“You never did answer me, Dani,” he says as his hands roam to my exposed belly between us. “Is there an intruder growing in your belly?” His hot breath pours over my skin, sending vomit gurgling up my throat.
I have no idea if I am pregnant or not. Hero and I weren’t exactly careful, but I’m not late at all. I’m pretty sure that I’m not pregnant, but would admitting it buy me time or cut my life short? He’d focus on my stomach rather than raping me for the time being. He might see it as a detriment to his sick pleasure knowing another man’s child lay inside my belly. Shit, what do I do?
His hands encase my face, forcing me to focus on him. “Answer me, bitch. Are you pregnant?”
“Yes,” I scream in panic. “Please don’t hurt my baby.”
His hands wrap around my throat again, pressing hard against my windpipe. “You fucking whore,” he yells, squeezing my throat tighter and tighter.
“Please, just fucking kill me,” I rasp as I kick him, trying to fight.
“Even death won’t set you free.” He releases my throat, sending me gasping for air and coughing. My chest heaves as oxygen rushes back into my lungs. My eyes catch something shining in his hands only in enough time to see him holding a knife in the air over his head.
“This baby fucking dies, and then I’ll fuck you into death as you bleed out all over my cock.”
He raises the blade higher as I scream, “Please, don’t!” I focus on Hero’s face in my mind and the good times we had together as the knife begins to plunge toward me. I pray that death comes quickly as I close my eyes to wait. A large crash comes from the door as two loud cracks force my eyes open to see Mikey still above me as blood begins to trickle down his face. The knife falls from his hands onto the floor, pinging like a pin dropping into silence. His lifeless body falls to the side of me. The room begins to spin as my body grows weightless. Blackness takes hold as I hear a man screaming my name. Hero’s voice echoes through my mind. He’s here. He came back for me. Hero saved me.
“Dani,” I whisper. Holding her in my arms just doesn’t seem real. After everything I said to this woman, she’s clinging to me like I am the breath in her lungs. I squeeze her tightly, whispering into her ears that she’s okay. Her tear-stained cheeks are soaking my shirt, but I just don’t give a fuck. Her eyes are so empty that I’m not even sure if she knows that I am the person holding her. “He’s gone, baby. He’ll never hurt you again, that I can promise you.” She shakes her head in acknowledgement of my words but remains silent. My fingers trace down her spine in an attempt to comfort her, but she stiffens at my light touch. I’ve got to get her away from all of this and especially the bloodied scene that lies behind her.
“Come on, angel,” I say quietly, “Let’s get you home.” Using my knife to strip the leather cuffs from her hands, I free her. The motherfucker ripped her shirt during the struggle so pulling the shirt from my own back, I slip it over her head. I’m not about to let the guys see her like this. Peering into her eyes for the first time, I can see how blank her mind is. She’s not really with me right now as I hold her. She’s retreated into the depths of her mind to block out the events of today.
Shielding her eyes from the bloody, mangled mess that was her step-brother, I lead her away from her prison. She shakes as we move. My girl is in shock and in serious need of a shower, food, and rest. She doesn’t protest when I hoist her into my arms, carrying her to the truck Raze brought me and depositing her on the passenger side seat. She curls into a tight ball as I work the seat-belt around her waist. She jumps at the sound of the seat-belt clicking into the lock. My beautiful daredevil is gone and in her place lays a broken spirit who’s afraid of her own shadow. If I could have killed that bastard a second time, I would have fucking done it and let her fire a few shots into his skull. While justice may have been served, her recovery will not be as easy. Having lived through a nightmare, soothing words will not send her demons packing. I know what it’s like to fight the demons that no one else but you can see. The weeks and months after today will be the hardest for her, and I will make damn sure she turns to me when she’s ready to talk.
Closing the door, I walk around and slide into the driver’s seat. Looking over to Dani, she continues to stare absently out the window. The truck roars to life and we pull away from the last bad memory my girl will ever have again. I’ll make damn sure of that. Mikey’s hideout was about as remote as one could get in Southern California, so the trek back to the clubhouse will take a couple of hours. Without Voodoo’s computer hacking skills, we’d have never found out about Mikey’s cabin out here. We’d have never found her without his help, and the thought of our failure sends chills down my spine. She’s fine, I remind myself, or at least she will be. Dani falls asleep five minutes into the ride home, leaving me with just the thoughts in my mind. The memory of that bastard straddling her with a knife aimed at her body will forever be burned into my brain.
Guilt washes over me as I think that had I not pulled my head out of my ass, Mikey would have fulfilled his sick fantasies. I would have never been able to hold my angel in my arms ever again. The only thing that brings a smile to my face is recalling how his head exploded as my shot punctured his temple. Watching his blood and brain fragments hitting the wooden floor satisfies the urge to kill the bastard all over again. I know that I settled the score, but he deserved a much slower death, but I needed to end his reign of terror before he raped Dani.
The thought of what she endured is enough to make me nauseous. A horrific vision of his hands on her helpless body makes me gag harder. My priority now is just to get her home and into the safety of the clubhouse. Flipping my phone open, I hit the speed dial number for the club’s on-call doctor, Doc. He was never officially patched in as a member, but he’s always been there to help if one of us got hurt. We kept his practice afloat a few times during the recession when small-time medical practices were being eaten alive by the local hospitals.
“Did you find her?” Doc asks without even saying hello.
“Yes, we’re on our way back now. Are you at the clubhouse? I need you to check her out.”
“I came as soon as Raze called. I’m set up in your room. How badly is she injured? I might not be able to treat her here if her injuries are extensive. She might need a hospital, Hero.”
How can I explain to a hospital about her situation and the reason for her condition? She may not be wanted by the police, but she’s still considered a missing person. I just killed the one person who could have exonerated her from all suspicion should she be found and questioned about their killings. I hope to hell the guys find something in his hidey hole that will incriminate his involvement to set her free if that were to ever fucking happen. I won’t be letting her out of my sights for the rest of our lives if she’ll have me.
“Hero, you still there?” he asks.
“Sorry, Doc. Got lost in my own thoughts. You know as well as I do she can’t go to the hospital. It looks to be just cuts and bruises, but until I can get her cleaned up, I won’t know for sure. “
He clears his throat nervously, so I know what he’s about to ask.
“You know I don’t want to ask this, but I need to be prepared if the answer is yes. Did he rape her?”
“I put a bullet into his brain before he could.”
Doc sighs in relief. “Thank fuck for small miracles. Just get your girl home, and I’ll do my best to patch her up. I brought Nancy along in case she has an issue with a male doctor stitching her up.”