Chapter 7
Fuck!
Cash caught Addie in his arms as she fainted.
What the hell had just happened?
“What the fuck?” Ralen asked. “Did she just panic until she passed out?”
“Seems that way. Fuck. Do you think we should take her to see Hack?” he asked worriedly. He didn’t care that it was three in the morning and Hack was likely asleep.
“She’s probably just exhausted and stressed,” Ralen said. “Don’t think Hack could help. Put her down. She’ll wake up soon.”
She’d better fucking wake up soon.
Ralen pushed a mess of clothes off the sofa, and Cash laid her down before kneeling on the floor next to her. He brushed her hair off her face and then placed two fingers on the pulse on her neck. It was steady.
“She panicked and fainted,” he said to Ralen.
“Well, I guess you don’t come back to a message like that written in red lipstick on your bathroom mirror every day.”
“Right. But who the fuck put it there? What the hell are these girls mixed up in?”
“I don’t know. But I think we probably need to go back to that bar. Without her.”
Cash got what he wasn’t saying.
They couldn’t take Addie in case whoever did this was waiting and watching.
And in case something terrible had happened to her sisters.
“What’s going on with you, Addie? What have you gotten yourself messed up in?” Cash murmured.
And how the fuck was he going to get her out of it?
“Are we calling the cops about this?” Ralen asked.
“Fuck, no.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured you’d say.”
“I think we should leave it like this, though,” Cash added. “They might have left some clue or evidence behind. Something one of Ink’s guys might find.”
“We’re going to Ink, then?” Ralen asked.
Part of him didn’t want to. He wanted to keep her to himself. However, they needed the help. Ink had resources that Cash didn’t. Not unless he wanted to ask Dante for help.
And no one asked Dante for help unless they were willing to pay the price.
“Yeah, I’ll get hold of Ink now.”
She woke in a moving vehicle.
Sitting up with a gasp, Addie glanced around. Where was she? What was going on? Where were Dotty and Monroe?
“Easy, baby,” someone said. “You’re safe. I have you. You’re safe.”
Who the heck was calling her baby? And safe? Why wouldn’t she be safe? Was something going on?
Suddenly it came back to her. Memories filled her head. She was in Cash’s pickup. Sandwiched between him and Ralen.
How had she gotten here?
The last thing she could remember was being in the hotel room.
But her sisters hadn’t been there . . . where were they?
Nausea bubbled in her stomach. Why couldn’t she remember getting back into Cash’s truck? Had she passed out? Why?
“It’s all right, Addie,” Cash said to her. “We’ll find out who wrote that message. I’ll keep you safe.”
Who wrote what message? Had her sisters left her a message?
The hotel room had been trashed, but nothing was taken. That wouldn’t have been Dotty or Monroe. Dotty was exceptionally tidy. And while Monroe could be messy, that had been beyond anything she would do.
Message. Message.
Oh my God. Suddenly, she remembered.
The message.
That’s why she’d gotten upset. She’d started to panic when she realized that the message might be from Vextar or that it could be from the man with the dark, soulless eyes.
Exaggerating much, Addie? Soulless eyes? That was ridiculous.
Could it have been him? Had he seen her? Was he coming for her because of what she’d seen?
Addie knew that was crazy. But there had just been something about that man . . .
Oh God.
She was going to be sick.
Grabbing hold of Cash’s arm, she tugged on it.
He glanced down at her. “What is it?”
“Sick!” She barely managed to get the word out before she started gagging. Putting her hand over her mouth, she willed it back.
Do not be sick.
Do. Not.
Cash swore and pulled his pickup over to the side of the road.
Ralen reached over her, undoing her belt before opening his door and sliding her out. He held her against his body.
It was kind of him. Even if it felt weird to be held by him. She preferred Cash’s touch.
“Give her to me,” Cash said roughly.
“Thank fuck. You know I’m a sympathy puker,” Ralen said.
And then Cash was reaching for her. She turned to him, wanting to say something . . . like ‘sorry’ or ‘help, there might be a murderer after me.’
However, before she could say any of that, her stomach erupted. And she puked.
Right on his shoes.
Wonderful.
Great.
If he’d felt even an iota of interest in her, it was now gone. Because there was no coming back from puking on a man’s nice, black boots.
“Oh God,” Ralen said before he turned away and started to heave. Which, of course, made her heave more. Because she was also a sympathy puker. Although she’d never puked then followed up with sympathy puking. This was a new low.
“Ralen, you’re making her sick again!” Cash said.
What about poor Ralen? She’d made him sick in the first place! Poor guy hadn’t asked for any of this.
“Sorry! Sorry! I’m going to go and get us some water. We passed a gas station not far back.”
Addie sobbed. Humiliation and embarrassment whirled inside her.
“Shh, let it all out, baby,” Cash murmured.
Baby? Why was he calling her that?
Shouldn’t he be calling her an idiot? Or pukey? Smelly guts?
He drew her against him, rubbing her back and speaking to her soothingly. The feeling of safety that washed through her was crazy. She’d never felt safe with anyone before.
Not like this.
Right now, she felt like she could bury herself into his embrace and nothing would ever harm her again.
Because he wouldn’t allow it.
Which was crazy, of course. Because after tonight she’d probably never see him again.
A wave of sadness hit her hard and fast.
You cannot let yourself get attached to this man. He is way out of your league. You’re a two and he’s a five hundred.
Not to mention that she didn’t live here and had no interest in a relationship with someone.
No. But she would carry the memory of his care and attention for years to come.
You need to apologize.
Weirdly, the anxiety had quieted for the time being and she felt calmer and more together than she had in years.
“Sorry,” she told him.
“What was that?” he asked.
“I said s-sorry. For v-vomiting. For being s-such a b-bother.”
“Hey, that’s the most you’ve said. Well done!” He grasped hold of her chin, tilting her head back.
Yeah, but she’d probably sounded like a stuttering frog.
“A-anxious. Voice goes. Dumb.”
He scowled. “It is not dumb.”
Hmm, few other people would agree with him.
“Addie, I want you to look at me,” he said firmly.
A shiver ran through her as she raised her gaze to his. Those dark, intense eyes stared down at her.
Cash was a gorgeous man. She was certain he knew that. He must have a girlfriend, right?
Who wouldn’t appreciate her lusting after him like this.
“S-sorry.”
His gaze narrowed as he stared down at her. “You need to stop apologizing.”
She shrugged. Addie didn’t understand what was wrong with apologizing. Plus, she could be apologizing for a number of things.
Like the fact that you just puked all over his boots.
She glanced down at them. She should offer to clean those. And should she ask him if he had a girlfriend?
No, then he might think that she was interested in him.
You are interested in him . . .
Yes, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“Addie, I didn’t give permission to look away from me,” Cash said sternly.
Whoa.
Her gaze shot back up to his. That was one firm voice. And not one that she could ignore. She pointed to his boots.
“Don’t worry about my boots. The puke will come off. I want you to listen to me. I don’t know why you puked, but I could guess. No, keep looking at me.”
Shoot. She hadn’t even realized that her gaze had shifted away from him.
“I won’t remind you again,” he warned as a set of headlights hit them full beam.
She winced and held her hand up to shield her eyes. Thankfully, it drove past and she could breathe easier.
“What the hell?” Cash muttered as the car turned and the lights hit them again. The car parked in front of his truck as Cash gently nudged her behind his back.
“Stay behind me. I mean it, Addie. Disobeying me right now will make me very unhappy.”
Right. And they wouldn’t want that.
Sheesh.
She’d been trying to sound sarcastic, but the truth was that she didn’t want him to be unhappy. She wanted him to smile. What would he look like when he smiled?
God.
Maybe it was better if she didn’t know. Because he was already ridiculously attractive. That might send her over the edge and she wouldn’t survive.
A car door opened and her stomach tightened.
You are not going to vomit.
It was probably just someone stopping to check that they were okay.
Still, she had a strange feeling in her stomach. And she wished Ralen were here. How far away was that gas station?
Cash stood casually, his entire demeanor relaxed and uncaring. Still, there must have been a part of him that was concerned. Otherwise he wouldn’t have told her to stay behind him, right?
“You folks all right here?” A large man stepped out of the car. He had to be half a foot taller than Cash, with wide shoulders and a muscular build.
Those nerves in her stomach built.
She had a bad feeling about this. She looped her hand into Cash’s belt. He probably thought she was nutty, but for some reason, she just needed to hold onto him.
He didn’t even glance back at her so maybe he didn’t feel her hand around his belt.
“We’re all good, thanks,” Cash told him. “This one just had something bad for dinner and it ended up all on my boots.” He pointed down at his boots. She cringed, still feeling bad about that. Oh, well, she’d grab hold of them when they got to wherever they were going and wash them.
It suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea where they were going. Shouldn’t they have stayed back at the hotel room to wait for her sisters? She hadn’t even left them a message.
They’d obviously gotten separated from their phones. Maybe even from each other.
“Ahh, I see,” the big guy said, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s too bad.”
It was too bad. Especially if it ruined Cash’s boots.
“So thanks for stopping and checking, but as you can see we’re fine. We’re about to be on our way,” Cash told him.
Right. As soon as Ralen returned. She was starting to feel a bit worried about him.
“Just the two of you is it?” the man asked, making her tense. Why would he ask that?
“That’s right,” Cash replied. “It’s just the two of us. Can we help you?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” the big guy replied. “You can do something for me. You can give me the keys to your pickup.”
“Now why would I want to do something like that?” Cash asked.
“Because otherwise I’m going to have to come over there and take them from you.”
“You and what army?” Cash drawled.
Jesus, he was acting rather carefree considering that this guy had probably a hundred pounds on him.
And then things went from bad to worse.
Because the car doors behind the big guy opened and three more men got out.
These were not good odds.
It made her squeak. Cash reached around him to take hold of her hand that was holding his belt, giving it a light squeeze.
So he had realized that her hand was caught up in his belt?
What were they going to do? Would they hurt Cash? Would they hurt her? They certainly didn’t look like very nice men.
“Now, I bet you’re wishing you just handed over those keys, aren’t you?” the first man said. “Because if you had, I would’ve just taken your vehicle and been on my way. But now, as well as taking your truck, we’re gonna have to take your girl.”
Another squeak of fear. She was trembling as Cash gently removed her hand from his belt.
“Afraid I can’t let you do that,” Cash replied.
How did he sound so calm? Here she was, freaking out. Although, of the two of them, she thought that she was having the normal reaction.
Cash seemed to think he was Superman or something.
Or maybe Wolverine.
Yeah. She could see that. She was a huge Wolverine fan. A bit of a gruff rebel but with a soft spot underneath.
“Let me make something clear, asshole. You don’t have a choice,” the guy snarled. “Get them both!”
As the other three men started toward them, grins of delight on their nasty faces, Cash pushed her back.
“Behind the truck. Stay there!” Then he stepped toward the closest guy and smacked his fist right into the asshole’s face.
Oh. Ouch!
That looked like it hurt. The guy bellowed and the other two men jumped on Cash. Addie screamed.
Holy heck. She hadn’t been aware she could even make that noise. And man, it hurt. Badly. She wasn’t used to talking much, let alone screaming.
Oh no. Oh no.
She had to help him! But how?
He told you to hide.
Yeah, but she couldn’t do that. Not while he was getting beaten up. Nerves shook her body as she rushed to the back of the pickup.
She knew that she’d seen a crowbar back here when she’d been hiding with Snaggles.
Snaggles!
Oh, she hoped he was safely tucked away inside the cab of the pickup because she didn’t have time to worry about him right now. But as she rounded the back of the truck and leaned in to pull off the tarp, she realized her mistake.
“Well, well, well, what have we got here? A nice piece of ass for me.”
She froze as she heard the deep voice behind her.
Oh no.
Oh no.
Where was the crowbar? Panic made her fumble around. Suddenly, she felt two hands grab her hips and haul her back, throwing her on the ground.
Addie landed with a thud, staring up at the man who smirked as he stood over her.
Why was no one else driving past to help?
Maybe because it was probably around three in the morning. It might even be closer to dawn, the sky definitely seemed lighter.
Which was unfortunate because that meant she could clearly see the evil smirk on his face.
A whimper escaped her, and that just seemed to make him more amused.
“Oh, you and me are going to have a fun time together, bitch,” he told her.
Just great. He was calling her a bitch, and he didn’t even know her. That didn’t bode well.
Bending over, he reached down to grab her. What the hell was she going to do? Cash wouldn’t come to her rescue. He was too busy trying to fight off three guys. Scrambling around with her hand, she managed to grab hold of a large rock. She drew her hand back, then smashed the rock into his eye.
He let out a roar of pain and, grasping hold of her shoulders, he picked her up and shook her like a rag doll. Addie was sure that she could feel her brain rattling around in her head.
Then he placed her down and smacked the back of his hand across her cheek. A scream of pain erupted from her, and she fell back again.
He leaned over, “Now I’m going to teach you a real lesson, bitch.”
Fear lodged in her throat, and she knew this was it. There was no getting away from him.