Page 42 of Beautifully Shattered (Secrets & Scars #3)

P ain explodes through my side, the force of the bullet causing me to stumble back against the car. I can barely focus as another loud crack rips through the air, and I stare at the Rebel, now dropping to his knees as blood trickles from his lips, and blooms across his chest.

“That was for shooting my husband!” Abbey snarls, stalking the Rebel and pressing the barrel of her gun to his head. “And this is for being on the wrong team!”

She. Doesn’t. Even. Flinch.

Her finger squeezes the trigger, blood and brain matter spraying from the back of his skull before he topples over.

My little monster.

“Fuck, man. You alright?” JD rushes up to me, barely glancing at the carnage my wife just unleashed. “Where’d you get hit?”

“Fuck,” I growl, batting his fussing hands away. “It’s just a flesh wound.”

Abbey whips around to face us, her big eyes wild with rage.

She’s fucking beautiful.

Her gaze snaps to my left side, where JD has my cut and tee hoisted outta the way to check the damage, and I catch the flicker of fear in her eyes.

“I’m okay, Angel.”

Shoving me to the side, JD checks my back. “Fuck. It went straight through. You’ll be alright. Just gotta pack it until we get you home.”

“You drive, JD. I’ll handle this,” Abbey insists, grabbing his shoulder and tugging him back.

“Yes, ma’am.” JD grins and salutes, and Abbey rolls her eyes at him as he beams.

He’s been too fucking playful lately. This thing between him and Jols is making him soft.

Abbey helps me into the back seat before sliding in next to me, looking calmer than I thought she’d be.

“You’re getting used to this life,” I mutter as JD starts up the Landy and shoves it into drive.

Abbey shrugs, rummaging through the first aid kit. “Surprisingly, despite your caveman ways,” her eyes flick to mine as one corner of her mouth kicks up, “I feel more in control of my life than I ever have.”

Fuck. I love hearing that. Knowing this sheltered sweet girl from the country is comfortably slotting into the wild fuckery of MC life with me has warmth settling in my chest.

It feels like coming home .

“Don’t get too comfortable bossing me around,” I tease, loving the way she rolls her eyes and scoffs, handing me some gauze that I reach around and press to my back.

I always knew there was more than a wounded, fragile woman inside her. I knew there was sass. And I’m fucking glad for the banter we have.

While I do love her submissive side, I definitely prefer that behind closed doors when it’s just the two of us.

I want her to feel in control. Powerful. Like the warrior she is.

“Don’t act like you don’t secretly love it when I do,” she shoots back, shoving my shoulder playfully, and my lips kick up this time. Her gaze tracks the motion before locking with mine. “And do me a favour. Try to avoid getting shot. It’s honestly a pain in the arse.”

JD bursts out laughing, clearly listening in as he drives the Landy to the front of the property where my club has a line of Rebels kneeling on the ground while Murf and Stocky set fire to the building.

As Abbey starts packing gauze into the wound, through JD’s open window I hear Spud demanding information from the few Rebels they spared, and I stare out at the scene, dead Rebels everywhere.

“Is that Moore at the end?” JD asks quietly, and my gaze shifts to the man kneeling farthest away, a snarl twisting his face.

He’s in character right now.

“It is,” I confirm, watching Smitty limp up to the car.

Looks like a bullet nicked his thigh.

“You gonna live, Ringo?” he asks, bending down to peer at me through JD’s open window .

“Yep. Bullet didn’t hit anything vital,” I grunt, nodding his way. “You get hit too?”

“The Rebels President had a fucking go. Not a good enough one, though.” His lips kick up in a savage grin.

“Where’s he now?” JD asks, and Smitty jerks his head towards a pair of legs sticking out from a pile of bushes.

“He’s gone to Hell. Let’s see how the ones that got away handle not having anyone in leadership.”

My brows shoot up.

“You got their VP too?”

Smitty’s eyes gleam as he holds a finger up, telling us to wait, and then a gunshot cracks through the air, and he grins. “There goes the VP.”

Glancing back out over the line, I see the barrel of Spud’s gun smoking and the man who was kneeling now lying dead in the dirt. Then Spud steps to the next Rebel and pulls the trigger.

Darting my gaze to Abbey, I see her watching, not a flicker of regret or pity in her eyes.

It’s like she’s somehow switched off the part of herself that made her so human. So caring, even for monsters.

I mean, she still cares for me, but the woman she used to be is either gone or buried so deep it’d take a miracle to bring her back.

Another loud crack of Spud’s gun snaps my gaze back out the window to see two Rebels left kneeling.

One’s a dead man. The other is our informant.

Moving to the second-last Rebel, Spud points and shoots, like it’s just a typical fucking Sunday, and then he moves to Moore, fisting his shirt, and drags him through the dirt towards Smitty.

“What’s he doing?” Abbey asks quietly .

“Gotta make it look real in case there are Rebels hiding and watching,” I explain, watching as Smitty draws out his own gun and presses it to Moore’s forehead.

“How many do you think got away?” he asks Moore quietly, but his expression is stone cold so anyone watching would just see a club President intimidating an enemy.

“Maybe half a dozen. They’ll probably reach out to Panda and get picked up by him,” Moore offers softly.

“Who the fuck is Panda?” JD butts in through the window, but Moore doesn’t take his eyes off Smitty.

“Panda has a team of twelve Rebels with that snake, Allen, and his nephew.”

Abbey sits taller at the mention of Ian Allen’s name, her hand still holding the gauze in place.

“No one knows where they are, but after what’s happened, they’ll look to Panda for leadership. He’s the only one remotely smart enough to take over now that you’ve wiped out the others.” Moore cringes when Smitty shoves his barrel harder against his forehead.

“Find the stragglers. Get the location and report back the second you have it.”

Spittle flies from Smitty’s lips as he snarls in Moore’s face, who nods like he’s terrified, but fuck, he’s nothing but a good fucking actor.

He’s not scared of Smitty or anyone here. Not even when Smitty shifts his gun and presses it to Moore’s bicep.

Knowing what’s coming, I have a split fucking second to grab Abbey’s head, pressing my palms over her ears before Smitty pulls the trigger .

Being this fucking close while we sit in a goddamn box, the sound of the shot amplifies, my ears explode with pain before they start fucking ringing.

With my eyes locked on my Angel’s, I can’t hide the pain twisting my face, and she quickly shoves my hands away from her ears, leaning over me to wind the window down.

“Jesus, Nate! You couldn’t have done that over there?!”

I barely catch her words through the ringing in my ears, my heart fucking pounding with fear that my unhinged President might turn the gun on her.

“Why hello, sweet Charity,” Smitty drawls, bending to peer in at my furious wife. “So nice to have your opinion. Which I didn’t fucking ask for! ”

“Maybe you should ask for it, since you clearly need to learn how to read a room!”

“Okay!” I hold my hands up, trying to block Smitty’s view of my wife. “Let’s just calm the fuck down.”

“No, husband . I won’t calm down. He nearly burst your eardrums!”

Smitty simply smirks. “Ha-ha! Never thought I’d see the day someone wrangled your nuts, Ringo. She’s a fucking keeper.”

“Fucking hell,” I mutter as JD chuckles up front, one finger jammed in his ear.

“I like your fire, Charity.” Smitty continues to taunt my wife, who takes the bait.

“How many times do I have to tel—”

“Next time, I think I’ll keep you by my side.” Smitty continues like she wasn’t just talking. “Let you do the slaughtering for me, since you’ve got a taste for it now.”

“Like fuck,” I snap, while Abbey scoffs.

“I’m not one of your men, Nate. I don’t answer to you .”

Smitty falls eerily silent, and the moment his head tilts to the side as he studies my wife as she presses her hands back to the gauze, I know I need to get her the fuck out of here.

“Don’t you?” he asks, brows hitched. “Because all of this,” he gestures behind him, “started because of you . And let’s not forget, there are fucking suits coming on raids with us now, something fucking unprecedented until you showed up.

So, my sweet Charity, if there’s anyone who should be bowing to me, dear child, it is absolutely you . ”

“That’s enough!” I snap at Smitty, bracing for his fucking wrath, but all he does is smirk, and when I glance at Abbey, I know why.

She’s feeling the weight of his reminder. Blaming herself for everything that’s happened once again. Her glassy eyes and grim expression say it all.

For fuck’s sake.

It’s like we take one step forward and thirty thousand steps back.

“We gotta go,” JD mutters from the front, his eyes tracking the smoke billowing from the clubhouse.

Smitty, clearly pissed at the way my wife keeps speaking to him like he’s nothing, angles his head towards JD, and then to Jols in the front passenger seat.

“Leave my stepdaughter behind. She’s coming back to the compound with me.”

JD stiffens, and Jols snarls over her shoulder.

“You’re not my dad, Smitty. How many times do—”

“Either get out of that fucking car, Jolene, or stay away from my club. ”

Smitty’s harsh snap brokers no argument, and he knows it, straightening up as he mutters something to Spud, who starts rounding the car.

Fuck.

“I’ll call you,” Jols whispers to JD, who looks about ready to lose his shit.

“Jols, you don’t have to go with him,” Abbey says urgently, reaching into the front and laying her free hand on Jols’ shoulder.

“Actually, I do.”

Abbey’s hand falls away, and for a brief moment, Jols and I lock eyes, and I see her worry.

It’s not for herself. It’s for JD.

“Babydoll,” JD whispers, but Jols doesn’t even spare him a glance. Probably because she can’t or she’ll break, and then Smitty will know what he probably already suspects, which is exactly why he’s demanding she go with him.

When Spud opens the door, Jols slips out of the Landy, being led with an iron grip by our VP over to Smitty’s hog.

“I’m gonna kill him,” JD mutters quietly so only we can hear, and I reach forward, giving his shoulder a firm squeeze.

“I need to get home, man. This gauze ain’t gonna stop the bleeding for long.”

JD’s eyes snap to mine in the rearview mirror, and with a nod, he slowly pulls away from Smitty and the carnage that man leaves in his wake, merging with the Marx convoy.

Abbey hurries to get her seatbelt on before applying pressure again to the gauze, doing her best to stop the flow of blood as we hit the road .

Since we are in another lockdown, and the freeway should be like a ghost town, we avoid it, sticking to the back streets so we don’t draw too much attention.

By the time we reach the south-eastern suburbs, I’m starting to feel woozy, and know I’m going to black out soon.

“Angel,” I grunt, as the darkness closes in. “My phone’s in my pocket. Text Mills. Tell her to have blood ready.”

Abbey’s eyes widen. “JD!” she snaps over her shoulder. “He doesn’t look good.”

“I know. Just do what he asked,” JD mutters from the front. “I’ll get us there as fast as I can.”

I feel the Landy pick up speed, and one of Abbey’s hands slips into my pocket, fishing out my phone.

Her frantic fingers move over the screen as she struggles to send the text with one hand while keeping her other hand pressed to me, and even through the haze, I can’t help but smile at how fucking pretty she looks in the glow of my screen light, even with smears of my blood coating her chin and cheek.

“I love you,” I whisper, finding it hard to speak any louder, and her eyes dart up to mine.

“Cam?” She sets the phone down, shifting closer, her delicate hand cupping my cheek. “Stay with me.”

I think I smile. It’s hard to tell.

“You’re the only thing I want to see when I take my last breath.”

“What? No, Ringo, you’re not dying. Right?” she snaps over her shoulder. “Tell him, JD. He’s not dying.”

I smile, I think. She’s so fucking adorable, those big doe eyes frantic as she looks over me .

I blink a few times, each one heavier than the last, and the darkness starts swallowing me until the last thing I see is the tears springing from her eyes.