A knock at the door draws my attention, and I glance over to the clock on the side of the bed. I still have a few before I should expect anyone. Leaving the bedroom, I walk to the front door, peek through the little side glass to find Isabelle standing on the other side.
Having not seen or heard from her in weeks, I step back and throw the door open. “Where have you bee . . .” I don’t get to finish asking my question, because as I notice her dirty clothes, Isabelle is shoved into me—making her cry out in pain.
What the hell?
I stumble backward, holding her up, and look to see who had shoved her. My stomach churns, the feeling of needing to throw up hits me with a force unlike any other at the sight of who steps in the house behind her.
Chad. And he’s not alone.
Behind him is none other than my own mother and, even worse, Bernita and several members of the Triple Spirits—all of them smirking deviously.
Oh shit. This isn’t good.
“I’m sorry,” Isabelle whimpers, crumpling to the floor. I drop down next to her, tears spilling down my cheeks, taking in the bruising around her neck, blood seeping through her black shirt.
I don’t get the chance to say anything to her before Chad’s there snatching me up by the back of my hair. “You stupid bitch.”
“Son, we need to go soon. We don’t know how long we have before they come here for her,” my mom says harshly, drawing my eyes to her to find her sneering at me.
“Oh, Linita, let him have his fun. It’ll show that bitch of a daughter of mine the lesson she deserves for not doing as she was told,” Bernita snickers sinisterly.
What is up with these two? I didn’t know my mom knew Ivy’s mom.
“I’ll handle this cunt as I see fit. She’s mine and has been stupidly not listening for long enough.” Chad snarls, wrenching my hair back painfully. “She’s got a lesson to learn in obeying. One I intend to teach her for days on end.”
No. No. No.
There’s no damn way I’m letting him do anything to me. I do my best to think of what I can do to keep him from hurting me.
Glancing down to Isabelle, I know I can’t help her right now. I have to get to my phone, which I stupidly left in the bedroom. There’s no way I’ll get to it and make the call I need before Chad stops me.
No, what I need to do is get away and find help.
A thought hits me, and I smile as I pray I’ll be able to make it work. Tombstone had moved my four-wheeler here after I told him about it making an unusual sound the other week. He’d fixed the issue, and it’s out back, ready to go back to Ivy’s.
“Come on, cunt,” he snarls, dragging me to the threshold of the front door. I want to fight him, but I need to get us clear of the house. I’ve got to be smart about this and fight when the time is right—for Isabelle. She needs me, and I can’t fail her.
Chad’s grasp on my hair loosens, and he tosses me to the ground outside. Landing on my wrist painfully, I ignore the snapping pain that radiates up my arm. I don’t have to be a doctor to know he’s just broken my wrist.
Twisting to look at Chad over my shoulder, I take a good look at him for the first time in years. I gasp at what I notice him wearing—a Triple Spirit MC cut.
“Yeah, Sutton, it’s a surprise, isn’t it?” He cackles, reaching up to hold either side of the opening. “You were always too stupid to see anything in front of you.” With slow steps, he makes his way toward me, and I bide my time. I’m not as stupid as he thinks.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot my mother and Bernita watching. I also hear a car coming down the road and fear who it might be. Most of all, I pray that if it’s Stella and Ivy since they’re the ones who should be picking me up . . . they’re smart enough to keep going and get help.
“Shouldn’t have testified against me,” Chad says, smirking, pulling out a blade that I recognize right away as the one he had used to torment me with as a kid.
“You shouldn’t have killed my friend,” I retort, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me scared out of my mind.
“You were mine, and you gave yourself to that motherfucker. He had to pay for touching you,” Chad roars, coming to my side, bringing the knife to run along my cheek—cutting through the skin. “Now you’re gonna pay.”
“I’m not gonna do shit.” I spit, refusing to give up and submit to him.
Instead, I fight. Making my move, I punch him square between the legs, making him crumple to the ground.
Hopping to my feet, I race to the backyard, darting around the assholes who were standing around like dumbasses.
I’m close to reaching my four-wheeler when someone tackles me from behind. Well, two someone’s.
“You stupid child,” my mother screeches.
The sound of loud pipes meets my ears coming from the distance.
“You’re nothing but a cunt-eating whore, who deserves to die. Because of you, I couldn’t have the man I wanted. He didn’t want me, but he wanted you,” she screams, wrapping her hands around my throat.
“Kill her, Linita, and let’s go. We don’t have time,” Bernita says, kicking me in the stomach.
“Go, mom, I’ve got this,” Chad growls, yanking my mom from over me. “I want them to see me end her.”
The moment her hands leave my throat, I cough, sucking in fresh air.
But the moment is short-lived as Chad stoops down and wraps his own hands around my neck. His grip is a lot tighter than my mother’s. “I’ll never let anyone have you. The way I see it, we’ll die together. You’ll never escape me, because I’ll be taking you to hell with me.”
My head grows heavy, and my mouth puckers open, trying to suck in the slightest amount of air. Dots dance behind my eyes, and I know I won’t make it much longer.
Why do I have to be so weak?
I need to fight.
If I want to have my forever with Tombstone, I need to fight. To hold on at the very least. I know he’s coming for me.
Chapter Fifteen
Tombstone
Spotting my house, I grow enraged at the sight of bikes rushing away. My breath’s labored, barely coming to a stop or get the kickstand down before I’m rushing off the back of my bike. I notice my front door open and nearly lose my footing at the sight of the body in my doorway. At first, I start in the direction before I hear the commotion in the backyard.
“Go, brother, we’ll handle this,” Angel says, moving with Hellhound right on his heels.
Nodding, I dart to the side of the house just as I hear Hellhound roaring, “Isabelle.” If I didn’t have to find Sutton, I’d go back and check on them.
Rounding the back of the house, my vision goes red, and I launch myself at the fucker straddling my woman—choking the life out of her.
I tackle him, and he laughs hysterically.
“You’re too late”,” he snickers. “She’s mine, and it’ll stay that way.”
I let my rage out and start whaling punch after punch at the fucker. I know who he is, and I’ll make sure he dies here and now. Wanting to make his death horrific, I stop punching him, reaching for the knife on my belt. I pull it out and press the edge of it to the first one of Chad’s eyes, popping his eyeball from ’its socket. I repeat this move with the other. Taking both eyes in my hand, I cut through the nerves holding the slim parts attached.