Chapter 12 #2
He shoves me into the chair and reties my ankles tight enough to bite. I shake my head, trying to clear the hair from my eyes.
As he turns back to her, she forces a smile, but it never reaches her eyes. He props one hand on the doorframe, boxing her in.
“Hey,” I call out. “Axe, is it?”
He sighs, turning his head slowly. “What now?”
“I told you, I need a piss.”
“No fucking chance after that little stunt.”
He turns back to the girl, dragging his mouth up her neck. She stiffens under his touch, and I feel something hot and furious coil in my stomach.
“You men are all pieces of shit, aren’t you?” I spit.
He groans. “Will you shut the fuck up?”
“Rude,” I snap back.
His hand slides up her stomach. She’s barely dressed in a bra and short black skirt. Her fingers clamp around the doorframe, her knuckles white. He grips her roughly, making her flinch. She closes her eyes, like she’s already accepted what’s about to come.
I scrape the chair loudly across the floor, rocking it hard like I’m about to break free.
His head snaps towards me.
A second later, he’s in front of me.
He slams his hand into the wall beside my head, and I flinch. Then he wraps his fingers around my throat and squeezes.
Air vanishes.
I claw at his wrist as black spots crowd my vision. My lungs burn, desperate for oxygen. The room tilts, and any sound fades into a dull roar.
A strangled sob leaves me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Reaper roars as Axe releases my throat. “You’re messing with our only leverage. Are you fucking stupid?”
The room swims back into focus as I drag in a deep breath, the air burning all the way down my throat.
“But Pres—”
“I don’t want to fucking hear it,” Reaper snaps. “He’s hardly going to give me what I want if you damage the package, is he? Fucking clown.”
His fist slams into Axe’s nose. Axe drops to a crouch, blood spilling out through his fingers.
I can’t help the small smirk that tugs at my mouth. Axe sees it, and the fury in his eyes burns hotter.
I glance towards the doorway, but the blonde is gone. Just like that.
But the memory of her eyes lingers in my mind. Haunted. Trapped. She’s not here by choice, that much is obvious.
“He’ll be here soon,” Reaper says coolly, making his way behind me and tying my hands back into place. “Go clean yourself up.”
Axe staggers out, shooting me one last murderous look.
Silence settles heavy in the room.
The last twenty-four hours have been a crazy whirlwind. In that time, my whole world has shattered—I lost my husband, my home, and somehow ended up in the hands of another arsehole.
Everything’s flipped upside down so fast, I’m barely keeping up.
But the one thing I know for sure is that I don’t want Drifter storming in here, playing hero, acting like saving me fixes what he did. Like I’ll just forget the betrayal. Forget the humiliation. Forget what he did to us. That’s not going to happen.
I think about our baby, my baby.
The only good thing to come out of this entire shitshow is my baby.
I hear the deep rumble of his voice before the door opens. I can’t keep the disgust off my face as Drifter appears, smiling. Fucking smiling!
I drop my eyes to the floor, and he steps further into the room, his boots coming into view.
I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I glance to the side to see Reaper grinning like he’s pulling off the deal of his life. Twat.
“As you can see, she’s here, as agreed,” he says confidently.
Drifter steps closer, his fingers gripping my chin and tipping my head back. He inspects my face, then his eyes trail down my neck, and he stiffens, his glare focusing on Reaper.
“You weren’t supposed to fucking touch her.”
Reaper shrugs, his smile faltering for a brief second. “It was a minor mishap.”
“I said you could have New Parks and West Street under one condition.”
I scoff, rolling my eyes. If he thinks giving up territory to save me changes anything between us, he’s fucking deluded. I’m not a possession he can use to trade.
Reaper suddenly fists his hand in my hair and yanks my head back. Pain explodes at my scalp.
Drifter’s eyes narrow in on the grip, his jaw tensing. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he says quietly, his voice deadly.
He slips a hand into his kutte, and it’s as if time fractures. I see it before I really understand it, the slow, deliberate withdrawal of the gun, metal glinting in the light.
Everything narrows to that single movement. My breath catches. The world tilts. And then a gunshot tears through the room.
It’s deafening. The sound splits the air apart, ringing through my skull until everything else disappears. My ears scream, and the world goes muffled, like I’m underwater.
Reaper’s fingers twitch in my hair, then his grip slackens. His weight drops as he hits the floor in a heavy, lifeless thud.
For a second, I just stare, because the silence after the shot is louder than the noise itself.
I look up and see Clay and Gears in the doorway, blocking us from whatever chaos will fill the room now that shot’s gone off.
Drifter’s mouth is moving, but I can’t hear him. He scrambles behind me, untying the ropes. I flex my wrists as circulation returns in painful waves.
He gently takes my arm, but I rip it away. “Don’t fucking touch me,” I snap.
He groans like I’m being unreasonable, and the urge to punch him is strong. “We don’t have time for this,” he says. “Let’s just get you home.”
“Home? Where the fuck is that?”
He reaches for me again, and I throw my hand up as he keeps stepping away. I shove past him and storm out into the car park.
Slayer is on his bike, his engine idling, keeping watch. He jumps off as I approach.
“Are you okay?” he asks, taking my hand.
I jump as more gunshots explode behind us.
Then I turn my attention back to him. “I think you’re needed inside.”
Drifter bursts out through the doors. “Get her out of here now,” he shouts.
Slayer doesn’t hesitate. He pulls me onto the bike, the engine roaring to life beneath us, and I’m too numb to fight him.
As we ride out, rain soaks through my clothes. The streetlights blur into streaks of white and gold. My skin is cold, but my heart feels colder, detached and shattered, and I have no idea how to work through any of it.