Chapter 13
Thirteen
HITTER
P rez and I were already heading to our bikes the minute we figured out our women were gone. I have a tracker on Izzy’s phone, and Swift has at least two on Piper. When she answered, I couldn’t reign in my fury. They left and didn’t tell anyone. She could have gotten hurt. I was straddling my bike when I heard her scream and an unfamiliar male voice on the other end of the line. I look at Swift. His face is etched with fury, and I know he must have heard it, too. I try to call Izzy’s name again and again, but she doesn’t reply.
Heart pounding, fear and fury coursing through every cell in my body, we rev up and take off toward the location where her phone last pinged. My emotions have never been so all over the place as they are right now. I have been in war zones, for fuck’s sake, with my life on the line, and never has fear gripped me like it is in this moment. I know the only thing that will soothe the beast raging inside of me is having Izzy in my arms.
We are driving down the road faster than I’ve ever ridden before, weaving in and out of traffic, but I don’t give a fuck. I can only think of getting to my woman as fast as possible. Someone has a fucking death wish if they think they can even come near what is mine. If there’s even a hair out of place on my woman’s head, there’s nowhere the fucker will be able to hide.
We pull into the parking lot not even five minutes later, and I see Izzy and Piper on the ground. I don’t know if I should scream or laugh at the situation. There’s a man on the ground in front of them, and it looks like he’s not moving. The fucker had his ass handed to him and is out cold. I shake my head as I dismount from my bike, not even turning it off. All I know is I need to get to my woman. Once I see with my own eyes she’s not harmed, then I can deal with this motherfucker.
“What the fuck happened?” Swift asks before I can. Not waiting for him to ask any more questions or get their reply, I’m running toward my crying woman and pulling her into my arms. I loosen my grip just enough to back away slightly and immediately start checking over every inch of her body.
“Are you hurt anywhere, my love?” I ask her softly, and she shakes her head no. Izzy’s already had the shit scared out of her with this fucker, and even though I’m fuming, I try to keep my voice gentle so she knows she’s safe. I sigh deeply, seeing she’s not hurt and calming down. I turn my focus to the side when I hear Swift’s quick intake of breath, followed by cursing. When I look at his Ol’ Lady, I see a bruise already forming on her cheek. The fucker hit Piper. I watch as Swift steps over to the asshole lying on the ground and lays into him. Kicking, punching, beating the fucker up.
“Hayden, stop. I already kicked his ass; he only got that one hit in on me,” Piper yells, just as we are starting to draw attention. I give Izzy a small kiss on the cheek before heading to my Prez and grabbing hold of his back.
“You can’t kill him here, Prez. We’re drawing people’s eyes. Let’s get him loaded up and taken back to the clubhouse. We’ll find out all the answers we need and have some fun with him after that,” I tell him, and I feel him relent. He shakes off my hold, only to step back to Piper and pull her into his arms. I take out my phone and send a quick text to Comp to have someone bring the van, putting it away when I get a 10-4 response from him.
“He didn’t hit you in the stomach, did he?” Swift whispers to Piper, but I hear it anyway. I know Izzy does, too, by her surprised intake of breath.
“Are you pregnant?” Izzy asks Piper.
“Yes, I am. No, I didn’t get hit in the stomach, though. I’m fine,” Piper says, smiling at us.
“She kicked ass. I didn’t see it, but I heard it, and she is amazing. I want to be like her when I grow up. Seriously though, you promise that you’re fine?” Izzy asks her worriedly.
“I promise I’m fine, but we are still keeping it a secret since it’s still early,” Piper says, placing her hand on her belly.
It makes me crave that with Izzy, but I know it’s too soon. Seeing her round with our baby, though, I swear that’s the sexiest thought I’ve ever had. Fuck me. I’m instantly hard just thinking about running my hands over her swollen belly as I fuck her from behind. Damn, I really need to rein it in before I bust a nut in my pants. Now’s not the time for those thoughts.
“We are having a party next Saturday; we’re going to announce it there,” Swift says with a big ass grin, making Piper roll her eyes.
“I wanted to wait at least another month before telling anybody, but this big guy can’t wait that long,” she says, but she’s smiling bigger than I’ve ever seen.
“Make sure Cutter’s there, Prez. With his equipment,” I say, looking him dead in the eyes. I know he and Piper get my meaning when they both grin at me, then turn that shit-eating grin on Izzy. Good thing she can’t see it; it might just scare her the fuck off.
“Bout damn time, brother,” Swift says.
“A sister, a best friend, and now you’ll be an aunt. You’ve been pretty busy around here, haven’t you, Izzy?” Piper jokes with her, and I wrap my arms around Izzy, holding her tight. I’m so ecstatic she’s making a home here with me. She needs it almost as much as I need her. Now I know I need to sort this shit out as soon as possible to keep her safe. I’ll make sure no one tries to take her from this life, from me, again.
“Did the fucker say anything to you, or did he just try to grab you?” I ask Izzy, needing to get answers without upsetting her.
“He said something about people looking for me to try to claim me for my family’s territory…” she says, holding her head high and refusing to let the tears I see in her eyes fall. She’s always been strong, but damn, she’s coming into her own, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. My woman is one in a million and fucking mine.
“I won’t let anyone take you from me, Angel. I swear on my life, I will burn down the entire fucking planet before I let someone else near you,” I promise her, kissing her softly as she stands on her tiptoes, offering me her lips.
“Prospects are here, brother. Let’s get him loaded up before too many people see,” Prez tells us as we walk over, pick the fucker up, and throw him face-first into the back of the van. I look up, and only one lady is looking our way. She gives us a wide smile as I raise a brow at her.
“Oh, I saw what that fucker did to your women. I was about to jump on his back and gouge his eyes out. But your girl there,” the young woman says, pointing to Piper, “She had it all handled. She’s a badass. Almost as much as me, but I wouldn’t have stopped when he passed out. You don’t have to worry about me talking; I didn’t see shit.” She winks, then laughs.
Something about this woman and her evil cackle reminds me of someone. I can’t put my finger on it, but before I can ask her what her name is, she puts out her cigarette and walks back toward the store across the lot.
“Who in the hell was that?” I ask, completely confused by that whole encounter.
“She told us her name was Halle, asked if we were alright, then watched over us until you got here,” Piper says, throwing her leg over the back of Swift’s bike. I lead Izzy to mine and hold her hand while she does the same.
“What about Piper’s car?” she asks me.
“One of the prospects will bring it back to the compound. We need to take it to the shop and make sure there are no trackers or anything on it before either of you get back in it,” I tell her, knowing Swift wouldn’t let Piper in or even near that thing without it being secured by our guys.
“At least I get a ride in today, huh?” Izzy says with a shaky smile. She’s being so fucking brave and holding her own. I’m so proud of her after being attacked and, what it looks like, nearly kidnapped.
“Hey, Prez, let’s take the long way home. Give the women some time to calm down and the prospects to get that asshole ready for us,” I say, giving Swift an evil grin that he returns. I know we are both itching to get back, get some answers, and make that bastard pay, but making our women happy and safe will always be our number one priority.
“Who the fuck do you work for?” I ask, hitting the guy square in the mouth. I smile as he spits out a tooth, but still refuses to answer me.
“You know, the last guy who didn’t answer our questions? His body is still in the back room. Haven’t had a chance to dig his hole yet. Come to think of it, that’s probably a good thing. I can put you both in the same hole. Less work for me. Come on, let me show you who you’ll be bunking with for the rest of existence,” Loki says, taking the back of the chair the guy is chained to and dragging it toward the back of the cellar.
I look over at Prez, lifting an eyebrow in question. He smirks, but lifts a shoulder in a shrug. Looks like he’s just as confused about what the hell Loki is doing as I am. We hear a high-pitched girl-like scream coming from the fucker as Loki drags him in from the back. Loki takes his sweet ass time, still keeping the fucker in view of the back, as he slams him down in the middle of the floor.
“I’ll tell you whatever you want. Please, please, for the love of God, just keep that sick fucker away from me,” the guy pleads, starting to cry. I look over his shoulder at a grinning Loki.
“What the hell did you say to him, brother?” I ask the crazy fucker.
“Nothing… Now, why would you think I said anything bad to the guy? I’m kinda hurt by that assumption, brother. Not my fault the pussy saw his first dead body and started giving me all sorts of information,” Loki says, but by the evil smile on his face, I know that wasn’t all Loki said. At least it got the job done. His crazy ass had a good time doing it, too.
The pussy gives us every bit of information we ask for, side-eyeing Loki the whole time.
“Now tell me exactly how many people want my woman?” I ask calmly, even though all I want to do is rip this guy’s limbs off one by one and shove them straight up his ass. When I’m done with him, I’ll hunt down everyone who even thinks they have a right to say my angel’s name.
“Three powerful groups. The Irish, for one, the Devils Cross MC, and Deaths Angels MC. Right now, the Deaths Angels MC has all the control, but it won't be good if any of these three get hold of your woman. Whoever gets her will have full control of the Reyes family’s territory. Although, when word gets out that she’s protected by the Reckless Omens, I know all but one of those groups would back down,” he tells me, and I’m fucking furious.
“Hitter, how about you head out and go to your woman, man? Make sure she’s alright. We’ll finish up and take care of this guy,” Swift tells me, and I give him a chin lift. Usually, I would be the first to fight to take this guy out, and put him ten feet under, but I want to see Izzy. I also know this guy punched Piper in the face, so fucker has to pay his dues. I’ll give the pleasure of ending the motherfucker’s life to Swift.
I pass by Loki, who’s looking bored, standing by the cellar door as I leave. I look over at him and smirk.
“I thought the prospect buried Hector out back a week ago?” I lift a brow. He looks at me with a big grin on his face, and I swear I see a twinkle in his eye.
“They did. I thought it would be fun to take some rolled-up carpet, put Hector’s shoes at the end, and pour fake blood over it to make it look like a dead body. Worked like a fucking charm,” he says, still smiling but with a sadistic chuckle, primarily to himself.
“Still ain’t going to tell me what you said to him, are you?” I ask, and he just laughs.
One thing I know without a doubt, with the crazy-ass shit Loki comes up with, I’m glad he’s a brother and on our side. He’s one of the best brothers, but you'll wish you were never born if you get on his bad side. He’ll make your worst nightmares look like a fucking spring day. I shake my head at these thoughts before going back upstairs and to my woman.