Broken (Soldiers of Darkness MC Book 1) (17 page)

He’s serious. And I don’t think I’ve left myself with much of a choice now. I have to do as he says or face, what? For the first time since I started this crazy vendetta I feel like I’m drowning; like I really am out of my depth. The adrenaline rush has gone, and all I’m left with is this terrifying reality.

I climb into the back of the truck and sit down, drawing my knees to my chest and I close my eyes as the doors slam shut, plunging me into darkness.

And whatever happens next, I don’t think that’s up to me anymore…

Chapter Seventeen

Mack

That fucking need to protect her won’t leave me alone. It kicked in like it was the most natural thing in the world, even though she’s probably thrown my club right into the middle of something we didn’t ask to be a part of. And Viper, he’s gonna want answers. But he’s gonna have to wait, because I got shit I need to deal with first. Odi can take the reins over at the clubhouse until I get back.

I pull up outside the small, one-storey white-board house, spinning my Harley to a stop by the porch steps, and I stay straddling the bike for a second or two, waiting to see if she’s gonna do what I hope she’s savvy enough not to, and I smile to myself as I realize she ain’t completely stupid. That’s something, anyway.

I look around me, a small nod of the head acknowledging the prospect I’ve got keeping watch here out the back of the house. I saw another two brothers by the gate as I was riding in so everything’s in place. I just needed to make sure for myself.

I throw my helmet down onto the bike seat and take the porch steps two at a time, pulling the key from my cut pocket and letting myself in, closing the door behind me. She’s sitting at the kitchen table when I walk in, and the second she hears me she looks up, and she’s unable to keep the shock off her face, although it quickly turns to relief when she realizes it’s me.

‘Jesus, Mack! You scared me.’

‘You might wanna put some music on, honey. Get some noise going on in here, make the place feel more like home.’

She stands up and walks over to the stove, picking up the kettle and filling it with water. ‘I quite like the peace and quiet.’

‘You got something stronger than that?’

She looks at me as she places the kettle on the stove. ‘You’re driving.’

I shrug, and she opens the fridge and takes out a beer, throwing
 
me the bottle. ‘You not having one?’

‘No.’

She leans back against the counter and folds her arms against herself, her gaze dropping to the floor.

‘You doing OK?’

She looks up at me, and I can see in her eyes that she’s trying to put up some kinda front here, but deep down she’s scared. I can see that, too. ‘You seen Viper yet?’

‘He’s been in touch.’ I take a long swig of beer, keeping my eyes fixed on hers. ‘I’m trying to organize a sit-down.’

She drops her gaze again, and I put my beer down and move closer to her, but I’m sensing she doesn’t want me too far into her space.

‘You put yourself out there, darlin’. And I don’t know what in hell’s name you were trying to achieve…’

Her head shoots up, and her eyes are blazing with the kinda intensity I ain’t used to seeing from someone as beautiful as her. ‘They killed my dad. They murdered my fiancé. And you think I can just let that go?’

‘You need to.’

‘Would
you
? If it was a member of
your
family…’

‘I ain’t got no family.’

‘If it was a member of your club? Would
you
just let it go?’

‘Jesus, Izzi, this is different…’

‘My dad and fiancé worth less than your brothers, huh? Is that it?’

‘You need to leave this alone, darlin’. Seriously.’

She shakes her head. ‘I don’t have to do shit, Mack.’

I move a little closer, because she needs to hear this and believe this and know that this is what’s gonna happen. ‘You need to stay here and shut the fuck up until I’ve dealt with whatever crap you’ve kicked up.’

‘I thought you people didn’t hurt anyone who doesn’t belong to your pathetic little gang culture. You don’t kill innocents, isn’t that right?’

‘Not if we can help it, honey…’

She laughs, a cold, humorless laugh and I don’t think she gets this; how dangerous she’s made things for herself now. ‘Not if you can help it…’ Her eyes have clouded over with something verging on rage and frustration, and it’s unsettling, I’m not gonna lie, because I’m dealing with one unpredictable woman here. ‘They took my whole life away from me. They took everything, in a heartbeat. And I
can’t
let that go, Mack. I can’t. I need my life back – I need
some
kind of life back, so I am gonna deal with…’

I grab her arm and twist it up her back, causing her to yelp out in pain, and I loosen my grip slightly. ‘
You
are gonna deal with
shit
, Izzi. Y’hear me, darlin’? You are gonna stay here and wait until I give you permission to leave, you understand?’

‘You’re gonna keep me here against my will?’

‘That’s exactly what I’m gonna do.’

She laughs again, and I don’t know whether her stubborn defiance is pissing me off or turning me on. ‘You can’t do that, Mack.’

‘I can do what the hell I like, sweetheart.
You
walked into
my
town and dumped thirty kinds of crap on my doorstep that I’ve now got to clear up. Crap that could put my club in jeopardy. Crap that means all the hard work I had to do to build up trust with Viper and his crew, that’s been destroyed, darlin’. And that’s
your
fault.
Your
crap is gonna cost us big. We’re gonna lose money, respect; our reputation is gonna mean shit around town unless
I
can fix this.
Your
crap, Izzi. So, you’re gonna do what I tell you to do until that crap is cleared up. You hearing me now?’

She holds my gaze and yanks her arm free of my grip, her expression not wavering once, Jesus, this bitch really has got some balls.

‘Is there a reason you’ve come here? Other than to lay down your twisted, fucked-up law?’

‘Hey, you might want to start showing a bit more respect here, darlin’, considering I’m in the middle of trying to save your pretty ass.’

‘Don’t do me any favors, Mack.’

‘Oh, Ok. You don’t
need
my help?’

She’s pushing me, and I’m letting her, and I need to stop this. I can’t walk away from her, I’m not throwing her to the fucking wolves. I’m not doing that. So she can push me all she likes. She’ll find out there’s a limit.

She says nothing for a couple of seconds and I watch as her expression finally changes, a wave of something I think borders on resignation passing over her eyes before it’s quickly replaced by that cold, hard edge she’s so keen on displaying. But I’ve seen past that now, and she must know that.

‘You need my help, Izzi.’

She throws her head back and sighs; a deep, heavy sigh that’s loaded with frustration.

‘You gonna play ball now, darlin’?’

Her eyes are back on mine, and she ain’t calmed that inner bitch any. She’s still there, but I can handle her. This girl ain’t gonna be a problem no more.

‘This ain’t your world, Izzi, I know that. It ain’t, and you can’t tell me otherwise. You don’t belong here, but, man, you are more than able to look after yourself in a place that’s so far away from your own…’

‘Don’t patronize me, Mack. Don’t do that. You have no idea what I had to do to make myself ready…’

She stops talking and drops her gaze again, and I frown, because she was about to open up there. She was about to tell me shit I think I need to hear.

‘Then tell me.’

She slowly looks up, and I try to soften my expression, but that ain’t something I’ve ever been all that good at doing. ‘Tell you what?’

‘What you had to do. To get yourself ready – for what, Izzi? Huh? For whatever revenge it was you were planning on Viper and his crew?’

‘You make it sound like some sort of game.’

‘This ain’t no game, sweetheart.’

‘They killed people I loved. They turned me into this, into someone I don’t recognize, but I need to
be
her. I need to be this person so I can…’

Once more she stops talking and her eyes drop to the floor.

‘So you can, what, Izzi? So you can kill? So you can take someone’s life…?’

‘The way they took my dad’s.’ The look in her eyes sends a shiver running through me so cold I can feel it almost freezing the blood as it pumps through my veins. ‘The way they took Aiden’s. The way I’m going to take theirs.’

‘Jesus Christ, Izzi…’

I sit down and drop my head into my hands. I don’t know what the fuck to do now. I’ve handled sit-downs with guys holding guns; dealt with shit that threatened my club, my town and the lives of my crew, and I can do that crap with my fucking eyes closed. But this – this is making me nervous.
She’s
making me nervous.

‘I can’t let it go, Mack.’

I slowly raise my head, my eyes locking with hers and I don’t know what to say. She’s this beautiful girl with a stone-cold heart and a mind set only on revenge. I’ve never had to deal with that before; never thought I’d have to.

‘I can’t.’

I sigh quietly and stand up, bowing my head as I walk over to her. ‘Then you’re leaving me no choice here , darlin’.’ I look up and her eyes meet mine and they’re slightly confused by what I’ve just said. With good reason. ‘I’m gonna have to help you.’

She shakes her head and I don’t know whether she’s accepting my offer or telling me to back off. I just know I can’t leave her like this. She ain’t gonna leave this alone, which means
I
can’t, either.

‘I don’t
need
your help, Mack.’

‘Jesus Christ, Izzi, will you stop acting like some ball-breaking bitch! You’re in shit up to your pretty neck, darlin’, and you ain’t gonna be able to do
crap
without me, y’hear me, sweetheart? This ain’t your world, and no matter how many times you stand there and tell me you’re ready for this; no matter what shit you went through to get here you ain’t nowhere near ready for what Viper and his crew could throw at you. And they don’t discriminate, Izzi. Male, female, white, black, they don’t fucking care. You threaten their club in any way, they’re gonna come gunning for you.
That’s
the way this world works. And it’s only a matter of time before they work out what you’re doing here, so either you let me help you, or we find a way to get you on the first plane out of here and back to wherever you came from.’

‘I’m not going home. I can’t go home. Not without finishing what I came here to do.’

‘Then you ain’t got much of a choice, darlin’.’

She backs up against the wall and I watch as she turns her head away from me, her expression cold and hard but I still think she’s putting up some kinda front. This ain’t her. I don’t know who she used to be, but I’m guessing it was nothing like the girl she is now. ‘You’ll be putting your club in danger, Mack. If you help me. You said that yourself…’

‘You think Viper’s crew won’t know we’re involved somehow? They’ll know, darlin’. They ain’t stupid. They’ll know why you came to me…’

She turns her head back to look at me, and her expression is almost impassive now. I can’t read her at all. ‘But you backed down. You refused to help me when I first…’

‘You think that matters to them? I took you in, Izzi. The Soldiers of Darkness took you in,
knowing
what you wanted to do, and that’s enough for someone as crazy as Viper to lay down blame.’

She throws back her head and closes her eyes, and the cry of frustration she lets out comes from the very pit of her stomach, I can almost feel it myself.