by K. L. Savage
A towel drags along my eyes, and when I blink, sand gets in my eye. “Give me the fucking water bottle,” I say. I peel one eyelid back and drench it in water, then do the same to the other until I can see without it being painful to blink. “I saw him,” I finally say. “Not that it matters. His face was painted like mine.” I roll over to my hands and knees, feeling more exhausted than I’ve ever been in my life. “Knives?” I choke out his name. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. We got to him in time,” Boomer says. He must have a bit of sand in his eye too since it’s watering.
“Sarah,” I reach for her and hold on to her tight. “You fought like hell for me.”
“I’d go through hell for you, Tongue.” She squeezes my hand, and I lean my back against the wall, needing a breather. I wrap my arm around Sarah’s shoulders and finally see how filthy I am. My cut and skeleton outfit are drenched in dirt, and a few spots are torn. My knuckles are bleeding, my forehead is killing me, and I think I broke a tooth.
“You punched your way out of this?” Slingshot asks as Mercy and Badge pull my casket from the ground.
“Punched. Bit. Chewed. I used my head. I did everything.” Pretty sure I swallowed a nail.
“Fucking badass,” Boomer says.
“We need to find this guy,” I say. “I have a few things of his I want to cut off, and he took my goddamn knives.” I punch the floor, and a pain in my left hand has me looking down, seeing a thick piece of broken wood embedded in it. “Ow,” I bitch, yanking the damn thing free. I toss it aside, and everyone stares at me with open mouths.
Whatever.
I’m not in the fucking mood.
“We have a note.” Mercy bends down and retrieves the letter from the box. “I think we should wait until everyone is here.”
“Do you think someone else is missing?” Scarlett wipes her brow, and Boomer stands behind her, rubbing her shoulders lovingly.
Something I’ll never have.
I’m not built for love.
I’m built to inflict pain.
To torture.
To make sure no one can love me again. And that is something I’ll take to my grave.
Epilogue
REAPER
Juliette wrapped my leg in a cast like Doc taught her. Bullseye and Knives are hooked up to an IV, and Seer has a cold cloth on his forehead. Pocus is finally up and moving around, fussing over Seer. Pocus is pissed. Apparently, it’s dangerous for Seer to use his gift so much. It can cause damage. He doesn’t use his gift like a muscle, like the more he uses it, the stronger he gets.
He only uses it when he’s with us, and it has taken its toll. I told Pocus I’m forever in his debt, but the only person he’s speaking to is Seer.
Everyone is in the main room, huddled close, all except for Tongue and Sarah. Tongue is downstairs resting. The crazy bastard broke all his knuckles, fractured his jaw and skull bone. He isn’t allowed to sleep since he has a concussion, so Sarah is down there keeping him company. I’ll have Tool update them after this pow-wow we’re about to have.
It’s two in the morning, and all of us are exhausted. Fuck this day.
“Well,” I start off because I don’t know what to say. “The intention was to have a damn good Halloween, but as always, something interferes with it. I want to thank Demon’s Fury, Mercy, and the NOLA chapter for staying and seeing this through. If you ever need a favor, they are everlasting for what you all have done here tonight. My members are my brothers and knowing three of them were in trouble tore me apart. They are home, safe. Seer, I have no doubt that Knives and Bullseye would be dead if it weren’t for you. Your gift, I know it’s a real bitch, and I don’t fucking understand it, but you risked yourself, and I can’t ask for a more loyal friend than that. Thank you.”
“Anytime, mon amie,” he mumbles and lifts his thumb in the air. His eyes are covered with a wet cloth, and he sounds like he’s drunk from the relief the cold rag gives him.
“The girls really stepped up. I had no doubt. We have badass ol’ ladies, and they saved Tongue’s life with some late help, but they would’ve done it with or without us.”
“Here, here,” a few guys say and stomp their feet on the ground.
“And Tank, I think after tonight, you’ve earned your patch. Without you, we wouldn’t have known where to go in the first place. Seer’s gift hadn’t given us the direction yet, but you did. Thank you.”
Braveheart smacks his friend’s shoulder and hollers in happiness, celebrating that they’re finally going to be patched members. Tank blushes and gives me a big, thankful smile.
“There’s one last line of business.” I hate to cut the happiness short, but there’s a note in my hand, the one Mercy found in the wooden casket. I did a headcount this time and made everyone say ‘present’ like they were in school again. I don’t know what the letter could say, but I know my brothers are safe, and that is all that matters right now.
“Well, being scared on Halloween is the goal, right?” Slingshot says, still in his taco costume, only this time, it’s torn and dirty. “Mission fucking accomplished. Tonight gave me more scares than I know what to do with, for the rest of my life.”
“Preach,” Mercy praises.
“You can say that again,” Bullseye grunts, polishing the dart that stabbed him in the chest. “I’m going to kill the guy who did this.”
“That’s the goal,” I say as I open the note since it has my name on it, again.
And I read:
“Finders Keepers, Losers weepers.
I lost our game, such a shame.
He’s alive, what a crime.
I’m in hiding.
So until next time.
Happy Halloween.”
Love, The Groundskeeper.”
The End…
…for now
Acknowledgments
To my Ruthless Readers—you ladies are so greedy!! BUT WE LOVE IT
GMB, as always, you guys rock!
To the bloggers and reviewers who reviewed A RUTHLESS HALLOWEEN, even with this crazy book, your words still slay me.
Silla, get better soon. We missed you this release.
Wander, I’m seriously running out of things to say because there are not strong enough words to acknowledge all that you do. How quickly you became my soundboard; without you, I’d be lost
Andrey, the same goes for you! You are truly are the best. #ANDREYISMYFAVORITE
Lori–As always, thanks for creating EPIC covers
Lynn – thanks for always pulling me out of my darkness.
Instigator to my bad decisions – you are one of the best decisions I’ve ever made
Donna, as always #BOOMERISDONNAS
Austin–y'all are the best and HAPPY BIRTHDAY
HARLOE–You’re the greatest. LEFT FOR WILD is going to climb the charts!!
Mom– Thanks #IMYOURFAVORITE.
JEFF - Thanks for being you and feeding my late-night WHATABURGER ADDICTION. 5 LITTLE WORDS
Ruthless Kings MC
What would you do for the one you love?
If the answer is anything, then maybe you have what it takes.
The men of the Ruthless Kings have to conquer their past in order to have a future.
Life is a fight to death or salvation.
No matter what, hands will get filthy and blood will be split.
Love is a weakness.
Yet once they get a taste, they realize it’s the strength they need to survive.
Agony.
Fear.
Desperation.
Sometimes, tears.
They risk it all in order to save the ones they love. Their strength is pushed to the limits, along with their confidence and sanity.
Each member has their own painful journey to get to happiness, a foreign place none of them are familiar with.
Real issues deserve real torment.
Not everyone’s future is paved in gold, not when the road is damned.
The Kings
will give you one hell of a Ruthless ride by dragging you across nails only to rip your heart out.
CLICK HERE to read other members in the RUTHLESS KINGS series now.
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Also by K.L. Savage
RUTHLESS KINGS MC: VEGAS CHAPTER
PREQUEL - REAPER’S RISE
BOOK ONE - REAPER
BOOK TWO - BOOMER
BOOK THREE - TOOL
BOOK FOUR - POODLE
BOOK FIVE - SKIRT
BOOK SIX - PIRATE
BOOK SEVEN - DOC
BOOK EIGHT - TONGUE
OTHER BOOKS IN THE RUTHLESS KINGS SERIES
A Ruthless Halloween
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