Devil's Pass (The Harlequin Crew #.5) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,14

hurting you?" I growled, a fierce protectiveness coursing through me, possessing me.

I buckled my jeans with one hand and checked my truck keys were still in the pocket. Then I grabbed a black shirt out of the closet, pushed my feet into my boots and opened my balcony door. I didn’t know where she was, but I knew I was going there.

"My neighbour, that fucking creep Axel, the one who works for your dad," she sobbed.

My blood chilled as I stepped out into the balmy night air. "What did he do?" I growled, heat and rage and fear colliding together inside me. If he'd hurt her, touched her, I'd fucking destroy him. Wipe him from the face of the earth. I didn't know how, but I just would. I’d find a way.

"He dragged me into his house, then he tried to force me to - he tried to make me…he was on top of me and I couldn’t fight him off so I...I hit him with a poker. He's not moving, Fox. H-he's dead."

Ice slid through my veins and shock made my brain jar. I didn’t care that she'd killed some pervert, but I cared because that pervert was one of the Harlequins. My dad’s gang. My dad's guy. She was in serious trouble. For far more reasons than I could process in that split second of terror.

"I'm coming," I promised, clawing a hand through my blonde hair and shoving it back out of my face. "Are you still at his house?"

"Yes," she said shakily.

"Stay there. I'll be with you soon. Just breathe, Rogue. Just fucking breathe. You've done nothing wrong. And I won't let anything bad happen to you, you understand me?"

"Okay," she said heavily. "Thank you. And…"

“What is it?” I asked gently, trying to keep my tone level but it was really fucking hard.

“Can you bring me some clothes? There’s blood and…my panties are torn.” I could hear the embarrassment in her tone and I despised that as fury curled through my veins like hellfire. She had no fucking reason to feel that way. That bastard had done this. Had dared touch my Rogue. Touched her there.

“Listen to me, hummingbird. I’ll bring you everything you need, and don’t you feel uncomfortable about this, baby. I’m gonna make it right, okay?”

“Okay,” she breathed. “Just hurry.”

“I will. We’re all on our way.”

I hung up and returned to my room, grabbing a bag and shoving a shirt, a pair of sweats and some boxers into it. The sound of my brother Maverick's bike reached me and I hurried back onto the balcony just as he pulled along the drive. I swung my leg over the side of the balcony, my heart hammering as I climbed down and my boots hit the gravel. He pulled up beside the garage, frowning at my expression as he jumped off his bike and hurried towards me.

"What's going on?" he asked, his eyes searching mine as I opened the garage door.

"Rogue's in trouble, Rick," I hissed, jerking my head for him to follow me and he abandoned his bike as I ran down to fetch my truck, trying to keep my head and not spiral out of control.

"What's happened? I was just with her." Fear filled his deep voice and that set off another wave of fear in me in turn. Maverick didn’t get scared. Not for anything. But we'd handle this. We'd figure it out. I just had to get to her, make sure she was okay, make sure that fucking asshole hadn't hurt her.

I hurried over to a metal storage box at the side of the garage and pushed it open, taking out a tarp and a length of rope before running back to my truck, throwing them in the bed and climbing into the red Ford pick up. I checked that my gun was in the glove box then snapped it shut again as Maverick got in the passenger side. Dad always told me to carry it though I never usually took it out of the car unless we went shooting for practise.

I turned the headlights on, racing out of the garage and pressing the button on my dash to close it behind us.

"What the fuck has happened, Fox?" Maverick asked urgently, his dark eyes on me in my periphery.

I swallowed the hard lump in my throat, but it wouldn’t go away. "Rogue's been attacked. That creep Snake Eyes took her to his house and-"

"What?!" he bellowed as I turned street corners at