Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Hellhound
One week later . . .
“Yo, Hellhound,” Scythe calls from across the bay.
I tilt my head in his direction and furrow my brow, seeing Styxx, Angel, Tombstone, and Daemon behind him.
Over the past week, we’ve somewhat gotten back into the swing of things.
The girls are still on lockdown, not allowed to go anywhere without someone on them.
Ivy’s at the clubhouse with the twins. My Prez has barely left her side, making sure she’s got everything she needs.
Along with helping her take care of the twins.
Meaning we were all leaving him the fuck alone for the time being. His focus is needed elsewhere.
Sutton’s been staying at the clubhouse without complaint, helping Reaper and Ivy where she can but also working from her computer.
Isabelle, though, needed something to do, and the club gave it to her—with Ivy not getting upset.
We got her to start working in the office at the garage.
Ivy even suggested the two of them work in there together, so it’s not all on one or the other.
None of us cared, long as we didn’t have to do the office shit. We’re not ones for filing.
“What?” I ask, glancing behind the men coming my way to the windows leading to the office and seeing my woman standing at the file cabinet—the top drawer open.
“We got something,” Angel answers through clenched teeth.
I straighten from under the hood of the car I’m working on and frown, glancing between the four men. “What do you mean y’all got something?” The tension radiating off my brothers hits me, and I feel it in my gut. Whatever it is they found can’t be good. Not in the least.
“Finnegan went looking into both Isabelle’s ‘parents,” Styxx states, spitting out the last word as if it were a bad taste in his mouth. “Found those fuck ups aren’t just druggies. They have connections. Ones that used them to hide our little sister for years.”
“What connection?” I cross my arms, bracing for more.
“You ever hear of a group, the Scarlet Needles?” Daemon asks.
I shake my head in answer and quirk a brow.
“Well seems these druggies are related to someone who used to work with our father. Finnegan found the link, and I went with it,” Scythe states, his eyes burning with anger.
“I followed it, and you know how our dad was a surgeon. Well, the Scarlet Needles is a black-market organ trade. They wanted him to come work for them. When he found out what they did, he declined. That’s the reason behind the deaths.
Does Isabelle have any scars on her? Maybe looking like a surgical scar. ”
I nod, thinking about the one where she said they took her appendix out when she was nine. “Yeah,” I answer and tell them what she told me.
“Fuck,” Styxx snarls. “We need to get her checked out, see what they took. I highly doubt it was her appendix.”
“I’ll call Stella and ask what we can do about finding out,” I mutter without thinking. I still haven’t talked to her. But it’s time we finally put the fucking past behind us and move on with our lives.
“Right,” Angel mutters, nodding. “Now for the rest of it.”
Something about the way he states this rubs me the wrong way. “What?”
“Goblin and Ghoul found something in the woods finally. It’s on the far back end. They scoped it out, and it looks like a woman has been hiding out. They set a trap, and low and behold, guess who’s fuckin’ back?” Angel sneers.
“Claws,” Tombstone spits out, curling his lip in hatred.
What the fuck! “Tell me they got the cunt.”
“Oh, they got her all right,” Styxx smirks sinisterly.
“She’s now in the cabin whining and pleading for us to let her go.
We put Beast on her to keep an eye on her and make sure nothing happens.
She’s already confessed to helping the druggies escape.
And she killed the dealer herself. Though we don’t know why yet. ”
“We need to get to the bottom of all of this shit,” I snarl, fisting my hands at my sides. “I’m done with all the bullshit drama and us having to wait to see what the fucks gonna happen next. Were we able to get a location on those two fuckin’ druggies?”
“They haven’t been back to their place or to Isabelle’s. I’ve been looking into all the different places they could be, but I’m not getting shit all on them. They’re ghosts.” Scythe mutters, shaking his head.
“Fuck.” I glance behind them and focus on my woman. “Let’s finish the day out, then deal with what we can for now. Give her one day of normal,” I say, jerking my chin toward Isabelle working in the office.
“She deserves it,” Styxx mutters quietly.
Since Reaper and Ivy’s twins were born, Styxx and Scythe have been getting closer to Isabelle and trying to be the brothers they didn’t get to be.
Shit.
They even tried threatening me plenty of times, telling me to do right by her.
But if they knew just how much she means to me, they wouldn’t even have to question it.
Then again, Isabelle doesn’t know. However, I inwardly grin, remembering the night I told her about how I got the scar on my face, and she still took me as I am telling me as she drifted to sleep that she loved me.
I don’t even know if she remembers those three little words spilling from her mouth.
I’ll give her this time to have normal. Then after I get this shit dealt with, I’ll make sure she’s only ever got normal to fill her days.
Angel, Daemon, and I stay behind to finish up and close up the garage together before heading back to the clubhouse. Isabelle shuts down the office and locks up as we finish closing the bays.
After our talk, Scythe, Styxx, and Tombstone went to the clubhouse to inform Reaper what’s going down at Angel’s command.
My eyes follow my woman making her way to me, her smile aimed at me.
“You enjoy working in the office today?” I ask, curling my arm around her when she’s close enough.
“Yeah, you guys suck at paperwork,” she states sternly.
My brothers and I throw our heads back, bursting into laughter at her comment.
“Sweetheart, you don’t know the half of it.” Angel chuckles.
“Let’s get out of here.” Daemon grins. “You can tell Ivy about that shit at the clubhouse.”
“Please don’t.” Angel snorts. “She’ll have a conniption, and then Reaper will get on our case.”
I shake my head, grinning as we all head for our bikes, knowing he’s right. Reaper will blow if Ivy gets worked up because she’ll demand to come back to work to fix shit back up to the way she likes it.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell her.” Isabelle giggles. “But don’t think I’m not going to put shit back in order and get a little ticked off if things don’t stay organized. You think Ivy’s bad for it? Um, I’m worse.”
“Oh shit, tell me you didn’t say that?” Daemon groans.
“Brother, you saw her apartment when you helped pack her up,” Angel states, shaking his head. “She’s fuckin’ OCD like a bitch.”
“Hey,” Isabelle snaps playfully. “Just because I like things kept neat and where they’re supposed to be doesn’t mean I’m OCD.”
I give her a look quirking my brow, “Críona wanna try that again?”
Isabelle rolls her eyes, smiling brightly. “Whatever.”
My brothers chuckle, and we all move to straddle our bikes. With my attention on Isabelle, I fuck up by not focusing more on our surroundings.
The sound of a gun going off rings in my ears as a pain unlike any other hits my stomach. Isabelle screams and touches where I’d been shot.
Angel and Daemon move in, cursing.
I groan, allowing Isabelle to take some of my weight, but I don’t give it all to her. Daemon wraps an arm around my waist and helps lower me to the ground while Angel returns fire and covers the rest of us.
“Please be okay,” Isabelle cries, lifting a hand to stroke my cheek.
“It’s all good, Bells,” I mutter, wincing at the pain.
“No, it’s not. You’re shot.” Her breath hitches on a sob.
“Sweetheart, do me a favor and call for an ambulance and back up,” Angel calls out over his shoulder as another shot’s fired. Angel grunts, telling me he’s been hit.
I don’t know who the fuck is shooting at us, but whoever it is, they’re aiming to take us out.