Chapter 17 #3
It took longer than Lucky would’ve liked for them to traverse the mile or so to where they hoped to find her, the terrain slowing them down. But the team moved like the well-oiled machine they were. Completely silent, each one hoping against hope they’d find Devyn alive and well.
When they got within two hundred feet of the coordinates, Lucky held up his fist to halt the others behind him. His heart thumping in his chest, he listened.
All he heard was the sound of birds merrily chirping overhead. He smelled no fire, had no other indication that anyone was nearby.
Bile rose in his throat, but very slowly, Lucky pressed forward.
He had to know. Had to get to the woman he loved…even if he was too late to help her.
Looking down at the GPS, he saw he had forty feet to go. He put the device in his pocket and crept forward.
Ten feet later, he swerved around a large tree and blinked at the sight before him.
Devyn was sitting awkwardly against a tree, her head lolled to the side and her arms stretched behind her.
Her eyes were closed, and he couldn’t tell if she was breathing from where he stood.
His own breath caught in his throat. Her face was swollen, but he didn’t see any blood and she looked relatively unscathed.
But it had been days. And if she’d been out here in the middle of nowhere, chained to the damn tree she was leaning against, she could still very well be dead.
He felt more than heard the movement next to him, and Lucky automatically put out his hand to keep Grover from rushing toward her.
He knew he had no right to keep Grover from his sister, but she was his woman.
His responsibility. His to protect and to take care of.
Even if that meant making sure she had the dignity she deserved in death.
He also wanted to protect Grover from being the one to find out, God forbid, she hadn’t made it.
He took a step forward. Then another.
And then he broke, rushing toward her, causing enough noise to make the birds stop chirping and fly off in fright.
One second he was sure he was too late, that Devyn had passed away, and the next, her beautiful blue eyes popped open…and she was staring up at him in disbelief, and a little bit of fright, as he approached.
Devyn was lost in a semi-conscious state. Part of her was aware of exactly where she was and that she needed to stay awake, and the other part was more than happy to float in a blissful happy place where it was just her and Lucky, sleeping together in his large bed.
She wasn’t sure when she realized something had changed, but it was the sudden explosion of birds taking off from the branches they’d been mocking her from for days that had her opening her eyes.
At first, she thought the men who’d kidnapped her had returned. All she saw was a large shape moving toward her at a fast clip. Then she looked into the wide eyes of the man before her—and realized it was Lucky.
Devyn had no idea how in the world he’d appeared out of nowhere, but she’d never been so happy to see anyone in her entire life.
“Lucky,” she croaked. Then he was there.
His hands were on her face and he was staring into her eyes as if she were a ghost. Was she a ghost? Why wasn’t he saying anything? Was this her dream coming true? She’d really died and he’d found her dead body?
“Dev…” he said after a long moment.
She wanted to reach up and touch him more than she wanted anything else in the world, but her hands were still bound behind her. She couldn’t do anything but stare up at him with love, gratitude, and the most extreme relief she’d ever known.
“You found me.”
“I did,” he whispered.
Jerking in surprise, Devyn looked up at the other three men who suddenly appeared above her.
“Hey, sis,” Fred said in a choked voice. “If you wanted more excitement in your life, I probably could’ve arranged for you to go skydiving again or something.”
She snorted lightly. “I’ll remember that for next time,” she whispered.
“You feel like gettin’ out of here, beautiful?” Trigger asked as he disappeared out of her line of sight behind her.
“Yes,” she said emphatically.
“It might hurt when your arms are released,” Doc warned.
“I’ve got her,” Lucky said.
Devyn relaxed. He did. Lucky had her. She wasn’t looking forward to the pain she knew Doc was downplaying, but she wanted to be free more than she cared about a little discomfort.
She couldn’t see what Trigger was doing behind her—but she knew the second he’d cut and loosened the chain that held her prisoner.
Her arms fell to the ground. She tried to lift them, and couldn’t stop the gasp of pain that left her lips.
Lucky dug his thumbs into her shoulders, and she tried to arch away from him, but there was nowhere to go.
“I know it hurts. Hang on for just a bit longer, love,” Lucky murmured, as he attempted to get the blood flowing through her arms by massaging the joints.
Closing her eyes, Devyn did her best to breathe through the pain. And then she realized Lucky was right. It hurt to have him manipulating her shoulders, but before long, she felt tingles in her hands and knew that was actually a good sign.
“She’s gonna need an IV,” Doc said.
Lucky nodded. “I know. Give me a sec.”
Trigger appeared in her line of sight once more, holding the chain that had bound her to the tree. He kneeled down and unlocked the handcuffs that were still around her wrists and then stuffed her shackles into his pack. Then he whistled. “You really fought to get free, didn’t you?” he asked.
Devyn nodded and turned her head to look at her right wrist. It was pretty gruesome. She had bruises almost up to her elbow and deep red gouges in her skin.
“I’ll put some painkillers in the IV,” Doc muttered.
Devyn tried to move her arms and was pleased when the muscles worked as she wanted. She lifted her hands and gripped Lucky’s biceps as hard as she could, which she was aware was pretty pathetic. “I love you,” she told him softly.
“Love you back,” he returned.
Closing her eyes, Devyn sighed in contentment. She’d dreamed of this moment so many times, had begun to think it would never happen. But it had. Lucky had actually found her. She didn’t know how, but she was so damn grateful.
She moved on the ground, wanting to stand, to stretch her back—and then she smelled herself. Embarrassment swept over her like a shroud. It was stupid. She was so happy to have been found, to see Lucky and her brother. But she suddenly wanted nothing more than to hide her face in shame.
“What’s wrong?” Lucky asked, always so damn observant.
Devyn glanced over at the other men, then back at the pulse beating in Lucky’s throat. She couldn’t say it out loud. Not in front of the others.
But again, Lucky seemed able to read her mind. “Can you give us a second, guys?”
Trigger nodded and moved away.
Before Doc joined him, he warned, “She needs medical care as soon as possible, Lucky. We need to get moving.”
Fred stayed where he was.
Lucky stood up, pressing his ankle against her thigh, as if he didn’t want to lose contact with her for even a moment. “We need a second,” he told her brother.
“She’s my sister,” Fred said. “She can tell me anything.”
The two men stared at each other, neither backing down.
Devyn hated to be the reason her brother and the man she loved were butting heads, but she couldn’t talk about what was bothering her with Fred. She just couldn’t.
“I’m okay, Fred.”
He looked down at her, his eyes watering. “I love you, Devyn.”
“I know,” she told him, begging with her eyes for him to give her some privacy for just a second.
He sighed. “I get it. I’m just your brother.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I’m so glad you’re all right, munchkin. You scared me.”
Devyn nodded, her throat too tight to speak.
“Two minutes,” Fred told Lucky, who’d crouched down in front of her again.
He began to back away, and suddenly Devyn found her voice. “Fred? Is Spencer okay?” she called.
He stared at her for a long moment before sighing. “Yeah, sis. He is. You know he’s the reason you’re here, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah. But he’s still my brother, and I love him. I’m assuming you know everything?”
Fred inclined his head.
“He needs help,” she said softly.
“And he’s gonna get it,” Fred told her. “Now hurry up and let your man know what’s bothering you so we can fly home.”
“You guys were in the helicopter I heard? I thought it was just a random chopper,” Devyn said.
“That was us. And we have a two-hour or so flight to get back to Killeen, so let’s not take all day, okay?”
“Two hours?” Devyn said in confusion. “Where are we?”
“East Texas,” Lucky said softly, and Devyn turned her attention back to him.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow. I had no idea I was unconscious for as long as that,” she said.
“I’m guessing they drugged you when they got you into their car. Being knocked unconscious by a punch to the face wouldn’t have kept you under as long as it would’ve taken them to drive you out here. Did they touch you when you got here? Sexually assault you?” Lucky asked.
Devyn saw Fred back away to join his other teammates, leaving her and Lucky to talk privately. She shook her head.
“You can tell me, Dev. It won’t make me think any less of you.”
“I know, and I’m telling the truth. When I woke up, I was alone and chained to this tree.
I never saw the guys again. I didn’t even get a good look at them before they knocked me out.
I don’t hurt…down there, if you know what I mean.
So I don’t think they did anything to me.
My stomach was a bit sore the first day or so though. ”
“One of them probably carried you over their shoulder, which might account for the pain. Now…what’s wrong? You looked horribly uncomfortable a minute ago.”
“I just…I smelled myself,” she whispered.
Lucky’s face lost some of its tension. “You haven’t had a shower in days, it’s normal.”