Chapter 20
TRIGGER
My mind races on the ride to the Clubhouse. Who's stalking Aerianna? Someone the club knows? Someone she knows? Is the Black Market Railroad trying to scare her off? Is our separation even safe for her? Is someone tailing us now?
The possibilities are endless, and without Red here to help, I’m at a loss on what to do. Bones is good, but he isn’t as good as Red. I want no stone unturned when it comes to Aerianna’s safety.
I’m on high alert, checking everything and everyone we pass, looking for danger. My nerves are shot, and my trigger finger is itching to seek revenge on the person terrorizing Aerianna.
We pull into the Clubhouse, and I’m immediately at Aerianna’s truck door, yanking it open. She’s in my arms in a heartbeat, her steady breathing lingering on my neck, creating a shiver down my spine.
“You’re safe now.” I press a kiss to her temple, exhaling a relieved breath. I’m trying to contain the rage simmering under the surface.
Capone stands at the clubhouse entrance, arms crossed, expression unreadable. His gaze flicks between us before he finally speaks. "Good. You’re just in time." A slow, predatory smirk pulls at his lips. "Our guests are still tied up out back."
I don’t hesitate, gripping Aerianna’s hand as I lead her behind the Clubhouse. Torch, Tiny, and Dagger are waiting for us in front of the doors.
Tiny eyes me. “Everything good?”
I shake my head. “Not yet.” I tug Aerianna closer and kiss her temple.
Capone steps forward. His voice drops, edged with something lethal. “Listen close, Aerianna. Once you step into this, there’s no stepping back. No do-overs. No, pretending you didn’t cross that line.” His dark eyes bore into hers. “You get your hands bloody tonight, you’re in. With the Club, with Trigger, for life.”
I watch as the conflict passes across Aerianna’s face. I get it. Will she want to throw away everything she’s worked hard for in search for answers about Allison’s death? Can she go through with this?
The silence stretches, thick with the weight of the choice before her. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
Aerianna swallows hard, then lifts her chin. “I didn’t become a cop for justice. I became a cop for revenge.” She inhales a sharp breath. “And tonight, I get it.”
“Trigger, are you sure this is what you want? Are you claiming Aerianna?” When Capone looks at me, his gaze sharp and expectant, I know exactly what he's asking. This isn’t just about whether I’m standing by her side tonight. It’s about everything. It’s about her future, her safety, her soul.
I don’t hesitate. “Yes.” My voice is firm and unwavering. “She’s mine.”
Something inside me settles, an unspoken vow sealing itself into my bones. She’s no longer just the woman I can’t stop thinking about. She’s my responsibility, my fight, my home. And if anyone thinks they can take her from me, they’ll have to put me in the ground first.
“Good.” Capone cracks his neck. “Let’s get this party started so we can celebrate.”
Tiny unlocks the door and opens it. Aerianna and I walk in first, followed by Capone, then Torch and Dagger, then Tiny, who closes it behind us.
The scent hits me first. The smell of copper, piss, and shit assaults my nose before the moans. The further we walk into the room, the worse the smell gets.
Once we reach the back where the two men are chained up, Aerianna sucks in a deep breath. “Shit.” She covers her mouth and nose with her palm.
“You get used to it,” Tiny says from the back of the room.
Lattimer hangs from chains, feet barely touching the floor, stripped to his boxers. His once-pristine face is a mess of blood and bruises. The man who used to wear suits worth more than my Harley is degraded to nothing but blood and piss.
I give Capone a questioning look. He shrugs his shoulders. “Grace, Exleigh, and Syvannah might have had a little too much fun with this one while we waited for you.” He kicks Lattimer in the kneecap, making him groan in protest.
Jonas stirs, rattling his chains. He’s strung up the same way, less beaten, but still a mess. He snarls, swinging as he kicks at Capone and misses.
“This one, though,” Capone grabs Jonas’s body and halts his momentum. “This one we saved for you, Aerianna. Do with him as you wish.”
Dagger hands Aerianna a pair of leather gloves. She’s hesitant to take them but does it anyway. Once she has the gloves on, a deadly smirk crosses her beautiful face.
She walks to Jonas and slaps him hard. “Do you know who I am?”
Jonas spits blood out at her feet. “Fuck you, bitch.”
Aerianna tsks like a disappointed mother. “Don’t you know it’s not nice to spit on people? Didn’t your mother teach you better?”
“Fuck off.”
“Where’s your brother?” Aerianna asks.
Jonas glares “Fuck. Off.”
Shit. I should have seen this coming. If Aerianna finds out we killed Josiah a while ago, I don’t know what she will do. I give Capone a look, and he shakes his head. Fuck. I have to tell her.
I open my mouth, but Capone's dark gaze dares me to step out of line. Shit. I run my hands through my hair. I don’t know what to do.
“Trigger, outside.” His tone leaves no room for argument.
Tiny grips my shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”
I nod. “Thanks, Tiny.”
I follow Capone outside. Once we reach the fresh air, Capone has me pinned against the concrete building with his arm against my throat.
“If you ever disobey a direct command again, I will end you.” Capone’s tone is low and deadly. “We cannot tell her right now about Josiah.”
“But…” I struggle to breathe.
Capone loosens his grip on my throat. “No but’s Trigger. You cannot tell her right now.”
“Why?” I question.
Capone releases me from the concrete wall. “You don’t get it, do you?”
I glare. “Get what?”
The silence between us is interrupted by a sharp cry coming from inside.
Capone pinches the bridge of his nose. “If you tell her now, we don’t know what she will do. Let her get the answers she needs, and then we can tell her. Josiah didn’t kill her friend. It was either Lattimer or Jonas.”
Another wet smack followed by another scream. “And by the sound of it,” Capone smirks, “she’s getting her answers.” He claps my back. “Go get your girl.”
Capone lights up a cigarette, and I rush inside. I find Aerianna hitting Jonas Mercer with a metal pipe. She has blood splatter on her face, neck, and arms. Jonas is swinging back and forth with his head down and blood dripping from his face.
I carefully grip the metal pipe in her hands, and she lets go. “Easy, Little Kitten.” I pull her close. “I got you.”
Aerianna looks at me with tears in her eyes. “He killed her.” Aerianna straightens her shoulders and clears her throat. “He told me that after his brother, Josiah went missing, Jonas played with Allison for months before he got tired of her and killed her. He knew I was looking for her. Trigger, he knows all about me. How? Is he my stalker?”
I tighten my hold, shielding her from the horror around us. “No, baby. He’s not.”
Her body trembles against mine. I shift my gaze to the new guy. He’s awake, fear replacing hatred in his eyes. He shakes his head violently. I exhale. “But I think I know who is.”
Aerianna shivers, her fingers gripping my cut. She’s close to losing it, and I don’t want her to feel vulnerable in front of people she doesn’t know. I glance at Tiny and Dagger. “I’m going to take her in to get cleaned up. Get the information we need from him, and then you have free rein.”
For the first time in my adult life, I didn’t get my hands bloody on this one. It’s a strange feeling not to be the one in charge during a torture session, but my priorities are shifting. They are now focusing on the beauty in my arms. She is my top priority now and forever.
Once Aerianna has my cut on her back and my ink on her skin, the only way out for either of us is death.
Aerianna presses a trembling hand to her face as I lead her inside the clubhouse, away from the sounds of the interrogation. She’s still covered in Jonas’s blood. I watch the emotions on Aerianna’s face as her thoughts drift to what just happened. She stares at herself in the mirror, breathing heavily, and finally, it hits her. She’s never been this person before, the one who draws blood in cold, calculated vengeance. But I know for Allison, she would do it again.
“You okay?” I ask, standing behind her and resting my hands on her heated shoulders.
Aerianna flinches, wiping away the blood splatter from her skin, but the tremor in her hands is too much to hide. “I’m fine,” she’s lying.
I always know when she’s not being honest with herself. Aerianna turns to face me, her back against the sink, still trying to regain control.
“You’re not fine. Talk to me, Aerianna.”
“I killed him, Trigger. I hit him so many times, and he...” Her voice cracks as the reality of what she’s done sets in. “I wasn’t the person I was when I walked in there. He made me that way.” Her voice drops to a whisper, “I’m broken.”
Aerianna’s body presses closer against mine as she fights to steady her breath. Her heart races against my chest, and I can feel the struggle within her, the guilt and the darkness of what she’s just done. But I also feel her resolve, the unshakable drive that’s been with her since I first met her. She’s fighting a battle inside herself, and I know she’s trying to reconcile the woman she was with the woman she had to become tonight.
“You’re not broken, Aerianna,” I murmur, my voice soft but firm. “You’re still you. But now, you’re stronger than before. You’ll never be the same, but that doesn’t mean you’re not still the woman I trust with everything.”
Her arms tighten around me, clinging to the comfort I offer, and for a moment, we just stand there in silence, the only sound is her labored breathing. The blood on her hands, her clothes, it doesn’t change how I see her. It doesn’t erase the woman I’ve come to care for deeply, even if she’s not sure how she feels about it yet.
“I don’t want to lose myself,” she whispers against my chest, her voice fragile but steadying as the minutes pass.
“You won’t. I won’t let you,” I promise her, holding her even tighter, as if my arms can protect her from the demons she’s facing inside. “Whatever happens, we face it together. I’m right here, Aerianna.”
She pulls away slightly, just enough to look me in the eye. Her gaze is vulnerable and raw, but I can still see the fierce determination in her that pulled her through tonight. “I don’t know if I can live with what I did.”
I gently tilt her chin up, guiding her to meet my eyes. “You don’t have to decide that right now. Tonight was about getting answers. You’ve got them. Now, let’s just breathe, okay?”
She nods, a tear slipping down her cheek before she wipes it away quickly. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Aerianna. You’re mine, and I’m not going anywhere.”
The tension that’s been coiling in her shoulders slowly starts to dissipate as she leans into me once again. I know it’s going to take time for her to process all of this, but I’m not going to let her go through it alone. Not when I’m the one she needs, and she’s the one I need.
“I’m right here, Little Kitten,” I murmur, brushing my lips over her forehead. “Always.”
As I hold her, the weight of her decision looms, but the connection between us solidifies further. She might have crossed a line tonight, but the safety and loyalty I offer make it all feel like it was worth it.