“Lew. Lew!” she screamed, and he just stared at her, eyes wide and moving to the side.
“He’ll be no help to you. Will be burned to a crisp after the shit I injected in him. Now come on so you can get dressed,” he yelled at her and grabbed for her hair.
She swung her fist, making contact with his face. She was naked, and it didn’t even matter. All that mattered was Lew.
The man struck her hard, and she fell against Lew. She cried as she grabbed on to his shoulders, shaking him, trying desperately to wake him up. But then the man grabbed her by her hair and dragged her from him as Lew grunted deeply and growled but was lying still.
She tried fighting the man who held her. He shoved her hard against the wall.
“I can drag you out of here naked. I don’t really give a fuck. We leave now, or the other three will die, too. I’ve got men at their jobs. Their boat is rigged to explode if necessary. Now fucking move it. Sophia,” he yelled, and she quickly grabbed her panties off the floor and then stepped into a skirt and tank top that was in the top drawer.
She didn’t even get to grab shoes as he took her by her wrist and dragged her from the bedroom. One look over her shoulder and she could see Lew still wasn’t moving.
She feared for his life, for Gideon’s, Andreas’s, and Cerdic’s lives. Mateo had found her, and she was as good as dead.
It was dark outside, still early morning, and she remembered the guys complaining about having to leave at four thirty to get to work for five in the morning. They’d wanted to stay in bed with her and made promises of spending the night together and not having to work until Wednesday next week.
The tears streamed down her cheeks as she saw the fire on the side of the house. It was small but would spread fast. What if Lew stayed paralyzed? She tried pulling from the man before they reached the car. “He’ll die. He’ll burn to death!” she screamed at him. The door to the back seat opened, and she cried out in terror.
“Get in the fucking car, Sophia. We have a long trip ahead of us. The plane leaves in thirty minutes.”
Deavan. Oh God no!
* * * *
The call came into the firehouse, and immediately multiple engine companies headed out to the beach house. Jake got the call and the information from Chief Martelli as he was getting up and preparing to head to the department. His heart started to pound immediately, as he feared the men after Sophia had found her.
He got on the phone and tried calling Lew then Andreas.
“Hey, Chief, what’s up?” Andreas asked, sounding happy. There was no way he was near the house. How was he going to tell him what was going on?
“Are the others with you? Are you near your house?” he asked as he got into his car.
“What’s going on? What’s wrong? Gideon and Cerdic are with me. We’re at work.
“The beach house is on fire. The call came in a few minutes ago, and I’m on my way. I tried calling Lew and got no answer.”
“Oh fuck. We’re on our way. We left them in bed at around four thirty or so.”
“I’m almost there,” Jake said.
“Jake?” Andreas sounded panicked and angry.
“I know, Andreas. I fucking know. Let’s hope that they’re okay. If not, then you’ll need to be here, and we’ll get in touch with Jeremy ASAP.”
As he hung up the phone and headed toward the road leading to the private area of land and the two beach houses, he saw all the lights and numerous fire trucks. Their friends had gotten there quickly, and the fire was being put out. He saw multiple men carrying out what appeared to be an unconscious man. Was that Lew?
He quickly got out of the car and ran over.
“Is everyone out? Where is Sophia?” he asked Eddie, Lance, and Billy as they placed Lew down onto a stretcher. They covered his naked body, and Jake saw his eyes were wide open and he could barely move.
“He’s like paralyzed or something,” Hal said to him.
“Sophia wasn’t inside. We did a complete sweep of the house,” Billy told him.
“Sophia.” Lew said her name, all muffled and low.
Jake moved closer.
“Where is she? Did he take her, Lew?” Jake asked.
“Did who take her? What the hell is going on?” Hal asked.
“Hey, we found this on the floor.” Eddie Martelli said as he brought over a syringe wrapped in toilet paper.
“Fuck, they drugged him to get to Sophia,” Jake said as his deputies arrived.
“What do you need us to do, Sheriff?” Deputy Ronnie Towers and Deputy Turbo Hawkins were there at his side.
“I need you to scan the neighborhood and see who is up and if they saw any vehicles leave this entryway.”
“Where is Sophia? What’s going on?” Andreas yelled as he, Gideon, and Cerdic arrived.
“They shot Lew up with something. Sophia isn’t here. We can’t find her,” Jake said.
“Fuck!” Cerdic yelled out and ran his fingers through his hair as he began to pace.
“I’m sending my deputies to ask the neighbors if they saw anyone or any vehicles. We’ll find her,” Jakes said.
“We have video surveillance, cameras everywhere, and installed more when we had to start watching over Sophia,” Gideon said and then looked at Lew.
“Find her,” Lew said and was beginning to move a little. Cerdic stayed with him as Gideon, Jake, Andreas, and the others ran to their house and the surveillance camera room. Ten minutes later and they had a make of a car and the description of two men. It was a shock when Jeremy and his brothers arrived on scene, armed and ready to intervene.
“Fuck! We’re too late. Jesus, did you stop them?” Jeremy asked the gathered men.
“They got her. What the fuck is going on?” Andreas said, and then Gideon handed the papers with the photos over to Jeremy.
“That’s one of Frederick Price’s men,” Jeremy said to them. Gideon handed him the other one, which was a little blurry.
“Oh Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Jeremy exclaimed and ran his hands through his hair.
“Who the hell is it?” Jake asked.
“That’s fucking Deavan. He’s the one that believes she belongs to him and Mateo. He’s the one from that night,” he said to Andreas, Gideon, and Cerdic.
“I’m going to kill these motherfuckers,” Cerdic stated aloud.
They heard a roar and then men curse as a stretcher tipped over. Jake and the guys hurried to Lew, who was growling and trying to fight through the shit they’d injected him with. His face was red, his fists at his side as he forced himself up slowly from his knees to a standing position.
“Jesus, Lew, I don’t think you can force it out of your system that fast,” Paramedic Johnny Landers told him.
“Fuck that. I’m gonna kill that piece of shit. He struck her, dragged her from me. She was so scared, and I couldn’t do shit but lie there like a fucking zombie. They knew. They fucking knew I could take them, and they fucking stuck me in the neck. I didn’t hear them enter until it was too late, and now they have Sophia. We need to get to her. Now.”
“Hey, Jeremy,” Cody said, “we’ve got some info. Seems that person I hooked you up with is also helping to run a larger investigation, and Price, Ruiz, and Castella are on the wanted list. As soon as Price and Deavan Hoyt entered the U.S. from Venezuela, an alert was issued. But since we’ve been putting together this case to lock these shits up, they weren’t tailed until thirty minutes ago when they boarded a private jet.”
“She’s on that plane?” Andreas asked.
“Getting confirmation on that but let’s assume yes because Deavan and Price are,” he replied.
“They’re headed back to Venezuela?” Chief Martelli asked as all the men and their friends gathered around them.
“They’re headed to Peru. That’s what they got from air traffic control.”
“What’s the plan of action?” Jake asked.
Jeremy looked at Sophia’s men. “Cody?” Jeremy asked his brother.
“Grab your Navy SEAL gear,” Cody said. “It’s going to take days for the feds to get organized. I’ll work on the logistics and protocol issues with our contact. In the end, all they’ll give a shit about is getting these people out of the United States. Sophia won’t be alive in forty-eight hours, and finding her in a place like Peru is not going to be easy.”
“If we all work together, it will be,” Nate said, joining them and dressed for action in black fatigues, a black T-shirt, and a Glock. “The plane leaves in thirty. Grab your shit.”
“Nate, what’s your plan?” Jake asked him. Nate looked between the men.
“We’re taking care of this on our own. No feds fucking it up, no bullshit. Sophia deserves happiness and to be free from this asshole. You guys clean up the mess around here. We’re going to get Sophia back to where she belongs. With her men in Treasure Town. Let’s move.”
* * * *
Sophia was moaning in pain. She wasn’t sure how long she had been here, or even where here was. Her body ached, her lips and cheeks swollen, her legs battered and bruised after Deavan and Mateo beat her. She wanted to die, to just pass out and never wake again. They’d told her Lew had died in the fire and that they’d blown up the marine patrol boat that Gideon, Cerdic, and Andreas were working on. She cried for them, and that just added to her punishment.
She wondered why they hadn’t raped her. They’d touched her, told her they would do things, but still, they hadn’t yet. It was as if they were trying to cleanse her body and got more pleasure out of torturing her and striking her, hearing her suffer. They were sick, sadistic bastards, and if she got the chance, she would kill them and without a care of dying in the process. There was nothing to live for.
Her head so fuzzy she couldn’t even think a full coherent thought. Maybe she had a concussion. She’d passed out too many times to remember, and even now, she lay here tied to the bed but unable to move a muscle. She moaned and wanted to cry, but there were no more tears to shed. As she glanced toward the right, she saw the evening approaching. Would they come back to her as they promised and hurt her more? She heard the door open, and her heart didn’t even pound so hard anymore. She had given up.
Mateo approached, carrying something. Deavan came in, too, wearing no shirt and holding some sort of flat, long stick in his hand. He stared at her and slapped the stick against his hand, making a snapping noise.
“We need to take care of a few things, Sophia, before we make you ours again,” Mateo said to her. He was busy setting something up on the table. When she saw the flash of fire from a lighter then something enflame, she shook with fear and thought about Lew. Her heart ached. She wished she had died with him.
“As much as I enjoy the new ink on your body, it seems to be missing something special. Something that indicates who exactly you belong to.”
The slap from the stick landed across her thighs, and she cried out.
“Pay attention. They’ll be no running this time,” Deavan said and then made her jerk, anticipating another strike from the stick he held, but instead, he ran the flat tip of it between her legs over her belly to her lips.
She heard the hiss and turned away to see what Mateo was up to. When she saw the branding tool she cried out and shook her head. “No. Not again. No. You already did that to me.”
“Untie her,” he ordered. “I want it on her back where it belongs and where it was before.”
Deavan pulled out a knife. He dropped the stick on the bed and undid her legs first and then her hands. He gripped her tightly as he flipped her onto her back. She was crying and begging for them not to do it.
Mateo gripped her cheek. “But they’re dead, all four of them, and you’re ours again. Submit to me, to us, and your treatment will improve. Your punishments will be over.”
She thought about it. If she played up to their control, they might let their guard down. She was alone in this, and she wanted to die. She had nothing to lose.
“They’re dead. They’re not coming. This is your life now. You’re with us forever,” Deavan said and ran his hands along her ass and her back. He pressed a finger between the crack of her ass, and she shivered.
“Okay. Okay, I’ll submit. I accept you both,” she said. Deavan eased up, and Mateo smiled.
“Smart choice,” he said, and he pulled her to standing position. He kissed her shoulder.
“Bend over the bed and offer me your body to brand.”
The lights went out, and Sophia didn’t know what was happening, but she made a move. She kicked back with all her might and heard Mateo grunt. She reached for the branding tool and turned and swung at him, hitting him in the face. The strike to her arm with the knife made her scream, but she just kept swinging the hot branding iron and heard Deavan roar as it made contact with his skin. The stench of burnt flesh filled the air, and the strike to her face had her falling back against the wall. The branding iron hammered to the floor and skittered across it, and then hands gripped her throat, and she struggled to get free. Deavan lifted her by the throat and tossed her onto the bed. She cried out, screaming and fighting him as shots of light illuminated the room. Deavan fell from her body, and then Mateo roared. She could barely stay conscious, but then she felt the strong arms pulling her off the bed. A man in black wearing a black mask. He had deep green eyes.
“We’ve got you, baby. We’re going home. Stay with us now. Your men are here.”
“Lew?” she whispered, and he told her to be quiet, and she was.
He was alive, the others, too. She sensed them near her as they descended the stairs and stepped over things. She didn’t know what until the light from the moon illuminated the stairway landing, and she saw the bodies and the blood. They’d killed them. Her men had come in and rescued her. They weren’t dead. She fought to stay conscious and to be quiet as Lew carried her, followed by a team of other men in black. But there were six of them. Who else was with her men?
She closed her eyes and held on as best she could. The movement and the feel of tree branches hitting her battered body made her moan.
“Shhh, baby. Please be nice and quiet,” Lew said to her, and she gulped the pain down and held on with the little strength she had left.
It was so dark. How could they see? She heard a door open then the low hum of an engine. They were in a vehicle, and no one said a word. Lew just kept her pressed against his chest. She phased in and out of consciousness. Then she heard water and felt as if she was on some kind of raft or something.
“How is she holding up?” Andreas asked. But he didn’t touch her. No one but Lew had touched her, held her, and she wondered why. But suddenly she felt so weak, and she just couldn’t keep her eyes open. It was as if the adrenaline left her body, and that was it.
Chapter 9
“This is Catalina, a friend of Frankie’s and the girls. She’s a nurse that works in the ER. Let her take a look at that flesh wound,” Jake told Jeremy as he sat in the chair in the waiting room waiting to hear how Sophia was doing. His brothers were there, too, and the moment he caught sight of Catalina, he didn’t argue with Jake.
“It’s not a big deal. We wrapped it up, and it’s nothing. I’ve had worse,” Jeremy said.
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that? Sophia hasn’t awoken yet, so you have some time,” Catalina told him firmly, and he was aroused and completely attracted to the woman. When he felt Cooper next to him, giving him a nudge as he winked at Catalina, he was shocked.
“Come on, bro, let’s let the sweet, beautiful nurse make sure you won’t need that arm amputated,” he teased, and Catalina chuckled as Jeremy and Cooper headed to a room with Catalina as Don and Cody continued to handle the negative results of their gung-ho, John-Wayne tactics that had saved their friends’ woman before the feds could get her killed.
He pretty much knew his career in the government was over, and he didn’t give a shit. When he heard what Mateo and Deavan were planning on doing to Sophia and then heard her cries and her f
ighting for her life, he knew he’d made the right decision in accompanying his friends and heading to Peru after her. Cerdic, Andreas, Lew, and Gideon were very resourceful Navy SEALs. He and Nate were truly impressed and grateful, as they’d kept them alive under circumstances he and Nate weren’t exactly familiar with. It gave him a new-found respect for Navy SEALs and specifically for the four men who shared Sophia and loved her so much they risked their lives, their careers, and their future for her. It made Jeremy think about himself and his brothers, their lives, their careers and what they hoped for in the future. Maybe it was time to start looking into settling down?
As Catalina bent over to grab a pen that Cooper dropped, Jeremy absorbed the shape of her round ass, the cute nurse’s uniform, and then the way Cooper had his arms crossed, smiling. Maybe he and his brothers could find happiness in Treasure Town too?
* * * *
It actually felt really relaxing to sit in the hot tub and just soak and rest. The last several weeks had been hectic and tiresome. She was constantly in pain and recovering from her internal, as well as external, injuries. Thank God nothing was too serious, although her men considered every mark, every bruise unacceptable, and they looked her body over day and night, watching to make sure she was healing well. But right now, as she lay in the tub, her face pointed up toward the evening sky, she felt so relaxed she could have fallen asleep. This hot tub was way bigger than the one at her beach house across the way, which was now under construction. Nate and Rye were doing all the new construction, and she got to stay with her men in their house as she recovered and they dealt with the results of their unauthorized mission to save her life.
But she had helped them get out of trouble when she offered information to the feds she hadn’t realized was important until she started remembering passwords and codes she’d overheard. Jeremy didn’t even know, and ultimately, it saved them all from getting put in prison.
“You shouldn’t stay in too long. I don’t want you feeling any pain,” Lew told her as he appeared by the Jacuzzi, wearing only shorts and a T-shirt. The others came outside, too, and were all holding beers.
Hearts on Fire 6: Healing Sophia (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 13
