Dead souls mc complete s.., p.25
Dead Souls MC (Complete Series #1-5), page 25
But then, I heard a sound.
A small rustling sound outside.
“Come on, Everly. We gotta go,” I said.
“I can’t find my medication. Hold on. I think I know where it is.”
“We don’t have time. We have to go,” I said.
“It’ll only take a second. I think it’s in the kitchen.”
“Everly, you’re not listening.”
“And neither are you. All I have to do is check the kitchen. That’s it. Okay?”
She pushed past me and strode down the hallway, rounding the corner before I could get to her. I ran after her, my heart slamming against my chest. If there was one thing I knew about my line of work, it was to never go against my gut.
And my gut was screaming for us to leave.
“Everly, we’ll get you some more medication somewhere. But we have to-”
“Grave!”
I came around the corner and saw Everly in the arms of another man. His arm was around her neck and he had a gun pointed at her head. I froze, staring at the leather cut he had slung over his shoulders.
Fucking navy blue.
The Black Saddles were here.
Everly was whimpering and clawing at the man’s arm. But the more she fought, the tighter his grasp got. She was struggling to breathe and I was struggling to count the number of men that were at the house. I saw three scrambling around back and heard at least four different pairs of footfalls behind me.
We were seriously outnumbered. Especially since Everly didn’t have a gun on her.
A gunshot pierced the window behind Everly’s head and she screamed. I ducked and scrambled into the kitchen, then withdrew my gun from my side. I cocked it and took aim at the man trying to get a grasp back onto Everly, but she bit down into his arm and got away.
I reached out for her hand and pulled her across the kitchen floor, sliding her behind me.
“Hang on. I’m getting you out of here,” I said.
She wrapped her arms and legs around me, her bag dangling from her hands. I stood up on my feet, hunched over the bar of the small kitchen in her home. Two shots through the window lowered one of the gunmen outside, but I could hear multiple sets of footsteps pouring through the front door.
This was going to take a while.
I perched us behind the kitchen table as bullets whizzed by our heads. Everly’s face was buried into my neck and her tears were coating my skin. I popped off two more rounds that took down another Black Saddle, but for every bullet I delivered three were shot our way. I had maybe nine rounds left in my gun, so I had to make them count.
As I leveled my gun at the man running towards us, I felt my body being ripped back. Everly was screaming in my ear and she was furiously clinging to my body. I shot the man coming at us between the eyes before I turned around, and I caught one of the men behind the house reaching through the busted window. He had a hold of Everly’s hair and he was trying to tug her away from me.
But that shit wasn’t happening today.
I reached behind me and grabbed Everly’s hair before I wrenched her forward. She was yelling my name and trying to a lock on my body. I whipped around and thrusted my hand out as gunshots rang out in the front yard. My hand came down around the man’s throat, and I pulled him into the house.
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you how to treat a lady?” I asked.
I squeezed his neck so hard his eyes began to bleed red. He was choking and gurgling as his bones cracked underneath the pressure of my fingers. Everly was sobbing into the crook of my neck. Her body was shaking. I could feel strands of her hair falling to my skin and blowing in the wind that was seeping in through the broken window.
Gunfire was raining down outside as I choked the life out of the man who had grabbed her.
I released his body and he fell to the floor with a thud. I grabbed Everly’s bag off the floor and started for the front door. I grabbed my gun and checked how many bullets I had left, then cocked it so I would be ready for the assholes waiting for me outside.
But instead of finding Black Saddles with their guns trained on me, I found my club hovering over their bleeding bodies.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Diesel asked breathlessly.
“Everly needed tampons,” I said plainly.
She was shivering against me as I pulled her body close to mine.
“And you couldn’t go to a fucking grocery store?” Rock yelled.
“You know I hate that damn place,” I grunted.
“Is she okay?” Mick asked.
“No,” I said. “She’s not.”
“The two of you never should’ve come back here,” Knox said.
“Thanks for coming, guys,” I said.
“Thanks for sending that damn text. Though it pissed me the fuck off,” Diesel said.
“I’m… sorry…” Everly said.
I watched as the faces on all of the guys slowly sank to the floor.
“We need to get out of here before any of those other asshats show up,” Rock said.
“And we have to assume your house is compromised,” Brewer said.
“Rock?” I asked. “Do those fuckers know where I am?”
“We encountered too many of them waiting for you guys to consider it a coincidence. Until we know more about why so many of those dicks were staking out her house, we have to assume the worst,” he said.
“Fuck. Where the hell am I gonna take her?” I asked.
“You leave that to me,” Diesel said.
I watched him hold out his hand before a piece of paper emerged between his fingers.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“A suggestion,” Diesel said. “Keep her safe. We’ve got a lot of work to do. You got your phone on you?”
“I do,” I said.
“Keep it charged. That’s how we’ll be updating you on things,” Diesel said.
“I’m not leaving you guys,” I said.
“No, you’re not. You’re protecting her,” Knox said. “Protecting our club. And right now, you’re probably the only man she trusts.”
I felt Everly sniffle into my skin and it broke my heart.
“Okay,” I said. “Keep me updated on everything.”
“Now get the hell out of here,” Diesel said. “And let us try to finish this.”
The guys rode off on their bikes and I got Everly and I situated. I had to go back to my house. There was no other way around it. Wherever we were going, we would need Everly’s clothes and some of the food I bought for us. I kicked on my bike as police sirens sounded in the distance and I made sure to stick to the backroads. I traveled them all the way to the house, tacking on at least another hour’s worth of riding.
And the entire time, Everly’s nails were digging into my skin.
She was petrified, and I couldn't blame her. After all, her own brother’s club just tried to have her fucking killed. And the sickening thing was, it felt more and more like Rex ran that club.
Which meant he’d ordered a hit on his own damn sister.
I pulled up to my house and pulled Everly close to me. I rushed her inside and grabbed her duffel bag, making sure to shove all of her shit in it. I went outside and hooked up the trailer to my bike, then stuffed her bag in there. Then I ripped open my fridge and grabbed everything I knew I could fit. The juice I’d bought for her. The beer I’d bought for myself. The good meat that would spoil and the vegetables that wouldn’t hold out. Shit to make chili and coffee to keep us alert in the mornings. The milk and eggs that would spoil after a while and the bread that would mold. I stuffed shit into my trailer until I couldn't stuff any longer, then I put everything else in the freezer to try and preserve.
I turned off all the lights and set my alarm to trigger if someone came in. Then I locked my house down and got us back on the bike.
I opened the slip of paper Diesel handed me and the only thing on it was an address. An address I didn’t recognize. I plugged it into the GPS I had on my bike and sighed when I saw the hour-long journey Everly and I had ahead of us. I wrapped her arms around me and forced her to hold on tight, then I buzzed off and left my house falling into the horizon.
If they fucked with my home, I was going to kill all of them. That place was my safe haven. Hell, it was the entire club’s safe haven.
And no one was living if they took that from us.
10
Everly
The wind whipping around my body felt good, but my mind was blank. My home. It had been demolished with bullets. Riddled with holes. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew I’d never be able to go back there. I’d never be able to live there and feel safe again. All I had were the clothes in my duffel bag and the toiletries I’d managed to grab before the shootout started.
I couldn't believe the life my brother had fallen into.
That he would do that to his own flesh and blood.
I gripped tightly onto Grave as his bike carried us farther and farther out of town. The woods grew thicker and denser, as we traveled further and further into the outskirts of the Shashta-Trinity National Forest . It felt like we had been traveling for ages. And with every bump I gripped tighter onto him. Felt his broad muscles twitching underneath my fingertips. Felt his warmth tick up a notch as he became more and more aware of his surroundings.
I wondered if he knew where we were going.
But he acted like he didn’t.
I pressed my cheek firmly into his back and tried to lose myself in the motions. The soothing turns of the motorcycle and the heat of the engine revving between my legs. I enjoyed being on a bike. But what I enjoyed the most was clinging to Grave from the back of it. I wanted to fall asleep to the dizzying motions of the vehicle I was straddling, but I knew I had to stay awake. Branches cracked underneath the tires and leaves crackled with every turn we made. We made our way so deep into the woods that the sun could hardly shine through the canopy of trees.
Then, just when I’d had enough of driving through the damn woods, a clearing appeared. It was small and camouflaged expertly by the trees around it, but it was completely hidden from the road. And a cabin rose up from small path we turned down. With its brick chimney and its woody outside and the small wrap-around porch that cloaked it from all sides.
Grave pulled up beside it, threw down his kickstand, and turned off the engine.
“We’re here,” he said.
I slid off his bike and stared at the house as he began to unpack everything from the small trailer he dragged out here.
It was a quaint little cabin, but it was old. The wood was dark like the woods it was encased in. The roof was shingled with camouflaged shingles that blended in perfectly with its surroundings. The chimney was the only thing that stood out, but the brick was stained to be much darker than the red it boasted of. Which gave yet another aspect of camouflage to the entire thing.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“I’d tell you if I knew. But this is where Diesel told us to go to keep you safe, so we’re here,” Grave said.
“So this is Diesel’s?”
“I guess so,” he said, shrugging. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”
We walked up the porch, but the front door was locked. Grave searched around for a little while, trying to find some sort of key. I dipped down and looked under the mat while Grave tried scraping his hand above the doorway. I figured I could check the mailbox for a key, but there was no mailbox in sight.
A cabin in the woods with no address.
Where the hell had Grave taken me?
Then, my eyes found it. A rock that looked out of place. I walked down the stairs and picked it up, then shook it and heard the rattling sound inside. I tossed the thing up to Grave and he caught it, then opened up the bottom and worked the key out. He placed it into the rusted lock and opened the front door and the dust that flew out was immense.
Grave coughed and shielded his face before he put his hand out.
“Stay there. Hold on.”
I watched him stuff the key into his pocket before he tossed the rock back to me. I dug it back into the dirt and tried to hide it as best as I could. It stuck out like a sore thumb, and there was something inside of me that told me to try and cover it as best as I could.
The rest of the cabin was made that way, so why should the place where the spare key is kept be a sore sight?
I heard windows being thrown open before I saw lights come on. Wonderful. At least the place had electricity. There was a window air-conditioning unit that Grave turned on and I could see it sputtering out dust. Wherever we were, someone hadn’t used it in years. I watched a fan in the main room get turned on high, and soon the dust was being pushed out of the windows and into the forest.
“Come on in,” Grave said. “We’re good now.”
He came back out onto the porch and picked everything up. I wanted to help with something, but he didn’t leave anything for me to get. I walked into the cabin and locked the door behind me, then took stock of the entire thing.
It was small. And quaint.
And secluded.
There was a small kitchen to my right and a living area to my left. No television or anything. Just a couch and some chairs along with a rug around the fireplace. The small hallway in front of me had a door to the left, a door to the right, and a door at the end of the hallway. I watched Grave duck into one room and place my duffel bag on the floor before he emerged, then he took his small bag of clothes and walked across the hall.
Two bedrooms and one bathroom.
That would get interesting.
I went into the kitchen and started unloading groceries. I was shocked to find some frozen things already in the freezer, but there was no telling how long they’d been there. I put up all the meat and vegetables and drinks and stuff. There were bags and bags of food, but I still wasn’t sure if it was going to be enough. I went to put the rice and beans in the pantry and was shocked at the sheer amount of canned goods that filled the shelves.
Well.
I guess we would have enough food after all.
I stacked everything away and turned to find Grave staring at me. Just standing there as his eyes raked up and down my form. I cleared my throat and picked up all the plastic bags, then stuffed them underneath the kitchen sink.
“So,” I said. “What do we do now?”
Before I could even get the question out, tears were welling in my eyes. I was so far away from home and the home I considered home wasn’t even home anymore. Grave strode across the room and wrapped me up in his arms, pulling me close to his chiseled chest. I gripped his shirt and cried into the fabric of it, no longer caring about what I looked like. My brother was in jail for murder, his club had tried to kill us, my childhood home was no longer safe and I was out in the middle of a hidden area in the woods, with a man I barely knew who was trying to protect me.
I was overwhelmed, and isolated, and I didn’t know who I could trust any longer.
“It’s going to be okay,” Grave said. “No one knows where we are. And if they find us, they have to get through me first.”
“Why is this happening?” I asked breathlessly.
“I don’t know,” he said. “But my club is gonna find out.”
“My brother. He’s-”
I couldn't even say it.
Grave rubbed my back as his chin fell to the top of my head. I felt pathetic. Weak. My legs caved from underneath me and he gathered me up in his arms. He sat me on the edge of the kitchen counter and spread my legs apart, then wrapped his arms around me and cradled my close. My head fell to his shoulder and he stroked his fingers through my hair, and I found the sensation soothing.
My tears were drying up and my sobs were abating with every stroke he took.
“There we go. It’s going to be alright. Deep breaths.”
His voice. It was so low, and rumbling. Foreboding. Filled with an equal amount of softness and guarded intent.
It made me shiver in his arms.
My nose nuzzled up his neck and brushed against his cheek. My eyes found his, brooding and igniting with fire. His hand cupped the back of my neck and steadied my face in front of his, then his eyes fell to my lips.
I wanted him to do it.
I needed him to do it.
My hands trickled up his chest and slid around his neck. I tangled the tips of my fingers in the tendrils of the hair at the base of his neck. I nuzzled his nose again and a small growl fell from his lips. His hands were gripping me. Pressing into me. Pulling me closer to him as heat grew between my legs.
“Everly. I…”
I closed my eyes and nuzzled my nose against his again, and the sensation broke him.
Our lips crashed together as his hand fisted my hair. He shoved his tongue into the depths of my mouth and I moaned at his warmth. He tasted salty. Masculine. Full of adrenaline as I gripped his shirt. I pulled him even closer to me and spread my legs wider as his hands fell to my thighs. My lips swelled underneath the pressure of his as his hands massaged my inner thighs. His thumbs were pressing into me, shoving my legs open as wide as they could go. I whimpered. Groaned. Tugged him closer so I could feel more of him.
His lips trickled down my neck, nipping at my skin and sending goosebumps ricocheting across my skin.
My hands twisted up in his hair as his face dipped to my breasts. His hands slid up my thighs. My hips. My stomach. He pulled my shirt over my head before his hands palmed my bosom. I moaned and leaned my head back as his hand pulled down and released them.
Then his lips wrapped around my engorged nipple and sent shivers down my legs.
The two of us clawed at one another until we were touching nothing else but skin. My hands were trickling over Grave’s chiseled muscles. His padded shoulders, thick with strength, draped over into a sculpted chest with sharp divots around the outline of his body. My fingertips bounced over the sinewy muscles of his abs before they found the two padded lines that disappeared beyond the edge of the counter. His arms were throbbing. Bulging with veins and muscle as his hands caressed every part of my body.
