Lay It Down: Bastards MC Series Boxed Set (73 page)

Then the door barged open.

“Look who’s awake!” Thing 1 snarled.

I was surprised he’d come to get me; Thing 2 had barely left the room since we’d gotten here. I apparently was his personal plaything. I swallowed and tried to back away from him.

“Oh no, you don’t. Boss wants you out here!” He pulled me into the open room just as headlights turned the corner and headed up the hill that led to the camp.

I couldn’t see any of the other men. They must be outside or hiding in here, waiting to attack whomever was in the single car. Thing 1 pushed me toward the window.

“Let them see you,” he demanded, releasing my arm but aiming a gun at me.

I did as commanded, not recognizing the large SUV that had pulled in. The door opened, but no dome light came on, so I still wasn’t sure who it was. I wanted to beat on the window and scream a warning, telling the driver to get back in and drive fast in the other direction.

Then Will stepped into the outside light, and I cried out. No! He was not supposed to be here! He needed to be somewhere far away because if I was going to die, my kids needed at least one parent. He smiled at me and gave me a half wave.

“Who is that?”

“My ex-husband,” I breathed.

Will walked up the path and opened the door then stepped inside. “Jo?” he called as if he hadn’t seen me through the window.

I turned, not sure if I should call to him, but before I could respond, Thing 2 and one of the goons invaded the room, guns drawn, screaming at him to get on the ground. He shook his head, not understanding what was going on, before one of them struck him and forced him to kneel. Had Matty sent Will up to check on me? He probably didn’t even know he was walking into a trap.

Where were the others though? Glancing out the window, I had my answer as I realized the other three goons had swarmed the car, guns drawn. Then Will was yelling at me, telling me to get away from the window before he was silenced with another blow. I did as he said, moving so quickly that Thing 1 couldn’t grab me. The sound of glass shattering made me shriek, but it was the thump of Thing 1 falling to the floor, and the expanding puddle of blood underneath him, that had me sprinting across the room, the long pajamas tripping me.

Moments turned into seconds and seconds stretched into minutes as pure pandemonium broke loose. My ears rang as guns were fired too close to me, and there seemed to be men running everywhere. An arm wrapped around my waist, lifting my feet off the ground, and I shoved at it, digging my fingernails into the uncovered skin, kicking whoever had me. I needed to get outside and make a break for it. My pants slipped down, tangling my legs and making it harder to struggle. Another shot went off, making me grab my ears in pain as the man holding me went lax. I glanced behind me, positive it was Thing 2.

Will’s form slumped on the floor at my feet was my breaking point. I sank down next to him, lost in the chaos that surrounded me. Tears burned down my cheeks as I shook him, screaming at him to open his eyes until my voice was gone. I couldn’t even fight when Scott grabbed my hair, and I stood simply to ease the pain he was causing, my bottoms falling off completely. We were alone in the room, but I could hear the guns and shouts from outside and knew there were others around.

“You lying bitch!” he growled. “You’ll pay for this.”

The look in his eyes told me that I was as good as dead unless I fought back. Without his goons, he was just one man. One man currently without a gun.

“Did you think I’d actually lead you to Matty?” I scoffed.

His hand moved fast, as if to backhand me, but I ducked and brought the heel of my palm up under his nose.

Scott cackled as he wiped away the gushing blood. “Never thought you’d be one to fight back.” He charged again.

Nick’s words came back.
Keep moving. Use what you can
. I kicked at Scott’s knee at the same time I aimed a fist for his throat. I just needed to get him down long enough to get out the door. He yelled in pain or surprise, I wasn’t sure, but he managed to get a good punch in, and I flew backward. He was over me in a second, kicking my already bruised side. I rolled onto my stomach, scrambled to my knees, and sent an elbow into his groin. He fell back, but not before kicking me in the back, making me fall forward onto the flagstone of the fireplace.

The rock sliced my cheek, but I was beyond feeling any pain. Turning over, I lifted my legs and kicked his knees again. He fell forward onto me, not backward as I had planned. His hands closed around my throat, but I wasn’t giving up. I grabbed his head, shoving my thumbs into his eyes. He let go of my throat to knock my hands away, and I took the chance to slam my head into his nose. His hands were back around my neck instantly, and he smashed my head onto the fireplace.

Nausea hit. For a second, I couldn’t see straight and there were three of him instead of one. I wasn’t about to give up, but I was so woozy that it took me a second to remember what was going on. Using my fingernails as claws, I dragged them down his cheeks hard enough to bring blood. He refused to ease up, and I realized too late that he was winning—I couldn’t breathe.

Then he was being lifted off me and thrown across the room as if he didn’t weigh more than a sack of potatoes. Tank loomed before me, saying words I couldn’t make out. I struggled to sit up, pulling my shirt down to cover me. He kneeled and ran hands over my bare legs, avoiding the recent gashes. Then he was gently pulling my arms away from my sides, seeing the cigarette burns and more lacerations. Finally he moved his fingers over my scalp, and I was surprised when one came back bloody. I didn’t understand, but my lips refused to form the words I struggled to say. He spoke again, but I could only stare because I couldn’t hear a thing he said. Slowly, as if not to spook me, he leaned closer and slipped a hand under my knees. Then I was in the air, supported by a giant teddy bear who kept dropping quick little kisses on my temple.

I leaned into him, feeling the beat of his heart against his chest. I was safe. He would die before he let Scott get to me again. I lifted my head, suddenly terrified, wondering where the evil creep had gone. Rob and Matty were on the other side of the room, Scott kneeling before them. There were Bastards everywhere, and I honestly didn’t know how or when they’d gotten there.

Matty turned toward us, speaking inaudibly, but he didn’t come to me. His eyes traveled over me but never connected with mine. He nodded to us then turned back to the man in front of him. Tank kept moving, and I closed my eyes, not wanting to see Will’s body. I felt as if I was floating through the air, suspended on a cloud. Suddenly we stopped and I was lowered a little, but Tank’s arms never left me. A door slammed, making me jump, and I opened my eyes in panic. We were in the safety of the car, where it was blissfully quiet and dark, with only the dim glow from the outside light.

Tank smiled down at me. “I got you, L.K. You’re safe. I’m gonna get you help.”

The sobs that wracked my body hurt, but I couldn’t keep them in. I cried for Taylor and Jessie and the pain they’d endured. I cried for the woman I’d seen murdered. I cried for Will. I had loved him for almost twenty years, and even though we’d had our problems, he was a part of me. I cried for my kids, because I didn’t know how to make everything okay ever again. And I cried for me, because Matty hadn’t come to me. I didn’t know what I looked like right now, but I’d seen the horror on his face. He would love me forever, but after this, how could he ever want me again? I grabbed Tank’s shirt, fisting it, and let it all go.

Chapter 37

Jo

I stood pressed against the cold glass of the window as I slid the ring back and forth over my necklace. Hawk had found the ancient Claddagh somewhere in the camp and had bought me a new chain so I could have it with me. Playing with it had become my new quirk, my nervous tic as my mom called it, to help pass the time.

I loved this view, especially at night. The Portland skyline was gorgeous all the time, but after dark, the lights came on and gave it a whole new look. There was a game at Hadlock Field tonight, and I squinted to see if I could make out any of the players. Hey, there had to be some perks to spending a week in the hospital, right?

I was being released tomorrow, and I couldn’t wait. Not that it was awful here. I was able to wear my own clothes instead of a hospital gown, and the food was more like catered room service than anything. But I was ready to go home and see my kids.

I’d been allowed to have visitors—hell, I’d had a steady stream of them over the past seven days. My parents had been here when I woke up, my dad crying with relief. Teagan had come and read to me from her gossip magazines every day. At least two Bastards had been here around the clock, barely giving me five minutes to myself, and they barged in even when it was just a nightmare making me cry out. Cris, her arm in a sling, had made the trip up twice. Even Will had been wheeled in by a nurse, making me break down when I saw him for the first time and realized he wasn’t dead. But the four people I wanted to see most in the world hadn’t come.

Becky, much to my mother’s displeasure, had the kids. Dean was with her; they told me he hadn’t left my kids’ sides through this entire ordeal. He had taken a break once they were back in school and brought me down the get well cards they’d made. He and Bex had told them that Will and I had been in a bad car accident, and while we were going to be okay, we needed time to heal. I had gotten to talk to them on the phone a few times, but I didn’t want to scare them with my ability to just start crying for no reason.

Even the police had visited me. I’d told them what I could remember. My memory got a little sketchy around the time the Bastards showed up, but I didn’t feel the need to tell them that. I simply explained I couldn’t remember any more, and they didn’t push. I was sure the fact that Jon Greenwood and Hawk were in my room at the time encouraged the detectives to be gentler than they would normally be.

I didn’t want to discuss what had happened, not even with the hospital psychologist. The problem with her was that she was trying to social work the social worker. There was a reason shrinks didn’t go to other shrinks, and it wasn’t because they didn’t need help. It was because hearing the words you said to clients repeated back to you didn’t help. I knew what I had to do to heal and that wasn’t going to change because someone else told me to do it.

I moved slightly, sliding my body sideways, and caught the reflection of a man leaning in my doorway behind me. I whirled, seeing the face I’d missed dreadfully. “Matty.”

He didn’t move, just raked his eyes over me.

“How long have you been there?”

He shifted and stepped into the room, shutting the door. His body was tense, and he seemed as if he was going to come to me, but then he stopped himself. Crossing his arms, he demanded, “What the fuck were you thinking, Jo?”

His tone didn’t surprise me. I’d known his first words to me were going to be something like that. He was still Matty, after all. Cris had explained that her brother had stayed at my bedside until they knew I was okay, and he’d camped out in the waiting room ever since, wanting to be close but needing space. She’d promised Matty just needed some time, that he was pissed with himself, but that he’d come to me when he was ready.

Cris hadn’t needed to justify it. Most of Matty might have been a mystery to me lately, but there were still parts of him I knew better than I knew myself. First, he’d be beating himself up, focusing on the worst case scenario, the “what could have happened” instead of on the positive. Next, he’d get angry at everyone else. Finally, he’d be sad. Usually he’d let me in and I could help transition him through the phases. But he could be as angry with me as he needed to be, because it meant that he was here and that he’d finally moved on to the second stage of healing.

He looked as bad as I did and a hell of a lot worse than I felt. His clothes were clean but wrinkled, as if he’d been sleeping in them for days. His hair was disheveled, and he was working on a full beard.

I desperately wanted him to come hold me. Knowing he wasn’t ready, I offered him a smile. “Are you okay?”

“You don’t want me to answer that right now.” He paced, finally stopped in front of one of the chairs, and dropped into it, one leg bouncing repeatedly. “I wanna know what thoughts passed through that brain of yours that made you think going somewhere alone with a sociopath was a good idea.”

I hobbled to the other chair and eased myself down. My body was healing fine, but some of the bandages that covered my wounds pulled at my skin when I moved just right. I sighed. I knew the answer because I’d asked myself the same question a thousand times, yet no one else had asked me. Not even the detectives.

I swallowed, trying to get the lump to go down. “I was thinking I’d heard the screams of that monster torturing them for hours on end. I was thinking that I’d just seen a woman shot in the face. The face, Matty!” I closed my eyes, willing images of happier times to replace those from that night.

“I was thinking that I was tied to a chair and forced to watch as they beat Taylor, even though she was already hurt and didn’t have much fight left. I was thinking that Jessie was so terrified she was shaking.” I opened my eyes, but I couldn’t look at him, so I focused on the worn gray tiles on the floor, pushing my hands into my stomach to help ease the butterflies that had taken up permanent residence.