I wanted to keep him talking. If I kept him talking, then maybe I could stop him from hurting her long enough for Bear and Jake to show up. “You really think she’s gonna want you now after you’ve shown her that you’re a complete psychopath.”
“Marriage is all about forgiveness,” Tanner said. Then he scoffed. “And refresh my memory, Mr. King, but didn’t you go to prison because you killed your own mother?”
I shrugged. “Cunt deserved it.”
Tanner tapped on Pup’s head, “Well, this cunt deserves this.” He reached down to the hem of her tank top and pulled it up over her head until it was wrapped around her arms like another binding. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Her bare breasts were exposed to the night air and to Tanner who blew out a whistle. “Almost forgot what great tits you have, wife. It’s been so long.”
I pulled at the cuffs. They dug into the skin on my wrists until I felt the trickle of warm blood drip from my wounds, down my fingers, and onto the floor.
Tanner rounded Doe and knelt behind her, fumbling with something on the floor I couldn’t see. “Now this…” he said, tapping on her tattoo. There was a hissing sound. Like gas being released from a balloon. He lifted what he’d been messing with. A mini blowtorch. “This has got to go.” He pressed the flame to her skin. I pulled harder at the cuffs.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
And so did her strangled screams.
He might as well have been burning my own fucking skin, because I felt her pain in every muscle of my body. The hurt I felt for her was more hurt than I’d ever felt for myself.
She wasn’t just mine.
She was a part of me.
“Does that make you feel like a man, motherfucker?” I shouted above Doe whose screams stopped abruptly. Her eyes rolled back in her head. Tanner turned off the torch and she slumped back on the chair, twitching as if she’d just been electrocuted. Smoke rose off of her burnt skin.
He yanked on her hair and her head fell backwards. Her eyes and lips were partially opened, devoid of the life that was in them just yesterday. Her cheeks were covered in dried blood, and fresh dripping red. He released her hair and her chin fell lifelessly onto her chest. “See? She’s just being punished. That’s what happens to bad girls. They get punished. And Ray here has been a very, very bad girl.”
“What’s the fucking point of all this?” I asked.
“The fucking point? The fucking point is the same one you were making to me when you were fucking her on the bed where we made our son!” Tanner screamed. “And now you’ve tainted her! You’ve ruined what was mine!” Tanner ran his hand down Doe’s hair, petting her. “All will be okay though…” He walked over to the kitchen and opened one of the cabinets, producing a rusted fishing knife. “As soon as I resolve one last problem.” Tanner ripped her shorts and panties down her legs. He pushed her knees apart, exposing her pussy.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I growled as Tanner knelt down in front of her and held up his knife.
“Oh, you didn’t know? Seems my wife here has gone and gotten herself knocked up again!” He looked back at me over his shoulder. “But I’ll fix that as soon as I cut your bastard out of her.”
Chapter 31
Doe
Burning.
Inside and out I was burning up. Sharp unrelenting pain seared through me and even in my state of partial clarity I could feel the flames traveling deeper through layers of skin, muscle, and bone.
It was a scream that brought me back into consciousness. No, a roar. A guttural roar with such strength behind it, it literally dragged me back from the precipice of the unknown. Through the narrow slit in the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut, I saw Tanner leaning over me. But just beyond the blond curls, there was King.
He was sitting in a chair with his hands behind his back, just as I’d seen him before Tanner had taken the torch to my back and shoulder, his bright green eyes the darkest I’d ever seen them.
And then he wasn’t.
The muscles in his arms and chest tightened, the cords rippling under his tremendous strength. With the roar that had brought me back to life, he pulled his hands apart with such force that the back of the wooden chair shattered into a million pieces.
It was like I was watching him in slow motion. Angry King was a beautiful thing to behold. And when I’d told Tanner I’d known true fear, this was the fear I’d been talking about.
Tanner was about to meet him too.
Before King was able to take a single step, a bloody hand came up from the floor and reached for King’s belt, pulling a small gun from behind his buckle. Tanner’s head snapped back to King. He dropped the rusted knife he’d been holding and reached for his gun. He stood, fumbling with it, unprepared for King to be unrestrained.
Unprepared for my father to still be alive.
And armed.
My father raised himself up onto his knees, aimed the small gun, and fired. “No!” Tanner cried out, taking the bullet in his shoulder.
My dad fell back to the ground with a thud.
“Dad!” I yelled as loud as I could, unsure of whether I’d produced any sound.
And then I was sliding, across the floor. “You want her motherfucker? You come and fucking get her,” Tanner seethed. Kicking out his knee, he pushed me through the hole in the side of the boat.
And then I was falling backward into the cold water. Searing pain worse than the burn itself exploded in my shoulder. I opened my mouth to scream.
Water filled my mouth and lungs.
So this is what dying feels like, I thought as I drifted further and further away from my body.
I knew I was dead. I knew it because when I opened my eyes, Preppy was staring down at me with the same ridiculous smile that made me want to become his friend all over again. Colorful tattoos covering most of his exposed skin, light purple shirt, bright pink checkered bow tie, and his favorite white suspenders.
He looked like demonic Easter.
“Babe, I know you just got mangled by that motherfucking psycho, ’cause I watched the entire thing. Total bummer I couldn’t cut the kid’s fucking cock off for you and make him choke on it. But I just have to tell you before I bust…your tits look fucking fantastic in that tank top.”
I chuckled. It was so good to hear Preppy’s voice again and his never-ending stream of profanity laced words. At that very moment, I couldn’t have been more at peace if he were singing church hymns to me.
“I don’t even mind all the blood and gore all over you. I kinda like it actually. Very zombie hot chick. Very fucking nice. Reminds me of this hot-ass U-Porn video I saw. Makes little preppy happy and all fucking twitchy and shit.”
“I’m dead, aren’t I?” I asked groggily, covering my eyes with my forearm from the bright light. And then it hit me. I sat straight up, sending Preppy falling to the floor on his ass. “Oh my God! I’m dead. What about Sammy? King?” I asked frantically.
“Calm your clit,” Preppy said, standing up off the floor and rubbing his ass with his hand. “You’re not fucking dead. Not yet. But I tell ya babe, if you go first before my motherfucking muscle bound bestfriend? Me and you are going to finally have that date.” He nodded and flashed me a wink.
I wasn’t dead. I took a deep breath to calm myself.
“And when we get to have that date I am most definitely going to put the motherfucking tip in,” Preppy added, flicking me on the shoulder.
I laughed. “I don’t think that will sit well with King.”
Preppy shrugged. “Fuck him. I don’t give a shit. When he meets us up here, he can kill me all over again if he wants.” Preppy planted a peck on my cheek. “’Cause you, my friend, are totally fucking worth dying for all over again.”
“I miss you Preppy. I miss you so much. All this stuff has happened and you’re not there and sometimes it’s all just too much…” I wrapped my arms around Preppy and pulled him close. He nuzzled into my neck, his breath warm against my skin.
/> “Look around. Open your fucking peepers and take a good look at where we are right now.” Without letting go of Preppy I did what he instructed and opened my eyes. I was sitting at the dining room table in King’s house. Preppy was crouched on the floor in front of me.
“We…we’re home,” I gasped. Preppy stood from the floor and pulled me up with him.
“Right. We’re home. You don’t have to miss me because I’m here. Always with you. Looking out for you. Looking out for Boss Man. Fuck, I’ll even look out for Bear as long as he does what he promised he’d do if I ever croaked before him, and erase my motherfucking hard drive like a good little biker boy.”
“But you’re not here. Not really,” I said,
“Fuck yeah, I’m here. I’ll always be here. You can’t make me leave if you got the priest form the exorcist to come remove me. ’Cause I’m one step above demon…I’m Preppy.”
“I’m still going to miss you.”
“It’s okay to miss me. But you’ve got so much with King, Bear, the kids. You’re going to be so fucking busy, you’re not going to have time to miss me. But I tell you what; I’ll make sure you know I’m around. Can’t find where you put your fucking car keys? That’s ’cause Ghost Preppy put them in the freezer. Can’t find the remote but the channels keep changing? That’s because Ghost Preppy can’t remember what channel American Ninja Warrior is on.” Preppy wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb.
“I love you Preppy,” I said, pulling him in for another hug. “So much.”
“I love you too, babe. As much as a motherfucker can love his best friend’s girl, in a friendship kind of way, who he also wouldn’t mind fucking.” Preppy put his hands on my shoulders. “Time for you to get back to Boss Man,” he announced. I nodded. “And babe?” Preppy asked.
“Yeah?”
“Be good to him. Be good to his heart. He’s the best motherfucker I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.”
“I will. I promise.”
“And don’t fucking tell him I said that. Kid’s already got a big fucking head.”
“So what happens now?” I asked.
“Now?” Preppy asked, lifting my hand he spins me around like a ballerina.
“Now, you fucking live.”
Chapter 32
King
I ran over to the hole in the boat. Stepping over Tanner, I dove into the water, barely registering the sting of the bullets as they connected with my arm and hip. The water was dark, but shallow. Pup’s white hair floated around the surface, the rest of her was submerged under the murky water.
I lifted her up by the shoulders and cradled her against me as I waded over to the shore, kicking through the water as fast as I could. I set her down on the sand, and although the water had washed away most of the blood, the black and purple bruising around her eye and jaw were much more pronounced. Her face was so swollen, I could barely recognize her. I tipped her head back and opened her mouth. Pinching her nose closed I took a deep breath and then covered her mouth with mine, blowing my air into her lungs with all the force I could manage. Instantly water filled my mouth and I released her, turning her head to the side as she coughed out the rest onto the sand. I breathed out a small sigh of relief.
“Kid running away. He our guy?” Jake asked flatly as he came jogging up the beach with Bear by his side.
“Fuck!” Bear shouted when his eyes landed on Pup. “I told you we shouldn’t have waited ten minutes. It was ten fucking minutes too long.”
I looked to Jake and tipped my chin. “Get the fucking kid,” I growled.
Jake’s eyes gleamed with something so dark and so brutal that I wouldn’t want to ever find myself on the wrong end of that stare. He turned and disappeared through the trees.
I lifted Pup into my arms, trying to be as careful as I could not to touch the wound on her shoulder. She was breathing but still unconscious. “I’ll pull the van around,” Bear said. “And I know you’re busy saving the girl and all, but do you know you’ve been hit?”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I said, fully registering that I’d been shot.
And more than once.
Bear ran off and by the time I made it to the front of the house with Doe, Bear was already there with the van. He opened the back door and jumped in as I reluctantly handed Pup over to him and climbed inside, shutting the doors behind me. Bear set Pup across the back seat and I climbed over, wedging myself between the front and back seats so that I was eye level with Pup.
“The boy!” I shouted, remembering Pup’s son just as Bear hopped back in the driver’s seat. “We need to find him. He’s two or three and he’s…” I started to describe him when Bear cut me off.
“You mean this guy?” Bear pointed a tattooed finger to the passenger seat where Pup’s kid had gotten up onto his knees and peeked his head over the seat. “I don’t think anyone’s had the stranger danger talk with him. Because rule number one is that you don’t jump into strange unmarked vans with the bad guys,” he said, throwing the truck in drive.
“Hi Mommy,” the boy said. “You sick?” Sammy asked.
“Mommy just had a fall. She just needs some sleep,” I said softly, trying to quell the panic rising in me with each second that my girl was unconscious.
Sammy smiled, revealing his tiny little teeth. “’Kay,” he said, before turning around and plopping back down on the seat.
“Seatbelt kid,” Bear ordered. Sammy stretched the belt over his lap, but was lifted off the seat when it sprang back. Bear leaned over and inserted the belt into the buckle for him and took off down the road.
Pup stirred, just a small moan, and her one eye fluttered before opening slightly. “Preppy?” she asked in a whisper, glancing up at the rearview mirror.
“No Pup, Preppy’s gone,” I said.
“Am I dying?” Pup asked.
“You’re very much alive,” I whispered, pressing my lips to her forehead.
“No, I’m dying,” she argued.
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“’Cause,” she pointed out. “I see Preppy…” she trailed off.
“Stay with me, babe. Stay with me,” I told her as we pulled up to the hospital. But it was too late. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she slipped back into unconsciousness.
When Bear pulled in under the emergency overpass, he rushed out to open the door for us. He stayed back with Sammy as I ran through the glass doors. A nurse saw us coming and motioned for us to follow her to a room where they placed Pup on a gurney. “Sir, sir are you family?” another nurse came up to ask me as I watched a guy in a white coat cut off Pup’s clothes and push an IV needle into her vein. I didn’t know how to respond. Of course she was my family, but how the fuck could I make the nurse understand that?
“She’s pregnant. I’m the father,” I said.
She pointed a gloved finger to a chair in the corner. “Sit,” she ordered. She shouted over to the people in scrubs and informed them of Pup’s pregnancy, which erupted into a chorus of voices, all shouting special instructions over one another.
When the nurse noticed I was still standing, she placed a hand on my stomach and pushed me toward the chair. I took a few side steps toward it, but still wouldn’t sit. When the nurse noticed that her white glove was coated in red, she lifted her other hand and pointed to the bloody palms. “Where is this coming from?” she asked, looking more annoyed than concerned.
“Don’t matter,” I spat. “Just take care of her.” I craned my neck around the nurse who then stood up on the tips of her sneakered toes, waving the bloody glove in my face.
I grunted. I didn’t care if I died.
As long as she lived.
The nurse snapped off her gloves and then snapped her fingers in front of my eyes. “I suggest you take a seat on the gurney right there, Mr. King. You can still see her from there while I look you over and patch you up.
She finally got my attention. “How do you know my name?” I asked leaning a little too
close in an effort to make her back the fuck off but it didn’t work. The bitch tossed her hair over her shoulder and took a step toward me, trying to intimidate me with all a hundred and ten pounds of pink scrubs.
“How do you know my name?” I repeated.
She rolled her eyes and bent over at the waist. She lifted the hem on one of the legs of her scrubs, revealing a small daisy tattoo on her ankle. “This, you idiot.”
I recognized my work right away.
She released the fabric and shook the material back in place. Behind her, the chaos continued around Pup. They placed a mask over her face and plugged a tube into one of the beeping and blinking machines surrounding the gurney.
“Staring at her isn’t going to make it better. We need to fix you up.”
I shook my head.
She walked over to the glass wall on the far side of the room, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her pull a fresh set of gloves out of a dispenser. When she came back up to me, she was pulling the latex over her fingers.
A guy in a white jacket, with matching colored hair, cut Pup’s clothes with a pair of scissors. My fists clenched so hard my knuckles were about to pop out of my skin.
The most annoying nurse in the world remained unfazed, refusing to accept that I was ignoring her. “What’s her name?” the nurse asked.
“Doe.” I said, then I corrected, “Ray, her name is Ray.”
“Doe. Ray,” she repeated, her eyebrows questioning the name just as much as her voice did. “Is there a ME in there somewhere? Her family big Sound of Music fans or something?”
“Or something,” I muttered.
“Tell me Mr. King, how the hell do you plan on taking care of Miss. Doe-Ray when she’s better, if you’re standing here in my O.R., riddled with bullet holes, letting yourself bleed to death all over my white linoleum?” she argued.
The annoying bitch had a point. If Pup came out of this. When she came out of this. She was going to need me more than ever. Reluctantly, I backed up and sat on the gurney as the nurse looked me over.
Tyrant (KING Book 2) Page 20
