Emily's Protectors (The Protectors 2)

Gashes all over their bodies, gaping wounds along their limbs, their faces a mask of pure agony. They’d been tortured for what could have been minutes or hours. The worst was the slashes across their breasts, blood dripping down their sides, staining the ground beneath them. Every girl was the same, too. Every slice, in position and length, exactly the same. Which made him wonder, “OCD?” He asked out loud.

“I was thinking the same. Or at the very least, something similar,” Linc said quietly.

“Fuck,” Coop said echoing everyone’s thoughts.

This guy was fucked in the head six ways from Sunday and their girl would be too if they didn’t put him to ground fast.

Waking up from a stab of pain in her hip, she looked around realizing she wasn’t at home like she thought they were taking her. She was in a very modern looking living room, laying on a sofa that felt like she was being cocooned in soft cushioning. The room was comfortable, lived in but missing anything personal. Typical bachelor pad, she thought smiling, and also wondered if it was Dane or Coop’s home? Or maybe they lived together? Thinking about it was giving her a headache because the more she thought, the more she realized she really didn’t know very much about the guys.

Getting up slowly so as not to hurt her hip anymore, she went in search of them. Taking no more than a handful of steps, she heard voices coming from the direction of an open door. Quietly walking over to it she listened for a moment. They sounded angry, really angry if Coop’s cursing said anything about it.

Looking out the small crack in the open door, she had a direct line of sight to the laptop sitting between Coop and Dane. What she saw had her gasping in shock. Oh my God, the poor woman. Is that what my fate’s going to be? she wondered, not realizing she’d made so much noise that they had all heard her and came rushing to her side thinking she was in pain, not expecting she was terrified and distressed at what she had seen.

Emily looked up at Creed knowing he’d tell her the truth; whereas, her men would try to hide it from her so she wasn’t more despondent than she felt. “He did that, didn’t he?” She questioned, motioning towards the now upturned laptop with tears streaming down her face.

At his nod, she broke. The tears came hard and heavy. She felt this weight take hold of her chest and she couldn’t breathe. Her lungs seized and her heart started pounding so fast she thought it would explode from her chest. This can’t be happening. Hearing a blood-curdling scream pierce the air, it took her a minute to realize it was coming from her.

Feeling arms wrap around her and bodies on each side, she knew Dane and Coop were sitting on the ground holding her, but the tears wouldn’t stop and she didn’t see an end in sight. Every part of her was hurting for those girls, the pain they must have suffered, and the fear they must have felt knowing they were going to die. That they would never see their family or friends again.

“I can’t, I just can’t. Those girls, they didn’t deserve that. They were better. Why is this happening? Why is he doing this to me?” She rambled, not really expecting or wanting an answer, but she needed one. Needed to know why he’d targeted her. A thought occurred and she whipped her head around to stare at a very uncomfortable looking Linc and Creed. “When?” she asked brokenly, knowing they’d know exactly what she was asking.

Looking to each other and then down to Coop and Dane, they hesitated before answering her. Seeing the guys shake their heads at them she shouted, “When?” Needing to know if it had happened before or after he’d fixated on her.

When Dane grabbed her chin, she was reluctant to look at him, needing the answers his friends had. Glaring at him she waited, holding her breath to find out. “After,” he said softly, voice full of regret.

Watching Em try to cope with this new information that her stalker is quite possibly a serial killer, sadist, and rapist was one of the hardest things Coop had ever had to do. Feeling her little body shaking in agony between him and Dane, he was back to feeling helpless again, just like after she got shot. He was fucking sick of it!

They needed to get their shit together and find this asshole so she didn’t keep going through shock after shock.

“Hey, Em, maybe you can help us? Tell us more about your life before,” Linc asked her.

“No fucking way,” Coop growled out. She didn’t need to be going through anymore bullshit. She needed to rest. To heal. He needed to take care of her, and he couldn’t do that if she were stressing about this asshole.

“Look, man, I know you wanna wrap her up in bubble wrap and think she’ll be safe. But this needs to happen. She needs to be included to know what’s going on,” Linc said forcefully.

“He’s right,” Dane said beside him, reluctance strained his voice.

Turning to look at the man he considered more of a brother than a friend, he had to wonder if he’d lost his fucking mind! You know they’re right, Coop. Shit. Fucked if they did, fucked if they didn’t.

Looking down at Emily’s soft face, he ran a finger down her beautiful cheek and searched her gorgeous green eyes to see where her head was at and If she could handle it. Leaning her face into his hand and giving him a soft smile, she nodded in answer.

“Fuck. Fine. Let’s get this shit done,” he said gruffly, standing up and pulling Emily with him.

Reaching down and grabbing the laptop he dropped upon hearing her, he slammed it shut, thrusting it at Creed before she had a chance to see the horrifying images again. “She doesn’t see any more of that shit!” He wouldn’t budge on that. She had enough to deal with that she didn’t need to see those girls in her nightmares, too.

At everyone’s nod, he relaxed slightly. Sitting and placing her in his lap, he wrapped his arms around waist, careful of her injury and nuzzled her neck whispering, “Baby girl, you smell like heaven.” Sucking on her neck lightly, he looked down to see he’d left a mark. Smirking when she blushed, he looked up meeting Dane’s eyes. The heat and desire reflected back at him had his cock straining to be inside their woman.

They fed off each other’s arousal when they were with a woman together. He knew that when they finally had Emily, owned her heart, body, and soul that anything before would pale in comparison to what they would feel with her. She would complete them. Make them whole.

What Dane had done the day before by grabbing his hand and swiping his fingers across her lips with her juices still on them, was the most sexual thing they’d ever done together. He wouldn’t lie, it was fucking hot as hell. He felt a spark go up his arm and straight to his already hard cock, and it wasn’t from Dane touching him. It was the look on Emily’s face as she followed his hand and the kiss they shared afterwards. Nothing gave him more pleasure then seeing her receive hers, whether it came from him or Dane.

Emily, wiggling in his lap, had his cock standing at attention again. “Baby.” He growled low in her ear. Eyes still on Dane, he could see him fighting back a smile. Narrowing his eyes on him, Dane glared back. Turning his head to get back to business, he gave her hip a squeeze to refocus her as well. “Later baby, you’re ours.” He promised.

Spending the rest of the day peppering Emily with questions about her work, school, and anything else they could come up— only stopping to eat dinner— he didn’t feel like they were any closer to finding out who her stalker was than when they started. Emily spent most of the day rotating between sitting on his lap or Dane’s, rarely sitting anywhere on her own. He knew they both felt the need to have her as close as possible, and he felt better when one or both of them had their hands on her.

“Emily, tell me about Henry Stubbs,” Creed suggested, finally getting to who they thought might be her stalker, but he still felt like it was too easy. The guy had a fixation for sure. But it was for the world to see. Her stalker was too meticulous, too quiet. Stubbs was too clean. He didn’t have the personality for it.

“Henry?” she asked. “I don’t know. He asked me out a couple times. I didn’t like him like that, though, so I always said no. Wouldn’t have been fair to lead him on, right?”