Page 69 of B-ry
The high-pitched squeal let me know that it had worked. I cringed, because there was no way that the sound wasn’t heard, even over the shouting in the other room.
I knew when the shouting abruptly stopped that I had been right.
Not caring that I was going to make some more noise, I threw my body on the bottom of the chair again. Now there was just enough space for me to fit my body through. I snatched up the phone and jumped out of the window as I heard footsteps pounding against the floor, growing closer to the door by the second. I prayed that neither one of them were smart enough to run around the house until after I was able to get a good head start.
Gripping the phone as tightly as I could, I got to my feet ready to take off running. Only I collided with something hard.
“No,” I whimpered out as I tried to steady myself.
“Miss?” I didn’t recognize that voice. “Miss, are you alright?”
I was naked, dirty, and clearly beaten. So obviously I was not alright.
“Help,” I managed to say as I met the strangers deep brown eyes.
Then I collapsed into his arms.
I didn’t pass out but my body was too weak for me to keep my eyes open any longer. But I could tell that he had scooped me up in his arms as he took off running. I bounced around like a rag doll and every movement shot a lightning bolt of pain through my body.
“Stay with me,” the new stranger said as he lowered me down.
By the feeling of the plush cushion beneath me, I would have guessed I was in a seat of a car. It was too small to be a couch and too low to be a chair. A moment later when the sound of an engine starting up filled my ears, I knew I had been right.
“Drive, Marcella.”
We were moving, or the car was, rather, but I couldn’t get my eyes to open. A second later, there was something soft thrown around my body and I would have guessed it was a blanket of some sort.
“I’m taking you to the hospital. Can you tell me your name?”
There was a thickness to his voice and some kind of accent. But it wasn’t like the guy that had been arguing with my captor. I wanted to say Russian, but I wasn’t all that positive about it.
“No,” I moaned out. “P-Paragons.” It was all I could do to push the word out. My mouth was so dry and my tongue felt swollen.
“Did she just—” a woman asked only to be cut off by the other guy.
“Yeah.”
I tried to say the Steel Paragons so he knew that was what I mean but my mouth just fell open and a dry wheeze came out.
That was honestly the last place I wanted to go right now. Truthfully, I wanted to be alone and as far away from Bryan as I could get. But I knew what danger was out there and I knew it was targeting them. Even though my head was a dizzy mess, I knew I had to warn them.
I thought of all the good men that belonged to that club. I thought about everything they had done for Cami and me. I thought of how my sister was tied to the club. And Chris. I couldn’t let them get hurt. I couldn’t let them be blindsided by some crazy guy with a vendetta for something that happened in the past.
I tried not to think about his words but no matter what, it seemed I couldn’t help it. Had they done what he said? By the sound of it, they did the world a favor.
Suddenly, I was aware of the violence that followed the club. At one point, it had been the only thing I could see. I had to admit when Cami first told me about Brand and that he belonged to a motorcycle club, all I could think of was violent criminals. Then I met him—Brand—and I knew he was a good man. I could see the love for my sister right away. And when I felt lost and alone, they had shown up to help me move without asking for anything. I wasn’t dumb, I knew there was a side of danger with the club. Possibly even illegal activity. Only it wasn’t so out in the open and it sure wasn’t talked about.
Had I been so blind? Had I let myself get lost in how they treated each other like family? Had I only seen that they took me in even if I kept myself on the outside? Did I completely miss the danger that surrounded the club?
“What’s your name?”
“L-Laurel.”
“Oh, shit.” There was a pause and I had no idea what his shock meant. “I found the girl.”
Panic started to rise and I forced myself to sit up and open my eyes. I feared that I had gotten myself out of one situation and right into another. How many enemies did I have? Or the Steel Paragons have, rather?
“Hey,” he said softly. Well, as softly as his accent would allow him, I imagined. “Hey, calm down. I won’t hurt you.”
