Diablo Chapter 2

Anxiety seemed to be swirling in my gut as I carried the woman into the clubhouse and to the room set aside for Wolverine to do his medical work. He called it the sick bay. It was what they called it in the Navy. After seeing what they had set up in Dublin Falls and Hunters Creek, he'd become envious and insisted we needed something similar. I wasn't about to argue with him, so we conferred with Zara, Payne's old lady and wife in Hunters Creek, on what was essential. Being a doctor and having a clinic, she was the expert. The other old ladies, who were medically trained, helped as well.

I thought we had a more-than-decent setup. Occasionally, he'd come to church to ask for something new. He only did that when it was a big-budget item. He had a set budget we gave him each month to buy other needed supplies. We'd hear him out and then vote on whether to purchase it. We didn't have that many medical needs, but it paid to be prepared. Sometimes, it wouldn't be wise to go to the hospital for treatment unless necessary.

"Put her here," he told me, pointing to the exam table. I placed her down as gently as possible. I was worried. He'd told me she hadn't made a sound or moved the whole ride here. I slipped my fingers up to feel for a pulse. Relief flooded me, feeling it was there, although not as strong as I thought it should be.

Wolverine was at the sink, running water into a basin. He'd closed the door to the room, so it was just us and her. I stood there, not knowing what to do, but I couldn't leave either. He came to the table with the basin and several washcloths.

"I need to cool her down. Could you ask someone to run and get as much ice as possible? And tell them to knock when they come back. Don't just barge in," he instructed.

"Sure thing."

Moving to the door, I cracked it. The hall was full of guys. They cast me quizzical looks. "We need ice, as much as you can get. Knock, don't come in." I saw Liam dart off. I addressed Scorpion.

"Is someone at the gate waiting for the ambulance?"

"Lucky and Zax are, but I don't know how soon they'll arrive. When Lucky called them back, they had no idea how soon they'd get here. I guess the wreck was huge and had so many casualties they had to call for help. She might be here for a while."

"Shit! Alright, let me talk to Wolverine. Maybe she isn't as bad as we think, and we can just cancel them since they're not doing us much good anyway. If she needs to be moved, we might be better off taking her ourselves," I muttered before shutting the door.

When I turned, I found Wolverine had her top off and was working on her skirt. The sight of her exposed to him, even though she had on underwear and a bra, bothered me.

"What're you doing?" I asked, even though it was plain to see what he was doing.

"I've got to get these off so I can place cool cloths all over her body. I'll leave her underclothes on. I don't want her to wake up and freak out that she's naked with strange men."

"Scorpion said the ambulances are tied up and have no idea when they can reach her. Do you think it's severe enough that we should just take her to the hospital, or can you take care of her here?" I wanted to be beside her but stayed near the door to get the ice.

"Goddamn it, just our luck. I can't be sure, Pres. If she doesn't start to react, wake up, or cool down soon, I think she needs more help than I can give her." He was placing wet cloths on her head, wrists, ankles, and underneath her neck and armpits.

"Why those spots?"

"Those are where you have pulse points, and the blood comes closest to the surface. Placing them there will cool her faster. Ah, hell, forget these. I need a sheet. Where's the damn ice!" He raised his voice.

I swung around to open the door to yell for it. I had my hand on the handle when there was a knock. Cracking it again, I reached out to snag the big bowl of ice Liam held.

"I can run and get more if you need it," he said.

"Gather what you can, then hang onto it, in case we do. See what everybody has at their houses. Scorpion, tell Lucky to call the ambulance back and tell them to cancel the call out if they can't be here in the next ten minutes. We'll bring her in if she needs to go," I ordered.

"Got it. Let us know what else you need," he responded before walking off.

"Thanks," I said to Liam as I shut the door and rushed the ice to Wolverine. He took it and dumped it into the sink with the water he'd run into it. Next, he dunked a bedsheet into the iced water, soaking it. Wanting to be helpful, I took one end of the sheet and helped him to wring it out when it was thoroughly wet. We carried it to the table and spread it out over her. Once it was in place, he picked up one of the washcloths and handed it to me, along with a pair of gloves.

"Will you wipe the blood off her face while I examine her? I need to know where she's injured and how badly. With all that on her, I have no clue."

"Sure."

I wrestled the gloves on. I hated when I had to use them. Admittedly, it was never to help someone. They were necessary when getting my hands dirty for other reasons. After I got them on, I re-wetted the cloth and began to wipe at the hair sticking to the blood on her face. I pretended she was a baby. I recalled how it was to wash Brooklyn when she was small, and I'd been afraid I'd hurt her.

It took some work, but eventually, I got her hair out of the way and was able to tackle the blood. As her skin became visible, I couldn't help but notice things about her other than her injury. She was young, maybe a few years older than Brooklyn. Her skin was so pale but based on what I saw of the rest of her, this was her natural skin tone. It contrasted with her jet-black hair, which was long, thick, and straight. Her nose was straight and delicate. It matched with the rest of her face. I was tempted to take off my gloves and run my fingers over her skin to see if it was as soft as it looked. The only blemish I saw, and it was almost unnoticeable, was a thin white scar above her left eyebrow. When I got to her hairline, I discovered the source of the blood or at least one of them. There was a cut there. I stayed away from it, not wanting to cause it to start bleeding again.

"She's got a cut along her hairline," I told him. He was cleansing and examining her upper chest, listening to her breathing with his stethoscope, and re-checking her blood pressure.

"So far, I haven't found any others. It could very well be this is all from her head wound. They bleed copiously. I need to check the back of her head. Will you hold her up so I can?"

"I can. You wanna do it now?"

"Yeah, let's. In fact, we need to roll her over. I'll examine her backside and put down a wet sheet underneath her. Give me a minute to get one," he said, before walking to the cabinet where he kept bedding and other supplies. He pulled out another sheet and took it to the sink. Within no time, he was back. I hesitated to touch her. What if I hurt her? He appeared sure of his touch, so I followed his lead.

He told me where to place my hands and when to roll her. She ended up pressed to me. He spread out the sheet and then began running his hands over the back of her head. He hissed and scowled harder.

"What?"

"She's got a big knot back here and a cut. I think it's a pretty good bet whoever put her in that trunk ambushed her, knocked her out, and then stuffed her in there. I'm not sure how she got the cut on the front of her head. She might have a concussion. Let me finish checking her back and stuff."

He quickly ran his eyes and hands down the rest of her. Again, I was struck by the need to tell him not to touch her. What the hell was up with that? I didn't know her. Why care about anyone touching her, as long as it wasn't to harm her?

"Okay, you can let her rest back. I'm done. There's some bruising and scrapes along with her head injuries. Let me take a closer look at the rest of her front," Wolverine said. I eased her back.

He removed the wet sheet and tossed it back into the cold water. I took notice of her body this time. Was it the time or place? No, but then again, I was a healthy male, and an attractive woman was hard to ignore for long. As he continued to prod and poke her, I scanned her from head to toe. Even still bloody and in less-than-ideal shape, there was no denying she was a tempting woman. Her body was what I called shapely. She had curves and meat on her bones. Her breasts filled out the bra more than adequately. Her waist was slightly curved inward before swelling wider, revealing she had hips. No one would see her from a distance and mistake her for a boy. Her legs were toned, and her thighs were thick, but not in a bad way. When he had me holding her on her side, I noticed she had an ass on her, too. Jesus, I had no right to be thinking any of this. She was my daughter's age. Talk about a dirty old man.

Of course, the club sluts and hangers-on tended to be young as well, but they were different. Whoever this woman was, I doubted she'd appreciate a man ogling her and cataloging all her attributes while she was unconscious. I needed to concentrate on getting her the help she needed, not fantasizing about her body and how sexy I found her. I was shaken from my perusal by Wolverine's next remarks.

"Whoever did this, she fought back. See her knuckles? I wonder who she is and why someone felt the need to take her?" As he considered it, he was back to wringing out the sheet again. I hurried over to help him. I felt relief when she was covered again. He got out a small light. I knew it was used to check her pupils. I leaned close to watch.

When he lifted her eyelid, I was struck. She had the greenest eyes I'd ever seen. They didn't look real. Before I thought of it, a comment slipped out.

"Damn, those are some green contacts."

"They're not. Those are all hers, and you're right. They are an unusual green. Her pupils are a bit sluggish. She might have a concussion. We need to see if we can get her to wake up. Give me a second, and I'll grab the smelling salts. Be ready. If she does wake up, she'll likely be confused and terrified. We can't let her hurt herself more," he warned, as he went to one of the drawers and then returned.

I stood still as he broke the white capsule and waved it under her nose. She jerked, and her head moved slightly away from the noxious scent. He did it again. She scrunched her brow this time, and then her eyelids fluttered slightly. He leaned closer to her.

"Sweetheart, we need you to wake up so we know if you're alright. Come on. You can do it. Show us those gorgeous green eyes. Tell us your name. We want to help you, honey," he softly crooned to her. Hearing him talk to her like that made my hackles rise. I had to force myself not to snap at him.

Her head shifted from side to side a couple of times. I held my breath. Moments later, her eyelids fluttered again, but this time, she opened them. When she saw us, surprise and then fear entered them. She gasped and tried to move away from us. I placed my hand on her shoulder. Her body was shaking. She flinched when I touched her.

"Honey, it's okay. No one here will hurt you. We brought you here to help you," I told her.

For several seconds, she shifted her gaze between the two of us, as if trying to determine if I was lying. Finally, she opened her mouth.

"W-who are you? Where am I?" she whispered hoarsely.

"I'm Diablo, and this is Wolverine. You're in our clubhouse just outside of St. Augustine, Florida. Can you tell us your name? Do you live in St. Aug?" I asked.

"Clubhouse?" she asked in confusion.

I watched as her eyes scanned us. She noted the tattoos she could see and our leather cuts. I turned far enough to allow her to see the back of my cut to answer her unspoken next question. Her eyes widened, and instead of reassuring her, it terrified her more. Suddenly, she was lashing out with a fist and trying to get up at the same time. Both of us reached out to subdue her.

"Whoa, that's not necessary. We're not harming you. You need to lie still. You've been through an ordeal. I don't know if you have other serious injuries," Wolverine explained as he prevented her from getting up. I had both of my hands holding her shoulders. I made my grip as gentle as possible.

"Please, let me go. I won't tell. Please," she pleaded. Hearing those words and seeing her terror, tore at my heart.

"Honey, we can't. Not until we know you'll be alright. Just calm down. Yes, we're bikers, but you have nothing to fear. We don't hurt women and kids. I'm the president. I can promise you, you won't be harmed by anyone here. Will you tell us your name, please?"

I eased off my hold on her as I talked. I don't know if it was that combined with my smile and calm tone, but she seemed to relax a bit more. I waited patiently for her answer.

"My name is Jauhnna. You said I'm in St. Augustine, Florida?"

"It's nice to meet you, Jauhnna, although I wish it had been under better circumstances. Yes, St. Aug, Florida. We're outside the city limits. My club has property, and you're in the clubhouse. We found you along the road in the trunk of a car. Can you tell us what happened?" I asked. I wanted to know who the fuck did this to her.

"Wait, sorry, Pres, but first I need to ask her a few questions to check out her memory," Wolverine interjected before she could answer me.

"You're right. Go ahead and ask whatever you want. I'll wait."

Her gaze went from me to him.

"Thanks. Jauhnna, can you tell me your full name, where you live, and how old you are? I need to assess if your memory is impaired. You have a big knot on the back of your head and cuts in front and back. We suspect you were hit at least twice," he explained kindly.

"My name is Jauhnna Carter. I live in Savannah, Georgia. I'm thirty-two."

Savannah wasn't far, just under two hundred miles north of us. I wondered why her kidnappers were bringing her to Florida. As I thought that, her age pushed into my head more. Damn, she was only six years older than my daughter. Disappointment filled me at the thought, though I had no clue why. What did it matter? Wolverine was asking her more questions. I chose to focus on those.

"Do you hurt anywhere? I need you to be honest. I can't help you if I don't know."

"My head is pounding, and my arms and legs feel stiff and achy. I'm so thirsty."

"I put in an IV to hydrate you in the truck, but you're alert enough to drink. Stay right there and let me get you some water."

He went to the small fridge he had in here and took out a bottle of water. He brought it to her. She tried to sit up but slumped back down. Finding the latch on the table, I raised the head of it for her. She gave me a faint, grateful smile. I noticed her hand shook when she took the bottle from him to take a drink. Without thinking, I put my hand on the bottom and held it for her.

"Take it slow. Take little sips until we know if you can keep it down. If you have a concussion, it can make you nauseated," Wolverine warned her. He was closely watching her.

She did as he said. When I thought she'd taken enough for her first time, I eased the bottle away.

"Thank you," she muttered.

"Can you tell us what happened? Who did this to you? Do you know why they'd bring you to Florida?" I asked, impatient to have something to go on.

She grimaced and was silent for a few moments before she began her tale. Emotion was evident immediately.

"I wish I could tell you who did this to me, but I didn't know any of the men who took me. They were strangers."

"Okay, where were you taken from? What did they say to you? Did they say anything to indicate if you were a random person they grabbed or if they were after you specifically? There's a huge human trafficking trade all over the world, and Florida is a prime spot for it. They seem able to get people in and out of the country more easily from here," I explained.

She shifted on the table before continuing. "They were waiting for me when I left my house for work. I think it was this morning. A man approached me. He said he was looking for his dog, which had run away. I asked him what kind it was and its name. When he hesitated over it, I got suspicious. I tried to escape him by saying I would go in one direction while he went in the other.

"I planned to either get to my car or back to the house. He knew he was busted, though, and he came at me. I tried to fight him and would've gotten away if it wasn't for the fact that he had a partner hiding nearby. When I resisted, he came out of the shadows and hit me on the back of the head. I remember everything getting woozy after he did it.

"They picked me up and took me to their car. It was parked not far away. When we got to it, I started fighting again. I hit the front of my head when I was slammed into the bumper of the car and then was shoved into the trunk and restrained. After that, it was just endless driving until I lost consciousness. What day is it, and what time?"

She shivered as she came to a halt in her explanation. I didn't want to badger her, but the more details we had, the better.

"It's Saturday, the third, and it's six ten in the evening," Wolverine supplied as he came to her with a thermometer. It was one of those you ran across the forehead. It beeped quickly. He glanced at the reading and nodded.

"Your temperature is coming down. That's good. We were afraid you'd suffered heatstroke in that trunk. It can be deadly."

His remark made the wet sheets and her state of undress register. She glanced down at her body, and then her cheeks reddened. She wouldn't make eye contact with either of us. I thought it was cute. When was the last time I saw a woman blush? I couldn't recall. She crossed her arms over her chest, even though it was technically covered.

"Jauhnna, I swear you were treated with respect. I wouldn't have removed your clothes if it wasn't for the heatstroke. Your temperature was a hundred and two. It's one hundred now. As soon as it returns to normal, you can get dressed," he promised.

"Did they say anything after they captured you? Like, why they did it?" I asked again.

"They argued after they put me in the trunk. The one who said he was looking for his dog was telling the other they had to get me to the pickup spot or the boss was going to be pissed. He had plans for me, and failure wasn't an option," she whispered as she stared down at her hands, now clenched on her lap.

"Jauhnna, I need you to look at me," I demanded.

She slowly raised her eyes to me. God, that green was mesmerizing. I fought not to get lost and drown in it. When I had her whole attention, I continued. My gut told me there was more to this, and she held something back.

"I need the truth. We can't help you if we don't know everything. Do you know where they were taking you or to whom?"

She sat there mutely. I was about to demand she speak when she did. "I can't say for sure it was him, but I suspect I know who their boss is. I have no idea where they were taking me. He was never in Florida before." She paused, swallowed, and then finished. "I think they were hired to find me by my husband. I doubt very much he's happy that I left him."

Anger and crushing disappointment hit me. She was married and running from her husband. Hearing this conflicted me. On the one hand, that itch was growing inside of me—the one where I let the demon or maybe the devil inside of me out. There was a reason my road name was Diablo. I was my daddy's son. One sure way to be the target of my rage was to harm someone. After what happened to Amy and Brooklyn, anything to do with hurting children and women set me off.

On the other, I detested knowing she had a husband, even though she didn't want him. Unless they'd fought, she'd run off in a tizzy to prove a point and to teach him some kind of lesson. I had to know.

"Why did you leave him? How long have you been hiding from him?" I snapped. She jumped and gave me a wide-eyed look.

"W-why does it matter? I don't want to be with him. I just want to be left alone to live my life in peace."

"If you want our help, tell me why and how long. Is this just a lover's quarrel that got out of hand?"

Her expression changed to a fierce one as she straightened on the table. Her fists were clenched at her sides now. "Does being beaten and degraded for years until you can't take it anymore and you decide you either escape him one way or the other sound like a lover's quarrel? I've been hiding from him for three years! I got complacent and thought he'd stopped looking, and even if he were, he'd never find me. I must've screwed up somehow. I will never go back to him. Do you hear me? If he gets his hands on me for good, I'll take my other escape option," she snarled. There was a fire in her that, truthfully, I liked seeing.

My gut churned at the conviction in her voice. I homed in on her last remark. I prayed I was wrong. "What is your other escape option?" I asked gruffly.

"I'll die before I let that man touch me or dictate my life again. He was never my choice, and I won't be his whipping girl and prisoner again."

"You're talking suicide," I stated.

"Yes, I'm talking about suicide. You'd be surprised at the many ways you can accomplish it. He's a monster."

The fury was building in me the more I heard. The thought of her ending her life to escape him floored me. There was no way I'd allow it. Protecting those weaker and in danger was what we did whenever we had the chance. How could we turn our back on her? We needed more information, of course, but she wasn't going to be left to deal with this alone.

Wolverine gave me a chin lift. He knew what I was contemplating. The club wouldn't be shocked at all when I told them we were going to go hunting. That's assuming she was speaking the truth and wasn't someone who hurt others and was as evil as her husband sounded. I doubted she was, but we had to make sure. Over the years, I'd encountered a few women who were worse than some men and deserved to be put down so they could never hurt anyone else. A thorough background check would confirm whether her story was true. I'd get Micro on it first thing.

"There will be no hurting yourself, you hear me? You leave him to us. I need more information," I told her.

"What kind of information? What can you do? Believe me, you don't want to be on his radar. If he finds out you helped me, assuming it was him, he'll retaliate. I can't let you get hurt because you were nice enough to help me," she stated firmly.

"If he comes looking for my club, he'll get the surprise of his life. Trust me. This kind of situation is right up our alley. I need to know his name and where he can be found. Another club member, our brother, Micro, will want to talk to you. He's our research guy."

She shook her head. I waited to see what else she'd say, but as long as she was legit, it wouldn't matter. We wouldn't leave her to the wolves. It went against everything we believed in. To turn our back on a woman in need would require me to hang up my cut—no goddamn way.