Ink: Savage Crows Book One: An MC Romance Novel

by T. O. Smith

I would not cry.

  I needed sleep and food. Fuck, I couldn't even remember how many days it had been since I'd eaten something - 3, 4 days? I'd been surviving on fucking water alone.

  Suddenly, something cold and steel pressed against my neck as my hair was yanked backwards, making me shriek in pain and fear. I looked up, my eyes locking on Ink's striking blue eyes, and tears instantly filled my eyes as relief flooded my veins.

  I'd found Ink.

  "Reina?" He demanded harshly as he abruptly released me. He shoved his gun back inside of his cut, running his eyes over me, taking in my bare feet and the clothes that barely covered my body. "What the fuck are you doing here?" He angrily demanded.

  I swallowed hard, nervousness filling my veins. I hadn't expected him to welcome me back with open arms, but I had at least hoped that the shock of seeing me would give me a minute to figure out what to say to him.

  But no, Ink was angry - fucking furious, actually. I honestly shouldn’t have expected him to be anything but.

  "I, um . . ." I chewed on my bottom lip nervously. "I need help, Ink." I told him, desperation coating my voice.

  He grunted in disgust, a scowl twisting his features. "Help?" He snarled at me. I flinched. "You want fucking help?"

  I shrugged, tightening my arms around myself. I stared at the ground, shifting uncomfortably on my bare, sore feet. "I don't have anywhere else to go, Ink." I told him, my voice sounding weak even to my own ears, and I hated it. I was so tired of being weak.

  "You expect me to fucking help you?" He demanded. I swallowed nervously as I continued staring at the ground. "Fucking look at me!" He roared, making me jump in fright as I jerked my eyes up to look at him. "You fucking running from Jordan – that it?" He barked. Tears welled in my eyes. "He finally turned on you, and now you want to run to me for some goddamn help? I fucking warned you about him, Reina." Tears tracked down my face at his harsh words, and I knew right then he was about to turn me away. I was on my fucking own, and I knew it was only a matter of time until Jordan found me and I died. "You can go fuck yourself, Reina." He snarled.

  He turned on his heel, beginning to storm away from me. "Ink, please!" I begged, a sob ripping from my throat as I gripped his muscular forearm with both of my hands. I couldn’t let him walk away, not at least without hearing what I had to say first. "He's going to - to fucking kill me like he did her." I sobbed, fear gripping my chest, making it hard to breathe.

  Ink turned to look at me. It was hard to breathe. I didn’t want to die.

  "Fuck." He cursed. He gripped my shoulders and forced me to sit down on the ground, shoving my head between my knees. "You need to fucking breathe, Reina." He commanded as he applied pressure between my shoulder blades. I was gasping for air. My chest felt like it was caving in, no oxygen making it to my deprived lungs. "Fucking breathe. Panicking isn't going to fucking help you."

  "What the fuck's going on, Ink?" I heard a deep voice demand.

  I looked up through my tears to see my older brother wearing the same cut that Ink was. "Reina?" He demanded as he strode over. "What the fuck are you doing here?" He snarled. "I thought we made it fucking clear you weren't welcome back here in Hope."

  "Shut the fuck up, Ghost." Ink snarled at my brother. Ink looked back down at me, still squatting in front of me. He ran his eyes over my face. His eyes were hard and unforgiving, but something flickered in his gaze that gave me a tiny bit of hope again. I grasped that little tiny bit with both hands.

  "Come on." He grumbled. "You need a shower, some food, and fresh clothes. And then, you're going to inform me of what the fuck's going on."

  "She isn’t fucking welcome here, Ink." Johnny barked at Ink.

  "Wrong. She isn’t welcome in your home nor your parents." Ink corrected him. "You don't get to decide who comes in and out of this mother fucking clubhouse. Only Blink, Sabotage, and fucking Grim do. Remember that shit, brother.”

  "She's not fucking staying, Ink." Johnny snarled, making the tears rush down my face faster. Johnny turned his dark eyes to me, making me flinch back from his harsh gaze. "I mean it, Reina. I'll be talking to the Prez. You're not fucking staying."

  "Back down - now!" Ink roared at Johnny as he moved protectively in front of me.

  "The fuck is going on out here?!" A muscular man roared as he shoved the gate open so he could step out. The man was huge, his muscles rippling with every step he took. His cut read Sabotage, the President patch resting under his name. "I can hear you two arguing from all the way up there!" He shouted, throwing his arm behind him.

  "Got a situation, Prez." Ink spoke up, throwing a dark look at my brother. "I need to talk to you, Blink, and Grim. Just let me get her up to one of the apartments so she can get a shower, get on some clean clothes, and get some food in her system first."

  Johnny opened his mouth, but Sabotage held up a hand to him, forcing my brother to shut his mouth. Sabotage looked down at me with dark eyes, a scowl settled over his features. I stepped back on instinct, cowering behind Ink. Sabotage nodded once. "Get her settled in." Sabotage told Ink. "Ghost, you and Ink need to be in that chapel in five fucking minutes."

  With that, Sabotage strode back through the gate. Ink led me through the same gate. I instantly noticed the row of motorcycles lined up in front of the clubhouse, the club emblem hanging on the building for all to see.

  Ignoring all of the questioning looks thrown Ink's way, he led me into the clubhouse and up a set of stairs off to the side. He banged on one of the doors before he opened it, leading me inside. "Get a shower." He grunted, pointing to a door off to the side where I assumed he was telling me the bathroom was. "I'll have clothes waiting on the bed when you get out. Once you're out, stay up here. I'll have Izzy come get you once she has some food made."

  With that, he left the room, shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

  I pushed open the door to the chapel where Grim, Blink, and Ghost were already sitting at the table. I shut the door behind me, stuffing my hands in the pockets of my jeans. I was too worked up to just sit down. I felt like I was going to explode. "Talk." Sabotage commanded as he looked at me.

  "Her name is Reina." I informed him. "She said she escaped from some bad shit. I haven't heard from her since she ran the fuck off with Jordan five years ago. She's begging me for help - something about some other girl being killed."

  "You want to help her?" Blink asked me.

  I turned my dark eyes to him as I shrugged. "Not sure yet. Depends on what she tells me." I told him honestly.

  Not going to lie - I'm pissed as fuck that she showed back up here in town, expecting me to just forget what the fuck she said to me, expecting me to drop everything and help her. I'm pissed as fuck at her - been pissed at her for five fucking years now. That bitterness I felt towards her had never gone away. I had just buried it.

  I didn't know if I'd be able to let go of that fucking anger. Reina had gutted me when she left.

  "She's fucking trouble, Prez." Ghost spoke up. I narrowed my eyes at Reina’s brother. "And she's only going to bring around trouble that this club doesn't fucking need."

  "Easy for you to say when you abandoned her." I snarled down at him. His dark eyes flashed dangerously, but I didn’t give a fuck. Ghost may be bigger than me, but I was fucking meaner. I fought dirty. "As soon as she got caught up with my brother, you fucking never spoke to her again."

  Ghost jumped out of his chair, his features twisted into a snarl. I clenched my jaw. "Brother, you don't know what the fuck you're talking about." He snarled.

  "Both of you fucking stand down!" Grim shouted at us as he stood up from his chair. Ghost took a step back from me. Grim looked at Sabotage. "We need to hear from this girl what the fuck is going on. From there we'll decide the measures to take." Grim told our president.

  "Don't want to step on any toes, but I'd like it to be my final decision on whether we help her or not." I spoke up, looking to Sabotage, knowing that ultimately, it was his decision whether or not I g
ot to decide if she received out help.

  He regarded me silently for a couple of beats before he nodded once. "Church in thirty for you, me, Blink, and Grim. Bring Reina down." Sabotage told me. "Ghost, I don't want you in the fucking room." He said when Ghost opened up his mouth.

  Ghost's face twisted into a snarl, but he kept his lips closed. Chaplain or not, he knew not to go against his President. Sabotage’s word was final.

  I strode out of the room without another word, walking up the stairs to the room I had put Reina in. When I walked in, she was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed in front of her. An empty plate was sitting on the nightstand, and she was wearing the sweatpants and the t-shirt that I had left on the bed for her.

  She looked fucking amazing in my clothes, but I pushed down that attraction. The attraction I had felt towards her had always been there, but I wasn't stupid enough to act on it – not now. Getting involved with her in any way would only lead to fucking trouble. I knew that much.

  "Prez wants to talk to you." I grunted when she looked up at me, letting her wide, dark eyes meet mine. I hated that they still sucked me in all of these years later. I’d always been a sucker for her eyes. "Let's go."

  She nodded and got up to follow me down to the chapel. I pushed open the door, letting her walk in ahead of me. As soon as she was in the room, I followed in behind her, shutting the door behind me, closing the five of us in the room. "Take a seat." Blink told her.

  I watched as she took a seat in my normal seat at the table, and I took Thor's normal seat. She twisted her fingers nervously in her lap, her gaze locked on the table in front of us, too nervous to actually look at any of us. "Alright, girly, we need you to tell us what the hell is going on." Grim spoke up, his gruff voice carrying over to her. "All any of us sitting here knows is that you need help."

  She swallowed hard. "I need protection from Jordan." She admitted quietly. I clenched my jaw. Sabotage shot me a warning look to shut the fuck up.

  "Why?" Sabotage spoke up as he looked back at Reina, pulling his eyes from my murderous expression. "You knew what you were getting into when you went with him, right? I’m sure you did, considering we all faced Ink's rage when you fucking shit on your friendship with him." He reminded her.

  She flinched in her seat at Sabotage's words. "I - I was warned, yes." She said. Her body shook slightly. There was an internal war raging inside of me; I didn’t know whether I wanted to shout in her face how stupid she was or to wrap her up in my arms. "But I didn't -" her breath hitched in her throat as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I didn't know." She choked out.

  "So, tell us what you finally fucking figured out." I snarled at her.

  She furiously swiped at her cheeks as she began crying. "I was gone with Jordan for a month when I woke up in a cell." She choked out. I clenched my hand on the table. I saw Blink and Grim tense out of the corner of my eye, knowing how destructive I could be. "It was dark, only a single light hanging from the ceiling. It made everything dark and eerie, just how he wanted it to be. And there were other cells around me, just like mine, all with different girls my age in them." Her breath left her in shudders as she squeezed her eyes shut. Rage was making my hands shake as adrenaline pulsed through my veins. I was seconds away from ripping this goddamn room apart.

  "I was held there the entire time I've been gone. We were fed if we were good." She choked out. Sabotage shot me a warning look as I moved to sit up straighter in my chair, getting ready to get up. I was about to fucking explode with rage.

  I had been angry with her for fucking years, but I had never wanted her to go through this shit. I had been hoping that she had at least been fucking happy with my piece of shit brother.

  Tortured, though? I never fucking wanted this shit for her.

  "Then one of the girls got pregnant by accident. Her depo shot was due, but Jordan forgot to make sure she received it." She dropped her face into her hands. "He beat her until she miscarried, and then he slit her throat. We were all forced to watch as a fucking warning, like we could control when our bodies decided to get pregnant."

  "The girl." Blink spoke up. I flickered my eyes to him. "Pretty sure the girl that was found off 81 is the same fucking girl she's talking about."

  I jerked out of my chair, sending it crashing down to the floor. Sabotage jumped up as well since he was closest to me, knowing how I got when I was pissed. "Calm it, brother." He warned.

  "I fucking warned you!" I shouted at Reina, making her cower back in her chair from me. "I told you he was no fucking good for you!" I roared. "But you didn't fucking listen! You could have fucking died!"

  "Shut it down, Ink!" Sabotage roared at me.

  I swung my murderous eyes to his. "Fuck off!" I shouted at him. "This shit's between me and her!" I barked, not giving a fuck that shouting at my president like this could get me ripped of my patch.

  "Not right now, brother!" He shouted back at me. "Right now, this involves the fucking club. This shit is bringing in the FBI, and your goddamn brother and this girl are going to bring heat on this fucking club. Right now, you need to keep your fucking head on straight!"

  I sent my fist against my president's face, not giving a fuck about rankings. And I couldn't fucking bash my blood brother's face in.

  So, Sabotage was taking the brunt, and I knew he would give me the fight that I was itching for.

  He charged at me, knocking us both down to the floor. I vaguely heard the chapel doors slamming open as Sabotage and I landed blows on each other. "Leave them!" I heard Grim shout. "You, girl, move the hell out of the way before you get hurt, too!" Grim barked at Reina.

  Once most of my rage was down to a simmer, I shoved Sabotage away, resting my arm on my bent knee as I focused on calming my breathing. "You good?" Sabotage asked from beside me as he leaned back against the wall.

  I grunted in response. He stood up, holding out a hand to me. When he pulled me up from the floor, he clapped a hand on my back. "Are we offering her protection?" He asked me.

  Just like that, the fight was behind us.

  I looked over at Reina who was staring at me with wide, terrified eyes as tears slowly slid down her beautiful face. With a grunt, I nodded, looking back at my president. "Yeah, we're offering her protection, but it's under my terms. She's not leaving this fucking clubhouse without my permission." I looked at each of the men in the room. "And no one fucking touches her. She's off fucking limits." I snapped. When no one said anything, I clenched my fists. "Am I fucking understood?!" I barked.

  When I felt everyone understood, I looked at Reina. "Come on." I grunted. "I need to talk to you."

  She looked like she was debating whether to go with me or not, but Grim gently nudged her forward in my direction. I forced my clenched fists to relax. "I promise he's the last one of us you need to worry about hurting you, princess." He told her honestly.

  And he was right. I might be pissed. I might even be fighting myself internally at the moment, but I would never physically hurt Reina.

  Emotionally? Right now, that shit was still on the fence for me.

  She timidly walked towards me. I placed my hand on the small of her back, leading her through my brothers and back towards the stairs, leading her up to the room I had placed her in. "You'll be here until I deem it safe for you to be on your own again." I told her. She only nodded, her eyes warily meeting mine. She looked exhausted, and though I wanted to hate her, my heart tugged in my chest for her. I knew she had gone through hell.

  "But that won't be until Jordan's either in prison or lying in the ground with a bullet between his eyes." She flinched at the sound of that. "How many women were there?" I asked her.

  "Six are still there." She informed me.

  "And how did you manage to escape?" I demanded to know.

  "Jordan hurt me really bad." She said quietly. I clenched my fists, trying to contain my rage again. It wouldn’t do good to explode around her without a brother to stop me. "I was in the infirmary. He had hired
a new guy to work, and the guy gave me some cash, keys to a car, and he helped me leave."

  "You should've never fucking left." I grunted.

  She nodded, not bothering to say anything. Shaking my head, I ran my hands through my hair. I needed a fucking cigarette and a bottle of whiskey.

  "Get some rest." I told her, forcing my tone to soften. She nervously flickered her eyes to mine. "You're safe here.” I gently assured her, meaning it from the bottom of my soul. I would never let her get hurt under my watch. “Everyone in this club will lay down their lives to protect you now that you're under our protection. Come find me if you need something." I told her.

  I walked towards the door and opened it to walk out. Her soft voice stopped me, wrapping around me like velvet, just like it had when we were kids.

  "Ink?" She asked quietly.

  I grunted in response, not turning to face her.