When Dove Cries (3 page)

“Hell, no, dickhead! I mean, they’re in a committed three-way relationship with a woman named Allison.”

“That’s not a relationship,” Cade stated with a derisive snort. “That’s a war zone waiting to happen.”

“Whatever, man,” Draven replied, waving his hand dismissively. “It works for them. Anyway, Allis was one of Hiller’s victims.”

“Allis… You mean Allison Evening? She was mentioned in the files from Detective Harmon. I didn’t realize she’d hooked up with anyone. Well, regardless, I don’t want Sheriff Halloran to know about my investigation until I’ve checked him out.”

“Oh, now it’s your investigation? I thought we were partners.”

Cade glowered at him. “Just keep your fucking mouth shut.”

Draven gave him the finger and stomped his way over to the sheriff. He saw Givon’s eyes narrow thoughtfully as he approached the man.

“Draven,” he greeted, glancing questioningly at Cade who came to stand beside him. “What’re you doing here?”

“You’re here about the girl, aren’t you?” he asked instead. “The one found at the old mill.”

“Yes. How’d you know?”

“We brought her in,” Draven said. “This here is Cade Vanaker. He’s a nomad who came with me from Vegas.”

Givon gave him a welcoming nod. “Helluva greeting. Tell me what happened.”

“She ran out of the old mill as we drove by. Her wrists were zip-tied and had been like that for some time. They were heavily infected. Said her name was Dove.”

“I checked out the place to see if there were any other women,” Cade said, picking up the story. “Looks like she was being held in the basement of the old mill. There was a chain locking the door.”

He brought out his phone to show the pictures. Givon’s mouth became a grim slash as he scrolled through each picture.

“Did you touch anything?” Charlie asked as he looked over Givon’s shoulder.

“No,” Cade answered. “I didn’t disturb the scene. Looks like she kicked the bottom of the door out to escape. If she hadn’t done that, well, there’s no doubt in my mind she would’ve died there.”

“Does this have anything to do with what you were investigating involving Allis?” Draven asked.

Givon shared a quick, silent exchange with Charlie before clearing his throat. “You know I’m not at liberty to say—”

“Come on, Givon,” Draven said impatiently. “I remember when you brought Allis here. You and North did everything to protect her. Don’t shut me out on this one.”

Givon furrowed his brow and shot another quick glance over at Cade before he grabbed Draven’s arm and took a few steps away from the other two men. “Are you saying you’re protecting this woman? Like how North and I protected Allis?”

“I am,” he said, knowing how it sounded. But he meant it. He didn’t know Dove at all, but she needed him right now and he was determined to be there for her.

“I see,” Givon replied thoughtfully. “How much do you know?”

“Well, I missed your little showdown with the Tribe, but North told me a little about Hiller. He’s working for someone else, right?”

Cade walked over to stand next to him again and crossed his arms over his chest, face-to-face with Givon. The sheriff seemed to measure Cade up. Questions dawned in his expression.

“Might as well tell him too,” Draven muttered. “We’re too entrenched with this.”

“As you know, Allis was abducted by a man named Michael Hiller,” Givon finally said. “He was part of some kind of trafficking ring out of Durango that has ties here in Destiny. At the old mill. Five years ago, he had a run in with Gray Dog, who dropped all charges. Hiller still spent a year in jail on other charges.”

“The Demon Devils are behind this?” Draven demanded.

“Shh,” Givon warned. “There’s no proof and when I interviewed Gray Dog, he claimed he didn’t remember the incident.”

“But Michael Hiller was killed, right?”

Givon nodded. “We recovered his gun, and the bullet that Hiller fired at Allis was matched to a cold case in Durango. With a bit more digging, I discovered there’d been sixteen missing women over a four-year period.”

“The exact same time that Hiller was out of jail,” Draven concluded.

“Yep,” Givon said. “At his house there was a list of initials plus the dates when he’d snatched them that the Durango detective and I believe were his victims.”

“What were the initials right before hers?” Cade asked.

“I don’t remember off hand. Why?”

“I’m wondering if those initials are Dove’s,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “When did you find Allis?”

“About a month ago.”

“Shit,” Draven said. “If Hiller kidnapped Dove right before her that means she’s been down in that dark hole for over a month.”

“That’s why she was left down there,” Cade surmised. “Hiller was killed and no one knew to look for her.”

“It makes me sick to my stomach to think I was there not too long ago to check it out and never found Dove,” Givon muttered. He turned to Charlie. “Go to the old mill. Rope it off and process it. Maybe we’ll get lucky with fingerprints or something.”

“Gotcha, boss.” Charlie gave a departing nod to Draven and Cade then hurried out of the hospital.

A tall doctor emerged from the back and made a beeline to them. Draven recognized him from earlier visits when Nick had been admitted for his heart attack.

“Dr. Blake,” Givon greeted, holding out his hand.

The doctor shook it. “Sheriff. We’ve got to stop meeting under these circumstances.”

“I know,” he replied grimly. “How’s the patient?”

“Can I see her?” Draven asked.

“Can
we
see her?” Cade corrected and elbowed him in the side.

“Are you the two who were giving the receptionist a hard time?” the doctor asked, frowning.

“I don’t exactly trust this hospital,” Draven stated, staring hard at the doctor. “I think you know why.”

Dr. Blake cleared his throat.

“About all we know so far is that she’s severely malnourished and slightly dehydrated,” Dr. Blake reported. “She wasn’t raped, although she was beaten, and she sustained a lot of scrapes and bruises. Plus her wrists are severely infected. Right now we’re running toxicology tests to see if she has any other infections.”

“Is she awake?” Givon inquired.

“No. Do you know her name?”

“She said it was Dove,” Draven answered. “But I don’t know her last name.”

“I’ve ordered a mild sedative added to her IV drip because what she needs now is restorative sleep as well as time to heal,” Dr. Blake added. “She’ll be moved into a room shortly.”

“When can I get her out of here?”

Three pairs of eyes stared at him in confusion.

“I don’t understand,” Dr. Blake said slowly. “She’ll need to be in here for at least a week, maybe two—”

“No,” Draven interrupted.

“Draven, she needs medical attention,” Cade said.

“I don’t trust this hospital,” Draven said. He turned to Givon. “I can bring her to the club and let Lovey take care of her.”

“Lovey isn’t a nurse,” Givon replied.

“She took nursing courses,” he argued.

“Excuse me,
I
am her doctor,” Dr. Blake interjected. “She will not be leaving this building.”

“Then I plan on being in that room with her, so I hope you’re not saying no,” Draven stated firmly.

Dr. Blake glanced quickly at Givon. “Is this another protection detail?

“Damn straight it is,” Draven answered instead.

“Very well,” Dr. Blake said, frowning.

Clearly, he was unhappy with the situation, but Draven couldn’t care less.

“Follow me.”

The three of them nodded and followed the doctor into the back. The emergency rooms were separated by hanging curtains, and there was one other person there, an older woman getting a breathing treatment. Dr. Blake stood off to the side and let the men enter the small cubicle.

Dove lay on the bed, so still she looked almost lifeless. Someone had cleaned her up because her hair was damp and brushed and it lay in a lank pool around her face. Dark eyelashes created crescent shapes upon her cheeks, accentuating how deathlike she seemed. Several monitors were hooked up to her, beeping and showing vitals. Draven picked up her hand and held it gently.

“The son of a bitch who did this to her needs to pay,” he stated in a cold, hard voice.

Cade brushed a finger over her cheek. “Yes. We need to burn him alive.”

Surprised, Draven looked over at the FBI agent. The fierceness in Cade’s expression matched the wildness inside him. For the first time, he felt like they were on the same side.

“You said you’re staying with her?”

“I wasn’t lying about the girl almost being smothered,” Draven replied. “In fact, it was Allis.”

He nodded toward Givon, who held up his hands.

“I have nothing against the Red Wolves protecting a possible witness,” he said. “Since it sounds like she’s going to be out of it for a while, give me a call when she wakes up. I’m going to head to the old mill.”

“Okay,” Draven replied. He watched the sheriff leave the cubicle then ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t imagine what was going through her mind the whole time she was down there. I mean, she busted through the door so she could’ve left a lot sooner than she did. Why did she wait so long?”

“Fear,” Cade instantly replied. “Intimidation. He was probably attempting to break her will and take her power away so she wouldn’t try to escape. It’s a form of covert abuse, more harm psychologically than physically. Maybe Hiller threatened her or someone she loved. Who knows?”

“She was terrified, Cade, when she fell into my arms,” Draven murmured. He couldn’t take his eyes away from her beautiful face. “I won’t leave her to the darkness again, even if it screws up your timeline and agenda.”

“I know,” Cade replied. “Poor kid—”

“She is not a kid,” Draven stressed. “Hiller wouldn’t have taken a kid. You know that.”

“I know. She’s really young, though. If you’re staying, then I’m staying.”

“I still have dibs on the cot.”

Chapter Three

Slowly, awareness fluttered back to Dove. First, there were noises. The gentle swish of the air conditioning. The hum of a machine. Then came the antiseptic cleanliness of the air. Finally, she felt the stiff bleached sheets tucked in around her. She cracked her eyelids. A white room and light green curtain. A hospital. It meant she was rescued. She was safe.

She shifted her gaze and saw her angel reclined in a chair next to the bed. His arms lay crossed over his massive chest and his booted feet were crossed at the ankles. His chin rested on his chest as he dozed, and she was afraid he was going to wake up with a painful crick.

Draven. Was that his first or last name?

She took a moment to study him, admiring his sandy blond hair that hung a little long over his collar. She vaguely remembered he had pretty blue eyes. He wore a black leather vest over a white T-shirt that looked as if it had seen better days. On the upper left-hand side, she read the name of his motorcycle club,
The Red Wolves
, and under that was a patch that said
V. President
. She didn’t know anything about motorcycle clubs or motorcycles in general. In fact, her father had warned her not to get too close to the rough men who lived the biker life. They were trouble, he’d said. Clearly, her father had been wrong, because this man sitting next to her bed was her angel, her savior, and she was going to stick by his side the rest of her life. If that meant living among bikers, so be it.

At that moment, the door opened and another biker walked in wearing black leather with a satchel that hung diagonally across his body. His leather vest had a patch that said Nomad. He was just as tall as her angel, although his body seemed a little suppler in its strength. Silver shot through his dark, cropped hair, and the puppy dog brown eyes that met her gaze made her belly quiver with attraction, even in her weakened state. He carried two cups of coffee and halted when he saw that she was awake. A small smile graced his lips, and a dimple popped up in his left cheek that softened his harsh countenance. She returned the smile and watched as he made his way to the other side of her bed where an empty chair waited. He set the coffees down upon the C-arm table that hugged the bed over her legs.

“Hello,” he whispered.

“Hello,” she whispered back.

“I’m Cadence, but call me Cade—Cade Vanaker. You probably don’t remember me, but I was there yesterday with John.”

“John?”

Cade nodded toward the sleeping man on the other side of her bed. “John Draven. What’s your name?”

“Dove Aldrin.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Dove, although it’s crappy circumstances.”

She flinched at the memories of the circumstances. “He won’t find me, will he? He won’t hurt me again?”

Cade slowly reached out and took her hand in his. He caressed the soft skin right above where the white gauze ended with his thumb. The soft attraction fluttering in her belly blossomed through the rest of her body.

“I promise you, he won’t hurt you again. He’s dead, Dove. That’s why you were forgotten in that shit hole.”

It took a moment for the words to settle into her brain and when they did, tears flooded her eyes. All that time, she’d been too scared to move or to save herself, and the ass who put her there was dead. Recollections of the pain, the lack of food, the smells, came back to her, and she wanted to throw up. If she hadn’t found the courage to get out of there, she could have died for no reason.

“Shh,” he murmured as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You’re safe.”

“I feel so stupid,” she managed to say. “I could’ve left.”

“You aren’t stupid,” he assured her emphatically. “You did nothing wrong. Men like that prey on a woman’s psyche. They torment and intimidate until she’s helpless.”

“He told me that he would hurt me if I left.” She shook her head, hating how foolish she’d been. “I believed him.”

“You did the right thing. You were a victim. But you weren’t the only one, Dove. That man hurt other women too. He killed other women. So you were lucky. You hear me?”

She nodded.

“And I’m going to protect you,” Draven said as he woke up. He stretched as he stood up. “Is one of those coffees for me?”