Trev grabbed his beer bottle and threw it against the wall.
It shattered and what followed was nothing but silence.
He rubbed his jaw and shook his head. “Fuck. This is on me.”
“Prez,” Cash said.
“No. This is on me. I shouldn’t have let him leave the lot. I should have had better prospects out there to make sure Jade didn’t leave. I can’t go back now. I can only move forward.”
“I’m working on the tracker right now,” Cade said. “I don’t know what one he took.”
“How many did you get?” Austin asked.
“Let’s just say there was a surplus,” Cade said. “And I got a hell of a deal on them.”
“Fuck,” Trev said. He hung his head.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean—”
“It doesn’t fucking matter,” Trev growled. “One of my own is out there, under attack. By himself. And the thing is … he’s fucking crazy enough to stay alive. No matter what they do to him.”
So if they didn’t kill him … they—
My eyes went wide. “I know what they’ll do.”
“What?” Jasper asked.
“Liver.”
“Liver?” Cash asked.
“My story. With my father. Johnny wants a liver in return for my betrayal. They’re going to cut out his liver. That’s the whole point of this. They’re going—”
Jasper slipped an arm around me. “Stop right now. Stop thinking about what could happen. Anything could fucking happen to him. Right now, we go with factual information and take the right action.”
I nodded.
It was hard not to think about though. To imagine Max getting held down and cut open because of me.
“That son of a bitch,” Cash said. “Remember the time he got arrested mid-lap dance at the strip club?”
“And he made the cops wait until he was done,” Austin said.
Cash looked at me. “So he’s sitting there, right? Cops slap cuffs on him. He tells the cops he’s got five minutes left. Then he asks for one more drink and when the cop tries to give it to him, he head butts the shot glass to the floor, steps on it, and stands up. Towering over these two cops, right? He backs them into a fucking corner. I’d never seen anything like it.”
“Shit,” Austin said with a laugh. “Then the one cop hurries to take off the cuffs. The guy was terrified of Max. And he was the one under arrest. I never saw someone get away from cops without running or doing something stupid.”
“Max was just crazy,” Cash said. He slammed his hand on the bar. “Fucking crazy, but so fucking loyal.”
“Like the time I needed help with an old thing,” Austin said.
“What old thing?” I asked.
“An old crew situation,” Austin said. “I ran with another group a long time ago. They were out for blood. Max stood right up and went with me. Right into the goddamn fire. We fought six of them. Just me and him. And, man, did we get our ass kicked. They damn near killed us. And there we were, sitting on our ass, bleeding. I had broken fingers and a dislocated shoulder. Max had internal damage done. He pissed blood for a while. The guys were hovering over us like a pack of dogs. They weren’t done feeding yet. I looked at Max and he looked at me. We nodded to each other. It was win or die. So we got back to our feet. And all six of those motherfuckers started to laugh at us. While they were laughing, crazy fucking Max was plotting.” Austin looked me dead in the eyes. “I never saw someone move like he did then. Suddenly his hands were just throwing punches. Left, right, left, right, over and over, turning and hitting all those pricks right in the eyes. Poking their fucking eyes.”
I smiled.
That sounds like my Max.
“Once we had them confused, we took control. We walked away from that fight. Arms around each other, smoking some cigs, waiting for a shot of whiskey to dull the pain.”
“Speaking of which,” Cash said.
He reached behind the bar for a bottle of whiskey.
He put it on the bar and twisted the cap off.
A second later, Trev grabbed Cash’s wrist. “We’re not going to drink to his memory.” Trev looked around at all of us. “We’re going to drink with him. Standing right fucking here.”
Everyone fell silent again.
Except for Cade.
He jumped from a barstool. “I know where he is!”
36
(max)
I opened my eyes and realized I was tied to a chair. In the middle of an empty warehouse. How fucking typical for my life, huh? My head throbbed everywhere. I felt drunk, groggy, as I looked around and tried to assess my surroundings.
I heard something slap and looked back to see Johnny putting on rubber gloves.
“He’s awake,” Johnny announced. “Good. I was worried about that. I’d prefer you awake. So I can enjoy this.”
“What do you really want, Johnny?” I asked. “This liver thing is bullshit. You’re trying to massage yourself.”
“I’m not in the mood to talk. Let’s shut our patient up.”
Don came forward and stuffed a cloth into my mouth. I didn’t bother fighting. Or screaming. There was no point to do it. All I could do was look around. Figure out where I was. Hope that enough time went by that my brothers could track me and find me.
“Let’s get him on the table,” Johnny said.
Don pulled me to my feet after cutting the rope that bound me to the chair. I still had rope around my wrists and ankles. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t have a little fun. Buy a little time. Try and fuck with Don and Johnny as much as I could.
I threw my right shoulder as hard as I could, hitting Don in the mouth. I saw blood spray as he fell back. He crashed into the so-called operating table and down to the floor. I turned just in time to see Johnny lunging at me.
He had a sharp knife in his hand and sunk it deep into my shoulder.
I growled deep in my throat, my eyes wide as I absorbed the hot, white pain.
Johnny twisted the knife and walked me back to the table. He ripped the knife out and put it to my throat.
“Try that again and this will be a really fast surgery.”
Don got to his feet, wiping blood off his face. “I want to fucking kill him, Boss.”
“Soon,” Johnny said. “I’ll let you do it, Don. But first, let’s get him ready. Free his hands.”
Don went to work.
The rope was cut so I could be flat on the table. Johnny kept the knife hard to my throat. Don tied me down to the table. My leather cut had already been stripped off and laid like a heap of leather on the floor. That pissed me off more than getting stabbed.
Johnny took the knife away and I felt my pulse throbbing where the blade had been.
“We’re ready,” Johnny said. He lifted my shirt up to my chest. He put a hand to my stomach and ran down to my jeans. He tugged a little and I wiggled. “Easy now. I’m not interested in that.”
The rag in my mouth had everything dry.
Johnny walked away and got himself a little tray. There were some serious looking knives on it. Along with some white cloths. And a gallon freezer bag.
That’s where Johnny started. “This is where I’m going to put your liver, Max.”
Johnny put the bag back down and lifted a scalpel. Beside the rubber gloves on his hands, there was nothing else he wore to protect himself from my blood. This crazed asshole was in a suit more expensive than most people’s yearly salary, twisting the scalpel in front of his face so the light could bounce off it.
There was a sick gleam in his eye.
I turned my head and saw Don’s face.
He was nervous. Shit, he was afraid.
I could use that to my advantage.
If I had time to do that.
Johnny put his left hand to my chest. He looked at me. “This is probably going to hurt. And I won’t stop when I start.”
My brothers hadn’t shown up yet.
I shut my eyes.
&n
bsp; I sucked in a deep breath.
I envisioned my life, Jade sitting in a rocking chair, her stomach swollen, her hands rubbing her belly. Fast forward— me holding a newborn baby, the warm smell of life.
Then I felt the blade touch my stomach.
I was fucked.
*
The pain was like nothing I could have thought. I could feel the scalpel cutting my skin open. That ripping sensation, rumbling through my body, all happening before the pain. The warm sensation as my own blood poured out of the fresh wound. It took a couple seconds before the pain actually hit me.
When it did, I opened my eyes and saw nothing. It was all blurry. There were tears in my eyes.
The feeling kept going.
Johnny cut me side to side.
I forced myself to looked down and instantly wished I hadn’t.
Johnny looked at me and grinned. He lifted the scalpel and brought it down, slamming it into my lower right side. Every muscle in my body flexed and I pulled, now with no choice but to fucking scream.
My screams were nothing but muffled cries, though. The rag in my mouth was doing its job. So was the killer sharp blade of the surgical tool in the sadistic madman’s hand as he brought it up into the air again.
This time Johnny stabbed my ribcage. I goddamn felt the blade hit a rib and slide alongside it. The pain was hot, unbearable, and left me shivering. But I wasn’t praying for death. Fuck that. I would fight the reaper until he put his hand over my eyes and pulled into darkness once and for all.
“I bet that hurts,” Johnny said. “I know it does. There’s tears in your eyes, Max. Are you crying in pain or because of what Jade did to you? I know it’s hard to fall for a bitch like that. It makes your bones ache. It makes your anger rage.” Johnny grabbed my shirt and pulled it up to my chin. He flirted with the scalpel to my chest, right over my heart. “Maybe I should start here. End your pain. Take your heart, Max.”
I tried talking with the rag in my mouth.
Johnny curled his lip at me. To my shock, he grabbed the rag and pulled it out of my mouth. That gave me the chance to scream, but what would screaming do? Nothing.
“What did you say?”
“I said I have no fucking heart. You piece of shit. Tie me down and cut me open. Fight me like a man.”
Johnny smiled. “Here’s the thing about being a man, Max. You think fighting is a manly thing. It’s not. It’s a wild thing. An animal thing. Instinctual. What I’m doing here is being a man. A man uses his brain. He outthinks others. He wins. And when the time comes, he kills.”
Johnny lifted the scalpel. I saw him line it up with my heart. The pain in my stomach was fierce. Blood poured freely and I had started to shiver. The warehouse had become a little fuzzy.
I swore I saw a figure in the corner but couldn’t be sure.
I turned my head and looked at Don. I didn’t want him to be the last thing I saw before the reap took me.
Here was the thing, though.
I was the last person Don saw while he was alive.
*
The gun boomed and the bullet went in and out of Don’s neck, his hot blood splattered across my face. He twisted and collapsed.
Johnny instantly dropped the scalpel and jumped right on me. He climbed over me, hands and knees digging into the wound he had so carefully crafted in my gut. I screamed again, the pain giving me no choice. I heard a gun go off again but Johnny got out of the way. I turned my head and saw Prez, Jasper, and Cash.
They made it.
But I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. The blood poured out of me. The pain rushed through me. I felt cold, weak, tired.
I looked to my left just as Johnny popped up.
Guns went off like cracks of thunder in a summer storm.
I was suddenly transported in my mind back to memories of standing in the back doorway of the local bar. The smell of wings cooking in the fryer. The tang of the hot sauce. The rumble voices of those in the bar talking about life, arguing sports. But I stood there, smoking a cig, thinking about life.
The memory was quickly chased away when Johnny grabbed the side of the table. Without thinking twice, the son of a bitch flipped the table. I landed on my side, hard, still tied to the table. I felt like my insides were going to spill out of the gash across my stomach.
I heard the sound of Johnny running.
There were more gunshots.
Then I felt someone touch my face.
“Ah, fuck.”
“Cash,” I said. “Brother. You made it.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jasper said.
“Let me make a call,” Prez said. “This isn’t good.”
“Let me get you off this table, brother,” Cash said.
The room was getting darker. Like a light was dimming.
Fuck.
Cash cut me free. He pulled me, rolling me to my back. He took off his leather cut and his shirt. Rolling up the shirt, he placed it across my stomach and held his hands there.
“Is she okay?” I asked.
“Jade is fine,” Cash said. “She came right to the clubhouse. She did great, brother. We got the call in to Ivan. It’s all going to work.”
“Bus is coming to get him,” Prez announced. “I’ll make sure we’re protected. He deserves a proper ride to the hospital.”
“You’re doing amazing,” Jasper said. “Keep fighting, Max. Don’t give up on anything. Ever.”
Everything hurt. Everything was so cold.
My brain started to scramble. I had visions of Johnny reaching into the wound and ripped my skin open. A vision of him digging inside me with his bare hands, shifting organs like he was digging into dirt. Grabbing my liver. Pulling …twisting …
I groaned.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Cash said. “Come on, bro. You can’t let the reaper win this time.”
“I won’t,” I said.
“But if you do—I’ll take care of Jade. Okay? I’ll give it six weeks before I fuck her.”
My eyes popped open. I looked at Cash. He was grinning.
“Fuck … you …” I managed to say.
Cash and Jasper both started to laugh.
I shut my eyes only to catch my breath.
I didn’t open them again.
37
(jade)
I threw up in the bathroom of the hospital room. I took deep breaths and started to cry. I didn’t like throwing up. I didn’t like being in a hospital. I didn’t like that my baby’s father was in the bed in the hospital room, barely showing any signs of real life.
I pulled myself to my feet and washed my hands and face. I kept a little container of breath mints in my pocket. I popped one into my mouth. According to my calculations that was my fourth time getting sick that day which meant I’d be good to go until tomorrow.
I really needed to go to my doctor and confirm the pregnancy, but I couldn’t do that without Max with me. Holding my hand.
When I opened the bathroom door, Trev stood there.
I let out a shout.
He filled the damn doorway with ease. His massive arms were folded.
“You sick again?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“You know—according to my calculations—you’re either making yourself sick because of Max or you have something serious going on.”
“Thanks for caring, but I’m good,” I said.
I tried to step forward but Trev wasn’t giving me the way.
“I need to see Max,” I said.
“No. You need to tell me what’s going on with you. Are you using?”
“Using? Using what?”
Trev raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
Then it hit me.
Drugs.
“No,” I said. “I’m not on drugs. I’m not depressed. I’m not sticking my finger down my throat. I’m—”
Behind Trev, I saw Jasper. Behind Jasper, I saw the rest of the guys.
The hospital room was always flooded with MC members. Guys fr
om another charter even showed up. The President, Miller. Along with his VP, Gaige. A guy named Blaine, who wanted to buy a nurse’s outfit for his woman to wear.
These guys stuck close together. More than anything I’d ever seen in my life.
Today, though, it was just the normal guys.
“Jade,” Trev said. “Whatever is going on—even if it’s guilt over something …”
They still hadn’t found Johnny. So I still felt as if everyone watched me, half judging me, wondering if I could really be trusted.
I slowly nodded.
I put my right hand to my stomach.
“Fine, Trev. I’m pregnant.”
His eyes opened wide. “Say that again.”
“I’m pregnant. By Max.”
“So that’s why …”
“That’s why,” I said.
Trev backed out of the doorway. As I tried to sneak by, he put an arm around me. Next thing I knew I was in the middle of a group of bikers. Trev announced in a booming voice that I was pregnant. That Max was having a baby with me.
And you want to talk about a celebration?
They cheered and yelled so loud that a nurse came barreling into the hospital room, thinking something was wrong with Max. I was trapped in the middle of them. All I could smell was leather, smoke, booze, and sweaty man. But for me, it smelled like home. It smelled like comfort. It smelled like protection.
The nurse left the room and the celebration continued.
Right up until a voice said, “Can you assholes keep it down?”
Everyone turned and looked at the hospital bed.
Max had his eyes open.
I dove at the bed. I threw my arms around him. He let out a groaning sound and I tried to back away. But Max grabbed me and pulled me back down. We held each other. Back Down Devil MC all around us.
Trev put a hand to Max’s shoulder. “We heard the big news.”
“Is my liver okay?” Max asked.
Trev smiled. “Your liver is fine. You’re going to be rough shape for a little while. But you’re going to make it. Docs were able to stitch you up and make sure that crazed asshole didn’t do any real damage.”
“Good,” Max said. “Where are we with the Russians?”
“Max, just heal,” Trev said. “Hold your woman tight. Take care of that baby inside her. Congrats, by the way.”
Steal His Heart: a bad boy romance novel Page 19
