Outlaw's Kiss

by Nicole Snow

  Fuck. The asshole finally managed to get a strong hold on me and I couldn't move. Stinger and one-eyed Moose stepped away cautiously, leaving me face-to-face with Blaze. The Devils' Prez grabbed me by the forehead and turned my head up, forcing me to look at him.

  “Saffron just spilled the fucking beans,” he growled. “My old lady got her goddamned truck jacked by yours, but you don't see me going nuclear. Damn it, boy, settle the fuck down.”

  My muscles were shaking. I forced myself to relax – the only damned way I was getting out of this. Blaze looked me up and down, then nodded to Tank, who gave a reluctant grunt and released me.

  I stood up, brushing the dirt off my cut. All four Devils looked like they wanted to cut my ass to pieces every time they saw my colors on their home turf. Too fucking bad, because this wasn't coming off except when I stripped down and showered, or fucked my girl senseless.

  And now, because I hadn't stayed with her, I might never get to fuck her again. Fuck!

  I spun and clocked Tank right in the jaw. The giant's head snapped back, and I pushed through them before any of the others could grab me, heading for my truck's open door.

  “Jesus Christ!” Blaze roared. “After his stupid ass!”

  I had one foot in the driver's seat before Tank caught up to me. I knew I was screwed before the giant's fist found the back of my skull.

  One deafening blow and the blackness swallowed me, turning everything jagged and red to smooth, dark shadows.

  “Brass.” Someone snapped his fingers next to my ear. “Wake your ass up!”

  “Blaze...” A woman's voice said

  I opened my eyes and saw him standing over me. At his side, some blondie in scrubs, probably the one named Emma I'd heard about. She was Tank's old lady and the club medic. Behind her, standing against the wall, there was a dark haired beauty and my sis.

  They looked at me like I was a fucking ghost. I sat up, and instantly felt the straps binding my arms.

  “Hey! What the fuck!?”

  This was not what I needed. Shit, how many precious hours had I lost being laid out here in their infirmary? All while that sick sonofabitch had my girl at the clubhouse, doing God knows what?

  “We'll let you go when we know you can be a good boy,” Tank growled behind me, out of my line of vision. “You want me to give him the medicine, boss?”

  Blaze nodded. Something strong in a glass pushed its way to my lips and I fucking choked. Tank held my mouth shut like a dog, making me swallow it. I thrashed, thinking I'd been poisoned.

  No, not poison. It was just Jack. Sweet, smooth, strong whiskey, something I thought I might never taste again.

  “Fuck,” I grunted between my teeth.

  “We're giving you a shot to calm your ass down,” Blaze said. “We're damned lucky Blackjack's a chiller dude than you. I gave him a call, and he's gonna work like hell to get your girl away from Fang. We're all on the same page, so you can stop worrying we're gonna hold you down and slit your throat. Tempting as that would be.”

  “Get her away? Fuck, you need to stop her, Blaze. Tell Blackjack to sit by the highway, make her pull over before she gets into town...”

  Stinger stepped up next to Blaze and grinned. “You've been out all fucking day, asshole. One of your brothers down there saw her drive in, but he couldn't do shit about it by himself. It was too late to stop her from rolling right into the bear's den.”

  His harsh words almost set me off again. Almost. The whiskey definitely helped soothe the radioactive fire bristling in my blood, throbbing in my chest, ready to beat its way out of me.

  Save it, you fucking fool, I told myself. Save it for the fucks who really deserve it. Not these Prairie Pussies.

  “Just let me up,” I said, resisting the urge to bolt up and punch every one of those fucks in their smug jaws the instant I could.

  Blondie looked at Blaze. “I think it's time. We can't keep him strapped down here forever, Blaze.”

  The Devils' Prez looked down at me and nodded. Tank hovered over me, undoing the straps on my arms.

  “You're a prick, but you gave as good as you got, Brass. Good hook. Hard fist. I can respect that shit.” The giant motioned to the bruise I'd left on his face.

  I grunted, halfway amused. He was right there to knock me out again if I did anything stupid. I sat up, fighting to let go of the anger. I looked at Blaze.

  “They've got my old lady. We need to ride tonight.”

  “Already working on it. You think I've been standing here jacking off while you were dreaming?” Cocky as ever, he gave me a fierce wink. “Unfortunately, there's no chance in hell we'll have time to pick up any guys from Dakota to help us out. It's just us, plus all the men you've got playing freedom fighter in Redding.”

  My heart tightened. Steep odds. Blackjack told me about a third of the local guys deserted after our mutiny, but Fang still had numbers on his side. Possibly huge fucking numbers if the charters all along the west coast decided to stay loyal and send in reinforcements.

  Whatever. Shit odds were nothing new to me. Having a woman on the line was, and not just any, but the one I cared for more than anything else in this fucked up world.

  I slid off the table, standing. “When do we leave?”

  “A couple more hours. Just need to get a few more things ready,” Blaze said. “You'll ride with Stinger and Moose. Gotta make sure you've worked all that piss outta your system, and you're not gonna do anything stupid.”

  That was fair. Didn't change the fact that they were fuckers. I nodded.

  Blaze stepped out, giving Shelly a quick hug and a kiss on his way out. The other guys hung back, tucking into their old ladies. Seeing Tank press the tiny blonde into his immense frame and plant his lips on her made lava seethe in my veins.

  Then I saw Stinger, his arms wrapped around the dark haired girl, whispering to her. “I promise I'll be back before you know it, baby. Stay sexy and help Saffron with the girl while we're gone. Love you, Alice.”

  “You know I will,” she purred.

  They kissed. Fuck. Panic burbled deep in my brain, the horrible possibility I might never see my girl again. Let alone hold her like that, suck her bottom lip, whisper all the thousands of sweet and filthy words pent up in my head.

  No. She's coming home in one piece. Same beautiful package I'd rip my fucking heart out for.

  You can't fucking lose her like you've already lost your mind.

  Hold on, babe. Your old man's coming.

  “Brass.” Shelly grabbed me on my way out. “Bring everybody home safe, and that means you too.”

  I managed a thin smile. “Thanks, sis. Uh, sorry about the truck. I hope like fuck nothing's happened to it. I'll bring it home too, if I can.”

  “You know I don't give a shit about the wheels. It's just one more thing to deal with.” She rolled her eyes. “The girl was upset. Crazy. I haven't even told her little sister yet...”

  “You work on that,” I said. “With any luck, I'll have her home with your ride so you don't have to tell Jackie how fucked up things are. She's been through too fucking much for a fourteen year old.”

  “I know.” She looked at the ground sadly. “And I remember what it was like for us at that age. You've got to be honest to keep them from going off the rails. Mom tried to hide how bad off she was until it drove you away and locked me down.”

  “Yeah.” There was nothing more to say about it. She'd forgiven me for falling in with the fucks who'd slaughtered our disabled mother. The guilt still weighed heavy on my black heart, and saying shit about the bitter past would only feed it.

  “You turned yourself around, Brass,” she said, throwing her arms around me. “I'm so damned proud of you for that. I know you can fix this too. Go get the bastards who did this.”

  Yes. Fuck yes. I couldn't do anything less than tear their throats out like the angry wolf I was, but this only sealed the deal.

  I pressed her tight to my chest and then I was gone, following the Devils out
to the garages. The guns just needed to be loaded into their rides, waiting for the battle to come.

  My bones ached on the trip down, and not just from the fight. Crossing a good quarter of the continent in a week without much rest took its toll. Fuck if I was gonna let it slow me down.

  I was wide awake. The pain stiffened my resolve. The Devils and I didn't say much to each other – they understood what was on the line, and that was enough. The men glowered, half as intense as me, big bearded Moose looking into the darkness like a one-eyed viking sailing toward Valhalla.

  We took turns driving, following the convoy of bikes all the way to Redding. We finally veered off toward a remote spot near Shasta Lake, just north of town. Blackjack and the boys were using an old lake cabin as a base.

  Everybody took a breather for a few minutes after the long drive, and then filed in. Shit, and here I thought the tension between the Devils and I was thick. In the little makeshift cabin, it was fucking suffocating.

  Devils and Grizzlies eyeballed each other like warriors from separate worlds. One wrong move was all it'd take to make bullets or knives start flying, murdering the uneasy alliance we both needed.

  Rabid came up and slapped my back. “Welcome home, brother. I'm sorry as shit I couldn't get her out in time like Christa back there.”

  He pointed to the little bedroom. Fucking typical Rabid. If there was any pretty redhead who needed comforting, he was always the man for the job. Though I wasn't so sure how pretty she'd be after the brutal number Fang and his crew did on her.

  “There's still time,” I growled. “It's not over 'til Missy's outta that fucking dump and we've turned this club around for good.”

  A loud whistle silenced us before we could say anything else. Blackjack and Blaze were gathered at the little wooden table. All twenty guys from the two clubs coalesced in a circle.

  “Make a little room for Brass,” Blackjack growled. “He needs to see this.”

  Fuck. See what?

  I pushed my way through a couple big Grizzlies, taking my place next to the de facto Prez. Blackjack was holding a phone, his dark eyes glued to the screen.

  “Sorry, son. This just came in a few minutes ago.”

  He held it up for everyone to see, especially me.

  They had Missy in the dank fucking storage room, parked on the same rickety chair where they'd tortured Christa. Fang was behind her, his sharp knife with the custom bear claw handle at her throat.

  Don't fucking do it, don't fucking do it, don't...

  My vision started to blur to red again. My fists shook at my sides. For a second, it felt like the whole fucking universe was compressing into a tiny hot ball around me.

  Smaller, darker, and deader. My soul prepared to rocket outta my body and swing straight down to hell, screaming and killing anything that got in its way.

  The knife fell back. Not even a trickle of blood on her throat.

  Thank God.

  “You know the drill by now, assholes.” Fang's voice was more irritated than I'd ever heard it. “Different girl. Same terms. Except you've just cut your remaining time in half. You're down to five hours to comply. I expect the tape, the confession, and the rats by o-sixteen-hundred or I'll be carving two pieces off this cunt for being so troublesome. Starting with those pretty tits.”

  The video went blank, but not before I had a perfect shot of Missy's face. She looked eerily calm, numb, like her heart and mind had shut down to survive the world of pain coming her way.

  He was fucking hurting her, even if he hadn't laid a scratch on her yet. My fists burned, hungry to punch, choke, break, and kill.

  Just seeing Fang's rotten carcass wasn't enough for me anymore. I had to beat everybody else to the punch and kill him myself, or I'd never sleep again. Fuck.

  “Brass?” Blackjack, Blaze, and half the room stared at me.

  I swallowed my rage, saving it for later, nursing the swollen fireball in my stomach. “What's the plan?”

  “Direct assault,” Blaze pipped up. “It's the only fucking way. We gotta go for their throat, quick as we can, and hope we tear it out before we got a hundred fucking bears nipping at our legs.”

  Angry eyes fixed on the Devils' President. “No offense,” he added, diffusing tensions by half a degree. “Tank?”

  “No disagreement, boss. We don't have too many options, and waiting sure as fuck won't help.”

  “Wait.” Everybody looked at me, but I didn't meet their eyes.

  I was too busy staring through the small crowd, back towards the sad redhead in the bedroom. The door was open, and she was standing. Her back was turned to us and she was gazing out the window.

  “We know the video wasn't full proof,” I said. “Fang's guaranteed to have numbers on his side. Doubt half the charters believed it, especially since it came from the Devils.”

  “I don't see where you're going with this,” Blackjack said, furrowing his brow. “What the fuck, Brass?”

  I walked around the table and leaned into his ear. “Step in the back with me. I want her to hear it too.”

  Blaze followed, and I didn't stop him. He had every right to know what the fuck was up with his men on the line and two Grizzlies whispering to each other.

  The other men waited while we stepped into the room and closed the door behind us. Christa turned around. Her face was bad, scratched and puffy as shit. She'd been a pretty girl, and our former brothers had definitely fucked her up.

  Almost felt guilty for the shit I was about to propose, but it was the only thing that might save all our asses from getting slaughtered, plus Missy too.

  “Brass? What the fuck is this?” Blaze was getting impatient.

  I spilled it. Both their jaws hit the fucking floor when I laid it out. Christa listened silently.

  When I was finished, Blaze spun, slammed his fists on the wall. He turned back to face me, shaking his head. “You're outta your fucking mind. I know it's your old lady and nobody can think right when something like that's on the line. But, fuck, man, you're asking us to take one helluva risk with some chick who's already been through the grinder.”

  “I've got to agree with Blaze,” Blackjack said. “This is...”

  His face tightened. Fucking nuts, he was about to say, or something like it. He hesitated, trying to soften the blow for my sake.

  “Sorry, Brass,” he said. “Direct assault's the only way to clean this mess up and get your girl out. You know it.”

  “Stop,” Christa spoke, soft but determined. “I'll do it.”

  A couple hours later, everything was ready. Less than three hours to spare before the demon in our clubhouse started laying into my woman. Just enough time.

  Blackjack had every copy of the tape the Devils brought, and all the men were ready to ride.

  Rabid was still milling around the beat up redhead. I walked over, more than a little nervous he was about to talk some sense into her. Fuck, I couldn't force her to do shit if she pulled out, but if she did...we'd be fucked so bad there was nothing left to do but ride into a massacre.

  “You're sure you wanna do this?” Rabid watched her nod as I approached. “Fuck. You're a brave, brave girl. I'm gonna be right there with you, baby. No fucking way am I gonna let anybody drag you back where you don't belong. Those fucks will never get their paws on you again.”

  I laid a hand on his shoulder. “Where is it?”

  Rabid looked at me, smiled and pointed at the Harley several feet away. “She's all there. Got her out right in the nick of time, before Fang and company stole her, right before everything went to shit at the warehouse.”

  “Thank fuck. I'd have to skin all their greedy asses for sitting on my baby.”

  Rabid stayed with the redhead while I walked to my bike. Jesus, it had only been about a week, but it felt like half a fucking lifetime. The only thing sweeter than sliding onto my Harley again would be having Missy in my arms, and I was dead set on it.

  I swore to heaven and hell I'd put everything in my li
fe back where it belonged.

  I couldn't wait to get my woman back, even more than I wanted to put a bullet in Fang's head for what he'd done. Love's a powerful fucking thing when it tames rage, tames hate, and everything else in between. There was a lot to snarl at in all this, but mostly, I just wanted her home.

  She'd never get off my bike or outta my bed after this. Never. The first thing I was gonna do when I had her again was squeeze her so fucking tight she'd never dream about walking into harm's way for the rest of her life. Later, I'd spank her pretty ass raw for doing this.

  What I really missed was those lips. Their taste, their softness, their sweet flutter on mine like honest-to-fuck pixie wings.

  I'd been too soft, too distracted with club business. The realization hit me right between the eyes like a hot sword boring into my skull. Now, my entire soul bled for her, bled dirty red blood from a scalding wound that wouldn't close 'til I had what was mine pressed up against me again.

  There was no other cure. Nothing else would undo the damage I'd taken, my failure to keep what was mine close as my own gun.

  “Two hours!” Blackjack's voice howled near the front of the column. “Let's fucking go, boys.”

  A dozen engines growled, igniting as one, joined by a few stragglers at the end. I strapped on my helmet and felt the comforting purr of my Harley beneath me. She'd always been a fine war horse, and now I needed her to carry me to my girl.

  Blackjack pulled out first. We all hit the highway and rode down toward Redding. I was near the front with Rabid and the redhead on his bike, only separated by Blackjack and Blaze by Tank. It was a weird, motley platoon of sworn enemies riding toward hell, joined together in a fucked up marriage all about saving all the asses in the leather seats today. Motorcycles rumbled behind me, at least ten of them, and then a couple trucks from both clubs bringing up the rear.

  Blackjack agreed to meet Fang near a hilly wilderness outside town. We'd promised him everything, but we knew he'd be on alert for us fucking him over. Hoped like hell the ruse I had planned would be such a shock he wouldn't see it coming.