Into The Night

Chapter Twenty

Nicole leaned against the closed door long after she knew that Nathan had gone. Her throat was tight with unshed tears, and she felt so jagged and raw inside. The weekend had stripped her emotions bare and left her defenseless, exposed, and hurting in ways she’d never imagined.

She needed a hot shower. She needed to eat. She needed hours of deep, dreamless sleep. But most of all, she needed to rid her mind of the ugly, unpleasant memories of the weekend. And the only way she knew how to do that was to write the story that was hers alone to tell. The grim facts and details were clawing to get out, and she knew she’d never rest until the experience was purged from her soul.

Since her laptop was still at the Turnberry apartment, she turned on the desktop computer in her bedroom. Michelle had spent the weekend with her fiancé, and Nicole was grateful to be alone. She sat down at the desk, opened a new Word document, and put her fingers to the keyboard.

The story of Sloane, his exploitation of young girls, and his involvement in human trafficking spilled out of Nicole faster than she could type. But then her past collided with the present, and she realized that she wasn’t just writing the story for her career; it had also become a huge cathartic release for the shame and humiliation she’d carried with her for so many years, along with the fears that kept her from risking her heart again. It all poured out of her, a wealth of fear and heartache, and all the anger she’d kept buried for much too long.

It wasn’t until hours later, when she was nearly done with the piece, that she became aware of the wet trail of tears on her face. She was supposed to be a dispassionate journalist, yet she was an emotional mess. But despite the pain of reliving the past, and the anxiety of rehashing what she’d witnessed at Sloane’s estate, she felt as though she’d set a part of herself free in writing what had become a very personal story for her. In her mind, she’d finally righted a wrong, and bringing down Sloane would save many other girls from falling victim to a man’s manipulations.

The knowledge gave her a heady, uplifting feeling of triumph.

Beyond spent, her mind and body completely tapped out, she saved the document, pushed her keyboard aside, and laid her head on the cool surface of her desk. She really did need food, a shower, and sleep, and she told herself she’d get up in just a minute…

The ringing of her cell phone jolted Nicole upright. Her head felt heavy, her mind unfocused. It took her a moment to realize that more than a minute had passed. As she blinked to clear the slumberous haze from her vision, a squinty-eyed glance at the clock on her desk told her she’d been asleep for nearly three hours.

Her phone rang again. She cleared her throat before flipping it open and answering the call. “Hello?”

“It’s… it’s Holly.”

Getting an unexpected call from Holly was enough to snap Nicole to immediate attention. “Are you okay?”

“No. I need you.”

Nicole’s heart leapt into her throat. Holly sounded scared, and an uneasy sensation filled Nicole. “Where are you? Where is your mother?”

“I left the casino and I came back to The Sanctuary to be with Preston.”

Nicole heard a gruff, angry voice in the background, then what sounded like a slap.

Holly started to cry. “He’s going to kill me if you don’t come. He wants you.”

The line disconnected.

Oh, God . Nicole had no idea what Sloane knew about her and Nathan, but the man was obviously obsessed with her and wanted her back. And she had no doubts that if she didn’t arrive quickly, Holly would pay the price. And if that happened, Nicole would never, ever forgive herself.

With adrenaline rushing through her veins, and her stomach in knots, she slipped into her flip-flops. She grabbed her purse and keys as she passed through the living room and out the door. In less than a minute she was in her car, heading toward Summerlin.

Panic made her heart race as she sped to the outskirts of the city. Knowing she couldn’t save Holly by herself, she called Nathan’s cell phone number, and cursed when she was sent directly to voice mail.

She knew he was most likely meeting with the feds, and prayed he’d get her message quickly. “It’s Nicole. Holly just called me and she’s back at Sloane’s. He threatened to kill her if I don’t come. I’m on my way there now.”

Minutes later, she arrived at the closed iron gates. The guard was obviously expecting her because he opened the gate and let her through. Her car came to a screeching halt in front of the house, and she jumped out and ran toward the entrance, her only thought to get to Holly before something horrible happened to the girl.

As soon as she stepped into the entryway, Gwen was there to greet her, a gun pointed directly at Nicole’s chest. As always, she looked the polished, professional assistant, and more beautiful than such an evil woman should.

A bitter smile curved the other woman’s red lips and hatred gleamed in her eyes. “So nice of you to join us.”

The gun scared Nicole. Especially when it was in the hands of someone so obviously unstable. “Where is she?” Nicole demanded.

Gwen ignored her question. “I don’t know why Preston thinks you’re so special,” she sneered, her voice dripping with jealousy. “But he’ll get tired of you soon enough. You’re just a passing fancy, as are all the other girls he’s fucked. And then he’ll either kill you, or send you off to Russia like all those others, where you’ll spend the rest of your life lying flat on your back for other men to screw.”

A deranged light flickered in Gwen’s eyes. “I’m the only one who truly loves Preston, and you bitches have always gotten in the way of what I’ve wanted!” She waved the gun wildly between them. “He’ll come back to me because I’m the only one who stayed and protected him. I’ve watched him go through all those girls while I’ve been the perfect executive assistant, handling his business affairs and cleaning up all the messes you girls have made. He can’t live without me. One day, Preston will get too old for all this shit. The girls will no longer want him, and he’ll turn to me and finally be all mine.”

Nicole realized that at one time, in her youth, Gwen had been one of Sloane’s “it” girls. But unlike so many of the girls who were cast aside, Gwen had found a way to make herself indispensible to Sloane, with the hope that he’d one day want her, and only her.

The woman was delusional and dangerous. It was a frightening sight to behold.

Gwen circled her and pressed the barrel of the gun against her spine, urging her up the spiral staircase. Nicole slowly started climbing.

“Preston is going to get what he wants, and then we’ll just dispose of you both,” Gwen continued matter-of-factly. “And then there’s the little matter of Alex, your protector. He stole from Preston. We have plans for him, too. He reneged on a deal, and no one breaks a deal with Preston. Alex is going to pay for betraying his trust. He’s going to die, just as you and Holly are.”

Nicole swallowed hard as Gwen directed her down a hallway. Despite her outward courage, Nicole was terrified inside. If Nathan didn’t get her message soon, she feared that she and Holly would end up dead.

Reaching the end of the corridor, Gwen shoved Nicole into a large, spacious master bedroom. The first thing Nicole saw was Holly sitting on the huge bed, the dress she was wearing ripped and torn. She was sobbing, her cheek red where she’d been slapped, probably more than once.

“I’m so sorry,” Holly whispered in a quivering voice, and Nicole believed that the girl regretted her decision to return.

“Come on in and join the party,” Sloane said, drawing Nicole’s attention to where he stood off to the side by a large dresser. He was casually holding a gun, seemingly relaxed and in complete control of the situation.

With Gwen’s prompting, Nicole moved farther into the room, watching Sloane warily as he strolled closer, his eyes raking over her. She was still wearing the T-shirt and drawstring shorts that Caleb had given her, her hair a tangled mess, but he didn’t appear put off by her unkempt appearance.

He had revenge on his mind, and she was it.

“You can leave now,” Sloane said, dismissing Gwen as if she were nothing more than a servant.

The woman hesitated, but a sharp look from Sloane had her walking out of the bedroom and closing the heavy double doors behind her. Sloane pressed a button on the wall, and Nicole heard the unnerving sound of metal bolts securing the doors.

She swallowed hard. She and Holly were well and truly locked inside, with no escape.

Nicole kept an eye on Sloane, and knew the only way to save herself and the young girl was to keep the man talking, to distract him until help arrived.

“You want me, ” Nicole said, trying to bargain with Sloane, anything to keep Holly out of harm’s way. “Let the girl go and you can have me.”

“I don’t think so.” Sloane stroked the cold steel barrel of his gun along Nicole’s cheek. “Holly can send me to prison, and that’s not going to happen.”

He was going to prison anyway, but Nicole wasn’t about to enlighten him. She casually stepped back to create space between them. “She won’t say anything,” Nicole said, keeping her voice calm, while inside she was trembling with terror. “I swear.”

He laughed, the sound maniacal and evil. “Neither of you will have the chance to say anything to anyone.”

A spark of rage burned inside Nicole, making her lash out. “You’re pathetic.”

He shrugged, her words having no impact on him. Instead, he kept the gun on her and decided to get down to business. “Take off your clothes,” he ordered.

She lifted her chin defiantly. No way was she making any of this easy on him, even as she knew that defying him could result in horrible consequences. It was a chance she was willing to take. “No.”

“We can do this the easy way, with you cooperating, or the fun way, with me forcing you.” A malicious smile curved his mouth. “I do like it rough.”

The man was depraved. If Nicole had had anything in her stomach she would have puked all over him. “You’re nothing but a pathetic pervert who doesn’t know what to do with a real woman,” she spat at him. “You’re a pedophile that preys on girls who are vulnerable, and you make me sick!”

“Bitch!” He backhanded her so hard she staggered on her feet and saw stars.

Behind her, she heard Holly scream.

“Shut the fuck up!” he yelled at the girl, his face flushed red with fury. He grabbed a handful of Nicole’s hair, twisting it around his fingers until she gasped from the pain ripping at her scalp.

She had no choice but to follow him as he pulled her toward the bed.

He turned the gun on Holly. “Get off the bed!”

Crying hysterically, the girl scrambled off the mattress. The next thing Nicole knew, she was being pressed down onto the bed, crushed by the heavy weight of Sloane’s body. He was bigger and stronger than her, yet she refused to let him rape her. She was a fighter, a survivor, and she wouldn’t, couldn’t, let him win.

Because once he was done with her, he was going to kill her.

Nathan needed to check on Nicole. After leaving her apartment, he’d given her time to recover from everything that had happened, and he just needed to hear her voice and know that she was okay-despite her belief they were finished as a couple.

He’d finished up the initial meeting with the feds, and while there was more to come, he desperately needed a few minutes to himself before being grilled for another few hours.

“I’m going to take a break and give Nicole a call,” he told Caleb, who gave him a nod of understanding. He pulled his cell phone from his pant pocket, which he’d kept on silent during the intense interrogation, only to discover that he had one missed call from Nicole and a voice mail that had been left over thirty minutes ago.

He listened to the message, his blood turning to ice in his veins as Nicole explained that Holly was back at Sloane’s, and she was on her way to the estate to get the girl out.

“Shit,” he said, his gut ripping to shreds as he met Caleb’s concerned gaze. Rick, an agent with the FBI, stared at him in curiosity. “Holly and Nicole are at Sloane’s estate.”

“That’s impossible,” Caleb replied with a shake of his head. “Holly, her mother, and her boyfriend are in a suite here at The Onyx.”

“Are you sure about that?” Until he had evidence proving otherwise, he believed Nicole’s story. And that meant he didn’t have time to waste on Caleb’s say-so.

Nathan’s skeptical tone had Caleb reaching for the nearest phone to call the suite he’d put the Davis family in. When there was no answer, he called hotel security, ordering them to immediately locate Holly’s mother, Wendy Davis, and bring her and her daughter to his office.

“I can’t wait that long,” Nathan said, shifting his gaze to Rick. Chances were, Holly wasn’t here. “I need a warrant and I need backup.”

“We can’t get a warrant in less than two hours,” Rick said. Frustrated, Nathan wanted to say the hell with protocol. Lives were at risk. Nicole was in danger.

Caleb reached down to his ankle and removed the snub-nosed. 38 strapped there, then handed the weapon to Nathan. “Take this with you. I know a friendly federal judge. We can have a warrant in less than an hour.”

Thank God for Caleb and his connections. He gave Rick a pointed look. “Don’t be far behind me.”

The agent’s lips pressed into a grim line of disapproval. “You shouldn’t go in alone.”

“Just try and stop me.” The woman he adored was in mortal danger. She’d called him, needed him. He wasn’t about to let her down.

Rick unclipped the handcuffs from the case secured to his belt and tossed them to Nathan. “Take these, too, just in case. You might need them.”

Nathan pocketed the cuffs and tucked Caleb’s gun in the back waistband of his jeans beneath his jacket. He was on the road in minutes, driving as fast as he could go. But not fast enough for his peace of mind. With every second that passed, his chest tightened with anxiety. His past flashed before his eyes-images of young Katie. The crime scene photos of her lifeless body on the courthouse steps. He blamed himself. He’d failed to protect her, and she’d paid with her life.

Nausea rose up into his throat as he relived his worst nightmare. If he didn’t make it in time, Nicole’s fate would be the same.

He thought of Nicole’s quiet courage, her laughter, and the vulnerable side she’d shared with him. He recalled how steady she’d been during the mission, despite her own fears. She was the kind of woman he admired the hell out of and respected. And loved with a strength and depth he’d never believed possible.

And he knew if he lost Nicole, he’d never recover.

The guard at the gate recognized him from the night of the party, and after Nathan told him he had business with Sloane, which he did, the young man opened the gates. Nathan assumed the guard had no idea what was going on up at the house.

Just as Nathan parked behind Nicole’s car, his cell phone rang. Seeing that it was Caleb, he answered.

“I have Holly’s mother in my office,” Caleb told him. “Holly is gone. Wendy said she left Holly in the suite two hours ago so she could go downstairs and gamble with her boyfriend.”

Nathan swore. What kind of mother left her traumatized daughter alone after a year apart? “Then she’s here,” Nathan said, grateful for the verification. “Get that backup here ASAP!”

He hung up, jumped out of the vehicle, and ran through the courtyard. He slowed when he reached the front doors. Entering the house quietly, he listened for sounds of Holly or Nicole. He moved into the nearby living room, startling Gwen with his sudden appearance. The woman spun around and trained a gun on him.

“Where the fuck is she?” he asked, not mincing words as he strode toward the woman despite the gun.

“She’s upstairs in Preston’s room with Holly,” she said, taking a step back and finding herself blocked by the sofa. “But you can’t get to her.”

The weapon in Gwen’s trembling hand wavered, telling Nathan that she was all talk and no action or she would have shot him by now. She’d given him all the information he needed, and he didn’t have time to waste. Opting for the element of surprise, he grabbed the hand with the gun and twisted hard. She let out an agonized cry and released the weapon. Before she could recover, he spun her around and jammed her arm halfway up her back so she couldn’t move.

She whimpered in pain. “You’re hurting me!”

“Too fucking bad.” None too gently, he guided her into the entryway. Retrieving the handcuffs from his pocket, he snapped one silver bracelet around her wrist, looped the cuffs through a few of the iron-rod stair rails, and shackled her other hand so she couldn’t go anywhere.

She jerked against her restraints, her expression furious. “You can’t do this!” she wailed.

“I just did.” He took the stairs two at a time to the second landing. Remembering where Preston’s room was located from the tour he’d given them, he headed silently in that directly.

As he neared the closed double doors, he pulled out his gun. His heart beat fast and furious in his chest. Hearing muffled sounds coming from inside the bedroom, he pressed his ear to the door. He could make out screams and Sloane cursing-none of it good. Alarmed, he tried to turn the knob, but the doors were locked as tight as Fort Knox.

A sinking sense of despair nearly brought Nathan to his knees.

There was no busting down the steel doors.

And no saving Nicole.

Nicole refused to die. And she refused to let Sloane violate her. Despite Sloane’s brute force, she fought him off with every ounce of strength she had in her-and it was a surprising amount considering how exhausted she was. She kicked and screamed and bit whatever exposed flesh she could find. She caught his cheek between her teeth, and he howled in pain as she bit down so hard she drew blood.

He smacked her, subduing her for only a few seconds before she was clawing at him with her fingernails and using her knees to kick him where it counted. He swore, his voice a low, threatening growl that sent chills down her spine-and still she didn’t stop fighting for her life, because she had a whole lot to live for.

Somewhere in the room Holly was bawling and pleading for Sloane to please, please, stop.

Nicole felt the gun pressing against her side, and made a grab for it, but Sloane was faster. They struggled for the weapon, but he overpowered her and shoved the barrel of the gun into her stomach.

She kneed him in the groin, and he pulled the trigger. She gasped as a blinding, searing pain ripped through her side, stealing her breath from her lungs. Someone pounded on the door. She could have sworn she heard Nathan yelling her name. Then again, it could have been her mind playing tricks on her.

“Stupid bitch,” Sloane sneered. Still on top of her, he pressed the muzzle of the gun against her throat, and Nicole knew he was going to kill her with the next shot. “You’re just not worth the trouble.”

She closed her eyes, wishing she’d had the chance to tell Nathan she loved him. Because she did. With all her heart. And he’d never, ever know. The pain in her side was nothing compared with the ache in her heart.

She heard a loud, sickening thud . Then she felt Sloane’s body go slack, his weight crushing her. She thought she was going to suffocate.

Holly knelt on the bed and shoved Sloane’s unconscious body off her. Her face was drenched with tears, her gaze devastated and contrite. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Nicole. He was going to kill you and I couldn’t let him.”

“What…” She sucked in a breath as a sharp burn began spreading through her, and her vision blurred. “… did you… do to him?”

“I hit him over the head with one of his bronze statues,” she said, and in that moment Nicole was so proud of the girl. “Oh, God, Nicole, you’re bleeding so much.”

Nicole touched her hand to her side and winced as she saw the slick red substance coating her fingers. The pain was nearly unbearable. She couldn’t move, and she wondered if she was going to die after all.

“Nicole!”

This time, there was no mistaking Nathan’s frantic voice, and she tried to stay focused. Just for a few more precious minutes. “Holly… unlock the door… and let him in.”

The sound of a gunshot going off behind the locked doors stopped Nathan’s heart. That distinct feeling of helplessness swamped him, and he continued his futile pounding on the door, hoping, praying, that she was okay.

Down below in the entryway he heard a loud commotion, and knew his backup had finally arrived-maybe too late.

Just as law enforcement came barreling down the hallway, the doors to the bedroom opened. The men charged inside, guns drawn, but as soon as they realized that Sloane was out cold and the threat had been defused, they reholstered their weapons, took Sloane into custody, and started securing the crime scene.

Holly stood off to the side, obviously in shock as one of the men made sure she was okay, while Nathan quickly made his way to Nicole where she was lying on the bed, a crimson pool of moisture staining the bedspread beneath her. There was so much blood, and while she was still alive, he had no idea the extent of her injuries.

“Get an ambulance here,” he yelled out. “Now.”

“They’re already on their way,” someone called back.

He sat down beside Nicole and took her hand, careful not to jostle her body or cause her more pain. Her eyes were glassy, her breathing slow and shallow. His throat closed up on him, making it difficult for him to talk.

She smiled up at him, her lips as pale as her face. “Did they get him?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

“Yeah, we got him,” he said. “ You got him.”

“Good.” She moaned, and gasped for breath. “That’s all that matters.”

She closed her eyes, and then she passed out.