Making the Cut (Sons of Templar MC #1)
Anne Malcom
Prologue
I remember back when I was in high school, I was goofing around with some of my friends on a playground. Wine and vodka were involved. Thanks to liquid courage or liquid stupidity, I walked along the top of a jungle gym, in heels. I fell and broke my arm so badly the bone stuck out from the skin, and no amount of alcohol could anesthetize that. I thought that five minutes before I passed out was the most horrific pain I would ever experience, I was wrong. Now I knew there was a kind of pain so terrible it almost made you want to die. I wanted to live though, as enticing as oblivion was, I was fighting hard against the blackness that beckoned me.
“Oh Gwennie, I will miss you. It seems like such a shame to let you go to waste, but you had to disobey me, then you tried to run. Not very smart.” He shook his finger at me as if scolding a child. “But you did, you saw what you shouldn’t have, so now you have to go. But not before we’ve had some fun with you.”
I couldn’t believe the vile words coming out of his mouth, the violence that had emerged from the man I thought I knew. The man I thought I loved. He circled me, perusing me coldly. I didn’t know where this creature had come from. It had lurked underneath the chiseled jaw, the messy auburn hair, and the bright green eyes. The sculpted muscles that I had found so enticing were being used to inflict pain on me, the tattoos that I thought were sexy were mocking me every time they flew past my face for a punch. The other men laughed, one of them kicked me viciously and a sharp sting erupted in my side, my stomach started to feel weirdly full. The phrase ‘internal bleeding’ vaguely floated into my mind. I didn’t make a sound, silent tears streamed down my cheeks.
“Got nothing to say Gwennie? Funny I never could get you to shut that smart mouth. I should’ve smacked you around more often.” He mused, peering at me the way a fox watched it’s prey.
“Fuck you Jimmy” I whispered, my throat raw and dry from screaming.
He pulled out a long knife from his belt and crouched down beside me. His attractive face was marred with a sick smile.
“No baby, f*ck you. Which is exactly what me and the boys are going to do, and after everyone has had their turn I’m going to f*ck you will this knife.” He ran the long blade against my throat.
I should have felt a sting because blood trickled down my neck. But I felt nothing, the pain that near crippled me seemed to be floating away, my body was light and weightless.
“I think I’ll go first, one for the road ae Gwennie?” His accent caressed my name in a sick taunt.
My heart bet furiously as I watched him undo his belt, the other monsters settled in for the show. He viciously seized my head and thrust his tongue in my mouth. I bit down as hard as I could, feeling satisfaction at the grunt of pain that came from the *s throat.
“BITCH!” He yelled, punching me in the face. My head cracked off the concrete, white spots danced across my vision, it was far from the first time I had been punched. He grasped my head again and spoke in a soft tone. “Try that again, I’ll put this knife through your spine.”
I met his emotionless gaze with determination, and spat in his face. He laughed, slowly wiping his cheek before sucking on his finger. He thrust my legs open and I tried to struggle but my movements were slow, groggy. I wanted to fight, I had to fight harder than this, but my body was betraying me.
“I’m going to enjoy this, much more than when you were willing, this is more interesting, no matter how good you were in the sack.” He whispered in my ear.
I barely acknowledged him, feeling my consciousness start to leave me. I knew that this was it, I was going to die, and I couldn’t fight it anymore. I just wished that I drifted away before he violated me.
“Go to hell.” I croaked, my parting shot.
Suddenly doors crashed open. “POLICE, FREEZE!!” Multiple voices yelled.
I must be dreaming, this is too good to be true.
Gunfire filled the air, Jimmy jumped up, firing shots in every direction. I watched as one by one, my captors collapsed, bullets peppering their bodies. Jimmy, the cockroach, struggled with the officers cuffing him, escaping the bloodbath unharmed. My vision blurred at the edges. The darkness that threatened to engulf me drew stronger, no I can’t die now, I thought desperately.
“Ma’am, stay with me.” An officer filled my vision, taking off his jacket to cover me. “You’re safe now paramedics are on the way, I just need you to stay awake.”
I tried, I really did. I tried to fight the force pulling my eyelids down, but it won and everything went black.
Chapter 1
“When is she going to wake up? Its been over a week!” Demanded a desperate voice.
“When it comes to brain injuries we have no certainties, and your sister’s body was badly beaten, she needs time to heal.” A woman’s voice responded calmly.
I tried to open my eyes but they felt like they were glued shut, I couldn’t move my body. I started to panic, was I paralyzed? Please God don’t let me be paralyzed. I put all of my effort into trying to force my eyes open, they didn’t seem to want to comply. I gave that up and tried to move my mouth, make some kind of sound to alert the people around me that I was awake. But I couldn’t, my body didn’t want to obey me. My panic grew as I realized I was trapped in my own body, unable to control it. I couldn’t think of anything else before the darkness claimed me again.