Chapter three
Bones
We stood outside the bathroom door silently until we heard the water splash as Bianca entered the bath. He forced himself to not imagine her stepping naked into the hot water, her body growing loose and pliant as the heat penetrated her stiff muscles. Releasing the breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding, he turned to King and Digger.
He could already see the devotion that Bianca had inspired in them and he was right there with them. They weren’t guys to attach to a woman easily and Bianca felt like theirs already. That meant that some fuckers were about to die. It didn’t matter how long they’d owned her, all that mattered was that she was theirs and someone would pay for her ordeal with blood.
They knew nothing about her apart from her name. They needed to know her story and find out how she’d ended up in Riot MC’s cells. He needed to deal out some retribution. His skin felt tight as the anger continually built in his gut with every bruise and mark he’d spotted beneath the dirt on her skin.
King and Digger were no holds barred and threw themselves into anything with little planning or thought to any fallout. They’d all been together since meeting in Juvie as teenage reprobates. Most people would look back at their time in the system with loathing or sadness. Not him. Their bond had been sealed watching each other’s backs. There was a countless amount of fuckers who tried to pry the trio apart, each was met with enough bloodshed to make sure they never tried again.
Women had come and gone but none had left their mark on them. None had completed them. Bianca had hardly said anything so far and he already felt like he’d been branded. The air was charged between them with the need to deal out a serious amount of pain. He was usually the one to rein the other two in but he could tell that it was going to be difficult this time, mainly because he was right there with them.
“Looks like we’ve got some fuckers to find.” King was still riled, just like he knew he would be. He stood with his fists clenched and he cracked his neck on one side and then the other. “We need to know who we’re looking for and why the fuck Bianca was there in the first place.”
Blindly going after Riot MC right now, especially without the backing from the club, wouldn’t get them far. The Riot brothers would have scattered like the wind and right now it was more important to get the information they needed and plan. Bones raised his hands, imploring his mates to take a second and think.
“Right now Bianca needs us to be calm. We get her sorted first. She comes first.” They both nodded, agreeing with that sentiment. “I’m going to get the first aid kit, patch her up and then we let her sleep. We’ll get more answers with her rested than trying to coax them out of her while she’s scared and exhausted.”
Digger stretched his thick arms out and cracked his knuckles. Colourful tattoos commemorating moments of their lives rippled over taut muscles. Bones knew his need for a fight was making him twitchy. Slowly his eyes met his and he gave him a quick reluctant nod. King was staring holes into the bathroom door and a low grunt signalled his acceptance.
King
He couldn’t move his eyes from the bathroom door. He needed to focus on something or he would lose it. He had himself convinced that their angel would drown in tub if he wasn’t paying attention to every movement he could hear. She was getting out of the bath as he saw Bones move downstairs.
His whole body tensed in anticipation of having her in his arms again. He wasn’t use to dealing with delicate situations, he was much more acquainted with the bulldozer effect, and every fibre of his being wanted to tear someone limb from limb. He could feel his anger surging the more he thought about those Riot fuckers. Taking slow, deep breaths he attempted to calm his racing heart.
Just then the bathroom door crept opened slightly. He could just see half of Bianca’s face as one big dusky blue eye peered through the gap, her hand seeming to grip the doorframe for support. Her blonde hair was bright and hanging over her shoulder in a twisted wet rope. His sweater swamped her small frame down to her knees and she’d rolled the sleeves up to expose her tiny shaking hands.
“You alright there, Angel?” He kept his voice as soft as he could, not sure if he could pull it off.
He’d never been hunting but he assumed that Bianca’s expression was what a frightened baby deer looked like. When she didn’t respond and continued to look unsure he realised that they weren’t going to get anywhere by being tentative. At her small nod, he pushed the door the rest of the way open and swept her small frame back into his arms.
He turned and followed Digger into their bedroom. He checked out the room before he put her down. Luckily the sheets were newly changed as they hadn’t stayed here for a few days, preferring to be in the bustling clubhouse. That was going to change. He wasn’t sure he could handle his brothers being around Bianca all the time. She was theirs.
King slowly placed Bianca on the edge of the soft bed with her legs dangling over the side and pressed a soft kiss to her temple, breathing in her natural sweet scent. She looked smaller than ever sat on the massive custom bed that they’d had made for the three of them. Bones came in behind him and knelt in front of Bianca, setting the first aid kit next to him on the floor. He saw Bianca’s eyes go to the first aid kit and her nose twitched while she gnawed on her lower lip. King couldn’t decide if she was nervous to show her injuries or worried about the pain of them being tended to.
“Ok, little love. I just want to check on your cuts and make sure they’re clean before we get to bed.” Bones slowly stroked her foot as he spoke hoping to put her at ease.
As her shoulders drooped, he gave her ankle a reassuring squeeze. He pushed up the legs of the sweats to above her knees and dabbed iodine on the cuts. She hissed and jerked against the contact. He knew that shit stung and hated that it needed to be done.
King found himself moving forward slightly to get a better look at what had been done to their angel. What he thought were cuts were actually thin welts and he recognised the marks…. those fucking bastards had whipped her! A new, deeper rage bubbled up in his chest. He forced himself to look away, he didn’t need Bianca seeing the anger that must be obvious all over his face.
He turned to Digger who looked to be standing casually in the corner, his face blanked and eyes void of emotion. If you didn’t know him, you would think he was merely bored. King knew better. It meant that Digger was forcing his reactions inward, there they would swell and at some point would explode out, annihilating whatever was in his path. That rage would be very useful soon. They just needed the targets.
Bones was finishing up on Bianca’s back, carefully keeping the rest of her covered. His jaw was clenched and fury shadowed his normally bright blue eyes.
“All done,” Bones’ voice was far more tender than his face would suggest.
“Thanks, guys.” It was barely a whisper, yet her wispy voice seemed to echo like a fog horn through the room.
Her lips tilted up at the corners, not quite a smile but it was close. She was looking more relaxed the longer they were with her. Digger walked towards the bed when Bianca failed to hide a yawn. He started pulling down the covers while kicking off his boots.
“Well, I’ve about had enough of this fucking day. I’m ready for it to be over. Let’s get our heads down and we’ll sort through the rest of this shit storm in the morning.”
He knelt on the bed and shuffled over to Bianca and slowly guided her to the middle of the mattress. He pulled the covers up to her chest and then lay down next to her on top of the covers.
King wanted them all wrapped together in a naked huddle but you had to start somewhere. He turned off the light and followed Bones onto the bed. He didn’t think any of them would be getting much sleep, their minds too busy planning vengeance, but at least they knew their angel was safe and protected. As he heard Bianca’s breaths deepen, he let his eyes drift closed.
Bianca
Bianca woke up warm and sublimely comfortable for the first time in weeks. Covers were packed tightly around her body, effectively pinning her in place. Someone was obviously worried about her and the thought made her smile. Taking a deep breath, she let the delicious scents of the men who had spent the night surrounding her permeate throughout her sore body.
Wiggling out of what had to be the biggest bed in the world, she left the bedroom to make her way to the bathroom. Her mind drifted back to the night. She’d woken up several times, scared and panicking, but each time she was soothed back to sleep by deep, rumbly reassurances and her hands held in a tight, firm grip.
It wasn’t their comfort that kept her attention now though. She replayed each touch that wasn’t directed at her. It had taken her a few minutes to accept what she was seeing, sure that the lingering touches and strong grips she’d watched between the guys hadn’t been imagined by her. Once she woke to Digger cuddled up to her side, his head buried in her neck. When she turned her head to see the other two, she found King sprawled over Bones with his hand buried in the back of his thick blonde hair.
It took her a few times to convince herself that these three men were together, but there was no other conclusion to be reached. One giant bed fit for three giants, the familiar touches and their refusal to separate – simply male friends just didn’t fit the scenario.
She took a long moment to imagine what it would be like to be included in their debauchery. Her centre warmed and travelled right through her limbs. She had peered around the room with a critical eye and didn’t see anything to suggest that there was a woman in the mix. She supposed there could have been one in the past, but there was no sign of one now. God, maybe there were more men who just weren’t here at the minute. She tried to image more than three but she thought her brain might malfunction.
Pulling herself out of those unobtainable fantasies, she concentrated on what was important. She needed to find her sister and nephew and make sure they were safe, she needed to know if Dane had found them and if he knew about her escape. But first, she had to face her rescuers, the three men had her eternal gratitude and were quickly stealing her heart.
Leaving the bathroom, she heard the now familiar voices drifting up the stairs, accompanied by the delicious smell of bacon. That smell alone overpowered any hesitancy she had to join them as her stomach gave a loud rumble at that very moment.
The conversation abruptly stopped as she peered around the bottom of the stairs into the kitchen. It was quite a view for a woman to see first thing in the morning. Three blonde gods, sculpted and tattooed, looking at her like she was the reason the sun had risen.
Wringing her hands together in nervousness, she stuttered out “M..m..morning.” Her voice came out too quiet and squeaky for her liking. She rallied her confidence and cleared her throat, “Morning.”
King strode forward and took her hand in his and gave a reassuring squeeze. “Come sit down, Angel. We need to get some food into you and then we need to talk.”
Bianca could only nod as she slid into a free seat at the table. In a matter of seconds, a plate piled high with bacon, eggs and waffles was placed in front of her with a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice. Her stomach sounded again in appreciation.
She wanted to seem to have manners but hunger made her shovel the food into her mouth at an alarming rate. She didn’t look at them as she ate, afraid her nerves would return and turn her stomach. As she swallowed the last mouthful of her ice cold juice she slumped back into the chair and let a long sigh escape with both her hands resting on her now packed belly. A smile stretched out across her face as the feelings of warmth, comfort and fullness had her practically giddy.
The guys burst out laughing at her actions. She could just imagine how she looked. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she looked her fill of the three imposing figures. They weren’t beautiful, their features were too harsh to be considered that. They looked liked Warriors, like Vikings, strong, brutal and mesmerising. She felt like she could spend hours just looking at them, basking in the raw energy that she felt them emit.
Bones took her dishes to the sink and then dropped down into the chair next to her. “Now we know you’re full, are you ready to answer some questions, beauty?”
“Beauty?” She felt her heart sink, he had forgotten her name already. “My name’s Bianca.”
His smirk caused her lower belly to tighten, “I know that, but you’re beauty to me,” he said as he slowly dragged a finger down the side of her neck.
Unsuccessfully supressing a shiver, she sent a questioning look to King and Digger to see how they reacted to what she was sure was flirting. They just rolled their eyes at him and turned their attention back to her. King took the seat in front of her and his warm, laughing eyes were now darker and serious.
"There's answers we need that only you can give. We know this isn’t going to be great to go through but it needs doing, and doing now. We can’t ensure your safety until we know what we are dealing with.”
King seemed to brace himself against what he was about to hear from her. His body was stiff and his teeth exposed as if he were a second away from snarling.
Bianca felt her eyes moisten as her mind did a rapid play through of her life over the last couple of months. She loved that they wanted to protect her but she’d never forgive herself if any of them were hurt by Dane or his goons. They must have been able to read her like an open book because Digger stepped forward and clutched her hands in his.
“We’re yours and your ours. It’s our right and privilege to protect you and make sure every bastard who hurt you finds his home in the ground.” Her mind started spinning. What did all that mean? Hands shook hers slightly, drawing her attention back to what Digger was saying. “Don’t question, just trust that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to. Now, spill.”
Girding herself, she let herself spill all the details, from Maggie and Brandon to her time in that cell. She had to stop and start, sometimes to let her tears clear and others to allow the guys to calm down. They’d slammed their fists against the table, paced around the room and snarled and grunted at the things she said.
Coming to the end of her story, she felt exhausted. She just wanted to crawl back into bed, bury herself under the covers and sleep for a week. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to rub warmth back into her chilled skin. She startled when she was pulled onto Bones’ lap. His big arms sheltered her as he tucked her head under his chin and gently rocked, soothing her frazzled nerves.
“Don’t worry, beauty, Dane and all those Riot fuckers will burn for every mark on your body and every tear you’ve shed.”
Digger and King made their way to her and each rested a hand on her lap and grunted their agreement. She took their hands in hers and squeezed hoping they saw the appreciation that she could feel flooding from her. She certainly couldn’t voice it right at that moment, her throat was thick trying to hold back a fresh round of sobs.