Bad Boy Savior (Bad Boy 4)

I glanced back at him, wondering who he was. He had the same dark hair and beefy face as Sergei, and I wondered if he wasn't Sergei's son or some other relation.

"Go, pizda´. It was fun. Maybe some other time if your boyfriend doesn't cooperate, we'll meet again. You got nice tits."

I stood and saw there was an open door leading outside. Hunter must be out there. Why didn't he come inside and get me?

I limped to the door, barefoot, wearing only a thin bloodied t-shirt and my jeans, which were wet between my thighs.

"Hunter?"

I got to the door and felt exhausted, but hope filled me when I saw him standing in a group of armed uniformed men, their weapons drawn. When he saw me, his face blanched and I could see his body tense.

"Let me go to her," he said, his voice low, almost a growl.

One of the black-uniformed men pointed a weapon at Hunter's head. "You stay." The soldier turned to me and waved me forward. "You come," he ordered.

I leaned in the doorway, my legs wobbling, tears of relief in my eyes.

"Hunter," I whispered and fell, my legs finally giving out. Hunter pushed past the soldier and came to me, kneeling beside me, hooking his arms under mine and picking me up. He kissed my cheek, my forehead, and I sobbed, so relieved he was there. I slipped my arms around his neck while he carried me down the stairs and tucked my face into his neck. He took me to the waiting SUV where James stood, his hand on the door, holding it open. His face was grim, his expression one of horror.

I must look pretty bad.

Hunter placed me gently into the back seat and I lay down, lacking the strength to do up my seatbelt. Hunter did it for me, adjusting it so I could recline. He got in beside me, and I lay my head in his lap.

"Let's go," he said. I caught a glimpse through the darkened windows of men holding up their weapons, the warehouse disappearing as we drove off.

"Where to?"

"Mass General emergency."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Take me to your safe house. I don't want doctors poking and prodding me."

"You need a rape kit, x-rays, blood tests," Hunter said and stroked my hair. "Don't argue with me."

I didn't have the strength to argue and so I closed my eyes and tried to let everything go.

I was safe now.

Hunter had come to rescue me.

"What did he make you do?" I managed to ask.

"Shh," Hunter said and stroked my cheek. "Don't you worry about anything but recovering."

"He made you do something bad," I said, unable to keep the man's words out of my mind. "Tell me what I cost you."

"I'd pay anything," he said softly. "You have to know that. Anything."

I finally relented, and tried not to think of what had happened to me. Instead, I thought about being safe – finally safe.

I was taken right into a room in the ER when Hunter carried me inside and told the triage nurse I'd been raped and beaten.

A nurse came in with us and did a preliminary exam, then an ER doc came in and did his assessment, telling me I'd be getting a rape kit, x-rays to check for broken bones, and a CT scan of my head to check for concussion. I was taken immediately for several x-rays and the CT scan, after they checked my blood pressure to make sure I wasn't bleeding internally. When that was finished, a special nurse did the rape kit, which I had no idea would take so long and involved plucking out dozens of pubic hairs, swabbing me, examining me, and taking photographs. She explained everything to me and advised me to get some counseling because of the trauma I had experienced.

"Even if you don't remember everything now, you may have vivid dreams and at times, you might remember parts of the rape that you don’t recall now. It will help if you have someone to talk to who knows how to deal with this. We have resources that you can use when you get out."

I thanked her. When it was all over, I was taken back to my room and a lab tech came to draw blood. Finally, I lay on a gurney in an examining room, Hunter standing beside the bed, my hand in his.

He leaned down and kissed me tenderly on the mouth. "How are you?"