Sophie Oak - Siren Unleashed

Chase stood behind Gretchen, a gun in his hand. “Drop the gun and I might allow you to go to a nice insane asylum.”

“Please don’t kill her, Chase,” Nat asked.

The gun was at Gretchen’s side, not pointed at Natalie. She seemed to completely ignore Natalie, all of her attention focused on the dead psychopath.

“My Master.” Tears coursed down Gretchen’s face, the first real emotion Nat had seen from her. “Why do you kill our Masters, Natalie? Why do you take everything away from me?”

“Please, Gretchen. You need help.” She knew Chase wouldn’t understand. Chase didn’t know what they had gone through, and Gretchen had gone through it the longest. Gretchen had been the most abused, her heart and soul decimated as much as her body had been. She was sick. So sick and Nat hadn’t seen it. No one had.

Gretchen fell to her knees beside Tate’s body.

Chase moved in, scooping Nat up and pulling her to his side, his body protecting hers. “You can’t save her, sweetness. She’s gone.”

“I love you, Master.” Gretchen leaned over, kissing his dead lips, and then the gun went up, but to her own temple. “I will join you as a good slave should.”

“Don’t.” Nat cried out because for everything Gretchen had done, she had to believe there was still a way out. There had been one for Kitten. There had been one for her.

Her time in the cage played out in that single moment when Gretchen held the gun to her own head. She could still see Gretchen crying, the bruises on her skin, the hollow look in her eyes. Yet when she’d had food, she’d shared it with Nat and Kitten. She hadn’t been all bad.

But she was past help. Gretchen was broken, and no one could put her together again.

Chase hugged her to his chest and covered her, muffling the sound of the gun.

Nat wrapped her arms around him, clinging as tightly as she could. She was lifted into his arms, and she cried while he carried her down the stairs. In the distance there was the sound of sirens.

“Baby!” Ben was with them, his lips finding hers as Chase set her on her feet. He held a rifle with a scope in his hand.

“Sniper?” Nat asked.

A ghost of a smile lit Chase’s lips. “I told you they’re everywhere.”

“Georgia?” Nat asked.

“Is already on her way to the hospital. Logan carried her to the car and was out of here before I even made it to the stairs,” Ben explained. “God, I was scared, Nat. Please say you’re all right. Anything he did to you, we’ll get through it, baby. I promise. We’ll be so gentle.”

“We’ll make things right again,” Chase vowed. “We’ll give you all the time you need.”

She hugged Chase and put an arm out to bring Ben in. “I don’t need time. I just need my sweet Masters.”

“Oh, sweetness, let’s take you home,” Chase said.

They tightened their arms around her.

She didn’t need to go home. She was already there.

Two weeks later

Dallas, TX

Nat stared down at her hands and hoped no one noticed the paint stains. This little reception for the newest Lodge-Taylor was a rather elegant party to welcome a baby into the world, but the baby happened to be Julian Lodge’s, so it was an elegant world.

All around the beautifully decorated penthouse, her new family mixed and mingled. There was a lovely cake done in pink and lavender with the words “Welcome Chloe” written on it.

Danielle was beaming. She waved to Nat as she walked in. Finn was at her side, holding her hand as they talked to a pregnant Lexi O’Malley and her men, Aidan and Lucas. Lucas had a toddler on his hip. Little Jack was their son and another baby was on the way.

She could be pregnant. Two weeks and they hadn’t been using anything because Ben and Chase had explained they weren’t getting any younger. She put a hand on her stomach. She kind of hoped she was.

“That is a very nice ring, Nat.” Logan Green gave her a smile, but it didn’t seem to touch his eyes. There had been a grim set to the young man’s face for the last few weeks as though he’d done his duty, but he hadn’t liked it.

“It is lovely.” Kitten looked down at the two-carat diamond Ben and Chase had given her the night she’d moved into The Club. Nat was getting married. She hoped she could find a gown that went with her pink hair.

Kitten looked pretty in a black and white polka-dotted dress that made her look very elegant. She twirled a little. “Do you like the dress? My new Master seems to prefer retro styles. I didn’t like it at first, but I believe it suits me.”

Logan snorted. “She sent back the first two. I’m surprised the man is still trying.”

Kitten grinned a little. “It’s best to let him know I’m different now. Could you please give me a moment with Nat, Sir?”

Wow . She’d stopped calling Logan Master already? Kitten might not have liked the first two packages Cole Roberts had sent her, but she was obviously taking to the man himself.

Logan nodded and walked off to talk to Leo Meyer.

“Are you all right, Nat?” Kitten held out a hand.

Nat took it, Kitten’s easy affection a blessing to her these days. God, she was going to miss her friend when she went off to the wilds of Colorado, but Kitten had told her that Roberts was going to begin their contract with a few months in Dallas, so she could adjust. “I’m fine.”

“Good, because I don’t want you worrying that you could have helped her. You tried, Nat. We all tried. She was broken before either of us met her. She didn’t want to be put back together. For some people, that type of slavery is a crutch.”

When had Kitten gotten so smart? “But not for us.”

“No, and that’s something Master Cole has to understand. I want him to help me. I love to serve a Master, but I want to be me, too. If Master Cole is simply looking for a doormat, he should look elsewhere.” Kitten took a long breath. “I’m ready, Nat. I’m ready to move on. I can’t be the girl I was before, but I also can’t be the one Hawk created. I have to find a new me.”

Nat hugged her. “I’ll help you, sweetie. I’ll always be here.”

“I know, and that gives me such hope.” Kitten looked over at Logan. “I just wish Master Logan was ready.”

“I wish Georgia had stayed and fought it out with him.” Georgia had come by to say good-bye not a week before. She was off to New York, her light dimmed a bit, but a smile on her face. Nat had attempted to talk her out of it, but Georgia was determined to make it on her own.

Kitten brightened. “Oh, she didn’t go far. Yes, she went to New York, but I managed to find a job for her with a man named Seth Stark.”

Nat knew the name. “The programmer? The one who runs Stark Software?”

He was a billionaire genius and practically ruled the technological world at the hearty age of twenty-six.

Kitten nodded. “Oh, yes. He is also Logan’s best friend. They grew up together. Well, from what I understand, Seth’s family had a cabin in Logan’s hometown, and he spent every summer there. They still keep in touch. When I stole Master Logan’s phone and called Seth, he was very helpful. It seems he’s been worried about Master Logan. He decided to keep an eye on Georgia when I explained the situation. They just need a little time.”

Wow . Kitten was playing matchmaker. “How did Logan handle all this?”

She grinned, shaking her head. “He does not know. He believes Georgia simply found a job elsewhere and left. I believe he will be rather surprised when he visits his friend in the near future and finds her there.”

Nat’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit, Kitten. That is so manipulative. You rock.”