Chapter Fourteen
The Sect of Purgatory resided deep in the surrounding hardwood forest and marsh habitat, in a huge two-story house surrounded by a chain-link fence.
Since he drove the car, he went first, running right through the front gate and ripping it apart.
The electricity running along it sparked but quickly fizzled out as people ran, and shouts rang out.
Jade didn’t have a gun, so he ducked into the car and drove it straight through the front door.
The airbag deployed, saving him from bouncing his head off the steering wheel, but his adrenaline was riding so high he probably wouldn’t have felt it anyway.
The car came to a stop, and he ducked out.
A man came up to him, holding a nine mil, and Jade didn’t hesitate.
He dove at the man, punched him in his nose hard enough to break it, and when he fell back with a hard thud, Jade grabbed the gun.
There were screams and gunfire, and Jade glanced around, looking for Shiloh. He saw a woman cowering in a corner.
“Where’s Shiloh?” he demanded.
She was shaking and crying, and his conscience tried to make him feel guilty. He’d never hurt her, but she didn’t need to know that.
“Tell me, or I’ll make you tell me.”
The woman pointed toward the backyard. He hurried through the remainder of the house and shot the sliding glass door.
Shards flew everywhere, but Jade didn’t give a flying fuck.
One of the brainwashed assholes popped up holding a gun, and Jade shot him between the eyes.
He had no time for understanding or sympathy.
These people were all complicit in Shiloh’s abuse, so fuck them all.
Women ran around, holding kids and crying. He didn’t give a flying fuck about them, but any man who came at him, he killed. By this time, the other Sons had joined him. The backyard sloped downward, completely free of trees or bushes. Laundry lines were strung up, and clothes waved in the breeze.
Saint had managed to grab one of the running women, who looked terrified. “Where’s Shiloh Gibson?”
The woman pointed shakily down the hill, where a set of wooden boxes was placed. Jade couldn’t see Shiloh at all. Still, he proceeded forward.
“Shiloh!” he yelled. “Answer me!”
The Sons fanned out, with Nero and War hanging behind to protect their backs.
He spotted Lawrence peeking from behind a shed, hiding while his men risked their lives to protect their precious leader.
Jade hurried over, firing once, twice, three times.
All the men immediately fell with bullet holes in their foreheads.
Lawrence backed up, but there was no escape as Jade grabbed his shirt.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
“You’re too late,” Lawrence taunted. “She’s already doing penance.”
Jade studied his face, and for the briefest millisecond, Lawrence’s eyes shot to the side, as if looking at those wooden boxes.
Jade got a bad feeling and knew he had to look in those ...
whatever they were. So, he pointed the muzzle down and shot Lawrence in both feet to make sure the man couldn’t run away.
He screamed as he fell to the ground, but Jade couldn’t care less.
“Nero!” he shouted. “I think she’s in one of those boxes.”
He and Nero ran to them and started opening them.
“Fuck! I found her!” Nero called out.
Jade ran over, and what he saw devastated him. The damn wooden thing had been a sweat box. She was unconscious and looked dead. Her wet hair hung limp around her shoulders, sticking to her bright red skin. He couldn’t even tell if she was breathing.
“Shiloh!” he cried. “Wake up! Please, baby, wake up.”
Nero carefully pulled her out of the box and laid her on the ground. He placed his ear to her chest, then placed his finger against her neck to find her pulse.
“I don’t think she’s breathing,” he muttered and immediately started CPR.
“Come on, baby, don’t do this,” Jade pleaded. “Don’t you fucking die on me.”
After compressions, Nero listened again.
“I have a heartbeat!” he yelled and slung his bag off his shoulders. “Quick, quick, quick! She needs help.”
“What can I do?” Jade asked.
“Monitor her breathing.”
“Shiloh, hold on,” Jade pleaded.
Nero pulled out 0.9% normal saline and quickly inserted the IV needle into her arm.
“Here,” he instructed, shoving the bag to Jade. “Hold this up.”
Jade took it as Nero broke several ice packs to release the chemicals in order to drape them over her skin. Then, he took a few water bottles and poured them over her torso.
“Is she going to be okay?” Jade asked. Silently, he begged Nero to say yes.
“I’ve stabilized her, but I can work on her better in my van,” Nero replied instead. “Give me the saline bag, and I’ll hold it while you pick her up.”
“Okay.”
They synced up, then Nero counted.
“One. Two. Lift.”
She weighed almost nothing. Something wet touched his hands, and he glanced down.
Blood. The bastard had whipped her again.
Knowing he had to stay focused, he pushed it all aside.
Save her first, then help her heal. He and Nero moved quickly back across the yard and through the house.
Nero pulled out his fob and unlocked the doors of his van.
He entered first, and then helped bring Shiloh in and placed her carefully on the narrow bed in the back.
He immediately got to work hooking her up to the machines, reading all her vitals while Jade sat out of the way.
“What can I do to help?” Jade asked, desperation tinged on the edge of his words
Nero spared him a quick glance. “You can encourage her to live. Tell her the Sect is gone. Tell her she’s safe. Tell her, her nightmare is over so she can heal.”
Jade leaned low, stroking her hair as he whispered in her ear.
“You’re safe, Shiloh. We tore the Sect apart, and your stepfather can never hurt anyone ever again. I asked my brothers to hold the asshole so I can properly send him to hell. Wouldn’t you like to see that?”
The entire time he talked, Nero continued to break ice packs and replace the ones rapidly losing their coldness.
He placed them in her armpits and across her neck before remote starting the van, then cranked up the air conditioning as high as it would go.
The fan overhead kicked on, bringing the temperature way down.
All the while, Jade kept talking to her, whispering endearments.
Telling her how much he loved her. Begging her to come back to him. To open her eyes.
Then, she did just that.