Hide, Don't Seek

Chapter 16~

We pull up at a tiny, little cabin that makes me think of my mother. Small, cute, tidy, and sweet-looking. She would have loved a place like this. A sharp pang in my chest has me absently rubbing it as we quietly step out of the car. Once we hit the gravel drive, we turned off the headlights, hoping not to force the bastards’ hands into hurting Beatrice.

Oh, sweet Bea. You can tell she doesn’t laugh or smile much, so when she does, it shines brighter than the sun. We only spent about an hour with her, but you can learn a lot about a person just by observing them. The shadows in her eyes called to a darkness in my soul.

She puts on a comfortable, confident front but is neither of those things unless she can control every aspect of a situation. That alone tells me all I need to know about some of her “life experiences.”

Knowing the little bit I do about her, I can see why she doesn’t trust easily, if at all, and prefers to be alone- because she’s the only person in her life who doesn’t let her down. Her heart is locked up tighter than Fort Knox, but she cares deeply for others, even those she doesn’t know. She has a gentleness about her that makes me want to comfort her, snuggle her, and take care of her. And I rarely feel that way.

Hell, I was surprised when I was immediately possessive of Even, Charlie, and Stu, but those were more “Bro” feelings; guys I could go into a dangerous situation with and feel safe. And those relationships were, and are, fostered by our mutual hatred of assholes who take advantage of others; especially women and children.

Of course, those feelings morphed a lot more between Even and me. What can I say, I love the big guy. We are basically the opposite in every way. He’s big and scary-looking but soft and gooey on the inside. Always willing to be the first in the face of danger and stopping at nothing to ensure people’s safety.

As for me, I look sweet and innocent. Semi-charming, really goofy. But, I’m the darkest of our group. I’m the interrogator, the torturer, the executioner; and I fucking love it.

But the moment I met Bea, I knew she’d be ours- ours to care for, ours to protect, ours to love.

A loud, very male, roar of agony penetrates through the trees, causing us all to freeze for a second. Then, like the team we fucking are, we all take off in a sprint past the back of the house. As my arms and legs fill with adrenaline, I feel a slow grin form on my face. If that’s a male scream, our feisty little Bea’s giving him a run for his money. Good girl.

My cock hardens in my pants as the thought of violence flows through me. If there’s anything left of these assholes by the time I get there, I’m definitely going to have some fun.

I groan under my breath as images of Bea and I “playing” together flip through my mind. We could take turns slicing and dicing our dear friends. And, if she needs a little extra stress relief, well, I can handle that, too.

My filthy thoughts are interrupted by a strange sound. It”s almost like a bunch of logs or something falling in the woods. The fuck? A quick glance toward Charlie tells me he’s thinking the same; his head tilted like he”s confused.

We start slowing down as we see a clearing up ahead. Needing to scout out where Beatrice is, and where our little friends are, we split up: Even and I to the left of the clearing, and Stu and Charlie to the right. The good news is: I only hear one male voice talking, and he sounds pissed. The other male is screaming in agony. The bad news is: I don’t hear Bea.

We quickly and as quietly as possible travel a few more feet until we hit the clearing. The moon gives me just enough light to see shadows of a man on the ground, crying and flailing with his hands over his face. In front of him is a huge dirt pit that appears to be filled with broken limbs and branches. “...ass, fat bitch…” Comes from somewhere just out of sight.

And I. See. Red. I know that motherfucker ain’t talking to Bea like that.

A warm hand presses down on my shoulder just as I take a step to rush in. As I look into Even”s eyes, he puts a finger up to signal we need to go in slow because we still don’t have Bea in sight. All I can manage is a clipped nod before we breach the clearing and silently head over to the pile of broken trees.

As we round the corner, I see a dark figure hovering on all fours, just inside the pit. But, what I can’t see, I hear. Bea’s scream of pain lights up every damn nerve I have and there is no stopping me.

Just as I hear a spitting sound coming from the asshole on top of her, I’m barreling into him full-force. Admittedly, it wasn’t thought out very well as my shoulder crashes into the bastard’s head. But when we land a few feet away in a tangle of limbs and fury, I”m at least relieved I didn”t hurt Bea in the process.

Not that I can worry about that right now. Nope. Right now I get to be lost in the red place.