Loving Sanctuary [Slick Rock 12] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  Tristan came back with a couple of flashlights. Trick, Trent, and Tristan followed the footprints until they came to the road. It took some more searching before they found impressions of tire treads in the gravel on the side of the road since they were nearly two hundred yards past the entrance to the Triple H Ranch. Just as they spotted them, flashing red-and-blue lights in the distance drew Trick’s attention.

  He waved the light so Luke would spot him and had never been more relieved to see his lawman friend. Luke stopped his car in the middle of the road, and he and Damon got out.

  “What have you got?” Damon asked as he and Luke drew closer.

  “Tire tracks,” Tristan said and then explained how they had found footprints and followed them.

  Luke scrubbed and hand over his face and sighed. “There is no way in hell we can track this fucker. We’d have to know what make, model of car he was driving and know what the license plate was.”

  “Damn it!” Trick snapped. “We can’t just do nothing. Our woman is missing and in danger.”

  “Let’s go back to the house,” Luke said. “I’m going to contact the agent that has Noble. Maybe he’s made the prick break and spill his guts, and if not then I have a contact who will do it.”

  Trick nodded, and they all headed to Luke’s car and got in. None of them said a word as Luke drove them back to the ranch house. He and his brothers were lost in thought. He didn’t need to speak to know that they were all very scared about what was happening to Sabrina.

  * * * *

  Sabrina had spent a long time trying to pry the covers off the tail and brake lights from inside the trunk. She had hoped that she could somehow send and SOS message and alert any other cars driving behind the one she was trapped in, but she hadn’t been able to get the globes out. It was really difficult to maneuver with the limited amount of space she had and with her wrists tethered together. She’d broken all of her fingernails as she slipped them under the covers, trying to pull them off, not that she cared about that, but it pissed her off that she failed each and every time.

  She was tired, cold, and scared. All she had on was a mid-thigh-length sleeping shirt and a pair of panties. At least she’d had that much. When she slept between her men she was usually naked, but it had been a chilly night and after making love with them and cleaning up she’d pulled her sleep shirt on. Thank God. She just wished she’d grabbed her robe before calling the fire department. She hadn’t known that one of the men had already called from their cell phones. Maybe she should have called the sheriff’s department instead. Not that it would have done her any good. She still had a feeling she’d be in the same predicament no matter who she called.

  Now that she thought about it, she realized that the fire had been a diversion, and she wondered if her men even knew she was missing. Surely the fire department had arrived by now to fight the fire. It felt like hours had passed since she’d woken up in the trunk of the car.

  What scared her most was not knowing who had her, where they were taking her, and what they wanted with her. If it was Harvey Noble, then she was living on borrowed time. She could still hear him telling that person on the phone to find her and kill her.

  * * * *

  Tristan was so pissed off with himself and his brothers because they’d been so easy to distract and now Sabrina was missing. He’d never felt so much fear in his life. He wanted to find whoever took her and tear him apart with his bare hands. He was barely keeping it together, and from the looks on his brother’s faces, they weren’t much better.

  He felt so guilty for leaving her. He should have just stayed with her to protect her instead of rushing out to help get the horses out of the barn when Trick had called him. His older brother would have been mad, but Sabrina might have still been with them.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Luke said as he sat down at the table. “If one of you had stayed inside with Sabrina, you’d probably be dead.”

  “Shut up!” Tristan yelled and began pacing before turning back to face Luke. “At least I could have tried to save her.”

  “Could you have?” Damon asked. “What would you have done if he’d held a gun to her head? Would you have rushed him and taken a bullet? He would have killed you and still taken Sabrina.”

  Tristan knew he was right, but it still didn’t take away his guilt.

  “Stop torturing yourself on what you could have done differently and just concentrate on how we’re going to save your woman,” Luke said.

  Just as Tristan was about to speak, Luke’s cell rang. The sheriff answered and listened, making appropriate noises in response to the person on the other end before saying thanks and disconnecting the call.

  “My friend in the FBI was able to get Noble to break. Noble has been hiding out in his hometown of Fort Collins in one of the rundown motels there. My friend called the local cops in, and after searching his room, they found a burner cell phone. The last few texts to Noble’s phone were from someone called Sawyer. Not sure if that is his first or last name, but we and the feds are looking into it.”

  “Did they find out where this Sawyer is?” Trick asked.

  “Yeah. He’s been staying in Telluride about an hour and a half away, east of here.”

  Tristan started to feel hopeful that they would be able to find Sabrina now that they had a lead. “How many motels are in Telluride?” he asked.

  “Many, but we got the name of the motel from Noble’s burner phone. Apparently Sawyer’s well and truly under his thumb and has been making daily reports by leaving voice messages and texts ,” Luke answered and then nodded at Damon.

  Damon got up and moved across to the kitchen, pulling his cell phone from his pocket and then tapping on the screen. A moment later he was talking to someone.

  “Damon is contacting the Telluride sheriff. He’ll get him and his deputies to stake out that motel,” Luke explained. “How long a lead do you think this Sawyer has?”

  Trick glanced at his watch. “Can’t be more than half an hour.”

  “Then let’s move out,” Luke said and stood up. His cell dinged to let him know he had a message. He pulled it up and then read the message before turning his phone around so Tristan and his brothers could see the screen and the photo of a bald man. “This is Jack Sawyer. He has a very nasty rap sheet. We need to go. Right now!”

  * * * *

  Sabrina cringed when the car went over a big bump or landed in a deep pothole in the road, jostling her body. Her head hit the floor of the trunk, and her hip felt like it was bruised after the hard jolt.

  She started panting when the car slowed down and turned, and then went up over another big bump. That couldn’t be good. She thought that the car had just driven over a speed bump, and the only time they were present was in a residential area or school zone. Her heart began to thump rapidly inside her chest, and her skin became clammy when she started to sweat. When the car stopped, she began shaking.

  The engine turned off, and the door slammed as it was closed. She tensed her body, hoping to take her kidnapper unaware if he opened the trunk, but she also kept her eyes closed and tried to even her breathing out. She was ready. Ready for the fight of her life. She didn’t know if she had a chance of getting away, but she wasn’t about to go willingly. She wished she could have escaped him before he abducted her, but since that hadn’t happened, she would do everything she needed to in order to get away from him, even if it meant taking his life or ending up dead herself.

  It felt like a long time had passed before the trunk to the car was opened, and she opened her eyes slightly, watching from beneath lowered lashes. It felt like the blood drained from her face when she saw the bald guy from Fort Collins, and her skin began to crawl.

  She took a quiet but deep breath, and when he reached in for her, she put every ounce of power into her legs and kicked out. Pride filled her when he grunted, but the guy must have the constitution of a rhinoceros, because his nose was bleeding but he didn’t pull back. His fin
gers dug into the muscle in her thigh. Her squeal of pain was muffled by the tape over her mouth.

  He dug harder until she could feel a bruise forming, and leaned over. “You try that again and I’ll knock you out, but this time it won’t be from lack of oxygen. Do you understand?” he asked angrily.

  Sabrina nodded and tried to breathe through the pain. She whimpered with relief when he released her, and then he glanced around quickly before grabbing a hank of her hair and yanking her up and out of the trunk. She reached out to grip one of his arms with her hand, but he jerked her head back before she could touch him.

  “Don’t you fucking try anything, bitch. Just do as you’re told and we’ll get along fine.”

  He released her hair and slung her up over his shoulder and started walking. She tilted her head, trying to see where she was and where they were going through her hair. There was a building to the right, and he was moving toward it. She tossed her head and saw it was a motel. That meant people. People meant help.

  Hope began to replace the fear. She was going to escape or get the attention of someone else, come hell or high water.

  * * * *

  Trent was glad to be riding with the sheriff. Even though Luke hadn’t put his siren on, the red-and-blue lights were flashing as they sped through the night. He was thankful that Luke had been able to contact his FBI friend and get the information on where the fucker who had taken Sabrina was.

  He’d been on the verge of tears when he realized she’d been taken, and he’d never been so scared in his life. He didn’t know if he’d be able to continue living if she ended up dying because he and his brothers hadn’t protected her. She was the love of his life, and he didn’t want to go on without her by his side.

  When they were ten minutes out of Telluride, the radio in Luke’s car went off. “This is Sheriff Snow from Telluride. Sawyer has the woman and has just entered a motel room. We have all exits covered. She was conscious, but her arms and legs are bound. Do you want us to go in?”

  “How many men do you have?” Damon asked.

  “Just myself and my deputy.”

  “We’ll be there in ten or less. Wait until we get there. This guy will be armed and is very dangerous.”

  “Copy that. Out.”

  Trent sat forward, feeling antsy now that they were closer to Sabrina. He wanted to be able to hold her in his arms again and tell her how much he loved her. When they saved her he was going to ask her to marry him. He didn’t care if Trick and Tristan were ready to pop the question or not. He was going to take the initiative and wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

  * * * *

  Sabrina watched the asshole from her seat near the window. He was sitting on the bed and tapping away at his laptop. Whatever he was seeing or doing wasn’t making him happy. The more he read, the angrier he looked. She glanced about the room, looking for a weapon, but other than the bedside lamp, which was too far away, and the chair she was sitting on, she couldn’t see anything else. Maybe if she could get him to let her go to the bathroom she would be able to find something in there. Anything was worth a try. She stomped her foot on the floor to get his attention, then pointed to the bathroom and the tape on her mouth. He put the laptop aside, walked over to her, plucked at the edge of the tape on her mouth, and stared coldly into her eyes as he ripped it off.

  Sabrina sucked in a breath when it felt like a layer of her skin had been peeled away from her lips and around her mouth. She glared at the prick and tried to breathe through the burning pain. When she was able to, she said, “I need the bathroom.”

  He stepped back and moved aside before nodding his head.

  “Can you get this tape off? It would make things a little easier.”

  He studied her for a moment, his hand going into his pocket before producing a flick knife. After cutting away the tape around her ankles and pulling it off she held her wrists out to him.

  “No.”

  Shit! She’d hoped he would have a little compassion and free her hands, too, but it seemed not. At least her legs were free.

  She hurried over to the bathroom, shut and locked the door, and used the facilities, before washing her hands. The only items in the bathroom were an electric hair dryer and some complimentary soap, shampoo, and conditioner. The window was too high up and too small for her to even try and attempt an escape through it. There was nothing in here that she could use as a weapon.

  A fist thumped on the door. “Come out now or I’ll break the door down.”

  Sabrina took a deep fortifying breath, unlocked and opened the door. He grabbed her arm and tugged her back over to the chair. This time, when he got the tape out, he secured her legs to the legs of the chair and once more covered her mouth.

  She hoped that her men were looking for her and found her before the prick did something bad. He’d closed his laptop, and now he was staring at her like she was a piece of meat. Her heart skittered, and her skin crawled. This was definitely not good.

  She lowered her eyelashes but kept watching him from beneath. She was too scared to take them off of him.

  She eyed the bottle of beer he was drinking and hoped he kept right on drinking until he’d emptied the contents of the small fridge, but she knew that was wishful thinking.

  All of a sudden, he placed the now-empty beer bottle on the bedside table, stood up, and stalked toward her. She shrunk back in the chair when he gave her a feral grin that didn’t reach his eyes.

  He pulled his knife out, squatted down, and slid it through the tape binding her legs to the chair. He gripped her upper arm hard, tugged her to her feet, and hauled her up. She tried to yank her arm out of his hold, but his hand was too big and too strong and he tightened his clasp. She whimpered in pain, but again the sound was muffled.

  And then she was being dragged toward the bed.

  * * * *

  Trick knew as soon as Luke flicked the switch to his emergency lights off that they were getting close to their destination. “How long?” he asked.

  “We should be meeting up with the deputy any second,” Luke answered.

  Trick saw a uniformed man step out into the road and hold up his hand. Luke slowed the car, pulled over, and they all got out. He glanced around and saw the lit sign for the motel about a hundred yards away.

  “No one has come or gone from the room he’s holed up in. Sheriff Snow says the only weapon he’s seen on our perp was a knife.”

  “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have more,” Damon said. “This guy has been charged with assault, armed robbery, and a lot of other shit. He’ll be armed and dangerous.”

  “So are we,” the deputy replied.

  “Let’s go,” Luke interrupted. “We have a hostage to save.”

  They moved quietly, staying to the shadows and out of sight of the window the deputy pointed out. Luke called Trick and his brothers over. “I want you three staying out of the way,” he whispered. “None of you are armed and I don’t want any of you getting killed.”

  Trick nodded but stared determinedly at Luke before saying, “We’ll stay back unless we think you or Sabrina need our help. Have you got a rifle?”

  “I don’t want—” Luke started to say before Tristan cut him off.

  “We’re all crack shots. We used to go hunting with our dad when we were younger. One or all of us can back you up.”

  “We’ve only got two,” Damon said before heading back to the car. When he came back, he had two long-range rifles with scopes and handed them over.

  Tristan took one, and Trent took the other.

  “Go to the far side of the parking lot and keep watch on the window and door,” Luke ordered.

  Damon reached behind him and pulled out a Glock. “Do you know how to use this?” he asked Trick.

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” Damon handed him the gun before he and Luke moved in.

  * * * *

  Sabrina trembled when the bald guy shoved her onto the bed. When he followed her down, she swore
her heart stopped. He grabbed her bound wrists and shoved them up above her head before he shifted and covered her body with his. Bile rose in her throat, and she turned her head to the side. She gagged when he licked her neck and screamed when he bit into her flesh. He lifted his head and chuckled, but he hadn’t lifted it high.

  She didn’t think. She reacted. She slammed her head forward into his face. Pain blasted through her forehead and into her brain, but she was pleased when he roared. A large hand wrapped around her throat and squeezed. She wriggled and bucked, trying to get him off of her, but it only helped him get her sleep shirt up over her hips until it was above her breasts. Tears leaked from her eyes when he ripped her panties off and then he covered her with his hard, brutal hand, his nails scratching her skin as he moved.

  She twisted and turned, not willing to give in and let him rape her. She screamed when he bit down on her nipple. He was going to rape her, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. He was too big and strong.

  He shifted, pressing her legs further apart with his knees, and then she felt him fumbling with his jeans. Sabrina pulled inside herself and thought about her men. How it felt to be touched and loved by them, escaping from the reality of her situation.

  * * * *

  Trick wasn’t about to stay back like Luke had ordered. Sabrina had been taken on their watch, and he was going to help get her back. He glared determinedly at Luke and was pleased when his friend didn’t demand him to stay back.

  They heard a man yell and a muffled scream. “Now,” Luke ordered.

  He moved up to the motel-room door and kicked it in, diving and rolling through the door. Damon dived and rolled to the other side, and Trick peeked around the edge of the door as Sheriff Snow stood just inside with a gun aimed at the bastard on top of Sabrina.