by LS Anders
It was a monumental task to lift his arm, but he was determined to defend her.
“Oh, no you don’t. Stay down, motherfucker,” the attacker cursed.
Evana’s screams filled the air as the next blow rendered him unconscious.
Evana woke to a suffocating cloth sack covering her head. Every breath she exhaled increased the humidity inside the covering making her face unbearably hot and sticky.
She’d been knocked unconscious, but not with the bat that had most likely killed Jason.
Oh god, he couldn’t be dead.
Please not Jason, too. She would trade her own life for his if she were given the opportunity.
She knew who had taken her. She had gotten an all too good look at the cuts the members of the Satan’s Disciples MC were wearing when they pulled her body out from under Jason’s lifeless one.
Even though the fight was her mother’s, she was going to be the one to finally pay for the death of that member.
Cracking open her eyes, she couldn’t clearly see past the coarse woven threads of the sack or the blood and sweat dripping into her eyes.
From what she could tell, she was in a dimly lit room. No furniture, no windows, facing a closed door. Probably locked. Even if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered, she was strung up. Sagging with her arms stretched high above her head, and her wrists hurt like hell from holding up her weight.
Whimpering from the movement, she found her footing. The floor was cold against her bare feet. It was a small relief to feel her bindings ease up from where they were cutting into her skin.
Swallowing hard, her tongue worked against the gag shoved between her lips. It was no use trying to dislodge it, tied as tight as it was around her head. Her scalp burned as she raised her chin. Her hair must have tangled in the knot.
Her vision wavered as she looked up to see what her hands were tethered to, nausea welling up inside her throat.
She was attached to a wooden support pole with an eye bolt screwed into the wood. The handcuffs biting into her flesh were held in place with a key lock.
Too heavy to hold up, she let her head drop back down and came to the alarming realization that she was naked.
Attempting to block out all her aches and pains, she tried focusing on any painful sensations between her legs. Had she been raped while she was unconscious? Since her and Jason had been having sex before she was taken, she didn’t feel anything unusual. Didn’t hurt in that area. But that didn’t mean it hadn’t happen.
What did she care? She was dead anyway. Once the MC had done what they were going to do to her, they would kill her to avenge the death of their VP. Talk about holding a grudge. Twenty-two years was a long fucking time to keep hatred alive.
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she thought of all the blood that had coated Jason’s face. The roll of his eyes as he was hit the second time.
Jason couldn’t be dead. None of this had to do with him. She had gotten him into this mess. This was all her fault and she prayed none of her other friend’s would feel the repercussions of her mother’s actions.
The breath had been knocked out of her as Jason’s body had landed hard on top of hers. She had managed a scream before a beefy hand had been slapped over her nose and mouth. Seeing stars, she thought he meant to suffocate her until a gag was shoved into her mouth.
She had fought against the men as they rolled Jason off of her, his body landed with a sickening thud onto the floor. Her feet and hands had been bound before a fist had connected with her temple knocking her out.
Trying to remember every detail about Jason’s face. She was a dead woman waiting to breathe her last breath, and his face was the last vision she wanted before she died.
A metallic clicking sound woke her. There was no telling how much time had passed. There were no windows to mark any celestial bodies journeying across the sky.
The clicking of a lock being released had her peering over at the door.
Swinging wide, it revealed the man that had punched her in the head. The same member that had hit Jason with the baseball bat.
Anger rolled through her. If she could free her hands, she would gladly wrap them around his neck.
Ignoring the searing pain in her wrists, her body remained lax, dropping her lids back into place as he drew closer. No need to alert him that she was conscious. She was still dizzy and nauseous from the first hit, alluding to a concussion. No need to give the guy a reason to hit her again.
The sack was snatched from her head, taking with it a clump of her hair. Tears pressed hard behind her eyes from the sting as she resisted the urge to flinch. He untied her gag, pulling it from her mouth. The fresh air was the only relief, and she could finally take full breath, but the man reeked of an ashtray soaked in stale whiskey. Her gag reflex working overtime as she tried to remain deathly still.
A booted foot pushed at her thigh, causing her to sway. Gritting her teeth against the pain shooting down her arms as the weight of her body shifted on her damaged wrists.
A clammy hand cupped her breast, smoothing over the fullness before pinching the nipple so hard she saw stars.
Fetid breath washed her face as the member leaned in close to her ear. “Wake up, bitch. I didn’t hit you that fucking hard. Slash is on his way to avenge his brother’s death. After he gets a taste of that sweet cunt of yours, I’m next in line. It’ll be more fun if you’re awake when we all take a turn at you.”
Cold dread turned her bones to ice. She should have expected this. The Satan’s Disciples MC were rumored for their brutal gang rapes of female enemies.
“Go fuck yourself!” she screeched, raising her head. It wouldn’t matter if she were asleep or awake, they were going to do whatever they wanted to her. No use feigning sleep if she could make it difficult for them to rape her by flailing about. They were going to kill her, so the discomfort she was feeling now didn’t really matter.
The member laughed low and evil, grabbing a fistful of her hair. “Oh yeah, slut, I’m getting me a piece of your cunt. Your boyfriend was going after it hard before I clocked his ass. Shame he didn’t get to finish but, I can finish you off. That’s good you like it rough. That means you’ll like me. Besides, my cock is bigger than his. I’ll do you right.”
Managing to collect enough saliva in her dry mouth, she spat what she could in his face.
“You’re gonna pay for that.” Raising a meaty fist high in the air, he made to punch her.
Closing her eyes against the impending pain, the punch never landed.
A howl lit off outside the room. Strangled screams and the sounds of bodies hitting the floor had the member releasing her hair, his attention diverted as he crept over to the opened doorway.
A huge gray dog lunged through the door, attaching its fearsome teeth around the member’s neck ripping open his throat. The member threw his hands over the gaping wound, his mouth working like a fish. Hitting the floor like a felled tree, the member was dead before he landed with a sickening thud.
She fought against her restraints, pulling back as far as her tethered wrists would allow. It was no use, she was going nowhere.
The dog…er, wolf looked over at where she hung, dropping his head in a submissive gesture.
Relaxing a bit, she focused on the silvery eyes that seemed to shimmer with sadness. Those eyes were so familiar to her, yet she just couldn’t quite place where she’d seen them.
A pair of blue converse shoes stepped into the room. “Oh fuck, Evana!”
Recognizing the voice, her eyes swung up to meet Lucian’s. They’d found her. Squeezing her eyes shut as tears coursed down her cheeks in rivets. She was saved, but what of Jason.
Warm hands went to work on her handcuffs, her arms long since numb fell limply to her sides as she was freed. She sagged against Lucian’s muscular body before he lowered her to the floor. A rough material was laid over her body as Lucian spoke words to try and soothe her.
“Ja…Jason? Is he…?”
&
nbsp; “At the hospital. That’s where I’m taking you.”
Relief made her cry harder. He was alive. Jason was alive! Fuck her own wounds, she was going there to see him.
“What about everyone else?” she asked.
“Everyone’s fine.” Lucian’s words gave her such relief, her entire body left lighter.
Sevin’s voice came from over by the door. “Go on ahead. I’ll wait here for Vex.”
His words gave her strength. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see him standing naked in the doorway with blood covering his chin and chest. “You can’t stay here. There’s more members on the way,” she pleaded.
“You don’t have to worry about me. Go with Lucian. I can handle anymore trash that shows up.” Sevin nodded to Lucian giving him some kind of signal.
Lucian placed the palm of his hand on her temple. She closed her eyes as a warmth spread throughout her body, comforting her with a calming glow.
A blankness erased what she’d just witnessed with the wolf and Sevin. Her memories taken then replaced with new less terrifying ones as the glow relaxed her further.
Strong arms gathered her close as she was lifted from the floor and carried through the space. A creak of a door bathed her face with fresh night air.
A few more steps and she was moving upward. Lucian tightened his hold on her as wind rushed over her body. The sensation of flying with Lucian holding her was impossible for her mind to grasp. The glow was so relaxing, she gave into the sensation and let her mind go.
Drifting lower, she was aware of their slowing descent.
Her eyelids were extremely heavy, but curiosity won out. Cracking open her lids where her head rested on Lucian’s shoulder, she was met with a gorgeous set of wings. The feathery span folded back behind his back, vanishing as he began walking down a narrow alley between two brick buildings.
Turning the corner, she closed her eyes against the illumination spilling out onto the street from the hospital’s emergency room entrance.
Lucian commanded attention the moment the automatic doors slid open. A flurry of activity surrounded them as Lucian placed her on a gurney. Clinging to his hands, she refused to let him go.
“Evana, you’re safe now,” Lucian softly spoke. “Let these people help you.”
“Not until I see Jason.” Her voice stronger than her battered body.
“You heard the lady,” Lucian repeated her request. “Take her to see Jason Gales, and then you can treat her injuries.”
A soft beeping kept up a steady rhythm, not an irritating sound as much as it was a curious one. Jason felt light as a feather, way too comfortable to be a normal sleep.
Someone was clutching his hand sobbing quietly over to his right. Giving the hand a slight squeeze, the crying stopped.
“Jason?”
Evana. It was Evana.
The break-in, getting whacked over the head with something more solid than his skull, his impotent attempt to save Evana from the Satan’s Disciples, all came rushing back in grotesque clarity.
Trying to turn his head was a no-go. Forming words was not any easier, the inside of his mouth was dry and sticky, and there was something covering the lower half of his face that was giving him an endless supply of oxygen.
Making an attempt to crack open his eyelids worked a little. Soft light rushed through the thin opening. He saw movement and cut his eyes as far to the right as he could.
Why couldn’t he move his fucking head?
Completely immobile, he felt like he was nailed down, but panic never made it past the floaty lightness of his brain, so he merely pondered the predicament he found himself.
A flash of black hair moved into his field of vision. Moaning when he saw the thick white bandage wrapped around Evana’s head.
Those fucking assholes had hurt her!
Just as soon as he got out of this fucking bed, he was gonna kill every fucking one of them.
His lids were so heavy, it was difficult to keep them open even just a little.
“Jason? Don’t go,” Evana gently pleaded. “Please open your eyes and say something.”
Opening his lids again, he forced out some kind of grunt from his throat that made her smile at him.
He needed to get with the talking quick so he could get all the info about what happened while he’d been knocked out. Getting back at the Satan’s Disciples was going to be his first priority once he got back on his feet.
Exhaustion had a firm grip on him as he began to fade back into a healing oblivion, taking him away from Evana. Fighting to keep his eyes on her lovely face, the vision of her began to blur as he gave himself over to the darkness.
Waking this time wasn’t as nearly as wonderful as the last. Vex was standing over him with his massive arms crossed over the width of his chest.
Jason’s brow furrowed.
“Not who you expected?” Vex smirked. “How long you planning on laying there? We need our manager back, and FYI, fucker, you don’t have any sick leave, so you need to get your ass back to work.”
Jason actually managed a grin.
“Yeah. I knew you were fakin’.”
“Pfft. Don’t listen to this asshole, Jason. We’re glad to see those peepers opened after all this time,” Tegan remarked.
Good lord, he was flanked by the biggest, bad-asses in the city that were failing miserably at trying to make jokes.
How bad were his injuries?
Shutting his eyes, he took stock of his situation. Besides being flat on his back, he still couldn’t move his head. Wiggling his toes and fingers were like moving leaded weights. Moving his feet and hands was a monumental task, but he could do it. Lifting an entire limb was going to take some time.
Lifting his lids, he looked over at Vex first. The guy was fixated on his foot that had been moving under the white hospital blanket like a cat about to pounce. Tegan was in that same state of fascination.
What was with these fuckers all captivated with him moving…
Oh, fuck!
He was paralyzed. That’s why his head wouldn’t budge from the pillow.
You guys need to tell me what the fuck is going on right now! His thoughts didn’t make it past his lips. A movement of his facial features and a grunt was about all he’d managed.
Concentrating all his energy on a single word, he gave the talking another try. “Evana.” Came out as a gravely mess, but at least he was understood.
“She’s fine,” Tegan nearly smiled. “We forced her to get out of this room for a little while. She’s been sitting next to your bed this entire time, refusing to leave. Even told the nurses to kiss her ass when they told her visiting hours were over.”
“She seems to like you, but fuck if I can figure out why,” Vex grumbled.
“Then, why you here?” Jason managed.
“Fuck if I know. You might be growing on me.” Vex dropped his head and shifted his feet. “Maybe. A little, but only the tiniest bit.”
“Tiny bit, huh?” He was getting better at the talking. Yeah, him.
Vex held up his thumb and forefinger, only a sliver of light showing between. “Miniscule.”
“I’ll take it,” he tried for a laugh, but only succeeded in coughing. “What happened—”
A shuffling over next to the door had him shutting up and shifting his eyes over.
“Was that him talking? Is he awake?” Evana came rushing over. “Why didn’t one of you come get me?”
The bandage around her head was gone. She was still sporting a major bruise on her temple that was in the healing yellow stages, both wrists were bandaged, and she had dark circles under her eyes.
She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
He struggled to sit up so he could hold her as she leaned over to him. It wasn’t happening. The best he could do was flip his hands palm up to welcome an embrace that was one-sided.
“I can’t move, or I’d hug you back,” Jason croaked.
Tears exploded from Evana’s e
yes. Afraid to touch him, she leaned over his prone body careful not to jostle him.
Gingerly sitting on the edge of the bed so he could see her, she was scarcely aware that Tegan and Vex had vacated, quietly closing the door on their way out.
“Please don’t cry, baby.”
That just made her cry that much harder, thrilled to hear his voice. “I’m so happy you’re finally awake. We need to call for the nurse and let them know.”
“Wait. Need alone time with my girl.” His words were choppy and sandpapery, but oh so wonderful to hear. “Feel like I was gone for a long time.”
“You’ve been out of it for ten days. We were all so worried about you.”
“Why…” Jason swallowed hard, briefly closing his eyes as if to prepare himself for an answer he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. “Why can’t I move?”
“The doctor said you might have some temporary paralysis from the swelling on your brain.” She knew he needed answers and she was determined to set his mind at ease, but recalling the incident had her lips trembling. “You were fortunate that they didn’t break your neck when you were hit on the base of your skull the second time.”
“What’d they hit me with?”
“A baseball bat.” Tears spilled down her cheeks, there was no holding them back. She wanted to be brave for him, but the images of him being beaten would forever be burned into her mind. “Oh god, Jason, it was awful. There was nothing I could do. It was all my fault. I got you involved in my mess. I should have been the only one they punished. I’m so sorry for what happened to you.”
Throwing both hands over her face, she curled into herself, guilt shaming her.
“Don’t blame yourself, Evana.” His voice becoming the strength she needed. “This was not your fault. Those assholes victimized you for something your mother did. Exacting revenge on an innocent person just to get back at someone else is total bullshit.”
She knew what he was saying was true, but it didn’t make her feel any less responsible for where he was now. His injuries could have been a lot worse, even still, they shouldn’t have happened at all.
