by K. L. Donn
She hung her head to hide the tears streaming steadily down her face, not wanting anyone to witness her complete heartbreak. To know how devastated she was that Dominic was forced to make the decision between her and his son. Even if he didn’t choose Jax, she wouldn’t let him choose her.
Wiping her face clear of tears, she exerted every ounce of resolve she could find to clear away any emotion that came through her voice or across her face.
“You’ll get him, right?” She had to know he would.
“Yes,” was all he replied.
“You’ll make sure he knows I love him? That I didn’t leave him?” Tears clogged her voice.
“Yes.”
Taking a deep breath, “You burn them to the fucking ground, Dominic,” she told him angrily, hanging up before he could say anything else. She didn’t want to hear any more. If she did, her heart might shatter completely.
Dropping the phone, she stomped on it until it smashed, ripped the necklace from her throat and tossed it to the side. Looking up into Bradshaw’s taunting eyes she told him, “Let’s go.”
He laughed as she walked towards him, smirking while she climbed in the SUV.
*****
Fuck, fuck, fuck! This wasn’t how it was supposed to turn out. He didn’t know how they had found out where Jax was staying, but he was going to figure it out. What worried him most was the lack of any emotion in Dee’s voice as she hung up on him. She should damn well be mad as hell at him. She should have screamed and yelled and fought for him to choose her, to not let Bradshaw take her. But she did none of those things. She kept her cool and did everything he would have done.
In the photo Brooke sent him, Jax had tears running down his face. He was tied up and tape covered his mouth. A small bruise had begun to form on his cheek as well, so he knew without a doubt that they would hurt his son if any of his or Creed’s men followed them as they left.
The text came with a warning to stay put until he received another call from Brooke. He wouldn’t stay. He’d go, he’d hunt, he’d do whatever it took to get his family back and knew without a shadow of a doubt that every one of the men scattered out right now would help him do it.
Taking Deedee’s last comment to heart, he’d burn them to the fucking ground. When he was done with them, they would wish they’d never dared to cross him.
Speed-dialing Case’s phone, he picked up before the first ring was through. “What the fuck just happened?” he demanded.
“We were fucking naïve, that’s what. We had all these men here with us when we should have had some with Jaxson. Brooke’s fucking got him.”
“That bitch is good as dead,” Case snapped. “Creed’s calling everyone back now. Two guys are tailing the SUVs from the fields on horses—don’t ask, you don’t need to know.”
“Have someone at the airport, too. Did Creed find out where he was staying?”
“He’s got two possible places for the prick and is sending two men to each now,” he explained, “We’ll get them both, Dom. Fucking believe it or you’re useless to us.”
“You a fucking mind reader now?” Case was right; he needed to get rid of the emotion and screw his head back on straight. Focus was paramount—concentrating on what he would do if he wasn’t emotionally invested. “If they lose eyes on her, I want to know immediately.”
“You got it, boss,” Case responded, hanging up so they could converge at the house.
“Don’t take her from me, not now. Not after everything we’ve been through.” He spoke to no one in particular, but he had to get the words out, to know he at least said them.
Twenty-two
As they drove away from the house she’d come to believe of as her home, her sanctuary, she knew she’d never see it again. Her life as she knew it was over, and now Bradshaw would do to her as he had planned all those years ago.
“No tears for your lost lover?” he mocked her.
She ignored him. What could she possibly say? Tears would make her feel worse. Emotion would make him happy. Either way it would destroy anything left in her.
“If he’d only left well enough alone seven years ago, you wouldn’t be in this position now.”
“Yeah it’s his fault you were going to sell me. He should have just killed you then,” she said to him without taking her eyes off the roadside.
“You wound me,” he mocked her again.
“What is it you want with me?” she finally asked him.
“Your whore mother deprived me of something when she slummed it up with that moron Brock,” he began.
“What’s that?” She shouldn’t have asked. I really shouldn’t have.
“An heir.”
A bark of laughter escaped her before she could stop it. “What the fuck do you need an heir for? You sell drugs and guns. You’re a pathetic excuse for a human being.”
Anger crossed his features. “You’ll watch your mouth, young lady.”
Because I’ve ever listened to you. “Fuck you,” she spat out bitterly.
A sharp slap across the mouth met her words. “Enough talking.”
Just like that, she was ten years old again. Smacked for talking back and then ignored. It was for the best this time, though. She had to cooperate for the time being. She understood Dom wasn’t coming. Jaxson took priority, as it should be.
Maybe he’d send Creed or Casey, but she didn’t want to rely on them to get her out. She’d been taking care of herself her whole life, she could do it now, too.
Closing her eyes, she thought of Dom’s arms wrapped around her, his heated words whispered in her ear as he made love to her. They were feelings she would carry with her forever, and nothing or no one could ever take them from her. Those memories would get her through any hardships she was about to face.
A sharp gleam from a far off object out of the window caught her eye. The more she concentrated, the more she thought it was a man riding a horse. A few more seconds of looking and she realized he was following them and signaling someone on the other side of the vehicle.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned her head to see if she could spot the other person. Seeing him, she had to fight back a smile.
Dominic’s coming, she sighed inwardly.
When Bradshaw was about to direct his head to where she’d been looking, she began to cough uncontrollably, wheezing as she did.
“What the bloody hell is wrong with you?” he demanded to know.
“Air,” she stuttered out.
As her window was rolled down, she let out a few more coughs while breathing in the fresh air, trying her best to signal to the man on the horse that she saw him. When she noticed him tip his hat and fall back a bit, she knew he acknowledged that she’d seen him.
He’s coming. She secretly smiled in relief.
*****
“What the fuck happened!” Dom screamed, slamming his way through his house. “How the fuck did he know where Jaxson was?” It was rhetorical. He didn’t expect any of the men inside to know that answer.
He was about to start yelling again when it hit him like a ton of bricks, “Mother...fucker!” He couldn’t believe he didn’t think of it at the time they were planning. “Case, Creed, come here,” he called them while walking back outside.
“What’s up?” Creed asked him looking just as pissed as he was.
“The day we brought Case home, Bradshaw was here waiting. I should have fucking checked sooner. What if he bugged the place?” he questioned. “We didn’t think to check. The alarm was on, and nothing was noticeably out of place. Fuck!”
Pacing back and forth on the lawn, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do first. The two most important people in his life were in the hands of two deranged psychopaths. A lesser man would have caved already. When he got that text and then had to tell Dee he wasn’t coming for her, he damn near died. Thank fuck for his friends having his back when he didn’t even know he needed it.
�
��Yo, Ace!’ Creed called to one of his guys.
“Yeah?”
“You got your bug detector?”
A smile crept over his face. “Oh yeah.”
“Get it,” Creed demanded.
“You got it, boss.” Ace was gone before anyone could say anything.
“You really think he planted something?” Case asked him.
“I can’t think of another reason why he would know where Jaxson is,” he replied absently, waiting for Ace to come back and for Brooke to call him on where he was supposed to meet her.
Just fucking waiting.
A ringing had everyone jumping into action to check their phones. “Yeah?” Creed answered his. “Good, stay with them. Don’t let her out of your sight.”
Hanging up, he looked to Dom. “Your girl’s good,” he smiled. “She knows they’re there, signaled that she knew. She’s waiting, man, and if I had my bet, she’s going to taunt these guys until you get there. You call that other fucking bitch, so we can get your son.”
Relief flooded his veins knowing that Deedee wasn’t playing patsy and going along with whatever Bradshaw wanted. He knew she was a fighter but wasn’t sure if she would battle as hard if she thought Dom wasn’t coming for her.
Just as he was about to try calling Brooke, his phone rang from an unknown number. “Yeah?” he snapped out.
“Is that any way to treat your future wife?” she cackled.
He had to bite back his disgust at her comment. “Where’s Jaxson?” he demanded to know.
“Oh, relax, the brat’s fine. He’s sleeping off a cocktail.” Her voice gave him chills.
“You fucking drugged him?” Dom bellowed, halting everyone’s movements. Anger clear across their faces as soon as they heard him. A rage like he’d never felt flew through his veins.
“Geez, you act like you’ve never given him medicine before, sweetheart. He’ll be fine. It was just Nyquil.” Stupid fucking cunt! She had no idea.
“Where the fuck are you?”
“How about we play a game?” she sang.
“No fucking games, Brooke. Where the fuck is my son?” His patience was wearing thin.
A tap on his shoulder had him spinning to find Creed and another one of his guys looking at a tablet with a map on it. Creed mouthed, “we’ve got her location”, and for the first time that day, he smiled. She was done for.
As she babbled her game, he half listened while everyone was buzzing around getting things ready to find her and Jaxson and then to go after Dee. He was ready for shit to be done.
“Brooke!” he hollered just as Creed showed him another screen where two dots were blinking. Raising his brow in question, Creed pointed to the first mouthing, “Jaxson”, then pointed to the second mouthing, “Deedee”. They were blinking in the same space, meaning they were likely together.
“Dominic, when are you going to realize we’re perfect for each other? Just need to get rid of this brat first,” she snarled the last part in disgust.
“You fucking touch one hair on his head, and you’re fucking dead. You hear me, Brooke?”
Her laughter rang in his ears as she hung up.
*****
“Pincess!” His voice was music to her ears.
Tied to a bed in nothing but her underwear, it didn’t take her long to figure out what he meant by saying she owed him an heir. Trying not to think about it, though, because it made her skin crawl. She kept working at loosening the ropes holding her in place, but all she’d successfully done so far was rip her skin raw.
With her mouth taped shut, she couldn’t greet Jaxson as he bounced on the bed beside her. A closer look at his face showed her the mistreatment he’d suffered over the last couple of hours that they’d had their hands on him. Her blood boiled. If she could, she’d knock Brooke on her ass for raising a hand to him.
The smirk across Brooke’s face as she closed the door on her way out alerted Deidre to the fact that the woman knew what Deidre was thinking.
“Pincess?” Jax drew her attention with his quiet question.
“Hmm?” she mumbled behind the tape over her mouth.
“Why you tied up?” his voice quivered slightly in fear.
She could only shrug her shoulders in answer to him. If she got out of this intact, she was going to kill these people herself.
“Can I take your tape off?” He wondered.
Nodding her head enthusiastically, she waited as he dug at the corners of the tape to pull. His nails gouged into her cheek, and when he finally began to remove it, she could feel skin tearing as he slowly drew it back.
Stretching her jaw once it was off, she told him, “Thanks, buddy. How you doing?”
“My face hurts,” he confessed quietly.
Her heart ached at his suffering. “I know, sweet man, I know.”
“Unca Case likes to tie knots,” he told her randomly.
“Oh yeah,” replying half-heartedly while she tried to figure out how to untie herself from the bedpost. She watched him and the door with one eye.
“Those are sailor’s knots. Unca Case likes them most; he wants to sail the sea one day,” he told her. She finally perked up knowing he knew what type of knots they were.
“Think you can untie them, Jax?”
“Oh yeah!” He seemed excited to have something to do.
While he unknotted her ropes, she considered some ways to escape because she didn’t think they had enough time to wait for Dominic to get there. He was probably still trying to find out where Jaxson was, and even though he had men follow her and had placed a tracker in her shoe, she couldn’t rely on him to save them.
Spotting a vent in the ceiling, she wondered how far away it would take them and if they could escape through the ducts. Being in a fancy hotel, she knew it had to lead to other rooms, but she also knew they were in the penthouse, which was why she was tied and taped up.
As soon as she had one hand free, she twisted to help Jax undo the other. Hearing footsteps coming towards them she told him, “Under the bed, quickly.” Wrapping her hand back up in the rope while he climbed underneath, the door opened just as she laid back down.
“Where’s the brat?” Brooke questioned.
Dee kept her mouth shut, not telling the bitch anything. As she slammed closet doors and dresser drawers, she could physically see the other woman getting madder. “Where is he?” she screamed.
Her silence remained. There was nothing Brooke could do to make her tell. Dee kept her eyes on Brooke as she paced across the carpet silently.
“You’ll tell me where he is now!”
She raised her brow in challenge. If Brooke was pissed off at her, she wouldn’t think to check under the bed.
Storming towards Deedee, Jax’s mother ripped her belt from her jeans, making it into a whip as she wrapped one end around her hand.
“Tell me!” she demanded again.
“Fuck. You!” Dee spat out.
The sick smile on Brooke’s face would have had her cringing if she hadn’t already expected pain.
This is gonna fucking hurt. The other woman brought the belt behind her head before whipping it down across Deedee’s thighs.
Son of a bitch!
White hot flames prickled her skin and sunk deep into her bones.
“Tell me,” she whispered harshly, thinking she’d break Dee.
You have no idea bitch, she taunted in her head while biting her lip so she didn’t cry out.
“Fine, have it your way.” She laughed as she brought the belt down repeatedly.
Pain radiated through her entire body with each strike.
Brooke laughed through each one.
Deidre plotted all the ways she’d get back at the bitch.
“You’ve got grit, little girl, I’ll give you that,” Brooke pronounced after a few strikes along her thighs. Both women were sweating profusely; Brooke from exertion and Deedee from holding the pain in.
Brooke finally turned around as though she were leaving until she whipped back around faster than Dee could brace herself. The belt landed across her stomach and chest breaking the skin, and blood trickled in a thin line all the way down her torso.
“Motherfucker!” she screamed in pain, curling up in a ball to try and combat the excruciating pain.
“Laugh at that, bitch,” Brooke said as she walked out.
“Pincess?” She heard Jax call quietly through the ringing in her ears.
“Stay there, honey,” she begged. No way did she want him to see her like she was. He was going to have enough nightmares to fight in the future; he didn’t need to see her broken and bleeding.
Pushing through the pain, she had let go of the rope on her one hand and began pulling at the other, needing to get free now more than ever. They had to get out of there before something worse happened. Like if Bradshaw raped her while Jax was under the bed listening. She couldn’t handle it if that happened.
Ripping at the rope proved more difficult then she thought. Her nail beds kept getting pushed back as she pulled with no grip. When she felt it give a little, she sawed her wrist in and out hoping the blood moistened it enough that she could slip free. Twisting her body so she could push with her legs against the headboard and yanking with all her might, she was finally freed, falling to the floor with the last tug.
“Just wait,” she whispered to Jax. She had to find something to cover herself with. As blood trailed down her body leaving little drops with each step she took, she knew she had to stop the bleeding or at least stem the flow.
A door on one side of the room was open slightly, and she saw it was a bathroom. Hoping there were a towel and some gauze tape, she went in search of it quietly.
A few drawer pulls later and she found a medical kit with everything she needed. She returned to the room and sat on the bed, calling Jax out as soon as she had a large piece of gauze over her wound.