Thor: Savage Crows MC Book 7

by T. O. Smith

  Thor reached behind him and grabbed a chair, swinging it beside him. "Sit." He ordered. I opened my mouth to object, but he shot me a dark look. "Alexia, fucking sit down."

  I turned to march away, not wanting to deal with this shit this morning, but he snagged my wrist and snatched me back, pulling me down into the chair beside him. He leaned in close to me. My heart was thumping hard and fast in my chest, my hands trembling. "If you dare try to get up from this chair, I swear to you, I will tie you to it and force-feed you, got me?"

  I swallowed nervously and nodded. He wrapped an arm around the back of my chair. "Layla, you mind grabbing an extra fork from the kitchen?" He called over his shoulder.

  I tensed slightly in my seat, not wanting her anywhere near me. Thor noticed at the same time Alex did, both men leaning close to me. "What happened in the kitchen?" Thor demanded, his eyes intent on mine – so intent that I couldn’t fucking look away.

  I shook my head. "Thor, nothing happened." I scoffed. "You're being ridiculous." I lied, doing my damnest to play it off. I would not be the reason that a rift happened between the men of the club.

  "We all know how much of a hateful bitch Layla can be, Alexia," Alex told me. My eyes widened in shock. "So, what happened in the kitchen?"

  I forced out a laugh. "Really, nothing happened," I told him, waving it off.

  Grim pointed his finger at Layla as she stepped up to our table with an extra fork, handing it to Thor. "What the fuck did you say to Lex in the kitchen?" Grim demanded. My face paled. I hadn’t expected Grim to get involved; he didn’t seem like the type.

  "What the fuck is it with everyone ganging up on Layla?" Hatchet angrily demanded. I cast my eyes to my lap. This was what I had wanted to avoid.

  "Your wife is a hateful bitch." Grave said nonchalantly as he stole a piece of bacon from Thor's plate. I jerked my head up, staring at Grave in astonishment. Thor's chest rumbled with displeasure, but Grave only grinned at him as he stuffed the piece of stolen bacon into his mouth. “This is damn good, Lex.” I gave him a tiny, tight smile.

  Hatchet's eyes flickered to me before they moved to his wife. He sighed as he ran a hand down his face. "Fucking hell, Layla, what the fuck did you do?" He demanded.

  "I didn't -"

  "Don't!" He snapped at her, his eyes flashing dangerously. I swallowed thickly. Thor gently squeezed my shoulder. "I don't know what the fuck has gotten into you lately, but Grave is right. You're bitter, and I don't fucking know why. I've been trying my damnest to protect you from everyone here, but when you keep doing the same damn thing over and over, I can't continue to protect you. What did you do?" He asked again.

  Layla clenched her jaw. "I didn't do anything, Hatchet."

  Thor gripped my chin, forcing my eyes on his. "Lex, what was said?" He asked me. "Why did you come out here with all of this food on one plate, when clearly there's enough here to feed two?"

  I swallowed nervously. I hated that he was so fucking smart.

  "Thor -"

  "Don't lie to me, sweetheart." He warned me, knowing me too well already.

  I blew out a soft breath. "Fine. She just – it was a comment about the bacon and how I shouldn't eat it. It was nothing, really." I told him in a rush.

  His eyes flashed dangerously, but he didn't pull them from mine. "Hatchet, get your wife out of this fucking clubhouse." Thor snarled.

  "Remain calm, brother," Grim ordered.

  Thor pulled his eyes from mine, looking at his president. "Lex hasn't done a goddamn thing to Layla. She just fucking met her this morning, for fuck's sake. Layla had no goddamn business saying something about Lex's weight to her."

  "No, she didn't." Grim agreed. He looked at me. "Alexia, you need to eat." He instructed. He looked back at his enforcer. "I'll talk to Hatchet about Layla; even he sees there's something going on with her lately."

  Thor turned to look back at me. "Lex, sweetheart, eat." He said softly. "Please." He tacked on at the end when I only shook my head at him.

  "Thor, she's right. I don't need it -"

  He gripped my face in his large, calloused hands. "You're perfect." He told me. Thor leaned down and brushed his lips across mine, treating me so tenderly that it brought tears to my eyes. "Please eat, Lex. I don't want you to lose weight. I want you just as you are. I'm begging you to please eat."

  With a small sigh, I nodded. He pushed his plate in front of me. "No one at this table is judging you," Grim told me when I only stared at the plate, still unsure. I was so used to starving myself when I got like this. "So, eat. Some men here don't like stick figure women. Thor is one of those men."

  With a nod, I slowly began to eat. Thor's fingers trailed up and down my back as I ate, his touch calming and soothing, making me relax.

  "There haven't been any sightings of the Burning Devils in town since they tried to burn down the bar yesterday," Alex stated. "We need to wipe them out before we try to rebuild the front of the bar. I don’t want to chance them doing the same damn thing once we get it rebuilt. Trixie can’t take that shit.”

  “How is she?” Grave asked Alex.

  Alex shrugged, a frown pulling at his lips. “She’s still asleep, but yesterday was rough after I broke the news to her.” He scrubbed his hands down his face. “You know how she is with sudden changes, brother.” Grave nodded and gently squeezed Alex’s shoulder in support.

  "Any clue on where they may be hiding out at?" Thor asked. "Got to be hiding somewhere. They're a long-ass way from home."

  "A dirty motel somewhere," I spoke up. All of the men at the table looked over at me. I shrugged. "That's where we always stayed. They never stayed anywhere that would raise suspicion. Most bikers don't stay in nice hotels."

  "True." Thor agreed, now playing with the ends of my dark hair. "You think Scorpion can find something out by the end of the day?" Thor asked Grim.

  Grim nodded. "I'll talk to him." He stated. "Until we know something more, I'm not holding church. It'll be a waste of time." He pushed back from the table. "I'm going to wake Scorpion’s ass up and talk to him and then Hatchet." He looked down at me. "Welcome to the family, Alexia."

  With that, Grim strode off.

  Welcome to the family.

  My heart warmed. Maybe belonging to his family – to this club – wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  I grunted as I adjusted my elbows on the dirt that I was lying on, bringing the binoculars back up to my eyes. "This shit drags," I grumbled as I looked through each of the open windows in the motel. No lights were on inside of the rooms that had the blinds drawn, so I couldn't see anything. It didn't help that there currently weren't any bikes in the motel parking lot, but Scorpion was one hundred percent sure that the Burning Devils were hiding out here.

  Grim was waiting to hear back from us on whether there were sightings of them at this motel. If there was, then we would ambush the place tonight.

  "Wait – I see something," I said quietly, looking towards one of the rooms near the back. A man with a blonde beard and long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail was stepping out of the room.

  And he was wearing a Burning Devils cut with the Road Captain patch on it.

  "What is it?" Grave demanded, snatching the binoculars from my hand. I shoved him, a grunt of annoyance passing my lips, but I let him keep the binoculars.

  "Fuck." Alex swore as he looked through his own pair. "Scorpion was right."

  "Question is, how many are camping out here?" I asked.

  Alex shrugged. "Need to find out, though." He said. "Thor, take the left side. Grave, take the right. See if we can't find out if any other ones are staying here."

  I nodded, and keeping low to the ground, I crept out of our hiding spot, rushing across the street. Nobody shot at me, so that was a good sign that I wasn't spotted. Once I was under the cover of trees, I pulled my gun from the holster inside of my cut just in case I needed to defend myself.

  A bullet tore through my upper arm, and I gritted my teeth, forcing myself not to
roar out in pain. I ducked behind some bushes, being careful to keep myself out of sight as I rushed deeper into the woods. Blood was pouring down my arm. I needed to get back to the clubhouse so Medic could take care of my arm. I had adrenaline pumping through my veins which would only serve to make my blood pump faster.

  I called Alex as I ducked behind a tree, being careful not to give away my location to whoever had shot me. "Thor?" He asked.

  "Fuck, Alex, I got shot. Whoever shot me used a silencer. I'm in the woods. I'm not coming out without backup. I'm bleeding pretty badly."

  "Fuck, brother. We're coming." Alex said.

  I hung up, looking down at my arm. Fuck, it was bad. I had gotten hit at close range judging by the size of the bullet hole, and I really needed to get to the clubhouse.

  "Medic!" Alex roared when we stepped into the club house. "Where the fuck is Medic?!" He shouted.

  Lex rushed out of the kitchen with Trixie, and her face paled as she landed her eyes on me. "Fuck, Lex, sweetheart, I'm okay." I soothed. Jesus Christ, I didn’t want her to see me like this.

  She rushed around the counter towards me, her eyes panicked. I drew her against me with my good arm and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm here!" Medic called as he came downstairs. "What's going – fuck, Thor."

  I shrugged, not releasing my hold on Lex. "I'm not entirely sure how bad it is," I told him. "I just know it's bad," I admitted. "Pretty sure I was shot at a close range. Fucker was hiding and had a silencer on."

  Lex gently pushed me into one of the chairs and dragged a chair beside me, plopping her fine ass into it. Medic eased my cut off my shoulders and ripped open my black t-shirt, grimacing as soon as he looked at my arm.

  "Fuck, Thor, it's bad."

  "What happened?" Lex asked me, her hand holding my other one.

  I sighed as I laced our fingers together. "We found the Burning Devils," I informed her, watching as fear flashed in her eyes. "We were going to see if we could figure out how many of them there were, but I got shot before we could."

  Grim stormed into the club house, his eyes murderous. "They're fucking through with." Grim snarled as he walked over to me, taking a close look at the bullet wound I was sporting.

  I winced as Medic began to dig the bullet out of my arm. Lex squeezed my hand in support. I leaned over and pressed my lips to hers. I was so fucking proud of her. She was standing strong – not panicking.

  "I'm so sorry that you guys are going through this." Lex apologized. She looked up so her eyes met mine. "I'm sorry you got shot because of me."

  I released her hand and gripped her chin gently in my hand, brushing my lips over hers. "Shit happens," I told her. "I wasn't lying when I said that I would protect you until my last dying breath. Don't ever doubt that, sweetheart. This is just a minor inconvenience – honestly. I promise you that I’ve had a lot worse before."

  She sighed softly. "That's not the point, Thor."

  "None of this is because of you," I told her fiercely, wishing she would get that through her thick ass skull. "Lex, nobody in this room was forced to protect you. Every single one of us has stepped in because we want to. So, none of this is your fault."

  She reached up and cupped my face in her hands, pressing her lips to mine before she stood up. "I'll be in the kitchen with Trixie." She told me. "Come find me when you're all doctored up."

  I grabbed her hand and pressed my lips to her palm. "I'll always come to find you, sweetheart," I promised.

  She gave me a tender smile before she turned and walked to the kitchen. "Brother, you're fucking whipped." Ink commented as he swallowed a mouthful of beer.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. "Screw off, Ink."

  "You really think we're letting you off easy after all the hell you put all of us through?" Ink asked me. He barked out a laugh. "Brother, you're going to get shit for years for finally snagging an old lady, especially after claiming you would never want one.”

  I sighed, glaring up at the ceiling. "Lex is different," I grunted. And she was. There was something about her that called to my fucking soul.

  "Uncle Thor has an old lady!" Matthew cheered as he bounded into the clubhouse, Hatchet on his heels with Lillian holding his hand.

  I reached out and ruffled the kid's hair. He had grown up so much since he had come to live with Hatchet. Being around all of us had quickly brought him out of his shell, and Hatchet was a damn good dad to his kids. Both Matthew and Lillian adored the ground that he walked on.

  "Where's Layla?" I asked him. She normally clung to his arm, going anywhere with him that she could.

  A dark look passed over Hatchet's face. "Not in front of the kids." He said quietly. Grim looked up from his phone at that. "Matthew, take your sister and go play." He instructed.

  "But Dad," Matthew whined. My lips twitched. He was getting to that age where he didn’t want anything to do with his sister.

  "Matthew," Hatchet warned.

  With a sigh, Matthew grabbed his little sister's hand and led her over to the living area. Scorpion instantly settled Lillian on his lap as he grabbed a controller to the gaming system, instructing Matthew to grab the other one.

  "Layla has fallen off the deep end." Hatchet quietly informed us as he sat down in a chair, running a hand down his face. "I don't know what the fuck has gotten into her, but she's pretty much turning into her fucking dad." He looked at me. "Matthew has bruises, Thor."

  My eyes flashed dangerously. I had taken that kid under my wing, quickly becoming his favorite uncle when he had first come here to the clubhouse. Matthew and I had a bond that he didn’t have with other men.

  "I feel stupid as fuck for not noticing it sooner, but he ended up injuring himself in one of his tromps through the woods, and he came to me to bandage his leg up. It was high up on his leg, so I had to take his jeans off. Fuck, he has hand-shaped bruises all over his body – all of them in places that are easily covered."

  "Where is she now?" Alex angrily demanded as he strode up to the table.

  "She’s at the house. She broke down crying and has locked herself in the bathroom. I don’t know what the fuck to do. I threatened divorce and also threatened to call the cops on her. I took pictures for proof, but she’s . . .” he trailed off, “there’s something really fucking wrong with her, guys. She needs help.”

  "You need to press charges," Grim spoke up. I snorted. I agreed, but Hatchet knew her best. "Call the club attorney right now and get charges pressed." He instructed.

  Hatchet looked torn. I gripped his shoulder. "Hatchet, brother, I know you love her, but you love both of those kids more. She needs to be punished for this shit. I know it's hard, brother, but it needs to be done."

  He just shook his head. “She needs help, Thor, and I’m such a shitty husband that I didn’t notice it sooner.” With that, he stood up and walked over to the living area.

  I stared after him. “Fuck.” Alex finally spoke. “Any idea what’s made Layla snap?” He asked.

  Grim shrugged. “Been a build-up of shit. She loves Hatchet too much to truly walk away, and Hatchet loves her too much to let her go. They’re toxic.” He shrugged. “Hatchet will figure this shit out. We just need to give him space and time to do so.”

  I sighed as I stepped out the back door of the club house. Some of the club members were out doing more surveillance, and Thor was in the chapel with Alex, Grim, and Grave. It was kind of boring at that moment with nothing to really do, so after making sure that I was allowed outside of the clubhouse as long as I stayed on club grounds, I decided to go for a small walk around the property.

  I walked over near the back, right corner, my eyes on some flowers that were growing on a vine on the chain-link fence. I loved nature. It soothed and calmed me.

  I also admired the way it continued to grow no matter how much people tried to tear it down.

  My eyes landed on Layla who was sprawled out across the ground. There was a syringe laying on the ground beside her open palm. “Layla!” I screamed,
rushing forward. I didn’t even know that she was here. I fell to my knees beside her as I frantically pressed my fingers to her pulse. It was there – weak and faint – but she was still alive.

  “Layla, oh, my God.” I choked out, tears running down my face.

  Thor burst out of the back door and rushed over to me. “Fuck!” He roared as he pulled me back from her, letting Alex get to her.

  “Hatchet, get back to the clubhouse.” I heard Grim speak. Tears were rushing down my face. After pressing his fingers to her pulse, Alex nodded his head once at Grave who was already on the phone with 9-1-1, letting him know he felt her pulse.