Tease: A Kings of Korruption MC Novel (27 page)

Hearing her panicked pleas for help, I jump up from my crouch and start to move in her direction.
 
As I pass Ryker, he grabs my hand and yanks me down beside him and Charlotte.
 
“You fuckin’ crazy?”

“Laynie’s out there!” I growl and move to stand.

“A lot of people are out there, man!
 
Don’t be a fuckin’ idiot!
 
Stay put.
 
Mouse has her.”

I know he’s right, but I don’t fucking like it.
 
I reload my gun and fire off more shots, hitting a couple of the Devils and knocking them back.
 
I watch as Dexter makes it to Laynie and stretches out beside her.
 
I see her arm shoot out, wrapping around him and holding him tight to her body.
 
Thankful that he made it to her, and can at least comfort her when I can’t, I fire off more shots.

I’m down to my last bullet when the Rejects start jumping on their bikes, and in a deafening roar, make their getaway.
 
Even through all of the shots fired, there are only two of them left on the ground.
 

Focusing my attention back on Laynie, I run to where she still lies on the ground under Mouse.
 
My heart rattles in my chest as I get closer and see the blood pooled on the ground all around them.
 
Neither of them are moving.
 
The sight of that black pool of blood causes despair to crush the breath from my lungs.
 
I can’t breathe.

“Laynie!” I gasp.

Her broken sobs break through my panic.
 
“Travis?
 
Oh God.
 
Help him!”

Kneeling beside them, I freeze when I see Mouse, and it feels like the whole world stops fucking spinning.
 
His skin is grey and there is nothing but gore and blood where the top of his head should be.
 
His eyes are open, but empty of the usual glint he always seems to have.
 
He’s gone.

Reaper appears at my side.
 
“Fuck!” he roars.
 

Laynie’s already tear-streaked face crumples, and she starts sobbing uncontrollably.
 
“Help me! Get him off me.
 
Please!
 
I need to get him off me!”

Shaking off the wave of sadness and shock, I grab onto his shoulder, and with Reaper’s help, we gently roll him off of Laynie and settle him on the ground beside her.
 
Laynie’s shaky hands come up and cover her blood-spattered face as an ear-piercing wail of despair rips from her throat.

Reaching forward, I gather her into my arms, rocking her gently and stroking her hair.
 
Her sobs rack her whole body, ripping my heart to shreds.
 
Sitting on the ground we sway gently while the rest of the group gathers around Mouse.
 
Dex comes over and lies beside us, laying his head on my lap where Laynie is able to pet him while she cries.

I don’t know what to do, or what to say.
 
Mouse was a pain in my ass, but fuck me, he was one of the most genuine people I know.
 
He was like a little brother to me, but I never fucking told him that, and that makes me so angry at myself.
 
I was such a dick to him – all the fucking time — but he was always so fucking loyal.
 
Fuck!

Just then, Charlotte approaches and kneels beside us, placing a hand on Laynie’s shoulder.
 
She flinches and presses herself closer to me.
 
“Laynie?”
 
Her voice shakes, and her chin trembles slightly, but she holds it together.
 
“Honey, it’s me, Charlie.
 
Let’s go down to the lake and get you cleaned up, sweetheart.”
 
She tugs gently on Laynie, indicating that she wants her to come with her.

“Nooo,” she wails, wrapping herself even tighter around me and hanging on for dear life.

I look at Charlotte and shake my head.
 
She nods, her face filled with sadness, then stands and walks into Ryker’s waiting arms, where she too bursts into tears.

Looking around at the silent group of people that I consider family, I rock Laynie from side to side and watch as they all stand in shock and silence.
 
The tightness in my chest is almost unbearable.
 
Jase comes forward and lays a red and white checkered picnic blanket over Mouse’s face and then turns, storming away off to his bike.

“Jase!” Ryker calls.
 
“Where are you goin’?”

“I’m goin’ to find those sons-of-bitches, and I’m goin’ to kill every last fuckin’ one of ‘em.”
 
I’ve never heard Jase sound so angry, but I agree with him.
 
They are going to pay for this – with their lives.
 
But not yet.
 
First we have to tell Sarah.

I DON’T REMEMBER LEAVING the lake, or the ride home.
 
I don’t remember anything but the weight of Mouse’s body as his life poured out of him.
 
My thoughts are clouded, and my stomach is heavy with dread.
 
I can’t stop thinking about that thump I’d heard as Mouse was warning me.
 
He’d taken that bullet trying to save my life.
 
I keep thinking about Mouse, and how excited he was to tell me he was having a baby girl.
 
I think about the sincere way he was with everyone, willing to give you the shirt of his back.
 
Mouse was a rare kind of human being, and the loss of him has knocked the wind right out me.

“Come on, babe.
 
Lift your arms.”
 
Slowly coming back to the present, I hear the running water of the shower and feel hands at my waist, pulling my blood-soaked t-shirt up and over my head.
 
I raise my arms and fight back the tears as Travis helps me take off the rest of my clothes.
 

I hear the whisper of fabric as he takes off his own, and then he lifts me into his strong arms, carrying me into the shower and sets me down under the spray of hot water.
 
Blinking, I raise a fist to my chest and press it deep, trying to ease the intense ache I feel.

“Tip your head back, Laynie.”
 
Moving on auto-pilot, I do as I’m told and tip my head back under the rushing water.
 
Travis’s fingers are gentle but firm as he shampoos my hair, massaging my scalp with strong fingers, washing away the blood and dirt that had caked into it while I was lying on the ground with Mouse.

Wordlessly, he soaps up a loofah and runs it over my body, scrubbing the blood of the sweetest man I know from my skin.
 
My throat stings as a deep, anguished sob bursts from deep inside me, my shoulders shaking with my sorrow.

Travis grabs my shoulders and pulls me close to his body, wrapping me up in his arms.
 
“Fuck, Laynie.
 
I don’t even know what the fuck to say to you right now.”

I continue to cry, tears coursing down my cheeks, mixing with the stream from the shower.
 
I clutch his shoulders and just let it all out – I need to.
 
I have to get this pain out before it eats me alive.
 
Travis says no more, just holds me tighter, pressing his lips to the top of my head.

Gradually, my tears slow and my breathing evens out.
 
My broken heart remains shattered, but my body is exhausted.
 
Pushing my face against his chest, I press a kiss to his pec.
 
“I’m OK now.”

Travis places his hands on each side of my face, lifting it to his and presses his own lips to mine.
 
“You’re not, but you’re better.
 
Let’s get you into bed.”

He leans forward to turn off the water and helps me from the shower.
 
I stand still, arms hanging at my side, my body drained of all energy while he carefully dries me off, and after wrapping a large towel around me, he leads me to the bedroom.
 
I stand in the center of the room and wait as I hear him searching for something.

“Here.
 
Put this on.”

Raising my arms, I push them through the shirt he’s placed over my head.
 
I don’t recognize it as one of my own.
 
“What is this?”

“My tee,” he answers, pulling me toward the bed.
 
“Love your silky pajamas, babe, but tonight, I need you to wear something of mine.”

My chin trembles as I give him a quivery smile.
 
“I love you.”

He settles on the bed, pulling me close and hugs me to him tightly.
 
Taking a deep breath through his nose, he breathes out, “Fuck, babe.
 
I love you too.”

Wrapping my arm around his waist, I press myself to him as tight as I can get.
 
If I could crawl up inside him, I think I would.
 
Somewhere along the way, Travis has become my safe place, and being wrapped up in a t-shirt that smells like him may just keep the nightmares at bay.

We lie in silence, my chest aching with sadness as I trail my fingertips up and down his arm.
 
“Travis?”

“Yeah.”
 
His voice his hoarse.

“Are you OK?”

“Fuck no.”
 
His answer surprises me.
 
Not because he feels it, but because he admits to it.
 
“Do you have any idea how fucking terrified I was when I got close to you and saw all that fucking blood?”
 
He lets out a shaky breath.
 
“I thought it was you.”

I give him a squeeze but stay silent, waiting for him to continue.

“I think the worst part is, I’m a fucking dick for feeling relief when I found out it wasn’t.
 
I was so fucking scared I’d lost you that I felt relief that it was my fucking friend.
 
My
best
fucking friend.”
 
His voice rises as he talks, filling with anger.
 
“His fucking head gets blown off saving my woman, and I feel relief?
 
What kind of sick fuck am I?”

I prop myself up on my elbow.
 
“Hey.
 
Don’t talk about the man I love that way.
 
What you felt was normal, Travis.
 
Completely normal.
 
You felt relief that it wasn’t me, not that he died.”
 
Reaching out, I search for his face and press my hand against his scarred cheek.
 
“That doesn’t mean you grieve him any less.”

He takes a deep breath.
 
“I’m pissed.
 
I’m pissed that those crazy fucks ambushed us and nearly killed us all.
 
I’m pissed that I only got to kill a couple of them.
 
I’m pissed that you had to go through that shit this afternoon.
 
But most of all, I’m pissed at myself.
 
I’m pissed that I never fuckin’ told that needy son-of-a-bitch that he was the best fuckin’ friend I ever had.”

Tears fill my already puffy eyes as I lean forward, pressing my forehead to his.
 
“He knew, honey.
 
He told me once that you were his buddy, even if you hated to admit it.”
 
I chuckle softly.
 
“He loved you too, ya know.”