Constructing Love Read online

  “Holy fuck, she is hot, and her tits are huge,” the man said as she moaned and rocked in pain. She wanted the pain to go away, for her head to disappear and end it all. When she felt him squeeze her breast and then run a palm up under her skirt, she kicked at his hands and tried yelling despite the pain.

  “Get away. Don’t touch me.”

  He continued to stroke her skin and play with her breast. “I’m going to be doing more than that,” he threatened, and she cried harder, and forced herself to stay awake, to focus on what she could do, when she remembered her cell phone on her hip in a clip.

  She was laying on it. They didn’t know she had it on her. How could she call for help? Her hands were tied, and he was touching her. “Get away from me.”

  He chuckled and that was the last thing she heard before darkness overtook her vision.

  “Is he going to make it?” Hunter asked Alaska James. She had been in town when the shooting and abduction happened and immediately headed to the scene with Magnar. She helped to stop the bleeding. His bullet proof vest saved his life, but he took a shot to his shoulder and arm, and one to his back that partially went through the vest. As he fell, he hit his head.

  “I think so. We got to him right away, the fire department and paramedics were right around the corner. I’ll make sure that he’s okay, Hunter. You guys work with the deputies to find who took her and get her back,” Alaska said to him.

  “Please, stay with him. He has to live,” Hagan said to her and they were all there in the waiting room at the hospital. None of them had been near town. Hagan, Hunter, and Jedda were on the construction site, Maximus was at work, and Tatum texted that he was going to catch up with Madeline for coffee and that they all needed to talk. It was like he knew something was up. Their fathers arrived, and their mom, too. The place was swarming with cops, state police, and their friends in law enforcement were all looking for the van. It was a madhouse in there, and they were all worried about Tatum and Madeline. Then information started coming in.

  Deputy Marcus Sperr came over. “We got information coming in now from the Feds. They’re asking us to stand down.”

  “Stand down? What the fuck for?” Jedda asked.

  “They said they know where they are taking her. They won’t give us much information at all and said it’s their case and they got it.”

  “Assholes are going to get her killed. What the fuck was she part of?” Hunter asked.

  “Obviously Tatum knew. He said we needed to talk,” Maximus said, and then some tall guy, good looking, definitely military who looked pissed off walked into the waiting room. He spoke to Deputy Oliver Fey, who pointed towards them, and then headed to them.

  “You’re the Lantern brothers?” he asked.

  “What’s it to you?” Hunter asked.

  “I’ll be the one to kick the fucking shit out of you if Maddy isn’t found or winds up dead because of you.”

  “What? Who the hell are you? We had nothing to do with this, and you won’t be kicking the shit out of anyone, son,” Hagan retorted. They were all standing up now.

  “Who are you?” Maximus asked.

  “A close friend of Maddy’s. Her father and her brothers and mom are on the way. They’re going to fucking kill you if anything happens to Maddy. Understand me?” he yelled and pointed at them.

  Deputy Fey waked over. “You need to go. Their brother is in surgery right now, and we also got orders to stand down and not pursue looking for that van or for Madeline.”

  “He doesn’t need to know what’s going on. He hasn’t even identified himself.”

  “Cortland, right?” Maximus said and his brothers all looked shocked. Hunter got pissed.

  He stepped closer and shoved his finger into Cortland’s chest. “She’s our woman, we’ll find her and kill those who took her.”

  “You don’t deserve her. You fucking don’t even love her. If you did, then this never would have happened. You would have been protecting her. Assholes,” he said and walked out.

  “He thinks he’s going to come in here to our town and our family and say that shit? What a dick,” Jedda snapped.

  “Hey, he’s just as pissed off, frustrated and angry as we are. Except he’s had a thing for her and she never reciprocated. She did with us, and he’s looking to hate us and blame us for this. We have no choice right now. Not until Broaden contacts us with a plan. He promised he was working on it. He knows where she is. He has to or he wouldn’t have asked us to hang tight as well.”

  “Well like he said, Madeline gave the feds information on Bentley, who ultimately was trying to destroy Broaden’s company, and also control that guy Scapio who was abducted. Madeline wanted to help them both, and then there was the information on our family’s construction company, and those accidents. It’s all connected. He’ll gather the pieces. His friend Felix is on top of it too, and they will call us,” Maximus said to them.

  “God, she must be so scared, and hurt, too. You saw the camera footage in the street. That fucking guy slammed her so damn hard.”

  “They do anything to her, hurt her more, touch her. I’ll fucking kill them,” Hagan said.

  “We all will,” Jedda added, and all they could do was wait.

  “Felix, are you fucking kidding me?”

  “No. The feds lost them. They thought they were going to one location, but it wasn’t the one. They took a chance and they lost them completely.”

  “Fuck! Bentley is going to fucking kill her. He’ll assault her, maybe even rape her, and then leave those two assholes to have their way with her. We need to let her men get involved. They’re Marines, they know how to hunt. Their brother, the sheriff was shot and nearly died. Give them the information on Mo Banks and Jerry and Bucky. They’ll find Bucky and get him to tell them the hideout spot and where Scapio is. That’s got to be where they took Madeline.”

  “Fuck, it’s a mess, and it shouldn’t have gone down this way. They left me out of the loop as well. Call them, and make sure they keep it on the downlow,” Felix said, and Broaden picked up the phone and called Maximus Lantern.

  Scapio was breathing through his nostrils. He couldn’t believe it. They beat up Madeline, struck her in the head so hard, she had blood all over her dress and blouse. The blouse was ripped and he could see the finger marks. Those dirty bastards assaulted her. Now Bentley was at it, trying to see what information she gave the feds. She could barely remain awake.

  Smack. The strike against her cheek was hard and loud. Scapio cursed. “Leave her alone. She’s got a head injury and those asshole losers you hired did enough damage.”

  The strike to his back sent Scapio onto the floor. His hands were tied behind his back and he couldn’t get back up. Jerry grabbed him and pulled him up and into the chair.

  “Shut up and watch. She cooperates and you both won’t feel any more pain. You’ll be dead,” Jerry said and Mo chuckled.

  “Not before I sink my cock into that body. She can take all of us. She’s fucking five men,” Mo said and Jerry chuckled.

  “Shut the fuck up,” Bentley told them and then rolled up his sleeves.

  He gripped her cheek and she gasped. “Please, my head, Bentley. I can’t take the pain.”

  “Oh, you’re going to be taking a lot more. I want to know what you told those feds. What places you named.”

  “All of them,” she said to him. He struck her again across the mouth and she fell onto the floor. Her hands weren’t tied, nor her legs. She was a mess and Scapio couldn’t take it.

  “Leave her alone. She doesn’t deserve this.”

  “Shut the fuck up. You should have just cooperated, and she wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t either. All you had to do was give Pierre the deal. I get my money, everyone is happy. But no, you fucked it all up. Now, you’ll both die,” Bentley said and then grabbed her by her blouse, ripping it. He brought her to the chair, placed her back into it and then put his gun on the small table. He gripped her hair on the top of her head.


  She cried out. “Ouch. Oh God, please. I can’t take it.”

  “You’re fucking boyfriend, that sheriff, is already dead because of you. His brothers probably wish you were dead, too. You caused this shit and you’re going to die, so just tell me what names you gave the feds? Tell me.” He shook her head and she cried out.

  “I don’t remember. I can’t take the pain. I—"

  Smack.

  It was not a happy moment like they all thought it would be. To meet Madeline’s family, her parents and brothers who were just as big and fierce as all of them, and they were pissed off. The colonel was demanding answers and looking to call in people he knew. Maximus was trying to calm him down as Madeline’s mother, Mary Ann, was trying to keep the peace between all of them.

  “We love your daughter. We’re committed to her a hundred percent. As scared and angry as you are, we are even more so. We will get these men,” Hunter said to them just as Maximus’s cell phone rang.

  “It’s Felix,” he said and answered it.

  “Hello.”

  “The feds fucked up. They lost them when they decided to take a chance on a location they assumed these men were holding Scapio.”

  “No, what the fuck, Felix. You asked us to stand down and the feds did too, and then they fuck this up.”

  “What is it? Is Madeline okay?” her father asked.

  “Broaden said to use you guys, and that you’re that good.”

  “Her brothers and father are here, too. I’m putting you on speaker. Whatever you need we’re in this together,” Maximus said and held her father’s gaze. The man was one fierce looking dude and her brothers were, too.

  As Felix explained the plan and the location, they all chimed in on what they would do, how fast they could get there with some help from military friends, and a plan was in motion.

  “We’re going to get her back, and bring her home to Tatum,” Maximus said, and they got things started together.

  Madeline was losing her mind. She couldn’t even puke any more because she hadn’t had anything in far too long. She couldn’t even think, and opening her eyes hurt. She lost consciousness several times, but still when she awoke, that gun was still on the small table. Could she reach it, get to it fast enough? Was the safety on? How much time would it cost her to figure it out, turn and shoot these assholes?

  She glanced at Scapio. He tried to get them to stop hitting her, but they struck him too and beat him down. She heard what they said. They were going to kill them. No one was coming. That was obvious, and she tried buying time, made up shit she told the feds and then pretended to pass out. Bentley was growing impatient, and he even ripped her top and started messing with her body. She fought herself to not respond, to gain more energy then make the move. He wouldn’t get too far. He couldn’t rape her. She would die first rather than ever let the man inside of her body again. Tears filled her eyes as she thought about Tatum. He was dead. Shot three times and he went down, wasn’t awake. Jerry killed him. Mo and Jerry were all part of this and they should die, too.

  “Okay, enough rest, bitch. This is it. I’ve got a plane to catch,” Bentley said and gripped her hair and shoved her head back. Her spine hit the back of the chair and her head snapped back, adding to the pain.

  “I hate you,” she said to him.

  “I hate you. We’re even.”

  “Not quite,” she said and closed her eyes, then took a few breaths when Mo jumped up.

  “Hear that? What the fuck is that?” Mo said and pulled out his gun and headed toward the door.

  Jerry went toward the window and she made her move. She lunged forward, grabbed the gun, turned on Bentley as he widened his eyes while pulling a knife from his waist. She hadn’t seen through blurred vision. She shot him first as she fell to the floor. He stabbed down at her hitting her in the arm. She lifted up again as she shot him and Scapio shoved him away. She screamed at Jerry and Mo as they turned to fire, but the door burst open. She shot Jerry in the chest once, but the men finished them off. There were men in black and camo running inside and took them out.

  “Madeline!” Jedda screamed her name and she knew it was her men as she dropped the gun and lay there ready to pass out.

  “He stabbed her,” Scapio said and sat right there next to her.

  “Maddy. Holy shit, glad you didn’t forget how to fire one of these things,” her brother Kurt said as he pulled off his face mask and she realized they were all there, her father, too.

  She looked at Hunter, Hagan, and Maximus as tears flowed, her voice all hoarse and the pain in her arm as bad as her head, if not worse. “Tatum? Oh god, they killed Tatum.” She sobbed.

  “No baby, he’s alive. He made it, and when he finally wakes up, he’ll need you there, to know you’re safe and alive, too,” Hunter said to her.

  “He’s alive? Oh, thank God.” She continued to cry as her men and her brothers and dad tended to her wounds until medics could arrive. It was in that moment, with all of them around her, that she looked at her dad as he squeezed her hand. “We got it from here. Rest now and breathe, soldier. You did it, now we take care of you,” he said, and tears continued to fall as exhaustion overtook her vision and she passed out once again.

  Epilogue

  Madeline could feel the ceiling fan on as she adjusted to her whereabouts. She didn’t even open her eyes because her head was hurting like usual and the bright light would make it worse. She reached out to the left and felt Tatum’s hand. He squeezed it and she knew he was watching her.

  “Nice nap?” he asked and kissed her shoulder where the scar was.

  “You tell me. It was your idea, Sheriff.”

  “Well what choice did we have, the enforcers insisted,” he teased, and she smiled and then turned to look at him.

  Her arm ached. She’d needed a lot of stitches, but nothing compared to Tatum’s injuries and what his recovery would be. All and all, he was doing great and was definitely not one to let getting shot hold him back. She, however, was suffering with aches and pains from the strike to her neck and shoulders. She had to do physical therapy, and it frustrated her that she couldn’t workout and do her martial arts quite yet. She was determined to, but those enforcers were not having it.

  “Thought we heard voices up here,” Jedda said, joining them in the bedroom. The others followed.

  “We ready for some lunch?” Hunter asked and leaned down to kiss her lips. He squinted, some of the bruising on her face was still there, but she was healing.

  “Ibuprofen first,” she said and started to try and get up, but Hunter lifted her up into his arms.

  Hagan kissed her next. “First food so your stomach doesn’t hurt.”

  “You need to get down more food.” Hunter ordered.

  “I got it. I got it,” Tatum complained on the other side of the bed as Maximus and Hagan helped him get up off the bed.

  She hugged Hunter and leaned against his solid chest then reached out to touch Jedda’s cheek. Tatum looked angry and Maximus shook his head in annoyance as Hagan kept his hands on his hips.

  “Stop being so stubborn. You need the help and we’re here for you,” Hagan said.

  Tatum looked at Madeline. “I’m fine.”

  “I am, too,” she said. “Oh brother, two stubborn patients. Let’s go eat,” Maximus said.

  “Wait,” she said to them as they all gathered around one another in the bedroom.