Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
HENDRIX
My hands gripped that steering wheel so tight I thought I was going to rip it clean off.
Seeing her like that, so fragile, so fucking broken, I wanted to kill.
I wanted to wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze the life out of him slowly, painfully, but I can’t.
She isn’t mine. I can be angry, and I can be mad.
She’s part of our family, but I can’t seek revenge the way I want.
She isn’t mine. I should have claimed her, and I should have fought harder for her.
I should have beaten that son of a bitch a long time ago.
I sit out the back of her house. Everyone has gone crazy, rushing around, trying to take care of her and stop Star from hunting for him.
Enzo paces back and forth in front of me, unable to contain his anger at seeing his sister like that.
We all feel it. We failed her. We failed to protect one of our own.
“Here.” Mom places down a bottle of whiskey and two glasses for Enzo and I. She gives me a sorrowful look while squeezing my shoulder, before she walks back inside.
“I failed her, my baby girl! I failed her. She was never supposed to experience this. Did he touch her?! Did he fucking touch her?!” Star’s brutal pained cries echo outside to us. I look to Enzo, whose jaw is clenched so tight I’m surprised he has any teeth left.
I open the bottle and pour us both a glass each, before standing and handing him one. He takes it and knocks it back. “We will find him. We will make him fucking pay,” I assure Enzo.
He gives me a brief nod before he turns and grabs the bottle.
Just as he’s about to pour himself another, he hurls the glass against the wall, splintering it into tiny pieces.
He brings the bottle to his lips and downs a quarter of the bottle, his eyes watering from the intense burn of the alcohol as he coughs.
“We will, but it still doesn’t ease the pain, the fucking guilt of failing her.”
I swallow, because he’s right.
A loud commotion comes from inside, and we exchange a look and head inside.
“Move out of my way. He needs to pay,” Star fumes, holding a butcher’s knife in her hand.
“He will fucking pay, but not with you going off like a fucking damn nuke. Where are you going to look for him? Huh? The hospital?” Ghost snaps back.
Star’s knuckles turn white as her grip intensifies on the knife. “He hurt my baby girl. Fucking marked her. Scarred her!” Star yells, her voice cracking with anger and emotion.
The room is silent as my parents and the other club members stand around, saying nothing because they get it.
They understand. I’ve never been told the full story, but I know Star had a tragic life before Ghost. It’s one of the reasons she is so strong.
It was the one thing she instilled in Storm: willingness and stubbornness.
Two of the many things that drew me to Storm.
“She’s my baby girl, too,” Ghost states his voice raw as he tries to hold it together.
“She’s my baby, too, and I let her down.
I fucking failed to protect her. The one thing a father is supposed to do, and I fucking failed.
He will pay in ways you couldn’t imagine.
” Ghost swallows, rubbing his face, his eyes red-rimmed as he fights the emotions that threaten to break free.
“I cannot deal with you getting arrested, for waving a fucking blade around the hospital with everything else. So, for fucking once, just do as you’re fucking told! ” Ghost barks.
Star flinches, and she never fucking flinches. She stands there not saying anything for a few moments before she slowly places the knife down on the counter. Ghost watches her. We all do.
One thing about Star is she’s unpredictable.
She takes a step towards him, her hands slowly reaching up as she cups his face in her hands.
Ghost, the formidable man, softens instantly, a single tear escaping his eyes.
I blink, unsure if I’ve seen correctly. Star swipes it away with her thumb as he lowers his temple to hers, his arms circling her waist as he pulls her close.
“Enzo, Hendrix, go check on Storm. Ask Dixie if she needs any help,” Mom orders.
We nod and move through the room. Ghost’s face is now buried in the crook of Star’s neck as she slowly strokes her hand up and down his back, whispering something in his ear.
The moment is intimate and raw. Everyone else goes about their business, leaving them to have this moment.
I follow Enzo upstairs to Storm’s bedroom. Dixie has a bowl of bloodied clothes beside her, and Storm is fast asleep, unaware of our presence.
“Do you need anything, Dixie?” Enzo asks, my eyes never straying from Storm.
“No, I think I’m all done. She’s going to be out of it for a while.
I gave her a drug that will ease her pain, but it also makes her sleepy.
And with the exhaustion and weakness from not eating or drinking, she may be out of it for a while.
” Dixie sighs, a sad soft smile on her face as she squeezes Enzo’s arm.
“I’m going to take these and bimbos of these,” she states.
My gaze snaps to Enzo, and despite the situation, his lips twitch, fighting a smile. “Aunt Dixie, er, do you mean drug and dispose?” Enzo asks her.
Her brows furrow for a moment. “Ha! Yes.” She snorts. Enzo and I let out a small bubble of laughter. “I’m glad I could be the one to make those smiles return.” She grins as she leaves.
Our gaze returns to Storm, and our smiles fall immediately.
Her face is bruised black and blue. She’s almost unrecognisable.
Her bottom lip is swollen and split, and her wrist where she was cuffed is red raw; a clear line where the cuff has cut into her flesh, where she would have tried to escape.
I can feel my temper rising again, bubbling beneath the surface.
Those are only the injuries we can see. Enzo steps closer, and as he leans down, he pulls the cover down slightly, lifting the hem of the top the ol’ ladies put her in, just enough to reveal her stomach, where an array of colourful bruises pattern her skin.
I turn away, running my fingers through my dark hair, gripping it tight, trying to contain the wrath I feel.
“I’ve never seen my dad cry,” Enzo states.
“Never seen him raise his voice like that to Mom.” He pauses, lifting his gaze to me.
“I need to find him. I need him to bleed for what he’s done, not just to Storm, but to my family,” Enzo seethes through gritted teeth.
Tears threaten his eyes, but he blinks them away.
“We will find him, and he will be begging for death by the time we are done with him,” I assure him. It’s a promise. He may think he’s got away with it for now, but we will get him. He will meet his maker.
Storm lets out a little sigh. Enzo strokes the hair affectionately from her face. “Hendrix, give us a minute,” Star says softly from behind me. I spin around and see Ghost and Star standing in the doorway, their eyes transfixed on their daughter.
I nod and move past them as they enter. Ghost places his hand on my shoulder and gives me a gentle squeeze. I give him a nod and close the door behind me, leaving them to have some alone time as a family.
I spot Maisy sitting on the bottom of the stairs as I make my way down and sit beside her, nudging her softly with my shoulder.
“You doing okay?” I ask. She looks at me; her tear-stained cheeks and red eyes fill, threatening more tears.
I lift my arm and wrap it around her shoulders, holding her close while she cries.
“How could we not know?” She sniffs. “She tells me everything.” She pauses, sitting upright, wiping her eyes and nose with a tissue as she gives me a side look through her lashes. “She told me about you and her,” she murmurs, her lips tilting up into a small smile.
I huff. “Ain’t much to tell there.”
“Bullshit.” She laughs, sniffing as she wipes her eyes again. “You should tell her how you feel, and not just the ‘I’m a biker, and I have a big dick. You are mine. Grrrr’,” she says, putting on a deep voice mocking me.
I can’t help it. I laugh. “Firstly, I don’t sound like that, and secondly, I would never say that shit.”
She chuckles. “Yeah, sure. All of you are the same. Happy to be the man, but not show actual feelings,” she says with a roll of her eyes.
“I made it clear,” I state.
She arches her brow at me. “No, what you did was kiss her, and mess with her mind a little. I don’t remember her telling me you confessed your undying love for her.”
“Jesus, I thought that shit was obvious. I got her tattoo on my hand for fuck’s sake.” I shrug, running my index finger over the outline of the tattoo on my hand.
“It’s a silly smiley face, and you got it on your eighteenth birthday,” she points out.
I smile at the memory. If she had signed her name, I would have got it tattooed. Fuck, my parents would tease me about how I would one day make her my ol’ lady. I thought it was obvious. I thought everyone fucking knew. Everyone but the one person that mattered.
“Well…” She pauses. “Once she’s back to being the girl we know, then don’t waste any more time and tell her.” She gets to her feet, inhaling a deep breath. “Right, I guess I should go help out doing whatever it is that needs doing.”
I stand. “You know, you should take some of your own advice,” I state.
She pauses before turning around to face me, tucking her hair behind her ear. She looks nothing like Hawk apart from her eyes. Apparently, she looks just like her mother.
She furrows her brows, forcing a look of confusion. “Not sure what you’re on about,” she mutters, her cheeks turning a pale shade of red.
“You and Enzo,” I whisper.
Her eyes go wide, her lips parting. “How do you…?” she breathes, looking around to make sure no one else is listening.
I slide my hands into my jean pockets and smirk. “That you have a crush on him? It’s obvious to anyone with eyes.”
Her face blanches slightly. “Oh, right. Yeah, well, that’s not really a thing anymore.” She shrugs. “Met someone new,” she adds. Whirling around, she points her forefinger in my face. “Do not tell anyone that bit of information,” she states, giving me her best glare in warning.
I smirk, lowering her finger from my face. “Easy. Your secret is safe with me. Just...” I pause, sighing. “Just be careful, yeah?”
Her face softens, and she nods. “I will.”