CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Gwen
I swore I heard the faint, distant sound of motorcycle engines, but I was so disoriented that I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it or not.
I closed my eyes and hoped it would be over soon.
“Oh, look at that!” she squealed with delight. “I didn’t even have to send him a picture. Well, sorry about all that, Gwenie. Please forgive me.”
I heard the telltale sound of duct tape and a moment later, I felt the cold strip press firmly against my mouth.
“Shhh. Not a word. We wouldn’t want to kill the surprise, right?”
Her evil giggle rang out and I tried my damnedest to fight the dizziness that was threatening to pull me under.
She retreated out of my line of sight and I wondered if she’d left the room altogether. I closed my eyes, forcing my ears to track any sort of movement, but the place had gone creepily quiet.
Fear shot up my spine. Every part of my body struggled against the duct tape that rendered me helpless. The hairs and skin ripped as I frantically moved around. The tape over my mouth dulled my scream to nothing more than a muffled moan.
That was when it hit me. The damn spring or whatever that had been poking me. I flopped about until I was sitting up. With awkward movements, I twisted around so I could see what and where it was.
Oh, thank God.
It had been a spring and I could see the pointed end jutting out. I dove for it, turning in the process. I did my best to hold it still with the tips of my fingers as I worked the tape back and forth against the sharp end. I had no idea if I was getting anywhere until I felt one end tear and become loose. I worked faster and before I knew it, I was able to rip my wrists free.
I figured since I was able to do such a thing that Tara must have left the room. I scanned the area just to be sure and when I didn’t see anything, I moved to release my ankles. Taking in a deep breath and holding it in, I rolled my lips between my teeth as much as I could and pulled at the tape over my mouth with a quick jerk. It was all I could do to trap the scream of pain in my throat.
“Gwen,” Sketch’s voice whispered from somewhere behind me. Since I’d only seen Tara come in and out through the one entrance, I had no idea how he’d gotten in here. Not that I gave a crap right then. He was there and I wasn’t sure if I felt relieved or terrified. We still weren’t safe and he had no idea about her plans. “Where the fuck is she?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered, my eyes scanning the room frantically. “Where is Knight? She’s going to kill him. We have to save him.”
“Shit,” he whispered harshly as his eyes raked over my battered body. He pulled off his cut and then his t-shirt. Before I knew it, he was sliding his shirt over my head. “He’s going to skin her when he sees what she did to you. I wouldn’t worry, if I were you. Come on, we have to get out of here.”
He whipped out his phone after he put his cut back on. His eyes barely looked at the screen as he typed something out. I guessed he was letting someone know he’d found me.
“No, I’m not leaving him. And my dad. And the brothers. I can’t just leave. I have to save them.” I all but begged even though I knew it was pointless as well as stupid.
“Gwen,” he said in a tone that was not one to argue with. “Your ankles are bleeding. Can you walk?”
“I think so,” I said as I pushed my way to stand. Everything was sore and stiff but other than that, I could function.
“Baby,” Knight’s voice called out just as he rounded the corner into the room. “Fuck!” he roared the moment he laid eyes on me.
Then his feet were carrying him to me with lightning speed and I all but fell into his arms the second he was close enough. I breathed in his scent feeling safe as it wrapped around me.
I saw a flash of movement over his shoulder. Wild eyes and blonde hair sprinted towards Knight and I couldn’t even open my mouth to get the words out to warn him. With all my strength, I pushed him to the side. He stumbled out of the way right as the knife she was wielding sliced down, narrowly missing his shoulder.
Before I could blink, Knight and Sketch had their guns trained on her.
“Wait. Don’t!” I screamed.
Mouse came out of nowhere and took her down to the ground, rendering her helpless as he yanked the knife out of her hand and tossed it across the room.
“Gwen?” Knight asked, his voice vibrating with anger.
“She needs help, Knight,” I said honestly.
Did I want her dead for what she’d put us all through? Yes, maybe a little. But I also knew that I didn’t want any of this on their shoulders, especially Knight’s.
“What she did was wrong and insane, don’t get me wrong. But she’s sick and I have to believe that there is something that can be done. This can’t be the end for her.”
For some reason that I couldn’t begin to explain, it meant a lot to me that she got the help that she obviously needed. Sure, I was mad and hurt and a million other emotions, but I couldn’t stand by and let it end like this.
My dad came barreling into the room and in a split second, I was crushed against his chest. I held on to him for a long while until he was ready to pull away, which he did with reluctance, I could tell.
“You okay?” His gruff voice held a tinge of sadness.
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “Just a little sore.”
“Let’s get you to the hospital.”
I didn’t want to go to the hospital but I also knew it was pointless to fight it.
“What about her?” my dad asked, looking directly at Knight.
“Gwen wants her to get help. I’ll call someone.” He let out a frustrated sigh, clearly not agreeing with my request but giving in to it. “Connor. Yeah. Got a situation.”
Knight’s eyes didn’t leave mine as he carried on his conversation. It was clear that whoever he was talking to was someone that would be able to handle it from here on out. He hung up, his eyes shifting over to my dad’s as he gave him a chin jerk. I took that to mean it was done.
“Aww, Mouse, I’m flattered, really,” Tara’s voice filled the room making all of us turn to look at her. She was still currently pinned under Mouse and barely attempting to wiggle free. “But do you really think this is the time or place to get a hard-on? A little bit weird, if you ask me.”
“It’s my gun, you crazy bitch.” Mouse bit out, unamused. “Fucking hell. Prospect!” he called out and two guys I recognized, but wasn’t familiar with, stepped up and took over for Mouse.
He walked away shaking his head as he brushed himself off.
“Let’s go out front. Connor is sending an ambulance for you,” Knight said, pulling me into his arms and holding me with a gentle tightness. Like he didn’t want to let me go but he was trying his best not to hurt me.
“Wait,” I said as my steps halted. “My necklace.” I started to turn back to face Tara but Knight’s grip on me tightened.
“I’ll get it,” Sketch said from behind me.
I walked away, not giving Tara a single last look. I didn’t care if I ever saw her again. In fact, I hoped I never did. I might not be as forgiving in the future. I knew Knight wouldn’t be.
Knight didn’t let go of my hand as the paramedics looked me over then loaded me up, and the moment I was settled in, he leaned down and kissed me like I couldn’t believe. I felt everything in that kiss—how scared he’d been, how much he loved me, and how he wouldn’t ever let me go.
Dad hopped on his bike and I watched him out of the back window the entire ride to the hospital.
The doctors confirmed that nothing was broken, that I was really banged up and would heal in a week or so. I knew all of this and I bit my tongue at telling them ‘I told you so.’ I didn’t need to go to the hospital but I knew better than to argue with them.
They released me a few hours later and Knight drove me home in my car, which had magically appeared outside of the hospital. Okay, I knew that someone had driven it there, I wasn’t that dumb.
Back at the apartment, Dad and Knight flitted about making sure I was comfortable and had any and everything I could want. Until I put my foot down and told them I needed to rest. I somehow managed to drift off, no doubt the stress of the day had stolen all of my energy.
When I woke, the room was dark and for a brief second, I felt my chest pull tight as a panic shot through me. It took me a few long minutes to realize that I was in my room and safe. Once that set in, I was finally able to drag in a lungful of air.
I was safe.
I was at home.
I repeated those words to myself over and over again until I was calm.
“Knight,” I called out and my mouth felt dry. I reached for the bottle of water beside my bed and took a long pull. The cold liquid did its best to ease the soreness in my throat.
“Yeah, baby?” He came walking into my room with long strides, only stopping once he reached the bed.
“Hold me,” I requested, needing to feel every inch of him against me.
I was cold and I needed his warmth. I needed his scent surrounding me. I just needed him. And lucky for me, he was there without an ounce of hesitation.
He wrapped me in his arms and I rested my head on his chest. The sound of his heart beating lulled me into a peaceful calm.
I wasn’t ready to talk about it and I got the sense that he knew that. He didn’t press for answers. He didn’t ask me if I was okay. He didn’t beg me to tell him how he could fix it. It was perfect and everything I needed at that moment. I think we both knew it wasn’t something that could be fixed in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t something that would be alright with one simple action. As much as I wanted to forget the whole thing had even happened, I knew it wasn’t going to that easy.
“Did you talk to my dad?” The question seemed absurd to me but I had to know.
“Yes.” He let out a little chuckle as his hand brushed over my hair in a soothing way.
My hand went to my necklace, rubbing the smooth edges between my fingers. Sketch had brought it to me while I was at the hospital and while I was hesitant to put it on at first, I didn’t want to be without it. It wasn’t something I wore all the time. And I rarely wore it out of the house. It was like a security blanket most times. When I was thinking about my mom or needed some sort of comfort in a lonely time, I’d pull it out and run my fingers over the intricate design. But I wore it now, needing that feeling of her with me.
“And?” I asked after he didn’t say anything else.
“And, it’s all good, baby. Like I told you, there was no need to worry.”
I knew I wasn’t going to get anything more out of him. I’d have to accept his words. It wasn’t like I needed a play-by-play, but I would have liked a little bit more detail as to how the conversation had gone down.
“He’s happy for us Gwen. He gave me his approval,” he whispered in a gruff voice then held me tighter for a fraction of a second.
I smiled against his chest. To know that my dad was on board meant the world to me. In truth, I shouldn’t have doubted it. Knight was the best man I knew besides my dad, and I should have known the old man would have seen that too.
“Stay with me?” I asked as my eyes grew heavy once again.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said then placed a light kiss along my hairline.