Chapter 39—Ruby
Something’s happening.
I don’t know what, but I can feel it.
I can’t see anything. They put a blindfold on me, then tied me up and hung me from the ceiling like an animal. My toes just barely touch the ground. I’m still clothed, but for how long, I don’t know.
I don’t know if this is how it starts. If Ava got this instead of bathroom breaks.
But I’ve been here for a while. Long enough for some parts to go numb.
But not my mind. Something changed in me.
I’m not sure if it’s because of what happened to Ava or because now I don’t have Nat’s strength to lean on.
But there’s a resolve in me. A steady beat telling me that I will survive.
That I can survive. One breath at a time.
Even when they beat me, I’m still taking a breath.
I’ve been hit more times than I can count since they took Nat from me.
Each time I screamed, I took a hit. I must be getting used to the pain they put me through since I got here, because I had enough balls to fight back.
Not a lot, since my hands were tied, and I was being held.
But when I spat, I made sure it was in the direction I thought someone was.
I hope they got blood all over their shoes or wherever offended them the most. It’s not much, but it’s what I have.
And I must have hit the mark, because the next hit I got was in the stomach so hard that I think it broke a rib.
It at least cracked one, based on the pain.
But I’m alone now. Or I think I am. I can hear still. I heard people running. People speaking in frantic tones. Still no clue what’s being said, but something must be happening.
I can only hope.
But I’m not sure if that’s too much to do. Too much to wish for right now.
I hear the door open, and this time, I don’t speak. I learned my lesson the last time, unfortunately. Especially since I took the last smack across the face after they hung me up, and I dislocated my shoulder. I hurt. A lot. But I refuse to cry. I promised myself I won’t. Not yet.
So I wait in silence.
“Pinche puta,” I hear before I get slapped again. A cry escapes my lips at the sudden attack, and he pulls another from me when he hits me in the stomach. I can’t move with it from how I’m hanging, and it hurts even more than before.
I pant for breath, feeling lightheaded and dreading passing out.
That’s one thing I fight for. One thing I refuse to do.
Who knows what the fuck will happen when I can’t protect myself.
Not that I can right now, but I’d rather be awake and remember than have to wonder about the horrors that are inflicted on me.
I hold my breath, waiting for the next hit. But it doesn’t come. Instead, I hear fists, but nothing touches me.
God, I wish I could see.
I focus on my hearing and not the pain or the blood rushing to fill my ears. I can only guess at what’s happening.
Gunshots. I hear a lot of gunshots. More fists on flesh. Some screams.
Then I don’t have to guess. My blindfold is lifted, and my eyes gloss over with tears. Fresh ones. Ones I willingly let fall.
“Koop,” I sob as he grabs my face and kisses me. It hurts because of the split lip—and because everything fucking hurts—but I welcome the pain. I welcome everything, because I feel him. He’s not made up. He’s not a dream that’ll fade away when I open my eyes. He’s here. He came.
For me.
“Oh, baby, what did they do to you? Oh, my sweet Peaches, I’ve got you. Help me get her down.”
Another guy comes into view, one I don’t know, but together they slowly lower me to the floor.
I grunt in agony, and Kooper sees. He sees everything. Always.
“Don’t untie her hands yet, Rooster.”
The guy, Rooster, nods and moves back to the door, leaning out and then shooting a second later before leaning out again. No shots this time. Either he got the guy he was aiming for, or they ran off.
“Okay, baby girl, I’m going to put your hands over my head and hold you. Try to stay as tight to me as you can.”
I nod but still cry out a bit when my arms shift to fit over his head. The tingles of numbness feel like spider bites and nails being embedded into my skin again and again.
“I know, Peaches. I know.” He kisses my forehead, and I swear everything is fine. The pain, the anguish, all of it. I have him. I’m in his arms. It’s all fine.
I hold tight as Rooster takes the lead. At first, I keep my eyes shut, but I need to look. I need to see what’s going on. To see that we’re actually leaving.
“Nat? Did you find Nat?” The thought is a whisper on my lips. I’m scared we’ll get caught. That we won’t make it if I bring too much attention to us.
“Walker and Hoss already got her out.”
They could have left. They could have taken her and gone. But they kept looking for me.
He must see the expression on my face because he holds me tighter. “I’m never leaving you behind, Peaches. You’re mine. Always have been. Always will be.” His words are rushed, and I feel them on my skin, even if he’s focused on looking around to keep us from being ambushed.
I nod, and I’m sure he can feel it. Just as I can feel my tears slide down my neck.
Bodies. I see so many. We get to the stairs and go up quickly.
I would joke about him obviously not skipping leg day from the ease with which he carries me up them, taking two at a time, but as we round the top, Kooper’s ducking low, almost dropping me as we take fire.
I hunker down closer to his chest and hold on tight.
If this is where we die, I want it to be in his arms. I’m not letting him go, just like I know he won’t let me go.
“Go out the front. The back’s compromised,” Rooster yells. “Switch, we’re coming out the front,” he says, but I’ve got no clue who he’s talking to. I see the earpiece in Kooper’s ear, but I thought Flint would be here.
“You better get your ass out, too, Rooster, or Domino’s going to skin me alive,” Kooper says a second before he shifts me.
He’s only using one hand to hold me, like he did when we were leaving the hospital after the shooting on campus.
That was so long ago. But even then, I knew I was safe. That with Kooper, I’m always safe.
He pulls a gun from his belt and holds it out as he jogs us to the exit. So many people are there, but they don’t see us. They’re shooting at whoever’s in front of us. I can only hope it’s the Hounds. Family that’s come to get me out.
As Kooper runs, I’m jostled, but I hang on tight and keep my pain inside.
Bodies seem to drop around us as he runs for the tree line.
A second later, he swings around and shoots as he runs backward, and I hold tight as both his hands seem to be firing now.
No idea when he pulled the other gun, but I refuse to be the reason we slow down.
I wrap my legs around him like a damn spider monkey, clinging for dear life.
“Attagirl,” he says, bringing a huff to my lips. The stupid guy is taking the time to praise me while he’s the one shooting and running backward. Always making sure I feel my worth, no matter the cause.
Everything. Everything he does is for me. To make me feel special in some way. To let me know how much he cares. How he’s always cared. I could never have imagined I’d find someone like Mom had. And I didn’t find him. He found me.
Or more to the point, he was forced to protect me. And he stayed. Long after the job was done, he stayed.
He turns back, and I can now see the whole house. The place I was held hostage in for who knows how long. It’s half on fire, just like my world felt a few minutes before. And through that fire, I see someone running toward us. Someone I don’t know.
I open my mouth to scream, but a hole appears in his forehead a second before he drops, and in his place is Rooster running straight at us.
Thank fuck he’s on our side.
We keep running for who knows how long. Eventually, the gunfire coming our way dies out. No one seems to be chasing us anymore, but we keep going. Till we don’t. Kooper stops, and I turn my head to see we’re in a small clearing.
“Put your feet down, Peaches.”
I do as he says, and he gently leans down and pulls his head out from between my arms.
“Here.” Another guy steps forward and hands him a knife. A very large knife like you’d see in an alligator hunter movie. Kooper uses it to easily cut the rope keeping my hands together.
“The others?” Kooper asks.
“Out. Venom and I wanted to stay for some fun.”
“I have to say, though, I’d have more fun at home than this,” another guy—who must be Venom, as he looks identical to this one—says as he comes out from behind a tree.
“What’s left?” Rooster asks.
“Bikes. Got three. One of us is riding bitch.” Venom grins and winks at me.
“She’s with me,” Kooper says. “Rooster will take lead. You two follow up.”
“Damn, how did I become the bitch in this?” the other twin, not Venom, complains.
“You’re lucky, I guess.” Venom smirks as he turns to get the bike.
Kooper unstraps his Kevlar and puts it on me.
I don’t protest, not when he palms my cheek and kisses me before turning at the sound of a bike being rolled over to us.
His kisses are over too quickly. But now isn’t the time to demand his lips on me.
Later. When we’re safe. Then I’ll demand.
I’ll make all sorts of demands then. One being me sitting on his face again.
That particular memory got in my head a lot here.
Something to keep me going, to focus on.
Mostly just the feeling of rightness with him.
And feeling safe in his arms. I want to see if it’s as good as what I remember. If I’m lucky, it’ll be even better.
Kooper lifts me easily and puts me on a bike, then gets on it himself. “Can you hold on?”
I try, but it hurts. He sees the look on my face without me even voicing my protest. I’ll hold him even if it hurts. I will survive this.
He just turns to the twin who isn’t Venom. “Let me get that rope.”
“See? Told you.” He sticks his tongue out at his brother and flutters it a second before he unfastens a piece of rope.
“What do you mean, you told me? I was the one who told you to grab the rope, Viper,” Venom says as he drops the kickstand to hold up the last bike he rolls out. Rooster is already on his.
“No, you didn’t,” Viper snaps, but his fingers belie the anger in his voice.
They’re soft and gentle as he ties the rope around me and Kooper at our stomachs, securing us together.
If we fall, we’re screwed, but I’d rather that than bouncing off the bike.
I lean in close once Viper’s done and grab what I can of the back of Kooper’s shirt.
“You good, doll?” Viper asks with a small look of concern.
I give him a thumbs-up, and he grins. “Classic 80s move there. Love it.”
He hops onto the back of his brother’s bike, and then we take off.
The road is bumpy, and I hold on for all the life I have. Which is a lot considering the shame I felt back in that place when I almost wanted to give up. Something I’ll deal with later when I can care about more than hanging on.
We’re on dirt bikes, and while great for off-roading, they’re not meant as two-seaters. My ass is basically off the damn back but for a fraction of cheek. Everything hurts, but pain means life. Pain means something to live for.
I hear gunfire, but we never see anyone. Not that the boys aren’t looking. Rooster has one hand on a gun, the other on his throttle. Only Kooper and the twin driving, Venom, have both hands on their handlebars. Viper is looking around, tracking everything to see if it’s moving or not.
I don’t know where we’re headed. I can’t see, but they seem to know where we’re going.
I close my eyes briefly and just sink into the ride.
I’ve been riding behind a man all my life.
Even with Kooper. But never like this. Never because he came for me and I was his.
I try to find some joy in this, thinking that I need to find more joy in the small moments.
You don’t know when they’ll be your last.
In what feels like a mix between hours and minutes, the grass gives way to a clearing, and I see a cargo plane sitting with the bay door open at the back. The boys don’t even stop, just drive up the ramp.
Shots ring out, and they seem to be getting closer. I duck as I look back to the clearing we just left. A Hummer is coming our way, but it doesn’t look like it’s alone.
I turn back around in time to see Bulldog come rushing toward us. “It’s Casper,” he shouts, then goes out halfway and starts firing. The others get off their bikes and start shooting while Kooper cuts the rope and then pulls me off the bike, dragging me behind a crate.
“Stay here, Peaches.”
I grab his shirt, scared that once he leaves, I won’t see him again.
He puts his hand on mine and pulls it away slowly, looking me in the eye as he does. “I’m coming back, Peaches. I’m coming back. You’re my old lady now, and I’m not about to let you get away from me again.”
I nod, and then he’s gone.
I can’t see what’s happening, and I’m too afraid to look out.
A few others run by, but they’re too fast for me to see who they are.
I hear the guns, the shouts. Something pings against the plane, and I cover myself.
To get hit by a stray bullet and bleed out when I’m so close to freedom would be the crown on a horribly bad day if there ever was one.
But then the shooting stops. The yelling dies down. And I’m picked up and pulled into arms I know. Smelling a scent I adore and feeling warmth for the first time in what seems like forever.
“She good?” someone asks, and I hear the plane’s engines purring to life, then a noise that sounds like something closing.
We’re going. We’re finally going.
“Give me a second,” Kooper says to whoever asked. I don’t look, my face buried in his neck as I hold on tight and give thanks to whoever is listening that I’m out. That I have him. That I’m not alone.
I hold on tight as he moves and sinks into a seat. My legs are straddling his, and I couldn’t give two shits who sees.
I need this moment. I need to feel him as the plane rushes down the runway and takes off. I need to find my peace as I break down.
And I do. I cry so hard, and for who knows how long. He lets me. And I let myself. I told myself I would. I saved it for this moment. I gave myself a reprieve when I saw him, letting those tears fall for joy. And these fall for everything else that happened.
Later, they can check me. Look me over and see what hurts. See what they can do to fix me. But for now? Now I get to be in my old man’s arms and just feel him hold me. Openly in front of his brothers. In front of family.
And know that everything is finally going to be all right.