“Where did you hear about the feds looking at Scaggs? He keeps all his deals on the down low.”
“That’s what we all thought, but then Deavan here has been doing a little undercover work himself. Seems someone tipped off the feds on a few deals.”
Jeremy glanced at Deavan, who held a firm, non-emotional expression. Jeremy didn’t like how his gut clenched.
“And you’ve known about this how long and didn’t tell me?” Jeremy asked and gave Mateo the meanest look. Meanwhile he couldn’t help but to think they were on to him. He needed to keep his cool. He had been very careful. He knew he had to be.
Mateo looked at him and then at Deavan as Deavan sat down on the bed and caressed Sophia’s long brown hair.
“It’s not your worry. This is Deavan’s job right now.”
“So what would you like me to tell Scaggs? No deal?”
“I’ll take care of it,” he said, and then Sophia began to awaken.
She moaned and blinked her eyes open.
Deavan caressed her cheek.
“Hey, beautiful,” he whispered, and Mateo didn’t bat an eye.
Sophia tightened up, cringed from the pain, and turned slightly, trying to cover her breasts. Her gaze darted from Deavan to Jeremy then to Mateo. That was when Jeremy saw the bruising along her thighs. She crunched up into the fetal position, and Jeremy feared that Mateo and Deavan had raped her last night. He had disappeared to meet up with Scaggs and negotiate a possible deal. Then he’d made contact with his fellow agents and they planned a raid around this deal between Mateo and Scaggs. But his gut was warning him that Mateo and Deavan were on to him and knew he was working undercover.
“You should have stuck around last night, Jeremy. Sophia is really special, and very sweet.” Deavan leaned down and licked along her shoulder. She shuddered and clenched her eyes closed.
“Someone had to meet with Scaggs. Besides, I like my women conscious when I fuck them,” Jeremy stated firmly, getting an angry look by Deavan.
“She belongs to the three of us now, but she needs to learn her place. She needs rules,” Mateo said and gave her ass a smack before he climbed out of the bed and stepped into his jeans.
“Breaking her in will be a lot of fun,” Deavan said and glided his hand along her ass and thighs then between her legs from behind.
“No.” She moaned in a very hoarse voice as she tried moving away from him.
Deavan gripped her thigh, and she gasped in pain.
“I thought we went over things last night, Sophia,” Mateo said. “You need to adjust to the fact that you belong to me, Deavan, and Jeremy now. This body is ours to do with as we please when we please. Now rest so you’re more than ready for the three of us tonight.” Mateo looked at Jeremy.
Jeremy felt sick, angry, and wanted to kill both men right now. But he couldn’t. He had to be patient, and it sounded as if Deavan hadn’t forced sex on her last night because of her injuries and the drugs Mateo had given her. But he had obviously touched her, and that really disgusted Jeremy. He didn’t think he could stand by and see the young woman get abused any longer. Something had to give. Setting up this deal with Scaggs and Mateo could break the case wide open and end this whole operation.
“I’ll call Scaggs and set something up to meet,” Mateo told him.
“You’re going to deal with him? Give him a percentage of operations?” Jeremy asked, and Mateo stared at him.
“I’ll let you know. But you’ll be busy taking care of something else that’s very important to us.”
“What’s that?” Jeremy asked.
Mateo glanced at Sophia, who was crying, as Deavan continued to touch her against her will. He was a big man too, way over six feet tall, and he was huge. On top of Sophia, he covered her body entirely.
Jeremy swallowed hard and bit the inside of his cheek. He couldn’t let his emotions and disgust show. It would get him and Sophia killed.
“Our special young lady. Sophia. Watch over her. She’s in a fragile state, and I can’t focus on her right now when I’ve got all these deals going on and Scaggs to meet.”
Jeremy thought about that a moment and then decided this was a better way to stay clear and take Mateo down. He wouldn’t be near the location when the feds raided the meeting. He could get Sophia out of here so she was safe, and his cover wouldn’t get blown too soon.
“Fine, but just know, for the record, that I would rather be at the meeting making sure things go smoothly. After all, I have been doing this for quite some time, and babysitting a woman isn’t my forte.”
Mateo reached out and clutched Jeremy’s shoulder, giving him a smug-looking grin.
“Just think, if she acts up, you can begin fucking her into submission. I won’t mind at all. You and Deavan are my brothers now.” He ran his hand along Jeremy’s forearm where the M branded in his skin was.
Jeremy clenched his teeth but held Mateo’s gaze. He’d never wanted to kill someone so badly in his life.
“Plus Deavan has been getting her body used to his touch since last night. So when he takes her, she’ll be more than ready. You do the same.” He winked, and Jeremy nodded, but inside, he wanted to rip Mateo’s heart out and feed it to him.
Justice would prevail. Sophia would be saved.
* * * *
Sophia was in a panic as she got out of the shower and got dressed. Jeremy was here watching her, and Mateo and Deavan would be back any time. The son of a bitch had branded her with his mark, and it was so painful. It burned, and she was stuck with it forever. She felt so violated and disgusted. Plus, when she’d awoken and felt and saw Deavan touching her, she wanted to vomit. Had they raped her? She didn’t even know. They’d drugged her, and her thighs and groin had bruises on them, and she couldn’t remember how they got there. Then, while in pain and still under the influence of drugs, Deavan had touched her intimately, and there had been nothing she could do about it. She wanted to die. She was so scared, and now Jeremy was here. He was watching her and kept looking at his cell phone and asking if she felt okay and stronger. She was confused.
The bathroom door swung open, and she screamed.
“We need to go. Now,” he yelled at her, and she didn’t want to go but felt so defeated. She was stuck here with three men who would rape her, abuse her, and kill her if she disobeyed them. She started to cry, and Jeremy cupped her cheek.
“I know you’re scared, honey. I need you to listen to me and find it in your gut to trust me right now. Please, Sophia. You need to trust me, and I promise I’ll save you and this will all be behind you.”
She didn’t know what to say or to do. Her instincts were shit, that was obvious, but there was something different in Jeremy’s eyes. As soon as he saw her expression change with her thought, he gave her a nod.
“You’re so fucking strong. You’ll get through this and have a real life. Have a man who will love you. You’ll see. Now follow me.”
He took her hand and pulled her along. They exited the door in the large apartment He looked around and then brought her down the hallway to an elevator. It wasn’t a main one. It was a service elevator.
“What are we doing?”
He didn’t answer, and she was shaking so hard she wondered if he was taking her somewhere so he could have her himself. She trusted no one. She was in a panic. Her hands were shaking as she hugged herself and tried to figure out what to do. She couldn’t get away. Even if she escaped from Jeremy, she couldn’t trust the police. Mateo owned people in that profession and others. She was screwed.
They entered the elevator, and he looked at his phone.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he exclaimed.
The doors opened, and they were in the parking garage.
He grabbed her shoulders. Sirens blared in the distance.
“Jeremy?”
He shook his head
A card skidded near them, a black SUV with black-tinted windows.
“Trust me,” he said to her.
The do
or opened, someone pulled her inside, and they took off in the SUV, her inside with five men.
“Miss Brown, we’re special agents with the federal government. You’re safe now. We’ll explain everything once you’re at a secure location,” one of the men told her, and she couldn’t believe what was happening. She wondered whether it was real or not. What had Jeremy done? Why? What about Mateo and Deavan?
She didn’t know until four hours later when Jeremy arrived at the hotel looking like a dead man walking.
Chapter 1
Present Day
“Holy shit! It is so great to have you back,” Hal “Hollywood” McCurran said to his friend Cerdic.
“It’s great to be back. Six years was way too long,” Cerdic replied then took a slug of beer from his bottle of Bud.
“Your brother Andreas seems a little happier. I think I caught a smirk before from him,” Nate Hawkins added to the conversation, and then he took another slug of beer.
“Yeah, well, it’s nice to be back to civilian life and not dodging bullets in the field,” Cerdic replied.
“Treasure Town may not have people taking potshots at first responders in uniform, but you and Gideon will get your fair share of action on the water doing marine patrol,” Hal told him, and then Gideon walked over.
“Damn, the Station has not changed one bit,” Gideon said to them.
“Yeah, well, Dad and Jerome have a way of running the business,” Billy McCurran added.
“Yeah, they sure do have some good-looking bartenders. Especially that sweet-looking brunette right there,” Gideon told Bear.
“Watch it, Gideon, that’s our woman,” Hal said very seriously, and Gideon and Cerdic chuckled.
“We heard. Congratulations, guys. I can’t believe that Jake finally settled down. Where is your local sheriff?” Gideon asked.
“He’s around. Probably still shooting the shit with Lew.”
“How is Lew holding up after that gunshot wound? We had no idea he was even injured,” Hal said.
“He didn’t want anyone to know. That’s Lew. As commander for years, he runs things and always wants to be in charge. Thought he was damn invincible until that sniper got him in the chest,” Gideon stated.
“But since he can’t work active duty for the police department or marine patrol like me, Andreas, and Gideon can, he’s planning on running the maintenance on those two townhouses and the beach house we invested in. He’ll be the landlord, the service guy that gets called for any problems by the tenants,” Cerdic told them.
“Tenants better not complain much, or he’ll kick them out. That man still short in the patience department or what?” Bear asked.
“Still short, but if you guys know anyone looking, send them our way. Both places are still available for rent right now,” Cerdic told them.
“Will do,” Hal said, and they continued talking.
Cerdic looked around the place and truly felt at home in Treasure Town. Nights were still bad for the four members of his team. All Navy SEALs, all members of this community where they’d grown up as kids and best friends for life. They’d been inseparable from the start, and being in combat together, working secret missions, and sharing everything was perfect. He watched his old friends greet their women, who joined them. Each of them seemed to have landed pretty good-looking women, and they all seemed happy. It made him think that having such a committed relationship could work for him and the team, too. But not now. Not with them all having to adjust to working regular jobs, reestablishing their capabilities as marine patrol personnel, and following the rules of the land and not the rules of soldiers trying to survive with enemies everywhere.
Yep, they were back in town, back home where they belonged and in one piece somehow. He looked for Lew and spotted him still talking to Jake McCurran, along with a few other friends. His expression was hard, and he barely smiled. It would take some time. He’d been a prisoner behind enemy lines for over a week’s time before they’d found him and rescued him. Getting shot and nearly dying had taken its toll on Lew. He needed to feel safe, secure, and like his team had his back instead of him being the one to always have theirs. Cerdic was just fine with that. He could have lost him, and that just wasn’t an option any of them could have lived with.
“To Treasure Town and to the marine patrol,” Andreas said as he raised his beer bottle.
They all raised theirs, too, and cheered before taking slugs from their bottles and resuming their talk about the old days. Everything was going to be just fine. Cerdic was certain they’d made the right decision in coming here. No regrets, just opportunity for further happiness.
* * * *
Nate Hawkins and his brother Rye were working on putting a new deck on someone’s beach home near the channel. They had a couple of more days of work left, and they wanted to finish things up. They were ending their day and packing up the truck with supplies and tools when his cell phone rang.
“Is it Frankie?” Rye asked, knowing that she had gone to the beach with some friends today. Neither Nate or Rye, or their brothers Turbo and Mike, liked her out of their sight. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust her. It was how protective they were over her as their woman, especially after all they had gone through recently.
“No, I don’t recognize the number.” Nate answered it anyway.
“Nate, Jay Black.”
“Jay? Holy shit, how are you buddy?” Nate asked, shocked to hear from his old friend from the agency. They’d worked in one of the special units for years, and then Jay had been transferred. They’d lost touch.
“In a bit of a jam. I need a favor, bud. I know you’re retired and all, but it’s personal. I need a safe house for a while.”
“Shit. For you?”
“No. A woman.”
“Fuck.”
“Tell me about it. It’s serious. I’ve transferred her to several places. Can’t get into the details, but a raid backfired. The arrests fell through, and my cover has been blown. A two-fucking-year operation shot to shit, and I can’t resolve this while keeping her under my wing.” Jay finally exhaled.
“Sounds pretty serious. Will she need full security, armed and on lookout?” Nate asked, and Rye widened his eyes.
“This guy who is after her could be anywhere. He and his buddy dropped off the face of the planet. My hope is that he’s long gone, out of the country, but I doubt it. I’ll give you more info in a day or so. What you need to know is that this woman has been through hell. She’s only twenty-three, and I need to know that she’ll be safe until the agency can re-gather their evidence, collect some more, and locate these assholes who want her. The agency had a rat in it, and until I can figure out who that is, she and I are as good as dead.”
“What are you going to do? Where will you stay?”
“I think it’s best we separate. This asshole and his buddies believe Sophie is theirs. The main guy was obsessed with her, and he did things, Nate.”
Jeremy got quiet, and Nate knew it was bad. He didn’t want to think about all the possibilities from his own experiences with criminals and working cases for the government. He thought about his woman and swallowed hard.
“It’s a long story. I can explain more later on. Do you think you have a location and some people who can keep an eye on her for me until I figure this shit out? I know that town you live in is super special. She needs good people around her. People she can trust or, at least, learn to.”
“Sure thing. You know I’ll do my best to watch over her and keep her safe. When should I expect the package to arrive?”
“Thanks, buddy. By noon time tomorrow. I’ll contact you with more info. I owe you big time.”
Jeremy disconnected the call, and Nate looked out toward the development and the beach. He was already forming a plan in his head and coming up with possible locations.
“What’s going on? Who is in trouble, and what do we need to do?” Rye asked, and Nate felt the love for his brother fill his heart.
“That was a buddy of mine from the agency.”
Rye crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave him a serious expression.
“And?”
“And he needs help in providing a safe location for a young woman in trouble. I don’t know all the details, but it sounds pretty bad. Especially since my buddy says the men that are after her are after him. A raid went wrong, and his cover got blown. We need to provide a safe location for this woman.”
“Shit. Did he indicate how protected she has to be? I mean we have Francesca and our brothers to think about too, never mind friends and the community here.”
“I know that. Believe me I do. Jeremy wouldn’t ask me to provide a safe house for this woman if he thought the men looking for her would figure it out and come here. It sounds temporary. I’ll get more information from him later. Right now I need to figure out where I can place her and who could watch over her. I wouldn’t want to just put her in a rental or something with no one around. I need to think about this a bit and maybe call Jake.”
“Jake would have a good idea where to bring this woman. Besides, as sheriff, he should be aware of this situation.”
“Yeah, but no one else, Rye.”
“I understand. I’m here if you need some help.”
Nate nodded, and they continued to put the rest of their supplies into the truck.
His mind was heavy on thinking of a place they could put this woman, and then his cell phone rang again.
He looked at Rye, who seemed on edge. He couldn’t blame him. His brother knew how serious Nate’s job had been for the government. He didn’t ask questions.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Nate, it’s Lew. I’ve got a freaking ceiling fan in the bathroom of this rental by our house that isn’t working. I can’t rent this place if there’s mold on the walls caused by the fan not working. But I went into the attic, and I can’t figure this shit out. Any way you could help me?”
Nate thought about it a moment, along with the facts that Lew and his brothers were retired Navy SEALs and their rental place was right next door to their own personal house. They also had the two townhouses they were renting, but they were blocks away.
Hearts on Fire 6: Healing Sophia (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 2