Page 31 of The Sentinels

"You're a wild one," he grated down into my face, nearly gagging me with his breath. "I'm gonna enjoy taming you."

I heard a scream from the direction of the restrooms and realized that Sissy had been dragged back there. Tears gathered in my eyes as the realization hit me that we were helpless against these men. I didn't have the chance to assess Gloria's situation, suddenly finding myself being flung halfway across the room. I slammed into a juke box, grunting at the impact and losing my breath. Before I could turn around the man had reached me, pushing his body up against mine and grinding his hard-on into my bottom. I clenched my teeth and tried to push him off me, but I was no match for him.

His hands were everywhere, pinching and squeezing at my breasts, running up my legs, between them and rubbing against my crotch. I twisted angrily, pinned between him and the machine, crying out when he lifted my skirt and I knew what he was about to do. I felt his hands between us, undoing his pants, and tried one last time to push myself away from the juke box. Grunting, he grabbed both my hands and pinned them above my head, keeping me bent in an awkward position that was painful, and left me exposed.

"No!" I screamed, anger and fear vying for first place. "Get off me, asshole!" My heart was pounding rapidly in my chest when I felt his rough hand move my panties aside.

I screamed, trying to clench my legs closed.

The door to the bar flew open, hitting the wall.

The Sentinels spilled into the room with their guns drawn.

My gaze locked onto the murderous look in Ace's dark eyes as he pushed through the door.

The man who had been about to rape me stepped back.

The sound of rapid gunfire erupted and I closed my eyes.

Chapter 17

Emerson

I didn't want to see what was happening, yet when I felt the cool air between my spread thighs I couldn't stop myself from opening my eyes to see what had caused it. The biker who'd been leaning over me was suddenly gone, and he hadn’t just stepped away. I watched him stagger backwards, his eyes round with shock and disbelief, before he crashed to the floor with a bullet hole to the temple.

Yelling, flashes of gunfire, and the acrid smell of something unpleasant filled the bar. The four Hellraisers had no chance against the encroaching Sentinels who continued to pour into the room, firing their guns. Gloria screamed and rolled off the pool table and to the floor when the two men attacking her pulled their weapons.

"I think one of them took Sissy to the bathroom," I said, meeting the rage of fire in Ace's eyes as he stomped toward me. I tried to arrange my clothes back into place, but he grabbed me away from the machine and into his arms when he reached me.

"I've got it!" Tanner snarled, spinning toward the direction of the hallway.

"Are you alright?" Ace growled down into my face, holding his gun up and pointed away from me. I'd never seen him look so feral before, like a wild animal getting ready to rip another one apart.

"Yes—I--," Suddenly it was all too much. Now that we were safe I fell apart in the powerful arms wrapped around me, burying my face against his hard chest. I was trembling against him, holding back tears, all too aware of the unleashed fury holding his body taut. Ace was a hard man through and through, and it wasn't often that he let his emotions get away from him. Now was no different. I felt safe and protected in his crushing arms, but it was his heart that I wanted inside of, the one pounding beneath my ear. Why couldn't he let go?

"I've got you, baby." He'd murmured the words so low that I was sure I was the only one who'd heard them.

A last gunshot caused me to jump, but I remained against him, accepting his comfort for however long he'd let me. The sound had come from one of the restrooms. Soon afterward, Tanner walked back into the room with a disheveled Sissy right in front of him. Her blouse and stockings were torn. Black mascara ran down her flushed cheeks and her cherry-red lipstick was smeared all around her mouth. We met each other's eyes briefly before she continued to where Gloria was.

"Where's Bonnie?" Tanner asked in a hardened tone.

"I'm here," Bonnie said, finally standing up from where she'd been hiding behind the bar.

"You okay, honey?" he asked. She nodded, but the unshed tears in her eyes revealed how frightened she'd been. "Gabe, call Callahan."

I shuddered at the thought of how close I'd come to being raped. The muscles in Ace's arms flexed in response. I looked up, taking in his tightly clenched jaw and the muscle twitching there, breathing in the scent of leather and smoke. His mouth was pressed so tightly that I felt the urge to smooth my fingers over it until it softened. His nostrils were flaring with his rapid breaths. I finally met the glittering fierceness in his dark eyes. Our gazes locked. I shuddered, but this time it was for a different reason. He made me feel so much.

I wanted Ace.

God, how I wanted him.

"Anyone need to go to the hospital?" Tanner would expect it if any of us had been raped. He cared for and took care of his employees.

"No," I said softly, reluctantly stepping out of Ace's arms. Sissy and Gloria shook their heads in response, too. The look that moved across Tanner’s face revealed his relief.

"The bar is officially closed until further notice."

Knowing the girls and most of their situations, I knew that closing the bar was going to be a financial hardship, myself not excluded. We'd had damage to the bar before and had managed to stay open, but I had the feeling that Tanner's decision had more to do with our safety. I could see the look of resignation and worry on Sissy and Gloria's faces over his words, but they remained silent. We all knew better than to question Tanner’s decisions.

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