by Nina Levine
That was clearly not something he’d expected. The flash of confusion in his eyes passed quickly though. “What the fuck?”
I cupped my breasts. “I have a thing for chests, so these bad boys come out when your shirt comes off.”
His shirt hit the floor a moment later and he stared at me expectantly.
My gaze fixed on the tattoo on his chest. The proof I needed to know he was the man I believed him to be.
“Tits. Out,” he roared, startling me.
I shrunk a little at his angry tone, but recovered fast. Pulling my dress down, I exposed my naked breasts.
He sucked in a breath. “Fucking perfect.”
I ran my hands over my breasts as I continued to dance for him. Every second sickened me. When I finished with him, I would spend hours washing his grime off me.
The end justifies the means, Tatum.
It did.
Every single minute of every single day of the last nine months had been spent working towards that end. I wouldn’t back the fuck down after all that. And I certainly wouldn’t lose my chance to settle the score.
He slapped my hands out of the way and yanked me to him. His movements caught me off guard, and before I knew it, he had his hands on my ass and his mouth all over my breasts.
Fuck.
I froze.
Our eyes locked and he must have seen something there that made him question this. Gripping my hair, he pulled my head back. “I wanna know who the fuck you are. But first, I want my dick in that ass of yours.”
Ice slid through my veins at the cold emptiness laced through his words. My mind raced with possible scenarios of how I would get myself out of the shit I was in. Before I managed to settle on a plan, he stood, picked me up and threw me on the bed face first.
I scrambled to flip myself onto my back, but he was faster than I gave him credit for. His strong arm scooped me around the waist while he reached under my dress to rip my panties off.
The sound of them tearing filled my ears, right before the sound of his groan. “Fuck, this ass is something else.” He rubbed my ass cheeks before slipping his hand between my legs to reach for my pussy. “I’m fucking you everywhere tonight so get ready, because this isn’t gonna be pretty for you. You’re dry as a fucking desert.”
I squeezed my eyes shut while he shoved his finger in my pussy. My body shook with dread, but no fucking way was I going down without a fight. I’d anticipated this could get messy, and I’d come prepared.
Waiting for that moment where his attention would be on himself for at least a split second, I focused on getting my breathing under control.
You can do this.
You can’t let him get away with the shit he’s done.
He finished fingering me, and his hold around my waist loosened. I knew that was my moment, so as fast as I could, I thrust my body forward, away from him. As soon as I was out of his hold, I flipped over and reached for the knife I’d secured around my ankle in my boots. Gripping it hard, I lunged at him, aiming the knife at his chest.
I almost succeeded.
Again, he was too fast, his reflexes finely honed for battle. He grasped my wrist and twisted my arm. “Fucking bitch,” he snarled as he forced the knife from my hand. “You’ll pay for this.”
My heart crashed into my chest. “I’ve already paid for it, asshole. There’s nothing more you can do to me that will make it any worse.”
His fist smashed into my cheek, delivering pain that slowed me down. I ended up almost falling off the bed. My head and upper body dangled off the side while the rest of my body lay sprawled sideways across the mattress. I tried like hell to force myself onto the floor; however, he had other ideas.
The bed dipped as he planted himself either side of me. A second later, he grabbed a handful of my hair and wrenched my head back, twisting it to the side so he could see my cheek. His heavy body covered mine, almost suffocating me, and he punched me hard in the face again. So hard I saw black.
I gasped for air as the pain consumed me.
I’m going to die.
I’m going to die at the hands of a filthy biker.
It was a good day to die.
As much as I’d gone there to kill him, I’d always known there was a good chance he’d kill me instead.
I was okay with that.
Because the truth was, I’d died nine months ago.
The day he’d taken the one person I cared about the most in the world was the day I gave up wanting to live.
And now he would take my life, too.
3
Nitro
“Hell’s Bells” by AC/DC
The smell of sex hit my nostrils.
And blood.
I smelt it, too.
Then a voice came screeching at me. “Huge fucking mistake!” And a fist flew at my face.
I presumed he referred to the fact I’d barged into his hotel room and interrupted the filthy shit going on. I hadn’t had a good chance to see what he was doing, but I’d taken in a blonde lying facedown across the bed. She didn’t look conscious so I figured he’d been fucking her without her knowledge.
Not something I ever fucking condoned.
He’d pay for that, too.
Adrenaline spiked through me as every muscle prepared for battle. I grabbed his fist, clamping my fingers tightly around his wrist. With great force, I pulled him towards me with one hand while I pointed my gun in the direction of his dick.
It was a beautiful and almost-too-easy meeting of karma and victory when I pulled the trigger and shot his dick to shit.
Truth be told, the blonde had helped me. She’d provided the distraction I needed to take him by surprise. I’d moved fast once I got through the door, because I’d expected him to react swiftly. He hadn’t, and so there we were—him on his knees clutching where his cock used to hang, and me staring down at him.
“Doesn’t look like a mistake to me,” I muttered. Crouching, I held the gun to his head. “What I’m trying to figure out now is whether to make this quick so I can get out of here, or whether to deliver a slow death that would give me the kind of satisfaction I’m craving right about now.”
His empty eyes stared at me. He made no move to fight me. Simply knelt there in his agony, drawing ragged breaths and grunting through the pain.
When he said nothing, I continued, “I think I’ll do it fast. But only because I’m more than ready to feed the news of your death to Dragon.” Silver Hell’s president.
His lips curled. “Kill me, motherfucker. Dragon’s got more men ready to take my place.”
“Not once we’re done with him tonight. When we refuse a truce, we don’t just sit back and wait for your next move.” Dragon would wish he’d never started this with us by morning.
My phone rang. I stood to answer the call and the asshole decided to give his life one last shot by punching my crotch.
“What?” I barked into the phone as I fired the gun, ignoring the pain radiating from my balls.
“You done?” King demanded. “We need you back here.”
I looked down at the lifeless body on the floor. “It’s done. I’m on my way now.”
He terminated the call without another word and I shoved the phone in my back pocket. Glancing at the blonde on the bed, I wavered between the decision to check her pulse or get the fuck out of there. In the end, it was the moan she expelled that drove me towards her.
Making my way to the side of the bed where her head hung, I swung her body so she lay the length of the bed with her head on the pillow. She was regaining consciousness, and as I moved her, she cried out in agony. The noise splintered through the room, shards of her torment fracturing the stillness around us.
He’d done a fucking number on her. Blood messed up her face and stuck in her long hair. It was the swelling, though, that gave me pause. She’d be black and blue from this beating.
As my gaze moved from her face down her body, I realised this was the blonde I’d had an altercatio
n with earlier. Her face was unrecognisable, but the tattoos covering her neck clearly identified her. I’d recognise them anywhere. They painted her neck, flowed down to her breasts and extended out to her shoulders to meet the tattoos on both arms. They were the kind of tattoos I’d like to study. Whoever did them was clearly talented and believed in quality.
She swallowed and tried to move. The pain appeared excruciating, because her face contorted and she cried out again. She squinted at me through her swollen eyes. “Fuck,” she rasped. Her breathing picked up and she swallowed madly, probably trying to lubricate her dry throat.
When her body jerked on the bed, I figured she was attempting to leave, but there was no way she’d be walking out of there anytime soon.
“Where’s—” she started, but I cut her off.
“He’s dead.”
My phone rang again.
Renee.
I answered it. “I’m in the middle of something. Can this wait?”
The blonde cried out again as she sat up.
“Who’s that?” Renee asked.
I watched the blonde wiggle her way to the edge of the bed, wincing with each movement. “No one. I’ll call you back in a minute.”
“She sounds like she’s in pain.”
Renee had a fucking sixth sense. “She is.”
“You don’t sound like you care.”
“That’s because I don’t.”
Silence for a beat. “I hate that, Nitro. You should care. And you should help her.”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “I’m hanging up now, Renee.”
“Call me back.”
Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I eyed the blonde. Her tits spilled out of the dress that sat scrunched around her middle. She wore no panties either; her bare pussy was on full display. Blood had dried on her neck and chest. That was in addition to the blood on her face and in her hair.
I’d bet my last dollar she had broken ribs. I’d also bet he’d raped her. I’d noticed cum on her ass and on the back of her dress when I moved her body. She was a fucking mess and I doubted she’d be able to leave without assistance, which presented me with a dilemma. If I left her there, the hotel staff would find her with a dead body. No way was I leaving a witness at the scene of my crime.
I had two options: kill her or take her with me.
By far, the easiest option was to kill her. It was the choice I was leaning towards. The last thing the club needed was to deal with this.
As I made the choice I had to make, she craned her neck so she could look at the dead body of the man who’d assaulted her. She then looked back at me and said, “Thank you.” Her voice was scratchy and she had trouble getting the words out, but her gratitude rang out clear as day.
I stilled.
People didn’t thank me for shit.
Well, except for Renee.
“Who was he to you?” I asked.
She exhaled a long breath. “He murdered my brother.”
My fingers squeezed the gun in my hand.
Itching to shoot.
Her eyes dropped to the gun. “Are you gonna hurry this up?”
You should care.
You should help her.
Fucking Renee.
My chest tightened.
“Fuck,” I muttered as I holstered my gun. “Can you stand?”
“Why?”
“Because you’re coming with me.”
She stared at me, wasting my time. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Yeah, you are. Now stand the fuck up.” When she didn’t do as I said, I barked, “Stand up or else I’m gonna pull you up and that shit’s gonna hurt way worse than if you do it yourself.”
Eyes that bled hate stared up at me. “Fuck you.” She may have been sitting on that bed in a world of pain, but her body straightened with determination. “Just kill me.”
I stepped forward and placed my hands under her arms. Keeping hold of her resentful gaze, I pulled her up. She managed to stand and I was surprised when not one sound of agony came from her.
“It’s not your night to die. Fix your dress,” I ordered.
She glared at me, but did what I said. I had a feeling that if she wasn’t battered, she’d be fighting me every step of the way. Either that, or taking the gun off me and blowing her own brains out.
After she repositioned the dress, I shrugged my leather jacket off and said, “Put your arms out. You’ll need to wear this out of here to cover as much of you as we can. I don’t need security looking at us any more than they already will.”
Once we had the jacket on, I guided her into the bathroom and cleaned her face and hair up as best I could. I also cleaned the cum off her dress. She gritted her teeth through the pain, again not uttering a sound through the process.
“Right, I’m going to put my arm around you and you’re not going to pull out of my hold. Keep your head down and don’t make eye contact with anyone. Your face is a fucking mess; I don’t need anyone getting a look at that.”
She didn’t respond, just continued watching me like she wanted to jam a sharp object in my chest.
I gripped her bicep, squeezing just hard enough to draw a cry of pain. “You make a fucking scene and that beating he gave you will seem like a walk in the park. You got that?”
Drawing herself close to me, she spewed her anger in a violent surge of words. “What I’ve got is that you’re no better than he was. How men like you sleep at night eludes me. Forcing women to do shit they don’t want to is one of the lowest acts a man can do.”
My whole body tensed and my nostrils flared as I took a deep breath. “Don’t fucking say that shit to me again. You know jack about me.”
With that, I yanked her out of the bathroom, and flung the hotel door open. Shoving her into the hallway, I draped my arm around her shoulders and led her to the elevator.
Every sense alert, I was ready to take on anyone who got in our way. I’d shoot my way out of this fucking casino if I had to.
4
Tatum
“Ghost” by Massive
There were moments in your life that brought you to your knees. Moments that punched the absolute fuck out of you.
I was having one of those moments.
I thought life had already handed me my heart on a platter. Bleeding and bruised. Turned out life wasn’t done with me yet. Bleeding and bruised wasn’t enough.
“Stop dragging your feet,” the big guy muttered as he dragged me through the foyer of the casino. His arm tightened around my shoulders as he picked up his pace. The front door was in view and I practically smelt his desire to make it through that door.
I could hardly match his pace a moment ago; I wasn’t sure how he expected me to match his new speed. My whole body ached, and I was convinced my ribs were broken. The pain was excruciating and breathing only made it worse. On top of the pain in my body, my head throbbed, slowing me down further. I didn’t want to walk and I sure as hell didn’t want to think, but this asshole was giving me no choice. If I wanted to make it through the night, I’d have to do both.
I attempted to walk faster, but my efforts only caused me to stumble. As I went down, his strong arms clutched me, holding me up.
The new surge of pain through my body killed like a motherfucker and I couldn’t hold my agony in. I cried out, stifling it as much as I could, but the sound was enough to draw the attention of casino security.
Suspicious eyes narrowed on me before swiftly looking at the big guy. Clearly the security guard didn’t like what he saw. He stopped us as we tried to exit the building.
“Ma’am, are you okay?”
The arm around me gripped my shoulder harder and I contained my wince. Nodding, I said, “Yes.”
The guard stared at my face before glancing at my body. “No, I don’t think you are. Is this man hurting you?”
My life flashed before my eyes for the second time that day. Was I really ready to die? Because that would surely happen if I didn�
�t do as the big guy had ordered. I knew that for a fact. He’d go down in a blaze of glory before he’d concede defeat, and I’d get caught in the crossfire.
So, I pushed every thought out of my mind and focused completely on convincing the guard he was wrong. Pulling my shoulders back, I turned my body towards the big guy’s and wrapped my arms around his waist. Looking at the guard, I said, “He’s my boyfriend; there’s no way he’d ever hurt me. The bruises you see on me are from another asshole who assaulted me earlier tonight if you must know. Now, if you’d please let us past, I’d like to go home and forget this day ever happened.” The body my arms were wrapped around stiffened.
The guard stared at me. Shocked. “Umm….” He cleared his throat, not seeming to know what to say.
The big guy took his opportunity. “Thanks for your concern, man, but I’ve got this. I just wanna get her home, okay?” He may have tacked a question on the end of that statement, but his tone made his stance clear—he wasn’t actually asking for permission.
The guard nodded as he took a step back. “Sure.”
“Thank you,” I murmured as I was whisked past him, although I wasn’t sure what I was thanking him for. For all I knew, I may have just made one of the worst decisions of my life.
* * *
The ride on his bike was unbearable. Trying to cling to someone on the back of a moving bike while every muscle and bone ached was like playing Russian roulette. There were moments my mind drifted to thoughts of letting go. I imagined flying off the bike, falling to my death.
Finally.
No more pain.
No more heartache.
And then I imagined not dying. It’d be just my luck to survive that and end up in a wheelchair. My fighting instincts kicked in at that thought. I’d rather take my chances with the biker and try to find my way out of this mess than give up without a fight.
We rode for what felt like forever. I breathed a sigh of relief when he slowed the bike and pulled into a back street. However, when I realised he’d taken me to his clubhouse, apprehension knotted in my stomach.
