Stryker turned back toward me, holding his phone as he looked my way. “Gunner and Brock are going back to the house for the night. They’ll be here in the morning. They think they’re being followed.”
I nodded, more than aware that meant Stryker and I were alone for the rest of the night and he wasn’t going to touch me again. I blinked my frustration away. I needed sleep and I needed to feel safe. Both of which seemed a far-off dream at the moment.
Stryker set the phone down behind him on the table and moved to the door, checking the automatic locks before turning back to me. “I don’t think you should sleep alone tonight.” But there wasn’t hunger in his eyes as he studied me.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure I can sleep anyway.” All the rest I’d gotten over the last week had been fuzzy and medically induced. While the drugs were wearing off, the pain in my limbs, muscles, abdomen, and torso had become more prominent. I realized just how much the drugs had actually helped me keep it somewhat together while under Blaze’s thumb.
The drugs had kept reality at bay.
“You need sleep. Come on.” Stryker moved toward me, stretching out an arm and wrapping it around my shoulders while turning me back to the bunks.
He set me down where we’d just been and then turned to the kitchenette. He dimmed the light even further until it was more like a soft night light, taking the edges off the darkness and causing more shadows that lacked both nightmarish traits and unnerving angles.
In fact, the only unnerving thing in that bunker was Stryker and he strode toward me with a determination in the set of his broad shoulders.
He ignored the ladder at the end of the bunks and pulled the blankets and sheets back on the bed I’d claimed. Leaving his jeans on and with a decidedly lacking shirt, he sat to my right and then laid down on the mattress, pressing his back tight against the wall behind him.
He patted the mattress in front of him where a surprising amount of room still was. “Come on, Lie down. I promise, you’ll sleep.”
Did he understand that I just wanted him to screw me unconscious? That’s it. Him holding me while we slept wasn’t going to make it easy for me to find rest.
But in the dim lighting that took a second to adjust to, I could see the rawness in his own eyes as he offered me solace. I wasn’t sure how to define the expression in his features. All I know is how much I ached to console him as well.
I laid down, setting my head on his arm, keeping the rest of me inches from his body, almost on the front edge of the bed.
Stryker huffed a slight laugh, grabbing my hip albeit gently and tugging me back until my rear hit his lap and my back was pulled tight to his chest.
“You’re going to try to kill me in my sleep, aren’t you?” His voice was soft and rumbly and his chest vibrated against my back as he spoke.
“Probably.” I yawned, surprised at how warm his body was. I bent my legs and my feet hit his lower calves and I jerked my legs forward.
“Whoa, your toes are cold. Get them on my legs. You won’t sleep, if you’re cold.” Stryker slid his right arm around my waist and pulled the blankets and sheets up around my shoulders. He then let his arm drape like an extra set of ribs around me, snugging me against him.
Carefully, I moved my feet back to rest on the skin of his ankles that were exposed from the jeans. The material must have ridden up.
The chill of the concrete where I’d been most of the last week didn’t want to let go, but I could fee Stryker’s body heat fighting the residual cold. With his muscle supporting my head and his large hands dangling by my stomach, I actually felt safe.
My eyelids grew heavier and before I knew it, I was sleeping against the body of a guy I wanted to be naked with.
I have to admit, I slept hard.
Stryker
I was hard most of the night. I had to wear jeans to bed to keep things from alarming her or making her think I was going to jump her.
I couldn’t get the image of her bruised body out of my head. The dirt on her wrists and upper chest had covered up the real extent of her injuries. Tenderness toward Gray had swallowed up the absolute hate and need for revenge against Blaze and anyone else who might have contributed to the marking of her body.
As we lie there in the dark, with my arms wrapped around her body, I swore revenge. No matter who it was or what they could do in retaliation. I was going to torture them in return.
Gray was small in my arms and surprisingly, falling asleep with her safe in my arms was easier than I expected after a week of constantly looking for her, worrying about what was happening to her, along with the events of the evening.
I wasn’t sore or hurt from the fight with Sergio, but I could feel the tightness in my muscles from the shock around being shot. Even the flesh wound had done a number.
Time seemed to stand still as we slept through the night. No sun rising to let us know of the passing of time or even to let us know when morning did actually try to make an appearance.
No, when I woke up, I found Gray had turned around, pressing her face against my bare chest and wrapping her own arms around me. Our legs were intertwined and my chin rested on her head.
I stared toward the dim light in the kitchen and imperceptibly tightened my hold around her. She was safe. She wasn’t going to be in danger again. I’d taken care of the Russians and Vlasi had been extremely grateful. Blaze would answer for his actions. I just had to come up with a plan that wouldn’t implicate me or my cousins.
With some sleep on-board, my thoughts felt more controlled, more precise.
Holding Gray couldn’t have been what woke me.
I searched the room for anything that might have shifted and my gaze landed on the small security box to the left of the bunks hanging on the opposite wall. The green light that had been a constant glow throughout the evening and indicated everything was locked up tight had shifted to a blinking red one.
That didn’t necessarily mean the tunnel was under attack, but it did mean that the doors were opened and we weren’t alone anymore.
I’d turned the locks on the bunker to manual last night before turning back to get in bed. When they were set to automatic, anyone could open them – inside or outside the bunker.
On manual, I ensured only Gray or myself could open them, making us even safer inside the tunnels. Brock and Gunner didn’t have their keys, opting instead to leave them there in case Dominick followed them or got the keys from them.
The red light most likely meant my cousins were back and Gray and I had slept longer than I’d thought.
I carefully extricated myself from Gray’s arms, slipping from the bunk and reaching down to adjust my morning wood as I quietly padded to the table. My phone blinked with multiple notifications.
Gunner and Brock messaged last saying they were in the outer office and I needed to let them in.
I grinned, moving to the door and pushing some buttons. I opened the panel, motioning to my cousins to come in while pressing a finger to my lips for quiet.
Gunner shot a glance around the bunker, taking in Gray’s sleeping form on the bottom bunk. He didn’t grin at me, like I’d hoped. Instead he whispered, “You both still have clothes on.”
I furrowed my brow, surprised at the comment. “Yeah, we just slept. She’s a virgin.” They didn’t say anything, just gave me glances of pity. They knew my stance and what that would do to my chances with Gray – claimed or not. We took our spots at the table, each of us looking at each other and then taking our own sneak peeks in the direction of Gray as if checking to make sure she was still there and still asleep.
“Talk to me.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table and studying my cousins who seemed both recalcitrant and perturbed at the same time.
“Dominick thinks you’re dead. He wants us to find Gray and make sure she is as well.” Gunner folded his arms and leaned back in the chair; his tone low but not in a whisper.
Movement from the bunk told me Gray wasn’t asleep any
more. “You know Dominick? How in the hell do you know Dominick?” Her quiet disbelief left me stunned.
We turned toward her as a group, absorbing the fear in her eyes and the akimbo way she held her arms.
“The question is, Gray, how do you know him?” I stared at her, careful to keep my tone slow and patient. Anyone who knew Dominick wasn’t the best person to be around or trust.
“How do I know him?” She laughed and pointed at herself. “How do I know him?” She stood, striding hard to the kitchen and turning the lights brighter, flooding the room.
She walked to the table, still slightly unsteady on her feet. Her eyes blazing, she yanked the zipper down her magnificent chest until it released the two sides of the sweatshirt.
Falling open, revealing her breasts that were perfectly sized to fit in my hands, round and perky and desperate for me to hold. The sweatshirt didn’t hide the damage on her rib cage or her skin.
Gunner and Brock hissed in dismay. They weren’t looking at her breasts either. They could see past the shape of her nipples and the curve in chest.
“How do I know Dominick?” Gray pointed to the collection of bruises that were clearly a man’s hand print that wrapped around her left breast. The thumb bruise was darker, redder as if it were squeezed tighter than the other fingers. “That bastard did this to me and a few other things. That’s how I know him. Now, how do you know him?”
Gray rezipped her sweatshirt, folding her arms across her now-hidden chest.
I swallowed down the vomit threatening to come up at the proof that Dominick could hurt someone so cruelly. I glanced at my cousins whose faces had taken on an ashen hue.
None of us were prepared for that. Revenge had just taken on a whole new familial role.
Our dads had never trained us to take on family.
Chapter 17
Gray
I’d slept in his arms and I’d woken up to find that he knew the man who’d locked me up. “Who is he? Why does he want me dead? What role did you play in my kidnapping?”
I sank onto the fourth chair at the table, staring at Stryker and ignoring Gunner and Brock. I didn’t care that they’d just seen my naked chest. I just didn’t care. Which probably should have warned me that I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be seeking answers, but just gave me boldness where I needed restraint.
“He’s our uncle.” Gunner pulled my attention unwillingly his direction. “Are you sure it was Dominick, Gray? Did you see his face?”
I swallowed, my throat tight at the thought that maybe I shouldn’t be trusting Stryker, lying in his arms sleeping for hell’s sake. “I didn’t see his face. He always had his back to the open doorway, but… I mean, how many Dominicks are there?” Was it a coincidence? I didn’t believe in coincidences. I just didn’t.
“There has to be an explanation. He wouldn’t dare upset the Russians. He has too much to lose.” Brock spoke up, as if they were trying to convince themselves of their uncle’s innocence.
The only way I would know if it was him was if I heard his voice. I couldn’t place his face, but his voice would be enough for me.
Gunner pushed away from the table, running a hand through his hair before slapping his open palm to his thigh. “We’re supposed to be finding her today to bring her back to him. If he’s the one who held her... I… I can’t do that. I can’t take her back to him.”
“We can’t anyway. I’m not sure what he wants to do with her.” Brock stood as if he weren’t talking about me while I sat there, staring at them in shock.
I couldn’t go back to Dominick. He didn’t want me dead. He wanted to make me wish I was dead.
Stryker hung his head and then lifted his gaze to his cousins. “No. You can’t take her back to him. You have to deny being able to find her.”
“Why? You told us to make him trust us. Getting Gray to him would secure that.” Gunner moved back to the table, bracing his arms as he stared at us.
“You don’t understand. Dominick ordered me to kill Gray last weekend. It’s one of the reasons he was after me. He’s setting you guys up for something, but I can’t figure out what.”
Stryker was supposed to kill me? I was having a hard time processing the implications of their conversation. I opened my mouth, gasping for air that I couldn’t seem to catch. Black spots covered my vision and I leaned forward, bent over my legs and letting my arms fall forward as they hung toward the ground. I closed my eyes, dragging in ragged breath after ragged breath. Why couldn’t I calm down?
Brock moved to my side, placing the warmth of his hand on the place between my shoulder blades. “It’s okay, Gray. Just breathe. You’re going to be okay.”
But he didn’t know. He had no idea. I shook my head and slowly raised myself to a sitting position. I looked at each one of them, taking in the worry in their eyes. I finally stopped on Stryker, unsure if I blamed him, hated him, trusted him, or just wanted to run from him. “You don’t understand. He doesn’t want to kill me. He… You have no idea what he wants to do to me.”
I lifted my hand and pressed my knuckles to my mouth. I wasn’t even sure about the details, but the promises he’d made Blaze as they’d talked about the things they would do as well as let others do, I’d known enough to strike fear in my soul.
“We can’t take her to him. How do we do this without letting him down or letting her down?” Brock didn’t take his hand off my back as he ignored the glares from Stryker.
“You might need to start with finding Alex. I don’t know where he is, but if you can find him, you would have a witness that Gray is nowhere to be found.” Stryker’s jaw was tight as he spoke through gritted teeth. “Either way, you guys need to get out there and get seen doing what you’re supposed to be doing. If Dominick senses any betrayal, you’ll be dead.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Gunner glanced at me; his eyes softer than normal. “Are you going to be alright?”
I nodded, embarrassed at my lack of inhibition. I cleared my throat, but my voice still came out raspy. “I’m sorry I flashed you.” I wrinkled my nose at my actions and words.
Brock grinned, dropping his hand as he looked at Gunner for agreement. “I’m not. Even bruised you have some fine tits, Gray.” He smirked, avoiding looking directly at Stryker.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. I knew his words for what they were. He was teasing and trying to lighten the mood, no matter that Stryker looked more pissed off than he’d been.
Gunner and Brock muttered some other instructions and questions with Stryker, but I couldn’t focus. I didn’t want to know what they were going to do. I knew they doubted Dominick’s role in my abduction and captivity. Who knew? I could be wrong. It wasn’t like there was only one Dominick in the world. It just seemed less likely up that way where Italian first names weren’t as common as Irish or Scandinavian names.
I could be wrong. Damn, I hoped I was wrong. Although, I wasn’t sure how comforting that would be – two Dominicks after me. One to rape me and sell me and the other one to kill me.
Both options seemed extreme.
Gunner and Brock waved at me as they ducked out the door, leaving me alone with Stryker.
The doors locked and a blinking red light turned to a solidly glowing green one.
Stryker shifted from his sitting position on the chair to one of kneeling in front of me. He took my hands in his and searched my face. “Gray, I need you to tell me what happened to you.”
I bit my lip and shook my head. “No. I… I don’t want to.”
Stryker drew his eyebrows together as he continued searching my face. “Did they… Did they rape you?”
If I said yes, would he still consider me a virgin? I couldn’t lie, though. I hadn’t been raped, but the promise was there for later. I carefully held his gaze while I answered. “No. But they want to. They’re planning on it. After Dominick rapes me, he’ll give me to Blaze, then they’ll sell me to other men for a few weeks before giving me to the Romanovs to do whatever they wa
nt with me.” Just saying the words sounded surreal. I couldn’t believe I’d gone from having dreams of getting into college to box to just longing to make it to the next day without being violated.
“Why would you want to push sex with me after that kind of experience?” Stryker reached up, carefully cradling my face in his hand.
I closed my eyes, careful to keep the fear and vulnerability from my features. “I don’t want my first time to be rape.” The truth was out there but not all of it. I opened my eyes and blinked, allowing some of my softness to come through in the ragged whisper of my words. “I… I want you.”
Did I have to tell him that Blaze and Dominick wanted me? Since he’d turned me down, I felt like I had to prove that others wanted me, that I was worthy of being wanted. He wasn’t the only guy in the world and just because he didn’t want me, didn’t mean I wasn’t desirable.
“I want you more than I can describe.” He moved his hand between us in a back and forth motion. “Don’t look at this as a bad thing. It isn’t that I don’t want you. Trust me, if it was only about what I wanted, I’d have you on that bed for the whole weekend and then some.” He glanced down as if to collect his thoughts and then he raised his eyes to mine again. “Just because I want you doesn’t mean I have the right to do something that permanent to you. Losing your virginity… it’s a first-time thing, you know? You won’t forget it.”
Did he really think I was going to forget him regardless of us having sex or not? I reached out; hunger evident in my voice – even to my own ears. “I don’t want to forget.”
I leaned down, more aware of rejection as a possibility than I’d ever been. But I didn’t care. I sank to my knees in front of him, twisting my fingers at the back of his neck and curling them in the thick, dark hair at the back of his head.
I searched his eyes, moving close to his body. I reached up, while holding his gaze with mine, and unzipped my sweatshirt again, baring my breasts for an entirely different reason than before.
Her Brawlers: A high school bully romance (Bad Boys of Jameson High Book 2) Page 15