It took seconds to kill it as well and when it did shout for help and backup, no one was near to hear it. There was no other shifter to hear the telepathic plea.
They met Gabe at the treeline around the house, Andrew and Troy further back so they wouldn’t be seen.
*Everyone is in the house and no sign of anyone showing up for the trade yet. Her window had no light coming from the cracks but…* Gabe trailed off and took a large breath. *I heard her scream one for a few seconds and some laughter from the room when I got close. Someone is torturing her.*
Brenton could only nod. Zachary gave a soft growl. Troy and Andrew thankfully couldn’t hear them.
Brenton signaled to the armed guys and they moved in close to the house. Andrew and Brenton were taking the back door while Troy and Zachary snuck around to the front.
On a count of three, Andrew swung the door open and began firing. People screamed as they got hit and Troy joined him a second later. Brenton and Zachary tore into the living room, surprising the other shifters and finishing off those who hadn’t been hit yet.
It was a slaughter. Brenton and Zachary had blood all over their mouths and paws. It was sticky on their chest and they were breathing harshly. Everything according to the plan.
*Time to get our girl.* Only Zachary and Gabe could hear him, but all the guys were thinking it already.
But when Andrew opened the door for Riley’s room, Brenton’s plan failed him.
RILEY
“This your last chance to submit, Riley,” Trevor was smiling down at her. “You can make this easy for yourself. Just give me one more chance with you. I can make it worth your time, remind you of how good we used to be together.”
She shook her head slowly. She was weak, beaten and in a lot of pain. She couldn’t stand anymore, not without a lot of pain lancing through her.
“I could just take you,” he chuckled. “But I want you to submit nice and pretty like you used to.”
She knew he could. She didn’t have the strength to fight him off anymore. But that didn’t fit with his game. He wanted her to give up first and she wouldn’t give him that. He wanted her to submit more then he ever wanted her body.
“No,” she croaked at him.
He shocked her and she screamed. She bucked from the pain, which caused all the other bruises to hurt as well.
“I don’t like hurting you, Riley,” he whispered down at her. “You just need to listen to me. You listened to your Alpha right?”
She said nothing because there was nothing to say. She did listen to Brenton. He didn’t torture her. He wanted her happy even if that meant he never got to be with her. She respected him for it. She cared about him for it. She wanted to go home, back to bossy Brenton. Back to temperamental Zachary, back to goofy Troy and Gabe. Back to her sweet Andrew. She bit back the tears before they could fall.
Trevor would never earn her willing participation in this. He had never deserved it and it took her years to realize it. If he needed to do this for a woman to fuck him, then he was nothing. She would never fall for this again. He had once convinced that he was all she would ever have. Now she knew in her heart that he was wrong and nothing he could do would take the away from her.
“Go to hell,” she whispered at him. This time he kicked her ribs and she couldn’t stop the tears of pain falling from her eyes.
She wished she knew why she was here. She knew someone put out a contract to capture her alive but she had no idea why. Was it someone trying to get back at her guys? It had to be. She had no idea who would want to do this to her for anything she’d ever done.
Trevor was just one of the guys who captured her. That was just unlucky for her and she needed to survive him until she was rescued or traded away like a sack of potatoes.
“Riley, I’m out of patience,” he snarled. “Fine. Maybe after this, you’ll remember who you belong to.”
She sobbed and shook her head as Trevor undid his belt.
Gun fire shocked them both. Roars and screams echoed in the small house, right in the living room. Trevor cursed and grabbed her arm, pulling her up front of him. He pulled his handgun and placed it to her temple, glaring at the door.
“Move and I shoot you,” Trevor hissed in her ear.
It was only a minute for all the sound to stop. The silence after was more deafening then the battle they had heard.
It was another thirty seconds before the door swung open. Riley cried out at the sight of Andrew, who aimed an assault rifle into the room. Brenton was right there with him, a massive male lion covered in blood snarling towards her and Trevor.
“Attack and she dies,” Trevor snarled, pressing the gun into her head harder. She winced and tried to keep her eyes on Brenton. He took a step back, shaking his mane with the action.
“Kill her and you don’t see another day,’ Andrew whispered softly. “Let her go and we’ll let you walk away.”
“You’re going to let me take her out of the building. You are going to let me get in a car and drive away. I’ll drop her off at the end of the drive way.” Trevor snarled at Andrew. Riley realized that Trevor was holding them against the wall.
“No. You let her go now and we all walk out. You can leave whenever you please after that.” Andrew was calm, his rifle still pointed at them.
“We have other problems,’ Troy called. It made Trevor stiffen and jam the gun into her again. “Two vehicles just rolled up. I’ve got them in my sights.”
“Now look,” Andrew smiled to Trevor. “We aren’t letting those guys take her. You aren’t getting your money. You might want to leave alive since they will be furious that we are taking her and not them. Just listen to me.”
Riley stood quietly and felt Trevor relax just a little. The gun was pointed up a little. She could do this. If she fell to the ground, Andrew could take the shot.
She collapsed and gun fire went off over her head. She scrambled to Brenton as Andrew put Trevor down. Brenton let her grab hold his mane and cry while Andrew searched through Trevor’s pockets.
When Andrew got back to her, he was holding a key.
“Let’s get this off of you, darling,” his voice was thick from emotion and she nodded to him.
“Please.” Her voice was just hoarse and nearly gone.
The collar fell off and she touched her neck. It hurt. Andrew hissed at the sight and Brenton growled, low and deep in his chest.
“You three done? Riley secured?” Troy again. “These guys are losing patience with us. They didn’t like hearing gunfire.”
Brenton spun out and Andrew told Riley to shift in case she needed to run for it. She did and everything ached. She could limp in cat form better then she could run in human form, thankfully.
She followed Andrew and Brenton into the living room and saw Zachary and Gabe, in feline form as well. Troy was holding a gun trained on the front door, which was broken open.
She rubbed into Zachary, pushing herself nearly between his front legs and waited for what was next.
“We’re here to pay for and pick up a package,” a guy to them.
“We know,” Troy called back. “That package was stolen from us. So I recommend you turn around and leave with your money.”
“We can’t do that, our boss wants it.” The guy was silent for a moment. “We’ll give you the money if you just turn it over.”
“Do you know who we are?” Andrew yelled out to them.
“No, should I?” She noted the confusion in the guy’s voice.
“We’re the Kingson Pride, mother fucker. So unless you want to die today, turn the fuck around and leave,” Troy jerked his gun, motioning at something Riley couldn’t see. “Maybe you should also quit your jobs. Because after we secure our female, we’re fucking taking your God damn pride down, starting from the fucking top. Tell that to your fucking boss!”
There was mumbling outside she couldn’t hear.
“We’ll go,” the voice called out. “We’ll tell our boss that the group we were
trading with was already dead and you had her back before we got here.”
“Good.” Andrew snarled. “Fucking move out, dick heads.”
It took a couple minutes but vehicles turned and she heard them leave. None of the shifters had spoken for the entire thing. It was just comforting to lean on Zachary. It was all she needed.
*We need to get back to the car, shift back to human and have Andrew carry you.* Brenton’s tone offered no space for argument. *I don’t want you pushing yourself until we know your injuries.*
She shifted and told Andrew when Brenton said. He handed his gun to Troy, who swung it on his back, Andrew carried her like a baby.
“T-Thank you,” she finally mumbled to them. “I’m s-s-so sorry!” She burst into tears and Andrew shhed her, kissing her forehead.
“None of this if your fault,” Andrew whispered. “None of it.”
She wanted to believe him, she really did. Held on to that for the entire slow walk back to the two SUVs they brought and parked on a small dirt road off the highway. Andrew place her carefully in the passenger seat of one and jumped into the backseat. Troy and Gabe climbed into the other one in front of her after giving her a shirt to cover herself. They would be heading straight home to put all the weapons away. Brenton was dressed when he climbed into the driver’s seat and so was Zachary in the back with Andrew. None of them were covered in blood anymore and Brenton sported damp hair.
“Why?” She asked them softly, her throat hurt. “Why me?”
“I’ll tell you after you see a doctor,” Brenton told her frankly, looking straight ahead as they drove away from the hell she had been in.
“If you know, I want to know,” she bit back for more tears and put as much force in her voice as she could, even with the rawness of her throat. “T-T-They wouldn’t t-t-tell me.”
“They didn’t know why other then there was a two million dollar contract on you,” Brenton sighed. “It has to do with your mother and I’ll explain everything when we get home after you see a doctor.”
“Brenton,” she croaked angrily. “I think I deserve to know now.”
“I don’t want to hurt you more!” He roared at her. “I want you worried about your health. Let me worry about the rest until we know you aren’t going to have any permanent harm! Until we know you aren’t going to fucking die in a day from injuries we don’t know about!”
She shrank back and Brenton cursed. Andrew and Zachary were both completely silent in the back. She wondered how they felt about this.
“Riley, I’m sorry,” he took a shuddered breath. “I just can’t get into this right now. You need to see a doctor and that’s all I really want to care about right now.”
She nodded slowly and curled in her seat. She hurt so bad, physically and emotionally. She wondered what any of this had to do with her mother. Lily Stern had been dead for nearly eighteen years. Riley was so confused and they wouldn’t tell her anything.
RILEY
They drove all the way to Denver, where Brenton said there was a shifter doctor they trusted.
When they got there, he carried her in. She noted that the hospital had several shifter employees who all deferred to Brenton when he demanded to see Doctor Serrano.
She was placed on a table and Brenton stayed attached to her hip. Zachary and Andrew had shadowed them the entire way, two large and terrifying body guards. In the patient room, they propped themselves on the back wall and watched the door impatiently.
Finally, Doctor Serrano walked in and she swallowed hard. It was another man. She had privately hoped for a woman but she knew that it wasn’t up for discussion right now. Brenton thought this doctor was the safest to use and she was going to trust that. He was a jaguar and moved like one as he stepped up and shook Brenton’s hand. He had clear hazel eyes, was definitely Hispanic and had incredibly dark hair that he kept very short. He looked kind and she tried to give him a small smile when he looked over to her.
“Who have you brought me, Brenton?” The doctor sighed as he looked her over without touching her.
“Carlos, this is Riley Stern, a new member to my pride,” Brenton was professional but Riley could see he was having a hard time keeping the mask up. “She was kidnapped nearly two days ago and we just got her back. They beat on her and use a shock collar.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Riley,” Carlos offered her a hand with a kind smile and she took it. He brought it up and kissed the back. She would have blushed if she didn’t hurt so bad. “I wish we would have met under different circumstances.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” she croaked. She could barely speak since she had screamed her throat raw.
“Try not to talk too much,” he noticed and placed her hand back down for her. “I want you to tell me what you can about what they did to you. I’m going to be touching you while you do, testing for an possible fractures and other problems. Give me general stuff, no reason to get specific and only tell me what your comfortable with.”
She nodded to him and began to open her mouth.
“Also, would like a robe?” He cut her off.
She had forgotten that she was practically nude. Gabe had given her his giant shirt before they part and that was all she had. They had forgotten to bring even panties for her in the effort to get to her before the trade. Brenton actually had felt bad for it on the ride to the hospital.
“I need bottoms,” she told him. “That’s all.”
He went to the door, opened it and snapped his fingers. A nurse ran to him and nodded when he told her what to find. He didn’t come back to the table until the nurse brought a pair of small shorts for Riley to throw on.
“Here, this will have to do.” He smiled at her and handed them to her. When she tried to get off the table, Brenton took the shorts from her and helped down to her feet. He knelt and held the shorts so she only needed to step in them. He even pulled them up from her, his hands grazing her thighs and hips as he went. Once they were on, he lifted her back on the table and leaned into her hair.
“Better?” he asked softly, kissing the top of her head. She could only nod.
Carlos watched the entire exchange with interest and Riley heard Zachary growl softly at him. It made Carlos jump a little from his thoughts. Finally, they were back on track.
“I was kicked several times in the ribs and gut,” she started as Carlos moved around her, feeling injuries. “I was shocked several times by a collar. I was backhanded a few times. I hit my head more then once on walls, same with my back.”
“Is that everything?” He asked her softly. “Did they r-”
“No. No one did that.” She cut him off and he nodded slowly. Brenton was vibrating and she couldn’t ignore the soft growling from both Andrew and Zachary.
“Well, the neck burns from the collar are superficial. Should fade in two or three weeks at most. You know, we shifters heal much faster then humans.” He hadn’t touched the burns but he was currently feeling her ribs, which made her wince. “I don’t feel any deformities in your ribs, but I would like to get x-rays just in case.”
He pulled out a small light and made her follow it around, which she had never liked when she saw a doctor.
“Do you have a headache? Dizziness? Blurry vision or any problems stay conscious?”
“No to all of those.”
“You show no signs of a concussion but you do have a couple fairly big bumps on your head. I want you to report any of those problems to Brenton if they occur. Okay?”
She nodded to him.
“Also, I don’t feel any broken bones in you face. I’ll give you something for the swelling and I want you to keep ice it for thirty minutes every three hours. It should help. Like everything else, two weeks and they should be gone.”
She kept nodding.
“I’m going to make it happen, Carlos,” Brenton said softly. “Don’t worry.”
The doctor nodded to Brenton in confirmation.
“Let me take her for x-rays and once we get
a good look at everything, I’ll write the prescriptions and you can take her home.” Carlos patted Brenton’s shoulder in a friendly gesture. Brenton helped her stand up and Carlos had a nurse bring in a wheelchair. Carlos took charge from there, wheeling her away from the guys.
Her heart rate accelerated as she moved away from them and watching them leave her view. She wasn’t ready not to be near them but they seem unconcerned with her being along with Doctor Serrano.
As they entered the x-ray suite, Carlos helped her get in position.
“They knew I wanted a moment away in case you told me something while they weren’t listening.” He told her. “No reason to fret.”
“You can hear my heart beat,” she told him blandly, watching the doctor as her moved around the table she was now laying on.
“Yes, of course. And as a doctor, I use that to my patient’s advantage. So I’m going ask a few more questions while we take these. Were you raped?”
“No,” she snapped at him. “He was getting ready to when the guys got there. But nothing happened.”
Carlos looked down sadly at her after that.
“Speaking of… the guys, as you say,” he took a deep breath. “Are you comfortable?”
She looked at him in confusion. Comfortable on the table? What did that have to do with her pride? Carlos noticed her confusion and shook his head.
“They are a rough group of young men and you are a vulnerable young woman,” he reminded her as if she didn’t know that. “I want to know if they ever forced you to do anything you didn’t want to or if you need a way to get away-”
“No,” she forced herself up, snarling. “You do not get to pull me in here and question me about them. They are mine. They would never hurt me and y-y-you can go fuck yourself!”
She was still snarling as Carlos took a smart step back from her. She wobbled on her feet but how dare this stranger question them. How fucking dare him.
“Mine, do you fucking hear me?” she hissed. “They have done everything to make me happy and they risked their lives to save me today. You don’t get to fucking butt in, you asshole. They are my fucking family.”
Wild Pride (The Kingson Pride Book 1) Page 25