Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
PIGGY
Millie’s back is to me. The sight of her pisses me off for more than one reason. Too many to list. She’s also too close to Dante. Rushing up behind her, I let Heidi, Dante, and Anna verbally fight with one another for a moment.
I wrap my arm around her waist, curve the palm of my other hand around her mouth, and drag her backward. Shifting my face forward, I rest my lips against her ear as I continue to pull her backward. I want as much distance between her and those assholes as possible.
“It’s me, Mill,” I whisper.
Her entire body relaxes. Releasing my grasp on her, I guide her body behind me. Wrapping my fingers around her hip, I flex them slightly, then take my gun out of the holster. I’m ready to end these assholes. But I also want to know what the fuck Anna was thinking.
“I think the yelling can stop now,” I call out.
Dante spins around, and I can’t help but smirk at the expression of shock on his face. It’s actually fucking amazing. I love it. This is the shit I live for right here. I’ve already sent a text to the group stating that I think I’ve found her.
They’re all on their way here. I know this shit is going to be popping soon, and I can’t fucking wait for it. Except when it comes to Dante, I’m going to be the one to end him. They can figure out how Anna was involved and do whatever the fuck they want with her. But Dante is mine.
Holding up my gun, I tilt my head to the side and take him in. He’s a tiny little man, at least forty pounds of muscle smaller than me. He’s also at least six inches shorter. It’s comical, really.
This is the big, scary mobster?
“Dante Barone.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “You’re that cop,” he snaps.
Dipping my chin in a single nod, I smirk. “You have a good memory.”
He snorts then clears his throat, his gaze flicking behind me to Millie. I can feel her tits pressing against my back and her fingers gripping the back of my cut. She’s trembling. I don’t know if she’s scared for herself or me. She shouldn’t be. I’ve got her.
“Want to explain to me why you have my woman here? Why you kidnapped her?”
“This whore?” he spits. “You’re going to wager your life for some whore? That’s scraping the bottom of the fucking barrel.”
I don’t bother speaking. There’s nothing to say to that. As much as I want to fly off the fucking handle, he’s only saying those things to get me to make a mistake. I won’t be doing that. He is not a man who is going to best me, not by a long shot.
“I’m sure you want a reaction. That’s something you won’t get,” I say right before I pull the trigger.
I watch as his head explodes. Blood splatters everywhere. I should apologize to Heidi, but she doesn’t get as much blood on her as Anna. That bitch is covered in brains and everything else.
It’s pretty fucking amazing.
He drops to the floor with a thud, and my gaze travels down to his slumped body. I’m glad the asshole is gone. He’s caused enough fucking chaos. And he called my woman a whore multiple times. That was all I needed to add to the justification of his death.
“Well, Anna, wanna start talking?” I ask.
Heidi snorts but doesn’t say anything. She’s still got her gun out and pointed directly at Anna’s back.
“It wasn’t my fault,” Anna cries. “He talked me into it.”
“And you did it,” Heidi grinds out. “You took Millie to a man you knew was going to hurt her. You knew. You’ve been in the life before. Millie told me.”
Anna’s eyes widen before she spins around to face Heidi.
“You don’t know shit, bitch. You and Millie come here, and everyone falls all over you.
These gorgeous, amazing dancers from Vegas.
Fucking influencers are coming out of the woodwork just to see you dance.
Hundreds of men who just want to look at you up on that stage. God, you fucking cunts.” she screams.
“So Millie deserves to be kidnapped and killed?”
“He wanted me,” Anna snaps. “He wanted me for himself, and I would do anything to have that.”
Heidi opens her mouth, but nothing comes out, because it’s Millie who speaks next. She releases her grasp on my cut and takes a step out from behind me.
“You would help him kidnap another woman, knowing he wanted to hurt her, just because he said you had a good cunt? Dante Barone would say that to a fucking fence post if he thought he would get something out of it.
“You aren’t special, Anna. I wasn’t special when he was trying to manipulate me, either. And I really wasn’t extraordinary when he killed men in front of me and then decided I needed to die for witnessing that.”
Staring at her, I can’t take my eyes off her face.
Anna has the good sense to at least look remorseful.
She’s a liability, though, much like Millie was a few months ago for Dante.
Except Anna isn’t going to walk out of this.
Unlike Millie, Anna isn’t an innocent person. She doesn’t get to just walk away.
My spine straightens when Heidi takes care of her with a single shot.
Much like Dante, Anna crumples to a pile of flesh and blood on the floor. Millie gasps, but she doesn’t scream or make any other noise of protest. Heidi takes a step forward, lowering the gun as her gaze meets mine.
“What do we do now?” she asks simply.
There is no trembling or fear in her voice. She is steady as she speaks. I don’t know what her life has been like, but what I do know is that she’s killed before. She’s a strong bitch, but even the strongest bitch would waver after taking a life.
That’s when I hear the bikes. My lips curve up into a grin. “The club will take care of it. Let’s get you girls out of here.”
Millie turns around to face me, her eyes meeting mine. She lifts one of her hands, her palm cupping my cheek. “Thank you, Axton,” she whispers.
“For?” I ask.
“Saving me.”
I lower my head and touch my lips to hers, but I don’t deepen the kiss. “You’re coming home now, Millie. Back to Thunder Rock. I don’t want to hear a fucking thing about it. You’re coming home.”
MILLIE
Axton and Lightning take us back to the apartment, and both Heidi and I pack a bag before we head out of town. Heidi is in the backseat of Axton’s pickup truck while Lightning leads the way back to Thunder Rock.
I can’t believe I’m actually going back there.
I promised myself ten years ago when I left that I would never return.
And even when I arrived in Raleigh, I swore to myself that I would not venture to Thunder Rock.
Yet here I am, headed straight for it, beside the man I also swore I would never go back to.
I’m a whole host of contradictions. I should probably internally scold myself for this, but I’m not the girl I was ten years ago. I’m not even the woman I was when I came back to North Carolina. I’m different. He’s different.
We’re all exhausted by the time we arrive at the gates.
I almost laugh because while we may be different people, these gates are the exact same.
Axton rolls down his window, then lifts his hand to the prospect who’s posted in the little gatehouse building.
Another thing that hasn’t changed, although it’s obviously a different man prospecting. That’s the only difference.
There is something comforting about coming here and everything being the same. I know Shade is no longer the president. He passed away, and Bullet has taken his place, but the rest of the MC is status quo.
I don’t know all the drama that’s taken place recently, and I’m sure there is some. Otherwise, the MC wouldn’t be running security at a strip club. But I also know those details aren’t for me to know.
The gates open.
Heidi doesn’t ask any questions, and I know she doesn’t need to.
She knows just as much about the rough life as I do.
It’s weird how we found one another. Same with Anna, though.
She’d been involved with a guy from an MC.
I don’t know for sure that Heidi’s guy was part of a club, but I have a feeling he might have been, or at least affiliated, the way she talked about him.
“We’ll get settled in and grab a few hours’ sleep,” Axton announces as he begins to drive forward. “You’ll both be safe here.”
When we went to my apartment, I threw on a hoodie and matching sweatpants along with a pair of slides. I know I look like hell, but that’s okay because I feel like hell, too. I haven’t allowed what happened to me, and what could have happened to me, to penetrate yet.
I have a feeling that as soon as I attempt to close my eyes, everything is going to hit me like a ton of bricks. The thoughts are going to slam into me. The panic, it’s going to take over. I already know it’s going to come. There is no way I’ll be able to stop it from consuming me.
Axton parks next to a bike, and we all open our doors. Stepping out of the cab of the truck, I wince as the sunlight hits my face. It seems brighter up here in the mountains, or maybe I’m just that overtired.
“I’ll get your bags. You girls go on inside,” Axton calls out.
Heidi is right behind me, but I don’t look back at her. I can’t. When my eyes lock in on the building in front of me, it’s almost as if I can’t breathe. I didn’t think about what it would feel like to be here again.
The drive here, the scenic roadway, the views, and even the gate entrance hadn’t truly hit me.
But being here, staring at this building, I wasn’t prepared for the rush of emotions.
I’m back. I’m not the same, but this place is.
I don’t know if I should be here. I’m not sure if this is the right thing to do.
I’m feeling mixed emotions… a million of them.