Savage Vandal (82 Street Vandals #1) - Heather Long Page 0,35

he had a gun back there. I shook my head at Doc. I didn’t want him getting hurt for me. Clearly, he worked for my kidnappers, even if he wasn’t one of them. He might have already put his neck out too far. I leaned against the bed with my back to Jasper and then bent, good foot first while hoping the bad could take it for just that long. That done, I got the bad foot through and with care, pulled it up.

Probably not the most graceful put on of panties ever, but the moment they covered my ass, I swore I felt a thousand percent better. Sure, I was still topless, but fucking hell, my bare ass wasn’t hanging out for everyone to see.

“What’s going on?” The beautiful, melodious voice rolled right over me and eased some of the distress brought on by the fight. Vaughn, my brain very helpfully supplied. He’d been the one soothing me in the dark, chasing away my nightmares. “Freddie’s bitching you’re not sharing, Hawk.”

I glanced over my shoulder at a crunch, and there was Vaughn and I finally placed the melodious voice with a face. It was the tech who’d helped me out that night before Eric had shown up. He’d actually tried to get me clear.

He was one of them.

Disappointment inched through me. So far, every single person who’d been nice to me in this shitty little town was linked to this kidnapping. Good to know I attracted a type. He took a bite of the apple in his hand, and the crunch of it echoed through the silent room. My stomach growled at the sound, and my gaze fixed for a moment on the way his lips came together and the hint of juice on them.

It sounded like it would taste fantastic.

With one arm, he pulled the dark blue T-shirt he’d been wearing up and over his head without losing his apple, and then all I could see was the ripple of densely packed muscle under a colorfully inked skin. Someone had used him as their canvas, and my panties went damp, and not just from the water still dripping from my hair.

“Here,” he said in that soft voice, like this was the most natural thing in the world as he bypassed both Jasper and Doc. “Let’s get this on you. You look cold and a little miserable.”

I laughed. It was a weird little sound and it kind of hurt to let it out, but laughing was better than crying. Biting the apple and holding it in his teeth, he wiped his hand against his jeans and then tugged the shirt over me, maneuvering my arms with ease, and then I was surrounded in his scent again.

“You hungry, Dove? I can fix you something.” He offered his apple though, not the side he’d bitten into. Fuck it, I was hungry and so I took a bite, and damn if it wasn’t juicy, crispy, and sweet. The taste flooded my mouth, and I closed my eyes, almost swaying.

“Fuck.” Jasper’s sharp curse had my eyes jerking open in time to catch him storming out of the room. Sure enough, there was a gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans. A cold shudder went through me.

“Look after her,” Doc ordered. “I’ll be back.”

Then he followed after Jasper, and there was a sound of another door closing. When I looked back at Vaughn, he gave me a small smile. The copper of his hair seemed to gleam in the light, and his grin was easy, like they did this every day. “They’ll figure it out. C’mon, get back in the bed and you can have the rest of my apple.”

As nice as he was being and as pretty as he was…he wasn’t my friend or my ally.

“Need a hand, or you got it?”

Exhaustion hit me all over again, and I sagged against the bed. Not even the warmth of his shirt or the richness of his scent around me was a comfort now. I was still trapped here—wherever here was—with armed, tatted up men, who probably wanted to hurt me. Or at least wanted something from me.

I pulled myself on the bed, and Vaughn let me do it, even when I grimaced. Once I settled against the headboard, I was ready to just close my eyes and pass out all over again. God, I was tired.

“Here,” Vaughn said, holding out the apple. As much as I’d have liked to refuse his food, I