Royal Sons MC
Prologue
Ivy’s heart hammeredagainst her chest. Her blood ran cold through her veins at the desperation in Luke’s tone as she beat against the bathroom door, praying he’d open up. “Dammit, let me in. Let’s talk about this,” she begged. Over her shoulder, she glared at the blond man who ruined their carefully constructed world. He shrugged one broad shoulder, seemingly unaffected by what was happening.
A whimper came through, giving her a renewed sense of purpose and hope. How the fuck had things gone from perfectly fine when she’d left home that morning to this...a complete shitshow, she wasn’t sure.
“Everything’s fucked. I can’t face them, Ivy.” Luke’s voice sounded desperate.
She pressed her palm to the door, leaning her forehead against the hardwood. “Luke, baby, we’ve gotten through tougher shit, we can get through this.”
The man behind her growled, but she waved her free hand frantically, needing him to shut the hell up. Luke tended to be a drama king, but something told her this was different.
“Not this time, love. Not this time. King knows. He knows something. I love you, Ivy. Remember, I’ve always loved you.”
She jerked backward at his words, her palms sweating. “Luke, open this fucking door. Stop talking like an idiot, and let’s sit down and figure this out.”
Time seemed to suspend at the sound she’d heard many times when she’d been at the rifle range, the sound of a shell being inserted and then the barrel being locked in place. Panic had her reaching above her head for the key kept over the frame to unlock the door, fearing she’d be too late, worried she’d piss Luke off. Fear won out as she pushed the key in.
Ivy burst through the door at the same time as the shotgun boomed through the small space. Most people would’ve been screaming, and maybe she did. Her body jerked as if it, too, felt the impact of the bullet, her hand going over her mouth. In slow motion, her feet took her the short distance where Luke lay, his eyes staring up at the ceiling, his body in a pool of blood. “Oh god, Luke, what did you do?” she sobbed, shaking, slipping on Luke’s blood.
“Holy shit. I’m calling 911.”
She heard someone say as if from far away, but she just wanted another moment with Luke before he was gone, but he was already gone. His eyes, those beautiful chocolate eyes, were vacant. “You promised you’d never leave me alone. You lied, damn you.” How many times she’d laid on his chest and cried her eyes out, she couldn’t remember, but none of them had ever been filled with only her heart beating. “We were going to raise our kids together one day, remember?” Another sob escaped, followed by another. Her body felt heavy. The blood was cooling. Shouldn’t it stay warm longer? He was her best friend. They’d met in grade school when he’d punched a boy for pulling her pigtails. They’d become best friends when she’d punched a girl for breaking up with him in junior high. They became the it couple in high school when he became her...everything. Now, he was lying in a pool of thick, cooling blood.
Ivy stayed there on the bathroom floor with the tangy scent of copper filling every fiber of her being, covering every inch of her body. She was sure she’d never be clean again, but she did not want to leave Luke alone, needing to make sure he had someone with him. Fuck, his brothers were going to kill her, was her last thought before she shut down and just floated.