Deliverance [Slick Rock 17] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  “I can’t explain to you why, but I need to leave. Now!”

  Jaylynn nodded and though Violet could tell she wasn’t happy about the situation, she was relieved she wasn’t kicking up a fuss. She quickly showed her where everything was and then pulled her into a hug.

  “Thank you. I’ll make this up to you. I promise.” Violet released Jaylynn and ran toward her office. There was no way she was wasting precious time. She tugged the desk drawer open and was about to grab her purse, but quickly slammed it shut again. It had been an automatic response to going somewhere, but she didn’t have a need to take it with her.

  Violet ran out of the office toward the back door and exited. As she ran to the east side of Slick Rock, she prayed whoever had Cindy would release her as soon as she showed up. Her lungs were burning, but it wasn’t just because she was running. It was because she was scared shitless.

  It took her ten minutes to get where she needed to be, but it felt much longer. She stopped and stared at the dark, abandoned warehouse while she tried to regain her breath and gnawed on her lower lip as she tried to decide what to do. Her cell was in her pocket, but she had a feeling she would be searched as soon as she stepped inside. Maybe now was the time she should forward that text to Wilder. If she did, he, Cree, and Nash might be able to pinpoint her using her phone’s GPS.

  After tugging the phone from her pocket, she activated the screen and brought up the nefarious message she’d received about Cindy and then she forwarded it to Wilder. She fumbled and nearly dropped it when she was trying to put her phone on silent, but caught it just in time.

  Violet thought about putting the cell down her jeans or tucking it into her bra, but she was so scared it would be found she decided to hide it behind the stack of bricks just beside the side door. Hopefully, her guys wouldn’t take too long to find her.

  Tears burned her eyes, her heart slammed painfully against her ribs, and she was having trouble breathing, but she shoved her terror down after taking a few deep breaths then holding them, before releasing them slowly. She had to do this for Cindy’s sake.

  She took a step toward the ajar tin door and was just about to reach out to open it further, when a large hand wrapped around her wrist. Violet screamed as she dropped her phone to the side, trying to cover up what she was doing and prayed that she hadn’t done permanent damage as it hit the ground. If her cell was smashed, she was screwed.

  She moaned with pain as the side of her head hit the edge of the door as she saw stars, and then she was being dragged into the building. Violet tried to breathe and blink away the wooziness in her head as she stumbled behind whoever was dragging her. Even though she dug her heels in and tried to slow the asshole down, it didn’t seem to affect him.

  Finally, her vision cleared and she glanced around the interior. It was big and dark, and although there were no lights on, there were skylights which let in enough moonlight for her to see some.

  Her breath sobbed out of her mouth when she saw Cindy tied to a chair with silver tape across her mouth. The right side of her face was bruised and swollen and her head was hanging down.

  “Cindy,” Violet called as she tried to escape the guys clutches yet again, but he just laughed and tightened his hold on her wrist until she felt the bones move. She gasped with pain and hoped he didn’t end up breaking her wrist.

  Cindy lifted her head and gazed at her through her left eye. The right was too swollen to open. When the young girl started crying and shaking her head, Violet’s fear turned to rage. She tried to get her balance so she could fight and get away from the asshole, but she almost ended up tripping and falling to her knees when he yanked on her arm.

  And then he stopped—right under one of the plastic skylights in the metal roof—and he turned to face her.

  The anger waned and terror took its place. Violet began to quake with fear as she stared into the familiar face she’d hoped never to see again.

  * * * *

  Wilder cursed after looking into all the windows of the dark house. He’d known there was no one home as soon as he pulled up outside of Cindy’s house, but he’d had to check just to make sure. When he’d tried the handle to the back door, he’d cursed some more under his breath just in case there was someone hiding inside. The door was unlocked. He’d entered the house and searched room by room, but didn’t find anything.

  Wilder pulled his cell phone from his pocket and glanced at the paper that had Cindy’s personal information on it. When he saw the emergency name and contact, he started dialing. Thankfully, Wendy, Cindy’s mother, answered on the first ring.

  “Hello, Mrs. Dodge, this is Deputy Wilder Sheffield. I’m at your house looking for Cindy since she didn’t show up for her shift at the diner.”

  “What? Oh, my god.”

  “Do you have any idea where your daughter might be?”

  “No,” Mrs. Dodge sobbed. “Cindy’s a good girl. She never shirks her responsibilities. Something had to have happened.”

  “Can you give me the names of the people she hangs out with?” Wilder had trouble understanding the distraught woman when she answered.

  “Cindy isn’t like normal teenagers. She’s a good girl. She goes to school and always comes straight home. If she’s not working or studying, she’s in her room reading and babysitting her deaf sister. She’s never invited anyone home and only ever talks about the people she works with.”

  “Where are you, Mrs. Dodge?” Wilder asked.

  “I’m at work. I fill the shelves at the supermarket after it closes.”

  “Please, try and stay calm. I’m going to send one of the deputies to pick you up and take you back to the station. They’ll ask you some questions which may help us to locate your daughter.”

  “Please, find my baby,” Mrs. Dodge wailed.

  “I’ll do my best, ma’am.” Wilder hurried out the back door, making sure to lock it behind him, and once he was in his car, he informed dispatch what was going on. Just as he was about to start the ignition, his cell buzzed with an incoming text. He smiled when he saw Violet’s name, but when he read the message he roared with fury.

  Wilder hit the call button and waited impatiently for Violet to answer. It seemed to take forever for the phone to ring out before her voice mail message cut in. He didn’t bother trying to call again, but called the phone at the diner instead. Jaylynn answered sounding breathless and flustered.

  “Jaylynn, it’s Wilder. Can I talk to Violet?”

  “She’s not here.”

  When a loud roaring set up in his ears and fear skittered up his spine, he didn’t have to ask Jaylynn to repeat what she’d said after those first terrifying three words. Nor did he bother ending the call politely, he just hung up on her.

  He once more informed dispatch of the situation and then conferenced called his brothers. Wilder’s gut was churning and the hair on his nape was standing on end. His hand shook as he combed his fingers through his hair and explained to his brothers what was going on.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Cree roared.

  “Fuck!” Nash snarled.

  “I’m on my way,” his brothers said simultaneously.

  Wilder nodded as he pressed his foot down hard on the gas pedal after starting his patrol car. “Don’t turn your lights or sirens on. We don’t want to alert the bastard we’re coming.”

  “We know what to and what not to do, Wilder,” Cree snapped.

  Wilder knew Cree wasn’t really angry with him. His brothers were scared for their woman just as he was. “Nash, do you have any rappelling equipment in your truck?”

  “You should know the answer to that. I always carry that gear with me.”

  “Good. We’ll meet at the entrance end of the street and go in the rest of the way on foot. We don’t want to scare this fucker into running or worse.” Wilder took a deep breath and tried to calm his tumultuous emotions. He and his brothers were going to be the cold killing Marines they’d been trained to be. If they let their fear and
other emotions take over, they could end up making a mistake which could get Cindy and Violet killed.

  Cold hard determination filled his heart and soul. He and his brothers were going to save Cindy and Violet, even if they had to take a bullet to do it.

  * * * *

  Violet’s knees were shaking so badly she wasn’t sure how she was still standing. Her worst nightmare was standing right in front of her. As she looked into those evil emotionless eyes, she tried to think of what to do. It was hard to get her terror under control so she could process everything logically, but she needed to do it for Cindy. There was no way she was letting this fucker hurt another innocent girl.

  But as hard as she tried, nothing came to mind.

  And then everything changed. She saw Wilder’s, Cree’s, and Nash’s faces as they gazed at her with so much love in their eyes it made her own burn with tears. Violet had only just found the loves of her life, and she wasn’t about to let this bastard destroy everything.

  She glanced over at Cindy to see her sobbing quietly, and her psyche filled with resolve. Violet would give up her own life if it meant the young woman came out of this alive. She envisaged her men again, hoping that they felt her love and sorrow as she thought of them, and then she shoved her fear away. A calmness and confidence she’d never felt before settled over her, and she turned her gaze back to his.

  Virgil Kennedy was going down if it was the last thing she did.

  * * * *

  Wilder had arrived at their meeting site way before his brothers, since he’d already been in town, and he took the opportunity to reconnoiter around the empty warehouse. Other than the side door which had been locked from the inside, the only other entry point was the big sliding door at the front. There was no way he and his brothers could get in there without alerting the kidnapper. The only way he could see inside was through the roof. Thank fuck there was a fire escape leading to the roof; otherwise, they would have had to cut their way in. Again, the noise would have been a dead giveaway.

  He ran back toward the street entrance and was relieved to see his brothers pulling up behind his deputy vehicle. Nash and Cree hurried toward him.

  “What have you got?” Nash asked.

  Wilder beckoned his brothers to the vacant lot on the corner, grabbed his flashlight, turned it on, and then picked up a stick and drew a map in the dirt.

  “There are two exits,” Wilder explained. “A side door here which is locked from the inside and a large sliding loading door here. They’re both out. There must be a mezzanine level inside because there’s a fire escape here.”

  “How are we going to get in through the roof?” Cree asked. “None of us have a laser cutter, welder, or tin snips.”

  “There are polycarbonate skylights at intervals along the roof. That’s going to be the quickest and easiest way to get in.”

  “The fucker’s still going to hear us coming.” Nash scrubbed a hand over his face.

  “Yeah, but if we do it right, he’s not going to have much time to react.” Wilder glanced up the street when he heard a vehicles racing toward them. He wasn’t at all surprised to see Luke and Damon as well as some other deputies.

  “What’s the plan?” Luke asked as he came to stand beside Cree. Damon was right beside him. All the men gathered around.

  Wilder and his brothers moved back, allowing everyone to see his dirt drawing, and then went over everything again.

  Damon nodded. “We’ll cover all the exits. There’s no way this bastard is getting away.”

  “Thanks,” Wilder nodded at all the men. “Right now, I wish I was still in the Marines.”

  “What do you need?” Damon asked as he gave Luke a chagrinned glance. “I have a sniper’s rifle and some flashbangs in a lock box.”

  Wilder waited for Luke to curse up a storm, but what came out of the sheriff’s mouth surprised even him. “Get them. You go with Wilder, Cree, and Nash. As soon as they’re through the skylights get that fucker in your aim.”

  “Thank you.” Wilder was overwhelmed by their colleague’s support and willingness to do anything to save Violet and Cindy even though they’d been a part of the department for less than a week.

  “Let’s do this,” Nash said after grabbing the rappelling gear from his car.

  Wilder took point as they jogged down the street. He was in soldier mode, and he kept gazing every which way to make sure there was no one else about. He led Cree, Nash, and Damon to the ladder fire escape and climbed quickly, taking care not to make any noise. Once he was on the roof he waited for Cree, Nash, and Damon, pointing to where he wanted them to go in. He was dropping in first, then Cree and Nash if needed, and he was grateful that Damon would be able to cover them with sniper fire if necessary.

  After setting up the rappelling rope and taking one of the flashbang grenades Damon handed him, Wilder drew a deep breath and cleared his mind.

  It was time to save his woman and Cindy.

  * * * *

  Time seemed to slow and race at the same time. Violet glanced at the cruel hand around her wrist, and when she saw where his thumb and finger met, she twisted her arm until they were facing down and then shoved her arm down hard. Elation surged through her when she broke his hold, and she stepped into him instead of fleeing and lifted her knee.

  She missed. She had no idea how he’d known what she was going to do, but he’d shifted slightly to the side so that she’d connected with his thigh and not his groin. Violet was so shocked she didn’t see the fist coming toward her face until it was too late.

  Pain shot into her jaw, neck, and head, and while she tried to remain conscious, the beckoning darkness nearly won. Just as she was getting her awareness back she was shoved to the floor. She would have cried out in pain if she had been able to, but she’d landed on her back and all the air was shoved from her lungs.

  Violet was about to roll over and scramble up on all fours, but she didn’t get the chance, Virgil was on top of her before she could move. She hit out at him, hoping to hurt him and get him off of her, but he grabbed her wrists and slammed them to the cold concrete beside her head. She bucked and wriggled, kicking out blindly, but he was too strong. He’d given her all of his body weight, and since he was at least four or so inches taller than her and outweighed her by approximately a hundred pounds, she didn’t have a hope in hell.

  She tried getting her hands away when he grasped both her wrists in one hand, but he didn’t seem to notice her puny efforts. When cold enveloped first one wrist and then the other and she heard a click as handcuffs snapped into place, she screamed.

  His evil laughter had her swallowing down her revulsion as she stared up at him. He pressed down cruelly on her arms as he pushed up and then laughed even louder as he dropped down hard onto her stomach. Bile rushed up her throat and she turned her head to the side, not wanting to choke on her own vomit if she was sick.

  She whimpered when he grabbed the lapel of her blouse and tugged hard. Buttons flew off her shirt and the material parted, exposing her bra-covered breasts. Tears welled, and while she tried to blink them back, they spilled over, trickling over her temples and into her hair.

  She could hear Cindy’s muffled sobs and yells, but since her mouth was covered she couldn’t work out what she was trying to say. Violet cringed when Virgil licked his lips while staring at her breasts.

  “You didn’t think I’d let you get away with escaping, did you? You were supposed to be mine, slut. I’m going to have what I should have ten years ago.”

  Virgil reached toward his hip, and when she saw what he was holding, she began to shake. The metal blade glinted under the shine of the weak moonlight. When the knife came toward her, she closed her eyes and waited for the pain. She screamed when the cold metal slipped under her bra between her breasts and held her breath and tensed. A hard tug was all she felt, and when she looked down, her breasts were totally bare. He’d cut through her bra.

  Violet closed her eyes and turned her head away when he gr
abbed first one breast and then the other. This time she bit her tongue to keep her pain-filled cries contained. She wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was hurting her. It didn’t matter that she would be left with bruises. It didn’t matter what he did to her as long as she survived.

  She would take anything he did to her and she would fight to live so she could see Wilder’s, Cree’s, and Nash’s handsome faces once more.

  Virgil must have gotten distracted when he shifted down to sit on her thighs, because his grip on her wrists loosened. Violet kept her head turned away, but peeked at him from the corner of her eye as she lifted her lids slightly. Her stomach roiled again when she saw him licking his lips as he stared at her mound. He was gazing between her legs so avidly he seemed to be in a trance. The knife clattered to the floor as he reached toward the button on her slacks, and when she felt him tugging them open, she made her move.

  Violet didn’t stop to think; she just reacted. She brought her knees up, pressed her feet to the floor, and then shoved off of the concrete. Her knees slammed into his back and he started to fall forward, but he caught his weight on the hand he’d been using to get her trousers open.

  He roared with anger as he shifted his weight and then slammed his elbow into the side of her head. Agony ripped through her skull, and this time there was no way to fight the enveloping darkness. Just before she sank into unconsciousness, she felt his hands tearing at the rest of her clothes.

  * * * *

  Cree wanted to be the one to go in first, but didn’t object to Wilder taking point. His brother was faster than he was going down a rope, and there was no way he was arguing when Violet was in danger.

  He and Nash had gazed at the plastic skylight while Wilder was setting up and anchoring his rope. They’d both decided the best way in was to pry the plastic up from under the metal sheets. If they’d cut through it, whoever was holding Cindy and Violet would have definitely been alerted to their presence.