Lucien He stepped forward, fists clenched, to prevent himself from grabbing her throat and squeezing the life out of her.‘Where is Rudenko’s hideout in the desert?’ Bruised and bleeding, broken in spirit, Catalina gave them the address, she knew, of the location of the house where the auction of unfortunate women, children and sometimes, men, was conducted every three months. This one, she said, holding a cold compress to her bleeding mouth, this auction was a special one because of Proserpina.The wife of a dreaded Mafia Don, kidnapped and sold called at a special, secretive sale. Only a few elite buyers had been informed.Just those who hated Lucien Delano and wanted to wreak vengeance by torturing his wife.Only a handful had been physically present. Many others had logged onto the site and watched the proceedings online before putting in their bidding.She shot Lucien a malevolent look and said,‘ And I have heard that she has been sold already. An anonymous buyer with very de
ProserpinaI knew I could not bring the children into the world on my own. My strength was weakening. I could barely move and pushing forcefully was totally out of the question.The man, I guessed he was a doctor or someone close to that; he spoke to me gently, urging me to push.I shook my head tiredly, barely able to keep my eyes open.“Just let me die,’ I whispered, my lips dry and cracking. The man gently wetted my lips with a cloth and I gasped.“Please, kill me. I do not think I can…” I moaned loudly as another spasm tore through me and I floated away into a world of darkness.I dreamt Lucien was beside me, we were in our bed, the bed I could only dream of. My older children were with me…Claude as well.I tried to smile, tried to speak to them but the words would not form themselves in my mind.*LucienHe sat at the window of the aircraft, starring outside. The waitress had approached him with drinks but he had dismissed her with a scowl. He wanted to be fully alert when he reac
LucienThe flight landed in the dark, the aircraft swooping down near silently in the desert.The men slunk out, alert and prepared their weapons cocked and ready at their sides. Aiyana slid out, ready, watchful. Danielle, as brazen as ever, leapt down and swore softly as she landed on her knee. Schwartz, his sniper training kicking in, stepped down, calm and hard-faced now. But it was Lucien who emerged, looking like a man who would kill anyone in his way.There was a dangerous ferocity in his face now and even his man stayed out of his way.“Boss,’ cautioned Schwartz, laying a warning hand on his shoulder. With his three day growth of designer stubble, Schwartz still looked as debonair as ever, dressed in camouflage like the others, his blonde hair ruffled but as heartbreakingly handsome as ever.*Aiyana gave a signal. Her lean, fit figure was in figure-hugging black, a suit that made her seem more exotic and unreadable than ever.The group came to a halt at her signal. She had mana
Lucien The small aircraft had touched down a distance away and now they had covered the rest of the distance on foot. Moving silently, purposefully, they had approached the large cluster of buildings in stealth. At times they had moved forward, crawling or slithering on their bellies to avoid detection. The fact that they were bogged down by the heavy weapons they were carrying along with them, did not stop them.Lucien squinted through the night vision scope he had with him. It was the M2124-LRX Night Vision Sniper Scope and he could get a clear view of his surroundings. Although it was only around 2 am and the desert was bathed in darkness, the night was alive with the sounds of animals. The light descended upon them in patches of silver when the clouds parted to reveal the moon.*They had managed to crawl and reach a crested area overlooking the plain where the large house loomed up in the darkness. Up close it was apparent that the house was the main building. A couple of smaller
Proserpina From a great distance, I heard the sounds of people moving around me, talking. The movement in my belly was now getting more frequent. My babies were waiting to come out, I thought tiredly, too weak and weary to push them out.One of the voices shrieking in the background, the loudest, belonged to Xenia.‘Get the b*tch into the blo*dy aircraft before that f*cking madman Delano gets here!’ she was vociferating.’ I heard that bas*ard is on his way already!’ Her voice was tinged with hysteria.The doctor’s tones, edging on irritation, replying to her,‘She needs to be moved out with care. I will supervise it, madam. Leave it to me.’The sound of the woman who had tended me was yammering in the background and then there was a sudden commotion. Amidst the hullabaloo, I could discern the voice of the man I feared the most.Oleg.“Get the f*cking c*nt on board that f*cking plane NOW!’ he bellowed and from my dizzying heights, as I floated in limbo, I felt my body being pushed roug
LucienHe charged down the corridor, dispensing bullets like they were toffee, his face dark with anxiety. He only wanted to get to the woman he loved. Suddenly a man jumped into their path, firing straight at them.Lucien felt as though he had been punched in the chest by a massive hand and he crumpled , grunting. Immediately, he felt hands jerking him to his feet and dragging him into a room.Aiyana, the sweat running down her remarkably composed face, spun around and leapt into the corridor, returning the fire. The man went down in a heap.*Danielle was peering at Lucien as Beston scrabbled to pull off his jacket and vest. There was a terrible ache in the area of his chest but he realised that he had been saved because of the bulletproof vest he was wearing.He tried to wave away the people who were with him.‘Let’s go on,’ he barked and pushed himself upright, where he stood, swaying shakily, and intent on getting Proserpina to safety.As he stepped out, his gun in his hands, Be
LucienSeeing the look passing between them seemed to send Oleg into a murderous rage.He moved his hand further down and twisted her arm painfully and Proserpina screamed in pain, bending double with the cruelty of his treatment.‘Lucien!!!’ she cried and he moved forward.‘Not so fast Delano!’ Oleg shouted 'or I shoot your pregnant wh*re!’He turned and began to drag her away, preparing to escape down the corridor. Proserpina was on the floor, resisting him, a hand on her large belly as she sobbed, “No! No!’, she was now screaming in agony.Lucien was bellowing in rage and terror as he tried to move ahead, to get to her, “Don’t hurt her! Leave her you *****! Proserpina!!!Proserpina!’*He continued to fire at the cordon of men who had appeared before Oleg, to allow him to leave through the hole that had been created by their grenades in the passage.But when Oleg stopped to look at Lucien, his lips drawn back in a snarl, Lucien halted.“One more shot you people fire will cause this
Lucien He rushed forward, scooping up his wife into his arms even as she collapsed in a heap.The dead man fell down beside her, his heavy outstretched arm across her neck but Proserpina was too far gone to care.His gun clattered harmlessly to the floor beside them and Danielle darted forward and grabbed it.Lucien knelt beside her, cradling her in his powerful arms.Her long brown hair was matted and dirty as it hung around her. There was blood on her face, her left eyelid was swollen and a purple bruise was forming on her cheek. The soft lips he worshipped were swollen, the lower lip cut, a deep slash of blood on it. She was still the most beautiful, the most precious thing he had ever had, he realised, his heart aching as he traced her features with his eyes. Her eyelids fluttered for a minute, the cracked, dry lips trying to smile as she breathed,“Gaston…My love… I knew …”He looked into her eyes and then turned away, too choked to say anything. She squeezed his hand gently.