“Now you’re going to pay for her sins,” Cobb growls at me. “Your mommy took the easy way out, didn’t she, Adrienne? Left poor little sweet thing fending for herself, paying for mommy’s mistakes.”
“Memphis,” I mumble. “Memphis, help me.”
I see him trying to get away in my peripheral vision, but the guard pointing his gun at him clicks on the safety of the gun, and he’s unable to move. A low growl escapes his lips, and I worry how much more of this torture he can take. I know I’m nearing my limit.
“No one to help you now,” Cobb tells me with a low laugh. “It’s going to be only you and me soon, sweet thing.”
“Pick on someone your own fucking size,” Memphis snarls at him.
With a sigh, Cobb moves away from me and approaches Memphis. When he’s close enough, he hits him in the face, hard. Memphis’ head falls back with the force of the blow, but he looks at me, warning me to wait and be patient. I’m still shivering from the exchange I just had with Cobb, needing to get away. My whole body, along with my mind, is begging me to make a run for it.
I test the grip of the guards again, but they’re holding on tight. They won’t let go, unless Cobb tells them to.
“You like my new face, Angel?” Cobb laughs bitterly. “You played a part in it too, I’m sure. And you fucking betrayed me by leaving my goddamn property. Don’t think you won’t have to pay, you fuck.”
“Yeah, you should enter a modeling contest,” Memphis laughs at him.
Cobb glares at him before turning his attention back to me. Realizing he wants to hurt me, Memphis speaks quickly. I can tell he’s trying to piss Wilson off, not caring whether he gets hurt in the process, just wanting to keep me safe.
“How did you find us, Two Face?” he asks him with a pointed look.
Wilson turns his attention back to him, coming up and punching him in the gut. I almost smile weakly when Memphis doesn’t even double over. He just stands there, rock hard and un-fucking-beatable. Cobb glares at him as he realizes his own punches will never be a match for Memphis.
“I had information from her daddy dearest,” Cobb tells him with a vicious smile. “Of course, you shouldn’t feel left out, Angel. Your own dad played a role in it as well.”
Memphis spits at him, and Cobb glares back. He’s rethinking his punches though, knowing he’s the weaker one here. Without his guards, Wilson Cobb is nothing but a vengeful, spiteful freak.
“Let’s play a game,” he says in that fucked up voice of his, grinning at Memphis first, me second. “You two seem fond of those, love birds.”
“What’s the game?” Memphis asks.
I know he’s nervous as fuck, but he’s hiding it well so far. I imagine I’m doing a worse job of at it.
“Bring her out,” Cobb roars, and two more guards enter the room, dragging a frazzled Hannah with them.
She looks horrible – beaten, her hair wild and her body covered in bruises. I gasp when I see her, struggling against the guards to go to her aid, but their grip on me doesn’t loosen. I look at Memphis, his teeth grinding together, but he’s just as helpless as I am.
“I brought your whipping girl,” Cobb tells us with a wicked smile. “She’s already suffered for so many of your mistakes, why not another one?”
He approaches me, jabbing me with his finger.
“You’re going to watch her get torn apart tonight,” he tells me with a grin.
“No,” I shake my head vehemently. “Don’t hurt her. Don’t fucking hurt her again.”
Hannah raises her head, barely able to hold it up. She’s shaking, and I want to badly to help her.
“We’ll make you a deal,” Memphis tells Cobb. “We’ll pay for our own mistakes, you don’t need to torture Hannah for them. Please…”
“Oh, he used the magic word!”
Cobb makes a big deal out of it, clapping his hands slowly and grinning at all of us. Even one of the guards looks disgusted by the games he’s playing, but the rest of them are as stone-faced as ever.
“Let’s hear it then, Angel,” Cobb roars. “Tell me about the deal we’re making.”
“I’ll take out the guards,” Memphis roars. “I’ll take them all on. And if I don’t fucking win, you’ve won.”
“A fight to the death?” Cobb’s ears prick up and he grins wide. “You know I’m partial to those, Angel. And what happens if you lose?”
“I’ll pay for everything,” I tell him, my eyes filling with tears. “My dad, my mom, Angel… I’ll pay.”
Cobb approaches me slowly, glaring into my soul.
“You sure about that, sweet thing?” he asks me in a low growl. “Because I’m pretty fucking pissed right now, and I assume there’s going to be hell to pay.”
I nod, looking at Hannah and then Memphis.
“Yes. I’ll pay for everything. Just set Hannah free once you’re done with me.”
By now, we all know Cobb’s words mean shit-all, but I need to at least try.
He roars with laughter, clapping his friends.
“I love it!” he says. “A final game. Let’s play.”
He motions for the guards who are holding Memphis to let go, and he struggles free of their grasp. There must be six guards in this room, and Memphis’ eyes cloud over as he calculates how he’s going to take down all of them. With my heart pounding, I shake free of the guards holding me down, and flee to him, my hands going around his neck.
“I love you,” I tell him. “I love you, Memphis. Fight for us, fight for our freedom.”
“I will, sugar,” he mumbles into my hair, before gently pushing me aside and motioning for the guards to come at him. I rush to Hannah’s side, pushing Cobb out of the way as I do so.
He stumbles, and I fucking wish he’d fall to the ground and break his neck. Wishful thinking.
I pull Hannah close to me and whisper her name as I hold her. Her petite body is broken, but she gives me a hopeful, thankful time, and I know we’ll both heal with time. Because we have to. Because there is no way we’re not getting out of here alive. All three of us.
The swarm of guards descends upon Angel, and he looks at me one last time as Cobb roars with laughter. We lock gazes for a long moment, and when he tears his eyes away, I feel a loss deep inside.
And then all hell breaks loose.
Twenty-Five
Adrienne
The guards descend on Memphis like a swarm of bees. In moments, he’s surrounded. I bite down a shriek, wanting to help him, but I know I can’t do a thing. Instead, I hold Hannah and cover her eyes, but I’m too involved to look away now.
Memphis turns into a killing machine. I’ve seen this several times before, when he was in the cage, deadly and proficient, but this time, he’s outnumbered and injured. I don’t know if there’s any way he can come out of this alive, but I know he’s sure as hell going to try.
He fends off the first guard, only to have three more pile on him. He deals punches, blows, kicks to the ribs, jamming his fingers into an opponent’s eyes, but nothing seems to be enough. The moment he gets one of them off himself, another one moves in for the kill.
Memphis is still reeling from the fight a few days ago, I can tell. But he doesn’t let it slow him down.
My eyes go to Cobb, who’s standing in the corner of the room, grinning like a madman. His smile is a pained grimace now that he’s so badly burnt, and it fucking serves him right. Finally, he got what he deserved… Not that we’ve doled out his final punishment yet.
I watch Memphis getting through the guards. Two of them are already on the ground, unconscious, and one’s breathing is getting so shallow I don’t know whether he’s actually going to make it. But still, four men remain, and they’re intent on besting Memphis.
He keeps using the cramped space in his favor. When the big oafs get tangled in one another, he uses the moment to deck one of them. They keep falling for it. They don’t understand that a cornered beast is the most dangerous one.
My man pulls a gun
from the holster of one of the guards, and Hanna lets out a piercing scream as he shoots, covering her ears. The bullet goes through the man he’s fending off, through his skull and into the head of another guard. Both fall down like felled trees, dead on the spot.
I feel anger coursing through me, tears of rage pricking in the back of my throat that I have to swallow down. All these innocent people that had to die, all because of goddamn Cobb. I look at him and am damn pleased to find him slightly worried. Now that there are only two guards left standing, I’d be shaking in my boots if I were him, too.
“Scared now?” Memphis snarls in Cobb’s direction as he spins, hitting one guard in the jugular while the other one struggles with his weapon.
I’ve never seen Memphis like this, and I’ve seen him fight plenty of times. He’s a man possessed, his eyes fixated on the prize – the freedom he wants so damn badly. He’s out of control, a killing machine.
He’s going to win, I realize in a fleeting thought.
He’ll win, and we’ll be free to leave. It sounds stupid when I put it into words. I know Cobb can’t let it happen. My mind races, trying to figure out what to do next to take Cobb out of the equation.
In a moment of madness, I let go of Hannah. I glance at Cobb as Memphis struggles with the last two guards. When his attention is on Memphis I approach one of the guards from behind. With all my might, I kick him in the back of his knees, and the guard groans as he falls to the ground.
I hear Cobb chuckle.
“She wants to follow in your footsteps, Angel,” he says mildly, supposedly bemused by my antics.
It gives Memphis plenty of opportunity to smash his face in, his fist coming away bloody as the guard falls to the ground, bloodied and unconscious.
Only one man left now. He looks from me to Memphis, and I’m a second too slow in getting away. The guard makes a lunge for me, and as soon as his hands wrap around my throat, Memphis roars with anger.
“Get your filthy hands off her,” he orders him, but the man merely laughs.
His fingers tighten on my throat, and he lifts me off the ground with the strength of his arms. I can’t breathe. My vision becomes spotty as my feet dangle in the air. Next thing I know, I’ve ended up on the floor, bruising my head badly as I fall down.
Memphis is beating the last remaining guard to a pulp, each one of his punches punctuated with an angry scream of my name.
“Never. Fucking. Touch. Her. She’s. Mine.”
He doesn’t stop until there is nothing left to beat. Only when his body stops twitching does Memphis give up, finally standing up from the guard’s unmoving body, a victor.
He looks into my direction just as the gun safety clicks. My eyes are watery when our gazes connect, and I feel a gun jabbing into my temple.
“Memphis,” I mumble.
“Get away from her.”
Cobb chuckles behind me.
“Good work, Angel,” Cobb mocks him. “I really didn’t think you had it in you. A small fucking wonder what a little young pussy will do to a man’s determination.”
He strokes my hair and I seethe with anger for having him touch me. Hannah has gone catatonic, staring at all of this with wide eyes and limp body like a broken doll. I realize that’s how I’ve stumbled through my time with Cobb too. Broken.
I’m not that girl anymore.
“I should know,” Cobb continues. “I’ve been craving this one since the moment I laid eyes on her. Maybe I’ll fuck her in front of you, Angel. Claim that pretty little pussy while you watch, hmm?”
Angel roars and lunges forward, but Cobb punches me with the butt of the gun in response and I fall backward. He yanks me up by my hair, making me stay in place as I struggle to remain conscious. I need to fight back. I can’t let it end like this.
“You’re a fucking monster,” Memphis growls at Cobb. “You know you’re a dead man if you hurt her.”
“That much might be true,” Cobb agrees. “But I’ll go down in flames, and I’m taking her with me.”
“Please, don’t,” Hannah mutters.
We all turn towards the owner of the voice. I sense my opportunity and I need to take it.
I angle my elbow and slam it into Cobb’s left knee as hard as I can. I know that’s the side he was burned on and I hope it makes his leg crumple. He winces and his knee buckles as he grabs for it, letting go of my hair and the gun as a reaction.
It’s enough to provide a distraction, and Wilson’s gun clatters to the ground as Memphis lunges for him, taking him down.
My breaths slow down and adrenaline pumps through my body. I pick myself up, picking up the gun from the floor in the process. My hands are shaking, shaking so fucking badly. Memphis raises his fist, ready to rain down on Cobb with the fury of a hurt man kept in the dark for too long.
“Memphis, no!” I say.
He looks up, frowning at me.
Cobb is lying on the floor, grunting in pain as Memphis holds him down by standing with one foot on his back. He moves out of my way as I approach.
I look around the room. The three of us, Cobb on the floor, and the ground covered with barely breathing or dead guards. What a fucking massacre. What a mess this man has made of my life.
“I have to do this.”
I point the gun at Cobb’s face. His bad side is turned towards me. With his skin peeling back and his badly burned body, he looks more like a monster than ever.
“You took from me,” I tell him in a growl. “All you fucking did was take. My dad, my mom, my whole fucking family. You tried to break me, but you couldn’t. You only made me stronger. I hope you’re damn proud of yourself, because you’re about to get beaten by your own protégé.”
“Fuck you.”
Cobb laughs at me, a low, gargled sound that makes me want to throw up. He doesn’t even sound like a person anymore and he must be delirious with the pain, ignoring the hopeless situation he allowed himself to be put in.
“You’re not brave enough to kill me, sweet thing,” he mocks me. “You’re never going to pull that trigger. You’ll just have your man do it, or your little fucking whipping girl. You’re so damn weak, Adrienne.”
“You don’t have to do this, Adrienne,” Memphis says to me.
“Yes, I do,” I say, my hand shaking a little. “Men like him will never be brought to justice if people like us don’t do anything about it. He’ll never be tried in court, you know that. I want to do this.”
My eyes go to Hannah, who’s breathing deeply in the corner, and then to Memphis, who’s glaring at Cobb as he takes his last breaths. He looks down at me, nodding slowly for me to go on. To finish this, once and for all.
“I was a good student,” I tell Cobb. “When I came to you, I was weak. I did need people to do my bidding. But I learned from your mistakes, Wilson.”
I point the gun at his head with shaky fingers. But I’m aiming, and I’m holding it steady now, both hands on the firearm.
“I learned to take care of my own fucking business, and not let a bunch of innocent people die in my stead,” I snarl at Cobb. “This is for my dad. And my mom. And what you took from me, you evil bastard.”
He grins, but there’s worry etched on his face.
“Adrienne, sweet thing-”
The gunshot is deafening. Perhaps it is not the act itself, but the importance of what I’ve just done, regardless my breath is kicked from my chest.
Cobb’s head snaps back, his jaw shattering, blood pooling around his body. There are a few gargled noises from his split-open throat as he stares at me with those vile eyes, the life going out of them quickly.
Gone. Dead. Finally dead. As gruesome as he deserved.
I drop the gun with shaking hands, and Memphis and Hannah crowd me.
Finally.
For once, I don’t need to be supported. I don’t need their help to stay up. I don’t need them telling me it’s all going to be alright.
Because I fucking took care of myself, and I took down the man
who ruined my life.
And now, I’m free of his goddamn shackles. Free of his twisted, sick mind games.
I’m free to be… me.
Twenty-Six
Memphis
Six months later…
“Don’t you think it’s a little dramatic?” I ask Sage as I turn the driver’s license around in my hand a few times.
I read the name again and the urge to roll my eyes takes over me like I’m a teenage girl being accosted by her totally overbearing parents.
“What?” Sage asks, quirking a brow.
If he thinks I’m missing the way the corners of his mouth are tugging upwards, he’s dead wrong. I can recognize a man trying to bullshit me, even if that man is deadpan Sage. Though I have to admit that detecting humor on that man is sort of a pleasant change. I didn’t really see much of it back at Wilson’s place.
“Memphis Azalea?” I ask, stressing the last name of the new identity he’s scored for me.
There’s a whole packet. Driver’s license, birth certificate, passport… The whole nine yards. I don’t know how Sage scored it but I do know that I’m damn thankful for it. Ever since we got out of under Wilson’s thumb with Adrienne, I’ve felt like a ghost. I have a name but I can’t use it. Now I have a name and I’m not entirely sure I want to use it. But I sigh and accept defeat.
Score one for Sage.
“Anything wrong with that?” he asks.
I purse my lips, narrowing my eyes at him. Then, I shake my head, grinning. Fuck it, I earned that one with my years of picking on poor ol’ Sage.
“Thank you. I mean it.”
“No problem,” he says, and I’m sure that’s a lie.
No way there were no difficulties getting this kind of documentation.
Savage: A Bad Boy Fighter Romance Page 15
