Page 9 of Gunnar

“You… don’t know?”

“We were at that bar for hours. He kept ordering me drinks and I kept accepting them. We laughed and flirted. I’d indicated I’d be interested in sex, but he hadn’t taken the step to take me outside. Probably because I was nowhere near drunk.

“After a while, he got agitated. I thought he was mad at me and told him I thought it was best if I leave, but he smiled and said he’d had a stressful day at work. He did a double shot of whisky and soon after was back to his charming self. Anytime I thought he was going to lose his temper, he’d take another drink.

“I caught him stirring my drink with his finger once. He said they’d shorted me on the alcohol, and he’d topped my glass off with some of his and was mixing it so it would blend properly. Again, I should have been suspicious, but I was having fun. It was the first time I’d ever been to something like that party and I wanted to experience all the moment had to offer.”

“You’re too reckless with your own life, sweetheart. You need someone to have your back.” Mama sat on the edge of my bed and took my hand in hers. “What happened then?”

“We just… kept drinking. He was matching me drink for drink after a while. After he’d touched my drink before, I watched him closely. I knew I wasn’t going to get drunk, judging by the fact this guy was about to fall off the barstool and I was starting to seriously believe I’d been drinking the foulest tasting water known to man. Because I’ve decided I’m seriously not a fan of whisky. It burns. And Istillwasn’t drunk.”

“I think I see what you mean. You said this was the night they took you. How did they get you out of that bar and to their compound?”

“Three more guys approached us after that. I got up to pretend to go to the bathroom so I could bolt, but two of the men dragged the first guy off while the biggest of the three clamped a hand over my mouth and pulled me around the corner of the bar and out the back, then one of them hit me in the head and knocked me silly long enough to get me inside their van.

“They shot me up with more drugs in the back of a van on the way to the place Gunnar found me. I kept fighting and they kept shooting me up. It took them five tries before I was finally incapacitated. I heard them complain while they held me in that place how keeping me drugged was going to seriously eat into their profits if they had to hold on to me long.”

Mama looked equal parts pissed as shit and slightly amused. “Impressive. Did they keep you drugged the whole time you were there?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think they could have. Every time they drugged me, the more it took to put me under. At some point, I’m sure I’m going to withdraw from whatever they gave me. At least, I guess that’s how it works. I don’t feel the need to have more, and I’m really glad the fog is lifting. The conversation with you helped to brush back some cobwebs.”

“Good. Now. Let’s see if we can get the worst of the grime off you before putting clean clothes on.” She had a basin of warm, soapy water and a couple of washcloths. She took one and I took the other. I worked on my front while Mama was behind me working on my back. She let me do what I could, but I was still really weak, and in the end she had to help me finish. Once done, she brought me some soft cotton shorts and a T-shirt, along with an unopened pack of underwear. “Let’s get you dressed, then we can check on the boys before they start World War Three in my lobby.”

The voices of the men outside the door got louder. I recognized Gunnar’s voice, even though I hadn’t had a real conversation with him. I doubt I’d ever forget his voice.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Exasperated, Mama stomped to the door and yanked it open. “What the fuck is going on out here?” She closed the door firmly behind her.

I sat up, turning to let my legs hang over the side of the small bed. My head still had a few cobwebs but the conversation with Mama had helped. Other than kind of being sick to my stomach, I didn’t hurt anywhere else. Though, I was pretty sure I looked terrible and smelled like shit. I thought it funny that I felt safe enough to worry about my appearance and personal hygiene given everything I’d gone through.

Of all the people I expected to make any kind of appearance in my life, Knuckles hadn’t been on the Bingo card. Of course, my mother had told me about him, and I’d be lying if I said even the thought of Knuckles didn’t terrify me, but given the circumstances, if he’d sent Gunnar to rescue me, then I’d trust him and Gunnar until they proved to be untrustworthy.

Besides, I was fairly certain Knuckles would do whatever he had to, to get me to safety. He’d told me once he’d always watch over me. Now, I knew exactly which parent I could trust to have my back. But only Gunnar and Knuckles. Everyone else could kiss my ass and lick the hole. Even Mama. She projected nothing but calm and reassurance, but it wasn’t hard to see there was something dangerous about her. Even though she had to be in her seventies, she wore a tank top that showed her arms and a flash of midriff when she moved. Sure, her skin was aging and not as tight as a younger woman’s, but Mama was more fit than most women less than half her age. She was definitely not someone I wanted to underestimate.

Mama opened the door, tugging Gunnar with her by his upper arm. “Inside, Gunnar. Go sit with your woman.” OK,thattone of voice from Mama was new. She’d seemed like the soft-spoken grandma type. Not so much now. She gave a little shake of her head. “Hard-headed bastards. All of ‘em.” She fixed her gaze on me and pursed her lips. “I’m sorry, Pippa. We’re not usually so unwelcoming to newcomers. Especially when they come to us with one of our own.” Her tone was back to being gentle and sweet, but now that I’d seen that small peek of who this woman really was, I couldn’t unsee it.

“I don’t want to cause problems. Especially not with family.” I wanted to look at Gunnar, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. If I saw regret or condemnation in his eyes, it might well be my undoing. And I really had no idea why I’d latched on to this man. Because, logically, I knew it was the idea he represented. The black knight on a white steed. The bad guy tempered with the smallest bit of good. A man who could keep me from ever getting kidnapped again, and who would punish those who took me in the first place. That was Gunnar. I knew I could trust him, no matter what.

“Trust me when I tell you, Pippa, my dear, none of this is your fault. It’s this one refusing to let his family help him when he was little more than a child, and those knuckleheads out there for being knuckleheads.” Her dry tone was the perfect reflection of the look she leveled on Gunnar. “Now. Here’s what’s going to happen.”

“Uh-oh.” Gunnar dropped his head. “Here it comes.”

“Excuse me, young man?” If there was ever the stereotypical image of a cross Catholic nun, Mama looked every inch of her. Well, except for the tank top displaying toned, leathered skin, the thick, steel-gray hair in a long braid down her back, the leather pants and motorcycle boots. But hey! The pants were black and the top white. Same colors.

Gunnar raised his hands in surrender. “Nothin’, Mama. Nothin’ at all. Please continue.”

Mama let her disapproving stare linger on Gunnar until he lowered his gaze in surrender. “Pippa.” When she turned her focus back to me, her gaze was once again warm and welcoming. The sweet little granny about to impart the most insightful advice imaginable. “You go take a shower and clean up. I’ll help with your hair when you get out. We’ll get you feeling more like yourself in no time.”

Gunnar sighed heavily. “Mama --”

“No arguments, Gunnar. This is happening.”

“You know why I want to get us out of here.”

“I do. And it’s time you sucked it up and told your father and mother what happened. Not for yourself, but for Hannah. She isn’t the type to keep anything from Cain and Angel and her guilt has been eating her alive for fifteen years. And not just because she didn’t tell them what happened. She stabbed a man to death. Sure, he was trying to rape her, but she took his life. Up close and personal. Because you told her not to say a word, she felt like she owed you whatever you asked of her. Hannah’s kept everything bottled up inside. She’s going to destroy herself. I know you tried to take all the blame and the punishment, but she lost the same fifteen years of her life as you did.”

Gunnar grunted like she’d struck him, and I immediately reached for Gunnar’s hand. “Please don’t be mean to him. I don’t think he’s a bad person. I don’t believe you think he is either.”

Mama gave me an impatient glare. “Of course, he’s not a bad person. He confessed to murdering his sister’s boyfriend because he said the guy had threatened to hurt Hannah. The fact was, Hannah had killed the bastard when he tried to rape her. She had a knife her father and brothers insisted she keep on her. When things got rough, she stabbed the bastard in the kidney. Gunnar took the rap so nothing would touch his sister and, in the process, cut his parents out of the decision-making process and pled guilty. Those, my dear, are not the actions of a bad person. Maybe someone a little shy in the brains department, but not a bad person at all.”

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