This Savage Love: A Bad Boy Romance Boxed Set

by Kathryn Thomas

  “I tell you what. I’m going to give you one more chance to cooperate,” Damien said in a voice that was all too sugary. He reached down and stroked himself, and Krishna had to put all her willpower into not gagging. “If you’re a good girl, we can make this really easy, and it’ll be over before you know it, okay? Now, why don’t you give us a nice, big kiss so I can get rock hard for you?”

  That was the last thing she wanted to do, but she saw an opportunity. With a short nod, she leaned her head forward. She’d really have to work at this; Bones was tall, and she wasn’t even close to his height. But his grip loosened ever so slightly at her apparent cooperation, and it gave her the opening she needed.

  As Damien came in for the kiss, Krishna went slack for a single instant, and her knees bent as Bones tried to maintain his grip. She pushed her feet off the floor and reared her head back, and she felt her head pound into Bones’ chin. It was just enough for him to flinch and grunt, and he forgot to hold her as he grabbed at the painful blow.

  Before Damien could react, she threw a knee between his legs, and he sank to the floor, curling into a fetal position. But it didn’t do any good. Quarter grabbed her and lifted her in the air, her legs flailing as she tried to kick. “Quit it, bitch!” he screamed. “Eagle, get her legs!” He tossed her down on the table, and it knocked the wind out of her, bruised her spine.

  Her head cracked backward with the force, and she saw stars for a minute as Quarter pinned her wrists over her head. This was not the erotic sensation it had been with Alex, especially as Eagle grabbed one ankle and Bullet grabbed the other, stretching her legs wide apart.

  “Who’s first?” Eagle called out with amusement in his voice. “And make sure you punish her while you get your rocks off!”

  Feeling hopeless now, Krishna gave into the tears prickling at her eyes, letting them run down the sides of her face. She lay there, her body aching, and waited for the onslaught. Rape was a crime of violence. If it was violence that drove them, they would want a fight. Krishna wasn’t going to give them that satisfaction. They could use her body, but she would put her mind somewhere else, taking as much fun out of their assault as she could.

  And she would pray that someone would come in and stop them before her body was too abused to recover.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Pop came up to Alex just as Krishna headed inside, and he couldn’t escape the conversation to follow her. Presumably, she’d gone to lunch or seen Pop’s bike and gone in search of him for instructions. Brett was inside somewhere, and Alex could only hope the one ally he was counting on would keep an eye on her while he engaged with Pop.

  He had trouble focusing, but he managed to get through it, assessing the healing and finding no scabbing or bleeding ink. “It looks good,” he said. “I can start some shading this afternoon.”

  “I’m ready,” Pop told him with a grin. Alex still loved the man’s excitement about new tattoos. He had dozens, so many that he’d lost count around fifty, or so he said. It was contagious, and Alex couldn’t help but smile back. “I need to take care of some business, but I’ll try to get back to you around two, if that’s good.”

  “Two is fine.” He was trying to gently dismiss Pop so he could check on Krishna without offending him or raising questions, and Pop took it well. He must have had pressing issues to take care of to wander off so fast. But that didn’t concern Alex, who tucked away the tattoo gun he’d been cleaning and locked the draw. He loved his brothers, but he didn’t trust newbies. They tended to get desperate for money or just fall into old habits, stealing random shit. He couldn’t afford to lose his tools; they were his livelihood.

  Trying not to seem anxious, he turned toward the warehouse to search for Krishna, but Brett came out the door with an expression that made Alex’s blood run cold. The boy was headed straight for him, and he wasn’t moving slow. “Something’s going on, man,” he said, his voice full of concern.

  “What?” Alex asked sharply, already moving toward the door.

  “I don’t know. I can’t see. But I know Kris was headed toward the break room, and now, the door is blocked. I can’t get anywhere near it, and the room is packed. I heard laughing, but that’s about it.”

  “Fuck!” Alex broke into a sprint, having a pretty good idea of what was going on and a very sick feeling about it. He rushed through the gathering room and toward the hallway leading to the break room, surprised that Brett was right behind him. He didn’t want the kid getting in trouble, but it was nice to at least have someone at his back for the moment.

  The uproar was almost deafening as he got closer, and when Bolt grabbed his arm and tried to hold him back, Alex swung a right hook hard enough to bust the guy’s nose wide open. He plowed through three more guys who were obviously there specifically to keep him out, his rage giving him an adrenaline rush that increased his strength and determination ten fold.

  He shoved the guys blocking the doorway aside, and when Carl tried to engage him, Alex promptly head butted him, knocking him out. The other two backed off, and he rushed forward, freezing at the sight in front of him.

  Krishna lay so still on the table he couldn’t even tell if she was still breathing at first. But she must have been because they were still taunting her, and Damien looked like he was going to strangle her bent over and holding his groin. Good, she’d gotten a shot in.

  But he was more concerned with Bolt, who was in the middle of unbuckling his belt. Not even caring who tried to stop him, he launched onto the man’s back and started pummeling his head with heavy fists. Bolt gave a savage cry and reared back against the fridge, smashing Alex into it, but he kept punching, his hands moving too fast for Bolt to stop him, no matter how much he flailed and tried to grab. He fell to his knees and curled into himself, his arms over his head for protection, and Alex finally climbed off him, gazing murderously around the room at several of his brothers who stared at him with menacing threat.

  “What the fuck is going on in here?” he demanded, his hands clenching and releasing over and over as his fury escalated. He could see that Krishna was bleeding now, and that fueled his rage. He had a pretty good feeling who had struck her, and he glared at Damien with hatred. “Let her go, now!”

  “She attacked me! Twice!” Damien howled.

  “Are you such a pussy you can’t handle yourself?” Alex threw back. “She’s a woman, and you outweigh her by at least a hundred pounds, you stupid son of a bitch! You obviously smacked her, and even that’s unacceptable. This!” He gestured wildly around the room. “This is not who the Ashes are! I don’t care what you think of women. We don’t gang up on them, and we sure as hell don’t rape them.” He turned to Quarter. “What in the name of god do you think you’re doing? Let. Her. Go. That’s an order.”

  Slowly, he backed away, nodding to the two men at her feet, who also stepped away. Instantly, Alex was at Krishna’s side, grabbing her and pulling her off the table. He looked at her face and wanted to kill every bastard in the room. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asked, carefully tracing the cut on her lip with the pad of his thumb.

  She shrugged, and Alex knew she was putting on a brave face. “Maybe a couple of bruises, but it’s all superficial. Just get me out of here.”

  Alex nodded, but he didn’t leave the room right away. He pointed a finger at Damien, knowing he was the ringleader here. And he’d find out exactly what happened, no matter how hard he had to work to extract the story from Krishna. “You’ll pay for this little stunt, you son of a bitch. And when you pay, it’ll be punishment like the deed was actually done.”

  He threw up his arms and smiled. “Come on, Alex, we weren’t gonna do anything. We just wanted to scare her a little, put her in her place.”

  “Bullshit!” he spat. “Then explain the hard-on in Bolt’s pants before I beat the fuck out of his head! You had every intention of assaulting her, multiple times. That’s gang rape, Damien, and I don’t care if it puts me back behind bars. I would hav
e called that shit into the cops in a heartbeat!”

  Now, he looked around the room with a warning. “No one touches her, ever again. Got that? She’s mine! And if I catch any of you looking at her too long, I swear I’ll put your eyes out. You touch her, and I cut off every finger one by one. You say something racist or degrading in any way, and I’ll have your tongue and every single one of your teeth. You will be nothing but respectful to her, no matter what. Am I clear?”

  He met every pair of eyes in the room, and no matter how much derision or hate seared him, no one argued.

  “I’m serious,” he said in a low tone, directing his words to the crowd but boring holes in Damien. “And in the future, if you want your bikes worked on, I suggest you pay a hefty tip. Krishna’s not the vindictive type, but I doubt she wants to deal with any of you. So, you’ll pay an extra fee for restitution, since she’ll be gracious enough to tolerate your pathetic asses. Now, get the fuck out of here before I lose my temper again. Because I won’t go down until every one of you is in absolute agony.”

  He pulled Krishna into his chest, holding her tight as she shook in his arms. She didn’t cry or wail or sob. She just shivered, and when the room finally cleared, he walked her slowly to one of the empty offices where they could talk and he could assess the damage more carefully.

  “Where else are you hurt?” he asked softly.

  She looked down at herself and couldn’t seem to find the answer for a moment. “Um, my back. It’s bruised and sore. And my arms. They kind of manhandled me. But no blood anywhere else. No one hit me or kicked me, except Damien, and you can see all that damage.”

  She blushed, and Alex wished he could erase all of this for her. “Krishna, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” He stroked her cheek, and she winced. He cursed softly, knowing it was going to bruise badly. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’m sorry I wasn’t there faster, that I couldn’t stop it before they really got started.”

  “It’s not your fault,” she said, her voice weak and thick from unshed tears and fear. “I did what you said, at first. I stayed humble and cooperated, but then Damien…” She trailed off and shook her head. Alex didn’t press her; she was still shivering almost convulsively, and there was time to talk about it later, when she’d calmed down a little and could think rationally.

  For now, he needed to stop the shaking, and he wanted to take her home. “Come on, we’re going to find a blanket for you somewhere, and I’m driving you home.”

  “I have work to do, and so do you,” Krishna argued, her teeth now chattering. “And what about your bike?”

  “It can stay here. If anyone touches it, they’re no better than road kill. And the work can wait. You’re injured and traumatized, and I’m so mad I’d just dig that needle in one spot until my client bled out. And since Pop’s next up in my chair, that’s not a great idea.”

  She started to protest, but Alex swept her into his arms and carried her toward Pop’s office. He didn’t knock. He just kicked the door open and walked in, glaring at Damien, who was already in there, obviously throwing a fit.

  “Get out, Damien,” Alex said through clenched teeth.

  Damien gave him a look of superiority. “I was here first, Alex. You and the chick can wait.”

  “Get out!” He screamed loud enough to shake the frames on the walls, and Damien jumped. “I got urgent business with Pop, and your sniveling ass can wait.”

  With a petulant look, Damien stomped out of the office, or at least, attempted to. He was limping, and Alex hoped like hell that was Krishna’s handiwork.

  Alone with Pop, Alex kicked the door closed again and settled Krishna gently in the overstuffed chair before whirling on Pop. “Did you know about this?” he demanded, but Pop looked confused. “Come on, Pop! Look at her!”

  The old man folded his hands in front of him. “All I know is that Damien came to me and said she tried to seduce him, and when he decided to take her up on the offer, she attacked him.”

  “That’s a crock of shit, and you know it. Look at her, Pop. She’s the one who got attacked, and it was a lot more than a little getting slapped around. I came in and found her held down on the lunch table by three men, bleeding like this. And another one of my supposedly loyal, morally sound brothers was taking off his pants. There was a crowd watching and egging it on, too.”

  Pop sat silently, considering it, and before he could say anything, the door opened again, a wide-eyed Brett standing there and looking back and forth around the room. “I hope I’m not interrupting, Pop, but I just wanted to say that anyone who says Alex hurt them out of cold blood is lying. It was all in self-defense. Well, and in Kris’s defense.”

  Pop raised an eyebrow at him. “Were you in this crowd of onlookers then?”

  “No!” He shook his head adamantly. “But I…” He stopped and glanced sideways at Alex. “I heard some things about some of the brothers wanting to teach her a lesson. I respect Kris, so I was watching over her. She went into the break room, and I knew she was alone there, so I thought she’d be okay. But then I saw Damien with a strange look on his face, and he went in there, and then several others headed that way. By the time I realized something was going on, I couldn’t get through the crowd. I went looking for help, and Alex was the first guy I found.”

  “I overheard them plotting,” Alex piped in. “And I asked Brett to help me keep an eye on her. Don’t roast him, okay? He’s just a good guy who doesn’t want to see anyone hurt, especially a woman. He’s got the standards we’re all supposed to have.”

  Seemingly ignoring both of them, Pop turned to address Krishna, who was ringing her hands to try to make them stop shaking. And she stared hard at them, refusing to make eye contact, even with Alex. “Krishna, did you attack Damien?”

  She shook her head and spoke in the smallest voice Alex had ever heard come out of those beautiful lips. “I didn’t do anything until he forcefully touched him in an inappropriate way. When he did that, I kicked him in the knee, and another man grabbed me and held me so Damien could further assault me.” She hiccupped and took a deep breath. “I just wanted to get away, so I reared back and knocked my head into the guy’s chin so I could break loose, and I kneed Damien in the groin. He smacked me several times for it, as you can see, but I only did what I did in self defense.”

  Pop raised an eyebrow at that. “And then they held you down on the table?”

  Krishna just nodded, and Alex grew livid all over again.

  He started to say something, but Pop held up a hand to stop him. “Take her home and clean her up. Damien said you claimed her. Is that true?”

  Alex nodded. “She’s mine, Pop. I know I haven’t been up front about it, but I didn’t want to give anyone more reason to hate her. And I wasn’t sure exactly how I felt about her yet. But I love Krishna, and I’m not going to stand by and let anyone treat her like garbage. She busts her ass to take care of our bikes. And I love her, Pop. I am loyal to the Ashes, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let them get away with acting like heathens and rapists.”

  “Fair enough.” Pop stood and came around the desk. “You’re fine, Brett. Thanks for telling me what you saw. Alex, like I said, take her home and take care of her. Both of you, stay out of here for a day or two. She needs to heal, and you need to let hard feelings blow over a little. I hear you did some real damage to a couple guys. I’ll call you, and we can talk later.”

  Alex wasn’t sure if this was a good or bad thing. Pop had a point about laying low for a few days. It was best for everyone. But it also meant that everyone involved in this on the wrong side of good would be here with Pop’s ear while Alex and Krishna were practically outcasts who had no chance to weigh in. Of course, there was always the chance that Pop had been waiting for this opportunity and would use it to get rid of Krishna. And maybe Alex, too.

  But as he looked down at Krishna, Alex didn’t care about anything except taking care of her. He reached down to pick her up again, but she waved him off, j
ust reaching her hand out for him to help her to her feet. Again, he realized she was trying to be brave. And he would do everything he could to help her achieve it. He wanted her to walk out of this joint today with her head held high and her stride confident.

  He whispered as much to her as they walked out of Pop’s office, and she gave him a hint of a smile, despite her shaking body. She took a deep breath and struck the pose, and Alex escorted her out to her car, opened the passenger door, and helped her sit down before hurrying around to the other side to drive her home.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  No matter how much she needed the money, Krishna couldn’t reconcile going back to the Ashes. She’d started having nightmares, very realistic ones in which Alex didn’t make it in time to stop the assault, and Damien’s face loomed over her like some evil clown in a fun house. She was so neurotic and jumpy that, if Alex left the room for more than a couple minutes, she started to worry and went in search of him. Which was ridiculous, since neither of their apartments was bigger than a postage stamp.