“Why do you think that?” Reyes asks her before pressing a kiss to her lips.
“I’m just saying that she’s been looking awfully happy these past several days. And she’s been very determined to have her way with him,” she shrugs as if she didn’t just drop a bomb on us all.
Something in me shifts. I turn to Claire, who’s trying to slink away, but she’s being held firmly in place by Savanna.
“What the fuck did you do?” I snarl at the bitch. My hand wraps around Claire’s throat, and I squeeze just enough to show her I mean business. Not that I would actually choke her.
“I…I…I’m sorry,” she stammers.
Something in me breaks a little. Is Lola dead? Did this bitch kill her?
“Where is she?” My shoulders threaten to buckle under the weight.
“Some man approached me and was looking for her. He said that he would give me ten thousand if I hand her over,” she starts to cry as my hands involuntarily tightened a little more.
“Who is he?” Savanna demands.
“I don’t know,” she sobs harder. Disgust fills me as I release her.
“We’ll deal with the bitch,” Reyes tells me. You know, I don’t even care what happens to her. All I care about is what’s happening to Lola.
“He’s obsessed with her,” the bitch points out in a hopeful voice. It’s as if it would change anything.
Anger and disgust fill me. She’s turned an innocent woman over to a man who’s fucking obsessed with her? Like she didn’t care what could be happening to her?
“Why?” I need to know why she did it.
“I want you, and she’s in the way,” Claire has the good graces to look ashamed of her actions. But it doesn’t change what she did.
“What did he look like?” Savanna snarls.
Her face is a mask of disgust. She can’t believe what this woman did either.
“Tall, dark hair and mean,” she pauses. “The guy was an asshole.”
Savanna stumbles back, her eyes wide and full of concern. She’s absolutely shocked.
“No, it can’t be. How did he find Lola?” Savanna trembles with both anger and worry.
“Who, Savanna?” I fight the urge to shake her.
“Craig. He came into the bar all the time. He’s always looking at Lola, and always wanting her attention. The man creeped her out,” she trembles some more as tears spill down her cheeks.
“Craig, who?” Who the fuck is he? Again, I want to shake her. We’re wasting fucking time here.
“Craig Dune,” she sobs.
“Find this motherfucker, now,” I snarl at Reyes.
His eyes darken, and I can see the anger at being told what to do. Instead of delaying, he gets up and does what I demanded.
“You better hope she’s still alive,” Reyes snarls at Claire as they disappear from sight.
“She isn’t dead. She can’t be,” I mutter as I sit down. I realize then that I can’t live without her.
Chapter 21
lola
My heart leaves my chest and slams into my stomach. Fear is something I’m already experiencing, but this is a whole new level of terror.
“Craig?” I ask as if he isn’t standing right in front of me. His eyes warm as they regard me. His hands are loose at his sides as if this is a typical day, and he didn’t just kidnap me.
“Lola,” he’s so calm, it’s terrifying.
“I don’t understand,” I want to know why he took me. Why is this happening, and what is he planning to do with me?
“You’re mine,” he shrugs. Shrugs like it’s nothing.
“You can’t claim someone against their will,” I explain to him.
What the hell is he thinking? I’m not a possession. I’m a person with feelings and a life.
“I don’t want to be here, Craig. I want to go home,” I tell him tearfully. I want to go back to Knox. I want to be in his bed with his arms around me. Just soaking in his warmth.
“You’re mine, Lola. You’re not going anywhere.”
My stomach turns bitterly, and my tears begin to fall faster.
“He’s going to come for me,” I inform Craig.
His laughter echoes around the room, piercing my heart, and it causes my body to tremble.
“Lola, I’m the only one who wants you,” he says it so firmly. He actually believes this shit.
“It’s time for dinner,” Craig exclaims
My stomach growls, and I wonder how long I’ve been here?
“What are you going to do with me, Craig.” I fear the answer, but I need to know. The worry swirls around me in a turbulent storm of uncertainty.
“I’m going to make you love me.” His shrug is filled with such male arrogance. I could never love this man. Never.
“Let’s start with dinner and a movie. I went and rented us a nice movie to watch, Lola, and you’re going to be a good girl. Now, come and eat, then we can watch it.”
It’s not safe to question him. Craig’s right, I need to do what he says. I possibly have more than my own life at stake here.
The night progresses in slow movements. Dinner’s okay, even though I barely taste it. I’m afraid that he might’ve put some sort of drug in it. So I’m taking tiny, barely-there bites, just enough to satisfy him.
When it came time for the movie, I was told to sit on a pillow, which was by his feet. This way, he could caress my hair. Every fingertip that touches me kills me a little inside.
Tomorrow, if I’m good, Craig will take me for a walk in the park. He said it will be a date. I think that it’s my only chance to escape.
Chapter 22
knox
“We’ve found her,” Reyes announces as he walks into the main room.
“Where the fuck is she?” I fought the urge to scream in the man's face. This was supposed to only be a political appearance at their clubhouse, not a fucking war.
“Chill your shit. I'll fucking show you,” he snaps as he lowers the computer on the table.
I don’t want to chill the fuck out. My life is out there enduring god knows what. She’s been gone for three days. Three torturous days.
“This house right here.” Reyes points out.
He points at the screen, and my lungs deflate. She’s in there waiting for me to come get her.
“Let’s go!” I leave no room for arguments. I don’t want to plan an attack. It’s just one fucking man.
I ran from the building, not giving a shit if they follow me. Lola needs me, and I’m not letting her down again.
Climbing onto my bike, I take the short ride to the house that Reyes showed me. I park a few houses away and point to the building.
“We surround the building, and take every entrance together,” I tell them.
As we make our way towards the house, the door opens and out walks the man. I look for Lola, and I find her following him with her head down. All her blonde hair splayed around her shoulders and down her back.
“Fuck,” I growl. I watch as Craig, the fucking prick, spots us. He tugs Lola closer and presses a gun to her head before I can move another step.
We’re maybe twenty feet from them. I watch as she looks at me. I can tell she thinks that I need to leave. That she’s not worth it, but she is worth more than she even realizes. And I’m going to prove it to her.
“Let her go, man,” I plead with the bastard holding my future.
“Lola is mine,” Craig yells.
My hands tighten into fists. “Lola is mine.”
He shakes his head and pushes the gun deeper into her head.
Chapter 23
lola
I didn’t think he would do it, but I felt the moment play out in slow motion. I swear it’s like the cliché shit in the movies. Knox running for me as my knees hit the ground. Then a groan of pain slips past my lips.
Something is burning me, my skin feels hot, like molten lava type of hot. The burning intensifies as the pain increases.
I did it, I saved hi
m. The pain I feel is worth each breath that he takes. I remember the heart-wrenching fear that filled me when Craig took the gun from my head. The pressure lessens as he removes it, but increases as he points it at Knox. The realization hit me. Craig’s going to kill the man I love; the one person in this world that’s mine.
I can’t let him do it. I won’t let him take Knox away from me. For once in my life, I’m willing to give instead of always taking. Honestly, I didn’t think Craig would shoot.
I watch as his finger pulls the trigger. Before my brain catches up with my actions, I step in front of the bullet as it discharges from the chamber. I imagine it swirling around in the short cylinder that it’s housed in before it meets my shoulder in a hard jarring, soul-sucking hit. I thought that would be enough, that Craig would stop there.
Unfortunately, he fires two more shots as he lowers the gun. They seem unintentional, almost like an afterthought as he jerks back. Then a dark spot appears on his forehead.
My body shakes as the bullets pierce my stomach and thigh. More blistering pain fills me, and I think this is it. My final sacrifice. I feel the loss of what could have been. The baby, which I hoped and prayed, was real, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure I was ready for. Wait, did I kill it too? Were we both going to die?
I want to scream out in pain and relief, but instead, a thin stream of blood spills from my parted lips. Knox struggles in Crow’s and Gage’s grip as Weston shouts and starts pressing several cloths against my bloody body.
Hold the fuck on,” Weston snaps at me like I have a choice. Like I can magically make it better.
“Fuck you,” I curse as more pain racks my body.
“Hurts? Good,” he grumbles as he presses something against my thigh.
“Bastard,” I growl as he rips his shirt over his head and lays it under me in a tight little ball.
“When it numbs, I mean when it goes away… fuck, let’s not get to that point. Where the fuck is the doc?” Weston screams over his shoulder.
My hand reaches slowly for Knox, who is still fighting to get to me. I can see them struggling to hold him back. He’s begging me to stay and not leave him. I don’t want to go, but I can feel the cold, and it’s coming for me.
“Don’t let him sink,” I whisper as the pain drifts. So, I guess this is where all my paths lead.
“Don’t you fucking dare, Lola,” Weston snarls.
“I can’t… I need Knox,” I mumble.
Weston’s cold eyes regard me before turning to look over his shoulder. I’m not sure what he said or what he did. The sound is dulling, and I’m having a hard time telling what’s the reality and what’s the darkness coming for me. Knox finally reaches me, and I think to myself that it’s just in time.
“Oh, god, baby,” Knox’s hands cup my cold cheeks.
I can see the tears in his eyes. I want to kiss him and promise him a beautiful future.
“I love you,” I tell him. Those three simple words are the last thing I hear over the slowing thumps in my chest. They are what I so desperately need to hear.
“I love you, baby. Stay with me.” Knox pleads.
Reaching up, I touch his lips briefly before my hand falls uselessly back to my side, thumping harshly on the ground. I don’t feel the sharp pain that should’ve come with it.
For once in my life, I don’t want to leave and start over. I want to stay in this world of color that he showed me. The vibrant life he helped create.
Taking one last conscious breath, my eyes close, and the darkness takes me. It swallows my sorrow and just takes all the rest.
Epilogue 1
KNOX
I pace the waiting room with Lola’s blood still coated on my hands. The room’s silent as my brothers and their old ladies wait to hear an update from the doctor.
I’m like a robot just putting one foot in front of the other. I keep a brisk heart-racing pace. The last image of her on the fucking stretcher continues to run in my head. The doctors were heading past the heavy double doors to who knows where and she’s enduring who knows what.
They’re optimistic as they bustle into the private area of the ER, and that was hours ago.
I close my eyes and press my hands to the back of my head. Images of her just laying there as my brothers hold me back continue on a loop.
I thought nothing in this life could shake or crush me, but watching her slip farther away totally does. The images of Lola as she bleeds all over the pavement will always stay with me.
“She’s tough,” Ronnie tells me as she grips Gage’s hand as if he is her lifeline.
I don’t want to hear how strong she is and that everything will be alright. Fuck the broken promises and the quiet whispers of ‘what if.’
I turn and continue to walk back and forth as if the scenery would change with each passing sweep. Somewhere beyond the now opening doors is my heart.
My eyes are glued to the figure that’s moving in my direction. Then I hear it. “Mr. Knox?”
The lump in my throat makes it impossible to respond. The doctor isn’t smiling, if anything, she seems tense. My fucking heart is failing me.
“Yes, it’s him,” Savanna says as she slips up next to me.
“Mr. Knox, it was touch and go, but she fought really hard. Recovery is going to take a long time. I’m happy to inform you that the baby has not been hurt,” The doctor begins talking, but my mind blanks out as soon as I hear the word baby.
Epilogue 2
four years later
The sound of little feet pitter-pattering on the floor makes me smile. I’m hiding in the closet as little Josie, my daughter, comes searching for me.
“Mama, mama, mama,” she screeches and giggles.
I will never be tired of hearing those words. How I survived that day is still a mystery to me. Learning I was pregnant with Josie wasn’t a complete shock, well to me anyway.
My big bad biker fainted. He fell down like a fallen redwood tree. When I heard that Knox hit the floor, I was terrified, but it was also hilarious. I still won’t let him live it down.
The closet door is cracked open, and when Josie comes into view, I pounce.
“Rawr, I got you,” I blow little raspberries on her tummy as she kicks and squeals.
The current problem is trying to get down on the floor. It’s also equally, if not more difficult, for me to get back up. I’m pregnant with my second child, and little Matthew is due in just three months.
“Come here, baby,” Knox tells our little girl as he holds out his arms.
“A little help here, please,” I beg as I try and fail to climb to my feet. With nothing to hold onto, I’m not getting anywhere anytime soon.
“Come on, waddles.” he laughs as I glare at him. He’s taken to calling me that since I started waddling slightly when I walk.
“I’ll remember that later when you're looking for a little something.” I laugh at the shocked look on his face.
“You can’t turn me down, baby, and you know it.” He smirks.
He’s right, but I just shake my head. I’m definitely not telling him that.
After I passed out that day, Knox killed Craig. The man won’t be back to haunt me, not even in my dreams. During the first year, I would dream he was coming after us, but Knox would hold me close and promise me that he was dead. Without Knox, I would be lost.
“I love you,” I tell him while standing up on my tippy toes to press a kiss on his cheek.
“I love you too, baby.”
I laugh when Josie gives him a good pat on the cheek and leans in for a kiss.
“Kiss,” she tells him while pointing to her cheek.
I’m happy to say that our life is a fairytale in all its crazy glory.
The End.
Needing Reyes
Prologue:
Four Months Ago
I’ve spent my life wanting and hating my best friend’s brother, Reyes. The man just got under my skin in more ways than one.
It was like a
n itch just under the surface, making me feel like a swarm of bees buzzing under my skin. No matter how hard I scratched, the feeling only got worse.
The closer I wanted to get to Reyes, the more he pissed me off. Didn’t he see me? All of those long-legged bimbos were in my way.
I watched as another one of those long-legged bimbos walked down the driveway. She dangled her shoes on her two fingers. Like lifeless little teddy bears.
Her sleepover was cut short, and I’m sure she was disappointed. They always were. Never has anyone stayed past the initial fuck.
The sight of it ripped into my heart, and I hated how it hurt. I hated her, but most of all, I hated him. I hated Reyes for not seeing me, and for not wanting me the way I so desperately wanted him.
Why did I have to feel this way? My heart was ripping to shreds and getting worse each day.
“Alanna, your nails are wet,” Bianca shouted as I ran my fingers through my long blond hair.
I grimaced as the paint smudged and clumped, then cursed at my stupidity. My feelings for Reyes were making me careless.
“Shit!” I shouted.
Bianca laughed as she tried unsuccessfully to blow on her wet nails.
“What were you looking at so forlornly?” she asks.
How do I reply? Oh, I was looking at the bitch your brother fucked? How about, I turned eighteen a couple weeks ago, and he still hasn’t looked my way? Better yet, I am in love with your brother.
“You need a date,” Bianca continued when I stayed silent.
I didn’t want any other boys and that right there was part of the problem. They were just boys where Reyes was all man. Every tattooed sexy inch of him.
Reyes was twenty-five and the president of the local Grimm Brothers MC. He was also my best friend’s brother. He was sex on a stick, my own personal catnip, and my drug of choice.
“Like Reyes would ever let you date,” I tell her with a smile.
And he wouldn’t. Not now and probably not ever. There was one man in particular that she wanted. I knew, just like me, that she would never have him.
Crushing Knox (Bloody Saints MC Book 4) Page 5
