Exposed: Book 2 MAC Security Series Read online

  “Get on the computers, I want her tracked. Let me know if anything comes up,” I said to Evan. “And Kitty, you come with me.”

  “Right behind you,” Kitty replied and jogged to the truck.

  Opening my door, I let Monty jump in first and flew out of the compound.

  Pressing the buttons on the steering wheel, I dialed Luke’s number, listening as it rang out.

  “Yeah?” he answered.

  “Preschool, meet us there.”

  “What? What’s happened?”

  “Kay hasn’t picked Eli up and her phone is out of service.”

  I didn’t need to say anymore; he knew what that meant. I didn’t have the time to explain it anyway, I needed to get there as soon as I could and being distracted by talking to him, wouldn’t allow me to get there as fast as I could.

  We both knew what I wasn’t willing to say because there was no way I would say Kay’s name and that one word in the same sentence.

  Kidnapped.

  I groaned at the thumping in my head when I started to wake up. I tried to move but my head hurt even more when I did so I stayed still.

  Keeping quiet, trying to assess myself and my surroundings without drawing attention, I concentrated on what I could feel. Almost all of my clothes had been stripped, being left with just my panties and bra. My skin scratched against the cold, rough surface, making me wince.

  My ears perked up, telling me that I wasn’t alone. I listened for several seconds, making sure that I wasn’t in immediate danger, and then cracked one eye open. I let my eyes adjust to the dim light in the small space and tried to make out where I was.

  The walls and floor were all concrete and from what I could make out in the low light, there was a tiny window and a door.

  “Hello?” I whispered. Not knowing if I was talking to an empty room or if someone was here with me.

  “Hi,” a small voice answered me back.

  Sitting up slowly, using the wall to help keep me up, I opened both eyes and brought my knees to my chest.

  I knew that Max would come after me at some stage, no matter how many times everyone tried to tell me that I was safe and he wouldn’t get to me. I always knew deep down, that it was only a matter of time before he caught up with me.

  Although, I never imagined that it would be like this, he always liked to do it in private where no one else could see but I guess that he didn’t care now that everyone knew what he had done to me.

  That made it so much worse, he was unpredictable to a whole other extreme. At least before, I had some idea of what would set him off but now I didn’t have a clue.

  After a few minutes of my eyes adjusting to the dim light, I noticed two girls huddled together on the far side of the room. No clothes, just underwear, the same as me.

  Where the hell was I?

  “You should move from there,” the girl who had answered me said.

  “Huh?” I frowned, looking around.

  “You’re right by the door, you want to be as far away from the door as possible,” she said with an awareness that scared me. This was someone who knew what happened here. It also meant that I could find out what was going on and try to find a way out.

  I wouldn’t let Max do this to me. I wasn’t the same woman that he’d tried to control and put down for all of those years. I was strong now and I’d show him just how strong I was when he showed his face.

  Leaning on my hands and knees, too weak to stand, I shuffled forward with the concrete floor scratching against my knees.

  “Where are we?” I asked when I was closer to them.

  “Hell,” she answered.

  Leaning against the wall next to them, I couldn’t see the one girls face as it was buried in her knees but the other girl’s face, the one who was talking, I recognized.

  “Lindsey?” I gasped. She looked just like her, apart from the black eye and dried blood on her lip.

  “Y…Yeah,” she stammered. I’d caught her off guard and for the first time, she showed some weakness. It was clear that she was putting on a front and trying to be strong, I suspected for the other girl, who still had her head buried in her knees.

  A small smile spread across my face. We knew where she was now and even though we were stuck in here at the moment, I’d be able to get us out. That, I was sure of.

  What I couldn’t understand was why Max had brought me here. If Lindsey had been taken by Daley, did that mean that Max was working with him?

  “We’ve been looking for you,” I told Lindsey.

  “You have?”

  “Yeah, your parents-” She snorted, cutting me off and leaned forward.

  “My parents put me here,” she gritted out.

  “Josh was right then.” I nodded, knowing that she’d want to hear his name. I’d love nothing more than to hear Ty’s name. For someone to talk about him. I knew she’d been here a couple of weeks at least and I hated to think what had been happening to her in that time.

  “You spoke to Josh?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  “Let’s start this properly,” I said leaning forward and extending my hand. “I’m Kay and I’m part of a team that has been trying to find you.”

  “Team?” she asked, shaking my hand. “You’re a cop?”

  “No.” I shook my head and pulled my hand back. “Security company.”

  “And you met Josh?”

  “I sure did.” I smiled, glad that my mind was off whatever was going on here. “He told us all about your parents and how you’ve been living with him. He’s been looking for you.”

  “I knew he would.” She nodded, a small smile spreading on her face. “He hasn’t got into any trouble though, has he?”

  “No.” I chuckled. “He’s been quite clever actually, watching and waiting. You’ve got a good one there.”

  “Yeah.” She sighed wistfully. “I really do.”

  I smiled at the look on her face, her eyes glazing over as she was remembering things.

  Then we heard the sound of boots on the floor coming closer and the rattle of keys as they were put in the lock. My stomach took a nose dive and the whole atmosphere around us changed.

  “Quick,” Lindsey whispered, waving me closer. “Huddle up.”

  I scrambled closer and sat next to the girl who still hadn’t looked up. Her hand came out and clutched onto mine and then she brought her head up.

  Her blue eyes so light that they were almost see through. They made me think of Luke and that made me even more determined to get out of this place. I needed a plan.

  We all listened at the click of the lock being turned, echoing off the walls.

  Taking a deep breath, I tried to prepare myself for whatever was about to happen. But truthfully, I didn’t have a clue what would transpire from here. I just hoped that I could find a way out, and quick.

  I spotted Kay’s car as soon as I pulled into the lot. Parking a couple of spaces down, I jumped out of my truck and jogged towards her car, looking all around it for any signs of anything to give me an idea of what happened.

  “Boss? Anything?” Luke said from behind me.

  I didn’t answer him, instead I lowered down on the ground and looked under the car. Stretching my hand out, I felt for anything I couldn’t see, I felt a bunch of keys and dragged them out. My heart pumped faster as I felt the teddy bear keyring that she kept on there, instinctively knowing that they were Kay’s before I even saw them.

  “Boss?” Kitty asked. I could feel them all around me now, waiting for me to answer. I clutched the keys tighter and squeezed my eyes closed, not wanting to admit to myself what I already knew.

  I counted to three before I lifted up off the ground and opened my eyes, looking down at my hand. “They’re Kay’s,” I said on an exhale. This wasn’t good, this was really, really bad.

  “Shit,” Kitty said under her breath.

  I stared at them in shock, this had really happened. She’d been taken away from me and there was only one person that would have don
e this. I felt sick, knowing that he must have been watching her and I had no idea that she was in so much danger. I hadn’t protected her.

  “Kitty?” I looked up at her and threw her the keys. “Take Kay’s car home.”

  She nodded and jumped straight into the car as I looked away, not being able to see her drive it without Kay being behind the wheel. I’d watched Kay drive off the compound in it this morning and now I hadn’t got a clue where she was.

  My mind was swirling with thoughts, where did I go from here? How would I tell Eli?

  Putting my hands on my head, I looked off into the distance, needing to get my head together before I went inside the preschool.

  “Okay, this is what we’re gonna do,” I turned to Luke. “Call Charlie and then go somewhere so Eli can’t see you. I’ll get him and tell him…fuck! I don’t know.”

  “Boss-”

  Holding up my hand, not wanting to hear anything from him, I continued. “Come back and get the footage. I’ll meet you back at the warehouse when Eli is in bed.”

  “Got it.” Luke nodded but stood there, his mouth opening and closing before thinking better of it and walking away. I didn’t need to know what he thought, all I wanted was for him to do as I’d told him to.

  Scrubbing my hands down my face, I walked to the preschool door and took in a deep breath. I needed to make sure Eli didn’t know about any of this, how I was going to do that, I had no idea. I had to try and act normal while on the inside I was falling apart.

  Eli was sat in the reception area with Miss Cooper when I opened the door. Putting a smile on my face, I rolled my shoulders back and walked over to him.

  “Hey, bud,” I said, crouching down. “Sorry that I’m late.”

  “I thought mama was picking me up,” he said, shuffling down off of his seat.

  Looking up at Miss Cooper, I could tell that she knew something had happened. I nodded subtly and looked back at Eli, trying to think of something on the spot.

  “She was gonna, bud, but she got caught up with Miss Maggie.”

  “Oh.” He scanned my face, his green eyes looking for something. I tried my hardest to keep the worry that I was feeling off my face but I hadn’t got a clue if I managed it or not.

  “Can we get a burger?”

  “Sure.” I smiled and held my hand out to him as I picked up his bag off the chair, his small hand gripping mine while he waved bye to Miss Cooper.

  She opened her mouth to say something but I cut her off. “Give it five minutes,” I said, trying to convey with my eyes what I couldn’t say aloud.

  I wouldn’t talk about this in front of Eli, as far as he would be aware, Kay was fine. I was determined to make sure he didn’t know because he didn’t need to deal with any of this. He needed to keep being a kid and things like this wouldn’t allow him to do that.

  “Okay,” she whispered back.

  Nodding, we walked out and back to my truck as I asked Eli what he’d done today.

  We made a pit stop for burgers and ate them inside, I didn’t want to take him back to the compound until I had to. It would just be a reminder that she wasn’t there. I was having a hard enough time just keeping it from Eli as it was.

  I needed help so on the way home, I decided that I’d call ma and get her to come over. I couldn’t deal with all of this on my own. She’d know what to do, not that I didn’t want to spend time with Eli, I just needed to concentrate on finding Kay.

  Once we were back at the compound, I let Monty out into the back yard and he ran around playing with Eli, keeping him occupied. Pulling my cell out, I dialed Ma’s number.

  “Hello?” she answered.

  “Ma?” I couldn’t stop my voice from cracking.

  “Tyson? What’s happened?”

  “Kay,” I whispered, watching Eli laugh as Monty tagged him with his paw. “She’s been taken.”

  “We’re on our way, son.” I nodded, even though she couldn’t see, and I swallowed past the lump in my throat and pressed the end call button. I had to keep it together, for Eli.

  Taking a deep breath, I pulled my shoulders back and walked out into the yard. If I didn’t attempt to keep things as normal as I could, Eli would know for sure that something was up. Although, just with Kay not being here, it made it different. She was always home, baking, cooking or playing with Eli and Monty.

  I got so caught up in the memories, that I didn’t notice Eli running to me. “When is mama coming home?” he gasped, out of breath.

  “Soon bud. Nana E will be here in a minute though.” He’d taken to calling her that, at ma’s insistence of course. They’d fallen in love with him, just like we all had.

  “And Pop?” He grinned, jumping up and down.

  “Yeah.” I smiled. “And pop.”

  My heart thumped harder as the door squeaked open and I watched as a pair of boots stepped into the room. My eyes ran up his legs, his torso, and up to his face. Max stood there with an evil smirk on his face and I couldn’t stop the gasp that came out of my mouth as I looked into his eyes. I’d never seen them look so dead and so lifeless.

  I desperately wanted to look away but I wouldn’t, I wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction. That’s what he wanted and there was no way that I’d be giving him what he wanted anymore.

  “Come here,” he said, his voice low and raw.

  Not moving an inch, I kept my eyes firmly planted on him. I wouldn’t willingly go to him, he’d have to drag me kicking and screaming. I wasn’t the meek person that I used to be.

  “Now!” he roared. His face turning red, that vein that always pulsed when he was angry started to throb. I smiled, seemed like he still had a short fuse, that hadn’t changed. His temper would always get the better of him.

  He stomped forward, grabbing onto my hair and pulling me up. I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out, I wouldn’t allow him to hear the pain that he was causing, that’s what he wanted, it’s what he had always wanted.

  I scrambled to land on the bottom of my feet but the concrete scraped against the top of them as he dragged me up. Bringing me into the middle of the floor, he turned me so that we were facing the girls and I shivered as his chest touched my back.

  “I’m gonna teach you a lesson. Every. Single. Fuckin’. Day,” he growled down my ear.

  I stared at the girls, seeing the fear in their eyes as they watched us. They knew him, I could tell that much.

  His fist to my ribs took me by surprise and I gasped, and then moaned in pain as I tried to get my breath back.

  “Ahhh! That’s it! I’ve fuckin’ missed that sound.” I felt his nose touch my neck and I heard the inhale as he sniffed me. I was off balance, and when he let me go with a push, I went tumbling to the floor. Curling up into a ball, I looked him square in the eyes.

  “I hate you,” I whispered.

  He stepped closer, each footstep echoing throughout the small room. “What did you say?” His voice was low and calm.

  Gulping, I lifted my head and squinted my eyes at him. I wanted him to see how much I meant this.

  “I. Hate. You.”

  His nostrils flared and his hand clenched into fists, this time I was prepared. His fist came down onto my ribs again and he pushed me over onto my back. Pressing his boot into my stomach so that I couldn’t curl up into a ball again.

  “You may hate me,” he said, crouching down, his boot digging into me which made it hard to breathe. “But you’ll always be mine. I made sure to mark you so that no one will ever want you again,” he taunted, running his finger down the scar on my thigh.

  Shivering, I pulled away, not caring that the floor scraped the skin off my back. I wanted to get away from him.

  Smirking, I lifted my brows “You sure about that?” I couldn’t help but taunt him back.

  He tilted his head to the side, his brows pulling down into a frown. He lifted up, his boot pushing into my stomach before he moved it off me completely. Sitting up while he was distracted, I took the time to catch my
breath and shuffled back against the wall.

  My eyes moved over to the girls, their faces pale from what they were seeing.

  “You fuck him?” he ground out, moving closer so that his body was towering over me.

  What was I doing? Why was I winding him up? I needed to stop, I could see how much it was affecting him. His face had started to go red and that vein was pulsing like crazy.

  “Yeah.” I smirked and pulled my shoulders back. “And damn… it was good.” I could hear each breath that he was taking, his chest rising and falling faster with each one. I was getting to him. Good, I wasn’t going to lay down and take his shit anymore.

  My stomach rolled at each second that ticked by, waiting and watching for his next move. I needed him to snap, if he did, then I could get away. Or at least try to get away. There was three of us and one of him, we had the advantage. If he was distracted enough maybe they could get away and get some help.

  It never came though, instead, he threw his head back and laughed. “She said you’d do this.” He shook his finger at me and stepped back. “She said you’d lie to get a reaction out of me.”

  I frowned at him. She?

  He stepped back, nodding his head to himself. “I’m gonna pace myself this time.” Chuckling, he continued to back out of the room and pulled the door closed, shouting through it, “I’ll break you even if it’s the last thing that I do.”

  Staring at the door long after he’d gone, I tried to wrap my head around what had happened. Why had he stopped? He never stopped.

  “What are you doing? You don’t want to mess with him,” Lindsey said, helping me back over to them.

  “Trust me,” I said, sitting down and holding my ribs. “I know him better than anyone.”

  “You do?” The other girl gasped.

  “Yeah, I’d like to think so, I was with him for five years and we have a son together.”

  “You have a son with him?” Lindsey asked, her hand flying to her chest.

  “Yeah.” I leaned the back of my head on the wall, and took a deep breath. It had been so long since I’d been hurt like this, that I’d almost forgotten what it felt like. “I’ll fill you in. All we’ve got is time in here, right?”