by Liz K. Lorde
The kid began to fall on his ass, his hand immediately jumping for his oozing throat. Before he even hit the ground another three bullets speared him through his chest, sending rips of his white shirt through the air along with smatterings of red.
The end of my gun came down once more, and the satisfying crack of skull filled my ears. An unpleasant substance shot out from the side of the man’s skull, some of the matter flying up to my shoulder.
I knew that the kid was gone, and his friend who was bleeding out on the floor had long since given up on killing me. The gun was gone from his hand, and he was hopelessly clawing at his red throat. He tried to gulp for air, gasping and grasping and suffering from miniature convulsions; some unintelligible curse words spouted from his mouth, and in his mind I was certain that he was praying.
I would make sure that God could not listen.
In my head, the thought ran circles along my mind. He’s dead, he’s dead, he is fucking dead. But I just kept swinging the gun in a mad flurry of blows. Painting myself with red.
Brian was gone. And it was my fault, because I couldn’t see it coming. It’s all my fucking fault.
There was a hand at my shoulder suddenly, but I ignored it. I didn’t want to stop.
The hand went from holding my shoulder to yanking on me, and then a pair of arms lifted me from my chest up and off the limp body.
Reyes shouted as he dragged me away from the two Niners, “Calm the fuck down. We need to leave.”
My chest rose and sunk as I took in a series of quick breaths, a stinging pain kissing at my eyes. Jameson came over to help calm me, as Lex and Brad went to pick up what remained of Brian Karwinsky.
By the time we got outside, bloody, bruised and broken, we could hear the sounds of sirens fast approaching. Damaged and still bleeding from his cheek, grimacing in pain, Brad tried to carry Pooh’s corpse on his back – even with Lex helping, it was too much. Even if we grew wings, we’d still be screwed.
We were fucked.
Except, as the sirens became more clear – so too did something else. Jessica’s SUV was barreling towards us at frightening speeds, cutting a swath of dirt and spitting out bits of gravel as it screamed towards us. She slammed on the brakes and the vehicle didn’t stop for a good long while, the tires squealing beneath the straining pressure.
We piled ourselves into the SUV and my heart jumped into my throat when I saw Jessica. What the fuck happened to Tommy? God, oh god why is her shoulder bleeding? My eyes raked over her with worry and before I had time to process anything more, I moved in to try and hold her.
Before I could, and before I could even shut the front passenger door, she gunned the car and spun the steering wheel. I was pushed back into my seat and my hand jumped out for the handle of the door, just missing it by a couple of inches. Awkwardly as we propelled forward, I fumbled with getting it shut – but eventually the motion caused the door to close itself.
Ignoring my pain, my chest rising as Jameson and the rest started firing off questions, I looked over Jessica again. “Baby,” I said with worry, “what the fuck happened to you?”
She weaved past a stack of pipes and swerved back onto the road, sirens closing in on us. “I don’t know,” Jessica roared back, shaking her head and panting for air. “I-I don’t know, I don’t know. Tommy, he just, he-he-he pulled his,” she stopped mid-sentence, either focusing on the road or just being too affected by the stress.
“Babe,” I called out to her, reached my hand to her thigh. What the hell was she saying? “What did Tommy do?” I asked, “where the fuck is he? Why the fuck are you—“
“He shot me!” She looked between me and the road as Jameson cursed.
Jameson started hitting the back of my seat like a madman, “Lose the cops,” he ordered as Brad held at his wound, his breath coming in pained rags. “You’ve gotta lose them, Jess, or we’re buried. Finito,” he crowed.
“Tommy shot you?” I couldn’t wrap my head around what she was saying. “He dogged us,” I shook my head, “he fucking betrayed us.”
Cars began to show up, and Jessica weaved through them like a woman possessed – ignoring red lights and anything else that got in our way. After a moment, she slowed down and pulled into the back lot of an Aldi’s food store, her hands shaking too much.
I rubbed at her thigh, “What happened, Jess? How did you get out?”
Jameson leaned forward, poking his head into the front to mention the name of our doctor. Veterinary place off on Willow; it didn’t match an ER experience, but it was the safest option that we had. Afterwards, we would have to dispose of our heat. Throw them down the sewage drains. Clean ourselves up and send out Lex to get us some shirts and other supplies.
Jessica nodded her head at Jameson and then looked behind her shoulder, throwing the vehicle into reverse, before explaining every terrible detail that happened to her tonight as she drove us to safety.
42
Jessica
The bloody night still replayed on a constant loop in my mind’s eye. Even after the pain medicine and cleaning up my wound, it still hurt something fierce. We were at the reapers clubhouse on Caulhoon, which neighbored their mechanics shop. It was starting to near morning now, and the weight of things just kept sinking in deeper and deeper.
There was an aching hurt that ran through me, as I pulled out my cell. I flicked through my contacts and texted Sabrina.
JESSICA: hey, we’ve got stuff to talk about. Like…lots.
JESSICA: sorry, not trying to get you too excited. I’ll call you soon, maybe later today.
JESSICA: love you…hope I didn’t wake you or anything.
This whole night had gone so wrong. The only saving grace, was that after all was accounted for – the money in the box that I presumed the Niners had left for Tommy, totaled two hundred and twenty seven thousand dollars. Hunter suspected that one of the gang members probably lifted some of the cash, and that it was likely originally two hundred and fifty.
Not that the specifics of it mattered all that much to me.
Hunter had told me that after about a week’s time, that the club would be able to properly funnel and clean the money; or at least get the ball rolling on some of it, enough to where we would be able to write a legitimate looking check for my mom. I wanted to drive over there and tell her the good news; wanted to scream it from the roof tops and hug the breath right out of her, but I just felt so drained. So weak from everything that happened.
I was laying down in one of the guest rooms at the Hell Reapers clubhouse. It was a nice place overall, but none of it truly registered. Everything that I saw just felt like it wasn’t real, like I was viewing stuff through some lens. But the bed was soothing. So, so soothing. And the pillow was cool against my head, the blankets warm and embracing. The darkness of the room helped me, at least partially, unplug my mind, making it easier to slip into that numb state of barely existing. Only waking when the pain became too much to tolerate.
There was a knock at the door, and my heart dipped when I thought of who it might be. “Come in,” I called out weakly, my voice sounding thin and worn.
The taste wouldn’t leave my mouth, and every now and again my stomach wished to gag.
Hunter stepped through the door, closing it behind him and gliding over to my bedside. My heart did little gymnastics, but shit was just so raw at this point – I wasn’t even sure that Hunter’s affection would be enough to pull me from the depths of despair. He put a hand on mine and squeezed, “How’re you holding up?”
“I’m okay,” I lied, shifting around on the bed.
“Sorry,” Hunter whispered before crawling into bed with me, snuggling up behind me and gently spooning against me. “I’m sorry, Jessica, I shouldn’t have agreed t—“
“No, no,” I shook my head, draping an arm over his hip and pulling him against me, “don’t even go there. It’s not your fault.” I felt bad for me, but I felt even worse for him. He’s going to put this on himself; lost a fri
end, and got betrayed by one of his own.
“It is,” he insisted.
“Hunter…”
“I should have been there,” I could hear the soft strain of his voice, the pain that was surely resting there in his chest. “Should have seen it fucking coming,” he admonished, and I turned to face him, bringing my hand up to his face and my nose to his. His pained eyes searched mine, “it’s my fault, baby. And I’m just, I’m just so sor—“
“Shh,” I stroked the side of his face and pulled him into me, wincing in pain from my shoulder wound. It was time for me to be strong for him. “No more tears,” I insisted, even though he hadn’t begun to cry. “No more saying that you’re sorry, this wasn’t on you. It wasn’t, Hunter. And I love you,” I could feel something threatening to well in my eyes, a thorn pricking at my chest.
“I love you, too,” Hunter ran his strong, calloused fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp. “I never thought I could pour so much love into something. Not until I met you.”
Joyous vibrations caressed me, “I love you so much, and I know you want to take care of me. But I’ve had to be strong before I met you,” our lips found one another, embracing one another tighter. I dipped my head back, “what happened, happened. And we’ll get through it together.”
“Yeah,” Hunter nodded in agreement, his lips crashing against mine, his hands working their way all around my body. “Together.”
My last thought as we drifted off into sleeping bliss was that I felt loved by my favorite person.
43
Hunter
It’d been two weeks since the betrayal. With Jessica and the club’s help, I’d managed to make a little bit of room for forgiveness, but only just. Still, a start was a start, and that was more than I ever thought that I would get in life. The chance to be happy, and the opportunity to do something more with myself than kicking in doors and watching my friends slowly drown.
The massacre had made it to television, and the local police were producing an active investigation. We didn’t have time to clean the place up, but if worst came to worst; we had the option, from the money we got, to pay off some people who were used to prison, to take the fall. Career prisoners, so to speak.
I had real friends now. Family. I had something more than just a tight hole to stick my dick in. A beautiful girl that enchants me time and time again every day, without even having to lift a finger. True love. We held Brian ‘Pooh Bear’ Karwinsky’s wake at the clubhouse on Caulhoon. The past week had moved at a frightening speed; locking down a date for a counter hit on the Niners for what they did, right at the heart of their operations. It was brazen, for us to schedule a date so soon to hit them, with the police’s attention so inflamed. But we were confident we could do it right.
Lot more people showed up than I thought, for the wake. I had dark thoughts stirring in my head and in my heart though, which made it the farthest thing from easy to trust people coming into our home like that. Jameson helped to see me through that. Remember my gut dropping at the slightest suspicion when someone I didn’t know came inside to pay their respects. Kept waiting and waiting for something terrible to happen, and to blame it all on myself again.
But another attack never came, and Jameson hugged me tight. Set me straight on what was what, he helped me more than anyone through Brian’s death and through his wake.
In the meantime, Jessica had told her mom that she’d end up getting her medical treatment. She wept tears of joy, the both of them really – and I was close as hell myself. Ended up laundering a portion of the money between our legal business and kept the rest stored away in two separate locations.
The wind swept through my hair as I drove down Caulhoon street. Felt good to be on the road, to feel the sun gliding its warm, gentle hand over my back and my head. Riding always seemed to clear my mind and still the bad thoughts. Reyes had insisted on seeing me down at the club, but he was playing coy as to why. Tried to get ahold of Jessica and see what she was doing today, unfortunately she never got back to me.
I brought my motorcycle to a slow roll and then a full stop, killing the engine and swinging off of my ride. I made sure to take Jessica back to the Ybor, and a couple of other local places, so that she could flourish and share her fucking beautiful voice with the people. She really seemed to be liking it now, and the last past few days she would openly sing around me.
There were a good number of bikes outside the club, but outside the compound was a ghost town. Lifting up my boots up the steps onto the front, wooden deck, I heard them scuff against the floor before getting up to the front door.
When I went inside, I felt a warm, oddly happy punch to my gut. Everybody was looking at me, most of them with smiles – a couple of prospects were clapping, one of them shouting: “about time.” Jameson and Brad looked the most happy as I sauntered on ahead; not that I blamed Reyes for his perpetual displeasure, it was just how his face was. Course, I could see the ghost of a smirk on his face. Holly was here too.
“What’s going on?” I asked, a smile walking along the lines of my face, my gaze sliding between all the familiar faces. Something was definitely up. Suddenly I felt something crash into my back, and I stumbled forward – hearing that damn giggle before I whipped around. “Jess,” I huffed warmly, cinching her waist as her arms went to my shoulders.
“So nice of you to finally show up, you made us wait so damn long,” Jessica gave me that ‘you need to listen to what I say more often’ look, her eyes smoldering with a playful anger.
“I got caught up in traffic.”
My sweet girl rolled her eyes, “Sure you did.”
“I needed to take a drive,” I admitted bashfully, “thought it was just going to be Rey over here.”
“Fat chance I’d miss you getting officially patched,” I could see the pride beaming in her eye, and I could feel those hot little fingers stab through my heart. But I couldn’t make sense of it.
I bobbed my head to the left; then to the right, and back again slowly. “No way,” I just said in disbelief, craning my head over my shoulder, repeating what I had just said. “Is she serious?”
Brad still had a gauze strip covering the stitches on his cheek, and he still was trying to talk as little as possible. Felt so bad for the man, he was more like a father to me than anyone in my life. He nodded and Jameson answered for him.
I laughed, my chest rising in a quickness and a euphoria surging through me. I turned back to face Jessica, who looked even happier now that it had finally sunk into my thick skull.
I put everything that I ever was, and ever will be into that hug. And then I doubled it with our kiss; our long, passionate, toe curling dance of lips and tongue. Barely even noticed that I automatically let her sink down, so that I could hold her up as I lifted her leg. The guys all cheered and whistled behind me.
Reyes grumbled out a laugh, “Maybe we should give him a few,” he joked.
But all I could feel was the love. The love and the taste of my Jess’s mouth. Our hearts beating as one.
44
Jessica
I heard the shower running, waking me from my nap. Barristan noticed this and immediately turned his head to look at me, and then cocked it to the side – his collar jingling just a bit. I hadn’t even remembered falling asleep, the last thing I could recall was cuddling up with Hunter. Saying that we should get clean, except Hunter wouldn’t let me…he kept loving on me and lavishing me with attention.
That was when the warm and fuzzies invaded my stomach. He must have pet me to sleep. Still felt a little tender ‘down there’ from earlier. Giving out this overly-girly kind of whine, I crawled from the warm embrace of my bed, moving with my elbows past Barristan. The dog looked at me funny and kept putting his big paw on my arm as I moved, as though trying to say: no human, you shall not pass.
But I did pass, thank you very much. I got to my feet and padded through the open bathroom door, gazing at the glory that was Hunter Synn. Heat danced in my stomac
h, and I became highly aware of my soft, but quickly hardening nipples.
He hadn’t noticed me yet, and for some reason, this turned me on even fucking more.
I sexily sauntered to him, and right as I drew near, Hunter craned his damp head to look at me.
Throwing back the see-through curtain (the dark was not drawn) I lifted my leg above the wall of the tub, trying to fight the heat that kissed at my pussy, and hopped inside.
Hunter turned around completely then, to face me, his cut and tatted up frame something more weapon than man. He brought his hands up to my naked waist and I brought mine to his slick chest, the shower head spitting out beautifully warm water.
We came together in an embrace, with me having to rise up on my tiptoes to kiss him. I ran my hands down his slick back and to his firm ass, grabbing it tight between my fingers and moaning against my man. Little bombs exploded throughout me, as his touch ignited the memory of the mind-blowing orgasm he had given me earlier.
When I came back down from heaven, practically sinking into my physical form, I sucked in a tight breath and felt my breasts move along with me; this euphoric electricity crackling between us – we came to the same realization after our eyes conferred with each other.
Hunter said it first, “You’re in the shower,” his voice was low as gravel, and strained in a stunned sort of way – the brows on his face knitting, and the creases of his face becoming etched with amazement.
My heart nearly stopped.
“I know,” I said like I hadn’t intended for the words to leave my brain. I just looked up into those beautiful blue eyes I’d come to know and love. Stood in the embrace of his presence. It was a serious moment, and although in the back of my mind, I didn’t think this was a forever fix. I knew that it was a start.
Heartbeats punctuated the time we spent trying to come to grips with it all, and in that time, Barristan moseyed his way on into the bathroom. The sound of his paw nails clacking against the bathroom tile filled my ears, and we both turned to him.
Smiles. Just pure, simple smiles, walked across my and Hunter’s face – and I called out to my favorite buddy, bending down slightly and putting my hands on my knees. “What?” I said, “you want to join us, Barry?”
