Struck in the Crossfire (BERZERKERS MC Book 1)

by Linny Lawless

  Squatch stuck the tip of his switchblade into the old wooden table. Chuckling, he reached down underneath the table and grabbed his crotch with both hands. “Those bitches got some Berzerker dick last night, and wanna come back for more.”

  I shook my head as they all chuckled. “There’s plenty of time to get your dicks wet. But right now, I want Syko found, and we flush out the rest of those Sinister motherfuckers. I’m gonna talk to Cullen, see if he can get us some more intel.”

  I banged the old wooden gavel three times and tossed it on the table. “What I need right now is a good buzz off some weed and a few shots in my gut. Let’s go get shit-faced.”

  We rode staggered back to Durango’s where I smoked a joint with Tug as he kept Angel and Ginger at work.

  I stood with him behind the bar, passing the joint back to him. He drew in a deep hit, holding it, and then exhaled the smoke of the sweet-smelling plant. “This is some good shit. Is it some of Grunt’s homegrown?”

  “Yeah. He never came back from Nam the same man when he went in, but he does know how to grow some good weed.”

  “Right on, brother.” Tug passed it back to me. “You got nothing to worry about here when you go up to see your ol’ lady tomorrow, Prez. We got it all under control.”

  I slapped Tug on the shoulder and played a few games of pool, drank way too many shots of whiskey, then rode my shovelhead with one eye open to the trailer. I stumbled up the rusty old steps and barreled into the front door.

  I didn’t realize it until then how small the trailer was and how empty it felt without Izzy and Marie. I staggered down the hall, bumping my shoulder against the wood-paneled wall before I collapsed onto the bed. I laid my forearm over my eyes and smiled, as images of Izzy came into my mind. Her smile, her lips parted, and her back arched as she rode my dick.

  I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I had done what my brother Kage did. I let a woman into my dead heart. Izzy was fearless when it came to protecting Marie, which made her do the most reckless and stupid things like stealing from my club. I guess that’s why I had a hard-on for her for ever since.

  Taking her and Marie to the cabin was like a river dam that couldn’t contain the flood of emotions I just didn’t want to feel. Rage, bitterness, pain, and yes, even fear—fear of losing her like I lost Kage and Sadie. But telling Izzy what had happened to Kage and Sadie, plus the betrayal of a Berzerker brother, was like a massive boulder being lifted off my shoulders.

  Grim’s betrayal left an unseen wound in my gut and a nasty taste in my mouth when I was wasting away in prison. When Cullen got me out, I never fully trusted anyone, not even my club brothers. The only one I ever really trusted was Rubik.

  But all he wanted right now was to numb himself from all the pain of losing Sadie. He led the Berzerkers and kept the club together while I rotted away in prison. And now, he needed to distance himself from the memories of his sister, and the Richmond Chapter seemed to be the right place for him now.

  16

  Izzy

  It was early dawn when I hurried down the front steps of the cabin and almost fell flat on my face as Stryker pulled up and kicked the stand down on his bike. He climbed off and grunted when I jumped into his arms, wrapping my thighs around his waist. Our mouths and tongues collided and his warm hands grabbed my ass, carrying me up the front steps.

  “Hi, Stryker,” Marie said as she walked by us. “I’ll go take a walk and do some sketching.”

  I tore my lips away from Stryker. “Please don’t go too far, Marie. Stay close to the cabin, okay?”

  She reached the bottom step, her sketch pad and pencils under her arm, and smiled. “Okay, Sis.”

  Stryker carried me into the cabin and put me back down on my feet as he shrugged off his rags. He hung them on the back of a kitchen chair and stalked toward me as I giggled and began to strip off my clothes. I squealed when he growled and chased me into the bedroom.

  We were clumsy and rough as we landed on the bed together. He was already hard and didn’t wait one second as I spread my thighs for him. With one hard thrust, he drove himself deep inside. I cried out with both pain and heated pleasure that enveloped my sensitive body.

  I clung to him, my nails digging into his broad back. His hips moved, roughly driving into me.

  “I want my cock buried deep inside you every fucking day, Izzy!” he groaned, his warm breath against my ear.

  He slowed his tempo, reaching down between us and rubbed my most sensitive spot gently, and we exploded together with intense orgasms. I listened to his heart pound as he covered me with his sweaty warm body. He rolled over, pulling me up next to him and I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  I opened my eyes to see wrinkled sheets, but not Stryker. I sat up realizing it was still daylight, and I climbed out of bed. Pulling on a T-shirt and jeans, I rushed out of the room to the front porch of the cabin.

  I exhaled a sigh of relief to see Stryker’s bike still parked where he left it when he carried me inside earlier that morning. Marie sat on the edge of the porch, sketching in her pad.

  “Do you know where Stryker went, Sis?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” She nodded her head toward the trees beside the cabin. “He lit a cigarette and walked that way through those trees there.”

  I remembered then that Stryker’s brother Kage and his ol’ lady, Sadie, were buried nearby.

  My throat hurt as I knelt down and sat next to Marie. “Stryker had a brother once.”

  “He did?”

  “His name was Kage. He had a woman too. Her name was Sadie.”

  “What happened to them?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the tears that started to fall. “They were killed, Sis. Stryker and his club brother, Rubik buried them together, here on the property. I think that’s where Stryker went. To see them.”

  Marie dropped her pencil and wrapped her arms around me. “That’s so sad…” She pulled away. “Let’s go pick some of those pretty purple flowers from behind the cabin and bring them to Stryker.”

  I wiped tears away with my forearm and sniffled. “Yes. I think Stryker will like that.”

  Marie picked the flowers, and we walked through the trees to a clearing where we found Stryker. He stood with his back turned from us, wearing only jeans and his boots with his hands shoved into his pockets. I stepped up and wrapped my hand around his forearm. “It was Marie’s idea to bring flowers for Kage and Sadie.”

  Marie walked over and placed flowers on the two grass-covered mounds.

  Stryker looked at me, his eyes sad. “That’s a nice thing to do. Thanks. This is the first time I’ve been down here since I buried them.”

  I pressed my cheek against his hard bicep. “We should get headstones made for them.”

  “Yeah.” He turned, wrapping his arms around me. “Will you do that? For them? For me?”

  I couldn’t stop my bottom lip from quivering and choked back tears. “Yes, of course. Anything for my ole man.”

  He leaned in to kiss me but stopped. His head turned to the loud sound of “blap-blap-blap” in the distance. Then he smiled. “There’s only one bike that has pipes like that.” He stepped back and offered his hand. “I want you to meet Rubik.”

  Marie followed us back through the trees to the cabin as the man called Rubik appeared, riding his bike up the secluded dirt road. He parked it next to Stryker’s bike, kicked his stand down, and climbed off.

  He was a giant, even taller than Stryker and just as broad. He looked like one of those burly barbarians from a Conan movie with huge arms and shoulders covered in tattoos. He wore his hair in a mohawk, similar to Bandit, and grew a long beard like Stryker. He looked menacing, but then he grinned, and his eyes appeared kind as he sauntered up to Stryker, grabbing him in a bear hug. They embraced for a long moment as Marie and I just gawked.

  Marie whispered, “Who is that, Sis?”

  “That’s Rubik. Stryker’s club brother.”

  “He’s a giant!
”

  I smiled. “Yeah, he’s a big man.” I looked at her and worried that she may be frightened like she was when she first saw Stryker. I took her hand. “You’re not afraid of him, are you, Sis?”

  “Uh. No. He’s big, but he smiles too.”

  Marie’s jaw hung open when Stryker introduced us to Rubik. He didn’t shake our hands like most normal people did, but the Berzerkers MC weren’t normal people. They were dangerous, and they were outlaws.

  Rubik just nodded his head toward us and slapped Stryker on the shoulder. “Looks like you’ve been keeping your women busy! Or is it the other way around, brother?”

  Rubik’s eyes were drawn to Marie’s pregnant belly, and Stryker chuckled. “No man, I’m just banging the older sister.”

  I rolled my eyes and turned. “Come on, Marie. Let’s go cook the barbarian brothers some breakfast.”

  17

  Stryker

  After Izzy and Marie busied themselves cooking up some breakfast for Rubik and me, I shrugged my rags on, and we climbed on our bikes and twisted throttles for a long ride. We headed down secluded back roads away from the cabin and stopped in at a dive bar that used to be an old honky-tonk back in the 1950s.

  We sat at a booth while a female bartender in a 1960’s style beehive hairdo brought us a couple of shots of whiskey and beer. Rubik slouched in the booth, downing his shot and slammed the glass back on the wooden table. “Needed that ride and this shot.”

  I smirked. “It’s good you’re here, brother.”

  “Yeah. Well, I’m still wearing the Nomad patch. I’m not ready to be full-on VP again.” I wondered if Rubik would ever come back. He was still dealing with Kage and Sadie’s death in his own way.

  “Went down to see them today. First time since that night we buried them together.”

  Rubik squeezed his eyes shut, and slammed his fists against his temples. “I can’t get it out of my head, man. Sadie. The blood. She was going to have a fuckin’ baby, man.”

  “And nothing we do will ever bring them back. No matter how many men we kill for vengeance.”

  “That’s why I’m here now, Stryker. I got your vibe last time we talked on the phone. You got feelings for this chick Izzy. And I’m guessing it’s happening all over again. But this time, it’s not Kage and Sadie. It’s you and your ol’ lady.”

  I gulped down my whiskey shot and slammed the glass on the table so hard it shattered. “Fuck!”

  Rubik shook his head. “Yeah. You’re fucked all right.”

  A piece of shattered shot glass sliced into my palm, and a few drops of blood dripped on the table. I pounded my fist smashing the glass.

  Some asshole wearing a greasy baseball cap at the bar turned around to look. I clenched my jaw, bearing my teeth and snarled. “Turn around.”

  I licked the blood off my palm. “They’ll be safe up here at the cabin until we flush out Syko and wipe out the rest of Sinister Creed.”

  “The pregnant sister—Marie. Where’s her ole man?”

  “She was gang raped.”

  Rubik groaned and rubbed his hands down his face. “That’s sick, man.”

  “Syko and that bullshit club were the ones who raped Marie. He’s hiding out somewhere. Maybe even left the state. I want him and the others who did it so I can kill them myself, for Marie.”

  “We’ll go berserk on those motherfuckers,” Rubik growled.

  Just then, Miss Beehive Hairdo, rushed over to wipe the broken glass and blood from the table and brought us another round of shots. And she kept the rounds coming until we staggered out of the bar, twisted throttles and rode hardcore back to the cabin.

  The sun had just set beyond the trees, and Izzy and Mary stood on the front porch as we kicked our stands down and climbed off the bikes.

  Rubik unfastened an overstuffed duffel bag off the fender of his bike and followed me up the steps. I snatched Izzy up around the waist and shoved my tongue in her mouth. She moaned and leaned away. “You’re drunk as a skunk!”

  I chuckled. “Sure am, darlin’. Rubik’s sleeping on the couch tonight, and then we’re heading back to Durango’s in the morning.”

  I staggered into the cabin and to the bedroom and landed on the bed. Izzy huffed and leaned down to pull off my boots. I grunted when she climbed into bed and straddled her soft thighs over me.

  “Can’t you stay one more day?” she whined.

  Her softness made me hard. “Gotta get things done with Rubik tomorrow. I’ll be back in a few days.” I pulled her down to me and inhaled, smelling the scented shampoo she used in her long, dark hair. “I should be balls deep inside you right now, but just feeling you next to me is what I need.”

  Her body trembled, and I felt her wet tears on my shoulder as she cried and I dozed off to sleep.

  I woke up to the sound of Marie’s laughter. Pain pounded in my temples, and my mouth was as dry as a fuckin’ desert. Izzy appeared in the doorway and climbed into bed holding a cup of coffee. “Wake up, grumpy. I made you some coffee.”

  I grumbled, sitting up and took the cup. “What’s Marie chirping about out there?”

  Izzy smiled. “Rubik is showing her how fast he can put one of those colored cubes back together. It’s kinda weird, but I’m impressed! No wonder you all call him Rubik.”

  “Yeah. That club name suits him.”

  We walked out to the kitchen and found several colored cubes on the kitchen table. Rubik sat on the couch beside Marie, maniacally focused on twisting and turning a cube in his hands. Marie stared at his hands as he quickly put the cube back to its original pattern, and within seconds, he was done.

  When he held it out to her, she clapped her hands, her eyes gleaming. “You are so smart, Rubik!”

  He chuckled. “Nah. I’m not smart. Just obsessed.”

  Izzy whispered in my ear. “She’s not afraid of him. She likes him.”

  18

  Izzy

  Rubik kick-started his bike, and it roared to life as Stryker crushed me to his chest, giving me a long, sensual kiss. His eyes gleamed with sexual craving. “I can’t stand to be away from you.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat, already feeling alone before he even left. “Call me when you can, Stryker?”

  “You can count on it.” He looked over at Marie as she stood on the front porch. “Try and get Marie to open up to you about what happened to her. Ask if she remembers names or what the men looked like.” He took my hand and reached inside the pocket of his rags and pulled out a revolver, placing it in my hand. “Have you ever fired a gun, darlin’?”

  I looked at the gun with its short barrel. “Yeah, a few times.”

  “It’s a .38 Special, and it’s loaded. It’s got a good kick to it, so just aim the gun at what you want to kill and squeeze the trigger.”

  I looked back up into his eyes. “I can do that.”

  “I know you can, Izzy. When I come back in a few days, we’ll do some target practice.”

  I held the gun as Stryker climbed on his bike and my heart sank as I stood beside Marie, watching them both ride down the dirt road.

  I turned to Marie when she gasped. She placed my other hand on her round belly and smiled. “My baby kicked.”

  Then I felt the ripple and twitch of her skin underneath my touch. “Yes! I felt it!”

  To see her glow when she smiled was a good sign. My chest flushed with giddy warmth because I knew in my heart that Stryker would keep us both safe. “Do you like it here, Marie?”

  She looked out toward the trees. “Yes. It’s a good place for my baby. For you and Stryker too.”

  Two nights later, I woke to the sound of Marie’s gut-wrenching scream. I pulled the gun out from the drawer in the nightstand next to the bed and rushed to her room. I turned on the lamp next to the bed. She was sitting, her hands twisted in her dark hair as she stared off into nothing.

  I climbed into bed and wrapped my arms around her. “Shh. It’s okay, Marie. You had a nightmare.”

  She c
lung to me and buried her face into my shoulder. “No, it really happened! And it’s happening again!”

  “What’s happening?”

  “Those men who hurt me! They came for me again, but this time, it’s when I’m asleep.”

  I choked back tears, holding her tight. I felt so much guilt. I should have been the one those monsters raped. Not Marie. Her innocence was taken from her. And I wanted them to pay for what they did to her.

  I took a chance, hoping she would open up to me about that night. “Can you talk to me about it, Marie? Tell me what happened? Sometimes, it helps to talk about it. Let it out. I’m right here with you.”

  She pulled away and stared at the wall. “I was bored that night sitting in the room. I went out back and wanted to pet those kitty cats that live in the woods behind Durango’s. There were four of them. They smelled bad. The one they called Syko grabbed and pushed me into this big car. I tried to hit and scratch at him, but he was big and strong.”

  Marie began to sob again, but I whispered, as I ran my hand to smooth her dark hair. “You’re safe here with me, Marie. Go on, tell me.”

  “They parked the car. I don’t know where I was, but Syko pushed me into a room with a mattress on the floor. He hit my face really hard and told me to shut up. The others held me down and tore my clothes off.

  “It was the other man; he was their boss. He was bigger than Syko. He told me I belonged to his men, and that I had to do what they told me. He was first to climb on me. It hurt so bad. I screamed, but one of them put their dirty hands over my face, and I couldn’t breathe! I thought they were going to kill me!”

  “Go on,” I whispered.

  “They laughed, and then Syko climbed on top of me next. He slapped my face as he pushed his thing inside me, hurting me over and over again. I was bleeding, and blood was on their hands, on their faces. He smeared my own blood all over me. Then the next one climbed on me. He didn’t have any front teeth, and his breath smelled rotten.”