"Who said I was looking at Runner?"
"Who were you—"
A gun shot cracked through the air.
Ava shoved me to the ground, throwing herself on top of me.
I looked up, my heart freezing when I saw the blood.
Chapter Twenty-One
Runner
I'm gonna rip the motherfucker apart.
I crouched beside the truck, gun in hand, waiting for the bullets to stop raining down on us. In the middle of the open carpark, Ava, Ice and Ellie lay flat, protected only by three pitifully flimsy boxes.
"Ice is hit!"
"Fuck."
"Found him," Ghost grunted beside me. "Top of the warehouse, left side."
I looked up, spotting the idiot with a gun.
"You got a shot?" I asked.
"Not with a pistol."
The sniper rifle was in the back of the truck. Which gave us two options; either wait for the fucker on the roof to finish his shooting spree or distract him long enough to allow time for either Ghost or Hazard to get to the rifle.
"Where's Hazard?"
"Pegged down by the fence."
Shit.
I calculated the risk, my brain processing a million miles a minute.
"Gonna draw his fire. You know what to do."
Ghost nodded once.
"Keep my girl safe," I ordered. I took a breath, throwing one last glance at Ellie, who was lying flat on the ground, her arms folded across her head, her cheek pressed to the gravel. Bracing, I sprinted, heading towards the corner of the warehouse where the guy had holed up.
A bullet ricocheted on my left, immediately followed by rapid fire.
Bring it on, motherfucker.
I'd gotten my name not because I ran drugs or guns, though I'd done that before our club had decided to go legit. No, I'd gotten the name because I was the fastest fucker in the club. I'd run a target down in my first week, earning me the moniker.
Bullets pelted the ground around me as I sprinted, head down, arms pumping.
Ellie.
If I died it would be for her. One of my brothers would take my place, keeping her warm, occupying her bed. It wouldn't do to have her mourning me forever. Not when life was short, danger everywhere, and our time together so brief.
But God, the thought wrecked me. It hurt so fucking bad that I couldn't imagine any outcome other than the one where I was balls deep in her tonight. Her cunt clenching around me, her body arching as I filled her with my seed.
I refuse to let this fucker kill us.
A bullet hit my shoulder, tearing at the flesh. I stumbled, but righted quickly, sprinting the last few feet to plaster myself against the building. The slight overhang protecting me from his fire.
I pulled my gun free, rounding the corner of the building, searching for stairs to take me to the roof.
If Ghost failed, I needed to be plan B.
A shot rang out, one single crack splitting through the uneven shooting. Silence followed.
Make sure he's dead.
I made for the stairs, climbing the rusted metal, gun raised. I paused at the top, crouching, watching for movement.
A body slumped against the roof wall, unmoving but for the blood pooling from the hole in his head.
There was a shanty up here, a makeshift tent city, filled with weapons and a shit ton of explosives. I made my way through the area, clearing it, making sure this guy was the only threat.
There’re enough explosives here to blow up half the country.
Satisfied we were alone and nothing was rigged to explode if we made a wrong move, I made my way back to the piece of shit slummed against the wall. His brains were blown out, the skin, bone and tissue splattered over his weapons cache.
I looked over the side signalling that I needed some help. No way were we leaving this here, it was a god damned gold mine.
I scoped the parking lot, finding Ellie by the truck. From this distance I couldn't make out if she was hurt, but she glanced my way, fully turning to shoot me a thumbs up. I blew out a breath, my heart settling back into my chest.
Hazard made it up first, his gaze immediately dropping to my shoulder, his mouth tightening.
"Get to the fucking truck. You're heading home."
I shook my head. "It's just a graze."
"Yeah, and I'm a fucking mother of dragons." Hazard bit back. "Get to the truck. The women are loading Ice. He needs medical attention. I want you there as well."
I glanced back at the piles of explosives. "What about—"
"We'll handle it, Runner. Just get in the fucking truck." Hazard clapped a hand on my good shoulder. "You did good. But I can't risk losing another man today."
My heart seized. "Who?"
his eyes met mine, stricken, his face awash with grief. "Silver. Stray bullet caught a fucking artery. We couldn't stop the bleeding."
I sucked in a breath. Silver was old, in his late sixties. Stubborn as a fucking ox. A loss to the club.
"He's free to ride now," I said, knowing it was a hollow sympathy.
"His body's being loaded," Hazard shot me a look. "Just go, Runner."
I nodded, heading out as grim-faced brothers began the task of carefully packing up the explosives and ammunition.
I found Ellie in the backseat of the truck, Ava loading the last package in the back as one of the prospects got the engine started.
"Baby Girl," I called and she shot me a look over her shoulder, blood dotting her face.
I immediately crossed to her, almost pulling her out, cupping her cheek and forcing her to look at me.
"It's not mine," she said, pulling back. "I'm okay."
"I'll be the judge of—"
"Get in the fucking truck," Ava barked. "We need to get Ice to Blair."
I helped Ellie back in, then rounded the truck, getting in on the other side.
Ice slumped in the middle seat, Ellie pressing hands against his leg. He was pale, sweaty, shaking.
"You right man?" I asked as the prospect started up the truck and Ava hopped in the front seat, the truck pulling away a moment later.
"I'll be fine," he tried to smile but it looked more like a gritting of teeth. "Think the doc will give me the good drugs?"
"Depends if you're a good boy," I replied, leaning over, and removing Ellie's hand for a moment to examine the wound. Flesh, lots of blood, likely a little bit of bone but no major arteries.
Thank God.
The ride back was a shit fight. Ice trying not to pass out as the truck bumped along the road, the drive long and his pain level high.
"Not much longer," I murmured sometime later, keeping the pressure against his leg. We'd shifted him, his back to Ellie's front, his leg raised so I could apply pressure to the wound.
Blood covered the back seat of the SUV, despite our best efforts.
The truck jarred again, and Ice bit out a curse, slumping into Ellie. She rubbed his arms, reassuring him.
"Runner, if… if I don't…" Ice cleared his throat. "Tell Kate I love her."
"Shut up you baby," I ordered. "You can tell her your fucking self."
We pulled into the compound, horn beeping, heading straight for the infirmary.
Blair and Butcher appeared in the door way, Blair glaring, Butcher's arms crossed as they watched us approach.
The prospect pulled to a stop, but Ava was already out, yelling for help.
The following moments were fraught as we transported Ice from the truck to the infirmary, Butcher and Blair barking orders, questioning the patient, Ava and Ellie explaining what happened.
I lifted Ice onto the waiting bed, then stepped back.
"Get Aella," Blair ordered Ellie. "We need extra hands."
Ellie pivoted, taking off.
"Aella?" I asked Ava who looked exhausted.
"She's our nurse. Helps Blair with the big stuff." She rubbed a hand over her face. "Come on, let's get this stuff unloaded."
My shoulder protested but there was nothing
I could do at the moment. The bleeding had slowed, my shirt soaking up most of the blood.
At least it's black, maybe I can repair it.
Clothing was in short supply around here, and this was a decent shirt.
Ellie returned, the other woman in tow. They disappearing inside as we began to unload some of the items that were specifically for the infirmary.
We'd rolled out a large water container, leaning it against the wall of the building when Ellie reappeared, her hands now clean of blood. She made a bee line for me, coming to wrap her arm around me and lay her head on my shoulder.
I hissed in pain.
She pulled back, hands immediately coming to my shoulder, searching for the wound, blood coating her cheek. "You're hurt!"
I bit out a laugh, "nah, just clipped a little. It's nothing to worry about."
She pushed up my shirt, peeling it from my body.
Ellie sucked in a breath as she discarded the material, her face grimacing.
"That bad huh?"
"Looks like minced meat."
I glanced down, noting the torn skin and bruising. It wouldn't kill me but it wasn’t pleasant. Would definitely need stitches.
"Looks worse than it feels," I lied.
"Liar," she immediately replied, pulling me behind her. "Let's go."
"They're with Ice," I protested. "I can wait."
"Yeah, you can wait inside where I can clean it out while they finish with Ice and then you can get stitched up."
She sounded angry. And worried. God, I hated to worry her.
I pulled her to a stop, turning her until I could look into her exhausted, anxious eyes.
"Baby Girl, I'm okay." I reassured, brushing a hand across her face. "It's just a scratch. It'll heal."
Her lower chin wobbled but she stiffened it, biting out, "you ran right at him. You nearly died."
"But I didn't."
"I'm so angry with you."
My eyebrows raised in question but she shook her head. "Come with me."
Chapter Twenty-Two
Runner
They'd knocked Ice out, giving him something Butcher had concocted a few years back. It knocked you out and left you numb for a few hours before you woke up with a hangover and a hard on.
Not fun but damned effective in a shitty situation.
Ellie led me to the main room, pushing me onto a stool beside a long bench. I watched her, ignoring the surgery going on mere feet from us. Concentrating on the sound of the water as she switched it on, the way her hands glided together as she soaped them up, the look of concentration and concern as she scrubbed her finger nails.
Satisfied, she used her elbow to switch the tap off, then reached for gloves hanging in a box above the sink. The movement lifted her shirt just a fraction, enough that I could see the smooth, soft skin of her belly.
I'd been in crisis mode earlier. Needing to prioritize the safety of her, of Ice, of Ava. Focused on getting the explosives sorted so no prick with a pistol could hurt my woman.
But now? The adrenaline was starting to crash, but instead of exhaustion, which I knew would come, I felt horny. I wanted to claim Ellie. To mark her. To push her onto a bed and pin her down as I made her come again and again until I worked out the fear and anger that bubbled just under my skin.
She could have been killed.
She'd filled a small container with warm water and antiseptic, and now stood over me, examining the wound. It put her tits right at eyelevel, giving me a great view even as pain flared as she gently prodded the area.
"I'll clean this up, there's some dirt in here. But I'll leave it to the others to stitch. I'd try but I'd likely leave you with a giant ass scar."
Call me a sadist, but I liked the idea that she'd leave a mark on my skin. A tangible, visible marker that she was mine and I was hers.
She dipped a cotton bud in the water then brought it to my shoulder, gently brushing at the wound. I bit back a curse, pain blossoming out from the wound site.
"Does it hurt?" she asked softly, her hands steady but her eyes bright with tears.
"Nah," I lied. "More like a bee sting."
Her lips trembled a little as if she knew I was lying. But she didn't press, instead turning back to the site and discarding one used cotton bud for a new one. Ellie cleaned it slowly, reverently, and with a thoroughness I had to admire.
"Why were you upset earlier?" Ellie asked quietly, her concentration focussed on the wound. "When Ava suggested we start making clothes."
Hey eyes flicked up, catching my look then darting back to the wound. "Don't you like clothes?"
I grimaced, breathing out from between clenched teeth as she scrubbed a particularly deep tear. "It's not that. I agree that we need to reconsider how we do shit. Clothes ain't gonna just make themselves."
I hesitated as she turned, dropping the dirty cotton bud in a container then selecting another one, gently wetting it in the antiseptic solution.
"But?" She prompted softly.
"But my mum worked in a factory. From the day she was old enough to the day she died. Sitting at the same goddamned workstation. Less than minimum wage, treated no better than a dog. Her hands were arthritic by the time she was forty. But still she went because she didn't have any other goddamned fucking options."
I gritted my teeth, closing my eyes and focussing on the sting from Ellie's administrations, rather than the ache of regret that forever burned in my chest.
"Two days after I convinced her to retired, to move in with me she had a stroke and died."
Ellie flinched. "Shit, Runner. I'm so sorry."
I blew out a breath. "Thanks."
She touched a cotton bud to my shoulder, hesitating for a moment. "So, she's why you don't want us doing the work?"
I shook my head, "nah. We need to do it, I know that. But the suggestion brought up bad memories."
She nodded. "I'm sorry."
Ellie pressed a kiss to my cheek, then turned to the sink, emptying the left-over water. Used cotton buds overflowed from a small container, red with my blood.
The door to the infirmary burst open, and I surged up, pegging Ellie to the sink, covering her with my body.
"Where is he?" Kate demanded, standing in the entry. She caught sight of Ice on the bed and flew into the room.
"Stop!' Blair ordered.
Kate halted, tears glistening. I relaxed my stance, letting Ellie up from the sink.
"Does he need blood?" She asked, her gaze falling to the trail on the floor.
"He will," Butcher replied, threading a stitch through Ice's skin.
"He's A negative. Can only have O positive or A negative blood." She held out a trembling arm. "I'm A negative."
All eyes went to her, the operation on the table stilling.
"You're related?" Aella asked.
Kate's lip wobbled but she nodded once. "Yeah. Gus was his father too. Another discarded offspring of a man who was obsessed with spreading his seed everywhere but in his wife."
"Did you know?" Ellie asked me softly.
"Fuck no. Thought they were sweet on each other."
Ellie shuddered, "gad this isn't a Lannister sibling situation."
I raised an eyebrow, "Game of thrones?"
"Loved it but for the ending," she made face. "Guess we won't be getting the written ending we deserve either."
"Aella, can you get Kate sorted. Butcher and I can handle this." Blair asked, pulling a thread as she stitched Ice.
I watched for a moment as Aella settled Kate onto a chair, bustling to get the blood transfusion set-up.
When she finished with Kate, Aella came to me, stepping close to examine the wound.
"Needs stitches." She washed, then got what she needed, threading the hooked needle, and disinfecting the wound. "I'll give you an antibiotic shot after. You want pain relief?"
I shook my head.
Aella rolled her eyes but immediately set to threading, murmuring, "Okay tough guy. Stay still, this might hurt."
I ignored the pain, concentrating instead on Ellie. She stood behind Aella, holding a torch on the wound site, biting her lip every time the needle went through my skin, and wincing every time Aella pulled the thread tight.
"You're done." Aella slapped a bandage on the site. "Keep it clean and dry. Add some antiseptic every twenty-four hours. If you have any issues come back." She discarded her gloves and equipment, brushing a hand across her forehead to remove the long strands of dark hair. "Now get out of here, go rest. You can deal with the other shit later."
She turned, pausing, "and if you see Ava, send her our way. God knows the woman has probably stressed her stitches. She needs to be resting, not running around the place as if she's GI Joe."
I nodded, letting Ellie wrap an arm around me and guide me out of the room.
I didn't need the assistance, but she felt damned good snuggled against me.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Runner
I waited 'til we reached our room and Ellie had shut the door before I crowded her, pressing her against the door as I gripped the back of her head with one hand, my fingers tugging at her strands, tipping her face to give me access to her neck.
I couldn't fight the desire that had been running rampant in me since the shooting had begun. I pressed a long kiss to her neck then gave in, sucking, teeth grazing, knowing I was giving her a mark and revelling in that knowledge.
If I could, I'd have tattooed my name on her, branding this woman as mine. Satisfaction, desire, need, they warred in me, fighting for dominance as she squirmed under me.
"Runner, stop. Just, stop."
I didn't. I kept kissing her neck, glorying in her taste.
"Red!"
I pulled back instantly, dropping my arms, and taking a step back.
"Fuck, Ellie. You okay, baby?" Ellie held up a hand, glaring at me.
"Babe?"
"I've held it in until we were alone but –" she sucked in a deep breath, her eyes flashing angrily as her hands came to her hips. "What. Do you think. You're fucking doing?" she gritted out.
I frowned. "Kissing you."
"You're a fucking idiot!" She roared, coming at me. "You could have died!" She beat her hands on my chest and I let her, enjoying the sting of her aggression, of her passion.
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