Hell's Riders MC

“You fucking whore!” he yelled as he swung at me.

I tried to block the punches, but he was ten times stronger than me. I rolled away, but he followed.

“Please, Caleb,” I cried as he continued to beat me.

“You want to flirt with other men? Nobody will ever want trash like you. I’m going to show you what happens to trash.” He towered above me, big fists clenched and ready to keep punching.

My vision dimmed and blurred as I fought to stay conscious, but no matter how hard I tried to focus, the world kept slipping into darkness. I wanted to let go and be with my mom, wanted to escape the pain. Fresh terror flared inside me as he ripped open my dress.

“No, Caleb. Stop, please, I love you!” My hands battered at him, but I couldn’t do anything to stop him.

After he finished, it felt like a knife had sliced me to the bone.

As I slowly slipped away into unconsciousness, I felt someone pick me up and put me down on a bed.

The glow of a soft light called to me. Should I go into it? I wanted to. I let my body float toward it, then stopped myself. Something was wrong…I knew I should stay here…but the light felt so warm.

“Ma’am, can you hear me? Ma’am, can you tell me your name?” a voice called from far away.

“Mia… Mia Rodgers,” I whispered faintly.

And then the world turned black.

“When the fuck is someone gonna tell me where the fuck my daughter is?” I hollered at the nurse.

“Sir, please calm down and have a seat, or I’ll have you escorted out of here.”

“I’m not going to calm down, and I’m not gonna take a damn seat. I get a phone call at two in the morning saying my Mia is here. It took me two days to get here from Southern California, and I’ll be damned if I wait another minute. Where is she?” My fists clenched as I watched her push up her glasses and check out a paper on the desk in front of her.

She sighed. “Fine. Take the elevator to the fifth floor and look for the signs pointing you toward the ICU. It’ll be a left, then a right. Her room number is 217A.”

“Thank you,” I said, running off in the direction the nurse had told me.

The elevator took so damned long I thought I might have to punch a wall by the time it let me out on the right floor. I took the left and then a right, as the nurse had told me. There it was, finally. Room 217A.

I took a deep breath and opened the door to see my princess lying in a hospital bed with an oxygen tube in her nose, a cast on her arm, and her face covered in bruises.

I sank onto the bed beside her and took her hand. Her fingers were limp and cold. Her eyes stayed shut. For the first time in ten years, I cried.

“Sir, hello, I’m Dr. Taylor. I’ve been taking care of your daughter while she’s been here.” A young, skinny man who looked like he belonged in a science lab came into the room.

“Name’s Bobby. Please, what happened to my daughter?” I steeled my voice, desperate not to break down in front of him. I had to be strong for Mia, even if she couldn’t hear me.

“Nice to meet you, sir. She was brought in here two nights ago.” Dr. Taylor hesitated, his voice calm as he looked me right in the eyes.

I had to give him credit for that. A lot of dudes wouldn’t dare look me in the face, especially when I’m worked up.

“She was beaten almost to death. Four of her ribs are damaged, and she lost quite a bit of blood, both from the beating and the large cut on her chest. Her right arm is broken into two places, and she might need surgery later on. It will depend on her taking care of it.”

A low mutter of rage growled out of me, and the doc took a careful step back. I forced my hands to uncurl from the fists I’d made, ready to punch the shit out of whoever had hurt my princess. A deep breath choked me. I had to keep myself under control—if they threw me out of here, I wouldn’t be able to help my princess, and she needed me. After all this time, I wasn’t going to let her down.

“Thank you, doc, for taking care of my princess.” I stood up and held my hand out.

“It’s no problem, sir. It’s my job. I will be back later to check on her. She should wake up soon.” He shook my hand with a firmness that impressed me, considering I was twice his size. He left us alone.

“Princess, I’m so sorry this happened. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you. I’m here now. Your old man is here.”

I sat back down, taking her hand in mine again. I brought it gently up to my lips as a lone tear fell. Hoping the sound of my voice would comfort her even if she wasn’t awake, I talked about the club and some of the guys. Mason, my right-hand man, my VP, was Mia’s uncle. Mia had not only me but also Mason wrapped around her little finger from the day she was born. I’d called him over an hour ago to tell him what had happened. He was on his way.

“I love you so much, princess. I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you lately. I never said this much when you were growing up, after your mom died, but you look so much like her. Mia, your mom would be so proud of you. I’m proud of you as well, princess.” I brushed her hair out of her face, hoping she’d give me some sign she heard me, but she stayed silent.

We stayed like that for a few hours, her sleeping and me talking quietly, until the door flew open.

Mason stormed into the room, ready to rumble, but drew up short when he saw our princess asleep with a cast on her arm, the oxygen tube in her nose, and her face bruised up. He slowly walked toward me, not taking his eyes off her.

I couldn’t blame him. I’d been like that since I got here.

“Bobby, what happened? Who did this to her?” Mason took the chair next to the bed.

“Hell if I know. She hasn’t woken up yet.” I ran a hand over my face, my eyes grainy from the long drive and the tension of seeing my princess like this. “The doc said she was beaten almost to death, and she’s got a wound on her chest. She lost a lot of blood. She might need surgery on her arm. It’s broken in two places. Four damaged ribs.”

I swallowed bitterness at what I had to tell him next.

Mason always had my back, and this time wasn’t any different. He leaned forward, his gaze driving into mine. “What, brother? What else?”

I took a deep breath and looked at my princess, then back at Mason.

“Whatever sick fuck beat her also raped her.” I couldn’t believe I had even uttered that sentence. After what had happened to Angel, I swore this wouldn’t happen to my princess.

“Who the fuck did this?” Mason leaped to his feet, his voice a furious growl.

“I don’t know,” I told him grimly, “but you can bet we’re going to find out.”