by London Casey
Blaine jumped away from Nate and ran toward Miller and Gaige. Victor dropped down and tried to reach back for a gun. Blaine took out his gun and pointed it right at Victor.
“Fuck you,” Blaine said and pulled the trigger.
“Jesus Christ!” Gaige yelled.
The tension exploded.
“He has Jessa!” Blaine yelled. “This is a set up to get Jessa!”
“Fuck,” Miller said.
Miller, Gaige, and the rest of the guys drew their weapons and kept the Eight Under crew under control.
Miller put his gun to Levi’s head. “Is that what this is?”
“Say goodbye to your club,” Levi said. Then he looked at Blaine. “Say goodbye to your family, again.”
Blaine wanted to kill them all.
But first, he had to save Jessa.
***
Blaine pulled to the side of the road. The office was up ahead. Jessa’s car in the parking lot. The prospect’s motorcycle in the parking lot. After going to the house and finding it empty this was the only other logical place Jessa would be. Somehow, Vin had set it up to get her there.
Nate was right behind him.
“What are we doing?” Nate asked.
“Trapping him,” Blaine said. “He hears the engines and we’re fucked.”
“What do we do?”
“You take one door, I take another. We sneak in and find him. Save Jessa. Get Vin. Don’t shoot him. I want him.”
“You got it, brother,” Nate said. “Hey. We’ll save her. We’ll save your family.”
“Unless she’s already dead.”
Nate didn’t respond to that.
They started to run toward the parking lot.
As they approached, Blaine pointed to the back of the building and that’s where Nate went. Blaine took to the side door. That’s where Jessa’s car was parked. That’s where she had entered the building. In his mind all he saw was his baby. His child. The life inside Jessa’s body. When he blinked, it was like flipping through pictures. Because then he saw Janey. Playing with her dolls. Setting up a tea party with all her stuffed animals. He blinked and saw Meghan in bed, wearing something skimpy, wanting to relax Blaine after a long day of work.
He blinked again and saw them… gone. Their bodies on the floor. The two caskets. The two graves. The two headstones.
Blaine grabbed the door and pulled it open. He entered slow and quiet. Before taking one step, he saw something on the floor.
It was the prospect.
Shot dead.
thirty-three.
Vin went to work fast. He grabbed Jessa by the back of her neck and ordered her to sit on the table. He then grabbed Terri by the hair.
“Don’t hurt her!” Jessa yelled. “She didn’t do anything…”
Vin opened the second door in the room. “Everyone walk with me.”
Vin locked Terri in a closet.
There was a split second to make a decision and Jessa did.
She screamed.
Vin then grabbed her by the throat and walked her back into the exam room. He slammed her against the wall and then swung a backhand, connecting with her mouth. Jessa felt the white hot pain surge through her face and neck. She slid down and instinctively grabbed for her belly.
She had to find a way to protect her baby.
Vin tore open the exam room door and stepped into the hallway. A second later, he lifted his gun and shot. The boom echoed all around.
“Fucking idiot,” Vin said.
That’s how Jessa knew the prospect was dead. He must have ran right through the door. He didn’t try planning anything.
Jessa leaned to her right and felt her stomach flip. She had all but killed the prospect. She believed Terri and left the house. She thought she was doing right…
“Get the fuck up,” Vin said.
Jessa looked up at him. “What do you want?”
Vin pointed the gun at her. “Get the fuck up.”
Jessa climbed to her feet. Her hands still touched her belly.
“You let him knock you up?”
“It happened.”
“Filthy whore,” Vin said. “My little kitty. Sit on the table.”
Jessa inched onto the table. Her hands then gripped the edge. “I don’t know anything, Vin. I went to Blaine because you came here first.”
“That’s right,” Vin said. “So now I have everything under control. Guns. Drugs. Back Down Devil MC will be emptied by the end of the week. Then I’ll move in on Ethan and take control of everything. The charters will slowly collapse under my weight.”
“What does that have to do with me?” Jessa asked.
“Simple. You’re a loose end that has to be tied up. You were there that night. You saw me. You tried to fuck me, Jessa. You ran your mouth.”
“You killed my best friend and her daughter.”
“Best friend? You got pregnant by your best friend’s fiance. Whore.”
Jessa swallowed hard. She started to shake. “You’re a criminal.”
“We all are,” Vin said. “I’m just better at it than anyone else I know. Now, I want to see how good you are with that mouth. No more talking, Jessa. I want to see what’s so good about you. What’s got Blaine all twisted up. He’s out of his mind because of you.”
“He’s always been out of his mind.”
“Get on your knees.”
“Eat shit.”
Vin laughed. “I hate when people don’t understand the gun concept.” Vin put the gun to Jessa’s stomach. “Get on your fucking knees.”
Jessa moved from the table. She inched down to her knees.
Vin slid his fingers through her hair. “Good girl. You know, I wanted to do this with Meghan. Fuck, she had the tightest little ass and beautiful tits. I didn’t know that little bitch of a kid would walk in on us. You know? I was going…”
A fire raged inside Jessa. Fight or flight took control and somehow, they mixed together. She told herself the honor was in trying. She would not stay on her knees and end up dead anyway. Blaine had showed her how to live. How to fight back. Blaine had given her a chance at life like no other person had ever done.
“Now,” Vin said, “you’re going to unzip my pants. You’re going to get me nice and hard. Okay? And when we’re all finished, I’ll give you a chance to survive this. Depends on how you do.”
Jessa put a hand to her stomach.
I’m so sorry… if we don’t survive this…
With her other hand Jessa reached for Vin. She curled her fist tight and took a deep breath. She then punched Vin right in the balls.
The hit was hard enough to send him stumbling back.
Her eyes looked at the gun. She had to keep focus on the weapon.
Jessa hurried to her feet and lifted her right leg. She kicked again, hitting Vin again in the balls. He flew back and fell over a chair.
Jessa lunged at the open door and had one foot in the hallway when Vin shot at her. A burning pain surged through her left arm as she fell forward. She caught herself and looked, seeing the blood. She then darted to the right, just as Vin shot again.
She was shot. But only in the arm.
Jessa went into the next exam room. She shut the door and locked it. A second later, Vin pounded on the door. He shot at the door as she ran through the other exit. She pulled that door shut but there was no locking it. Now she was in the back room of the office. That’s where they kept supplies, her office and Dr. Ashland’s office, and where they did surgeries and kept animals for observation.
Jessa opened her office door and slammed it shut. She then kept going, moving by Dr. Ashland’s office and going into the surgery area. There was a long metal table with large lights hanging over. A counter along the back of the room with a double sink. Jessa opened a drawer and took out two scalpels. She’d do anything to survive right now.
“Where the fuck are you?” Vin’s voice echoed outside the door.
She listened to sounds of doors slamming and o
bjects being tossed around.
He was going office to office.
And then he was at the surgery room.
Jessa hid at the end of the table and watched.
Vin opened the door, his left hand holding his balls. He pointed the gun and shot.
The bullet pinged off something and Jessa let out a gasp, giving herself up.
Shit…
“You’re trapped,” Vin said.
Jessa inched up and threw one of the scalpels at Vin. He got out of the way and shot again. The bullet missed and hit the wall.
“You have a knife, I have a gun,” Vin said. “Who is going to win this?”
Jessa glanced at the medicine cabinet. There were plenty of liquids in there that could take Vin down. Hell, she could paralyze him. She could knock him out. She could kill him.
But she couldn’t get there.
“So let me make you a one time offer,” Vin said. He stepped slowly. “You put the knife down and I won’t shoot you in the stomach. Deal?”
Vin kept approaching. Jessa slid to the left until she was in a corner. If she jumped up and tried to run, he’d shoot her. She was right back to square one.
“Okay!” Jessa yelled. “Okay.” She held the scalpel out. Then she let it go.
Vin approached her, putting the gun to the top of her head. “I gave you a chance.” Vin took a breath. “So now it has to end like this. Are you ready to meet your fate?”
From the corner of Jessa’s eye she saw something.
Someone. In the doorway.
Yeah, she was definitely ready to meet her fate.
Blaine was in the doorway.
***
“Let me say something,” Jessa said.
“What?”
“You had no right to kill them. Whatever you thought, it was all wrong.”
Blaine slowly moved into the room. Jessa wanted him to just shoot Vin and end this. But Blaine tucked his gun behind his back. Jessa sort of understood it - he wanted to torture Vin.
“I’ll kill whoever I want, when I want,” Vin said. “That’s why you shouldn’t have been there. You shouldn’t have ran either. Then you talked and talked. Where did that get you?” Vin crouched down to face Jessa. “I’ve been watching you for a long time, Jessa. I’ve had eyes on you. I know everything about you.”
“You don’t know a thing,” Jessa said. “You don’t know what I’m capable of.”
Vin smiled. “That’s nice. You take that false sense of strength right to your fucking grave.”
Jessa spit in Vin’s face.
Blaine was right behind him.
Vin’s face turned bright red with anger. He had no idea of his surroundings.
Vin brought his hand up, fist locked tight. That’s when Jessa broke her stare, for a split second, to look at Blaine behind Vin.
As Vin held his fist back, his face dropped.
Blaine put his hand to Vin’s fist.
It all happened so slow up to that point.
Then it sped up.
Blaine swung his other hand and hit Vin in the side of the face. He dropped down and grabbed Vin’s hand, keeping the gun away from Jessa. That didn’t stop Vin from pulling the trigger. Jessa started to crawl away, saving herself and her unborn baby.
When she turned she saw Vin and Blaine tangled up. Blaine grabbed Vin’s wrist and slammed his hand on the floor until he let the gun go. He then came down with a punch to Vin’s face. Vin threw a left and connected with Blaine’s jaw.
“Come here,” another voice said.
Jessa screamed and looked up to see Nate standing there. He put his hand out and helped her up.
“Help him,” Jessa said.
“No,” Nate said. “This is his fight.”
Nate pulled at Jessa’s wrist. But she didn’t want to move. She wanted to watch.
“Nate,” she said. “There’s a woman named Terri in the closet in the hall. She was tied up.”
“I’ll get her. Don’t get involved in this.”
Jessa lingered in the doorway and watched.
Blaine threw Vin over the surgery table. He rushed around and Vin started to kick. Blaine dropped to one knee, took a kick to the mouth, and then punched Vin again. The hit was so hard, it smacked Vin’s head off the floor. That paralyzed Vin for a couple seconds. Blaine stood up and put his foot to Vin’s throat.
Just like that, the fight was over.
The war was over.
Blaine looked at Jessa. Blood ran down the corner of his mouth. His cheek was swollen. Sweat on his face.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“I am now, Blaine.”
“You’re going to want to leave the room for the next part,” Blaine said.
“You’re going to kill him,” Jessa said.
Blaine’s eyes narrowed with a deep evil. “He’s not worthy of just death. I’ll need a bag for all the body parts.”
thirty-four.
Blaine pulled the last knot as tight as he could. Vin was completely strapped to the surgery table. Restraints across his shoulders, his stomach, and his legs. A balled up towel was stuffed in his mouth to keep him from screaming. But Blaine planned on taking that out of his mouth before he started to work on Vin. Blaine wanted to hear and feel and remember every last scream Vin had to offer. He wanted to watch Vin’s neck strain as he screamed. Hell, maybe with a little luck Vin would burst his vocal chords.
“Now what?” Nate asked.
“I want you to take Jessa out of here,” Blaine said. “I need my time right now with him.”
“You don’t want my help?” Nate asked.
“No, brother.”
Blaine sat in a chair next to the surgery table.
Nate walked around and put a hand to Blaine’s shoulder. He leaned down and kissed the top of Blaine’s head. “I’m sorry for what he did. But we saved Jessa. Remember that, brother. We saved your family.”
With that said, Nate exited the room.
It was quiet.
Deathly quiet.
Vin stared at Blaine. His eyes were glazed with tears. Blaine wasn’t sure if Meghan and Janey cried before Vin killed them. If he tortured them at all. Or if he just burst into the house and started pulling the trigger.
Blaine stood up. He took a scalpel and put it to Vin’s forehead. Vin started to kick.
“No,” Blaine said.
He pressed the blade into Vin’s skin and twisted.
Vin screamed a muffled scream.
Blaine took the blade away. Blood gently dripped to right side of Vin’s head.
Blaine then put the scalpel to Vin’s chest, right at his heart. He pressed, twisted, and watched blood seep into his shirt.
“That’s what you did,” Blaine said. “You shot Meghan in the head and Janey in the heart. They did nothing to deserve it.” Blaine put the scalpel to Vin’s throat. “You fucking piece of dirt.”
Vin kicked and screamed.
Blaine took the scalpel away and put it on the counter.
“You don’t get it that easy,” Blaine said. “I’m going to go slow. Fingers to the first knuckle. Then your toes. Then I’m going to remove kneecaps, just to do it.”
Blaine stood up. He looked down at Vin. In his mind, everything he knew started to play out. Working the streets, stuck between right and wrong. Meeting Vin and always knowing how dangerous the man was. Guilt then punched Blaine in the gut. He had a chance to push Meghan away but never did. He had gotten drunk and picked a fight with her. He did everything to convince her to leave. He even gave her a bag of money and told her to go. Take Janey and find a small town to start over in. Meghan accused Blaine of fucking someone else. She even threw Jessa’s name into the fight. Which was kind of strange and eerie, considering how everything played out.
When they talked again, Blaine opened up to Meghan. He explained his job was dangerous and that he wanted nothing but the best for Meghan and Janey. Especially Janey. Her father had been some street punk that got Meghan pregnant and
took off. The guy ended up murdered before Janey was even born.
That day, Meghan told Blaine the best way to save herself and Janey was to be with Blaine. It was a touching moment. Then Meghan gave Blaine two rings. Engagement rings. That’s what Meghan had done with the bag of cash. She bought herself a diamond ring. And one for Janey. So Blaine asked Janey for permission to marry Meghan. On the outside, it looked wickedly romantic and so sweet. Blaine on one knee, offering Janey her own ring to wear, as a promise that Blaine would always take care of her.
On the inside, Blaine hated it. But Meghan made it clear that if he wasn’t all in, then he would never get to take care of Janey. Meghan promised Blaine full adoption, Janey changing her last name, everything.
And Vin took it all away.
Blaine felt a tear slip out of his eye and he wiped it away. He stared at the tear on his finger and then made a fist and punched Vin in the face. He then started to punch him, over and over, wondering how many hits it would take to kill a man.
Let’s find out…
Blaine landed ten blows before Nate came into the room.
“What did I tell you?” Blaine snapped.
“It’s not about this,” Nate said. “Just wanted to let you know that we got the car. The prospects took it to the warehouse. It’s full of guns. Deep trunk, brother. And cash under the seat. Half a million.”
“Good,” Blaine said.
“It’s all worked out, Blaine. Like we said. The MC took out all of Eight Under. Using their own guns. It’s a mess out there. But it’s not in Frelen.”
Blaine nodded. “Even better.”
“Just wanted you to know. We did it, brother. So take your time here. There’s no rush.”
Nate shut the door.
Blaine looked at Vin. His eyes were swollen, face bloody.
“See that?” he asked Vin. “You lose now. And my club…”
Blaine closed his mouth. He turned his back on Vin.
The cartel would come looking. They’d know about Eight Under getting wiped out. Vin missing. Maybe they’d blame Vin, right? Vin took the guns and money. But the cartel would search. They’d come to the MC over and over, waiting to find a crack and then rip it open. The MC would never be in bed with the cartel. But they would want to know what happened to their guns and their cash.