BLAMELESS: MC Biker Romance (Black Thorns, #3) (37 page)

“Sarah, now,” I press.

“No! He deserves this! After what he put me through! He made me a victim for so many years! Made me feel helpless! Weak! Like nothing!” She waves the gun wildly at him. “Well, who’s the victim now? I have the power now. Me! Not him! Me!”

Jesus Christ. Him coming after her tonight’s snapped something in her. Brought back all those fears he’d put in her when he’d abused her. She’s tryin’ to get her power back, tryin’ to rewrite history. But I ain’t gonna let her do what she thinks she’s gotta to make that happen. Cuz it ain’t gonna do it. Killing him ain’t gonna give her no power. It’s gonna ruin her. A sweet thing like her can’t do something so dark and cold like taking a life and come outta it the same. No way I’m gonna lose her to that.

“Sarah, that ain’t how you’re gonna get your power back.”

Her aim wavers and she says, “What? Of course it is.”

“It ain’t,” I tell her, slowly stepping closer. “I’ll tell you exactly what it’s gonna do. It’s gonna keep him with you always. Haunting you. Won’t never leave you neither. You pull that trigger again and it’ll be a cold-blooded kill. You’ll be letting him swallow all your goodness, all your innocence, letting
his
darkness consume you. You won’t never be the same.”

“Zeb,” she says, shaking her head. “Stop.”

“You’re carrying our kid in you right now, Sarah. You really gonna kill a man with our baby growing inside you? Think ‘bout how goddamn wrong that is, yeah?”

“But I—I need to—I don’t want to be that victim, that weak little woman anymore.”

“You ain’t. And you show him you’re the stronger one, that you’re better, by showing him he can’t hurt you or mess with you no more. Bringing yourself down to his level is gonna do the opposite. You’re better than this, Sarah. So much better.”

She lowers the gun slowly.

I close the distance between us and take it from her, sliding it back into my empty holster. “Good girl,” I tell her, stroking her hair.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I—”

“It’s all okay, darlin’. Believe me, I get it.”

She looks real ashamed that she were considering taking it there. But her emotions and hormones are all over the place. And seeing the guy who’s been the star of her nightmares
and
reality, here threatening her again, I ain’t surprised at all by the way she’s reacting. It’s messed with her head.

“You’re not going to kill him then?” she asks.

I shake my head. “Nah. He’s gonna go to jail.” Can’t kill him now. Ain’t gonna be good for
her
if I do.

I’m ‘bout to turn back ‘round to him.

And that’s when it happens.

Sarah shrieks at the top of her lungs. “Zeb!”

I react real quick and dodge what’s coming at me. Just. It’s real close as I jump back and Torvin stumbles past me, a flip knife clutched in his hand, just a hair’s breadth away from stabbing me. Judging by the angle he came at me, it coulda been fatal.

“Oh my God,” I hear Sarah exclaim, breathlessly.

But it ain’t over, cuz Torvin’s clearly lost his shit
and
any kinda grip on his control, as he comes at me again with the blade.

I grab his wrist, before he can bring it down.

He pushes against it, snarling at me, “You’re not strong enough. You can’t hold it.”

I shoot out my free hand and dig my fingers into the bullet wound in his shoulder. The crazy bastard laughs. I were right: he really has lost his shit. It’s a freaky, unhinged laugh. Jesus Christ. Assholes with a screw loose are the most dangerous and most difficult opponents to best, cuz they ain’t got no strategy. They’re just wild and outta control.

Adrenaline must be helping him out in a big way. No other way he could deal with the pain I’m inflicting by digging into his wound.

He pushes down harder on my hand, tryin’ to force the blade towards me. “You ruined my life!” he roars at me. “You and your scummy club!”

“Did all that yourself, asshole.”

His eyes flash. “Now I’m gonna ruin
your
life.”

He yanks his hand free of my grip.

Terror rips through me as he goes for Sarah then with the blade.

My reaction’s instant.

I draw my gun like lightning, take aim in a split second and fire off a shot.

A bullet drives through his temple.

He’s dead instantly.

Sarah gasps and jumps back as his body crashes to a lifeless heap on the floor right in front of her.

Her gaze snaps to mine and I can tell right away she’s in shock. Fuck. Never wanted her to see this shit. But I had no choice. He were gonna kill her. Her and our kid in her. My family.

“Had to, Sarah.”

She nods slowly and slaps her hand to her heart. She’s panting and real distressed.

I cross to her and wrap her up in my arms tightly. “It’s okay. It’s all okay now. It’s over. You hear me, sweet angel?”

“Yes,” she chokes out. “Oh my God, Zeb. Oh my God.”

“I know. I’m so sorry you saw all that.”

“He was going to kill me, wasn’t he? The knife in his hand…he was aiming for my…for my throat.”

She’s right on. Exactly what he were doing. “Made you a promise a while back. Said you’d always be safe with me. I ain’t never gonna let nobody hurt you.”

“I know. I know, Zeb,” she cries, clutching me tighter, like I’m her lifeline. I can feel her trembling against me. Yeah, she’s in shock all right. And I’m real worried, especially cuz she’s pregnant and it’s a lot of stress to take. “You gotta see a doctor tonight. Okay, darlin’?”

“I…I called Ax. He’s…he’s coming.”

“Good girl,” I tell her, kissing her hair. “Just let me make sure he’s gonna bring our doctor down here, too. All right?”

She pulls back from me. She fishes ‘round in the pockets of her robe and shakily pulls out my cell phone, handing it to me. I take it and then wrap my free arm ‘round her. “Stay close to me. You gotta get warmer.” She nods against my chest. I scoop her up with one arm and carry her away from Torvin’s body sprawled out on the floor. I’m taking her back upstairs to get her under the covers to warm her up.

I dial Ax as I make my way up the stairs. He picks up on the first ring. “Runner?” he answers, sounding real frantic.

“I’m good. We’re both good. Torvin ain’t, though. Here’s the situation….”

Chapter 39

~Runner~

“You got that?” Dealer barks at me.

He’s filling me in on the alibi he’s created for me. Torvin’s murder ain’t gonna point nowhere near me. Luckily, the guy had a shitload of enemies, cuz of the dirty business dealings he were mixed up in. But it’s an extra precaution the club always takes when shit like this goes down. Nothing like this is supposed to be going down no more, cuz the club’s legit. I know Ax ain’t happy ‘bout tonight. He’s hardly said a word to me since he got here a couple of hours ago. He’s just ignored me and been with Rox who’s been all over Sarah since the doctor checked her out and gave her the all clear. I been stuck with Dealer, not able to go to my girl, while he’s cleaned up shit and given me a debrief and all that.

“Yeah. Got it all,” I tell him.

“Good. We’re done here then.” He follows my line of sight and says, “Go take care of your girl, yeah?” He slaps my shoulder and tells me, “Do me a favor, though?”

“What’s that?”

“Lay off killing guys for a while? You been causing me a shitload of headaches lately, Runner.”

He’s making a joke. Black humor. Real dark, but that’s him. “Yeah. You got it.”

As he passes by, he whispers to me, “Real good kill shot. I’m impressed.”

I shake my head to myself as he walks off. Jesus Christ, he’s darker than I thought. So lighthearted ‘bout me ripping somebody’s life away from ‘em. Is that what I used to be like, too? That cold ‘bout it all? No goddamn conscience?

Yeah, it were. Not
as
bad as him, but bad enough.

Has me realizing just how shutdown I really were before I met Sarah. Didn’t even realize it. It’d become normal to me, I guess. But I were real numb. Real cold. I were just operating on a superficial level—meaningless hookups, joking ‘round, keeping everything light and shallow.

Sarah’s changed all that in me. Brought out all the stuff I’d buried down deep.

Brought out
me
. The
real
me I’d lost for a real long time.

I’m making my way over to her when Ax suddenly steps into my path. Argh. Don’t he get I need to be with her right now? I gotta hold her. Feel her.

“Ax,” I complain.

But he ain’t having none of it. He grabs my arm and drags me through the door, outta the diner and into the high street outside.

He lets go of me, lights a smoke and takes a harsh drag. He has a couple more, clearly tryin’ to calm down after the shit he’s had to deal with tonight, cuz of me.

I brace myself as his gaze snaps to me.

“You all right?”

Okay, weren’t expecting that to be the first thing outta his mouth.

I shrug. “Yeah, I guess. Ain’t my first rodeo, Ax.”

“That don’t matter and you know it. Twentieth is just as bad as the first.”

“Had to. He went for her with a blade.”

“You held back on the kill before that. Gave him a choice.”

“She told you that?”

“Told Rox.”

“Yeah, but he fucked all over that. He’s dead, so what’s that matter now?”

“Matters a fuck of a lot, Runner.”

What the hell’s he going on ‘bout? “Why?”

“Cuz for the first time ever, you stopped to think.”

Huh. Guess, I did. “Right, yeah.”

He steps into me and grips my shoulders. “Real happy ‘bout that, Runner. You did good.”

I smile. “Guess that means I ain’t in shit with you for once then?”

He shakes his head. “Ain’t nothing for me to be pissed at you for. I woulda done the same.”

First time I ever heard those words outta his mouth. I rub my face, tryin’ to keep my shit together as I tell him, “Fuck, Ax. In that split second when he went at her with that blade…I ain’t never felt…Christ…she….”

He squeezes my shoulders. “I know, brother. Know how it feels. That terror for your girl. Won’t ever forget when I felt it that day I lost control of my truck when me and Rox got run off the road by the Mavs a couple of years back.”

“Keep seeing it, Ax.”

“I know. But what you gotta focus on is her. Torvin’s gone. So are Ben and Jase. The way’s clear now. You guys are safe. The club’s safe. It’s over. Time to get back to building a life with your girl now.
That’s
all that matters now, yeah? Not tonight. Not none of that.”

“Yeah, I get it. Thanks, brother.”

He lets go of me and steps back. “Anytime.”

“Torvin had the worst fucking timing.”

He frowns, not sure what I’m getting at. “How’s that?” he asks, curious.

I reach into the front pocket of my jeans and pull out the thing that’s been burning a hole in ‘em for the whole day.

“Jesus Christ,” he gasps as I hold it up between us.

A real nice engagement ring.

“Planned on asking her tonight.”

He grins. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. She kept distracting me.”

“I ain’t gotta guess how,” he jokes.

“Ax, you got no idea how mind-blowing it is with her. My dick’s so goddamn worn out with her wanting it all the time, cuz of the pregnancy, but I still can’t get enough of her at the same time.”

He laughs. “Never thought I’d see the day when
you
, the nympho of the club, would be worn out from fucking.”

“Yeah, well. You were right what you said a few months back. I ain’t no spring chicken no more.”

“So, when you gonna do it?”

“Dunno. Can’t do it tonight now, can I? Torvin’s screwed that up.”

“Yeah, don’t wanna remember all this as the day you got engaged. I feel you. But do it soon.” He slaps my shoulder. “That woman’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

“That don’t even cover it.”

Woman’s my whole world.

And I’m gonna make damn sure she knows that every single day from now on.

Epilogue

~Sarah~

“So fucking beautiful,” Zeb says, his gaze sweeping over me.

I see the minister frown at his cursing. It has me giggling. The things he says all the time, the way he puts things…he’s definitely one of a kind.
My
one of a kind.

And we’re about to make it official.

I take his hands in mine and whisper, “Don’t make me blush on my wedding day. I don’t want photos of me beet red haunting me forever.”

He chuckles. “Okay, darlin’.”