Chapter 37
Heathen
Nothing in my mind about why it was taking her so long to come back down prepared me for busting into the room and seeing her tied up and gagged on the bed.
She writhes and whimpers at the sight of me, the gag in her mouth preventing her from speaking. I rush to her, my hands tracing her arms and the rest of her body to make sure she’s okay.
"The window!" she yells when I pull the gag from her mouth.
I bolt to the other side of the room where the curtains are blowing in the breeze, but I already know without climbing out there that I wasted too much time checking on her, and whoever the fuck thought they could do this to her is long gone.
Noise across the room makes me rush to her, my gun pointed at the door, a bullet ready for whoever it might be.
"No!" Kaylee screams, still squirming on the bed when she sees Morgan appear in the doorway.
I lower the weapon immediately, hating the way the other woman is looking at me.
"He's the one who is hurting you?" Morgan snaps, enough ire in her voice that I wonder if she's unafraid of the gun I just had pointed at her.
From her tone, it sounds like she'd still risk getting shot just to claw my fucking eyes out.
"No," Kaylee says before looking in my direction. "Can you please untie me?"
I work at pulling the knots out of the rope around her ankles and knees and then set to the rope tied around her waist that is preventing her from lifting her arms.
"Is this some sort of kinky game you two play?" Morgan asks, looking very Cruella-esque as she crosses her arms over her chest.
"She was fucking tied up," I hiss.
"It was the guy who you were arguing with last night," Kaylee says, sitting up with a wince as she reaches for her ankles.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"How are you sure?"
"How many other guys do you think would tie me up and text you to come up here?" Kaylee asks, glaring at her friend.
"You saw his face?" Morgan challenges, as if she can't believe that the guy is capable of doing what he's being accused of.
"Who is it?" I demand, shifting my weight so I can go after him once I have the right information.
"He was a little creepy, but I don't think he'd do something like this," Morgan says, refusing to give me the information I want.
"Why are you protecting him?" I growl.
"How do you know this isn't connected to your marriage-for-sale scheme?" she snaps at me, making me wonder just what Kaylee has told her about me. It doesn't sound like the woman knows the full truth of the situation.
"He's not the bad guy," Kaylee says, a sob in her voice.
It's enough to make Morgan take a long, hard look at her, and I see when she realizes just how much danger her friend was in.
"Sweetheart," the woman says, coming around to the other side of the bed to sit beside Kaylee and pull her into her arms.
Screams from downstairs put me right back on edge, and I pull my gun for a second time, positioning myself in front of both women so whoever it might be will have to go through me to get to them.
Twisted comes into view. I recognize him, despite having his commando mask in place, from the anarchy patch on his vest.
I lower the gun and open my mouth to speak, but I realize in my haste to make sure Kaylee was alright, I really haven't gotten much information from either of these two women. My mind is spinning, and it proves to me why people shouldn't work jobs where their loved ones could be in danger. It complicates everything and threatens to leave people hurt or worse.
"She was attacked and tied up," I begin, pointing to Kaylee just as Bandera comes into the room, also in full camo gear. "The suspect climbed out of the window before I could get to her."
Bandera repeats the information into a mic on his chest, but I don't have time to ask who else they have with them as the Cerberus team in Vegas consists of the three of us in this room and Rooster back at base. At this moment, Kaylee is my only concern, and I feel a little left out when I crouch close to her only to meet Morgan’s eyes. I can tell the woman hasn't decided if she believes what she's being told yet.
"We need medical," I bark at Bandera once he's done mobilizing whoever else may be outside.
I knew they were watching the house. I figured they were out there partly because Kincaid urged Twisted to watch over Morgan, but also because they wanted to bear witness to me walking into the fucking house, dressed like a giant piece of fruit that is synonymous with a penis.
No matter their reason for being here, I'm glad they are.
"Have you been hurt, sweetheart?" Bandera asks Kaylee, making me snarl like a territorial caged animal. He looks at me and points. "Not the time for that shit, man."
"I'm not hurt," she says.
"Your ankle," I say, pointing to the mark on her left leg.
"Can't be healed by a paramedic," she mutters.
"Did he—"
"No!" Kaylee snaps, already knowing what her friend is going to ask, and I swear my vision sheets white with rage.
I'll kill him just for tying her up, but the fact that he could've done more, even in the limited time he had her alone up here, makes me want to track down every person in his entire family to make sure that they're incapable of creating another monster.
"What happened?" I ask, needing to know what she went through but unsure if I'll be able to be caged once I find out.
She shakes her head, tears still streaming down her flushed cheeks.
"Kaylee?" I plead, watching as she darts her eyes around the room.
"I don't want to talk about it," she says. I know she can see the pain in my eyes, so she throws me a bone. "Later."
I dip my head, fully intending to make her keep her promise. I don't want her bottling all of this shit up, and I have no idea what long-lasting effects it will have on her.
"This is all my fault," Morgan sobs, tears now streaking down her face.
Thankfully, Kaylee doesn't tell her that it isn't. I'm not exactly impressed with my girl getting hurt because of something going on in her friend's life, but, honestly, it could've easily been the other way around. This situation could've been reversed with Morgan in trouble because of the recent choices that Kaylee has made.
If I dig deep enough, I know it's still possible this is related to Dima and his band of bastards. We have intel that the organization was considering going after Morgan and turning her out, so it isn't too far-fetched of an idea.
"We need to get you out of here," I say, holding my hand out to Kaylee.
Morgan looks completely terrified.
"You, too, sweetheart," Twisted says as he takes a step deeper into the room.
"The party isn't over," Morgan says, but her voice is distant.
I don't get the idea that she's egotistical enough to stay for a party. It just sounds like she has responsibilities and doesn't know if she can walk away from them.
"We've already started clearing the house," Bandera explains. "Waitstaff and the catering company you hired have been instructed to come back in the morning. It's all taken care of."
Morgan nods at him as she stands from the bed, a look of relief on her face, and it makes me wonder just how long this woman has been making decisions and hasn't had someone step in and provide a little reprieve. On the other hand, she could be a complete control freak and never gives anyone the chance to help her.
Either way, she doesn't argue when Twisted holds a hand out to her. She simply places her hand in his, gives Kaylee one more look over her shoulder to make sure she's okay, and then walks out of the room, shoulders shaking with the effort of her sobs.
"Baby," I whisper, unconcerned about Bandera standing near the doorway. "Look at me."
Her face is splotchy, her eyes red from crying so hard.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm not hurt," she whispers, pressing her face into my chest, and I can read what she isn't saying.
This will have a lasting effect on her. I think that's only natural, but I would've done everything in the world to keep her from having been in this situation.
I should've followed her upstairs. I should've come up here sooner. I blamed the weirdos at the party and their intricate costumes for the warning that rushed up my spine when she walked up the stairs. I should've known better.
"Let's get you home," I say, urging my hands under her arms to help her off the bed.
As much as I liked seeing her in this wedding dress earlier, it's a real pain in the ass right now, having a million layers that I just can't find the end of as I try to lift it so she doesn't trip over it.
"Can you help me change before we leave?"
As much as I don't want to spend another fucking second in this house, I know it would be more practical if she were wearing something else.
She points to the bag on the floor, and I don't waste a second reaching for it.
"Give us a minute," I grunt at Bandera, but he's already stepping into the hallway and pulling the door closed behind him.
It takes longer than it should to get her out of the dress and into a pair of leggings and a t-shirt because I have to touch nearly every place on her body to make sure that she's physically uninjured.
The marks on her ankles, knees, and wrists make me want to burn the world down for her, and it easily cements my feelings for her. I've come across a lot of injured women during my time in the military and the training work I did with Cerberus before coming to Vegas, and as angry as seeing them has made me, it never had this level of an impact on me.
She clings to me as we make our way out of the room and down the stairs. I hate that I'm stuck driving the SUV back to the villa rather than holding her in my arms, but Twisted put Morgan in my vehicle, making me responsible for both of them, which I think provides Kaylee some comfort.
"Where is he going?" Morgan asks when Twisted simply dips his head and walks away.
"There's still a lot of work to do," I tell her, but I don't feel the itch to go help them right now.
All I want to do is get my girl back home where I know she'll be safe.