Hi all. Thank you so much for the great response for the last chapter. I was worried about the level of darkness in it and yet I got more positive responses for that chapter than I think any other. So I am going with that and this one is dark too.
Warning again very much rated M for blood and violence and language and some sexual situations Again no rape. But that doesn't mean the characters don't think that or that situations won't look that bad.
This is as dark as this story will get. Be prepared for a whiplash of emotions in this chapter. From horror to beauty and back again. Island part of this story is closing fast.
Enjoy and please let me know what you think!
Elena's POV
Damon's arms felt like heaven after the hell it had been fighting Kai. I could hardly believe that he had even let Damon hold me while we were waiting for Stefan.
It was all my fault that Damon was forced to tell Kai about everything, about Stefan and him being an agent and the power Stefan had to save us or help Kai escape. I remembered that Kai didn't know anything about Stefan or the army coming. If I hadn't said it in the cave when I thought he was Damon, he would never have known the powerful people behind the rescue and what they were all capable of making happen.
Kai had actually let Damon say goodbye to me and hold me again. My fiance's begging to be with me had become a reality. I thought I would never feel the warmth of his arms around me again and buried my head deeper in his embrace and held onto him with all I was.
I was so tired and so weak and I just wanted to disappear in Damon's arms and never come out. I had nothing left in me to fight and yet I knew I had to find it in me to push myself more and take any opportunity that came up to get away, to run or attack him or whatever I needed to do to get us safe. To be ready if Damon had any opportunity to take him down. I had to find more strength in me somehow.
Damon's POV
I was watching the cons around me as she stayed hidden against my chest. I had buttoned up the black shirt, covering her as much as I could already. With so many leering eyes around us I didn't want any of them seeing any more of her as I knelt on the sand, my knee up supporting her body in my arms.
I knew giving myself up and walking unarmed to Kai was a risk, but she needed me. I could not bear to have her face him alone. We had no other weapons and this was the only thing left I could do...comfort her and beg Kai to let me hold her as I prayed my baby brother would have a miracle up his sleeve to get us out of this.
My eyes narrowed as I saw Parker moved to lean down and whisper to Mason and the man nodded and slipped away. What was he up to? Mason walked up and into the trees past the beach and Kai turned back around to us. I saw Elena peek her head up toward me and felt her whole body shudder as Kai's shadow fell on us from where he stood.
"Call your brother back Pretty. Find out the time frame of when they will get here. And make it quick," he demanded.
I nodded as he tossed me the phone and Elena sat up more in my arms, her back against my bent leg. Her head rested on my good shoulder as I ran my other hand up and down her bare legs soothingly, trying to keep her warm in her undressed state. I dialed the number and felt her fingers lift the fabric of the white shirt up from where my torn stitches were. I winced at the dried blood tearing from my skin around the wound as she examined it.
I saw her scolding look at me as I saw how many stitches I had ripped and the blood slowly seeping from the wound. But I didn't have the time for me now at all and I doubted Kai would let Elena fix my wounds.
He wanted me weak...so he could take her away from me...forever. And that was how I was feeling, weaker every minute from more and more blood loss.
Stefan's worried voice came through the phone and I did as Kai told me and asked how soon he could get there. I mentioned again that Elena was hurt and he needed to hurry. He said he was going as quickly as he could and had followed Klaus directions and just found the woman hidden in the cave by the falls. He said to hang on and that he would be there within the hour for sure.
Kai snatched the phone from my hand but still held it up to me. "An hour. Okay brother. Just hurry please," I replied, wondering what Kai was doing. Parker was nodding at me and leaned in closer waving the gun in his hand in front of us.
"Now repeat after me Damon..." He bent to my ear as Elena leaned closer to me in my arms, my body tight around her as she tried to stay as far away from him as she could. "Kai Parker is not stupid..."
I looked hard in his eyes and was silent as he prodded me, holding the phone to my mouth. Why the hell would he want Stefan to know we hadn't escaped? I swallowed hard having no idea what kind of game he was playing but still repeated it and looked back up at him.
"He knows about...Lexi," Kai said and my eyes bulged out at that. He knew? How the hell did he know? My mouth was pursed in a tight line as the knowledge of my little covert act just got the darkness ripped off it!
Kai pressed the gun to Elena's temple and I growled out in anger at that, but he just shook his head and whispered it again. I hated this. What the hell was happening?
"He knows about Lexi," I said finally. The silence was excruciating as I waited for Stefan to reply.
"She won't drive the boat," my brother mumbled. But even I could hear the defeat in his voice. He knew too that we were so busted.
Kai was grinning as Elena had shut her eyes, her head against my chest and he clicked off the safety as he pushed it more against her hair.
If looks could kill Kai would have had two red seared holes where his eyes were right now as I glared fire at him and wanted so badly to rip him apart.
He grabbed the phone back from me again. "No, no...brother, secret agent man...I know she can't drive the damn boat...because your fiance is fucking dead." His eyes bore into mine as his lips curled into an insidious smile. "You and your pretty boy brother think you can outsmart me. He gives you this coded message to know that they are still trapped and you come barreling in here to kill me!?"
The silence on Stefan's end gutted me. He knew. I knew and Kai fucking knew too. How the hell was that possible? Stefan recovered fast, not missing a beat. "No! No Parker. I just want them safe please."
"Well you should know that when you do show up, that your brothers girl will have a fucking gun to her temple and I will kill her without blinking if I sense any kind of attack on me! I am leaving this island with her or I'll kill them both here and now!"
I was listening to all this as he still had the gun to her head now, while she was in my arms and I heard her crying quietly against my chest.
Stefan voice came through again. "What do you want Parker? We can deal," he said calmly. "If you so much as touch them...I can't help you then."
Kai laughed "Oh you will help me Stefan and we will deal, my way...they will be alive when you get here but I can't promise much more. I need to teach your brother a lesson for screwing with me...I warned him what would happen if he tried to play hero." His glare fell on me and I felt my blood run cold.
As long as you don't screw me Salvatore...I won't screw her...
My arms tightened around her, knowing exactly what he meant. I could hear Stefan's voice as scared as I felt, as he called out to Kai again to not do this. But there was not a damn thing he could do from where he was.
He was not going to get her without the fight of his fucking life, I thought as my jaw tightened. "I will KILL you if you touch her again!" I screamed at him as I fought to force the tears back as I curled myself around my baby, my head against hers as I felt her shaking in my arms.
My head went up, squinting into the sunlight, my blue eyes wide and pleading. "Kai. Beat me...hurt me...kill me...destroy me." I begged, my voice unsteady between my gasping breaths as a damn tear slipped rebelliously from my eye. "Get your anger out on me. Punish me for telling my brother that you still had us."
I swallowed a lump in my throat, hating her hearing this. "Take a knife and just rip me apart, till the sand under me in soaked in my blood Kai. Please hurt me and not her. I'm begging you."
I heard Elena's strangled sob as what I was saying as I gave her such a vivid image of me suffering. I knew whatever he did would very likely destroy both of us.
Stefan's voice pierced through the silence again. "Kai we can get you immunity. I am trying to reach the president right now...Just...don't hurt them." My brother was trying to save us and I applauded his efforts.
But looking in Kai's eyes I knew he wasn't going for it.
He reminded me of a bomber that couldn't resist watching his creation destroy and do what it was meant to do. That being offered immunity he would still go for the sheer, raw, pleasure of watching his bomb explode anyway.
That was the look in his eyes right now.
But I knew he had talked about Panama and money to live free and clear. So maybe there was a chance. That was all I had to believe in, a chance.
My eyes held the tiniest bit of hope as I saw him thinking it over before he laughed again. God no! That laugh was the sickest sound I think I had ever heard.
"You can't get me immunity after what I did. I killed my whole family! You are lying!" Kai spat into the phone, clutching it tight in his hand. "You know as well as I do that I was in there for more than 5 life sentences too. The girls I hurt, the families I've destroyed. The damn doc from the prison that will never sleep feeling safe again after what she lived through. There is no way the President will let me walk. Don't insult me by lying to me!"
Stefan who usually had such calm in these type of situations was panicked for both of us. This wasn't just a mission for him. This was his family hanging by a thread. "No, I'm not lying! Damn it Kai I am trying to help you!"
He was nodding and smiling like Stefan could see him. "Well I decided that helping myself was much more fun for now...we will deal, but not for anyone else to know and sure as hell not the fucking President," he spat out. His head spun back and his eyes locked to mine as he gave a nod to Julian. I froze like a deer in the headlights at that look...
Before I could say another word, I felt arms around my throat squeezing and I started gasping for air! I could hear Stefan yelling for me and I knew he could hear what was happening. Julian had his arms tight around my neck in the choke hold and I knew it would only be seconds more before I would release my hold on my baby. No! I needed to fight to stay conscious. I could not let him hurt her!
My eyes shut in reflex to the constricting feeling and I forced them open again. Kai had pulled the gun back from her head and I felt her holding me even tighter as my vision blurred and the dizziness raced through my weak body like a torrential wave crashing.
"Damon! No!" my Beauty cried out and she was shaking me to fight to stay with her.
"Elena," I managed to gasp out and I saw her eyes, so fearful and felt her nails digging into the skin on my neck as she clung to me. My arms fell limp and my head swam once more as my eyes closed. The roughness of the sand hit my head as I crumpled down.
Barely conscious I heard her screaming for me and felt the grip of her fingers fall away, as her nails scratched down my arms as she was pulled away. There was nothing but empty air around me as I reached for her.
Julian had let go just before the darkness took me under and I felt so dizzy and weak but I was awake. I was sure that was part of Kai's sick game too. Where would the fun be in hurting her if I wasn't awake to see it?
Fuck he needed to die!
Elena's POV
I was pulled back away from Damon and tumbled into my open med bag as the items fell all over the sand behind me. It felt like deja vu with Kai stalking toward me.
But this time, my precious Damon was nearly unconscious and right there just beyond my reach.
This time, I could hear the frantic voice of my love's only family, as Stefan called out again and again for Damon to hear him and keep fighting.
This time, other men were surrounding me, blocking my escape and I had no idea where to turn.
Kai bent and picked up the phone and waved it in front of me. He could have turned it off but he actually looked like he was enjoying the voyeur aspect of this torture. "Enjoy the show Agent Salvatore..." he practically drooled to Damon's brother before tossing the phone back down beside Damon.
I kept crawling back but feeling more trapped as the other cons were circling me. My fingers closed around something hard behind me as I edged backwards. I felt the size and width of the item. It was a scalpel! I could fight back!
I knew what was coming... I had to fight no matter how hopeless it was to get away. I held the weapon tight behind me as I saw Damon's eyes half open as he fought to pull his head up from the ground. The desperate fear across his beautiful face was nearly paralyzing as he watched Kai stalk me.
The monster grabbed me by the hair, pulling me up and didn't even think but just swung the razor sharp weapon at him. I was going for his neck and but it barely grazed his skin as he must have been watching me and backed up and caught my wrist.
Damn it! Why couldn't we get a break?!
I saw the cut I made drip blood down his throat. He wiped the blood off like it was nothing while he stared hard in my eyes.
"Ooh feisty. Just how I like them. You are going to be very sorry for that Elena," he snarled out as he whipped my body to the ground, spinning me in the air to land hard on my back. I cried out as the breath rushed out of me and the force of his fingers around my good wrist made me drop the scalpel to fall in the soft sand. I heard Damon scream my name as I fell.
"You think I didn't see that you were trying to stab me again?! I've been attacked more times than I can count in prison and I can see it coming from the damn expression on your face! Stabbing me under the water I underestimated you, but this." He laughed under his breath as he held me down. "This is could see a mile away. Just stop fighting Elena. You are mine," Kai hissed out.
I could not contain myself, knowing there was nothing else I could do. "I will never be yours!" I screamed out at him as I grabbed for the weapon again but cried out in pain as his hard boot held my wrist down, trapping it in the sand.
Kai leaned down over me and I felt his fingers close around my throat, holding my head down so tight against the sand. I turned to the side to see my Damon lift his body weight up partially under his arms, only for Julian to shove him back down again, his foot on Damon's back. He looked so weak and I needed him so much right now.
"Ooh what have we here?" Kai turned my hand around in his grip now as he tossed the scalpel away down the beach. It landed knife down in the sand too far away.
He was staring at my ring..."Awe so cute," he quipped. "Damon's" His mouth curled into a smirk as held my hand up seeing what Damon had written on the back.
"Not. Anymore," he said, his tone chilling.
Damon's groaned and I heard him gasp my name again as he pulled himself up on his arms only to be met with Julian's gun to his head.
Blinking from the sunlight in my eyes I saw Kai lift something from behind him and it glinted in the brightness of the day. It was shiny and I could see dark red, dried blood on the edges.
"Remember these?" he said smoothly and swung them back and forth on his finger as his knee was holding me down pressed into my chest.
Scissors.
He was holding the scissors I used on him on the plane! My pupils widened, darkening my eyes in fear as I turned my head away from him and to see Damon cry out to me from where he was held helplessly almost within reach of me.
"I found them before we escaped the plane and I knew if I found you I would have so much fun making you bleed..." He laughed as he brought them closer to my cheek.
I remembered his disgusting words on the plane as I lay hiding with Damon…
"No! I am not leaving without that bitch!" Kai screamed out. "She is mine and I am going to fucking love tearing her apart till she is screaming and covered in blood!"
"I'll see how much she likes me stabbing scissors into her!"
"Oh yeah," the other voice said, that voice as slippery and venomous as a poisonous snake. "I can't wait to hold Salvatore down while you make him suffer! Can you just imagine the look on his face!"
"Elena look at me," I heard Kai order me, pulling me back to the present. I hated the thoughts then and now too. All I wanted in the whole world was to get to my future with Damon. I couldn't believe that what he had threatened was actually coming true...right before my eyes.
I ignored him and kept staring at my fiance. Despite the pain on his face, Damon held my gaze. I was happy he was there. I knew he could have shut his eyes to block out Kai running the blade of the scissors down my throat as I struggled to barely breath and risk getting cut more. But he didn't. His crystal blue eyes stayed steady on mine, like he was trying to say he was with me no matter what. I did not have to go through anything alone.
I could not imagine how hard it would be for Damon to watch Kai threaten me, especially after what he told me he went through with Lexi. And yet my baby didn't look away...offering me all that he could in that moment.
Whatever happened to me...he was here, facing it with me.
Kai lowered his knee, still holding me down as I heard the faint popping of each button, one by one as he cut them free, till the shirt fell to the sides of my body. I refused to look at him at all and I saw Damon flinch at each one falling.
There was silence on the phone and I knew Stefan must be listening breathlessly but likely had no idea what else to say. What the hell was there to say? I had heard him offer this monster immunity and he had not believed him.
My head snapped back the next second and I felt pain, stinging pain radiating through my cheek. Kai back handed me, his eyes flaring. "That's for trying to fucking stab me again! Look at me!" he hissed out as I kept my head down, my eyes locked on Damon's.
I saw the man I loved so frightened for me and so helpless as Damon screamed for me again and fought to get up. Julian had him down on his stomach, the guards knee on his back and the gun at his head as Damon's eyes remained focused on me as he struggled to get free.
I love you, he mouthed to me and I saw his eyes so dark and aching with desperation. I mouthed it back before I felt Kai's grip on my chin, forcing my head back up and away from Damon.
I felt the swelling on my cheek almost immediately as I whimpered, feeling Kai making light cuts along my neck and down my chest but not even drawing blood. He straddled me then holding my wrists down in one hand as he let go of my throat and his body blocked me from seeing Damon.
No! Seeing Damon was the only thing helping me through this and now he had taken that away from me too. I screamed as he leaned over me as he brought the scissors lower...
Damon's POV
"Elena!" I yelled out and cursed at Parker, feeling stronger and trying to push at Julian holding me down. I fought and struggled and tried even to maneuver my body to sweep his leg out from under me but he held me tight and dug the gun into my back at my spine.
It started to rain and between the tears in my eyes and the rain drops, my vision was so clouded as all I saw was her bare legs kicking up as she struggled and screamed, crying for me. I wanted to die and continued to yell at Kai to stop and hurt me. But my pleas fell on deaf ears.
The rain…the rain took me away to a memory we had just shared...
I saw Elena sigh visibly and I turned to her, our fingers still tangled together. "What's wrong?"
She sighed again. "Oh its nothing. I just really wanted to dance with my fiance in the rain...and it stopped already."
I raised my eyebrows at her, seeing her brown eyes sparkling so many shades of bronze in the sunlight. "Dance with me?" Damn, I loved hearing her call me her fiance. It still felt surreal.
Elena smiled. "Mmm hmm. I know. I know we have to watch out for dangerous criminals but this island is so romantic. I wanted to dance with you today, on the top of the waterfall or I don't know just something romantic in the rain." She looked up and around us in awe of our surroundings and she was right, it was a beautiful exotic island.
I cupped her face and grinned down at her. "Okay Elena. I promise the next time it rains and every time after that I will take you in my arms and dance with you and I want you to imagine that the rain is my love just falling down all over you.
"Really?" her voice was high and happy like a toddler who was just told they were going for ice cream.
I smiled again, stroking my finger down her cheek. "Really."
Clouds had darkened the sky as the rain kept falling. I could feel the drops on my face and in my hair as my head was still down, pressed into the sand. My eyes squeezed shut as my baby cried out more and every sound made my heart shatter into tiny pieces. I did not think it was possible to feel more broken than I had been when I watched Lexi stabbed to death in front of me...but Elena's screams as Kai did God knows what to her, ripped apart the very fiber of my heart and soul.
I growled out and fought, struggling and trying to force my body up enough to turn around to block the gun and take Julian down. But he crashed it to the back of my head and I fell back down again, nearly blacking out.
I heard Stefan yelling again at Kai and calling to me and I reached to out and was surprised Julian let me pull the satt phone to me against the ground.
"Brother I can't," I cried out, my voice barely above a whisper, jaw clenched and my chin quivering. "I...I can't stop him. God Stef help us, please."
My baby brother's voice came through the phone, his tone wrought with emotion too. "I'm coming Damon. As fast as I can. I am so sorry."
I cursed and yelled out at Kai as I heard another cry turn into a pain-filled whimper and saw her kicking out harder to get away. I could see Kai had her wrists trapped in his one hand as he held her down.
"Just hold on brother." I heard Stefan call out.
I wanted to hold on. Was there anything to hold on to?
I felt dead inside. Pieces of me had broken more with each terrified cry from her lips and then it was silent. Totally fucking silent...
"Its too late Stefan. Its too late. He destroyed her...I can feel it." My head fell back to the sand, overwhelmed by the deafening silence. "She will never be the same," I mumbled into the phone. Whatever happened was over.
Kai finally got up and I had no fucking idea what he had just done. Had he raped her? I could barely see through my glassy eyes when he stood up. He pulled her up and I saw her bare feet waver as her balance faltered.
"Go show Pretty who's you are now," Kai voice was sick as he licked his lips at me. My eyes closed as more pain rushed through my head from the likely concussion again and at the thought of what she had just been through. She whimpered my name and I felt Julian get off me, allowing me get up and I pulled myself to my knees to try to stand.
Elena was walking so slowly toward me. "Damon," her soft voice whimpered and that was when I saw the blood...
Little, tiny, trails of red were snaking their way down her thighs to drip down her legs and onto the wet sand. There were more and more droplets falling to the sand as she stumbled toward me. What the hell did Kai do to her?
The phone fell from my fingers...as I watched her walk shakily closer.
Julian scooped it up, tossing it to Kai. "Just get here Salvatore. And no guns. No weapons or we do that all over again...to your brother's girl. Am I clear?" he hissed into the phone.
My brother's voice was soft and he sounded as defeated as I felt. "Yes totally clear. Okay Parker. No weapons. Damon just hold on..." Stefan was trying to call to me but Kai shut the phone off.
Lifting my head more I saw the black shirt on her was dark with wetness too, more blood. She cried for me again, reaching, her hands stretched out in front of her.
I heard Kai laughing as he made his way back to the rock behind me and if I thought I had even the slightest chance to beat the smirk right off his face till he was unrecognizable I would have. But my focus was on my precious brunette now and she needed me. God what had he done to my baby?
Elena had more and more trails of blood slipping down her naked thighs and I was terrified what I would find under her shirt. Her chest was heaving, her lace bra darker red, almost black from the rain still falling on us. I pulled myself to my feet and met her next steps as she fell into my arms, her hands gripping my arms tight. I almost lost my balance, I was so weak that I would have tumbled us both to the ground.
"Elena," I breathed out.
God the way she was looking at me she looked destroyed. Tears were flowing down her cheeks.
I held her hips as I pulled back to examine her and she cried out again as I gently moved the torn shirt aside more. My mouth gaped open in horror as I recoiled at what I saw as I wiped away the blood smeared all over her stomach…
Jagged letters were carved right into her skin... Kai's fucking name was written in cuts on my baby's stomach and dripping more and more blood as she stood there shaking!
My breath just raced out of my lungs as I took in her devastated and broken eyes, at how he had hurt her, marked her, permanently scarred her with his damn name! I got my arms out of my jumpsuit sleeves and pulled my t shirt off me to hurriedly press it to her bloody skin.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed and I was already shaking my head at her. This wasn't her fault. She had nothing to be sorry for. Yet it seemed like she was more concerned about what I would think and not herself even in this moment.
I lifted my hand to her face, caressing her cheek. The bruise on her face was swelling too and she tilted her head to my hand as I ran my fingers tenderly over the swollen and damaged skin.
Kai's sick voice pierced the silence around us as he spoke from behind me, laughing in fucking glee. "I told you I like my women bruised and bloody. You remember that don't you Pretty? And now she knows she's mine. Hell of a lot more permanent that the damn ring you gave her, wouldn't you say?"
I spun around in an instant and was ready to throw myself at him in my blind rage. But I stopped short, seeing him and Julian aiming their guns at me. Several other cons were on either side of him, their own weapons raised. Fuck!
Kai stood up, his eyes daring me to try anything. I felt an animalistic snarl climb up my throat and wanted to rip his skin from his body, piece by fucking piece till he was nothing by flesh and blood for what he did to my baby! Death would be too kind.
I saw red, the rage flooding me more with each ragged breath I took. "There is nowhere you can hide that I won't find you! You will beg for death Parker and yet it will feel like the torture won't ever end! You will not live to regret this, I fucking promise you that!" I hissed at him between clenched teeth as I curled Elena into my embrace. Somehow she felt smaller, scared and actually cowering in my arms away from him.
Kai merely shrugged at me. Fucking shrugged.
"Bring it bitch!" he hissed out. "You are not the one in control here and she is mine. Now you both can see that loud and clear. I was just giving you a visual to illustrate my point. And once we are gone...you will never find us."
His expression brightened. "C'mon Damon, don't you even want to know how I knew about your brother's girl? What else I know? Who else I know about?"
I turned my head away from the creep in repulsion not wanting to hear his voice another second, no matter what he said. I needed to hear it, just not now.
Bending down I grabbed up gauze pads, tape and pain cream from the med bag near our feet. Elena cried out as I pressed the gauze to her wounds, her fingers digging into my shoulders. I hated how much pain she was in.
"Doctor Delicious, you think I can get some cooperation now and not more fucking trying to kill me and fix up the damn hole you put in my stomach?! Or should I carve up your precious boy toy next?" His eyes gleamed wickedly. "I wonder how much you would love him if his pretty face wasn't so...pretty?"
What the actual...
Kai was looking right at her as her head was down against my chest but I knew even without her looking at him that she heard him loud and clear.
"These damn drugs are wearing off so I would hurry if you don't want me to start using these scissors on Pretty."
Kai leaned back and lifted his hoodie to show the torn skin of a stab wound. Had Elena done that to him? I knew she was a lot tougher than I thought and she had proven it when she killed Brady to save my life by ripping a bullet through his skull. I was so proud of her that she had managed to stab Kai. He deserved a hell of a lot more than that.
But he wanted her to what? No fucking way! The bastard actually expected after what he just did...that she would do anything for him?! I was about to open my mouth to say just that when I felt her move out of my embrace and bend down, scooping up items that were scattered on the sand before making her way toward Kai.
He was grinning at me as he pulled the hoodie up more and off his body to lean back against the rock. He was acting like he won.
Maybe he had. He had broken her and he damn well knew it.
She didn't say a word and sat beside him and within minutes had his wound packed with more disinfectant soaked gauze and taped it up. She gave him another dose of morphine at his request as well.
His shoulder wound where I shot him looked wicked too. I could see faint lines of dark red spreading from the site. Blood poisoning? Was he dying?
Studying him closer I saw a sheen of sweat on his skin and a slight shiver like he might already be feverish and reacting to the poison. The morphine might just be masking the symptoms enough for him to function. I saw him swallow a bunch of what looked like antibiotics but I prayed it would be too late for them to save him. He deserved to die in the worst way imaginable.
My gaze went back to Elena.
Her eyes looked dead.
They were empty of any warmth and she winced multiple times but bit her lip to keep from crying out as she worked. It looked like she didn't even care that the torn shirt she was wearing was open and her body so revealing to his eyes. I saw him ogling her as she fixed his wound and he smiled back at me again like he was proud of what she had become...right before my eyes.
Kai leaned back more on the large rock, taking deep breaths and I could see the drug strengthening him again as Elena backed up and put the remaining supplies in her bag. I just stood there frozen having watched that whole silent display of her walking like a damn zombie at his will.
"So what now?" I dared to ask him, my tone sharp as I pocketed some gauze and cream and more tape. I tied my suit up around my waist as she walked back into my arms like she hadn't just been giving first aid to the sociopath that tore her body apart. I could feel her shaking more as I pulled her closer and put my shirt back against her cuts.
Kai stood back up, his gun still pointed at me. "Now we wait for your brother to get his ass over here. You two can wait in the cave till its time to go." He motioned Julian and the corrupt guard pointed his gun at us.
I lift my hands in surrender, feeling the gun to the back of my head as he led me forward. Elena stayed right against my side as we walked without a word till he pushed us into the cave. I watched, seeing Julian turn and stand guard at the entrance and several other cons stood around him, guns raised.
Looking around there was nothing but solid rock walls on all sides of us. No chance for escape, no hidden back way out nothing. We were trapped.
I caught Elena as her balance wavered again and she grabbed for my arms. Kai's disgusting laugh echoed in the small space. "Enjoy the last time you will ever have with her Pretty."
Turning away from him I focused on my Beauty, in doing everything I could to calm her as I saw her gasp and shiver more at what Kai just said. Her knees buckled and she sunk down in my arms to the damp ground.
I slid down the wall and held her and she lay silently against me. My hands moved down her sides pulling her closer but I was scared I could hurt her more. Would even holding her hurt her?
Her head lifted from my chest and I saw her focused on my wound again, studying it as if she was oblivious to her own pain.
"I need to help you stop the bleeding Damon," she said simply, like she was merely my doctor at an appointment.
"No baby. I need to take care of you," I whispered into the air between our lips, already dabbing more gauze on her wounds and reaching for the pain cream from my pocket. "Let me help you," I tried again more insistently.
She shook her head at me, pulling away and with no emotion she pulled out a case with a needle and thread and another vial of morphine, syringe and rubber tourniquet from her red lace bra. I wondered when she had time to sneak the supplies from the bag.
"Last vial of morphine," my girl stated and started pulling on my arm to wrap around the tourniquet. She glared at me when I even tried to shake my head no and pull away so she could have the pain meds and not me. She was hurting too but she was refusing to let me give it to her.
I wanted to take away her pain but she seemed bound and determined that I was the only one hurting right now. And as fragile as she was, I didn't dare cross her.
I watched, as she tapped my veins and I felt the warmth of the drug flood through me as it helped numb everything that hurt physically. Emotionally...hell emotionally nothing was helping.
Her fingers then slid under my tight knit tank top and I gasped as the contact, missing her touch on my body so much. She pulled it over my head and the cold air rushed against my bare skin.
Elena avoided my eyes and still continued to work, cleaning the area, sewing up the torn stitches and wiping away the dripping and dried blood from my bare chest. She was treating me like a patient, with no love or affection in her touches. Lifting my arm she wrapped the gauze around and around it till she could tuck in the edge. I was more than done and I could see the pain on her face as each movement must be pulling on her torn apart skin.
"That's enough Elena. Let me help you, please baby," I begged her, grabbing her good wrist and waiting for her eyes to find mine. But they stayed locked on the ground. Was she ashamed? What else hurt? I was kicking myself that I didn't have more pain killers to give her. She twisted her hand out of mine, still avoiding my eyes.
"Go ahead. Fix me," she mumbled, sounding almost daring like she was beyond anyone, even me, helping her. She pulled out of my arms to stand up, backing up more and pulled the shirt off her shoulders, letting it fall to the ground behind her. I saw just how much blood was all over her beautiful body and it made me sick. She looked to be seconds from crying but still maintained a stoic expression. Fighting with herself to not feel.
"You still love this body Damon?" Elena stood in front of me half naked and slid her underwear lower to expose the full letters on her belly. "Look at me! Tell me you aren't completely repulsed by me now!" she snapped at me, her tone biting, her eyes flashing with anger.
"I'm ugly! There are cuts everywhere!" She was starting to undo the bra to take it off too as I jumped up and pulled my arms around her back to stop her. I could see some of the cons turn around and leer at her and I wasn't going to give anyone even one more piece of my baby. I pulled her further back in the cave, away from the doorway and into the shadows.
"You are not ugly and I'm not repulsed, Elena! I love you! All of you! Everything about you!" She fought my grip and I didn't even want to hold on to her arm too tight and risk hurting her more in any way. Damn it! What could I do? She looked like she was just hanging off the precipice of sanity, standing half naked in front of me.
I struggled to find something to ground her, sooth her. It seemed like even my touch and presence did not do that now.
"You were kissing all my wounds in our cave before and healing every one," I whispered. "You ached for my pain Elena and now I'm trying to help you with yours." I saw her listening more closely, the anger in her eyes fading.
Maybe I was reaching her with this train of thought so I kept going. "Did you reject me when you saw my scars? Did you walk away when you saw how badly Kai burned my back?" Instantly she was shaking her head no. "Then why would you think I would ever reject you baby?" I cupped her face cautiously, scared she would jump away from me.
"I can never escape him," she sobbed, her lip quivering. "Now all you will see is his mark on me."
"No! No Elena. It not your fault and it does NOT change my feelings for you." Fuck how could I make her understand?
She stepped back from me more and wiped the blood aside literally pointing to her ripped skin. "KAI'S" she mumbled and I saw the glaring red capital letters. "Even if we do get away...you will see this every damn time you hold me, kiss me, touch me. Every time we make love Damon! Every morning in bed you will see his name on my naked body! How can that be okay?!"
I held her close, my hands covered hers. "It's not okay. But I'm here Beauty. I'm not leaving you, ever again. No matter what. Please believe me," I pleaded. "I'm SO sorry I left you in the cave to go call my brother. I'm SO sorry he found you and hurt you. I will never forgive myself for leaving you and will never leave you again." I was stroking her hair between my fingers my forehead against hers. "We could get plastic surgery to cover it up possibly too baby. But I love you. How he hurt you does NOT change that."
Elena buried her head on my chest, hiding her face from me as I felt her take gasping breaths. "I hate it! I hate him!" Her head flew up, her deep chocolate eyes locked on mine as I saw her lip tremble. "I hate that he can destroy you by hurting me. I hate the pain I see in your eyes now Damon!" Her hand came up to caress my cheek as she gazed so intensely in my eyes.
But that look melted into more rage a moment later as I heard choking sobs trying to force their way up her throat. "I hated seeing the gun to your head baby, knowing that monster could take away my whole world in less than a second!" More tears slipped down her cheeks before her head fell back to my chest. "And I hate that I feel like I'm breaking apart in your arms right now! I hate this island and plane crashes and blood and death and I hate feel so helpless!"
My mouth opened, soundlessly, wordlessly as I did not know what to say or do to help her.
Heaven help me...My baby was broken.
I was trying to gather up all her shattered pieces faster than they continued to fall through my fingers. She was falling apart...right before my eyes.
And why? Because of me. Because the assholes that wanted my team and I dead in this crash took her down too. Her and Ric and Caroline and Jules even. Everyone had suffered in one way of another. The plane would have made it to its destination without me on it. It would have brought Kai fucking Parker to the Middle Eastern prison where he would live for the rest of his life in the hellish conditions.
My hands were shaking as I tentatively reached out to her, scared I could break her more in her intensely fragile state. I had never felt such deep visceral pain as I tried to comfort her.
"Hey, hey Elena," I cupped her face, my heart aching for her. "I know you do. But I see you. Only you baby. Not some damn letters. We can beat this. I'm so, so sorry," I soothed her, stroking the cheek not swollen and purple from Kai hitting her. The cuts on her stomach were still dripping red down her olive skin and onto my prison jumpsuit and I looked around for anything more to help stop the bleeding. I saw an already bloody gray t shirt on the ground walked to pick it up, brushed it off and held it to her wounds. I pulled her back down in my lap against the wall.
Swallowing the massive lump in my throat. I had to know…
"Did he..." I asked, fucking terrified of the answer. Had he done more than cut her? It sure as hell looked like it from where I had been.
Elena met my eyes and shook her head. "No he didn't. But he whispered in my ear that he wanted to you to think he had. He told me while he dragged me back to the beach before that he loved the chase and wanted to take his time. He said it turned him on more knowing that I never knew when it would happen and the fear he could feel in me from that."
Fuck I could not hate him more. He was enjoying her fear?! And torturing us with the threat of taking her body and everything pure and perfect that she was from me?
She cried more, her head against me. "Damon I just want you to take me away from here. I want to wake up from this nightmare. Please just take me away. Please tell me its a horrible nightmare. That nothing that just happened was real?"
I wanted to help her, to pull her away from her fear. From reality. Even if it was just for a short time...and for the first time since she fell in my arms in the cave I knew exactly what to do.
"It's not real baby. You aren't here in this cave now. Nothing hurts. You can't feel blood on you at all." I saw her looking up at me curiously as she sniffled back tears.
"You are wearing a flowing silky wrap around sundress Elena. You and I are sitting on the blanket and I reach over to pour you another glass of wine, which is actually sparkling cider this time."
The look on her face that at first was puzzled, now turned slowly into a weak smile as I knew she must remember...our picnic.
"You are leaning back against me and I nuzzle my nose in your hair and moan at how soothed I am at your presence. I feel your fingers tangle with mine and I move our hands to rest on your belly."
Her eyes were wide and focused on me as I continued. I wiped blood more off her stomach and caressed her skin beside the jagged letters. "I unwrap the tie from your dress just enough to sneak my hand in and damn your skin is so soft and smooth baby. Your head falls back to my shoulder and you give me this heart melting smile, as your sunhat hides you from the heat of the afternoon shining down on us."
I could feel her heartbeat calming down as I spoke so softly as her tiny frame was curled into my arms, her body chilled from the damp air, her head in the crook of my neck as I rubbed up and down her nearly bare back. "You put your glass of cider down on the grass and move your other hand under the dress to lay it on mine as we both smile at the hard kick we feel from your belly." She lifts her head to smile at that and I nod to her.
"Yes Beauty, a baby. Our baby. I smooth your warm unblemished skin under my palm. There are no marks Elena. No scars. Nothing but the light white squiggles of skin broken beneath the surface from our babies pushing and stretching you as they grow. And this little angel, she is getting so strong already with still a month till we can meet her."
Elena's eyes fall closed as her head falls to the crook of my neck again. "We're having a girl?" she mumbles softly and her fingers clench my broad and bare shoulders as I pull her in closer to warm her skin to skin from her shivering.
I smile at the peaceful look on her face. "Mmm hmm. We are. She is healthy, all 10 fingers and toes and even sucked her thumb during the ultrasound. She moved around so much then we could hardly tell that our baby was a she and we had to go back another time to confirm."
Finally she looked more relaxed and I was so glad.
"There is more Elena. Did you want to see more?" I asked her. I was proud of all the detail I was coming with and was inspired by the awe on her face as she listened to me and I had hoped, forgot all about the pain she was in and the hopelessness she was feeling.
Elena was nodding rapidly, her eyes still closed. "Okay...we caress your full belly a few more minutes before I tie up your dress again before any passer by in the park can intrude on our private moment. Then there is squealing and laughter and two little children run toward us and I almost don't catch them before they leap in my arms." I hear her sigh and I lean back against the wall, seeing her wincing at the shift in our bodies and what it must have done to her cuts but I was determined to continue my story, seeing something was finally helping her.
"I catch first the little blue eyed, dark haired boy and then the bright eyed little blonde girl as the two tiny bodies tackle me down on the blanket. You back away more, laughing while you caress your belly as I lift the little girl in my arms, swinging her around, her hazel eyes shining as she laughs the cutest little three year old giggle. Her brother toddles away from me to nuzzle in his mommy's big belly, his little arms stretching around your tummy and he gives his unborn baby sister a big sloppy wet toddler kiss."
I knew this was primarily for her benefit but I was surprised at the ease and peace in which this story, this future fell from my lips. Maybe it meant I could be a writer now that I was leaving the CIA. I loved describing things and how much it was helping her right now. It was soothing me too. It sounded like a dream.
Our dream...our future.
My voice was trying to be soft and soothing too to add to the tranquil mood I was trying to create for her. "Our kids are pointing and the little girl talking so fast as she tells us about the ducks they were feeding with Uncle Enzo and Auntie Bonnie. Bon is holding the hand of their little boy and passing him more breadcrumbs as Enzo cradles a baby girl in his arms." I feel teary eyed at my own imagination and how much I was wishing for that future.
Then we see another couple coming back up the path from the duck pond and your brother Jeremy is beaming while carrying their little son on his shoulders as his wife snuggles into his side."
I hear Elena gasp at that and I watch her face melt into such a wide grin with tears in her eyes as she breathes her brother's name. "I miss them, Damon. So much. They had a baby boy?" she said in the perfect mix of sadness and awe.
"In my story yes they did sweetie. Look who else is coming..." Her eyes stayed closed and I could only hope she was visualizing how perfect our future was in my thoughts. I wanted her to have everything, her family and mine and our children and friends and so much love.
"Your mom and dad are running forward and your mom kneels beside you, laying her hand on your belly. She nearly jumps back at our baby's sharp kick before she pulls you into a tender hug."
Elena's smile could not be wider and I feel her holding me so tightly despite the pain it must be to do that. She looks radiantly happy. I added another part that was so far from reality. But hey this was my utopia so was going to take it all the way, no matter how unreal it was.
"Uncle Enz scoops up our little girl in his arms to hold her with his daughter in his arms and you Elena, nudge me to see Stefan smiling and nuzzling into a woman's neck, giving her kisses before he turns around. We see her long blonde hair is flowing behind her as she leans into his shoulder as he is being pulled on by a big dog with one hand as the lease starts tangling them together as they laugh and fall over in the grass. Lexi is alive Elena. Just like Jeremy and Anna and your parents."
We were all a family and growing families of our own. And in my fantasy that meant the love of my brother's life and Elena's family were still alive and all was right in the world. I didn't care if that was impossible.
"Your dad watches our son run so fast up to Uncle Stefan, the little boys legs can hardly keep up with his pace. My brother scoops the little toddler up from where he landed from getting tangled in the leash with his wife and he and Lex make faces at him. His little chubby hands grab Stefan's face, squishing his cheeks to plant another wet kiss, just like he did with his unborn baby sister. And then he scampers off to jump in Jeremy's arms as your dad chases him."
She was beaming so widely and had her eyes closed again. I wondered if it was easier to see the fantasy life I was describing without the visual of these rocks walls trapping us? I ran my fingers through my Beauty's hair and down her back as she leaned against me. She had stopped shivering awhile ago and I had carefully pulled my tank top I had on before over her nearly naked body.
"Your smile at me was so relaxed as you watched our children play and run and laugh with their family. You turned to me, and leaned back into my arms as you gripped my head, bringing my lips down to yours. Your arms slide up my shirt and around my neck as I groaned. I pulled you onto my lap, and you laughed as I almost fall back from the weight of you and the baby against me. We could hear oohs and aahs of the little ones and even the low voices of Jeremy and Enzo laughing as some of the girls squealed and whistled at us and our intimate PDA."
"You ignored it all and with one eye on your parents with our kids, your mom cradling our daughter and swinging her around, you closed your eyes and dove to kiss me hard. We fell back on the blanket, your legs sliding to the sides of my hips. Your lips were soft and warm and you smelled like the spring day we were enjoying. I wound my fingers in your hair, pulling you in closer, never wanting to let you go..."
My hands were on her waist, her body moving sensuously over mine, as our tongues danced. I had not even realized at first that we had started kissing just as I had finished describing us kissing in the dream world. She was straddling me on the ground, as I tunneled my fingers in her hair. My mouth was hungry, needy and desperate for the peace I found whenever I lost in myself in her.
I held her tight, my hands slipping down across the thin white tank top to dive under it and massage the skin of her hips being careful to avoid disturbing her torn skin. She whimpered in pleasure and opened more, teasing me with light kisses around my lips before plunging in deep and tasting every corner of my mouth.
Elena looked incredible. She was strong and beautiful, in that moment not weak and broken. Right then she looked like a tigress, determined and powerful, taking what she wanted from me and leaving me so full of her love and adoration. Every little moan and cry, every draw of her nails on my skin, every look from her eyes, and delicate touch from her fingers was telling me how deeply she loved me. How lost she could get in kissing me too.
We both needed this time to disappear together into bliss.
The other side of this moment was fear and blood and pain. And I didn't want any of those things to ever touch her again. I hated with every part of my being how much she had already suffered.
She crawled closer, deeper in my lap as I pulled myself up against the wall of the cave and she kissed me ravenously, tasting my lips, hers so achingly sweet and soft under mine. We kissed slowly soothing the pain, sadness and the fear of what could happen to rip us apart in the next few minutes even. I didn't know how long we had left before Kai took her away. She held my head, gripping my hair, holding my lips to hers so tight.
The next moment I heard her crying into the kiss as her mouth opened against mine and a sob broke through. My eyes found hers, wet and rimmed with more tears.
"Baby?" I murmured tenderly seeing the fear had found its way back on her face. I stroked down her back as she moved her hands over my face, up and down, tracing each dip and groove, the plumpness of my lips, the rough stubble, the angle of my jaw.
"Damon, I can't imagine not being with you. I would rather die if Kai gets me off this island and I never see you again. I can't Damon. I just can't." Her head was resting on mine as she felt all around my face more as she cried.
"Hey, Elena. Don't talk like that. I would never stop looking for you if he managed to somehow take you away from me. You need to have faith in me and Stefan. I will do everything I can to not let him escape with you. I promise baby."
Stroking her face and kissing her between my words I did all I could to sooth her fear. "Just kiss me Elena. Just a little longer till its time. Let's just escape just a little longer okay?"
She was nodding at me and smiled sadly. I was cradling her in my arms, feeling her black lace panties rubbing against my pants. I wanted her to feel good, to forget even for a few more minutes what Kai had done, and what he wanted to do.
My hands slid up her back, under the tank top again, to hold her close, tugging it up to press her to my naked chest. I was surprised she didn't cry out at the cuts against my skin but she seemed too lost in the sensations of my kisses to be registering any pain right now.
I was memorizing every inch of how beautiful she was in the little time we had left, just as she was memorizing my face before. My lips delved in more, my hand at the back of her head as I angled her to kiss her deeper, memorizing every facet of her lips and, mouth, her little darts of her tongue. I trailed kisses down her neck, to her collarbone and across her shoulder and down to the curve of her breast. She had her head thrown back and was moaning as I laid her down, back onto the ground.
"Damon," she breathed out and my eyes met hers. I raised a brow as she looked at me so intently from where I was kissing down her body.
Her hands came up in my hair and tugged my head back up to hers. "I need you to do something for me…" my baby murmured, pulling me back to her mouth. I had said those exact words on the plane as I begged her to wait for me.
My eyes were soft on hers as I dipped my tongue between her lips again tasting the sweetness of her kisses. "What beautiful?" I asked, gazing down at her beneath me.
The deep bronze orbs held a serious look to them. "Mark me, please Damon." Her voice was so low I didn't know if I heard her right.
I lifted my head, my eyes widening. "You want me to what?"
She gripped my hair tighter between her fingers, holding it above her face. "Mark me. Bite me. I need a reminder of you Damon. I don't care how crazy it sounds. I need something I can hold onto and see that says I'm yours. Something that Kai can't take away from me. Please. I won't let him win. He can't."
"I'm not going to hurt you more Elena. Why would you want more pain? You have suffered far too much already."
"I don't care. I don't want his mark on me without yours. I'm yours Damon." She said that like it was a simple solution not more damn pain.
Was I seriously considering this? I found myself looking down on her and scanned over her body laid out before me. I could see the cuts in her stomach and it took everything in me to not react by cringing at them. I hated him for hurting her.
But as I was studying her, my broken girl spread her bare legs and brushed her fingertips across her inner thigh. "Here," she breathed out. "Right here. Please Damon," Her eyes were pleading at me as I wrestled with the very thought of hurting her more.
"I'll hurt you," I whispered as I stroked my thumb along the expanse of skin she wanted me to bite into.
She was breathing heavier now, maybe in anticipation. "No you won't baby. I want this. Please do this for me."
I knew I would do anything for her. She had buried herself into the depths of my soul. There was nothing I wouldn't do to make her happy. But to bite her? Make her bleed more? Oh God could I?
I leaned over her again, my lips inches from her own. "Okay, okay Elena. Just relax please and you promise to tell me if you want me to stop. Promise?" She nodded and I nodded back nervously. I bent lower and kissed the hollow of her throat, licking and sucking the skin tenderly in my mouth, before kissing lower and hearing her moaning as her nails dug in my back and down my sides.
Her skin was still cool to my warm lips as I kissed a path down the middle of her chest on top of the thin tank top. I lifted it up and away from her belly, my tongue sampling the tangy taste of her blood that I had never had in my mouth as I went lower. Swirling my tongue in her belly button I kissing down to her black lace panties as my hands slid down her sides.
I lifted my head to see her eyes lock to mine as I licked down her one hip and she opened her legs to me more. Her eyes looked unblinking as I flattened my tongue on the softness of her inner thigh and she whimpered out my name, her eyes locked on mine.
My hands pulled the skin more taunt as I kissed the spot and sucked it deeper in my mouth. I clenched my teeth and spread them over her skin, feeling trembles down my spine. Her fingers found my hair and were tangling in the wet dark strands as I took in one more deep breath and bit into her skin.
Her head fell back, her eyes closing. "God, Damon," she cried out, her jaw tensing, and biting her lip. I felt the skin break, just the slightest bit and her hands in my hair pushed my head more against her thigh.
"More, please, deeper," she gasped out. I complied, scared that I was hurting her but if I was, she wasn't showing it. I felt her blood in my mouth and dug my teeth deeper till it flowed more freely.
She groaned deep in her throat as I pulled back and watched her look so aroused in that moment.
Wiping the blood from my lips with the gray shirt I dabbed the cuts with more gauze, trying not to be repulsed that I had just made her bleed. She lay still as I wiped the blood away more and applied the cream and pressed gauze to the damaged skin of her belly and taped it up as well as where I had just bit her on her inner thigh.
I saw her watching me but letting me sooth her skin, the damage on her and wipe it clean of any more blood. I handed her the empty morphine syringe and she nodded to me knowing what to do. Elena tucked it into her bra. At least she had a weapon.
She sat up once I was done, her gaze heated on me as she climbed back into my lap on the ground. I could not believe I had just done that. "Are you okay?" I asked timidly.
She nodded at me with a shaky smile. "Thank you Damon. I know that was crazy and maybe really kinky but thank you really."
I still felt really dirty, like she deserved so much better than what I just did, but her thanks and that she didn't cry or scream in pain helped sooth my insecurities. "You sure you are okay? Really?"
She was nodding, curling in closer, burying her head against my neck. I held the back of her head, my lips on her forehead as I looked past her shoulder and saw movement at the entrance of the cave. I felt her stiffen in my arms as I heard voices and the sound of them coming closer.
I reached for the ripped black shirt and pulled it over the thin tank, hiding her skin as much as I could. I slipped on my own t shirt now spattered with her blood and tied up the sleeves of the orange jumpsuit again at my waist as I helped her up and stood in front of her.
Kai sauntered casually into the cave. "You two had enough time to say goodbye. I know it was torture in itself to give you this time, knowing you will never have it again. But you can't say I have never done anything for you..."
I glared at him, my heart pounding as I put my arms back to keep her safely behind me.
Kai grinned and looked like he was on top of the world. The morphine must be masking the pain he should be in from how long he had that bullet wound, not to mention being stabbed in the gut by my girl too. I was sick of hearing him talk, seeing him and allowing him the permission to keep breathing.
"Let's go Romeo," he motioned me with the gun in his hand. Elena's fingers tangled with mine as she hid behind my shoulder. I swallowed my fear and stepped forward, keeping my girl at my side away from Kai as I walked back under the darkening sky. The rain was still falling, clouds hiding any slivers of sunlight from above.
Kai motioned again with the gun at my spine to move forward. I could see the rest of the cons were armed too and looked eager and excited. Had Kai promised them all an escape in exchange for helping him? I didn't even recognize anyone else that was staring at us as I made my way further down the beach to the shoreline.
My boots were digging into the wet sand pulling me down more. The thick fabric of the prison jumpsuit was getting heavy on my waist as I pulled her along, keeping my baby so close. I shot challenging looks to any of the cons that dared to make eye contact with me or even think of looking at her. Her bare feet sunk deeper in the sand as I curled her against my side.
Knowing that Kai was enjoying that we were both in agony at the thought of being separated at any moment felt so sick and wrong. I felt like was going crazy.
And just like that we stopped...
"You ready my dear?" Kai asked walking around to the front of us, holding out his hand to her like a polite fucking gentleman. I felt Julian raise his gun to press it against my back, showing me there was still no way to try anything.
Elena was silent but slowly she nodded, sounding so brave. "I'm ready." She started to move past me towards him, but I blocked her, my arms on either side of her, keeping her behind me, not taking my eyes off him.
"No." I breathed emphatically. I couldn't. I could not let her go. She tried to slip by me again and turned back to look longingly in my eyes. The back of my hand caressed her face where Kai had hit her, my chin quivering as my fingers felt the damaged skin of her cheek.
"I wouldn't. No reason for you to die...yet." Kai warned me.
The gun at my spine moved up to rest against my head at my temple, ready to bury the bullet in my skull. I clenched my fists, wanting so badly to jump either of them and beat them to death right there. I was holding her good wrist tight as she tried to pull out of my grip. I couldn't let her go. How the hell could I ever let her go?
Elena sucked in a breath, shaking her head and I saw more tears in her eyes. She was scared for me not even for herself. "No, Damon. Hey, hey. It's fine. It's fine. I'll go." She stepped in front of me, her hands on my arms. "No one needs to get hurt." She was trying to get me to focus on her but my eyes never left the psychopath in front of me. I felt her shaking me, speaking calmly. "There is no reason for you to get hurt."
I kept staring at him. How could I let go...knowing what he would do to her once they had escaped. How sick he would treat her as his fucking sex slave till she was nothing but emptiness and the shell of the beautiful woman I loved so much. I looked back down at her, so strong and so brave.
She did not deserve this. No one did, but especially not her. She was kind and good and was now willing to suffer endlessly and begging for me to let her go to that kind of existence.
Elena pulled my face toward hers and I saw her smiling at me as her lips met mine in the most tender kiss. I felt the gun at my temple as she pulled me in and forced myself to focus on her in this last moment and not the gun to my head. She backed away from me still smiling. "I love you," she whispered, her voice full of emotion. Her thumbs were stroking my cheeks as I saw how sad and helpless she felt too.
I looked down at her and reached up to hold her hand...one last time. I laced my fingers with hers...one last time and kissed the inside of her palm...one last time. She closed her eyes slowly as a tear slipped down her cheek.
My lips were trembling as I spoke. "I love you." I forced a smile to show her I was going to be okay, when that was probably the farthest thing from the truth. I bent back down and kissed her again and pulled back so slowly, my face flooded with so many emotions. Then I looked back at Kai, my eyes changing in a half a second from warm and emotional to the darkest steel blue.
Elena tried to pull her hand out of mine and I still held on. "Close your eyes," she breathed. She nodded to me and smiled again. "Close your eyes."
Seeing her trying to keep me safe, my heart was aching. But slowly I closed my eyes and felt her take a huge deep breath before pulling her hands gently out of my grasp. When I opened them a second later Kai was already walking away, dragging her with him, as she walked backwards her eyes locked on mine.
The metal of the gun was hard against my back again in an instant and saw three other men aiming guns at me as Kai pulled her away down the beach. I raised my hands, relinquishing any sense of control, as my eyes stayed glued to her.
I could hear the sounds of a boat coming and I pulled my eyes from my baby to peer down the beach and sure enough a boat turned around the corner from the far side of the beach and was speeding closer.
Julian pushed me more forward, digging the gun in my back as we walked closer but stopped, still far to far from where Elena was trapped in Kai's grip. He had his gun to her head, his one hand wrapping her hair around his hand to keep her down on her knees in front of him in the sand. I saw she had tried to turn to find me a couple times already but he had held her tight, restricting her movement.
The rain was pelting down more now, the wind picking up as I squinted through the drops slipping down my face from the ends of my hair. I shook the strands back from my eyes trying in any way to ready myself for what was going to happen.
I had never felt so helpless in my life just waiting and watching and not being close enough to Elena to keep any bullets from hitting her. My nightmare was still so real in my mind and with everything that was going down my greatest fear was her getting hurt in this showdown.
I lifted my head to the sky, the rain falling all over my face as I pleaded silently with God to please give me back my baby. Give us a way out of this somehow to get safe to never have to face this kind of hell ever again.
My heart was in my throat as I finally saw my brother come into view. I had never been happier to see him in my life. He was wearing the typical swat vest on top of a gray t shirt and dark washed jeans. His blonde hair was blowing in the wind before I saw him put the helmet on. He wasn't often in the field but he knew his stuff and had trained as hard as I had. He could save us if only Kai didn't have something else up his sleeve. Stefan had a bullet proof vest on and I counted six other men in the boat as it pulled up, all of them dressed in swat rescue uniforms.
I saw the second he saw me… and we exchanged hard looks. The determination and fire in his eyes was a welcome relief to the weakness I was feeling after going through so much. I was ready, for whatever he needed me to do. I braced myself, my muscles flexing as I waited...
The boat pulled right up to the beach and the men all jumped out. Kai stepped closer, dragging Elena with him, his arm around her neck, the gun to her head. Just as Stefan promised there were no weapons. The men all raised their hands up and a couple of the cons moved closer and searched them to make sure they were unarmed.
Stefan was walking partially behind another two marines all dressed in the same gear. Was he trying to hide who he was? He offered me a small barely visible smile as he mouthed out. "I'm here brother. I'm here." I watched Kai motion to and lean over to whisper to another con and I took that moment to half smile back. He nodded to me and I breathed a sigh of relief.
He had a plan...and it could not happen soon enough for me.
A/N; I'm expecting some major blowback on Kai needing to die gruesomely. He has avoided it for far too long. Its coming I promise. Feel free to pass me on suggestions on how you would like him to suffer!
I was worried about the kink or possibly you thinking what Elena begged Damon to do was just going to be seen as gross and inappropriate. They aren't vampires here obviously. But I wanted to point out that Elena is so lost and broken and scrambling for any sense of keeping Damon with her. The very thought of Kai claiming her and what he did destroyed her and she was looking for a way to show Damon's claim on her, however wrong or gross that was. And Damon was far from comfortable with it but as he said he would do anything to make her happy.
I am so in awe of the response to this story and have more people finding it almost every day! Delena fandom is the best! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kind words and excitement and passion toward the characters you love so much in this world I threw them in. You will get your happy ending yet.
I'm eager to hear your response to this chapter. What did you think of Damon's begging Kai to kill him instead, Stefan hearing what Kai was doing as Damon was so helpless with so many guns on him, her thoughts as she was breaking down, Damon's dream world he told for Elena calm her, their thoughts as they were pulled apart, and what do you think Stefan has planned to save them?
Till next time. Only a few more chapters left!
Love Bonnie