The Battlefield Series 2: Scars Run Deep (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  He looked around them. It was pitch-black, and with no moon tonight, nothing but darkness could be seen through the windows.

  He thought he heard a sound and then felt a bit of air right before he was pulled off of Antonia and was shoved to the rug. He cried out in pain as a thick, hard knee felt as though it shattered his spine. He fought to get free and swung, making contact with what felt like steel. The attacker countered. Once, twice, the fists to his face shattered his noes, broke his eye socket, the pain so bad he cried out and moaned for help.

  He lost his breath when that same dark figure of steel slammed his body back down onto the rug. Once again a knee dug into his back as handcuffs locked his wrists in place, making his shoulder blades burn in pain.

  “It’s over, asshole. You’re done.”

  The lights came back on, and as Ray’s eyes adjusted, his face pressed hard against the rug, he saw a multitude of black boots, men in SWAT gear. The man holding him lifted him up hard. Ray felt his body ache. The cop was a big man.

  Ray saw the familiar faces. Her men and a bunch of others. They looked disgusted, and he smirked as the others went right to Antonia, talking to her and seeing how drugged she was, out of it.

  “You’re too late. I fucked her several times. She’ll always be my woman. She’ll never truly be yours.” He lied to them, knowing that his words would destroy them. He never expected the chief of police to step forward and punch him in the stomach.

  “Get him the fuck out of here now,” Cesar ordered.

  Ray was coughing and yelling at all of them. “I’ll get her back. I’ll have her once again and take her from you. From all of you.”

  He was shoved from the room and pushed along the way.

  Before they brought him out, someone grabbed ahold of him and pressed him against the wall. He locked gazes with the guy called Fox. He was in his face, and Ray could hardly focus his eye was so bruised and swollen, his nose broken and gushing with blood.

  “You’ll never touch her again. That’s never going to happen, asshole. You fucked with the wrong men. You’ll never see the light of day. Hell, you may not even make it to prison,” Fox told him and then shoved him toward the other men, who took him away.

  Epilogue

  “He gave her so much shit. She’s been hallucinating for hours. When will it wear off?” Brooklyn asked Antonia’s men. Jagger pulled her into his arms and held her tight.

  “She should be coming off of them soon. Usually when ketamine is taken, it lasts for hours. We don’t know how much he gave her. The toxicology reports showed a lot in her system.” Cesar looked at Antonia resting in the hospital bed. They were flushing her body with fluids in an IV. She was coming down off of the drugs slower than they’d hoped.

  “Is it true she won’t remember what happened? Is that the usual case with the kind of drug he gave her?” Carina asked.

  Brooklyn knew that was a major concern, especially because they didn’t know if Ray had raped Antonia or not. There weren’t signs of it from the exam the doctors had given her, but they couldn’t be sure.

  “She more than likely won’t,” Damon added.

  “I hope she doesn’t remember any of it. That would be a blessing,” Carina whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks.

  Brooklyn looked at her and saw how hard this had been for her as Antonia’s friend. But she also noticed things, like Carina’s comments, her reaction—especially when they all thought that Ray had raped Antonia. It gave Brooklyn a bad feeling in her gut. She didn’t know about Carina’s past, but she noticed, just like her own men had, that she was really fighting her attraction to Jack and his brothers. In fact, this was the first time one of them wasn’t right by Carina’s side.

  They heard a soft moan and then looked at Antonia. She was starting to wake up. She was stretching her arms up and moving but then cringing.

  “Easy, baby. You have some injuries,” Gino whispered to her as he caressed her arms down.

  She blinked her eyes open and squinted and then reached up to touch her swollen eye and cheek.

  “What happened? My eye hurts and my cheek.”

  Brooklyn felt the tears roll down her cheeks as Jagger hugged her from behind.

  She watched as Gino and Damon spoke softly to her, caring for her. She knew that Antonia was finally safe and that her men would take care of her from here on out.

  “You’re safe, baby. That’s all that matters. Just rest, and we’ll explain everything as soon as you’re all better,” Damon told her and then kissed her forehead before looking away with anger and sadness in his eyes.

  “You’ll help her get through this, Gino. We all will,” Brooklyn said.

  “Yes, we will,” Finnian added.

  “Together,” Cesar whispered.

  * * * *

  Antonia gripped the bathroom sink and stared at herself in the mirror. It had been weeks since Ray had abducted her. He was no longer a threat. Now being charged with numerous felonies, as well as federal crimes, he would be going to jail for life. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her eye, as well as her cheek, was not so bruised, nothing cover-up couldn’t hide. She felt different, though. Remembering that Ray drugged her and how easily he could have raped her still haunted her. Somehow she knew he hadn’t, or maybe it was just the way she wanted it to be. Her gut indicated that he hadn’t. For weeks afterward, she’d cried hard, tried forcing her mind to remember things she just couldn’t remember.

  She looked up information online about ketamine and its different forms. She was fighting a worthless battle. She was never going to remember what Ray had done to her or said to her. The bruises would heal, the memories of that nightmare and Ray taking her would lessen as well, and being with her men seemed to ease the frustration she felt.

  She lifted her fingers to the scar under her breast and wished she could make it disappear.

  “Antonia.” She turned to the left to see Fox and Gino standing there.

  She went to reach for her bra, but Fox stepped closer and took her hand, stopping her.

  She faced him, and he pressed closer as Gino took position next to her, too.

  “Are you feeling okay?” he asked.

  “I’m good. Just thinking.”

  He cupped her cheek, and Gino placed his hand on her hip from behind her. She was wearing only her boy-short panties, and she was instantly aroused by them seeing her naked and touching her.

  “You’re beautiful. You know that, don’t you?” Fox asked her.

  She felt her heart race, and love, so strong and powerful, filled her soul.

  “You think so, despite this scar?” she asked.

  Fox cupped her breast and lowered down to one knee in front of her. That was when she saw Cesar and Damon standing there, wearing only their uniform pants. They were stopping in at lunch again, to make love to her and cherish every moment they could.

  She felt Fox kiss her breast and then lower against the scar, and she closed her eyes and willed the tears away.

  “Don’t ever be embarrassed about this scar. Don’t ever think we look at you any differently, or love you less.”

  Gino squeezed her hip, and she looked at him.

  “You’ve never looked at Fox and I like our scars make you love us any less, so why would we look at yours in that way?” Gino asked.

  “I guess because of what Ray did. How close he came to taking from my body again and trying to ruin any hope of a future I had with you.”

  “He didn’t succeed, baby. We did everything in our power to get to you, to fight for you, because we love you so damn much,” Cesar told her.

  “I know that. You’ll help me get through this. You’ve all been right by my side and seem to understand my fears, my insecurities so well. I just love you so much. I want to be everything for you.”

  Fox kissed her scar and then stood back up. He cupped her cheeks and stared down into her eyes. She held his gaze, loving how manly he was, how all her men set her heart up in flames and m
ade the world seem like the perfect place.

  “You went through hell to get here, to be with us, just as we went through so much shit to survive and make it here to meet you and fall in love with you. The scars from our battles, from your battle, will never let us forget how precious of a gift the love we share truly is. You’re ours forever, baby. Scars and all.” He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her before lifting her up into his arms and hugging her tightly.

  She pulled from his lips and smiled as tears filled her eyes. “I love you, too. All of you so much.”

  “And we love you. Especially being able to make love to you in the middle of the day when we all should be at work,” Cesar teased.

  “Oh, no, will I be getting punished for making the chief of police break the rules again?” she asked, and Fox carried her into the bedroom to lay her down on the bed.

  “You bet this sweet, sexy ass you will be punished, and I get to do the spanking since I should be at work right now and nowhere in Repose,” Damon told her.

  They all chuckled as they got undressed and began to explore her body with mouths and hands. She closed her eyes and relished the feel of her four sexy men surrounding her.

  She was one lucky lady and would never take this life, their love, or the town of Repose for granted. She was finally home. Finally being loved like she’d always wished she could be.

  THE END

  WWW.DIXIELYNNDWYER.COM

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  People seem to be more interested in my name than where I get my ideas for my stories from. So I might as well share the story behind my name with all my readers.

  My momma was born and raised in New Orleans. At the age of twenty, she met and fell in love with an Irishman named Patrick Riley Dwyer. Needless to say, the family was a bit taken aback by this as they hoped she would marry a family friend. It was a modern day arranged marriage kind of thing and my momma downright refused.

  Being that my momma’s families were descendants of the original English speaking Southerners, they wanted the family blood line to stay pure. They were wealthy and my father’s family was poor.

  Despite attempts by my grandpapa to make Patrick leave and destroy the love between them, my parents married. They recently celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary.

  I am one of six children born to Patrick and Lynn Dwyer. I am a combination of both Irish and a true Southern belle. With a name like Dixie Lynn Dwyer it’s no wonder why people are curious about my name.

  Just as my parents had a love story of their own, I grew up intrigued by the lifestyles of others. My imagination as well as my need to stray from the straight and narrow made me into the woman I am today.

  Enjoy The Battlefield Series 2: Scars Run Deep and allow your imagination to soar freely.

  For all titles by Dixie Lynn Dwyer, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/dixie-lynn-dwyer

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com