No Mercy

by Tory Richards

  When I went to gouge his eyes out, he leaned back and took control of both of my hands. He jerked me against him, bringing my arms around my back in a painful hold. This was a big mistake, because now I was in the position to knee him in the groin. I didn’t stop to think about the consequences, bringing my knee up sharply. He guessed what I was about to do, twisting his hips so that my knee hit him in the thigh. But I wasn’t done with him. His mocking laugh urged me to spit into his face. I wished it were venom.

  That pissed him off.

  He backhanded me so hard that I spun around and hit the ground hard. Then he was standing over me, his fists clenched, a dark look in his eyes that scared me. My gaze flew to Rock just as he dropped to his knees, his chest moving rapidly as he sucked in air. “Rock!” My cry drew his gaze to me. He was a bloody mess. Wobbling unsteadily, he remained on his knees in the dirt, looking at me through swollen eyes. Bruising was already coloring his cheek and jaw. Boomer’s men stepped away from him with satisfied sneers, looking almost as bad as Rock did. He’d done some damage to them in turn.

  “That the best your men can do?” Rock turned his head and spit blood onto the ground. One of Boomer’s men kicked him viciously in the ribs, doubling Rock over. “Kick like a fucking girl.” The man raised his foot again.

  “Enough!” Boomer yelled. “I want him conscious enough to see what we do to his woman.”

  We? Oh, God! They were going to rape me and make Rock watch. I glared up at Boomer. “You’re a coward! Your men are cowards!”

  He shrugged, his hands moving to his belt. “He killed my son, my only son. Would you rather I kill yours?” My eyes grew round with his threat. “No, I can see that you don’t want that.” He undid his belt buckle. “So, my men and I will do you instead. He’ll have the pleasure of watching us fuck you in the ass and mouth, and once we’ve filled you with cum, I’ll kill you, and then him.”

  I shook my head with stunned disbelief. He was a monster. If he was going to kill us, what did that mean for Sam when he found him? He must have read my mind, because next he said, “Don’t worry about little Sam. I’ll raise him like my own. Make a good outlaw of the little bastard.”

  “No!” I got to my feet and ran at him, my hands ready to maim him any way that I could. It was stupid to think that I could win against him or hurt him in any way, but I would do anything to protect Sam. “You won’t have my son!” I got in a couple of good punches and a kick before he simply shoved me back and I stumbled into the arms of one of his men.

  “She’s a feisty little thing,” the man holding me laughed. He held my arms behind my back. A low groan pulled our gazes toward Rock, who was still bent over on his knees. “Looks like he’s gonna miss the best part.”

  “We can’t have that.” Another man went over to Rock and lifted his head with a hand in his hair.

  My heart cried out at Rock’s bloody condition. He could barely open his eyes, and he wobbled like he might keel over at any second. Tears ran down my cheeks as I began to accept our hopeless situation. The pure evil staring at me through Boomer’s narrowed eyes gave me a chill, and told me that he’d meant what he’d said earlier.

  We were going to die.

  Chapter 38

  Rock

  I was going to fucking kill Boomer for touching Allie. I didn’t care about the beating his boys had given me, I’d expected it, knowing that he’d want me out of commission. I kept the beaten, defeated look on my face, kept my eyes almost shut so they’d think I was no longer a threat. It wasn’t hard. Blood dripped into my eyes, clouding my vision, and my face was fucking numb. If my nose wasn’t broken it’d be a miracle, and I was pretty sure the fuckers had broken a couple of ribs. I was beat to fuck, but I wasn’t down for the count.

  I was waiting to make my move.

  My gaze shifted to the truck, where movement had caught my attention. Clay had dropped to the ground, and he’d managed to roll to the other side so that he could use the truck for cover. As he moved into position, I slowly reached for the knife that they hadn’t discovered inside my boot. It paid to be well armed, and knowing that I’d probably be frisked, I’d packed a couple of extra weapons on me with the hope that they wouldn’t all be discovered.

  They should have known better than to ignore my boots. They’d been careless. And they’d also missed an inside pocket of my cut, where I’d hidden a switchblade. I’d had the pocket added for the very purpose of hiding a weapon. As I slowly slid the hunting knife out of my boot, I kept my gaze shifting back and forth between what was happening with Allie and Clay. Clay and I would only have one chance to do this right, and once we gained control of the situation we could focus on finding Sam. The fact that Boomer’s other men hadn’t returned yet gave me hope that they’d already been taken care of.

  Clay moved into position, his gun ready. I kept the knife down low and close to my body, hidden from the lowlife that was gripping my hair. I didn’t need any fucking help, but appearing weak and beaten would work to my advantage when I finally made my move. They wouldn’t be expecting it. No one was looking toward the truck, but I saw Clay peek around the bumper, obviously assessing the situation and waiting for a sign from me.

  Allie cried out, and I glanced up in time to see Boomer ripping her tee down the front and exposing her. She fought against the hands, holding her arms behind her back, struggling to get away, her face flushed with anger and probably embarrassment. The men were laughing in the face of her humiliation, and I saw red when Boomer reached forward to touch her naked tits. Rage burned through my blood, and I willed myself to wait because at that instant Boomer’s gaze had shifted to me, as if looking for a reaction.

  “Don’t touch me!” she hissed through her teeth, twisting wildly.

  “Remove her pants and pin her down,” Boomer ordered, indifferent to her demands. The look in his smiling eyes revealed that he was enjoying himself. Then he palmed the hard-on in his pants suggestively. “I’m gonna fucking enjoy this.”

  I roared with rage, giving him the response that he wanted. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

  Two of his men easily held a screaming Allie while they stripped her jeans off and then pinned her down into the dirt. She twisted, bowed, and kicked out at them, but she was helpless against two men. They laughed at her efforts, their eyes glued to her naked tits. One reached forward and squeezed a breast hard, tearing a cry of pain from Allie that went through my heart. I shot Clay a look and a slight chin lift, giving him the sign that we were going to make our move.

  In a rapid fire move I straightened and brought my hand up with the knife, burying it deep into the neck of the man next to me. I yanked the knife out as he released me and stumbled back, shock on his face, his hands moving up to cover the wound. I’d hit his jugular, the blood squirting out between his fingers like a faucet, and I knew he’d bleed out in seconds. Within seconds he was stumbling to his knees, disbelief in his eyes.

  One man down, five to go.

  The two men pinning Allie down finally heard the gurgling sound of their brother, looked over, and released her to stand up. Both men reached for their guns at the same time. I threw my knife, hitting one in the chest, which sent him staggering backwards, while Clay took the other one out with a bullet to the head. Boomer was a little slow in grasping that the situation had changed, but when he did he snatched Allie up and used her as a human shield.

  “Rock!”

  I was on my feet now and charging toward them, my gaze on the fear in Allie’s round eyes.

  “I’ll kill her!” Boomer threatened in a slightly panicked tone, putting his gun against her temple. Both Clay and I halted. I knew he’d do it, too, he hated me that much.

  “You might as well give up.” Clay was the one who spoke. “Your backup is dead.” He kept his weapon aimed at Boomer. He could probably take him out with a clean shot to the head, but neither of us would take that chance.

  Two of his men were dead, but the man with the knife sticking out of his chest w
as moaning on the ground. My guess was that he’d be dead soon, but until then he could still be a threat. “Clay--” He glanced at me. I nodded toward the guy who was still clutching his weapon. “Get his gun.”

  “You forget the men I have out there looking for your kid,” Boomer reminded us.

  I thought about it for a second, they’d been gone a long time. My guess was that Hawk and Big John had already taken them out. “You think they’re coming back?” I taunted confidently. “You aren’t the only one with brothers out there.” I watched his face turn red as realization dawned on him that we had backup, too. “Your time is coming.”

  “I won’t be going alone,” he growled, swinging his gun on me and firing before any of us realized what he was going to do.

  “No!” Allie screamed.

  The power of the bullet entering my body forced me backwards a step, but I managed to correct myself and remain on my feet. Jesus Christ, that hurt! It felt as if someone had speared me with a molten hot poker. The smell of scorched clothing and flesh stung my nostrils. I clutched my side, feeling the liquid heat of my own blood coating and slipping through my fingers. Either Boomer was a poor shot, or he was going to take his time killing me.

  “You bastard!” Allie cried, twisting halfway around to grab Boomer’s gun hand, pulling his arm enough to take his aim off of me. As they struggled against each other briefly he raised his arm out of her reach, and that’s when Clay took his shot, shooting the gun right out of Boomer’s hand. His weapon went flying, but almost instantly he replaced it with a knife.

  Fuck!

  He twisted his hand in Allie’s hair and snapped her head back, arching her throat. Seeing the blade against her flesh brought everything to a standstill. Boomer laughed like a fucking mad man. He knew he wielded all the power right then, and the only thing that kept me from charging him was that I knew he wouldn’t kill Allie. He needed her alive if he wanted to stay alive.

  “Cut her, and I’ll fucking gut you and feed you to the fish,” I said between my teeth.

  A thin line of red appeared where the blade bit into her skin. Allie whimpered.

  “Keep talking, big man.” His tone clearly warned that whatever he did to her would be the in direct response to what I said and did. He turned his face toward Allie and rubbed his cheek against hers. “Be ashamed to carve this pretty woman up before I get to sample her pussy.” He took a step backwards in the direction of the cabin. “If I can’t kill my son’s murderer I’ll take the next best thing.”

  I took a step, knowing that if Boomer dragged Allie inside we’d be in trouble. She’d be in trouble. My gaze shot to Clay, the look on his face showing the same thing I felt, frustration. Movement in the bushes at the side of the cabin drew my gaze there, and I saw Hawk emerge like a quiet animal stalking its prey. At that point I knew all I had to do was keep Boomer talking to slow down his progress to the door.

  “Only a fucking coward would use an innocent woman as payback. This is between you and me. You want me? Then let her go.”

  He snorted. “Bullshit! You’d give up your life for hers, without a fight?” His hand relaxed a little, releasing the pressure on Allie’s neck. I breathed with relief when he lowered the knife a little.

  I met her eyes, which were filling with tears. It was gutting me that she was in this position, that something I had done had put her in it, being held against her will, threatened, hurt, and naked except for a tiny thong and the gaping ends of her ruined tee. I fucking hated this. “I would for her,” I insisted.

  “No, Rock. Please−”

  Boomer gave her a warning shake, cutting her off. “I don’t know. I was kind of looking forward to fucking her, knowing that you can’t do anything about it. I wanted you to watch, but−” His eyes darted to where Clay hadn’t moved. “Looks like that’s not gonna happen now.”

  “So let her go. Just you and me, the way you want it.” I kept my tone even.

  “How do I know your brothers won’t follow?”

  Yeah, that was going to happen. Even if Hawk hadn’t been making his way quietly up to Boomer they would still have my back. Once Allie was free and I knew both she and Sam were safe, all bets were off. I was going to take pleasure in making Boomer hurt before I ended him. I could placate him and tell him that my brothers wouldn’t follow us, that I’d see to it, but he’d know that I’d be lying. He knew the club code of an outlaw MC. We didn’t abandon our brothers.

  I decided to be truthful and shrugged, wincing slightly at the pain raking through my body. “You don’t.”

  He didn’t like that. “Then maybe I take you both.” His gaze snapped to Clay. “Toss your fucking gun.”

  Clay looked at me. He’d seen Hawk, too, knew that it was just a matter of time before our prez defused the situation with the least threat to Allie. So he dropped his gun at his feet.

  Boomer snorted. “I said toss it, asshole!” he yelled. “Now kick it away!”

  Clay kicked it out of his reach. I knew he had backup on him. If-and that was a big if-Boomer’s men were still alive and came back, he’d have access to a gun quickly. The satisfied expression on Boomer’s face revealed that he thought he had the upper hand again.

  “Now what?” Clay asked with a smirk.

  “Now you fucking die!” Hawk grabbed the hand Boomer was holding the knife in and twisted it until the bone snapped. Boomer screamed in pain, helpless against the size and strength of Hawk. They wrestled briefly before Hawk had him totally subdued and crushed up against the cabin wall.

  Allie ran towards me with tears flowing down her face. I caught her with a grunt, wrapping my arms around her tightly and crushing her against me. It hurt like hell, but relief that she was safe was over powering. “It’s over, baby,” I rasped above her head.

  “Sam?” She turned wet eyes toward Hawk, who had a defeated Boomer pinned.

  “Safe with Big John.” When Boomer persisted in struggling Hawk took him by the back of the head, pulled back, and slammed his face into the house. The violent impact knocked the other man out, and probably broke a few bones in his pretty face. It was nothing compared to what he had coming.

  Allie shuddered and buried her face against me, and then pulled away almost immediately. “God, you’re hurt!” She leaned back and looked at the blood soaking my side.

  “I’ve had worse.”

  Clay snatched up her jeans. “Here, sweetheart.”

  Allie took them with a smile of gratitude and slipped into them just as Big John and Sam came into view. Realizing her shirt was open she quickly tied it together beneath her tits. Sam rushed over to us, and for a minute we hugged it out. I was loath to leave them but I had Boomer to take care of, and it was my right. I met Big John’s gaze over Allie’s head.

  “Take them home for me.” Allie opened her mouth, but I stopped her before she got a word out. “I’ve got something to take care of, babe.” I tried to keep my tone soft while still conveying the seriousness of the situation. She glanced over at Hawk. He was standing over Boomer’s prone body. “Go home with Big John. I won’t be long.” I rubbed my hand up and down her back.

  She stepped out of my arms and looked up at me. God, we’d been through so fucking much. I wanted nothing more than to go home with my family. Knowing that they were safe was the only thing that would allow me to let them get out of my sight. Big John would stay with them and protect them with his life.

  “Big John.” He swung his gaze to Hawk. “Send a couple brothers here to help with cleanup.” Big John acknowledged him with a chin lift.

  Still staring down into Allie’s softened eyes, I clamped my hand at the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. I had to taste her. Something small but significant.

  Her hands slapped against my chest, stopping me from reaching my goal. I looked at her questioningly. “You’re hurt,” she said unnecessarily. Her gaze moved over my swollen face, lingering on my split lip.

  “I’m not dead, and I need a kiss.” She knew that I wouldn�
��t be denied. I kissed her tenderly, softly, hoping she got how much she fucking meant to me. My hand dropped to her belly with concern. I hadn’t allowed myself to think about the baby during the shit that had just gone on. If I had, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my shit together.

  “We’re okay,” she smiled. And it sounded as if she were saying a whole lot more. “Sam and I will be waiting for you.”

  “They’ll be safe, brother,” Big John said, turning to leave. “I’ll have Allie drop me off at my bike and she can follow me the rest of the way.”

  I watched Allie and my son scramble into the truck while Big John jumped into the bed. My fucking heart was swelling to near bursting, my whole world leaving right before my eyes. When I could no longer see the truck, I met the amusement in Hawk’s eyes.

  “What?”

  “You look like shit, brother.”

  I shrugged, winced, and then chuckled. “I feel like shit. How did you get Sam?”

  “The kid ran right straight into us. Got the two bastards chasing him, too. If Blue Knights isn’t wiped out by now, it won’t be for lack of their stupidity.”

  I nodded, agreeing. I had a feeling that the key players were no longer a threat. “All the games and fucking shit they were pulling was payback for killing Boomer’s son back when we were taking out the Red Devils. Apparently a couple of Wildman’s guys were hiding while shit was going down, saw me off his son.”

  “That was some time ago.”

  “Well, we both know all about grudges and the lengths some will go to get even.” I didn’t need to go into specifics. The incident may have been years old, but I was sure it didn’t take much before Hawk was thinking about the time he’d almost lost Audra. A deranged cop had been planning retaliation against the club, and mainly against Hawk, for ten years. Jesus that had been a bad time, and things had gotten messy. Audra had almost died from her injuries.

  Boomer started to come around, moaning as he moved, but Hawk put a heavy foot down on the middle of his back to keep him in place. “You have some work to do.” He motioned towards the man at his feet.