No choice but to love

13. Disaster and regret

Nick picked her up and dragged her to the bed. He roughly pushed Tara to the mattress and sat on her. Tara was sobbing and begging him to stop. Two men entered the room. Tara panicked. The two men had some ropes in their hands. They quickly started tying ach of her wrists to the bed headboard. The men finished securing Tara's wrists to the bed, leaving her unable to move her arms. Her fear and despair were palpable.

Nick brought his face very close to Tara's. "Just enjoy this kitten. Derek's the one who needs to be crying, not you..", he said and laughed. Tara closed her eyes and moved her face away in disgust.

At the mention of Derek's name, she couldn't help but feel a flicker of hope. Could he somehow find a way to save her from this nightmare?

Nick grabbed her chin again and forced her to look at him. "Don't think about him, my pet," he said with a cruel smile. "Don't waste your hope on Derek, he's not your knight in shining armor," he sneered. "He's the one who put you in this situation in the first place."

Tara's heart sank at Nick's words. She wanted to believe that Derek wouldn't just leave her at Nick's mercy, but her doubts were beginning to surface. Was Derek really as helpless as Nick made him out to be?

Tara suddenly heard some men yelling from outside. And then a gun shot. She was frozen. Nick ran to the door quickly and stood behind the door. He took his gun out, checked it and was getting prepared for whatever that was going on outside. The door opened roughly with someone's kick and hit Nick. Nick fell on the ground and his gun slid off his hand. Derek and Sawyer entered. Sawyer quickly ran towards Nick to take care of him.

Derek's expression was cold and focused as he walked towards Tara. In a few quick strides, he was beside her. He examined the knots on her wrists and quickly untied them, releasing her. Once freed, Tara sat up on the bed and threw herself into his arms.

Derek caught her in his arms easily and held her tightly against him. All the anger and frustration from the events were replaced with the feeling of holding her. He ran his hand through her hair and buried his face in her neck. "I'm sorry baby... I'm so sorry...", said Derek with a trembling voice.

Tara clutched onto Derek, her breathing ragged and shaky. She bursted into tears. "I am so scared... Get me out of here please..." she managed to say between her sobs.
"Sshhh... okay sweetie okay. I got you. Let's go," Derek replied, his voice filled with a mixture of guilt and protectiveness. He held her tighter, making sure that she was feeling secure in his arms.

Derek didn't waste any time. He held Tara close to his chest and walked towards the door with swift steps. Sawyer was standing there, looking calm but alert. He gave Derek a subtle nod and then looked at Tara, his expression softening slightly upon seeing her.

Sawyer had taken care of Nick already. Nick was knocked out, locked up in another room. Sawyer and his men had ambushed Nick's men in the middle of the party, and had bought enough time to get out of there before Nick can call for a whole army.

They made their way down the stairs, out of the place, and towards the car. The night air was cool and carried a sense of relief and safety. As they got closer to the vehicle, Derek's grip on Tara tightened, his body still tense and on high alert.

Once they reached the car, Derek opened the back door and gently helped Tara onto the back seat. He quickly got in after her, pulling her back into his arms, holding her like she would disappear if he let go for even a second. He looked up and gave Sawyer a grateful nod.

Sawyer nodded back and said, "Let's get out of here." He climbed into the driver's seat and started the car.

Derek felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins, his senses on high alert. He knew they weren't out of danger yet. Sawyer was focused on the road, making sure they weren't followed.