Chapter 18

"Danny! Danny!" Alessandra whispered desperately in Danny's ear.

Crunching his eyes tight, Danny tried to block out her voice.

"Danny…Danny…help me," she begged.

Danny didn't bother to open his eyes. He knew that she wasn't there. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. The First Sun Month heat beat down on him as he sat in the woods near two pitched tents. He was watching the campsite while DJ and the others searched for firewood, water, and berries. He was happy for the solitude.

Three weeks had passed since the police had called him to talk about Aless. Ever since then, since he saw Conri and Cahan, Danny had kept hearing Aless's voice. At times she sounded so close that Danny found himself looking for her. It was stupid. Danny knew she wasn't there. She was gone. She was gone and never coming back.

But maybe that wasn't true. Cahan had said that Dominic had let the slaves go. They were being given a chance to run home before being caught. If Aless could just stay hidden, if she could just make it home, then maybe Danny would be able to see her again.

"What right do you have to want such things?" A nasty voice said in his mind.

The voice sounded like Cahan.

"You sold her to Dominic," the fake Cahan voice said.

No. Shaking his head, Danny tried to relieve his guilt. It wasn't his fault. It was Conri's fault. Conri had popped up in Danny's life again and messed everything up just like the first time. No, worse this time. He had tried to take Aless from him. It was Conri's fault that Aless was gone. If he had just minded his own business. If he had just left her alone, Danny wouldn't have made the call. He would have said he forgot. He would have….

"Danny, I love you so much," Aless's memory tormented him.

Oh, Aless! How could she have kissed Conri if she loved Danny? How could she have done that? Yet Aless had claimed that she hadn't. She claimed that Conri kissed her. What a lame excuse! Yet Aless wasn't a liar. It was possible that she hadn't kissed Conri. That he had forced himself on her. Conri was so much stronger than her and he always got his way. Thinking about this, Danny felt his hands curl into fists. Yes, Conri probably forced himself on Danny's poor Aless. Conri never listened! He didn't care about anyone but himself and his precious law.

Smashing his fist into the ground, Danny wanted to scream. But then sadness seeped in. Once upon a time, Danny had worshipped Conri. He had seemed like flawless hero, swooping into Danny's life when Danny had needed one. Of course, Danny had been just a kid then, only eleven or so. The day Danny had met Conri was almost as vivid in Danny's mind as the day Aless disappeared.

The day had been hot, the final Sun Month. Danny had been pummeling a boy twice his side who had been taking trash about Danny's dad. Out of nowhere, someone lifted Danny into the air, allowing his legs and arms to swing around violently. Snapping his head around, Danny had yelled at the intruder only to be greeted by Conri's laughing face. Danny couldn't believe that Conri could hold him with one hand as Danny had been struggling as hard as he could and yet Conri acted like it was nothing. At the time, Conri had been about nineteen. His smile had been cocky as his whole body excluded confidence. Unlike Danny, who was skinny and small for his age, Conri had been strong, tall, and impressive.

After that day, Danny and Conri had become friends. Danny learned that Conri didn't just look cool but acted cool. Everything he did seemed smart and amazing and, most importantly, Conri had appeared to care about Danny. Of course, he didn't and hadn't. Danny had mistaken his curiosity and politeness for actual concern. Like so many times before, Danny had learned the hard way that no one really cares about anyone but themselves. Only his father had cared about others and that had gotten him killed. And then the cops didn't do anything about it, because they didn't care, and his mother couldn't do anything about it because she had to take care of Danny's sisters. Stupidly, Danny had thought Conri was different.

For three weeks following their meeting, Conri had come over to Danny's house every day. He would take Danny out for ice cream, to the movies, to the park, and even picked him up from school a couple times. Danny had foolishly grown attached to Conri until one day Conri didn't show up.

"Danny," his mother had called to him the second day that Conri didn't show. "You shouldn't waste your Saturday waiting for him. He is a policeman. He probably has some cases to work. Or maybe he had to go back to Ireland…"

"No! He said he'd be back," Danny had stubbornly told his mom. "He said we'd go to the zoo. He said he'd be here…for me."

His mother hadn't said anything, but just sighed and went back into the house. She had to feed the baby and she knew when it wasn't worth arguing with her son. So, Danny had waited and waited until the school days came and then he waited until it was dark after school, but Conri never came back.

Maybe Danny had never given up hoping that Conri would come back, so he had been more vulnerable to Cahan seven years later. Cahan had looked so much like Conri that at first Danny had thought he was Conri. He had even called him by Conri's name. Cahan had simply laughed and shook his head.

"I am nothing like that spineless boy," Cahan had laughed. "I am better than him in every way."

Again, Danny had been stupid thinking that Cahan would be different from Conri and everyone else. But Cahan had been strong, stronger than even Conri, and he was so powerful. Danny had been tired of feeling powerless. His mother had been sick, so Danny was stuck caring for his sisters. Despite being accepted to several universities, Danny had to give up the opportunities, so he could support his family. He had felt tired of being powerless and caged in. Cahan had seen Danny's hunger and took advantage of it. He had promised Danny things without telling him the costs. He had told Danny he would travel and have a new family.

"If you come with me and pass a very simple test, then I will take care of you forever, Danny. You will never want for anything. I will treat you like a son," Cahan had said.

Cahan had only been twenty-five, but he had seemed so much wiser and worldly. Maybe Danny had been starving for adventure. Maybe part of him thought that he would see Conri, since Cahan obviously knew him. Danny didn't know, but, in the end, he had agreed. Danny didn't even tell his mother. He had just left. The pain he caused his mom still hurt him. Cahan had flashed a bunch of cash and got Danny on a plane so that he could take the "test."

At eighteen, Danny couldn't believe his luck. To travel first class with a man, who seemed to have it all. Looks, power, money, freedom, family. It was what Danny wanted to be.

Yet when the plane had landed, Danny reached a rude awakening. Cahan was cruel and hard. He had no problem smacking Danny for not answering properly or not paying attention. It was to teach him respect, Cahan had said. Danny had to be trained.

Danny had been miserable and hungry and tired. Then one day Cahan had come and said, "It's time."

He had dragged Danny out at three in morning to some godforsaken place where they waited for at least an hour. Two men had appeared and Cahan had pushed Danny into the street. The strangers had stopped and called for him to state his name.

"It's me, Conri," Cahan had laughed.

Swaggering, Cahan had walked into the open. As Cahan walked into their vision, Danny heard a familiar voice, Conri's voice.

"You," Conri had snarled.

Danny hadn't been able to move. It was Conri. After all these freaking years, there he was. He was older and looked like he had been having a rough time. His eyes were hard and full of hate towards Cahan. Then Cahan had pushed Danny forward into light and Conri had froze.

"Danny? Danny, is that you?"

"Conri…" Danny had stuttered.

His insides had been frigid in terror as a kahō shook in his hand.

"Danny, what the hell are you doing here? Are you crazy? What are you doing with him?"

"I…"

"He has decided to join our family, Conri. We needed to replace someone," Cahan had chuckled.

Sensing Danny's urge to run to Conri, Cahan had placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. Danny had wanted to hit Conri. To yell at him for leaving him those years ago. Why did he go? Why didn't he contact him?

"Danny!"

"Shoot them," Cahan had order softly.

The kahō had shook so badly that Danny couldn't aim.

"I said shoot them."

It had happened before Danny knew it. The kahō fired. Danny barely remembered pulling the trigger. The other officer had fallen and Conri had screamed Danny's name as he returned fire. A scream had torn through Danny's lips as he collapsed. His knee was on fire! He couldn't stand. He could barely move.

Cahan had only laughed. Shaking his head, Cahan had simply told Danny he shouldn't have missed. Walking off, Cahan had left Danny to get up and walk on his own. Conri had been too preoccupied with his partner to even notice Danny. Bitterness had filled Danny as he hobbled away. Conri didn't care. He never would.

His knee eventually healed but Cahan had made it hard. He had refused to get Danny medical attention and made him walk on it constantly. When Danny got angry and tried to fight him, Cahan had beat him senseless.

"You want to hit something!" he snarled as he threw Danny against the wall. "You can hit that."

Whipping out a kahō, Cahan had forced Danny to face the wall, an arm's length away from it.

"You are going to punch the wall until I say you can stop. I want to see the wall move or else you ain't doing it hard enough."

"No!"

Cahan had pulled the hammer back on the kahō and Danny shook. He hadn't wanted to die. His mother would never know what happened to him.

"Do it. Now."

So, Danny had hit the wall again and again. He spent hours hitting the wall. His knuckles broke and he only was able to stop when his bones were visible and the wall looked like it was bleeding instead of him. Danny had shook, barely able stand. His vision had blurred with pain. Cahan had simply laughed.

"Think next time you take a swing at me."

It was then Danny had decided to leave. He had more scars than he had wanted, and he missed his mother. Cahan and his men hadn't been a family or home. It was hell. Unfortunately, Danny had no money, so he had to go to the only person he knew. Conri. It had taken a week of searching to finally locate Conri. Danny was starved, and his wounds open afresh.

"What do you want?" Conri had barked at the broken Danny.

"I want to go to home."

"Why don't you get your new family to help you?"

"They aren't my family. My family doesn't know where I am. I want to go home, Conri."

Conri had approached him and looked him up and down. Danny remembered how Conri had seen the blood seeping through Danny's pant legs and the heavy wrap on his hands.

"Scars make men," Danny had said stiffly.

Cahan had told him that.

"No, they break them," Conri had whispered.

Pity had saturated his every syllable. Coughing, Danny had looked away.

"I just want to go home."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Help me please."

"If I do this, Danny, I never want to see your face again. I never want to see you or hear about you being associated with him. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Grinding his teeth, Danny had held back his anger. Conri would never seem him again. He didn't care. Danny wasn't going to bother Conri if he didn't want him.

"Okay. I'll talk to my superiors. For now, let's get you to the hospital."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

It had done no good to argue with Conri. The doctors had fixed him up and Danny had made it home. The first thing is his mother had done when he appeared in the house so early in the morning was hug him. Then she had slapped him and started crying. Danny hadn't cry though. He couldn't. She never asked what happened and he never told. He never told anyone. Not even Alessandra.

"Danny, why do you limp?" Aless's memory inquired sweetly.

The phantom touch of her hands in his and the tickle of her hair made Danny's skin prickle.

"Accident."

"What happened?"

"It's not important, baby."

"Okay."

Her eyes always looked at him with such pity then and her fingers would lightly trace the scars on his knuckles. She never pried, but she always cared. She always loved him, even when he didn't deserve it. He never deserved it.

"I love you, Danny," Aless had whispered so tenderly. "Please don't ever leave me."

He hadn't left her, but he had done something so much worse. He wasn't like his father in any way. He was coward.

Aless's scent radiated off everything. Her voice still echoed off the colorful walls. Conri Jᴔnsa half expected Alessandra to walk through the open door to her room at any second. But she wasn't going to. Alessandra was nowhere even close to her home or her room. She was somewhere beyond Conri's touch.

"Aless," he whispered as if she would hear him wherever she was. "Where are you?"

Looking around the room again, he sighed. The criminals had left a mess of the hallway and entrance but had left no trace evidence. No fingerprints. No DNA. It was beyond frustrating. And Danny knew who had taken her, yet he still wasn't talking. Stupid, selfish boy!

Pacing the room, Conri willed for any new clue to manifest. Anything that would help him deduce where they had taken Aless. Maybe Danny had left something in her room that signaled the kidnappers. Doubtful. Even if he found something, Conri was required to turn it over to Officer Minerva. Conri's superiors had told him to let the home country police deal with investigating Danny. But he knew they would mess it up. They didn't know what kind of boy he really was.

He had met Danny before when Danny was a young kid, maybe ten or eleven. Conri had only been nineteen, a fresh graduate from the Academy. He had chosen to graduate secondary school early, skip college and go straight to the Academy. For the last nine years, Conri had worked his butt off to gain respect and rank, something particularly difficult for him due to his family's history. Even now, after proving himself again and again, Conri had only been brought in on the slave trading case because of his connection to a prominent crime family.

When Conri first met Danny, he had thought Danny was sweet and almost tragic. The loss of his father had left Danny angry and vulnerable. Conri sometimes thought it was a twisted fate that he had met Danny on his first international case. Pulling the wild Danny off a big boy, Conri couldn't help but laugh at the plucky lad.

"Lemme go!" Danny had shrieked as he dangled in the air.

He had been very small for his age.

"Simmer down, laddy. I think you won already."

"Don't tell me what to do! Mind your own business!"

Frowning Conri had shook Danny hard by the collar.

"That isn't very nice, laddy."

"Hmmpf."

"Now why don't you tell me why you beating up on that poor lad?"

"He looked at me funny."

"He looked at ya funny, did he now? That be a horrible crime. We should string him up by his ears."

"Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not, boy. I'm not."

Danny had been bright purple and tears were brimming in his eyes.

"What's wrong, boy-o?"

"Nothing."

"What did the other boy really do?"

"None of your beeswax."

"I won't put you down until you tell me."

Danny had gone even more purple and thrust his lips out. Finally, he had wiggled hard then lowered his eyes.

"He said insulted my dad."

"What did he say about your dad?"

"He said he died because he wasn't a real man."

Conri had been taken aback by this and slowly lowered Danny to the ground. The other boy had long run off with a bloody face.

"I don't know your dad, but I'm sure that ain't true."

"It's not! He isn't dead! He's missing."

"How long has he been missing, boy-o?"

"A year."

"What happened to him?"

"The police say he got in the way of some gangsters and a woman they were after. He killed one of them."

Grief filled Conri as he had looked at what crime had done to this little boy. It was one of the reasons he was an officer. He knew the toll that criminals took on families. Conri admitted that he, at that time, had seen a little of himself in Danny.

"Let me walk you home, laddy."

"My name is Danny."

"Okay, Danny-boy. Let's get you home."

For the next three weeks, Conri had spent as much time with Danny as possible. He wanted to show him what being a good man was. Yet he had been called back to home unexpectedly and the next time he had seen Danny was in very bad company. The image of the young Danny faded from Conri's mind.

Only seven years had passed and Danny had actually been in Conri's homeland when Conri had found him in the company of the man he hated the most, Cahan. It had taken Conri by complete surprise.

"Danny-boy? What are you doing, Danny? Are you daft?" he had shouted.

Danny had raised a kahō and shakily pointed it at Conri's partner.

"Shoot them, Danny-boy," Cahan had said sweetly as if offering a present to a child.

Danny had been almost in tears then too and Conri couldn't understand what had happened to the little boy he had met in the park. Closing his eyes, Danny had shot at Conri and his partner. His partner had yelled and clutched his arm. Conri hadn't had a choice and fired back, hitting Danny in the knee. He had aimed low because he didn't want to hurt Danny too badly, just stop him. The boy had screamed in agony and dropped to the ground.

"You shouldn't have missed," Cahan had said.

Then he had left Danny alone in the street. Conri had wanted to rush to help Danny, but his partner was closer, and Conri knew if he tried to help Danny, it was as good as signing Danny's death certificate. Cahan would have never forgive Danny for being helped by Conri.

Shaking the memories from his head, Cahan clenched and unclenched his fists. Whatever had caused Danny to become so corrupt was not important anymore. For a long time, Conri had been wracked with guilt over shooting Danny and not helping him when he was young, even though Conri had only known the boy for a very, very short time. Now he felt nothing but disgust. It was because of Danny that Alessandra was gone. It was his fault that she was at the mercy of Deity knew who.

Exhaling loudly, Conri looked around the room again. He didn't want to think of such unpleasant things. He saw Aless's blue bathrobe lying on her bed, the same place she had left it the last night she had worn it. Sitting on the bed, Conri pulled the robe to him and fingered the soft material. Her aroma wafted up to him again and he closed his eyes. The image of her blushing face floated in her mind. Although Conri had never admitted it, the first night he had met Aless, Conri had known she was special. He had never been taken by someone the way he had with her. He thought for sure his heart had stopped beating. Of course, it had been such a bad situation with that jerk manhandling her. Then the first time Conri had seen tears on her face had stopped his heart. At that moment he had wanted nothing more than to wipe those tears away from her face.

Aless's face changed a third time in his mind to one of anger and disgust. She blamed him for hurting Danny, but she didn't know who she was choosing! She didn't know the danger she had been in! Of course, neither had Conri. He had no idea she was part of the rumors he had been hearing. It was like a sick joke that the girls he had heard were going to be taken were right in front of him. The final face of Aless that he saw was her crying again, but this time because of him. She was scared of him, terrified. He had hurt her and caused her to fear him. How could he have lost it so badly? How could he have ever forced himself on her like that? What was wrong with him? His chest constricted. How could the last thing she remembered about him be such horrible things? It wasn't fair. If only…if only's would only make the guilt worse, he reminded himself.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and saw a picture of Alessandra smiling brightly at whoever had taken the picture. She was beautiful in the picture. Reaching down, Conri looked at it. He wanted to take the picture with him. It would be a keep-sake. A way to remember her gorgeous smile.

No. He couldn't take it. Placing the picture down on her desk, Conri turned to examine the room again. Everything had to be exactly where it had been. No one knew he was there. No one could know he had been there. His superiors had told him to concentrate on catching his quarry, not on the missing girl. Walking to the bedroom door, Conri looked around and breathed deeply. It smelled so much like her. Closing his eyes one last time, he could hear her laughing and saying his name.

"Bal," her memory echoed in the room.

"Aless," he whispered in the still air before closing the door with a click.

"Please!" a little boy pleaded miles away, tears pouring down his cheeks. "Please let me go! I just want to go home! I just want to see my mommy!"

"Aren't you a little old to be calling her mommy?" Dominic sneered.

His scathing gaze rested on a boy who was shackled and bruised. They had just caught the boy hours before and Dominic had decided to look the boy over before sending him to Mistress Yìguó. He wanted to make sure the boy was mostly intact. The boy's shameless blubbering was both amusing and annoying to Dominic. He had to be fifteen and yet he was asking for his mommy. Pathetic.

"Please! I didn't do anything wrong! I just want to go home!"

"We all want things, don't we?" Dominic smiled bitterly.

"I'll do anything, just…"

"Just shut up, you weakling. You are going home. Your new home. You are now a slave and forever shall be as long as your Mistress wants you."

The boy sniffled and sobbed, trying to wipe his nose with his sleeve. Snickering, Dominic walked around the boy carefully, counting fingers and toes. Twenty all together. Good. He didn't seem to have any major breaks or tears. The boy was over all in good condition.

"Please…"

Irritation replaced amusement and Dominic struck the boy on the back of the head. Flying forward, the boy cried as he made a crunching sound on the ground. A few of his fingers broke underneath his weight due to his inability to properly brace himself. Dominic kicked the boy onto his back and leaned over him.

"If you don't shut the hell up, I'm going to go kill your mother just so you can't whine about wanting to go home to see her," Dominic snarled.

His foot crushed the boy's chest. Sobbing, the boy shook his head, promising to be quiet.

"Then do it!" Dominic barked.

The boy shut his mouth, though he still vibrated with silent howls. Dominic lifted his foot and the boy turned to his side. Tightening into the fetal position, the boy cradled his broken fingers and cried wordlessly for his loving mother. Paying no heed to the boy, Dominic nodded to his men, who grabbed the boy and carried him off. He would be sent over night to Mistress Yìguó. She would be thrilled. Dominic had already caught three of her six slaves and it had only been four weeks. He would have caught them sooner, but he had discovered his cars and major transportation vehicles had been utterly destroyed. It amazed him what Jᴔnsa could do even when under the influence of a drug.

This new slave meant he was that much closer to being able to hunt Aless. His Ale. He wondered how she was doing out there on her own. Was she eating enough? Was she drinking enough? It was the First Sun Month and the heat could be deadly. Dominic already had several men watching the news and police radios for news of girls' bodies being found that fit his Ale's description. His men routinely checked with large hospitals for the same. So far nothing. He didn't know how he felt about this. He was sure if Jᴔnsa had captured her, Dominic would know. Jᴔnsa wouldn't pass up the opportunity to gloat.

Touching his chest, Dominic felt the gold and silver twisted cord he had wrapped around a vial. Inside the vial was a long clip of Aless's hair. He had taken it while she was sleeping one night and he wore it at all times. If his longing for her grew too great, he would take the piece out and wrap his fingers around it. It smelled of her even after these long weeks and it was soft to his touch. Aless's hair help bring vivid images of her to his mind and his tension and anxiety about reaching her grew. He loved the suspense and the idea of the coming hunt. Dominic wanted her. Now.

"Oh my Ale," he moaned.

Slipping the piece out, Dominic smelled it tenderly.

"Do you long for me now as I long for you? You must, for you are my moon witch. I know you will be waiting for me."

Stroking the hair between his fingers, Dominic groaned a little and closed his eyes. It would not be long before he had her real hair in his grasp, her eyes looking at him in terror and submission. Her body close enough to touch and to break.