Sitting up in bed, I watch as Six’s shoulders go rigid in front of me before he speaks.“Last time I fucking looked at his cut, he’s the VP and doesn’t have the fucking right to call church without talking to me first.”
The Enforcer sneers at him.“Seems like the tide is turning, and you might just get swept out to sea if you don’t fall in line.”
Six grabs the man by the front of his cut then slams him against the wall.“Are fucking threatening me, Wart?”
Wart bares his teeth.“It’s only a threat if it doesn’t happen.”
Six leans closer, speaking in hushed tones I can’t hear, but whatever he says causes Wart’s eyes to go wide with a mix of anger and pure terror.Wart opens his mouth to say something when NOS’s voice from the end of the hall has Six’s head snapping in that direction.Six stands to his full height, letting go of Wart and turning towards NOS with his arms stretched out wide.
“I’m right here, fuckhead.Let’s deal with it here and now because at the end of the fucking day this is my goddamn club and things will be done my way,” Six calls out to him.
I can’t hear NOS or see what he does, but my entire world stops spinning when Six looks over at me with love and devotion mixed with sadness.Moving to stand, I start to rush to him when the first boom of gunfire goes off.Six never looks away, giving only a small shake of his head as he falls to his knees.Then there is a second boom before I can reach him.Watching in dawning horror as everything that made my man who he is drains from his eyes.
I fall to my knees, catching his head before it can hit the floor.There is screaming coming from somewhere in the distance.Right now, all I can do is hold Six in my lap and beg for him to not leave me.
“You promised me you would be here,” I sweep the hair from his forehead, my tears dropping on his face like rain.“You bastard, you can’t leave me like this.Please!”
I just beg the universe for him to come back, to not leave, as chaos breaks out around me.A shadow falls over me, and all I can do is cover Six with my body as I shatter into more pieces than I thought possible.The smell of cigarettes and body odor falls over me.Squeezing my eyes closed, I ignore the man as I continue to beg for Six to come back to me.
He fucking promised I would never have to be without them, that we were going to start a family.It was always going to be the two of us against the world.
A hand runs down the back of my head, causing my stomach to roll in revulsion.“It’s time for things to change for the Lucifer’s Knights.”
“You can rot in hell, NOS,” I hiss, refusing to let go of the man that just took my soul with him.
The hand on the back of my head twitches just before he grabs a handful of my hair, wrenching my head back.NOS runs his tongue up the side of my face to my ear, “Fall in line or go with him.”
“I would rather go with him than be a part of anything that has to do with you,” I snap weakly.
“Your wish is my command,” NOS drawls, his grip on my hair tightening.“Until then though, I think it’s finally fucking time to show you what a real man can do to your body.”
No sooner than the words were out of his mouth than I was being pulled away from Six and back into our room.Reaching up, I grab the wrist of the hand in my hair as I start to kick and fight the hold.NOS slams the door shut before throwing me on the bed.Quickly I turn, trying to crawl toward the gun or knife that I know Six has hidden beside the bed.My fingers just barely graze the hilt of the blade when NOS’s sweaty palm wraps around my ankle, pulling me back across the bed.
My breathing is coming hard and fast, and my head is spinning as the adrenaline and fear course through my veins.The tears that started when I watched my world implode are now mixed with tears of frustration, anger, and pure hate.NOS rolls me onto my back, and I kick out with my free foot and make contact, causing him to curse, though his grip on my ankle doesn’t loosen enough for me to snatch my foot away.I flip back onto my stomach, scrambling across the bed, just wrapping my fingers around the hilt of the knife when NOS’ weight falls onto my back, trapping my arm in the stretched-out position.
The stench of his breath seems to burn across my skin.“You really are a dumb fucking cunt.It’s time that you learn your fucking place.”
The tears have finally stopped.The hurt and devastation are still burning hot in my soul, but the anger has settled into pure, hot motherfuckingrage.“You’ll never be man enough to put me in my place.”I let out a sarcastic laugh.“As far as I can tell, you couldn’t put a puppy in its place.”
ONE
Blitz
I kick back in my seat, fingers drumming on the arm of my chair, watching all the guys make their way into church.Rhino is talking a mile a minute about the new job that we’ve got starting next week.I do my best to listen and grunt when I’m supposed to, but nothing is sticking.More and more lately, my mind is taken up by a hotheaded, sassy-mouthed, dark-haired vixen that lives rent-free there.
Raider struts through the door, for once not looking as if the entire world is resting on his shoulders.“Nice to see that everyone is here and on time for a change.”
We all grumble and flip him the bird while calling him “asshole” and “jackass”.He just smirks, taking his seat and banging the gavel, bringing us to order.Looking around the table, I’m not at all surprised to see Blender leaning against the wall just to the left of Mercy, glaring as he clenches and unclenches his fists.
“We’ve got a couple of things to go over here today, but before we get started, does anyone have anything they want to discuss?”Raider asks, looking around the room at everyone.
“Shea?”Blender grinds out, leveling his murderous glare on Raider.
Raider turns to him, not flinching.“I’ve spoken with the Italians, and they will be returning her shortly.”
Blender just gives a nod before leaning back against the wall again.Not at all relaxed but relenting, and the room seems to let out its own breath.
“As good as that is, did we ever figure out who the fuck Auntie Lynn is and why the Italians protect them the way they do?”Rhino wonders.
