Colters' Gift (25 page)

“That’s what I pay you to do,” Joel snapped. “I thought you said there was no way to tell if her ribs were broken without an X-ray. And now you’re so sure they are?”

“There is bruising in the lower rib cage. Tenderness to touch and at least one feels displaced. If there are breaks higher, she risks puncturing a lung if she isn’t careful.”

Joel scowled. “You write her the script for painkillers. I’ll see how things are in the morning before I worry over X-rays.”

The doctor sighed and turned, casting an apologetic look in Lauren’s direction. He’d tried and she knew he was afraid to do more. She didn’t know what hold Joel had on him, but it was obvious the doctor was captive to Joel’s demands.

The doctor spent a few seconds scribbling out a prescription from his pad, and then he pulled the top page off and held it out to Joel, who shoved it at Ron.

“Go have this filled.”

Then he focused his attention on the doctor and told him to get out. The doctor was only too eager to disappear. He nearly stumbled in his haste to get to the front door.

When both Ron and the doctor were gone, Joel walked to the couch where Lauren still lay, and he stared down at her, a malicious gleam in his eyes.

“Here’s how this will go, Lauren. Cooperate and please me and I won’t touch your ribs. Piss me off and be difficult and I’ll make you wish you were never born.”

CHAPTER 37

L
AUREN
lay there frozen, so terrified that she couldn’t think of what she should do. She had no doubt that he would indeed make her very sorry if she fought him, but how could she not? How could she lie there and allow him to use her body as he’d already used her mouth?

What if she became pregnant? Joel hadn’t ever used condoms with her. He refused. And after she’d left him, she’d gone off birth control because she couldn’t imagine wanting to become involved in a sexual relationship with anyone. She hadn’t counted on Noah and Liam.

How could she force herself to have sex with him for the sake of survival? It was rape. Even if she didn’t fight him, because her mind and heart was screaming no. She didn’t want this!

And how could she ever face Noah and Liam if Joel raped her and she’d done nothing to prevent it? Would they even want her anymore? Could they look at her without disgust in their eyes, and could she ever look at them without shame in hers?

Joel stopped next to the couch, unzipped his fly and shoved his pants just to his hips so that his erect cock came free. It disgusted her that he was so turned on after hearing how injured she was, that he’d actually get off on the idea of forcing her to endure the humiliation of his possession in addition to the pain forced on her because she wasn’t ready or willing. And he knew she wasn’t willing and that she had no desire for him.

He stroked his erection, the action menacing. He reached with his free hand to knock her thighs apart but then he backed away, his gaze hard.

“Get up and take your pants off,” he ordered. “I want you completely nude. Be quick about it.”

Oh dear God. She was out of time. What could she do except obey?

She pushed herself up before he could find fault and take her hesitancy for disobedience. When her feet hit the floor, she rose shakily, her hands going clumsily to the button of her pants. All the while, she kept her gaze glued to Joel, hoping desperately for an opportunity.

And then it presented itself.

Apparently impatient over the time it was taking her, he advanced, releasing his grip on his cock, his hands outstretched as if he’d tear her clothing from her himself.

Instinct took over. Before she even realized what she was doing, she lunged forward, her hand reaching for his dick and twisting with all her strength.

Joel’s howl of pain was instantaneous, and he struck out at her face to ward her off. Pain exploded in her jaw, but she hung on tenaciously, determined to do as much damage as she could. She doubled her other fist and struck him repeatedly in the jaw.

She released him and then drove her knee right into his balls, ignoring the pain in her ribs.

Joel dropped like a stone onto the floor and she wasted no time turning and running toward the back patio door. She couldn’t go out the front because Ron was suddenly there. She had no access to a vehicle now, but she’d take her chances in the woods, because anything was better than the fate Joel had planned for her.

She heard Joel’s roar of anger and his instant call for Ron. She flung open the door and bolted into the night, running as fast as her legs would carry her toward the tree line in the distance.

Almost there. Almost there.

It was a chant in her mind, a never-ending litany that made her push on even though agony ran like a river through her body.

Oh God, she was going to make it. She was almost there.

She was hit from behind with the force of a train. She went sprawling, screaming in agony when she hit the ground, a heavy body atop her.

Ron.

He’d caught her.

Tears of frustration coursed down her cheeks. She’d nearly made it into the cover of the woods. She could have hidden.

“Stupid bitch. You really do have a death wish,” Ron snarled in her ear.

His groin was pushed into her behind and she could feel his enormous erection. The sick bastard was getting off on her helplessness and the chase.

He pumped his hips forward, mimicking the motion of fucking her from behind.

“Now I get you,” he said with savage satisfaction. “You should have let Joel fuck you. He’s much easier to take than I am, but now you’ve pissed him off and he’s going to let me punish you, and I assure you, I’m going to enjoy every minute of making you cry.”

He pushed himself off her and then dragged her upward. One hand curled tightly into her hair and the other gripped her arm with bruising force as he propelled her forward.

Moments later, he pushed her back into the house where Joel was waiting in the living room, his face nearly purple with rage. His eyes were so black that she shivered.

As soon as they appeared, he stalked over and backhanded her across the face. If Ron hadn’t been holding her so tightly, she would have instantly gone down.

Then Joel looked up at Ron. “She’s yours. Bend her over the couch and tie her there. Use her for as long as you want. I don’t care what you do with the bitch, but make sure she suffers.”

Ron’s eyes gleamed in satisfaction. “She might be a little loose by the time you get to her.”

Joel shrugged. “I don’t plan to keep her long anyway.”

A chill blew over her body at the finality in his tone. He meant to kill her. He wanted to punish her and then he’d kill her for her rebellion.

Ron tore at her clothes while she stood there, numb, so scared that she couldn’t even think. And then she was naked and he was shoving her toward the couch, his hands mauling her and making her cry out in pain.

She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t face what was about to happen. She just wanted to die.

Her mind went blank and she blocked out her reality, retreating to a place where no one could hurt her. She didn’t feel the pain when Ron shoved her over the end of the couch and wrenched her arms back to tie them in place. She closed her eyes and withdrew, blanking everything until she was floating in a soothing sea of nothingness.

CHAPTER 38

L
IAM
was about to come out of his skin as they raced down the winding drive of Joel Knight’s lake home. Every beat of his heart was magnified ten times until it felt like his chest would explode with the pressure.

He was terrified. Lauren had been in Knight’s hands for hours. If Knight hadn’t already killed her, Liam could only
imagine
what he’d done to her.

The tension inside the SUV was tangible. Noah’s hands gripped the steering wheel while Seth and Dillon were in the second row, stiff and ready to bolt into action. In the back, Adam and Ryan looked worried, their brows creased with anxiety as they imagined Lauren’s fate.

Max was on the floor in between Seth and Dillon, his hands knotted together, his knuckles white. Liam wasn’t sure if he was praying or plotting vengeance. Probably a little of both.

Noah turned off the headlights as they made the last turn and the house came into view. He slammed on the brakes and turned off the engine a good distance from the house and then motioned everyone out.

There was a car parked in the front. A sleek black Mercedes. Only one light burned from within the house, a beacon for Noah and Liam.

Seth drew his weapon while Noah and Liam both pulled their guns as well. Then Seth turned to his brother, his dads and Max.

“You stay behind us. This isn’t time to play hero and get yourself killed. Let us go in first and take care of any threat. We don’t want this to get bloody unless it’s necessary.”

They nodded their agreement, but Noah and Liam were already starting across the gravel drive to the house. Liam broke into a run, not willing to wait a second longer to get to Lauren. Noah caught up to him and they charged toward the front door.

It was the view from the picture window that stopped them in their tracks. There were no curtains or blinds on the large window looking into the living room, and what they saw made Liam’s blood run cold and then instantly molten with rage.

Lauren was bent over a couch—naked—and the welts on her back were visible even from a distance. The son of a bitch had beaten her! It looked as if someone had taken a belt to her back. Joel Knight stood to one side, his face set with satisfaction as another man roughly parted Lauren’s legs as he prepared to rape her.

Liam hurtled to the front door, throwing it open. He barreled into the living room, gun raised.

“Get away from her!” he roared. “Hands up, asshole!”

“Liam, look out!”

He heard Noah’s shout and then several things happened at once. One gunshot. Then two. Pain bloomed in his left shoulder. The man who’d been abusing Lauren dropped and rolled, and Liam could see he was going for the gun lying beside his discarded pants.

Liam tried to move to cut off the man’s access, but his reaction time was ridiculously slow and part of his body felt encased with lead.

Seth stopped in between Liam and the man on the floor and all Liam could get out was, “No!” He didn’t want Seth Colter to go down for him.

Seth dove low, tackling the man while Max surged forward and kicked the pistol away from the man’s grasp.

Knowing that threat had been eliminated, Liam turned his attention to Lauren. Noah was also rushing toward Lauren, and they reached her at the same time.

Noah worked furiously at the ropes around her wrists, while Liam knelt by the couch and gently turned her head in his direction. Her eyes were closed and his heart nearly stopped in his chest.

“Lauren?” he asked softly. “Lauren, baby, it’s okay now. Noah and I are here.”

Even as he spoke, he put his trembling fingers to her neck, feeling for a pulse. His left arm hung uselessly at his side, but he shut out everything but the woman in front of him.

As Noah got the ropes free, Max pushed in with a blanket to cover Lauren’s naked body. Noah pulled her upward, wrapping her in the blanket, ignoring Max’s demands that
he
see to his sister’s well-being.

Ryan and Dillon tried to pull Liam back, their questions urgent about his wound. They tried to get him to sit down, but he shook them off, only wanting to get to Lauren. He pushed Max aside, uncaring of his own injuries or that Max was her brother and by all rights should be the one seeing to her. Lauren was Liam’s. His and Noah’s, and Liam wasn’t leaving her side.

Noah eased onto the couch, holding Lauren in his arms. Liam knelt in front of Noah, his shaking hand going to Lauren’s bruised and bloodied face.

Behind them Seth was on the phone, his voice low and urgent. Liam had no idea what happened to Joel or how he himself had been shot, or if Seth had the other man under control, but he wouldn’t allow himself to do anything but focus on Lauren.

“Lauren, honey, you’re safe now,” Noah said in a choked voice. “Open your eyes. You’re safe, I swear it.”

Her eyelids fluttered sluggishly and then opened. She stared sightlessly at Liam, almost as if she didn’t recognize him.

“Lauren?” Liam whispered. “It’s me, baby. It’s Liam.”

Her eyes were dull and she didn’t react to his voice. It was apparent that she’d retreated to somewhere far away from where she was.

Noah lowered his head to kiss her brow, but she didn’t stir. She continued to stare lifelessly at Liam, but it was as if she looked beyond him. Into nothing.

Tears burned Liam’s eyelids. His fingers curled into tight balls. Helpless rage fired through his body. He’d allowed this to happen. She’d been taken by this bastard because she’d protected him and Noah.

As he lifted his gaze to his friend’s, he saw the same answering grief and rage in Noah’s eyes.

Liam leaned into Lauren, resting his forehead against hers. “Fight this, baby. Don’t let that bastard win. Come back to us. Come back to me and Noah where you belong.”

He turned, searching out Knight with fury in his heart. He wanted to kill the son of a bitch with his bare hands. But Knight was lying on the floor in a pool of blood, his eyes glassy and fixed in death. He glanced back to Noah, question in his gaze.

“He shot you,” Noah said in a low voice. “You barged in, intent on saving Lauren, and you never even saw him pull his gun. I had to put him down.”

“Good,” Liam said savagely.

Then he put his forehead to Lauren’s once more.

“He can’t hurt you anymore, baby. He’ll never hurt you again.”

She didn’t stir, and fear gripped Liam’s throat. He glanced up at Noah again, grief so thick he had to swallow back the knot in his throat.

“What did he
do
to her?” he asked in an agonized voice.

He touched her bruised face again in a whisper soft touch. He was afraid of causing her more pain. He had no idea what Knight had done to her before he and the others had arrived.

Noah’s mouth tightened and his throat worked up and down as though he were fighting the same overwhelming grief that consumed Liam.

“We were too late,” Noah whispered. “He hurt her. The son of a bitch put his hands on her. Did you see the marks on her back? The bruises on her face? Not to mention the bruises and marks we
can’t
see.”

“Noah, Liam.”

Seth’s grim voice broke into their conversation. Liam turned to see the other men standing right behind them, worry reflected in their gazes. To the side, the man who’d been about to rape Lauren when they arrived was bound hand and foot, forced to sit upright against the wall.

“The ambulance just pulled up,” Seth continued. Then he looked at Liam. “You and Lauren both need to go to the hospital. You’ve been shot and you’re still losing blood.”

“I’m not leaving her,” Liam said fiercely.

Adam held up his hand. “No one said you had to, son. We’ll all be there. She won’t be alone. Let’s get you patched up so you can be with her that much sooner. The quicker you let them take a look at that arm, the quicker you can be back with her. She needs to be in the hospital.”

Noah nodded his agreement. A moment later, the paramedics entered the living room, followed closely by the local police. It was a madhouse of endless questions. To Liam’s frustration he was separated from Lauren as one medic tended her and the other bandaged his arm.

When they began to wheel her away on a stretcher, Noah walking beside it holding Lauren’s hand, Liam bolted up from the couch and strode after them. Over his dead body were they leaving without him.

Max was about to climb into the back with Noah and Lauren when Liam shoved him out of the way and hauled himself up to sit beside Noah on the bench next to the stretcher. When Max would have protested, Adam put his hand on his shoulder.

“Think what you would do if it was Callie and her brothers were trying to be at her side. They love her. Just like you love Callie. You’d never allow yourself to be parted from her, just like Noah and Liam won’t allow themselves to be away from her. Let them go. We’ll follow behind and you can see her at the hospital.”

Max sighed, but Liam could see that Adam’s words had hit the mark. Liam sent Adam a grateful look. The last thing Liam wanted was a confrontation with Max Wilder when the priority had to be on getting Lauren the care she needed.

The other medic closed the doors and then hurried to get into the cab. Liam reached down for Lauren’s hand, pulling it up so he could twine their fingers together.

“We’re with you, baby,” he whispered. “We won’t leave you.

He leaned down to brush his mouth across her delicate hand.

“I love you. Don’t leave me, Lauren. Hang in there and be strong. We’ll guide you back home.”