I was about to lose it. Ari’s eyes began to fade. I knew she wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Her body started to slack, going limp in his arms. He was struggling to hold her up and still point the gun at me.
Moving deeper into the room, I said nothing more as Reaper grinned and threw his blade. I knew where it would land, and the second it did, Malachi dropped Ari, howling in pain, as I rushed forward, tackling him to the ground. Holding him in a headlock as my arm tightened around his neck. I tried not to think about what was to come. I wasn’t ready for it. But as he stopped struggling and went lax in my arms, I rolled him away from me and crawled over to Ari.
Gathering her into my arms, and held her as I cried. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
Reaper and the others came in and surveyed the room.
“We need to get out of here, Ghost,” Reaper said quietly, walking over the dead bodies.
“Uh, guys?” Player said from the back room.
“Go see,” Reaper ordered, kneeling before me and checking Ari’s neck for a pulse. He smiled as she opened her eyes, looking at him. “Hey there pretty girl. We are so happy to see you.” She tried to smile but grimaced. When her eyes turned to me, I couldn’t stop myself and hugged her tighter to me. She was alive and in my arms.
“Boss, we got a dead girl in the backroom,” Player said, coming out of the back room, with a woman in his arms, a blanket wrapped around her, and added. “This one is hurt pretty bad.”
Picking Ari up, I carried her in my arms as we all left the small cabin. I needed to get her out of this house. She’d been through God only knows what, and I wanted her free from this nightmare.
Once away from the house, I turned to Chains and said, “Burn it.”
Heading for my bike, I climbed on, placing Ari in front of me.
“Baltazar,” she whispered, looking up at me.
“Yeah baby.”
“Are we going home?”
“Yeah baby, we’re going home.”
“Healer just contacted me,” Reaper said. “He’s at the warehouse and waiting. Get the girls out of here and get them home. Player, Chisel, Ink, and Chaos, you boys are with me. We need to catch up with Bullseye.”
“What do you want me to do with this piece of shit,” Massacre said, laying Malachi at his feet. My brother was now bound, gagged, and still unconscious. It was a good thing, too, because I was having a hard time controlling my urge to kill him. The crazed look in his eyes as he held her still bothered me. I’d never seen my brother look so unhinged. It was as if he was possessed. Yet when he licked her face, I knew there was no way to stop the depravity running through him. He was no longer the brother I remember but someone else. Someone cruel and cunning.
Savage stood beside Massacre with a very scared Jeffery Darden, who I noticed pissed his pants. He was right to be afraid. I had plans for that fucker. That man caused too many problems to be released. It was time to start culling the herd, and Jeffery Fucking Denton had just punched his ticket.
He was a dead soul walking.
Shadow grinned, walked over to Malachi, pulled his gun, and pointed it at our brother. Part of me wanted Ezekiel to pull that trigger. That way, we wouldn’t have to drag him back to the clubhouse. I didn’t relish what was to come, but I knew it wasn’t just me he wronged. He wronged the club, our other brothers, my wife. He had to face the music and dance with the devil. And that very devil just smiled. “Shadow put it away. The club claimed his punishment. Everyone will get their turn. Including you.”
“I want to go first,” Shadow said, refusing to put his gun away.
“You got it,” Reaper said clearly, then grinned. “Massacre remove his cut. That fucker doesn’t deserve to have the Golden Skulls on his back. Savage, show our guests to the shed, and Shadow, do not kill him until I get back. Understood?”
“Yeah,” my brother seethed.
Savage grinned as Massacre took out his blade and cut the leather vest from my brother's back and then chuckled, “You boys are gonna love the shed. Five-star accommodations. Chains, spikes, blow torches. We’ve got all the goodies to make your stay delightful.” Then without pretense, Massacre kicked Malachi in the stomach before grabbing his boot and dragging him to the van we’d brought just for him. Savage loudly cackled as he pulled a scared shitless Darden behind him.
“Ghost get Ari to Healer. I want her guarded twenty-four-seven,” Reaper said, getting on his bike. “You’re in charge until I get back.”
With that, Reaper and a few of the others rode off to catch up with Bullseye.
The house was fully engulfed in flames as we pulled away and headed back to the warehouse. I carefully rode as Ari was still in front of me, holding tightly. I knew I would never forget the moment I walked into that house and saw her alive, standing not more than a few feet from me, scared out of her mind. It was something that was seared into my brain forever. I never wanted to see her look like that again. I don’t know what had happened to her, and I didn’t care. She was alive and, in my arms, where she belonged. All I wanted to do now was to get her home, where I could have Healer take a good look at her. Then I wanted to take her up to our room so I could hold her in my arms until we both fell asleep.
The questions would come, but not now.
We made it back to the warehouse within minutes as Healer wasted no time, coming over to quickly assess Ari. He deemed her fit to ride before heading over to the other woman. Who within seconds was being secured to the mobile medical van.
Shadow walked over and handed Ari a jacket. “I thought you might need this. It’s going to be a chilly ride home.”