I won’t accept it.
~*~*~*~
I’m woken in the morning to a high-pitched scream.
I jerk up out of bed as footsteps pound down the hall. I rub my eyes, trying to listen, terrified to even move. That wasn’t a good scream, it was the kind of scream you hear when someone finds a dead body.
“Fuck, shit, get her inside,” I hear Maddox bark.
“What is it?” another voice yells.
“Howard left us a present. Where’s Ash?”
Krypt’s voice.
“Sleepin’. Who is that?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know, but he’s in a bad fuckin’ way.”
He?
I get out of my bed, pulling a pair of jeans on before walking through the house and out the front door.
What I see has my entire body skidding to a halt.
There is a man slumped outside of the gates, but all I can see of him is blood. He’s covered in it. My eyes widen, and I begin to tremble as I force my legs to take me closer. The bikers are rushing about, some of them on the phone, others standing back and watching with disgust.
Maddox and Krypt are leaning down, touching the man, no doubt checking for a pulse. Santana is standing to the left, her hand pressed over her mouth. Penny is beside her, her face pale.
I turn my attention back onto the man that’s been dumped. As I near, I see his arms, that tattoos winding up them. I freeze in horror when my eyes fall on an all-too-familiar tattoo of a skeleton with a name wrapped around the skull.
I scream before I think, running full-throttle towards the body.
Krypt spins around, and so does Maddox. They both stare at me in confusion for a minute, until they realize my eyes are trained on the body. I am sobbing wildly by the time I skid to a stop. I drop to my knees, reaching out. “Leo?” I whisper.
“You know this man?” Maddox asks.
“Yes, oh God. Leo, honey, wake up.”
His entire body has been beaten; he’s covered in blood. His eyes are puffy and there is a split under his cheek that’s gaping and dripping with blood. His lips are busted up. He looks terrible.
“Leo,” I croak.
“Get her inside, now,” Krypt suddenly yells, an urgency in his voice that has me panicking.
“Krypt?” Maddox questions.
“Fuck, now!” he roars.
Someone runs towards me, standing me up and jerking me towards the house. I don’t know what’s happening.
“Krypt?” Maddox yells again.
“Don’t you fuckin’ see? They knew she’d come out here, which means . . .”
He doesn’t get to finish, because the sound of gunfire rings through the trees. A bullet zooms right past my head. I scream and begin running towards the house. Another shot rings out, and a burning pain rips through my shoulder. I drop to my knees, crying out in agony.
“Get her in, now!” Krypt roars.
Someone leans down, lifting my body and dragging me through the front door. Another shot hits the pole beside my head as we pass it. When I’m inside, I’m rushed down the hall until whoever has me reaches a bathroom. I see it’s Grimm, when I manage to focus through my pain. He lays me on the floor, pulling out his gun. He lays me directly under the window, so that I can’t be shot through it.
He pulls a towel off the rack and presses it against my shoulder. “It’s goin’ to be okay.”
“It hurts,” I wail.
“I know. Stay still. You can’t afford to move right now.”
“Krypt,” I croak.
“They’ve got this.”
I hear more gunshots, doors slamming, and girls screaming, before everything falls silent. I am still shaking through the pain, my vision blurring as my body threatens to drop into darkness.
“Oh God, it hurts,” I scream.
“Hush,” Grimm says again. “It’ll be over soon.”
My head swims and my eyes flutter closed. I’m still screaming, but soon darkness clutches me and takes me with it. I let it, too. I need the escape from the pain, because the pain is too much, and I feel as though I’m going to die if I don’t get away from it for just a second.
“Ash,” I hear Grimm say as I sink further. “Ash wake up.”
Then I hear nothing.
~*~*~*~
“Motherfucker, she’s bleeding,” I hear through a foggy haze.
“Stitch her, fast. If you don’t, she’ll lose too much blood. The bullet is gone.”
“Fuckers. I’ll kill them all.”
“Just focus, Krypt.”
Krypt?
I open my mouth and try to squeak his name. A hand strokes over my face, only barely there. “I got you, baby. We’re goin’ to make this better.”
“Load her up, Krypt. It’s goin’ to fuckin’ hurt.”
Maddox.
“You want me to fuckin’ drug her?”
“You got a better idea out here?”
“Fuck.”
Everything goes quiet as I drift back into my unconscious state, but before I’m fully out, I feel a needle being plunged into my arm. Then everything goes black again.
~*~*~*~
I wake again. This time I’m bouncing. Like I’m in a car.
Everything hurts.
My tongue is dry.
I cry out hoarsely, desperate. Where’s Krypt? Where is he? I want him. I need him.
Krypt.
“I got you baby,” a soft voice says. “I got you. You’re safe.”
Krypt.
I reach out, my fingers desperate to feel him. My mind is spinning, but I know I need him, almost frantically. I clutch at anything I can, my fingers curling around something soft.
“It’s okay,” he murmurs, placing a warm hand over mine.
“Krypt,” I wail. “Krypt?”
“I got you.”
“Krypt.”
“She’s hallucinating. Just hold onto her.”
“Who’s there?” I cry, hearing the faint voice and feeling my panic rise.
“Ash, I got you honey.”
Krypt?
I cry out for him, reaching around frantically again. I feel a chest, but I don’t know whose it is.
“I’m sorry, Krypt, I’m sorry. Don’t leave me out here. Please don’t leave me out here. I want you. I do want you.”
“Hush, you’re going to be fine. Just hang in there.”
“Krypt!” I wail. “Please don’t go.”
Another sting pushes into my arm, and once again my world is taken from me.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I wake to the sounds of voices. I shift. I’m on a bed. I can feel the soft mattress beneath my body. I let my eyes flutter open. I have to blink rapidly to gather my bearings. I stare, confused. I’ve never seen this room before. Where am I? I try to swallow, but my tongue feels like a dead weight, dry and scratchy.
“Krypt?” I croak.
Nothing.
I try to sit up, only to cry out in pain and drop down again. I turn my head and stare down at my heavily bandaged shoulder. I got shot. Oh my God, I got shot.
Leo.
“Leo!” I cry, trying to sit up. “Leo.”
The door opens and before I can say another word, Krypt is beside me, his big arms steadying me. “He’s at the hospital; he’s okay. You’re okay.”
“Oh Krypt,” I rasp. “Oh God.”
“Hey,” he says, turning my chin towards him. “I swear it’s okay.”
“I got shot.”
He stares at my arm before turning back to me. “You did, but I promise you it’s not as bad as it seems. It’s only a small wound, now it’s been stitched. You’re going to be fine. We got some antibiotics. So long as you take them all will be fine.”
“You stitched me?” I croak.
“After we got the bullet out.”
“I had a b-b-b-bullet?”
He strokes my cheek. “It’s okay, Ash.”
“W-w-w-where are we?”
“At the clubhouse.”
r /> “But . . .”
“Hey, it’s fine,” he murmurs. “It’s the safest place for us. We thought being up there was, but how fuckin’ wrong we were. We couldn’t hear them coming in. Out here we can see from all directions, including a clear view of the road. We’re goin’ to end this, Ash, don’t you doubt it. Those fuckers will pay for what they did to you.”
“Claire!” I suddenly shriek.
“What?” he asks, narrowing his eyes.
“If they got Leo, that means they could have Claire. Oh God Krypt, no.”
“Calm down. Tell me where I can find her.”
“G-g-g-give me your cell.”
He hands me his cell and I unlock it quickly, dialing Claire’s number. It rings and rings. When it answers, I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Claire, oh my God, I’m so glad you’re okay—”
A low chuckle sounds out, making me pause. “I wondered when you’d call, Ash.”
That voice. I have never heard it, but I already know it’s bad.
“Who is this?” I say, my voice low.
Krypt reaches for the phone, but I shake my head, needing to hear for myself.
“My name is Howard. I’m sure you’ve heard of me. I delivered that package to you, did you get it?”
“Fuck you,” I spit.
He laughs again. “That’s no way to talk to the person holding your friend.”
“What do you want?” I growl.
Krypt reaches for me again, but I shoot him a warning glare. He snarls but he doesn’t push.
“I wanted you dead, but that didn’t work out so well. You see, I can’t have you around, ruining my plans. That club will get what’s coming for them, but while you’re in the way, threatening to ruin it all, it just won’t happen.”
“Just say it,” I croak.
“You for your friend; the decision is yours. A life for a life. If you want her to live, you will meet me in three days time at the Southside wharf. If you don’t want her to live, don’t show up. The choice is yours. Think long and hard about it. Oh, and Ash, if you call the cops or bring those fuckin’ bikers in, I’ll slit her throat. But,” he laughs bitterly, “I’ll fuckin’ rape her first.”
Bile rises in my throat as he hangs up. The phone slips from my hand and I struggle to catch my breath.
“What happened?” Krypt demands.
“H-h-h-h-he has Claire.”
“Shit,” he snarls, standing up and bellowing. “Prez!”
“Krypt, wait,” I yell. “H-h-h-he said that if I don’t trade my life for hers, he’ll kill her. I can’t let him kill her; I can’t.”
Krypt spins around, his expression livid. “You’ll not be doing any such fuckin’ thing.”
“She’s my best friend. I can’t just let her die.”
“That’s where you have to trust us.”
“No,” I scream. “He told me no cops or bikers, or he’ll do horrible things to her, and I know he will, Krypt. I know he will.”
He lunges forward, taking my shoulders. “You need to fuckin’ trust us.”
“What’s goin’ on?” Maddox says, appearing in the doorway.
“Howard’s finally made his move. He wants Ash. He’s got her best friend.”
Maddox hisses a curse. “Fuck.”
“Yeah,” Krypt growls. “That’s what I fuckin’ said.”
“You need to let me go, please,” I beg.
Krypt shakes me just slightly. “There is no fuckin’ way I’m lettin’ him kill you. No fuckin’ way.”
“Krypt please,” I say, hysteria rising.
“You’re not fuckin’ goin’,” Maddox barks. “So quit fuckin’ thinkin’ it.”
“We’ll sort this,” Krypt assures me, but I don’t believe him.
“My office, now. We need to call a meeting.” Maddox storms out.
Krypt stares at me, and I know he doesn’t trust me. He sighs and holds my wrist, taking me down the hall. He leads me into a room, opens the drawers and pulls out—oh hell, no. I squirm against him, kicking out because it hurts too much to move my shoulder. Because of my injury, he overpowers me quickly.
He snaps the cuffs onto my wrist and locks me against the bed.
“I’m sorry, baby.”
“No, Krypt,” I scream as he backs out of the room. “I hate you. I fucking hate you.”
He disappears, leaving me in hysterics.
Oh God, please don’t let them kill her.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
KRYPT
“This is fuckin’ bad,” I bark the minute I get into Maddox’s office. “I left my girl in there fuckin’ screaming, and I can’t trust she won’t run. Howard has got us good on this one. He’ll make sure we can’t ambush him.”
“No,” Maddox mutters. “He’s counting on us ambushing him.”
I narrow my eyes. “What are you talkin’ about?”
Tyke, Grimm, Ray and Zaid enter the room, their eyes going straight to Maddox. “Fill us in, boss,” Zaid mutters.
We fill them in. Then Maddox turns back to me.
“He wants us to ambush him, Krypt. I have no fuckin’ doubt about it. He will have this set up so the cops will be on our tail the minute we show. That, or he’ll kill the girls and leave them there, with only us in their presence.”
“Then what the fuck do we do?” I bark.
“I don’t fuckin’ know,” Maddox growls, running his hands through his hair. “He’s got cops on the inside, he’s got fuckin’ guards on the inside. If we get picked up, we’re fucked. We can’t afford to let him beat us.”
“Even if we got somethin’ on him, his cop buddies will make sure he doesn’t get locked away,” Tyke points out.
“We’re royally fucked,” Grimm mutters.
“There’s a way. I just gotta think of it,” Maddox snaps. “I won’t let those fuckers hurt them girls or my fuckin’ club.”
“I got an idea,” Tyke murmurs. “But you ain’t gonna like it.”
All our eyes turn to him.
“I ain’t got nothin’ else right now, so speak,” Maddox orders.
“You send a girl in.”
“No fuckin’ way,” I bark.
“Listen,” Tyke snaps, his eyes flashing with anger. “If we rock up out the front, sayin’ we wanna make a truce, then the attention will be off Claire. If there’s already a girl in there she can get her out. . .”
“We ain’t go no one we can send in, for a fuckin’ start,” Maddox growls.
“We do,” Tyke murmurs, his eyes falling on Maddox.
A chair skids back as Maddox launches from it. “No fuckin’ way will you be touchin’ Santana.”
“Howard and his men ain’t ever seen her, Maddox. You’ve kept her quiet for a long time. She could slip in as a whore easily.”
“Over my dead fuckin’ body.”
“You got another option?” Grimm yells. “’Coz if you don’t, I think Tyke has the closest thing we have to gettin’ that girl back.”
“I said fuckin’ no. I’ll find another way.”
“I don’t want you to find another way.”
All our heads snap around to see Santana standing at the door, her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes glaring through Maddox. He storms over to her, his fingers curling around her shoulder. “There is no way in fuckin’ hell I’m lettin’ you near that club. Now stop eavesdroppin’ and get out.”
“No,” she snaps.
“So help me fuckin’ God, Santana. I’ll put you over my knee and—”
“First of all,” she yells, getting in his face, “you’re not my father, so stop acting like you are. Second of all, you don’t own me, so I can make any choice I want.”
“I said no,” he roars.
She shoves herself further into his face. “And I said you can’t stop me.”
She turns and walks out. Maddox spins to us, glaring at Tyke. “This ain’t fuckin’ finished.”
Then he storms off after Santana.
Fuck.
r /> CHAPTER NINETEEN
ASH
My shoulder aches, but not nearly as bad as my heart. All of my friends have been hurt or are in danger because of me. That makes me sick to my stomach. I have no way to help them when I’m injured like this. The very fact that I even got shot makes fear course through my veins. It doesn’t feel nice.
Not at all.
I heard the commotion a few hours ago, and Krypt filled me in on some basics. They can’t find a way to get Claire back without sending someone in. That someone is Santana. Maddox isn’t happy about that, and all hell broke loose. I’m not a fan of the idea, but it does make sense. Howard is relying on the fact that Krypt will never let me show up alone, and he’s planning an ambush. He won’t expect Santana being sent in.
“Hey.”
I look up from the bed to see Krypt walking into the room. His gaze slides over me, as if checking I’m in one piece. Then he takes a seat beside me, his hand sliding up to cup the back of my neck. “Santana is goin’ in.”
I gasp, trembling all over.
“What if something happens to her, Krypt?”
“Santana is a smart girl, and she isn’t someone they know. It won’t be hard for her to get picked up as a whore. We’ll make a distraction and she’ll get Claire out.”
“What if she gets there, and Claire isn’t there?”
He squeezes my neck. “Baby, Claire will be there. Howard wouldn’t leave her anywhere else. He’s counting on us showing up.”
“Then it’s a risk.”
“No, not if we don’t get off our bikes and stay far enough away. It’s a distraction; it isn’t a war.”
“If something happens to Santana because of me . . .”
“Hey,” he says, giving me a hard expression. “This isn’t on you. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but if anyone is to blame, it’s those corrupt guards.”
I nod, tears welling in my eyes.
“Hey,” he says, his voice low and husky. “Don’t you crumble on me now, eh?”
I nod, blinking back my tears.
“It’ll all be okay.”
“I hope so,” I whisper.
And I do.
Because I don’t think I can take anymore.
~*~*~*~