Branding & Saving Lily Box Set: Books 1 & 2 (Jacob and Lily's Duet)

by Gracin Sawyer

  I tried not to watch outside the truck, the motion quickly making me dizzy. “Then why’d we separate? We should have stayed together.”

  He shook his head. “No, we shouldn’t. We’d all die if we stayed together. They can’t follow all of us. And you’re what they were after this time, so it’s most likely we’re the ones being followed. Bear and Fox will be behind us, watching for whoever it is and take care of them so we don’t lead them to our rendezvous or back to Jacob.”

  “Oh,” was all I could say. They had planned all this out so much more than I thought. “Will they kill Jacob?”

  “No.” He glanced at me, the serious expression scaring me. “Don’t get me wrong, they will try, but not yet. I think they’ll use him like a bargaining chip to get you.”

  “Then what are we waiting for? Hand me over, save him!” I had already been through so much, what was a little more to save the man I loved? I could handle it. I think.

  “Hell no.” Carter shook his head vigorously. “There is no way in hell I’m handing you over to them.”

  “But you just said, they were using him to get me.”

  He interrupted me before I could plead with him more, driving more erratically. “Rabbit, they don’t get their way. We decide how this goes, not them. The first time you let them lead, you die.”

  While Carter clearly had a plan, I mentally began forming my own. Jacob had saved me more than once. It was my turn to save him.

  Chapter 15

  Jacob

  The air-conditioned room I was in smelled vaguely of spicy cologne and alcohol. I wasn’t sure where I’d been taken. Many compounds in the area came to mind, but I wasn’t certain I knew who was behind this. I had my suspicions and Angel Martin was the first name to come to mind. If it was him, this wasn’t going to be quick. He was known for drawing out his torment on many men—and women. He was also the man who had Garcia sending his daughter and wife away. He must have learned of Lily’s return. It made sense for it to be him.

  The eerie quiet of the room was torture by its self. The only sound I could hear was the rapidly increasing heartbeat in my ears. The thick black hood over my head didn’t let in enough light for me to know if it was still daytime or not. Hell, it barely let in enough air for me to breathe. I was in a chair with my hands tied in front of me, but the rope was also used around my ankles, preventing me from reaching up high enough to rip the damn hood off.

  Between the pain and the utter darkness, I drifted off to Lily. My mind caressed every inch of her body. Her soft voice begged me to hold on. If I concentrated hard enough, I could feel her cool fingers graze my feverish skin. She was my saving grace as searing pain ripped through my body. Being shot wasn’t something I had experienced before and I’d be damned if I ever did again.

  It was hard to think of what the plan was if one of us were caught. Shit, I never planned for it to be me. I would have done whatever it took to save one of my guys. They were my fucking family and I’d protect family at all costs.

  But now, they had to think of Lily. The thought that they might not be able to get to me in time was real. There was no doubt they knew where I was. Bear and Fox would have followed me, per protocol they were relaying back to the others. Securing Lily’s safety would be Diesel’s foremost job, and it might take him longer than I had to ensure her protection. As long as she lived, I could die.

  But I wasn’t going down easily. I would fight until my last breath to see Lily one more time. To hold her. To kiss her.

  And if I got out of this mess, I would make sure no one ever came this close to hurting her again. Once I was free, there wasn’t a fucking man I would leave alive.

  Each second that ticked by weighed on me like an hour. Time bore down like a heavy sentence, foreboding of what was to come. I wasn’t sure what my captors were planning, but if the tables were turned, I knew what I would do to find Lily. If they thought I was their bargaining chip, they would quickly find out they had a losing hand. I would die keeping her safe from them.

  A thundering clomp of footsteps entered the room and someone ripped the hood off my head. I blinked rapidly trying to see under the intense light hanging over us.

  “What the fuck! I told you to grab the girl. Does this fucking look like a girl to you?”

  I squinted, still attempting to focus my sight. A slim man in a purple suit stood poised with a gun in his hand, the tip of the barrel pressed against Fonsie’s forehead. At least I knew that shithead survived. I would have fun killing him. A bloodied rag wrapped around his leg where Lily had shot him and I grinned.

  I watched the man in the suit. I hadn’t seen him before. Which was either a very good sign, or terrifying. If it was the latter, then he must be well hidden and heavily guarded. I was good at my job. Hell, I wasn’t just good, but I was the fucking best. So if we haven’t crossed paths before, this told me this man had to be in unreachable circles. Ones I hadn’t even begun to hunt in yet.

  “I know, boss,” Fonsie stuttered. His scared wide-eyed stare flicked to me out of the corner of his eye. “But he’s all I could get. The girl got away. I thought maybe we could use him to get her. You know?”

  “What the hell am I going to do with him?” The man said, pushing the gun harder.

  “Boss, do you know who that is? I’m sure you could use him to get her.” Fonsie stumbled through his words and if I weren’t the one tied up I would have laughed at his lack of confidence.

  “Of course I know who that fucking is! Shit, it’s like you want to die, Fonsie. You brought me fucking Cardosa!”

  Well, at least one of us knew who the other was. But that left me at a disadvantage.

  Fonsie swallowed hard, going cross-eyed staring up at the gun barrel between his eyes. “She’s his girl. You see, boss. We can use him to get to her.”

  Yeah, like that was going to happen. I bit my tongue to keep from retorting and continued to watch the men in front of me. I could learn a lot if I stayed quiet.

  A man standing behind me grunted. “Leman, it might not take much to get something outa him. He’s already injured.”

  Leman. I tried to recall his name but nothing came to mind. Who in the hell was he?

  Leman chortled. “Oh sure, so we can all die? I don’t think so. Just let me think.”

  Smart man. Too bad he had to die.

  Leman pulled his gun away from Fonsie and swung it around the room, conveniently stopping at each man, letting me count along the way. Five. There were five men in the room. “This was supposed to be an easy job, boys. You let me down.”

  Fonsie sputtered and winced as he dropped to his knees. “Please, boss. We can fix this. I’ll fix it.”

  Leman dropped his gaze to the groveling man. “No one let me down more than you.” He lined the gun to Fonsie’s head and squeezed the trigger.

  Fonsie dropped to the wood floor while Leman tucked his gun into a holster under his suit jacket. “Somebody clean this mess up.” He made eye contact with me. “So, Lily is what to you?”

  Just hearing her name roll off his lips revolted me. He didn’t deserve to speak of her. I remained stoic. To hell if I would cooperate with him.

  He held my stare. “Strong silent type, huh? I heard that about you. Do us both a favor and just tell me what I need to know. You tell me where she is and you get to go. It’s not like she’s really yours, right? I mean, a bitch might spread her legs for you, but that doesn’t mean you have to keep her.”

  The deep anger I had pent up boiled into rage. “Don’t you fucking talk about her like that.”

  He smiled. “So there is something between you two. Good to know. Maybe I can use you after all.”

  Damn it. He had been baiting me and I fell for it.

  Leman nodded at a man behind me. “Clean him up. He’s useless to me if he’s dead.”

  He buttoned his jacket and left the room. One man followed, dragging Fonsie’s body out with him. That meant three were still here with me.

  “Shit. Now
we’re nurse maids.”

  “Fonsie fucked up and now Leman’s gonna get us all killed.”

  They talked quietly, but I could still hear them. I wanted to laugh at how scared they were of me. For good reasons. They were about to die.

  “This is gonna hurt,” were the only words I heard before a wet rag pressed against my shoulder.

  “Son of a bitch!” Damn that hurt. Stars dotted the room as my vision threatened to give away.

  The man continued to wipe the dried blood away. “At least the bullet went straight through. We don’t have to dig it outa ya.”

  I winced and clenched my teeth. “Gee, I guess that means we’re friends then.”

  “Hell, Cardosa, I’m just hoping I live to see tomorrow.” He laughed nervously.

  These men didn’t act like normal sex traffickers. “Where you guys from?”

  “Not here. Hell, I just want to get back to Vegas were things are normal.”

  Vegas. So that’s how they heard of me. “What do you guys do in Vegas?” They answered the other question, I might as well keep trying.

  “Not this shit. I’d never kidnapped anyone before. My stomach is all in knots. Man, I don’t want to hurt your girl. I swear.”

  I twisted the best I could to see him better. He had a full beard and a bandana wrapped around his forehead, keeping his stringy brown hair off his face. “What’s your name?”

  “They call me Boulder.”

  I’d seen his expression before. He didn’t want to be here. “Why are you here?”

  Boulder tossed the rag down and cursed. “’Cause I needed the money. I didn’t know the job would entail this. It was a don’t ask before kinda deal.”

  “Must have needed money pretty bad to follow this jackass to the equator to kidnap a girl.” I needed to push him, to get him to tell me more.

  “Shit, Boulder. This man will kill you. Don’t tell him anything.” This man looked nothing like Boulder with his scrawny arms and his addict twitches.

  There was no way these men were dealing in human trafficking. They were users. Leman was probably a dealer or some shit. But Boulder confused me. He didn’t fit either category.

  Boulder glared at the other man. “Hell, Cravitts, I didn’t want to be here in the first place. If I’m gonna die, then I’m gonna die with a clear conscience.”

  The third man, who I still couldn’t see, piped up. “Cardosa is tied up. He can’t fucking kill you. Grow some balls, would ya.”

  “Fuck you,” Boulder retorted. He grabbed a clean rag and wrapped my shoulder.

  I grimaced, but quickly replaced it with a cross stare at Boulder. “You didn’t answer me.”

  “My niece needs a procedure but my brother died and his wife can’t afford to make ends meet, let alone get the help her daughter needs. I would do anything for them.” He met me stare, but what his eyes said tore at my soul. This man clearly was put into the wrong spot at the wrong time and offered the wrong job.

  I leaned the best I could before my ropes prevented me from going closer. “You help me and your niece’s procedure will be paid for, in full.” I said it low enough for just him. No need for the druggies to think I was handing out dough.

  Boulder’s hands never faltered as he finished tying the makeshift bandage and gave me a nod. A glimmer of hope shown in his eyes. But my heart hammered with the same feeling. I had an ally.

  Chapter 16

  Lily

  The farther from Jacob I got, the harder it was to breathe. It felt like I left him behind, like I was somehow betraying him, leaving him to die at the hands of the enemy.

  I leaned my head against the cool glass of the window as Carter drove us across the city limits toward Lupe and Maria’s. The old man must have known we were coming because he met us outside the gate, motioning for Carter to drive the truck inside. He looked around, his wide, high alert stare peered into the dusk shadows that followed us.

  It had already been five hours since we left Jacob. The original plan to meet at the hotel was squashed by more men waiting for us. It was like the entire country knew who I was and everyone wanted me. But I would gladly give myself over to save Jacob, if that’s what it took. He wouldn’t let me, and neither would any of the guys, so I either had to convince them to use me as bait, or find a way to do it alone. Neither option was smart, but I’d spent the last few years of my life playing it safe to just survive, I was done playing it safe.

  Carter parked the truck but didn’t get out. Instead, he locked the doors and turned to me. “I see that look in your eyes, Rabbit. Stop thinking about it. It ain’t gonna happen. Do you think Jacob would let us live if we let you get anywhere close to where he is?”

  Defiantly, I pulled the lock up and gave him my best go to hell glare. “Do you think I care what happens to me if Jacob dies? To hell with you and everyone else who thinks I’m some fragile flower that can’t help. I’ve lived through a hell of a lot more and I will not be told to stay put. Not when the man I love is in danger.”

  “Damn it, don’t you see? If we let you go with us, then we’ll be placing you in danger and what do you think Jacob would do when he found out we carelessly just let his woman come with us?”

  I opened the door. “I don’t care.” I jumped out. “I’m going. With or without you. Take your pick.” I slammed the door shut and turned away to nearly bump into Lupe.

  He gave a sad smile. “Ah, mija, I’m sorry about Jacob.”

  “Rabbit!” Carter slammed his door and hit the hood as he rounded the truck. “Damn it.” He nodded at Lupe. “Tell her. Tell her this ain’t no damn place for a woman.” He turned to me, but it wasn’t anger I saw in his eyes, it was worry. He was scared. “Rabbit, we save women from these assholes all the time. I know what they would do to you. You know how Red treated you?”

  I nodded. The memory was seared into my mind forever. I would never forget the way he and his men stripped me and made me feel filthy with just a look.

  Carter calmed and his voice lowered, trying to soothe us both. “You had it easy. It gets worse. Much worse.”

  Lupe placed a hand on my shoulder. “He’s right, mija. These kind of men are merciless.” He turned and motioned me to follow. “Which is why you will need more than just that pistol to go after Jacob.”

  I smiled and darted to catch up with him.

  Carter groaned. “Lupe, you’re not helping!” He sputtered and cursed as he caught up to us.

  Lupe led us back down to his armory. Flipping the switch, the lights flickered overhead until they held a steady hum. It was a bit chillier than I remembered and I rubbed my arms.

  Lupe began grabbing rifles and other semi automatic weapons off the wall handing them to Carter. He pulled out a drawer full of all kinds of knives and grabbed a few, setting them on top of the makeshift table.

  Carter placed the guns next to the knives. “Lupe, she’s not going with us. She needs to stay here. You know what Jacob would do if he found out you told her to go after him?”

  Lupe grunted and braced himself against the table. The menacing look he gave Carter sent chills down my back. “Do you think she’ll stay here?”

  Carter rubbed his face. “I don’t know. She could, if you made her.”

  They talked as if I wasn’t even in the room. But I was too hung up on the possibility of Lupe’s help to interrupt.

  “Make her? Gah, you know nothing about women.” Lupe scowled at him. “I can’t blame her for going. If it were the other way around, Jacob would move mountains to save her.”

  My heart picked up its pace. I really liked Lupe. He was saying what I felt. It was like he understood me. “Exactly. Carter, there isn’t life without him. I can’t stay here.”

  “I say she goes.” Diesel’s voice filled the room and I spun to see him. I hadn’t even heard him come down the stairs. I wondered when he would meet up with us. After the hotel we split ways, again. It seemed we were always leaving someone behind.

  “Diesel, shit. You know she c
an’t go.” Carter slammed the table, the knives clanked together.

  “Bullshit. My job is to keep her safe. I can’t do that and go after Jacob. If she goes, I can keep her safe. With Jacob gone, it’s me who is in charge, and I say she goes.”

  I flung myself into his arms and hugged him tight. “Thank you!”

  He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. It wasn’t like hugging Jacob, but my brother. He leaned in to whisper against my cheek. “So help me, if those assholes get you, I will kill you myself. I won’t think twice about putting a fucking bullet in your head. I won’t let them have you. Do you understand? I know Jacob would do the same thing.”

  I closed my eyes and nodded against his neck. Jacob had already made me the same promise. But this felt different. His concern echoed in each word. He would honor Jacob and his word to protect me at all costs, even if that meant he had to kill me. “I understand.”

  He pulled away and smiled. “Lupe, toss me a gun. We need to get this lady ready for a hunt.”

  Carter hung his head and groaned. “Shit. We’re gonna die.”

  Lupe laughed and picked up a large gun, tossing it to Diesel who caught it with one hand. I stared at the weapon and inwardly wondered if I’d be able to carry such a heavy beast, let alone shoot it. Diesel winked at me. “Don’t worry, this one is mine.”

  Lupe and Diesel began shuffling through the arsenal, picking out a mass of weapons. Carter strapped a belt to me that not only held a knife I was sure could skin a man alive, but he also shoved magazines full of ammo into the bands. How many men would I be shooting at?

  My mind flashed back to when we were attacked at the park and the sight of Jacob falling behind me. “Put a few more in there. I don’t want to leave anyone alive.”

  Diesel chuckled. “Shit. Now she’s talking like one of us. Jacob would be proud.”

  I checked my gun and made sure it was loaded before slamming the magazine back in place. I eyed Diesel. “I’m just fucking pissed.”