I laugh into the phone because gotta say, he’s got balls. “Salvatore, it means nothing, you jagoff. After finding what you’ve been up to it turns my stomach which, asshole, is saying a lot since I’ve watched my brother Incubus do his dark work and have had nightmares from it. Enough bullshit, get my brother back home and forget about ever seeing Julie again. And as far as Stash goes, your goons finished him off. He bled out before anything could be done for him.”
I end the call, letting out a ragged breath before looking at everyone. Incubus starts to bark orders about getting the front surgical room ready for everything, including the unknown. I’m scared to death thinking about what our brother poor Rocket has been put through. My thoughts turn to prayers, hoping to Christ he’ll be able to not only recover physically but also mentally ’cause I’ve seen the damage Salvatore’s goons leave behind. If we get Rocket back home, he’s already ahead of some of the Mob’s prior victims ’cause they ended up dead, buried in a shallow grave, thrown into the lake with concrete shoes, or worse in our crematory, going back to the beginning. Dust to dust.
Watching everyone moving quickly to try and be ready for Rocket’s return, I literally jump when I feel tiny muscular armswrap around my middle and her head, that only reaches to my chest, lean into me.
“Blue Eyes, I’m so sorry, won’t ever forgive myself for whatever they did to Rocket. That poor kid. I’ll pack my stuff and leave before he gets dropped off. Please tell him how very sorry I am and, somehow, I’ll try and make it right.”
I pull her even closer, holding on tightly, leaning my chin on the top of her head. Trying to find the words, it dawns on me soft words won’t work on Julie, she’s too badass. Leaning into her eyes, I shoot my emotional bullets to hit where it will piss her off the most.
“Darlin’, damn it, thought you were stronger than this. First time shit hits the fan, you turn tail and run. That is so disappointing. Well go, I ain’t gonna beg ya. Not that I don’t want to, but because I’ve got a kid being dropped off in what I already know is in serious condition. Fuck, never thought Salvatore would grab someone, but should have known we backed him up against a wall. Take care, Julie.”
With a hard kiss to her lips, I turn and stomp down the hallway, doing something I’ve not done in a very long time. I ask God to work miracles as far as Rocket goes.He not only deserves it but has earned a life, regardless if it’s in the club or as a civilian.That’s my last thought. Now is the time to shut off all my thoughts regarding Julie ’cause she’s gonna do whatever she wants. I have no control over that, which kills me, being the man I am who demands utter control in everything.
TEN
INCUBUS
With the help of a few of the sweet cheeks we’re trying to get shit together so we can be prepared for whatever is going to get dropped in our laps. I’m actually surprised Rocket has lasted this long with being tortured so badly. Kid got some moxy for sure. There are men who can survive almost anything. In this club it’s actually every one of the officers, who are the backbone of our chapter of the Kings of Anarchy. That includes Cobalt, Psycho, Mammoth, Bowie, Ajax, Ore, Onyx, Holy Joe—our chaplin—and of course me. We pick our prospects by what we see in them currently and their potential.
The three current prospects have been holding their own. Rocket is the quiet one. Dreamer is just what his name says, he allows himself to believe in dreams. Finally, Nickel is the prospect I have had the most hope for. He has a way about him that reminds me of when Cobalt and I enlisted, full of shit and vinegar, thinking we ruled the world. Damn, did the military fuck us up.
Suddenly I hear a vehicle, not sure what kind, coming in fast. I look to Sparkle, whose eyes are doing just that. Oh, fuck to the no, the kid don’t need that shit right now.
“Sparkle, for fuck’s sake, if you ain’t able to control that shit, get the hell out of here, bitch. He don’t need that right now. Tell the other women, no matter what he looks like and I mean it, no gasps, staring, or whispering around him. If I hear any one of those bitches do any of that shit they will answer to me, and I won’t be happy. That is the least of our worries right now. Now, go maybe get some food going, this is gonna be a long-ass day, for sure.”
She glares at me, giving me the stink eye, which is a normal look from this woman, aimed at me. She lifts her head and turns, but not before she aims and fires. Direct hit.
“You’re such a dick, Incubus. That probably explains why you’re a lonely as fuck bastard. Not sure what your problem is but it’s getting old, asshole, and one day you’re going to come up against someone who won’t take your shit. Oh, before I leave…just wanted to tell ya to go fuck yourself, jagoff.”
She sashays her way out of the surgical room and then she’s outta sight. Gotta give Sparkle credit ’cause she managed to halt the fear I was feeling in regard to Rocket. I grab a few pairs of gloves and start to move to the front of the building when we hear someone laying on their horn.Shit, time to rock and roll, is my thought as Cobalt comes running down the hall, reaching for a pair of gloves from me. I’m glad he’s here with me ’cause we work well under these kinds of circumstances. Had way too much experience when in the Middle East, and even when we came back to the States working the covert missions we were forced to take part in before joining the Kings.
The double doors are being held open by the stoppers on the bottom when we see a van door fly open and a comforter comes rolling out. I can see a body is wrapped in it, and that is not a fuckin’ good sign. As soon as Rocket, I’m assuming, is on the concrete driveway that van takes off like a bat outta hell, side door swinging open all the way down our driveway. Problem is,there was no way we are letting them go, so I watch Bowie and Ajax both raise their weapons, taking out the back tires. The van swerves before crashing into one of the club vans. Both Bowie and Ajax, along with Mammoth behind them, run toward the van but there doesn’t seem to be any motion inside. Well, until Mammoth slides the side door open and we see someone raising a gun. Mammoth moves quicker than you would think a man of his size would be able to, grabbing the gun, swinging and cracking someone in the skull. The sound travels and I’m sure he just cracked that asshole’s melon. Well, they are not long for this earth anyway so I don’t give a fuck.
Hearing my name, I turn and run to where my brothers are slowly and very carefully cutting the comforter away from Rocket. Holy shit, motherfucker, and son of a bitch come outta my mouth instantly. There ain’t a part on Rocket’s naked body that isn’t cut, bruised, skinned, or burned. His breaths are shallow and as my eyes wander, I start to see the torture they put him through. They pulled all of his fingernails and toenails off. There are, I’m guessing, cigarette and cigar burns all down his chest and legs. Carved into his chest are words in Italian that I don’t understand, well, except the wordPuta.They carved whore into our brother’s chest. That’s when I hear Cobalt gasp, which sends shivers down my spine ’cause my brother and prez has seen it all, so if something has caught him off guard it’s gotta be pretty bad.
“Incubus, they castrated him or at least took one ball and tried to sew him up. What the fuck? Take those motherfuckers to Incubus’s wet room at the back of the property. NOW.”
Not sure what has him so pissed until I walk around and see the damage. My God, how is the kid still breathing? Looks like he was violated and they punctured his colon. Okay, gotta prioritize his injuries so we can get him stabilized.
“Incubus, pressure is dropping and his pulse is thready. Dehydrated and has lost a lot of blood. That savage goddamn stuff they did to his balls and asshole need to be looked at stat. There’s shit or something coming outta him and damn, brother, it smells like something died. Not being funny. Neck seems okay, can’t see his back yet. It okay to slightly roll him so I can get a look?”
Jackal, was also a medic in the military, and we work well together. If he’s done his assessment I trust him, so I nod. Watching Venom and Hurricane kneeling down in front of Rocket, they gently put hands to his sides and start to shift him. The sound that comes outta the kid’s mouth is one I’ll never forget, and that’s sayin’ a lot. Seeing Jackal’s face go white, I’m movin’ and dropping to my knees. I can’t believe my eyes. I start screaming for fentanyl, morphine, and any other goddamn pain medication we have on hand. Jackal is already trying to find a vein to put in an intravenous line so we can run full-out pain medication. Not only has Rocket been whipped badly, it also looks they poured some kind of chemical on his back after. It’s a mess of tissue, muscle, ligaments, and blood coagulating into a wound waiting for infection to set in. I hear Jackal swearing so I move next to him and he steps away. Tightening the tourniquet on his upper arm, I open and close his hand and after the fifth or sixth time I see a vein pop up. Not the best, but shit, I’ve worked with worse. After cleaning the area again, even though the whole area is a fuckin’ mess, I am able to get the needle in, placing the catheter in and gently pulling the needle out. Jackal has the sterile IV wrap ready so we switch places as Nickel and Dreamer are standing there in shock, not sure what to do. So I bark orders to both of them.
“Nickel, I need you to pump air into Rocket’s lungs as his breaths are shallow and I’m not gonna intubate him out on thefuckin’ driveway. Dreamer, go inside, tell Venom to move his ass, need those pain drugs now.”
With their orders, both brothers take off like a bear is after their asses. Needed direction that’s all. Cobalt calls my name and I can see he’s trying to take Rocket’s pressure.
“Brother, he’s started to crash and is already running a fever, sure sign of an infection. We need to move him now.”
“Give me a few, gotta get the lift set up. He can’t lie on the table in that condition, need to clean some of that up before we can fully assess him. Be right back.”
Running, I almost plow into Julie, who is making her way outside. Fuck to the no.
“Girlie, get your ass back in and maybe go help Sparkle make some food or whatever. Not something you want to have burned into your head for the rest of your life.”
“Incubus, I took the emergency medical technician classes and got my license. That’s how I was able to help with our mom. How bad is he?”
I’m moving to get the lift ready and she’s followin’. Why can’t these women listen when told to do something? Screaming orders to Riffraff to set up the lift, he looks at me blankly.
