Page 50 of Special Agent Raven
Shocked and heartbroken, Winona sat silent while tears poured down her face. “All those years since she left, I’ve felt her loss. Then suddenly, my heart knew she’d passed. What I didn’t know was that she’d had another family.”
“Just me. I never knew about you or Raven. She refused to talk about her past. I always sensed it brought her pain, so I stopped asking. She was a single mom who worked two jobs to give me the best upbringing she could. We didn’t have much, but almost every penny she could spare from the bills, she spent on me… so I could have a good life. I loved her dearly.”
He suddenly turned to her. “Know what? This means you’re my nana too.”
She wiped the tears flooding over her face and smiled at him so tenderly, he felt all the pain of the last year dissipate like clouds revealing a beautiful sunrise. “Yes. And Raven is your sister.”
“That is the best news I’ve heard in a long, long time. May I call you Nana?”
“I can’t wait to hear you say it. And Josh and Ami too. What a wonderful gift to an old lady who’s been fretting all day over her daughter.”
Stiffening, Noah stared into Winona’s eyes, searching for the truth. “You too? Something about her has been gnawing at me all day also.”
Winona’s expression changed to show her worry. “You know we talk every night, but when I tried to call her a while ago, themessage went straight to voice mail. That’s not like her to ignore my call. It’s been a nightly ritual since she left.”
Noah stood to pace. He rubbed both hands over his head and clutched them together on his neck. “Can you keep Val and Bonnie here for another night? I’m thinking to head to the city. The helicopter is back now that the repairs are finished, and I’m hoping Henry doesn’t have any plans for it tonight.”
“You can fly a helicopter?”
“Sure. I flew the birds in the army. Oh, I never told you about my two tours in Afghanistan, did I? Don’t much like to talk about that time with most people.”
Winona smiled gently and patted his hand. ‘Looks like I’m not just most people anymore.”
He hugged her close and kissed her check gently. “Nope… and I can’t wait for us to catch up on those lost years, but I need to leave now.”
“Yes, you do. Go. And let me know she’s okay. That all this worrying is just an old woman’s imagination playing tricks.”
Chapter Forty
Raven woke with a start, feeling as if she’d been partying all night and had gone way too far. Crushing dizziness forced her eyes to remain closed, while her stomach dealt with the sickening nausea. Sensing she wasn’t alone, she tried to remember what had happened only to come up blank. Suddenly, her brain sent signals that she’d been tied up, left sprawled on the living room rug, and was helpless.
Struggling, she realized she could move her legs but not much else. Groans built up and flowed into the tense space around her, bringing forth chuckles of satisfaction close by.
“Aha! My lady is awake. Finally. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to join the living? We have some partying to do, you and me, bitch. And I’ve waited long enough to get you where I want you… now haven’t I?”
“Dale. What the hell have you done? Let me go.”
“Not gonna happen, slut. You’re the reason I’ve got bug bites all over my body that still haven’t healed. And it’s because ofyou’re meddling that I have every police officer in the vicinity willing to shoot first and ask questions later.”
Jesus… Lord help me.
Her heart began to thump… the heavy beating making her afraid that she’d upchuck and soil herself. Unable to ignore the hate in his voice or the loathing in his heartless, black eyes, she tried to wrench her hands free from the plastic strips that confined them behind her back.
Voice edgy with the fear she tried to control, she pleaded for his sanity. “You don’t want to do this, dude. I’m FBI. Have you any idea how they deal with men who attack agents? You won’t like it, trust me. Let me go, and we’ll talk.”
Appealing to his intelligence failed, her imploring words only made him laugh. Strutting around the room, he threw his head back and bellowed with joy. Looking like the madman he was, he circled and even danced, his features distorted with glee. Settling down, he turned to her and crouched nearby. “Oh, you and me… we’re gonna have such a good time, baby. You’re going to be real nice to little ole Dale.” His voice unexpectedly turned hurtful, bursting with the meanness of an empty soul. Then he whispered, “Or I’ll kill you slow, slow, slowww… and make the pain a hundred times worse. You understand?”
She didn’t say a word. Just stared at the fucker who had control. All she could think of was that thankfully, he hadn’t tied her legs together. Likely because he intended on getting between them. Raven knew that his coming attack might be her last chance to stop his vile intentions, and as scared as she felt, she stiffened with anticipation.
Giggling like a sicko, he slowly began to unzip his hoody to reveal a grubby, graying, sleeveless undershirt that had seen better days. Without the outer garment, his muscled arms appeared, revealing the inflamed sores and bruises of his past struggles. “Do you know what the riverbank muck tastes like,honeybun? No? Well, I do. Hid in the fucking shit for hours while your men combed the area to find me. Your fault. Then I got chewed up by bugs, worms, even a mean ole snake had his turn on my arm. Yep. Your fault.”
His voice rose. “Oh, hey, can’t forget the fucking mosquitoes. They loved me and made every inch of my body burn with bites and blisters. Again, your fault. And while the cold water soaked me till I thought I would die from hypothermia, I had to breathe in all the shit to stay alive. Swallowed lots too. Your fault.”
“Stop! You can’t blame me for your bad choices. I didn’t kill anybody. You did. Nor did I hold folks hostage… no, you did that.”
His voice roared with anger. “Shut the fuck up. I don’t want you to talk, hear me? I’m in charge now.”
“Look, Dale. Hurting me isn’t going to help you. Just leave. By the time I get free, you can be long gone.”