“Fuck, you hearin’ this? I gotta get her out of here,” Tracker hisses into the transmitter for us to hear. “Tell me your name, darlin’? How long have you been in here?”
“It can be whatever you want it to be,” she says laughing.
“Shush, keep it down, I’m going to get you out of here.”
Her body stops swaying, then she says, “It’s Nicky, but I can make it good for you, I promise. Just tell me what you want me to do.”
“Fuck!” Tracker grunts, taking a step back from Nicky.
“Just get her the fuck out of there!” I yell at the screen, forgetting for a moment that it’s only a one-way communication. Having Tracker wear an earpiece was a risk we weren’t willing to take. These guys might seem like barbaric cavemen, but they didn’t survive as a club for so long by being stupid.
“Stay here, Nicky, I’m going to come back for you, I promise.”
She just smiles while Tracker walks her back to the mattress. He picks up a shirt from the floor and hands it to her, and she clumsily pulls it over her head and arms. It fits perfectly, so it’s most likely her own.
“Stay here, Nicky. I’ll be right back. Boys, I’m going to stake out the place. Give me a sec, and I’ll call it when it’s time.”
We can’t reply to Tracker, all we can do is listen in and follow along with his plan—whatever it is. We have to trust him to know what he’s doing.
He walks to the door and opens it a crack. We all wait in anticipation for what he might find, and hope to God he doesn’t get caught.
Tracker steps out into the hallway and shuts the door behind him. He walks up the hallway a bit and stops at another door. He tries to open it, but it’s locked. We watch as he knocks. “Hello, is anyone in there?” Our visual is only of a wooden door, and even though I strain my ears, I can’t hear anything. But Tracker doesn’t give up and walk away, so there must be something in there, and there’s also the fact it’s locked. What are they hiding?
“Hello?” Tracker calls out, but still nothing from the other side that I can tell. Then there’s a click, and Tracker begins to play around with the lock. I see him pull out the tool he uses to unlock doors on jobs; it shouldn’t take long now.
We wait patiently, Hawke biting on his thumbnail while Prez doesn’t move his gaze from the screen. I don’t realize I’m grinding my teeth so hard my jaw hurts, until a shot of pain travels up my neck. I make myself relax and take a few deep breaths.
We all hear another click, and then Tracker slowly opens the door. My eyes try to adjust to the darkness when Trackers steps into the room, and the first thing I see is a body lying on a mattress on the floor. Tracker suddenly has a small penlight in his hand, and he shines its bright beam toward the person. He takes slow and steady steps, and once the light hits the mattress, recognition slices through me. Those tattoos—they only belong to one person.
My body freezes still. Hawke and Prez are talking to me, but I can’t focus on them. All I can hear is the sound of my heart thumping through my eardrums. My eyes don’t leave Tess. She’s limp, lying flat on her stomach, naked. Rage boils up inside me, but what sets me over the edge is the sight of the blood running down her leg. He raped her.
A loud, animalistic roar echoes throughout the van, and I only realize it’s coming from me when both Hawke and Prez push me down on the ground and keep me there with force. They struggle to hold me down as I throw myself up and to one side, knocking Hawke on his ass and nearly getting free. Quill struggles to hold me down on his own, but then Hawke is back, straddling me this time and keeping my hands behind my back and locked together.
I growl and call them all kind of names, but they don’t budge. I need to get to Tess! Frustration has me screaming like a caged animal wanting to be freed, but it’s no use, I can’t get out of my restraints.
Tears suddenly spring to my eyes at the image in front of me, Tess bleeding and unconscious, Tracker crouching down beside her and trying to wake her up. It should me there with her now—she should never have been there in the first place!
“I let her down, I practically gave her to him. I’m a fuckin’ asshole, I’m not worthy of her.” The words pour out of me, my chest aching with the agony I’m feeling.
“Brothers, I need your help, Tess is in a bad way.” Tracker’s voice comes through the speaker. “She needs a hospital as soon as possible, and I have no clue how to get her the fuck out of here without them seeing me.”
“You cool?” Prez asks me. The strength of his hands hold me in check, and I know that Tess needs me to be rational right now.
I nod. “Please let me up, I need to help her,” I beg, my voice shattered and broken.
“You promise you won’t do anything stupid like just run in there? We must do this together.”
“I promise,” I say with no hesitation. “Please, let’s go get her.”
Quill gives my shoulder a tap. “Okay, brother, okay.”
Tess
“Tess, can you hear me? I’m going to get you out of here.”
I hear a voice, someone talking to me, saying they’re going to get me help, get me to a hospital. I want to say it’s real, but to be honest, I’m not sure. My head is pounding and I can barely open my eyes. I’m lying on my stomach, but everything’s too sore to move. Each time I go to lift my head, a sharp pain, like someone hitting me with a pickaxe, has me crying out.
“Don’t move, Tess. They’ll be here soon.”
They’ll be here soon? Who? Oh no, not Viper. I don’t think I’d survive if he came back and laid a hand on me again.
I moan when a throbbing ache comes from my backside. I feel sore from the inside out, every inch of my body and soul damaged, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t run; I’m stuck here. Oh God, I’m stuck here. I start to cry, but even that causes me pain—a sting when my tears touch my cracked lip.
“Tess, you need to listen to me, it’s Tracker. I’m here and we’re gonna save you.” Tracker? Oh God, please don’t let Blaze see me like this. I try to voice my thoughts, but the words won’t come out.
As Tracker moves my hair aside, the sound of loud gunfire from outside the doorway fills the air, followed by screams and yelling. Oh God, I’m going to die, this is it.
“They're here, Tess,” Tracker yells, then I feel warmth settle on top of me as Tracker places something over me to hide my nakedness. “I’m going out there to see what’s going on. I’ll be right back.”
I want to yell out, “Don’t leave me,” but my throat is frozen, and everything hurts too much.
“Just stay right here.” Tracker must leave the room, because I can’t hear any noises from him. The sound of gunshots and glass breaking echoes around the room, and I can hear men and women yelling and screaming nearby.
I black out for a while then, and when I wake up, I’m being draped with a blanket, then lifted into strong arms. I cry out at the pain, but Tracker calms me, whispering, “I’m so sorry, Tess, I know it hurts, but I need to get you out of here.”
Suddenly I hear a loud bang close by, but I can’t even look up. Tracker now has me up high in his arms, and I lean my head against his chest. My skull still feels like it’s going to explode, but I breathe through the pain. He moves one arm so it’s under my knees, and the other supports my back, and just the slight movement and pressure sends pain slicing all the way down to my core.
“What’s wrong with her? Tess, please tell me you’re okay. Tracker, give her the fuck to me, man.”
I hear Blaze’s voice, loud and frantic and angry, and shame fills me when I realize he’s seeing me in this condition.
“Blaze, give her some space, she’s in a bad way.”
Gentle fingers run through my hair, and I very slowly turn my head to look at him, but even the small movement strikes a loud cry out of my mouth, pain ripping through me.
“Don’t move, baby. You’re hurt. Tracker, what’s wrong with her?” Blaze asks again.
“Not now, man. Let�
�s get her out of here. We need to get her to a hospital, and it looks like you need some medical assistance yourself.”
Blaze is hurt? Oh no! But where’s Viper…?
“It’s nothing,” I hear Blaze state. “I’ll live. Now give her to me, I won’t ask you again.”
“No,” I manage to whisper.
“What’s that, darlin’?” Tracker asks, lifting me a touch higher so he can hear me better.
“I don’t want him to see me, not like this.”
I feel Tracker’s deep intake of breath. “Blaze, move aside, man, I’m taking her now.”
Tracker starts to carry me out of the room, and Blaze yells, “You’re lucky she’s hurt, man, and in your arms, because if it wasn’t for that, I’d give you a beatin’ for not giving me my woman.”
My woman? He still wants me?
Tracker doesn’t respond, he just ignores Blaze as he passes his brothers through the smoke filling the narrow hallway. Blaze isn’t far behind, though, I can hear him cursing as he storms along, following closely.
The smoke has me coughing, my body quaking with the agony it causes, and I shut my eyes against the acrid fumes. What happened? Why is all this smoke around?
I tap Tracker’s chest and he stops. “We had to take care of business, Tess, to get you safe. Now close your eyes, the smoke might be too strong and burn.”
“The girls,” I manage to croak out.
“What was that?”
“The girls,” I repeat. “Sam and Amy are downstairs.”
“Prez, Hawke,” Tracker yells, and then they’re surrounding us, soon followed by other members of their club—and they’re all looking at me. And of course there’s Blaze, right by my side.
“Fuck, is she okay? You need to get her out of here,” I hear Quill say.
“She’s saying something about girls downstairs, she mentioned Amy, man.”
“Shit, boys, let’s go.”
“Hey, wait a minute. Did you get that girl out from that room I told you about? Nicky?”
“Yeah, man, she’s safe. The paramedics have just turned up, they have her in the back. Take Tess to them.”
The voices around me a blur, my brain trying to keep up, then Tracker’s moving again, holding me even tighter against him as he quickly moves us through the warehouse. Blaze walks ahead of us and holds the door open, and I catch a look from him that I don’t have the physical or mental capacity to interpret right now. Then he’s yelling, “Here’s another one, she needs help, urgently!”
All of a sudden, I’m being placed on a gurney and wheeled to the back of the ambulance. Eventually my head is patched up, and when I cry out at the slightest movement of my neck, I’m strapped to a board, my head and neck, and pretty much my whole body, immobilized.
And then he’s there, Blaze, standing beside me, his eyes filled with unshed tears, the look he’s giving me unmistakable this time—regret, remorse, frustration, fear and concern, and could I even hope, love?
He gently takes one of my hands in his and leans down and places his head on my chest, his tears soaking into the soft cotton of the gown the paramedics placed over me. “I’m so sorry, baby, so sorry. I’ve let you down.”
“Shush,” I whisper, squeezing his hand as hard as I can.
“Sir, we really have to go.” There’s the sound of another ambulance approaching, and I’m hoping it’s for Amy and Sam.
“Are they safe?” I manage to croak out, my throat dry and sore.
Blaze looks up at me, his eyes red and so, so sad. “Who, baby?”
“Sam and Amy.”
Blaze stands up then looks around. “There’s a couple girls going into the back of an ambulance right now, young, a blonde and a brunette?” I nod as much as I’m able to and squeeze his hand, tears of relief pooling in my eyes. “Yeah, babe, they’re safe.”
“Sir, we need to go, you’re going to have to follow us.”
Blaze looks down at me one last time, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles before letting go. “I’ll be right behind you.”
My tears fall freely now. He forgives me. But am I worthy of his forgiveness?
Tess
Two weeks later
Today I’m leaving the hospital, and although the doctors would prefer that I stay another week, I begged them to let me go home. They finally agreed when I promised I’ll stay in bed and not lift a finger. The injuries that Viper gave me included a skull fracture, a torn anus, and internal bruising and bleeding.
Blaze has basically been here every day, staying at my side and sleeping on the chair most nights. I try to get him to go home and have a good rest, but he only goes back to the clubhouse to shower and change, then he‘s right back with me. I’m not worthy of him. I don’t deserve his kindness. I lied to him the whole time I was with him, and I’ll never forget the look on his face when he asked me to leave. He deserves better—someone who’s good and deserves him—and that’s not me. I’m damaged.
I’ve tried to talk to him about it, but he ignores me, and just says that it’s all in the past. Sometimes I bring up Viper because I need to know what happened to him, but Blaze keeps telling me I don’t need to worry about it, that all I need to know is that he’s been taken care of.
Taken care of? Does that mean he’s dead?
Blaze wheels me out of the hospital, as per their policy. I told him I could walk even though I’m in pain when I do, but I need him to know I’m on the mend so he stops fussing over me so much. He then refuses to let me walk through the car park, so I have no choice but to let him wheel me over to one of the club’s SUVs.
Everyone’s been amazing. Jasmine and Luisa visited me every day, and even Charity came along. She’s planning her wedding to Trigger, and I was thankful I got to hear about her plans. It’s nice to talk about something happy for a change. No one has asked me about Viper, it seems they’re all acting as if he never existed. I’m happy they are, but at the same time, I still feel as if my past is what’s holding me back from my future. Even if Viper isn’t around anymore, what’s to say my father won’t try to get revenge. I’m the reason his best man is dead. Me. I’m the one to blame. I mean, if he is dead. No one’s talking.
“Miss Bronx, you forgot your meds.”
Blaze stops the wheelchair, and I turn and look up at him. He has his eyes squeezed shut, probably because of the mention of my surname. He knows it belongs to my father. How will things work out between us if the mere mention of my name causes him to be upset like this?
“Thank you so much,” I say as I reach out my hand and take the medication from the nurse, which is all bundled up in a white paper bag.
“It’s my pleasure, now take care, and if you need anything or are in a lot of pain, call us.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“Thank you, nurse,” Blaze says. She stays with us as he opens the front passenger door of the car and then lifts me into his arms. The clean, fresh scent of his body wash and aftershave makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, just like being home again. He places me gently in my seat and buckles me in, then looks deep into my eyes for a moment before kissing my forehead and closing the door. It’s going to be so hard to leave him.
He says something to the nurse, and then she’s pushing the wheelchair back toward the hospital.
“Ready to go home?”
I smile at him. “Yes.”
Blaze runs his hand down my leg, then starts the SUV and takes off out of the car park. It’s a beautiful day, and I lower my window to let the sun and the breeze hit my face. I shut my eyes, letting the warmth seep into my bones. Two weeks in the hospital really made me feel like I was on lockdown. I needed to get out of there.
“I have a surprise for you.”
I turn toward Blaze. “What is it?” I ask, smiling wide, so happy to just be with him.
“If surprising you gets me that smile, then I’ll surprise you every day for the rest of my life.”
Rest of my life…. Those words are magic to my ears, yet
I know I can’t give him that. But for now, I’m going to enjoy whatever happiness I can get.
“Tell me what it is?” I say teasingly, and he smiles, looking at me briefly before turning his gaze on the road again.
“Now if I tell you, it won’t be a surprise, will it?”
My smile grows wider and I look out the window at the passing scenery. I’d been in the stark white hospital so long, it felt like I’d forgotten what the color green looked like. “So when will I get this surprise?”
“I’m taking you to it now.”
“Now?” My voice comes out as a squeal, I’m so excited. I mean, who doesn’t like surprises, right?
Blaze laughs hard. “You’re like a little girl who’s about to open presents.”
I laugh along with him at that. “I feel like a girl,” I admit, happiness blossoming in my chest.
“Not long now, baby. We’re almost there.” The way he calls me baby does things to my insides. I love it when he calls me that.
He turns a corner, and I can see the ocean ahead. “We’re going to the beach?” I ask. I’m excited, Blaze knows it’s my favorite place in the whole world.
“Not exactly,” he teases. “Just be patient.”
“No fair. But okay, for you, I’ll be patient.”
We turn down a street that has beautiful homes overlooking the ocean. On the other side of the houses is a sandy bay, with the bluest water I’ve ever seen.
Blaze parks the SUV, then turns to me and smiles. “We’re here.”
“We are?” I ask, all giddy and looking around.
“Wait right here.”
Blaze jumps out of the car and walks around the front of it, and then opens my door.
“Can you walk, baby?”
I smile at him. “Sure I can.”
He helps me out of the car, grabbing me when I nearly trip. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. We should come back tomorrow.”
“Don’t you dare,” I warn him. “You are not making me wait another day.”
Tess Property of Blaze: Book #5 in the Blood Brothers MC Series Page 15
