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“Fuck,” I grunt, desperate to get back out there and end him for good. The only thing stopping me is how desperately Charli needs me right now.
I slip the knife through her bound hands as gently as I can, cringing as I try to cut the rope, sick to my fucking stomach that my touch causes her pain. “Sorry, babe. This is going to hurt,” I tell her.
She lets out a pained sob, letting me know she understands, and I do what I can to make it quick for her.
Her arms come free, and she carefully brings her wrist around her body and cradles it to her chest while I work on releasing her ankles. This seems to cheer the dog up as he comes forward and starts looking her over, proving to me once again that he’s protecting her.
Charli stretches out her good hand and gives the dog a gentle scratch behind his ears, making him rub his large head up against her, but that only has Charli cringing in pain.
I try my hardest not to look at the cuts and bruises on her body, to keep myself focused, but I can’t help it. My heart breaks with every new scratch I find, but I need to know that she’s okay.
She tries to reach for me to get to her feet, but I bend down and scoop her into my arms instead. I go to leave, but Charli looks back at the dog who sits on his ass pouting, clearly upset that I’m taking her away. Charli looks back at me, trying to convey some sort of message. “You want to bring him?”
She nods ever so gently. I look back at the dog, knowing damn well I could never deny her, especially right now. “Come on,” I say, hoping the big guy understands what I’m asking of him.
To my surprise, he gets up and follows me as I take Charli out of the room and into the main warehouse where all three sets of our eyes dart around, searching for a threat.
I see the moment Charli’s gaze lands on Pitbull, her whole body tensing with unease. A sigh of relief comes out of her as she takes in the damage I’ve done, though none of it will make up for what he’s done to her. Not with the physical and mental scars he’s left behind.
Cole, Luke, Jace, and Caden have finished taking out all of Pitbull’s men and quickly look over Charli, assessing her injuries before dropping their curious gazes to the big-ass dog. Not one of them asks, just going with the flow as we hurry back out to the trucks, desperate to get Charli to the emergency room.
Jace opts to ride with Luke so I can lay Charli across the backseat of Cole’s truck. With the dog seated in the tray and Cole in the driver’s seat, we’re gunning it to the hospital. Cole hands me a bottle of water to help unstick the duct tape from Charli’s lips, and I get to work as her head rests in my lap.
I manage to get half of it off before Cole pulls up to the hospital.
“Thanks, man,” I grunt as I help Charli out of the truck.
“No problem. Get your girl inside and checked out. I’ll deal with the dog until you’re finished here,” he says, looking annoyed with the task, but I know he’ll do the right thing.
I give him a grateful nod before I rush Charli inside and watch as the hospital staff immediately come to her aid, finally able to breathe for the first time in hours.
Chapter 23
CHARLI
I’ve spent the last two days in the hospital with a nasty concussion, and it’s been driving me insane. The second Xander found me in that god-awful warehouse, all I wanted was for him to take me home to the place I feel safest. Instead, I ended up a prisoner at the hospital.
I mean, come on. I was kidnapped, beaten, and held hostage, and they wanted to hold me against my will again. Seriously? I get that I needed serious surgery on my wrist and all that, but staying in a place that wasn’t my home just didn’t sit right with me.
All I can say is that it sucked. Like, really bad. Xander stayed as long as he could before the hospital visiting hours kicked in and the nurses promptly threw him out, no matter how much he protested. Though I have to admit, it was a little comical to watch, and his persistence was admiral.
So, there I was, during every closed visiting hour, left alone with nothing but my own thoughts and memories to haunt me. Exactly what I needed. Not. I don’t know how I would have survived the warehouse without my new dog Beast. When I asked what happened to him, Xander explained that Cole had taken care of him the last few days, made sure he’d seen a proper vet, bought him all the things dogs need, and then watched as he shit all over his backyard.
