“SHUT UP, YOU SLUT!”
She lets out a blood curdling wail.
My heart stops and my blood freezes as I pull my gun from its holster.
A moment of sanity parts the clouds of my fury as I aim it at the lock and the door.
“If there’s anyone behind the fucking door, you’d better MOVE because I’m gonna shoot! You’ve got two fucking seconds!!...One…two…!!”
BANG BANG BANG!
Three shots and the metal is dangling and the wood shattered. I kick the panel and the door slams open. As I step inside the empty foyer, I hear gunshots at the backdoor before it smashes in as well.
“Just let her go, Steve, she’s all we’re here for!” I yell as I walk slowly into the house with my gun raised in front of me.
I can see Bull scanning the area, his expression dark, he veers one way as Gringo goes the other as they move from the back of the house. Snake enters the living area as I head to the foot of the stairs leading up. It’s quiet, not a sound, just the damn crows outside.
My heart is pounding but my head is clear.
We’ve been on a million seek and retrieve missions throughout our careers. Not a fucking one of them is as important as this one. I’ve been trained for this, but I cannot guarantee I won’t torture Steve if he’s so much as hurt one hair on Summer’s head.
“You’re trespassing, scum, I hope you like prison,” Steve laughs from upstairs.
I lock eyes with Snake, Bull motions to me with a sweep of his finger, Gringo nods as he moves into position, then Snake and I start moving up the steps.
“No I’m not, Summer invited me in when she called my name. Just let her go, then we’ll leave,” I try to keep him occupied as I take another step.
I don’t know where he is, if he’s armed, if he’s got a gun at Summer’s head. I don’t know a goddamn thing except he’s up here and he’s got her.
I’ve come to get her.
“We’d like you to be the first to know we’re getting married soon. Although, I’m sure you can understand you’re not invited to the wedding,” he sneers.
My blood boils.
Keep it fucking cool, Rock, you’re almost there!
“Really, I’d like to talk to Summer about that.”
Another step closer.
She whimpers.
My heart breaks as rage engulfs me.
Then shuffling as something is dragged across the floor. Another painful whimper.
“Let her go, Steve, I just want to talk to her. If she tells me to leave, that she wants to marry you,” You psychotic motherfucker!, “then we’ll go.”
As I step on to the top landing of the stairs, I don’t see them anywhere. My ears prick to pick up any sound indicating where they are. I take a step toward a door at the end of the hall.
“Rock!” Bull calls from downstairs, “We’ve got company, and it ain’t the cops.”
My gut tightens.
I’d bet a million fucking dollars it’s her pig of a father, coming to make sure she’s delivered to this sick bastard.
Shuffling, grunting, and scratching sounds are heard through the door I’m walking toward.
“You little bitch!” Steve yells before the sound of a slap is heard from the room.
I can hear Snake coming up the last few steps behind me as I run through the open door.
I thought I was furious before? That’s nothing compared to the need to destroy this son-of-a-bitch now.
Steve’s shoving a half-naked, tied-up Summer into a closet with his fucking foot and her hair.
“Goddamn it, you drew blood, you filthy whore!” he yells at her as he raises his hand again to hit her.
“If you fucking touch her again, I’ll saw off every fucking piece of your body nice and slow, and keep you awake to feel every pain I inflict on you until I let you die,” my chest is heaving with each breath I take, I’m so enraged.
He whips his head around to look at me.
Immediately I realize he’s not holding a weapon.
“Get out, I’m done with you. She’s not your property, she belongs to The Club, and she was given to me. She’s mine.”
Summer’s eyes are filled with horror as she looks at me.
It guts me, cuts me right in half. Everything about her. The pain, the shock, the bruises, the raw skin. Every. Goddamn. Thing.
My eyes return to the prick. “I know all about The Club…and your father.” I glance back at her. Hopefully my expression tells her none of that shit matters, she’s what matters. “I know about your father too, princess.”
Her lip quivers, her face falls, and any hope she might have had disappears from her eyes before she turns away.
Another knife twists in my gut.
Steve turns to face me completely.
“I have no idea how you’re aware of any information, but it really does make this simpler.” He places himself directly between Summer and I, blocking her from my view. “Leave now and I won’t have you arrested.”
There’s a commotion happening downstairs.
“You’re not going up there, not until Rock brings her down,” Bull’s deep voice is saying.
“She’s my daughter and she belongs to me,” a man snaps.
Summer peeks out from behind Steve’s legs, her eyes wide and terrified.
Steve’s expression morphs to smug satisfaction. “Ah, they’re here. Time to go, darling. I’m taking you home.”
Enough of this shit!
Looking past Steve, I ask her. “You coming with me, princess?”
I feel Snake by my side.
“She’s not going anywhere with you, filth. We’re going home where she belongs,” Steve sneers as he takes a step toward me.
My eyes haven’t left Summer’s. They’re filled with agony and uncertainty.
Scuffling and raised voices can be heard from downstairs.
“If you set one finger on me, you’ll spend the rest of your sorry life in jail,” the unknown man drawls.
Got to be the piece of shit father.
“Well, sir, from what I’ve heard, it’s all y’all that are going to be each other’s bitches behind bars.” Bull fucking laughs. “Hell, I might even come and pay you a visit just to watch you get your just rewards.”
I love that fucking guy!
“What’s it going to be, princess?” I ask her again. “Me or them?” I watch her, and wait. My eyes soften, letting her know everything’s going to be okay. “You want to come home with us, or go with them?”
Her battered face brightens. And it warms every damn thing inside me.
“You, Rock.” Her voice cracks with emotion.
“Good choice,” I fucking beam at her.
I shove my gun in its holster and step forward, my hand moving to my back pocket for my blade. My eyes are now fixed on the scumbag in front of me.
I’m going to gut him open, pull out his fucking intestines, and strangle him with them!
“Wait just a minute,” Steve sputters.
Steve moves to step in front of me.
Stupid, stupid boy.
Snake moves so quickly, I don’t even see him, and cuts me off as I flick open my knife.
Snake hits him with the heel of his palm to his nose, not enough to imbed it into his brain, but enough to do some serious damage. As Steve crumples forward, Snake takes him out with a punch to his gut, complete with a “YAAAAAHHH!”
Snake is a martial arts expert, or some shit like that.
He just saved your fucking life.
I keep moving to the only thing, the only person that matters. Even with her legs and arms bound, her pants around her ankles, and her face bruised and raw, she’s absolutely stunning, regal. She’s a fucking princess.
“I’ll take him,” Snake says. He grabs Steve by his hair, the same way I found him holding Summer when I got here. “Come on, let’s go say hi to your friends.”
I kneel down beside Summer.
“Hey, princess, you okay?”
<
br /> Tears are streaming down her face.
“How’d you know?” she whispers tightly.
“Which part? Where to find you? That you were gone? Or about them?”
She chokes out a quiet little sob. “All of it I guess.”
“Let me get you untied. We’ll have plenty of time for all of that. I want to get you home.”
She sighs. It’s more than just a breath, it’s her letting go of all of the goddamn burdens she’s been carrying on her shoulders, the weight of all her pain and anguish. It’s the chains of her imprisonment finally, FINALLY, falling off.
She shuffles and gives me her back so I can get her arms cut free. When I do, she moans from the pain of being bound for so long as she moves her arms. Fury flares up within me again. She turns for me to cut her legs loose next.
I rub the rope marks around her ankles gently to get the blood flowing as I silently fume. “Give me your wrists,” I say quietly.
As the men shout at each other downstairs, Steve screaming like a little pussy that Snake broke his nose, the man I believe is Summer’s father insisting Bull let him get to his daughter, Summer and I just stare at each other.
“I reckon she doesn’t belong to you anymore, from the looks of things,” Bull says. He’s enjoying himself, the sick bastard. “Seems to me, we’re her family now. And for the record,” his voice becomes ominous, “we’re mighty protective of our own.”
I smile at her. “Let’s get you fixed up,” I say as I start to pull her pants up.
She’s quiet and she’s smiling, but the tears haven’t stopped.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“Hush, princess,” I lean in and place a light kiss on her lips. “Time to go home.”
I help her stand. When she does, she winces and clutches her side.
I grit my teeth to hold back a fresh wave of fury.
“Let me see it,” I whisper darkly.
I can see she’s fighting off stabbing pains as she pants out short little breaths. “I’m fine.”
“Summer,” I say patiently as I grip the hem of her shirt.
She doesn’t fight me as I slowly lift it. It doesn’t take but only an inch or two for the hideous red and purple markings covering her entire torso to show themselves.
“I should have killed him,” I rasp out.
There are no words to express the fury and rage burning through me. For a man to do this to an innocent, tied up woman speaks volumes for what a low-life, coward, bastard he is.
Summer grabs my arm and says, “Don’t, Rock. It’s over. All of it. I just want to go home. I’m free, it’s all over. And this,” she looks down at herself, “it’s a small price to pay for that.” She looks me in the eyes pleadingly, “Just take me home.”
This woman is so strong, so invincible, she humbles me.
I sigh.
Whatever she wants.
“Okay, let’s go home.” Her expression relaxes despite her discomfort. “Do you think you can walk? Or do you want me to carry you?”
Her eyes light up as she stands a little straighter.
“I’m going to walk past them with my head high for the last time.”
She fucking slays me!
“You got it, princess.”
By the time we get to the top of the stairs, sirens are blaring down the street toward the house.
I knew this was coming.
“The cops are on their way, what do you want to do?” I ask her as she takes the first step down.
Snake is waiting for us at the bottom, along with a man in an expensive suit and gray hair, an impeccably dressed goon is standing next to him, silent and trying to intimidate us, Bull and Gringo, and Steve crying like a little baby.
“I just want to leave. Everything. And never look back,” she says quietly.
“Alright, it’s your call.”
I can understand that, I may not agree with it, but this is her show.
Snake is waiting for an indication of how to proceed when the law walks through the door. I give him a shake of my head. He understands, no cops. He turns to Steve who still has blood pouring out of his nose, puts his arm around his neck tightly and whispers in his ear. Whatever he’s telling him is shutting him the fuck up.
We move slowly, Summer wincing and gasping with every step she takes. When we finally get to the last few steps, the cops are inside questioning everyone.
“Summer!” the man I guess is her father spies us and breaks away to approach us.
I feel her tense next to me.
“Summer, thank God we found you,” he feigns loving concern.
“Don’t,” she tells him icily.
“Darling, I’ve come to bring you home,” he continues to move forward.
I want to cut his tongue out of his head, then shove it down his throat. With my fist.
“I never want to see you again. And,” she whispers, “if you ever contact me, I will file charges on you, and everyone in that place. For everything. Leave now, forget I exist. Because if you don’t, you’ll spend your life getting done to you what you let happen to me for ten years,” she hisses. “That training stops immediately. For everyone. If not, you’ll all pay.”
The man at least has the faculties to blanche at her words.
It’s too fucking good for him. For all of them.
Snake is talking to the cops, “They called us to come and help them. The door was locked and the only way to get in was to break it down. Any way we could. Of course we’ll pay for the repairs. I have someone already in contact with the owner.”
He’s good.
Steve, Summer’s father, and the goon don’t say a damn word.
Fucking smart. They just got a free pass, it’s best they use it because they aren’t going to get another one.
One of the officers approach us.
“Ma’am, are you injured? Did someone hurt you? I have to take him in, regardless if you press charges or not,” he informs her as he glares at me.
She burns holes in Steve with her eyes, then her father.
“I’m fine. I just want to go home.”
The officer looks frustrated. He knows she’s lying; he knows that we’re all lying.
“I’ll need your number if I need to get a statement from you later on,” he finally accepts her decision.
“Snake will give you all of our contact information, now if you’ll excuse us,” I answer for her and hand Snake the keys to my bike.
“The keys are in the truck,” he informs me.
I lead Summer away from the house, past the limo that brought in Mr. Hollingsworth, all the patrol cars that the town has, and my bike, to Bull’s truck. The entire neighborhood is either on their lawns or peeking out of their windows.
When we get to the truck, I open the door and lift her up, she’s grunting and moaning with every single move. Rage flares furiously inside me again. I get her settled, then head to the driver’s side. When I close the door, we take a moment to just breathe.
I turn to Summer. “Let me take you to the hospital. The fucker might have broken a few ribs.”
Looking at her, I see she’s pale and her face is covered in sweat, her hair is sticking to her skin, and I can tell she’s having trouble catching her breath.
“What can they do for it?” she asks tightly, waiting out the pain.
I clench my teeth because I know what’s ahead for her.
“Nothing.”
“Then no.”
I don’t fucking blame her.
I start up the truck.
“How did you know?” she asks me again.
I grip the steering wheel tightly, torn by wanting to spill my guts about everything. The Program, everything I know about her father, and the things I know about her home, her engagement, what she went through, the training she referred to. And that we were hired to find her and bring her back.
I feel her staring at me beside me as she waits me out.
I take a deep breath.
&nbs
p; She deserves to know.
“I’m not just a tattoo artist, Summer,” I begin. “I was in the Army, we all were, we served together.” No one’s supposed to know about The Program. But her father found out because he hired us, and if we would have taken her back, she would have suspected something. This rationalization makes it easier for me to give her some honesty. “When we got out, we became affiliated with a private sector that supplies services to people who need…something special.” Our eyes lock. “Summer,” I take her hand, “your father hired us, our company, to find you and bring you back.” Her eyes widen in shock. “If he hadn’t,” I look back at the house, “Steve would have succeeded in kidnapping you.”
“When?” the word is barely a whisper.
“The call I was on yesterday when you came to the shop.”
“I see,” she turns her head and stares out the window. She’s digesting this information, piecing everything together. “How much do you know?” she asks as a long lone tear slips down her cheek.
My heart is breaking for all the pain this beautiful woman has endured. For the weight their torment has placed on her.
“Enough to know there was no fucking way I would let them have you.” I reach over and turn her face to me. “Enough that I’m never letting you go.”
We stare at each other. So many things pass between us in that look, a lifetime of promises and devotion, an eternity of hope, faith, and trust.
“Take me home, Rock,” she finally says softly.
“Your wish is my command, princess,” I smile at her, really fucking smile.
I put the truck in reverse and maneuver my way through the parked vehicles.
As we leave the house, her father, Steve, and all they represent, she’s walking away from her past and her demons.
I’m taking her home. She has a new life. A new family.
She has everything and everyone she’ll ever need.
She’s finally free.
ROCK
EPILOGUE
Six Months Later
“Rock, when are they going to be here?” Summer calls from the bedroom.
Why she’s there, I have no clue.
Everything she’s going to need, she was born with.
“An hour, now get your sweet ass in here so I can prepare you.”
Canvas (The Program Book 1) Page 20
