A/N- The countdown continues. The next chapter is the finale. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please, please, please read and review.
Chapter 14
He was hot; so damn hot. His mouth seemed to be lined with cotton. Every muscle in his body ached abominably. He willed his eyes to open. The light was exceedingly bright. It hurt and made the pain in his head worse. Slowly his eyes accustomed themselves to the light and he let them open all the way.
He tried to orient himself and bring to mind his last memory but it seemed an insurmountable task. His random thoughts wouldn't be collected. The room seemed too large and then too small. Breathing heavily, warding off the nausea that threatened to overwhelm him at any moment, Fox tried to sit up. The pain bit into his middle and he collapsed back unto the bed with a muffled gasp.
"Fox," Ivy cried half joyfully and half with alarm. "What are you doing? Lie down," she reprimanded running over and helping him settle his lean frame on the bed.
"Mom?" an unnerved Fox asked. "What are you doing here? Where am I?" he asked.
"Don't you remember Fox? You were…mugged," Ivy explained after a slight hesitation.
"Mugged?" Fox repeated blankly.
The sudden rush of memories that engulfed him had his head spinning and Fox squeezed his eyes shut in deference to the pain. In his mind's eye he saw himself walking out of Teresa's apartments and the two thugs who had attacked him approach as he made his way to his car. He saw one of the burly men lash out and kick him in the groin and heard himself mumble something about them taking his car and the cash he had in his wallet just as the second thug, taller and burlier than his sidekick, shoved him to the ground and began to beat the crap out of him. He also remembered one of them replying that he didn't want money, that they were simply delivering a message. Recalling the exact words the thug had used, Fox became conscious of the fact that it'd been Nick who'd ordered the hit on him.
"Fox…Fox what's the matter?" Ivy asked frantically. Fox had turned as white as a ghost and his breathing was choppy and erratic.
With concentrated effort Fox forced his eyes open. "It was Bozman," he murmured. "He ordered the hit," Fox rasped trying to sit up and nearly groaning when he felt the room begin to spin once more.
"Fox, you're going to hurt yourself, lie down." Ivy cried agitatedly.
"Have…to warn…Teresa," Fox snapped.
"You're in no condition to go anywhere," Ivy replied briskly. "I will go talk to… Teresa. You stay put before you make things worse," she added softly.
Ignoring the pain that pumped through him with every breath Fox waited for his mother to disappear before getting up and slowly walking to the door. His instincts were screaming that something was wrong and he knew that it was all connected to Teresa. Bozman was obviously deranged and every second Teresa spent with that sociopath was one that put her in danger. As he agonizingly made his way to one of the doors marked with an exit sign, Fox silently promised that this time he'd protect Teresa no matter what it cost him.
----------
Alistair Crane frowned at the monitor in front of him. Nick Bozman had become a liability. He'd ordered Cody's kidnapping as a means of keeping Teresa in line but he'd had no idea Bozman planned on napping Teresa as well. Though the situation could be used to his advantage he didn't trust Bozman; the man was coming unglued at the hinges. No, it was best to cut his losses; permanently.
Reaching for the phone that sat at his desk, Alistair dialed a familiar number then tapped his feet while he waited for his connection to pick up. His impatience turned to frustration when all he got was the man's voicemail. Bennett knew better than to ignore Alistair's calls. He knew that if Alistair sent the info he had to the feds; his career would be over. That was the reason Hank had become Alistair's mole. Sam Bennett was a great errand boy but he lacked Hank's attitude and pizzazz. Hank had been left with no alternative but to accept Alistair's deal but he had accepted on his terms. Alistair had to admire that. Logically, Alistair knew there were a myriad of reasons why Hank might not be picking up his phone. But the instincts that had kept him at the top of the food chain for nearly half a century were screaming at him that something was wrong and like a wolf scenting a trap Alistair's gut was telling him to run.
"You're getting paranoid in your old age," Alistair murmured trying to shrug off his feelings of impending doom.
But just in case his instincts turned out to be correct Alistair reached inside a desk drawer and grabbed the gun he kept handy for emergencies. It was always best to be prepared.
----------
She lay passively beneath him, her lips bruised from the pressure she kept on them to keep from crying out. His every caress burned like a flame through her body, subtly reminding her of his ownership and she felt the humiliation to the deepest recesses of her soul. Though she'd never loved him, Teresa had always given herself to him willingly, knowing that her body was the prize she paid for the comforts he provided. And because it had been her choice, she didn't feel violated. But now it was different. Nick had taken away her freedom, making her his prisoner and she hated it; had almost begun to hate him. The tears she'd tried to keep at bay began to flow freely when he grunted above her and collapsed on top of her. Making no effort to stifle the sobs that wracked her slender form Teresa cried bitter tears for all that she had lost. For it wasn't until this moment that she realized how foolish she had been for so many years. Running away from her family and Fox hadn't solved any of her problems; it had only escalated them. She should have trusted her family to stand by her and she should have had faith in Fox's love.
"You're still thinking about that bastard aren't you? It doesn't matter that I am the one who has always been there for you; that I've laid the world at your feet all you care about is that son of a bitch who cheated on you with your best friend," Nick raged yanking her hair and forcing her to sit upright.
"Nick please that hurts," Teresa cried. Nick stared at her remorsefully and his dark eyes filled with regret. Extending a hand he reached out to stroke Teresa's raven locks but she flinched from him and he dropped his hand.
"Has being with me really been such a hardship? Haven't I treated Cody like she was my own? Haven't I been good to you?" Nick asked dropping to his knees and kneeling in front of her.
Teresa stared at him sorrowfully knowing that he was right. He had been good to her. He'd offered her a job and a place to stay when every other door had been slammed in her face and he'd been nothing but supportive when she'd meekly confessed that she was pregnant. She owed him a debt of gratitude she'd never be able to repay and if her heart hadn't belonged to Fox she might have been able to love him the way he wanted her to.
Nick pressed on without giving her a chance to reply. Blood boiled to his head and his penitence turned to rage once more. "Everything I have ever done has been for you. I fed you and clothed you and kept a roof over your head when you had nothing and you repaid me by fucking pretty boy in our bed the first chance you got."
When Teresa gasped with surprise he laughed; a bitter laugh that sounded hollow even to his own ears. "Did you think I wouldn't find out your dirty little secret Teresa? I knew something was wrong and my suspicions were confirmed when I found you in bed with that creep."
"You were spying on me?" Teresa snapped.
"I was protecting my investment," Nick stressed yanking her hair and shoving her forcefully on the bed. "Did you think I'd give you up so easily after everything I've done for you? You're mine Teresa and I will never let you go," he added menacingly.
Teresa shivered with apprehension fear curdling in her belly as it hit home that this wasn't the man she'd thought she'd known and she was utterly and completely at his mercy. In her mind's eye she traveled back to that horrible night three years earlier when Sam Bennett had made her his victim and something inside of her snapped. As Nick reached out to unsnap his trousers, Teresa brought up her left knee and kicked him twice in the groin. When Nick bellowed with pain Teresa grabbed the vase next to the ornate nightstand and smashed it over his head.
Nick crumbled to the floor in a heap and Teresa stifled sobs as she raced to the door that Nick had carelessly left unlatched. She'd almost reached the front door when she heard Nick clamoring down the stairs and terror seizing her Teresa clawed at the door trying to force it open before Nick caught up with her. Just as she was about to escape the door was pulled open from the other side and Alistair Crane strolled inside. As she stared into his flinty black eyes Teresa knew that she had escaped from the frying pan just to land in the fire. Stumbling, Teresa took a step back and slumped against Nick. Nick's arms tightened around her just as the sudden blast of gunfire filled the air.
