Blade slapped his hand on his friend’s chest and whispered loudly, “Man, do not fucking say that shit too loud. I swear we’re bugged or something, if they hear you, Shay will cut your dick off for fun.”
Shark smirked and shook his head. “You are paranoid.”
“Really? ‘Cause I hate to say, I’m pretty sure those chicks can hear everything we say about them.” Blade grimaced.
“I am just saying, our brothers in arms have all fallen head over heels for these chicks, it’s almost embarrassing you know. One second they are like kings of the fucking road, and now they are all about settling down and having kids. I mean, to outsiders we haven’t changed, don’t think I am questioning that. It’s just when we are just hanging out, it would be nice not to have the conversation turn to discussing someone’s vagina stretching out. It is unnatural,” Shark growled, and the doors to the elevator opened.
Both men saw the people all staring at them. They knew what they looked like, hell, if the whole club had shown up here it would have scared the straights way more. They knew they looked intimidating and used it to their advantage.
“Yeah, well, it would be nice to have an old lady to come home to every night. But Rebel is so not belonging to the Lady Riders, she can hang with them and shit, ‘cause you know it’s Shady, but she will not ride with them. Those women are crazy sometimes,” Shark said, and Blade nodded.
“I agree; Rebel is going to need to understand this shit.”
“I can’t even figure out how the guys can stand it. I mean, have you seen Harmony ride? She is hell on wheels, she terrifies me every time she gets on a bike,” Shark muttered, and Blade grunted in agreement. They were silent the rest of the way up to the room.
As they walked, they looked around, making sure nothing seemed out of place. If the Black Hearts found out she was here, or that she had been watching them, it would make their job harder. A huge target would have been put on her back. Those assholes didn’t give a shit if she was a woman, they would kill her.
It was one of the things about the Black Hearts that disgusted them, they had no honor and no code. While the guys understood that the Lady Riders had their own code, which was similar to the Ops, there was also a good reason if they actually took a life. They were different, and the guys respected that.
As Shark and Blade reached the room where Rebel was in, they paused and checked one last time, looking for anything they would consider a threat, and they didn’t find one. Entering in the room, Shark paused, and Blade bumped his shoulder and moved to the side of him. Both eyes were drawn to the bed. She was gorgeous, with her blue halo of hair spread out on the pillow, obviously cleaned by someone. But it was the serene look on her face that drew both to her side, that and the huge fucking bruise she had on one side of her face. Holy shit, Shark thought, and both looked at each other and Shark frowned at his best friend and whispered. “Shit.”
“Oh yeah, those motherfuckers are going to pay for each and every bruise,” Blade said back, and both of them looked back at the woman who brought out a protective instinct in them.
“We could have lost her before we even claimed her,” Shark whispered, and Blade looked at him and nodded.
“Well, this shit is not going to fly,” Blade said, and Shark nodded.
“Now that we are done with our shit, that is in the past. She had better be ready for us because there is no more messing around, she is ours.”
“You think it will be that easy because nothing with these women ever is,” Blade said seriously.
“Yeah, pretty sure we are fucked,” Shark said.
She moaned a little as she moved her head, fuck a duck, what the hell happened? Rebel tried to open one of her eyes and she couldn’t. Damn, it really fucking hurt, she thought and then licked her lips. She felt someone in the room move, and she froze. Fuck, she wasn’t alone. Her breath quickened and then she heard a male voice say.
“Nurse, call the doc, she’s awake.”
Doc…nurse…fffuuuck, she was in the hospital. Her bike, goddammit, she wrecked her bike, or should she say, some fucking idiot caused her to wreck her bike, the motherfucking asshole. He cut in front of her and rear-ended the car in front of him, slamming on his brakes suddenly, it caused her to run into him. She had nowhere else to go, the traffic in LA was fucking horrible.
She was following him, dammit, she was following the man who killed her mother. She was so close, and because someone was a stupid motherfucker, she had lost out on the first chance she ever had to get her revenge. Her mother deserved to have him pay for what he did to her.
Rebel turned her head a little again and tried to listen to where she thought the man was sitting, she knew it was a man, something was familiar too, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Her father nor his men would be sitting here that quiet. Fuck no, they would have been yelling up and down the hallway, trying to get someone to make sure she wasn’t in pain. At least that was what happened last time when her mother had been shot, and she had been shot as well. She woke up feeling the pain in her stomach, and her heart. She had known before she opened her eyes that her mother was gone, she remembered watching it go down.
Rebel had been inside, bringing melted butter, cocktail sauce, and other supplies for the Cajun boil they were having. It had been such a fun day, everyone had been so happy, except when the guys had known they were leaving to do their weekly collections, as normal, they followed all the rules. She remembered everyone grumbled, but then they had teased the men, saying they were going to eat everything. When she was inside Rebel heard the rumble of motorcycles, and she thought it was her father and the guys returning, of course, she had been so wrong. With the sound of the first gunshot Rebel had moved, she was her father’s daughter and knew how to shoot as well as protect herself, so did the others, but she was the President’s daughter, it meant she was responsible.
Rebel had moved, gotten the children inside, had the other women move inside as well, slower to protect everyone, and to take their places at the windows, defending the house. She could see her mother, she wasn’t going to stop defending her club, that was the way she was, and it was the way she raised Rebel, so when she saw her mother shot in the arm, Rebel grabbed her gun and ran outside. Her mother had yelled at her, but Rebel had ignored her. The women had already drawn the fire of the men who were in the front and the sides, giving her time to get to her mother. Rebel thought they could make it to the house, hell, her mother did as well. She had helped her up, and they had started to run. Then he just appeared, he stepped out of nowhere and didn’t say a word, only raised his gun and fired. Rebel screamed when she felt the burn of the bullet entering in her gut and felt her mother fall on her, protecting her.
Her mother whispered in her ear, “Hang on, baby,” she said, and Rebel moaned and nodded.
She felt her mother turn and she opened her eyes and stared at the asshole who grinned at her mother, and still didn’t say a word, just lifted his gun and pointed it at her and pulled the trigger. But then he looked at Rebel with the same grin while her mother bled out, still protecting her with her body. The only words she heard him say throughout the whole thing.
“Don’t worry, I will be back for ya,” he whispered and winked, then walked calmly away. She could still hear the guns firing, but she was calm. When she opened her eyes, Rebel remembered every detail about him.
Now, she remembered seeing him again. Just before the accident, he was going into a building, one she tried hard to remember, dammit.
She heard shuffling, and then someone say, “Rebel? Can you hear me?”
She struggled to open her eyes, she wasn’t going to be vulnerable to those assholes. Rebel moved her hand and felt something. Trying harder, she finally cracked her eyes, and the brightness hurt, shit. Groaning, she closed her eyes and tried again, this time it was easier. She could see the outline of two men, one on either side of her bed, both wearing cuts, shit they found her, she thought.
“She’s wak
ing up,” one of them grumbled while the other one nodded.
“The doc said she could be disoriented, though,” the other replied. “Rebel, we are…”
That was as far as he got before she used whatever was in her hand to hit him with. Rebel swung with all the strength she had and hit the man upside the head while he was leaned over. She heard him growl as he jumped back.
“What the fuck was that for?” the man bellowed, and she dropped her arm in exhaustion, shit, that really took it out of her.
“Dude, she hit you with a metal bed pan,” the other man said laughing. “You’re lucky there was no piss in it.”
“Shut the fuck up,” the man snapped and glared down at Rebel.
Her eyes finally focused, and she saw the patch on his cut, well shit, she thought and looked up at Shark, whose face was still panty dropping gorgeous even if it had a red mark on the side, “Shit, Shark? Blade?”
Blade who was laughing harder said, “Baby, you had me worried up until then, but now I know you are going to be fine.”
She closed her eyes for a second and sent up a small prayer, thank God they hadn’t found her. Shark and Blade had, though. Wait, how had they found her? She opened her eyes again and stared at the two gorgeous men and snapped, “Why are you here?”
Shark looked at her with a glare and said, “Let’s see, you snuck out of Bitches 2 without telling us a damn thing, and then Creed gets a call you were in an accident. Shay and the others claim you are a Prospect, but how in the fuck would that have happened without us knowing it? But still, where the fuck else would we be?”
Rebel felt her eyes go wide when he said she was a Prospect of the Lady Riders. That was what she had been hoping for, but she had yet to approach and talk to Shady. How in the hell was she a Prospect if she didn’t declare she wanted to be one? That wasn’t how it worked, she knew it. The other dancers also wanted to be one, all of them with their own story. With no one to tie them to anything, they wanted an anchor, one the Lady Riders could provide. Rebel just wanted some place she could finally call her own, without her father’s club being a part of it. She belonged to them, but since her mother was killed, she hadn’t felt like she belonged. She had let them down. Her mother had died because of her.
Damn that fucking guilt, she knew in her head she wasn’t to blame, but her heart felt otherwise, and until she killed the motherfucker who had killed her mother, she wasn’t going to just let that shit go like her father told her. He said he would deal with it, but honestly, Rebel didn’t need him to. She needed to do this on her own, like she was doing the day her mother died.
Rebel shook her head and looked at the guys and said, “Whatever, when can I leave?”
The doc pushed in the door and looked at the two men with a glare and then to Rebel where his gaze softened. “You are finally awake.”
She frowned and said, “How long have I been out?”
“Twenty-four hours, but that is to be expected after the accident you had, young lady. So, you have a concussion obviously, and you have a lot of bumps and bruises, especially on your shoulder where you apparently landed. There is a cut as well as some very heavy bruising. You are going to need to take it easy for a few days to let yourself heal. So we need to keep you in for observation for one more day, then we will see where we are at,” the doctor said. “Also, we need to get some other info about you, like insurance and that.”
Shark stepped up. “Her stay will be paid for in cash, there are no worries there.”
The doctor raised an eyebrow and looked at both men who were now standing as if they were sentries next to the woman’s bed.
“You got a nice lump on the side of your head, next time you should duck when a woman swings a bedpan at you,” the older man said and chuckled as he left.
Blade smiled and shook his head. “I am so telling the guys…”
“You do,” Shark growled, “and I will shave your head when you sleep.”
“WHAT? My golden locks?” Blade said sadly, shaking his head. “That is just mean, what the hell?”
Rebel was staring at them with a confused look, they had never acted like this before. When they had talked to her after her shifts, it had all be in a flirtatious manner, but this? This was a new side of them, one she hadn’t seen, and damn, one she really liked. It made them, more, more appealing, sexier, watching them laugh and give each other shit, it was like, normal. She hadn’t had normal in a long time, but still, they needed to stop.
“Shut up!” she yelled and raised a hand to her head. “Fuck, I have a headache, and you two are making it worse.”
Blade smiled, and Shark frowned and then said, “Tell us what the hell you were doing up here?”
She sighed and said, “Just doing a little bit of exploring.”
“Really? Is that what you call it?” Shark snorted. “I think stalking is against the law you know?”
Rebel glared, “Stalking? Who?”
Shark held up her phone, and she groaned inside, she forgot she took pictures of the Black Hearts when she was watching them. Plus, she snapped one of the man she had been searching for. Shit, she was going to blow it up and use it for target practice.
“It’s not what you think,” she said slowly.
“Really, ‘cause what I am thinking is you are sticking your nose into something that’s not your problem, it’s ours to deal with. Now, from now on...” Blade said slowly, the playful, funny man suddenly gone.
“Yeah, no, that’s not what the hell this is, and I will deal with my own fucking problems,” she said slowly and then moved her head a little, cringing when she felt the pain still there. Shark narrowed his eyes.
“Babe, you are still hurting, and no you are not,” he said, and she grimaced and glared.
“Babe? Can you please use my name? Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.”
Shark raised an eyebrow and Blade shook his head. “Rebel? Just tell us what you are doing with pictures of the Black Hearts. There is no fucking way you should be that close to them, especially right now.”
Rebel shook her head. “First off, it’s none of your business why I have those pictures, and for your information, no it’s not because of the Ops. Two, there is no way you’re going to tell me what I can and cannot do, I am not some shrinking flower who can’t take care of herself. Shockingly enough, I have been doing it for a long time. Listen, I get that you guys think because you spoke to me and flirted with me a few times, that suddenly I am your problem, well I’m not. You are off the hook, just go back to San Diego, and I will come back when I’m out of here.”
Blade grinned. “Rebel, hate to tell you, when you were hired for Bitches 2 you instantly became part of the Ops, and because of that, you will follow the rules of the club, or they will take action. And you really don’t want them to take action, ‘cause that means you will be on lockdown. Plus, Shark and I are going to be the ones who are going to keep your ass out of trouble. Now as for that last little part, not gonna happen, we have decided.”
Rebel snorted and shook her head. “Decided? Lockdown? Really? I would love to see you try.”
Shark looked at Blade and growled, “Why are we even arguing with her? Look, this is the way it’s gonna be, I hate to tell you, but as of right now, you are officially ours, which means you are under our protection, which means you will do what we tell you, or I will spank that pretty little ass.”
“I’ll call Creed, give him an update,” Blade said, and Shark nodded. Rebel sighed and leaned back, she was tired. She would deal with them later, set everything straight. Heck, she liked these guys, but claiming her? Hell no, she had shit to do before she actually settled down, and she was going to, here with the Ops, but they weren’t going to tell her anything.
“What the fuck ever, give your update and get the fuck out. I will take care of this myself,” she muttered as her eyes grew heavy.
As she felt herself drifting off to sleep, she could have sworn she heard Shark say to Blade, “Tell C
reed, she will move into our house when we return.” She knew she had to be mistaken.
Chapter Four
Shark ran a hand down his face, yeah this was so not going to be fun, like at all. She was going to fight them every step of the way. He and Blade had seen what Shay, Freedom, Harmony, hell, all the Lady Riders had done. Their brothers chasing those women, well, they weren’t going to do that, they had her, and she was going to do what they said.
He looked up when Blade walked back into the room. They moved to the corner where they could talk quietly and still see her. “What did Creed say?”
“They made some calls. Apparently, Fling and the Furies are already on board. They will let Black Hawk in on what’s going on when they meet them to pick up Jas. He called Rebel’s father, who was pissed the fuck off that Rebel was still searching for the Black Hearts. He is sending a few guys out for her protection, wouldn’t take no for an answer, they will take a week at least to get here. We need more intel on what the Black Hearts are thinking before we drag others into our shit. In the meantime, Shay and the Lady Riders are getting all the women from Bitches out of their apartments, they are taking Rebel’s stuff to our house,” Blade said softly.
Shark nodded and said, “Did you send them the pictures from her phone?”
Blade nodded. “Yeah, they’re looking to see if they can identify the one she took the most pictures of, if you look closely she had some good shots of him. I would guess that’s the man she saw kill her mother.”
Shark nodded and looked at Blade. “She’s not going to be like some of the other women, she’s going to be a pain in the ass. She is too strong to let anyone take care of that for her, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need it, hell, she probably needs it more than most. She just doesn’t know when to quit and ask anyone for help.”
Blade stared back at Rebel who looked like an angel when she was sleeping. “Fuck, I know what you’re saying is true, but you know, it means she is going to fall harder because of it. When she realizes she can’t do this shit alone, she is going to be pissed. Shit, it would be so easy to go find the bastard and erase him from the earth. But I know she would never forgive us for that, this is something she will need to see through.”
Welcome to Hell (Ops Warriors Book 7) Page 4