by Parker, Ali
“All right,” I said. I went to hang up, but Ryder yelled my name through the speaker. I lifted it back to my ear. “What?”
“Don’t get yourself fucking killed, kid. You hear me? If you can’t take the fucker down, get the hell out of there.”
“I hear you,” I said, and then I hung up.
Jack and Rick were both staring at me. I pointed at both of them. “You two. With me. Now.” They dropped what they were doing as I stuck my head back in the club and yelled at one of the coat check girls to find a guy to put on the door. Until there was someone there, nobody was allowed in the club.
I took off at a dead sprint down the sidewalk. Jack and Rick were hot on my heels.
I forked left and skirted around some dumpsters as I plunged into the alley. I came upon the scene quickly and slid to a stop on the asphalt. Jack and Rick drew up behind me, and Jack muttered, “What the fuck is this shit?”
Isaac Reed and Cliff were standing in the alley. Lauryn was on the ground with her back pressed against the wall, right beside the emergency exit. One of my guys was unconscious at her feet. She looked terrified as her eyes swung to me.
“Lauryn,” I said, “You all right?”
She nodded, and her bottom lip trembled. No words came out of her. She was probably too scared to speak.
I glared at Isaac and Cliff. “You picked the wrong place to do this shit, Isaac. This is the end of the line. You’re not getting out of here.”
Isaac smirked and exchanged a look with Cliff, who looked confused. He looked back and forth between me and Isaac. “You know this fucker, Isaac?”
Isaac nodded. “I know him all right.”
I nodded at them. “Let me guess. Brothers? You both have that ‘too stupid to have a real job so I turned to a life of crime’ look about you. Maybe that’s just all the drugs and murder talking. Who knows? I’m no expert.”
Cliff’s mouth twisted in a snarl. “The fuck did you say?”
“Sorry, did I use too many words for you to understand?”
Jack shifted behind me. “What the hell is going on here, Caleb?”
“I can explain later,” I said over my shoulder. “All you need to know is the bald fucker is a murderer. He’ll gut you if he gets the chance. The other is just his weaker shadow.”
Isaac Reed clapped his hands together. Lauryn yelped and flinched at the sound. “No more talking. I’m sick and tired of you Lost Breed bastards popping up at the worst times. Looks like our night just got a little more fun, Cliff. We get to kill a man tonight.”
“No!” Lauryn shrieked and stumbled to her feet. She launched herself forward so she was standing between me and the Reed brothers. She shook her head fiercely as I took a step toward her. “Don’t hurt him.”
Isaac and Cliff looked at each other and started laughing.
“Lauryn,” I growled, “get your ass inside. Now.”
Lauryn shook her head. “I’m not leaving you.”
“Do as I say!”
My order was lost in the deafening roars of Cliff and Isaac, who suddenly leaped into action and charged toward us. Lauryn screamed.
I rushed forward and grabbed her by the elbow as the two men came at us. I had seconds before they would reach us. I shoved Lauryn aside. She stumbled over her own feet and fell hard on her knees. It didn’t matter. She was out of the fray.
Isaac’s fist slammed into my jaw and sent me reeling backward. I almost had to take a knee, but I stayed on my feet, lifting my arms to protect my face with my forearms as he struck me again and again, never seeming to tire.
I could hear a battle happening behind me. Cliff was on Jack and Rick. I had to trust they could handle themselves against him. I’d kicked his ass with no problem, but I was a trained fighter. I had no clue what sort of fight they could offer the younger Reed brother.
Isaac was smiling as he dealt a solid punch to my ribs. I grunted with the impact but kept my arms up. He rallied again, his knuckles pummeling my forearms, never ceasing.
I needed a break in his attacks—just a sliver of time to get a hit of my own in. If I could land a hard enough punch, I could buy myself some space. That was all I needed. Space.
But he wouldn’t give it to me. He just kept coming, one hit after another. Soon, he was laughing, and the sound of it rang in my ears and haunted me.
Had this been what Hyde heard when he was beaten to death?
A fire was lit inside me.
I let out a furious yell and dropped my arms. I wound back and drove forward. My knuckles collided with Isaac’s jaw, and he stumbled back.
I didn’t give him time to recover. I went in on him hard.
I used my knees and my boots, driving into all his soft spots, hell-bent on delivering the worst beatdown I could give him.
I didn’t realize I was cursing him as I kicked him to the pavement. It felt good to hear him grunt with pain beneath me. It felt even better to see his bloodied nose. He protected his head as I wound back and gave him a good kick to the gut.
Then, Lauryn was screaming my name.
I looked over at her, and it cost me all the traction I had gained.
Something hit the back of my head, and I pitched forward onto my hands and knees. Little pieces of stone embedded themselves in my palms. I lifted a shaking hand to the back of my head. My fingers came away bloody. What the fuck had I just been hit with?
My vision swam, and dizziness washed over me.
Isaac Reed was getting to his feet.
I could hear them chuckling to one another. I tried to look up, but the world tipped and spun furiously. My vision darkened around the edges.
No. I couldn’t blackout. Not right now. Lauryn needed me. Ryder and the others needed me to keep this fucker here. I couldn’t let him get away.
Pain bloomed in my side, and I toppled over.
They were still laughing. Lauryn was somewhere nearby. She was crying.
Where the hell were Jack and Rick? I hoped they weren’t dead. Prayed they weren’t. But they’d lost their fight, clearly, and now I was on my own.
Someone stepped toward me, and all I could see were muddy work boots and blue jeans. Cliff crouched down. He grabbed a fistful of my hair like I’d done to him back in Lauryn’s apartment the night I kicked him up and wrenched my head up to force me to look at him. I grit my teeth against the dizziness and the pain.
“You don’t look so good, champ,” Cliff drawled.
My tongue was thick and useless in my mouth. Even if I was coherent enough to think of some smart-ass remark to make, I knew I’d be incapable of speaking. So I just glared at him.
Cliff snickered. “You dumb bastard. All of this for her? She’s nothing, mate. Nothing! Just the dumb broad that got you killed in an alley. Like a chump.”
“Leave him alone!” Lauryn shrieked from somewhere close by.
I willed her to stay away. I wished she would get up and run while she still could. Get to the end of the alley. Find someone to help her. Just get the hell away from here. From me.
“Just do him already,” I heard Isaac say.
Cliff shook his head slowly. “Nah. I don’t want it to be over that fast.”
The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Cliff’s fist hurtling toward my face. Then, there was just darkness. Cool, calm, silent darkness.
Everyone was there. Ryder, Derek, Sabian, Jax, Axel, and all their women. Dani’s belly was round. She was wearing a black dress and rubbing her stomach, whispering something sweet to her unborn child. A tear trickled down her cheek.
Then, I noticed that they were all wearing black. The MC boys had their leather jackets on, and everyone was standing in a circle looking down at me.
What the fuck was going on?
I tried to look around but found that I couldn’t move. Speaking was impossible too. A bit of panic swelled inside me. What was this?
Ryder stepped forward and leaned to the side, disappearing from view for a moment. I was much lower than him and lyin
g on my back. He returned and extended his hand over me. He released a handful of dirt, which rained down on top of me. I tried to spit it out of my mouth and failed. I tried to call out to him. No words came.
The others stepped forward, one by one, and began covering me in dirt.
This was my funeral.
My mind raced. Did I die in that alley? Fuck. When they came and found my body, did they manage to kill Isaac Reed? Were they still plagued by him? Had I failed completely?
No.
I couldn’t be dead. They still needed me. Lauryn needed me.
My head started to ache. More dirt was piled on. It darkened my vision, and the last person I saw was Jamie, eyes full of tears. She cried for me, and she cried hard, and Ellie had to step forward and take her by the shoulders to lead her away.
I’m still here, I thought. Please. I’m still here.
Chapter 26
Lauryn
I had no idea how long Caleb had been unconscious. Two minutes? Five? Maybe more. All I knew was he hadn’t moved in too long, and I was alone with two men who scared the hell out of me.
Cliff was pacing back and forth beside Caleb, while Isaac was crouched behind him, watching his brother walk. Back and forth. Back and forth. Isaac padded Caleb down in search of weapons. When he found nothing, he wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “You want me to wake him up?”
Cliff stopped pacing. “Give it a couple more minutes.”
Isaac looked annoyed. “We don’t have all night. His Lost Breed boys will be coming for him. We need to be long gone before they get here.”
Cliff ran his hands through his hair. “You’re right.”
“And what about her?” Isaac tipped his head to me.
I was on the ground where Caleb had thrown me down. I’d been incapable of moving once the fight broke out. I was terrified. I needed to protect myself. All I could think about was Jayden. I was all he had.
I’d wanted to go to Caleb when he needed help but couldn’t. If something happened to me, Jayden would be alone in this world, and I knew how bad that felt. He was my baby. He was my top priority.
I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked back at Caleb. He was facing the other way from me, but I could see his back rising and falling with each slow breath he took. He needed to be all right. Please let him be all right.
Cliff came and stood in front of me. I looked up the length of his legs and into his cold, mean eyes. He smirked. “We don’t need to do anything to her. Killing him will be enough.”
I shook my head as more tears started to fall. “Please don’t. He only got involved because of me. He never—”
Isaac cut me off and got to his feet. “He was always involved, doll face. Your boy and his Lost Breed pieces of shit and I go way back. He had this coming whether or not you were around. Beating up my brother just added more wood to the fire.”
Isaac dealt Caleb another kick to the ribs. He didn’t move. I yelped for him and covered my mouth. Isaac and Cliff chuckled. When Isaac wound his leg back to strike again, I sprang forward and threw myself on top of Caleb. I buried my face between his shoulder blades and screamed at them to stop.
Surprisingly, they did.
I wrapped my fingers in the back of Caleb’s thin jacket. He was in his security uniform and jeans. I squeezed my legs around his hips and clung to him. I knew they might try to pull me off. I had to protect him from them. If they hurt me, then so be it. They wanted to do worse to the man I loved.
“Get off him,” Cliff growled.
I shook my head, and my cheek whispered against Caleb’s back. I could smell the coppery note of his blood in the air. His hair was matted with it. It was staining the back of his neck. I whimpered and held him tighter. “Please.”
Cliff grabbed the back of my bralette in his fist and tried to haul me up. I screamed and held on for all I was worth. Caleb groaned beneath me. Terror rose up my throat. Suddenly, I didn’t want him to wake up. I wanted him to sleep through this whole fucking mess. Maybe, just maybe, it would take the fun out of it for Isaac and Cliff, and they would leave.
I knew how idealistic that train of thought was.
Isaac dropped down beside me and began prying my fingers open. I fought back. I squeezed Caleb tighter with my legs as he started coming to. I had to stay with him. No matter what it took. I couldn’t let them at him.
“Get off me!” I yelled.
“Let go,” Cliff hissed in my ear.
“No!”
“Let go, woman, for fuck sakes!”
“No!”
Caleb was moving around beneath me. He slid his arms under himself and tried to push himself up. The weight of me on his back must have been disorienting for him. It didn’t matter.
Cliff let me go. Isaac got my hands free of Caleb’s jacket, and I lurched forward to cover his head with my arms as the two men straightened. I didn’t dare look at them. I didn’t want to know what was coming.
Caleb muttered my name.
“I’m here,” I said. There was nothing else to say.
How had all of this happened so fast? If only I’d stayed on my platform, Caleb wouldn’t be a bloody mess beneath me. He’d be inside, safe, and so would I. These men wouldn’t have been able to get to me without being seen by the rest of the security staff, and all of this would never have happened.
I swallowed back the urge to cry. I’d done this to him. He was here because he tried to save me. I knew he had history with Isaac, but I also knew he wouldn’t have come into this so unprepared had I not been dragged outside.
I needed to stall.
I looked up over my shoulder at Cliff and Isaac who were sneering down at me. I gathered my nerve. “Just leave us here.”
Isaac’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Why the fuck would we do that? This is the perfect opportunity for me to take another Lost Breed out. I’m not passing that shit up. I’ve been picking them off like flies for months. I’ve earned another notch on my belt.”
“He’s a good man,” I whispered.
“There’s no such thing as good men. Not in this life,” Isaac retorted.
“That’s not true.”
Isaac crouched down beside me once more. I sucked in a breath and instinctively flattened myself more firmly on top of Caleb, who was still coming to. Isaac reached out and traced my jawline and then tucked my hair behind my ear. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, sweetheart. Guys like him? All they do is put pretty girls like you at risk. They destroy everything they touch. They’re like a fucking plague. Just like me.”
“Liar,” Caleb mumbled beneath me.
Isaac grinned. “The bastard wakes. Cliff, get her off him. It’s time to end this shit and get the hell out of here.”
“Stay away from us!” I cried.
“Lauryn,” Caleb said beneath me. I clung to him tighter. “Get out of here. You’ve done what you can. Jayden—”
“Don’t talk to me about Jayden right now,” I hissed at him. I knew perfectly well what I was risking. I couldn’t just get off him and leave him there for them to destroy. I knew it wouldn’t be quick and painless. Cliff had been waiting for this moment of revenge. So had Isaac. I also knew they were evil men. Mercy was not in their blood.
“Listen to him, sweetheart. Get lost,” Isaac said. His tone was amused. He was entertained by this whole thing.
“No more games,” Cliff said. And he reached down and grabbed me by the hair.
Then, another voice rang out through the alley. It was clear and deep and angry. “Isaac Reed.”
Cliff released my hair.
I dared to lift my head and peer over my arm between Cliff’s legs and down the alley.
A group of men had arrived. They were hard, mean looking guys, all dressed in leather jackets. I knew who they were instantly, and the knowledge brought relief to all my tense muscles. I still covered Caleb, just in case, but the fear I’d been plagued with seconds earlier was ebbing away.
This was th
e Lost Breed MC.
The man at the front, the one who had spoken, must have been Ryder, their President. He was dark-haired and dark featured with a strong jaw and thick chest. His hands were balled into fists at his sides, and I was quite sure I’d never seen a more menacing looking man in my life.
His gaze flicked to me. I wasn’t sure, but I thought he nodded. It was just the slightest tip of his head like he was recognizing that I was protecting his man. It didn’t matter. I didn’t need approval. I just needed to make sure Caleb was safe.
Cliff stepped over me and Caleb to stand behind us and beside his brother Isaac. The Lost Breeds started walking toward us.
I sat up a little straighter and slid off Caleb’s back when I had enough space not to worry about the Reed brothers. He looked up at me, brow furrowed with pain and confusion and stained with blood. “What the hell happened?” he grated.
I brushed his hair off his forehead. “It’s all right. We’re okay. Can you stand?”
He nodded. I was surprised by this. I’d expected him to be a wreck. But he draped his arm over my shoulder, and we stood as the Lost Breed came and joined us.
There were more than a handful of them. Ryder was at their head and flanked by eight other men. I peered behind them to see the other two security guards, Jack and Rick, still lying face down on the pavement.
Caleb’s arm fell from my shoulders. “Go stand over there,” he said, nodding at the wall.
“I don’t want to—”
“Lauryn,” he said sternly as he took my face in his hands, “We’ve got this. We’ve been waiting for this for a long fucking time. I’ve been waiting for this. Please stay out of the way so I can end it.”
I licked my lips. Then, I kissed him hard, tasted the blood on his lips, and pulled away. I retreated back to the wall and stood against it as the men all faced each other.
Caleb went and stood by Ryder. Ryder glanced at him. “You all right?”
“I’m alive,” Caleb said hoarsely.
One of the men, a tall, burly, brown-haired guy with a thick beard, stepped up and clamped a hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “Well done, brother. I thought you were dead when I saw you.”