Besides, they would expect me to ignore their orders.
I didn’t try to diminish the sound of my approach, they knew that I was coming. I wasn’t surprised to see the fifteen or so bikes that were there when the house came into view. The Kings appeared to be a small MC.
Just as I had anticipated, there were several of them waiting outside for me. They were on me before I even left my bike, dragging me off and patting me down. Of course they found my weapon, snatching it from me and then holding it up in my face.
“You were told to come unarmed, asshole,” the King grunted, before ordering the other two to take me inside.
I didn’t put up a fight. I couldn’t knowing that Ginger was inside, but that didn’t seem to matter to the fuckers that had me. They threw a few punches, jabbing their guns into my back as they pushed me toward the door and then inside. The place was packed, everyone wearing cuts, but the Kings didn’t interest me. It was the three men who were standing with a man who I assumed was Wicked, their cuts lacking any patches. I recognized them instantly, even though I’d forgotten the names of two of them. The one dressed like a hospital worker I remembered as Rocky, Wildman’s Sergeant at Arms. He looked vastly different from the last time I’d seen him. I remembered how eager he’d been to get his hands on Ginger.
His expression was smug, but he couldn’t quite pull off threatening in his hospital clothes. “Well, look who’s here, the guest of honor,” he joked as he walked towards me. “The traitor from Dark Menace.” He drew his arm back and punched me square in the jaw.
My head snapped back with the force, and I felt blood fill my mouth as my teeth cut into the inside of my cheeks. My instinct was to fight back, and I lunged at him with that very intention. I had barely taken a step when several men were on me, pulling me back and holding me. I spit out a mouthful of blood onto the floor, glaring at Rocky. “Is that the best you got?”
He was the one lunging the next time. He got in a couple more hits before someone yelled out, “Enough!” Rocky reined himself in, but he wasn’t happy about it. “Let’s not start the party without our second guest of honor.” The men began to whoop and holler.
“I’ll get her,” Rocky growled, moving before anyone else had the chance to.
Fuck. I wanted to kill him. He left the room looking too eager to get his hands on her. I felt my blood boil. The men holding me tightened their grip, as if they knew that if I got loose there’d be no stopping me. I’d take as many of them with me as I could, and they would be first.
“So you’re the snake who got the Red Devils killed off?” Wicked got close enough for me to see his president’s patch. “You really know how to make enemies.”
“I know how to make dead enemies even better,” I snarled between my teeth.
More than one laughed. They were like cockroaches, everywhere, standing, sitting, leaning against the walls. Vultures waiting for a meal. I could see it in their eyes, the lust and the anticipation of what they had planned. Fear for Ginger rushed through my blood. They could hardly wait to devour her. It was a pack animal mindset that, once unleashed, would be difficult to stop.
The sound of a door banging against a wall alerted me that Rocky was re-entering the room, pushing a frightened, angry Ginger in front of him. Her hands were tied in front of her. There were bruises and scratches on her face, and blood at the corner of her swollen, trembling mouth. Her clothes were torn, the skin on her arms scratched all to hell. And her feet—fuck, where were her boots? Her feet were a bloody mess.
Her wild eyes darted around the room as she stumbled forward, and then landed on me. With a cry she ran to me and threw herself up against my hard frame. The only reason we didn’t topple backwards was because of the bastards who were holding me. No one tried to stop her. “Rebel!” She kissed me wherever she could reach my face. “Why did you come?”
The desperate tone of her voice told me that she knew what the outcome was going to be. I felt wetness on my face from her tears. It gutted me. “Baby.” Jesus, her being there was all my fault. “I’m sorry you got caught up in this.”
“They’ve hurt you,” she breathed softly, her eyes roaming over my face, her pretty lips quivering.
I saw the dried blood. I could have said the same thing about her.
“How sweet, but this little reunion is over.” Hands reached for Ginger, snatching her away from me. “Time to start this party!” The place erupted into a party mentality that bordered on frenzy.
“No!” Ginger cried, helpless as hands pulled her back. Her eyes clung to mine.
“Get your filthy hands off her,” I growled, seeing that Rocky had been the one to force her away. I saw red when he laughingly grabbed her tit and squeezed until she cried out.
I roared in anger, tearing one arm loose and punching the nearest man. Adrenaline raced through my body, giving me the strength to jerk my other arm free. I was on Rocky before anyone could stop me, pushing him away from Ginger and hitting him wherever I could. I tore into him like a possessed demon, smashing my fists into his face and torso at rapid speed, forcing him backwards on his feet until he lost his balance and stumbled into a group of men. They caught him before he hit the floor, and then I felt several men grab my arms and yank me back.
It was all over quickly, yet it had been long enough for me to do damage to Rocky’s face. By the time he straightened up, blood dotted his clothes from his broken nose and split lips. Retribution glittered in his eyes as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“You’re gonna pay for that,” he threatened.
I snorted. They were going to kill me. What more could they do? “Bring it on, asshole,” I snarled, pulling at the hands that were holding me away from him. I was willing to do anything to get his mind off of Ginger. He pulled something out of his pocket and slipped them on his hand. Brass knuckles. Oh, shit. This was going to hurt.
“We don’t have time for this,” Wicked growled, stepping forward.
“Shut the fuck up!” Rocky snarled back like a rabid dog. “He deserves this for what he did to the Red Devils!” He spit blood.
I began to wonder who exactly ran the Kings.
“You’re forgetting who’s president,” Wicked reminded him, not backing down. Rocky exchanged a look with him, breathing in through his nose like a fucking bull. His eyes bounced around the room as if he needed further evidence of Wicked’s power. There were a helluva lot more Kings than there were Red Devils. “Get in a couple of hits if it will make you feel better.”
“No!” Ginger pleaded.
Everyone ignored her, and Rocky needed no further persuasion. The next thing I knew he was hitting me on the side of my jaw. He held nothing back, putting all his strength into it. My head snapped back and to the side, and my mouth once again filled with blood. Son of a bitch that hurt! I barely had time to swing back around when I received a hard punch to the ribs. The air left my lungs with a grunt, and I doubled over. I could hear Ginger in the background, pleading with him to stop. I hated like fuck that she had to witness this.
“Enough!” Wicked yelled. Rocky followed it up with one more hit to my torso.
“You fucking coward!” Ginger screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks.
“It’s okay, baby, he hits like a girl,” I taunted, trying to smile through the pain in my jaw.
Rocky laughed. “Well, let me show you both that I’m a man.” He turned toward Ginger with savage intent in his eyes. “I think it’s time we show her what a train is.”
I watched Ginger’s face turn into a mask of stark terror. She knew what a train was, because I had explained it to her years before. She knew that they were about to line up and take their turns fucking her. She began to back up, shaking her head no, but there was nowhere for her to go that wouldn’t put her up against the wall of men. Their faces had transformed, too, into twisted shapes of lust and anticipation. I roared with rage and frustration when they began to pass her around the room so that each man had a chance to mo
lest her. One man took out a knife and cut the rope at her wrists so that she could fight them. And she did. My girl fought like a tiger, hissing and slapping at their roaming hands with determination. Rage burned brightly in her eyes as she hit out at them with one hand while the other clutched at her torn clothes.
They were just as determined to leave her naked and vulnerable. Two men easily overpowered her and removed her shorts. By the time they were done passing her from one man to the other she had little left to hide her body from them. I strained at the hands holding me back, wondering where the fuck my brothers were. The minutes had passed like hours.
Real panic set in when Rocky picked Ginger up and slammed her down on top of a scarred and cracked countertop. She cried out with the impact, kicking and clawing at him to get off of her.
“Get the fuck off her!” I roared, panting in my efforts to get to her. The men holding me laughed, but their eyes were glued to what was going on.
And then they began to line up, with Rocky and Wizard at the front, grabbing the front of their pants suggestively as they got prepared to defile my woman. My heart was going to fucking explode from my chest.
“Bring Rebel over so he has a front seat!” Rocky laughed hatefully, lying over Ginger as she squirmed beneath him, her face wet and red. “I want him to see every dick go inside his woman’s pussy!”
“You fucker!” I was dragged closer, fighting to pull my arms free every step of the way. Rocky looked over at me, making sure that I watched as he ran his filthy paws all over Ginger.
“Get off me!” Ginger hissed through clenched teeth. She was angry and crying and fighting him with all of her might. She dug deep scratches down the side of Rocky’s face and was rewarded by a hard slap.
“Come on, brother, I’m horny!” one of the Kings grated from his place in line.
“Yeah, hurry shit along!” another demanded, playing with himself.
“Fuck her already!” This came from a Red Devil. “I wanna show my boy how to fuck a woman good!”
“Get her naked!” someone else shouted.
I was going to fucking kill every one of them. Rocky’s hands went to what was left of Ginger’s t-shirt, his fingers curling around a strip of material at the top and pulling down, but she was prepared for him and brought her arms up, crossing them over her breasts to prevent him from ripping it off her.
That was when the front door burst open.
All hell broke loose.
Chapter 31
Ginger
I looked in the direction that the commotion was coming from to see several familiar faces piling into the house, guns drawn and shooting at anyone who moved, and everyone moved when the realization sank in that they were under attack. My gaze swung to Rebel. The sudden chaos caused the two men who were holding him to slacken their grip, and he used it to his advantage by jerking free. With a roar he charged toward us, knocking Rocky off of me and bringing him to the floor on the other side of the counter. I instantly rolled off the counter and moved out of the way, finding a corner to take cover in. Scooting down out of the way seemed like a good idea, considering the gunfire that was ricocheting all around us.
Rebel didn’t give Rocky a chance to fight back, pounding his fists into him like rapid machine gun fire. It was clear by his savage expression that Rebel didn’t intend to leave the other man alive. He was merciless in his attack, throwing punch after punch at Rocky’s face and torso, not giving the man a chance to catch his breath in between hits. I was frozen, watching in shock. The man I loved had become a brutal monster, pummeling Rocky in a savage attack.
Gunfire continued to sound throughout the house. It became obvious that some of the fight had moved further back into different rooms. It didn’t take long for the air to turn blue with smoke and fill with the acrid smell of sulfur, stinging my eyes. The shouts, screams, and threats being thrown back and forth between the two warring groups gradually lessoned, as did the gunfire. The unexpected sound of bikes revving up and taking off barely registered.
I remained where I was, too afraid to move, barely able to breathe. As the gunfire came to an end I was drawn back to the sight of Rebel and Rocky. Rocky had ceased to move or make any sounds. His face was a bloody mess, but still Rebel pounded him. Tears filled my eyes—not for Rocky’s death, because it was clear that he was gone—but for Rebel. His expression was dark, savage, the look in his eyes wild and crazed. In a way he was gone, too, and all I knew was that I couldn’t stand to let him continue beating a dead man. I crawled over to him, shaking wildly.
“Rebel—” I was afraid to touch him, afraid that he wouldn’t know who I was and would turn his blind rage on me. He was in killer mode and clearly out of control. “Rebel.” I glanced at his knuckles, wondering how much of the blood was from damage to his skin and how much was from Rocky’s smashed face. With tears streaming down my face, I decided to try a different approach. “Michael, look at me. Please.”
It was either my voice or the sound of his name that seemed to get through to him. His hits slowed down. He was breathing hard, I could see his chest moving fast to keep up. His focus was still on Rocky, but I could tell that he was trying to come back. I took a chance and reached out, placing my hand on his arm, feeling the bunched muscles there twitch. “Michael.” He slowly turned his head toward me, his eyes dead in a face that was taut with emotion.
His gaze moved slowly over my face and then down my body. I could see the second his vision cleared and he was with me in the moment. I smiled shakily through my tears. He reached for me as he moved off of Rocky, pulling us both up against a cabinet. Suddenly I was on his lap and his arms were crushing me to him.
“Thank Christ, baby,” he rasped above my head. “You’re okay.” He exhaled a loud sigh. A tremor racked his whole body. His heart was pounding rapidly beneath my ear. “That was too fucking close.”
I knew how true his words were. As I basked in the warmth and safety of his embrace, I noticed that the shooting had completely stopped, the sounds of bullets replaced by the sounds of orders being shouted out by the remaining men. I thought it was odd that I couldn’t hear any groaning or cries from the wounded, but I didn’t question it. I was just thankful that it was over. I relaxed against Rebel. “Thank God you came when you did.”
“You should have never been here. That’s on me.”
That was all he had time to say before Vinny came into the room. “You okay, honey?” He was talking to me, but I noticed that he refused to look at me.
I was thankful for his consideration, feeling exposed in my tattered clothing. “I’m good.” My voice trembled. “Thank you for coming.”
“You don’t ever have to thank us, sweetheart,” Tanner said as he walked into the room. Unlike Vinny, he didn’t have any trouble looking down at us, but the look in his eyes remained respectful. “Here, one of the guys handed this over for you.”
Rebel took the offered shirt and draped it over me. “Thanks, brother.”
“Thank you.”
Tanner gave me a wink before turning his attention back to Rebel. It was obvious that he wanted to say something to him, but seemed hesitant doing so with me there. Rebel made the decision for him. “It’s okay. You can talk.”
“A couple got away, one of them was wounded, shouldn’t take Rod and Heath long to catch up to them.”
“Any of ours hurt?” Rebel asked.
“Sully took a bullet to the leg, but it’s not bad enough for the hospital. Ace got nicked, so did one of Vinny’s guys. Nothing serious.”
Thank God, I thought.
“What are you doing with the bodies?”
I winced and closed my eyes, trying not to envision how many there might be. They deserved to die for what they’d done, for what they’d intended to do to Rebel and me, but it didn’t make it any easier to accept.
I heard Tanner snort, as if he’d found Rebel’s question funny. “There’s an alligator infested lake behind the house.” I felt Rebel nod his head in approv
al. “You need help getting out of here?”
“I want Ginger taken out of here in the truck‒”
“No!” I looked up at him. “I want to stay with you. I’m okay to ride on your bike.” After everything that had happened, I couldn’t bear the thought of being apart from him any time soon. I shivered and buried my face against him.
“Baby, look at me.” I didn’t want to, because I knew that he was going to try and persuade me to leave him. “Trust me when I say that you don’t want to be with me if the police stop us. I’m covered in blood that’s not all mine, and you’re half naked.”
I didn’t care. I didn’t want to be separated from him. “I need to stay with you.” I didn’t care if it sounded like I was begging. “Michael, please …” I knew that I was hitting below the belt by using his name.
“Christ, baby.” He buried his fingers in my hair and pulled my head back. “When you say my name like that—” He shook his head. “I can’t deny you.”
“I agree with Rebel,” Vinny spoke up. “You should go home in the truck.”
This time he was looking at me. I gave him a weak smile. “Thank you for caring, Vinny. You’re nothing but a big, soft teddy bear.”
“Yeah, well, don’t let that get out,” he grumbled, looking a little embarrassed.
“I’m staying with Rebel,” I said firmly, hoping that that was the end of it.
Tanner and Vinny stood staring down at us with neutral expressions as the rest of the men moved about busily. There was a lot of activity going on, a lot of movement, yet the big, boot-wearing men moved about in a surprisingly quiet way. They worked efficiently together toward one common goal, like quiet little ants, seeing that the job got done—the job of removing and disposing of the bodies.
I tried not to think about it, but I knew that this would be a day that I was going to remember for a long time to come. I shuddered at how close I’d come to being gang raped, at how close I’d come to losing Rebel forever. I curled my fingers into his cut, gripping it tightly, willing him to understand my need to be with him right then.
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