Demon, page 23
I went full throttle, my gut twisting at the thought of what we might find at the end of the road. If anything happened to the women, Cole and Sax would be devastated. Fuck, all of us would feel it. And God forbid anything happened to Bobbie. I knew that she was strong enough to get through anything, she'd already proven that. She was a fighter. She had spirit, and I knew her being there would help Raven and Holly get through whatever was coming their way, too.
I pushed away the memory of what she'd gone through in Rachel. That shit would clog my thinking, and right now I needed a clear head. We would find them, and end the fuckers who'd dared to take club royalty.
And then we'd end the fallen prince.
Chapter 27
Bobbie
"Bobbie. Bobbie."
Someone was shaking me and speaking in a harsh whisper that, even in my dull state alarmed me.
"Bobbie!"
I blinked, trying to keep my eyes open, wondering why I was laying on the hard, cold floor, and a concrete floor at that. My name was called again, the tone frightened and filled with panic. I moved, moaning at the excruciating pain in my head, and opened my eyes to see the slightly blurry outline of Raven bending over me. She was sniffling as if she'd been crying.
"God, I was so worried!" she whisper shouted. "Are you okay?"
I nodded, although I wasn’t quite certain if I was okay or not. "How long have I been out?"
Raven helped me into a sitting position against the wall. It didn't take me long to figure out that we were in a garage.
"About thirty minutes. We haven't been here long."
"Where's ‘here?’"
I glanced around, taking in the usual sort of crap that you'd find in a garage that was used for storage and not for parking vehicles, though it had a distinctive smell of gas and oil. There was a florescent light in the ceiling in the center of the room and a single door to the right that most likely led to the main part of the house. My gaze lingered on the garage door, and I wondered if it was the kind with an automatic door opener or if you could pull it up manually.
Raven followed my gaze. "Don't bother. It's the first thing I tried after they left us here."
For the first time I noticed that Holly wasn't there. My heart sank with dread. "Where's Holly?"
Her bottom lip quivered, and a fresh onset of tears brightened her eyes. "They kept her inside the house, Bobbie. I think they . . . they . . . "She looked down, unable to finish.
Oh no! "Fuck!" I hissed, making an attempt to get to my feet.
Raven jumped to help me. "What are you doing?"
"We have to get her out of there." I met Raven's liquid gaze, my heart racing. I didn't want to state outright what I suspected was happening to Holly, and besides, I was sure that she already knew.
"How?" Raven asked, walking with me toward the door. There was a broom handle leaning in the corner along with a rake. She grabbed them up.
"I don't know yet." I met her worried eyes, which were still wet. "Create a diversion?" My eyes darted back to the garage door. "Come on, maybe the two of us can get this open."
There was a handle at the bottom, close to the concrete. After a few vigorous attempts, it was obvious that it was stuck. It also caused enough of a racket that it got the attention of those inside the house. Suddenly the door opened, and we both turned to see one of the kidnappers step through. We straightened up, but waited where we were.
"You bitches stop making so much racket, or we'll forget our client wants you alive." As he issued the threat, his gaze settled on me. "Already messed up your pretty face," he sneered.
I ignored his attempt to frighten me. "Who's your client, asshole?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
We heard Holly scream from inside the building, and Raven and I exchanged terrified looks before I grabbed the broom handle she'd set against the garage door and rushed in the kidnapper’s direction. "Let her go!" I screamed, loud enough for them to hear me inside the house. My plan was to somehow bypass the man who stood in my way and go through the open doorway behind him. It was a foolish thought. He was a big man, and he spread his arms out to stop me, a vicious smirk on his thick lips daring me to try.
I came to a halt in front of him, screaming. "Holly!" My eyes remained glued to the asshole blocking my way. "You hurt any of us, and Desert Rebels will hunt you down and kill you!" I hissed, my heart racing at the thought of what could be going on inside. The man just laughed, unaffected by my threat. Holly let out another scream, the terror in it going straight through me. I didn't think, I only knew that I had to get inside. I struck out with the broom handle and caught the bastard in the chest with it. When his arms automatically closed around his body to protect it from a second blow, I aimed for his bald head.
"Sonofabitch!" he roared, grabbing the side of his head.
Raven threw a paint can at him, giving me enough time to dart around him and dash into the house. "Holly!" I screamed, my eyes wild as I searched the kitchen.
A second man, whose face had been marred by the long scratches that I'd given him earlier, suddenly entered the room, reminding me that there had been three men who'd taken us. It didn't take him long to assess the situation before he came in my direction.
"Stay back!" I hissed, holding the broom handle like a bat.
He kept on coming, clearly not afraid of a tiny woman brandishing a thin broom handle. It was then that I noticed his pants were undone and half open.
He noticed my look. "You'll be next, bitch. I'll mess up your cunt like I messed up your face."
You'll be next. Ohmygod! They were raping Holly! I felt sick inside knowing what she was going through.
I ignored the hopelessness of the situation and the sting in my eyes. "You'll wish you were never born by the time the Desert Rebels are done with you!" I promised, hearing the contempt in my tone. I swung the handle, missing him when he ducked, and released a scream of frustration when he grabbed me. "Fucking bastard!"
He ripped the handle out of my hands so violently that it left splinters behind. He tossed it against the stove, and then easily pushed me back out into the garage, using his body as a battering ram. He gave me a hard shove. A stack of damp boxes stopped my fall.
Raven's tearful pleas drew my attention, my eyes widening when I looked in her direction. These men were fucking animals! The other man had recovered from my attack and was tearing at Raven's clothes in a kind of frenzy.
"Leave her alone!" I screamed.
"Hank!"
Hank paused from ripping Raven's blouse off and looked back at his friend.
"Get the fuck in here, ass wipe, it's your turn."
Hank let Raven sink to the floor.
"They'll get their turn soon enough."
Hank gave me an evil glare on his way past, a threat in his eyes that sent a chill through me. "Gonna rip you a new one when it's your turn," he promised.
I wasn't sure how I managed to keep eye-contact with him when my whole insides were shaking and I wanted to throw up. Once they were gone, I rushed over to where Raven was sitting on the floor crying. She was clutching her torn shirt over her breasts, trembling like a newborn kitten. "You okay, honey?" It was a stupid thing to ask. Of course she wasn't okay, none of us were.
"God, Bobbie, they raped Holly, didn't they?"
Swallowing hard, I wiped the tears lining her cheeks. "I know, honey."
"And we're going to be next."
Several screams pierced the air around us as Holly fought her rapists. Once again I was stuck with a strong feeling of déjà vu as visions of what she was going through played out in my head. Could I survive this again without losing my mind?
Would she?
I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the urge to panic. "We need to stay strong, Raven. Our men will be here soon." I believed that. By now Snake would have alerted them to our abduction. They would be looking for us.
"Why is this happening? Who do you think their client is?"
We scooted back so we could rest our backs against the wall. "I don't know." I hadn't had time to think about it. The reason that they'd wanted us was obvious, though--to use as leverage against the club. Raven and Holly were old ladies, prized possessions of its members. The club would stop at nothing to get them back, in any condition.
I prayed they showed up soon.
The door opened, and a disheveled Holly was tossed into the garage. She stumbled into a barrel, refusing to release the death grip she had on what was left of her tattered clothes. Her pants were gone. All she had on was her shredded tee and a pair of bikini panties that had been torn at the side. She slowly glanced in our direction, her face bruised and her mouth bleeding. As the door closed behind her, Raven and I got to our feet, rushing over to her. The look in her glistening eyes said everything. She looked broken.
"Come on, honey." Raven supported her by wrapping her arm around her waist.
"Sax will kill them," she murmured in a shaky, tearful voice.
We led her to where we'd been sitting. "Wait a minute," I said before they sat down. I searched for something that we could use as a cushion against the hard concrete, finding an old yoga mat. It was better than nothing. I placed it on the ground, and the three of us sat down.
"I'm so sorry this happened to you." I didn't know what else to say.
"Me, too," Holly whispered in a sad little voice. "I've been kidnapped before, but they didn't, ah, hurt me like this."
"I didn't know that." I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. She was cold as ice, and I wondered if she was going into shock.
"Yeah." A ghost of a smile pulled at her swollen lips. "Sax rescued me then."
Her voice cracked, her pain unmistakable. Nothing I could say was going to make this any better. We'd both suffered the kind of abuse that no one should ever have to go through. I didn't know how strong Holly was, but I knew that we all dealt with shit in our own ways. She had a huge family that would be there to support her in any way that she needed. I could only hope that would be enough.
As I held her trembling body, I looked around for some kind of covering for her. I wondered whose house this was. I couldn't imagine that it belonged to any of the assholes inside. I cast a glance at Raven, noticing that she was staring off into space, deep in thought. I could imagine what frightening thoughts were going through her head.
"Raven, honey," I waited for her to look my way. "Why don't you go through some of those boxes and look for something to cover Holly up with." I figured that it would help if she had something to do.
She glanced at the boxes, and then back at me. "Good idea."
I watched her get to her feet and move to where the boxes were located.
"I'm okay."
I wanted to tell Holly that no, she wasn't okay. She was cold and clammy and had just gone through a traumatic attack. I knew exactly what she wanted to do--she wanted to get a scolding shower to scrape off the feel of the rough hands and slobbering spit that covered her body. She'd want what they put inside of her out.
Instead I whispered, "Yes you are. You're a strong woman, honey. The Desert Rebels only have strong, fearless women, and we have a huge family that loves us and will take care of us. We can survive this."
I didn't know if my words helped, but I was glad to see that Raven had found a beach towel in one of the boxes. The colors were faded, but at least it looked clean. She brought it over and we wrapped it around Holly, receiving a sigh from her.
"Did you see anything in there that could help us?"
"No, but I'll keep looking."
She went back to the boxes. There were around ten of them. I wondered if the owner of the house was moving in or out. A closer look revealed that the boxes appeared faded and dusty, as if they'd been there for a while. For several minutes I watched Raven rummage through them, setting one aside when she moved on to the next one. I smiled at the look of concentration on her beautiful face, thankful that for a little while she could forget about the dilemma we'd found ourselves in.
After a while Holly's shivering stopped. I leaned my head back against the wall and listened for any sounds coming from inside the house, but all I heard was Raven's movements. I would have given anything in that moment to hear the thunder of bikes that would indicate that we'd been found. I could imagine the men storming the house like the warriors they were, fearless and unstoppable. Tears prickled in my eyes as I thought about Demon. I needed him.
"Look what I found!" Raven held up some kind of tool-like device in her hand as if she were showing off an Oscar. I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out what it was. "It's an old car jack."
Why wasn't it in a car then? Who packed something like that? I was still wondering this when it dawned on me why Raven was so excited about her find. As realization hit me, I carefully extracted myself from Holly and made my way to Raven. We exchanged excited glances. "We can try this to open the garage door!" I was careful to keep my tone low, but my excitement was still there.
"There’s all kinds of tool-like stuff in here," Raven said, drawing my eyes inside the box.
"Go sit down and keep this out of sight in case they come back. We'll try it out in a minute." I began to go through the items, looking for anything that we could use as a weapon. Getting out was just the first step. We needed to have protection in case our abductors caught up to us.
A quiet noise from inside the house penetrated my musings, and I dashed back to Holly and Raven, sitting down just as the door opened. God, that was close! I was breathing hard. I glanced over in time to see Paul walk through the doorway, carrying a baking sheet that he was using as a tray. Behind him, Hank stood waiting and watching.
"You bitches are fucking lucky." Paul set the tray down, revealing food and drinks. "Just heard from our client. Got orders not to touch you unless it's to restrain you from leaving." He snorted. "Too bad we didn't get that message before we tried out your pussy and your ass, baby."
Holly kept her eyes downcast, ignoring him.
"You're fucking animals!" I hissed, fighting the urge to spit in his face.
He reached forward and wrapped his hand around my jaw, squeezing hard. As much as I tried not to, I cried out, the pain too much to bear. I could imagine what my face looked like after the punch he'd given me back at the spa.
"You get off hurting helpless women?" I grated between my pursed lips. "Your mama must be so proud."
Laughing, he gave my head a rough shake before releasing my jaw and stepping away. "I killed my mama."
If that was true it told me how really dangerous these men were, or at least him. I refrained from further antagonizing him and let him walk off.
Hank winked at my glare. "Got to piss or shit during the night, find a fucking corner," he said crudely.
I breathed a sigh of relief once they were gone and the door closed again. I turned to Raven. "We'll try that jack in a few hours, just in case they check in on us before they go to bed."
She nodded.
I looked over the tray of food. There was some kind of meat and cheese sandwiches, which was better than nothing, and three bottled waters. I checked them over to make sure they hadn't been opened. Apparently I hadn't checked them over good enough, because the three of us slept through the whole night, and then some.
Chapter 28
Demon
We were sitting at a booth in the back corner of the Naked Lady, the bar Moody owned in Boulder City, waiting for word from Oz as he hacked into video cameras throughout the city and reviewed video footage. People cried invasion of privacy when cameras were installed, but it was the world we lived in, and in this instance it could work out in our favor.
The first place we'd hit had been the spa, only to interrogate the poor woman running it until she was crying and too upset to talk. She hadn't known anything anyway, other than that three men had bullied their way in through the back door when she'd stupidly opened to the sound of someone knocking. She'd thought it had been a delivery. Once inside, the men had herded everyone into the sauna and threatened to kill them if they came out. When asked if the men were wearing cuts like ours, the woman had said no.
They'd waited for our women to get there.
How the hell had they known that the women had appointments there and at what time?
The abduction had been too fucking easy.
Hitting a dead end at the spa, followed by a call from Oz reporting that the van had been reported stolen and then found on the side of the road about twenty minutes away, we'd headed to the bar. There was no fucking way we were going back to the clubhouse without our women, but who fucking had them?
Fucking Junior came to mind as I thought about the mercenaries he'd hired to do the hit on us. If that was the case, and Junior had a hand in this too, it was going to be fucking hard getting him back to the clubhouse in one piece. Sax and Cole would rip him apart on sight, and I’d be right there helping them. The thought of Bobbie going through more shit was almost crippling. I fucking loved the woman, and had for a long time.
I only hoped that I could work up the nerve to tell her, because I knew that once those three little words left my mouth everything was going to change.
Fuck, that was big for me. I wasn't sure that I’d ever told Julia that I loved her. Maybe while we were fucking I had. I said a lot of shit I didn't mean when I was between the legs of a bitch. But not with Bobbie. She made me feel something when I was fucking her. She made me think about things I had no business wanting. Shit some of my brothers had.
I shook my head and reached for my beer. Waiting wasn't something I was good at, especially when my head was filled with all the possible shit our women could be going through. Desert Rebels weren't good at feeling helpless. We were men of action, getting shit done that needed to be done. I knew my brothers were as impatient as I was to be out there riding the roads, but we needed to sit tight.
