Daniel slowed the bike down, sliding to a stop around the back of the warehouse, concealing us from the vehicles still approaching. I handed over the gun, feeling helpless without a weapon. He yanked a knife from his cut, placing it in my hand.
“No one touches you. They don’t hurt you. No one. You feel me?” he asked, pulling me into his embrace.
“Yes. Kill anyone who tries.”
“That’s my girl.” His lips slammed down on mine, sealing our agreement. “Whatever you see, try to keep an open mind.”
Huh?
“The club, it’s different, Skyla. We’ve kept it hidden from the club girls as much as we can, but sometimes shit happens.”
“What do you mean?”
“No time, doll. Stay out of sight. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
He didn’t give me a chance to reply, running around the building toward the front as I stood there, staring at the knife in my hand, wondering if Bruiser would kill the only guy I ever truly cared about. Zara needed her daddy. He couldn’t die. If I had a chance to save him, to prevent his death, I’d do it without hesitation.
The vehicles reached the building, and I heard a howl in the distance. Headlights nearly blinded me as I stumbled around, trying to find a place to hide until my eyes adjusted. Wild coyotes and mountain lions roamed the desert at night, hunting for prey. Something rustled the Joshua Tree outside, a few feet from where I crouched.
Shit. Bruiser’s men flanked us.
I held the knife in my hand a little too tight, slowly moving farther away, hoping I didn’t make too much noise. The sand helped, but there were too many skeletons from rusted machinery, metal parts, tubing, and odd structures to remain undetected. I bumped into one, wincing as I felt something sharp slice into my thigh.
“Shit,” I mumbled low, swiping my fingers over the wound. When I lifted them, I could see the blood smeared across the digits.
This wasn’t good. Blood drew sharks in the water. In the desert, the scent of blood would attract insects, birds, bats, and possibly snakes. Predators would follow the trail, heading this way soon.
I managed to slip outside through a large hole in the wall on the eastern side of the building, staying close as I headed toward Daniel’s location. He might not be out front anymore, but I wasn’t staying inside after scraping my leg on that metal. What if the rust gave me lockjaw or something?
Shivering, I paused at the corner, dipping my head out briefly to look for Daniel.
Big mistake.
The barrel of a gun pressed to my forehead. “Well, Missy, you sure made this easy.”
Bruiser.
He pressed the gun to my skin, knowing how badly I freaked out when he pulled one on me in the past. I let him do whatever he wanted that night, including his friend. No matter how hard I tried to shut out the memory of the things he did and how he hurt me that night, I couldn’t.
“Drop the knife,” he ordered.
“No.” I wasn’t sure where the courage came from, but I stood, watching his jaw pop open. “You’ll never hurt me again.”
A loud laugh, laced with anger, erupted from his lips. “You never did learn quick enough. When I fuck you, you’ll bleed for me, and then you’ll remember. Drop the fucking knife.Now.”
I shook my head. If I listened, he’d have me on the ground, his dick inside me, probably beating me at the same time. Never again.
A wild cry burst from my lips as I lunged in his direction, using the momentum to stab upward into his abdomen. My hand ached from the pressure, but I didn’t care, yanking it free to stab him again. He used the gun to pistol-whip the side of my head, nearly knocking me to the ground, but I remained upright. If I fell, he’d kill me.
We ended up in a struggle over the knife as his stomach oozed dark blood, leaking from his body from the hole I made. Something inside me enjoyed the sight too much. I laughed as the blade sank into his gut a second time, ripping through flesh as he groaned.
More blood. More suffering. I needed him to know what I felt and how much pain I had to endure.
Bruiser stumbled, falling to his knees as I shoved him back, smiling when he landed hard and hit his head on a nearby rock. More blood.
Not enough suffering yet.
Lifting the knife high as he tried to fight me off, I brought it down hard in the center of his throat, watching with fascination as it spurted like a geyser. He would die too quickly now.