by Lane Hart
“You’re fucking with mine too.”
“Maybe so but it’s in a different way, darlin’. Right now, in this second, I’m debatin’ snappin’ your neck or fuckin’ you against the wall.” I’m only being honest because I can feel it deep within my bones that something is off and she isn’t going to offer up the information that I want easily.
“So, tell me to leave,” she whispers nearly breathless.
“I thought about that too but then who would I fuck? And besides, I don’t fuckin’ trust you. I don’t trust that my gut isn’t right about you and that you’re not hidin’ somethin’ from me. I think that’s grounds to keep you around.” Her face is a mixture of emotions now. Fear, anger, outrage, and many more. She wants to fight me on this and what I feel, but I don’t think she will. She has a secret, and for some fucked up reason, I think it’s going to bring me to my fucking knees.
“What’s it going to be, Savage?” Fucking hell, she has to challenge me at every turn and I like it. I can’t deny that Charlie is working her way under my skin.
“If I find out that you lied to me about somethin’ that can affect me or this club, I will kill you no matter how much I like havin’ you around, Charlie. So, before I take you with me on this run, I want an answer.”
“I’m not hiding anything from you, Savage. You need to calm down,” she says, letting her hand slide down my chest to cup my cock. Fuck this girl is doing things to my head. Charlie lightly strokes me through my jeans sending fire up my spine. Releasing her throat, I pull away and notice the marks I’ve left on her skin yet again and sigh.
“What is your problem? Just tell me to leave, Savage,” Charlie snaps and turns to walk away from me but that only infuriates me more.
“Stop fuckin’ walkin’ away from me!” As loud as I roared, half the block could have heard me. A few drunken people that are staggering down the road look over but that’s it. Charlie stops walking and turns to face me, an angry look on her face.
“You can’t have it both ways, Savage! You think I’m lying to you? Fuck you! I don’t need this shit. I have a life outside of you, you know?”
“Is that so? Cause I haven’t heard shit about a job or family. What the fuck do you do for a livin’, Charlie?” I love watching how red her face gets whether that’s annoyance or anger, she looks fucking edible. Stalking toward her, I grab her waist, and pull her against me.
“What do you want me to say?”
“The truth, Charlie. I want the fuckin’ truth.”
“I have no parents! Does that make you happy? I have no one!”
“They dead?”
“Might as well be. My dad hates the ground I walk on. He blames me for my mom leaving us. He had to put his career on hold to raise me and he resented that. As far as work, I’ve never had to. I suppose you can buy a child’s affections.” Her eyes fill with tears and I suddenly feel like a piece of shit. My stomach drops from the look on her face. I’ve killed men and taken lives that I didn’t have a right to take, but in this moment, I feel at my lowest.
“Fuck, Charlie.”
“No. You don’t get to do that, Savage! You don’t get to ridicule me and then soften. Don’t do that!” Charlie shoves back a step causing my hand to fall to my side.
“I ain’t doin’ shit. Get your ass inside and put on some fuckin’ shoes you can ride in.”
“Maybe I don’t want to go with you.” She crosses her arms over her chest in a defiant manner that makes my cock hard.
“I told you, I don’t fuckin’ trust you and since you’re a trust fund bitch who doesn’t need to work, you don’t need to leave anytime soon. Now get the fuck in there and put your goddamn boots on!”
Chapter Eleven
“What are we doing?” Charlie hisses under her breath as we lie on our stomachs in the bushes. I chuckle and glance over at her, noting how sexy she looks lying there right now. Her jeans are tight on her ass and the sight alone makes me horny as hell.
“Doin’ a little recon,” I tell her before turning back with my binoculars. Charlie doesn’t say anything else as I watch through the clearing. I can see the supplier but I don’t recognize him. A few of the Bloody Sunday guys stand around smoking joints but paying no attention to the man standing at the back of the van.
“What the hell are they doin’?” I mumble to myself as I watch the scene play out in front of me. Something eerie creeps up my spine and I don’t like the feeling that lingers in the pit of my stomach. “Somethin’s wrong.” Before I have the chance to think, Charlie screams. It’s a heart wrenching cry that resonates deep within my soul. As I roll to face her, she’s yanked from next to me right before everything around me blacks out.
When I wake, I’m shocked to see that I’m not tied or chained to anything but I have been tossed in a small room and had my ass handed to me. At some point during their attack, I passed out again. I groan as I roll over and see Charlie naked and curled into a ball. My heart drops in my chest at the sight of her.
“Charlie?” Her head pops up and her puffy red tear-filled eyes come to lock on mine. She immediately cries harder and crawls toward me. Shoving myself up despite the pain, I pull her into my arms and hold her against my blood stained shirt. My body aches from the beating, my face stinging from the cuts.
“What did they do to you? I’ll kill them all,” I growl low in my throat. I run my hands up and down her back, holding her tighter.
“I didn’t think you were going to wake up. I was so scared that they killed you.” She cries harder. Her warm tears spill down my chest causing my heart to clench. I don’t know what’s happening between us, but I know this pain is real. Trying to reassure her, I keep telling her that everything is going to be okay, but I don’t know that for sure. That unsureness is what’s pissing me off right now too. I don’t know what the fuck they want from me.
“Are you okay?” I whisper in her ear even though I know she isn’t. She is not okay and I don’t know that she will ever be. This is all my goddamn fault.
“I’m so sorry, Charlie.”
“Savage?” I glance down at her big dark eyes and feel myself falling into her depths. “Kill them all. Make them all hurt, especially Dragon.” When the name leaves her lips I internally cringe. I know that bastard as the Enforcer of the Bloody Sunday MC. I take a sturdy breath before I ask the next question, not sure that I actually want to hear the answer.
“Is he the only one? Did he…fuck!” With my free hand I tug at my hair when Charlie cries harder.
“Him and two others raped me.” Goddamn it! My nerves are firing off and internally I feel like I’m about to explode. It’s taking all the strength I have left to hold myself together and not rip the fucking room to shreds with my bare hands.
“We have to get outta here. Can you walk?” I hate to even have to ask that question.
“Yes.” I shove her off my lap and help her to her feet before I stand tall next to her. She’s dwarfed by my size and that hits me deeper than anything. She’s small and fragile and I’ve let them fucking break her. Pulling my bloody shirt over my head, I slip it over hers waiting as she slides her arms in.
“You tried the door?” I ask but she shakes her head. I walk over and slowly twist the handle, but it’s locked like I knew it would be. Pressing my ear against the door, I listen to see if I can hear anything.
“There were boats. A lot of boats,” Charlie tells me. I pull away from the door and cock my head to look at her offering her a slight smile.
“It’s good you remembered that.” Charlie lifts the corner of her lips into a sad smile that I return. Pushing her back a few steps, I get myself ready before ramming my shoulder into the door repeatedly. Pain shoots through my already sore body but I don’t stop until the door splinters and crashes to the floor. I peek out and make sure no one is out there before I grab Charlie’s hand and drag her with me. We snake down the hallways at record speed only to realize we’re in a boat warehouse. I stop at the end of a row of boats t
o try and get my bearings when I hear men talking and laughing. Charlie tenses up next to me. Glancing at her, I shake my head no. I can’t have her losing it all now that we’ve come this far. Holding my finger up to my lips I motion for Charlie to move down the next row. We creep as silently as possible, me keeping my ears open and my eyes wide. There is no way in hell that I’m letting these bastards grab us twice.
When we reach the end of the row, I can see the side exit off to our left but I also hear the assholes talking.
“Yeah, workin’ with the fuckin’ Feds, man! How much you think they know?” My heart leaps into my throat just as Charlie freezes. I don’t know who the hell they know or what they know, but it all makes sense now. They knew I was working with the fucking Feds! This is bad. Really fucking bad. Shit just turned worse and that’s not something I wanted to think about.
“Doesn’t matter. We’re about to handle that shit. What are the fuckin’ odds that they’d be sittin’ out there tonight?”
“Pretty goddamn good from what I heard.” The men chuckle before I hear their footsteps walking away. I close my eyes and take a deep breath before dragging Charlie behind me. As soon as we step out of the door, I realize where we are and we are fucked.
“What the fuck!” I growl low in my throat. They were smart, I’ll give them that, but they weren’t smart enough. They knew, somehow they fucking knew.
“We’re surrounded by water! How are we going to get out of here?” Gripping her hand tighter in mine, I pull her towards the row of boats. Finding the one I was looking for, I glance behind us as I usher in.
“Get on the floor and stay down,” I tell her gruffly. Charlie drops down as I find the keys I knew would be in here - stupid rich fucks. They always believe their shit is so safe over here. I’m here to prove them wrong. Starting the boat up, I can hear shots being fired from behind us. Charlie screams as one of the bullets rip through the seat next to her head.
“Stay down!” I roar, shifting into gear. I get us out of here as quickly as I can, and once we’re away from the docks, I maneuver us toward the edge of the water. These fuckers are going to expect us to keep going but I’m smarter than they are.
“When I say jump, jump in, hear me?” Charlie looks up with wide eyes and fear dancing in circles in them.
“I can’t swim.”
“What?”
“I don’t know how to swim, Savage!” Tears fall down her cheeks once more and I curse myself for not finding that out sooner.
“It’s okay. I got you. Just hold onto me. When we jump, hold your breath, yeah?” Charlie nods as I take one last look behind us. Once I’m satisfied that they aren’t following us or at least aren’t close enough to see us, I motion for her to stand up. Hooking my arm around her waist, I hold her tightly.
“Ready?” Charlie nods her head but I doubt she’s really ready for this. I help her up onto the edge and climb up with her. “Jump!” Shoving off the edge, we both plunge into the darkness awaiting us below. I make sure I keep a grip on her waist as I kick us up to the surface. Charlie coughs and gasps for air I suck in lungfuls myself. Treading water, I shift her around so that she’s got her legs wrapped around my waist.
“Hold on tight, darlin’.” Charlie doesn’t need to be told twice. Her arms immediately wrap around my neck, holding tight. I kick and swim us toward the shore, praying to God that those bastards didn’t get in a boat to follow us, and even if they did, I hope like hell they don’t see us out here. Luckily it’s dark so I doubt they will. It takes me a good ten minutes to get us to shore, and as my body screams in pain and protests more movement, I force it to keep going. Giving up isn’t an option.
“We need to get to a phone,” I tell Charlie as she shivers and holds herself together. I fucking hate that I caused all this. It fucks with my head. “Come here,” I tell her softly, watching her eyes as they fill with tears. Lifting her in my arms, I cradle her to my chest and start walking toward anything I can find. The street is fairly calm for this time of night and we don’t pass many people. I should ask for a phone but I don’t. I need to know that I have Charlie far enough away from those bastards as I can get her first. We get a few glares, but for the most part they ignore what they see so I keep going. Everything replays in my mind, but I push it all away focusing solely on Charlie. I need to get her taken care of first.
Chapter Twelve
Charlie sleeps peacefully in the bed next to me, her clean damp hair fanning out around her. I called one of the prospects and told him that we needed a pick up but he had to keep it to himself. He did just as I asked and we snuck into the clubhouse through the back entrance. I feel like shit lying to everyone around me, but the worst part? I let Charlie get sucked into this shit. I fucking ruined that girl’s world in the matter of a month. How careless could I be? She was raped by those assholes. How do I forgive myself for what they’ve done to her? That’s easy, I don’t. I slip out of bed and grab my phone, heading into the bathroom before I dial. I listen to it ring, and with every tone, my anger level rises.
“It’s four in the morning!”
“How the fuck did they know?” I growl trying to keep my voice down so I don’t wake Charlie.
“Savage? What the fuck are you calling me for at this hour?”
“Tell me how the fuck the BSMC knew that I was watchin’ them, Bryon, and tell me now before I fuckin’ come over there and kill you with my bare hands!” This time I roar a little louder and find myself peeking out of the bathroom to be sure that I didn’t wake her. I let out a relived breath as I see her steady breathing in the throes of sleep before closing the door again.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Goodnight, Marcus.”
“You hang up and you’ll regret breathin’.”
“I don’t fucking know what you’re talking about. We haven’t let anything slip on the BSMC. They shouldn’t know anything.” Even hearing him say it, I knew he didn’t know shit, which really sets my nerves on edge. There are a few people that would have known, me, him, David and the fucking rat.
“I want the rat,” I tell him, my tone grave.
“I can’t do that just yet, Savage. What happened?”
“What happened? I was gettin’ your goddamn intel and they knew we were there!”
“Who is we?”
Fuck! I slipped. And I never do that.
“Me and my girl. They raped her, Bryon. I ain’t lettin’ that shit slide.” My girl. That’s what she is regardless of what I want. I want to keep her at arms length, but I can’t. It’s not just because I’m fucking her either. No. The feelings I have for her run deeper than that. She calms the raging storm in me even if it’s only for a short time. She makes me wish I didn’t make some of the choice’s I have. She makes me feel.
“You don’t have a choice! We can’t blow this one, Savage. We need that intel to bring the case down on them. It’s either them or you.”
The line goes dead and so does my heart. There’s a moment in time when everything that you thought you knew slowly slips into the darkness. In my mind, this is that time. I thought I was doing something right by this club by keeping them in the dark, but the only thing that has gotten me was Charlie raped and almost killed. What kind of man does that make me? What kind of president, leader am I turning into? I made the choices I did to protect my brothers. This club is my life as it so many others and I couldn’t just let them go down without a fight. Everything I’m doing is for them.
I head back into the bedroom and toss my phone on the night stand before slipping back into bed next to Charlie, listening as she cries softly in her sleep. She’s been doing this on and off all night, and each time hurts a little worse than the first time. I slide my hand arm under her neck and the other around her waist pulling her closer to me. When her warmth swarms around me, I inhale her soft scent. Nothing in my life has ever come easily to me. Caring about people was, though. Especially when it came to my brothers. I learned how to turn off my emotio
ns when I kill and that part has settled me when the time comes, but lying here with Charlie resting in my arms brings up emotions that I’ve long since buried. I breathe her in and hug her tighter before whispering in her ear, “What are you fuckin’ doin’ to me, Charlie? I wasn’t supposed to give a shit about you. I wasn’t supposed to want you around, but here you are after two fuckin’ months steppin’ over boundaries I’ve had in place for many reasons. I don’t know how this story plays out but I sure as fuck what to find out.”
Sleep never came last night, not after everything that happened. Now it’s time to make up another lie to tell the guys about why my face is fucked up with bruises and cuts. It’s this part that weighs heavily on me and I don’t know that I can handle much more. I don’t want my club going down but I don’t want to not avenge the bastards who hurt Charlie either. I’m in a fucking lose-lose situation and there is nothing I can do to change that. I pull my shirt over my head when I hear her giggle. Turning my head and looking over my shoulder, Charlie sits in the bed watching me get dressed.
“What’s funny?” I ask reaching for my boxers.
“You’re the only person I know who will walk around naked with a t-shirt on.”
I chuckle and pull my boxers and jeans on before turning and walking back toward the bed, toward her. She watches me intently but doesn’t say another word until I sit on the edge and sigh.
“Don’t apologize, Savage. It isn’t who you are and I don’t want to hear it. If I wanted to leave I would have.”
“They hurt you, Charlie, and it’s my fault. I should have never taken you with and I sure as fuck shouldn’t have kept you around when you asked to leave,” I tell her truthfully.
“It wasn’t your choice. I decided to stay.”
“And look what happened to you! You need to leave and get as far away from me as you can.” Shoving off the bed, I head toward the closet to grab my boots but Charlie doesn’t let me get that far. Her spitfire attitude shoots me from across the room making me come to a stop.