SOULLESS (Black Thorns, #2) (8 page)

Seems it somehow slipped Runner’s mind that Dealer’s Rox’s dad. He looks shit-scared as the realization hits him.

“Yeah, better tone it down. Her dad’s right here,” I tell him. “And so am I.”

“It was just jokes,” he says, holding up his hands.

To my surprise, Rox laughs. Then she shocks all of us by saying, “Plus, he’s right. It isn’t something you forget.”

“Jesus Christ,” Dealer mutters. “Don’t wanna hear that outta your mouth, princess.”

Runner bursts out laughing then.

But I ain’t laughing. And it ain’t ‘bout what
he
said, cuz that’s just the way he is and he ain’t gonna change. He’s a crude son of a bitch. Hell, we all are, but the rest of us know to tone it down when we need to—like in a situation like this—while Runner don’t.

Nah, it’s her response to it.

It ain’t
her
at all. She’s even more far gone than I’d realized. The girl I knew woulda busted his balls for saying shit like that to her. Rox always hated any public reference to our sex lives. She was classy like that, unlike the rest of us Neanderthals.

I don’t like the way she is right now.

I wanna see my girl looking back at me, not this strange version of her.

“All right. Get ready to move,” Dealer says, cutting through my thoughts.

I eye the elevator buttons. One floor to go ‘til we reach the parking level.

I move to ready my gun, but Rox snatches it outta my grip. “You’re wounded. Stay behind them.”

I’m ‘bout to argue, but Dealer shuts me up by grabbing my gun from Rox, then stepping in front of me, readying both mine and his—a gun in either hand. Runner steps up beside him and takes the same position.

As the doors creep open, we all tense.

Rox’s arms are wrapped ‘round me. I can feel she wants to take my weight to help me, but I ain’t gonna let her. I’m way too heavy to put that on her. No way I’m gonna risk hurting her. Besides, I ain’t a pussy. It’s just a fucking gunshot wound. I got this. Sure, I’m a little light-headed, but I’m still good to go here.

Dealer and Runner step outta the elevator and scan the area.

“They ain’t here,” Runner reports.

“Not yet,” Dealer corrects. “Let’s move. Make it quick.”

Chapter 8

~Ax~

“Fuck,” I grunt as Runner finally moves back and holds up the bloodied bullet he’s pulled outta my shoulder.

“Sorry, brother. Fucking thing was in deep and I don’t exactly got the best tools here. Probably woulda been a through-and-through if it weren’t for the leather jacket.” He starts laughing to himself. “Real ironic, if you ask me, a biker getting screwed from wearing leathers. Supposed to be the other way ‘round.”

“Glad this is so fucking funny to you, asshole,” I mutter, shifting my weight uncomfortably in the passenger seat of his truck.

He rummages inside the first aid kit on the dash in front of me. He’s balancing on the step of the truck and the open passenger door.

We’re pulled over in the parking lot of a strip mall.

Rox and Dealer are inside getting some disinfectant shit for the wound.

We’re ‘bout two hours outside the city—a safe distance from Kent—and ‘bout an hour away from the clubhouse.

An hour away, but the damn gunshot wound couldn’t wait no longer, according to Runner’s dramatics. I ain’t gonna lie—having the bullet out is a fucking relief. Jesus Christ.

A sharp prick in my wrist startles me and I turn to see him sticking a damn needle in me.

“What the fuck is that?”

“Painkiller,” he tells me, pulling it out and wrapping it back up in the kit.

“What?”

“You’re sweating with it. Need something to take the edge off.”

He ain’t wrong. Sweat’s actually pouring off me. My breath’s coming hard and fast. But that’s after it taking close to a half hour to extract the bullet. I woulda been okay.

“That shit gonna knock me out?” I demand, getting pissed at the idea, cuz I gotta be alert. Can’t be down for the count. I’m Prez and I gotta take control of this Kent situation ASAP.

“You’ll be fine.”

I can’t tell if he’s lying, cuz he avoids eye contact by focusing on packing up the kit. When he’s done, he lobs it into the back.

“What you doing here, Runner? Didn’t send you.”

“I been watching you, Ax. Knew you were up to something. Then Dealer showing up? That was a dead giveaway that something was up. So, I followed you.”

“Why?”

“Cuz I know you. You always think you gotta do shit on your own and never ask for back up. Too bad. You got it anyway. Good thing I did follow you, cuz the way things were looking when I showed up at her condo, you wouldn’t have got away with just a single gunshot wound, you know? And
Kent
, Ax? Jesus. You okay?”

I know what he’s getting at. Runner was front and center that day the club pulled me outta that shit show. He saw what the fucker had done to me. And he ain’t never been able to get it outta his head, I guess. Just like I ain’t.

“Fine,” I grunt. “Bullet’s out. I’m good.”

He watches me and I can tell he wants to push it. He clearly knows better, though, and instead he looks away. His eyes dart over to the strip mall. I follow his line of sight and see Rox and Dealer making their way back over to us.

“So, when’s the wedding?” Runner asks.

“Fuck you.”

“You let her ride your bike, man.”

“Was an emergency situation.”

He scoffs. “Might as well have given her an engagement ring—same gesture as letting her ride your Harley. You forget how well I know you.”

He’s right.

If only it was that simple. If only me and Rox could just damn well be together like a normal couple. But no, first I gotta go on a fucking death quest just to make it safe for her to be with a man like me. And now…with this Kent shit, it’s even more fucked up.

I thought I could somehow push it down. I can’t. That’s become clear with all the time I‘ve had sitting in this truck to think ‘bout it; think ‘bout her being with that psycho.

“She’s been with him. With Kent,” I end up blurting out.

“What? He’s fucked her?”

I growl at just hearing those words. “Says they were engaged.”

“You gonna be able to get past that?”

“Dunno.”

Before I can say more, Rox and Dealer reach the open passenger door.

Her eyes are full of worry as she takes me in, sweating and exhausted. Whatever Runner gave me, I can feel it quickly draining me, zapping me of my strength and taking every ounce of energy I got left. My shirt’s off and blood’s staining my skin. And my shoulder’s a bloodied mess.

She reaches into the plastic bag she’s holding and pulls out a bottle of disinfectant. She makes a move to climb up into the cab, but I hold up my good hand. “Let Runner take care of it.”

She flinches at my dismissal and steps back, all dejected and shit. I look away, not wanting to see the pain on her face. I just can’t deal with all that shit right now. Knowing she’s been with that demented fucker ain’t an easy pill to swallow. Looking at her right now’s just a brutal reminder of it and it’s making me sick to my stomach.

“Neil,” she says sadly. “I—”

“Don’t. Not now. Can’t look at you right now.”

“What Malcolm said isn’t—”

“You fuck him?”

“I—”

“Yes or no?”

“Yes, but—”

“But nothing, Rox!”

“Ax,” Dealer growls, not liking the way I’m treating her.

“It’s fine,” she says quietly, before taking off behind the truck where she and Dealer parked the bikes.

Dealer steps up to the cab, his eyes narrowed as he tells me, “Watch yourself. You push her away this time and I’ll make damn sure that’s
it
between you two. For good. You won’t find her again. You got me?”

“He just needs some time,” Runner says.

“Yeah, well. Time ain’t something he’s got. I don’t want her staying at the clubhouse ‘round a bunch of horny, drunk fuckers. But she wants to stay with you. So, you’re gonna protect her. As far as the club knows, she’s your Old Lady. Only way to keep her safe and keep their hands off her, cuz you may have noticed, she ain’t the old Roxana. She don’t stand a chance there on her own without your protection right now. I need your word on it, or I’m taking her away right the hell now. You ain’t gonna put my daughter in danger again, Ax.”

“What you think of me?” I fume. “You think just cuz I’m pissed ‘bout her and Kent, I’d let
anyone
fuck with her? You got my word, all right? No one’s gonna fucking touch her.”

“The boys already know she’s off limits anyway,” Runner says. “Trust me. Ax has made that clear.”

He’s talkin’ ‘bout the time a few months back when I put him down after finding out ‘bout him getting aggressive with her.

“Make sure they get a reminder,” Dealer says, before stepping back and following after Rox.

Shit. Even before I found out ‘bout her and Kent, I shoulda realized what a dumb idea letting her come back to the clubhouse was. I shoulda said no when she suggested it. But I’d been too caught up in the idea of being ‘round her again after all this time and that’s all I’d seen. I’d just pictured her and me at the clubhouse together. Her in my bed. In close quarters. Taking care of her under my protection.

Jesus. Shit’s ‘bout to get way too fucking complicated.

Chapter 9

~Roxana~

I’m leaning against the garage outside, dragging on a cigarette and looking out at the courtyard full of bikes at the Black Thorns clubhouse.

By the time we arrived here an hour ago, Neil was asleep. Apparently, Runner had given him a really strong painkiller, both to take away his pain
and
to force him to rest. He knows Neil well, understanding that he wouldn’t rest at a time like this unless he was forced to. And he needs to. Not just because of the gunshot wound, but also because he looked exhausted. The moment he showed up at my work celebration, I saw it. There were prominent dark circles beneath his bloodshot eyes. I could tell that it wasn’t just physical exhaustion—a lot of it is mental. He’s tired of the life he’s living. He’s had enough. His temper was even shorter than usual, which is another sign.

Things are a mess.

This is not how I imagined it at all—him coming back into my life.

Malcolm saw to that.

A stray tear escapes me and rolls down my cheek as I recall how Neil couldn’t even look at me after he found out I’d been involved with Malcolm.

For a brief moment, when Neil and I were together in that alley, I stupidly thought that there was a chance for us. It felt just like it had when we’d been together before.

But that was just sex after all.

I was being completely naïve.

Of course it wouldn’t be simple.

It’s us.

The universe is always trying to tear us apart. And this time it’s done so in the form of Malcolm.

I know how possessive Neil is, so I really don’t know if he’ll be able to move past this.

Shit. I had no idea they knew one another. The first I’d heard of it was tonight.

Now, the one thing I want and the one thing I never thought I’d be able to have, may not want me anymore.

And here I am at his clubhouse.
His
territory. And he can’t even stand being around me.

How is this going to work? Maybe I should just go to my dad’s safe house. He said he’s going to stick around for a couple of days, until Neil is up and about again and they’re able to meet about Malcolm’s threat. At least I can take comfort in the fact that I’m not completely alone here with Neil hating me right now. My dad is here.

A few months back, I wouldn’t have cared. In fact, I came here not giving a fuck about walking into their clubhouse, or giving a crap about what any of them might throw at me. I could take anything back then. No one could intimidate me, or make me feel ill at ease. I was in control. I’m pretty sure some of the boys were actually scared of me.

But now?

Now, I don’t feel in control in any way.

I’m not myself.

I feel weak.

I think that’s why my dad has decided to stick around at the clubhouse really. I mean, he could’ve gone off to one of his safe houses and come back later when Neil was feeling better. But, no, he’s staying in one of their spare rooms.

He’s watching my back.

I also have Smiter. He and I were close before me and Neil ended things. We’d developed a good friendship. But his loyalty is to the club at the end of the day—to Neil. The man who hates me right now.

While my dad’s loyalty is only to me.

So, I’m glad he’s staying.

I rub my eyes, trying to force myself to stop crying. I can’t believe I’m actually crying like this. I just can’t seem to get a grip. Shit.