It was almost a relief. He couldn’t stand the thought of her stepping foot in this grimy hoarder’s dwelling again, at the mercy of that spawn from hell.
As he rounded the corner and made his way to the front door, he found Hammer fisting the drunkard’s stained T-shirt and shoving him against the wall.
“Don’t you keep her tied to the bed or something?” Bill sneered. “I’ll bet she likes it.”
Hammer growled. “What did you say?”
“I looked your kind up online, Master Pervert. I know all about you.”
No, he didn’t have a clue.
Liam surged closer. “Hammer, move. I’m going to hit him at least once.”
“Believe me, I want to. His sorry ass isn’t worth the jail time, and we can’t find her from behind bars.” But his old friend looked like he thought otherwise for a moment. Then he turned back to the unkempt bastard with thunder in his eyes. “Last chance. Have you seen Raine?”
“The stupid whore hasn’t come back here.”
Releasing Bill’s shirt with a shake of his hand, Hammer stepped back, looking like he, too, was suppressing a murderous rage.
The old man leveled them a taunting sneer. “This is hilarious. She’s got both your dicks in a meat grinder. She must mean a lot to you two.”
“Not one more disrespectful comment from you,” Liam replied in a cold, deathly calm tone. “Hammer, here, may have some qualms with ending your life, but I sure as bloody hell don’t.”
Bill glared at Liam. “I can’t believe she’s fucking a mick.”
“I advise you against insulting my friend,” Hammer said in silky warning. “You’ll respect him or I’ll shatter your goddamn jaw.”
“She’d spread her legs for anything with a dick. Well, except me. Even when I tried to be nice to her, she never showed me any love.”
White-hot rage roared through Liam’s veins.
“Nice?” Hammer closed in on Bill again like a raging bull. “You tried to rape your own daughter. What kind of sick fuck does that?”
“Don’t get all high and mighty.” Bill didn’t deny it.
Liam’s chest heaved. Hammer wasn’t faring any better. The old man was either too stupid to notice their fury…or he was baiting them. Liam didn’t like it.
“Her worthless mother was gone, and Raine is pretty. But you know that, don’t you?” Bill taunted, then looked at Macen. “Bet you enjoyed every minute of popping her cherry.”
Hammer drew back his fist fast as lightning.
Liam gripped Hammer’s bicep, holding him back. “You’re right. We can’t find Raine from jail.”
But if they didn’t leave, Bill would soon be a dead man.
“That’s it,” Hammer spat. “You’re not getting another goddamn dime from me. Do you understand? And don’t you dare threaten me. You just confessed to trying to force your minor daughter to have sex with you, and I’ve got a witness. I’ve also got a hundred people who can testify that I never laid a hand on her when she came to live with me.”
“All deviants like you. We had a deal,” Bill protested. “You can’t cut me off!”
Hammer stared him down with narrowed eyes. “Watch me.”
Macen’s phone beeped and he plucked it out of his pocket, pausing, reading. “I just got a bead on her. She used her credit card. Let’s go.”
As Hammer ran for the Audi, Liam lunged in Bill’s face. “I promise you someday, somehow, I will hunt you down like the animal you are and repay you for everything you did to Raine.”
The door to the cafeteria opened, and Raine watched Beck march in, minus his white coat, looking grim and worried. He slid into the seat beside her and took hold of her chin, but her pathetic breakfast seemed to distract him. “That’s what you chose to eat?”
“They didn’t have a lot left.”
He spied the receipt and picked it up. “You paid with a credit card?”
She sighed. “Yeah. I know what you’re going to say. I doubt they’re watching me.”
Beck scoffed.
“Seriously, Liam released me this morning.”
“Yeah? I can’t speak for him since I don’t know him as well, but I know Hammer will never let you go, princess. I can promise you that.”
“He hasn’t spoken to me in a week.”
“Doesn’t matter. He’s been in love with you for six years.” He glanced at his watch. “Let’s go.”
The man was hallucinating if that’s what he thought, but Raine didn’t argue. “Where?”
“I want to hear this story—without one or both of them interrupting. I want to make sure you eat something better than processed crap. And then I want to give you some advice that you’ll probably ignore, but I hope you’ll put to good use anyway.”
She didn’t have the energy to fight him when he grabbed her soda and pastry only to toss them in the trash can. She picked up her purse and bottle with a sigh.
As Beck led her out of the cafeteria, he settled a guiding hand at the small of her back and herded her to a parking garage. He hit a button on the key fob and a bright red Mercedes convertible beeped. Flashy wheels. It figured.