by Joy Blood
“They shot you.”
“Bastard Blake did,” he says surprising me.
“Blake?” It’s then I remember them taking me from the car. In all the commotion I nearly forgot how I ended up with Sans and Brock.
“Was stupid and he was high as fuck.” He clears his throat and signals to Doc for a drink, lifting his hand to his mouth in a drinking motion.
“Yeah. I’ll get you some. Just let me finish.”
“I got it VP,” Sam says, leaving the room.
“We can figure it all out later Jake, be quiet. Let him patch you up and get some more rest. You need to heal,” I say, shifting slightly to lay on my side.
“You need to rest too, sugar. VP here said he didn’t want to be looked at till he knew you were okay.” Doc shifts his attention over to Jake. “So, see for yourself she is good. Still breathing and even talking. Now it is your turn to get healed,” he commands, getting a curt nod from Jake who then turns back to me. Concern, etched all over his face.
“I’m fine. Promise. Let’s just get better so we can go home.” At that declaration, he smiles.
“Home.”
Yes, home.
Forty-Six
Jake
Waking up to see my woman lying next to me makes all the pain I feel in my chest dissipate. She is here and she is safe. I have to keep touching her to make sure it is true. I had to leave her sleeping. Fucking hate to have her in that bed knowing I was in it with another woman. I try not to think about it as I make my way through the Siberian’s clubhouse to meet up with my brothers.
Gin was able to keep our traitor alive so we could ask him a few questions and Premo was all too happy to let us use his ‘interrogation’ shed. Every biker compound has one, whether it is noticeable or not. Knocking once on the door, it swings open for me to go in. Inside I find the prick, Sans, tied to a chair, blood pouring from the bullet hole in his knee. Gin is pacing around the room like a caged animal ready to snap. I don’t know what part Sans played in the killing of our brothers and his woman, but from the way he is acting, I don’t think it would matter if he participated or not. The fucker is going to die slowly.
“Tell us where the fuck the rest of you traitorous bastards are,” Rock shouts before slamming his fist into Sans’s face. Blood flies across the floor, already bloodied from previous efforts to get the man to talk.
“You can suck it, Rock. You were a weak Pres. Fuckin’ pussy,” Sans spits out, making Gin come to the end of his rope. His fist comes from out of nowhere, slamming into the side of Sans’s head.
“Calm your shit, G. Can’t have the bastard dying on us already,” Sage grits out, looking like he wasn’t next to take his shot at him.
“Yeah, G. Your bitch—” He doesn’t get any further because Gin is slamming his fist into the guy again, over and over until Rock and Sage both pull him off. Sans is out cold as I step forward to check and see if he is still breathing. He is, he won’t want to be when he wakes up though. I listen to Gin struggle against Rock and Sage as they calm him down.
“You good?” Rock questions, looking over Gin who is now standing off to the corner of the room. Gin gives a nod, breathing hard then storms out of the room.
“Give him a minute. He will calm his shit. Let’s wake this fuck up so we can get some answers and G can get his blood,” Sage says smacking Sans on the face. When that doesn’t work, he takes something from his pocket and snaps it under his nose. Sans’s head jerks back at the smell and frantically looks around the room, realizing his nightmare is actually a reality.
“Fuckin’ bitches. Just get it over I ain’t telling you shit,” he says.
“We could cut up that son of yours. Piece by piece here in front of you,” Rock threatens.
“Go ahead. Little prick is dumber than shit to lead you fuckers to me,” Sans says, not caring for the well-being of his son. Not that I’m surprised, he is a traitor after all.
“Guess we could take you apart piece by piece then,” Rock responds, nodding toward me. I give a nod back in answer and go to the table with an array of tools set out. The tin snips catch my eye and I go back over to the man in the chair. “You see this guy?” Rock questions, pointing to me. I pay no mind to the answer he gives and go for his right hand. “This is the Whispering Rider. Our VP.” I don’t wait any longer. Taking one finger and snipping it off in one squeeze of the sheers. Sans’s screams fill the room and before he has a chance to take another breath I snip off his middle finger.
“Fuck, fuck, motherfucker!” he shouts out as I go for the next one, hearing the sick crunch that fills my ears as the metal slide past each other, taking off his ring finger. “Stop, please, stop.”
“Start talking and I will have Gin come back in here to slit your throat and make it quick,” Rock says getting into his face. “Talk asshole!” he shouts. I give Sans a minute to decide what he is going to do then go for his pinky ready to clamp the clippers shut.
“No! No! I will talk. I will, please!” he shouts, stopping my next cut.
“Good. Start, bitch,” Rock growls.
“Okay. Okay… We were at the compound. Flores helped us hide from you,” he starts.
“Why? Why the fuck would he hide you?” Ringer, quiet until now, questions.
“He wanted more territory, wanted to expand to South Dakota.” Greedy bastard.
“Who else was there with you?”
“Just me and Brock. He got away.” Rock holds up a piece of paper in front of Sans’s face.
“You know where any of these rat bastards are?” he asks, getting a head shake from Sans. I go in again, not giving him a chance for rebuttal before I’m clamping down on his last finger on his right hand. His high-pitched screech sounds out through the room. “Only got a thumb left, then we start on the next hand,” Rock says, making the fucker cry even more.
“Yes. I do. I do,” he admits, making me pull away from his thumb.
“Where are they?” Rock yells out.
“In Cental.” The fucking hell? We all look at each other wondering what the fuck he means.
“They have been right under your fucking nose all this time assholes. Now fucking kill me motherfuckers!” he shouts, wanting his quick death, but we have more questions.
“Where are they hiding in Cental?” Before he answers Gin comes back into the room looking calmer, but it soon passes when he looks Sans over. I see it before it even happens. That look on San’s face when he realizes how to make his death quick and before I can get off another finger, he opens his mouth.
“That woman of yours had one hell of a tight pussy, shame to slit her throat.” Gin is on the bastard so fast no one can even stop him. He slams into Sans causing the chair to fall backward onto the floor. In fury of fists and blood, the sound of choked gurgles fills the room as Sans takes his last breaths under Gin’s pummeling fists. We all stand back and let it happen this time, knowing that we have enough to go on. Gin can kill him. And he does.
* * *
“We cleared out the compound, didn’t find Brock anywhere. Maybe he was fucking with us?” Rock says to the room full of Siberians and Riders.
“We didn’t see anyone but those Mexican fucks,” Premo says.
“Think this has anything to do with the outfit who tried to set us up? Maybe Brand is with them,” Sage suggests. Gin is sitting next to me not saying a word, only staring down at his torn-up hands as if he is in shock. It is only hours after we finally got him pulled off Sans’s unrecognizable body. He had smashed in his face so bad that, in the end, he was only hitting the cement on the floor underneath.
“Maybe Kimi knows something? Could have heard or seen something,” Rock offers but I shake my head.
“Not bringin’ her in here.” I’m firm with my words but know if Rock wants to ask her questions I can’t stand in the way.
“Fine. We can ask her later,” Rock grumbles, going back to hashing out the information we acquired from the now dead man. We don’t get anywhere and when
we all leave the room, I don’t even give a fuck. I just want to see my girl.
I’m standing outside the room I left her in earlier this morning, reaching for the doorknob I notice my hands. They are covered in blood all the way up to my shoulders, it is even on my cut. I didn’t notice it until now. I almost back away from the door but decide to go in.
She is laying under the covers when I step inside and close the door behind me. She sits up and her eyes widen when she takes me in. The next thing she does I wasn’t expecting. She gets off the bed, letting the sheets fall from her, and comes to stand in front of me. She takes my hands in hers and leads me to the bathroom, letting go to flick on the shower. She is in someone’s borrowed gray t-shirt that reaches her knees and only because I’m not even wearing my own clothes I allow her to keep it on.
She doesn’t say a word as she reaches up to pull my cut from my shoulders, placing it on the small bathroom vanity. Then she comes back to slowly lift my shirt from my torso. It was a bitch and a half to get on and it’s nice to have some help this time to get it off. Next, she goes for my jeans and slides them down my hips. Her eyes don’t stray as she grips my hand in hers and leads my now naked self to the hot shower. Right before we step in, she pulls the t-shirt off herself and drops it to the floor.
We step inside and she starts washing away the blood, careful of the wounds on my chest and side. I want to speak but at the same time don’t want to break the silence. I took a chance coming into the room covered in blood and showing her this part of myself. She has to know what went down before I came back to the room. Has to know I took part in killing someone. This is her supporting me. This is her showing me she is with me. She is my woman.
When my hands are cleaned of blood, I take her face in my hands, mindful of her bullet graze, and place a kiss on her lips. “Love you, Key,” I say to her lips and go back for another kiss, letting this one linger. My hands fall from her face to travel along her body. Memorizing each and every part of her. I damn near lost this woman and I will be damned if I will let that happen again. I hitch her leg up on my hip and glide my length along her folds, being sure to linger on her swollen clit. “Jake,” she pants out, and that’s all I need. Pushing past the pain, I grip her other leg and pull her up, pressing her back to the wall. Not wanting to waste any time, I guide my cock inside her waiting heat all the way to the hilt in one slow fluid stroke. Swallowing her gasp, I meld my mouth to hers and start gliding in and out, being sure to bring my thumb to her clit because I know I sure as fuck won’t last long. Feels like I haven’t been inside her sweet pussy in years, even though it has only been weeks. “Oh god, Jake. I’m going to come,” She whimpers out only seconds before she is clamping down on my cock.
“That’s it, Key,” I rasp into her ear, trailing down to bite her neck. She gasps at the action, making me put my whole mouth down onto the skin and suck. The dying flutters in her pussy come back, intensifying, and she is coming again, making me lose my release inside her.
As much as I would love to stand there with my dick nestled in her sweet pussy, my strength is giving out, so I need to set her feet back on the floor. I watch as she looks at me then down to the floor. Then I realize what she is looking at when she takes her hand down in between her legs to the juncture of her thighs. Shit, I came inside her. “Fuck. Sorry, Key,” I say as her face snaps up to mine.
“It’s okay. I’m on the pill now.” I take a deep, relieved breath, then something occurs to me.
“Been usin’ rubbers. How long you been on the pill?” I question, getting closer to her again. Her flushed face gives way to an even darker blush and she looks down to the floor, but I don’t let her hide. Bringing my hand under her chin, I pull her face to meet mine. “Comin’ inside you from now on.” She bites her lip to keep from smiling and nods her head.
“Okay,” her sweet voice concedes. I give her one more kiss before shutting off the shower and stepping out to grab the towels I’m grateful someone had dropped off. I take one and wrap it around Kimi, then take the other one for myself, drying off my body before wrapping it around my hips. “I heard from Ellie,” she says as we walk out of the bathroom to get back in bed. “She said Ari woke up.” She looks at me and smiles.
“That’s good, Key.”
“She said she is going to have lots of PT for her leg. It was shattered and they still have to do a couple more surgeries until they can let her out.” Her voice was turning sullen now. I know my girl blames herself, but this shit wasn’t on her. It was all because of the club—because of me. As if she knows what I’m thinking, she starts talking again. “It isn’t anyone’s fault, Jake. Neither one of us blames you or the club,” she says, going over to the table Doc left the medical supplies on. “I need to change your bandages. Probably need mine changed too,” she tells me with a smile. I nod and let her do her thing, not taking no for an answer when I went to change hers too. I know she has seen it already and I’m sure she didn’t want me to see, but I wasn’t going to let her get away with it. The long stitched up gash goes from her jawline all the way up to the end of her eyebrow.
“Guess now I will have one to match Vin.” She chuckles. I shake my head and run my thumb along her bottom lip.
“Still fuckin’ beautiful, Key,” I tell her and cover up the soon to be scar and distant memory. I take my girl back to bed and make love to her one more time before falling asleep with her right where she belongs, in my arms.
Forty-Seven
Jake
We were at the Siberian’s clubhouse for a week, and that week was seven days too long. All I wanted to do was get Kimi back to our clubhouse—back to our life and back to fuckin’ normal. But what we returned to was anything but.
The Siberians were all too happy to take us in for the week and let us recuperate before traveling back home. It has been over two months now and the weather is getting so damn cold, a guy doesn’t even want to step foot outside. I haven’t been much of a winter lovin’ person but Kimi, on the other hand, seems to love it. “Jake! Oh my gosh come look!” Her excited face bounds up to our bed and starts trying to pull me from the covers. She is here with Ari for winter break.
Groaning, I pull myself from bed and follow her over to the window to see everything covered in white. “Isn’t it beautiful. Those flakes are huge,” she exclaims with a bright smile. I can’t help it. I may hate winter and all that comes with it, but I smile too. If it makes her happy how bad can it be?
“Wanna go out?” I ask, already knowing the answer .
“Yes!” She scampers off to the dresser and starts pulling out piles of clothes. First pulling on a pair of tight as fuck black pants then another pair before finally pulling on a pair of jeans. Two long sleeve shirts and a sweatshirt, then she starts to pull all her hair back into a ponytail. That is when she catches me staring at her. “What?” I shake my head and take a few steps closer. Her scar is still slightly pink but is healing well. Doc, despite what he said, did a decent job stitching her up.
“Nothing.” I bend down and give her a kiss before going to find my own clothes to pile on for the onslaught of snow awaiting us outside. She is out the door before me, and I take the opportunity to pocket something I have been wanting to give her for a while now. She just needs to accept it.
Closing the door behind me, I head outside. There isn’t anyone awake yet. Last night was a party night and to be up before noon on a Sunday is pretty much unheard of around here. I smile because I know this is another first for her. I plan on making it a good first.
I step outside to find her face pointed toward the sky, mouth wide open, catching the flakes as they fall. Her arms are spreads her arms and starts to circle, still facing the falling snow. Watching her brings a smile to my face. My girl is free. Free and happy.
Snaking my hands under her arms, I pull her back flush to my front and lean in to kiss her cheek along the scar. She used to try to pull away every time I did this, but this time, she leans into my touch. “Ever ma
de a snow angel?” I whisper into her ear and she shakes her head. “Can’t have that,” I say, lifting her up into my arms so suddenly she lets out a shriek.
“Jake, oh gosh,” she gasps, as I start walking over to the far side of the building. When I find the perfect place, I lay her down in the snow, kneeling so my legs are straddling one of hers.
“Close your eyes, make a wish,” I tell her. Her face scrunches up at my words and before she can ask why, I speak, making my voice demanding as possible, “Do it Key.”
“Okay.” She sasses but closes her eyes.
“Makin’ that wish?” I ask and she nods. I take this as my moment to place the small box on her chest. Lid open and stand to my feet. “Keep ‘em closed. Move your arms and legs to make wings.” She does as I say, then stops.
“Did I do it?” she asks, trying to get up.
“Don’t move. You have to open your eyes,” I instruct. When she does her eyes land on the small black box. She couldn’t look more beautiful sprawled out on the ground under the falling snow. Just fuckin’ beautiful.
“Jake. What is…” her eyes widen as she takes the box in her hand. I drop back down to my knees in the same position and pull her up, so she is sitting.
“Marry me, Key. Be my wife. Not property, Key. Never that.” Her decision may break me, I know this. Knew there was the risk of her saying no and ripping my heart out as I have done to her many times. But I don’t care. I will ask her every day for the rest of our lives until she says yes.
“Okay,” she whispers so silently I don’t even think I hear it at first.
“What?” I question, searching her face for confirmation.
“Yes, Jake. I’ll marry you.” Her smile lights up my whole word and I forget all about us sitting in the cold snow I press her back down into the angel she has made and kiss her hard, until we are both out of breath.