by Jenika Snow
Brynleigh
We found ourselves back at the MC, members all around us, the flurry of activity almost overwhelming. I was on the bed in the room he stayed at while he was at the club. This was his place, his safe spot.
There were clothes haphazardly thrown over the back of a chair. There was a bathroom attached to the room, the door partially opened so I could see the shower.
God, what I wouldn’t give for a scalding hot shower right about now.
I looked at the walls, pictures of motorcycles and half naked women straddling bikes covering them. There was a small table pushed against the wall, a laptop sitting on it, paper strewn around. The mattress under me was firm, unforgiving. Like Rooney. I curled my fingers against the blanket.
This room smelled like him, dark and masculine, spicy and potent.
I was deep in his world now, and there was no going back.
We had stayed at the cabin for an hour or two after everything had gone down, and more club members had arrived, helping with cleanup, disposal of the bodies.
My throat tightened at that fact, thinking of all those corpses that I’d seen as we left, knowing the man I’d killed was among them. But it had happened because of self-preservation, survival. We had done it in self-defense. If not, we would have been dead.
The bedroom door opened and I straightened, seeing Rooney come in with a first aid kit. He smiled at me.
“Hey, baby.”
“Hey,” I said softly.
He was crouched in front of me a second later, looking at my wound, the blood having dried and my shirt sticking to my side.
“I have to tear a part of the shirt away to get to it, okay?”
I nodded.
He went to work cutting away the material from the bullet wound, and I tried not to show how much that little act hurt. I gripped the sheets beneath me, clenched my jaw, and forced myself not to cry.
“I’m sorry, baby. You’re in a lot of pain, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but I’ll survive.” I wasn’t about to lie, not after all that had happened.
He reached in the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small pill bottle. After he popped the lid and poured out two white pills into his palm, he handed them to me. “Here.”
“What are they?”
“Oxy. Old Saul had them when he broke his hip. He can’t stand the feeling they give him, so they are stocked in the back for a time like this.” He took my hand and dumped the pills into the center of it. “Once I start messing with the wound to clean it, you’ll be in a hell of a lot more pain.” He looked at me as if that would hurt him more than me.
And maybe it would, because after everything, I knew Rooney loved me unconditionally.
Rooney stood and headed into the bathroom. I heard the faucet running, and a moment later he was back, holding a small glass filled with water. He handed it to me and I looked down at the pills in my hand.
The pain was pretty bad, and I’d dealt with it thus far, but if he was going to be cleaning the wound, I didn’t know if I could handle it.
I tossed the pills in my mouth, washing them down with a drink of water before I could second-guess myself. He took the glass from me and leaned in to kiss me softly on the lips.
And then he was back on his haunches looking at the wound. “Good thing is the bullet went right through, so I don’t have to dig around to get it out.”
I thanked whoever was listening for small favors.
For the next twenty minutes, he cleaned the wound. The pain was pretty intense, but I started to feel the pills kick in.
Once he had my side bandaged, he helped me rest back on the bed. He took my shoes off, then worked the pants off as best he could, given the fact my body felt stiff and every part of me was sore. I was wincing from the sensitivity of it all, but soon found myself lying down with blankets covering me.
Rooney sat on the edge of the bed and took my hand and his, bringing my knuckles to his mouth to kiss them. He stared at me for long seconds, time seeming to stand still.
The pills were really working their magic now, and I felt my body become lighter, relaxation settling in. My eyelids were heavy, and it was taking a lot for me to keep them open.
“I have to leave for a little bit, baby.”
I licked my lips, my mouth feeling so dry, my throat so tight. I found myself nodding, holding onto his hand tighter, our fingers entwined.
“You’re safe here, okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“I have someone who’ll check in on you. And I’m leaving the pain pills here because they might wear off before I get back. Take them if you hurt. There’s no point in you being strong and dealing with it, okay?”
I nodded.
“Where are you going?” Or maybe I didn’t want to know. But the thought of him leaving again scared the hell out of me.
“I have to finish this, Bryn. I have to make sure that you’re safe, that nothing like this will ever happen again.” He lifted his hand and cupped the side of my face, smoothing his thumb along my cheekbone. “I’ll be back. And when I do I’m making you mine. I’m not letting you go again.”
I knew without a doubt that he would make that our future. And thank God, because the very thought of not having Rooney in my life was not something I wanted as my reality.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Rooney
I left Bryn to relax and headed down to the basement where Ted and Vincenzo had been chained to the ceiling. Their hands were held up above their heads and I knew from personal experience that after a while, the pain started to bite, nag at you, eat away at your sanity. I liked seeing the two of them like that.
The club members had each patted me on the back as I walked down the long corridor, through the main clubroom, to get to the kitchen. I opened the door and sat on the stairs, drinking my coffee, hearing the sound of rattling chains. The scent of blood was finally fading away. Bryn would be fine. I had to keep reminding myself that she would be, otherwise I wouldn’t take the pleasure I wanted in hurting these two bastards.
“I’m surprised they’re still alive,” I said, looking toward Venom. He stood by a table. Not so long ago, Rebekah had been in this exact same place, fighting for her life. Not that Venom had claimed her right away. She’d been way too young, and his bitterness and rage hadn’t been meant for her, but for her father. That had all ended differently seeing as they were now a couple and she was his old lady.
“I figured you had a right to them first. If it’s too much, I’ll take over. He did beat the shit out of your woman and have you try to kill me. I figure it’s only fair that you get your shot.”
I drank my coffee. It was strange. From the moment Vincenzo had Bryn, my only desire had been for this moment. Now, I wanted to prolong it. I wasn’t in a rush to hurt this son of a bitch. When I did, it was going to last.
Getting to my feet, I ignored my target and look at Ted.
Vincenzo was an asshole to the core, and in a way, it was expected for him to try this with the club. We’d had men fighting for our turf long before him. Ted, on the other hand, his betrayal stung. It more than stung, it cut us to the fucking core because he was a brother. He’d promised himself to be loyal, to be one with us, and in return, he’d shit on us in the worst possible way. I took another drink of my steaming hot coffee, and the rage I’d kept under wraps while dealing with Bryn’s wound came flowing back inside me.
Throwing the remains of my hot coffee at him, I listened to the sounds of his screaming, relishing the pain.
That’s it, you piece of shit, burn.
I tossed the cup away and grabbed his face. I tilted his head back as he thrashed. “We should slit your throat for what you did.”
“Fuck you.”
“No, but it might be something we try on you.” I laughed at his whimper.
I was ignoring Vincenzo for now. I wanted him to watch as I hurt the man he’d tried to use against us.
Moving toward the table, I
looked at Venom.
To anyone else, he looked calm, collected, reserved even. Maybe to an onlooker he appeared bored. I knew differently. Deep down inside he was hurting, and that kind of pain was not easily replaced.
“You okay?” I asked.
“No. I’m really not.”
I looked down at the arrangement of knives, scissors, burners, you name it, it was on this little table. I believed Venom had a supplier who got off on torture who gave us these devices.
“You get to make the first cut,” I said.
Venom was Prez. It was him that had been betrayed. Ted wanted rid of Venom to take over the club.
I watched as Venom grabbed a pair of scissors and got to work removing all of Ted’s clothing. He was an old man with a large beer gut. I’d seen him screw a couple of the clubwhores, and many of them hated him touching them. I’d never really thought much about it until now. I wondered if they would want to wash their pussies out with bleach after knowing they’d fucked a traitor.
Once Ted was completely naked, Venom stood behind him. I saw the anger on his face as he pointed at the man’s back. The tip of the scissors clearly dug into his flesh as Venom stared.
“You don’t deserve to wear our patch. You don’t deserve to have this.”
Grabbing the knife, I whistled as I walked around to look at Ted’s back. He had a saggy ass, but I simply ran the tip of the knife across his back.
Screams erupted, and I smiled as I watched the blood begin to ooze out of the skin.
“Stop! Please stop!”
I kept working even as Ted screamed. We’d done this to only two other men. One of them had tried to make a deal with the feds about us and he’d ended up in a ditch with all of his patches removed. Another, well, we ended up cutting him into pieces and feeding him to the dogs. That had been an interesting couple of days.
Of course, that had been a few years ago now.
This was a message to anyone who thought to join the club and weren’t loyal to it.
Venom moved me out of the way and I watched as he began to peel the skin off the man’s back. Blood fell to the floor, going toward the drain there. We’d need a lot of bleach to clean this shit up.
Smiling, I moved toward Vincenzo.
Ted had passed out from the pain.
“What do you think? You like our handiwork?” I asked.
“You’re fucking sick.”
“Nah, this is a club rule, Vincenzo. I thought you knew that. Don’t worry. It’ll be your turn soon.”
With the last piece of tattoo removed, the skin on the floor, Venom stepped back. “I want him awake.”
Venom was in the zone.
I finally saw the man that had never appeared for Rebekah. This man was a monster. This was the person who made sure the club stayed strong.
Grabbing the bucket of piss the guys had been more than happy to fill for us, I launched it at Ted to wake him up.
We were only getting started.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Brynleigh
The sound of the door gently shutting, the clicking sound seeming to echo off the walls, stirred me awake. I blinked a few times, the only light in the room coming from the small lamp that sat on the bedside table.
My head felt fuzzy, my vision slightly blurry. I blinked a few more times to try and clear my vision, but finally lifted my hand and rubbed my eyes, trying to wipe the sleep away. But the meds were still working powerfully, my pain all but gone, my body feeling numb.
I felt as though I floated, not really here but experiencing it all.
“Rooney?” Was that my voice? It sounded groggy, distant. It didn’t sound like me. I pushed myself up and looked toward the bedroom door. It was cracked open slightly, the glow from the hall like a sliver of light trying to seep through.
The person I saw was still blurry, shrouded in shadows. I had my back resting against the headboard, my eyes squinting as I tried to push past the fog of the pain medication. “Rooney, is that you?” The person came closer and I found myself scooting back.
I knew where I was, that I was at the MC and was safe, but still that lingering fear that maybe Vincenzo had gotten away, that maybe he could come after me again to finish the job, was a very real feeling inside of me.
“Shhh, it’s just me.” The feminine voice got closer, and then she was sitting on the bed, reaching out and placing her hand on mine.
“Rebekah. Are you all right?” I rubbed my eyes again, my whole body feeling light, yet my limbs feeling heavy as stone. I felt good though, as if this wasn’t really my body, wasn’t really my life. And despite that euphoric feeling, I didn’t care for it.
“I’m fine. How are you?”
“Fine, for the most part.” I shrugged, that act feeling foreign to me because my body felt so sluggish. “What time is it?”
“Late, or early. I guess it depends on how you look at it.” She pulled the blankets down and lifted up my shirt, looking at my bullet wound. “I have to take the bandage off and clean it, change your dressing, as well. Are you okay with that?”
I nodded. “Where’s Rooney? Is he all right?”
She didn’t answer right away, and I felt reality slam into me. That heaviness, fogginess, filled me and I straightened, staring at her. “Rebekah? Is he okay?” I saw her throat work as she swallowed, and then she looked up at me, the worry clear on her face.
“He’s fine. It’s just ... I don’t know how long he’ll be.”
She pulled the first aid kit she’d had sitting beside her, one I hadn’t noticed, and started removing my bandage.
“He’s with Vincenzo, isn’t he?” She didn’t answer right away, but then finally nodded. “Is he going to kill him?” She glanced up at me and for a moment neither of us spoke. Then she nodded again.
I licked my lips and looked down at my wound, the small bullet hole looking angry and red, black and blue bruising around it.
We were silent as she cleaned my wound and dressed it again. Then she handed me a small pill bottle.
“It’s antibiotics. They’ll help keep an infection away.” She smiled, but I could see that everything that was happening wasn’t unusual for her. Her smile was forced because she was used to this, and I didn’t know how she stayed the same through it all.
“Is this as good as it gets?” She didn’t answer for long moments, and I knew before she answered that I’d always be in danger. The MC wasn’t all flowers and hearts. It was gritty and violent, twisted and depraved.
And the man I loved was part of it all.
“It’s hard, I won’t lie,” Rebekah finally said. She looked up at me and exhaled. “It’s hard and it’s scary, but you know what?”
I looked her in the eyes and waited for the other shoe to drop.
“I wouldn’t change it for the world because what is life, love, without the possibility of it ending far too soon?”
Her words dug in deep.
“What is living if we aren’t kept on our toes, shown that the person we love could be taken away from us?”
I swallowed the thick lump in my throat.
“Because that’s how we appreciate what we have, you know?”
I didn’t respond right away, just looked around Rooney’s room, at his things, letting how I felt for him wash through me. She had a point, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t afraid. This had all happened so quickly. My life had turned upside down in an instant, my world totally thrust into the underworld.
Yet I was still standing. I was stronger than ever and knew that if I could get through this I could get through anything.
As long as I had Rooney by my side. As long as we had our love.
I rested back, thankful he was okay, but could only imagine the kinds of things he was doing right now. I had known what I was getting myself into where he was concerned, and despite all of that, the nightmare situation, the fact he was most likely torturing someone—about to end their life—I still loved him.
I still wanted to b
e with him.
And I didn’t know if that made me insane.
But what I did know for certain was that no matter what, I wanted to be with Rooney.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Rooney
Ted was dead, and I knew the fucker wouldn’t be missed. Why would he? He was a traitor to the club. Wiping my bloodied hands on the towel, I looked at Vincenzo. In the past couple of hours, he’d gone from being his cocky little self to being very quiet, his fear clear.
I loved seeing how afraid he was, especially as I knew I’d been the one to put it there.
“He doesn’t look so good,” Venom said.
I smiled. “He knows.” The begging and pleading began in earnest.
I had to give the guy credit, I didn’t expect him to fall so late. I guess I’d shocked him but skinning a man alive took skill.
Ted had felt every single cut and slice. The club wouldn’t mourn his loss. If anything, it was a reminder to never turn your back on the MC. There was no way in hell we’d let Ted die carrying our patch on his skin.
The Ruthless Rejects MC meant a hell of a lot to us. Our name and reputation was everything.
“I didn’t fuck your girl,” Vincenzo said. “I could have but I didn’t.”
I smirked. “You think that’s going to help your cause here with me?” I stepped up to him and couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “When you took Bryn, ordered me to kill Venom, you believed you had the upper hand. For a while you did.”
“Ted came to me. He told me how weak you all were and how you needed someone to be in control.”
“You just wanted a bunch of men to do your bidding. We’re not your fucking slaves.” Moving away from him, I looked at the arrangement of torture devices. Seeing the brass knuckles, I picked them up and slid them on. I always felt men cheated when they wore them. I’d always been the kind of guy who liked to be in a fair fight. There was nothing fair about this.