Razor's Mark: (Marked Book 1) (20 page)

That was who she thought about when they hit her, bit her, or put their cigarettes out on her skin. His smile, his laugh, and the tender things he said or did. Not to mention the demanding side that she had fallen for. So much and it was all gone. At least when they finally finished the
job,
she would be with him. Did he believe in heaven? She’d never asked, and right now, she just imagined he did. It was the one positive thought that kept her from slipping into complete darkness.

“What’s wrong, bitch, don’t want to talk today?” He lifted her face to look at him, but she didn’t look him in the eyes. She focused on the small spot in her mind. The small window she used to focus on something other than the disgusting waste of a man in front of her. He slapped her already swollen face and nothing. Just a loud
sound
echoing in her head.

“Well,
I can see this will be fun. Since the big man is coming, I think you should just hang tight until he gets here.” He sprayed her some more before laughing and leaving her hanging again.

She could feel her skin start to shake from the cold air hitting her soaked naked body. It was cold out and there wasn’t any heat inside the warehouse. She couldn’t control her body as it shivered, but her mind was all hers.

Every second felt like an hour. Finally, she heard the bay doors being opened and a car. It was a big, throaty
engine,
so it wasn’t followed by any bikes. She didn’t really care anymore, because well, whoever it was planned to kill her anyway.

“I see you’re treating her well. I appreciate that.” A man stepped out of the car. All she could see were his shoes; fancy shoes. He was the one calling all the shots. And she didn’t have to guess at who it might be.

“So this is the elusive Faith Hillman. Not very talkative, is she?” A cold and clammy hand touched her face, forcing it up as he looked at her. “You sure it’s her?
Kinda
hard to tell right now.” She took a chance and tried to focus on the wrinkled face of the ever so sick Ron Stiner, CEO of Hamilton and Rogers. He’d put the price out on her head. Figures, he was on top of her pyramid of disgusting people.

“So are you going to be a good little birdie and sing for me?” She didn’t answer.

She didn’t need to; he wasn’t going to get anything out of her.

“Who else did you tell?” he asked in a commanding tone, though it lacked a certain gravel that her brother’s or Razor’s had. Lowering her eyes, she avoided him. A smack hit her
face,
and again, she didn’t cry out.

“I see; you’re not going to talk, huh?
Well,
we’ll see how well you sing after we’re done with you.” He laughed, which set Meathead laughing as well. “Unhook her.”

Someone lifted her from behind and pulled her arms off the hook before dropping her onto the hard concrete. Her knees hit
first,
and she could feel them getting scraped up. Instead of getting up, she just laid there. What was the point, she learned quickly that if she tried to stand or move, they would kick her, and right now, if they did that her ribs would crack
more.

“Bring me the stuff,” Ron sneered as he bent and grabbed her hair lifting her enough to look at him again. “I got something that will make you sing real pretty, and if you don’t, then I’ll let the boys fuck it out of you. I wouldn’t touch you, you’re tainted with filth, but that doesn’t mean I won’t watch the show. I will find out what I want to know and then you will die. Or hell, I will give you to them. Think they could make a quick buck from you.” Staring at what he was doing, it was all too soon when a needle was put into his hand.

“Do you know what this is? You’re a smart girl, so I will make it simple and explain it to the others. It’s something we don’t use anymore, but it works well. Sodium Pentothal. It was used a lot during WWII, but not so much now. It makes your mind all fuzzy, but you can still feel pain. Your friend wasn’t a talker. But that’s fine; we got what we wanted from him. And now it’s your turn.” He stuck the needle into the side of her arm and instantly everything about her body went limp. Unable to focus on one thing, she closed her eyes and prayed she would be strong enough.

“Now, who did you tell?” He had asked her several times, yet she didn’t answer. He was just a background noise, a static to the world around her. She was gone, and she was keeping everything to herself. He finally got tired of talking to her and shoved her back down on the ground.

“She’s yours.” As her eyes floated around, ferocious grins broke out on their faces as they started to unbuckle their belts. This was
it; she
was going to be taken and then killed. Closing her eyes, she waited as someone shifted her, spreading her legs wide.

His body pressed against hers as someone licked her neck.

“Oh, you’re gonna
be sweet. Come on,
you
stupid cunt, scream for me.” He held her throat down as she felt the tip of his pecker press against her. She started praying she would just die already. But then his body fell on hers
hard, and something liquid ran on her.

“Shit, someone’s shooting,” someone shouted and then all hell broke loose. “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” someone yelled, gunfire was going on all around her, but it didn’t matter. She couldn’t move even if she wanted to. The man on her, who she didn’t know, was pinning her, crushing her already battered body.

“FBI. Don’t
fucking
move,” a loud voice bellowed. She didn’t know if her mind was playing tricks on her, or if they were really here. However, someone yanked the man on top of her off and pulled her up, making her stand on two legs.

“Don’t come any closer or I’ll blow the bitch’s brains out.” That’s when she felt the barrel of the gun at her temple. It was Ron who was holding her. That was shocking.

“Put the gun down and you might be able to make it out of here alive.”

“Bullshit. You let me leave with the
girl, and you can find her in the next town when I get away.”

“Not happening,” the male voice sounded. He must have been the FBI agent.

“I’m not going to jail.” And just like that, he dropped her on the ground and she heard one more shot go off. Was she dead? Was she shot? She didn’t care anymore. As she lay on the ground, Faith didn’t move, didn’t care, and didn’t feel. More voices sounded all around
her,
and sirens wailed like a song.

“Shit, we need an ambulance here now.” And then something was laid on her, a jacket maybe?

“Faith, I’m going to get you out of here. We have some people who’ve been looking for you. Can you hear me?” She could, but she just couldn’t seem to answer. Her eyes still closed, she just absorbed everything. Her body was suddenly being lifted and set onto a stretcher.

“What the hell did they do to her?” someone gasped. Guess she didn’t look good.

“I don’t know, but they’re all dead now, and we have another three in custody. Let’s get her to the hospital. I’ll let her family know we got her.”

And before she could register anything else, someone said something about pain meds and darkness swept over her, closing the only window that was still open.

Razor paced the hospital hallway. They had brought Faith in, but they’d said it didn’t look good. But she was alive.

Casper was sitting in a chair with Sparkle. Merlin was smoking outside with Skull and Doc.

He owed Sparkle everything. She was the one who’d been able to pick up Ron’s location and send the information to the FBI, and the guy Faith had trusted. It didn’t take them
long,
and soon they had gotten the call that they had her. Of course, Merlin and the guys already knew that. Razor tried to go, but he was needed at the hospital. Merlin, however, came back looking sick and pissed, so he knew that whatever had happened was bad. Could he save her and make sure she was the same sweet girl he had fallen for? If not, he would still take care of her and watch after her.

“Where the fuck is the doctor?” he growled as he hit the wall.

“I don’t know, but they better hurry; this waiting shit sucks,” Merlin said as he came to stand next to him.

“You know, Razor, we had to bring her here. Doc couldn’t patch her up like he did us. She will need someone to look after her; take care of her. Maybe get her some mental help. I think she should stay with me, at the compound.”

Razor looked at Merlin like he had grown two heads.

“I’ll do that. She. Is. Mine,” he said very slowly as if speaking to a child. No one would take her away from him again.

“She’s my sister.”

“I don’t fucking care; she
’s mine.” He would beat the shit out of Merlin if he had to say it one more time. But the double doors swung open.

“Faith Hillman’s family?” The doctor looked at them both.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Razor said, and the doctor looked confused, but Merlin resolved it.

“He’s her fiancé; I
’m her brother.”
Well, that just made things easier.

“Okay. Faith is in bad shape. She has burns and marks covering her entire body. Some will scar, and others will fade in time. She has two broken ribs, a dislocated
shoulder
, and bruised organs. She’s lucky there was no internal bleeding. Her eyes are swollen shut, but it doesn’t look like there
are
any orbital issues. We need to run more tests and scans after we get some of the
swelling
down. She’s breathing on her own, but she is on IV antibiotics and pain medication. Our biggest concern is brain swelling. We will keep her sedated for at least twenty-four hours to monitor it.”

Razor felt sick,
but he was happy she was going to survive. Unfortunately, there was something else he had to know.

“Do you know if they- did they, you know, use her, sexually?” If it came to that, he would use whatever he could to get her the best help he could afford.

“Now, that’s hard to say. She does have abrasions in some areas, but as far as we can tell, she wasn’t. But that doesn’t mean anything considering most of her body is covered in marks. We will have to ask when she wakes. We ran a kit just in case.”

“Can we see her now?” Merlin asked before he could get the words past his lips.

“You can, but only one of you can stay with her.” They both nodded and then looked to see that everyone had already heard the news. Good; they wouldn’t have to relay what the doctor had just said.

The doctor led them down two more halls and turned right to a room that was surrounded by machines and glass. He didn’t know what to think when he walked closer.

“I’ll leave you both with her for now.” The doctor
left,
and Merlin walked over first. Razor was still rooted
to the tile as he looked at her small body covered in machines and tubes and needles.

“Fuck, baby girl. I’m so sorry.” He saw Merlin bend and kiss his sister on the head. It was shocking to see such a strong person like him crumble for his little sister.

Razor still couldn’t move; the truth was,
he was scared to see her. Scared to see what he’d let happen. If he had been better
prepared
or had fought harder, she wouldn’t be like this. But he had to see her, touch her, and know that she was still here; still with him.

As he got closer, he spotted the bruises, burns, and bite marks on her arms. Most of her body was covered in dressings, but her face; her sweet, angelic face was swollen and cut open. She was a mess. It broke him. Faith didn’t even look
human; her
hair was cut different lengths and tubes hung from her nose. The heart monitor’s beeping let them know she was still there.

Walking to the other side, he ran a single finger along her swollen jaw. “I’m sorry, kitten,” he whispered. He had forgotten Merlin was in the room, and together they just stood there holding her. Minutes turned to an
hour, and soon the nurse told them visiting hours were over,
and only one was allowed to stay.

“I will,” he said before Merlin could speak. It earned him a nasty glare, but he needed to be here with her.

“I’ll relieve you in the morning. Call me if anything changes.” He left, promising to let the others know what was going on. He wouldn’t
need to be relieved; he
wasn’t leaving her again.

Finding a small chair, he pulled it close and held her hand. Her other arm was in a sling, effectively holding her shoulder stable. God, she was a mess. How could one person go through what she had gone through? She was so much stronger than he’d ever thought. He sat, holding what he could. In just the short
time
he’d known her, she had cemented herself into his life. She made him laugh; made him look at things differently. She was the light to his dark. And now he needed to be that for her.

He sat and just looked at her as the nurses came in and gave her medications and checked her vitals. They tried to reassure him that she was doing
well and that things were checking out better than expected.

He must have dozed off
because the next thing he knew, someone touched his shoulder. “Razor, man, go get some coffee.” Merlin was
back; it must be morning.

“I’m good.”

“Let me sit with her a bit, please. I need to.” He saw the sadness in his eyes, and he nodded realizing that this must be as hard for Merlin as it was for him.