Chapter 29

Mark was pacing like a caged animal and felt his cell phone vibrate, knowing he couldn't answer it. He could check his voicemail though as he opened it, dialed the number, and listened. He relayed the message to Kevin and whispered to himself, "I'm comin' darlin'. Hang in there a little longer."

Sine whimpered, trying to sleep on the bench, shivering in her wet clothes. She ignored the person who came in to use the bathroom. When they left, she stood up and immediately went over to lock it, not wanting anyone else to just walk in. "God, Namine where are you?" She whispered out frantically, staring down at her cell, and couldn't believe she hadn't called him back yet.

David was close to snapping as he drove throughout the woods, finally going into town. There were several places she could be and he really didn't feel like searching. "She's going to pay for this!" He hissed out venomously, getting out of his car, and walked inside a mini mart that was open twenty four, seven.

Sine couldn't deal with it anymore. She was too cold. Too miserable to sit still and got up, beginning to pace. The tiny bathroom didn't leave much room, but she managed. She wondered how long she would have to wait and sighed, raking a hand through her stiff hair.

After searching every other place, David finally walked inside the Smokey Bones restaurant, looking more menacing than the devil himself. "Is there a woman in here? She has black hair and gray eyes…" He relayed the rest of the information to them about her appearance. The lady at the counter stared at him skeptically, knowing exactly who he was asking about. She wasn't about to tell him that though as she simply shook her head. David wasn't buying it and decided to head to the bathroom.

Sine jumped when she hard someone twist the doorknob, glancing around nervously. When she heard David curse outside of it, rattling it even harder, she panicked. Sine looked around before spotting a small window up near the ceiling. She dragged the bench over to it and stood on it, pushing the window open. She cried out in alarm when she heard something behind her crack and slid out into the cold, harsh snow. That didn't bother her as she quickly got to her feet and started running for her life.

They arrived at the small town, the flight having taken half the time it usually would. Mark parked the car to a skidding halt and got out, seeing they were standing right in front of the Smokey Bones restaurant. He was about to go inside when he heard a scream and knew instantly who it was. "SINE!" He shouted, running in her direction.

Sine spun around, slipping and landing on her ass, her eyes widening when she seen Mark. "MARK!" She screamed out, getting to her feet, and running toward him. She would never make it in his arms because another scream sounded from her mouth as she was tackled to the ground.

David immediately hopped out of the window of the bathroom and gave the chase, growling when he slipped in the snow. He heard her scream out that bastard's name, knowing he was there, that he'd found them. The anger surged through his body as he seen her stop and instantly tackled her to ground when he seen her running toward Mark. His hand flew back and forward, slapping her across the face harshly and screamed out, "YOU FUCKING BITCH! ALL I DID WAS LOVE YOU!"

"Get the fuck off of her now, David." Came Mark's menacing voice as it boomed from behind, his boots crunching with every step in the snow. He looked down at her briefly before meeting the man's dangerous and deadly brown eyes. Mark was holding a gun in his hand as he pointed it at him, right at his head, and pulled the click back. "Do it or I'll splatter yer goddamned brains all over this place!" He threatened, his tone dripping with malice.

Sine gasped, all the air leaving her body when she felt herself being jerked forward. Her eyes looked up to find a gun pointing at her, knowing David was using her for a shield. His hand wrapped around her throat, another pressing on her stomach, causing her to tremble with fear. She whimpered, staring at Mark pleadingly, knowing one move from David and she was dead. He wouldn't think twice about snapping her neck in two, like he done with Torrie.

"Whatcha gonna do now, Mark huh? Whatcha gonna do? Shoot her to get to me?" David taunted sickly, running his hand down further to press against her abdomen. "This is mine." He whispered wickedly in her ear, his grip on her throat tightening a little more. "Tell him that we're together now, baby. Tell him you love me and not him."

Deciding to take this matter to a different approach, Mark threw the gun away as he cracked his knuckles and growled, "Let her go and fight me like a man. I don't have a weapon except these." Before David knew what was happening, a fist plowed right into his nose, causing the hold he had on Sine to break. He picked him up by his throat and slammed him against the brick wall, growling furiously, "You think its right hittin' on women and forcin' them to do things against their will, boy?" He plundered a blow to the man's stomach, causing him to double over with a grunt. "You think its right druggin' a man and havin' a woman sleep with'em while he's out cold? Then killin' her afterwards?" He asked, delivering blow after blow, allowing his fists to do the talking and punishment. "Yer gonna learn not to EVER fuck with us again!"

Sine crawled away from them, gasping for air. Her ribs were killing her from being attacked and tackled to the ground. Her face felt like it was going to explode from the harsh slap, courtesy of David's hand. She finally curled up in a tight ball, burying her face in her knees, and listened to Mark's words. Her body was trembling from head to toe, but it didn't outweigh the amount of pain her body was racked with at the moment.

Mark pounded the bastard into the ground, blood on his fists, his bare fists, not caring if they were bruised or not. David's face was a crimson mask of blood after he was through with him and finally stopped. The man's body crumbled to the ground as Mark wiped his fists off and slowly turned around, seeing Sine in the darkness. "Sine…Come here, baby. It's over." He cooed to her, extending his hand, begging for her to take it as his emerald green eyes peered into hers.

Sine slowly looked up from her place on the ground. Her eyes quickly scanned in David's prone form before shakily getting to her feet. She stumbled in the snow, but managed to toss herself at him. She almost fell, but he caught her in his strong, massive tattooed arms. Sine tried speaking, but a coughing fit overtook her, a hand going to her ribs.

He closed his eyes as he finally held her in his arms again, lifting her up, and carried her away from the scene. Away from David, who was dead as far as he was concerned. He looked over at Kevin, who was already on the phone with some people, and carried her over to the car. "It's over baby, it's over. Let's go home now." He crooned in her ear, holding her in his arms tightly as he slid in the passenger seat while Kevin drove them to the airport. Sine trembled against him, shivering from both pain and the cold, her clothes wet again. Finally, she just closed her eyes and let her exhaustion overtake her.

Once on the plane, Mark changed her out of her wet clothes for dry. Warm ones. He laid her down on the couch that was on the private jet and watched over her. He couldn't believe he'd almost lost her as he ran his finger down her cheek and bent down kissing her lips softly. "I love you, Sine." He whispered and leaned back against the couch, pulling her in his arms and held her as she slept.

Sine woke up warm, feeling safe and frowned, looking up. Her eyes widened when she seen Mark staring down at her and blushed, looking down. "I'm sorry, Mark…" She whispered softly, feeling her stomach clench tightly. "I should've trusted you and I didn't…" She bit her bottom lip, feeling like shit.

"Don't apologize, darlin'." He whispered softly, holding her tighter in his arms, and kissed her lips passionately, pouring all of the love and feeling into it. He didn't care that she hadn't believed him, not blaming her with the tape, and pressed her body closer to him as he groaned.

Sine buried her hands in his hair, returning the burning kiss, and sighed when they finally parted for air. She rested her head against his shoulder, still playing with his silky tresses. "Is he dead or just seriously hurting?" She finally asked, fear evident in her tone.

"If I didn't kill'em, the people I called will. He's gone baby, you can rest now." He assured her soothingly, running his fingers through her soft black hair, and kissed her neck before nuzzling it. "God I missed ya. I was so worried. I'm so sorry I wasn't there sooner, Sine…"

"I shouldn't have gone with him. I should've known better. I was just so, the tape and that blonde…" Sine shook her head wincing when she shifted, a hand going to her ribs. "I heard him on the phone with someone, talking about what he'd done…"

"A buddy of mine found the real tape that showed more of what was going on." Mark informed her, rubbing her back with his hand soothingly. "He told me about it the day before and I immediately came home to warn ya. David was stupid enough to actually tape him and Torrie having sex beforehand, which was on the tape." He shuddered and held her tighter to him, squeezing her gently. "I love you so much; I would never hurt you like that. I have the drug test results as proof that he drugged me if ya need it."

"No, I heard him admit he drugged you." She whispered softly, reaching up to caress his face with the back of her hand. "I should've realized what was happening. He'd done this before with a past boyfriend, minus the murder and the kidnapping…" Sine shuddered at the mere possibilities that could've transpired had Mark not shown up when he did to save her. "Thank you…for coming for me."

"I would die for ya." Mark stated, no hesitation in his voice, and stared into her eyes as he ran a finger down her cheek. "I love you so much. Yer it fer me, darlin'. I didn't stop searchin' fer ya. I wouldn't of either until you were back in my arms."

Sine smiled up at him as she snuggled further against his strong body. "I love you, Mark." She yawned, snuggling back against him even further, and sighed contentedly. She knew no matter what, she wasn't running again. She'd trust in him not to hurt her.

Sighing in relief, Mark held her close to him as he stroked her hair and then brought his hand down. He pressed it to her stomach, her protruding abdomen, and asked with concern shining in his eyes, "Is the baby alright?"

Nodding, Sine replied, "I think so. It's just here that's really killing me." She moved her hand to her side, wincing and pulling up her shirt. She had dark bruises all over her side, right near her ribs. "Is it bruised or am I just being a whiner?"

"It's bruised darlin'. When we land, we're goin' to the hospital to make sure there's no internal injuries." He informed her, pressing his finger to her soft lips when she started protesting. "We need to make sure there's nothin' seriously wrong with the baby or you, sweetheart."

Sine didn't say anymore, just fell silent. She eventually dozed back off to sleep, only waking when Mark admitted her into the hospital. They were there long enough for her to be checked out. Sine had been awake long enough to rattle off some information before she fell back asleep, unable to keep her eyes open anymore. For safety precautions, the hospital admitted her overnight for observation and Mark was by her side the entire time. He still couldn't believe he'd almost lost her and vowed right then and there to protect her and his child with his life. At any costs.

~Three Months Later~

"I like this one better." Sine murmured, leaning over Brandon's shoulder to point at the portrait they'd taken of the city's new town hall. Their first actual job with their new studio. "It shows off the columns really nice…" She sighed, turning to look over at Mark, who was lounging on the couch, his arm draped over his face. "Are we boring you, sugar?" She teased, walking over to sit on his lap.

"Not at all, darlin'." Mark murmured softly and slowly opened his eyes, staring into hers, and pulled her against his chest. He couldn't believe how close he'd been to losing her and was glad he'd shown up when he had. David was sent to a mental institution for life, having claimed insanity for killing Torrie and drugging him. In Mark's opinion, the bastard got off easy. "Just a little tired…"

"You look it." She murmured back, brushing his hair away from his face. "Brandon, why don't you go deliver that photo? I'm going to put my man to bed." She giggled when Brandon muttered something about helping her with that before gesturing him away. "I think Brandon likes you." She teased, causing Mark to grunt.

"Tough shit, I'm taken." He grumbled and lifted her up in his arms, kissing her neck softly, and carried her into the bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and slipped in against her, running his hand through her hair. "Yer tired too, darlin'. I know the baby has been keepin' ya up lately." He winked down at her knowingly and then ran his hand down to stroke her six month old pregnant belly.

"No…more like heartburn and some interesting dreams." Sine replied and started to say something else, but gasped. Her eyes widened and a hand went to her stomach as she whispered breathlessly, "Oh my god!"

Mark shot up in bed, his eyes widened as he stared down at her, pure worry and concern evident in his eyes as he asked frantically, "Sine what's wrong? Is it the baby? Do we need to go to the hospital?!"

Sine started laughing at him, shaking her head. "No! I'm fine…the baby just moved!" She looked down at her stomach, which was now well rounded, being around her sixth month into the pregnancy. "He just moved!"

Mark swallowed hard as he reached his hand out shakily, rubbing her stomach, and felt tears burn his eyes. "Darlin'…" He wasn't sure what to say and felt the baby kick against his hand, causing the tears to burn even more, and made his breath catch in his throat. "Wow…" It was the most amazing feeling he'd ever experienced in his life.

Sighing, Sine laid back down once the baby stopped moving, and murmured softly, "That was different." She pulled her t-shirt back down and looked up at him, frowning. "Mark, are you crying? Honey what's wrong?"

"No! I'm not cryin'." He sniffled, turning his head away from her, and cleared his throat gruffly. His hand was still on her stomach, even after she pulled the t-shirt down over it. "I just got somethin' caught in my eye." He was lying but then again, he was a man and men didn't cry in his eyes. No matter what the moment was or situation.

Sine knew better, but didn't say anything. She just turned her head and started fiddling with the CD player beside them on the nightstand, giving him a moment. She knew feeling the baby move inside of her had truly moved him and was happy. Even after everything David had put them through, their love still burned strong and knew the flame would never die. They were soul mates and both knew it.

Mark jumped a little and smiled as he finally felt his tears dry up in his eyes. He leaned down, kissing her lips passionately and groaned from low in the back of his throat. "So, did ya say it was a HE?" He questioned, his emerald green eyes twinkling amusedly.

Sine nodded, smirking up at him. "It's not MY fault you wouldn't wake up when I had to go to my last appointment." She teased. "Which was yesterday by the way. Brandon took me and yes, we're having a boy. How's that suit you?"

Mark grinned proudly as he pressed a kiss to her stomach, after lifting her shirt, and started raining kisses all over it. "I told ya it was gonna be a boy." He gloated with a boyish grin on his lips.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She grumbled, shoving his head away from her stomach. "That's okay; I already have his name picked out." She giggled, rolling away from him.

"What is it?" Mark asked, genuinely interested, and pulled her back against his chest as he spooned up against her, kissing her neck softly.

"Gavin." Sine simply replied, staring up into his beautiful green eyes. "What do you think about that? If you have any suggestions or preferences, please let me know now. I don't want to pick out a name you're going to hate."

"That's a great name, darlin'." Mark replied, stroking his goatee thoughtfully, and kissed her lips softly. "Gavin Calaway. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Sine's eyes widened upon hearing that, staring up at him blinking rapidly. "Calaway?"

"Yes." He replied, smiling at the shocked look on her face, and reached over as he pulled something out of the nightstand drawer. It was a silver ring with a sparkling purple stone cut in the shape of a heart with two black onyx stones on either side of it. "Will you marry me?" He whispered in her ear huskily, handing it to her.

Sine stared down at the ring, looking up at him then back down at the beautiful jewelry that rested in her hand. "You-You want to marry me?" She whispered out in disbelief, sounding shocked.

"I wouldn't of asked ya darlin' if I didn't want to." Mark pointed out to her softly, running his fingers through her hair, and kissed her ear. "I told ya, yer it fer me. I wanna marry you and be with ya for the rest of my life. You and Gavin."

Sine could only nod, not trusting herself to speak. She watched as he slid the ring on her left ring finger, raising her hand up to stare at it in admiration. She then tossed her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his neck, and whispered, "I love you so much, Mark."

"I love ya too, darlin'." Mark whispered back against her, holding her against him tightly, never wanting to let her go again. He'd finally found his other half of what was missing and now that he had her, he was never going to lose her.

From the moment Mark laid eyes on her picture online, he'd instantly felt a connection with her that was indescribable. Those feelings only grew intensely as the months passed and he finally realized he loved her more than life itself. It wasn't because of what he'd seen in her reflection, but what he'd seen on the other side, inside of her. He could tell just by the look in her beautiful gray eyes that she was different and he had to meet her. Not a day went by that Mark regretted tracking Sine down and making her his because now he could finally live his life with the woman he was destined to be with.