“You’ll get more too, baby. Both of you will.” He withdrawals from her, sliding himself back into me. I close my eyes, not wanting to think about any of this, how this is all my fault… how I brought this not only onto me, but to her as well.
The only person to blame here today, is me.
He does the same to me, pumping faster and faster, savagely inside of me. He wants to make sure I hurt, and I do. Breathing becomes rapid, air hot and heavy on the back of my neck until he stills inside of me. I can feel him convulsing, his sperm shooting through my insides.
“Prez! We gotta go!” I hear someone shout, Rage grabs both Aimee and I by the back of our hair, pulling us towards his face.
“I had plans on taking you both back to the club, making you my personal birthers, giving me all the sons and daughters, I could want. Now… I don’t have the time to get you ready and take you home… all is well though, I’ll just make sure you stay warm and cozy.” Rage takes the metal ring from my mouth and throws it on the floor, as he tucks himself back into his jeans he pulls out a zippo lighter, and then his flask. I watch as he pours whiskey onto the floor below us, then drops his zippo.
“Like I said, you’ll both be warm and cozy.” He cackles, running out the front door.
No matter what… Aimee and I are going to die tonight.
Chapter 23
There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.
– Laurell K. Hamilton
Tex
The house is engulfing in flames as we approach, smoke heavy in the sky. I ride as quickly as I can. I don’t even bother stopping by the club, I knew where she’d be… she has to be there… if she isn’t in the house it meant Rage got to her.
I couldn’t let him have her again, never would I let him…
I jumped off my bike, Dracus and Bolt close behind me doing the same. Instincts take over me and I run straight towards the house. The smoke is heavy, pouring out of the open window. I place my hand on the door, the metal burning me more than anything ever has, but I push past the pain, needing to get into the house.
The sound of coughing is like music to my ears. I follow the sound, covering my own mouth as I’m brought to Roxy. I can make out her figure through the smoke.
“Vince?!” She coughs, unable to catch her breath.
“Yeah baby, fuck” I yank onto her, pulling her to me and she doesn’t budge.
“Tied, he tied us up. Get Aimee, she hasn’t… get Aimee first!” She coughs, crying through her words. I pull out my knife from my back pocket and feel for whatever it is that is holding them up, my knife catches along something and I continue to pull, feeling more breakage under the flick of my wrist. Aimee falls into my grasp right as I am met by heavy footsteps, Dracus is right next to me. I hand Aimee off and he runs out of the door.
Bringing my hands back above Roxy, I do the same, flicking my knife against whatever is holding her up until she falls back against me. I don’t react, I drop everything except for her, pulling her close into my arms I make my way out of the house until we’re right next to Dracus, Aimee and Bolt.
Roxy is coughing into my chest, trying to catch her breath with each draw. “A-imee,” she struggles to say, turning her head back and looking to her on the ground.
Dracus puts his mouth over hers, giving her CPR. He starts compressions, counting and then does the same over and over again until he stops.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” Bolt screams at him, “Keep going!”
Dracus shakes his head, staring at Aimee, he covers his hand with his face. Fuck… No. Roxy cries into my chest, sobbing, tears flooding my shirt.
All of a sudden, coughing comes out of nowhere. Aimee jolts forward, coughing over and over. Dracus pulls her into his arms, Bolt kneeling down to hug the both of them, pressing kisses to her face. She whimpers, crying loudly through her coughs.
Roxy wheezes in my arms, slowly trying to catch her breath she reaches her hand out to Aimee’s. They both hold onto one another for dear life, not letting go.
Tonight, I have failed.
I swore to protect her, and I fucking failed.
***
A week went by, both Roxy and Aimee hardly said a word to any of us. The two of them sticking close together, bonding through the hell that they went through together. They were close before, but even more so now. Dracus, Bolt, and I tried to do anything that we could to help them, but they didn’t want to talk about it. Neither of them wanted to breathe a word about what they had been through.
It didn’t take much to put the pieces together. They could hardly walk, soot covered their bodies from the fire, but once we had cleaned them both up we could see the extent of their injuries. Aimee was beaten, badly at that. Roxy had been through it so many times, I was honestly surprised that she didn’t have more bruises on her body, the only noticeable ones were around her neck and hips. Now, Aimee… hers were everywhere. Even today her face is still a good portion of purple and blue.
We should consider ourselves lucky, the only thing we lost that night was the house. The club still stands, our people still stand. There are only two in the wind, unsure if they are dead or alive.
Fang and Saber.
I asked Roxy and Aimee if they had seen either of them, but neither said anything, they simply shared a look and remained quiet. That told me everything that I needed to know – they did, and they know something that I don’t.
Mindi told us she held herself up under the clubhouse, there’s a door behind the bar that leads into a bunker. It’s pretty well hidden, and when shit goes down the women and kids know to go there. It can withhold pretty much anything, and there is a path that leads out to a door under it if you follow it back a mile, otherwise it’s a pretty plain room with cots, a small kitchen and a bathroom. Mindi grabbed the twins and acted quickly, making sure the sweet butts were down there and locked the hatch. No woman, or child left behind. She makes a great Prez’s wife, caring for her people as much as Fist does. When she found out the… extent of what happened… or what we presumed to have happened to both Aimee and Roxy, she cried. She cried until no tears could come out of her, and then she went to them, being a supportive friend – which is exactly what they both needed.
This was just the beginning, but I had no doubts that we would all get through this together. I tell Roxy every night, this did not break her, and nothing ever would. For she is a diamond, a special girl who can never be broken. Fiercer than most men I know, and stronger than anyone I’ve ever met.
It will take time, but I know she and Aimee will both open up to us again soon. They just need to process everything that has happened. In the meantime, all we can do is be there for them as much as they need us to.
Chapter 24
I will always wonder who you would have been… - Anonymous
Roxy
I should have told them where I was going today, but I couldn’t bear to do that. The three of them would have stared us down, saying we were both insane and worrying about nothing. By them, I’m talking about the three men who love us more than anything else on this planet – Dracus, Bolt, and my Vince. The thing is, we weren’t worrying over nothing. I know that we weren’t. I’m four days late, and Aimee hasn’t had her period either. She’s way more paranoid than I am… but she wasn’t used to the horror that we had to endure. While I had experience with Rage and his awfulness… Aimee didn’t. She had no idea of my past, and after that night… I had to explain everything to her, in detail. My hope was that by telling her the things I had gone through it would encourage her, build her confidence. It didn’t do either. Instead, I think I scared her even more.
So, we drove to the clinic in town and waited our turns, holding onto one another’s hands as if our very lives depended on it. I loved this woman more than I could explain. I didn’t have the same love for her as I did Vince, but nonetheless, I loved her.
Each of us went into separate restrooms, pee
ing on sticks and waiting for the doctors to get back to us. About an hour later we were called back into the exam room. They wanted to speak to us privately, but Aimee didn’t want that. She made it abundantly clear that we needed to find out together. I think that she needed me. I could have handled the hit by myself, but Aimee couldn’t, and I knew that.
So, we followed the doctor back into a room and sat next to one another on two old plastic chairs that sat side by side. “Roxanne, you aren’t pregnant. I think you’re just having an irregular cycle. It happens to women sometimes; however, I can understand your cause for concern.”
I nod my head, accepting the answer.
“Now, Aimee. You are pregnant.”
“No,” Aimee murmurs, covering her face with her hand she begins to bawl, sounding like a wounded animal. I wrap my arms around her and hold her close, wanting to give her as much support as I can in this moment. Fuck, this is all my fault.
“I don’t want it. I want an abortion, today. Give me an abortion, please… please. I beg you, please take it out,” she pleads with the doctor, he looks at her, probably unsure of what to say.
“Aimee, I understand this is shocking, and terrifying. Please, take the day to think about it, and come back tomorrow if it’s still what you want to do.”
“No. No. I will not wait until tomorrow when… when…”
I hold her close, brushing her hair with my fingertips. There is nothing that I can say in this moment that will make her feel better. The only thing that will make her feel better is getting what she wants, so it’s simple. I’ll do what I have to make sure that happens.
“Don’t make her keep her rapist’s baby inside of her. Please, just take it out. Just do it today. She’s been sick for weeks thinking about this… please, Doc.” His eyes go wide at my bluntness, and he nods.
“Normally… I wouldn’t but… I, uh. I understand your feelings. Come back with me you two, and we’ll get you prepped, Aimee.”
I go back with Aimee as the nurses prep her, reading all of the disclosures that I’m sure the government makes them before they perform a procedure such as this. Aimee signs again and again, practically signing her life away.
The doc didn’t want me in the room during the procedure, so I sat out in the waiting area and did just that, I waited, for hours and hours, I waited. When the clock went from noon to four… I was alarmed. I’d never had an abortion – but they don’t take this long. Do they?
“Is there a Roxanne here?” I see a nurse come out from the double doors that lead back into where the exam rooms are.
“Yes, that would be me.”
“Oh, good. I need you to come with me, Miss.” I don’t ask questions, but simply follow the nurse down the hallway. She leads me down to an office, where I am met once again with the Doc I had been speaking to not that long ago.
“What’s happened?” I ask, not in the mood for any bullshit.
“There was a complication…” I listen closely as the doctor explains in extensive detail how everything was going according to plan until one moment it wasn’t. She was bleeding excessively, they tried everything to make it stop until the only alternative was to remove her uterus.
I sit in the chair, tears coming to my eyes and not being able to stop them no matter how much I try. I can’t explain the extreme amount of guilt that I feel. The guilt for Rage showing up, for doing what he did to her… to her being pregnant, to needing this abortion and it results in her losing any possibility of ever having a child.
One night, and I stole Aimee’s future from her.
All of this is my fault.
***
Tex
“I hadn’t planned on coming up this way, but it seemed like the right thing to do. I heard about what happened.” Roman being in the Reapers clubhouse is odd as fuck to me, and what’s even weirder is the new cut he wears. The Brotherhood MC, a club that he’s founded so recently, where he took over half of the Demons with him – the good half, if that’s what I could call it. The more respectable of the bunch. “I have intel on those two prospects your club is missing.”
“Fang and Saber?” I inquire, lifting the beer in front of me to my lips and take a swig.
“Yes. They’re fine – better than fine, actually. Seems they’re Rage’s newest recruits.”
“I’m sorry… what?” I ask, flabbergasted.
“Those two love to talk, a lot about how they pulled a train on Roxy that night Rage showed up and nearly killed her and Aimee.” My eyes bulge out of my head and nearly shoot across the room. I knew something had happened, I fucking knew it! Neither one of the girls would tell me, but now I knew the truth.
“I didn’t know,” I confess, glancing back to the man I have always been proud to call a brother. “I mean, I knew… I assumed what happened, but she wouldn’t tell me. I just didn’t know about those two…”
“She wouldn’t tell you, she never did want to appear weak in front of you. Why would that change now?”
“Roxy has never been weak, not for a day in her fucking life,” I point out, anger spitting through my tone.
“You and I may know that, but she doesn’t. She thinks that she is, and you’d better not tell me I’m wrong.” I think long and hard over it, and Roman is right. She does think she’s weak, not seeing just how strong she is. “I didn’t just come here to express my apologies for what happened. I came for business.”
“Prez!” I call over to Fist, who slides off of his barstool and approaches us.
“I had a feeling this wasn’t just a social call,” Fist mutters as he sits down next to us.
“No, I’m afraid we don’t have that luxury. The Demons will always be a threat, and so will those fucking Bears. I’m here on behalf of my club, The Brotherhood. The Raiders who Rage has driven to the West Coast and the Sons of Gods who hold a clubhouse in the South. We all have bad blood with the Demons, some of us more than others. Zeus appreciated your heads up about the impending assassination attempt on his daughters and wife. He has agreed to an alliance with us, all of us. Think about it, The Brotherhood, Reapers, Sons of Gods, and Raiders. Four of us clubs, working in unison against a common enemy. The Raiders want something in return, though. You’ve done something for the Sons of Gods. I have trust already with your club. You have done a lot for Tex, and you’ve kept Rox safe, granted you’re her family, but that is a show of good faith – that is all I need. You continue to watch over your sister, and we’re solid.”
“What do the Raiders want?” Fist asks, leaning back in his chair, observing Roman’s features.
“He wants a show of good faith from you. There’s already a relationship with me, and with Zeus… but he doesn’t have must trust in your club, so he is asking for something… big.”
“Cut the shit and tell me what it is that this asshole wants” Fist grumbles.
“He wants a son. A son of the Reapers to marry a daughter of his. Arranging marriages between clubs hasn’t been done in years, however it is done for political alliances. He has the strongest club in the West, and together we can break the Demons down. Do you have a son?”
“I have two,” Fist says, looking over to Mindi who has both Zane and Kade sitting on her lap.
“Who is the one who will take the gavel from you one day?” Roman inquires.
“Zane.” He stares at the toddler as he utters his name, I’m sure he’s picturing his future. Wondering if he will damn his son eternally by making this decision or guarantee happiness.
“Then, he is the one who will marry the girl.”
“What is her name?” Fist asks.
“He has a few daughters. I can make sure that Zane has a choice when the time comes.”
“Okay. Assure me that my son has a choice, and we have a deal,” Fist agrees, extending his hand out to Roman. They both shake hands as Dracus comes up to me.
“Sorry to interrupt, but we have a problem. Roxy just called… we need to go. Now.”
We do just that, we roll
out, and I follow Dracus and Bolt until we reach the clinic just outside of Billings. I see Aimee’s beat up little piece of shit car as we approach, dismounting our bikes and walk through the doors that lead into the building.
Roxy is standing there, crouching to the ground, hands covering her face, white as a ghost. She looks up as we approach, bottom lip trembling as she looks to the three of us. Within a nanosecond, the tears are spilling.
“It’s all my fault, everything is all my fault… all of this… all of…” She hiccups, dragging in sharp and quick breaths.
I glance back and see Bolt go up to the nurse’s station, while Dracus and I walk over to Roxy, we crouch down next to her. I hold her close while Dracus has a hand on her knee, giving it a good squeeze.
“… Rage coming here was m-my fault… w-what he did was m-my fault… h-he hurt us b-both and u-us coming h-here is b-because of me. W-we had to c-come… t-this all h-happened b-because of m-me!” Before I can do anything, Dracus pulls Rox into his lap and cups her face, making him look right at her.
“You listen here little lady. Ain’t none of this your fucking fault. None of what that piece of shit did is your fault. The only thing you’re guilty of is falling for the bastard, and you know what that shows, baby? That you’ve got a pretty fucking golden heart. What happened is not on you. You did not do that. You did not do anything. If I hear you say it again I will beat your ass until you can’t sit for a week, do you hear me?”
Roxy’s lip trembles at his words. Honestly, I’m not as stern as he is. In this moment, I’m thankful for our relationship – the group of us. When I don’t have the words, he or Bolt does.
He brings Roxy’s lips to his own and kisses her gently. “I love you, babygirl. You stop this nonsense, and I’m gonna go check on our Aimee, okay?” I don’t beat with anger as he kisses the equivalent of my wife, she’s branded to me, but she belongs to the four of us, including Aimee.
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