Tormented

by Jani Kay

  Jerking the door open, I stared into his worried face. “Is Eva okay?”

  His gaze shot to where she sat on the bed, tear stains evident on her cheeks. She crossed her arms over her chest to hide her nipples from Ryder. She looked so damn vulnerable that I just wanted to fold her into my arms and kiss the shit out of her, telling her it was all going to be alright. Instead, I had Ryder glaring at me as if I were the monster.

  “Fuck, you’ve upset her. And why isn’t she dressed?” he growled as he entered the room. “I think you should leave. I’ll wait for her.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but perhaps he was right. Maybe he could get out of Eva what I couldn’t. If Ryder found out what exactly had happened to her, I’d be satisfied that justice would be served because Ryder would leave no stone unturned to avenge the wrongs done to his family.

  “Eva, what do you want, baby?” I kept my voice even and calm.

  “I’ll change and come with Ryder.”

  My heart fell to my stomach. I didn’t want to be far away from her, but I respected her wishes. At least she’d be safe with the biker and I could catch up with Savage on what the latest was with our detainees.

  I left the room and closed the door behind me. So what if everyone had to wait a while before we took off? Eva’s wellbeing was the most important thing. The others could just wait until she was ready.

  What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall. Especially if she told Ryder that I’d asked her to marry me. His reaction would be priceless.

  I found Savage and pulled him aside. “I suspect Parker couldn’t keep his dick to himself,” I said, staying as calm as I could under the circumstances. We weren’t just talking about any victim—we were talking about my woman, and it tore my insides up that she’d been through such an ordeal.

  It was all my fault.

  If I’d answered her calls, been there when she needed me, it would never have happened. Just when I finally thought I could redeem myself, something as horrific as that happened to the woman I love.

  My heart squeezed and a deep ache settled there. An ache not only for myself, but for Eva too.

  I was fucked, destined to never find happiness because all I caused was tragedy to the people I loved most. Amy. Jade. And now Eva.

  Savage placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “I know. Idiot bragged about it, trying to prove that he had ownership of Eva.”

  It was like a punch in the gut. When it had been a suspicion only, the possibility existed that it didn’t happen. Being right never felt so fucking bad. I sunk down to my haunches, the contents of my stomach swirling around until they shot from my mouth like a projectile.

  My poor baby. What hell she must have gone through. If only I could undo it all, reverse time and change the outcome. I’d give my life to take the horror away from her.

  “The bastard is going to die. He doesn’t deserve to breathe.” I wiped the saliva dribbling from the sides of my mouth with the back of my hand.

  “You can’t take the law into your own hands, Harrison. You made an oath.”

  “Fuck that. And I quit, remember?” I spat the bad taste out of my mouth and pushed back up onto my feet, standing tall.

  “That’s a mistake, man. You don’t mean it.”

  Squinting, I stared at my partner. I meant every fucking word, and even more so after confirming my suspicions. I clenched and unclenched my fists as I imagined what I was going to do to the precious Senator.

  “Razor made a joke some time back that I’d be an asset to the MC club. He may just be fucking right. Maybe that’s exactly where I belong—righting the wrongs of the world as a vigilante. Wiping out fuckers who got away with murder because of their position in life.”

  “Okay, now I know you are screwing with me. Either that or you have jungle fever and are delirious. The man I’ve known for most of my life would never consider doing that.”

  “Well maybe that man is an asshole who was on the wrong team.”

  Savage surprised me with his answer. “There’s no harm in reassessing your life. Things change, and you gotta do what works for you.”

  “Exactly. I want different things now I have Eva.” I scrubbed a hand over my face and looked him squarely in the eyes. “I asked her to marry me, Lucas. She said yes.”

  “Jesus, congrats, buddy. You didn’t waste time, did you?”

  I chuckled. “Nope. But I’m not sure it will work out. What if she changes her mind?”

  Savage had a puzzled look on his face. He cocked his head. “Why would she? She said yes, didn’t she?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “I don’t know. Just a strange sensation I got afterwards when she was crying. As if she were deliberately pushing me away. She wouldn’t let me touch her in a sexual way either. I’m worried as fuck.”

  “You wanted sex after what the woman has been through? You are a crazy fucker.”

  I didn’t want to come off as a complete jerk, but I couldn’t lie to my partner. “Well yes, I always want sex with Eva. I can’t help myself. Especially after being away from her for so long.” I swiped the back of my neck and stared at my boots. “She closed herself off to me. It cut me like a knife that she wouldn’t confide in me or really let me touch her. Especially if she is planning to be my wife.”

  “She’s going to need therapy, and a lot of understanding from you. For once, you’re gonna have to forget about your dick and focus on her.”

  “You say that as if I only care about my own needs. Of course Eva comes first. I’ll do anything she wants just as long as she keeps her promise.”

  “Fuck, I nearly feel sorry for you. But I’m glad you found a woman that has brought you back to life. You’ve been M.I.A. for a fucking long time.” Savage scratched his chin. “But I’m still not buying the MC talk. That’s just fucking ludicrous.”

  A few days ago, I wouldn’t have believed it either. But sometimes in life, a switch flips and suddenly everything is shown in a different light.

  I guess what they say is true: never say never.

  Chapter 46 — Eva

  While Ryder followed Harrison to the door and locked it behind him, I grabbed the clothes off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom to change. The top and skirt were slightly loose on me, and I realized that I must have lost some weight since it was the size I always wore. I raked my fingers through my hair and glanced at the gaunt features staring back at me from the mirror.

  My eyes looked too big for my face and my collarbone was more prominent than usual. I pushed my arms through the sleeves of the cardigan and wrapped it around my body while shooting up a thank you to Sofia. Even though it was hot and balmy outdoors, I was shivering inside right to my bones, and I just couldn’t get warm in the air-conditioned room.

  As I emerged from the bathroom, Ryder took a few steps closer to me, and I could see the concern in his eyes.

  “Did Summers hurt you?”

  I shook my head as a fresh stream of tears coursed down my cheeks and my lips quivered.

  I hate being a blubbering mess.

  Ryder pulled me into his arms. I let him hold me as I sobbed my heart out, letting go of the fear and anguish I’d held on to while trying to be strong. My brother stroked my hair and kissed my forehead and quietly told me that everything would be okay. I wanted to believe him so badly, but what if he was wrong?

  Eventually, my tears subsided and the sobs racking my body stopped. I pulled away from Ryder, casting my eyes down to hide my embarrassment.

  “Look at me, Eva.” Cagey, I lifted my head and met his gaze. His thumbs gently brushed over my cheeks and he gave me a smile that reached all the way to his eyes. “It fucking kills me to see you crying. How can I help? I’m happy to cut Summers’ balls off if that’s what you want. Just name it, Sis. I’ll do anything to make you smile again.”

  The funny thing was that Ryder was perfectly serious.

  “God, I’m so lucky to have you. But no, that’s not what I want.”

&nb
sp; “What then? Just name it.”

  “Well, there is something.” I paused and took a deep breath. “I want you to be happy for me.”

  “Huh?” The confusion on his face was priceless. “I don’t get it.”

  “Harrison asked me to marry him. I said yes. Please be happy for us,” I pleaded. I didn’t think I’d care what anyone else thought, but it mattered to me that Ryder was okay with it.

  “Fuck . . . I’m really at a loss for words.” The smile disappeared, but the warmth remained in his eyes as they searched mine. “Is it really what you want? You love him?”

  “Yes, I do. I love him, warts and all.”

  “Yeah, I understand that. Love has a way to knock you on your ass. I never wanted it, but love found me in the form of a sassy blonde I couldn’t resist. Now I can’t imagine life without her, so I get it.”

  “We have your blessing?”

  “That’s putting it a bit strongly.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s just say I’ll give him a chance to prove himself as the right man for you. But I’ll be watching him. One wrong move and he gets to deal with me.”

  Leaning forward, I planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks,” I whispered. It was comforting to know that Ryder had my back.

  Gripping both my shoulders, Ryder narrowed his eyes and asked, “What were all those sad tears about, Eva? That had nothing to do with Harrison’s proposal, did it?”

  “If I’m honest, I’ll admit it did. I’m so scared he won’t want me any longer when he finds out—” I choked and went silent. Talking about my fears was harder than I’d imagined.

  Ryder sat on the sofa by the window and patted the seat next to him for me to sit.

  “Explain. This part I’m not getting,” he said.

  I rubbed at my chest. “Something terrible happened.”

  His brows knitted together, and his jaw clenched. “Carry on.”

  “I . . . um . . . Nolan . . .” My voice faltered again and the lump in my throat sat there, refusing to budge. I avoided Ryder’s eyes, keeping mine cast down and letting my hair hang over my face like a curtain.

  “Nolan?” Ryder let out a long breath. “Tell me what he did.”

  The words refused to leave my mouth as tears welled up in my eyes again. Sweat broke out on my skin, and I rubbed my clammy hands on my skirt.

  Ryder gritted his teeth. “Eva, did he fucking rape you?”

  I nodded. Heat spread from my chest to my cheeks, and I involuntarily clamped my thighs together as shame washed over me.

  “Fucking pig!”

  Both the anger and volume of his voice startled me.

  Ryder jumped up from the sofa and slammed his fist into the wall. “I’m gonna kill the dirty pig with my bare hands.”

  “Ryder, calm down. I don’t want anyone else to know. Please don’t tell Harrison.”

  “I don’t understand why not. Summers will want to skin the bastard alive when he finds out. We’ll be on the same side again, but we’ll be fighting about who gets the honor of ending that miserable fuck’s life.”

  My hand flew to my throat. “Please don’t do anything silly. You’ll go to jail—Nolan isn’t worth it. That’s why I won’t tell Harrison. He’s bound to have the same reaction as you, and the last thing I want is for either of you to rot in jail because of Nolan’s crime.”

  Ryder’s eye started twitching. Fuck. I hated when that happened.

  “You can’t hide this from Summers. Not if you’re serious about marrying him.”

  “Please, I don’t want anything bad to happen to either of you. Nolan already tried to get rid of Harrison by sending him on a dangerous mission. God knows what will happen to my fiancé if things get out of hand. I’m keeping this between us for now to protect Harrison. When we get back to LA I will report to the authorities and get myself checked out. They’ll help me deal with it in a professional manner and know what the best way is to go forward. ”

  “No way that’s going to work. Summers is smarter than you’re giving him credit for. He’s going to figure it out and go ape-shit crazy. Let me handle this, okay?”

  Nausea pushed up into my throat. This was a cluster-fuck of events, and I couldn’t see a good outcome however I looked at it.

  Ryder came back to where I sat and pulled me into a hug. “Listen, I’m sorry about the outburst and if I scared you. Are you okay in all of this? Because right now, that’s the most important thing, even though I acted all crazy when you told me.”

  I folded my hands in my lap and gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. Heaven forbid I tell him that it was unprotected sex. “I’m okay. It was horrible at the time and I wanted to die, but I’m a fighter and I can handle this.”

  “You’re a strong woman, but this wasn’t your fault . . . you understand that, yeah? We’re going to make sure you get the best treatment when we get back to LA.”

  I placed my hand on his arm. “Of course this means you can’t tell Jade either. Not because I don’t trust her, but the less people who know the better. I’ll see a doctor and a therapist, because I know I need to, but other than that—”

  “So you’re going to let the senator get away with it? You’re not going to press charges or expose him for the fucking bastard he is?”

  I shook my head. There was going to be more than enough publicity about the abduction, and I doubted Nolan’s career would go anywhere after that. He was ruined and he deserved that, but protecting Harrison from retribution was more important than getting my own revenge.

  “I’ll be honest with you—I’m not sure whether you’re being stupid or brave. Probably a bit of both.” Ryder swiped the back of his neck as he gave me an exasperated look. “I’ll make a deal with you. I won’t say a word until you tell Summers yourself. But you can’t ignore it and pretend it didn’t happen, because it did, and you need to deal with it. As for Parker, he will get what’s coming to him. He deserves to be punished for what he did to you.”

  As usual, Ryder had a point.

  “Okay, I will as soon as we get back to LA. Thanks for talking me through this.”

  “I love you, Sis. I only want what’s best for you.”

  “I really got lucky in the brother department. I love you too, Ryder.”

  The smile he gave me lit up the whole room. “I’m the lucky fucker with the two most amazing women in the world loving me.” He held out his arm. “Ready to go?”

  Taking a few deep breaths to steady my nerves, I straightened my pencil skirt and ran a hand over my hair. I nodded and hooked in to his arm.

  “Let’s go home,” I said. “The future is waiting.”

  Chapter 47 — Harrison

  I stood at the cabin door, every minute ticking by feeling like an hour. My eyes kept darting around, looking for Ryder and Eva to emerge from the building. What was taking them so damn long? Everyone was ready to go, and I was becoming restless and agitated. I wiped my clammy hands on my pants and cursed under my breath.

  The flight captain had warned me that we needed to leave soon as a heavy storm was brewing over the ocean, and our window for a safe takeoff was narrowing as heavy winds were coming our way.

  Just as I was about to go in search of the two of them, they came running across the tarmac, Ryder pulling Eva by the hand. I guess they were as eager as the rest of us to get off this island.

  A heavy sigh of relief blew out from my lungs as Ryder helped Eva on board. The only reason I’d kept my shit together this long was because Savage was watching me like a hawk and keeping me away from the back section of the plane where Parker and his minions were already buckled in.

  Razor and Cobra were standing guard between our prisoners and the door, even though Nolan and his cronies had all been handcuffed. From the glint in the biker’s eyes, I could tell that Razor was just waiting for someone to act up so he could straighten them out. The man called Jones had lost a few teeth since we’d arrived because apparently he’d put up a fight whilst boarding the plane, and Razor h
ad laid his fists into the man.

  While climbing the stairs, Eva looked up at me, her normally blue eyes now red and puffy. She’d been crying some more, and my heart ached for her. I was going to do everything in my power to make it better for her and help her get through the nightmare that had happened to her.

  If she let me, of course.

  Because she could easily have changed her mind after speaking with Ryder. I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if she wanted nothing to do with me once we got back home. Not that I’d give up without the fight of my life.

  Even if she said yes to marrying me as a knee-jerk reaction because she was grateful I’d saved her, there had to be something there that would help us through this crisis. She’d said she loved me, and I simply had to believe that it was enough.

  I took a few steps forward and held out my hand. She placed hers in mine as she stepped into the plane, her breathing still jagged from running.

  Unable to resist, I pulled her into a hug. I wanted to shield her from looking to the back of the plane, but mostly I just needed to feel her against me. Both our bodies trembled as we clung to one another for a few moments.

  “Please take your seats. We’ve got to take off in the next five minutes.” Savage’s voice boomed through the cabin and brought me back to reality.

  Pulling Eva into a front row seat, I helped her buckle in. Her cheeks were flushed, her hands shaking, and her breathing still erratic.

  “Just breathe, Eva. Just breathe.”

  She closed her eyes and took a few long, slow breaths. I buckled myself in and leaned over to cover her hands in her lap with mine.

  “It’s okay, baby. You’re safe, I promise. All the boys are here to protect you. In six hours, we’ll be back home and we’ll put all of this behind us.”

  She laced her fingers through mine and squeezed. “Thank you.” Her voice choked. “For everything.”

  “Baby, if you meant what you said back there in the room, I’m the luckiest man alive. I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

  She turned her head and gave me a small smile. “I meant every word. I love you, Harrison.”