40. Chapter Forty
I jump as the hand lands on my shoulder. I should have known not to turn my back on an empty hallway, but like the dumb girl in a horror movie, I did. Now the villain is right behind us and has both Pike and I are completely at his mercy. We are fucked.
I move the gun Pike handed me in between my legs praying that I can keep it wedged between my thighs.
I don’t let myself focus on the way the gun rubs against my already worked up core. These assholes better have a good excuse for their interruption. Lady blue balls certainly weren’t what I had in mind when Pike pulled me down that empty hallway.
A lump sits in my throat as I take in the scene around me. I spot Dawson and Nicky protecting two of the girls who are holding each other and weeping quietly. I see the fear in their eyes and anger boils inside of me. Knowing bits of what some of these girls have been through has me gritting my teeth .
They were promised freedom when we saved them. Protection. Not this chicken shit bullshit.
I stumble as we are brought to the centre of the stand off.
I lock eyes with Dad.
He’s putting a damn good bravado of being cool, calm and collected but his eyes betray him.
I give him a slight nod to let him know that I’m okay, even if there is a small part of me that is freaking out. What I’ve learnt these past weeks in my training goes through my head like a rerun.
Locate your exits. Done.
Does the enemy have weapons? Yes. A fuck ton of them based on the ones I can see.
How many of them are there? Six including the Jack Sparrow wannabe that shoves us into position before walking around us and chuckling. He’s really rolling with the pirate core aesthetic, sporting an eye patch over his left eye. It does sweet fuck all to hide the rest of the scaring on his hideous face. All he’s missing is a wooden leg and a parrot on his shoulder. But judging by the limp he has, maybe he does have a wooden leg after all.
I try to hide a snort but fail, gritting my teeth as the five men turn to look at me.
“Got something to say girl?”
I jolt as I take in the man in front of me. I try to keep surprise off my face but I know I fail.
The carbon copy of Dad stands opposite him. My gaze darts between the two men.
There’s no way .
“I can see you see the family resemblance between your President and I,” he chuckles before pausing, holding up a finger, “or should I say your false president. A poser if you will. A man sitting on a stolen throne.”
Dad snorts, “My position has always been mine Clinton, you and I both know that. Father even dismissed your attempts to claim it from me.”
Clinton grunts, “That old bastard always saw something in you. I imagine he would be rolling in his grave if he knew just how far the Thunderbirds have fallen from his time.”
Dad chuckles, “Fallen is certainly an interesting word to describe the current state of my club, Clinton.” A menacing look comes over his face as he tips his head to the side. “We’ve certainly been making things difficult for you haven’t we? Seen a drop in sales recently?”
Clinton clicks his tongue, “You have been pesky that’s for sure, brother. But there are many things even the great Ren Crux still doesn’t know.”
“Oh, do share Clinton. It's not like you to not boast about your crimes,” Dad says, spreading his arms wide, like he’s giving him the floor.
My uncle takes a step forward and I stiffen as each gun trains in on him tighter. He just chuckles seemingly unfazed by it all. Maybe he is. There’s a gleam in his eye. A psychotic one that tells me he doesn’t have a conscience anymore.
“You have a traitor in your club,” Clinton’s smile widens as Dad and the guy’s fathers each stiffen. I feel Pike harden beside me and I will myself not to clutch onto him like I'm desperate to.
Clinton slowly starts to laugh, the sound echoed by his minions that stand behind him.
“That’s exactly how I know that my darling niece wasn’t killed that fateful day.” My spine snaps straight as Pike immediately tries moving me behind his back in an attempt to protect me. I catch Rhodes out of the corner of my eye standing, as he slowly makes his way over to the group. His weapon remains tight on our uncle.
Clinton’s eyes light up as he spots Rhodes, “Ah, nephew. It truly is a family reunion.
“Tell me boy, how do you feel about your once presumed dead sister taking back the role that has been yours these past however many years?”
Rhodes chuckles, shaking his head as he comes to stand next to Pike and I.
“Good try, Clinton. You think that I’m threatened by my sister taking back what is rightfully hers? I’m not like you. It's an honour to stand by my sister’s side.”
My heart soars at Rhodes’ declaration. I’m not going to lie in saying that I didn’t have worries that he held resentment towards me for coming back and taking what he has worked so hard towards. I turn to look at him and find his eyes already on me. He gives me a small nod, one I return.
He’s got my back and I’ve got his. Just like we always should have.
“Fool!” Clinton’s voice booms as he looks at the both of us in disgust. “You have ruined your son, Ren! Filling his head with the ideology that women are good for anything more than the hole between their legs. ”
“Don’t forget the other two holes, boss.” One of Clinton’s lackey’s shouts, causing the six men to holler.
I curl my lip in disgust. Forcing myself out of Pike’s grip, I grab the gun still wedged between my thighs pulling it out and aiming it right at Clinton.
“See that’s where you have fallen short in your belief on the values of a woman. Not only are we fucking incredible in bed, we can also spot a man with an ego large enough to compensate for his small cock.”
I hear a few of our men snort and I can’t keep the satisfaction off my face as the expression on Clinton’s drops.
I take a few steps towards the centre of the stand off, ignoring the curses and mutters from behind me.
“See Uncle Clint, women are so much stronger than men will ever be. It would be wise if you took a few lessons from your betters,” I smile maliciously.
Clinton chuckles, “You have such vicious words for a meek little thing, niece. It reminds me of those few days you spent with me all those years ago.”
I stiffen but keep my gun trained on him. It takes all of my strength not to shake under his glare as his eyes look over my body. My stomach curls at the look in his eyes, at the way he looks at me and not in a way an uncle should ever look at their niece.
“You’ve certainly grown into a beautiful young woman. When you are mine again, I’ll have to make sure I keep that mouth full.”
The room erupts in curses and shouts but I don’t move a single muscle as I keep the centre of Clinton’s chest locked in my sight. I know it would all be over with the pull of the trigger.
It doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots to know that this is the man that stole my life from me. The man who broke up my family. Who stole my memories. Who broke my boys.
Not again.
My finger slips down to the trigger but Clinton catches the movement.
“Ah ah, darling niece. I wouldn’t do that if I was you.” He shakes his head, clicking his tongue. Patronising me like a young child.
“Give me one reason not to put a bullet in your skull right now. You took everything from me. It's only fair that I do the same to you,” I say as I run my finger over the side of the trigger.
Clinton laughs, “Not when a bullet is already destined for your boy.”
My gaze snaps to one of the guys behind Clinton, his gun aimed at Pike.
It feels like my entire world slows down as my hands drop, the gun that was once in my hand falling to the ground. I watch as the man's finger caresses the trigger, shouting as dread overcomes me.
Just as he pulls the trigger, I jump in front of Pike just as the second bullet fires, screaming as I feel both bits of lead tear into my flesh.
All I feel is pain.
The world around me buzzes as I slowly start falling to the ground. More gun shots and yelling sound off around me but I can’t give it the attention.
All I feel is the two wounds as pain travels through my body.
Arms capture me before I hit the ground. They cradle me to their chest as I’m slowly brought to the ground. I scream as I feel pressure on my thigh .
“Scarlett, baby. Please stop squirming, I need to stop the bleeding.” A voice breaks through the ringing but I can’t place it.
“Star. Star. No. No. Not again.” A voice panics as I hear a body dropping down beside me. A hand tries to grip the one hand not against the body holding me but pain shoots up my arm, making me scream out.
“Fuck, she took two bullets.” One of the voices yells.
Someone else applies pressure to the bullet hole in my arm and I cry out again.
“Fucking cunt,” I yell as my world slowly comes back into focus.
Sonny is leaning over me, his face drained of colour but he attempts to smile as I look back at him. “There’s my girl. You stay awake for us okay, mi alma.”
I grit my teeth as the pressure on my leg gets tighter, “Fuck you, Sonny.”
He chuckles darkly, “That’s it baby, keep swearing at me.” He looks down at my body, his face blanching as he looks at someone in front of me. “Have any of you bastardos called the fucking doc yet?”
Someone mutters beside me but I don’t hear what they are saying as my hearing and vision start to buzz again.
“Fuck! She is losing way too much blood!”
“Scarlett.” A quiet voice begs from above me, I groan as I blink a few times, willing my vision to clear again.
Dacre has taken Sonny’s spot as he looks down at me.
“Hey, sweet boy,” I moan as another shockwave of pain travels through my body.
“Star, you keep your eyes open and focused on me okay?” he pleads with me. I try to nod but the movement causes me to cry out again .
“It's okay, baby. You just stay still. Let Dawson and Nicky staunch that bleeding until the doctor gets here okay.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
I hear the boys sigh in relief as I stop struggling and allow them to hold pressure to the bullet holes.
Tears stream down Dacre’s face as he looks down at my body.
“Sweet boy,” I mumble, immediately getting his attention. He looks down at me and one of his tears drops to my face, mixing with the tears streaming down my own.
“I love you, Dacre.”
He smiles, choking as more tears fall from his face.
“Of course, you would say those words in a moment like this,” he chuckles through the tears.
“I had to tell you,” I whisper, feeling the once unbearable pain slowly being numbed.
A cool calmness washes over me as I smile at him before looking at the man who is holding me.
Pike.
“I love you too, Pike.” He immediately starts shaking his head no.
“No, don’t you fucking dare Princess. I know what you are thinking and I refuse,” he chokes, shaking his head, “Our time isn’t over yet. We only just got you back and I’m not losing you.”
I smile at him, before turning my head to Nicky, Dawson and Sonny who are standing over me.
Three matching ghost white faces look down at me. Panic filled in each set of eyes.
“I love you three so fucking much.”
Dawson shakes his head as he pushes tighter to my wound. I wish I could say I can feel the pain but all I feel is pressure. A loan tear rolls down his cheek.
“Don’t you dare go trying to utter a goodbye to us right now, Vixen. You aren’t done torturing us. I know you are desperate to see me on my knees before you and we can’t do that if you give up right now,” he says as another tear rolls down his cheek. “Don’t you dare give up.” He demands of me and I hold onto his words just as everything starts to go hazy around me.
How could I not confess my deepest feelings for them? They have haunted me for almost a year now. They’ve been stored away until the time was right. Right now is as good a time as any.
Delirium takes over as I continue muttering confessions. I don’t even know if I even make sense right now. Each word seems to slur even more. I think one of the figures hovering over me said to keep my attention on them but I can’t remember.
I think I can hear shouts and cursing around me, my body jolting and the pressure on my arm lessening for a moment as the body holding me stands and begins to run. Or I think it does.
I grunt as the body launches us into what I can assume is a car.
“Go, fucking drive!” are the last words I hear as everything slowly fades out of existence and black encases my world.