by Jordan Marie
It’s show time.
I want to ask if they’re sure they want to do this, but it’s too late for that. Louise is out there and, everything else aside, we cannot leave her here with these men. It’s too late to turn back.
Please, God, let us pull this off.
“I don’t want you here,” I tell Torch like a damn kid. I sound childish even to my own ears, but I’m tired of him asking why I’m so fucking quiet.
“Why the hell not?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“I understand that you’re pushing your club away when you need us the most.”
“The thing I need the most is to be left the fuck alone. Estúpido,” I grumble under my breath but loud enough so he can hear me. We’re in the truck driving in Tennessee. My nerves are shot. I feel this sense of fucking doom, and I feel like I’m just driving around waiting for a damned shoe to drop on my head.
“That’s the last thing you need. You need to get out of your head. You’ve been holding yourself apart from us for far too fucking long. Shit, most of us didn’t even know you were sticking your dick in the doctor.”
“It’s not your business to know where I stick my polla.”
“Maybe not, but if I had known, I would have told you to steer away from the damn piranha.”
My hands clench the armrest at his words. “What do you have against her?” I’m already wishing she wasn’t around for Beth to see. The last thing I want to do is talk about this shit.
“Can’t put my finger on it, but she’s just… calculating. She set her sights on you from the beginning. We all saw it,” Torch says while driving, looking over at me briefly as he talks.
“I chased her,” I argue, hating myself for it now, but admitting it.
“Bullshit in July, you did. She spotted you at Dragon’s funeral. All the boys talked about how she made sure to sit in your line of sight and kept smiling at you, so shy-like. At first we thought it was cute, but the more you get to know the good doctor, she doesn’t seem shy at all, does she?”
“You and the men are fucking busybodies. If you honestly thought she was making a play, why didn’t you say something before now?”
“Like I said, until she started coming to the club every couple of days, we didn’t know you were fucking her, so it didn’t matter.”
Ironically, I haven’t been fucking her since she started coming to the club. She’s only been around to help keep Pistol alive. I’m not confessing that, though. I don’t know if it’s worse they think I got taken for a ride or if they know that I haven’t touched a woman in over a year, not since the moment I knew Beth was alive. I haven’t even had an interest in any woman. Fuck, the only time my dick seems to react is with Beth. The most action I’ve had in a year came last night when I was whacking off to a memory of the fucking kiss I shared with her.
I turn the radio up to drown him out, but just a little since Gabby is sleeping in the back. I turn to watch her. Mi hija. Her dark hair and skin look so much like me, but she has a softness about her that is all her mother. And those eyes… I once vowed as a child to have a woman with blue eyes. I was stupid. It’s gray. The color of the blue sky and white clouds as they roll above—dusky gray. That’s the color that claims your soul. Now, I have two women in my life with those eyes. Can I manage to keep them both?
The rest of the trip is silent as we make it down to Diesel’s. We’ve pulled in and I’m unlatching Gabby’s car seat from the back when Diesel and Crusher come running out.
“Why the fuck haven’t you answered your phones?”
“It didn’t ring,” Torch says, looking at his cell.
“What’s up?” I ask, knowing that look on Diesel’s face.
“Your girls have flown the coop. Latch and Sabre couldn’t find them at that spa. He’s been tearing the place apart and been trying to call you for the last hour.”
“What the fuck do you mean they can’t find them?” Torch growls, dialing his phone.
I know why I didn’t hear my phone. I didn’t even bring the son of a bitch. I didn’t want to hear from the motherfuckers for a while. I knew I’d be here, and if anything was urgent they’d know where to find me. Foolishly, I knew I’d have Gabby and Beast would watch Beth… I was a fucking stupid tonto.
“Katie’s phone just rings,” Torch says and the man is panicking like I’ve never seen him do before. If I’m honest, I’m feeling it too. My mind may say I’m done with Beth, but the rest of me sure as fuck isn’t.
I grab Torch’s phone out of his hand after handing Gabby, car seat and all, over to Crusher. “Sabre, I need you to—”
“Boss, the girls…”
“Yeah, I know. Diesel told us. Question your woman, find out where the other women are.”
“Boss, we’ve asked Annie. She doesn’t know and she wasn’t with them…”
“The fuck she doesn’t. She agreed to babysit for Beth. I’d bet the club that she knows exactly where the women are. You question her hard. If you can’t do it, get one of the other men to do it,” I order him, not about to tell him right now that betting the club isn’t a big deal. I’m so damned tired.
“I can do it, but I’m telling you, she doesn’t know.”
“Whatever, just do it! Call me back. I’m going to get Gabby settled with Dani. Then Torch and I will head back.”
I don’t give him time to respond. I’m going to beat Beth when I find her because somehow I know this is all her doing. The woman just isn’t happy unless she’s making me miserable.
“What the fuck were you thinking, letting the women go into town when I’ve declared war on the Donahues?” I growl at Torch.
I’m driving down the road at a ridiculous amount of speed. The wheels are squealing as I turn the curves. I don’t give a fuck. I want to get back to the club, find the women, and then I’m… What? What the fuck am I going to do? I can’t leave, not yet, not until I’ve killed the Donahues and found the threat. I need to make it safe for all of the club. Make up for my past mistakes and make sure there aren’t people out there who will hurt Gabby… or Beth. Then I’m completely done. I owe nothing to no one else and my decisions won’t get people I care about killed.
“Fuck, I know. It was just one day though, and Katie’s been through so much. Jesus, Skull, I just wanted to give her and Bethie one day to feel like queens. They deserve that.”
His words cut another layer inside of me, leaving me to bleed. How many wounds can a man sustain and still draw breath? Apparently a fucking lot. I grunt; there’s not an answer left inside of me.
My phone rings about twenty minutes later.
“Tell me,” I order, my mind busy going over all of the shit that Matthew and Colin could be doing to Beth. We checked when we were at Diesels and there’s no new intel to suggest Colin and Matthew are moving, but who the fuck knows with those two.
“You were right. Annie knew.” There’s a gut punch, but that’s good. If the girls left on their own, it’s probably some fucking thing they are planning for Katie’s bachelorette party. My foot eases up on the gas, and I calm a little.
Before I can picture the male stripper parties and what other craziness women can get up to, Sabre stops me cold. “It’s bad man. They went after Matthew.”
I slam the brakes, causing Torch to lurch, almost hitting his head into the windshield.
“What the fuck do you mean they went after Donahue?”
“What the fucking hell are you talking about, Skull?” Torch yells in the background.
“They heard us talking and Beth somehow got our plans and copy of the photos of the cabin. Her, Briar’s old lady, Katie, Candy, and that fucking Louise all headed out after the son of a bitch, like they were fucking comic book heroes man.”
“Jesús Cristo de mierda! Where are you?”
“We’re at a gas station off the interstate. We’re about to head out on our bikes. Beast got a boat off Dragon, since the girls took Briars, and he’s following in the pickup. We’r
e about an hour out, man.”
“Torch and I are about forty, make sure you’re there at the same time. I don’t give a fuck what you have to do. You got the firepower?”
“Yeah, boss. That shit was already loaded in the truck for tomorrow.”
“Good,” I growl, hanging the phone up.
“What the fucking hell is going on?” Torch yells.
“You ignoring my lockdown is biting us in the fucking ass,” I tell him.
Then, I tell him exactly what his woman, Beth, and the others have planned. He goes white. That would make me happy if this fucking shit wasn’t about to blow up. There’s no way of knowing how big of a head start the women have. I’m just hoping we’re not too late…
We walk through the tiny hallway as quietly as we can. I’m afraid to breathe. I don’t want to do anything that might give us away. We need every advantage we can get, especially the element of surprise. I can feel the tension from the other girls. Katie is right behind me and even if we weren’t twins, I could read the strain on her face.
I look at the other girls. We nod at each other in silent support. I take a breath, then step out into the open with my gun drawn.
I would have liked to fire first and ask questions later, but I can’t take the chance that Louise will get caught in the gunfire. That might have been a hole in our plan. I planned on saying something cool, like “Drop to the ground, you dirty pig!” I think I could’ve pulled it off, especially when I shot out his kneecaps.
I don’t get the chance, though. When I come out from around the door frame with my gun drawn, the first thing I see is Matthew standing there. He’s got a gun shoved up against Louise’s neck. He’s holding her by the hair of her head, pulling so her neck is at an awkward angle. Her shirt has been ripped open and her lip is bleeding. She doesn’t look that scared though. Instead, she looks majorly pissed. Her eyes are locked on mine. I glance briefly, but my eyes go to Matthew’s and I keep him in the sights on my gun. The other ladies behind me fan out, each with a gun drawn and aimed at the men. Mexican standoff. How great.
Fuck, I should have never let the women know what I wanted to do.
“What a surprise. It’s nice of you to come see me, Beth. I knew you missed me,” Matthew says in his cold voice that reminds me of a snake slithering in the winter. Cold, slimy, creepy and completely against the natural order of life. Wrong. That sums up Matthew. So completely wrong that nothing about him could ever be right. He deserves to die—for so many things.
“It looks like you were expecting me,” I tell him, not relaxing the hold on my gun at all.
“Well sis, I wasn’t, but can I share a small tidbit of advice, sister dear?” Him calling me sis makes my stomach turn. It’d be so easy to just shoot him between the eyes.
“By all means,” I invite, hoping I sound bored and in-control and betray none of the panic and sheer terror I’m feeling.
“Two-way radios went out with the last decade. They’re picked up so easily.”
Bastard.
“You’re smarter than I gave you credit for,” I tell him, again trying to sound bored. “I’ll remember that for next time, though it won’t matter for you, because you won’t survive this,” I tell him. God, please don’t let him survive this.
“You might want to look around. You’re outnumbered, Beth. My men are stronger and better-trained. And your friend here is about two seconds from never breathing again, unless you and your band of female counterparts drop your weapons.”
“I’m not so much concerned about your men. I came into this knowing I was probably going to die. After what you did to me, the risk was worth it. The only thing I need to accomplish to win here today is plant a bullet between your eyes, and I do plan on doing exactly that,” I tell him boldly, hoping against hope that I’m bluffing the shit out of him.
His eyes go hard at my words. He pulls tighter on Louise’s hair, causing her to gasp. My eyes go to hers, second-guessing myself. I know my hand is trembling. I watch as Louise’s hand goes up the arm that Matthew has wrapped around her, holding her in place, so he can hide behind her like the scared little coward he is. He’s real good at inflicting pain on anyone helpless. I know that lesson all too well. I’m about to put my gun down. If I give myself over to Matthew, there’s a chance the others can get away. Maybe not Katie, but we survived this idiot before and we can do it again, and even if not… Gabby is safe now. She’s the reason we got the courage up to kill grandfather in the first place.
Just as I start to lower my gun, I see Louise’s hand she’s counting with her fingers. She holds one up. One…
Are you sure? I ask without words, hoping she can read the message in my eyes. In response, I see a flash of silver in her hand. A knife, not big, but it might just be enough if she knows what she is doing. She holds up a second finger.
Two.
I tighten my hold back on my gun, strengthen my finger on the trigger.
Three.
“Now!” I shout just as Louise jabs the knife low on Matthew’s leg. He screams out and Louise gets clear enough to deliver a head-butt into the back of his face, blood smearing instantly. I hope she broke his fucking nose.
The pain must be severe enough, because he lets go of Louise and she dives for cover as we all fan out. Bullets start flying. I dive behind a recliner, shooting. Katie is somehow on the other side of me shooting out. I look around as best as I can since bullets are flying. As covers go, the chair sucks, but it’s better than being out in the open. I find Louise beside Candy; they’ve retreated back to the hallway, trying to get what cover they can from the small space along the door frame. Sacks, I’ve lost sight of, and as a bullet almost grazes me, I pull back in and look at Katie. I don’t see reassurance in her face.
We’re in trouble.
“I’m going to chain her to the fucking bed and spank her raw for weeks. Motherfucking-son-of-a-bitching-flying-monkeys-up-the-ass weeks,” Torch is muttering under his breath. The rest of us aren’t talking. There’s not much to fucking say. In fact, except for Torch, not another man is talking. Briar is stone, his face a cold mask of fury. Sabre and Latch may not have a woman in there, but you can tell they feel responsible. Beast… well fuck, who the hell knows what Beast is these days. Hermano is one messed up fucking pile.
Then there’s me. I have so much rage boiling inside of me on a daily basis that I can’t tell a huge difference, except… fear. I feel fear. If something happens to Beth because I failed to take out her stepbrothers, that’s just one more black mark against me. History repeating itself.
Tan jodidamente cansado—so fucking tired.
As we get out of the boat and fall in line heading towards the old fishing cabin, the fear inside me increases. I hate the bitter taste of it, and frustration bubbles up from inside yet again. This is Beth’s fault too. She’s trying to destroy me. Fuck that shit. She’s already destroyed me. Now, she’s just adding to the destruction, breaking me in so many ways I won’t ever find daylight.
At the back of the building, the bedroom window we had planned to use is wide open—a testament to what the women did. A testament to the fact that Beth did, in fact, steal plans from my desk. Christo! Who the fuck does she think she is? She has a child to worry about. It is not her place to handle these assholes.
Then again, I failed to take care of them before, didn’t I? I look over at Beast. Everything that’s happened from the day my brother lost his family rests on my shoulders. No one else’s.
Mine.
It’s a testament to how fucking stupid Matthew is that the damn room is not being monitored and the window is not at least closed. Then again, from the screaming in the next room, he may have his hands a little busy. Three of us are going through the window. Me, Torch, and Briar. It’s our old ladies… or rather, their old ladies, since Beth is not mine. She’s just the mother of my child. Sabre, Latch, and Beast are storming from around front. It’ll be a blitz attack, which will only happen when they hear me call for t
hem. I’m not about to let them storm in and get the women killed. I just pray we’re not too late to keep that from happening. I know I have to be careful with my approach, but hell, too much fucking time has passed as it is. I don’t think the girls had that big of a head start on us, but it has definitely been long enough.
I wait at the opening of the hall, hiding in the shadows, to take stock of the situation. The first thing I see are the women. Katie, Candy, Sacks, and Louise are on the floor in a corner with some motherfucker standing over them with a gun pointed at them. Each one is bloody. Katie looks like she’s taken a bullet in the leg. There’s a torn piece of black cloth fashioned as a homemade tourniquet over it. The blood doesn’t seem excessive, but there’s enough there to worry about.
I know the moment Torch sees it because I can feel the anger radiating off of him and a low rumbling growl escapes him. He starts to charge forward and Briar claps his hand on the man’s shoulder, pulling him back.
I scan the area looking for Beth. When I see her, my heart turns over. She’s sitting on the ground in front of Matthew. She’s got a busted lip and I can see the red whelp of being hit evident on her cheek, even from this distance.
I’m going to fucking kill the S.O.B.
“You dress so boring these days, Beth. Why is that, do you wonder? Are you ashamed of the little love tracks I left on your body?”
“Fuck you!” she growls, her face looking so hard, her words so harsh that I can hardly reconcile her with the woman that I know.
Matthew bends down and grabs her by the hair, pulling it taut in his hand. “I’d keep a civil tongue in your head when you talk to me, sister dear.”
In response, Beth spits on him.
“I’ll make you regret that,” he promises, wiping the spittle from his chin. He backhands her hard, letting her fall to the floor with the force of the hit when he lets go of her hair.