Authors: Hilary Storm
"Evan, please. You can't do this. This is a happy time for me. I don't want to see you with all this rage."
"Let me know who to take it out on and I promise to hide it from you in the future."
"I told you. It's all good now, so eat and let me enjoy this lunch with my big brother." I hesitate in agreeing with her, but I can tell she's as stubborn as I am and I won't get this information from her today. I make a mental note to get Beast to do a detailed search on Piper and Tori's past. If anything comes up, I'll handle it without her knowing. She doesn't need to be in the face of business anyway. And you can bet your ass this will become a very critical aspect of my club if something comes from his search.
Chapter Eight
Blade
We finish lunch and talk about random shit for hours. It was great getting to know my sister some, but I have to get back to the club and move forward with all the shit that keeps building up in my head. It's fucking chaos with my family being involved. It's fucking personal and I'm bursting with aggressive energy that I need to release on someone. I'm just not sure who the lucky mother fucker will be.
I sit in my seat at the table in the chapel, waiting on the rest of the guys to show up. Switch and Beast walk in to brief me before we get started.
"I have two Prospects at the apartments watching the girls. Three more are at Roxi's so we'll be short that many, but I have them on a rotation and will meet with those missing tonight personally to make sure they receive all the information we want them to have." Beast is all business as usual and I have nothing but respect for this man. He's older than I am by a year and I trust him with everything in life and business.
"Did we get in touch with the Originals? I want everyone to know so they can listen to any buzz and we can find what the fuck is going on."
Switch speaks up. "Tex is still down, but the other three will be here. I figure you can fill Tex in." There's only four remaining original members of the club. We lost Slim last year and I thought Tex was going to go with him. It tore that old man apart.
"The guys that are with my sister.... Tell me they're fucking good."
"You know I wouldn't put idiots in charge of your sister."
"Yeah, well my sister is a handful. I just need them on their fucking toes."
"They have strict orders to contact me if anything changes in their status."
"Fair enough. Let's get this meeting started."
I step outside the room into the main hall. The room is full of men, all giving me their attention the second we enter the room.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. Last night, my sister was run off the road less than two fucking miles from the club. She says it was two men on motorcycles. Today I was called to the new construction site just north of there to be shown at least four sets of boot prints. We just had that dirt laid yesterday and I need to know if any of you were at that location any time last night."
The room stands silent. I wait long enough to see that no one claims it.
"It could be coincidence, but my gut tells me it's not. This feels like an attack. And if I'm right, these mother fuckers are hitting too close to home for me. I just got my sister back and I'll gut anyone who tries to fuck with her. I need all ears open. Watch everyone you know in the other clubs, even if they're history proves them to be trustworthy. Someone is fucking with us and we need to make an example of them. I'm lucky that she wasn't injured, but next time it may be a different story. Also, if you're put on security duty for her and her friend... remember I will cut your god damn dick off if you even think about going near them. Treat them like your own sisters and we'll be ok." Beast moves out of the room as I continue to talk.
"Prospects, this is your chance to blend in and see if you can find some information for the club. The police department is investigating, but I'm not patient enough to wait. Stone will be working intel for our club. If he needs you, drop everything to help him. Does everyone understand that regular business will take a back seat to all of this until we find out what happened?"
Beast steps in next to me and talks into my ear. "There's trouble Boss. We need to move now." My gut sinks as I follow him out the door, walking straight for my ride.
"What the fuck is going on Beast? Don't keep me in the dark." Switch is at my heels as I'm approaching my bike.
"The girls went to that new club on 30th Street. The guys are with them, but it seems there's a group there causing problems. It's our two guys against four."
"FUCK. Why in the fuck did they let them leave?" I rev up my engine, not even waiting on the answer because there's not a suitable answer in the world that I'll accept.
I drive like I've never driven before until I can stop my bike in the parking lot. I'm off my bike before any of the other guys and through the door to the club, knowing they'll all follow. I pull my knife from my waist and grip it with a fury, ready to slice anything that gets in my way.
I scan the room and don't see them. Walking through the dance floor and toward the bathrooms, I shove at least three guys standing in my way. I bust through the women's bathroom door and kick open each stall, finding nothing. When I step back into the hall, I see Switch coming out of the men's. Beast turns down the hall, walking through the back of the building, opening a door to the alley. Once he opens the door, my heart explodes. My mind blacks out and my inner demon takes over.
There are three men standing over the girls. Both Piper and Tori are fighting them, but the guys are just so much bigger. I take off running just as Tori is shoved to her knees and Piper manages to land a hit straight to one of their dicks.
Our steps are loud and they hear us coming before we reach them. They turn in time to see us land our hits. I have no problem stabbing the one I reach first and I watch the other two fall quickly before turning to see where the other one could be. I know better than to turn my back on any risks out here. Where the fuck are my two guys?
I see three bodies against the wall to the right and one out by the road.
I turn to look at my sister holding her shirt closed while her cries echo through the alley. I pull her into my arms and hold her tight, knowing I can't erase what just happened, but hoping to provide her some sense of strength even though I'm dying inside. The urge to gut and skin these mother fuckers is flowing through my veins.
"They knew who she was, Evan. They were here for Tori. There were eight of them." Her words are frantic as she screams at me.
I turn to Beast, making sure he heard her. "FIND THOSE FUCKERS."
Tears are pouring down her face as she begins to tremble with the most terrified look on her face. My body freezes when I look over Piper's shoulder and see Tori.
She's in a fetal position against the wall. Her legs are up against her chest and her head is buried against them as she tries to hide. Just exactly like the girl I saw so many years ago. The girl who was six years old. Just like the fucking tattoo says on her back.
It's her. It has to be. I instantly feel the adrenaline from that night so long ago rush straight through me. It's the night every single thing in my life changed and the night I held a traumatized little girl knowing hers did too. She looks just as broken today as she was then and that pisses me the fuck off.
Piper pulls away from me, running toward Tori and trying to hold her, but Tori doesn't hold her back. I kneel in front of them both just as Switch walks up.
He leans over and says in my ear, "Our guys are dead." Then he lifts Piper into his arms, holding her while I watch Tori, trying to decide how to approach her.
Flashbacks of that night begin to torment my head, so I just start replaying that night. Sliding back to sit next to her against the wall, I light up a cigarette and lay my head against the concrete. I exhale, letting the smoke rise above us and think of how to help her.
"Tori." She doesn't budge.
"Can you give me a thumbs up or something? I need to know you can hear me. Hell, I'll even take a middle finger."
She moves her hands into the space between her body and her legs, before slowly moving each hand out. She holds up one hand full, then a single fucking finger on the next. Fuck. It's most definitely her and she's reliving the past.
"Six." I try to seem calm, but I'm getting angrier as time passes and she's falling apart through silence. I think I'd rather her be hysterical because at least then I'd know she's here with me. I glance at my sister with Switch and see her talking to him.
"Do you remember me, Six? I'm here to protect you. I'll never let anything hurt you again. I'll take you home with me."
She takes both hands and attempts to brush some hair out of her eyes. She's about half successful with it, just like she was back then. Her breaths are still frantic from the struggle.
I let out another breath, trying to calm myself. I need to seem calm to get her to talk to me. This goes against everything I am. I don't console. I don't sympathize with others and I sure as fuck a
m
not the sensitive one that is affected by feelings like this.
"Well, Six. We need to get you home. Let's get you out of this alley as soon as I finish this smoke." She places her hands on the ground beside her and I reach over and lace my fingers through hers. She still has her legs tucked up, but she's visibly accepting my hand. I fucking hate that I can feel her body trembling through the small contact in our fingers.
"I'm taking you home with me. Do you think you can ride?" She lifts up slightly, but doesn't answer.
Her words come like a whisper. "They were there that night." I look over at the guys draped across each other, none of them moving a muscle. There was only one guy there that night. Unless she’s talking about a different one.
"What night?"
"When I was six. They knew about that night. They repeated the same words to me."
"What did they say?" Sirens and flashing lights fill the dark alley and she drops her head once again. No fucking way.
"Tori, talk to me. I need to know what these fuckers said to you."
"They said I taste like my mom." Her words chill me to the core. Taste. How the fuck did they taste her?
"Tell me what they did to you." The sirens get louder and make it fucking impossible to talk over. I scoot closer to her and wrap my arm around her, pulling her into my chest. I slide my hand down her dark brown hair, remembering the blonde when she was little.
"You changed your fucking hair. I should've known it was you, but your damn hair made me doubt it."
"Sir, put your hands behind your head." Some punk ass cop walks up with his gun pulled.
"No fucking way. I'm holding her."
"Don't make me force you." I don't budge.
"Call Kyle. Get him here and I'll deal with anything you ask. This girl has been abused and she needs me right now."
"We’re gonna have to take you in." This fucker doesn't get it. I'm not going anywhere. I'll make sure of that.
"There are at least three guys missing. They killed two of my members and tried to rape my sister and this girl right here in my arms." I look over and see a tattoo on one of the guys lying there bleeding from his chest. "I'm not fucking going anywhere until she's better."
"You’re covered in blood. I have to take you in." I look down and see the redness on my clothes. Tori is lying against me wearing that fucker’s blood as I try to calm her.
"I'll cooperate. Just let me hold her until the ambulance gets here. I want both women looked at by a doctor."
"I need to talk to her without you, Sir."
"Do you fucking see that she's in shock? She can't talk to you right now. Neither one of them can until they see a doctor and if you fuck with me, I'll have them lawyer the fuck up just to shut you up."
The dickhead finally gets the point and steps a few feet back while the chaos around us gets louder. Switch sits beside me with Piper and Beast is nowhere to be seen. I can only assume he’s handling shit that needs to be done to get us the fuck out of here.
Kyle finally shows up and walks over to me immediately.
Chapter Nine
Six
"You taste just like your mom did." His raunchy breath spreads over my face as I continue to fight him off. His lips land on mine for a second, so I bite him hard enough to taste his blood on my lips when I pull away. I'll die before anything else of his touches me. I catch a glimpse of Piper and see the guy that’s attacking her rip her shirt open. She fights to hide herself with no luck.
Finally I'm able to reach into my bra and grab the knife I stashed away tonight. With a quick flick, it’s open and into the side of the fucker who put his mouth on me. He pulls away holding his side and looking mad as hell, but I don't wait for his reaction.
I leap toward the one holding onto Piper, but the third one grabs me from behind before I can do enough damage to really hinder him.
He fills his hands with my tits and squeezes tight to drag me away from her. I stab him in the leg with the knife and try to kick him, but this guy won't let me go. I get one more stab in before he grabs my wrist and twists my arm around my back, forcing me to release the knife. He sets me on the ground and shoves me to my knees, holding my hair tight as he starts to rip his belt off.
Everything goes gray and silent. My insides go numb and I fall back to a place I visit often in my nightmares. It's cold and hard. The men in my dreams are always vile, except for one. He's young but he always saves me with a strength like I've never witnessed again.
I close my eyes and say the same exact prayer I have for years. "God please let this work. Please send the strong man to save me. I can't fight the mean guys by myself." I bury my head in my legs and hold on tight, repeating those words through the tears running down my face.
I can't hear anything. I don't see anything because I'm hiding from everything evil. This always works. Please let it work today.
I feel arms around me, squeezing me tight.
"Tori." The sound of a man's voice breaks through the deafening silence and I realize it's Piper that's holding me, but can't grasp who the voice belongs to.
"Can you give me a thumbs up or something? I need to know you can hear me. Hell, I'll even take a middle finger."
It's my guy. He came. I slide my hands up and give him the signal he always asks for. He wants to know I'm safe and this is how I show him.
"Six." He always calls me that.
"Do you remember me, Six? I'm here to protect you. I'll never let anything hurt you again. I'll take you home with me."
I try to look at him. I want to see him this time. There's been so many times that I almost see him, but he manages to slip away before my eyes adjust.
My eyes work to focus. He's different. Older. I guess that makes sense.
"Well, Six. We need to get you home. Let's get you out of this alley as soon as I finish this smoke." I try to brace myself some, glancing around to see the guys. My eyes land on the bodies and he takes my hand into his. The warmth from his skin, heats my freezing insides. I begin to feel the instant he touches me.
"I'm taking you home with me. Do you think you can ride?" I look at him, trying to understand what I'm seeing. It's Blade. I'm mixing shit together and it's all just a cluster fuck in my mind. Is it my guy? I stare closer, trying to see any similarities. His eyes meet mine, and I feel chills across my body as the realization hits me. He looks so different than I remember him. He didn't have a beard and his hair was cut in a tight military style back then. It has to be him or he wouldn't be calling me Six.
"They were there that night." I try to snap out of it and give him as much information as I can while it's all still slamming through my thoughts.
"What night?" He looks confused.
"When I was six. They knew about that night. They repeated the same words to me."
"What did they say?" He's instantly worried and pulls my hand into his lap.
"Tori, talk to me. I need to know what these fuckers said to you."
"They said I taste like my mom." It's so hard to say those words. They haunt me every single day. I remember seeing her for the last time. Her face terrified as they took me away from her, both of us screaming and trying to fight them all.
"Tell me what they did to you." He pulls me against his chest and I welcome the strength surrounding me as his arms wrap me up tight. He's secure. He's all man and someone who has never failed me, even in my nightmares.
"You changed your fucking hair. I should've known it was you, but your damn hair made me doubt it." I feel him caress my hair and I bury myself deeper into his chest. Voices, including his, fade to the back of my mind as I start to remember him fully. His smell. It's the same. How have I not noticed that my guy is Blade? That he is responsible for the only good thing to happen to me that day so many years ago. He gave me a good memory of that night to help me through all the nights to follow. I held on to the strength he gave me that night and have used it so many times since then. Without him there, that night would've ended so differently.
I wrap my arms tighter around his waist and fight to keep the sound of the world shut off. With him, I have peace. I know I'm safe and it's been so long since I've felt the solidity of that in real life.
I remember last night with his bike. He struck a similarity when he was trying to get me to get on the bike behind him, but I passed it off as not possible. I guess to me the guy in my nightmares would always stay there to protect me.
"Tori. Tell me what the fuck they did to you." His voice near my ear and so close to my heart.
"I will. I promise, just not here. I need some time." I need time to figure out what's going on with all of this. They talked about my mother. She's been dead for fifteen years. She died the same night I nearly did all those years ago. I can't hardly stand to talk about it.
"Let me see you." He pulls my face in front of his and looks at me. I watch his eyes as they look frantically over me entirely. He stops looking into my eyes.
"I need to know everything. I can't wait long because there are three more guys out there that we need to fucking find. I'm moving you and Piper in with me and I wont take no as a fucking answer. You can fuck off about working at Club Turbulence until this is all over with."
He's just as bossy as I remember him, even more so. Serious. Deadly serious and I don't dare challenge him.
"Ok." I can't argue about anything right now. My heart is still racing and I need a fucking shower to get the stank off of me from that piece of shit.
"Get up with me so we can get the fuck out of here. I want you to stand with Piper and Switch until I'm finished with Kyle."
He moves to hug Piper, saying something in her ear before he moves out of earshot from us and turns so that his back is blocking any chance of hearing him. I want to know what he's saying, but emotionally I can't handle any difficulty tonight. His demeanor is angry and for a few minutes I watch him change personalities right in front of my eyes.
He’s angry when he finally turns around. The look of rage reminds me of him so many years ago. He should've frightened me that night with that look, but he didn't. I knew he was there to protect me. I could tell it was safe to go with him then, just like it is tonight.
"Kyle wants us all to go in for questioning. I tried to get us out of it, but he's not budging this time. I don't see any reason for us to make a break for it on this one, so I guess we'll spend the fucking night answering shit at the police station."
"Doesn't he realize the girls have been through enough shit the past few fucking nights?" Switch sounds shitty as he releases me from under his arm to move toward Blade. I feel the cold return almost instantly.
"Tell his ass he's welcome to come to the club to talk all fucking week, but we're not going in. Better yet, I'll tell his ass. I need to remind him of a little something I saw a week ago." Switch walks away, and Blade follows.
I finally see Tori, like really look at her. She's a mess. Damn it, this shit has to quit happening to her. I keep bringing the bad shit into her life.
"I'm so sorry. This is my fault." Wrapping my arms around her, I squeeze her before we both start to cry.
"I thought they were going to kill us. I kept kicking and trying to get him away from me, but he was all over me. He just wouldn't stop." She's frantic as she starts talking about it. "Tori, they knew you. He was talking about you."
"I know. I just don't know who they are. They know about the night my mom died."
"We need to tell Evan everything. He needs to know anything we can remember from tonight and everything from that night years ago, Tori. He will find these fuckers and he won't sleep ‘til he does. I know my brother."
I decide to hold back telling her that he was the guy to save me that night. She knows the story, but I didn't tell her every detail of that night, but everything she's saying is true if that night was any indication of who he is.
I'll never forget him squeezing that man's neck until he died. I watched as long as I could, wishing I would've had the strength to do it. That disgusting man had taken me from my mom's car, while she was being drug out by so many others.
I didn't get to see them all, but one of them sticks in my mind. He talked to me like a child, even squatting down to my level, and told me everything would be alright. Then he ordered the slug, that Blade killed, to take me back to my dad.
"Tori. Did they hurt you?" Piper stops my memories from haunting me.
"I don't even know what's going on, Piper. They knew my mom. It's just bringing back so much shit for me right now and I'm trying to process it all."
"Kyle will meet us at Blade's. It's time to get you two out of here. I'll have a doctor come in tonight too. "
I don't ask questions about how they managed it. I just follow. The flashing lights in the alley aren't mixing well with the darkness in my past that has definitely come crashing forward tonight.
Blade slides his hand into mine as we begin to walk toward the side of the building. I stop walking to look over at him. He runs his other hand through the longer hair on top of his head and turns to face me just slightly.
"You comin'?" He gives a slight tug on my hand to urge me forward, but I don't move.
He steps in front of me. "Can I just get you to my house? I need to feel like you and my sister are safe and right now, I know there are at least three mother fuckers out there that would hurt you both." He slides both of his hands down my arms before he tucks a piece of hair out of my face. I just watch while his strong physique displays some of the most caring gestures I've ever felt. No one has ever made me feel like he is right now. Of course, I rarely let anyone get this close to me in the past.
I watch his eyes move over my face, slowly touching my skin without even really touching it. The grip of his hands on my wrists, tugging again slightly, moves me forward to follow him once again. I have so much to tell this man. So much I want to do with this man and I just really met him. How do I keep myself from falling for a guy who has captured my heart so many times over the past fifteen years without even knowing he was making me fall?
He reaches for his pack of cigarettes and lights up another as we continue to walk.
When in the hell did smoking become sexy to me, but this makes twice that he's made me think this way?