Grabbing Mercenary by the arm, I lead him past my father whose face is laced with shock at my boldness. Once in the clubhouse, I show him to the bar. Walking behind it, I grab two beers and pop the tops. I think we’ve both earned it and need it after what all we’ve been through. “Your dad is hot on our heels and so are his men. I’m not one to stay where I’m not welcome. Look, I appreciate the gesture. It was cute, but it’s time for me to be on my way.” He stands and I can feel myself begin to panic inside. I’m not ready for him to leave. Shit, maybe my father was right. I thought there was something beginning between us.
For a fleeting moment, I contemplate testing the waters before I just blurt it out, “Would you like to come back to my place? Only to rest and recover of course.” I’m not being honest with him or myself which is something I don’t usually do. I watch as he takes several long pulls from his beer before finishing the entire thing. Looking outside, I notice my daddy and uncles having a discussion and I know they’re only seconds away from storming in here and causing a scene.
“Okay,” he finally answers my question, before slamming the bottle down on the counter. A one word response? Hmm...makes me wonder what’s running through his thoughts. Maybe I’ll dig further into that later. What I want now, is a long soak in my garden tub and Mercenary between my legs. I feel the warmth of a blush as it paints my face. All I can seem to think about is how to get him to succumb to my wishes and desires. I look over and notice my father, his enforcer and my friend, Sandman, huddled together, now looking in our direction. I have a feeling the pissing match isn’t over yet. Observing the room, I realize their eyes aren’t the only ones trained on us.
“We may need to hit the road sooner rather than later.” Scanning the room, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. Hoping my instincts for once are wrong, I chug what’s left of my beer. “Seriously,” I question him frustrated, slapping his shoulder. “Look, I know these men, and they’re up to something. We can’t take them on, not in our condition. Or, well, ever. But, that’s not the point. We really need to get out of here.” We’ve only temporarily dressed our wounds. We need a doctor to look at them and see if they need stitching. Possibly antibiotics, too. I didn’t notice Stitches around when we pulled up. He’s the club’s doctor, only he’s not a real doctor. He’s an ex medic who has connections in pharmaceuticals and handles all of our medical needs that we want to keep off the radar.
“This is bold of you. Although, I don’t know why that surprises me. You standing up for me against your family that is,” he states in such a husky tone, it sends heat that penetrates my being as it settles in my core. “After only knowing me a little over twenty-four hours you’re ready to take them on and stand beside me?”
I don’t even hesitate before answering, “Absolutely.” A look of confusion paints his face as if he’s having a hard time understanding why I would do such a thing. I’m feeling bold now, so I ask him a question of my own, “Would you do it for me?”
“Without a doubt,” he replies immediately, nearly knocking the air from lungs. Maybe there really is something between us. Only time will prove that to be true or not, though. Either way, that right there is why I will have his back.
My father and uncles enter and I become fearful, but I sure hope my family knows that this man right here is the single reason I made it back to them. “Where’s Stitches, Daddy? I haven’t seen him. Do we need to hit the clinic?”
“Stitches is on his way,” Phantom says, as he takes the stool to my right and plops down. “Wanna tell me what’s up with the two of you?” He gestures between Merc and me.
“I didn’t realize my sex life was anyone’s business other than my own.” I take one last pull from my beer before giving him the side eye. He simply smirks back at me.
“You need someone else in your corner here, Outlaw. We’re family, and the rest of the gang isn’t taking this so lightly. But if this is something important, something you can see building and becoming more than a one-night thing, I have your back...both of you.” Phantom pulls a joint from inside of his cut and lights it up before pointing it at Merc. “I couldn’t care less who you fuck, but your daddy and the rest of the guys have a protective streak a mile wide when it comes to you. Especially after everything that’s occurred recently.”
“Same here,” Pyro states as he comes up standing behind us and Phantom passes him the doobie.
“Guys, this here is Mercenary,” I make the formal introduction and a conversation begins to take place about Merc’s bike. It’s a beauty and the guys know a good thing when they see it and ask questions about it.
“She’s a custom,” Mercenary tells them when I see several shadows come up and surround us.
“Son-of-a-bitch,” I hiss between my teeth. This supposed friendly conversation was a decoy to keep us here a bit longer. Should’ve trusted my initial gut reaction and fled with Merc.
6
Mercenary
“So, let me get this straight. And feel free to chime in at any moment to correct me if I’m at all wrong. I sent you to rescue my daughter, but you end up fucking her instead of keeping her safe,” Rogue spits out angrily, pointing at his daughter’s arm.
“Daddy!” she begins, but Rogue cuts her off, making my blood boil at his disrespectful tone toward her.
“Not talking to you. Your time for flapping your gums is done. Let the men speak!” he roars at her.
“Excuse me? I may not be a man, but I’m just as much a member of this MC as one! Which is exactly how you raised me to be. Yet, when it suits your agenda you want me to suppress that?” She stands from her stool and I follow her lead. Her wildcat claws have officially come out. Her fists ball up as she clenches them, and her knuckles turn white as she tries to reign in her anger. Me on the other hand find myself having a much harder time controlling my temper. My fury takes over and I quickly think of a way to have him strike first. I might have balls of steel, but you don’t go into another man’s clubhouse and physically assault him. Not a club like this one whose reputation more than precedes them.
“Harmony,” I calmly call her by her first name. Yeah, like I said, I’ve done my research and I know her given and middle name are both extremely sentimental to Rogue. Harmony is the name that her deceased mother, Aurora, chose for her. This will assuredly ignite Rogue’s fury. And, if that doesn’t quite do it, my next statement should, “I think I’d like to take you up on that offer.” I toss my arm around her shoulder in a claiming manner. “What better time than now to go on and head over to your place?”
Taking his hand, Rogue grabs and tosses my arm from around her before pushing me, causing me to stumble back slightly. Drawing my fists up in a defensive manner to protect myself, I’m quickly caught off-guard as I feel the crunching of bone as his fist connects with my jaw.
Lunging at him, I throw a punch of my own before he has the chance to block it, busting his nose and blood begins to gush over his lips and down his chin.
“Enough!” I hear Outlaw cry out beside us and watch as she attempts to step in between but Rogue shoves her back.
“Stay out of this, Outlaw!” he orders her, but his physical aggression toward her only fuels the angry beast within me.
Momentarily, I look to her from my peripheral to see if she’s okay and that’s all the time Rogue needs to land a powerful blow to my gut, knocking the wind from my lungs. Launching myself at him, I tackle him from my forward momentum, and we become airborne until we land on the floor. Chanting and calls from his brothers to end me can be heard, but I’m focused on my target. Having the advantage, I land blow after blow to his face. Suddenly, a sharp, piercing pain can be felt in my side and in this moment, I realize he’s pierced my flesh with something sharp—which causes me to fall over to the side and off of him.
Immediately, I clutch my side and look down to check the severity of my wound. Blood is pouring out from the gaping hole in my side, soaking my shirt. “No!” Outlaw rushes to my side and knee
ls down beside me, placing her hand over mine, helping to compress my wound. “Where’s Stitches?” she cries out and I notice her eyes begin to well up and turn glassy from tears she’s holding in. “If he dies, Daddy, I will never forgive you!”
Damn, what a cheap shot. But, when you play with fire, you should always be prepared to get burned. After all the shit I’ve endured, and all the bullets I’ve taken, I never thought I’d meet my maker from a fucking stab wound. Shifting my eyes up to her, I reach up and place my hand on her cheek before I tell her, “Don’t. Don’t you let one of those tears slip. You hear me? Be that strong, feisty, fearless woman I met. Plus, remember who I am. I’ve survived worse than this. Piece of cake.” I attempt to lighten the mood for her as I feel my body turn cold and eventually succumb to the darkness I was fighting.
* * *
Outlaw
* * *
Two weeks have passed, and I still refuse to see or speak with my father. His actions are simply unforgivable at this point. I had finally met someone, a man, that I felt myself beginning to have feelings for. And, with the swift jab of his blade, my father tried to take him and all of that potential from me. Yeah, he tried, and he failed. The betrayal I feel runs deep. I haven’t returned to the clubhouse for obvious reasons, nor have I allowed anyone of the brothers or my Uncle Bane come close since that day. Except Edge. He and I have been thicker than thieves since childhood. Most of the Twisted Iron MC members are the children of the originals. Orphaned and left without fathers, their only male influences were my father and Bane, the club’s VP. Edge’s father was once this club’s road captain. Well, until an old enemy showed back up one day and slaughtered nearly this entire club. I’m still unsure to this day who that enemy was and I don’t ask because those things are left to the men. It wasn’t too long after my mother’s passing. Even though my father hid it extremely well when it came to me, I knew that his depression ran deep. Unfortunately, it left the club a little too vulnerable one day and all hell broke loose. Yeah, it changed this club and all of our lives forever. Even though my daddy never closed out this MC, it was deeply fractured for years and even though I was a child, I knew we were laying low. Edge and Merc have actually bonded somewhat over these past few weeks. If there’s one brother that I never have to question where his motives lie, it’s his. Sure, the rest of my brothers are protective of me and have my back. But with Edge, it’s different. While he is protective of me, he’s always pushed for me to slow down. To stop and enjoy the little things in life because we’ll never get a specific moment back. He even encourages me to stop having meaningless sex and find someone to eventually settle down with. Like I said, it’s just different with him.
My father has sent a ton of text messages, none of which I’ve bothered to open. I know I can’t avoid him forever, but it’s what’s best until I am past this anger I feel toward him. There’s absolutely no way in hell I can have a civilized, adult, rational conversation with him.
There wasn’t any way I could take Mercenary to the hospital because the answers would only arouse suspicion and bring about the law. Instead I’ve had Stitches come to my home and care for him. The first week was touch and go with his recovery. He’s run a fever and suffered from an infection due to his wound. He required an IV and a blood transfusion which wasn’t pleasant to witness. Conveniently enough, I’m blood type O negative. So are some of the other club members, but I donate on a regular basis for emergency cases. We don’t know Merc’s blood type and in cases such as this, my blood type is universal and mostly used in emergency situations. Stitches was able to get a good prescription of antibiotics and Mercenary has been making slow and steady progress.
Not knowing if he was going to pull through or not was hell. For the first time in a long time I placed my hands together, knelt down on my knees, and said a prayer. One that has seemed to work. These past few days, he’s been up and slowly moving around. And, boy has he been cranky. Stitches assured me it’s nothing personal, he’s still probably in a lot of pain and his body is weak. The stubborn ass refuses to take any painkillers and won’t shut up about needing to get back to the gym. Go figure.
I pass Edge in the hallway carrying a bowl of soup that I prepared for Mercenary. “And, the verdict for today is?” I ask him, raising an eyebrow.
He shakes his head at me. “Same as yesterday, Outlaw. Give him some time. Shit, he’s been through a fucking lot. Now, I’ve got to head back to the clubhouse for church. Oh, and did I mention my daily dose of getting my ass chewed out by Pres? You’ve got to speak to him at some point.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I furrow my brow and frown. “I know you have my best interests at heart, but what he did was reprehensible. He will be talked to and forgiven on my terms.”
He leans in and kisses my cheek. “Stubborn. Some things will never change,” he says, before turning away and leaving.
My eyes flicker up and I notice Mercenary’s tall stature standing against the frame of the bedroom door. “You know, I like him that Edge character.”
“Good,” I begin, but he holds his hand up, silently ordering me to hush and I feel my lips close firmly.
“He an ex of yours?” His eyes suddenly go dark.
If I could place my hand on my hip right now I would. Right before smacking him in the chest. “No, not even close. He’s literally like a brother to me. My closest one.”
“That so, huh? Well, where I come from, other men don’t typically kiss their sisters on the cheek. You know, so close to their mouths,” he informs me in a gruff tone.
Turning my back to him briefly, I place the bowl back down on the counter before whipping my body back around. Approaching him, I state matter-of-factly, “Well, where I come from, it’s a show of respect.” I extend my hand to his stubbly cheek. “Is that jealousy I am sensing?”
He grabs my wrist firmly and clings tightly to it. “Little girl, we have been over this. I am many things, but a jealous man is not on that list.”
I yank my wrist free from his grasp. He is such a terrible liar, but I won’t call his bluff...yet. “Okay then, asshole.” I turn back around to retrieve the bowl of soup and look over my shoulder at him. “That is one of the things you are and go by, right?” I bat my lashes rapidly at him.
“Fucking smartass,” I hear him call me in a guttural tone before turning his back toward me. “That is one of the names you go by, right?” he mumbles, but loud enough I hear it.
Grabbing his bowl of soup which I hope is ice cold by now, I follow him into my bedroom where I find him sitting on the edge of my bed. “Here.” I shove the bowl damn near in his face. “I made you some soup. You really need to eat something to continue to gain your strength back.” I wave it back and forth under his nose. “It’s homemade and has a healthy dose of my special ingredient, too. A nice big helping of smartass, from yours truly.”
I watch as a grin slowly forms on his face and internally, I sigh. Fuck, he’s so serious and intense most of the time. He takes the bowl from me and scoops up a spoonful before slurping it down. “Campbell’s?”
I don’t even attempt to lie. “No, silly. What do you take me for? It’s actually Healthy Choice,” I finish before offering a small curtsy as if I were wearing a skirt.
“It’s cold,” he informs.
“You don’t say?” questioning him sarcastically, as I pop my hip before placing my hand upon it, forming a phony look of shock on my face. “Maybe if you hadn’t been acting so...hmm...what’s the word I’m looking for? We know it’s not related to the word jealous. Oh, yes, curious! If you hadn’t been that earlier, you might be eating warm soup.” He snarls at my response but continues eating anyway. Yeah, truth hurts, and I know I’ve hit the nail on the head. My phone buzzes and I reach in the back of my jeans pocket and retrieve it. Ugh. It’s my daddy again.
“Something wrong?” his husky voice pulls me from looking at the screen of my phone.
“Just some Michael Myers wannabe texting me.” I tuck my phone back i
nto my pocket just as he finishes his soup. “Here. Let me take that.” I grab the bowl from his hands. “Next up is your antibiotic.”
“Joy,” his shrill reply brings happiness to my heart. The sarcastic banter between us feels so natural and feeds my sadistic soul.
* * *
Mercenary
* * *
She pulls my hard dick from my boxers and licks the precum from my dripping cock. Throwing my head back I moan out the pleasure as it courses through my body. “Take me in your mouth,” I instruct her. She looks up at me through her long eyelashes and smirks at me taking her tongue, running it down my shaft. Mesmerized, I watch as her mouth opens wide and her lips wrap around me. Sucking me to the back of her throat my hips thrust forward causing her to choke.
Looking down at her, I see her eyes watering as she shoves me further down into her mouth. Taking my hand, I wrap it tightly in her hair as I forcefully help her by fucking her throat. “Fuck your mouth is pure heaven.” She hums causing my balls to draw up. Not ready to explode in her mouth I yank her head away and glide her up my body. Our skin rubs together in its slickness. “Ride me, Harmony!” She lines herself up before suddenly she stops, and I hear her begin to holler at me.
“What the fuck are you screaming my name for? Are you okay?” My eyes burst open and I realize I was in one hell of a dream. I notice that it’s barely light outside. Taking in her appearance, ruffled hair, raspy sleep-filled voice, and apparel is my first clue that I have awakened her.
“Um...you need any help with that?” I follow her eyes and see the tented sheet at my waist. Her honey-colored eyes are mentally devouring my dick like a famished woman and it’s the main dish for the last supper.
Mercenary and His Outlaw Page 7