CHAPTER TWO

– DEANNA –

Adrenaline is pumping through my veins. The zip tie Hayden put around my wrists isn’t tight and I’ve already pulled one hand free. I keep both hands behind my back, though. Not only to be near the gun he gave me, but to keep up appearances that I am in fact a bargaining chip.

Kent moves and tries to roll against me. I quickly raise my legs higher and I hit the fucker in the knees. He releases a scream in pain. Serves him fucking right. I know for a fact his knees are busted up because I’m the one who hit him on the joints with a hammer.

My vengeance is still burning deep and hot inside me. The day his motorcycle club took my father’s life is still branded in my brain as if it happened only yesterday. They took my father’s life as if it meant nothing to them. Caught in the crossfire of a dispute between two members of Tar Lines MC. Sounds as simple as the justice system states, eh? Right.

Only it doesn’t feel as simple as a wrong time, wrong place, moment when it’s still on a loop inside my brain. Watching my father’s light drain from his eyes right before me hit me harder than any punch I’ve taken during a fight. It rattled my brain and ever since that day I’ve felt the restlessness inside me break loose.

I’ve always been on edge, and it’s why my father entered me in an underground fighting match. He knew simply sparring or competing wouldn’t be enough to get a handle on my rage. Even if I sparred with men twice my size in my dad’s gym, I still managed to accidentally knock them out. I also crave the pain. Sounds fucked-up, but that also sums me up to a T.

The liftgate slowly opens and Hayden’s gaze connects with mine when a voice slices through the silence, “Drive your SUV inside.”

Anger, annoyance, and frustration are etched on Hayden’s face. He doesn’t close the liftgate when he disappears from my line of vision. A moment later the vehicle starts to move and I have to blink a few times to let my eyes adjust from sunlight turning into darkness. A woman holding a gun is the only person I see. Is she alone?

Hayden blocks half my view when she snarls, “Get him out. Now.”

“Get him yourself, Mia. I’m not turning my back on you and won’t lift a damn finger until I’ve seen my mother,” he calmly states and steps back.

Mia, Derek Gage’s sister. She’s the one pulling the strings? Shit. She can kill all of us right here because Areion Fury MC killed her brother. He was the president of Derek’s Quest, a motorcycle club who tried to settle here with their drug dealing shit, at least that’s what I heard. Mia here has a relationship with Kent, and it’s why they are linked with Tar Lines. Everyone in her brother’s MC is dead, and this fucker here next to me is lucky to still be breathing.

Mia takes a step to the side and comes to a stop next to a concrete pillar. She kicks out and I watch in horror when Blue’s body appears from behind it and slumps to the side.

“She’d better not be dead,” Hayden says in a deadly tone.

Mia smirks. “She’s still breathing. Now, take my old man out of there and put him in my car.” She waves her gun to the red convertible. “And you can put the bitch down wherever.”

Great. By the sound of that, and her tone of voice? I’m sure my lifespan has come to an end.

“Get some of your buddies to do it,” Hayden challenges. “I’m going to take my mother and it’ll give you the time and space to get your old man.”

“Fine,” Mia huffs and waves her gun again. “Move.”

Hayden connects his gaze with mine. We can’t exchange words and yet something about his expression tells me to end Mia if I get a chance to take her out. I give a slight nod and then he stalks off in the direction of the pillar.

I fill my lungs and slowly release a breath as I palm the gun I have hidden behind my back. Mia only has eyes for Kent and I can tell her anger is rising with every step she gets closer. Probably due to the injuries and the hood covering his head. He’s not moving so she has no indication he’s still breathing.

“Kent,” she screeches, her voice like nails on a chalkboard. “Kent, say something.”

Kent groans. She rushes forward and as stupid as she is, she places her gun in front of Kent so she can reach the hood covering his head with both hands. This is the moment I flash both arms up. One to grab a fistful of the bitch’s hair, and the other to place the gun to her temple.

“Don’t fucking move or I’ll blow your head off,” I snarl and raise my voice. “How’re you doing, hubs?”

Hubs? Great moment for a mind-fart. Why the hell I called him hubs is beyond me. The only explanation might be since the bitch I’m holding called Kent her old man. I refuse to get into biker lingo, and if Hayden keeps stating he claimed me, then it’s safe to assume he’s my husband in motorcycle club terms. Which also entails half of his shit, and his title is mine. There, I claimed my version of him, and I blame it on the kiss. Shit. No freaking time to think about the damn kiss.

Hayden chuckles when he comes into view, his mother is leaning on him as he guides her toward the SUV. “Just dandy, wifey.”

I roll my eyes and it’s a fraction of a second Mia thinks is enough to grab her gun to get out of her fucked-up position. Sadly for her, I never back out of a promise, and it’s why I simply squeeze the trigger. Warm liquid splashes all over the place.

“Fuck,” I snap. “Talk about bad hygiene. Ugh. Is it on my face?”

Hayden’s mouth twitches while Blue snorts.

Kent starts to move. “Mia? Mia, are you there? What happened? Mia!”

I bring my leg up to push against his knee and he whimpers in pain. Shifting, I crawl over both Kent and Mia’s bodies. Hayden offers me his hand and I take it to balance myself as I get out. Hayden is about to say something when I catch movement behind him.

“Take cover,” I snap and raise my gun at the man stepping into the warehouse.

A man I instantly recognize, and who flares hate inside me as massive as a volcano ready to erupt.

“Well, well, well. Finally, Deanna DeCone, in the flesh,” the older man who caused my father to die rumbles.

“Get behind the SUV,” Hayden hisses.

“Get inside yourself and keep your mother safe,” I hiss back and raise my voice to sneer at the older man who is wearing a Tar Lines patch on his leather vest which also states he’s the president. “Wrong name, asshole. It’s Durnam, not DeCone.”

I slowly release a breath and squeeze the trigger. Everything turns to havoc straight after the bullet rips from my gun. There’s a split-second of exhilaration when the bullet impacts the throat of the president of Tar Lines before I’m being jerked to the side.

Hayden grunts and covers my body as we hit the ground. The idiot broke our fall by catching the brunt of the impact with his own body. The air is filled with the cracking thunder of bullets and when I glance over Hayden’s shoulder I notice all the bikers of Tar Lines have their back facing us while firing at something outside of the warehouse.

“Backup is here,” Hayden states. “Get into the SUV.”

He doesn’t have to tell me twice with what sounds like a war going on outside. From the corner of my eye I catch Kent fall out of the back. I crawl to the side of the SUV and crawl into the backseat. Hayden gets behind the wheel and closes the liftgate. The tires screech when he hits the gas and drives full speed straight through the hangar door. The windshield shatters but we’re out of the warehouse and Hayden keeps driving.

I glance to my left and check on Blue. “Are you okay?”

“A bit knocked around. Don’t think anything is broken or badly injured. I’m definitely getting too old for this shit,” she grumbles.

I gently touch the side of her face. “Nah, you’re rocking the shiner, and can kick ass like no other.”

Blue snorts out a laugh and winces. Directing my eyes toward the front, I now notice the blood dripping down Hayden’s arm.

“You’re bleeding,” I grunt and move to slide my body between the two seats to get into the front.

“I’m fine,” Hayden grits.

Ignoring the stubborn man, I take the fabric of his shirt in both hands and rip it apart where there’s a bloody hole. Exposing his skin, I instantly know he was hit while protecting me.

“You took a bullet that had my name on it,” I muse.

“I was honoring vows since you’re my wifey and all,” Hayden jokes, his eyes sliding to the rearview mirror. “We’ve got company. A single biker, not one I recognize.”

My head whips in the direction of said biker and I lean in between the seats to grab my gun from the backseat. I let the window slide down and aim my gun.

“Are you sure he’s not one of those Broken Deeds guys?” I wonder. “Before, you know, I shoot at him.”

My question isn’t answered by Hayden, but by a bullet the fucking biker behind us is firing at our SUV, shattering the back window.

“Asshole,” I mutter and fire off a few rounds.

The biker anticipates and swerves to dodge the bullets. I don’t have a fucking endless supply and keep my aim steady while I observe. My next shot hits his tire and it causes the bike to crash.

A sigh of relief escapes me when I lean back into the chair, close my eyes and grumble, “I hope we’re out of the fucking woods now because I need a shower, a drink, some comfort food, and a nap. Oh, and you should probably stop and go back to grab that fucker so we can torture some information on Tar Lines out of him.”

“Smart woman,” Hayden mumbles.

I turn my head and watch how Hayden checks the rearview mirror before slowing down and making a U-turn. Taking the hem of my shirt, I lift it to my mouth and use my teeth to tear off some of the fabric. Thank fuck it’s still clean while my face and hair must be covered in Mia’s blood and brain matter. Hayden’s head whips to his arm when I use the fabric to bind his wound.

“You did that on purpose,” I scold. “Wanting a matching bullet wound with me. You failed, by the way. Wrong arm.”

Hayden chuckles and brings the SUV to a stop.

With a heated look he tells me, “I was a bit slow with spinning around to make sure I got hit in the right arm. Guess we’ll have to go for matching ink, at least I won’t make any mistakes with doing my job.”

I purse my lips. “I’m not letting you near me with a needle, or any pointy thing, for that matter.”

“You added that last part to hint at my cock, didn’t you? It’s not pointy, it’s blunt,” Hayden murmurs in a husky tone.

“Hello. Mother sitting in the backseat, who definitely doesn’t want to hear about her son’s cock. Though, it does bring me joy to see and hear you two bond over bullet wounds. Now, both of you get out and grab that fucker who shot at us because I too need a nap, a shower, and all the other things Dee mentioned. Oh, and I do need a pointy but blunt thing, and by this I definitely mean your father’s cock.”

“Ma!” Hayden snaps.

“Just returning the favor, kiddo.” Blue chuckles. “Hopefully next time you’ll hold your tongue when I’m near.”

“For sure as shit,” Hayden grumbles as he opens the door.

I do the same with my gun drawn. The Tar Lines biker is lying on the side of the road, unmoving.

“Check to see if he’s still breathing,” I tell Hayden and point my gun at the biker’s chest.

Hayden squats down and places his fingers on the fucker’s throat. He nods and reaches for his back pocket. Taking out a zip tie, he binds the biker’s hands behind his back, then locks his ankles together. Fisting the biker’s leather cut, Hayden jerks and hisses due to the pain in his arm.

“Open the liftgate,” I tell him and place my gun into the holster at my back to free up my hands to grab the biker.

I did get shot in the arm a few days ago as well. Yet, my wound wasn’t as bad as Hayden’s and has had time to heal. Besides, I’m never one to be held back by pain. The stubborn man seems similar to me when he helps lift the biker’s body into the back.

The biker suddenly regains consciousness. Hayden acts quickly by punching the fucker’s lights out. Hayden curses and holds his arm. The idiot is righthanded and was fucking shot in his right arm.

Closing the liftgate I point at Hayden and snap, “I’m driving.”

I expect him to give me shit, but I guess his arm is really bothering him when he stalks off in the direction of the passenger seat.

“Do you need me to look at your arm?” Blue asks once we’re on the road.

“Not now,” Hayden grits.

“Where am I going?” I question. “The clubhouse?”

Hayden takes out his phone and thumbs off a message. “My house. Take a right here. Heath is already there with his old lady. Dad’s there too, Ma.”

I follow Hayden’s directions and twenty minutes later I park in front of a home which is divided into two parts by a large garage. The garage door opens, revealing Zack and Heath. Zack points at the empty space on the left and I park the SUV. The door closes behind us.

Zack opens the back door and scoops Blue into his arms.

Hayden gets out and it’s then I hear my sister’s panicked voice. “Dee, you’re bleeding.”

I glance down and wince at the reminder of what happened. “Not my blood, and I really need to wash this day off me.”

“I told you to wait inside,” Heath snaps.

Bran glares at him. “I waited until the garage door was shut. Exaggeration, and taking it to a higher level won’t earn you any gratitude. The last time I saw my twin, yours was dragging her off to do fuck knows what. Be glad I even listen to you a tiny freaking bit.”

Heath is about to reply when I snap, “Bran, help me with Hayden. Heath, we brought a little present, it’s in the back. Can you handle it?”

Heath narrows his eyes at me while Hayden sighs. “Tar Lines Member. I used zip ties, but Deanna is right, we should make sure he’s secure so we can question him later.”

“He calls you by your full name?” my sister asks under her breath.

It’s weird to hear my full name when everyone else calls me Dee. I shrug, not wanting it to mean anything. Nothing changes anything for that matter. Even if I killed one of the two responsible for killing our father. I still want to leave and even if Hayden and I tolerated one another for the past few hours it doesn’t mean we’re jumping into anything the way my sister clearly accepted Heath’s claim to be his old lady.

Shit. I might be leaving town on my own. That would definitely suck because I’ve never been more than a day or two apart from my sister.

“I’ll handle it,” Heath states. “Leontine is in the living room with her old man, Veloz, since the fucker doesn’t let her out of his sight. Archer sent her in case either of you needed medical attention.”

“Good,” Hayden grunts. “She can check Ma first and then handle my arm.”

Heath holds out his hand. “Keys, Dee.”

I drop the keys into his hand when Hayden tells him, “Lock him up in the basement of the building on Carter Street.”

“Will do,” Heath rumbles and gets behind the wheel of the SUV.

We follow Hayden into the house and I take my time to glance around the large kitchen.

I whistle under my breath at the high-end equipment. “Nice.”

“We have the same kitchen, only a mirrored version of it,” Hayden states. “This is Heath’s place.”

“ We don’t have anything,” I grit, and instantly regret lashing out.

He did take a bullet to save me and dragged me down to the…shit. “You need to get your head checked.”

Hayden releases a sigh. “I don’t have the energy to go head-to-head with you. No fucking pun intended.”

Concern makes my chest tighten.

I take a step in his direction and grab his head with both hands to stare into his eyes to check his pupils. “No, you idiot. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re still recovering from a concussion. Did you hit your head when we fell?”

His pupils are fine. Dilated. Lust instead of a blown pupil. No head trauma, just a dirty mind. My breathing picks up and my gaze drops to his full lips. I remember all too vividly how they felt against mine. An invisible pull makes our mouths collide and I groan when I feel his tongue caressing mine. Pleasure seeps into my veins and I let my fingers roam through his short hair.

His hands move to my ass to pull me tighter against his body. The bulge hardening between us spikes my need to feel him inside me. Without breaking our kiss, I let my hand travel down to his shirt to start dragging it up. I need him naked. Skin to skin sounds freaking awesome.

Chuckling and laughter breaks our spell and Hayden growls into my mouth before ending our kiss. Turning to face the peanut gallery, I shoot them all a death glare for disturbing us.

“Dams was right, you do take after me,” Zack tells Hayden. “You might wanna let Leontine look after that arm. You know, because you’d need the blood inside your body to fill that dick of yours instead of bleeding all over the damn kitchen.”

I glance at Hayden’s arm and mutter a curse.

“Go,” I snap, while the man is simply wearing a satisfied grin as he walks off into the direction of the living room.

Shit. I have to remember not to touch that man in a position that allows us to kiss. The way he has the ability to completely transport me to another plane filled with lust and desire is freaking scary. Especially at a time when I can’t afford to lose myself.