Two
Bullseye
I hated this. It was worse than being deployed to some Godforsaken country. Before, I would just pack my shit and leave, now it was different. I had my wife and daughter to think about. Seeing Kitty peacefully sleep was of some comfort to me. Yet, all I wanted to do was climb back into bed with her and fuck her until the sun came up.
I still couldn’t believe that she was mine.
When we first met, something sparked, and I just knew. I could see my whole life in her eyes. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever met. I knew instantly that I would spend the rest of my life with her.
Some say that love, at first sight, is a myth, that it isn’t real. That it’s only a chemical reaction, but I would disagree. Seeing Kitty for the first time was magical. The second her hand touched mine, I felt at home. The funny thing was I knew she felt it too.
Of course, Layla, our common link and best friend, was overjoyed, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was Kitty. Since that particular moment, we have been inseparable.
She was everything I wanted and more.
She was my life, my future, my everything.
I would die for her.
I was never good with feelings. Even today, I have a hard time expressing what bothers me, yet Kitty knows. It’s like she has some internal warning system within her that lets her know that I’m troubled. Sitting beside her now, I know she will be waking soon. She had to feel the tension within me since last night. Hell, I fucked her on the damn kitchen table. That was even unusual for me since I preferred to be more cautious and reserved for her.
Fuck, anyone could have seen us.
We’d both worked so hard to hide the truth from everyone, believing that it was better for everyone concerned. I hated lying to my brothers. They knew I married Kitty to keep her safe, but in reality, it was the opposite. Well, that and Hailey was actually my daughter. Yeah, when that little nugget dropped, it was going to cause trouble.
No, from the beginning, we had thought of everything and anything, planned for any contingency.
What neither of us planned on was Layla.
I had just opened the door to her apartment when I heard her scream, “DYLAN!” Dropping my bags, I plowed into the man over her beating her, tackling him to the ground. Landing on top of him, I didn’t think. I started punching him with everything I had in me. I didn’t know who this fucker was, but seeing him on top of my girl, filled me with a rage I’d never experienced. Wrapping my arm around his neck, I pulled hard and quickly turned. When I heard his neck snap and his body go limp, I flung him away from me, gasping for air as I stared at a big black bird on his chest.
I knew that bird.
I’d seen it before, many times.
What the fuck were they doing here? How did they find her? Fuck, this wasn’t good. This was bad, like really bad. I don’t know how long I sat there looking at him, but when Kitty crawled over to me, she had my full attention.
Seeing her in her current state, I wanted to kill the fucker again and damned the consequences. Her face was bruised and bloody. Her eye was swollen shut, her lip was split, and it looked as if her nose was broken. But that paled in comparison when I saw her naked.
I quickly looked at the dead man next to me and growled. His pants were open and down around his knees. Turning to Kitty, I whispered, already knowing what had happened. They were known for making a nasty first impression. Fucking bastards. “Kitty?”
“It’s okay. I’m okay,” tears fell down her cheeks freely as she threw herself into my arms.
“He?”
“Don’t ask Dylan,” She sobbed, shaking her head. “I’m alive. That’s all that matters.”
“The baby?”
“I don’t know.” She cried harder into my chest. My mind was whirling as I realized who I just killed. The implications were disastrous. There would be nowhere for me to hide. When they found out, they would come for me. All of them. I was a dead man walking.
“What happened? Where’s Layla?” I asked, holding her to me as I looked around the apartment. It was a mess. Furniture was thrown everywhere, lamps were broken, there was glass everywhere. I don’t know how she survived. Most didn’t. They weren’t known for leaving witnesses. Yet, I was holding my girl, thankful for the blessing.
“I was in the shower when I heard someone knock on the door. I went to go see, thinking it was you, that you had forgotten your keys again. When I opened the door, two bikers were standing there. I tried to shut the door, but they were too strong. Layla came out of her room and started fighting with one of them while the other grinned at me. I ran, but he caught me. I fought him as hard as I could, Dylan. I did, but he was stronger.”
“It’s okay baby. I’m here. No one is going to hurt you again.”
“The other biker took Layla.”