He flipped her over and lifted her, tossing her on the bed again as he started unbuttoning his shirt.
“You know, you put up a fight, but to be honest, I kind of like it. It makes me work for the prize I’m about to get.” He tossed his shirt to the ground and started going for his belt.
She moved to the top of the bed, screaming when he crawled on it toward her, his pants half open, his grin wide. He gripped her legs forcefully and pulled her down so she was under him. Neeka kicked and screamed but knew no one would come to her rescue. Bile rose in her throat as she desperately fought to get him off of her.
She was growing so tired, her arms aching from her movements, her lungs burning from her breathing. In the next second, a sequence of gunshots rang outside the room. Theo momentarily stopped, holding her tightly as he zipped his pants up with his free hand.
“Where is she? Where the fuck is Neeka?”
Her heart beat faster when she heard Gage’s enraged voice. Theo started to move off of her, but kept a grip on her neck. She tried to push him away, but he was too strong. Just then, the bedroom door splintered inward, shards of wood spraying the room as shouts and swearing rang out.
Theo’s heavy weight was suddenly gone from her, and she slowly sat up, tears streaming down her face as she watched Gage slam fist after angry fist into Theo’s face. Blood sprayed out of Theo’s nose and mouth, his eyes rolling back in his head, but Gage didn’t let up his beating until several men in the same black military attire Gage wore pried him off Theo.
They shouted things at him until the rage in Gage’s eyes dimmed, but only slightly.
“We need to get information from him.”
“After that kill him.”
“Make him bleed and suffer.”
The men that were talking to Gage sounded just as angry. These men were killers, but she guessed they needed Theo alive for whatever reason.
He turned his green gaze on her, and she sucked in a breath, never more happy to see him than she was right then. He rushed over to her, falling to his knees in front of her and grabbing her hands. Gage brought them to his lips and kissed them gently before placing them over his heart.
This was an act so gentle, so unlike the powerful man she’d met, but she realized she needed this side of Gage, too.
“Are you okay? I’m sorry it took us so long to get to you.”
She started crying harder, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting him hold her tight. “I’m okay now that you’re here.”
“Caleb, Ruick, take care of that fucker.” He carried her out of the room, and she saw the numerous bodies littering the ground, all of them men who worked for Rye. But when she looked around, not seeing his body, fear sucked the air from her lungs.
“He wasn’t here when we raided the house, so we think he might have escaped. We don’t know where he went, but we’ll fucking find him, baby. My main concern was finding you and making sure you were okay.”
She rested her head on his shoulder and watched as they dragged Theo out by the arms, his face bloody and bruised. “Is he alive?”
“Yeah, unfortunately.” There was dark hatred in Gage’s words, and he held her closer to him. “He’s going to be interrogated when he wakes, and he’ll give up Rye Vincent’s location. That I’m confident of.”
“What if he doesn’t?”
“He will.” His words were hard and final.
“What if he dies before he can give us any information? What if he doesn’t wake up?”
He held her tighter. “I’ll take care of you, baby. I’ll take care of everything. Don’t worry.” He carried her out of the house, helped her into the SUV, and strapped the seatbelt over her. He didn’t move right away, just stood there, watching her.
There were so many things she could have said then, but the way their eyes were locked was perfect enough.
He cupped her cheek in his big hand, his thumb running over her bottom lip, but when she winced he stopped immediately. She saw the way his jaw tensed, his gaze roaming over her, his head moving closer until he was kissing every tender spot on her face.
God, this is what needing someone feels like.
She closed her eyes and sighed. Neeka didn’t care what was right or wrong, because she needed to be with Gage, or her life would never be complete.
Epilogue
TWO MONTHS LATER
Neeka looked down at the glossy photos of the men Rye Vincent had captured. This was the first time she was actually seeing all of the men he was experimenting on, abusing, and destroying their lives.