Scruples Read online

  “I can help.”

  “I’m not risking your life also,” Logan ground out.

  “Doyle contacted Sarina.” Ben spoke quietly as he pulled out onto highway 90. He wants the money in exchange for Carly’s life.”

  “So, where’s the money?” It sounded too easy to Logan.

  “I moved it after I got out of prison and hid it inside an old sofa we kept at Scruples before Charles passed away. That old couch is like a family member to Carly, I knew it would be safe there with her.”

  Logan blinked. He couldn’t believe his ass had been planted on two million dollars on more than one occasion. He glanced at her in the mirror. “I take it Carly doesn’t know it’s there?”

  She peered at him for long seconds. “No. I left it to her in my will in case I passed before Doyle did. And on the chance that he died first…”

  “He dies tonight,” Ben interjected.

  “Agreed.” Logan studied Ben’s profile. “Once we get the money, we swing by my place.”

  “What for?”.

  “Explosives.”

  “What are you going to do with explosives?” Sarina leaned forward with her elbows resting on the back of the front seat.

  “We rig the money bag, and the second Carly’s clear, the local wildlife will dine on Doyle burgers for a week.”

  “It won’t work,” she responded in a monotone voice.

  “Why do you say that?” Logan half turned in his seat.

  “Because I’m part of the trade.”

  “What?” Ben growled. “You didn’t say anything about you being in the crossfire.”

  “You would have tried to stop me, and I’m not taking any chances with my daughter’s life.”

  Logan understood her reasoning. He would walk through fire for Carly and his child. “We’ll figure it out. Let’s just get the money and be quick about it.”

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Carly groaned and cracked her eyes open. Her head throbbed on one side and something warm dripped down her face to pool in her ear. Her arms wouldn’t move. It took her a moment to realize she was restrained.

  “Well, well, look who’s awake.” Mack Doyle’s hideous face came into focus.

  “Where am I?” Her throat felt parched and it hurt to speak.

  “So pretty.” He grinned above her, showing crooked teeth with one missing along the bottom. He ran a finger down her cheek. “You look so much like your mother did in her youth.”

  Carly jerked her head to the side, effectively dislodging his repulsive touch. Her stomach heaved and she suppressed a shudder. “What do you want with me?”

  “Sarina, shithead that she is, took something from me, and I want it back.”

  “Your brain?”

  The crack of his palm across her face echoed off the walls as fire raced under her skin like the sting of a thousand bees.

  His eyes gleamed in the dim light. “My money. I’ve waited thirty years for it and I’m not leaving here without it.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you won’t get away with it. Logan will rip your intestines out and jump rope with them.”

  “Oh yes, your precious Logan.” A thoughtful look appeared in his glassy eyes, reminding her of a cartoon character. “He has a few surprises in store for him in the near future.”

  “Care to elaborate, Jafar?”

  He gripped her chin in a painful hold. “Keep running that mouth of yours and you may find it sown shut very shortly.”

  Carly’s stomach lurched and the urge to vomit intensified. She swallowed the gag forming in her throat, keeping her expression blank. The last thing she wanted to do was show weakness in front of him. Men such as Mack Doyle fed on the fear and shortcomings of others.

  “I need to use the restroom.”

  He peered down at her as if she hadn’t spoken, and dragged his hand down her neck. His fingers flexed once before wrapping around her throat. “I heard about your birth when I was in prison.”

  Though his hold remained relaxed, the threat was more than obvious. She decided to keep him talking. “What were you in prison for?”

  “Murder.”

  Nausea reared its unwelcome head once again. The calm, almost pleasant way he spoke, gave her chills. His eyelids slid shut and his grip tightened on her neck. Carly swallowed against the ever rising bile as he continued.

  “His name was Dennis. He worked at the convenient store around the corner from my place. Sarina took to him right off, always smiling and asking after his well being. I may be a lot of things, but stupid ain’t one of them.”

  Carly would beg to differ if her life didn’t depend on it. “You killed him for that?”

  His eyes opened to stare at something across the room. “I was tipped off that the DEA planned to storm my home, so I took all the money in the safe and gave it to Sarina to hide. Dennis was the last person she called after leaving the house that night.”

  His hand left her throat to toy with the top button on her shirt. His expression turned inward as he recounted the details of Dennis’ death.

  “I went to see her in jail to get the location of my money and she asked me for a divorce. Can you believe that shit? The slut thought she could bargain with me. She must have really put it on Dennis good. He wouldn’t roll over on her, no matter what I did to him.”

  He smiled down at her through his insanity. “I had a short fuse back then. He died way too fast, little Carly, but I’ve learned patience over the years.” The button popped open and he moved on to the next one.

  Carly’s skin crawled where his fingers touched her. She pulled on her bonds and shrank back against the hard surface she lay on. “If you do this, you’ll never see your money.”

  “You think? Not only will I get my money, but I’m going to enjoy the look on your precious Sarina’s face when she realizes you’ve been soiled because of her thieving ass.”

  Cool air touched her chest as he opened the last button and pushed her shirt aside. “Such perfection.”

  “Fuck you, you piece of shit,” Carly seethed.

  He pinched her nipple. Excruciating pain traveled through her breast and exploded inside her brain. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from giving him the satisfaction of hearing her beg.

  “What? That didn’t hurt? I bet this will.” He twisted her tender skin and she involuntarily cried out. Tears sprang to her eyes and she blinked them back, silently begging for Logan to arrive before Doyle did something to harm her baby.

  He laughed a hideous, dark sound that promised retribution. Spittle gathered in the corner of his mouth, and the crazed look in his eyes was matched only by the blade that appeared in his hand.

  “Please don’t.” If begging would save her baby’s life, then she would beg. She would do anything he asked of her at that point as long as he didn’t hurt her child.

  His eyes rolled back. “Say it again.”

  “I’ll do anything you want, just please don’t hurt me.”

  He let go of her breast and slid the knife under the waistband of her jeans. “You won’t need these any longer.”

  The tears she’d fought so hard to hold back spilled over and slid down her cheeks. She wanted to die in that moment, to shut her eyes and never wake up. But she would submit. No matter what she had to endure, she would survive.

  “Cry for me, Carly.”

  The sound of material ripping could be heard over the thundering of her heart. With a prayer for her baby, she shut down her emotions and withdrew into herself. I’m sorry, Logan.

  Chapter Thirty Three

  “Are you sure this is the place?” Logan asked as they stopped on the road a short distance from a secluded house. The structure was small and needed a coat of paint. Grass rose up knee deep from the ground, and a dark blue sedan sat in the drive.

  “It’s the address he gave me,” Sarina responded in a shaky voice.

  Ben turned in his seat to face Logan. “Listen, kid. I’m going to have a look. I ne
ed you to stay here with Sarina in case he isn’t—“

  “Bullshit. I’m going after Carly.” He grabbed the handle and opened the door.

  “He’s going to have traps set, Logan. I can get in there undetected. If she’s hurt.” He paused. “If she’s injured, you won’t use your head and it may get her killed.”

  Logan ran a hand down his face. He couldn’t wait another second. That sicko had his Carly and God only knew what he was doing to her. But Ben was right and he knew it. “You have two minutes.”

  “That’s all I need.” Ben opened his door and quietly climbed out.

  Logan watched as Ben ran along the edge of the yard, keeping to the shadows. The man could move like the wind for someone so big. Logan inched his way out of the car. But nothing prepared him for what happened next.

  Ben suddenly vanished. Logan gaped at the place the huge man had been standing. He’d never seen anything so incredible in all his life.

  Sarina touched his arm. He hadn’t heard her leave the vehicle. “Look.” She pointed in the direction of the steps. The disbelief in her voice matched his own feelings.

  A mouse ran across the top step and disappeared underneath the door. Ben’s words echoed inside Logan’s mind. “I can take the form of many.”

  “He made it in. I’m going around the back. Lock yourself inside the car.” He pulled a handgun from the waistband of his jeans and handed it to her. “Shoot anyone you feel is a threat.”

  She accepted the weapon. “Get my daughter back.”

  “I intend to.”

  Logan skirted the perimeter to the rear of the house. A dim light shone from a window, creating a yellow glow on the ground below it. A muffled sound caught his attention and he crept closer.

  With his back against the house, he inched his head forward enough to see inside. A small space where the curtains didn’t quite touch enabled him a sparse view of the room.

  A small television sat in the corner on a nightstand. The dresser held an ashtray, a coffee cup and boasted of cigarette burns along the top. Logan inched over a little more until a twin bed without a mattress could be seen. And restrained on top, was his beautiful Carly wearing nothing but a bra and panties with Mack Doyle’s filthy hands on her body.

  Uncontrollable rage erupted inside Logan’s chest, spread through his veins and crystallized inside his lungs, taking his breath. His claws broke through the ends of his fingers with enough pressure; blood seeped from his nail beds.

  Reality faded into a nightmare of images flashing behind his eyes. Carly’s tears, her pain, the torment she’d endured at the hands of a monster.

  His vision blurred. Colors melded together as his beast roared to the surface seeking blood. Logan staggered back several feet, allowing his wolf free reign. Power unlike anything he’d ever known slammed into him with the force of a tornado.

  Logan ran, exploding through the window in a shatter of glass and wood, landing lithely on his feet.

  “I’ll blow her brains out.” Doyle’s voice washed over him like slime.

  Logan didn’t look at Carly. He couldn’t. Her terror called to his beast in a summons he wouldn’t be able to control. If he shifted now, Doyle would shoot her in a panic. “It’s okay, Baby. I’m gonna get you out of here.”

  Doyle laughed. “How do you propose to do that, lover boy? Where is the bitch?”

  “I’m here.” Sarina walked into the room holding the gun.

  “I told you to stay in the car,” Logan snarled.

  She ignored him, keeping her gaze on Doyle. “Trade her for me.”

  “Mama, no.” Carly’s plea tore at Logan’s soul. He kept his attention on the monster hovering above her.

  “Where is the money?”

  She stepped closer. “Let her go. You don’t need her. You and I will leave right now and I’ll take you to the money. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”

  “Mama…”

  “Shut up, Carly. Let her go, Mack. I’m here now.”

  “You.” He jerked his chin toward Logan. “Back out of the room. As soon as you clear the doorway, I’ll cut her loose.”

  “No deal,” Logan growled.

  “Do it now or I kill her and then you.”

  A tiny mouse ran under the dresser in Logan’s peripheral. He raised his arms and slowly backed toward the exit.

  “Sarina, put the gun down and come here.” Mack demanded. “Cut her loose when he clears the door.”

  Stepping into that hall was the hardest thing Logan had ever done. He held his breath and listened as the sounds of ropes being severed filled the room.

  “Carly, get out of here,” her mother demanded in a quiet voice.

  “I’m not going without you.”

  “Come to me, Carls. I need you to trust me.” Logan watched the mouse from his standpoint, slipping along the wall.

  Carly staggered around the corner and fell into Logan’s embrace. He scooped her up into his arms, holding her tight against his chest. “Thank God.”

  Logan ran through the house and out the front door, not stopping until he reached the car. The passenger side door had been left open and he gently sat Carly on the seat.

  He ripped his shirt off and held it to the cut on the side of her head. His gaze traveled down her small frame, coming to rest on a smear of blood at the top of her thighs.

  “Ah God, Baby. No.”

  Her hands came to rest on either side of his face. “It’s just a scratch, Baby. He didn’t rape me.”

  Logan dropped his head in her lap as relief pumped through him. He shuddered and kissed her hand. “I want you to get behind the wheel and drive. I’m going back after Ben and Sarina. Go to Scruples and send Sam back with the car.”

  “Jen and Craig were coming in as I left, so they should still be there. Have them take Cassie to the Outpost in Freeport. She’ll be safe there.”

  “No way. I am not…” Her voice trailed off.

  He lifted his head in time to watch a naked Ben step through the front door, covered in blood, holding Sarina in his arms. He didn’t speak as he opened the back door of the car, deposited her inside and slid in beside her. “Drive.”

  Logan jogged around to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel just seconds ahead of an explosion that rocked the ground beneath the car with the power of an earthquake. He watched in the rearview mirror as the house went up in flames with Doyle’s body still inside.

  Chapter Thirty Four

  No one spoke on the ride home which was fine with Carly. She figured they each had their own thoughts to sort through, like where Ben had acquired the means to blow that house off the map without being noticed. So much had happened in the past few months it was hard to process it all.

  Doyle was dead and the dark cloud they’d all been living under would vanish with the rising sun.

  Carly glanced at Logan’s handsome profile. She couldn’t imagine a world without him in it. He’d risked his life for her, proven himself more than any man would be expected to, and she loved him for it.

  He raised his arm. “Come here.”

  That was all the invitation she needed. She slid up next to his warmth and breathed him in. Nothing could ever compare to Logan’s masculine scent. It wrapped around her in a tantalizing caress, teasing her senses.

  He kissed the top of her head. “Marry me tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow is Saturday,” she teased.

  “Okay, then first thing Monday morning.”

  Sarina piped in from the back seat. “I beg to differ. She is my only child, and I will see that she has a proper wedding.”

  Carly’s lips twitched. “I’m pregnant, Mama...riding in a car in my bra and panties with my fiancé, and naked familiar. That’s about as far from proper as you can get.”

  Laughter filled the vehicle, enclosing Carly in a feeling of home. This was her family. They may lack scruples, she thought with a grin, but they had love, and that was good enough for her.

  The End

&nbs
p; About the Author

  A former 911 dispatcher turned author, Ditter Kellen has been in love with romance for over twenty years. To say she's addicted to reading is an understatement. Her ebook reader is an extension of her and holds many of her fantasies and secrets. It's filled with dragons, shifters, vampires, ghosts and many more jaw-dropping characters who keep her entertained on a daily basis.

  Ditter's love of paranormal and outrageous imagination have conspired together to bring her where she is today...sitting in front of her computer allowing them free rein. Writing is her passion, what she was born to do. I hope you will enjoy reading her stories as much as she loves spinning them. Ditter resides in Florida with a guinea pig named Shadow. She adores French fries and her phone is permanently attached to her ear.

  You can contact Ditter by email: [email protected]

  Books by Ditter Kellen

  Haunting Melody St. Claire

  Thunder and Roses

  Ember Burns-book one of the Seeker Serial

  Ember Learns-book two of the Seeker Serial

  Ember Yearns-book three of the Seeker Serial

  Coming soon-Ember Discerns book four of the Seeker Serial

  Scruples

  Coming soon-Cassandra-book two of the Scruples Series.

  Website-www.ditterkellen.com