33. Chapter Thirty Two

Chapter Thirty Two

Vincent

C losing the door behind me, I carry the two bags of take-out in my fingers as I come into the living room. A huge bed is in the center, Liam and Asher hanging out on it while Ronan is sitting at the kitchen island.

"Where is Skyla?" I ask.

"Out," Asher says. "Wesley took her to Maggie's."

"And you thought that was acceptable?" I ask carefully.

Asher turns around to look at me, a sneer lifting his mouth as he speaks.

"Yeah, I did. Wesley is more than capable of keeping her safe, and we all know he's just about as gone for her as we all are. He won't let anything happen to her."

"If anything does, I'll skin Wesley from head to toe," I promise, as a door shuts and footsteps sound through the house.

"Whoa, what the fuck did I do to deserve that kind of threat?" Wesley says, as he walks into the room.

Rolling my eyes, I move my head to look behind him.

"Where's Skyla?"

Wesley frowns, his eyes roaming around the house.

"Isn't she here?"

The entire room goes still, all our eyes swinging to him.

"What?" I snap sharply.

"Didn't Asher drive her home with Liam from the hospital?" Wesley asks.

Asher is to his feet, moving towards him.

"I did. Then she told me that you were picking her up to take her to Maggie's."

Wesley shakes his head. "I haven't spoken to her today."

His eyes move to Ronan, their minds working a million miles a minute when my phone buzzes in my pocket. At the same time, Ronan's buzzes against the counter as Asher and Liam's ding with a notification. We all trade a look before scrambling for our phones.

Skyla: I'm sorry. I know this is the cowards' way out, but I also knew that if I did this in person, none of you would let me go, and you have to. I can't sit by anymore, waiting for him to hurt one of you, or worse, kill you. I hope you know that my heart is breaking as I type this, but I also hope you see why I had to do this. If I lost one of you, I'd never survive. I'm protecting you, like you all have protected me. Please don't look for me, please don't come for me. I'm trying to do the right thing…let me, please.

I love you all. Forever.

As I stare at the words, an icy chill settles into my chest. I watch as Ronan lifts his phone to his ear, hanging it up with a curse and trying again. Asher and Liam's fingers are flying across the screen as they begin panicking.

"Fuck! It's going straight to voicemail," Ronan snaps, as he throws his phone against the wall, shattering the device to pieces.

"Where could she be? What is she thinking!" Liam says, as his eyes look frantically to any of us for answers.

My thumbs are already moving at lightning speed. Hacking into the city's street cameras is almost too easy these days. I keep my eyes on my phone as I move towards the front door.

"Wesley with me. Asher and Ronan, go interrogate Bartlett. If she doesn't talk, start removing body parts," I say coolly.

"We're not going to hack up her best friend," Liam scoffs.

I pause on my heel, looking over my shoulder.

"I'll hack up anyone I need to if it means we get her back."

With that, I step out of the front door, feeling a presence beside me.

"What's the game plan?" Wesley asks.

I angle my screen for him, showing the moment Skyla jumped into Bartlett's car and they took off eastbound. Wesley's eyebrows lift in surprise as he assesses me.

"You work fast."

"Have to," I say shortly, before sliding into the front seat of his car. I begin fast forwarding the footage, directing Wesley before my jaw clenches as I watch the car park. My little siren. Of course she'd go to the water.

"You got access to a boat?" I ask Wesley.

"Maybe. Why?"

I turn to face him. "Because we're gonna need it."

Forty-five minutes later, I'm slipping inside her room on the cruise ship. Wesley is in a drag boat following closely behind, waiting for us. A few words with a guy at the docks and we were given the keys to a boat.

According to the dipshits back at the house, she could have been gone anywhere between forty-five minutes to four motherfucking hours. Based on how long it took us to catch up with the boat, I'd say it was closer to four hours. Worthless piece of shits.

When we got close enough, I was able to find a spot that allowed me to climb up and onto the stern. From there, it was almost too easy. A gun to the temple can pull information rather quickly, though unfortunately, ‘security' is searching for me. It's fine, we won't be long.

My eyes scan the empty room, ready to go tear the ship apart in search of her, when I hear the sound of a bath running. Grabbing the bathroom door handle, I notice that it's locked. Not for long.

Lifting my boot, I kick it open, splintering the frame apart as a completely naked Skyla screams. Her screams stop when she sees it's me, but they shouldn't because with the anger I have inside me right now, I'm ready to fucking kill her.

"Vincent, how did you—"

I cut her words off, gripping her throat tighter than I should as I push my nose against hers.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? Huh? Running away? Taking my goddamn heart with you? Do you honestly think there is a single place in this world that you could run to that I would not find you? Land or sea, I will always find you, Siren," I spit.

Tears begin welling in her eyes as her voice rasps.

"Leave, please. I need to keep you safe. I need to—"

"No!" I snap with a sharp shake. "It's my job to keep you safe, it's your job to let me."

"What if he kills you!" she sobs, as I loosen my hold on her neck.

I lift my other hand, cupping the back of her head to hold her in place as I look straight into those green eyes.

"Then I fucking die! But as long as I'm breathing, I will not let you go."

Her watery eyes glisten, and I shake my head at her stupidity before crushing my lips to hers. She doesn't fight me, but she doesn't engage either, which pisses me the fuck off. Pulling away from her, I spin her in my arms, forcing her to bend over the bathtub.

"What are you doing?" she asks, as my hand releases her throat fully. My hand on the back of her head slides down to her neck as my free hand unzips my pants, freeing my cock.

"Reminding you of who you belong to since you've obviously forgotten," I say, as I shove myself inside her.

As soon as her mouth drops open to gasp, I shove her fucking head underwater as I begin thrusting. I only leave her there for two seconds before I rip her out, thrusting my hips as I speak into her ear.

"You think you can just leave us like that? That you can leave me?" I snarl as I shove her back under.

She takes a deep breath before her head is submerged, her body bucking and fighting against me. If she thinks she can pull this shit and not face consequences, she's fucking insane. The anger thrumming in my veins has sinister voices whispering to me. Ones that suggest if she wants to run off and get killed, I'll do it myself. I'd rather be the one to feel her life drain from my hands than let another. I know my death would come only moments later because my life doesn't exist without hers anymore. So if she dies, I die, and I've never been so tempted to end it all until this moment.

Yanking her back out of the water, I brush my lips against her dripping wet cheek, speaking against her skin.

"You can't hide from me, Siren. I'll never stop coming for you. Run away all you want. I'll take pleasure in hunting you down every time."

Skyla lets out a pitiful cry as she shakes her head.

"I have to do this," she wheezes, though I can hear the fight in her voice dying by the second.

"I've got all night. Hold your breath," I say, before shoving her underwater again.

My pace quickens and her pussy contracts, squeezing the life out of my cock. Her body begins wriggling in panic under the water, like she's out of oxygen. I hold her for several more seconds, though. I know what she's capable of. She's held her breath this long before and I know I need to ride that line if I want to break this fucking attitude.

When her movements begin to slow I pull her out of the water again, smacking the side of her cheek to force her to breathe. Watery coughs erupt from her as she pants and gasps for breath.

"Please, please. No more," she begs.

"Have you had enough? You ready to come home, Siren?" I ask, as I angle my hips, forcing a moan to fall from her lips.

"I'm scared," she cries, a broken sound that hurts something inside me.

Forcing her to look at me, I continue fucking her, my cock throbbing and her pussy pulsing as I speak.

"I know, but I'll never let him get you. I'll never let anyone touch you again. I'm a very dangerous man. Few can go against me. You're mine, Siren, and you need to act like it."

Defeat fills her eyes as she weakly nods, her back arching against me as she begins to fall over the edge. I feel my own orgasm build, the anger inside me fueling the intensity as I fill her pussy with my cum. She takes me so well, screaming and moaning her release as I fuck her mercilessly.

When we've both come down from our highs, she slumps against the tub, her head just barely resting above the water as she blows out a heavy breath. Turning her head towards me, she shakes it as she speaks.

"For a second there, I thought you were going to kill me."

Slowly I pull out of her, leaning my face down to hers as I press a featherlight kiss against her lips.

"If you ever try to leave me again, I will."

Fear dilates in her green eyes before acceptance fills them. Is she just as fucked up as me, to accept such a statement? Most definitely. Is that one of the reasons she's my goddamn soulmate? Undoubtedly.

"Get dressed and get your things together. Wesley is waiting for us," I say, as I pull away from her.

"Wesley? Why?"

"Because Ronan and Asher are interrogating Maggie."

Skyla turns to face me, her face pinched with worry.

"It's not her fault! Please don't blame her."

I don't respond, grabbing the few items she's pulled out of a duffel bag on her bed before stuffing them back inside.

"Vincent! I'm serious," she shouts, as she begins getting dressed.

Again, I ignore her, zipping up the bag as I move into the bathroom, grabbing her arm and pulling her out. She's barely able to slip on her shoes before we're at the door. She attempts to pull out of my grasp as she looks at me desperately.

"Vincent, please!"

"Enough," I snap. "I don't give a fuck about your friend. I care about getting you home safe. Now stay quiet and stick close to me…please," I add on, pressing a kiss to her forehead that thankfully has her nodding her agreement.

I grip her duffle bag in one hand, her wrist in my other as I peek out the door, looking from side to side before pulling her with me. We walk a hundred feet or so before two men in security uniforms come up to us. Shit.

"Hey! Stop!" they shout, as they begin to run towards us.

We take off running the way we came, ditching into a side door that leads to the boiler room. I push Skyla to go first, scrambling behind her before shutting the door. Conveniently, there is a latch and I engage it before we begin making our way down the ladder.

When we get to the bottom, I take Skyla's hand, weaving through the pipes before coming to an exit. I pause outside the door, looking at her.

"You trust me?"

"Of course," she says.

"Good," I nod, before pushing the door open.

Half a dozen security guards are surrounding the door, all waiting for us. I drop my hold on Skyla, handing her the bag before I take on the first guy, punching him in the throat before kicking in his kneecap. He screams, falling to the floor as the rest charge me. I take each down, one by one, before I reach out for Skyla. She runs to me and I rush her to the edge of the boat, grabbing the rope ladder and throwing it over the side.

Her terrified eyes meet mine and I nod as I take her bag, throwing it over the edge. She looks over to see it sail through the air, landing just barely in Wesley's arms. He's trying to maneuver the boat close enough to us, without getting in the way of the ship's wake.

Another security guard charges me as Skyla begins scrambling down the side of the boat. I pull out my gun, jamming the butt of it against the bridge of his nose. He howls in pain, stumbling backwards as I jump onto the ladder, following Skyla before she reaches the end.

The breeze is forcing the ladder from side to side and Wesley is trying to reach for her while steering the boat at the same time.

"C'mon, little one. I got you!" he shouts over the roaring of the ship.

She glances anxiously at the distance between them before looking up to me. I give her an encouraging nod and she leaps through the air, my heart seizing in my chest when I see she didn't jump out far enough.

Wesley miraculously scrambles to the edge of the boat, holding his hands out for hers as she slips into the ocean. His hold on her keeps her head barely above water, before he's pulling her body out and into the boat.

Once she's safe, he wraps a blanket around her before steering the boat closer. I climb the rest of the way down before springing off the ship and onto the boat. I land in a crouch and next thing I know, Wesley flips us around to head back to shore.

Skyla is shivering and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into my lap as we sail through the water. Flashing lights are easily seen on shore from here and I share a look with Wesley as he veers off, heading for a more discreet docking position.

I'm sure the Brethren will be down our throats for this one and I have no idea how we're gonna explain it away.