Black (22 page)

It’s quiet when I reach the address. I can’t see anybody around. I have a photo of the hit, but can’t seem to locate him anywhere. He’s not at the address provided. I’m about to walk away when I hear the roar of motorbikes. My phone starts ringing. I look at it and see it’s Jake, the bikes now coming into view.

“They’re coming for you,” he says before I hang up. I raise my gun, aiming for the first bike, they also notice me at that exact same time. But they are too slow to move away from the first bullet that exits my piece. It hits one of their bikes, knocking one to the ground, the bike skidding along the path and the man smashing into the ground.

The other one stops and climbs off with is hands raised. He removes his helmet and smiles. I recognize him straight away—Sergeant at Arms for the Coffin Soldier MC.

“Black,” he says, smiling.

“Zadist,” I reply. He looks to his friend who’s barely moving on the ground.

“You know why we are here?” he asks, holding his helmet in his hands.

“Yes! Do you know who I am? What I’m about to do to you?” I reply.

“Black… Black… I know what you do. But do you think you can keep everyone safe? You’re evil, not a God.”

“You threatening me, Zadist?”

He laughs at me. “I didn’t want to be the one to do this. Jake asked for me to not. But Pres is the boss, and I do as he says. And when he says to kill someone, it’s what I do.” He shrugs his shoulders.

“I didn’t want to either, Zadist, but it’s what
I
do.” I shrug back and shoot him straight in the leg. His gun is raised, but he’s too slow. The bullet whizzes straight past me, barely missing my legs. He doesn’t scream as he hits the floor, he just grabs hold of his leg, gripping it tight. I walk to him and pass another member on the ground, now trying to crawl back to his bike. I shoot him in the back and he stops moving.

Zadist looks to him and starts laughing, then shakes his head.

“They will hang her in front of you. Fuck her in front of you. Then kill her in front of you, Black.”

“I know,” I whisper, I know how they work. I used to do their dirty work. He closes his eyes and I shoot him in the head, right between the eyes.

I don’t bother calling my clean-up crew, they can be found. With my card on their bodies, I let them know they’re next.

When he walks in, he stops in his tracks. A gun is in his hand and I notice it straight away and take a step back. He looks to me and then at the gun. He places it in the back of his pants and shows me his hands. It’s a sign that he won’t hurt me. I know he would never, but what that gun probably did tonight is hurt someone. He takes a step closer to me and I take a step back. He drops his hands to his side, tiredness showing in his features as he rakes his fingers through his hair.

“Did you… did you kill someone?” I ask, my hands twitching beside me.

“Do you want the honest answer?”

“Yes,” I say, trying to stand taller.

“Yes,” he replies. I sag a bit, the hope leaving me that he didn’t, but he did.

“How could you?” I don’t understand it, why he does it. It will never make sense to me, no matter how hard I try to wrap my head around it.

“They were going to kill me,” he says, and my head springs up in surprise. I thought it was a hit.

“Who?”

“The people that want what they paid for back.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“It’s going to get worse now, isn’t it? They’re definitely coming now?”

“They are.” I start to shake. I don’t know what to do. I won’t go back there, I won’t turn into that person again. He notices, his hand reaches up and touches me on the arm. I jump backward. His face changes to hurt.

“I won’t hurt you, Rose.” He takes another step back.

“I know,” is all I can say. I want to assure him that I feel safe when I’m with him. The words won’t leave my mouth, though.

“I think it’s time you leave, and go as far as you can.” I shake my head, I can’t do that. I can’t leave Isabelle. “I can’t protect you and kill them at the same time, Rose. Please leave. Get your things and go as far away as you can.”

My head keeps slowly shaking no. “I can’t do that, Liam, I won’t.”

“Rose, they want to kill you.” A whimper leaves me. They don’t want me for the reasons I thought. Worse, they want to kill me.

“You will save me won’t you? Won’t you, Liam?” I ask, hope sounding in my voice. He looks down to the ground, and I immediately feel bad asking those words. He shouldn’t have to save me, I should be saving myself.

“With my life,” he whispers, and I believe him. He would, he would give up his life for me. He thinks I’m more deserving of a life than him. I disagree, people might not realize it, but he is needed. He is needed so much.

“I want your life, Liam, just me.”

“It’s already yours,” he says, wrapping me in his arms.

After last night I hardly slept. Even in his arms I couldn’t sleep. I dropped Hayden off at school, and now I stand outside of Isabelle’s, waiting for her to come out. I stand there waiting for what feels like a lifetime when she finally comes out. She spots me straight away and runs to me screaming my name. The teacher sees me and waves. They aren’t fans of Roger, which I’m thankful for.

“I missed you so much, Mommy,” she says, wrapping her hands around my neck. I squeeze her to me, soaking up her smell and her smile. The dark thoughts ease when she releases me. Will I see her again? Is it smart if I stay?

“When can I come over next?” she asks me.

“Maybe next week, baby,” I say. The teacher calls her back. She hugs me tightly before she runs away.

Casey is there when I walk back to work. She’s standing at the entrance of my work, holding her belly. She’s about to drop, and she does not like being pregnant.

“Is he it?” she asks as we reach the elevator. I know she’s talking about Liam. She likes him but doesn’t like what he represents.

“Yes,” I say without hesitation.

“And he makes your girlie bits sing?” She winks at me.

“None of your business, but yes.”

“I’m so horny, like all the time. Sax has started working late. I think I have oversexed him,” she complains.

“Oversexed him?” I question her, holding in my laugh.

“Yes, on top of being horny as all hell, they say it helps induce labor. And I tell you now, I’m over being pregnant and having a fat vagina.”

“Oh God, Casey, please don’t say that to me again.” I cover my face with my hands and she just laughs at me.

“How did it go with your mother?”

“Good, I think she’s trying harder now.”

“I think she is too.”

“Hey, can Hayden stay at your house tonight? I have to get up early for work, and I don’t want to wake him.” She nods her head and kisses me goodbye. If I knew what’s about to come, I would have hugged her longer.

Jake’s at my house, he’s sitting on his bike and his head is hung low. A smoke draped from his lips. He sees me pull up, stands, and nods his head. I know why he’s here. Even if it’s his father, I’m his brother. I’m more loyal to him than anyone he knows. I have killed for him, lied for him.

“They know,” he says and my spine chills.

“When?” I ask.

“They won’t say, just that it’s soon.” He flicks the butt of his smoke and watches it roll away. “He knows you’re protecting her and he doesn’t care. He says she’s his.”

“She’s mine,” I growl. He places his hands up in surrender.

“I know, brother.” He lets his hands drop slowly. “They won’t tell me anything else, they know I’ll tell you.”

“I will kill them, Jake,” I tell him, he must know that I will. I will take his father’s life.

“I know.”

“You plan to get retribution after?”

“I won’t, the club will.” I nod my head. “Run, Black, take her and run. You’ll be a dead man walking if you stop it from happening. Your head will be number one on the hit list.”

“She won’t leave.”

“Why?”

“Her daughter’s here.”

“Fucking hell.” He shakes his head. “I want you to know that I love ya, man,” he says his final goodbye as he climbs on his bike and starts it.

I go to the house, pack a bag and call her cell. It’s late and she has work in the morning. I know she’ll be in bed, snuggled up to her one hundred pillows. But I have to hear her voice first.

“Liam?” She yawns into the phone.

“I’m coming over,” I say then hang up.

The house lights are off when I enter, the front door closed and locked. I don’t bother knocking, she knows I’m coming. I use the spare key and unlock the front door. A smell hits me when I do, and it’s a smell I know only too well.
Blood.

I flick the lights on, see broken glass covering the floor. The back window is broken, blood is splattered onto the kitchen bench and on the floor. I spoke to her not even an hour ago. They couldn’t have gotten far.

Car tracks are what I find, footsteps as well—bloody footsteps. I run inside, completely forgetting about Hayden. I flick his bedroom light on, but he isn’t here. My heart rate picks up, did they take him too? I ring Casey. It’s late, so she doesn’t answer, but Sax does, and he does not sound happy.

“I need your help,” I say, hoping I got him.

“Man, Hayden is asleep, the girl is asleep. What you want?” he whines into the phone. I calm just a fraction knowing Hayden is there safe and not here.