Bash

by Sapphire Knight

  You’d think I’d feel guilty about killing him, but I didn’t. I still don’t. He ruined my father and murdered him. There was no room in my heart or mind to sympathize with someone like that. Fuck him. God rest my father’s soul. If he was watching from above, I pray he felt closure at that moment. My father may’ve been a victim, but I refused to allow his death to make me a casualty as well.

  I sought retribution, and it was the best feeling in the world at the time. You ever hear that saying about a woman scorned? It’s true. Men have to be careful of the women they choose to make enemies of. Some of us won’t sit back and take it. Some of us fight back and kill if we have to.

  My cheek stings as Maliki’s slap resonates, bringing me back into the present. I wish I’d killed him, too, but there was no way he’d have allowed me to get that close. Maliki is smarter, I’ve come to learn, and it’s probably why he’s still alive.

  “I warned Jerome that you were nothing but a sneaky slut. He should’ve listened to me. He was always too stubborn to take my word before thinking it over for a while. I know it was you! You killed him!”

  My face is swollen already. I can feel it with the blood floating around in my mouth. He’s kept me on my knees before him. Each time I’ve tried getting up or crawling away, he either strikes me or drags me by my hair to where he wants me. He hasn’t punched me yet. I’m assuming he plans on drawing this out. While slaps may not seem like a big deal, it’s a different story coming from a large man like Maliki. His hand is the size of my face, and his arms are solid with muscle. Just because he wears a tailored suit, doesn’t mean he’s not deadly.

  “You seduced him and killed him when he was vulnerable. You know what I plan on doing to you? I’m going to beat you, rape you, and then kill you in your own bed, so you can know exactly how he felt in those last moments.”

  “I-I didn’t beat or rape him,” I argue stubbornly, shooting him a glower.

  I’m all about self-preservation and saving my unborn child at all costs, but I won’t hold back from speaking my truth. I admit I seduced him and killed him, but it was a kindness. I could’ve made his death much more miserable. I’d contemplated so many options, one of my favorites being that I sedate him enough to torture him then allow him to bleed out. I figured that was a bit too much for me, though, and I wouldn’t be able to handle it, no matter how angry and hurt I was. I knew it had to be effective and not drawn out so I could go through with it. The seduction and scalpel seemed like the best plan as he wouldn’t see it coming, and I was right.

  “You don’t get a say in my plans, just like Jerome didn’t with yours.” He spits in my face.

  I swear slaps hurt, but there’s nothing quite like being spat on. It’s beyond degrading and disgusting. I gag, fighting back the urge to puke. If I give him any reason to believe I’m pregnant, I offer him one more thing to try and take from me. He can do whatever he can to break me, but I’ll never stop protecting my child, no matter what the cost. It’s what a mother does, and while I may’ve not met this little one yet, it doesn’t matter one bit when it comes to that mother’s instinct.

  “Mike!” he shouts toward the front door. He must have a man out there waiting for him. Frankly, I was surprised he didn’t have a handful of guys with him as he broke in. When I was with Jerome, Maliki always had an entourage surrounding him, making him feel more important than he really is. “Give me your knife!” he demands, and the urge to throw up rolls through me again. The thought of him with a knife absolutely terrifies me.

  I move as quickly as possible, jumping up to take off toward my back door. I get maybe two steps before burning pain skates down my scalp into my neck. He’s grabbed my hair at the back of my head. He yanks me into his body, and I swear I feel hair tearing from my scalp. It hurts so badly that tears prick at my eyes as my breath leaves me in shock. I’m wrenched into the same spot I was moments before. Each attempt wears down my strength a touch more. I’m running off pure adrenaline and the need for survival. I can only imagine how broken down I’ll be by the time he decides to finally kill me.

  A part of me is wishing with everything I have that Sebastian comes home to help me before it’s too late. The other part is terrified that if he does, he’ll be overpowered, and I’ll have to watch my sweet guy be tortured and killed. I know he’s strong and can defend himself, but there’s no telling how much backup Maliki has outside waiting for him. If I have to choose between Sebastian possibly saving me or the chance he’ll die, I choose my death. The world needs more men like my Bash out there. He’s got a good heart and someone as genuine as he is-is hard to come by.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Maliki barks mockingly. “I’ve only begun with you.”

  I hate it that I’m crying in front of him, but I can’t help it. He hurt me physically, and I’m so angry. Those two feelings mixed together have the tears leaking, whether I want them to or not. “I’m not going to just roll over and allow you to do as you please. If you think I don’t have self-preservation, then you’re even more delusional.”

  “You’re mouthy. No wonder why Jerome was amused with you. Here I thought it was your cunt, but maybe it was more your mouth. Tell me, can you suck cock like a vacuum?”

  I glare. “I’ll bite your penis off if you bring it anywhere near my mouth!” I scream in revolt. I may be tiny compared to him, but I’m fierce. I’ll fight him every step of the way, no matter how beaten down I become.

  He chuckles, sounding every bit the evil monster I know he is. “I’m going to have fun torturing that attitude out of you.” His hand comes down to collide with the side of my head. A jolt of pain radiates through my skull, and I swear I see spots. The front door opens, allowing a brief shock of sunlight to filter in before it’s slammed closed once more.

  Maliki chuckles darkly again, the sound sending goosebumps over my flesh. “Looky here, slut, time for those clothes to come off so I can see what I’m playing with. You know, you should feel honored. It’s not often I get my hands dirty; that’s what the help’s for. They get messy while I sit back and watch, but you’re a different story. You killed my flesh and blood, my brother. Now I’ll return the favor. I already got to that friend of yours. She was easy to find. I fucked her then watched my men put a few bullets in her. You know she cried and asked for you? She begged me to let you be free, and I agreed. But, I lied.”

  Sobs wrack my chest at him speaking of my best friend. I did everything I could to leave her in the dark about all of this, and to hear Maliki’s gotten to her and killed her already hits me deep. I’d pulled away from her since I came up with the plan to murder Jerome, but she’ll always hold a special place in my heart. Knowing she died because of my actions makes me sick. Her poor family.

  “I ha-ate you,” I state with a broken whisper. I’ve lost nearly everything at the hands of these men. I can only pray Maliki never finds out about Bash and what he means to me. I love him. At this moment, there’s no use trying to deny my feelings for Sebastian. I truly love that man and am grateful for the compassion and affection he’s shown me over the last few months.

  “The feeling’s mutual.” He takes a threatening lunge for me. My hands fly up in defense, but he’s overwhelming. He grabs my shirt in his ruthless grip, using his other hand that’s palming the enormous blade to rip through the front of my work shirt. A scream escapes me as his hand clamps down on my breast, ripping at my bra’s cup.

  The back door flies open, the light shining in. It’s not as bright as the front since it’s on the opposite side of the building. My eyes fly in that direction, staring into my kitchen at the figure sailing through the door. My mouth drops, a gasp leaving me as Sebastian storms toward me. Surrounded by light, he’s my version of an avenging angel, and in turn, the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen before. I need him so badly and to have him here, now, it brings a fresh onslaught of tears.

  “Down, Angel!” he bellows, and my eyes fly back to Maliki, taking in his expression and movements. T
he knife’s dropped to the floor, forgotten, as Maliki reaches into his shoulder holster for a gun. “Not so fast, Maliki!” Bash booms, pointing his own weapon at the man hovering over me as he stops a few feet away from us both. I crouch to the floor, trying to do what Sebastian instructs, but also not wanting to be that vulnerable to Maliki’s feet either. “You finish pulling that out, and I empty rounds into your motherfuckin’ chest, you feel me? I’m filling every motherfucker you brought here with lead too.”

  “Wait, Bash?” Maliki sounds quizzical, his brow creasing as he stares my boyfriend down. “You know this woman?”

  Sebastian nods, keeping his gaze trained on the threat. “Yep, and I won’t allow you to hurt her. Not ever again.”

  Maliki chuckles, his brows high on his forehead in amusement and surprise. “You realize this will impact our deals, and you’ll be stepping into my personal business. Men don’t live for very long when they meddle in my affairs.”

  “Right now, you’re in mine. That woman belongs to me.”

  “Well…” Maliki rests his hands on his hips, obviously not registering the depth of Bash’s words. I catch a bit of my blood on his right knuckles, and it makes me wince. I know the only reason why I’m not in as much pain as I should be is because of the adrenaline. My fight or flight response kicked in, and when I tried to run, he caught me, and the new burst of adrenaline has helped mask the pain. “I think we can work something out where we each make her pay for what she’s done to the both of us. You can drop your gun, friend, and we’ll come to a mutual agreement.”

  Sebastian keeps his weapon firmly trained on him, flicking his eyes to me for merely a second. His neck reddens once he gets a closer look at me, his nostrils flaring as anger consumes him. This is about to go to another level in about two minutes when Maliki realizes Sebastian isn’t trying to claim me for a debt I owe him. My man is here to save me, not give me up to this psycho billionaire. With both of their attention resolutely pinned on one another, my hand slides over, scrambling to grab the knife. If I’m going to die today, I’m going down fighting.

  “She’s mine, Maliki,” Sebastian states obstinately.

  My eyes remain fixated above me, gauging Maliki. There’s no way I’ll allow him to get the jump on Bash and hurt my man. I’d do anything to protect Sebastian as time and again, he’s proven to me he’ll take care of me in his own way as well. This instance is my turn to step up to the plate.

  “Bash,” Maliki attempts to reason again. “We’ll work this out. There’s no need to throw away our business relationship over debts we can both settle here and now. In fact, this will only solidify us more in the future. This will make our trust in each other grow, once we’ve finished with her.” Maliki is always thinking about his influence on other people, and without those crazy parties he hosts each week, he won’t be able to maintain as much influence over certain individuals.

  “You fucking idiot.” Sebastian scowls, anger marring his handsome features. My man is furious, to the point if I were opposed, I’d be petrified. “She’s my woman with my kid. I’ll kill you before you fucking touch her again,” he growls, done with this exchange. He’s ready to collect his pound of flesh, or in Maliki’s case, about two hundred twenty pounds of flesh.

  Sebastian’s proclamation has blindsided him, and it’s the only chance I have. I leap off the ground, knife in hand. I lunge straight for Maliki’s stomach, planting the blade as deeply as I can. I don’t have a lot of strength, but this is do or die, so I use every ounce of life preserving force I can muster up to shove that knife in as powerfully as possible.

  His large hands go for my neck, his digits latching on and squeezing so tightly that I can no longer breathe. My vision goes fuzzy as blackness quickly creeps in along with a burning sensation in my throat, like lava being poured down my esophagus. My fingers fight with his grip, but I’m nowhere near as strong as he is, and in mere moments, I feel like I’m on the edge of death. I may’ve stabbed him, but he’s holding onto my throat for dear life, choking me to death.

  Another dark image is suddenly above us, the figure blurry and grayish. I watch him put something against Maliki’s head, then there’re multiple loud blasts. I’m so out of it, it’s only darkened images and black spots. I don’t even sense the brain matter and blood spray hitting my flesh. I can feel nothing but choking and fire. The noise is muddled with my lack of breathing. The clamp around my neck loosens almost immediately, yet I feel as if everything is in slow motion.

  My body falls to the ground in a heap, and I lie still, trying to clear the blackness tinting my vision. There’s a burst of light flooding the room again as the front door’s thrown open. I hear more deafening blasts, which I manage to piece together as being gunshots. Another figure falls to the ground off to the side of the bright light. There are more shots, and then nothing. I don’t realize I’m sobbing and croaking Bash’s name repeatedly until he’s there, snuggling me into his lap.

  “Shh, Sweet Pea. I got you, Savannah. You’re safe, I promise you. I’m here, Angel. No one is left to hurt you. I promise, baby. Shh.”

  My face is soaked from my tears, my throat dry and throbbing from Maliki choking me so harshly. Sebastian leans in, kissing my forehead several times, and wiping away the wetness on my cheeks. He’s breathing hard, his own eyes red-rimmed. I’m shaking, a complete mess, but once I meet his concerned gaze and take in their familiar blue, it’s like I can finally drag in a deep breath. “I love you,” I manage to wheeze with a cough, my tone nearly silent.

  “Fuck, babe. I love you, Savannah. So. Fucking. Much.” He peppers each word with a kiss on my forehead. His eyes fill with water as he looks me over. “Jesus, baby.” He breathes the words brokenly. “He fucked you up. Goddamn it, I was too fucking late. Christ, I let him hurt you.” The tears spill over, trailing down his pale face, and my heart aches to witness his sadness.

  I try to swallow, the ache in my esophagus still burning with pain and whisper, “You were just in time. Thank you, hero.”

  “I’m no hero, Angel. If I were, I’d have been here when they showed up. None of this would’ve happened to you or to our baby.”

  I shake my head, everything throbbing with the move. “My hero, since the first day,” I quietly argue.

  His lip trembles before he leans in and kisses me again. He’s not kissing anywhere but my forehead. My face must look as bad as it feels.

  “Holy fuck, Bash! Any more here?” I hear, and then several shadows surround us. My vision has cleared enough for me to make everyone’s faces out, thankfully, or it may’ve freaked me out seeing more large men come at us. It’s Chaos. I take in his expression, along with the others’ concerned features as they peer at us and have a quick look around at the dead bodies.

  “I killed them all,” Sebastian growls, holding me possessively. It feels good to be in his arms. There’s no other place I’d rather be. Except, maybe our bed. I could really use a comfortable place to lie down while I deal with all of this discomfort.

  Chaos barks, “North, Sly! Grab those bodies in the doorway and get them in here. We’ll wait for a beat to see if the cops were called. If not, and the neighbors were smart enough to keep their fuckin’ mouths closed, then we’ll need to dispose of these bodies. Fuck! I can’t believe this happened here and in the middle of the day. Christ.”

  Bash grumbles, “Need the doc. My woman’s hurt and pregnant. If my baby’s not okay, I’m gonna kill these motherfuckers all over again.”

  Jinx nods, attempting to calm my sweet man. “We know, brother. I called him as I was jogging to my bike. He should be here any minute to look your woman over. We have you, brother. You need anything, you say the word, and I got you.”

  Sebastian swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he remains staring at me. He peers at me as if I’m the most valuable thing he’s ever seen before. “Never letting you go, Angel. Never gonna let anyone hurt you, not ever again. Don’t give a fuck what I gotta do, it won’t happen again, I swear it.�
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  I nod, trying not to move my head much, as it sends shocks of pain everywhere. “I believe you,” I whisper. I flash my gaze to Chaos and murmur as loudly as I can muster, “Bash’s my hero. Love my hero.”

  Chaos nods, his regard serious. “I know, girl. Pretty sure you’re his, too. You just don’t realize it. Both of you are gonna be all right. I’ll see to it.”

  Fourteen

  I wish you to know that you have been the last dream of my soul. - Charles Dickens

  Savannah’s hospital room the following day

  “Sir, visiting hours are over. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to return tomorrow,” the nurse informs me again in her annoying snippy tone.

  I release a low, menacing growl, ready to pounce on her ass for trying to make me leave. I flick my concerned stare back to Savannah. “This is why I didn’t want you at the goddamn hospital,” I huff to my angel, ignoring the nurse. “I can have the doc at the club monitor you instead, just say the word. I’ll take care of you. You’re my woman. Mine.” And I mean every word of it, too. These people here are driving me fucking crazy. They won’t tell me shit with what’s going on. I keep stealing her chart to stay updated on everything.

  “Sir!” the nurse chirps, further maddening my thoughts, flaring my temper. If she had any idea of what my ol’ lady and I just went through together, she’d keep her space and her thoughts to herself.

  I spin on her, getting in her face. “Look, lady, if you think I’m leaving my woman after she was attacked, you’ve got another thing coming!” I rumble, making her jump. “I highly suggest you don’t ask me to fucking leave her again, cause it ain’t happening! I won’t ever leave her.” I’ve been hovering a bit over Savannah, but what can anyone expect. I don’t know if anybody associated with Maliki will be coming after her yet, and I’ll be damned if they get anywhere near her. I won’t be able to breathe easy on it until my club finds out more intel on the piece of shit.