The problem was that when she was a kid, Ridge hadn't really wanted to kill her, he wanted to turn her into his mini-me, and when he realized that wasn't happening, he at least wanted to use her as his slave to do all the housework and chores. Likewise, Steel hadn't really wanted her dead when he’d had her locked in the underground cell and pumped freezing air into the room.
Both of those things had been done to her in an attempt to break her spirit. But the weather didn't care about her spirit. It wasn't just trying to shatter her into pieces that could then bereassembled in her tormentor’s image. It would just freeze her to death because it was simply doing what it did.
A slight rumble in the distance caught her attention, and Rose’s head snapped up. She’d been lying on the ground, curled up in a ball, trying to conserve as much heat as she could manage, but now she shifted her stiff muscles and forced herself to stand.
In addition to the quiet hum of an engine, she could just make out lights dancing through the trees.
Ridge was coming.
It had been five years since she’d laid eyes on her brother, and she could have gone a lifetime without seeing him again.
“This is for a good cause,” she reminded herself. “In just minutes, Ridge is going to be the one begging for mercy, and no one is going to show him any.”
Watching as the lights came closer, the engine louder, Rose soon saw there wasn't just one vehicle, but five of them. Her brother must be worried that the guys were out there somewhere, hunting her, and he was being led into a trap.
Still, his ego had brought him here anyway. He wanted Steel and the others back, and he knew this was his best chance at getting to them, so he was prepared to risk it. She had no doubt that each one of those vehicles was filled with as many men as there was space for, but honestly, Ridge could have brought with him an entire army and he still wasn't going to win.
By the time the vehicles pulled to a stop before her, Rose shook so badly she ached. Her muscles protested the constant sharp movements, but there was no way for her to stop them no matter how badly she wanted to.
A man dressed all in black was the first to step out of one of the vehicles. He carried in his hands an M16, and he scanned the area, paying no attention to her.
Next out was her brother and following him were more men in black who piled out of the other cars, but Rose’s attention was locked on the man before her. They looked like siblings, both had the same pale skin and smattering of freckles, both had the same red hair and deep forest green eyes. But that was where their similarities ended.
Her brother was a psychopath, lacking the ability to feel any empathy toward another living being. He was cruel because it amused him, and he believed himself to be superior to everyone he encountered. He was an evil man, and while maybe she had some issues thanks to her messed-up family, she would only ever hurt another person to save herself, never for fun.
“You're a mess,” he sneered as he looked her over, probably annoyed he’d have to put her dirty self in his pristine car, which no doubt had smooth leather seats in his favorite shade of dark blue. Her brother was nothing if not predictable.
“Gee, I'm so sorry that I'm filthy because I was abducted because someone hates you and decided to use me to get to you,” she snapped, hating the chattering of her teeth took the heat out of her words. As a child, she never would have spoken back to her brother like that. Instead, she’d given him silence when he yelled and screamed at her, punished and tortured her, because she knew he hated her stoic silence.
Now she wasn't a child, nor was she powerless. She wanted the rage she felt for him to be known.
“Ungrateful wench. Always have been,” Ridge snapped.
“Wench? Are you a thirteenth-century nobleman?”
Irritation all but sparking off him, her brother nodded at the only other person not dressed all in black and holding a weapon. The other man was a little younger than her brother, but older than she was, maybe more the same age as Steel and his team. Giving her a look like he was almost afraid to get too close to her,Rose actually relaxed at the thought. At least this man wasn't going to get a kick out of hurting her.
“Strip,” Ridge ordered. “I won't take a chance that they put a tracker in your clothes in case you escaped.”
It was more the cold than the fact that she would have to get naked in front of two dozen men that had her stomach dropping. The material of her pajamas might be thin and no match for the cold, but at least it was something.
Knowing arguing was pointless, her shaking fingers struggled to undo the buttons, but she got them undone and shrugged out of her pajama top, then the bottoms, leaving her fully exposed to the elements.
Ridge’s nose curled up as his gaze skimmed her body, then settled on the bite mark on her breast. “They bit you. Animals. That’s all they are, no better than an animal. Check her for trackers.”
Fury lit a fire inside her at the insult to Steel. It was Ridge’s fault that his DNA had been altered, that he had been forced to give up his life, that he battled rage he managed to keep contained enough to function, and suicidal thoughts. If anyone there was no better than an animal, it would be her brother, only concerned with himself and his own wants, needs, and desires. Hell, a lot of animals showed more compassion to others than her own brother was capable of.
The timid man stepped up, giving her an almost apologetic look as he ran a wand over her. It set off as it passed over her head, picking up on the tracker behind her ear. Leaning in, the man ran his fingers over her skin, and she had to fight not to sigh and lean into the minimal warmth.
“Here, she has one taped behind her ear,” timid man called out.
“I didn't know,” she hurried to assure her brother, unsure if Ridge would blame her.
“Of course you didn't. You were never smart enough to know much of anything.”
The insult slid easily off her. Rose knew she was smart, smart enough to have figured out her best bet at freedom was pretending she wasn't smart. Thankfully, the timid man seemed in a hurry to get this over with, because he didn't re-check to make sure there were no other trackers close to the one he’d found, and therefore missed the one injected just under her skin a mere inch from the one taped on.
Buzzing again when it reached her feet, timid man stooped and ran a finger over her ankle, coming away with another of the trackers. That still left four, and one for sure he’d already missed. Peeling off the tracker on her ankle, he didn't find the one injected under her skin close by, and when he stood, Rose let out a sigh of relief.
