Mike shifted and she let him roll off of her. She felt empty without him inside her and she wanted to wake him, but she knew he needed his rest and her body was sore. Her body was a mass of deep aching pain, but she had a job to do too. How could she kill Dax now? How would she ever be able to get to him?
She curled into a ball and wept. It was less than a heartbeat before Mike had pulled her into his arms again.
“I’ve got you Marty. You never have to cry alone. Never again. I’ve got you sweetheart.”
And she let herself believe him. She let herself lean on him and drew strength from him as his hands caressed her skin. She felt safe in his arms. She felt treasured and she knew nothing would hurt her as long as he had her. He looked at the clock beside the bed and sat up. He handed her two more white pills that she didn’t ask about. She just swallowed them when he handed her water. He said they would help with her pain and she trusted him. It didn’t really matter anyway.
She felt the bed shift and her eyes flew wide as she saw a dark figure climbing into the window. She wanted to scream, but as she opened her mouth Mike pressed his palm over it.
“Shhh, Marty be very quiet now. That’s Law and Shad. They’re here to get you out of here.”
Marty’s eyes were huge as she realized what this meant. They had risked everything to come for her. Her eyes filled with tears, but she brushed them away. She flung off the covers and walked toward the window before Mike caught her arm.
“I need you to put some clothes on Marty.”
She blushed and looked up at Law who was staring daggers at Mike. She took the clothes Mike handed her and pulled them on without thought. She turned to Mike then as a horrible thought hit her.
“You’re coming too right?”
Mike met Law’s eyes, but didn’t answer.
“I can’t go without you.” She looked at Law. “I won’t.”
Law nodded and Mike looked almost relieved. Marty had no idea what that was about, but she wouldn’t leave Mike behind. He was as much a prisoner here as she was.
Marty looked up at a man who always made her flinch in fear. He was everything she thought of when she thought of a predator. There was nothing human about this man and still he had a family, he had children. Could he understand?
“I need him to die Shadow.” Her voice was so low she barely heard herself, but when she met his flat, black eyes she knew he’d heard her. He didn’t speak. He studied her with his pale expressionless face before he tilted his head slightly.
“Tell me why.”
“It will set me free…and others.”
She could almost feel him in her mind, probing, dissecting her thoughts before she thought them.
“You don’t need that on your hands. Let me?”
She didn’t want to. She wanted to see him die. She wanted to watch his eyes dim in death.
“We’ve got no time for this bullshit. We need to get the hell out of here.” Law’s voice was urgent, but Shadow never looked away from Marty. He held her in his gaze like a snake with prey.
“I think I need to.”
Shadow nodded. “Not tonight then.”
He nodded toward Law and slipped from the room. Law moved silently out the window and Marty followed as best she could with her injuries. Mike was right behind her and caught her when she slipped, but Shadow was nowhere to be seen.
Marty looked back, but Mike shook his head.
They hit the ground and started to run. They made it to the trees before Marty heard a crash and explosion. The sky lit up like the Fourth of July and debris rained down on them as they tried to put more ground between themselves and the burning structure. Gunfire exploded from behind them and Marty ran faster. She felt something dig deep into her foot and she didn’t slow down. She was free.
Law barely slowed as he flung her over his shoulder.
“Ground gets rough up here and you aren’t wearing shoes.”
That was all she got. It was only a few minutes before they stopped and she was tossed into a van. She curled up on the back seat and tried to make herself as small as she could.
Law flung himself into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
“Where is Mike? Shadow? You can’t just leave them!”
“Shad will take care of Mike. I need to get you out of here now.”
The van lurched and Marty tried to stay in her seat. She looked frantically out the window, but saw nothing but darkness. Where was Mike?
Eleven
Mike was pissed. He had been ordered to stay away from Marty. He had explained all he thought he should to Preach, but the man was adamant. Marty hadn’t asked to see him either which made his mood darker. She hadn’t left that damned trailer. The doctors had given up on Ace and Hospice had been called in to care for him and Marty wouldn’t leave his side. She had even refused to go to the hospital for her own injuries, instead insisted on Lizzie patching her up. He had gone to the hospital expecting to find her there, but she had refused. He had the Devil’s ink scrubbed off his skin and he had even gotten his Defenders ink which felt good. He had always thought it was strange how every time he’d gone to get it something had happened and it had been put off. He was beginning to think it was some kind of curse. It was good to have it done. He felt like a real brother now. He knew that was bullshit; that the others hadn’t felt that way, but he had. Now he had his ink and he would claim his girl and he didn’t give a fuck who had a problem with it, but he hadn’t done that. For some reason he just hadn’t done that yet. Maybe he was waiting to see if she would miss him and maybe he was terrified she wouldn’t, but it was killing him. It ate at him the way cancer was eating at her father and he was just as helpless to stop it.
Mike fan his hands through his blonde hair and was glad it had grown a little. He closed his eyes and thought of the conversation he had just left. Lizzie hadn’t wanted to break Marty’s trust, but she had grudgingly given him what she could. Marty refused to discuss what had happened to her. She had declared that she wasn’t raped and that the damage done had healed and there was no need to discuss it. For some reason Law and Shad hadn’t mentioned that he and Marty had been naked when they’d entered the room. He was grateful for that even if both men looked at him as if they wanted to gut him when no one was looking.
This would kill him before it was over, but he would figure out a way to see this through.
Preach had tried to send him on a run, but he had turned it down. He couldn’t leave Marty. Dax had been injured in the bomb Shad had set in the Devil’s clubhouse, but the snake hadn’t died. Next time they would cut his damned head off.
Mike wondered how he had managed to escape. Shadow always got his man. Shad had been especially tightlipped about the accident and Mike wondered if it was because of the conversation he’d had with Marty just before they had escaped that devil hell. Shit he wondered all sorts of things and it didn’t look like he would be getting any answers in the near future.
He leaned his head back against the trailer and tried to stay awake. Marty’s window was just above his head and he would hear her if she needed him and someone would have to step on him to get to her. The sun was just dipping below the treetops when he heard the front door open. He watched Ace make his way over and saw the pallor of his skin.
“You out for a stroll old man?” Mike said in a low voice.
“Out to see who the fuck is hanging around my place. Giving me the creeps. Gotta keep my baby girl safe.” He took a deep breath that seemed to rattle his bones. “I ain’t dead yet.”
Mike had to grin. Ace had spunk and a hell of a lot of grit. “Yes sir.”
“I’ve got a couch in there that you’re welcome to. No sense in a brother sleepin’ on the ground unless he has to.”
That shocked Mike more than a little. “No sir. I’d rather this just stay between us if you don’t mind. Preach has said his peace on me bein’ around and I know how she feels about it.” He shifted on the cold ground. “I’m not oppos
ed to sleeping right here.”
Ace nodded slowly. “Preach can be a hard assed son of a bitch sometimes and that patch don’t mean he knows best all the time either.”
He took a drink of water from a bottle he’d brought out with him then grinned. Ace could see the man he had known in that smile. It broke his heard to watch Ace wither away. He was too damned young for this shit and he looked like an old man. Life was definitely uncertain. One minute you were riding and free and the next minute it kicks you so hard you can’t get back up. Ace took another deep breath and his eyes landed on Mike again.
“And sometimes we don’t know shit about the way a woman feels.” He closed his eyes for a minute and Mike knew he was reliving his own pain and confusion over a woman, and if Mike had his guess it was Marty’s mother. Janice was great and she was what Ace needed now, but the rumor was that Janie Cross was the love of Ace’s life just like Lindsey had been for Preach. Mike told himself he wouldn’t let himself grieve for a woman that way.
It hit him in that moment. Ace was a man that hadn’t reached out for the woman he’d loved and he had grieved for her his whole life. Mike’s father had reached out and claimed the woman that held his heart and he had grieved when she had been taken from him, but there had been so many good years. Mike was willing to risk the pain for the good. He thought that made him stronger.
“Do you regret not grabbing her mama when you had the chance?”
Ace’s eyes drifted to Marty’s bedroom window and he nodded. “She was a good woman. I don’t know if I could have made her happy, but I wish I’d tried.” He cleared his throat. “You’d do good to take a lesson from two old men who are too stupid to see what’s right in front of them. Don’t be like me and Preach and think you’re a pussy for wanting a woman more than your Harley. Every man needs a back bone and a soft place where he ain’t got to be so damned tough. That’s what a good woman is. Soft arms and a good kick in the ass.”
His eyes landed on Mike again as he took another deep drink of water.
“Last person I’d listen to about women is Preach. Don’t know shit about women. Women scare the fuck out of that man, especially Lindsey. He ran like a scared puppy because he knew she could be something he could never leave. He never left her for long, but if she’d ever asked him, really asked him, he’d have given everything up for her.”
Mike eyed him. It took guts to say what Ace had just said about Preach. Mike wouldn’t have uttered those words if his life had depended on it. Ace looked like it hadn’t bothered him one bit.
“Ehh, Preach isn’t all that scary when you are facing your maker.” Ace said as he looked out across the darkened yard. “If you think for one second he don’t know you’re here then you’re a dumb shit. He knows you’re here and he knows the others are too.”
Mike frowned.
Ace nodded. “Spec spends time right out there.” He pointed to a dark patch of woods where the drive made a sharp turn. “Shad creeps by several times a night, never have figured out when that man sleeps. Tommy isn’t as steady. He drifts around a few nights a week, but he usually tries to come to the door. Never makes it though and if he does I might shoot the little fucker. Caused this whole mess if you ask me.”
Mike had heard the story. He was surprised to hear that Spec was around. He hadn’t been seen much since Marty had been back. He had lost his shit over losing her and something nobody was talking about. The brothers were worried. Spec was a valuable member. For him to be off his nut was a wakeup call. They all had their breaking point and it looked like Spec had reached his.
Mike nodded toward where Ace said Spec spent his time. “Have you seen him?”
“He came to see me. Got more shit to deal with than he can handle. This brought some of it back to him. He thought he’d buried it a long time ago. Just needs to put it back in the ground again is all. He’ll be fine when he does that. He came to apologize. Explained his circumstances. I understood them.”
“What about her?” Mike looked up to the window above his head.
“That’s harder. Seems she needs to dig a few things up and I don’t think she will until she puts something else in the ground.” He frowned. “Maybe more than one thing.”
Mike took a deep breath. He had no idea how to talk to this man. He knew that Ace’s days were numbered and that made his words hold more weight for some reason. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Looks like you do to me. Otherwise you wouldn’t be sitting out here night after night.” He grinned. “I haven’t seen you hesitate yet. Not like that other one. You just haven’t decided about the destination yet. So far this is far enough.” Ace shrugged. “One of these nights it won’t be.”
Mike had to laugh there. Ace had clearly found someone to dislike more than him and for the first time Mike was thankful for Tommy Rich.
He talked with Ace for a few more minutes, but saw the exhaustion taking the man.
“Can I help you back inside Ace?”
“I don’t need your damned help.” He pushed slowly to his feet and looked almost embarrassed. “You can walk with me if you want to though. I don’t think I can stop you there.”
Mike knew that was as close Ace would get to asking for help so he climbed to his feet and walked the man to the door. He grieved for Marty. She would soon lose her father and she had only known him a short time. He pulled his jacket closer to him. He would be surprised if Ace made it until Christmas. Ace turned before he went inside and confirmed his thoughts.
“I won’t be here much longer. I’m livin’ on borrowed time as it is. Marty blames it all on the stress of what happened to her, but I know better. She’s gonna’ need someone to hold her together for a while, but she damned sure won’t ask for it.”
Mike nodded. “I’ve got her Ace.”
That seemed to lift a heavy load from Ace’s shoulders. He nodded and closed the door behind him.
Twelve
It had been six weeks since she had escaped. Marty sat beside her father and held his bony hand. Her fingers looked better. The bones were healed and the nails were on their way to being grown back in. She knew she mostly looked normal again, but she wasn’t, wasn’t sure if she ever would be again.
“I’m sorry Daddy.”
“What for?”
“Breaking my promise to you.”
“I think I knew you would though.” He shrugged. “Make it count.”
“I don’t know how.” She leaned in and let her head rest on his shoulder. “I don’t know how to do anything anymore.”
“You know how to live.” His voice was so thin it was hard to believe he was the same man that had been so full of life only a few weeks ago. “Finish school, get married. There’s lots of things for you to do.”
“I guess it seems silly to you.” She felt so selfish. He was fighting for every breath and here she was feeling sorry for herself.
He lifted her face until he could look into her eyes. “I don’t know what happened to you and you swear it wasn’t what I thought, but I see fear in your eyes that I can’t take away. I see pain you won’t share with me. I need to know that you will go on living after I’m gone. I want you to give me grandbabies. I want you to be happy.” He took a deep breath and Marty saw pain cross his face. She started to rise and he shook his head.
“Just… just listen to me. Don’t waste your… life the way I did.” He took another breath and this one seemed harder for him. “Don’t live your life bein’… too damned scared to reach for what you know you want. Fight for it Marty. Don’t be afraid.”
“Oh Daddy I’m not strong like you.”
“Bullshit. You are ten times the man I am.” His lips curled in a weak smile. “Strength isn’t runnin’ away like I did. It’s standing even when you’re scared. Askin’ even when the answer may not be what you want to hear.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
He inhaled and Marty heard the rattling in his chest. “You could start by telling me why that ma
n sleeps on the ground outside every night.”
“What man?” Marty frowned.
“Mmm. Think about that.”
“I can’t think about a man right now.” She tugged at her hair with both hands.
Ace let out a chuckle that turned into a hacking cough. “I’m not… sure… if you’re lying…to…to me or to yourself about that.” He took a long drink of water when Marty pressed the straw to his lips. “All you think about is a man lately.” He sighed and tried to get comfortable again. “I see it in your eyes. I see how your eyes shoot to the window every time you hear an engine outside.”
“I did something terrible daddy. I’m not the person I thought I was. I’m just not.” She met his eyes. “And there’s something terrible I’m planning on doing.”
“We never are.” He gave her a weak smile. Maybe you’re not what you thought, but you’re what you need to be. I’m proud of you.” He studied her for a long moment. “If this something terrible is something you need then I’m still proud of you. There’s a hell of a lot of darkness in this damned world and sometimes we have to step into it to make our lives brighter, or the lives of others. You do what you have to and put it behind you. I’ll always be proud of you.”
Marty felt pain slice through her. He wouldn’t be if he knew what she had done, what she wanted to do. She watched his eyes drift closed as his face grew pale. The lump in her throat would choke her to death. “I love you daddy.”
“I love you too Marty. I just wish I’d had more time with you. I wish I could help you…”
“You still have time.” But even as she said the words she felt his hand lose strength and the rattling of his breathing quietened.
“I love you daddy.” She whispered. “How can I do this without you? I need you so much.”
She just sat there holding his hand as the light went out of the world. She knew she should call someone, but she lacked the strength to move. It seemed like days before Janice came into the room. Her heartbreak didn’t bring Marty out of the dark place she had drifted into and when Janice touched her she felt no warmth. She felt nothing. She refused to move and she couldn’t take her eyes off the man that had come into her life only to leave it again, leaving her with nothing and no one. She wanted to curse him for leaving her, but mostly she wanted to curl up beside him and go along with him the way she had gone with him the day she’d met him in the diner. He had welcomed her from the moment he knew she was his daughter and now he had gone away and left her with nothing.
MIKE: Defenders MC Page 6