“You might want to wear a condom, Ivan. At least until you’ve had her tested. As I told you, her decisions of late have been poorly executed.” Ivan snarled angrily and I knew in my heart that Grishka had only said that to enrage him. He wanted him to hurt me.
The painful invasion of Ivan’s fingers had me crying out. But I twisted and fought with everything I had. He might take me, but I’d never be willing or compliant with him. Hell, if he killed me in anger, I’d be free of him quicker.
As he lined the tip of his dick up with my opening, I sobbed and frantically thrashed.
“Kalashnik, if you were a smart man, you’d call off your friend,” I heard a familiar voice say from the other side of the couch. Ivan paused, which was followed by a shouted, “Now!”
One minute I was facedown on the couch. The next, I was in front of Ivan with his meaty hand around my neck and a knife held to my chin. It was ironic, considering that standing across the room was Shank, with my oldest brother held in a similar position.
Anatoly’s eyes flashed defiantly as Shank jerked his head and pressed the knife in enough to draw blood. The dark trickle held me temporarily mesmerized.
Then my heart soared, because standing next to him, poised to launch, was Ogun. Except, the man standing there was not the sweet man who made love to me and laughed as we cooked dinner together.
No. That man was Voodoo. Eyes cold, body coiled, yet he barely moved a muscle as he held a wicked-looking gun pointed at Ivan.
Grishka growled. “You will regret this decision, biker trash.”
“Yeah, I don’t think it will be us that has regrets,” Raptor said from the other side of Shank and my brother. His pistol was trained on the man I’d called my father.
After that, everything happened so fast, I couldn’t be sure I caught it all.
Grishka pulled out a pistol of his own, one of his goons slipped around the corner behind, Voodoo and his brothers, then shots were fired, but I had no idea who fired first.
All I knew for certain was that poor Shank’s face exploded outward from the blast of Grishka’s man behind him, Voodoo grabbed my brother as Shank dropped to the ground, and the cold edge of Ivan’s knife slid through my skin.
Shouts rang out everywhere, and I dropped to the cold marble tiles, unable to move. Footsteps running, a warm hand to my throat, and I choked. It took everything I had to blink as I stared up into the eyes of the man I loved.
“Angel!” he screamed. “Hurry!”
It was insane how fast things had moved with us, but I wanted to tell him I loved him more than life itself. Except my lips barely moved, and no sound would come out. Dizziness enveloped me, and the cold wrapped its icy tentacles around me, pulling me under.
So many regrets to die with.
“Something Left To Save”—Deadset Society
She wasn’t wearing white like in my visions and my dreams, but her thick crimson blood oozed between my fingers as I tried to stop the flow. Blood everywhere. Coating her chest, in her mouth. It matched the bloodred of her dress that ordinarily would’ve been beautiful on her.
“Voodoo, I need to see her before it’s too late,” Angel murmured as he laid a hand on my wrist. Confused and disoriented, I looked at him without moving. He nodded, and I dropped my gaze to my woman.
Swallowing the knot in my throat, I reluctantly set her on the floor. The puddle of blood under her seeped into the golden blonde hair that had been tangled around her head. Holding her lifeless hand in mine, I refused to let go.
My breathing came in shallow pants as I fought the rage that began to take over my broken heart. I prayed to God that she would make it, but if she didn’t, I wouldn’t rest until I’d stripped Ivan’s flesh from his body, inch by inch.
“Shank?” I asked, but Angel shook his head desolately. There were limits to his ability.
“Voodoo, maybe you should go help Facet and Ghost. They are getting our guests secured, but we also need to load up Shank and clean up this mess.” Raptor held a hand over his mouth as he looked down to where I sat on my ass, dazed and covered in Kira’s blood.
“No. I’m not leaving her.”
He gave me a look that said he wanted to chew my ass for refusing him, but I couldn’t leave her like that, and he knew it. My gaze fell back on Angel where he was kneeling next to her still form. If anyone could save her, it was Angel. It gave me hope.
Raptor sighed. “Angel? You good?”
Angel looked up briefly and nodded, then returned his concentration to the broken love of my life in front of him. God, I sounded like a sappy fuck, but I loved her. So fucking much it hurt. Though I knew I’d move heaven and earth for her, I would also kill for her. And I intended to follow through on that when we were done in her father’s penthouse.
Her father, her brother, Ivan—they’d all pay and pay dearly before I sent them to hell. If she died, I’d call Rael and Grim. I’d beg them to continue their torment on the way there. See, there were things about some of the chapters of our club that not everyone knew.
Little whispers.
Rumors that held more truth than they realized.
Yet they had no idea the extent of the things some of our chapters consisted of. Not really.
The faint glow that filled the space between Angel’s hands and Kira’s body was mesmerizing. Slowly, I watched as the blood stopped seeping out of the gaping wound on her neck.
From the inside out, her tissue closed, achingly slowly. Finally, the surface of her skin slowly folded together, sealing itself as if it hadn’t been gaping open mere seconds ago. The blood was drying on her skin, but other than a faint scar, the cut was as if it had never happened.
Still, she lay lifeless. I stared and willed her to open her eyes. Scanning her from head to toe, I waited for a movement. With closed eyes, Angel moved his hands to her head, and they hovered over the swollen and bruised area that had hit the floor after Ivan slit her throat.
When he was done, he dropped his head in exhaustion. Silently, I watched him, knowing how what he’d done depleted him. Gratitude filled me at his sacrifice.
“Angel?” I asked, afraid to voice the rest of my thoughts. She still hadn’t moved, but an extremely faint pulse flickered beneath my fingertip that rested on her wrist.
“I’ve done all I can, Voodoo. She lost a lot of blood. Ideally, she should have a transfusion. If we were at home, I have contacts. But here? We’ll have to wait.” The bleakness in his gaze ripped my heart out. He didn’t have to say that he was skeptical; I could read it in his eyes.
Loath to let go of her but knowing he was on the verge of collapse, I reverently set her hand to the floor and lifted my brother to his feet. Shuffling with him, I helped him to the couch. He sat heavily and fell to his side. After lifting his feet, I rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Can I get you anything?”
He shook his head and closed his eyes. We’d grown up together, and he was more than my brother in the club. He was my friend, my confidant, my brother in my heart to the extent that I’d followed him into the army even thought I knew we’d both end up back in Ankeny as brothers in the Royal Bastards.
I’d needed to be there to protect him from his self-destructive nature at the time. He’d always been a contradiction. It amazed me that the man known as the Angel of Death for our chapter was blessed with the ability to save lives as well as take them.
“Rest, brother. We’ll need to leave soon.”
When I was certain he was resting comfortably, I returned to Kira. It might’ve been my imagination, but it seemed like her pulse was stronger, and the faint movement of her chest was noticeable.
Carefully, I lifted her from the floor and brought her to the first bedroom I came upon. Once I set her on the bed, I pulled the blanket up from the other side and covered her with it.
Crouching next to her, I gently pulled the hair loose from where it was stuck to her skin with dried blood. The thought of her not being in my life was something I didn�
��t want to contemplate.
“You need to pull through, baby. Sasha is waiting for you at home, and I don’t want to have to tell her I couldn’t bring you back. You hear me?” I sucked in a shaky inhale. “And I don’t want to imagine life without you. I finally got you; I’m not ready to let you go.”
I pressed a kiss on her forehead and pushed my emotions to the back of my mind. Moving on autopilot, I searched the penthouse for the supplies I needed. I’d set the last item next to the mess in the living room when Facet, Ghost, and Raptor returned.
The space where Shank’s body had been was eerily cold, and I knew we all experienced it. They had rolled his body up in the area rug he’d fallen on and had dragged him back to the elevator area to wait for us. We’d bring him home to his ol’ lady and give him the sendoff he deserved as a loyal long-term Bastard.
Quietly and efficiently, we erased all signs that the night’s events had taken place. It was, after all, our specialty. Our cleaning company did this professionally, so it was damn near second nature for us and came in handy after situations like we’d found ourselves in.
“How is she?” Ghost asked as we bagged up the last of the cleaning items and the clothes we’d been wearing. It would all be incinerated.
None of us cared that we were standing there in our underwear. Facet had gone down to the parking garage to retrieve our change of clothes from our bikes. He’d bypassed the security system, leaving everything on a loop since before we pulled into the garage. No one would be the wiser that we’d been there. Especially since all the witnesses were either dead or coming back with us.
It would be tricky crossing state lines in an out-of-state SUV with several bodies in a trailer we’d rented to carry Angel’s bike. We’d decided he would drive one of Kalashnik’s SUVs in case Kira needed him. It set my teeth on edge, because I wanted to be with her.
“Voodoo,” Facet said as he tossed me my bag. I caught it midair and returned to the room Kira rested in. I’d been in to check on her several times while we cleaned, but there hadn’t been a change.
Quickly, I dressed as I kept an eye on her.
While I waited for my brothers, I went into the bathroom and grabbed several towels and wet a few washcloths. Carefully, I cleaned as much of the blood from her as I could, disposing of the towels in a bag and tying it off.
“Ready?” Raptor asked from the doorway. I nodded. “Okay, wrap her in the comforter. Bring any of the linens that she’s touched or bloodied. Ghost and Facet are going to do a final wipe-down before we lock the place up.”
“I know what I’m doing,” I grumbled at his lack of faith in my ability not to leave behind evidence.
“Hey. It wasn’t anything personal. I just know you might not be thinking clearly.”
“I’m good. Kalashnik still alive?” I asked.
He nodded. “Both of them. For now. Grishka might not make it back to Ankeny, but we’ll see.”
“I want him alive.” My teeth ground in frustration.
“Voodoo. I’m not going to drain Angel again by having him treat that Russian piece of shit just so you can torture him.” His exasperation did nothing for me.
“It’s my right!” I roared as I took heaving breaths. The windows shuddered. A glass vase shook on the dresser and toppled over. Raptor snagged it before it hit the floor.
“Chill, bro. We don’t have time to clean more messes.”
Clenching my fists, I nodded. Yeah, I knew he was right, but it didn’t help.
The trip back to Ankeny seemed to take twice as long, since we didn’t dare ride like we had on the way there. There was too much to lose if we got pulled over. We’d even secured our cuts in our saddlebags so we wouldn’t stand out to any of the locals. If anyone saw our Iowa plates, we were nothing more than a group of civilians on our way home from a road trip.
During our last gas stop, I checked on Kira again. We had lain all the back seats down, made a bed with her head up by Angel, and strapped her down the best we could. Each stop had been the same.
No change.
Except during the last one, she didn’t seem quite as pale. While the brothers stretched their legs and checked on our “cargo,” I climbed in to sit next to her. Though she was still unconscious, I talked to her like she could hear me.
“We’re almost home, baby. I swear to fuck, you better wake up. I’ve gone almost thirty years without you, and I’m not prepared to do any more. You hear me? We have puppies to raise. We have vows to say. We have babies to make. In fact, I might plant a baby in you before the vows just to make sure you don’t try to go anywhere.” A sad smile curled the corner of my lips as I imagined her swatting at me and telling me I was crazy. More than anything, I wanted her to open her eyes and tell me I was a misogynistic asshole.
Not that I really was. I’d never believed in that barefoot and pregnant shit.
Hell, we had a fucking female president in the Baltimore chapter. Granted, we’d been pissed as fuck at Ghost for stepping in to help her, but I’d had time to reconsider. The older brothers of our chapter would never allow a woman to be voted in as a member, but it didn’t mean I didn’t respect Gamble and the shit she went through.
“You’re supposed to tell me to fuck off, then I tell you to make me, then I fuck you compliant.”
“Wow, you’re a real romantic. How ever does she resist you?” My head swiveled to Ghost standing in the partially open door.
“Jesus fucking Christ, bro! That shit isn’t funny,” He’d damn near gotten his nose caved in.
Completely nonplussed, he shrugged and grinned. “Just thought you might like to know that Angel did you a little favor.”
“Little?” I motioned to Kira. “I’d say it was huge.” Though she hadn’t woken up yet, at least she was still alive. For now.
“Wasn’t referring to her.” He gave a smirk, a lift of his chin, and walked off toward the bikes.
Brow furrowed, I watched him go. It wasn’t long before Angel made his way back to the vehicle. He had his arms full of a giant drink, a bag of licorice, one of those long beef sticks, some chips, and a banana.
“Goddamn, bro. Hungry much?” My eyes bugged at all the junk food he carried.
“I needed to build my strength back up.” He lifted a shoulder and popped a piece of licorice in his mouth. As he chewed, I shot him a look that clearly stated What the actual fuck? and shook my head in amazement.
“What was Ghost talking about when he said you did me a little favor?”
He pursed his lips, looked off to the side, and took a long pull from his drink.
“Angel,” I said in warning. He darted his gaze back to me, then bit his lip as he juggled his shit and put it in the SUV.
“I may have done enough to keep that dick-gargling fucklord alive for you for a bit,” he said in a low voice.
“What the fuck did you just say?”
“Dick-gargling fucklord. I saw it on my social media the other day.” Shrugging, he peeked in at Kira. He checked her pulse and sighed.
Despite the seriousness of our situation, I laughed. “You’re not all there. You know that, right?”
He shot me a huge smile and wiggled his brows. “I know, right?”
“Thanks, bro. For everything.” I experienced a moment of humble emotion. He grinned and climbed in the driver seat. Twisting slightly in his seat, he trailed his fingertips over Kira’s forehead.
“I’m worried,” I said as I held her hand.
“Let’s get on the road.” His answer wasn’t reassuring in the least. If I was honest with myself, I was terrified to let go of her in case the next time we stopped she was gone. Reluctantly, I kissed her head, then the back of her hand.
We got back on the road, and my mind was a mess. So much so, I was glad I’d been with my brothers, because I didn’t remember the last of the miles passing. I’d have rather taken her home, but I knew why we went directly to the clubhouse.
“Get her in the infirmary.” The gruff voice of Doc sh
ocked me. I hadn’t expected him to be there.
Sensing my surprise, Angel squeezed my shoulder, and I carried Kira’s limp body to the room in the back we’d designated as an infirmary. My steps stuttered as I stepped through and saw it set up like the best of hospital rooms, complete with infusion setup.
“I called ahead,” Angel said with a small smile. My heart ached at his foresight, and I’d never been more thankful for him. Last I heard, Doc had all but moved down by the border to Missouri to be closer to his grandkids.
“Thanks, Doc.” I fought choking up. He had very similar abilities to Angel, but he’d actually been a doctor in the army, and then an ER doctor before he’d completely retired.
Once I had her situated, he wasted no time in getting IV access established and pulled blood products from the cooler. “How the fuck did you know her blood type?”
Angel gave me a smug grin. Facet stepped into the doorway and cleared his throat. “Well, before we left Chicago, Angel asked me to hack into her medical records to find out her blood type.”
“We could’ve went with an O negative, but since we were able to get access, I was able to hook her up with her specific blood type. Which was good, because O negative isn’t always easy to get ahold of on the sly,” Doc explained as he got everything running, took vitals, and watched everything that was happening. His hands may have been weathered and aged, but he moved confidently.
Angel assisted him as needed and gently moved me out of the way to sit up by Kira’s head.
“We don’t know exactly how much blood she lost or how much she needs, so I’m going to have to see if between Angel and I, we can sense when we’re good. Then we wait,” he finished as he looked up at me.
“Thank you. Both of you.”
“Voodoo. Prez wants to see you for a second,” Raptor said from out in the hall.
Sensing my hesitation, Angel and Doc both motioned for me to go. Raptor rested a hand on my shoulder. “She’s in good hands, brother. It won’t take long.”
Rushing so I could get back, I stepped into Venom’s office. He was finishing up on the phone and looked at me as he hung up. “That was Ghost. He, Squirrel, and Blade have our guests situated. Thought you might like to know something Squirrel got out of the son.”
Voodoo (Royal Bastards MC: Ankeny IA) Page 14