Lochlan (Broken Deeds MC, #5)

by Esther E. Schmidt

  “You’re overreacting,” she mutters and shakes her head. “But fine, I’ll indulge, I’ll go see her later today.”

  “I wouldn’t normally interfere with your life or friends,” I grumble, feeling like a jerk.

  She steps closer to me and brushes her lips against mine. “It’s okay, I understand the reasons behind your protectiveness. And it’s charming, makes me feel all warm and fluffy inside to know you care about little ol’me.”

  Before I say something stupid, I bury my fist in her hair and slam my mouth over hers to give her a decent kiss. Not the light as a feather shit she gave me, but one that shows she’s the kind of woman I respect and am thankful for.

  I can’t say shit as easy as she said just now...that I care. Or hell, the last fucking words I spoke to my daughter while she was still living. I love you. As easy as saying goodbye. A damn routine because you never know what might happen, right?

  “I love you, daddy.” A brilliant smile right after, bouncing curls as she skips back to her mother and gets in the back of Melody’s car. “I love you, little munchkin.” Then she died. I can’t bear to say those fucking words again. I ain’t a fool and I sure as fuck won’t lie to myself. My feelings for Xena are deep and I want her with me, now, next week, next fucking year...

  Xena groans and pulls back. “Okay, we have to leave this room because there’s a bed and if you keep this up, you’ll miss your meeting and I’ll go to Sophie some other day. One where we won’t be in bed together.”

  She makes me fucking chuckle, but she’s right, we both have other stuff to do no matter how bad we want each other. “Okay, baby, let’s get this day started so we can be in bed together later today when you’re back from your visit and I’ve got some work done.”

  I smack her ass and she squeaks adorably and then starts to rub her cheek while glaring at me. Fuck. I forgot I spanked her fine ass while I was fucking her from behind last night, she’s probably still sore. Yeah, it’s best we do some normal shit before we lock ourselves inside my room again.

  Chapter 16

  ***Xena***

  “I really have to go, I’m ten minutes late as it is. Catch you later, baby,” Lochlan says as he leans into the car and presses a kiss on my temple.

  “Later,” I croak.

  The way he calls me baby makes my damn stomach flip every damn time. I watch as he climbs in his truck before I roll up the window and head for Sophie’s place. I didn’t text her I was coming by but I’m sure she’s home, and if not...I’ll text her and do some shopping until she’s home or maybe she wants to meet somewhere else.

  If—and that’s a big if because she never ignores me—by chance she can’t meet me today, I’ll just get a haircut instead or a manicure. Would be nice to pamper myself. Either way, I’m set to enjoy myself today. But I would like to have some quiet time with Sophie and ask her about a job I was offered this morning.

  I had an email from my manager, Jake. He’s a fifty plus guy who’s always been nice enough to find me great opportunities. But this particular job is across the country. Normally I wouldn’t think twice and already be on my way, except now I really don’t want to.

  Yes, it has everything to do with Lochlan but when I was out of the running—letting my foot heal—I realized I actually loved spending time in one place surrounded with friends and doing other things than solely focusing on work besides the occasional party on weekends. Therefore, I need to have a good girl to girl talk with Sophie.

  I would want nothing more than to have it with Doll, but Sophie is also a dancer, and she’s now engaged. Besides, I don’t want Doll to get all excited when I tell her my feelings for Lochlan are very intense and then mention I have a job opening. She will run her mouth—not intentionally since she’s the sweetest and most honest person I know—but Ramrod will know, and then Lochlan, and I don’t want him worrying about things I’m not even sure of.

  Hence the reason I need to have a heart to heart with a friend who can give me an open and honest opinion. Because yes, I did make up my mind, but it’s also scary...even more since it involves Lochlan.

  The man is layered with complications. There won’t be any whispered words of love and feelings, and no tomorrow or next year is granted. And yes, I know very damn well I don’t need the actual words or black and white statements, I’ve kept telling myself this all over, but...you know...doubt is a funny thing.

  I park my car along the road and notice Sophie’s car in the driveway. Weird. I now remember Lochlan mentioning her car was in the driveway last night too and it looks like it’s been sitting there since. She loves that car in a weird way, she won’t ever leave it outside because she has a big garage for the thing.

  I grab my purse and walk to her door, ringing the bell and rapping my knuckles on the door right after. Yes, I’m impatient. Like I said, it’s weird and I’ve got a gut feeling something is wrong. I catch movement through the curtains on my right. She’s home but not opening the door for me?

  I rasp my knuckles against the wood again. “Come on, Sophie, I know you’re there, I can see you.”

  I hear her unlocking the door before her face appears through a tiny crack. “I’m not feeling well, could we meet another time?”

  “What’s wrong?” Something is up, it seems like she has a black eye and my anger spikes.

  I take a step forward and push myself through the door. “Did Gavin do something? Where is he? Gavin!”

  If he so much as touched her I’m gonna rip him a new asshole. Stepping inside the house, I come up empty. When I turn to look at Sophia, I can see her tearstained face.

  “Aw, what is it sweetie? What happened?” I ask and take her into my arms.

  She sags against me and starts to sob. It takes her a few minutes to stop shaking. I grab her shoulders and pull back to look into her eyes. “Come on, settle down. Let’s talk.”

  We stumble over to the couch and I slightly turn so I can look at her. She starts to fiddle with her hands and whispers, “There was an accident.”

  I wait for her to mention more, but she starts to cry again, so I press, “What accident, sweetie?”

  “The car, it came out of nowhere...Gavin...Oh, God...it was horrible, I couldn’t do anything...it flew right past me. The car...I just stood there...then he grabbed my arm and said if I told anyone he would say it was me who was driving. That I stole the car and was driving and ran over my own fiancé. No one would believe me and he would make sure Gavin died. If I’d stay home and out of the garage he would take Gavin to the hospital, but only if I followed his orders. I don’t know what to do, Xena. I don’t know...the car...he said something about evidence incriminating me...I didn’t do it...oh, God, oh, God...you can’t stay, you have to leave. He told me I wasn’t supposed to talk to anyone, wasn’t allowed to leave or so much as open the door, that he would know. I only listened so he would get Gavin to the hospital, if I didn’t listen, he would kill Gavin. He would come back today...promised to...” Her words turn into sobs but I’m pretty sure she mentions something about not knowing how Gavin is doing but the man would come back for her and if she followed his rules he would take her to see Gavin.

  Nothing makes sense. I reach for my phone, the first thought that comes to mind is to call Lochlan. Even if he’s working, he’ll know what to do or can give me advice on what to do because I for sure as shit can’t think of anything. There was an accident, a car accident. Gavin was run over by someone who wants to put the blame on Sophie? Made her stay home and he’d handle Gavin and come back the next day? Wait a damn second.

  “Sophie, why is your car in the driveway and not in your garage?” I question and watch as all the blood runs out of her face.

  I stand and leave Sophie sitting on the couch as I instinctively stalk through the kitchen and into the garage to check, because why the hell would her car be in the driveway if her garage is empty, right?

  My fingers slide over the screen of my phone as I put it on video conference so I don�
�t have to hold it to my ear. Lochlan’s voice fills the garage as my eyes meet a black sports car.

  “Baby, can’t talk now. I’m chasing Bugsy. Well, I fucking hope so since the gardener told me which direction he went. I was late and it seems Toast already fucking left and Bugsy slipped out.”

  “Sophie...he’s got, there’s...something’s very wrong, Lochlan,” I whisper as I hear soft pounding coming from the car. I glance around and manage to find how to pop the trunk and I gasp when I see Gavin filling up the small trunk space.

  So much blood. His eyes meet mine as I hear Lochlan call my name in distress. I can’t answer him or Gavin because I’m trying to keep myself from puking by the way bone is sticking out of Gavin’s leg. Oh shit, how does he even fill the tiny space? Who would do that? He needs a hospital and he needs it now. Why didn’t Sophie freaking check the garage?

  “Lochlan,” I croak. “I gotta go, I need to call an ambulance...Gavin is...fuck. Police. Sophie!” I scream and look back at Gavin whose eyes are pleading me to help him. “I need lots of help here, dammit.”

  I try to fumble with my phone, accidentally hitting the mute button instead of the end call but a voice coming from the garage door makes my heart freeze in place.

  “I can help,” Bugsy states with a bright smile as he fires two rounds into the trunk of the car.

  Sophie screams and puts her hands over her ears. Everything slows down, my heartbeat, the sound of blood pumping in my ears, my breathing. My mind is running overtime, thinking of a way out of this.

  I’m still holding my phone and lift it slightly to make sure Lochlan sees Bugsy. I don’t even know if he’s still getting the video feed because it’s awfully quiet. Oh, right...mute button, ugh, that’s why I can’t hear Lochlan’s voice yet he can still hear and see what’s going on here. Knowing this gives me some fragment of hope. If he can get here fast enough.

  “Step away from the car, pretty redhead,” Bugsy says as he swings his free arm out to grab Sophie around the waist while keeping the gun pointed at me.

  I can see the terror in her eyes as he drags Sophie against his body. I want to tell her it’ll all be all right, but in this moment...I’m not even sure we’re going to survive this. A moment ago, I wanted to discuss my future with my friend. Then I found her fiancé fighting for his life in the trunk of a car, the car I saw in a video Toast made where Bugsy was hotwiring it. The one who belonged to Bugsy’s father, the one he stole. Bugsy ran Gavin over, trying to put the blame on Sophie.

  Sophie who’s petite, sweet, caring, scared as shit and would do anything to save Gavin. Yet Bugsy didn’t take him to a hospital as he told Sophie. He left him to die...no. He killed him just now. Oh, fuck. Yeah, it’s not going to be all right ever again.

  I watch how Bugsy raises his gloved hand around Sophie’s delicate one as he makes her hold the gun. My heart fully stops and I’m too slow and too far away to stop what’s happening right in front of me as a bullet rips from the gun, straight through Sophie’s head.

  Bugsy releases his hold, making her body crash to the ground. I can only stare at the blank look in her eyes. Nothing is left. No twinkle in her eyes, not the full of life friend I’ve had for years, she’s gone. Dead. Killed by the man I’m now staring at while his gun is pointing right at me.

  “We’re going to have a little fun, you and I. Seeing I made this look like an accident turned to murder, and suicide...I can’t have an extra body piled up in here. It would complicate matters. Now, come on, we’re taking a little drive. I have something utterly perfect for you in mind.”

  I slowly take a few steps forward while I keep my eyes pinned on Bugsy. Without a single word or excessive move, I manage to slide my phone unseen into my pocket. Because I have a sinking feeling Bugsy would kill me just as easily right here, right now, if he knew I have him on video.

  My only hope is Lochlan. I know he’s on his way and though there’s a gun pointing at me, it’s my only comfort knowing Lochlan will make sure this guy won’t live to see another day. I just hope he manages to save me in the process.

  Chapter 17

  ***Lochlan***

  “I don’t care. I want all of them there, now, dammit,” I growl into the burner.

  My own fucking phone is on the passenger seat, streaming the video connection between me and my damn woman. What a fucking mess. I was running late from my meeting in church and I knew Toast had to get his mother to chemo, hence the reason I fucking told him to go...that I’ll be right there to take over.

  A few damn minutes and the fucker slipped away from us. It’s my own damn fault and if something happened to Xena, I’m pretty damn sure I don’t want to spend another second in this fucked up world either.

  To think I didn’t want to accept Xena’s call since I was chasing Bugsy and can’t talk while driving and searching. I only had directions from the gardener. I asked him if Bugsy left and the man was kind enough to point me in the direction Bugsy headed. I tried to see if I could catch up. I took the call because I didn’t want to ignore her, I simply couldn’t.

  Her voice. Those fucking words. I reached over to the glovebox and pulled out the burner I have in there in case of emergencies. I called Deeds and ordered him to track my phone and tap into it to get the video stream. Fucking gunshots. I heard them. Two and then one more.

  Fucking hell, I’m almost at Sophie’s house when I hear my Prez say, “Five brothers are almost there, others are coming. We got enough on video to hang the fucker. Kill on sight, Lochlan. Don’t take fucking chances with your ol’lady.”

  My throat clogs up at his words. Don’t take fucking chances with your ol’lady. She fucking is. And I fucking won’t ever risk her. Everyone silently knows she’s mine and deep in my damn heart I know there won’t ever be anyone else. My own fucked-up head can’t deal with the solid link to voice anything because of my past.

  Screwed up and yet now it all spins back to the woman I care so fucking deeply for. Fucking gunshots. I opened myself up and a world of hurt gets thrown back in my face again. But I’m not giving up, not yet.

  I hit the brakes and jump out of my truck. Xena’s car is still at the curb, the door to the house is open and I rush inside. I have my gun drawn and check the living room. Nothing. Going through the kitchen, I find the door leading to the garage wide open. Stepping closer I see a body sprawled out on the floor. Sophie. Oh, fuck.

  Pushing my emotions back, I step over her body and see Speck Sr.’s car, the ’69 black corvette with the trunk popped. My eyes quickly scan the space, making sure it’s all clear as I inch closer. Gavin’s dead too.

  Ice fills my veins as I tuck away my gun. I have to step over Sophie’s body again to get out of here as I grab both the burner and my own phone I’ve got stashed into my pocket. My own phone’s still showing black though the connection is still open. I can’t hear her voice. I can’t hear or see shit.

  I hear the rumble of bikes but I still make the call to my Prez. “Track her phone, she’s not here.”

  “On it,” he replies as I hear him order Chopper to locate Xena’s phone.

  “Two bodies, Prez. Two bodies at Sophie’s address,” I tell him and back out of the house.

  Depay, Broke, Ramrod, Kray, and North round the corner as I stalk to my truck.

  “Fuck,” Deeds mutters into my ear through the burner. “Chopper got her location...it’s Bugsy’s fucking address, man. The rest of us are on our way too, wait for us if,”

  I don’t let the man finish and break the connection and I bark to my brothers, “Head over to Bugsy’s house, the fucker’s got my ol’lady. I fucking need her back in one piece, and alive.” I croak out the last part, more to myself than to my brothers who are already burning rubber as I jump into my truck and hit the gas.

  My hands are shaking on the wheel and my heart is racing as if it’s running the last few laps of my life. And fuck...maybe it is because I know for damn sure I won’t survive living without her. Bugsy just escalated this from assault
to murder. Two lives he already took, that means he won’t even think twice before killing Xena too.

  He also broke profile, going from couples to Xena because she was there. Every single detail about this fucking case is running through my mind just so I don’t have to think about the outcome. Some of my brothers are already jumping off their bikes, guns drawn as I honk the horn. Fuck waiting for someone to open the gate. My brothers jump to the side as I hit the gas and crash my truck through the closed gates, making them rip open. I hit the brakes and jump out of the truck.

  The gardener who I asked for directions a while ago has his eyes wide and his arm raised toward the house. “Mister Speck, inside. Inside the house, sir. He drove straight into the garage.”

  I pick up speed and head for the house, my brothers in step behind me. Two damn kicks is all it takes to break open the door.

  Speck Sr. comes rushing down the stairs. “What in the hell is going on here?”

  “Your fucked-up son is going to face his fucking sins and take his motherfucking last breath. And if he so much as touched a hair on my woman’s head I’ll grab a peeler and won’t stop until he’s a pile of shreds,” I growl and stalk up to the man staring down on me from the stairs.

  “He’s...he’s in his room. Has been all morning,” Speck Sr. says with a tremor of fear running through his lying voice.

  “Spread the fuck out and search the place,” Deeds’ voice rings out, I didn’t even hear the man come in. A few of my brothers trot up the stairs and start to search every bedroom while a few others search downstairs.

  A door opens upstairs and Bugsy comes into my view. “Well, well, well, did you invite a motorcycle gang over for dinner, dad? Feeling overly kinky this time, huh? Looks like they’re ready to spank you instead of you handling the whip this time.” Bugsy chuckles, as if he doesn’t have over fourteen guns aimed at his head.