Fighter: The Devil's Highwaymen Nomads #4

by Claire C. Riley

  “Can we at least focus?” Rider prompted.

  Battle turned his face back to us, his huge, shit-eating grin still on his face. “All right, so like my fine woman just said, where the fuck is Penny now?”

  “She’s gone back to the Vipers,” Charlie said, coming back into the room. “Thanks to this asshole, I bet she felt like that was her only other option.”

  I threw my hands up in the air in frustration. “Why am I the bad guy in this? I didn’t do anything.”

  “Exactly,” Charlie snarled, her kohl-lined eyes narrowing on me. “You didn’t do anything but push her away. She came to you for help. Her daddy was trading her like meat and you were pushing her away, literally! She’s gone back to him and whoever he was giving her to, and we’ll all be damn lucky to live out the day if she snitches on us!”

  She was yelling then, her eyes blazing with anger, and I looked to Rider for help. Charlie scared the shit out of me. There was no knowing what she was capable of when she lost her temper, and right then she was on the verge of losing it big time.

  “Chill, Charlie, we’ve handled the Vipers, dropped a couple of names down the rabbit hole, and pinned this shit on a couple of the Reverend’s boys looking for a payout.” Rider stood up and walked to Charlie, putting a hand on her waist. “Ain’t no way that shit’s coming back on us as long as Penny keeps her mouth shut. I got the word that Razuuk put his VP Solomon on it, which means those fucks we framed are already in the ground. Solomon kills first and asks questions later.”

  “And Penny? What happens to her?” Charlie asked, still not appeased by Rider’s answer. “What about her safety? She came to us for help.” She glared at me again. “She came to you!”

  “She’s a big fuckin’ girl. She can take care of herself,” I gritted. “Trust me, that woman ain’t no wallflower that cowers at the first sign of a fight. She can handle herself.”

  Images of her spread-eagled, naked, and cuffed to my bed with my face buried in her folds came to my mind. One of the hardest things I’d ever had to do, walking away from that pussy.

  I was brought back to the moment by the feel of Charlie’s palm hitting my cheek with a sting.

  “Fuck!” I roared, stepping to her.

  Rider grabbed her from behind and dragged her away. “Charlie! Calm the fuck down.” He turned and glared at me. “And you, dumb fucker that you are, back the fuck off.”

  I snarled.

  Charlie snarled.

  Battle laughed.

  “Nice to see nothing’s changed much around here,” he chuckled.

  “If she could handle the situation she wouldn’t have come to you, asshole,” Charlie yelled. The sound of Macy crying interrupted Charlie and she grumbled and stormed away. Thank fuck.

  “She’s right,” Rider said. “Woman’s crazy, but she’s right. Also, don’t tell her that I said she was crazy.”

  I stared around the room, at my brothers and Quinn. All their eyes were on me, judging me and everything that had led me to that point in time. I’d fucked it all up. They knew it and I knew it. But the biggest fuckup was Penny. She was in trouble—in danger—and that was on me. I shouldn’t have cared, but I did.

  “So what now?” Battle asked, leaning back in his chair. He draped an arm across the top of the sofa and Quinn leaned back into him. “I mean, do we help her?”

  “We can’t. Not without getting involved with the Vipers and giving them an idea that we had something to do with her kidnapping.” Rider shrugged and looked to me.

  “What?” I grumbled. “You’re the VP. This is your choice not mine.”

  Rider shook his head. “Nah, brother, this is on you. This is your choice. You good to leave her be? Let shit land where it lands?”

  Was I good with that?

  Fuck, no.

  Could I do anything about it?

  No.

  Not without putting my brothers in danger.

  I shrugged in reply, not sure how to answer him.

  “Go to Razuuk,” Charlie said, coming back into the room with Macy on her hip. Her expression was still fierce but her voice was softer now. “You go to Razuuk and tell him you want to claim Penny as your own.”

  “This shit again,” I grumbled.

  “Yes, this shit again!” she snapped. “I saw you two last night. We all did. We saw how you looked at one another. There’s something there, between you. I don’t understand why you’re fighting it.”

  I shook my head and turned away from her to look outside, my gaze going to the pool that I’d pushed Penny into the night before. Even half drowned, fierce as fuck and crying, she’d looked beautiful. And she deserved more than me—a piece of shit lowlife that tortured people for a living. She had dreams, aspirations, and I had hands so bloody that that shit was never washing off. I was going straight to hell after this world, and she was going somewhere better.

  Charlie laid a hand on my shoulder and I flinched at her touch. “She needs you, Fighter. She needs your help. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and wondering if you’re worthy of her and let her decide that.”

  I’d never regretted a single thing in my life—not the killing, not the fuckin’, nothing. But not being a better man, a man good enough for Penny, I regretted all the way to my dark soul.

  “Go to her. Do what needs to be done to bring her back here to us.”

  I turned to look at her. “They’ll kill me if I go anywhere near that place.”

  “They’ll try to,” she agreed. “But you’re Fighter. You’re a soldier for the Devil’s Highwaymen and they’ll know that there will be serious consequences for their club if they do.”

  Macy gargled and reached out for me, grabbing on to the side of my cut, her little pudgy hands grasping tightly to the dark leather.

  “And Hardy?” I asked, looking over at Rider.

  He stood up and came forward. “Same deal as before. You claim her and he can’t touch her. He’ll want blood, but so long as she ain’t said shit about us, he can’t do anything to you. I’ve got you covered on that.”

  I dragged a hand down my face and gave a shake of my head. I was putting my trust in Penny, that she hadn’t already told Razuuk that the Highwaymen had taken her. If she had kept her mouth shut, then my club was at least in the clear. Hardy would be pissed but wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. It was a big fucking if.

  How much did I even know that woman?

  I knew how she tasted.

  I knew how she felt as her muscles grew tight around my fingers.

  I knew the kinds of noises she made as she got close to orgasm.

  But I didn’t know her.

  “Sometimes you gotta have a little hope, brother,” Battle said from his place on the sofa. His arm was wrapped protectively around Quinn and she smiled up at him.

  “And what if I don’t have any hope?”

  “Then you take a leap of faith that it’ll all work out anyway.”

  ~ 29 ~

  Fighter

  I turned my engine off and stared up at the Vipers’ HQ, giving my shoulders a roll before climbing off my bike and walking up to the gates. Two prospects stood guard, their gazes quickly shifting between me and each other as I got closer.

  “Need to see Razuuk,” I growled out.

  The shorter one—a kid of no older than sixteen, with a head of black hair that hung to his shoulders—scowled at me. “You’re a Highwayman,” he said, nodding toward my cut.

  “No shit,” I replied. “Now go get your prez.”

  “He won’t see you,” the other kid said, squaring his shoulders.

  I closed the distance between us, my face inches from his. Cocky little fucker didn’t back down so I reared my head back and smashed my head into his nose. He cried out and stumbled back, his hands going to the bloody mess in the middle of his face. The other prospect pulled out his gun and aimed it at me.

  “Back the fuck off!” he yelled, and I laughed darkly.

  “Go get your prez, now,” I gritte
d out, “before I fuck you up too.”

  The other kid had stumbled back. “You’re gonna regret this,” he mumbled between his hands before turning and running inside.

  Regret? I didn’t believe in regret.

  Several minutes went by before Razuuk, Solomon, and a couple of other men came strutting out of the building. Razuuk was smiling as he came forward, curiosity covering his features as he got closer.

  “Well, now, what the fuck is a Highwayman doing on my property?” he said. “All alone, no less.” He looked around me, his eyebrows pulling in.

  Solomon took a step forward, but Razuuk put a hand on his chest to hold him back. “Prez?”

  “I want to know what the man wants.” Razuuk jerked his chin to me. “So? What the fuck do you want? You’re here in your colors but without your club, so this can’t be business.”

  It was now or never.

  Take that leap of faith or regret it forever.

  “Penny,” I said, watching the effect her name on my lips had on both Razuuk and Solomon. “She’s mine.”

  Solomon darted forward again.

  “Solomon!” Razuuk yelled, halting him in his tracks and showing me that he was nothing but a guard dog to this club.

  Solomon turned back to glare at his prez. “That’s my old lady he’s talking about.”

  Shit, I was too late. She’d made her choice, chosen her family, her man, where her loyalties lay. Or maybe not. I frowned, looking at Solomon. He wasn’t the sort of man she’d willingly choose. He was like me—black on the inside, dead, rotting. Only with me, she didn’t know quite how deep that rot went. But she’d grown up in the Vipers; she knew Solomon, what he was capable of. He was older than her, and me, by twenty years at least, and his rot was hell deep.

  “No,” I gritted out, raising my chin and turning my dark, steady gaze on Solomon, “she’s my old lady. I laid claim to her already, and now I’ve come to collect.”

  “Where the fuck did you come from?” Razuuk laughed, clapping his hands together like he was excited by all of this. “Regardless, I gave my daughter to Solomon as payment for finding the pieces of shit that took her. She’s already claimed.” He reached into his cut and pulled out his cigarettes before lighting one. “Bitch must be in heat or something, because you’re the third man that’s wanted a piece of her in as many days,” he chuckled. “We men can smell it though, right? We can smell fine pussy from a mile away, and Penny is indeed fine pussy,” he drolled around a mouthful of smoke.

  “I’m not leaving here without her,” I rumbled.

  “Then you ain’t leaving here alive,” Solomon snarled, pulling out his gun at the same time as I pulled out mine.

  We stood, facing off against each other, our guns aimed at each other’s chests. The other Vipers that were standing around pulled their guns out too. I was outnumbered and outgunned.

  “Penny!” I roared, calling for her. “Penny!”

  Razuuk laughed louder. “How do you see this playing out, brother?”

  I didn’t dare take my eyes off of Solomon, but I heard the creak of the main door and hoped it was Penny.

  “How do you even know her? I keep my daughter under lock and key,” Razuuk taunted. “You fuck her? Where’d you fuck her?” he probed, his voice filled with humor. “Should have known the apple never falls far from the tree. Her mother was a slut too.”

  “Penny!” I yelled again.

  “I’m here,” she replied, her voice soft and hesitant.

  I let my gaze slide over to her and nearly squeezed a round off into Solomon right then as my eyes landed on her face covered in bruises. She looked pale and beaten but she didn’t look scared; she looked angry.

  “Get over here,” I growled to her. “You’re coming with me.”

  “She ain’t going anywhere,” Solomon snapped.

  “Penny, now!” I barked.

  “I will rip you in two if you so much as look at him, Penny,” Solomon roared.

  “You hurt her, you die,” I said calmly. Little did he know that I was going to kill him anyway, for hurting her in the first place.

  “Boys, boys, we can settle this amicably,” Razuuk chimed in. “Lay down your guns and let’s go talk about this.”

  “Prez?” Solomon said cautiously.

  “She’s my daughter. I get to choose who has her.”

  “You gave her to me!” Solomon yelled, furious that his prize was being taken away. “I found out who took her and put them to ground like you said. She’s mine now!”

  Razuuk’s smile finally fell. He gripped Penny by the scruff of her neck. “This bitch is yours? That what you think? No, son, this bitch is mine. I own her, and you. Now lower your fucking gun and let’s go have a drink inside while we discuss this.” He looked between me and Solomon, neither of us willing to lower our guns. He pulled out his own gun and pressed it against Penny’s forehead, and my aim automatically moved to him. He laughed darkly. “Shall we take this meeting inside then?” he asked before turning and dragging Penny away.

  I had no choice but to follow and I hesitantly lowered my weapon, knowing that at any minute I could be gunned down. Penny looked back over her shoulder, her eyes meeting mine, and I knew it was worth the risk. She was worth the risk.

  I lowered my gun, slipping it into the back of my jeans as I stared at Solomon, waiting for him to put his gun away or shoot me.

  “You got one minute, boys,” Razuuk called to us, and the knot in my chest loosened as Solomon finally put his gun away.

  I started to walk, strutting past Solomon, who fell into step beside me.

  “You’re dead, Highwayman,” he snarled. “And when you’re dead, Penny and I are going to fuck on top of your corpse. It’ll be our own personal ménage á trois.” He stormed past me and headed through the door into the clubhouse, leaving his words to swirl round my head.

  Inside, the clubhouse was half full of Vipers and Viper women. Razuuk was sitting down on a sofa in the middle of the room, Penny next to him looking fierce as fuck. By the way she was throwing those angry glares around, I had a feeling she wasn’t happy with us all fighting over her and ordering her around. Made my chest fill with pride that she hadn’t lost that fight. Despite her bruised face from her old man and the fact that her dad—the man who was supposed to protect her—was bargaining her off like cattle, she was still full of fight.

  We were like two pebbles from the same beach.

  “Sit,” Razuuk barked at me and Solomon, sliding a couple of whiskies over to us. “Now.” He glared at Solomon.

  We complied and I picked up my whiskey and drank it, slamming my glass back down. “I want her,” I said, pointing at Penny. “It ain’t up for discussion. I’ve claimed her.”

  “Like fuc—” Solomon started.

  I turned in my seat, interrupting him. “And I want him in the ground for laying hands on my woman.”

  Razuuk laughed loudly, clapping his hands together. “Looks like we’ve got a regular old stalemate then, huh?”

  “Just give me the word, Prez,” Solomon growled. “I’ll make this pretty boy pay.”

  “Do you know who the fuck you’re talking to?” I asked, lifting my chin.

  “He’s right, Sol, you should be wary of Fighter here. From what I’ve heard over the years about him he’s even more messed up than you are. Makes the things you’ve done seem like childs play.” Razuuk smirked.

  I looked over at Penny. “Go get your stuff, we’re heading out.”

  “Can’t let that happen, Fighter, you know that,” Razuuk said. “I’m going to need some form of compensation, and Solomon here, he’s going to need something for the humiliation.”

  “How about 50k and I let your boy Solomon live?” I replied.

  “Make it 70k and Solomon gets his blood,” Razuuk countered.

  I scowled at Razuuk before looking over at Penny. Her lip was busted open and her left cheek was discolored with dark bruises. Neither of us were getting out of there without blood being sp
illed. I thought back to everything she had told me—to her childhood, to what little she knew of her mother, to the guy she’d almost fucked before coming to me for help. Razuuk had a trademark, and it was that that he wanted to spread word of. The money was nothing to him; it was the respect he wanted. And Solomon? He could go fuck himself.

  I stood up, watching the other men in the clubhouse tense at my sudden movement. Every one of them was ready to gun me down if Razuuk gave the nod. But he wanted word spread. He wanted other clubs to know his strength, his power. How far his reach was. He wanted his mark on a Highwayman as warning to us all.

  “How about 40k and you get my blood?” I replied.

  Razuuk let a slow smile creep up his face as he stood up and faced me off, toe to toe, his gaze going over my face. He nodded his head slowly and I was grabbed from behind. I started to fight, but then realized he was agreeing to my demand.

  “On his knees.” Razuuk stared down at me with a grin as I was shoved down, my knees slamming into the ground and I grunted in pain. “Hold him still.”

  I looked over at Penny, whose anger was finally giving way to fear and uncertainty. “Dad, please,” she begged.

  “Penny.” I said her name and her gaze shot to me. “It’s fine, I’ve got this. Get your shit together now.”

  Her eyes swam with tears and she shrugged. “I’ve got nothing,” she said, her voice full of anguish.

  “And what if I don’t agree to this?” Solomon bit out angrily, sending spittle flying. “I didn’t agree to this. She’s mine, Prez!”

  “No, she’s mine, always. Now shut the fuck up before I put you in the ground, Solomon. You can get some other poor bitch to fuck.”

  Razuuk moved closer to me, leaning down to look in my face. I held my chin up, my gaze hitting his hard. He chuckled and pulled out a hunting knife before gripping my chin in his hand.

  “You sure about this, boy?” he asked with a snarl.

  “You have no claim on her after today,” I snarled back. “She’s mine, permanently.”

  He smiled and raised the knife and held the tip of it to my forehead, and then, slowly but surely, he dragged the tip of the blade down my face, over my eyebrow, down my cheek and all the way to my chin. Pain burned like acid down my face, blood pouring from the long, deep wound. I refused to make any sound, despite the pain. He wiped the blade off on his jeans before taking the tip to the other side and dragging it down my face.