by Becca Van
“Shit, do you think that fucker is in cahoots with those Japanese assholes?” Corbin asked as he did a U-turn and planted his foot flat on the floor.
Trace snapped his phone closed and thought about Corbin’s question. “I think that fucker may have known too much. It wouldn’t be hard to hear things and use them for an advantage after getting canned.”
“Do you think he set up a decoy so he could get to Nicole?”
“That would be my guess,” Trace said. “From what Whit has told Coult, the sheriff and deputies haven’t seen anyone new in their town fitting the descriptions of the villains.”
“If that’s the case, then who the hell shot him?”
“What if Yumi Itou is already here under an alias? Apparently his right-hand man is a computer whiz and can hack into any secure system he wants. What if he had alerts set up on Yumi’s name like the Elite Dragoons did and when this Abe dickhead created the diversion was able to trace the path back to him?”
“Fuck, Trace. If that’s the case, then Nicole’s back where she started.”
“Exactly,” Trace whipped out his phone and called Coulter back. The Elite Dragoons needed to know what they were up against and who they were looking for. Those men weren’t stupid and would be aiming for Abe Stone, but he was history. And the stakes had just gotten a whole lot higher.
* * * *
Nicole’s mouth felt like it was full of cotton wool and she felt nauseous. She had no idea where she was, what time it was or why she felt so bad. She wondered if she’d spent the previous night drinking. Although she enjoyed a drink now and then she usually limited herself to three drinks, because she hated feeling out of control. She’d already learnt a lesson from imbibing too much and had vowed never to do that again. So why would she have overindulged last night? It didn’t make sense.
The more she thought, the more alert she became and the previous evening came rushing back. She hadn’t been drinking, she’d been drugged. Oh God, where am I?
Nicole tried to move but her arms and legs wouldn’t cooperate, they felt heavy and weighted. She pried her sticky eyelids apart and blinked to clear her hazy vision. When her vision cleared, she was able to see she was in what seemed to be a hotel room, but she didn’t think she was still in Belcourt. It was dark outside, but she had no idea how much time had passed. Was it the next night or still the same night she had been kidnapped by Abe at gunpoint?
As she’d drifted down to a drug-induced sleep, she remembered hearing one of the Japanese men saying, “Let’s get out of here.” Nicole hoped that housekeeping would find Abe’s body and report it to the police, at least then her men would have a starting point and hopefully be able to find her if they couldn’t feel her through their empath abilities.
She closed her eyes and tried to breathe evenly and deeply when the doorknob turned and the door was pushed open. Nicole just hoped that the fuckers didn’t drug her again. She didn’t like feeling so sluggish and hung over and wanted to gain all her wits back in case she had a chance to escape.
“I know you’re awake, so you may as well open your eyes.”
Nicole sighed and tried to push her fear to the back of her mind. She didn’t want these assholes knowing they scared the crap out of her.
“Good,” Suit Man replied. “Now, you are going to tell me everything you can about the men trying to take down my operation. You will tell me their names before the night is through and don’t worry about how much noise you make. I hired out the whole motel and gave the owners a thousand dollars so they could spend a night out on the town. There is no one here but you, me, and Sota.”
Nicole gulped as the big brute entered the room. Glancing toward the window when a flash caught her attention, she saw the neon sign for the Devils Lake Motel. When she looked back, she began to shake as she saw the large knife in his hand and wondered if she would live to see the next hour through without giving away any of the Elite Dragoon team members.
* * * *
Rand jumped from the truck before Ty had even pulled it to a full stop. He stormed in through the door and headed straight for Nicole’s room. After pulling out drawers and touching her new clothes, he growled with frustration when he didn’t feel anything. He dropped clothes and drawers to the floor and grabbed the next item and then the next and the next. When nothing came to him, he sank down onto the edge of the bed and tried to hold in his emotions. He hadn’t cried since he was a little kid and wasn’t about to start now.
Ty and Brom rushed in and he met their gazes.
“Anything?” Ty asked.
“No,” Rand sighed.
“Did you check the bathroom?” Brom queried.
“Shit.” Rand got up and hurried to the bathroom. His legs nearly went out from under him again, but this time in relief. There, sitting next to one of the sinks was Nicole’s hairbrush. His sunshine was smart and must have remembered what they told her their team leaders had experienced when they were first trying to find her and Sara.
Rand grasped the handle of the brush and thought of his woman. Nothing happened. He stepped out into the bedroom and as he did a strand of her hair gleamed in the light he’d turned on when he first entered. He sat down on the side of the bed again and carefully drew the strand out of the bristles. He gasped as images and emotions slammed into him. He opened his shields to let his brothers see what he was.
A large muscular Asian man stood over Nicole with a big knife in his hand. A flash of light drew her eyes to the window and she saw a sign that read Devils Lake Motel. The fear Nicole felt shuddered through his body as the knife came closer and closer and his body began to shake. The knife swept down and the blade slashed through her forearm when she tried to defend herself. Pain radiated up her arm to her shoulder and down to her hand. White-hot agony followed but she was determined to get out of this alive or she would go to the grave before telling them anything about her men.
Ty’s hand on his shoulder broke Rand’s concentration and connection, and as much as he wanted to stay connected with her, they needed to get moving. They knew where Nicole was.
* * * *
Nicole screamed in agony as the blade of the knife sliced the flesh of her forearm open. Her sight was fuzzy from the tears in her eyes and her cheeks were wet. Suit Man held up his hand and Brute stepped back.
“It pains me to hurt you, but he won’t stop until you give me what I want. Who has been taking my men out and where is their ranch?”
Nicole whimpered but didn’t speak. Blood was trickling down her arm, and she had no doubt he would order the bastard to cut her again, but she wasn’t going to give him what he wanted. She took a deep breath and pulled her lips tightly closed.
Suit Man stepped back again and Brute moved closer. The knife glinted in the overhead light and then the blade came toward her again. Nicole waited until the last minute and rolled over as fast as she could. She heard the swish, but this time the knife missed. Nicole landed on the floor with a thud and quickly pushed up to her feet. She was close to the bathroom so she turned and ran toward the door as fast as she could.
Pain radiated into her scalp when her hair was grasped from behind and she was slung around to face the Brute. A hard slap landed on her face and sent her senses reeling. She flailed out, hoping to connect with his face, but since she couldn’t see, she missed. Brutal hands grabbed her wrists and she felt as if the bones were about to snap. She was dragged back to the bed and he pinned her down with his massive weight.
“Hold her still. I’ll get something to tie her up with.”
Nicole turned her face away from Brute’s fetid breath and tried not to gag. No matter how hard she tried to stop shaking, she couldn’t. She wondered if she was losing too much blood and going into shock.
She must have lost consciousness for a bit, because when she was next cognizant her arms had been tethered to the headboard with neckties. When she tried to move her legs, she realized they had also restrained her at the ankles.
Sui
t Man was sitting in an armchair off to the side, sipping some sort of drink. Brute was standing at the end of the bed, watching her with a malicious smile.
“Who were the soldiers who took out my friend and his men?” Suit Man asked.
“Fuck you,” Nicole yelled.
“No thank you,” Suit Man replied. “You’re not my type, but you are his.”
Nicole shivered when Brute moved around the end of the bed and closer to her. The knife came closer and closer. There was no way she could defend herself this time since she was tied up, and she wasn’t about to watch him stab her, so she closed her eyes.
The blunt edge of the knife skated over the skin of her neck and she gulped noisily. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. Just as she expected the knife to plunge deep, it slipped under her shirt and cut the material. Next to be cut away was her track pants and panties, until she was lying before him totally naked.
Bile roiled in her stomach and she had to swallow to keep it down. She was feeling light-headed and knew she was losing a lot of blood. If he stabbed her again, she didn’t know if she would survive it.
Her eyes snapped open when she heard the rustle of clothes and watched with revulsion as Brute removed his T-shirt. When his hands went to his belt buckle, Nicole gagged. His laugh hurt her ears, but it also made her angry. She let her rage build until the shaking of her body wasn’t fear anymore but pure wrath. There was no way in hell she was going to let him rape her.
Watching dispassionately now as he undid his jeans and pushed them and his underwear down, she let tension seep into every muscle in her body. He kicked his shoes off with a thud and then pushed his jeans off over his feet.
Nicole was coiled tighter than a boa constrictor and ready to pounce. She would use any means she could to stop the vile man from raping her. Being careful so he wouldn’t notice, she tested the bonds around her ankles. There was little give, but there might be just enough. She waited and watched as he got on the bed on his knees between her spread thighs and then leaned over so his hands were beside her shoulders. He was still too high for a blow to be effective, she was going to have to wait a little longer.
“This is your last chance,” Suit Man said. “If you don’t give me the information I want, he will fuck you and then cut you some more.”
“Fuck off,” Nicole spat.
“She’s all yours.”
As Brute began to lower himself over her, Nicole coiled up her muscles even more. Just when there were only a couple of inches separating them, she struck. She drew her knee up as hard and fast as she could, aiming for his balls and at the same time sank her teeth into his neck and bit down as hard as she could.
Blood filled her mouth and even though she gagged, she didn’t let up. He roared with pain and tried to move away, but she wasn’t about to give him the opportunity to stab her again.
She screamed with agony as the knife embedded into the outside of her upper thigh and darkness formed on the outside of her vision. Brute scrambled away from her and fell to the floor. She would have laughed at him if she hadn’t been in such torment. Looking down she saw the hilt of the knife sticking out of her leg.
The two men went off in rapid-fire Japanese, but Nicole ignored them. She was so cold and tired. She had no energy left. It was taking all her concentration just to keep her eyes open. She didn’t even realize they had closed until she tried to see when she heard a loud bang, but it was too hard. She gave up with a sigh and hoped her men knew she loved them.
* * * *
It had taken them forty-five long minutes to get to Devils Lake Motel but Ty had pushed the truck to its limits and had made it in half the time. The rest of the team were following behind in their own trucks, and since none of them had unloaded any of their weapons from their sojourn to Gillette, they were still packing serious fire power.
Ty screeched to a halt two hundred yards away from the motel and threw the door open. Whit called out to him before he could head out.
“I know that’s your woman in there, but take a few deep breaths and pushed your emotions aside. You are a soldier and you need to stay calm or you could get Nicole hurt.”
Ty took a couple of deep breaths and then nodded to let Whit know he was back in control. Rand and Brom did the same and gave Ty a nod.
“We’ll go in through the front door,” Ty said.
“My brothers and I will back you up.” Dalton squeezed his shoulder.
“Thanks.”
“Cal, Fletch, Law, you take the back.” Whit looked at the Garton brothers and received a nod. “Thorpe, Adam, and Hunt, I want you three to watch the windows.” They also nodded to let their team leader know they understood what was needed.
“Okay, let’s move.”
Ty took point with Brom and Rand at his back. When he entered the front door, he was surprised the door wasn’t locked since no one was around. But that wasn’t his worry at the moment, Nicole was.
Rand skirted the desk and looked at the computer. “There is only one room occupied, the rest are empty, room 15 in back.”
Ty pointed to the second key on the board behind Rand, which was hanging under the number 15. Having a key would make it a hell of a lot easier getting in without alerting their enemy.
Ty opened his mental shield as he hurried down the hallway, but made sure to make no noise. Just as he stopped outside the door to room 15 he heard Nicole scream and agony ripped through the side of his upper left thigh and he nearly fell to his knees. He slammed his shield closed and gave his brothers and team leaders the motion to do the same. There was no way he could be at his best when he was feeling her pain.
Stepping aside, he let Rand put key to lock and opened the door a crack. He checked the room beyond the door, pushed it open, and stepped through, aiming his semi-automatic rifle.
Ty followed behind with his nine millimeter in hand. The room was empty but he could hear a spate of Japanese being spoken from beyond the open door across the room. He once more took point and pushed himself into the wall beside the entrance. After a quick glance he held up two fingers, letting his brothers and team leaders know there were only two perps. Taking a deep silent breath, he shoved his emotions aside and became the cold hard killing soldier he had been trained to be and pushed off the wall.
One massive-sized ugly guy was lying naked on the floor, holding his balls with one hand while the other hand was over his bleeding neck. He was glaring at the well-dressed guy in the suit.
The suit turned around and reached under his jacket when he spotted them. “Unless you want to die here and now, go ahead,” Ty spat.
The suit eased his hand out from under his jacket and when Ty saw a flash of metal, he fired. His aim was true and the fucker was dead from a bullet to the heart before he hit the ground.
The naked behemoth raised his hands and began babbling in his own language. Whit, Dalt, and Hay had him on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back before he could take another breath.
“Help him put his clothes on. I don’t want to see something that disgusting,” Rand ordered and ran over to Nicole.
Ty secured his weapon and reached for their woman but drew his hands back when he saw the long deep cut on her forearm and the knife sticking out of her leg.
“I’ve already called the paramedics,” Dalt said as he pulled a first aid kit from his backpack.
Ty watched as Dalt set up an IV drip and wrapped Nicole’s arm to stem the flow of blood. “I’m going to leave the knife where it is. I don’t know if the blade has sliced through any arteries and she could bleed out if I remove it.”
Ty swallowed loudly and nodded. He wanted to scoop Nicole up into his arms and hold her tight, but he didn’t want to cause her any more pain than she was already feeling, so he reached out and brushed the hair back from her face.
Her skin was so pale it looked alabaster and her lips had a tint of blue to them. Dalton carefully covered her naked body with the quilt but made sure
it didn’t touch the knife still sticking out of her leg.
The local sheriff arrived and took the now jean clad brute out and then the paramedics stepped in. After assessing Nicole they loaded her up on the portable gurney and wheeled her out. Ty wasn’t going to let her go through anything by herself and turned to follow.
“Which hospital are you taking her to?” Dalton asked one of the paramedics.
“The Mercy Hospital.”
“We’ll see you in a bit, Ty,” Rand said. “Look after our girl.”
Ty nodded and followed Nicole and the paramedics, knowing his brothers, their team leaders, and the rest of their team would deal with the authorities. He didn’t care about that. He had the love of his life to care for.
Chapter Thirteen
Nicole slowly surfaced from sleep and groaned when she moved. Her whole body was aching and she felt like she’d been run over by a truck. When she moved her left arm and leg, she whimpered as a burning pain radiated from each limb.
“Shh, baby, don’t try to move, just rest.”
“Ty?” Nicole asked and struggled to pry her eyelids open.
“Yeah, babe.”
His voice was close by and then she felt his hand stroke the hair away from her face.
She finally managed to get her eyes open and looked into his. A sob escaped and tears began to trickle down the sides of her face.
“Shh, Nicole, you’re safe. We got to you, baby. God, I’m so sorry you got hurt.”
“Not your fault,” she managed to reply around a thick tongue and dry mouth.
Ty poured her a cup of water and put a straw in it then held it to her mouth. She took a few sips and nodded when she’d had enough. Just as Ty put the cup aside, the door to her room burst open, admitting Rand and Brom.
“Good to see you awake, sunshine.” Rand smiled.
“How are you feeling, sugar?” asked Brom.