Redemption (Shattered Souls MC Book 2)

by Heather Dahlgren

  “Hey Kace?”

  He puts his phone in his pocket and gives me his full attention. “How is he?”

  A small, unconvincing grin spreads across his face. “He’s trying.”

  “Seriously, how bad is he?”

  He shakes his head and glances at the door. “Seriously? He needs to get himself in check. His anger is gonna get him killed.”

  “Fuck,” I breathe out.

  “Don’t worry about him right now. You need to take care of yourself,” Ivy chimes in.

  My eyes close against the tears. “It doesn’t work that way.”

  “Hey, he knows you are alive now. It’s a start,” Kace says, squeezing my foot.

  Before I can even reply, Zane walks back in. “Fucking nurses need to remember that you’re their priority,” he mumbles walking in.

  Kace peeks at me and moves to the chair against the wall. Ivy moves to the chair next to him, while Zane paces at the door.

  “Z, come on. They’ll be here when they can,” I say.

  He spins around and his angry eyes hit me. “Not fucking good enough.” He leans out the door, bracing his hands on the trim. “You hear me? Making my girl wait for relief from her pain is fucking bullshit. Stop dragging your damn feet,” he yells.

  “Zane, what the fuck,” I hiss.

  “You’re in pain, babe. You should get immediate relief,” he says, his eyes softening as he looks at me.

  I sigh and hold my hand out to him. “Come here.” Reluctantly, he walks over, and I pat my bed. He slides down the bar and sits next to me. I grab his strong hand as he looks at me. “Zane, the pain is a good thing. It means I’m alive.”

  He tucks my hair, behind my ear and nods his head. “I know, babe. I’ve never been so thankful.”

  I tilt my head and grin. “Start acting like it.” He goes to interrupt, but I put my finger on his lips. “You need to get your anger under control before it takes you over. Once it does, there’s no coming back from that. I’m alive and everything else is just bonuses now.” He squeezes my one hand, while I use the other to touch his cheek. It’s not easy with the IV pulling on it, but I manage. “I’m sure you’ve got to get to the club and take care of some things. You also need to eat and get some sleep. Go baby, go handle your business. When you’re done, come back to me, but leave the anger here. Let that shit go.”

  He closes his eyes and rests his forehead on mine. “I just want to do everything right by you this time.”

  “Being angry isn’t doing right by me, Z. I need your love, that’s all.”

  “You have my whole heart, babe.” He presses his lips to mine and even though I’m in a lot of pain, I savor his touch. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I do need to handle my business, but I don’t want to leave you.”

  I pull back and grin. “You aren’t leaving me. You’re doing right by me. Plus, I have Ivy here. Go baby.”

  “Come on, Z. We’ll go handle what we need to, and you can get a few hours sleep in your own bed,” Kace says.

  He stands up and pulls out his phone. “I want Porter here.”

  The nurse comes in as Zane is on the phone. She isn’t happy and I can’t blame her. She takes my vitals and replaces my IV bag. Once that is all done, she gives me another shot of pain medicine.

  “Hey. I’m sorry,” Zane says, briefly glancing at her.

  She doesn’t say anything just shakes her head as she walks out. I appreciate his apology though.

  “Alright, Porter will be here in a minute. I’m gonna go, but if you need me, call immediately. I’ll be back in a few hours.” He turns to look at Ivy. “If anything happens, call me.” Kace gets up and squeezes my shoulder before waiting by the door.

  “I love you, babe.”

  “I love you.”

  I watch them walk away and turn my head to Ivy. “How do you do that?”

  My eyebrows dip in confusion. “Do what?”

  She gets up and sits on the edge of my bed. “You knew exactly what you needed to say to Zane. How do you know how to do that?”

  “I know him. I know what he needs to hear. I know the club world and I know that if he’s here it isn’t helping them or him. He needs to be a man and handle that stuff before it’s too late,” I say, lifting my shoulder. “He’s being an asshole.”

  “He’s worried about you. I get that.”

  There’s so much I want to say. My head is all messed up right now. I shouldn’t have this anger toward him. I knew what I was doing when I pushed in front of him, but I can’t help feeling like I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him being so damn stubborn. I need to focus on something else, so I decide to turn the tables on her.

  “What’s going on with you and Kace?”

  She fights a smile. “Nothing.”

  “That smile says differently,” I push.

  “Nothing happened or anything, but he did hold me for a while when I was crying,” she says, lifting her slender shoulders. “It was nice.”

  “He’s a good man, Ivy.”

  She chews on her bottom lip and shakes her head. “I’m seeing that.”

  “Harper, sweetheart. How are you feeling?” Porter asks, interrupting our talk.

  He kisses my cheek and smiles down at me. His long hair and beard look like both need to be brushed. But his sweet smile and soft green eyes distract from that. “I just had pain medicine, so I’m alright.”

  “You look great. You’ll be out of here and bossing Zane around before you know it,” he jokes.

  “I can’t wait,” I say, grinning.

  He squeezes my shoulder and gives me a wink. “That boy is crazy about you.”

  My broken heart, literally, beats a little faster. I can’t be angry with him when I know everything, he’s done is for me. I need to take my own advice and stop before it consumes me.

  “The feeling is completely mutual, Porter.”

  He waves his hand at me, his tattooed arm flexing as he laughs. “That’s pretty fucking obvious, sweetheart.” I laugh with him, but once again stop quickly. “I’ll let you rest. I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.” He squeezes my foot as he walks away, and I smile.

  “They don’t even look at me,” Ivy whispers.

  I turn to her toward her, seeing she’s staring out the door. “What?”

  Her brown eyes find mine as she wrings her hands. “I sat in that waiting room and no one even looked at me, never mind talked to me.”

  “Hey, they’ve known me since I was a kid. But even if they didn’t, I’m Zane’s girl. No one knows what’s going on with you and Kace,” I explain.

  She lets out a small laugh. “Nothing’s going on.”

  “Well, that’s between you and him. I’m saying, if you and Kace were together, they wouldn’t treat you like that. But, did you try to talk to them?” I ask.

  She glances down before looking back at me. “No.”

  I shake my head and smile. “It goes both ways. They probably think you were ignoring them. Just give it time, they are all great guys.”

  “Yeah, okay. Well enough about that. Do you need anything?”

  I can feel the pain medicine working, so I shake my head. “No, I’m good. I’m really tired though.”

  “Close your eyes. I’ll watch some TV while you sleep.”

  My eyes start to drift closed as I shake my head. I begin to think of Zane and what our future holds. A bit hopeful and a bit hopeless. The only thing I know for sure is that my life will never be the same. The mistakes and regrets I hold, will never be repeated. No matter the cost.

  5

  Zane

  Kace and I left the hospital and went to my place. He forced me to take a shower and get some sleep. I wanted to argue, but when I closed my eyes in the shower, I knew I had to give in. I need to be the man that Harper deserves and the one I’ve been lately, isn’t him. A few hours of sleep, some food, and I’m starting to feel like I can handle life again.

  “Did Brooks say what time to be at the club?�
�� Kace asks, finishing his cigarette.

  I check the time and nod. “Yeah, he said around six.”

  “We need to tell them about Kingsley.”

  I finish off my beer and nod. “I know, brother. I’m not trying to keep anything from the club. Harper was right, I need to take care of my business.”

  He slaps my shoulder when he gets up to grab a beer. “She’s good for you.”

  I laugh around my cigarette. “No shit.” It makes me think of him and Ivy. I’ve been so distracted; I haven’t given him the chance to talk about anything. “What’s going on with you and Ivy?”

  He lifts one shoulder as he sips his beer. “Nothing.”

  “You want something to happen though, right?” I ask.

  He runs his hand through his hair, turning toward me. “I don’t know, brother. I mean, yeah, but I’m not sure she’s all about the club. I can’t get into something like that and she’s not a chick you fuck and flee. She’s better than that.”

  “Have you guys even talked about any of it?” I lift an eyebrow and he laughs.

  “Nope. We’re barely in the friend zone, I don’t think the conversation is necessary,” he explains.

  I get up and grab my phone. Ivy texted before to tell me that Harper is still sleeping, so I feel better about not being there. I shove my phone in my pocket and slip on my cut. “Well, if you want my advice,” I start.

  “Not really,” he cuts in.

  “Too fucking bad. I think if you want to see where it can go with you two, you should actually talk to her. See where she’s at.” We walk out the door and I lock it behind us.

  “We’ll see. Let’s go see what our next move is.”

  When we get to the Souls, everyone is there, so we head in to sit at the table. Once we are all seated, Brooks looks at me. “How’s Harper?”

  “She’s okay. In pain, obviously, but the pain medicine seems to help. The doctor hasn’t been in yet, so we’ll see what he has to say,” I tell them.

  Brooks nods and lights a smoke. “Finally, some good news.”

  “We’ve got more,” Kace says, looking at me.

  “We talked to a very willing nurse and she told us that Dom was treated for two gunshot wounds and that Kingsley took him home from the hospital. She also said Kingsley was asking about Harper. She can’t take anymore evil, so we need a fucking plan,” I say.

  There is a lot of cursing, but I keep my attention on Brooks. He needs to give the go ahead to take Kingsley down. I’m trying to keep my anger under control, but when I think of what Kingsley did, it’s fucking hard. Harper has suffered enough at the hands of her father; he needs to pay.

  “We end this shit now. He wants a war, he’s got it,” Brooks hisses.

  Fucking finally. “What’s the plan?” I ask.

  “He’s too smart. We need to just surprise him. We go in guns drawn and take out everyone we need to until we get him. I’m tired of being made to look like a damn fool. We’ll get guns together and we’ll leave in half an hour.”

  I’m taking care of my business, babe.

  I can’t help the grin that breaks out on my face. Once he’s dead, Harper can heal, and we can move on with our lives. She won’t have to worry about anything again.

  “Let’s get ready,” Enzo says, breaking my thoughts.

  We all get up and before I go into the back, I go to the bar to grab a quick shot. Finn slides it over to me and I toss it back. I start to walk away, but he calls my name. I turn to face him and cross my arms

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asks, nervously.

  The fury I feel when I look at him is definitely misplaced, but I will never allow him to know that. “Outside,” I say, walking toward the door. Once out there, we both light a cigarette. “Talk, Prospect.”

  “Look, I’m fucking sorry about what happened to Harper. I know it was my fault and I know that there’s nothing I can say to fix that shit. But I really need you to know that I never intended to pass out. I figured since you were there that I could let my guard down. I’m really sorry.”

  My angry eyes collide with his. “How the fuck am I supposed to trust you as a member of this club? Two times you let her go, and two times she nearly lost her life. You can be sorry all you want, but you failed twice. I gave you another chance after the first time and you proved I shouldn’t have. I haven’t talked to Brooks about it yet, but it needs to be discussed,” I hiss.

  “What do I need to do to prove my worth? This club is all I have. I don’t want to be out before I’m in,” he asks.

  He’s got balls, I’ll give him that. “You want to prove your worth? You need to gain back my trust,” I tell him.

  “How do I do that?”

  I slap his shoulder and turn away. “That’s something you’re gonna need to figure out on your own, Prospect.”

  I walk back inside and straight to the back, in the room where I’ve spent too much of my time. I look around, thinking of Harper. The bed that is centered on the wall to my left makes me think of when she wouldn’t even sit on it. The dresser that sits on the same wall as the door, reminds me of all her makeup and crap scattered across it. The brown walls, covered in pictures of Harleys and chicks, cause me to shake my head. Months ago, I loved being in, now all I want to do is be wherever Harper is. I go into the safe I have in the closet, that is across from the bed. I take out my AR15 and my AR10. I’ve got my Glock19 in my waistband and my Springfield Hellcat in my boot. I close the safe as the door to the room opens.

  “What happened with Finn?” Kace asks.

  I toss him the AR15 and sling the AR10 over my shoulder. “He wants to prove his worth and gain my forgiveness.”

  “You gonna give it to him?”

  I snap my head up to look at him. “I don’t give my forgiveness to anyone. He needs to fucking earn it.”

  He looks at the door and back to me, sighing. “Yeah, you ready?”

  “Never been more ready.”

  We walk out to meet the rest of the club. They are all by the bar in the back far corner. There’s still a lot of shit to figure out, but this is my biggest threat. Once Kingsley is gone, I can focus my attention on everything else. I start to feel excitement because I can’t wait to tell Harper that it’s over.

  “We need to keep our eyes open and our heads up. He’s not gonna go out without a fight. I’d love to give Zane the chance to kill him, but whoever sees him, shoots him. No fucking around. We are in and out,” Brooks says.

  I want to argue because no one else should get the chance to kill him, but I know better. It is ultimately on me that we are in this position to begin with. I’m lucky to be alive after the shit I pulled with Dom. This is one time I need to keep my mouth shut and do what I’m told. That’s something Finn should pay attention to.

  “Z, anything we should know?” Enzo asks.

  “He’s probably in his office and we know where that is. I think if we just get back there, we’ll get him quickly.”

  He nods once and turns to Brooks. “Let’s go.”

  The ride over seems to take a lifetime, but we finally pull up. Brooks tells Finn and Alex to stay outside and watch all the exits. The adrenaline is coursing through my veins as we get to the door. In this moment I have absolutely no fear. I have my club with me, and we are finally going to win this war. No more sharing pussy, no more enemy attacks, no more pain for my girl. It all ends now.

  We all rush inside. Riley and Kace lead the way. I’m right behind them with Enzo and Brooks behind me. As expected, we are not welcome. Kace pushes Riley down when we hear the first round of bullet spray out toward us.

  “Get down,” I yell to Brooks and Enzo. I pull the trigger on my Glock and hit two of the Vegas Kings.

  Kace and Riley are shooting now. The customers are running, the girls on stage are screaming, and still no sign of Kingsley. Fuck this.

  “Go,” I yell to Brooks and Enzo. “I’ll cover you.”

  They make it to the back, and I keep my gun
pointed at anyone who moves. This strip club is so different from ours. It’s bright walls, neon blue lights, and white tables, are the opposite of ours. Our walls are a honey wood paneling, as well as the tables. The lighting isn’t as bright as flashy, it's darker, giving a more intimate feel. The setup is basically the same, bar in the far corner, stage centered on the far wall, and tables in front of the stage. Souls is more masculine, while Club Kingsley is more feminine. Where our club feels warm and inviting, this club feels cold and sterile. I’m not saying Harper didn’t do an amazing job, I’m just noticing the differences.

  “Z, go,” Kace yells, snapping me back to the moment.

  I don’t hesitate, I rush to the back. Once I’m through the door I’m met with deafening silence. The only light that shines is in this long hallway that stretches the length of the entire building.

  “Fuck,” Brooks shouts. “He’s not here. There’s no one back here.”

  I quickly walk to Kingsley’s office and stand in the doorway. The blood is still on the carpet and the memories come rushing back, as does my anger.

  “Z, let it fucking go,” Enzo calls.

  I pull my Glock out and take two shots at his chair. “Fucking coward!” I yell.

  “Zane, now,” Brooks shouts.

  I rush down the hall and open the door to make sure it’s clear. “Go,” I say. I look around and see a Vegas King laying on the floor. I grab his shirt and hold my gun to his temple. “Where the fuck is Kingsley?”

  “Zane,” Kace yells.

  I don’t break eye contact with this piece of shit though. I need answers. I wrap my finger around the trigger and push it harder into him. “You have one second to fucking talk before they’re cleaning up your mother fucking brains,” I hiss.

  “I don’t fucking know. He left to pick up Dom from the hospital and hasn’t been back,” he growls.

  “Bullshit.”

  “Fuck Z, let’s go,” Kace shouts.

  “No one has seen him. I don’t fucking know what else to tell you,” he says.

  I glance behind me for a second before looking back at him. “If you’re lying to me, I will kill everyone you love while you watch.” I let his head bounce off the floor and rush to the front door.