Chapter Eighteen
Charlotte
So much pain. My body shakes violently, pain taking over, erasing my fear. I can’t breathe. Krueger yanks his knife free and lifts it to his face. Grinning, he runs his tongue along the length of the blade, my blood collecting on the tip.
“Fuckin’ delicious.” Lowering the blade, he slices it through the center of my bra, leaving a deep cut directly between my breasts. The cups fall to the side, baring my breasts to the chilly air, and his hungry eyes. Those eyes drink the sight in with greed.
Fast as lightening, he darts down and wraps his lips around my nipple, sucking deep. Revulsion courses through my veins.
“You fucking cocksucker!” I scream at the top of my lungs. Rage dulls the pain in my belly. I struggle and flail, once again desperate to release the bindings on my wrists and ankles.
Pulling away, he licks his lips before sneering at me with cold, hate filled eyes. His blade comes down again, plunging deep into my side. I scream in pain, squeezing my eyes closed. Blood gushes from the two puncture wounds in my torso, sticking me to the mattress like cheap glue.
His teeth are on my nipple at the same time I feel his blade at the crotch of my panties. Slicing the tiny piece of fabric, he rips away the last bit of covering I have left. He bites down, hard enough to draw blood. I struggle with everything I have in me, pulling and straining, praying the blood from my wrists acts as a lubricant to make my hands slip free. I can’t feel my hands and feet anymore, blood pouring from beneath the rope. Gasping, I can’t get enough air to fill my lungs and my head swims.
I hear him doing something at the side of the bed. Looking over through blurry eyes, I see him undoing his pants. He climbs up onto the bed, fitting himself between my legs, dick in hand. I try to scream, but the sound is muted from my lack of oxygen. Blackness fills my vision. I’m fading.
Just as I give up, letting the darkness rescue me from the horror of this nightmare, a crash comes from the other side of the cabin. A roar of fury fills my ears as I drift away into the peacefulness of the dark, thanking God for the escape.
***
Ryker
I’d sent the message to all of my brothers, rounding up the troops from wherever they were, to come and meet me at the cabin. I arrive first, Reaper close on my tail. We pull to a stop at the entrance to the path. It’s a three kilometer hike in and I can’t wait for back up. I need to get to Charlie.
Without a word, Reaper and I climb off our bikes, check our guns and take off down the beaten trail. As we get closer, a scream breaks the silence. I break out in a run, Reaper right behind me. She sounds like she’s in pain. Terror rips through me as I push myself to run faster.
We come to a clearing, seeing the cabin several hundred feet away. Slowing, we take in our surroundings, looking for any signs of danger. That’s when I hear her scream again. The sound is quieter; weaker. Fuck.
As one, Reaper and I hurry to the door. I stand aside as he lifts a giant foot and boots the flimsy door in. When I look through the open door rage overwhelms me, a roar of fury escaping my throat. The scene before me is straight out of a horror movie.
Charlie lays tied to an old bed, spread eagle, blood covering her torso. Her eyes are closed, skin white as a sheet. Krueger kneels on the bed, right between her legs, his filthy cock in hand. His turns his head to the door, a look of surprise on his face.
Aiming my gun at his head, I place my finger on the trigger. Reaper clamps his hand down on my arm, a silent warning that we can’t kill him. I don’t care. One look at Charlie and I want nothing more than to rip his guts open with his own knife, then hang the son of a bitch with his own shit filled intestines.
“Stay back!” he roars, raising his knife high over his head, a clear threat that he won’t hesitate to bring it down into her chest. I lower the gun slightly. His body relaxes just before I squeeze the trigger, shooting him in the shoulder.
The knife drops from his hand as he clutches it with shaking hands. His scream of pain fills the tiny cabin. I rush him, knocking him off the bed, away from Charlie. Climbing on top of him, I raise my fist and punch him in the face. Then I punch him again. And again. And again. I grunt with effort every time I land a blow. Blood coats his face and my knuckles. At first he tries to fight me. I don’t even notice when he stops fighting back. I keep punching him, blinded by rage; all reason gone. I’m not aware of anything but my need to kill this motherfucker.
“Ryker!” Reaper’s anxious voice roaring my name slows my fists. He’s on the edge of the bed, untying the last of Charlie’s bindings. My rage clears, panic taking its place. I jump to my feet.
“Charlie!” She’s motionless. Her skin’s so pale, I can see the blue of her veins beneath it. “Baby girl! You need to wake up!”
Helpless, I look to Reaper. He whips off his t-shirt, ripping it in half. Glancing at me quickly, he moves to put pressure on two large gashes on her torso. “Call 911. Give them the co-ordinates. We’ll carry her out to the road to meet them.”
In a daze, I make the call, giving them the address, only telling them a woman’s been stabbed before hanging up.
“Put pressure on these.” I move to press the ripped t-shirt over the two gaping holes. “She’s alive, but barely.” Reaper is anxious, but in control. “She’s not good, brother. She needs a hospital, fast.” Grabbing a ratty afghan off the loveseat, he throws it over her, covering her nudity. “We need to move her to the road without jostling her too much.”
I nod, eyes locked on Charlie’s lips. Those beautiful lips that have given me the most amazing kisses I’ve ever received; they’re turning blue. Reaper looks quickly around the room, then hops off the bed. He moves to the center of the cabin and kicks over the coffee table. Picking up the edge of a ratty pea green area rug, he drags it over beside the bed.
“Help me lift her,” he demands. I stop putting pressure on just long enough to grab her under the arms while Reaper grabs her feet. Together, we lift her down and place her in the center of the rug. “Give me your belt.”
I yank my belt off, handing it to Reaper. He wraps it around her belly, using it to hold the wadded t-shirt in place. He takes off his own and does the same with the other wound before looking up at me. “You know the cops will show?”
I nod, heart hammering in my chest. I can’t speak. The words choke me, stuck in my throat. Charlie may not make it. Deed may not get his interrogation right away, but I don’t give a fuck. Charlie needs an ambulance, and an ambulance means the cops will get involved. I may go to jail for this. I don’t even know if Krueger will live. He may be dead right now for all I know, and it was me that beat him. None of that matters though. Not my freedom. Not my club’s shaky relationship with the Devils. Nothing matters but helping Charlie.
We each take an end of the rug, folding Charlie up in it, and hurry out the door. Jase is running up to the cabin just as we exit. He looks down at the rug, a question on his face.
I finally find the words to speak. “We’re taking Charlie to the road to meet the ambulance. Stay with him ‘til the cops show.”
“Cops? We’re lettin’ the cops in on this shit?” He sounds surprised.
I look down at Charlie before answering. She’s wrapped up in that filthy carpet, covered in blood. She may not live and I don’t know if I can live with that. “Charlie’s in rough shape, Jase. We had to call an ambulance. The cops will be right behind them. We didn’t do this so we have nothin’ to worry about. Krueger is the one that kidnapped her, likely raped her and stabbed her, not us; we stopped him. Just tell ‘em the truth.”
Anger fills his features when I describe what happened to my girl. He nods, then stalks into the cabin.
We make it to the road, arms aching from the long hike, carrying our precious parcel, just as the ambulance approaches. The cops come screaming along right behind them, sirens wailing through the woods.
In a flurry of activity, Charlie’s loaded into the ambulance, tubes sticking out of her everywhere. In the commotion, I hear them mention a possible collapsed lung and internal bleeding. I barely manage to scramble in behind them just as they shut the door. The medic starts to protest, but I glare him down, grab my girls hand and squeeze.
Leaning into her, I kiss the tip of her perfect little nose, and press my forehead into hers. “Stay with me, Charlie. You hear me? You can’t fuckin’ leave me.” Every beep of the machine gives me hope. Fuck. I love her. I didn’t realize it before, but now that I face losing her, I can’t deny it. I can’t imagine a life without Charlie in it.
The beeping in the background becomes a long, steady buzz; her heart monitor. The medic flies into action, beginning CPR. “Sir! You need to sit back. I need to get at the patient.” I blink up at him, my heart dying right along with hers. “Sir! Move!”
He elbows me back, bringing forward the pads of the AED. I slump back against the wall, defeated. Running my hands through my hair, I watch as he tries to shock life back into the only woman I’ve ever loved.
He places the pads on her chest and steps back. “Clear!”