He moved fast, grabbed Vengeance, and tore her attacker away. Lauren lay there unable to do anything but watch as the two faced off. The taller one, still wearing the sunglasses, put his big body between her and the other man.

“Get out, Wrath. She is no longer a concern to you.” The bald man tried to step around him to return to her.

“You aren’t going to do this.” The dark-haired man had a name—Wrath. His fingers curled into fists at his sides as he moved to stay between them. The gloves were gone and she could see tan skin. “I won’t allow you to harm her. We aren’t like them. We were only willing to frighten her into talking but you have gone too far.”

“She isn’t going to protect him any longer,” the bald one snarled. “She won’t talk but she will change her mind about helping us find that monster. Leave. She’s his female and he owes us a life. Vengeance is mine, Wrath. I claim her. She will take the place of my murdered female.”

Wrath didn’t budge. “She isn’t our enemy. You can’t take her to replace the female you lost. You aren’t thinking right in your head. I hate them as well. I can’t look at her without reliving what was done to me. She has pale skin, a soft body, and I remember the hours of being drugged while they forced me to give them samples. The images of ones who look similar to her were used to obtain them. I know she isn’t responsible and I won’t harm her for what others have done to me. Calm down, Vengeance.”

He snarled in response.

“I know the rage inside. I suffer it too. She knows nothing of who Bill really is or she wouldn’t be protecting him. He is pretending to sell property and she believes we are hired males who beat on people who owe money. He sent her in his place, believing we’d kill her. That is not something he would do if he cared for her in any way.”

“I want her. She is mine,” Vengeance demanded harshly.

Wrath inched closer. “You do this and she will hate you. I won’t allow it. I already suffer guilt from watching her be fearful when Shadow tried to scare her into submission. Remember the female who held your heart?”

The bald man lowered his head and pain flashed across his face. “Yes.”

“This one will never be her. She will never look at you the way yours did or welcome your touch. You can’t force her to feel what you once had with another and she can’t replace what you lost.”

Tears streamed down Vengeance’s face when he lifted his head. “I miss her.”

“I know.” Wrath reached out and gripped his shoulders. “We will find all of them but this is wrong. We don’t hurt females. It’s one thing to use their own fear to make them talk but force breeding them is something our enemy would do. Take a walk, let your rage cool, and tend to your needs. It will help.”

The bald man bent, grabbed his discarded clothing, and rushed out the door. Lauren was confused, terrified, and in pain. It was apparent that the thugs were insane. Wrath slowly turned and she was not sure what he’d do.

“Are you all right?”

“No.” Hot tears poured down her cheeks now that the danger had passed. She’d come close to being raped. Nobody would be okay after that.

“Easy.” His voice lowered to a husky tone. “I will take care of you.”

She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. Was that mobster talk for he’d kill her? She wouldn’t put anything past them now. He strode closer and a soft noise came from his parted lips.

“Your wrists are bleeding.”

He gripped the slanted table and leveled the thing until her weight no longer pulled against the cuffs. Gentle, warm fingers carefully touched her skin near where they ached. He unlocked the cuffs and freed her.

Lauren jerked her arms down, covered her bra with her hands and stared at the face hovering above hers. She flinched when he touched her again but his hand only cradled the back of her neck while he helped her sit.

“I’m going to take my shirt off to give to you. Stay calm. Your clothes are destroyed and you must be cold.” He hesitated. “I have a first-aid kit inside my room. No harm will come to you there.”

Lauren sniffed, trying to fight back tears.

The guy hesitated. “I am so sorry.” His voice came out raspy, almost sounded sincerely apologetic, though she knew better. “This went too far. We were just trying to frighten you. You believed the worst of us and we needed to locate Bill. No one was supposed to harm you in any real way. Even Shadow was careful not to bruise you when he flipped you over on the table. His hands braced you to keep you from hitting your head or landing too hard. It still worried me enough to call a halt to your interrogation when I saw your reaction. I nearly hit him because I couldn’t stand to see you that terrified. You’re little and I am just very sorry. That is why we left. We were discussing how to get you to work with us without using fear.”

He backed away and she noticed for the first time that the vest he’d worn earlier had been removed. He worked the shirt over his head, managed to keep the glasses on, and she wondered why he wore them inside. Maybe it was so she couldn’t identify him later and that gave her hope once again that at some point she might survive her ordeal. Of course she’d seen the bald man’s face so that probably was a bad thing.

Wrath had saved her from a horrible fate. That had to mean something and he had apologized a few times. Maybe he was a thug with a conscience, despite having such a horrible nickname. She could work with that. Her mind began to plot and she wanted him to see her as a real person. She’d read once that if a kidnapper grew to care about the victim that the chance of survival was better.