Ruined (Devil’s Handmaidens MC Alaska Chapter #3)

Chapter 1

ONE

FRENCHIE

I can hear muffled voices coming from the other room but can’t make out their words. The two men are arguing again—one kidnapped me, and the other rapes me constantly. Both men torture and torment me. Wilder is the man who took me away from my family. He said he’d been watching me for a long time. He swears he’ll keep me forever, even after Pierre tires of me. He wants to make a new world with me. I don’t understand what he means by that, and I’m terrified I’ll never escape this hell.

I stretch my neck and feel the rough wood against the back of my head. It catches on the short hair they’ve shaved off, tugging painfully at the strands. I bite my lip as tears prick my eyes. My lips are cracked and dry. Neither man has given me water yet today, and I’m afraid they are going to forget me. I’ll rot away in this box. A pine coffin that I barely fit into. There’s a hole big enough for me to look out of and breathe in air, but I’m kept under the bed, making it hard to tell if it’s day or night.

A gunshot rings out, followed by shouting. I stifle a cry as fear claws at my throat. Is this it? Is this how I die? A wave of regrets crashes through my mind. I should have listened to my parents when they warned me not to sneak out at night. I should have stayed home, should have ignored Paula and whatever she wanted to show me. I should have never listened to her.

I was taken right off the street, just a couple houses down from mine. I walked past a van, and Wilder jumped out from behind it. He pressed a cloth against my mouth before I could react. The next thing I knew, I woke up in this box in the back of that van. They only let me out a couple times a day for food, water, supervised bathroom use—and when they torture me.

The box slides, scraping against the wooden floor of the cabin. Panic surges through me as the lid flips open. Bright light floods my space, and I blink until my eyes focus on a dark-haired woman looking down at me. Overcome with fear, I scream.

I fly up out of bed and crash to the floor in a tangle of sheets. My knees slam into the hardwood, and I cry out. The door bursts open, and I scream as I scurry backward into the corner. The back of my head hits the nightstand. The jolt of pain is exactly what I need to knock me out of my head. I come up off the floor, prepared to fight, and lunge for the person standing in my doorway.

Strong hands grip me and twist me around, and I’m still lost in the nightmare. I fight and throw my head back.

“Baby doll, it’s me.” Dylan’s deep voice breaks me from the darkness. He’s the only person who calls me that. He says it fits me better than my first name or my road name.

I blink several times and shake off the memories from my time as a captive. Dylan takes a deep breath, as if he’s inhaling my scent. He places a soft kiss to the back of my head. I start to relax into him, then stop cold when I realize I’m pressed to his naked chest, his erection digging into my lower back. I break free of his hold and step away, instantly missing his arms around me. Part of me wants to find comfort in him, but I can’t.

I can never do that.

I’m ruined for all men. My captors made sure of that. My parents even shouted it at me before they slammed the door in my face. My mother said no one would ever love me. I don’t know why Vixen took me in, or why Riddler and Jinx took me under their wings, but the Handmaidens protected me and finished raising me.

“I’m fine,” I say, barely keeping the quiver from my voice.

I wish I spoke louder, firmer. I’ve always been soft-spoken. It’s why I planned on being an au pair before my life went sideways. My parents thought I would be better suited as a nanny than working in the outside world. They said I was too gentle, too kind. I couldn’t be the dancer my mother had wanted me to be, so she relegated me to raising other people’s children. I love kids, so it wasn’t a challenge for me. They understand me better than most adults do.

If only my family could see me now. Muscles line my body from the hours I spend working out, making sure I’m never a victim again. I can shoot and wield a knife as well as my club president, Riddler. In fact, I’d bet I’m better at knives than she is.

“You screamed.” Dylan’s gruff voice moves through the darkness. He’s standing close to me again but not touching. It’s as if he can’t be far from me. Others have pointed that out to me too.

Dylan transferred from the Alaska State Trooper Detachment in Palmer to the one in Fairbanks. Now, he crashes on the sofas here in the clubhouse on weekends and whenever we throw parties.

I still remember the first time I saw him. It was eight months ago, when my president and best friend, Riddler, was attacked. Thad, her now-husband, asked me to watch his son while he checked on Riddler. I was calming down Skyler, his daughter— though Thad didn’t yet know she was his. She’d just seen her mother, bruised and bleeding.

I climbed into the back seat of the black pickup where Ryder was strapped into his car seat. I introduced myself and Skyler to him. They hit it off right away, of course. They’re half-siblings, after all. I was sitting there, talking about movies and books with them, when the driver’s side door swung open. The most handsome man I’d ever seen climbed in. I was so dumbfounded, I didn’t even care when he and Thad drove off with me in the back to follow the ambulance Riddler was in. Dylan’s long blond hair hung over his forehead, and his blue eyes met mine frequently through the rearview mirror.

“Who are you?” he asked in his deep voice after we pulled into the hospital and Thad jumped out.

“I’m Minuet, and this is Skyler.” My voice cracked, and I bit my lip. I didn’t realize at the time that I’d given him my real name and not my road name.

He reached out and caressed my jaw before breaking eye contact. I stopped biting my lip, but I was completely lost. I’ve never reacted to a man like that before. Since my captivity, I hadn’t had any interest in men, but Dylan was different.

I didn’t think I’d ever see him again after we left the hospital, but a few weeks later, he showed up at the compound, and he’s been here since. He helped when Skyler was kidnapped, and then again when Jinx and Poison were taken.

I moved into the clubhouse permanently last summer, after Thad moved in with Riddler. A couple of months later, Dylan moved here too. I know he has a house, but he prefers staying here at the clubhouse. He’s been trying to get me to go out with him, but I keep pushing him away.

I don’t date.

I haven’t since before I was abducted. I can’t. I’m too broken. I’m afraid that if he touches me the wrong way, I’ll have a flashback and either attack him or freak out.

“I fell out of bed,” I lie.

Guided by the dim light from my bathroom, I move to my nightstand and flip on the lamp.

“Really?” He glances at the rumpled blankets and tossed pillows on my bed.

I turn toward him, and my breath catches. Not only is he shirtless, but his jeans hang low on his hips, revealing that perfect V-cut some men have. My gaze follows the length of his long legs down to his bare feet. Even they are sexy. As I drag my eyes upward, he moves his hand to adjust his impressive erection. I swallow the little spit in my mouth. Holy shit. For the first time ever, I feel my core spasm slightly. My clit throbs, and my panties dampen.

I want him, but I don’t know what to do.

When my hooded eyes meet his, he slowly moves toward me. I don’t step back. I’m not afraid of him. For once, I want to feel alive.

Just like the first time I met him, I’m biting my lip. He pulls on my chin gently with his thumb, freeing my lip from between my teeth.

“I’m so jealous.”

I rear back at his words. “What? Why?”

“Your teeth get to bite the flesh I’ve wanted to taste for so long. I’m afraid if I don’t do it now, I’ll regret it for the rest of our lives.” He lowers his head and stops, his mouth hovering over mine. “Tell me, baby doll.”

“Kiss me,” I say and close my eyes.

When his lips feather across mine, I reach up and pull him down to me. He groans and deepens the kiss, pressing his tongue to my lips, and I open for him.

This is the first kiss a man has ever given me that I wanted. But I don’t dwell on that. Instead, I focus on how soft his lips are, his overwhelming scent, and his arms wrapped around me. I jump up into those arms, and the next thing I know, I’m pressed into the bed with Dylan’s body over mine.

He continues to kiss me. His tongue exploring my mouth, and mine sliding against his. He sucks and bites my lips, causing me to cry out. My hands are buried in his hair, and I pull him closer. I wrap my legs around his hips, and his cock nestles against my core.

Dylan

S he’s exactly where I want her, but I’m not going to push her further. I won’t ask for more than she’s willing to give. All I care about is tasting and sipping from her lips.

Minuet starts moving her hips, dry humping me, and I know what she wants.

I pull away from her mouth. “Do you need to feel alive, baby doll? To forget the nightmare?” I know she suffers from them. I’ve wanted to help, but I fear my own around her too.

What I saw overseas is more than most soldiers ever experience. I witnessed what criminals become when they are set loose on the enemies of our country. My job was to rein them in. I hunted down the serial killers and psychopaths our government was willing to let run free, simply because they weren’t harming Americans. Sometimes, I was judge and jury. The scars I bear, no one can ever understand. I had to put them down when they wouldn’t come willingly to face a real court.

Now, as a trooper, I see what society refuses to acknowledge. There are some sick fucks out there. Like the man who sold Poison and tried to rape Jinx. Or the men who kidnapped and raped my sweet Minuet. If I ever get the chance to kill Nesbitt, the man who so far has escaped justice, I won’t hesitate.

From the moment I saw Minuet sitting in the back seat of my truck, I knew I had to protect her. She’s a light that this cruel world tried to extinguish, and I won’t let that happen.

Every chance I get, I’m here by her side, letting her know I’m with her. That I want her, and I’m not going away. She moves against me, and I groan as I change the angle and press against her hot core. I can feel the heat coming off her, and I want it. I want to slip my cock out and pin her to the bed with it, but I know she’s not ready for that, so I work on getting her off.

I slide back and forth, against her core, fighting my mind when I want to slide my hand down and touch her. Instead, I focus on angling her head to take my kisses deeper. When she finally cries out, I can’t stop myself. I continue moving against her until I orgasm and make a mess inside my jeans.

Before she can rebuild those walls, I roll us so that she’s on her side and I’m wrapped around her. She drifts off to sleep right away. I fall asleep, holding her close.

When my phone vibrates in my back pocket, waking me, I know I have to leave but don’t want to. I pull away slightly and look down at her beautiful face. She’s relaxed and sleeping peacefully. The dark circles under her eyes are proof that she doesn’t get a full night’s sleep, but that’s going to change. I’ll just sleep with her if we can both get the rest we need.

When I finally pull away from her body, I reach into my pocket and pull out the necklace I got for her. The heavy pendant falls to the side when I slip the chain over her head, and she curls into the pillow I just vacated.

After taking a quick shower in her adjoining bathroom, I leave her a note and slip out of her room. My truck is parked out front, warmed up by the auto-start I triggered while getting dressed. It’s minus ten today—typical for February and January in the Interior of Alaska. I climb into my truck and grab the hat I left on the seat last night. I pull the knit cap down, plastering my damp hair to my head, then head into Fairbanks.

Along with Thad, I’m working on his sister’s case. The troopers didn’t want to let him onto it, but with too many active cases and not enough manpower, this one is fast becoming a cold case. The last lead we had was that she was being flown to Seattle, and then nothing. We don’t know where she was taken from there.

Today we are looking into unidentified female remains found in the Seattle area. It’s an unfortunate reality of the job. I’ve called in some favors with people I know there, but so far, nothing.

I pull up to the detachment off Geist Road and jump out of my truck. I unwrap the cord from my moose gooser bumper and plug it in. Because of how cold it gets here, vehicles are equipped with battery blanket heaters. Some, like mine, also have an oil pan heater and an engine block heater. My truck is a diesel, so it also has glow plugs, and the auto start is programmed to kick in every couple of hours when the temperature drops to a certain level.

The air quality sucks today, thick with ice fog. Fairbanks sits in a bowl, so all the exhaust and wood smoke just hangs in the colder air, unable to dissipate. I pull up the collar of my heavy Carhartt jacket and stomp through the entrance. As soon as I step inside, Thad is there, holding out a coffee mug.

“Saw your truck at the clubhouse this morning. Thought you could use this.”

I take the mug and a deep swallow of the elixir of the gods, then breathe in the warmth.

“Thanks, man. You and your dad still doing the press conference later today?” I gesture toward the window.

“No, we postponed it for a day or two because of the weather.”

Thad is going to announce his resignation, and they are hoping to make a plea for more information on his sister. The reward for information is also being increased. Terry, Thad’s dad, will do whatever it takes to get his daughter back. I don’t blame him. If it were Minuet, I’d never stop looking.

My real fear is that one day her kidnapper, Wilder Nesbitt, will come back for her. She’s the loose end that could put him away for life. With Pierre dead, only Nesbitt can answer for their crimes against my baby doll.

We head to our office and sift through the computer files of the deceased females in Stormy’s age range.