The Way I Like It (The Soldiers of Wrath MC, #5)

by Jenika Snow

  Brash and Lucky moved forward and grabbed the Uncle. Striker could deal with him.

  “Help me, please, help me,” the woman said. Nerd approached her. She was tensing up even as he moved closer.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, honey. I’m one of the good guys.” He smirked even as he said it.

  “He took me, and I’ve been locked away for so long. I’m so scared.”

  “Can you stand?”

  She nodded.

  “I don’t want to touch your back, and we’ll deal with that when we get you out of here.”

  Nerd released the woman who had been locked onto the cross, and as he did, he hoped to fuck Striker made the Uncle scream. Once she was released, he reached for her hip to help her up.

  “I’m naked,” she said, sounding ashamed.

  “I’m not looking, sweetheart.” All he wanted to do was help her. There was nothing sexual here right now. He just wanted to protect her.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Elena slowly rose from her seat, Deanna having fallen asleep. She didn’t want to wake her, not after everything she’d been through. Looking at the clock on the wall, she realized she’d been here for several hours. The biker that had brought her here had poked his head in, looking nervous, but she didn’t know if that was because they’d left the club, or because of Deanna’s situation. Either way, he hadn’t rushed her. But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, because she wouldn’t have left Deanna, not when it was clear the other woman had liked her company.

  Granted, they’d stayed silent the majority of the time, but it had been the good kind of silence, the comfortable kind.

  She slipped out of the room and shut the door silently behind her. Skull was standing by door, his arms crossed, his focus on her. “We can go now. She’s sleeping.”

  Skull pushed away from the wall, grumbling about getting his ass kicked over this, and she couldn’t help but smile. The fact Deanna was suffering, her baby’s life was on the line, coupled with the club going on a secret excursion, although she knew what it was about, had dread filling her. Her stomach was in knots, her heart ached, and her worry was through the roof.

  “Everything will work out,” Skull said, and she stopped, surprised by the big biker’s words.

  “How can you be sure?”

  He turned and faced her. “Because the club takes care of what’s theirs, and Demon and Deanna are both strong. That little baby of theirs has that quality, and I know it’ll pull through.”

  She couldn’t help but smile at that last part, but she still worried. She didn’t want anyone hurt because of her, and she knew the club was hunting down her father and uncle, knew they would hurt them for what happened. Although she was glad the two men who had put more fear and sadness in her would finally get what was coming to them, she couldn’t help but feel this twinge of sadness. Yes, she hated them, had run from them, but they were all she’d known, all that her world had revolved around.

  “It’ll be okay,” Skull said again.

  She felt hope fill her at Skull’s words, even though it was strange to feel something like that with everything going on. “I hope you’re right.”

  Striker glanced in his rearview mirror and saw the two men tied and gagged in the back of the SUV; they had been knocked out, coldcocked to the side of the head. He would have preferred to kill Elena’s father and uncle right then and there, but they had plans for these pieces of shits, and it was going to be sweet vengeance when they finally killed these motherfuckers.

  Striker tightened his hands around the steering wheel and focused on the road again.

  “How much longer,” Demon said from beside him, clearly lost in his thoughts about Deanna and the baby.

  “Another twenty minutes and we’ll reach the warehouse.” Striker was the one to respond, and he couldn’t get there soon enough.

  Twenty minutes later, they were coming to a stop in front of the rundown warehouse the club owned. They’d bought the property with the building because of the land and had plans down the road to make another clubhouse as an additional base. But construction was on hold for the time being, and he was glad for that. This place was deserted; that was exactly the way they liked it and what they needed to get this shit done.

  They all got out of the SUV, Nerd and Brash grabbing the two fuckers that were still out cold. Joker and Steel had come along, as well, and Striker knew they wanted a piece of these fuckers, too.

  “Shakes and Vengeance taking care of the other sick fucks?” Joker asked.

  “Yeah,” was all Striker said.

  They weren’t about to let any of those twisted motherfuckers live. No, they’d take out every single one of them and not even think twice about it.

  The other Patches and Lucky had taken the two girls they’d found and headed back to the club. They needed to get things worked out, and he wanted to make sure Elena was okay. They’d left Skull at the clubhouse, but he worried about Elena, and of course what Deanna was going through. He had to believe things would work out, because envisioning anything else wasn’t something he wanted to even contemplate.

  They took the assholes into the clubhouse, the air stale, the beams looking like they’d give any minute.

  “Where the fuck are those lanterns?” Demon asked. They’d come here several times since buying the property, and although the place was a shithole the way it was, they did have a few essentials in case a brother needed to be here.

  Battery operated lanterns, work tools, and even weapons were stored here. Although the latter was in a metal box buried behind the building, it was going to come in pretty fucking handy tonight.

  “Hang the fuckers up,” Striker said without emotion and went over to the toolbox, pushing it from the side of the room. He crouched, grabbed a hammer, a pair of pliers, and a rusty as fuck saw out of the metal box. When he stood and turned around, he saw Nerd and Brash had already strung them up like pieces of meat in a freezer.

  “Who’s ready to go to work on a couple of sick, abusing motherfuckers?” Striker asked. All the Patches came forward, their focus on the two pricks.

  “No weakness, boys. These asshole deserve everything they get tonight,” Demon said, rolling his head around his neck and grinning.

  The president of their club looked feral right now, and Striker knew the stuff going on with his baby and Deanna was making him even more dangerous. But that was good, because Elena’s dad and uncle didn’t deserve any sympathy.

  Yeah, shit was going to get bloody, but Striker was looking forward to it.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Masculine screams filled the warehouse. Striker was covered in blood, and they still had to kill the two men. Elena’s father and uncle hung from hooks they’d pushed into the main part of the warehouse. He’d watched Joker in action only a few times, but nothing could have prepared him for the violence the other man displayed. There was no mercy, and Striker couldn’t believe this was the same man who had married Amy. The two didn’t seem like the same man to him.

  “How do you want to handle this?” Demon asked.

  No one could hear them scream. The Uncle was already cut and bleeding. The father looked so damn pissed, as if he couldn’t believe that someone had him chained up.

  “Is this about money?” Elena’s father asked.

  Striker burst out laughing as did the rest of his brothers.

  “Girls? You want women?”

  “No, this isn’t about money or women. We’ve got plenty of them and we don’t have to beat them to keep them in line.” Striker walked up, grabbing a blade from the table. He placed the flat edge of the tip underneath the father’s head and lifted his face up. “You remember your daughter, Elena?” he asked.

  “I don’t know where she is. Stupid bitch decided to run. This is why women need to be controlled.”

  The desire to just slide his blade across the bastard’s throat was strong. Instead, he held back and gritted his teeth. In his head, he counted to ten and finall
y calmed himself the fuck down.

  “Elena belongs to me!” Striker ran the blade up and down the man’s throat. “I thought you were just some nut, but you’re actually a sick fuck who preys on the weak, aren’t you? I hate fuckers like you.”

  “We’ll do anything,” the Uncle said. “You can have Elena. We don’t want her.”

  “Do you really think we’re going to let you go and start hurting other women? You’re fucking crazy,” Demon said. “We’re the Soldiers of Wrath; we don’t like what you do, what you stand for.”

  The rage was vibrating inside Striker. The men in front of him had hurt women and purposefully preyed on others that were weaker than they were. He never agreed with that. Striker had helped Elena when some men had tried to hurt her. What was it with men who thought they could get away with shit like that?

  In his mind, he saw Elena as a young girl, fighting to be herself. These fuckers had tried to break her spirit and that didn’t sit well with him. He loved Elena’s fire and her submission. She called to him, bringing out his possessive side. Not only did he want to possess her, he wanted to protect her. The world could go and fuck itself as far as he was concerned. He loved her, and these bastards were never going to touch her or hurt her ever again.

  “You beat and fuck underage girls, keeping them as slaves for your pleasure. I’m about to make your life a fucking misery.”

  “Go for the cock,” Joker said. “It’ll hurt, but they’ll stay alive for you to hurt.”

  Grabbing the man’s dick, Striker sliced the blade through. He didn’t want to know how Joker knew about the cock. The night was only just beginning. By the time he was through with these two men, no one was going to recognize them.

  Elena woke up as the bed dipped. She looked behind her to find Striker climbing in. Glancing toward the clock on the bedside table, she saw it was a little after seven in the morning.

  “What’s happened?” she asked.

  He cupped her cheek and stroked his thumb across her lips. “Nothing, baby. Skull told me what you did.”

  She turned her gaze toward him. “I had to go and see her.”

  “I know, baby. How was she?”

  “Deanna’s coping. Her baby is in the world, and it’s scary because she doesn’t know if he’ll be okay.” She shook her head. “Where were you?”

  “I had shit to do.”

  She grabbed his hand, and with the light spilling into the room, she gasped. “You’re hand? What happened?” Her heart started to pound, and when she looked into his eyes, she just knew. “You saw my father and uncle?”

  “Baby, their shit was fucking bad, the worst.”

  Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she stared down at his cuts. All of her life, her father and uncle had terrified her. They always had control of everything, and she hated it. Her mother hadn’t been allowed to leave and had to deal with his control. The women were forced to remain at home, even the daughters.

  “I don’t want to know what you’re talking about. They’re gone?”

  “They’re gone, and they’re not coming back.”

  “What about the cops?” she asked. Elena didn’t want to lose her man because of what her father and uncle had done.

  Striker shrugged. “You don’t need to worry about them, baby. You had nothing to do with it, and you ran a few months ago. You’ve not heard or seen from them since. If they ask about me, say you don’t know shit. I was at the club with you the whole time.”

  “Lie?”

  “Can you do that?”

  “For you, I can do anything.” She cupped his cheek, stroking across his stubble. “I missed you.” She felt like she should care that her mother was still there, but the woman had been just as bad as her father with the mental and emotional abuse. She’d run not just from her dad and uncle, but also from the whole circle. She wanted nothing to do with them.

  “I love you, baby.” He placed his hand on her waist, and she glanced down, loving the feel of his hands on her body.

  She felt the warmth, the reality of listening to him say those words. Never had she felt truer words. “I love you too.” And she meant them with all her heart.

  “Demon’s going to be at the hospital until Deanna is discharged. He might be taking time off to stay with her at their place. I need to get some sleep, but when I get up, I’m going to the hospital to see them, give them my support.”

  They needed to be together and get through this as a couple. She leaned in close and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’ll come with you. I like Deanna, and I don’t want her to feel alone.”

  “Women stick together, right?”

  “Yep, women stick together, and men just have to deal with it.” She rubbed her nose against his. It was so strange to feel so close, so connected with him when they hadn’t been together that long. But Striker had done so much for her, and he and the club had made sure she was protected. “You coming into that diner was the best moment of my life.”

  He chuckled. “You know I fought myself. I didn’t want to follow you, yet I couldn’t resist.”

  “You’re my protector.”

  “Baby, I’m not a good man.”

  “I know, but you’re my man, and that’s all that matters to me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “It’s going to be a long road, but right now he’s fighting, hanging on.”

  Demon looked at the doctor, felt his throat tighten, and felt every part of him break. He didn’t want his son to die, didn’t want Deanna to have to go through that. He just wanted everything to be right with the world.

  “He’s strong,” Deanna said through tears. She had her hand covering their son’s. Ty was in a plastic box, tubes hooked up to him, his little body so small.

  Damn, everything in him hurt, and his anger wasn’t diminishing, not even after they worked over those two assholes.

  “It’ll be okay, baby,” he said and wrapped his hand around her shoulder. She nodded but didn’t speak.

  “I’ll leave you alone and give you privacy,” the doctor said.

  And then it was just the three of them, and all Demon wanted to do was go out and hurt someone for what he and his old lady were feeling.

  “He’ll be okay. He’ll pull through.”

  He looked at Deanna, his throat tight. “Yeah he will, baby. Ty will be okay, and then we’ll go home as a family.”

  Nerd stared at Hannah, the girl he’d helped out of that fucking cult hellhole. She was currently curled up in a ball on the club’s couch, a thick blanket wrapped around her, and her breathing easy. He didn’t know what it was about her, but he felt transfixed. There was something inside of him that felt primal about the way she’d been treated. It wasn’t just because she was a woman who had been abused. It felt more like he had this possessive, proprietary feeling toward her.

  Hell, he hadn’t even wanted her to leave the club. He wanted her by his side so he could watch over her, and make sure she was okay.

  “Man, you’re fucking creepin’ me out.”

  He turned and looked at Skull, the brother at the bar pounding down the shots. “Fuck you.”

  Skull held up his shot glass right before he tipped it back. “You keep watching her and people are gonna start talking.”

  “Yeah, about what?” Nerd turned away from Hannah and walked over to the bar.

  “I don’t know,” Skull said and glanced at Nerd. “Maybe that you want her as an old lady, or maybe that you’re a fucking creep.”

  Nerd flipped him off.

  “I’m just saying.”

  “Well, quit saying, man,” Nerd said and grabbed the bottle of whiskey Skull was pounding down.

  “You’ve been drinking all night.”

  “Yeah, well a lot of shit has gone down these last few weeks.”

  Nerd grunted in agreement. He couldn’t argue with that.

  “We just have to live our lives like it’s our last day on Earth.” Skull got up and stumbled down the hall.

&nbs
p; Nerd sat there thinking about what Skull had said before he turned and glanced at Hannah. The club did live their lives recklessly, and on the wild side, but he had a feeling Skull had meant something deeper. Did he want to see where his feelings for Hannah went, how far they were embedded in him? Or did he just want to say fuck it and not allow himself to get hung up on a piece of ass?

  He scrubbed a hand over his head and exhaled. Either way, he was fucked.

  Elena breathed out roughly and clenched her hands on his biceps, digging her nails into him.

  Striker kissed and licked her neck, sucked at her pulse point. The feel of her on top of him, her pussy heat nearly burning straight through his jeans and right to his dick, had him reigning in his desire by the skin of his teeth. Being with Elena, and going through all this shit, had taught Striker that every minute of his life was precious, and so much more now that he had her.

  They were at his place, the sexual tension thick in the air. Fuck, he wanted her like a fiend. Gripping her hips tighter, he forced her pussy down on him at the same time he lifted his hips slightly.

  Pulling her on top of him, he dragged his mouth up her neck and latching it back onto her mouth. Striker deepened the kiss until he was fucking her mouth, siding his tongue in and out of her, just like he wanted to do with his dick in her pussy.

  Moving his hand lower, he gripped her ass, curled his fingers around the fleshy mounds, and groaned. He squeezed the flesh again, bringing her as close to his body as he could. A growl of approval left him when she rubbed herself on him, moving her hips back and forth. Damn, he wanted to grab his dick, pull her panties aside, and run his erection along her cleft. He moved his tongue out and teased her bottom lip, and a little cry left her. He quickly worked at getting them naked.

  “I love you,” she breathed against him, her voice a soft whisper.

  “And I fucking love you, baby,” he said as soon as she finished speaking. He lifted his hips up again, grinding himself on her pussy. She moved her hands to the back of his head to grip his hair, pulling at the strands.