by Harley Wylde
Patriot (Hades Abyss MC 6)
Harley Wylde
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2020 Harley Wylde
BIN: 009610-03115
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Publisher:
Changeling Press LLC
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Martinsburg, WV 25404
www.ChangelingPress.com
Editor: Crystal Esau
Cover Artist: Bryan Keller
Adult Sexual Content
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Table of Contents
Patriot (Hades Abyss MC 6)
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
Dedication and Acknowledgements
Harley Wylde
Patriot (Hades Abyss MC 6)
Harley Wylde
MaryAnne -- I was sixteen when I learned a hard lesson. No, it wasn’t a lesson. It was worse. Kidnapped, tortured, abused in the worst of ways… I’d thought my life was over. Until the day my knight in shining armor came to save me. Patriot. Despite how scary he looks, he has to be the kindest man I’ve ever met. He not only rescues damsels in distress, but animals too. Under that hard exterior is a heart of gold. It doesn’t matter that he’s older than me. The more I get to know him, the harder I start to fall. But why would a man like him ever want someone like me? I’m dirty. Damaged. Broken beyond repair. Or am I? After all, Christmas is a time for miracles.
Patriot -- From the moment I saw her, she’s had me wrapped around her finger. I’ve done my best to chase the fear and shadows from her eyes, show her she’s safe. I’ve taken out nearly every man who ever hurt her, even if she doesn’t know it. And the two who are still standing won’t be for long. I want to see her smile. Make her laugh. What better time than Christmas to prove to her life is worth living? I’ll make it the best she’s ever had!
But there’s only one thing I want under the tree this year… MaryAnne. She deserves better. I’m no angel. I’ve killed. Lied. Stolen. And worse. I tell myself repeatedly to keep my distance… until I can’t. One taste and I know I’ll never walk away. MaryAnne is mine! And if she won’t listen to me, then maybe my whacky parrot can convince her. If there’s one thing the African Grey excels at, it’s talking when he shouldn’t.
Prologue
MaryAnne -- 1 ½ Years Ago
“You’ll be safe here,” said the gruff biker as he handed me off to two orderlies.
The men gripped my arms and I tried not to fight them off. My skin crawled where they touched me. The Sadistic Saints kidnapped, tortured, and raped me before they sold me to a brothel. When my cousin’s club, the Hades Abyss MC, found me, they assured me I’d be okay. I’d thought they were taking me to Sean, but instead I’d been brought here to The Dunbrooke Institute.
I couldn’t speak. Inside, I was screaming for them not to leave me here. The men dragged me away and behind a secured door. I couldn’t see the biker who’d brought me here, but I’d remember his name for a long time. Brick. I didn’t think he meant to be cruel, but he’d abandoned me. I didn’t like this place.
“Such a pretty little thing,” one of the orderlies said, running his hand down my hair. “The doc is going to love her.”
The other man chuckled. “I think we all will. Can’t wait to have a taste.”
No. No, no, no! I couldn’t go through that again. I just couldn’t.
I had no doubt what they meant. When they stripped me down and “helped” me shower, I knew I hadn’t escaped hell. I’d only transferred to another level. These men would hurt me like the others had.
A man in a white lab coat stepped into the room before I’d been given clothes. I shivered, my arms wrapped around my torso. I felt exposed. Humiliated. And without hope. The man looked me over with a critical eye.
“What do we have?” the man asked.
“Seventeen-year-old girl, Dr. Jones. Some biker brought her here. Said he found her in a whorehouse.”
A gleam lit the doctor’s eyes. “Really? Well, then. It looks like we have ourselves a proven cash cow. Let’s see how good she is.”
One of the orderlies started stripping off his clothes, a leer on his face. I went hot, then ice cold. Fog crept across my brain and as he reached for me, his hand squeezing my ass, I went to the safe place inside my head. A dark room where I didn’t feel pain and hopefully wouldn’t remember all the vile things they did to me.
It was the only way I knew how to survive.
I didn’t know how much time passed but I snapped back to reality when they submerged my body in icy water. I gasped and tried to claw my way out of the tub. They laughed and held me down, groping me.
“Oh, yeah. I’m going to like this one,” one of them said.
“Leave her in the ice bath at least fifteen minutes,” Dr. Jones said. “Then scrub her and put her in room 52K. I know exactly what we’re going to do with patient 2763.”
A number. They’d reduced me to a number.
What did it matter? MaryAnne Swenson had died the day the Sadistic Saints grabbed me and turned me into a whore. I was no one now. Nothing. A body for them to use as they saw fit. Maybe one day they’d kill me, then my suffering would be over. Until then, I’d escape inside my mind as often as I could.
Please, God. Send them back. Make them come get me. I can’t stay here. I can’t endure any more.
My prayers had gone unanswered for so long. I didn’t think now would be any different. Yet somewhere deep inside, I still wanted someone to come rescue me. I’d already learned I couldn’t save myself. Trying only caused more pain.
I only hoped if the Hades Abyss did return for me that there would still be some humanity left in me. I felt my mind slipping more and more every day. Soon, I’d only be a dried-up husk. Little more than a mindless puppet. If that happened, I hoped someone would end my suffering. I’d rather be dead than live like this another day.
* * *
Three Months Later
I’d been staying with Patriot for a few months now, and I still kept waiting for something bad to happen. No one had been mean to me, or tried to touch me since I’d come here. I wasn’t sure I believed I was safe. Except with Patriot. He was the only one I trusted in this place. Even my cousin made me feel hesitant. It was
n’t that I thought Sean would hurt me, but he’d changed and I didn’t know this new version.
I stared at the pale yellow walls and delicate white curtains at the window. The room was soft and feminine, and a far cry from how it had looked when I first arrived. Patriot had worked hard to give me a place to call a safe haven. He’d painted the room himself and hung the curtains. I’d been too timid to ask for anything, so he’d also purchased bedding he thought I might like.
He’d treated me better than anyone ever had, even before I’d been kidnapped. I knew he probably wanted his home back. Even though he’d been unfailingly kind to me, I couldn’t help but wonder if he only tolerated my presence. When I’d first arrived, Sean hadn’t been in any sort of shape to take care of me, so Patriot had permitted me to stay with him. My cousin was back on his feet now, and yet I hadn’t moved out.
I heard classic rock blaring out front and peered through my window down below. Patriot was on his back under the Bronco, his tools scattered around him and his jeans smeared with oil. I liked standing here, watching him. Maybe it made me a bit of a stalker, but there was something about him that drew me like a moth to a flame. I knew he was older than me, probably by quite a bit, but he was also handsome. I’d even go so far as to call him sexy, and I hadn’t thought I’d ever feel that way about a man. Not after all I’d endured.
He slid out from under the Bronco and yanked his shirt over his head, tossing it aside. My breath caught at the perfection of his body. His arms and chest were inked and covered in muscle. The sun glinted on his reddish-brown hair, making it shine with copper tones. I sighed and wondered how he wasn’t cold without his shirt. It was nearly December, and not exactly warm outside.
My phone rang, making me jump away from the window. I picked it up off the bed and saw it was my cousin.
“Hi, Sean.” He growled softly and I winced. “Sorry. Galahad.”
“It’s been three months, MaryAnne. Last thing I need is you slipping up and calling me Sean in front of my brothers. It shows a lack of respect.”
I sank to the floor, my back to the wall, and drew my knees to my chest. His tone of voice sent me back to a place I never wanted to go. My hand trembled as I held onto the phone. “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I sometimes forget you’re still a kid,” he said. “Try to remember, okay? I’m not angry. Not really. You’ve been through hell and don’t need me fussing at you.”
The last thing I wanted was for anyone to call me a kid. I’d had to grow up fast after I’d been kidnapped. I’d met women ten years older than me who acted like they were still in high school.
“Why did you call?” I asked.
“Patriot isn’t answering his phone. I needed to ask him something. Can you get him for me?”
I chewed on my lower lip. Yeah, I could technically walk out and hand my phone to him. I wasn’t sure I was comfortable doing it. Taking a breath, I steadied my nerves and got up. Even though I had on fuzzy peppermint-striped socks that matched my red sweater and skinny jeans, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to go out without shoes. Then again, it was the end of November in Mississippi. There was a chance it was in the seventies outside. I liked to be completely covered, head to toe, these days. Even having bare arms made me feel exposed.
I padded downstairs and went out the front door. The music was even louder as I approached Patriot. He’d slid back under the Bronco so that only his legs stuck out. I nudged his calf with my toes. His body went tight, and he slowly came out from under the vehicle. My throat went dry and my hand shook as I handed my phone to him. A frown marred his handsome face as he stood and took it.
“Who is this?” he demanded, keeping an eye on me. He listened a moment and his eyes narrowed. “What the fuck did you say to MaryAnne?”
I sucked in a breath. I’d noticed he was protective of me, but my heart always gave a little kick whenever he got that tone with someone. He didn’t like it when anyone upset me, and it was only one of the reasons I’d started to fall a little in love with him. Except I’d recently turned seventeen and he was a grown man who could have any woman he wanted. Why would he want someone like me anyway? I knew he’d seen the videos of what happened at the hospital where they’d left me. Even if I ever felt I was ready to date, no one would ever want to touch me. Certainly no one who knew about my past, and I wasn’t comfortable leaving the compound to start a new life elsewhere. It wasn’t safe outside the gates.
He grunted and muttered something into the phone before disconnecting the call and handing the phone back to me. I took it and slipped it into my pocket, then shifted from foot to foot. He watched me, not moving or saying a word. Did he want me to leave? I backed up a step and he reached out, wrapping his fingers around my wrist only to release me just as quick.
“You have everything you need?” he asked.
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
“I’ll be done out here in about a half hour. I’ll need a shower, but when I’m done we can go grab a bite to eat. You feel up to going out somewhere?”
I hesitated. I loved spending time with him, but leaving the compound still frightened me a little. I knew they’d taken care of the rival club, and I’d heard the staff at the hospital were being picked off one by one. What I didn’t know was whether or not I’d run into anyone who’d purchased time with me during my captivity. I wasn’t sure I was brave enough to face any of those men.
Patriot moved a step closer and reached out, tugging a lock of my hair. “I’ll keep you safe, Little Bit. Promise. No one will so much as breathe wrong in your direction. If they do, I’ll gut them where they stand.”
My lips twitched with a smile. I knew he’d do it too. He’d slammed the doctor against a concrete wall when he’d come to pick me up at the hospital. Granted, the man was a rapist and murderer. He’d deserved what he got and so much more.
“All right. I’ll go.”
He eyed me a moment, smiling when he saw my socks. “Not Christmas yet, MaryAnne.”
“I like the bright colors. Makes me happy.”
His gaze grew somber and he reached out slowly. His fingers skated over a lock of my hair. Anyone else tried to get this close, I’d have bolted. But Patriot wasn’t just anyone. He’d saved me when no one else had bothered. I knew Titan, the President of the Hades Abyss Mississippi chapter, had sent him, but the way Patriot had knocked the doctor out and promised I’d be safe? It always made me swoon a little when I remembered how fierce he’d been. I’d been scared shitless at the time, but I knew now I could trust him with my life. Even then, I’d been drawn to him a little.
“I’ll be okay,” I said.
“I know you will.” His lips quirked in a half-smile. “Strongest woman I know, Little Bit. Don’t ever let anyone say different.”
I didn’t know how he could say such a thing. I wasn’t strong. The men who’d taken me had nearly broken me. I might still be standing, but I didn’t think I’d ever be close to the person I’d been before. That carefree girl was long gone. I’d seen the ugliness in the world, had it touch me, felt the darkness seeping into my soul. There were some things you didn’t bounce back from.
No, I’d never be that MaryAnne again. I’d be someone new.
Chapter One
MaryAnne -- Present Day
I shifted from foot to foot as I stared at the clubhouse. Even though I was eighteen now, I knew I wasn’t permitted inside. More for my safety than anything else. Well, that and I wasn’t sure I wanted to see the club whores hanging on Patriot. I’d come to think of him as mine, and I hated the thought of him being with those women. He’d never given me even a hint that he might think of me as something other than a kid sister or pesky houseguest, but in my dreams, he belonged to me and I belonged to him.
I exhaled, my breath fogging the air. December in the south wasn’t exactly freezing most of the time, but a cold snap had come through and it was now a chilly forty degrees outside. For a place that stayed over one hundred d
egrees in the summer, it might as well have been ten below zero. I clutched my leather jacket tighter and stomped my booted feet to warm up a little.
Music blasted from the building and I could hear the crowd inside. Not only was there a line of bikes across the front, but quite a few cars were parked in the lot too. I’d wanted to go to the clubhouse several times since Patriot had brought me here, to see what it looked like on a typical night, but I always chickened out. I knew they didn’t want me inside, and Patriot would likely blow a gasket when he found out what I was about to do. This was the closest I’d come to actually going inside when a party was in full swing. I approached the building and put my hand to the door.
Come on, MaryAnne. Stop being a chicken.
I pushed my way inside and fought back a cough as I sucked in a lungful of smoke. I waved my hand in front of my face and surveyed the room. No one had noticed me yet. It wasn’t like I was wearing a disguise. I went up to the bar and smiled at Riley. His eyebrows rose and he scanned the room before focusing on me again.
“Patriot know you’re here?” he asked.
I sank my teeth into my bottom lip and shook my head. Was he going to make me leave? He looked around again, his muscles tensing. Riley took a step back and pulled a clear soda from one of the mini fridges, poured it into a glass, added grenadine and mixed it before he topped it with two cherries. He handed me the glass and I eyed it a moment.
“I’m not giving you alcohol,” he said. “Why the hell did you come here tonight?”
I didn’t know how to answer his question so I took a swallow of my drink and pretended I hadn’t heard him. I felt heat along my back and a citrus scent filled my nose. I used the mirror behind the bar to see who it was and tried not to grimace when I saw Smoke practically on top of me. He braced an arm on the bar beside me and leaned in closer.