Carbon (Blackwings MC Book 4)

by Teagan Brooks

  His grip tightened slightly. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Ivan Ceven, otherwise known as Vance Vine.”

  My eyes widened in disbelief, and he chuckled at my response. “I see you recognize the name. Yes, I am the older brother of Valarie and Vanessa Vine. Surprise!”

  And then even more realization dawned.

  Vance.

  Ants.

  Oh shit!

  Oh fuck!

  Oh shit!

  Oh fuck!

  Oh shit!

  “Why are you here?” I croaked. He wasn’t squeezing hard enough to cut off my air supply completely, but enough to make it difficult for me to speak.

  “Like I said, because you were promised to me.” He sighed at my expression and continued, “I agreed to help Valarie kidnap you and her little boy toy if you could be my little toy. She thought it was a wonderful idea. The three of us would live happily ever after with you being the sister she desperately missed and the hot piece of pussy I relentlessly fucked.” His eyes darkened, and his grip grew tighter. “But then you had to go and kill her.”

  He raised his other hand and plowed it into my face. Pain radiated outward from my cheekbone. Suddenly, he released the grip on my throat, and I gasped for air. My reprieve didn’t last long. He fisted my hair and yanked me from the chair, forcefully tossing me to the ground causing my head to bounce on the floor. I tried to roll to my side, but I wasn’t fast enough. He came down on top of me, one leg on either side of me and ripped my shirt open.

  No.

  No.

  No.

  This wasn’t happening. I opened my mouth to scream, but he stuffed a cloth in my mouth before a sound could escape. He grinned wickedly. “Now, let’s see what you have to offer me.” He held my wrists over my head with one hand and began tracing the swell of my bra covered breasts with the other. I heard the snick of a knife and froze for a millisecond before I started bucking and thrashing against him.

  “Be still, bitch,” he barked and struck me across the face again. Screw that, I wasn’t going to make it easy for him, and I’d much rather have him knock me out than be awake and alert for any of his plans.

  Before I could register what was happening, he leaped off me and yanked me to my feet, placing me in front of him with the knife held tightly against my throat. When my brain caught up to what was happening, I found myself staring into the furious eyes of Chase with an equally furious Titan at his side. The sight of them had tears leaking from my eyes.

  “Let her go,” Chase said, in a tone so icy it sent chills down my spine, and I realized this was Carbon, not the Chase I knew and loved.

  “Why do you heroes always say that? Has it ever worked?” Vance asked rhetorically, chuckling to himself.

  Carbon shrugged. “It’s perfunctory.”

  What in the hell was wrong with him? He went from furious to stone cold to nonchalant. Carbon’s eyes scanned me from head to toe and back up. His green eyes locked with mine and for the briefest of seconds, I caught a glimpse of the man I loved before he morphed back into his role as the club’s Enforcer. It was all I needed to know that he had this. I kept my eyes trained on him and waited, trying my best to ignore the sharp knife digging into my throat.

  “You have perfect timing,” Carbon said, grinning maniacally.

  I felt Vance’s body tense and shift. I couldn’t see his face, but I imagined his countenance conveyed confusion. “Why is that?” he asked, his voice not near as confident as it had been moments before.

  Carbon made a face of disappointment and dejectedly replied, “You don’t want me to ruin the surprise, do you?” I honestly couldn’t tell if Carbon was being serious or if this was part of some act. One thing I did know, Carbon the Enforcer was a scary motherfucker.

  “Shut the fuck up. I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work,” Vance spat, taking a few steps back, dragging me with him.

  Carbon feigned shock. “You do? Am I that transparent?” He focused his wide eyes on Vance and blinked several times, waiting for him to answer. When he didn’t, Carbon bared his teeth and growled, keeping the corners of his lips turned up in a wicked smile. “You don’t have a clue what I’m doing,” he said, taking one step forward causing Vance to take another step back. Titan’s eyes moved to the side and came right back to me. Vance must have seen it, too, and started to turn, but Carbon spoke again grabbing his attention, “...but you’re about to find out.”

  There was a snarl and a flash of black fur before I felt a line of fire erupt down my leg. Then, I was on the ground being pulled across the floor. I could hear grunts and groans accompanied by the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Curses and swears sounded around the room. Before I could put the pieces together, worried green eyes appeared in front of me.

  Chase gently cupped my cheek. “You’re okay, baby. We got him.”

  “He’s her brother!” I shrieked. “That’s Vance Vine! Don’t let him get away!”

  “Duke’s got him. He’s not going anywhere.”

  “Duke?” I croaked.

  Blue eyes, much like my own, appeared beside Chase. “I came in through the window and disarmed him from behind,” my brother said, not at all looking happy about capturing the madman trying to harm me. “Patch is already on his way to look at your leg. I’m sorry, Harper.”

  I had forgotten about the pain in my leg until he mentioned it. “What happened to my leg?” I asked, trying to sit up.

  Chase’s hands gently pushed back against my shoulders. “Stay down, baby.”

  There was a commotion at the door, and I involuntarily flinched, despite being surrounded by Carbon, Duke, and Titan. “It’s Phoenix and Badger. They’re getting Vance out of here,” my brother informed me.

  “Why won’t you guys let me sit up?” I whined.

  Before either one of them could answer, Patch arrived. He knelt beside me and pointedly asked, “Are you hurt anywhere other than what I can see right now?”

  I shook my head. “No, it didn’t get that far.”

  He gently patted my shoulder. “Good. Good. I’m going to take a look at your leg first.” He moved toward my feet. I felt the leg of my pants being moved and then heard several intakes of breath. “I’m going to wrap this in some gauze. We need to keep some pressure on it. One of you get a car from Ember and have it out front and ready to go.” Redirecting his attention to me, he continued, “Your leg needs to be treated at the hospital. I’m going to wrap it, and then we’re moving.”

  “What. Happened. To. My. Leg?” I demanded.

  Patch looked at me then to Chase and back to me. “You have a significant gash on your upper leg that will require an extensive number of sutures and quite possibly a surgical repair. He missed your femoral artery, but it is bleeding significantly, and we need to get to the hospital as soon as possible.”

  “What?” I shrieked.

  Carbon cleared his throat. “Duke grabbed Vance’s arm from behind and pulled it away from your neck. As soon as Duke had his hands on Vance, Titan lunged and pulled you down to the ground by your pants’ leg. It just so happened that Vance’s arm was moving in a downward arc at the same time. The knife made contact with your leg as you were being pulled down and away. The momentum and the angle...” he trailed off and shook his head. “It’s a nasty cut, baby. I’m so sorry.”

  “You, Duke, and Titan saved my life. There’s nothing to be sorry for,” I said. “Is Titan okay?”

  “He’s fine. He was on the other side of the knife.”

  “All finished. Let’s get her out to the car,” Patch announced.

  Hours later I woke to the sounds of machines beeping and the smell of Band-Aids. I shifted my weight, and the crinkle of plastic beneath me confirmed my suspicions, I was in the hospital. But why? Oh, that’s right, because the fucking Vines struck again. Cracking one eye open, I saw two large forms sitting in chairs off to the side. I opened both eyes and managed to croak, “Water.”

  If I could have laughed, I would h
ave, at how fast the big badass bikers jumped to their feet and scrambled to fetch me a cup of water. Chase gently placed the straw to my lips, and I swallowed a few small gulps of precious hydration. “Hi,” I uttered stupidly, then rolled my eyes at myself.

  “How are you feeling, baby?” he asked, his eyes full of worry.

  “I’m okay. My leg is a little sore, but I think that’s to be expected. Did the surgery go okay?” I asked.

  “It went fine. The surgeon got the bleeding under control and repaired a tendon and a muscle that were damaged by the knife. Then, a plastic surgeon came in and closed the wound. You’ll still have a scar, but it will be as pretty as it can be,” he explained.

  Duke stepped forward and placed a kiss on my forehead. “Do you need anything?”

  I grinned and lowered my voice, “Don’t kill that motherfucker yet. I have a few questions I want to ask him first.”

  “I think they gave you too much pain medicine, little sister,” Duke said and winked.

  “Are you up for some visitors?” Chase asked. “The waiting room is full of club members and Old Ladies waiting to check in on you, but there are three that are going to cause a problem if they don’t get to lay eyes on you soon.”

  Right on cue, I heard my Aunt Leigh’s voice getting progressively louder as she told the nurses what they could do with their visitation policy. She burst through the door to my room with her hulking son blocking her from the security guards trailing after them. “Duke Jackson, I specifically told you to call me the second she woke up.”

  I giggled. “I literally just woke up, Aunt Leigh. I promise.”

  “Oh, my sweet Harper. How are you feeling?” she asked, tears welling in her eyes.

  “I’m okay,” I said. “Hey, what’s happening out there?” I craned my neck to see around her. “Hey! Let them go. They’re family,” I yelled to the security guards who were trying, unsuccessfully, to escort Judge and Shaker away from my room.

  Judge shook the guard’s hands off his arms while Shaker stuck his tongue out and sauntered into my room. “Hey there, sweetheart. I won’t stay long, but I had to see for myself that you were okay,” Shaker said, bending down to kiss the top of my head. A low growl came from Chase. “Easy, killer. I know she’s yours, but we were kidnapped together, so I’m allowed to kiss the top of her head. It’s in the rulebook.”

  I laughed again, and Chase muttered a curse under his breath.

  Judge stepped forward and squeezed my hand. “Clearly you’ve been trying to get my attention with your recent antics. You have it, so you can stop now.”

  “I’ll do my best,” I sassed.

  “Glad you’re okay, Sister Cousin,” he murmured.

  “Me, too, Brother Judge.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Carbon

  I would forever be grateful to Byte for hooking Harper up with the device that saved her life. Since we hadn’t found the man who had assisted Hilarie with the kidnappings, Byte suggested Harper keep a small device in her pocket that would alert designated parties when she needed help as well as her current location. All she had to do was press the button one time to send the signal. When I received seven alerts back to back, I couldn’t get to her fast enough. In a stroke of luck, I was over at the stables. Duke had called and asked if I could get Titan because one of the horse owners had shown up at the barn unexpectedly.

  When I found Vance with a knife to Harper’s throat, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get him away from her without her getting hurt. I was still trying to formulate a plan when I saw Duke peering in her office window. Between Titan’s growling and my cryptic taunts to Vance, Duke was able to open the window and climb inside silently. Ultimately, she would be okay, but he hurt her, spilled her blood, and for that, he must pay.

  It had been three days since he attacked Harper. She had been home from the hospital for two of those days, and she had not stopped asking me about going to see Vance. We argued about it the first day she was home until she finally agreed that it was too soon. She brought it up again the second day and refused to back down.

  I threw my hands in the air and roared, “Fucking fine, Harper! I’ll take you to see him!”

  “Thanks, pumpkin. I just need to freshen up first,” she sassed and hobbled away as haughtily as she could.

  We drove to the clubhouse in silence. I was pissed, and she was strangely happy. Upon entering the clubhouse, I instructed her to wait in the common room while I spoke with Phoenix. She could bitch about it all she wanted, but if he said no, I couldn’t go against my president.

  Phoenix agreed to allow her to speak with him as long as the officers were present and she was separated from Vance by bars.

  I sighed, exasperated when I didn’t see Harper in the common room. “I told her to wait right here. Let me go see if she’s in my room.”

  Returning to the common room after checking my room and Duke’s room, I pulled out my phone to call her. When I heard her ringtone and saw her purse on the floor beside one of the sofas, a feeling of deja-vu hit me. “Fuck,” I growled and stormed toward the door to the basement.

  Sure as shit, it was wide open. Phoenix and I cursed again and rushed down the stairs. I pulled open the second door that should have been locked and stopped dead in my tracks, causing Phoenix to slam into my back.

  “What. The. Fuck. Are. You. Doing?” I bellowed, causing everyone to startle, everyone except Harper that is.

  She met my gaze with a devious look in her eyes. “Sorry, big guy. You would’ve never agreed, and I needed this,” she said, punctuating “this” by driving the knife in her hand into the leg of the man strapped to the table.

  Vance Vine released an ear-splitting scream that made my mouth water. At that moment, I was torn between wanting to carry Harper kicking and screaming from the room and kicking everyone out so we could work him over together. Regardless, her and her cronies had broken into the club’s basement yet again to interact with someone we were holding.

  I scanned the room and was not at all surprised to see my sister standing quietly off to the side. What did shock me was seeing Annabelle and Shaker leaned against the wall opposite Reese.

  “Brother?” Phoenix growled at Shaker.

  He stepped forward and held his hands up in surrender. “They were going to do this come hell or high water. If I had ratted them out, they could have ended up down here without a brother present. I wasn’t going to—” Shaker stopped speaking when Phoenix’s phone as well as mine dinged at the same time. As we pulled out our phones, Shaker smiled smugly and finished his sentence, “—keep it from you.”

  I looked down at the text telling me to get my ass to the basement immediately.

  Phoenix pinned Shaker with a glare. “That text saved you from an ass-beating, but I’m by no means happy with you. Did you let them down here?”

  He shook his head and pointed to Annabelle. “She had your keys. They were halfway down the stairs when I caught them.”

  Phoenix stalked toward Annabelle. “You’re pregnant!”

  She placed her hands on her hips. “Last time I checked, there are no restrictions on opening doors during pregnancy.”

  “We’ll talk about this later.” Phoenix turned to face Reese. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

  Reese shrugged. “He hurt my soon to be sister-in-law and indirectly hurt my brother. I’m just here to watch.” She reached behind her and produced Duke’s .45. “Oh, and to shoot him if things went sideways.”

  Phoenix cursed low and turned to me. “She’s your Old Lady. You want to let her carve him up, be my guest. Since I’m almost positive Duke will be barreling down those stairs any moment now, I’m taking Annabelle home. Clean up your mess, kids.”

  “You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Duke yelled, coming to an abrupt halt at the sight of his knife-wielding sister and his gun-pointing Old Lady standing beside a man strapped to a metal table.

  Phoenix guided Annabelle back upstairs, and I qu
ickly caught Duke up to speed.

  “Are you hens done with your clucking? I would like to get back to business,” Harper snarked, causing Reese and Shaker to snicker.

  I exchanged glances with Duke, and he gave a curt nod, his silent agreement to see how this played out. With an exaggerated gesture, I said, “Carry on.”

  I silently watched my woman taunt, tease, and torture Vance Vine like she was a pro. Not long after we gave her the go-ahead, I had to drop my ass into a chair to keep the room from seeing how hard she had my dick. It was sexy as hell to watch Harper face off with the last member of the family that had haunted her since she was 10 years old.

  When she seemed to be satisfied, she looked directly at me and said, “Seems only fair to let you end him.” I cocked my head to the side, and she continued, “Valarie killed Vanessa. Duke killed Vince. Vivian killed herself. I killed Valarie. You kill Vance.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want her to have to kill him, but I didn’t share this side of myself with anyone other than my brothers. Reese caught a glimpse of it once, but only a glimpse. If I let Harper see me kill, would it change the way she felt about me?

  Shaker picked up on my turmoil and stepped forward. “Do you think I could exact a little retribution first?”

  Harper smiled brightly and handed the knife to Shaker. “By all means!” I wasn’t afraid to admit, Harper’s exuberance was downright scary.

  Shaker proceeded to make a show of punching and slicing Vance before “accidentally” slipping and driving the knife too deep into Vance’s neck, effectively hitting one of the large vessels in his neck and killing him. I quickly mouthed “thank you” before anyone else could see.

  He nodded in response and turned to face Harper. “Shit, Harper! I’m so sorry! I guess I got carried away.”

  She shrugged. “No worries. What’s the protocol for clean-up?”

  Who in the hell was this woman? “Uh,” I stammered, “we’ll take care of it, baby. There’s a shower at the end of the hall. Leave your clothes on the floor outside the door so that we can burn them. Reese, can you bring down a change of clothes for Harper?” She nodded and headed for the stairs. Harper turned and walked toward the shower.