Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Hawk

AFTER GETTING GREG in the van, the others joined us so we could finish walking up to the house where the girls are. I'm impatient and want to be there now. If I had only kept going instead of waiting for Titan and Cash to get him back to the van where Jay will watch over him. I'm pretty sure that's why Savage, Trax, Reaper, and Rubber were at my side and surrounding me because there's no way in hell they were gonna let me go off on my own where I could get hurt or worse in my attempt to get to Kendell. Reaper already knows every single move we're gonna make before it even enters our mind. That's why he's an amazing President and there's nothing for me to do but wait for the others to return so we can get the fuck up to the house and I can lay eyes on my girl. Make sure she's okay and that we'll be able to bring her and Kelsey back to Gideon.

"Let's head out," Reaper finally says as we take off and head toward the house.

It doesn't take quite as long as I was expecting it to as we all keep our eyes open and look for anyone else lurking in the grass and bushes on either side of the road we're walking up. Yeah, we're not trying to hide at all. There's really no reason when it's only Martin inside the house. I can guarantee he's not gonna be sitting at the windows and waiting for us to show up because he thought I would come alone to get my girl and that Greg could handle me. Greg really is nothing more than a piece of shit. He wouldn't have been able to take me out let alone anyone else in the club. He's shown where his loyalties lie already and it's sure as fuck not with the club. Now, he's gonna pay for that shit because he truly could've been something instead of choosing his brother's side and staying close to him. He could've been a brother with the club if he'd only come to us and told us what was going on. I don't know what the fuck Martin promised him, but we'll eventually find out and he won't be able to hold back from telling us the truth. Not when Titan, Savage, and the rest of us let our demons out to play.

"You know where you're goin'?" Reaper asks in the comms as we all start to spread out to surround the house and go where we're supposed to.

I head straight for the front door with Cash and Savage flanking me. Savage steps in front of me and crouches down to wait for Reaper's signal. The second we have it, Savage kicks in the front door and backs up in case someone tries to shoot our way. I'm the first one through as I search each room I walk through for Martin. He's nowhere to be found and I have a funny feeling we're going to find him in whatever room Kelsey and Kendell are in.

Cash is right on my ass as we make our way down a short hallway. He's not gonna let me go off the rails and get myself killed because I don't hold back and think shit through if Kendell's hurt. That includes anything that's been done to Kelsey because it will hurt her immensely seeing her sister hurt at the hands of Martin when she's done so much to get Kelsey away from the monster. Cash and I open the doors on either side of the hall until we finally come face-to-face with Martin. Well, kind of. The stupid fuck is hiding the best he can behind Kendell.

Kendell's arms are yanked to the side of her body, the metal handcuffs digging into her skin. I take in every fucking bruise on her body that I can see and I'm sure there's more hidden beneath her clothing. Especially when I take in how her shirt has been ripped down the middle and it exposes her chest and my vision instantly fills with red. Cash places his hand on my shoulder as I lift my eyes back up her body to find Martin pointing a gun at her head. I don't let myself look anywhere else as I try to figure out how I'm going to get my girl out of this situation.

"You guys think you're tough shit and that's not the case. You're a bunch of bitches who let women control you," Martin growls out, his voice hard and cold but filled with laughter because he thinks he's won this round.

"Really? We're the pussies. I don't think I'm the one hidin' behind a woman. You're not man enough to step out from behind Kendell and face me one-on-one. Why don't you let her go and then we'll work this shit out like men?" I taunt Martin to get him off his game so he loses control.

"You think I'm scared of you? I'm not. What I am gonna do is stay here where I know you won't touch me at all because you wouldn't wanna hurt the girl. All you pussy ass men are the same and worry more about a woman's safety than your own. Why the fuck can't you get your heads out of your ass and realize the only thing women are good for is cooking, cleaning, and fucking. And most of the time, they can't even do that shit good enough," Martin runs his mouth, trying to piss me off even more so we're the ones fucking up.

There's something Martin doesn't realize though. We train almost daily with our weapons and can hit him where he stands right now. Cash and I won't touch a hair on Kendell's head as long as she doesn't move.

"Kendell, are you okay?" Cash asks my girl because he knows if I pay attention to her right now, Martin will know what's going on.

"I'm good. Sore and waiting to kill this fucker for killing my sister right in front of me. After beating her repeatedly since he stole her from the compound, he shot her in the head when she was practically passed out and couldn't protect herself. So, if one of you could kindly rid this world of a piece of shit like him, then I'd be doing slightly better," Kendell answers, her voice wavering and I know she's ready to break.

My girl is strong as fuck and this has to be killing her worse than anything she's faced in the past. For the first time in her life, she's had all of the control stripped from her and she couldn't do anything to protect Kelsey from dying at this fucker's hands. I know she's still trying to be strong right now, but tears are filling her eyes as she keeps her eyes on Cash and me. Kendell is pretending Martin isn't even in the room with us any longer.

"Shut the fuck up, bitch! No one wants your fucking opinion on anything," Martin yells, slamming the end of the gun into Kendell's temple.

I don't hesitate as I line up my shot and squeeze the trigger. Kendell doesn't move a muscle as she gets covered in blood from Martin. No, I didn't miss the shot I was aiming for. The bullet hit Martin directly between the eyes and dropped him. Kendell doesn't scream or shout with everything covering her. If anything, she stands taller and keeps her head held high. Right now, I'm so fucking proud of Kendell. But the moment doesn't last as I see her start to waver as if she's going down. Rushing to her side, I wrap my arms around her and hold her up.

"Cash gotta get these fuckin' cuffs off my girl. They're diggin' into her wrists and I can see the blood poolin' under them. I want someone to get Kelsey out of here too. She deserves to have a proper burial for Gideon and my girl. I don't really give a fuck what happens to the asshat here, but we either need to burn his body in this house or take him and bury him where no one will ever find him," I tell Cash, not letting Kendell go as I hold her trembling body close to mine and pull her even closer as my best friend leaves the room and goes in search of ways to get these cuffs off Kendell.

"Sparky, are you with me?" I ask Kendell, moving us down so I can look at her and see the emotions she can't ever keep hidden for very long from me.

"I don't know what I am anymore, Trent. H-h-he killed her. She didn't deserve that and he took her from us. Gideon is gonna grow up without his mama now. What am I supposed to tell him? How do I get him through this?" she asks, her words broken up by the sobs she's trying so hard to hold in.

"Get it out, baby. It's just us here and none of us will judge you for breakin'. You just lost your baby sister in a traumatic way. It happened a foot from you. You're allowed to break down and not be okay right now. We're gonna get Gideon through this together, Kendell. It's not all on your shoulders anymore to get through all this shit on your own," I tell her, not letting her hide from me as I lift her chin with my finger. "I told you I'm all in and that means not just for the good shit. It's for the bad shit, the good shit, and everythin' in between."

Cash returns immediately with bolt cutters or some shit in his hands. He gets to work on cutting Kendell loose and I bring her hands up in between us so she doesn't suffer any more damage to the wounds. Savage, Titan, Reaper, and Cash all move over to Kelsey's body and work to get her ready to go back to the clubhouse. Cash removes his cut from his body and hands it over to Savage while pulling his shirt off with one hand. He places it over Kelsey's head and covers her body before putting his cut back on. Together, the four of them lift her body and carry her through the house as I lift Kendell in my arms and hold her close to me as we move through the house. The hallway is lined with the members of the club as they mourn a girl that was under our protection. Every single man's head is bowed until we pass and they fall in line behind us.

Rubber and Jay have already moved the vans closer to the house so we don't have to carry them down the road. They don't deserve to be carried that far. The four men carefully and gently set her body in the van before they climb in to surround her body so it's not jostled around on the ride back to the compound. My best friend nods at me so I know he'll personally take care of Kelsey. I get in the second van with Kendell in my arms. This time instead of taking a seat in the back, I grab the passenger seat and hold her in my arms the entire ride back.

Kendell doesn't move the entire trip back and I'm really getting worried about her. She's never been like this the entire time I've known her. I don't understand what the hell I'm supposed to do here to help my girl through this shit. This is completely out of my comfort zone but I'm going to figure it out. I have no choice because the only way Kendell will open up is if I prove to her that I'm not gonna let her down and that I'll truly be at her side when things get rough and hard to deal with. There's isn't anything I won't do for this girl and her nephew. We're going to have to work together to get Gideon through losing his mom. Again, a first for me because I usually only celebrate the loss of life at the clubhouse with a bottle of alcohol and a party with the rest of the club. I've got no clue how to help Gideon and Kendell.

I don't pay attention to the ride back into Clinton City. Instead, I hold my girl close and put all of my focus on her.

"What do you need, Sparky?" I ask her, keeping my voice low since everyone is silent in the van today.

It's another first for us. We'd usually be talking and celebrating the fact that we killed the stupid fucker who took Kendell and Kelsey from us. Instead, no one's laughing, talking, or celebrating a damn thing. We're all mourning the loss of Kelsey. We didn't protect her and keep her away from the abusive piece of shit who hurt her for so long. There's nothing there to celebrate because we didn't do our jobs. We should've been surrounding the house at all times. Even when the girls weren't there. We made a few changes to keep Kelsey safe, but it still wasn't enough in the end.

"I don't know what I need, Hawk. Maybe just Gideon in my arms to remind myself that he's still here with me and okay. I should probably see the doctor too. Martin got in a few good hits in to my stomach. I don't feel any abnormal pain or anything, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Can we get an appointment with Dr. Morris?" she asks me, hope in her voice mixing with the panic because we have no clue what's going on with our baby right now.

"We can make that happen, Sparky. Do you need anythin' else? Can I get you anythin'?" I question her, needing to know what I can get her when we get back to the clubhouse.

"No. Though, I should probably eat and have something to drink. That, seeing the doctor, and Gideon is all I need for right now. And you. I need you, Hawk," she says, the dam breaking once again.

"We can get all that taken care of once we get back to the clubhouse. Before we have Dr. Morris check you out, I want to have Doc look you over. Make sure there's no internal damage we're not seein'. He should have everythin' he needs at the clubhouse to check you out. If I can get her to the clubhouse, I'll have Dr. Morris come there too. I don't want to take you away from the clubhouse just in case there is somethin' wrong and we make it worse by movin' you too much," I tell her, watching as Tripp pulls his phone from his pocket and makes the call to see if Dr. Morris can come to the clubhouse.

"She'll meet us there," Tripp says as he puts his phone back in his pocket just as my brother drives back into Clinton City.

"Thank you, Tripp," I tell him as I turn my focus back on Kendell.

Her eyes are starting to close and I know she's so damn tired. With Kendell trying to be strong and all the crying she's been doing isn't helping at all. So, I lean down and whisper in her ear to sleep. She doesn't need to be worried about anything right now. I've got her and I make sure she knows that as my girl finally lets her eyes slide closed and the exhaustion pulls her under completely. Placing a kiss on her forehead, I make a silent vow to do everything I can moving forward to help her and Gideon. They're both gonna find out very soon that there's nothing I won't do for them. There's nothing the club won't do for them because the very second I can, I'm gonna claim Kendell as mine.