Chapter 2
Two
IZZY
“ M other Fucker,” I hear the one they call Hitter hiss out as he still holds onto me.
“Just shut the fuck up and listen to her story. She was locked in that basement with me for god knows how long. She’s not a part of what you all are thinking,” Devin says before pulling the gun back, emptying the clip, and disassembling the gun. I can hear the clicks of what he’s doing, and I know he disassembled it because he told me he was the fastest one in his unit at doing that when he was still on active duty. We were stuck together for so long we got extremely close. I know just about everything about him and his family, and he knows everything about mine.
“Damn. He’s faster at that than Grim,” I hear one of the other guys say, confirming what I suspected. He disassembled it.
“I want nothing to do with this place, and I’ll even light the first match myself, but I have a small box in my closet with every good memory I have. Even if it isn’t much, I need them,” I tell the men, knowing I’ll have to explain everything, eventually. However, right now, I only need to know they won’t burn down the house with my memories still in it.
“I’ll go get them, but your woman’s got some explaining to do, Hitter,” one of the guys says, and I feel Hitter’s chest vibrate under my hands.
“Watch how you speak, Loki,” Hitter growls. Feeling his powerful arms wrap protectively around me and hearing that rasping growl of his has feelings I’ve never felt before taking over. My knees go weak, and my core clenches. I feel like I’m on fire. I try to ignore it—this definitely isn’t the time or place for this reaction. If Hitter wasn’t holding me, I know I would fall and burst into flames.
Loki doesn’t reply, but I feel Hitter bend to pick me up again. Somehow, I know he will make sure my stuff gets back to me, and I’m ready to get the heck out of here. I’m trying hard not to cry. I don’t want to look weak in front of these men. I won’t miss this place, but it has been my home for most of my life. This place holds too many terrible memories, and I am glad it’s over; I just don’t know where I go from here.
Hitter sets me down on the SUV seat, and I immediately feel the loss of his body heat. I’ve only spent a few moments with this mysterious man, and he’s already got me tied up in knots. I might be blind, but I’m not an idiot; I like to think I feel things on another level. All my other senses are heightened, and I honestly don’t want to ignore the signs my body is trying to tell me when it comes to Hitter.
“I want to ride with you, Angel, but I have to finish shit up here, and I’m not trusting anyone else with my bike. I’ll meet you at the hospital. I’ll be right behind you, okay?” Hitter says into my ear. I nod my head yes and then feel him close the door.
“Baby girl, it’s going to be okay. I’ll stay with you the whole time; I promise not to leave your side,” Devin tells me, pulling me into his side.
This man has stuck with me through everything. My brother put Devin through hell along with me; that’s something I will never forget. He’s never blamed me for any of it and has done everything he could to protect me. When Hector would start hitting me, he would scream from the other cell. He would beg Hector to hurt him instead of me. He took my place in so many beatings. I’ll never be able to repay or thank him enough. He’s been more of a father to me than my own ever was.
“No, I won’t keep you from your daughter any longer than you already have been. I know how desperate you are to reconnect with her, and I would never stand in the way of that,” I tell him, shaking my head against his chest.
“Shhh… It’s going to be all right. We are going to Piper’s room when we get to the hospital. I’ll make sure a doctor comes there to check you over. I’ll be damned if I’m ever separated from either one of you again. Come hell or high water, I will keep both of you in my sights,” Devin says with fierce determination. I smile, knowing I’ll always have him, no matter what happens.
Suddenly, the door pulls open, making me jump, and Devin holds me tighter as something is placed in my lap. It’s my memory box. Everything I love in this world is in this box. My mom gave me a flower only once in my whole life, and I kept it. One of the maids I was close to before my brother found out and had her fired gave me a bracelet. There are other little things that might not seem like much to others, but they are the only things in that house I care about. The doors shut again, and it seems like it takes forever before we are actually moving.
I hear bikes behind us, but my mind is all over the place, and I can’t focus. It’s exhausting. One thing is for sure, I’m grateful as hell my torture is over. I’m no longer under my brother’s control. But right on the heels of that revelation comes the new reality of my situation. I have no home, no family, no money. I have nothing and no one. Devin says he’ll still want me around when he gets his daughter back, but how can I trust what he has told me is true? I’ve been hurt by so many people, most of all my family. I’ve learned better than to trust people at their word.
All these thoughts run through my head the entire drive to the hospital, leaving a mess of anxiety ripping through me. By the time we get there, I’m just trying to keep my breathing as even as possible so Devin doesn’t notice and flip out on my behalf. He's been through enough already and has done more than anyone ever has for me. No way will I add more to his burden.
My door opens again, startling me from my thoughts, and before I have time to turn and plant my feet on the ground, Hitter is picking me up again. I know it’s him because I can smell his woodsy scent. For some reason, that scent seems to instantly calm me.
“I can walk,” I tell him, lifting my chin. I hate when people see me as weak because of my blindness. The last person I want to think I’m weak is this man. I’ve had to fend for myself all my life, which has resulted in being fiercely independent. Unfortunately, being in an unfamiliar place and having everything happening so quickly, I haven’t been able to use my other senses to get a feel of where I’m at, which has me on edge and out of sorts.
Whenever I’m close to this man, though, a warmth settles over me, and I can breathe again, which is just as confusing. Maybe it’s a hero complex. I don’t know. Each moment I’m with him, these feelings just get stronger and stronger. The pull to Hitter is intense, and I honestly don’t want him to notice my apparent need to have him close. Just because he rescued me from hell and brought me back into the light doesn’t mean he’s going to stick around. There hasn’t even been time for us to talk, never mind for me to get a read on him.
Not having much experience with the opposite sex really has its drawbacks.
“I know you can, Angel, but if I’m honest, I just kind of want you in my arms. It was hard as fuck putting you in the back of that car at the house,” he tells me, and I’m left speechless.
“Where is my daughter?” Devin demands, and I can tell by his deadly tone he means business. Hitter exhales loudly.
“You won’t let me get Izzy checked out first?” Hitter asks with venom in his tone. Damn, how does this man make my heart race even when he’s not speaking to me? If I find his different tone of voice sexy, I know I’m in trouble.
“She’s going to the room with Piper and me. A doctor will check her out there,” Devin tells him.
“Oh, you’re just going to walk in there and make them all do your bidding? It doesn’t work like that, old man,” Hitter says, still moving down the hospital halls. The smell is so strong here that it feels like I’m on sensory overload. The scent reminds me of sterilized metal and old, sick people. Is that the smell of a dirty, wet dog, too? Being down in that cell must have thrown my sense of smell off. I hate it here already and don’t want to spend a second longer than absolutely necessary hanging around.
“I have my ways. Just take me to my daughter,” Devin says. I feel Hitter growl, and it makes me smile. Little does Hitter know Devin isn’t someone to mess with, but he’ll find out soon enough. I got to know Devin very well during our mutual imprisonment, and I honestly believe he has his ways of getting anything he sets his mind to done. I may have been sheltered, to a point, for most of my life, but that doesn’t mean I don't know how this world works.
“Her room is 303. Last one on the left,” Hitter says, and I feel Devin race past me.
This is all getting too overwhelming. Maybe I should just leave. The last thing I want is to be a burden on anyone. Nothing is broken; I feel completely fine. I could sneak out, and no one would ever miss me… but what would I miss?