by S. Nelson
Words failed me as I opened the back door once more. Careful not to wake Zoe, I folded myself inside, my vision clouding over again, every muscle in my body tightening with the need to expel the wrath and fear inside me.
I wanted to touch her, but I didn’t dare lay a finger on her for fear I’d do more harm than good. I must’ve stared at her the entire drive to the cabin, counting how many times she twitched in her sleep, listening to her soft whimpers, shoving away the need to draw her into my lap so I could comfort her, even in her dreams.
The SUV bounced as Ryder veered off the main road, a long dirt driveway visible up ahead. Rows of trees on both sides of the pathway whizzed by when he pressed down on the accelerator, and while I wanted to yell at him to slow down because we didn’t know where we were going, I wanted to demand he go faster.
Soon, the cabin came into view and my eyes almost popped out of my head at the sheer size of it. The night sky shrouded the surroundings but several of the lights were on inside, illuminating the floor-to-ceiling windows. My first thought was how could this place be safe when you could see directly inside, but then I doubted many people even knew of its existence. It was set so far back from the road no one would know it was here unless they had firsthand knowledge.
When Ryder finally pulled to a stop, he killed the engine, watching his wife exit before hopping out. He then opened the back door where Zoe was still passed out.
“I got her,” I practically growled at him.
Braylen came up behind him. “Come on, honey.” She tugged at his arm, her bottom lip trembling again when she gazed down at her stepdaughter. “He’ll take care of her.” Her eyes met mine briefly before she managed to pull him away toward the cabin.
The front door opened, and Trigger walked out onto the porch. I assumed someone called to tell him we were on our way, but I was oblivious to any conversations, all my focus on Zoe and getting her back here so Addy could look her over. Ryder and Braylen brushed past him, leaving me to sort out how to wake Zoe without alarming her.
I leaned into the back seat, my hands moving toward her, but I snatched them back in my hesitancy. “Zoe,” I whispered, getting closer when she didn’t show any signs of stirring. “Zoe.” My voice was louder that time, and while she didn’t wake up, she said something, but it was too muddled for me to make out. “Fuck.” Now it was my turn to start mumbling.
Going back and forth over the best way to get her out of there, I slid my arm behind her back and the other under her bent knees, lifting her, then cradling her against me. A sharp pain shot through my leg when I took a step back, jostling her a little before I righted myself. I thought for sure she was gonna wake up and start freaking out, but her eyes remained closed, her steady breathing keeping her trapped in another world for right now. Her arms were limp, and I had to remind myself that she was, in fact, still alive because she looked the opposite.
“Oh my God!” Addy rushed toward us. “Is she…?” She couldn’t finish her question, but I didn’t keep her in suspense long.
“No. Just passed out.”
She scoured the length of her, trying to muffle her cries as she walked next to me up the steps and into the house. I barely got a chance to take in the interior before she ushered me up the staircase and down a hallway, shoving the door open to one of the bedrooms. “Put her on the bed.” I normally wouldn’t take orders from anyone when it came to the woman in my arms, but Addy needed full access to Zoe to check her over.
Gently laying her on top of the sky-blue comforter, I pulled down her skirt, remembering she was bare underneath, heat rising inside me once more. I tried to push her hair back from her face, but Addy stealthily moved in front of me. I didn’t know how she managed, but she shoved me back a step.
She gingerly touched her face, inspecting the state of her black eye, split lip, and the cut on her cheek, which looked much worse now that I could see it better, before carefully moving her head from side to side. There were two shallow cuts on her neck and several more below the hollow of her throat, right on top of her…
“I need to undress her, Brick. I need to see where she’s hurt.” Addy rolled Zoe on to her side, looking back at me when I remained frozen in place. “There’s so much blood,” she all but whispered. “I don’t know where it came from.” I still hadn’t moved, too busy lost to the possibilities of what we were gonna see once she removed Zoe’s dress. “Brick!”
Addy’s voice startled me, even though my eyes had been bouncing from her to Zoe and back again. I finally moved forward.
“Hold her like this so I can unzip her.” My hands replaced hers, but she shook her head instead of trying to remove the dress. “Never mind. Roll her onto her back again. I’m gonna cut it off. It’ll be easier, especially if she has any damage to her sides. Moving her around like that won’t be good.” Addy wasn’t talking to me at this point, too involved with what she needed to do next to help her. “Can you run downstairs and grab my black bag from the dining room?” I gave her a blank stare. “Brick!” That was the second time she yelled my name, and if there was a third, I had no doubt it’d be followed by a reprimand. “Go. Riley knows where it is if you can’t find it.”
I looked back at Zoe and the only thing I could do was shake my head. Addy placed her hand on my chest, my heart thumping against her fingertips. “Honey, go get the bag.” She gave me a gentle shove, enough for me to divert my attention back to her.
I rushed down the hall as best I could with my injury and descended the steps, searching frantically for Addy’s medical bag. Spotting Riley on the couch, I came to a halt in front of her, scaring the daylights out of her when I shouted, “Where’s your mom’s bag?” She gasped but hopped off the sofa and dashed into another room, returning a moment later with a large black bag. I snatched it from her hand and raced back upstairs, ignoring each slice of pain that hit every time I put pressure on my left leg.
“Here.” Dropping what she needed on the foot of the bed, I moved to stand next to Zoe, taking her hand in mine. She stirred but didn’t open her eyes.
The next thing I knew, Addy withdrew a pair of scissors and started at the hem of Zoe’s dress, cutting straight up the middle, careful not to touch her body in the process. She tossed the shears to the side and separated the blood-soaked material, and when my eyes fell on Zoe’s exposed flesh, I choked on my surprise.
What I saw were dozens of cuts, slices in various sizes marring her flesh. I had no idea what damage there was to the back of her, barely able to withstand the sight in front of me without retching. I struggled to wrap my head around how someone could do this to another person, someone innocent, someone who should’ve been protected merely because she was a woman.
Addy barely held back her shock, shaking her head slightly before wiping at her eyes, taking a moment for Zoe’s condition to sink in before she pulled a few more things from her bag. Not a word passed her lips as she worked to clean her numerous wounds. Some were superficial, while others were deeper, only a few needing stitches, one of them being the cut on her cheek.
“You might want to leave for a few minutes, sweetheart,” Addy said, touching my arm with caution, her voice soft yet adamant. I didn’t even notice that she’d moved away from Zoe until she was directly in front of me.
“Why?” I pulled my focus from the bed. “What do you have to do?”
“I have to try and wake her to do an internal exam, as best I can with what I have. I need to assess the damage if there is any.”
“They raped her.” My voice trembled with the affirmation of what Addy was already thinking. I seized the back of my neck, my fingers digging into the knotted muscles. Had I only suspected beforehand, the damage to her body would’ve shoved me toward the conclusion. But I had firsthand knowledge, both from Zoe’s freak-out when I first approached her in that room, and from Braylen’s affirmation.
Drowning in the silence that followed my outburst, I hung my head and left the room, struggling with abandoning Zoe and not
wanting to watch Addy exam the most intimate parts of her body. In the end, I stepped into the hallway, closing the door most of the way and leaning against the wall. Otherwise, I would’ve fallen to my knees, collapsing under the weight of the warring emotions raging through me.
Footsteps drifted down the hall, but I had my eyes closed, and the next time I wanted to pry them open was to look at Zoe. But that wasn’t to be as I heard Ryder’s voice inches from my disheveled form.
“How is she?”
“Addy’s tryin’ to wake her up now to check and see…” I couldn’t bring myself to finish my sentence, and I didn’t need to because her father knew exactly what was going on in that room right now.
“I don’t even know what to say. I failed to protect her from them and now…” His voice broke, his arm lifted and pointing toward the room behind me. It wasn’t a common sight to see Ryder so vulnerable, but this was a completely different circumstance. I didn’t know how he wasn’t punching holes in the walls, screaming his head off at anyone and everyone, scouring the streets for any signs of Reapers just so he could take out his anger on them.
Then again, I could ask the same of myself. But the answer was simple. I needed to keep it together right here, right now, for Zoe’s sake.
The time for unleashing my anger would come.
I’d make sure of it.
44
“I failed to keep her safe, Ryder. No one else. It was my job and I let them get their hands on her.”
“It’s not your fault.” He clasped my shoulder and squeezed.
I could only stomach his comfort for so long before I shrugged away from him. “It is, and I’ll do everything I can to pay them back for this.”
The hum of lowered voices drifted from the bedroom, and for as much as I wanted to rush in there right now, I kept my feet firmly planted in place. I’d do nothing but scare her if I tore ass back inside, and the last thing she needed was to continue to be afraid.
“How’s your leg?” Ryder figured a change in topic was needed, and I agreed, appreciative for the quick distraction.
“Hurts. But I’ll be fine.”
He nodded, flicking his eyes back to the slightly ajar door. “I need to take Braylen to the hospital to make sure everything is okay with the baby.” It was then I noticed he’d changed his shirt. I supposed it wouldn’t look good if he waltzed in there with blood on him, even though none of it was his.
“I thought we didn’t want to take anyone to the hospital unless we had to.”
“The checkup on the baby is different. No cops are gonna show up because of that.”
It was my turn to nod. Feeling more and more deflated by the second, I shoved my hands in my pockets and leaned my head against the wall behind me. Ryder walked away without another word because, in all honesty, there wasn’t anything more to be said. His grief over his daughter was matched by mine, and he wasn’t gonna tell me to watch out for her because he knew I would now that I had her back.
I stood in the hallway for what felt like an eternity, the pain in my leg be damned. I wanted to slide down the wall to take some of the pressure off, but I needed to be able to get back in there as quickly as possible in case Zoe needed me, and I was fully aware it’d take me extra time to try and get my big ass off the ground with an injured leg.
“You can come back in now,” Addy said, peeking her head out the door five minutes later, then disappearing again.
A fresh bout of nerves assaulted me when I took my first step into the bedroom, my eyes immediately searching for Zoe. She was still on the bed, only now she was awake, although groggy, and underneath the sheets, her body shielded from view. I didn’t get a chance to say a word before Addy approached and guided me toward the opposite side of the room.
“I need to see your leg. Take off your pants.” Normally, I might’ve made a joke, preferably if Stone was close by, but the time for jests wasn’t now, and I had a feeling I wouldn’t be cracking any jokes for quite some time.
“I’m fine.” I tried to brush her off, but she was adamant, her hands finding a home on her waist as she stared me down. On a sigh, knowing it’d be easier to get this over with, I untied the towel, unbuckled the leather strap around my waist, and popped the top button. I then unzipped and pushed my jeans down, stepping out of them to make this easier for the both of us.
Addy bent down, her face awfully close to my junk, but again, I didn’t allow my brain to sort out any inappropriate thoughts whatsoever. In fact, the longer she took, the more irritated I became.
I grunted when she pressed on the tender flesh. She peered up at me and gave me an apologetic smile. “Looks like it’s a clean exit, but you’re gonna need stitches. You know that means I’m gonna have to numb the area with a needle, right?” Even while my mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, I cringed at the fact I had to face my phobia, only this time Zoe couldn’t comfort my pansy ass. A simple nod from me and Addy pulled a needle from her bag, shoving the tip into a vial before piercing my flesh. I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose, harnessing the sting instead of revolting against it. “I’ll be done in no time.” Another rumble left my mouth as she worked on my leg, sealing my wound with stitches, then wrapping a white bandage around the affected area. “Do you know if Stone and Linc are okay?” she asked, biting her lip while keeping her eyes away from mine.
With everything going on, I didn’t sort out that she probably had no idea how her husband and son were. If they were dead or alive. Injured, even though Stone wouldn’t feel any pain from it, or wholly intact.
“As far as I know, no one reported any casualties. Not on our side, at least.” How was it she appeared so calm? Too many experiences dealing with this shit in the past?
“Oh.” Two minutes later and she was done. “All good.” I extended a hand to help her to her feet and she accepted, pointing at my face, and jerking her chin up at me. “What happened? Looks like scratches.”
“Zoe freaked out when I got to her.” It was all I was willing to say on the matter.
Addy patted my arm before moving back toward the bed. Only I caught her wrist before she got too far.
“Can I talk to you in the hall?” I kept my voice low, watching Zoe drift in and out and not wanting to alarm her in any way.
“Sure.”
After zipping my jeans back up, I led Addy to the other side of the door. “What did you find?” She frowned, but I knew she was aware of what my question meant. “I need to know.”
“I think it’s best you let her tell you what happened, in her own time.” Addy appeared uncomfortable, which wasn’t a typical look on her.
“I need to know,” I repeated, this time more forcefully.
She shook her head, but I didn’t relent, and she had to know I wasn’t gonna let her out of my sight until she answered my question.
Blowing out a wary breath, she met my eyes. “Are you sure?” My expression was stern, harsh, the only response a guttural noise emanating from my throat. “She has vaginal and anal tearing, and her back is sliced up, too, but none of those cuts needed stitches.” The quiet that followed her words drove my anger into a whole other realm, one I didn’t even have a word for. “Her body will heal, Brick, but what she went through… I don’t know how long it’ll be before she even begins to try and move on from this.” Her hand found a home in mine. “When she’s physically feeling better, I’ll do some other tests.”
My brain tried to process every word she spoke, but my thoughts were so muddled I couldn’t make sense of any of them. I stared at her, praying she’d tell me something good, but it was a silly hope, because there was nothing suitable she could say.
As I prepared to utter something back to her, what I couldn’t fathom at this point, my phone vibrated against my back pocket. Tearing my eyes and attention away from Addy, who’d retreated into the room to be near Zoe, I swiped the screen when I saw Stone’s name pop up.
“Yeah?”
“You guys get back okay?”
“Are they okay?”
“Define okay.” My fingers pressed into my temple, willing the oncoming headache to recede.
A puff of air hit my eardrum, our VP’s resistance to speak again alarming. “One of ’em is still alive.” Another pause. “Marek says it’s Dutch.” More brief silence. “Can you ask Zoe to describe any of them?” There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Dutch was the one who marked her up, the knowledge he loved to wield a knife the only proof I needed. I didn’t answer right away, too busy wondering how the hell I was gonna broach this topic. It was important, but at the same time all I wanted to do was protect her from even thinking about what happened. My thoughts were delusional, of course, because there was no way she wasn’t gonna be bombarded by images every fucking second. “Brick?” Stone’s raised voice caught the attention of his wife. Addy swiftly moved toward me, pointing to my phone. I nodded. “You need to come back here as soon as you can.”
“What? No. I can’t leave her.”
“I get it, man, but trust me, you need to come back here. You need to be the one to end him.” I would’ve asked him to clarify what he meant by that, but I didn’t need to. We both knew Dutch was the one who dared to touch Zoe, over and over, and Stone realized that unless I was able to take out my revenge on the man, I’d never be able to rest. All that knowledge existed hidden in his coded words.
“Is Addy near you?”
“Yeah.”
“Let me talk to her. She’s probably gonna rip me a new one for not callin’ before now. And, Brick… see you soon.” I handed the phone to his wife and she walked out of the room, leaving me and Zoe alone.
Her eyes followed me as I approached the bed, gently sitting on the edge close to her side. She looked wary of me, and I hated she might be afraid of me, or angry with me, or input any other disappointing emotion.
“Zoe… baby, I need to know who did this to you.” I gestured up and down her body. I didn’t dare get into any details of what Stone told me, but I needed to know if it was in fact Dutch who cut her up. Did he rape her, too, or did other men? My gut told me yes, to both.
