Damaged & Dangerous: The Sacred Hearts MC Book VI (19 page)

“Just listen to what I’m tellin’ you. You’re a smart girl,
Dani, for all you got mixed up with the wrong people.” I nodded. I think I
understood perfectly well what Dragon was telling me. Everything about his
actions, everything that he was doing bespoke one thing,
here is your second
chance. You’re safe, you’re sound, now build a life for yourself.

“You might wanna go on and tell them how you need that stuff
set up, otherwise they’re just gonna drop it wherever,” he said, and put his
helmet on his head. This entire time he’d been straddling his bike,
comfortable. I nodded.

“Thank you just doesn’t cut it,” I said dubiously.

“Just give us a chance,” he said and started his bike back
up, “That’s all the thanks we need.” I stepped back and nodded and he followed
the black top loop around the grassed-in area and back out to the lot. I heard
a couple of other bikes join the chug of his over the main building and then
listened as they faded into the distance, mulling over everything he’d said.

“Dani, how do you need this stuff to go?” Disney called,
distracting me. I went over.

“Um, I think the kiln needs to be more like… Um, yeah!
That’d be great…” and I immersed myself into accepting Dragon and the SHMC’s
kindness, all the while beating down the voice inside my head that was telling
me that
if it was too good to be true…
resolutely telling it to shut up
because after everything they had done so far, and after so long under the
tyrant’s spell, I was ready to
believe
again.

Red-XIII…

Point Nowhere was as deserted as a church in the heart of a
red light district. Reave and I let Blue and Duracell do the heavy lifting
after pulling the van into the building. Really we just opened the back doors,
handcuffed Pig’s hands in front of him, and let the ceiling-mounted engine
hoist do the rest. Now he was hanging from the ceiling, feet around a foot off
the floor, still unconscious. With as hard as Blue had cracked him, I was
starting to wonder if he’d ever wake up. Blood ran in a slick wash down his
back from the cut on his scalp, rivulets spilling over his shoulder and midway
down his chest.

“Think we should get some salts under his nose?” Duracell
mused. Blue frowned and shook his head.

“Naw,” Reaver intoned. “Best wait for the others. Let
sleeping…” he wrinkled his nose, “Yeah not even going to finish that thought.”
Reaver glowered.

“I want to hurt him.” I stated simply. “First time I ever
laid eyes on Dani, he had her backed into a corner, threatening her. She looked
so damned small and so afraid, but she stood her ground, smarted off to him,
and he backhanded her a good one.” I sniffed. “Last time he really laid his
hands on her was around a month ago. Backhanded her a good one… Months back I
had to watch this animal fuck her on the club room’s pool table so’s everyone
could watch. I don’t even know what she did to piss him off, but the look on
her face, just blank and staring… was like she was dying inside a little at a
time.”

Blue was scowling, Duracell was giving Pig a decidedly
unfriendly look, but Reaver was looking at me. “That what made you wanna save
her?” he asked.

“I think it was the start. Honestly, what sealed it for me
was after Rev gave me that cover story ass-whoopin’. She got saddled with
patching me up, and she wraps these two Oxy in a piece of paper and stuffs ‘em
in my pocket.” I pulled out the receipt with her note, which I had carefully
folded in my wallet. I handed it to Blue, who read it, raised his eyebrows and
passed it on to Duracell.

“She stuffs that in my pocket, then writes on my arm to
check my pockets. Man, if this scum bag or any of the others had caught her
dipping into their stash on account of helping me, they would have beat her ass
in to the next week and maybe even in to the week after that. Not going to lie,
when I felt her hand go in my pocket I thought sure she was going to roll me,
but no. She was trying to save me some pain.”

We talked, mostly about Dani, what I’d seen, and what I’d
heard from the Suicide Kings about her. I didn’t share anything that she’d told
me out of turn but I could tell, the more I talked, the hotter and deeper the
water Pig was sittin’ in was getting. Finally we were interrupted by his
groaning and coming to, just in time for the roar of pipes to drift into the
building from outside.

Dragon, Trig, and Ghost came through the door and I nodded
in their direction. I was stiff and fucking uncomfortable as shit where I stood,
leaning heavily against an old metal work table.

“Just in time, he’s just waking up,” I called out. Trig and
Ghost stood off to one side, Dragon took the lead on this one. He marched up to
Pig and grabbed him by a fistful of hair, hauling his head up to look at him.

“Only got a couple of questions for you, Boy,” Dragon
intoned in his deep baritone of a voice. “Where can we find the rest of your
crew?” Pig spit in our President’s face. Dragon socked him in the ribs. Pig
grunted. I leaned back.

“You know what? I’m gettin’ too old for this shit…” Dragon
uttered, walking away from him and wiping his face with a spare bandanna.
“Reave, you go ahead now.” Reaver stepped up and I swear the dude was made of
fuckin’ ice. He just exuded
creepy motherfucker
as he stepped across the
concrete floor in his soft-soled sneakers.

He brought out the switchblade he’d given to Dani, “This
here is my very favorite knife. I gave it to Dani…” Pig frowned and there was
no recognition, I sighed…

“Coon, you jackass!” I called over. Reaver frowned at me and
turned back to Pig.

“You’ve been tormenting that girl for years and you can’t
even recognize her
name
when you hear it?” Reaver looked disgusted and
started carving, Pig started screaming and I don’t think a single damned one of
us really felt all that damned bad about it. I scrubbed my face with my hands
after about an hour of it. We weren’t getting anywhere.

“Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!” I called, “I got a better
idea.” I went over to the supply bench and plucked off a handheld propane
torch. I opened the valve and got it hissing and used a spark lighter to get it
to catch. Once ignited, I walked towards Pig, adjusting the flame until I got a
nice, steady blue burn on her.

“Tell us where the rest of ‘em live.”

“Fuck you!”

“Get his pants off him.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Pig started screaming and
thrashing as Ghost and Trig did what I told them with grim faces. When he was
hanging there nude I asked him,

“Have I got your attention?”

“Yes!”

“You going to tell me what I wanna know?” He was crying now
and it was pretty fucking pathetic watching a grown ass man cry, but I was
thinking about Dani’s tears. He would need to cry a hundred to match a single
one shed from her cornflower blue eyes and I still didn’t think that would be enough.

“Yes! I’ll tell you what you wanna know!” and he did.
Spilled everything. I took the torch to his balls anyways. The smell of his
flesh cooking drove Blue and Ghost out into the night retching, but I stood
there and burned the motherfucker anyways. It was Dragon who stopped the high
and piteous screaming, he blew a hole right through Pig-Pen’s head. I shut off
the torch and stood there grimly. It was Reaver who took it from my hand.

“You’re going to need a while before you go back to Dani. Trust
me,” he said quietly. I nodded and went with him out to the edge of the
property. We sat quietly.

“That’s the most fucked up thing I think I’ve ever done.” I
sniffed, “I’ve done some pretty fucked up things, too,” I admitted.

Reaver gave me a baleful look. “It isn’t so fucked up by
half, Brother. You’re good. Still human. I promise,” he said. I stared up into
the star-shot sky. We’d been at it a good long while.

“How do you do it, Man?” I asked.

“I just don’t care…” he said honestly and shrugged, “That’s
what it is, really. I care that I don’t care. I know it’s wrong and I know it’s
fucked up and I just don’t feel anything. Get to that place with this before we
go back. You have to, but get to that place
only
for this, you
understand me? Don’t make a repeat visit. I’ve made too damned many.” He got up
and went back to the ugly metal building and I nodded.

I didn’t have a fucking clue how I was going to do that. Not
clue one.

Dani…

I woke so late at night it was the wee hours of the morning,
to Thirteen sliding into the bed behind me. He drew me back into the curve of
his body and kissed the back of my shoulder, sighing out as if the weight of
the world was upon his shoulders.

“Are you okay?” I murmured, concerned.

“No, Babe. I’m really not, but I will be,” he kissed the
back of my shoulder again.

“Is he…?”

“Yeah.” He sounded terse, incredibly so, and so I dropped it
immediately. We were silent for a very long time and I thought maybe he’d
fallen asleep.

“Thank you,” I whispered and my tension eased. I melted into
the hard warmth of him and he murmured back to me,

“Don’t thank me, Babe. Not for that. Please?” he said. I
nodded and bit the inside of my cheek.

“Okay.”

I was a complete coward. I didn’t want to know. I’d asked
Thirteen to do something so terrible that he came back to me in such a state,
and I didn’t want to know. I closed my eyes and slept, but it was far from
soundly and fraught with twisting nightmares and dreams.

We spent the next two days, essentially, in bed. Rising only
for meals, forget showering; and most of the time we spent together was spent
facing one another, hands clasped, sometimes speaking softly, sometimes just
searching the other’s face, communicating comfort through gentle touches and
meaningful looks. We kissed but that was all, the day’s events from my move
taking a real and exhausting toll on Thirteen physically, and both of us
emotionally.

On the third day, Doc came to Thirteen’s room and said, “Get
your asses out of bed, the both of you, and come out here,” before he turned on
his heel and strode out into the common room. Thirteen and I exchanged a look
and got out of bed. He pulled on a pair of flannel pajama pants and I pulled on
his robe and we went out into the common area. Doc held out two trifolded
pieces of paper, one to me and one to Thirteen.

“Yer results,” he said and I swallowed hard. I unfolded the
page with shaking fingers. Negative. Negative all the way down the line. I sank
to the floor, my legs folding under me with relief.

“Well, I’m clear,” Thirteen said and looked over to me and
down. “Shit, Dani, what’s wrong!?” he snatched the page from my hand and read
it over and frowned.

“You’re fine,” he said confused.

“You might wanna hold her or something, she’s having the
same deal Em had.” Dray commented dryly. Thirteen crouched, and folded me into
his arms, and I burst into relieved sobs.

I was clean. Last hurdle vaulted. I was clean and I was
clear of the Suicide Kings. I was
free.
Thirteen held me and looked at
Dray, helpless and horrified.

“It’s cool, Man. Just let her vent,” he said and he motioned
to the others sitting around to get up and get out, leaving just me and
Thirteen alone. He smoothed a hand over my hair and made me look at him.

“You’re okay, Baby, you’re fine! Shhhhhh,” he soothed, and
held me until the last of my tears dried up. I was elated. As soon as I had my
shit together from my latest meltdown I felt
lighter.
The cry had been
cathartic and I felt cleansed in a way that no shower or bath could accomplish.

“You okay?” he asked me.

I nodded against him. “Yeah,” I said and my voice sounded
piteous, even to me.

“Okay, come on, let’s get you up off the floor then.” I rose
with him and he took me in to one of the bathrooms and sat me on the closed lid
of the toilet.

“Be right back,” he returned with towels and we showered
together. He held me and I held him and we traced each other’s forms with
delicate touches of fingertips and lips, and in some cases tongues. There was
no sex, not yet. The time wasn’t right for either of us. We still needed to
heal. Once showered, we dressed comfortably.

“Guess we should rejoin the land of the living, eh?” he
asked. I smiled and nodded. We joined a bunch of the other guys in what was
dubbed the media room, where a couch and recliners and a few oversized beanbag
chairs resided.

“What’re we watching?” Thirteen asked, pulling me down
between his legs and against his chest.

“Trying to figure that out,” Archer grunted. He looked me
over and there was no trace of hostility this time, just a thinly veiled
curiosity.

“We got Guardians of the Galaxy?” Thirteen asked him.

“Yeah, why?”

“Put it in, Dani doesn’t get why I call her Rocket,” Archer
shrugged and obliged him, sliding the disc into the tray. The movie was funny
and the raccoon named Rocket a brazen little guy for his size. I laughed and
enjoyed myself thoroughly.

When the movie ended, Reaver looked at us. “Okay, now
we
don’t get why you call her Rocket, fill some of us in who missed it.”

“The Suicide Kings called me Raccoon, on account of my
always having two black eyes,” I murmured. There were several dark looks being
traded.

“Gotcha,” Reaver said and no more was said about it. We went
to bed after the movie, I waited for Thirteen to initiate anything sexual but
he simply held me, kissing my forehead. I slept better that night than I had
ever slept before.

The next day he found me in the first bay of the large
garage outbuilding, straightening my workbench and firing up equipment to
ensure the circuit would take it.

“What’re you doing?” he asked, and dropped into a seat
nearby.

“Making sure the system you have in place can handle the
load; so far, so good.” I shrugged and sorted my tools carefully.

“Getting back into it?” he asked sounding wary.

“Going to try. I’m not going anywhere, if you’re worried,” I
said softly.

“You and me have been under one hell of a strain,” he
admitted.

“Together,” I pointed out. “I don’t want to see this fail
before I’ve given it a chance to start, Thirteen.” He pulled me between his
legs and held me lightly by my hips.

“Me, either.” He looked up into my eyes, “Wanna show me how
some of this works?” I gave him a tiny smile and nodded, surprised that he
grasped things rather quickly.

“I never asked you what you did for a living,” I said
finally.

“I’m a welder. Worked on a riverboat for a while. One month
on, one month off. Brutal schedule but for a single guy not so bad, just wanted
to move on to something new, put down roots. This place seemed like a good
place to start. Dragon is a solid Pres, it’s the mother chapter, and they’d
gone legit. Was supposed to be no more violence, until the Suicide Kings
brought the fight to our door.”

“When it’s done?” I asked.

“Figured I’d do what I could to help you. Maybe pick up a
new trade or go back to welding someplace land-based.” He shrugged.

“Okay.” I humored him, “Where are we going to live? Here?”

“For the time being, until we’ve finished what was started,
then I figured we’d talk, figure out what we wanted and go from there. The
possibilities are endless, Baby. We can do whatever we want.” I narrowed my
eyes, and cupped his face with my hands.

“Apartment or house?” I asked.

“I’d like to buy a house, what do you think about that?” his
voice had grown husky and I drew closer to him.

“Never lived in a house, I think it sounds nice,” I
admitted.

“All right,” he said against my lips, and then we were
kissing. His mouth moved sure against mine and I sighed, and eased into his
embrace.

“I want you,” he growled.

“I’m right here,” I told him. He swept some things off my
worktable and boosted me up onto it. It was the perfect height and soon our
mouths were crashing together. His hands went to the button and fly of my jeans
just as mine scrabbled against his. It was several frantic jerking movements as
we unbuttoned and unzipped. I raised myself off the worktable, putting my hands
flat against the metal.

“Shit! I don’t have a condom,” he griped.

“I had an IUD put in,” I gasped. He growled, a deep and
appreciative sound, and nipped at the side of my neck as I kicked off my shoes
and he got rid of my jeans. The metal of the worktable was cold against my ass
but I didn’t care.

I was careful of his one shoulder, pulling him against me by
his ribs, the cotton of his tee so soft beneath my palms. He smelled
ridiculously good, of clean male and fresh laundry. His hands found my hips and
pulled me to the edge of the table, and I moaned as I wrapped my legs around
his hips. Just as he was about to enter me, the side door opened.

I shrieked and tucked myself against Thirteen, hiding. I had
no clue who had come in but hiding seemed like a really good idea.

“Oh, shit! Sorry!” a male voice cried and I heard the door
slam. Thirteen held me close and started laughing. I gave him a baleful look.

“Oh, come on! We finally go there and
this!?
How is
that not funny?” he asked. I gave him a light shove and he handed me my pants
and panties, hauling his own jeans up. It took a ridiculous amount of him
rearranging himself to get his jeans on comfortably. I raised an eyebrow,
noting that underwear wasn’t really his thing. He shrugged, “Too constrictive.
Never liked it.” I laughed and hopped to the floor, buttoning and zipping
myself up.

The side door opened and a voice called in, “Is the coast
clear!?”

“Yeah,” I called back.

Revelator came through the door, his eyes squeezed tightly
shut, bitching, “Oh God! It burns!”

“What does?” Thirteen asked, grinning.

“The sight of your naked ass! Straight into my brain!”
Thirteen laughed.

“That’s what you get for not knocking first.”

“Duly noted. No worries, Rocket, I didn’t see anything.” I
nodded and the uneasy tension in my shoulders loosened.

“Did you need something?” I asked.

“Uh, yeah, I wanted to talk to you, actually.” He slid up
onto one of the tall stools near my work table and I pushed myself back up onto
it, swinging my legs.

“What about?”

“I asked my girl to marry me before I found out I knocked
her up, but it was sort of half-assed and impromptu. Anyways, I told her I
would ask her again properly but I sort of need a ring, so I was wondering if
you maybe wanted to trade?” he buried his hands in the pockets of his long,
denim shorts and leaned back on the stool precariously. 

“Trade how? I mean you want a ring, obviously, but what do
you want to trade me for it?” He’d piqued my interest with his approach and the
grin that spread across his face told me he knew it.

“Swap you skills. You make my girl an engagement ring, I’ll
fix your tattoo.” I stilled.

“What do you mean you’ll fix it?” I asked quietly.
Could
something like that be fixed?

“It’s what I do. Me, Trig, and Dis, we’re all tattoo
artists. I mean, I’m the resident piercer, too, but yeah. Trig and me are the
best cover-up artists in the state.”

“Cover up?” I echoed, “How do you cover up something like
this?”

“Well I’d have to see it but generally using pattern and
color and by doing something bigger… you okay?” I’m pretty sure I looked ill,
because Thirteen took me by the hand.

“I’m afraid of needles,” I confessed, “It was hell being
held down and having
this
put on. Only thing I’m afraid of more is
burning, which is why Pig tried to brand me in the first place.”  Revelator
considered me.

“Was it bad?” he asked, “The sensation, I mean. I mean of
course it was bad, being afraid and all.”

I thought about it. “Yes and no.”

“Guess the question is, do you want to live with that thing
the rest of your life?” he met my gaze and I stilled.

“I’ll start your ring now, today. Do you have a picture of
your girlfriend?” He gave me a winning, victorious smile and pulled out his
phone.

“Don’t tell her I showed you these, they uh, they’re
supposed to be just for me but they’re the only pictures I have right now.” He
handed me his phone and, oh my! The pictures were very erotic in nature but
also very tastefully done.

“Wow, that’s quite the tattoo,” I mentioned.

“It’s not, actually. It’s Sharpie, come to think of it I can
do the same thing on you to show you how we can disguise that thing on you
before you commit to any needles. I mean, the tattoo will look way better and
be a lot cleaner but it’ll give you an idea… Is she listening to a word I’m
saying?”

“I’m listening,” I said but my voice sounded far away even
to me. I knew exactly what I wanted to do for this ring and was already taking
tools to wax to carve out a three-dimensional image for a mold.

“Okay. I’ll uh, I’ll come back,” he said.

“Okay, leave the phone,” I said when he went to pick it up.
He gave an incredulous laugh, said something to Thirteen, and left. Thirteen
kissed my temple and went and sat down. I kept Revelator’s phone awake but
finally the screen went dark and I frowned.

“Damn!” Thirteen chuckled, unlocked it for me, went back to
his little video game on his phone.

The images inspired me. So full of love and light and trust,
the ivy vines drawn onto his woman and her coloring speaking to me. I had
visions of white gold and a diamond solitaire. The wedding band, when the
engagement ring was slipped into it, bracketed the solitaire with three marquis-cut
emeralds to either side forming twin ivy leaves. If I did this right then the
bands would be the vine, and I planned on making it thin but strong to support
the daily wear an engagement and wedding band required.

I worked diligently and I worked late, getting the wax into
the clay and into the kiln to bake overnight and form the mold required to cast
the pieces. This was not going to be an easy set, but I could do it. Thirteen
and I wandered back into the clubhouse, where we found several of the guys
indulging in fried chicken at one of the tables. Rev was one of them and I gave
him back his phone. Disney was sitting with an open sketchbook at the next
table, drawing.