Chapter Twenty-Three ABBIE #3
But my question is lost in a roar from the hallway.
Ark spins me behind him, while Pitt explodes from the bed.
They both run for the door, and I follow, skidding to a halt as Jackpot smashes Threads in the face.
He must be fueled by a lot of rage, because the bigger man hits the wall, and Jackpot spins to glare at me.
His eyes are wild, but they dance with glee as Nitro and Crab come barreling up the stairs.
“You think you can round us up? Try to kick us out?” Jackpot sneers, his glare drilling into Ark. “All you’ve done is fuck this club up since you took over. And now you’re letting a bunch of stuck-up bitches lead you around by your knot. Booker would be rolling over in his grave.”
“Vipers are poison!” I spit, glaring back at him. “Always were, and age isn’t doing you any favors.”
“Mouthy as fucking ever.” Jackpot feints in my direction, but then lunges at Ark, while his goons converge on Pitt.
Ark sweeps me behind him with an arm, and I press myself back against the door.
I’d relish the chance to put Jackpot on his arse, but the hallway is tight, and there are already too many fists flying in every direction.
“You’re a soft fucking prick!” Jackpot hisses as he swings at Ark. “No wonder your old man used to whip you like a dog!”
I realize I haven’t seen Ark fight since I was a teen, and he’s clearly no boxer, doing nothing to get out of the path of Jackpot’s fist. It smashes into his cheekbone, but he barely flinches as he wraps a hand around the smaller man’s throat and lifts him off the floor.
“My old man was a coward and a sadist,” Ark says as he shoves him back against the wall. “But that’s history. Just like you.”
The snap of Jackpot’s neck is like a firecracker in the tight passageway, and Nitro backs away, hands in the air.
Pitt uses the distraction to knock Crab out with a vicious undercut, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
I’m looking around, counting bodies, when Nitro pulls a gun from his vest. The world seems to grind to a halt as the pistol swings our way.
“Fuck this club!” he yells, his eyes darting around the hall. “Fuck every last stinking Flyer!”
I’m trying to think of ways to get Ark down on the floor – he’s the biggest target by a mile – when Bluff looms up behind Nitro. The Viper’s eyes flash with dread, a protest bubbling from his lips, but Bluff is already slashing his hand across his throat.
“Fuck!” Pitt hisses, leaping back as the other alpha crumples to the floor in a spray of blood. “You didn’t just want to shoot him?”
“Too noisy.” Bluff inspects the butter knife he’s holding, then leans down to stick it in his boot. “And this was convenient, since I wasn’t sure what Wings wanted on his toast.”
He nods at a dinner tray balancing on the top step. It has a plate of toast and little jars of peanut butter and jelly, and I blink. It’s just too surreal given that my heart is still trying to claw its way out of my chest.
“Is that it?” I ask Ark, tucking my hands under my damp armpits. “Are we done?”
“We are here,” Ark says, pulling me back against his chest. It thumps hard against mine and I breathe a sigh of relief. Somehow, we’re all still standing. “But I want every Viper gone in the next hour. No exceptions. Clean house.”
I grip his arm, letting his warmth sink into my bones. Now that the terror is fading, my rage is coming back. “They should all go fucking south. Way, way fucking south. Got it, Ark?”
“Got it, butterfly.”
Wings and Patch appear behind us, Patch sighing as he glances at Threads. “I’ll need to take him to the clinic.”
“I can help,” Bluff says, while Ark herds the rest of us back into our suite.
I can hear other people opening doors, no doubt drawn by the commotion, but Ark just shakes his head. “Into bed. All of you.”
Pitt goes to wash his hands, but Wings and I leap for the covers. He wraps his arms around me, covering me in the mound of blankets. “Was that as insane as it sounded?”
“Completely,” I huff, pressing my face to his neck. “But at least it got the Vipers out of the clubhouse.”
Wings raises his brows at that, but Pitt distracts us by hurrying back into the room, stripped down to his boxers. He doesn’t pause before he dives into bed, pulling us across his chest. “Fuck. That was too damn close.”
I nod, squeezing Wings tight. I can’t tell if I’m freezing cold or burning up. All I know is that my mates are here, they’re mine, and I will do anything to protect them.
“Ark,” I murmur, holding out a hand. “Come and join us.”
He strips off his cut and boots, but leaves the rest of his clothes on as he sinks at my side. There’s a hint of regret in his eyes as he cups my face. “Sorry you had to see that, butterfly.”
“Why? You don’t think I was one step behind you, ready to do exactly the same?”
He rubs a hand across his face, but I grab his wrist, pulling it down and kissing his knuckles. “I love everything about you, Ark. Your killer hands and your really sloppy footwork.” I skim my fingers over his bruised cheekbone. “I mean, couldn’t you have dodged even a little?”
Pitt snorts, but Ark just smiles. “My fighting style is a little more primal.”
“Nothing wrong with primal.”
And in my mind, it’s often the best way to right a wrong.
Jackpot and his thugs came at us in violence, and my mates stopped them in their tracks.
Maybe my blood is just up, but they got everything they deserved.
In fact, I wouldn’t change a thing about what went down in the hallway, except that it should’ve ended with Bluff crawling into bed with us, too.
But that will happen soon enough, because he’s pack, and this is where he belongs.