by Addison Jane
The tears were falling faster, and I was struggling to breathe, my lungs choking, aching, desperate for some kind of clean air.
But there was none, and my body, it was giving up.
Fight for this!
Don’t hide this time!
Get up and damn-well fight!
I looked up, my blurred gaze spotting the gap underneath the double doors.
I could make it.
I knew I could.
Forcing my body to its knees, I grabbed hold of anything I could, the side of the building, the cracks in the concrete, fighting to pull myself along the floor. Fighting to get that little bit closer to the blur of light.
My skin felt like it was melting off, the heat now blazing around me, and above me was so intense I wasn’t sure I was even still feeling pain.
Maybe my skin was gone.
Maybe my nerves were fried.
My head was in this weird silent bubble like nothing around me felt real.
Exhausted, I paused for a second, my stomach hitting the floor again, my breaths coming short and sharp now.
“Sage!”
Hype?
Hands grabbed me, wrapping around my stomach and lifting me up off the ground as I kept my head covered, trying to fucking breathe, trying to just keep my body from giving up.
I couldn’t give in.
I wasn’t ready.
Hype was here.
He spun me around, and I clung to him. With that little bit of strength I had left, I held so fucking tightly to the man. Squeezing my eyes shut, I let him carry me out.
“Shit,” I cursed when I was dumped on the grass outside, a deep, painful groan leaving my mouth as I pressed my hands to my head.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He rolled over on his hands and knees, coughing so hard it looked like he was trying to hack up a demon.
“You good, brother?”
“Yeah,” Hype choked out.
Suddenly, the sun disappeared, a body stepping up beside me and crouching down. “Sage, look at me,” Hatch ordered. “I need you to look at me.”
I rolled onto my back, pulling my shirt from my mouth and sucking in a long, deep breath, then choking on the damn thing.
“She’s probably taken in a lot of smoke,” Hype rasped from the grass beside me, now lying flat on his back. “Who knows how fucking long she was in there. I ran in for a few minutes, and I feel like I’m gonna die.”
I blinked, trying to force my eyes to open and see past the tears that were collected on my eyelashes. Hatch’s face came into vision quickly, the giant man crouched down beside me, propped up with a large ax. “Tell me what’s hurting,” he urged softly.
The gentleness of this damn mountain man never failed to surprise me. But neither did those times when I’d seen him angry.
“I can’t breathe. I think I have a concussion,” I croaked, my lip curling at another wave of pain washing over me.
“Yeah, half your face is twice the size it should be,” he noted, his lips pressing together and the muscles in his arms twitching.
“Aw, isn’t this a sweet reunion.”
That voice.
The devil was not yet destroyed.
“Stand up.”
Hype and Hatch moved on either side of me, helping me get to my feet, my body wavering, my vision almost completely screwed. A gun hung from his hand, his body seeming a little shaky, but we couldn’t underestimate him.
“Hands up in the air, boys.”
They followed orders, Hype pressing me in behind him slightly before lifting his hands over his head.
“You can’t protect her any more, Hype,” Arthur taunted, walking toward us, his face and white beard now an ashy color from the smoke and debris. The barn behind him was fully ablaze, the sounds of the inside slowly beginning to crumble were a sure sign it wasn’t going to last much longer.
My hand gripped Hype’s colors as I fought to keep my body steady, my fingers for a second brushing over something hard. I stood, moving my hand lower, lifting his leathers and slipping my hand underneath where I could feel the cold, hard metal of the handle. I couldn’t look at it, that would let Arthur know it was there, so I simply traced the edge of the weapon with my fingertips until I could wrap them around it.
“Step forward and get on your fucking knees,” Arthur snapped, then a grin lit his face. It was vile, the exact image I would have imagined was the face of that devil whose voice had haunted me for years. “Oh, how long I’ve been waiting for this fucking moment…” he pauses with a snake-like grin, then continues, “… the moment when the two scariest fucking men in Miami are on their knees in front of me.”
We all moved forward, the three of us together. I slipped the heavy weapon from the back of his jeans, letting it hang down behind him as we stepped a few feet in front of Arthur and moved to our knees.
I couldn’t see Hype’s face.
I didn’t know what he was thinking.
But all I could think about were his words.
“I’d kill them. Over and fucking over. And if you don’t understand that, then you’ve never had anyone in your life that you’ve loved enough to fucking kill for.”
It had been true before, but it wasn’t anymore. I knew I wouldn’t stand here and watch.
My vision was off, my head spinning, so I knew I needed to wait for him to get close enough, but with each step he took toward us, I suddenly felt more and more sick. Like my heart might explode in my chest.
Arthur moved over, stepping in front of Hype with this delighted smile on his face as he slowly lifted his small handgun and pressed it to Hype’s forehead. “Final words?”
“There’s no safety,” he rasped.
My finger curled around the trigger, my heart leaping up into my throat.
Arthur frowned. “Wha—”
I lifted.
Pointed.
And pulled.
Over.
And over.
And over.
Click. Click. Click.
Thump.
Click. Click. Click.
“Woah, pretty girl,” Hype soothed, his hands covering mine, slowly easing the gun from my fingers. My body leaned into his, shoulders sagging, the darkness starting to seep in. “It’s over.”
It’s over.
It’s done.
“Sage.”
He’s here.
I was safe.
I could sleep now.
“Sage!”
HYPE
I was sick of this place.
The white walls haunted me. The smell of disinfectant burning my damn nose.
I’d never spent so fucking long inside hospital walls in my life, but as of right now, I’d been held up in this place for five fucking days.
Seeing her lying there in that fucking hospital room almost made me sick. I fucking hated it. I hated her not telling me I was being an asshole, and not calling me out for trying to always embarrass her because I liked watching that wave of crimson spread up and over her cheeks.
She was hurting.
She’d been put through hell, and she was lying in that bed because of me. I broke her, put her in the depths of something she should have never been anywhere near. Because I was a bastard. Because I dragged her into a world she could have so easily never even known.
They’d found a subdermal hematoma.
A bleed in her brain, a result of a blow to the head.
It was dangerous, it could have killed her, and I would have never forgiven myself.
In the end, she hadn’t needed surgery, just to be monitored for a few days to make sure it was getting smaller, not bigger. They’ve kept her knocked out, letting her body and mind heal. But I was ready for her to be back.
I wanted to hold her every fucking night.
I wanted to keep her for mine, to protect her, to give her everything she wanted.
“Hey.”
I looked over my shoulder, seeing Sage’s friend, Aria, standing in the doorway. “Com
e in,” I offered, leaning back in the large armchair that my brothers had dragged in here from the clubhouse for me to sleep in.
“She’s not awake yet.” Aria sighed, sitting on the window ledge, her shoulders slumped. She’d been in and out a few times a day since Sage came in. We didn’t speak much, I’m not sure if it was because she was apprehensive around me or the club colors. Or if she knew I was the fucking reason for this. “The doctors said yesterday they were going to let her wake up.”
They also said she would take the time she needed.
“Not a fucking twitch.”
Aria’s eyes moved over to the tiny portable speaker that was sitting on the table beside the bed, soft, pop music filling the room. It wasn’t my thing. I’d rather just fucking listen to nothing than the bullshit coming out of that speaker, but it wasn’t for me.
“You’re playing music?” Aria questioned, this strange softness warming her features.
“She doesn’t like silence.”
“You remembered.”
My head snapped back to the bed, her beautiful fucking eyes blinking at me tiredly, her finger wiggling as if reaching for mine. I slipped my hand over hers, the erratic beating in my chest, which I couldn’t tell if it was speeding up with excitement or slowing down with relief—or fucking both at the same damn time.
She licked her dry lips, and I fumbled, reaching for the glass of water and the straw that I’d had waiting. “Here, pretty girl,” I urged, taking it and pressing it to her lips. She took a few sips, then started coughing. The sound so damn harsh and raw I swear I could feel it in my chest.
That’s what a burning fucking building will do to you.
Fuck.
I had put her through hell.
“I’m gonna call the doctor,” Aria announced suddenly, her eye shifting between us as she backed out the door with a smile.
Sage was dozy and falling in and out of sleep as the doctors came in to check on her. They were pretty confident the bleed had begun to soak back into the brain and tissue, lessening the pressure on her head. See. I did listen to important shit.
The second they emptied out of the room, I walked over and pushed the door shut.
“Move over,” I ordered, trying to keep from sounding like a total fucking bastard.
Sage stared at me with a smile I’d never fucking stop appreciating. “So bossy,” she croaked softly, her face tightening as she tried to shuffle.
“Stop,” I snapped, rushing over and gently slipping my arms under her as I climbed on the bed, cradling her to my side. She clung to me, her fingers tracing the edge of my leather while I kept her close to my side. “I’m sorry,” I murmured the words I’d been saying over and over again while she was lying in this fucking stupid bed.
“You don’t have to be.”
“I really fucking do,” I countered. “This shit should have never happened. Should have never fucking have been this way, but I fucked it up. Almost got you killed.”
She nuzzled herself a little closer. “Am I in trouble?”
Pulling back just slightly, I looked down at the serious concern on her face. “The hell do you mean? Why would you be in trouble?”
Sage licked her lips before rubbing them together nervously. “Arthur.”
The confusion that I was feeling soon began to process, and I let loose a deep chuckle, reaching up and sweeping her hair back from her worried brow. Her innocence was one of those things that I couldn’t help but find fucking sexy. “The club handled it. You don’t need to worry.”
Her eyes grew a little wider, and I shook my head.
“Stop it,” I ordered, my hand cupping her jaw. “It’s done. It’s taken care of. And nothing will ever come back on you.”
“I was more worried about it coming back on you,” she whispered with a heavy sigh, leaning into my hand.
Scoffing, I couldn’t help but shake my head. “Of course, you fucking were.”
“Dash?”
“Is fine.”
“Sketch?”
“Still working on some physical therapy but will be released next week. Now can you stop fucking worrying about every other bastard and just rest for fuck’s sake.” I didn’t mean for my tone to be harsh, but I needed her to stop caring about every other person and simply get fucking better.
I was waiting for her to ask about her dad.
We found his body in the burned down shed.
And he was now buried somewhere she could visit if she wanted, but if she didn’t, that was fucking okay with me. Sage didn’t need to remember him. She needed to move on, to look forward, to focus on what she wanted now.
“Moody bastard,” Sage muttered and let out a long breath, her eyes settling closed like she could no longer fight to keep them open. “You want to know where you can shove your bad attitude?” she muttered on, her words becoming quieter and quieter with not enough strength behind them to really make a point.
Yet, she’d tried to make it anyway.
This bitch, she was beautiful, she was strong, and even after almost goddamn dying, she was still here, telling me to pull my head out of my ass. And if that wasn’t a fucking ol’ lady, I didn’t know what was. But what I did know was that I was going to make her my fucking ol’ lady the moment they let me take her home. I already knew I wasn’t going to let her go.
She was everything I never knew I fucking needed. So sweet. So simple. I knew I was a fucking asshole, I didn’t bullshit around, I didn’t do silent treatment, or pouting or fucking anything but exactly what I am.
Yet, Sage soothed me.
She eased that harshness.
Sage didn’t let me get away with being a fucking bastard.
When it came down to it, I guess you could say she was my kick in the fucking balls.
If you enjoyed this book, you will love:
Harmony
The Club Girl Diaries Book 1
Click here to purchase
BLURB
I was a club girl.
I made no excuses for who I was or what I’ve done.
We had our purpose--to cook, clean and keep the men happy.
After a lifetime of watching men walk in and out of my life, it was strangely comforting, and feeling I’d grown accustom to.
All I wanted was to have fun, play my music and finish college.
At the club, I could do that.
No strings attached, no risking my heart.
At least, that was the plan.
I was born to be president.
The Brothers by Blood MC was my family--my home.
The club ran in my veins.
I wasn’t looking for much more.
The last thing I expected was to find Harmony--a club girl with all the makings of a perfect ol’ lady.
She was beautiful, strong and fiercely independent.
The walls around her heart were up, but the fire in her eyes and her love for the club fueled my need to have her by my side.
And on the back of my bike.
When her safety is threatened, I’ll do everything to protect her and get her to trust me. But after a lifetime of broken promises, will it be enough?
Other books in the series:
Chelsea – The Club Girl Diaries Book 2
Blizzard – The Club Girl Diaries Book 3
Hadley – The Club Girl Diaries Book 4
Family – The Club Girl Diaries Book 5
Wrench – The Club Girl Diaries Book 6
Skylar – The Club Girl Diaries Book 7
Shake -The Club Girl Diaries Book 8
Meyah – The Club Girl Diaries Book 9
The Defiance MC Series
K E OSBORN
Resistance
The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 1
Click here to purchase
BLURB
Life can alter in the blink of an eye.
My club – constantly under siege by the Italian mafia.
My city – in a war lasting two generations caused by ou
r fathers.
Yet, in amongst the turmoil, I met her.
In a froyo store.
This sassy woman who’s ready to throw down and defend her friends against my brothers and me.
But we aren’t the enemies in this story, and little did she know our chance encounter would set us along a different path.
This story isn’t full of partying and fun – it’s chaos, carnage, deception, and lies.
War – it’s brutal.
Can you resist?
In this gritty MC romance, it’s a fight for their city, their club, and above all, their women. Enter the world of Chicago Defiance MC by internationally bestselling author, KE Osborn.
Find out more in the Chicago Defiance Series Books or Box Set Part One.
Resistance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 1
Penance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 2
Deviance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 3
Sufferance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 4
Acceptance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 5
Balance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 6
Defiance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 7
Allegiance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 8
Chicago Defiance Box Set Part One
Like your books in audio?
Resistance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Audiobook 1
Penance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Audiobook 2
Deviance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Audiobook 3
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Deceit (The Vindicated Series Book One)
Addison Jane and KE Osborn
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Covert, stealthy, cunning—I’m trained as a weapon. A lethal killer. I do what needs to be done in order to protect those who can’t protect themselves.