by J. L. Leslie
“What if Dean doesn’t go for it?” Bishop asks.
“It’s pussy. He’ll go for it,” Owen replies with a shrug.
I sigh, knowing my protests are futile. Mason’s mind is made up, and the Eagles are backing him because they want Owen’s niece back. With the Harlots going in, there’s less of a chance for bloodshed.
Skylar’s brilliant plan is to have the Harlots get an invite to the Souls’ clubhouse. It honestly shouldn’t be too difficult. They have already been doing recon on the Souls and learned they do a supply run every Thursday night for the upcoming weekend. That way they can party the whole weekend and not run out of booze and food. Once they’re in, they’ll drug Dean and give us the green light to come in and shut the place down.
“Let’s put it to a vote.”
Dammit. “Nay.”
“Nay,” Jake backs me.
But the vote carries. Pissed, I stand up and head out the moment Mason bangs the gavel. I go over to the bar and tell Robyn to get me a drink. She’s pouring me a shot when Allie walks in. It takes me a moment to register she has blood all over her shirt.
“Fuck. What happened?” I rush over to her, checking her for any type of wound. “What the hell happened?”
“We’re okay,” Skylar says, walking inside. “Dash, Bishop, can you please go get the kids?”
“Allie, talk to me. Talk to me, baby.”
“I shot him.”
“Who? Who did you shoot?”
“He’s in the trunk.”
Holy shit. I hurry outside to Skylar’s car. It’s banged up pretty bad. I notice a blue Chevy parked behind it. I pop the trunk and walk to the back. The man inside is dead. Looks like Allie put four shots to his chest, one catching him in the side of the neck. He’s wearing a Souls’ cut. I slam the trunk shut and go back inside, telling Dash to go get Mason and Jake now that the kids are settled.
“He ran us off the road,” Skylar says. “And he came after us. I had the gun Jake gave me in my glovebox.”
Allie’s eyes water with tears. “It was him or us.”
“You did the right thing,” I assure her. “You protected our family.”
“The missing girls from the center,” Allie says. “It was the receptionist. She was with him. She’s the one helping the Souls get the girls.”
“We’ll find her,” I promise.
“Fuck. Now they’ll know we’re coming,” Bishop says.
“No, they’ll be coming for us,” Jake replies. “When their guy doesn’t come back, they’ll come for us.”
“Lock the clubhouse down for the night,” Mason orders. “Get your families here. No one leaves.”
ALLIE
I stay seated on the couch as more people come inside the clubhouse. I peek down at Wes, who’s cradled in my arms. He’s sleeping so soundly. So at peace. I was terrified he was going to be taken from me.
“I’m going to get him set up in my room,” Hunter says. “I want you to get a shower, get that blood off you. Then I’ll feed you.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’re going to eat something, Allie.”
I look down at my shirt, at the bright red stains on it. I shot a man. When he was coming at us, the only thing I could think was he was not going to hurt my son. Not going to hurt Skylar or Maisy. I couldn’t let that happen.
“Come on, baby,” Hunter says, and I realize he’s taken the bassinet to the bedroom.
He easily lifts Wes from my arms and carries him down the hall. Numb, I get up and follow him. He’s settling Wes in the bassinet as I go into the bathroom. I turn the shower on and let the water run. I strip off the bloody shirt, noticing my jeans are bloody as well. My hands shake as I peel them down my legs and kick them off.
The door opens, and Hunter walks inside. He unclasps my bra, and I slide it off my arms. Then he strips my panties down and holds the shower curtain open for me. I step underneath the water and watch as blood washes down the drain. I grab his soap and lather it up, scrubbing myself clean. I realize I’m crying, full-blown sobbing.
Hunter climbs in behind me, his clothes still on, and simply pulls me into his arms. I cry out, unable to control my tears.
“It’s okay, baby,” he murmurs. “I’m so proud of you. So fucking proud of you for protecting our family.”
His words sink in. The truth of them. The sincerity. Hunter isn’t disgusted with me for killing a man. He’s proud of me. It’s not an “I love you,” but I know he does.
He lowers his head, his lips brushing over mine as he holds me in his arms. I reach up and caress his cheek, pushing his hand lower until he cups my mound. He massages my clit before slipping two fingers inside me, pumping them in and out as the water pours down on us.
“Fuck me,” I plead. “Fuck me, Hunter. Please. I need this. I need you.”
I strip his shirt off and toss it down. I’m frantic, the need to have him inside me consuming me as I struggle to get his jeans undone and pushed down over his ass. He turns me around and leans me forward, placing my hands on the shower wall. He kisses my shoulder, whispering naughty words just before driving inside me.
The man I killed is forgotten. This takes over everything. Hunter takes all of me, and I freely give it to him. He has me. Always has. Always will.
HUNTER
I ease out of the bed, careful not to wake Allie. She’s pretty shaken up about what happened. I know taking another person’s life is not an easy decision. I’d barely been patched in when I killed for the first time.
Jake was with me. We were out on a run, making a delivery in California. The fucker tried to jack our shipment. Needless to say, we made our delivery. I had nightmares for weeks after that, seeing the fucker’s face in my dreams. I hope she doesn’t have that. Hope she knows she did what had to be done.
I pull on my jeans and a T-shirt and walk over to where Wes is sleeping. I gently run my hand over his head, then grab my boots and walk out. Bishop, who’s on guard, watches me as I take a seat on the couch and pull my boots on.
We’re on lockdown, which means no one comes in and no one goes out for the safety of the club. It’s a rule I have to break tonight.
“Where the hell are you going?” Bishop asks.
“I got us into this mess. I’m going to get us out.”
“Bullshit, man. You didn’t get us into anything.”
“My old man’s gambling problem, his fucking debt, is what started all this. It’s time to end it.”
Bishop sighs, shaking his head. “Hunt, don’t pull this shit. Go back in there to your woman and kid.”
“They’re the reason I’m doing this.”
He mumbles a curse as I pull the door open and head out. I shift my bike into neutral and push it until I can safely crank it without the club knowing. Mason asked for a better plan. I have one — and I’ll make it happen.
I ride to Alabaster, back to the house Allie lived in with Paul. I didn’t think I would ever be back here. Paul’s vehicle is parked in the garage, the door open. The house is dark, but it should be, considering it’s half past ten.
I slip in the garage and pound on the door. I know I can pick the lock and go inside, but I came here to ask for a favor. Breaking in will probably screw that up for me.
A light comes on, and the door eases open. Paul stands there, a damn rifle aimed at my head. I hold my hands up, showing him I come in peace.
“You have some balls,” he says.
“I won’t argue with you on that.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asks, then looks over my shoulder. “Is it Jane? Wes? Are they okay?”
And this is why it was never going to work between them. He wanted her to be someone else. To be something different. Allie knew she couldn’t be who he wanted her to be.
“They’re fine, but I came here for them,” I answer. “They were attacked tonight, by a member of the Souls.”
He slowly lowers his gun and motions for me to come inside. “I’m done wi
th them. I made that clear.”
“I need you to have a change of heart. Call Dean. Tell him you want to meet.”
“That is not going to happen. I’m getting the hell out of this place.”
“Tell him you want him to negotiate a new price.”
“And why would I do that for you? You took everything from me. I don’t owe you a damn thing.”
“You love Allie. I know that. And I know you were a good man to my son,” I say. “I will walk away. From her. From them.”
“You’ll walk away? Just like that?”
“If you set up the meeting with Dean, yes, I will.”
I promised to protect them. This is how I do that.
ALLIE
I reach over to find Hunter’s side of the bed empty, the sheets still warm. I push down the panic that rises, not wanting to think the worst. Not wanting to think he left Wes and me. He wouldn’t do that. Not now.
I get up and go to Wes, finding him still sleeping. I check the time. It’s almost eleven. I pull on some clothes and head out to the main room, leaving the bedroom door open so I can hear Wes should he wake up.
I glance around, expecting to find Hunter here, but he’s not. That sick feeling fills my stomach again.
“Bishop? Have you seen Hunter?”
He sits at the bar eating some chips. He finishes chewing, and I know, I just know he knows something. He knows where Hunter is.
“You just missed him.”
“Where did he go?” I try to keep my voice calm, but I’m on the verge of hysteria.
“Listen, Allie, I told him not to leave, but you know Hunter. Once he has his mind set on something, there’s no stopping him.”
He didn’t leave Wes and me. He went to try to play fucking hero all alone. He blames himself for all this.
“Does Mason know?”
“Waiting on him to make an appearance, and I’ll tell him.”
I nod and go back to the room. Wes is stirring awake, his tiny legs kicking about. I quickly change him and carry him out to the main room, placing him on a blanket on the floor.
“Watch him please. At least until Skylar gets up.”
“Nope. I’m not doing that.”
“You let Hunter leave! Now I need you to do this so I can go get him!”
“Fuck. You’re going to get me kicked out of the club with this bullshit.”
“What the hell is going on out here?” Dash grumbles, running a hand through his hair. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”
“I’m going,” I say, not wasting any more time.
“Dammit, Allie, wait. Dash, you got babysitting duties,” Bishop says, then turns to address me. “I’m going with you. Maybe then you won’t get yourself killed.”
“Fine.”
“Let me grab a few things.”
His idea of a few things is an AR-15, three Berettas, and extra ammo. He hands me one of the Berettas, and I tuck it into the back of my jeans.
“We need some zip ties and duct tape.”
He doesn’t question me but goes and grabs both items from a drawer in the kitchen. We walk outside, and Bishop heads to his bike. I stop him. “We’re taking
the truck.”
If we show up in the Chevy, maybe they’ll think it’s their guy. Maybe we won’t have any issue getting inside. Besides, we’re going to have leverage. And that leverage is Jill.
“This isn’t the way to the Souls’ clubhouse,” Bishop informs me after we’ve been on the road a few minutes.
“We’re making a pitstop,” I explain. “You have any issue with knocking a woman out?”
He shrugs. “It’s not my favorite thing to do, but shit happens.”
“Well, I need that shit to happen in about three minutes,” I say, putting the truck in park at the rehab center. “Be ready.”
I go inside, and like I suspected, Jill is still at work. She always had the evening shift before, working from three in the afternoon until midnight. Glad that hasn’t changed. She glares at me from the desk, the friendly face I’m used to from her completely gone.
“Where is Bruno?”
“Where are the missing women?”
She laughs at my question. “You think you’re so much better than me. You’re lucky you didn’t wind up on my list. Paul saved you from that.”
“You want Bruno?” I ask, placing my hands on her desk and leaning in. “I killed the motherfucker.”
She screams out in rage and lunges at me, climbing over the desk. I take off running for the door, praying Bishop is ready. I shove it open, knowing she’s right behind me. The sound of his fist connecting with her face makes me grimace, but it gets the job done. He carefully picks her up and carries her to the truck.
“Take us to the Souls while I get some answers out of her.”
“Shit,” Bishop mumbles, pulling off as I zip tie her wrists. “You and Hunter are both crazy as fuck.”
HUNTER
I stay hunkered down in the trunk of Paul’s vehicle. He drove right in, just like I thought he would. Dean didn’t want to waste time on meeting with him. Told him to come on over. I didn’t want to wait either.
“Just act normal,” I say, and Paul gives me a subtle nod.
Once the coast is clear, I’ll ease out and get inside the clubhouse. If I have Dean, his men will hold off on attacking.
Paul gets out, leaving the car unlocked for me. When I don’t hear any more voices, I press the release button and slowly push the trunk open. The realization I’m not alone hits me like a fucking freight train. Paul stands beside Dean, a sadistic smirk on his face. He betrayed me.
“Nice of you to join us,” Dean says, smirking.
I climb out of the trunk, no point in trying to be stealthy now. Dean holds his hand out for my gun, and I place it there. The second I do, Paul throws a punch, connecting with the left side of my jaw.
“You don’t deserve her,” he hisses at me.
I know that. There was a never question of whether I deserved Allie or not. I know without a doubt I don’t.
“Take him to the basement,” Dean orders. “You’re familiar with that place, right?”
“Yeah,” I say, and look over to Paul. “That’s where he let us gut your brother.”
“Don was a fuck up,” Paul replies. “He shouldn’t have taken your sister after the job was called off. Damn near screwed up our entire operation.”
“I knew you were part of this.”
“Part of it?” he asks, laughing. “I’m the damn mastermind behind it.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
He throws another punch, knocking me to the ground. He kicks my stomach, making me cough and wheeze, the gunshot wound still tender. A few of Dean’s guys grab my arms, roughly jerking me to my feet and shoving me forward.
“There’s Bruno,” I hear one of them say. “Bout fucking time.”
Bruno? I turn around and see a Chevy Colorado coming through the gate. The same Chevy Colorado that ran Allie and Skylar off the road. They may think Bruno is coming, but I know better. I start resisting, snatching my arm away from them. I can only see two bodies in the truck, so I know my guys are going to need me.
I manage to get a few steps away from them when the butt of a gun slams against my head. I drop to my knees, struggling to stay conscious as blood trickles from the wound.
“That’s not Bruno,” Dean mutters.
I nearly vomit when I see Allie get out of the truck. She steps backward, keeping her eyes on the Souls, and opens the back door. When she closes it, she’s holding a woman against her, a gun pressed to her temple.
“Son of a bitch.”
Bishop gets out, an AK in his hands. He joins Allie, and the woman whimpers against the duct tape on her mouth.
“I have something you want!” Allie yells. “And you have something I want!”
My ol’ lady is crazy. Pure fucking crazy. Dammit, I love her.
“Let’s talk,” Dean suggests.
“There�
��s nothing to talk about. You let him go, and I let her go.”
He chuckles. “You won’t pull the trigger.”
Bishop laughs. “How do you think we got the truck?”
“Kill her.” Dean shrugs. “We don’t need her.”
“Wait!” Paul screams. “We don’t do this without her! She goes, I go.”
“I’m getting pretty tired of your demands,” Dean says. “Your family may have been the mastermind behind this, but I fucking run it.”
Paul cocks his head to the side. “And you think you can do it without us? Sure, you’ve gotten by without Don, but my family has provided you with all of it! My sister and me, we do everything!”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Thanks to you and your siblings, I have the girls. I have the buyer,” Dean says with a shrug. “Time to cut out the middleman…and woman.”
He fires on Paul, shooting him multiple times in the chest, laughing as he does. The woman, who I assume is the receptionist, Jill, bucks against Allie, desperate to get to Paul. Her brother. That’s the only thing that makes sense from what Dean just said. According to Allie and Skylar, her man is the Bruno guy they mentioned. Damn, the three of them were running a human trafficking ring as a sick and twisted family.
ALLIE
I almost lose my grip on Jill, but Bishop grabs her arm and helps me keep her on her feet. Of course, our leverage is gone. Dean doesn’t give a shit about her.
On the way here, she confessed she and her brothers, Don and Paul, started a trafficking ring a few years ago because they needed the money. It was all Paul’s idea. He started it. They got into business with the Souls. She uses the rehab center to find women who don’t have anyone to go back home to. Paul transports them to Dean. Don was only there for contracted jobs. They take women and sell them to the highest bidder.
“Back up,” Bishop says. “Get to the truck.”
“I’m not leaving Hunter.”
“Get to the damn truck, Allie!”
I start backing up, and Dean turns his gun toward us. I panic and release Jill, who takes off toward Paul. Hunter shoves himself up, lunging toward Dean as he starts firing. His men follow suit, and I scramble to get to the safety of the truck. Jill stops running as she’s hit multiple times. I stare in horror as she falls to the ground, lying there motionless.