Angel: Dark MC Romance: Iron Vikings MC 4

Chapter 23

“Come in sweetheart, don’t be shy,” a burly guy said, sitting on a sofa in the back of a grand suite filled with all kinds of antique and ugly green flowered wallpaper.

Nora stepped forward after one of this man’s guards pushed her over the threshold.

“Leave us and lock the door,” the man said to the guard.

Nora swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t know what to expect from a vile rapist kidnapper, but him giving her a genuine blinding smile wasn’t it.

“It’s okay, Nora,” the man said.

“H-how? You’ve kidnapped us and there are others down in that basement. Y-you’re a monster.”

She didn’t know she had it in her, but somehow, she stood her ground against him.

Cat’s words came to mind.

“If you do ever get into a life-or-death situation, remember to keep your head up, to stay strong and never give up hope. Because this entire club, our new family, will never leave us. They will hunt every fucker down who tries to hurt you. Remember that, okay?”

“Technically, I didn’t snatch you off the street.”

She scrutinized this powerful man, tattooed and with a full beard, standing tall and commanding. His muscular frame was adorned with intricate tattoos, each design probably telling a story of strength and resilience. His full beard, well-groomed and dark, framed a face marked by sharp, strong features and a steely gaze that immediately command her to submit.

But there was something about his dark eyes that seemed eerily familiar. Had she met this guy somewhere before?

“You’re making me blush, Quiet One.”

“W-what did you call me?”

“Quiet One. That’s what the brothers call you, right?”

He gestured his head with a nod towards the sofa and said, “Sit down.”

Nora dragged her feet towards the sofa and held her breath when this man sat down next to her, one of his muscular thighs touching hers.

The lock in the door turned before the door opened, and that pale biker entered the suite.

“Everything all right here?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” the dark-haired man said, dismissing the pale biker.

“You need any help to hold her down?”

Nora’s skin crawled at the pale biker’s enthusiasm. She couldn’t phantom how a guy could get a kick out of holding down and raping a woman.

“Do I look like the type of guy that needs any help?” the dark-haired man said before he stood from the sofa and swallowed up the oxygen in the suite.

Nora now had a good look at the dark-haired man’s leather vest that read ‘Nomad’ on the back. She never heard of a MC named Nomad and wondered what it meant.

“S-sorry, Branko. I-I’ll leave you to it,” the weasel said before turning around toward the door. Nora made a mental note to remember this biker’s name.

“Wait a minute,” Branko said.

Nora held her breath, hoping that Branko hadn’t changed his mind about the pale biker helping him.

”Key,” Branko said, extending his open palm.

“What?”

“You’ve heard me. You don’t need access to my suite.”

The pale biker stood stock-still, clearly unwilling to hand over the key.

Branko cocked his head, raising one of his dark brows that matched his wavy dark hair on top of his head.

If he weren”t the scum of the earth, she might have looked twice if she passed this giant of a man on the street. Branko’s build reminded her of her blond Viking.

The pale biker handed over the key. “I’ll talk to Silas about this,” he added.

Nora’s ears drummed at the mentioning of IVMC”s former Vice President. Silas had been the mastermind behind the kidnapping of her twin sister.

Nora shook uncontrollably, much to the amusement of the pale biker whose beady eyes gleamed at seeing the terror in Nora’s eyes.

“Fuck, that’s hot,” the creep said.

“Get out,” Branko said.

Branko closed the door behind the pale biker and turned the lock. At least he wouldn’t come back for her. For now. For some weird reason, Nora felt safer around Branko, even though she didn’t know how he’d treat her now that they were all alone in his suite.

Branko’s legs ate up the distance between them. He crouched down in front of her while Nora’s nails bit the fabric of the sofa, since she’d been unable to move a muscle.

Branko leaned in, his scent manly but clean.

“I will not hurt you, Nora. Nod once if you understand what I’m saying.”

She felt her bottom lip tremble and her eyes fill up with tears, since she wanted to believe him so bad. But this could all be a part of a sick and twisted game just to break her.

She thought back to her sister’s words and straightened her shoulders before giving Branko a single nod.

“Good girl. I always knew you were smart.”

She furrowed her brows. “We’ve met?”

“I’ve seen you enter the courtyard on your first day at the club.”

Nora noticed how he said ‘the club’ like he’d been a part of it.

“That was eight years ago,” she said.

He nodded. His hand resting on top of her knee felt weirdly calming, while every nerve-ending stood on edge.

“I’m going to get you out of here, Quiet One. But you need to trust me,” he whispered in her ear. “They’re filming us, so we can’t get away with just talking tonight.”

She instantly shifted on the sofa, letting his hand fall from her knee. She knew he was too good to be true.

He put a hand in the air. “I understand, Nora.”

“I’m not letting you touch me without a fight,” she said. “If Angel finds out where?—”

Branko quickly held a finger against her lips to shut her up. “Shh.”

Nora fought the urge to bite his stupid finger.

Branko leaned in for a third time and whispered, “Fuckin’ Hell. Don’t tell anyone you’re Angel’s Old Lady. You’ve just put a mayor target on your back.”

“S-sorry.” Nora clearly didn’t know what to do in a hostage situation.

”It”s okay. I can”t believe Angel”s got an Old Lady—hell must have frozen over,” he said with a wink.

Branko’s kind, brown eyes made her exhale a deep breath.

“He asked me last night at the bend,” she whispered.

“Damn. I miss the bend.”

”You look like the kind of guy who enjoys a wild party,” she said, then quickly covered her mouth in shock at her own words.

Branko laughed with his head back into his neck before he sat down next to her on the sofa. “Like I said, you’re a smart little kitten.”

She couldn’t grasp why his nickname felt nice. Was this the beginning stage of Stockholm syndrome?

“Why are you hanging out with these guys?” she asked.

Branko shook his head. “Let’s not go there.”

“Why?”

Branko arched a brow. “Because I said so, and if you ask me again, I’ll put you over my knee.”

She got the distinct feeling that he would enjoy spanking her. “There’s only one man who’s allowed to touch me.”

Branko grabbed her knee, holding her in place as he whispered in her ear, “I’ll never touch a brother’s Old Lady, so don’t worry.”

“So, you’ll just ask for another girl from the basement instead?” she snapped.

“I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Don’t worry. You’ll find out soon enough,” Branko said before grabbing his ringing cell phone from his inner pocket inside his vest.

“What?!” he barked into the receiver.

“Yes,” Branko said.

Nora strained her ears, hoping to overhear who’d been talking to, without any luck.

“Yes, she’s fine. No, I don’t know. Not right now,” Branko said, his eyes scanning her face.

She watched Branko type something onto his smart watch before he said, “I’ve sent you my location. Things will go down in three minutes, though.”

Nora shifted on the sofa, unsure what exactly would go down. Her gaze went from Branko to the door and to Branko again.

“What’s your ETA?” Branko asked.

He checked his watch again. “No, we can’t wait.”

She wondered who he’d meant when he said, ‘we’.

“I’ve got to hang up now so I can protect your missus,” Branko said and hung up.

“Angel!” Nora said, realizing he’d been talking to Angel all along.

“One more minute, Quiet One,” Branko said while pulling her up from the sofa.

“W-will you help us?” Nora asked him.

Branko pulled out a gun from the inside pocket of his vest. “Do you know how to shoot?”

She shook her head. If only she’d listened to Gwenn when she’d offered to give her shooting lessons a few months ago.

“Shit. Just stay behind me. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Branko unlocked the door and said, “I’ll bring you back to IVMC. Don’t worry.”

“What about my friends in the basement?” she asked.

“My brothers are about to take over that building first,” Branko whispered, pressing his ear against the door to listen.

A loud bang sounded from somewhere outside of their building.

“That’s our queue.”

She had no idea what she was supposed to do, so she crept behind Branko’s colossal frame when he cracked the door open.

“Fuckin’ traitor,” the pale biker said on the other side of the threshold.

She couldn’t see him, but she’d recognized his horrid voice.

The door opened wide, and Nora stepped to the side when Branko walked backwards into the suite with his hands raised in the air. Standing next to the door opening, behind the door and against the wall, that weasel hadn’t noticed her while he’d kept Branko under gun point.

She didn’t think for once in her life as she jumped the pale biker’s back from the side and gave him a right hook she was sure her sister would be proud of.

“Grab his gun!” she shouted.

Branko had already grabbed the biker’s wrist, so the first shot the pale biker fired landed in the ceiling.

The second shot brought down the chandelier above the dining table and Nora knew she had to stop him from shooting.

She punched him again and again until she finally hit a spot on his head that made his eyes roll back into his head.

“Good job, Quiet One,” Branko said.

“Thanks.”

Branko pulled the pale biker’s limp body further inside of the suite and placed him in the bathroom. He locked the bathroom door and said, “You’ve knocked him out good.”

“I’ve learned that from my sister.”

Branko laughed. “Yeah, no surprise there. I’ve also witnessed Whirlwind’s first day at IVMC.”

He leaned against the door leading to the hallway and asked, “Are you ready for some more action?”

“No,” she said, and meant it.

“Too bad, babe. My brothers are about to take Silas down and everyone working for him. And I just promised my old friend Angel that I would keep you safe, so you’d better come with me.”

Nora didn’t know if she had another heroic action left in her. She’d hoped that knocking out that creep would be enough for today.

“Come on,” Branko said before opening the door to mayhem.