by Erin Trejo
Gaia
I watch the doctor check him over as I pace the room with my arms crossed over my chest. I can’t believe that he’s here. I thought I would for sure find him dead by Leo’s hands. I can’t stop looking at him. The bruises and dried blood making my skin crawl.
“We have things to discuss,” Enzo says, stopping my pacing.
“I don’t think we do.”
“Oh, don’t you? You think running off with the man that was supposed to protect you and marrying him is nothing to speak about?” His tone has turned angry, not that I care. This isn’t up for debate anymore. It’s done, it happened and if I have my way, I’m not changing a thing. Turning to fully face him, I stare up at him.
“What do you want me to say, Enzo? Do you want an apology for me loving someone?” The words slipped out as easily as ever. I didn’t mean to say them out loud but now that I’ve gotten everyone’s attention, I can’t take it back.
“Love? You have got to be kidding me!”
“Don’t you dare talk to me like that. You know nothing of what I feel, Enzo! When he left… damn it!” I scream tugging at my hair. I don’t look at Preacher, I can’t. He heard me. Instead of trying to defend myself, I turn and rush toward the bathroom. I don’t make it that far. As soon as my hand hits the knob, there’s a strong hard body behind me.
“When he left, what?” His voice is hot as it caresses my skin. Preacher’s touch couldn’t be mistaken as he slips a hand around my stomach pulling me back into him. “Tell me.”
“This is bullshit! Grave, I sent her to you for protection! Not to be fucked and married by one of your men,” Enzo roars, but all I can feel is Preacher’s heat wrapping around me.
“I know that, but shit went down, Enzo. None of us planned for this,” Grave answers. I don’t care what they’re saying.
“Tell me,” Preacher whispers in my ear. My body trembles as the rest of the room is bitching and complaining. I drown them all out and listen to the sound of Preacher’s voice.
“It hurt. It felt like you were ripping my heart from my chest. I couldn’t breathe,” I whisper.
“And now that I’m standin’ here?” he asks softly.
“I still can’t breathe.” Admitting that to him is easy. I thought I’d be afraid to tell him how I felt but I’m not. I want him. I need him.
“I want you breathless,” he says, pressing his lips to my neck.
“Enough!” Switch’s voice causes everyone to stop. I’ve never heard him get so loud. Preacher pulls away and turns to face the room. I step up next to him, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“This needs to be dealt with!” Enzo roars.
“There’s nothin’ to deal with. She’s mine,” Preacher informs them.
“This wasn’t how it was supposed to play out. You were to protect her from Cancio. Not marry her!” Enzo’s eyes are burning straight through Preacher, but he stands tall and takes it all. My chest tightens knowing that he might not love me the way I love him in such a short time, but I know he cares for me.
“Stop actin’ like your sister is innocent. That little shit is the one that orchestrated all this shit, not me.” The small chuckle that leaves him makes my heart pick up a beat.
“What?”
“You heard me. The little devil did this shit, not me. I was fuckin’ wasted, man.”
“Gaia?” Asshole. Now Lorenzo’s eyes are burning into me and I hate to see that look in his eyes. I love my brother with all my heart, and I know he was only doing what was best for me.
“He’s right. I did it. I did all of it. I didn’t want to risk a chance at having to marry Leonardo if your plan didn’t work. I wasn’t leaving anything left of me that any of those monsters would want,” I tell him, keeping my head held high. Enzo studies me, his eyes roaming over me until it all clicks. His jaw is set, like stone. His eyes are harder than I’ve ever seen them before.
“You slept with him.” It wasn’t a question. He knows what I’ve done, and I can see the hate and fury in his gaze.
“I didn’t want Leo to touch me,” I remind him.
“We have rules in this family, Gaia!”
“And I broke them! So what? So, fucking what, Enzo? You fuck random women all the time.”
“It’s different for men! You know that much. What the hell were you thinking? Or was it him?” His eyes move from me to Preacher. Preacher’s body tenses before he tries to take a step away from me. I tighten my arms around him, a silent plea that he stop.
“It was all me! You can’t blame him for any of this. I used him.”
“And you’re okay with this? With her using you the way she did? I find that hard to believe,” Enzo says, directing his question at Preacher.
“I’m not totally okay with it, no. I’m pissed about how she went about this.”
“You see! Even he isn’t happy, Gaia!” Enzo roars.
“That’s not what I fuckin’ said. I said I’m pissed at how she went about it, not that she did it. I get it, man. I get why she didn’t want those sick fucks touchin’ her.”
“And you’re so much better, right?” Enzo’s words are like acid slipping over my skin.
“That’s enough. He needs to rest after what he’s been through,” Switch chimes in. I’ve never been happier that that asshole is still here.
“This isn’t over,” Enzo says, pointing at Preacher. All he does is nod his head. Everyone leaves the room. The doctor leaves some pills on the bed and follows the rest of the men out. When the door is closed an eerie silence fills the room. I swallow hard and move toward the bed sitting on the edge.
“I won’t say sorry for what I said,” I tell him without looking up.
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“I don’t expect you to say it back either.”
“That’s good because I don’t know that I can,” he admits. My eyes slowly lift to meet his and I can see the struggle in them. He’s torn and it kills me. I’d give up everything for him. He has to know that. Standing up, I slip my hand into my pocket and pull out the small bible. Running my fingers over the cover once more, I hold it out to him. Our eyes meet, our souls collide.
“You had it?”
“Yes. I wanted to keep it close.” He nods his head and takes it from my hand, running his fingers over the cover much like I’ve been doing since I got it. He doesn’t look up, just turns and heads into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I hear the shower start and take that as my sign. Wiping the tears that fell, I turn and leave the room. In the hall, I find Switch. He looks at me confused for a second then it all must click into place.
“He’ll come around. A lot of shit happened this last week,” he says. I nod and walk past him and down the hall until I find Enzo’s office. I’m glad we came home, but I’m also uneasy with being here. I know Enzo wouldn’t have brought us all here if he didn’t think it was safe, which means my father and Leo aren’t around. As I step into the room, everything hits me at once. My heart falls in my chest, tears streaming down my cheeks. My eyes connect with my brother’s and in seconds he’s out of his chair and pulling me into his arms.
“I’m sorry,” I cry as I hold on to him with all I have. I need him to hold me, to tell me everything is going to be okay. I need my brother.
“No. We aren’t doing this now. We’ve all had a rough time, Gaia. Let’s just be happy we’re all alive,” he says, running his hand down my back. It’s soothing and comforting. This is my brother, my protector. The one man that I can always count on.
“Where’s James?” I hadn’t thought to ask but now that I notice he isn’t here, I wonder.
“Gaia, James… he didn’t make it,” he whispers. My heart rips in two. I shove out of Enzo’s arms and run down the hall. Angry tears fall from my eyes as I choke on my own sobs. I head straight into the bedroom and then storm the bathroom.
“Did you know?” I scream at the top of my lungs as I shove the shower door open.
“What?”
&
nbsp; “Did you know he was dead?” The look in Preacher’s eyes shifts. He knew. I open my mouth to say something more but what? Instead, I turn to run again but Preacher grabs me from behind, pulling me, clothes and all, into the shower with him. Cries rip out of me. Pain fills me.
“He saved me,” he whispers. “He told me he was gay when I thought about rippin’ his heart out for bein’ so close to you.” I would laugh if it didn’t hurt so badly.
“He was everything to me for so long.”
“He’s still with you, Gaia. Whatever you two had, not even death can take.” His words scorch me to the core. He’s right. Nothing could take that away. Preacher keeps me wrapped in his arms tightly. I don’t want him to let go even though I know this is hurting him. I can hear the groans and hisses. And yet he gives me this, even through his own pain.
25
Preacher
I pop the pills into my mouth and swallow them down with a long pull of Jack.
“You ain’t supposed to mix the two,” Psycho says with a smirk. I flip his ass off and swallow a little more. We all know that drinking and pills mix perfectly fine.
“How you feelin’?” It’s been a week since that night. A week since that asshole locked Gaia up in her room again. I know it’s for her own safety, but that doesn’t mean I have to like that shit. I don’t. As pissed as I am about what she did, I want her here.
“Good. Ready to get this fucker handled,” I tell Grave as he nods.
“Well, that’s what we’re about to do. You ready for what happens with Enzo?” I nod again. Fuck Enzo. I’ll take whatever he’s giving any day to know that Gaia is safe even if she isn’t with me.
“Yeah, I’m ready.” Stuffing my gun into the back of my jeans, I take one more pull and glance around at the guys. Everyone has extra guns and ammo for this shit. I wasn’t ready to drag the club into my problem but like Grave said, she’s one of us now, no matter what happens later.
“How’s your shoulder?” Freak asks, stepping up next to me. I roll my shoulders back and get a feel for it.
“Not bad. Still sore but I’ll be fine.”
“Good. You might need it to fight Enzo later,” he laughs.
“Fuck you. I ain’t fightin’ no one for shit.”
“You wouldn’t fight for her?” Freak raises an eyebrow while watching me.
“I did fight for her. Almost died for her and I’d do it all over again,” I inform him. Freak smiles and nods his head before walking away from me.
“She’ll come back,” Silla says, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“How do you know that?”
“She loves you. I think she announced that to everyone, didn’t she?” I chuckle. Yeah, she sure as hell did.
“Don’t mean she’s comin’ back, darlin’. Honestly, as long as she’s safe that’s what matters to me.”
“What the hell, Preacher? That is the biggest load of shit I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth.”
“It’s true.”
“No, it’s not. You’re so fucking full of yourself. And you’re a dumbass if you really believe that shit that’s spraying from between your own lips,”
she adds, before pressing a kiss to my cheek and walking away.
“You pissed her off,” Grave adds, stepping up next to me.
“Don’t I always? I think you need to fuck her better, brother.” We both laugh but it’s him that turns serious in front of me.
“She’s right. Don’t let this shit stress you, Preacher. If it’s true, she’ll come back. Enzo is doin’ what’s right, keepin’ her out of this right now, but that doesn’t mean shit won’t change later.” Nodding my head, I know he might be right. Nevertheless, I have to be prepared if she doesn’t. Either way, that little shit has worked her way under my skin and ripped through walls she had no business ripping through. She’s made me look at things differently and see something else that I didn’t want to see. There’s another world out there. There is something more to this life.
“Let’s do this!” Grave roars. The guys all growl and grunt ready to get their hands dirty. We head out and climb on the bikes, revving them up. Sharing one last glance with Grave, I nod. He nods back and we all pull out in formation. It doesn’t take us long to meet up with Enzo and his men. I can see her, Gaia in the front of the van. I didn’t like the idea of using her to get to Leo, but Enzo knows what he’s doing. At least I hope so because I won’t have a problem putting a bullet between his eyes before he has the chance to take over for his dad. I will kill him and not blink an eye.
Leonardo has decided that he wanted to meet Enzo at a remote location making it harder on the rest of us. We don’t have the surprise factor anymore. That fact alone doesn’t sit well with me. I try to focus on the task in front of me, of killing that son of a bitch, but Gaia’s face keeps popping into my head. Now that I’ve seen her with her brother, I don’t know what to do. I don’t want her there. I don’t want her anywhere near Cancio.
The location we’re meeting at comes into view and we all pull off the road. We park the bikes and stand around the van when Enzo climbs out.
“It’s just up ahead. I want him and his men dead and out of the way for good.” We all nod, wanting the same thing. The back door of the van is still open, and I can see Gaia in the front. Her head turns in my direction, our eyes locking, and the air is sucked from my lungs. I’d give my own life to go to her, hug her. We stay in the stare down that we’re in until the door closes once more. Blinking rapidly, I shake my head and look to Grave.
“You ready for this?”
“Yeah. Let’s get this fucker,” I say. With a quick nod, we all line up along the edge of the building. We make our way down the block and around the other buildings until the one he’s in comes into view. Grave raises his hand giving us signals. The van moves past us and the garage door is raised. Psycho and Switch are already in position on the roof of the building in case they have any snipers. When the garage door starts to close, my nerves start to fire off. I’m agitated and on edge but with good reason. She’s in there. She doesn’t need to be in there.
I shift from foot to foot ready to move but we can’t. Enzo gave us strict orders on when to move. Fuck him. Fuck that. She’s my wife. I storm past the line of my brothers and Grave at the head. He curses under his breath before I hear them moving behind me. I jog until I get to the stairs, carefully stepping up each one. It’s a stealth-like move that we’ve perfected over our time as outlaws. When we reach the top, I motion to Grave, letting him know that I’m taking the first set of stairs to the inside. He nods and sends a few others to the other set. We move quickly but silently. The door creaks when I open it and as soon as I step through, I’m ready. One of Cancio’s men is there, waiting. I grab him and quickly snap his neck before he has the chance to make a sound and warn the others. Carefully laying him on the floor, we all step over him and make our way across the landing. That’s when I hear them.
“It’s been a long time, Gaia.” Cancio’s voice runs down my spine as I see red.
“Not long enough,” she hisses, causing me to smile. That’s my girl.
“I see you still haven’t learned any manners,” Cancio hisses. I swallow hard and make my way down the stairs. When my boots hit the floor, I glance around quickly. I can make out seven of Cancio’s men and a few of Enzo’s. I motion over my shoulder to let the guys behind me know what’s going on then I move. I sneak around the crates that line the walls before I fire. Once the shooting starts, all hell breaks loose.
26
Gaia
Bullets fly around us when I’m grabbed away from Enzo. I scream but I can’t be heard over the noise around us. One thick arm wraps around my waist as I fight and kick.
“Let me go!”
“Shut up!” Leo’s voice sends a chill down my spine. He can’t have me. I would rather die than let him touch me.
“Enzo!” I scream his name as I keep kicking and punching. I’m tossed to the ground roughly
, my head hitting the concrete floor. Spots blast behind my eyes as I try to blink them back into focus. I try to shove myself up but I’m far too dizzy.
“Fire back!” Leo roars. More shots are fired as tears fill my eyes.
“Gaia!” Oh my God. His voice. Preacher calls out for me as the shooting continues. I slither across the floor like a snake trying to get away from Leo and his men. It’s as if everything goes in slow motion after that. I’m shoving off the ground and staggering to my feet. I sway on my feet as I rush toward the sound of Preacher’s voice.
“Preacher!” More shots are fired. I’m so close to him. I can see him come into view. I blink the tears away as all the sound disappears. It’s only us. His mouth is moving but I can’t understand what he’s saying. I run toward him, calling his name. His mouth moves faster. He’s firing his gun rapidly as I race toward him. Then suddenly, I’m falling. I meet the ground all too quickly. Pain shreds my body when I feel someone pulling me. I’m dragged across the floor behind a container and rolled onto my back. Blinking my eyes, I stare up into Preacher’s. His face is a mask of emotions, his hand running over my face. I love the calming feeling he brings when he’s close.
“Look at me, Gaia!” I blink my eyes when I feel them fluttering closed.
“Asshole,” I whisper. Preacher smirks, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life. The shooting has calmed down now, leaving a lingering silence. You can smell smoke and hear heavy breathing.
“Gaia, fuck!” Preacher’s hands are all over my body as I listen to his voice.
“Gaia!” Enzo. Where’s Enzo? In the next second, Enzo is by my side barking orders to anyone and everyone. People move around as everything begins to blur.
“Gaia, baby. You can’t do this to me,” Preacher pleads. What am I doing? I don’t feel anything, only peace.
“Preacher. Will you read your bible to me?” I whisper. I can feel something trickling down my face and only realize it’s blood when Preacher reaches in and wipes it away.
