Men of Mercy: The Complete Story

by Cross, Lindsay

  If he’d had the luxury, Jared would have vomited right then and there.

  “Drop your gun. Now.” Jared kept his pistol leveled right between her eyes.

  “Jared, I don't know what he's talking about. I had nothing to do with this.”

  Her words cracked into him like a whip. Jared strode over to her, barely able to restrain himself from slapping her, and pressed the tip of his pistol to her forehead. The force of his brutal anger practically bent her backwards. “Drop your fucking gun now.”

  His hand shook, his control slipping, but he couldn't afford to lose it. Not yet. Not until he got his brother to safety.

  Then he would mete out his revenge. Jared would extract his own pound of flesh, and he would start with Sparrow.

  She lifted the rifle strap over her head and lowered the gun to the floor beside her.

  Jared nodded toward the coil of rope in the corner. “Since you're so good with a knife, cut some rope. Tie his hands behind his back and take off his shirt.” Jimbo’s shirt would be big enough to completely wrap around Hoyt, and it was the only thing close by that would provide any type of barrier between his brother’s raw wounds and the environment.

  “Jared, please, I didn't do this. I had no idea he was really in here.”

  Jared snarled, barely able to restrain himself from attacking her. “The next words out of your mouth will be your last. Get the fucking rope!”

  She paled and pressed her lips together, turning to do as he commanded. It was a struggle for her to roll Jimbo’s hulking body to the side and pull the shirt from his body, but Jared offered no help. If it were up to him, she would suffer for every second of every day for the rest of her short life.

  Finally, she wrested the shirt from Jimbo, cut a length of rope, and tied his hands behind his back. She gagged him with a dirty discarded cloth and secured it with another piece of rope around his head.

  “You're going to help me get that shirt on my brother, and so help me God, if you cause him one more ounce of pain, I'll slit your throat. Do you doubt me?” Jared had never spoken so harshly to a woman in his entire life, but when he looked at the blood dripping from the open wounds covering Hoyt’s entire body, it was all he could do to keep from screaming.

  Sparrow grabbed Jimbo’s shirt from the floor and approached with caution. Without speaking, Jared yanked the knife from her grip. “I'm going to cut one arm loose. Feed it through the sleeve.” He waited on Sparrow’s nod and as gently as he could, he reached up and cut his brother’s left hand free of the binding. Hoyt groaned again, then slumped over, losing consciousness.

  Jared breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that any movement would cause his brother excruciating pain. Moving slowly and with obvious care, Sparrow eased the shirt up and hooked it around Hoyt’s shoulders. Jared cut the other arm free, caught his brother beneath his arms, and held him up so that Sparrow could finish wrapping the shirt across his brother’s exposed back.

  As gently as he would handle a baby, Jared lowered Hoyt to his stomach on the floor, careful not to touch his destroyed back. When they were still just kids, Jared had vowed to protect his little brother. He’d always been the mature one in their relationship, the one responsible for watching out for younger Hoyt. Jared had wanted his brother to have the freedom to be wild and fun loving. To have happiness unshadowed by nightmares and memories. And up until tonight, Hoyt had been exactly as happy and bright and charming as Jared had hoped he’d be. Until Sparrow and Crowe Mountain. Reckless brutality took over his rational brain and Jared grabbed Sparrow around the neck. “You’re going to suffer for what you did to him.”

  He ripped the rope from her grip and yanked her wrists together, violently binding her hands in front of her. The woman he’d thought so innocent, so pure, was nothing more than a liar. A murderous villain. Jared was determined to destroy this woman who had taken away his last bit of humanity.

  Chapter 11

  Sparrow thrust her hands forward, holding her wrists together so that Jared could easily bind her. Once he was done tying the rough rope, he attached a lead rope to his belt, effectively leashing her to him.

  The anguish she saw in his face ripped apart her soul. More than anything in the world she wanted to comfort him. She couldn't imagine what a nightmare this must be for him.

  But if she spoke again, he might very well kill her. Especially after what Jimbo had said. She’d known for a long time that he viewed her as a threat. He’d snuck behind her back to screw up her alcohol shipments and other minor things, trying to make her look bad in front of Miss Kay, but he’d never pulled anything like this before. He’d intentionally tried to have her killed. His words had sealed her fate with the Crowe brothers.

  And Bob…they’d always had a careful peace between them, as if each understood the need to keep Jimbo at bay. She didn’t know what to think about his presence.

  The small ounce of hope Sparrow had held onto since she was a little girl died, weighing her to the floor like a huge oak tree had fallen on her shoulders. She would never have a loving family. She would never have a happy, fulfilling life.

  She had to help Jared and Hoyt get as far from here as possible, whether he wanted to kill her or not, and as soon as they were at a safe distance, she would try and escape. Jared had no idea just how slippery she could be. As soon as a distraction presented itself, she would escape. Then she could make her way back to Crowe Mountain, stop Jimbo. If he took over, there would be nothing but misery for everyone in the county. And Squirrel wouldn’t stand a chance.

  “If I even feel you move in the wrong direction, I'll do to you what you did to him.” Sparrow followed Jared's gaze to Hoyt’s unconscious form on the floor. Never had she seen something so gruesome. So horrible. Nausea rolled through her stomach and up her throat, but she clamped her teeth shut. Vomiting would do nothing but piss Jared off even more. Unable to speak, she nodded and averted her gaze.

  Jared grabbed her jaw, squeezing until she cried out, and forced her to face his brother. “Look at him. Don't turn your head from him. You did this. Enjoy your handiwork.”

  Her eyes watered with pain under his crushing grip. “Please, you're hurting me.”

  Her words only enraged him more. He yanked her head around like a puppet. “I'm not hurting you…yet.”

  He flung her head backward, and if not for the lead rope, she would've stumbled to the floor. Instead he grabbed the restraint and yanked her to him. Before she could react, he took her own knife and sliced a small band from the bottom of her shirt, baring even more of her rib cage. She hadn’t realized how exposed she was in the revealing clothing until this very moment. When he was looking at her as if he wanted to kill her.

  “Jared, please…”

  He ripped the black do rag off his head and shoved it into her mouth, then tied the strip from her shirt around her head, effectively gagging her with her own clothes.

  Sparrow tried to focus on breathing through her nose, but the gag felt suffocating. She wouldn't be able to make more than a muffled moan if she tried to speak or scream. Not that anyone would help her anyway.

  “You try and slow me down, I’ll kill everyone you know. Do you understand?” Jared’s harsh voice pierced her. She could care less if he killed Jimbo. The man needed killing. Sparrow briefly considered struggling right then just to see if Jared would make good on his threat. But if he took care of Jimbo, she knew instinctively Squirrel would be next. Jared had seen how much the old man meant to her.

  Jared scooped his brother into his arms and gently laid him over his shoulder. The position would ensure a hell of a headache for Hoyt when he awoke, but it was the only way his back would remain untouched. Hoyt was still out cold, and he didn’t make a sound. That was good.

  Jared stepped around Jimbo, unconscious on the floor. Sparrow stopped to kick him in the ribs, but the short length of rope between her and Jared didn’t allow for much room.

  She stumbled off the porch after Jared, barely managing to catch
herself. Get it together. She focused on Jared’s broad back, his fluid and lethal movements. The strength in him was apparent in the way he carried his brother, a man almost as big as he was, like he weighed nothing.

  The moon had risen straight overhead by the time they reentered the woods, Jared carefully maneuvering through the trees. The smell of pine was strong in the freezing night air. October could be warm during the day, so much so that you didn’t even need a jacket, but the nights were always colder on the mountain. Sparrow shivered, becoming more aware of her skimpy attire. Not that Jared would care. He’d only care if she got hypothermia. Then he’d probably be pissed at her for slowing them down. Might even kill her.

  “Keep up.” Jared’s harsh command yanked her from her misery. They were headed straight toward Squirrel’s cabin. Alarm shot through her. What if Jared planned to start his revenge right now, by taking out the one person she loved?

  She immediately slowed, trying to delay him as her mind scrambled to figure out a way to change his mind. Jared kept walking like she hadn't put up any resistance. Her alarm turned to panic and she dug in her heels, pulling against him with all her might.

  Jared stopped so abruptly she slammed into the solid tree of his body. When he turned to face her, she shrank back, her survival instincts kicking in.

  “Do you want to die right now?” His hoarse voice was so different from before. All traces of the sweet sexy man with the haunted dreams were completely gone. Sparrow shook her head wildly, trying to indicate they should head down the mountain, not around toward Squirrel’s cabin.

  Jared smile was cold. “You think I'm going to listen to you? When you led me into a trap in the first place?”

  Sparrow tried to speak, desperation clawing its way through her body, but all she managed was a muffled moan through her gag.

  “You're worried about the old man? Good. You should be.” Jared gave her his back once more and started walking, forcing her to stumble after him. The rough rope chafed her wrist, but the fear burning in her chest overrode any pain.

  She tried to pull back once more, but he kept moving, as unstoppable as a fierce storm. She was nothing against the force of Jared Crowe.

  All too soon they were back at Squirrel’s cabin. Her heart beating wildly in her chest, Sparrow tried to think of anything she could do to save Squirrel. The man pulling her along wasn’t the Jared she knew. He was a lethal killing machine bent on revenge. He believed she was guilty of the most unforgivable thing imaginable, and would harm anyone if he thought it would cause her pain.

  Sparrow drew in a deep breath and screamed, but the sound came out as more of a muffled sob. Her lips burned from being pulled so tight. Jared turned in a flash, his free hand around her neck, and backed her up against the nearest tree.

  His shoulders heaved and his look was menacing. Deadly. “You hurt what's mine, now I hurt what’s yours.”

  * * *

  Darkness enveloped him. Surrounded him. Filled him.

  And the girl standing before him was the reason.

  He had thought she would be his light. His guide. A girl in need of rescue from an evil family, an evil mountain. He had been so blinded by her beauty and apparent innocence that he’d failed to see the evil that resided inside her.

  If he hadn’t been holding onto his brother right now, he wasn’t entirely sure he could have stopped himself from strangling her. But the fear he saw in her gaze, the fear he’d put there, gave him a cruel sort of pleasure.

  The girl was reckless, uncaring for her own life. How could she have played so innocent that he’d believed her? How could someone who’d saved his life destroy his brothers?

  Jared shook off the confusion. He didn’t have time to question her motives. He had to get the hell off the mountain, but she was coming with him and he knew exactly how to get her cooperation. No matter that he would never actually harm the old man, as long as she believed he would and Jared intended to use him against her. He wanted her to feel the same desperation she’d made him feel. “You do this to my brother. Why shouldn't I kill the old man?”

  Sparrow’s liquid gold eyes widened further as she jerked her head from side to side, her muffled moans a pitiful attempt to prick at his conscious. She could have saved herself the effort. His conscious had been snuffed out long ago.

  “What's that? I can't hear you.” Something inside him twisted his lips into a cruel smile. And whatever that something was twisted his insides into something dark and dangerous that skated the edge of control. He'd always been so calm, so reasonable. He’d needed to be to raise his little brother. But seeing Hoyt this broken, this damaged, had done something to him. “I bet you'd be willing to do anything to keep me from killing the old man.”

  Her nod was fast, delivered with no hesitation.

  Jared shifted his hand, skimming it down her collar bone and around the neck line of her ruined shirt before grabbing her breast, squeezing it just enough to show his control. He knew what would hurt this woman the most. “You are mine. You will be my whore. You will do exactly as I say, when I say it.”

  She paled and shuddered. He knew she wanted to back away from him, but he’d trapped her against the tree. Jared continued his caresses, rubbing his thumb across her nipple until it hardened under his touch. Sparrow jerked to the side, trying to escape his grasp. And he let her. “You will willingly submit to me in all things, or I will go in there right now and slit that old man’s throat.”

  Jared's stomach clenched into a tight fist of disgust. He was so disgusted by the words that he had to swallow the bile. He’d never treated a woman this harshly. Never.

  But a woman had never tried to kill his family before either.

  Dammit. It didn't matter. There was no way he could ever force her.

  She moaned through the gag and closed her eyes. He forced down the guilt and let himself really feel the heavy weight of his brother, draped unconscious and bleeding over his shoulder. His guilt subsided. “So what's it going to be? You willingly give yourself to me or do I kill him now “

  Her eyes opened, tears spilling down her cheeks. Shame punched him in the gut, but that just made him angrier. She didn't deserve his guilt or his shame. She only deserved his loathing.

  She nodded one time. The sacrificial martyr.

  A jolt of uncertainty slid into his conscious and he stepped back, needing to distance himself from her. The emotions rolling through him were so powerful he was about to snap. “Now, follow me. If you give me any trouble, so help me, I'll come back here and murder every last one of them.”

  Jared turned and strode away, feeling only one tug of resistance as Sparrow caught up with his longer stride. He would skirt back around the mountain to where he’d hidden his bag with the sat phone, medical supplies, and weapons. From there, he knew the fastest and easiest way down to his hidden boat near the river. Once he got a safe distance from the compound, he’d call for help and get his brother home

  Hoyt shuddered in his arms and Jared reached back, feeling for his brother’s arm. The feeling of Hoyt’s cold skin made him stiffen. He knew he didn't have much time, and he didn't know the true extent Hoyt’s injuries. Jared picked up the pace to a jog, careful to move his brother as little as possible.

  He reached the spot where Sparrow had held a gun to his head and stopped. His duffel should be hidden beneath the nearby bush. “Feel beneath that bush, my bag should be there,” he ordered.

  Sparrow squatted and reached beneath the bush, pulling his bag free. Jared let out a small breath of relief. “Let's go.”

  He continued to head west down the mountain, slowing only when it was so treacherous he risked dropping his brother. The girl tugged on him from behind, having a hard time holding onto the heavy weight of his duffel bag with her tied hands, but he didn't care. Jared forged ahead, listening with relief to the growing roar of rushing water. As they neared the river, he turned south along the water. His arms ached. His back hurt. His muscles strained under his brother's w
eight. But he ignored all those things, his sole focus on getting to the boat and getting them to safety.

  Chapter 12

  Whore. Just like her mother. Bile rushed up her throat and Sparrow swallowed frantically, the gag suffocating her. Jared wanted to humiliate her, and he could not have picked a better way. Her worst nightmare had come true.

  Jared increased his pace, roughly yanking her behind him, and she stumble-stepped to keep from hitting the dirt. The duffle bag clutched in her bound hands left her no choice but to carry it directly in front of her, dangling awkwardly and in the way. The handle scraped her fingers raw, the rope was cutting into her wrists, and her arms were steadily going numb. Muscles strained across her back and shoulders from the burden of the bag’s weight and the constant pull forward.

  A low hanging tree limb slapped her in the face and she cried out. Hot wet blood dripped down her cheek and her eye started to water. Jared didn't slow, didn't care; he was probably happy for her suffering. Given what he believed, she could hardly blame him.

  She had to pay more attention to her surroundings. Sparrow forced herself out of her misery and quickly took stock of the situation. They’d descended the mountain to the river, turned south, and were now walking parallel to the bank. He must have a boat hidden somewhere. She had to escape before he got her on that boat. She could hide out in the mountains and make her way home. Then she would reveal Jimbo’s true plan to Miss Kay before her brother managed to take her down. After his attempt to goad Jared into murdering her, she thirsted for revenge.

  If Miss Kay didn’t do anything about Jimbo, Sparrow would get Squirrel and head out. They could survive together. She would find a way to take care of him. They could run and run, as far away from any Crowe as she could get them.

  Especially Jared Crowe.