I wince and remember I sat on a bunch of broken glass.
“I’m so sorry, love. I know you’re hurting. I’m trying to be as careful as I can, ok? First I need to get…” his voice breaks a he stares at the chain around my neck. “I need to get that off of you, ok?”
I didn’t notice Dom was standing behind Carter. He hands Carter a set of bolt cutters and my eyes go wide on instinct.
“I know it’s scary, Liv. I’m so fucking sorry. I have to do this, ok? Then we’ll get you out of here.”
Carter looks like he’s in about as much pain as I am.
“It’s ok, Carter,” I rasp out. It hurts to talk. It hurts so fucking bad, but he needs to hear this. “I trust you. Please get me the fuck out of here.” I try to smile but I’m not sure if I pulled it off.
He raises the bolt cutters to the clasp at the back of my neck and snaps it in one swift move.
The spikes on the underside of the chain tighten against my skin before being pulled out. I squeeze my eyes shut as a scream rips from my lungs.
“Shhh, shhh, baby, it’s over, it’s over now.”
I open my eyes and see Carter bending down in front of me, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and lifting me out of the car with one arm under my shoulders and the other around my waist. He holds me in a tight embrace.
“Can you stand, love?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Carter sets me down on my feet and kisses my head, my nose, my cheeks, anything he can find that doesn’t have a cut or bruise on it.
He looks over my shoulder. “Slash, can you see if there are any glass shards on Liv? We’ll need to take them out before I put her on my bike.”
My arms are still wrapped around Carter’s neck and he takes my face into his hands.
“Look at me baby. Stay with me, Liv.”
I see him look over my shoulder again and nod at Slash.
“I’m so sorry, Liv. Look at me. You can dig your fingernails into my skin or my shirt, whatever helps.”
I don’t really understand what he’s saying but then a sharp pain explodes from my left thigh, echoing off my nerves and sending a shock to my system.
“You’re doing good, baby.”
There’s pressure on the wound. Slash must be tying something over my leg.
“Ready for the next one?”
“Yeah,” I manage to whisper.
Another shard of glass is removed from my left hip and I grab Carter’s leather jacket, digging my nails in and pulling him closer to me.
“Almost done love. One more.” His hands rub up and down my back and I see him holding back tears when I look up at him.
The final piece is removed from just under my right butt cheek.
Under any other circumstance I’d make some joke about Slash copping a feel and Carter needing to make good on his promise to remind me who I belong to, but I can’t seem to form the words.
“Stay with me, Liv. Stay awake. I’m getting you out of here, ok?”
He helps me over to his bike and hops on. Slash and Dom help me swing my leg over and get me adjusted on the bike.
I want to thank them but I just don’t have the words. I look at both of them and they nod, knowing that I appreciate them.
Yeah, this must be what family feels like.
I wrap my arms around Carter and hold on tight before he slowly pulls off the side of the road and starts on his way home.
Chapter 18
Liv
I wake up sore and aching, flashes of the previous day replaying in my mind.
In the car with Spider. In the motel with Spider. Breaking his nose. Escaping. Breaking down on the side of the road. Carter saving me and bringing me back to the clubhouse. Jax cleaning my wounds. Stitches in my thigh. Gauze in my mouth where I lost my tooth. Carter washing me off in the shower. Pain pills. Sleep. So much sleep.
I roll over and sit up, wincing against the cuts on my butt and thighs.
“Hey, love, don’t move, just stay right there.”
Carter.
He looks like he hasn’t slept in days, dark circles hang under his eyes, his disheveled hair is greasy, and he looks… I don’t know… hollow? But, it’s Carter, so even given his current state, he’s still the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid my eyes on.
Carter climbs in bed with me and I melt into his embrace, leaning my head on his chest as he strokes my hair. I place my hand over his heart, partially to soothe him and partially to ground myself with his steady heartbeat.
I feel Carter rest his forehead on top of my head and breathe me in.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Liv. I can’t… How… Shit, I’m just so sorry I let this happen.”
I rub my hand back and forth over his chest and then place a small kiss over his heart.
“Carter, it’s not your fault.”
“It is!” He sounds so pained. “You’ve been beaten and cut and you had… you had a fucking choke chain around your neck, Liv. I will never get that image out of my head. I’m so sorry, so fucking sorry.”
“Carter, please stop. I’m ok now, you came for me. You saved me.”
“No, you saved you. You are so brave, love.”
“You were with me though.”
He gives me a questioning look.
“I started having a panic attack in the car, that’s why I pulled over. I couldn’t breathe and I remember what you taught me. I heard you asking me those questions, five things I see, four things I feel, three things I hear. And I heard your motorcycle and I knew you would come. I knew I was safe.”
“God, Liv, I love you so much. You’re amazing, so amazing.”
We sit wrapped up in each other’s arms for a few minutes. Finally, Carter breaks the silence. I can tell he has something heavy on his heart
“How did he get to you, baby?”
“Spider sent me a text. Said if I didn’t come outside he’d shoot you. Then he sent a photo of you on the couch, proving he had the perfect shot.”
Carter pulls away from me and gives me an odd look. “So you just left with him?” I can tell he’s trying not to be angry with me.
“I couldn’t have him kill you! What was I supposed to do?” Is he seriously mad about this? I saved his life! “I just got you, I couldn’t let him take you away! Everything was perfect, you were perfect and my fucked up past came in and ruined it all, but I couldn’t let him just-“
Before I can finish my though, Carter takes my lips in a slow and sweet kiss, tucking my hair behind my ear and stroking the back of my neck.
When we break apart, he rests his forehead on mine.
“You… you sacrificed yourself for me? Me?” He shakes his head like he can’t believe it.
“Well, yeah. I mean, I love you. What else was I going to do?”
Carter pulls back once again to look at me in the eyes.
“I was so scared, Liv. So scared. I thought I’d never see you again.”
His gaze moves over my face, from my hairline to my nose, over my lips and across my cheeks, finally resting back on my eyes. It’s like he’s trying to memorize everything about my face in case I suddenly disappear.
“You can’t do that to me again, not ever, Liv. Promise me. Promise me you’ll never leave.”
Tears threaten to spill over his beautiful face and I can’t help the few that fall from my own eyes when I see his unwavering gaze full of love and fear in equal measure.
I run my fingers through his beard the way I know he likes. “I don’t plan on being in that position ever again. But if I have to choose between you or me, I’ll choose you every time, Carter. Just like I know you’d choose me. You can’t ask me to do something you’re not willing to do yourself.”
“Damnit, Liv. I’m trying to protect you and be all chivalrous, which is hard enough when you go and take the bad guy out all by yourself. At least give my precious male ego this one thing?”
He grins and I know we’re going to be ok.
“I wouldn’t be
the girl you fell in love with if I left your male ego intact, now would I?”
He smiles that brilliant smile of his and nuzzles his face into my shoulder, careful to avoid my sore neck.
“I love you so much, Liv. I missed you.”
“I love you too, Carter. More that you can possibly imagine.”
Chapter 19
Carter
It takes all of my strength to rip myself away from Liv once she falls back asleep. The threat isn’t over, though, so I need to head back with the guys and figure out how to get us out of this mess.
“How’s she doing?” Slash asks.
“She’s healing. Sleeping right now. Jax gave her the good shit,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
Slash has been worried sick about Liv, not as much as me, but a close second. I would be jealous, but I know he feels partially responsible. I also know he loves her like a sister, as does Stacy.
“You should go visit when we’re done here. I know she’d love to see you.”
Slash nods just as River walks in.
“Ok, boys. What the fuck are we going to do about this?”
“I’ve been monitoring him, so far he’s just been in the motel, licking his wounds,” Slash says.
River chuckles. “Carter, your girl fucked him up real good.”
I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face. Yeah, I’m still fucking pissed that she was ever put in this position, but I’m so damn proud of her for fighting her way to freedom.
“Slash, you still tracking this asshole’s phone? Can you access his phone records?” River asks.
“Of course.”
“I say we wait till he reaches out to Devil’s Knights – or they reach out to him. They’ll have to be in contact one way or another. And of course, keep Liv here till the threat has passed.”
“I’ll take the first shift,” Dom offers.
We all nod in agreement and Slash and I head out to the bar to decompress.
***
“How’s Liv? Does she need anything? A pillow? Some slippers? A shot of whiskey?”
Stacy is in full on momma bear mode.
“Liv is good, she’s sleeping right now,” I relay once again.
“Well, I could use a shot of whiskey,” Stacy mumbles before getting out three shot glasses and lining them up.
She fills the glasses and we all throw one back.
“Damn, that child. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to her. Especially if were because of Brad.”
Slash nods.
“Nothing is going to happen to her. She’s got us. Now lighten the fuck up, we should be celebrating how much of a badass Liv is instead of wallowing in what ifs!” Truth be told, my stomach is still in knots, but I can’t possibly reassure these two and keep myself going at the same time.
Slash changes the subject and we chat for a while about nothing in particular.
A few hours later, I see Liv making her way out of the back rooms towards the bar. I jump up and run over to her.
“Baby, what are you doing up? You should be resting.”
“I’m really ok, Carter. My stitches are a little sore, and my neck hurts, but I’m really not that bad. I’ve had worse.”
I cringe at the thought and Liv looks like she regrets saying anything.
“I just mean, I don’t want to be stuck in bed all day. I want to be normal. I need some other human contact.”
“Are you saying you’re getting tired of me already?” I grin.
She leans in and ghosts her lips on my ear.
“I’m saying that I’m still in no shape to fuck you in the back room like I’ve been dreaming of all morning. So until then, I should probably try to have a conversation with some other people to distract me from jumping your bones.”
I groan and reach down to adjust myself in my jeans. This woman knows just how to make me painfully hard in the most inappropriate of settings.
“Damnit, love. You have no idea what you do to me.”
Liv looks up at me with a devious grin.
“LIV! Oh my god, honey, I’m so glad to see you!”
Stacy runs up to Liv and goes to throw her arms around her but then freezes, not wanting to hurt her.
Liv doesn’t miss a beat. She throws herself into Stacy’s arms and hugs her tight.
Stacy carefully wraps her arms around Liv and the women hug and rock each other back and forth. I’m so damn grateful she has people in her life now after being alone and depending on herself for so long.
When Stacy finally lets go, Liv turns towards Slash.
“Carter said I can’t hug you again, but I have to keep him on his toes.” She looks back at me with a challenging grin that I plan to wipe off of her face when she screams my name.
Slash chuckles as Liv throws her arms around him. He accepts her hug and then steps back, showing me that he’s not about to steal my woman.
“I’m so sorry about Brad. He’s a monster.” Slash says.
“Brad?” Liv looks confused.
“Yeah… Brad. Uh, Spider?” Stacy says in an equally as confused tone.
Liv starts laughing, full on belly laughing. My heart bursts with joy, knowing she’ll be ok, even after all of this.
“Oh my god, I had no idea that was his real name! ‘Brad.’ Sounds more like a frat boy douche than a dealer with a neck tattoo!” She says between laughs. “BRAD!” Liv is crying with laughter now and Slash and Stacy join in.
We sit at a table and I pull Liv down on my lap. Stacy and Slash are chatting away and I lean into Liv’s neck, gathering her hair and sweeping it over one shoulder. I kiss the exposed skin below her ear and run my lips over her earlobe.
“You know that I’m going to have to show you who you belong to now, right, love?” I make a tsk tsk noise before biting her earlobe.
Liv turns to me, fire in her eyes, and says, “Promise?”
I’m about to reply when Dom storms into the bar. Of course.
Liv and I share a look – Dom, destroyer of our sweet moments.
“Devil’s Knights showed up,” he says.
We all head to the back room and stare at the scene unfolding before us.
Five big, burly guys break down the door of the motel room. We see them forcing Spider to kneel, facing away from them. Execution style.
I know what’s going to happen and I instinctively put my hand over Liv’s eyes. She doesn’t need anything else to have a nightmare about.
“No, let me see. I need to see.”
The video doesn’t have sound, but we can see the gun cock back and then Spider drops forward, behind the door, out of the range of the camera.
Stacy has tears streaking down her face, a range of emotions playing across her features.
Slash clenches his jaw and nods his head. There’s no mistaking his emotion – justice has been served.
I turn to Liv and gather her in my arms.
“It’s over, baby. It’s all over.”
She nods and rests her head in the crook of my neck, placing her hand over my heart.
We still have the Devil’s Knights to go to war with, but Spider is out of the picture and Liv is safe for now.
Chapter 20
Liv
It’s been three weeks since Spider was killed.
I moved in with Carter the next day and resumed work behind the bar a week later. I wanted to start the next day, and Stacy wanted me to take six weeks off. So we compromised. And by “compromise,” I mean that I showed up every day at the bar for a week and then started working one day.
I have about three hours left of my shift, so I head to the backroom to stock up for the evening. I stand on my tip toes to reach a box on the top shelf when I smell pine and whiskey. I turn to see Carter stalking towards me. He closes the distance in three strides an puts his hands on my hips, pulling me into him.
“Liv, what did I tell you about restocking? You’re not ready for that yet. You have to take care of yourself, baby.”
“Carter, I’m fine. Jax gave me the all clear, remember?”
“Well Jax doesn’t know shit.”
I chuckle. “How about I prove to you that I’m ready? Ready for everything the back room has to offer.”
Carter groans. We haven’t had sex since before the Spider incident. We’ve pleasured each other, but even that isn’t as often as I’d like. As I need. I know Carter thinks I’m fragile, but I want to show him that I’m really ok. He makes me strong.
He lets me push him back towards some crates stacked up in the corner. I kiss him, pulling his bottom lip through my teeth before devouring his mouth.
I break the kiss to unbutton his jeans and pull out his already hardening cock.
“Fuck, Liv, I don’t know if this is a good idea, I don’t want to hurt y-“
I cut him off by stroking his dick.
“At least parts of you think this is a good idea,” I tease.
I step back and slide my panties down my legs, thankful that I decided to wear a skirt today. I step towards Carter and he instinctively puts his hands on my hips to pull me closer before crashing his mouth down on mine.
His kiss is wild, unleashing weeks worth of pent up energy.
I straddle him and slide my dripping pussy up and down his shaft.
Carter throws his head back and slides his hands up and down my thighs. When he gets to the scar my stitches left behind, he stills and puts his forehead against mine.
“Are you sure, Liv? I don’t want to hurt you. I can’t stand the thought of causing you pain.”
I place a sweet kiss on his nose and mouth before sucking and biting his neck, earning me a growl as his hands tighten on my hips.
“Please, please fuck me, Carter. I ache for you, for your big cock to fill me up. I miss you. I miss this.”
Before he has a chance to respond, I lift myself up on my knees and slam myself down on him, wrapping my pussy around his hard cock. We both moan. I throw my head back and Carter leans in to kiss my exposed neck.
“Oh shit, baby, you feel so goddamn good. I’ve missed you too. So much.”
I bounce up and down, circling my hips and grinding into him.
Loving Liv (Chaos MC #2) Page 12
