“When you can, cut down the side street there,” Ramon offers.
“You sure about that?”
“Totally.”
When there is a break in traffic, I turn down the street and follow a couple of cars that also have the same idea as us, and eventually, we arrive at the back of the hotel. Reversing into a parking spot, we sit in silence for a few minutes.
“Well Sherlock, what’s the plan?”
I glare at Lucien.
What I really want to do is rush up to Rosie’s room and beg for forgiveness after I’ve explained why I treated her the way I did. But as much as I want to do that, I don’t want to screw the operation up.
“Hunter, call your friend.” I turn to look at him. “I need to know she’s okay.”
“I can do that.”
Within seconds, he has his phone to his ear and says one word, “Julian,” and stays silent.
The man is like a robot. No emotion shows on his face, which means I can’t read whether or not my girl is good.
Hunter finally hangs up and glances through the window without saying a word.
Something’s gone wrong. Either that or he’s trying to piss me off. And succeeding.
He climbs out of the car and opens my door. “Simon’s in the room with her.”
What the fuck!
He stands back and lets me exit, but I block his way. “What. Is. Going. On?”
“My contact.”
“Julian,” I interrupt and Hunter confirms with a nod to his head.
“Julian is monitoring the conversation. Simon hasn’t harmed her.”
“Yet,” I roar and push him up against the wall with my arm covering his windpipe. “You said she would be safe.”
“Ruben, this isn’t helping,” Ramon says as Lucian helps him pull me off Hunter.
“You need to get your shit together and we’ll go inside. Julian is in the next room to mine and there is an interconnecting door.”
I shake my brothers off me and ignoring everyone jog toward the back entrance of the hotel, needing to get close to her. I’m not going to blow this, but if it sounds like he’s hurting her then everyone can go to hell, and all bets are off. I’ll be getting my girl.
Chapter 32 ~ Rosie
My head is pounding and the more Simon sits in the corner glaring at me, hardly saying anything, the more it pounds.
I cried myself to sleep and woke up suddenly when Simon shook the bed. He had a passkey for the room, which he gladly showed me once I’d woken up enough to realize this wasn’t a dream more like a nightmare.
So not only does Ruben throw me away, I get the bastard who set me up instead with no help coming from any direction.
I’d grabbed my phone, cuddling it to my chest before I’d fallen asleep, hoping Ruben would ring me. But he never did.
After I’d gotten over the shock of being woken so abruptly I remembered my phone was still beneath the covers. Ruben is speed dial three, so I feel alongside the phone to the volume and keep my finger pressed on the minus and hope the volume is going down. Now I press three for a few seconds before releasing the button.
I love Ruben. Even after everything he said to me. I still love him. I’m not even sure he’ll accept the call if he sees it’s coming from me, and that breaks my heart all over again.
“He isn’t coming,” Simon sneers. “He believes you’re the guilty party, and the one thing Ruben hates is drugs. So a pretty good setup if you ask me. Joe’s idea, mind you, but I chose the sneaker. I honestly thought it would all backfire. That Ruben wouldn’t believe the evidence staring him in the face, but he did. Says a lot about how he feels about you.”
Swiping at the tears sliding down my face, I glare at him. “I don’t give a shit anymore Simon. People like you always get discovered. Whether it’s today or tomorrow, but the cops aren’t stupid and they’ll figure it out. In fact, there’s already someone at Kenza who’s on to you and who I know will come after me regardless of what Ruben chooses to do.”
Ruben might have turned his back on me, but Hunter won’t. That I do know. I guess I just wish he’d have stayed here with me then I wouldn’t be alone with him.
Simon has always been a bit weird, but never like he is being right now. He’s frightening me with the knife he keeps sliding up and down his jean-covered thigh. Every time I move, he stops and very slowly points the knife at me. For now he’s not bothered to tie me up, which I’m grateful for, but that’s as far as me being grateful goes.
The knife I know he’ll use. If you’d asked me last week if I thought he was capable of taking a knife to someone, I’d have said no. He was odd, but not life threatening. Well, now it’s as though a switch has been turned on and I believe he’s capable of anything and that is the most frightening thing of all.
My knees are drawn up in front of me as I wrap my arms around them and rest my head on top of my knees. I’m not sure what we’re waiting for or why he’s just glaring at me. My only hope is that Hunter returns before Simon takes me out of here because I have no doubt that’s what he is intending.
“You mean Hunter?”
My head shoots up and I meet his stare.
“Oh, I know Hunter and Ruben are all up in my business, but my tracks are covered. There isn’t anything to find anymore with thanks to the little distraction I arranged for Ruben with Miranda. My girl is damn good.” He laughs. “You’re just going to hang out here with me, until Hunter returns. Then you’re both going to be coming with me.”
There’s no way Simon can get one over on Hunter. Hunter has a lot more muscle than him. What isn’t he telling me?
I frown.
“Oh don’t worry that pretty little face.” He jumps up from the chair and has me pinned against the bed. Pushing me into the mattress with the weight of his body. His aroused body. I’m struggling to get a knee up to hurt him in the balls, but his legs pin me down and his hands are holding my wrists above my head.
My heart pounds in my chest as I struggle to get free. I feel my skin go cold and feverish. I can handle almost anything, but having my hands restrained is something I’ll never be able to handle well.
Simon moves one hand to my waist and slowly creeps up inside my shirt and tank, coming to a stop over my left breast.
“No bra.” He presses his erection against my hip, more swollen than he was a few minutes ago. “I like a woman who doesn’t wear underwear.” He squeezes my breast as I squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to see him. My only wish is that I can’t feel him.
“Are you wearing panties?” He nibbles down my neck while his hand slides down my body.
I shudder in fear.
He straddles my legs, keeping me pinned to the bed and starts undoing my jeans. “No.” I thrash around as much as I can, but there‘s no way I’m strong enough to get him off me. “You bastard. Don’t touch me. Get off me.”
Opening my mouth to scream, he quickly reaches behind his back and brings the knife to my face. Pressing the cold tip into my cheek.
I whimper.
“Shut the fuck up. You sound like a wounded, fucking animal. I’ve not even started with you, yet.”
He drags the knife down the side of my face. It hurts so bad. He hasn’t gone deep, but it stings. Then he licks me along where he’s just cut me. My face stings and the tears that have been running down my face overflow, making my face hurt all the more.
Lifting off me, he moves back to the chair so I scramble back into the headboard and grabbing a pillow I take the case off and hold it to my face; quietly weeping into it.
If Ruben answered the call I made, he’d have been here by now. He isn’t coming. He really doesn’t care what happens to me. I always end up with someone who doesn’t give a damn. My parents didn’t and the odd boyfriends I’ve had didn’t. All they were interested in was getting into my panties. Liz and Ed will miss me if I don’t get out of this mess. My only hope is Hunter.
Simon said we’re waiting for Hunter, but how does he intend subduing him. Hunter
isn’t the kind of guy to go down easily, without a fight.
And then as I’m watching him, his lip curls in a snarl while his hand brings a nasty looking gun up, outta his boot. He rubs the barrel against his thigh and slowly drags it against his groin and straining erection.
He’s sick and watching him play with the gun, which is obviously getting him more worked up, I realize I probably don’t know just how sick he is. Who gets turned on playing with a gun? Especially around where he’s playing with it.
“It has a silencer,” he whispers. “As soon as Hunter walks into his room,” he points the gun at the door, “bang. No more Hunter. No more getting into my business.”
I’m positive the shock I’m feeling is written all over my face. “You’re going to rot in jail.”
He laughs. “No chance of that little Rosie. I have plans. Big plans. And I’m beginning to think they could include you. I can see you in a string bikini rubbing oil all over my body. Every inch of my body.” He rubs his crotch again.
“I’m going to hurl if you don’t stop talking and rubbing that…that thing in your pants.”
He grins.
This isn’t good.
“I’m hard knowing you don’t have any underwear on. Knowing there’s only a thin scrap of material between your pussy and my cock. Hmm,” he moans pressing his hand against himself, “imagining your wet pussy sucking me inside you. Delicious.”
Chapter 33 ~ Ruben
“Enough,” I state, trying not to shout. But the longer I’m in the room next door to Rosie, and listening to that sick bastard with her, the more I’m itching to bust through the door and kill the fucker. “We have to get her out of there,” I say pacing back and forth. “This is wrong. You’ve heard him talking. He’s going to rape her unless we do something. To hell with getting evidence. Get it some other way. You’re not using my girl anymore.” I walk toward the interconnecting door, not quite sure what the fuck I’m doing. I’ve no weapon and we know he has at least a knife and gun. All I know is that I can’t leave her with him any longer.
Hunter’s friend, Julian, had to hold me back when we walked in and I heard Simon talking about her lack of underwear.
For once Hunter looks undecided. Up until now he’s been all for getting Abatangelo, but now I can see from his eyes that he’s worried about Rosie. About what the bastard in there is capable of.
Clenching my fists to my side, I tell them what’s going to happen, “I’m going in there to get my girl. You can both sit here and pretend nothing is going down next door or you can help me. But there is no way I’m staying here any longer letting him put his hands on her.”
“We’ll help. I’ll cause a distraction by going in through the door to the room. After all he’s expecting me to come from that direction. What he won’t be expecting is for anyone to come through there.” He points to the interconnecting door. “Julian will go through. You and your brothers need to stay put and let us bring Simon down first. You’ll be no use to Rosie if you get yourself shot—or worse.”
Inhaling, I nod my head, not really liking his idea, but knowing he’s right, I drop down onto the bed and put my face in my hands.
“She’ll be fine,” Lucien says sitting down beside me. He reaches up and massages the back of my neck in a show of brotherly love and support.
“Julian, as soon as you hear my key in the lock, count five then join the party.”
“Got you.”
Lifting my head, I watch them both arm themselves to the teeth before Hunter starts to slip out through the door, but Julian stops him. “Let me check his position.”
He plugs in a wire to his laptop and taking the end he pushes it slightly through the keyhole and part of the room next door is showing on the monitor.
If he had this all along why the fuck wasn’t he using it?
“It wasn’t a good idea to use it before,” Julian says, clearly reading my thoughts. “You’d have crashed your way to her without any regard to your safety.”
Running my hand through my hair, I admit, “You’re right.”
“He’s sitting in the chair in the corner of the room with the bed against the wall. I can’t see Rosie.” He removes the feed. “But from listening to them I’m going to presume she’s on the bed. Maybe against the headboard. I’m not going to push the wire through further because he might see it.”
“Okay, I’m going in.” Hunter leaves the room.
“Trust him,” Julian says, taking hold of the doorknob with one hand and brandishing a gun with his other.
Lucien, Ramon and I stand near the entrance to the room so we’re out of the line of fire.
My stomach feels full of lead and my heart is in my mouth while I wait. I’m not even going to consider that Rosie won’t want me with her. I broke her heart earlier so my only hope is that she’ll listen to me explain and hopefully understand that no harm was supposed to come to her. That someone was watching the room. I’m not sure how Simon slipped inside with her, but I’m going to find out when this is over with.
I’m abruptly brought back to the present when all hell breaks loose.
Hunter and Julian have opened the doors and are in the room. I hear someone shout “he’s down” at the same time as I hear Rosie start to scream, which gets me moving.
Shoving into the room, a quick glance tells me Hunter and Julian have Simon under control. My head whips to the side and I see Rosie crouched up against the headboard with blood everywhere.
What the fuck!
“Rosie,” I whisper as I slowly crawl onto the bed toward her. I don’t want to spook her, but at the same time I need to hold her. I need to make sure she isn’t seriously injured. “Rosie, please look at me.”
She lifts her head slowly and within seconds of our eyes meeting she’s thrown herself into my arms, wrapping herself around me. But for Ramon behind me, I’d have fallen from the bed with the force of her body coming into contact with mine.
“I thought you hated me,” she sobs into my neck, trying to get onto my lap breaking my heart.
“Is she okay?” Hunter asks.
“She will be,” I reply to him before whispering to Rosie, “I could never hate you. Hang on baby.” Keeping her tight in my arms, I back off the bed and carry her into the other room and try to place her onto the bed, but she clings to me.
“No. Don’t leave me.” She starts to shiver with reaction to what’s been going on in the other room.
Lucien drapes a blanket from the closet around her shoulders.
“I’m not leaving you. I’m never leaving you again.” I sit in the chair and let her curl up in my lap. “But I need to make sure you’re not hurting anywhere. Please Rosie. Please let me check you out. There was a lot of blood on the pillowcase.”
She shakes her head against me. “It’s okay. I think it’s stopped bleeding, but it stings a bit.” Raising her head, I brush the hair back from her face and see the cut. It starts from beside her eye and travels down along her jaw. The bastards hurt her. Marked her.
“I’ll kill him.” I start to rise.
“No. He isn’t worth it,” Rosie whispers.
“He did this to you because of me.”
“This isn’t your fault Ruben.” She rests her head against my chest. “I’m just glad you’re here, although I’m not sure what to make of it considering what you said to me at the club.”
I knew I’d have to explain myself, but I’m conscience of my brothers hovering in the background and the movements from next door.
With a sigh, I’m the most honest I’ve been with her, “I knew from the moment we found the stuff in your sneaker that you’d been set up. Hunter convinced me to blame you to push you away from Kenza and me so you’d hopefully be safe. He thought with Simon having seen you running from the restroom when he was in there with Joe that he might temporarily leave you alone and slip up at the club somehow. Obviously that didn’t work out too well.” I lean forward and press my lips to hers in a gentle kiss. “It s
plit my heart in two doing that to you. I wanted to do it in privacy, but Hunter figured I’d screw up and end up telling you the truth.”
“He’d have done that alright,” Ramon comments.
“Haven’t you two got something better to do?”
“No,” they reply together. “Nothing’s more important right now than making sure you and Rosie are okay.”
Well hell!
I turn back to my girl. “I love you. I won’t ever lie to you again. I promise.” I see the shock on her face, which slowly turns into a grin, but she flinches in pain and reaches up to press her palm against her face.
“Nice going brother. Just blurt it out. Whatever happened to romance, and Rosie, let me find something for your face,” Ramon comments rooting through one of the knapsacks thrown on the floor, but continues, “You know arranging a nice meal by candle light and all that.” He pulls out a medical kit and walks back toward us. “Let me see your face.”
Rosie turns to face him as I wrap my arms around her waist to keep her close to me. “She can have anything she wants as soon as we leave here. Just hurry up and sort her out.”
“This is going to sting,” he tells her before dabbing the antiseptic wipe along the cut.
She hisses through her teeth. “Ouch. That hurts.”
“Sorry, but you don’t want it getting infected. I’m going to cover it. Um, I’m just not sure with what though. It’s kinda in an awkward place.” He roots through the medical kit, but comes up empty.
“It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I just want to go home.”
“It needs covering,” Julian informs us. “I’ll do it.”
Rosie pushes back against me. “Who are you?”
He smiles and holds his hand out. “I’m Julian O’Reilly, ma’am. U.S. Marines.”
Placing her hand in his she says, “Thank you for saving me.”
“All in a day’s work.” Releasing her hand, he crouches in front of us. “Now let’s get something on that so you can get going.”
“Hunter?” she questions.
“Hunter’s fine, but he’s going to have to stay here and sort this mess out so I wouldn’t expect to see him any time soon. The paramedics are on the way as well as the cops.” He places the strips of gauze he’s just cut onto Rosie’s face before taping them into place. “That should hold you, but go and get a shot to be safe.” He stands back up and quickly packs all his stuff away. “I need to get going before the cops show up. I’m not supposed to be here.”
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