Claiming Crusher: Savage Brothers MC (28 page)

I pick up Melinda’s picture and frown. She really is quite beautiful. I must ruin that before I am finished with her too. I pick up a letter opener off the small console in front of my seat. I use it to stab the picture and pin it to the seat beside me. The sharp file stabs through the picture and coincidentally right between the eyes of Melinda’s likeness.

I pick up my cell with a cold smile, already anticipating my revenge.

“Donald, intercept my runaway wife before she can leave the city. Bring her to the building we’ve purchased. I shall deal with her further from there.”

“Excellent. I shall see you soon. I’m about to board my plane.”

I hang up my cell, sticking it in my pocket and slide out of my limo, leaving Melinda’s picture behind me. This will be the last time I chase after that fucking bitch. In fact this will be the last time anyone chases after her.

That thought cheers me as I board my private jet headed for some Podunk town in Kentucky.

Crusher

I
’ve torn the
place apart looking for Dani. She’s gone. My heart hurts and I’m running around like a crazy man. I’ve asked everyone I can find if they’ve seen her. It’s driving me crazy. I know she’s not been real popular at the club, but Jesus Christ! We’ve just been fired at in our own territory! We’re on lockdown here! I’m pissed, no I’m beyond fucking pissed.

“What the fuck do you mean you don’t know where she is?” I growl as Bull delivers the news.

“Just that. I brought her home, she said she was tired and was going to lay down. So, I let her.”

“Jesus you didn’t think watching over the women meant you needed to put guards at the fucking doors? Or hell, the gate itself?”

“You know what, Crush? If you got a problem I guess you should take it up with Freak, since he’s the one Dragon put in charge of security and shit.”

“Fuck you. Dragon told you to take care of the women.”

“And I did, I brought them to the fucking compound and that’s where the security comes into place. I’m fucking tired of you and the other brothers coming to me when shit hits the fan, like I have a damned thing to do with it. I haven’t been in control of security or knowing what the fuck is going on here, since my accident.”

“You’re the fucking Enforcer here! You know to watch over the women!”

Bull stands up and leans in on me and gives me a hateful look, “I did what I fucking was told to do. I told the women to stay in until you guys got back. It’s not my fault you can’t keep the pussy you’re banging in line. It’s also not my fault if there weren’t guards posted out front, or at the door because, and this is the last fucking time I’m saying it, I wasn’t the one told to do that fucking shit. So I’m sitting here watching a woman I care about and women who actually listen when I tell them do something. You got a problem take it up with Dragon, or that fucking cunt you’re sticking your dick in every night, or better yet, why don’t you take it up with Freak, since you and him seem to be able to keep shit to yourselves! So what if it puts the rest of us in danger!”

I don’t even think, I plow my fist hard into his face. The club has been going easy with Bull since his injury. Fuck that shit. I’ve had it. He falls back on the table it turns on its side and dumps him on the floor. He lays there wiping the blood off his lip, staring up at me. The club members around us were already pretty quiet watching us, but now you can hear a pin drop.

“Fuck you motherfucker, you lay off my woman. She’s mine and by God you will give her the respect she deserves in this fucking club.”

“You need to start thinking with your head and I’m not talking about the one on your dick,” he responds, making no move to get up.

“And you need to stop feeling fucking sorry for yourself and get your head out of your ass and help your brothers. We fucking helped you when you needed us,” I growl and stomp off, time to find Dragon.

“Does your woman know where Dani is?” I ask right outside of Dragon’s door—my anger still at a head from dealing with Bull. Not to mention, every minute that Dani is gone my gut clenches. I am feeling like she’s playing into Michael’s hands and I’m blaming myself.

“Nicole is sleeping fucker, step back into the main room and we’ll talk,” Dragon tells me as he closes the door to his room.

“Fuck, that. I need to find Dani. Does your woman know where she is or not?”

“You need to step the fuck back, man. I told you Nicole is sleeping. She cried herself to sleep and by God she’s going to rest. You feel me?”

I rake my hands through my hair, and follow Dragon back the way I just come. “You don’t understand Drag, this bastard will hurt her.”

“You knew about this shit?”

“I knew she was running. Didn’t know what from, until all this shit went down. She left me a note, a fucking note!” That’s kind of a lie, but I need Dragon to help me here, the rest of the fucking shit I’ll deal with after I get my woman back.

We walk past Bull who is standing now and gives me a fuck you look, as we pass.

“Something you want to tell me, brother?” Dragon asks when we make it into his office. The other members, including Bull, join us and close the door.

“She’s mine, Dragon. I’ve got to find her and you can either help me or get the fuck out of my way,” I tell him. I know I’m out of line, but with every minute that passes I don’t give a damn.

We go back and forth and I’m tired of it. When I point out to him that if it was Nicole instead of Dani involved he’d react differently. I guess he had enough. He grabs me and slams my back hard against the wall. I don’t fight him. I know I’ve fucked up. I’ve fucked up for everyone involved. “You need to calm your ass and sit the fuck down.”

“Nicole is involved, motherfucker. Now you need to listen to me. Step. The. Fuck. Down. Do not cause me more shit, because all that will do is slow us down.”

“I will find her, Dragon.”

He goes on some more, but I ignore it. I need to plan out my next move, because it’s becoming apparent I’m on my own when it comes to protecting my woman. When Dragon brings up the guy we captured I turn my attention back to him.

“Where’s our guest?”

“Frog’s sitting on him at the shed,” Hawk speaks up.

“Call Frog, tell him to let the son of a bitch go.”

No. Fucking. Way. He can’t let our only lead go! What the fuck is he thinking? “The fuck you will, that might be the only lead we have back to Dani!” I yell before I can stop myself.

“Crush, man, I’m not telling your ass again,” Dragon says, and honestly he keeps talking, but all I can hear is the incessant need to find Dani, in my head.

“We need to work him over and find out exactly what they know about Dani. We can get this Michael’s whereabouts from him that way. None of this cat and mouse shit,” I argue.

“Get the fuck out!” Drag orders. The room goes silent.

“Damn it, Drag! We have to…”

“You’re not hearing me motherfucker, I said, get the fuck out. I can’t deal with your shit right now. You are out of this until you manage to get your head out of your ass, untie the knot in your balls, and listen to sense.”

“Drag!”

“Get out, motherfucker! Now.”

I look at my brother and I want to literally rip him apart right now. Fine. I’m on my own. I prefer it that way. Fuck him. I guess when it’s my woman it’s not important. I’ll save her my-own-damn-self. Fuck them all.

Dani

M
y head is
a mess. When the man you love calls you by another woman’s name. That shit hurts. When it’s the name of his first love, it fucking hurts worse. Was he just with me to try and save me when he couldn’t save her? I can’t help but think that’s the case. It doesn’t matter in the big picture, because I know Michael is behind the shooting and once that happened, it was all too clear that I couldn’t stay. Zander could have died trying to protect me, and Nicole and Carrie are both pregnant with their whole lives ahead of them. I can’t stay, and more than that Zander needs to find a woman to love that he doesn’t have to save. He deserves it.

I caught Bull in the bathroom. I know what he does in there. I don’t think the others have caught on yet, but I’ve done it for a long ass time. He’s taking away the pain with pills. I hope he finds his way out of the hole. It’s a fucking dark place to be and the urge never goes away. Like right now, I’m sitting in an old ratty-ass motel room on the Kentucky and Missouri border, trying to keep my head straight and figure out what the hell my next move is, when all I really want to do is self-medicate, and get lost in a bottle.

I should probably take the meds the doctor prescribed, but right now I’m afraid to. I can’t afford not to be alert. I want to call Nic or Ray, but I can’t, at least not yet. I need to be far away before I even attempt it. I would love to call Zander. Just so I can hear his voice, even though I know I shouldn’t.

I decide I should at least get some food. It would be smarter to run through a drive through, but I think if I sit alone in this hotel room that the urge to call Zander will win, either that or I’ll start drinking. So, I leave and search out an all-night diner. I find one just over the Missouri state line. It’s deserted except for a waitress and a cook, but it looks clean and I haven’t had anything to eat today, so I go for it.

“What’ll it be?” The waitress asks. She’s actually wearing a pink uniform like something off of an old TV show, her tired red hair is pulled up on top of her head and she has on a dark red apron. She’s holding an ordering pad, but no menu I guess she figures I don’t need one.

“Coffee and can I get a toasted turkey sandwich? On wheat?” I ask, because without a menu, I’m kind of flying in the dark here. It must have been okay because she nods and goes back into the kitchen. I look around for a bathroom and decide to go freshen up.

I look in the mirror and barely recognize the woman staring back at me. She’s worn, tired…she looks so damned tired. I get lost in the reflection trying to remember what I looked like before Michael came into my life. I find that I can’t remember, and that makes me want to cry. Would Zander have liked Melinda? The Melinda I was before Michael had me in his sights, obviously. Or would he not have been attracted to me at all then, because I didn’t need fixing? Why I’m even worried about it, escapes me. Whatever the answer, it doesn’t change the outcome.

When I make it back to my table, the diner is empty and pretty damn quiet. I guess they decided to take a break since it was deserted? Having worked as a waitress before, I can understand that. My sandwich and coffee are sitting at the bar and the smell makes my stomach growl in hunger. It looks good, or it’s just the fact that I’m starved, but I dig in. As good as the sandwich is, the same can’t be said for the coffee, it’s bitter and has a nasty after taste, and it’s kind of what I’d imagine drinking cardboard is like. Still, I finish it off because I’m so tired and honestly, taste is an afterthought at this point. I just need something to help me stay awake.

“Hello, Melinda.”

My hands freeze on my food as I look up at Donald. Fuck.

“They let any kind of vermin in this place I guess.” I tell him trying to figure out how to get the small pistol I have in a holster on the inside of my jacket. It seems so much easier in the movies.

“You would know, my dear. Let’s get up now, I have orders to bring you to your husband and it’s getting late.”

“I’m not going back,” I tell him, turning to the side so he might not realize I’m trying to reach behind my back.

“Oh but you are.”

“We’re not alone, I’ll scream and raise such a fit the others will call the cops in no time,” I tell him ignoring the voice that says that cops are useless.

“That would be kind of hard, since the waitress and the cook are dead.”

“Fuck…” I whisper, before I can stop myself.

“Perhaps later, now either you come quietly to my car or I’ll pick you up and carry you out of here. Either way is good. The stuff I put in your coffee should already be making you sleepy. I do hope I didn’t put too much, it’s hard to judge really.”

As he talks, I already know he’s right, because the room is getting blurry and I’m so tired. My arms feel like they are weighted down, they are so heavy. He’s going to get me. The thought terrifies me enough that I can fight it and get my hand on my gun. I make a quick decision to shoot him instead of me. My hands are shaking from fear and the weight of the weapon, but I pull it out and aim at his crotch. Honestly, I dream of shooting his and Michael’s dick off. I try to steady the gun and shoot but I can’t seem to get my fingers to work, to squeeze the trigger. I scream out at myself as Donald grabs the gun. He wrestles it out of my hands and then slams the butt of it against my head. Blackness envelopes me and all I can think is, I hope I don’t wake up this time.

Crusher

I
somehow convince
Frog to leave me in charge of the fucker we captured. I realize I’ve gone way too far to come back, but in truth I don’t care. I will do whatever it takes to save my woman. I know I was stupid and made her doubt that, but I have never thought of Dani as Melly. Melissa and I were kids, and it was a different lifetime. It was young love and it ended heartbreakingly. I mourn the loss of her life every fucking single day, but I don’t mourn it out of some great love.

Dani and my love for her are all consuming. Honestly, it just hit me this last freaking month. Before she was an obsession, but the last month that we’ve been messing around back and forth…I’ve come to realize that she is everything I could ever want. When she smiles or laughs, I get a feeling of peace that I have never had in my entire life. She flipped her lid over the fact that I had sex with Nikki and Lips. It didn’t even matter that it happened before the two of us got together. That’s when I realized that she was feeling the same way. When she began whispering that she loved me? I drank that in, and I drank it in deep. If she dies, I won’t mourn her. Hell no. I’ll make sure I join her. It’s just that fucking simple.

When I get into the room where the fucker is being held, I get pissed all over again. He’s barely been worked over. I’ve seen Drag in action, so I know when he’s gone easy on a motherfucker and the fact that he did this time, pisses me off. I know he blames Dani for what happened to Nicole, but Jesus this is just fucking wrong. It also cements my decision. I’m essentially going rogue here. I’m ignoring a direct order from my president and I’m putting the good of one over my club. I feel betrayed too, though. I don’t think they left me with any other choice.