I wasn’t a white knight in shining armor. Usually I was the man they sent in to handle a mess with bloodshed, but not this time. I was going to save this damn woman if it was the last thing I ever fucking did.
Without another word, I ambled back inside to Katherine. She was curled up, completely covered by a quilt King’s old lady had sewn years before when she was pregnant with her first child.
“Katherine?” I murmured, sinking down next to her.
She peeked just her eyes out from under the cover. “Am I going insane? I feel like I am completely losing my mind.”
I shifted a little closer to her. “This is all just new and terrifying. We’re going to get you some help, but in order to do that, we have to go for a long drive.”
“We?” she asked, blinking back tears.
“You, me, Maccon, and Bear. We’re all going with you to keep you safe from Alastor. I promise.” Her captor’s name caught in the back of my throat as I watched it send panic through her gorgeous eyes.
“He’ll come for me. We’re not safe.” She threw the cover completely over herself again, uncontrollably shaking.
“The safest place you could ever be is with all of us, but you have to swear that you will stay calm for the drive. Can you do that for me?”
I watched as her head bobbed under the quilt. “I’ll be good. I can be good.”
“If you start to get a little panicky, all you have to do is squeeze my hand. I got you.”
“Like this?” Her dainty fingers peeked out of her safety blanket and slightly wrapped around mine.
“Just like that.” I grabbed her hand, pulling back the covers. “It’s all going to be fine.”
“I trust you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
CHAPTER 7
REESE
“Y’all made good time,” Ravage called down from the front door of the house he shared with his stepson and granddaughter.
Helping Katherine out of the back seat, I carried her in with her face buried in my chest.
“Holy hell. What did you boys get yourselves into?” Rave asked, watching as we escorted the frail girl into his living room.
“Long fucking story,” I replied, laying Katherine on the couch while she cried, still clutching the quilt.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I can’t make myself stop.” She sniffled. “I am trying really hard.”
I leaned in close to her. “It’s all right to cry. No one is going to be mad at you for crying.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled, turning toward the back of the couch to hide her face again.
Rave led the rest of us into his kitchen. “Explain.” His gravelly voice boomed in the small space as he eyed me.
“She’s a buddy’s sister who was kidnapped a while ago, and Maccon and I rescued her from the shithole she was being kept in. Bear and King helped us with our first safe house, but we needed to get her out of Georgia.”
“Who’s this buddy of yours?” Ravage asked while handing all of us beers.
“He saved my life. I served with him,” I clarified.
Rave chewed on his lip. “You’re a good man, Reese Hardgrave.”
“Thank you.”
Bear cleared his throat. “Good to see you, Rave.”
Rave narrowed his stare at Bear. “Good to see you too. Forget anything this time?”
Bear dug his hands into his pockets. “No, sir.”
“Good, you learned your lesson.” Rave laughed before quickly hugging Bear. “Abel will be here with the doc any minute, and Raine is going to be with him. Should we move the girl into a bedroom so she doesn’t scare the six-year-old?”
“That’s probably for the best,” Maccon agreed.
Too late—the little girl was crouched down next to Katherine, tapping her on the shoulder. “Lady? Why are you so sad?”
I ran up to Raine’s side. “Hey squirt!”
“Uncle Reese, she’s sad. Make it better.” I scooped the chubby-cheeked kid into my arms as her father came through the door with a young woman in tow.
“Sorry, man. I thought we were going to beat you here.” Abel took his daughter from my arms. “This is Dr. Ruth Davies. She’ll help you guys with whatever you need.”
“Thanks for coming, doc. This is Katherine,” I motioned to the couch.
Ruth leaned down next to the trembling woman. “Katherine, I am here to help you. Is it all right if we go into a room and I check to make sure you’re all right?”
Katherine didn’t move.
“I’ll carry her. Follow me.” I helped the doc and Katherine get set up in the back room and left them alone so Dr. Davies could do an exam.
Raine was in the living room coloring and singing to herself. The sheer innocence of that sweet little girl was striking.
“I’m going to get Crickett over here to help us out and get that girl some clothes.” Abel excused himself to call his girlfriend.
The rest of us just sat in silence as the minutes ticked by. There wasn’t any screaming coming from the back of the house, so I just tried to relax.
Finally, Dr. Davies came out, shutting the door behind her.
“Well?” I jumped to my feet.
She shook her head. “That poor girl.”
“Is she all right?” My throat was going dry as I watched the color drain from the doc’s face.
“From what I can tell, without blood work and everything, she’s malnourished and has suffered extreme emotional and physical abuse for quite a long time. She has scars from knife wounds and electrical burns on most of her body. It’s going to take some time for her to get back on the right track, but all in all, she should be all right. I really do suggest getting her in to see a psychiatrist as soon as possible, though. Those emotional scars run deep, and y’all are not equipped to help her through this kind of mess.” She pulled out a bottle of drugstore vitamins from her purse. “In the meantime, get her started on these and make sure she eats full, balanced meals. She needs to put some serious meat on those bones.”
“Thank you so much, doc.” I was so relieved, I threw my arms around the tiny physician and hugged her to me as tightly as I could. “I am so thankful she is going to be fine.”
“Don’t mention it. She’s sweet, just fucked up. Abel knows my number if you have any more questions. I need to head back to the hospital now before rounds start and people realize I slipped out again.” She waved goodbye and headed out the door.
CHAPTER 8
KATHERINE
Daylight started to fade as I stared out the window of the room I was sitting in. I hadn’t felt a real bed in so long, and I had forgotten how comfortable they could be. I pulled at the plush comforter, wrapping it around myself as Reese opened the door.
“May I come in?” The question was so strange to me. No one had asked me for permission to do anything in years.
“Yes.” My meek voice finally came out as he stared at me.
“You doing all right?”
“I think so. I finally stopped crying.”
His lips twisted into a smile as he took a seat in a wooden chair in the corner of the room. “That’s a fantastic start. My friend’s girlfriend is on her way, and she’s going to get you some new clothes to wear if that’s okay with you.”
“Clothes of my own?” For the first time, excitement bubbled up in my stomach.
Reese nodded. “You can’t keep wearing mine forever.”
I pulled at the hem of the shirt. “I like them.”
“You can keep them then, but you will need more than just one shirt and an old pair of boxers.”
I titled my head to the side. “Why?”
He licked his lips and bowed his head. “It’s just a normal thing to do.”
“I haven’t been normal for a long time, have I?” I felt like a moron for asking such stupid questions. Of course, I hadn’t been normal, but my definition of normal had been tainted for so long, and I was completely baffled by everything that was happe
ning.
“You’ll be normal in no time, sweetheart. Don’t worry about that.” His large hand landed on my thigh and for the first time, it felt comforting to be touched.
A light tap sounded on the door.
“Hello?” A gorgeous woman with long flowing brown curls peeked her head into the room. “How’s it going in here?”
Reese got up to hug her. “Crickett, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. It’s been way too long.”
“It’s always nice when we get company in these parts. Y’all need to visit more.” She pushed him away, patting him on the arm.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I watched as they lovingly bantered back and forth. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen another woman. I was in awe of her.
“You must be Katherine.” Her kind, dark eyes landed on mine as I tried to smile.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I choked out as she sat next to me on the bed.
“We’re going to get some food in that belly and some gorgeous clothes for you, honey. Don’t you worry.” Her hand rested on my shoulder, and I instinctively cowered away.
Her hands shot up as she backed away a little. “Sorry. I am just a lover and want you to be comfortable.”
I straightened up a bit. “Habit,” I mumbled as the smile returned to her face.
“You know, I came here not too long ago myself. I was in a bad way, and these men saved me, too.”
The comfort I found in those words struck deep into my core.
“Really?”
She nodded. “Without them, I don’t know what I would have done. They’re some of the best guys I have ever met in my life.”
Reese was grinning from ear to ear, propped up in the corner. “Don’t give us all the credit. You’re a part of this family, Crickett. I don’t know what we would do without you.”
She whipped her head around to look at him. “You’re just saying that because you love my chili and drink all of my beer.”
He pursed his lips. “Guilty,” Reese teased. “I really do love your cooking.
“Chili?” The memory of my mom’s homemade chili that we had on Sundays started to return, giving me all the warm and fuzzy feelings I had been missing.
“I’ll have Abel get it started, and how about us two girls go raid my closet for some clothes for you?” Crickett offered me her hand, and I just stared at it. “Don’t worry, sugar, I don’t bite.”
Hesitantly, I placed my palm on hers. “Thank you.”
“Playing dress-up is fun, you’ll see.”
After Crickett barked a couple of orders at the men in the kitchen so they’d get supper on the stove, I followed her up the stairs to a sprawling room with a huge walk-in closet.
I sat on the end of the giant bed. “Is this all yours?”
She giggled a little. “Mine and Abel’s, but mostly mine. I let him think it’s his, but just between us, I have taken over most of the closet and almost all of the drawers.”
“Is he nice to you?”
Crickett started pulling out dresses from the back of the closet. “He’s wonderful to me and his little girl. We’re lucky to have him.”
“Alastor was only nice to me sometimes…only when I was good. He didn’t think I was good very often.” I admitted as I stared down at my bare feet.
“You’re rid of him, sweetheart. You’re never going to be treated so poorly ever again. We’re going to see to that.” Crickett handed me a few garments. “These will do for now, until I can take you shopping for some real clothes that will actually fit you. What size shoe do you wear?”
I was so captivated by all the floral prints and bright colors, I almost forgot to answer her. “I don’t remember. Maybe a seven? I think I used to wear a size seven.”
She took the sneaker right off of her foot. “Well, I am a seven and a half. See how this feels and we will go from there.”
I slipped the shoe on. It felt like a cloud hugging my foot. “I think it fits.”
She motioned for me to get up. “Let me see.” Kneeling down, she pressed her thumb right over my big toe. “It’s a little big, but we can get away with it for the time being. Want to try one of these on?”
Taking a light blue and yellow dress from her, I slipped out of Reese’s clothes and pulled the garment over my head.
Crickett sighed as a tightlipped smile formed on her face. “You’re beautiful. Those are definitely your colors.”
“Really?”
“See for yourself.” She walked me over to a full-length mirror on the other side of the bed.
I didn’t recognize myself. I hadn’t remembered what my skin looked like without dirt or what my hair looked like after actually being washed with real shampoo.
I completely broke down in Crickett’s arms.
“Shhhh, sweetheart. Let out all that awful pain and just be filled with happy tears. You’re finally safe, babe.”
“I don’t know how I am ever going to be able to repay any of you for how incredible you all have been to me. I never thought that I would get out of that cell.”
“I’ll let you in on a little secret: you don’t have to repay us for anything. We just want you to be healthy, happy, and safe.”
“Why do you care about me?”
Crickett pulled me in tighter. “Because Reese is one of the best men I know, and if you’re important to him, you’re important to all of us.”
CHAPTER 9
REESE
It was a long couple of days. Katherine’s mood swings were starting to fade a bit, her appetite was really coming back, and I was finally getting used to sleeping in the wooden chair in her room. I just didn’t know what the next move needed to be in the slightest. We couldn’t overstay our welcome in Vilas, but I still hadn’t heard from Jett.
After cleaning up from breakfast, I sat on the toilet while Katherine took another shower.
“You know you don’t need me in here anymore, right?” I called in through the shower curtain.
Katherine popped her soap-covered head around the thin, white fabric. “I don’t want to be alone.”
I grabbed a magazine off the tank behind me, trying to make it clear that I wasn’t trying to peep in on her. “I promise, I won’t leave you alone.”
“Thank you.”
Once Katherine was dried off and in one of the new outfits Crickett had picked up for her, I made my way to the front porch to smoke with Maccon.
“Think it’s about time to take her back home with us?” he asked while handing over his pack of cowboy killers.
“I don’t know what else to do. Arkansas is just as safe as North Carolina is for her at this point.”
“I’ll let the guys know and we’ll leave tonight.”
“Sounds good brother.”
Maccon walked back inside just as my phone started ringing with an unknown number lighting up the caller ID.
“Hello?”
“It’s Jett.”
“Holy fuck, man. I have some good news for you.”
“Did you find her?”
“She’s inside right now being shown how to style her hair by my buddy’s old lady.”
I had never heard a sigh of relief like the one that came through the speaker of my phone right then. “Thank fucking god!”
“Are you ok?” I asked.
“Yeah, I just walked out of the jail, actually. The charges got dropped. Where are you?”
“That’s amazing, brother. We have her in a safe place a few states up.”
“I don’t know how amazing it is. Alastor owned the property I broke into, so he’s the one who dropped the charges. He knows I was close, and with you guys finding her, I think he wants me out to lead him to her.”
“Shit,” I exclaimed. “Can’t we just go to the cops and tell them what fucking happened? I mean at this point, she’s safe and if we get him locked up then we will have nothing to worry about anymore.”
Jett signed, “It’s not going to work. He’s a chief detective.
I already tried getting him locked up. No one would even listen to me. He’s untouchable as far as the law in concerned.”
I just had to take Jett’s word at face value. If he didn’t think it was the right way to handle it, I had to just sit on my hands. It’s his show—not mine. I forced all of the protests I had building in my mind to quiet down and just continued with the conversation. “We are going to head back home tonight and set her up in a safe house. Do you want to talk to her?”
“More than anything.”
KATHERINE
“I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU.” Reese walked into Crickett’s room, holding a phone out to me. “It’s Jett.”
My heart sank. The brother I barely remembered, the one who’d lost everything to try to find me was on the other end of that call.
I pressed the small device up to my ear. “Hello,” I whimpered, not know what else to say.
“Kat?” Right when I heard him say my name, all the love and devotion I had felt washed back over me like no time had passed.
“Jett! Thank you.” I started blubbering. Crickett handed me a tissue before she sank down on the floor to sit next to me.
“Kat, you are in good hands with Reese and his friends. They are going to take you somewhere else that’s safe tonight, and I am going to join you as soon as I can.” I could hear the words catching in the back of his throat.
“Why can’t you come now?” I pleaded. “I really need to see you. Everything is just so damn scary.”
“It’ll all make sense when we’re together again. You just have to trust me.”
“I will always trust you, big brother.”
“I love you so much, Kat. Don’t ever doubt that for one second. I’ll see you soon.”
“I love you too. Please hurry.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I wiped tears from my cheeks as Reese took the phone back and stepped out into the hallway to continue his conversation with my brother.
Crickett wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “I am so happy for you, Katherine.”
Unfixable: An Unacceptables MC Standalone Romance Page 4