Out of the Shadows (Renegades)

by Ana Stone

  If it were just dreams, maybe he could have dismissed it but it wasn’t. It was not fantasy, something his unconscious mind was concocting. It was memories. The memories bombarded him. Him with Roxy. Him with other women. And him finding Roxy with West. In bed.

  That brought a kind of rage he didn’t know how to deal with. Jealous insane rage. He wanted to lash out, to hurt them. Badly.

  And now, to see her standing before him, all Valkyrie and fierce, part of him wanted to rape her and the other wanted to pound her into the dirt. She had cheated on him. He’d loved her and she had cheated on him with his best friend.

  “We have nothing to talk about.” He barked and lifted the liquor bottle to take a long pull.

  “We have plenty to talk about and I’m not leaving until we do.”

  Zeke knew how stubborn Roxy could be. Outside of physically beating the crap out of her and throwing her out, he wasn’t going to get her out of the clubhouse easily. He wasn’t going to beat her, but he couldn’t be around her. The hurt was too fresh.

  And the hurt came on top of too much else crap. Having to wrap his mind around the idea that Reese was his father was like being made to eat glass. It gnawed his gut. Then there was the fact that Reese and his mother had probably murdered Rafferty, the man Zeke had known and loved as his father.

  Finally there was the whole fucked up mess with Maybelle and West. His plate was way too full to deal with Roxy.

  “Not now.” He relented. “Not here.”

  “Then come with me to my house.”

  “I’ll go with you.” A voice came from behind her.

  Roxy looked over her shoulder and saw Reese standing behind her. “No thanks.” She responded and returned her gaze to Zeke. He wasn’t looking at her. He was looking behind her. That alerted her and she pivoted to face Reese who was reaching for her.

  She knocked his hand away. “You don’t have permission to touch me.”

  “I don’t fucking need permission, cunt. This is my house and if you’re gonna be a club whore, I guess it’s time to find out if you’re any good.” He started unbuckling his belt. “Get down on your knees and suck my dick.”

  “Not on the coldest day in hell.”

  “I said get on your fucking knees!” He moved to slap her and when he did, she executed a pivot that turned her around his side, on the way back-fisting him in the head.

  Reese staggered, cursing. “You fucking whore, I’m gonna beat the shit outta you and fuck you bloody.”

  “Another cold day in hell.” She warned.

  Reese didn’t take the warning in her voice but Zeke heard it. If he’d been a better man he would have stood and stopped it. But at the present he wasn’t feeling good or generous. At the moment all he saw was two people he hated about to go at it. Either way it went worked for him so he took another drink and remained seated.

  Reese went at Roxy with fists clenched. Two steps forward and he was stumbling back from the combination jab punch that had blood spurting from his nose. He reached up to swipe at the blood, staggered and fell backwards.

  By then, men were moving in the direction of the fight. Razr caught Reese and Chopper pushed in front of them. “I’m gonna fuck you up, bitch.”

  Roxy actually laughed. That laugh woke something inside Zeke. Something he didn’t want to remember. Roxy laughing at a man who stood over Zeke while Zeke lay bleeding on a dirt floor.

  While memory swirled through his mind, Chopper went for Roxy. She evaded his first two attempts, but Harley got in behind her and shoved her at Chopper. Chopper landed a solid punch to her midsection and she bent forward.

  Chopper pressed the advantage. He raised his arm, fist clenched, intent on slamming her on top of the head. She must had anticipated the move because as his arm descended, she slid to the side, grabbed his arm and use his own momentum to execute a perfect flip that had him landing hard on the floor, dazed.

  Harley grabbed her from behind and she reached up to take hold of his hair with one hand, working her body into position to flip him over her shoulder, on top of Chopper. By that time, Razr had released Reese and was moving at her with a knife in his hand.

  Zeke was off the couch before he even realized he’d moved. He might hate her, but he also loved her and there was no way he was going to let the club kill her. “Back off!” He growled at Razr.

  “Get the fuck outta my way. I’m gonna gut that bitch.”

  “She’s my whore.” Zeke announced. “So, to do her you gotta go through me.”

  Razr looked back at Reese, clearly uncertain. Zeke was bigger, younger and stronger. Reese stepped up beside Razr and addressed Zeke. “Yours?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “Prove it. Fuck her.”

  That sent a chill through Roxy. She’d prefer to take on Razr and his knife. There were plenty of women getting screwed in the club, and joining their ranks was not on her bucket list. In fact, it was not on any list.

  “Fine.” Zeke turned and grabbed her.

  She was so shocked that it cost her in reaction time. Still, she fought. She fought him from the back of the room to the front. Three times she went down and three times she got up to face him. When he backed her up against the pool table, she looked up at him.

  “Don’t do this.”

  “You did this to yourself.” He replied softly then grabbed her by the hair, whirled her around and slammed her head down onto the pool table.

  Roxy literally saw stars. Thank god he hadn’t turned her face first or her nose would surely have been broken. As it was, she was dazed and that afforded him the advantage he needed. She felt him lift her skirt and rip away her underwear,

  She tried to push herself up but Zeke shoved her back down and a moment later she felt him lift her hips. “No!” She yelled at him.

  Too late. Cheers broke out, the men egging him on and even the women cheering for him as he pushed inside and pounded her, one hand pressing her neck down on the table and the other fighting off her attempts to claw him.

  He lay down on her back and whispered in her ear. “This is for being a cheating bitch.”

  “I didn’t—“

  Her words were cut short by him slamming her head down onto the pool table. “You cheated on me. You and West. I saw you. Fucking him.”

  His words shocked her. He was remembering. At least she thought he was. She had never slept with West until she had called it quits with Zeke. She would never have cheated on him.

  Zeke, however, obviously thought she did.

  She knew he had not come when he suddenly pulled out. He covered her bare ass, gave it a sharp slap then jerked her up. “Wait for me at home. I’ll finish with you later.”

  She stared at him in disbelief and he slapped her. “I said get the fuck out.”

  Roxy didn’t wait to be told again. Amidst laughter, hoots and hollers, she left the club. It took all she had to move slow and deliberate, to not break and run. When she reached her car, she climbed in and that’s when she started to shake.

  She couldn’t believe what had just happened. He’d used his anger at what had happened in the past to justify what could only be described as rape. And he had not seemed in the least sorry.

  West and Maybelle were right. She’d been a total fool believing that Zeke was the injured party, that his memory recall was what had him so messed up. The truth was, he was a Renegade. Just like Reese and the rest of his crew, Zeke was not to be trusted.

  Sick and in pain, she started her car. It wasn’t until she stopped at the traffic light that she realized she’d driven to the hotel. To West.

  Roxy made the turn, pulled in and parked behind the hotel and took the back entrance, running up the stairs two at a time. She pounded on West’s door. When the door opened, West stood there, wearing his jeans, no shirt and bare feet.

  He took one look at her and pulled her inside, running his hands over her face, arms and chest. “What happened? Are you okay? Should I take you to the hospital?”
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  She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on tightly. “Hold me.”

  She thought she could hold it together but when his arms went around her, she lost it. West held her while she wept silently. At length the tears dried and the hurt began a process all too familiar. It started to transform, taking on the heat of anger.

  Anger had obliterated almost all of the hurt by the time she pulled away from him. He touched the side of her face gently and she winced. No doubt she would be sporting some nasty bruises, but that was the least of her worries.

  “Who did this?”

  “Not sure. Could have been Chopper, or Harley. Maybe Razr… or Zeke.”

  His eyes went cold and dark and she knew she was putting him in ass-kicking mode. “I really need to shower. Do you mind?”

  “Of course not.”

  He followed her to the bathroom. Roxy stripped off her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror. Her ribs had taken a few blows and would be tender for a while, along with bruised. The left side of her face from cheekbone to jaw would definitely be black and blue tomorrow, and both forearms would bear testimony to the blows she’d blocked. But it was her neck that was the worst. There were literally hand prints circling it that would look really nasty within a few hours.

  West ran his hands over her back and down her legs. She only reacted once. The thigh of her right leg. She knew what caused the pain. Zeke had deflected a kick with his fist.

  She let West turn her around and inspect her body. When he was done, he reached in and turned on the water in the shower. “There doesn’t appear to be anything broken. Ribs are bruised all to shit and will hurt like hell, but all in all I’d say you were lucky.”

  “I wouldn’t call it lucky.” She avoided meeting his eyes, stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain.

  “What does that mean?” He asked from the other side of the curtain.

  Roxy stepped under the water, turning her face up to the stream. “Roxy?” West pulled the curtain back a few inches in order to see her.

  She turned to let the water hit the back of her head and cascade down her body. “Just let me get clean and I’ll tell you, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  He pulled the curtain back into place and a couple of seconds later she heard the bathroom door close. She turned back to face the water, placing her hands on the shower wall in front of her and lowering her head. For a long time she just stood there, trying to come to terms with what had happened and how she was going to tell West and keep him from going after Zeke.

  That she would even want to stop West was a mystery. After what Zeke had done she should be wanting to see him pay. So why didn’t she? Why did she still feel the need to protect him? All she could say for sure is that what he’d whispered in her ear kept playing through her mind.

  This is for being a cheating bitch. You cheated on me. You and West. I saw you. Fucking him.

  Try as she might she could not remember Zeke ever finding her with West. Yes, she had turned to West, but only after she had walked away from Zeke. Why had Zeke said that? Were his memories screwed up? Or were hers?

  That was something she had to ask West. She quickly got clean, dried off and slid on the hotel robe that was hanging from a hook on the back of the door.

  West was sitting on the foot of the bed waiting when she walked out. He picked up a glass from the floor and offered it to her. “Drink?”

  She shook her head. “Thanks, no.” She walked over and sat down beside him. “I’m going to tell you what happened but before I do, I need you to promise me something.”

  “What?”

  “That you won’t go after Zeke.”

  “How can I make that kind of promise without even knowing what happened? Hell, Roxy, just you asking something like that makes me think I should forego your explanation and just drive over there and blow him to hell.”

  “West, please.” She took his hand in both of hers. “I’m begging you. Promise me.”

  He looked into her eyes for a long time and finally nodded. “Okay.”

  “Thank you,” she kissed him softly then started to fill him in.

  He did not utter a word the entire time, but she saw rage build in his eyes and in the position of his body and his expression. His jaw clenched, his shoulders tightened and his hand tightened painfully on hers.

  She finished with. “I got in my car and came straight to you.”

  He was quiet for at least another minute, just searching her eyes. “He raped you. In front of the whole club, Zeke raped you.”

  “Yes.”

  “We should get you to a hospital.”

  “No. There wouldn’t be evidence. He didn’t come. In fact, it didn’t last long. I don’t think … I don’t think he wanted to, West. I think he was angry and on the spot. And what he said… West, did Zeke ever see the two of us together? In bed, I mean.”

  “No.”

  “Then why does he think he did?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t care. All I care about is that bastard—“

  “Stop. Please. I’m okay. I swear. I’ve had worse and he didn’t damage me … well my pride, yes, but physically I’ll be okay. And the bigger issue is why was he so mad to begin with? And why does he think he caught me cheating on him with you?

  “West, his memory is really screwed up and I’m starting to think that maybe you and I aren’t remembering things exactly as they were. Zeke said something the other day. Remember, I told you. He said he didn’t feel like himself, that nothing was right.

  “You and I have both felt that, too. Even now, my life before I got to Harmony is like a remembered movie or book. I know the tale, but except for the feelings I have for you and Zeke, everything else is almost void of emotion – well that’s not true. I have a hatred of MC’s. But that’s all, West and a person should have more emotional content than that.”

  He let go of her hand and stood to pace back and forth in front of the bed. When he didn’t speak, she did. “Look, I’m not discounting the idea that maybe Maybelle was right. Maybe Zeke turned on us and sided with the MC, but it just doesn’t make sense that he would do that. He hates that club and ever since I’ve been in Harmony the one thing that has been constant about him is that he wants to find a way to get him and Eli’s family out. This was his chance, so why would he blow it unless he didn’t have a choice?

  “Such as?” West stopped pacing to look at her.

  “Such as protecting Rice. Rice shouldn’t have been there either. He stays as far away from the illegal aspects of the club as possible. But he was there, and it’d be my bet that Reese forced the issue. If Zeke shot your men to protect Rice, then he was doing what he thought he had to do to save a life. And we both know that if he’d meant to kill those agents they’d be tag-on-the-toe, lying in a morgue right now. Zeke’s the most lethal man I’ve ever known with a weapon. You know that. He has that…”

  “Oh my god!” She felt a bit dizzy all of a sudden. “West, he has that –ability. That directional thing. Do you remember?”

  From the way West’s face suddenly paled and he reached for the edge of the bed and sat down hard, he did indeed remember. “Christ, how did I forget that?”

  “I don’t know. I just now remembered. But it’s true. Zeke can shoot someone from an insane distance, through obstacles that seem impossible to circumvent. He never misses. He always hits exactly what he aims at.”

  “You’re right. If he’d wanted them dead, they would be.”

  “Exactly. So, knowing that, we can assume with some degree of certainty that he was acting to save Rice, rather than kill those agents. And god knows, if it were Reese’s call, the men would be stone cold right now. So Zeke wasn’t acting on behalf of Reese and the MC.”

  West shook his head. “That argument has merit, but after tonight…”

  “No, that just adds weight to his cover,” she argued. “Reese saw him shoot two federal agents, and then manhandle and rape a deputy, a
woman Reese knows is involved with you. In Reese’s mind it’s a big ‘Fuck you’ to you and everyone else. But for Zeke it further solidifies his loyalty to the club and reinforces trust.”

  “Maybe,” he agreed. “But he could’ve found another way. What he did… it’s—mean.”

  “Yes, it was.” She could not argue with that. “But I think that has to do with his memories being screwed up. He was ours, West. You know that. There was a time when Zeke was loyal to the team. Just like there was a time when he really did love me – in his own way. So what could have happened to change that so drastically?

  “He had a funny damn way of showing his love, Rox. How many times did he cheat on you and how many times did you forgive him?”

  “I don’t know and right now it doesn’t matter. The point is, all he seems to remember is that it was me who cheated on him.”

  “I see your point and maybe …” he jumped up and went into the next room. Roxy followed and watched as he picked up his phone from the coffee table and dialed.

  “I need a favor. Off the record.” He cut a look at Roxy as the person on the other end responded.

  “I’m bringing Roxy in and we need to analyze the recall procedure and data. Tonight.”

  Roxy had not expected that. She waited until he ended the call. “What’re you up to?”

  He pocketed his phone. “If you’re right and something has gone wrong with all three of us, the likelihood of it being a glitch in the recall procedure are small. Even if there was a glitch, it shouldn’t affect us all in such a similar matter.”

  “You think the procedure or data dump was tampered with.”

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense, and if it’s true then—“

  “Then we can’t trust anything we know – or maybe not even each other.”

  West walked past her into the bedroom and started pulling clothes from the bureau. “Put this on. It’ll do till we can get you something else. We need to go.”

  Roxy took off the robe and started dressing in the sweat pants and t-shirt he’d provided. “Where are we going?”