Page 122 of Animal's Reformation
“I don’t think anyone’s in the building,” she said. “You guys real bikers?”
“No, we just like to dress up like them.” Shadow winked at her and she turned several shades of red as she giggled.
“We gotta get going,” Animal dashed to the stairwell, flung open the door, and rushed up the stairs two at a time, with several of his friends right behind him. Their footsteps reverberated around the stairwell.
When Animal pushed open the door to the third floor, he heard Olivia’s scream. “Fuck!” he yelled, barreling down the hallway.
“Bro, cool down,” Throttle said as he grabbed Animal’s arm and pulled him back. “You’re way too involved. We’ll go in.”
“No fuckin’ way,” Animal replied.
The rest of the members gathered around him, and Shadow nodded. “Throttle’s right. You gotta cool the fuck down or this fucker’s gonna kill your woman.”
“If you can’t detach yourself from it, you’re gonna make the situation worse,” Smokey said.
Animal knew they were right: emotions had no place in carrying out a plan. If he let his anger, his fear, and his love for Olivia rule him, she would be forever lost to him. He had to compartmentalize his anger from his love for his woman. Taking several deep breaths, he let go of his emotions and let steely, icy determination take root.
“There’s a back door over there,” Animal said pointing halfway down the hall. “Do your magic,” he said to Shadow.
“I got my lucky pick,” Rock said as he went to work on the front door lock.
Within seconds the lock clicked and Rock slowly opened the door. Animal looked over and saw that Shadow, Throttle, and Bones had already entered through the back way.
The office was quiet, and a fear like he had never known before sent an icy chill through his veins. If he was too late, Animal didn’t know what he would do.Calm down. Focus. Complete your mission.
Animal motioned some of the men to check out the rooms down one hallway while he and Smokey walked quietly toward a closed door. Smokey pulled Animal back and pointed into a darkened room. Animal switched on the lights and saw papers and folders strewn over the floor by the copier. A large metal puncher laid near the wall where he saw a small spattering of blood.
“We gotta find her—fast,” he said in a low voice.
Animal strained his ears and thought he heard mumbling coming from one of the offices at the far end of the hallway. As he came closer, the voice grew louder, and he heard a man saying, “We will soon be one, my sweet. Our body, heart, and soul will mingle together until …”
Animal tuned the voice out and slowly turned the knob and opened the door. White-hot anger seared through him when he saw Olivia tied up, her breasts exposed, her skirt pushed up, duct tape across her mouth, lying on top of the desk. The fucking bastard straddled her, his flat ass jiggling as he continued to murmur psychotic BS to her.
The light from the desk lamp made the blade of the knife gleam, and the psycho held it in both his hands, high above his head, ready to plunge it into Olivia’s soft skin.
Without hesitation, Animal aimed his gun and shot the asshole in both shoulders. The man squealed and cried, and before he could collapse on top of Olivia, Animal shoved him to the ground and landed a forceful blow with his boot into the bastard’s stomach. Smokey kicked the knife across the floor, and Animal ran over to Olivia’s side. He drew her to him holding her trembling body as he carefully pulled the duct tape from her mouth.
“He—Dr. Linney tried to kill me,” she said between sobs.
“I know, baby. It’s all over. I’m here.” He peppered her face with kisses then wiped away the tears on her cheeks with the hem of his T-shirt.
“He’s the one who’s been doing all the killings. The one who attacked your mom. How could it be him?” She buried her face into his chest.
“It’s all good now, babe. The guy’s obviously a fucking psycho.” Animal cut off the zip ties from her hands then shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
“I feel so sorry for Mrs. Linney. And his kids. Poor Aaron. What am I going to say to him? How could Dr. Linney do this to his family?”
Animal rubbed her back, kissed the top of her head, and let her pour out her shock, grief, and anger.
“Here you go,” Throttle said as he handed Animal a sheet.
He slipped his jacket off her, wrapped the sheet around her, then draped his jacket over her shoulders again.
“We better call the fuckin’ badges,” Smokey said.
“Or we can just waste the fucker,” Shadow added as he kicked the killer in the ribs. Dr. Linney cried out. “You’re not so tough now, you fuckin’ pussy. You’re only the hero when you’re scaring women and carving them up.”
“Let the fuckin’ badges deal with that piece of shit,” Animal said. He placed two fingers under Olivia’s chin and gently tilted her head back. “You up for the bullshit tonight? The badges are gonna want to talk with you.”
