by Becca Van
After thinking about it, Danny knew the fucker was right. If he’d gone to the library on its opening day when it was packed full of people wanting to borrow books, he wouldn’t have been able to make a move and would have shown his hand. The bitch would have called the cops, and he’d already be locked behind bars.
It was too dangerous to show his face, so he needed the asshole to help him get his hands on the cunt. But how?
“Did you say she’s fucking three men?” Danny asked when he remembered what John had said. Sometimes it took hours for him to take in everything he was told because of the gods yammering in his head. Other times he remembered none of it, but this was one of his good days.
Maybe because John didn’t have many hits with him and he’d only been able to shoot up once. He might have been a user, but Danny wasn’t fucking stupid. He knew that John was using the hits to control him, but he hadn’t figured out what the prick wanted yet. Other than the money he owed him, of course.
John had left the motel room around lunchtime to scope the library out, but when he’d come back, even Danny could see the other man wasn’t happy.
“Getting to her during the day is out.”
“Why?” Danny asked.
“Because one of the men she’s screwing was in the fucking library. I have a feeling they’re her bodyguards.”
“Why the fuck does that cunt need a bodyguard?”
John had just quirked an eyebrow at him and waited expectantly. This time Danny had been right on the ball, and he’d realized he was the reason his stepsister had security men. Danny pushed his thoughts aside, trying to bring his mind back to the present.
“Any ideas on how the hell we can get her alone?”
“Not yet, but I’m working on it,” John replied distractedly. “Maybe I can slip into the library before it closes tomorrow. I can drug whichever guy is with her and carry her out the loading door.”
Anger surged when he realized the fucker had been holding out on him. He had more hits on him than he’d told Danny, but he breathed in and out a few times to keep his control. Now wasn’t the time to call the bastard out. Once he had what he wanted, then he’d get rid of the prick and get his hands on whatever the fucker was hiding.
“You’re going to need my help,” Danny said as his gut fluttered with excitement. If John had enough drugs, he could shoot that slut up, too, that way she’d be too out of it to cause any trouble. “Let’s drive back to the library. We need to check the place out. The last thing we need is someone seeing you sneaking out with my sister slung over your shoulder.”
“Good idea.” John straightened in his seat, started the car, and eased away from the curb.
Danny sat forward in his seat, eager to see the new library building. Minutes later John drove around the large building to the back. There was easy access since there was an asphalt lane leading toward the delivery and loading area. As soon as John stopped the car, Danny unbuckled his seat belt, opened the door, and got out. He glanced about to make sure they couldn’t be seen from the main road, sighing with relief that they weren’t visible. The only way anyone was going to know he and John were there was if they drove around the corner to access the rear of the library. He couldn’t see anyone doing that at this time of night, or late tomorrow afternoon when the library was about to close. He’d think that a delivery of books or any other distribution would be done throughout the day or first thing in the morning.
Find her. Kill her!
Get the bitch. Get the money.
Kill John. Kill John.
Kill Shyann. Kill the cunt.
Danny grabbed the sides of his head as he spun in circles. His hands were shaking, and so were his legs. He needed another hit to stop the trembling. He was sweating up a storm and feeling sick to his stomach.
The only way he was going to feel well again was to have enough cash to pay for all the drugs he wanted. When he had all that money, his life was going to be one great big party.
* * * *
Shyann leaned against Brigg as he bathed her in the shower. She couldn’t stop smiling after making love with him. Her heart was so full of love, of happiness, there was no way she could contain it. She hadn’t smiled this much in what felt like forever, and her jaw and face muscles were aching. After he’d finished running his soapy hands all over her body and rinsing her off, he guided her to the tile wall. She leaned back against it, following the path of his hands as he washed himself. Her pussy clenched with renewed desire, but she was too tired for another round of lovemaking with any of her men. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open and staying on her feet. If she hadn’t been leaning against the tiles, she had a feeling she would be swaying to and fro.
She blinked eyes she hadn’t realized she’d closed when the water turned off. Shyann was about to push off the wall, but Brigg swept her up into his arms and carried her out. She was surprised to see Tane and Raiden in the bathroom. Raiden was leaning against the counter with an indulgent smile on his face, and Tane was standing near the bathmat, a towel in his hand.
As soon as Brigg lowered her feet to the floor, he moved behind her and held her steady by her shoulders. Tane rubbed the towel over her body, soaking up the moisture, and then he started on her hair.
As soon as she was dry, Raiden hurried toward her, lifted her into his arms, and carried her toward the bed. She didn’t protest as he lowered her to the mattress, pulling the covers up over her body to keep her warm. She tried to stop her heavy eyelids from closing as Raiden began to undress, but she was fighting a losing battle. The covers lifted, causing goose bumps to erupt over her flesh as cool air drifted over her skin. When she heard more rustling, she forced her eyes open and met Tane’s gaze as he shucked his clothes.
Brigg came out of the bathroom, his gorgeous muscular body bare for her perusal, but she ended up closing her eyes when she yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.
Tane and Brigg climbed into bed with her and Raiden. Raiden was on one side of her, Tane on the other, with Brigg lying across the bottom of the mattress. She was surrounded by big, brawny bodies, warm, safe, and loved.
Shyann relaxed into the comfortable mattress and drifted off to sleep.
* * * *
The second day the library was open was busier than the first. Shyann, Sammy, and Kat were run off their feet serving people wanting to borrow books or do research on the computers set up near the back of the massive room.
She was aware of Tane keeping an eye on her but was disappointed she couldn’t share lunch with her men. She’d sent Sammy on her lunch break before she knew that Brigg and Raiden were going to bring them food. It had been way too busy to leave Kat on her own to tend so many people. She’d acknowledged her men with a smile and a wave when they entered and again when they’d left. Thankfully, they hadn’t seemed perturbed or disappointed that she hadn’t been able to join them and Tane.
When she realized that she’d just serviced the last patron, Shyann sighed with relief as she glanced at the clock. There was only just under half an hour left before she could close and lock the doors, but there was still work to do. Some of the books that had been borrowed yesterday had already been returned and needed to be put back in the correct place.
Tane was helping by turning all the computers off since they were no longer being used.
Sammy had left at three since she was a single mom and needed to pick her daughter up from nursery school. Her scheduled workday was 9:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. Kat had left a few minutes ago. Her designated hours were 10:00 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. Thankfully both women had decided to work a full day yesterday to help out with the crowd of the first day.
Even though Shyann loved what she did, she really hoped the novelty of the new library would wear off quickly, so it wasn’t so crazy. Although being as busy as they had been had certainly made the day fly by.
Shyann loaded the trolley cart with the returned books and headed for the aisles. She was almost finished replacing th
em when she heard a loud thump. Hurrying toward the end of the aisle, she glanced toward the entrance, but the doors were still closed. She walked out toward the center of the room and stopped her tracks. She caught sight of the top of a man’s head just above one of the computer desks.
“Hey, are you all right?” Shyann asked as she rushed toward him. It wasn’t until she was close enough for him to reach her that she spied Tane lying unconscious on the floor. Fear made her heart skip a beat before it slammed against her sternum hard and fast. “Tane,” she sobbed as she dropped to her knees by his head. “What happened?”
When the guy kneeling next to her man met her gaze, frissons of terror raced up her spine. His eyes were so cold it was a wonder he hadn’t frozen her on the spot. She gazed back at Tane and saw a bruised lump forming on his head just above his temple, but when she saw the empty syringe in the man’s hand, her blood froze.
“What the hell did you do?” Shyann shouted even while she knew she should be getting away from him to call the police, but knowing this guy had hurt one of the men she loved, turned her blood to fire.
Shyann used her legs to shove up from the floor and lunge at him, but before she even touched him, she was caught from behind. The familiar stench of cheap cologne assailed her olfactory senses, causing her eyes to water and her to gag. It took her a moment or two for her brain to start functioning. When it did, she started to struggle. The guy in front of her surged to his feet, and when she saw he now had a needle full of something, she kicked out toward his hand. She sobbed when she missed. He’d seen her foot coming and jumped back.
She tried to wrench out of her brother’s hold, but she wasn’t strong enough. He had hold of her hair in such a tight grip she was certain the strands were going to come out by the roots. Shyann reached up to grab his wrists to alleviate the tension on her hair but changed her mind at the last minute. She raked her nails down his face. Her stomach roiled when his greasy skin built up under her nails, making them feel as if they were full of dirt. He roared with pain, loosened his arm around her waist, but before she could escape from him fully, his closed fist slammed into her jaw and cheek.
Pain exploded in her head, and even though she tried to cry out, all that escaped her mouth was a moan. She breathed deeply, trying to stave off the threatening darkness as she blinked rapidly to regain her vision. Just as she was able to make out the outline of the man in front of her, something stabbed into her neck. She felt the drug being plunged into her vein, making her body feel heavy and unresponsive straightaway. She tried to lock her knees to stay upright, but they buckled under her. Shyann thought she cried out, but if any sound emerged from her mouth, it didn’t reach her ears.
The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was the blurry outline of Tane’s supine body lying on the floor, and then she drifted away on a surreal drug-induced cloud.
* * * *
Tane frowned when he heard the low rumble of voices and the incessant ringing of a phone. He knew there was something wrong, something he needed to remember, but his head was aching so much his mind was sluggish. His mouth was so dry he felt as if his tongue was stuck to the roof, and it was painful to swallow. He tried to roll over but ended up stilling as he clutched his aching head.
“Tane. Tane! Wake the fuck up!” Raiden all but shouted in his face.
Tane blinked a few times, breathing deeply as pain shot into his brain when the bright lights above hurt his eyes. His stomach was roiling, and for a minute he thought he was going to throw up. When he felt something cold and wet drip down the side of his face, he realized Raiden was holding an ice pack to his head. “What the fuck…Shyann!”
“Did you see who hit you?” Brigg asked through clenched teeth.
“No. Fuck! I didn’t even hear the fucker come up at me from behind.”
“They were probably already in here,” Deputy Wilder Sheffield said.
“Help me up,” Tane ordered.
Raiden and Brigg helped him sit up, keeping him steady as dizziness assailed him and his head pounded. After a moment he gritted his teeth, gave his brothers a slight nod and they helped him to his feet.
He groaned when pain shot into his brain, but he couldn’t let a slight injury stop him. They needed to find out who’d taken Shyann. Tane met Wilder’s gaze. “What have you got?”
“Cree and Nash are going over the camera recordings.” Wilder scrubbed a hand down his face.
“What cameras? I didn’t even know there were any.”
“Thank fuck there are,” Brigg snarled, turning his frustrated ire onto Tane. “What the fuck were you doing? You’re a trained soldier. How could you let anyone get the drop on you?”
“Settle down, Brigg.” Raiden clasped Brigg’s shoulder. “It could have happened to anyone. You can’t go blaming Tane for Shyann’s kidnapping.”
“I’m sorry,” Tane said. “If I could trade places with her, you know I would. Better yet, I’d have taken that fucker down.”
“I’ve found them.” Cree came out of the office situated next to the staff kitchen. Nash was on his heels. “There were two of them. One asshole was hiding in the loading dock out back. The door was partially open. That’s why you didn’t hear anything. He coldcocked you from behind, and then his cohort jabbed you with a needle.”
Tane didn’t care about himself. He was scared out of his mind for Shyann and wanted to lite out after her.
“What vehicle are they driving? Do you have the make, model, and license plate? Do you know who took her?”
When Tane noticed how tense and angry Cree and Nash looked, the knot of anxiety in his gut got bigger. He swallowed audibly as he waited for one of them to answer. They glanced at each other and then at Wilder.
“Just spit it the fuck out,” Tane snarled.
“Her brother and another guy who’s on the Athens PD’s radar for drug trafficking,” Cree said.
Tane trembled with fear and fury. He pushed his fear aside as he tried to remember all of his military training. Even though he and his brothers had been medics, they were still trained soldiers. They’d been in the thick of fighting wars often while serving their country. If he had a gun in his hand and found those fuckers, he’d shoot them in their heads himself.
“Do you know where they’re heading?” Raiden asked in a hoarse voice.
Tane could see how angry and upset both his brothers were. None of them were going to feel any better until they had the love of their lives back.
“Yeah,” Nash said. “Yeah, we just had a call come in from an officer on patrol.”
“And?” Brigg clenched his hands into fists.
“They’re just outside of Cortez,” Cree replied.
“Fuck!” Tane growled. “We need to leave. Now! That’s just over an hour away.” He spun on his heels, ignoring the pounding in his head as he hurried toward the exit.
“Wait!” Nash called out. “Sheriffs Luke Sun-Walker and Damon Osborne had a meeting with someone in Dolores. They’re going to try and head the bastards off.”
“Good,” Tane yelled back over his shoulder. He didn’t need to look back to see if Brigg and Raiden were following him. He could hear the pounding of their heavy footsteps as they rushed after him.
While Tane wanted to drive, he wasn’t about to get into the driver’s seat when he wasn’t feeling at a hundred percent. As soon as he heard the beep indicating Raiden had unlocked his truck, he got into the front passenger seat and buckled up. Seconds later Raiden was behind the wheel and Brigg was in the back. His brother gunned the engine before putting his seat belt on and closing the door. The door slammed shut by itself, and Raiden tugged his belt over his shoulder and clicked it into place without taking his eyes off the road.
Tane grabbed hold of the “oh shit” handle as Raiden careened around a sharp corner. He was thrown back into his seat when his brother pressed down hard on the gas pedal. Thankfully, they’d been in Slick Rock a while. Long enough for him and his brothers to know the county good enou
gh to speed along some of the treacherous roads. He didn’t care how fast Raiden drove. Well, he did, as long as it was fast. They were all skilled drivers, and Tane wasn’t worried about Raiden losing control.
All that mattered was that they get to Shyann as quickly as possible. He didn’t even want to think about what her brother was doing to her, or that the crazy bastard had stabbed their parents to death.
Chapter Twenty
Shyann’s shoulder bumped against the door as she came to. Her head and face were hurting so bad, her stomach was roiling. It took her a few moments to realize she was in a moving vehicle. Her head and neck were at an awkward angle, and while she wanted to move position to relieve the tension in her neck muscles, she waited. She needed to figure out what was going on.
She stifled a gasp when she remembered Tane supine on the library floor and her struggle to escape her brother. Was Tane even alive? Had her crazy brother killed one of the men she loved? Tears threatened, but she ruthlessly pushed them away. Now wasn’t the time to let her emotions rule her. Now was the time to use the brain that God had given her.
But then she remembered Danny wasn’t the only person who’d had a hand in kidnapping her. However, she had no idea who the other guy was and wasn’t sure she wanted to know. All she cared about was getting out of this alive. She’d only just met and fallen in love with Raiden, Brigg, and Tane. No one was going to take her dream life from her.
Shyann slowly moved her arms and legs, hands and feet, surprised and glad that she hadn’t been trussed up. She opened her eyes to see that she was awkwardly splayed across the back seat of a car. Luckily, her brother and the other asshole were in the front of the vehicle. Being careful to keep her head down as much as possible so she didn’t alert the other occupants she was awake, she lifted her head from the seat and glanced about. There was nothing to use as a weapon. The only thing she had to use was her wits.