Desi was crying hard, her shoulders shaking as she clenched her fists. “I hate him! He’s the vilest human being I’ve ever met.”
“No,” Mimi disagreed, “Resnikov is worse.”
Desi reached out as Mimi accepted her hug and the two women cried together, taking what little comfort they could in such a horrific situation.
“Sunshine?” I called out softly, my heart breaking for both women. “Can we talk?”
I might be a tough biker but I wasn’t that fucking cold.
Mimi immediately leaned back and rose to her feet, releasing Desi and swiping her small hands across her cheeks. “I’ll come back later, Desi. Get some rest.”
Desi nodded, laying back against the bed as her eyes fluttered and the dark circles beneath proved she was exhausted.
Mimi reached for my hand and I took it, intertwining our fingers as we entered the hall, heading toward our room. It was ours. Everything I had belonged to her too. I wasn’t so goddamn full of myself that I couldn’t admit that Mimi was my woman and she could have whatever she wanted. We shared it all.
She sat on the bed when we entered and I dropped beside her, still holding her hand to offer as much support as I could.
“I suppose you want to know about Sean Jones and Resnikov.”
Nodding, I kept quiet, letting her take as much time as she needed to gather her thoughts.
“Sean Jones is a sadistic prick. He likes to rape the girls and keep them guessing which one is next. Solonik liked to choke girls as he fucked them. Alexi liked to beat them. Sean is twisted. He likes to take their ass as they’re being raped and prefers to be the first one who violates every girl that comes in.”
My jaw clicked in anger and I held back my Reaper, realizing that was the one thing I hadn’t revealed yet to Mimi. The final part of who I was before she could accept me for the man that would become her protector and vindicator. It was sure to be shocking when she found out. My body vibrated with rage but I held myself in check, squeezing her hand lightly as she kept talking.
“Mikhail Resnikov is on a whole different level of evil. To put it into perspective, he sold his own niece into slavery. Katya is his family. His sister’s daughter. He’s as ruthless as they come. He stood there when Katya was flown into the U.S. and thought she was here for a modeling contract, watching as she was pushed down to the ground and Sean Jones raped her for over an hour.”
Mimi’s voice cut off as she swallowed hard and my chest heaved, hating this motherfucker with every ounce of breath in my body.
“And what did he do to you?” I asked softly, hating the question, and needing to know at the same time.
“What didn’t he do? You know what Alexi did to me. I was kept chained to his bed on numerous occasions when I wasn’t sucking dick or being used. Sean liked to share me with him. The two of them together,” she paused, gritting her teeth, “was almost too much.”
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out, tugging her onto my lap as I held her as tightly as I dared.
“I would bleed afterward and they didn’t care, Dale. Resnikov would laugh as he stood by the door, jerking off as I screamed and cried for them to stop. Any reaction only made it worse. I learned to keep quiet and it was usually over faster.”
“Did they know about the Royal Bastards MC?”
“No, not to my knowledge. That must have changed after you saved me.” She sniffled, cradling my face as our eyes met. “I never did say thank you. I don’t know what would have happened but I can’t help but feel that you did more than save my life. You gave me a fresh start and a place to heal. You’ve been my friend and my hope, my anchor, and my lifeline. Without you, I wouldn’t be whole again.”
Her words sparked a fire inside me and I wanted to lay her back against the bed and make love to her, worship her body, and prove to her that sex could be amazing. My lips met hers in the softest of kisses, pressing with enough pressure and passion that she didn’t doubt how I felt, but not enough to overwhelm her. When we separated, I brushed my thumb across her cheek in a gentle caress.
“It means a lot to me that you opened up like that, Mimi.”
“We both know it needed to happen.”
“Yes, and I should reciprocate.”
Her arms slipped around my neck as I held her in my lap, holding her as close as I could.
“Blackjack was the name of the mission op we chose. Intel provided the location of known terrorists in a tiny town on the outskirts of Afghanistan. My team was made up of some of the best Marines I had the privilege of serving with. Guys I had known for years. Some of them I met in boot camp.”
“You were close,” she responded, understanding.
“Yes. We dropped down in the middle of the night in all our gear, moving in nice and slow as we cleared each area slowly to ensure we didn’t tip off the terrorists. We made it all the way to the house we suspected they were hiding in.”
She bit her lip, sensing the rest of the story didn’t have a happy ending and she was right.