Page 34 of Property of Indiana

“I can’t believe he’s still in office,” I gripe.

“So you’ve said before,” Rip chuckles. The men on the ground begin fluctuating on their knees. Since they’re bound and gagged, I hadn’t thought of them as a threat until now. Rip gives me a look that lets me know he has it under control. “They’re not going anywhere, Zoe.”

“Not worried about them going anywhere,” I grumble. “I just don’t like the idea of them being as close to me and Elodie as they are. It makes me nervous.”

I don’t like the fact that my baby was traumatized by the asshole who threatened to whip her while taunting her that I didn’t want her anymore because Harrison is back in my life.

“I’ve got you,” he assures. To prove to me that he’s the boss, he lifts the gun in his hand, that I didn’t see before now, and shoots the one moving the most in the knee cap. Behind the gag the man screams and tears begin to flow down his face. Somehow, I don’t think it’s the last time he’s going to find himself crying.

Surprisingly, Riptide’s actions don’t shock me or even bother me all that much and the fact that Elodie doesn’t even squirm tells me exactly how exhausted she is. The reasons behind why I don’t find his actions troublesome is because I feel that some of these jerks were responsible for the bruises and abuse that the other women suffered. As far as I’m concerned, they deserve everything they get.

“You really shouldn’t have a gun in one hand and my daughter in the other,” I berate him. “Knew I’d end up playing the mother role.”

I raise my arms and wiggle my fingers in a ‘give me’ motion. He rolls his eyes but gives in and gently places her in my arms. The weight of her body has my shoulders sagging. I’m not as strong as I usually am seeing as I’m slightly injured but I try and not let him see me wince. I’m not wholly comfortable with him carrying a weapon in the same arms he’s holding my baby. Mama Bear may be hurt, but she’ll defend her cub with everything she’s got while pushing off her own injuries until she’s home and her girl is safe.

“I’d protect that girl with my life,” he complains.

“Never had a doubt about that, but accidents involving guns happen every day around the globe. I watch the ID station on television, I know things,” I tease.

He rolls his eyes at me then snickers. “Of course you do. Probably watchForensic Files,too,” he teases.

“The guy who does the narration has a soothing voice that helps put me to sleep,” I admit, shrugging as best as possible with Elodie snuggled in my arms.

“No wonder Icer and Indiana claimed you, you’re perfect for them,” Riptide snarks.

“Hey, you make it sound like we’re a threesome or something,” I exclaim. “That’s not what this is!”

Actually, I don’t really knowhowto define our relationship. Icer has inserted himself into my household, stating that Elodie is his princess, his niece, which makes me his sister. While Ialways wanted a sibling, Icer’s behavior is a little bit psychotic. He’s probably an undiagnosed psychopath or something, but he treats my girl like gold, so I truly don’t care. But now I need to watchSigns of a Psychopathto see if I’m correct about my recent revelation where Icer is concerned. I start giggling at my thoughts which has Riptide raising his brow at me.

“Not a threesome, but Icer’s adopted you both so you’re now stuck with the fucker, and there arenotakebacks,” he advises. “Now, what has you over there laughing?”

“Not telling,” I emphasize, hiding my mirth.

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

INDIANA

Icerand I quickly find the steps that head downstairs. We hit the light switch to give us a way to see through the gloom that coats the staircase, our weapons in hand to protect against anyone who might be down there who means us harm.

“Fuck!” Icer roars out as he hits the bottom step and sees the rows of large dog cages.

Each one has a female in it. The ages range from teenagers to maybe mid to late thirties, if I had to take a guess. Of course, it’s almost impossible to truly tell because they’re all filthy, covered in bruises, and curled into the smallest possible position they can get into.

Icer rushes over to one cage and crouches down. It’s next to an empty one and I instinctively know that’s where my woman was held. “Are you Letti?” he questions as he softly opens the kennel door.

She cautiously nods then says in a raspy voice, “Yes, I am. Who are you?”

“Your savior,” Icer replies, reaching in and gently pulling Letti out of the cage.

Surprisingly, she lets him but what’s more astounding is he removes his cut and hands it to me so it doesn’t hit the ground, then he takes off his shirt and helps Letti put it on to cover her nakedness. He then takes his cut back and slides it on before he looks around the room.

“We’re gonna need help,” he murmurs. “You start letting them out and I’ll take Letti upstairs to Zoey then ask Rip how he wants to proceed. This is bigger than we anticipated or expected in a lot of ways. May have to temporarily get in bed with the feds or something just as blasphemous.”

I shudder because we do our best to avoid dealing with cops of any kind, whether they’re local, state, or federal, but Icer’s right. This is beyond just taking out the fucking Dragons. They’ll definitely find their end at our hands, but these women? Who knows where they came from. There’s no way that this many females went missing in our town without us hearing about it. No fucking way.

As Icer heads upstairs with Letti in his arms, I begin opening up the kennels one by one. “We’re not here to hurt you, we’re here to help,” I say over and over again as several women cower and won’t come out from their enclosures.

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