Wicked Kind of Love

by Nicole Snow

  I only stopped when we were a few inches apart, the bag I'd packed thrown around my shoulder. “If you had one chance to save Red, wouldn't you have taken it?”

  Her face twitched at the question. Linda looked torn. She smoothed her scrubs, lips tight as she shook her head. Sighing, she stepped aside, freeing my path.

  “You know the answer. And I won't stand in your way when you put it like that. Just...please be careful, Emma. You take your phone and call at the first sign of trouble. I'll get the cops out there ASAP.”

  “No need,” I said, pushing past. “I'll be back in a few hours to check on the guys.”

  I walked out. I couldn't spend another second talking sense, or it might've changed the crazy, irrational urge I had to get to my car and drive into the darkness.

  Tank and the prospects had been gone for more than an hour. It was past three o'clock. Not even the rising sun would give me any comfort on the long, dark drive.

  Only picturing him would do that. If there was anything I could do to help, however remote, then I had to do it.

  And if everything had gone wrong and Tank was never coming home, then neither would I. They'd bury me with him in the wilderness.

  Fear and anger pulsed through every nerve as I gripped the steering wheel, leaving Missoula's dim lights behind, roaring into the mountainous darkness.

  God no. I wasn't letting him end up like Linda's Red. He'd kill me if he knew what I was doing, but he'd already given so much to keep me safe, so much time wasted without his lips on mine.

  Whatever lay ahead, it was going to claim us together. I'd either be coming home safe with Tank in the morning light, or neither of us were coming home at all.

  I instantly regretted not grabbing a gun when I pulled up the long gravel road to the Pagan Rams' clubhouse.

  The first thing I saw was the truck. The bullet holes were obvious in my headlights. Just a little bit ahead, Tank's bike lay on its side, tipped over in the dirt.

  Something terrible had happened here.

  I rolled down my window and listened. My heartbeat was going a trillion ticks a second, senses on alert like never before, ears straining to hear something but dead silence.

  After almost a full minute, I swore I heard a man cough. It was faint, not very far ahead of my car.

  Carefully popping the door, I stepped out, touching the ground lightly so my shoes wouldn't make too much noise. Instinct made me keep my head down as I walked, looking for life signs. The battle here looked like it was long over, but I couldn't shake feeling invisible guns aimed at my head.

  I was almost past the truck when I heard the another cough. I whirled and screamed as a man's hand reached for my foot from underneath the truck.

  I fell. Pain rocked through my hip when I hit the hard ground.

  Idiot! I was flat on my ass, desperately trying to roll away from the nightmare hand wrapped around my ankle.

  I was still rolling when I saw the wide, familiar eyes staring at me. My butt touched the cool grass on the other side and I leaned forward for a better look.

  “Smokey?”

  He held one finger to his lips, intense and ominous. His lip ring jiggled back and forth.

  “Yeah. I got Stone under here. He's hurt.”

  That got me moving. I was on my hands, starting to crawl. When I stuck my head underneath the truck, I saw Smokey's bigger body shielding his fellow prospect, trying to stem the bleeding wound on his leg with a torn scrap of shirt.

  Stone grunted and blinked his eyes. The pained expression said the bullet tore him deep, probably to the point where he couldn't walk without help.

  “How long has he been like this?” I asked, reaching into my bag.

  “Good solid hour. Ever since Tank disappeared inside and we got ourselves ambushed. The fucks were in the trees. We killed at least one of 'em, but the others dropped my brother. Surprised they didn't finish the job when I pulled him under here. They all disappeared after that, more concerned about Tank than us.”

  Shit. My heart sank. I looked up and stared at the clubhouse door. It was hanging on its hinges, cracked open, a yawning cavern with nothing good inside.

  “Okay,” I whispered. “Just hang on. I'll help you move him, and then you're going to get him home to Missoula. Linda or one of her friends will be able to do him justice better than I can...”

  That wasn't necessarily true. My need to save a human life gnawed at me, but finding out what the hell happened to Tank chewed me up a hundred times worse.

  I uncapped the syringe and steadied its needle near Stone's muscular arm. One shot in the veins would soothe the pain and make him loopy, easier to move. It was a powerful sedative.

  “Fuck,” Stone growled. “Just keep some pussy ready, baby. Tight and warm...”

  I blinked. He was staring right through me, blasted out of his mind.

  Smokey forced a smile. “Fuck you, brother. You can think about getting your dick wet again when you're all healed.”

  I motioned for Smokey to grab his free arm while I took the other. We pulled at the same time, hauling him out onto the dirt. From there, the bigger, stronger man took over, lifting his leaner brother into his arms.

  The truck was unlocked and I grabbed the handle to load him inside. We shifted the seat forward, creating just enough space so he could lay down.

  “Make sure he keeps breathing. He's lost a lot of blood, but I'm confident he'll be good for the ride. His pulse is in a good range.” I touched his neck one more time, double checking what I'd discovered beneath the truck.

  He nodded and scrambled into the driver's seat, waiting for me. I looked at him and cocked my head.

  “You have a handgun, don't you?”

  I needed something small and easy. One look at the huge rifles they were hauling told me I didn't have a clue how to operate them. The kick on those things alone would send me crashing to the floor.

  “Huh? What do you need that for? You're coming home, aren't you, nurse?” Stone's voice was strained.

  I shook my head furiously. “I can't. Not until I know Tank's okay. He's the reason I came out here.”

  The prospect's face was tight. “I better check with Blaze or Stinger. Sorry, Emma, but they'd never let you go in there alone...the Rams are still prowling around. Got a bad feeling nothing good's happened in the clubhouse. He's been inside too damned long.”

  Damn! Hearing him say what I knew made my heart slap my ribs. There was a good chance he'd been killed – I had to face it – even if it wasn't enough to make me run. I had to find out. I had to see him again, alive or dead. I had to keep my promise.

  Now, I was pissed off. I slapped the side of the truck and stood on my tip-toes, glaring at him through the open window.

  “Look, all the officers are down sick. Blaze put Tank in charge before he left. Unless we know Tank's been incapacitated, there's nobody who's going to tell me what I need to do. Certainly not you, prospect.” I used his title, hoping it would drive home the point. “I'm going in one way or another. It'd be nice to have a gun for protection, but if you're not going to cooperate...”

  I shrugged. Stone's cold eyes threw ice on my hot face. The glint in his eye said he thought I'd lost my mind. Finally, he broke the glacial stare and looked at his brother bleeding in the back, gritting his teeth.

  “Fuck. All right.” He leaned over, jostling the glove compartment until it opened. “You know how to use one of these, right?”

  The nine millimeter sat in my hands like a rock. I turned it over gingerly, trying to keep my composure as I got used to its deadly weight.

  Jesus. Never thought I'd have to learn how to shoot like this...

  “I know enough,” I lied. “Now, hit the road. The sooner Smokey gets help in a clean environment, the better. I'll call as soon as I find Tank.”

  He nodded. I stepped back as he rolled up the window, and then began backing out, refusing to give me a second glance on his way.

  We both had our orders. His were tied t
o the club, the whole brotherhood that was the Prairie Devils' MC. Mine was bound by my heart's irresistible pull, fiery devotion to the one man who mattered most.

  Okay. Let's do this. Do it for him, I thought, gathering my courage.

  I crept toward the broken building. There were shells and torn scraps of ground closer to the clubhouse's entrance. Out near a crop of trees, a big red splash spilled from the forest. I paused for a second, and noticed the lifeless human body next to it, barely concealed by the brush.

  Swallowing hard, I pressed on, knowing full well that might be how I'd find Tank. Hell, it might be the way somebody else would find me when I left this place.

  The clubhouse stank. I tip-toed inside it, trying not to choke or cough at the dank must rolling up my nostrils. The stupid door yowled like an angry cat on its hinges when I gave it a shove.

  There were no signs of life inside. Just terrible, deadly silence.

  I stepped forward, walking past a dirty bar. Several chairs had been overturned. I wasn't sure if it was a scuffle or just the natural state of this place.

  A shredded plastic tube lay on the floor. It looked like a flashlight had exploded and left a tiny scorch mark on the wooden panel. I poked it with my toe, unsure what it was.

  There was only one way deeper. A long dark hall led back toward what looked like several rooms. I took a deep breath, clenching the gun in both hands to keep from shaking.

  I wanted to call his name so badly, just one little whisper. But if anyone else was in here, then it might easily lead to my doom.

  I never got the chance to yell for Tank. An earsplitting scream ruptured the grim silence, high and feminine. Then there was a single gunshot, so loud it was like a rocket going off in the room up ahead.

  “That's what you get for fucking up our scheme, bitch,” a gruff voice said. “It would've worked without your bullshit! You're worm food, same as this fucking Prairie Pussy.”

  The gun's metal felt hot and sweaty in my hands, resonating with my energy, my fear. I raised it and peeked around the corner, ready to fling open the door.

  The strangers were armed. They had to be talking about Tank. Relief shot through me when I realized he was alive, but who knew if that would last.

  I had to do something!

  Surprise was all I had on my side.

  The door was slightly cracked, but not enough to see without shoving it open. My fingers shook as I gripped the doorknob, ready to throw it wide, guns blazing at anyone who wasn't my man. In one jerk, it flipped apart and banged on the wall, and I burst in, aiming for the chest of the first man I saw.

  I couldn't afford to stare at the gory mess on the bed he was standing over. I just fired, and watched as blood rained on blood, a thick red blossom bursting square in his chest.

  “Reaper! Fuck!” The gruff voice I'd heard earlier took one look at the man I'd shot and roared before his body hit the floor.

  Two men charged toward me. I swung the gun, but was horrified to see Tank between us. He was chained up in a chair, hands bound behind his back, and apparently knocked out. He didn't stir at the commotion.

  I was so shocked to see him I made my worst mistake: hesitation.

  The assholes knocked me flat before I could get off another shot. The man was on top of me like a grizzly bear, his flabby belly suffocating me. His partner tore the gun from my hands.

  “No!” I yelled as the one tool I had to end this was ripped away.

  “Jesus fucking Christ. Not another bitch to kill. We already had our quota of girls,” the leaner man said.

  “Shut the fuck up, Socket. Sooner we get this over with, the better.” The big man cupped my mouth.

  I screamed into my hand, and then screamed louder on the inside when I realized nothing would come out. His gaze was ruthless. Murder twitched in the deep black pools of his eyes when he stared at me.

  Behind them, Tank groaned loud and moved his head. I could barely make out his face over the man's shoulder, but I saw him regain consciousness.

  Our eyes met. His gaze electrified the instant he realized it was me.

  “Emma!” He lunged, rocking the chair so hard they both went crashing to the floor.

  Skinny man turned. “Shut up, asshole! We told you to keep your fuckin' mouth shut and we're not gonna say it again.”

  I closed my eyes as a savage kick nailed Tank in the head. I knew it must've put him back into a coma, or maybe worse, because he wasn't struggling anymore.

  No, no, no...Jesus no.

  Fat man smiled. He put a thick hand around my throat and squeezed, choking off my breath. My eyes spun, and stopped on his chest. I noticed a PRESIDENT tag a lot like Blaze's beneath the name BLOCK.

  “You two know each other? Maybe our luck's looking up after all.” His fingers tightened on my throat and I gasped, struggling for air. It wasn't coming. “Calm down, you fucking cunt. We lost two good brothers today, plus an old whore we had to put down for doing a half-assed job. Killing you and this gorilla strapped to the chair won't bring back Gutter or Reaper, but it'll sure as shit make us feel better before we blow this fucking place for good.”

  I fought hard, but he was too heavy. I'd been without air for too long. My whole body was tingling, going numb and dark, fuzzy like my vision.

  “Socket! Leave that asshole alone and help me the fuck out. Throw Ruby's corpse on the floor. Let's get this bitch in the bed.” He leaned low, planting a sickeningly long kiss on my cheek, and then biting me there.

  I yelped in his hand. With all my might, I forced my knee up his thigh. It didn't feel like I'd even touched him, but he jerked. Then he steadied.

  I'd hit him. Not hard enough. Fat man grunted like a pig, reaching for his crotch.

  “Fucking slut!” He lifted me up by the throat and something going a hundred miles an hour slammed into my face. I realized it was his hand through the blinding pain.

  “Cunt tried to bust my balls,” he growled to his partner. “What a dumb bitch. Come on, Socket. Get her up there. The only asshole getting his nuts split today is gonna be the piece of dogshit lying on the floor. We'll let him wake up to our come leaking out her dead pussy. Leave his ass just enough time to suffer before we shoot him in the guts and light this goddamned place up like a fire pit...these Prairie Pussies aren't getting shit. They've ruined my fucking club, and I'll make damned sure I ruin theirs too when the badges find the burned stockpile out back. We'll make sure they know it belonged to those assholes, same as Mickey's daughter.”

  He laughed. The sound blended into the noise of fluid splashing the floor. I wasn't sure if it was Socket splashing gasoline all over the place or just the dead woman's blood flowing faster. Her neck seemed broken, tilted at an unnatural angle.

  Fuck. I'm sorry, Tank. I tried, I tried, I really fucking tried.

  My brain panicked, shuddered, and started to shut off. Regrets weren't going to save our bodies from these animals. I hoped there would be mercy somewhere for our souls.

  Then the pain flared again, sharper than before, yanking me into a darkness too thick for love and mercy.

  XI: Balance (Tank)

  Emma! Emma!

  I had to check three times to make sure my fucking eyes were all there. Yeah, they were really open, staring dumb at the assholes shifting something around on the floor.

  Fuck. My guts churned when I realized it was the dead whore, leaving a long bloody trail across the floor as they dragged her to the wall.

  Hearing her skull split beneath the bullet was what woke my ass up the first time. If I didn't wake up to a gunshot, then I had to be dead. Too many years working for Uncle Sam and the Devils internalized that fucking sound like a rooster going off.

  Same as Em's voice. I knew her softest whisper and her loudest scream like my own heartbeat, but now I wasn't hearing anything at all.

  I turned my head, shallow and slowly so the fucker's wouldn't notice.

  Shit, where was she?

  Her arms and legs were hanging limp when they
lifted her up. All my bones ached like I'd dropped off a moving truck, but nothing hurt worse than seeing that evil fucking goat haul her onto the bloody bed.

  My Emma. My woman. My baby girl.

  All tangled up in my worst fucking nightmare with two motherfuckers who'd signed their death warrants the instant they sent poison to my club.

  The old bed creaked as Block rolled on top of her. His hands were on her tits. He cupped them both and his knuckles went white, hard enough to hurt. Socket was at her feet, grabbing her ankles to spread her legs apart.

  “Get her fucking pants off. Come on, hurry. Let's fill this bitch up and bleed her out so we can hit the fucking road. Surprised I can make my dick work at all after this all this horseshit today...”

  Emma's head lolled. She whimpered, half-conscious, registering the grotesque pain the monster had inflicted on her precious face.

  I saw red. Crimson, volcanic, crazy fucking red.

  Never knew how the fuck I hauled my ass off the ground, but I did. I took off like a screaming missile, howling as I plowed into the skinny asshole from behind, knocking him against the wall so hard he bounced back across the room. He tripped on the whore's corpse and fell face down in her blood.

  I tried like hell to break my damned chains. The shit was rusted, and I knew I'd do it if I just got the right angle for impact.

  Block screamed and ducked, flattening himself on Emma's body and narrowly missing the chair as it flew over the space where his head used to be. It hit the wall and bounced, flinging me forward with it. I jerked back at the same time it hurtled forward, savagely pulling on my restraints.

  The fuckers broke with several inches to spare, still strapped to my wrists. Something loud cracked in my arms. It should've hurt, but I was too fucking drunk on mad, killer rage to register pain.

  Socket was up on his feet again, stumbling around, desperately trying to wipe his fucking face. The dead chick's blood blinded his stupid ass. I charged him again and rammed my head straight in his guts.

  Didn't stop 'til I had him against the wall, wrapping my chains around his waist, shaking his brittle fucking spine like a ragdoll. I slammed the fuck into the wall again and again and again, the darkness inside me smiling when I heard his bones crack.