Lori

 

 

My eyes open to complete darkness and cold, so cold I feel my hands ache when I push down beside my hips to push myself up. It hurts like a bitch, and I moan out loud when I can’t move, my body numb with the chill I feel all the way inside my bones.

I can hardly move when I roll, groaning long and low at the icy burn that meets me when I touch the floor. I’m on the verge of meltdown status when I hear soft whimpers reaching out from the pitch-black.

“Hello?” I croak, fearful to make a sound but so scared and cold I can’t stop the sound.

“Help us.”

I cringe at the soft plea, my own helplessness starkly opposed to the hopeful note in the girl’s voice. I can’t even help myself, and I know, from the grogginess, druggedness—I can’t think of another word because I’m so cold it hurts to form a thought—I know that I’m not only numb from cold but the feelings trying to break free inside me.

Not now, I plead with a higher power. Please just make me strong now.

It takes a bit, but I note, finally, that I am not naked, and I thank God when I feel my shoes because I know that I at least have a knife as protection.

“Where are we?”

“F-f-f-freezer,” another voice gasps, the chattering of teeth making her voice a hoarse croak of sound in the stillness.

Oh God! We’ll die.

“H-how long?”

“Twenty m-m-minutes. I think. So cold. So, so cold.”

Somehow, I manage to find them in the darkness, pulling my legs behind me as I will myself to keep moving and build up some heat. We need to get out of here now. It’s the only thought I have as I meet the icy cold flesh of seeking hands and gently grip the fingers shaking in mine.

I keep my voice steady by sheer force of will, I don’t even know how, and lock my jaw against the teeth-chattering cold.

“We need to get out. Where is the door?” I ask.

One girl, because I only hear two voices, slowly takes my hand and leads me to her left, the cold metal meeting my palm. I can’t see a thing, but I feel the latch, and knowing it won’t do a damn thing. I pull.

Locked.

“We have to get this open. Help me.”

It’s hard, and I have to stop a pained cry when my fingers start aching, but we do try, the sheer fact that we’re trapped inside a meat locker driving me on, pushing away the panic that’s snapping at my heels.

It feels like hours that we pull and push and bang on the door, my desperation pushing me to scream for help even when my instinct tells me to shut the hell up.

I don’t want to die. Not in here. Not in the dark where I can’t even draw up Wolf’s image in my mind. The thought gives me hope because it’s all I have. He’ll have found the note by now. He’ll be coming for me. I know it as strongly as I know that we need to get out of here.

The door clangs moments, hours later, and I scramble back, blinking at the shaft of light that hits my eyes.

“You’re all alive still! Good. Come on, then.”

The voice is a soft crow of amusement, and I tilt my head to let the girls out first, horrified when my eyes land on another girl, curled up in a tight ball in the corner.

She’s probably dead, I think, swallowing bile. But I pull her out with me, hurting and struggling under the weight despite her stiffness.

“Leave the bitch. She’s a popsicle.”

“You’re a monster!” I yell, falling onto hard kitchen tile, my body screaming at the sudden change in temperature.

The girl is blue with the cold, and my tears burn as they fall, dripping onto her face. I don’t know her, but the grief I feel at this show of cruelty, the horrible way she—

Her eyelid twitches. She’s barely breathing, but I see her eyelid twitch and gasp my joy.

“She’s alive! I need a blanket.”

“She’s a lost cause.”

He growls the words with exasperated annoyance, and I look up at him, baring my teeth in a snarl. His eyes are black, bottomless pits, colder than anything I have ever seen.

He’s short, almost squat, and bald, I note, taking in the sweat on his brow with envy.

“Come now, I don’t have time for this. We need to make a call.”

“I’m not doing shit until I get her warm.”

I have no idea where I find the balls, honestly, but I know, as I look down at the icy blond hair and marble-white pallor of her skin, I can’t leave her here to die.

The man snarls and goes to hit me, but I jump up and take a fighting stance, the karate and Wolf’s teachings bringing me into instinctive defensive pose.

He laughs, and I feel a bit of the panic slipping away. Wolf told me they’d underestimate me and that would be my biggest advantage. I take it before he can let out another bark of amusement, slamming out my hand, the heel meeting his nose with a sickening crush. He stumbles back, and I leap again, slapping both hands to his ears quickly before following with a chop to the throat.

It’s gross, the crunching bone and gurgle, but it serves me well when he falls to his knees and slumps to the floor.

“Come on.”

The girls I ignored thus far spring into action, grabbing a leg as I shove my hands beneath the unconscious girl’s armpits and lift, wheezing at her weight.

She’s not fat. In fact, I can see her ribs poking through skin, but I am weak and still fighting the drugging effects of the cold.

And my nerves are screaming in pain as circulation resumes.

We make it to the kitchen door just as a blast rocks the house somewhere. The noise is deafening and gets worse when bullets start booming in loud staccato waves all around.

“Drop!”

On the floor on my belly, I throw myself at the girls and pull them down when they freeze. I wince when the unconscious girl’s head hits the floor, but I can’t worry about that right now.

Bullets. Bangs. Booms. It’s a war zone of sounds and screaming. I’m terrified out of my skull now. It’s one thing to have a knife and think about using it. It’s another when faced with shooting, screaming, bloody warfare altogether.

We need to run.

“Come on.”

Grabbing the girl under the arms, this time all by myself, I start dragging her to the back door and almost faint in relief when it opens and no one attacks me.

The others are crying, but I can’t care right now. I need to get us all out before we get shot. It’s not easy though. The backyard is a long stretch of grass and bushes. It’s hot and dark, and I can’t see anyone coming at us.

Fear is a bitter tang in my mouth as I lower the girl to the bricks behind a flowerbed filled with honeysuckle and gesture for the others to hide. My knife is a solid weight in my hand. They’re shaking, but I have something to protect us at least.

Well, me. I have to go back in there. My parents haven’t just magically escaped.

“Don’t leave us.”

“Please.”

“I need to go find my parents. Stay here, and when you can, run. Get to a phone and call the cops. Don’t let them take you again.”

I ignore their whimpers and dart back inside just as someone comes through the door. I freeze, as does he before he smiles and lunges for me.

He never makes it, and I do scream when he stills, eyes rolling back in his head and collapses, a knife imbedded in his neck.

“Haul ass, baby girl! That man of yours has lost his shit.”

I fling myself at Lyon, shock and relief making me sob when his strong arms wrap around me. I could so stay like this forever, I think, crying into his armpit, which is all I can reach, the man is so big.

“Move, babe—”

“My parents,” I cry, struggling when he grabs hold of me.

“Are already out. Wolf and Bear went after that little shit Grant. Come on, Lori girl. We need to get you out and to safety before he’ll stop the rampage. Christ, that man is nasty when he’s pissed.”

“But…” I look down at my knife and pout.

It’s awful, but with the relief and the certainty that I am safe, I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get to use the thing. What?! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I can tell you that now because Wolf will be on my poor ass like white on rice from now on.

“Don’t pout. I’m sure Wolf will give you many reasons to use it over the next few years,” he laughs, correctly interpreting my expression. “And don’t even think of going in after him. He’d fucking kill me.”

I sigh and remember the girls, my eyes widening.

“Come on. I need your help. We need a medic or an ambulance.”

Lyon almost growls my ear off when I lead him outside to the flowers and show him the girls. The first two cower back before they see me, but he’s only got eyes for the blonde with the blue lips.

Tears fill my eyes when he falls to his knees beside her, his hand shaking when he reaches for her and softly feels for a pulse.

“Take this, and tell Hawk to get a bus down here.”

I do as he says and wait a minute before Hawk and Lynx round the corner, stopping dead at the sight of the women, their eyes taking in the way Lyon has the blonde cradled to his chest.

Something is going on here, and I should care, but all I care about when the door bangs open and Wolf stumbles out is him.

I’m in his arms in seconds. I don’t know if it’s me who moved first or him, but I’m on him, legs gripping his hips as he crushes me to his chest and pants into my hair.

“I thought I lost you. I thought you were gone,” he says raggedly, kissing me hard when all I can do is cry and cling onto him.

“You won’t ever lose me, Wolf. Never.”

The next kiss is hot, a reclaiming, if you will, and now that I’m not scared anymore, all I feel is his arms and the undeniable knowledge that I have no reason to fear anymore.

He’ll always come for me.

“We need to get her to the hospital. How far is that bus, man?” Lyon growls just as Bear comes running with EMTs on his tail.

That’s the focus for the next few minutes as we hear sirens wail and watch them work on my freezer mate—not meant to be funny but I have no name for her.

We leave in ambulances not long after, Bear threatening to shoot cops if they so much as sniff at me before I’m checked out.

********************************************************************

Warm. I am completely warm and comfortable as I lean back against the pillow and watch Wolf growl at the detectives in the doorway, his big body blocking them from entering while he rails at them to ‘fuck off and die.’

I want to laugh my head off because the man is a bear, and isn’t that just hilarious. Even Bear doesn’t have a patch on him when he goes into protective boyfriend mode.

“But, sir—”

“She’s resting, and you can see her tomorrow, assholes.”

I’m saved from seeing my man in handcuffs when Bear stalks in with some very official-looking guy who starts barking orders and waving around a badge.

“Wolf,” I mutter when he keeps glaring at the empty doorway, drawing his attention with a giggle. “Come here.”

I wait until he’s beside me in the chair, his hand enveloping mine in a strong grip that makes me tingle and think about getting the hell out of here.

“I should kill them.”

“Wolf.”

“They’re pissing me off. They’ve been hounding your parents and my guys since we got here.”

I wince at that because I heard Mom in the ER, her voice ringing out demandingly while Rain tried to calm her down. She has yet to ask about me, her only concern for Dad, who had to go into surgery for a gunshot wound.

I’m happy to report that he’s fine, the bullet having missed vital organs. He’s gonna be out of commission for a while, but God, I feel terrible hoping they’ll go home soon. I just can’t deal with the histrionics of Mom having a meltdown and Dad asking the nurses for beer.

“It’s their job, babe,” I point out quietly, trying not to laugh when he growls and kisses my hand, breathing deeply as if he’s still trying to catch his breath.

“I almost lost it when you weren’t at home and I found that note.”

“It’s over now,” I soothe, stroking his hair with my left hand. “I’m okay.”

He nods at that but swallows again before looking up at me with eyes filled with tears.

“I almost lost you before, before I got to the best part,” he croaks. “I was going to say it tonight, give you a ring and tell you how much I love you. And you weren’t there.”

I’m so shocked all I can do is gape when he reaches into his pocket to extract a ring. I don’t notice a thing about it. All I have eyes for is Wolf when he slides the ring onto my finger and reverently kisses it, as if sealing the vow already.

“I love you. I love you so much it scares me a little. I’ve been feeling things for a while now, thanks to you and the love you’ve given me as a guide. I finally knew it the morning you got your period and started yelling at me to fix your cramps.”

We both grin because I was out of my mind, and yeah, he took it all with an aplomb I still can’t believe. I wasn’t as upset about the pain as much as I was when I knew I wasn’t pregnant, something that shocked me, so stupid I lashed out at him.

The man has turned me into a mad woman with the strangest thoughts imaginable, but I understand. He really has to love me if he listened to me rant for an hour while I detailed my flow and yelled at him.

God help me. I am not telling my grandkids this story. No way will I say he knew he loved me because I got crazy on my period.

“I love you too,” I say softly, accepting his kiss and sighing tiredly when he pulls back.

“Good. Because I suck at the whole love speech thing, and I don’t have any soft words to make this romantic. All I got is love.”

“That’s all I want,” I whisper, pulling him onto the bed beside me and moaning in delight when he wraps himself around me.

“Lyon’s being weird,” I mumble, my eyes falling.

Wolf chuckles and kisses my hair, tucking closer against me.

“Lyon’s found his mate.”