When I opened my eyes, I found her thrashing from side to side and mumbling incoherent pleas for help. I quickly stood and cautiously ran my hand over the top of her head as I whispered, “Easy. You’re okay. No one’s gonna hurt you here. You’re safe.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, the tension in her body quickly faded, and she drifted back to sleep. I had no idea if she knew I was there, but I continued to stand close to her until I was certain the bad dream wasn’t coming back. I didn’t know what the fuck had gotten into me. I didn’t do this kind of shit, especially with a complete stranger, but I felt protective over her—like it was my responsibility to make sure she was okay. I knew I was being crazy. The chick didn’t even know I was in the fucking room, but I wanted to be there nonetheless. I was just about to sit back down when Country, one of my brothers, came charging into the infirmary. “Holy hellfire and brimstone! What the fuck happened to her?”
“She got the crap beat out of her. That’s what.” I stepped away from the bed and quietly asked, “Whatcha need, Country?”
“Menace sent me down here to get ya. He wants you to meet him down in Viper’s office.” Country’s focus was on the girl and he didn’t take his eyes off her when he added, “Said he found something you’d wanna see.”
“All right. Is he already there?”
“Yep. He’s waiting for ya.” Country shook his head. “Damn. Whoever did that to her should have their ass kicked from here till next Sunday.”
“Working on it.” I started towards the door and told him, “Stay with her until Doc comes back.”
“You got it.”
I was eager to see what Menace had been able to find from the surveillance footage, so I headed straight to Viper’s office. The second I walked in and saw the expression on Menace’s face, I knew I wasn’t gonna like what he had to say. My hands quickly drew into fists so tight it made my knuckles turn white, and with my back rigid as a two-by-four, I stood in front of Viper’s desk and waited for Menace to start talking. Sensing I was on edge, Viper’s eyes wandered to the empty chair, expecting me to take his unsaid directive. Once I was seated, Menace opened his laptop and started playing the security footage from the night before.
I watched as a car with no tags or distinguishing markings backed into the alley. I leaned forward to get a better view when two assholes stepped out of the car. It was dark, but I could still see them open the trunk and reach inside for the girl. She looked utterly lifeless with her head and arms swaying from side to side as they walked her over to the dumpster and tossed her inside. As a final blow, one of the dickheads actually spit on her before they both headed back to their car and got inside. Feeling the rage building inside, I sat there staring at the screen as they quickly backed out of the alley and disappeared into traffic. They didn’t know it yet, but they’d just made the biggest fucking mistake of their lives.
I would be coming for them, and when I found them, I would bring my wrath of vengeance like they’d never seen before.
Remington
It felt like I was swimming in a deep fog. I had this gnawing sense that I should wake up, that something was terribly wrong. I needed to wake up, but the haze of my slumber weighed down on me, making it impossible to reach the surface. I could actually feel my body trembling, which only made my throbbing headache that much worse, and if that wasn’t enough, it hurt to breathe. The pain in my side felt like a thousand knives were jabbing me all at once, making me wonder if it’d be better to just give in to the pain. I heard my long, tortured groan echo throughout the room, soon followed by the faint sound of footsteps coming in my direction. When I felt someone’s hand on my head, I panicked and forced my one eye open.
My vision was somewhat blurry, but I could tell that it was a man standing next to me. He was tall, broad, and muscular with shaggy dark hair and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. I was certain I’d seen him before. He was there the night Madeline and I had gone to look for Chuck, her ex-boyfriend, at some strip club. I was so enamored with him that night. He’d rescued me from the jerk who wouldn’t leave me alone, and … oh God, I loved the way he looked at me like he wanted claim me—body and soul. I had no doubt he was the same man, but something was different about him now. I don’t know if it was the leather vest he wore or the fierce expression on his face, but it made me feel uneasy. I was gazing in his direction and mumbled, “It’s you.”