“I’ve spent over a year, trying to please you.”
My chest burned with the effort it took to pull in each breath, but all I wanted to do was scream … Yes. Finally.
Marco twisted to face us, his eyes narrowing at his daughter.
She continued, “You lied to me. You beat me. You made me feel like I was never worthy of even being in your presence. Uncle Anthony and my cousins never treated me like that. He loves his children, he’s proud of them. That’s all I ever wanted, was for you to look at me and be proud.”
His lip curled in disgust. “And what have you ever done to make me want to be proud? You were a mistake, you were a lapse in judgment.”
I knew every word would hit Rose like a sharp knife to the heart, but she held the gun on him through his demeaning words.
“Turns out I did get something from you then. I had a serious lapse in judgment when I agreed to help you hurt Chelsea, and when I thought I could make you happy…make you love me,” her voice never wavered. Rose finally had her strength and her sass back. “But I can see clearly now. It makes me sick to think that I have your blood flowing through my veins because I’m nothing like you.”
Marco’s man was now standing beside him, holding a gun of his own.
Marco shrugged, he didn’t care if Rose hated him. She was merely a pawn in his game and he had played her so well it made my heart ache for her. All she’d wanted was a family and to make her father proud, like many of us, do.
“Shoot them both,” he said casually, turning and heading for the staircase.
I felt Rose’s hand on my cheek. “I’m so sorry.”
I tried to smile and reassure her, but my body was tingling and everything around me was going black, there just wasn’t enough air.
Just as I was about to close my eyes, I heard a scream and someone came crashing and rolling down the stairs, bowling into Marco, causing him to fall to the ground.
“Honey, I’m home!”
That was when I let go and my world stopped.
They were here.
He was here.
Chelsea was still in Athens. She was close but the ride there still felt like an eternity. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to find.
Was she hurt? Was she even alive?
I was convinced she was okay. Sure that in myself, I’d know if she was gone. Chelsea was buried so deeply inside my heart and inside my soul that I just knew if something happened to her my world would come crashing down around me.
Wrench and Ham drove ahead of us with Anthony’s man in the car. Leading the way to where they were meant to be holding Chelsea. We pulled up a few miles out of Athens, turned down an old gravel road before coming to a farm house. I pulled up my bike and climbed off.
The door of Wrench’s SUV flew open and Grant literally fell out. His face was more battered than it had been when he was thrown in the car. Ham and Wrench both came around. Wrench was laughing and Ham was wiping his knuckles with the bottom of his shirt.
“Brother,” Wrench said with a light chuckle. “Ham over here has some hidden anger issues.”
Ham didn’t acknowledge his smart remark. He’d been quiet since Chelsea was gone, the two had gotten close and he was taking it hard.
I knew the feeling.
I looked up at the rundown house. It didn’t look like anyone had been there in a long time. The shutters were falling off and I could see boards missing on the deck that ran around the outside.
“Where are they?” I growled as Grant stood, wiping the blood from his nose.
“Inside.”
I started walking forward, ready to get my woman and murder the bastard who’d thought he could take her from me.
My phone began to ring.
In the back of my mind, I wanted to ignore it, but my gut made me stop and pull it from my pocket. I frowned seeing Kit’s name come up on the caller ID.
“I’m a little busy—”
“Don’t go in that fucking house. It’ll blow,” he yelled in my ear.
I spun around to look at my men. “What the hell are you on about?”
I watched as Grant shifted nervously on his feet.
“Rose called Harmony from Chelsea’s phone. It’s a trap. The door’s rigged,” Kit said, obviously relieved he’d caught me in time.
I stormed forward, grabbing Grant by the throat and slamming him against Wrench’s ride.
“She gave me an address. I’m gonna text it to you now.”
“Thanks, brother.” I tossed my phone on the ground and slammed my fist into the lying bastard’s face. He cried out in pain like the little bitch he was and fell to the ground, writhing.
“That was the plan, huh?” I boomed. “Make us walk through the door and blow us all up.”
My brothers stood stunned.
The little shit even had the balls to smirk. “It was Rosalie wasn’t it? She didn’t have the balls to go through with it?” He snorted. “Stupid bitch.”
I pulled my gun from its holster. “Seems she’s a lot smarter than your fucking dumb ass.”
He shook his head and I saw his eyes searching, smiling as he found my VP.
“Every time I fucked her I knew she was thinking about you.” He leaned to the side and spat a mouthful of blood into the grass. “Made it that much fucking sweeter knowing that a piece of biker trash wanted her and it was my cock insi—”
The bang echoed in the wide open space and Grant’s body fell limp.
Blizzard still held his gun on the asshole even though he was dead. His breathing was heavy and I knew if we didn’t go now he was going to lose it. I put my pistol away and picked up my phone seeing a text had come through from Kit.
I tossed my phone to Wrench. “Put this address in your GPS and go fucking fast. We’ve wasted too much time.”
I didn’t even have to explain to my brothers what was going on. They jumped on their bikes and we followed Wrench as he tore out of there like a bat out of hell. It wasn’t long before we pulled into a suburb of Athens that was what you might call the wrong side of the tracks. I saw a group of bikes parked up, down the street. The rest of my brothers. Wrench pulled up behind them.
“It’s just around the corner. Think we should go on foot so they don’t hear us coming,” Wrench explained.
I nodded. The last thing I needed was for them to get wind and take off running.
I saw people glancing out of their curtains as we hurried past. It was hard for a group of fourteen bikers to not draw attention to ourselves. At that point, though, I didn’t give a fuck. All I could see was Chelsea’s face.
“That’s it,” Kev murmured, pointing to a black Mercedes that was parked in the driveway of a house. Just as we reached the front step a man stepped out, he was looking down pulling a cigarette from its packet. I raised my gun, clicking off the safety which alerted him to our presence. The pack of smokes hit the deck and he stumbled backward into the doorframe.
“Don’t move mother-fucker,” I said, trying to keep my voice low and my steps light as I climbed the stairs.
“He was with Grant at the bar,” Ham informed me.
The guys eyes flicked from me to Ham and back.
“Where are they?” I demanded.
“In uh…” he stuttered, “in the basement.” I pointed behind him and spotted a red mark on the pristine carpet.
It was blood.
She was bleeding.
“Slider, grab him,” I said, pushing past and walking down the hall until I found an open door with a staircase. I could hear voices, one was a girl’s, not Chelsea’s, though.
“Shoot them,” a deep voice said, followed by heavy steps. My brothers crowded the small hall, guns drawn. Slider had the sleazy looking fucker by the throat. I tipped my head toward the staircase and Slider’s face lit up. With one huge push, he sent the bastard flying down the stairs, rolling and crashing and screaming like a baby.
Slider cupped his hands around his mouth. “Honey, I’m home!”
With that, I bounded down the stairs, taking two or three at a time. My men weren’t far behind. The guy we’d thrown down the stairs was out for the count. The man under him, who I clocked to be Marco DePalma groaned as he threw the body up and climbed to his feet. Leo had a gun pointed at his head in a flash and his back instantly stood straight. A gun clattered to the floor and Kev had another man pinned to the wall.
That was when I found her.
I almost dropped to my knees.
Rose was slumped over her body, a gun in her hand, waving it around like a mad woman.
“Rose,” Blizzard stepped forward, tucking his gun back inside his cut and holding his hands up. “Babe, put the gun down.”
“I didn’t know they would do this. I didn’t want them to hurt her. I called Harmony and told her,” Rose choked on her tears.
“Fucking bitch, you aren’t my daughter,” her father yelled from behind me. It was followed by the sounds of flesh hitting flesh.
But I couldn’t turn around. I trusted my brothers to watch my back because all I had eyes for was Chelsea.
“Rose, I know. It’s okay. You did the right thing. But babe, I can’t tell if she’s okay and Optimus here is about go crazy if he doesn’t check on his girl.”
I admired Blizzard’s ability to keep his voice soft even though I knew he was thinking exactly what I was thinking. I couldn’t see her breathing.
Rose looked down at Chelsea and screamed, “No!”
Blizzard dashed across the room, picked her up around the waist and pulled her away. Ham moved and took the gun from her hand and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
But not me.
I dropped to my knees and shuffled across the concrete floor. She looked so small, so delicate. I reached out slowly and touched her cheek. It was cold and her lips were tinted blue.
My breath caught in my throat.
No.
I would know if she was gone.
No.
I let out a roar and it filled the small space, “No!” I leaned over her and pressed my forehead to hers. I’d wasted so much time fucking around, thinking I was keeping her safe when really I should have had her at my side. “You can’t go,” I whispered. “I told Harlyn everything would be okay. I pinkie promised.”
How much time had I wasted pushing her away instead of holding her close? I was a fucking idiot. I’d lost another person that I loved. And it was my own God damn fault.
It was at that point I did something I never had before. I fucking prayed. I prayed for a chance to see her smile again. I prayed for a chance to feel her body warm and soft against me. I prayed for a chance to tell her I loved her and that she was it for me.
She was my ride or die.
I prayed to a fucking God that I didn’t even believe in to bring her back to me.
Hadn’t he taken enough from me already? Hadn’t I gone through enough pain—hadn’t she?
I heard sirens in the distance.
I didn’t care. I was going to kill this asshole and they could lock me up. Give me fucking life for all I cared. Without her, it didn’t matter anyway. Just as I turned my head to look over my shoulder, I felt it.
I was only small, but I felt it.
A light brush of air on my cheek.
I ignored the pounding footsteps I could hear over my head. Men were yelling, informing us that the police had indeed arrived.
I scooped Chelsea into my arms, actually feeling relief when a painful whimper left her lips.
“She’s alive,” I told my brothers as I took off running up the staircase.
The scene that met me at the top didn’t surprise me. There was SWAT filling the hallway, loaded guns pointed directly at me.
“You bring an ambulance with you?” I questioned loudly. They looked at each other, I couldn’t see their faces, but I knew they were confused.
“Put Chelsea down, Optimus, and step away.” Deacon pushed his way through the crowd of men. He was decked out in full vest, clothing and crap that read DEA.
“Get me a fucking ambulance or she’s going to fucking die, and you know what,” I sneered. “I will hold you personally responsible.”
He stepped closer, lifting his dark glasses and gazing down at Chelsea who hung limp in my arms. “Who did this to her?”
“The same fucker who killed her parents, now get the fuck out of my way.”
I watched as he searched my face, maybe looking for some indication that I was lying. I was about to tear him a new asshole before he spun around and yelled at the men who filled the small hall. “Move.” They all stepped aside and he gestured with his head for me to follow as he ran for the door. I didn’t hesitate, readjusting my grip on her small body and dashing out after him. I looked around for an ambulance or medic, but the street was just filled with SWAT vehicles and cop cars.
“She needs a fucking hospital,” I yelled after him.
He pulled open the door of a large black car with tinted windows. “Get in! It will be faster if I just drive.”
I growled deep in my throat, not happy with leaving my men here to fend for themselves. But I had to have faith in them and I knew they wouldn’t want me to waste time and risk Chelsea not making it. I threw myself into the back of the car, pulling the door closed just in time as he sped away from the curb, lights, sirens and all.
The hospital wasn’t far, maybe five minutes if we had a good run. I just hoped she could hold on for that long.
I brushed my knuckles along the side of her face. “Come on, Blackbird. Fight it. Stay with me.” I felt myself choking up but forced it back down. I wouldn’t be weak. I would be strong for her. “What’s going to happen to my boys?” I asked, trying to keep my focus.
His eyes caught mine in the rear-view mirror. “Depends what was going on in that basement.”
“Marco DePalma, he’s been behind all of this shit.”
“The brother?” he asked, apparently surprised.
I nodded, not even sure if he was still looking at me. We were thrown side to side as he swerved through traffic and ran red lights.
“We didn’t kill Chelsea’s parents.” I didn’t care if he didn’t believe me. If he had any proof, someone would have been arrested fucking years ago. “What’s going to happen to my boys?” I repeated, sterner this time.
“If everyone who comes out of that place is alive—nothing.”
I nodded, hoping in my mind that Blizzard hadn’t lost the plot and killed Marco. I could see the pain in his eyes. He felt betrayed. He’d finally let himself feel something for a woman and she’d turned out to be the enemy.
It wasn’t going to be easy to pull him back from this one.
Not this time.
We finally pulled up to the front doors of the emergency room. There were doctors there waiting with a stretcher.
“My boys would have called ahead.” I threw myself out and Chelsea was quickly pulled from my grasp. I wanted to hold her, be with her. I had to fight with myself not to yell and scream at them.
This was their job.
Let them do it.
I chased after them as they flew through the doors, rushing Chelsea down a long corridor.
“I don’t have a pulse!” One of the doctors yelled.
“No!” I screamed, about to launch myself at them but two arms wrapped around my chest and held me back. I fought to get to her as they rushed her away.
“Let them do their job,” Deacon yelled in my ear. “You can’t do anything now, just let them do their job.”
I pushed his arms off me, breathing hard as I spun around to face him. He stared me down, not many men would have the balls to do that, but he did. My respect for him raised a little. I pushed past him, slamming my fist into the wall as I passed back through the doors into the waiting room. Parents ushered their kids away from me and men and women made space as I paced. Deacon followed me, dropping into a chair and ripping his cap off his head.
“This is fucked up,” he muttered.
I ignored him, I didn’t have time to think about what the hell he was feeling. It didn’t matter to me. Chelsea was mine, I was meant to protect her and I had let her fucking down.
Deacon pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing a number and holding it to his ear.
“Yeah,” he said, scrubbing his head. “No pulse, they’re working on her now.” His head bobbed as he listened to the person on the other line.
“Alive? Yeah...” He looked up at me. “Wasn’t them. Get them in for questioning and let them go.” He talked for a little bit longer before hanging up. His body was tense and he held his head in his hands.
“What going to happen to Rose?” I asked, curious. I knew even though she had shit on the club and on Chelsea, that my girl would still defend her. She’d been manipulated and lied to by her own father. She had some serious shit going on in her head, shit that would need a long time in therapy to sort out. But she’d get there. I wanted to strangle her, yell and fucking scream for putting Chelsea in this position, but she was just a pawn in a bigger game of chess.
“She’ll be questioned. Find out what her involvement was.” He shrugged. “There something I need to know?”
“Her daddy was a fucking asshole.”
He nodded. “Noted.”
Time seemed to slow. I finally got tired of walking the length of the small room and dropped myself into a chair. My leg bounced nervously and I couldn’t keep my hands still. It was hard for me to tell myself that she could make it out of this alive. Even I knew the prognosis was dim at best. My chest ached and I wanted to be sick.
She deserved more than this. She wanted to be something. She had dreams and aspirations, and she was determined to make something of herself despite the constant disappointments and heartache that her life had handed her. Me included.
How would I live when she was the air that I breathed? The thought of being without her made me feel like I was suffocating.
The doors that led to the corridor where they’d taken her opened and I was on my feet instantly. The doctors eyes found mine and I could see in his eyes that it wasn’t good. I felt like I was floating as my body moved forward.
Chelsea (The Club Girl Diaries Book 2) Page 25