Saving Emily (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 10

  Adam quietly set up his bedroll and tried to make himself comfortable. He didn’t think he’d be able to sleep at all, but at least he could try and give his body time to rest. He had to be prepared for the eventual confrontation with Ray. It would happen, he knew it. Because neither he nor Cole were leaving without their woman.

  He must have drifted off, because the next thing he knew Cole’s hand was over his mouth waking him, but warning him to keep quiet. Instantly alert, he took his lead from Cole.

  Cole indicated the figure standing not ten feet from them, taking a leak in the bushes. He indicated for Adam to circle around and come up to Ray from behind while Cole came at him straight on. He nodded to let Cole know he understood and quietly rose to his feet and started moving around to get behind him. Adam was in position as he heard the rasp of a zipper and Cole stepped out from the trees and slowly walked toward Ray.

  “Well fuck. It took you long enough to get here, you asshole,” Ray said as he moved his hand behind his back. “I thought you’d have been here long ago. What took you so long?” Adam wasn’t close enough to jump him yet but he saw that he’d pulled a knife from a small sheath from the back of his belt.

  He moved closer as quietly as he could, and was glad his brother had the asshole’s full attention and that Ray was making far too much noise to hear him coming.

  Just as Ray raised the knife in his hand and started to lunge at Cole, Adam grabbed his wrist from behind, squeezing hard enough for the prick to drop the blade. In the time it took for the knife to fall to the ground, Adam shifted to the asshole’s side landed a punch to his jaw and knocked him out cold. He wanted to pick the fucker up off the ground and pummel him again and again, and was reaching down to grab a hold of his shirt, but Cole stopped him.

  “Get some rope so we can tie him up. We can deal with him later. We need to find Emily,” Cole said, bringing Adam out of his anger-filled haze.

  Between the two of them, they tied Ray’s arms and ankles together with rope and then secured him to a tree. Cole patted him down to make sure he had no more knives or guns and then they grabbed their flashlights and hurried up the hill.

  They needed to find their woman.

  * * * *

  Emily saw the beam of light cut through the darkness and frantically cut at the ropes with the rock. She was nearly through. She could feel it. As the flashlight came closer, she used her strength and tugged frantically as she tried to get the hemp to break. She nearly sobbed with relief as it finally gave, but then she cried out when she felt his hands on her again.

  She fought like a wildcat, scratching, slapping, and punching with all she had, but it wasn’t enough. She wasn’t strong enough and he wouldn’t let go. Plus she couldn’t use her feet since her ankles were still tethered together. He wouldn’t let go. She sobbed hysterically and screamed for Cole and Adam in her mind. Her vision began to dim as the pain in her head escalated to excruciating levels and she finally gave in to the bliss of pain-free unconsciousness.

  * * * *

  Cole held Emily in his lap as Adam checked her over using the light of the flashlight. He had tears in his eyes at how bad she was hurt but he had to hold it together for her. She was covered in bruises and blood. There was a cut on the side of her head near her temple, blood in her hair and down the side of her face. She had a black eye, swollen and bruised cheek, and her hands and wrists were covered with nicks, cuts and blood. There was rope still around her wrists and it look like the hemp had been tied way too tight and her skin was rubbed raw and bruised. One of her shirt sleeves was torn but it looked like the rest of her clothes were intact.

  Adam cut away the ropes around her ankles and her wrists and then he removed her dirty clothes and dressed her in clean sweats. He wrapped her wrists with some of the material of her shirt and treated her head wound with antiseptic. Once that was done he covered the cut with gauze and taped it to her head before enfolding her in a thermal blanket.

  “We need to get her to the hospital, Adam. She could have a head injury.”

  “I’ll call the paramedics, hopefully they can get a helicopter in here and then I’ll call the sheriff and tell him to come and pick that fucker up. Chad can bring him and his deputies in and then take our horses back home.”

  Adam moved to the mouth of the cavern and made his call and then rushed back to Cole’s and Emily’s side.

  Cole very carefully lifted Em into his arms and he carried her out of the cave. Adam walked beside him and helped to guide him and Emily down. As they waited at the bottom of the hill in the clearing, they kept her between them, sharing their body heat with her.

  “Emily, wake up, honey. You’re safe now.” Cole watched her for signs of consciousness, but she didn’t move or seem to hear him. He glanced at Adam and saw that he was just as worried and scared as he was.

  “Come on, baby, we need to see those pretty blue eyes,” Adam said.

  Cole and Adam kept trying to wake her but she didn’t respond and the helicopter seemed to be taking forever to arrive.

  “’Bout fucking time,” Cole snapped when he heard the chopper in the distance.

  When the helicopter got closer, Adam flashed his light to let them know where they were and then they both covered Emily with their bodies so she wouldn’t get any dust or dirt blown into her face.

  The paramedics rushed over but Cole didn’t want to let her go so he carried her to the helicopter himself and, after gently placing her on the stretcher, he moved aside so the medics could do their jobs. Adam climbed in and sat beside him, but neither of them took their eyes of off Emily as they flew toward the hospital. Cole’s gut knotted even more when the EMTs hooked Emily up to a drip. The sight of it piercing her soft skin nearly sent him over the edge. If it weren’t for the fact they were already in the air on the way to the hospital he would have grabbed hold of Ray and killed him with his bare hands.

  When they landed on the helipad on the hospital roof, Emily was whisked away to the emergency treatment area. Cole and Adam tried to follow but one of the nurses cut them off and directed them to the waiting room where they paced the floor.

  It felt like they’d been waiting for hours before the doors finally opened and the doctor came striding toward them.

  “I’m Doctor Victor Stanly, are you Emily’s family?”

  Cole stepped forward and shook the doc’s hand. “I’m Emily’s fiancé and this is my brother, Adam. How is she?”

  “She’s a very lucky lady. She’s suffering from slight hypothermia, dehydration, and she has a concussion. I want to keep her in the hospital for the next twenty-four hours just to be on the safe side because of her head injury, but after that, she should be able to go home tomorrow as long as she has someone to look after her. I see she already does. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a few questions that might explain a few things puzzling me at the moment.”

  Cole nearly sagged to his knees with relief and from the way Adam clutched at his shoulder he felt the same way.

  “Sure, doc, fire away,” Cole replied.

  “Now I don’t want you to worry just yet, but her head injury isn’t severe enough for her to be sleeping still. Even though she needed five stitches, she should be awake by now. I saw rope burns around her arms and legs. Can you tell what’s been going on?” Doctor Stanly asked in a stern voice.

  Cole explained how she had been kidnapped, tied up, held in a cave, and beaten. He also explained what he and Adam had done to clean her wounds and that they’d been worried because they couldn’t get her to wake up either.

  “I didn’t realize how lucky she was. Good thing you two were around to help her. I think she is probably sleeping off some of the damage from the concussion and is also just plain exhausted. She should be fine. I’ll bet she will be awake bright and early in the morning. Now you two look like you could use some rest yourselves, why don’t you get yourselves some food and coffee, rent a hotel room, and crash for a while? Come back after you’re more rested. Yo
u won’t do Emily any good if you exhaust yourselves once you get back home. She’s not going to be doing anything for the next couple of days and will need your help.”

  “Thanks, doc,” Cole said in gruff voice as he shook the doctor’s hand.

  Adam also shook the doc’s hand. “Yeah, thanks, doc.”

  “Let’s grab some coffee and food and take it back to Emily’s room. As much as I appreciate the suggestion to us to get some rest, I’m not letting her out of my sight again,” Cole said.

  “I hear you,” Adam said. “Nothing matters except our woman. We have to tell her she’s ours, Cole.”

  Cole nodded. He was going to make damn sure Emily never got hurt again. He and Adam loved her and she was going to spend the rest of her life with them.

  * * * *

  Emily awoke when the sun was just rising in the east and light was streaming through the window. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her face. She sighed as the soft mattress beneath her cocooned her aching body. She pried her heavy eyelids up and then blinked a few times to clear her hazy vision. When she saw the stark white ceiling, she had no idea where she was. She moaned again when she moved and that’s when she felt her hands being held. She looked to either side of her and saw that Cole and Adam were sitting close to the sides of the bed and she realized she was in the hospital.

  Her men were sound asleep with their upper bodies and heads resting on the side of the bed near her chest. And then reality came crashing back. How did they find me? What happened to Ray? Is he still out there somewhere? Did Cole and Adam catch him?

  Emily released their hands and pushed herself up in the bed, adjusting the pillows behind her so that she was half sitting up. Cole bolted upright and looked a little wild before his gaze met hers and he exhaled loudly in what sounded like relief.

  “Hey, honey. How are you feeling?” His voice was husky with sleep.

  “Okay. I have a bit of a headache though.”

  Adam sat up too, and without saying anything he stood up, leaned over, and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He drew back slightly and scrutinized her face. “Hi, baby. It’s good to see you awake. You had us worried there for a while.” Adam sat back down and then Cole kissed her chastely on the lips.

  “How did I get here?” Emily asked quietly.

  Cole explained how they had tracked her and then taken Ray down before finding her.

  By the time Cole had finished explaining the events of the previous day, Emily had tears streaming down her face. She ended up sobbing uncontrollably. Cole got up on the bed, lay down beside her, and held her tight. Adam clutched her hand while rubbing his free hand over her shoulder, up and down her arm, then down her side before starting over again.

  Emily had no idea why she was crying but once she started she couldn’t seem to stop. She suspected her tears were for all the pain she’d endured at the hands of her brother as well as the terror she’d experienced when Ray had kidnapped her, hurt her.

  “Ah, baby, don’t cry,” Adam crooned in a soft voice as he stroked her.

  “You’re safe now, Em. He can’t hurt you anymore.” Cole spoke through what sounded like a tight throat.

  Emily couldn’t contain her fears anymore and even though she could be setting herself up for rejection, she couldn’t stop the words spilling from her lips. “I thought I’d never see you again. I love you both so much. Please hold me. Don’t let me go,” she cried as she wrapped her arms around each man’s neck and hugged them to her tightly.

  “We won’t ever let you go, honey,” Cole said. “You’re stuck with us. We love you, too, Em.”

  “We do love you, baby,” Adam declared.

  Emily’s tears of pain changed to tears of joy. She felt so safe with her men wrapped around her and she didn’t ever want to let them go. How long they stayed wrapped in each other, Emily had no idea. She probably would have still been clutching at them if the doctor had not walked into the room.

  “Well now, I’m glad to see you’re finally awake, little lady. You’ve given your fiancé and his brother quite a scare. They wouldn’t leave your bedside until you were awake again. Why don’t you gentleman go and have a nap? By the time you come back in a few hours, Emily should be just about ready to be signed out.”

  “Is that okay with you, honey? I could do with a couple of hours sleep before we head back to the ranch,” Cole said and then yawned.

  “Go,” Emily said with a laugh as she pushed both of her men on the chest. “Go to a motel and take a nap. Come back when you’re feeling refreshed.” Emily yawned, too, and then smiled. “Maybe I’ll have another little nap while I’m waiting for you two to come back for me. Can you pick me up some clothes please, Cole, Adam? I don’t want to have to walk out of here just wearing this horrid gaping gown.” Emily looked down and grimaced, then let out another huge yawn.

  Both her men kissed her gently on the forehead just as her eyes grew too heavy to keep open any longer.

  * * * *

  Cole held one of Emily’s hands and Adam held the other as they led Emily out the front entrance to the hospital where Chad was waiting for them in Cole’s truck. Adam climbed into the front passenger seat and after Cole helped her up into the back, he got in after her.

  “Hi, Emily, how are you feeling?” Chad asked as he turned look at her.

  “A bit tired and I have a headache, but other than that I’m good. Thanks, Chad.”

  “Glad to hear it, Em.” Chad put the truck in gear and headed back to the ranch.

  Emily snuggled up with Cole in the back seat and he held her tight up against his side. He couldn’t be away from her right now, he loved having her in his arms and protecting her. She had gone through so much in the last four years, and it made him feel sick to his stomach about what Chris and then Ray had done to her. He watched as her eyelids grew heavy and then drifted closed. He couldn’t wait to get her back home where he and Adam could take care of her.

  “Is she okay?” Adam asked as he turned around to look at Emily.

  “She’s asleep,” Cole replied. “When you went to the bathroom, the doc said she’d probably want to sleep a fair bit in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours, because of the slight concussion. He said to let her sleep. It would help the swelling on her brain go down, but we have to wake her up every couple of hours, just to make sure she is responsive.”

  “We’ll have to set our alarms. That way we won’t forget to check on her. I don’t think I can let her out my sight for the rest of my life,” Adam said as he frowned at Emily.

  “Me, too, little brother. Me, too.”

  Just over an hour later Cole gently caressed Emily’s shoulder and arm hoping to wake her gently. “Hey, honey, we’ve stopped for fuel. Do you need a bathroom break while we are here?”

  Emily raised her head, blinked a few times and then looked around. “Um, yeah. I do need to go to the bathroom.”

  Cole helped Emily from the truck, placing a bracing arm around her waist when she wobbled on her feet. He guided her into the service center and to the restrooms, but when she went to pull away from him, he wouldn’t let her.

  “No you don’t, honey. I’m coming in with you.”

  “Cole, you can’t come in here.” She tried to grab his arm when he pushed the door to the ladies bathroom open.

  “Yes I can. See,” he said with a smirk and guided her to an empty stall.

  An elderly woman came out of the stall next to the one Cole was guiding Emily into. The woman gasped when she saw Emily, then frowned at him and gave him an evil stare. She hurried to wash her hands and left the room muttering, “Well I never.”

  Cole laughed as he watched her exit quickly, but then turned to Emily again. “Don’t lock the door, honey, just in case you need my help.”

  Emily pushed the door closed as Cole backed out of the cubicle.

  “God, Cole, I think you nearly gave that lady a heart attack. I am quite capable of taking a pee by myself you know.”

  Cole
laughed at her statement. “I know you can, sweetheart, but you’re still a bit wobbly and I don’t want to leave you in case you fall down. You’ve been through enough, Em.”

  “I love you, too, Cole,” Emily said on a sigh.

  Cole’s heart filled with love and hope but before he could tell Emily that he loved her, too, the bathroom door opened again.

  The elderly woman pointed to Cole and gave him a ferocious scowl. Behind her was a cop and he was a big, mean-looking son of a bitch. “See there he is, and the young lady is in there.”

  Emily came out and froze in her tracks, her mouth gaping open as she looked at the policemen and elderly lady before meeting Cole’s gaze. “Oh my God,” Emily muttered under her breath as she headed to the sink to wash up, but Cole heard her and her cheeks were no longer pale but tinged a pink hue.

  The officer stepped forward, hand ready to draw his weapon as he looked from Cole to Emily and back to Cole. Cole held his hands palm up and hoped like hell he wasn’t about to be arrested.

  “Are you all right, miss?” the officer asked.

  Emily’s face turned a brighter shade of pink and Cole saw her glance at the officer’s badge, which was hanging on his shirt pocket. “I’m fine thank you, Sergeant Jones. As you can see I have recently had a head wound and my fiancé, Cole, didn’t want to let me out of his sight because I’m still a bit wobbly on my feet. I was only released from hospital this afternoon,” Emily explained.

  She glanced at Cole and he couldn’t help but grin. He nearly burst out laughing when he saw the fire in her eyes.

  “Well, as long as you are okay. That’s the main thing,” said Sergeant Jones and then he left.

  “I’m so sorry, young man. I thought you were up to something nefarious with the young lady. Glad to hear you’re only taking care of her,” said the elderly woman with a genuine smile. “There should be more men like you around. The world would be a much nicer place to live in.”