out.

She turned around and watched the three men follow Rye’s command. The door shut behind them, and she clenched her hands at her sides, her fear rising. Rye was not a man she knew anymore. Everything he’d ever told her, how he’d ever acted toward her, had been a lie.

She faced him again and stared into his dark, emotionless gaze.

“Have a seat, Neeka.”

She straightened her shoulders and sat in the chair in front of his desk, not wanting to show him her fear, but it was damn hard.

He steepled his fingers in front of his face and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the desk. “You are a rare treasure, Neeka. A very special girl.”

For all of her twenty-seven years, Dr. Vincent had been there for her and her family. Hell, he’d delivered her when she was born, and had been a support system after her mother passed away when she was younger. But the man in front of her was not the man she looked as like a second father.

“Do you understand any of this, Neeka?”

She didn’t bother responding.

“I knew your anomaly from the moment your blood was drawn after your birth.”

“What anomaly are you talking about?” Neeka was confused, angry, but also hurt and betrayed by this man.

“It was then that I realized you were the key to the Dark Haven Corporation.”

“The Dark Haven Corporation? I don’t understand any of this. Why now? If you realized you needed me so badly why not just ask for blood, ask for my help?”

“It takes time, money, and research to have this kind of corporation running smoothly. This has been my life’s work, what I was born to do. And even if I was researching and testing while you were growing up, I had a plan, one that was essential, but only with you involved.”

She was shaking her head, the pain behind her eyes growing more intense with each passing second. “You kidnapped me, took me away from my father, who you know is sick and riddled with cancer.” She was crying now, her emotions so strong, consuming her to the point she couldn’t even focus.

“Death is part of life, Neeka,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Truth is if I would have explained what I was doing, my plans, the search I work tirelessly on, neither you nor your father would have approved.”

“You don’t know that,” she said through clenched teeth. “You were like a father to me. I would have helped you.”

He shook his head and smiled. Rye leaned back in his chair, his hands placed on the desk in front of him. “It makes no difference now. You’re here, and that’s all that matters.”

“You’re insane.”

“No, Neeka, I’m far from insane. This is my empire. My research and accomplishments will make me a god. You’re the key I need, the missing element in all of this.”

She angrily wiped her tears away.

“It’s your rare blood type that will make my warriors invincible.”

Warriors?

She felt her brows knit in even more confusion.

He stood and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window to the side of them, grasping his hands behind his back and becoming quiet. She glanced at the door, wanting to escape, but she knew there were probably guards stationed outside, and she had no clue how in the hell to get out of here … wherever
here
was.

“They are right outside. You wouldn’t make it a foot outside of this room before they had you,” Rye stated with a hard, but bland voice. He still had his back to her, but she saw him watching her through the reflection in the glass.

She thought about what he’d just revealed, still no closer to knowing what in the hell he was talking about. “How is my blood going to help you?” She looked down at the healing track marks that riddled her flesh, and the new bruises painting her skin black and blue from the restraints she’d been put in just this morning. She’d always been a fast healer, but with the frequent blood draws and the binding, it seemed like she’d never fully heal.

“I know you’re aware of how fast you heal, something ‘normal’ people don’t experience. The fact your cuts take twenty-four hours to close and start knitting back together should have raised your curiosity.” Rye turned around and faced her.

Yes, she’d always noticed she healed fast, but she never paid much attention to it, because it was
her
norm. Rye had also never said anything about this “anomaly”.