Redemption (22 page)

I instantly knew which door she was in because of the lock on the front. I rushed forward and pulled on the rusty lock. Checking behind me, I clutched my jaw and aimed my gun.

The shot would alert everyone in the house, but I’d have enough time to get to her, save her. I fired one shot, the lock broke and fell to the floor. Someone gasped from the inside, and my heart hammered. The distant sound of people screaming sounded in the back of my mind but all I could think about was getting to her.

Yanking the chain, I kicked the door inward, light filtered into the hallway and my breath caught in my throat.

“Rage,” her voice a whisper.

Holy shit
. She sat in the middle of a large bed with her feet chained to the bed post. Blood was smeared against her mouth, her shirt hung in shreds against her body. “Angel,” I whispered.

I stepped to diminish the distance between us when her eyes widened. “Watch out!”

I spun on my heel. The butt of Denver’s gun was the last thing I saw before I fell to the ground, Neveah’s voice drifted far away and everything went black.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Neveah

Oh no. No! Please, God.

I wiped my cheeks of the waterfall of tears that coated them. Denver snapped his fingers and two armed men from outside grabbed Rage underneath his arms and pulled him over to the corner of the room. “Leave him alone!” I screamed.

Denver’s chuckle sent chills down my spine. He watched them chain Rage to the wall with a smile on his face before turning to acknowledge me. His piercing blue eyes twinkled, his swim trunks hung low on his hips and the lack of compassion on his face hit me like a brick. “Sweet Angel,” he said. “I’ve got plans for you as soon as your fuck buddy over there wakes up.”

He walked toward me, grabbing my foot and yanked me toward him. Fear rushed through me when his finger trailed up the inside of my thigh. I slapped it away, thankful for the use of my hands. My feet had fallen asleep two hours before due to the heavy chains that tied me down. “Oh, don’t be mean,” he cooed. “I just want what you so willingly gave him.”

No. No. No. Please, wake up, Rage. Someone please fucking help us.

“No,” I cried, unable to stop the tears. “Please don’t touch me. Hannah!” I screamed, hoping she’d hear me.

Denver smiled. “She’s down at the pool with her headphones on, Sweet Angel. She won’t hear your cries.” He moved his palm up my thigh, closer to the edge of my panties. They didn’t give me any clothes, so I still wore Rage’s T-shirt from when I crawled into my bed.

I traced his face with my eyes, praying to see one ounce of humanity left there but there was nothing—but a huge scar across his face. The scar Rage gave him. “When I’m done with you, you’ll be begging for me,” he whispered, leaning forward. “You’ll need me like you think you need him.”

“I don’t fuck guys with fucked up faces,” I spit.

A sneer rose from the corner of his lip, and he backhanded me. I hit the mattress, stars danced along the corner of my vision, my breath caught in my throat. I needed to be strong, so I bit my tongue until I tasted blood. “You’ll shut your stupid mouth. Rage might like that shit, but I like my women obedient and silent.”

The doorbell sounded and Denver cursed. “Fucking shit. Come on guys, I bet that’s the pizza. I’m getting hungry, anyway.”

Pizza?
The thought of food made my stomach hurt. I hadn’t eaten, not that I would have been able to eat anything. But the fact that he could eat with two people chained in his house made reality a whole lot clearer. We were going to die soon.

They left without another word, slamming the door on their way out. A cry burst from my throat. I’d always been strong-willed but all I felt was small and helpless. There was no getting out of these chains alone.

“Rage,” I whispered.

His head rested against the wall, his eyes closed and body lifeless. “Wake up!” I shouted. “Please, wake up. I love you so much. I just want to talk to you! Talk to me!” I felt the desperation in my voice, the helplessness that I always strived to beat. It was there, and it was eating away at me slowly.

The room felt small despite the space, and each breath felt like my last. I jerked my feet against the chains making sure to cause as much noise as I could. “Help! Hannah! Please!” I screamed.

I didn’t know her from Adam, but she was our only chance. If seeing her brother chained to the wall didn’t soften her heart then nothing would. The minutes ticked by, memories of my mother and growing up flooded my brain. It was like I’d already accepted the fate that Denver had sealed the minute his men took me from my bed.

The door clicked opened, and I held my breath. Hannah stepped inside, her face ashen. “What—Neveah?” she whispered. “Oh God.” He eyed turned to Rage. “Rage!” she shouted, running toward him. “What happened?” she asked over sobs, her blonde hair matted to her wet cheeks. “Wake up, Bubba,” she whispered, slapping at his face. “Just wake up.”

“Denver took me in the middle of the night. He found out Rage was alive.”

She closed her eyes and touched his cheek. “I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.” Her shoulders shook. “I’m sorry, Rage. Please wake up. I’m so sorry.”

Rage groaned, his eyes fluttered opened. When the haziness vanished, he sat straight up, his eyes searching Hannah’s face and then landing on me. “Did he touch you?”

“No,” I lied.

He nodded, a look of complete rage took over his face. “I’m sorry, Rage. I told him. I told him about Neveah at the mall. I had no idea—,” she broke off into a shoulder-shaking sob.

I wanted to be angry at her. The thought to beat the hell out of her crossed my mind but the chains made that a problem. “Hannah,” Rage cooed. “We’ll talk about it later. I need you to get us out of here. We’ve got to leave or he’s going to kill us.”

Hannah wiped her eyes and stood up. “I’ll try to find some clippers or his keys. I—I’ll be back.”

She stopped in front of the bed and bent down in front of me. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I thought he loved me. I thought he was for me.”

I nodded because I believed her. I’d believed Heath was for me at one point. “Go,” I whispered. “Get us out of here.”

She left the room, shutting the door closed behind her. Rage let out a bitter laugh and let his head fall back against the wall. “I’m so sorry, Angel. This is all my fault. It’s all my fucking fault.”

“Don’t,” I whispered, shaking my head. “Don’t blame yourself. This is Denver, not you. We’ll get out of here. Does my dad know I’m missing?”

He nodded. “Chase and him are outside waiting on my call.”

Fear grabbed my throat.
Dad and Chase were outside? What if they found them?
Tears streamed down my face. I didn’t know how many more I would shed, I felt they’d dry out soon. “She’ll get us out,” I whispered. “She has to.”

Rage’s dark gaze landed on me. “I love you so much, Angel. I won’t let them touch you. We’ll get out of here.”

His words reassured me because I saw the look of determination in his eyes.

The door swung opened, and Hannah tumbled forward, catching herself with her palms. Denver let out a small chuckle and shoved her with his boot. “Oh, Princess. You thought you could go behind my back, did you? Get on the bed with my Sweet Angel over there.”

Rage jerked his hands against the chains. ‘Don’t touch them. I’ll fucking kill you, bitch.”

Denver smiled. “The odds aren’t looking too good for you,
Declan Samuels
.” He barked out a hysterical laugh and waved the gun around in his hand. “You really thought I wouldn’t find out that you survived? Did you think you could take Hannah from me without me knowing? How stupid can you be? All it takes it one call to the police, to my
buddies
,” he grinned, “and you’re dead meat. And that stupid glove you left behind? I knew something was up then. And Dante …” he shook his head. “The bastard had it coming.”

Oh no.

“Where is he?” Rage screamed. “Where the fuck is he?”

Hannah cupped her face. “What did you do, Denver? What did you do?”

“Get on the bed!” he screamed.

Hannah sat beside me while Denver pulled out two chains from underneath the bed. “Remember these, Princess?” he asked Hannah. “Remember when I tied you up and fucked you senseless?”

Rage jerked against the chains, anger seeping from each harsh breath. Hannah cried, and I wanted to tell her to shut up, she’d only make it worse, but I bit my tongue. He chained her by her wrists to the bed and stood back, his eyes tracing her and then me. “I think I’ll start with the Sweet Angel since she’s new.”

“Don’t fucking touch her!” Rage screamed. “If you put one finger on her, I’ll cut your fucking throat this time.”

Denver lifted a brow. “And how do you expect to do that? You’re chained to the wall? You’re gonna watch me fuck your girlfriend and then your sister. How about that? You like that?”

Tears pooled in his eyes. This was the extremity of helplessness. Nothing would get me out of these chains. Denver pulled out a pair of handcuffs and slipped them on my wrists while he pressed the gun against my temple.

I hadn’t realized I was crying until Denver swiped his finger over my cheek. I snatched away, unable to look into his cold eyes. “Denver, leave her alone,” Hannah cried. “Please.”

“Shut up,” he snapped, moving the gun toward her face. “I’m gonna have you next, Princess. Don’t be greedy.”

A hiccup cry left my throat. Denver’s hand clutched my thigh and moved to the front of my panties. “No,” I whispered.

I was too embarrassed to look at Rage, but I could feel his eyes on me. “Come here, Sweet Angel,” Denver laughed, his teeth grazing my neck. He bit down and a cry left my throat.

Through the hazy curtain over my eyes, and the deafening silence in my head, I heard Rage’s scream. It was slowly breaking my heart into millions of tiny pieces. Every move of Denver’s hand sent me further into my mind, blocking out the present.

Just when his fingers grazed the outside of my panties, something loud crashed around us. Denver jerked backwards, his eyes searching the room. That’s when I saw Rage. Both chains were still latched onto his wrists but he’d pulled them from the wall. They hung loosely by his legs.

Holy shit …

Denver opened his mouth, but Rage swung the chain, hitting him in the face, his gun slid underneath the bed. He went to the floor, backing away from him like a scared child. Blood ran down his chest. “I’ll let everyone go—,”

Rage slugged him. “Shut the fuck up. You stupid motherfucker. Where is Dante? Where’d you take him?”

Denver licked the blood from his lip. “He’s in the basement—,”

Rage’s fists slammed into his face over and over. It didn’t look like he was going to stop. Shots came from downstairs, and my body shook with fear. “Get up,” Rage shouted, kicking him in the ribs. “Get the fuck up and fight. You’re the big dog, right? Fight like one. Get up!” He was hysterical, his voice loud and body out of control. 

The door swung opened, and Hannah whimpered beside me. I wanted to tell her it’d be okay, but I wasn’t sure it would.

“Neveah?”

Dad stood in the doorway, a gun hanging from his right hand. “Daddy,” I whispered.

He raced toward me, his hands finding my face. “Baby Girl, are you okay?”

I nodded. “Stop him.”

Chase raced into the room, his gun drawn. His frown deepened when he looked at me. “Stop him, Chase! Please.”

Chase grabbed Rage from behind and pulled him off of Denver’s lifeless body. “Stop man, come on. We’ve got to get them free.”

Rage looked like a madman. Chest heaving and body sweating. There wasn’t one thing about him that didn’t reflect feral. He’d planned to kill him. I shook when his eyes landed on me. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he whispered.

I nodded, not knowing what else to do. Chase grabbed the keys from Denver’s pocket and unchained me. Rage found my lips first, his arms picking me up after he’d taken control of my mouth. I kissed him hungrily, my fingers lacing into the nape of his neck. I’d thought we were going to die a few minutes before, and knowing that he saved me, pulled the chains from the wall to keep anyone from touching me, sent my heart soaring.

When he pulled back it took everything I had not to burst into tears. “I’m sorry, Angel,” he whispered, his thumb stroking the side of my mouth. “I’ll never let anyone touch you again, I swear.”

I believed him.

Dad cleared his throat and gestured toward the opened door. “It’ll only be a few seconds before the guys we knocked out wake up. I suggest we call the police and haul ass.”

Chase unlocked Hannah and helped her up. The way his eyes scanned her face made my own flush. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Hannah licked her lips nervously but nodded. “Thank you. You all saved us.”

Chase grinned and offered her his hand. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Rage wrapped an arm around me. If my dad had anything to say about it, he didn’t say it. “We’ve got to get Dante,” Rage whispered. “I’ll do it. Y’all wait outside.”

Dad nodded and grabbed my wrist. “Come on, Neveah.”

I didn’t want to leave Rage’s side. I’d just got him back. He seemed to sense my hesitation and gripped my chin in his hand. “I’ll be right back, I promise.”

Dad tugged again. “Come back to me.”

Rage smiled. “Always.”