by Hart, Rebel
“Yeah, help me get away from Max, just like you want. Why the fuck can’t you just accept things? Why the hell do I always have to be like you? Why can’t you just shut your fucking face!?”
She sniffled. “I’m sorry. It’s the only thing I could think of.”
I stumbled over my words. “What? When? Why--how--how the hell do you even have his number?”
“He gave it to me at the beginning of our freshman year. Said that if you ever struggled or needed anything and you wouldn’t reach out, to call him. He said college was hard, and that you might--”
I leaned up. “I might what?”
She paused. “That you might not be truthful with them once you got out into the real world.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What did you do? Tell me exactly what you told him.”
“I told him about Max. I told him who he was. What he is. And I told him you were in over your head and I didn’t know how to help you.”
My head spun. I wanted to kill her. For the first time in my life, I understood why people killed other people. My hands gripped the steering wheel. I felt my anger spiraling out of control. How the hell did I get this girl out of my life? How the fuck did I cut her out for good?”
“You listen here, you meddling little bitch--”
“No, for once, you listen to me. I don’t want you to hate me over this. That’s the last thing I want. But what I want is my friend back. What I want is the real Dani back.”
“I am the real Dani!”
“No, you’re not! I think you feel that way, but I know this isn’t you. I know you.”
I growled. “You don’t know shit about me.”
“I know you feel like you’re floundering right now. That you’re being pulled in all sorts of directions. But, I promise you, if this is what it takes to keep you safe, then I’m willing to destroy our friendship over it.”
I couldn’t even catch my breath to respond.
“He’s not a good guy, Dani. You don’t know him like you think you do. You just like the idea of him. Of the danger and the leather and the--”
A loud beep resounded in my car, cutting off Hannah’s train of thought. Which was the only thing that saved her from my urge to go back to campus and take a swing at her with a wine bottle in my hand. I didn’t recognize the number, and I switched over immediately. I didn’t even give my bullshit friend the courtesy of telling her I had another call coming in.
Not like she deserves it.
“Who is this?” I asked.
The man groaned. “Dani. Thank fuck.”
Goosebumps prickled my arms. “Rupert. Thank God. Where are you? Are you with Max?”
He groaned. “No.”
Something was wrong with his voice. He sounded tired. Or hurt.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He moaned. “No. The same fuckers who jumped Max at your school came back for him tonight. I tried to stop them, Dani. I did. But they caught us with our guard down.”
“Where is he?”
“They took him.”
I blinked. “Took him? Took him where. Was he hurt?”
He grunted. “They uh--they, they they--”
“Take a breath, Rupert. You need to talk to me. We need to find him.”
He sighed. “They knocked him out cold. Piled him into a dark SUV. I don’t know where they went. I’m on my way to John right now. He should be at the house. Max wants me to rally the boys. I need you to call me if you hear from him, okay?”
“Rupert, I’m at the house. No one’s here.”
He paused. “You’re where?”
“Look, it’s a lot to explain. Max was supposed to come--”
“I know, I know. He was on his way to get you. You’re at the house? You need to get somewhere else. Anywhere else. Somewhere no one would think to find you. Okay?”
“John isn’t here! That’s what I’m trying to tell you. No one’s at the house.”
“Fuck,” he hissed.
I threw my car in reverse. “I’m going to help you look for Max. Where are some places he might--”
“No, Dani. You do as I’m telling you and you leave this shit to us. This is what we do. We’ll find Max. We’ll handle this. But, the last thing we need is you getting involved and making things worse.”
His words stung, but I moved past it. “He needs me.”
“Damn it, Bambi. What Max needs right now is for you to keep yourself safe. I know how much he cares about you. And no matter where he is right now, I know he’s worried about you. Don’t give him something to worry about once we get him out of this predicament.”
I heard him groaning still as I backed into the road.
“I’m telling you, Bambi. I’ll find him. We’ll get him out. And I’ll let you know as soon as it’s done. Stay put. Keep whatever door you have locked. Text this number and tell me where you are once you get there. Save it in your phone, too. This is my number. And if you hear from Max, at all, you call me immediately. Got it? Good.”
Then, he hung up the phone.
“Dani! Damn it, if you don’t pick up this phone back right now--”
I groaned. “Will you shut up, Hannah?”
She paused. “Finally. You’re back. Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were switching over?”
“Because you're not important right now.”
“Wow. Ouch. But, okay. What’s going on?”
“Like I’d tell you. I gotta go.”
“Dani! Don’t hang up. We have to talk. Dan--!”
I cut the call and picked up my phone. I put a temporary block on Hannah’s number so I wouldn’t be bombarded with her stupid calls or text messages. I’d have to deal with my father later. Because some things were simply more important. I sat in the middle of the darkened road, gripping my steering wheel tightly. I looked into the darkness and felt it staring back at me. Taunting me, as Rupert’s words rushed around in my head.
The last thing we need is you getting involved and making things worse.
I stepped on the gas pedal and took off. I didn’t know how I was going to find Max, but I sure as hell wasn’t sitting around and doing nothing. I wasn't a damsel in distress. I didn’t need saving. I didn’t need protecting. What I needed was for Max to be alive, to come back safely. I wasn’t going to sit around in a driveway or in a dorm room or in a hotel somewhere waiting for my damn phone to ring.
“I’m not the weak girl I used to be,” I murmured.
I raced into the darkness. I felt it swallowing me whole as I peeled around the corner. My tattoo called to me. To my soul. To my heart, as it throbbed against my thigh. I was a Red Thorn. Or, close to it. I felt it run through my veins and fill my gut. And if there was one thing I’d learned about the Red Thorns, it was the fact that they fought for what was theirs.
And I sure as hell was going to fight for Max.
34
Max
“Max!”
“Dani?”
“Max! Over here!”
I turned around and saw her waving in the distance. A thin figure on the horizon, flagging me down with all her might. I smiled as her voice graced my ear. I whipped my leg over my bike and made the engine roar. I heard her giggling. Even from so far away. And as I grew closer, I saw her hand reaching out for me.
“Get on here, gorgeous.”
She laughed. “Take me away, big boy.”
She clung to me, and the wind whipped around us. We passed through beautiful wooded areas and tore through a field of wildflowers. Rivers rushed. Fish jumped out of ponds as I wrapped us around the incredible expanse of land in front of us. Her cheek pressed against my back and her hands gripped my shirt. Her legs pressed hard against mine as I picked up the pace.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
She giggled. “You’ll see.”
I felt her leading me. I felt every turn I had to take just before I took it. The earth spoke to me, guiding me all the way up to a cabin in the woods. There was a lake off
in the distance. A beautiful mountain scene right off the front porch. I parked my bike and we slid off, her hand gripping mine as tightly as she could.
“Come on. You’re falling behind!”
Then her hand slipped out of my grasp.
“Fuck,” I choked out.
Benji’s laughter filled my ear instead of hers. And I wanted to gouge his eyes out.
“Hit him again.”
A sharp pain worked its way up my abs as my head fell back.
“One more time, just to make sure we drive the point home.”
I coughed up blood as a boot connected with my stomach. My head fell forward, my body practically dangling from the chair. I looked down at the floor and it wasn’t the lush wildflowers I had been lost in with Dani. It was the cold, hard, concrete floor of my father’s warehouse.
With Benji hovering over me like a tyrant.
“You really are something, you know that?”
I spat blood on his boots before he wrenched my head back.
“You really are a son of a bitch. Just like your father.”
I growled. “You’ll never be who you think you are. From the moment we’re born, we have a place in life. And you refuse to accept yours.”
He grinned. “Trust me, I learned from the best.”
Benji stood back as my head fell off to the side.
“Why don’t we try a little more foreplay this time?”
The man dressed in black crammed his steel toe boot into my groin and my eyes rolled back. The pain was unbearable. I could barely see out of my eyes. Blood dripped from places it never should. I couldn’t feel my hands. The skin from around my ankles had been ripped away because of how hard I’d struggled against those bonds. And the more maniacal Benji became, the more I feared for my brother. For my boys.
For Dani.
I mean, if my cousin and my own fucking father were willing to come after me like this, what would they do to everyone else? It made me sick to think about. It made my head spin with anger. I gritted my teeth as another punch landed against my jawline. Hoping and praying the man didn’t break my fucking jaw in the process. And as my head jerked to the side, I watched blood and spit fly from the tip of my tongue.
“Stop,” Benji declared.
“Come on, Max. You’re such a slowpoke!”
I chuckled. “I’m going to get you, gorgeous.”
She squealed. “No! No tickling! That’s not fair!”
“It’s completely fair when you’re taunting me with your body like this.”
We fell to the bed as my hands danced over her body. Over her skin. Along the perfection that was her. I saw her tattoo aching to be kissed. I gripped her waist and let my lips fall against the beautiful colors. My Dani. My beautiful, strong, intelligent Dani. Delicate to the touch, but tough to her core.
“My Bambi,” I murmured.
“I wonder how Dani will take her punishment.”
Benji’s voice ripped me from my happy place and my blood ran cold.
“What the fuck did you say?” I asked.
He chuckled. “You know, she’s tougher than she was just a month ago. I’ll give her that. But she’s still just a weak, scared, confused little deer.”
“You won’t lay a finger on her. Do you hear me!?”
My head jolted to the side as one of the guys backhanded me across my cheek.
“How easy do you think it will be to make her crack, Max? I mean, really? Because I’m thinking neither of my guys will get a hit in before she starts singing louder than she does in bed with you.”
I lunged at him, straining against my bonds. I felt my wrists cracking open and my ankles bleeding. My ass almost got out of the chair as I growled at him. Benji grinned at me.
“Wow, what a show. You’re really good at it. But I think we’ll just have to look at her funny and she’ll break. Like a piece of glass. And then the real fun will begin.”
“I will slaughter you all. Do you hear me!?”
“It’s a nice little hope, isn’t it? Thinking you can defend some girl who squeezes your cock nice like that. But really, Max. What are you going to do in your current predicament? I mean, even if you could get out of this place, what kind of condition are you in to go after her?”
I fell back into the chair as sweat dripped down my brow. Every cut and every wound it dripped over only added to my pain. I heard the men snarling. Chuckling. Practically drooling for another slice of me. And as I closed my eyes, I wracked my brain as to how the fuck I was going to get myself out of this situation.
So I could get to Dani.
“She should’ve never gotten that tattoo, Max. Such a mistake on her part. And yours. If she’d stayed away we wouldn’t have had to drag her into this. Why did you drag her into this, anyway?”
I shook my head. “You’ll never find her.”
He snickered. “What makes you think we already haven’t?”
Fucking hell, I wanted to cry. “I’m sure the guys already have her safe somewhere. You’ll have to tear through all of them before you get to her.”
“Max, you’re so stupid.”
My eyes flew up to him as he walked toward me.
“We were going to take all of your men out, anyway,” he said.
I lunged at him, baring my teeth. He didn’t move quickly enough and I sank my mouth against his cheek. I bit down deep and felt his blood in my mouth. The rabid animal finally came loose and I felt the men pulling me back.
“Get him off! Get him off me!”
Benji’s shrieks were music to my ears.
“Off, off, get him off, you stupid fuckers!”
The men finally yanked me back and the sound of ripping skin followed me. I watched Benji grab his cheek as blood dripped into his hand. One of the men gripped my cheeks. The other pried my mouth open. And when I had my chance, I spat the piece of Benji’s cheek at him before I grinned.
With that bastard’s blood dripping down my chin.
“I’m off,” I said with a chuckle.
Benji growled. “That’s it. No loose ends. You hear me? They’re all dead, including that stupid cock-hugger of yours. By the time I’m done with all of this, every single one of you will be in a casket. But not before I fuck her first. Just to see what the fuck has you so goddamn addicted!”
I chuckled. “Well, you know what they say about family bonds.”
He paused. “What’s that?”
I snapped the rope around my wrists. “They can be broken in a second.”
I stood to my feet as Benji’s eyes widened. The straining and the distractions were enough to loosen them. I felt my feet wiggling free as the men came at me. I wrapped my hands around the back of their heads, knocking them together. Benji stumbled back in fear. I reached down and untied my ankles as the men in black struggled to get up from the ground. Their gold fucking rings wouldn't help them this time around.
Not with the fury already balling up my fists.
I leapt away from the chair and made my move. Benji ducked down like the wimpy little pussy he’d always been and I came down with my fist against the nape of his neck. He fell to the ground, his cheek still bleeding. And as the men scrambled from the floor, I kicked him in the stomach.
“Is this what you wanted!? Huh!?”
I kicked him again, feeling his ribs cracking with every connection.
“You tell me where the fuck Dani is now, you piece of shit. Tell me!”
I went to go kick him again, but felt someone grab my jacket. I twisted around, slipping my arms out of it before wrapping it around the man’s head. I stepped down onto the back of Benji’s head as I tumbled backwards, cutting off the man’s ability to breathe. And as my cousin coughed up his own blood, I choked the man out until he lay there lifeless.
“I’m ready for round two, assholes.”
The other man in black came at me and I quickly stood up. All the pain in my body faded away with the adrenaline spike as I beat him to a bloody pulp. I got him within fi
st range and I unloaded. All of my anger. All of my fury. All of my fears. I landed punch after punch to the man’s face as it cracked and shattered beneath my knuckles.
“Is. This. What. You. Wanted!?”
I tossed the unconscious man to the ground before I turned back to Benji. He stumbled to his feet, the gaping hole in his cheek making me smile. I made my way for him. He scrambled back toward the wall. Nowhere to go for this scared little animal. Nowhere for him to run.
My nostrils flared. “I told you that you were smart.”
“Max, don’t. Don’t do this. You don’t know what’s coming.”
I fisted his shirt. “But I never told you that you were strong.”
“Max, please!”
I mocked him. “Max, please. Wow. Very cute, Benji. Now, tell me. Where the fuck is my girl?”
“I-I-I--I don’t--”
I slammed him against the wall, watching as his head bounced against the cement.
“Where the fuck is Dani!?”
I punched him across his face before I stood him upright again.
“For every second that passes by, that’s another part of your body that doesn’t work. Tell me where she is.”
He sputtered. “I--she’s--”
I kneed him in his gut. “Tell me. Now.”
He gasped. “I’m trying. I just--”
I headbutted him, crushing his nose. “Tell me!”
“Your father! She’s with your father! He’s going after her, damn it. Stop! My damn nose is in my brain, holy fuck!”
I shoved him against the wall one last time. I took a step back, watching as he crumpled to the ground. Someone groaned behind me, but I didn’t give a shit as to who it was. What I needed to do was get the hell out of here.
I need a car.
I dipped down to Benji’s trembling body, curled up into a ball. I chuckled as I searched his pockets before I finally found them. Keys. They had to be to a vehicle around here somewhere. And as I turned toward the door, I saw one of the guys trying to get up.
“Don’t even,” I said.
I walked over to him and drew my foot back. I sent it hurling against his face, hearing him gurgle before he passed out again. With the keys in my hand and a goal in mind, I stormed through the door and navigated the dark hallways of the warehouse. Finally pouring out a side exit to go in search of the vehicle.