She scored her nails down his back as he continued to pound away inside her, taking her breath away.
“Fuck!” He growled the last word, and she felt his orgasm. Each pulse drove deeper inside her, connecting the two of them together.
****
Two weeks later
“Yeah, I’ll be home tomorrow. It’s nothing really. Just a small contract I want to deal with personally,” Noah said.
“If you’re sure. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Take care, babe,” he said.
She chuckled. “I can’t believe you call me that.”
Skye hung up the phone, and Noah pocketed his cell. The past couple of weeks, since he revealed the replica cell, they had talked a whole lot about the past. He rubbed at his eyes, feeling the exhaustion fill him.
He was back at that place. He’d parked his car on the outskirts of the gate. There was a small parking within the grounds of the mansion where he and Skye had been kept.
Once the investigation had been completed, or at least, that section of the case signed off, the grounds had been sold. Last he heard, it was picked up by a private group, and now it was a home for the elderly. A place to retire to.
The one place that still haunted his nightmares and had defined the rest of his life was now a place of happiness and peace in later life.
He stared out, quickly changing the scenery before him, to see the imposing building of his past. Stripped away, he stared at the truth.
Even as he made his money, became successful, Mitch and his goons constantly kept him in the grip of his fear.
Climbing out of his car, he made his way over to the main building. He’d called ahead as he spoke to the manager about taking a look around. He’d lied about one of his parents needing a place, as they were both touring the world on a yacht.
His siblings were also off doing their own thing.
When they moved away from Skye for his father’s promotion, he stopped trying to give a shit about anyone or anything, and instead, put all of his energy into his studies. He gave them all money, but that didn’t mean he had to actually be near them all the time. He liked his space. Needed it.
After grabbing his visitor badge and having a woman in her late fifties take him on a tour, he was able to drown out her voice by giving the occasional hum and smile. She seemed to get the idea that he didn’t want to talk but to listen, so she didn’t ask him too many questions.
What he saw now, walking the grounds, seeing the people who now lived here, was the mansion itself was changed. Each room was now a resident’s home. They showed him an example of one of their spare apartments, each with a bathroom. The kitchen was communal, so the residents were never alone unless they requested it in the morning, and they would accommodate their needs. There was a pool, a gym, a game room.
The house that was once his living nightmare was now a game room.
There was no torture chamber where they were all made to watch as one of their fellow captives was raped.
Nothing of any living memory for him was here. There were no cells.
Everything that surrounded him was filled with warmth. Even the forest that he and Skye had run through to get to their freedom, where he had no choice but to kill dogs, was clear. A few trees remained, but he saw there was a tennis court and even somewhere for them to walk dogs and play bowls.
The memory he had was slowly being wiped clear by what was now before him, and it truly was a gift that this space had.
When he first heard about the sale of this place, he’d been so fucking angry. He’d thrown himself into his work so he didn’t have to think about what it all meant. What a place like this being sold meant.
Over the years, he knew they had caught several of the men and women who had paid for the privilege of having their needs met. He saw the news headlines, and each time he did, it filled him with joy to know they were not going to be able to hurt anyone else.
Once he finished with the tour, he handed his card back to the reception staff, thanked them, and went back to his car.
Without another look behind him, he turned over the engine of the rental car, and drove it back to the airport before getting ready to catch a flight that would take him home. His plane was delayed by a day, so he had no choice but to take a hotel room.
After a shower, he sat on the bed, pulled up his home phone number, and dialed Skye. She picked up on the fourth ring.
“Hello,” she said.