Delivered (The Monster Trilogy Book 3) (8 page)

Monster (Present Day)

They drove out
of the small town, leaving it far behind and getting on the Interstate.

They needed to come up with a plan. They couldn’t just show up at Rodriguez’s place and expect him to hand Lily back. He’d never do that. Monster knew he’d have to fight, and most likely kill, if he was ever going to get his Flower back again.

He wondered what had happened to Chapman and the women they’d rescued from the shipping container. Had he dropped the girls off and tried to join them at the airfield, only to be stopped by the police? Or had he decided he couldn’t leave the women and so never made it as far as the airstrip? There was a chance Chapman had some idea of what had happened, and was looking for him. He thought he knew Chapman’s cell phone number off by heart, but he worried the police had him in custody and were monitoring his cell phone.

His thoughts turned to the location of his own cell phone. He must have dropped it somewhere along the way. He hoped it hadn’t been when he’d been thrown by the force of the explosion back at the hangar. The cops would be crawling all over the place by now, and there was no way he’d get the phone back. He was always cautious, never storing numbers in his phone, and clearing his history, but he was sure someone skilled in the police force would be able to get a wealth of data from the SIM card.

He also wished he hadn’t wiped off the gun Lily had used to kill the trafficker she called Cigarette Hands. The police would have found the body of her friend, Cameron, and the gun beside it. They’d soon figure out the same gun had killed the trafficker—though that evidence had probably been destroyed in the plane explosion. Even so, they’d have run prints on the weapon, and found Lily’s. It wouldn’t take long to see she was the same woman who’d been missing for over a month, and who had also reported she’d been taken by a sex trafficking ring. The cops would assume she’d been recaptured and hopefully would have launched a search for her. But all of this was wishful thinking. He’d rather Lily be arrested for a murder investigation and serve time than for her to be in Rodriguez’s clutches. At least with the cops she could plead self-defense. With Rodriguez, it was life, with no chance of early release.

Monster looked over to Sophia as she drove, concentrating on the road ahead. He still couldn’t believe the young girl from his childhood had reentered his life. He’d never thought he’d see her again, had wondered if his father had been responsible for her death. Knowing he hadn’t had lifted a weight from his heart. Even though she’d never completely escaped the criminal life, at least she’d been treated well.

He glanced down at the purse on the floor of the car at his feet. The same purse Sophia had grabbed before she’d fled the house.

“I don’t suppose you’ve got a cell phone in that thing?” he asked.

She looked over at him, her eyebrows raised. “Sure. Who the hell doesn’t own a cell phone these days?”

She leaned over as she drove, so she was practically in his lap, her cheek dangerously close to his crotch. The proximity of a woman’s face so close to that area caused an instinctive reaction in him, so he had to turn away and stare out of the window until she was done. Sophia fumbled around inside the bag until she produced a cell phone.

She handed it to him. “Knock yourself out.”

“Thanks.”

Quickly, he dialed Chapman, thankful he’d always had a good head for numbers. It started ringing, and for that, at least, he was grateful. There was a chance the other man might have destroyed his phone after hearing things had gone so badly wrong at the airfield.

A male voice answered. “Yes?”

“Chapman, is that you?”

“Holy shit, Merrick,” he said, his voice alive with surprise. “I thought you must be dead!”

Thank God, it was definitely Chapman on the line, and not a cop trying to fake him out.

“It takes more than a shot to the shoulder to kill me.”

“Where the hell are you?”

He glanced around, but didn’t see any signs. He’d been too far out of it on the drive here to take in much of the scenery. He mouthed to Sophia,
Where are we?

“We’re about to head east on the highway,” she replied.

“Did you hear that? We’re taking the highway east to look for Lily in the desert. That bastard Rodriguez took Lily and killed Sean, Mason, and Evans.”

“No, sir, not Sean. From what I’ve found out, he was alive but unconscious when the police arrived on the scene. Because they haven’t been able to get a word out of him, they still don’t know how he fits into what happened at the airfield. As far as I’m aware, he’s in the hospital, under police custody.”

“Shit.”

The news of Sean still being alive was both good and bad. While he was happy the other man had survived, he also didn’t want him in the hands of the police. If the right cop came down on him hard, he might just tell him everything he knew, and that would include a whole heap of information about Monster. Even though Monster had trusted these men—and still did—he wouldn’t blame Sean for spilling the beans in return for a shortened sentence. After all, they were essentially just muscle for hire, and he didn’t pay them enough to buy their complete silence.

“Do you think Sean is still unconscious?”

“No idea. I haven’t been able to get near him.”

“Is he at the same hospital you took the women to?” It occurred to him that he should probably ask after their wellbeing as well, but right now he needed to focus on the things that directly affected him.

“No. That hospital was too small. He’s been taken to the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.”

“Hang on,” Monster said. He turned to Sophia, who was still concentrating on driving, while flicking curious glances over to him every so often. He recounted the conversation briefly and then asked her, “How far away are we?”

“An hour. Maybe ninety minutes.”

Monster nodded. “We need to get Sean out of there,” he said to Chapman. “Think you can meet us a couple of blocks from the hospital?”

“Us? Who have you got with you?”

“An old friend who is helping. Can you meet us or not?”

“Yeah, of course. I don’t want the cops to have Sean any more than you do. I know him being there is a security risk.”

“Let’s just hope he’s well enough to walk out of the place.”

Monster wasn’t going to say it out loud, but if Sean was still unconscious, or too badly injured to be of any help to them, he might be forced to finish the job Rodriguez started. While he didn’t want to kill one of his men, he also couldn’t risk the fallout if Sean told the police everything he knew.

“Meet me one block east of the hospital in a little over an hour.”

“Got it.”

Monster pressed the end button and dropped the phone back in Sophia’s bag.

“I assume we’re taking a detour?” she asked.

“Yeah. A couple of my men are still alive—or at least I hope one of them is still alive. He’s in the hospital after Rodriguez shot him when he took Lily. Either way, I’d prefer to approach Rodriguez with someone else at my side, no offense. I have a feeling getting Lily back is going to take a bit of firepower.” He didn’t want to leave Lily any longer than he had to, but having extra men at his side would give him an advantage.

She shifted in the seat. “I don’t want there to be a big shootout. I was hoping we could all just sit down and talk about things reasonably.”

He frowned at her. “Reasonably? You have met Rodriguez?”

“Of course. We grew up side by side. I know the family as well as anyone.”

“So why are you helping me now?”

“Because we have a past, and you were kind to me many years ago. I haven’t forgotten that Monst—Merrick,” she corrected herself. “What you did stayed with me for a very long time. I was a girl who never knew what self-sacrifice was until that day. You gave me hope that decent people existed in this world, and at the time, that was something I needed to believe very badly.”

It didn’t feel like she was talking about him, even though he knew she was. The boy who had helped her wasn’t the same as the man who was with her now. Did he still have that ability for self-sacrifice? The man his father had raised him to be was a purely selfish and self-focused being. Until Lily had entered his life, he hadn’t given the wellbeing of another person any more than a lingering thought.

***

A few hours
had passed since he’d taken the last dose of pain medication, and the throbbing in his shoulder began to intensify. Even though she was driving, Sophia must have noticed his discomfort by the way he shifted in his seat, his opposite hand reaching to place pressure against the wound.

She frowned at him. “We need to stop and get you something to drink so you can take your meds.”

He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You won’t be any good to anyone if you can’t think straight because you’re in pain.”

“Please, Sophia, I just want to get there.”

“Tough,” she said, craning her neck to spot a gas station along the highway. “Your doctor knows best.”

He cocked an eyebrow, wondering what her medical qualifications actually were, but considering she’d removed a bullet from his shoulder, he decided not to question her.

They approached a gas station and Sophia signaled. She pulled off the highway and parked in front of the store.

“Wait here,” she said. “I’ll get some water so you can dissolve the pain meds.”

Not giving him a chance to respond, she jumped from the car and headed inside.

Monster didn’t want to stay inside the car. He needed to stretch his legs after having spent the past couple of hours cramped in one position.

Sophia exited the store carrying a small paper bag. She reached in and pulled out a couple of bottles of water, and some snacks. “Grab my purse for me,” she said. “The meds are in there.”

He did as she asked, and she unscrewed the top of one of the bottles and emptied a small sachet of powder into it. She gave the bottle a shake and handed it to him.

“Thank you,” he told her.

“Welcome.”

She moved to stand beside him, both of them leaning against the side of the car. The metal was growing hot under the sun, and Monster wished he could remove the zipped up jacket he wore. As though she’d had the same thought, Sophia tugged off her sweater so she stood beside him in only a strappy white top and her jeans. The material molded to her breasts, her cleavage a full swell he couldn’t help staring down into.

To take his mind off Sophia’s wicked curves and long, blonde hair, he filled the moment with questions.

“What about you, Sophia?” he asked. “What’s been happening in your life all these years? Do you have a family?”

She took a sip of her water and shook her head. “I was married for a couple of years, but it didn’t work out, so we separated.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m better off out of it. He liked other women too much, though I think that might have been partly my fault.”

He stared at her in confusion. “How could that ever have been your fault?” How could a man who had a woman as beautiful and warm as Sophia ever look at anyone else? “If he didn’t see how amazing you are, that’s his problem, not yours.”

She glanced away. “I don’t know about that. Perhaps if I’d fully given my heart to him, then I would have blamed him more for all the cheating.” She raised her blue gaze back to his. “But the truth is I think I was always hung up on a boy from my childhood. A boy who offered me kindness when no one else did.”

They locked eyes, the air between them sparking with tension. Monster’s heart rate rocketed.

“The birthmark never bothered me, Monster. I could see how handsome you were beneath it, how troubled, and tortured. You found a place in my heart, and you never left.”

“Sophia,” he breathed. She’d found a place in his heart, too, all those years ago.

No, he had Lily. He didn’t need or want another woman in his life.

But Sophia moved closer, all honey and sunshine, and parted pink lips, the swell of her breasts rising and falling. He felt his cock jerk in response to her proximity. Even though both his head and heart wanted Lily, his body still betrayed him. Thoughts of Sophia pummeled his head—he imagined her naked breasts, her nipples pink, erect nubs. Was her pussy covered with blonde curls or was she bare?

She reached out and placed her hand over his crotch, squeezing him tight, making his breath catch.

“I still want you, Monster,” she breathed. “I used to think about you at night, when we were younger. I was just exploring then, but I touched myself and thought about you. Did you do the same?”

Her breasts pressed against his chest, her breath warm, and the pressure on his erection increased as she began to stroke him over his pants, causing him to grow harder. She dragged a groan from his throat.

No, he couldn’t do this. He loved Lily. Even though he hated the thought she might be having sex with Rodriguez right at this very moment, he couldn’t use that as an excuse to give in to carnal pleasure. Lily would never forgive him, and he wouldn’t forgive himself either. Lily was one of a kind, and it wasn’t just that she was beautiful and smart. Her natural instinct was always to help others, to put their needs above her own, and yet she could be fierce when she wanted. She was caring, and passionate, and felt her emotions to her very core, and he admired her so much for that.