Doesn’t change the fact I’m angry he went behind my back!
“You motherfuckin’ son-of-a-bitch!” My forearm is against his throat, cutting off the oxygen supply to his lungs. Every one of my men is silent, no one will question me, every one of them watches, confused.
I’m scaring the kids. I know I am, and some of the women, but I won’t stop now. Bastard should think himself lucky that there are kids here. I won’t kill him in front of them.
“I warned you what would happen. Didn’t I?!” His nods, eyes wide. I’ve seen this man kill with a fury that could bring down a mountain, a man just five years older than my son. A man no one should cross. Right now, he looks scared, and that's just how it fuckin’ should be.
“Please, Number two, please!” The fact Coral is crying so damn hard is bringing back terrible fuckin’ memories. Memories of the day she walked into my clubhouse looking for me. The day my half-brother raped her.
Eight and a half years ago
It had been an unusually hot day, nothing much going on with the club. My dad had organized a hog roast for later that day. All the kids were out back with some of the old ladies, swimming in the huge pool Apollo had built out there. It was more a hot tub that he didn’t turn on unless it was just us guys and the club whores.
Apollo would do anything to keep the kids cool in the blistering heat. He made sure the thing was always cleaned out and refilled for times like this.
Everyone had taken themselves out back to enjoy the day, to eat and drink, to listen to music, and to just have fun.
I was playing pool with Titus, and BlackJack inside the club. All the windows were open so the breeze could wash inside the place, not that there was much. Titus was winning the game, much like he always did. I swore the guy was a fuckin’ cheat. We should have been out back with everyone else, the inside of the clubhouse was empty. We’d got prospects operating the gate out front because we never slacked on security. However, the three of us were settling a bet we’d made.
BlackJack bet Titus and me that he’d beat us back to the clubhouse after we’d finished making our collection rounds. We bet him he couldn’t. He did, he won. Titus set up a game of pool, not wanting to hand over fifty bucks to Jack for beating us back here. Double or nothing is what he said.
The trouble is, double or nothing to Titus meant he’d win and both BlackJack and I would have to fork over fifty bucks each. However, it was all in the name of fun, just a typical thing with the three of us.
‘What's that?’ BlackJack seemed to notice something the rest of us didn’t. I was too busy taking my shot, while Titus was busy baiting me over said shot.
‘Veep!’ My head shot up. Roman was rushing toward me. Roman, BlackJack’s teenage nephew, a prospect with the club, soon-to-be-patched in, he was that good.
‘What is it? You look like you’ve got a rocket up your ass, boy.’
‘Sorry, it’s just…’
‘Shepard!’ What the fuck was she doing here? She knew not to come here.
Little Coral was running toward me. My pool cue hit the ground just in time for me to catch her. She was bloodied up, beaten, bruised, her clothes were torn across her body. ‘What the hell happened?’
‘He hurt me. He hurt me!’ She was mumbling against my chest, holding onto me tightly.
‘Who hurt you, princess?’ She shook her head against me. I couldn’t get her to look at me. I looked at my brothers, and each one knew without me asking what had happened.
I crouched down on my haunches and took her bruised and battered face in my hands. All I could think was, who the fuck could’ve done this to her, she was twelve-years-old! ‘Coral, could you tell me what happened? Tell me, sweetheart. Tell me, and I can make it all better.’
Tears streamed down her face, she wouldn’t look anywhere but at me. ‘He made me do it. I didn’t want to. I wanted him to stop!’
It tore me the fuck up to see her like that, so scared, so hurt. ‘What did he do, Sunflower?
Coral leaned into me and whispered, “He...” She swallowed so hard I felt it in my chest. ‘He... Raped me,’ My fucking heart sank to my feet. There are no words to describe the pain inside of me at that moment. She wasn’t even my child, but I felt it as though she was. ‘Help me.’ She sobbed quietly. Her pleas alone gave away just how much pain she was in, mentally and physically.
I got to my feet and lifted her into my arms. Probably a dumb thing to do when she’d need to be checked for DNA, but she was clinging to me, and I wasn’t going to let her down. “Get my dad and the others in here now. Call church. Blackjack, come with me, I’m taking her to the hospital. I’ll be back as soon as her parents arrive.”
‘Don’t leave me.’ She whispered in my ear. I held the back of her head against my shoulder, all the time trying to be a fuckin’ man and not cry. I challenge any man not to shed a tear in that situation. I fucking cried that night, alone in my room for that little girl. I cried like a damn baby.
‘Go, Veep, we’ll sort everything.’ I nodded at Roman. He was a good kid, even then.
‘We’ll find who did this, Shepard.’ Another nod at Titus, and we left.
I drove Coral to the hospital in the clubs truck, she shivered and cried in pain the whole way, blood dripping on the seat where she sat, and I knew she’d been badly hurt. I just didn’t know to what extent right then.
The police were called, but we all knew there was nothing they could do, they’d never find who did this because Coral would never give up his identity. We all knew that without asking her.
I will never forget the hell she went through at that hospital. All the prodding and poking, all the questions, everything she went through after that day, and the promise I made to her. ‘I will never let anybody hurt you like that again, Sunflower. Never again.’ And I fuckin’ meant it.
Present Day.
Please! I love him!” She loves him. She really does, I can see it in her eyes. Jesus Fuck! But doesn’t she deserve some love after everything she’s suffered?
“And you?! Do you love her? You dare fuckin’ tell me yes if you don’t mean it, boy, because I will fuckin’ kill you!” I let go of him enough for him to speak the truth.
He rubs his neck for a second, then tells me, “I love her, Prez. I didn’t mean to fall for her, dammit, but I did. You have no idea how hard I tried to stay away from her.” Not fuckin’ hard enough!
“I know why you’re so protective of her, she told me.” My eyes shoot to Coral. She told him? For her to have done that, she must really trust him. “I would never hurt her or let anybody hurt her like that. I swear to you, Prez. If you wanna beat the shit out of me, then go ahead, but you won’t beat what I feel for her out of me.”
“She worth losin’ you place with the club for?” That’s cunty of me to ask, but I want to know where he stands. You have no fucking idea how many men pick the club over the woman they love. As much as there’s no way out for any man who gives his life to this club, a real man will always pick his woman.
“She’s worth losing everything for, Prez, the club, my very life. This club is my family, my life. I have been nothing but loyal to each and every brother in this club,” True. He’s a good man, but I have to know that should I allow him to claim Coral, that she’ll be safe, that he’ll protect her, and treat her right. “If you tell me there’s no way you’ll let us be together, then you’ll have to kill me, because I won’t walk away from her, Prez. I can’t. Just as much as you can’t walk away from Lynette.” Son-of-a-bitch, using my wife against me!
“I love you, Number two,” I look at the pretty girl who once came running to me in tears because the big bad wolf had hurt her. She’s still there, looking at me with big pleading eyes. “Please don’t hurt me like this. I love him. I never thought I could love any man like this. Not after everything that happened to me, but I do love him, he’s so good to me, and I trust him with my life, my heart. Please?”
I look from Coral to Stryker. They’re looking at
each other, and I see the love in their eyes. Who the fuck am I to stand in the way of love? Fuck, I must be getting old, but I can’t hurt her like this. She of all people deserves to be happy, and if Stryker makes her happy, then that’s good enough for me. “You hurt her once, and I’ll personally cut your balls off.”
“I won’t, Prez, you have my word.”
Screeching is what I hear right now. Little arms around my neck. Coral. Beautiful Coral. “I love you, Number two. You will never know how much.”
“I love you, too, Sunflower.”
“Daddy!”
I practically drop Coral to the ground in shock. I’ve never heard Max scream like that in my life! He’s hysterical, crying, can’t catch his breath.
I rush over to him. He’s in Jett’s arms. Jett is trying to get him to tell him what’s wrong. His arms are out towards me, and I take him, holding him close. “Maxy, where are you hurt?” That’s the only thing I can think about, that he’s fallen and hurt himself. He’s a clumsy kid sometimes.
“Mamma! A man took Mamma!” My heart just froze. I push Max onto Taylor, I think it’s Taylor, and run to the front of the house. Lynette has to be here, no one took her, Max just got carried away. Lynette will be right outside.
Only she's not.
Chapter Sixteen
Lynette
How the hell did this happen? One minute I’m on my way to stop my husband killing someone, on my way there realizing Max is missing, so the next I'm looking for Max, finding him playing in the front yard where he’s not supposed to be. The next moment? I’m being dragged away from my little boy, screaming behind the hand of a man I never wanted to see again.
He threw me into his car and locked the doors so I couldn’t get out. Believe me, I tried to get out. My baby was screaming in fear. I didn’t want the motherfucker to get the chance to grab Max and hurt him, that’s why I yelled as loudly as I could for him to run, hoping he heard me.
He did. His little mouth opened in realization, and just as Jose was advancing on my baby boy, Max turned and ran, causing Jose to curse and run back to the car. I hoped my baby would get back inside and alert his dad before Jose could drive away. Terrible of me to put so much on a little boy of four, but it's all a person can think about when they’re being kidnapped!
“How do you think this is going to end, Jose?”
“You know what I want, Lynette.” I do know what he wants, the same thing he’s wanted for the past month he’s been badgering me. Willow. He will never get his hands on my daughter. He may be her father biologically, but he’s not her dad, Shepard is her dad, and he always will be.
A sperm donor is not a father. A father is a man who steps up and shows you how much you mean to them, how much they love you. The man who raises you to be a good person. The man who would give up his very life for you.
That man is Shepard.
Should I have told my husband that Jose had been in touch?
Absolutely.
So why then didn’t I?
I hoped that I could ignore the problem and it would go away. Jose made damn sure he had nothing to do with Willow for eighteen years. He has no right to invade my life with stupid letters in my mailbox. Letters I have to hide from my husband. Jose sent threats of what he’d do if I didn’t tell Willow who he is and get her to meet with him. Like I would ever do that. To be honest, I thought they were empty threats. Why would I take them seriously when he made it clear he never wanted Willow?
How he found me, I don’t know, but then, I guess it wasn’t too hard when I’ve lived in the same place since I was sixteen. Back when Celia was here, and Tate was a baby, I lived with Shepard. Then I moved into the house next door because he bought the place and gave me the keys. Jose knew where I was; he fucking lived there with me. Then he left, just like that. He could have tried to contact me anytime to see Willow. He never did. It’s too fucking late now! It has crossed my mind that he wants money. It was always the same with him. I will never believe he wants to see Willow, no matter what he says!
“You will never, no matter what you do to me, get to see Willow. She is nothing to you. She has a father, one she loves, one who loves her more than you ever could. My husband adopted her years ago. Who, by the way, will fucking kill you if you don’t let me out of this damn car!”
He laughs while slamming his palm on the steering wheel. What the hell did I ever see in him? He’s aged terribly. He’s chubbier than he was sixteen years ago, his hair is thinner, his clothes tattier. Blue jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket do nothing for him. “Don’t make me laugh. I bet you ain’t even told him I’d been in touch.”
Bastard!
“No matter what you do, I will never let you near my daughter! What’s this really about, Jose? Because I know you, and I know this isn’t really about Willow.” “You’ve always been a dumb bitch, Lynette. If I say I want to see my daughter, then I want to see my daughter!” Jose speeds up, taking a sharp left into the woods. He drives down the long lane that leads to Lovers Creek. Named so for its passion spot. All the young lovers come here to make out.
My heart is pounding in ways it never has before. Am I scared? Hell yes, I am! Jose has always been unpredictable, and it’s clear that he's even more deranged now.
He slams the brakes on so hard I lurch forward in my seat. Thank God for seat belts, or I’d have gone straight through the damn windscreen! Jose jumps out of the car, and while he's rushing around to my side like a man on a mission, I push the door open as fast as I can and try to make a run for it.
I get three steps away from the car before he has me around the waist. Screaming, I hit out at him with all that I’ve got. If I’ve learned anything from my husband, it’s to fight to the death. Fight and fight, but don’t ever for a second give up. However, Jose is so much more powerful than I am, and he has the back door open, and I’m bent over the seat so fast I don’t even have time to blink. All the time I’m fighting him.
Jose holds me down with his hand on the back of my head. “Get off me!” I scream as loud as I can, my hand clawing at his hand, tearing at his skin. Sadly, I know in my heart that no one will rescue me from this. There’s no one around to stop this man hurting me. “No!” I scream even louder as Jose lifts my skirt over my ass! He can’t do this to me! I’m not a little girl anymore, and he sure as hell is not my Daddy. “Please, Jose, don’t do this to me.”
“Shut up, bitch!”
I’m trying to hard to fight Jose off of me. The Lord above knows how hard I’m trying right now, but he’s too strong, and as he touches me, and rips my panties clean from my body, I fight the urge not to vomit. He’s too heavy, he’s pressing my whole body into the seat of the car with all his weight. I can feel the metal of the car door rim digging into my shins.
Jose kicks my legs apart, and no matter how I fight to close them, I just can’t. “I’m gonna fuck some sense into you!”
Like fuck you are!
I feel Jose unzipping himself, and I’m guessing I have but a handful of seconds to get out of this.
Think, Lyn, think!
I can feel his cock head at my opening, and I’m dying inside. Why the hell is he doing this to me? Does he honestly hate me this much?
“I’ve missed this pussy. Fuck, are you still as tight as you once were?”
“Get off of me!” I scream and fight against him.
“I’ll get inside you soon enough.”
His hand slips from my head, and I don’t even hesitate to slam my head back as hard as I can, right into his motherfucking face! He yells and leans his weight off me just enough for me to scramble into the car, and out of the door on the other side.
Jose screams after me, but I run into the trees, and I keep running. He’s following me, of course, he is, but I won’t stop.
Where will this end? If I get away from him now, he’ll keep on hunting me until he either kills me or gets himself killed. Shepard will kill him, no matter what happens, he’ll kill Jose.
S
till, how long will that take?
What will I lose in the process? My daughter? No one on this earth will ever get past me to get to Willow. I would throw myself into the fires of hell before I let anyone harm her.
As for the man who fathered her? He won’t get within a mile of Willow. Never will she know him. Never will she know how evil he is.
Do I want to wait around on the off-chance he won’t come back?
That Shepard will deal with him?
That he won’t go near Willow?
Jose is coming up behind me, I can hear his footsteps, but I’m oddly calm all of a sudden. I can hear my heart beating in my ears, but my eyes are scanning the ground like a wolf scanning for its prey. I’m strong-minded, stronger than anyone would believe. I have a strong stomach, I’ve seen things most never will. I am a Snakes Henchmen girl, the President's Wife. The Queen of the MC!
“Gotcha, bitch!”
“No,” I spin on the spot to face Jose's ugly, bloated face. “I got you. Bitch!”
Chapter Seventeen
Shepard
Hours, that’s how long I’ve searched for Lynette. Hours with no sign of her.
It took me seconds after Max yelled that someone had taken Lynette for me to run from the house in search of her. There was no sign. None whatsoever. I jumped on my bike and went in search of her, hoping and praying that I’d find her before it was too late.
Too late because it is not like the Snakes don’t have enemies, we’ve been dealing with scum for years. The thought had crossed my mind as I rode the wind, which of my enemies could've taken my wife.
The President's Wife: Prequel (Snakes Henchmen MC) Page 11