Unchained (Hogan Brothers 3)

“She’s fucking gone, Frank. I told her she would be safe here, and doctor no-dick made me a fucking liar.”

“That’s some strong language from you, boy.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Frank, not now. My girl is gone, and I know I’m not getting on that compound without some kind of backup. The question is, will that be with you or just my brothers?” He wasn’t going to fuck around with some investigation bullshit. Not now.

“I’ve got warrants set to go already. Judge Talbot is real interested in what’s happening out there. State Troopers are meeting us at the gates, so get your ass downstairs while my officers come up there to talk to staff and hold doctor no-dick for questioning.”

Hanging up, he headed out of the room just as two uniformed officers were entering. Rushing past them, he saw the hallway was teaming with law enforcement.

“Get her back, Lochlan,” Kirsten encouraged as he ran past her. Nodding, he kept on his way, down the stairwell and out to the parking garage.

“I’ve already called your brothers. They’re making sure the girls are secure with some special forces fella then meeting us out there,” Frank told him as he climbed into the cruiser.

Frank’s statement pissed Loch off even more. The fact that Nox and Levi felt the need to make sure the girls were safe was a fucking problem for him. Not because he thought they were wasting time but because it was even an issue to begin with.

“This would sure be a lot easier if you’d have married the girl,” Frank half-joked. “Then she’d really belong to you, and I wouldn’t need no pesky warrant to just barge in there to check on her well-being.”

Loch sat up straighter at his suggestion. Marry her. She would legally be his. No one could take her from him then.

“Now boy, you listen here, don’t go getting foolish on me. I was only kidding. I’d still need the warrant; it’d just be easier to get.” All Frank was doing was making the decision easier on Loch.

“But, if she were my wife, they couldn’t keep trying to make her marry this other guy. She would legally be mine. By law, she couldn’t marry anyone else.” Loch reasoned.

“Shit. Your Ma is going to skin me alive,” Frank muttered.

The rest of the ride was tense but quiet, and soon enough, they were approaching the land her compound occupied and cruisers with lights flashing lined both sides of the highway. An ambulance stood off in the distance, and Loch remembered the last time he was there.

“If she’s anywhere near that snake pit again, I’m going to kill him.” It didn’t matter which him it was. Someone would be losing their life.

“Fuck.” Frank’s muttered curse as they climbed from the vehicles went unheard by everyone around them, as the Troopers were cutting the gate locks with bolt cutters and a negotiator was on the phone with someone.

Loch waited impatiently while the law decided what the fuck they were going to do.

Until he heard it.

Heard her.

“Lochlan!”

So many flashing lights heading towards the gates had brought everyone from their homes as the van Sage was in came barreling down the driveway. Relief unlike anything she’d ever known had swamped her upon seeing the vehicles screeching to a halt almost as soon as the gates had been locked.

Morgan hadn’t stopped fondling her legs and arms, even once getting brave enough to run his fingers along her exposed collarbone. She’d begun heaving at that point, and had he not stopped his movements, she wouldn’t have been able to stop the acid rising in her throat from being expelled.

“Get her inside,” her father snapped as her siblings came running out the front door of their home.

“Sage!” Jossilyn gasped. Excitement lit her eyes, but terror rang through her voice.

“I’m fine, Joss.” She tried to be reassuring. Even though Joss was the older of the two, Sage had always been the one to care for her.

“You have to let her go,” Porter tried to reason with Gideon. “She’s eighteen now. It’s her choice.”

It hit her then. She had missed her own birthday because of the abuse bestowed upon her from her “family.” It was so trivial that it shouldn’t matter, but it did. It was huge, and she was a clueless girl. Of course, that was why Loch felt comfortable enough to kiss her. To touch her. She couldn’t imagine another moment without his caress. She needed his strong hands to replace the repulsion from Morgan’s grip.

Not understanding how or why, her heart just knew her white knight was there. He had to be.

“Lochlan!” She screamed as loud as she could, startling Morgan into letting her go, and she ran. For the gates, for freedom, for Lochlan. Sage moved as fast as her still weak body would carry her.

“Sage!” Loch’s voice was a balm to her erratic heart.