AFFLICTED: A Dark Bad Boy Romance

by Nicole Fox

  “I was saying, they found a body out in the desert last night. It had been dragged off by coyotes, but what was left of it was filled with bullet holes. And they think there’s more where that came from. Some kinda gang shootout, they think.”

  “Oh my,” Kelly said, not quite able to feign surprise. “Do they know who’s involved?”

  “Oh, they got their suspicions.” He wiped his brow. “You heard about these motorcycle gangs around here? Romedo’s full of ‘em. Bunch of ’em across the border too. Big gangs of tattooed guys on bikes.”

  “Mm. I’ve heard about it.”

  He busted up laughing. “Don’t seem like the crowd you run with, huh?”

  You have no idea.

  “You just gotta stay out of their way,” Darryl said. “They’re pretty live and let live, from what I understand, but you don’t wanna cross them.”

  No shit.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Kelly said drily.

  They were approaching Pete’s Goods. Kelly glanced at it as they passed, wondering if Rex was in there. If Rex was still helping her dad with the drug business, or if her dad had decided Rex was expendable, just like all of Gunner’s brothers. How many people had her father killed, or ordered killed? Kelly couldn’t bear to think about it.

  Am I ready? To see him again? To help get rid of him once and for all.

  Her gut roiled slightly, but for the most part, she was calm.

  They crossed the town, Darryl still going on about gangs. When they reached the sparsely populated area on the outskirts near her dad’s house, she said to Darryl, “You can let me out here.”

  “Out here? Ain’t nothin’ out here!” He chuckled, scratching his belly again. “You sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “You live somewhere around here?”

  “Not exactly.” The truck had slowed to a stop. She opened the door and hopped out. “Thank you, Darryl. You’ve been a huge help.”

  Darryl gazed at her like he couldn’t quite figure her out. “All right, young lady. You stay out of trouble.”

  “Will do.” She shoved the truck door shut. Daryl waved in the rearview as he pulled away.

  Kelly straightened her jacket.

  All right. Time to fight.

  She started walking.

  ###

  Gunner charged through the mess and the rubble, gun raised. He took out a couple more goons, who were flapping around like headless chickens, trying to figure out who’d just tried to blow up the fucking house. One of them was Doyle — ah, poor Doyle. Gunner hurried on through the house, searching for Powers.

  He was almost too startled to react when he rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw Russell limping across the decimated tile. Russell turned and tried to fire at Gunner, but Gunner was faster, firing round after round at Powers. Powers ducked behind the counter, popping up every few seconds like a damn whack-a-mole to take a shot. Gunner charged at the counter, in no mood to play games.

  But as he reached Powers’ hiding place, something crashed hard into his shin, nearly bringing him down on one knee. Powers had thrown a fucking glass mixing bowl at him. The Pyrex was heavy as shit, and his shin blazed with pain. Powers used that moment to race out from behind the counter — faster than Gunner would have thought possible for an old guy, and bolt out the back door.

  Shit. The hostages.

  Gunner stumbled forward, bursting out the back door after Powers. He had his gun level, ready to blow a hundred holes right through that fucker’s head … when he saw Powers standing with his pistol pressed to Silverback’s temple.

  “Drop the gun, Cam,” Powers said smoothly.

  Gunner hesitated.

  “Let’s not go through all this again.” Powers smiled almost sadly. “Surely you remember what happened last time you found yourself in a similar predicament? With … who was it, your friend Durango?”

  Rage flared in Gunner at the mention of Durango.

  Powers pinched the end of his tongue between his teeth. “You ended up doing exactly as I said, like a good boy, because you knew how dire the consequences would be if you didn’t.”

  Gunner didn’t lower his gun. “I’m through playing your game. This ends now, you asshole.”

  “Yes, I suppose it does. You see, I’m about to put an end to the Horned Devils once and for all.” He jabbed the muzzle of his pistol hard against Silverback’s temple.

  Silverback grunted, but made no move to look at either Gunner or Russell.

  “That’s your super villain plan? First it was to marry your daughter off to a stranger, then it was to kill everyone in my club… Make up your mind.”

  Russell’s grin grew broader. ‘Plan is such a strange word. Did you know it comes from the Frenchplant, meaning, plane surface? Referring to blueprints. A surface to build upon.”

  “I didn’t. Thank you, Professor Nutjob.”

  “Ah, now. No need for name-calling.” He glanced at Gunner’s weapon. “It really is time to put the gun down, Cam.” He cocked the pistol. “Unless you’d like your president to go the way of your friend. Frankly, I wouldn’t blame you if you let it happen. After all, wasn’t it this gentleman who sent your brothers to their deaths two nights ago? Some president, hmm?”

  The words hit a nerve.

  Silverback looked directly at Gunner and shook his head, his meaning clear:Don’t give in. Let him kill me.

  Powers slammed the butt of the pistol into the back of Silverback’s head. “No phone a friend here,” Powers said to him. “Gunner makes his own choices. Your fate rests in his hands.”

  Gunner clenched his jaw.

  No pressure, huh?

  The other Devils were shifting nervously. But no more goons were in sight, so either Gunner had killed them all, or they were showing some surprising strategic abilities and waiting for the right moment to spring.

  He met Silverback’s gaze again. Jesus. Shit. No matter what the guy had done, Gunner couldn’t let him be killed. He was still Gunner’s mentor. Still the guy who’d picked Gunner up in San Antonio and given him a second chance.

  Gunner slowly lowered his semi-auto into the dirt. Still had the pistol tucked in the back of his pants. Russell didn’t seem to have figured that out yet. He’d wait for his moment.

  “You know, I actually trynotto plan,” Russell went on. “I much prefer to seize opportunities as they come. Like you, Gunner. Such a fortunate opportunity, when you caught my daughter’s eye. Just when I was looking for someone to take her off my hands.”

  “Yeah, that worked out well, huh?”

  “Oh, amazingly well. You see, I never cared about a grandchild, or getting to dab my eyes with a hankie at my daughter’s wedding. What I needed was her out of the way.”

  Well, that was kind of a surprise. Kelly had made it sound like her dad was baby-crazy. Literally. Gunner consoled himself with the thought that he’d make sure this man didn’t live to see his grandchild. “Jeez, why not just let her go to school. Wouldn’t that have been easier? Or, let me guess, not as much opportunity to pull your patriarchal, borderline-incest bullshit with her?”

  Russell’s eyes blazed for a second. Fuck. Gunner’s mouth always got him in trouble. Ah well. It felt good to speak truth to Powers.

  Russell began to speak more quickly, biting off his words. “I never intended to let your little brotherhood live for long. But I needed to secure my place in the business here, and you all were useful for a little while. Now you’ve become disposable.”

  “So that’s all you want? To be kingpin around here, or whatever the hell?”

  “Well, now Iam kingpin — or whatever the hell. And yes, it’s rather nice.”

  “Not yet, you’re not,” Gunner said.

  Silverback gave him awhat the fuck are you doing?Look.

  “You’re right.” Russell looked down at Silverback disdainfully. “There are still a few more hindrances I need to dispose of.” He jostled Silverback. “You, Cesar, have been particularly helpful. A d
og I didn’t even need to train; who just came to me knowing how to roll over and beg.” He yanked Silverback’s gag off. “Anything you want to say to me?” He traced the muzzle of the pistol in a little circle around Silverback’s temple. “C’mon! It’s your last line. Make it a good one.”

  Silverback’s eyes flashed. “You won’t get away with this, Russell. Karma is a bitch.”

  “Ah, Cesar.” Powers pressed the gun even harder against his head. “That was weak. Let’s get this maudlin Scooby Doo episode over with, shall we?”

  Gunner had to think fast. “Kelly doesn’t want you dead,” he blurted.

  Powers snapped his head away from Silverback and met Gunner’s gaze. “I beg your pardon?”

  “After all you’ve done to her, she still cares about you. She says you’re the only family she has left.”

  “Well, isn’t that sweet.” Powers was trying to maintain his sneer, but Gunner saw something flicker in his gaze. This was it. The way to get to him. Through Kelly.

  But dammit, what did he say now? Hadn’t he watched enough of this hostage negotiation shit onLaw and Order to pull something out of his ass?

  “I think you care about her. In some weird, twisted way. Or you would have killed her and made it look like an accident, instead of trying to keep her safely out of the way while you did your dirty work.”

  “Well aren’t you perceptive,” Russell fairly growled. “Where is my lovely daughter, by the way? I heard about your daring escape from my men. Even heard that she was the one up front on the bike.”

  Gunner half grinned, but without any mirth. “Bet you loved that.”

  Russell grimaced. “I always told her to stay away from those things. They’re dangerous.”

  “So true. But you might be interested to know that Kelly’s pregnant.”

  Powers’ eyes widened slightly. “Excuse me?”

  “Your wish came true. You’re gonna be a granddaddy. How exciting, right? Cigars, balloons…”

  Powers glared. “You’re lying.” He sounded uncertain.

  “Nope. Dead serious. So you might want to consider putting the gun down.”

  “And why would I do that?”

  Gunner took a deep breath. “Because. Put a bullet through my president’s head, and I will destroy you. Put a bullet through my head, and my fucking ghost will destroy you. Either way, you’re not going to last long.”

  Powers laughed. “I do like your determination. You know, there really was something I saw in you the first time we met. I believed you truly could be a good match for my daughter. And you’re quite right, I did want to keep her safe from all this. She was getting curious about what I did and where I went. I didn’t want to have to send her the way of her mother.”

  Gunner’s chest tightened. “What?”

  “Her mother,” Powers said it casually. But it was a forced casualness. He was becoming agitated, his free hand clenching and unclenching. “Started snooping around. Asking questions — not of me; no. She asked around behind my back. Suspected I was lying to her.”

  “Well, you were,” Gunner pointed out.

  “Yes, but only to protect her,” Powers snapped. “A sorry excuse, perhaps, but it was the same sorry excuse she used on me when I discovered she’d been diagnosed with terminal cancer and hadn’t told me.” His gun hand shook. “She was waiting for the righttime.”

  Gunner had a sick feeling that Powers was about to reveal something he wasn’t going to want to hear.

  “Sounds to me like that was her business,” Gunner said coldly.

  “Yes,” Powers mused. “And this is mine.”

  “What happened to her?” Gunner was stalling for time, trying to figure out if he could draw the pistol in his waistband and get a shot fired while Powers was distracted doing all of his “this was my master plan all along” posturing. He knew he couldn’t risk it. Powers still had the gun to Silverback’s head, and was about to pop off a shot any second, by the looks of it. But what other choice was there? If he didn’t allow Silverback to be a possible sacrifice, they’d all die, unless Gunner could think of something quick.

  Powers rambled on, “I didn’t want to hurt her. All I wanted was for her to stop asking questions. Stop digging in my affairs. We could have had a good life together, if she’d just left it alone. I would have taken care of her, bought her anything she wanted…”

  The sick feeling in Gunner’s gut increased. Jesus fuckingshit. “Did you kill her?”

  Powers offered a feral grin — wolflike, terrifying. “She had to be hospitalized, suddenly.” His gun hand was shaking out of control now. “She was doing better, and then, all at once…” He took a breath, his eyes red rimmed. “I couldn’t deal with that, not again. It was an impossible situation. I couldn’t stand being jerked back and forth between hope and despair. Hope, every time it looked like she’d beat the cancer, and despair each time she had to return to the hospital. But if she were to recover, she’d find out what I was up to. I decided the easiest thing to do would be to simply … let her go.”

  Oh hell no. Every time Gunner thought this bastard couldn’t get crazier, he came out with another gem that made Gunner want to puke. Silverback seemed to have slipped into a sort of trance, as though he didn’t particularly care what happened from here. Time was almost up.

  “So you did?” Gunner tried to keep the contempt from his voice. Powers was losing control over himself, which could either work in Gunner’s favor, or could ruin everything. “You killed her?”

  “I had her put in a coma.” Powers’ voice was flat. “And from there, she slipped away. No pain.”

  Gunner opened his mouth to tell Powers just what a piece of shit he was, when something caught his eye.

  Jesus Christ on the fucking cross.

  Kelly stood at the edge of the yard. She wore a light blue sundress that ruffled in the breeze. Her dark hair was tangled. Her cheek still bore a scrape from her fall, and her mouth was set in a grim, determined line. He could see from the absolute fury in her eyes that she’d heard her father’s confession. Gunner’s gaze traveled down, to the large, sharp rock she held at her side.

  Gunner wanted to yell at her to run, to get the hell out of here. But he couldn’t do that. He could only watch as she crept closer, and then he had to pull his gaze away before Powers noticed he was distracted.

  But Powers wasn’t looking at Gunner. He was focused on Silverback, dragging the barrel of the gun from the old man’s temple down to his throat.

  “I didn’t want to, you understand,” Powers said. “But circumstances left me no choice. Just as I had no choice but to eliminate your brothers. You would have stood in my way. Nobody has the sense to just get out of my way when they should.” He positioned the muzzle under Silverback’s chin. Silverback closed his eyes.

  Gunner saw Kelly approaching. She moved silently, until she was almost directly behind her father. A couple of the other Devils also seemed to be having a hard time not looking or making a sound.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Gunner said gruffly. “You’ve won. You outnumber us. You could let us go. We’d leave town; you have my word.”

  “No.” Powers smiled slightly, still looking at Silverback. He turned to Gunner. “No. You see, you’re the sort of man who wants reparations when he’s been wronged. I knew this about you, Gunner. It’s why I waited for you to come find me here. I knew you’d come. To avenge the deaths of your men.” He was shaking badly, but he looked oddly euphoric, as though he’d reached a moment he’d been waiting for. “I also knew you’d do anything to keep the survivors alive.”

  Behind him, Kelly raised the rock.

  Gunner’s heart pounded wildly.God, Kelly, please let it work. Please.

  Powers noticed that Gunner’s gaze had flicked away. He started to turn, but it was too late. Kelly brought the rock smashing hard into the back of her father’s head.

  Powers’ eyes widened for a moment. Then he collapsed forward onto his knees. Gunner could see the da
rk patch in his silvering hair — blood and flecks of skull. Kelly smashed the rock down again, this time into Power’s temple. The gun fell from the man’s hand, and Gunner whipped out his own revolver and fired two bullets into Russell Powers’ mangled head.

  The man’s body jerked, then went still. Spider whooped through his gag.

  Gunner looked at Kelly, breathing hard. She stared back at him, looking surprisingly calm. He flicked the safety on the revolver and threw his arms around her. The bloody rock fell from her hand, and she wound her arms around him too.

  “What are you doing here,” he whispered against her neck. “I wanted you to stay safe.”