“Just don’t let go of me, okay, Memph. I’m not sure what is happening, but the doors are locked, and we are the only ones in here. There is a guy dressed in black standing by the door blocking it. He isn’t wearing anything distinguishing, so I can’t tell who or what he is,” I explained quickly and as best as I could. I didn’t want to frighten her, but I had my suspicions the Devil’s Advocates were behind this. How they knew we were going to be here, I was yet to work out, seeing as how neither I or any of us knew—other than… effing Hayley.
She had been so insistent that she would organise the party at such late notice. I only told her about it four days ago, then two days later, she said she had it under control. I let her go because she seemed eager, and I knew she was going to be let down when she finally got it that she wasn’t in the wedding party.
“I can’t get hold of Creed or Zander. Did you have any luck?”
I shook my head, then realised my mistake. “No, I couldn’t get Zander, either. I rang the club, and Doc answered. He said the guys took off on their bikes, heading to Body and Souls. It won’t be long before they see we aren’t there and come looking.”
“Did you tell Doc what’s going on?” Stella asked. She was holding onto Annie while Mia was protecting Meagan. Both girls looked scared shitless, not that I blamed them. My heart was beating a mile a minute, the uncertainty of what could happen making me a little uneasy.
“No, no point. He is needed at the compound with the younger kids. The guys didn’t pick up their phones because they were on their bikes. Once they get to the strip club, I’m sure Creed will listen to the voice message from Memphis,” I replied, confident that was exactly what he would do.
“Where is your party planner? She disappeared not long after we got in here,” Rainn said with a hint of worry. Rainn was the most street smart of the group, but she had been away from the action of dance clubs and seedy men for a long time, opting instead to teach at the dance school.
“I have no clue, but I am starting to get a picture in my mind. I think she has done something very stupid in order to get herself a bad-boy biker.”
“What do you mean?” Mia asked.
Before I could share my suspicions, there was a loud bang on the door. The burly bloke turned and opened it, and then my stomach dropped. Why you ask? Guts and Slither came through the door, both sporting huge grins. When Slither’s beady eyes found me, his tongue came out of his mouth and swirled over his lips.
Oh, that is so gross. My stomach then turned, threatening to heave out the champagne and prawn cocktail I had consumed at the spa. “Oh, shit, fuck, bugger,” I muttered.
“Shiloh Zoe!” Mum admonished me.
God, give me strength, I prayed silently. “Mum, this is not the time.”
I heard a snicker from Memphis, but I didn’t comment. Things were getting very, very bad.
You here, big man?
I’m here, baby girl, over by the bar. Hold them off the best you can, Squirt. The brothers will be here soon.
How the hell am I supposed to do that with five women—one blind, all half sloshed—three twenty-year-old princesses, and one teenager? I silently asked him in exasperation.
Shiloh, think. Use all that knowledge you gained from watching Booth, your father, and godfathers. Show these bastards you are more than just a woman. Show them you are the VP of the Wounded Souls. You are smarter than they are, Squirt, you know this.
I looked over and saw Darth standing at the end of the bar, his big body bulking as he glared at the two bikers and their friend. He could hear what they were saying, and by the shocked look on his face, followed by an annoyed one, I guessed he wasn’t too happy with what he heard.
It’s, Hayley. She told them where you were going to be. Seems her and the prospect Jake made a deal with these dickheads. Jake wants in their club and giving them you was his test. Darth relayed the information to me.
“Fucking bitch!” I shouted out and jumped up, nearly pulling Memphis off her stool and onto her arse.
“Shiloh! Really, was that absolutely necessary?” Mum groaned into her hands.
“Yes, mother it fucking was. Hayley gave us up, her and Jake.”
“The useless prospect?”
“Told you she was a hopeless party planner.”
“How do you know that?”
Stella, Rainn, and Mia all spoke up at the same time.
I reached down and grabbed Memphis’s hand, releasing her iron grip from my dress.
“Mum, take Memphis and give her some of your skirt to hold onto,” I ordered, then turned my attention to the other side of the island bench we were sitting at.
“Yes, the prospect who is now, more than likely, dead at the hands of one of the guys. Yes, Rainn, thank you for reminding me. Darth told me, Mia. He is over by the bar keeping watch. He heard them talking just now.”
I answered each question in the order they were asked, but my attention was on the room. I had to find something I could use as a weapon. The guys would be here, and I didn’t doubt that. Zander would find me, but until then, I had to protect my family.
I spotted two long, thin wooden poles that looked like mop handles just without the head part not too far from where we were sitting. I could get to them before being detected. Guts and Slither were too busy comparing the sizes of their dicks with their mate to take any notice of us at the table.
Attagirl, you can take out at least two of them with those. Remember the sessions with Ford and Lucky. Your martial arts skills are good enough. Darth’s encouragement and belief in me rang in my ears. It was the push I needed to do what I had to do. If I ever had the perfect chance to prove myself, this was it.
No stupid shit, Shiloh. You have already proved yourself, baby girl. Booth knows it, so use your head, okay?
“I will, Darf, promise,” I said aloud, completing forgetting my audience.
“Can he help us?” Stella asked, hopeful.
I shook my head. “Not physically, no. but he can make things work in my favour.” I snagged Meagan’s hand and got her attention. “Meagan, do you remember what Ford and Lucky taught us with the broom handles?”
Meagan’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah, most of it. Why?”
When I looked pointedly at the would-be weapons, her eyes followed, and a small smile lit her face. Meagan might have been a girlie girl, but her father was Cooper Steel, after all. The man was surrounded by females, so he made sure they knew not only what Ford taught them but also some of his own fighting knowledge. She was good to help me as long as she didn’t break a nail.
“Meagan, Shiloh, you are not thinking of fighting these men, are you? Mia asked, her hands reaching out and clasping ours.
“Aunty Mia, we have to do something. Those two guys that came in are the ones who were at the bike shop. The big one has a real hard-on for me, and he hates that I am the vice president. I’m not saying we are going to kill them or anything, but we’ll just hold them off until the guys get here,” I assured the women.
“Mum, Shiloh can’t take all three of them on by herself. If we can at least hurt two of them, then like Shiloh said, Dad will be here soon and will rage on them, kick them in the teeth, smash their balls into dust, and rip their dicks off,” Meagan said in her sweet girlie voice.
We all sat there stunned for a few seconds, shocked that Meagan even had such thoughts.
Damn, that was cold. My dick and balls are shivering with fear. I heard Darth grumble from across the room, one hand covering his manly area.
“Way to go, Meagan. Proud of you,” Rainn congratulated her.
Lacie and Evie also nodded their approval while they clapped their hands as if impressed with their cousin.
“Hey! What are you gashes doing over there?” Slither yelled out to us.
“Oh, um… you see, Mr Biker… we are discussing the pros and cons of natural childbirth,” my mum spoke up, her manners showing by always calling him mister. She looked at all the women with a proud grin.
“Oh, good Lord, Charlotte! That’s what you came up with?” Rainn said shaking her head.
Mia and Stella just groaned, heads in their hands.
I couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled from me. My mum was seriously bad under pressure. Lovable, but no good in a crisis.
“You’re fuckin’ discussing what?” Guts piped up, his brow furrowed in confusion.
“Natural childbirth. It is a wonderful, beautiful experience, but it is good to be informed about the negative effects it has on your body. Especially down—”
“Mum! Stop talking. They don’t give a shit about what it does to your vag,” I interrupted her. Someone had to, geez!
“You should be discussing what we are going to do to you,” Slither said with a grunt.
“So should you,” Meagan grumbled under her breath, but I heard her. We had to go now because I didn’t want those guys getting anywhere near Mum and her flock. Rainn would be able to fight back, but Memphis was at a definite disadvantage. This situation took me back to a time long ago when Memphis and I were faced with a similar danger. That day, she had been shot in the leg, and I lost my best friend.
I wasn’t losing anyone today.
“Okay, Meagan, shoes off,” I said as I leaned down just enough to slip my heels off without bringing any unwanted attention. Slither had turned back to speak to his mates. They were now lighting cigarettes and spitting vile loogies on the carpet. Argh, disgusting.
“Okay, off. Now what?”
I thought for a few seconds, thinking back to what Darth had said about stupid shit. Pensively, I looked at the wooden poles and then at the three men, and an idea formed in my head.
Jesus, kiddo, that just may work.
Or it will get me stuffed in the boot of a car, but it’s worth a shot.
“Here is the plan,” I said and leaned forward to lay out the most ridiculous plan to end all plans.
Chapter 18
Zander
I parked my bike by Booth’s in the parking lot of a nightclub thirty-five minutes away from where the women were supposed to be. I could not and would not believe Shiloh was in on changing the venue of the party without letting me know first. No way.
“Why aren’t there any cars here? Where is the fucking limo we hired?” Mannix said, walking around the empty lot, his hands waving about.
“This is where Memphis said they were in her message.” Creed shrugged.
Suddenly, the quiet of the night was broken by the sound of bikes approaching. I rolled my shoulders and cracked my knuckles in readiness for a confrontation as I waited for the bikes to get closer.
“They don’t sound like the bikes we came up against on the road, Pres,” Steel stated.
“They don’t look like them, either,” Deck shouted above the roar of the engines of three well-maintained bikes.
“I think I know who they are,” Booth added and moved forward to the men on the now parked bikes.
The guys were all tall. The first one was very tall with longish dark hair, an intense and guarded look on his face as he surveyed his surroundings. The other one was sporting a buzz cut, covered in tatts, and just looked plain angry.
The third guy I recognised. He was bigger than the last time I saw him, but his buzzed head and the faux hawk on the top of his head was the same.
“Vicious, good to see you again,” I said in greeting, my hand out.
Saxon grabbed my hand in a firm grip, a smile splitting his face.
“Zander, how you doing? Been a while. I see you have doubled your muscle bulk if that was possible. You gotta turn sideways to get those shoulders through a door?”
I laughed at his comment. I was big, that was for sure.
The intense guy stepped forward. “Saxon, better things to be talkin’ about right now. G’day, Talon, and you must be Booth.”
Booth reached out and took Talon, the president of the Hawks’, offered hand.
“Good to meet ya, Talon. This is Zander, Deck, Mannix, Steel, and Lucky.” Booth introduced us, and we all took turns shaking hands.
“Killer and Vicious,” Talon said by way of introduction. He gave me the impression he was a man of few words.
“Not that I am not glad to meet you, but I am curious why you are here.”
Talon nodded. “I get that. Got a call from a bloke named Ford, said your VP called your compound not long ago. The guy who took the call got a feeling she was in trouble. Ford couldn’t get you on the phone, so he gave me the address she is at. Know that this place is frequented by the Devil’s, whatever the fuck they call themselves. Thought we might come lend a hand,” Talon explained.
“You said Ford called you?” Lucky asked.
Talon nodded. “Yeah, what’s it to ya?”
“Ford is my man, so it’s everything to me,” Lucky retorted, his expression almost begging for Talon to say something about that.
“Cool, ain’t got nothing against that. Couple of my guys flow that way, too. Fuck, my brother-in-law is gay as they come,” Talon said with a shake of his shoulders. “Now, as interestin’ as this conversation is, you might want to know two crappy-as-fuck choppers are sitting on the other side of this building.”
“The fuck—” I was cut off by the sound of screaming and smashing glass.
“Fuck, Shiloh! Mum!” I cried out. Not giving one fuck that I sounded like a woman.
All eight men took off at a dead run. I was ahead of them, but Dad and Booth were right on my heals.
Oh, God, don’t let them be hurt. Please, don’t take my life from me, I prayed as I bolted to the entrance. Sliding to a stop in the vestibule, I yanked open one of the double doors while Booth got the other one.
What greeted us was something I didn’t think had words to describe it.
“Holy fucking shit,” Talon muttered, taking in the scene in front of us with an amused grin.
“Is that my wife standing on the back of a man who is hogtied?” Deck asked incredulously.
“If I say yes, that means I am seeing my wife attacking a man with her high-as-fuck fuck-me heels,” Mannix replied, sounding very impressed with the way Rainn was putting holes into the guy’s arm with her heels.
I shook myself out of my haze and ran to where Shiloh was hitting Slither with what looked like a mop handle. Meagan was on the other side of her with an identical weapon, and both of them were using the skills Ford and Lucky had taught all the kids.
“I am going to fuck you up, bitch, then fuck you.” Slither all but growled at my woman, his arms held up in front of his face trying desperately to protect himself.
“Oh, fuck, wrong thing to say, fucker,” I shouted, then sprinted forward, vaulting over Charlotte and her prisoner on the way.
My fist connected with Slither’s jaw, then I immediately punched him in the kidneys, the blow forcing his body to double over, giving Shiloh and Meagan access to his back, which they attacked with vigour.
In the background, I could hear that Dad had found Mum, and her voice soothed my worry for her. In my peripheral vision, I saw Mannix had taken over from Rainn, and Steel was helping Deck get the hogtied idiot to his feet.
I focused back on Slither, relieved that the situation was mostly under control.
“You think you can threaten what’s mine and live, arsehole? Think again.” I grabbed his head and pulled it down hard on my kneecap. The satisfying sound of his nose breaking added to my tally for the night. “You think you are going to get away with those vile things you said to her?” I pulled my leg back, bent my knee, then cocked my foot horizontally, and snapped out my leg, my foot connecting with his shin in the perfect textbook roundhouse kick.
Slither grunted out in pain, his jaw obviously broken from my first punch.
“Enough, enough, no more, please,” he said from between clenched teeth, his jaw shut tight.
Yep, broken.
I pulled my arm back to end him with one last blow to his ugly face when Booth grabbed my arm and stopped me.
“Let him go, mate. This ain’t you, brother. He knows he is done for, and remember, we don’t use dirty tactics. Once a man relents, we respect that,” Booth reminded me.
I wanted to yell and rage at Booth. How could he possibly want me to show this guy mercy? Didn’t he hear what he wanted to do to Shiloh? The only mercy in my mind was the dead kind. He deserved that for hitting Shiloh, pushing her to the ground and bruising her beautiful skin.
“Booth, you can’t be serious? This arsehole threatened my fiancée and put us all in danger on the road. He doesn’t deserve mercy,” I implored, but I let him fall to the ground all the same.
“I agree, brother, but not from us, not from you. Living with the knowledge you took someone’s life, ended their breathing and time in this world, is not something I want you to experience. It will eat you up inside, Zander. It will destroy you. Destroy all the good around you until you wake up one day and find everything you love is gone, driven away by your guilt.”
Booth shuddered, and Stella’s arms reached around him from behind, her small hands clasping together on his belly. I watched as Booth closed his eyes and took in a deep lungful of air. His hands immediately covered hers.
“I got a second chance at living, but the road to get it was dark and fraught with a struggle I never want you to know, son. Shiloh is your happily ever after. Don’t lose it. Hold onto it, and never put it in jeopardy.”
My head snapped up, and my gaze found Shiloh’s, the sapphire orbs bright with tears. Even with her dress all wrinkled and askew, her hair wild and ruffled, she never looked more beautiful.
With a new resolve, I stood up to my full height. Booth was right. I didn’t want to risk Shiloh’s love for me. My dad went through hell because of guilt, lost himself to it and lived a great deal of his life half a man until mum gave him a reason.
That wasn’t going to be my life. I had the brightest light of all showing me the way, and she was standing right in front of me with a wooden pole in her hand, ready to fight again if I needed her. And fuck me, I did need her, needed her to breathe.
Her Prince (The Wounded Souls Series Book 6) Page 14