Chapter 22 #2
“Get on your knees,” Max says, startling me out of my internal spiral. “If you want to do this the easy way, that is.”
Swallowing nervously, I do as he says. It’s a bit awkward with my ankles and wrists bound, but I manage to do it, then look up at him nervously.
“Good.” Max steps right up in front of me, close enough to touch me, and stares down with an evil glint in his eye. Something that sends warning bells off in my head. “Undo my pants and take my cock out.”
I gasp, leaning back in surprise.
“What? Did you not think you were going to be punished for running?”
“Touching your cock would be a punishment,” I agree as he scowls down at me.
“Where did that sass come from? I can see we’re gonna have to train that out of you, too.”
Swallowing nervously, my eyes scan our surroundings, but there isn’t much I can see from this dark corner, the van blocking the truck stop from view. Should I scream? Maybe someone will hear me.
I open my mouth to yell, but he slaps me. I fall to my side, my hands saving my face from hitting the ground as I grunt in pain.
I open my teary eyes and meet a pair of beautiful green ones. I blink a few times, trying to figure out if he's real. But when I refocus, Pete’s still there, lying under the van, his finger pressed to his lip, telling me not to give him away.
A loud war cry has both our heads turning to see Dex barreling around the front of the van, heading straight for Max.
I’ve never seen him look so feral before. His teeth are bared, and his eyes are narrowed in on his prey.
“Shit,” Pete whispers just as Dex leaps onto Max, knocking him to the ground and punching him across the face.
I watch as a determined Jagger follows behind Dex, taking Troy down with a swift sweep of his legs.
Sly suddenly appears, and Jagger physically has to pull Dex off of Max. Suddenly, Pete is beside me, cutting through my restraints and pulling me into his arms. Tears fall of their own volition as I bury my face in his neck.
“Shh shh, I’ve got you, angel. I’ve got you now.”
The sound of Dex struggling against the others has me whimpering, afraid they'll get hurt. It isn’t until Pete yells at him that he stops fighting and looks in our direction. “Dex! Snap out of it! Wren needs you!”
I peek out as Dex looks up at me and shakes his head, his anger instantly dissipating when his eyes meet mine.
“I knew you’d come,” I say just loud enough for them all to hear me.
“We’ll always come for you, baby,” Dex says as the other two release him and they stand back, their eyes moving to my two kidnappers lying on their backs, staring up at them in fear.
Max is bleeding from what looks like a broken nose, and Troy just looks terrified, his gaze bouncing between them as if unsure who’s the biggest threat.
Pete gently places a hand on the side of my face, and I hiss in pain.
“Shit, sorry, angel. Let me see.” He uses his thumb and forefinger on my chin to tilt my face to the side as he assesses my cheek.
“He hit you,” he seethes.
I nod, then a sob suddenly bursts from me as the fear of being kidnapped and threatened comes back to me. Combine that with thinking they were dead, and it’s just too much to hold in. I bury my face in his neck and cling to him as he holds me tighter.
“She’s crying,” he roars. “Make them pay.”
“You think you can touch our girl?” Sly grits out as he takes a step closer to them. “Which one of them hit you, Wren?” he asks, turning his head to us.
“He slapped me, and he punched me in the stomach,” I say through my sniffles, instantly ratting them out as I point to Max and Troy. “And I think he hit me in the head, too,” I say, remembering how they got me out of the hotel room.
“Think about this for a second,” Max says from his back, with his hands raised in defense. “If you kill us, Robert will retaliate."
“I’m counting on it,” Sly says before moving to Max’s side so quickly I barely even see him move.
He punches him across the face as Jagger does the same to Troy.
Blood covers their faces and drips down into the grass at their sides.
It should probably gross me out, but I enjoy seeing them in pain. If anyone deserves it, it’s them.
“Which one tried to make you touch his dick?” Pete asks, glancing at them. Dex growls, and I cling harder to Pete’s neck at the memory. His hand soothes over my back. “Come on, tell me so I can cut it off.” I lift my head so I can look him in the eye.
Is he serious? Instead of his usual easygoing grin, I see anger and tension in his face.
“You’re upset,” I whisper, and he nods.
“Of course I’m fucking upset. They kidnapped you, hurt you, and tried to make you…” He trails off, shaking his head. “I’m not going to calm down until I’ve sliced his dick from his body and shoved it down his throat.”
“You’d do that for me?” I ask, my heart beating happily at the romantic gesture. The image is appalling, but the thought of him avenging my honor like that is what leads me to stroke my fingers down his cheek as I study his face.
“I’d do anything for you, angel. You’re the only thing I’ve ever found worth keeping, and I’m not going to let anyone take you from me.”
I want to tell him how much that means to me, how much he means to me. That I love him and won’t let him go, either. But instead, I decide to show him. So, in a moment of bravery, I tilt my face to his and kiss him.
At first, he freezes, as if I’ve surprised him, but then his arms tighten around me as he starts to kiss me back, his tongue instantly demanding entrance.
I moan into his mouth as he consumes me.
His tongue strokes mine, lighting a fire between my legs.
My hand finds his silky blond hair, and I tug at the strands, making him groan against me.
He might be playful and energetic, but his kiss is all business. He takes complete control with a passion I hadn’t expected from him.
He pulls back, sucking on my lower lip, and I moan, wanting so much more. He presses his forehead to mine as we both try to catch our breath.
“As much as I’d like to continue. We have an audience, and I’d like to get you out of here sooner rather than later.”
I unhook my legs from his waist, and he sets me on my feet.
I try to regain my composure as I pull down the hem of my T-shirt over my bare legs and turn to find Jagger and Dex still watching the men on the ground, while Sly watches me with narrowed eyes.
I don’t think he’s upset, just assessing, but with him, it’s always hard to tell.
“That explains why they’re helping you,” Troy sneers from where he lies on his back, blood covering his face as he looks at me. “You’re whoring yourself out to them.”
Before I can blink, Pete passes me to Sly, then he’s kneeling at Troy’s side. Screams tear from his throat for a second before Jagger slaps duct tape over his mouth.
It takes me a second to realize why he’s in pain, then I notice one of his fingers lying in the grass, severed from his hand. Pete grins down at him as he whispers. “Disrespect her again. I dare you.”
Troy clutches his damaged hand to his chest as he moans in pain. Pete wipes his knife in the grass and stands up, looking at me while pointing his knife at Troy. “Was it him?”
I shake my head, knowing what he’s asking, as Sly hugs me tighter to him. I’m clinging to his front like a monkey, but I don’t think he minds. I hope he doesn’t because right now, even if I wanted to stand on my own two feet, I don't think I could.
I watch as Jagger, Dex, and Pete all turn their furious eyes on Max.
When he realizes what sort of trouble he’s in, he tries to jump to his feet, but all three move at once.
Dex gets there first, grabbing his ankle and yanking him so hard he cries out in pain, reaching toward his foot as if it’s been dislocated or broken.
Jagger slaps duct tape over his mouth and zip ties his hands and ankles.
Seeing Max bound the same way he’d restrained me brings me a strange sort of justice. I feel no pity for this man who assaulted me.
The three of them surround him, staring down at him with clenched fists and something akin to excitement in their eyes.
Jagger looks over at me and signs, “Close your eyes.”
My ASL lessons must be paying off because Sly moves his hand up to my head and pulls my face into his neck, holding me against him so I can’t see.
My body jolts when I hear the first hit.
The sounds of them hitting and kicking fill the night, along with grunts, then suddenly stop.
I think it’s over until I hear the muffle of his scream.
I cling harder to Sly, as he sways me back and forth, whispering words meant to soothe. “It’s okay, little bird. I’ve got you. Nobody's going to hurt you again. I’ve got you.” After a minute, temptation gets the best of me, and I try to pull my head back to look, but Sly turns us away.
“No. I don’t want you seeing anyone else’s dick. Even if it isn’t attached to him.”
I inhale sharply. Pete actually did it? He cut off Max’s dick? I’m not sure if I’m more surprised he actually did it or that he did it to make me happy. Am I messed up? Wishing another person that sort of harm?
It was clear what he wanted me to do, and it had never even crossed my mind that an act like that could be forced on someone. Is that what would have happened if Robert had sold me to Ivan? Would Ivan make me blow him every night? Would he force himself on me day after day?
I feel a tear roll down my cheek as the true extent of what Robert wants to do to me hits me hard.
“Wren? Are you okay?” Sly asks, tilting my chin to look at him. When he sees my tear-filled eyes, he asks. “Is the violence too much? I’ll take you back to our car.”
“It’s not that,” I sniffle, trying to wipe my tears away.
“I just…” I try to glance toward the others, but Sly turns us a little, so I still can’t see.
“I’m just realizing what it would have been like with Ivan, if Robert had managed to sell me to him.
” I lick my lips as I look up at him. “Ivan would have forced me to do things, wouldn’t he? Sexual things?”
Sly presses his lips tightly together and gives me a small, singular nod. “I’m sorry, Wren. I promise we won’t let that happen.”
“Robert’s always going to be after me, though, isn’t he?”
“Then we’ll just have to kill him,” Pete says, making me lift my head as he appears at our side. “I know he’s your brother, but he doesn’t deserve to live. And you deserve to be safe.”
“So do you,” I whisper, reaching out to run a finger down his cheek. “We’ll find the people responsible for sending you to jail and get you acquitted.”
He presses his lips together and nods, as if he doesn’t quite believe me but doesn’t want to disagree, either.
“Jagger and I will get rid of them and their vehicle, follow us down the road,” Dex says as Sly carries me back to the SUV.
Pete whistles a happy tune the entire way, completely unbothered by the death and carnage he just reaped.
When I’m buckled in beside Sly in the back, I rest my head on his chest and look at the clock on the dash—three a.m.
I can’t remember what time I got up, but it feels like hours since I went looking for some water.
I want to ask how they found me and where we’re going, but I get really sleepy fast. I watch the taillights of the other vehicle ahead and am determined to stay awake until they rejoin us so I can thank them all.
But my eyelids turn heavy, and I soon succumb to sleep.