Page 60

60

Raven

A ching limbs and murmuring voices start to pull me from the dream world. Shit, I didn't mean to fall asleep, but I was so tired. Days upon days of fighting Dom and his guys definitely took its toll. Everything hurts but somehow, it's not as bad as yesterday.

The room feels different, smells different even — almost clean. The ground beneath me feels almost soft too. Strange.

I want to move but my body still feels too heavy. Sleep keeps beckoning me back, and as good as that sounds, I know I can't. I've rested a while now; I can feel it. That will have to be enough because I hear them in here already and I need to be ready to fight again, tired or not.

How long was I out anyway?

My body still refuses to obey me, begging me to take more time to rest, but I ignore it. Everything is too heavy. I'm still too tired and depleted to move much, but I try anyway, looking for signs of new trauma. I can't open my eyes yet to see the damage, but I can feel the absence of a certain ache between my legs. The tell-tale sign that I've had sex is missing. Thank fuck.

Quiet voices still drift through the room. Two of them, speaking low nearby. Why haven't they attacked? What are they waiting for?

I strain my ears, trying to listen, hoping to figure out what they'll do next. The one talking now sounds familiar, his voice a steady timber through the room. "She's important to you," he says.

"Shut it," another voice bites back, sending a shudder through my body, not from fear but something else. He sounds familiar, too, but neither man has been here with me before. They aren't the usual cronies Dom sends to visit.

Who are they? Why do I know their voices?

I listen harder as the first one starts talking again. "Admit it. It's not just physical between you. You care about her, don't you?" His voice is soft as he addresses the other man.

A low growl rumbles close by. The second man's answer sends a jolt through my chest. I know that sound. I've heard it countless times over the last several months. The sound and its effect on me can only mean one thing . . .

A soft laugh sounds across the room before the first man responds, "Never thought I'd see the day."

I almost smile at the grunt coming immediately from my favorite bodyguard's lips. Reaper. He's here, and so is Jesse. My body shifts as I try to move, fighting sleep again so I can see my saviors' faces and make sure this isn't a dream.

My eyes start to twitch, and as I move, I feel the softness of a mattress beneath me.

With one more push, I start to open my eyes. That's when I see them — my friend and my lover — watching over me. The shock on their faces when I look into their eyes is staggering. Both men move closer, calling my name.

It's not a dream. This is real. They saved me.

I could cry tears of joy right now, but I'm too dehydrated to wet my eyes. "Rae," Jesse says, "are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Swallowing hard, I let out a grunt. My throat is so dry I'm not sure I can speak yet. Pushing my palms against the mattress, I try to sit up. Everything is so heavy as I struggle to lift my back off the bed. Right away, two sets of strong arms race to help me up. Jesse adjusts the pillows behind me as Reaper continues to hold onto me. His hold is so comforting I can't help but lean into him.

His chest rises and falls, matching each breath he takes as he holds me tighter. "I've got you, Wildfire," he tells me. "You're safe."

I let myself enjoy the warmth of his embrace while Jesse scrambles to get some water. When he brings the bottle to my lips, I drink greedily, spilling drops of the cool liquid down my chin. I empty the bottle in no time, relishing the feel of water trickling into my parched cells.

They don't bombard me with questions or fuss over my wounds, something I'm profoundly grateful for. My heroes wait quietly with me, almost as if they can't believe I'm conscious. I let myself take in the room — one bed, a mini fridge, a TV, dated wallpaper, and carpet. We're in a motel. It's real. I'm no longer in the prison cell Dom and his men shoved me into.

My throat bobs as I swallow. "What happened?"

J and Reaper exchange a look, and my lover's hold on me tightens. "During the firefight at the clubhouse, they took you," Jesse finally says. "We got intel that the Bastards had a warehouse in the area, so we came to check it out. Ambushed one of their guys and found out you were inside, then we took teams to get you out."

I let the information settle, remembering bits and pieces of what happened after they took me. Flashes of memory shoot through my mind.

"They're all dead, Rae. They can't hurt any of us ever again. We made sure of it." His eyes dart to Reaper, and he licks his lips, hesitant to say more.

"What is it?" I ask.

Jesse eyes me and Reaper cautiously before asking, "Do you remember what happened?"

It's a loaded question; we all know it, but I answer anyway. "I was trying to help Archie when they came through the back door. Two of them jumped me and drugged me."

Reaper's chest rumbles with anger as I continue, "I remember bits and pieces of the drive. Then, I was in that room." I swallow again, feeling my throat tighten at the memories.

"When I came to, there were men in there with me, and I knew what they wanted to do. They didn't expect a fight, but that's what they got. Every time. The days blended together, but they'd come and go, talk shit about how they were going to kill all of you, use me, and cut me up. I just kept fighting them."

I shudder at the last memory of Dom and his men in that room with me — the last time I had to fight them off. Reaper's hands flinch, and I sense the fury radiating off him. "They never got what they wanted, not really. I fought too hard. Broke one's nose a couple times and smashed a few testicles. I hardly slept because I had to stay alert."

Jesse eyes me with sympathy. It almost makes me come undone, but I shake off the emotion and finish my story. "I thought it was over when you two came to get me. I thought I was hallucinating. Thought I'd used up all the fight I had left. Then I woke up here."

My eyes sting, but I blink back the tears. It's over now, I'm safe. Reaper and Jesse are quiet for a long while, letting what happened to me sink in. They don't know what to say. Neither do I, but the nightmare is over.

Heavy breathing catches my attention, and I look over to see Reaper's jaw clenched. His face is set in a murderous scowl. I can see it in his eyes — he's blaming himself for what happened to me. "Hey, J," I say, grabbing Jesse's attention. "Can you give us a minute?"

His eyes dart between Reaper and me as he nods. "Yeah, no problem. I'll come back in a bit with Phoenix. She wanted to know when you were awake."

"Thanks," I tell him with a tight smile.

When the door closes behind him, I turn to Reaper, whose eyes are already trained on me. There's an intensity in his gaze that knocks me off kilter, making me forget what I was going to say. "Tell me everything," he says, jaw still tight. "What did those mother fuckers do to you?"

The look in his eyes screams Danger, but not for me. His wrath is reserved for the men already rotting in hell. I shake my head as I take a deep breath. He's not going to let this go; I know it. "They didn't get what they wanted," I tell him. "They roughed me up trying, but I'm a fighter. As much as they hurt me, I hurt them right back."

His rigid posture stiffens even more, and the ire in his stare doesn't cool. So, I continue. I tell him everything. How they hit me when they interrogated me, how they kept trying — and failing — to take from me what I'd never let them have. I tell him the truth, that the closest they got to getting a piece of me was a handful of boob and a clothed grip between my legs.

I leave out how worried I was that they almost made it further, that, had they not been interrupted, they may have taken more. He doesn't need that on his conscience. It didn't get that far, and I’m eternally grateful.

"They never touched me like that beneath my clothes," I tell Reaper. "They didn't get the chance to rape me." I keep my voice steady as I say the word.

If he sees me crumble, he'll only blame himself more, and I won't let him. I can be strong right now. I've already survived worse.

Reaper's heavy breathing grows rapid as he tries to rein in his temper. "Who," he demands. "Who touched you?"

With a sigh, I tell him, "The one who grabbed my tits was the one with the broken nose. And Dom was the other. The rest stopped trying too hard after watching me hurt their pals."

A wicked rumble sounds deep in Reaper's chest as he curses under his breath. "Shoulda fuckin' made them suffer more.”

It's twisted, but it warms my heart to hear him say that. He'd burn the world down for me, and I kind of like that. I can see he's beating himself up about everything. "Hey," I tell him as I twist in his arms to grab his face. "You got there in time. No one's touched me like you since we last had sex. I'm not ruined or tainted or whatever else you're telling yourself right now. Those fuckers don't get to take that away from us."

His face is a mixture of emotions as he looks at me. "You think I'm worried about you being tainted?"

I drop my hands, looking away. That's it, isn't it? That's what I'm worried about. I don't bother answering, letting the quiet settle between us until he speaks again.

"I’m thinking about how I’d like to torture anyone that laid a finger on you. If they had raped you, I’d never think of you differently. But I would wipe their entire family off the face of the planet for touching what's mine.”

His words have such conviction that I can't help but tear up. When he lays a hand on my hip, I melt into him. “No one touches my girl," he growls. "I won't let anyone else touch you ever again. I won’t fail you again, Wildfire. I swear.”

I can't help the emotion that floods me hearing his promise. It unleashes something deep within me. In a flash, I pull him to me, kissing him hard, taking everything he's willing to give. He kisses me back deeply, and the world around us fades away. The kiss intensifies, and I pull him on top of me as we sink to the mattress.

Pulling away, I meet his eyes. "No one touches you either," I tell him. "Because you're mine."

Sparks light in his dark eyes at my words, and an instant later, his mouth is on mine again. A deep rumble in his chest and the claiming grip of his hands on my body sets me on fire. I'm panting beneath him, unable to get enough as our tongues twine and our breath mingles.

The pain from my wounds is absent as I get lost in passion, letting his weight and warmth surround me, letting his touch comfort me.