Seeking Our Revenge

by Liberty Parker

  Something else I’ll examine.

  Someday.

  Maybe.

  Oh fuck, who the hell am I kidding. She’s already digging her claws into my cold, dead heart. I need a drink, like yesterday.

  *

  Piper

  *

  I keep looking out of the corner of my eye and admiring him, he’s so muscle-y and yummy, I can’t help but admire his physique. I wonder what it would be like to be wrapped in his strong arms. Would he be able to chase my fears away? Shaking my head at where my thoughts are leading, I concentrate on the fact that they’re going to get Destiny. She’s why I’ve endured the beatings, the lack of food, or proper sanitation. I glance down at myself and grimace. I’m beyond a hot mess. I’m filthy, and probably smell horrible. I could give one of the many rats I’ve been habitating with a run for their money. I would smell myself, but that would be inappropriate in front of him, so I pretend nothing is amiss. Yet this man, who looks like something off the cover of a magazine, rescued me anyway. My knight in shining chrome and speed. I don’t believe in fairytales anymore, but the connection I feel towards him, has me examining everything I ever thought about myself. If I could pick someone, it would be someone like him, even with his caveman tendencies and unhealthy obsession with his car. It’s just a car, for fuck’s sake! Deciding to make conversation, I ask, “Can I take a shower when we get wherever we’re going?”

  He looks over at me and nods. I see him taking in my clothes, or lack thereof, and he replies, “We’ll find something else for you to wear.” Well, he is a gentleman in disguise it seems. Maybe there are some manners in there as well—buried deep, very deep.

  “Appreciate it,” I state. “The goat look is not good on me.”

  “Goat look?” he questions, one eyebrow raised. Fuck, he’s good looking. Focus, Piper, focus! The end game is getting Destiny safe!

  “Yeah, I smell like a goat right now.”

  I see his lip quirk up slightly but he doesn’t respond, he just keeps driving. A man after my own heart, yeah, that was me being sarcastic. “How much longer?”

  “Why? You got a hot date or something?”

  “Yep, with your shower,” I sarcastically respond. And just like that, the asshole is back in action.

  “Five minutes, ten tops,” he huffs out. What the fuck did I do now? God, he’s so hot and cold that I can’t keep up. Well, two can play that game.

  “Put the lead in that foot mister, I don’t have time for your precious car’s ego to take her time. I need a shower and more food, so I’ll be ready for when my sister arrives.”

  “Someone needs to take you over their knee and give you an attitude adjustment. One would think you’d be more grateful for the rescue.”

  “Ooh, I’m shaking in my pants. Are you the one who’s man enough to try and give that to me?”

  “Fuck! Only I could rescue a hellcat from the pits of hell,” he mutters under his breath. Mission accomplished! How’s that feel buddy?

  “Aww, aren’t you the man of the hour. Would you like a cookie to go with that whine?” I smirk at him. I’ve been called a ballbuster by the previous men in my life, but this guy, he brings it out tenfold.

  He growls at me. I never thought that was possible, even though I’ve read about it, but dammit, he fucking growled! “I’m not afraid of the big bad wolf,” I state, hiding my grin.

  “You should be. I eat little girls like you for breakfast, and again at dinner,” he replies.

  “Oh yeah?” I ask, my tone sultry at what his words evoke. Yeah, I’d love those shoulders between my thighs. And that hair of his…fuck! If I were the jealous type, I’d so envy the thick waves he has going on. Right now, he’s got it pulled back in a low ponytail, but my imagination is good, and I can see it flowing around him as he… fuck, now I’m turning myself on! Dammit dammit dammit.

  I cannot allow him to take me down this road!

  “What’s the matter, hellcat? Cat got your tongue?”

  “Nah, I’m thinking about what all I’d love to do with that tongue of yours.”

  “And what exactly is it you’d like for my tongue to be doing?”

  “I was just imagining cutting it off so you can’t speak anymore.” Liar liar pants on fire. I resist looking down to see if they have, in fact, gone up in flames. I know my panties have melted already.

  “I’d love to see you try, hellcat.”

  “Stop calling me that!”

  “What? Hellcat, it suits you. Don’t you think?”

  “I’m a docile, kind person. Hellcat does not describe me at all!” I exclaim. Okay, so maybe docile is the wrong word. “Fine. Call me hellcat if you want, but in return, I get to call you Roughrider,” I purr. If he wants a Hellcat, I’ll give him one!

  “Now, why would you want to call me that?” he inquires.

  “Cause, you’re rough around the edges and all you seem to give a damn about is your car.” There, explanation enough for you?

  “You’re a little shit, you know that?”

  “Yep, sure ‘nuff,” I give him attitude. “So, tell me, Roughrider, who all will be at this house we’re going to?”

  “My house, and my brothers. Don’t try your smartassness with them either, they’d eat you for breakfast and spit you out.”

  “So, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree I see. You’re telling me they’re assholes just like you?”

  “You and your whips,” he mutters. “Look, we’re not men to be fucked with, understand?”

  “Gotcha, buddy,” I state. “I’m used to dealing with assholes, so neither they, nor you will get under my skin… understand?” I use his word back at him. I’m not a kid, and I’m not stupid, so until he stops speaking to me like I am, I’ll give him as much attitude as I feel up to. If I were a lesser woman, his glare would incinerate me. Lucky for him, I’m made of stronger stuff as the past month has shown. I merely raise my eyebrows at him while smirking. He may be a badass, but I’m not scared of him and won’t bow down to any man.

  *

  Atticus

  *

  Her attitude is turning me hard as stone. I need to get away from this temptress—preferably the other side of the ocean. Timbuktu, bumfuck Egypt, would work. Yeah, that should be far enough of a stretch to not have fantasies about what I can shove in that sassy, perfect mouth of hers.

  “We’re here,” I announce, as we pull in the gates that lead back to our home. It’s a long, back country road that we’ve built our house on. The land is ten acres and we have it surrounded by a fence all the way around. We have security cameras and measures in place should someone attempt to penetrate our mini-fortress. It pays to have the sort of connections we’ve got, that’s for sure. Infrared devices, face recognition cameras, and quite a few nasty surprises should anyone actually be fucked up enough to attempt to breach our ‘compound’.

  “Wow, paranoid much?” she snarkily asks.

  She’s getting to me, and I can’t seem to help what comes out of my mouth, “I don’t know, do you think you, and your sister would’ve been safe had you been surrounded by something like this?”

  “Low blow,” she says, turning her head facing out the passenger side window.

  “Sorry, I’ve had a rough couple of weeks,” I apologize. Only a real man can admit when he’s wrong, and I was. I’ll own that shit, but she’s testing my patience with her snarky comments.

  “I’m sorry too, when I’m upset, or nervous, I can’t seem to help what comes out of my mouth.”

  “I’ll accept yours, if you accept mine. Fresh start, we’ll begin this whole thing over and pretend we haven’t annoyed the fuck out of each other.”

  “Agreed, should we start with introductions?”

  “I think we can bypass that,” I respond. We pull up to the house and I open the garage. Say what you wish, but my baby is well taken care of and she deserves shelter as much as I do. When we pull in, she admires all the vehicles, both sports and terrain. We also have our
play toys we use on days we want to unwind. Sports bikes, racing bikes, quads…you name it, we’ve got it. Work hard, play harder. We also have our archery stuff, rifles, shotguns, etcetera…although those you can’t see with the naked eye. They’re in a safe that is obscured by a wall that moves when we enter a code in the keypad. We’ve even got a few panic rooms throughout the house and with me rescuing her, I make a mental note to show her where they’re at and how to access them. Just in case. None of us were Scouts, but we’ve always lived by the ‘be prepared’ motto.

  If anything, our father prepared us for the worst-case scenario. That’s what happens when you’re military, he was one paranoid motherfucker, but I can’t blame him for that after everything he witnessed and went through protecting our country and freedom. As I open my door, I notice Silas has opened the garage door and comes over to the passenger side and opens the door, holds out his hand, and offers Piper assistance out of the car.

  She turns and looks at me, “Good to see someone in your family has manners.”

  “Hey, I thought we were starting over!” I protest.

  “We are, my bad…oops.” An image emerges in my head, one where I bend her over the hood of my baby, rip her pants down, and spank her ass raw. I’d love to see my handprint on her pale ass cheek. She’d wear my mark so well. Fuck, now I’m hard as a steel pipe again. I get out of the car and can tell by Silas’ smirk that he noticed. Fucker. I toss my middle finger up as we make our way into the house.

  “Not my type,” he states.

  “Mine either,” I grit through my teeth.

  “Sure, I can see that,” he chuckles. Piper looks around confused by our conversation. “Let’s get you inside, little missy, the doctor is here and waiting to see you.” He practically drags her inside, making me want to yank his arm from his body. I don’t like his hands on her.

  “My legs aren’t as long as yours,” she huffs, “you need to slow your roll, mister,” she pronounces.

  Those legs might not be as long, but I can picture them wrapped around my waist as I pound into her.

  Against the wall.

  On a bed.

  Doesn’t matter.

  Right now, even as beat up as she is, she’s starring in every erotic fantasy I’ve ever had. Fuck, yeah, she needs to move on, quickly. I do not want to be tied to her in any way. We need to get Destiny here, set them up and let them move the fuck on. We can get them new identities, set them up with a whole new life, a safe life, somewhere far far away. I hear a voice clear and look up. Silas is giving me a look that says he knows what’s on my mind.

  “Any news from the men?” I ask him, since Silas is their point of contact.

  “They’ve breached the underground, and have secured the south wing. Nothing yet, brother.”

  “Fuck.” I was hoping they’d be in and out of there with Destiny in tow, quickly. The longer she’s down there, the more time they have to move her and hide her. I don’t like the odds, especially since Piper says she never set eyes on her sister.

  “They’re the best of the best, if anyone can find her it will be them.”

  “Not as good as we are,” I mumble under my breath. Piper snorts at my comment and I choose to ignore her, this time. Just because she makes me desire her, doesn’t mean I will give into her antics. Her version of foreplay is something that usually turns me on. I’m not saying she doesn’t, but I know she isn’t what I need in my life. Too many complications, ones I most certainly do not need in my life. With my line of work, I can’t afford any distractions. And she’s a huge one, wrapped up in a pretty little package. One I don’t need, or want, to open.

  Fuck that.

  I can spew that shit in my head all day long, but in the end, I fear that she’s going to sneak behind my defenses, and make it hard to say goodbye when the time comes.

  “So where is this doctor?” she asks. I’m glad she speaks up, because I could’ve gotten lost in my head with the direction I was headed.

  “He’s upstairs in the medical room.”

  “You have a medical room? What for?” I snort at her question.

  I give her a look, not answering. Surely she’s figured out we’re the kind of men who fly under the radar and that means no hospitals. The doctor we use is on retainer and knows his shit. Hell, after one mission, he did surgery on Silas to repair his injuries! He has a general anesthesia person he calls when those things are needed. Yeah, that one still leaves a sour taste in my mouth because we found out it was a set-up from the very first. Of course, we got the last laugh because that fucker is in Satan’s dining room now, dispatched by yours truly. No one lays a hand on one of my brothers and lives to tell the tale. Fuck that, they’re all I have in this world, and I’m not ready for the Reaper to come knocking at our door anytime soon. I don’t have much in this life outside of possessions, and those I do have, I protect with every fiber of my being.

  We walk up the stairs and lead her to the infirmary. Half of it looks like your standard doctor’s office, while the back part is a surgical unit, ready for anything that we should need. We have antibiotics, lidocaine for numbing if one of us need stitches, the plaster shit if something’s broken. Hell, we even have an x-ray machine. We don’t trust hospitals or independent doctors, which is why we pay ours to be on call at all times. We trust him, he’s been with us for years, and knows how to keep his mouth shut. A plus in our world, just another way to keep us under lock and key.

  We all have scars to prove that we’ve lead a hard, rough life. Even as young boys we were always finding ourselves injured. There was no tree we couldn’t climb, no fortress we couldn’t win…we were, and still are, rowdy.

  We are the motherfucking Nelson brothers.

  Her eyes are wide as she looks around and I expect her to start asking questions. Imagine my shock when she merely goes over to the exam table and climbs up. I don’t hide the smirk at how her legs dangle. The tables are geared for us, after all. And we are nowhere near small in stature. We are all six-foot three, or taller, we all are endowed with muscles, and should be seen coming your way. With our training however, we blend well into our surroundings.

  I have long, blond hair. Jonas has a buzz cut, which comes from his military days. Why he wants a reminder of those days is anyone’s guess. Silas is as bald as they come, a personal decision of his. Yeah, he shaves that shit. But it works for us because each of us look different and are able to maneuver easily in whatever situation we’re placed. Even Jonas, although he generally doesn’t go out on missions, assimilates well. Hell, if we were to dress Silas up in slacks and shit, he looks like he could pass as a millionaire. Not that I’d tell him that shit. He’s got a big enough ego as it is.

  “What’s that look for?” she asks, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Don’t jump, Hellcat. You’ll hurt yourself,” I reply, my smirk growing wider.

  “What the fuck ever, Roughrider.”

  “I need y’all to step out of the room while I do my examination of the patient. Confidentiality and all of that,” Dr. Sandall tells us.

  “Don’t go,” Piper rushes out, reaching for me. “No offense, I just don’t know you,” she says, her look and words of panic make me halt in my footsteps. I close the door on my brother and lean against it crossing my arms and legs, settling in.

  “She wants me to stay, I’m not going anywhere.” I give him a stare that lets him know I mean business.

  “Very well,” he replies. He begins by asking her some routine questions, she’s open and honest with him, and what all she tells him has me gritting my teeth in anger. I want to track down every one of these assholes and make them pay for even thinking of touching her. I knew she’d been roughed up, and I’m happy to hear they didn’t have a chance to sexually assault her. They had her a month, but for whatever reason, they didn’t go down that path. Seems we infiltrated the underground hideout just in the nick of time.

  He finds some places that will require stitches. She reaches out for me again
and I walk over to her and clasp her hand in mine. If I’m nothing but silent support for her, then I’ll do it.

  It doesn’t mean anything.

  Nothing at all.

  Her small, soft hand clasped in my larger, work-roughened one does nothing.

  Nope, not a damn thing.

  I am not that man.

  “Ouch,” I hear her call out. My body tenses at the thought of her being hurt, yet again.

  “It’s just a small shot for me to numb it so you won’t feel the stitches. I promise you, they’d hurt worse if I didn’t,” Dr. Sandall explains.

  “So you cause pain in order not to cause more? Makes perfect sense to me,” she replies.

  Yep, there’s my hellcat.

  5

  Piper

  As soon as we finish with the doctor, I’m led back downstairs to a kitchen. This house is huge, not at all what I was picturing, or expecting. He is rough around the edges, so I was expecting a huge man cave for a home.

  “We need to get some food in you so you can keep up your strength,” Atticus says to me as he has his arm around my back. It’s a comfort to me. “You’ll need to be strong for your sister when she arrives.”

  “Any news?” I ask, needing to know if she’s been taken out of that hellhole.

  “Nothing yet. Anything you won’t eat?” he asks as he opens the refrigerator.

  “Liver and onions, cauliflower, brussel sprouts,” I reply. “Oh, and mushrooms.”

  He glances at me and I giggle at the look he’s giving me. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Mushrooms?”

  “Hey now, there’s no guarantee that what I’m eating isn’t one of those poisonous ones! Plus, eww, the texture is gross.”

  “Okay, how about an omelet? I promise to keep mushrooms out of the equation.”

  “Sure, sounds good.” He can cook? Holy shit, this man is the entire package.