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MERCY

A rriving at the address Token sent me, I found the Cartel bar had been attacked. I was expecting to see something other than a pile of smoking shrapnel. I park my bike beside the cleaning vans, killing the engine as I drop the kickstand down. Turning, I find Pecker Head, our newest prospect, rushing out of the building and throwing up. I shake my head at the man, then make my way over to him.

“Better fucking toughen up if you're going to make it,” I slap him on the back as I walk by him.

Surveying what is left of the building, all I can do is shake my head. Whoever the fuck did this left a fucking blood bath. The smell of explosives, gunpowder, and death hangs in the air so heavy I nearly choke on it. I don’t have any idea how in the fuck we’re going to cover this up for our pals in the Cartel. There are so many fucking bodies, and I know for a fact at least a few are going to have people who’re going to come looking for them.

I look around for Token or Anvil to get a read on what their plan is to deal with this shit show. Not seeing either one of them, I turn and make my way back outside. I pass Pecker Head as he makes his way back inside, head held high. I take a deep breath as fresh air invades my lungs.

“No fucking way. We’ve got a live one!” Pecker Head calls from inside.

“There’s no fucking way that someone made it through this alive,” Anvil calls, running toward me.

“Call Remedy. Find out how long it'll be before he arrives here,” I call out, then rush back inside.

Laying on their side and vomiting, is a mass of brown hair drenched in blood. The person goes to roll back onto their back, continuing to vomit. Reaching out, I brace my hand on their shoulder to keep them on their side as I take in their—no— her features. It’s a girl.

“No, you cannot fall back into the blackness,” I demand, trying to keep her awake.

They’ve made it this far. My goal is to keep the girl breathing so hopefully she’ll be able to tell us something about what happened. A crease forms on her brow as if she was concentrating on something.

“Stay with me. You’ve made it this far. You don’t want to give up now,” I command and give a small shake to keep her with me.

A terror like I haven’t felt since the day we lost the other her slides down my spine, leaving its ice trail. I stare into the darkest eye I’ve ever seen as it slides closed. I give her another hard shake, causing a moan to slip out just before she throws up on my boots. The roaring of motorcycles vibrating off what’s left of the walls is the calming balm my ragged soul needs. The engines go quiet about the same time the woman stops throwing up.

I hear Remedy before I see him. “There’s no fucking way anyone survived. You assholes are full of shit.”

“I swear to God that she’s alive and breathing,” the prospect yells.

“If you’re lying, it’s your fucking ass I’m kicking!” Remedy sneers, stomping toward us.

Over the bullshit and needing to get out of this fucking situation, I turn and yell over my shoulder, “Remedy, get your motherfucking ass in here! I don’t know how much fucking longer I can keep her fucking eyes open.”

“Fuck me,” is followed by the crunch of he’s boots on gravel.

Turing back, I look down and my eyes collide once again with her sad, dark eyes. They look into my soul, reaching in the darkest parts, as if searching. She must find something because she gives me a small smile before going limp in my arms. I give her another firm shake, getting nothing from her.

“Remedy,” I bellow as trepidation washes over me.

“Holy shit,” Remedy comes to his knees on the other side of her. “There’s so much fucking blood. Are you sure she’s still alive?”

I glare at him. “The fresh fucking puke on my boots tells me that yes, in fucking fact, she’s still fucking alive.”

Remedy eyes shoot up to mine so wide I swear to Christ I can see the fucking back of them. “Fuck. Let me find where she’s bleeding from and then we’ll move to get her out of here and to the clubhouse. Then we can get a better idea of how bad this really is.”

“Fucking do it fast. This place is going to come down on us all if the wind so much as shifts.” I say, still trying to tamp down the rage that wants to cut its way out of my skin.

Remedy doesn’t answer or even look at me as he starts running his hands over her body searching for wounds. Fisting the hand at my side, I fight for the control not to tear his arms from his body and beat him with them for touching her like that. He makes it to her head, pressing on one side, but when he presses on the other—blood rushes out.

“Son of a bitch,” he mutters, before adding white gauze to the wound. “Here, press down consistently while I examine the rest of her head.”

I place my hand over the gauze, applying pressure. When I do, she groans and tries to pull away. Leaning close, I speak quietly to her. “Don’t move. We don’t know how else you’re hurt, and we don’t want to cause more damage than you already have.”

Her eyes flutter but don’t open. Remedy pulls some more gauze from his bag and places it on the back of her head. He then wraps her head.

“Go ahead and pull your hand away. This will hold until we get her back to the clubhouse. The cage is here, so as soon as I’m done, we can move,” Remedy tells me.

“Are you sure she’s good to be moved?” I question him.

Remedy eyes me closely before answering. “Are you questioning my abilities and knowledge?”

“Fuck you, asshole. All I care about is that she’s able to fucking talk when you’re done to tell us what she fucking knows,” I snarl, ready for a fight.

Remedy smirks as if he knows something I don’t. “Let’s get her back and see what happens.”

Reaching under her legs, I pick her up bridal style to carry her out of the shack. I slowly and steadily make my way across the ruins to the waiting cage. As I do, Blender steps up to my side, looking down at the woman in my arms. His eyes run over her body with a predator’s gleam in them. The need to rip his eyes out and feed them to him gnashes at my control.

“Brother, I know you’ve hinted at being a sadist. This, though, seems a little far—even for you.” He says while he smirks at me, then opens the backdoor of the cage when we get to it.

“Fuck you motherfucker, you’re the fucking sadist around here,” I reply, sliding the woman into the back seat before turning back to glare at him. “She’s not for people like us. She’s better than that.”

Blender turns looking at the shack before looking back at me, “We’re looking at the same damn place, right? If that bitch was in that building when it went boom, then she’s exactly our type of woman.”

Grabbing his shoulder, I shake him. “I’m telling you that you’re wrong. I’ll even fucking bet on it.”

Blender’s evil smile spreads across his face, “And what dear older brother would you like to bet? There’s not a lot you have to offer I’d fucking want.”

“If she’s what you say she is; She’s all yours to do with as you please,” Leaning forward so only he can hear me I say, “and if she’s as decent as I believe she is—you’ll be cleaning up your own messes for six long fucking months.”

Blender narrows his eyes at me. “You’ve got yourself a fucking deal!”

As I shake his hand, something in me tells me I’ve just fucked this up ten ways to Sunday. I slam the door to the cage closed before walking to my bike to follow the cage back to the clubhouse. Sitting on my bike, I look over the building, taking it in. I’m still trying to work out how this woman got to live through hell— but Jenny didn’t . The anger rolls through me once again, making my head spin.

“I’ll find who took your light from the world. I don’t care what deals must be made with the devil to do so.” I whisper to the sky before pulling on my helmet and cranking my bike.

I should’ve known not to say that out loud. The universe takes great pleasure in fucking me right the motherfucking hell over. Knowing that the devil is going to come calling—it's just a matter of when.