“Aimee Winters, the girl with the big cojones,” Scar says as he approaches me and Elvis shoves me towards him. It’s funny—now that I know the story of him and Sally, he isn’t as scary to me. I look at the scar on his face that he carries around like a badge of honor, but really it’s just a testament to Sally’s love for her son and how far she was willing to go to save him. “Now, how did you find us all the way out here?” He tilts his head to look me up and down, taking in the over-sized jacket that I’m wearing and trying to figure me out.
“I followed Jake,” the words are out of my mouth and I realize that this is my best chance at a plausible story. I ignore the chuckles that come from the surrounding bikers and notice that one of them slaps Jake on the back as if to tell him what a stud he is.
“Why?” Scar isn’t as easily convinced as the other men and I feel like his eyes are boring a hole through my brain.
“Because I love him,” I say desperately, turning towards Jake who looks at me with fear in his eyes. I know that the fear there is for my safety but the other bikers probably think he’s scared of what his obsessed ex-girlfriend is going to do. “Please, please, take me back, Jake.” I beg him, making my voice as pathetic as I can. “We can be together again, like we were before. Nothing has to change. I’m nothing without you. You can do whatever you want to me.” All I can hope is that Jake understands what I’m doing and plays along like I need him to.
“That’s what she said to me,” Ryan interrupts, laughing and playing the part of the big man. The tension radiating off of Jake as Ryan speaks is palpable and I get the sense that the bikers are just wishing for a fight to break out.
Jake keeps looking at me, ignoring Ryan. “I already told you the other night, I don’t want you. I don’t want anything to do with you, you crazy bitch.” He spits the words out and I try to remind myself that it’s just an act. “I’m not interested in Ryan’s sloppy seconds.” He looks straight at Ryan as he says the words. “That is, if he even managed to get the job done.”
Ryan looks panicked, his gaze flicking between Jake and me. Then it’s as if a switch inside of him flips and he launches himself at Jake and the two men are throwing punches at each other, grunting and grappling. The bikers start shouting words of encouragement and I can feel the bloodlust rising. Before too much damage can be done, Scar intervenes, moving between the men and pushing them away from each other.
“Enough. We don’t have time for this bullshit. You want to beat the crap out of each other? You do it after the deal.” Scar looks between the two of them for their cooperation.
“You crazy fuck!” Jake yells at Ryan, breathing hard. His eyes are burning with so much hate I’m surprised that Ryan doesn’t melt into his boots on the spot.
“That’s enough, I said.” Scar shoves the two of them further apart. When he’s satisfied that they aren’t going to beat the living daylights out of each other, he advances towards me, his hand going straight to his waistband. “Now little girl, I think you’ve caused enough trouble for one night.” He pulls out his gun and aims it straight at my head. I try to keep upright, but my legs are shaking so badly. “We’ve got some business to attend to and you’re just going to distract my boys here.” He flicks his gaze towards Ryan and Jake.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Jake take a couple of steps towards Scar, his hand going to the waistband of his jeans where I can see him taking hold of his own gun.
“Boss, they’re here!” one of the bikers yells, breaking the tension of the moment.
“Saved by the bell, little lady.” Scar smiles, making his gun disappear as quickly as he had brought it out. “Jake, tie her up back there, out of sight. I don’t want to spook the Wetbacks.”
I feel so relieved that I almost collapse in a heap on the floor. I dig my fingernails into the palm of my hand to bring my concentration back to the here and now. I don’t have the luxury of freaking out. I feel Jake’s strong arms grab me from behind and he hustles me past the other bikers, sitting me down in the dirt as softly as he can.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Jake whispers under his breath as he ties my hands together in front of me. He sounds angry enough to take off.
“Suzie told me. Don’t worry, the Feds will be here soon,” I assure him, wishing that I was as sure of that as I was trying to seem. “You just have to keep playing along for a little longer, okay?” I keep my gaze down on my hands so that none of the other bikers get suspicious.
“I don’t like this. You almost got yourself killed.”
“Jake,” Scar calls from the head of the group. “You’re with me. Ryan, you watch her.” He jerks his thumb towards me.
Jake starts to protest, but Scar turns on him. “You’re an Angel now and that means that you do what I tell you to do, got it?” He doesn’t wait for a response. It’s clear that he doesn’t expect one.
Ryan walks over to me, a look on his face like he’s just been given the shiny red bicycle he’s wanted since he was a kid. He brings his face close to mine and I shuffle away from him as far as I can, but there’s nowhere to go. Behind Ryan I can see that three SUVs have pulled up and I count ten men coming out, standing in front of the Angels. I see what look like ten massive beer kegs being placed between the two groups of me. That must be the drugs, but I’m too far away to hear what’s being said. The wire I’m wearing is completely useless.
But right now I have bigger problems than worrying about the wire. Ryan’s hands are all over me. His nearness gives me flashbacks of that night in his bedroom. I can feel the panic inside of me start to rise as he talks, his face inches from mine, so close his spit lands on my cheek.
“You just couldn’t stay away, could you?” he asks and he has that crazed look in his eyes that means any shred of humanity has checked out. “You said you were here for Jake, but we both know that’s not true. You’re here for me. You can’t be without me.” Ryan’s completely delusional. His eyes have a faraway look like he’s watching a different story play out in his imagination.
“Ryan, leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with you.” I kick out at him, hearing him grunt as my heel connects with his shin. But any victory I feel is short-lived.
He pushes me back so that I’m lying in the dirt and then puts his knee in my chest, making it difficult to breathe. “This is what you want, isn’t it? You want me to hurt you. You like it. You’re a fucking whore. You want me to wrap my fingers around your throat. You want to die.”
Our eyes meet and Ryan takes it to mean that I’m telling him that he’s right. All I’m trying to communicate to him is how much I hate him. “Yeah, I know that’s what you want, Aimee, you dirty whore. Then, when you’re not breathing anymore, that’s when you want me to take you. Fuck you in that sweet little ass of yours. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” Ryan’s breathing heavily, and I can feel the fucked up hardness of his erection against my. “I’ll fuck your ass and I’ll fuck your mouth—that’s what you want.”
I can’t take it anymore, Ryan’s knee on my chest is making it harder for me to get my breath and I’m really scared that he’s just crazy enough to follow through with what he’s telling me he wants to do. It takes all the strength I have to buck him off of me, making him sprawl in the dirt beside me.
“Get off of me, you crazy fuck!” I scream, trying to keep the panic attack that’s building at bay.
“I don’t want you. I don’t want you dead or alive. But dead is the only way you’re going to get anything from me, you pathetic little man.” I spit the words out, channeling all of my hate into my words.
For a split second I feel like I may have gotten through to him, but I’m wrong. The frenzied look comes back into his eyes and he lunges for me, grabbing my throat and squeezing.
I flail and feel my bound hands connect with his chin. His hold on me relaxes for a moment but then it just tightens again.
I’m going to die here. I’m going to die. The thought comes into my head and I squirm as h
ard as I can to get away.
I hear Jake calling my name, but he sounds so far away and Ryan’s hold around my throat just gets even tighter.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Everything happens so fast. It all goes very wrong, very quickly. I see Ryan getting in Aimee’s face, and I have to clench my fists to hard that I can feel the blood pumping in my hands to stop myself from going over there and pulling him off. Aimee had said that the Feds would be here any minute. I have to trust that. I keep looking between Ryan and Aimee and the Dealer and his crew standing in front of us.
I’m acting as Scar’s second, so I’m close enough to hear how the pleasantries the two men exchange quickly break down into an argument.
“I need to taste it, you know—try before you buy,” Scar is saying as he makes a move to lift off the top of one of the kegs of beer.
“You’re not going to get any taste, Scar, until get my fucking money,” the dealer responds.
It’s clear that neither man trusts the other and I wonder how the hell they’ve managed to do business before. Scar motions towards Grey on his right, who throws down a duffel bag at the feet of one of the dealer’s men. He bends down and opens it, and I can see from here that it’s filled with dollar bills. He zips the bag shut, straightens up, and nods towards the dealer, signaling that everything is as it should be.
“We heard the Feds have been creeping around. You getting slack in your old age, Scar?” the dealer asks.
“What are you trying to say, amigo? You got a problem with the way I’m running my business, you say so. Otherwise, you keep your fat Mexican motherfucking mouth shut.” Scar’s voice is low but the threat is clear.
I have my eye on the twitchy guy standing behind the dealer. He’s been looking around him and his hand keeps on hovering over his waistband, where I can see the outline of a gun. I wonder if he’s the new guy, the one that they’ve roped in, just like they’ve done with me. He looks young, about my age.
You can taste the tension radiating between Scar and the dealer, and in a split-second everything changes. Aimee screams from behind me and I turn to see Ryan sitting on top of her, his hands around her throat. The twitchy guy in the dealer’s crew gets nervous and pulls his gun out. Then it’s like someone’s flipped a switch and everything happens in slow motion. The twitchy guy gets shot, but none of the bikers have their guns out yet.
I’m already turning around, heading towards Aimee a fast as I can, when it seems to dawn on Scar what’s happening. “Feds!” he yells in full voice. “That fucking bitch brought them here. Ryan, kill her!”
But Ryan doesn’t need any encouragement—it looks like he’s holding onto Aimee so tightly that I’m not sure how she’s managing to stay conscious. I remember the promise that I made to her—that I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. I don’t plan on breaking it. Not now, not ever.
I’m dimly aware that bullets have started to fly and I hear cries as some of them find their mark in the men behind me. But my attention is trained on Ryan and Aimee in front of me. I barrel into Ryan at full speed, taking him by surprise and pulling him off of Aimee. It doesn’t take him long to recover and he gets in a few punches as we both end up in the dirt, punching and kicking each other as hard as we can. I barely hear the pandemonium that’s going on behind me. People are yelling and gunshots are firing, but all I’m focused on is beating this bastard to a pulp so he can never think about hurting Aimee again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
I take greedy gulps of air, trying to get as much oxygen in my lungs as I can. I feel like I’ve been drowning and have just come up to the surface. My neck is raw from Ryan’s hold on me. I move my hands up to try to touch the soreness, but I realize I’m still bound. I start to take in what’s going around me. I can hear the sound of cries and gunshots, but there’s too much smoke and mayhem for me to see clearly and I’m too disoriented from Ryan strangling me half to death.
It takes a few seconds for me to place what’s going on and then, with stark realization, I see that I’m in the middle of a shoot-out. I can feel the panic attack rising, but I squash it back down as firmly as I can. I can’t afford any weakness now. I pull at the ropes binding my wrists with my teeth. Jake had left them loose, so it only takes a few pulls for me to open them enough for me to slip my hands out.
I scramble to my feet, only ducking back down straight away when a bullet hits the ground where I’d been only a second ago. The Feds don’t seem to have realized that I’m in the middle of all of this. It strikes me that we’re on our own again.
I look ten feet ahead of me and see Jake and Ryan fighting. They’re both covered in dirt and bleeding, the red blood sticking the dirt to their faces and hands like crazy glue. I stand up again, making my way over to them, screaming at Ryan to get off of Jake, but before I walk five paces I fall to the ground, holding my shoulder and I hear another cry behind me. I’ve been hit. I look at the wound, and although there’s a lot of blood, it seems like the bullet just skimmed me. I hear a moan behind me and see one of the bikers slumped on the ground, a hole in his chest leaking blood. Whoever had taken the shot, they’d been aiming for him, not for me.
Jake must have seen me drop to the floor like a stone. “Aimee!” He screams my name in desperation, trying to reach me before Ryan tackles him to the ground.
But Jake’s cry has caught someone else’s attention. Scar turns and sees what’s playing out in the triangle of Ryan, Jake, and me. He can’t have missed that all Jake’s doing is trying to protect me.
“You son of a bitch!” Scar yells, and the disappointment that he seems to have in Jake is visible in his eyes. Jake seems to be gaining the upper hand and has started to pummel Ryan as fast as he can. “You fucking liar! You’re no son of mine!” Scar cries as he watches Jake brutalizing RyanJake turns around and looks at him in shock.
“Jake, look out!” I cry as Scar raises his gun and points it towards the son he had thought he had always wanted, the son that he thought was going to follow him in his footsteps. Suddenly I’m transported back years, watching the same man aim his gun at my father. I realize that I’m about to watch the same person that murdered my father, kill the only man I have and will ever love. But I’m powerless to stop Scar. He’s too far away, and there’s no way that I’ll get to him in time.
I see the minute movement in his fingers as Scar pulls the trigger and the gun recoils towards him. I scream, feeling like my heart is about to come out of my mouth as I wait for Jake to fall to the ground. But in the last possible moment Jake spins around and Ryan, seeing his advantage, advances on Jake to take him down. It’s not Jake’s body that the bullet connects with—it’s Ryan’s. There’s a grunt as he falls, the light leaving his eyes before he even hits the ground.
It takes both Jake and I a moment to process what’s just happened. We lock eyes with each other and it’s like we’re both trying to say as much as we can in that one look—how much we love each other, how much we need each other.
A sound like a dying animal comes from ahead of us and we both move as one to witness Scar’s shock at what he’s just done. He looks down at the body of his dead son and then at Jake. “I’m going to kill you.” His voice is practically a whisper, but its harshness makes it travel over the sound of the hail of bullets as if it were a shout.
He raises his gun again, pointing it towards Jake. Jake’s close enough now to reach out and touch my hand. “I love you, Aimee,” he tells me, and I can see in his eyes that he doesn’t know how we’re going to dodge this bullet. My eyes fill with tears. We’ve run out of options. We’ve reached the end of the road. “I love you too, Jake.” I barely manage to get the words out as I wait for the sound of the shot when Scar pulls the trigger. I lift my head to look at the man that is responsible for bringing so much death and destruction. That’s when the tide changes. I watch as Scar’s chest explodes, once, twice, three times, four… too many times to count.
Jake and I both stand still in complete and utter sho
ck as we watch Scar’s body fall to the ground. He reaches his hand out towards Jake, just like my dad had done towards me as the life was drained out of him. But this time, no one runs towards him. Jake remains by my side, his hand gripping mine hard. Scar dies alone, his arms flung out. He lies in a pool of blood, spreading out from underneath him and he looks, for all the world, just like a Bleeding Angel.
In the seconds that follow, I see men dressed in black run out from the surrounding trees.
“Down! Get down on the ground! Now!” The shouts fill the air as the men in black point their rifles at the last few bikers and members of the dealers gang who are left standing. They drop their guns and fall to their knees, holding their hands up in surrender. It takes a moment for it to sink in. It’s over.
Jake pulls me towards him, holding me against his chest as I finally let the tears come. They pour out of my eyes in relief. We’ve done it. We’ve won.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I hold onto Aimee and I think she’s the only thing that’s keeping me standing. My whole body feels like it’s been bruised and battered, emotionally and physically. But it doesn’t matter. We’ve done it. We’ve won.
A Dream of Summer (Bleeding Angels MC Book 3) Page 17