“Oh woah, what the fuck was that?” he questions me.
“Nothing. Not a damn thing,” I say, swinging the senator off of my shoulder where he lands roughly on the ground…oops, that will hurt when he wakes up. “But she’s in no condition to fend off his advances.” Fine, I may or may not be lying, but now’s not the time to examine shit, not with the senator laying cold on the ground, and the possibility looming in the air of someone coming over and seeing him. We have a job to do and I don’t want anyone attempting to come to his rescue or take the fun out of the part of the job I’ve been looking forward to the most. Interrogation.
“We got Doc coming to check her over, too,” he informs me, as we quickly truss the senator up, like a Thanksgiving turkey, including a gag in the event he wakes up. No one wants to hear the bullshit he’ll want to spew out of his mouth. It’s better than knocking out his teeth, which I’d prefer to do, but have been ordered not to since we still need to gain some answers from him.
“Good,” I reply, keeping my tone non-committal. “She looked kinda rough.”
We then drag him back to where the van is and I toss him inside. I wish I could say we did it with care, but that would be an out and out lie. We may be assholes, but this douchebag deserves every bruise he gets from being flung around for what he did to that little girl and his wife. After getting the senator securely in the van, I walk around to the passenger side and open the door. Piper is sitting there, turned around looking into the back. “Who’s that?” she asks, her eyes as wide as saucers.
“That is who I was in the tunnels to get,” I inform her. “I’m parked around the corner, you’ll be leaving with me, we have a doctor coming to look you over. My brothers,” I stall for a second, looking for the right words that won’t scare her, and make her go running into the dead of the night, “need to ask that man a few questions.” Shit, trying to come up with the right words is harder than I thought and I can see from her narrowed eyes that she’s not fully believing me.
“C’mon,” I say, holding my hand out for her to take. She looks at my hand then up at me, coming to a conclusion, she places her hand in mine and I swear I feel electricity shoot up my arm at the contact. She must’ve felt it too because we look at each other and hold each other’s eyes. I shake my head to get rid of the shock and pull her hand causing her to follow my lead. As I walk us over towards my car, I hear a bird call, I flip my brother off over my shoulder because I’m not turning around and dealing with his bullshit right now.
When I get us to my car, I open the passenger side and help her get in. As I round the car, I can’t help but wonder what that electric shock was that traveled up my arm at contact with her and what it could possibly mean. I’ve never felt anything like it, or heard any stories from my brothers, or friends, about anyone ever experiencing anything of that nature with a woman before. It has me a bit dazzled and I’m not sure what to make of it. Maybe I’m losing my fucking mind?
Piper
What the hell was that? I can’t help but wonder as my eyes track his every movement. I know he saved me, but that doesn’t mean I trust him. Then it hits me, my sister! We didn’t get my baby sister! I start to grab the handle to get out of the car and I feel an arm reach over and grab me. When did he get in? I was so distracted with thoughts of Destiny that I didn’t pay attention to my surroundings! What is wrong with me? I have to go back in and look for her, I have to find her!
“Where d’you think you’re going?” he asks. Dammit, his voice is enough to stop me in my tracks, it’s a deep baritone, and it’s music to my ears. I feel so guilty right now because Destiny has been my focus throughout this whole thing, which I totally fucked up last night after returning back from the party. Seems I didn’t turn it on or some shit. They didn’t mention that little detail and I bore the brunt of their anger. I hurt everywhere and think a rib or two is cracked. Fuck, I wish things were different, because I’d kinda like to explore the sensations that have started coursing through me at his touch. His words have ramped those feelings up and I bite back a moan. Because my mind has tossed me into a scenario with him that simply isn’t possible, especially not with Destiny’s life still in the balance. Why can’t I focus? I’m all over the place with the thoughts running through my mind. “Where is she!” I scream out at the top of my lungs. I break free of his grasp and run from the car. I feel big, strong arms band around me, stopping me in my tracks.
“Calm down,” he orders.
“Let me go! I have to go find her,” I all but beg him, after screaming at him.
“I promise, we will find her, but right now we have to get out of here.”
“I don’t believe you! Please let me go, I promise you’ll never have to set eyes on me again.” Why is it those words gut me?
“Hang on,” he says, “let me call my brothers, give me a second and we’ll make a plan, okay?”
“Three minutes,” I growl out at him as I squint my eyes. All my anger and sorrow are directed at him.
His raised eyebrow at my words has me wanting to laugh. Jesus, I feel so out of sorts right now it’s not funny! I’m at my breaking point and don’t know how much more I can take. Pacing around while he’s on the phone, I try to listen in, but he’s speaking in some sort of man grunt language I’ve never heard before. I finally give up and stand in front of him, my eyes boring into his as I tap my foot and fist my hands at my hips. I know I look like shit and am bruised from head to toe, and I’m barefoot to boot, but the flip-flops his brother gave me were the wrong size and my feet kept slipping out. I see his lip twitch at my pose and now I’m wondering what a full smile would look like gracing his face. Oh for fuck’s sake, focus, Piper!
When he finally hangs up, I can’t control myself when I ask, “So?”
“We’re sending in our backup team, they will be extracting her and bringing her to us.”
“What does that mean, who are these people you’re speaking about?”
“You’re just full of fucking questions tonight,” he growls at me. Hey, he can use that tone of growl with me, but it won’t work. He doesn’t scare me, not one bit.
“I wouldn’t be full of questions if you’d just give me some answers!” I shout in his face. The look on his face is priceless. I’m pretty sure folks don’t yell at him and they sure as hell don’t get in his face when they do so. Why I’m not afraid is beyond me because he’s definitely scarier overall than the jerks who have held me captive. I’m positive if he wanted to, he could break me with one hand tied behind his back while being blindfolded, and yet, I don’t feel threatened.
“To answer your question,” he spits out, “we have a backup team that either my brothers or I served with. They come in when we need help from time to time.”
“And, do you trust these men?” I ask.
“I don’t trust anyone, but these men are the best of the best,” he explains.
Well alrighty then, Mr. I’ve Got Trust Issues and an ego to match! “Fine. Wait! They don’t know what she looks like!” Just like that, my panic returns.
“Calm your tits, Jonas has already sent them a picture of your sister,” he replies. “Silas texted Jonas earlier and had him do a search once I found you and you gave me your full name.” Calm my tits? Calm my tits? What a fucking asshole! Making the decision that I just won’t talk to him anymore, I stomp back to the car and get in, slamming the door for good measure. Then, I push the lock button when I see the keys dangling from the ignition. I’ll show you that my tits are calm! What an asshole, his mentality and caveman antics are grating on my last nerve. I watch as he walks over and tries to open the door, when it doesn’t budge he leans down and looks at me through the window.
“Open the fucking door, right now!” he commands.
“What’s the magic word?” I sweetly ask him.
“Now,” he grumbles.
“Nope,” I say, popping my ‘p’, “not the word I was looking for,” I bat my eyelashes at him because I know it will drive him
crazy.
“Woman, open this damn door right this minute!” I raise my eyebrow at his words but don’t move near the lock. Nope, let Sir Asshole ask nicely. Since I don’t think that’s possible, I may as well get comfortable. I slide the front seat back and tilt it so I’m now fully reclining.
“I don’t think so,” I say, examining my very dirty nails. Trying to bide some time until reinforcements show up, I dig through his glove box looking for something to clean them with.
“What are you doing? Why are you going through my shit? Stop that!” I continue to ignore him when I find a box of toothpicks. I pull one out and start digging the dirt from under my nails.
“Don’t do that in my car! It’s unsanitary, woman! That’s fucking disgusting! I don’t want your dirt in my car, my girl isn’t used to it.” I chuckle as I watch him going nuts, pulling on his hair and muttering expletives.
“Piper, would you please…” and it looks like he’s choking now when he says ‘please’, “Please, unlock the fucking car?”
“Well, since you asked so nicely, of course I’ll unlock the car and let you in,” I respond in my best southern belle accent. When he gets in the car, he pulls his keys from the ignition and places them in his pocket. If the death glare he’s sending my way is any indication of how he feels about me, he doesn’t like me very much. Can’t say that I blame him, and right now those feelings are returned tenfold.
“We need to come to an understanding,” he states. “My car, my rules. No one cleans anything in my car. No one! Especially when it comes off of their body, I keep my girl in mint condition, and I expect you to have respect for her.”
“Oh no! Did I get your precious girl dirty?” I mock him.
“You have no respect, I just saved your ass back there and this is the way you treat me? What kind of bitch are you anyways?”
“I didn’t ask you to, you neanderthal! And I’m the best kind of bitch, thank you very much!” I reply, his comment striking a nerve. But I won’t show fear. Nope. Not me. I’ll brazen it out until he’s out of my life, never letting on that I hate being called a bitch. Guess it could’ve been worse, though. He could have called me a cunt. Then, I would have been clawing his fucking eyes out. It’s the most degrading word I’ve ever heard a man call a woman in my life.
“Like any self-respecting man would’ve left you to rot down there,” he sneers. “Enough talk. Did you get enough to eat?” His change of topic has me whipping my head to look at him once again. I catalog the long, blonde hair, the angled jaw, the lips that are full. Muscles that bulge beneath the short-sleeved t-shirt he’s wearing and he’s tall.
“Yeah, I did, I think. I can’t eat much at a time. I wasn’t exactly staying at the Ritz, y’know,” I reply. His lips twitch at my comment, but he doesn’t say anything in response. I see headlights pull up behind where we’re parked and look over at him with my eyebrow raised in question. “Is that them?”
“Yep, let’s go fill them in on the situation, unless you’d rather stay here?” he asks hopefully. I can tell he’d prefer me to stay right where I am, but that isn’t going to happen.
I place my hand on the door handle and hear him mutter under his breath, “Didn’t think I’d get that lucky.” He steps out of the car and I follow in his stead.
4
Atticus
Stubborn ass woman! I get out of the car and try to beat her over to where my team is waiting on instructions. “Thanks for coming out on such short notice,” I say, but my eyes cut over to her when I say the last part.
“Yes, thank you,” she chimes in, holding out her hand. “I’m Piper, and it’s my sister that you’re going in to rescue.
“Is that right?” Frank, my old buddy from the corps asks her.
“Yep,” she replies, popping that ‘p’ again and making me want to grind my teeth at the tone of her voice.
“Shut it,” I tell her, before looking at Frank. “Y’all got the picture from Jonas already?” I can literally hear her muttering something about cavemen, and assholes, but I ignore her the way she did me earlier.
“Yeah, although all we would have had to know is she looks almost identical to her,” he replies, pointing to Piper. “Hair’s a little lighter, but other than that, they could be twins or something.” I grunt because they look nothing alike, not to me anyhow. My woman has a glow about her that her sister is lacking. Wait a fucking minute…my girl, where the fuck did that thought come from? Fuck that, she’s a bitch, and there’s no way I’d be able to claim a woman as stubborn as she is!
“Any idea where she’d be down there?” Gordon asks me.
“No fucking clue. Piper?” I question, looking over at her.
“I…I don’t know. They just told me they had her, so I presumed she was being held in the same place I was.” Fuck. She sounds upset now, and for some motherfucking reason, I want to pull her close and make all of her troubles disappear. Jesus, I need to get tested, make sure there wasn’t some kind of neurological poison underground that’s affected my thought process because this shit ain’t me.
“So, what’s the plan? What am I going to do?”
“Do? What is it exactly that you think you can contribute to this mission?” I ask her.
“She knows me, she doesn’t know any of you. She’d leave more willingly if I’m there than if I’m not.”
“So, you’re saying because she doesn’t know them, she’d rather stay chained up and held captive than leave with them?”
“Well, maybe?” Her forehead wrinkles as she thinks about it.
“Jesus, I feel like Mom and Dad are fighting, can we just get a move on it already?” Liam asks the group. He’s always been a bit of a smart ass, and just like all the other times it was directed at me, I want to punch his teeth down his throat and make him choke on them.
“Not happening. Give me a key phrase or something that only the two of you would know for these dumbfucks to say to her so she’s comfortable leaving with them,” I command.
“What? And you want it when, now?” she asks.
“Well, tomorrow may be too late,” Frank replies. The stricken look on her face at his words has me clenching my fists, and placing them at my sides, to keep from ramming them down his throat.
“She’s been through enough!” I grit through my teeth.
I hear her swallow roughly when she replies to Frank, “We used to tease each other that roses aren’t always red, and rainbows are prettier than unicorns. We’d always say this to each other when one of us was upset.”
I bite back my laughter at the look on the guys’ faces at what Piper said. “Son of a fucking bitchwhore,” Liam mutters. “Really? We gotta say that?”
“We gotta talk about unicorns and rainbows and shit?” Frank questions the group. I see them questioning their manhood at the thought of speaking of such things.
“Uh, well, that’s been one consistent thing we’ve said since we were kids, so yeah,” Piper responds. I can see her lips twitching when it dawns on her how uncomfortable it’s going to make these guys to say something so juvenile and girly. I have to bite the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from breaking out in hysterical laughter. I wish I was going in with them so I could hear them say those things to her sister.
“I have to get her out of here,” I say, pointing to Piper, “the doc has been on standby at our place waiting to treat her. Bring Destiny to my place when you extract her, she may be needing treatment too.” I place my hand on the small of her back and try to lead her back to the car.
“Wait a minute!” Fuck, should’ve known it wouldn’t have been that easy. “I don’t wanna leave!”
“Too bad,” I say, putting more pressure and forcing her to move. “The doctor gets paid whether you’re there or not, so, since it’s my money, we need to go. Don’t stress, they’ll bring your sister once they get her out.”
“And if they don’t get her?”
“Then you being here would be pointless, now wouldn’t it?” God,
why am I being such an asshole to her, I can’t seem to help myself.
She huffs out in exasperation at my words before jerking away and heading to the passenger side. Once again, she slams my girl’s door and it makes me want to jerk her back out of the car and smack that gorgeous ass.
I give the guys all the information we have and tell them about the tunnels and different wings. I give as much detailed description as I can remember, and that’s a lot, because my mind is like a vault, that stores information, and seals it to my memory bank. When they are comfortable with the intel I’ve provided, I walk over to my poorly abused baby girl, my pride and joy, the car I spent endless hours working on, and shake my head at the thought of having to deal with the hellion inside. She’s a fighter, something I admire, but at the same time, the attraction I hold for her freaks me the fuck out. I need to keep my distance emotionally and keep this entire relationship professional. Otherwise, I have a feeling this spitfire could bring me to my knees, and that’s nothing that I’ll allow any woman to do.
Ever.
Not in this lifetime.
No siree, not this guy.
Hell to the no!
“That’s two,” I tell her, getting in and starting the car.
“Two what?” she questions with confusion marring her face.
“Two times you’ve slammed my girl’s door. Show some fucking respect.”
“That’s twice,” she turns in my direction looking at me, “that you’ve mentioned the word respect, but it doesn’t look like you know the meaning.”
“Damn you’re mouthy,” but secretly, I’m enjoying our verbal sparring.
“Yeah, well you’re an asshole with caveman tendencies, so I guess we’re even,” she states. I don’t bother answering. Instead, I point my girl back to our place. The sooner she gets checked over, the sooner I’ll know whether or not she’s okay. I’ve seen her wince, but not once has she complained, and my admiration has risen immeasurably.
Seeking Our Revenge : Nelson Brothers' Page 4