Twenty-Five
My flesh wound is an annoyance that I don’t need. I got sneaky little bad guys to kill. I would like to know why it hurts more to be kind of shot than actually tobe shot. I’d take a full-fledged bullet over this. It’s like a damn paper cut on my leg. This shit is for the birds and not badass assassins. It’s embarrassing. My teeth grit, and I wince when my hand comes away from my bloody thigh. Shit. A body slams into the vehicle I’d been using for cover. I know before I look at who it is. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to leave him in the dust, but like I always say, a girl gotta do what a girl gotta do.
Anyway, I knew it was him, my would-be knight in shining leather. Looking down at my leg, I let out a sigh. Thank fuck, it’s only a graze. I stare briefly, contemplating what I’ll need, maybe stitches? Who fucking cares? Focus. Whoever shot at me is going to die, point blank, period. I sit up a little more and try to find the fucker or at least their general direction so I can send them a gift by way of a bullet to the dome.
“I’ve been hit, nine o’clock, twenty feet ahead. The pussy ducked northwest of my location. I no longer have visuals. I got a shot off and into the fucker. Sin, you’re welcome. Have fun and make that shit fucking hurt.”
Ignoring the man cussing me out as he calls out to someone to come and take care of me. I don’t acknowledge him. Duh, I’m working sexy time later, killing time now.
I had to wear fucking shorts tonight. Damn it, man. This shit burns like a motherfucker. I peek around the vehicle to see that the club is doing great. I see bodies dropping, and I smile, knowing that’s less shit than I have to contend with later. Thank fuck for small favors. I’m hungry. When was the last time I ate?
“Hey… Blaze, my most favorite brother in all the land.”
I see movement to my left, and before the fucker thinks he got the drop on me, I lift my arm and unceremoniously take the shot, and he goes down. I pat myself on the back.
“Whatever it is, Bell, I’m busy.”
My eyes narrow. First, no one is ever too busy for me. I mean, I am me. No matter. I pull out my phone. The Food ordering app is an excellent choice. Scrolling through it, I can’t decide what I want. Hmm? Yes, I can multitask because… Hello Food. Also, the club seems to have things handled, and I’m hungry.
It is going to be a long night.
If I don’t eat, I may unintentionally maim someone. And that would not be good. I’m sure my people will have this handled by the time they get here. And if not, I set the delivery for two hours. These apps are fantastic. I make my selection and pin where I want them to deliver. I don’t think the sperm donor would appreciate a random food delivery after this mess. So I pick a random house a mile away, duck when I feel the air move, and take another shot without looking up. I hear a grunt and a thump. Oops, that one was too close. I’m still ignoring Taz as he scolds me for my current situation and for having the audacity to order food. Looking down at my phone, I pull up my texts.
text message
I can still hear shots in the distance, but they are getting less frequent. Grumpy Pants, realizing what he is saying to me, is going in one ear and out the other, so he is now shouting orders to his men, but my mind is on food.
“HEY, GRUMPYPANTS.”
I yell over to Taz, who is shooting through the broken window.
“What do you need, tornado?” he answers, not looking at me.
My eyes narrow. But then my eyes focus on something that has my brain short-circuiting.
“Why in the fuck are you half-naked? WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR SHIRT?”
He takes another shot and looks over at me like I’m crazy. And, eh, maybe I am. But who in their right mind does a striptease during a gunfight? His eyes shift to the ground next to me, and my brow furrows as I look down.
“Oh!”
He stops firing and hunches his body down enough to remain covered by the car while he makes his way to me. Taz kneels next to me, and I watch him from the corner of my eye. Because hello again, gunfight. With how we were both standing at opposite ends before, I didn’t get the full-on Taz effect, though… Hello, abs. Be still my beating heart. His nipples are pierced. Oh, lawd almighty.
“Let me see it.”
Whiskey, Tango Foxtrot?
Huh?
He bends down, picking up his discarded shirt. The way his back ripples has my head turning fully to watch the show. Pure sin, that’s what that voice in my head is saying, not me. I’m focused on the killing part of this scenario. Another shadow moves to my right, and I point and shoot like my good little assassin. That wasn’t the thing to do because Taz falls on his back with a humph and had his arms extended, pointing his gun at the now-dead guy. He looks around, eyes steely and alert. My mouth shouldn’t be watering or staring at those delicious abs on full display. The way he is splayed out, he is partially lifting his body like you would do when doing crunches, and I count six, seven, and eight. He has an eight-pack. Now that should be damn illegal. No man should have an eight-pack. I want to lick it. I wonder if I do the damsel thing, trip, and fall and happen to... I don’t know, fall face first on his abs if I could accidentally get a lick in. Hmm.
“TORNADO.”
Snapped out of my daydreaming of licking abs. I focus on Taz's eyes as he looks up at me. His head is at a weird angle because he is still lying on the ground. But the look on his face says he’s annoyed because he had been calling out to me for far longer than he felt necessary. Oopsies.
“Hmm?”
“While you were ogling me,” his face says he’s not a fan, but his eyes are another story. “I asked if you were okay. And said that it’s clear.” He waves his hand in the air, his head, and I try not to laugh at how hilarious his big sexy ass looks right now. “It’s over. No more bad guys.”
“Oh… uh shit, my bad. Cool, cool, cool.” My head bounces up and down as I watch him stand with the ease of some majestic animal. I'm not a zoologist, so fuck if I know what kind, but he looks good getting to his feet.
Well, shit. I wasn’t done ogling.
Taz looks down at me, and his body goes rigid for about two point-five seconds. It takes less than a second for him to be on the move. Before I know what’s happening, Taz is on me, pushing me down without a word, but with a surprisingly gentle touch. Somehow, that has my hand loosening on my gun, which falls to the ground and skids underneath the car. Motherfucker, shit goddamnit, what the actual fuck is this sexy beast doing to me? Before I make a move. He looks at me with pure anger and determination in his eyes.
“Don’t move a fucking inch, Tornado?”
Taz's eyes are alert and have a deadly glint in them. Of course, that has my panties melting and me swooning like a teenage girl. Before I can comment, awareness prickles, my head turns toward what or who has broken yet another damn moment. People need to learn to fuck right off. And holy hell, hulk-man. Taz is on the fucker who brought a knife to a gunfight. I can guess that the dumb fuck thought that since all of his other compadres were down for the count, he’d get one last lick in. I mean, I get it. I know plenty of mercenaries and assassins who use everything but guns to do their killing. But come on, read the room, dude. If you got ninety-nine bullets, what's a knife going to do? Nothing but get you dead.
The punch Taz lands to the guy's jaw has his head snapping to the side and toward me. When my eyes connect to the Hulk-mans, mine narrows as I see a twinkle of mischief in his. Standing, oh no, you don’t, you pig fucker. Pulling away from the car, which has Taz’s head snapped toward me, and his eyes narrowed, letting me know it was not a good idea to come between him and the ass-whipping he plans to dole out. Okey dokey smokey message received. I slump back into the car, attempting to ignore the burning in my leg. Fuck, this shit hurts.
My eyes are on the fucker who licks his lips while staring at me with lust in his eyes. Even while getting his ass kicked, he winks at me like I’m going to be the prize after his kill. My eyes narrow, and my lips tilt. I love it when men underestimate me. Because even if he does best Taz, he won’t be walking out of those gates. I'm not saying Taz can’t take him, but I don’t think in resolutes–shit happens. Either way, the hulk-fucker is going to die. When I lean back further into the car and smile, there is a knowing glint in my eyes. The interaction doesn’t go unnoticed by him or Taz. Hulk-fucker receives a one-two kidney shot for his troubles. Taz doesn’t even look back at me as he loses his shit on ol’ boy. They are grappling for a good minute. The dude is a good inch or two shorter than Taz, but he’s a stalky fucker who eats his Wheaties.
Taz takes hits and receives them. I’m enjoying this show. I should help my man out, but he’s got this. The man can handle his own. Taz is big, but he’s fast. I hear a roar, and Taz grabs my would-be attacker by his throat and picks the motherfucker up. My eyes widen because even though Taz has a few inches on the guy, the guy has a good hundred pounds on him. Taz dead-ass lifts him off the ground like he’s picking up a piece of paper.
I recognize crazy when I see it, and this hulk-fucker is crazy, crazy because while he is being choked out, he looks at me again, licking his fucking lips. Does this motherfucker need ChapStick? What the fuck? Taz’s eyes narrow on the man he has by the neck, and when he sees he’s more worried about looking and taunting me, Taz loses his motherfucking shit. Hot damn.
Taz lifts the guy higher, his feet dangling and kicking. Taz doesn’t feel when the fucker's feet connect with his leg because he slams him hard as fuck on the ground. The dude hasn’t said a word until now, at least that I could hear. He bellows out and lets off a few colorful expletives, making me smile and giggle. Fucking hell, what it is with me and damn giggling. I swear this girly shit is for the birds.
Fucking finally, the fucker seems to get the gravity of the situation that he is about to die because he struggles and fights back, but it is too late for that shit now. Taz isn’t having it. He releases Hulk-man’s neck and unleashes holy hell. When I say he demolishes the man, he is holding nothing back. The punches from Taz come fast and furious. I see blood, teeth, and drool flying everywhere. And it is a beautiful sight, a beautiful mess. And it’s making me horny as shit. That’s a new revelation with this damn man. I never, and I mean never, in all my twenty-eight years of life, been this raring to go watching a man beat the breaks off another. And I like it.
Watching Taz take this guy out is a beautiful thing. Once the dude is dead. Taz stands to his full height, heaving heavy breaths. He pulls his sidepiece and shoots Hulk-man in the head and heart for good measure. I know I should have helped him out. But I was being a good little woman and staying out of it, and it didn’t bother me one bit about being told what to do. It usually would, but we will not be unpacking that anytime soon. Deciding to listen and not pull out one of my knives and go seviche on the fucker. Taz isn’t just a pretty face and muscles. That much is evident by the mangled body at his feet. I guess now I know why they call him Taz.
He looks at me with a heaving chest. I slump back and put my weight on my other leg. There are no more gunshots. I hear some bellows from what sounds like Gunner checking on his club brothers. I let out a sigh of relief. At least he’s still kicking. I may be pissed at the old fucker, but I don’t want him dead. His daughter, um, the jury is still out on that. And I know she’s tucked away safely.
“I got them. Thanks, sister dearest, heading your way,” Sin says, all giddy and shit. I don’t acknowledge her.
Taz stalks toward me, instantly falling to his knees once he reaches me. I let out a hiss as Taz pokes and prods at my leg. He is gentle for a big fucker, but this graze hurts like a motherfucker. I hear a crackle in the coms. These fucking things. Blaze needs to figure out a way for our shit not to get fucked again.
“Bell, don’t be pissed… or be pissed doesn’t matter much. I just blew up a house and three SUVs. We are about a mile and a half from the clubhouse. There were fifteen fuckers at the last count. Looks like they were gearing up with what I’m assuming was their second wave. These fuckers were set up to do some damage. They were armed to the teeth. They had a fifty-cal retrofitted in one of the SUVs.” Blaze says, sounding slightly winded.
“I’m fucking commandeering the hell out of that shit. Yo ho, Yo hum, it’s a fifty cal for ME!!!!” I catch Rocket’s off-key singing over Blaze’s coms. I roll my eyes at my crazy ass cousin and his love for all things big, bad, and deadly.
“Fucking Hell. Get this shit. The property is owned by the damn Rossi’s. They didn’t even try to hide that shit. They have another place they own nearby; we checked out it was empty. I put a few sensors and cameras in place, but left everything else untouched. We’ll see if the fuckers try to use it at a later date. I doubt it, but I’ll check other properties in the surrounding area. I think this attack was to test the waters. The secretive fuckers.” At this point, I know he isn’t talking to me. “Cocksucking, motherfucking pieces of shit. I didn’t have a clue. That. Is. Not. Okay. I need to get back to my programs. These fuckers will not get away with this shit again. Motherfuckers were bold, but I got something for your asses.” I hear flesh meeting flesh. Blaze is breathing heavily now. “When I get back, I need to do some digging. Something isn’t sitting right with me,” Blaze growls out. I shift my position to get comfortable…
“Sit the fuck still,” Taz gently pulls my leg. As someone pours some shit on my leg, which has my eyes widened slightly. Shit, where the fuck did he come from?
Taz sees the confusion in my eyes.
“It’s clear you aren’t the best at being aware of your surroundings. Tornado, Doc… Doc Tornado.” Taz growls out the introduction. Oops, I guess I pissed off grumpy pants more than I thought I did. I should be annoyed or mad or something at his comment. He’s not wrong. This man has my brain all kinds of fucked up. So, I ignored him in favor of listening to the chatter of my team. The man working on my leg just grunts and keeps doing whatever the fuck he is doing, and motherfucker.
“Shit,” I hissed, and my eyes clenched shut.
The guy kneeling next to me rubs something on my leg, and I’m not sure if this heavy-handed fucker knows what he’s doing. So I glare at him, and while he ignores my displeasure, I feel a hand on my cheek, which is warm and inviting and has me leaning into it. I turn my head to Taz, who still has a grumpy face, but his eyes are a little softer than they were before.
“Next time fucking wait for me. I know you are badass and all that. But as a man, my wires get all fucked up regarding women. Especially my woman.” His voice is rough, but his eyes are soft, and I can’t look away.
Holy, what in the hell, batman? My eyes take him in. Letting out a breath and smirk at him. Men and those damn protectors switch. So annoying. Wait, his woman. Oh, tell me more… “I get a little crazy and protective. It will take me a bit to get used to a woman who is a Billy badass and can pew–pew the bad guys.” He winks at me. I hear a snort from the guy patching me up, and I pull my lips into my mouth, trying not to laugh. Then I damn near punch Doc in the face as something stabs me in the leg. I look down and see the fucker has a whole ass needle with thread and is…
“Hold the fuck up, pokey-mc-poke-e-son. You can’t numb a bitch first?” I say through clenched teeth.
“I could, but you seem like the type that can handle it. And because you seem only to be focused on my VP’s dreamy eyes…” he points over his shoulder, and I look up to see Sin standing above us with pure joy and amusement in her eyes, “told me you are allergic to lidocaine, so you’re going to have to bear down and sit still. I only have two more stitches to go. I put in sixteen before you even noticed. So stop being dramatic.” The amusement in his voice has me trying damn hard to give him a death glare. But when he threads my skin, I can’t hold it and wince. I look down, and I’ll be damned. He sure as shit is right. Well, double shit. I need to reevaluate what the power of Taz does to me because that shit is magical.
“Ok, first, we are not skipping that. He just said pew–pew. I’m not ignoring that shit on your life,” Sin says as she cackles, not even attempting to hold in her laughter.
My head snaps up, and my eyes connect with hers. Sin is losing the battle of not losing it completely, but she can’t. She full-on belly laughs so hard that tears run down her face. Taz does everything he can to ignore her, but he even has a smirk on. Eventually, we all lose the battle and begin laughing at my big bad biker's expense. Collecting ourselves takes a few moments, and then it’s back to business. Sin looks down at me with concern in her eyes. I give her a wink to reassure her I’m okay. A little blood loss never killed anybody. Well, it has, but anyway, you get the damn point.
I chuckle as I think about Taz, VP of my father’s club. Huh, my father? That sounds weird even to consider, but I guess it's true. And the fact that his manly ass just said pew–pew after a whole ass shootout. I am getting field stitches without pain relief. The fucking Rossi’s tried to take us out. My brain is all over the place. I’m trying not to laugh, cry, and scream while processing everything.
“WHERE IN THE FUCK ARE MY KIDS?”