Jordan Summers - [Dead World 01] (23 page)

She's mine now.

chapter
thirteen

Red heard a creak and glanced around the share space.
Her skin prickled. "Jesse, is that you?"
she called out.

The small sound was the only warning she had of the
impending attack. Red hit the bar with enough force to make her think she'd
been playing chicken with a hydrogen bus and lost.

The air whooshed out of her lungs and her ribs
strained to keep from cracking. She gasped
repeatedly,
but couldn't seem to
catch her breath. Her knees crum
pled
beneath the weight behind her, taking her to the
hard floor.

Red couldn't see who had hit her, but she could
feel him. His cock was erect and nestled between
her
butt cheeks. He shifted, deliberately allowing his hard ridge to
caress her. This could not be happening. Didn't this idiot know rape was
punishable by death?

She strained to look over her shoulder and caught a
glimpse of dark wavy hair before he pressed her face down, grinding it into the
floor. There were a lot of dark-haired men in town. It could be just about
anyone, but she couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity.

He pushed harder. Red cried out. Her cheek and nose
scraped and her eyes began to water. She tried to hit her navcom's distress
button, but he held her arm, preventing her from calling for help. She should
never have placed Rita on standby. Red had been so worried about what her
navcom would find or say that she forgot there was a possibility that she would
really need her.

"Release me now and
I'll
let you
live." She strug
gled wildly, her fists pounding the floor as she
tried to squirm out from under him.

He didn't answer, only rocked his hips once more to
let her know what he had planned.

"Fine! Have it your way," she ground out
between
clenched teeth. "I am going to
kill you when I get out
of here. Do you hear me? You're dead."

Something soft slipped over her head cutting off her
threat. A second later the lights winked out.

"No!" she screamed, but the material
absorbed her cries. Red reached for her pistol, fingertips straining to find
the gun stock, but her attacker was one step ahead of her. knocking it out of
her grasp.

"Shh . .." he soothed as if that would get
her to relax. His lips and teeth brushed the side of her neck at the slope of
her shoulder.

Alarm bells went off in Red's head. For some unknown
reason, she didn't want him anywhere near that spot on her body. Panicked, she
fought harder, her fingernails curling into the floor as she tried to rise.

The strings around her neck tightened, choking her.
Red gasped. She didn't know what this bastard's game was, but she wasn't going
to make it easy for him. Lungs burning from lack of oxygen, she struggled to
stay conscious.

Whoever had her was stronger than anyone she'd
ever encountered. Her head swam and she kicked
back,
connecting with the man's shin.
She heard a grunt, but
he didn't say anything to betray his identity.
Smart.
That realization sent fear trickling
down her spine, its
icy fingers stroking each vertebra.

"Get off me you son of a bitch!" She coughed,
attempting to break his grasp, but it only made him squeeze harder. Red
gurgled.

"Mine," he whispered,
but the sound was muffled
from the blood
roaring in her ears and she couldn't make out his voice.

Stars burst behind her eyes and
her limbs began to
tingle. Red felt
herself being lifted into the air like a bludgeoned cloud floating on a sky of
crimson. The tight left her body.

She couldn't seem to focus her thoughts. Was this what
death felt like? It wasn't so bad.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Jesse
Lindley's voice boomed, shattering the serenity.

Red opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out.
She felt herself falling a second before her shoulder collided with the ground.
Pain splintered through her body, dampening the sound of the struggle
happening around her.

Jesse screamed or let out a war cry. Red couldn't tell
which. Furniture crashed and banged. Something or someone bumped her leg, but
she was too out of it to move. The last thing she remembered was feeling a
warm, sticky liquid coating her fingers. Then there was silence.

Red awoke to Morgan standing over her.

"Are you all right?"
he asked, his voice cracking as
he
smoothed her tangled hair away from her face. He clutched a black bag, his
knuckles white from holding it so tight. The same bag someone shoved over her
head earlier.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice
straining from the effort.

"'I was hoping you could tell me." His brow
furrowed and he dropped the bag so that he could help her sit up. His thumb
brushed against her throat and she winced. "Sorry," he said,
grimacing.

"Where's Jesse?" Red croaked, blinking in an
attempt to get her eyes to focus. "I heard her yell. I think she saved my
life."

"She's hurt pretty bad." Morgan's jaw
clenched
and his gaze shot across the room.
"Kane is tending to her now. He had to sedate her after she tried to
attack
him. She was out of her mind with fright."

Red tried to stand and gasped, clutching her side. Her
ribs hurt, along with the rest of her body. "I need to go to her. She
might have seen who attacked me."

Morgan's golden eyes flared. "She's pretty
drugged up and won't be able to talk for a while. She has a lot of internal
injuries. Some serious. And her jaw was broken in the struggle."

"Shit," she muttered.
Red sent a silent prayer to the
universe.
Jesse had to recover. She refused to have her death on her conscience.
"Who found us?"

"A farmer who'd come in late for his shipment of
water. He heard the struggle, but by the time we got
the door open whoever had attacked you was gone."
Morgan touched her cheek with the back of his
knuck
les. "You're going to have a few bruises. I want Kane
to check you out again. He only managed to clean
up a
few of your scrapes before we
discovered Jesse behind
the bar."

"I'm fine." Red swayed as she got to her
feet. "Pissed off. but fine."

Morgan reached out and grabbed Gina's arm.
"If it's all the same to you, I want to hear
from the expert."

Morgan's heart pounded in his
chest. The attack on
Gina
had been too close for his peace of mind. If Jesse hadn't arrived, they might
very well have found Gina's
body in the
desert like Renee's and Moira's. He shud
dered.
It didn't bear thinking about. His muscles tight
ened as every protective instinct in his body surged to
life and
demanded that he mark her.

Whoever was out there hunting women didn't care if he
brought attention to their people. It was almost as if he courted it. Morgan
couldn't imagine anyone being so stupid—or insane, but there was no denying the
facts.

Kane approached a few minutes
later, concern shad
owing
his features. "I have Jesse stabilized, but I have
to get her to the emergency care
facility. How are you
doing?" he
asked, reaching out to examine her scalp.
"You're
lucky that I was driving by when the farmer
rushed outside. Another few minutes and you might have had more than a
lump to contend with."

"I'm fine." Her breath
hissed out of her lungs when
he pressed
down.

Kane's expression clouded with concern. "I hate
to contradict a lady, but you have quite a lump on your forehead that isn't
supposed to be there." He shined a light in her eyes. "I don't think
you have a
concussion, but I'd like to take
you in for observation
overnight."

"I appreciate the concern, but I've had worse injuries,
believe me. I'll have Rita check me out."

"Is she a doctor?" Kane asked.

"Not exactly." Gina
grinned and hit a button on her
wrist.
Nothing happened. "Hopefully she didn't get damaged in the fight."
She shook her wrist, then
pressed the
button again and her navcom came to life.

"Gina, what has happened? I am detecting injuries
all over your body. Should I notify the nearest medical facility?"

"No, Rita, that won't be necessary. The doctor is
here." Gina glanced at Kane. "I have something else I want you to do
instead."

"Are you certain?" Rita asked.

"Yes. I need you to do a
body scan for me. Let me
know if there's
anything I need to be worried about," Gina said. "Also, scan my skin
for foreign DNA. Pay special attention to my neck and right shoulder."

"Scanning now," Rita said.

Morgan looked at Kane's creased forehead, then back at
Gina. "Your attacker touched your neck." It wasn't a question. Morgan
felt his color drain as he reached out and moved Gina's collar aside.
"Where did he touch you?" he asked, trying to choke down the panic
clogging his throat. What would he do if she'd been marked by another? He'd
kill him. The answer sent a shiver through him.

"He kissed me right where you're looking,"
she said. Gina's eyes widened when she glanced at Morgan's face. "What's
wrong? Is something there?"

Morgan didn't immediately answer. Instead, he searched
the skin around her neck and shoulders.
"Nothing
is wrong," he said finally, releasing a heavy
breath. "I just
wanted to make sure that he hadn't. .. injured you."

"Scan complete," Rita announced, racheting
the
tension surrounding them. "Gina,
I've found several bruises on your arms, legs, knees, ribs, and throat, a
couple of minor muscle tears, and a knot on your
forehead, but nothing life threatening. Do you want me to
call for
backup now?" Rita asked.

Morgan and Kane tensed.

"That won't be necessary. I
have backup. The sher
iff is here. What
about foreign DNA?" Gina asked.

"Negative, but I did detect
antibiotic wipe residue."

"You were pretty banged up, so I told Kane to
clean your scratches so we could see how bad you were hurt," Morgan said.

"I understand," Gina said, the
disappointment in her voice ringing clear. "You can go back to sleep
now."

"I could be of more assistance to you if I remain
alert."

"I know." Gina smiled. "Thanks anyway.
I'll call you if I need you."

"As you wish." The screen dimmed and the
voice disappeared.

“That's handy,"
Kane said. "But I'd still like to take you
in."

Gina looked at Morgan,
indecision clearly on her
scratched face. He reached out and gently touched the line of her throat
where the rope from the bag had dug
into
her skin. Anger pulsed thick and heavy through him and his nostrils flared. He
hadn't been here in
time to protect her,
but he was here now.

Morgan wasn't about to let Gina out of his sight. He'd
failed her once already. There would not be a second time. Anything could
happen at the emergency care center. Even if he posted guards, there were too
many people to watch. Hell, he didn't even
know
who they should be looking for. It was like try
ing to track a ghost in
a cemetery full of them. He needed to take her where he could see the attack
coming.

"I think it's best if I take her home with
me," Morgan said.

Gina's and Kane's heads whipped
around. Any other
time
it would've been comical, but the effect was ru
ined when Gina winced. "I want her someplace
I can keep an eye on her," Morgan said. "Someplace safe."

"Morgan, I'll be fine here.
Really," she said, glanc
ing around
warily.

"You have a knot on your
head. You keep swaying
with the slightest
breeze. I'm not asking, Gina."

"Cousin, I think she'd be better off at the
center," Kane stepped closer, crowding them.

Morgan's gaze snapped to his and
a rumbled warning reverberated from his chest. He covered it with a cough.
"And I think she'll be safer with me. Whoever
attacked her wouldn't dare come
after her at
my
home.
It would be
suicide."

Kane slipped an easy smile upon
his
face.
"What
ever you say, cousin. Whatever you say."

Two orderlies entered the share space and placed Jesse
on an air-cushioned transport cart. They carefully guided her out of the
building.

"Is she going to be okay?" Gina asked, her
lower lip trembling.