All Your Reasons

by Nina Levine

“Fuck,” I muttered. I’d seen a lot of shit in my life, but this type took the fucking cake. The fact the guy was still fully clothed gave me hope that he hadn’t done too much to her yet. Regardless, this shit was fucked up.

  The guy shifted off the bed and came towards us, a menacing glare in his eyes. “What the fuck business is it of yours, and how the fuck did you get in here?” He was tall and built, and his body was tensed, ready for a fight. He’d obviously never met my president; I’d never known King to lose a fight.

  “The name Skylar ring a fucking bell, asshole?” King demanded.

  A look of recognition crossed the guy’s face but he said, “Never heard that name in my life. Now fuck off and leave me the hell alone.”

  King seethed with anger, the rage clinging to his words as he said, “Your first mistake, Marco, was fucking with my sister. Your second mistake was raping the girl on your bed, and your last fucking mistake will be lying to me.”

  He stepped towards Marco and punched him hard in the face. The sound of bone cracking vibrated around the room. The guy retaliated, aiming a punch at King’s cheek, but King blocked it, shoving the guy backwards and into the wall. As he sagged against it, and slid to the ground, King advanced and stood over him.

  “Wanna tell me the truth now?” he asked, his voice deathly calm and controlled.

  Marco glared up at him and then spat at his feet. “Your sister was a good fucking root, man. That cunt of hers was sweet and tight -”

  King cut him off with a punch to the jaw. His head swung to the side and hit the bedside table before King hauled him up by his shirt, swung him around and shoved him forcefully into the other wall. It was obvious from the look on King’s face that he had only one thing on his mind – death.

  As King continued to rain pain down onto the guy, I turned my attention to the girl on the bed. Terror flashed in her eyes and as I walked towards her, her whole body flinched as if she was trying desperately to escape me.

  I shook my head. “You’re safe with me, darlin’,” I murmured as I pulled my knife from its sheath. Cutting the ropes tied to her wrists and feet, I freed her. She scrambled into a huddled position with her knees up and arms around them, and stared at me in silence, obviously waiting to see what I would do to her.

  Fuck, I hated this shit. Hated the fear she felt because of a man who believed it was his right to take whatever he wanted from a woman.

  I sat on the bed beside her and pointed at King who was still beating the shit out of the rapist asshole. “That man’s sister was used by the guy who was raping you, and that’s why we’re here. He won’t stop until he kills the guy, at which point we’ll take you wherever you want to go. You’re safe with us. Okay?”

  Her eyes widened and then she nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered, her body visibly relaxing a little.

  “Good. Now where are your clothes?”

  She jerked her chin towards the corner of the room and I located them and brought them to her. “Get dressed, ‘cause I don’t think we’re gonna be here much longer,” I said as I took in the bloodied mess King was creating.

  I left her to it and walked back to where King was. “You need a hand, boss?” I asked.

  He stopped mid-punch and looked up at me. His long dark hair stuck to his sweaty face, his eyes held the crazy that I knew he was made of, and his breaths were coming hard. “Does it look like I need a fucking hand, smartass?” he asked. He’d knocked Marco unconscious and, by the looks of it, Marco’s remaining breaths were limited.

  I grinned and shrugged. “Just making sure, old man. I mean, you’re nearing forty so I figure your body might start letting you down soon.”

  “Fuck off,” he muttered, and went back to what he was doing.

  I waited in silence. The only sounds in the room were of fists colliding with bones and the grunts King made as he took his revenge. I’d lost count of the number of times this scenario had played out over the last thirteen years. King liked to take back-up when he went on one of his missions, but he rarely needed it.

  The sound of whimpering caught my attention and I turned to the girl. She stood by the bed staring at King, tears streaming down her face. My natural instinct was to go to her and wrap her in my arms; however, I figured after being attacked by one stranger, she’d hardly want another stranger touching her. Instead, I said to King, “Can we hurry this the fuck up, ‘cause we’ve got a woman we need to get out of here.”

  King straightened, took a step away from the body lying at his feet, and turned to me. Blood covered his shirt, some of his face and his hands. He looked like he’d stepped out of a horror movie but it wasn’t anything I’d never seen before. His gaze flicked to the girl. “You wanna see me end his life so you know for sure he won’t ever hurt you again, or would you prefer to leave the room?”

  “Fuck, King, like she needs to see anymore shit,” I said, before she could answer him. King had some fucked-up ideas sometimes.

  He glared at me. “Let the girl decide. Maybe she’ll surprise the fuck out of you.”

  I returned his glare before turning to her. She stood staring at me in panic, shaking her head at the idea. It looked like she wasn’t even taking breaths.

  I nodded and started walking to her. It was clear she was about to lose her shit and I needed to get her out of here. When I reached her, I pulled her close to me and said, “It’s okay, I’ll get you out of here before - ”

  The shot rang out and her scream tore through me as her eyes looked past me to King.

  Fuck.

  Motherfucker.

  I gripped her harder and levelled an angry stare on King. “What the fuck?” I roared, “She didn’t want to fucking see that!”

  King’s eyes had morphed from wild crazy to deranged crazy. When he spoke, his words dripped with lunacy and the hardness that was signature King. “I don’t give a fuck what she thought she wanted. She needed to see that.”

  “No, she fuckin’ didn’t.”

  We faced off, glaring at each other. King was amped, his body taut and full of rage. I knew that look from past experience. He hadn’t rid himself of the need to exact revenge yet; he still had more in him and he’d have to find a way to work that out of his mind and body before the night was over.

  He dismissed me with a wave of his gun. “Get her out of my fucking sight.”

  She whimpered in my hold, her body wracked with sobs. Without another word to King, I began dragging her out of the room. I moved fast, and when we made it to where the other guy was lying passed out in the hallway, I stepped over his body and roughly pulled the girl outside with me. I knew what King would do with him and she didn’t need to see any more death.

  I had her on the back of my bike and was just about to leave when another gunshot sounded. A moment later, King stepped outside and stalked to us.

  “You take her, and I’ll call Bronze,” he ordered, still with that deranged glint in his eyes.

  The cops.

  Of course. Shit was gonna go down between Storm and Silver Hell over this if they ever worked out it was us responsible for the deaths of two members. King had Bronze on our payroll and it was a smart move to give him a heads-up over this.

  As I sped off in the direction the girl gave me, unease slid through me. The two clubs had existed for years on a mutual agreement to leave each other the fuck alone. The events of tonight had obliterated that agreement, and while Storm was capable of holding its own, I didn’t want to go to battle.

  A battle meant death and destruction.

  Two things I’d seen enough of to last me a lifetime.

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  Acknowledgements

  I’d like to thank the authors I worked with on the Owned Anthology that All Your Reasons was written for. Jani Kay, thanks for being you and suggesting this idea in the first place. Without you, this wouldn’t even be happening. I’ve loved working with all the authors on this anthology but I do need to give a shout out to Lyra for doing the formattin
g – you rock!! And Lilliana for all your time designing the website and graphics....sometimes more than once! Nothing was ever a trouble for either of you ladies and I am so very thankful for the time you put in.

  To my beta readers – Melanie, Christina, Paula, Amanda & Becca – thank you so much ladies! Your feedback was invaluable and I truly appreciate the time you gave me to do it.

  To Jenny at Editing 4 Indies. Wow, this is the first time we’ve worked together and I need to say a HUGE thank you for doing it at the last minute for me. You made the process so easy and I am very thankful.

  To my friends and family... thank you for being patient with me while I have ignored you to get this book done. I love you.

  To my PA and friend, Melanie Sassymum, thank you for everything you do for me. You help keep me sane in the madness of it all, babe. I love you for it all.

  To Letitia, my amazing cover designer! Thank you so much for designing me a cover that I loved from the very first second I saw it. Working with you has been effortless, and I thank you so much for making my life easier by taking control of this. At a time when I was knee deep in both professional and personal things, and trying to get a book ready for release, you came along and were a breath of fresh air. You probably don’t realise just what you did for me and how very grateful I am for you. Thank you xx

  To all bloggers, thank you so very much for everything you do to help me. You ladies have hearts of gold!

  To my Stormchasers. I hope you love Jett as much as you love our bikers! He doesn’t have the asshole in him that they do but I kinda love that about him. Thank you for all your support, encouragement and most importantly, your friendship. I would be lost without you, ladies!

  To my readers! Thank you for reading my books and I hope you loved Jett as much as I do.

  Nina Levine

  USA Today & International Bestselling Author

  Also by Nina Levine

  Storm MC Series

  In Order:

  Storm (Storm MC #1)

  Fierce (Storm MC #2)

  Blaze (Storm MC #2.5)

  Revive (Storm MC #3)

  Slay (Storm MC #4)

  Havoc Series

  Destined Havoc (Havoc #1)

  Sydney Storm MC Series

  Relent (Book 1)

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