“Yes I will. You listen to me, Nathan. I’m your brother. I have taken care of you when everyone else wanted you behind bars or dead.”
“No. I’m in charge. She is mine. I won’t let you have her too then.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and huffed. She gasped for breath. He was sitting on her and so damn heavy she could feel her circulation stopping.
“Please.” She pleaded for him to get off of her.
He lifted up and got off the bed.
She released a breath and took unsteady ones, though the aches continued.
Kenneth stared at her. “I think she’s stubborn and needs a little tougher hand.” He looked on the table for something. He smiled when he got it. He lifted his hand, and she heard the click.
A knife. Oh God.
* * * *
They were all about to move up along the driveway when Damien shoved his hand up, indicating for them to stop. He pointed first to the right and then to the left, into the trees. Caleb spotted them first. Cameras and possible detectors for surveillance.
Elwood pointed with a gun. So did Damien to another and Toro to the third one. Simultaneously, they took out the three cameras with one shot each from their sniper guns with silencers on them. Then they moved on, and Caleb felt his heart racing. The house was in their sights. Lights were off. They were going in blind, not knowing where she could be in there, but the feds did have devices with thermo-imaging sensors. Three agents approached. They spoke into the wrist mics so Team Venom and the others could hear.
“We have three heat images, people in the lowest part of the house. Upstairs, both floors clear. There’s two openings giving access to the basement. One outside is blocked by a truck and a staircase. Too tight to go that way. You’re going to have to go through the front door then through to the right and down the stairs to the basement.” He was looking at the blueprints of the home.
“Ten-four. Let’s move, slow, quiet.” Niko gave the order in a whisper.
Caleb’s heart was pumping as they headed to the front door. The other team took the side door. They would meet together in the center, do a sweep of the house, and then descend the stairs with Damien, Toro, and Elwood in the lead.
The moment they hit the front steps, they knew they’d set off some kind of perimeter alarm. Lights came up all over the place, practically blinding them.
“Move in now!” Niko gave the order.
They slammed through the front door, moved swiftly toward the living room and then the door leading to the basement. The screams filled the air, and that was it as Damien, Elwood, and Toro headed first and Caleb, Jay Bird, Big Guns and the others followed.
The sight before him from the top of the stairs blew him away.
* * * *
“No. She’s mine to punish, not yours. I said I would share her but when I’m ready,” Nathan yelled, and Kenneth stared at him as though he wanted to kill him.
Sonya swallowed hard.
“He won’t wait. He wants me for himself,” she whispered, and Nathan never took his eyes off his brother.
“Shut up, you stupid bitch. He knows everything I do I do for him. I’ll get rid of you like the others.”
Nathan lunged toward Kenneth. “No!” he exclaimed and tackled him against the table, knocking everything to the floor.
“Nathan, stop. Stop. She’s trying to trick you. She’s doesn’t care about you.”
Nathan stopped, and Kenneth stood up straight. He held the knife in his hand and stared up at his much bigger, older brother. Sonya didn’t know what to do. They were both nuts, and no one was coming.
“No, she doesn’t lie. She’s my wife, not yours. You won’t kill her.”
“No, you’ll do it yourself. Look at her body. Look what you’ve done so far. Maybe she’s not right for us.”
“No. She’s mine. She’s my wife. You leave. She’s mine.” He covered her body, hugging her chest and face.
He smelled so gross and was sweating on her, making the damage to her skin burn, but suddenly, some kind of alarm went off in the basement and the lights exploded through the room.
“Someone is coming for her. Someone is outside,” Kenneth yelled.
Nathan growled at Kenneth. “You did this. You sent them here. You don’t want me to have her to myself.”
“I brought her here for you. I found her and knew she was perfect for you, but I can take her away. I can make it so that you’ll never have her body ever,” he roared and then lunged toward Nathan.
Sonya screamed out in terror and then felt the strike to her leg. She screamed so loudly that her voice cracked, and then Nathan turned and struck at Kenneth.
They tumbled against her, and she heard Nathan roar and then turn over onto his back to strike forward as Kenneth stabbed him in the chest.
They continued to fight, and she screamed, the pain in her leg excruciating. Then she heard shots ring out. The angry roars dissipated, and she jerked as she sensed the figures coming from the staircase. Men in black uniforms, guns drawn, helmets. SWAT. She cried out, sobbing.
“Oh Jesus. Oh God. Help me. Help me get these off of her,” Jay Bird yelled as he reached for the bindings on her arms.
“Try to stop that bleeding. Apply pressure, Caleb,” someone ordered Caleb, and he pulled something from the table and covered her leg where it throbbed and bled.
“Easy, baby. We’ve got you. Oh thank God, we’ve got you,” Jay Bird said, and she felt him shaking.
Relief flooded her body, and she moaned as he and Big Guns gently untied her wrists. Two other men helped with her ankles. She started to shake uncontrollably.
“She’s in shock,” Caleb yelled out.
“Paramedics are coming down now,” a man she didn’t recognize said. Then he reached out to her, looking at the cuts, the damage and bruising on her belly. She cringed and turned her head toward Jay Bird.
Jay Bird caressed her hair. “It’s okay, sweetie. They’re with us. That’s Damien, Elwood, and Toro.”
She felt herself getting weaker and weaker. It was as if her fight to stay alive, stay focused, was deserting her as the threat of dying seemed to lessen. She closed her eyes then forced them open as the paramedics came in and began to look at her. She heard bits and pieces of the chaos that surrounded her.
“She’s in shock. She may pass out, and this cut to her leg is deep. Let’s slowly move her onto the gurney,” the paramedic said.
She thought that was who said it, and she felt the caress to her hair again. Jay Bird, Big Guns, and Caleb just stared at her, whispering to her that she was safe now, that they wouldn’t leave her side ever again, and that she was so strong. She closed her eyes and then opened them again as she felt a bump. She blinked her eyes opened. She felt warm. She was covered in a blanket and strapped down.
“No. No straps. No, don’t let him tie me down.” She panicked, crying and screaming.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s not them. They can’t hurt you anymore. They’re dead, baby. It’s the paramedic. We have to strap you down to keep you safe,” Jay Bird told her with his face close to hers, his breath warm against her lips and cheek. She shook and gripped his shirt.
“Don’t leave me. Don’t let them strap me down. I can’t,” she said, voice cracking. She heard Big Guns curse, and Caleb took her other hand.
“We’ve got you. We’ll keep you safe now. Close your eyes and rest. We’re here, baby. No one will ever hurt you again,” he whispered.
She closed her eyes and squeezed their hands until the strength left her fingers then her body. She saw darkness once again.
She awoke several times after that, feeling as though she was in a dream. Their voices echoed and sounded muffled to her ears. She saw the lights then the bright light and the white and cream-colored walls. There was a doctor, who smiled softly, and then she saw Miranda, a friend of Suzette’s.
“We’re going to take good care of you, Sonya. The doctor is going to give you something to calm you down so you won’t fe
el scared.” She felt a sensation, like something warm and tingly move through her veins and then, finally, darkness.
Chapter 7
“I’m shaking. I can’t stop,” Jay Bird said aloud running his fingers through his hair. He looked around at the white walls of the as he sat in the waiting room next to Big Guns and Caleb, plus all their friends and team Venom. He cracked his knuckles, but the shaking still wouldn’t go away.
“We’re all feeling it. We haven’t slept in days, and we’re filled up with caffeine.” Big Guns sounded exhausted.
“I can’t believe what they did to her, how we found her,” Big Guns said.
“At least they didn’t rape her. She’s going to need a lot of therapy as is and will most likely be scared all the time. It’s going to take a lot of patience, and we need to be ready,” Caleb said to them.
“I don’t know if I can handle this. I can’t get the images out of my mind. What her body looked like, the damage, the bruising, and then the fact that the fucker stabbed her.”
“They’re dead, Jay Bird. They can’t hurt her ever again, and that’s what we’ll have to keep telling her.”
The door opened, and Miranda walked out. She looked sad and serious as she locked gazes with Jay Bird and Big Guns then Caleb. She approached them immediately.
“She’s in recovery. Surgery went well, and the doctors have her sedated.”
“Sedated?” Jay Bird asked.
“She kept walking up and screaming to be let free, so the doctor had to sedate her. It’s better anyway. She can rest up and begin to heal.”
“Oh God.” Felicia began to sob.
“When can we see her and be with her?” Caleb asked.
Miranda gave a soft smile. “The doctor said you can visit now for a little while.”
They looked at their friends, who gave them reassuring expressions, but they couldn’t hide their fear and anger at the situation.
Jay Bird led the way with Big Guns and then Caleb following.
* * * *
Caleb ran his hand over his mouth as he entered the hospital room. She was all bruised up and battered, her eye swollen, her lips, cheeks, and neck bruised. The fuckers had tried to strangle her. That was what it looked like.
“Oh God, baby,” Jay Bird said and went right to the side of the bed. He started to take her hand and then pulled back.
Caleb felt a combination of sickness and anger. He was glad Kenneth and Nathan had died. He would be sure to thank Damien and Elwood again for their quick and accurate shots.
“I’m afraid to touch her too, Jay Bird,” Big Guns said as he walked to the other side and stared down at her.
Caleb remained at the end of the hospital bed. He licked his lips and felt the tears fill his eyes. He lowered his head and gripped the metal at the end of the bed.
“She needs us to be strong. Her recovery is going to be tough, especially mentally,” Big Guns said.
Caleb pushed away from the bed. “I can’t. I should have been there to protect her. I failed her.” He exited the room.
He headed down the hallway, past the waiting room, and felt frantic.
“Caleb.” He heard his name and didn’t bother to look at the stunned faces. He kept going. He wanted to punch something, to beat the crap out of something, anything to get rid of the rage and the guilt he felt. He shoved the exit doors opened and walked down the pathway to the parking lot. When he passed the Dumpster, he kicked at it hard.
He grabbed the side and kept kicking it, gripping it hard and growling in anger.
“Caleb.” He heard Niko’s voice, and he froze.
“I need a minute.” He felt the tears against his cheeks, and he quickly wiped them away. He felt the hand on his shoulder, and he tensed.
“You’ll get through this. You have to be strong for her, and it’s going to be the suckiest fucking thing to have to look at those bruises, to hear her crying and moaning in her sleep as she remembers what happened, but you, Jay Bird, and Big Guns have to be her rocks.”
He couldn’t speak. He knew that Niko, his commander, and Miles knew what it was like. They’d had to watch as a gunman held her hostage, struck her, and how she’d tackled him to the ground. Suzette had made it out alive but had been all bruised up. It hadn’t been that long ago that it had happened.
“I don’t know if I can.”
Niko squeezed his shoulder and then stepped back.
“You can because you guys love her and she loves you. Even if she pushes you away, be patient. Keep telling her that you love her and that nothing else matters. The three of you can do it together because she’s meant for you and you three for her. She’s your woman. No one can take that away, especially not two dead men.”
Niko’s words sunk in, and Caleb turned around to face him.
“We may need help.”
Niko smiled. “Team Venom’s got your back. Don’t you ever worry about that.”
* * * *
Her torturous screams awoke them from their sleep. Jay Bird had felt as if he’d dozed off only moments ago. He grabbed a hold of Sonya and pulled her close.
“Shhh, baby. You’re safe. Everything is okay, and we have you.”
She struggled against him. He continued to caress her hair and squeeze her to him, and finally she started to come out of her nightmare and wake up.
He kissed her forehead and looked into her big brown eyes. They were watery, bloodshot, and showing how little sleep she had gotten the past few months. He inhaled her shampoo and embraced the ability he seemed to have in calming her down. They took turns sleeping with her on nights when they were due into work. It was his turn to remain home with her today. Caleb and Big Guns had been called in late last night.
“I’m sorry, Jay. So sorry,” she whispered, her hands against his chest. She then kissed his skin.
It was as if she were breathing in his scent and ensuring he was real and the nightmares weren’t. He ran his hands along her lower back and kept her snug against him. He couldn’t hide the yawn that escaped him. He was so damn tired. It took another whole day to recover from nights like these, but it was so crazy. Some nights she woke up not screaming or frantic to be free but, instead, sobbing or just needing one of them to hold her and be close.
They didn’t mind at all. They each felt guilty for what she had gone through and felt they shouldn’t have left her that morning, despite the circumstances and it truly being out of their control.
Sonya was seeing a therapist, and they each were seeing Suzette and talking with her. She had been such a huge help to all of them, making them see that it hadn’t been their faults at all, that Kenneth had set his eyes on her for his brother, that they were the sick ones. They needed to put this behind them and realize that, despite their capabilities and professional careers, they did not have control over everything.
He swallowed hard and then felt Sonya’s lips against his neck. He ran his hand along her thigh and to her rear underneath the long nightshirt she wore. It was Big Guns.
“I don’t know what to say, Jay Bird. Some days I feel so out of control and so scared I don’t want to leave the room and walk away from you guys. It’s like they’re there, hiding in the closet or in another room waiting to attack.”
He ran his fingers through her hair and looked down, holding her gaze.
“But they’re not, baby. They’re dead. You have to keep telling yourself that they can’t hurt you, can’t hurt us ever again. It would be different if they were alive and behind bars, but they’re not. They can’t come back from the dead, baby.”
She stared at him, and her eyes filled up with tears. “They come back whenever I let my guard down and fall asleep.”
He felt terrible, and he didn’t know what more he could tell her as he hugged her close. He cupped her cheeks, and she held on to his sides as she shifted upward.
“We have our whole lives ahead of us. We love you so much, Sonya, and we will do everything we can to help you get past this. You’re stron
ger than these nightmares, than the memory of them. I can’t make you believe that. You have to believe in yourself and your ability to go on. Don’t let those men, that experience, ruin the rest of your life. Turn that experience into motivation and fight for your life. You will get past this. Big Guns, Caleb, and I, plus all our friends, will help you. You’re never alone. Never.”
She hugged him tightly and laid her cheek against his chest, and he held her until she calmed her breathing and began to doze off once again.
He prayed that it would be hours before she awoke startled and caught in the repeating nightmare. When was she going to realize she was a survivor and that she was strong enough, brave enough to get her life back? What could he do to help her more? he wondered as frustration filled his mind and sadness filled his heart. He loved her so much it hurt inside, and it was killing him to feel as though he didn’t have the power, the ability, the tools necessary to set her free from the fear and live again. Please help me to help her. Please.
Epilogue
Sonya watched her men as they started to prepare dinner, working at the counter chopping vegetables and adding a pan of chicken to the oven. The past six months had been hell. She’d lost a lot of weight when she got out of the hospital. She couldn’t work and had taken a leave of absence. She didn’t go out unless one of the guys was with her, and she dealt with anxiety on a regular basis. At least her nightmares and waking up screaming for help had become few and far between.
Her injuries were all healed, and the plastic surgeon had done a wonderful job so there wasn’t really a scar on her leg. She could barely see it, and the men had thoroughly checked it with lips and hands as they made love to her over and over again.
Even that had taken time to let down her guard, her fears, and allow her men to love her and possess her in that way. When she had finally let her guard down, she felt such pleasure and such release that she realized that their lovemaking together was medicinal in some way she couldn’t quite explain. She smiled to herself. She must be nuts thinking that sex with three men was medicinal. They would have a field day with that one.
Crossroads 3: Gut Instinct (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 13
