Chapter 22
Anchor
I growl as I put my phone back in my pocket and pace the common room as Dirty works his fingers on the keyboard, his son watching his every move, most likely going to become a tech genius as well.
My dad watches me with concern, his eyes following me but I ignore him as I try my goddamn fucking hardest not to tear this clubhouse down and kill all the prospects who can’t do a simple fucking thing and watch a woman so she doesn’t do something stupid like try killing herself because of her trauma!
Okay, so it isn’t Willie’s fault. He’d been checking on her every four minutes like he was told to, but the two on the gate...
I grit my teeth as anger runs through my veins alongside the fear that is shooting through me. Several times I’ve tried calling her, several fucking times she’s ignored me.
I swear to fuck, I know I said I wouldn’t lock her up because I didn’t want to traumatize her more, but fuck me, jumping outta my window, sprinting down the road when people are still after her, two of them being sighted two towns fucking over… not okay!
The woman is going to give me gray hair before my time, I fucking tell you.
“Brother, breathe,” Ace says, and I shake my head as I run my hand through my hair, breathing heavy.
“Dirty?” Doc commands as he stops next to me, looking tired.
Poor fucker was on a nightshift last night only to be woken by me losing it after Willie knocked on Dirty’s door where him, Tank, Stone and I sat following the camera feeds of Gabriel and some other guy who we are guessing is Hanz, the leader of the now dismantled Pillars, explaining my girl had runaway through of my fucking window!
I should have locked it.
Doc grabs my shoulder to get me to stop, and I glare at him, needing a fight with someone, but he ignores me, keeping his focus on Dirty who states, “I’m following her phone signal now,” and I growl, my patience running thin and I grab my phone again and bring up her number as Doc’s grip tightens.
I put the phone to my ear as it rings before finally, fucking finally, she answers the phone.
“Hey,” she answers casually, and I swear to fuck, I’m locking her up, it’s decided, my heart can’t fucking take this fear anymore, and the fact she answers without a care in the world?
Fucking pain in the ass, beautiful woman!
“Hey?” I snap, “Fucking hey? Are you kidding me right now, Summer?”
Everyone looks at me with wide eyes, Dirty halting his fingers for a minute as I breathe heavily, fucking pissed off.
“Where are you?!” I demand, and she answers, “At Amber's apartment,” before hanging up, and my eyes widen.
Shit.
“She’s gone to Amber’s apartment,” I choke as I put my phone back in my pocket and rush towards the door and the brothers curse, all trying to follow until Doc demands, “Dirty, Tank, Stone, Trigger, Ace, all with me. Goose, Taser, Thunder and Shadow, grab two vans, one with cleaning products, I don’t know what we’re going to find and Anchor might not be able to hold in his temper, the rest stay here until I or Stone tell you otherwise. ”
I run outside just as Doc finishes his orders, climb on my bike, start her up, rev her, and spin out of my spot as the brothers run out after me.
I speed off down towards the gate, Alan just opening it in time for me, with wide, terrified eyes, and I speed off down the road towards the apartment block she’s at.
Five minutes, five long ass fucking minutes is all it takes to get to the apartment block, and I stop right in front of the door, just as Dirty stops beside me and states, “88295,” and I nod as I climb off my bike and rush over to the door, putting the code in.
The light turns green above it, and I rush inside, the brothers following me and bypassing the elevators, I rush up the stairs, my heart in my throat, petrified at what I’m about to find.
She didn’t sound hurt when she called, but anything can change in five minutes, fucking anything.
I storm through the double doors and rush onto the floor of the apartment, my sole focus on finding my girl as I notice a door slightly open, and I rush inside. I halt at the scene before me, shock rendering me fucking speechless.
Amber lies on the floor, her light hazel eyes open and lifeless, her blonde hair covered in blood, throat slit, stomach bleeding, with a knife next to her body, and a phone, while my girl leans against the table, her eyes cold and vacant, splatters of blood covering her shirt, my shirt.
Fuck me…
“Holy shit,” Ace whispers in shock, and I breathe heavily, not taking my eyes off my girl.
“Trigger, call Taser, he’s in the parking lot, and let him know cleanup is needed,” Doc rasps, and I slowly but cautiously walk over to my girl, whose eyes are on her mother on the floor.
“Sunshine?” I whisper as I stop before her and crouch a little so we’re eye level, and she blinks, our eyes connecting.
“I had to slay my demon,” she whispers, “She sold me all because she wanted something that wasn’t hers to have. She left, she broke my dad’s heart, yet she still wanted what wasn’t hers after being gone for fourteen years.”
I gently cup her cheek, my heart pounding, not knowing how to handle this kind of situation. Taking a life, it can fucking consume you, the guilt, the pressure of what you did.
She already wants to die. How in the fuck am I going to save her from this?
Her teary eyes meet mine, and I whisper, “Let’s get you out of here, baby, okay?”
She nods slightly, and I quickly wrap my arm around her waist before she changes her mind and guide her towards the door, the brothers trying to look stoic, but the fear for my girl shines in their eyes, all knowing what it is like to take a life.
It doesn’t matter what that person has done, whether or not they deserved it, we take god’s gifts into our hands, we spill human blood, and I can tell you now, your first kill, it will always, fucking stay with you.
Paddy Charlington, red hair, green eyes, five foot ten, twenty-one years old.
He was my first kill when I was only seventeen, just starting out on a bigger boat, the reason why I got my road name.
The brothers believed I dropped the anchor, that I let it fall to the sea bed accidentally, that I fucked up, even Summer believes that. The truth, one I promised to take to my grave, the fucker was raping his seventeen-year-old brother because he just needed a fuck.
I can still hear Tray’s screams...
“Please, please, no, I’m your brother, I’m your blood, stop, stop, please…”
My jaw ticks as I guide Summer down the steps.
I knocked the fucker out but not before he penetrated his brother and thrusted a few times groaning in pleasure like a sick fuck.
I knocked Paddy off him and after Tray jumped on the life vessel, refusing to be anywhere near the boat, while everyone was busy shouting for him to come back, pleading to know what had happened.
Captain Williams who saw what had happened and also came to save Tray, together, we tied the unconscious fucker to the anchor and I let it go, until the chain had disappeared without any of the other crew members finding out, all believing Tray had accidentally knocked the anchor chain instead and did a runner, thinking I was just taking the fall for him when I said I fucked up.
Tray killed himself four months later, hanging himself, just like my girl tried, the word ‘filthy’ carved into his chest.
I blame myself for his death, even though I killed his brother, giving him that freedom.
I could have tried to save him but I felt fucking ashamed that I didn’t get to him in time, ashamed that I had to drown someone that way, guilty, confused.
Fuck, the guy was seventeen, like me, my head was a mess and by the time I finally got around to calling him, his mama sobbed that he was dead.
My jaw ticks as I gently guide my girl outside, where my dad waits near my bike.
He furrows his brows, his eyes full of questions, but I shake my head and help Summer onto my motorcycle, reminding myself to take it slow with her being pregnant while also telling my dick to stop twitching like a fucker because of how long it has been since we felt her behind us on the bike.
Fuck we’ve never had sex.
I swallow hard as my eyes go to her stomach. I still don’t know what she’s doing about that yet, and the longer she takes to speak to me about it, the more anxious I get.
Swallowing the lump that is forming, I gently cup her cheek, forcing her to look my way, her eyes still clouded over.
“Talk to me, sunshine,” I whisper just as Doc walks over with the officer brothers, stating, “Cleanup is in place,” but I don’t look at him as I keep eye contact with Summer, who blinks then shocks the shit outta all of us as she whispers, “Amber isn’t my first kill…
” And I blink, then blink again as every brother looks at her in shock while she keeps her eyes locked on mine, expectation shining in those gorgeous, deep blues of hers, and I know she wants me to run from her confession.
Fucking hell.