Dust and gravel fly around the truck as we come barreling down the driveway leading to the house Ronan is held up in. It doesn't take long before our presence is known, and bullets begin pinging off the vehicle we are in. My men knowing Demetri's SUV is bulletproof, they fall in line behind us to dodge being hit. The first thing I notice is how secluded the old abandoned house is. Nothing but trees for miles aside from the large clearing behind the house. And currently landing on that clearing is a fuckin' helicopter. The fuck?

Once we have skidded to a stop, Bennett turns to Lisa who is sitting beside him. "Baby, take this." He says handing her a Glock. "I want you to stay here and lock the doors behind us. Anybody you don't know comes up to you; you put a bullet in their ass."

Not arguing with his orders, she pulls him to her and lands a hard kiss on his mouth. "Don't get dead."

Demetri, Victor, Bennett, and myself, jump out of the truck and begin rapidly returning fire in the direction of the helicopter where two armed men are perched at the open door with their guns trained on us. There are also three men on the roof of the house. Before any of us has a chance to respond, one by one all three men slump over and free fall to the ground below. That is when I notice Reid just beyond the tree line to my right. Knowing my brothers have my back, I make my way up to the house. Once I'm stationed at the front door, I give Quinn and Gabriel the signal to circle back on the left side of the house while Demetri and Victor have disappeared around the right corner. With Logan and Bennett covering me, I use my foot and boot in the front door with my gun raised and ready. In quick succession, I put a bullet through the chest of a man in a dark suit who was standing in the living room and quickly pop another two rounds when a couple more fuckers rush around the corner of the kitchen. Suddenly, the house is eerily quiet aside from me hearing the beating of my own heart. Even the sounds of gunfire coming from outside has stopped. All that is left is the hum of the helicopter's propeller blades. With my weapon still raised, I swing my body in every direction scanning the entirety of my surroundings.

"Logan, you and Bennett take the upstairs. I'm going to take a look down here." Without a word they both nod and head off in the direction of the stairs. Walking down the hallway that leads out of the living room, I come upon an open door that looks like it leads down to a basement and I hear the faint sound of whimpering, and I know it's my Little Bird. My body kicks into motion bounding down the steps two at a time. The closer I get, the louder the cries become, and I clench my jaw and try to prepare myself for what I may find. Clearing the last step with my gun raised in the air I try to take in the room. It's so dark the only thing I see is a shadowy figure crouched on the floor. Just then Bennett appears behind me flashing his cell phone light. When the room is illuminated, I am not at all prepared for the sight in front of me. My woman is on her knees slumped over, and she has her arms pulled out to her sides by fuckin' ropes. With a roar escaping my mouth, I drop to my knees next to Grace.

"Bennett, I need that light over here. I can't see shit and I need to cut these fuckin' ropes." When he trains the light on Grace, my blood turns cold at what I see. "Son of a bitch," I growl, and Bennett wastes no time checking the bullet hole in her shoulder.

"It's a clean shot."

Not only has my woman been shot, but her back is black and blue and has welts that I know has been caused by the motherfucker's belt. "Baby," I speak gently. "I'm going to cut these ropes, okay?" I tell her, and when my hand touches her arm, she flinches from the pain of being touched. It's also then I feel how cold her skin is. Grace is in nothing but a pair of panties. My mind starts to wonder what else Ronan has done to her, and suddenly my own body is vibrating in anger.

"You need to get out of the house." Grace rasps out. "You have to hurry, Jake. Please."

"Everything is going to be okay, baby. I'm going to get you out of here." I assure her while using my knife to cut the ropes.

"Bomb," she says before she passes out. Fuck!

"Did she just say bomb?" Bennett asks.

"Shit! We have to hurry brother." Just as I finish cutting the last rope, Logan comes charging down the stairs.

"The fuckin' pussy got away, Prez." His words are cut off when he sees the state Grace is in.

"Son of a fuckin' bitch." Logan hisses through clenched teeth.

Scooping Grace up into my arms as carefully as possible, I hold her naked body close to me, shielding her as much as possible. "We need to move, now! Grace said there was a bomb in the house. Go! Go! Go!" I shout. When the three of us clear the basement, we are met with Quinn and Gabriel walking in from outside. "Out now!" The urgency in my voice has my men not wasting any time running out the door. We barely make it off the steps of the porch when there is an explosion, and I can feel the heat on my back as the force of the bomb brings me to my knees with Grace still in my arms. Thank fuck Grace is still passed out. It's also then that I realize my boys, Logan, Gabriel, Reid, and Quinn have used their bodies to shield Grace and me by forming a circle around us.

I'm picking myself up off the ground, and quickly stride towards Demetri's truck when Lisa jumps out of the back seat of the SUV with her pistol raised and fires off a single shot just over my left shoulder. Momentarily stunned, I look over my shoulder and see one of Ronan's men laying on the ground about twenty feet behind us with a bullet between his eyes.

"Let's go!" Lisa orders and without another word I file into the truck behind her as my brothers mount their bikes and we hall ass.

"Hospital?" Victor asks from the driver's seat.

"No. Hospital means cops. No way am I dealing with that shit and handing Ronan over to them. He's mine."

I look at Bennett, "You said the shot in her shoulder was clean. Does she need a hospital?"

"No. I'm going to call Emerson and make sure she has the supplies we'll need once we get back to the clubhouse."

"Jake?" Grace croaks interrupting us.

"I got you, Little Bird. I got you." Stroking her hair I try soothing her.

"I'm so cold." Grace begins to shiver in my arms.

"Shit! Lisa, look in the back for something to cover her up with."

Reaching into the very back, Lisa shuffles around and comes back with a small blanket. "Here ya go, Jake."

Using the blanket, I try carefully to tuck it around her without jostling her too much. Every little movement I make causes her to wince in pain. Even her eyes are so swollen she can hardly open them.

"Lisa, babe. Hand me my medic bag from back there too." Bennett tells his wife. Passing him his bag, he unzips it and produces a needle and a vile. At my questioning look he mutters, "Something to help her sleep. We have about a forty-five-minute drive. No need for her to suffer if she doesn't have to." Thank god he doesn't go anywhere without being prepared.

When we arrive back at the clubhouse, Emerson is already waiting for us outside when we pull up. When I step out of the SUV with Grace in my arms, she doesn't ask any questions as she follows behind me into the clubhouse up the stairs and down the hall to my room. I called ahead of time to make sure Remi would be preoccupied somewhere else upon our arrival. She doesn't need to see her momma in her current condition. Walking into my room, I carefully deposit Grace down on the bed and Emerson immediately gets to work assessing her. A few seconds later, Glory comes bursting in. When she gets her first glimpse of Grace she breaks out into a sob and covers her mouth with her hand. Quickly pulling her shit together, she squares her shoulders and asks, "Emerson, what do you need me to do?" Emerson starts to bark out orders at Glory and she wastes no time jumping into motion. When I see Lisa walk in the room, I stride over to her and put my hands on her shoulder.

"We got things covered in here, sweetheart. Go be with your old man. You both have had a hell of a twenty-four hours and right now he needs you and you need him." Lisa is about to protest when I cut her off. "I know the momma bear in you wants to help, but right now being a wife comes first. Now go." I urge and kiss the top of her head.

An hour later Emerson has stitched the gunshot wound, and she and Glory have given Grace a sponge bath to clean off all the blood. Emerson also puts some cream on her back and assured it would help with the pain and healing of the lashes caused by the belt. Glory has been periodically placing ice-packs on Grace's face to help with the swelling around her eyes. Through all this, she has yet to wake up from the shot Bennett gave her in the truck. Now we wait. Thankfully we don't have to wait long because another twenty minutes later Grace begins to stir. Her movements have Me, Emerson, and Glory by her side in seconds.

"Jake?"

"I'm here, Little Bird?" I say taking her hand in mine and bringing it to my lips.

"Where am I?"

"You're at the clubhouse. Emerson is here, and so is Glory."

"How bad is it?" she asks, and I know she's referring to her injuries.

"What do you remember, baby?"

"Everything," she sighs breathlessly. "Besides the ride home, I remember everything."

When I see silent tears fall down her swollen cheeks, I wish with everything I am that I could take away the memory and pain of what that sick motherfucker did to her.

"He didn't break me this time. He tried. He wanted me to break so bad, but I didn't. I'd rather die than have him take back what I fought so hard to get."

"I'm so proud of you, baby." I choke past my own emotions while Emerson and Glory are no longer able to hold theirs back and they both quietly sob. Wiping her tears away, Emerson transforms back into doctor mode when she asks a question I dreaded, but knew was coming.

"Grace, I need to ask you a question."

"Okay."

Releasing a deep sigh, she asks. "Were you raped? When you arrived here at the clubhouse, you didn't have any clothes on besides your panties. When I removed them to clean you up and put fresh clothes on you had a small amount of blood in them. I did not examine you. I wouldn't do so without your consent."

Grace stares at Emerson for a beat like she's trying to put the past events together. "I…I don't know."