“This isn’t my fault. Those men, the Fiorres, run this city. It’s how things work. Perhaps if I spoke to Admere over the phone, he will give me more time to figure something out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out. He wants you with him. He’s tired of waiting. Annoyed at other men wanting what is his.”
“But I’m not his,” she said, voice cracking.
“You will be. Now move it. We’re running out of time and the private airport is out of the city. Let’s go,” he ordered.
They grabbed her bags and were headed downstairs to the waiting vehicle when she spotted her brother.
“Donata!” he called out, running.
“Kyle!” she screamed and went to run, only for one of the guards to grab her by her hair. She struck him, and he struck her back, hitting her in the mouth and on her cheek, which was already severely bruised. She hunched over and heard the gunshot. She turned and saw her brother go down as the men shoved her into the waiting vehicle. “You shot him? Why? Why?” she screamed.
“Get moving quickly,” Lamad commanded, and they sped off, leaving her brother on the ground dying.
“Oh God, no. No!” she cried.
Why had he come there? Why had Lamad’s men shot him? She was hysterical and then she was angry.
“I hate you. I won’t be taken out of here. I won’t,” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
They were heading up north to some private airport or something. There was no one on the roads. She wondered if she could somehow get out of this car and run. Would she be able to get lost in the wooded area? Then what? She was a city girl, born and raised. She knew only city life, not woods and the outdoors. She was terrified, but more so of what was to come when Lamad got her to Saudi Arabia and Admere. She reached for the handle, and when she finally had enough courage to pull back on the handle, it didn’t budge.
Lamad grabbed her wrist. She cried out and fell onto her side. He pulled her up. “Do not attempt to escape. Your destiny has begun.”
She tried to yank her wrist free, and when he wouldn’t release it, she was so angry and scared she shoved at his chest and then his face. The strike to her cheek came from one of the guards, causing her to slam back into her seat. She covered her cheek with her hand as Lamad released her wrist.
“No more trouble. Admere likes to make the bruises on his women, not his security team.” His words solidified the danger and abuse that would surely come to her at the hands of Admere. She looked out the side window and saw nothing but darkness. Where the hell was the airport? How long before she would be taken away? Suddenly she heard the cracking of glass, a yell, and the car jerked sharply to the right and then bounced and crashed, sending her sliding across the leather seat. Her head hit the window, stunning her then sending her onto the floor. She was dazed and felt like she lost focus for a moment. Lamad grabbed for her as she slapped his shoulder. He pulled her up as the door opened and the other two men got out. It was complete chaos. Gunshots went off, the two men went down, and she screamed as Lamad jumped back in and reached for her, his shoulder bleeding. He pulled the knife as men in black came into view.
“Let go of me,” she screamed.
“You’ll die for this. He will hunt you down and kill you. She is his woman. You’re as good as dead,” Lamad said, holding the knife to her chest. Her top ripped open, and her breast flowed from her bra.
The man with the black mask had his gun drawn on Lamad, plus another beside him, and she was pretty sure more were behind her and the other open door. Her head throbbed, her vision blurred, and she fell back against the carpeting on the floor. Smoke began to fill the back seat from the front.
“Release her,” a strong voice stated. She shook with fear, but she wasn’t going anywhere with any of these men or Lamad.
“No. Let me go and you live,” Lamad stated.
Someone behind him chuckled.
“Do it.”
She heard the familiar voice, and her eyes widened as Lamad lifted the knife as if he were going to kill her. She threw herself to the right and onto the seat of the limo as two shots rang out and something cut into her upper thigh. She screamed.
“Move it now, and light the fucking shit on fire.”
“Come on, baby, move it.”
She was shocked. Harley? It was Harley behind the mask.
She couldn’t see in the dark. She felt so strange and her head throbbed something terrible. Warmth dripped from her head to her cheek as she lay against the shoulder, something hard and pointy against her skin. He carried her from the vehicle. She saw multiple men, and suddenly the car exploded. She hugged Harley tight. He squeezed her to him.
“Are you okay?” she heard Covan ask. She recognized the voices. She saw the four men. The others had to be Jack and Turbo.
She took in the sight of all the men in black. All had come to rescue her. She didn’t know what was going on. She swayed in his arms. There were four, and then there were seven men around her.
“Head injury. I’ll look it over in the back,” someone said, a voice she didn’t recognize.
They got her into the SUV, and more climbed in the vehicle, which took off in a hurry. They removed their masks. She was still shaking, and her thigh burned and felt wet. They all just stared at her, including three men she didn’t recognize at all.
Harley cupped her cheeks as Jack began to push up her top only for it to fall back down. Tears fell.
“It’s okay, baby, we got you. We’re taking care of everything,” he told her, and she stared at him.
“My head,” she whispered and some guy—a very good-looking, fierce man with dark hair, gruff along his cheeks, and dark eyes—knelt on the floor and began to move her hair.
“It’s a nice lump. We’ll keep an eye on her for a concussion.”
“Can she fly like this?” Jack asked.
“Fly?” she whispered.
Harley caressed her cheek, clenched his teeth, and stroked right under the bruising on her face.
“You’re under our protection. We aren’t going back to the city. Not until this all gets resolved.”
“I have to. They shot Kyle.”
“We know. He’s fine and on his way into hiding,” Covan said to her.
“Into hiding?” She closed her eyes, held her head, and willed the dizziness to go away.
“Same as you. We’re in charge now, Donata. You accept that without lip or resistance, and together our team, our family, will keep you alive,” Turbo stated firmly and all pissed off like he hated her. He more than likely did. They all should.
“I don’t want you involved with this.”
“Too late,” Harley said in a fierce tone.
“Close your eyes and rest. It’s going to get worse before I can get supplies to take care of you,” the guy with the brown hair and dark eyes told her. He touched her chin and stroked her lower lip. His eyes gazed over her breasts, and she felt a tingling sensation and then uncertainty.
“Meet Brady, our cousin,” Harley introduced him.
She clung to Harley and Brady gave her a wink.
“It will be my pleasure to watch over you, doll. No need for worrying,” he said in a kind of Southern accent.
She moved her leg and cringed. He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Where else you hurting?”
She shook her head and then looked away from him and at Covan. Covan touched her hand.
“It’s okay. He has a lot of medical experience. He’s our cousin and we trust him. You will need to, as well,” Covan told her.
“I’ll be fine. Just sore,” she lied and then closed her eyes and remained against Harley. She didn’t want to talk. Her head throbbed, and she felt like she was going in and out of consciousness. She woke up a few times, felt her body being lifted, then heard Harley cursing, and finally she was on some sort of long mattress on her side.
“The plane is ready for takeoff. Can you handle this, or do we need to contact Victor and wait?” Harle
y asked. She felt the large, warm hand on her bare skin and then bandages being pressed against the cut. She looked up at who touched her. Brady knelt on the bed, one palm with a bandage against her upper thigh and the other at her hip. She was fully exposed to them from the waist down, and the cool breeze against her bare ass made her cheeks heat and her react. She was only wearing thong panties. As she lifted her arm to try and reach back, Brady stopped her with his tone alone.
“Don’t move. You should have told me about this cut back in the SUV,” he reprimanded. She wondered who the hell he thought she was and was about to say something, but Harley did instead.
“Don’t worry, we’ll just add it to the number of spankings coming her way.”
Her lips parted, and she was shocked that he said such a thing.
“I don’t think so, Harley.”
“I want in on that action,” Brady said and leaned back to look at her ass. She heard the whistle and two other men came in. Their other cousins—what were their names?
“Will she be okay?” one of them asked and stepped closer, looking at her hip, but his eyes gazed over her bare ass and then her breasts. Her eyes felt so heavy, and as she tried rolling to her back, Brady stopped her. The feel of his hands holding her in place and that firm, serious look in his eyes that matched Harley’s had her relinquishing control over to him. She closed her eyes and exhaled. She was aroused by this, and about their cousins looking at her body, helping to rescue her, and staring at her with hunger in their eyes. She had finally lost her mind. She was such an idiot. The best thing to do would be to pretend to be sleeping.
“It should be okay, Harley. Trust me to take care of her.” She thought it sounded like Brady. She blinked her eyes open.
“Are we ready for takeoff?” someone asked. She looked toward the doorway.
“No. Not Saudi Arabia. Not to Admere,” she said, and tried sitting up. Multiple hands held her down.
“Easy, baby. No one is taking you to Saudi Arabia or anywhere near that asshole Admere. Remember what I said. You must obey my orders and trust me, Turbo, Covan, Jack, Brady, Slogan, and Bailey to take care of you. It’s going to be okay,” Harley said to her and caressed the hair from her cheek. She felt the pressure being applied to the stab wound, and then Jack caressed her hand.
“Close your eyes and rest,” Jack said to her.
Tears filled her eyes. She started to shake. “I’m scared. I didn’t ask for any of this. He’s going to kill me, and if you help me, then he’ll kill all of you, too.”
“Shhh, baby. No one is going to kill us. Rest. When we get to Texas and you settle in, we’ll go over our plan of action,” Brady told her.
“Texas?” she whispered, eyes closing as she felt ready to pass out.
“Salvation. You’re going to love it,” Brady whispered, caressing her thigh as Harley stroked her hair.
Chapter Seven
“The pictures didn’t do her justice. She’s fucking gorgeous,” Slogan said to Turbo and Covan. They were sitting in their kitchen on the ranch.
Bailey took a slug of beer. “Damn straight she is. What a fucking body on her. That Saudi asshole is going to be a major fucking problem.”
Brady, their other cousin, walked into the room.
“How is she?” Covan asked.
“Stubborn as anything.” He shook his head and then reached into the refrigerator for a beer.
“Not a surprise there. Donata speaks her mind most of the time. Is pretty damn tough, too,” Turbo stated and looked toward the hallway.
“Harley and Jack are trying to get her to remain laying down,” Bailey said, and then all eyes turned toward the hallway as Jack, Harley, and Donata came walking into the large country kitchen. Turbo was biting the inside of his cheek. He couldn’t get over the discolored cheek, the knife wound on her upper thigh, or the additional bruising and welts Brady had discovered while lifting her dress to make sure there were no other wounds. It led to more questions and things they all wanted answers to.
“Hey, doll, good to see you up out of bed. Want something to eat or drink?” Bailey asked her. He was a big guy, very tan, and he wore a Stetson more often than not.
“Uhm, I could use some ibuprofen or something and water,” she said, voice sounding rough and tired.
“Some food too or you’ll feel more sick than you felt earlier,” Harley stated firmly. She worried her bottom lip and looked up at him standing behind her.
“I’m fine. I just need to get rid of this headache and the soreness.”
“You should be resting,” Jack snapped at her, too, and Turbo wondered why.
“I can’t lay in bed for hours and days. It will make me more sore. It’s better to move around. It helps, believe me.” She accepted the water bottle and ibuprofen from Brady. She looked at his cousin shyly, and Brady winked at her then reached out and stroked her hair from her cheek.
“Where did you get the welts and bruises along your ribs and hips?” Turbo asked her with his arms crossed in front of his chest. She looked at him and then back at Brady, who stared at her.
“No more fucking lies. The truth,” Harley demanded. She looked at him and pushed some strands of her long brown hair behind her ear, showing off more of the bruised cheek.
“I got them in Pakistan while I was being held prisoner.”
“What?” Slogan asked and uncrossed his arms.
“I think you need to sit down and start talking from the beginning, honey. So we know as much as possible in order to protect you,” Bailey said to her.
He reached out and offered her his hand, but she didn’t take it. Instead, she walked toward the table and chairs and took a seat. She placed the water bottle down and put her hands on her lap. She stared at her fingers.
“From the beginning,” Turbo said to her. She looked at him, and his heart hammered inside of his chest.
She lowered her head and played with her hands.
“How did you know that I was being forced to come to that meeting with you guys, Mateus, and Major?” she asked Turbo.
“We put things together that weren’t adding up,” he replied.
She squinted at him. “Like what?”
“Like your behavior. The sudden trip, and disappearing for weeks. The bruises,” he told her.
“The way you avoided us and suddenly had a thing for Coleman,” Harley stated.
“He works for Admere,” she whispered.
“He works for anyone willing to pay the most money. There’s no loyalty with him. We’ve crossed paths before,” Harley said to her.
“He was going to help me.”
“If he promised you anything, they were lies. He wanted you in his bed. We saw him kiss you, restrain you at the fundraiser. He had power over you,” Jack stated.
She looked down at her hands, and when she looked up, tears spilled from her eyes. She wiped them away quickly. “I was forced to do things I didn’t want to do. I had no choice in any of it, or I wouldn’t have made it out of Pakistan alive. I lost faith in Kyle and Ellis. Ellis is to blame for all of this.”
“Kyle told us some of it. About the control over the company and being forced to smuggle in drugs in the protein powder. That Ellis made a deal with Admere, and when some other guy came sniffing to make some money, Admere got pissed,” Covan told her.
“Kyle contacted you?” she asked, voice cracking, and she looked shocked. Her eyes welled up with tears.
“He said he didn’t know what else to do. That you were being pulled in deeper and that Admere was going to make you come to Saudi Arabia and be his lover,” Jack stated.
She looked around the room at them, covering her mouth with her hand, and Turbo saw Harley clench his teeth. Turbo did the same.
“I can’t believe he went to you for help when I told him not to.” She ran her fingers through her hair. Then she widened her eyes and stood up.
“Bella and the others. He’ll go after them like he threatened he would. He knew where I was at all times. K
new I was talking to Coleman and that Coleman kissed me.”
“Sit down. We have everyone covered. All the men know to watch over their women and to look out for any signs of trouble,” Jack told her.
She looked at Jack, eyeing him over and then the others.
“They’ll come for you,” she said to them.
“They have no idea who we are or who could pull off such a mission as the seven of us did. Thanks to our cousins, Bailey, Brady, and Slogan—American soldiers just like the rest of us were,” Turbo told her. She looked at his cousin, Bailey, who winked and looked at her with interest. They were crazy bastards just like Turbo and the others. They were immediately attracted to Donata, and it shocked all of them.
With her hand on the table, she stared at Slogan, Bailey, and Brady. “Where is Kyle now?” she asked.
Bailey tapped her chair, indicating for her to sit. She looked at him. Bailey was big and muscular like Turbo, but with darker hair and tanner skin from living in Texas.
“He’s at a safe location and it’s better you don’t know where. He’ll fill in our friends with information he has, and then we’ll take what you give us and put it all together and make a plan of action,” Brady said to her.
“Kyle put all of you in danger,” she whispered and covered her eyes with her hand.
“He contacted us because he knows how we feel about you and how you feel about us,” Harley said to her. She shook her head.
“No, Harley, that night at the club was a mistake.”
“Bullshit it was a mistake,” he replied.
“Nothing can happen between us,” she stated.
“Yes it can and it will,” Harley snapped at her.
She shook her head. “No, it can’t.”
“Why the hell not?” Turbo asked her. She looked at him, at all of them, and then she swallowed hard. “Because I’m going to die. Admere will not stop until he gets what he wants, and that includes me in his bed in Saudi Arabia.”
They all were quiet.
“I won’t be his whore. I won’t stand for his strikes, and his abuse and touch. I won’t ever let him touch me ever again because I’ll take my own life first, so he can’t take mine,” she said.
Made Men 10: And Then...There Were Seven (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) Page 10