by Jordan Marie
When I make my way carefully to the back of the building, I see an open window and want to cry. Not again! Jesus! I’m not going to fall for that shit a second time. I go on towards the side. There’s a side door where I guess deliveries used to be made. It’s locked, but luckily I know how take care of that. I pull the pins out of my hair and get to work. Thank God I made Katie show me how she managed to pick all of those locks at grandfather’s.
It takes me three tries, but I get it. I open the door carefully, half expecting someone to jump out and attack me. It’s almost a disappointment when no one is there. I can hear voices. Yelling. I know one is Skull. The other makes my blood run cold.
It looks like I’ve found Colin. I hate the fear that courses through me… He’s the last devil I have to face.
I can do this. I have to.
I think I’m home free until I hear the gun click as someone cocks their revolver behind me. I freeze instantly, thinking what a stupid fuck I just was.
“Well, well. Look what we have here.”
I know that voice. I’ve dreamed of ending that voice.
“Colin.”
“It’s good you know the voice of the man who’s going to kill you. No, don’t turn around. I’d prefer you not to know when the bullet’s going to end you. I find anticipation makes the game so much better.”
“Don’t worry. I have no plan on you being the last fucking face I see. That’s more punishment than any one man deserves,” I tell him, trying to play the game while my brain is busy figuring out how to get out of this mess. I can’t give up, not now. I have too much to lose. Where in the fuck is Torch and the others? Had Beth delivered the message to whoever the fucking mole is?
“You’re being awfully brave, talking to me like that while I have a gun pointed at the back of your head. My thumb is already getting sweaty. If it slipped off the hammer of the gun…”
“You won’t end me that easily. You and Viper went to too much trouble for it to end that quickly.”
“Usually, yes, but just in case Viper’s connection failed to make sure your men won’t follow… I’m afraid time is of the essence, in this case. Don’t worry, I’ll take my time with Beth. I’ll make sure she agonizes for months before I send her to Hell to join you.”
My hands shake at his words as true fear grips me. I try to blot out the pictures his words bring to my mind. I can’t let that happen. I’ve let Beth down too damn much now. I can’t let her endure anymore.
Colin hasn’t taken my weapon yet. Maybe he thinks I’m stupid enough not to have one. Maybe he thinks he can shoot me before I reach for it. He probably could. I need a diversion…
“Bring him in here, Colin, before you end him.”
The voice is Viper’s, coming from the main room.
“You heard the man,” Colin says.
As I make it into the main room, I see Viper sitting at a booth with some naked chick on his lap. Viper’s got both his hands palming the chick’s tits.
“Glad you could join us, Skull. I was beginning to wonder if Teena was going to do her job.”
“Teena?” I ask, things starting to clear up in my head.
Beth had been right about her. And those feelings I had about her being too calm click into place, too.
“How do you like fucking bitches my dick has already stretched open? Never would have figured you for the type to take my sloppy seconds, but you sure got all hot and bothered over Teena quickly, didn’t you? Fucking blind as a bat, too. She fed me info about your club for months before you started mooning over that Donahue bitch again.”
“She’s your mole?” I ask, knowing I should be relieved, but feeling like a stupid fool just the same.
“You made it too easy. All she had to do was pretend you wore her out. Then while she was ‘sleeping’, you talked so freely on the phone. Thanks for that, by the way. I was able to get the Ganler gun run easily from you and you never knew why. I’ve made a cool five hundred grand, thanks to Teena and your loose lips.”
“Fuck you.”
“No thanks, but then, if you got a hard-on for my dick so much, I might give it to you. That way, you can see just how much of disappointment you were for Teena.”
“You went to all this trouble just to take money from my club? You’re as fucked up as I always thought.”
“I didn’t do it just for that. Teena already caught your eye. It would’ve been an easy score. But then, imagine my surprise one night when she calls me and tells me that my sister is back from the dead and ready to give birth to your demon spawn. That kind of good luck just doesn’t happen without a divine purpose. I arranged for Pistol and Teena to break Beth’s spirit. That was an added bonus, by the way.”
“You fucking pig.”
“Sticks and stones,” he says with a cocky grin. “Only problem is Katie. I think she might have a little more of my father’s blood. She’s not weak. She snuck Gabby and Beth out of the hospital early before I could get my hands on them. Took me forever to chase them down, and when I did, you still managed to get your filthy hands on them. It doesn’t matter, though. Soon you’ll be dead and I’ll get back to work, making sure my father’s bastard daughters hurt for all the pain they caused my mother. Then I’ll deliver their skins back to my father as a present.”
“I’ll kill you!” I yell, forgetting about Colin at my back and intent only on getting to Viper and ending him. By this time though, three men have come around me and are twisting my hands behind my back. I fight against it, especially after this fucker tells me his plans for Beth. I break free, but only for a second before the hard butt-end of a gun cracks me hard at the base of my skull. My knees threaten to buckle. I fight it so I can remain standing and fight, but they pull me back and, as much as I try to kick and move, I can’t stop them.
I’m about to give up hope when I hear Viper scream out in pain. I jerk up just in time to see the man fall back, his eyes wide. Blood darker than even the worn leather of his jacket stains his chest. I look behind me, my eyes blurry from the force of the hit on my head, and try to find out who shot him. I expect to see Torch there, any of them.
But what I see instead makes my dick hard. It makes me prouder than hell, but I still want to spank her ass. Beth stands there looking calm, cool, collected… and fucking beautiful.
“I have a present for you, brother,” she says, then shoots Viper again.
Damn.
“What the fuck are you doing here? Beth, you get your ass out of here right now!” Skull yells, but I’ve got my gun aimed at Colin now that the other guy—apparently my brother—is dead.
“Sorry, lover. I’m a little busy right now.”
“No, you’re not. You get your ass out of here,” he orders, swaying on his feet as he tries to walk towards me.
“That would be more convincing if you could say it without looking like you’re drunk. Oh my God! You still have your gun?”
“I told you, I had this under control.”
“You really are an idiot,” I tell Colin.
He’s looking at me like he’s ready to kill me. I’m sure if I make a mistake here, he will.
“It doesn’t matter,” Colin responds. “I was going to kill him; you just interrupted. There’s no way you’re getting out of here. If you drop your gun now, I promise to make you feel good before I kill you. We both know how much you like the things I do to you.”
My hands shake, but I don’t back down because I can’t afford to. One wrong move and Skull and I will die here. There’s not a man here, except for the one I killed, who doesn’t have a gun drawn. I feel sick to my stomach. There’s five men left, including Colin. There’s no way to take out all five before one of them gets us. Shit! Why didn’t I think this through better?
“Skull, why didn’t you tell me I had a brother?”
“I was trying, querida…”
“Do not call me that again. Not after hearing you call that bitch that.”
“Beth…”
Colin
cuts in. “Do you think we can stop the love chat, as interesting as it is? I’m going to give you two minutes to put your gun down, Beth. If you do that, I’ll let your boyfriend live.”
“He’s lying through his fucking teeth, quer—”
“I’m warning you, Skull!”
“Dolor en el culo? Better?”
“Pain in your ass? Really? If we survive this, I’m going to need a divorce.”
“Since that means you’ll have to marry me first, we’ll discuss it,” he says, and then he drops his voice an octave to add, “I say we shoot and run behind the bar for cover.”
He said that last part in Spanish, which catches me off guard, as it takes a minute for me to understand. I hope they don’t know what he’s saying.
Then, it’s too late. One of the men shoots. I wait to feel pain, even as I’m pulling the trigger. I take off running, but I don’t get two steps before Skull is covering me with his back, picking me up and throwing me over the bar, all while shooting behind him. A second later, he dives for cover with me. I sit up and shoot again. It doesn’t take long before I’ve emptied my clip.
I have to be more careful. I just have Katie’s backup clip and then I’m out.
“How are you on ammo?” I ask Skull, not turning around to look at him.
“Are Torch and the boys on their way?”
“Should be fifteen, maybe twenty minutes behind me.”
“Use this gun and protect yourself, mi cielo,” he says. His voice is gruff, and when I turn around to look, I find him pale. I don’t see any blood, so I start to breathe easier.
“You use that gun. I’ve got Katie’s,” I tell him, taking another shot at Colin’s men. “We just need to hold on a little longer. I’ve been here ten minutes, so help will be here shortly, sweetheart.” I shoot again. “He must have hit you really hard. I should have made myself known sooner. I’m so sorry.”
All the time I’m talking, I’m shooting. I could almost squeal in victory when I take out one of the shooters. I look briefly back at Skull to see why he’s not shooting.
“Te amo,” he whispers, then falls against me.
My heart feels like it’s in a vise grip because only when he falls do I notice the river of red on his back. He’s been shot! It must’ve happened when he played all hero and tried to cover me.
I lay him down on his side, as best I can with one hand. I shoot with the other. I don’t know if I hit anywhere within the vicinity of the others. Once I have Skull turned to his side, I pull my shirt off and push it against his wound. I stay like that, applying pressure while shooting blindly every few minutes over the top of the bar.
I’ve just fired the last bullet in Katie’s gun when I hear Torch yell.
“Skull! Beth!”
I scream, “Behind the bar! Hurry!” and then drop my gun, holding onto the blood-soaked shirt on Skull’s back with all my might. “They’re here, sweetheart. Your men are here. We’ll be okay now. You just need to hold on. Hold on for us, Skull. Hold on,” I repeat over and over, my body shaking and tears running so hard down my face that they blind me.
God, please let him hold on.
“Beth!” I yell, jerking up.
Everything in me screams in protest. It takes me a minute to figure out where I am. Finally, I realize that I’m in a bed—a hospital bed, to be exact. I look around at the same time I feel a hand touch my forehead. I glance up to find Beth’s gray eyes full of worry and concern.
“I’m here, sweetheart. I’m here.”
“You have circles,” I tell her, and it’s then that I notice my voice is hoarse and my throat feels raw.
“That I do,” she whispers, kissing me gently on the lips. My mouth is dry and the feeling of her lips is different than what I remember and lasts too short because I can’t manage to deepen the kiss. It seems like forever since I’ve tasted her. Before I can protest, she looks to the end of the room. “Go to the nurse’s station and tell them he’s awake,” she says, and it’s then that I notice her voice is hoarse too, but not quite as much as mine.
When she looks back around, she has tears shimmering in her eyes.
“You’re crying, mi cielo,” I tell her, trying to tighten my hold on her arm to pull her back to me. I can’t seem to even grip her though. I’m as weak as a kitten. “Stop crying. I do not want you to cry,” I tell her, frustrated because sitting up seems beyond what my body is willing to do. “Why am I here?” I ask, trying to remember what happened to put me in the hospital.
“You were shot by one of Viper’s men,” comes a voice I recognize, though I can’t understand what he’d be doing here. His words send alarm bells running through me.
“Get out of here. Beth had nothing to do with any of this…”
“Rest easy, son. I know what happened. I couldn’t be more proud of my daughter,” Tucker says.
I look from him to Beth, stunned. “You’ve met?”
“Yes,” she confirms. “I’m getting to know my father quite well, actually. It’s all okay, sweetheart. Don’t worry. It’s not good for you.”
“How long have I been out?” I ask, feeling very out of my depth.
“A month,” she whispers.
My hand flexes inside of hers. “Mierda…” I whisper, not being able to believe it. “Gabby? You?”
“We’re all okay, Skull. We’re great now that you’ve come back to us.”
“What happened to me, Beth?” I ask, needing to understand everything, but before she can tell me, a nurse comes into the room and asks everyone to leave while the doctor examines me. They don’t. Beast, Katie, Torch, Briar, Candy, and Sabre stand there with Beth and Tucker. “Gabby?” I ask, clinging to Beth’s hand and refusing to let her go.
“She’s fine, sweetheart. She’s with Mattah. I’ll be right outside.”
“No.”
“Mr. Cruz, we need the room cleared while we examine you.”
“Beth stays,” I tell the nurse, managing to get my hand to cooperate so I can hold on to her harder.
“Skull, I’ll…”
“You’re staying. I don’t want you out of my sight again.” She must know I need this because she doesn’t argue any further.
I listen as the doctor explains how I coded on the way to the hospital and how I’m short a kidney now. I even listen as he drones on about all of the complications I went through. Bottom line, I fought to come back to Beth and Gabby. Nothing else matters, except maybe one thing. When the doctor clears out and before the others come in, I say one word to Beth.
“Colin?”
“Gone forever. They all are, except for that bitch Teena. But Torch said he had something special planned for her.”
“Special?” I ask.
“Apparently Viper liked to supply women to a man in Northern Russia. Turns out, he got most of his ladies from Jane Does and women who lived on the street that check into the hospital who were unlucky enough to have Dr. Torres treat them. Torch thought it would be great to have Dr. Torres join the last bunch of ladies that Viper’s crew sent.”
“The last bunch?”
“Seems now that Tucker has taken control, the Chrome Saints are no longer involved in the human trafficking business.”
“Fuck no, we ain’t,” Tucker says. I look up to see all my men gathered around. Katie and Sacks are standing off to the side, and there isn’t a single one of the assholes who look happy.
Why does it feel like I might not like where this conversation goes?
I feel the tension in the air. And I know the men are upset; they haven’t made a secret of that in the last month. I even kind of understand why, but Skull’s decisions are his own. I almost lost him and I don’t want them causing him to relapse. Gabby needs her daddy to be healthy. There’s so much that Skull and I haven’t been able to enjoy as a family and it just seems like one thing after another keeps popping up to take that away from us.
“Not right now,” I warn them, and all eyes turn to me. “We’re not doing this right n
ow.”
“It’s our right…”
“It’s my right to have my man back. My right for Gabby to have her daddy back, and you guys will not come at him right now, especially since I haven’t even had him back for more than thirty minutes. So drag your asses out of here and you can have your pissing contests later.”
“Pissing contests?” Torch repeats, sounding like he thinks I’m crazy.
“She’s been hanging around Mattah too much,” Katie says.
“Will you two quit discussing me like I’m not even here? It’s annoying. You haven’t even been married for two weeks. Go have sex or something.”
“I really don’t need to hear that,” Tucker says, and that almost makes me smile. It was a surprise to meet my real father, but it’s one of the few things in my life that has been a good surprise. He’s a good guy, if not completely rough around the edges. In some ways, he reminds me of Skull, so I’m thinking I’ll only grow to care about him more. Gabby adores him, and he dotes on her, so that’s one thing already in his favor. It’s also more than I would have ever hoped for. I can definitely see Katie’s crazy side in our father, which makes sense, since Tucker says I remind him more of my mother.
“Married? I missed the wedding?” Skull asks.
“We eloped. Figured if we waited around for you to wake up from your power nap, Torch would be old and gray and not able to get it up. I’d like to make sure Gabby has a cousin who will help get her into trouble and make your life miserable,” Katie says with a way too-sweet smile, walking over to squeeze Skull’s shoulder.
“Dulce Jesús,” Skull mutters.
“Ten years older than you. Ten. That’s just barely old enough to teach you all the tricks you need to know to keep me entertained.”
“You’ll be too old and gray to do those tricks,” Katie tells him.
“I’ll never be too old for that,” Torch says, walking up behind Katie and wrapping his arms around her. He kisses the side of her neck and then settles in to look at Skull.