by LeAnn Ashers
Shaylin looks at me. “You okay, honey?” She lifts Tiana, cuddling her against her chest. The little girl’s eyes are sleepy.
“I am fine.” I smile and touch Tiana’s cheek. She is one of the most beautiful toddlers I have ever seen. I was there the moment she became a part of Shaylin and Butcher’s life. She had been left in a car where her mother had overdosed. The mother hated Shaylin, but Shaylin took in the little girl.
She had it rough until Shaylin and Butcher came into her life; now she has Butcher wrapped around her little finger. Butcher is this huge beast of a dude who is meaner than fuck, except when it comes to Shaylin and Tiana.
An hour passes. Tiana is asleep, lying on the couch beside Shaylin and me. The men are still in the back room.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I take it out and see a text from Vanessa. “I am outside the gate, can you let me in?”
What the hell? What is she doing here? She has never been here. Oh my goodness, do you think the cartel is after her? “My friend is outside the gates, I am going to see what’s wrong.”
Shaylin nods and smooths Tiana’s hair out of her face.
I open the door and look out into the lot but, at first glance, I don’t see Vanessa. Weird, where is her car? I walk closer to the gate and look through the bulletproof glass.
I don’t see her anywhere. This is really unusual for her. “Vanessa?” I call out to her but all I get is silence.
Something is seriously wrong.
I turn around. I need to tell Liam what is happening. What if she is lying out there or the cartel has her?
Something wet hits the top of my shoulder and falls down my back.
Pain, intense pain.
I scream and touch my back, and my hand immediately starts burning. I scream louder as the pain gets worse and worse.
What is happening? My legs give out and I hit the ground hard. I smell something god awful.
I look at the door to the clubhouse; Shaylin is standing there looking at me in horror. I scream again, the pain sinking in and becoming worse.
It’s like my whole back is on fire, it hurts so bad.
I am dying, the world is getting darker around the edges. Shaylin runs to me and hits the ground, and she touches my face. Her mouth is moving, but I don’t hear a sound.
I close my eyes.
Darkness.
9
Liam
I finish pulling out the final fingernail on the last guy, making sure I get all of the information I need. About an hour has passed. I have gone through four of them, and all of them have spilled their guts.
The stupid fuckers tried to keep all of this shit hidden, but they hadn’t faced me. I was trained for this, and there is nothing I can’t get out of somebody. I can keep someone alive for days, weeks, and even months.
They all crack.
The door is thrown open, and one of the old ladies looks at us in pure terror. Then I hear it.
A scream, a scream that I will never get out of my head. A scream that I know.
Paisley.
I run out of the room with Torch at my back. I look around the main room, knowing she is outside. I throw open the door and see Shaylin on her knees by Paisley.
My Paisley.
The lower part of her back is burned. Liquid is on the ground behind her, and I fucking know it’s acid.
Pain, that’s the only way I can explain how I feel. It’s like my heart is being ripped out of my chest. “Call 911!” I yell at the top of my lungs, my heart ripping in fucking two.
“Paisley,” I choke out. My heart hurts so fucking bad. She doesn’t wake up. Torch falls next to me. “Baby, please.” My head falls, and my hand is shaking so fucking bad. I push her hair out of her face. “What the fuck happened!” I roar.
Shaylin looks at me, tears rolling down her face. “She got a text from her friend, she said she was outside the gate,” she whispers.
The fucking cartel.
I don’t know what to do. I am helpless. I lie down on the ground beside her, and I kiss her cheek and pray. Please don’t take her away, she is my life. Torch is holding her hand.
A few achingly slow minutes tick by before the ambulance shows up and the gate opens, allowing them inside. The paramedics run over, horror all over their fucking faces at the sight of her.
We slowly move her onto the gurney. Maybe it’s a fucking blessing she’s out cold. Her back is burned, bad. Really fucking bad.
I get onto the ambulance with her, and Torch gets in beside me. My eyes never leave her face. She is still out.
“They are dead,” Torch says.
“You are damn fucking right.”
I am going to track them down, one by one, and destroy them.
Paisley
When I open my eyes, the first thing I see is Liam, and the next thing I notice is my back is really fucked up; the pain is bad. Liam scoots forward and touches my cheek. “Baby.” He lowers his head, his breathing harsh.
I try to scoot closer, and I cry out in pain. His head shoots up, and he stops me from moving. “Stop, Baby, your back.”
I stop, remembering everything that happened. Someone threw something over the gate and it hit my back. “How bad is it, Liam?”
He lets out a deep breath. “It’s not seriously bad, but it’s on the top of your hips and the small of your back. It’s severe third-degree burns.”
I close my eyes. The feeling of it hitting my back is something I will never forget. “Vanessa?” I ask, almost afraid to know what happened.
“Someone stole her phone from work.”
I cover my face, crying into my hands, because I can’t believe this happened. I want to be strong for Liam, but I don’t want to be strong right now.
I was burned. Someone threw acid on me. They didn’t intend to kill me, but they hurt me in a way that will affect me forever.
“Paisley.” Liam kisses my cheek and puts his hand on the top of my shoulder. “I am so fucking sorry, Baby, I wish I could take it from you.”
“It’s not your fault, Liam, I am just emotional right now.”
He kisses my temple once more, his hand drifting through my hair.
“Sleep, my love, I will be right here.” His fingers stroke my hair and the top of my back, soothing me. My body is shaking; I guess it’s from the pain and shock.
Liam
Her hand is on my forearm, and I stare down into her sleeping face; it’s so peaceful. I look down at her back, seeing the raw, burned skin. She is going to be scarred and, honestly, I feel like it’s my fault.
I wasn’t there to protect her, and that shit is eating away at my fucking core. It’s my job to make sure she is safe.
Her body is still shaking, even in sleep, and she is running a slight fever. I grab a blanket and cover her legs.
The door opens, and Torch walks in with Kayla, returning from the cafeteria. His eyes are only on his daughter.
“She woke up for a few minutes.”
Torch closes his eyes, relieved. Kayla’s face is red with tears. She rubs her eyes and sits down beside me.
Everyone is affected by this shit; she is a huge part of everyone’s lives. Paisley brings happiness to everyone around her, and she is so fucking strong. Even when she is hurt she worries about me.
She is fucking beautiful, inside and out.
“Maybe she should move in with us for a while, so we can take care of her,” Kayla suggests, pissing me the fuck off.
I look at her. “I will take care of her.”
She looks at me, her face sad. “She is going to need a lot of help, for a while, doing everything.”
I look away because this shit is just words; nobody is taking care of her but me. I know what it will take, and I will do it all. She is mine. I will always take care of her, no matter what. “I will take care of her, she is my woman.”
She doesn’t say anything. It wouldn’t do her any fucking good because this shit is final.
Paisley
; A Few Days Later
“Fuck.” I sit up in bed. I bite the back of my hand trying not to cry out; this is painful. It’s on the sides of my hips and lower back. When I move, my back moves—making my burns hurt.
I need to use the bathroom, badly.
Liam wakes up. “Baby, why didn’t you wake me?” He gets out of the chair he was asleep in. He has not left me; he has been by my side the whole time I’ve been at the hospital. I look down at the floor. I hate that he has to help me do everything.
“Paisley, what’s wrong, Baby?” He’s on his knees in front of me, cupping my face.
“I hate that you have to help me,” I whisper to him.
His face softens. “Baby, never feel like that. I want nothing more than to take care of you.” He looks me right in my eye. “I love you, so much. I want to take care of you, you’re my woman.”
I smile and kiss him, and he kisses me back. I lift my arms slowly and put them around his shoulders, and he grabs the bottom of my ass, lifting me from the bed slowly. My legs are on either side of his hips.
He carries me to the bathroom; then he gently sets me on my feet and slides down my pants along with my underwear. I hide my face, embarrassed.
“Don’t do that shit, Paisley.” He slowly helps me down onto the toilet and leaves, giving me privacy.
I can’t help but feel that way. I’m so used to taking care of myself, and now I can’t. That shit is tough to deal with.
I finish and wash my hands in the sink by the toilet. It’s a slow, painful process, because I have to bend my back. Liam comes back into the bathroom once the water is shut off. He puts his hands under my armpits, lifting me off the toilet so I don’t strain myself, trying to cause the least amount of pain possible.
A chemical burn is the worst kind of pain. The acid burned layers of skin, and the burn is in a bad place because my skin twists and bends in that area.
We slowly make our way back to the bed, and I lie on my stomach. Liam made the hospital bring in another bed, and he lies beside me.
He turns off the light; it’s nighttime now. He fell asleep in the chair right before I decided to go to bed for the night. He gets on the other bed, which is pressed up against mine. He covers most of my body with the blanket I made Dad bring from home, careful not to lay it on my burned skin. Then he lays another over the top of my back and arms.
“I love you too, Liam, so much. Thank you for doing this,” I whisper, and I grab his hand and kiss the back of it.
“I love you too, my love.”
My stomach flips when the butterflies hit me. I love him so much, and that is the truth. My every thought is about him.
He puts his hand on the back of my neck, his fingers on my pulse. He has been doing this since the accident. I asked him why, and he said it assures him I am here and okay.
“Goodnight,” I whisper and drift off to sleep.
10
Three Months Later
Liam
I kick in the door, and the cartel members spring off the couch in shock. I smile, seeing the pure fear all over their fucking faces.
For the past couple of weeks, I have hunted and hunted, taking down every single member I can find.
I shut the door behind me. They stare at me for a few beats; then they bolt. I laugh at the sight of their pure terror. I love that shit, I want to bathe in that. They fucked with Paisley, and I will take out every fucker I possibly can.
I raise my gun, aiming at the back of the closest cartel member. I pull the trigger, and he hits the ground with a thump. Pure happiness is what I fucking feel. The fewer of them walking this earth the better. Paisley went through hell getting over her burns.
They will pay and they are paying.
I hear the back door open, and I grin because they are going to get a surprise. I follow them to the door.
Tyler, Shane, and Brett are waiting for them, guns aimed at their heads. One of the members steps back and bumps into my chest. He slowly turns around, his eyes wide with fear, and I grin. I slam my fist onto his mouth, and he hits the ground.
The other two guys spin around, and I shoot the one on the left. I grab the other by the back of the neck, slamming his face into the wall. The wall breaks, and his head is inside it. I let him go and leave him just hanging there. Tyler looks at the sky, pretending to be bored. “I didn’t get to do anything.”
I roll my eyes. “These fuckers are mine to kill.” I laugh at his pissed-off look.
It killed me to see her hurt, and there was nothing I could do to stop the pain.
I took care of her and wiped away her tears, and these fuckers will pay for every tear she shed. They attacked the club where it hurt, and Torch has been a fucking mess—he has been at Paisley’s house every day.
My phone rings in my pocket. I take it out and see it’s Paisley. “Hello.”
“What do you want for dinner?” she asks me. I can hear her moving around in the background.
“Doesn’t matter, Baby, whatever you want.”
She sighs into the phone. “Well, I hope you’re having a good day with the boys.”
I look at the guys on the floor; some of them are passed out and others are dead. I smile before answering her. “I am having a blast.”
Tyler laughs and begins dragging the bodies out of the house. The ones that are alive will get a special visit from me, and I will get info on other cartel members. I will be picking these fuckers off until there are none left.
Torch walks into the hallway where I am standing, and he has one of the cartel guys over his shoulder. He bends down and the guy hits the ground, a bullet planted between his eyes. He smiles at me. “Missed one.”
In the past few months we have come to an understanding that Paisley is the most important thing in our lives. He tolerates me, and I still don’t give a fuck what he thinks.
“I need to get this shit cleaned up, I got to see my woman.” I look at Torch pointedly. He glares at me and points his gun at me, and I grin.
I take out my gun and point it right the fuck back. He grunts and walks away.
That’s fucking right.
Paisley
If it’s possible, I fell more in love with Liam every single day while I was recuperating. My getting hurt has brought us closer together.
He took care of me. I felt like a burden at first, but he shut me up really quick when I started to feel bad.
He did everything he could possibly have done for me. I’d never felt more loved or taken care of. What happened to me affected me emotionally. I used to be independent, and I had to have help with everything.
Bending down was the worst. It pulled at my burns, and that was painful—beyond painful, actually.
I also find it hilarious that my father and Liam have fought over me through the whole healing process, and they are still doing it, even now that I am better. Liam just smiles at Dad like he is the most hilarious person in the world, and that bugs my dad more than anything.
We are having dinner at his house tomorrow night, and that is going to be an entertaining night. That might be an understatement.
Tyler and Vanessa are now a full-blown couple, and they have to be the most gorgeous couple I have ever seen. I have never seen her happier than she has been with him. He has brought out the best in her.
Next week there will be a party, but it’s more than that. It’s usually a two-year process for prospects to get into the club, but Tyler, Shane, and Brett have proven themselves, over and over, to be reliable members.
They are getting patched in, and it’s a total surprise; I can’t wait to see their faces. But it’s also Liam’s surprise birthday party. He thinks it’s just a surprise patch-in.
Boy, is he clueless. I have been planning this, and I have bought him the one thing he has wanted for years.
He has been searching for this bike for years, and there were not any for sale until I got Techy on the job. He found someone who was selling one in the next state. They are bringing it, a
nd Kyle is keeping it at his house until the day of the party. He is going to bring it over and hide it until it’s time to give it to Liam.
The front door opens and Liam comes into the living room and takes off his shoes. Biting my lip, I slip off all of my clothes. I cover my mouth to stop my giggle and walk straight to our bedroom. I can hear him chasing me, and laughter is bubbling up in my stomach, which is filled with excitement.
An arm bands around my waist, and I am lifted off the ground and thrown onto the bed. Liam is stripping off his clothes.
I look up and down his beautiful body. It should be a crime for someone to look like this. He is just perfect, and he is perfect on the inside too. He has the best heart; well, maybe only when it comes to me.
He has a slight temper.
“Hey, Baby,” I say. I lean up and push my hair out from under my back. His eyes lock onto my naked body. “How was your day?”
“Way fucking better now,” he growls, falling to his knees. His hands wrap around my calves, pulling me down the bed. I throw my legs over his shoulders, and his head is between my legs.
“Goodness!” I hiss, my hands twisting in his hair. He growls, his hands tightening and pulling me harder against his mouth. His mouth is licking, sucking, and nipping in all of the right places, places that drive me wild.
“Fuck me, Liam,” I beg.
I’ve been wanting him like crazy all day long. I crave him like he is my next breath. His hands go to my hips, and he turns me so my back is facing him. He lifts my hips and I lean on my elbows.
Lips press against my burn scars. I grit my teeth, my eyes clenched closed, trying not to cry even though he has done this many times. The first time he saw my scars, I was self-conscious. He made it his mission to ensure that I wasn’t self-conscious and that I knew he loved all of me, scars and all.
