Savage Fire (Savage Angels MC #2) (18 page)

Emily

I
feel like an idiot. I’m naked, and not only have I managed to burn the rope off myself, but I’ve also burnt my wrists really badly in the process. My poor hands have blisters on the palms, the sides of which I have scraped all the skin off. I have a fire going and I’m cold. It’s night and I can hear animals roaming about, calling to each other.

Tomorrow I am going to backtrack and see if he is still there. I am scared. I’m not even sure which direction I ran in, but hopefully I can follow my own tracks. I won’t survive out here naked and without water. It’s only been a day and I know I am being overly dramatic but I’m thirsty.

I wish I could go back to Salvatore and try to explain how I feel about guns. There was definitely a connection with him. I’ve never had a man buy me so many things, and he has no idea what that meant to me. I wish I could talk to Dane and ask him why he abandoned me and I hope I can bury my father, along with all the baggage that he left me with.

I sharpen my stake on a rock as I let my thoughts wander. If that man is still there, I will kill him. No one will ever violate me like that again. When I think about what he said he was going to do, I shudder. Athough my hands are sore, they are doing what I need them to do and the piece of wood has a sharp point on it now. I will never be so vulnerable again.

I hope someone is looking for me. I hope I matter to someone.

***

M
y feet are cut and with each step I take, excruciating pain shoots through me. I’m trying to hold onto the stake but my hands are really sore. When I woke up, they were all cramped. I’ve managed to flex them out but I really hope no one is at the cabin—if I can find it.

It’s barely daylight and I slowly follow my own tracks. It takes me about two hours to get there. I can see a group of men going in and out, they are all dressed in black, and they all have guns. One of them holds up my dress to the others, and they all stare at it, then one of them says something and shakes his head.

I hear a rumbling noise and then the area in front of the cabin is full of motorbikes. The man with my dress walks up to Dane and hands it to him. He stands there shaking his head, then I see Salvatore and I hear him yell, “Have you found her body? Was there evidence that she is dead? Blood?”

I am naked in the woods; I am found but I am naked, crouching behind a bush. I am unsure how I am going to get someone’s attention without exposing myself to the entire male population of Tourmaline.

The sound of breaking branches startles me and I stand up and turn around. It’s Jonas, and he has his hands up as he says, “Its ok, Em, put your weapon down, baby, you are safe.”

My hand did manage to grip my stake after all. He slowly walks towards me, taking his jacket off. He never breaks eye contact; I hadn’t realized how nice his eyes were, pale green and full of concern. He is about three feet from me and holds out his jacket. I snatch it and put it on. It barely covers my ass but at least I have a level of modesty back. I nod at him and he nods back then he whistles—loud. A silence fills the air and he points to the men behind me. I grip his jacket around me and turn without letting go of my stake.

Salvatore strides towards me, and I back up right into Jonas. He slows with hands up like Jonas did. “Amare, you are safe. I will not hurt you,”

All I do is stare at him. My throat is sore and I can feel tears run down my cheeks. He slowly approaches

and holds out his hand. I stare at it a moment, then drop my stake and launch myself into his arms, crying uncontrollably.

I feel him lift me up and all the while, he whispers to me, “E ' l'amore bene, si sono protetti, sei al sicuro.”
It’s alright love, you are protected, you are safe.
Over and over he repeats these words to me, soothing me to my core. I feel safe in his arms—I am safe.

As he carries me towards a car, I see Dane striding towards us. When he reaches us he says, “I’ll drive, you hold her tight.” His eyes flick to mine and I am surprised at the level of compassion I find there. “You are safe, Em. No one will hurt you ever again.” His mouth goes into a hard line. Then he whistles loudly and raises his hand, signaling for his men to leave.

Sal places me on the backseat of a car, then goes around to the other side, climbs in and drags me across so that I sit on his lap with his arms around me.

Dane climbs into the driver’s seat and says, “Emily, I am so sorry this happened to you. I’m going to take you to Doc Jordan’s, ok?”

I nod at him but don’t make eye contact. Salvatore’s arms tighten around me and I look him in the eyes. “Do you have any water?” I croak out.

He looks to Dane who yells out the window, “Does anyone have water?”

Jonas walks up to Salvatore’s window and passes me a bottle of water. “Here you go, Em. I’ll be seeing you soon.” Then he smiles at me and his whole face seems to light up. My hands can barely hold the bottle as I smile at him and nod. “Savage Angels’ colors look good on you.” He smiles again but shifts his gaze to Salvatore, who presses the button to wind up the window.

“Let’s take her to your doctor, yes?” Sal says to Dane forcefully.

Dane chuckles and says, “I’m on it.”

Salvatore touches my hand and I wince. My other hand grips the bottle while I try to open it but I can’t grip the lid properly. He takes it from me and undoes it. The water feels fantastic as it slides down my throat. I smile at Sal and wriggle off his lap and sit beside him with his arm around me. I then reposition myself, with my back against the car door and my legs over his lap. His hands lightly touch my legs. There are cuts and scrapes over both of them, including the slice on my right leg from the window of the cabin when I escaped. My left foot has a deep gash on the arch, and I have stubbed toes on both my feet. My hair is down and matted and then there are my hands. I feel like I am bruised everywhere.

I’m staring at my hands when Sal reaches over and lifts up my chin. “You know you are safe and nothing like that will ever happen to you again, yes?”

I nod at him and drink more water. I pay no attention to my surroundings. When the car stops, I look up and we are outside Doc Jordan’s. My eyes go to Sal.

“I can’t walk, would you mind helping me?” My voice waivers and I watch Sal wince.

“Anything for you, Amare. Can you slide over to this side and I’ll carry you from there?” His voice is full of concern. I nod at him. He opens the door and climbs out. I look around and there are people everywhere. I hear the rumble of the Savage Angels as they go past, back to their Compound. I manage to shuffle to the edge of the seat. Sal puts one arm under my legs and the other around my back then carries me into Doc Jordan’s.

The waiting room is full but the receptionist takes one look at me and ushers all three of us into a room.

Sal puts me up on a bed and I lay down. The frazzled, rude receptionist from my previous visit now has nothing but concern on her face.

“Gentlemen, you will have to wait outside. Now.” She is firm with them and opens the door.

“Emily, we’ll be outside,” says Dane. Salvatore nods.

When she shuts the door, she approaches me. “Honey, let’s put a gown on you.” She opens a drawer and pulls out a gown. She hands it to me then pulls a curtain across. I take the jacket off and slip on the gown but it ties up at the back and I can’t do it.

“Could you...ummm...help me?” I say and my voice cracks.

She opens the curtain and goes behind me to do up the gown. “Honey, I’ll go get Doc now, ok?” I nod and smile at her as she leaves the room.

The gown is blue and reaches down to my knees; I play with the hem as the doctor comes into the room.

I look up at him and he smiles then I watch it slowly fall off his face. His step falters. I smile at him and say, “Hey, Doc, sorry I look such a mess. Who knew Tourmaline could be so...” A tear escapes from my eye and rolls down my cheek.

“Ok, Emily, let’s take a look at you,”

“Doc, do you have somewhere that I could shower before you examine me? I really need to wash myself off,” I say, avoiding all eye contact.

“Emily, do we need to take swabs before you shower, is there anything you’d like to tell me?” He’s bent over, staring into my eyes.

I shake my head. “He didn’t have a chance to, not really.” I stare at the floor, my face burning.

“Not really? Sweetheart, if he...penetrated you there will be DNA and we need to collect it.”

“He didn’t have a chance to...insert himself.” I am mortified; I don’t want to talk about this with the doctor or anyone.

“Ok then, Emily, let’s put you into a shower, is it alright if Maggie helps you?”

I nod at him and he leaves the room. A short time later, Maggie comes in with a wheelchair. “Jump in, honey, let’s get you cleaned up.” She smiles at me as I sit in the wheelchair.

She opens the door and pushes me out. Dane and Salvatore stand side by side. I smile at them both and say, “Going for a shower, won’t be long.” I’m sure my smile looks more like a grimace.

Once we are in the bathroom, Maggie looks at me and says, “Sixty‐eight percent of all rapes are never reported to the police. Ninety‐eight percent of rapists will never spend a day in jail. Honey, if you have been attacked you need to say something.”

I look up at her and her eyes are full of empathy. “I don’t know.” I breakdown; she wraps me in her arms and strokes my hair. “I don’t know.”

“Honey, I’ll be with you but we need Doc Jordan to check you out. If someone did do something, they may have a sexually transmitted disease, which they might have given you and, honey, you could be hurt.” Maggie continues to hold me and stroke my hair for what feels like forever.

“Alright, Maggie, please wheel me back. If you stay with me, I’ll let Doc Jordan examine me.”

She stands up, grabs some tissues and wipes my face. “Let’s do this,” she says with a small smile. She opens the door and wheels me back to the other room. Both Dane and Sal raise their eyebrows.

“Is everything ok?” asks Dane, sounding concerned.

I make eye contact with him, “Yes, we need Doc to check something out first.” I try to smile but I know it probably looks forced.

Sal opens the door to the room then drops down to his knees in front of me and says, “Whatever Doc finds, and whatever you need to do, know that if you want to talk I am here. No matter what you say or tell me, I will think no less of you. Do you understand me, Amare?” I look at him and a few strands of hair have fallen over his eye. I reach out, push them off his face and nod as a tear rolls down my cheek. He wipes it away and gives me a smile full of sympathy. No matter what he says, he will never look at me the same way again. He stands and kisses my forehead then moves out of the way as Maggie wheels me into the room.

I am on the bed and Maggie is holding my hand when Doc Jordan comes in and says, “Ok, Emily, before we do anything, can you tell me what happened?”

“I woke up on a table, naked. There was a man; he put his hands on me—everywhere—and he said he’d been playing with me for a while,” I whisper and I realize I am squeezing Maggie’s hand really tightly. I loosen my grip and when I look at her, she has tears in her eyes.

“Good girl, honey, you did really well.” She puts both of her hands around mine.

“Emily, I need to examine you. Now, it won’t take long but it’s not going to be pleasant for you. If you need me to stop please say so, ok?”

I nod and close my eyes tight. I take a deep breath and try to imagine I am anywhere but on this bed.

***

D
oc was right, the examination was not pleasant. There was minimal trauma and no fluids on or in me.

Doc stands next to me as he says, “I don’t believe he got to insert...I mean, it doesn’t appear that he—” “Are you saying I wasn’t raped?” I whisper.

“No, Emily. I’m saying it appears he only used his hands, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t raped.”

I understand that it means the bastard still violated me. “Thank you. Can I please go shower now?” He rubs my arms and says, “Of course.”

Maggie wheels me back into the hallway; I don’t make eye contact with anyone and neither Dane nor Salvatore attempt to approach me. Once inside the bathroom, Maggie turns on the shower and wheels me to it.

“Now, honey, take as long as you like. Try to give those legs of yours a good wash. It’s okay if the wheelchair gets wet. Would you like me to wheel you closer to the shower?”

“Yes please, my feet hurt.” I pause and ask, “Maggie could you help me? Please?”

“Yes, honey, that’s what I’m here for, so let’s get you cleaned up.”

Salvatore

I
watch as she is wheeled past me, not making eye contact with either of us. I turn and stare at Doc Jordan who is collecting his swabs and God knows what else.

I walk into the room and ask, “Was she raped? Did he rape her?” My tone is gruff and I am to the point.

Doc rubs his hand over his face and says, “It is up to Emily to disclose that. I am bound by law not to discuss it. I will tell you that I need the Sheriff to talk to her.”

He has told me without telling me. By law, he has to report this to the police. I nod and I turn to look at Dane. I shake my head in the negative at him.

He walks up to the Doctor and says, “I know this is not something I should ask you Doc, but we know who’s done this and we will...deal with him in‐house. Is there any way you could make this go away?”

Doc Jordan stands and stares at each of us. He sighs and says, “I can get into a lot of trouble, I can lose my license.”

“No one but us will know. We would not betray you.” Dane nods in agreement.

“If Emily doesn’t want to follow this through, I would be ok with that,” says the Doctor.

“What about the nurse?” I say.

“She will do whatever Emily wants her to do. It’s no secret but years ago, Maggie was gang raped in New York. She is and always will be on the victim’s...survivor’s side.”

I nod at Doc and walk outside. I can hear Dane talking to him but I block it out. I can feel my rage go from explosive to white hot, simmering under the surface. I have not felt this way since my father. I walk down to the bathroom door where Emily is. I’m staring at it, trying to decide the best course of action, when Doc puts his hand on my shoulder.