Guarding His Heart (18 page)

Another shifter stepped forward with his hand extended. “We found one of their tranquilizer darts on the ground, filled with whatever they used to knock everyone out. There was also a torn piece of paper with what appears to be part of an address written on it.”

Jag held his hand out, eager to find wherever Lynn and Kitty were taken. “There’s only a street number and the letter N,” he growled. What the hell was he supposed to do with that?

“Easy, Jag. We’ll do a search for all the streets in a fifty-mile radius beginning with N then we’ll find those with a matching address. And when we do locate it, we’ll wipe out every last one of these fuckers,” Dylan promised. “I won’t have them coming after any members of my Pride again.”

A vibration from Jag’s cell cut off his reply. “Shit,” he hissed as he struggled to pull it out. “It’s a text message from Lynn’s phone.”

Pulling up their conversation on his screen, Jag saw it was actually a video. Dread settled in his heart as he forced his finger to tap play. The first thing he noted was the concrete walls and floors as whoever manned the camera panned around the small room. A chain came into view, the end anchored to a thick bolt in the floor. There was no sound at all, but as the cameraman followed the winding path of the links, a bare foot came into view, followed by slender legs and on up until Jag stared at Lynn, clad only in her bra and panties. Her hands were bound before her, the heavy chain attached between her tiny wrists. She lay so still, he feared the worst, but the slightest moan came through, followed by a sinister chuckle.

“The games will begin soon, feline. I wonder who will win.”

The video cut off. The phone shook in Jag’s palm. He’d recognized the voice as one of the men from before, and he made sure to commit it to memory. Death would visit that man soon. “Get someone searching for that address now,” Jag ordered. “She’s alive, and I want her to stay that way, damn it!”

Everyone but Dylan and Liam scattered, hopefully to find the answers he needed because right now there wasn’t much Jag could do without completely losing control. His skin crawled with the need to change forms. His claws had already extended, and his canines were prominent enough to make closing his mouth difficult. “I need to run.”

“You need to remain in human form,” Dylan replied. “If they happen to call, instead of text, you have to be available to speak to them. I doubt they’ll be patient enough for you to shift back, and they may even take it out on Lynn.”

He had a point, but Jag still had to do
something
.

“Come with me.” Liam turned and headed for the door. “Let’s go outside before you start demolishing the house. It’s obvious you’re only seconds from hitting something, and I’m pretty sure Lynn wants to come home to her house the way she left it.” They all looked at the mess left by the struggle the women had put up before their kidnapping. “Well, you know what I mean.”

He did, and Liam was right. Jag not only wanted to hit something; he wanted to pound someone into the ground. When they got out in the yard, Liam surprised him, taking a defensive stance and crooking his finger. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Dylan stood on the porch, watching with an almost amused expression. “Just remember all the times he flirted with Lynn, Jag.”

“Hey, whose side are you on? I’m just trying to help him let off a little steam, not get killed!” Liam exclaimed.

Jag realized then how lucky he was to have these two as his friends. Given Jag’s fighting skills and the level of aggression coursing through him, Liam was incredibly brave to allow Jag to use him as a punching bag. Nevertheless, Jag would take Liam up on the offer because Dylan was right and Jag would never risk letting Lynn down.

Finally letting go, Jag tossed his phone to Dylan then launched himself at Liam.

* * * *

Lynn came to with a groan. Her jaw ached, and she felt as if she’d been lying on a block of ice. It took only a few minutes to realize just how bad the situation was. She was on the ground in a small square room, wearing nothing but her undies. Her hands were bound in thick shackles attached to a chain connected to a loop in the floor. The room had no windows, the only light coming from a bare bulb, hanging overhead.

She followed the second chain length and discovered Kitty on the other side of the room. Her friend was a bloody mess, her usual black-and-white streaked hair now dirty and matted with what appeared to be dried blood. She’d also been stripped down, but her body looked as if she’d been severely beaten, too. Bruises riddled her pale skin, and one of her eyes was swollen, though still open.

“Are you all right?” Lynn felt stupid even asking, but she knew shifters were different and healed faster. Aside from being cold, Lynn only hurt from where she’d been decked before being brought here.

“I’ll live. How about you? Looks like you took a pretty good shot from one of them. Still have all your teeth?” Kitty half-crawled over, and Lynn saw her friend’s ankles were cuffed as well. “I can’t come very close because my arms are attached to the ring in the middle of the room, but my legs are chained to the wall over here. With the lengths they put on me, I can’t even stand.” Kitty sighed. “Mine are silver, so if I struggle too much and cut myself with them, it will really suck. Otherwise, I could have had us both free by now.”

“I wonder why they gave me so much slack then? My legs are free, and I can probably walk over to where you are.”

“They aren’t scared of you. You’re human, and they know you can’t hurt them.” Kitty frowned as she studied Lynn’s restraints. “I can’t tell from here whether or not your chains are silver.”

“What difference does it make? I’m not strong enough to break them.” Lynn tugged her wrists apart. The sound of the chains rattling echoed off the walls in their prison. Hell, even those in prison were lucky enough to have a toilet and sink in their cells.

The thing Lynn found most disturbing was the drain in the middle of the room. There were no showerheads or any other source of water in sight. That left her imagination coming up with all manner of horrific reasons for it to be there. Kitty’s gaze followed hers.

“I can smell blood coming from it, but there are other things too,” she said, nearly sending Lynn into a full-out panic attack. “There’s no telling where we are though. This could be an old butcher’s place, or a morgue. It would explain the scent, but I’ve got a feeling we aren’t that lucky.” Suddenly, Kitty’s head jerked to the side, her eyes narrowing. “Someone’s coming. Get back against the wall and lay down. Maybe, they’ll think you’re still out. They’ve been checking every so often. The last time, I played like I was still out, but I watched them video you on your phone. I’m not sure, but I think they sent it to Jag.”

“Oh, God,” Lynn whispered. She could only imagine what Jag would feel if he saw her like this. Would he blame himself again? He’d done everything he could to try to save her when she’d been abducted. Right now, she took comfort in them sending things to him. That meant they hadn’t killed Jag while he was drugged.

Quickly scrambling back to where she’d been before, Lynn tried her best to resume the position she’d been in when she’d awoke and hoped the guy bought it. The door opened, and she worked hard to slow her breathing and calm her racing heart.

“Nice try, Goldilocks, but I can already smell your fear. There’re three bears here who are more than ready to play with you, so get up before I pull you up by your hair.” The guy was a giant if the size of his feet were anything to go by.

Lynn glared up at the asshole standing over her. He appeared to be just an average everyday guy, which shocked her. Aside from being very tall, he could have passed Lynn on the street and she would have never given it any further thought, and it scared her. He had an attractive face when he wasn’t scowling. His brown hair was styled in a businesslike cut, and he wore only jeans, a plain navy-blue tee and steel-toed boots. The power evident in the build of his body, combined with the fact he was a shifter, erased any comfort in her situation.

“It’s kind of hard to get up when my hands are tied together.”

A nasty grin showcased his yellow teeth before he barked, “Figure it out, bitch! We don’t have all day, and you
really
don’t want us angry before we get started.”

She didn’t like the sound of that one bit and wanted to ask what they planned to do, but instead, she did her best to get up, using the wall for leverage. Even when she was fully upright, he towered over her, clearly over seven feet. Unease skittered along her spine, and Lynn glanced over to Kitty in time to see her friend’s eyes flash amber for a second before going back to brown.

“What do you want with us?” Lynn asked, trying to keep her voice even, lest he know just how deep her fear ran. “We haven’t done anything to you.”

“She,” he snarled, pointing at Kitty, “nearly killed one of us, but we’re working on settling the score now, aren’t we little kitty cat?”

Kitty smiled, her expression mocking. “You couldn’t handle my cat even if I let you try,” she taunted.

“We’ll never know since you can’t shift,” he sneered. “What a waste.” Turning back to Lynn, he added, “This sort of shit happens when shifters muddy up their bloodlines with you weak-ass humans. Either she can’t shift or her animal is so fucked up she’s embarrassed to change.”

“Wrong on both counts, Hoss.” Kitty giggled, her eyes twinkling as she poked the angry bear. “I choose not to switch forms around others because I’m something that’s not been seen by many.”

“What? A mutant tiger? I hate to break it to you, but white Bengals aren’t as rare as you might think. With your hair color, I’m guessing that’s what you are or at least part of what you are. Do you have two tails? Webbed paws?”

“And you’re still batting zero, Slick. Care to take another guess?”

“You’ve got a dick?”

“Aw, is that what you’re into? No wonder you’re so cranky.”

Lynn watched in horror as the behemoth stomped over and kicked Kitty in the face, snapping her head back and leaving her flat on her back as he placed his boot on her chest. “Maybe later, I’ll show you exactly what I’m into,” he growled.

The large door slammed open, and two other men came inside, one holding a gun and the other a small duffle bag. The gun-toting thug had a short military cut, his hair a startling white color, though his eyes were black as night. The other had dark locks, which hung to the tops of his ears and over his brow to just above a pair of startling, pale-hazel eyes.

None of them really had a look that screamed, “I’m a psycho”, though the man with the buzz cut gave her some decidedly creepy leers. He walked over to where Kitty lay, still under the boot of the first asshole.

“I see you’re having trouble with the ladies, as usual.” Ignoring the scowl from his partner, he crouched next to Kitty then gripped her chin and forcing her to look up at him. “Do you see this?” he asked, holding up the firearm. “If you give us any trouble, I get to shoot your ass. If you’re not ready for another nap, I’d suggest you keep your freakish self quiet.”

“Kiss my ass,” Kitty hissed, spitting in his face and earning one hell of a slap in return. “Does it make you all feel better to beat up helpless women? You wouldn’t be so tough if we weren’t chained, I can promise you.”

“Don’t you worry. We’ve got something really special planned for you later. A little payback, but first we need to send a message to this little whore’s mate.” A hint of fang showed as he made a show of looking Lynn up and down. “We only have to figure out how
detailed
this message should be.”

The sound of a zipper caught Lynn’s attention, and she automatically assumed the worst. After all, she was in the company of three men who’d stripped her down and tied her up. When she discovered it was from the duffle bag, she felt a moment’s relief until she saw what the guy pulled out.

On the ground before her, there was a thick leather belt, what appeared to be a whip and a baton similar to the ones security guards and police carried. Bile rose in her throat as she imagined all the heinous acts, which could be done with the things in front of her.

She noted the man with the black hair pulling her phone from his pocket before tapping the screen a few times. “I’m ready whenever you are,” he announced. “Remember, these can only be about thirty seconds in order to send, so make it count.”

The white-haired man approached with a cocky grin. “Oh, I’ll make it count.” They were all so tall, a fact made more evident when he lifted the length of her chain and attached it to a hook in the ceiling, effectively forcing her to remain standing on her toes in one spot. He spun her to face the wall and ordered her to stay that way, before backing away. “Let me see the phone. I’m going to send him a text before we send the video. It’ll throw him into a rage for sure. I wonder how far the Prime will let him go before locking him up for the safety of the Pride?”

“Not far, I’d wager. Besides, after he sees this, it should put him over the edge.”

Lynn couldn’t make out who said what. All of their voices were deep and a bit raspy, almost as if they found great pleasure in what they were doing. Already her shoulders ached, a fine sheen of sweat popping up on her brow, and her legs shook as nerves took over. Whatever they had planned wouldn’t be pleasant, of that Lynn had no doubt.

From out of nowhere, there came a loud crack, followed by searing pain along the back of her thighs. Lynn cried out, struggling to move forward, away from the blows that continued to rain down on her backside. Her lower back, ass and thighs felt hot and raw, and if it hadn’t been for the chain overhead, she’d have fallen to the floor.

Her ears rang, and dots danced before her eyes as the white-haired bastard moved in front of her and unhooked her arms. As soon as he let go, Lynn collapsed to the cold cement floor, her whole body shaking in the aftermath of the beating she’d received.

“You put on one hell of a show, whore. You’re ass is glowing, and the stripes on your back and legs look so lovely against your pale skin,” the dark-haired man said, running his hand roughly down one thigh and making her cry out.