by E. C. Land
The last thing I remember before it all goes black is thinking this is it, I’m gonna die.
Chapter Four
Badger
What the fuck was that? Did she seriously just get mouthy? The woman who has barely spoken around us, who acts shy and never looks at anyone.
“If Vixen is under your club’s protection, then we should probably talk,” the fucker who’d walked out with Jordan says.
“Why the hell do we need to talk to you?” Gadget growls.
“Because Dean and I have been watching out for that girl since she was eighteen, asshole.” Well, if that ain’t shocking to know.
“You telling us Jordan has been stripping since she was barely out of high school?” Dragon asks as he steps forward, ready to rip into the man in front of us.
“That’s exactly what he’s telling you,” another man steps forward from the shadows. Placing a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it, he inhales. Studying the man, I realize he isn’t someone who you’d normally want to fuck with.
“Name’s Dean. I was wondering when you all would make your way to my club.” Smirking, he takes another drag off the cigarette.
“Want to explain how, when looking into my sister, I didn’t see anything about her working at a strip club?” Gadget asks, stepping forward to stand directly next to his brother. It’s strange watching the two of them.
“Want to tell me where the fuck you two have been?” Dean counters.
“We just found her,” Dragon grumbles.
“Look, we’re not here for some pissing contest. We came to celebrate with one of our brothers and came across something that was a shock to all of us. As fucked up as this shit is, let’s be civil for right now,” Twister says sternly as he moves forward.
“I don’t have a problem with you all, long as you’re actually trying to protect her and not just saying shit. Vixen is one hell of a woman,” Dean throws back.
“If we say she’s under our protection, we fuckin’ mean it,” Horse growls.
“Good, then how about we go find a private area and Mitch and I will let you all in on what we know,” Dean suggests before focusing on Gadget and Dragon. “Since she’s your sister, you’ll want to hear what we have to say.”
Something about the way he said that doesn’t sit well with me. Shit, maybe we shouldn’t have let her leave.
Stepping forward, I finally speak up. “You got her address?”
Gadget turns his head my way. “Yeah, I got her address.”
“I think someone should go check on her. Something doesn’t sit right with me with what these two have already said,” I tell him, putting my hands in my front pockets.
“Quick minded, I like you,” Dean smirks.
“Fuck you,” I snap.
Chuckling, Dean steps into my space. “Don’t think I didn’t see the way you watched her while she danced. Or that her eyes widened when she noticed you.” Stepping back enough to speak to everyone, he continues, “That girl is family to me and since you all don’t know who I am, I’ll fill you in on that too. My name’s Dean O’Connell, I’m one of the three Irish Alliance leaders on the east coast, and Jordan is more than an employee here. She’s my cousin.”
O’Connell, fuck, I’d heard of them. They’re known for being brutal when it comes to business.
“What the fuck did you just say?” Gadget growls
“You heard me, cousin,” Dean says, lifting a brow.
“Alright, pause right there. If we’re gonna have a conversation that sounds more like some shit you’d find on the Lifetime Channel, we need a fuckin’ drink,” Burner says, running a hand through his hair.
“You all can have this conversation, but I think someone should go get Jordan,” I say, ignoring everything else but my gut. It’s never steered me wrong before and now it feels as if something is twisting it with a vise.
Turning my attention to my brothers, I wait. Finally, Gadget nods his head and gives me her address.
“Take Burner and Shadow with you. Call us if you need backup,” Twister orders.
“Will do, Prez,” I say, throwing him a salute.
Heading to where we parked earlier, I can’t stop my thoughts of what Dean said about the way I’d watched Jordan as she danced. I’ve never given women a second thought besides when I needed to get off. And when that was done, I’d kick them out and wash the smell of them off me.
Now, here I am, heading to see one. I want to say I’m doing it for my brothers, but I’m not. I need to see that she’s safe. And since I’m being honest with myself, I’ve felt a connection since the first time I saw her in the hospital when Gadget was shot. Before any of us knew she was their sister.
I’d been walking through the hallway of the hospital, heading to get some coffee and without looking, Jordan walked right into me. Instinctively, I’d reached out to steady her, and when Jordan’s eyes met mine, you couldn’t miss the pain. It felt as if I’d been swimming in the ocean green. If you looked long and hard, those beautiful eyes could tell a story. One I’m not sure anyone knows.
Ever since then, Jordan has intrigued me to no end. I may not understand these feelings filling my head and chest, but I want to think she’s supposed to be mine.
“You ready?” Burner calls out, drawing me from my thoughts. Thoughts that could only lead to questions. Questions I’m not sure I want to ask myself.
Clearing my throat, I nod my head and climb on my bike and start her up. This is the only girl I need in my life. She can’t hurt me like others have. “Let’s go.”
Pulling out of the parking lot, I hit the throttle and speed toward the address Gadget gave me, the feeling in my gut getting tighter by the second. My heart pounds as I weave in and out of traffic.
What is wrong with me? I vowed to never let a woman in and yet this alluring beauty seems to have wormed her way in.
“Fuck,” I mutter to myself as my head begins to acknowledge what my heart seems to already know.
This woman is mine. Mine to protect. Mine to claim.
But can I let the past go in order to take what’s supposed to be mine?
Chapter Five
Jordan
I don’t know how long I lay there passed out. It could be minutes or hours. Shit, I don’t even know what woke me.
Oh, wait, yes, I do— my dad throwing ice water on me.
“Get up, you worthless bitch, and clean this shit up. We’re heading out and when I get back, I expect you to have cleaned up,” he says, throwing the bucket next to me.
As the front door slams shut, I drag myself up to my knees yet fail miserably as pain ricochets throughout my body.
I scream as I collapse back to the floor due to the unbearable pain radiating through me. Running my hand over my body, I feel wet and sticky. Thinking it’s blood, I look at my hand.
My heart begins to pound at the sight. Looking down, I find I’m covered in blood and cum. Please . . . please . . . please . . . don’t let him finally have gone as far as letting his friends rape me. Though I don’t feel different down there, I couldn’t really say if they did or not. My body throbs in pain.
I try to get up again, needing to wash my body clean of all they did to me. Lifting myself up, I’m barely able to stand when my legs give out under me.
Damnit all to hell, what did I ever do to deserve this?
Giving up, I curl into myself to wait for either the pain to subside or my dad to come home and finish the job.
I’m so tired. Tired of my life, of the pain I continuously go through. Just tired of it all. God, I’m pathetic. I could’ve avoided all of this by simply not walking into this house. This is all on me.
I barely hear the pounding on the door. They’ll either have to let themselves in or go away. There’s no way I can move from this spot.
“Jordan, open the door or I’ll kick the damn thing in,” someone yells from the other side of the door. It sounds almost like Badger. I mean, who could forget a voice like his? The rough ba
ritone sends waves of desire through my body even when I don’t want it to.
I attempt yet again to move, not wanting anyone to see me like this, especially him. Or my brothers. They don’t need to see me like this. I don’t want them to know what my life is really like. It’s bad enough their club saw me dancing.
I’ve never had a problem being a dancer, but damnit, some people are judgmental assholes. Who knows what those men will say? Maybe that’s why Badger is here. To judge me for something that is none of his or anyone else’s business.
As I get on my hands and knees, I barely crawl an inch before collapsing again. I can’t even keep from screaming as I fall back to the floor.
I don’t even hear the crashing of the door over my screams of pain.
“What the fuck?”
“Call Dragon and Gadget.”
“We need to get her to a hospital.”
Their voices blend together as I feel my world begin to spin.
“Babe, you gotta stay awake,” Badger says as he kneels next to me.
Glancing up, I can barely see him through the tears blurring my vision. I never wanted anyone to see me like this, let alone him. He’s the only one I’ve ever felt a connection with even though we’ve hardly spoken to each other. There’s always been something about him. I’ve felt it since the first day I ran into him in the hospital.
“Badger, man, we gotta get her out of here,” one of the men says.
“I know. Grab me a blanket to cover her up and get her bag. Fuck, anything else that’s in here, she’s not coming back.” The growl in Badger's voice is all-consuming. It’s almost like a claim was being made, but what do I know about his world.
“No, leave me,” I mutter.
“Not happening, Honey. You’re getting out of here and never coming back,” Badger grumbles, running a hand through my matted hair.
“You have to. He owns me,” I whisper.
“He doesn’t own you anymore. From now on, you’re free,” he whispers as he leans forward.
Free, yeah, I’d love to be, but I know in my heart I’ll never be. Not when my dad owns me. He controls every aspect of my life. So, no matter what I do, I have no choice but to come back to him. Or he’ll go after my mom.
“You don’t understand,” I say, clenching my eyes shut.
“I think I understand more than anyone else could,” Badger grinds out.
“Brother, here’s a blanket. We need to get her out of here before whoever did this comes back.” I don’t know who’s voice that is, but it’s one of the two that are here with Badger. Well, I think there’s two with him, could be more only I don’t see them. I refuse to look to find out.
The minute the blanket is draped over my body, I’m being lifted off the floor. I try my hardest to suppress an agonizing scream from slipping out, but each movement hurts.
“Shh, babe, I’ve got you,” Badger says soothingly.
“Dragon, man, you and Gadget need to meet us at the hospital. It’s not good, man,” I hear the first guy say.
“Burner, get in the driver's seat,” Badger growls as he carries me out to my car and climbs in the back with me still in his arms.
“Shadow, call Twister, get him to send two of the brothers to get our bikes. Stay here with them until someone gets here. Don’t need some motherfucker damaging my bike,” Burner says. I can now put a name to the voice.
“You got it,” Shadow says from a distance.
At the feel of my car moving, I let myself begin to drift, knowing I’m safe for now.
“Stay with me, babe.” I hear Badger's voice from a distance. He sounds almost panicked, but I can’t seem to stop from leaving him.
I can finally be in peace, I say to myself.
Chapter Six
Badger
The moment we pulled into Jordan’s driveway, I knew something was wrong. Then hearing her screams after knocking on the door, I felt like I couldn’t get to her fast enough. Even when I kicked the door in.
All I could envision was someone hurting the woman who was meant to be mine. I finally get it. I realized it on the ride over to her house. Jordan entered my life for one reason and that’s because we’re supposed to be with each other. Two halves of a broken soul once lost now found.
When I first saw her lying helplessly on the floor, my vision blurred. The sight of Jordan lying there, blood matted to her skin along with what looks to be cum, I wanted to go after them, but Burner had put his hand on my shoulder. “Now is not the time,” he said and I knew he was right. I needed to get Jordan to a hospital.
Even though she protested, Jordan didn’t have a choice. I wasn’t leaving her there to die, and I know in my gut that’s what would have happened if we hadn’t come to get her.
I had to pretty much scream in her face to keep her awake but in the end, she couldn’t stay conscious. The last words she said will haunt me for the rest of my life. “I can finally be in peace.” She muttered those words so quietly, I almost didn’t hear them. I ended up having to lay her on the back seat and get on the floorboard to perform CPR when she stopped breathing. My heart raced in my chest. I refused to let her go. Not when I just admitted to myself that she was mine.
Burner had to restrain me when the nursing staff rushed her to the back. I’d only just gotten a pulse back when we got to the hospital.
Now here I am, pacing back and forth in this small ass waiting room. I need answers. Fuck that, what I need is the blood of who did this shit.
By the time the rest of my brothers walk through the doors of the waiting room, I feel like a wolf caught in a cage, unable to escape. My skin feels too tight. I need to relieve some of this tension, otherwise I’ll end up doing something I’ll regret.
“What the fuck happened?” Gadget grinds out as he comes closer to us.
“We got there, and she was lying in a heap. Man, it wasn’t good. Badger ended up having to do CPR on the way here,” Burner says, leaving out the fact I’d been screaming at her not to leave me.
“Fuck,” Dragon mutters, eyeing me. “You okay?”
“No, I’m not okay,” I growl.
“Look, I get it, you had to deal with something you shouldn’t have. Dragon and I should have gone,” Gadget says, putting a hand on my shoulder.
Shrugging it off, I face him, “No, you don’t get it. You both do realize I’ve wanted that woman since the first time I saw her. Before I even knew she was your damn sister. But I was too fucked up in the head. Hell, I’m still fucked up in the head. But I won’t let that stop me from claiming her. Not anymore. That woman is mine,” I roar out the last words.
“What the fuck?” Dragon says, pushing me back some.
“I think you both need to back the fuck up,” Dean says, intervening.
“You can just back off,” I spit at him.
“I don’t think so. You want to claim my cousin, then you need to have the balls to stand up to, not just me. I’m not the only one who will stand in your way. Or the only one who protects her,” Dean informs us with a smirk on his face.
“What are you talking about?” I ask, furrowing my brow.
“You’ll see. I didn’t get to finish informing your brothers here of everything before you all called.” Shaking his head, Dean moves to sit in a chair on the other side of the room. Pulling out his phone after moving his hand across the screen, he puts it to his ear. “Timber, it’s Dean. We got a situation. I’m not sure if the hospital has tried calling your woman or not, but Jordan’s in the hospital. Can you inform her mother for me? Oh, and just to let you know, the Devil’s Riot MC is here with her. She’s been claimed by one of them, and her brothers are members of the club.”
Timber? Who the fuck is that?
“Yep, you got it. See you then,” Dean says, pulling the phone from his ear.
“What haven’t you told us? Who was that?” Dragon growls.
“That would be her mother’s side of the family. As I’ve already started to inform you, Jordan’s dad is my
uncle. He’s worthless and disowned from the family. Jordan, however, isn’t. If we could have gotten her away from him, we would have already, but the asshole is slick. He’s constantly got one of his buddies watching her. The only reprieve she gets from them is when she gets to visit her mama. She lives near her family, who are part of the Emerald Isle MC.”
“Hold the fuck up right now,” I grind out. “You telling me that Jordan’s related to someone in the Emerald Isle MC?”
“Her cousin is with a member, as was her aunt before he died. Jordan’s mom and aunt are very close, so, yes, Jordan’s related to someone in the Emerald Isle MC.” Smirking, Dean sits back, acting like he didn’t just blow our minds with all this shit.
“You know this could start a fuckin’ war,” Twister seethes from where he stood listening to everything.
“Not gonna happen,” I grit out, my fists clenching, ready for a fight.
“What he said. I may not be ready to say it’s okay for him to be with Jordan, but he’s claimed her. Badger will protect her with his life, I can see it in his eyes,” Dragon grinds out. Though I know he doesn’t want to admit it, they both know they fucked up where Jordan’s concerned.
They should have taken the time to get to know her.
“I’ll protect her until death takes me. Even then, I’ll go down fighting for her,” I mutter, knowing I speak the truth. I will do what needs to be done to keep her safe and if that means I die in the process, I'll gladly take my last breath for her.
Jordan’s unlike any woman. It merely took me seeing her dying to finally admit I can have what I want.
“Don’t worry, brother. You won’t be dying anytime soon. We got your back. Now, let’s find out about your woman, then we plan.” Twister steps forward, placing his hand on my shoulder.
“I want all of them. Every single one of the fuckers who hurt her. I know it was more than one. I can feel it in my gut, and when I find her father, I’ll be sure to put a bullet in his head,” I inform the room, though my eyes stay on the three men I know without a doubt will fight me for the right to do so.