Page 105 of Searching for Bristol
He hated it, but he understood. And was grateful to whoever’d had the presence of mind to do what he couldn’t.
Rocky fell to his knees next to the bed and frantically reached for the contraption around her head. When the woman he loved more than life itself jerked away from him, he froze.
“Easy, Rocky,” Ethan said quietly. “Go easy.”
Taking a deep breath, Rocky said, “It’s okay, Punky. We’re here. You’re safe. I’m gonna get this off, okay? Hang on for a second and we’ll have you out of here.”
The more he talked, the more she seemed to calm.
The sight of her bound in chains made Rocky want to fuckingkillLance. Bristol needed him more. She came first. Always. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t making plans in the back of his head as to how to end the man once and for all.
He knew people. People who knew people. The kind who could easily get to the asshole who’d done this to Bristol, even when he was behind bars.
It took a minute for him to figure out the straps of the gag, and the second he removed the ball from Bristol’s mouth, the most anguished, heartbreaking, pissed-off scream came from her throat. Rocky had never heard a sound like it. It went on and on, as if she was purging all the fear that had been bottled up since she’d been taken.
The sound eventually tapered off and turned into sobs. Drew and Talon were working on freeing her hands from the chains, and Ethan and Raiden were at her feet, probably doing the same with that manacle. Rocky took her into his arms, and when she buried her head against his neck, when he felt her hot breaths against his skin as she cried, Rocky closed his eyes in thanks.
He had no idea what she’d been through, but she was alive. He’d get her the best psychologist in the country to help her deal. Whatever they had to endure, Rocky was just so damn grateful she was in his arms again.
Light suddenly pierced the room when Zeke tore down the blankets that had been covering the window. Dust motes swam in the air, highlighted by the sunlight coming from the window.
Rocky could feel Bristol doing her best to control herself. She pulled back and looked up at him. Someone handed him a towel, and Rocky gently and reverently wiped her chin and face of the saliva and tears that still lingered.
“Water,” Brock said as he handed Rocky a glass.
“Please,” Bristol whispered as she eyed the liquid. Rocky helped her sit up and held the glass to her lips. She drank it down without pausing to take a breath. When she was done, Rocky passed the glass backward, not caring who took it from him. He couldn’t take his eyes off Bristol. He could hardly believe she was here.
“Her leg’s fucked,” Talon said in a harsh whisper.
Rocky turned away from her face for the first time.
Finally, Bristol spoke. Her voice was rough, as if it had been a while since she’d spoken. “He smashed it with a hammer after he removed the cast,” she said. “He didn’t want me to be able to get up, so he went allMiseryon me.”
Horror almost drowned Rocky. He’d never liked that movie. Hadn’t been able to stomach watching the entire thing. And to think something like that had happened to his Bristol…it made him want to hurl once more. He controlled himself. Barely.
“He soundproofed the room with the blankets. He gagged me whenever he left so I couldn’t call out. Chained my hands down so I couldn’t remove the gag. I was literally stuck. I didn’t know when it was day and when it was night.” She was talking almost frantically now, as if wanting to get all the details out in case something else happened. “When he didn’t kill me that first day, and didn’t seem interested in raping me or anything, I thought my best course of action was to do whatever he wanted. To be nice to him. I didn’t want him to see me as any kind of threat. Or to use that hammer on me again.” She used her chin to bring everyone’s attention to the hammer sitting on a small table on the other side of the room.
As proud as Rocky was of his woman, hatred burned in his heart.
“All right. She’s free,” Drew said.
“Nobody touch anything,” Simon ordered. Rocky hadn’t even noticed the police chief arriving. All his attention had been on Bristol. “We need to preserve the evidence to take this asshole down.”
“Oh, he’s going down,” Talon said, anger making his voice shake.
Delayed reaction began to set in for Rocky. The dark room, the hammer, the chains. He began to shake…and couldn’t seem to stop.
“It’s okay,” Bristol said, putting her arms around him as best she could from her position on the bed. “I’m all right. You found me.” It was amazing how calm she sounded. After her initial reaction, she’d managed to pull herself together.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” he said, burying his head in her hair.
“For what?” she asked.
“For taking so long!”
She chuckled—and Rocky whipped his head up in surprise at the sound. How the fuck could she belaughingright now?
She lifted a hand and cupped his cheek. “I knew you wouldn’t stop looking until you found me. Doesn’t matter how long it took.”
