Page 43 of Coveted By Cupid

I’m about to hang up when Oaks says, “It’s going to be okay, Cupid. She’ll be okay. Just take care of her until we get there.”

Not realizing how much I needed reassurance that my woman would be fine, I let out a shaky sigh. “Thanks, Oaks.”

“No problem, Prez.” And then he disconnects.

After pocketing my cell, I carefully scoop Vanessa into my arms. She feels too light, reminding me just how fragile she is and how hard she must have fought to keep those big bastards at bay.

“You’re strong, Psyche. I’m so damn proud of you for fighting. So damn proud,” I whisper against her tender face, kissing her gently on her cheek as I rise to my feet.

The gimpy fucker I knocked out squirms on the ground, groaning in pain. He blinks up at me, probably confused about what is happening.

Anger bubbles underneath my skin, wanting to kill him, but refraining. My crew and I need to interrogate him, as well as torture him, to understand who tried to take my woman and who’s behind these other abductions. After that, I will happily end his miserable life.

I stand over him, cradling Vanessa in my arms like the treasured possession she is. “You shouldn’t have messed with her.” And then I kick him in the face with the heel of my biker boot.

The attacker’s eyes roll back in his head and he’s out like a light, or at least out long enough for me to lay Vanessa down in her bed before coming back to haul his ass inside and restrain him.

Vanessa stirs in my arms, whimpering.

“I’ve got you, Butterfly,” I tell her, walking to her apartment.

I climb the stairs, stalking towards her door without a soul exiting their apartment. Great neighbors this group is. You could be screaming bloody murder and they would rather pretend they heard nothing.

Juggling Vanessa in my arms, I dig her apartment key out of the front pouch of her backpack and unlock her door. I avoid turning on the lights, knowing light sensitivity is a possibility with a concussion, and I truly don’t want to cause her anymore pain.

When I lay her out on her bed, I gently place a kiss on her lips. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

I hurry from her apartment, rushing back downstairs and out onto the street. The fucker is still there, laying starfish on the pavement with his mouth hanging open and his eyes closed.

“Asshole,” I mutter, yanking my belt out of my pant loops and tying it around the dick’s wrists. The last thing I need is this fucker waking up and going ape-shit while I’m carrying him upstairs.

Hefting the big fucker over my shoulders in a fireman’s carry, I take him inside the complex to Vanessa’s apartment. Inside, I dump him on the couch of sin, shoving my bandana from my back pocket into his mouth. If he wakes up, he won’t be able to scream for help. I find some scarves in Vanessa’s micro closet to tie up her attacker like some Shibari sub.

With the perpetrator restrained and unable to go anywhere if he wakes, I go back outside to retrieve my hog from the middle of the road and park it along the curb. I note the streetlights being busted on the one side of the street Vanessa was likely to walk.

This was planned. She was stalked on her way home from work and attacked.

I go back inside Vanessa’s apartment, close the door, and kneel before her on the side of the bed where I laid her. I brush her unruly hair out of her face, careful to avoid the massive contusion on her forehead.

“Stay with me, Vanessa. Help is on the way, and I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CUPID

Thirty minutes pass with me sitting with Vanessa, talking to her and making sure she stays awake until my crew arrives. Her eyes remain closed, but she at least answers me in a sleepy voice when I ask her questions.

The knot on her head is quite pronounced and an angry shade of purple. She really did a number on herself trying to get away from those pricks. I’ll make them pay for targeting my woman, starting with the piece of shit restrained on her couch.

Vanessa moans, wincing with pain.

I run the backs of my fingers over her cheek, comforting her the only way I feel comfortable with until help arrives. “I know you’re hurting, Butterfly. Scalpel will be here soon.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, there’s a knock at her door.

Hating that I have to pull away from my woman, I go to the door and open it. Oaks, Marlene, Scalpel, Ruger, Drift, and Crypt are standing in the hallway outside Vanessa’s tiny studio apartment with a ton of boxes and packing tape.

I halt them at the door, raising an eyebrow at my VP. “Not that I don’t enjoy seeing your woman with you, but I thought I made it clear that we’re going under the radar for this run.”