The Outlaw's Dirty Dancer (12 page)

Her mouth twitched in a smile, but he could see and sense the pain still moving through her. He hated asking her this now. But it was the fastest way to figure out who did this to her. “Baby, do you remember who did this?
Any scars or tattoos that he may have?”

She turned her head toward him. “I don’t know his name, but I know him, Brick.” She swallowed, and a wince covered her face. “He was the guy that smashed that bottle over your head that first night we met.” She closed her eye, and he watched as a tear slid out of the corner of it.

Brick brushed it away, but kept his hand on her cheek.

 
“I saw him again a couple of days after that. He didn’t say anything to me, but he watched me that night with this expression that made me feel uneasy.” She looked at him again and leaned into his hand.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” It took everything inside of him to speak softly and keep his anger in check. None of that negative energy would help her right now.

“Tell you what, Brick? That I got the creeps from one of the guys watching me dance? I’d be telling you that every time I worked.”

“What did he say to you, baby?” Although Brick didn’t know the asshole that did this to her personally, he would find him. If the fucker was smart though he’d be long gone by now, because he would have known once they found out they’d come after him. But leaving wouldn’t save him, and there was no place on this planet that he could hide from Brick.

Her face grew very serious. “He said he was going to hurt me, Brick.
Kill
me.” More tears slipped down her cheek, and he leaned in to kiss them away. “I tried to get away, and managed to knee him in the crotch, so at least I did that much.”

“Good, Darra. I’m glad you got a good hit in.” He ran his hand over her forehead. “You’re so damn strong, and make me so proud. I’ll make sure it is okay.”

She swallowed again. “I know, Brick. But God, I hate being a victim. I’ve been one my whole life. I am trying to get away from that.” She lifted her hand and brushed her tears away in an angry manner. “He was saying that the Grizzly MC shouldn’t have ruined his business he had with the Wolverines—whatever that means. He was talking about how he wasn’t going to let the MC get away with it.”

Brick leaned forward and buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent and silently promising all kind of retribution on her behalf. He held her for several minutes, and just having her close felt so fucking good. He couldn’t get lost in this experience of being with his female, because the sight of her mangled, the idea that some other male had dared to put their fucking hands on her, had him feeling more homicidal than he had ever felt before.

“Can I just go home, Brick? I just want to go home.”

He leaned back, but only kept an inch between them. “Let me make sure with the doctor that it’s okay to move you. But I don’t want you at that apartment anymore, Darra. I want you with me.”

She didn’t respond right away. “Brick, your place is barely big enough for you, let alone another person, and besides, we haven’t been together that long. Don’t you think it’s rushing it a bit?”

He shook his head. “Darra, I have never felt surer of anything else in my life than I am of having you by my side. If you don’t want to stay after you’ve healed and I’ve made sure the bastard that hurt you won’t ever do it again, then I won’t fight with you to move back you’re your apartment.” He wasn’t going to argue with her, because he was just glad she was in his life. “You’re my old lady.” He brushed his lips along hers. “And if you do want to stay with me then I’ll get a bigger place, one where you can be happy, have your space, and where I know you’ll be safe.”

She smiled and lifted her hand to cup his cheek.

Now it was Brick’s turn to lean into her touch. “I need you by my side, and I need to have you safe, baby.”

“I know, Brick, and I want to be with you, too.” She still held her smile, and even with the bruising and swelling in her face he could still see the spunky female that had jumped into his arms and taken control of their kiss just this morning. “I’d like to stay with you, but let’s take it one day at a time, okay?”

Brick kissed her once more and stood. “Okay, baby. I’m going to check to see if you can leave.” Brick stood and left the room. He strode down the hallway and to the backdoor where he could hear everyone talking. But he stopped before he reached it, and now that he wasn’t in Darra’s presence anymore he faced the wall and slammed his fist into it. The plaster crumbled beneath his fist, and he pulled it back and slammed it in the wall again. His knuckles were cut up, and blood dripped down his wrist, but he needed more pain and violence. Everyone came rushing into the club from the noise, but stopped when they saw him face them. The doctor was beside Marin, and his uneasiness was the strongest scent of them all.

“Is she okay to leave?” Brick stared at the doctor.

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and nodded. “Um, yes, but she needs a lot of rest. She has several fractured ribs, and will have facial swelling and bruises for several weeks, but the swelling should decrease over the next week.”

Brick nodded. “What else?”

“I don’t want her lifting anything, driving, and ideally she needs to rest as much as possible. Also make sure she takes in plenty of fluids.” The doctor was human, and there was
a tightness
in his voice. Clearly he was uneasy around shifters. Good. “I have some medicine for her, too.”

“Give it to me. She is coming with me anyway.”

The doctor nodded and stepped forward. After taking out several bottles from his bag and explaining what they were and when she needed to take them, he dismissed himself and left.

Brick stared at the bottles he held and addressed the rest of the men. “I know who did this to her, and I want to know where he is, Marin.” Brick looked at the club owner. “You had called him Leno the night I was at your club and knocked his ass back. I need to know where he is.”

“Shit.” Marin ran his hand over his dark longish hair and looked at the bouncers on either side of him. “He’s a crazy son-of-a-bitch. He used to deal crack and meth out of this shitty house on the south end of town, but in just the last few weeks he’s gotten even more insane and unstable.”

“How?”
Jagger was the one to speak.

Marin shrugged. “He sampled the shit he sold, but now whenever he comes here—which has been nearly every night lately—he is higher than a damn kite and drunker than hell.”

“You friends with him?”
Court snapped out the words.

“No. I used to let him do a little dealing in the back alley for a cut of the profits. The guys that come in here want a little chemical pleasure with their tits and ass.”

“I want his address.”

Marin nodded at Brick and rambled off the motherfucker’s address.

Brick turned toward Jagger. “I’m taking Darra back to the clubhouse until we get this asshole dealt with.”

Jagger nodded. “Anything you need, brother.”

“This needs to be dealt with tonight,” Brick said and ran a hand over his face.

“You know we have your back. You want to drive the truck and take her back, and Court can take your bike?” Jagger asked.

Brick nodded, but his mind was already on Darra, and soon his body followed that thought as he tuned and headed toward her. Aside from the members of the club he had never worried about anyone else, but the concern that was thick in his veins for Darra was unlike anything he had ever experience before. This night was just beginning, and when it ended there would be a lot of fucking blood on his hands.

Chapter Eleven

Darra sat in one of the rooms at the clubhouse and stared at the closed door. Brick had brought her here over an hour ago, and after he had gotten her settled in he had left on “club business”. But she knew where he was going and what he was doing, and she felt no remorse that the dick that had attacked her was going to feel the wrath of the MC. Surprisingly the inside of their clubhouse wasn’t like how she envisioned in her head. Honestly, she hadn’t known what to expect, but when Brick had carried her in and she got a look at what appeared to be a sports bar, she was surprised. Of course there was a stripper pole practically in the middle of the floor, but she had pictured a stage for girls to get undressed on, maybe some glory holes punched out in the wall. She shouldn’t have assumed, because the way Brick really was and how he treated her wasn’t how she would have pictured a big biker to act.

There was a knock on her door, and she brought the sheets that smelled just like Brick closer to her chest. She wore nothing but one of his shirts, but it was long enough to reach mid-thigh, and the sleeves alone fell past her elbows. The door pushed open an inch, and a dark haired woman poked her head inside.

“Hi, can I come in?”

Darra nodded.

The woman pushed the door all the way open and carried a tray of food in her arms. She moved closer to the bed and smiled. “I’m Sonya, Jagger’s old lady.”

“Hi. I’m Darra.”

She smiled softly. “I know.” She looked at the bed and then at Darra. “I brought you something to eat. I didn’t think you’d be hungry, but I wanted to check up on you and thought bringing you some food would help.”

“Thanks, but I’m not all that hungry.”

Sonya nodded again and set the tray on the small table in the corner. She came closer and sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re feeling okay? Brick left pain pills for you.”

“Yeah.
I took one, but they don’t help that
much,
and I am too wound up to sleep.”

 
“Yeah, I can imagine you’d be pretty freaked out, but you’re safe here. Well, I just wanted to check on you, but it’s late and I’ll let you rest.” Sonya went to stand, but suddenly Darra didn’t want to be alone.

“Wait, please. Um, maybe we could talk?
Just for a moment?”

 
“Yeah, sure.”
But then neither said anything, and the silence stretched on.

“I know I look a hot mess right now.”

When Sonya chuckled Darra lifted her head in confusion.

“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you or this situation, but believe me when I say being in this clubhouse will have you seeing a whole other side of ugly. You look beautiful compared to these pigs.” There was a teasing note in Sonya’s voice, and Darra knew the other woman was trying to make her feel better.

“Thanks … I think.” She smiled, but she knew she looked like shit. She had gone to the bathroom when she got to Brick’s room, and the sight of her reflection was enough to have her gagging and feeling the remembrance of fear. “You’ve been with Jagger for a while?”

“No, just a few weeks officially, but it feels like I’ve been with him for a long time, like we are ... connected. I know that sounds crazy.”

Darra knew exactly what the woman meant. “No, actually I know what you mean. In fact I’ve only known Brick for such a short time, but it feels like I’ve known him longer. Almost like my soul recognizes his, as clichéd as that sounds.”

Sonya reached across the bed and took her hand, and although it was a bit forward for just meeting the lady, Darra couldn’t help but feel comforted by it. She watched Darra with her very blue eyes, and even though she looked about the same age as Darra, there was this knowledge that only came with living a hard life reflected in her eyes. Darra could recognize a wounded soul like her own, and Sonya was definitely a wounded soul.

“Things are crazy here, that’s for sure, but when one of these men finds their woman, they care about them with their entire beings. Believe me when I say that they may seem hard and dangerous on the outside—are that, too—but when they claim a female it is for life. You will never be hurt, Darra, that is for sure.” Sonya didn’t need to say the words for Darra to realize that she had been hurt in the past, too. It was in her face and showed in her expressive eyes.

“Have you been hurt, too?” Darra knew the answer, but she also didn’t want to seem presumptuous. Sonya looked at the ground for a moment and then nodded.

“Yeah, pretty badly, too, but that is in my past. I didn’t let that anger and pain, disgust and vileness consume me. Some are not as lucky as me, but I can tell you are one of the stronger ones, Darra. You hold yourself differently, and you have to grab onto that strength and not let the ugliness that is always trying to drag us down take you.” She patted Darra’s hand. “You know what I’m saying, right?”

“Yeah, I do, and I’ve lived with that knowledge that I wanted a different life from the moment I realized what that meant.”

Sonya nodded in agreement. “I’ll tell you this because no one else will.” She looked at the open door, and when she turned back to face Darra she leaned in an inch. “It takes a strong woman to be with one of these guys. The club whores that walk around here,” Sonya wrinkled her nose, “they don’t know shit about being strong. They want to please these guys and will be doormats if allowed.” This woman was trying to make her see something that wasn’t visible. At least that was what Darra picked up on. “Listen, I should really let you get rest. The sun will be up in a few hours, and the guys will be back. Besides, your body needs that healing sleep.”

“Do you think they will be okay?”

Sonya had already gotten off the bed and was walking to the door when Darra called out.
“The guys?”
She looked over her shoulder. “Yeah, sweetie, I know they will be.” Sonya gave her one last smile before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. There was a slight waver in the other woman’s voice, and Darra didn’t know if Sonya was as scared as she was, or if she didn’t believe her own words.

Leaning back in the bed and staring at the ceiling, Darra knew she needed sleep, but it didn’t seem like it would come. She turned and grabbed the bottle of pain pills, and took the other half that she had left out when she took her dose. She just wanted to fall asleep, and when she woke up everything would be okay and Brick would be right beside her in bed.

****

Brick led the other MC members through the thick woods and stopped when he saw the small cabin nestled among them. Although Jagger was the Grizzly president, this was Brick’s fight, and these males were here to have his back. The asshole that was pacing back and forth in front of one of the windows was about to know what happened when someone messed with a Grizzly MC old lady. He had hurt his female, dared to put his fucking hands on Darra, and now the bastard was going to pay for it. The sound of guns being cocked was like goddamned music to his ears.

“How do you want to do this, Brick?” Jagger’s voice was low behind him.

He looked at the male that he had known a long time, the male that had canceled his trip with his female to help him handle this, and the male that was willing to take a life to make sure payback was delivered. “Diesel and Court can head around back, but I’m going through the fucking door and making him
pay
.”

“You think he’s the only one in there?” Dallas said.

Brick moved closer to the cabin and watched as the fucker named Leno continued to pace back and forth. He was on his cell, and a frantic, angry look covered his face. Brick pulled his gun out from where he had it at the small of his back, and felt the anticipation of what he was about to do thrum through his veins.

“It doesn’t matter, because anyone that gets in my fucking way is dead,” Brick said and felt his bear start to rise up in anticipation.

 
Diesel and Court moved to the back of the cabin, and Brick, Jagger, and Dallas moved silently toward the front. Brick could have shifted into his bear and ended this easily enough, but Leno wasn’t about to have this fast. Brick was going to draw out the pain, and look in the fucker’s eyes, human-to-human, and watch as he drew in his last breath.

“You ready, man?”

Brick looked over at Jagger and then at Dallas. He nodded once. “Yeah, this ends this now.” Brick stepped in front of the door and kicked it in. He heard Court and Diesel doing the same to the back door, but Brick was focused on the male currently standing in the center of the room with his hand on his waist. The butt of his gun could be seen, but there was no apprehension in Brick.

“You motherfuckers are all
gonna
die.” Leno threw the phone to the side and pulled out his piece. Brick dodged to the side at the same time Leno fired off the gun. Yeah, shifting would be so much quicker, but Brick had never been the one to take the easy way out.

“This asshole is mine,” Brick roared out, but the other MC members already knew this. They knew that Brick was going to be the one to finish this bastard off. Brick lifted his gun and fired a shot off, but Leno fell to the ground and the bullet tore through the wall. Leno started shooting at the other members, and Brick moved behind the couch with Court and Dallas. He rose over it, aimed his gun, and pulled the trigger. Sadistic satisfaction filled her when Leno jerked to the side as the bullet went through his other arm—the one not currently bandaged with the tattered remains of his bloody shirt. Leno fell to the ground, and his gun went sliding across the floor. Brick slowly stood and moved away from the couch. Jagger and Dallas moved away from the breakfast nook where they had been trying to dodge the bullets, and Brick sensed Court and Diesel moving behind him as well.

Brick moved forward, and the closer he got to Leno the angrier he became. “You touched my female.” Brick stopped in front of him and tightened his hold on the butt of the gun. “You spoke to her,
hit
her, and told her you were going to kill her.” Brick didn’t hold back his bear from flashing to the surface.

Leno started laughing.

Brick lifted his hand and shot him in the already injured arm. The human wailed and thrashed on the floor.

“You fucker.
Go ahead, kill me. You and your bastard club ruined my business. I have nothing now.”

“Man, you’re talking out of your head.” Dallas’s voice cut through like glass.

“You killed off Trick and his club. They supplied the drugs I needed to sell in order to make my living. You ruined me.” He yelled out and pushed himself up until he was sitting. Blood oozed out of the two bullet wounds he had and started making a small puddle on the floor. “Go ahead and kill me, you pansy ass motherfucker. I owe so much damn money there isn’t anywhere else I can hide.”

Brick narrowed his eyes and placed his gun back at the small of his back.

Leno looked at him curiously, but when Brick unsheathed the knife at his waist and held up the gleaming metal, Leno bared his teeth. “It felt damn good to beat the shit out of that bitch. In fact, if your asshole prospect hadn’t come I would have had a fun time sticking my dick in every hole she owned.”

Brick’s anger exploded inside of him. He smelled the liquor and drugs coming from the human’s pores, saw his dilated pupils and knew he was high. There was no doubt that if he didn’t die by Brick’s hand he’d die by someone else’s. He was going to kill Leno, and he was going to take pleasure in doing it.

Leno lunged for the gun a few feet away, but Brick brought his boot to his jaw and sent the man slamming against the wall. He stalked forward, felt his nails lengthen into claws, felt his incisors grew, and his muscles swell as his bear pushed forward. Wrapping his hand around Leno’s throat, all Brick could picture were the bruise marks in the shape of a hand on Darra’s throat. He pictured her battered face and bandaged ribs.

 
Brick thrust the knife into Leno’s gut and slowly pulled it up. The blade was sharp and went through his abdomen like a hot knife through butter. But he wasn’t done just yet. Using his forearm to keep Leno pressed up against the wall, he held the bloody knife in front of his face. Blood trailed out of Leno’s mouth, and he started coughing, drowning in his own body fluids. In a move just as slow as when he cut him the first time, Brick brought the blade across his neck. He took a step back and stared at Leno gurgling and choking, and clawing at the ground right before he stilled and took one last, labored breath. He should have made the fucker suffer even more, but his bear had taken control for a split second. That had been all it needed to end this worthless human’s life. For a second there wasn’t any noise, but then everything came rushing back to Brick. He turned and looked at the other men, and they stared at him with stoic expressions. This certainly wasn’t the most violent thing he had ever done, but it was the most brutal.