Reign

by Jessica Gadziala

  Thirty

  Reign

  It was chaos.

  Lo had a plan. We knew the loose details.

  But things had gone from fuckin' weird to fuckin' insane in a matter of seconds.

  Repo, Richard, and Janie walked in like they hadn't just thrown together a plan in a matter of minutes in the car ride over. Like they had shit worked the fuck out. They tore in. Guns were thrown. Then bullets flew.

  I could hear Lo's men close in outside as I grabbed the gun Repo handed to me, ducking behind the kitchen island and aiming out toward the men approaching from outside. Trying to get to V. Trying to protect their boss. But she was already at Lyon's mercy. And he wasn't feeling too magnanimous after she stole and tortured the only thing in his sorry fucking life that he gave a damn about.

  And good fuckin' riddance. I hoped she died in agony.

  Might be a lot of things, but I ain't a forgiving person. Not when someone touches what is mine. And someone had definitely been touching Summer.

  My head jerked, looking over to where I had pushed Summer to the ground, tucked behind the long side of the island.

  And she was gone.

  Fucking. Gone.

  I flew to my feet.

  But she was nowhere.

  Someone had her.

  My eyes met Lo's and she shook her head. It wasn't one of hers. I looked over and Cash and Wolf and Repo were all accounted for. No pretty, bruised, redheads under their care.

  Fuck!

  But then there was no time to think. Only react. As a slew of V's men came charging in.

  And the next fucking thing I knew, I was being dragged toward the gate, everyone firing into the trees and grounds as we made our way to the van.

  I nearly fucking killed Wolf.

  I probably would have if it meant he would get out of my way.

  A brother I had known all my life. Trusted like I trusted Cash.

  I would have taken him down to get her back.

  He knew it. I knew it.

  So he didn't give me the chance to make that decision.

  “Holy fuck,” Repo said, completely out of breath sitting beside me. He was steady as fucking ever. Not shaking. Nothing. He was steel. He was going to get patched-in as soon as possible. “That was crazy.”

  “Compound?” Janie asked from the driver's seat.

  “Yeah,” Lo answered, turning in the passenger seat to look at me. “They'll get her,” she told me, her tone sure. “My men. They'll get her out.”

  “I want her a-fucking-live,” I growled, slamming my fist into the windowless wall of the van.

  “They'll get her,” she repeated.

  We tore into the compound, Janie warning us of a tail.

  Everyone reached for guns.

  Wolf threw the door open.

  I jumped out.

  And then I was knocked to the ground.

  A tiny, gorgeous redhead clinging to me like I was a life preserver.

  “Summer,” I said, my arms going tight around her.

  She was alright.

  She was safe.

  She was back.

  My hands ran up and down her body, looking for blood. Wounds. Anything. But they found nothing.

  Her head lifted from my neck, a huge fucking smile on her face.

  And I recognized that smile.

  It was the smile from the picture on Lo's wall.

  Open.

  Unconcerned.

  Completely and utterly happy.

  My breath caught in my chest as I looked up at her.

  My knuckles went to stroke the side of her face.

  It didn't matter that her face was bruised and battered.

  It was the fucking best sight I had ever seen in my life.

  Thirty-one

  Summer

  “I'm sure you're both happy to see each other,” Cash broke into our silent moment, me smiling down at Reign, him looking up at me like I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, “but we kinda need to get inside where it's safe.”

  With that, Reign sighed, wrapping his arms around my back and knifing up, getting us both onto our feet. His arm went around my shoulders, pulling me into his side, as we all filed inside the compound, the men on the roof and around the grounds looking at us with a mix of confusion and anger.

  The anger was probably at having to miss out on the obvious action.

  Reign was gonna have some unhappy questions to answer.

  “What the fuck...” Vin said, standing as we walked in.

  “Wolf needs Doc,” Reign said immediately, his voice taking on an authoritative edge.

  Oh my god.

  Wolf.

  I pulled out of Reign's arm, turning and going right to Wolf.

  “Oh my god. You're shot. They shot you!” I yelped, looking down at the side of his jeans where, and I was no doctor, but it seemed like way too much blood was seeping out.

  “Woman,” he broke in, making my head jerk up to his face. Bloodied. The side of his face was busted open slightly, bleeding down his cheek. “I'm fine,” he said, his gruff tone somehow making the anxiety slip away.

  “You're sure?” I asked, watching him.

  “Sure,” he nodded, his hand reaching out to touch the skin beside my eye. “You okay?”

  “Oh this,” I said, making a whooshing sound and waving a hand and giving him a smile. “You should see the other guy.”

  The second the words were out, my eyes went huge, my hand slapping over my mouth.

  Because, yeah, the other guy was dead.

  I killed him.

  Holy hell.

  But Wolf wasn't sharing my horror. No. He actually... threw his head back... and laughed! A full, throaty sound that boomed off the walls. Still laughing, he looked at me, shaking his head, and chucked me under the chin. “You're alright,” he said, nodding.

  “Is someone going to tell the rest of us what the fuck is going on?” Vin broke in, sounding a mix of angry and worried.

  “Cash?” I asked, turning to him, my eyes worried.

  “Bumps and bruises, Cherry,” he said, giving me a wink, his hand ruffling my hair.

  I gave him a small smile and my eyes fell to Repo. The huge, scary looking gun he had been carrying earlier gone. His face bruised awfully still from the night that he tried to save me. His eyes went to me, weirdly guarded.

  And then my feet were moving toward him. Our toes touched. My arms went around him, squeezing him tight. There was a long pause and I could see him looking over my shoulder toward Reign, his face a mask of confusion, before one of his arms went around my lower back. “You tried to save me,” I told his shirt and his arm tightened. “Thank you.”

  “Is everyone done putting their hands on my fuckin' woman?” Reign's voice asked, sounding exasperated.

  Repo's arm fell from me and I stepped away. He gave me a small smile. “Anytime,” he told me with a nod. Like he meant it. And I realized he did. He would put his life down for me in a heartbeat. Without even thinking about it. And I didn't even know him.

  “Seriously, Prez,” Vin's voice sounded again.

  I looked over toward Vin who visibly shrank back when his eyes landed on my face. “They saved me,” I said simply, walking over toward Reign and tucking myself into his side, his arm going around my shoulders.

  “Reign,” Lo's voice said, breaking through the tension, and everyone's eyes went to her. “It's done,” she said, nodding her head, putting her phone away.

  Reign nodded. “Thank fuck.”

  “What's done? How is it done? Where are my parents?” I gushed, not able to help myself. I needed answers.

  “Why don't I take you upstairs and let you get cleaned up,” he started, squeezing me, “and I'll answer your questions there. And then I'll come back down here and answer yours,” he said, this time to his men. “Give me an hour.”

  To this, they just nodded. And I was being pulled out of the room, into the hallway, toward his door.

  “Reign...”
I started, feeling the tension in his body.

  “Just give me a minute, babe,” he said, unlocking his door and shuffling me inside.

  He rescued me.

  I could give him a minute.

  He went over to his dresser, reaching inside, pulling things out. Then he walked back to me, taking my wrist and pulling me toward the bathroom. He pulled me with him as he took a towel out of the cabinet, as he reached into the bath and turned the shower on.

  “I'm gonna go get you some food. Figured you'd want a shower before we talked,” he said, letting me go.

  “Um, ah... yeah,” I said, watching him. Worried. He seemed off. Tense and distant. “Thanks,” I finished with.

  To that, he nodded and walked out of the room.

  Alright.

  I should have been freaking out.

  I knew that.

  I was just held hostage again. Twice.

  I was beaten.

  I was in the middle of a gun fight.

  I had killed a man.

  I had shot another man who helped me escape.

  I should have been shaking and crying and beside myself.

  But... well... I felt filthy.

  I needed the shower. I needed to wash the last week of my life away.

  So that was what I did.

  I dried off, going to the counter and slipping into the soft, cozy black t-shirt (Reign's) and pink satin and lace panties (mine). Then I ran a brush through my hair (so clean it squeaked). There was nothing I could do about my face. It was a mess. It was going to be a mess for a while. I just had to live with that. At a loss for anything else to do, I went to the door and opened it.

  I walked in to find Reign sitting on the foot of the bed next to a plate of food , changed, his hair wet. Like he had showered too.

  “Why didn't you shower with me?” I asked, thinking about the slippery, sexy, up against the shower tile sex we had had in the past.

  His head raised, but his gaze didn't. “Summer...” he said, his tone sad.

  “What?”

  “I didn't think you'd be ready for that.”

  “Why?” I asked, genuinely confused.

  His gaze lifted, finding mine. “Because of what they did to you.”

  My brows drew together before I realized what he meant.

  What V suggested.

  What I had kind of insinuated as well.

  He thought they finally did it. That they raped me.

  “Oh, Reign... no,” I said, my voice small. I walked up to him, my hand slipping into his wet hair. “No. They didn't.. do that. Just threatened it. It didn't happen.”

  “You said you were on your knees...”

  “He was going to make me. Well, no. He wasn't,” I clarified. At his confused face, I went on, “I had my hand on the gun. I wasn't...” I shook my head, “I couldn't let that happen.”

  “You were going to shoot yourself,” he said, half question, half declaration. But somehow fully horrified.

  “I didn't have a lot of options. I needed out. I couldn't... I couldn't live with that.”

  “Babe...” he said, his voice sad.

  And then his arms were finally around me, pulling me close. His body went backward, mine went forward, me landing on his chest, my body touching his from chest to feet.

  “You came for me,” I said, looking down at him.

  “Of course I did,” he said, looking at me like I was crazy.

  My eyes dropped for a second, then raised to settle on his hazel ones. “I killed a man today,” I said, my voice quiet.

  “I killed three,” he said, shrugging. “Had to do what we had to do. If you didn't shoot him, babe, I would have made him suffer first.”

  Well, that was true.

  Maybe I kept another black mark from getting etched on his soul. By etching it on mine instead. And, somehow, I was okay with that.

  “He let me go,” I said.

  “Who let you go?”

  “Daniel,” I supplied, watching his face as he processed the information. “He pulled me out into the garage, got me safe. Then he told me to take the car and get out. He... he made me shoot him.”

  “What?” he asked, squeezing me.

  “He... he gave me my gun back and told me to shoot him in the shoulder. Right here,” I pointed on Reign's shoulder. “He stepped into the gun, and told me to pull the trigger. And I did.”

  Reign's hands started running up and down my back. “He'll live.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because he picked one of the safest places to get shot. He'll live.”

  “Why would he let me go?”

  “I don't know, babe. I'm just glad he did.”

  “I saw you,” I went on. “When you were fighting with Wolf to let you go back in. I saw you.”

  “Wasn't gonna fuckin' leave you there.”

  “I'm here now,” I said, sensing his body getting tight again. He gave me a small smile. “What are you gonna do about it?” I asked, my voice dipping low and suggestive.

  And then I screeched as I was being rolled and flipped onto my back. “Reign, the food...” I objected, feeling my foot hit it.

  “Fuck the food,” he said, his hands grabbing the hem of my t-shirt and pushing it upward, his hand closing over my breast, his fingers rolling my nipple.

  My arms went between us, pulling at the waistband of his pants. “Fuck the food,” I agreed, my hands reaching inside and grabbing his hard length. His hand slid down my belly, sliding inside my panties and rubbing over my clit. My back arched, his mouth coming down on mine, hard and urgent. His fingers kept stroking me and it wasn't enough. It wasn't what I wanted. My lips pulled from his. “Fuck foreplay too,” I said and he chuckled against my cheek.

  Then his hands pulled my panties down. I pulled his pants off. And he slid inside me. Slowly at first. Then full of the urgency that both of our bodies demanded. My hands dug into his back, my legs going around his waist as he pounded into me. “Harder,” I demanded, wanting him to lose control. Needing it. So I could too.

  “Fuck me,” he growled, then thrust harder. Until I felt the tightening, my breath catching. “Come babe,” he demanded, sounding close.

  He thrust forward again and I came. Hard. My body clenching. Watching me, Reign's body got taut, his breath hissed out. And he came with me.

  And it was fucking perfect.

  His head came down on my shoulder, sucking in air. My hand went across his back, the other in his hair. “You were right,” I said quietly.

  His head lifted. “About what?”

  I felt myself smile. “I missed you.”

  I saw it in his eyes first.

  The warming. The crinkles by the sides. Then it spread to his lips. Slowly. A twitching. A smirk. Then a full-blown smile.

  “Damn fuckin' right you did,” he said, nodding.

  “You missed me too,” I told him.

  “Yep,” he agreed, then stopped what I was about to say with his lips on mine. Softer. Sweeter. Until I felt melty inside and couldn't think of anything else to say. “Alright,” he said, sliding out of me, pulling away from me, his hands yanking down my tee as he stood. “Let's go order some pizza and brief the rest of the men.”

  I nodded, sliding my panties back on and going in search for a pair of pants. “Hey Reign...”

  “Yeah babe?”

  “What happened to my parents?”

  He turned back to me, slipping he feet into his boots whilst pulling a black tee over his head. “Honestly, dunno,” he said, shrugging, reaching for his cut and putting it on. “You ready?”

  “Yeah,” I said, taking the hand he was offering me and following him out into the main room.

  It looked like everyone was inside, save for the probates who were outside on guard still.

  This was what they called “church”.

  And I could tell a lot of the men weren't happy about me, Repo, Janie, and Lo being a part of it. But Reign didn't give them a chance to complain.

/>   He just launched right into it.

  “Today, with Lo and her people and Richard Lyon and his people,” he started, and that was news to me. I didn't think my dad had any people left. “We went into V's territory and took Summer back. Wolf got shot,” he said, nodding his head at Wolf who looked no worse for wear, holding a beer, the bleeding on his face and thigh stopped. “But we had no casualties. Lo,” he said, nodding at her.

  “We had none either. Though Lyon lost three men. You father,” she said, looking toward me, “has your mother. He promised she wouldn't receive the kind of treatment you did, but that he needed to keep her from reclaiming her place and going after all of us again. That being said, we aren't safe. Down goes one skin trader, up must come another. Things are gonna get violent with the contenders. Though they won't likely come after either of our operations. They'll be too busy trying to kill each other.”

  Okay. So Dad had Mom. That was... well, it wasn't good. It was slightly better that he didn't plan to torture her. But, then again, for V... being under his thumb again... that was it's own kind of torture.

  “Yo, let's have a hero's welcome,” someone said from the door.

  Everyone stopped talking, turning to look at the newcomers.

  And there was an older man, pushing a younger, battered one in the door. There were whoops and claps.

  I looked past the bruises.

  And my heart started pounding hard. My stomach twisted in a knot.

  Because it was Flee.

  Before I could even think it through, I reached down toward the coffee table where half a dozen guns were piled, somehow finding the one I had used earlier, slipping off the safety and pointing it.

  The noise fell.

  As did Flee's face when he saw me.

  “Summer, the fuck you doin'?” Reign's voice found me.

  I ignored him. “You don't belong here,” I told Flee, my voice venomous. Traitor. He was a fucking traitor. Reign once told me that there was nothing worse to have in your organization.

  “Summer...” Cash's voice pitched in.

  My eyes slid to Reign. “He was the reason I got kidnapped,” I told him, watching his face get tight. My eyes slid to Vin. “We were watching TV, remember?” I said to him and he nodded. “Flee came in and asked if I wanted to take a walk. I thought he had a crush. I didn't want to be a bitch. So I went. He led me out toward the side of the compound and then... and then one of my father's men got to me. Duct taped my mouth. Cuffed me. Flee ran through the hole in the fence and then Repo saw me. And then...” I shook my head, looking at Repo, my eyes sad. “I did the wrong thing. I should have ran inside for help while you fought him. I shouldn't... Well, oh well. It's done. I jumped him to get him off Repo and then I was pulled through the fence. Lee, my dad's guy, stopped the car after a while and beat up Flee so no one would suspect him.”