Chapter 5
Five
HITTER
“ S he’s nothing like him, brother. I can promise you that. She was in a cell locked away in his basement,” I tell my Prez.
“I know y’all don't know me, and my word probably doesn’t mean shit, but I can vouch for her. She was in that cell beside me for months. She took beatings for me, even though I tried to shield her from them. Her brother hates her more than anything, and I don’t know why. I think it’s solely to do with her disability,” Devin says, still holding onto Piper’s hand like she might disappear if he lets go.
“You will protect her, too. She’s a part of us now. If my dad says you can trust her… you can trust her. Believe me, you can’t choose your family,” Piper says, finally waking for the first time since her dad got here. She looks up at him with tears in her eyes. I look at his face and see the same thing before he breaks down.
“Baby girl. I’m so sorry I didn’t protect you. I was so worried,” he says, leaning down and touching his forehead to hers.
“Daddy.” That is all Piper gets out before she breaks down. I’ve never seen her cry, never even seen her get emotional—not even when she was taking two bullets for our Prez.
“Brother, I’m going to make sure Izzy is okay. Give you guys some time,” I tell him, knowing they need a private moment.
“I’ll walk out with you,” he says, kissing Piper quickly before walking out with me to give her and Devon a minute.
“Once she’s declared healthy, set her up in the room we put Piper in. We will figure everything…” He stops talking, running straight into my back as my feet root in place.
“WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?” I bellow as I freeze in the doorway into Izzy’s room. The bathroom door is wide open, and she’s nowhere to be seen.
“Calm down, brother. Maybe they took her for X-rays,” Swift says, halting a nurse walking by the room. Actually, she was more like running past us and looking scared shitless. She should be, along with anyone else who might have anything to do with my woman disappearing.
“Did they send the woman in this room to a different room or for X-rays?” Swift asks while I try to hold in another yell.
“U-uh, no? I mean, no, sir. Before we could take her blood, she was gone. Disappeared,” she says while I shove past my Prez.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. She’s out there all alone, God knows where, without money or help. She’s alone, and we aren’t sure we even have all of Hector’s men. What if someone took her? My mind is racing, and I have no clue what to do. I’ve never been this fucking furious or worried in my life. What the hell am I supposed to do?
“Brother, calm the fuck down. I just got off the phone with Comp. He already has a line into hospital security,” Swift tells me.
“Please, just tell me no one took her,” I plead.
“He said it looks like she just walked out. She took a right, and he lost her at the corner of the street,” Swift says, and I don't give him a chance to finish. I take off running. I can hear him behind me, but I’m not worried about him right now. Like the wise man he is, he doesn't try to stop me. Anyone who gets in my way, I’m taking down.
I have only one thought, and that’s getting to my woman. I make it out of the hospital, immediately turning right and sprinting to the end of the corner. I turn, looking around, completely frustrated. That’s when I notice the building behind me. Oh, Fuck No; No way in hell am I letting her get away from me.
“She’s jumped on a bus, man. We need to figure out which one,” Swift says, but I’m already crashing through the fucking doors. I walk up to the counter, slamming my fist down, making the people filling the small terminal jump.
“Well, well, well. If you wanted my attention, big guy, you just had to say so. I just got off break, but I could sneak away for a bit,” the guy with painted nails and a bright purple shirt flirts from behind the counter. My head shoots back up in surprise. This little shit doesn’t seem afraid at all.
“I’m here for my woman. She’s about five foot four inches. Black long hair. She looked roughed up,” I say, and it hits me he might get the wrong idea.
“He didn’t rough her up just to clarify. She was just rescued from being kidnapped and needs to be in the hospital.” The guy looks Prez and me over once, seeming to contemplate giving us any information or maintaining his silence.
“Beautiful girl. Looked lost and scared. Blind?” he asks, and I see a protectiveness come over him as he describes my woman.
“That’s her. Her name is Isabella. I need to find her,” I tell him.
“You didn’t hurt that poor girl, did you? She seemed too sweet for this world,” he mutters.
“No, I swear all I want to do is protect her,” I plead, knowing if I use force with this guy, he will clam up like a virgin's ass. Hopefully, he can see my desperation. He takes a deep breath before looking at me again.
“Bus seven thirty-two, heading to Florida. It left less than four minutes ago. If you hurt her, I’ll kill you myself,” he tells me, looking murderous. Then suddenly, he turns away from me and smiles as he yells, “Next in line!”
I take that for the dismissal it is and turn to run out the door. Without pausing, I head back toward the hospital and straight to the parking lot. Jumping on my bike, I fire it up, not wanting to waste any more time.
“Get back to your woman. I’m going for mine,” I tell Swift.
I can tell he’s torn. He wants to ride with me, support me, but his woman is here. I give him a nod, reassuring him I’ve got this. I take off out of the lot, heading south. I’m going too fast, way over the speed limit, but I need to catch her.
It takes me ten minutes before I see the bus in the distance. I speed up, knowing that’s the one she’s on. I can feel it. Something in me is telling me to get to that bus and stop her from getting further from me. I pull alongside it. Luckily, we are on a long stretch of road. I can see for a mile ahead, and there is no one coming the opposite way. I pull my bike up beside the bus, craning my neck to see what I can of the inside, scanning the seats. There she is. Her head leaning against the window, and I see her wipe her eyes. She’s fucking crying.
Hell fucking no!
I speed up past the bus before making a quick and very illegal turn in the middle of the fucking highway. I turn the bike sideways, screeching to a stop and pulling my gun from my back at the same time. I point the barrel right at the fucker driving the bus trying to take my woman away, and I see him panic. He slams on the brakes as hard as he can. The back end of the bus swerves before the whole thing comes to a stop, only inches from my right fucking foot.
I step off the bike and walk up to the bus doors. The driver stares at me the entire way. I tap my gun on the doors and wait for him to open them. He does a moment later and waits with his hands high in the air. Fucking coward. I take one more look at the piece of shit before turning to the aisle of passengers.
“Isabella Reyes, get your gorgeous ass up here now before I come get you myself,” I state, staring right at the seat she’s trying to hide behind.
“I’ve never wanted my name to be Isabella so much in my life. That was hot as hell. He could take me for a ride on that bike… and whatever else comes afterward,” I hear a middle-aged woman say from the third row. I ignore her as I watch my woman lift her head and glare in the voice’s direction. That has a smirk crossing my face.
Izzy takes a deep breath before standing and feeling around the seats, heading in my direction. The minute she’s close enough to me to touch, I lift her, guiding her legs to wrap around my waist, before I turn and take the steps leading out of the bus. The moment I have her settled in my arms, the weight crushing down on my chest lifts.
Thank fuck she's safe. I just found this woman; it would have broken me if I had lost my angel.
“I’ll be spanking your ass for running from me later,” I whisper into her hair. I smile when she wiggles around in my hold before she turns her head and places it in the crook of my neck.