Page 22 of Savage Desires

I flick the lights off, making the room pitch black. I don't want any of the bastards to see who attacked them, which is why I'm wearing a cliché BDSM mask. If I'm going to get out of here without these people suspecting me, I need to stay anonymous.

It takes three steps to get to the fucker so I can shove him off of her. He stumbles back.

"What the fuck!" he snarls.

I hear the woman gasp behind me. Knowing she's okay means I can do what I need to do without worrying about her. I grab the man by the throat and squeeze while he struggles to get free from my grip. I wish the lights were on so I could see his eyes as the life drains from his body. When he goes limp in my hold, I release him. He falls to the floor in a heap. A quick check of his pulse lets me know he's not dead, only passed out. It's a pity, but killing them isn't the goal tonight.

I turn on the light and open the door, waving the waiting women inside. They move quickly. My Beauty lets out a horrified sound as she sees the restrained woman. She drops what she's holding and rushes to her side.

"Hold on, Stacia. We're going to get you out of here…"

"Willow," Stacia says hoarsely.

My Beauty's name is Willow. It suits her. She's delicate and strong, just like the branches of a willow tree.

"Shh… it's okay," Willow says calmly as she uses her knife to cut the ropes binding Stacia.

I drag my attention away so I can deal with the rapist fucker who bought Stacia. I hog-tie him like I did the security guard and go through his pockets. Unfortunately, they are empty. It would be too much to ask for him to have his wallet or phone on him. I pull out my burner phone and take the man's mask off. I don't recognize him, but that's okay. I'll find him. I take his picture before gagging him.

When I turn my attention back to the women, I see Willow helping her friend into one of the slutty roleplay outfits we brought. She's whispering encouragements to her as she dresses. She's a sobbing mess. I violently kick the bound man in the ribs once for what he did to her. That'll have to feed the monster inside me for now. Justice will find him soon.

"We need to keep moving," I say.

Stacia jumps at the sound of my voice.

"It's okay, Stacia. He's helping us," Willow says.

She looks at me with suspicion but nods. She shies away from me when I walk towards the door. She's practically clinging to Willow as I pass. Willow gently pushes her towards Lexis before gripping her knife in the same competent manner she did before. Pride rushes through me at how well she's handling things for someone with her history and age.

The next room is across the hall. I enter it the same as the other. The asshole has the woman on her knees as he viciously shoves his dick in her mouth. He's so distracted by what he's doing that he doesn't notice me until my fist flies into his face. The cracking sound of his nose breaking is almost as satisfying as the blood that gushes from it.

He shoves the woman away, sending her sprawling on the floor. She immediately crawls out of the way as I hit the asshole again. He swings at me weakly. This idiot obviously hasn't fought a day in his life. I hit him in the temple, and he crumbles to the floor, knocked out cold. I open the door for Willow, Stacia, and Lexis to enter. The woman on the floor cries out in relief when she sees them.

She stumbles to her feet and rushes into Willow's arms. I'm starting to see a theme here. Despite Willow obviously being the youngest, she's the one they seek out for comfort. It angers me that she's got to be the strong one when she has just as much right to crumble as they do. Instead, she's forced to be strong for them. That speaks volumes about her character. She's a fucking treasure, and it's going to be next to impossible to let her go.

I make quick work of tying the man up and find that he's also without a wallet and phone. I remove his mask and let out a low growl when I recognize him. Judge Wallace McDaniel. He's known for being harsh on rapists and anyone who endangers women and children. He never fails to dole out maximum punishments to anyone found guilty in his courtroom. Yet here he is fucking buying women so that he can torture, rape, and murder them.

Fucking hypocrite. I'll take a special joy in visiting him later. I snap a photo and gag him. I'm maliciously happy that I broke his nose. Try explaining that Monday morning in court, fucker.

Willow has already helped the new girl into clothes and speaks quietly with her. She's visibly shaking but doesn't seem as bad off mentally as Stacia. She's got her eyes glued on me even though she's listening to Willow. She's scared of me, rightfully so, after what she just endured.

"He's not going to hurt us, Tabitha," Willow says firmly. "We can trust him."

Willow looks me in the eye as she promises her friend she's safe with me. Knowing she trusts me so completely makes me happy—something I haven't felt so fully in a long time. My friends and chosen family make me happy, but this is different. This is a soul-deep happiness that I want to cling to. This slip of a woman has wound her way so tightly inside me that I don't know how I'm going to let her go after this.

I don't believe in love at first sight, but I'm starting to wonder if it's possible. I've never been in love, so I have no idea what it feels like. Maybe this is just obsession… I haven't known Willow long enough for love. Hell, I don't even think I'm capable of that kind of love. Even what I feel for my chosen family isn't this strong. I would do anything for them. Give up my life for them.

But for Willow?

I would burn down the whole goddamn world. I would leave all these other women here to rot if I had to choose her safety or theirs. That thought is the most disturbing. I've dedicated my entire life to saving women like them. Knowing I would willingly leave them behind to save one woman should disgust me, but it's true. None of them matter as much as she does. I'm wrapped around her little finger, and she doesn't even know.

We enter the following two rooms the same way. I disable the men while Willow and the others help the women dress and reassure them that I will not hurt them. One of the women—Reghan—is covered in blood. After a quick assessment, I see that she's got several shallow cuts on her chest and abdomen. The asshole just spread the blood everywhere like fucking fingerpaint.

"Now what?" Willow asks.

"Now we have to set the stage. I want you girls to stay here. We have to take someone with us so they don't know who helped you escape."

She nods her understanding. The other women look horrified at the thought of bringing one of the men with us, but it can't be helped. I was planning on taking one of the buyers but decide that the guard is the better option. I still need to do some rearranging because right now, everything points to me as the one who orchestrated everything.

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