THE DEVIL’S BRIDE

by April Lust

  “Fuck you,” I snarl. The handle of my knife is sticking out of Alan’s temple, and I reach down and yank it out.

  He’s unmistakably dead. The wet, foul smell of shit is hanging in the air, and a cloudy, grey fluid is leaking out of the wound on Alan’s temple, along with a considerable amount of blood.

  For a moment, everything is quiet. Then Branden and the doctor spring into action. The doctor falls to his knees, cowering like a baby as Branden comes at me. I kick the doctor in the midsection until he cries out, but I know he won’t be a problem anymore.

  The real problem is Branden. Branden, the guy I thought I’d already killed once. Branden the Monster. Branden the Kidnapper. Branden, the man who’s made my woman’s life a living hell.

  I don’t intend on letting Branden escape from the building.

  Immediately, Branden flies toward me with his arms outstretched. His hands clamp down on my shoulders and for a moment, we brace our legs against the floor and lower our heads like bulls about to charge. His eyes are angry and so wide I can see the veins pulsing. Branden’s gritting his teeth and growling and trying to push me to the side, but now that it’s just the two of us, I know this is going to be an easy fight.

  Branden rips away from my body with a surprising agility. I chase after him, my feet thundering across the wooden floor, sounding like a stampede. As Branden glances at me over his shoulder, he stumbles on the floor and goes flying. I watch with satisfaction as he crashes hard and slides across the hardwood into the wall. His head cracks against the wall with a loud thwack and I immediately give chase, still gripping my knife in one hand.

  I straddle Branden, pinning him to the ground and grabbing him by the shoulders. When he tries to push me away, I slam his upper body against the floor as hard as I can. He shrieks in agony as his eyes close. I keep hitting him until the cabin is filled with the sound of blows. I know that I’m causing pain and I don’t care.

  There isn’t enough pain in the world to give the man who kidnapped my Vivian, and I’m not going to stop until he’s dead.

  Someone grabs my shoulder and I whirl around to see the doctor.

  “Please,” the doctor begs. His nose is bleeding and his face is ghostly pale. “Please, save me. Please, I have kids.”

  In the few seconds that have passed, Branden somehow has managed to wriggle out from under me. He topples me over and we fall together, still gripping each other as tightly as lovers. For a moment, we roll across the floor, scratching and clawing and punching at each other. There’s a sharp, stabbing pain in my side and I gasp, looking down to see the handle of a knife sticking out of my gut.

  I’m bleeding like a stuck pig as Branden and I continue to tussle. He grins as he reaches for the handle of the knife and twists hard.

  I scream in pain. A hot, burning sensation fills my body.

  It’s almost too much to bear, but I grit my teeth and push through it. Knocking Branden’s hand away, I yank the knife out of my gut and toss it across the room where it clatters on the floor.

  The look in Branden’s eyes is enough to tell me that I’ve won. Readying my hold on my own knife, I press the blade against his throat. His eyes are wide with fear, and his lips are trembling. He doesn’t even look that ugly, now. He just looks pathetic, like a little kid.

  “You’re gonna pay for what you did to Vivian,” I growl. “Your whole MC is gonna fuckin’ pay, and they’re gonna rue the day they ever heard the name Branden.”

  Branden twists and writhes underneath me. He screams as I drag the blade across his exposed throat.

  Blood spurts into the air and gushes over my face. My hands are slick and slippery, but I manage to keep gripping the knife until the grisly job is done. Sawing away at Branden’s jugular gives me no satisfaction at all.

  The only thing that’s going to give me satisfaction is seeing Vivian smile again.

  My body is getting cold and I can’t stop shivering, but at last, Branden is dead beneath me. His eyes are open and his lips are twisted in a permanent howl of agony. I stare at the birthmark on his face, wondering what ever drove him to such a horrible life.

  “That was for Vivian,” I whisper, wiping the blade of the knife off on my shirt.

  My heart is slowing in my chest and I know that I’m losing a lot of blood. Vivian’s screaming in my ear but my vision is fading, spinning out of control. I know that if I close my eyes, I won’t ever open them again, but it feels too good to slip into the warm embrace of death.

  I’m sorry, Vivian, I think as I begin to fade from life. I’m so sorry I couldn’t do more.

  Chapter 32

  Vivian

  Watching the brawl between Landon and Branden leaves me breathless. I’m on pins and needles watching as the man I love fights the man I hate most in this world, like a medieval morality play. Come on, Landon, I think, biting the inside of my lip. Come on!

  When it’s over, I rush to Landon’s side as quickly as I can. My ankle is still killing me, but the adrenaline of watching Landon take Branden down has managed to numb some of the pain. It’s only when I reach Landon that I realize there’s a gaping wound in his side.

  He’s bleeding profusely. It’s gushing out of his chest like a waterfall. Although Branden is dead, Landon doesn’t look like he’s going to make it either.

  My heart freezes as I drop to my knees and pull Landon into my arms. The doctor is lying on the floor, motionless but still breathing, but I know that he’s my only chance. I wriggle over to the doctor and shake him by the shoulders.

  “Hey!” I scream. “Hey! Wake up! Old man!” Shaking the doctor only makes his eyelids flutter open and closed weakly.

  Landon’s grunting and sighing on the floor beside me. I turn back to him, pulling him close.

  “You just gotta hang on for a little while longer,” I whisper in Landon’s ear. “And then we’ll be okay.”

  There’s a cell phone on the floor. It must have fallen out of Branden’s pocket during the fight. I lean over to grab it, biting my lip as the pain in my ankle comes on so sharply that I want to pass out. As quickly as I can, I dial 911 and speak to an emergency operator.

  “Where are you, miss?”

  “I don’t know,” I say in a panicked voice. “I’ve been kidnapped! I’m somewhere in the woods.”

  “Can you give me an exact location?” The operator’s voice is numb and antiseptic, like she doesn’t care that the love of my life is bleeding out in my arms.

  “I just told you I don’t know!” I screech loudly.

  My heartbeat is pounding in my ears and I keep shaking Landon to make sure that he’s still breathing. His skin is flushed and clammy and his own heart is beating slowly.

  Stay alive, I pray silently. Please, stay alive.

  Landon’s lips move but no sound comes out. Eagerly, I lean over and press my ear to his mouth. As our bodies move closer together, his scent washes over me and it’s so soothing that I melt a little.

  Landon croaks something again, but I still can’t hear him.

  “Louder!” I yell. “Landon, you have to be louder!”

  “Five miles…” Landon croaks, trailing off. He coughs and blood spatters my cheek. “Fifty-third.”

  “Five miles off fifty-third!” I shout into the phone. “That’s where we’re being held!”

  The dispatcher promises that an ambulance will be on the way, but I’m too scared to be able to relax. When we hang up, the silence of the room is deafening. The only things I can hear are the sounds of my heart beating and the cracking of the blazing logs in the fireplace.

  “Landon, please,” I whimper softly. “Please make it through this for me.”

  Landon stirs in my arms. His eyes roll back in his head and he closes his lids. It almost reminds me of the face he made when we were making love, when we were in ecstasy.

  The realization that I might be about to lose the only man I’ve ever loved is killing me inside, and I can’t stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks.

/>   “Vivian…” Landon croaks my name. His voice is barely above a whisper but it speaks loudly to me like he’s just yelled directly into my heart.

  When I hear the sound of sirens in the distance, it almost makes me scream with frustration. They sound so far away. I have no idea what to do. I wish I could go outside and make noise and light flares but with my ankle, there’s no way I can even move into the kitchen without passing out.

  We just have to wait, I think. I take Landon’s giant hand in mine and squeeze gently. Leaning against the wall, I close my eyes and start to pray.

  After what feels like an eternity, the sirens grow louder. I start shrieking, hoping the paramedics can hear me. When the kitchen door bursts open, I start screaming.

  “In here!” I scream loudly. “We’re in here!”

  A team of paramedics storm into the room and suddenly, I can’t take it anymore. The pain in my ankle and my fatigue and my anxiety and panic are too much. I close my eyes and pass out.

  # # #

  “Vivian? Hello, Vivian?”

  “She’s waking up now. I just saw her lids flutter.”

  “How is she?”

  “She’s fine, aside from that ankle and some mild dehydration. We’ll keep her for a day or two for observation.”

  Opening my eyes is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I manage to do it. Instantly, I have to close them again. I’m in a room so white that the light actually hurts.

  “Vivian!”

  “Don’t scare her.”

  Weakly, I open my eyes again. My mouth is dry and tastes antiseptic. I’m lying in a white bed, in a white room with a white ceiling and a white floor. There’s equipment all around me, beeping and whirring and making noises. My head is killing me. And my ankle is in a thick white cast, hanging in traction from the ceiling.

  “Vivian!” I turn and see Robin, standing right to the side of the bed. She grins when she sees me and there are tears in her eyes.

  Everything comes rushing back to my brain at once. The kidnapping, the pregnancy lie, the whole Laura story, Landon, the doctor, Landon killing Alan, Landon killing Branden.

  “Robin,” I croak. “What happened?”

  Robin smirks and hands me a glass of water. There’s a straw poking out of the cup and tentatively, I take it in my mouth and begin to suck. The water tastes like sweet honey on my dry tongue and I cry out in pleasure as it floods my mouth.

  “You had one hell of an adventure,” Robin says. “You and Landon both.”

  “Landon!” My mind races to the last time I saw him–he was passed out, bleeding profusely in my lap. “Where is he? How is he?”

  “He’s right down the hall,” Robin says. “He’ll be fine, just took a nasty wound to the gut. Thankfully, whoever stabbed him didn’t hit any vital organs.”

  Hearing that Landon is still alive, and that he’s going to be okay, fills me with a powerful shock. It’s stronger than anything I’ve ever felt – it feels like I’ve fallen thirty feet in the air and just hit a lake at top speed.

  “He’s gonna be fine,” Robin says quickly. She reaches forward and wipes a tear from my eye. “And so are you,” she says. “Although the doctor did say that was the worst ankle break he’s ever seen. Girl, what the hell did you do to yourself?”

  I lick my lips nervously. “I fell in the woods,” I say. With a sigh, I lean back against the pillows. Even just this small interaction with Robin has left me exhausted.

  “You did one hell of a job to yourself,” Robin says. She glances at me again. “The doctors want to keep you here for a couple of days. Just long enough for—“

  The sight of my dad being wheeled through the door in a wheelchair makes me yelp.

  “Dad!”

  “Vivian,” Dad says heavily. He’s wheeling his own chair towards me with considerable difficulty. When I see the taped-over wounds on his chest, I start crying.

  “Dad, what the hell happened?”

  Dad’s lips curl in a reluctant smile. “After you left, some of the Helldogs decided to pay a little visit to the hideout.”

  My heart sinks and I reach out for Dad’s hand, squeezing it tenderly. Robin excuses herself quietly from the room and I lean over the bed, hugging my dad until my chest is aching.

  “Daddy, I’m so sorry,” I say softly. “I never, ever meant to disobey you and leave.” I blink back hot tears, tilting my face to the blindingly white ceiling. “I promise, I never wanted you to get hurt.”

  “I know that, princess,” Dad says. The gentle tone of his voice makes me feel even worse. For a moment, I’m crying so hard that I can barely breathe. Dad puts his hand on mine.

  “I’m so sorry,” I say, feeling helpless. “If it wasn’t for Landon…” I trail off nervously, suddenly unsure that I should be talking about Landon at all. “I’d be dead,” I finish softly. “He really saved me, Daddy. He was the hero of the day.”

  My dad nods. “Sweetheart, I hate that this happened to you,” he says slowly. “But you did the right thing by leaving. I hate to think what would have happened if you’d still been in the hideout when the Helldogs arrived.”

  I shake my head. “No,” I say. “This is all my fault. I snuck out, Dad. I’m really sorry.” I glance down, feeling ashamed.

  Dad reaches into my lap and squeezes my hand. “Sweetheart, you’re alive. And I’m alive. And that’s all that matters.”

  I lean back against the bed. “I can’t believe this happened. It feels so surreal–like a dream.”

  Dad nods. “I agree,” he says slowly. He stretches in his wheelchair, and for a moment, I’m taken aback by how old he looks. It’s like he’s aged ten years in just a few days. It hits me that one day, Dad won’t always be around. The thought makes the tears come back, but Dad brushes his fingers across my cheek like he can read my mind.

  “I’m here, sweetheart,” Dad says. “And so are you.”

  “And Landon,” I say quietly. “He’s alive, too. Robin told me that he’s going to be fine.”

  Dad nods. “I have to speak with him,” he says tightly. “As soon as possible.”

  “Oh, Dad,” I cry loudly. “Please, please don’t kick him out of Blacktop Chaos. I know him…I mean, not that well…” I trail off, blushing. “But I know him enough to know that Blacktop Chaos is the most important thing in his life. And he’d die without it. And he was a hero, Dad, really. He protected me and saved me. He almost died doing it.”

  Dad nods. A small smile spreads across his lips. While I want him to say more, I have a feeling that I won’t be hearing about the conversation with Landon until after it’s taken place.

  Still, I hope Dad does the right thing. Landon would be crushed if he had to leave the MC permanently….Not to mention, it would make it difficult for me to date him.

  That is, if he still wants to date me.

  “And one more thing,” Dad says. He clears his throat and looks sternly at me. “What’s this about you being pregnant, Vivian?”

  I shake my head quickly and laugh. “I’m not,” I say quickly. My cheeks burn bright red as I know Dad is thinking about me sleeping with Landon.

  “Good girl,” Dad says. He squeezes my hand again. “I always knew I had a smart one.”

  I’m so sick of crying, but something about the way he says those words makes me sob harder than I ever have in my entire life.

  # # #

  After Dad and I talk for a while, he wheels himself out of the room to go speak to Landon. I’m nervous. I want to go too.

  But Robin comes back into the room, along with a nurse who has some pills for me. The nurse tells me that I need my rest. As much as I want to argue, I know that she’s right. But I’ll try to stay awake to talk to Landon, I think.

  But after I take the pills, they hit immediately and I fall into a deep, dreamless haze.

  When I wake up, Robin’s still sitting there with a book. “Between you, Blade, Landon, and Steel, I’m starting to think I’m never gonna leave this damned hospital,” she
grumbles.

  “Blade?” My jaw drops. “What happened to him?”

  “Helldogs.” Robin’s face darkens to a stormy frown. “But he’ll make it through. He won’t even have any lasting damage. Landon made sure to call for help before he left to rescue you.”

  My heart skips a beat when I realize that Landon left his injured friend in order to save me. He did it because he had to, I think quickly, not wanting to read too much into Landon’s actions.