Climbing Out

by Lila Rose

  “I wanted to have a chat with you.”

  My eyebrows shot up. She'd shocked the shit outta me enough it was a wonder my eyebrows even stayed on my face.

  “What about?”

  “I think its best we go inside and have a coffee for this conversation.”

  Shit. This sounded bad. If she was willing to come to me, be in my presence and be willing to enter my house, it had to be some bad shit.

  “Fine.” Turning back, I unlocked the door, opened it and entered.

  Only once I was through the threshold, I was grabbed around the neck, flung sideways and held against the wall next to the front door.

  With my hands holding the one hand that was around my neck applying pressure, I watched Vi pull her gun out and around, but in the next second it was knocked out of her hand by another guy, and then he hit her. Once she was on the ground, he was on top of her, holding her hands behind her back.

  The hand around my throat tightened enough to make me cough.

  “Kenny, ease up a little. We can't have her dead,” the tall, thin guy with dirty blond hair said from the floor as he continued to subdue a kicking Violet.

  The hand around my throat eased enough for me to get a big breath in.

  “Who the hell are you? Deanna, do you know them?” Violet asked with a hard tone.

  I looked from the guy with long black hair and dark brown eyes in front of me, and then back to the one on the ground.

  “No,” I choked out.

  Fuck!

  Who in the hell were these guys and what were they doing at my house?

  “Doesn't matter if you know us or not. Someone wants to get to know you, so you're coming with us,” the guy in front of me hissed in my face. Kenny, wasn’t it?

  “Boss said to only grab the blonde,” the one on Vi said.

  “We'll have to take both. Can't have that bitch running off to tell someone.”

  “No,” I uttered. Obviously this was my shit if they only wanted me, so I wasn't bringing anyone along for this fucked up ride. “She won't say anything. She hates me anyway. It'll be no loss to her if you take me. Alone.”

  “Bullshit,” Kenny spat.

  “Take her out the back to the van. I'll bring this one.”

  “Sure, Nathan.”

  Shit, shit, shit.

  I couldn't let this happen.

  Kenny’s hand slid from my throat, down over my breast and gripped my wrist tightly as he pulled me forward, heading to the back of the house.

  “Violet?” I asked. She'd know what to do; she had to, right? This was what she did for a living. Well, not exactly this, but...

  “It'll be all right, Dee,” she called.

  Fuck. That really didn't ease the tension running through my body. It didn't ease the fright running through my veins.

  Goddamn it.

  I started digging my heels into the ground, forcing my weight backwards.

  There was no way I was going without a fight.

  “Bitch, fucking move your arse.”

  “No.” We were passing the kitchen bench where a plate was laying. I picked it up and clobbered him over the head with it.

  He let out a curse, spun and backhanded me across my cheek.

  Damn it all to hell; that had hurt.

  I kicked out his knees, and when he went down I turned to run, only he grabbed me by an ankle and the next second, I was on the ground with his full weight over me.

  “What is going on?” Nathan yelled as he walked into the kitchen with Violet in front of him. He still had her arms pinned behind her.

  She smirked down at me and gave off an eye roll.

  Man, I so wanted to kick the shit outta her. Punch her in the boob. Why in the fuck was she so calm?

  Then it hit me.

  She had a plan.

  She must have one, right?

  “Get her up, dipshit, and contain her.”

  The weight behind me left, and I was pulled off the ground and held like Nathan was holding Violet with my arms behind my back.

  “Violet?” I asked again.

  Kenny spat, “Shut up, slut.” He leaned over my shoulder and whispered in my ear, “You'll get payback for what you just did. I'll make sure the boss will give you to me, and after I fuck you, I'll kill you.”

  Shit.

  Whatever Violet's plan was, it had better be good, because I was sure as shit about to pee myself.

  Griz

  I was just out the garage doors when my phone rang. I grabbed it from my jeans pocket, flipped it open and answered with a barked, “What?”

  “Get the fuck back in the garage,” Talon growled.

  “Brother, I have to go find my woman and make sure she ain't setting traps to kill me in my sleep.”

  “I need you, man. Turn your arse around and get to my woman. I trust no one there but you with her.”

  By the scared fuckin' tone in his voice, I spun and ran back into the garage.

  “What in the fuck is goin' on, Talon?”

  “Kitten's water just broke. I've called an ambo and I'm on my fuckin' way, but I want someone with her, brother.”

  “I'm on it,” I said and hung up. He needed to concentrate on getting here without any other stress to freak him out.

  Rounding a corner, a blood-curling scream tore through the garage. I ran into the room to see a puddle under Wildcat as she bent over a bench, legs apart. She was braced by one hand holding her up, while the other one had Town by the balls, and from the look on his face, he was in a large amount of pain.

  Stoke, Killer and Memphis all stood around her, trying to hide their smirks.

  She took a deep breath in and out, and then said, “If you cocksucking men get a woman pregnant, I swear I will hunt you down and cut off your dicks.”

  “Wildcat?” I asked, easing up behind her.

  “Griz, what the hell are you doing here? Go find Deanna and do her. Or I'll...oh, shit.” She ended with a scream and leaned her head on the bench.

  “Jesus, man. Please, please make her stop,” Town cried as he gripped her wrist, trying to break her hold.

  Fuck. What in the hell was I supposed to do?

  “Wildcat, you wanna let go of the guy’s nads?” I asked gently, and then moved to rub her lower back with my palm.

  “Ah, Griz. Yes. Oh, damn, that feels so good,” she moaned.

  “Why do I feel a hard-on coming on?” Stoke laughed. “You keep moanin' like that, lady, and you'll give us all boners.”

  She turned her head to glare at him.

  “Shut the fuck up, dickhead,” Killer barked.

  “Griz,” Wildcat whimpered. Christ, they were close, the fuckin' contractions were coming fast.

  “Wildcat, let go of his balls and I'll keep rubbin',” I said and put more pressure into the motion of my hand on her back.

  Her hand dropped away, putting it on the bench with her other and Town left in two seconds flat.

  “Shit a brick. Oh...Hell!” she cried.

  “Breathe, woman, breathe that shit out. Do the he-he-ha breathing they teach you,” Stoke said. We all looked at him, even Wildcat. “What?” he asked. “I've seen it in movies.”

  “Idiot,” Killer uttered.

  “Tool,” Memphis chuckled.

  “It's all right, Wildcat. Talon's on his way; he called an ambulance. They'll be here soon.”

  “Good,” she snarled, “they need to be here when I kill Talon for doing this to me.”

  “You need anything, woman?” Killer asked.

  “No!” she snapped. My hand stilled on her back as I listened to hear the sirens and the pipes of a Harley coming up the road.

  “Griz, if you don't start up your hand again, I'll have to hurt you, and then Deanna will be pissed at me.” I quickly started rubbing again and she groaned.

  Heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway; I looked over my shoulder to see Talon with a worried expression come running in, and two EMT men entered seconds after him.

  “Kitten
,” he called.

  “You!” she yelled, stood and turned to face him while holding onto her belly.

  “Shit, he's a dead man,” Stoke muttered.

  The EMT men reached her sides, and one said, “Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you to the hospital.”

  “You fuckin' touch her again and call her sweetheart, I'll kill you.” Talon moved himself in, gave me a chin lift and I moved in on her other side, and with our help, she waddled her way out.

  “Don't go all Neanderthal on me right now, Talon Marcus. Let these nice men do their jobs; you're in enough trouble.”

  “They can do their damn job at the hospital. Until then, I've got you,” he barked.

  “I don’t appreciate that tone right now, Talon.” She looked over her shoulder to the smirking ambo guys. “Do you have another bed for my husband? Because I'm about to beat the shit out of him.” And with that, she slogged her fist into Talon's stomach.

  “Hell, woman. Whad'ya do that for?”

  “You and your stupid sperm! That's why. Now get me to the damn hospital.” She stopped and hunched over while Talon and I held her weight, and she screamed through another contraction.

  “Kitten?” Talon's tone was gentle. Once we started moving again, she looked over at him. “We'll get through this together. I hate that you're dealing with this pain on your own; I wish I could take it away, but I can't. Just think though, kitten. Once this is done, we'll have our beautiful kids with us.”

  Tears shone in her eyes. “We will.” She smiled. “But until then, be prepared for the ultimate bitch to be here.”

  “I'm ready for her, baby.”

  “Good.”

  We helped her up into the back of the ambulance, and just as I was shutting the door, Talon grinned with fuckin' joy. “Thanks, brother.”

  I gave him a chin lift and said, “Anytime.”

  “Griz?”

  “Yes, Wildcat?”

  “I asked Deanna to come to the birthing suite. I need my girl there. Bring her, please.”

  “I'll go get her.”

  As I watched the vehicle leave the car park, my phone rang. “Yo?”

  “Griz?” A deep male voice asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “This is Warden.”

  My brow furrowed. “What's up, man?” Why was this guy calling me?

  “There's been a situation. Violet has set off her safety button in her pocket.”

  “You need help? I can't talk to Talon. He's just left with Wildcat; they're about to be parents.” I smiled.

  “No. I...fuck, man. She was at Deanna's when she set if off.”

  My body stilled, my heart stopped and by fuck, I wanted to scream at the sky.

  “I'll be at the office in five,” I snarled.

  “See you then.”

  Deanna

  Violet and I were thrown—literally—into the back of a black van. We could hear the door being locked behind us. I quickly tried the side door. No luck there, it was also locked tight.

  I turned to see Violet sitting calmly.

  “What the fuck, Vi?” I hissed.

  She pulled something outta her pocket and smiled. “It's a silent alarm that sends its signal back to the office. It's also a tracking device. By now, Warden will be rounding up the troops to come find us.”

  “Fuck,” I whispered.

  My fists went to my eyes and I flopped to my back on the steel floor. Even though it hurt, a sense of solace swept over me, because I knew that Warden would call Griz.

  My man would be hunting for me.

  Damn, that felt good—no great, ...fan-fuckin'-tastic to think of.

  “But just because we know the cavalry are coming doesn't mean you can cause shit. You need to keep your mouth shut and do as they say. That way, neither of us should get hurt.”

  I felt my cheek; I knew it was already bruising from how tender it was. “Okay,” I said and sat up to face her, where she sat at the back of the van.

  Violet smirked. “What? You're not going to fight me on this?”

  “I don’t have the energy. I've got enough shit to worry about.”

  “Like your foster brother?”

  My eyes widened. “Who told you?”

  Violet rolled her eyes. “Come on, Barbie. I knew something was up that night we were all around for dinner at my brother’s house. Even though I didn't get to stay for the information, it doesn't mean I wouldn’t check.”

  I shrugged. “So, you know. I really couldn't care.”

  Violet studied me. “What else was wrong when you got to your house before?”

  “Nothin' you need to know about.”

  “Did someone ring you about Jason Drake?”

  “No, why?”

  “He's out, Deanna. He got out a month early; he was released yesterday.”

  Panic surged through me.

  Shit, just what I needed.

  I scoffed. “Well, aren't you just a bringer of good fuckin' news? Glad you told me now? What, did you want to see the worry, the panic in my eyes, so you can go back and tell Travis and have a good laugh about me? About how it freaks me the hell out to know the man who murdered the only parents I knew did it all because of me? Great, thank you. Fuck!” I punched the side of the van.

  Oh, God. I just wanted to curl into a ball and forget everything. But I fuckin' couldn't.

  “That wasn't why I came to tell you, Deanna. I wanted to warn you.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, okay.”

  She sighed. “Look, I don’t give a shit if you believe me or not; at least I know what my intentions were. Now tell me, do you think these idiots who took us have anything to do with Jason?”

  “Hell, it hadn't even crossed my mind. But honestly, no. He'd want to do his own work. He's never trusted anyone else. This has to do with something else, Vi, and I wouldn't have a fuckin' clue what.”

  “Doesn't matter. We'll figure it out. If not us, the guys will.”

  “Where do you think they’re taking us?” I asked.

  “Not sure, but it's obvious it’s not some place in Ballarat.”

  I crossed my legs and sat straighter as I watched Vi move to lean against the side of the van. “Look, I can’t help but be a bitch, and I'm not sorry for it, but I am sorry for having you dragged into this. Whatever this is.”

  “Aw, Barbie, you do love me.” Vi laughed.

  “Fuck you.”

  “No, thanks. I get enough at home.”

  I cleared my throat. Damn, was I really going to do this? Have a bloody normal conversation with my nemesis?

  “How are things with you and Travis?” Yeah, I guess I was.

  It had to do with the fact that my emotions were fucked. They were going haywire inside of me. I was scared, angry, worried, pissed, annoyed and did I mention scared? Not only about this stuffed-up situation, but the fact that the man who would have killed me many years ago is out walking the streets.

  A free fuckin' man.

  It wasn't right. No man should have been released after the crime he committed, but it showed just how crazy the system was.

  In my eyes, he hadn't paid enough for what he'd done. Which was why, in some ways, I did hope he came for me, so I could enforce a better punishment.

  I may have failed Zara for not following through with what I wanted to do to David—at least he was dead now—but I would with Jason. He was a sick prick who needed to be eliminated.

  “Are we really going to have this conversation?” Vi asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

  Shrugging, I said, “What else is there to do. I'm not gonna sit here and play truth or dare, or braid your fuckin' hair.”

  Violet actually laughed. I fought the smile from my lips.

  “All right, things with Travis are good.”

  I waited for more. “What, that's it? That's all you’re going to say?”

  It was her turn to shrug. “What do you want me to say?”

  “I don't know, but something more at least. How are you, the
PI, handling that your man is the top dog in Melbourne for selling women?”

  She rolled her eyes and then glared. “Nothing is sacred in our little family, is it?”

  I shook my head. “No, not really.”

  “How about you tell me what was up your arse when you got home, and then I'll talk to you about...that.”

  “Deal.” I smiled. I didn't care; my information wasn’t juicy gossip like hers was.

  Griz

  Before I left the compound on my Harley, I called Killer and told him to get Stoke and Blue to meet me at Violet's office. Then I called Nancy, Wildcat’s mum, who had Swan.

  “Hello,” she answered.

  “Nancy, it’s Griz. I need you to watch Swan for a while longer.”

  “Sure, honey, as long as you don't mind me taking her to the hospital. You know my baby girl is gonna have her babies? I'm so excited.”

  “Yeah, I know. Look I gotta go—”

  “Griz, what's wrong?” she interrupted to ask. How in the fuck she knew I didn't have a clue.

  “Nothin' that can't be fixed.”

  “Do you need help?”

  Damn, she'd actually brought a smile to my face when it felt like my heart had dropped into my arse and I was about to shit it out.

  “No, woman, I'll deal with it,” I said and slipped my leg over my Harley.

  “Deal with what, young man? What is going down; is someone hurt? Griz, do not leave me worrying.”

  “Nance—”

  “Griz, Richard here. What's going on? Why does my wife look pale all of a sudden?”

  Fuck, I had no time for this.

  “Richard, shit, sorry to upset your woman, but I don’t know how in the hell she knew something was going down, but it is, and I gotta cut this short so I can get things done. Long story short—my woman and Talon's sister have been taken. We know where they are, so I'm going to go get them back.”

  “Right, son. I'll keep things here under control. You go do what you gotta, unless you need an extra pair of hands. I've still got that gun Talon gave me.”

  “No, I've got my brothers to help, but I really have to head off.”

  “See you at the hospital to meet my grandkiddies after you get the women back.”