“All right, let’s go,” I say, bringing the Kings’ president to his feet and dragging him outside.
Let’s just hope this works.
Faye
“I always knew you were stupid, Eric,” I say, sitting down on the floor, against the wall. “I mean, let’s start with cheating on me—any man with half a brain wouldn’t have done that—and now this. What the fuck are you doing? You’re with the Kings now?”
Does he think that joining an MC will make him more like Dex? Will earn him respect? How deluded can he be?
His whole expression changes, and right then and there I see something I’ve never seen before on his face.
Hate.
Eric Black hates me.
No, he despises me. After all these years.
Why? I have no idea. I thought we were all good, but apparently not. Or does this have to do with him and Sin? Maybe this isn’t about me at all.
Some people need to get a fucking hobby.
“It’s been years since I’ve even seen you, Eric,” I say quietly, not sure what to make of this. “And now you want me dead? Or is it your own brother you want gone?”
We’re the parents of his niece and nephew. Not that he sees them much, but he could have—I mean, Dex’s mom still saw them every now and again. She passed away about three months ago. Does that have something to do with this? She died from a heart attack, and maybe Eric isn’t taking it well. Or is he blaming Dex for some reason? Something must have set him off, because I had no idea he was capable of something like this. He sits back in his chair like he’s a fucking king or something. I don’t get him. Does he have some complex because he will always be nothing compared to Dex? He lacks in every possible way. Looks, character, strength.
Heart.
“I think it’s time my brother is taken down a notch,” he says, and I notice that his eyes are dead. There’s nothing there. Eric is a completely different person. What’s happened to this man?
“And you’re going to do that by killing me?” I ask him, lifting my chin. “By leaving my children without a mother?”
I can take Eric on in a fight. There’s no question about that. I could kill him right now, but it won’t get me out of here. Will it save Dex from his brother’s hate though? I won’t get past the men outside—there’s too many of them—and Eric hasn’t tried to physically hurt me yet. Will he?
I wish Dex were here right now, not because I need him to tell me what to do, but because at the end of the day, Eric is still his brother, and that means something. You can not talk to your family, or have a falling-out with them, or even hate them, but you still don’t want them dead, especially at your own hands. I don’t want what happens today haunting Dex. And it will. He’s human, after all; it would haunt any man or woman with a conscience.
“Not going to kill you, Faye,” he says, lip twitching. “I’m going to kill Dex.”
“I see,” I murmur, marveling over his stupidity. You can’t kill Dex without killing me, because I will hunt you down. He’s underestimating me. He’s seeing me as the girl he knew, not the warrior woman I’ve become. “And then what?”
“And then the Kings are going to have my back against any retaliation the Wind Dragons plan. It will be war,” he says proudly, like war is a good thing. The more he speaks his idiocy, the more I want to take him down myself. The Kings have obviously used him as a pawn, a secret weapon against Dex, and he’s fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. They probably made him feel important, and they have something in common—their dislike for Dex.
I hear banging noises, followed by gunshots and men yelling, and I’m instantly on alert. I push myself off the ground, my back still pressed against the wall. Eric lifts up his gun and points it at me.
“Don’t move,” he barks, standing up and crooking his finger. “Come here, Faye.”
It’s just me and him in the room, and he still thinks he has control. I have a few moments to decide what to do. I can kill him, or I can just fight and disable him until Dex walks through that door, as I know he will. I decide to go with that. I walk toward Eric, about to knock the gun out of his hands and punch him in the throat, when the door is suddenly kicked open. I freeze as Dex storms in, gun in hand. Eric grabs me by my hair and jams his gun into my ribs. I keep my eyes on my husband’s face, on his expression when he sees who is standing in the room with me.
His own brother.
That has to hurt.
Dex looks me over first, from head to toe. His jaw tightens when he sees my cut lip from where my captor slapped me. He returns his gaze to his baby brother.
“Eric?” Dex whispers, shaking his head in disbelief. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
He takes a step forward, but Eric brings the gun to my temple. Dex’s face turns to stone. “Get the gun away from my wife, Eric. Now. Don’t be stupid. Whatever they’ve promised you, it isn’t worth it. I’m your fuckin’ brother!”
“You don’t get to make demands, Dex,” Eric sneers. “You make a move toward us, and Faye is dead. Don’t think I won’t shoot her, because I will.”
“Was it you who hit her?” he asks, hands clenching to fists. “Did you lay a hand on her?”
“No,” Eric says, sounding wary, which he should be, considering the fury I can hear in Dex’s tone. “I haven’t laid a hand on her.”
“Whoever touched her is a dead man,” Dex announces through clenched teeth. “No one puts a hand on my fuckin’ wife. And if you want to live, Eric, loosen the hold you have on her hair, or I will shove my foot down your fuckin’ throat, you little bastard.”
“Empty threats, Dex,” Eric replies—but he does loosen his hold. He can pretend he isn’t scared of Dex all he wants, but he is. And he should be.
Dex’s throat works as he swallows. I can see that he’s trying to process this betrayal, the fact that his own blood is the one with a gun to my head. Dex still has his gun in his hand, but he hasn’t even raised it. Over the years, Eric has popped in and out of our lives only a few times. We hardly see or hear from him, and I know the only reason Dex saw him was because their mom asked it of them. They don’t get along, but I didn’t see this coming from Eric. He must really hate Dex with everything he has.
“You only have a gun to Faye’s head because she’s allowing it, brother,” Dex says, sneering the word.
“Really?” Eric replies, scoffing. “I’m sure that’s why she’s been waiting here for you to come and save her ass.”
Dex just shakes his head and says, “You have about fifteen men here, Eric. Even fuckin’ Xena warrior fuckin’ princess wouldn’t try and leave if she were smart. And none of these men have honor. You’ve surrounded yourself with scum. Do you know the things they could have done to Faye? Surely, somewhere in there, some part of you must care?”
My lip twitches at the Xena reference.
My man is funny—I think he’s been hanging around me for way too long now; he’s starting to make jokes at the most inopportune times. It’s great.
The two men stare at each other from across the room, the air between them thick with hate, pain, and regret.
I take my chance.
I duck down to the floor before Eric can pull the trigger, my hair slipping through his loosened grasp, and bring my elbow up to his nuts as hard as I can. He drops. They always do. I grab the gun and leap to my feet before he even knows what’s happening. I’m across the room and by Dex’s side in a heartbeat, pointing the gun back at Eric.
“Like I said,” Dex continues. “The only reason you were the one holding the gun is because she let you. So what was your plan? Get me here, then make me swap my life for hers? Kill me in front of her? Then kill her?”
“Yes,” Eric says simply. “Mom is dead. There’s nothing left tying us together. I hate you, Dex. You have everything so easy. You were a shit older brother. It was me who l
ooked after Mom; you hardly saw her. Too busy fucking with my sloppy seconds. Just look what you’ve turned Faye into. She was meant to be so much more than she is. I fuckin’ hate you, and I always will. The Kings hate you. We’re going to destroy everything you’ve built.”
I see it coming. I know Dex. I know the way he moves, his body language. I know his intentions before he even knows them himself.
I see it in his expression.
He lifts the gun and points it at his brother. He’s made his decision, and now it’s time to make mine.
Who says it always has to be Dex saving me?
I’m a hero in my own right.
I pull the trigger.
TEN
Faye
DEX keeps staring at me out of the corner of his eye, like he’s waiting for me to have a breakdown. After I shot Eric, he picked me up, threw me over his shoulder, and carried me out of there. The rest of the Wind Dragons were waiting for me, all in a line, guns pointed at the Kings. It was like a scene from a movie.
On my way to the car, I saw my captor lying on the ground, a bullet through his head. I still don’t know who he is.
“Who killed him?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Talon,” Dex tells me, clearing his throat. “That was Slice.”
My eyebrows rise at that.
Slice?
The same Slice that Tia and Bailey had drinks with one night?
The man Talon considered a friend?
I want to kick him, again.
I sure as fuck won’t miss him. We let the rest of the Kings live. It’s early morning, and everything we do can be seen and heard.
Slice is dead, and that’s the main thing. Talon and Ranger got their revenge. I’m safe, none of our men were killed or hurt, and no one will be doing time for these crimes. Even if anyone tried to pin Slice’s death on any of the men, or if charges are brought against me for Eric, I’ll simply claim self-defense. They did kidnap me, after all. My new connections with the feds are unsure at best, but I’m hoping that, in the future, no one will be able to touch us. I will make sure we win. Right now I get to go home to my kids, to my family, and that’s all that matters.
“I’m fine,” I tell Dex, licking my lips. “A little hungry though.”
Dex purses his lips but says nothing.
The men all hug me tightly, especially Arrow, before making their exit. It’s just me and Dex in his car right now. He told me that they have the Kings’ president away in one of their warehouses, at gunpoint, just waiting for the Kings to give them a reason to shoot him. I suggested that, instead, they make the Kings leave town once and for all. We don’t want them here. They can go somewhere else and start over, or they can end up like Slice. At this point, I don’t care. I just want to go back to the clubhouse and see Clover and Asher.
I take a deep breath, reach over, and put my hand on Dex’s denim-clad thigh.
I’m alive.
And it’s never felt so good.
“Where were you, Mama?” Clover asks, her strawberry-scented hair filling my nostrils. I kiss the top of her head, patting her gently on the back. “I had to go away for work, sweetie. I’m so sorry I didn’t call you, but it was very important, okay? I don’t want you to worry. I’m here now.”
I look to my left, where Asher is asleep on my arm.
This.
This is all I wanted to be able to do again. When people say it’s the small things in life, they mean this. Lying here in bed, my children with me, my husband cooking me something to eat—nothing can be better. Nothing. Being kidnapped really puts things into perspective.
“How could I not worry when I didn’t know where you were?” My daughter huffs, laying her cheek on my stomach.
“I’m here now, Clover,” I say softly, kissing Asher’s downy cheek.
“I’m glad,” she continues. “Everyone was worried, even though they tried to hide it. They were scared, and it made me be scared.”
My breath hitches.
Children miss nothing. It’s a little frightening at times, and very hard when all you want to do is protect them.
“You have no reason to be scared,” I assure her. “Everyone here would do anything to protect you and your brother. And Cara and Rhett. You’re so loved, Clover.”
“I know,” she says, sounding like her usual happy self. “I feel loved, and I feel safe. I was just missing you.”
I smile.
I win at this whole parenting thing.
“I almost lost you,” Dex says, closing our bedroom door. “Do you know what that feels like? The possibility of having to live without someone you love more than yourself?”
“Dex,” I say gently, sitting up onto the edge of the bed and opening my arms to him. After some food, a shower, time with my kids, and antiseptic lotion on my raw wrists, I’m feeling human again.
After being fussed over by the women, some of them even breaking down in tears, it feels good to just be at home with Dex and the kids. They’re now fast asleep, leaving Dex and me to talk about everything that happened. We try not to go to bed angry, or when there are unresolved feelings between us. And after what just happened? Yeah—we need to have a long chat. He drops to his knees and rests his head on my chest, his arms wrapped around me tightly like he never wants to let go, and I never want him to. We stay like that for a few moments in peaceful silence, until he finally speaks.
“Why did you shoot him?” he asks.
“I didn’t want you to have it on your conscience.”
“But it’s okay that it’s now on yours?”
I kiss his stubbled cheek. “He’s not my brother.”
“He’s your ex-boyfriend,” he reminds me, as if I’ve forgotten.
“I know, but that feels like a lifetime ago. When I saw him, I only thought of him as your brother. Besides, it’s not like I killed him.”
I was going to, not going to lie. But I didn’t deliver a kill shot in the end; I moved the gun lower, away from his head, and got him in the chest.
“I saw you lower the gun at the last second,” he admits.
“And?” I ask, wondering if I made the right call. What will happen to Eric now? Is he just going to come back and try to kill Dex again? Because then we may as well have just put him out of his misery. I don’t want to deal with something like this again. I don’t want to have to watch our backs, even though that’s ingrained in us already. The Kings are leaving town, so that neutralizes one threat. Eric is all that’s left.
“And I’m glad you made the call so I didn’t have to,” he admits, sighing. “I’d have killed him, Faye, and I don’t know how I’d have lived with that for the rest of my life. He may be a fuckin’ disgrace, but I keep thinking about what Mom would think if she knew. She’d be turning in her grave.”
“What’s going to happen with Eric now?” I ask, considering he was left in the warehouse, injured. He was definitely in need of medical attention. “Maybe he’ll leave with the Kings, but if he does, then he’ll definitely be back one day, Dex. You know that, right? And next time we might not be so lucky. He’s no match for us, but never underestimate the power of hate. It’s a strong emotion. It will tear him up inside until he’s desperate and will stop at nothing until he destroys you.”
“I’ll handle it somehow,” he says, lifting his head and kissing my lips.
“The worst thing is, he didn’t even give me anything to eat. Like, how fucking mean! He knows how much I love food, and the least he could have done is—”
He cuts off my ridiculous rant with his mouth on mine, pushing me back on the bed, his weight on top of me. The kiss deepens, his tongue against mine, my hands running down his bare back. My fingers run over his dragon tattoo. I can feel the slightly raised indents from the ink. His kiss is passionate and hungry. I can’t get close enough to him; I want him to be ins
ide me.
“Dex,” I whisper against his lips, moaning as he moves his head down and gently bites a nipple through my T-shirt. “I want my skin against yours.”
He moves back and pulls me up, lifting off my T-shirt. I’m not wearing a bra, and the cool air hits my chest. Dex leans me back on the mattress, his chest pressed against my breasts, my nipples pebbling like they recognize him. I look into his beautiful blue eyes, and what I see there has me feeling like the luckiest woman on the planet. He loves me, like he said, more than himself. I’m a part of him. I’m his world. He only has eyes for me. How lucky I am to have such loyalty, not just from him, but from everyone in the club. Yes, I was kidnapped, held at gunpoint. Slapped across the face. But I knew the whole time that people were coming for me. I had no doubt. There are other people who don’t have anyone coming for them in any situation, people who only have themselves to rely on. Yes, they probably have a less likely chance of being kidnapped, but they don’t have an entire club running to their defense either.
“Hey,” Dex says, kissing my neck. “Stop thinking so much. You’re here. You’re safe. I’d have gone to hell and back to save you, Faye. Now let me fuck you, because I need to be inside you more than anything.”
“I love you, Dex.”
He looks up from between my breasts. “I love you too, fairy.”
I lay my head back, flat against the bed, close my eyes and smile.
Time to stop thinking, and feel.
ELEVEN
Faye
“HOW are your wrists feeling?” Dex asks, rubbing them gently.
“They’re okay,” I reply, snuggling up to him. “I’m fine, Dex. You don’t have to keep looking at me like I’m going to explode at any minute.”
Last Ride Page 6
