No. Not my heart. The steady even thump of booted feet, growing closer. I turned my head and blinked at a pair of black motorcycle boots and frayed light denim before one of the feet drew back and flew forward, I threw my arms in front of my face just in time, the kick skidded off my forearm which was the one I’d hurt in my fall. Agony licked through my wrist and the boot glanced off my helmet. The sound of a fire truck’s horn split the acrid night air and the booted feet took off running, spooked by how close. I blinked at the retreating image of the Suicide Kings colors and suddenly Aaron was there, shouting, running across the parking lot at me the lenses of his glasses alight with the raging fire behind me, consuming Open Road Ink, and my livelihood with it.
I let my eyes close as fire fighters and police moved in, I wouldn’t open them again until I was in the back of the ambulance and we were moving, Aaron’s hand clutching my uninjured one. I didn’t want to see him hurt and I didn’t want to watch it burn.
I felt sick.
Chapter 10
Disney…
The Suicide Kings blew up Open Road Ink. It still seemed so surreal, like something that didn’t happen in real life. This is something you saw on TV, not something that happened in the really real world, but watching TV didn’t hurt like my wrist or the back of my leg. It didn’t have the people you loved most crowded around your hospital bed looking at you with expressions of grave concern.
“Alright, alright, give him some room!” Doc said good naturedly. Everyone except Aaron and Ashton moved off. Aaron held my good hand while Ashton’s small hand petted up and down my shoulder under the hospital gown. Brightly colored patches of my skin winked through the openings where the shoulders of the white and light blue open-assed monstrosity snapped together.
“Am I good to talk?” Doc asked waving effusively in the direction of the club members crowding my little ER alcove. Zander, Trig, Reaver, Ghost and Dragon were all here. Hayden had done her best to drag the rest of the crew off for hospital cafeteria coffee or vending machine coffee much to Everett’s protestations. She’d finally declared loudly that she’d go with them but wouldn’t be drinking any of that shite, in her fine Irish accent.
I nodded at Doc to let him know it was okay, absolving him of any HIPPA violation sins and he nodded and let out a pent up breath.
“You are one lucky son of a bitch Disney,” he said without preamble. “Your wrist is busted, but not too bad, you needed some stiches in the back of your leg from a chunk of flying glass,” he held up a baggie with a wicked sharp piece of broken glass in it, stained with my blood and his lips compressed in a thin line, “If you hadn’t had your helmet on and been wearing all that leather you’d pretty likely be burned. It was a good thing you had your back to the blast too,” he shook his head and let out a gusty sigh.
“Didn’t see this coming,” Trigger remarked and it was as if his words bore the weight of the world in regret, “Should’ve but didn’t.”
“When they didn’t find any bastard dealings on our part they went for the legitimate ones,” Dragon grunted. Aaron’s fingers tightened around my own.
“Are these people trying to kill you?” Aaron asked me, his deep dark eyes drilling into my own. Several of us startled, some of my brothers traded guilty looks. Ashton reached across me and put her hand over Aaron’s. He startled and looked at her.
“It’s not always like this,” she murmured. “Some things happened, one of them hurt one of us, we tried to forge a friendship from the tragedy, then over the summer we invited them to join us on an outing and they hurt one of us again… badly. We couldn’t be nice a second time.” Her golden eyes were at once sad and burning bright with a ferocity I’d never seen in her. She looked to Trigger and Reaver and something passed between the three of them. Aaron swallowed.
“What am I missing?” he asked. Dragon cleared his throat.
“That’s club business, son,” our president said and Aaron nodded, his eyes seeking out my own.
“What happens now?” he asked and he was a little too pale for my tastes.
“That’s club business too,” Reaver said solemnly and Doc sighed, resigned.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m getting too old for this,” he shook his head, “Church?” he asked Dragon.
“As soon as you can get to the house.”
“Off in three hours.”
“That’ll do,” Dragon said and Doc nodded.
“I’ll get your discharge paperwork started. Concussion watch, he has one,” Doc said to Trig and Zander, who grinned. Zander… shit, I mean Revelator, Rev… the name changes were happening quicker than heat lightning lately and I was having trouble keeping up. Anyways, Rev sometimes took on fights in his spare time. Underground MMA shit, for fun, to make a little money on the side, but mostly as a way of blowing off steam. As a result he’d had more than a few concussions he’d needed babysitting through and I’d been the babysitter. Guess it was time for him to return the favor. Aaron squeezed my hand again and I looked up.
“You’re staying with me… right?” he asked and I blinked. Dragon answered for me.
“Naw, I think it’s best if all of y’all come to the club house. You too lover boy. Leastways until we get some things figured,” Aaron chewed his lower lip and nodded finally. I frowned.
“How did you get to the shop?” I asked him.
“I heard the explosion, I threw on some sweats and I ran… I don’t know how I knew, I just did. I just knew it was you,” his face crumbled into lines of confusion, fear and concern and I pulled on the front of his sweater, bringing his lips down to mine. He was in his pajamas, feet stuffed into Converse without the benefit of socks, his plaid pajama pants in blues and greens clashing with the burnt orange sweater he’d been wearing earlier on in the day. His lips moved carefully across my own and I sighed. He rested his forehead against mine and I had no way of telling him that I had been just as scared as he was of losing what we had going on between us when it was still so fragile and so new, of how afraid I was that I could and would still lose it. I didn’t think Aaron was handling this too well and that scared me. It scared me more than when I was laying on the blacktop outside the shop with pieces of building raining down around me.
“Just please don’t go,” I whispered, “Not yet,” Aaron drew back startled.
“I’m not going to,” his voice was gentle and held some finality. I nodded, mute for the moment, afraid my voice would betray me. I didn’t think I could keep it steady. Plans were being made around us for transportation and the like, who would be riding with who and that sort of thing. Ashton offered to take Aaron home for some clothes and things but he simply pursed his lips and shook his head his hand tightening around mine.
I closed my eyes and tried to rest a little bit. Doc brought me some blue hospital scrub pants that were, of course, too short in the legs for me but they covered my ass and that was a marked improvement in my opinion. They’d cut my pants off to get at the back of my leg. Doc wouldn’t let them cut my jacket and cut, which to be honest, were more than a little worse for wear. The patches on the back of my cut were singed bad and the leather pitted and torn around them from flying glass. The double layer of the leather vest and the leather of my jacket had stopped it from reaching my skin, the single layer of leather the pants had afforded my legs had done the job except for the bigger piece of glass. I had some cuts and scratches on the back of my neck where there was a gap between my helmet and collar but they weren’t too bad. The scrape on my cheekbone stung like a son of a bitch but Doc had smeared some pain relieving antibiotic ointment on it after a nurse had cleaned it.
Aaron helped me pull my jacket and cut on over my bare chest and I leaned on him, arm around his shoulders as they transferred me into a wheelchair for the trip to the lobby. I wanted to protest the chair but I felt like I’d been hit by a truck so I didn’t, which maybe I should have with how many looks of concern it earned me. Aaron and I would be riding with Trig and As
hton to the club. I may have drowsed some leaning against Aaron in the back seat because the trip felt really, really short.
Too soon, Trig was pulling open the back door and I was leaning heavily on both him and Aaron as we made our way into the club and down the corridor to the room that had been designated as mine. I think I was asleep before they even laid me down on the King sized bed, which was little more than a mattress and box spring stacked in the middle of the floor.
Chapter 11
Disney…
I was shaken awake by Aaron on one side and a kneeling Rev on the other, a glass of water thrust into my hand.
“Hey Puddin’! Drink up man, you gotta stay hydrated.” I blinked blearily at Rev and brought the glass to my lips, greedily drinking it down in great draughts. I glared at Rev over the glass while I did it. He’d been mockingly calling me ‘Puddin’ for years and it still grated on my nerves every time he did it. He grinned at me impishly. Damn bastard knew it too.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“A little after three,” Aaron answered softly and I winced. Judging by the dark and the electric perimeter light shining through the room’s high window, it was three in the morning not the afternoon which means I hadn’t slept as much as I had hoped.
“Cuncussion watch, remember?” Rev gave me a look like he was trying to discern something by my response.
“I got blown up. I’m tired and I just want sleep…” I said grouchily, which was only partially the truth. I wanted sleep, and I wanted Aaron. I looked him over, his dark eyes glittering in the close dark and I handed the empty glass to Rev. I laid my head on Aaron’s shoulder, turning my back on my boss and friend and held my boyfriend close.
“Yeah. I get you,” Rev said and stood and I could hear the smile in his voice, “People in Hell want ice water too though Squi-Disney. I’ll be back to wake you up again in an hour and then you’re going to have to get your ass up. We got Church,” he left the room and shut the door behind him and I was suddenly and gratefully alone with Aaron.
“Hey,” I said, listening to the steady thrum of his heart beat through his trim chest.
“Hey,” he said back, his long hands smoothing over my naked back. I was warm, almost too warm from sleep and the comforter we had thrown over us. It was a bit stuffy in the room but I didn’t care. All I cared about right now was that Aaron was here with me and that he was holding me back. The weight of things unspoken, questions unasked, heavy on both of us. A silent crushing weight.
“What can you tell me?” he asked quietly and I could hear the distress in his voice. I sighed. I was torn. I wanted to tell him everything, keep no secrets. I was sure that the guys told their women more than they were supposed to. I mean shit, Irish wouldn’t take anything less out of Dray than the total truth but then again, she knew better than to speak on it to anyone else. I worried the ring in my lip with my tongue and sighed. I guess it really boiled down to if I could trust Aaron or not and truth was… truth was this was all so damned new! I’d never had anything like this before in my life and I wanted so badly to be able to tell him everything but my past encounters dictated so damned much that trusting anyone was just pure fucking idiocy. Trust had to be earned and that took time but it was a two way street and so I decided to give a little. Just a little. The trick was telling him what would be common knowledge within a few weeks of him being here anyways.
“About a year ago, Everett was working this coffee stand. The early morning shift. Dray had just dropped her off and this guy walks up to the window and sticks a gun in her face. Starts screaming at her to open the safe. Problem was, she didn’t have the combination. Only her boss did.” Aaron was utterly silent, eyes locked on mine in the dark, listening with rapt attention.
“Everett told him but he wasn’t hearing any of it and so he shot her, in the leg. She was lucky, he was only packing a .22, so it didn’t permanently damage anything but still, he shot her. Dray had gone back for something. I don’t know what, they don’t talk about that part, but anyways, he pulls up just as the douchebag pulls the trigger and Dray, he went ape shit on the guy and beat the fuck out of him. The kid was one of The Suicide Kings, this biker gang that set up shop just across the county line.”
Aaron’s eyes went wide, “What happened?” he asked.
“Dragon and Dray, they brokered a deal with the President and Vice President of The Suicide Kings. The Sacred Hearts are good guys, upstanding guys but they weren’t always. Long before I joined they were into heavy shit. Drug and money running but not anymore. They haven’t been for a long time but they still have that reputation and they used it to broker a deal with The Suicide Kings. If they threw the kid that shot Evy out of their club, The Sacred Hearts would shake hands with The Suicide Kings and all would be forgiven, they didn’t… then the Sacred Hearts and Suicide Kings were officially at war.”
Aaron swallowed hard, “I thought Ashton said you guys had been friends,” he observed.
“Yeah they threw the kid out. Shot him in the leg with a .38 and declared him out bad, that’s out of the club on bad terms which means he comes across one of them he’s likely to get his ass beat. True to our word The Sacred Hearts declared satisfaction and even did some joint rallies and events with The Suicide Kings. As soon as spring hit we did a charity ride with them and raised something like eighteen grand for the Wounded Warrior Project. We invited them to join us on our Summer Lake Run which we held early this year. Usually we do it Labor Day weekend but this year in recognition for our success with the fundraiser we did it Fourth of July weekend.”
Aaron looked thoughtful, his hands smoothing up and down my back and arms in senseless patterns with no rhyme or reason to them. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the sensation for a minute and must have started to drift because his hands stopped and he shook me lightly.
“What happened Andy?” he asked me. I let out a huge sigh.
“It was us, The Suicide Kings and this outfit from down in Florida that Reaver and Hayden had met when Reaver took Hayden on her honeymoon.” Aaron frowned and I grinned, “She got dumped at the alter by her douchebag ex, they didn’t get married ‘til last month.” Aaron’s eyes got wide.
“Oh this I have to hear, but not right now. Who were they?” he asked. I nodded. He had a lot to catch up on if he were going to hang with this crowd but not all of it was my story to tell.
“The ‘they’ you’re asking about being the crew from Florida?” I asked just to be sure, he nodded.
“They’re an MC known as The Kraken. It was a good thing too, we never would have been able to handle what went down without their numbers backing ours. The Suicide Kings have about three or four times our numbers, or did before Dragon and Dray started recruiting,” I explained. Aaron’s eyes widened.
“What happened that was so bad that you were willing to take on those kinds of odds?” he asked and I smiled to myself. I loved that he was so smart.
“Shelly happened,” I said somberly.
“What did they do?” he asked dubiously. He’d met Shelly, or rather the version of who she was now. Shelly used to be this spitfire, a total fire cracker who lived free, didn’t take shit from anyone and was forever laughing and causing some kind of mischief. Now she was sullen. Angry, sad and irritable on a good day and lashing out and a total bitch on a bad one. There had been a lot more bad days than good lately.
“The President of The Suicide Kings took her, hauled her out into the woods and…” I didn’t like saying it out loud. Saying it out loud made it real, made it ugly and made me and just about every other guy in the club feel guilty and dirty as Hell for not protecting her better. For not looking out for her.
“He raped her?” Aaron asked quietly.
“And knocked the shit out of her,” I affirmed.
“What did you do?” he asked me. I pursed my lips.
“I did what my President told me to do. I stayed at the cabin and watched over the girls while he and the rest of my brothers handl
ed it.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“And that’s why they’re mad?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah,” my voice was soft while I said it and I prayed Aaron wouldn’t make me elaborate further.
“He hurt her, you guys beat him up I don’t understand…” I made a frustrated noise and sat up. I cupped Aaron’s face in my hands.
“I can’t talk about what was or was not done baby, but please understand me when I say that Shelly is Reaver’s cousin,” I stared into his eyes and willed him to get it but Aaron didn’t have that street smart self-preserving instinct like so many of us had. Aaron had a good life, with loving parents and good schools and the kind of upbringing the rest of us had only dreamed of or thought was made for TV. He just blinked at me, confusion clouding his liquid dark eyes and I suddenly felt hopeless and all wrong for him. I closed my eyes and felt a wave of defeat come over me.
“I don’t understand,” he searched my face, his crumpled into lines of confusion, “Reaver is a nice guy, a happy go lucky kind of dude. I feel really bad about what happened to his cousin, Shelly is a pretty girl from what I can tell. What am I missing?” he asked. I sighed.
“I think I’ve said all I can for now,” I chewed my bottom lip. Aaron swallowed and nodded but he didn’t look happy.
“The less I know the better?” he asked and I nodded solemnly.
“Yeah. That about covers it.” I held his hands in mine in our laps.
“I don’t know Andy… You tell me your club is just a club that they don’t do anything illegal and everything is above board but you guys clearly did something bad because you won’t talk about it, I mean what could be worse than…” he stopped and his dark eyes widened as he finally got it I think.
Masked & Miserable: A Novella of the Sacred Hearts MC (Book 3.5) Page 8