Chapter Twelve
She was dragged through a series of chain-link gates topped with barbed wire. It was some kind of junkyard or metal recycling facility. The sky was dark now, a chill in the air, but she had no idea how much time had actually passed. The echo of dogs barking seemed to come from every direction.
One of the men firmly held her upper arm so she couldn’t bolt, not that she had a chance of escaping even if she had the opportunity.
There were old car frames, sketchy-looking barrels, and metal junk on either side of the path.
Only a few spotlights highlighted certain areas in what looked like acres of isolated property.
When they stopped, some men came out of a dilapidated office trailer just ahead of them. One had a cigarette in his mouth, which he took out as he slowly came down the two metal steps.
“This the one?”
“Yeah,” said Byron. “He’ll come for her. Then we’ll get what belongs to me.”
“You so sure about that?” The new guy circled her, slowly, looking her up and down. He had a heavy accent. After taking another drag on his cigarette, he said, “Maybe I keep this one?”
Then he laughed and told them to put her in the metal shed.
At this point she just wanted to stay alive and avoid these pigs putting their hands on her.
She didn’t care if she was put in a tin box as long as she was alone.
Part of her held onto the hope Evander would find her. He’d already done it once.
But she wasn’t close by anymore. Not even she knew where she was. What if he couldn’t find her? Would they keep her alive as human bait? This was their territory and if Evander came to this place, he wouldn’t come out on top as easily as he had at the strip club.
They prodded her along a narrower path that ended as a manmade metal shed.
They pulled a long heavy chain off a metal door and it clanged and rattled as they opened it.
It was nearly pitch-black inside, no windows, and mustn’t have been used in a long time.
It smelled stale with a mix of rust and grease.
But when they closed the door behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief to be safely alone from those jerks.
She sat down, leaning against the metal wall. Sounds outside were muffled, but the footsteps were moving away from the shed giving her a measure of relief. Small rays of light made their way in through gaps in the metal, just enough to see shadows.
Callie focused on her breathing and thought about everyone at Guy’s Titties.
She hoped Leah, Guy, all the staff were okay and not caught in the crossfire.
There was no way for her to know how things turned out.
She cried softly. A mix of desperation, relief, fear, and not knowing what would happen next.
After a while, her thoughts wandered. She wondered if she could escape. They hadn’t tied her hands or feet and the shed was no Fort Knox. Then she remembered the dogs she’d heard. Callie was no athlete and wouldn’t be able to outrun a trained animal chasing her.
There was no hope for her.
All her dreams were over. She’d never be able to create a home for abandoned elderly dogs. Never be able to make a difference.
Then she snapped back to the present and thought about the things the men were saying.
Would they actually try to rape her? She’d only ever been with Evander, and it was special to her, a level of bonding that wasn’t casual.
Imagining one of those pigs touching her body made her feel nauseated.
She only belonged to one man. And she needed him now more than ever.
Her knight in shining armor had always been there for her.
She never wanted to be with another man.
But what if those pigs forced themselves on her?
She wasn’t as strong as them and had no weapons.
That’s when the idea entered her mind. She shifted to her knees and began to cautiously crawl around, feeling for something, anything, she could use as a weapon. No way was she going out quietly.
When her fingers wrapped around something hard and metal, her heart rate picked up with excitement.
As she felt the object in her hand, she realized it was a crowbar.
If she put all her might behind a swing, she could inflict a lot of damage.
That’s what she’d do. As soon as they came back for her, she’d be waiting.
Hopefully she could incapacitate at least a couple of them.
Create enough havoc to get their minds out of her pants anyway.
She sat back down holding the crowbar in her lap with both hands like a lifeline. If made her feel safer, gave her a tiny bit of security.
Although she hoped it would be longer, not much time passed until she heard footsteps again.
Her body tensed up, but she carefully got to her feet.
She held the crowbar, faced the door, and braced her stance.
She couldn’t believe she was actually going to do this.
A mix of terror, excitement, and raw adrenaline nearly made her dizzy.
The lock rattled and she almost hyperventilated. When the door started to open, she swung the metal rod with all the strength she had. Everything after that was a blur.
A strong frame overpowered her instantly, nearly enveloped her, a hand going to her wrist and effortlessly disarming her when she thought she’d struck out with power.
The crowbar clanged to the ground. He held her in a bear hug so she couldn’t move, couldn’t scream.
He was impossibly strong. Was he here alone to rape her?
She had to fight with all she had. Callie didn’t stop struggling even though she knew it was futile.
“Hush.” The single word was whispered in her ear. In an instant, her nerves drained away and her pussy got wet.
He’d found her. By some miracle, he’d actually found her. His grip loosened and she spun around in his arms to face him.
“You found me!” She cupped his face even though she could barely see him. A slight stubble tickled her fingers.
“Always will,” he said. “Did they hurt you?”
She swallowed hard, remembering how much Byron had punched and kicked her.
“Not like you think. I’m alive.”
“I thought you’d be safe out of the way. I’m so sorry, baby.”
Callie wasn’t mad or ready to cast blame. She just wanted to go home. But how would that even happen?
“This place is a maze of metal and trash. There are armed men everywhere. And the dogs, don’t forget about them. How do we get out of here in one piece?” she asked.
He brushed her hair aside, no sense of urgency, his hand lingering on the side of her face. He never answered her question, just leaned down and kissed her lips. She instantly melted, the entire world and its problems fading away.
His warmth.
His strength.
His confidence.
He was the only thing she needed right now. His kiss was soft, a claim. He was thorough, making her feel completely owned by him.
His hand cupped her ass as he pulled her flush to his hard body.
Evander trailed kisses along her jaw then tongued the shell of her ear making her entire body quiver.
She exhaled every bit of breath as she focused on the perfect pleasure.
When he returned to her lips, she showed him exactly how much she loved him.
****
“Let me worry about getting us out of here,” he whispered against her lips.
He had his woman. Before he’d found her, his mind had flipped through every horrible scenario. To finally see her with his own eyes, to hold her safely in his arms was everything. From never planning to settle down to being completely owned by the little blonde, he was nothing without her.
He devoured her, their tongues eager, the need palpable. But he had to act. Evander reluctantly pulled away.
“I’ll be back,” he said.
She gasped, grabbing his sleeve. “What? No, please don’t leave me here.”
“No one’s putting their hands on you again. I promise you that.”
“But—”
He kissed her lips one more time. “No buts. I’m going to finish this. Then we’ll go home together.”
She looked so fucking sad. So defeated. He hated that he’d let her down, stupid enough to think she was safe outside the club.
He wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.
He knew this shithole and Dimitri, the yard owner, from previous contracts.
Bastian and Caleb were on the periphery, handling business.
He didn’t usually consider his coworkers friends, but he’d remember how they stepped up for him if they ever had trouble in the future.
“Okay,” she said.
“Good girl. Wait here. I’ll be back for you.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything else as he pulled away. He knew she was close to tears which pissed him off more. He’d take it out on the assholes who’d put their hands on her, starting with Byron. It was time to eliminate that threat.
That asshole had hacked the security of the club and was able to see where he’d hid Callie. He was obsessed with finding her. And thought she’d given the flash drive to him. She was completely innocent, but Evander most certainly had that golden ticket.
What was coming next would be a surprise. Bastian had enough firepower to send the entire yard straight to hell, and Caleb was a brutal son of a bitch that could handle things with his bare hands. Evander didn’t know where they were in the darkness, but they were out there.
After leaving Callie, he followed the shadows to the office trailer where they were already celebrating, sitting around in folding lawn chairs drinking and laughing.
Did they think he was that incompetent? Or maybe they expected him to take a lot longer to find them.
Whatever the reason, they’d live long enough to regret not keeping on guard.
He targeted the man on the periphery. His laughs were silently choked out as Evander sliced his throat from behind, slowly lowering his large frame to the ground.
He’d already shifted back to the monster, the man without any thoughts but killing and achieving his goals.
Tonight wasn’t a contract. It was personal.
Evander went around to the other side of the trailer where he could easily take out another straggler.
After killing him, he pulled the body by the legs until it was out of sight.
The rest would be messier as they were all seated in a tight group.
Once he stepped out of the darkness or killed one of them, the rest would act immediately.
There was only one of him and seven of them.
He still regretted not putting in his earpiece when they arrived, but he’d only had Callie on his mind at the time.
Evander had no clue where Bastian and Caleb were or if they’d be able to help him once he raised hell.
It didn’t matter. In about ten seconds he planned to put a bullet right between Byron’s eyes.
There was no other option if he wanted a future with Callie.
Evander ever so slowly cocked his gun, his dick practically hard in anticipation of the clusterfuck that was about to go down.
As he centered his sights right where he wanted, Byron bolted upright, stealing away his perfect shot.
The men were yelling at something in the road.
All he could hear was the familiar hollow ting along the ground.
He immediately bolted away behind the trailer before the hand grenade detonated in a deafening explosion.
With his ears ringing slightly, it was time to act.
He imagined it was his reckless friend Caleb who threw that gem into the mix, but Evander would make it work for him.
He turned the corner while the men were still out of sorts, the living ones anyway.
Smoke and dust were still clouding the air as he took out the men one by one, head shots to be certain.
Bastian had a rifle, blasting the ones who tried to run.
It was the kind of shitshow that calmed his nervous system.
Evander was used to the chaos, the violence, the adrenaline rush.
When he neared Bastian, he called out. “Going old-school?”
The other man held up his rifle, looking down the length of the barrel. “She’s beautiful, no? Thought I’d take her out for a bit of fun.”
“What about Byron? Did you have eyes on him?”
They began walking around the blast zone, body parts scattered amongst the others who’d been shot. He had to be sure. Had to see with his own eyes that his nemesis was dead.