Lisa slapped him across the face. “Don’t use that tone of voice with me. I’m not crazy! I simply know what I deserve in life, and baby, I’m the best cocksucker you ever had on your dick. Remember how much you loved my lips wrapped around you?”
She went from insane girlfriend to simpering seductress in the blink of an eye. She trailed a finger down Cipher’s chest and she pushed her breasts out a little, making sure her tits strained against the half-pulled-down zipper of her flight suit. He blinked, and Kaiya saw his IQ drop a hundred points when Lisa’s mouth sucked on a section of his neck. Kaiya must have made a gagging noise because Cipher’s eyes shot up and clashed with hers. Shaking his head slightly, he gripped Lisa’s arm and dragged her away from where Kaiya stood, which was okay with her. No way did she want to see their PDA turn into outright fucking.
Left alone for a moment—or as alone as one could get in an open hangar—Kaiya knew she had to escape. If she didn’t, she was dead, and she didn’t plan on leaving her men behind, in this world or the next. She quickly worked on the rope binding her wrists, thankful for her small bones, until she managed to wiggle one wrist free from the rough hemp. The skin around her wrist was raw and bloody in some parts, but she ignored the slight pain as she quickly untied her other hand. Cipher and Lisa were talking by the plane, or arguing if the fierce expression on Lisa’s face was anything to go by. The duffel bag lay only a foot away.
Carefully, Kaiya stretched out her leg and managed to dig her heel over the strap. Then she slowly, carefully, dragged the bag closer. Her heart thundered in her ears. When the duffel was close enough to reach, she rolled quickly, grabbed it and jumped to her feet, running as fast as she could.
She was sure they knew she was free. No way could they miss her taking off with their retirement plan. Kaiya reached inside the bag and pulled out the gun. Hooking the strap sideways around her body to keep her arms free, she quickly checked to make sure the gun was loaded and the chamber had a round in it. But how could she tell where Lisa and Cipher were if she couldn’t hear them? She looked up. She needed high ground.
A storage loft was at the far end of the old hangar, and she made a running beeline for the stairs, keeping her back against the plane and equipment. If she could get upstairs, she could defend her position and hopefully take Lisa and Cipher out. Kaiya dragged in a deep breath to steady her hands. Well, she’d wanted to break out of the mold. Now she understood to be careful of what she wished for because killing two people might not be something she could ever recover from.
The silence overwhelmed her. When she’d first lost her hearing, the quiet almost drove her crazy. Now, knowing she was being hunted, but unable to figure out where the danger could strike, was a madness that almost caused her heart to explode. When the stairs loomed in front of her, she drew in a deep breath and ran for them, hoping that she wouldn’t be shot down before reaching safety.
Almost there. Just a couple of feet.
She was grabbed around the waist and spun around so fast that she slipped. A hand wrapped itself around her throat and squeezed, hard, cutting off her air. Her attacker hauled her to the side of the hangar where her back slammed into the unyielding metal walls. Another hand trapped hers holding the gun, rendering her helpless.
She looked into Cipher’s pissed-off eyes and saw her death in their depths. All coherent thought fled. He squeezed harder, and her lungs burned with the need for oxygen. The edges of her vision began to darken.
Kaiya!
She blinked. Did she just
hear
her name? Or was it a moment of insanity forged from her dying brain? Who called out to her? Boone? Gabby? They were coming for her. She knew it, felt it in her soul. She couldn’t let them find her body. She wanted to live, for them. For herself. For the future they could create together. She brought up her knee and hit Cipher hard between his legs. His whoosh of breath fanned across her face, and he loosed his hold on her as he slumped over to cradle his dick and balls. It wasn’t much but it was enough to wrestle the gun free, and she wasted no time pressing the barrel against his forehead and pulling the trigger.
The reverberation of the gun echoed through her body. Blood splattered across her face and chest. But not one ounce of remorse hit her as she watched Cipher fall dead at her feet. She dragged in a great lungful of air, coughed a little since she’d almost been strangled
twice
, then ran. She didn’t know where Lisa was, but she knew the woman was close. Just as she made it out of the hangar, someone tackled her to the ground and when she landed, the gun slid out of her grasp.
Kaiya didn’t have time to mourn it as she was flipped over. She stared into Lisa’s hate-filled blue eyes.
“You bitch!” she raged. “That was my man! He was taking me away from all this club bullshit! He was going to keep me in diamonds forever.”
She couldn’t even tell Lisa that she still had the diamonds and that she could pilot the plane, that she didn’t need Cipher at all. The woman punched her, and Kaiya’s cheek exploded in pain. For a moment, she swam in and out of consciousness, until Lisa grabbed a fist full of hair. The sharp pain roused Kaiya. She stared wide-eyed into Lisa’s eyes. For a moment, she was transported back to that night where Boone had fingered her and the gazing connection with Lisa had pushed her into climax. That sensual moment was now gone, and all Kaiya could see was evil and hatred. Lisa rested the barrel of a gun against her forehead.
“You’re dead,” she said.
Kaiya couldn’t look away. She screamed, unable to bottle up her fear.
Then Lisa’s eyes widened, and she jerked forward. The gun fell harmlessly. And Lisa’s dead body draped over her like a heavy blanket.
Kaiya pushed against the woman, unable to find traction, until Lisa was pulled away to lay dead beside her. Kaiya blinked and looked up first to see Eagle then Stone Cold, who reached down to help her stand. Only her knees wouldn’t hold her and they buckled. Eagle caught her and helped her away from the scene, away from Lisa’s dead body, where Kaiya sat heavily on the runway.
She stared at both men, unable to comprehend at first that she was still alive. But had these men saved her only to kill her now? Her body shook and her heart pounded. She felt like she was going to pass out or vomit. Maybe both.
“We aren’t going to hurt you, Kaiya,” Eagle said. She blinked and watched his mouth as he repeated what he said.
She glanced at Stone Cold, who squatted next to Lisa’s body. Blood soaked the ground around the woman, mainly around the head. Eagle touched her shoulder and she looked back at him.
“I knew Lisa was having an affair with Cipher,” he said. She read his lips. “I told Stone Cold. He was going to confront her when the three of you showed up and he wanted to see what you knew about that man. The whole joining forces was, at first, a ruse to get information out of you. But I think he really warmed up to the idea.”
Kaiya flicked a quick glance at the plane. She couldn’t help but wonder how they’d known about this airfield.
“The plane belongs to Stone Cold,” he said.
She raised an eyebrow at how he could read her mind.
He grinned. “I’m very good at reading people. That’s how Lisa was brought into the club. Stone Cold recruited her from piloting school. He wanted someone to run his product by air.”
He brushed the hair away from her temple and once again, unease slithered down her spine. However, he let her pull away and gave her a rueful grin.
“I’m glad we got here in time,” he told her. “You’re a beautiful woman, and I can see you’re loyal to your man.”
She didn’t even try to correct him. He might have eagle eyes on most things, but he didn’t see everything. Eagle looked over her head and nodded.
“I see your man and bodyguard are here just in time to save the day.”
Kaiya whipped her head around. Boone and Gabby ran toward them. She jumped to her feet and hurried to meet them. Happiness swelled in her heart and each beat pounded their names. When she finally met them, they swept her up in a tight embrace and her arms went around both of their necks. They almost crushed her with their fierce hug, but she didn’t care. She was back in their arms and that was all that mattered.
A long moment later, they finally pulled back. Boone kissed her hard on the mouth, then it was Gabby’s turn. It almost broke her heart when she felt the trembling in his lips.
“Are you all right?” Boone signed.
She nodded and began explaining everything. When she pointed behind her, both men looked up and their whole demeanors changed as they spotted Eagle and Stone Cold. Gabby actually moved in front of her, protecting her with his body. She placed her hand on his arm and his muscles were granite, hard and unyielding. Still, she never felt as protected or as loved in that moment.
Boone led the way to the two Whiskey Knights men. Along the way, he pulled his gun free and held it loose at his side. From what Kaiya had told them, they’d saved her life, but it still didn’t diminish the fact that because of them it had been threatened in the first place.
He took in the whole scene in an instant. Lisa lay in a bloody heap on the ground. Cipher’s body not too far away. Stone Cold glared at his gun.
“You lied to me,” Boone said. “Every facet of your hospitality was a goddamn fucking lie!”
“I just saved your woman’s life!”
“Just tell me why the fuck I’ve been running around in the woods when you apparently knew to come right here.”
Stone Cold shook his head regretfully. “Listen, I wanted to tell you, but I needed information first.”
Boone brought the barrel of his gun up, aiming directly at the man. “Not helping.”
Stone Cold threw up his hands. “All right! Cipher came to me after you cut off his tat and exiled him. By this time, Vicious decided to prove he had the balls to rise in rank and had left. I knew he was going after the Men of Hell.”
“You told him to come after my club?” Boone demanded.
“I never told him to take over another club.”
“But you never told him not too,” Boone surmised.
“That kid had ambition to rise in the Knight’s ranks, but he was too crazy to ever be considered.” Stone Cold shook his head. “The fucker burned up one of the prospects because he stepped on his boots, for piss sake! No one was going to turn over the reins to him.”
“So you cut him loose.”
“Yes,” he said. “At the same time, Eagle found Cipher at the bus depot. Brought him to our compound to heal and, I admit, I wanted information about your club.”
Boone took in a deep breath, fighting against the rage that wanted him to pull the trigger and be damned with the consequences. “And after Vicious and Bizerk tore apart my club, you still didn’t come forward. How convenient that Vicious and Cipher became the best of friends.”
“I swear I had no knowledge of that. Not until today.”
“When your old lady decides to fly away with her much younger lover and millions of dollars in stolen money.”
The other man flicked a gaze at the dead woman. Her blonde hair lay matted in streaks of red. “I knew about her and Cipher, but I figured why not let her have some fun. It’s not like I haven’t had my cock sucked by other women.”
“But she threatened your club.”
“Still,” he said sadly. “I loved her.”
“Then you know how pissed I am about Vicious.”
“Yeah, Boone, I know I’ve not been very forthcoming with you, but—”
“But nothing,” Boone said and forced himself to lower his gun. “You did save Kaiya’s life, and for that, I won’t kill you. But no deal can exist between the Knights and the Men of Hell. You need to use the interstate, I suggest you get past Bair as quickly as possible.”
Stone Cold nodded, as if he had expected that. “What about Cipher’s loot?”
“What about it? Cipher stole the money from the club, as well as from the Master. It belongs to the M.O.H.”
Stone Cold gave a crooked grin. “And yet you’re on the Knights territory.”
Boone hauled his fist back and let it fly, the blow landing squarely on Stone Cold’s jaw. The older man fell back.
“Don’t fucking push it,” Boone said coldly. “Good-fucking-bye.”
He turned and marched away. Gabby took hold of Kaiya’s hand and the three of them left the clearing. After a few minutes, Boone stopped and sighed. He ran a hand down his face.
“Fucking hell!” he shouted. He glanced between her and Gabby. “I have no fucking idea where we are and the last thing I want to do is go crawling back for help.”
Kaiya grinned and reached inside the duffel bag. She pulled out the GPS system and held it out to him. Boone took one look at it and hugged her. What had he ever done to deserve such a smart, beautiful, fierce woman?
Well, he wasn’t going to question it too closely. He had no desire to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Epilogue
“I can’t understand him,” Gabby said.
Kaiya smiled at him. “Because he’s signing in Japanese.”
She turned back to Red Eye. They’d arrived the day before and almost immediately, she recognized the fact that the old man was deaf, although he probably wouldn’t be able to talk even if he could hear. The teeth left in his mouth were all black, his hands shook like crazy, and he had a habit of staring off into space. But he was smiling and grasping imaginary butterflies, so at least he was happy in his high.
“Classic sign of testing his own product,” she signed to Gabby and Boone.
Boone nodded and turned his head to hide his amusement. She actually felt sorry for Red Eye. The man probably had been a brilliant chemist once upon a time. Red Eye jolted back to reality and greeted her again, which he’d already done once before.
“You are very pretty,” he signed clumsily then lapsed back into his happy place.
“He likes you,” Red Eye’s wife said. She was dressed in traditional Japanese couture, wearing a
yukata, obi
with
tabi
socks and
geta
shoes. It was amusing to see Gabby and Boone trying to fit around the traditional tea ceremony. The old woman had taken one look at Kaiya and had brought out the
matcha
powder to perform
chakai,
which was good since that was the more informal of the tea ceremony. Otherwise, her men would have to endure several tedious hours with Red Eye and his wife, who happened to be a shrewd negotiator.