Chapter 15
CAMILE
The atmosphere inside this disgusting building practically vibrates with tension.
I’m curled into Rook’s arms on the cold floor.
He’s still naked, but at least I have Ledger’s shirt to cover me, and I use both my body and part of the shirt to help keep some of Rook’s modesty, too.
We’re no longer tied up, but now everyone is waving guns around, and making a run for it would probably get us shot.
Ledger is in only jeans and boots, since he donated his shirt to me, his upper torso flexed with muscle. He trains his gun on the other men, but Ginger is also armed and is aiming at him. Would he really risk shooting Ledger?
Does he understand that Ledger is the son of a powerful cartel family?
Do these men have any idea what they’re dealing with?
If Ledger dies, what happens then? It’s not like they’re just going to let me and Rook walk free.
They’ll have to clean up their mess, and that mess will be the two of us.
We’ll probably end up with bullets in our heads and buried in shallow graves somewhere, but I’m sure they’ll have some more fun with us first.
I never in my life thought I would be on Ledger’s side, but in this moment, I am. We can’t afford for Ledger to be killed.
I don’t blame Rook for what he did, but I know he’s going to blame himself.
Though he holds me tight, he won’t meet my eye.
I’m sore, and I’m sure he is too, but I’ll recover.
I can cope with what happened, but if it had been those other men doing what he had, then I’m not sure I’d be saying the same.
“Well?” Ledger insists of Ginger. “Have you got a wife, or what is it you call them… an ol’ lady?”
Ginger’s eyes go wide. “What if I do?”
“Then you should bring her here so we can all come in her face.” Ledger looks around. “What do you say, boys? Ready for round two with this asshole’s missus?”
The other men grimace and glance at each other warily at this turn of events. Perhaps their minds are going to their own wives and girlfriends and wondering if they’ll be next in line. They’re quite happy treating a strange woman in such a way, but they don’t want it to be someone they care about.
“I’m sorry, Ledger,” Ginger says, clearly trying to calm the situation. “We weren’t thinking.”
Ledger takes several steps toward Ginger, so they’re now only a foot apart, and he jabs his gun toward Ginger’s head. “No, you didn’t fucking think, did you?”
“You acted like you wanted her degraded.” Ginger shrugs despite the danger he’s in.
Ledger slams a hand against his own chest. “By me! She’s going to be my fucking wife, so I’m the one who gets to degrade her. You fuckers were supposed to be nothing more than guard dogs until I got what I needed out of her.”
I suddenly remember the bad info I fed him. He’ll have passed that information on to his family back in Mexico, and they’ll be sending someone to check it out. Not enough time has passed yet for them to realize I’ve given them bullshit info, but when they do…
?Mierda!
I squeeze my eyes shut and try not to think about what Ledger’s reaction will be. He’ll kill Rook for sure, just to punish me. I’d used it to buy us time, but what if it’s not enough time? I keep thinking this situation can’t get any worse, but then it does.
Rook leans into me. I think he’s seeking comfort, or support, but he whispers against my ear.
“We need to get out of here.”
I shoot him a wide-eyed stare, a silent plea to him not to do anything stupid. He jerks his chin toward the door Ledger has just come through. It’s still standing open a crack, with Ledger having forgotten to shut it behind him upon entering. He’d been distracted by what he’d seen.
The men aren’t paying us any attention. They’re all too focused on Ledger, and Ledger is fixated on Ginger and the others, and what they did to us in his absence.
Rook whispers again. “We have no choice. This is turning ugly.”
It’s already turned ugly, but I understand what he’s saying. We’d been buying time, except that time is rapidly running out. In my head, I see an old-fashioned hourglass, the sand running through the tiny gap into the vial below, except the sand in the top is almost gone.
I’m still shaking all over. “I’m scared.”
He squeezes my hand. “Me, too. But this might be our only chance.”
I don’t want to be frightened. I want to be strong and brave and take these men down myself, but I know that’s impossible.
They’ve reduced me to a near naked, shivering, cum-covered mess on the floor.
I’m nothing. And when Ledger gets his way, I’ll be moved to Mexico, and forced to be his wife, and I’ll never see anyone I love ever again.
The truth is, I’m more worried about them shooting Rook than I am myself.
Rook could still have a future if he gets away from here.
I won’t be in it, but better that he lives than dies here trying to protect me.
If I die, all I’ll escape is a life of torment at Ledger’s hands. Perhaps it would be better that way?
“You should go,” I hiss at him, nudging his shoulder with mine. “Run while you can.”
His face pinches, his eyes darkening with determination. “Not without you.”
“You’ll die if you stay.”
“Then I’ll die.”
My eyes fill with fresh tears. I don’t want him to sacrifice his life for me, but that’s exactly what he may end up doing. If we stay or if we try to run, the result will still be the same.
The fighting between Ledger and Ginger has ramped up a notch.
A couple of the other men have joined in, and one of them has also produced a weapon, though he seems unsure who he should be pointing it at.
Rook is right. They’re distracted, and if Ledger takes his eye off them for a minute, he’s the one who could end up dead.
I give a tiny nod and shift my position. “Okay, let’s do it.”
Rook’s eyes light up. “Yes?” he double checks.
“Yes.” I squeeze his hand in return.
We can’t wait. If we’re going to do this, we need to do it fast. Ledger and the other men are shouting now, and it’s not going to be long until things go even further south.
We both move carefully, so we’re crouching instead of sitting down. I’m grateful I have a shirt to cover me, but poor Rook is completely exposed. Not that a shirt will protect against a bullet.
“You’ll fucking regret that!” Ledger yells at one of the men.
Just as we rise to our feet to run for the door, three gunshots crack loudly through the air. Instinctively, I flinch and somehow manage to hold back a scream. Who were the bullets for? Were they aimed at us?
My eyes widen as I take in the sight in front of me, my heart racing so fast I feel lightheaded. Ginger has crumpled to the floor, and one of the other men who I haven’t named—the other one who’d had the gun—is clutching his shoulder and staggering backward.
“Go!”
Rook pushes at my back. I realize I’ve stopped, hindering his escape as I came to a standstill in horror at the scene unfolding.
“Don’t fucking move!”
The shout is aimed in our direction, and we both freeze. I don’t even dare to look, keeping my eyes focused on the ground.
I let out a sob. We’ve only made it halfway to the door. Halfway to freedom. It’s not enough.
“Don’t think I’d forgotten about the two of you,” Ledger says. “Sit the fuck back down.”
When I do and glance up, his face is full of hatred and bitter, sneering disgust.
I’m sorry, Rook mouths at me.
I shake my head to say it’s not his fault.
Ledger watches the interaction, and his expression darkens more. Has he realized that we have feelings for one another? We should have taken more care to school our reactions in front of him.
“What did you do to her? Huh?” Ledger asks of Rook. “You seem to be missing your clothes, so I’m guessing you did something. Think you can take my wife and use her pussy before I get my hands on her?”
“They gave me no choice,” Rook says. He glowers at Ledger. “You’re the one who isn’t in control of your men.”
Ledger turns the gun and shoots Lion, hitting him right in the chest. He goes down with a weak, rattling gurgle. His hands curl into claws and he reaches for his chest as if he can do something before they fall uselessly at his side.
Absolute despair sweeps over me. Ledger has totally lost it, and he’s going to kill us, but when he turns back to Rook, he’s surprisingly calm.
“So you did touch her? At least you have the balls to admit it. What did you do? Tell me how you touched my wife.”
“I’m not your wife,” I spit at him unable to hold back the retort.
“You soon will be.” He turns back to Rook. “Now talk.”
I don’t know what the correct response will be to keep Rook alive, if there even is one. Deny anything happened, and Ledger will know it’s a lie, and perhaps shoot him for it. Tell the truth, and he’ll still most likely end up dead. Rook saved me, so now I have to try to save him.
“Please, Ledger,” I beg as I grab his arm, but he shrugs me off with ease. “Don’t do this. Leave him alone. He has nothing to do with what happened. They made him. They put a gun…”
I trail away, unable to give voice to what they did.
He jams the muzzle against Rook’s temple. “Did you fuck her? Did you put your cock inside my wife?”
“Please, don’t.” I cling to Rook, wanting to put myself in between him and the gun, to climb onto him and use my body as a shield.
“I fucked her in the ass,” Rook stubbornly admits, jerking his chin up.
His patience has finally snapped. All this time, he’s been holding it together, trying to keep me safe, and now that’s all gone. I can see the darkness inside him that he doesn’t show often.
Rook is the one I think of as being friendly and chilled out, but he’s in an illegal biker gang, for God’s sake, and he served time for being the driver in an armed robbery. Rook is not some soft-hearted man.
“You took her ass?” Ledger’s jaw is so tight it looks like it will shatter.
“Yes, I did because you failed to protect what you claim is yours, and you know what? I made her come, too. Something I doubt you could ever achieve.”
Ledger’s face turns into a mask of fury and he lifts his weapon. “You son of a—"