Chapter 18
Luna
Someone cleared their throat, and I reluctantly pulled away from Jace. The moment he'd put his mouth on mine I'd forgotten where we were. His kiss had been so hot and intensely satisfying. I wanted more--more kissing, more of everything from him. It hadn't taken much to set me on fire, proof of his effect on me wetting my underwear. But when I glanced over to where the noise had come from and saw his friend, reality came back to me like a slap in the face.
Reality and everything that had happened to me and Casey.
I was ashamed.
Jace turned his head, remaining nestled against my sex. "Yeah, brother?"
"Reaper's sending a truck to take her out of here."
"She's not going to the hospital?" I rushed out in disbelief.
The man shook his head. "Doesn't want to go to the hospital. The doc sewed her up, gave her the morning after pill, and took samples to check for disease. The bleeding has stopped. Says as long as she takes it easy, the next few days she'll heal up fine."
Sewed her up? Oh my God! I felt sick. I'd seen the blood coming from her rectum area. I tried to push Jace away, but he was like a concrete statue. "Jace." I heard the panic in my voice, and he must have recognized it for what it was, because he stepped back and pulled me off the seat of his bike.
I stumbled away into some nearby bushes. I was going to throw up, and then I was, barfing loudly. I knew that Casey's body may heal up fine in a few days, but how long would it take her mind to heal? How long would it take her to get over this nightmare?
"The cleaners will be here in ten minutes," I heard his friend say.
"They all dead?" Jace questioned.
I didn't hear any response from his friend, but assumed that they were when he did say, "Their cuts and identification are being removed right now."
"Yeah, Reaper will want those," Jace remarked. "Listen, I want you to take Luna with you to the compound. I've got to see to Casey's dog‒"
I jumped into the open. "No! I want to go with you." I locked my gaze onto the hard look in Jace's eyes.
He opened his mouth and I knew that he was going to protest. "Too fucking dangerous," he said firmly.
"I need to get some clothes for Casey and me anyway," I pointed out.
"I can grab you both some clothes," he countered, not giving in. I pressed my lips. "Here, use this to rinse your mouth out with." He held the water bottle out to me.
"Thank you." I took it gratefully. I turned my back to them again and rinsed my mouth out several times before taking a swallow. "Jace!" I squealed when I suddenly found myself being lifted into his arms and taken over to one of the bikes.
"Much as I don't want you on another brother's bike, you're going to the compound with Moody." He set me down on the leather seat. "I trust Moody to get you there and look out for you until I can get there."
"But‒"
"Christ, baby, just do as I ask." Irritation was evident in his tone.
Well, too bad. "You're not asking."
He growled. "You're going with Moody."
"But‒"
"Casey needs you."
Damn. He was right. I suddenly felt deflated. I glanced at his friend, Moody, who'd been watching the exchange quietly. It was hard to gauge what he was thinking because his expression was indifferent and hard, as if carved in stone. His eyes were cold, so dark that I wondered if they were black. He was a tad larger than Jace, his hair clipped military style. The man was downright scary.
I must have taken too long to respond because a finger beneath my chin turned my face back to Jace. "Go with Moody. Take care of Casey, get cleaned up, and get something to eat. By that time I'll be back. Yeah?"
I nodded reluctantly. He leaned in and gave me a brief kiss, and then looked at Moody.
I got nervous when Moody began to walk my way. "Do I need to get off?" I asked, thinking that I may need to in order for him to get on the bike.
"You're okay," was his brisk reply. He easily mounted the monstrous bike, starting it up quickly, and then we were off. I was thankful for the backrest because the momentum of his take off forced me back into it. It also caused a stab of pain to shoot through my body, and I straightened away from the backrest. Was he aware that I had an injury?
"Hold on to me!" Moody shouted over the roar of his bike.
I gratefully wrapped my arms around him. On the way out to the main road we passed a white van, and then we were back on Route 9 heading toward the compound. The compound. I wasn't sure what to expect when we got there, but when I thought about it David Koresh came to mind. I'd watched a documentary about him once for a school project. All I could picture was a large building that housed masses of people.
During the ride my thoughts drifted back to Casey. She was going to need help. She had support from Jim and me, and I was sure from others in the club as well, but she was going to need more. When she'd told me about her step-father I hadn't gotten the impression that she'd sought any kind of professional help. She'd run, and now she was hiding. What had happened to her at the hands of the Destroyers was going to require help from an expert that knew how to heal trauma of the mind.
Thinking about what they'd done to her, I fought back tears. I'd help her in any way that I could.
It wasn’t long before Moody was turning off onto another private road, according to the signs that we passed that warned,”Keep out. Private Property.” I hadn't been too far off in my thinking about what the compound would look like. As we came up on it I could see that the entire place was fenced in, complete with razor wire along the top. It reminded me of a prison, especially when I saw the men manning the gate. The main building was a huge, two story structure, and there were several smaller positioned around it. Vehicles, as well as bikes, were parked in the front.
We didn't stop at the gate as I'd thought we'd have to. The bikers guarding it obviously recognized Moody and pulled the gate open so we could ride right on though. He parked, turned off his bike, and then offered me a hand to get off. I had to admit that I was a little nervous. I knew most of these people, but the whole situation seemed dangerous and surreal. I followed quietly behind Moody as we walked toward the door, and then into the main building.
"Luna!" I heard someone yell as soon as we’d walked inside. When I glanced in the direction that the voice had come from I saw Rosa and Marie rushing my way, their expressions wrought with worry and concern. "Oh, my God, honey. Reaper told us what happened. Are you okay?"
"I'm okay."
"Where's Casey?" Marie wanted to know.
"They're bringing her back in a truck." I glanced at Moody, who hadn't moved from my side. "She's not good."
"Hey, big guy, we've got her," Marie said, addressing him pointedly. He grunted and walked off in the direction of the bar, her gaze following him for a bit. She waited until he was out of earshot before saying, "Wow…scary."
"How hurt is she?" Rosa asked quietly.
I glanced around. There were people everywhere, and not just bikers. Some were watching us, but most were caught up in their own situations. Women were herding children into another room. From where I stood, I could see a large TV with a kid's show on. Some women were in clusters, and the women that I knew were club women were separated into their own private group. You could spot them easily from their lack of attire, though I had to admit that they were in more now than I'd seen them wear at the camp ground clubhouse.
"Come on." Marie grasped my hand. "Let's go somewhere quiet."
She led me through the main room and down a long hallway that was lined with doors. We passed a double set of doors that had their club name and logo on it, public restrooms, and an opened door that, when I peered inside, looked like a cafeteria. One door was marked “private,” and there was a light above it that was blinking red. Finally, Marie opened one of the doors, and I found myself in a small apartment.
The décor was nothing like the outside of the room, which had been dark and dimly lit, and reeked of smoke and booze. "I feel like we just entered another dimension."
Marie laughed. "You did. This is my and Reaper's world." She directed me to a chair, while she and Rose sat down on the couch. "Honey, we're so sorry this happened to you and Casey."
"It wasn't your fault." The words hadn't come easily, because the truth was that deep down I did hold the Wreckers responsible. At least one of them, anyway.
"Is Casey going to be okay?" Rosa questioned in a concerned tone.
I released a breath. "In time, I think she will be. The doctor said she needs to take it easy the next few days, that she should heal fine. It's her mind I'm worried about. They did--" I paused, not sure of how much I should say. Maybe Casey wanted to keep what they'd done to her private. But then I reminded myself that Rosa and Marie were our friends, and they were concerned about her. "They did horrible things to her."
Rosa nodded sadly. "We can guess‒"
"Bastards!" Marie hissed, cutting her off. "The Destroyers live up to their name."
I could only nod.
"Jim went out looking for you both as soon as he found out what happened." Rosa's smile was meant to be comforting. "Thank God Jace and his friend passed a group of them on the road and was able to follow them."
"Yes. That was lucky for us."
"Casey will be taken care of, she'll get whatever she needs to get through this. She's family now. Jim claimed her in front of his brothers right before he left to go get you girls to bring you here."
I digested what Marie had said. As I'd told Jace earlier, it was too late as far as I was concerned. Jim should have claimed Casey earlier. I kept my thoughts to myself though, because it wouldn't change anything now, and I didn't want to cause trouble by placing blame on Jim. They had their rules, and I didn't pretend to understand them. But then something Marie had said made me question her.
"Why would he expect me to go with them?"
"You're close to Casey, like a sister. So the club considers you family now, too," she explained.
Oh.
"Look, honey--" Rosa got to her feet. "We can talk about this stuff later. Let's find you a room and get you settled. I'll go check to see what's available."
"I could use a shower," I admitted. "I don't have anything to change in to, though. Not until Jace gets here. He went to take care of Samson and get clothes for me and Casey."
"Clothes won't be a problem," Marie smiled. "I'm sure I have something that will fit you."
"Are you hungry?" Rosa asked, pausing at the door.
"Famished!" I held nothing back in that one word.
"I'll bring you something back from the kitchen."
"Thank you." I met Marie's eyes, including her in my appreciation. "Thank you both so much." Rosa smiled and slipped from the room.
"Let me get you a drink." Marie rose from the sofa. "I have some wine."
A glass of wine sounded really good right then. I was tired, mentally and physically, and would have liked nothing better than to just fall into a bed and sleep. I wanted--needed--to see Casey, though, before I took care of my own needs. I had to make sure that she was going to be okay.
I sank back against the cushions of the chair, momentarily forgetting about the painful marks on my back, but quickly sitting up again when the sting of pain became too much.
"Do you think we can go back out into the main room? I want to see Casey when she gets here."
Marie handed me a glass of wine. "Honey, I just texted Reaper and asked him to let us know when they got here."
I forced a smile, took a sip of the wine, and waited.