Owen’s body convulses for a few moments and red foam dribbles from his mouth. Then he stops moving. Silence layers us like snow layers the earth in winter.
I roll on my side and my eyes meet Ziggy’s. He’s lying on his side, his arm bleeding.
“Amanda,” he says with effort, “Amanda. Clean this mess and take her to the hospital. It’s all on me. They won’t throw an old git like me to jail.”
A gloomy silence answers him.
“Amanda,” he says louder and coughs. “Clean this shit and vanish with the girl. The cops will be here at any moment.”
Slim arms lift me to a sitting position and I melt into Amanda.
My whole being turns into ice. I’m numb. I feel nothing.
Then there is pure blackness.
My first conscious thought is that I’m sitting in the passenger seat of Amanda’s car. Redness is obscuring my right eye. Burning pain spreads across my body.
Memories flash through my head. Amanda removed my fingerprints from the piece of glass I used to kill Owen. She wiped my blood from the floor and left Ziggy to deal with the police.
She settles herself behind the steering wheel.
“Everything is going to be alright,” she says.
No—
It’s not going to be alright.
I killed a man.
And Ziggy will take it upon himself.
“You have to be brave now, sweetie,” Amanda says. “We will pretend that we’ve had a car accident, okay? Be brave.”
Chapter 26
Axel
The hot water from a square showerhead streams down my back. It’s tinted with blood. Mine and my enemies’. I rest my palm against the black tiling of the modern shower cabin. I can still smell the odours of blood, vomit and urine. I can still hear shouts and groans of pain. Swear words. The sounds of skulls being broken. Gunshots. I can still see the brains leaking from the skulls and the blood spurting from the wounds. I will never forget that Samael decapitated the Cobras’ leader with a machete.
The dick planned everything in detail. The Cobras’ leader invited him and five of his most trusted men to speak about the alliance in his house. Four very attractive whores attended as well. Samael paid them well to take care of the Cobras. Samael’s men caused a distraction inside the quarters and let my men in. The Cobras were too busy with fucking the women to realise what was going on. I remember their confused glances as they were pulling their dicks out of the whores. Then we smashed them.
The Cobras’ quarters burned with twenty-five corpses inside.
It’s over now.
Two of Samael’s men are dead. One of Mac’s boys is dead. Gunner has a bullet in his arm. Zane has a broken wrist. Blaze lost three teeth.
Samael’s doctor is looking after them.
I have a vague impression that Samael sacrificed his own men to limit the death toll of mine. I guess I will never know what that evil dick really wanted to achieve.
I step out of the cabin and reach for a towel then wipe the steam from the mirror hanging above a Victorian-style washbasin and look at my reflection. A deep cut runs across my face. I don’t resemble a human anymore. It’s the face of a monster. Soon, there will be more scars on my face than the smooth skin left.
I wonder whether Sive will like me like this. Except it doesn’t matter anymore. She will hate me as soon as we see each other again.
I slip into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and walk out of the bathroom to join Samael in his office downstairs. His house is gloomy like a mausoleum. The decor bombards my eyes with ornate details and intense colours. Heavy curtains bring in an impression of a medieval castle.
Samael’s two bulls pass me in silence. Their faces are marked with bruising. We were killing together, after all.
I open a double ornate door and enter a square room. Antique bookcases stand against the walls and velvet curtains obscure tall windows. Samael waves his hand at me. He’s seated in a leather couch. His daughter, Brianna, is standing behind him, her palm on the backrest.
I only met her a mere three hours ago.
She is a beauty I must admit. Dark hair cascades down to her large tits and her black eyes gleam with anger below the thick frame of her eyebrows. Her skin has an olive tinge. My wife to be. Very attractive to be honest. Except I want to twist her neck and throw her body into a swamp to rot.
I settle myself into a wide armchair and Samael smirks at me.
“My daughter is beautiful,” he says.
“She is indeed,” I say.
Zane sneaks into the room and takes a seat in a chair beside me. His tired bruised eyes sweep over Brianna and she winces in disgust.
“I want the wedding to take place in two months,” Samael says.
“Papa wants a church wedding,” Brianna adds with sarcasm. Her voice is melodious, and she speaks with a Spanish accent.
“Sure, why not?” I say.
Zane chuckles as an attractive maid with blonde hair walks in and puts a tray with drinks and snacks on a narrow antique table.
“Thank you, Lizzie,” Samael says with an unexpected softness as Brianna rolls her eyes.
The maid’s face turns bright red, and she escapes from the room like a horde of wolves is hunting her. Disgust rolls over me. The maid looks twenty at most and Samael is forty-four. I know he needs to fuck like any other man, but that’s just inappropriate.
Brianna moves to sit in the couch, and I notice an A4 white envelope in her hand. She takes out some photos and sits beside Samael.
Zane grabs a glass of orange juice and empties it in an instant.
Brianna tosses the photos on the table. I lean forward and hold one from the top. It’s a shot of Sive in my embrace.
“Are you going to keep her as your mistress?” Brianna asks.
There is no jealousy in her voice, just a hint of resignation. I guess she’s as thrilled with the arrangement as I am.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say.
“It matters to me,” she hisses. “I’m a mistress’s child and believe me, it never works. Neither for the mistress nor for the wife.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say in a sharp voice. “It really doesn’t matter what I would want to do. Sive will leave me the moment I’ll tell her about the arrangement. Somebody will look after her. That matters to me.”
Zane will take care of Sive, and she will be happy with him. She will stay close to me. I have to ensure the club’s survival. This will be my goal, my life. My never-ending torment.
It’s like that story Ma used to read to Zane and me. The little mermaid loses the prince because he marries the princess.
Then everything boils and bubbles within me. My thoughts fight against one another like my mind is a battlefield.
I can’t lose Sive. No fucking way. I will marry Brianna, sealing our agreement, then I will find a way to kill Samael and get rid of my wife. I could kill her too, actually. Yes, I will kill her. I will twist her neck like I would twist a chicken’s neck and then I’ll bury her corpse where nobody can find it. The thought of her body being eaten by maggots gives me the kind of sick relief.
“You love her,” Brianna says. “What future will we have together? Three lives broken.”
“We will find a way to make it work,” I say and wink at her, sending her my most beguiling smile.
The bitch winces like she knows my dark thoughts. “You think I’m stupid? You—“
“You are too emotional, Brianna,” Samael says in an icy voice. “That’s enough. Behave. I’m losing my patience.”
Brianna freezes at the tone of her father’s voice and her head drops. Her hands tremble on her lap.
Zane turns his face towards me. “I need a word with you.”
Samael nods at me, and we step onto a balcony. I lean against the stone railing as the scents of flowers settle in my nostrils.
“If the things were different now,” Zane starts, “would you really marry Sive?”
“I would. Zane, y
ou know that. I proposed to her, remember?”
“Would you be a faithful husband to her?”
“I’m done with women. I want a wife, two kids and a barbeque once a month. I want to grow old with Sive, like Blaze with his lady, like Boulder and Ma. You know that, Zane. I’ve changed. I’m a different man now.”
Zane nods at me and pulls back to the room as I follow him. We sit in the couch and Samael pours vodka into our shot glasses.
“Does it matter whether Brianna will marry my brother or me?” Zane asks. “I’m the second after Axel. If he is unable to perform his duties as the president I’ll be the president.”
“Do you want to volunteer, son?” Samael asks and lets out a hoarse chuckle.
He’s clearly amused with my brother. Brianna stares at Zane with her jaw dropping, but I have an impression that she’s relieved.
“I do,” Zane says. “I will be a good husband to your daughter. She will be happy with me.”
“Deal,” Samael says and turns his face to Brianna. “This is your lucky day, Brianna. Your husband-to-be loves you at first sight.”
“I’m thrilled, papa,” Brianna says as a delicate pink tints her cheeks. “I’m going to order a black mourning gown as soon as possible.”
Zane’s face lights up and he emits a low chuckle.
Samael moves closer to Zane and lays his hand on his shoulder. “You have to keep her on a short leash, son. Just a friendly advice.”
I’m sitting speechless, and only one thought hammers in my head. Sive and I will be together. I will marry her as soon as possible. We’ll have four kids. We’ll be happy.
Zane discusses the details of the arrangement, but the conversation is like a monotonous droning to me.
I lift myself, walk out of the room without saying my goodbyes, and run outside the house to jump on my bike. Then I speed to my little mermaid.
Chapter 27
Axel
I walk towards my house and notice that it’s illuminated by the light and many dark figures are moving inside like some spectres are giving a gloomy dance performance. Grant’s car is parked in front of the garage as its blue lights are pulsing menacingly.
Uneasiness surges through me. I pick up the pace and enter the house. Five cops are standing in the living area and Ziggy is lying on the couch. He looks like shit. Grant is sitting in the chair beside him.
“What the fuck?” That’s all I can articulate.
My throat tightens as Ziggy shoots me a warning glance that means ‘be quiet’.
“There is a corpse in the house,” Grant says. “A very important corpse.”
My eyes flick over a black bag on the floor. The coffee table is smashed. Blood dots the floor and the couch.
“Whose corpse?” I ask.
“A cop’s corpse,” Grant says.
“I thought he was a burglar,” Ziggy says.
A shooting pain courses through my chest as the four men dressed in white uniforms collect the black bag and remove it from my house.
“Get up, Ziggy,” Grant says. “You’re going to spend a night in jail. And you, Axel, find yourself a place for tonight. My boys need to finish the job here.”
I salute Grant and back up.
“I want you in my office first thing in the morning,” Grant says.
“Sure,” I say from the doorway.
My hand trembles as I take out my phone and call Ma.
She answers as I settle myself on my bike.
“Ma,” I say. “Are you two okay?”
“Sive is not okay,” Ma says in a dry voice.
I feel like every molecule in my body is dying. “Where are you?”
“In the hospital. Sive is having a surgery.”
“What surgery? Why does she even need a surgery? What surgery?”
“An eye surgery.”
“Ma, what happened?”
“Her stepfather happened,” she says as her voice falters. “The car is smashed. I had to—“
“What did you do, Ma?”
She cries then takes a sharp breath. “I don’t want to talk to you, Axel. Ever.”
She disconnects and I freeze. My limbs feel like they’re made of concrete. I can’t breathe. My heart turns into a cold hollow.
***
I can’t recall my way as I pass through the hospital’s main entrance. People stare at me with fear and disgust on their faces as I meander among them, moving along the corridors. I finally notice Ma at the coffee machine. She turns around and glances at me with cold eyes. With accusing eyes like I’m not her son anymore. Like I’m her worst enemy.
“Ma—“
She raises her forefinger in a threatening gesture. “If I see you around her, I’ll call the cops. I swear, Axel.”
I notice a bruise with a cut on her forehead, purple stains on her throat and two dressings on her arm.
“He came for her,” she hisses and lowers her voice. “Ziggy will take it upon himself. But I had to find a way to justify her injuries without evoking suspicions. The doctors and paramedics think that we had a car accident.”
My torpid brain tries to process the information. “Where is she?”
“Still in the theatre.”
“What—“
“Go to Maria’s place,” Ma says. “You are not allowed to see her anyway. She was very clear on that. Only I can visit her.” She looks at me with such disgust that I feel like the worst scum in the world. “She was pregnant with you. Did you know that? It was your baby, Axel.”
“Was?” I feel my throat tighten and pain courses through my chest as though a dagger has stabbed me.
“Yes, was. And you left her to marry another woman.”
Drowsiness fills my head, and I collapse into the chair.
“Go away, Axel. The hospital security officers won’t allow you to see her anyway.”
“I will see her,” I say through clenched teeth.
“No,” Ma says with rigid determination. “Over my dead body. Get out. Now.”
I realise that I can smash the hospital security staff, but I won’t fight with my own mother. She’s sheltering Sive like a thick stone wall rising up to the sky.
“Get out of my face,” Ma says through gritted teeth.
Only once did I see such anger in her eyes. It was when she discovered that Boulder had cheated on her.
“Ma, please, I need to see her, be with her. I need to fix that whole mess. Please, Ma.”
“No, Axel. I won’t allow you to do that.” She approaches me and leans towards me, her voice barely audible, “She killed her stepfather. She had to kill him with her own hands because you were not around to protect her.”
Her words seep into my veins like poison, strip me of life. Cause agony to claw my body.
“Get out of here,” she continues. “You shouldn’t be here.”
She’s right. I pull myself up and stagger towards the stairs. A dense fog coats my mind. I’m deaf. I’m almost blind. There is a cold void in my chest.
The town resembles a fucking maze as I circle around it like a lost kid. I dodge a lorry; I shove a few men, trip over the curb. I wander like a ghost.
Finally, I find myself in ‘Jilly Jet’. It’s empty. My feet crush the shards of glass as I move towards the counter and grab a half-full bottle of whiskey. One desire pulsates in my head—to drink myself to death.
I drink every bottle of alcohol I can manage to find. Then there is blackness.
Someone’s sharp voice hurts my brain, drills into the middle of my skull, wrenches me out of my void.
“Axel,” that voice repeats relentlessly.
My body feels dry like my whole blood has evaporated. The thirst is physically painful. My head throbs.
“Axel, wake up.”
I recognise Zane’s voice, but I can’t open my eyes. Something strikes against my skull like an axe. I growl like an outraged animal, but my eyelids are still sewed together.
“Move away, Zane.” It’s Blaze.
Wet coldness pierces my face and makes me jerk up and fall down on my bottom. The surroundings spin around me as I wipe the moisture from my face then put my palms behind my back and flick my cloudy eyes over Blaze.
“Your wounds are infected, Axel,” Blaze says with disgust.
He squats down between my legs splayed.
“Boulder is awake,” Zane says as my face turns to the side. “Sive is at home.”
“At home?” I mumble.
“At parents’ house,” Zane adds. “Maria and Ma are looking after her.”
“How is she?” I ask.
“Quiet,” Zane says in a gruff voice. “Her eye doesn’t look bad, but it’s blind. And the baby—“
“I have to see her.” I twist my chest to get up, but Blaze immobilises me with his hands clutching my shoulders.
“She doesn’t want to see you,” Blaze says and glances at me like I’m his enemy. Like I’m a fox infected by rabies and he’s going to kill me.
“She’s my life, Blaze,” I explode. “My fucking life. I’m dead without her.”
Blaze’s face tenses like a mask. “Get up. I need to clean your wounds before the infection destroys half of your face.”
They support my arms and lift me then take me to my house. I take a shower and Blaze cleans the cuts on my face and chest. Both my brother and he are watching my every move like I’m a dangerous psychopath. An hour later, we go to the hospital to see Boulder.
As I walk into his room, he’s having his physiotherapy, lying flat on the bed. His face resembles Ziggy’s with the right side drooping, but he manages a snarl as he spots me. The young blonde is massaging his legs and he seems to enjoy her talented hands.
I salute him and he manages a tiny nod at me. Blaze pats his shoulder and Zane drops into the chair beside his bed. We are sitting in silence interrupted by the physiotherapist’s commands and the sound of her hands slapping Boulder’s hairy legs.
Thoughts flash through my head. My fiancée lost her eye, had a miscarriage and killed her stepfather. I have no idea how to fix all that mess. How to take that entire nightmare from her. How to make her forgive me.
Sive: Shadow Wolves MC Page 16
