Reckless

by Franca Storm

  “You arrogant prick. Warned you, Ax. Fucking warned you not to keep coming. Told you, you couldn’t beat me,” Broker spits at me.

  I push myself up onto my hands, trying to get to my knees. “This just payback?”

  He smiles maliciously. “Devil’s Mavericks ain’t as short-sighted as Black Thorns.” He signals Skinner. “Right, Prez?”

  “Can’t take a beating no more, son?” he says, stepping up in front of me beside Broker.

  “Fuck…you.”

  Broker’s steel-toe boot slams into my side. My fucking ribs, cracking one. Shit.

  “Show some respect to your old man!” Broker thunders.

  “What…you want?” I choke on a mouthful of blood, spewing it all over the fucking floor.

  Skinner kneels down in front of me. “Where’s your bitch?”

  “No…fucking…clue.”

  He nods his head at Broker.

  Broker grins and thrusts his boot into my side again, the power behind it, rolling me onto my back.

  Skinner tells me, “It’s over. You’re done for. I’m gonna kill her and that kid you spawned. You got no club to go back to either.” He smirks. “Trigger, son. He’s the one who told us ‘bout your kid and when you left the clubhouse. Wants you dead real bad. You go back and he’ll end you. You see? No girl, no kid and no club. Might as well do as I say. You’ve already lost.” He grabs my hair and pulls, forcing me to look at him. “Do it and I’ll make it quick when I kill you. Left me no fucking choice. Keep coming at me, boy. Do it. Tell me where she’s at.”

  “You…ain’t…touching her,” I growl as I struggle to get up off the fucking floor.

  “Oh, I’m gonna do more than just touch her. Gonna finish up what I started a couple of years back with her, then I’m gonna put a bullet between her eyes. Dealer’s daughter, shit…shoulda done this a long time ago. Tell me; she a good fuck? Fucking tight, yeah?”

  “Kill…you…” I snarl.

  “Ain’t gonna tell me? No worries. Gonna find out either way. Taking her back to the compound, let all the boys have a go, too. Wait ‘til Dealer comes to rescue her, we’ll gut him and then I’ll kill her and that kid.”

  “Ain’t…killing…my kid. Ain’t…touching…my girl.”

  “You wanted a kid, you could’ve. But not with her!” he fumes. “Not with that fucker’s daughter! So, tell me where she’s at!”

  Something in me shifts then. Something I ain’t never had before when I’ve gone up against these two in the past. Conviction. This is the first time I’ve really had something worthwhile fighting for. The first time where me winning ain’t an option. She needs me to do this. Our family we’re creating needs me.

  “Fine,” Skinner says. “You want this beating to continue, you got it, son. Thing is, you pissed me off tryin’ to use Dealer to draw me out. Thought you could beat me! So, I ain’t in the mood to show you mercy now. This beating’s gonna go on for hours. You know how skilled Broker is at inflicting maximum pain without killing. Sure you’re prepared for that kinda pain?”

  “She ain’t here, asshole,” I seethe.

  He lifts his chin at Broker.

  His boot comes at me again.

  And that’s when I unleash everything. Years of anger from not getting my vengeance on ‘em both for what they did to my mom and me; the physical pain Broker caused me and the bullshit legacy of my old man that I’ve been fighting for years; Trig’s betrayal and his attempt to control me. But, most of all, the life of the woman I love and our kid.

  I catch his boot and roar as I push it back with all the strength I got at my disposal. Just moving right now hurts like a bitch, but adrenaline’s helping me out in a big way.

  I get to my feet just as Broker swings. I block it with my left arm and smash my right fist into his throat. He chokes and stumbles back. I rip into him then, blow after blow. Crushing flesh and bone. He tries to fight me, but he’s older and slower than me.

  I have him on the ground in seconds.

  Guns cock ‘round me.

  I look up to see Skinner’s four guys training their guns on me. They won’t let me kill their VP.

  “Huh, didn’t know you had the balls,” Skinner says, eyeing Broker’s bloodied and beaten body. “Still don’t help you, though. Where’s the girl?”

  “Right here, you piece of shit!” Rox calls from behind me.

  Fucking hell. What’s she doing?

  I know better than to take my eyes off Skinner. Means I can’t fucking turn ‘round to see what she’s doing, or gonna do. “Go, Rox! Get outta here!”

  “Remember the threat I made the day we met?” she asks.

  Yeah, I remember. Claimed she was skilled with a gun. Oh shit. What the hell’s she planning here? I knew it! I knew she couldn’t run and hide; couldn’t stand down. She couldn’t just let me handle shit. Had to step in. Dammit! “Yeah, I do. But go, babe! Get outta here!”

  Skinner laughs. “Well, ain’t this sweet. Reminiscing with my boy before I kill him, princess? He’s lucky. What I got in store for you is much worse. Gonna pick up where we left off last time. Dealer’s daughter deserves my worst after all.”

  Everything happens so fast then.

  A shot rings out. To my shock, Skinner curses and goes down, clutching his right kneecap. I rush one of the guys closest to me who’s ‘bout to take a shot at Rox. I rip his gun from his grasp and smash it across his temple, knocking him out.

  As I shoot his buddy through the goddamn chest, two more shots suddenly ring out and a chill rips through me.

  But as I spin, I see Rox standing there, my gun in her hand, glaring at two guys writhing on the floor, one screaming with a bloodied mess of a hand and the other grabbing at his leg. Shit, she gets my world. She won’t kill. I knew she wouldn’t. But all the shots she took were to make damn sure they can’t ride.

  “Come on!” she yells to me.

  I hesitate and spin ‘round, ready to finish off Skinner, but the asshole’s gone. I scan the area and see a trail of blood leading ‘round the side of the rest stop. I’m ‘bout to start towards him to finally end this when the roar of bikes rips through the area.

  “He’s called backup!” Rox yells. “Neil, let’s go!”

  Fuck. So close!

  Cursing at the pain in my ribs, I kneel down beside an unconscious Broker and pat down his pockets. Don’t take me long to find my mom’s necklace. I pocket it and get to my feet.

  “You piece of shit. This is for Kim, you fuck.” I fire a bullet into his temple and watch in satisfaction as his brains splatter all over the concrete.

  “Neil!” Rox screams. “Come on!”

  I bolt over to her, grab her hand and we rush to the truck.

  She’s in before me, slamming her door and rolling down her window, my gun in her hand, manning it. I grunt as I somehow manage to haul myself into the driver’s seat.

  “Baby, you want me to drive?”

  “I got it,” I tell her as I gun the engine and pull the fastest three point turn of my life and rip outta the rest stop. “Seatbelt,” I tell her.

  She does as I tell her for once.

  The roar of the bikes is getting louder. I know they’re real fucking close.

  We’ve barely made it five minutes down the deserted country road when I see ‘em come over the hill. Ten of the fuckers.

  “Shit, you shot Skinner, babe.”

  “Hit an artery.”

  “What?”

  “Told you I know how to use a gun, Neil. He should bleed out. I was gonna go for his dick, but I didn’t want to bear witness to that, you know?”

  Whoa. I shake my head. “Fuck me, you’re vicious.”

  “He tried to kill you,” she seethes. “Besides, he had it coming.”

  “Why not a head shot?”

  “I wanted to hear him scream.”

  What? “Rox, ain’t liking that train of thought from you.”

  “He took my power away that day, Neil. He tried to rape me; made me scream.
Hearing him scream was like…solace. I needed it. I know it’s sick, but—”

  “No, babe. I get it.”

  The truck swerves a little as I wipe blood outta my eye that’s oozing from a deep cut beside it.

  “Neil?”

  “Sorry. I’m good.”

  “We need to get you to a hospital.”

  “Can’t ‘til we shake these guys.”

  She looks in her mirror. “Can you go any faster? They’re coming up fast.”

  “My foot’s already lead on the gas, babe. Truck’s old.”

  Next thing I know, she’s leaning out the window, my gun aimed behind us. She fires off two shots. “Two down,” she says, jerking back quickly just as a bullet rips into her wing mirror.

  The rear window shatters as the assholes fire a bullet through it.

  “Stay down, Rox!” I thunder.

  The remaining eight bikes pick up speed, pushing max speed. Dangerous, but to them it’s worth the risk cuz disappointing their club would mean facing a fucking agonizing punishment. I know how the Mavs do things. Sadistic, brutal shit.

  Fusillades of shots ring out then, vibrating the damn truck.

  And then they’re on us. One of ‘em sideswipes the passenger door. The other comes up on my side. Hell, no.

  I swerve the truck into the guy on Rox’s side. It knocks him back. He loses control of his bike and spins out into the gorge either side of the road. It’s a steep fucking drop. Several more rear end us, jolting the truck forward as I struggle to maintain control. I’m a hell of a good driver, but this shit’s something else.

  The guy on my left slams his pistol into my window, raining glass down all over me. Rox screams. I lift my left hand off the wheel and smash my fist through the shattered window, clocking him across the face. He curses and wavers on his bike, but manages to get it under control. I swerve into him and he screams as he goes hurtling down the gorge.

  The remaining bikes lay off the rear. As they ride ‘round to Rox’s side, I know what they’re gonna try to do. Fuck. They’re gonna run us off the road right into the gorge.

  I take a quick glance in the rearview mirror and do a double take.

  Dealer’s riding behind us, shots ringing out, tryin’ to take out the Mavs. And Ralph’s Hummer’s just behind him.

  “We got backup, babe.”

  “Who?”

  “Your dad and Ralph.”

  The bikes slam into her side, jarring it hard. I frantically jerk the steering wheel in their direction. My left front tire slips and the truck lurches.

  “Neil!”

  “It’s gonna be okay, babe. Gonna be okay,” I tell her as I manage to get back on firm ground. Only just though.

  It’s the last thing I say to her.

  Cuz in the next second, they slam us again. Much harder.

  Terror grips me as I realize in that split second that I can’t hold it.

  The front tire slips, the truck lurches.

  We tumble down into the gorge.

  Everything’s a blur of intensity as the truck rolls, jarring us violently, over and over, as it crashes down the hill. It don’t feel like it’s ever gonna end ‘til one final agonizing jar as it crashes hard and stops with a blood-curdling thud.

  My heart’s pounding in my chest painfully. So much fucking adrenaline coursing through me, making me wanna hurl. A near-death situation can bring that on. Fuck me. All I can feel is pain. Everywhere. My body’s done. Don’t wanna move. My eyes are heavy and I can barely keep ‘em open. The darkness is tryin’ to pull me under, tugging hard.

  But then I hear Rox groaning. “Neil,” she rasps.

  It’s all I need to will down what my body wants and to push the pain back.

  She’s all that matters.

  I struggle with my seatbelt cuz my hands are slippery with blood and shaking so damn much. The truck’s on its side—my side, so I have to pull myself up to reach her above me. Grunting, I manage to unclasp her seatbelt. She falls into my arms and it takes everything I got not to drop her. Pain rips through my left arm. Damn thing must be broken.

  But all I know is I can’t let go of her, no matter what.

  The smell of gas alerts me that we gotta get the fuck outta here now. The fucking truck could blow.

  Holding her face against my chest to shield her, I thrust my boot at the windshield. There ain’t no other way out. Even though it’s already cracked, it don’t shatter. Come on!

  I try again. Still nothing.

  “I love you,” Rox whimpers in my arms. “Forever.”

  I know what she’s saying. Fuck that. “We ain’t dying, you got me? We ain’t fucking going out like this. I swear it, babe.”

  I kick at the windshield over and over again like a fucking mad man ‘til my foot’s numb.

  I almost can’t believe it when the damn thing finally shatters. Relief like I ain’t never felt in my life washes over me.

  Struggling against the pain my body’s in and Rox’s almost dead weight, I pull us through. I collapse onto the grass with her in my arms.

  But we ain’t far enough away if the truck blows.

  I gather her in my arms and stagger away from the truck for several feet, before my body fails me and my legs buckle.

  I pat down my pockets, tryin’ to find my damn cell phone so I can call an ambulance. I find it, but when I pull it out, the thing’s smashed.

  Looking at Rox, I see she’s barely lucid. There’s a nasty gash on the left side of her head. Shit. Probably got a fucking concussion. I’m ‘bout to search her for her phone, when she grabs my arm and cries, “It hurts.”

  She’s clutching herself and that’s when I see it.

  She’s bleeding…there.

  Our baby! No, no, no! Ain’t happening. We ain’t losing it.

  Squeezing her hands, I croak out, “It’s gonna be fine, beautiful girl. Just fine.”

  “Ax!” a voice booms in the distance.

  What the fuck?

  I glance up and see Ralph and Dealer standing there twenty feet up, looking down at us.

  “I called 911! Ambulance is on its way! Five minutes!” Ralph tells me.

  Dealer looks pained beyond belief. He’s rubbing his face, his eyes fixed on Rox. And then our eyes lock. He shakes his head at me: this is all your fault.

  I look away and look down at Rox, my chest tightening at the sight of her in such a banged up, bloodied state; agony etched on her face, her stilted breathing. Squeezing her hands, I choke out, “Hold on, beautiful girl. Hold on.”

  Chapter 36

  ~Ax~

  I open my eyes. I feel like shit.

  I have to blink several times to clear my blurred vision.

  “Ax! You’re awake!”

  It’s Runner’s voice. I turn to see him, Smiter and Grit sitting to my right.

  “What’s happening…where….?” I murmur, struggling to sit up.

  I’m stopped by an IV in my arm. I grunt at the sharp pain that shoots through my wrist and my left arm for some reason. I glance down at myself to see my arm’s in a sling.

  “Stop,” Smiter orders. “You won’t be able to move right now.”

  “Fuck that,” I mutter.

  “You got two broken ribs, Ax,” Runner tells me.

  Argh! I growl and stay where I am. Smiter steps up to my bed and tells me, “You’re in Brockford General Hospital. Been out for a couple of hours now. Your left arm is shattered in several places from the impact of the crash. Got a broken nose from your fight with Broker, along with the ribs Runner mentioned, knuckles on both your hands are shredded. And you got God knows how many stitches in your fucking face too.”

  “What? How you guys know what went down?”

  “Ralph told us when we burst on in here raising hell and demanding to see you,” Runner says. “I’m your emergency contact, remember?”

  “Right, yeah.”

  In all the confusion and the high of the drugs I can feel running through my fucking veins, it takes it this l
ong to hit me. “Fuck! Where’s she? Where’s Rox?”

  “She’s down the hall. She’s okay,” Smiter answers.

  I fight to get outta bed. “Gotta see her. Now.”

  The three of ‘em all work to restrain me.

  “Fuck off! Gotta see my girl! Now!” I bellow.

  “Let him see her,” Smiter says.

  “Yeah? He can’t walk. Doc said he needed to rest and heal up,” Runner argues.

  “Go find that nurse you were hitting on earlier. Get us a wheelchair for him,” Grit suggests.

  Runner nods. “Yeah, good idea.” Next thing I know, he’s bolting outta the room.

  “Kid’s got mad persuasion skills over the bitches he meets,” Smiter says. “I swear, he could just snap his fingers and they’d have their panties off for him.”

  Grit laughs, but I’m too anxious ‘bout Rox to do anything but focus on that damn door opening again and Runner coming back in with my way of getting to her.

  It seems like a goddamn eternity before he finally comes back in, a wheelchair with him.

  The three of ‘em help me into the chair, ignoring my grumbling at having to be treated like a damn invalid.

  As Smiter pushes me towards Rox’s room with Grit and Runner following at the sides, my stomach lurches as I see Dealer striding down the hall. For once he don’t look his usual angry self. He looks completely stricken.

  But as soon as he sees me, that anger’s right back.

  He storms up to us, roaring, “Told you to stay the fuck away from her, Ax!”

  “What the fucking hell?” Runner exclaims. “Is this…real?”

  “Dealer’s alive?” Grit gasps.

  “You knew?” Smiter asks me, putting two and two together given Dealer’s angry statement ‘bout giving me a warning with Rox.

  “Long story. Later.”

  Dealer gets in my face and snarls, “This is your fault! My daughter’s in here cuz of you!”

  Grit shoves him back. “Hey, take it down!”

  Dealer gestures wildly at me, before sucking in a breath and scrubbing his hand over his face. “This shit ain’t never gonna stop happening. She’s always gonna be in danger if you’re with her! She don’t belong in this life! I went to extremes to keep her outta it all this time. And then you pulled her into it! Next time, and we all know there’s always a next time, she’s gonna die, you fuck! You love her like you say? Then you gotta walk.” He takes a breath and then says, his voice pained and broken, “Guys like us; we made a choice living the life we live with the club. And cuz of that, girls like her—they ain’t for us, Ax. A guy like you can’t just leave either. You been neck deep in this shit for too many years and cuz of who your old man is, you’re deeper than most. Your connections and enemies will follow you. This is what you are now. I should know. Tried to shake it to be with Kim. Failed. Over and over. And now she’s dead. And that’s on me. You want Rox’s death to be on you? You gotta walk, Ax.”