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Chapter Twenty-Three - Rage
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2021-12-01 04:39:23Mayday.
I blinked several times at the text from Dante. The sleepiness in my eyes vanished, and a dose of reality soaked me. I pushed the covers from my body and dialed his number. After seven rings his voicemail picked up.
I dialed his number again, and listened to my heartbeat until I got the voicemail.
Nerves flooded me. What had happened? Had Denver found out I was alive? I pulled on a T-shirt and jeans, before heading out the door.
When I stepped onto the ground I heard the backdoor slam shut. Wes charged down the steps with Neveah on his heels. “Daddy, please. Just stop.”
Not now.
Tears streamed down Neveah’s face as she grabbed at her dad’s shirt. “Stop, don’t.”
Wes snatched from her grip, his eyes taking in the T-shirt she wore—my T-shirt. “Wes,” I said calmly.He jerked from Neveah and before I could counteract, he’d slugged me in the jaw. &l
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Oh no. Please, God. I wiped my cheeks of the waterfall of tears that coated them. Denver snapped his fingers and two armed men from outside, grabbed Rage underneath his arms, and pulled him over to the corner of the room. “Leave him alone!” I screamed.Denver’s chuckle sent chills down my spine. He watched them chain Rage to the wall with a smile on his face before turning to acknowledge me. His piercing blue eyes twinkled, his swim trunks hung low on his hips and the lack of compassion on his face hit me like a brick. “Sweet Angel,” he said. “I’ve got plans for you as soon as your buddy over there wakes up.”He walked toward me, grabbing my foot and yanked me toward him. Fear rushed through me when his finger trailed up the inside of my thigh. I slapped it away, thankful for the use of my hands. My feet had fallen asleep two hours before due to the heavy chains that tied me down.“Oh, don&rs
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The hot summer air did nothing for my mood.The butter I'd been asked to get from the store had already melted in the bag.I'd hoped Mom cooked something good with that butter. I'd lost my Call of Duty match online because of it.It'd been six blocks to the store since I was out of gas, and I didn't get paid at my after school grocery bagging job until Friday.I'd made it to the house with the German Shepard when I smelled the smoke.At first I thought someone was burning leaves. Then I heard all the screams, and my heart dropped into my stomach. I clutched the bag in my hand and ran. There wasn't any way of me knowing who it was, but I had a gut feeling that told me I was about to live my worst nightmare.
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Roughneck    Epilogue - Neveah
Four months later …“He’s up next!” Aunt Shelly screamed in my ear. I didn’t need her to tell me because I’d been waiting for it. I’d counted down each fight waiting to see Rage. The New Orleans arena was huge compared to the one at home. We’d been waiting for this match since Rage started fighting at the gym. I glanced down at my blank cell phone and frowned. Dante hadn’t texted me back. I had hardly talked to him in the last three weeks, and he lived with us. After his surgery, Rage stepped up to the plate and started talking care of him. He’d been closed off and hadn’t showed any interest in anything. I’d never been in a wheelchair, but I knew he was upset about it. Who wouldn’t be?I slid my phone back into my pocket. The last I’d heard of Denver, he was awaiting trial. Knowing that the scumbag would never see daylight again made the kidnapping wort
Roughneck    Chapter Twenty-Six-Rage
We spent the majority of the day at the hospital. Dante was in critical condition. When I found him in the basement I thought he was dead. But he opened his eyes when I bent down beside him. “I’m not dead yet, brother.”I smiled. “Well, we gotta keep you alive for a little while longer. You haven’t fallen in love yet.”“You’re definitely pussy whipped.”I chuckled. Carefully, I picked him up underneath his knees and back. “You’re gonna make it.”He nodded. I didn’t realize what happened to him until I got him up the stairs. Someone had hacked his shin in half. The white bone showed through the meat of his leg. The wound was fresh which meant he hadn’t bled out yet. We got him to the hospital in ten minutes. The police were waiting for us. We spent hours answering questions before they let us go check on Dante. They went into emergency surgery to amputate hi
Roughneck    Chapter Twenty-Five-Neveah
Oh no. Please, God. I wiped my cheeks of the waterfall of tears that coated them. Denver snapped his fingers and two armed men from outside, grabbed Rage underneath his arms, and pulled him over to the corner of the room. “Leave him alone!” I screamed.Denver’s chuckle sent chills down my spine. He watched them chain Rage to the wall with a smile on his face before turning to acknowledge me. His piercing blue eyes twinkled, his swim trunks hung low on his hips and the lack of compassion on his face hit me like a brick. “Sweet Angel,” he said. “I’ve got plans for you as soon as your buddy over there wakes up.”He walked toward me, grabbing my foot and yanked me toward him. Fear rushed through me when his finger trailed up the inside of my thigh. I slapped it away, thankful for the use of my hands. My feet had fallen asleep two hours before due to the heavy chains that tied me down.“Oh, don&rs
Roughneck    Chapter Twenty-Four-Neveah
An entire week passed before I stepped another foot into the gym. I was way past grumpy when Chase cornered me. “You okay?”His wide blue eyes were thoughtful, and his smile sweet. Chase had seen the entire thing and hadn’t said a word to anyone. “Better.”He gave my dad a sideways glance before touching my cheek. “Want to spar for a bit? You can take out that built-up frustration on me.”“That actually sounds like a really good idea.”Chase handed me a pair of gloves. “Well then, follow me.” We made our way to the punching bag in the corner of the gym. The same punching bag Rage had used the day we were almost caught. We fell into a rhythm. Jab, jab, hook. Jab, jab, hook. “So, are you really okay? You talked to your dad about what happened yet?”I sighed. “No, he’s been avoiding me.” I swung my arm, meeting Chase’s gaze fro
Roughneck    Chapter Twenty-Three - Rage
Mayday. I blinked several times at the text from Dante. The sleepiness in my eyes vanished, and a dose of reality soaked me. I pushed the covers from my body and dialed his number. After seven rings his voicemail picked up. I dialed his number again, and listened to my heartbeat until I got the voicemail. Nerves flooded me. What had happened? Had Denver found out I was alive? I pulled on a T-shirt and jeans, before heading out the door. When I stepped onto the ground I heard the backdoor slam shut. Wes charged down the steps with Neveah on his heels. “Daddy, please. Just stop.”Not now.Tears streamed down Neveah’s face as she grabbed at her dad’s shirt. “Stop, don’t.”Wes snatched from her grip, his eyes taking in the T-shirt she wore—my T-shirt. “Wes,” I said calmly. He jerked from Neveah and before I could counteract, he’d slugged me in the jaw. &l
Roughneck    Chapter Twenty-Two-Rage
Neveah hadn’t looked at me but once during dinner. Once her eyes fell to her plate, she hadn’t looked up. I wanted to get up, pull her into my arms and demand to know what made her so sad. “Did you have fun with Shelly?” I asked over the table, desperate for her to speak to me. Wes nodded and sipped his tea. “Yeah, what did y’all do? Buy anything? Do I need to hide when my credit card bill comes in?”Neveah gave a half-hearted smile. “Just some underwear. We went to Dallas to the mall and ice-skated.” Her eyes jerked from mine when she mentioned Dallas, and my blood went cold. “Sounds like fun,” I whispered.She nodded but avoided eye contact. “Yeah, a lot of fun.”Wes patted his stomach and stretched his arms behind his head. “I’m heading to the gym to do a little paperwork. You two okay to clean the kitchen?”I nodded. “Yes, sir.
Roughneck    Chapter Twenty-One-
Chase lifted his water bottle to his lips and chugged what remained, using the back of his hand to wipe his mouth clean. “So, you want to spar?”I shook my head, looking over my shoulder at Dad and Rage in the ring. “No, I want to fight. All out. I want to show what I can do.”Chase ran his fingers through his light brown hair and smiled at me. “You don’t have to prove a point to him, Nev. He likes you as is.”I rolled my eyes. “This isn’t for anyone. It’s for me. I want to see what I can do.” It was definitely a lie. I wanted to show Rage that I could protect myself from a legit fighter so that he’d trust me to help with his sister. Our situation wouldn’t get better until we saved Hannah, and she needed some convincing. “I don’t know—I mean, we fight but never full force. Your dad doesn’t like when I fight you.”“I don’t care wh
Roughneck    Chapter Twenty- Neveah
Kill me now … Cooper pulled into the driveway and turned off his lights. Both hands clutched the steering wheel and judging by the grim look on his face, I knew I’d pissed him off at the movies. He only tried to put his arm around me seven times and hold my hand twice before he got the hint. This wasn’t happening. “Well, this was fun,” I said, grabbing the door handle. He grabbed my knee and squeezed. “Neveah,” he whispered. “You can’t be serious? You didn’t even give me a chance.”“I told you I wasn’t interested. I gave you your date, now it’s over.”His blue eyes darkened in anger. I didn’t care. My part of the deal was done. Shoving the door open, I walked toward the porch. The lights were off inside which told me Dad had already passed out. “Neveah, wait,” Cooper said, shutting the door I’d opened. &ldqu
Roughneck    Chapter Nineteen - Rage
I re-read Dante’s text for the thirteenth time. They’re back. The party turned into a poker night. Tonight is our best move. My sister was back at Denver’s house, and the plan was set. In less than a few hours, I’d have my sister safe from Denver. The same night Neveah was going on a ‘date’ with Cooper. I clutched my phone in my hand, trying my best to keep my calm. There were too many things racing through my brain. Would Hannah come with me? Could I get her alone? Would she willingly leave her life for this? For a one-bedroom guest house. How would Wes take her here? “Rage, can you go get Neveah. She hasn’t left her room in hours,” Wes called out.Wes started supper around six thirty, and I had made myself at home in their living room.There were pictures of Neveah growing up. Her senior picture, her horseback riding and a baby picture of her and her mother. “Sure,&rdq
