This man isn’t anything like my father or the men I know around the club, and now I’m truly scared. He sweeps his thumb across my bottom lip and then digs his finger into my mouth. He’s taking pleasure from my misery and discomfort. I squeeze my eyes shut and pray when I open them, he’ll be gone.
“Oh no, no, no, sweetheart. You keep those pretty eyes of yours open. I want you to see everything I do,” he says, grinning, and tilts his head.
“If I weren’t committed to my Harper, I’d kiss these lips of yours, but since I love that wayward woman of mine, I’ll settle for slicing them off. Maybe I’ll put them in a jar,” he says, and I can’t help it, I sob. “Or maybe not,” he adds at my disgust.
I miss the moment my brother gets up to his feet and flies across the bar.
“Ell, behind you,” a Crow hollers and Ellis turns just in time to be barrelled to the floor and Zach lands on top of him.
Everything happens so fast I can barely keep up. One moment Zach is raising his fist to drop one on Ellis, and then he’s being pulled off by three Crow’s and he’s thrown down on the floor and jumped upon. A Crow punches him so hard I’m not sure if they crack his cheekbone or if the sound came from the guy’s knuckles breaking. The twins must have heard it too. Like they are one mind and body, they jump up to help my brother only to be jumped on before they make it five steps. His brothers pull Zach up, dragging him to the middle of the bar and drop him on the dirty floor. All three of them rain their boots on him with thunderous kicks. Lost Souls shout out but it’s Zachery’s grunt and gasps with each kick he receives is all I hear.
“Fall back,” Ellis orders and a slow creepy smile starts to form on his creepy ass face.
Stepping around his brothers, Ellis slowly scans the bar. Zachery rolls over and spits out a mouthful of blood. Heaving himself up, it’s painful to see him in this state. He’s taken a beating but as usual, he’s taking it on the chin and moving through his stubbornness, like hell would he ever let someone like Ellis see him at his weakest.
He catches Ellis’s eye and by the time he spins around on his heel, Zach is standing chin to chin with him and leans his head back before driving it forward and smashes it against Ellis’s forehead. It dazes him for a moment and then with a manic laugh, he jumps lightly on his feet and shakes his head. In one swift moment, his hand bunches into a fist and he delivers a blow to Zach’s jaw. My brother follows the impact through and throws a punch of his own. In the blink of an eye, they are all arms and legs, digging elbows and knees into each other where ever they can hurt one another. Zachery is determined, Ellis is having a blast and I’m hating every second. Zach is no stranger to fighting, and he’s good at it, but Ellis enjoys the knock downs as well as putting his opponent down. Just as I think Ellis is going to get the better of Zach, he’s flying back on his ass from a gut blow. Panic replaces his mania from moments before and he slides a knife out of his boot. Zach lunges for him and pulls himself away as he notices the shiny blade and rears back.
“I haven’t enjoyed a fight like this in a long while, for that, I won’t kill you yet.”
Zach leans on his knees, collecting his breath and throws a glare at our captor. Ellis climbs to his feet and warily steps around Zach, shoving at him until he’s back with the others.
“Make sure none of them move,” he orders and walks over to me.
All you can hear are the guns being locked and loaded and when I look around, it’s not by Lost Souls. The Crow’s have bested my father’s club and I shrink as Ellis wraps his arm around me. The smell of him is enough to haunt me for the rest of my life.
“While I wait for Harper to come to her senses, perhaps I’ll see what you taste like.”
“I taste like Leo,” I spit out and cringe, remembering everyone is listening.
Gripping my chin, his smile is almost full of pride that I bit back at him.
“And perhaps I’ll be leaving him to taste me, that’s if he lives. I’m like a kid at Christmas, I don’t know what to play with first. Or kill first. Do you think Leo will come for you?”
I start to suspect he’s on drugs. He speaks so fast; his words occasionally slur together.
“I hope not,” I answer him with as much braveness as I can muster.
“That’s not what I asked, pretty girl,” he says, strutting over to the bar.
He scans over the bottles of liquor and pulls an unopened bottle of whiskey from the top shelf. Unscrewing the cap, he pours himself a shot and necks it without reacting to the burn.
Taking the bottle with him, he clears the bar and walks, weaving around the brothers. Every set of Lost Souls eyes follow his every step and I swallow the huge lump in my throat when he stops behind Victoria. Her whimper travels around the bar and the brothers are seething, ready to kill him.
“What’s your name?” he asks her, wedging the bottle under his arm and resting his hands on her shoulders.
She looks to her mom and bravely keeps her tears at bay. Kyla is such a carefree mom, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her angry, not at the twins or her husband, nor anyone around the club. I always thought it was her influence over Victoria that allowed her to embrace her hippy nature. But as her daughter is under the hands of this maniac, fire burns in her soul as there is nothing she can do.
“Victoria.”
“And who do you belong to, Victoria?”
“Belong to? No-no one,” she stutters.
“Let me rephrase, who in this club do you have any sort of connections to?”
She presses her lips tightly together and his fingers dig into her collarbone. She winces in pain and it brings him pleasure.
“Are you withholding someone here from me because you think I’ll kill them?” he sing-songs creepily and then quickly loses his smirk. “Who are you trying to protect?”
Keeping one hand on Victoria, he slides the bottle from under his arm and uses his mouth to unscrew the cap.
Tipping it upside down over her head, he dowses Victoria in the alcohol until the bottle is empty, much to everyone’s horror. Victoria chokes and gags, and squirms, her arms flailing around, but with his one hand forcing her to stay put, she isn’t going anywhere. The sound of his thumb rubbing against the lighter wheel silences her screams and the trembling begins.
“Answer me!” Ellis roars and the twins fly up to their feet.
The Crow’s with their guns move closer to them to stop them from getting any closer to their sister.
“She’s our sister,” Mason yells and Ellis smirks.
“She’s my daughter,” Kyla cries and reaches for Victoria’s hand.
My own cheeks are saturated with tears and I’m petrified for Victoria.
“How old are you, sweetheart?” Ellis asks her, leaning down so he can hear her small replies.
“Seventeen.”
“Did you think you would die tonight when you woke up this morning?”
She lets out a huge sob and her tears are washed out in the whiskey glistening on her face.
He flicks the lighter wheel again and this time a flame ignites. Her trembles intensify and her chest rises and falls rapidly. The lighter doesn’t move as he leans down to speak in her ear. My chest constricts as I struggle to breathe watching this unfold. He’s out of control.
“Have you ever smelled burning flesh before?”
Panic seeps through every brother and every old lady. A coldness joins the panic and it’s nothing like I’ve felt before.
“Don’t do this, she had nothing to do with Leo and your brother!” Kyla screams.
“She’s a fuckin’ kid, fight us, like a proper fucking man and not with your blade,” Zach shouts and Ellis does nothing but laugh.
How can he think this is funny?
Victoria freezes as he sweeps the lighter in front of her face. This has to end soon; her own fear will kill her before he does.
“All I wanted was Leo and Harper,” he murmurs as if that’ll make everything okay.
“Please,”
Victoria begs him. “Don’t.”
“All I’d have to do is drop this lighter and you’ll be burning up like a bar-be-que.”
“No…please…please…please.”
This is too much, I can’t take it any longer.
“Leo told me how he killed your brother, he laughed about it when he described the moment your brother hit the ground.”
I don’t know where the lie comes from, but he can’t be near her, intentionally or by accident, he could set her on fire and kill her at any second. He starts to walk towards me, and I thank the lord my distraction is working. Victoria leaps up and sits next to her mom, and Kyla holds her tight as if that’s going to keep her safe.
“Oh yeah? He laughed, yeah?”
“Yep,” I say, popping the P. “He also said, he’d do it again and again, and again.”
Something more than a darkness falls over him and his earlier enjoyment with Victoria is gone. I’m not sure which is scariest.
“When he told me, he told me not to worry about repercussions because you’re a bigger pussy than your brother was.”
“Keep going,” he urges, getting in my face and bracing his hands on his knees.
“He wonders if your body will sound the same hitting the ground as Roman’s did,” I say to finish my tongue lashing.
“He wonders that, huh? It’s funny, all I can hear is his last breath being taken. You’ll see who will walk away from this, and spoil alert, it won’t be him,” he mock gasps, holding his hands over his chest.
He jerks his chin at one of his brothers and they walk off into the corner. I release a heavy breath and it does nothing to help elevate the weight pushing down on my chest. I need you Leo, now. I yearn to hear the club’s brother’s bikes riding towards us.
Victoria is still in her mom’s arms; my mom is now on her other side and the twins are keeping their eye on them.
“Try keeping your mouth shut from now on,” Zach whispers loud enough for me to hear but he has no worries. As long as he stays away from Victoria, I’ll be as quiet as a church mouse.
“You try keeping your fists to yourself from now on,” I throw back at him. “You aren’t going to win when he has more men here than you do.”
Ellis’s boots stomping across the bar interrupt our hushed bickering and he makes himself comfortable on the chair opposite me. His ability to forget we’re not the only ones here is strange and it leaves me feeling alone, even though I’m not.
“Tell me about the man you hope will run to your rescue and save the day.”
I wasn’t expecting this, and it throws me off. I look over to Zach and he gives nothing away as to what he’s thinking now.
“What do you want to know about him?”
“I want to know everything before I kill him, tell me when you first met him, what did you think about him?”
This is so strange. Who collects that kind of personal information on someone they plan on killing?
“I have no idea; I was a baby when we first met.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Okay, tell me how you fell in love.”
“Really? A guy like you wants to hear about love?”
I’m not going to bother trying to work him out anymore. It hurts my head to try.
“Why wouldn’t I? I’m not a monster, I know of love, I’ve loved people, people have loved me. It’s a very dark life to never have felt it, don’t you think?”
I nod because I do agree. “What you think of me now, and what you think of me when this is over, you will know I’m not completely bad and unlike your fiancé, I like to know who I’m taking from this world.”
He stops and waits for me to answer his question and while I don’t particularly want to share such details with him about my relationship, it’ll keep him seated and away from the others, especially Victoria. I hope Cas and Leo get here soon.
“It was on my eighteenth birthday when things changed between us. He was different with me, I grew up with him messing around and teasing me, but that night, he looked at me like I was the only one he needed to breathe.”
“What about you? How did you look at him?”
My heart lightens at the memory, but I don’t let him see any change on my face.
“Like a deer caught in the headlights. I thought he and JJ were pulling another prank on me, messing with me because it was my birthday.”
“What changed?”
“He kissed me.” A small smiles tugs at the corner of his mouth and it almost makes him look like he owns a shred of humanity.
“Ah, a simple kiss, a tale of romance as old as time. How could you tell by a kiss? Because I knew the moment I saw Harper, she was the one for me.”
I don’t know all the details about his and Harper’s relationship, or whatever you would call it, but I know she would never kiss him the way she does JJ. However, I’m not brave nor stupid to delve into his thoughts on my cousin so I continue to answer his question.
“I’d seen him kiss other girls for years, it was the way he held me and kissed me, there was just, more in it. I could feel it.”
His glazed eyes fall to my mouth and I wish they hadn’t.
“I must admit, your lips are enticing. I don’t blame him for wanting to kiss you.”
I inwardly cringe at the thought and he catches it, grinning coldly, knowing exactly how he makes me feel.
“How do you feel at the prospect of being a single mom? Because he won’t see another day as soon as he steps foot in front of me. A bright girl like you must understand this isn’t a game?”
Water pools in my eyes but I desperately try to keep them at bay. While I don’t view tears as weakness, he certainly would, and I don’t doubt he would take great pleasure in seeing them fall.
It’s not the time for quick remarks or sarcasm, so I say, “It’d break my heart.” It’s the truth, it’s what he wants to hear, and it feeds the evil in him, I’m sure. He closes his eyes and tips his head back, a slow smile creeping across his mouth.
“Oh India, you’re making me want to let him live. I’m imagining your pretty face stained with tears and it’s breaking my heart to see that ugliness on you.”
My mouth opens to beg him to let him live but I catch myself and the words die on the tip of my tongue. He’s playing with me and I’m not falling for it. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me beg.
“Moment over, I’ve got a call to make.”
His chair scrapes against the floor in his haste to stand and our conversation is done. I lower my head, my chin just about resting on my chest, and ignore everyone staring at me. Death comes for us all, no questioning that, but is it too much to ask that Leo makes it to old age and dies peacefully in his bed? Years ago, my dad wanted out of the club. I’ve heard when I’ve eavesdropped on conversations that Kyla wanted Ricky to leave the club after they suffered an attack here years ago. It only seems natural to want to get out of this life when this shit happens. If Leo survives this, I want to run and hide with him and Rayna and I never want to come back. Just the thought of this potentially happening time and time again fills me with dread.
Ellis walks around my chair, and I sigh with relief when he doesn’t join me and perches himself on the bar. He leans back on his hands and tips his head and laughs.
“I thought this night could only get better if I had Leo and my Harper here, but it turns out, I was wrong,” he starts. Shaking his head in amusement, his eyes connect with mine and he carries on. “It seems your men have ridden out of town. They’ve left you here to fend for yourselves.”
Not one Lost Soul bats an eyelid. They’re not falling for his manipulation games.
“You gave them twenty-four hours, dickhead,” one of the twins remind him.
He shrugs and his smile disappears. “I was hoping for them to storm in guns blazing, it would have been hell of a lot more exciting.”
The twins keep quiet and I dare to look at my mom. I’ve put her through so much lately and while I wouldn’t cha
nge a thing, I still would have chosen Leo and Rayna, I finally understand why she wanted me out of here and at college.
Leo
The darkness surrounding the cabin wraps around me like a suffocating blanket cocooning me. The last time I was home, India was here cradling our daughter and I watched her like a creep, disbelieving I was this lucky to know what and who I wanted this early in life. Family is strong in the club and I’ve never felt alone, but I had my own family to provide and protect and I never felt more settled with who I am. Swinging my leg over my bike, I walk by the brothers coming to a stop and parking up where they can. I pass the sullen look on Slade’s face and I throw open the back door and unbuckle Rayna from her seat. She’s restless, as if she can sense exactly what is going on around her. Mom is peaky, and Dad looks like shit. A father with Cancer and a mom with a shot wound, a fiancé under the hands of our enemy and I’m the reason no one is getting any peace in their lives right now.
“I’ll take her, Leo. You need to deal with business,” Mom murmurs, climbing out the car.
“She comes first and then I’ll deal with this shit.”
And deal I will.
I have a plan and the ride back to the cabin gave me plenty of time to finalise the details.
Rayna begins to whimper and within seconds she is shrieking. She knows I’m not her mommy, my rough leather against her small cheek is startling different to her mother’s softness. Cradling her to my chest, I get a reprieve from her cries for a beat before she opens her lungs again. She’s so loud for someone so small.
Mom is quick to open the door and I cross the threshold. I can already hear the ghosts’ whispers bouncing off the walls. I’m tired and I’m afraid, but if I’m not mistaken, I can hear India’s whispers and pleas for help. I walk through the place, flicking on lights and crank the heating up. The kitchen starts to fill with brothers, and I lean against the counter top, keeping Rayna firmly in my arms. Mom isn’t far behind and seems to have forgotten she is wounded when she holds her arms out. She must be on some heavy painkillers.
“Pass her over, I’ll watch her while we wait for the formula.”
His One Regret: Sons Of Lost Souls MC Book Four Page 3