Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
“You’re not selling my kids!” I yelled at him and started struggling. He wasn’t a big man or overly muscular, but he was still strong. The knife dug into my flesh, and I felt a trickle of blood.
“Let her go now, and I promise you a clean death.”
Carnage!
My relief was so overwhelming I nearly sobbed. My eyes found him unerringly. He stood there, his dreadlocks free and snapping about his head in a sudden wind. In his hand was a hatchet he twirled in his palm as if readying himself to attack.
“I ain’t the one dyin’, you motherfucker. It’s this bitch. Now, where are my brats?”
“This is your last chance,” Carnage said, turning his head. “Let her go, and it ends swiftly.”
The guy ducked behind me, pulling me to one side so he could get a better grip on me. He pointed at Carnage with his knife. “I’m gonna slit the bitch’s throat right in front of you. You can have the pleasure of watchin’ her die, motherfucker!”
Almost faster than I could blink, Carnage threw the hatchet. It sank into the guy’s thigh with a sickening thud. The one he’d left exposed when he shifted me to his right side. I darted underneath his arm and straight for Carnage. He met me with one arm open, the other pulling his gun to aim at the guy now writhing on the ground.
“Put him in the cage.” Torpedo snapped out his command just as someone -- I couldn’t tell who in the dark -- yanked out the hatchet, to the guy’s sharp yelp, and handed it to Carnage. “Take him to the barn.”
“The b-barn?” I looked up at Carnage. His mien was vicious. Like he was itching to take this guy apart.
“It’s where we take people for… enhanced interrogation.” Carnage imparted the knowledge looking at the man. Not at me.
“It’s not spoken about,” Rain said softly. Then raising her voice slightly, she added, “People who go there for questioning don’t come back.”
Just as the guy started to scream his protest, someone slapped a strip of duct tape over his mouth and wound it around his head three or four times. They definitely had no plans to let him loose anytime soon.
I shivered and turned into Carnage who immediately pushed me to arm’s length, gripping my chin in his hand and tilting my head back.
“He cut you?”
“I -- I don -- I don’t know.” I shivered, the adrenaline rush starting to crash.
“Someone get me a flashlight.”
Rain came up beside me, stroking my hair and shining a light from her phone on my neck. “She’s got a nick,” she said. “Nothing horrible. Just a small trickle of blood. She’s fine, Carnage. She’s fine.” Rain sounded almost as shaken up as I felt.
“Motherfucker,” Carnage muttered, then turned and kicked the guy in the gut. “Get this piece of shit outta here,” he snapped.
“You get first shot at him,” Torpedo said. “We got his ID. Data will have info on him shortly. Got a feelin’ this one needs killin’ sooner rather than later.”
“Just find out who he’d planned on sellin’ our kids to. We’ll take out both motherfuckers.”
“Always the plan, brother,” Torpedo said, giving Carnage a look.
“Calm down, Levi,” I said softly into his neck as he held me close. “I’m not well versed in the MC culture, but I’m pretty sure Torpedo outranks you.” I heard Torpedo snort before he clapped Carnage on the back.
“Yeah,” Carnage said with a sigh. “But it wasn’t his woman who had a knife held to her throat. I’m not going to get over that anytime soon.”
“Just… can we not tell the boys?”
“Hadn’t planned on it, but you know they’ll find out.”
“OK, so how about just not tonight?”
“Good plan.” Carnage scooped me up and carried me to his bike. “Let’s get home so I can look you over.”
* * *
Carnage
It took every ounce of strength I possessed to make the fucking ride home and not take Calliope to the fucking Emergency Room. The only reason I didn’t was that Mama and Pops were back from Florida. Mama was our club doctor, and she could give Calliope an exam and tell me if she needed stitches or psychiatric counseling or if there was anything else wrong with her.
“Someone have Mama meet us in her clinic,” I radioed the group.
“Copy.” That was Torpedo. Likely, I’d pay for my breach of protocol, as Calliope pointed out, but I didn’t give a fuck at this point.
When we got home, I took Calliope into Mama’s clinic. The older woman fussed over Calliope appropriately while I sat in a chair by the exam table trembling like a newborn fucking baby.
“I think your man there is in worse shape than you are, dear.” Mama patted Calliope’s knee before dabbing some peroxide on the wound at her neck. Mama called it a scratch, but all I saw was a gaping wound on my woman’s neck. Mama didn’t treat it lightly, though. She cleaned it, put ointment on it, bandaged it, then gave Calliope a tetanus shot for good measure. “Maybe a little vitamin V for you, Carnage?”