Alissa
Oh shit. The damn tattoo. Number 24. I should have had Nate remove it earlier. He’d said he would, but we’d never gotten around to that. Now that damn tattoo was like a throbbing strobe light on my wrist, a brand announcing Enrique’s ownership of me. I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t one of his captives. I had a brand to prove it.
I cringed back away from Enrique.
Two other men appeared behind him. And a third leered at Darcy as he leaned in her side of the vehicle. Enrique said something to them in Spanish, then he stepped back as they reached into the car and dragged us out.
“No!” Darcy and I fought and kicked and screamed, trying to make as much noise as possible. Would Nate hear us? Would he get to us before it was too late?
Enrique’s thugs pulled us out of the car and yanked our arms behind our backs, zip-tying our wrists together.
No. Not again.
I was really sick and tired of being a victim. Why couldn’t these assholes just leave me the hell alone? I was done taking their shit, done being treated like a damn slave.
More thugs surrounded us. All of them carrying guns. Enrique reappeared in front of me with a scowl. He screamed at me in Spanish, the words flying rapidly from his lips. I had no idea what he was saying. Darcy inched behind me, as if she thought I could protect her from these guys. I would have laughed if the situation wasn’t so serious.
I held my head high. I wouldn’t cower in front of these bastards. Never again.
“No hablas español.” That was one of the few Spanish phrases I knew. That and the one Tony liked to call me. Puta. Whore.
Enrique narrowed his eyes at me. “I want The Healer.” He hesitated, obviously searching for the right words. “Nate? You take me to Nate, si?”
I shook my head. “No.” I would not give Nate up.
Enrique slapped me. Hard.
I gritted my teeth. Asshole. One more hit, and I was going to hit back.
Yeah, right. With your hands zip-tied behind your back?
Hatred seethed in my gut. I glared at Enrique. I’d told Nate and the other dregs that I didn’t want to kill Enrique or Romeo or their thugs. That killing wasn’t the answer. Now, I was changing my mind. I not only wanted Enrique to die, I wanted to kill him myself.
Darcy cowered behind me, annoying the hell out of me. How the hell had she thought she could control the gangs? She was pathetic. I’d once been like that. Weak. Cowardly. But not anymore.
“Nate? Healer?” His black gaze bored into mine.
Darcy peered around me. She cleared her throat. “Um, are you asking if Nate is The Healer?”
Enrique’s black gaze settled on her. “Si.”
“Nate’s not The Healer,” I said quickly. I would lie a thousand times to protect Nate.
“She’s lying.” Darcy stepped around me. “Nate is The Healer. If you let me go, I’ll give you his number. It’s in my phone.”
Bitch.
Enrique grinned. “Buena niña. You have a deal.”
One of the thugs searched Darcy, pulling her phone from the front pocket of her jacket and handing it to Enrique. Enrique swiped the screen and scrolled through Darcy’s contacts. Then he looked at me and grinned. “Nate.”
My heart pounded. No. Damn Darcy and her selfish cowardliness. I wanted to smack her. Hard.
Enrique pressed something on the phone, then turned away with a smirk. My breath caught. Was he calling Nate?
Then Nate’s cellphone rang from inside the Escalade. He’d left it in the center console. Enrique spun toward the car, then a slow grin spread across his ugly face. “Nate.” He now knew Nate would return to the Escalade. All he had to do was wait for Nate to come back.
Enrique said something to his thugs in Spanish. They grabbed Darcy and dragged her toward a black Town Car parked along the side of the road just past the barricade.
“No!” She squirmed and fought to be free. “Please! You promised to let me go!”
“I don’t deal with women.” Enrique smirked, turning back to me. Darcy was on her own. I had more important things to worry about than her.
Like Nate.
Fear settled deep into my gut. I had to warn Nate somehow. Tell him not to come back to the Escalade. But how? If the Sureños got a hold of Nate, they would probably kill him. I couldn’t let that happen.
Just then Nate and Tony came around the corner of the barricade. Behind them marched Ryan, Luke, Noah, and Logan. All armed. Their faces expressionless.
It was like a scene from an action flick, the badass warriors striding in to save the day.
Six hunky dregs. Coming to my rescue.
Or walking into their death.
My breath caught. This scene was real. And I was a part of it.
Enrique’s men raised their guns, pointing them at the dregs.
The dregs were way outnumbered. But they strode forward confidently as if that didn’t matter. They showed no fear.
I tried to rush around Enrique and run to Nate, but Enrique roughly shoved me back. “You, stay.”
Nate halted about ten feet from Enrique. The other dregs paused behind him. Nate’s gaze flickered over me, assessing. Then he looked at Enrique. “Let her go.”
Enrique chuckled. “No. No. She, stay. Mine. Numero veinticuatro.”
Nate bared his teeth, his gaze narrowing on Enrique. Then his gaze swept around all the men with guns pointed at him. While they stood there, more Sureños arrived. Now there had to be at least thirty or forty of them against six dregs. I tried to be positive, but the dregs were still human. How would they fight off so many men without getting killed?
Nate exchanged glances with Tony. Then he lowered his gun.
No! He couldn’t give himself up! He couldn’t!
“No, Nate! Don’t do it!” My breath snagged in my throat.
The other dregs kept their guns pointed at the thugs, tense, waiting.
My heart raced. All it would take was one happy trigger finger and all the dregs could be killed.
“Let her go, and you can have me.” Nate slowly raised his hands in the air.
What? No!
“You can’t, Nate!”
Nate’s gaze darted to me, then back to Enrique. He stepped forward slowly, pausing several feet away from Enrique. Enrique smirked. He yanked a Taser gun from his side, pointing it at Nate.
My heart stopped.
No!
If he shot Nate with the Taser, it would short out Nate’s pacemaker, and Nate would die.
I lunged forward, launching myself in between Enrique and Nate, trying to stop Enrique from killing Nate.
“Alissa, no!”
Then a jolt of electricity shot through me and I dropped to the ground. All sound disappeared. All light went away. All my senses shut down. There was absolutely nothing.
I think I moaned, but I wasn’t sure.
Then everything came back at me in a rush.
Gunshots echoing all around. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Bodies attacking each other. Thwack. Crunch. Thud.
The smell of gunpowder.
Tires screeching across pavement.
Then silence.
I sat up slowly, my head spinning. What had happened?
Footsteps approached.
Ryan and Luke both leaned over me. “You okay?” Ryan asked, his voice filled with concern.
I nodded, still dazed. “Where’s Nate?”
“They took him,” Ryan murmured, sounding pissed.
“Damn girl, what kind of crazy shit was that?” Luke asked. “You threw yourself in front of the Taser gun.” He lifted his hand and I realized he wanted to high-five me, but my hands were still zip-tied behind my hand. Luke cut me free, then I slapped his palm, feeling foolish.
“You probably saved his life,” Luke added, his words filling with awe. Then his gaze narrowed as he studied me. “You love him, don’t you?”
My face heated. “Yes.”
Ryan and Luke exchanged a glance. Some kind of secret communication passed between them.
“You’re a cool chick,” Ryan said with a smile. “Here.” He held out his hand, the real one, not the prosthetic. I hesitated, then placed my hand in his, and he helped me to my feet.
“How did you guys not die?” I whispered.
Ryan grinned. “We’re the dregs, doll.”
“Well, duh. I know that. But how?”
“Nate gave himself up not just to free you, but also as a distraction, to help make them complacent. Then we attacked. Remember, we’re not normal men. We took out over half of them before the others fled.”
Relief swept through me. Then admiration. “You guys rock! But…Nate. Did they hurt him?”
“He seemed to be okay,” Luke answered. “They dragged him off before we could get to him. They must want him alive for some reason. But Tony got shot.”
Oh no. My heart pinched. If Tony died, it would tear Nate apart. “Is he…okay?”
“Don’t know yet,” Ryan said. “Logan and Noah were getting him back to Nate’s Escalade. If you’re up to it, Logan could probably use your help with him.”
“Yes, of course. Let’s go.”
When we reached the Escalade, Logan and Noah had lain Tony out on the backseat, and Logan was assessing his injuries.
Logan glanced up at me, relief crossing his face. “Alissa. Thank God. I need your help here. I’m not equipped to handle an injury like this. It’s something Nate would have taken care of.”
I stepped up next to Logan. “How bad is he hurt?”
“Gunshot wound to the chest, just above his heart.” Logan swallowed hard. “Another gunshot wound low on his side, in his hip.”
I slowly exhaled.
You can do this, Alissa. You saved Nate. You can save Tony, too.
“Okay. Let’s take a look.”
I had to save him. If for no other reason than he was Nate’s partner, his best friend. And Tony had helped me deal with my trauma. He’d let me beat the shit out of him in the ring. He’d helped me find my strength again, so the least I could do was help him now. I didn’t dislike him, exactly. I just didn’t like him very much. But that was neither here nor there. I couldn’t let him die, not if I could help it.
Tony’s pain-filled gaze latched onto me as Logan stepped aside to let me inspect Tony’s injuries. Logan had already cut Tony’s shirt away and cleaned the blood from the chest wound. It looked like he’d dumped some kind of coagulant on the injury. It had stopped bleeding.
“I already cleaned the injuries with antiseptic wipes.” Logan leaned over my shoulder and watched as I inspected the wounds. “And I doused the injuries with a blood coagulant to stop the bleeding. The bullet went clean through his chest. It looks like the bullet in his hip is still inside somewhere. Did I do okay?”
I nodded, impressed. “You did fine.” Logan was more competent than he gave himself credit for. I glanced sideways at him. “What do you even need me for? Sounds like you’ve got this under control.”
He snorted. “Hardly. I’m just a physical therapist, remember? If I dig inside him in search of the bullet, I’ll probably mutilate him. And I’m worried that the chest injury is too close to his heart. It could have struck an artery.”
I drew in another deep breath, slowly puffed it out. “I’ll take care of it,” I promised, though I wasn’t nearly as confident as I sounded. I was just a nurse. I wasn’t really equipped to handle this, either.
Tony grunted. It was obvious he was in great pain, but he was trying hard to hide it from me. Was he afraid I would view him as weak? Silly man. Everyone had weak moments.
“Hang in there, Tony.” I held his gaze. “I’ll do what I can for you, okay?” Did he think I would refuse to help him?
His throat moved as he swallowed, then he jerked his head in a nod.
I forced a smile. “It’s okay to be weak once in a while. I won’t judge you for it.”
Tony didn’t speak as I assessed first the chest injury, then the lower one by his hip, confirming what Logan had already told me. Tony’s dark gaze never left my face.
The bullet had indeed gone clear through his chest and out his back. But the one in his hip was still lodged inside somewhere, probably in his hip bone. I didn’t think any main arteries had been hit, as there wasn’t an enormous amount of blood, and Tony would probably already have bled to death if a main artery had been severed.
“I’ll be able to dig the bullet out better if I can lay him out somewhere, like on a bed back at the maze. I can’t see well enough in the dark car like this, and I need more room.”
The other dregs had all gathered around while Logan and I inspected Tony’s injuries. Now, they all stepped back.
“Can you get the bullet out on your own?” Ryan asked. “We really need to go after Nate.”
“Yes, I can handle it.” I could. I’d dug two bullets out of Nate. Certainly I could dig one out of Tony.
Tony made a sound of protest, but no one listened to him.
“I’ve got a read on that tracking device in Nate’s arm,” Noah said. “Looks like they’ve taken him to Paine College. Alissa can drive Tony back to the hideout and remove the bullet, while the rest of us go get Nate.”
Tony closed his eyes, and I knew he wanted to argue but surprisingly, he remained silent. Maybe he was in too much pain to protest.
As much as I wanted to go with the other dregs to try to save Nate, I probably wouldn’t be much help to them, anyway. And Tony needed me right now. I had to save him. I couldn’t let him die.
Everyone appeared to be in agreement.
“You got this?” Logan asked me as the other dregs disbursed.
“Yes. I’ll take care of him. You guys go get Nate.”
Logan squeezed my arm, then he turned away.
And I was alone with Tony. Nate’s dreg partner. His best friend. The man who had once threatened to kill me. But then, later, had graciously let me use him as a punching bag to deal with my demons. I was beginning to suspect Tony wasn’t who he pretended to be.
I didn’t want him to die.
But would I be able to save him on my own?