Force (The Disciples Book 5), page 26
“On the bed,” I demand, watching her obey, my cum dripping down all the way to her stomach and onto the sheet.
She lies down. I walk over and grab my lighter.
“I want you to breathe,” I say, grabbing the Neosporin from the bathroom.
“Yes, I’ll breathe.” She takes a deep breath and I gaze down at her and smile. Flicking the lighter on, I start to heat the brand.
Her chest rises and falls. Sitting next to her, I set the brand down for a moment. Her eyes are closed, but they pop open when my rough hands touch her breasts.
I lower my head to suck on one hard nipple and rub my finger back and forth on the other nipple—it’s wet with my cum.
“Oh my God,” she moans and arches.
I bite and suck, deciding where I’m gonna brand her.
Lifting my head, I smirk, then pick up the brand. This time I don’t stop. I let the lighter turn the tip bright orange, ignoring the burning on my fingers. I lower my hand to her neck to hold her still and brand her on her collarbone. The only sound she makes is a small hiss.
Fucking big-ass bikers need a bottle of tequila and scream like fucking babies, and all she did was gasp.
I lean down and cup her face. “I love you.” My voice is almost hoarse because she has no idea what this means to me. This is the closest I’ll come to marriage.
“You’re mine,” I growl, forcing myself to stand. I need to get downstairs.
She blinks at me as I gently rub Neosporin on the red, swollen brand.
“Stay here.” I walk into the bathroom and get some Advil and a wet washcloth to clean her. I don’t want her taking a shower yet.
“Here.” I hand her the Advil as she sits up.
“I need to see it.”
“Later.” I shake my head, pushing her back and cleaning as much of my cum off her as I can. I eye the mark. Because she stayed still, it actually looks pretty good.
“Can I at least get some water?” she says.
Standing, I toss the towel in the hamper and make my way to the dresser. After pulling on a pair of jeans, I slip on a T-shirt and grab a bottle of water for her. “I have to go out. I’ll be back later.” I hand her the bottle. “I want you to sleep.”
She sits up and takes it. “You’re leaving me?” She sounds shocked.
“Babe, I’ll be downstairs in the conference room if you need me, but I want you to sleep. I have things to take care of.”
Wide-eyed, she nods.
“Hey.” I rub her cheek. “You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be back in no time.” After grabbing Julianna’s Glock from the floor where I left it when we came in, I move to my safe, open it, and place the gun inside, removing my knife in the process. I don’t particularly enjoy using the knife, too dramatic for my taste. But if Pavel doesn’t make things right, the knife is exactly what he’ll get.
Blade and I will take turns.
And it won’t be fast.
RYDER
Present
Disciples’ clubhouse
Burbank, CA
When I tap on the conference room door, Rip greets me, moving aside to let me enter and revealing Pavel tied to a chair in the process. Either he’s already dead or knocked out.
“Wake him up.” Blade paces back and forth in the dimly lit room. Ox walks over and pours a bottle of vodka on Pavel’s beaten face.
Instantly, he moans and awakens. Blade jerks his wet hair, forcing him to look in my direction.
“I want to know everything you know about that day ten years ago.”
Pavel can barely turn his neck, and his right eye is swollen shut, but he spits out blood. “I was a kid. I don’t know shit. I told you this earlier.”
Axel walks in carrying a bag of ice. “Got you some ice. What’s it gonna be, man?” He dumps the bag loudly on the table.
“So.” Blade crosses his arms. “I’m gonna show you this. It’s my home, my safe spot, where my fucking wife and kids live.”
He pulls out his knife as Rip leans over and presses play. The large TV shows it all, the piece of shit walking up, taking down the prospect outside, and entering through the front door. My heart pounds as I watch Julianna grab her purse and leave for the bathroom. On screen, Dewey seems distracted by the girls. The Russian starts screaming.
He asks for Eve, and that’s when Dewey puts himself in front of her, taking the bullet in the stomach. As Julianna walks out, she doesn’t hesitate and puts a bullet in the back of the Russian’s head.
Blade freezes the clip. “Who the fuck is that?”
“My second cousin Victor. He hasn’t been around. His father was one of the ones we took out.”
“How did you not know about this?” Blade’s voice drips venom.
“Probably the same as you,” he spits right back, and the room goes silent.
Blade stares at him while we wait to see if he’ll slice Pavel’s throat.
He doesn’t.
He grins, reaches for the bottle of Jack Daniel’s, and takes a swig. “I was your age when I became king. Invincible. That’s how I felt. No fear. My brothers”—he motions at us with the bottle—“we took over and never looked back, and I fucking ruled.”
He kicks the chair Pavel’s tied to. “You’re in charge not even a month, and a fucking Russian pig threatens my wife!” He throws the bottle at the TV, the spicy brown liquid and glass shattering the screen.
“I haven’t seen Victor in years.” Pavel leans over to spit out more blood.
“He came to my house. My house, you fuck. He held a gun to my wife’s head.” Blade’s rage and pain pour out of him.
Today was a fucking wake-up call.
Pavel looks at Blade, then around the room at all of us. He’s beaten, bleeding, but the fight is still in his eyes.
“Victor was a drunken thug and has nothing to do with me or what I’m going to accomplish. I would have shot him in the head years ago if I’d had the chance.”
Again, the only noise in the room is the clink of ice cubes Axel’s dropping into a sock. Blade inches closer. His eyes narrow as he fights his need for blood. Unfortunately, the blood we seek has already spilled out onto his floor.
Pavel is innocent. I can see it, and Blade knows it.
“Cut him loose,” he finally says to Ox. “Fix this, or we’ll take you motherfuckers out.” He grabs another bottle of Jack Daniel’s from the table. Ox moves to Pavel as Axel holds up his hand, stopping him.
“Hi.” Axel stares down at Pavel. “I don’t give a fuck if you knew nothing about it. This is for our women.” He smashes Pavel’s nose with the ice-filled sock, and all of us hear the sound of cartilage breaking. Blood flows like a faucet down into his mouth, saturating his shirt.
Ox smirks and cuts Pavel loose, handing him the bottle of vodka. Pavel drinks almost half of it, then stands, wiping at his nose with his wrist.
“This your woman?” He motions to Julianna, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I stare at him, not trusting myself. We need him alive right now. That doesn’t mean I won’t slice him up.
Pavel looks at the screen, then at me. “That’s fearless, I admire that.” He drops his hand, blood still bubbling out of his nose as he tries to breathe. “I have a file which, as of now, I had no reason to share. Forgive me if I don’t hand deliver it. I’ll send Kostya. Now, can I go?”
“Get the fuck out of here,” I say, opening and closing my fists.
He straightens and walks to the door.
“Pavel?” Blade’s voice stops him.
“Don’t ever think you’re too big to be taken down. That’s the mistake Misha made, and it’s the mistake my dad and brother made. I know what I am. Let’s hope for your sake you do too.”
He turns to look at Rip. “Drop Pavel back at his place and get the file.”
Pavel looks at him, then at me, and nods. Rip grabs his keys. The door shuts and Blade walks over to the window, looking out at the dark night.
“If you need to get back to your women, you can go.” He brings the bottle to his lips and drinks.
I pull out my chair and reach for a bottle of Southern Comfort. Axel drops into the seat next to mine and removes some weed from his back pocket.
“Let me get a prospect in here to clean up the blood.” Ox breaks the silence.
Axel loads up his pipe and lights it. After inhaling deeply, he hands it to me.
“Wait until later.” Blade looks over his shoulder. “Pavel was right. This was my fuckup.”
“It’s our life, brother. When shit like this happens, we gotta learn from it.” Axel props his boots up on our wooden table.
Blade turns. “That was Eve he held the gun to—”
“He was gonna kill all of them. The Disciples would have crumbled in a second. He could have brought all of us tumbling down. But he didn’t.” Axel takes the pipe back as I hold in the thick, almost heavy-tasting smoke before slowly exhaling.
Blade shakes his head and looks out at the darkness. “I need more security, better security.”
“Agreed, we all do. And I guess we need to teach our ladies to shoot a gun. Thanks for thinking of that, man.” Axel glances at me. His eyes, which always hold such confidence, show his exhaustion.
Beat-up.
Yeah, today brought us all to our knees.
“Fuck, I owe her everything.” Blade takes a swig, looking at me. “She saved them, all of them.” His eyes are a mass of anger, pain, and awe. “Axel’s right. I protected Eve because I believed that I was enough to take care of her.”
He shakes his head and takes another swig, pointing the bottle at me. “I thought my will would be enough. That no one would dare try to touch what I love because I’m me.”
His honesty is humbling. This is what makes Blade McCormick great. It’s what makes him a king.
“You don’t believe that though… you taught Julianna to take care of herself. I think that’s what I can’t forgive myself for.”
“You will, brother. We all will because they need us to.” I stand, resting my hand on his shoulder. “This will never happen again.” My voice vibrates around the large conference room.
“I know.” He looks at the bottle. “Church at 10 AM.”
“I’ll be there,” I say, knowing there’s a real chance I may not be in the near future.
Blade nods, bringing the bottle to his lips. Axel’s boots drop to the floor.
Brotherhood.
This club is my family. It took care of me when no one else would. I’ve fought, fucked, and killed with them.
If, in two weeks, I’m not there to enforce… the Disciples will live on.
I’ll make sure of it.
JULIANNA
Present
Disciples’ clubhouse
Burbank, CA
“Julianna?” I blink my eyes open to see tan legs along with a pair of dark skinny jeans with holes in the knees. My hand instinctively reaches for Ryder, but the bed is empty, and instead, Eve and Gia stare down at me.
I bolt up.
“What’s wrong?” Bringing the sheet with me, my body jumps into fright mode.
“Um, besides that it’s ten thirty in the morning and you blew a man’s head off yesterday, nothing.” Gia looks at me like I’ve turned blue.
“Gia,” Eve shushes her in a warning tone, then looks at me, her blue eyes full of gratitude. “We’re just checking on you. Making sure you’re okay.” She pats my arm like I’m in the psych ward.
“God.” I sigh. “I thought something bad had happened to Ryder.” Closing my eyes, I swallow back that wave of nausea that’s been rolling around in the pit of my stomach. This constant state of terror is not helping it.
“We tried to wake you when we came in, but you didn’t move, so…” Gia stares down at me, frowning, as if she’s getting ready to check my temperature.
I let out another deep sigh, trying to will the nausea away and get my bearings. “Can you hand me a shirt? Oh, never mind.” I toss the covers off and stand up naked, rolling my eyes at their shocked faces as I make my way into the bathroom.
“What is on her collarbone? Do we need to get Ryder?” Gia hisses at Eve as I pass them, and my brand, which was an annoying throb but has now combusted into a raging inferno now that Gia’s mentioned it.
“I’ll explain la—”
“It’s my brand, Gia. Ryder branded me last night,” I call out as I use the toilet, only to be greeted with silence, followed by whispering.
As I wash my hands, I look in the mirror. The brand looks like a winged scab. I reach for the Neosporin and slather some on.
“Do you want coffee?” Gia yells.
I groan at the thought yet groan at not having it. “Give me a second. I feel terrible.” After splashing some water on my face, I wrap a towel around me, stopping when I see the look on their faces.
“Why are you both looking at me like I’m on suicide watch?”
“Because I’m racked with guilt.” Gia throws her arms around me. “I was late, and oh my God, are you okay?” She pulls back, her arms tight on mine.
“I am, and you need to be grateful you were late. One of the few times it worked in your favor.” I take a breath as the enormity of what Eve and I went through saturates me, like someone turned a hose on and cold water is waking me up.
I killed yesterday. I’m a murderer. My eyes dart to Eve, who must see that it’s only now dawning on me. She steps in and pulls Gia off me.
“Do I need to get Ryder?” She looks me in the eyes, and for a second I almost say yes, but I’m stronger than that. I did what had to be done. It was him or us.
I chose us.
“No, I’m fine. It kind of shocked me for a second.” I shake my head and follow her as she walks me to the bed, and I automatically sit.
“Yes.” Gia nods. “Julianna, you saved everyone, with a gun. I mean, you won’t even kill a spider.” She sits, her lips twitching, and the whole thing’s so surreal we both burst out laughing.
“It’s crazy, because I heard the shots and the screaming, and then I heard Ryder’s voice saying, ‘You never pull out this gun, unless you shoot to kill.’”
“Well, I’d be dead. We all would. You are officially a badass, and I’m your biggest fan.” Eve brushes the hair off my shoulder as she looks at my brand. “Go get dressed. We’re on lockdown, but we can at least have lunch by the pool.”
“Yeah, you have no idea how much begging I had to do to get in here. I’m hoping I can get out,” Gia says, crossing her legs.
Standing, I go to my dresser and grab a cute, matching lime-green underwear and bra set and turn to them.
“Dewey’s okay, right?” I toss the towel and get dressed.
“Yep. Went in and out. He was lucky it didn’t hit any organs.”
“And Dolly? The others? They’re okay?”
Eve nods and looks around the room. “Everyone is fine. Dolly’s resting, and Antoinette rolls with things. Charlie’s kind of pissed that Poet didn’t teach her to shoot a gun, but hey, we all are.” By the tone of her voice, she does not sound happy.
“So.” She shakes it off and smiles, as if that’s not something she wants to get into right now. “Ryder’s been in this room for a long time. Has he mentioned anything about getting a house?”
Jeez, I almost feel bad for Blade, knowing the way Eve is. Instead, I say, “No, he loves it here. I need to figure out what I’m going to do.” I walk into the closet and grab one of my hippie dresses—it has buttons all the way down, so it won’t bother my brand.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I need to get a job at some point.” I walk out, trying my best to shake off this exhaustion. When I swallow back a yawn, my eyes water.
“I have no idea what’s wrong with me. I feel like I need a nap, but I just got up.”
“Wait, what? Julianna, Ryder branded you. What kind of job are you thinking about getting? The Disciples take that brand seriously.” She stands up and goes over to me.
“I’m confused. Because he branded me, I can’t work?” I cock my head at Eve. That’s ridiculous, and I know Ryder doesn’t feel that way.
“No, you can work. But what exactly are you thinking about doing?” She watches me as I pull my thick hair up in a messy bun.
“I don’t know. Charities, volunteering, maybe I can get a building or house for a homeless shelter. I like to give back.” I return to the bathroom for some makeup. Did I brush my teeth yet?
“Julianna’s amazing, Eve. She ran like four different charities in New York, right?” Gia nods at me supportively.
I frown at her while I brush my teeth. Again, they are back to acting weird. I spit and rinse, then slather on some red lip gloss.
“Alright. Gia, what is wrong? Why are you both acting weird?”
She takes a breath. “Have you taken a pregnancy test, Julianna?”
I blink at her, then Eve, and start laughing. “I have an IUD.”
She nods but pulls out a pregnancy test from her purse. “You look pregnant.” She shoves the box at me.
“How would you know?” I hand it back to her and sigh at the hurt look on her face. That was kind of harsh, but my patience level isn’t great this morning.
“Gia, I’m tired. I kind of had a big day yesterday. I don’t know if you get the fact that this”—I motion to the whole room with my hands—“is not the real world. Things like rules don’t seem to apply to them. For fuck’s sake, I killed a man and there were zero cops,” I shout at her as she stares at me.
“You look pregnant,” Eve says flatly, ignoring my outburst. “And I’ve been pregnant twice. You’ve got the glow. Gia did fail to tell me you have an IUD, so you’re probably not.” She looks me up and down.
“Eve, you’re only saying that because you have an IUD,” Gia snaps, then turns to me holding the box.
“You got that IUD at eighteen. It’s over ten years old. Your gyno wanted to put a new one in two years ago. Now, go pee on the stick. I’m already feeling guilty we got drunk the other day, along with what went down yesterday… and now you’re yelling at me, and you never yell.”
I’m stunned, floored, really, because yes, my gynecologist has wanted to take it out and said it was old, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.
