by Jenika Snow
“No, that is where you are wrong. We do have some shit that needs to be taken care of.”
“I run this goddamn town, and if I had a beef with you I think I’d fucking know about it.”
“It doesn’t matter who you are in this town, or what you run.” Malice ground out and took a step closer. “You did something disgusting, hurt someone that shouldn’t have been touched, and now it’s time you feel what it’s like to get the shit kicked out of you. Maybe next time you’ll think about putting your hands on a woman, especially Adrianna.” Others would definitely say this was a crazy thing for Malice to do, and that taking retaliation for a woman he just met yesterday was out of left field. But the truth was he would have defended any woman that was hurt the way Adrianna was. But there was also something very delicate and innocent about her, something that had this very fierce side of him wanting to destroy anyone that thought about even coming close to her.
Phillip didn’t answer, but the dark look that covered his face was confirmation enough that things were about to get dirty. “That fucking bitch had what was coming to her.” He pointed to his bandaged neck. “And this shit isn’t going to be forgotten, not until I show her that she needs to learn her place.” Phillip reached behind him, but Malice was on him before he could get the gun that was most likely tucked in the waistband at the small of his back.
He tackled Phillip to the ground and slammed his fist into the side of his head. The sight of blood that started to pour out of his nose had Malice grinning in sick satisfaction. Before Malice could deliver another punch Phillip surprised him by head-butting him and successfully knocking him back and off of Phillip. The tangy and metallic flavor of blood filled Malice’s mouth, and he turned his head and spit the shit out. He had felt his lip split, but he liked the pain. He quickly stood and saw Phillip struggling to stand. He could have easily gone after this little douche while he was out of it, but Malice wanted him to be on his feet. Once Phillip was standing, Malice charged forward. He felt all this raw energy move through him, and the image at the forefront of his mind was Adrianna, and how she had looked last night when he held her in his arms in the rain.
“You motherfucker—”
Malice stopped him from saying anything else with another land of his fist into the side of Phillip’s head. The other guy stumbled back, but righted himself before he fell to the ground. The gun that he had hidden in the small of his back had fallen to the ground when Malice had first gone after him, and now he moved toward it.
No fucking way.
Malice was on him in the next second, and kicked the gun well out of reach. He wrapped his hand around Phillip’s neck and lifted him easily off the ground. Moving forward with the other man struggling to breathe and scratching and clawing at Malice’s hand, he slammed him up against a trunk of a nearby tree. He leaned in close, swore he could smell the fear that came off of Phillip, and grinned. “It’s not so much fun when you’re the one getting your ass kicked, is it?” He loosened his hold on his neck just slightly, and heard Phillip suck in air.
“She’s just some trailer trash cunt—”
Malice cut him off by tightening his hand again. “You are one dumb fucker.” He stared into the dark, beady eyes of this man that had hurt the woman Malice felt very protective over. “I’m only going to tell you this once, and believe me when I say if I ever have to repeat myself that will be the last time you are around.” He leaned in another inch so they were nose-to-nose now. “You’ll forget all about Adrianna if you value your life and anything you hold dear. You won’t come looking for her, won’t touch her, and really won’t fucking think about her ever again. Understand?” He could have loosened his hold, but he didn’t. It took a second for Phillip to nod, but when he did Malice reared his arm back and slammed his fist into his side. Phillip grunted, and tears formed in his eyes. “I fucking love it when grown ass men that think they are tough shit cry.” Malice let him go then, and Phillip immediately dropped to the ground. “Tell me you understand what I’m saying and I may not ram my boot up your ass.” Malice crouched to his haunches, and took hold of Phillip’s collar, hoisting him up slightly. “Because if I have to come back here,” he shook his head, “I’ll bury you so damn deep no one can find you, and if they somehow did by some miracle, you wouldn’t be recognizable.” He hit him in the face again, this time feeling Phillip’s nose break under his knuckle. Blood immediately gushed down Phillip’s face, and his howl of pain and the way he curled into the fetal position had the sadistic side of Malice roaring out.
“You want her, she’s yours, asshole,” Phillip wheezed out, and started to choke on his own blood. There was already a bruise forming around his neck, and that really fucking pleased Malice. Of course he wanted to do a lot more damage to this little asshole, but he grabbed onto his strength and took a step back. With one more disgusted look, Malice spit out in front of Phillip the remaining blood mixed with saliva that filled his mouth. He glared at Phillip once more, and then straightened and walked to his bike. He got on and headed back to the clubhouse.
Chapter Eight
Malice had been back at the clubhouse for a couple of hours now, and he had already finished off three beers. He didn’t need to be drinking, but he was still fuming over just walking away from Phillip. He should have killed the motherfucker, because if someone had crossed his path like this any other time he would have broken their neck and not thought twice. But he had held back because Adrianna had said she didn’t want any more violence, and although he might not have said he wouldn’t severely hurt the bastard ex, he had held back for her. He had seen Adrianna about an hour ago, but she didn’t question him on what he may or may not have done to Phillip. She was smart, and probably figured it out, but either way if she asked he wouldn’t lie.
“They have just started gathering out front,” Tits, one of the Fairview members, said as soon as soon as he walked inside of the clubhouse.
Malice sat next to Rock at the bar. He thought back to Adrianna, the damn obsession he was starting to have with her, and scrubbed his hand over his face. She had gone to the storage room to help Lily, one of the club whores, bring in some cases. He hadn’t wanted her to go anywhere that he couldn’t see her, but keeping her locked in a back room also wasn’t helping her. All the shit she had been through had to be hell on a person, and he had to give her credit for the strength she showed.
“Dude, what in the hell are we going to do once she is back in River Run?” Rock asked from beside him, but kept his focus on the club pussy manning the bar. The chick had an ass on her that went on for miles. It was big and juicy, the kind Malice normally went for, but even staring at it, and knowing the front would show him a big ass set of tits, he felt no spark of arousal. He just couldn’t stop thinking about Adrianna, and what would have happened if he hadn’t been at the right place at the right time. She was healing, was bruised and cut up, but it would take a lot of time for her to heal on the inside.
“Dude, you fucking with me?”
He looked at Rock, who stared at him with this confused look on his face.
“I’ve been talking to you and you’ve been checking out her ass the entire time.” Rocks looked over at the barmaid. “But she does have one rockin’ body.”
“She’s yours.” It wasn’t like they called dibs on a woman. If they wanted them, they didn’t have any trouble getting them, and the club pussy currently slinging out the drinks was no exception. Malice brought his bottle to his mouth and tipped it back. The alcohol was starting to get warm, but he didn’t give a shit. His mind was preoccupied with other things anyway.
Marx came out of the backroom with a fierce and pissed off look on his face. “Those bastards are relentless,” he growled out and stormed over to the front doors, but stopped before he opened them. “Tits, make sure the girls are in the back and out of the way. I don’t want them around this bullshit.”
Malice finished off his beer and stood. Tits was already striding back to where the p
rostitutes where staying, but he noticed the club pussy girls were also rounded up and ushered toward the back of the clubhouse.
“This going to get out of hand?” Rock asked from behind Malice.
Marx looked over at them. “They don’t come through the gate, and thank fuck for that because I would end up killing a bastard if they did.” Marx scrubbed a hand through his hair. “But they are annoying as shit, and are loud when they are spouting off their religious and judgmental bullshit.” Marx turned back around and pulled the door open.
Right away they could hear the chanting of the church, and see the large group formed right on the other side of the gate that blocked off the driveway to the club.
“Get those whores out of here!”
“Dirty, filthy, and immoral sluts.”
“Nothing but the devil’s work behind those walls.”
They kept chanting their hateful and derogatory slurs, and Malice moved closer until he was right inside of the door. He glanced behind him at the door that Adrianna and the other woman had gone behind, and no way in hell was he going to leave them to go deal with a bunch of fucking fanatics. Marx and several of the other Fairview members were standing a few feet from the gate, smokes in hand, and some holding beer bottles. They were staring at the church people, and some were getting a good laugh at them. But Malice wasn’t about to tiptoe around a bunch of loons who thought that what they were doing was wrong and immoral. It was a world where people had to do what they had to do to survive. The women that sold their bodies, and looked to the clubs for protection, didn’t mean they were dirty or less than anyone else. But churches like the ones right outside the gate were nothing more than cults that followed with a single-minded purpose.
One of the men that was shouting some pretty vile shit tossed a glass bottle over the gate. It barely missed some of the bikers, and that just had the whole shit-storm of violence erupting. Marx was holding one of his men back that was about ready to tear the churchgoers in two. Malice took another step forward, and the need to be with his brethren rode him hard, but he was concerned about Adrianna. And then he heard the cult going wild.
“Whores.”
“Sluts.”
“The devil’s concubines.”
He saw Adrianna and the club pussy standing off to the side by the garage. His heart started pounding fast and hard, and he moved toward her with determined, quick steps.
“You motherfucking bitch.”
He stopped dead in his tracks at the deep voice that seemed to rise above the rest. He turned, and through all of the raised arms, figurative pitchforks high in the hair, and anger and hatred that swirled behind the gate, he saw that worthless prick of an ex, Phillip. His blood boiled, and he curled his hands into fists. Adrianna’s ex-boyfriend was one stupid bastard, and Malice was not the type to give second warnings. He turned and made his way back to Adrianna and the other woman. They had yet to move. Adrianna wore a frightened, shocked look, and the other club woman was staring off at the crowd with this curious expression. A club pussy woman was tough—they had to be if they were going to be a part of the MC lifestyle.
“Adrianna.” He called out to her, and she immediately looked his way. Her eyes widened, and she pointed out to the crowd, no doubt seeing Phillip, and hearing what he had yelled out to her. “Come here,” he said at the same time he had taken a step toward her. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and his gut clenched. This was a bad situation to begin with, and now with her ex here, and all the negative and dangerous energy in the air he knew it could go to a volatile level fast. He reached her in a matter of seconds, and as soon as he had his arm wrapped around her shoulder he felt her tremors start to subside
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She said it like she was out of breath. “I didn’t bring him here, did I?” She looked up at his face “I didn’t bring this to your clubhouse, did I?”
God, he wanted to take the fear, anxiousness, and worry out of her. “No, Adrianna, you didn’t do this. Those fuckers have been coming around her and stirring shit around, and that fucker…” he gritted out, trying to control himself because he was getting even more pissed by the second.
“God will judge you when you’re dead, but until then we will be the jury.”
Malice turned and stared at a dark haired man that stepped forward. The people around him parted, and started touching him like he was some kind of savior to them. The man wore all black, and his dark hair was slicked back from his wide brow. He wore this thick silver cross around his neck. He gripped the bars and held one hand high in the hair.
“You will be punished by the flames of hell.” But the bastard smirked, and there was this glint in his eyes that made Malice feel unsteady.
“The cops have been called, but not sure how much they will be. As much as I want to open the gates and let the assholes in so they can get a whooping, I have to fucking play by the books,” Marx said as he walked past them and back into the clubhouse. “I need to make sure the women are all good, but you two need to get inside.” He pointed to Adrianna and the other woman.
“Gun!” The screams started right away, but the next few moments seemed to go in slow motion.
Malice turned and pulled Adrianna behind him just as Phillip pushed the cult leader aside, raised the gun high in the air, and fired off a shot. The motherfucker was smarter than Malice gave him credit for. Phillip must have put two and two together when he saw Malice’s patch. And then the fucker had gotten lucky that there were these assholes outside protesting their bullshit ideals, and that Malice and Adrianna just happened to be outside, too. All this fucking chaos had helped that little prick out, but once Malice got his hands on him he was going to make sure the fucking douche never breathed again.
The fanatics scrambled away and screamed. Many people ducked, but when Phillip put his hand through the slates of the gate and pointed it right at Malice, time seemed to go to a standstill. Malice kept Adrianna behind him, and just as he went to go to the ground Phillip pulled the trigger. There was another round of screams. The cult leader was shouting some biblical stuff with his hands in the air and totally not caring that there was a shooter amongst them. It wasn’t until Malice was on the ground with Adrianna underneath him that he saw the bullet slam into the concrete right beside him, and right where they had been standing.
“Get the motherfucker with the gun,” Malice roared out. He wanted to go to Phillip himself, but no fucking way was he leaving Adrianna alone, even long enough that she could run into the safety of the club. He continued to shield Adrianna with his body and watched as Rock and several of the other Brothers from the charter rushed forward with their own guns held high. The cops had been called by now, and the fanatics were at least smart enough to get the fuck out of there—even their psycho leader was on the move to a car.
Phillip took off in the other direction, but right before Malice lost sight of him he ran across the street. Everything happened so fast that all Malice could do was stare in shock and sadistic pleasure as one of the church fanatics’ car sped across the street and slammed right into Phillip. That asshole flew ten fucking feet in the air before slamming down on the asphalt. Even from the distance Malice could hear Phillip’s body making contact with the ground.
“Oh my God,” Adrianna choked out, and then she was leaning to the side and throwing up.
Yeah, this was one of the most fucked up situations that Malice had ever been in.
****
Adrianna glanced over at Malice for what felt like the tenth time in the last five minutes. It had been hours since the shooting and seeing Phillip run over by that car. It was already nightfall, the cops had come with all of their questioning, and after they had left she felt this kind of shock, but also this relief fill her. The police had said Phillip died on impact, but it was from a heart attack, and not from the actual car hitting him. Apparently he had cocaine in his system—not a surprise to her—but that upon impact his heart had already been pumping overt
ime, and the accident has just been that push he needed to have his heart explode—figuratively speaking. He had died of a heart attack, and not so much of the actual impact was what they told her. It was now dark out, and all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep this day away. She didn’t know what the police had found out from the fanatic protestors, but right now she didn’t care, and frankly didn’t know if she ever would. It just went to show how fucked up this world really was.
She looked at Malice, who sat in front of her, and although she hadn’t know what he had done to Phillip before that asshole had come back looking for her, she didn’t care one way or another. He had saved her life once, and then did it again when he used his own body as a shield from Phillip’s crazed intentions. Whatever she had felt for him before was now heightened to the nth degree, and letting him walk out of her life didn’t seem like the smartest move anymore.
The silence stretched on between them, and she shifted on the bed. It might have been hours since she had been caught up in the middle of that life and death situation, but her heart still felt like it would come right through her chest. And then she’d look at Malice, and her heart would drop into her stomach.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked again and stared at her with this very worried expression on his face.
“I am, just still a bit shocked over everything I guess.”
He nodded and gave this gruff grunt of acknowledgment. “I can call the doctor in here, make sure you’re okay?”
She shook her head. The bullet hadn’t hit them, thank God. “No, I’m okay, really. But thank you.” They sat in more silence, and the sound of their combined breathing seemed overly loud.
He had saved her, and she knew that if Phillip hadn’t gotten hit by that car and died Malice would have gone after him and killed him. There had been that dangerous air about him as he held her tightly in that parking lot and made sure she was kept behind the mountain that was his body. Even now she swore she could still hear the sound of Phillip’s body being hit by the car, and then slamming hard on the pavement. It was enough to make her stomach roil.