A Powerless World | Book 3 | Defend The Homestead Hunt, Jack (read my book TXT) 📖

would have made sense after the way he stormed out, bellowing threats.

“I told you I don’t know. Someone’s lied to you.”

“Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. Maybe you are telling the truth,” Evans said, making his way around to him and delivering a gut-wrenching blow to his stomach with the tip of his boot. It was so hard and painful he thought it had ruptured an internal organ. “But I don’t particularly like you or your family, especially that brother of yours. Colby, right? Now that’s a problem child if I ever saw one.” He crouched beside him and placed a palm on his bloody face and began stroking it like he was some pet to be toyed with. “All right. All right. Let’s try this another way.” He got up and crossed the hallway. “Elijah. You think our boys need to blow off some steam?”

“I’d say so.”

“Then you have my permission.”

He didn’t need to say it, Jessie knew what was about to happen.

Nina screamed, a door was slammed shut and a commotion started in the bedroom down the hallway. Jessie bounced up, surging forward only to come face to face with the barrel of a handgun. Evans pressed the tip of it against his cheek. “What’s it going to be, son?”

“Please. She’s pregnant. Don’t do this.”

“We’re not. You are. Now, where are they?”

Jessie sneered, grinding his teeth, but he couldn’t take hearing Nina’s screams anymore. “All right. I’ll take you to them but please leave her alone.”

Evans whistled. The door opened. “Elijah. That’s enough.”

Jessie cast a glance down the hallway. Nina was on the bed, her underpants still on but one of the soldiers looked as if he was about to have his way with her. One by one the men strolled out, smug grins spreading. He wanted to kill every single one of them. And he would. “Okay, son, lead the way.” Evans shoved him toward the door and Jessie looked back to make sure none of the soldiers stayed.

“I’ll be back, Nina.”

They forced him outside toward a military truck.

Across the street, Seth and Derek watched with glee from inside an RV. Seth couldn’t contain his laughter any longer as he saw Jessie thrust into the truck like a rag doll. Thoroughly liquored up, he puffed away on a joint, chuckling behind a plume of smoke. “Well done, Derek, well done.”

Derek shrugged. “I told you it would work.”

They waited until the truck had pulled away before exiting the RV parked in the driveway of the abandoned house. He gave a cautious glance down the street, watching the truck go around the bend and disappear before crossing over and entering the house. Nina was crying, sitting in the bedroom, holding a handful of tissue. At the sound of his boots, she looked up, her features twisted. “You bastard!” She raced toward them, all spit and fury. Under the influence of alcohol and weed, it just made him laugh hard. He let out a huge belly laugh as he stepped back, blocking her fists as she tried to punch him. “They nearly raped me.”

“Oh c’mon. They wouldn’t have done that. It was just a ploy.”

“I’ll give you a ploy.” She lashed out again and he ducked, laughing all the while.

Derek had to step in and grab her until all the fight went out of her.

Seth wagged a finger in her face. “I told you, Nina. You shouldn’t have gotten involved with him.”

She continued to curse at him. Spitting in his face.

Seth wiped it with the back of his sleeve. “You’ll thank me later. Now regarding the baby. Don’t worry.”

“What?”

“Hold on to her, Derek.”

Seth walked over to the front door and looked out. The road was clear. He glanced at his watch. He was meant to be here by now. “What have you done, Seth?” Nina asked.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “What have I done? No, no, no, Nina. What have you done? You have got this all ass-backward but don’t worry. We can handle it. That’s what family is for.”

She wriggled to break free.

“Get off me, Derek.”

“Can’t do that, Nina.”

“You’re hurting my arms.”

Seth took out a cigarette and lit it. He blew out smoke from the corner of his mouth and kept looking out the window, waiting for them to arrive. It took at least another ten minutes before growling ATVs barreled toward the house. “They’re here.” He sucked air between his teeth, then dropped the cigarette stub and crushed it below his boot.

“What’s going on?” Nina asked, her eyes scanning, nervous.

She had good reason to be.

“We are going to correct your mistake,” Derek said.

“What?”

The door opened and Hank stepped inside with several other family members including Eddie who had gone to tell him the news. At first, Seth had questioned whether it was right to tell Hank. He didn’t care about Nina’s feelings but he lived for his father’s approval and he knew how badly Skye’s involvement with Colby had affected him. This could have gone any number of ways. Disapproving eyes immediately fell upon her. Seth whispered into Hank’s ear and he nodded. He had this disgusted look on his face as he strolled into the living room. She was still wearing black panties and a bra. That didn’t help. It made her look every bit the whore that he said she was. Derek was sitting on the couch with Nina on his lap, her arms pulled behind her so she couldn’t move. She wriggled to escape but it was impossible.

Hank crouched in front of her and scanned her body before placing a hand on her belly. “So it’s true.”

“Get off me. GET OFF ME!”

Hank met her gaze and shook his head. “I’m going to believe he forced himself on you because there’s no way a Strickland would willingly sleep with a Riker, not after what happened to Skye.”

The door opened, and her father Samuel Strickland stepped inside to join the group. “Dad!”

“Let her go, Derek,” he said in an abrupt tone. Derek released his