Protecting Nova

by Belle Harper

  I smiled and kissed her lazily.

  “Okay, beautiful girl, we better get dressed. The others will be back soon, I hope Ryker has come back with more wood. But if not, stay in the tent with Kento where it is warm. And I will keep watch.”

  She nodded as she tried her best to contain her wild hair, which was everywhere. I laughed as I tried to help her wrap the T-shirt Colt gave her around her head to hide that striking mane of white locks.

  With one last kiss, we were out of the Jeep, and the sweat on my body felt every bit of cold in the air.

  “Ryker?” I called out again. Nothing.

  “Noah?” Nova yelled loudly from beside me.

  I quickly placed my hand over her mouth. I narrowed my eyes at her. “Seriously?” I questioned her, but I didn’t need to know the answer because yes, she seriously did that. Why don’t we announce to everyone we have a woman here in camp?

  They both didn’t reply so I motioned for Nova to get into the tent while I scouted around the camp for signs of where Ryker went. The fire under the pot of water had almost died out. Shit something seems… off. I quickly walked back to the tent.

  “Nova, stay in there. Don’t come out okay?” Something just didn’t seem right; I could feel it now. I should have noticed before, but I was too focused on Nova. It was so quiet out here, even the birds weren’t making any sounds. I ran my hands through my short hair, fuck where were they all?

  Her head popped out from the tent. “Do you think he is okay? Maybe he fell and injured himself?” she asked, worried.

  “I don’t know, just wait inside. Don’t come out.” I motioned with my arms for her to go back inside, she zipped up the tent and then it was silent again.

  I started to get worried so I called out to Colt and Noah a few more times. But I was greeted with deafening silence. I walked over to what was left of the fire and ran my hand over my face. Think Ezra… Think.

  And that’s when I heard it, the cocking sound of a shotgun. I looked up through the trees to discover the barrel of a gun pointed on me. I started to move toward the tent when a male voice called out.

  “I wouldn’t do that if you want to keep your head.” My heart started racing, it made me feel sick. Fuck. My arms felt shaky, but I took a deep breath. And steadied my thoughts.

  “We have men in the woods with guns. They will kill you if you try anything,” I threatened him. I hoped Nova would stay in the tent where he couldn’t see her. She would be able to hear everything being said and I didn’t want her acting brave and getting hurt. Maybe I would get lucky and he was just after the Jeep. But I didn’t have the keys. Ryker did.

  He laughed and I heard the sounds of more men laughing as they all stepped out of the woods and surrounded me in the small clearing. Fuck. There was too many. Way too many. I felt like time stood still, as I shakily took another step towards the tent. Another man held a gun towards me and I stopped.

  “Nah we are here for Nova. She was ours and she ran away…a long way. But we have come to take her back… to Bakersfield.”

  What? “Listen here—” I started but he cut me off as he surged towards me.

  “No, you listen. We got your guys hog-tied and gagged and now it’s time for her to go home. We can do this with you dead. But my nephew requested we keep you alive, and I happened to agree. More fun when you’re out here… slowly dying, thinking about all the things we are doing to Nova with our cocks. But if you wanna try something tough guy, go ahead. Haven’t shot anyone today.”

  I felt like I was going to vomit. Nova. We had just got her back. I cant protect her. I’m useless.

  3

  Nova

  “You wanna try something?” I heard the man speak again. My body felt cold as my chest tightened. These were the men that chased me from Bakersfield, from the home Ezra, Noah and Colton had made for themselves. And they were back.

  “No,” I called out from inside the tent, my voice barely a squeak. Kento’s eyes were wide and pinned on me. Silently he begged me to not leave. But there was nothing I could do. The only way I could protect them all was by giving myself to the Bakersfield men.

  I placed my finger on my lips, gesturing him to stay quiet. I didn’t want them to find him too. If they really have hog-tied the others, then Kento would need to get them. He needed to help them.

  He shook his head at me. The look on his face had me stumbling forward. Not wanting to leave him.

  “Help the guys. Get them safe. I will be fine,” I whispered into his ear. I sat up and wiped my clammy hands down my pants as I made my way over to the tents zip. Then my heart sank.

  Adam. The boy I’d spent all those days, hours, minutes with… I gave him my heart. He was with the Bakersfield men last time. He told me to run. So, I ran. Is he here now?

  “Come out, Nova. Or we will hurt your dark one with the freaky blue eye. You have turned into a naughty girl, getting yourself not one but four boyfriends. If you don’t want us to hurt them, come out and leave with us now.”

  I turned and wrapped Kento up tightly. I made him look like a pile of blankets and then unzipped the tent. As soon as I peeped out, an arm reached in and grabbed me, hauling me out into the cool crisp air. My skin breaking out into goosebumps. From the cold or fear, I didn’t know.

  I looked at where Ezra was hunched over on his knees. His hands above his head in surrender. His eyes locked onto mine, I was paralyzed with fear. He mouthed I’m sorry then lowered his eyes from me. I wanted to reach out to him, to tell him it’s not his fault. He had nothing to be sorry for. This was why I had left Bakersfield in the first place. If this was how my life ended, I would be forever grateful for having Ezra, Colton, Noah, Ryker, and Kento in my life. Even if it was for a brief moment.

  Ezra looked up to me again, I mouthed I love you and he shook his head, I could see tears down his cheeks now.

  I will find you. I promise, he mouthed back. I was being pushed closer to the man holding a shotgun. At least they weren’t the Red Raiders, but I’m sure they still want me for the same reason. He looked familiar. But I couldn’t put my finger on it until I saw Adam appear beside him. I froze. His face was hard, as he stared at me like he was irritated, like I pissed him off somehow. I lifted my chin in defiance. Fuck you, Adam.

  I could guess how these men from Bakersfield found out I was a girl. Adam. How stupid could I be, loving a man that would sell me out like this. He was no better than those Red Raiders.

  “Welcome back, Nova. I’m glad to see you like to share,” the older man said. Their leader I suspected. I realized his features were close to Adam’s.

  The look on my face had him chuckling. “Oh, we have been watching from afar. But don’t worry, we have plenty to go around.” He gestured with his hands to the others of his group around us. My stomach turned. I fought the urge to be sick, but in the end my body won. I hadn’t eaten much, so I mostly dry heaved.

  “Come on, fuckers. Let’s get this show on the road. Get back to the trucks. We are heading back,” one of the Bakersfield men called out.

  At least I knew where I was going and now so did the guys. They would come for me. I knew they would.

  We drove in the truck for what seemed like forever. The sun had almost set when they finally stopped. I was wedged next to a gray-haired man they called Davis and that traitor asshole Adam. He didn’t say anything to me, and every time we went over a bump and I brushed up against him, I froze. I didn’t want to touch him. I didn’t want to be near him. Why did he still come after me when he had told me to run? Why did he tell them I was a woman. Why?

  “We will camp here for the night.” The Davis guy turned to me and licked his lips. I cringed. I wanted to be naïve and pretend I didn’t know what was going to happen here. But I wasn’t, I knew exactly what they wanted from me.

  I tried to blank it all out. Watching the sun set in front of us for the last half hour or so had kept my mind off where I was and who I was with. But now that we had stopped and the sun had almost gone
down over the horizon, I was faced with cold, hard reality.

  “Get out,” Davis yelled at me, and Adam pushed me toward the old man. I dropped out from the truck, my legs felt like jelly. Davis grabbed my arms before I completely hit the ground.

  “Come on, I want to show you my dick.”

  I tried to pull away from him, tried to run. But he held my arms tighter, his fingers bruising my skin as he dragged me toward a building that had been overrun by nature. By the look of it, the vines were holding the place together. The building was pretty destroyed, full of holes and cracks.

  Adam was right behind me. I turned around and found him glaring a hole into the back of my head. I tried to use my feet to stop Davis from taking me further, but he wrenched on my arm so hard, I whimpered in pain. It felt like he had dislocated my shoulder.

  “Fuck you,” I hissed out to Adam. His wild eyes jerked to mine and the look on his face changed. At first I thought he was startled that I would say that to him, but it was something else. Maybe worry? Worry that he wouldn’t get to show me his dick first?

  A lone tear rolled down my cheek as Davis pulled me into a room, well what was left of it and I was dumped on the cold and dirty concrete floor. I heard the shouts of a few other men, and the older one from earlier, their leader, lumbered into the room I had been dropped in, followed by two more.

  Adam’s face relaxed a little, but the leader started to yell.

  “I told you not to bruise her. What the fuck is she doing on the floor? Adam?” He turned to Adam who pointed at Davis.

  “He dragged her in here to show her his dick.” The way Adam said it was so…bored. Like he had no emotion.

  The leader scowled at Davis, who looked livid, his fists balled up as he spat out, “Fuck you, we had a deal. We help and get a piece of the girl.” There was silence. I looked back and forth between them, it looked like they were going to fight. This isn’t good. I scooted back a little, just incase. I didn’t want to be close to them if a fight broke out.

  “My nephew gets first dibs, then after that, you and your boys can go. That was the deal.” Then I realized why he looked so familiar. He was Adam’s uncle. He patted Adam on the back and pulled Davis out of the room with him.

  “Stay here, keep watch,” Adam’s uncle said to another man, who nodded as he left the room closing what was left of the door behind him. Leaving me alone in the room… with Adam.

  What was that saying my dad use to say? Better the devil you know. Yeah, I still don’t know if that’s right. God I loved him for so long. How could I have loved a monster.

  When Adam took a step toward me, I shuffled back on the dirt-covered floor and planting my back against the cracked concrete wall.

  “Hey,” he whispered as he squatted down. He glanced back to the door, and then started toward me. I wanted to scream, but I knew all that would do is alert the other men to me. The closer he came the fainter I felt. I balled my hands into fists. There was no way he was coming away from this untouched. I would do whatever it took to stop him.

  Tears started to roll down my face. I could taste the saltiness as it ran over my lips. I couldn’t stop them, and I didn’t understand what they were for. For my guys, for Kevin, for being here, for Adam outing me to his uncle. Everything.

  “Why?” I croaked out. Why did he do this? I wanted to know. If he had just kept quiet. If he didn’t tell his uncle I was female, then Kevin wouldn’t have died to save me. We wouldn’t have almost lost Noah in the attack back at their house. My guys. My men. Wouldn’t be hog tied right now, left for dead in the woods.

  So close. We were just so close to Eden.

  “Nova.” He inched closer to me. I held my knees closer to my chest as I tried to block out his face. It had aged since the last time I’d seen him.

  “Why did you tell them?” My throat was so closed off I was surprised I could even talk.

  He shook his head and stretched his hand out to me. I looked down at the dust and dirt covering his palm. “Please, I need you to know I didn’t. I love you, Nova. I would never have done that,” he whispered so low, I could barely hear him. I looked up at him, his eyes glassy with unshed tears. He brought his thumb to my face as he gently wiped the tears from my cheeks.

  “They found out. Somehow they knew. And I had to come. I had to protect you. But I failed you. There was too many. You and your friends stopped. They needed to keep going in the rain. We would have never caught up but you stopped. I kept hoping you would get out of there before we came, but the tent was set up and I knew. I knew…” He shook his head. “I promise, I will do everything I can to get you out of here. And back to them.”

  I let him cradle me against his chest and I cried. I wasn’t sure if I could trust him, but there was no one else who would help me here.

  4

  Kento

  I heard them, and their voices were haunting. They might not have been from my nightmares, but they were the same breed of man. Evil.

  I curled into myself and listened to them beat Ezra. Nova didn’t make a sound. I think they had taken her before they started on Ezra, so I did what she’d said. I hid. I felt like a coward in the tent, hiding under the blankets she placed on me. But I wasn’t strong enough. Mentally. Physically. I turned into myself, a little ball, they wont see me if I’m small. And tuned out everything I could hear.

  I heard someone call out. I was like a statue, frozen in fear. How long had I zoned out for? Shit. Is Ezra still alive? Ryker? I shivered. This can’t be happening.

  I heard them yell again. They called out to Nova as well. It sounded sad and strangled on the air.

  After a few more shouts, they stopped. I shivered in the cold tent. Even with all these blankets I was still cold. The fact I was cold meant I was still alive. They didn’t find me. They didn’t take me. Hurt me… Touch me.

  “Hello?” I all but squeaked out. She told me to help them. To help the guys. I needed to be strong for Nova, because she was strong. And I could be strong.

  “Hello? Ezra? Ryker?” I called out again. This time with a stronger voice that carried out into the unknown. Giving my position away to anyone who was out there. My body felt chilly, and my chest heavy. Making it hard to breathe. I took a deep breath and steadied my fingers, once the trembling subsided, I decided I needed to make a move. I can do this.

  I slowly got to my hands and knees and crawled to the tent opening and peered out. It was still fairly light outside, but it was late. Night would be here very soon. I didn’t know how long it had been since they took her. I should have been stronger, I should have gone to help earlier. I looked over and saw Ezra, he was next to the fire that had burnt out. He wasn’t moving. He was on his belly, his face turned away from me. I could see the blood on his shirt. I choked back a sob, wrapping my hand around my stomach. I felt sick. He was such a strong person, and seeing him like this...If he was like this after they were through with him, they would have killed me.

  I got to my feet, and my body swayed with exhaustion and pain. I couldn’t feel my fingers, they were so cold they had lost feeling. I felt my pulse with every step I took as I made my way over to him.

  “Ezra?” I asked as I rounded his body to face him. My stomach rolled when I saw his face. He didn’t look like the same man I saw a few hours ago. His face was swollen, he had dried blood on his face. I didn’t know where I could start helping him. They hadn’t tied him up, but there was no way he was going to get up without help. I carefully reached out to tap on his shoulder. “Ezra, wake up,” I begged over and over. But nothing. He didn’t move at all, and I would have been scared he was dead if it weren’t for his back slowly rising and falling. I needed to find the others. They could help him. But where are they? I heard them earlier but not anymore.

  “Hello,” I called out at the top of my lungs. It burned me, and my chest ached with pain from years of torture. But I called out again and again until I heard my name. It was faint but I heard it. I will find you.

  My ene
rgy was depleted by the time I saw him. He was laying face down, tied up with his legs and arms behind his back. He had rope in his mouth and blood ran down his lips where he was fighting to get free.

  As soon as he saw me, his eyes flashed with hope. I felt a strength in me I hadn’t felt in years, I could do this. Help him. I made my way over to him on my hands and knees. I knew this one, the largest of Nova’s men. Noah.

  “Kento!” His voice hoarse and muffled slightly from the rope. He physically relaxed as I hovered over the knots they had tied. Fucking hell. This was going to be hard, and the daylight was almost gone as the sun set.

  My fingers trembled as I tried to pull at the knots, tears streaming down my cheeks at how weak I was. I was no use to anyone. I couldn’t save Nova, I couldn’t even untie Noah. I had no idea where the others were, and Ezra looked almost dead. I pulled with everything I had to get the rope out of his mouth. I looked up and saw I had done it. He closed and opened his mouth, until he got the muscles to relax. I knew how that felt.

  “Kento, thank fuck they didn’t get you. Fucking assholes are going to die.” He growled out, and it terrified me. I scurried back from him. His eyes, big and blue had widened in fear, sadness, no…pity.

  I looked down at my hands, they were covered in blood, thin and frail. Like an old man. They didn’t belong to a body that was only twenty-four years young. I still couldn’t feel them. I can’t feel the pain. The blood was mine. From trying to untie the rope. I can’t. I couldn’t help anyone. I broke down and curled into myself. I needed to be safe, this was my safe place. I listened to Noah try to sooth me with his words.

  “It’s okay. We are okay. Colton will come. He will. He will save us. It’s not your fault. Don’t worry.”

  But I did worry. Because if Colton was going to come. Then where was he? Or Ryker? I didn’t see him and that worried me even more.