Despite the situation, I smile, even just for a second because mysweet boy,my Riley is still here.Alive. The chaos around me starts to come into clarity as two gloved hands take over mine, poking and prodding at Riley.
“Don’t fucking touch him!”I spit as a fiery flash of rage takes over my body. My eyes snap to the man trying to take him from me, but his face never wavers from checking on Riley. Fists clenched, I shoot to my feet, ready to fucking tear this asshole’s face off when a large hand grips the back of my neck and whips me around to face him. It’s Jett.
“He’s going to get him out of here, look him over, and start on his care once he gets to the SUV. Let him work.” His words are entirely too fucking calm for the situation we’re in. But then, he looks over his shoulder before looking back at me as I fight against his hold. Pain radiates through his irises and my mind clears, understanding his next words. “I’ll make sure he’s taken care of. I swear it. Butsheneeds you now.”
My body goes rigid as I register his words.
Collins.
Chapter 8
Creed
“YOU GOOD, BROTHER?”
“Collins,” I repeat absentmindedly, and Jett nods grimly at me. It kickstarts my brain, and the panic I felt over Riley shifts. The fear and dread and relief all crash over me like a tsunami as my focus homes in on my girl.
Breaking from Jett’s hold, I rush across the room, kicking Guy’s bloody body out of my way in my haste to get to Collins. I wish he were still alive, if only to feel the pain of being kicked and thrown around a room like the fucking sack of shit he is.
I get to the foot of the bed, and the sight before me sends a rush of nausea through my core. Because there she is. Collins.MyCollins. My Stardust. My girl. And she’s…fuck.
I want to break down at the sight of her but instead I stare in disbelief of what I’m seeing. If I thought she looked tiny before, she’s a fucking ghost of that in comparison now.
“Creed,” Asher’s cracked sob jerks my attention to him. “Come on.Come on!You-you need to h-help me get her the f-fuck out of these…thesefuckingrestraints!” Tears fall in heavy rivulets down his cheeks, his nose red, and lips rolled between his teeth as he frantically tries to free Collins with trembling hands. Harsh, sobbing bursts of breath escape him when hefrees one hand and rushes around to work on the other, a second medic taking his previous place, gently probing around her face and neck for signs of injury before we move her.
Asher has finally fucking broken, and I quickly realize that I’m right there with him. There’s no containing the swell of emotions anymore. I’m a fucking mess at the sight of her. The only thing keeping me tethered to the calm side of this insanity roiling through me is the fact that she’s breathing long, languid breaths. She’s deep in a dissociative episode, tucked into a dark corner of her own mind, but she’salive.
My muscles lock up when I get my first real look at her before the medic covers her body, granting modesty to the exposure of her bare thighs and hips.
A pained cry pushes through my weakened facade and my knees buckle beneath me. The shirt that barely covers her body is spotted with smears and stains of blood. I’m fucking frozen to the spot when I see that one in particular had bloomed and dried directly over the center of her breast. The shoulder where her delicate floral tattoo once sat is covered by a bloody sleeve, and the black ink is nowhere in sight. Nausea hits me hard again and I fight the urge to bend over and heave.
Tears fall uncontrollably from my eyes as I take her in. Cuts and slices litter her body from her shoulders to her thighs. I can’t even begin to imagine what Collins has been through, but I’m feeling every bit of her pain as if it had happened to me. I spring into action, unable to bear the sight of her laying spread out on this bed any longer. Asher works shakily on the second cuff as I move to her ankles, momentarily freezing at the sight of a fucking spreader bar keeping her legs spread too far apart. There’s a heavy chain connected in the middle, the other end secured to a bolt in the floor.
I hiss a curse, wanting so badly to sink more bullets into Guy’s lifeless body as I get to work on the ankle straps. Myhands are shockingly steady, and I’m able to free her limbs just as Asher releases the last cuff. I barely register the medic noting no immediate injury to her neck before I’m scooping her up from the bed, her body entirely too light in my arms.
Pulling her tighter against me, I bury my nose in her hair for a brief moment and cry, fucking heartbroken for her, but savoring the fact that she’s alive.
A small, breathy hitch rushes past her chapped lips as her whole body tenses at my touch, and I curse myself for the hundredth time for fucking failing her. I press a whisper of a kiss to the crown of Collins’ head before whispering, “It’s Creed, Stardust.It’s me, baby. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
Asher appears behind me, reaching over my shoulder to stroke a tangled, white strand away from her face. A rogue tear falls free and lands on her cheek as he hiccups and chokes out, “Let’s get you out of here, Bug.”
I refuse to let anyone take her from me, so Asher tucks the sheet more securely around her body, keeping her completely covered as we make our way out of the building. Guy is no longer in the room, and a trail of blood marks the path where they dragged his body away. Camdan stands guard at the entrance and watches us as we carry Collins to safety. There’s a haunted look in his eyes as he stops Asher, speaking to him in a low tone, but I don’t wait for him.
The armored SUVs that were once parked on the far end of the property now wait just outside. I lengthen my stride, glancing down at Collins in my arms. She’s still out of it, but her delicate brow is now furrowed in pain. The battered muscle in my chest squeezes so tightly that I feel the agony of it flooding throughout my entire body. I’d do anything to take her pain away.
The sound of footsteps crunching against the gravel ahead of me has my head snapping up. I’m automatically on alert becauseanyone who tries to separate me from Riley and Collins from here on out is an automatic threat. When I see that it’s my father, I force myself to relax and quicken my pace to get to him.
“Is she…?”
“She’s alive,” is all I choke out before asking, “Riley? Is he okay?”
“This way,” he directs, avoiding my second question. His hand presses against the small of my back and leads me to one of the vehicles in the middle with the hatchback open. Rounding the vehicle, I notice the back and middle seats have been folded down to create a makeshift ambulance. Riley is tucked against one side of the vehicle, his body wrapped in white sheets, straps holding him securely against a small stretcher. His face has been wiped clean of the dried blood, but he still looks so pale that it has my stomach bottoming out with worry and dread.
Jett sits just past Riley’s head, right behind the driver’s seat, holding a bag of fluids that are running through an IV that disappears beneath the blankets that cover Riley’s body. Dad climbs in before me and turns around, holding his arms out, indicating he wants to help me get Collins into the vehicle. I want to snarl and snap at him becausehow dare he try to take her from me, but I have to force my brain to remember that this is my father, and he would never harm her or keep her from me.
After taking a lingering look at her face, I lift her into my father’s arms, and he works swiftly to get her situated on the stretcher behind the passenger seat while I practically jump into the back behind him.
Dad pulls the strap over her chest and cinches it before raising his head, his dark eyes meeting mine. “Secure her legs so we can get them out of here, Creed.”
