by Hilary Storm
I wanted him back in my life knowing it would be a tough adjustment, I just never dreamed how bad it could be. And I sure as hell didn’t expect to fall for one of his guys as hard as I did Switch, but that doesn’t matter anymore. There’s no way I could ever go back to the club now that this has all happened.
“I’ve lived most of my life on my own, I’ll be fine.” He exhales loudly when I show rebellion to his suggestion.
“You’re coming with me to an old friend’s house. She’ll be able to keep you safe. Under no circumstances do you ever share where I’m taking you with anyone. This is her safe house and I’ve worked hard to make sure it’s the best there is. The fact that I’m taking you there should tell you how much I care about your stubborn ass.” He stands up and holds his hand out to help me up and I just look at him as I take in the fresh air around me one more time.
If it was only feasible for me to stay in this field and feel the peace I’m going through right now, I’d never leave. But I know it’s not and no matter how much I don’t want to find a new home, that’s what I have to do.
Taking his hand, I let him guide me to my feet. Our slow walk back to the truck is silent and I wonder what he’s thinking while I reflect on the sadness in my heart as I leave behind a part of myself.
He opens the truck door and I step inside and slide into the seat, trying to ignore the pain from moving like that. He looks away as my face fails to hide it and I appreciate him for not making a scene about it. The only way to forget about all of this is to do everything I can to not let what happened define me.
“You alright?” He waits until he’s behind the wheel to ask.
“Never better,” I say with a smile and he sends me a smirk in return before he begins to drive us down the road again.
Switch
We all meet at the north warehouse to plot our next move. It’s killing me to make plans when I want to obliterate their clubhouse and anyone who gets in my way.
“I need eyes inside before we do some stupid shit.” Blade takes this moment to actually think strategically and not lead a free for all of mass murders like I want to. I should feel comfort in that, but it irritates me.
“No. I don’t need fucking eyes. I have my own. Follow me in or I’ll handle this shit myself.” I kick my leg to start my bike and drive fast until I’m headed straight for their club. It isn’t long before I’ve driven through the fucking front door of the Devil’s MC and end up in a slide on my side as I sweep a few of these fuckers off their feet. I can hear engines follow in behind me and guns firing before we’ve taken over the house and have every guy here on their knees and scared out of their fucking minds.
“What the fuck.” One of their patched leaders speaks up as he struggles with the grip Tank has on his neck as he’s slammed into the wall a few times.
“Where’s James?” Not a single mother fucker makes a sound. Rage continues to be my fuel as I pace in front of each of them trying to decide who to kill first.
Piper flashes through my mind and the way she looked when I found her in the salvage yard and I’m gutted all over again.
At least one of the fuckers in front of me had something to do with her attack and it takes everything inside me not to open fire on each of them individually right now with no questions asked. I don’t need their lies to know they’ve done something to deserve death today. It’s how this club is run. I wouldn’t expect anything different from anything James had a part of.
“Where the fuck is James?” I scream like a lunatic and pull the one with the balls to question us to his feet.
“Must be fucking your girl.” The instant he speaks, I lose my shit. No punch to his face is hard enough. Not a single thing could stop me from killing him as I pound his head against the wall until he’s no longer breathing. My grip on his neck is only released as I catch another one of their officers watching me. Dropping the dead weight to the ground, I look around the room and move to the young one with the guilty look on his face.
“Where in the fuck is James?” He starts to stutter and I stick a pistol in his mouth and move very close to his face. Sweat drops from my forehead onto his nose and I repeat myself very slowly. “Where is James? You get one fucking chance to answer me.”
“He skipped town.”
“Chicken shit motherfucker!” Tank yells out just as he responds and before I have a chance to say anything else, Blade is standing side by side with me.
“Did you have anything to do with that girl at the salvage yard the other day?” His breathing quickly increases and panic fills his eyes. I grip his hair and hold his head back so I can look into this fucker’s eyes.
“They made me hold the chains. I swear I didn’t touch her.”
“You fucking held her while they raped her.” My voice is filled with rage as I spit my words in his face. My hold on his hair gives me enough leverage to throw him on his back and stand over him with my gun over his skull.
“If you want to take another breath, tell me who was there that night.” He shakes his head no to me as tears run down his face.
“I’m dead either way.” He knows the deal. We all know what’s going to happen. It’s the way of the club. Revenge has to be taken and they all knew it would be when they kidnapped her.
“But will they find your family and take it out on the ones you love like I will?” Blade steps forward with a murderous look in his eyes that tells this fool below us that he will do anything to find the information we’re asking for.
“Don’t you say one fucking word, Ray. You shut your goddamned mouth.” One of the idiots on the ground begins spewing his bullshit before Tank points his gun and shoots him in the head. I never take my eyes off of Ray below me and just squat down beside him. He needs to understand just how serious I am.
“Was he one of them?” He shakes his head no to me. I mentally begin counting. Seven. James is one of them, I know. Our prospect and Ray must’ve held the chains. So that leaves four more that I need to identify before I blow this fucking place up for the simple reason that they call this their house.
“Who else was there that night?” I hold the gun closer to his face and his eyes move to the guy I just beat to death.
“That fucker was one of them? Did he rape her?” I feel my entire body tense up as I wait for his answer and when he takes too long, I decide to grab him by his scrawny ass neck and lift him to his feet before I smash him into the wall. He’s trembling as my grip tightens and his breathing is constrained simply because I want it to be. His life is literally in my hands… and he knows it.
“How many raped her?” I don’t even recognize my own voice at this point.
“Two because you showed up.” Rage flows through me as the guilt swells up just knowing that if I had been a few minutes earlier, everything she went through could’ve been prevented.
“And you just watched and waited for your turn.” My fingers grip his neck tighter as I watch the life slowly pull away from his face. He will die today by my hands, but I need more information before that happens, so I release just enough to let him breathe. “Who else?”
He looks into my eyes and shakes his head no to me before he speaks around the tightness of my grip on his neck. “You’ll kill me anyway. I’m already a fucking rat. I’ll let it fester within the depths of your soul while you try to figure out the others.” And with that my fingers tighten. My insides twist until a guttural roar escapes me and I work to kill another man with my bare hands.
I have zero remorse as he scrapes my arm, grasping for his last breath. He watches my eyes until I let loose once again. I look around the room at the filth still breathing even though we’re holding them all at gunpoint on their knees. Not a single one of them look at me as I scour the room for any sign of information. “There’s three more, start asking questions until we get some fucking answers. Find someone that means something to this fucker I’m holding.” I turn to look him in the eyes once again, making sure he hears me loud and clear.
“Bring in his kid if that’s what it takes.”
Piper
The sound of Beast’s voice wakes me and I find myself curled up in the seat of his truck. The window is down, but the sun is still beating through the windshield, making me hot and sticky. “You gonna sleep all day?” I can tell he’s leaning over me, so I throw an arm over my forehead to try to ignore him.
“Nice try, stubborn ass. Don’t make me carry you.” He teases me as he opens the truck door and the sound of a female voice startles me and has me sitting up quickly to see where we are. I stop moving as my eyes begin to take it all in. Everything is gorgeous and calm. Trees surround us with the exception of a large cabin to my right. I glance over Beast’s shoulder to see the girl behind the voice and see nothing but beauty in her face.
How in the hell does he know someone who looks so… normal? She looks like your innocent girl next door and I can’t even fathom how in the hell she could be one of his ex-girlfriends. “Please come inside. I’ll show you to your room and you can get some real rest.” Even her voice is calm. She seems nice and all put together. Her clothes and heels make me jealous as I follow her inside. I look like a homeless person with my baggy t-shirt and sweatpants, but honestly I haven’t cared what I look like.
I take in the large living room and kitchen as we walk through the main part of the house. Everything is in its place and even though I try to catch the pictures on the mantle, I miss them while we walk past.
“Here’s the bathroom. Towels are in here.” She opens a closet full of brand new items and starts to pull a few soaps and lotions out. “I picked up some things I thought you might need. I’m sure I forgot something, so please just let me know what else you need and I’ll get it for you.” She sets the stuff in my hands then continues to walk down the hallway until she enters the last door on the right.
“Here’s your bedroom. It’s yours for as long as you need it.” She opens the closet to show me a few dresses and t-shirts and even points to a robe at the back of the closet. “I know it’s just the basics and I promise I’ll help you get it all as soon as you feel up to it. But for now, it’ll get you by so you can rest.” I look down as she walks past. I know I need to say thank you because I truly do appreciate everything, but the reality of it is, I don’t want to need someone to get me things. That’s not who I am. “Thank you.” I force the words from my mouth as she steps into the doorway.
“You’re welcome.” Our eyes meet for a brief second before I look down again. I don’t want her knowing how broken I am.
“You know you can run, but you can’t hide from these guys. When they love you they’ll tear up the world to find you.”
“Who’s to say one of them loves me?” I respond, trying to divert her from speaking what I already know.
“I can see the hurt on your face and I can tell by the way Beast is protecting you. There’s nothing like leaving the club to run from the hurt. I’ve been there. Hell, I live with it every day.” She starts to close the door before I ask the most important question.
“Does it get any easier?”
“No. But you learn to deal with it. You’ll eventually decide that the time you had was worth the ache you live with, but it still hurts like hell every damn day.” I watch her pull the door closed and take in the complete silence. The room is nice, but it’s not my home. I can use it to get on my feet, but I’ll have to move on very soon if I want to make a clean break from everyone.
There’s a long mirror in the corner and I avoid it as I walk through the room. The last thing I want to see is how I look. I can feel how I look and it’s disgusting. Why would I want to go back to being repulsed as I see the bruises and marks all over again?
There’s a stereo on the dresser and out of curiosity, I hit the power button hoping to hear something good come through the speakers. An old country song begins to play and I’m relieved. It’s safe for me to listen to and not have a reminder of what I’m running from. The slow tempo makes the perfect background noise for me to sleep. If I’m lucky, I’ll sleep for a few days and this will all be over once I wake up.
I lie on the bed and cover up with the small blue blanket that was draped over the headboard. I don’t let myself think about anything. The numbness has silenced all of my thoughts and it’s the safest place for me to be right now.
It’s a matter of minutes before I can feel myself giving in to sleep once again and I don’t fight it.
Chapter Fourteen
Switch
Blade forces me out of the room the second I mention bringing in a kid to see this. It’s something I never intended to do, but if that’s what it takes to get the answers I need to avenge Piper’s attack, then that’s what I’ll fucking do. The kid will never be hurt, but I won’t let Ray know that.
“Get your shit together Switch. I’m not bringing a kid in to see this massacre. We need to get this done and get the fuck out of here.” His boots sound heavy as he paces in front of me. He calls the shots in the club and every other time I’ve obeyed and backed him even if I had to say my peace afterward, but not this time. This is my run and I’m not going to end this until I find out who else had a part in ruining Piper.
“Not a fucking chance, Blade. I have to do this for her. She deserves to know that she’s safe from the men who attacked her and if it takes me ‘til my dying day, I’ll find them all.” I wipe the sweat from my forehead and watch him as he hears me yet again stand up to him about a run.
“Did I fucking miss where you took the head of the table? Because lately you seem to think you call the mother fucking shots.”
“No, but on this one, I have to get the answers and I’m confused as fuck that you’re not backing me on this. She’s your sister, for fuck’s sake.” He stops moving and glares at me over his shoulder. I can feel his anger, but today it doesn’t affect me. It’s nothing compared to the hate I’m feeling inside knowing that the men who did this to her still have a breath in their body.
“I fucking know who she is. But I also can’t risk my entire club while you torture revenge each one who may have had something to do with her. We end it now and we can finish shit later. The entire club will go before I’m done with this so we will get all of them.”
He slams his fist into the wall before he runs his hands through his hair like he’s trying to get a grip and I want nothing more than to go back in that room and light every one of those fuckers on fire.
I push off the wall and slam the door open to see that Tank and the prospects have all the guys against the wall with the exception of Ray. My eyes make contact with the man that will be providing me the information I need to end this manhunt one way or another. I reach down and lift him up by his hair and begin to drag him over the men against the wall. Forcing him to stand and face them is a pain in the ass, but I need him to talk.
“Which one of these fuckers touched her?” I look to any of them for a reaction, only to be denied any sign either way. When he doesn’t respond right away, I swallow hard and order the one command I may one-day regret. “Go find the kid and I’ll call you with the location to meet me.” The prospect moves quickly, probably wanting out of this fucking mess before it gets any worse. Ray begins to cry out knowing I’m pulling in the leverage to make him talk.
There’s four on the wall. I need three men identified. I want more than anything for all of them to be in here, but something tells me it won’t be that easy. Tank yanks one of them to his feet and holds him in front of us while I force Ray to answer me. “Was this fucker there?” He nods his head yes and without another thought, I end the fucker’s life with a bullet. I move us a few feet further until we’re in front of an older man. My stomach hurls at the thought of him even seeing her naked. Ray actually speaks this time. “Not him. He’s innocent.” I aim my gun at the old man’s head and think about how to proceed. Looking down, I catch a glimpse of the cross on his neck and reach to get a better look. I recognize it from somewhere, but I can’t seem to place it.
“If you want him to live, tell me who the last two are.” I no longer recognize my own voice or the raging thoughts that have taken over my head.
“The last two are right there.”
“Fucking liar!” the guy on the end screams out the second Ray seals his death sentence. I don’t have to take care of the last two, Blade was more than eager to handle them before I had to even say anything. I shove my gun in the old man’s back and move Ray next to him as I lead them both to the door. “Clean this shit up. Wipe this club out. I’m taking the truck. Someone get my bike.” Shoving them both through the door I leave knowing this club has seen its last day. Tank knows what to do and my only focus is finding James right now. Ray seems to be the only one willing to talk… even if it’s forced. I have his father and I’ll have his kid soon. If he knows anything, he’ll talk.
“Where’s James?” I ask him one last time. He knows it’s his last chance, but only closes his eyes and shakes his head no to me.
“I don’t know.”
“Get the fuck in the truck.” One last shove to Ray sends him into the side of the truck and him losing his footing. I don’t shove his father and try to process exactly what I’m going to do with this guy. He has to know his son is about to die.
“Put this over your eyes and get on the floor.” I toss a shirt at the old man, yank open the back door, and stand impatiently as I wait for him to crawl in. He moves slowly and the way he moves reminds me of my grandfather from the back. That pisses me off even further so I take it out on Ray before I shove him into the front seat.
