by Belle Harper
“You want me to wash his…” Ryker waved his hand around his groin area. His voice was full of heartfelt feeling.
“No, it’s okay.” I washed his legs and went back up to take the towel off. But Ryker grabbed the rag, cleaned it, and smiled gently at me. He placed his hand over the little towel and nodded his head to the left. Telling me without words to look away, that he will do this for him. So, I did. Grateful for Ryker taking such great care of Kento.
I really liked Kento. Such a beautiful man to be so broken down like this. He was so thin and small. Just like me. He couldn’t be much taller than I was. I could feel Ryker gently rolling him over so I turned my attention back to Kento face as I pushed some hair away from his forehead.
“Fuck,” he hissed out as he saw the backs of his legs and ass. Ryker’s hands trembled slightly when he returned the rag to the pot of water. The big deep welts looked worse than yesterday. But they didn’t seem to be infected yet. We needed to clean them as gently as we could.
Ryker started cleaning the ones on his leg and then paused. It worried me so I looked up to see his face, his brow was furrowed then his eyes widened as he looked up at me. “You know what? I think I will do this bit alone. And you go out and sit with Ezra.”
My eyes welled up. It was bad. Harlow had told me to look away when she helped. But the fact that Ryker was telling me to look away was heartbreaking.
“It’s okay, Nova. Don’t Cry. I just think Kento wouldn’t want you to see him this way. That’s all. I’m sorry. You can stay. I just… ” He lowered his eyes as he placed the wash rag across the wounds and his ass to hide them from me.
I nodded, the tears spilling over. I left the tent and walked back to Ezra. He gave me a look of worry as I broke down and sobbed in his arms. I sobbed for what happened to Kento, what could have happened to me. For all the hurt that Kento had to endure. But those fuckers… I had never hated anyone more in my life than I did those Raiders. I wanted to kill them all. Burn them all. They needed to die for what they had done to not only Kento, but Harlow, Lucas… all the others they still held captive tonight.
I felt more hands on my back, rubbing gently in a soothing way. Noah spoke softly. “It’s okay, Nova. He is safe, and you’re taking great care of him. I know he will be fine.” Noah then held me tightly against Ezra’s chest. It was warm between them both, my eyes burned with tears.
“Colton,” I heard Ryker call out between my sobs. I tried to see what was happening, but Noah held my face and kissed my cheeks.
“It’s okay. He is fine, you are fine.” He repeated softly over and over.
I was too exhausted, feeling the warmth and protection between two of my amazing men. I fell asleep.
41
Ryker
While washing the welts on his leg and my mind going over what this guy had been through and taken to get here. I realized what these men the Raiders sold were bought for and I couldn’t put Nova through that, especially with the welts. The men who put them there I believed wouldn’t have been gentle in other areas. And I knew if it was me, I wouldn’t want her to see me like this. She really had taken on such a caring role for this young guy, and this would break her.
It was hard to tell, but I would say he was early twenties. I don’t know how long they held him as a slave. But the way he was around Noah this morning really got to me, how scared he was. I could never have left him behind. Even though my shoulder screamed the whole way. It was worth it to have him here, safe and away from those depraved fuckers.
He was almost clean, but I needed some help re-dressing the guy, and I wanted to let Colton know what I had seen while washing him, so he knew a bit more of the shit this poor guy has been through.
“Colton,” I called over to him. He was over to me quick. I placed my finger to my lips to let him know not to talk as he entered the tent. I removed the towel I had placed over the worst of it, showing Colton the welts and wounds. I could hear the almost silent gasp he made. With fresh clothes in my hand, I gestured that he help me dress him since it was hard with my injured arm. He nodded and we did so in silence. All we could hear was Noah murmuring soothing words to Nova, and her sobbing finally stopped.
Once Colton and I were outside the tent, Ezra carried Nova over and placed her inside with Kento. Colton waved us all away from the tent to talk.
“Alright, they sleep in the tent. I want them hidden as much as possible. Ryker, you will sleep outside the tent door. It’s probably best you stay close just in case Kento wakes up. He seems to be fine with you.” He ran though the watch routine and when he was finished, I nodded and walk over to grab my sleeping bag from the Jeep.
“Hey…” Ezra walked up to me and clapped me on the back. “Seriously, thank you so much for finding Nova, and saving her. I honestly don’t think we could have done that without you.”
I grabbed his shoulder with my good arm and squeezed it, letting him know all is good between us. I grabbed my sleeping bag and lay down in front of the tent. Nova was fast sleep. It made me happy to see her relaxed again. That was what was most important to me. The guys being happy with me was a bonus. They knew I was not trying to steal her away from them. Which was what I assumed they all had thought since I’d driven them out of Fort Esko. I could never take her away from the men she was clearly in love with. I would never want to do that and break her heart. I just had to hope there was room in her heart for me. Because she has already taken mine.
I settled down to sleep as Colton took first watch with Ezra. I would take watch with Noah later.
I jolted upright at the sound of a whimper, my brain still fuzzy from sleep I rubbed my eyes as I heard it again. I looked into the tent and saw Kento start thrashing around in his sleep.
“No… Stop!” he rasped out loudly. Fuck.
Colton ran over just as I got out of my sleeping bag and into the tent. Nova was holding onto Kento.
“It’s okay, wake up. It’s okay, please wake up…” Nova kept repeating in that soothing voice she did. He kept thrashing around.
“Nova, let go of him,” I told her. Her eyes were on me, and I could see the tears and worry in hers. I grabbed Kento’s shoulder and shook him. “Wake up, come on, Kento.” His eyes flashed open and darted around the small interior of the tent. To Nova, to me, and then to something behind me. He sat up and all but tried to escape through the fabric at the back of the tent. He then curled into a little ball. I turned to see Colton standing outside, the dark of the night made him look intimidating.
“Fuck…” he whispered. “I’m leaving. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Kento,” Colton said in a loud but calming voice so that Kento could hear him. Then he left back to where he was on watch. Nova didn’t know what to do with herself. She reached out for Kento but didn’t touch him.
“Hey, Kento, remember me? I’m Ryker,” I calmly said as I switched the flashlight on and aimed it low so the light wasn’t so intense. Kento looked up from under the dark hair that had spilled across his eyes. I gave him a small smile and looked at Nova. His eyes followed to see Nova with her hand stretched out to him.
Slowly he uncoiled himself and reached out to take her hand. She broke down into a mass of sobs as Kento tried to soothe her by rubbing his hand down her back. Which I could see was not helping Nova at all. That girl had the biggest heart and watching Kento trying to comfort her, even though he was scared and afraid was clearly making her cry more.
“Kento, you want to go to the toilet and then grab something to eat?” I asked. Hoping this would give Nova time to calm herself.
He looked slowly to me and nodded.
Outside the tent, I waited for Kento. I saw Noah was awake now and had moved away from where he was sleeping nearby, giving Kento plenty of space to come out and not be frightened of them.
He crawled out of the tent and could barely stand. I held my good arm out for him to hold if he wanted. At first, he didn’t take it, but when he dropped hard to the ground, I told him to hold on.<
br />
“It’s okay to have someone support you. I will help you, Kento. I promise I won’t let you fall.”
And I meant every word of it. I wouldn’t ever let him fall. I would be there to catch him.
After a quick pit stop, I helped him sit down where we had eaten earlier and gave him some fresh water and a protein bar. He ate quickly.
“You can’t eat that fast. It will make you sick, okay? We won’t go hungry. We have plenty of food. But if you’re going to eat like that, I won’t be able to give you anymore. When you drink, just take a mouthful, then wait a bit.” I handed him another canteen to drink from, and he listened this time. I broke off a small chunk of another protein bar and gave it to him, he ate it much slower this time. So I gave him the rest.
“We will have you right as rain as soon as possible.”
He nodded. I couldn’t help but noticed the way his eyes darted to the tent and the guys that were on watch. I hope he was starting to understand that none of us would hurt him.
Back at the tent, he settled next to Nova who had waited for him to return. He held her hand in a near death grip. She didn’t cry this time. She had calmed herself as she softly smiled to me.
“I got you. I won’t let anything happen to you,” she soothed again.
“Thank you, Nova,” he croaked out. I listened to Nova talking with him, painting this pretty picture of Eden and what it could mean for us. Kento said few more words. I couldn’t keep awake any longer, the stress on my mind and body from the last two days hit me hard and I fell into a deep sleep.
42
Adam
The sun had risen, and we could see the camp much better in the daylight. They might have a Jeep, but we now had a truck. My uncle was happy, we wouldn’t lose them now. When Charlie saw that big one in Fort Collins, he helped us track them down.
There was only six men with us now, my uncle leading us to Nova. He was waiting on more men before we all go in and try to get her again.
I could see her, her hair covered up by one of the men’s shirts, but there was no mistaking that body. I knew Nova. I knew the way she walked, talked, and her little giggle. I missed her...
“All right, Davie’s boys are almost here. We are going to catch that little Bakersfield bitch. And this time kill the rest slowly. They fucking killed Mike and left him in that shed to rot. They are gonna suffer for that.”
My uncle paced with eagerness as the men around him praised him for the good job he had done in finding her. That they would have her soon enough.
As desperately as I wanted to see Nova again, I prayed my uncle and his men wouldn’t.
The end.
Protecting Nova
Protecting Nova is the second book in the Seeking Eden series. And the final chapter in Nova’s Journey. Release date is 19th June 2019. Look out for the pre-order on Amazon.
About the Author
Belle is a wife to a very loving and supportive husband and mother to three very amazing and different children.
She has an addiction to reading, notebooks, coloured pens and mint chocolate. She lives in the beautiful Australian bush, surrounded by wildlife and the smell of eucalyptus trees. She also has a strong love for all 60’s music, believes she was born in the wrong era and should have been at Woodstock.
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