A sudden sharp pain stabbed me behind the eyes. My stomach rolled.
“Pull this back, Marlowe,” Daddy said, holding his thumb over mine. “And once you hear the click, the safety is off.” The click sounded.
I smiled. “Like that, Daddy?”
“Yes, baby girl.” He grinned down at me. “Just like that.”
“Will I need this?” I asked him. I may have only been six but I knew what guns were. Daddy said they were to hurt the bad men.
“I pray you will never have to use this.” Daddy kissed my head. “Ever.”
The memory hit me square in the chest. I lurched forward, bile spewing from my mouth as the onslaught of agony erupted behind my eyes. “Daddy,” I sobbed, squeezing my eyes shut. What the hell was going on? I was told I had no family. No one who took care of me. It was just me and that was it. I needed answers.
Something sounded far off in the distance. A baby’s cry.
But first, I needed to save my son.
Forcing myself to stand, I took a step forward. The blinding light behind my eyes made my stomach roll again but I swallowed past it.
“Jaron,” I cried.
His wails grew louder and louder, until I felt them all through me.
“I’m coming, baby boy. Mama’s coming for you.” Pulling the cell out of the front of my dress, I headed to the open door, looked down both ends of the hall, and followed the sound of my son’s cries.
I dialed Greyson’s number and prayed with everything in me that he still had his phone.
Please still have this phone. Please still have this phone. Pl—
“Yeah?”
My knees almost gave out from beneath me at the sound of Greyson’s voice. “Greyson?”
“Eve? Where are you?” he demanded, muffled voices sounding in the background. “You were gone. Shit. I …”
“I-I’m at Travis’ place.” I swallowed hard, not liking the sound of desperation in Greyson’s voice. I left Travis back in the room, not sure if he was actually dead or not but I didn’t care. I needed to find my son.
“Baby,” Greyson said. “Eve, are you still there?”
“Yes.” I shook myself. “I’m here. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Eve.” His voice was gentle. “I’m coming for you. We’re tracing the phone that you’re calling from.”
“Please hurry.” I wasn’t sure how long it would be before Travis’ men stormed this floor.
Once I reached the end of the hall, Jaron’s cries grew louder. I slowly opened a door to the last room on the left and found him in the middle of a large bed.
“Baby,” I breathed, rushing to him.
“Eve?”
“I found him, Greyson. Jaron. His name is Jaron.”
“Jaron,” Greyson repeated. “God, shit. Eve, we found you. We fucking found you. Don’t hang up.”
“Please hurry,” I pleaded, bouncing Jaron in my arms. “Please. I need to go home. I need to be with you. My boys. Please, Greyson.”
“I’m coming for you, Eve. I promise you. I’m coming for both of you.”
“Hurry.”
“I’m coming for you, baby,” Greyson said again.
Footsteps sounded up the stairs. They were loud, heavy and I knew there were a lot of them.
“Greyson, they’re coming.” My eyes were wide, the inexplicable amount of fear sliding down my spine. It gripped onto my soul like icy fingers trying to burrow beneath my skin.
“Stay on the phone, Eve,” he demanded.
I rushed to close the door when a large man stepped into the doorway. His dark gaze peered down at me.
“Greyson,” I whispered, the phone dropping from my hands. It shattered on the ground, Greyson’s yells being the last thing I heard before Sarge shoved me into the room.
BLOOD. SO MUCH damn blood.
When Eve hung up on me, I lost it. I was ready to go into Travis’ house guns blazing until Tray and Butcher calmed me down. I couldn’t think straight where she was concerned. I needed her safe.
“We’ll get her,” Butcher had said.
Travis’ guys were dropping left and right. The house was big but not as big as mine. There were thankfully less places for the men to hide so it made it easier to off them. They may have been well armed but they also weren’t the brightest. Travis was too far up his own ass to realize that he needed to hire better trained men.
With Butcher and Tray on either side of me and the rest of my crew at my back and around the vicinity, my sole purpose was getting Eve out of this hell and back home. With me. Where she and her baby belonged.
Jaron.
I wasn’t sure where she came up with that name but all I could think about was how much I liked it. How much I wanted to be a father to him. Her son. A boy I would raise as my own even though he wasn’t mine by blood.
“Grey.” Tray clapped my shoulder. “We need to get in, get your girl, and get out. Not knowing if Catch is fine is distracting me.” His eyes shone. “I need him to be fine.”
“I know.” I blew out a slow breath, cocking my rifle. “I know that.”
“The doctor said he had a good chance of surviving,” Butcher told us, his voice monotone. “He said that bitch didn’t stab any vital organs even though it was deep. If hurting a woman didn’t go against my moral code, I’d fucking kill her myself.”
All of us grunted in agreement. There had been a time where it wouldn’t matter if she was a woman or not. Hurt one of ours and your life ended. It didn’t matter what you were sporting between your legs. But it wouldn’t be what Catch wanted. Or Trixie for that matter. Her love for Butcher brought him out of that darkness he hid in. I knew that because I could see it. And I also knew that this would be it for him. No more rides. No more working together side by side trying to bring down the evilness of the world. This was it. He was done.
“All right.” I braced myself. “No one die on me, you hear? I need you. All of you.” I made a point of looking at the ten guys I had with me at my side and back. “Now let’s get Eve back and avenge Trixie.”
(Eve)
Sarge. What the hell?
“What … I don’t understand.” I backed up.
He didn’t say anything. He only glanced over my head. “You need to trust me,” he muttered. In a quick move, he grabbed my upper arm and pulled me behind him. “Keep that gun at the ready.”
“I don’t—”
“Just do it, Eve,” he murmured, his voice firm as several men in black appeared in the hallway. “I have her. Travis is in his room.”
“Is he alive?” one of the men asked.
“Not sure.” Sarge kept a grip on my arm, backing us up. “Before this shit went down, Travis gave her an hour. I’m going to get my fill and then you guys can do whatever you want.”
My eyes widened. “No. Please. Sarge. Don’t.”
“Shut the fuck up,” he demanded at me but the anger in his voice didn’t match the expression in his eyes. Was he lying? Was this all an act? He asked me to trust him so I kept my mouth closed.
“You sure? Travis mentioned to us how you would have her last,” the guy said, scratching his temple with the end of his gun.
“Nah.” Sarge pulled me to the side and stood behind me. “She just gave birth. Have you seen these tits? So fucking full and just waiting to be fucked.” He reiterated his statement by cupping my breast and pinching my nipple.
I cried out, my eyes welling.
The other man chuckled. “Tit man. I’m more of an ass man myself. Show me it and then I’ll let you have your fun. It’ll give me something to look forward to later.”
Sarge stiffened but turned me around.
“Please,” I whispered.
He leaned down, looking me square in the eyes. His gaze softened. I’m sorry, he mouthed, lifting my dress to my hips.
While Jaron fussed in my arms, my ass was exposed to the men standing behind me. Although covered with the panties the doctor put me in, I could still feel their lavish sta
res as they feasted on a body that wasn’t meant for them.
“Fucking perfect,” the man from before groaned. “Have your fill, man, because I’m going to destroy that ass.”
I whimpered, swaying on my feet at what he was suggesting.
“On second thought.”
My eyes widened when a warm body came up behind me.
“What are you doing?” Sarge asked, standing upright.
“Seeing if it feels as good as it looks.” The man grabbed a handful of my ass cheek.
Biting my lip, I refused to cry out as the slice of pain erupted through me at how hard he was digging his fingers into me.
The man leaned down to my ear. “You think Travis was evil. Or this fucker standing in front of you.” His fingers moved beneath my panties. “I don’t give a shit if you just gave birth. This asshole is mine and then I’m going to rape your cunt next. No hole will go untouched by me.”
Bile rose to my throat.
“All right, asshole.” Sarge pulled me forward. “That’s enough. It’s my turn first.” Without waiting for him to respond, Sarge tugged me further down the hall and into a large room.
Once he closed the door, he leaned against it and clicked the lock into place.
Everything inside of me was numb. All I could feel was that man’s hands on me. Hear that man’s vile words in my ears.
But I knew one thing. That man would die.
There was a bed in the middle of the room. Much like the one in Travis’. Placing Jaron on it, I kissed his forehead. “I’m glad you won’t remember this.”
“Eve,” came Sarge’s gentle voice from behind me.
I turned slowly and charged for him.
MY NAILS DUG into Sarge’s cheek, ripping free some of the skin.
He yelled.
I punched. I slapped. I kicked.
“Eve, stop.” He grabbed my wrists but I broke free and continued hitting him.
“How could you do this? Greyson trusted you. You were supposed to be his friend. You’re a bastard. You’re just like the rest of them.” I couldn’t think straight. I couldn’t even see except for the victim that was standing in the path of my fury.
“Eve! Geeze, woman.” Sarge grabbed my wrists again, kicked my feet out from under me and shoved me to the floor. “Listen to me.”
“No!” I screamed, struggling beneath him.
A hard knock sounded at the door.
Sarge covered my mouth with his hand, resting his upper half on me. “Yeah,” he called out.
“Everything good in there?” a man asked, his voice muffled by the closed door.
“Yup. She’s a feisty little bitch,” Sarge said, his eyes pleading for me to calm down.
“Have fun. I can’t wait to take her for a ride.” The man chuckled, his laugh quieting as he walked away.
“You going to stop?” Sarge growled down at me.
My chest rose and fell. I was confused. I still wanted his blood but I nodded instead.
Sarge slowly removed his hand from my mouth but he remained on top of me. “Greyson is going to kill me,” he muttered.
“Yeah and I’ll be there to make sure he does,” I said through gritted teeth.
Sarge’s dark eyes landed on me, a hint of amusement flashing behind them. “I can see what he loves about you.”
“Tell me what’s going on,” I demanded, ignoring his comment. “Why are you here?”
Sarge rested his elbow beside my head. “Travis was my contact. He didn’t think I knew it but I did. We had been following him around for a long fucking time but couldn’t pin anything on him. When your file came into my possession, I sent your picture to everyone who was working on my team. They memorized your face and burnt up the pictures.”
“Why?”
“Because we had to make sure you were safe. You were a big part of this. You still are but it seems like you got to Travis before he could give you the full story.” Sarge lifted some of his body weight off of me but he still wouldn’t move.
“Can I get up?”
“Sorry, darlin’. If they break the door down, I have to make this look real.”
“Please …” My heart thumped. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“Oh, Eve.” His face softened. “I would never hurt you.”
“I still don’t understand.”
Sarge sighed. “You killed Travis’ wife.”
My eyes widened. “I did what?”
“Travis broke you. You were his main star. He did everything he could to make you an empty shell of yourself. You were his puppet and he was the master. His wife found out what he was doing on the side. Lost her shit. And he gave you the ultimate task. Kill her so you could be his.”
“H-how do you know all this?”
“Because I’ve been his bodyguard for the past ten years. But I didn’t know it was you when Greyson brought you to my office. Not at first. And then when I double-checked your file—”
“How could you not know?” I shifted my weight, not liking the feel of another man on top of me.
Sarge rolled onto his side but remained close. “I had never seen you in person. Travis kept you well hidden. But he fucked up. You got away.”
“He said he let me.” I sat up, surprised that Sarge didn’t stop me.
“That, I can’t be sure of.”
“I’ll never remember this.” My head popped up. “My dad. You said I had no family but I remembered something about him.”
Sarge looked away.
“Tell me.” I punched his shoulder. “Please.”
“He died, Eve,” Sarge said gently. “From what I can tell, he died in the line of duty.”
“He was a cop?”
“Military. That’s all I know. His records are sealed and even my hacker can’t get into them.” He looked away.
He was lying about that last part but I wouldn’t press. “My dad was military. And my mom?”
“She was a druggie. She died of an overdose. Not everything in your file is a lie, Eve. Just that part about your father.”
“There wasn’t anything about my father,” I mumbled.
“Exactly.”
“Was I actually Travis’ wife?”
“Not legally.”
I blew out a slow breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. “I need to take my baby and get out of here.”
Sarge pulled his phone out of his inner jacket pocket. “Five minutes.”
“Excuse me?” I frowned.
“Actually.” Sarge held up five fingers, dropping them one by one. When he got to the last one, he grinned. “Now.”
The door banged open with a slam, revealing …
“Greyson,” I gasped, frozen in place.
His deep blue eyes flicked from the bed, to Sarge, and to me. “Come here,” he demanded, that deep delicious voice of his washing over my skin.
I rose onto shaky legs and in three quick strides, I was in Greyson’s arms.
(Greyson)
She was back in my arms. My love. My life. She was where she was supposed to be.
Butcher and Tray shoved us off to the side while they checked the room for any intruders. And I held Eve. God, I couldn’t believe I was holding her again.
I cupped her cheeks, kissing all over her face. “It’s been a fucking long twenty-four hours.”
She nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Trixie,” she whispered.
I shook my head, pulling her back against me.
Her cries hardened, her small body shaking.
“The room’s clear,” Tray told me. He lifted Eve’s baby off the bed and brought him to her. “Here, little mama.”
She smiled up at him, stood on tiptoes, and kissed his cheek. “Greyson?” She came toward me.
I swallowed hard.
“We need to talk but for now, this is Jaron.” She looked down at the baby boy with so much love, I could feel that warmth all through me.
“I hate to ruin this moment but Travis is awake.”
&nb
sp; I met Butcher’s hard stare. “We need to talk to Sarge and then Travis is yours.”
“Got it,” he said, even though I knew he was thinking how he would love to just off him and say fuck it to the answers. “Also.” He held up his phone, showing me the screen.
It’s done.
I nodded. “Good.”
The woman who stabbed Catch was taken care of. She wasn’t dead but the fear of God was put into her. I had two men stay behind and watch her while I called her father. Looked like she was the daughter to a president of another MC. She would probably die. But that wasn’t something I could dwell on.
“Greyson.”
My back bristled. “Don’t.” I ignored Sarge and wrapped an arm around Eve’s shoulders.
“Please, you have to understand.”
“Understand?” I spun on him. “I don’t give a fuck what you were doing. What you think you were doing. Or what the hell happened to cause you to fall into this shit.” I closed the distance between us and stepped toe-to-toe with him.
“I was undercover,” Sarge said.
“Undercover,” I repeated, laughing. Before I could process what I was doing, my fist landed against his jaw.
“Fuck.” His eyes were dark, his body stiff. Although I couldn’t drop him, he still backed away. “I saved her life.”
“No,” I corrected. “I saved her life. She wouldn’t even be in this shit of a mess if it weren’t for you. Isn’t that right?”
“You know that’s not true.”
I waved him off and took Eve’s hand. Cupping it with my own, I kissed her knuckles.
Her eyes warmed. “He saved me from those men.”
“I don’t give a fuck what he did,” I bit out. “I saw the videos.”
“Videos?” she asked, her eyes widening.
“The cameras that are all throughout this fucking place.” I released her hand and approached Sarge. “You see, I have a contact of my own, but I can actually trust mine. He was able to hack into the security cameras. I saw you holding Eve. I saw you showing her ass to those bastards who should be shot and pissed on. And I saw you let one of the fuckers touch her.” I glanced back at Eve. “That bastard is dead by the way.”