Ash’s smile fell, but he didn’t take the bait.
Not yet.
Emily could see the sun setting behind the small windows above Ash’s head and knew that while their time together would be limited, at least until Ox sent the night guards, she had to get Ash’s attention to remain on her.
“Or maybe it did change? Maybe you do want yourself a strong, steady man to warm your bed? Huh, Ash? Maybe you want him to perform those sexual favors you were always begging me for?,” Emily taunted with a smirk.
Ash pushed away from the wall and gripped her by the roots of her hair before he whipped his pistol across her other cheek.
Emily felt that one all the way to her bones, practically saw stars, but she didn’t cry out like she had the first time. Instead, she looked him in the eye and whispered, “Is that the best you’ve got?”
Ash swore under his breath and shoved his gun into the waistband of his jeans. He then yanked her head back and pulled a familiar knife out of his right boot.
Her eyes widened as memoires threatened to assault her, but she refused to show him how scared she really was. Her face was pounding in tune with her heartrate, Rider was screaming at Ash to stop, but he only had eyes for Emily.
“You remember this knife, Em? You remember how many times I used it on you? You writhed beneath me, but I couldn’t stop myself. I loved the shine of your blood on the end of his blade. What do ya say I let you two get reacquainted for old time’s sake?”
Emily shook her head, but Ash already had the sharpened blade pressed against her collar bone, and he was digging into her soft skin with all his might.
Emily couldn’t hold it in that time: She screamed.
Emily fought against the blade, but that only made the pain worse. Warmth pooled in her collar and dripped down her shoulder, across her breasts, as he sliced her from left to right.
“That’s right, you always did cry so pretty for me...”
This isn’t how this was supposed to go!
Rider’s voice faded in and out as she fought against the cuffs, her wrists aching from the exertion.
Ash took a step back to admire his handiwork and glanced at Rider.
“You love this bitch, don’t you?”
Rider spit his own blood at Ash’s shoes and huffed, “Fuck you.”
Ash watched him thoughtfully before he pulled his gun out and said, “I think your original idea held merit, kid.”
Emily’s eyes widened as she jerked against the cuffs again, ignoring the metallic clanging that echoed throughout the entire room.
“No! Rider, look at me, no! Don’t egg him on-”
Rider’s hazel eyes were rimmed with red, and Emily hated that this was all her fault.
“Promise me you’ll take care of yourself,” He choked out.
She was shaking her head before he even got the words all the way out of his mouth.
Emily swore and squeezed his hand roughly, her skin finally giving away and her blood coating both of their palms.
“No. I won’t let this happen! Ash, you have what you want! I’m here, I’m right fucking here! Let him go, and I won’t fight you,” Emily pleaded.
Ash’s crew moved around them, and Jonah finally spoke up. Emily hadn’t ever thought she’d hear his voice again, and his words shocked her.
“She’s right, Ash. We can leave him behind and just take her, Lurch will be here soon.”
Ash didn’t look at Jonah, he didn’t even flinch. He made no sound, no movements, he just stared into Emily’s eyes.
“Please. I promise I won’t fight you. You can have me, do whatever you want. I’ll go willingly!I won’t fight you,” She promised.
Emily couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Rider or Green behind, but maybe this was her karma. Maybe this was her payback for loving two men at one time.
Maybe Ash was exactly what she deserved…
“That would be so easy, wouldn’t it? To walk outta here with you on my arm, willingly? It’s exactly what I’d wanted before you sent me to prison! No, that won’t do this time, Emily. This time, you’re gonna learn your fuckin’ place.”
Ash paused as he took a step closer to her and slowly shook his head.
Emily saw his intentions in his eyes, turned to look at Rider, to tell him she was sorry and that she did love him.
“I love you, okay? You’ve been so good to me and I wouldn’t have made it without you! I’m sorry, Miles! I’m so sorry,” She cried brokenly.
Rider shook his head, smiling at her tenderly, love shining in his eyes.
“I forgive you, Emily.
Bang!
Emily screamed as Ash’s gun went off and Rider’s head fell back against his chair, his entire body jerking from the force of the shot that took his life.
Emily fought against her cuffs, screamed Rider’s name at the top of her lungs, but the hole in his head told her he would never, never hear her.
“Rider, Rider!,” She screamed.
Her screaming echoed around the room like a terrible reminder of what just happened.
Her chest was heaving from the air she couldn’t get in her lungs, and her whole body was shaking with fear and hatred and self-loathing. Emily was gripping Rider’s hand, but it was limp, even though it was still warm, and this time it wasn’t just her blood twisting around their fingers.
There was blood splattered across the side of her face, but Emily didn’t give a fuck.
“Now you know how it feels to lose everything, you spiteful bitch! And, don’t you worry your pretty little head. I’m still gonna take you and do whatever I want to you. You deserve this, Emily. You deserve worse.”
Jonah was watching her closely, but Emily didn’t care.
She looked over at Rider and her whole face crumpled as tears, hot and heavy, filled her eyes.
A scream clogged her throat as she rocked back and forth in her metal folding chair, her hands still cuffed at her sides, her heart in pieces all over the floor
This is it, Em.
Torch was right.
This? This is rock bottom.
Emily gripped Rider’s hand even tighter, the word sorry falling from her lips like a soft-spoken prayer.
He couldn’t hear her.
Rider was dead, and it was his brains sticking to the side of her head like strawberry flavored jelly.
Her sobbing turned into a silent cry for a moment before she screamed through her effort to just breathe.
Sobs racked her whole body, paralyzing her, filling all the empty spaces still left inside of her. She couldn’t breathe, was close to hyperventilating, but was that important?
Did it really matter if she kept breathing?
Did it matter at all?
Ash is right, you callous bitch.
You do deserve this.
Miles loved your twisted soul with his whole heart, and you just fucking killed him.
Chapter 11
Green, Limit, Fury, and Ox pulled onto the Sexy Sinner’s lot as quickly as possible. After Loretta had returned to the club ranting and raving about someone ushering them all out of the club under the guise of ‘club business,’ Green realized there was something wrong.
Especially since Loretta said they waved their guns around to get the point across.
Not to mention the fact that Rider and Emily hadn’t returned to the clubhouse, and it’d been hours since Torch had dropped her off.
He had a pit in his stomach telling him something was wrong, very, very wrong.
“No bikes. Nothing, this place looks abandoned. I don’t get it,” Ox said as he drew his gun.
Limit pressed a hand against Ox’s chest as he pulled his own gun out, his ears practically perking up like a dog on the hunt.
“I hear screaming, boss.”
Green pulled his gun instantly, walking straight for the door.
“Wait, you idiot! Let me take a walk around, see what I can find,” Limit demanded.
Green was ready to tell him to suck a
dick, but instead he nodded his head grimly.
“Fine.”
Ox and Fury went one way while Green and Limit went another. As Limit and Green were walking around the left side of the building, they saw a delivery truck, completely white with no labels, parked around the back of the building. The driver was just turning off the engine and pulling his phone out of his pocket when Limit slammed the barrel of his gun against the glass of the driver’s side window.
“Get the fuck out of the truck, now.”
The driver was obviously a nomad biker and Green recognized the colors on his cut.
“He’s from Ash’s crew,” Green hissed.
Limit slammed the driver into the side of the truck and tucked his gun underneath his chin.
“Tell me what the fuck you’re doin’ here and don’t bother lyin’ to me.”
The man, who’s cut read Lurch, shook his head back and forth.
“I’m just the driver, man! I’m here to pick up Ash and his girl!”
Green reached for Lurch, his hand closing around his throat instantly.
“Who? Emily?,” He yelled.
Lurch nodded his head rapidly.
“Yeah, the blonde bitch!”
“Who’s down there right now?”
Ox asked this as he and Fury rounded the side of the building, his amber eyes filled with white-hot-anger.
“The whole crew, that’s all I know, I swear!”
Limit cocked his gun as he asked, “How did you get everyone to evacuate?”
Lurch swallowed audibly before he said, “Ash told everyone they were here meeting you guys so they could join your club. Told ‘em they had club business here and that your oders were to go home,” Lurch said shakily.
“With a gun?,” Green asked.
“When they looked skeptical, Ash started pulling out his weapon! That got everyone moving,” Lurch explained.
Limit looked at Ox and Ox shook his head.
“We’re down a guy. Is he in there too?”
Lurch shrugged, and Green figured he was two seconds away from pissing himself right there against the truck.
“I honestly don’t know, like I said, I’m just the driver!”
“Were,” Ox said angrily.
“Wh-what?,” Lurch asked.
“You were just the driver. Fury, keep this guy company while we head inside.”
Fury nodded and smiled darkly at Lurch, his brown eyes murderous.
Green didn’t hesitate to lead everyone else inside, choosing to use the back door instead of the front, just in case they had someone watching the front.
Except, when they walked over the threshold, the sound of Emily screaming was so loud and so poignant, that Green didn’t hesitate to stomp down the stairs. Limit was right beside him, his large frame taking up most of the space, but as soon as they stepped into the basement, Green’s eyes widened with shock.
Ash had his gun pressed to Emily’s head and he was whispering something that had her shaking and crying. The rest of Ash’s crew noticed them instantly, but Ash was too busy with Emily to see them standing there, weapons aimed.
But, that wasn’t all- Green’s gaze landed on another form slumped in his chair, and he instantly realized it was Rider…and that he was dead.
“Boss!,” He cried, pointing to Rider’s body.
Ox’s eyes blazed angrily as he pointed his gun towards the rest of the men in the room.
“Execute them, all of them, and then we’ll kill the one outside.”
The second his words left his mouth, gunshots rang out in quick succession, and every nomad in the room fell to the ground, bullets in their heads.
Green lunged for Emily, kicking Ash aside as he gripped her chin in his hands and forced her to look at him.
“Em, can you hear me? Look at me!,” Green demanded.
“He’s dead, he’s dead, he’s dead.”
She kept repeating it, over and over, while Green searched Ash’s pockets for the keys to the handcuffs keeping her chained to her chair. As he unlocked them, he noticed that her wrists were bloody and raw, and he winced at the sight of her torn skin. She fell into his arms, but Green was willing to bet that she didn’t even realize she was holding onto him. Because, as he tried to pull her away from Rider, she screamed and refused to let go of his hand.
He glanced at Ox who was watching her sadly, his entire face etched in agony.
They’d just lost a brother, and they’d almost lost Emily, too.
“I can’t leave him,” She sobbed as she gripped Rider’s hand even tighter.
Limit watched her with sad eyes, obviously not knowing what to say or do.
Ox pulled out his phone and put it to his ear. A second later Green heard, “Kill him.”
Even Green could hear the pain in Ox’s voice as he stared down at the gruesome sight they were all still trying to understand.
Bodies blanketed the cement floor, blood covered the walls and the ceiling, but all that mattered was the blood splattered all over Emily and Rider.
All that mattered was their dead family member still chained to the chair Emily was leaning against.
“What the fuck do we do?,” Limit asked.
Ox ran a hand over his face, his eyes rimmed with red.
Green watched as Emily jerkily used the keys he’d used on her moments earlier to unlock the cuffs wrapped around Rider’s wrists, her touch gentle and shaky. As soon as they fell to the floor, she lifted his palms to her face and kissed the insides of them.
It was as if no one else in the room existed to her, not even Green.
“We gotta get them outta here, get this mess cleaned up. We need to arrange Rider’s…funeral,” Ox said as he sucked in a harsh breath.
Green tried to pull on Emily’s hand to get her to let go so that he could just hold her, but she shoved him away from her.
“No! I won’t leave him,” She cried.
“You don’t have to leave him, Em. But, we gotta move him, okay?”
Emily shook her head, but Ox motioned for Limit to help Green get Rider out of the chair and onto the floor, where Emily promptly pulled his head into her lap, head wound be damned. Her head fell back as her eyes closed in pain, and she wailed softly as she held onto him so tightly, it brought tears to Green’s eyes.
Her grief covered the expanse of the entire room, and there was no denying it.
She was smoothing Rider’s hair away from his face and whispering into his ear and it took all of Green’s strength not to cry as he watched her fall apart all over his dead brother.
“Call Axel. Tell him to bring his van. I’ll go outside and see how Fury’s holding up, tell him we need to brief the rest of the club on what’s going on here.”
“What about her?,” Limit asked gently.
Ox frowned and Green had to admit he was wondering the very same thing.
“Let her stay with him. I can’t even- I don’t wanna know what just happened down here. Right now, I just wanna get everything else sorted out so I can grieve my fuckin’ friend.”
Ox’s shoulder shook slightly as he climbed the stairs up and out the basement, his boots making little to no sound because he was moving so fast.
Emily was still crying, her knees curled beneath her, her arms wrapped around Rider as she rocked him against her chest.
Limit kneeled down before her, one of his hands landing on her shoulder.
“Em? Em, can you hear me?”
Her dark eyes flittered up to meet his.
“This is all my fault.”
“It’s not your fault, sweetheart,” Limit said.
“I killed him, I killed him, he’s dead,” She whispered.
Her eyes were wide, filled with agony.
Her hold on Rider tightened and Green winced at the sight of her holding his dead friend. Limit swore and shook his head.
“You didn’t do this, Emily. It’s not your fault. Why don’t you let Rider go so that we can get ya cleaned up?”
�
�I don’t care about me anymore.”
Emily didn’t say anything else, she just started to sing softly, a song about butterflies and moonlight. She was still crying, and every once in a while, a sound of pure agony would stretch past her lips, but all Green and Limit could do was watch her.
She just kept combing her fingers through Rider’s hair.
It wasn’t long before Ox came stumbling back into the room, his eyes red and watery, Axel not far behind him.
“Jesus, fucking Christ,” Axel swore.
His gaze instantly found Emily and Rider and he swore again, his raspy voice filled with love as he neared her.
“Em? Come on, let’s get you up and out of here.”
Emily looked up at him numbly and shook her head.
“I can’t leave Rider. He needs me.”
Axel paused, obviously unsure of what to say.
“I know. How about we get both of you of here, okay? We gotta get him home, baby.”
Emily nodded slowly as Axel reached for Rider’s body.
Green and Limit worked to get her to her feet, and that’s when Ox spoke up.
“Torch brought my car around, guys. I want her and Rider in my car while we stay here to clean up this mess. Laura is on her way to the clubhouse to check her out, and the girls are waiting for her. We’ll deal with this one step at a time.”
Green didn’t want to let her go, but she needed medical attention and maybe even something to help her calm down. Fuck that, she needed something else entirely, and Green had no idea what that was.
He didn’t know what he needed, either.
What he did know, was that everything had just changed. Rider was gone-fucking gone, and there was nothing he could do about it. They were too late. Rider hadn’t deserved anything less than the best and Killian felt like a dirty mother fucker for what he’d done earlier, trying to get Emily to leave him.
She’d been more loyal than him in that moment.
Green felt guilt biting at the back of his throat as he took a look around the room, his gaze stopping on Ash lying on the floor. As his eyes filled with fresh tears at the thought of his dead brother, Green aimed his gun at Ash’s head and fired the rest of his clip into him until there was nothing but a mangled, bloody, mess left of the man who’d singlehandedly ruined Emily, and Rider.
Greed (Seven Deadlies MC Book 4) Page 8
