Konrad Read online

  He slowly glides his hand up my arm until he cups the side of my face, gently laying my head on his chest, and with his other hand he brings my left arm across his stomach, totally taking control.

  I am completely, totally pressed against him and it’s the best thing I have ever felt in my life.

  Honestly, this is so small, but before this my PTSD stopped me from being in the same room as a man. They terrified me.

  But now I feel safe, completely safe, and that is a rarity for me. I scoot even closer, bringing my head right under his chin, and he does the best thing ever.

  He wraps both arms around me tightly, holding me to him. His arms are like steel, daring something to tear me away from him.

  I want to say so much, I want him to know how huge of a deal this is and he just broke down some walls of mine.

  I just stay quiet, enjoying this moment. The sound of the TV in the background and the feeling of being warm and safe lure me to sleep in minutes.

  4

  Etta

  My phone wakes me up. I jump and reach for it on the coffee table, taking in the room for a second before I answer.

  Konrad is sitting up. We both fell asleep on the couch and the wall clock shows that it’s three a.m.

  “Hello?” I answer, my voice deep with sleep.

  “Hi, is this Etta?” a young girl asks, and I sit up straighter. I know immediately she needs help.

  “Yes, this is her.”

  I put it on speaker phone, setting the phone onto the counter so I can write down information.

  She sniffs loudly and I can hear the sound of her chattering teeth. “Can you please help me? I was walking home. I snuck out of my house and these men picked me up off the side of the road. I can’t get ahold of my parents and they are trying to find me.”

  “Where are you?” I ask, jotting down everything. We usually deal with cults, but I will do whatever it takes to help someone.

  “I am right outside of Stevenson, outside of Raleigh.”

  “Send me your location. I’ll be there ASAP.”

  A minute later, I get a ding and it lets me know that she’s twenty minutes from here.

  “I’m going to let you go, sweetie, but I am going to text you. I’m coming.” I run into my closet and put on my gear, then throw Konrad a vest that I have spare for Vinny. “Ready for your first mission?” I ask him.

  He gives me a wicked grin. “More than fucking ready.”

  We leave out of the back entrance to the house. I throw Konrad the keys to the SUV and run into the passenger seat. I put my AK on the floor, loading it and putting the strap around my shoulder.

  Konrad keeps looking over at me. “This is the hottest fucking thing I have ever seen.” I laugh and load his gun too, ready for him.

  We go way over the speed limit and we make it to a wooded area in half of the time. I can see lights shining through the woods, men talking and I know they’re searching for her.

  Fuck me.

  “Let’s blow some fuckers up.” I step out. “Shine your lights in the woods, let them know we’re here.”

  Konrad looks at me with big eyes like I’m the best thing since sliced bread. He does as I ask and gets out to stand next to me. “I would fucking tell you to stay in the SUV, but I know you won’t do that shit, but I ask you to stand behind me please? For my fucking sanity?”

  I roll my eyes. “Since you asked nicely.” I put my hand on his back. “Let’s do this shit.”

  We look through our scopes so we can see in the dark, we can see their heat signatures. “I see something!” one of the men yells and I can hear twigs snapping as they rush in our direction. It means they aren’t searching for her.

  They rush out of the woods, right at the forest line. Their eyes are huge as they take us in, confused as to what is happening.

  The men are not professional, I can tell you that right off the bat. They are dressed in baggy jeans, their shirts are disgusting, covered in food and filth. They are majorly skinny. I can see the darkness around their eyes, giving me a hint they are on drugs.

  “Onto the fucking ground or I will use lethal force!” Konrad yells in a deep, scary tone and it’s the best thing I have ever fucking heard.

  They look at each other, unsure of what is happening. “Who the fuck are you guys?”

  Konrad grins. I shiver at the sinister sight. This is not the same smile he has been giving me. No, this one is filled with darkness, pain, and the hell he has planned for these guys.

  “Your worst fucking nightmare.” I can feel my phone buzzing in my pocket. I sent the alert to the guys and let them know what was happening. We will have backup soon.

  Oh shit, his voice, the absolute terrified look on their faces. I stroll forward from behind Konrad. “Boys, on your knees now.” I flick my gun, pointing at the ground. “Or I can fucking end it now.”

  Konrad nods his head back, motioning for me to step behind him. I sigh and do as he asks, not wanting to distract him.

  “Look, man, we’re just playing hide and go seek here in the woods,” the one on the right argues.

  I laugh. “Do you think we found you for nothing? We know why you’re out here. Do as he asks and we may let you live.” I grin, loving the looks on their faces knowing they’re caught.

  One by one they get to their knees, but I know the one on the end is going to give us trouble when he looks to us and to the woods.

  He takes off running, slipping off into the woods. “Fuck.” I turn on my night vision scope. I can see him running through the woods on the thermal. I look around the woods until I see a small figure in the opposite direction he is running.

  “Let’s get these fuckers tied up and I’ll go find him.” Konrad walks over to the scum lying on the ground.

  “Who are you guys?” one of them whispers, staring at Konrad fearfully.

  I can’t blame them for being scared, with the way he is dressed in his gear right now, and he is huge, tattooed everywhere. He is definitely intimidating.

  “I am a member of the Grim Sinners MC, an Original.” Konrad looks down at him pointedly. “Who the fuck are you?”

  Why is he so attractive right now?

  The guy’s face pales further. “I’m sorry.” He looks at the ground. I gather my zip ties, tying his legs and hands together so he can’t get up.

  “Why did you do it?” I ask. I want to know why someone would do this.

  One of the guys next to him looks up at me as I tie his hands behind his back. Konrad is carefully watching to make sure they don't move.

  “She turned down the guy who ran into the woods. We were meant to mess with her a bit but he took it too far.”

  I sigh. Men and their egos. We are not going to kill them, but we are going to dump them in the jail and we will give her family a lawyer to make sure they’re sentenced to the fullest extent.

  I look into the scope. I can see him still running and the girl is still in her same spot lying on the ground.

  “I’m going to find him. Do you want to go to her?” Konrad asks.

  I nod. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. See you in a bit?” I ask, smiling.

  He shakes his head, smiling. “Darlin’, I’m in so much trouble when it comes to you. You will for sure see me in a bit and there better not be a scratch on your ass either.”

  “Or what?” I ask, arching an eyebrow, and then internally panic on the inside. Why did I say that?

  I take off running into the woods. I peek back at him once again and I see him standing there staring at me.

  I think I’m the one who’s in trouble here.

  I turn on my flashlight and follow the thermal to the girl. I call her before I reach her. “Hey, it’s me,” I tell her once I hear her breathing over the phone. She probably thought I was one of the guys.

  I hear her breath hitch as she sobs into the phone. I shine my light in her direction, and she slides out from under a bush. Her face comes into view and my heart breaks a little. She doesn’t look lik
e she’s older than fourteen or fifteen years old.

  “Etta?” she asks, her voice trembling.

  “That’s me. We caught the guys. One ran off but I have someone tracking him now.” I grab her hand and she clings to me.

  “I am so sorry I snuck out of the house. I just wanted to walk to the lake and read,” she sobs. My heart hurts because of this small mistake. It cost her a lot.

  This is going to affect her whole life. She’s going to be jaded and fearful, but I’m so thankful that I got here in time. No matter what those guys say, they went along with it.

  “Sweetheart, what is important is that you’re safe.”

  Her phone starts going off and she looks down at the screen. “It’s my dad.”

  “Do you want me to talk to him?” I ask her.

  She nods, laying her head on my shoulder as we stand in the middle of the woods. “Hello,” I answer.

  “Who is this? Where is my daughter Gabby?” he yells into the phone. I know he is terrified.

  “Sir, I am with the Hope House.” I explain what happened, what she told me. “She is safe, I will bring her home.”

  “No, I will come to you now. I need to see my baby.” I can hear a woman in hysterics through the phone as the dad speaks.

  I hang up the phone, not wanting to be distracted a second longer. The other guy is still out there.

  I raise my scope and look through it. I see Konrad right on his ass, but the bad part is…

  He’s running straight for us.

  I can see the light in the distance.

  “Come, we need to go.” I take Gabby’s hand and run through the woods, looking back at the light to make sure we’re getting away from him.

  One second the light is there, the next it’s gone and I hear a blood-curdling scream.

  Gabby clutches me, her nails digging into my shirt as she holds my arm tightly. “What was that?” she whispers in horror.

  I smile when I hear another horrific sound. “The person with me just found the last guy.”

  She lets out a deep breath. I can tell she’s relieved. Looking through my scope confirms what I thought—Konrad is beating the shit out of him.

  I laugh, putting my gun down, and we trek through the woods. I can hear motorcycles in the distance.

  “What is that sound?” Gabby asks. She is so incredibly pale.

  “Reinforcements. You are safe. Your parents are on their way,” I reassure her. She nods and practically lies on top of me as I walk her out of the woods.

  The first step out of the woods, I see Smiley running in our direction, I guess to come find us. Lane is watching the men we tied up.

  “Where is Konrad?” Maverick asks, running up, the whole entourage popping up.

  “He went to find the last guy. Apparently he was the one who planned this.” I give him the information that we know.

  Maverick looks at Gabby, his face soft. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, are you okay?” he asks.

  She nods. “I’m so glad you found me. The things he planned to do… I could hear them talking inside the car. I pulled the latch inside of the car and jumped out once they slowed down,” she rushes out more information.

  I look at the guys and see they are trying to conceal their anger. “Come on, sweetheart.” I lead her to my SUV and open the back so she can sit inside. I grab a blanket and wrap it around her shoulders.

  She shivers, pulling the blanket tighter around her. “I can feel them watching me.”

  I look over to the group of guys lying on the ground. They are staring at her. “Smiley, those fuckers are making her uncomfortable.”

  He turns them onto their backs so they’re staring at the sky. “I feel so stupid that I snuck out of the house.”

  I run my hand down the back of her hair, pulling out some leaves as I go. “Sweetheart, I think blaming yourself is an unnecessary punishment. You have learned a horrible, hard lesson. I think that’s enough.”

  Self-blaming hate is the worst. It can eat you alive. I don't want that for her. She is so young.

  She nods, and then a large truck pulls up in front of us. I step in front of her, ready to protect her. “That’s my dad,” she whispers.

  He jumps out of the truck with her mother on his heels. “Daddy,” she sobs, and I couldn’t stop the tears if I tried. He picks her up, holding her against him tightly. “My baby, I am so sorry,” he tells her over and over.

  Someone walks up to the side of the SUV. I turn around and see Konrad walking to me. “Took you long enough,” I tease.

  He laughs. “Had to have a little fun first.”

  I grin at that. “I saw it through the thermal,” I confess. He puts his hand on my back and we watch the touching moment between father and daughter together.

  I am relieved to know that her home life seems to be good. It was just a stupid, horrible mistake and it cost her a lot.

  Her dad finally looks at me. “Are you the girl I talked to?” he asks.

  “I am Etta. I run Hope House. I do this kind of thing almost daily.”

  He closes his eyes. “I am thankful for what you have done. Where are the fuckers?” I can see the change in him before my eyes.

  I look over at the guys lying on the ground. “We are going to take them to the jail, but I won’t say a word if you want a few minutes alone with them.”

  Konrad chuckles. “I already messed one of them up, but there’s room for improvement.”

  The dad grins at that. “Show me the way.” Konrad leads him down the slight hill.

  “Why don’t you guys join me over here?” I don’t want Gabby to see this.

  We all stare into the darkness, trying to ignore the sounds of people getting their asses beat behind us.

  She laughs randomly, covering her mouth to stop herself. “I shouldn’t be laughing, but I feel like I’m getting justice a little, right?” she says.

  “You sure are, honey.” Her mom rubs her back. I can see that haunted look on her face.

  “My sister is a therapist. She’s an expert in this kind of thing. She can help adjust to life again, if you’re interested?” I ask her.

  Her mom nods immediately. “That would be so amazing. Does she have a card?” I walk to the front to get a card.

  I look over at the guys. The dad is stomping someone’s face currently. That had to hurt.

  I text the guy at the jail, letting him know we are coming in. I give him brief details so he has an idea of how many and what happened. The prospects will handle the rest.

  Konrad walks over to me. “You feeling okay?” he asks, touching my arm gently to get my attention.

  I give him a confused look. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  He smiles. “Good, they’re loading them and then we can head back.”

  I am exhausted. “I think I could sleep for a full day. I need to give the mom Lynn’s card.”

  I walk over to the mom. “Here is her card. We have our own lawyer, unless you have your own.”

  She smiles at me for the first time. “I am a lawyer, darlin’. We got this covered from here.” She takes the card and hugs her daughter tight. “Her dad owns a boxing gym here in town.”

  I look over and see that huge-ass fist. “Yeah, I think he’s getting tons of practice in right now,” I joke, lightening the mood.

  They both bust out laughing. “I needed that, thank you.”

  Their eyes turn to look behind me. I look around and see the dad is coming back. “Ready to go home?” he asks.

  They nod. The girl hands me the blanket back and her dad tucks her into his side. “Thank you, Etta, you saved my life,” she whispers, her eyes filling with tears again as she thinks of what could have happened.

  “Anytime, anywhere. If you need me, I’m there.”

  She nods once and is taken away by her parents. She will be okay. She’s strong, she got away on her own.

  “She will be fine.” Konrad voices my thoughts.

  “She will be,” I agree.

  The g
uys make their way over to us. The prospects are carrying the kidnappers into a van. “Get some sleep, thank you for coming to help.” I thank the guys.

  Smiley touches my shoulder. “I got your back always, honey.” Then he gives Konrad a look.

  Why do I feel like that had a double meaning??

  I see all of the guys looking at Konrad funny, then it clicks. They’re trying to be protective. “Aww, you guys.” I move over and give them all a group hug. They all awkwardly pat me on the back.

  We get back inside of the SUV, Konrad behind the wheel once more. “I wanted to check her to make sure she was not hurt, but I was afraid my presence would scare her.”

  I start to reach over and touch his hand instinctually but I stop myself. “She is in a very fragile state right now. Do you have medical experience?” I ask.

  He smirks. “Darlin’, I’m a doctor. I was one in the military for a long-ass time.”

  “Oh wow, I didn’t know that. I could have used you sooner,“ I joke, and he laughs slightly.

  “Use me anytime,” he retorts, giving me a wink.

  I am so in trouble. I look out of the window and try to hide my burning face.

  * * *

  Konrad

  I grin to myself knowing she can’t see me. She’s looking out of the window, but I see the blush covering her face and neck.

  She is fucking adorable.

  I saw a side of her tonight that floored me. She is so fucking soft, but she goes into protector mode in a split second.

  We arrive back to the compound. I pull back into the garage, then hurry around before she can get out so I can open her door for her.

  She looks at me in surprise when I do that. I take her hand and she slides out of the SUV.

  “Thank you.” She smiles bashfully, looking at the ground. I don’t let go of her hand as we walk back upstairs to her apartment at the top of the house.

  I can’t leave her considering the fucking cult was there for her niece and that means she’s in danger by association.

  If I’m being honest, I'm using it as an excuse. I don’t want to leave her, plus the thought of someone hurting her really pisses me the fuck off.