Cage: Bleeding Aces MC Iowa, page 9
He keeps a hand pressed to the back of my head, holding me as tightly as possible without hurting me. I sob into his shirt, holding on as tightly as I can too.
“You’re okay now,” he says, pressing his lips to my hair. I shiver under his touch. I didn’t think he’d find me. I didn’t think he’d ever come. I thought Twitch had me hidden from the world, and no one would find me.
17
Cage
She’s covered in blood; thankfully, none of it was hers. There’s a strange feeling in my chest I can’t place as I lift her in my arms and carry her out of this house. Without Marsha's phone call, we would have never known where she was.
I walk to the van and climb in with her still in my arms. I don’t want to let her go. I want to hold her and know she’s safe. Yenni squirms in my lap and lifts her head to look at me.
“I can sit, you know?”
“You want me to let you go?” In my mind, I’m saying no, I’m not letting her go ever again, but then she shakes her head and lays her head back on my shoulder. The guys climb in, and we take off, leaving the dead for someone else to deal with. We’re lucky the neighbors didn’t hear the gunshots, but this isn’t the best side of town, so they’re probably used to it.
I keep Yenni tucked close to me as we ride through town. Once we reach the clubhouse, I climb out with her still in my arms. I walk past everyone, even those with questions, and move straight toward my room. Once we’re inside, I set her on her feet.
“I need to know what happened,” I tell her. She shakes her head. She isn’t going to open up and tell me. I should have known that, seen it coming. Yenni is one of those that will tell you when she’s ready and not before that.
I nod once and walk into the bathroom, starting the shower. I didn’t miss the position the asshole was in when we found her or the fact that he was naked. I know what was happening, and if I could have killed him all over again, I would have.
I check the water temperature when Yenni walks into the room. She slowly peels her clothes off and slips her skirt down her legs.
“Will you get in with me?” she asks softly. I know she needs this; she needs me right now. I wish I were better at comforting her, but I’m not. Nevertheless, I nod my head and strip out of my clothes before helping her into the shower. Then I climb in behind her, careful not to touch her. She washes and then turns to rinse herself, but I notice her scrubbing at her thighs a little more than usual. It makes me sick and angry to think about that asshole touching her. Why did he take her? Why did Marsha help her? I don’t understand any of it, and I won't until Yenni feels like talking.
I watch her from behind her when her body starts to shake. I reach up and rest my hand on her shoulder until she spins around and crashes her body against mine. She wraps her arms around my waist and buries her face in my chest as she sobs. And I do the one thing I can do. I hold her. I don’t know what to say to make this better. I can’t tell her I’d kill the motherfuckers who hurt her because they’re already dead. I still don’t know how that happened or who fired the shots.
Shaking my head, I know this isn’t about me, though. It’s about her. I need to keep myself together for her. When Yenni steps back, I run my fingers along her cheek.
“I’m listenin’ when you’re ready,” I tell her. She gives me a soft smile and nods her head.
“Let me have tonight.”
“I just need to know one thing, Yenni. Did Twitch have anything to do with this?” I see how she flinches, and that should be all I need, but it isn’t. I need to hear the words leave her lips. I need verbal confirmation he had something to do with her going missing.
“You can’t act right now.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you can’t act right now. Say you won’t act right now.” This makes no sense. If it was Twitch, I’ll kill him. No questions asked. I just need to know if it was.
“Okay. I won’t act right now.”
“Yeah, he took me. He was mad I wasn’t with him and was with you.”
“Did he … if he fuckin’ touched you,” I growl low in my throat.
“No more questions, Cage. Not tonight.” I nod, although inside, I’m crumbling. I’m fucking falling apart for this girl. And I don’t know what to do. I want to find Twitch and rip his fucking throat out. I want to shove the barrel of my gun down his throat and watch him eat my fucking bullets. I want to torture him, long and slow. There are so many things I want to do to him right now, but I told her I wouldn’t.
“What do you need tonight?”
“I need to sleep, and I need you to hold me,” she says, keeping her tone low. I nod and pull her out of the shower, wrapping her in a towel. I grab another and start drying her hair before working my way down her body before doing my own. I pull the other towel from her body when she's dry and lead her into the bedroom. I grab a T-shirt from the dresser and pull it over her head. Then I’m ushering her to the bed. Yenni takes no time climbing in and pulling the blankets up her chest. I grab a pair of shorts and pull them on before I climb in next to her. I don’t want to rush her, so I let her come to me. She does too. She scoots across the bed and snuggles into my side.
“I wanted to kill them,” she whispers.
“We will.”
“Okay,” she says softly. I wrap her in my arms and keep her as close to me as I can get her as I breathe in her scent. I’ve missed her. I’ve missed this.
“I fucked up.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I sent you away. I know that was a lie, that video.”
“It was old.”
“Figured that out a little too late,” I admit to her.
“I’m still mad at you for that, but I need you right now,” she tells me.
“I can live with that.” She sighs, and it doesn’t take long before her breathing evens out. Me? I don’t fall asleep. I stay awake, holding her, wondering if Twitch will show his fucking face around here. Wondering if I’ll be able to keep myself under control and not kill him. I think about the club and how this is going to affect everyone. But mostly, I think about her. Yenni. The girl who has somehow worked her way into my black heart. The girl who found her way into a soul I didn’t know I had.
I listen to her sleep, her light breathing, the way it fans across my chest. I never thought I’d care about anyone like I do her. I may not show it the way most men do, but it’s there. Those feelings.
“You can’t sleep,” she whispers, letting me know she’s awake.
“No.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yeah, you do.”
“I’m pissed off,” I tell her.
“Why?”
“If I didn’t love you, I’d be good right now.” The words come out so easily. Without effort, and that does something to me. My chest clenches. I don’t know if I should have told her that, but I need her to know what I feel.
“You what?”
“I love you, Yenni.” I feel the tears as they leak onto my chest, but I don’t say anything further. In fact, neither of us do.
We just lay like this for the rest of the night.
18
Yenni
I lay in his arms most of the night until I couldn’t stay still. I heard what he said. I heard his words, and they sunk deeper and deeper into my chest as I thought about them. He loves me. I never thought I’d love someone again, not after Scott. I do love Cage, though. I just couldn’t form the words to say it back, and I don’t think he was expecting me to.
He went to get breakfast and left me alone in the room. Tarek’s old lady has been by to check on me, and even Ginger has been by, which was unexpected. The one I worry about is Twitch. What’s going to happen when he shows up? What’s Cage going to do? What am I going to do?
I swallow the pills Cage left me for my headache as I sit up in the bed and shift until I’m against the headboard. The door opens, and my heart leaps a little until I see it’s Cage. He walks in with a bag of food and approaches me before setting it on the bed.
“I didn’t know what you wanted, so I got everything,” he says. I smile at his words.
“Thank you.” He grunts.
“Twitch isn’t answerin’ his phone,” he tells me. I didn’t figure he would. But I also heard what Marsha said. She didn’t tell them about Twitch. I assume he knows that I would, though.
“He took me because he wanted me. He had me chained to the bed. He used Marsha and Scott. He threatened Scott. Marsha went along with most of it because she wanted Twitch.”
“What the hell? Who is Scott?”
“My ex. He was abusive toward the end of our relationship. He was a drunk, and then he’d get angry,” I tell him.
“Fuck me. I didn’t know that.”
“Twitch forced him to rape me.”
“I’m gonna kill him, Yenni. He’s a dead man.”
“I know,” I whisper as he sits next to me.
“I’m not good at this comfortin’ shit. I don’t know how to be here for you,” he admits.
“You’re doing fine. I’ll be fine,” I tell him.
“Will you? He’s still out there, Yenni. He’s capable of anything,” he adds.
“I’ll kill him myself if he comes near me,” I reply truthfully.
“I’m puttin’ someone on you when you go back to work,” he says. My heart swells. I’m glad he’s doing all this, and it means a lot to me, even if he doesn’t see it. He’s comforting me in more ways than he knows.
“Thank you.”
“I know I dropped a bomb on you last night,” he says, scooting closer to me.
“It was a shock.”
“I just needed to say it. I don’t expect to hear the words back from you. Hell, I didn’t even know that’s what I was feelin’ for you until you were gone.”
“You put a gun to my head,” I remind him. That angers me, and I turn my head to look at him, but all he does is nod.
“I’m not gonna say sorry. If that video was real-”
“It was old.”
“Still not sayin’ sorry. I reacted to what I saw,” he says calmly. I should hate him for the way he talked to me that day, for what he did to me but deep down, I don’t. Am I angry? Yeah, I am.
“I’m still mad at you,” I remind him.
“Fair enough.” He shoves off the bed and walks to the door, leaving me alone with the food he brought. I dig through the bag and pull out a biscuit when the door opens, and Tarek sticks his head in before shoving it all the way open.
“You decent?” I pull the sheet up a little to cover my chest.
“Yeah,” I tell him. He strolls over and sits in the corner of the room on a chair that faces the bed.
“He’s a mess,” he tells me.
“I know.”
“He wants blood.”
“So do I.”
“You plan on gettin’ it?” he asks. I shrug.
“If it comes down to it,” I reply. Tarek nods his head.
“Good. I don’t know if Cage wants you havin’ this just yet, but I think it’s wise.” He stands from the chair and walks toward the bed before setting a gun on the nightstand.
“What’s this for?”
“Protection. Twitch caught you off guard once, yeah?” I hate even thinking that he caught me so vulnerable. It was my fault for drinking as much as I did. I should have known better, but I didn’t. Instead, I was too fucked up to fight him back.
“Cage isn’t going to like that,” I warn him, nodding toward the gun.
“He planned on givin’ you one anyway. I might as well do it now,” he explains.
“Thanks for that.” Tarek nods.
“You need anything? I know Cage isn’t the easiest person to deal with right now. I’m sure he’s also closed off, but that’s just who he is. He doesn’t do well in situations like this,” he tells me. I already know that. I’ve seen it firsthand.
“I’ll be fine. I’m just going to eat, and then I’ll be out there.” I nod toward the door. Tarek nods before heading for the door. I watch him leave and close the door behind him. I wonder what Cage would say if he knew he was in here giving me that gun. I bet he’d lose his shit.
I eat my biscuit, but my stomach keeps protesting the food, so I give up. I’d rather have a little something in me than nothing at all. My nerves are still shaken from everything that happened. I can’t get the smell of blood out of my nose or stop seeing Scott’s face as he fell forward onto me. I feel like I’m stuck in a twilight zone, which is repeated in my head. Shaking the thoughts away, I shove out of bed and walk to the closet to find some clothes I’d left here.
Once dressed and my hair piled on my head, I head into the main room. I get stares and looks from the guys, but the girls just smile my way like nothing ever happened. Maybe the guys didn’t share what happened with them.
Ignoring the stares, I walk to the bar, climb up on the stool, and sit. One of the girls offers me a beer, but I nod toward the good shit. She smiles and pours me two shots, setting them before me. I take one down just as the door opens, and my stomach drops.
Twitch walks in like he owns the fucking place. His eyes meet mine before sweeping right past me. Bile burns the back of my throat as I watch him saunter into the room. Everyone’s head turns to watch him. He has to know that they’re all staring at him.
“Go back to Cage’s room,” Knight growls next to me. I shake my head. No, I won’t hide in the damn room from him. I won’t give him that satisfaction. Instead, I jump off the stool and walk toward him, holding my head high.
“I’m going to kill you,” I tell him without blinking.
“You’re gonna go sit the fuck down before I bend you over and take you right here in front of everyone,” he says calmly. That’s when I lose it, screaming at the top of my lungs and lunging at him. I leap onto his front, hitting, kicking, punching, and slapping. I do whatever I can do to him, and he doesn’t make a move to touch me. It pisses me off. I want him to react, but he isn’t. I want him to snap, but he doesn’t.
Then I’m ripped away from him as I scream louder. That’s when I see Cage with his gun trained on Twitch’s face.
“It’s my kill!” I scream louder. Cage just shrugs his shoulders and keeps staring Twitch in the eye.
“This how it’s gonna end? Over a piece of ass?”
“No, not over a piece of ass. Over my old lady,” Cage tells him. A few guys gasp, but there’s mostly silence. I know enough to know what that means. He’s claiming me again. Right here in front of everyone, including Twitch. That means I’ll never get away from him or what he’s about to do.
“Your old lady was a good piece of ass,” Twitch taunts.
“Why’d you come back? You had to know I’d kill you.”
“I don’t know why I came back. I suppose if I’m gonna die, I’m goin’ out with my brothers at my back,” he replies causally.
“Your brothers? They aren’t your brothers, Twitch. You ruined that. You took what didn’t belong to you,” Cage reminds him. Twitch doesn’t look afraid or even a little on edge. Then I hear it. Guns are being pulled and cocked. My heart nearly leaps out of my chest when I glance behind me and see all the guns out.
“Look at that. My brother’s.”
“Traitors. That’s what they are. They’re not brothers, never were if they could do this,” Cage tells him. Twitch reaches up and takes the gun from Cage’s hand as my hands shake. I don’t know why Cage is letting him. I don’t know what he’s thinking. My nerves are on edge. I can’t think straight.
“You’re makin’ a big mistake,” Cage tells him. Twitch smirks and aims the same gun at Cage’s head. Now my heart is frantic in my chest. I slip my hand behind me and pull the gun from the back of my jeans, which I grabbed from the nightstand before I left the room earlier. I aim it straight at Twitch’s head too. His head slowly turns in my direction, which was his first mistake. However, the sick smile on his face causes my hand to shake.
“What are you doin’ with that? Did you tell Cage how good I tasted you? How you were so fuckin’ wet for Scott and me?” I know what he’s doing, and it isn’t going to work. He isn’t going to make me falter right now. I won’t let him.
Things happen quickly. There’s noise, chaos, and gunshots. I pull the trigger, not looking where the bullet goes, when the gun is snatched from my hand. Everything is blurry, and I don’t know who took the gun. I’m shoved to the ground and fall to my knees before being forced flat on my stomach. I can feel bodies on either side of me, and I panic.
After minutes of screaming and shots, I’m finally jerked to my feet. Ridge has one arm, and Knight has the other. Then I glance over and see Cage with his arm around Twitch’s neck and the gun aimed at the side of his head.
“This is how it ends,” Cage says. He chokes Twitch, who’s bleeding from his stomach until he drops to his knees. I start to step toward them when Knight pulls me back, shaking his head.
I watch Cage as he steps in front of Twitch, pressing the gun into his mouth. I know there’s no stopping this. No stopping him. He’s going to kill him right here and now.
“You ready?” he asks Twitch. I don’t understand why he’s asking him, but then Twitch’s eyes move to mine, and I shiver. A sick grin tugs across his face just as Cage pulls the trigger. I watch in horror as blood sprays the walls behind him, and then his body slumps over. Then there’s silence. So much silence I can’t stand it. I shake Knight’s hand off me, and I run. I run toward the door and outside. I keep running until my lungs burn and my legs ache.
I have my keys in my pocket, and I run all the way to my shop, my safe place. I see the notes on the door, but I ignore them as I unlock it and hurry inside before relocking it.
I run to the back of the shop before I drop to my knees, trying to catch my breath. This can’t be happening. Any of this. It just can’t be.
