Chapter 12
KENZIE
What kind of girl had I become?
Sex in a closet with a stranger while my father’s men held vigil outside, waiting for said stranger to most likely end his life.
That road to Florida looked damn good right about now.
Not compared to having Reid inside of me.
He touched me, and my body craved him. It was adrenaline.
I had been amped up for days, months, and so close to the enemy.
I had too much energy and needed an outlet. It was nothing more.
And despite my recklessness, I did not want to die. I wanted to enjoy a life where I did not need to think and plan my next steps. Seeking revenge from those who wronged me would no longer be part of my daily thought process.
I rocked my hips, loving the slow, steady friction.
I unbuttoned his shirt and slid it and his cut off his shoulders.
I took my time, studying the black and gray tattoos decorating his chest. A dragon coiled around his arm and neck, then covered his left pec with a snarl.
A woman with long, flowing hair, with a shawl over her shoulders, covered the right side of his abs and sides.
I traced the dragon with my fingers as he moved me on his lap. I melted further into him with each movement.
Not mind-blowing like last night, this was more tender and sweeter.
It wasn’t like he was winding me up; more like he was mellowing me out.
Our bodies smashed together, gliding against each other.
He offered me a new obsession to cling to, an alternative to my life of revenge.
His hands ran all over me, touched my neck, and tilted my head.
He kissed my cheek and nibbled on my bottom lip.
Then, he moved his mouth down to my neck and rested his lip on my skin.
It was intimate and sexy. He was right. If we were both about to die, it was a nice way to go.
“Reid,” I whispered and grabbed his face. The tension slowly built between us.
“Kenzie,” he whispered back and grabbed my ass and stilled me. “You feel so good.”
“So do you.” I smiled up at him and flexed on his cock.
“Fuck.” His eyes rolled back. “Do that again.”
I did what I was told.
“Yes.” He shivered and leaned in and captured my lips with his. The slow kiss made my toes curl. “You close?”
“Yes.”
His finger slid between us and rubbed my clit in small, slow circles.
“Do that again.”
“Bossy girl.” He chuckled, and the vibration shot straight to my core.
“Oh, God.” I groaned.
“Shhh.” He grinned and placed his mouth on mine. “Quiet. If they walk in here and see you like this, I’ll have to rip their eyes out and then kill them.” He gripped the back of my hair and pulled. “No one sees my girl but me.”
“Oh fu—”
He captured my screams with an urgent kiss. As I fell over the edge, my entire body twitched and spasmed.
He groaned and held me to him as he released inside me.
We held on to each other, clinging to a life we weren’t sure we’d ever have the chance to experience again.
He remained hard inside me. We could have stayed like that forever.
It was the quietest my mind had been in years.
The most peace I felt since my mom died.
I closed my eyes and thanked the universe because if it couldn’t give me what I wanted, it at least got this part right.
Commotion in the room caused us to stir. I scrambled off Reid’s lap. My costume lay in a puddle on the floor. I didn’t want to put it back on.
“Here.” He pulled his shirt all the way off and handed it to me. It fell around my knees. He stood and rummaged farther in the back of the closet. He yanked out a bag and flipped through a few plastic-covered items before finding what he was looking for.
“These should fit.” He ripped the plastic off and handed me a pair of leggings.
I slid them on. They were a little baggy but stayed up. I pulled on my boots.
“What do you mean, they’re dead?” Eddie’s voice rose to a high pitch. “All of them? Where’s Pres?”
“What’s going on?”
“We need to hunt them down and finish them.” A chair fell over. The television was silenced. “No, no one’s seen Reid either. Like he disappeared.”
Reid shuffled toward the door and pressed his ear to it.
“What happened?” Daniels asked. They were close to the closet door.
Reid backed up.
“Stay behind me.” He pulled out his gun and pointed it at the door.
The knob jiggled.
“We need to grab more weapons and be ready to go when Pres gets back.” The door shook. “What the fuck?” He banged on the door. “Is someone in there?”
Reid put his finger over his lips.
I grabbed my twenty-two, slid it in my boot, and grabbed my knife. I pulled it out of its sheath. Reid looked at it and smirked.
A loud thud hit the door, and the chair slid down, then the door popped open.
“What the fuck?” Eddie stared at the chair on the floor and had yet to register our presence. But the other guy was more observant.
“Reid.” Daniels pointed. “We’ve been looking for you all evening.” He noticed the gun and reached behind him, but apparently, he wasn’t carrying, but Eddie was. He finally grasped the seriousness of the situation and reached for his own gun. Before he could point it in our direction, Reid fired.
Pop!
The gunshot echoed back and forth in the small space.
My ears rang. The smell of gunpowder hit me in the face with a force I hadn’t expected.
The next millisecond, the bullet connecting with flesh made my stomach roll.
It happened so fast but felt like the world slowed down.
It reminded me of when Reid got shot. Time stood still.
The bullet produced a small hole in the front of his left meaty biceps, but the back of his arm exploded. I spotted blood spatter a couple of feet behind him.
“Wow.” I couldn’t say if I said it out loud.
Eddie screamed and gripped his arm before falling back.
The momentum of the bullet turned his body, and he landed right on his left side and let out another guttural scream.
He growled through the pain. Spit fell from his mouth as he scrambled to pull himself up.
“Move away from the door,” Reid yelled, but Eddie let go of his arm and reached for his weapon again.
“Don’t do it, Eddie.” Reid stepped forward. I was on his hip, following him out the door. “Stay down.”
Daniels stood near the closet door, his eyes wide, stunned.
“Reid.” Eddie had his weapon out. He aimed it at us. “You gonna shoot me while I’m down?”
“Yes.” Reid tilted his head and fired.
I gasped and covered my ears with my hands. Reid held me back, but I peeked around him. He’d hit Eddie right between the eyes. He almost looked shocked as he went limp and fell backward onto the floor. His body twitched, and a foul odor wafted in the air.
Daniels let out a stifled scream and covered his eyes with his hands. We looked like the three wise monkeys, but missing the one covering his mouth. I stared up at Reid. His focus shifted to Daniels, who continued to scream. It would have been comical if it weren’t so damn sad and horrifying.
“Daniels.” Reid grabbed him by the neck and threw him into the chair. “Where’s Pres? Does he have Patrick?”
He narrowed his eyes and stood up.
Reid punched him in the gut with the butt of his gun. He doubled over and fell back into the chair.
“What did Pres tell you?”
“Oh God.” He rocked back and forth.
Reid tapped him on the temple with the gun.
“Where . . . is . . . Pres?” Reid asked, pausing between each word.
“He said Patrick tried to kill him. We found out he was trying to take over the club and figured you were in on it too.” Daniels wiped his face with the back of his hand. “Why would y’all do that, Reid? We’re a family.”
He looked up at me with those dumb puppy-dog eyes. I almost felt bad for him.
The man rocked his head back between Reid and his dead friend on the floor.
I had yet to leave Reid’s hip.
“Kenzie.”
I didn’t recognize my name at first. “Oh, yeah.”
He placed a hand on my arm and pulled me around him.
“You okay?” He placed his forehead against mine.
I nodded.
“Use your words.” He grabbed my face.
“Yeah.” I nodded again. “I’m fine.”
“I need your help.”
Right, yes. I could help. “What do you need?”
“In the credenza, bottom door on the left, are some zip ties. Can you get them for me?” He nudged me toward the desk, guiding me wide to keep me out of Daniels’s reach zone.
He whimpered. “Why you doing this, Reid?”
“It was time.” He seemed sorry. “Nothing personal.”
“You shot my best mate.” He reached down but was too far away from Eddie. “You destroyed my club, our club, and for no good reason. It seems pretty personal.” He peeked at his friend but turned away.
Blood had pooled around his head.
I skipped over the mess on the floor and around to the back of the desk.
It took me a few tries and a few drawers to open before I found the zip ties. There was also a gun. It had a lot more power than my little twenty-two. I grabbed it with my right hand, and the zip ties with my left.
“Here.” I handed them to Reid. He stared at the gun. “What? I know how to use it.”
He shook his head and turned his attention back to Daniels.
“On the ground.” Reid motioned with his hand. “On your stomach and grip the table leg.
He flopped down on the ground like a fish. No hesitation. He must have figured it was better than lying on the ground with a bullet in his head.
Reid zip-tied the guy’s outstretched hands around the leg of the table. I hadn’t noticed before, but the table was bolted to the ground. He took another set of ties and secured Daniels’s feet together.
“Don’t worry, Daniels.” Reid holstered his gun and patted him on the back. “The police will be here soon enough to let you out of these.”
“Police?” He reared his head up.
“Yeah, don’t go anywhere.”
I giggled.
Reid jerked his head up to look at me. His eyes narrowed. His expression showed a mix of lust and confusion.
I got that a lot.
“Why is this table bolted to the ground?” I pointed.
“Don’t ask.” He smirked and stood up.
The phone rang. We both jumped and stared at it.
Reid rounded the desk and picked it up.
“Yeah.” The person on the other end was already talking loud enough we could all hear him.
“Pres,” Daniels shouted. I pointed my gun in his direction. He shut his mouth.
“Grab anyone you trust and meet me in the Narrows.” Pres growled in frustration and let loose a maniacal laugh. Reid’s eyes grew wide. He shook his hand.
“Yeah.” He hung up the phone. “Fuck.” He paced the room, pressing the butt of the gun to his forehead.
“What is it?” I stood in front of him to stop his pacing. “Tell me.”
He stepped around me and went back into the closet. I stood near the door. His fingers pressed numbers into a small keypad near the wall, and it opened with a hiss. A wall of guns appeared.
“Wow.”
He grabbed a couple of pistols and placed one in the back of his jeans and another on his right hip.
He pulled a large machine gun off the wall and shoved some extra magazine clips in all his pockets.
Satisfied with his haul, he pressed a series of buttons and the wall closed.
He pressed more and, when satisfied, he turned back toward me and stopped. It was like he forgot I was here.
“I need to go.” He walked past me. “You stay here. The door will lock behind me, and I’ll change the code like I did with the guns so no one can get in but me.”
“Wh—”
“You’ll be safe.” He kissed my cheek. “I’ll come back and get you as soon as I can.”
I’d fucking heard that before. No way.
He brushed past me, but I grabbed his arm. He spun around and shook me off.
“What the hell?” I stumbled back. “You can’t just leave me here.”
“I have to go.” He stared at the ground.
“Wait. Take a minute.” I took his hand. “Figure out our next move.”
“There is no waiting. There is no our move.” He took another step toward the door. I pushed him back and grunted.
“Kenzie,” he growled back. “They’ve got Patrick.”