by Mia Ashlinn
“He’ll be back,” Adam told them confidently, but there was a distinct note of anger hanging in his deep voice. “He did this earlier when Brooklyn called and told us that Sarah had been hurt and was in the hospital but hung up before she explained anything else. Just give him another thirty seconds.”
Just like Adam had said, Deke came thundering back at them before a half a minute had elapsed. “That bastard will die,” he ground out as he neared them. “If it is the last thing I do, I will rip his heart out and feed it to him. No man will touch Sarah and get away with it.”
Adam sighed wearily. “Tell us the entire story, Gray, from beginning to end.”
Landon wanted to beg Gray to not share any more of the gruesome details. Discovering that his sister’s boyfriend was an abusive Dom who’d used her submission as a twisted game was more than enough. But until the bastard was found and hauled into jail, they needed to know what was going on and what they were up against.
“I don’t know all the details,” Gray reminded them. “All I know is what Brooklyn and Svetlana pieced together from their visions and told Jaycee. I haven’t exactly figured out how those two know all of the details they always do, but that’s inconsequential.”
Gray sighed. “Apparently, Gavin has been introducing Sarah to the BDSM Lifestyle with the intention of her being a twenty-four-seven slav—”
“Do not say that word about Sarah,” Adam intervened with venom oozing from his very pores. “She is a submissive, but she is not cut out to be a slave. I will not allow it.”
“You’re not her Dom,” Deke spat as he stepped toward his partner aggressively, the two dominant personalities clashing. “Now let him finish the damn story.”
Moving between Deke and Adam, Landon growled. “Shut up. Both of you need to get over whatever this is. My sister is lying in an operating room, possibly fighting for her life, and you two are acting like kids fighting over a toy. I know that you both care about her, and I can deal with that. But, now, is not the time for a bunch of emotional bullshit. We need to focus on Sarah.”
Adam cursed. “You’re right. We need to get our priorities straight. Sarah is all that matters right now.”
Nodding his agreement, Deke barked, “Get on with it,” at Gray.
Gray frowned but didn’t say a word. It must have been hard for him. Hell, with all the alpha personalities in this vicinity, it was damn hard on all of them to keep a check on their dominance. But they did because they had to.
“Last night, Sarah had a date with Gavin,” Gray said. “For some unknown reason, things didn’t go well, and he ended up taking her on a spontaneous trip to Kinky. He’d planned to use her connections with Deke and Adam to get inside The Edge. They’d driven about halfway there when he told her his plans.”
Gray paused before speaking again. “I am paraphrasing here so don’t kill the messenger, but she told him Deke would rather die than let an innocent little girl like her into his and Adam’s domain—”
Deke’s curse interrupted Gray, but he didn’t remain silent for long before going on. “Evidently, Gavin didn’t appreciate Sarah’s insolence so he backhanded her. Without slowing down the car, he spouted off a bunch of horseshit that no Dom would ever say to his sub or slave. For a while, Sarah took it, but he must have said something to set her off because she talked back to him. Still ranting and raving, he backhanded her again then pulled over on the side of the road and got out. Coming around to the passenger side, he punched her in the face and dragged her out of the car by her hair.”
Landon winced as images of his tiny baby sister receiving that kind of blow to her face besieged his brain. The thought of the gentle, innocent woman he’d loved and taken care of since childhood being violated by a crazed madman made him sick. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one thinking that way because there were curses all around, even from the Dalton triplets and Cade who’d been silent for the past ten minutes.
Taking a deep breath, Adam closed his eyes and murmured, “Keep going, Gray. I know you have more to say, and I need to hear it. But I can’t stomach much more of this story without punching something or someone. I would prefer it was not one of you guys.”
Gray nodded in obvious understanding. “After that he”—Gray paused to clear his throat—“took advantage of her dazed state to get her tied to a tree next to the road. At some point, he found a few items in his car to help aid him. He used a pair of surgical scissors to cut her clothes from her body then he brutally assaulted her with a cane. From what Brooklyn said, he gave her quite the beating but was smart about it. He utilized his skills as a Dom to purposefully deliver blows to the most dangerous and most painful parts of her body. The bastard knew precisely what he was doing when he chose to strike her repeatedly in the stomach, the upper arms, the sides of her hips, and the tops of her feet and hands. He was obviously intent on only hurting her, not pleasuring her in the least, because he went after the agonizing areas that would leave her physically damaged.”
“Son of a motherfucking bitch,” Shane swore under his breath. “That kind of torture would break a person.”
Adam growled, the guttural sound drowning out Shane’s curse. “That asshole deserves to die.”
Gray nodded. “Yes, he does.” Glancing away, he said, “After that, things get real sketchy. I know that he jerked off and sprayed her with his cum then—”
“Stop,” Deke ordered fiercely. “No more.”
By the time Deke called a halt to the way-too-detailed explanation of his sister’s attack, Landon felt like he was losing it. His mind ran, spinning in circles, but nothing seemed to connect. His erratic breathing came in short bursts, the rise and fall of his chest too rapid to even count anymore. Adrenaline poured into his veins, diluting the blood there until the hormone coupled with his high blood pressure seized his body.
Needing to move, Landon turned and jogged down a curved pathway, weaving through the elaborate design toward the waterfall in the center. Only that wasn’t where he wanted to go.
Spinning around on his heel, Landon’s jog turned into a sprint then a full-on run in the direction of the exit. He was grateful that the person who’d built this courtyard had a preoccupation with size. Landon needed a bit of space to expend the horrified energy charging his body, and this area worked perfectly.
Landon breathed hard, his lungs burning, as he took those last few steps of the enclosed area. Throwing open the heavy metal door, he barreled right through it.
“Landon,” Shane yelled. He chased Landon, but Landon refused to slow down. He needed to hold Katie-Anne, to kiss her. He needed to touch her belly to remind himself of their baby growing inside her.
Rounding a corner, Landon spotted Katie-Anne. He sucked in a sharp breath so he could call out to her, but he didn’t get a syllable out before she looked up and saw him. Without a word, she bent down and removed her shoes. Chucking them aside, she ran straight for him, and he ran straight for her.
Landon and Katie-Anne met in the middle of the stark white hallway. He threw his arms around her body, clutching her so tightly to his chest that he feared hurting her. But she clasped him, just as heartily, just as soundly.
Sobs wracked Katie-Anne’s slender body, and she kept murmuring loving words to Landon. As they clung to each other, she comforted him with her words as he comforted her with his body.
Shane came up behind them and, quietly, pulled them both into his strong embrace. The three of them stood locked together for who knows how long, but Landon didn’t worry about trivial things like the time or the place. All he knew was they had him, and he needed that more than air or water right now. Every minute and every second that passed, he needed them. Their love, their embrace, and their support would be the only thing to carry him through whatever was to come with his baby sister.
When the surgeon emerged from the operating room a short time later, Landon hadn’t moved an inch and neither had his spouses. As Dr. Chason Maddock neared them, Landon’s panic turned into
a full-blown attack. His erratically beating heart hurt as it hammered in his chest cavity, the rhythmic pulsations pounding through his veins and in every pulse point in his body. His breaths came out shallow and short, and he felt something strong pressing down on his chest until he couldn’t think beyond the suffocating sensation.
Feeling overwhelmed and just plain scared, Landon looked over Katie-Anne’s head at Shane. Their eyes connected, and Shane mouthed, “I love you.” The words he spoke were beautiful. They were perfect, and they were just what Landon needed to hear.
At the same time, Katie-Anne took one hand from him and one hand from Shane, clasping them in hers. “Remember, for us, it takes three to fly,” she said, her soft voice touching his very soul and slightly easing the bleak throb there. “As long as we’re together, we can soar through the clouds and into the sun. We’ll get through this—whatever it is.”
Landon had no doubt that she was right. They could do anything, survive anything, and beat anything—as long as they had each other. And thank God they did.
Turning, Landon faced Dr. Maddock with his wife beside him and his husband on the other side of her. Deke and Adam appeared out of thin air, obviously determined to hear whatever the doctor had to say. But Landon barely noticed them or any other person in the hallway. It was like his brain knew there were people nearby, yet it didn’t focus on any of them because they weren’t the people he needed. The only two that mattered were already by his side. Everything and everyone else was nonessential in the face of the reality of this moment.
As Landon stood there, listening to the doctor explain that Sarah would survive the injuries she’d sustained at the hands of Gavin, he allowed the strength and love of his spouses to wash over him. Merely by being there, they held him up emotionally, refusing to let him fall from the freely flowing feelings he felt—the searing pain, the agonizing grief, the enraged fury, and the overwhelming relief. They kept him in control. They kept his heart alive and beating. And they kept his brain from exploding when Dr. Maddock gave a detailed description of how he’d been able to stop the massive internal bleeding during Sarah’s surgery by removing her ruptured spleen.
By the time the surgeon walked away, Landon had stopped listening. He couldn’t bear to hear any more about the emotional scarring that would inevitably torment his sister for years to come. Sarah was alive, and that’s what mattered. That’s what he had to focus on. They would deal with the rest—all of them together. The three of them plus Deke and Adam would find a way to take care of Sarah’s every need, and they would do whatever they had to do. They just had to take it one day at a time.
As soon as they were alone again, Katie-Anne and Shane came at Landon. They broke apart and crushed him between their bodies. The two of them held on to him, their embrace solid and loving. They touched him from head to toe, and their hands were all over him. Only, it wasn’t sexual. This was soothing comfort at its finest.
Katie-Anne lifted her head until Landon could see her pretty face. His heart clenched as he spotted the tears streaking down her cheeks. “My love, she’ll survive this,” she choked out, her voice sounding deeper and huskier than normal. “Honestly, it’s horrible. I know that, and I won’t lie about it, but she’s strong. And she has us. The support we can give her, along with all of our family and friends, will get her through the healing process.”
“And we have each other to lean on,” Shane added gruffly, his dark eyes locking on Landon’s and making him feel as though he was staring straight into his soul. “We’re not alone. We have to take this journey, and we have to do it together. We have to face it head-on and fight like hell. It’s not going to be easy, but we can do it. I know we can.”
Tightening his arms around his spouses, Landon replied simply, “I do, too.” And he did. They were a team, and they were in this together—forever.
Chapter 34
A week later, Katie-Anne traipsed up the tall stairwell to the apartment she was sharing with her husbands at The Edge. Climbing each step with heavy feet, she tried to slow her racing heart. The past four hours with Sarah had been hellacious. Shit, the past seven days had been fucking hellacious.
Since Sarah’s attack, Katie-Anne had practically lived at Serenity General. She’d spent every waking hour with her sister-in-law. She’d watched over her. She’d taken care of her. And it was breaking her fucking heart.
Her sister-in-law was a tattered, bleeding mess on the inside, and she was helpless to do much for her. Each day was harder than the last—for not only her and Sarah but also for their five men. But, if Katie-Anne was honest with herself, today had probably been the hardest day to date.
Katie-Anne had gotten up early to go to the hospital to pick up Sarah to drive her here. With her nerves at an all-time high, she’d pulled over on the side of the road—more than once—to calm her erratically beating heart and shaking hands. From the time she’d left their apartment to the time she’d pulled up out front of the hospital, she’d been bordering on a total panic.
It was probably because she’d known that Sarah wouldn’t be easily persuaded to come to Kinky. Sarah had believed that they would take care of her in Serenity once she got out of the hospital. More specifically, she thought they would stay in her apartment. But that wasn’t what was best for her. Nor was it the safest thing for her.
After the police discovered a menacing note signed in Sarah’s blood at the scene of the crime, they’d known that Gavin was still a threat. So Katie-Anne had proposed that they bring her here.
It had been hard to talk Landon into it, but he wanted what was best for his sister, and Katie-Anne had proven that bringing her to Kinky was just that. She’d explained that between the nurse, psychologist, and security team on staff, they had her emotional and physical well-being covered. Also, the privacy they offered Sarah was unparalleled. With Sarah drawing into a shell because of her extreme embarrassment, she needed space to get a grip on what she was experiencing. And The Edge gave her that level of privacy.
Of course, Sarah didn’t see it like that, so picking her up had been quite the event. They’d all thought it would be best to leave her in the dark until the last minute. That way she wouldn’t come up with an escape plan beforehand. However, because of their secret keeping, Sarah had been blindsided with the news, and she had not been happy with Katie-Anne or anyone else. And that was an understatement.
Not that Katie-Anne blamed her. She wouldn’t have wanted to stay at The Edge if she’d been in Sarah’s shoes. And she would have been pissed off if everyone had tricked her, too. Yeah, well, we don’t always get what we want.
It had taken a bit of persuasion and a lot of arguing to convince Sarah, but Katie-Anne had done it, and Sarah had come along. It probably helped that it was just her and Sarah at the hospital and then in the car. Sarah had put up less of a fight. Thank God.
Katie-Anne realized that she sounded bitchy, but she was in a foul mood. She hadn’t exactly been keen on being the one to drive Sarah. Their tiff at the hospital had only exacerbated her anxiety. But she had promised Deke that she would drive Sarah. So she had been bound and determined to keep her word.
Earlier that week, her brother-in-law had personally asked her to drive Sarah to Kinky—alone. Well, we were as alone as could be with two cars filled with dominant men and guns around us. Katie-Anne had quickly found it disconcerting to have them all along for the ride, but she’d felt safer in a strange way. And so had Sarah, which was the entire point of driving with just the two of them in Sarah’s car.
Deke had thought that Sarah would be most comfortable without a group of men crowding her in a confined space. Besides, he’d figured that she would feel safer with her car at the club anyway. Not that they would just hand over her keys, but it was a kind gesture nonetheless.
So Katie-Anne had driven her and Sarah all the way to Kinky—sixty-nine miles to be exact. The excruciatingly stressful ride had been never ending, and the tension had nearly suffocated Katie-Anne. But som
ehow she’d managed to do it. And Sarah had, too.
Once they’d arrived at The Edge, Katie-Anne had ushered Sarah to her room and straight into bed. While unpacking for her sister-in-law, Katie-Anne had attempted to be normal. She’d talked about anything her mind could think of—television, movies, and music. She’d gossiped about all of the people in Serenity, Kinky, and Luscious. She’d told her about how she’d sent Leila a special thank-you note and a basket of candy to rub in the fact that her plan had backfired. Hell, she’d even discussed a book she’d read and a painting she’d done. But nothing really worked. Sarah answered only when spoken to, and the answers were always short and succinct.
And it had frustrated Katie-Anne. It had angered her. And, worst of all, it had hurt her.
I need my men to hold me. Speeding up, Katie-Anne raced up the remaining steps and down the long hallway. Like she’d conjured them up, her husbands stood in the doorway, waiting for her.
“Bad?” Shane asked, his question bringing her to a grinding halt.
Remembering what Sarah had been like, pain sliced through Katie-Anne’s heart, and she didn’t want to speak. She didn’t want to think. Swallowing several times, Katie-Anne nodded her head. “Bad.”
With a sigh, Landon asked, “Are you okay?”
Katie-Anne shook her head sadly. “No.”
“Want to talk about it?” Shane asked.
Again, Katie-Anne shook her head. “Just hold me,” she choked out.
Both of her men rushed forward, taking her into their big arms. They enveloped her in a loving embrace that melted her heart, and tears flooded her eyes, blinding her vision, then poured down her face.
Landon tipped her chin up and wiped each teardrop that slid down her face. “She’ll be okay.”
Katie-Anne almost felt bad that she was the basket case when Landon had to be hurting, too, but she couldn’t help the heartbreak she felt. And Landon wouldn’t want her to deny what she was going through. He and Shane were the first people she talked to about what she felt or what she thought. They wouldn’t want her to deny that, no matter what.