“You didn’t let me pull the last one’s teeth, so I guess removing this one’s fingers will have to do,” Silas replies. He goes over to the table and gets the bolt cutters. I see when Sinclair realizes that we weren’t bullshitting him, because he starts blubbering.
“Sorry, man, but you touched my little sister,” Silas states before he starts taking the asshole’s fingers off at the base of his hand.
“I didn’t know!” he sobs.
“Doesn’t matter. We know you tried to roofie her. How many other women have you done that to?” May as well pump him for any information we can.
“They’re all still alive!”
“What do you mean?” Silas questions. I see terror creep up in his eyes.
“All of the women are still alive,” he shrieks. Guess his hands are hurting judging from the pile of fingers on the floor.
“Where are they?”
“At my warehouse, 1240 Sycamore Lane. It is under my corporation’s name.”
“You have a corporation? I’d think you’d dress nicer if you had that type of dough.”
“It’s in my wife’s name.”
“You’re married!” I bellow.
“Unfortunately. I can’t stand the bitch, so I’ve made sure there’s no paper trail linking me to her.”
“Does she know what kind of man she married?” I ask. I fucking hate cheaters.
“No! It was a marriage of convenience. Fucked her once, one miserable time, but she’s way too goody-goody for my tastes, so I’ve been finding my pleasure elsewhere.” Yeah, keep talking. He doesn’t realize it, but he’s burying himself deeper.
“With women you roofie!” Silas bellows.
“No one misses them! I only take the ones that don’t have a family!” his voice breaks in fear.
“I guess that makes it better,” I play along.
“Yeah man, I wouldn’t steal someone’s mother or wife.”
“Well, that does change things a bit,” Silas picks up my game.
“I’ve given you everything, I promise to not retaliate, you can have everything.”
“Oh, you won’t be retaliating. Silas, cut out his tongue. I’m tired of hearing his pathetic excuses coming from his mouth.”
“What will happen to my wife?”
“She’s not your concern any longer,” Silas states, as he uses the mouth forceps we ordered from one of our sources to pry Sinclair’s mouth open.
“We have a kid, don’t hurt the boy.”
“Okay, now I’m gonna be sick to my stomach,” I announce.
“You’ve got a kid?” Silas hisses. I can see the vein popping out on his forehead. He took the brunt of the shit that our old man dealt us, to protect me and Jonas so any time a kid comes into play, he goes a little crazy. Well, crazier, but who am I to judge, because one way or another, we’re crazy motherfuckers on a good day.
“He’s four, almost five. He’s…he’s got issues,” the fuckwad whispers.
“Let me get this straight. You’ve got a wife that you cheat on, regularly, and a kid who you claim has issues?”
“What kind of issues?” Silas questions.
“Fuck, I don’t know, man, he’s scared of his own shadow!”
“You scare your own kid?” Now Silas’ voice has turned deadly. I know he’s gone somewhere in his head and I think our guest may have spoken his last words.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Lights out, fucker!” Silas yells, before he snatches Sinclair’s tongue from his mouth while slicing his throat. Well, fuck me. Didn’t see that one coming.
14
Piper
Atticus came back to our bedroom late last night, I was already asleep when he crawled in next to me and pulled me close. I faintly remember him whispering something in my ear, but I can’t remember what it was he said, because I was so emotionally drained. Waking up next to him, I look at his face, relaxed in sleep. He’s so handsome and I lightly trace my finger across his cheek.
“Too early,” he murmurs, never opening his eyes. “Sleep, Hellcat.”
I shrug even though he can’t see me. Unlike him, I fell asleep around ten and slept soundly until now. “Roughrider, I slept all night,” I whisper. “What…what did you find out about Destiny?”
He sighs a little and opens one eye. “If I tell you, then fuck you stupid, can I go back to sleep?” I can feel his erection against my thigh, so I know his annoyed tone isn’t really serious.
“I suppose,” I respond. “But tell me about my sister first, please.”
“We got an address and Jonas checked into it. If she’s there, our back-up team will get her out.”
“What do you mean, ‘if she’s there’?” I ask.
“They keep moving her around, Hellcat. But we now know how to find his other safe houses, so if she’s not at that one, we’ll find her. I promise.” His hands are now roaming and I know he’s trying to distract me, but this is serious.
“Atticus…I can’t just sit idly by and wait,” I protest.
“You’re not, baby. What you did last night got us a shit ton of information and it’s gonna take time to make sure that we don’t put your sister in any danger.”
Danger?
Fuck. But isn’t she already in danger? I mean she’s in the hands of some psycho. My mind goes back to the treatment I received while in captivity, and I shiver. If she’s going through even a portion of that, it’s going to destroy her. She’s not as emotionally strong as I am.
“You’re overthinking, Hellcat,” he whispers near my ear. The tingle that courses through my body isn’t born of desire, but rooted in fear.
“I’m scared for her, Roughrider,” I whisper back. “She may not be able to come back from whatever they’ve done to her.”
“If she’s got an ounce of your backbone in her, she’s gonna be fine. And she’s got you and all of us to help her get to good again. I promise, baby.”
“Atticus?” I ask, cuddling closer.
“Hmm?”
“Can we get to the second part now?”
“Absofuckinglutely, Hellcat. It would be my pleasure.”
Atticus
Once we’ve had fun and showered, we head on downstairs to scrounge up some much-needed food. I notice that Piper seems to have adapted to what we buy and my eyes roam her body. She’s put some of the weight she lost back on, and I know she’s been using our home gym since she’s been alone so much with nothing to do. Her body is now toned, in all the right places. I mentally groan when I get hard again thinking of her luscious body pressed against mine.
“Atticus, what are you thinking about?”
I smirk at her and she rolls her eyes. “Really? You’re gonna get tired of all of this,” she replies, waving her hands down her body. Maybe she’s confusing me with someone else, because I don’t see me getting enough of her…nowhere close to it.
“Maybe sometime, say in the next millennium. But right now, we need to hit the office and see what Jonas was able to find out. Grab your breakfast and let’s go,” I state, smacking her on the ass. She made some kind of breakfast burritos last night and quickly heats several up for us.
“Appreciate it,” Silas says, grabbing my plate from her.
“Fucker, those were mine!” I holler as he walks away.
“Cool your jets, Roughrider, I made plenty,” she says, going and pulling out the pan and placing more on a plate. She puts them in the microwave and comes over, leans up on her toes and kisses me. “It’s all good, Atticus.”
“It will be as long as Jonas doesn’t come in and grab the next plate,” I fume.
“I’m heating up enough for the three of us,” she states. “See? Problem solved. I see you get hangry.”
Her words force a chuckle out of me because she’s right. I don’t like my food fucked with when I’m hungry. I do get angry. As a matter of fact, it downright pisses me off. We grab three plates and head down the stairs. I see Jonas sitting at Silas’ desk with his laptop perched o
n top. They are both leaning over it, and pointing to something on the screen.
“Did you find her?” Piper asks as soon as we walk in. She hands Jonas his plate and stands over his shoulder, something he usually hates, at least when Silas and I do it. Yet, he isn’t saying anything to her.
“Yeah, babe, think we have,” Jonas mutters around a mouthful of burrito.
“I’m going to lead the extraction team, we leave here in thirty-minutes,” Silas says around a bite of his burrito.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Silas, it’s unbecoming,” Piper scolds him, causing Jonas and myself to burst out in a laughing fit. She’s really becoming the mother hen around here, and I personally am loving every second of it. Especially when it isn’t directed towards me.
“Sorry, darlin’, not used to having a woman around,” Silas says, wiping his mouth after chewing the rest of his food with his mouth closed this time.
“I checked into the woman that Sinclair was married to,” Jonas remarks. I look closely at him and see the exhaustion on his face.
“You look uglier than normal, brother. Didn’t you sleep?”
“This is too important,” he mutters, flipping to another screen. “See her? That’s what that piece of shit was married to. From everything I can tell, she has no clue that he put all these properties in her name. She’s gonna need our help, I think.”
“I gotta go,” Silas says, looking at the clock on the wall. “We’re meeting first before we go in. The guys will be waiting on me. I’ll keep y’all posted,” he says, walking out of the room with determination in each step.
“It’s almost over,” Piper whispers, so low I almost miss her words.
“We promised you, and we always keep our promises,” I lower my top half, and whisper in her ear.
She slumps into me, and I squeeze her in my arms. “I’ve got you, I’ll always have you,” I say.
“Well, don’t I feel like the third wheel,” Jonas pipes up.
“Do you got something to do brother?” I hiss his way.
“Yep, I’ve got a wife to go speak with,” he says, getting up and walking away.
“That should be a fun conversation,” I say, and Piper nods her head in agreement.
“Better him than one of us,” she mutters into my chest.
“Isn’t that the truth,” I agree, kissing her head.
“Let’s get Dr. Sandall over so he can be here in case your sister is in need of his services,” I tell Piper, lightly popping her on the ass to get her moving.
“Always manhandling me,” she jokes.
“You haven’t seen manhandling yet,” I reply, mentally picturing her on all fours as I pound into her.
“Get on the phone, you neanderthal, I’ve got to go up and get the spare room I was staying in and make sure it’s ready for when she gets here. She’ll need her own space to unwind, and somewhere private to escape to, in case she needs a minute to cry by herself.”
I’m okay with that. A crying woman is something I have no experience with, and even though I’ve got Piper, her tears will be enough.
Piper and I have been sitting in the media room, trying to have something occupy our minds so we’re not continuously checking the clock. It’s been awhile since Silas and Jonas left and it’s been radio silence.
“Have you ever binge-watched a show?” she asks as I mindlessly flip through the channels.
“What the fuck is that?” Other than an occasional game, I don’t buy into the latest trends in the entertainment industry. Hell, the last movie I remember watching was John Wick, for fuck’s sake!
“I’m not much of a television watcher, either. I’d rather snuggle up with a comfy blanket and get lost in the lives of some fictional character. Their lives are way more interesting than mine.” she says to me.
“Until now,” I state, leaning over her and nipping her ear.
“Until now,” she agrees. “Atticus, I have a confession to make.” she bites her lip, I can tell she’s been debating over in her head if she should tell me this or let it be.
“What’s that, beautiful?”
“Well, in the beginning, when we first met, well, I kinda had a plan to seduce you and use you to help me find my sister. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind, and the only thing I could concentrate on was how you could help me. What I could do to take advantage of your generosity and get you to do what I needed.” I think about what she says, and understand where she was coming from.
“That’s okay, all I wanted to do was get buried deep inside of your body and toss you to the curb. I think we’ve both changed and grown since the day we met. Don’t you?”
“I do, now what should we do?” she asks me, “I’m just relieved that you don’t throw me out the door.”
“Not happening, Hellcat. And as for what we can do while we wait, I don’t know. We could always make out like teenagers?” I suggest. Hell, when I was a teenager, I sure as fuck didn’t waste my time on the niceties. Nope, it was get in, get my gloved-up dick wet, then get gone. But…she doesn’t need to know that, now does she? Though she seems pretty good at math and I’m sure she knows two plus two equals four.
“Hmm, sounds interesting,” she murmurs. Just then, I hear the front door bang open and a lot of footsteps coming into the house. She sits up and looks at me, then jumps up and runs. I trail behind her, having to slow down because my legs are longer than hers. “Destiny!” she screams out, when she notices her sister limply laying in Silas’ arms.
“Back away,” he growls…holy shit! He looks like a bulldog ready to sink his teeth into her. I have got to do something so he doesn’t use his chompers on her.
“Piper, pull back. He’s a man on a mission and needs to get her up to the infirmary so the doctor can look at her. C’mon, baby. She’ll be okay, Silas won’t let anything happen to her. Look at him, he’s protecting her from everyone, not just you.” The wild look in his eyes is one I file away. He’s never been affected by a case before. Ever.
“But, but she’ll need me. She doesn’t know him!” she huskily stammers out. I can see the tears trying to be set free. I can’t let her break down, not now.
“Baby, she’s in the best hands she can be in. You’ve got to step back and let them help her.” I try reasoning with her once again.
She looks once again at Silas, who hasn’t stopped his forward movement, then at the condition Destiny appears to be in. Throwing her hands up in defeat, she allows me to pull her close so he can pass. I know I won’t keep her out of the infirmary for long, but right now, she’s more of a hindrance than anything.
As he passes, I hear him mutter, “Got you, princess. Not letting go. Ever.” He’s lost in his own head right now and the best thing I can do is be there when all hell breaks loose.
Oh shit, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say I just witnessed my big brother laying claim to a woman. And not any woman, my woman’s baby sister. This has the makings of a disaster written all over it.
It better not interfere with mine and Piper’s relationship, otherwise, I’ll have to get into a fight with him. Because there’s no way in hell I’m going to lose her now. Not after I finally let my barriers down, and most certainly not after I let her infiltrate my heart. I’ll fight to the death to keep her right where the fuck she is.
“Atticus,” she keens out once they’ve passed. “She…she looks terrible.”
“Dr. Sandall will get her fixed up, Hellcat. He’s dealt with far worse.” I just wonder if she’ll need a secondary doctor, one who works with PTSD and trauma.
“What if…what if they…you know,” she says. Even though she doesn’t finish her statement, I know what she’s thinking, and decide I need to shut that shit down now.
“If she was, we’ll help her deal with it, Hellcat.” Yeah, I’m using the nickname I gave her with almost every statement that passes my lips, but I’m trying to fire her up a little bit and remind her, she’s strong and so is that little slip of a woman that Silas
carried through as though she were the most precious gem.
“This is going to get interesting,” I accidently say out loud.
“What will?” she inquires.
“Did you see the way my brother was looking at your sister? Not to mention the way he lovingly was stroking her hair and talking to her as he passed us?”
“I think he’ll be good for her. As long as he doesn’t act like the jerkoff you did.”
“Jerkoff? I was a gentleman,” I tease her.
“You obviously missed the memo in etiquette school, but being a growly fucker who has rules about his vehicle is not under the ‘gentleman’ chapter.”
“Can’t promise I won’t be an asshole again, either,” I admit. “It’s hard-wired in me, baby, and the sooner you grasp that, the better off we’ll be.”
“Yeah, kinda figured as much. Guess I’ll have to overlook that flaw in the man I’ve grown to love.”
“Say it again.” I grab her chin and force her to look at me.
“I figure…”
“Not that!”
“Well what the hell do you want then?” She knows damn well what I want.
“Say it, Piper.” Yeah, I’m a growly son-of-a-bitch right now, and don’t give a flying fuck. I need her to repeat it again.
She reaches up and strokes my cheek. “I love you, Roughrider. Fought like hell against my feelings, but I realize that life is too fucking short. I’m going for the brass ring.”
“Speaking of rings,” I say, getting down on one knee.
“Atticus? What…what are you doing?” she whispers.
“Making it permanent, Hellcat. You gonna marry me or what?”
“You didn’t exactly ask, Atticus!”
“Not gonna ask, Piper. There’s no need, I won’t take the chance of you saying no. I won’t ever let you go, Piper. Swear it on my life, I’ll do everything I can to be the best husband to you. I won’t be perfect, we won’t be perfect. We’ll probably fight like cats and dogs, but I’d rather you scratch, pull, and throw me down a flight of stairs every single day of our lives, than to not wake up with you in my arms each and every morning. So, slide the ring on and let’s start planning a trip to the justice of the peace already.”
Seeking Our Revenge : Nelson Brothers' Page 14