Tortured Salvation: A Dark Contemporary Romance (Salvation Trilogy Book 2) Read online

  Tortured Salvation

  Salvation Trilogy Book Two

  Cadyn James

  © 2022 Cadyn James

  All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at [email protected]

  Cover by Cadyn James

  1st Edition

  Dedication

  To my alpha readers: Tanya, Lindsay, Shannon, Sam, Tamara, Karly, and Becky….you are guys are the best. Thanks for all the support, encouragement, laughs, and suggestions. I couldn’t have done it without you.

  To God, who keeps letting me do this.

  To Mom and Dad….yeah, I’ll get around to writing something you’ll actually read one of these days.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Isak

  I caught Zale’s limp body as she crumpled towards the floor. “What the hell? Zale!” Curling her up against my chest, I looked at Mak.

  Zale’s best friend was staring at the phone she’d managed to catch before Zale passed out. Her pale skin was milky white as her light green eyes widened in horror. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

  Vera, the women’s stand-in mother figure, grabbed the phone and Mak into her arms. “What, dear? You look like you’ve seen Satan himself.”

  “Speak, Mak. Now.” If my arms hadn’t been full of Zale, I would have shaken Mak hard enough her kinky curly hair would have straightened.

  Mak shook her head. “I can’t. She’ll tell you when she wakes up. But we need to talk to the whole team. Now.” Bright red stained her cheeks as she got herself under control. Pushing away from Vera’s arms, she turned for the door.

  She opened it just a crack. “We have an emergency. Can we come out?”

  I didn’t hear the answer from the security teams, but it must have been okay. The next thing I know, Henry is charging into the room. Anger rode his features like white on rice. His blue eyes were narrowed. “Phone.”

  Vera handed it to him without a word.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I demanded.

  Zale whimpered in my arms, pulling my attention. Her brow was knitted as her eyes moved under her lids. It was like she was caught in a nightmare.

  And I was fucking stuck out here where I couldn’t protect her.

  “Get her laid down,” Mak said. “Put her on the couch.” She waved me out of her bedroom where we’d been scurried away for protection.

  The rest of our security teams were ranged around the massive penthouse apartment. Mia, the head of Zale’s Personal Protection Detail team, came over. She was small and built like a pixie. Her purple eyes didn’t help the illusion, either. But the strength in her little body and the ‘I’ll Kill You’ vibes she gave off made people give her a wide berth. “False alarm.”

  I shook my head. “I think it did exactly what it was supposed to do.” I looked down at Zale, back up at the bodyguard.

  Mia pursed her lips and dipped her chin. “What happened?”

  I shook my head as we walked through the large space. I deposited Zale down on the couch as Mak rushed over with a blanket. “No idea. She looked at Henry’s phone and passed out.”

  Mia’s face scrunched up. “Henry’s phone?”

  I nodded. Once Zale was as stable and comfortable as I could make her, I turned on Mak. “Start talking. Now.” Threat laced my tone.

  She pokered up, shook her head.

  Faster than a snake striking, I caught a handful of her hair in one hand. With the other, I had my gun pressed up to the angle of her chin. “I won’t tell you again.” Keeping my eyes on hers, I let her see my determination to get the answers I wanted.

  I felt cold metal press against the back of my head as a faint, unmistakable click sounded. “Let her go, Hardin,” Henry said in a quiet voice.

  Shaking my head, I kept my grip on Mak. “Not until she speaks.”

  “Threatening her won’t get you very far,” he said.

  I shrugged. “I’ll kill her before you can pull the trigger. If something happens to Zale because Mak won’t talk, my life is already over.”

  My words hung in the air like a noxious gas, but they were the truth. My life was worth less than nothing if something happened to Zale. I made sure Mak knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

  Her pale, peridot eyes glimmered with tears as she stared up at me. “You’re psychotic.”

  My lips pulled wide in acknowledgement. There was no joy in the recognition. Just fact.

  “Someone do something, I’m getting tired of holding this gun,” Emma said from the back of the room. She was another of Zale’s PPD team. A bit more fiery than the others, but she was a good compliment to the team that had been put together.

  Mak swallowed hard. Her gaze flicked over my shoulder for a moment. Then she looked back at me and sighed. “Fine.”

  I tightened my hand. “All of it. I’m sick to fucking death of having the truth leak out like air from a deflating balloon.”

  She winced, but nodded slightly. “Agreed.”

  I let her go. Both hands went up into the air. Someone took my gun and patted me down. “Clear.”

  I sat on the couch next to Zale’s hip. If I could have covered her completely with my body and not put her in more physical danger, I would have. Hell, at this point, I would have slithered into her skin with her. That might be pushing things a little too far. But I would hold it as an option.

  Mak paced in short tracks in front of me. She was mumbling to herself. Her hands alternated between twitching and wild gestures.

  Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

  Turning, I saw Henry’s face inches from my own. “We’re going to have a talk, you and I.”

  I dipped my chin. “I’ll pencil you in.” I turned back to Mak. “Speak,” I barked at her.

  She jolted and glared at me. “You’re such an asshole.”

  “You already knew this. Everyone knows this. Start talking.” I crossed my arms to keep from reaching for
her again.

  “Zale was hospitalized a couple of different times while she was in Kansas City,” Mak began.

  I nodded. “She told me. Suicide attempts.”

  Mak’s mouth fell open slightly. She clicked it shut, nodded. “Yeah. But she went to the hospital for other reasons as well.” She eyed me, her gaze searching for something.

  I waited her out. Now that she was talking, I could afford patience. At least some.

  Mak signed, shoved a hand through her hair. “Zale’s drug of choice was pills. She didn’t care where she got them. And she’s rich enough that she never had to go out searching.” Her entire face fell. “I think that made it worse, actually. So much fucking worse.”

  “Mak, honey. Keep going,” Henry said.

  Mak hugged herself and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She nodded. “Her dealer, one of the doctors at a hospital she donated to, knocked her up. They were having a pill party. She thinks he slipped her something else, but she could never prove it.”

  Rage ate through my veins that someone had touched her without permission. It was bad enough she’d had other men before me, but to know one of them raped her? He was dead, he was just living on borrowed time. “They were romantically involved?”

  Mak shook her head as she looked at me. “Other than you, Z’s pretty much celibate. Growing up as she did, dating was more of a struggle than it was worth. And she never found anyone who wasn’t after her money.”

  “That fucker raped her.” The words were crushed glass in my mouth.

  Mak bumped her shoulders up slightly. “Yes, but not violently.”

  I shot to my feet. “It’s still fucking rape if she couldn’t consent.”

  Mak shoved into my face. “Sit your ass back down. You wanted to hear it, so I’ll tell it my way. And I fucking know it was rape. Zale doesn’t use that word to describe it, though, so watch your fucking mouth.”

  Fury vibrated my body as I fought for control. I didn’t care what word she used, it was still rape in my book. That fucker just moved to the top of my to-do list.

  Through sheer force of will, I sat back down. Not trusting myself, I didn’t take Zale’s hand in mine. But I wanted to crush her to me. We would be having more discussions, it seemed.

  “Zale didn’t know she was pregnant. She was still using. Between the drug use, the stress of the job, and what I know now is stress about her stalker, she’d missed her period for almost six months.” Mak blew out a breath and turned away for a moment.

  Vera walked over to her, handed her a glass of orange juice. She hugged the taller woman, spoke to her quietly for a moment.

  Mak took the glass, nodded, and hugged the older woman again. Taking a sip, she turned back around. “She called me once. I thought it was going to be another one of her drug-addled ramblings, but she was actually coherent.” Mak’s smile was crooked. “Well, coherent-ish. She was screeching and screaming. One of the women at O+B told her she was glowing and exhausted. Then she asked how far along Zale was in her pregnancy. Zale freaked out. She left early that day, grabbed about twenty-five home pregnancy tests, and chugged a gallon of water.”

  Mak took another drink of her juice. “I was so fucking glad that she had real emotion in her voice that it took me a bit to even register her words. She was pregnant, but didn’t remember having sex. We talked out the unlikelihood of her being the next immaculate conception.” Mak stared out the windows that someone had glazed over into privacy mode.

  “I flew out to her the next day. Lost one of my contracts, but it didn’t matter. Only Zale mattered. It was a long ass flight from Venice, but I got there. She was still in her house. Working from home under some bullshit flu story her misogynist bosses bought.”

  When Mak turned back, she had tears in her eyes again. “She was so fucking skinny under the pregnancy belly. Sticks for arms and legs. I was pretty sure she was thinner than I was at that point. Getting her dressed, I took her to Urgent Care. They did the blood test, gave us an estimate on the due date.”

  Mak smiled, a fierce light in her eyes. “She owned up to her drug habit. I was so fucking proud of her. She stood there and told the doctor that she had been doing opioids almost daily since her accident. Looked him right in the eye and asked what could happen to her baby. What she needed to do to mitigate any issues moving forward.” Mak’s laugh was wet and hard.

  Then she was quiet for a long time.

  After a while, she cleared her throat. “In the end, her getting clean didn’t matter for her baby. But she promised to stay off the meds.” Mak looked at Henry. “Can I see your phone, please?”

  He walked over, handed it to her. When he turned around, he met my gaze. Challenge lit his eyes.

  I held it steadily. Nothing that had happened to her or that she’d done to herself would matter to me. Zale was mine, and I was keeping her.

  Henry nodded after a moment.

  Mak made a sound somewhere between a sob and a tortured moan.

  When I turned to look at her, she had the phone’s screen lit up. A picture was on its face. It took me a minute for my brain to figure out what I was looking at. But soon, the features took shape. My heart froze in my chest as my belly twisted and dropped to my toes.

  “Thea was born with anencephaly. They found it on the sonograms, but there was nothing that could be done. When Zale delivered her baby girl, most of her brain and skull were missing.” Mak sucked in a sob, the sound rich with old pain and suffering. “She died in the hospital two days later.”

  “I helped her keep it quiet,” Henry said softly. “Just like when her family died.”

  I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Then who is the picture of?”

  Mak turned the phone back around. She lowered her gaze and her entire being softened. “That’s Thea.”

  My brow furrowed as confused swamped me. “Explain.”

  Mak looked up at me, sighed. “I told you this would be better coming from her.” She blew out a breath. “Thea died. Zale almost did, too, actually.”

  “The picture on the phone right now, that’s on me,” Henry said, cutting Mak off. “Zale was finally clear headed. Had been drug free for the last part of her pregnancy. I approached her with the idea of keeping Thea alive—on paper. If we could seduce the stalker out of hiding, then we would be one step closer to catching him.”

  Mak made a noise in her throat. “You knew about the stalker?”

  I kept my gaze on Henry.

  He nodded. “Of course, I did. And if I know my girl, then I already know she suspected me. At least initially.” Henry gazed down at Zale, a proud smile on his face. When he looked back up, he raised a brow in my direction.

  I nodded. “She did. It made her a little sick, but yes, she did.”

  Henry nodded again, smiled. “Good. When Sarah Biddle called the other day to ask if we were okay talking to Ms. Charles, we had a chat. I’d been there to help after the accident and she read me in back then. Since the funerals, I’ve been doing what I could to keep an eye on Zale. Trying not to smother her or father her into staying home, where she would be safe. But when she moved out to KC, I couldn’t follow her.” He smiled slightly. “That she knew of.”

  Vera chuckled. “I was so glad to move back home.”

  “What the hell, Henry!” Mak shouted.

  Zale twitched on the sofa.

  The room went silent again as I held my breath. Watching her, I saw her come back to herself. Her body stiffened the slightest degree and then her lashes twitched.

  When her eyes popped open, I wanted to clutch her to me. Not only clutch her to me, but strap her down to my bed and beat her ass for a solid two weeks. This woman was going to drive me to an early grave.

  Chapter 2

  Zale

  Everyone was looking at me while I was looking up at the ceiling. Awareness rushed up and sucker punched me in the guts. “Thea.” I bolted upright, almost knocking Isak in the face with my forehead.

  He pushed me bac
k down to the couch with a hand against my chest, a snarl on his sexy mouth, and a glare that dared me to refuse. “You’re staying right here.” He settled his body weight against my hip. One of his hands tucked around my hip, caging me in between the back of the couch and his body. “Start talking.”

  I licked my lips, glanced at Mak.

  She nodded.

  Fuck. Looking back at Isak, I saw the hurt he was trying to cover. But it still lurked there in the depths of his eyes.

  “I’m assuming you’ve heard the nitty-gritty details?”

  “Most of them,” Mak said.

  I looked at her again.

  She raised one brow high as if to ask me what I wanted to do.

  Isak leaned down, got into my face. “All of it.”

  Turning slightly, my nose bumped into his. “Don’t try to boss me around on this, Isak. This won’t end well for you.” I met the fiery golden caramel of his eyes with my own frosted blue ones.

  He didn’t move, didn’t speak. I couldn’t even be sure he was breathing. But after a long moment, he nodded. “I pulled a gun on Mak to get the truth out of her.”

  My eyes widened before I glared at him. “That’s the last time you’ll threaten her.”

  He shrugged. “Depends on if she gets in my way again.”

  Anger rose through me like a hurricane. “No. Not ever again. I don’t care what she does. You don’t threaten her.” I pushed the words out through my teeth, furious that he’d even dared.

  “If she stops me from helping you in any way, I’ll do more than just threaten her.” His face was blank, his eyes icy.

  I stared at him, saw that he wasn’t kidding around. There wasn’t a single fleck of humor in his expression. “Give us a moment,” I said aloud.

  “You can discuss this part later. We need to know what this means, how it affects our current security plans, and what to do to use the breach,” Mia said. “I’m sorry you’re struggling with the personal side of things. But we have people’s lives on the line. That takes precedence over your feelings.”

  Isak’s chest rumbled with a growl. His chin dipped and his eyes slid up and over my head.