Knox (Hellbound Lovers MC #8)

by Crimson Syn

  Her hand came up to my cheek and she tried to pull me in to deepen the kiss, but I grabbed her hand to stop her.

  “Knox,” her whisper a plea as she pressed herself against me.

  “Want my kisses, do you?” I teased her as I looked down at her, cupping her cheek.

  She closed her eyes and leaned into my hand. “Please.”

  Gripping her neck, she gave out a soft whimper and I pulled her into me and dragged my mouth against hers. Her moans got lost in my mouth as I held her tight while I nipped at her bottom lip. She dragged her fingertips along the back of my neck while molding herself to me. I fucking loved that gesture of possession she had with me. It made my blood sizzle and my body stir.

  “Take me home, Knox,” she purred against my mouth as her hand slid down across my crotch. My cock strained against her touch and I grunted, my hips lifting slightly to encourage her.

  She giggled against my mouth and I growled. “Tease.”

  “You know it, baby. Now please take me home. I want to purr for you again.”

  She slid out of the booth and I stared at her round tight ass as it swayed in front of me. Leaving a twenty on the table I chased after her. I grabbed her around the waist as we approached the bike and as I turned her toward me I spotted him. I'd seen him earlier when I went to the market to grab some supplies. He was now sitting at a booth inside the diner staring down at the menu. I narrowed my eyes at the suit, who looked completely out of place.

  Holding Jade tightly I leaned down and pressed my lips to her ear. “We’re being followed.”

  Immediately her body tensed up, but she simply slid her hands around my waist as if nothing was wrong. “How do you know?”

  I smiled down at her and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Because I’ve seen him before,” I tilted my head slightly, “and now he’s sitting by the window pretending to read the menu. He’s looked up at us like three times already.”

  “Should we go?”

  I nodded. “Just don’t draw any attention and make sure to grab on tight.”

  I hopped on my Triumph and she slid in right behind me. Her hands wrapped tightly around my waist and I took off. Everything was calm until a few miles later when out of the corner of my eye, the gold grill of that black Cadillac glimmered in my side mirror. I cursed under my breath and squeezed Jade’s hands, she gripped me tight and leaned in with me to take the first turn. In and out of curves, we rode quietly, picking up speed gradually. The Cadillac was gaining on us, my bike was fast, but these winding roads were slowing me down. I knew that if he made contact, we’d both be dead. I needed to think fast.

  We were snaking through the cliff roads, the motherfucker was fast, but this was my turf. About a quarter mile up, that was my out. If I timed it right, I could take the old gravel path on a side road that I knew was closed because of the storms. But it wasn't about outmaneuvering him, I needed to make him immobile. I had only one shot, take the turn, draw my gun, and put one in his back tire.

  I swerved right then left, and just as he was on our ass I took that sharp right up to the gravel path. I slid the bike up into the turn, slammed the brakes watching the Cadillac grind its brakes but unable to take that turn with me. The opportunity was open and taking my gun out, I unloaded the entire clip into the back of that Cadillac hitting tires, the gas tank, anything that would slow the fucker down. I hoped one of my bullets caught that fucking driver. The sound of the horn filled the air and I knew the driver was down. The car continued to roll right into a ditch as Jade held on tight to me. I placed my hand over hers to reassure her.

  Swerving the bike around, I headed back out to the main road. Fuckers had found us, and I was preparing to kill every single one of them if they got in my way.

  The sun had set by the time we got back to the house. Jade was shaking as she slid off the bike. She took her helmet off and shook her blonde hair out. She looked like a fucking biker angel in those tight leather pants and leather jacket.

  She placed the helmet under her arm and turned to me. “What the fuck!”

  I nodded. “I know baby. I know.”

  “He found me. We have to go Knox. Now!”

  She stormed off into the house and I followed close behind. Throwing the helmet to the side she knelt and slid our bags from under the bed.

  “We need to go far away. Where he can’t find us. Where he can’t hurt you.”

  I leaned on the doorframe and raised an eyebrow as I watched her start to grab clothes from the drawers and slam them into the bags. I took a deep sigh when I realized she wasn’t going to stop until we had our bags packed and were on the road.

  I came up to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. I placed my hands over hers and she stilled, she was shaking. I spun her around and she wrapped her arms around me. Sobs escaped her and I hated how vulnerable she’d become. She was my strong kitten, and seeing her like this, scared for her life and mine, it pissed me the fuck off that La Cruz had managed to get that far into her head.

  As we stood there, the proximity sensor on my phone started going off letting us know someone had infiltrated the grounds. Jade looked up at me with terror in her eyes. I took the gun out that was strapped to my waist and handed it to her.

  “Stay here. Don’t move until I come back. If anyone other than me walks through that door, you make sure that shot counts.”

  I ran to the back of the house toward the surveillance room. Scanning the feed, I spotted two men approaching from the side, another two from the front. Grabbing one of the guns we kept in the room, I knew we were easily outnumbered. I ran back to the bedroom to grab Jade but as I approached, two shots were fired followed by her muffled scream. The sound stopped me in my tracks as I raised my gun. I hugged the doorway and I screamed her name hoping to hear a response.

  “Jade? Jade!”

  The sound a man’s voice sent chills up my spine. “Jade can’t answer you right now,” immediately, her muffled screams were heard from beneath his hands.

  "Let her go, motherfucker unless you want a bullet between your eyes."

  “You’re outgunned, and god forbid a stray bullet hits her pretty little head in a gunfight. Drop the gun, kick it through the doorway and I know you’ve heard this before, put your hands on your head and walk through the door slowly, Hero.

  I struggled for a moment, debating my options. If I were alone I’d take the fucking chance and take the fucker out, but it was Jade we were talking about. I slid the gun across the wooden floor and taking caution, I raised my hands and made my way into the room. The same fucker I’d seen at the diner had her pressed up against him like a human shield. A hand wrapped around her mouth and the barrel of a gun pressed against her temple.

  “The infamous Eric Knox in the flesh. The MC Enforcer responsible for causing us so much trouble.” He looked down at Jade, smelled her hair and smiled smugly back at me. “It’s amazing how a pretty smile and a tight pussy can make even the biggest bad soft. I must say, you got talent, giving us shit all over this city, but now we find ourselves in a particular situation. You know you should thank me. I kept La Cruz from ruining your girl here. I could see why he’s obsessed with her. She’s a wild one, this one.”

  His nose grazed her cheek and she struggled against him. “You don’t need her let her go. Let her go!”

  He smirked at me and shook his head. His eyes met mine once more and a stillness filled the air. “Can I ask you a question?”

  I glared back at him, clenching my jaw, not giving him an answer. He continued anyway.

  “What does she mean to you?”

  I finally looked at her, at my sweet Jade. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked back at mine.

  “She means every…”

  The shot rang out and a shot of pain seared the right side of my head, sending me to the floor. I struggled for a moment hearing her screams as she was dragged down the hall.

  I felt more than saw him standing over me. Kicking my foot, he smirked. �
�That’s funny. That’s what La Cruz says too.”

  I heard cars in the distance and my Jade screaming my name before blackness engulfed me.

  15

  Knox

  Her screams cut through my haze. I needed to get to her, I needed to protect her. I couldn’t let him take her. Her face full of tears appeared and I ached for her, reaching out to her but she was being dragged away. I kept screaming her name as the fog engulfed me, blinding me. The sound of shots echoed above me, Wolf yelling my name and Jackson’s dead eyes looking back at me.

  He suddenly spoke. “Get up Knox! Go! Find her!”

  A ringing followed by a sharp pain jolted me awake. My eyes shot open and I awoke drenched in sweat and lying in a pool of blood. I touched the side of my head and looking down at my hand I realized the blood was mine. The whole side of my face was drenched in it. I had taken a fucking bullet and luckily it had grazed the side of my head, the impact must have knocked me out cold. The fucker must have thought I was dead. I looked around, blinking a few times, trying to clear up my sight.

  My head spun as I forced myself up off the floor, holding onto the wall for support. I fought, trying to get myself together. I knew they’d taken Jade, I could sense the emptiness in the house. The feeling tore me to pieces. Reeling, I grabbed my head to keep it from pounding. I tried to steady myself, reaching for my gun and keys. Grabbing my jacket, I practically stumbled down the stairs and out the back door. I tried shaking off the pain and dizziness, aware that every minute counted.

  If La Cruz managed to hide Jade, I had a feeling we'd never find her. The son of a bitch wanted payback and he'd hurt her to get it. It took us months to finally find him, fuck if it wasn't for Jade we'd never have found the fucker. Fear hit me square in the chest at the thought of never finding her. Of spending months without my sweet girl. I'd rather fucking die than let something bad happen to her.

  “Fuck!”

  Gratefully my bike was still hidden where I'd left it. Not a scratch on her. Unlike the old beat up truck, we kept in the driveway. It was completely destroyed, tires slashed, windows smashed in. Fuckers had no idea how the Hellbound Lovers traveled. I had three more bikes like this parked in the garage.

  My head spun as I started up the bike. I took a deep breath trying to get myself together and I finally pulled out heading straight for the main docks. If anything, these fuckers had to get on the ferry in order to get off the island. I was going way too fast, my head still spinning. The way these roads hugged the edge of the cliff, even without a shot to the head, each turn at this speed was a death trap. I didn’t care. They had my Jade.

  The blood, like sweat in my eyes, blinded me. I ignored it, going full speed towards that boat. In my haze, I could see the marina lights coming closer and closer. The sound of a foghorn signaling a ferry's departure, making me turn the throttle as far as it would go. They had my Jade.

  I needed to get to that boat and across the island as fast as possible. I barreled through the marina not caring that I was no longer on the road. I needed to get on that ferry. The closer I got, the farther it did. My hands were shaking not cause of fear but because my bike was on the dock and I was quickly running out of pavement. Reality suddenly hit, I slammed on the brakes but it was too late so I had to put her down. I held on to the dragging bike to try to keep her out of the water, but I had to let go when I saw I wasn't going to make it. I didn't even hear it hit the water, all I did was lie there staring at the sky. It was dark. It was nightfall. She wasn't on that goddamn ferry, I just wanted her to be. Too much time had passed.

  Where was she?

  Where was my Jade?

  I sat up. I had to get a handle on this situation. My bike was in the water, my girl was gone, and as the ferry pulled away it felt like it took everything I had with it. I stared at its wake, like staring into an abyss, wondering what to do next.

  The phone rings. Jade’s number appeared on the screen. Frantically, I answered.

  “Jade? Where are you? Are you okay, baby?”

  All I heard was breathing before that familiar Spanish accent filled my head.

  “Hellbound Lovers, it seems that name haunts me. In Colombia, we grow the coca plant on farms that stretch as far as your eyes can see. But like any farm there are rats. Rats that want to take things from you, things you’ve worked hard for, that you grew and built with your bare hands. My rats wear colors, and they ride their bikes through my streets. Vermin that you try to exterminate but they keep coming back. Little rat, seems like you and I are at a crossroads.

  I have your girl.

  She screams for you.

  Do you know who I am?”

  “La Cruz,” his name poisons me.

  “No,” he pauses. “I’m the devil. And it’s time to make a deal.”

  I paused, looking out at the lights of the Los Angeles shipyard in the distance. “The docks, you want the docks.”

  “Seems like the little rat it smarter than I thought. You roll Hellbound?”

  “Till’ Death.”

  “Hellbound owns those docks. You own those docks. And I have something you need and you have something I want.”

  “How do I know she’s alive?”

  I hear him back away from the phone. In Spanish, he gives an order.

  “Dale! Hazla gritar!”

  “Jade?”

  Her screams bellow through my soul. My name is cried out over and over and then muffled, stealing her voice.

  “Motherfucker!” I scream at him through the speaker.

  “Calmate, little rat. She’s no good to me dead. I want you two to be happy together, to have a future together. You bring me the deed to these docks and you lovers can truly ride your bikes to hell, and I wouldn’t give a damn.”

  I looked down at the ground, anger flowing through my veins. “You know, I’ve seen cities burn around me, fire fall from the sky, the desert burn. I’ve seen monsters bigger than you, louder than you. I’ve been afraid for my life, for my brothers next to me, whether in the suck or on the road. But I’m not afraid of you. In fact, I’m eager to meet you. So you just tell me when and where?”

  I hear him smiling through the phone before he speaks. “If I didn’t want to kill you, I’d hire you. It’s a shame we’ll get to meet under these circumstances, but all things happen for a reason. You do what I say, you come alone, you bring that fucking paper, and the rat gets to keep his kitten. Meet me at eleven. Oh, I’m sorry, twenty-three hundred, soldier.”

  “Where?”

  “Look for a black yacht parked on your docks. No, perdón, my docks.”

  I seethed in anger. “If you hurt…”

  “You’re just wasting time. Hasta pronto Hellbound Lover.”

  The phone fell silent and I gripped onto it tightly. This wasn’t about me, it wasn’t about the Hellbound Lovers or that fucking deed. This was about Jade. We swore to protect her. I promised Jackson and I was going to keep my goddamn promise.

  16

  Knox

  “Where is she?”

  I stare back at Wolf and my head falls. “He’s holding her at his yacht. He’s using her as leverage, he wants the deed to the docks.”

  “Fuck!”

  “He said I needed to go alone.”

  “The fuck you do. The Hellbound Lovers ride together! That’s not about to change.”

  He looked at Ash, the Death Row Shooters’ Sargent at Arms, who was leaning up against the bar watching us. “Get Ryan on the phone. He needs to know about this.”

  “Are you givin’ up the deed, Stone? Cause I don’t think my boss will want to hear that.”

  “Did I say that?” Wolf stared back at the larger man, a hard look in his eyes. Ash knew better than to challenge him and he backed down immediately.

  “Nah, boss. I was just sayin’... I’ll call up the Prez, no worries.”

  He disappeared down the hallway and I looked back at Wolf. “Are you asking him for the deed?”

  “There’s no fucking way
we’re giving up that turf. And there’s no fucking way I’m giving up on you or Jade.”

  "Maybe we need a diversion," Poe said from the back. Poe was VP to Ryan Simon. He'd been with us for quite a while now, and I think we all knew this was the moment of truth. This moment right here could be the end of all this fucking bullshit.

  “A diversion?” Diesel smirked. “And how do you propose that, Poet?”

  “You said he’s on a yacht, right? Which means he’s floating on water, open on all sides. You attack from the right, we attack from the back. You two,” he pointed at Diesel and Gunner, “You’re our eyes above. You cover the left. He’ll never know what hit him.”

  Wolf shook his head. “It sounds too easy. He’s got to have a plan. He’s always got someone watching us.”

  “But he doesn’t have eyes on us,” Father King walked in with his army of bikers.

  The Fallen Kings were a crew of serious outlaws, they’d seen and been through shit we could only imagine. Wolf and Father had a lot in common. They both had been at one time or another been hired guns and they both had done seriously illegal shit to protect their charges. They had a mutual understanding based on respect and their loyalty to their colors.

  “Rex,” Wolf nodded in greeting.

  “Wolf,” Father nodded back. Only Wolf was allowed to call him by his Christian name, but God forbid one of us ever even breathed it.

  “The kid’s got a good plan there. I think we should go ahead and pay attention.”

  Wolf took a deep sigh. He was the voice of reason and it was surprising how much pull he had among the MCs, even one as seasoned as the Fallen Kings. They all hung on his every word and trusted him as a leader. Fuck, we all did.

  “Okay, but the Fallen Kings stay back. You stay on alert until we call for backup. You’re right, they’ll never suspect you coming.”

  “Wolf,” Scarlett called out to him from the stairs. She was cradling Ryder in her arms.