The dog, p.9
The Dog, page 9
Progressing into a suburban area, we slow down as we search for the correct house number. Beast draws my attention, signaling the house on our left. We stop in front of the house and shut down our rides before dismounting.
Following the path, I make my way to the front door and ring the bell. Silence reigns before I hear footsteps approaching the door. I wait not so patiently as the door is unlocked and opened.
“What do you want?” the man asks.
“Looking for James Parsons. Vice principal at Blackburn Elementary?” Beast asks from behind me.
“Yeah. What can I help you with?” James asks again.
“We’re here to have a talk about a woman named Trinity,” I reply.
“Trinty? Don’t know anyone by that name.” He starts to close the door, but I use the toe of my boot to stop him. Pushing the door back, we enter his house.
“You see, Trinity is a very nice girl. She works for us down at Dusk ’Til Dawn. You and some idiot friends hired her for a private show at a bachelor party.” Moving forward, I continue speaking as he backpedals.
“Is any of this ringing a bell for you, Jimbo?” Beast taunts from beside me.
“Yeah, yeah,” he stammers. “It was my bachelor party. She showed up, we had a good time, and then she left. I don’t know what the problem is.”
“The problem is we don’t like our girls to be raped, beaten, and left for dead,” I say lowly.
“Rape? No one raped her. She was practically begging for it!” he exclaims.
“Begging?” Beast sounds like he might be getting pissed off.
“Is that before or after you beat the shit out of her?” I grab him by the neck and shove him up against the wall.
He opens his mouth to speak, but I don’t allow it. I put more pressure on his windpipe, cutting off his words and his airflow. Leaning in close, I look him in the eyes to make sure he takes in every word I say.
“Here’s how this is going to go. We are going to kick the shit out of you. Then tomorrow, you will go to Dusk and give the manager a cash check for the amount of two thousand dollars.” I pause, letting him breathe for a moment. “Don’t make me come back here, or you won’t like the consequences. And if I ever hear about you doing something like this ever again, I will come back, tie you to one of those ugly chairs, and burn the house down around you. While you’re still alive.”
A scent hits me then, and as I look down, I see a puddle forming around my boots. Fucking asshole pissed himself.
“Look at that.” Beast laughs. “The big tough man who beats on small woman pissed himself when the big bad biker threatened him.”
“Goddammit.” I shove him hard, bouncing his head off the wall.
He sags to the floor, sitting in his own piss. I don’t have time for this shit. It has to be done, so I signal Beast to take over as I head out the door to my bike. I hate these kinds of men. They have inferiority complexes and think that if they exercise their will on those around them, they will feel better. Probably the same reason he is a vice principal at my son’s school. He enjoys lording his power over children as well.
His scream of pain rings out through the neighborhood before it is abruptly cut off. Looking around, I make sure that none of the neighbors are nosy enough to come and look at what’s going on. Ten minutes later, Beast appears from the house, smiling like the cat that got the cream.
“He get the message?” I ask.
“Definitely.” He smiles wider before straddling his bike. “Where to, boss?”
“I’m headed home. Having a barbeque with the boys later so I need to get some shit from the store. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Once I’ve started up my bike, I gun it and head home. Kaiya should already be there, and I can’t wait to see her. After a job like this, I just need to unwind, and having her in my arms will help that.
****
It’s after five in the afternoon when I finally give up waiting for Kaiya to show up. I sent her a text about an hour ago, but she hasn’t read it or replied yet. I shouldn’t pressure her, but I am kind of worried. What if something happened to her? So I call her, twice, and she doesn’t answer. Then I do the next best thing. I grab my keys, jump in my truck, and head over to Wolf’s house.
The entire way there, thoughts run through my mind. All the bad things that could have happened to her, all the way things could have gone wrong. But I won’t allow myself to have a full-blown panic attack until I’ve spoken to Hadley. She could be over there, after all.
Pulling up outside, I see Wolf unloading Hadley’s car. He seems to be carrying tons of boxes and parcels. I jump out of the truck and rush over to help just as the pile he is carrying starts to topple over.
“Thanks for the assist, man.” He smiles when he sees me catch the two boxes that were falling.
“No problem. What is all this?” I ask.
“All the baby shower presents. This little girl is going to have more stuff than she will ever know what to do with.” He chuckles.
“That’s great, man. So happy for both of you.” I return his smile.
“So, what brings you around, brother?” he asks as we enter the house and he unceremoniously dumps everything on the living room table.
“Actually I’m looking for Kaiya. Was hoping she’d be here with Hadley.” I place my packages down gently.
“Nope, she’s at work,” Hadley answers as she enters the room from the kitchen, carrying a huge glass of what I’m assuming is a huge-ass glass of chocolate milk.
“Work? It’s her day off,” I say.
My blood pressure is already rising. I wanted to talk to her tonight about quitting. I can’t stand the thought of her working in the strip club, even just as a waitress. All those guys looking at her, maybe even trying to touch her. I feel like I might have an aneurism just thinking about it.
“Yeah,” Hadley replies after taking a gulp of her drink. “Preacher called about an hour into the shower with a waitress crisis. She’s gone to help out.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Wanna stay for a beer?” Wolf asks as he comes out of the kitchen holding one.
“Nah, I’ll take a raincheck. The boys and I are having a barbeque.”
Hadley stands on the steps of their home, watching me as I straddle my bike and take off. I wave at her, but she doesn’t wave back, instead, frowning at me. I know I may have seemed rude and abrupt, but I’m going to kill Kaiya. Gunning, my bike I head for Dusk.
Pulling into the parking lot, I see that the early rush has already hit. Guys coming from work, not wanting to head home for their various personal reasons, opting to stop in and have a drink instead while watching a hot girl take her clothes off. I know that if I cause a scene right now, Preacher will be short a waitress.
But I sincerely could give a flying fuck in hell. There’s no way I would let Kaiya work here after last night. I had to keep my mouth shut before last night. I had to sit around and accept the fact she was working here. And although I still want her to be able to do what she wants to, to have her independence, I will lose my mind if she continues to work here.
Striding in, I look around the front area, scanning everywhere for her. When my gaze lands on her, I follow her to the bar. She is laughing at something the bar lady just said. The other woman’s attention lands on me and she takes a step back.
“Heads up,” I hear her say as she walks away.
Kaiya turns and her eyes widen as she sees me standing right in front of her. I tower over her, caging her in with my arms.
“Bohdi,” she breathes out.
Her breathing accelerates, her breast rising and falling faster as I lean in to speak into her ear.
“What are you doing here, babe?” I rumble out.
“Working?” she phrases it like a question.
“Did you really think I would be okay with you working here after what happened between us last night?”
I nip her earlobe. She sucks in a breath before putting her hands on my chest. For a moment, I think she might push me away, but her hands fist in the material, trying to pull me closer. I keep my stance firm. I need to get answers out of her, and if I get too close, I will lose all hope of keeping my thoughts in order.
“Bohdi,” she says softly. “Mabey we can…”
Storm interrupts us. She looks like she is about to lose her mind. Her eyes are wide and teary-eyed, and her panic is clear.
“I need your car, Kaiya,” she rushes.
“Car?” I ask Kaiya.
“We’ll talk later.” She turns her attention to Storm. “What’s going on?”
“I was on the phone with Pope, and there was an explosion. We got cut off. Something is very, very wrong.” The first tear escapes her eyes and rolls down her cheeks.
Fear races through my system. Not only is Pope my President, but he is also my friend. A man who pulled me back from the brink and gave me a home and a purpose when I no longer had one.
“I have the truck, I’ll drive. You shouldn’t be driving now.” I feel Kaiya place her small hand in mine.
“I’m going with you.”
Ushering both women out, we head to my truck. Making sure that both are strapped in, I peel out of the parking lot. I drive like my life depends on it, at speeds I would never drive with one of the women in my truck, under normal circumstances. But these aren’t normal circumstances. Storm has explained that Pope is at Sparrow’s house, and as I turn in that direction, I can see the black smoke rising in the distance. I press my foot down on the accelerator a little more. My heart is lodged in my throat. I worry for my friend, for Storm, and for a little boy who just lost his mother. I fear our club might not be strong enough to survive this death.
Kaiya takes my hand in hers again and squeezes.
“Everyone is fine,” she says weakly. “Everyone is fine until we are proven otherwise.”
She nods her head as if agreeing with herself. Her words bring me a little comfort and keep repeating in my mind. My heart rate starts to lower, and I focus better on my driving instead of my breathing. Kaiya is right. Until we know for sure, it won’t help anyone to start panicking yet.
But as we pull up at Sparrow’s house, I know that not everyone is fine and that some of us never will be again.
Chapter Nineteen
Kaiya
The funeral for Luna was beautiful. Respectful. It paid homage to the person she was, the love she brought with her everywhere, and her bright, beautiful soul. There were many people in attendance. From patients to friends and family. The entire club was there, even members from other clubs, some even driving hundreds of miles to pay their last respects.
Sparrow is unconsolable, Gage is a crying mess, and the rest of us are still in shock. As we make our way outside to the hearse, I walk hand in hand with Bohdi. Everyone around us keeps eyeing the contact, but no one asks any questions. It isn’t the time or the place to discuss our relationship.
“Everybody get down!” Pope yells from the side of the church.
Everything falls into disarray a moment later. A black car moves past seconds later, spraying bullets in all directions. Bodhi pushes me to the ground and covers my body with his. When the gunfire stops, everyone jumps into motion.
Bohdi pulls me up off the ground. He scans me from top to toe, taking in every inch of me.
“Are you okay?” he asks, holding my shoulders firmly.
I’m not okay, but I’m not about to tell him that. I can see the damage caused all around me. People are bleeding and crying. My eyes track everyone and my mind is made up. I will be fine until everyone else is sorted.
“Yeah, but—” My words are cut short by an ear-piercing scream.
Wolf sprints toward the park where Storm and Hadley were with the kids. In the next moment, Storm is running toward us, screaming at Broghan right before his little body takes flight after being hit by the black car. Pope is running toward him, but even I can see the blood running down the front of his chest.
Everyone is in motion at the same time, and everything is pure chaos. Bohdi gives me a fleeting look before sprinting toward the chaos in the street. Instead of following, I take a seat against the nearest tree and pull my cell phone out.
I dial 9-1-1.
“9-1-1, what is your emergency?” the male operator says.
“There has been a shooting at the Catholic church in Gypsy Falls,” I reply. “There are a lot of people hurt and a little boy that got hit by a car.”
“Okay, we have dispatched units to the scene. There is another lady also on a call about this incident. Tell me, is the shooter still there?”
“No.” I grunt as I move to get more comfortable. “They drove off in the car that hit the boy.”
“Are you hurt, ma’am?” he asks.
“Kaiya, my name is Kaiya.”
“Okay, Kaiya. My name is Matthew. Are you hurt?” he asks again.
“Um, yeah. I think a bullet hit my upper leg,” I reply, trying not to look at the puddle of blood spreading out beneath my leg. “It doesn’t hurt too bad, so I will be fine, but a lot of other people are hurt a lot worse than I am.”
“Okay. But when the paramedics get there, I need you to see one of them. A wound like that to your upper leg can be very dangerous,” he says sternly.
“Okay. I need to go now,” I reply before ending the call.
He was still trying to talk to me, but I don’t have time to listen to him. I know myself and what I am capable of, and I need to help with the mess that’s going on right now. I head over to Viking to find out what I can do.
“Viking, what do you need?” I ask as I reach him.
“Kaiya, thank God. Put pressure on this wound.” He takes my hand, pulling me down to the ground and placing it on the chest of a man lying on the grass.
My leg screams in pain, but I’m used to pain. I can handle pain. Pain was the only thing that helped me stay alive for long years. Pain is my friend. I grunt as I shift my position.
“Are you okay?” Viking scans me for any visible injuries.
“Yeah, just hurt my hip when Bohdi pushed me to the ground.”
He watches me closely before nodding his acceptance. I know that if I wasn’t wearing black pants and if anyone was focused instead of in emergency mode, someone would have caught me out a long time ago.
Looking down, I stare at the man I’m trying to help. Viking placed my hand on his chest to stave off the bleeding, but I have been here before. I see the vacancy in his gaze and know it’s much too late to do anything for him. It’s only after I close his eyelids and rise from my spot that I see he is a patched member with the Gypsy Bastards.
This is too much death, too much pain for one club to handle. I don’t know how they will survive this going forward. Moving among the people, I see Storm and Broghan loaded into one ambulance, Hadley and Wolf into another, and someone I don’t recognize into a third.
I scan the area for Bohdi but don’t see him immediately. I see a child on the steps, crying alone, and I thank God that we didn’t bring the boys with us today. I don’t know what would have happened if anything happened to them. I hobble my way over to the church steps and don’t even hesitate. I pull the little girl onto my lap and start to rock her back and forth while rubbing her back. I make soothing noises and hope for the best.
After long moments, I feel her go limp in my arms. When I look down, I realize she has cried herself to sleep. Bohdi finds me sitting in this position with a lost, broken-hearted, sleeping little girl on my lap.
“Shit, Kaiya.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. You damn near gave me a heart attack.”
His eyes soften as he sees the little girl in my arms.
“I don’t know who she is,” I say weakly. “She was crying and alone. I just wanted to help her.”
Bohdi looks at me funny, tilting his head to the side. My vision is becoming a little blurry and even my voice sounded far away a moment ago. I move a little and don’t feel any pain in my leg. I know that I’m in trouble now.
Lifting my gaze to Bohdi, I motion him to take her. He lifts her gingerly from my arms as I search for a paramedic. Luckily, there is one nearby treating what looks like a scrape on a woman’s arm.
“Hey, paramedic,” I call out.
He turns his attention to me and motions that he is almost done. I shouldn’t have waited so long for someone to take a look at my leg. Bohdi steps closer to me.
“Well, when you’re done,” I call out, “I got shot in the leg, and I’m about to pass out.”
Bohdi moves to catch me as everything around me goes dark, but I don’t know if he makes it in time.
****
I wake to bright lights and the smell of ammonia. I may not have been to the hospital for many of my previous wounds, but there is no way to miss the distinctive smell. The beeping beside me sounds like it is inside my head, causing it to throb.
I lift my hand to massage my temples but feel a tug. As I open my eyes, I can see the tubes from my IV running into my hand. My gaze scans the room to find Bohdi sleeping in the chair in the corner. He looks uncomfortable as hell and I feel sorry for him. Beside him is another bed with the little girl who was crying at the church.
Her vivid blue eyes are open and trained on me. I smile at her as much as I can, but I don’t get any reaction. Instead, she grabs Bohdi’s sleeve in her tiny little hand and tugs it twice. His eyes pop open immediately and focus on her.
“What’s wrong, little lady?” he asks softly.
I’m still amazed that a man as big and scary as Bohdi, a man referred to by his friends as Mad Dog, can be so gentle. I love that about him, and my chest floods with heat.
The little girl doesn’t answer him but points in my direction.
“Thank fuck,” he breathes as he rushes to my side. “You have had me messed up. I’m so happy to see your eyes open.”
“How…” My throat is scratchy, so I attempt to clear it.
Bohdi grabs a glass of water and holds the straw to my lips. I drink down several large gulps before pulling away.
