A sob broke out of my throat, and I reached for him again, straining against the belt.
“Wake up,” I pleaded. My fingers were almost there…
The groaning of metal made me flinch, and the rush of cold night air swarmed inside the Hummer behind me. I gasped and turned to see what was happening.
A pair of jean-clad legs and booted feet stood there.
“Help!” I cried. “Help us! Call 9-1-1!”
More glass crunched under the man’s boots as he crouched closer and reached into the car for me. “Not me!” I said, trying to push his hands away. “The driver, you need to get the driver.”
The man grunted, and seconds later, I felt him release the latch on my belt. I braced for the fall but wasn’t ready for it regardless. I landed in a heap on the roof of the Hummer, crying out when more broken glass cut into my cheek and forehead.
A strong, rough hand latched around my ankle, gripping so hard I felt it through my thick boot.
“Hey!” I cried.
My body began to move or, rather, be dragged through the banged-up Hummer, across the glass and frame of the window.
I rolled onto my belly and grabbed ahold of the seat belt, hanging on for dear life. “No!” I yelled. “Stop!”
This man wasn’t here to help us. This man wasn’t here for any good at all.
“Alex!” I screamed, looking up at him still dangling in the seat, his chin lulling on his chest.
My chin smacked into the road when the man yanked me free and hauled me away from the yellow truck. Instinct kicked in, and I twisted, rolling onto my back and kicking out with my free leg. The man grunted when I kicked his knee, but he didn’t let go.
I kicked him again and then did a sit-up from the waist to grab his hand where he held me. Clawing at his fingers, I demanded he let me go.
He laughed. “I own you now. Better resign yourself to that fact.”
I lay back, spent, and sucked in a few breaths. Gravel scraped against my back, and I knew if I hadn’t still been wearing the fleece coat of Alex’s, my shirt would have already ripped.
The thought of Alex gave me a renewed sense of fight, and with a roar, I kicked out again, hitting the sweet spot in the man’s knee.
He groaned and stumbled. Quickly, I wrenched my leg away and bounded to my feet. He was bent at the waist, but when I stood, he began to as well. I kicked him in the face as he moved, making him stumble again.
He was wearing a loose flannel, and not the cute kind, so I lunged forward and pulled the ends up over his head, making it impossible for him to see.
“Hey!” he yelled, fighting against the fabric. I kicked him again and then took off running back to the Hummer.
“Alex!” I screamed as I ran and dropped to my knees beside the driver’s window. He was still there, and from this angle, I could see that his head was gashed open and bleeding.
I had to find his cell. It was probably in his pocket…
I started to climb into the window, half in, half out, scrambling desperately to find the phone. My instincts were screaming at me to run, run like hell, but there was no way I would leave him here like this.
Just as I was reaching for his pocket, rough hands grabbed me by the waist and hauled me backward.
I kicked and fought and scraped over his hands like a hellion on crack. If I was going down, then this fucker was coming with me.
“Get off me!” I screamed, trying to punch his junk. He avoided the hit with a grunt.
“We’re going to have fun breaking you,” the man growled and threw me onto the ground.
I didn’t stay down, instead springing back up, bringing my fists up for a fight.
He laughed, and I cold-cocked him, snapping his head back. I put all my strength into that hit, but unfortunately, it was only enough to piss him off.
As he wiped the blood from his lip, his nostrils flared, and I bounced on my feet, ready to hit him again.
“You little bitch,” he spat, then punched me in the face.
I crumpled to the ground. The last thing I saw before the world went black was the dented and mangled side of the Hummer.
Alex
The large truck with the plow on the front had been sitting on some barely used side road, just waiting for us to come by.
It was unexpected. I’d give them that.
Plowing into the driver’s side as I drove past would have been a good idea, if it worked.
How unfortunate for the dick-for-brains who did this because he didn’t know who he was dealing with.
It would take a hell of a lot more than a head injury, superficial cuts, and sore muscles to keep me down. Actually, the only thing that would keep me down enough for this douche canoe to kidnap Sabrina right out from under me was death.
I wasn’t dead.
But this fool was about to be.
Somewhere in the fog of my brain, I heard her pleading with me. I struggled at first to push through it and find the exit, but I remained calm, icy calm, because I knew I would be getting out of here.
Awareness washed over me first, though I kept my body prone and relaxed. Using my senses, I evaluated the situation and grew more pissed by the second. I heard Sabrina and someone fighting. Because she refused to run off and leave me here, my little hellion was taking on some man who wanted to make her his slave.
Then her body dropped to the pavement nearby. I watched her eyelids flutter and all consciousness fade away.
Like a robot, I went on autopilot, banking the extreme emotion threatening to surge my adrenaline. I reached for the knife I knew was strapped to my visor, pulled it out, and, with one deft swipe, cut through the belt holding me. I landed on my hands and knees, ignoring the crunch of glass and any pain.
Lithely, I unfolded from the busted-out window and uncurled from the ground.
The man had Sabrina, dragging her backward to his truck, when he noticed me. His footsteps paused, and an unfiltered look passed behind his beady eyes.
I spit the blood pooling in my mouth, tossed the knife from one hand to the other, and smiled.
He began walking faster, dragging my girl over the ground and overall pissing me off even more.
I stepped forward, walking as though I were on a Sunday stroll, and the man cursed low and tried to pick up Brina to toss over his shoulder.
“I wouldn’t if I were you.”
He glanced up, a deer in the headlights. Her upper body thumped onto the ground, and she groaned when he started to run.
I let him go and crouched beside Sabrina, putting a hand to her face. “Stay down, kitten. Keep your eyes closed.”
“Alex?” she whispered, turning toward my voice.
“Yeah, sweetheart. I’ll be right back.”
The truck engine roared to life, and I strode forward. The man behind the wheel started moving quickly, trying to leave. I knocked on the window, and he looked at me, smirking, and pointed to the lock.
I shoved my fist through the window, shattering the glass.
He gurgled and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head as I grabbed him by the throat and pulled him through the open window to drop him at my feet.
“How many of you are here?” I demanded.
He spit at me.
When I reached down and grabbed him, he struggled. His attempts to get free were weak and useless.
“You never should have come here,” I intoned, and then I snapped his neck.
His body went limp in my hands, and I dropped him, disgusted I had to compromise myself for the likes of him. But it had to be done.
Anyone who touched Sabrina the way he had would get the same.
I stepped over his body and turned off the truck, pocketed the keys, and went back to where Sabrina was lying. She heard me coming and sat up, skittering back a little until she realized it was just me. Her body sagged toward the pavement, and I hustled to catch her, lifting her in my arms.
“Easy now,” I murmured, taking in the cuts on her face, cracked-open ch
eek, and wild look in her eye.
“You’re hurt.” She noticed, reaching up toward my head.
I pulled back. “I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding,” she wailed.
“I’ve had worse.”
Carrying her away from the man’s body, I walked around the front of the Hummer. Shifting her weight into one arm, I dug out my phone with the other.
He answered on the first ring. “Yo!”
“I need you to meet me. Leave Bellamy and the baby at home.”
I felt him snap to attention instantly.
“What happened?”
I quickly told Liam where I was and then reiterated to not bring Bellamy and to make sure she was under lock and key.
His voice was sober when he replied. “I’ll be there in under ten.”
I disconnected the call and glanced back to the truck and body. I didn’t want to put Sabrina down, but I had to.
Crouching low, I set her gently in front of the Hummer, leaning her against the tire. “I’ll be right back.”
She grabbed my shirt, her eyes wide. “Don’t leave me here.”
I covered her hand with mine, gently rubbing over her knuckles. “I would never leave you.”
“You did before,” she said, her lashes sweeping down toward her cheeks.
“Hey,” I demanded. “Look at me.” Cupping her cheeks, I lifted her face. “Did you hit your head?”
“I don’t think so.”
Slipping my hands gently upward, I nudged around her scalp, searching for any bumps or broken skin. There wasn’t any that I could find, but she still seemed a little woozy.
Refocusing, my gaze fell on the giant bruise already forming on her cheek. Using the pad of my thumb, I brushed over it lightly. She sucked in a breath and moved her face away from my touch.
“What happened here?” I murmured. “You hit it in the car?”
“He punched me,” she replied, then suddenly seemed to realize there was someone here trying to hurt her.
Gasping, she jerked up, nearly toppling over as she tried to lunge to her feet. I went with her, and when she wobbled, I lifted her off her feet once more.
“We have to go! Someone was here. He was trying to force me into his car. He dragged me out of the Hummer—” Her voice caught, and her chin wobbled.
“Shh.” I soothed, pushing her head into my chest. “He’s gone. You don’t have to worry about him. I have you now.”
“You were unconscious. I thought you were dead.” She started crying then. And no, I wasn’t any kind of pleased she only started to really cry when it came to me.
I glanced over my shoulder to where the dead man lay. I should have made him suffer a little more.
“Alex?” Sabrina lifted her cheek off my chest and looked up with streaked cheeks and wet lashes.
“What, kitten?”
“Are you mad at me?”
I drew back. “Why would I be mad at you?”
“You just… All of a sudden, you just seemed so… cold.”
“I was thinking about the man who tried to hurt you.”
Her face burrowed back into my shoulder, hair falling over her cheek and clinging to her tears, partly disguising the wound inflicted upon her. “Please don’t leave me. Not again.”
It was if she reached into my chest and ripped my heart in half. Both pieces still lay inside me… both of them only beating for her.
I decided then. When I looked back later, I would realize the decision was much bigger than I knew in that moment.
I left the body there on the side of the road, beside the truck… right there out in the open. I needed to dump it in the bed or at least put it somewhere less visible. Anyone could turn down this road. Anyone could happen by at any moment. They would see everything, and I would go down for murder… And me going down meant Sabrina unprotected.
I couldn’t put her down, though. She clung to me with trembling fingers, her cuts still oozing blood and a welt on her face from another man’s fist.
She asked me not to go. I wasn’t going anywhere.
A few moments later, the distinct sound of Liam’s engine cut through the night. I stiffened even though I knew it was him because I was still very concerned someone else would also arrive.
The second he came around the bend, I breathed a little easier because there weren’t any other cars behind him. He pulled close to where I stood on the side of the road, still cradling Sabrina in my arms.
He killed the bright headlights but left the engine running and leapt out of the cab, not even bothering to shut his door.
“Jesus, Alex! What the fuck happened?” he demanded, rushing over.
“Can you hold her a second?” I asked, keeping calm.
I shifted Sabrina into Liam’s arms. She made a sound of protest and grabbed at my shirt. “I’m still here, kitten. Hang on.”
“I’ll be right back,” I said quietly to Liam, gesturing over my shoulder. He followed my lead, and his mouth thinned when he saw the body.
He turned away, effectively blocking what I was about to do from Sabrina’s eyes. I heard him ask her how she was but didn’t hang around to hear her reply.
Quickly, I tossed the body into the back of the truck, climbed in, and backed it down the side street no one ever used so it would be out of sight from the main road.
The second I was within arm’s distance of Sabrina, I held out my hands, and Liam transferred her back over. A thousand questions burned in his eyes, and I knew he wanted every detail, but he also knew this really wasn’t the time or place.
“You think the wench on your truck is strong enough to flip the Hummer back over?”
“It’s going to have to be.”
I stood back while he maneuvered the Xtreme in position and got out to try and configure the best way to right my truck.
While he did that, I carried Sabrina to the passenger seat and set her down gently, reaching over to turn the heat up and adjust the vents to point to her.
“I tried to fight him off,” Sabrina said, sounding a little clearer than before.
“You did a damn good job.”
“You should go help Liam.”
I dragged a hand down the side of her head. “I’ll be right back.”
It took a few tries and a hell of a lot of dirty cussing from the both of us, but finally, we got the Hummer back on four wheels. She started right up and the tires weren’t damaged, so I could drive it back home.
The minute I could, I pulled it down that dark side street and parked near the trees. I was pretty fucking thankful in that moment that the guy decided to hit us on the side of a mountain where there wasn’t much traffic and there was a lot of trees and empty roads that led nowhere.
It would make cleanup a hell of a lot easier.
Once the Hummer was out of sight, I jogged back to the truck. Liam was behind the wheel, and Sabrina was sitting on the passenger seat, staring out the windshield.
“Can you take her back to your place?” I asked him.
“Of course.”
“I’ll be behind you as fast as I can.”
“I can take her home and come back to meet you,” he offered.
“No.” I cut that off instantly. This was my mess, my weight to bear, and it was already too much that I had to call him here at all. “I got this. But thanks.”
Liam nodded.
“Keep the place on lockdown.”
“Already done.”
I turned my attention to Sabrina, reaching for her hand tucked into her lap. Her fingers were mostly concealed by my jacket sleeves, but what little I could see was smeared with red.
“There’s something I have to do,” I told her, praying she would understand.
Her eyes shifted to mine and offered a small smile. “Go. Do what needs to be done.”
Because I wanted to so many times earlier, because she was sitting there bleeding but still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, I leaned in, pressing a kiss to her temple.
“See you soon,” I whispered, then slipped into the trees out of sight. I stood there and waited until I couldn’t hear Liam’s engine anymore and until I was sure no one else might happen by.
Then I went to work.
Sabrina
He got rid of the body. A body I knew he was trying to hide from me or just plain hoping I was too freaked out to see.
I saw.
Dead bodies aren’t exactly things to be missed.
I wasn’t shocked or even disgusted Alex killed that man. In reality, what else was he supposed to do? Normal people might say call the police. Call for help. Let the man run away.
Those weren’t options for a man like Alex. Not in this situation anyway. Calling the police would result in a lot of questions he couldn’t answer, and it would put my brother in more trouble than he was already in.
This had to be dealt with quietly and quickly. Letting that dirtbag run away would never happen. Alex wasn’t built that way.
And me?
I was glad he was dead. He would have done far worse if he’d stayed alive.
Population control. That’s what Daniel would have called this. I couldn’t say I was that jaded and hard, but I wasn’t so innocent to think that men like that dead guy were men that could be saved.
Liam didn’t ask any questions on the way to his house. He didn’t try for silly small talk that would fail at distracting me. Instead, he drove quietly until we pulled up to a large home in the side of the mountain. The land around it was cleared and planted with grass, but then the yard gave way to trees, buffering the home from the outside world.
I saw now why Alex called it a mansion. The place was incredible.
I knew it was majorly impressive because it actually drew my attention, which was no easy feat given what just happened. Glancing away from the wood and stone home, I looked out the back window, hoping I’d see Alex’s Hummer coming up the long driveway.
“He’ll be here as soon as he can,” Liam said, speaking for the first time.
“I know.”
Liam hit a button, and a large garage door started to open. He waited until it was all the way up before pulling inside, his eyes watchful and never resting in one place too long.
Subzero (BearPaw Resort Book 4) Page 13
