Chapter 19
NINETEEN
HUNTER
Carter was asleep on my lap, but I was still watching the cartoons when I heard the knock on the door. Kylie had been gone for a couple hours now, and I was getting worried.
As gently as I could, I lifted Carter off my lap and placed him down on the couch where he curled up in the corner and continued to sleep.
Then I walked over to the door and held it open.
Kylie squeezed passed me, keeping her head down and her eyes averted, and instantly, I knew something was wrong.
She walked passed Carter sleeping on the couch and darted straight towards the rooms inside. I locked the front door then followed her in. She had walked into my bedroom without a word or question, and when I switched the light on, I saw her face. My blood boiled.
“What the f-” I growled, but she cut me off.
“Is Carter asleep?” she asked in a soft voice, her green eyes watery. I could see the bruising on her neck and the purplish-red scar on her left jaw. Her lip had split open as well, and there was dried blood on it now. Her makeup was smudged, and her hair was in a tangle.
“Yes,” I hissed, clenching my fists on my sides.
Kylie then lifted her head up for me to look at her face more clearly.
“Who did this?” I said in a low guttural growl…even though I knew very well who it was. Kylie gulped, holding my gaze, and I could see that her eyes were sparkling with rage. I wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer this time. She was going to tell me his name.
“I went to see my ex,” she said in a clear strong voice, and I growled and turned to punch the door behind me. I felt the skin on my knuckles bruise, but the pain was fuel. I wanted to punch something else. I wanted to break a chair on this guy’s head. I wanted him dead.
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” I said tightly.
Kylie fell into my arms, and I wrapped my arms around her, stroking her hair, feeling her body for more bruises and aches.
“I wanted to handle it on my own, Hunter. I’m sorry,” she sobbed, and I could feel her tears dampening my T-shirt.
“Don’t apologize to me. Tell me his name,” I said and hooking a finger under her chin, I lifted her face up towards me. “Does it hurt?” I asked and gently touched the bruise on her jaw. Kylie pressed her eyes closed and winced, and I had to clench my jaw to stop myself from screaming.
“I’ll be fine. He hasn’t broken anything. I just need an ice pack or something,” she said and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.
“Kylie…tell me his name. I want to take care of this. I know what these assholes are like,” I said in a softer voice, and Kylie took in a deep breath then wriggled out of my arms.
“Tony. That’s his name,” she said, and we stared at each other. The name wasn’t ringing a bell, but I was going to find out. Tony from Dragon Knights didn’t have anywhere to fucking hide now.
She must have seen the confusion in my eyes, because she cleared her throat and spoke again. “He goes by the name Scar. That’s what his stupid friends call him or something,” she said, and I took in a deep breath. I knew Scar. He was a low-grade loser, ranking way down in the chain of command.
“Yeah, I know Scar,” I said, and Kylie’s eyes sparkled when she met mine.
“What do you know about him?” she asked, and I cracked my knuckles, already imagining punching his head in.
“That he likes to slap girls around and that he was involved in the prostitution ring, like a bell boy, you know, doing odd jobs,” I said with a snarl, and Kylie licked her lips nervously.
“What are you going to do?” she asked me as I ran a hand through my hair.
“I’m going to make sure that he can’t walk for the rest of his life. That he gets nowhere close to you or Carter again,” I growled, and she stepped quickly towards me.
Kylie placed her small delicate hands on my arms, and I felt a shock run down my spine.
I grabbed her by her waist and pulled her close to me, covering her face with kisses.
She tightened her grip on my biceps as I kissed her, and then with my hand, I stroked her curls away from her forehead, clearing up her face.
She was looking up at me now with her bright green eyes, and I saw the bruise clearly and the split in her lip where there must have been blood gushing out.
“You shouldn’t have gone there on your own, Kylie. You should have told me his name before. I can take care of him,” I said, and she suppressed a cry.
“I needed Carter to be safe. Leaving him here with you was the best I could come up with,” she said, and I stroked her hair affectionately.
“He’s safe here. You’re safe here…but I should have gone, and you should have stayed,” I said, and then I leaned closer to her, taking her lips and tongue into my mouth.
Our breaths sizzled as we kissed. I’d wanted her all day.
I’d wanted her body. I’d wanted her mouth on my cock.
And now, everything had changed. This wasn’t just about the sex.
I wanted to make sure that nobody could hurt her, that nobody except me would ever touch her.
“I need to go and take care of this, Kylie. Right now,” I said and ran a hand through my hair again. My body was already itching for a fight. I needed to make sure that Scar was taken care of.
“What are you going to do?” she asked me again, licking her lips as she stared with wide eyes at me. I clenched my jaw and tried to tell her the truth in the gentlest possible way that I could.
“I’m going to take care of him myself,” I said, and she was already shaking her head.
“No, Hunter. You can’t do this yourself. Scar has friends. He has the support of his entire MC. You can’t go in there by yourself,” she said, and I ran a hand through my hair again in frustration.
“Arrrrghhh!” I growled and turned from her, but before I could take my fist to the wall, she put her hands on my arms to calm me down.
“You’re only hurting yourself, Hunter. Please don’t do that anymore,” she said in a gentle voice that had an immediate effect on me. She was right; I needed to conserve my energy for the fight later, the one where Scar wasn’t going to get out alive.
“Okay, I won’t,” I said, and Kylie peered into my eyes.
“And promise me that you won’t go over there alone,” she insisted, and I nodded my head. Since when did I start making promises to a woman?
“You and Carter should stay here. I’m going to ask one of my friends to come over and stand guard at the door,” I said, and Kylie gulped then shook her head.
“You don’t have to,” she said.
“Yes, I do,” I told her. “If we’re taking Scar down tonight, his pals might retaliate by trying to harm you and Carter. I want to make sure that doesn’t happen,” I said, and I started walking out of the bedroom. Kylie was following me.
“Are you leaving now? It’s late!” she said, her loud voice thankfully muffled by the cartoon sounds. I whipped around to her, and she must have seen the rage in my eyes, because she stopped in her tracks, like she had seen a ghost.
“I have to go now, but you should try and sleep. Take a bath. Just try and relax. I’ll be back soon, but not before that asshole has a few broken bones,” I said then reached out and touched the side of her face. Kylie closed her eyes, like she was trying to memorize my touch for later.
Then I watched as she went over and lifted Carter up in her arms and walked with him to my bedroom. Suddenly, it felt like she had always lived here in my apartment.
Gunner’s phone rang twice before he finally answered the call. I could hear the drunken sounds and music of the Rusty Pelican in the background.
“Hey, brother!” Gunner’s voice was high pitched, like it usually got when he’d been drinking.
“I need you to bring the boys. I have something to take care of,” I barked into the phone.
“What’s going on?” Gunner asked. I had already walked out of my apartment to my parked bike outside, and now I stood beside it, talking to Gunner on the phone.
“I need to take care of Scar,” I said.
“Scar? That dimwit from the Dragon Knights?” Gunner asked with a laugh in his voice.
“Yeah.”
“Why? What did he do?” he asked, and I took in a deep breath to prepare myself for the speech. None of the guys or anyone from the Bad Disciples knew about Kylie. This was going to be a long story, and I wasn’t sure how he was going to take it.
“He’s been beating up his ex-girl. They have a kid together, and now she’s bruised and bleeding. Can’t get rid of him,” I said, waiting to hear what Gunner had to say to that.
“So how is this our problem?” he asked, and I remained silent, looking for the right words to make him understand that I was in love with this girl. But he copped on before I even had a chance to say anything. He had been through this himself.
“You’re banging her,” he said as a sort of declaration, and I clenched my jaw. I wasn’t just banging her; it was more than that. “She’s your girl now?” he asked.
I couldn’t give him an answer, but that was all Gunner needed.
“I’ll gather the troops and meet you at The Bird,” he said without a moment’s hesitation. He was referring to the bar where the Dragon Knights usually gathered.
“I just want you and Glock with me. Nobody else,” I said.
“We’re all with you, brother. I’ll get the rest. We’ve all been dying to beat up a DK asshole anyway,” Gunner said, and I knew he wasn’t kidding. In a moment’s notice, we would have the entire bar surrounded if I gave the word.
“I want to do this myself. I don’t want the others involved,” I explained to him, and then I heard him sigh. As much as I wanted to finish the Dragon Knights once and for all, I didn’t want to be the reason that the Bad Disciples were attacked later on as revenge.
“I’ll get Glock, and we’ll meet you at The Bird,” he said.
“And tell Tank to get his ass over to my place and keep guard at the door. She’s in there with her three-year-old kid. I don’t want anybody getting passed the door,” I said then hung up.
My blood was on fire. I was itching to lay my hands on Scar.