by Khloe Wren
Reaching the top of the stairs, I headed toward the front door. I got to Keys just as he got the collar off the girl’s neck. With wide eyes she gripped her throat, as though she couldn’t quite believe he’d done it.
“You find the other girl yet? The one that used to own this place?”
Bess was silent, but I knew she’d want to know.
“Yeah, they’ve got her out in the yard. She was in a room upstairs with his two men. Fucking bastards. She’s been drugged up on some fucking thing. House of fucking horrors is what we’ve stepped into here.”
He could say that again.
“It wasn’t Bess he was working over. He was making her watch while he did it to a fucking boy first. Kid’s gotta still be in his damn teens.”
The newly freed girl reached out and grabbed my arm. “A boy was down there?”
The mouse had some backbone left after all. “Yeah, you know who it is?”
She shook her head as tears filled her eyes. “I hope not.”
With that, she fled down the hallway, Arrow hot on her heels. Keys came and stood next to me pulling Bess’ arms to him one at a time to look at her wrists.
“How bad is it down there?”
“The teen looks like he’s been beaten, there’s blood everywhere and that monster was violating him, making Bess watch.”
My grip tightened on Bess as she continued to quietly sob into my neck.
“Get her out to Donna, I’ll go see how—”
A high pitched scream filled the air. The chilling tone to it had instant silence descending over the house. Then a pounding on the stairs from the upper level of the house had several Charons with guns aiming them on the hallway until Arrow appeared at the basement door holding the now thrashing girl.
“It’s her fucking brother down there.”
She was trying to claw at Arrow, to get away, back to her brother.
I cursed. “We didn’t bring enough vans.”
Keys gripped my shoulder for a moment. “We’ll make it work. Go see Donna, let her wrap Bess’ wrists, then go sit in the front of one of the vans with her.”
I was more than ready to get the fuck out of this place, so strode out the open front door and toward Donna, who stood looking pale outside the rear of the van.
“Who the fuck was that screaming?”
“Don’t know her name, Arrow’s got her. She’s not physically injured. Need you quickly wrap Bess’ wrists. The young man you got coming is gonna need all your attention.”
I sat on the edge of the rear of the van and turned Bess in my lap to face forward.
“Hey, baby, we’re good. This is Donna, she’s a nurse and she’s Keys’ old lady, his wife. She’s gonna wrap your wrists real quick, ‘k? Then we’re gonna get outta her way so she can see what she can do for that teen.”
She lifted tear-stained eyes up to mine.
“He’s gay. That boy. His cousin handed him over to Godfrey to be cured. How can—” she hiccupped on another sob but held her wrists out and Donna silently cleaned and wrapped them.
“Bess, I promise I’ll be gentle with him. I have drugs that will knock him out and I’ll do everything I can. I promise. Not everyone in the world is evil.”
I lifted her into my arms as I stood and moved quickly when I saw Scout exit the door. In his arms was a fucking mess. They’d whipped his front raw. It was amazing he was conscious. The look on Scout’s face was thunderous and about how I felt. In silence, he strode across the yard, everyone stopping to watch the horror. The other girl, Maribelle, fell to her knees sobbing. Guess the drugs were wearing off, or maybe Donna had given her something to combat the drugs in her system. Arrow followed Scout, and was holding the boy’s sister. She was still struggling to break free even as Arrow was taking her where she clearly wanted to go.
With a palm on the back of Bess’ head, I made sure she was facing away from the carnage. She’d seen enough.
Scout lay the boy out on the gurney, whispering something in his ear before gently brushing the hair from his face.
“Knock him out, Donna. He’s suffered enough.”
His voice was gruffer than I’d ever heard it, and I swear I saw a sheen of tears in his eyes as he passed me. I turned to see where he was heading and that’s when I saw that Tiny had dragged the piece of shit Godfrey outside. He was conscious but looked like he’d been given a hit or two. Two other men were also bound and laying on the ground. Fucking bastards were naked and shaking as they cried. Clearly, the Charons who’d found them had taken the time to dress Mirabelle, but hadn’t given a fuck that the men were buck-ass naked. Fair enough. Those two assholes had drugged and raped a young woman, they deserved no mercy.
Scout walked straight up to the first one and delivered a hard kick to his ribs, before moving to do the same to the second one.
“Stupid motherfucking pieces of shit. Hurt a defenseless boy that way, then move on to drug and rape an innocent woman.” He marched right up to Godfrey and got up in his face. “You fucked with the wrong people. You fucked with someone under my protection. The Charon MC takes care of our own. You’re about to get a nice, long taste of Charon justice before we send you to the depths of hell, where you fucking belong.”
Then he pulled back his fist and cracked him so hard he was out like a light.
“Load up the shit in the other van. We need to get rolling outta here before we’re dealing with the boys in blue.”
He circled a finger in the air and everyone ran. A glance at the ambulance and I saw the boy was sleeping peacefully while Donna worked on him. His sister had kneeled near the top of the gurney and had her cheek against his. Arrow was watching from the open doors until Keys moved to shut them, sealing in the wounded with his old lady. I rushed to the front of the ambulance, managing to get in, while keeping Bess against me.
I pressed a kiss to her head as Keys got in and fired up the engine.
“What a fucking night.”
“Tell me about it. Never expected to find what we did. Fuck.”
No one could have seen that shit coming. I thought I’d seen evil with the shit the Knights had been dealing with up in New York lately, but tonight definitely took the top spot on my list of fucked up shit I’d seen.
Elizabeth
It seemed like it had been hours since the Charons had stormed to my rescue, but I doubt it had truly been that long. Once arriving back at the clubhouse in Bridgewater, I’d tried to slip off Ryan’s lap, but he’d just growled and tightened his grip before jumping out of the vehicle. Then a man got out of the other van with Mirabelle in his arms and came to take our spot in the front of the ambulance before it took off again.
“Where are they going?”
A man I hadn’t met yet came up beside us and spoke with a strong Australian accent. “They’ll head up to the hospital. All three of them are gonna need some serious medical care. That fucker did a number on them all in different ways.”
Ryan shook his head. “Not sure the hospital is going to be able to handle all their needs with the brainwashing bullshit he’s pulled on them, Taz.”
“We’ll make sure they get the help they need. I’ve called Flick, she’ll get onto the FBI and let ‘em know.”
I spoke up, “I didn’t know MCs worked with law enforcement.”
Taz’s lips kicked up for a moment. “That’s a long story for another day, luv. But we have some contacts we use only when absolutely necessary. Godfrey’s mess is too big for us to clean up by ourselves.”
The click of the other van’s rear door opening had Taz marching off.
“Let’s head inside.”
Not like I had a choice, since Ryan still hadn’t put me down.
Once through the main door, I peeked over his shoulder to see a large room filling with men and a few women. Ryan took me over to a bar and set me on a stool before standing behind me with an arm wrapped around my waist.
“Want a drink before we head upstairs?”
“Ah, sure.
I guess. Whiskey?”
Within seconds I had a glass in front of me and I didn’t hesitate to toss it back in one hit. It tore through me like a fire and my eyes watered as I coughed, but at least I was focusing on something other than all the shit I’d seen tonight.
“Ryan?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Not feeling real social right now.”
He chuckled for a second before he scooped me back up against his chest.
“Suits me just fine to have you all to myself. I swear, you knocked ten years off my life when Scout told me you’d been snatched. Then another ten when I cracked the door open and heard you screamin’. Fuck.”
He’d marched up a set of stairs as he’d spoken and when he stopped at a door, he shifted his grip so he could get a key out of his pocket.
“You do realize I can stand and walk and stuff, right?”
He unlocked and opened the door, kicking it shut behind us once we were in.
“You have no shoes. And after tonight, it’s gonna be a while before I’m gonna be able to let you outta my sight.”
All those reasons I had about why I shouldn’t be with a man melted like snow in a desert. Ryan held my heart. Always had. First it had been a friendship type of love, but now it was developing into something different. Stronger. It was something I really didn’t want to fight tonight. He lowered my feet to the floor then took my face in his palms and laid his lips over mine. The kiss started out gentle, a barely-there caress, then it turned into something more. I reached up and slipped my hands under his vest, taking handfuls of his shirt as I opened my mouth and slipped my tongue out to touch his. He groaned and deepened the kiss. By the time we broke apart, we were both panting.
With his eyes closed and his forehead against mine he tried to speak, cleared his throat, then pushed out his words in a rough whisper that sent a shiver down my spine.
“Bess, baby, we have a lot to talk about. I know we do, but I can’t do it tonight. I thought I’d lost you when I heard he’d taken you. Fuck, you’re mine, dammit.” He paused and released a heavy sigh. “If you want, you can sleep alone, but if you do, I’ll probably end up in the chair watching you all night. I just...” he trailed off and sighed again, stroking his callused thumbs over my cheeks. “I need to hold you. Can you let me do that? Not be an ice princess on my ass in the morning?”
Tears stung my eyes at his words. Guess he really did care. Not that I doubted it after the way he came storming into that basement. But it was nice to hear him say it, even if he did finish off with an asshole comment. I reached up and gave his beard a hard tug, waiting for him to open his eyes and look at me.
“You being an asshole brings out my ice princess, Ryan. Keep that shit under control and we’ll be fine. And I don’t want to be alone tonight either.” I squeezed my eyes shut as I shuddered at how tonight could have ended if Ryan and the Charons hadn’t come rushing to my rescue. I’d be seeing that poor teen in my nightmares for years, I was sure.
“Look at me, Bess.” I forced my eyes open and stared into his dark gaze. “You’re safe. He won’t get near you again. Or anyone else.”
“What will happen to him?”
I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth, even before Ryan shook his head.
“Club business now, babe. Nothing you need to worry about, but you can rest easy that he’ll never hurt another innocent again.”
I closed my eyes again for a few moments as I took a deep breath before looking back to Ryan. “I don’t want to think anymore tonight.”
With a nod, he started shrugging out of his vest. Once that was neatly resting on a chair, he started on my clothes, gently stripping me down to my skin. He didn’t leave my panties on this time. Nope, he didn’t stop until I was completely bare. Then he stripped himself, never taking his gaze from mine, like he was worried I’d vanish or something if he did risk looking away.
Seeing this side of him was smashing away the last of my resistance. And maybe because he already had a daughter it could work between us. He already had the one thing I couldn’t give him. My thoughts drifted away as he took my hand and pulled me over to the bed, then I was wrapped in his arms, pressed flush up against his warm, muscular body as I rested my head on his chest with a sigh.
“Go to sleep, Bess. I’ve got you covered.”
“Uh huh.”
I was so tired after everything that happened, I was out within moments, feeling completely safe and secure in Ryan’s arms.
Chapter 8
Needles
It had been a long damn time since I’d woken up with a woman in my bed, and I’d certainly never been this happy about it. Looking over at Bess beside me, buck-ass naked and still peacefully sleeping, I couldn’t help but grin. Last night had been scary as fuck, but it had ended with her in my bed so I wasn’t complaining. Much.
I knew keeping Bess here with me was going to be a battle, but it was one I was adamant I’d win. She was keeping something from me, something that had happened while she’d been down in Miami. After everything she’d gone through last night, she’d let her guard down and gone soft for me. But I knew that when she woke up in a few minutes that she’d have all her walls back up and would try to distance herself from me again.
The more I thought about how our one night together last month had ended, the more it made sense. She was hiding something that she didn’t want me to know about. She’d booted my ass out that door because she’d been scared, not because I’d been an asshole. Although, that probably hadn’t helped. But I’d been an asshole to her earlier at the bar and she’d still invited me back to her place, so she couldn’t hate that side of me as much as she kept telling me she did.
Since I hadn’t closed the blinds last night, there was a wide shaft of sunlight across Bess’ body. I slowly tugged the sheet away from her, enjoying the chance to look my fill before she woke and tried to hide herself from me. Every other time I’d had her naked it had been in dim lighting, I hadn’t had a chance to take her in fully. Once I got the covers down to her waist, I pushed myself up on an elbow so I could see more of her. She was asleep on her back, her face toward me. Her long hair curled around her shoulders and chest. She had small breasts that were perky and tipped with pink nipples that had tightened in the cool morning air. Fucking perfect.
Very lightly, I trailed my fingertip down the center of her chest, between her boobs and down to circle her belly button. I was heading further south, intending on waking her up by playing with her, when my gaze caught on a silvery line. A scar. And not a small one. I lifted up further to get my face closer, shoving the covers down as I did, so I could get a good look. It was over an inch long and at such an angle that I doubted it was a surgical one. Because I’d been lost in thought as I’d run my fingertip back and forth over it, I’d missed when she’d started to wake up. Her hand quickly slid under my finger, covering the scar and preventing me from touching it as she rolled toward me.
“Morning.”
I leaned in and kissed her tempting mouth. “Morning, babe. Wanna tell me the story behind that scar of yours?”
Her face closed off like I’d flipped a switch within her. I leaned in and gave her another kiss, one she didn’t return.
“Whatever it is, it won’t change how I see you, or how I feel about you. I’m only asking because I want to know everything about you and it’s obvious you went through some serious shit in the nineteen years we’ve been apart.”
“Does that work both ways? You’ve barely mentioned your daughter’s mother.”
I shrugged a shoulder before tangling my fingers with hers, not willing to risk her getting up and fleeing.
“You only asked about her once, and I told you she ran off after Ashlynn was born. You wanna know more about my ex?”
When I’d been in town last month with Ashlynn, Bess seemed to avoid being around Ashlynn or any of the other kids. She was perfectly nice to Ashlynn when she came and got us from the airport and the other
times we were forced to be together, but outside of that, she stayed away. Despite knowing her childhood dream had included having three kids and a golden retriever, I’d wondered if that had changed along the way to her not wanting any kids. But now that I’d seen that scar, my brain was coming up with all sorts of options. If there was a chance that my sharing the shit that happened between me and Tori would get Bess to open up about her past, I was willing to try it.
“Not much to tell. I fell in with Tori soon after I landed in Albany, New York. When I started tattooing, she was my muse and willing canvas. Until she wasn’t. Next thing I knew, she was dropping off our newborn baby at the clubhouse like she was nothing more than a doll she’d grown tired of. Never heard from her again. I did try to find her after she took off. Spent a long fucking time trying to track her ass down for Ashlynn’s sake, but never did find any trace of her.”
“Did you love her?”
I shook my head. “Nope, and she knew it. Didn’t think I was even fucking capable of love before I held Ashlynn for the first time.”
“So, it’s always been just you and Ashlynn, then?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Never been alone. I’d always had the Knights at my back, and now I’ll have the Charons. Ashlynn has already teamed up with Ariel, Scout’s daughter, who’s the same age. Although, I think we may regret that since I’m pretty sure they’re already planning on how to get Scout and me to buy them a fucking pony each.”
I grinned at her when I got a small smile out of her with that one.
“I didn’t realize she was here...”
She trailed off, waiting for me to fill in the blank. “After you first rang, I left her with a club brother and his old lady while I came down to see what was going on. Got the idea pretty fucking fast that it wasn’t gonna be a quick fix. Scout suggested I go get her and bring her down. I flew up Tuesday morning, and back down with her that afternoon. She’s been going to school with Ariel during the days, and I’ve been with her when I’m not with you. Last night she had a sleepover at Scout and Marie’s, which is why she’s not here now.”
