Trusting Her Two Doms [Knights in Black Leather 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Marla Monroe

  Just a little more and I can break it. Come on. Oh, God. Please.

  The door flew open and Taylor looked up to see a large, burly bald man holding a hunting knife walk through the door. Seeing her struggle with the cuff didn’t seem to faze him. He laughed, as he tossed the knife from one hand to the other. She whimpered with fear, fighting the handcuff and spring with renewed vigor.

  He kicked the door closed behind him and stalked toward her. “Feisty thing, aren’t you? Got some meat on your bones, but that’s okay. I’ll still have me some fun before I carve you up like a Thanksgiving turkey.”

  Taylor screamed long and loud as the man laughed and grabbed her by the hair. He jerked her back across the bed so that her arm with her wrist still locked to the springs was jerked hard enough she opened her mouth to scream again. The pain was too sharp and she couldn’t make a sound. It felt as if he’d wrenched it from the socket.

  “Scream all you want, bitch. No one is going to hear you out here. We’re miles from anywhere.”

  He dropped her back to the bed so that the edge of the bed dug into her ribs hard enough she worried she’d cracked one. The fingers of the hand still held by the handcuff had gone numb now. She worried that she wouldn’t be able to use her arm to fight him off. When she rolled over to relieve the pressure on her arm, Burt made a grab for her throat. She kicked out with both feet, nailing him just above the groin. He staggered back a step and held one hand to his crotch.

  “Fight all you want to, bitch. You’re not going anywhere and I like the fight. Really turns me on, sweetheart,” he said with a wide grin.

  Taylor whimpered and drew her legs up to her chest as she frantically struggled to break the wire. He advanced on her again, holding the knife up as he approached the bed. She wasn’t going to be able to do any major damage with bare feet. She wished they had left her heels on. Those would have hurt him, maybe even given her enough time to get free of the spring holding her hostage.

  He jabbed at her with the knife and laughed when she jerked away from it with a shriek. She struggled to keep from crying out again as he poked the knife at her over and over. It had only thrilled him more to get the reaction from her. Now he frowned when she refused to cry out as he landed a shallow cut along he calf. The sharp pain burned along her leg, helping to keep the residual wooziness from overwhelming her again.

  He circled around to the head of the bed and stabbed downward, getting the tip of the blade into the back of her left shoulder before she could move out of the way. She struggled to keep from crying out, gritting her teeth against the sharp pain that exploded there. Taylor had no idea how bad the wound was, but it definitely hindered her escape.

  Burt laughed shaking his head. “You’re going to end up cutting your own wrist off like an animal caught in a trap will chew off his paw to escape. Maybe I should just leave you and watch you do it. You’re not going anywhere anyway. Might be fun chasing you around the room.”

  Taylor breathed through the pain and concentrated on working the wire back and forth, praying it would break soon. He might be right and she wouldn’t get away, but she would be able to fight back if she was free. And she was going to fight him. She wasn’t about to lie down and let him kill her. She had something to fight for. Actually she had two someone’s to fight for, Max and Sawyer. Now she regretted not telling them she loved them when she had the chance. If she managed to get out of this, she would never squander the chance to tell them how she felt. She’d tell them until she was blue in the face whether they ever felt the same way about her or not.

  She gasped when Burt hit her in the face. She’d let her mind wander while working at the wire and hadn’t realized Burt had gotten close to her again. She had to keep in the present and stay sharp. Her face hurt and she tasted blood where her teeth had cut her lip and the inside of her cheek.

  He came at her again so fast she only had time to curl her legs against her chest and push her left hand out to defend herself. He shoved her legs aside and covered her with his heavy body so that she couldn’t move, couldn’t draw in a deep breath.

  No, no, no. Please, God. Please, someone help me.

  No matter how hard she tried to struggle, he stayed on top of her holding her free arm above her head. His weight was squeezing the air from her lungs. Spots began to dance in front of her eyes. She was going to pass out. With one last ounce of strength, Taylor gathered what air she had left and spit blood and saliva into his face.

  The man roared in anger and rolled off of her, wiping his face in the process. Then he grabbed the edge of the bed and tossed it and her over against the wall. Blinding pain tore at her wrist and arm as she hit the wall and the bed bounced back. The force of it broke the wire and the handcuffs slipped free. Her head ached along with her already injured shoulder where she’d bounced against the wall but she was free.

  Burt stalked toward her, grabbing the upturned bed, he shoved it out of the way. Taylor was still trying to get her breath back and work through the pain to get up from the floor. He grabbed her by the upper arms, jerking her off the floor so that her legs flailed uselessly in the air. Kicking him did nothing but hurt her toes as she made contact with his hard shins.

  “I’ll teach you to spit on me, bitch. I’m going to slit you wide open and watch you bleed to death, whore!” he shouted.

  Spittle flew from his mouth, his words striking terror into her soul. God, she was really going to die. He slammed her against the wall hard enough her world went black once more.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Max and Sawyer reviewed everything they had with the sheriff and his deputies. They had to trust that none of them were part of the entire sordid mess. They knew the main characters, the why, and the how, but didn’t know where they’d taken Taylor. Time was running out and Max wanted to yell in frustration.

  “Okay, with the entire Chesterfield family involved in this, we are going to have to bypass Janice Matthews, she’s James senior’s sister-in-law and she’s Oliver’s sister. We know he’s involved, too,” Sheriff Stevens said. “Hopefully Deputy Silas will have some luck getting what we need at the courthouse. I trust Mrs. Emma. We’re just lucky she has keys to get into the records department.”

  “This is taking too much time,” Max said, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

  “Look, we’ve checked everywhere we know to check and have everyone in custody who could warn the men. It’s all we can do for now,” the sheriff said. “When they show up, we have people waiting for them. They won’t get away.”

  “I’m going to beat it out of James, the fucking bastard,” Max growled.

  “No beating anyone. Just rein it in or I’m locking you up for your own good,” Stevens said.

  Max was just about to tell him where he could put his threat when Silas burst through the door with papers in his hands.

  “I’ve got two possible places.” He spread a map out on the desk and pointed to two circles he’d made. “This belongs to Oliver Matthews and according to the records, there’s a hunting cabin there. The land’s been in his family for several generations. The other place is where my money is, though. James Chesterfield, the bank president, purchased it about six months ago. There are two buildings of some kind on it. Both of them are right here close to Jacob’s creek. The problem is we’re going to have to split up to look since the properties are almost on opposite ends of the county from each other.”

  “Fuck!” Sawyer growled out. “Max? Do we split up?”

  Max looked over at Silas and studied the map. He was with the deputy. Chesterfield’s looked like the right place to him. It was closer to the club and there was nothing close around it from what he could see.

  “No. We go here,” he said.

  Sawyer grabbed the map before anyone could stop him and rushed to the copy machine. He made several copies and gave the map back to Silas.

  “Steve, you and one of the deputies come with us, the rest can take the other property,” Max sai
d.

  “Just take over my fucking department, why don’t you?” Sheriff Stevens yelled. “Hell, Silas, go with them. They’ll need someone who knows the area. Don’t let them kill anyone, you hear me?”

  Max missed whatever the deputy said as he and Sawyer rushed out of the building to their truck. Steve climbed in the back as Sawyer backed out and spun the truck around heading in the general direction of Chesterfield’s land, according to the map. Before they’d left town, Silas pulled in front of them in his SUV and led the way with his lights flashing.

  “Fuck, he’s going to warn them we’re on our way like that.” Max hit the dashboard.

  “No, he won’t. He’s not stupid. He’ll cut them off before we get close. This gets the cars out of our way,” Steve assured them from the back seat.

  Max prayed the other man was right and they hadn’t placed their trust in someone who was leading them away from Taylor. They followed him when he turned off the highway through several turns. When they turned down an old road that had seen better days, the deputy turned off all his lights and eased down the road. Sawyer followed suit, plunging them into darkness.

  Max was thankful there was a bright moon to give them some measure of light so they didn’t end up off the road. He wanted to yell in frustration as they seemed to crawl down the road. They weren’t really going that slow, but it felt like the seconds were ticking away to Taylor’s life. He was going to tell her he loved her as soon as he had her in his arms. He’d been a fool to wait for the right moment. Never again. He’d tell her every day of their lives, ten times a day.

  The deputy stopped in the road and climbed out of his vehicle. They did the same, meeting the other man in front of Sawyer’s truck.

  “The two buildings should be just ahead. Once we get close enough, if there’s light in one of them, that’s the one we hit first. If there isn’t, then we’re going to have to split up so we go in both at the same time or we risk warning them if we choose the wrong one.” The deputy looked at each of them.

  They all nodded, Max anxious to go already and stop standing around. The deputy turned and they all hurried after him, staying low and making as little noise as possible. Max was thankful Sawyer was with them. His military experience gave him hope they would be able to get to get to Taylor and get her out of harm’s way. He trusted his partner where he didn’t anyone else where Taylor’s life was at stake.

  As they neared the two buildings, light leaked from the door of the one on the left. If he strained, he could see more light through cracks in the boards that covered the windows. The other building some fifty yards to the left was dark. The deputy nodded toward the one with the light and motioned that he was going to circle around to the back in case there was a back exit. He tapped his watch and held up two fingers. They would go inside in two minutes. As much as Max didn’t want to wait, he knew the other man needed the time to make his way around the back and make sure of all possible exits.

  He, Sawyer, and Steve eased up to the door, hugging the outside wall on either side of it. Steve watched the time. Max felt sweat trickle down his back despite the cold February air. The seconds seemed to crawl by, his heartbeat loud in his ears. Max stood tight against Sawyer’s back, the other man would go in first once the door was open.

  Steve reached out and checked the door knob. He nodded with a grim smile. It was unlocked. He held up five fingers and silently counted down until one, then turned the knob and pushed the door open with enough force it bounced against the wall. Sawyer was a blur as he entered the room, rolling across the floor to come up on his feet on one hand. Max and Steve flew in next. Sawyer had already scanned the room and finding it empty, hit the next door with all his might, splintering it open. Max’s blood ran cold at the sight that greeted them.

  A massive thug dropped Taylor’s bloody, unconscious body to the floor and turned with a roar to attack. Sawyer bellowed and met him halfway, barely avoiding the knife the other man produced from somewhere. Steve made it to Taylor while Max had to dart around the two men wrestling for the knife. He spared a glance to be sure his friend was holding his own before kneeling on the opposite side of Taylor from Steve.

  “She’s bleeding badly from her wrists and there’s a cut on her shoulder. We’ve got to get her to a doctor, Max,” the other man said.

  Sawyer fell not two feet from them, the bastard straddling him with the knife at his throat, the only thing keeping between it and his neck was one arm. Sawyer’s other one had blood all over it and wasn’t doing much to stop the blade from reaching its goal.

  “Get her out of here. If we’re not out by the time you have her settled in the truck, go without us,” Max yelled.

  Steve glanced at Max then Sawyer and nodded. He carefully scooped Taylor into his arms and rushed out the door. Max had to trust that the deputy would show up soon. He threw himself against the big bastard, knocking him off of Sawyer and sending the knife skidding across the floor under an overturned bed.

  When the man lunged for it, Max grabbed his arm and slung him around and nailed him in the face followed by a punch to the kidney. His fighting days came back to him in an instant and a red haze filled his vision as he remembered the sight of Taylor covered in blood.

  By the time the deputy and a not so enthusiastic Sawyer pulled him off of the man, he was down for the count, but breathing. His knuckles were a bloody mess, most, though not all of it was the other man’s.

  “I’ll handle him now, you two better hurry up, or Steve is going to leave you,” Silas said. “He’s not going anywhere but to jail.”

  * * * *

  Hours later, Max and Sawyer sat next to a still unconscious Taylor’s stretcher. All of her X-rays had shown that she didn’t have any broken bones though she did have a slight concussion. The doctor assured them she would come around soon. The bumps to her head along with a lingering effect of the chloroform they’d used on her was keeping her out for now. They had smelled the lingering scent in her hair, telling them how they’d managed to smuggle her out of the club in the dark without anyone realizing it.

  Sawyer felt as if his entire world had turned upside down. Seeing her there, on the stretcher with bandages around her wrists and over her shoulder made him sick to his stomach. They hadn’t been able to keep her safe as they’d promised her they would. Her bruised face tore at his heart. She was everything to him—them.

  “What are we going to do if she doesn’t trust us anymore, Max?” he asked.

  “She will. We’ll earn her trust back if we have to. I’m not letting her get away.”

  Sawyer huffed out a breath. “We can’t keep her prisoner, man.”

  “I’ll pester her until she agrees to let us make it up to her,” Max said softly.

  Sawyer started to tell him that would make him a stalker when a noise from the stretcher had them both on their feet leaning over Taylor with worry. She groaned, moving her head then wincing. When her eyes fluttered open, Sawyer gazed at the loveliest pair of chocolate eyes he’d ever seen. When she finally seemed to focus on them, he smiled down at her.

  “Hey, babe.” He rubbed his finger back and forth over her fingers, too scared to touch her anywhere else.

  “W—” She coughed and winced again, one hand coming up to hold her head.

  “Easy, precious. You’ve got a concussion,” Max told her.

  “What happened?” she finally managed to get out.

  “Don’t worry about it now, Taylor. Just rest for now,” Sawyer said.

  “We love you, honey. I’m sorry we let you get hurt. Never again, Taylor. You mean everything to us.”

  They watched as she slowly closed her eyes, a smile on her bruised face. But it didn’t last long. They popped back open again.

  “It’s James and his father and my accountant. They’re the ones who’ve been after me,” she said, her words jumbling over each other in her effort to get them out.

  “We know, babe,” Sawyer assured her. “They’re all in custody. You do
n’t have to worry about anything now.”

  “Rest, precious. We’re not leaving your side for one moment,” Max assured her.

  Again her eyes closed, but she murmured, “I love you, too,” before she relaxed back into sleep.

  They stayed with her, never leaving her side as nurse after nurse checked in on them. The emergency room doctor dropped in once and once again assured them that she was going to be okay.

  “Wake her up again in another hour. If she seems to be doing all right, you can take her home and wake her up every two hours for the next ten or so hours,” he said before hurrying out of the room.

  An hour later, Sawyer gently woke her up, wishing they could let her sleep longer. She moaned but finally opened her eyes.

  “The doctor wants to check you again, babe. Stay awake for us and we’ll take you home,” he told her.

  Max hurried out of the room to find the doctor. Taylor squeezed the finger he had resting in her hand. Her soft smile did wonders for his heart. He wanted to always see her smile.

  “I’m okay, Sawyer. Don’t look so upset,” she whispered.

  “We could have lost you, Taylor. I don’t ever want to go through something like that again.”

  “Me either.”

  They were laughing quietly when Max returned with a harried looking doctor in tow. He frowned at them as they sobered up.

  “Let’s have a look, young lady. I was checking Mrs. Webster’s sore throat. I don’t think she appreciated this gentleman busting in on us.”

  “Max. Shame on you,” Taylor said with an attempt at looking stern.

  Sawyer’s heart soared that she seemed to be handling her ordeal better than they could hope. Instead of dwelling on her pain and what ifs, she was joking and smiling, in an attempt at easing their pain and discomfort over having let her get taken. His love for her grew even deeper if that were possible.