Thunder (Hell's Handlers MC #10) - Lilly Atlas Page 0,2
rush of blood in her ears calm.
Tap, tap, tap.
“Delilah?”
The low whisper barely met her ears. Either she’d gone mad from lack of food and water, or someone called her name through the door.
“Delilah?” A little louder this time.
Oh, my God. It was real. And it was Eric. “E-E?” she croaked. Could her throat get any drier?
Yes, it could—and would. She knew from personal experience.
“Oh, thank God,” Eric said.
“Not so sure He’s on my side, Eric,” Delilah whispered.
Keys jangled, then two seconds later, her brother burst into the room.
Even as relief chased away much of her despair, Delilah frowned at him. “What are you doing here? Go! Do you have any idea what Roger will do to you if he catches you? And—oh, my God, is that Rae?” she said, staring at the bundle strapped to his chest.
“Shh, the only way they’ll find me is if you keep squawking like that demented chicken in the coop.” He dropped to his knees beside her, holding a water bottle to her lips, and she chuckled before taking a sip.
As the tepid liquid filled her mouth, she swished it before swallowing.
So good.
“More, please,” she said, still sounding like an animated frog.
Eric held the water for her again, and as he did, her gaze drifted to the fuzzy blonde head of their baby sister. The one whose mother was younger than Delilah herself. Barely eighteen to be exact. She’d recently married their father and lived a life no one would envy.
Eric gave her a small smile before stroking a tanned finger across the baby’s head. “What are we dealing with here, Delilah? Can you walk?”
Her throat thickened as tears formed. She tried to pinch them off, but one escaped. As was his way, he patiently waited until she’d composed herself.
Her brother was a saint. The boy was huge with dark hair and dark eyes, like their father. At sixteen, he’d already passed six-foot-two and would continue to grow. Years of working on the farm and mandatory military-style training had honed his muscles as well. Eric could easily pass for older than she was.
No matter how many hundreds of hours her father had spent trying to mold his son into the perfect little soldier, Eric remained as gentle a giant that ever lived.
Until someone threatened those he loved. Then he could be as vicious as a junkyard dog—far more man than the boy he’d never been allowed to be.
Each of her five siblings had life beyond their years. All except little Rae, who, if everything went according to plan, would be the only one of them to experience an actual childhood. That thought, that hope for Rae’s future, stoked the flame of defiance inside Delilah. Rae would have a life outside the gates of the community. So would the rest of her siblings.
“Roger discovered my birth control pills. He roughed me up pretty bad and hasn’t fed me at all.”
Eric nodded as he helped her drink another sip of water. “I thought it was something like that. Are you going to be able to walk out of here?” He was the only one who’d known her secret.
With a snort, she shrugged, then winced. “Haven’t tried. It’s been hours since Roger was last in here, and the most I’ve moved was from flat on the floor to against this wall when you knocked.”
“We’re ready to go, Delilah. The kids are packed and in position.”
What?
“Eric,” she breathed. She’d have grabbed him and shook him if the action wouldn’t make her shout in agony. “We can’t.” Her heart kicked up, pounding against her aching ribs. This was insane. Pure madness. How could they pull it off? Rae was so young. So dependent on her mother for every second of her survival.
Even if this was the time to go, could Delilah’s bruised and broken body cooperate enough to handle the physical demands of escape?
Madness.
“We have to,” he said with panic in his voice. “Things are changing, Delilah. Roger is furious like I’ve never seen. I overheard him ranting like a madman in father’s office. He was screaming about you being defective, and how he was promised offspring from the founder’s bloodline, and he is demanding that promise be fulfilled.”
“Oh, God, it’s going to be impossible for me to protect myself from pregnancy after this.” She tapped a hand to her aching forehead as though it would get her nerves firing more effectively. “I need to think, but I’m so hungry it’s hard to concentrate.”