Chapter Thirty-ThreeRomanReese
I never thought I’d be considering Ainsley’s funeral.
Then again, I never thought my hands would be chopped off and replaced by prosthetics, that I’d turn against the club I’d grown up in, that a man I once idolized would become someone on the top of my kill list. Clearly, my life had changed a lot over the past several months. Ainsley was at the center of these changes because without her relationship with Sinclair, I’d be dead.
But because of it, she might be.
I’d long ago stopped believing in any God, but as I walked into the clubhouse of the Bloody Scorpions, I prayed we’d rescue Ainsley and not recover her body. However, I knew the chances of that were slim, and it tore me up inside that she died thinking I despised her.
Was I pissed at her? Like all hell.
Did I hate her? Impossible.
I nodded to those who greeted me, but in reality, I barely registered their words. If— when —Ainsley’s body was brought to me, I’d give her a proper funeral. Not many people would show up, as most people we’d been close to were Bloody Scorpions. Yet, I’d still make sure I’d honor her life, before laying her to rest with our parents.
When that was done, I’d drink my sorrows away and drown in pussy. I’d pay for London’s freedom, my last act of goodwill. Then I’d spend my final day riding on my bike and listening to my favorite songs, until I arrived somewhere peaceful and pretty, somewhere fitting as my final resting place. I’d drink that expensive bottle of liquor I’d been planning to gift Ainsley when she graduated from college—a little liquid courage—then shoot myself in the fucking head.
I’d be all alone in the world, and a world without my little sister wasn’t one worth living in.
“You look well, boy,” Boom Boom greeted as I approached his table. “Bash hooked you up good.”
It took everything in me to return his smile. “Sure did.”
If he realized how much effort it took for my civility, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he looked at Easton, who was flanking me. Tio was somewhere nearby, up high with a sniper rifle, waiting to pick people off.
When he crossed that task off the list, he’d drive the van full of explosives onto club grounds.
“Your daddy told me he had a deal, Easton. Any clue what it is?” Boom Boom asked DeLuca
Remaining silent, Easton shrugged in response.
“Ainsley,” I said simply, getting to the heart of the matter. The sooner I brought her up, the sooner we’d get the show on the road. If I had to smile in his fucking ugly mug a moment longer than needed, I’d lose my shit and ruin everything. “Bash is offering monetary compensation in addition to a deal you will find very beneficial if you give her to me.”
“All well and good,” Boom Boom said after a moment. “ If I had her.”
Hate was too mild a fucking word for what I felt for Boom Boom. I despised him. I wanted to cleave him in fucking half and second line in his fucking blood. I wanted to twist his fucking head off and throw his corpse into fucking flames. Ainsley hated that scene in Twilight . Since she made me watch it with her over and over, I found something to look forward to. That was one of the best fucking scenes ever when that tracker motherfucker met his demise.
I covered my face with my hands and heaved in a breath, my heart shattering as the reality hit me. Boom Boom had probably already dismembered her. My stomach heaved and I turned, not caring any more.
“What makes you think that cunt’s here?” Boom Boom’s voice broke through my devastation. “She probably went to Sinclair and he buried her. Like he did Nova.”
My nostrils flared and I opened my mouth to spit in his fucking face and tell him I killed that bitch.
“I need to talk to some of your boys,” Easton inserted, throwing me a look of warning, forever a discerning fuckhead.
Boom Boom's eyes flickered between us. “Which ones?”
“Motherfuckers on gate duty,” Easton answered without missing a beat. “If you didn’t know Ainsley is here, then someone betrayed you and took her without your knowledge. Bash wants her soon. He paid you well for her.”
“He did,” Boom Boom agreed and looked at my prosthetics. “Although he managed to get most of it back for Roman’s care, I can see my money didn’t go to waste.”
He looked at me, and I nodded, knowing he expected allegiance and appreciation. I’d stomp his fucking corpse.
He rubbed his chin. “There’s more money involved, Easton?”
“A lot more. More than you can imagine. As a matter of fact, Bash has an unexpected bonus thrown in. I just need to talk to the ones on gate duty,” he repeated.
To my ears, DeLuca sounded like a phony motherfucker, one worthy of suspicion. But Boom Boom—a man I thought was so goddamn brilliant at one time—just nodded.
“All right, boy. Go do what you need to do. See if Ainsley’s here and let me know what you discover.”
Easton and I exchanged a look. Even as a kernel of hope unfurled in me, I wondered if he was setting us up, but as DeLuca left, nothing happened. I considered following behind him. Not to act as a bodyguard, but to kill those assholes myself. Some blood might get my head in the game. Yet, I knew that would also show our hand too early. To the knowledge of the Bloody Scorpions, I was still one of them.
“Sit down, boy,” Boom Boom ordered, waving at an empty seat at his table. I obeyed, though sensation traveled down my arms, my nerve endings twitching to fuck him up. “How long do I have to deliver that cunt to him?”
I gritted my teeth, hating how he referred to my little sister.
“As soon as possible. Where is she?”
His expression grew steely. “I don’t know what you mean, Roman. If she’s here, it isn’t by my doing.”
The Bastards weren’t far behind us. Once the gate was open, they’d flood the place, and the siege could begin.
“I know you took her, Prez.” It took great restraint to keep my tone even, when all I wanted to do was cuss that motherfucker out as I gutted him. “I want to deliver her to Bash personally since he was so instrumental in fast-tracking my mobility. So, where is she?”
He studied me for a moment, examining my face, looking for any signs of deception. I wasn’t sure if he liked what he saw, and I didn’t give a damn. If I kicked the bucket now, as long as Easton, Tio, Reese, and everyone else did their jobs, Ainsley still had a chance.
“I’ve been reconsidering the sale,” he announced, leaning back in his chair and taking a swig of his beer. “Might just send him a different bitch. Two, maybe, to apologize. He lost Nova too, so it’s only fair.”
My emotions went into a tailspin again and dipped to the lowest of the low. The smidgeon of hope disintegrated and I felt like weeping. Anger at my own thoughtlessness swirled in me.
Had women always been treated with such disregard at the club? Was I that fucking blind?
I wasn’t the most progressive man, but I didn’t harm a woman without cause. My father beat my ass if I showed any disrespect to my mother, who I loved dearly. And from the moment Ainsley was born, I adored her. When I became her guardian, I couldn’t hang around the club as much, too focused on raising her and teaching her important life skills.
Because some of the other members helped me with getting Carol to safety, I believed that Boom Boom’s abuse was the exception, a fluke that wouldn’t happen again.
I’d been wrong, and if I had noticed it earlier, Ainsley might still be here.
“Bash paid for Ainsley. He doesn’t like being double-crossed,” I said, knowing for a fact fucking with that madman was a death sentence.
“Your whore of a sister got my baby girl killed, Roman,” he growled, goading my temper. “Death is what she deserves.”
Mercifully, the sounds of gunshots reached me. It had every member of the club on high alert. I mimicked those around me, looking around and standing, pretending to be as clueless as everybody else. When those motherfuckers pulled their pieces, so did I. I’d been practicing for this moment. My aim was no longer as solid as it once was, but it was decent enough, despite what I said to Sinclair.
The moment the club doors burst open and Royal Bastards flooded in, I shot the assholes surrounding Boom Boom.
I wanted to save him for last.
The shock on his face, the betrayal that flashed in his eyes, made me want to laugh.
“Surprise, motherfucker,” I said, smirking at him, though I felt nothing but rage.
His flicker of fear satisfied me, but I didn’t have time to savor it. Chaos erupted, and he disappeared into the crowd.
No matter. I’d find him later and make him pay.
For now, I’d kill as many assholes as possible, then blow this bitch to smithereens.
If I wasn’t out of my mind with fucking worry over Ainsley, I might be concerned about Roman. He was a goddamn lunatic, plain and simple, who didn’t seem to fear a thing. Fear, while a hindrance in some situations, is ultimately meant to keep you alive. It’s your instinct’s way of warning you that something is wrong and your fucking life may be in danger. An absence of fear, therefore, made you a loose cannon with no regard for life, yours or anyone else’s.
A fucking fitting description for Roman fucking Mac. The only person he gave two shits about was Ainsley. His love for his sister drove him to plan the slaughter of his own club brothers and risk his life trying to retrieve her.
Even if it was only her corpse.
The thought of Ainsley dead nearly sent me into a frenzy, filling me with unmatched sorrow and grief. Unlike Roman, I couldn’t psych myself up. Once again, I noted that I had nothing to compare to Ainsley’s loss. Not my family’s or Trinity’s. There had been a wall between Trinity and me. Deep down, I knew we weren’t meant to be, and my instinct prevented me from lowering my guard. Just as I’d done with Ainsley, except this time, she was carrying my child and it was my fear of intimacy that created the wall. I hadn’t wanted to face losing her as I had my mother, father, brother, and sister. I hadn’t wanted to truly commit myself as her man and the father of her child because I was a coward.
Now, I might never get the chance to be the man she deserved or the dad my father had been. If she wasn’t alive, then neither was our baby.
I felt sick, terrified, and so goddamn regretful, it physically pained me.
“Let’s move!” Razor’s voice broke into my thoughts. “The gate’s open.”
I forced myself back into the moment, barely able to wait until Louisiana twirled his hand in the air and gave the signal to ride.
He’d threatened to handcuff Jinx to the bed, but Razor intervened by threatening her father. He’d secured her agreement that she’d return to work at the bar. Or else .
Loyalty to our club and the brothers came above everything for Razor. Louisiana wanted Jinx and that was all that mattered.
We blazed onto the Bloody Scorpions’ grounds, kicking up dust and rocks. The scent of exhaust fumes and motor oil were like a drug to me. I was amongst the first to dismount. I turned, just in time to see Louisiana roll over one of the fuckheads Tio had brought down with a headshot.
He rode to me as my brothers dismounted and began rushing into the clubhouse. “I’m getting the van and bringing it onto the grounds so we can transport Ainsley once we find her.” He didn’t give me a chance to respond before he sped away, heading toward the gate, then circling around the perimeter as if I couldn’t see.
I suspected he was going rogue and off script to kill some Bloody Scorpions before their motherfucking clubhouse was blown off the face of the goddamn Earth. Risky fucking move, but one I couldn’t care about right now. My only concern was Ainsley.
Bolt shoved me and shot some fuckhead who appeared from nowhere, the sound of the gunfire forcing me to focus. If he hadn’t been there, I might’ve got my head blown the hell off.
“Pay attention, boy,” he barked.
I swallowed and nodded, reminding myself what was at stake. “Sorry,” I mumbled, that near-fatal mistake making me feel like a scolded child.
“Don’t apologize, just keep your head in the game,” Bolt ordered. “Stick to the fucking plan! Let’s go.”
Two minutes after we headed deeper onto the club’s property, we ran across another fuckhead, and I slammed my pistol against his temple. Time was of the essence, but I needed to get some of my aggression out.
“Fuck!” he hollered, the force of my blow dropping the motherfucker to the ground.
Before he had another chance to react, I shot him. Bolt didn’t say a thing, understanding how I felt and seeing all Bloody Scorpions as the enemy. We started off again, moving toward where we suspected she was being held captive.
We had a rough idea of her location. Thanks to Easton, we’d been able to tap into the Bloody Scorpions’ CCTV. Their security measures were laughable. Cameras were only located in a few select areas, none of which contained Ainsley. The clubhouse was ruled out entirely. Her most likely location—if she hadn’t been disposed of—was the small trailer park on the back side of the property. Only the front of the club had cameras, so we couldn’t confirm our guess. The grounds of the Bloody Scorpions’ club were compact and square, nowhere as big as the Royal Bastards’. There were only so many places she could be, so sooner or later, we’d stumble across her.
The trailers were in sight. We were getting closer to Ainsley, to saving her from the torment she must’ve endured. We just had to stay alive to do so.
The screams and gunshots echoing from the clubhouse assured me Roman and his allies were doing their part just fine. Failing to do my part would let them down and put our lives at risk.
More fuckers spilled out from the side and back entrances, too pussy to fight back. Bullets were punishment for their cowardice. Bolt and I mowed them down before they had a chance to pull their weapons. None of them was Boom Boom. Their Prez had left them to hang, and now, he was hiding like a pussy.
After I completed Ainsley’s extraction, I’d hunt that motherfucker down and give him special treatment. Our chapter didn’t breach many enemy clubs, but I kept my Glock 17 with extended magazine for any tense situation. Couldn’t run out of fucking bullets in the middle of a fire fight.
Killing Scorpions was second-nature to me, a knee-jerk reaction I didn’t think about. However, as we neared the trailers, I realized that reaction would make our job harder. I needed one of them to talk and point me in the right direction. So, when a young, lanky motherfucker stumbled in the same direction we were heading, his shoulder oozing blood, I pistol whipped him. But this time, when he dropped to his knees, I didn’t shoot, though he held a gun in each hand.
“Drop your weapons,” I ordered, ignoring Bolt’s confused look.
The kid was no older than twenty-five and scrambled to obey.
I waved my gun at his hands and he popped them into the air.
“Scoot back,” I said, another command he immediately listened to.
“I-I’ll do whatever you want, man, just chill the fuck out,” he stammered, his eyes nervously darting between Bolt and me.
Perfect.
“Where’s Ainsley?”
“Nova’s place,” he answered without a second thought. “It’s the central white trailer with pink decorations outside.” He swallowed. “That’s where Prez said she is when he sent me to kill...” His eyes bulged. “I-I m-mean I-I haven’t touched the bitch, man, I swear. Only officers are allowed in there right now, and I don’t even fuck Black girls, so—”
My bullet interrupted the bullshit he spewed. His eyes rolled back, and he crumpled to the ground. He’d proved useful, but the way he’d spoken about Ainsley infuriated me. I gave his side a good, hard kick, ruing that he was too busy being dead to feel anything.
“Let’s go,” I said to Bolt, setting off before he responded.
Time seemed to simultaneously speed up and slow down as I neared the white trailer. Pink flamingos and a pink doormat identified it as Nova’s place. The door was locked, but old and flimsy. Kicking it down was a breeze. The stench of an array of bodily fluids turned my stomach. The strong odors circulating through the small space were a noxious blend that challenged the strongest of fortitudes, including Bolt’s. I heard him gag behind me, and I couldn’t blame him one bit.
“Holy shit,” I breathed as my eyes landed on the dead Bloody Scorpion laying in the living room.
Blood pooled under him, and brain matter splattered the wall. My gaze swept over the rest of the room. When it landed on the cage, piss and vomit on the bottom of it, rage filled me. If the dead fucker’s words were true, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that’s where Ainsley had been held.
The question was, where the fuck was she now?
“Someone got to the fucker before we did,” Bolt said, nudging the body with his boot.
I couldn’t bother to respond. Worry clawed at my throat. Had the little fucker lied to me? Maybe he’d said what he thought I wanted to hear, in a desperate attempt to save his own life, unaware he was fucked regardless.
“Search the place,” I growled, unable to accept that we’d been led on a wild goose chase.
Scouring the tiny trailer wouldn’t take long. Bolt got to work immediately, while I remained rooted in place, the possibility of Ainsley being truly gone becoming more likely.
I hadn’t claimed Trinity, something that turned out to be a good thing. Still, I’d been given a second chance at finding love, of having a family after mine was stolen from me. And for a second time, I blew it. The adage that the third time’s a charm floated through my head, but I didn’t want to go through another tragic heartbreak for my happily ever after. The only woman I wanted was Ainsley, and if she’d met a grizzly fate, then I’d commit myself to a lifetime alone. If I couldn’t protect the beautiful mother of my unborn baby, then why doom another woman? It seemed that falling in love with me was a death sentence, and I wouldn’t curse another soul.
A hulking figure darkening the door interrupted my brooding and reminded me just how vulnerable I truly was. I raised my weapon, but it was too late. Boom Boom’s giant ass stood there holding a shotgun, aimed at my head.
Trapped in a standoff, neither one of us pulled the trigger.
“Prince Charming here to save his little slut; how fucking sweet,” he sneered, his eyes burning with fury.
“Where is she?” I demanded, uncaring of the gun pointed at me.
If he was going to shoot me, I wouldn’t go out like a pussy, pleading with a madman for mercy. I’d stand my ground and use my last bit of consciousness to fire my piece.
He looked at the cage and shrugged, his nonchalance pissing me off, and contrasting with his manic gaze. “Fuck if I know. She escaped her cage.” He looked beyond me, zeroing in on the body before scowling at me. “Took Wizard out, too. Wondered if he got to try her pussy before the cunt killed him. He’d been chomping at the bit to sample her.”
He was goading me, trying to rile me up, so I’d make a mistake. I knew his game, but I couldn’t help but react.
“Shut the fuck up,” I barked, my fury making me tremble.
He laughed, the sound mocking and grating. “When I find her, I’ll fuck her before slitting her—”
I reacted on impulse, pulling the trigger and drowning out his threat. The bullet landed in his chest, but not before he fired the shotgun. Luckily, some higher power was looking out for me, giving me the speed to avoid the pellets, but just narrowly. A mere centimeter stood between me and death as I dove out of the way and hit the floor.
My heart pumping, ears throbbing, and adrenaline high, I made my way to where Boom Boom lay bleeding. I didn’t think he was breathing. His eyes were wide open, and he wore a horrific death stare that made him even uglier. However, I wouldn’t take my chances, so I placed my pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger.
For a moment, I just admired the masterpiece his blood created, breathing heavily. Bolt’s voice jolted me out of it.
“Reese, she’s in here!” he called from the bedroom.
My feet were moving before my brain had processed the words. The relief in his voice hinted that she was alive, but I wouldn’t feel better until she was back in my arms.
The bedroom was as pink and orderly as the rest of the house. The décor didn’t matter to me, only the fact that Ainsley was there, huddled on the floor with Bolt’s arm around her. She looked like she’d been through hell and back but appeared to have no extensive injuries. The bruises I saw pissed me off, though with time, they’d fade.
When Bolt saw me, he stepped away. I dropped to my knees, pulling her into my arms as emotions swamped me.
“You’re alive,” I croaked, my eyes watering, relief like I’d never felt before slamming into me.
She clung to me as if I were her lifeline, burying her face in my neck. She released a watery laugh. “You came.”
Exhaustion laced her tone, and I wondered if she’d slept at all. Based on her chapped lips and raspy voice, they’d deprived her of water, likely food too. It was risky for her and the baby, but a day or two in the hospital should get her back to normal, especially if the baby was fine.
“Of course I came, sweetheart,” I said, holding her close to me, rocking her gently. “I thought I’d fucking lost you. I-I’m so sorry, Ainsley. For not protecting you, for taking you for granted, for—”
It all spilled out, and before I could ramble anymore, she pulled back.
“Hush,” she whispered, her eyes growing droopier. “I forgive you. Just…get me out of here, please.”
Her voice cracked on the last word and my heart ached. Holding her tightly against me, I stood up. As we walked out of the trailer, I was faintly aware of Bolt trailing me, but my primary focus was Ainsley. I cradled her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.
Which, to me, she was. And once she recovered from this ordeal, I’d spend the rest of my life proving it to her.