Property Of Drex #2 (Death Chasers MC #2) (14 page)

Two things happen with that question. One, I’m really fucking proud of her. Two, I get really fucking pissed at the reminder he ever even touched her.

Rush snorts derisively. “Girl is obsessed with telling people about your dick. First the feds, now him?”

Dash and Snake chuckle, but everyone grows serious again when Ben tuts and shakes his head.

“Don’t try to piss me off, Eve,” he cautions. “Turn off all your defense mechanisms. Your body is in survival mode. You better let your mind catch up and tell me what I’m asking, or it’s going to get a lot worse.”

My jaw is tense once more, and I crack my neck to the side.

“Fuck off, Ben. Fuck you. Fuck all of you. Fu—”

He’s cutting her off by tying the gag around her mouth once again, sighing as though he truly does hate to have to do it.

Fucking bastard.

“Didn’t think it’d be that easy. But you will talk,” he tells her, acting as though he wasn’t in the room pushing fluids into her without her knowledge just a few minutes ago. “Your loyalty to him will fade with every day you’re reminded that he isn’t coming for you. It’s Drex Caine, Eve. The only person he gives a fuck about besides himself is his father. Remember that.”

Rush slowly turns to face me as Ben walks back out. My knuckles are white from the fists I’ve formed, and my jaw is so tight that a dull ache forms. Even though she should be terrified, Eve just looks pissed.

She struggles harder to get free for a moment, then the music blares and she jerks like she’s startled. After a few more minutes of uselessly wasting her precious energy, she stops struggling and I watch as her breaths move faster.

This… This is fucking killing me.

“You should go, D. We can watch this and fill you in. It won’t be as bad as having to see it for yourself,” Snake tells me.

“Would you bitch out and not watch what she went through if it was Sarah? Would you honestly be able to walk out of here right now?” I ask him, turning my cool gaze to meet his eyes.

His lips tense. “I don’t know.”

My attention turns back to the computer. We watch as Ben sneaks back down to put fluids inside her, while her exhausted body sleeps through it, keeping her oblivious. I once again have to watch as he fucking kisses her cheek. All the ways I’m going to mutilate him flow through my mind.

Rush plays the video again when we see Ben walking down the stairs with Mikey. He quickly removes the gag, but she doesn’t even act like she feels it.

“I’ll give you an hour of sleep, Eve. Just for an answer. Just one answer. Tell me how Drex is getting the vehicles out of the warehouse. Or is he keeping them somewhere else? All I need is one or two to inspect. I can figure it out from there. It’d save me the trouble of having to split the profits with someone who will have to get me the information
after
the feds close in on them. They will, Eve. It’s just a matter of time. Tell me where he keeps them.”

“Pause it,” Snake says, stepping closer. Then he looks over at me as soon as the footage is paused. “Who the fuck would Ben have in the feds if Benny didn’t even know he had an undercover in his unit?”

I shake my head, slowly trying to think it over, but my head is too fucked up and focused on Eve to process anything else.

“Play it,” Dash says. “Maybe the answer is in the video.”

Rush resumes the feed, and we watch and listen.

“I can’t understand what you’re saying,” Ben says to Eve, pushing her hair away from her face. That’s one more offense that will cost him. He shouldn’t touch her at all.

Rush turns up the volume, and we hear her muttering something, but it’s hard to make out.

“Eve, you’re not making sense. What are you mumbling?” Ben continues.

Rush rewinds it, and he does something to the clarity, trying to make it easier to hear. While he fucks with the computer, Dash turns to me.

“She doesn’t know any of that shit. Imagine what he’d do with that info if he had it.”

“Doesn’t look like she’d have told him even if she did know,” Snake says idly.

“If he had the info, he would be coming right to us,” I point out icily. “I wish she had told him.”

“She knows?” Rush asks, halting what he’s doing as his eyes cut to me.

“She knows what we do, and she knows the cars are in the warehouse, but she doesn’t know where. She knows enough about what we’re fucking doing to have been able to buy herself some food, sleep, or peace. Possibly even freedom.”

Silence descends around the room.

“You barely fucking know her,” Rush finally grinds out. “And you told her something not even most of the guys know?”

“Most of the guys wouldn’t have covered my body with theirs if it was raining bullets,” I point out. “She’s tied to a chair, being starved, being dehydrated, and being deprived of sleep, but she’s not fucking saying a thing. She should have. I wish she fucking had.”

It feels like the anger inside me is trying to manifest into a physical form and emerge as a true monster. Guilt wars with fury, and everything collides.

“She’s saying
something
,” Rush mumbles, going back to his task.

We all move closer as he plays it back, isolating just her voice, and we finally hear what she’s saying.

“He’s going to kill you,” she whispers in a crackled, eerie voice. “He’s going to kill you,” she says again.

Snake hisses out a breath, and Rush turns the volume back down while messing with some keys again. He doesn’t say anything, but Dash does.

“Still don’t trust her?” he asks Rush.

Rush doesn’t respond as he plays the video again, and Eve raises her voice, making it easy to understand her this time.

“Fuck. You.”

She starts laughing in that smoker’s rasp again, while coughing violently at the same time. That kills me all over again. I have to fight to stand up.

That’s all I can take right now, so I lean over and pause it myself. “I’m going back to Eve. I’ll watch the rest later. Let me know if you figure anything out,” I tell them.

I glance over at Drake who is snoring loudly, and I walk back out, barely slowing down. All the guys move out of my way, and Sarah eyes me when I walk in.

Axle’s eyes find mine, and he frowns when he takes in my expression. I shrug out of my cut, pull off my boots, and gingerly climb in the small, uncomfortable-as-nails bed next to my girl.

She’s whimpering in her sleep, but the second my arms go around her, a sigh leaves her lips, and she relaxes against my chest as her head settles in. Axle doesn’t speak. He leaves the room, and I know he’s heading in to find out for himself what I just had to watch.

Sarah leans back in her chair, and Colleen takes the seat Axle just vacated. Eve sighs again, whispering my name in her sleep, and I concentrate on not holding her too tightly against me.

“Drex?” Colleen whispers, drawing my attention.

“What?” I ask, clearing my throat when I hear how thick my voice is.

“When you find them, I want you to live up to your name,” she whispers coldly.

No one wants Ben to suffer more than I do, but I don’t point that out. Instead, I just nod.

Eve’s voice draws my attention back to her as she sings in her sleep in her strained, hoarse voice.

“Up… Up above the world so high.
Like a… diamond in the sky…”

Chapter 24

EVE

I’m not sure how long I’ve been out when I wake up, but I do worry that I’ve finally breached insanity. My eyes hurt against the bright sun that is filtering through the window. There’s no window in the basement.

Warmth… So much warmth is around me, but it’s not an uncomfortable heat. In fact, it’s comforting as it surrounds me.

Something stirs against me, and it takes me a second to realize someone is holding me to their body. I tense, but almost immediately I relax as the familiar scent engulfs me.

It’s not a hallucination. Drex is really holding me to him. When I lift my gaze to the arm closest to me, I see the telltale tattoos.

“I don’t think it’s wise for you to stay here right now,” I hear someone saying.

I hold still in Drex’s arms as his grip tightens.

“I don’t give a fuck what you think is wise,” Drex growls.

Herrin. That other voice is his father’s.

My mind races as I try to take in the sights I can see without moving. Sarah’s eyes meet mine, and at the same time, I realize the sterile, white room I’m in is a hospital. And Drex is in my hospital bed with me.

Sarah looks away, feigning boredom—probably for Herrin’s sake.

My head is killing me. My mouth isn’t so dry, but it isn’t exactly normal either. My hand… my hand hurts. It takes a second to realize there’s still a needle in it… No. That’s a new needle.

“She has a target on her.” Herrin’s loud, booming voice snaps me out of my own inner appraisal. “You’ve already been here for over eighteen hours.”

Eighteen hours?

“The fact she has a target on her is
why
I’m not going anywhere. I’d be dealing with the actual problem right now if not for that. I’m not fucking leaving her until she can get out of this place.”

Drex’s lips brush against the top of my head, but I remain still, not letting him know I’m awake. I don’t want Herrin in here, and I hope Drex gets him out.

“Take her back to the warehouse if you’re so insistent on keeping her with you. Be fucking smart about it,” Herrin snaps.

Drex stiffens under me, and I almost feel the cold glare he’s shooting his father without having to see it.

“When the doctor says it’s safe for her to leave, then we’ll leave. Until then, get the fuck out of her room. Last I checked, you withheld a tip, and I almost died. Don’t act like you give a fuck about me now. Besides, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s a small army camping out in the hallway. I’m covered here, Pop. You just worry about you. That’s what you do best.”

Something shatters, causing me to startle ever so slightly, and Drex tenses again as his arms tighten around me.

“Damn it! Stop talking to me like you’ve forgotten who I am, or I
will
remind you.”

A chill runs down my spine as the temperature in the room seems to plummet. Drex slowly kisses my head again, and he gently moves me aside as he stands. Obviously I continue to pretend to still be asleep, actually closing my eyes again.

He’s leaving? No. I don’t want him to leave me with—

“Feel free to start reminding me,” Drex says with an eerie tone that borders on resembling a psycho taunting a rabid dog. “I’ll let you take the first swing out of
respect.
”

He spits out that last word, and I open my eyes again, keeping them focused on Sarah instead of turning around to see the showdown. Sarah’s eyes meet mine again, and she scoots a little closer.

“This is the last time you disrespect me,” Herrin snarls, but a few seconds later, I hear a door slam.

“Find the doctor,” Drex tells someone. “She’s awake.”

I realize the charade is up, so I slowly turn around to see Drex’s back as Axle nods and walks out. My stomach clenches when the door opens to reveal a hallway full of Death Dealers.

As soon as the door shuts, Snake stands and motions with his head for Sarah.

“We’ll be just outside the door if you need us,” he tells Drex.

Drex’s back is still to me, and I watch as Sarah walks around, patting my foot on her way by. Snake’s arm drops to her shoulders as he leads her out, and I wait for the man who saved me to turn around.

He had to have saved me. There’s no way Ben brought me here and called him. That’s for damn sure.

I try to say his name, but my throat is too sore, so the words die before a sound can be made. Drex runs his hand through his hair, still staring at the door like he doesn’t want to face me.

I guess he saved me but that doesn’t mean we’re
us
again.

My mistake,
I think dryly.

Trying to sit up proves to be a pain in the ass, and air hisses between my teeth when the motion tugs my IV too hard. In the next breath, Drex is right in front of me, looking me over to see why I just made a sound.

Holy shit, he looks like he hasn’t slept at all.

His eyes are tired as he examines me, and his touch is almost too gentle… as though he’s worried I’ll break. I don’t think I will. I feel a hell of a lot better than I did in that basement. I can actually hold my own head up, even if it does feel like someone is trying to drill a hole through it.

“I’m okay,” I manage to whisper.

His jaw grinds like I’ve said something wrong, but he doesn’t speak as he continues to examine me.

“So she’s awake.” A man’s voice has my head jerking away from Drex to look past him.

A doctor is walking toward me, carrying a transparent cup of ice cubes and a glass of water. Drex reluctantly moves out of his way, and I wonder why a nurse isn’t bringing me things.

On the bright side, my mind seems to be functioning properly once again. I guess eighteen hours of sleep and some fluids running into me via IV is a good cure for going crazy from dehydration, hunger, and sleep deprivation.

Drex sits down on the bed near my feet, and I quietly allow the doctor to go through the motions of inspecting my eyes with a light, feel the outside of my throat with his fingers, and a few other random things.

“You, little girl, are one tough cookie. Glad to see you so alert and sitting up. Pupils are responding excellently, nothing seems to be swollen more than normal, and your blood tests have all turned out fine. The infection has been taken care of, but you’ll need to continue your antibiotics.”
Infection?
He turns to face Drex. “How was she sleeping? Restless? Peaceful?”

Drex opens his mouth to answer, but Sarah chooses that time to walk in and answer for him.

“She sleeps peacefully when Drex is with her. Not so much when he’s not.”

Drex grimaces like that’s a bad thing. It probably just has to do with comfort. It pisses me off that I need to feel comfort right now, but… Fuck. I’m not invincible. What really sucks is the fact he seems to hate that I’m apparently subconsciously comforted by his presence.

Bristling, I start getting annoyed with the doctor’s thorough inspection, especially when he messes with my tender wrists that are wrapped loosely.

“The wound dressings need to be changed. I can do that in just a little bit though. Do you know where you are?”

I nod but don’t attempt to speak.

He frowns like that bothers him, so I point to my throat, silently telling him it’s sore. That leads to him forcing my mouth open so he can shine his light into my throat.

“Just a little raw from dryness. Suck the ice cubes first. Then try to drink some water. Don’t drink it too fast though. Wouldn’t want you to upset your stomach. We’ll get you some soup sent up to see if you can manage eating something light. Nothing heavy for a few days until you work up to it.”

Drex finally speaks. “No offense, doc, but I don’t trust your cafeteria. Tell Sarah what kind of soup she needs, and she’ll get her anything.”

The doctor frowns but nods. Then he turns back to me.

“No sign of a concussion, but how do you feel? I have a psychiatrist who can come speak to you discreetly. She’s a close friend of mine, and she will be—”

“No,” I interrupt, whispering the word and wincing before grabbing the ice cup and sucking a few crushed pieces down my throat.

He frowns while looking over at Drex like he’s my freaking caretaker and in charge of
my
decisions.

“She needs to speak to someone. Normally it would be hospital policy.”

Drex looks at me, studying me. “If she wants to speak to someone, she can. If she doesn’t, then she won’t.”

Fairly sure I roll my eyes. I’m being talked about as though I’m not sitting right here.

“Very well, but it’s a standing offer if you change your mind.”

Clearing my sore throat, I speak again. It’s hoarse and strained, but it works well enough.

“I won’t give Ben the satisfaction of thinking he broke me.”

Both men look at me, and Sarah walks closer, smirking as she takes a seat on the bed. She looks over at Drex, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You boys keep forgetting we have to be tough to handle you.”

Drex’s jaw tenses, but he motions with his head for the doctor to follow him out so they can speak in private. The second the door shuts, Sarah turns to me.

“How are you really doing?” she asks sincerely.

Talking hurts, but I make myself. “I’ve seen better days. It felt like I was down there for a long time. Much longer than I probably was—”

“Four days,” she says quietly. “Almost five.”

“Felt like a month or two.”

She nods like she understands, but I don’t know how she could.

“When the nightmares come, and they will, learn to fight back in your mind. It’s the only way to defeat the nightmares,” she whispers quietly. “The nightmares are usually worse than the real thing was.”

My eyebrows go up, and she looks down.

“Really, Eve, you should probably talk to someone.”

“He starved me, kept me awake, and left me to dehydrate. It’s not exactly a few days in paradise, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I’m more grateful than anything that my worst nightmares
didn’t
come true.”

She smiles grimly while looking back at me.

“The paralyzing fear you dealt with or didn’t deal with… The helplessness of being trapped and alone with nothing to do but pray for rescue… That’s where the nightmares come from, Eve. Not the experience itself.”

“How do you—”

The door opens back up, and in walks Snake, the doctor, and Drex. Sarah bites her bottom lip, like she doesn’t want to continue the conversation. So I let it drop.

“Rush is going to stay here with you. I have to go take care of something,” Drex tells me.

That’s confusing, considering he was arguing with his father about staying here just a few minutes ago. Emotional whiplash isn’t on my to-do list, so I don’t even acknowledge him.

“Sarah, the doc wants to talk to you about what she can eat right now,” Drex goes on.

Sarah squeezes my hand affectionately before walking out with the doctor and Snake on her heels. Rush walks in with Axle, and I tense. I don’t like Rush, and Drex is leaving me with him?

“I should be in on that,” Rush growls at Drex, even though I don’t know what he’s talking about. “You can’t possibly be rational enough in there to get answers.”

Drex tenses as his eyes narrow to slits. “Axle is staying here because I trust him with my girl. You’re staying here because I know you won’t hesitate to fuck someone up if they walk in.”

“I won’t hesitate either,” Axle states dryly.

“Two people need to be in here when I’m not,” Drex orders. “I’ll be back as soon as I have something.”

My eyes stay fixed on Drex, waiting on him to speak to me. He doesn’t. Instead, he turns and walks out, leaving me with one guy I don’t trust, and another who has pity oozing from his eyes when he looks at me. I still don’t know how I got here, and no one is in any hurry to tell me what happened.

From one captivity to another. I hate hospitals.

At least I’m allowed to sleep here.