by Simone Elise
I shook as a burning hot pain shot through my side, and when I looked down at my hand, it was now covered in blood.
“Don’t fucking move, Emmie, or you’re next.” Kurt snarled and limped toward us. Once he stood in front of me, he pistol-whipped me, and pain shot through the entire left side of my face as I fell to the ground, landing on my back. I screamed as Kurt kicked my ribs several times, and I nearly blacked out from the pain and blood loss.
Emmie screamed and rushing forward, she tackled him to the ground, hitting him repeatedly before he backhanded and overpowered her.
He stood up and grabbed her by her hair to yank her to her feet. I could barely make out what he was saying, and my vision was going fuzzy as he pulled her back around the corner of the house and out of sight.
Panicking, I tried to stand but fell back to my knees, inhaling sharply as the pain in my side became nearly unbearable.
“Come on, Libby, get up. Get up, Emmie needs you. Come on and move” I cried. Getting up on shaky legs, I used the side of the house to brace myself up and slowly limped forward. I heard several loud crashes, then the sound of glass shattering. I rounded the corner as lightning flashed again, and I nearly dropped to my knees as I saw Emmie lying on the patio surrounded by broken glass, eyes shut and not moving.
“Emmie! Oh, my God, Emmie, please, please, be okay,” I cried as I made my way over to her as quickly as possible. I dropped to my knees and grabbed onto her hand. Placing the other one on her neck, I barely felt a pulse as blood dripped down her forehead. “Emmie, come on, Emmie, open your eyes,” I cried out, swaying back and forth. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open, and I looked back inside the room just as Kurt stood up.
Kurt looked at me, grinning wickedly, and as he made his way back outside, it all happened in slow motion. Critter ran into the room with his gun drawn and fired several times. Kurt froze, and my eyes widened as small red dots appeared on his shirt. He slowly fell forward, not moving, and then I saw Critter rush toward me as everything went black.
Chapter 15
Hammer
As I inhaled my cigarette, I looked at Ryder. “Are you sure you’re up to your own chapter?” I didn’t usually give a man a second chance to back out of a promotion, but because I was heading inside, I wouldn’t be able to monitor or be there for Ryder.
Rusty and I were looking at going in soon, though Leah, who launders our money, was willing to put up the bail. She said it was in her interest to have me out on bail than between bars, but the bail should be set at nearly half a million for both of us, and the club didn’t have that sort of cash to spare.
When it came to money, the club was barely surviving, and we couldn’t launder any more of our money through the properties without it ticking off the police.
“Told you I’m ready for it,” Ryder said. He was the only biker I knew who didn’t smoke, so I butted my cigarette out of respect for his nonsmoking habit.
Rusty, who had weighed in on the decision we were making for the club, leaned forward on the chair. Placing Ryder in charge of the southern chapters meant he would be holding a semi-separate mother chapter.
Rusty’s phone rang, and he muttered one word that sparked my interest. Lynx.
“Yeah, Lynx?” Rusty spoke roughly into the phone. “You found out who is behind it?” Rusty’s gaze found mine, and we both knew what had to happen next. “You’ve got our permission to do what needs to be done, Lynx.”
I gritted my teeth because that meant I was losing Lynx. Fucking worse timing considering I was heading behind bars. I needed a man like Lynx looking after the club.
Rusty’s plan of Lynx looking after Libby had backfired.
However, Maiden and I had an understanding. He was to stay the fuck away from my daughter. I was not ready for him to be a fixture in my daughter’s life, but I knew I was putting off something that was bound to happen. My phone rang and flashed with Maiden’s name. He must have got to the estate.
Fucking Emmie for taking off like that.
I barked a hello into the phone.
“Prez, I found her.” His voice was tight. “She is at the estate.”
“Good. Look after her until we get Kurt.”
“I need to tell you something.”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“I’m fucking your daughter.” Then the beeping tone followed.
“The fucking bastard!” I roared and pointed at Rusty. “Fucking call Lynx, and tell him to kill Maiden.”
“He’s already on the road.” Rusty smirked. “Let me guess, the plan of Maiden and Emmie has worked.”
“The bastard is fucking my daughter!”
Rusty and Ryder shared a laugh. I sure as fuck didn’t see anything funny. “I want the bastard dead! He had the nerve to call me and tell me he was fucking her!”
Ryder and Rusty laughed harder.
“Come on, brother, think of this as a good thing. Maiden won’t let anyone hurt her while we are inside.” Rusty’s laughter dried up. “He is taking your chair, so you can’t kill him.”
Maiden knew he was getting the president patch. Perhaps the power had gone to his head, or he was making a statement to Emmie. Fuck it all. I wasn’t letting him keep my daughter. I wanted him to look after her, not fuck her.
“So it’s settled then. Ryder is taking over the southern chapters.”
Rusty and Ryder entered a conversation on what was to happen next while I tuned out and thought of Maiden with my daughter. I hated every second of it.
My phone ringing on the table brought me back to the here and now. I didn’t know how long I was sitting there dwelling on a future involving Maiden as a possible son-in-law—because he will be marrying her.
“What, Critter?” I barked into the phone.
“It’s Emmie and Libby.” Panic was in his voice, and I put a hand up, silencing the boys from talking.
“What’s happened?” I was alert and knew something needed my attention now.
“Kurt was here. It’s bad, Prez. Libby’s been shot, and Emmie went through a door. The ambulance is trying to stabilize her before flying her to the Royal. Libby has already been flown. She lost a shitload of blood.”
My eyes darkened, and I looked at Rusty.
“We’re coming.”
Rusty arched an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”
My hands trembled as fear of losing my daughter and niece crippled me. “Kurt got to the girls. Libby’s been shot and flown to the Royal. Emmie is…”
Rusty stood, terror in his eyes.
Suddenly, all our plans for when we went to prison didn’t matter because what did it matter if the girls weren’t alive. I knew I wouldn’t want to live in a world my daughter wasn’t in, and by the expression on his face, Rusty felt the same.
Rusty headed for the door. I knew where he was going because I was right behind him.
“How the hell did this happen?” Rusty roared. “Call Maiden. The bastard should have taken care of Kurt.”
I didn’t have time for phone calls as I straddled my bike.
Being a bit more powerful, Rusty’s bike took off in front of me and going at speeds that were sure to kill one of us if we came off, I tried to keep up while praying to the Lord.
Kurt had a crush on Emmie, and it got worse as time went on, unbeknown to Emmie.
Fuck life. Fuck it all. If fate was taking my daughter, then it might as well take me as well. So I accelerated and went straight through the stop sign, and so did my brother.
One thought kept running through my head. Emmie deserved happiness and didn’t deserve to die young. I knew that a world without my daughter was one I wouldn’t face.
A noose would be going around my neck by my own doing before I lived in a world without her.
Chapter 16
Emmie
My eyes fluttered open. Where was I? I was lying on some fresh green grass, and it was beautiful, but what was even better was the peace I felt.
I looked around my surrou
ndings. There was a glowing light to my left, and I wanted to touch it, to walk into the warm sunlight.
Just as I took a step toward it, a movement out of the corner of my eye stopped me.
“Maiden?” I frowned. Why was he here? He didn’t belong here.
“Don’t move, Emmie.” He tried to take a step closer to me, but something was stopping him like a force that I couldn’t see. “Come back to me.”
His eyes were filled with pain, and I couldn’t understand why. Did he not see the beautiful light I saw? It was beaming and warm. I wanted to walk toward it.
My hand went out to the light and ran through one of the beams. It was just as bright and warm as it looked and just the touch of it on my skin filled me with happiness and peace.
“I have to go now, Maiden.” I turned my back on him. “I’m happy here.”
“Don’t, Emmie, you don’t want this!”
“Yes, I do.” I turned to look back at him. “Did you not hear me? I feel at peace, and the demon that usually haunts me isn’t here.” It was like a slab of bricks had been taken off my chest, and for the first time in my life, I was taking a good breath in of peace, and it was glorious.
“I’ll give you peace. Just come back to me, Emmie.”
I tilted my head, not understanding why he was so panicked and scared.
“Come back to me, Emmie,” he pleaded. “We didn’t even get a start. Don’t end us before we get our start.”
“I’ll always be with you, Maiden, but I need to go now.” There was this need for me to go toward the light, to feel peace, warmth, and happiness. I needed to head toward it. I deserved peace. I deserved happiness, and, more importantly, I wanted it.
“I can give you the peace you want, Emmie,” he said in a rush as I took another step toward the light. “I’ll give you everything.” He then started fighting with the force that was holding him back. “Do not leave me!”
I smiled just slightly. “You already are giving me peace by letting me go. I’ll be watching.” With those words, I turned my back to him again. I closed my eyes, and the warmth from the light shining over me filled me with happiness and brought a glowing smile to my face. I was heading toward peace, but when I went to take a step forward, the warmth disappeared, and pain shot through my body, bringing me to the ground.
The pain was crippling, and it was dark. Where did the light go?
“Maiden!” I screamed. “Maiden!” I continued to scream his name as I faced the darkness and the crippling pain, then a fog took over me, clouding my eyes completely. It wasn’t darkness. It was death, or at least, that was what I thought.
