Tormented (26 page)

I shook my head. There was going to be more than enough publicity about the abduction, and I doubted Nolan’s career would go anywhere after that. He was ruined and he deserved that, but protecting Harrison from retribution was more important than getting my own revenge.

“I’ll be honest with you—I’m not sure whether you’re being stupid or brave. Probably a bit of both.” Ryder swiped the back of his neck as he gave me an exasperated look. “I’ll make a deal with you. I won’t say a word until you tell Summers yourself. But you can’t ignore it and pretend it didn’t happen, because it did, and you need to deal with it. As for Parker, he will get what’s coming to him. He deserves to be punished for what he did to you.”

As usual, Ryder had a point.

“Okay, I will as soon as we get back to LA. Thanks for talking me through this.”

“I love you, Sis. I only want what’s best for you.”

“I really got lucky in the brother department. I love you too, Ryder.”

The smile he gave me lit up the whole room. “I’m the lucky fucker with the two most amazing women in the world loving me.” He held out his arm. “Ready to go?”

Taking a few deep breaths to steady my nerves, I straightened my pencil skirt and ran a hand over my hair. I nodded and hooked in to his arm.

“Let’s go home,” I said. “The future is waiting.”

I
stood at the cabin door, every minute ticking by feeling like an hour. My eyes kept darting around, looking for Ryder and Eva to emerge from the building. What was taking them so damn long? Everyone was ready to go, and I was becoming restless and agitated. I wiped my clammy hands on my pants and cursed under my breath.

The flight captain had warned me that we needed to leave soon as a heavy storm was brewing over the ocean, and our window for a safe takeoff was narrowing as heavy winds were coming our way.

Just as I was about to go in search of the two of them, they came running across the tarmac, Ryder pulling Eva by the hand. I guess they were as eager as the rest of us to get off this island.

A heavy sigh of relief blew out from my lungs as Ryder helped Eva on board. The only reason I’d kept my shit together this long was because Savage was watching me like a hawk and keeping me away from the back section of the plane where Parker and his minions were already buckled in.

Razor and Cobra were standing guard between our prisoners and the door, even though Nolan and his cronies had all been handcuffed. From the glint in the biker’s eyes, I could tell that Razor was just waiting for someone to act up so he could straighten them out. The man called Jones had lost a few teeth since we’d arrived because apparently he’d put up a fight whilst boarding the plane, and Razor had laid his fists into the man.

While climbing the stairs, Eva looked up at me, her normally blue eyes now red and puffy. She’d been crying some more, and my heart ached for her. I was going to do everything in my power to make it better for her and help her get through the nightmare that had happened to her.

If she let me, of course.

Because she could easily have changed her mind after speaking with Ryder. I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if she wanted nothing to do with me once we got back home. Not that I’d give up without the fight of my life.

Even if she said yes to marrying me as a knee-jerk reaction because she was grateful I’d saved her, there had to be something there that would help us through this crisis. She’d said she loved me, and I simply had to believe that it was enough.

I took a few steps forward and held out my hand. She placed hers in mine as she stepped into the plane, her breathing still jagged from running.

Unable to resist, I pulled her into a hug. I wanted to shield her from looking to the back of the plane, but mostly I just needed to feel her against me. Both our bodies trembled as we clung to one another for a few moments.

“Please take your seats. We’ve got to take off in the next five minutes.” Savage’s voice boomed through the cabin and brought me back to reality.

Pulling Eva into a front row seat, I helped her buckle in. Her cheeks were flushed, her hands shaking, and her breathing still erratic.

“Just breathe, Eva. Just breathe.”

She closed her eyes and took a few long, slow breaths. I buckled myself in and leaned over to cover her hands in her lap with mine.

“It’s okay, baby. You’re safe, I promise. All the boys are here to protect you. In six hours, we’ll be back home and we’ll put all of this behind us.”

She laced her fingers through mine and squeezed. “Thank you.” Her voice choked. “For everything.”

“Baby, if you meant what you said back there in the room, I’m the luckiest man alive. I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

She turned her head and gave me a small smile. “I meant every word. I love you, Harrison.”

“I love you too, Eva. I can’t wait to finally make you my wife.”

She flinched. “We need to talk.”

This wasn’t the place to launch into a full-scale discussion because I already knew what was on her mind, but the least I could do was to let her understand that my love for her was strong enough to overcome anything that came our way.

“We’re going to be okay. Nothing will change my mind about how much I love you. I want you to understand that, baby. And I mean
nothing
.”

She sucked in a breath, reading my eyes to find meaning in their depths.

We sat staring into one another’s eyes for the longest time, just drinking one another in. It calmed my soul like nothing else could. The love we beamed at one another was both healing and cathartic. I could do this all day.

“Close your eyes, sweetheart, and try to sleep for a while. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

The smile I got as a reward blew me away. She snuggled closer and lay her head against my shoulder. Seconds later, her breathing evened out and she was sleeping.

It gave me time to think. One thing about flying I’d learned was that since I was stuck for several hours, I might as well settle in and use the time to think through things I normally didn’t have time for.

What surprised me most was how my mind kept wandering back to the Scorpio Stinger MC and the people in it. Never had I seen a tighter bunch of guys, willing to lay down their lives for one another. Such a deep sense of brotherhood wasn’t something I was accustomed to and truth be told, I really liked the idea of such a strong band of brothers working toward a mutual outcome more and more.

Lucas Savage and Dirty Harry were the only two people I worked with who I trusted with my life. Given that I’d been in my line of work for more than a decade, that was a sad state of affairs.

White-collar crime was on the increase. People who were supposed to be the salt-of-the-earth types, the people we were supposed to trust to do the right thing, were revealed as skimming off the very people who depended on them.

Disillusion and disappointment roiled through my gut. I’d been so blinded by my own prejudice that I couldn’t see the real bad guys for what they were.

Until Senator Nolan fucking Parker. I’d actually voted for the prick before I got to know him as Eva’s ex-fiancé. Go figure. I would’ve liked to believe that I wasn’t a fool or taken in easily by appearances, but the man certainly had me duped.

I’d been harsh on bikers since Amy and my friends were mowed down in a crossfire shoot-out, but I was beginning to come to terms with the fact that it had been an unfortunate and tragic incident as a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The more time I spent around Cobra and his gang, the more I realized that not all bikers were evil either. Except, of course, fuckers like Demon Malone; he was bad to the fucking bone. But one didn’t have to be a biker to be born evil.

Yes, the Scorpio Stinger MC committed crimes for money, and there was no excuse for that. Fortunately, I had it on good authority that that shit was stopping, since Ryder came up with the steakhouse idea as an alternative way to bring cash to the club.

Cobra had used his men’s strengths more wisely too and was contracting his boys out as security and bouncers at clubs. Once they started putting the word out that they were available as muscle men, rock bands and highflying businessmen hired them whenever they came to town. Their services were so highly in demand that they were paid well, and as far as I was aware there hadn’t been bloodshed or mayhem involved by those in these new careers. All very good signs for the future direction of the Scorpio Stinger MC club.

But more than anything, it was the way they loved and cared for their families that impressed me the most. These men had left no stone unturned to get young Jamie back, and their love and loyalty to one another and their club was profound.

Like each of these men, I had my skeletons and things I’d done that I wasn’t proud of. The more I thought about how I’d conducted parts of my life, the more remorse I felt that I’d sunk that low.

It took a woman like Eva to save me from myself.

Kissing her forehead, it hit me like a thunderbolt. I’d changed so much I could hardly recognize myself. I wanted to commit to a woman. I wanted to love and be loved. I wanted the whole package, regardless of the cost.

Hardening my heart had not brought me the inner peace I’d desired. Being cold and distant hadn’t brought me happiness. It was only when I’d opened my heart and made myself vulnerable that I became human again.

Above everything else, I wanted to live. I wanted a family with Eva. I wanted to wake in the morning and her face be the first thing I laid my eyes on.

T
o be so loved and protected by Harrison, Ryder and the Scorpio Stinger boys was exactly what I needed. They isolated me from Nolan and his men in such an effective way that I could hardly tell we were on the same flight.

Exhaustion had taken its toll, and I’d slept for most of the flight. Maybe it was because I felt safe for the first time since the abduction. Just before touchdown, Ryder had come over to check on me, and Harrison had volunteered to take me home so that Ryder could get back to Jade. I watched in awe as the two men shook hands—something I never expected to witness.

Both men had relaxed around one another, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I hoped it wasn’t just a temporary thing for my sake, but that this would be the way they’d behave in future. Harmony was so much better.

Once we landed and disembarked, Harrison hovered over me like a mother hen. He didn’t leave my side for one second, and he stood guard outside the bathroom when I had to go for a pee. It was almost too much; I hadn’t been fussed over this much since my mother had died.

After checking that I was okay, Ryder and the MC boys left to go home. My brother was anxious to get back to Jade, and I loved that he didn’t even try to hide how desperate he was to get back to her.

Savage had organized for the formal arrest of Nolan and his men, and Harrison promised to bring me to the station for a statement later in the day. I’d only seen Nolan briefly, handcuffed and while being led away by the police. My blood ran cold when only from a few yards away, he sneered at us.

“It’s not over. Watch your back, Summers, because you’ll never know when I’m coming for you. Or my darling Eva.”

The hatred in his eyes would haunt my dreams forever, and I wished I’d never known of the man’s existence. Fear rattled my insides, and I clung to Harrison as if he were a life raft while my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

Harrison snarled at Nolan like a ferocious dog and yanked me in the opposite direction, shielding me with his body, a living barrier between myself and the man who had caused me so much anguish.

The tension in Harrison’s body was palpable, and I was afraid he’d snap at any moment.

Harrison’s lip raised into a snarl. “Fuck off. You’re lucky I didn’t tear you apart like I want to.”

That brief interlude was enough to make me realize that Harrison had saved me from a fate worse than death. There was no way I’d have survived the ordeal of being attached to such a ruthless and evil man. I shuddered as I buried my face in Harrison’s chest for a moment before he pulled me toward the exit of the building. I followed with shaky knees, thankful that Sofia had brought me flat, comfortable shoes.

“I’m sorry, baby. You were never meant to lay eyes on the bastard again.”

The sincerity in his voice nearly brought me to tears. I simply nodded, my voice hampered by a tightened throat.

Harrison held my hand as we left the airport building and made our way to the waiting car Savage had arranged to drop us off. The driver stood, holding the door open, and Harrison followed me onto the back seat. It was only once we were inside the black vehicle with the dark windows and speeding off that I let go of the breath I was holding.

A new day was dawning and I was back in LA, safe with the man I loved.

Harrison pulled me into a hug. “Sweetheart, I’m going to protect you from Parker. Think of me as your personal bodyguard from today.”

He leaned in and kissed me, deep and tender, putting everything into that one moment.

“Thank you. I didn’t know how much seeing him would affect me. I’m afraid, Harrison.”

Taking my face between his hands, Harrison gazed into my eyes. “I’ll give my life to keep you safe, Eva. I know what Parker did to you, and I promise you he will never get close to you again. I’ll rip him apart with my bare hands before I let him come anywhere near you. Trust me, it’s been testing as fuck to not have killed him already. It would have been so easy to end his miserable life, but Savage stopped me.”

I sucked in a harsh breath. “You . . . you know?”

“Yes, sweetheart, and I can’t express how sorry I am that I wasn’t there to stop him. I can’t even begin to fathom what you went through, but I can guarantee you that it will never happen again.”

“You still want me even though you know?”

“My God, Eva, why wouldn’t I? I love you so much, baby. Nothing can stop me from loving you with my whole being. We’ll work through what happened to you, and I’ll make sure Parker pays dearly for it.”