This story went quite a while; it was originally meant to stop at the first chapter, hah. Thanks for all the awesome feedback and voting on this series, it was a pleasure to write. Hope you guys like it :)
NB to new readers - this is more plot conclusion than gratuitous smut.
x
****
Grumbling incoherently, Rachel rolled onto her back and realised Ray was gently shaking her awake. Being tenderly watched by a murderer whilst she slept was incredibly disturbing.
After nervously blinking, she finally found her voice. "H-How long was I...?"
"Not long," Ray murmured, smoothing unruly red strands from her forehead. "I didn't want to disturb you, but we really have to go."
Aware there was no point arguing, Rachel resentfully tensed. Ray noticed her feet lightly kicking under the blanket.
"I know, I know," he sighed, finding her mini-tantrum surprisingly cute. "You don't want to go. You're just going to have to trust me."
"I can't trust you," she mumbled, quickly sitting up when he tried to playfully pinch her wriggling toes. "Please-!"
"Hon, my brother wants to kill you," Ray disclosed with brutal honesty. "And I
really
don't want that to happen. Understand?"
"No," Rachel helplessly shrugged. "I don't understand anything."
Despite feeling exceptionally stressed, Ray found himself smiling. "You'll get it one day," he said, wondering how she'd grown on him in such a short space of time.
"I think you're just going to rape me forever," Rachel despondently muttered. Glancing up, she felt like sheltering under the blanket. Ray looked frighteningly pissed off.
"Don't-!" he broke off, struggling for the right warning. "I have
never
raped you, Rachel."
"That's not exactly true," she timidly debated, unable to resist answering a pretty ludicrous claim. Abduction, imprisonment and blackmail for the sole purpose of sex seemed kind of rapey, even if it wasn't violently threatening.
"Right," Ray said flatly, not willing to debate it now. They'd continue this conversation at destination. In bed.
Still eyeing her sternly, he reached for something on the ground. "Not very sexy, but you'll have to wear it."
"What is it?" Rachel frowned at the heavy-looking piece in his hand.
"Protective vest," Ray answered. "It might be big, but it'll have to do."
"Oh, God," Rachel said vacantly, staring at the khaki-green gear.
Seeing the protective-wear somehow made everything sink in. It was all real. She was a modern-day sex prisoner to an enamoured psychopath, and someone she didn't even know was determined to kill her. She wondered if she shouted 'CUT', whether a camera crew would appear out of nowhere and ask what the problem was.
"Can I have a kiss?" Ray asked, drawing her closer, his eyes on her mouth.
It seemed like a trick question and Rachel was extremely tempted to say 'no'. "Alright," she relented, though still lowered her head to tentatively avoid him.
Ray sighed against her temple and caressed her chin, guiding her face upward. He kissed her, his eyes closed, enjoying the quiet moment before the chaos.
"When we're clear, we can go anywhere," he murmured. "We can do anything. You have no idea, Rachel."
Swallowing, Rachel lightly shook her head in response. That offer didn't appeal to her at all, none of it did. But what she wanted didn't matter.
"You'll be fine," Ray softly assured her, seeming unnervingly genuine and mistaking her dazed realisation for blind terror. "I mean it. I can handle him. My feelings for you are..." he trailed off with a wince. "Never mind."
Very glad he didn't finish the sentence, Rachel docilely let Ray fit the vest on her.
***
Ben cautiously lowered onto his stomach beside Ahmed, who was busy peering through the scope of his rifle. An excruciating half-hour passed before Ben caved and tapped Ahmed's shoulder.
"What?" Ahmed whispered, still staring through the lens.
"I thought we were going in," Ben whispered back, trying not to sound critical.
"Ray is on guard. The perimeter will be reactivated. We wait for them to come out."
"Why don't we shoot his tyres?" Ben breathed.
Ahmed irritably shifted. "Because they'll retreat to the house. Following a predator into their abode is always a last resort."
Ben turned away and bit his knuckles, feeling more tortured than ever. Rachel was in the house; so close to them. She was captive to a hardened killer, and he had to sit and wait without knowing what kind of condition she was in.
***
Straddling the bough of a tree, Logan grinned down at the undisturbed sensor half a metre in front of him. Ray was so paranoid he'd probably emerge any second. Ray wasn't a procrastinator; he faced challenges head on and responsibly took care of them. Logan was almost certain he'd try an immediate runner.
"You'll forgive me one day, kiddo," he smirked, checking his weapon. "You might even thank me."
Pointing the gun at the house, he shut one eye and practiced his aim. He was a good-enough shot, and confident of fatally clipping the girl, so long as there was at least a metre between her and Ray. Not an ideal firearm for distance shooting, but he wasn't expecting to need anything specialised for a brotherly visit.
***
Hitching his bag across one shoulder, Ray turned to Rachel, who had sobbed consistently for the last twenty minutes.
"Wait until I reach for your hand," Ray ordered, cupping her tear-soaked cheek and holding her dismal gaze. "Do not step into the open until I reach for you. Understand?"
"I d-don't want t-to g-go," she miserably hiccupped, with a wistful glimmer in her eyes; a dwindling hope that Ray might magically change his mind. "P-Please, Ray, I don't w-want to g-go," she tearfully repeated, her breath hitching so uncontrollably it was difficult to speak.
It was like her new mantra. Though it was absolutely pointless, she couldn't stop saying it. This move felt like the final nail in the coffin that would seal a permanent distance from Ben. A definite, irreversible change that would ensure she never saw him again, and the pain of it was overwhelming.
When Rachel closed her eyes, she could still imagine Ben. She could feel the heat of his chest against her, his hand running through her hair, their bodies warmly entwined whilst they slept. She could picture his sexy smile and dark, hungry gaze. The idea of farewelling those experiences forever caused literal pain; a horrible dull ache through her chest, her stomach cramped.
"Not now, Hon." Ray's voice was sharp and foreboding, his eyes hard. "Breathe."
Rachel forced deep breaths with difficulty, telling herself there was no point being a sook. But that was easier thought than done.
"Good girl." Ray bent to press their foreheads together, angling for another kiss.
But Rachel dropped her head and cried into Ray's shirt as though the world was ending. She felt his chest expand against her cheek as he sighed deeply, then his arms closed around her. One hand smoothed consolingly up her neck and through her hair, massaging her scalp.
They stood that way for several minutes, until Rachel stopped hysterically sobbing and managed to regain control of her breathing.
"Good girl," Ray repeated. Rubbing her back, he could actually feel her nervous energy around them. "It's going to be fine, Hon. You'll be fine."
With Rachel in his arms, anticipatory pleasure warmed Ray's body. He couldn't wait to crack an ice-cold cider and get naked with her. When they were safe and alone, he would make things right. Rachel would learn to enjoy his companionship.
"Be good for me now, and I'll make it up to you," he huskily promised.
Rachel would have rolled her eyes if they weren't painfully tear-swollen.
***
The front door slowly opened, and Ben mouthed a number of obscenities as he observed Rachel's captor. The guy was clearly agile, and massive. He looked fucking strong. Rachel didn't stand a chance. Ben sharply exhaled, his body stiff with fury.
"Settle," Ahmed sharply cautioned, not taking his eye from the scope.
After what seemed like eternity, Ray reached behind and led Rachel out.
Ben jerked forward, and Ahmed's hand shot out to seize the neck of his shirt. "I won't warn you again."
"Why haven't you shot him?" Ben hissed, his heart twisting at Rachel's visible misery.
"He's too close to her."
"Bullshit! He's fucking two heads taller!"
"Quiet. She's vested up and he's not. That can only mean that he's..." Ahmed frowned. "He's guarding
her
from something."
Achieving the impossible, Ben forced himself to relax. From the small glimpse he got of Rachel, she looked tired, miserable, though thankfully alive and uninjured. But she was crying, and he couldn't stand it. He needed to know why; to make it stop. And now she was completely blocked from view by a man he wanted to slowly take apart with his bare hands.
"I made a mistake," Ahmed muttered, shifting against the soil. "The hostility isn't between..." he broke off and blinked. "Rachel is the problem. He's fleeing to protect Rachel, not himself."
"Protect her from what?" Ben said through his teeth.
"If I take him out now, whatever danger he's afraid of may have full advantage."
"
What is he protecting her from?"
"We're about to find out."
"What are you going to do?"
"A warning shot; see if we can get Ray to react, and possibly draw the other party into the open."
***
Rachel lightly collided with Ray when he abruptly stepped back.
"Wait," he breathed sharply, listening.
The woods were abnormally still. Not the usual serene quiet. Watchfully silent.
Staring at the trees, Ray used a technique that worked for him in camouflage areas. He narrowed his eyes and deliberately blurred his vision; the surrounds merged into beige, brown and green. Then he glimpsed it. Reflective glass.
Rachel yelped when Ray turned on her in a flash, gripped her shoulder and shoved down.
Gunfire cracked through the silence, and a front window shattered.
"Ouff!" Rachel huffed, painfully adhered to the front porch. Ray crouched in front of her, she watched him pull a gun from the back of his pants and fire three shots.
Ahmed dragged Ben down the incline when he saw Ray aim, the ground immediately shuddered as the bullets slammed the other side.
"That bastard is good," Ahmed panted, rolling onto his belly and gesturing Ben to follow. "He sighted the scope. We'll have to use the short track."
***
The porch in Rachel's face suddenly vanished and she was airborne, her feet only touching the ground to push off again as Ray half-carried her by the vest. Before she could catch her bearings, she was thrown face-first across the car's back seat, cool leather skidding down her cheek, and dimly heard Ray growl at her to stay down.
