Chapter Thirty-TwoAinsley
I never considered all the creature comforts such as food, water, and a soft, warm bed that I enjoyed for as long as I remembered. They just were and I took them for granted. But when one languished in a cage in the trailer of a dead ex-friend those things tended to be missed.
Wizard threw me in the back of the van, shoved Chi Chi aside and drove us back to the Bloody Scorpions’ property. I didn’t want to consider what they’d done to Chi Chi’s body. I’d liked him a lot. We’d gotten to be friends over the three weeks he delivered things to Jinx and me and checked on us daily even when he had nothing to bring.
Gradually, the images of Chi Chi’s death faded into a haze of exhaustion. By the second day, the truth was inescapable. I wouldn’t make it out alive. Nor would my baby. I’d never see Reese again or admit that I loved him.
I hoped Jinx got away from Louisiana. She deserved better than to have his will forced upon her when he’d fucked up so badly. Seeing my parents and my brother, and introducing my baby to them, was my only consolation. I hoped Roman forgave me in the afterlife.
The opening front door pulled me from my lethargy. I was thirsty, hungry, and achy. I couldn’t even raise myself on my knees because the cage was too small, so I remained in a tight ball. Yesterday’s vomit and pee were dried and a sour ammonia smell permeated the room.
The cage door clanged open. Rough hands grabbed my ankles and jerked me onto the floor. Nova had kept a very neat house. She’d liked cleanliness and pretty things. Now, she was gone and what she liked no longer matter. The world wouldn’t know how much I’d valued her and her friendship. Her death wouldn’t matter in the big scheme of things.
Perhaps, death was good. I was so tired of losing the people I loved. I was still grieving my brother, wishing I could see him…
“Get up, Ainsley.”
Asshole couldn’t be serious. “I don’t think I can, Wizard.”
He kicked my back and I cried out in pain. “Stand up.”
“Can’t you just kill me?” I asked tiredly. “Abuse my body afterward.”
“I won’t be able to hear you scream my name.”
“You’re insane if you think I’ll scream in pleasure while you assault me.”
“Scream my name to beg me to put you out of your fucking misery,” he corrected. “Wouldn’t put my cock where a Bastard’s been. I’m too good for that.”
In his own miserable mind.
By now, Reese and the rest of the Royal Bastards must’ve realized I’d been taken. Chi Chi hadn’t returned with the van. I’d hope they would storm the place on my behalf, but it was all a pipe dream.
I was the one who hadn’t been living in reality.
“It’s because of the fucking Bastards that Nova is dead,” he spat, delivering a kick to my thigh and then starting to pace. “They’re the reason my brothers are dropping like flies. They took your brother’s hands, slut, and you were still fucking one of them. If Roman hadn’t been made a cripple, he might still be fucking alive. And you’re delusional enough to think I’d want to fuck a Bastard’s whore? Bitch, please.”
The callous way he talked about my brother’s death made my heart ache. I was so thirsty, my throat hurt. I assumed dehydration was setting in, and yet, tears slid down my cheeks at confirming Roman had been betrayed by his own brothers, men who were supposed to protect him until the end.
“Is that why you killed my brother?” I rasped. “Because he was no longer useful to you? That’s how you repaid his years of service?”
“As if you care, you two timing cunt,” he barked, yanking me up by my hair. I whimpered at his rough handling and my scalp burned. “But for your information, we didn’t kill him. We don’t know what the hell happened to him. We left him in fucking Utah over a month ago, and he ain’t shown up. That can only mean one thing.”
His words should’ve dejected me further. Instead, they gave me a glimmer of hope. Time and time again, Roman defied the odds. He had real-life plot armor, seeming to always escape the most perilous of situations. If no one knew what happened to him, he could still be alive. And if he were alive, assuming he had his freedom, he would’ve seen the video of Proctor, Missile, and Visor breaking into his house and tormenting me, acting against his wishes and Boom Boom’s.
All the pieces fell into place.
It wasn’t the Royal Bastards waging war against the Bloody Scorpions, or Boom Boom trying to reignite the feud. Roman was alive and well, and taking his revenge on anyone who’d wrong him, who’d wronged me .
My survival wasn’t guaranteed. In fact, I’d likely die horrifically. But if Roman was killing people on my behalf, certainly, he didn’t only feel hatred for me. Somewhere in the past few weeks, he must’ve found it in himself to forgive me, and that brought a smile to my face.
Wizard’s slap quickly wiped away my grin, the backhand making spots dance in my vision and blood fill my mouth.
“The fuck you smiling for, bitch?” he roared, his rancid breath fanning over my face and fueling my nausea.
With my empty stomach, it was easy not to vomit. It was harder not to cower, but I wouldn’t play into this fuckhead’s wishes and show my fear.
“Roman isn’t dead. He’ll make you pay,” I stated plainly, narrowly avoiding a kick to my stomach.
Roman wasn’t dead. I let that sink into me. He’d want me to utilize the skills he’d taught me and try to escape.
For me and my baby to have a shot at life. For me and Roman to make-up. For Reese and I to give our relationship a chance, to explore the complicated feelings between us. I wouldn’t go out without a fight. In a them or me situation, Roman taught me to choose me and worry about guilt, fear, horror, or any other emotion later.
“Roman isn’t dead, Wizard.” Reese said I couldn’t kill in cold-blood and that taking a man’s life for the first time stayed with you. I didn’t doubt that, which was why I hoped Wizard listened to reason. “If you help me, he’ll remember that. He’ll spare you.”
Wizard chuckled with zero humor, shaking his head as he approached again. “You’ve always been a stupid bitch, living in your own world. Roman is dead. There’s no one in this world who cares about you, so give the fuck up, Ainsley. Do yourself a favor and stop fighting.”
Ha.
As if.
My response to his words was to grab his ankles, using all my strength to yank. He howled as he landed on his ass. By sheer will, I made it to my feet, wobbling to the gun that lay abandoned on Nova’s kitchen island. Why Wizard would be dumb enough to remove his weapons, I didn’t know, nor did I care. His stupidity gave me the shot I needed.
“I’ll cut your fucking baby out, you stupid whore!” he snarled, his voice too close behind me for comfort.
I cried out as his fingers tangled in my curls, but not before my hand grasped his gun. Wizard was too enraged to notice, a mistake on his part. He threw me onto the floor and loomed over me. Intense dread washed over me at the menacing look in his eyes. Before he could strike, I aimed the gun and fired.
Depravation of food, water, and comfort meant I couldn’t shoot as well as I typically could. My goal was to hit a vital location, and I did. Yet, instead of shooting his head, heart, or stomach, the bullet lodged in his scrotum. I’d never heard such a pained yowl. His hands clutched his injured crotch, tears streaming down his face as his legs gave out.
“Fucking hell!” he screeched, his shaky voice an octave higher.
I scrambled out of the way, not wanting to be pinned under him. He was losing blood quickly; hemorrhaging would finish him off if I didn’t. But Roman had taught me to never leave an enemy breathing. With his advice in mind, I forced myself to put the gun to Wizard’s head and pull the trigger, putting an end to his cries. The gunshots in the small trailer made my ears ring and my stomach heave at the blood and gore. Wizard stared sightlessly up.
The oppressive silence sank in, as did the knowledge that I’d killed a man. Dully, I realized Reese was right. This would haunt me.
My entire body trembled, my shaky hands making it difficult to hold the gun. A sob tore from my throat, and when I made the mistake of glancing at Wizard again—a man I’d known since I was a child—my stomach turned.
I’d killed someone, and because of me, blood and brain matter were all over the walls of my dead best friend’s home.
The thought made me hunch over, the gun clattering to the floor as I dry heaved. My stomach was empty, but the stench of the room, the gore surrounding me, and the knowledge of what I’d just done made me retch for minutes. When I finally got control of myself, I grabbed the gun from the ground, though I hadn’t stopped shaking, nor had my tears ceased.
Pocketing the weapon, I pinched myself, praying this was just a nightmare. My surroundings staying the same caused me to cry harder, and I jumped at the sudden yells in the distance.
Fear assaulted me, and I took the pistol back in my hands, whimpering as gunshots joined the ruckus. Shit was popping off outside, and as the noise drew nearer, I knew it wouldn’t be long until I found out the source of the commotion. The gun was my only chance, but even still, I’d be outnumbered. One girl could only do so much with one gun, especially against several armed men.
I glanced at the cage and considered crawling inside to hide. My vomit and piss made me dismiss the idea. Instead, I hurried to Nova’s bedroom. Her bed was low to the ground, but I could crawl under. It was a tight squeeze; however, after time in the cage, it was nothing.
My hiding spot wasn’t the best, but it was better than being a sitting duck in the open. Now, the only thing I could do was formulate a better plan, and hope I made it out alive.