Tormented (22 page)

Becoming aware of movement in the distance, I squinted and saw a few people out on the lush lawn—all wielding cameras. What if I told them what was happening to me? Would they believe me? Help me?

What if they thought I was crazy?

Maybe I was.

I nearly stumbled over a stone on the pathway. I cursed under my breath as pain shot from my toes through to my ankle. Jones’s grip tightened as he jerked me upright and held on to me. “Be careful and watch where you’re going.” Irritation was clear in his voice.

“My foot. It hurts.”

“Walk, dammit.”

I had nothing left to bargain with; I had nothing left but the smallest sliver of hope that something, someone would end this freaking nightmare.

“Jones, don’t make me do this. Please, I beg you.”

“Shut up and walk.”

“I’m not talking about my damn foot.”

“I know. Keep moving.”

Trembling, I wrapped my hand around his arm and tightened my grip, my nails biting into his flesh. He flinched for a second, but didn’t say another word. Every step was like a thousand needles stabbing my foot.

“Miss Ryder,” a man called as soon as he saw me, hastily making his way toward us to get the scoop of a lifetime. Flashes went off like lightbulbs, blinding me for a few seconds. I’d seen the media mob many famous rock stars, but I’d never imagined it would happen to me.

The sun was low in the sky, painting the horizon pink and orange. A red carpet lay before me leading to a flower-laden arch at the end of it. In front of the arch stood the groom, his chest puffed out and his straight back making him seem just a little bit taller than usual. The smile of victory that spread over his face made me want to puke.

Avoiding his gaze, I fixed my eyes on the horizon. The sun touched the ocean, kissing another day farewell. The worst day of my fucking life.

“Eva,” Nolan breathed as soon as I stood in front of him. “You look breathtakingly beautiful.”

My eyes pleaded with him.
Don’t do this.
He wasn’t paying attention.

Jones let go of my arm and passed me over to my husband-to-be. By only taking three steps to the side, his legs wide and his arms folded across his chest, his body stance warned me that he was watching me like a hawk. There was no escape. My heart beat in my throat, and my mouth was so dry that my tongue stuck to the roof.

Sofia straightened the train of the dress, spreading it out behind me. Jones indicated for her to disappear, shooing her away like a dog with his hand. She gave me a warm smile, turned on her heels and walked away.

A sense of complete loss overtook me. I had nobody on my side now that Sofia had left. Utterly alone, my whole body shook with fear and trepidation, my knees threatening to buckle under me.

My God. This is really happening.

Strangely, I was beyond tears. Numb and empty, I stood there like a doll.

Nolan took my hands in his. “God, your hands are like ice. Turn to the cameras, darling.”

It took every bit of effort not to scream and run. To turn slowly, like instructed.

“Smile, darling.”

I can’t. My face won’t move.

With all eyes on me, I wanted to tell them all that this was a mistake. The hugest fucking mistake ever. I wanted to shout out that I didn’t want to be there. That everything about this was so wrong on so many levels that it should never be allowed to happen.

But not one word left my mouth.

I’d become as dumb as Sofia. An ice-cold zombie.

The minister, dressed in a sky blue suit that matched the graying of his hair instead of the severe black and white garb I expected, took a step forward. He smiled at me in a compassionate kind of way. He was probably assuming I was simply overwhelmed by the greatness of the moment. After all, I was marrying a
senator
.

In his hands, he held a book from which he started reading. I could see his lips move, but every word he spoke sounded garbled, as if he were speaking an alien language. My head swam and my stomach cramped violently. Cold sweat broke out on my skin, and I felt like I was about to black out at any moment.

“What the fuck?” Nolan’s voice boomed in my ear.

My head snapped up when Jones lunged forward, both his arms reaching out to grab me. Stunned, I felt myself fall backwards against a hard body. Strong arms folded around my waist and swung me around in a vice-like grip.

What the hell was happening?

Jones lay on the ground, a heavy boot on his back and a gun pointed at his head. His eyes were bugging and he’d gritted his teeth.

How does that feel, asshole?

I lifted my gaze to the man in the boots. A satisfied grin greeted me.

Razor?
What the hell was
he
doing here?

“Eva, you’re okay.” Ryder’s voice broke through my fuzzy brain. “Come with me.” Half dragging me, he pulled me away toward the building a few yards away. Going limp against his body, I didn’t resist when he lifted me off the ground and carried me, the train of my dress dragging through a muddy patch from rain earlier in the day.

Still trying to figure out if my mind was playing tricks on me, I looked back toward the arch to search for Nolan. Where was he in all of this?

My gaze collided with steel-hard eyes fixed on me. All the air in my lungs left my body on a heavy exhale.

Harrison.

What was going on? He was with Razor and Ryder? How did they find me?

I’m hallucinating.
Nolan must have drugged me.
This is
not
possible.

Harrison stood, legs wide apart, staring at me with a murderous expression on his face and a gun trained on Nolan. “Don’t move a fucking inch.”

Relief flooded me as I took in Harrison’s commanding presence. His jaw was set with determination, and it was clear he was completely in command of the situation. Nolan had been trumped, and I had no doubt he’d get what he deserved; if there was one thing Harrison and the bikers were experts at, it was handling situations like these.

The photographers were having a field day. Flashes lit up the early dusk as they captured the action on their cameras. Lord help us when this got to the newsrooms around the world. This was an even bigger scoop than the senator’s wedding day.

“Are you okay, Sis?” Ryder’s voice was filled with concern as he looked down at my face.

“Yeah, but I don’t understand—”

I couldn’t help a small twinge of disappointment that it wasn’t Harrison’s arms I was in at that moment. Not that I was ungrateful to be anywhere other than under that arch with Nolan.

Looking back I saw Harrison grab Nolan’s wrists and secure them with handcuffs. There was a lot of yelling, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying to one another.

“You’re safe now. Harrison pieced it all together after Jade became suspicious. Fuck, I’m so happy you’re okay and that we got here in time.”

“God, yes. I was waiting for the ground to swallow me, thinking I was screwed forever.” A small hollow and somewhat hysterical sound burst from my lips. “I can’t believe you guys came for me. I’d prayed so damn hard but I never thought anyone was listening.”

Carrying me up a set of stairs toward the entrance of the building, Ryder said, “Somebody was, and now we’re here to fix this mess.”

“I still can’t believe you found me. I don’t even know where we are.”

Ryder smirked. “On a small island of Hawaii, one of the more private ones that rich people can rent exclusively.”

“Oh, that makes it even more incredible that you found me.”

“Yeah, it’s all thanks to Summers and his partner. They planned the whole operation and gave us each a role in the rescue. We could use someone with skills like that in the club.”

I couldn’t believe my ears or that I’d ever hear Ryder say something like that about Harrison. The fact that both men abandoned their pride and worked together to save me was incredulous enough.

I had no idea what to make of it until I’d processed the whole situation and heard his side of the story. I still didn’t get how Ryder and Harrison got together, never mind find and rescue me.

“Harrison wants the senator all to himself. I pity the bastard because it’s not going to be pretty.”

I sighed heavily. “There is no love lost between the two of them. Harrison looks as if he wants to kill Nolan.”

Ryder chuckled softly. “There’s more to it than the obvious. Jade thinks her brother is head over heels for you. Summers wants to cut Parker by the balls and watch him bleed to death.”

“What? Seriously?”

“Yeah, he wants revenge on the motherfucker more than—”

“No, no, I mean the part you said about Harrison being
head over heels
for me. What does that mean in man speak?”

“That, Sis, means what you think it means.”

“What kind of answer is that?” I huffed.

Double doors opened automatically as we approached, and Ryder stepped inside the plush reception area of the resort. The cool air-conditioned room was a sharp contrast to the balmy evening outside. Crystal glasses and bottles of champagne in silver ice buckets were spread around the room on elegant tables laden with flowers.

“Look, I’m not getting in the middle of this. But let me just tell you that the man is ready to kill for you. And if you know men, you’ll know that says a lot. Especially about how he feels over you.”

At a loss for words, something that didn’t often happen to me, I just stared at Ryder. He gave me a lopsided grin and placed me on my feet. I looked around and noticed how eerily void the room was of people. It was just as well, because my dress was ruined—not that I really cared, but I really didn’t want a picture of me splashed on the covers of the tabloids in this state. No doubt they had a different angle on their stories now, but still.

“I think Jade is wrong. Bless her kind heart, but she has her facts mixed up. Harrison disappeared without a word.
Avoiding
me and not answering my calls.” I hated the whiny tone to my voice, but I was still pissed and hurt by his behavior.

Ryder appraised me for a minute, raking a hand over his face.

“You probably already know this already, but men are simple creatures. Ask Jade. All we want to do is take care of our special woman, make sure she is happy and safe and provided for. That pretty much sums us up. But sometimes we get confused and we don’t know how to act.”

I sucked in a breath. “Especially the damaged ones.”

“Well, I kinda think you got through to Summers in a way nobody else could. Not even his own family.”

I stuck my chin out. “Well, Harrison will have to prove himself to me first. He can’t disappear off the face of the earth and then come and pretend to be a knight on a white horse. It just doesn’t work that way.”

Ryder let out a soft low chuckle. “I nearly pity the fucker. Nearly.”

S
haking with rage, I struggled to
not
pull the fucking trigger. I’d uncovered a lot more about our senator in the last few hours than I could comfortably live with. I couldn’t believe that I’d barely stepped off one plane and onto another, but the six hours we flew to Hawaii was put to great use as Savage and I dug deep to get information from our source.

It appeared that the senator had pissed off many more people than what we had thought at first. Beneath his thin veneer of decency and charm lay hidden a dark side of debauchery and corruption that would rival any blockbuster movie script. Sometimes real life was stranger than fiction, and when Savage came to me with a whistleblower source that leaked some of the shit the honorable senator was up to, it became clear that it would be a public service to rid the world of a twisted fuck like Nolan Parker.

Not in the least bit surprised by the bribes and money laundering stories, it was when I found out about the Mexican sex slaves he kept hidden for his pleasure, promising the girls—some as young as fifteen and sixteen—a new life and a green card, that I lost my shit.

During our flight we’d strategized, each man taking on a specific role so that our little coup would run smoothly and without bloodshed. Pity I agreed to that, because my finger was burning to pull the fucking trigger.

My gaze fell on Razor. He was probably as thirsty for a bit of action as I was. He’d leaned forward and with a sneer he spoke to the brawny fucker he was holding down.

“Make my fucking day. Move one more inch and I slit your fucking throat.”

On the way over, Razor had complained when I’d instructed him to use a gun on his target instead of the knife he’d tucked into his belt. I’d heard about the deadly razors in the tips of his boots, wondering if it was urban legend, but seeing the way the biker’s face was filled with anticipation, I’d bet it was all true and that he was just looking for a reason to slice some skin.

The ugly-as-fuck dude groaned as Razor put his foot on the back of his head and pushed his cheek into the ground. For an ex-military man, the hefty fucker wasn’t putting up much of a challenge, and Razor actually looked disappointed.

I feel you, man.
It would make my day too if I could put a bullet through the skull of the man in front of me. I shuddered to think of what he may have done to Eva.

Did I really want to know? It was a double-edged sword, because if he’d hurt a hair on her head I’d be making sure it was the last time he hurt a woman. He’d be in a pine box rotting like the filth he was beneath the polished exterior. I hated unscrupulous frauds and women molesters even more than I hated bikers.

At least bikers had the courage of their convictions; they stood for something and they stood with one another. They were not like the kind of man Parker was, who used people for his own gain and discarded them like trash when he got what he wanted.

Razor glanced at me with a pleading expression on his face, one that begged to make somebody bleed. In the strangest of ways, I felt connected to the biker at that very moment.

Seems we weren’t that different after all.

Becoming aware of Cobra snatching cameras from the photographers, I smiled. None of this shit was getting splashed in the media. As much as I wanted to show the world what a fucking creep and dirty rotten scoundrel their elected senator was, there were other ways to deal with him that didn’t get our faces on the covers and names in the headlines.