by Sierra Rose
I reached for it and lifted it to his face as he stopped in front of me with a sick smile.
Caleb pointed a gun at me. “Should I shoot her?”
“Hell, yeah!” the other guy said. “Do it now!”
“Please!” I said. “Don’t hurt me. I don’t want trouble. Just let me go.”
He cocked the gun and my heart raced.
“Just let you go? I’ll let you go back to hell,” he said.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I begged.
Caleb fired at me but missed. I aimed the gun at him to show him I wasn’t playing.
"You silly little girl. You're not going to do shit with..."
He aimed again, and right before he pulled the trigger... He didn't get the words out of his mouth before I turned and put three holes in his chest. The skinny boy fell to his knees and dropped over as I shook.
I couldn't force myself to stop shaking violently. I was going to die. I had no doubt. Killing them was my only option and yet it seemed impossible to do.
"Shit. You killed him." The leader turned as tears filled his eyes. "Your dad killed my older brother and my sister, and now you've killed my younger brother. I'll hunt every last one of you down and slit your throats." Glaring, he aimed the gun at me.
I pulled the trigger twice, the first bullet hitting him in the chest, and the next in the shoulder. Blood covered the ground around us, and I took a shaky step back as I horrible cry left me.
Something inside me died, and I knew without a doubt I’d never be the same. Lucky wouldn't want me anymore. No one would. I was my father's daughter and there was only one thing left to do.
I turned my gun on the last guy as he held up his hands and started to cry.
“I’m not going to kill you,” I said. “Your friends were about to kill me! I just defended myself. I just wanted to leave, but you wouldn’t let me.”
"Please. We didn't do anything to deserve this. Your father did this to us. Whoever sent you here is the one you should be pointing the gun at. They knew what we'd do to you because of what was done to Jack's sister." He nodded to his friend on the floor.
The voice that left me didn't sound at all like my own. "What happened to her?"
"She was drugged and sent into the forest naked. They all came after her, taking turns raping her, only to have them send her running again. She hoped she would live through it, but she didn't. She was shot by the last Delgado waiting on her."
"Who?" I whispered as horror washed over me in nauseating waves. My knees began to shake and the scream building up inside of me was terrifying.
"The crazy one. The one that no one will mess with. Please, miss. Don't take my life. I won't tell nobody what you've done."
Elec. He had to be the one that killed the girl.
I turned and looked around the room, realizing that I'd taken two lives and the guy in front of me was the only witness. It was self-defense. I knew forensics would prove my story.
He must have noticed the look on my face. "I promise. I won't say nothing."
Maybe he wouldn't... “Just go!” I said.
“Thank you!”
A pair of arms grabbed me from behind and the large guy laughed, moving toward me and raising his fist to hit me with all of his might.
"We'll make sure your daddy gets your corpse."
His fist connected with my face again and I lost consciousness.
Chapter 18
Lucky
"What happened to you up there, boy?" Rusty patted me on the back and sat a beer down in front of me.
"Just froze I guess." I shrugged and took his offering, grateful that the testing period was over and I was officially a prospect.
"Well, you pulled yourself out of it, so that's all the fuck that matters. Right Stone Wolves?" Blade turned and lifted his beer in the air as warmth filled my chest. "To our newest prospect. We couldn't have chosen a better man to take this journey with us."
Man. He hadn't referred to me as anything but 'boy' my whole life. All of them had made sure to keep my age at the forefront of everything, but it seemed like things were changing.
They all grunted their congratulations and moved in to hit their glasses against Blade's. Beer sloshed all over me, but it was part of the tradition. I just sat quietly, drinking my beer and enjoying the attention.
The only thing missing was my baby doll. I'd have to take a picture of myself covered in beer and show her later that night. I needed her with me to celebrate. It wouldn't be a true accomplishment until I spanked her ass for switching out my notes and made love to her a few times.
"So this was the easy part, you know..." Animal threw in his two cents and I could tell by the look on his face that he was butt-hurt over not getting pulled up to being a prospect yet, but his time was coming.
"If it was easy, why ain't your ass celebrating it with me? You still got a ways to go, huh?" I smiled at him, trying to let him know that I was just pulling his chain.
"Fuck you, Luck." He winked and took a long drink of his beer. "Besides, I like to take my time, to work hard for the buildup. You like to jump in, squirt twice and get out."
I laughed and the other guys joined us. The bastard might be slow on getting his position in the club, but he was quick on his feet in his ability to come back with a witty response.
"What's the rest of the night looking like?" I asked, trying to figure out when I could get some time to myself to call Selene.
"This, actually." Knife lifted his glass as a waitress walked by. "More, baby. Keep 'em coming."
"I'd like you to keep me coming." She laughed as he swatted at her ass.
"Speaking off..." Blade turned his attention to me. "You need to enjoy yourself tonight. Most of the women in this bar would be happy to help a young buck like yourself celebrate in true Stone Wolf style."
"Yes. Now all we need is a sweet butt or two for our boy." Viper moved in and wrapped an arm around me. The thinnest member of the club reminded me of a snake, and as such his name was given.
"Naw... I'm good. I fucked a girl from town this afternoon." I took another swig of my beer and almost choked as the guys moved back and three beautiful women moved in to sit in my lap and on the table before me.
"Come on, guys, let's let our boy have some fun with the ladies." Blade ruffled my hair and left with the rest of the guys.
The girl in my lap turned and slid her hands over my neck, pulling me in toward her.
I jerked back and laughed. "Whoa, sweet thing. I'm good with my beer and some conversation. No need to get naked for me."
"But we wanna," the blond on the table in front of me purred. The girl was on her knees and her shirt was open at the top, showing me plenty of her creamy white breasts. Before finding out there was a chance with me and Lena, I'd have spent the night proving my manhood to all three of the girls, leaving each of them exhausted and singing my praises.
Not anymore.
The dark-haired one behind me tugged at my chin, forcing me to look up at her. She pressed her lips to mine before I could turn my face. Her tongue lapped at my mouth and I gently moved, picking up the girl in my lap and setting her down.
"I'd love to spend the night with you girls, but someone's stolen my heart. It's not fair to her to do much more than wink at you and tell you that you're beautiful." I reached out and touched the blonde's chin. "Thanks for the congrats. I'm stoked."
"Awww... you sure, Lucky?" The brunette moved up beside me and slid her arms around my waist. "I love spending the night with you. You're so damn generous."
I laughed as heat brushed up my chest and coated my cheeks. "I'm sure, sweet girl. Maybe another time."
There would be no other time, but I couldn't tell the girls that. After letting them whine a minute more, I slipped off into my room and tugged off my boots.
"You wanna come here to me, baby, or me come to you?" I pulled out my phone to text Selene as I spoke to the emptiness around me. Her 9-1-1 text from three minutes before almost
stopped my heart.
I jerked out of bed and called her number while I fumbled to get my shoes back on. "Pick up. Pick up."
The call went to voice mail and I screamed into the phone. "Pick up!"
I tried again while I finished getting my shit kickers tied up. I grabbed my keys, tucked my pistol in the back of my jeans and jogged out of the room, running down the hall and out into the warm summer night.
The guys were standing around a large bonfire and several of them called out to me, but I ignored them. The call went to voice-mail again and terror rose up from the pit of my stomach. If anything happened to my woman I was going to massacre the town.
I dialed the only number I knew to dial. Dane.
"Hey buddy, what..."
I cut him off. "It's Selene. She's in serious trouble and I can't find her. Locate her phone. Now." I was almost screaming in the phone as I took off in the direction of her dad's clubhouse.
"Fuck, Dude. You're scaring me." Dane's voice was muffled and I assumed he was moving to his computer.
"Join the party. I'm heading to the Black Hearts’ clubhouse. Find her, Dane. Text me." I dropped the call and tried her again as a red light forced me to stop in the center of town.
Voice mail.
"Dammit. Where the fuck are you, girl?" I pulled over to the side of the road and let out a shaky breath. If she was dicking with me, I would likely strangle her. What was the likelihood of her just messing with me? High.
Dane called back a moment later and gave me the address.
"Be careful, Lucky. That's the garage for the Jessup brothers. You know those guys are nothing but thugs." He let out a short sigh.
"Right. So what is Selene doing there?"
"No clue. Her father has a beef with those guys for sure, but it's not something she be getting involved in."
"What happened?" I slipped in my earbud, so I could hear better as I raced toward that side of town.
"Word on the street was that they were going to deal for him, but seems they like to get high more than they like to do business."
"Fuck. You serious? They smoked up Rafael's shit?"
"Yep. Almost all of it and in return, he shot the oldest brother and fucked up their baby sister really bad." The tone Dane used told me not to ask for details. I didn't want them anyway.
"Why the fuck would Lena be over there?" I asked the same question again. There was no reason for her to be in the middle of that shit. Unless...
"Who knows, bro. Want me to meet you over there?"
"No. I gotta go. I'll text you when I'm safe." I dropped the call and swallowed my need to scream. If her father had set her up to test her again, I was going to kill the motherfucker. Surely, she had someone with her over there. Surely.
I pressed the bike to go as fast as it could, the small town I loved so much whipping by me as nothing but blurry colors. It felt like forever. By the time I pulled up, a million things had blown through my mind, leaving me weak and scared as hell.
I parked next to Lena's bike, hating like a motherfucker that it was sitting alone next to a large tree on the property. Moving to the back, I tried to listen for voice over the incessant beating of my heart.
I didn't mind a good fight, and was more than willing to fuck anyone up, but if Lena was in danger, I wanted to tread lightly. After the story Dane shared with me, I knew her being there wasn't by accident, nor was it a good thing at all.
The wind picked up and caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand as I rounded the corner and crouched by the back door. I pulled my gun out after laying eyes on the two dead bodies on the floor.
A soft cry left me with no choice but to charge into the room, not giving a shit what happened. My girl was in trouble.
I jogged through the open garage and moved into the small office where she sat tied to a chair, crying. Her face was a bloody mess, and the bastard leaning over her was talking in a low, ominous voice.
"Fuck. Danny." A large bastard beside him looked up from Lena to me and moved toward me. He pointed his weapon directly at my head.
“Die!” he shouted.
Just as he went to squeeze the trigger on his gun, I put two bullets in his head. I'd never killed anyone before, but it wasn't time to start analyzing my race toward hell.
The other guy turned and lifted his gun, but not in time. I put a bullet in his head and hated like hell the scream that left my baby.
He dropped, and I moved in front of her, working to wipe the blood from her face.
"Ouch!" She screamed and jerked from me. "Get me undone! Let's get out of here!"
"What the fuck happened?" Shock held me tightly and I tried to get her bindings off, to no avail. "Let me find a knife, baby. Stay still, okay?"
"Just hurry." She sobbed a few times as she seemed to be waking up to the horror around her.
"I am. Everything is fine. I'm here now. Just..." I paused at the sound of a car pulling up. "Fuck..."
I grabbed a pair of scissors and sawed through the ropes at her back while squatting behind her.
She pulled free and walked to the door before stopping and turning to pin me with a frightened stare. "Get the fuck out of here!"
"Baby. No. Come here." I started to get up and she lodged a hubcap at me. "Get in the closet. It's my father. Now... Right fucking now!"
I ran to the closet and slipped into it, the office not big enough for me to make an escape past them.
"Butterfly?" The sound of his voice would leave me thinking he was worried. "Elec. Get her and let's get to the hospital. The others can clean this shit up."
I glanced out to see Selene in Elec's arms, her eyes closed as if she had blacked out. It was probably the safest thing for her to do.
I sunk down in the closet and pulled my knees up to my chest.
The devastation over what had happened moments ago was only muted by the fact that Lena was okay. She was alive and we would figure out the rest together.
Chapter 19
Selena
If Lucky hadn't have arrived when he did, I'd have ended up with several fingers gone and a few other things that I couldn't bear to think about. The guy I thought was the leader of the family wasn't the oldest. The large muscular one that had grabbed me from behind before I passed out was.
Waking up to him in my face with a hunger in his gaze that left me terrified was more than I thought I might ever get past.
I snuggled up to my father in the backseat of the car and tried not to think about the fact that someone had sent me over there. I knew my father was a bastard, but there was no way he'd send me to my death. I was his only child.
He didn't expect you to die, but to kill.
"It's okay, butterfly. Daddy's here now." He kissed the top of my head and picked me up as we got to the hospital.
"I don't want to go here," I cried out as we moved into the ER.
"Hush, baby. We're going to have them patch up your face and let you rest while we make sure nothing happens to you." He glanced down at me.
"I'm fine. My face will..."
He cut me off, the look in his eyes telling me quickly that I needed to lock it up. Now. I did just that, thinking about Lucky instead of the hustle and bustle around me as my father handed me off to an ER nurse and left me with the hospital.
The drugs they gave me to settle my shaking put me to sleep, but not a deep one. I could hear them whispering things about my family and the shame that wearing my last name might bring. The fact that they figured I damn well deserved what happened to me that night was soul-shattering. Though I didn't want to care about their opinions, it still stung.
I wanted Lucky and needed my grandma. They were the only two people in the world who truly cared about me.
"We're going to move you to another bed now, okay, Selene?" A soft feminine voice whispered in my ear and I grunted my acceptance as if I had a choice.
They shifted me over and try as I might, I couldn't turn on my side and curl up. Tears burned my gaze, but I c
ouldn't open my eyes to see who was around me and where I was at.
"Oh, dear. It's okay." The soft brush of fingers over my hair made me cry harder. I'd never known kindness from a mother, only my grandmother. My father kept her at an arm's distance because she softened me. "What can I get you, dear?"
"My grandma," I mumbled and choked on another sob as I forced my eyes open. Drowsiness rushed over me and I struggled to remain awake. "Please get my grandma."
"Of course. I'll find her and we'll get her here. Please, just rest, okay? You've been through a lot and your face needs to heal. Close your eyes for me. You're safe here. We're all here and your father has a guard posted outside of the room."
I let out another cry as anguish filled me. I didn't want a guard. How the hell would Lucky get to me if there was someone watching the door? My family knew who the Stone Wolves were—from the newbies to the ones who had been dead for years. He would never get in the door. I needed him, too.
"It's okay, sweetheart. Just rest." She brushed my hair a few more times and my eyes fluttered shut. It was too hard to stay cognizant and really, there was no reason to. The two people I loved were locked out of my life for the moment.
Please find a way in. Please.
***
I woke to my grandmother sitting beside me, her eyes filled with tears. She stood and let out a soft cry as I groaned and turned over in the bed.
"Oh meja." She hovered over the top of me, wrapping me in an odd hug.
"Hi, Grandma." I wrapped my arms around her and held on for a minute before letting my emotions go. Fear, loss and disgust flooded my system and I gave myself over to it, not sure if it would ever stop.
"It's okay, baby. Let it all out. I'm here now." She moved back and rubbed my hair as I lifted my hands to my face and flinched at the pain of touching myself. "No. Don't touch your face. It needs to heal."
"Is anything broken?" I realized that my speech was a little slurred.
"No, just really swollen." She glanced up. "Listen. Lucky is here and he's gotten his friend Dane to pull the guards for questioning. There is a cop outside your door, and he's going to let Lucas come in. Are you okay with that?"