"You"ll get your f.u.c.kin" turn after," the tattooed man snapped at his friend.
"Well, don"t f.u.c.king hurt her too much," his friend said. "Save some of her fire for me."
Keeping my wrists pinned to the small of my back, Rebel ushered me through the room and down a hall behind the bar. My gaze landed on several patrons, my eyes pleading for help, but they didn"t move, didn"t as much as blink. Either they were used to this, were too afraid to step in, or they simply didn"t care.
"You know what they"re going to do to me." I pushed against Rebel to try to keep from moving forward, but it was no use, he was too strong. He stopped at a door, opened it, and pushed me inside. I heard the turn of a lock after he closed the door. How could I have ever thought he was anything other than what he was, a cold-blooded killer and accomplice?
I stood in the middle of the room. It was filthy, and smelled like cigarettes and stale s.e.x. The sheets on the unmade bed looked like they hadn"t been changed, ever, and the outline of several stains were obvious. My gaze flew to the closed, dirty window. It was big enough to get through, but I saw the wire around it indicating that it was wired with an alarm.
I swung around when the door suddenly opened. The tattooed man walked in, slammed and locked the door behind him. His teeth were showing, which meant that he was smiling at me. I followed the movement of his hand as he cupped his hard-on. My heart began beating out of control as panic set it, and I backed up until the back of the bed hit my knees.
"I hope your p.u.s.s.y"s as yummy as your f.u.c.kin" t.i.ts, b.i.t.c.h." I pulled the edges of my ruined blouse together, eliciting an evil laugh from him. "After I f.u.c.k you we"ll take a f.u.c.king picture and send it to Lynch so he"ll know I"m takin" good care of his woman."
My stomach churned with revulsion. I watched as he lowered the zipper of his pants and whipped out his p.e.n.i.s. He ran his hand up and down the uncirc.u.mcised d.i.c.k and started to walk toward me. I curled my nose up when a sour stench a.s.sailed my nostrils, telling me that he hadn"t bathed recently.
"Get down on your f.u.c.king knees."
Oh h.e.l.l no! "f.u.c.k you!"
He growled and threw himself at me. We fell to the bed, and for a moment I felt smothered beneath his heavy weight. His beefy, hurtful hands seemed to be everywhere at once, squeezing my b.o.o.bs, my b.u.t.t, and then reaching down for the hem of my skirt. When I felt his hand pulling it up my legs I began to buck and claw at him with my nails, fighting him with all my strength. He slapped me several times and then returned to my skirt. As I lay there stunned, I felt him pull my panties down, and then the feel of his disgusting d.i.c.k was against my thigh. No! Tears fell down the side of my face as I tried in vain to push his heavy body off me.
I leaned forward and sank my teeth into his chin. He yelped and swore, punching me in the face. I saw stars and knew that I had to fight the dizziness or he was going to rape me. His cheek was my next target, and I bit down so hard that he jerked his upper body back in pain. In the few seconds that followed I dug for the box cutter that was buried in my bra, and brought my arm down on the bed next to me.
"You f.u.c.kin" c.u.n.t!" The man was so enraged that he wrapped his hands around my throat and began to squeeze. "I"ll f.u.c.king kill you!"
I felt his blood drip down onto my face, but took little pleasure in his injury because he was still choking the life out of me. Maybe that was for the best. I"d rather die than be raped. Lynch"s face swam before my clouded vision, and I realized that he would never know how I felt about him. Just as a peaceful, floating feeling began to drift over me his hands were gone.
I lay there; somewhere in between consciousness and a dark void that threatened to suck me under. Big hands were moving over me again, pinching and squeezing a trail of pain through my body. Someone was whimpering, and I realized that it was me. I tried to open my eyes. I could tell that the man on top of me was moving his hand down to his d.i.c.k. I knew what would follow. I would only have one chance. Fighting to remain conscious, I slipped the box cutter out, and then forced myself to remain awake by pushing out the retractable blade and cutting the side of my leg I slowly brought my hand up and opened my eyes to look at him. I was glad to see the blood on his face caused by my teeth, and I knew that if I was lucky I would make him bleed more. It came down to me or him, and I was going to have to kill him. I doubted that the box cutter would cause much pain, so I decided that there was only one place that would guarantee his death.
Moving quickly, I brought the blade across the side of his neck, going in long and deep, realizing by the spray of blood that followed that I"d severed his carotid artery. His reaction was instant as he groaned, jerked, and brought his hand up to cover the wound, his eyes bulging with disbelief. Dragging me with him he rolled off the bed, we landed hard on the floor at the same time. I ended up on top, and quickly rolled off and away from him. All I could do was lay there and listen to him gurgle as his life"s source pooled around him.
I closed my eyes, unable to move.
And then there was silence.
Chapter 21.
Lynch Full throttle.
It was dangerous as h.e.l.l.
It was f.u.c.king exhilarating.
It was the fastest way to turn a five-hour ride to the location in New Hampshire into three, maybe less. Even if the cops spotted us on the interstate they wouldn"t be able to pull us over because catching us would be impossible. We were flying down the interstate. Besides, I wouldn"t stop. Once Stone called to tell me where Kat was located, getting to her was the only thing on my f.u.c.king mind. I tried not to think about what she could be going through in Wildman and Killer"s hands. I just wanted her to survive. We could overcome the rest.
f.u.c.king Chicken, if he wasn"t already dead I would have gutted him myself. He deserved to die like he had, f.u.c.king coward. Even the rival MC"s didn"t trust him enough to let them into their clubs. When Stone called to tell me that he knew where Kat was, I"d f.u.c.king lost it. Thank f.u.c.k Stone had a man inside the Red Devils club.
I knew that he couldn"t help Kat because it would give him away and he"d already taken a huge risk by calling Stone from the Predators" clubhouse. The club came first, always, and some members lived, breathed, and died for it. But there were always exceptions for the number one universal bylaw, and Kat was that exception for me. The girl had crawled right into my f.u.c.king heart and set up house. We had something good together, and when this s.h.i.t was over I was publicly claiming her as my old woman.
I kept my mind clear, focused on getting to her. My brothers were right behind me. I had no doubt that Wildman and Killer would know that we were coming. You didn"t steal another MC"s woman, and then just sit back and negotiate for her release. It never worked that way. They would be prepared for retaliation as much as they could be, but we were going in shooting.
Thank f.u.c.k Stone and his brothers were going to meet us there for backup. He"d be waiting for us right off the exit for Cos County. Then we"d finish the trip together, taking the back roads. The Predators clubhouse was located at the front of a trailer park they owned and lived in. I"d only been there one other time, back when Cutter was the president and I"d just been a prospect. You didn"t go to a rival"s home unless it was serious s.h.i.t, and the s.h.i.t that was about to go down today was as serious as it gets. Brothers were going to die.
Our exit was coming up. As I slowed to make the right turn I could see Stone and his crew waiting on the side of the road. I acknowledged him with a signal, but didn"t stop. He pulled up next to me and we continued. He knew what the plan was. Just before reaching the Predators" clubhouse we pulled over and hid our bikes in the trees.
"Everyone loaded?" I was anxious to get in there to Kat. "Remember, we go in shooting. If you can take out Wildman and Killer, do it." I looked at Stone. "Was your contact able to locate Kat?"
He nodded. "Said she"s in the last room behind the bar, and, brother--" I could tell that Stone didn"t want to say what he was about to. "She"s been back there for a while, and she"s not alone."
"f.u.c.k!" I snarled low. "Let"s go!"
We made our way to the trailer park, slouched down behind the shrubbery and weeds that grew along the road. I glanced back one last time to see that everyone had their guns out and ready. Going in shooting meant exactly that. Giving the signal, we ran the rest of the way, firing on anyone we saw in a cut or carrying a weapon. In a second the whole situation turned into one big, f.u.c.king chaotic scene.
Men were running in every direction, some firing back at us. Shouts and gunfire filled the air. So did the screams. I saw a guy dive behind a sign and fired when he stuck his head around to fire at me. He got off a shot before my bullet struck him in the forehead. I ignored the burning sting on my arm, figuring his bullet had just grazed me, too pumped up on adrenaline to stop. I couldn"t reach the door to the clubhouse fast enough, and when I did I threw the door open and ran inside.
Shots erupted throughout the room, but I was ready and instantly hit the floor, rolling. As I came up I grabbed one of the tables and pulled it down in front of me. My other brothers followed close behind, facing the dangers of being shot head on. Like any war, there wasn"t time to f.u.c.king take careful aim. Gunfire began to slow as members of the Predators began to fall back and take off when they realized that they were outnumbered. It was too soon to know if the Red Devils were still there, and so far I hadn"t seen any of their cuts.
I let my brothers take over, and began to make my way in the direction of the bar. My heart felt like it was going to bust out of my f.u.c.king chest. I didn"t know what I was going to walk into, and had never been so scared of anything in my life, Stone was right there with me.
"Brother," he put a restraining hand on my arm as we made our way down the hallway behind the bar. "You let me go in first?"
"No f.u.c.kin" way."
I tried the k.n.o.b, but it was locked. Standing back, I brought my leg up and kicked the f.u.c.king door open. I barely acknowledged the bang it made when it crashed into the wall. My gaze took in the scene before me, first Killer, lying on the floor in a pool of blood, and then Kat, beaten and b.l.o.o.d.y next to him. I saw the wound on Killer"s neck, the box cutter next to him, and knew what had occurred. Stepping through the doorway, I went straight to her.
"Kat, baby." I leaned over her, checking for a pulse. Thank f.u.c.k I found one. "Baby, can you hear me?"
"She f.u.c.king killed Killer?"
I could hear Stone"s awe behind me. I didn"t care about Killer right then. I took in Kat"s condition, gently running my hands over her body, searching for anything that didn"t feel normal. She moaned softly, and I glanced up to see her lashes fluttering.
"f.u.c.k! Let me find something for her face."
I could hear Stone leave the room. Kat was trying to open her swollen eyes.
"He didn"t rape me," she mumbled. "He didn"t rape me."
"f.u.c.k, baby, I don"t care," I said in a voice filled with too much emotion that sounded nothing like me. I kissed her gently. "Where do you hurt?" She just moaned.
"I found a first aid kit," Stone said, rushing back into the room. "Everything"s good out front." He handed me the kit. "Looks like Wildman and his crew took off right before we got here."
I acknowledged him with a nod, opening the dirty kit. "f.u.c.king cowards," I snarled. I took out the antiseptic wipes. "I need to wash her face first, get me a wet cloth."
He returned almost immediately, also carrying a bottle. "This might help with the pain."
I gently ran the cloth over Kat"s b.l.o.o.d.y face, feeling slight relief when the damage revealed wasn"t as bad as I"d thought it would be. It was mostly dried blood, and when it was gone what were left behind were a cut and a swollen lip, bruises, a swollen eye, and a gash on her cheek that had probably been caused by one of the rings on Killer"s hand.
Thank f.u.c.k.
"Kat, baby, wake up."
"He didn"t rape me," she said before opening her eyes.
"I know, babe. Open your eyes for me."
She blinked several times, one eye remaining closed. "Is he . . . ?"
"Dead? Yes, you did good. You took out a rival club"s president." I found myself smiling at that, proud as f.u.c.k. "Can you sit up?"
"I had to kill him, he tried to kill me." I helped her sit, my eyes landing on the finger print bruises surrounding her throat. "I knew you"d come for me." She threw her arms around my neck. "Thank you." I barely heard her raspy whisper.
I held her as tightly as I dared. "Did you f.u.c.kin" doubt it?"
I felt her shrug. "With you it"s hard to tell."
That hurt like h.e.l.l.
I pulled back to meet her eyes. "f.u.c.k that, babe. Don"t ever doubt that I"ll be there for you. I"m not letting you go, Kat. I"m putting my cut on you for all to know you f.u.c.kin" belong to me, and I belong to you." I kissed her gently. "Understand?"
Her smile was my answer, but the tears f.u.c.king tore me up. I reached up and thumbed them away. "Babe, we have to get the f.u.c.k out of here. Do you think you can ride? I have a van coming, but they won"t be here for a while."
Kat glanced down at her skirt, clutching her ruined blouse together.
"f.u.c.k that. We"ll take one of their cages," Stone cut in, "I think under the circ.u.mstances they"ll be glad to see us leave." He smiled.
"What do you wanna" do about Killer?"
Stone laughed. "Nothing. By the time they find out they need a new prez we"ll be at my club. I"ll go get a cage."
Just as he left Lenny walked into the room. His worried gaze went straight to Kat. "You okay, sweetheart?"
She nodded, giving him a shaky smile.
Lenny and I exchanged glances. "Give it to me straight."
"Wildman must have super human instincts or he"s just that f.u.c.kin" lucky, because the f.u.c.ker took off about a half hour before we got here. The Predators took off when they realized we were f.u.c.kin" serious and they were outnumbered. The element of surprise and coming in hot, f.u.c.kers didn"t stand a chance." We both laughed. "They"ll be back, though. Far as I can tell three of their men are down, don"t know how many wounded. We have two wounded."
"Who?"
"Joker and Moody. Not bad, they"ll be okay."
"Thank f.u.c.k."
Lenny gave a nod in the direction of the dead president of the Predators. "Who did Killer in?"
"You"re looking at her," I responded.
His gaze flew back to Kat, filling with admiration. "No s.h.i.t!"
"She f.u.c.kin" did Dark Menace a service"
"Sure the f.u.c.k did," Stone interrupted me as he walked back into the room. His gaze went briefly to Kat before returning to me. "Got a cage waiting out front, one of my guys will drive. We need to get a move on before the Predators regroup."
I nodded. "Let"s go." I scooped Kat up before she could take a step, knowing that it would be faster if I carried her. It surprised me when she didn"t protest, but wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face against me.
She was being uncharacteristically needy, but that was f.u.c.king good with me. I wanted her against me, and I wanted to take care of her. She wasn"t leaving my sight anytime soon. I"d made arrangements to spend the night at Stone"s clubhouse, and when we got there I was going to bathe her and love her like she deserved. But first she was going to be looked at by a nurse friend of Stone"s. I wasn"t taking any f.u.c.king chances. She"d taken a beating, and I wanted to make f.u.c.king sure that nothing was broken or bleeding inside.
We made it out to the cage without confrontation. I arranged Kat in the back, wincing every f.u.c.king time she gasped or moaned in pain. "f.u.c.k, I don"t want to leave you, babe, but I have to drive my bike."
She gave me a shaky smile. "I"m okay, really." Someone, probably Stone, had put a bedroll on the seat so that Kat could use it as a pillow or blanket.
I kissed her gently, conscious of her busted lip. "We don"t have far to go, we"re staying with Stone." I started to draw back when she grabbed my cut and pulled me in close, kissing me this time. I let her control the pressure. There were tears in her eyes when she released me.
f.u.c.k me.
She took something from me before letting me go.
My heart.
I didn"t want to leave her, but I shut the door and stood for a second, my gaze scanning the area over the top of the car. I"d feel better if I knew one of my own brothers was with her. "Fat Boy!" He heard my voice and looked over. "I want you to ride shotgun, we"ll come back for your bike later." Waiting until he reached the cage, I added, "Take care of her."
"I will, boss." He climbed in the front and I backed up when they rolled away.
I let out a shrill whistle, drawing the attention of my crew and a few of Stones". Signaling that we were done, I turned to head back to where our bikes were hidden, setting a hurried pace. So far things had gone our way. The fact that I didn"t hear any sirens didn"t fool me, though. We were deep in the country, and Stone had warned me that their sheriff and his officers didn"t always use their sirens. Especially if they knew a situation involved an MC.
I sighed, shaking my head when I reached our bikes. Normally it wasn"t the law that we had to worry about, most of the time they just left us alone to handle our own problems.
Stone came up behind me. "What are you thinkin", brother?"
"That with Killer gone, we just dropped the Predators a new president."
"Yeah, been thinkin" the same thing. Your woman took care of one problem and left me an even bigger one." There was humor in his tone. "You sure you didn"t f.u.c.king plan this?"
I chuckled. "Hey, I"ve had the Red Devils almost exclusively in my back yard for f.u.c.kin" too long, bro; I"m just sharing the wealth."
"That kind of wealth can kill me."
I nodded, thinking about what Yank and Moody had reported when they returned from checking out Wildman"s compound. By the goings on it was clear that the Red Devils were on the move. This was good for Wild Marauders, unless they moved somewhere close by. Wildman always managed to stay right on the border, close to another MC.
With Killer out of the picture, that left a f.u.c.king opening for Wildman to step in and combine the two clubs. If that happened Dark Menace would be in real trouble. Maybe some of the Predators would drop out and look for other clubs to join, something not unusual when a new president took over.
As the rest of our crews reached us I took note of Moody and Joker, looking them over. They"d been hit, but were walking on their own steam. That was good. Joker had a b.l.o.o.d.y bandage wrapped around his upper arm, but I couldn"t see anything on Moody. Some of the guys were laughing and making jokes while readying their bikes to take off.