Page 39 of Revenant

That they willingly surrendered has the back of my throat burning with emotions I have no hope of understanding. Any doubt that I harbored about whether the guys cared for me vanishes.

That doesn’t mean I’m not pissed as hell.

Then I recall the rules Jaceson quoted me—leave no one behind.

Pleasure warms my chilled soul with the knowledge that they consider me one of them. They came for me, even if they were idiots about it.

And according to their rules, it’s my job to protect them now, especially when they are vulnerable.

Tearing my eyes away from how they are laid out like specimens in the sterile room, I turn my attention back toward Dr. Hershamn. My determination hardens at his smug, arrogant expression, and my lips curl in disgust. Any pretense that I’m just a silly girl is well and truly gone. “What do you want?”

Chapter Fifteen

HICKS

My head pulses with the heavy beat of my heart, and my brain scrambles to recall what the fuck happened. I can’t remember the last time I allowed myself to drink so much that I would have a hangover. The only time it happened in the last two years was…when Rue disappeared.

Just thinking her name has my memories surging back, and I mentally groan when I recall Jameson meekly handing himself over to the hit team that came to collect us. He fucking walked up to them with his arms out, begging to be captured. I understand his reasoning, I really do, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to smack him for his idiocy.

The constant aggression I did my best to shove deep ever since Rue was taken surges through my veins, and I grit my teeth at not being able to vent my wrath on the fuckers responsible. The four of us had a shot of taking the assholes at the bar…until he surrendered.

Three of us might have been able to handle it, but we couldn’t risk taking any damage if we wanted to rescue Rue. With grittedteeth, I ordered the others to stand down, even though it galled me to do it.

It had been a fucking trap, and I wondered where it had all gone wrong.

Or if we were betrayed from the very beginning.

Two guards approached each of us cautiously, and I clenched my fists, a muscle in my jaw jumping at the effort to keep from lashing out. In less than a minute, we were zip-tied and hauled none too gently outside. Though Gunner and Ellis remained stoic, I mentally cursed every step we took, while Jameson practically pranced toward the waiting vehicles with a cheerful whistle floating behind him.

The guards eyed him warily as they shoved us toward four different vehicles, none of them putting away their weapons. When they popped the trunks, a snarl curled my lips, and I refused to take another step.

Apparently, my cooperation wasn’t needed.

The next thing I knew, pain screamed through my body, every muscle convulsing until I feared my very tendons would snap from my bones, then blessed darkness consumed me.

From the way my neck twinges, they must have shoved me into the smallest fucking trunk available. When I break free, I have every intention of hunting the bastards down and bending their bodies into human pretzels, relishing the prospect of breaking their bones to do it.

I crack open my eyelids, expecting the worst…

And am met with the most beautiful sight I’ve seen in months—Rue.

I don’t move, afraid she might be a figment of my imagination. When I stay up too late too many days in a row, I swear I can feel her presence. My eyes burn when I refuse to blink, terrified this might be a dream, and I want to savor it for as long as possible.

I’m supposed to be the leader of our family, unemotional to ensure the best decisions for the group. That’s impossible with Rue. She makes me frustrated, furious, and horny all at the same time. Rational thoughts are impossible. Whenever she’s near, I don’t know if I want to spank her or fuck her, possibly both at the same.

My cock hardens at the thought of her naked and bent over my knee. I close my eyes, swallowing hard, doing my best not to lunge at her like an animal. Then I snap my eyes back open a second later, afraid she might disappear.

It’s the bite of straps gouging into my flesh that says this is not one of my dreams.

That’s when I realize she’s sitting in a chair by a counter and some doctor is drawing blood from her arm. From her pale complexion and the number of vials already in the kit on the counter, the fucker is trying to drain her dry.

A glance shows we’re in a fucking lab of some sort. The rest of the guys are present and similarly strapped down. Gunner twitches but doesn’t wake. Jaceson appears a little worse for wear, but I consider it a small miracle that he is still alive. That’s all that matters. Ellis and James are still out cold. After months of anxiety and stress, the men look almost peaceful.

Rage bleeds through my veins at seeing them captured, at the mercy of that sadistic bastard. To keep from losing my shit, I focus on Rue.

A growl rumbles in my chest that the fucker would dare do testing on her. It’s one of her worst fears, directly after her father, and I barely resist the impulse to stab him repeatedly until every last drop of blood is drained from his body. “Leave her the fuck alone,” I snarl. I lunge up, only to be yanked back down by the straps across my torso.

Rue’s gaze snaps toward me, and her teal eyes pierce my soul with the ease of a blade. She’s different from the last time I sawher. Her features are sharper but no less beautiful. Her eyes are turbulent. Harder. Scenario after scenario flashes through my mind at what she had to endure without us there to protect her, each case worse than the last.

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