by BT Urruela
“Don’t do this, Annalise!” Dimitri called out. “He will have you, and then he will kill us. You must run! It’s the only way.”
Thwack. The second hit split the back of Dimitri’s head wide open, he could feel the breeze against the torn flesh, stinging it.
“Dimitri!” Annalise gasped, her hands to her mouth. “Robbie, what the hell are you doing? You said you would let him go!” Annalise cried out at the sight of the pained grimace on Dimitri’s face.
Robbie tilted his head. “Are you in my hands, or is he? Now I see two of you. Why don’t we make a nice clean swap? I’ll even have my men back up.” He looked toward the prospects and shooed them away. Adams moved the three others back down the road a bit, and Robbie smiled. “See! Now, do we have a deal or what?”
Every muscle screamed at her to run. She couldn’t even hide the tears. She looked from Dimitri to Knuckles.
“Annalise,” Knuckles said softly. “Either way, even if D and I run, they’re gonna chase us, and they’re gonna catch us. Maybe, you run instead, and he and I can keep them at bay for a little bit. Give you some time to get away. We’re dead regardless.”
“I’m not leaving him. Just be ready to get him out. Please,” she pleaded, eyeing his wound and praying to God they had a chance. She knew what she had to do.
Knuckles stopped her before she turned, and said, “Hey, Annalise, I’m sorry for all this. For everything. You didn’t deserve it. Just wanted you to know that.” He took a breath, his eyes distant, and then he added, “Maybe, needed you to.”
She smiled at him through the tears. “Thanks, Knuckles. I don’t guess any of us bargained for this shit storm.” Annalise tried desperately to look more confident than she felt. She nodded to him and turned back to Robbie and Dimitri.
Knuckles said, “I’ve been taking stupid orders my whole damn life. If I survive this”—he laughed nervously—“I think I’m gonna do less of that. I shouldn’t have followed orders. Shouldn’t have involved you in all of this.” He couldn’t remember the last time he felt such remorse, such regret.
She turned back sharply. “If you hadn’t taken me, I would be dead already, remember.”
He rested a hand to her elbow and led her slowly around the front of the Blazer. “Speaking of that, when you get out of this, you better never do somethin’ stupid like that again.” He stopped walking, grabbing her arm gently, so she stopped too, and he waited for her to look at him. When she did, he added in a fatherly tone, “I mean it.”
She looked from him to Dimitri and back. “I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem.” The irony of finding life in death hung heavy between them.
Robbie pulled Dimitri’s head back and put the gun to his chin. “You two done with the fucking Hallmark shit, or do I need to finish this little fucker off?” He licked his lips, looking over Dimitri as if he were a filet.
I really fucking hate him. Annalise glared at Robbie and then urged Knuckles forward with her elbow. “Let’s do this,” she said softly. “Let’s go get your boy.” Each step across the drive was one step closer to death row. Worse. Life with Robbie would be worse than death. Her eyes fell on Dimitri—the sacrifice, no matter how great, she would’ve made over and over again to set him free. She took stock of the wreckage. She couldn’t take her eyes off Dimitri. When they got close, she couldn’t help but drop to him.
“Get the fuck up. You’re mine now.” Robbie let go of Dimitri and grabbed Annalise by the back of the neck.
For the briefest moment, she had Dimitri in her arms but Robbie had her by the hair, pulling her to him, and Knuckles was pulling Dimitri away. No matter how brave she tried to be, a sob escaped her throat as Robbie descended upon her like a spider with its fly. His hands were all over her, his hot breath on her face. The nauseating revolt of his touch burned her skin in a way fire never could.
Even weaponless, Dimitri was ready to turn back, sickened by the sight of Robbie’s hands groping her, pulling her in. He caught her eyes as they passed and he didn’t know if he could bear the constriction on his heart, didn’t know if he could accept what was to come after everything. What he did know was that there was no way in hell he would turn his back on her and run. No way. No how.
“Robbie,” she whispered, her voice tight from his hand around her throat, “let them get in a vehicle and go. Please, just let them leave here. I will do whatever you say.” She needed to buy them time to make a getaway. They had to go.
Loud, throaty satisfied laughter erupted from Robbie as he watched the two crippled bikers moving away. One hand tightly fisted Annalise’s hair. “I’ve waited a long fucking time for this, princess.” He cocked her head to the side, his lips on her face as he spoke, while keeping his eyes and gun on Dimitri. “I love it when a plan comes together. Do you know how much trouble I went to for this?”
Knuckles held Dimitri back as he snarled at Robbie, like an animal ready to attack.
Robbie smiled. “Oh, Dimitri, you look so angry. If you only knew the trouble I went through to get this little princess in my arms.” He tightened his grip on her neck and set his nose to her hair, taking in a deep breath with his eyes still on Dimitri. “Do you know how much it costs to pay a truck driver to run someone down?” There was a knowing twinkle in Robbie’s eye.
Dimitri tilted his head, his mouth gaping, brow furrowed. “What the fuck did you just say?”
Robbie cackled. “You didn’t think your father’s death and this whole ordeal with the senator happening in succession was just a coincidence, now did you? Silly boy.” Robbie reveled in the look of utter shock and rage on Dimitri’s face.
“N-No, no way,” Dimitri muttered. No other words would come.
“Oh, you did! How delightfully sweet and gullible of you.”
Dimitri tried rushing toward him, but Knuckles held him back with his one good hand, thankful he was considerably stronger than Dimitri.
Robbie put a gun to Annalise’s head. “Don’t you dare try anything, or I will kill this bitch, just like I did your old man.”
The prospects behind him laughed.
Adams said, “Do it!”
Just keep him talking. Please, guys, run. She watched Dimitri fight from Knuckles’ grip, knew how much it was ripping into him. Run, goddammit. “Robbie, baby, I thought I was all you wanted. Let them go,” she said. He had her pressed up against him. Gently, she rubbed her hand up and down his back, in a soothing motion. “So we can have our fun.”
Touching him sickened her, the words did too, but she had to do whatever it took to give them time to get to safety. She just needed a minute or two longer. She took a breath and calmed herself. His game was for keeps. Her hands were sweaty from the test before her.
“Oh, princess, you like your new daddy, don’t you?” He kissed her, his hot mouth enveloping her lips in a sickeningly wet kiss. She gagged as he pulled back, liked his lips, and said, “Yes, you fucking do.” He smiled, the satisfaction dripping from each syllable.
“I will fucking end you, Robbie!” Dimitri screamed hoarsely, tears running freely down his face, more from the all-consuming rage inside him than from finding out the truth about his father. His dad was dead, no matter how it happened, but she was still alive. She was still at risk. She needed him. His mind raced through options.
Silently, Annalise counted, remembering the knife Dimitri had given her, ready to make her move.
One.
Dimitri and Knuckles were close to the pile of guns, they could get to them before the others if she struck first.
Two.
She said a silent prayer, her heart beating out of her chest.
Three.
She took a deep breath but before she could strike, a car came flying up the road in a torrent of gravel and dust.
Everyone turned. Everyone but Annalise. There was no going back. Her life flashed before her eyes. She snatched the knife from her waistband and flipped the blade up as Robbie eyed the incoming vehicle. Whatever happened, it was too
late to think about the value of her life. She was terrified but as the car struck the prospects, sending them flying, she lifted the knife up and with all the strength and hate and fear she had ever felt in her life, she buried it in his carotid artery so hard the tip stuck through the front of his throat.
Robbie fired the gun with his right hand, hitting the Blazer before he dropped it. His mouth gaped, the blood gushing from the wound. Both hands flew up to his throat and a gurgled gasp escaped where a scream should’ve been. The knife, having severed his laryngeal nerve, left him speechless. His mouth was gaping like a fish and blood poured from his lips. He staggered back, eyes wide, panic twisting his face as the blood filled his lungs and he couldn’t catch a breath. Annalise reached up and grabbed the knife, twisting and pulling it out as Robbie fell to his knees, and then she jabbed it up under his chin, through his tongue, and it lodged in the roof of his mouth. She let go of the handle and staggered back as he dropped face first to the ground.
“You will never be my daddy.” She stepped forward, wiped an arm across her lips, and spit on him. As she stood over him, and watched his life drain out onto the dirt, chaos broke out around her, but she was frozen in time.
The two prospects who weren’t crushed beneath the SUV staggered for the guns they had piled, but Jacoby and Pyro hopped out of the vehicle and shot them dead.
Dimitri raced to Annalise’s side, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her back away from Robbie’s bleeding corpse. Knuckles approached Pyro and Jacoby with complete surprise on his features.
“You fuckers are alive?” Knuckles asked excitedly, taking both of them in for a hug, careful to keep his mangled hand away from them.
“Yeah, and we saved your asses,” Pyro said with a smug look on his face.
“I don’t know,” Dimitri said, walking up to them with an arm around Annalise. “We were working on something. I’m sure we would’ve figured shit out eventually,” he said through a smile, and gave them both a hug, just as Dalton hopped out of the vehicle and looked over where Adams and another prospect were crushed beneath the SUV, groaning.
He silenced them with two rounds to the head.
The shots made Dimitri jump, but he settled once he saw Dalton. “How the fuck did you guys make it out? What even happened?”
Pyro chuckled. “Well, that’s an interesting story. I had taken a well-timed piss break when shit hit the fan in headquarters. Dalton here went fucking Rambo on their asses while my ass was still in the bathroom.”
“Fucking knew they were up to something,” Dalton huffed, looking much older to Dimitri than he had just a day before. “I could smell it on them. When Tipper fucking stabbed Louis, I already had my gun ready and a round chambered, and I killed that fucker where he stood. It went to hell fast in there, man. A bunch of Robbie’s prospects started killing everybody, and Tank and I were holding them back.”
“That’s when I heard Dalton yelling and I came out of the bathroom,” Pyro said. “Right in front of Shane and Callahan, my gun raised just like theirs. And they were cornered. Dalton and I took them upstairs to hold them. Figured more would be coming and we could use them to barter. Tank hid with a rifle in the van out front, for more to come.”
“Did they ever come?” Dimitri asked.
A wide grin stretched across Pyro’s face. He motioned toward Dalton and Jacoby. “You guys wanna fetch our prize?”
The two of them laughed and nodded, making their way back toward the van. They opened the back door and worked Honey Bear out of the back seat; he was hogtied and cursing up a storm. They dragged him over to the others.
“Motherfuckers, I am gonna destroy everything you fuckin’ love,” HB growled from the gravel and dirt, his body writhing helplessly in the restraints.
“Holy shit,” Dimitri said, eyes wide.
“Fat fuck here brought Bronson and Greyson to take care of us, but they didn’t see Tank behind them, hunkered down in the van, and he took Bronson out immediately. Caught Greyson in the leg with a round, and Honey Bear completely off guard. He yelled for us to come down, and the rest is history.”
“What’d ya do with the others?” Knuckles asked.
Pyro laughed. “Slit their fucking throats. We left Tank behind, just in case more show.”
“By himself?” Dimitri asked, scrunching his brows.
“It was his idea,” Pyro responded. “I think he wasn’t ready to leave Cook yet.”
“Fuck, they got Cook too?” Dimitri asked.
Pyro nodded solemnly. “Cook, Zane, Brad, Gator, all of ’em, man. It was fucking chaos.”
Dimitri found it hard to breathe, the tightness growing in his chest.
“Hey, fuckers!” Trigger called from the house, garnering their attention. “I’m real happy for your nice little reunion over there, but can you help a motherfucker out? I can’t stand being in this house anymore.”
“Shit, yeah, brother,” Dimitri said, shaking it off, and motioning toward them. “Jacoby, Dalton, can you help me get him?”
“Of course,” Jacoby said.
Dalton nodded, and they both walked with Dimitri to the house.
Jacoby and Dalton held Trigger with his arms around their shoulders, Dimitri walking along backward, carrying Trig’s legs to keep them from further injury, as they made their way to the van. Dimitri figured at least one of his legs would be gone in a few hours, maybe the other one as well, but he was alive, and that was what mattered most. Poor Charlie was next, the color in his face gone, his open eyes haunting. Dimitri closed them, and then he carried his protégé to the Blazer and set him gently in the back seat, laid him across it, and rested his cold hands on his chest.
“Charlie!” Annalise let out a sob. She had come up behind Dimitri and he hadn’t even realized it. When he stepped back, she leaned in and placed her small hand on Charlie’s. Seeing him for the first time with his mask off, she knew. “Oh, Charlie.” Tears streamed and the men behind her looked confused. “He was in Hawthorn,” she said, turning to Dimitri. “When he was twelve. He was there.”
“Yeah,” Dimitri answered, blinking, still confused that she seemed as broken up as he was.
“So was I.” She squeezed his cold hand. “Slipped through the cracks”—her voice broke—“and the tiger finally got him.”
Trigger was in the front seat of the van that used Robbie’s prospects as a parking spot, and he nodded as he looked upon the two of them by the Blazer. “Yeah,” he said, catching Dimitri’s attention. Trigger’s eyes were full of hurt. “He told me he recognized her too, but he didn’t know if he should say anything. Said she was a big part of his life back then. Helped him a lot.” He sucked in a breath, and then pinched his lips together tightly, shaking his head. “Fucking Charlie, man,” he said, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Fucking Charlie.”
Dimitri wrapped Annalise up and held her tightly. They stood in the dirt and Dimitri’s tears finally came. How the universe had brought this woman into his life, he would never understand or deserve. Like a broken angel, she walked into hell with him. Pieces of their lives were so intertwined, each wound was part of the greater masterpiece. He could see it then, looking at Charlie, watching her say goodbye.
“We’ll take care of him,” Dimitri promised her, wiping tears from her stained cheeks. “Pyro will take you in the van, to do what you need to do.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. “I love you, Annalise.”
Dimitri watched her walk reluctantly toward the van, torn between wanting to keep her safe and doing what needed to be done for his men. He wanted to go with her, but he also respected her need to do what needed to be done alone. And she respected his need to bury his men.
“Pyro, can you get these guys to the hospital? Annalise is gonna ride with you as well,” Dimitri said, pointing toward Knuckles.
Knuckles brushed him off. “I’m good, bro. It’s just my hand. I’ll have Doc take a look at it.”
Pyro looked uneasily toward Knuckles, his lips pinched tightly
together, and he shook his head. “Samson’s dead. Made Honey Bear here tell us.” He kicked Honey Bear, who growled in response. “Had him take us by the mass grave they dug for all of us. Rotten fucks.” He held his glare on HB, and continued, “Killed two of those dickhead prospects right where they stood at the gravesite.”
“You’re so lucky, you dumb cocksucker. When I get outta these ropes, I’m gonna make you wish you were never born!” Honey Bear looked back toward Pyro with a scowl, his hands and feet fighting the ropes fruitlessly.
Pyro kicked him again. “Saw Preach and Riker in there too.” He gritted his teeth, his hands balled into fists.
“Guess who’s gonna be next?” HB said, forcing a pained laugh.
Dimitri squatted down beside him, grabbed a handful of gravel mindlessly, and let the rocks fall from his fingers one by one, enjoying the tink sound they made as they landed. He said calmly, “Guess who’s gonna replace them, motherfucker.”
He stood straight, letting the remaining rocks fall, and then he looked to Knuckles. “You’re going, bro. Your hand looks like shit.” He glanced toward Pyro. “Just drop them off. They’ve got amnesia, you know the deal, and then you take Annalise to handle her business.”
“Business?” Pyro looked confused.
Dimitri stepped to him and looked him in the eye, his features tense. “She’ll tell you what she needs, and you make sure she gets it, all right? I need you here, Pyro. I need to make sure everything goes without a hitch, all right? I need to make sure she’s safe. I’d go myself, but I’ll be damned if these guys are gonna be left out here to rot, or left in some fucking mass grave.” He shook his head stiffly. “No, Dalton, Jacoby, and I will handle them, and all of Robbie’s fucks here can go in that pit with him.”
He looked over the prospects, sprawled out dead in the high grass. Robbie, on the ground, with the knife still lodged under his chin, his eyes showing only white, and a pool of blood on the ground at his lips.