I started laying the bacon into the pan and waited to hear who was going to explain about Wren.
Pipe cleared his throat. “Don’t know a lot of the details, but Nikki touched her, and she froze. Like deer in the headlights, spooked.”
“Oh Jesus,” Wrecker grumbled. “Please don’t say it.”
“Don’t know for sure what is going on with her, but Cora said she was pretty messed up from her relationship with the fucker from the Hell Captains.”
Wrecker slammed his hand down on the table. “Not only do I have huge fucking shit brewing all around us, now we gotta deal with this. I’d like one fucking day where we don’t get shit on more and more.” Wrecker stormed out of the kitchen, and the only noise was the sizzling of the bacon in the pan.
Alice raised her head, and Karmen leaned into Nickel.
Pipe’s eyes fell on me, and I tried to plaster on a smile.
Pipe put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. “It’ll all be okay, sugar.”
“I hope you’re right,” I mumbled.
Wrecker was right, and I only knew about two things that were happening with the Fallen Lords right now. I could only imagine what else was going on.
*
Chapter 31
Pipe
“I need you back here.”
I rested my hands on the table and looked at my brothers that were gathered around the table. “I know. I need a couple of weeks to get Nikki on board. I can’t leave her in Kales Corners by herself.”
“I’m not asking you to leave your woman there. I’m telling you to pack your shit up, your woman included, and be fucking present. Playtime is over.” Wrecker leaned forward. “Brinks is finding out info about The Ultra and Oakley. I need you here to take the reins while I travel to where Oakley lives and get our decoy in place.”
“When are you leaving?” I asked.
“A week from Thursday.”
That gave me nine days to talk to Nikki and convince her we needed to move back to Weston. “I’ll be back Wednesday.” Make that eight days.
Wrecker nodded his head, satisfied. “Now onto Wren and the Hell Captains.”
“I say we just blow their fucking clubhouse up and be done with the fucking assholes,” Maniac growled.
“You would suggest blowing them up,” Nickel laughed. “Maybe you could throw a couple of fireworks in there to pretty it up.”
“Totally doable,” Maniac bragged.
After Maniac had taken off all day, he was back to the clubhouse right when Nickel and I had returned with the girls from the mall. Also known as Hell on Earth. Cora and Wren had stayed back with Brinks and Slayer keeping an eye on them while Nikki, Karmen, and Alice dragged Nickel and me into every damn store.
Maniac had seemed different after his ride. There was an edge to him that he never had before. Wren being abused by her ex was weighing heavily on him.
“Not happening,” Wrecker vetoed. “As much as I would like to see the maggots disappear, obliterating a whole club seems a bit drastic.”
Maniac shrugged. “Then what exactly do you have in mind?”
“We just get rid of the ones causing us problems.” Wrecker looked at Brinks. “Add finding out which one Wren was dating to your list of shit to look up.”
Brinks shook his head. “Not like I was doing anything else.”
“You got a problem?” Wrecker thundered.
Brinks held up his hands. “Nah, it’s just that don’t you think you could task someone else to dig up shit on them? The Ultra is taking up all of my time.”
Wrecker growled. “Pardon me for overloading you. Find out who the boyfriend was.”
It never was a good idea to question Wrecker. He normally gave one chance to listen, and if you didn’t hear him, he would make you listen.
Wrecker slammed the gavel on the table and stormed out of church.
“Am I the only noticing Wrecker is a bit on edge lately?” Boink asked. “Storming out of the room seems to be his M.O. lately.”
“Why don’t you point that out to him, Boink? I’m sure that will help the situation.” Nickel flicked him upside the head and turned to me. “You really think you’ll be back in Weston that soon?”
I shrugged and stood up. “I don’t have much of a choice. The club needs me, and the only thing that is keeping me in Kales Corners is Nikki, and she’s going to have to understand.”
“You really are new at this couple shit, aren’t you?” Nickel shook his head. “Telling Nikki she has to move is not an option.”
“Well, Nickel, I have eight fucking days. Explain to me how I’m going to get her to move with actually telling her we’re moving?”
He sat back and crossed his arms over his head. “Gotta make her think it was her idea, brother. That’s the only way you are going to make this happen smoothly.”
Yeah, that sounded as easy as getting an elephant in a tutu.
Fucking impossible.
“Just let me worry about it. I’ll be back Wednesday. Try not to make Wrecker’s head explode before then.” All the guys grumbled, but they knew not to bitch and moan. I made my way out of church and out to my truck.
Nikki and Alice were saying goodbye to Cora and Karmen, and then we were headed back to Kales Corners.
I heard the roar of a bike and knew that Wrecker had taken off, frustrated over all the shit going on. I couldn’t blame the guy for disappearing for a bit.
At least Slayer and Brinks had returned this morning and reported that they had a chat with Richard and were convinced that he wasn’t going to be a problem anymore.
Nikki was upset that I had been right that he was the one watching her, but she was glad that he was going to stop and he hadn’t been hurt.
At least that was what I had told her.
Two broken fingers wasn’t really hurting him anyway. The way I looked at it, the guy got off easy.
“Time to hit the road,” I called as I stepped outside.
“Call me when you get home,” Karmen told Nikki. ‘And don’t forget to think about what we talked about.”
Nikki ducked her head and mumbled something I couldn’t make out. What in the hell were these two up to again?
“Alice, make sure you drink a shit ton of water when you get home. I’m pretty sure you’re gonna have a two-day hangover which we all know is worse the second day.”
Alice gave her a two-finger salute and crawled into the truck. I didn’t know who she partied with last night, but she definitely tied one on.
Karmen pointed her finger at me. “Take care of my best friend.”
Jesus, this chick was crazy. “I plan on it, Captain.”
Karmen flipped me off and stepped back next to Cora. Apparently, Wren still wasn’t up to coming out of her room.
Maniac was going to have his hands full with that one.
“You guys got all your shit?” I asked as I backed up.
Alice groaned in the back and raised her thumb.
“I think I got everything. We’ll be back soon anyway, right?”
I looked over at Nikki and smiled. “Yeah, we will be, sugar.”
Maybe convincing Nikki to move back to Weston wasn’t going to be as hard as I thought.
*
Chapter 32
Nikki
“I’m just gonna check on my side of the duplex to make sure Brinks and Slayer didn’t destroy it.”
I groaned and slid out of the truck. “While you do that, I’m gonna hop in the shower.”
“Just wait for me, sugar.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his lips. “How about you check on the duplex, and I’ll get all soapy in the shower so you can help rinse me off,” I purred. I was more than excited to be home and have Pipe all to myself.
“Now that sounds like a damn good idea,” he growled.
“I tend to have them every now and then.”
I pulled him to the front door and stepped to the side so he could unlock the d
oor. “You better be naked and ready by the time I get in there.”
My fingers trailed along his chest, and I pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “I’ll be more than ready.”
Pipe pushed off the side of the house and jogged over to the other side of the duplex. “I want you wet, sugar,” he called.
Mission accomplished.
I closed the door and pulled my shirt over my head. The sooner I got undressed, the sooner I would be in the shower waiting for Pipe.
My shoes were toed off at the door, my shirt on top of them, and my pants hit the floor halfway to the bathroom.
After I turned on the water, I reached behind me to unhook my bra and heard footsteps in the living room. “No fair,” I called. “You were way quicker than I thought you would have been.” My fingers fumbled with the clasp, and I took a step toward the door. “You think you can get this for me? You’ve got me too excited.”
I felt Pipe move behind me and his fingers were on my back. “I’m glad to see that you’re ready for me, Nikki.” The blood rushed from my face, and thick fingers wrapped around my neck. “Time to really make you mine now.”
I gagged against the hold on my neck, and stars flashed in front of me. “Please,” I gasped.
“The time for begging is over. You never should have sent those white trash bikers after me, Nikki. Things never end well when I’m threatened.”
He squeezed my neck harder and pulled me against his body. “Everything you let that biker do to you, I’m going to do now. I figured as soon as I agreed that I would leave you alone that he would disappear.” He leaned down and pressed his lips against my ear. “I was right,” he whispered.
“Richard, please.” My fingers clawed at his hand around my neck, but he didn’t let me go.
“Keep struggling, I like it.” His other hand circled around my waist, and he laid his hand on my mound. He pressed against me and ground his hard dick against me.
“Please, please, don’t do this.”
Richard tsked. “I like when they struggle, but I hate when they talk,” he mumbled. “But I forgot my bag, so we’re going to have to decide what to do. The struggle is nice, but I can’t stand the talking,” he mumbled out loud.
His hand left my body, and he reached for something behind him. “Nighty, night, Nikki. This won’t hurt a bit.”
I opened my mouth to scream when his body moved from mine, but everything went dark, and I didn’t feel anything anymore.
*
Chapter 33
Pipe
I would never understand how Brinks and Slayer managed to make that place an even bigger hell hole.
Four empty pizza boxes were stacked on the kitchen counter, at least fifteen beer cans were littered around the living room, and the mysterious brown stain on the living room carpet seemed to have grown. A lot.
Thoughts of Nikki naked and wet in the shower outweighed taking the time to clean up. The mess would still be here after I thoroughly fucked Nikki. Twice.
I grabbed a clean shirt and a pair of boxers from my dresser and headed over to Nikki’s side of the duplex. I pulled my door shut behind me, locked it, and noticed Nikki’s door was wide open.
“What the fuck,” I mumbled. I sidestepped to her door and listened. All I could hear was the sound of the shower, but something wasn’t right. I looked around, wishing that I hadn’t left my gun next door, and remembered I had a piece of pipe in the back of my truck.
I gripped the pipe in my hand, thankful that I hadn’t cleaned out the back of my truck, and slinked back over to the front door.
Nikki’s clothes were littered on the floor, her usual trail she made to the bathroom.
“Fucking heavy, bitch.”
My blood ran cold, and I clenched my fists. He had Nikki. That fucking cocksucker.
I plastered myself against the hallway wall and sidestepped down it. I peeked around the corner and saw the bathroom was empty, but the bathroom mat was scrunched up against the side of the tub, and there was a bloody handprint on the counter.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. She was okay. She had to be okay. I tightened my grip on the pipe and moved toward the bedroom. I heard Richard before I saw him. He was grunting and groaning all while I assumed he was trying to get Nikki on the bed.
“Never should have hit her over the head,” he grumbled. “Or I should have at least waited until she was on the bed.”
The guy was a fucking whack job. I made it to the doorway, looked into the bedroom, and saw Nikki’s body lying limply half on the bed.
I was gonna kill the fucker.
My gaze ran over him, making sure he didn’t have a weapon or anything on him that he could use against me.
He grabbed her leg and yanked her onto the bed, and a groan came from her mouth.
I breathed a sigh of relief and closed my eyes for a second. Thank God she was alive.
“Quiet, bitch,” he grunted. “Don’t make me hit you again. As soon as I get you on this bed, I’m going to give you exactly what you need.”
“No,” Nikki groaned. “Please.”
I soundlessly crept into the room, and my eyes connected with Nikki’s. I put a finger to my lips and shook my head so she wouldn’t alert Richard that I was in the room.
She groaned and closed her eyes, knowing that all of this was going to be over soon.
“Hey cocksucker,” I boomed.
Richard spun around, surprise on his face. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded like I was the one in the wrong.
Mother fucker was gonna pay. “I got the same question for you.”
“You don’t fucking deserve her,” he spit out.
“I know I fucking don’t, but I’m a selfish bastard, and I’m going to work for her ‘til I fucking die.”
Richard opened his mouth, but I wasn’t going to listen to him anymore.
I reared back, lifting the pipe over my head, and swung, connecting with the nutjob’s head. Nikki screamed, and I heard the crushing of his skull as I swung with all my might. His body lifted off the floor with the force of the blow, and then he landed on the floor like a ragdoll.
“Oh, my God,” Nikki screamed.
I dropped the pipe at my feet and gathered Nikki in my arms. “Where are you hurt?” I demanded. I ran my hands over her body, but I couldn’t find any blood from the handprint in the bathroom. “Where are you bleeding?”
Nikki groaned and laid her head on my shoulder. “I don’t think I’m bleeding. He hit me over the head pretty hard, but I don’t think he broke the skin.”
I cradled her head in my hands and looked down at her. “There was blood in the bathroom, sugar. Where did it come from?”
She shook her head and closed her eyes. “It’s not mine,” she mumbled.
“Stay awake for me, Nikki. You can’t go to sleep right now.” My fingers gently probed her head and felt a huge goose egg on the side of it. “What did he hit you with, sugar?”
She opened her eyes, and a loopy smile spread across her lips. “I don’t want to tell you because then you’ll say that you were right.”
Even banged up and concussed, Nikki still had sass to throw around. “I’m not gonna brag. Just tell me what he hit you with.”
“My damn blow dryer you always complain about me never putting away.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. She was right, I was totally going to give her hell over that, but not until I knew that she was okay. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and quickly called nine-one-one.
The dispatcher told me a car and ambulance were on the way and should be here shortly. I tossed the phone on the bed and looked down at Richard.
“Did you kill him?” Nikki asked meekly. She looked at his limp body and grimaced.
“No, he’s still breathing.” His chest shifted up and down, but he wasn’t moving. When he did finally wake up, he was going to have one hell of a headache.
“Where did you get a pipe from?”
“It was in the b
ack of my truck.”
She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed. “I think I know how you got the name Pipe now.” She was right about that.
Her eyes closed, and I cradled her cheek. “Open your eyes for me, sugar.” She opened one eye and looked up at me.
“I’m naked, aren’t I?” she whispered.
“Yeah, but you’re okay.” I didn’t want to ask the question, but I needed to know. “He didn’t touch you or anything, did he?”
She gently shook her head and grimaced. “No. At least not in a way to get his rocks off. He hit me over the head, but he didn’t have enough time to do anything before you came in.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you okay to put a shirt on?” As much as I knew I shouldn’t move her in case there was something more wrong with her, I wasn’t fond of the idea of anyone seeing her topless. Her panties were still on, but she must have taken her bra off before Richard hit her.
“I’m fine. My head just hurts a bit.” I laid her back onto the bed, sliding a pillow under her head, and grabbed a shirt out of her dresser. “Can you sit up for two seconds?”
She closed her eyes and nodded. “Yeah.”
I hated seeing her like this. My strong, beautiful, passionate Nikki was beaten and hurt, and there was nothing I could do to help her.
She swung her legs over the bed, and I squatted in front of her. “Easy, sugar.” She put her hands on my shoulders and smiled. “Thank you for saving me,” she whispered.
“I fucking love you, Nikki,” I croaked. I couldn’t go another second without her knowing. “I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you the first time you smiled at me, but I was too stupid to realize it.”
“You were pretty stupid,” she laughed.
“Even with a concussion, you still give me shit.”
“It’s all part of my charm.” She gave me a wonky wink and tilted her head to the side. “My head really hurts, but I have to tell you I love you too before I pass out. I’m not stupid and knew I loved you after you took off my underwear.” She closed her eyes and giggled. “That sounded way more romantic in my head.”
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