Chapter 17
Jace
It hadn't taken Moody and me long to catch up with the Destroyers we'd passed. Once they were within sight we pulled back, remaining well behind them so they wouldn't hear us. Before long, they veered off Route 9. When we got to where they'd turned we followed, and it hadn't taken me long to realize that we were on a private road, and I would have bet that it had a dead end. I motioned Moody that I was going to stop.
"I think we should go in on foot from here, brother." I was already dismounting. "If this turns out to be a driveway, they'll hear us coming."
He didn't say anything, but followed suit when I stashed my bike behind some trees. I took off running, passing a sign that warned we were on private property and a dead end road, as I'd expected. About a quarter of a mile in we spotted a house. It was a rundown piece of shit, but still inhabitable. There were six bikes parked out front. I stopped, crouching low in the overgrown grass leading up to it. Moody hunkered down next to me.
"Looks like we found one of their hideouts, brother." I made eye-contact with him. "Keep your fingers crossed they have the girls in there."
We made our way closer to the house, keeping low and close to the trees in case someone opened the door. A high-pitched scream caused me to remove my gun. Moody and I exchanged knowing looks. It had definitely been a woman's scream. I fought the urge to rush the rest of the way, concerned about Luna, but knowing that we had to be smart about this. We were up against six men, not good odds. We weren't going to save the girls by making stupid mistakes.
When we finally reached the house I kept low, making my way to one of the front windows. Moody was on the other side. He took a quick look, his expression turning deadly. I slowly rose to do the same. The first thing my eyes lit on was Casey, naked and bleeding on top of an old pool table. She was curled up tight, and even from where I was I could see that she was shaking badly.
Fucking bastards! Fear for what they may have done to Luna caused my eyes to dart around the room as I searched for her. Jesus Christ! They had her pinned to a wall, and one fucker was whipping her with his belt buckle. Her back was naked and streaked with blood and swollen welts. Her scream cut through me, and nothing could have prevented me from kicking in the front door. I went in shooting anything that moved. My first target was the man with the belt. The two holding Luna against the wall released her and reached for their weapons, and they were next.
I watched Luna slip to the ground, but I couldn't focus on her just yet. With three men down, there were still three left, and by now they'd managed to draw their guns and were shooting back. I ducked behind a chair, knowing that it wouldn't offer me much protection. Moody rushed through the doorway and rolled to the side behind an entertainment center, firing his weapon as he went. It didn't take long to take care of the other Destroyers, stark silence following in the wake of the shootout.
Everything had happened so fucking fast. As I listened, it was what I didn't hear that I was interested in. No movement. No breathing to indicate that someone was wounded. No groans. I peeked around the chair, narrowing my eyes against the blue smoke, and took in the bodies littering the floor, satisfied that we'd got all six. I moved out from behind the chair, keeping my gun cocked and ready.
A soft moan drew my gaze to where Luna had fallen to the floor. She was coming around. "Brother, see to Casey," I demanded, making my way to Luna. "Baby." I helped her sit up.
Her eyes slowly rose to mine, and I could tell the moment she realized who I was, and then she fell apart. She threw herself at me. "Jace!" she cried out, wrapping her arms around my neck.
I picked her up and carried her to the sofa, sinking down onto the cushions with her on my lap. Hell, I'd been dreaming about the feel of her body against mine, but not under these circumstances.
"Casey‒"
"Moody's got her."
She clung to me, shaking vigorously. "They hurt her, Jace."
I clenched my teeth. I'd seen the blood on the table, along with the other fluids. They'd obviously pulled a train on her. "I know, baby."
"Brother--" I turned toward Moody. His face was tight. "She's in bad shape."
I wasn’t sure where he'd found a blanket, but he'd covered Casey up with it. I reached for my phone and tossed it to him. "Call Reaper and tell him where we are. Tell him Jim's woman needs him and a doctor."
Luna sobbed, slowly turning her face up to me. The tears in her eyes gutted me. "They raped her," she whispered up at me. I stayed silent. They'd done a lot more than that to her. Her little hand clenched into my cut while she gazed around the room. I wondered what she felt as she realized that we'd killed everyone. "They deserved death," she finally said.
I smiled at her feistiness and kissed the top of her head when she relaxed against me. "Luna, did they hurt you?" It was obvious that they'd hurt her, but we both knew that I wasn't talking about her back. She shook her head. Thank fuck.
"They're on their way," Moody said from across the room. "He's also sending a cleaner."
I acknowledged him with a chin lift. "Luna, baby, let me see your back."
She sat forward. "It burns like hell."
The material of her torn tee separated, and I sucked in my breath. I wanted to kill the fucker all over again, only this time I'd make him suffer first. The welts were red and swollen, and I knew they'd be hot to the touch. It looked like the fucker had whipped her with the flat end of his belt before turning it around and hitting her with the buckle. The skin was split open on at least two places, and bleeding. Other than the possibility of scarring from the belt buckle, the rest didn't look permanent. I thought about my first aid kit that I kept on my bike. The open wounds needed to be cleaned and treated.
"I need to go to Casey." She made an attempt to get up off my lap.
"Don't bother." We both looked anxiously at Moody, anticipating the worst. "She's passed out."
Luna sank back against me with a sigh, her eyes clinging to mine. A soft, grateful smile trembled on her lips. "I'm glad you came back."
"Missed me, did you?"
"Not once. Didn't think of you at all."
I could tell that she was lying. At least I hoped that she was, and then wondered why it mattered so much. I gave her a cocky grin. "Same here."
It grew quiet for a minute.
"How did you find us?"
"We'll talk later," I responded. The answer was too long and complicated to go into right then. But one thing I did know, I was taking Luna with me to the Wreckers' compound. If I did nothing else I was going to make sure she was safe and protected until this shit was over. Reaper said Jim had gone back for the girls when he realized they’d been left behind, but that hadn’t been good enough. I wanted someone's eyes on Luna at all times when I couldn't be there.
A low, agonized moan drew our eyes to where Casey lay. Moody was standing over her, his arms crossed, as if standing guard. Only the shifting of his eyes as he glanced down at her revealed that he wasn't made of stone. Luna began to wiggle on my lap.
"I have to go to her," she said.
I helped her up, following her to the pool table, unable to take my eyes off of the damage on her back.
"Casey," Luna said softly, bending over her friend. She smoothed her hand over Casey's hair. When her eyes fluttered open Luna leaned in even closer. "I'm so sorry." The regret in her voice made me wonder what she had to be sorry for.
"Don't. Not another word, honey." Casey's tone was low, filled with pain, yet showed strength. "It could have been you, so neither of us would have won." She reached for Luna's hand. "There was no right or wrong answer to his question."
I was intrigued now, but my questions were for another time. I removed my cut, and then my t-shirt, before slipping my cut back on. "Baby, put this on." I'd noticed that Luna was having a hard time keeping her ruined shirt from slipping forward and exposing her tits. When she turned to me I helped her get it on, mindful of her back.
"Thank you." Her appreciative smile quickly disappeared when the material touched her back. She gasped, winced, and seemed to take a moment to get over it before turning back to Casey. "Jim is on his way, honey, and a doctor. What can we do until then?"
"No, Luna!" Casey said with panic. "Jim can't see me like this!" Her expression was fearful.
"He's going to know, Casey." Luna hesitated as if she wanted to say more, and thought better of it. "None of this is your fault. He's not going to blame you."
Casey began to cry quietly. "They raped me, Luna, all six of them. Sometimes two at once!" she sobbed. "They were animals."
"They're dead, honey. All of them. And all you need to worry about is healing and getting better. Okay?" Casey didn't respond.
The sound of motorcycles in the distance revealed that Jim and the others were coming. Three minutes later he was rushing into the house, his eyes wild as he zeroed in on where we were. Their club doctor, Melvin, and two others were with him.
"Fuck." He rushed over. Luna moved out of his way so he could get close to Casey. "Babe." He grabbed her hand, his gaze moving over her covered form.
Were those tears in his eyes? Shit. I took Luna by the hand and pulled her gently away. I didn't want Luna to see a brother lose it. We were tough fucks but not without emotions when it mattered.
Moody moved away, too, going to the first body and crouching down. I knew that he was making sure they were dead. Their cuts would be removed and later burned. I took Luna outside to my bike. "I want to clean those open wounds, honey." Without warning I picked her up and placed her on the seat, her gasp drawing my eyes to her lips. Fuck, I wanted to kiss that pretty mouth, but the dried blood at the corner revealed that she'd been hurt. There was a bruise on her cheek, too, and further down against her throat. I clenched my teeth until my jaw hurt. She should have been protected.
"I hate Jim," she said, surprising me. "I hate them all for not protecting Casey. This all could have been avoided."
She didn't know what she was talking about. Right now she was speaking from the heart, saying what she truly believed, because she was hurt and wanting to place blame. Yeah, they'd fucked up, but not because they hadn't cared. I couldn't let her disrespect my brothers or the club.
"Wrong." It was possible that my objection had come out a little too strongly. Her eyes rounded, as if she couldn't believe that I didn't agree with her. I needed to explain before the fire reflected in her eyes exploded into something else. "They were coming back for her, for both of you. Jim didn't realize that Casey wasn't at the compound until shit settled down. His brothers knew how he felt about her."
"How could they, he hadn't claimed her."
I grinned that she understood what that meant, digging through my saddlebag for my first aid kit. "I have a feeling that he's claimed her now." The look of anguish on Jim's face had spoken volumes. He was going to care for Casey. It was clear that he loved her.
"Too late."
Her bitter words caused my head to snap up, capturing her eyes. I managed to stop myself from snapping something back, because that was how she felt, and she was allowed to feel that way. I'd been ready to blame the whole fucking club for not protecting the girls, but I, more than anyone, understood MC dynamics. There were rules for a reason. Jim had fucked up by not claiming Casey early on, and he would have to live with that mistake for the rest of his life. But I had a feeling that he would spend the rest of his life making it up to her, too.
If she'd have him after this.
I pulled out my kit and set it on Luna's lap.
"Why did you come back?" she asked.
I opened the kit and rummaged through it in search of some kind of antiseptic. I found a tiny tube of Aloe vera gel, grabbed that, and finally some Neosporin. "Reaper called, said he could use my help." As soon as the words were out, I realized that that probably wasn't what she wanted to hear. I grabbed a bottle of water and the last of the gauze.
"Oh."
Avoiding her eyes, I walked around my bike until I was on the other side of her. "This is going to hurt like hell." I carefully lifted my shirt away from her body and bunched it up around her shoulders. Shit. Every time I saw her back I wanted to do damage to something. I uncapped the bottled water and doused her open wounds, gently dabbing at them to clean off the dried blood. Luna hissed, jerking away. "Sorry, baby."
"It's okay," she murmured in a low, defeated tone.
Was she upset because I hadn't returned for her? Fuck. I would have, eventually. I knew that for a fact. I hadn't been able to get her off my mind. I'd just had to prove something to myself, that I didn't need her. Casual. Right. So why did I want to fuck her again so much? Even now my dick was turning hard, just being near her. I'd fucked other women more than once, but I'd never experienced the same intense, relentless hunger for any particular woman that I had for her.
"Do what you have to do so I can go home."
I applied a generous amount of antiseptic cream to the wounds. This time Luna just flinched before accepting my touch. "You have to know there's no going home for you." I treated the welts with the Aloe vera gel, hearing her soft sigh of relief.
"Why not? I need to tend to Samson."
"Samson?" I frowned, moving back around to face her.
She nodded, saying sadly, "They . . . they shot him."
Fuck!
"He was trying to protect us."
A heavy breath escaped me as I replaced the items back into the kit and snapped it shut. "Is he dead?" I met the sorrow in her eyes.
"I don't know. He didn't get up after he was shot, but I don't want Casey returning home to find her dog just lying there."
"Neither one of you will be going home for a while. It's too dangerous. These aren't the only Destroyers out there, and once the rest of them find out what happened here they will retaliate." I let the words sink in. "You'll be staying at the Wreckers' compound until lockdown is over. I'll take care of Samson."
"What if I don't want to go to the compound?"
I was surprised at the defiance in her tone. "You got somewhere else to go where you'll be safe?" I could read the truth in her eyes before she said the words.
"Not really. But why should I matter? I'm no one to the club."
I released a harsh breath, trying to hold on to my anger. Now was not the time for her to give me grief. Too much was at stake, and I didn't want to have to worry about her. I needed to keep my mind clear to be of any help to Reaper.
I clamped my hands down onto her knees and yanked her legs apart. She sucked in a sweet breath, the pupils in her eyes dilating as I stepped between them. "You're going to the compound with Casey." I couldn't bring myself to single her out, making it appear that this was personal, that I wanted her protected, even though I did. Christ. This was fucked up!
What was more fucked up was what I was feeling with my dick up close and personal with her pussy. She was hot as a furnace between her legs, and my dick wanted back in her sweet heat. I was a sick fuck for thinking those thoughts after what she had just gone through. It could have been her on that fucking pool table.
"Jace?"
I continued to stare silently at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Will you kiss me?" Her eyes darted away with a shyness that I recognized. "I just want to feel something good right now."
Gladly. I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck and lowered my head to give her what she wanted. The instant my mouth touched the softness of hers I groaned at the pleasure that shot through me, as devastating as any bullet. She moaned softly and opened her mouth for my tongue, compelling me to forget all about my intention to be gentle and tender with her. They were two emotions that I wasn't comfortable with anyway. As soon as I felt her total surrender I ravished her mouth, grinding my mouth against hers, thrusting my tongue in a dance that she'd started.
It was a kiss like no other.
Hungry.
Satisfying.
Consuming.
She tasted like a strange mixture of warm sunshine and rain, and I drank the arousal from her mouth like a greedy bastard. My dick punched hard behind my zipper, making Luna aware of how much I wanted her. I growled when she wrapped her arms around my neck and crushed herself against me, giving her all in a moment of madness.
I understood her need to feel something good. I'd been there before, too many damned times. And I was going to make her feel good, as long as she let me.