Shadow touched, p.6
Shadow Touched, page 6
The next morning, Leia rolled over and stretched, remembering the evening. After she and Brim had returned to the party, she had thought he’d go off and do his own thing. Instead, he planted her right by his side as they mingled. When she’d grown tired, he had escorted her to her room in the grandstand and kissed her good night. She’d showered and crawled naked into bed.
A knock sounded on her door.
“Leia?” Piper called through the door. “I’ve left some clothes out here.”
“Okay, thanks,” Leia said loudly.
“I’ve just made fresh brewed coffee and there’s plenty of stuff for breakfast. Come on down whenever you want.”
Her footsteps retreated, and Leia rose. She opened the door, grabbed the clothes, and hurried to dress. The jeans were a little snug, the top a tad too tight across the breasts, but they were clean and that’s all that mattered. She slipped on her shoes and headed downstairs.
No one was in the kitchen, so Leia poured herself some coffee, adding a spoonful of sugar. She grabbed a slice of buttered toast resting nearby on a plate and headed toward the back door. Watching her step as she stepped outside, it wasn’t until she was on flat ground before she looked up. Piper sat on the patio chair, watching the twins run around and laugh. A shadow rested on her shoulder.
Leia didn’t remember dropping the mug of coffee. She didn’t hear it shatter on the concrete walkway. All she could focus on was death lingering on her new friend and screamed. Men came running, and as she looked around, she saw the shadow of death attached to everyone. She backed up, shaking her head, only halting her retreat when Brim scooped her up in his arms.
“Leia! It’s me,” Brim said. “Look at me. Just me.”
Leia blinked. He filled her vision, blocking everything else out.
“What did you see, Leia?”
“Shadows,” she whispered. She made sure not to look anywhere else but into his eyes. “On everyone.”
“What does she mean?” Kix demanded. He was somewhere behind Brim, so she couldn’t see him. “What shadows?”
“Remember when I told you Leia helped me? She has an ability,” Brim said. “Leia, you need to tell me how.”
“I’m scared,” she whispered.
“I know,” he said softly. “But I’ve got you. Okay? You’re not alone. We have to save our friends.”
She’d spent her life running from the cold shadows of death, and even though she knew Brim was with her, Leia had to dig deep inside herself to find the courage to face her fears. She nodded.
“Kix,” Brim said. “Come here.”
Kix stepped from behind Brim. Reluctantly, Leia broke eye contact with Brim to look at the White Death president. A shadow rested on his shoulder.
“Look at her eyes,” Kix muttered.
Taking a deep breath, Leia reached forward and slowly touched the vile specter. Immediately, images bombarded her mind. Tears ran down her face as she tried to figure them out.
“Breathe, Leia.” Brim’s voice cut through the blurring pictures. “You are in control, not the vision. Focus. Slow it down.”
She did as he said, taking a deep breath to ground herself. Pushing aside the dizzying array of pictures speeding by, she focused on one image at a time. Little by little, the whirlwind slowed, and she saw Kix being shot.
“A bullet,” she said aloud. “He’s hit with a bullet.”
“Can you rewind a little?” Brim asked. “Who shoots him?”
Concentrating, she turned her hand, like she was turning the volume on a stereo, and Kix’s death rewound.
“A bullet hits the ground at his feet. He dodges to the left and another one hits between his eyes.”
“Who, Leia? Who does this?”
She rewound even more and saw the attackers.
“Men in trucks, with flags on the back. They bust through the gate. They shoot … everyone.”
It was too much. She let go of the shadow and almost collapsed. Brim caught her and wrapped his arms around her to hug her close. She buried her face in his chest, not wanting to see the shadow of death lingering on the people she had come to like and admire.
“You’re in danger,” Brim told Kix. “You need to get the women and children to safety.”
Kix studied Leia for a moment before spinning around. “Do it! Lucky, grab a couple of men and get the women and my kids to the tornado cellar. It’s the best fortified. Protect them with your life.”
The big biker named Lucky nodded and hurried with two others to do as commanded.
“Everyone else! Defend our territory!”
Brim pulled her back and cupped her face. “You need to go with the women.”
She grabbed hold of his hands. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“I have to stand with the men,” he said. “I have to help them protect the club.”
“Don’t die,” she whispered.
His brows pulled together. “Is there a shadow on me?”
She nodded.
“How?”
With a trembling hand, she reached out and touched the shadow. “You’re standing between two cars, using them for coverage. You’re shot in the back.”
As quickly as she could, she disengaged. Seeing his death wasn’t something she wanted to ever experience again.
“All I have to do is an exchange, right? Someone else’s soul for mine. Does that apply to all of them, too?”
Leia let the shadow go. She blinked and looked around as the men scrambled. “Kill them first. That’ll save everyone.”
He bent his head and kissed her. Quick. Hard. Possessive. “You okay with me killing people?”
She gripped his leather cut. “I’m okay with you killing the bad guys. If you don’t, Piper dies and so do her children.”
“You’re just concerned about Piper?”
Slowly, Leia shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Brim. Make sure you come back to me.”
He captured her lips for another kiss, trying to convey all he thought and felt into it. Hoping she understood what he wasn’t saying.
“I will,” he murmured against her mouth. “Nothing will keep me from you.”
She watched as he hurried away, until Martha grabbed her hand to urge her toward the side of the house where the old root cellar had been converted into a tornado shelter. Along the way, she scooped up a toddler and helped the other women to safety. Someone turned on the lights, revealing a very comfortable and spacious area. Once all the women and children were in, Lucky went to close the massive doors.
Once shut, Piper quickly typed in the code on the electric lock and the green light turned red, indicating that they were now sealed inside.
“They won’t be able to get in,” Piper announced. “We have provisions for a week. We’ll be safe. Now, let’s get the children organized with games so they don’t get scared.
Leia wished she believed her, but the thought of Brim in danger set her on edge. She glanced at the keypad, wondering if she should chance opening the door and leaving.
“It’ll be okay,” Martha assured her.
“I shouldn’t be down here,” Leia said, pacing back and forth. “I should be with Brim.”
“He wanted you safe. He’s tough and strong, like any president should be.”
Leia spun around. “This isn’t about being tough and strong, Martha. It’s about a bullet finding its way into his back. He didn’t see what I saw. He might be too occupied to even notice what’s happening around him.”
“Easy,” Martha said calmly. “Now, I can’t begin to understand what you saw, but I do believe you. Okay? There’s too much in this world we can’t explain. With your warning, this fight will have a vastly different ending than the one you saw.”
“What if it doesn’t?” Leia sked. She wouldn’t be able to bear it if anything happened to Brim or her newfound friends.
“Well, that’s easy to answer. Do I have the shadow on me?”
Leia slowly nodded. “But…it’s faded.”
Martha tilted her head to look around Leia. “What does that mean?”
“That death was pushed away.”
“See? That’s a good sign.” Martha smiled and patted her hand. “Maybe it was the Almighty who put you in Brim’s path. Maybe the miracle was Nate’s doing from Heaven, to stop his father from feeling so damn guilty over something he couldn’t control. Whatever it was, I will bless you every day, Leia, for saving my son and this club. Do you hear me?”
A lump formed in Leia’s throat. It felt strange to have people believe her and not think she was crazy or worse … to fear her. She nodded. Martha smiled.
“Let’s go help the others keep the children occupied.” She reached out and took Leia’s hand in her own. “You know, if you and Brim ever have a girl, Martha is an awesome name. Just saying.”
Chapter Nine
“You sure your woman is legit?”
Brim glanced at Kix, startled to hear the proprietary description regarding Leia. He’d reluctantly agreed to come here in order to establish a fake relationship, but he had to admit, he liked having her around. Which scared the hell out of him, because after Cindy he had vowed never again.
“She is,” he said.
“I don’t believe in supernatural shit, but I’ll take your word.”
“You’ll believe when she saves everyone’s lives.”
Kix grunted non-committedly. Instead, he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. “Open the gate. We have intel that we’re gonna be under attack.” He hung up and slipped the phone back in pocket. He glanced at Brim. “Saves me from buying a new one.”
“What’s the plan?” Brim asked.
“We kill the fuckers.”
“Yeah, that’s without saying. Do you want any left alive to interrogate or to send a message?”
“I’d rather send the message that you can’t come onto my turf, threaten my men and my family, and expect to live.”
“Understood,” Brim said.
As men scrambled to move bikes into the main garage, he and Kix marched to the armory. He pulled out a key and unlocked the sliding doors. Inside the large, insulated garage lay hundreds of weapons. Guns, ammunition, grenades, rocket launchers … anything and probably everything was in there. Several men entered behind them to hand out the firepower and Brim stepped up to do the same. He grabbed a 9mm and several loaded magazines before laying his hands on an AR15 rifle. He also took a few hand grenades. Kix barked out orders, mainly where to go and what to do when the assholes showed up.
“I want snipers in the tree line! We have our club’s name for a reason.”
As they scrambled into place, Kix’s phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the message.
“They’re here!”
Fueled by the call, Brim hurried outside to find cover. He saw the parked cars and remembered Leia’s warning. He bypassed that cover to head toward a tractor parked near the main garage. Bringing his rife up, he took aim through the scope, and held position. The danger of what lay before him made his stomach clench. He took a deep breath and cleared his mind. Worrying about the others would only get himself killed.
A moment later, the roar of approaching pick-up trucks reverberated down the driveway. He saw the flags first, Nazi symbols flapping in the breeze, and the sight pissed him off. There were clubs that supported Neo-Nazi thugs, but he couldn’t stand the fuckers and made sure his own club vetted out such poison. He didn’t care what color a man’s skin was, only if they were loyal. Almost immediately, the intruders standing in the back of the trucks began taking aim. The house was hit, windows were blown out. A spattering of bullets fanned out, cutting through the picnic area where the kids had been running around not long before. The trucks slowed, and Brim saw the men looking around, confused.
Then the White Death MC opened fired. He aimed his rifle and targeted the trucks. Tires were shot out, making escape impossible, so the ones who weren’t killed immediately abandoned their vehicles and took cover. For a moment, chaos reigned. Brim retuned fire until the rifle ran out of bullets, then he switched to his 9mm. He remained crouched near the tractor trying to make every shot count.
The invaders abandoned their trucks to take cover. Some ran into the tall cornstalks, so he gave chase. He didn’t want to leave any of the fuckers alive. Kix wanted to send a message and he agreed wholeheartedly. As he ran through the tall stalks, he had to rely on his hearing to pinpoint where to shoot. A bullet grazed his temple and he ducked, returning fire. He heard a groan and a thud and knew he had killed one man. A dozen or so left.
Ignoring the burning pain ricocheting through his head, he pressed on. Following the sound of the men he hunted. The gunfight at the grandstand slowly died, leaving only the stragglers trying to make it out of the cornfield. He pursued, killing all he came across, until he couldn’t hear any more rustling through the stalks. Brim slowly made his way out of the corn. He touched the graze on his temple and realized blood poured from the wound, soaking his shirt. Now that the adrenaline was fading, pain set in. Wanting to sit down, he walked through Kix’s men to the outdoor patio furniture. Most of it had been shot up and overturned, but he picked up a chair to sit down in it. A moment later, Leia cried out his name.
“Brim!”
He looked up and saw Leia running toward him. He braced himself and a moment later she threw herself into his arms.
“I was so worried,” she mumbled into his chest. She hugged him tightly until he winced. She pulled away, her eyes widening. “Oh, my God, you’re bleeding.”
“It’s just a scratch.”
“But there’s blood everywhere!”
“Leia,” he said calmly. “I’m fine.”
He pushed her head down onto his chest, holding her tightly as people swarmed around them. For a moment, it was like they were suspended in time. Their heartbeats beating together in unison.
“The shadows are gone,” she whispered. “That’s how I knew we won. They disappeared.”
“I know you were scared,” he said. “I don’t want you to worry about trading one life for another.”
“I wasn’t worried.”
“Good, because you did a good thing here, Leia. You saved our friends. You saved the kids. You saved Piper.”
“I saved you. Again.”
“Aren’t you a clever girl for reminding me.”
“I’ve never had friends before.”
“Well, now you have a boatload of them. Were you worried about me?” he asked softly.
“Absolutely not.”
He grinned and kissed her lightly on the mouth. “Come on. Let’s help in the cleanup.”
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent cleaning up the carnage. Brim made sure that Leia was far removed from seeing the blood, guts, and dead bodies by shooing her inside the grandstand to help Piper and Martha clean up the house. The club brothers knew how to make dead people disappear. In a matter of hours, it was almost like nothing had happened at all. Even the trucks they had come barreling in had been dismantled. Then he accompanied Kix and the others to finish off the Neo-Nazis, riding back to their turf to hammer in the message you don’t fuck with The White Death MC.
They got back late that night, and instead of heading toward his mother’s, he found Leia asleep in her room. He took a quick shower, took a pain pill, and slid into bed. Leia roused when he pulled her into his arms.
“You’re naked,” she whispered.
“I’m exhausted,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “Go to sleep.”
She snuggled into his arms, and he followed her into dreamland shortly after.
Chapter Ten
Leia blinked against the sunlight streaming in the window. She went to stretch and bumped into a hard, male body. Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned her head to see Brim passed out beside her, his muscular tattooed chest rising and falling evenly in sleep. The moment allowed her to admire his masculine physique and she pursed her lips as she slowly, carefully, lifted the sheet.
She blinked, as impressed with his southern border as she was with his northern.
Dropping the sheet like it scalded her, Leia quickly rose from the bed and smoothed down the t-shirt she wore. Tiptoeing toward the door, she opened it and saw her clothes neatly folded on the floor. She bent and picked them up, catching the scent of laundry detergent and realized Piper must have washed everything. Leia hurried to the bathroom to shower and change.
Twenty minutes later, she headed downstairs. Martha stood at the stove, cooking breakfast, and Piper sat at the island with her twins in separate highchairs, feeding them.
“Thank you for this,” Leia said, gesturing to her clothes.
“It’s the least I could do,” Piper said with a smile. “What you did for us … that’s what family does, and you’re now part of this family.”
The words brought tears to her eyes, and a warmth to her soul. As Leia sat down on a stool next to the children, Martha slid a plate in front of her. She smiled her thanks and picked up a slice of bacon to munch on. A minute later, Brim walked into the kitchen. He marched over to her and kissed the top of her head before sitting down next to her.
“We’ll be heading out after breakfast,” he announced.
“So soon?” Martha asked, sounding disappointed. “You haven’t seen Striker yet.”
“Tell him I said hello, but I’ve got to get back to my club.”
She tutted and handed him a plate of food. “Guess I can’t fault you for that. It’s about time.”
“Don’t start, Ma.”
She rolled her eyes and turned to start filling up the dishwasher.
“Kix is out at the garage, negotiating selling off the truck parts,” Piper said. “That man can turn a profit out of anything.”
“There are worse habits,” Brim said with a smile.
“Spoken like a true MC president.”
He gave a one-shoulder shrug. Martha set a cup of black coffee in front of him. He thanked her and took a sip.
“I don’t know about you, but these clothes are the only ones I have,” Leia said to him. “Can we stop by Wal-Mart before we get to your club?”
