Carson’s words hit me in the chest, but he was right. There was only one recourse left, and it had to be me who executed it. I lifted my foot over Rogue’s hand, and then crashed my boot down, using all my body weight and the power in my leg. His fingers crushed beneath my heel, and his cries of pain gave me some sick satisfaction.
Without removing my foot, I turned around and sought out Jason. My brothers all looked horrified, their eyes all trained on my leg and Rogue. Even in their horror, they kept an eye on the enemy.
With a chin lift, I held out my hand and said quietly, “Jason.”
Deck’s brother nodded as he reached behind his back and pulled out a gun. With a practised hand, he tossed it to me. I caught it easily, and then deftly released the safety.
“One in the chamber,” Jason told me.
I nodded once and then turned my eyes to his left.
Looking at my brothers, I waited. Although I was the one who had to do this, it was a club decision at the end of the day. If one of them disagreed, then Jason would arrest Rogue, and the courts could deal with him.
“Brothers?” I asked.
One by one, each man nodded solemnly. They knew what had to be done if we wanted life to go on without worry, without fear.
It is the only way, Booth. You are a good man, a great leader, and you will be an amazing father. I was proud to be your brother, mate, and you were and will always be my hero.
As my brother’s voice faded away into the deep recesses of my mind, I hoped that one day I would be able to hear him again and tell him about my life. For now, though, it was time to end the turmoil that had been plaguing my club.
Rogue started to squirm, trying to shuffle his body away from me, but seeing as though his hand was trapped under my boot, it was going to be a mite difficult. The hatred I felt for the beaten and bloodied man helped me focus on the job I had to do.
With the vision of my beautiful honey holding our baby in my mind, of Shiloh being able to ride her Harley around the compound free from danger, I aimed the weapon at Rogue. He had twisted himself over so his chest was up. Jason and I had talked of a plausible story for the police, and shooting him in the chest would be more believable.
Silently, I mouthed “One, two, three,” then I squeezed the trigger and ended a crazy man’s reign of terror against the Wounded Souls.
The echo of the bullet leaving the chamber and hitting Rogue in the heart sounded around the room. I stood there, watching as the man I once thought to be my father died as soon as the bullet hit him. There was no noise from him, no gurgling, no gasping, nothing. Months and months of hell ended with the sound of nothing.
Death was not new to me and had once been my job. I’d heard the cries of a stranger as they fell to the ground, their final gasps after my knife slit their throats, but seeing Rogue die without making a sound made this death that much more enjoyable.
“Booth.” Jason walked up to me, his police radio in his hand.
Acting quickly, I pulled the hem of my shirt out of my jeans and wiped my fingerprints from the butt of the handgun.
“This is Detective Johnston. I have a code seventy-nine at eight seventy-one Talbot Road. The deceased is wanted in connection with last month’s code forty-eight. Officer needs assistance. An ambulance is required for a code thirty-five.” Jason spoke into his radio, the whole time his intense eyes on me, watching me clean the gun of any evidence that I’d held it and pulled the trigger.
I listened as the voice on the other end informed Jason that backup was on the way, and the ambulance was being dispatched.
“Booth,” Jason prompted me, his hand out.
Without a word, I transferred the gun to him, wrapped in the hem of my T-shirt. Jason took it and held it in his hand, making sure his prints were now on it.
“It’s over, mate. You better sit your arse down and look stuffed and in pain. Once backup arrives, the questions are going to come thick and fast.”
“That won’t be hard. It’s not a pleasant feeling having a knife shoved into your flesh. Fuck! Stella is going to kill me.” I laughed loudly and then groaned as I fell to the ground. It was then the men who had my back since my early twenties ran over to me.
“Jesus, Pres, that was a fucking wonderful sight. You need to get in the ring with me, mate. It has been a while since I got a go at you,” Mannix joked.
My enforcer was obviously trying to take the attention away from the fact that I went at this alone. I had some explaining to do since. We usually made decisions together as a team, as a club. This decision, however, needed to be made by me and me alone. If shit went south, and I was picked up for murder, then there was no way any of my men would go down for me or with me. Not happening.
“Booth, you should have told us. Didn’t you think we would have your back?” Deck asked, hurt with my choice.
I hissed when Steel held a towel around the knife wound. The bloody thing was bright pink with friggin teddy bears all over it. Shiloh still hadn’t got the hang of putting her things away yet.
“If I told you, and it didn’t go as clean as Jason and I had hoped, you all would be accessories, and I was not prepared to risk that, brothers. So be angry, and get pissed, get me in the ring, and take it out on my arse, but you are all going to be fathers soon. I am, too, but as president of this club, it is my job to protect everyone by any means necessary. I made the right choice.”
Creed knelt down beside me. This day had been nothing but drama for him. Thankfully, Memphis was going to be okay, but like me, she was going to be sore for a while and would need to stay in bed and rest her leg. Something I was looking forward to doing myself with my honey right beside me.
“I am sorry you had to go down the road you always wanted to avoid. What you did was the right thing, brother. He was never going to stop, and we all know that. I, for one, am grateful to you. Now maybe we can start living life instead of hiding from it.” The change in Creed since Memphis and he got married was astounding. The old Creed was back, and it was fucking excellent to see him smiling again. Memphis was definitely his happy ever after.
We all deserved the happiness we finally found when five beautiful women walked into our lives and knocked us on our arses.
The sounds of sirens in the distance heralded that question time was about to begin, and after that, I was going to get my wife and have some great fucking sex. Stella was going to have to ride me, though, I decided with a grimace. Fucking stabbed in the leg. Fuck me!
Chapter 25
MEMPHIS
“Wow, they are really going for it in there, aren’t they?” I marvelled at the feeling of Rainn’s babies moving under my hands.
“Oh, yeah, this is nothing. You should see my belly dance when they hear their daddy’s voice. He gets them so worked up, poking at them, singing to them, that by the end of it, I feel so bruised inside.” Rainn laughed again when one of the twins, or maybe it was both, performed a roll, and her whole belly moved against my palms.
“Does it hurt?” I asked, totally in awe that one day soon, I was going to be able to feel my own baby move inside me like that. Being blind meant I was going to miss out on seeing my body change with each month of the pregnancy. I also wouldn’t be able to see Creed lying beside me in bed, his hands on my burgeoning bare belly as he played like Mannix did to Rainn. That saddened me more than anything. Creed was so happy that this second chance was gifted to him, and I was going to miss out on witnessing so much of it with my own eyes. The only consolation was this part right here. Feeling it going on inside me was just something for me, my own special gift that I vowed I was going to cherish every single minute, every roll, every kick.
“It doesn’t exactly hurt. When they were smaller, it was great, feeling flutters and small kicks. Now it’s getting a bit more uncomfortable because they have less room for the two of them, so they jostle for the best position. Mannix says it’s a prelude of things to come, practice for when they fight over rooms and toys,” Rainn said. The
n, as if she read the thoughts I had going on in my head, she covered my hand with hers and told me, “You are going to experience everything the same as Stella, Mia, Charlotte, and me, hon.”
“You are lucky, Memphis, you won’t see the stretch marks or how your boobs instantly change,” Mia quipped from the other side of me.
“You don’t know what a stretch mark is until you have two babies baking at once. My God, it’s a good thing I have no intentions of getting back up on a stage. I’m not sure how many men want to pay to see great big red marks on a stripper,” Rainn joked with a groan.
It wasn’t a joke to me, though. Suddenly, I wanted Creed’s arms around me. He had a way of soothing me about my blindness that no one else could—even Lila had trouble at times. When she was alive, she would ring Creed wherever he was in the world and give me the phone so I could rant or cry, and he would listen patiently, and then, magically, he would make everything better. Just like that, he would talk me off the ledge, and I was fine. I needed that right now.
“I think I would give anything to see my body change, see the red marks and the saggy boobs. Most of all, I want to see my husband’s face when our child comes into the world. I want to see him hold our baby for the first time”—my nose stung with the effort of holding back my tears—“and to see my baby’s face,” I whispered brokenly.
“Oh, Memphis, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that,” Mia apologised, her sweet voice full of remorse. Mia and I had grown closer since that day when she let slip about her and Creed’s almost-relationship. We talked things out, and it went a long way to help with my anxiety over her close bond with Creed. I wasn’t going to say I was completely over it, but I trusted Creed’s love for me and that I was his only one. I certainly trusted that Mia held no secret feelings for him. I didn’t need to have sight to know how much Steel and Mia loved each other. The club’s VP was one hundred percent her one true love.
“Mia, please, you don’t have to apologise. I know better than to wish for the impossible. Blind is what I am, and thinking otherwise just gets me upset. Normally, I don’t do it, but I guess worrying about what is happening with the guys is getting to me,” I said, voicing the real concern for all of us.
Stella had remained mostly quiet since Booth sat her in a chair, ordered her not to move so much as a toe, kissed her soundly, and then left. As the president of the club, his role in whatever was going down tonight made her frightened for him. He was a take-charge man, the leader, the first in line to face the danger. Whenever Creed spoke of Booth and their days in the military—which was not often, mind you—the one message I kept getting was that Booth led his men by example. He was the first in and the last out and never asked his men to do something he wouldn’t do himself. Stella had every right to be concerned, as did we all. Our husbands were all honourable men, loyal to a fault, and the only problem I had was what they were willing to do to stop Rogue.
“I wish he would call. He promised to call when it was over,” Stella said quietly. She was in a chair near my bed, but I hardly heard her speak. Rainn and Mia had already helped her to the bathroom three times to throw up. She was having a rough time of it, and the extra worry was only making her condition worse.
“Sweetie, when there is something to tell, he will call. Our men are soldiers, and I have absolutely no doubt they will handle things and get back here to us in one piece,” Mia replied, but something told me she didn’t quite believe what she was saying.
A loud noise like stomping boots came from the other side of the door to my room, making us jump on the spot. My heart thumped. It had to be the guys, and it sounded like they were running. Suddenly, the door flung opened, and I heard the sweetest thing said to me.
“Hey, Angel, miss me?”
It only took a few seconds before I was pulled into the strong arms that I loved so much. Careful of the IV in my arm, I wrapped my arms around my husband’s neck. I took a deep breath and soothed my frayed nerves, not even worrying that when Creed sat down on the bed, he brushed my injured thigh. Thankfully, the bullet hit me just on the outer side of my leg, nicking a blood vessel, which accounted for the heavy blood loss. Even though the pain was a definite ten out of ten, I refused the potent pain medication. My main concern was the baby, and the doctor expressed his disapproval of my decision, but I did not want the drugs affecting the baby in any way.
Creed went to move off the bed when I tensed and tried to shift my leg the other way just an inch. “Fuck, Memphis, did I hurt you?”
“No, baby, please don’t let me go,” I called out when his arms pulled away from me. I just wanted to hold him and never let him go. Being in his arms was the only place I ever wanted to be for the rest of my days, and the feeling of rightness would always be my peace.
Creed brought my hand to his lips and placed sweet, wet kisses to my knuckles. “Not on your life, Memphis Stephens. You’ve got me for life, Angel. I promise. Please, let the doctors give you some pain meds. You are so pale, and there is no shame in admitting you need them.”
I shook my head, adamant about my decision. “I’m not risking them hurting the baby. They are giving me strong ibuprofen. That is enough,” I said firmly, halting any more discussion on the matter.
“Creed,” Stella said softly. Her voice sounded closer than before, so I guessed she had got up from her chair, something Booth had lovingly forbidden her from doing a few hours before.
“Hey, blondie, you shouldn’t be getting up,” Creed admonished her without any real heat. The president’s wife was a favourite with the guys, and not just for her amazing cooking skills. She had such a softness about her that brought out the softer side in the alpha Souls men.
“Is Booth okay? Is it over?” The desperate question was something all of us wanted to know. Had they dealt with Rogue once and for all?
“Yeah, it’s over, sweetheart. Booth is fine—well, nothing a few stitches and the love of his wife won’t fix,” Creed said, relief in his voice.
My heart suddenly started beating faster. How did Booth get hurt?
“Booth is hurt? Where is he?” Stella cried out.
I felt Creed get off the bed. There was the sound of something clattering to the floor, and then Rainn was telling Stella to be careful.
“Creed,” I called out, alarmed. What was going on?
“It’s okay, Angel. Stella accidentally knocked into your tray table when she lost her footing,” Creed explained. His voice was muffled like he was bending over, maybe picking up what was knocked over, or did Stella fall?
“Is she okay, baby?”
Creed didn’t have time to answer my question because the door to my room was flung open, hitting the wall with a bang. Good grief! Did these men not know how to do things gently?
“Honey, I thought I told you not to move from that chair,” I heard Booth say.
I breathed a sigh of relief. If he was walking, then he mustn’t be too bad. I was yet to hear the voices of Steel, Mannix, or Deck. Creed would have said something if any of them were injured, too.
“Booth, baby, what happened? Oh, my God, your leg!” Stella cried.
His leg? What happened to his leg? I thought frantically.
I clicked my fingers in desperation to get Creed’s attention and demanded, “What!”
“Hey, calm down, Memphis. Booth is fine. He just got stabbed in the leg, that’s all,” Creed said as if it happened every day.
“Stabbed! Oh, my God, why isn’t he seeing a doctor? That’s all? Jesus, Creed, what on earth happened?” I fired out the questions, one after the other. I flung the blanket off me, forgetting about the IV, and the sting of the needle when it pulled at its position in my arm took me by surprise, making me gasp.
“Fucking hell, woman, will you calm down.” Creed growled at me, his hands on my body once again, this time helping me settle back onto the bed. “Booth is fine. He has had a lot worse, believe me. He is pissed that he let Rogue get the jump on him, but we got him, baby. Rogue is gone,
and he won’t be hurting another person ever again.”
The finality of that last statement was both chilling and relieving. It could only mean one thing—one of the Souls had killed Rogue. I prayed that it hadn’t been Creed, not that I believed it was wrong, I just didn’t want Creed to carry another burden that could possibly affect him and take him back to that dark place. It was selfish of me to think that way, and I felt terrible for thinking it, but my husband was smiling again after years in the darkness. I wanted to keep him there.
“Booth, will you get your fucking arse down to Emergency. For fuck’s sake, brother. You are bleeding all over the joint,” I heard Mannix yell at his president as the door hit the wall again.
I groaned aloud. Suddenly, I was feeling exhausted. This day had been full of so much emotional turmoil all I wanted to do was sleep for at least ten hours.
“All right, I think Memphis needs some rest,” Creed announced.
I smiled gratefully in my husband’s direction. He knew me so well.
The door opened for the fourth time, and Mia’s sigh of relief told me her husband had just walked in, but the sound of more than one set of boots was a dead giveaway that the sergeant-at-arms was with him. Thank God for that because I didn’t think I could handle one more dramatic entrance.
“Hello, my beauty. Your stud is back,” Steel announced, getting laughs from all of the women and groans from the men.
“Move out of the way, stud,” Deck said with a grunt.
I heard jostling noises, then a growl from Booth.
“Put my woman down, Deck.”
Oh boy, it seemed Deck was taking things into his own hands. I stifled a giggle, which earned a soft bite on my earlobe. Shivers ran down my spine, good shivers, sexy shivers.
In the background, I barely took notice of Deck’s laugh and taunts and the shuffle of several sets of feet indicating the others were getting ready to leave.
His Angel: The Wounded Souls Series Page 17