Madeleine Abducted (29 page)

The boots stopped suddenly when they reached the doorway, an
audible gasp from the mouths of the men that stood witnessing
Maddy
as she held tightly to the weapon she’d fashioned
from a bronze rod and the string of her instrument.

“
Maddy
… ” Fear and shock were
inlaid in the tone of a voice that
Maddy
would
recognize for the rest of her life.

Dropping the weapon, she turned, instantly pushed up to her
feet, and ran into the arms of Aaron. He held her for a few moments, his chest
heaving against her cheek. She didn’t care that he was covered in blood, didn’t
care that she could feel the heat of anger and rage still rolling off his body.
She buried herself within those arms, delighted in the sound of his heart as it
raced in his chest.

His voice awash with concern, Aaron asked, “Are you okay?”

Maddy
nodded ‘yes’ into his chest
as she pulled him closer to her body. “I am now. I think I killed him. I think
that vile bastard is finally dead.”

Xander
squeezed around Aaron and
Maddy
as they embraced in the doorway and immediately moved
over to inspect the body of Aaron’s father. Unwrapping the string from his
neck,
Xander
felt for a pulse. Finding none, he
rolled the body over to discover that his eyes had bugged out from his
desperate struggle to breathe. Whistling low, he shook his head in amazement.
“My, my, Cricket, whatever have you done?”

Aaron opened his eyes and peered over
Maddy’s
head while still keeping her cradled to his body. He caught his breath before
it gasped at the sight of his father: eyes wide and dull from death, mouth
agape in search of air.
Xander
picked up the weapon,
a smile appearing across his face as he pulled the string from the rod, held it
up so Aaron could see it. “Remind me not to piss off your mouse, Aaron.”

His eyes widening, Aaron pulled away from
Maddy
and grabbed her arm to inspect her wrist. “Was
that … ?
”

Nodding,
Maddy
looked over her
shoulder at
Xander
as he held the string up. She
shrugged her shoulder, looked back over toward the man she loved. “Not only did
you give me freedom with that string, you gave me a weapon to use against him,
Aaron, you gave me justice.”

Looking down at his gentle musician turned assassin, Aaron
picked up her small body, winced from the pain from where the bullet had torn
his skin, but still cradled her against his chest when he turned to leave his
father’s apartment. As they spun around,
Maddy
caught
a brief glimpse of
Xander
kicking the body on the
floor before laughing and following along behind them.

As they traveled through the corridors leading back out to
the ballroom,
Maddy
closed her eyes to avoid seeing
the carnage that littered their path. She knew there had been a bloodbath, knew
that Aaron had killed countless men as he
battled
 
through
the halls to get to her,
but she didn’t want to see the evidence of his brutality, the victims of his
darkness cut into pieces along the floor. Reaching the ballroom,
Xander
stepped around them, opening the door so that Aaron
would not have to put
Maddy
down.

When the doors opened, and Aaron walked through into the
expanse of the large room, the deafening boom of cheers rolled throughout the
room.
Maddy’s
head shot up to see several groups of
men — some injured, others covered in the blood of their victims —
with their arms raised in the air, their war cry now a shout of victory for
their new leader.

One man stepped forward from the crowd, his hair was pale
white and his eyes an eerie silver. Reaching out, he shook hands with
Xander
, his other hand coming up to clap
Xander’s
shoulder. “Is it done? Has the old man finally met
his maker? Please tell me the last thing he felt was Aaron’s blade as it
pierced his rotten heart.”

Xander
shook his head and pulled
his hand free to motion his thumb toward
Maddy
and
Aaron. “Sorry, Jason, but Aaron never had the chance. His slave took care of it
before we could even get in the room.”

A hush fell over the celebrants like a wave, each man
turning to look at the small woman cradled in Aaron’s arms. Aaron stepped
forward, took a position in the center of the room, before speaking out to the
crowd.

“Joseph Carmichael is dead, the leadership of The Estate is
now in my hands. Tomorrow we will meet to discuss changes that will need to be
made to the network, but tonight, I want you men to rest and to celebrate while
I take my slave back for my own bit of merriment. Know this: The corruption has
been extinguished, a new leader is among you.”

With their fists pumping in the air, the men cheered for
Aaron as he moved toward the exit. Nothing could be heard except his name being
chanted even as they walked down the halls toward his quarters.
Maddy
reached up, wrapped her arms around Aaron’s neck as
she whispered in his ear, “Together, Aaron. We defeated him together. We are
free and tomorrow we will finally wake from our nightmare and we can open our
eyes to a new day.”

“May
I speak, Master?”

“Yes.”

Pulling
her legs apart, spreading herself open before a man so lethal, she should be
terrified of him rather than turned on.
Maddy
smiled
seductively at Aaron as he crawled his way up the bed. Her skin blushed from
the intensity of his stare as he took in her body, the growl that emanated from
his chest as she opened herself before him.

“Have
I been a good enough girl to deserve your kiss?” Her voice cooed as she teased
him, enticed him into doing things to her body that left her drunk on the waves
of ecstasy only he could create within her. She couldn’t help but smile as she
watched the side of his mouth quirk up while he attempted to narrow his eyes
and appear stern. His hands grabbed her ankles and pulled her down to a point
where her bottom brushed against his bent knees. Reaching up, he took hold of the
brown scarf ends that were tied to the posts of his bed. Wrapping her wrists
within the scarf, he locked her in place, preventing her escape. Holding his
upper body over her, he brought his forehead down to hers, his eyes, the color
of forbidden forests, glistening with mirth.

“I
don’t know, Mouse, have you been a good girl? Tell me how you’ve pleased your
Master.” His voice held humor in its tone,
Maddy’s
heart delighting in the way they played when they had moments alone.

Opening
her mouth to speak, Aaron quickly leaned down, taking her lips with his. His
tongue licked across her lips seeking entry, and when she opened them for him,
another growl vibrated across his chest. Aaron deepened the kiss before his
mouth moved along her neck, down across her breast and abdomen, and finally
kissing her in the most intimate of ways as his hands kept her legs fully
spread apart.

Her
head fell back from the sensation. The heat of his mouth, the movement of his
tongue against her, causing her body to tremble and quake. Heat bloomed within
her, electricity that shot along her skin and through her core. He’d been
correct that day when he’d first forced pleasure in her body; his kiss was
something she craved so intently, she’d be willing to crawl to his feet if that
was what she had to do so she could feel it. This man, her warrior … a dark
knight, if anything, but not really a knight at all. He wasn’t a good man, he’d
committed countless acts of violence in his life, and he was still considered
the most lethal man of The Estate. When it came to
Maddy
,
however, he was another man entirely, a man that would kill to set her free,
who would lay down his life if it would save her.

It
has been six months since Aaron took control of The Estate. Throughout that
time,
Maddy
still appeared publicly as his slave,
still knelt at his feet as he addressed the murderers and thieves that he ruled
over. On the night that his father had been killed, they’d gone back to Aaron’s
apartment, helped wash the blood away from each other’s bodies, and had
entangled themselves on the bed as they whispered their innermost thoughts and
feelings to each other. The following morning, Aaron,
Maddy
,
and
Xander
met before the assembly was to take place
in the ballroom. Reaching the decision that Aaron couldn’t show weakness
— couldn’t have something that was so meaningful to him that it could be
used as a weapon against him — they decided that
Maddy
would continue to play the role as his slave before the other members of The
Estate. It was their hope that if another man had the idea to challenge Aaron’s
rule, their first target would not be
Maddy
, as they
would not believe her to be of much value to Aaron.

So
far it has worked, however, Aaron didn’t like her naked body displayed to the
men who served him. Covering her in expensive materials and jewels, he had
clothes made that would entice, but would also allow her modesty while in
public. Under his rule, many of the activities in the house were changed. The
wing where his father had resided was stripped of all chains, stripped of all
tools intended for cruelty, stripped of all evidence and corruption Joseph
Carmichael had spread among the men who’d been loyal to him. The bodies of the
dead men, the dead slaves, and finally the dead Mr. Carmichael and his two guards
were burned in a giant bonfire the night after the slaughter. The smell of
burnt flesh filled the air while the carnal screams of The Estate members
rallied around Aaron.

The
units were also instructed of new rules regarding the severity of their crimes.
Aaron couldn’t stop the men from continuing in their practices, but he gave a
stern warning regarding the method in which they were performed. There would be
no more
abductions
of innocent women, no more slaves
that were tortured and mistreated from any of the units within the network. The
unit that dealt in prostitutes and the sex trade was eradicated, the members of
that unit dispersed out to serve in other areas controlled by The Estate.

Bringing
the network to a quick end was impossible. These men were not the type to
quietly walk away when told. If Aaron had attempted to immediately dismantle
The Estate, he would have been ambushed, killed, and replaced with another
leader.

Aaron
led the men during the day and had hushed discussions with
Maddy
at night. Although he was technically the leader, she was the voice that
whispered in his ear, the conscience that influenced his decisions and
directives, the angel on his shoulder that grounded him to their task.

Her
story didn’t end with her escape; she didn’t go back to the life she’d known
before. Even knowing that it was possible the world still searched for her,
perhaps still grieved for the loss of her, she’d chosen to stay. She needed to
support the man that was bringing down the network slowly, whittling away at
the most corrupt areas first before moving on to the other units. She’d chosen
to seek her vengeance, to deliver justice, by tearing the network down from the
inside out; and for all intents and purposes, Aaron ruled The Estate. He was
the esteemed leader whose decisions were followed without question, the
executioner of those who failed to act in accordance with his rules; but it was
Maddy
who sat quietly in the background, who
whispered suggested directives, and who was able to help guide Aaron as he
slowly demolished the house and organization built by the devil himself. In a
sense, it was
Maddy
who had taken command of the
organization that had abducted her, and she did so by taking possession of the
heart of the man who was the most brutal of them all. She stayed not only for
her vengeance, but also to ground Aaron, to ensure he remained free of the
corruption and madness that had slowly destroyed his father.

It
could take years, maybe decades to finally bring it all to its end, but
Maddy
understood the need for Aaron’s caution, knew that
there was never true loyalty between murderers and thieves. Eventually they
would succeed, eventually they would make sure that there was nothing left but
the legitimate business they used to launder money through.

Ever
loyal,
Xander
followed Aaron’s orders, knew full well
that Aaron intended to bring a little piece down day by day until, finally
there was nothing left.
Maddy
had been worried that
Xander
would oppose such an objective, but when he’d finally
been told, when Aaron had sat him down and explained what they’d planned to do,
he smiled. The destruction of The Estate was his justice as well … for what had
been done to him and for what had been done to his family. Tirelessly, they
worked together.
Xander
, once again Aaron’s spy, was
impressive in his tasks now that he was no longer bound to the apartment to
protect
Maddy
.

Regardless
of the efforts they made, the successes they achieved as a unit of three, it
was the private moments that
Maddy
loved the most.
Her intimacy with Aaron, the nights where they held each other and discussed
not only their pasts, but their futures as well. Those were the moments she
cherished above all else. Her need for vengeance and her pursuit of justice
were nothing compared to the moments when she was pulled tight to his chest;
when she was wrapped within the heat of his body and within the safety of his
arms. She didn’t feel the need to hide anymore, didn’t fear the world as deeply
as she had before. She’d slaughtered the demon, and by doing so, she’d ended
the tyranny of the worst kind of evil in her and Aaron’s life.

The
path
Maddy’s
life had taken was a complicated course,
one that most would not believe possible. Unbelievable as it may have seemed,
however, out of
Maddy’s
worst nightmare, the most
pure form of love had bloomed. Aaron still struggled against his quickness to
kill, his enjoyment of the feel of steel against the flesh of his enemies, but
he was no longer consumed by the anger and rage that had almost destroyed him,
and it was because of the love she’d returned to him.

Madeleine
saved herself when she was abducted. Taken while she was a scared woman, one
who’d once been viewed as nothing more than weak and easily controlled, she’d
proven that she had the heart of a lion, that she had the spirit of a warrior,
that her strength didn’t exist only in her ability to fight, but in her ability
to endure, in her ability to survive.

Most
importantly, through her strength and her bravery,
Maddy
had not only saved herself, but also, Aaron: By opening her eyes and
discovering that hidden deeply within the recesses of the executioner’s soul,
there was goodness, there was compassion, there was love and there was honor;
but above it all … deep within that infinite darkness …

There
was light.

The End

Future Books in this
Series will be:

“Hope Restrained”
– Coming January 2014

She
was meant to be his assassin

A
forced player in a rivalry within The Estate

Yet
her loyalty was to no person, but herself

When
Hope is taken captive by
Xander
Black

She
becomes the one thing that can ensure Aaron’s reign

Raised within a rival crime network, Hope Delacroix wanted
nothing to do with The Estate.
 
A
fierce warrior, Hope is given no choice but to kill Aaron Carmichael.
 
Caught in her attempt,
Hope
is captured by Aaron’s top guard in an effort to
discover who sent her.

Ever loyal and protective,
Xander
Black’s sole objective is to defend Aaron and
Maddy
.
 
Willing to do whatever necessary,
Xander
gives in to darkness in order to force information
out of Hope.

As
Xander
enslaves Hope to break
her down completely, he learns that in the two years since Joseph Carmichael’s
death, dissension still exists within The Estate.

“I find it ironic that your name is Hope…especially considering
that you have none.” ~
Xander
Black