“Don’t resist. I will give you more. There’s nothing to go back to. No men, no friends, no work, nothing. Your life is with me, in my bed, under my command.” He fixed her top, but not before cupping her breast and nipping her neck again.
She shoved at him. “No.”
He took her hand and brought her over to a couch with a table in front. Curtis took her hand and placed it onto a glass of champagne. “Drink up,” he said to her.
She didn’t want to, but the drugs were making her feel so funny. She felt the rim against her lips and she took a sip. She realized she was thirsty and guzzled down more. He spoke to her. Was telling her something about a plane, a house on the beach.
“We’ll get to know one another. You’ll see how fortunate you’ll be as my woman. I command and you comply, and I’ll provide so much for you.” He kissed her neck, sliding his palm along the slit in her dress and between her legs. He moved it up and down. A new glass was at her lips, and she drank some more. The crowd cheered, making her blink and try to refocus, but she felt worse, sedated. He moved his arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer.
“Kiss me, Jade. I want to feel your lips against my neck, your hands on me,” he said.
In her mind, she could hardly process what was happening. She thought about her men. She felt the hand on her thigh, her hip, and then her ass. He was pulling her closer. The half wall in front of them lowered down, and there was a ring, fighters, a crowd of people, and they had perfect seats to it all. Her head spun while his hand explored, squeezed, and she inhaled. She thought of Seren, Colby, Shane, and Quincy. She leaned into him.
“That’s right. You belong to me, Jade. You’re my woman,” he said to her.
“Your woman,” she repeated, in her head she heard Colby. She pressed her lips against his neck. His hand tightened on her ass. She was lost in the sounds, in his scent, in the sensations running through her body and in her head. He turned and kissed her and she kissed him back, felt excited, and slid her palm to his thigh.
Something was going on behind them. He gripped her tight. “Let’s move. Now.” As he stood up, he pulled her up hard. She fell against his chest, and he lifted her up and carried her out of there. She wrapped her arms around his neck, breathed in his scent. It wasn’t familiar, but she felt needy. She kissed his neck.
“How did this happen? Can we escape?” she heard him say. He set her feet down and held her against the wall. They were in an elevator. He suckled against the cleavage of her breasts. “I can’t wait to get you out of here,” he told her, and she clung to him, held onto him.
He was pulling her again, out of the elevator, down a concrete hallway, into a basement. She heard yelling then a scream. Shots were fired. He tugged her harder, and when she turned she saw Allie and Rodeo. He had his gun drawn and some guy reached for Rodeo. “You owe me money. Give me the fucking money,” the guy said.
“What? I don’t owe you shit. I’m with him,” Rodeo said.
“Us too,” two other men, the ones who took her, said.
“Take care of them,” Coleman ordered, dragging her to an SUV. She heard the gunshots, looked, and saw Allie on the ground, Rodeo and the two men dead. Then there were more gunshots, but she didn’t know if it were real or not. She was in the SUV. They were racing from the parking lot. “Cops,” she thought she heard him say.
“Cops?” she asked.
Coleman cupped her cheek and pressed his mouth to hers. She pressed her palms against him and shoved. “Don’t resist. You are mine,” he said. The SUV went faster, turning and making her lose her ability to stay on the seat.
“No.” She shoved at Coleman, and he struck her across the mouth. It stunned her but also made her feel think a little clearer. “Let me go,” she screamed at him.
“You’re mine. All mine,” he said and ripped her dress, lowered his mouth to her bare breast, and feasted on her as he gripped her thighs and pressed between her legs. The SUV was moving fast. She heard the men in the front seat talking.
“Get to the airport. We can get on the plane. Have the pilot ready to go.”
She swung at his head, trying to stop him. His fingers were bruising her inner thighs, her mound, and she screamed, and then he struck her. He lifted up and struck her again and again. The SUV squealed and skidded. The doors opened. He shoved her head hard against the door, stunning her.
Jade cried out as the door opened, and she felt like she was falling to the ground, but then Coleman was dragging her somewhere. She couldn’t focus. Her vision really blurred, her breasts were exposed, her dress was ripped, and she was bleeding, swollen, and in pain. Fear gripped her as she realized they were climbing up stairs.
She grabbed the bar and screamed out. Her belly was against the metal staircase. “No. No!” she screamed. She could hear sirens in the distance. He kicked her and then punched her, beating on her. Coleman grabbed her hair and was pulling her up the steps when she saw the gap in the stairs. She didn’t know how high it was but she didn’t care. He loosened his hold as multiple police vehicles skidded out, men got out with guns. He released her to start shooting, and she made the choice. She threw herself over the edge of the staircase, fell and hit the ground hard. Gunfire erupted.
There was a sensation like she was floating on a cloud. She blinked and moaned. She felt the hands on her, then saw Shane, Colby, Quincy, and Seren. They looked scared, were saying things, covering her up, but then they were gone, and she felt nothing at all.
Epilogue
Beep…beep…beep…beep. The sound was killing him. Colby was exhausted, scared, sad, and defeated, as he listened to her steady heartbeat and stared at all the tubes and wires. Never had Colby felt so helpless and shitty. Weeks had passed. Jade had been put in an induced coma in hope that the internal bleeding could be stopped. A broken shoulder and arm, five broken ribs, a concussion—she was lucky to be alive. The drugs in her system nearly killed her, and the only reason the doctors found out was because they tested her blood after the police found out she had been drugged. There were needles in the room they held her at the fight club and in the SUV.
He thought about the moment they got deeper into that club, and how he saw her against the guy Coleman. He couldn’t understand why she was kissing him, letting him touch her, and then realized as he carried her that she wasn’t with it. She was on something. The hatred, jealousy, and fear consumed him and his brothers, but they realized the truth as they saw her fighting to get away from Coleman. The man was beating her, and they couldn’t fire back because she was in the line of fire. When she threw herself over the edge of the staircase and fell from that height, they all thought she was dead.
The door to the private room opened. Aldreck’s friend in the Louisiana state police and his buddies got her the best room, the best care possible. “How are we doing?” Kevin asked. He walked into the room with Captain and their mom. Sunny and Jake were holding down the storefront. They would take turns coming to Louisiana. Their friends in Cherry Hill were helping out. There were flowers around the room from Harper’s and their friends.
Three weeks had passed, and she was slowly healing. Later today there would be another set of tests to monitor the internal bleeding, as well as her head injury. The doctors weren’t sure what side effect there might be. They believed she would have died if she landed more on her spine and the back of her head. Breaking her shoulder and arm literally broke the fall.
“No changes. Just looking ahead to the tests they’ll run in another hour,” Quincy told them as he glanced at his watch after shaking his father’s hands hello and giving them hugs. Shane and Seren did the same.
Captain placed his hand on Colby’s shoulder. “How you doing, son?” he asked and Colby shook his head. He didn’t want to talk about his emotions or the fears. He looked back at her beautiful, battered face, all the tubes, the wires, her arm and shoulder in a cast, and he remembered seeing the fingermarks on her body, even between her legs. They ran tests, including a rape kit, to
ensure she hadn’t been raped. The thought while they waited on those results, too, was torturous. They failed her, and she could have died. She must have been so scared.
“She’ll pull through, son. She’s a fighter. We all can see it in her. She’ll make it back to you.”
“And then what? She won’t trust us. We failed her,” he said to Captain.
“You didn’t fail her. You moved heaven and earth to get to her. Killed the men responsible for all the danger and heartache she went through. Those detectives and federal agents are still locking people up, closing down other sites. It’s all over the television, the radio stations. The bust was huge, and now your woman is safe and right here healing.”
“What if she doesn’t heal? What if the bleeding hasn’t stopped? The surgery is risky, and they don’t even know where the bleeding is coming from. What about her head? Her brain? What if she isn’t right? How can she live like that, all because we let her out of our sights?”
“She will live. She will be just fine because she’s a fighter, and she will want to get back to her men. To the love and security of your arms. You’ll need to comfort her, reassure her that she’s safe. She’ll need a lot of counseling and a lot of understanding,” Meryl told them.
The door to the room opened again and there was Dr. Masterson. “Hello Fortane family.”
They all greeted the very nice, professional doctor.
“I have a good feeling about today. I think this young lady is very strong and determined to heal. We’re going to bring her down to testing. She’ll be there for an hour or so, so if you would like to grab something to eat, take a little break from this room, you should,” he said and walked over to the bed. He checked her vitals on the machine, then caressed her hand. He had a great bedside manner. The other two nurses walked in and his brothers and dads walked out of the room.
Colby looked at Jade. “You got this, baby. Can’t wait to take you home,” he said and walked out of the room.
Quincy could hardly eat anything. Their dads talked to them into having a couple of beers and relaxing a little. Even those didn’t go down well. One look at Colby, Shane, and Seren and he could tell they were feeling the same way. Then he spotted Aldreck’s cousin, Case, who worked for the state police.
“Dr. Masterson said you guys were over here.” He shook their hands and their fathers’ hands before he pulled over a chair to join them. They had decided to hit the small restaurant and bar across from the hospital to get out of there a little bit. It had become their regular spot for food.
“I hear your woman is holding steady and getting stronger. Doc has a good feeling that the test results will be positive.”
“We hope so, Case. Any updates with the case?” Quincy asked.
“It’s ongoing, and the connections and people involved just keep expanding. Jade’s father is in jail, the mother, too, on numerous federal charges. They might be in prison for life with the evidence against them,” Case told them.
“Good.”
“Coleman is still touch and go. The doctors don’t think he’ll make it. His attorneys and other vultures decided to go after one another when they realized they wouldn’t get any money from the state or suing the cops. Of course in doing so, the feds are investigating every one of them, so more cases are opening up and it’s a fucking mess,” he said and chuckled.
“Well, they get what they deserve. To think that her father sold Jade to Coleman making some kind of business deal is insanity,” Kevin said.
“Aldreck said you guys haven’t been back home yet, but that friend of yours, Turner? He was a big help, confirmed that Gordo saw a picture of Jade on his phone. They talked about her and he believes that was how Coleman found out where Jade was. Then Gordo and Flynn worked both Coleman and Eddie, her father, to see who they could get more money from. Doesn’t matter, I guess. All of them are dead. Her sister, too.”
“I don’t know how Jade will feel about all of this. About her sister dying. She wasn’t as lucky as Jade and didn’t escape, from what Jade had told us,” Seren said to him.
“It’s incredible, and your woman can live free now. None of the dangers exist anymore, and you can concentrate on loving her and starting your new life together. I’m going to head out. Good luck, and I hope you get great news today,” Case said. He stood up and shook their hands good-bye, then left.
Jade could hear the humming, beeping sound and could feel a pain in her chest as she took a breath. She moaned and tried to move, then felt the gentle touch to her cheek.
“Easy, baby,” Seren said to her.
“She’s awake?” she heard Shane say.
“Get the doctor, Colby,” Quincy told him.
She tried to blink her eyes open but felt the pain. “You have a swollen eye still, some broken bones and ribs, but the bleeding inside stopped. Things are looking good, baby,” Seren told her.
“There she is.” She heard another voice, and then Seren stepped back. “Hello, Jade. I’m Doctor Masterson. How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Hurt,” she said and then coughed. They got her some water and slowly the bed rose up. She blinked and moaned, felt the pain in her shoulder and arm as tears filled her eyes.
“Easy,” Colby said, and she looked right at him, could see his upset.
“Do you remember what happened to you?” the doctor asked.
“Drugs. They drugged me,” she answered.
“Yes, we found a lot of drugs in your blood work. All is clear now. I don’t want to bombard you with too much information. Can you tell me your full name?” he asked, and she said it. “How old are you?” She answered. “Where do you live?”
“Cherry Hill.”
He asked her a few more questions and smiled. “Very good. Why don’t I let you spend some time with your men before you fall back to sleep.”
“Doctor,” she said, and then she glanced at Seren and them and then back at the doctor. He pressed closer. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I…did Coleman rape me?” she asked him, and Seren felt sick.
“We did some tests, and no, he didn’t.”
She closed her eyes, the tears flowed. “I can’t remember. I don’t remember everything.”
“It’s okay. That’s part of your body’s and your mind’s way of recovering. Your men already set up counseling services for you with a good friend in that town you live in. You be sure to take advantage of those. I’ll leave you now.” He smiled and walked out of the room.
Seren wiped her tears from her cheeks. “Oh God, baby, we’re so sorry.”
She shook her head and winced. “I thought I would never see you again,” she said and he kissed her forehead and then the others kissed her, caressed her cheek, and spoke to her softly. She could see the sadness in their eyes, could tell they hadn’t slept, looked exhausted, and had beards. She caressed Colby’s. “What’s’ this?” she asked and closed her eyes.
“A new look,” he whispered and nuzzled next to her neck and kissed her. “I love you. We’ll never let you out of our sights again.”
She fell back to sleep knowing she was safe and the danger was over.
Colby was looking out at the land by the deck of the house. The last few weeks were difficult, but Jade was getting used to being in their home and learning to cope with her injuries and recovering. He hated, absolutely hated seeing her in pain. He couldn’t look as Quincy rewrapped her cast so she could shower. She no longer had bandages on her ribs, and instead sported nasty, ugly bruise there. He tightened up a moment when he felt the palm press against his back and up and under his shirt. He closed his eyes and absorbed the sensation of Jade caressing him. She slid under his arm, her cast over her shoulder and arm a bit bulky, but it didn’t stop her from trying to help them cook dinner or help their mom when they went over there to the front of the house.
“What are you doing out here?” she asked him. His brothers walked out there, too.
What Love Feels Like Page 16