F-BOMB: Curvy Vigilantes 9: Faith
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Mary E Thompson
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25
Chapter 1
Nina Rose sat in the chair she was assigned to and glared at the sleeping bitch across the room. Gwendolyn Lennox was evil. She was mean and dangerous and not worthy of the air she breathed.
Nina imagined what it would feel like to plunge a knife into the heart of the heartless bitch who took her in twelve years ago and never let her leave. If Nina had known what she was running toward all those years ago, she never would have left home.
She stood and walked across the room. Gwendolyn almost looked human as she slept. Her blonde hair stretched over the pillows. Her mouth opened slightly. Her pink lips parted with each breath she took.
She would never stop hurting people. Nina touched the black eye Gwendolyn gave her just a few hours earlier when she decided Nina’s suggestion to turn herself in was unacceptable.
Nina was going to die in Gwendolyn’s house, like so many other women. Women Gwendolyn lied about and told Nina were going to live better lives. Women Gwendolyn sold into slavery and traded for favors. Women who would never be seen again because of the monster that Gwendolyn was.
Nina shook her head, fighting tears. She was so stupid. She believed all the lies Gwendolyn told her. Thought Gwendolyn was looking out for her like the sister she claimed to think of Nina as. But Gwendolyn just wanted a pet—someone to complain to when she was in a mood and a punching bag when she was angry.
It was the last time Nina was going to be anyone’s punching bag. And if there was a weapon in the room, it would be the last time Gwendolyn used anyone for a punching bag.
Instead, it was the night Nina finally decided to reclaim her life.
She was getting the hell out of there.
She walked to the door that led to the hallway. They weren’t in Gwendolyn’s favorite house since the police and FBI raided it, but Nina had been with Gwendolyn long enough to know all the houses—all the routines and habits and ways out.
Nina sucked in a breath and erased all the thoughts in her mind. The guards Gwendolyn hired were as ruthless as she was, and they could sniff out a lie in a second. If they didn’t believe Nina’s story, they’d wake Gwendolyn up—and Nina would be dead.
Her life depended on her being able to convince them she was running an errand for Gwendolyn. It wasn’t the first time, so Nina hoped it worked. It had to.
She opened the door quietly, spotting Fernando immediately. He gazed past Nina to the bedroom, nodding when he saw Gwendolyn sleeping.
Nina closed the door as quietly as she’d opened it and turned to Fernando. “Is there a driver who can take me on an errand?”
Fernando glared at her. “What errand?”
Nina pointed to her eye and grimaced. “I upset her. I was going to get her some of those candies she likes so much.”
Fernando glared harder. “You know better than to challenge her.”
Nina nodded, letting her tears well up. It would sell the lie. “I know. And I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I wanted to protect her.”
“What did you do?”
“I said she should think about turning herself in—blaming Damon and Trevor and Benjamin. Tell the police she didn’t know what they were doing with her company money.”
Fernando’s small smile was one of approval instead of dismissal. “Not a bad idea, but she’d never do it. She didn’t get to where she is to play the dumb blonde.”
Nina swallowed roughly, her throat sore from Gwendolyn choking her. “I know. I shouldn’t have suggested it. I was worried. We were in the house when they came in. She could have been caught.”
Fernando shook his head, the dark stringy ponytail he wore flopping over his shoulder. “She’ll never be caught. We won’t let it happen.”
Nina nodded, hoping he thought it was in agreement.
“Let me see who’s available. You go to that convenience store in the city, right? Close to that F-BOMB place?”
Nina nodded. It was working.
Fernando called someone and told them to get the car ready. When they questioned him, he said, “If I have to come down there, you won’t be able to drive anything.”
Fernando hung up and nodded to Nina. “They’ll be ready.”
“Thanks, Fernando,” Nina said, pressing her lips into a smile. She walked away and hoped like hell she’d never see him again.
The SUV was waiting for her when she arrived. Parked under the structure, a dozen vehicles waited for whatever Gwendolyn needed them for—decoy, transport, anything. She was the queen of her domain, and she made sure everyone knew it.
Nina didn’t recognize the driver, which wasn’t a bad thing. She climbed into the backseat and ignored him, watching the house disappear into the darkness as he drove away.
Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot for the convenience store. He slid the vehicle into park and met her gaze in the rearview mirror. He jerked his head to the building.
Guess he wasn’t going in—worked for her.
Nina climbed out of the SUV and wrapped the shawl around her neck, looping it up over her face to hide as much of her appearance as possible. Gwendolyn hated when Nina let anyone see her hair. The red color was distinctive and drew attention—attention Gwendolyn never wanted on Nina.
It took Nina way too many years to understand why.
Nina walked inside, nodding at the clerk. The man barely acknowledged her, which was just as good. If he wasn’t paying attention, he wouldn’t be able to tell Gwendolyn anything when Nina didn’t go back out.
Nina worked her way through the store, choosing an aisle toward the back of the store so the driver wouldn’t be able to see her. She got to the end and knew there was a gap. If he looked up at the right time, he would spot her, but if she was lucky…
Nina sprinted across the half-dozen feet of space, letting out a breath when she made it to the other side and saw the driver with his nose in his phone.
The rest was easy. Get to the office in the back, the one that was never locked, and call the one man she knew would save her.
* * *
Zeke
Zeke Donovan stood in the bullpen at work and listened to his boss share the rest of the rundown from the last few days. It was a fuck-ton of information. FBI Agent Lorelei Sloane had pieced together more than every other person out there.
And the fuckers who took her almost killed it all with her.
But they didn’t. Lorelei was safe, and she gave them what they needed to invade the stronghold of Gwendolyn Lennox’s organization.
The next step was dismantling the entire fucking thing, but that wasn’t what Rose Protection Agency was doing. Their involvement was limited.
Which suited Zeke just fine.
“What’s up next for us?” Austin Ward asked. Austin and his partner, Samuel MacNeil, were an odd couple that worked like ice cream and brownies. Good on their own, but better together.
“We have cases we’ve been working on, and a new one that just came in. Local PD might want us to protect some witnesses, especially if there are a few women who want to stick together. Most of them will go through rehab, so it might be a few months of steady work helping them out.” Montgomery Rose was Zeke’s oldest and closest friend. Also the man Zeke owed his life to, many times over.
Zeke knew that score was balanced, though. Zeke had saved Mont just as many times. But their scoresheet would never be even. Zeke would spend the rest of his life making up for the mistakes of his past. Working with his best friend and keeping Montgomery safe was Zeke’s penance.
Mont hadn’t been the same since his sister disappeared. Nina was Montgomery’s favorite person in the world, and Zeke let her vanish.
He’d never forgiven himself for it. And he never would.
“We’re good for whatever you need. Just happy we finally know who everyone is chasing,” Samuel said.
The others in the room murmured their agreement.
“When all this is done, everyone should take a few days off,” Montgomery told the room. “Go to the beach or something.”
Zeke snorted. “Are you taking time off?”
“He never takes time off,” Berkeley said, walking into the bullpen like she owned the place. As the executive assistant and all-around alpha male wrangler, she had every right to act the way she did.
“That’s why I’m asking,” Zeke said. “Come on, Mont. We all need a break. Even you.”
“I’m not interested in a beach bunny or any other kind of bunny.”
“Fuck, man, I didn’t say that. Go skydiving or SCUBA diving or something. Get the hell out of here for a little while.”
Montgomery cast a side-eye at Berkeley, who only raised one dark eyebrow at him. She was always telling him the same thing.
Zeke’s phone rang, interrupting whatever Montgomery was about to say.
They all stopped, waiting for Zeke to answer the phone. In their business, when someone called, they answered. No matter what.
“Donovan,” Zeke barked into the phone, locking his gaze on Montgomery’s. He didn’t need words to communicate with his boss.
“Zeke?” a voice whispered.
Every inch of Zeke responded to that voice. One word, and he knew exactly who it was, even if it had been twelve years since he heard her. He glanced at Montgomery. Why was she calling Zeke instead of her brother?
Zeke tore his gaze from Montgomery’s. He was wrong. He had to be. It couldn’t be her. And he couldn’t tell his best friend it was—or Mont would be crushed all over again.
They’d all lost hope, and having it back, even for a few seconds, was worse than never having it at all.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t have long. I need you.”
“Where are you?” Zeke was halfway to the door, moving toward the front of the building and ready to go.
“The convenience store we always hung out at when we were kids. Do you remember?”
“I’m on my way. Don’t move.”
“Please hurry. Park in the back.”
“I’ll be there in two minutes,” Zeke said.
She hung up.
Zeke felt like he’d been punched. Twelve years. It had been twelve years since he heard her voice. Twelve years since the woman he loved walked out of the house and never came back. Twelve years.
His heart pounded. His palms were sweaty. Every inch of him said he would never see her again if he didn’t get there soon.
He couldn’t let her disappear again. He couldn’t.
“Who was that?” Montgomery asked, surprising Zeke.
“Just a client. Needs me to go get her.” Zeke never kept anything from Montgomery. Brothers in every possible way. The look in his best friend’s eyes said he knew there was more to the story, but he also knew if Zeke wasn’t sharing, there was a reason for it.
“Are you okay to go alone?”
Zeke nodded, trying to calm his racing heart. If it really was Nina, he would bring her to Montgomery so he could see his sister. Know she was alive. Twelve years was a long time to assume she wasn’t, and false hope would crush him.
Which was why Zeke said, “All good. I’ll check in later. How long are you here?”
Montgomery looked at his watch and shrugged. “Another hour, at least. Are you coming back?”
“Possibly.”
Montgomery tilted his head. When they picked up a client, they took them somewhere safe. That rarely meant the office. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”
Zeke nodded. “I think so. I’ll try to be back soon.”
Montgomery nodded, even as his face betrayed his confusion.
Zeke was cutting it close and had to go. He wasn’t far from the convenience store, but he didn’t want to risk her leaving. He raced to his SUV and cranked it up, pulling out of the lot without bothering with a seatbelt. She was more important.
A black SUV idled in front of the store. The man behind the wheel glanced up, then returned his focus to his phone. The rest of the parking lot was empty. The store appeared to be as well, except for the clerk behind the counter.
Zeke pulled in from the other side, where the man in the SUV and the clerk wouldn’t see him. He eased his SUV to a stop next to the door that said Employees Only.
Leaving the engine running, Zeke got out. He went to the door, pulling the handle. Hope was a motherfucker, but Zeke was full of it.
The door creaked open, and there she was in the dark hallway. Standing in front of him like she’d been twelve years ago. She was older, but no less gorgeous. Her figure had filled out, giving her curves, curves, and more curves. The possessive alpha in him roared with desire, wanting to throw her over his shoulder and never let her out of his sight again.
“You came,” she whispered, looking up at him. Until he saw her eyes, he had his doubts, but that gaze was seared into his brain. It was the gaze he saw in his dreams, the one he’d been chasing for most of his life. The one he never thought he’d see again.
“Holy fuck, it is you.” Zeke reached for her, ignoring the flash of panic in her eyes. He couldn’t wait another second to have her in his arms. He lifted her off her feet, holding her to him until she melted in his embrace and sank into him.
She sighed, then inhaled a shaky breath.
He pressed his nose to her neck and whispered, “Don’t you ever fucking walk out on me again.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Zeke let out a breath and stepped outside, checking that no one else was there. “We need to go.”
She nodded and followed him, startling when she saw his SUV. It was shockingly similar to the one parked in front of the building.
“It’s mine. Get in. Lie down in the back so no one sees you.” He opened the door for her and waited, praying she hurried up but knowing he couldn’t rush her.
She took two steps forward, then threw her arms around his neck.
He inhaled deep, closing his eyes and ignoring her body odor. She was alive. Not just that, but she was back. She called him. She was going to be okay.
“Thank you for coming to get me, Zeke.”
Zeke cupped her cheeks and got a closer look at her in the bright light of the parking lot. She’d lost her childish features and grown into a beautiful woman—curves in all the right places and that same red hair that always hinted at the spark she hid from most people.
But that wasn’t all that was new. She had a black eye, handprints around her throat, and more bruises on the skin exposed by her way too small dress.
Zeke’s blood boiled. Someone put their fucking hands on her. Beat her and hurt her, and she was so scared she called him in the middle of the fucking night.
He had half a mind to pull around to the front of the store and put a knife in the throat of the man who was waiting for her. But one look in her eyes—that gray-green that mesmerized him when he wasn’t supposed to be in love with his best friend’s little sister—and he knew that wasn’t the answer.
“Let’s go,” he whispered.
Nina nodded and crawled into his backseat. She laid down on the floor, curling herself up tight and making it impossible for her to be seen.
Zeke closed the door, then slid behind the wheel. He watched his mirrors as he navigated the city, making more turns than necessary to confirm no one was following them. When he was confident, he breathed a little easier.
“Who was that?”
She was quiet, but he knew she understood what he was asking. “He was the driver. I don’t know his name.”
“Is he the one who did that to you?”
“No.”
Zeke wanted to ask more—to demand she tell him everything—but the quiet answers she gave him said she wasn’t ready to talk yet.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To my house. Let you shower and change, then we’re going to see your brother.”
“He’s here?” she gasped, as though she expected something different.
Zeke glanced in the mirror, but he couldn’t see her. He looked at the floor where she lay and hated he hadn’t been able to provide her with more than the floor of his SUV to hide.
But she was alive.
“He never stopped looking for you.”
“He didn’t?” she breathed.
Zeke shook his head, then focused on the road. He drove to his home, assuming she’d want a shower and new clothes. He had something she could wear, nothing like what she was wearing, but he didn’t think that dress was her choice.
He pulled into the driveway of his duplex and sighed when he saw Montgomery wasn’t home yet. They didn’t like the idea of having places far apart, and when the duplex was listed years ago, they jumped on the idea of having each other next door but still maintaining privacy and independence.
Something neither of them wanted for a long time after Nina vanished.
Zeke closed the garage door and let Nina out of the backseat. He helped her out, noting how fragile she seemed. He led the way around his SUV and opened the door into his house.
And was immediately met by a less-than-happy meow.
Nina gasped. “You have a cat?”
Zeke bent down to pick up Gene, a black-and-white cat with only three paws. “I have two, actually. This is Gene. He was hit by a car and lost his leg, but don’t tell him because he has no idea there’s anything different about him.”
“He’s precious,” Nina whispered, petting Gene’s head. She laughed, a husky, rusty sound, when Gene purred loudly.
“He’s needy.”
Another meow, softer and more patient, tentative, followed.
Zeke turned and spotted Franklin on the kitchen counter. He nodded toward him so Nina would see the tabby. “That’s Franklin. He thinks rules don’t apply to him and never listens.”
Nina went to Franklin and let him sniff her hand. He bumped her knuckles with his forehead, then rubbed his head under her hand, flopping on his back and exposing himself on the counter.
“Jesus, man, have some decency. She just got here,” Zeke said, shaking his head at his cat.
Gene meowed, as though agreeing with Zeke.
Nina laughed again. “They’re wonderful.”
“They’re pretty great, yeah.”
The silence stretched between them. Zeke had a million questions, but he didn’t think he could ask her any of them.
“So, um, the bathroom is upstairs. I’ll show you where everything is and get you some clothes to change into. Montgomery lives next door, but he’s not home, so when you’re cleaned up, I’ll find out where he is and we can go see him.”
Nina nodded, patting Franklin on the head, then following Zeke up the stairs.
The cats followed along, winding between Zeke and Nina’s feet and making her laugh. Zeke fought all the emotions rising up, knowing he had to keep it together until he handed her over to her brother. Zeke didn’t know why she called him and not Montgomery, but it didn’t matter.
She was back.
He went to his bedroom and grabbed the smallest pair of shorts he had, ones with a drawstring, and a dark tee. He didn’t have underwear that would fit her, but he hoped the clothes would be enough for now. He’d buy her an entire fucking store tomorrow—anything she needed.
She followed behind him, barely two feet away the whole time. When he showed her the bathroom off his bedroom, she sucked in a breath. “Wow.”
“Take your time. I’ll be downstairs. Whenever you’re ready to come back down, you can, but there’s no rush.”
“Zeke?” she whispered.
“Yeah, Nina?”
“Thank you for getting me.”
“Thank you for calling me.”
Nina smiled, then turned.
Zeke left the bathroom and closed the door. He closed the bedroom door, too. He wanted to sit in the room and wait for her, but she needed space.
And so did he.
Zeke went to his kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. He downed it, wishing it was something stronger. But until he talked to Montgomery, he had to make sure his mind was clear.
Zeke alternated between staring at the ceiling and wondering if she was okay—and staring at his phone and trying to figure out what the fuck to say to Montgomery.
Hey, Mont, your sister’s here. In my house. No big deal. She just called me instead of you after twelve years.
Not an option.
But Zeke was going to have to figure something out.
The shower turned off, and his heart thudded hard. She would be back downstairs soon. And he would have to take her to Montgomery.
Zeke couldn’t sit still. He paced the house, listening for Nina.
But he didn’t hear Nina. He heard Montgomery.
The garage next door opened, but it didn’t close right away.
A door opened upstairs.
Someone knocked on the front door, then a key slid into the lock.
Zeke stood still, watching as his brother and sister both moved into the room.
“Hey, Zeke. What was that call you got…?” Montgomery froze.
Nina stopped halfway down the stairs.
“Nina?”
“Hi, big brother,” Nina said.
Montgomery’s jaw dropped. His gaze scanned his sister, then swung to Zeke. “What the fuck did you do to her?”
Zeke didn’t have time to defend himself before Montgomery charged him—fists first.
