His words and the aches and pains in her body as she remembered where she was, took complete control of her mind. Kenny, Blake, and Quinn were standing there in the room, too, and they looked angry. She blinked her eyes. Her grip on Virgo?
??s shirt by his neck firm. Her hands were locked in place as she looked at them, saw her swollen knuckles, and felt the pain.
“I’m going to give you something to help you sleep.” Doc’s voice drew her toward him. She stared at him and he looked so upset. She felt the twinge of throbbing pain not only in her head but her cheek.
“Lay back down, baby. Let Doc give you something and then I’ll take you home.”
“Home?” she asked, and thought about her cottage and being all alone. She shook her head. “No. No, Virgo, don’t leave me.”
He helped lay her back down on the examining table. He was bent over, and she was flat on her back. She stared into his eyes. The blue was filled with such emotion. He caressed her good cheek.
“I meant to our home. I’m not letting you out of my sight. I’m going to protect you, Sage, so no one can ever try to take you from me again.” She saw the sincerity and honesty in his eyes, but also something else. Something that told her he was different. She hugged him to her, wedged her face in the crook of his thick neck that smelled so good, so Virgo. His cologne, his masculinity, his arms of safety consoled her body immediately.
“Don’t let me go, Virgo. I need you.”
Chapter 9
“What the fuck was he thinking?”
“Her name was on the top of the list. Scorpion saw her in some of the surveillance pictures of the Amanda woman. He liked her immediately, and wants her for himself,” Rye told his partner.
“The fuck he does. She’s mine. I’ve been very patient, and was getting ready to make a move, when that asshole sent in the snatcher like that? What the hell? I’m in charge of picking these women, and then offering them as I see fit. Tell fucking Scorpion to stand down. Sage is mine. Now I’ll have to wait even longer to grab her and take her with me. He fucked everything up.”
“I’m sorry. If you had explained that she was yours, I never would have given her location to them,” Rye told him.
“Why the hell would they hold on to cell phones?” he asked.
“To get more names, potential product. Sage’s pictures were all over the photos on that phone.”
He was silent a moment. “Get the photos off there, only of Sage, and send them to me.”
“You’ll love them. There’s one when she’s wearing this tiny pink bikini. The woman has a golden body.”
He grunted angrily. “Keep your eyes off my fucking woman. She’s special. She’s the one, and when I have her and take her out of this fucking country, no one will ever be able to take her away from me.”
“You’re still considering leaving? After all these years running this operation?” Rye asked him.
“Ten years of this is enough for me. I swore after retiring from the military that I would take some time to relax, and wouldn’t go back to the life I led before enlisting.”
“But the salary for a soldier is shit,” Rye said and chuckled.
The fuckhead hadn’t a clue about serving one’s country. He was an opportunist.
“That was years ago. But now that I found her, I don’t need to continue. I’ve got plenty of money and resources to evade being captured. Eventually these town people will forget about Sage. I’ll make it so that they think she’s dead. It’s gonna cost me, but it will be worth it in the end. Now, get me those pictures and be sure to eliminate those three assholes who nearly fucked up the operation. Call the guys in Houston. They know how not to fuck up.”
* * * *
Dale was lying in bed next to Sage. She had moaned and groaned throughout the night. She even jerked a few times as if she were fighting off her attacker in her dreams. Dale cuddled closer. The others were downstairs, trying to aid in the investigation and help to find Amanda and the other four women. Lena was at the bed-and-breakfast after offering rooms to the Federal agents now involved to stay at during the investigative process. They were using Pearl as their main headquarters, along with the sheriff’s department. At least it kept the other members of the community feeling safe.
Men were being extra cautious of their women, and those women who weren’t in a relationship were taken under the protection of the deputies and men of Pearl. It was a close-knit community, so they all felt that they were doing their best to keep it safe.
Dale caressed Sage’s cheek, and stared at her battered face. Her bruised cheek was now discolored, and her chin had two thin scabs on it. She lay on her side with her bandaged arm resting in front of her on the sheets. Only thirty minutes ago, Virgo was there, but he went downstairs to check with the others for any updates.
Dale thought about how they all made love to her on Sunday, and how desperate he felt to possess her in the shower, and mark her his woman. It was so caveman-like, a prehistoric way of thinking, but that was how much he wanted and adored her. She had been through enough as a kid in Detroit, and she shouldn’t be dealing with something like this now, too.
He thought about how angry he had gotten with her, and that he should have followed his gut and made her stay with them instead of allowing her to go to Dallas. He thought it was just him being a macho jerk. Hell, he feared she would think he was a macho jerk, who wanted control and power over her. That kind of behavior would not suffice for Sage. She was educated, empowered, and that was why she was with them right now. She saved her own life.
She moaned softly and then jerked, rolling to her back. Her eyes shot open.