THE OUTLAW’S BRIDE

by April Lust

  Ash immediately went to him, kneeling by his side. “Niko! What happened? Where’s Fiona??”

  Niko began to wriggle against his constraints furiously, but to no avail. Vlad had quietly stepped up behind Ash, placing the cold muzzle of the gun to the back of his neck. Ash went still.

  “Get up,” Vlad said softly.

  Ash raised his hands and slowly got to his feet. He noticed Fiona on the floor, blood trickling from a split in her lip and cheek. He took a step towards her, but Vlad held it up to his face and Ash stopped in his tracks.

  “What are you, the boyfriend?” Alexei asked. “You sure seem to be protective over her.” He turned to look down at Fiona. “At least he showed up; Ace is nowhere to be seen.”

  “Ace?” Ash echoed. “Fiona, who are these men? What is going on?” he asked worriedly.

  “You shouldn’t have come here,” Vlad said. “Now you’re going to have to come back with us.” He was mocking Ash, his face an exaggerated grimace.

  No! Fiona thought desperately. I can’t have any more deaths on my hands! She looked around her, frantically searching for something that could help them. She spotted something, and got an idea.

  “Oh, my side,” Fiona suddenly groaned loudly, as though in severe pain. She grabbed at her ribs and slowly sunk to the floor.

  Ash started forward, but Vlad grabbed him and held him back. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

  “I think I have internal bleeding,” Fiona said, rolling onto her side and curling up into the fetal position.

  Alexei came to stand over her, his enormous shadow blocking out the sunlight that filtered through the holes in the boarded up windows. “Get up,” he ordered her, but she didn’t move. “Get up!” he repeated angrily, planting his boot into her lower back and shoving her.

  Fiona stayed where she was. Alexei strode over to her and bent down to haul her to her feet, grabbing her by her bicep. Suddenly, Fiona sprang up and stabbed Alexei in the muscle between his shoulder and neck with a long shard of the broken vase.

  He fell back with a roar and Fiona made a dive for the counter where Alexei had left his gun. Before she even had the chance to grab it, a shot rang out, quickly followed by two more. Fiona whipped her head around to see what happened.

  Ash stood, swaying gently. Three blossoms opened on his chest, then ran down, soaking his shirt. He crumpled to the floor, blood seeping into the floor beneath him. As the life left his eyes, they never left Fiona’s. Fiona screamed, quickly silencing herself when Vlad moved the gun to point at Niko.

  Fiona heard a loud grunt behind her and she saw Alexei slowly rise to his feet. One of his hands was wrapped around the long bit of glass Fiona had stabbed him with, and the other was using a dish towel to apply pressure to the wound.

  “That’s what happens when you do stupid things, you dolbo yeb,” Alexei angrily cursed, gesturing to Ash’s body with the glass shard. “People get hurt. And what good did it do?” he asked, holding up Fiona’s ineffective weapon and tossing it aside.

  Fiona was shaking her head. “Why did you come here, Ash?” she moaned. “Why couldn’t you have just left me alone!”

  “Look through the rooms,” Alexei ordered Vlad. “Try to find something for us to take him out of here,” he said, meaning Ash’s body.

  Vlad headed into her bedroom and Fiona could hear him ripping open drawers and pulling things off of shelves. He came back a few minutes later with a large suitcase.

  “Think we can get him to fit in this?” Vlad asked.

  Alexei nodded. “That’ll work. Call William, have him come pick it up. We need to get out of here.” He turned to Fiona. “Are you going to be good, or do I need to tie you up like your brother?”

  Fiona shook her head. “No, I’ll be good.”

  Alexei sighed. “Oh, how I wish I could believe that,” he said, just before his fist slammed into the side of her face, knocking her unconscious.

  Chapter 12

  Ace looked around the table. “So, any questions? Comments? Concerns?” he asked everyone.

  They had just finished discussing their plan on how to rescue Fiona—and Niko, if he was still alive. Ace was terrified that every second they spent talking strategy was another grain of sand in the hourglass of Fiona’s life, but even he realized barging in with no organization was a good way for everyone to end up dead.

  “Let me just repeat how stupid of a reason this is,” Katie said with a mocking smile on her face.

  Ace sighed. “Noted. Anyone else?” No one said anything, so Ace continued. “Well, then, let me just say how much I appreciate all of you for doing this for me. I know not everyone is fully on board, but the fact that you’re risking your lives anyway…” Ace broke off, glancing at Smalls, who gave him an imperceptible nod. “You deserve to know the truth. Everything everyone said before was right; I put this girl before the gang because, well, I care about her.” Ace coughed roughly. “I love her, actually, and I think I would legitimately go insane if she died. So, there it is,” he finished lamely, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

  Lucky rolled her eyes. “Fuckin’ finally,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Thank you for telling us the truth about this. I am more than happy to help you,” Riley said solemnly. “All we ever wanted from you was your trust and respect as our leader.”

  Ace nodded. “There’s nothing you guys ever did to make me feel like I couldn’t share this with you. I just got tied up in my own shit for a while.” Ace saw Katie out of the corner of his eye. She looked disappointed, but unsurprised.

  He wished he could tell her she was enough, that she shouldn’t feel like she did anything wrong, but when he looked at her again, he saw she already knew. Katie had never been someone who could be described as driven by her emotions.

  Smalls came over and clapped a large hand on his shoulder. “I’m proud of you for that,” he said quietly, a wide smile on his round face.

  “Thanks, Smalls,” Ace said, letting out a deep breath. “I just hope I get the chance to say it to her. The things I said last night…it’s no wonder she felt like she couldn’t ask me for help. I’ve done nothing but treat her like shit.”

  “You were trying to help in your own way,” Smalls finagled. “At least now you know how you fucked it up.”

  “And what good does that do me if she’s already…” Ace couldn’t say it. Saying it made it a real possibility, maybe even a certainty.

  “She’s fine, okay?” Smalls reassured him.

  Ace looked into his huge, clear eyes and began to calm down. “You’re right. Hey, Smalls, I got a special project, you up for it?”

  “I’ll do my best,” Smalls said, nervously shifting from one foot to the other.

  “You’re gonna have to be on your own for this one, so be careful, all right? If I go down, this gang needs you,” Ace warned him.

  Smalls cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Are you sure this is something you want to trust me with?”

  “Of course! We’re all about trust, right?” Ace said with a grin and a wink.

  “Of course,” Smalls agreed with an uneasy chuckle. “So, uh, what is it you want me to do, Ace?”

  Ace leaned in, his arm barely reaching around Smalls’ massive shoulders. “This is why you’re the one I want on this job…”

  ***

  A few minutes later, the seven of them were spilling out onto the front lawn, mounting their bikes and starting the engines. Bobby came out and stood on the front step of The Hell Brothers’ headquarters, staring at the bikers with an anxious face.

  “Hey there, Bobby,” Ace said, coming to stand next to the young man. “What’s going on? You look a little worried.”

  A shadow seemed to pass over Bobby’s face. He turned to Ace with a determined glint in his eye. “I want to help,” he said firmly.

  Ace admired his bravery, but he couldn’t help but notice that Bobby’s bottom lip seemed to be quivering, and kind of a lot.

  “We would
love to have you out there with us, but I think you and I both know it’s best for you if you went home,” Ace said, not unkindly.

  Bobby hung his head, his shoulders drooping. “You’ll get Mrs. Connor—I mean, Fiona—back, won’t you, Mr. Connor?” he asked hopefully.

  “That’s the plan, Bobby. But I need you to go home if you want that plan to work. Your parents are probably worried sick about you.”

  Bobby looked off in the distance, away from Ace’s gaze. “Nah, not really,” he said dully.

  Ace nodded. He understood all too well. “Well, if you really want to help, we could use someone to set up supplies for when we get back. People are probably going to get hurt, so if we had antiseptic and gauze and all that ready right away, that would be a great help, Bob.”

  “I’m on it!” Bobby said with such conviction, Ace practically expected him to salute.

  “Go talk to Lianna, she’ll give you a list, okay?” Ace clapped a warm hand on Bobby’s shoulder, then went to his bike and straddled it.

  He started the engine, tracing The Hell Brothers’ logo on the center of his tank. The grinning, flaming skulls seemed to mock him, and he thought the welcome mat in front of the gates of Hell looked particularly inviting today.

  Revving the engine, Ace took a small pleasure in the familiar feeling of the worn leather handlebar grips. It was perfectly molded to his palm and felt more like home than anything he’d ever known in his life.

  He looked back at the six people he’d come to call family. He had let them down a lot lately, but like a true family, they had rallied around him. His sacrifice was theirs, and he was determined to see this ride through with them, one last time.

  “Fire ’em up!” he shouted over the rumbling engines.

  All around him, motorcycles roared and snarled, jumping at the bit to be let loose. Ace peeled out, thick white smoke streaming from the back tire. Six more bikes followed suit, clouding the street in a hazy fog.

  Tearing down the road, the members of The Hell Brothers hooted and hollered to each other loudly, screaming with delight at what some of them knew might be the last days of their lives. They were ready for it, though; this was how they lived their lives: ride or die.

  ***

  Fiona slowly regained consciousness. There was a dull throbbing in her head that was persistently knocking on the inside of her skull. “Ohhh,” she groaned softly. She tried to raise a hand to her head, but found she could not. Something was binding her hands behind her back. Fiona bright blue eyes snapped open, wildly looking around at her surroundings.

  Something moved behind her and she shrieked, startled.

  “It’s me!” Niko cried. “Stop, you’ll hurt yourself!”

  Fiona had been frantically attempting to get away, and she was painfully twisting the rough twine that tied the two siblings together. Hearing her brother’s voice, his living, real-life voice, Fiona calmed down and stopped trying to get away, though her heart still beat furiously inside her chest.

  “Hold still,” Niko said. “I’m gonna try to get us free.”

  “Where are we?” she asked, taking another look around the room as Niko pulled on the rope. It was incredibly ostentatious, with dozens of extremely expensive-looking pieces of what could be art, or maybe technology. Fiona wasn’t sure. Everything was chrome or white leather. One wall was decorated entirely with albino animal heads.

  “Dammit!” Niko cursed. All his struggles managed to accomplish was giving himself rope burn. “Alexei’s,” Niko answered dully, nodding towards the metal staircase that led to a trapdoor in the ceiling. “This is his private area in the basement. Not many people know this place even exists. I only know ’cause I was still awake when they brought us down.”

  Fiona tried to think back to the last thing she remembered—Vlad, groping her as he pulled her to her feet, Alexei unbuckling his belt, Ash… She gasped as she recalled how Ash had randomly shown up and then met his untimely fate. The heavy thud of Ash’s head striking the ground, never to rise again, echoed in Fiona’s mind. Alexei had said it was her fault—was he right? If she hadn’t attacked Alexei, would Vlad have killed Ash?

  She shook her head; that was a question she would never get the answer to. Now was not the time to be punishing herself.

  “Speaking of, where are they?” Fiona said, pushing the image of Ash’s body out of her mind. She closed her eyes briefly. The ridiculous glass chandelier dangling overhead was giving her migraine a headache.

  “I’m not sure. They dumped us in here, tied us together, and left,” Niko said, shrugging. The movement tugged on the rope, biting into Fiona’s already tender wrists. “Oops, sorry,” Niko said, hearing Fiona’s painful gasp. He chuckled bitterly. “I’ve been saying that a lot lately. I guess at this point it probably doesn’t mean much to you. Probably hasn’t meant anything to you in a long time.”

  Fiona didn’t say anything. The truth was that Niko was right—Melanie and Ace, too. She had been bailing Niko out for far too long, and it had gotten old right around the time she had walked in on Niko using her apartment for a drug deal three years ago.

  She was thankfully saved from having to come up with a reply when the trapdoor opened and three pairs of feet came down the steps.

  Alexei stood in front of Fiona and Niko, Vlad and Paul just behind him. Paul stared shamefacedly at the floor, unable to look either of them in the eyes.

  “I told you I would have you here before the week was out,” Alexei said to his hostages, victoriously planting his fists on his hips. “Didn’t I say?” he turned to look at Vlad and Paul.

  Vlad nodded, a sick smile on his face. “I’m so glad you were able to come back with us, Fiona.”

  Fiona shuddered at the look he was giving her. It didn’t take a genius to guess what was on his mind. She knew this was a risk, and it was one she had knowingly involved herself in. She tried to take a deep breath to calm the panic that was threatening to overwhelm her.

  “A lot of the boys upstairs were excited to see you come through the doors, actually,” Alexei added. He had a look on his face that said he was going to have his own fun before anyone else. “I know you’re used to your pathetic boyfriend that oh so gallantly came to rescue you, and, of course, the disgusting biker, so I hope you’re ready for what is coming to you,” Alexei continued.

  “What’s he talking about, Fiona?” Niko asked.

  “Nothing,” she muttered.

  “Oh-ho!” Alexei cried, looking at Vlad. He turned back to Niko. “Your sister is a slut!” he gleefully informed Niko. “She’s been screwing Ace Connor and he doesn’t even have the yáytsa to show up for her.”

  “He must not care for her at all,” Vlad said. “I don’t even know if she’s worth it now. I mean, if she’s not good enough for the biker…”

  Niko twisted and turned trying to look at his sister. “You and Ace?” he asked confusedly. “He’s not really your type, Fiona.”

  “We needed his help, and that was the only way to convince him,” Fiona said flatly. “Fat lot of help he was,” she muttered.

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” Niko said, feeling hurt.

  “I don’t know, Niko!” she cried angrily. “I just didn’t, okay?”

  The truth was that Fiona had initially kept Ace a secret because she was ashamed—ashamed of her borderline prostitution, and then later, because she was ashamed of how much she liked it. She liked, even loved, Ace, and how he made her feel: incredibly powerful and touchingly safe, all at the same time.

  But he’s not here, Fiona bitterly thought, and he’s not going to be here anytime soon either. He and his gang are probably halfway across the country by now. All I can do is hope they get bored with me fast and kill me quick.

  Deep down, however, Fiona knew that between Alexei and Vlad, they would make it last.

  The two men stepped forward, Paul still hanging back, staring at the cement between his shoes. Vlad pulled a knife from his pocket and started towards Fiona.

&
nbsp; “Hold still,” he said, giving her a mocking warning. “I wouldn’t want to cut you now.”

  Fiona briefly contemplated jerking her wrists towards the blade, thinking maybe she could cut an artery and bleed out before they had a change to violate her, when Niko let out a loud yell.

  “Wait!” he shouted frantically. “Wait, one second!”

  Vlad looked at him skeptically. “What now?”

  “I-I have the money,” Niko blurted out.

  Fiona twisted back, shocked, to try and look at her brother. What the fuck is he talking about?