CRASH: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series) (52 page)

“And why would you do this?” he nodded toward it.

She shrugged. She was a terrible liar, and she was scared to death he
was going to see through this story. He leaned down, one fist planted in the
bed at her hip, and the fingers of his other hand trailed over the design.
“Trying a bit of rebellion, my luv?”

She nodded, not knowing what else to do.

His eyes lifted to hers, and he smiled. Shannon’s breathing increased.
She was terrified she’d do something to upset him, and right now she needed him
to let Angel go. She needed to do whatever she had to, to make him happy. Her
stomach turned at the touch of his hand on her, but she swallowed and forced
past it. She lifted her hand, inviting, beckoning him.

She watched him hit his knees, and then he was pushing her thighs apart.
His fingers stroked over the ink again. “Perhaps I’ll have my name put here.”
His eyes connected with hers as he leaned down and brushed his lips over the
skin just below the rose. He lifted his head, and the corner of his mouth
pulled up in not quite a smile. “Remind you who you belong to.”

*****

Angel staggered into the French doors at the back of her and Cole’s
home. “Cole!” she cried out. No response. Her eyes fell on the phone on the
wall in the kitchen. She moved toward it, holding onto the granite island for
support. She felt so dizzy and shaky.

Grabbing the wireless phone off the wall, she tried to focus on the
numbers to call Cole. Before she could punch in the third number, she heard
footsteps running down the stairs. She looked up to see a stunned Natalie
skidding to a stop at the bottom of the stairs that ended just between the
kitchen and the sunken family room. Angel dropped the phone on the island, her
face crumpling, and a moment later she was tight in Natalie’s arms, sobbing.

“Thank God you’re all right. Thank you, God,” Natalie repeated over and
over while Angel cried into her shoulder. Finally, she pulled back, her eyes
running over Angel. “Oh, baby. What did they do to you?”

Tears streamed down Angel’s face. “I need Cole. Where’s Cole?”

Natalie gathered her back in her arms. “Okay, baby. Okay.” She picked up
the phone with one hand, the other still holding Angel tightly while she dialed
the number with her thumb.

Ten minutes later, Cole and Crash roared up the driveway. Cole tore into
the house, flinging the door against the wall. He stood in the entry, his chest
heaving, and his eyes connected with his wife’s where she was squatted down
talking to Melissa, TJ and Brayden. A moment later, they were each across the
room, closing the distance between them and flying into each other’s arms,
clutching each other tightly in a hug.

“Baby-doll. Thank God. Thank God,” Cole murmured against her hair, his
arm holding her head close to him. He stroked his hand over the back of her
head, threading his fingers through her hair. He held her tight for a long
time, not wanting to let her go. He whispered against her ear, “Are you hurt?
Did he hurt you, mama?”

She tried to shake her head no, but he held her so tightly she had to
verbally respond. “No. He didn’t touch me. Not like that.”

“Did he touch you at all?”

“They drugged me. That’s all.”

He squeezed her tighter. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Angel looked over his shoulder and saw Crash standing to the side. And
then she remembered Shannon. Pushing back from Cole’s hold, her eyes moved
between the two men.

“Baby, how did you get here?” Cole asked, frowning.

She told them about the DEA agent that let her go and how he had said
for them not to bother trying to go there, that the man that took her, the
British man, would be long gone.

“Nicklaus Ralston?” Crash asked.

Angel shrugged. “He never told me his name.” She proceeded to tell them
about Tate’s offer to give them a new location on where Ralston would be on
Thursday night and his advice to wait for their retaliation until some big
player named Montoya was out of the building.

Cole gritted his teeth. “Don’t much like being told how to handle this.”
He looked over at Crash, and then his eyes came back to Angel. “One thing I’m
not clear on, babe. I don’t understand why he just let you go.

“I don’t know. I guess he got what he wanted. I mean, I was shocked when
Shannon walked in. Was that part of your plan?”

Crash frowned, taking a step toward her. “Wait…what?”

“Shannon.”

“Angel, Shannon’s back at my place. Wolf’s watching her.”

Angel shook her head. “No, she’s not. She walked in and gave herself up.
Told him he had what he wanted now, so he could let me go.”

“What?” Crash’s eyes moved from Angel to Cole and back again.

“Only that’s not what happened. That slimy Brit was going to have them
kill me anyway. That DEA agent, Tate. He was the one that brought me back and
let me go. He told the two other men that Ralston had changed his mind, but
when he walked me up the drive, he told me that Ralston hadn’t changed his
mind.”

Crash bolted toward the door, but Cole stepped in front of him, grabbing
his cut. “Wait, Crash!”

“Let me go, brother. I’ve got to get Shannon.”

Cole slammed him up against the wall with two fistfuls of vest. “Listen
to her.”

Angel told him the rest of story, every detail she could remember. As
she did, Crash tried Wolf on his cell, pacing as he dialed the number again and
again, but he got no answer. His stricken eyes met Cole’s, and he shook his
head. “He’s not answering.”

“Fuck,” Cole whispered.

Crash stormed out.

Cole looked at Angel. “Baby, I’ve got to go with him.”

She nodded, “Go.”

They flew across town to Crash’s loft. He stormed through the loft
calling Shannon’s name. He paused half a second in the doorway to the bedroom,
taking in the room. Her things were still all there. He took the steps to the
roof two at a time, and Cole followed him up. The door boomed as it slammed
open. Wolf was slumped in one of the chairs, but there was no sign of Shannon.
Crash sprinted across the roof, half expecting to find Wolf with a bullet hole
through his chest. He appeared to be passed out. Crash shook him roughly.
“Wolf! Wake the fuck up!” When he got no response he slapped his face. Finally,
Wolf started to come around.

He looked around dazedly.

“Where’s Shannon?” Crash barked.

“Hmmm?” Wolf asked, frowning and licking his lips, still out of it.

Crash yanked him up by his vest, pulling him to his feet. “Motherfucker,
where’s Shannon?”

Cole picked up the drink glass sitting next to Wolf’s chair and smelled
it. “Didn’t you tell me Shannon had some sleeping pills with her?”

Crash dropped an unresponsive Wolf back onto the chair. “Yeah, why?”

“I think she dosed him.”

Crash met his eyes, and then looked back at Wolf. “She dosed him? Why
would she do that?”

“She wanted to give herself up from the start, Crash.”

“Fuck!” Crash collapsed into the chair next to Wolf. “I’ve got to get
her.”

“I know, man. I know. We will.”

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Tate had been sent on an errand all the way down to San Diego. He’d
wanted to stay near Shannon and keep an eye on her, but he’d been afraid to try
to talk his way out of the errand. Nicklaus was already suspicious of him. So,
he’d gone on the damned errand, and it had ended up taking two days. Now it was
Thursday night. He walked into the library of the second estate they’d moved
Shannon to, and he stopped short. She was standing there in a negligee. Christ
she looked like hell. How the hell much of that shit had he given her? He’d
only been gone forty-eight hours. Was it possible to become that strung out so
quickly? “Boss.”

Nicklaus’s eyes moved from Shannon to him. “Ah, Tate. You’re back.
Superb. I’ll need you tonight.”

“Everything okay here?” his eyes moved to Shannon as he moved further
into the room.

“Everything is fine, isn’t it, luv?” he asked Shannon. “Of course,
Shannon here is having a little craving, aren’t you, dear?”

“Please, Nick. I need it.”

“Now is that how you ask?”

Tate watched as Nick nodded toward the floor. Then he watched unbelievably
as the beautiful strong woman from just a few days ago dropped to her knees in
front of this man.

“Please Nick. I’ve been good, haven’t I?”

The pleading sound of her voice turned his stomach. Lifting his eyes to
Ralston, Tate thought about how much he wanted to drill a round through his
head.

*****

Crash paced the floor of the clubhouse. He ran his hand through his hair
for the tenth time. “He should have called by now. He was supposed to call.”

“Calm down, brother. He said he’d let us know by six o’clock. It’s only
half past five.” Cole leaned against a barstool, his arms folded and watched
his friend pace. He knew this was killing Crash, because he knew just how he
felt from when Angel was with that asshole. He wanted to kill the motherfucker,
and that was exactly what he planned to do. By this time tomorrow that
son-of-a-bitch wouldn’t be breathing.

Angel had gone through hell the last two days with withdrawal from
whatever drug they’d given her. She’d had severe headaches and tremors. Then
they’d moved to body and muscle aches as if she’d had the flu. Cole had held
her close in bed the last two nights as she struggled through the symptoms and
the sleeplessness that accompanied them. He’d begged her forgiveness, guilt
overwhelming him, but she’d reassured him that she didn’t blame him, and she’d
told him she’d had total faith in him that he’d never give up until he had her
back. Hearing her express her faith in him like that had touched something deep
inside him. He hated what she’d been through, but in the end, it had brought
them closer as a couple as he’d realized all over again how important she was
to him.

He looked over at his brother, watching the torment he was going through.
A torment that had already lasted two long days.

The clubhouse phone rang, and Cole spun to answer it. “Yeah?” He looked
at Crash, who had paused his pacing and was staring at him. He nodded his head.
“Yeah, okay. Okay, right. Got it. I understand. Give you my word, man. We’ll
hold off, just give me the goddamned location.” He paused, then snapped his
fingers, signaling to Red Dog, who slid him a piece of paper and a pen. Cole
began to scribble down an address and a few vague directions. “The back?
Sliding glass doors. Got it.”

After he hung up, he turned to Crash and his brothers. “Let’s pull up
the map. Go over it and make sure everyone’s on the same page.” He paused and
looked at Crash, knowing his next words were going to gut him. “He’s leaving
for Europe on a private jet at midnight, so we’ve only got one shot at this.”

Crash’s eyes slid closed, and his head dropped.

Cole walked over to him, sliding his hand to the back of Crash’s neck.
“We’re not gonna let you down, Crash. He’s not leaving that property alive.”

Crash nodded, and then lifted his head. “Yeah.”

Cole turned to the others. “Let’s move.”

*****

Montoya and his men had just left. Tate felt he’d gotten everything he
needed to nail his operation. Three months of undercover work had all led up to
this night, and it had finally paid off. But he knew this night’s drama had an
act two, and it was about to begin. The minute those black SUVs cleared the
property and headed down the hill, Cole and his men were going to be storming
the place. He’d already made sure that the sliding glass doors that faced the
back were left unlocked, and Bradshaw and Carter were out front, making sure
Montoya’s men cleared the front gates.

Tate was in the library with Nicklaus. It was the place they’d held the
meeting with Montoya. Nicklaus lit up a cigar, leaned back in his chair and blew
smoke toward the ceiling. He motioned toward the box of cigars. “Help
yourself.”

“No thanks, sir. I think I’ll pass. Never been much for smoking.” Tate
declined, knowing he only had minutes to get clear of the room and hopefully
make sure Shannon was well out of the line of fire. That plan was shot to hell,
when the side door flew open, and she stumbled into the room.

Tate took one look at her and knew she’d been too long without that damn
drug Nicklaus had been giving her. She was holding it together, but she was
borderline.

Nicklaus looked over at her as if he’d been expecting her. “How good of
you to join us, luv, but I didn’t send for you. You know the rules. Am I going
to have to punish you?”

Before Tate could anticipate her next move, she flew across the room in
her long satin nightgown that hugged every curve and pulled the kitchen knife
from behind her back, slicing it across Nicklaus’s throat. Blood went
everywhere, spraying across the wall, desk and the front of Shannon.

Tate lunged across the desk, but it was too late. Nicklaus slumped back
in his chair, his arms falling wide, and his cigar dropping to the floor. Blood
continued to spurt from his throat. Tate grabbed Shannon from behind and
grabbed her wrist, holding it high and wide. It was at that moment that the
Evil Dead burst through the door, guns drawn and aimed at him. Fucking hell.

Crash stalked forward, his pistol aimed straight at Tate’s head and
getting closer with each step.

“It’s not what you think. She just slit his throat. It’s his blood, not
hers. I was trying to get the knife away from her before she hurt herself.”

“Get your fucking hands off her!” Crash growled.

“Okay. All right, but she’s pretty messed up. Ralston’s been keeping her
heavily drugged.”

Crash’s eyes moved to Shannon. Christ, he barely recognized her. Besides
the fact that she was covered in blood, her hair hung limp, she was pale, and
her eyes looked vacant. He swallowed. “Princess.”

Her eyes met his, at first it was as if she didn’t recognize him or
maybe just didn’t expect to see him standing there in front of her. Then her
eyes glazed, and her lip started to tremble.

“Baby, put the knife down. It’s all gonna be okay.” He watched as she
looked over at her hand like she didn’t even remember having the knife in her
hand. Then she dropped it and started shaking. Tate still had his arm around
her waist, and Crash knew that was probably all that was keeping her on her
feet.

Holding his gun on Tate, he came around the desk, his other arm reaching
out to Shannon. “C’mere, baby. Walk to me.”

Tate’s arm loosened, and she stepped over to Crash, collapsing against
him. His arm tightened around her, holding her close. “I’ve got you, Shannon.
I’ve got you.”

She began to sob against his chest.

Cole, Wolf and Red Dog stepped forward, their guns still aimed at Tate.

“I’ve got it, Crash. Take care of her,” Cole said quietly.

Crash lowered his gun and pulled Shannon back from the carnage she’d
wreaked on Nicklaus. He walked backwards to a small loveseat by the fireplace
and sat down, pulling her onto his lap. He cuddled her close, rocking her and
holding her. “It’s over. It’s all over, baby. I’ve got you.”

She looked up at him, her eyes liquid with tears. “You came for me.”

“Of course I did. Did you have any doubt?” Her lip trembled. He brushed
the hair tenderly back from her forehead and brought his face close to hers. “Listen
to me, baby. No one and nothing is going to get in our way or pull us apart. Do
you understand me?”

She nodded, her head going to his chest, holding him tight.

Tate’s eyes moved from Shannon to Cole to Nicklaus’s body. “Seems we’ve
got a problem.”

“From my perspective, it’s you with the problem,” Cole countered.

Tate looked down at the body, the blood, and the knife. “This is going
to need an explanation.”

“Yeah, and you’re gonna make it.”

Tate nodded. “I suppose Montoya may have sliced his throat before he
left. What happened to Mutt and Jeff out front?”

“Let’s just say they’re sleepin’ it off.”

Tate nodded again and looked back at Nicklaus. “He was an asshole.” Then
he nodded to Shannon. “She was as brave as I’ve ever seen, and she didn’t
deserve what he did to her.” He looked down at Nicklaus again. “He, on the
other hand, deserved exactly what he got.” He looked back at Cole. “You should
get her out of here. And take the murder weapon with you.”

Cole grinned, lowering his weapon. “Glad we could work things out. My
only regret is I didn’t get to kill him myself. Thanks for your help tonight. I
owe you one.”

“Yeah, whatever. Get going before I change my mind.”

*****

Crash lay in bed, Shannon in his arms, tight up against his side. His
arms were wrapped around her. He’d brought her back to his place and took her
straight into a hot shower. Her body shaking even in the heat of the water. He’d
patiently and gently washed every inch of blood from her skin and hair, holding
her close as it was all rinsed away. He’d murmured to her reassuringly and
soothed her with a gentle mantra of tender words, telling her over and over
that she was safe.

Now she lay against him, the tremors still racking her body as
withdrawal set in. He stroked her back and head. “Baby, maybe we should get you
some help. The hospital or…”

“No! Please, C-Crash. I just want to be here, with you. I just need to
be here.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Okay. Whatever you want. But, if it gets too much for
you to stand, tell me, all right?”

She nodded against him.

“Shannon, promise?”

“I promise. Talk to me. You know your voice calms me.”

Crash grinned against her head. He stroked his fingers through her hair.
“Baby, you scared the shit outta me when I came home and found you gone. Why
did you leave?”

“I had to. I couldn’t live with myself if something had happened to
Angel.”

“This isn’t gonna work, Shannon, if you don’t trust me enough to handle
things and listen to what I tell you.”

“I couldn’t just sit here, knowing I was the cause of everything.”

“Wolf is beating himself up for having let you get away.”

“It wasn’t his fault, Crash. I mixed a sleeping pill in his drink.”

“I’m still gonna beat his ass.”

“Crash.”

“He knows it’s coming, babe. He wouldn’t be a man if he didn’t take the
beating.”

“Please don’t.”

“You don’t have a say in it, sweetheart. It’s just the way it is. You
don’t let your brother down. No matter what. He knows it, and he’s going to
take that beating gladly.”

“Crash, no.”

“Shh. Did I tell you how happy I am you’re home?”

“Is this home, Crash?”

“It can be, if you want it to be.” Crash felt his throat go tight
awaiting her reaction to his words.

She nodded. “I’d like that. I don’t ever want to leave. I feel safe with
you.”

He tightened his hold on her. “I feel like I kinda fell down on the job
of keeping you safe.”

“You kept me safe, Crash. If I’d have listened to you, Nicklaus wouldn’t
have gotten ahold of me. I know that.”

They were silent for a few minutes, then Crash realized Shannon was
silently weeping. He dipped his head to hers, his heart ripping at her pain. “Baby,
what is it?”

“He had me, Crash. I didn’t want anyone else to touch me after you, but
he did.”

His eyes slid closed, wishing he could go back and put ten rounds in the
bastard. “I’m so sorry, baby. But you’re safe now. He can’t ever touch you
again, sweetheart. You took care of him. You were so strong and you took care
of him. I was so proud of you, honey.”

She sniffled quietly.

“No one is ever going to hurt you again, Shannon.”

“Hold me.” She clung tighter to him.

He squeezed her tight. “I’m here, baby. I’m here.”