《Zero and Beauty's Breath (A Satan Sniper's Motorcycle Club Series Book 3 - 4)》 Chapter 1: Book 3: Zero Chapter 1: Book 3: Zero Zero Beauty and I, the Beast Once upon a time I met a girl, I loved her with everything in me. My love was something that happened so sudden, like a real fairy tale. She was my beauty and I, her beast. When she stared in my eyes I was lost in her ck soulless depths, forgetting the soul I didn''t see. When Beauty looked into my HEART I saw the future in her cold hard stare. Her body was my glory, I ignored the weapon it showed me. I was obsessed in the slope of her curves, the movement of her hips as she put one foot in front of the other. Her touch blinded me. When Beauty touched me she awoke the beast, called to the killer and hummed to the sniper, until she was where my heaven began and my demons ended. I remember the day when just a glimpse of her gutted me in the chest. Beauty was where my madness sang and in less than a month I was hers. My pops once told me that every man has his falling point. Every brother has a day to mourn. I thought I mourned when I put my club brothers to rest in the ground after our second tour. I convinced myself I mourned when I lost the woman I almost called my wife after she chose a needle over my vow and overdosed on crack. FUCK, I thought I mourned when I almost lost my blood brother, but nothing takes the stakes like it does now. Nothing betterpares to mourning than the agony I feel at the betrayal of the one person I gave myself to. The woman who made sense of my madness. ¡°How could you!!¡± I scream in to the nothingness of cold stagnant air. A foolish man looking for foolish answers, hoping to hear a voice I would never hear again. Once upon a time I met a girl, I loved her with everything in me. My love was something that happened so sudden, like a real fairy tale, she was my beauty and I, her beast. But Beauty had a secret, another life, and in the end she betrayed me, and chose him. There is no description to the betrayal I feel, to the hollowness I endure. Darkness, once just an entity, now my home. This ckness, here is where I see her- on the hillside looking over the water. I still feel her essence, still taste it on my tongue in the air. And if I really stop and stare at the darkened water I see the silhouette of her body that I once convinced myself was shaped just for me. The taste of the burn down my throat brings the numbness I force upon myself from bottoming a bottle of shitty whiskey. This is my coping mechanism. ¡°BEAUTY,¡± I yell from the top of the hill. ¡°BEAUTY.¡± I keep thinking, like a foolish man, in love with a foolish thought of a girl that was all fake, that she will slip out of the water like a siren. And like all fairy-tales she will have the craziest story to tell me, exining why she betrayed me, the reasons she used me. Why she chose him over me. Time goes, as it always will- passing and stealing my darkness which is now my home. It fools us with the sun, its light. I hate this time- morning, sunrise; because then reality sinks in. There is no more pretending that she is here. I can''t convince my eyes, the reflection of the moon is her shelter. No, I am forced to remember ourst night together. I am reminded of who she is- A trained killer, a wanted fugitive who used me to kill my brother. She, the girl who yed me. ¡°Zero, it''s time to go brother.¡± I feel Knight''s right arm slip under my left side as the sun brightens my small reprieve. I should expect him by now. It has been two weeks since Beauty left. Fourteen nights of sitting on this hill, drowning my sorrows, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Fourteen mornings since Knight has picked my drunken ass off this hill and taken me back inside, to what was once my home, now just my own personal hellish reminder of her. He gets me up. My bare feet and stiff legs protesting from finally changing position. ¡°I keep saying I ain''t no kid and still you keepin'',¡± I gripe at him as we begin the slow walk back to the four story face brick building we call our clubhouse. Most of my weight is shamelessly on the brother. Truth is, I would probably be rolling down this hill if it weren''t for him. ¡°And I keep saying that you need to cool it with the booze, if you were a kid I would have belted your ass the first time and made sure you listened.¡± I snort at the idea of Knight belting my ass. Tightening my arm that''s gripping his neck, I say, ¡°You won''t even kill a bee, how the fuck are you gonna belt a kid.¡± ¡°That''s because the bee is innocent, just minding its own business, a naughty kid is minding everybody else''s,¡± He points out as we continue our trek back down. ¡°You need help man,¡± I shake my head as I voice out the obvious. Knight''s way of thinking should really be evaluated. ¡°As long as my name is not Killer or Texas I think I''m good, are we going to the kitchen or straight to the shower.¡± ¡°I could do with a meal,¡± I tell him, and we change direction toward the back door, where the kitchen is Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. located. ¡°Left overs or eggs?¡± Knight asks me as he pushes the kitchen door. And it feels like a sucker punch to the gut as I enter this kitchen. It brings back memories of Beauty scrubbing the floor, her body shaking on the ground from her terrors. I should call her Beggar now as morninges, as reality washes over my clouded fog, because that was her name she chose, Beggar. When I met her that was exactly what she was, a woman who lived on the streets. Maybe that is why I convinced myself that she wasn''t a danger. Maybe it is the reason I let my guard down. The door separating the dining area from the kitchen swings open. The big beef of a man named River, with slight leathery skin from riding the hard way through life, stares at Knight and me with his wide awake deep, yet fucking light blue eyes that says more than he probably would. Chapter 3 (Beggar) Chapter 3 (Beggar) My story has never been my own, it always belonged to somebody else, another person ying front and center. Me- Always the passer-by. Not many people know my story. Most have never asked. I mean why should they? I am just the beggar on the street. I''m the skinny dirty girl, way too skinny. ''She must be a drug addict'', most people say, ''a whore''. How many of them actually considered the truth, I was hungry. How many stopped and rolled down their automated windows and actually gave me that fifty cents, or dor? Not many. Because how could I possibly be hungry. People see me as the drug addict whore they want to see me as. None of them stop and consider that I was a kid at one time, born from a mother, innocent and clean just like them. Naked just like them. No, because the world judges. We are categorized to fit people''s naive minds. And I, the skinny hungry girl am categorized as the whore, the drug addict and all the other sick shit that people think up and point at me. Telling their kids about how these street junkies get by, scaring them with lies to justify the evilness of their own mind. That is what people see when they look at me, Beggar. Well, at least they did. Months ago, I met a group of bikers. They called themselves Satan Snipers. I saved their princess Falon by killing two guys who wanted to rape her. Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. The Enforcer of the club, Zero, took me with them that night. My life changed FROM that very first night. I had a hot shower, my own bedroom, and three full meals a day. Life was great. Storm, the Vice President and I became fast friends. Knight, Spade and Snake were my teachers. They taught me to fight, allowed me the opportunity to be like them. Guess they didn''t know I was already a deadly weapon. A wanted killer with a few targets on my back and a bounty on my head that was sorge, sometimes it had me asking why couldn''t I just hand myself in. But life never worked that way for me, even death was too easy these days. Killer, the one in the Satan Sniper''s Clubhouse that saw me for who I was from the very day- A woman without a soul, never batted an eysh of who I was. He became something in my life, something that had questioning shit I didn''t want to be questioning. And Zero, the scarred scary Enforcer of the Satan Sniper''s Motorcycle Club, was the man who owned thest piece of me. He took that final piece of humanity I had in me, I never stood a chance. Zero made my demons livable with words I knew he could never keep. He was the one who forced air into my lungs when I forgot to breathe. He held me when just a touch proved too close to hell. Zero taught me life, something I forgot I still had, and for that short while I pretended I could be his. Now he hates me, for good reason, that I can''t fault him. He thinks I knew his brother was his brother. He thinks I used him to kill his brother, Thorn. Zero believes that I will kill his brother. And while most of what he thinks is wrong, the most important part of that is the truth- I will kill Thorn. Not because I am the sick killer The Satan Sniper''s Motorcycle Club probably think I am, but because I don''t have a choice. I have to do it for her. There are days when I think about them all- The Satan Snipers. They opened their home for me, took me in, trained me. For a while I was as happy as I could be. Things seemed better. Way better. So much so that I forgot my monster who haunted me wasn''t just a monster but a man who would stop at nothing to get his possession back-Me. He wasn''t just my monster, he was also my husband and the Boss of the Outfit. A man willing to do whatever it took to get me back and he did. He kidnapped two of The Satan Sniper''s women. I knew what he would do to them and he knew I knew. I couldn''t let that happen. My intention was to leave the Clubhouse quietly but that didn''t turn out as well as I wanted. But when does anything turn out the way I want- never. So I traded myself with the women and gave myself to the familiar monster I knew. My husband, La Sanati. ¡°Amariya,¡± The scream bellows through the long stretch of trees. A familiar voice, sending familiar chills down my body. There was a time, not many years ago when my name on his lips made me blush, and my belly flutter. Now it serves as a reminder of how cunning a demon is. A voice made to seduce a woman, a face sculpted to obsess her and a ck soul made to frighten her. ¡°Where the fuck are you?¡± He yells again, and the three guards stationed to watch me like the dog he has now made me SCREAM, ¡°Here, boss.¡± Like the puppies they are they shrink away. Laes through the rows of trees, THEN stands there, a few feet too near with his hands on his waist. His cuff links gone from his crisp white shirt. The fabric, now rolled up to reveal his hairy arms. His deep oliveplexion glows under the DC sun as brown hazel eyes I once looked at like it held all the answers to my problems stare at me. Over these past months, I notice he does that a lot- stares, I hate it. More when I have no option but to look right back at him. ¡°It''s time to leave!¡± His words say one thing, but his sharp angr face conveys something darker, a sinister promise of a sinning man to his defiant wife. I know exactly what he wants to do to me right now for sitting outside. Defying his orders to stay with him at his fucking human trafficking party. The one good thing was that I was back in Washington. Closer to a lot more than I was in New Orleans. I touch the shock cor on my neck- A reminder that the blue silk dress wrapped around my body and fancy silver shoes attached to my feet is just a bluff- A lie. Before now, he has kept me in a bedroom- Naked. The shock cor around my neck is just one of the things he has used over and over again, torturing me with attempts to get me to reveal to him a truth. That truth is neither here nor there. A truth I refuse to even think about. The honest story about her, my daughter, his only child- does she live or not, that is a tricky question. Chapter 4 (Beggar) Chapter 4 (Beggar) Our child that I keep telling him didn''t survive, a truth, a lie. It wasn''t that way initially. First he tried charm, and I admit that I considered falling for it and giving in. But my survival instincts wouldn''t let me be so stupid to think he of all people had an ounce of empathy in his body. It didn''t take him long to get fed up with my bullshit, because that is exactly what it was ''bullshit''. I took pride a few weeks after, in stabbing him in his sleep with a nail file he so eagerly handed me to clean my nails with. That led to me finally getting cord. After that it was a few attempts here and there in the past months that eventually got me from living in a fully furnished room with a warm bed, sleeping next to my monster, to an empty room, naked and cold just like a stray dog. La insists every night, it is my fault. He has convinced himself that he is teaching me a lesson and eventually one day I would smile and look back on this time as a small wrinkle in our story. That just tells me how fucked up he is, because I rather live in an empty room, sleeping on a cold floor. Not only am I away from him for those hours but it reminds me everyday of why I keep my silence. It reminds me that I need to live to finish what I have started. An unfamiliarfort is a worse torture than the familiar struggle I face. ¡°Amariya, vieni, e ora di andare a casa,¡± Amariya,e, it is time to go home. I should argue with my husband, that is what normal married people do, but I don''t. Our marriage is not normal. La Sanati is the sworn enemy of the blood that runs through my veins. It is why he turned around and showed me who he really was all those years ago while he pretended to love me. I once hated my family, the blood that was my own for this very reason. Now I am d for it, because I see him, I don''t see the potential of what he could be. I should make a scene now, it is what a kidnapped woman would do. But I am not kidnapped, I am a prisoner, a willing one. This is my life. I had years running from this man, and months loving him. I know La. The best thing I can do is bide my time. His men that raped me are now all dead except three. He hunts them down, a way to try and redeem himself for leaving me naked in a ditch, to the onught of his fucked up men, that im to be made. But a made man has honor, his men have none. La doesn''t realize, he is worst than them. Torture, rape it is all the same. He raped me too, iming I was his, and I lived with it because I never had anyone show me another way. It became my living hell. La knew who I was and he still made me love him, showing me a side to him that he knew a homeless beggar like myself wouldn''t even dream of. Someone who cared. I was fooled by the few nights I had in his bed where he showed me gentle. My mind believed he was my savior, and my body believed he was my owner. Only he wasn''t. La was my rapist, my tormentor, and my abuser. The worst of them all, because even knowing all that, I still loved him. When I told him so, he spat on me, and choked me, screaming andughing as he repeated, Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. ¡°SCREAM BEGGAR, YOU FILTHY DIRTY BEGGAR I SAID SCREAM.¡± Then he fucked me and threw me in a pit where he left me. I screamed and screamed until his men came. Now he barely touches me, besides for the asional knuckles on my cheek, which is still too much contact. I say nothing to his touch, not wanting to push him. He is so close to snapping. But as long as his men stay away from me, I see it as a win. Though, a few nights back he mentioned that ''skin privileges'' as he calls it will be shared as soon as ''the biker'' is dead. He means Zero. I know his reason is all bullshit and that there is more to his reason. And I fear when that reason loses its appeal as everything else does. I get up and go toward him, drop my eyes as he would want, and wait for the other six guards that are supposed to be hidden. I saw them long before I sat down on this cemented seat watching the waterfall. ¡°Still not talking I see, don''t worry il mio sudicio mendican''te, soon I will have you screaming,¡± La whispers close to my ear as the guards surround us. And it is now my body shuts down. My thoughts of the idea of normalcy I once got to have with The Satan Snipers gone from my mind. The walk to the Royals Royce La always goes on about is silent as the words in my mind. We drive back to my prison which is his home. The bright yellow monstrosity of a house is almost as grand as the white house I''d managed to see from the road a few times too many, promises happiness and a family environment. It is as fake and misleading as its owner. The white three meter high electric gates open up as the four guards stationed to the front walk to the side allowing us entrance. Their ck suits and machine guns make me sick to my stomach. They remind me of the man next to me. Fake, a fraudster, mobster and my own personal monster. La''s phone rings just as one of the guards opens my door and waits for me to get out. I head toward the double white doors as the housekeeper, Magdine opens them. She is a thirty-five- year-old woman. Married to one of La''s soldiers. I say she is fucking lucky to be in this house and not raped or harmed continuously like the few women I have seen in this ce. She shows me pity as she looks at my cor before dropping her blue sullen eyes to the floor. La doesn''t like anyone staring at me. Her husband once backhanded her when she first did it. It was a reminder that nobody in the outfit is safe. Not even a fucking wife. The navy-colored tiles that closely match her eyes and beige walls go well together. The Sanati Pce is designed to attract even a dulled eye like my own with its sculptured art adorning the walls. Rich red fancy furniture that is handcrafted and shaped in designs I have never seen until I got here are ced everywhere. I don''t waste a second longer staring at the decor that is designed as an advert for hell. Knowing if La found me downstairs it would only anger him, I rush up the stairs to my room. If there is one thing that I know about La is to cate him is to be obedient. And until three weeks ago when myst attempt at killing him went to shit that is what I have done. I don''t hope for anything, I wait for the window, that split second when I know I have a good chance of killing him and escaping. It is how I hunted all my previous kills, except La isn''t just any one, and I know if I am not careful I could very well die here before I got the chance to kill him. Once I''m in the room, I strip out of these clothes. La calls it the white room. As everything including the tiles are all white. There is no bed to sleep on, I am forced to take the cold floor. In the corner where there is a dog nket and small pillow. There is no mirror or headboard, nothing in this room besides a gray t-shirt Magdine snuck in for me and a jeans that are two sizes too big she stashed in the bathrooms venttor that La broke out of anger a month after I got here. It was the day he stabbed me three times in my thighs with the same tin opener I stabbed his arm with. One of those wounds are just centimeters from my cunt. It was the day I lost it. The day I told him I hated him, how I slept with Zero. I said a lot of things that day. It was my daughter''s birthday. A daughter I would never hold, or see because of him. I once told him that she didn''t even have a chance, I wasn''t lying, my daughter never stood a chance the day she was born. Her life was over, before it ever really began. It was a good thing when he broke the venttor, because for the past few months Magdine has snuck me other stuff, like knives, two grenades and a rope. The woman was no fool. She knew the risk of helping me, but didn''t care. She was one of the few people that made me believe that maybe the world wasn''t that fucked up after all. I walk to the bathroom, put on the plugin, and fill the bath. The one good thing was that I had hot water and a bathtub. He didn''t keep that from me. My eyes shoot right to the camera knowing one of his sick men are probably watching me right now. I don''t feel shame, that was raped and beaten out of me years ago. La knows that and he uses it. After my bath, I dry with the small hand towel and walk toward my small corner where I sit- knees to my chest, hair falling over my face, hands-on my toes. Head to my knees but it doesn''t touch, it mustn''t. And then I begin the wait and with it, my mind wanders to the past. The day I met La, the day I fell in love with my monster. Chapter 5 (Beggar) Chapter 5 (Beggar) 6 Years Ago The streets of Washington are silent right now, colder than the few nights when I was stuck sleeping at the river. I hate sleeping at that fucking ce. Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. My feet are paining as I walk down toward the club this whore Patricia sent me to. Bitch better not be wasting my time. I just turned sixteen with no education, no damn job. I''m living on the streets with no warm clothes, no food, fuck, I don''t even know when is thest time I brushed my teeth before today. The mechanism should be foreign to me by now. It would if I didn''t go to school when I was younger, made it to the sixth grade before life turned fucked up and my mother died of cancer. At twelve I was thrown in the system like the nobody''s kid I became. I told the social worker I didn''t want to go, but what other choice did I have- none, that was what they thought. I shut my mouth and took the burned hand I was dealt and stuck it out for a few weeks. Got stuck with a group of the meanest kids I have ever known. I thought the grubby ones at school were bad. J, who was my social worker at the time, an African American woman who probably ate for three every day proved that wrong the day she took me to that house. Except for Ally, poor kid, I sometimes wonder how she''s doing, where she ended. The other kids in the house were a bunch of fucked up teenagers. Luke was already selling pot. Gill was expelled at just thirteen for stabbing his teacher in his hand, but even they were fucking angelspared to the foster father, David Fucking Dale. Asshole took from me, he raped me on the kitchen counter. I took a tin opener and sliced his throat. It was a good feeling as I left the fucker bleeding on the ground. And then I ran, I didn''t stop running until I was in a bathroom at the train station. Took me back to the streets and here I am, sixteen, still a beggar. No dreams, no ns, just going with what life has thrown to me. Well maybe not too bad, I have started the infamous job hunting. Been all over town thesest few weeks, looking in every ce I can find. Nobody is hiring. Apparently, I need a house address so I used one from the nicer parts of Washington hoping that would change their minds. Patricia told me about this gig at this club called Bulls-Eye, so here I am walking neen blocks. No food in my stomach, no water to help with my thirst. My armpits are already sweaty even in the cold. At least I had a river bath, which was the best I could get. No way was I walking to the station like most homeless folks around here do. I have bad memories of stations. Bad memories of a lot of ces. Never-mind the river water was fucking freezing, and I got frostbite on my ass. Never-mind that the old man sleeping under the bridge saw me naked. There is a sense of peace in the darkness, a relief. My mother hated it, then again my mother hated just about everything. Never saw her smile unless it was one of those forced ones she saved for the people who gave her a dor. It is another fuck load of time gone and hunger pangs striking in that familiar way I am used to as I see the sign- Bulls-Eye. It is an upper ss fancy strip joint. As I get closer I see the rich men in their three piece fancy suits walk in. I don''t need to be educated to know that those men are bad people. It''s not the first time I have seen their kind. My father is one of them. I was much younger when I hunted him down, it was the first time I saw him. And I hope not to see him again. I walk to the guard at the door, the Italian bald-headed man is tall and broody. It''s a long wait for my turn in the line and I hand him my ID card. ¡°Hi, I''m here for a job,¡± I say in a loud clear voice. He looks down at my card and then at me. The man stares a little too long at my old navy Sneakers that are riddled in holes. ¡°It says you''re sixteen, we don''t hire kids,e back when you''re older.¡± ¡°What,¡± I yell, pissed off when he shoves my ID card at me and calls next. ¡°Kid get the fuck out of here, this is no ce for kids.¡± ¡°Patricia sent me here, I used all my money up getting this stupid ID toe here for a job.¡± ¡°Excuse me,¡± A soft masculine voice sounds from right behind me and I turn around to tell him to fuck off. I am caught with my tongue in my mouth as I catch the smiling face in my line of sight. His hair is trimmed short, his face is so clean, his skin glows. I open my mouth and close it. Thoughts of saying anything, muted as I stare awestruck at this beauty of a man. ¡°Hello, So what is a beautiful girl like you doing in this shit hole,¡± his wordse easy, he is smiling, smiling at me. It is like my world is no longer existent. ¡°Ah, I.. I... A... came for a job,¡± I drop my gaze as I speak to him. My shy voice muttering and stumbling matching the inner emotions I feel right now, with this man in front of me. ¡°Do you have a name?¡± He asks, and for some reason, I look into his hazel eyes as I answer, ¡°Amariya.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you Amariya, you are Italian, beautiful, my names, La Sanati.¡± Chapter 6 (Beggar) Chapter 6 (Beggar) Present The sound of the bedroom door opening pulls me out of my mind. There is no need for me to look up as I already know who is here. Even if I didn''t recognize the sound of his shoes as he walks toward me. I never could, but now I would know. Not from the scent in the air of his cologne but from the evil aura of death that clings to him like a second shadow, a silent man, for a silent monster, the evilest of its kind. ¡°Already waiting for your punishment. Very good, but today I don''t have time. I need to leave in ten minutes so let''s make this quick, shall we, stand up and face the window.¡± This is the La I know, this is the man who married me by force with a gun to my head, who left me in a ditch naked so his men could rape me and torture me with fire and metal rods. This is the man who lives in my hell. My very own demon. Obedient, I do as he says. I don''t flinch as I once did when I hear him slide his belt out of the hoops of his pants. My back does not arch as he grazes my spine with the buckle. I shut my eyes, focus on the colors I see mixed between the ckness and open my mouth as the first This is my monster, my familiar evil. He is the reason why I couldn''t be the girl for Zero or any man. Why I call myself Beggar. La Sanati is the reason why I chose the streets over my family, Why I would never hold my daughter. The buckle of the belt hits my shoulders, my spine, my hip bone, over and over again. It doesn''t stop. There is no words as he belts me. I keep my silence in this empty room, but my mind is screaming. My body is howling for this to stop. Saying that one gets used to this is a lie. No one gets ustomed to this type of torture, not even a filthy beggar like me. We just learn to bury it deep within us, remember to breathe through it, and understand that it is what it is- A fucked up part of life. The blood drips and like he said I scream, but not to him, to myself. It is what it is. My beating feels like forever, ongoing from day till night. Yet, I know only ten minutes have passed when his rm goes off and it is his time to leave. I remain stationed as he said, he hasn''t given me permission to do anything else. ¡°Your food will be here in twenty, make sure you are bathed by then.¡± He walks out and the m of the door drops my shoulders, allowing me to feel, even if it is the physical kind. When ites, it is only then I crumble. My back bleeds, my shoulder des further damaged by the times they have caught the end of his buckles. But rather me than someone else. I had six years to ept my monster, yet it took me a few weeks to forget that I could never be freed from him. One man, with a scar under his eye, helped me believe that even if it was just a temporary relief of the cold hard truth that is my life. Physically, I would have to do it myself, the only way to remove myself from La would be if one of us is dead. ''I said scream Beggar, scream, you filthy dirty beggar, SCREEEAM'' The door bangs open again and I jerk from my thoughts ready to do damage to anyone who walks in. Only it is Magdine and her eyes are frantic as she rushes to me. ¡°You have to leave now Mia, La has left with Marone, this is your chance, you won''t get another one, pleasee.¡± She starts pulling me up from my crumpled position. If I had some humanity left in me one could say she was a witness to my fall. Magdine flinches, noticing the blood that drips on the floor in stter. But I got to give her credit when she grips my upper arm and still helps me get up. ¡°Thank you,¡± I croak, even a filthy worthless beggar like me knows some manners. My voice though, ain''t going to get better than what it was this afternoon when Ist spoke to her. The steps I take are dodgy, my back throbs from the beating it took just a while ago like I have five different heartbeats at the same time. I don''t bath as I normally do after my whipping. Instead, I sit silently and allow Magdine to clean my wounds on my back with a face cloth. The gray t-shirt and jeans are a mission to get on. My mind is nk in this damp scented bathroom. I can''t think even if I wanted to. My head feels empty.N?velDrama.Org content. Chapter 7 (Beggar) Chapter 7 (Beggar) She hands me my fake ID, a wad of cash and a ck kids size backpack with the grenades inside. ¡°The address you wanted is on this piece of paper. Memorize it if you can. I am going to trip the lights in ten minutes you would have at least five to get out of here. Good luck Mia.¡± I nod, take the thick heavy rope and begin tying it around the window. My climb down is uneventful apart from my throbbing back and burning hands. The night sky is alight with stars flickering across as the lights around the house get cut off. The air is cold and green with the amount of trees in the garden, I can smell the familiar smell of the outdoors. I hear the sounds of footfalls. It is my cue and I take it. I sneak around the small hedge trees as I spot two of the guards in the front of me armed to the knees in weapons. My back is burning as I feel some of the blood drip down my left side, over my waist. When the men rush past me I keep my knees down and run to the other tree. I am still a long way from the gate and three guards left to fight before I make it out of here tonight. Taking a long breath, I touch my jeans pocket with the money and ID to make sure it is safe. The lightse on and I get the grenades out of the backpack, before throwing the empty bag on the ground. I pull the clips from the first grenade and then I run, my legs feel like they are taking twice my size because of the pain I am in. There is no way to prevent the men from seeing me now. Only their deaths can save me. The second grenade is thrown next as the bullets go through the air, and I reach the code panel for the gates. I puncture the code for the gate and scream as a fist goes into my back. The guard grabs my hair and I kick the side of his knee joint as hard as I can, something Spade taught me in one of our lessons. The guy screams, as his bullet gets me in the stomach. I am taken a few steps back as my stomach caves in with impact. At first, it is burning pain, then it is a numb ache that spreads, and hot, it is extremely hot. He punches me once in my cor bone and the other in my face. I hit his nose with my palm and grab the de strapped to his thigh. The de now in my hand goes straight for the killing spot in his neck. He drops down and I run to the code panel and key in the digits again as fast as I can. The rms blur through the house. Men start running toward me at full speed. One tackles me to the ground, he stabs me in my ribs, and punches me over and over in the face that I am not sure how I do it when I slice his neck. I get up and fling a knife at the other one and he falls. Grabbing the nearest gun, I let fire loose. My vision gets fuzzy as my head throbs, my eyes swelling fast. Gunshots rain through the air, my ears ringing from the sounds. I manage to get most of them until I hear the sirens. The sound of cops approaching is Magdine''s doing and my chance to run which I do. And as suspected the men fall back. Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. I duck around trees and houses, my lungs feeling heavy. My body is forcing me to slow down but I don''t stop, even though I should. Finally, I slow down a good distance away from the Sanati Pce, there is no choice, I am weak. I know I am shot a few times, my head is probably bleeding, my face is definitely swelling up. Where I was stabbed is bleeding, my ribs on my right feel sensitive and throb like a beating heart, but the fact that I am still breathing is good news. I hail a cab, the guy flinches at my movements and clothes but quickly changes when I hand him a few hundred and the piece of paper. ¡°Take me there,¡± I croak. Days before I left The Satan Snipers, Killer told me that if I ever needed a ce to go, go here. I look down to the blood on my body. The ride is long, the cab driver is talking but I just know I am saying no, telling him to go. Everything is a blur after that. I gag a few times on the ride. When I get to the address the driver opens my door and says something but I stumble out and crawl. Like most people he does help me a bit. He leaves me on the pavement in front of these big gates and presses the inte then he is gone. I grip the gates and pull myself up just as it opens, then I fall down again. It feels like I am going to die, but I can''t. I made it this far, I can''t die. Not yet anyway. After a couple of minutes the gates close and I use it to pull myself toward the inte that I press again. ¡°Who''s there?¡± The Southern twanges through sounding familiar yet different. I met this girl twice and she offered me help. Once I thought she was just another false rich barbie but she was anything but. When Killer told me toe here if I needed a ce I knew I would eventually. I groan as the pain in my stomach gets unbearable, not sure if I am shot in my leg too, it could be it aches so bad. ¡°Who ever the fuck you are don''t waste my time.¡± ¡°Help me.¡± I manage to say before my legs copse. I am bleeding out, maybe she can''t help me. Things are misty for a while, I feel so much pain. Cold hands holding me. There is some dragging. A bright light, nice smell. I hear a lot of noise. Kylie Bray talking to me, can''t make out what she is saying. After that it''s mostly shes, some broken words here and there. Kylie, Deno, Marco, Vincent. I am not sure how many days I spend lying in the bed. It feels like not enough but it could be days or weeks. Mornings blur, nights remain haunted with La until Zero steps in them, his scarred eye piercing me with hatred that I wish to w out my own throat. At one stage I feel them tie me down, it is the moment where I wish to die, to finally just leave. I keep hurting myself, I know this as she keeps screaming it to me. Kylie is always around, talking to me, even when she thinks I am sleeping. She sometimes tells me stories of famous people, the times she fucked up, her feelings for Vincent, she tells it all to me. But the saddest ones with the happy memories are always told about a girl named Diamond, when Kylie talks about her I can hear the pain in her voice. It reminds me of mine when I talk about my mother. My evenings are spent listening to Kylie, learning more about her in this time on a bed than I am sure not many would know about the Texan girl, and slowly every day my body heals. Every day I breathe easier, with the knowledge that I am safe, that maybe I could see Zero again. It wasn''t a possibility before but now, I can say it for the first time since I was small and found out I was actually clever, I feel a thread of hope for a brighter tomorrow. Chapter 8 (Killer) Chapter 8 (Killer) Dear Beauty I think I lost the number of times I have sat on this very mountain, with this very book, and pen writing to you. It''s been months since I''ve seen you. I admit for a while I was angry, hurting, I felt as if you betrayed me. Part of me still does. At least now I know why. A few weeks after you left I didn''t see an end to this hell I was in without you. The club was divided. Some wanted you dead, others wanted you safe. But time does heal. At first, I couldn''t breathe without a thought of you. My hate and anger were all focused on you in the day and my nights were spent mourning you, hoping you woulde back. Our new president River and Killer finally stepped forward and told us the truth of why you did what you did, they also told us about the deal your cousin made with us. Why they didn''t tell us sooner I wonder. Falon tried to rekindle our rtionship once I exined to her about you and I. But then I was adamant that I was a taken man, even if you did betray me. I guess my wounds were still fresh. And well I guess one can''t rekindle something that wasn''t really there. Before you she was what I knew, but the day I met you, you were more than just knowing, you showed me feelings. You brought out things in me that I left buried deep inside. I convinced myself that you were mine. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. It took me leaving my family behind to see what you were always trying to tell me. You were never mine. We were on borrowed time. You always knew that he''d find you. Guess you always knew because of those chains you said that bind you to him. You once said that who you were wasn''t important but it became the most important part of why you left. He was your past, and I guess he became your future too. Once I figured that out, I stopped questioning things, asking myself if you were here, how would I change things. If I could make it all be okay. Truth is, there is never going to be an okay. Our story was dying before it even began. Even if I wanted to fight, it would be a losing battle, you said so yourself. My brother Thorn is set on revenge, he wants you dead and I am sure wherever you are the feeling is mutual. Why? I don''t know. Don''t care. You see before I left my club and my brothers and the women behind I made a promise like all of them, a promise to find you and protect you and that is what I would do. Today I found out that soon I will be making my way back home, with another medal of honor for serving my country that I would put in a box and forget about. I am also returning home with a clear conscience. And finally letting my feelings for you go. I''m going to move on with my life. Time is a continuous reminder of life. When I was younger It was a reminder to live life. When I got older I found out that life could be lived in different ways. And I am choosing to live mine without you ying a front row to it. We will find you Amariya, and you would be apart of us. You are apart of us, and like all the women in our club, I will protect you as I would them. Until I have to protect my brother from you. I hope you read this before you see me because I don''t want you to be shocked when you see that I have moved on with my life. I met someone before I got stationed, she is really something. A good woman who helped me get through losing you. She is mine now, and I will be iming her as soon as I get back. I also don''t want to leave Ka and I don''t want you to either. I know Killer, Storm, and the others are apart of you. And so am I. You have always been a strong woman, if anybody deserves happiness it is you. But that happiness just can''t be with me. I am hoping when you read this you would understand why I had to let you go. Why I can''t be yours. You will always be my beauty and a beast that wasn''t meant for beauty. Zero I read the letter that arrived on my bed this morning. Every word is his own fuck up. I don''t need emotion to know facts. The brother was actually letting her go. It didn''t bother me one fucking bit, nothing ever did really. I was born to be a shell, a born sniper. It''s in my blood, a part of me. I don''t feel like others do, never did. Since Beggar I have realized I do feel something but it isn''t normal, nothing ever is, it is a strong deadly need to protect, maybe it is my idea of love, I am not sure. If someone dies I won''t cry. Growing up I could break my hand, fall off a tree, watch a person get knocked and feel nothing. When my grandma died I was the only one who just stood there dried eyed. My dad asked me to give a speech, I did. I told them that we are all born with a timeline, just like the bread we eat and the milk we drink. That if we don''t use all of ourselves up before death it is as shameless as wasting a mostly full bottle of milk when it could have been used for so much more than just drinking. My grandma used up most of herself, from my parents love story that started with my father''s affairs. My mothers idental murder when she knocked a drunken man, to her obsession with Marcus Bray and their only daughter, my sweet Kylie, then my Uncle and his scam artist wife who sold her child for money and eventually was murdered. My Grandma was there making sure her kids were fine. She traveled the world, seen and done things that she probably regretted. Unlike me, I feel my life only ever had one purpose, to fight for my country, fight for my family, and fight for my Club. And maybe one day I would be ready to trap a woman and get a wife who was happy with that, have a kid so my mother would happy. She once said if I had a kid she''d be happy, never seen her happy with me beside the day I got my first medal of honor and even then she had tears in her eyes. Chapter 9 (Killer) Chapter 9 (Killer) My cell rings and I slip it from my pants pocket. ¡°How many fuckin'' hours does it take to fuck one woman,¡± Mercy says from the other end of the line. Mercy transferred from our Ohio Chapter to stay here in Kanal a few weeks before we met Beggar, it only became official two months ago. She used to be a special ops informant until her twin died four years ago after she got the wrong Intel and sixteen people dead. I call it bad judgment, our superiors said it wasn''t her fault, but one thing I''ve always known about Mercy was that she never believed in bullshit. And we both knew it was her fault and when she asked me I told her. She handed in her resignation a day after. Joined the club a year after that. ¡°Depends on the woman, tell Spade to hurry the fuck up. River''s bringing Hannah around, he wants everybody back here to wee her.¡± Mercy and Spade have been handling the deaths that have been happening in Ka. We normally don''t stick our noses in these things, but since River became President that has changed. It is our town and we need to protect it even if it means ying detective. With splitting the club up between looking for Beggar, the night club we are opening, our other businesses, charity events and now this, needs a good structure n and leadership. River is a fucking good President. ¡°I like Hannah, she''s cool. Still waiting for that lead from the sheriffs office about the new body should be there in thirty.¡± ¡°Tell Hannah that when you see her, and tell Spade to stop fucking Jo''s science teacher, River is going to bust his face when Jo fails science.¡± I end the call just as my cell rings again. This time a small smirkes to my face as Kylie''s name shes on my screen with a selfie she took a year back when I took her sky diving. ¡°Hey, how''s my lil sis, Are you stopping for a visit?¡± Kylie is the only one of my siblings who understand me, she helped me to pretend. She hated it when my mother cried whenever I got hurt and I would just look at her. Kylie''s changed over these months, from her secret girl feelings for Vincent to her on going plight to pretend she is untouchable. ¡°That is what I want to talk to you about.¡± ¡°I''m listening.¡± ¡°There is no other way or easier one to tell you this so I am just going to blurt it out.¡± ¡°Okay shoot.¡± ¡°Beggar is here, at my house, showed up like over two weeks ago bleeding to death, the doctor, Vincent , Deno and Marco are the only other ones besides you and I who know. But I don''t trust Vincent, he has been staying since she got here and while Beggar talks to me I sense she is keeping her guard up with him. He also keeps asking when youing, I told him you said in a few weeks, I just didn''t feel right telling him you didn''t know, I thought maybe you''d check the cameras and call but nothing, so here I am calling you..¡± I don''tment on the camera story, ¡°I''ll be there tonight, if Vincent asks stall.¡± ¡°Okay, she is on the second floor, I will leave the window open. She doesn''t know youing, she keeps insisting she doesn''t want to talk to anyone, but I thought maybe if you or ZERO.¡± ¡°He''s moved on Ky, I''ll be there¡± I dial River as I end the call with Kylie. ¡°I am not helping you hide a body, call Spade.¡± ¡°Beggar is with Kylie, I''m leaving, you have my vote for Hannah, this stays between you and me for now, I''m calling in one of those favors you owe me.¡± He is silent, and if it was anyone else I would put my phone off but River is a man that earned my respect so I shut the fuck up and wait till he digests what I just told him, ¡°Keep her safe brother.¡± Now I do clip the call. I shove my mobile in my leather pants, my eyes don¡¯t need to look at my bedroom, it is perfectly aligned and everything in its ce as it should be. My bedroom is designed for me, everything is ced in a specific ce, including the only Parker pen that stands in a silver cup by my study desk which is four feet away from my bedroom door. The steps that lead me to downstairs are behind me before fifty seconds have gone. I grab my cut by the jacket hooks lining the front wall and my bike keys. Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. Once I am outside I spot Spade and Texas. I give them chin lifts, ignoring Texas and his spective eyes and swing my leg over my bike. I slip my phone out and dial Michael. My older brother. ¡°I was just about to call you, saw Amariya, she''s at Kylie''s,¡± I hear the fucker and his dry excuse. Michael had cameras installed in Kylie''s ce when she moved in. I bought her the house so she insisted it was me but Michael is the crazy one in my family. So he knew the day Kylie probably opened her home to Beggar. But we both already know that so as usual I say fuck all to point out the obvious, instead I tell him, ¡°I need your jet.¡± ¡°Got a helipad like twenty minutes from the drop zone in Liston.¡± ¡°I need the jet, wanna take my bike.¡± ¡°Should be there in two,¡± he says. ¡°How''s my nephew. Hear you ying dad for two weeks,¡± I ask the question because I should. It is a human response, but to me it is another piece of a puzzle. ¡°He is David''s son, and he never shuts up how do you think he is.¡± ¡°I''ll pick him up this weekend, take him fishing. Hannah''s kid is about his age.¡± ¡°I will drop him myself, I meant to stop by and see dad.¡± And even my genius brother ys my game, telling me exactly what I wanted to know. ¡°Send my regards.¡± ¡°Send mine to Kylie and Vincent.¡± ¡°I''m not meeting Vincent, I''m sneaking in, then out, Kylie said there is no trust lost, my job is to protect Beggar, not worry about my fucked up brother.¡± Nobody knows Vincent as I do. My brother is a fucking lunatic and the only reason he lives is that he is my family, and he has never gotten my other brothers or sisters involved in his shit. If that changes, I would put a bullet in his head myself. And that is only if one of his enemies doesn''t do it first. I start my bike and I ride with my bandanna wrapped around my mouth and my helmet on as I bend and curve to the bends and turns of the roads ahead. Soon I would see the woman who has me questioning everything that I have known all my life. Chapter 10 (Beggar) Chapter 10 (Beggar) Kylie and I are sitting in the kitchen. Eating two trays of mini Taco¡¯s she ordered from this new ce not too far from B-Street. She likes to bring different food all the time. Even though she cooks up a storm. I eat and don''tin. Truth be, I think I have eaten more here than I have eaten my whole life. Even at the clubhouse I hardly ate anything extra than the three meals I was given. It just didn''t feel right to take their food and eat it when I wanted. These past months since I have left The Satan Snipers I''ve lost a lot more weight than nI SHOULD have. I know I look like a skeleton with flesh on bones. If I am honest I could say I have looked a lot more scary. By Kylie''s house, we are both always eating, buying food, or making it. Well, she does the cooking and I just clean the mess. There is nobody else here besides Vincent, Kylie and I, so we have to eat it the and we do. I know Kylie likes to eat, she isn''t a skinny woman, but I know she eats more now and makes it a habit Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. so I do the same. I eat until my stomach pains from fullness everyday, my body is more used to it now. I haven''t picked up much weight but that should change if I keep up this eating. At first when I got here I wasn''t able to eat. My throat was fucked. I didn''t realize it at the Sanati Pce, but my shock cor was sizzling. It burnt through my flesh around my neck. Not sure why I didn''t feel it at the time. I was shot and stabbed. The pain from the wounds on my body must''ve taken priority in my brain. I don''t know, don''t care really. It is just another scar to add to my long list of others. The worst are the ones you can''t see on the surface, those ones you are unfortunate if you get to see them at all. I let her do my hair today, she said it wasn''t perfect but it felt fucking amazing, light and fluffy. ¡°So, what would you like to do today?¡± She asks. It isn''t the first time that our resemnce is almost shocking. I am the beggar version of Kylie Bray. The damaged end of the stick. Our hair is both ck and her eyes though dark brown and mine are ck it is simr shape. Except for our noses, mine is sloped, showing my Italian heritage, hers is straight and perfect. ¡°What do you think we should do,¡± My dry, damaged voice answers with a question of my own. I like her to have the options. It is the only time I get her to lose the frown. Thest time I saw Kylie she was a few shades of lightness and an equal amount of darkness. She had a constant smile on her face, and her brown eyes twinkled. Now she walks around here like the world is on her shoulders. For a young girl like herself, who has all the luxury money could buy, she shouldn''t have to carry such burdens. I used to think that money wasfort. A false sense offort, but now, these weeks with Kylie, a young woman who has all the money she could possibly ever want I know I was wrong. The money suffocates you, it deludes you to a false sense of eptance until you start hating yourself. You start to burn up and use it as a shield. But only when it is toote do you realize that shield is weak. It is just paper used to exchange for material things. It can''t offer you emotional solutions. And I think this is where Kylie is. She is learning that material things are onlyfortable when you ept that it will never bring you happiness only leisure. ¡°Ever yed archery?¡± She questions with a smirk she could only do. Her one eyebrow lifts, and the side of her face transforms to something akin to evil yet yful. Her eyes, they tell me so much and mine widens and it is the first time in a long time I smile. Life has never been kind to me but I neverined I learned that it could always be worse. Almost five months ago I took down The Satan Snipers, I betrayed them even if I was just trying to protect them. Kylie mentioning archery it brings back memories. It isn''t the first time I think about Zero, Killer and even little Aron. I hope they are OK maybe soon I would be able to see them. And maybe if I''m lucky Zero and the others would believe me when I tell them that I was just protecting them. I have never been lucky so I won''t hold my breath, honestly when the timees and I would have to choose between them and her- I would choose her. It will always be her, that is why I will kill Thorn and why I would have to go back to La and kill him too. I hold my smile as I stare at Kylie and she smiles back, I like the way she smiles it is not forced it is natural, easy, simple- things that I would never have. Natural for me was living on the streets begging for food. My simple was sleeping behind a bin. And easy is something I''ve never had, everything in my life has been a challenge, a hard part, a never ending torture. Now I have a reprieve and like all that I have known I take it with both hands, a smile filled with eagerness because I know like all the people still on the streets that I won''t get this opportunity again for a long, long time. My day went quick, Kylie and I spend it ying archery, lying outside by the pool. Everyday we talk and every day I notice Vincent melts Kylie''s skin. Our next week goes much about the same, Kylie feeding me, then suggesting we do the craziest of things. Everyday she gets weaker where my cousin Vincent is concerned. I have told her to go for it, give him a chance, but deep down I hope she doesn''t. Vincent is not the man Kylie thinks he is. I''ve just finished in the bathroom, and I head straight to the bedroom and jump under the nkets into my soft bed. I close my eyes with my head on the pillow and I think. I pretend in my mind that Zero and I are together. Imagine me as someone else, not a beggar on the street not a poor girl with no education. I imagine that La was a normal man that I ended things with, and my baby was with me, alive and well. The bedroom door opens, so do my eyes. I already know who it is. ¡°Today is one of does days, where I just want to forget. Here I brought you a ss of vored water." Kylie hands me the ss and slips into the bed next to me as I gulp the sweet melon vor down my throat. "I think if we forget, how would we learn,¡± I say in answer to her words, ¡°Sometimes I wish I was not given the rough end of life, but then I think of La. I think of all the other Monsters in the world that had life too easy. Then I think maybe if my life was easy I would be just like them. I don''t want to be a monster. So whenever the thoughtes to my head I think that I''m exactly who I should be, a worthless filthy dirty beggar. Rather that, I could at least look at myself in the mirror.¡± Kylie touches my arm and my head turns to her as I ce my empty ss next to my bed, on the table, which Kylie calls a nightstand. ¡°You are worth more than all the zeros in my bank ount. And I have a lot of them. Maybe you were a filthy dirty beggar Sugar, but worthless is something you are not. No man goes through so much for something worthless, let alone a monster. And I never waste time with worthless people and these days you have all of mine." I remain quiet, her words hit me somewhere deep inside me. It makes me feel weird, like almost somebody, somebody important. It is hard to say Ick confidence, because I never really had a choice but to put myself out there, I had to eat, that meant begging most of my life. But I feel like I have another kind of confidence, one that has me wanting to sit up in bed and put my shoulders back and lift my chin. It is weird but good. There''s nothing more to say, Kylie seems to have the same thoughts as I do. We both switch off our sidelights. I close my eyes, my mind skirts from the past and the present, wondering if what she said and the feeling it made me feel is safe. I''ve been burned too badly in the past to just change, or want to be different. When I lived with the Satan Snipers I thought of a fresh start. At first, it was alone, but as time went there was a small part in my mind that wanted to stay there with them. The more days went by, the stronger that feeling became. Damn what a wake-up call I got when La took those women. It was a reminder that I wasn''t born to get a new start. My life on this earth is my torture. Chapter 11 (Beggar) Chapter 11 (Beggar) There is no escaping it. The Satan Snipers turned on me, they were unfamiliar friends and I didn''t know what they would do. I haven''t survived this long taking easy roads. Sometimes logic isn''t easy, it mostly isn''t the safe option, but in my case, it keeps you the fuck alive. Surviving isn''t just for me it is for her too, my little girl who never stood a chance. So I turned to a familiar foe. A demon that I knew would hurt me, but not kill me just yet. The window of the bedroom makes a creaking sound. My mind nks as my senses heighten. La already found me. I should pray now, but I ain''t never put my life in gods hands before. I jerk upright and push Kylie off the bed. She unceremoniously falls with a big sound. ¡°Beggar, what the fuck sugar.¡± ¡°Quiet, somebody is by the window.¡± I get up, rush toward the window as it opens and a ck leather-ed covered leges in. Recognizing the stranger, a familiar one, my mind, and shoulders both rx. I know this devil that sneaks in the window. He is an evil I trust. Someone who onceid next to me. A man I didn''t intend to see any time soon. Killer stands there, in the dark. I should say he is right where he needs to be, hidden. He once told me that his best ce is in the darkest of corners. Kylie walks past me and switches on the main light. She is talking but her words are muted as the lightes on and all my focus is on Killer. I imagined different scenarios of meeting Zero again. Seeing his face and hearing his voice, it always ended with me killing him or he killing me. Killer, I never imagined seeing him. Guess my mind knew it could be two ways, he''d either let me live and protect me or he''d kill me. Now he just stands there, his nk, dead eyes more pleasant than that of an unfamiliar smiling face. I am not dead and he is why I am here, so I guess he will let me live. No gray lines, to him it is either ck or white. It has been a while since I have seen any of the Satan Snipers. Knowing Killer, if he wanted me dead I would have been a long time ago, after all he knew what I was going to do before I even did. It is why I''m here, in Kylie Bray''s house, safe for now. I walk a few steps closer to Killer. I don''t know what to say to him, Kylie doesn''t have the same problem, "I knew you gonnae, why didn''t you just take the front door, you could''ve saved me a butt injury." She says this as she rubs her butt. The shorts she is wearing doesn''t do much to cover it. ¡°Where''s Vincent?¡± Killer asks her. ¡°He left this afternoon, I don''t see himing back today, why didn''t you just take the door.¡± Killer walks past me and hugs Kylie. He looks good , guess he always had. His blue eyes stare at me with so much words unsaid and I am certain mine say the same. "I told you I wasing, I prefer the window, doors are too human,¡± he says to Kylie and still his eyes are stuck on me. Why is he looking at me like that? Thest time Killer looked at me with such intensity was the first day I arrived at the Satan Sniper''s Clubhouse. I was much more caged then. I was living and breathing my nightmare of La and his men. For some reason, since I got here and healed, my nightmares aren''t just stemmed from La, but N?velDrama.Org content. from Zero. I should say something about now, but the words just don''t want toe. He is really here. ¡°I didn''t know you wereing,¡± My scratchy voice still gets me, even as my words finally decide to start working. He doesn''t smile, there isn''t anything worth smiling for. He has always given me his true self. He is one of the very few people I consider a friend. Not sure what I am to him, it''s a fucked up friendship. I can''t really say I know Killer, I''ve only met him four months ago. What I do know is that Killer doesn''t show emotion. I thought I saw deep glimpses of it when his brother''s son, Aron was around and the few nights he slept in my bed. I was wrong, a few days after that I saw him on the side of the Clubhouse with one of the bikers, he smiled at the guy but I knew it was false, fake. One meant to lure a woman into a false sense of poetic fiction and a man to his ultimate death. ¡°If you knew I wasing I wouldn''t be standing in front of you right now.¡± His brutally honest answer is also the honest truth, I would''ve been gone. Facing Killer is facing up to what I did all those months ago. It is facing the club which means Zero too. I am not sure if I am ready for that. I can admit that I am a coward. Confrontations aren''t my thing. My whole life I have lived on the streets. Talking wasn''t necessary besides asking for food or a buck. ¡°You in front of Kylie, I am standing behind Kylie.¡± I tell him as my head tilts to the side. ¡°Well, looks like she has a point,¡± Kylie says as she takes a step to the right to turn and face us both. He pulls off his ck gloves, and ruffles his blonde hair, ¡°I heard you got beaten up, then took off. Hope you used a few of my moves and took a lot of those fuckers down.¡± I did, but I don''t tell him that. Instead, I go back to my side of the bed. The white headboard with pearls embedded in a heart shape catches my eyes for the millionth time. Kylie said this room was Diamonds. ¡°How was the ride, Michael was bitching up a storm about his darn jet. I was hoping he would just shut up,¡± Kylie questions killer as she joins me on the bed, sitting on the edge parallel from me as Killer walks across the room in long strides. His leather-ed covered body, with his cut, and striking blue eyes sticks out, leaving this weird sensation in my body. This, now, it is like almost surreal. He pulls the white and blue chair that resembles one of those royalty chairs I saw once outside a furniture shop not too far from here. He brings the chair and puts it between Kylie and I. ¡°So what''s with all the pearl hearts and shit in this room, I thought you hate pearls,¡± he questions Kylie. I watch her brown gaze track the headboard and the pearly nightmp next to where I sit with my back hunched and feet on the gray carpeted floor. There is so much more to Kylie, where Killer is emotionless, Kylie is so full of it that it overflows. Yet, she only lets it out when she knows no one is around to see it, I have caught it a few times. I am not surprised when she starts pulling her hair tie out of her hair and reties it. She does that at times, a tell. And I am not surprised when she gets up and smiles at Killer with the same false smile he gives to people. ¡°It came with the bed, made sense. I need to get some assignments done.¡± We all lie, but it''s the reason we do it which counts. Killer and I both watch Kylie leave. She has be something to me, akin to a sister. She is the longest person I have lived with since my mother and while I am many things, since I have arrived here, Kylie has shown me that I am also human. Money, or no money, it doesn''t make you bleed any more or less. The door closes and my eyes leave the white door, focusing on the one other person in this room. Killer pulls a small white envelope from the inside of his cut ¡°I''ve already read it,¡± he says handing me the envelope. I don''t need to ask him any questions, truth is I don''t want to. I don''t need to find out the answers to those unasked questions as I already know who it''s from. We both know what this letter is going to say. I don''t need the letter to say a word. The day I left the Clubhouse, Zero''s eyes said it all. ¡°We got a new President.¡± ¡°Did Rounder die?¡± Rounder was the president I knew. A sick man, dying of cancer. He epted me into their motorcycle club and insisted everybody treated me as an equal. His intentions were good but I found myself liking the ones who didn''t fake it .The people in the club who liked me, and the ones who didn''t and made it known. Falseness was never something I trusted. Still don''t. ¡°No, the men finally got their balls back and voted him out. River a member from National took his ce. The club is doing better.¡± ¡°You mean nobody is falling on your fist.¡± ¡°There''s always people falling on my fist, today some fucker is getting a break, tomorrow they would be falling again.¡± I bite the bottom of my lip to hold theugh I really want to have now. I put the letter in my hand onto the nightstand next to the bed. My eyes don''t look at it. Instead I find some of that happiness with Killer here, the glee people seem to have at times. And it is like those days spent with Killer in his room, that we talk about nothing, yet everything at the same time. Only know I am not just Beggar, but a little human too. Chapter 12 (Zero) Chapter 12 (Zero) "Hey you, didn''t think you would call so soon. I''m just pulling a shift at the hospital tonight. Hannah said they were understaffed so I offered to pull the extra weight, might as well start early.¡± I listen to her sweet voice, so unlike Beggar. Quinn the chatterbox. "Yeah, that''s good, just make sure your ass is in my bed when I get back,¡± Quinn is a great woman. She understands I care for her. It''s the most she will get from me and she is okay with that. It is enough. She has no baggage, no emotional shit and she is older. She understands my job with the government so I never have to keep shit from her. I met Quinn before I got deployed for a retrieval mission in Hong Kong. It was a month after Beggar left me. I was fucked, got into it with all the brothers besides Killer. He told me if he beat me up it''d be what I wanted and he wasn''t feeling generous. Fucking ass-hole was always right, that time was no different I was drowning in a river with no beginning, no end, so close to getting on my bike and saying fuck it to everything. Then I met talkative Quinn. ¡°When will that be? I thought you wanted me to meet you outside, how did outside get to inside, let a lone on your bed.¡± ¡°Babe, it''s been a while, I need to see if I still have a dick left.¡± ¡°That''s what your hands are for Zero, use it.¡± This is what I like about her, her easy nature, the flow. Being with Quinn is as simple as breathing. No stress, or fits, or getting lied to or ducking around like a fucking teenager. Not sure how we happened, at first we were just two people, both dealing with our own stuff. She broke down and told me her story which wasn''t anything half as bad as Beggar or the other women in my past. I was reluctant at first to tell her anything but eventually I got pissed ass drunk and told her mine. And in my drunken state we connected in every sense of the word, I fucked her and she wasn''t that bad, gave me great head. After I left the first time I started getting letters from her and now here I am four monthster and my second mission in Trinidadpleted, ready to get back to Ka. A new woman waiting for me who would never expect a thing more than what I give her. Nor, is she fucked in the head and plotting my brother''s death like Beggar. I can call her Beggar now, it is who she is. Letting Beauty go was hard, and I think I have let ago. I have moved on. Life is too short, I don''t want mine to end without settling down. I''m at the age in my life where I want to have a kid, I am too old for shit and lying women. If there is one thing Quinn made clear to me was that she never wanted to be the other woman. She wanted it all in or nothing. I respect that. It is what I will give her after I find Beggar. Quinn is a good fit, we are both older and more mature. Still can''t believe I am going home, been a while since I''ve seen the brothers and the women. Quinn said she''d meet me therest week when I told her the news. She is a new member of our club. She is older than most of our women in the Ka chapter. ¡°I''ll see you soon, don''t forget, you bed and naked.¡± ¡°Aha, how about you get your ass here and we can see about that.¡± ¡°See you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Later.¡± We end the call just as I hear one of my club brothers voice, ¡°Don''t tell me you pussy footing, we gotta fuckin'' move motherfucker''s,¡± Drills big form marches into our bunk room as his voice still booms in the space. His dark chocte skin, green army vest and pants are all wet from the rain outside. ¡°What the fuck you bitchin'' for, you going home to your fuckin'' wife?¡± I say to him as he walks over to greet me. He kisses my cheek, which many people would think is fucked up but most biker''s are old school like that, and Drill is one of the longest members of our mother chapter in Houston. He joined a few years after the club formed, forty years back. At fifty six the man started with the Satan Sniper''s at sixteen. Storm''s dad, Ribs, our new National president handed the mother chapter to him recently. This was hisst assignment with government. ¡°Nah, but hopefully I can snatch me a bride on the way to Houston, one of those dumb ones.¡± Iugh, ¡°Fuckin'' hell man, you''d scare any woman away the minute you opened your god damn mouth.¡± ¡°That is why she needs to be dumb, like really dumb.¡± I hit his back, as another member walks in. Grabbing my empty nap-sack from the top bunk I see the bald beefy man entering. He reminds me of Bull, well what Bull used to be before his woman died. "Yo big Z. We all stopping in Ka. Everybody is already there. River''s introducing hisdy to the rest of the chapters,¡± I say while I pack all the shit from the top of my bed in my bag. When I got to base I had to dig around for my phone. I shoved it in the middle of my clothes. Learned that when I did my first tour and got back here only to find my phone damaged, screen cracked. After that got myself a cheap phone and made sure it had enough padding around it to prevent any major damage. When the guys got in to ying it was fists and kicking shit around. ¡° Fuck man, that fucker doesn''t know the meaning of the term steady.¡± ¡°Hey fucker don''t be talking about the brother like that, he has a kid now, a hellion from what Toad tells me,¡± I snort at the mention of my dad''s description of Jo. Spent a few days with the kid when I first got back from my previous deployment. She almost blew up the barn, and made one hell of an impact on all of us. I was ready to turn her hide and River and Killer were ready to give her a fucking medal of honor. Kid is something though, and stole the Prez''s heart. The fucker loves her as any-man would love his own flesh and blood. ¡°I thought River hates kids.¡± Massacre says as he joins us with Trey. The two are old friends from Detroit. Massacre hugs Big Z first. ¡°The freak is here,¡± Big Z howls as Trey steps forward to hug him. I zip up my packed bag and leave it on the bed. Following BEHIND Drill as he goes to hug the two snipers. ¡°Still pussy footing over Nana Sam?¡± Drill asks Trey. He isn''t a brother to the club and the reason for that is solely because of his loyalty to his grandma. He is still in his twenties around about Killer''s age so I would give him sometime. If there is something I learned with been in the navy, then the special ops it is that we can''t be in the real world for long. The rules are too stiffing, society to fucking full of shit. We need to be surrounded by familiars, by those who understand us. But then I have never known another way. For Trey he has only ever known Nana Sam. Massacre joined the club a few years back, and stuck with Houston and stayed the fuck away from Killer. If there was one person Massacre avoids it is Killer. I don''t me the brother after Killer almost gunned him down. Not sure what happened in the training facility they sent us to, but whatever it was made Massacre stay far away from Killer. ¡°Man, Nana Sam is all I got, she''ll unman me if I join.¡± I hug Massacre, and we all get talking. Four hours of debriefingter, and filling in forms, we are finally in the air and on our way home. Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. Only Beggar needed toe home too. So I could finally move on with my life. The thought of seeing her leaves my chest aching, but the thought of her killing my brother leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. The question that has yed on my mind for these past few months is how the fuck am I going to stop her without killing her. That is if Killer doesn''t get to me first. Before I left I heard River and him talking, he said, his protection extended to Beggar, his loyalty to her was his loyalty to his club. Thorn wasn''t his club, he was an extension like Falon. His words are something I can''t forget because I knew he knew I was listening and those words were intended for me. I wasn''t yet sure why he said them, but soon I will be. The Ghost always has a n. Chapter 13 (Beggar) Chapter 13 (Beggar) ¡°Beggar, he''s moved on." Killer has since taken off his boots and has his feet up on the bed. Kylie stopped in and brought snacks and a burger for him to eat. Killer loves food, he also burns energy as fast as he could eat it. We talked about a lot. But that statement that came seconds ago has me closing my eyes as I nod sharply. I need to ept that. My intention wasn''t to ask Killer about Zero. It just slipped out. Human nature. Guess I have always had a curious mind. "Falon." "No, he came clean to Falon. Woman''s name is Quinn, she was a military nurse. Retiredst year N?velDrama.Org content. joined us a few months back. She came to Ka just a couple of weeks before Zero got deployed and went to Hong Kong." "Quinn. I am happy for him," I say her name and those words, and it is true words. Zero has moved on, I am happy. Him and I aren''t meant to be, never were. I pick up the letter from next to my bed and get up. Killer drops his legs, letting me pass him as I go to the dressing table and grab the ck handled scissors Kylie used to trim my hair. Knife to paper, I cut the letter up in shreds. Don''t want to hear his words, I never needed them. As the pieces fall on the floor Killeres into my line of sight and starts picking it up. "I don''t know much about this shit but maybe you shouldeback and sort shit with him, he''ll be back soon. The brother hasn''t been the same since you left and I know you used to give him shit. That must mean he wants you busting his balls." I smile at Killer''s logic, but my mind sobers, this is what I wanted. What I expected. Why does it still make my chest pain? This news should make me feel relieved yet all I feel is an overwhelming pain. A few weeks with Kylie in this house and I got soft. I forgot my hard lessons, I should never forget them. I still got two people to kill and one of them is Thorn, Zero''s brother. That should be my focus now, not him and his Quinn. My mind hardens, remembering my nights in the cold, my foster father raping me. A gun against my head as I signed my name on a piece of paper that not only joined me to my monster but sealed it (''till death do we part). One of us had to die and it couldn''t be me. My life was never my own, it belonged to someone else, her, my sweet baby girl that would never call me mommy. I stand up to my tall form and my eyes that are full of the same emptiness of his, look right at Killer, he can see me. I am a filthy, dirty beggar. But Kylie is right I am not worthless. "Let''s go for a ride." Killer says as he moves to the walk in closet and starts pulling out a jacket and pants. A biker jacket. It is the way he does it, so familiar, like he knew it was there. ¡°You know this is Diamonds room, why did you ask Kylie that if you already knew.¡± He brings the jacket and track pants with a folded jeans to me. ¡°A reaction speaks more than an entire conversation, now change your clothes.¡± He doesn''t leave and I don''t bat an eye, maybe some woman would, but I am not other women. I am Beggar. My pajama pants and top are off my body as I slip on the jacket with nothing underneath it. ¡°Jeans first, then the track pants,¡± Killer says when I grab the track pants first. After I am done he stands behind me and his cold hard hands grip the back of my neck. He puts a bit pressure on it, forcing my head to drop. ¡°I''m going to find him and together we are going to do to him everything he has done to you and only then will we kill him,¡± Killer whispers as his fingers trace the scarred tissue around my neck. The words aren''t a promise, or words said out of anger and passion as Zero once vowed to me. Killer''s words are a fact, a happening- A thorough prediction of what is going to be. It is now as I stand here with the devil alone in a room that I know that the biggest monster is not my husband but the one who has my life in his hands at this moment. Good thing I have made friends with the devil. ¡°Ky, get dressed, we going riding,¡± Killer yells from the top of the stairs as we both head down. ¡°I''ll be ready in ten, I ain''t riding to that shit dump Storm took me tost time, so you better make it good,¡± She screams from down stairs and I see a glimpse of her long hair as she disappears. ¡°I brought a helmet for you and an extra set of gloves, it''s on my bike,¡± Of course you did, I think to myself. Killer with his n. It is twenty minutester when we are finally outside. I am behind Killer on his Red Harley. My helmet is on, and my gloved hands are on his lower back. Kylie is wearing a one piece ck and blue leather outfit with thick white gloves. She is bent over a bike that Killer calls a ninja. He said it is very fast. Kylie starts her bike up and salutes us, then she is gone. Killer shakes his head and touches my leg before we follow. This brings back memories of Zero and I. When I first met him, the night I jumped on his bike. I was wearing Storm''s T-shirt with nothing underneath it. My hair blew and I felt free. For that time I wasn''t someone with a past or present. I was just a girl, and I was free. Killer speeds up as we ride through Medina, Seattle. The most affluent area in Washington''srgest city. My body hums as we ride through the quiet roads. I see houses that resemble castles. I know, I now live in one. We turn around a bend, my body moves with Killers. Zero once told me that I can''t ride at the back of another brother''s bike. He said it was intimate and disrespectful to him, that seems like a lifetime ago. Now he has another woman at the back of his bike. I ain''t supposed to feel guilty, like I am doing something wrong. And I don''t. I sneak my fingers more to the front of Killer''s body, his muscr torso is now under my gloved covered hands and I lean my helmet covered head on his back knowing he can take the position. I have seen Killer ride. I can feel his body between my legs. He will not let me fall, of that I am certain. Hours go by and as the three of us ride, my mind and body feels free. In these hours I am alive. Lifting the shield from my eyes, I take the wind in my face, that sting as the engine hums in between my legs, throttling, vibrating. If I must admit it is making my cunt itchy. It is like Killer knows what is happening, when he rests his gloved covered hand on my thigh. I look out to the empty back road at Kylie. I think of how it would feel to ride my own bike. We finally stop on the top of a dirt road on a Hill. I wait for Killer to switch the bike of and then I use his shoulder to swing myself off. Kylie is already off her bike and helmet on her seat. Shees to me and helps me remove the helmet. My legs are a bit shaky as my boot covered feet stand on the green grass. My nose- dry, as I inhale the fresh cold air. I feel alive. Killer touches my back and I spin around so fast Kylie holds my shoulders. ¡°Whoa there Sugar, you move so fast you might just go tumbling down,¡± Kylie drawls but my eyes are on Killer. ¡°How do you always manage to that,¡± I can''t find the word for it. He smiles as he takes my helmet from Kylie and grabs my gloved fingers pulling the fabric off. ¡°You mean unhinged. You just need to pay more attention.¡± It is not the first time I notice how handsome he is. The devil with an angels face. Too bad I have nothing more left in me to give to Killer. As I stare at his retreating form, I KNOW that it doesn''t matter. A devil doesn''t want your love, hatred or anyone of those things that get you hurt. No, the devil wants your soul and all your desires. The devil wants to own you until you can only see the fire that burns in his gaze. Killer isn''t here to just see me, he is here to im me. And as he walks back to me I know that he won''t give me a choice. Chapter 14 (Kylie Bray) Chapter 14 (Kylie Bray) ''hey, miss me yet? Still have some stuff to do should be back in an hour. What you getting up to.'' Vincent I look at the screen of my phone, blushing from another text of Vincent''s. Beggar and I decided to leave the house today, we''re on our way to a frat party at my University. Vincent and I haven''t been on an official date. Deno, Beggar and Vincent''s cousin has agreed to keep Beggarpany tomorrow night while I apany Vincent to a family dinner. I am nervous and giddy at the same time. He sends me text and kisses me until I am again melting in a puddle, but now he isn''t staring daggers at me when I do. Now I get chuckles and sweet words. We haven''t had sex, not sure why I still hold back but I do. I guess when we finally get what we want things are different. I find that I am changing and I can''t stop it from happening. ''on our way to a frat party. Wont be home b4 one.'' Kylie ''Be-careful,e straight back when you done, I will be waiting...'' Vincent Beggar is quiet in the car. Stopping at the stop street, I drop the volume of the music, ¡°What''s up, don''t you want to go?¡± I question her. Six weeks have already flown by since she became a permanent fixture in my life. While she says that I have helped her, she has helped me. She won''t take the ce of Diamond, no one could. Diamond is my other half. But Beggar has be an extension of that. She rubs the scar on her neck, ¡°Can we stop somewhere else for a bit.¡± Frowning at her sudden request, unease curls in my belly, but I shrug it off, ¡°Sure, where do you have in mind.¡± ¡°I have the address it isn''t too far from here,¡± her hoarse voiceces with uncertainty. ¡°What''s going on Beggar.¡± The light changes and I drive to side of the road switching the car off. Turning to face my friend, who is looking great tonight. I used a lot of make-up to cover the permanent scar on her neck. Her jeans are a pair of Diamonds, fit snug on her thin body, with a loose cashmere lc top. I''m wearing a jeans and blue t-shirt with ck boots, my normal OUTFIT when I go partying at my University. ¡°When you were in the bathroom I heard the buzzer so I answered the door and found this.¡± I look down at the tape recorder she hands to me, I didn''t even know she had this. Taking it from her out stretched hand with shaky fingers, I press y, and a man''s voicees through the small speakers. A man with a strong European ent. ¡°Tut, tut, tut,ir, liar, liar, always running, always hiding, you filthy dirty Beggar. Guess who I found.¡± I hear a scream of a child, a girl and I drop the recorder on the cars floor. ¡°Who is that?¡± I ask her, my eyes the size of saucers. ¡°My monster.¡± ¡°No Beggar who is the girl screaming?¡± She drops her head not answering. ¡°Beggar, who the fuck is she Sugar.¡± ¡°My daughter.¡± I am shocked and stunned by this revtion, I thought her daughter was dead. It is what I have heard. Vincent said so himself. Life has a odd way of turning out, secrets alwaysing to light in the worst of times. ¡°He had this address attached to it.¡± She hands me the crinkled note. I remain quiet as I put the cars light on to READ it, underneath the address which is an industrial area is a message, e alone, or she dies tick tock, you have ''til midnight. ¡°We need to call Vincent or Kevin.¡± It is the logical thing to do. I can''t just let this kid die, Beggar''s child. I can''t believe she has a daughter.Material ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°No.¡± She screams holding her throat, ¡°Drop me there and leave.¡± I start the car, ¡°You can''t go alone, I''m going with you.¡± I send off an SOS to Kevin and drop my phone in the side door of my car so Beggar can''t see it in case it rings. ¡°You will die, are you ready to die,¡± her words scare me, but I don''t answer that question because I honestly don''t know the answer to it. Sometimes we have to make choices out of obligation and this, now is one OF those times. I won''t be able to live with myself if I don''t go and that little girl dies. So I don''t really have a choice in the matter. I won''t leave Beggar on her own. This is not a case of revenge for herself, but a rescue of her daughter. We drive the hour to this ce, a docking space full of containers stacked up. My stomach is in knots and it has since darkened. Parking on the outer parts of the docking area, we both jump out at the same time. ¡°Let''s go that way,¡± she says moving to the stacks of containers. I can''t say how I never see it. I can''t tell you how I don''t hear them. One second we are walking to the containers and the next we are surrounded by at least twenty men. One of the men step forward, as the lights in the dock blind me. I put my hand at the top of my head, squinting to get a good lock on him. He is in a charcoal three piece suit. ck hair that has been greased t. His nose is prominent. Coming closer to Beggar and I, I finally get a good look at him close up. And I know I have seen him somewhere, I just can''t recall where that somewhere is. He is handsome man, very much so. ¡°Where is she La?¡± Beggar asks the man walking closer to us and I am praying that Kevin got my SOS message. Heughs, and it is so evil, wicked, like he is crazy, ¡°You are such a fool, do you really think if I had our daughter I would even contact you again.¡± He walks right up to us and back hands Beggar across her face with such force, and so much menace that she falls to the ground. I push him away and bend down on the floor to help my friend. Hard fingers grip my hair by the scalp pulling me away from Beggar. I scream, ¡°No, leave me alone, you fucking bastard.¡± He punches me in my stomach, gripping my hair tighter as the wind is knocked out of me for the second time. Gasping for air, I heave. Beggar sweeps his feet from under him, he pulls my hair as he goes down, ripping arge chunk of it out. ¡°This got nothing to do with her, let her go,¡± Beggar yells in a gruff voice. ¡°Now why would I do that, I am going to let my men rape her like they did to you, then I am going to send her back in pieces. Finger, by finger,¡± heughs Beggar kicks him hard in the face. ¡°Run Kylie, run,¡± she screams as loud as she can. And I do, I run but not too far. I am tackled down hard to the rough ground, my face throbbing with the direct impact it takes, my tooth in the front cracks, my nose breaks. I scream, it is so fucking sore. The butt of the gun against my scalp is a weing pain, as it knocks me out. Chapter 15 (Beggar) Chapter 15 (Beggar) ¡°I thought you finally learned your lesson. Then I get home to find my men dead. YOU KILLED my fucking men, made me look weak,¡± La screams. My face is crusted and swollen from the beating he has given me. Chains wrapped around my waist, feet, and hands, securing me to a metal chair in this empty warehouse. I spit the blood from my mouth, as my one good eye sees Kylie''s body lying helplessly on the floor. ¡°Let her go, La, she has nothing to do with this,¡± I say to him. ¡°She helped you, she fucking hid you from me. And to top it all I find out you are fraternizing with my sworn enemy, your family that turned their back on you. The same family that now has my daughter.¡± He grips my hair and I stare into his angry face. I wish he was ugly, I wish he smelled bad and his breath was rancid but it is not true. He is clean, his beige formal pants and leather shoes don''t fit in this warehouse, but his personality does. Kylie groans, and as I stare at my monster I know that she doesn''t deserve what is going to be done to her. Kylie would want me to fight, not give in. She would want me to stand up to him. I am not worthless. Her words harden me, as her second groan of pain well, that angers me to spit in his face. "She did nothing to you, same like me. we are victims, you are a monster.¡± Heughs, letting my head go, and it is thatugh that brings my words to him, ¡°If you keep her here, the Famiglia would fight, you dere war, the Satan Sniper''s would fight and I would never stop hunting you down. As long as I live you would never see my daughter, you would never touch her. And with my death you would seal it in blood.¡± His face hardens as his cold smile that once chilled my blood now focuses solely on me. La''s fingers that once touched my face and left me falling at his feet in need now grazes my cheek, ¡°''till death Wife.¡± Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. He WALKS off. ¡°Do with the girl as you want, but leave my wife alone, I have great ns for her.¡± The door ms and with it Kylie''s fate. ¡°Don''t do this please,¡± I beg the men as they start pulling her on the floor. ¡°You should know better than anyone that we don''t have a choice,¡± Marone, La''s top soldier says to me as hees into my line of vision. My eyes close not just from the pain but from the hopelessness of even asking. He is right, I do know better. Joining the Outfit under La is only by very, death, or protection. I learned a long time ago that my husband has no honor. Marone like most of them has a family. Families can die. ¡°Mi dispiace, dolce ragazza.¡± I am sorry sweet girl. Marone touches my chin as one would a child. For the first time in years, since I lost my baby girl a tear slips down my cheek as I listen to Kylie scream. ¡°Lo idero per questo, poi ti idero tutti.¡± I will kill him for this, then I will kill you all. ¡°I know Amariya.¡± Marone whispers as he leaves us alone with these men. I hear, but I don''t have to see it to know what they are doing to her behind me. I am so sorry Kylie. Chapter 16 (Zero) Chapter 16 (Zero) ¡°I got three extra crates of sses, and two extra of ash strays. Think everything is about done. How long before we open?¡± I''m sitting on the empty ck tampered ss of our new club. Snake and I have been finishing off with the orders for the opening of our Night Club. We''ve all been putting our weight on this while searching for any new leads on Beggar. The Prez told us to focus on the new club and he and Killer would keep us informed on Beggar. ¡°Not sure, with all our time split between looking for Beggar, the club, government calling us and this shit storm here, don''t know, hopefully, end of November.¡± He gets back to his tablet, and I stare at the small snakes tattooed to the side of his face. It is a small piece from our club emblem. Knight has the same ones on his neck. Snake lifts his head, his green eyes are light that they look almost yellow. He reminds me of a snake. Not so much now that he cut his hair. ¡°Fuck, the women were bitching this morning, River doesn''t want them leaving alone at night, imagine how After and Mercy took it. I''m on my way to the station, gonna talk to Sheriff Briggs. Someone reported an unknown vehicle yesterdaying through town, Deane checked it out and got the te''s digits. Car''s registered to some Grant Soares. Picked him upst night, apparently, fucker got a wrap sheet to match all fucking wrap sheets.¡± I tell him. Deane is the deputy Sheriff in Ka, had a thing for River''s woman, the Prez shut it down. ¡°That is what the pussy Sheriff thinks, he''ll crap himself if he sees the first page of Killers''.¡± We bothugh at that. ¡°What are you two on about?¡± Quinn walks through the open space that has only one set of chairs and a small table where Snake sits on. She is holding a box in her hand and her face lights up when she sees me sitting here. ¡°Man talk,¡± Snake says as he jumps off his chair and snatches a bottle of water from the counter I''m sitting on. ¡°Then maybe you can put that man talk to some use and get those chairs and tables here tomorrow.¡± Her brown curly hair bounces when her neck turns to him. Snakeughs, ¡°Yes Ma''am.¡± I remember when he said that to Beggar, we were eating at the dinner table when she told him it was bad manners to tell Whisp that her food tasted more awful than the rotten eggs he once ate during our time in Iraq. Beggar thought he called her a man, and she told him if she grew a pair of balls she''ll let him know. It is enough to dampen my mood, a reminder that she is still missing. Here I am moving on with my life. ¡°Babe, why are you frowning,¡± Quinn asks me as her fingers touch my thigh. Her turquoise gaze that seconds ago was twinkling now stares at me in worry. ¡°Nothin''.¡± I touch her nose with my finger. I made a vow to myself, I''m not going to fuck up things with Quinn because of her. ¡°Well in that case are you ready to leave? I have a shift in twenty.¡± I can tell she wants to say more but holds her tongue. Her long legs eat up the distance to the door and I give Spade a chin lift on my way out. My phone rings as we get to my bike and Quinn starts putting her riding gear on as I slip it out of my front jean pocket. ¡°Yo, Prez, what''s up?¡± ¡°I need you all back here now, round up whoever is with you, it''s about Beggar.¡± He ends the call and my fever must spike to a hundred degrees to the way I''m feeling now. It is a bad fucking feeling. ¡°What''s wrong.¡± Quinn asks. ¡°Not now, I''ll call you cab, gotta a meeting at the club.¡± She understands the life and nods without saying shit. I touch her arm and rush back inside the Club. ¡°Yo slither, gotta go, Prez called, it''s about Beggar.¡± He jerks up and grabs his keys and Helmet from the counter. ¡°Head first brother, I''ll met up.¡± I don''t need to get told another word as I rush back out and see Quinn jump in the cab. My leg swings over my bike, as a dark cloud blocks the bit of sun we had today. A dark cloud for a fucked up day. I start up my bike, wait for the white truck to pass me then I make a u-turn and I fly through the cars and traffic, getting onto the highway. My mind doesn''t clear, it is screaming with questions. Her ck eyes haunting me. Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. Her lips. It is too fucking much. I''ve moved on, but why can''t my heart do the same. Once I get to the clubhouse most of the guys are already jumping off their bikes. Killeres in behind me as I pull my helmet off. Since I''ve got back he seemed better. WELL, as better as Killer is going to get. He hasn''t been stuck in the training room for hours. The guys are back to fucking with him and he is back to small smiles and talking about sports. Which is the one human thing he actually likes. With me things between us are still fucked. He looks at me without saying a word. Before we used to be better. I saw him as a younger brother. Since Beggar came we got closer, then she left and it all got so fucked up. I wait for him, that is when I see it. A shiver hits me and it isn''t from the air. It is from The Ghost walking beside me. Knight meets up with us, ¡°Prez called, do you think he found her?¡± ¡°Hoping so.¡± I say to him. ¡°Do you,¡± Killer asks as he rushes up the porch steps and into the house. Those words anger me, it is like he is fucking judging me. He is a young fucking boy who doesn''t know about life. He only knows death, so who is he to judge me. I walk faster and Texas steps in front of me, blocking my entrance to the door. He is a few inches taller than I. He bites the end of a match stick and gives me his fucking one-eyed stare. ¡°What the fuck,¡± I say. Chapter 17 (Zero) Chapter 17 (Zero) ¡°Don''t push him.¡± I bump Texas when he says this, giving him no option but to let me pass. I go straight to the lounge knowing River is going to want to have the meeting in themon area if it is about Beggar. The room is packed with everybody. The disinfectant scented air is thick with the tension that ising off everyone here. I spot an empty chair next to Mercy and walk over to take it. Knightes down on the floor in front of me. River is standing in the middle of the room blocking the TV. Hannah now his olddy sits to River''s right on the sofa next to Spade, Storm, AND Venus. Whisp, Chadley, and Den, three of our six Prospects stand behind them. I notice everybody in the club is around except Falon and Quinn. ¡°Right, now that you are all here before I tell you guys this I want all of you to remain the fuck calm, I don''t need fucking bullshit. Understood,¡± River''s words are his no shit zone. ¡°Yes Prez,¡± We all say. ¡°Six weeks ago Beggar escaped from La''s property in Washington State, she killed his men and managed to get out of there. She went to Kylie Bray''s house. I received the phone call weeks after. Last night she went missing again. Now, before you all start busting my balls, you need to understand where I wasing from. Since I have got here there has been shit storm after shit storm. It wasn''t a matter of trust by keeping this under key. Beggar was going toe on home, but not until she was ready. It was her choice not to say a thing. Now I know many of ya''ll are probably pissed off but I think the girls choices are to be respected. These past months we have searched, tortured, killed, whatever the fuck we could to get her back and she ended up saving herself. I don''t think this time around she''s gonna get the chance. So I need to ask all of ya''ll to put down your differences, put aside you fucking feelings and your own personal shit and help me find her and bring her the fuck home. Beggar never just saved our women, but a war with the outfit. She sacrificed herself for us and it is our duty as her family to do the same for her. So who the fuck got a problem with that talk now and get the fuck out.¡± The room is quiet. We are all too shocked to say a thing. Beggar was at Kylie''s house and she didn''t say shit. Why? I instantly scan the room for Killer but he isn''t there. ¡°All my heads meet me in the basement in thirty.¡± River walks off and I get up following him. Storm stops me with his hand on my chest, ¡°Hold on man, are you good?¡± A few months back he was just as fucked up as I was for different reasons. The bottle was his only friend until Killer beat the shit out of him when he found out Storm was dating Kylie and River was our new President. I treated him like shit, and now he is asking me if I am good. I embrace the young VP, ¡°Yeah man let''s just get it done.¡± I walk down to the basement, the door is open and I stop mid-step, listening to Killer, ¡°...Beggar won''t survive this time. When I saw her a few weeks back, I told her I would find him. She was in my arms. I should have insisted and just brought her ass back here. I won''t make that mistake again.¡± ¡°I know you won''t, she is counting on you.¡± The rage that burns in my blood, blinding me to the killer I was trained to be is at the point of insanity. ¡°You knew and you didn''t fucking tell no one,¡± I bellow as my feet drop to the basement taking the stairs four at a time. "He told me." River is leaning on the desk where he sits. Killer is standing in front of him with his hands behind his back. Covered in ck, from head to toe. His rings and piercings make his tattoos more formidable under the brighten light. "I don''t have to say shit to you. You moved on from her with a fucking letter, that she didn''t even want to fucking read. She isn''t yours, so step down brother." His words cut fucking deep as his emotionless face turns to me. He is so calm, but I can see the rage Material ? N?velDrama.Org. in his cold stare. I know it because it matches mine. I walk closer to him. ¡°She isn''t yours either.¡± I uppercut him in his gut. He retaliates, tackling my legs, bringing me down. The chairs bruise my back as I fall hard on them, some topple over with me while others wheel away. I push my legs up, my left one bends from the back and my right straightens in the front as I bnce my body. "This has been long overdue. You have been waiting for this, from the time you knew she was mine. You knew I will fuck up so you can go y knight and shining fuckin'' armor." Killer gives me a look, a look I know too well. The Ghost is looking at my soul. He shakes his head, "You not fuckin'' worth it." Killer stands there and puts his hands behind his back, not walking away. Just looking at me in disgust, and I fucking snap. All that pent-up frustration, the hurt of losing her. The pain I felt when I found out she was the one who tried to kill my brother. THAT gut-sick feeling I felt sitting in that room as River told us that she was safe, and the betrayal of Killer as I heard him. As he confessed that he held her, he was with her. Everything rushes me as I go for him. Two blows to the face, the third going to his gut again, which he blocks and takes the opening of my torso and punches me. His blownds on the edge of my rib cage, and partially on my stomach, it''s a fucking precise move for a precise killer. I kick him as the insides of my stomach winds out. He swipes my feet from under him and I catch myself with my knuckles hitting the ground. I kick out and get him close to his nuts. Every man has feelings in his nuts. Losing his bnce, he stumbles back and The Ghostes for me. We are both on the cemented ground throwing fist after fist. My knuckles are bust, even though they are used to punching. Killer''s knuckles are no better. HE starts to get aggressive and uses my body in something only Jet-Lee and The Ghost would do. And before my mind processes, anything but the pain I''m in he has his foot on my windpipe and he is standing right on top of me. He spits blood, itnds right next to my face on the floor as his eyes that have seen more death in his seven years in the special ops team than I have my whole life look deep in me. And I could say they have emotion, just one -disgust. "As I fucking said you not worth it, you don''t DESERVE her." He gives me onest kick in my sack and he''s gone. It could be ten minutes or more when I get up. I knew the fucker was going to win, he has an extensive background in mix martial arts and Jujitsu. I see River sitting on his chair watching me. The man has eyes that can tell you stories, the ones you never forget. I forgot he was even here. He gets up as I look at him through my one good eye. "Don''t expect pity from me, you deserved that. You practically imed Beggar when you fucked her and made it known to the whole club, and in less than a month you moved on from the woman who gave her fucking life for our women in this club. Now she''s gone and Kylie too who is Killer''s sister in case you forgot. " "Fuck." I mutter. I didn''t know Kylie was taken, I did deserve it. ¡°Why didn''t you say Kylie was gone,¡± My tone is using and it is because I am using him. "It isn''t my ce, but as I said you deserve that." Chapter 18 (Zero) Chapter 18 (Zero) He leaves me in the basement and I start putting the chairs back. I feel more shitty than I did when I got here. Kylie is the one thing I know Killer loves in his own fucked up way. The one thing we all know he cares about and now she is gone because he couldn''t trust us. He sent Beggar there, to Kylie, the one he trusts. I say this in my mind as the pieces to this puzzle fit. Killer must have known Beggar would leave. It all makes perfect sense now. Him leaving the day Beggar put all the men on the ground with darts. Kylieing around. Though he said he didn''t know she wasing, how could he not when he had Aron. Like a fucking card game, Killer secured Beggar''s escape. He was securing her a backup n if we turned, which we did. His words ring in my head, "Beggar is part of my club. she has my protection." It has yed on my mind for months now. I leave the basement, running up the stairs. The pain in my body is nothing to the adrenaline spiking my veins as I rush through the house. Ignoring all the brothers AND women giving me -'' what the fuck happened'' expressions, I go from Killer. I walk right in front of him as the brotherse closer and begin to quieten. Killer sitsfortably on the sofa with an ice pack on his eye. "You from National aren''t you?" I ask him but it isn''t really a question. He smiles when I say this, freezing me in ce with his soulless depths, it is so cold. "Leave us," he says to the guys and they all go. Knight looks at me with pity shaking his head. "Yes,¡± Killer says. "Why, why hide it, why do all this? Lie and pretend you a Road Captain from the Mother Chapter, then lie again, tell everybody you''re soldier here. Why the trouble in keeping it under wraps from even us? What position are you Killer." "Two years back Snake and I became members of National, we wanted the ride and life that came with title. River was the one who brought us into the club, so when he vouched for us it sealed the deal. They patched us in as National. My rank in the government has earned me a lot of respect amongst our people, so when they needed a Vice, they voted me in. I agreed. Not long after that Snake found out some of the club secrets were sold to people on the ck market. At first, we thought it was Knight ''cause of his connections to the Catellis but it wasn''t him, it was someone higher up, someone who knew a fuck load more than just a soldier. Club then lost a big chunk of change. Snake and I both have more than we can spend in ten lifetimes, so we decided to cough out the money and rece it, so it Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. raised no suspicion from the other Chapters. Knight was crossed off the list as we found out he ain''t hurting for cash either. So we dug deeper and started crossing out names. Mercy and After were our informers, both women are loyal. So we grew suspicious when our trail led us back here to Ka. Most of you are special ops so we know you aren''t desperate. But others raised our gs. So I decided it was time I take a closer look. Turned out our suspicion was correct." "Rounder," I say and I can''t believe it. He is the only one here high enough, the only one who was desperate for extra cash because of his medical bills. But why didn''t he just ask us? Why would he do something like this? FUCK. His daughter, what will happen to her? I care about Falon. She is a good woman. I care about Rounder, the guy earned my respect as River earned Killers. He was the reason I came to Ka. The reason Knight, Spade, Texas, and Storm followed us to Ka, fuck. We trusted him, we followed him through fucking Operations that weren''t even authorized. And Falon, she wouldn''t join The Satan Snipers as a member. She''s always been a daddy''s girl. This is going to kill her. "I know what you thinking and don''t. Falon knew. We n on leaving her be, but Rounder.¡± Killer shakes his head, as he ces the ice pack on the armrest. ¡°A dying man doesn''t make him a nonpunishable one, Zero." I can''t say anything to that. We all said our vows, we all y a part in the club. My dad always said that no matter how powerful a man is, nobody is above thew and in the club, nobody is spared from breaking it, not even a dying man. "Trust is earned Zero, breaking it is almost so simple that rebuilding it bes a wasted effort. For all your fucked up choices you earned mine." He stands up and I take a step back, as his words,ing from the iceman hits me in my fucking chest. "Now I told you what you wanted to know. So are you going to help me finish this, find my sister, and bring Beggar''s ass home, where she belongs, or are you gonna be a little bitch about it? ''cause I always thought you''re a cunt but I ain''t never taken you for a bitch." The mans words isn''t one of a soldier, it is words of our National Vice President. As I stand toe to toe with Killer I see why the men voted the young man, I see why he has earned their respect, and why he earns mine too. ¡°Let''s finish this.¡± We embrace in a brotherly hug, a truce to find Beggar and bring her home. Those words ring in my head as I watch Killer walk away, seeing him in a different light. This is Beggars home, my home, one day maybe Kylie''s home. It is also Killer''s home, even if he doesn''t want to admit it. I take a breath and like I did before and would do again I clear my fucking head and close up my shit. I got two of our women to find. Kylie has always been one of us, she once had my back, and now she needs me to have hers. My phone vibrates and I slip it out, ¡°Hey, what''s up?¡± ¡°Police found another body, I just saw it now, I think one of you guys needs toe check this out.¡± Quinn doesn''t beat around with small chat which tells me it''s bad. ¡°I''ll get one of the guys over there.¡± ¡°Is everything sorted with the club,¡± She asks and this is my chance to make a choice of how I am going to y this with her. A chance I''m not going to fuck up. So I give it to her straight, ¡°No, Beggar escaped over a month back,st night she went out with Kylie Bray, now she''s gone. Which means we gotta find her fast.¡± ¡°You mean the Kylie Bray? I might be able to help with that. Remember the hacker I told you about? A few months ago she said Kylie Bray asked her to hack into La Sanati''s bank ounts and find all his offshore ounts and businesses. Only when she finally found something, Kylie told her she didn''t need it any longer, but I think Rudy will still have the stuff maybe we can track them from there.¡± ¡°Get her on the phone, give her my number. We''ll take any help we can get.¡± I clip the call and see Den and the purple haired prospect, Chadley, Falon''s cousin. ¡°Den, Chad, get your asses here, I got an assignment for you two.¡± They both give me eager eyes and stand up taller. In another setting I would''ve smiled. ¡°There''s a dead body at the hospital, I need you to go there and take some pictures, talk to the doctors and give them this.¡± I hand Den five hundred dors. He knows how to get information, it is one of the reasons he is prospecting for us. The other is the thirteen differentnguages he speak. Muscles didn''t alwayse from body mass. Sometimes the brain was much more of a dangerous weapon than the gun in your hand. Chapter 19 (Beggar) Chapter 19 (Beggar) The p across my face isn''t a hard one, but with the bruises around my jaw from the beating I took ¡°You should see how she screamed. Beggar, Beggar,¡± heughs as he mimics Kylie''s voice. Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. Every day he shows me a small video, forcing me to watch what his men do to Kylie. It is fucking sick. I have experienced her torture for hours. For her, it has been weeks. I lost the number of days that have gone by. My mind closes in, my body weakens fromck of food, water, and the amount of pain I am in. But I wee it, knowing that hers is so much more severe. I should be there and she should be here. For La that is too easy for me. ¡°Rape,¡± he saidst week, ¡°is something that once it happens the first time, the other times just don''t hold a candle.¡± He doesn''t know how wrong he is. It only hurts more. Every time a bit of your soul chips away until you got nothing left. I know she screams for me. When she is sleeping, she cries, begging me to kill her. She wants to die. Kylie is at another warehouse in Washington. La thought it was funny that his men rape and torture her in Vincent''s territory. I think it is stupid. Vincent is a dark soul, he was born with madness that made an insane person sane. I have seen it with my own eyes. La doesn''t know Vincent as I do. He hasn''t seen Vincent as I have. A haunted man, with a cursed soul, is much worse than a man with a dead one. Six Years Ago I never believed in goodness, I stopped believing in people''s bullshit because I knew better, I learned all my lessons in the worse possible way. Yet, why did I trust him? Why did I think he was different. He is different, yeah really fucked up different, that is for sure. So different I''m in this ditch with a dislocated shoulder or maybe it''s broken. My ribs on my left side under my naked bruised breast presses underneath the tissue of my skin. I am having trouble breathing. but I am too weak to care, too frail to do anything right now. I can''t cry, I have no scream left in my vocal cords. My voice is fucked. It''s gone. Nightmares haunt me, even in the day, it''s like I am now living in hell. Why don''t I just die, it will be the same thing. Yeah, if it weren''t for the baby in my stomach I would just die. I don''t have an option of that. I hear a sound, like a van, maybe they''re back, maybe he is back to finish me up. They don''t know I''m pregnant, he doesn''t know I have his spawn growing inside me, and he will never find out. I see them before I hear them that is how weak I am- A white older man, with sses and a fat ass woman. My hands instinctively cover my breast, my eyes hard as I stare at these unknown people. "Andrew that''s ady in there, let''s help her out, get the van and some rope, call Junior," I hear the words of her squeaky whiny voice. "This is Sanati''s ce mom, they like bad people, if she is in there, they put her there," A younger man is saying. Which is the truth, but I don''t say anything, even if I wanted to, I don''t think my voice would allow it. I drift in and out after that, no sure what''s happening or how much time passes. I just know when I am wakened I am in a movable house, car thing. The smell of food assaults my senses and my stomach involuntarily retches. My throat squeezes itself and I want to cry, it''s so fucking sore. My chest is burning and I have my final rest I will get in a long time. I jolt up from my sleep, my mind still very much on my life, of how things turned out. My whole life I had to be strong, I had to fend for myself from the age of twelve. I remember the day it all began, the day I saw him. La was the handsome man even rich women wondered about, the man any woman would dream about. For me he was a guardian angel, a savior in the worst possible time sent down to rescue me. Since I first put my eyes on him I had wondered what it would be like to be his, what it would feel like to be owned by La Sanati. The day I met La I didn''t wonder, he didn''t exist, he wasn''t even an image in the depths of my dreams. No, my dreams were real, in, boring, my dreams were another person''s life. The ones with food on a table, a bed to sleep on, and a jacket to keep you warm. Even considering anything more would be too much. My dream was simple- get a job, get a small ce and just live. Maybe have a good meal to eat, and if I am lucky a thick nket to cover with. Yeah, my dreams were simple but to me they were unreachable, unattainable things that were so out of my reach there was no other word to call that which I wanted but a dream. The sound of the door creaking open, is just a reminder of how much a dream that really was. Just like everything else in my life. Normal never stood a chance. Chapter 20 (Killer and River) Chapter 20 (Killer and River) ¡°Find my daughter Kevin.¡± ¡°Yes Sir,¡± I say into my phone before ending the call. Marcus Bray is a man that I respect. A man that has connections in ces that not even my brother Michael has, and he is friends with the President. Three weeks we have searched for Beggar and my sister. I am on a thread of a needle. My body beckoning me to join the murderous rampage Vincent is on in search of Kylie. Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. Myst option was Marcus Bray, Kylie''s father. A week ago I visited him in his Penthouse, I told him the truth, disregarding Vincent and Michael''s objection. And like I thought he came through. I stare at the address I wrote on the palm of my hand then I look at all my brothers and our women who are all ready to go do murder. ¡°We got an address,¡± I yell at them all and the room heightens with vengeance. Tonight we will shed blood. Tonight we will deliver Judgment and a one way ticket to Satan and his depths of hell. ¡°Tonight we do what we are born to do. We don''t feel, we don''t talk, we deliver our vengeance. We give them death, no life spared. Understood!¡± I yell at the men and women in the room. Tracking their eager expressions. ¡°Yes Sir,¡± they scream, standing with their hands behind their backs. I feel a tinge of something. Pride. These are soldiers, through and through. Zeroes to mind and I shoot him a text quickly with the address and to meet us there. He has been searching everywhere, riding out for days with no rest. He fires off a reply FCK, B THER IN A CPLE HRS. River steps forward, as I slip my phone in my pocket taking my position to the back of him. ¡°When I FIRST stepped foot in the Ka Chapter, I had the knowledge that you were all Special Ops and Military. Our government''s best operatives. For a while, I only knew that to be true with a select few. Today I stand here I bear witness to that knowledge. Let''s RIDE.¡± The room erupts in shes as everybody gets ready. The hidden gun stacks behind the T.V and the others in the walls safe starting out. I walk through the house and up to my room and fetch my sniper''s rifle, three ck hunter knives, and a box of ammunition. I shove it in my ck bag and zip it up, strapping it to my back and I wee the nothing I feel. The emptiness of The Ghost. River (The Satan Sniper''s President) My life has always been a ride for the finish line. I have watched men bleed until their very souls have twisted and turned, leaving their body. I have seen death in numbers of a thousand. I¡¯ve faced off with killers who fight for things they know not of. I have murdered fathers, taken meaningless lives for a country that will never surrender, that will always want more. I have experienced life and love and all those fucking in-betweens¡¯. I have watched my father die as he took hisst breath with so much hate that I wished him to suffer. Life has always been a fucking ride to the finish line but with my brothers and our women at the back and the throttle of the bike I have soared breathing in another day. There is death where I go now, it waits for me, screaming its penance on my sins. I¡¯m choking with the vibration of the engine between my legs. We ride, as one. My Ka brothers having my back. I never thought my life will be this way. I never thought I will settle for one ce. But one we are. We ride for our souls, we ride for our right, but mostly tonight we ride for our freedom. And we don¡¯t fucking stop! We never slow. This is what we are, this is who we have be- Chaining ourselves to each other and we do it as one. People always ask us why do we call ourselves The Satan Snipers, today as we unite as one we conquer, because when we are together it is our enemies we will taint, it is our enemies who will parish. Tonight on this day we will spill the blood of the ones who have wronged. We will pass one Judgment- A Satan¡¯s death. We will be merciless as we punish. We are The Satan Snipers and tonight we will reap vengeance on those who wronged us. We stop just outside the old broken down warehouse. I line my bike slowing its speed. It¡¯s a clear view to the piece of shit dump. Killer takes his position on my rear as we stop. I pull my helmet off my head and remove my bandanna off my face. My knuckles itch for the flesh of my enemy. My heart thumps for the end when we will take our victory. ¡°It''s too fuckin'' quiet,¡± Killer hits my shoulder. ¡°Feels like an ambush, did you check the fuckin'' ammo, I say we go in hot,¡± Knight suggests. ¡°Lemme go in first, there''s no need waiting around here,¡± Spade volunteers as fucking always, never met a man who likes a fight more than the brother. ¡°Killer, you and Texas mark the windows. Spade you and Knight go through the front.¡± I stare at Knight when I say this so he knows to watch the brother¡¯s back. I don''t fucking need another brother¡¯s death on my conscious tonight. I look at the big meaty brother, Bull who is on my left and rub a hand down my scruff, ¡°You and me we go through the drain, two meters to the left.¡± The two women Mercy and After stand in front of me, waiting for my instruction, I can tell by the shake of Mercy''s leg that she¡¯s itching for a fight, ¡°You and After will go in first, make it quick and quiet. I want ammo set up in the corners of the block. I got a feeling we going to need a shit load of crap.¡± ¡°Lets move,¡± I say loud and fucking clear. After and Mercy duck down, run toward the back. Texas and Killer go toward the windows. The rest of us make way to the warehouse. It isn¡¯t long before Texas and Killer work out the patrol routine and let Mercy and After know that two of the outfit fuckers patrolling the shit dump have turned their back on the entrance. Mercy and After crouch down, moving like leopards through the tall ss. des ready and thirsty for blood. I stand guard and watch my people at work. Mercy and After sneak up behind the two fuckers and slit their throats. I hear the gurgles as their blood flows from their throats like a waterfall. It''s a sight of beauty and I get a sick fucking thrill as one of the men clutches his throat, like that would save him. No one can save our enemies, not even Satan himself. They are quick and effortless as they dispatch of the bodies and take them to the side of the warehouse. That¡¯s our queue. Killer and Texas set their riffles up by the windows. Bull and I head on to the drain while Knight and Spade go in with guns zing and a fever for the death of our enemies. I climb down into the drains, Bull following close behind. The ce smells like shit but to us it''s just another fuckin day at this fucked up thing we call life. The sound of guns scream through the air as the souls of our enemies be damned to hell. My feet hit the water as I run through the tunnels. I pull my gun from my pants, my feet never failing as I draw closer to my people. I cock the gun making sure my bullet is already in the chamber and hear Bull doing the same. We get to the other side in the middle of a gun battle. I sweep my gaze across the floor. There¡¯s like four fucking outfit fuckers to one brother. Some would say we outnumbered. Others will convince themselves we''re crazy but as I lift my gun and point it at one of my enemies I would just tell you that shit just got real. The guy drops as my bullet meets with the flesh of his forehead. Knight takes out two more, one with a switch de through his eye and the other with three bullet holes to his stomach. After is on the floor with a guys head between her legs as she squeezes hisst breath out of him. Mercy is still standing by the door trigger happy. I put two more bullets in the guy on my left just for fun as I hear the sound of iing cars. I don¡¯t worry much about it because The Ghost always gets its target. I go on my search for the person that started it all. For the woman who I was yet to meet. I go for Beggar. I run up the metal steps and see a sh of ck. Zero in front of me, with a gun pointed to me before the bullet goes straight past my ear. I spin and see the man who snuck up behind me go down and turn back to the man who is here. ¡°Let''s do this,¡± I tell him as another round of bullets go through this ce. Chapter 21 (Zero) Chapter 21 (Zero) River and I rush on the flimsy narrow metal floored stretch. We both start kicking doors. The fifth I SPOT two outfit members and two kill shots go into each of them. We carry on doing this until thest door. My frustration is palpable when we find nothing and three Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. bullets miss my feet by inches. My bullets run out and I clip my new magazine in, spin around and shoot the bald-headed outfit member shooting at me from the bottom of the warehouse. ¡°Let''s go down, I can spot a door on the end,¡± River points to the bottom on the far left of the Warehouse. It looks like a locked door. We run down as the bullets ricochet through the air. The ce is smoking and smells of gunpowder. Our men and women fight, continuing to hold them off us two as we look for Beggar and Kylie. River and I get downstairs and rush to the door as two outfit memberse from nowhere and shoot. I get one in my arm, the other grazes my ear. ¡°Fuck,¡± I curse on a hiss as I put two bullets in their heads. I see River hold his leg and limp toward the door. And my relief is instant when I see it is a scratch. He shoots both the locks and we open it. ¡°Beggar.¡± The room is dark and we can''t see shit. River uses his sh from his phone and we both rush to her. She is tied to a chair, her mouth gagged. Head limp. But I can''t make out if it is her or Kylie. The two look a lot alike. River holds his phone in his mouth as we both start untying her body from the chair. I know it is her. ¡°She''s too weak, we need to carry her,¡± River announces and I don''t think about it as I lift her almost lifeless body in my arms. I ignore the paining from my arm as I cradle her against my chest. There is a million emotions running through my brain and it takes a fucking shit load of control not to lose my shit at the condition she is in. I tell myself I would feel this way about any of our women. ¡°Go check for Kylie, I got her,¡± I tell the Prez as the bullets stop. I leave the room with her in my arms and see through the smoke. All our enemy''s menid to waste on the ground. A ughterhouse I don''t regret. Knight and Spade start dragging some of the dead men, as After tends to Bull who looks like he got shot. There is always going to be injuries or death or both in a war. Today that is what it was, a war. At least the start of one. ¡°Kylie isn''t here,¡± River yells from across me somewhere. Beggar stirs in my arms, ¡°Beauty, Beauty you need to wake up.¡± Her eyes flutter open, ¡°Zero,¡± she croaks and moans through her words, ¡°Kylie, where is sh...ah...sha she.¡± A lightness fills me at the sound of my name from that discernible voice. ¡°Yeah, Kylie, she isn''t here, do you know where she could be? PLEASE, BABY, try and think.¡± I use my good hand to lightly brush her cheek, trying to keep her awake. ¡°Washington, by the D.S docks,¡± She says before her body goespletely still. I repeat the info to them. ¡°Vincent is on his way there now,¡± Killer announces when he gets off the call with VINCENT. ¡°Let''s move people,¡± River bellows and we rush out. When I get outside I see the one thing we didn''t think about. ¡°How are we gonna get her on the bike, IT''S an hour and a half to the nearest hospital.¡± Killer moves with me and produces a long strap with Velcro. And regardless of our evening and Beggar''s condition, I smile at the fucker. ¡°We not gonna stop at the hospital. There''s a hotel forty miles from here, Ribs and Gizbee will meet us there and bring what she needs. She''s a wanted fugitive,¡± River announces, reminding us of what she is capable of doing. My eyes drop to her cradled in my arms. She is so fucking beautiful, and fragile. Her lips are chaffed, dry blood painted on swollen, pale skin. Long eyshes shut. How does this tall, skinny girl do what she is used of? Why would she want to kill my brother? These questions boggle my mind as I look at this woman that insists on calling herself Beggar. ¡°Your arms fucked. I''ll keep her until we get there, Gizbee will have a cage. You can take this,¡± Killer drops his bag on the ground and I know not to argue. My arm IS fucked. I hand her to him and for some reason, I can''t spare her frail body or face ast nce. Even in her current state, she is achingly perfect, that I wonder if she chose the name Beggar, or did a superior entity whisper, Beg her. A small smile creeps in as I shake my head and chase these fucked up thoughts away. Mercy walks to us. She produces a needle with some liquid in it and injects me in my arm, close to where I got shot. ¡°It should numb the pain ''till we get it sorted.¡± Knight joins us, and he and Mercy begin strapping Beggar to Killer''s front. Joining them until Beggar''s legs are wrapped around Killer''s top body and her weakened head is in his chest. Not able to control myself I watch them, and see her stir a bit as he easily lifts his legs over his engine. Killer murmurs something to her and she tucks herself tighter in his chest. The act is one that will be forever nted in my brain. His eyes catch me staring and it is like I am looking at a man way older than I am, not a twenty-four- year-old brother but the Vice President of National. I give him a chin lift and he revs his bike. The others all startup. Bull and After set us up so Killer is in the center of us as we hit the road, shielding Beggar. The free road numbs the pain in my arm and a burning sensation on the tip of my ear. We ride and a sense of something freeing happens to me as it sets in that Beggar is here. She was in my arms. My stomach feels weird and I up my speed, clearing my head of the craziness of my mind. I have a girlfriend, I have moved on. We arrive at the Blue Kernel in Westchase Houston. It is one of the nicer ces we''ve stayed while handling club business. We all park our bikes under the blue beams of ceiling light. I re at the man who walks out of the ce, no doubting to tell us not to park here and he moves right back inside. The air is warm, as the smell of sand and wildfire filters through my nose, the stench of death. River jumps off his bike and goes straight inside. I help Killer unstrap Beggar when he jumps off the bike with her. Her eyes open as I get thest strap from around his back. ¡°I need water,¡± She says. ¡°Beggar needs water,¡± I announce to the others who are also off their bikes. Her eyes stare at me dead. It is first unbelieving, then her gaze turns cold, and a shiver races up my arm when I realize she heard me say Beggar. There was once a time when I would never have called her that. A time when she was Beauty. Her feet touch the ground, but I notice they are bare. She wobbles a bit and Killer easily catches her. Lifting her up as she was in my arms. He doesn''t waste time talking with her inside the hotel. My phone vibrates, and I slip it out noticing eight missed calls from Quinn. I dial her back, and she picks up after the second ring. ¡°Whatsup?¡± I say in answering. ¡°Are you good? I was worried, Ribs called me over an hour ago, said to meet ya''ll at the Blue Kernel, asked me to bring a list of medical supplies, said some of you were shot.¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry babe, just got here now, how long will you be?¡± ¡°A couple of hours or so, I''m with Jade and Venus.¡± ¡°See you when you get here,¡± I don''t wait for her response, and I slip the phone off. Chapter 22 (Zero) Chapter 22 (Zero) ¡°Why would La bring her all the way to Houston, Seattle is fuck far from where she and Kylie were, but a lot closer to us, and then he leaves Kylie in DC, it doesn''t make a lot of sense, don''t get it, won''t it have been smarter to just take them to New Orleans.¡± Mercy shares her thoughts to Knight and After as she ties up her long red hair. The woman always likes things to make sense. If it doesn''t then she goes digging until it does. Cost the club a lot of enemies along the years. But we always stand behind family. ¡°It''s symbolic, Washington is one of the Catelli''s main territories, their Capo Vincent Stone runs it. Kylie''s his. And Amariya belongs to La. Her father lives in Austin, the warehouse we found her in was barely an hour away from Austin. La is convinced his daughter is alive and would be with Amariya''s father. Remember River said the Italian he tortured a few months back said he was going to take her and the kid to New Orleans?¡± Knight exins to us as he used to belong to the Famiglia years ago. And like Beggar he has a dark story and even darker, more deadly secret that could be catastrophic to his family, so he came here, a new identity, and a new life. ¡°Yeah, La is obsessed with her, don''t me the cunt either chick gives off the vibes,¡± After announces. I roll my eyes at After''s bluntness. ¡°He was probably gonna seek sanctuary across the border.¡± I muse, it seems logical, it is what I would do. ¡°Come on let''s get that arm sorted before the anesthesia wears off,¡± Mercy flicks my arm and I follow her inside the hotel. We get to the eighth floor, the orange carpets are bright and makes the white doors stand out, making it easy for even a drunk person to find their room door. We knock on the door with the 804 metal sign screwed to the door. Gizbee opens the door for us and we step in. The room is rtivelyrge. Ribs stand by the silver blinds with his vein protruding arms crossed, harsh lines and deeply tanned skin from spending his life on the road, make him more of the formidable leader I know him to be. He gives me a chin lift as I walk into the room. River is beside Beggar with his fingers around her wrist N?velDrama.Org content. checking her pulse. Killer is on my right by the single desk that is next to the mounted t screen, eyes on his phone. His chain on his leather pants and rings are all back on his fingers. He never does anything serious with the jewelry on. Sometimes I think it is a shield, something he uses to try and distinguish The Ghost from himself. Beggar moves her barefoot on the orange and brownforter. Ribs leaves his position by the window and goes to her side. I still stand by the door, watching the national president as he pulls out his phone from his denim pocket and puts it to his ear. Mercy goes somewhere to the back of the room, thinks it is the bathroom andes back with a cereal bowl filled with water. ¡°Come on, that arm looks like shit, let''s get the bullet out and stitch you up.¡± I look at Beggar as her other leg moves, her hair fanned out behind her, her dirt-covered face is scrunched in a slight frown. Her eyes open and they look right at me, and it takes Mercy pulling me away to drop my gaze to the floor. ¡°She''s up and safe, she''s not your family''s problem any longer, as agreed Amariya DeMarco is dead, and Beggar is property of The Satan Sniper''s, I owe you and your family nothing,¡± Rib says to whoever he is talking to on the phone. ¡°Take your cut out, I''m going to have to cut open your sleeve, it''s sticking to the wound,¡± Mercy says, producing a ck handle hunter''s knife from her cargo pants. I do as I''m told and she turns her back to me and busies herself with putting cotton wool in some water and grabbing the bottle of whiskey. ¡°So what''s the story with you two. One minute I hear you fucking Falon, then next you iming Beggar''s ass, now you with the new girl.¡± I flinch at the way she says it, sounds fucked up even for me. ¡°She tried to kill my brother,¡± I say in answer as Mercy turns around and grabs my arm. ¡°Maybe you need to find out why she wanted him dead before you brand her as bad news, don''t know the girl, but from the little I do know, she must have a reason, not saying she is innocent, but everybody deserves a benefit of doubt, especially a girl like her.¡± I hiss as Mercy pours the whiskey over the gunshot. It feels like fucking ever waiting for her to burn the tweezers. She pours more alcohol on my wound, then digs in and pulls out the bullet. I groan, it is fucking sore. ¡°Don''t be a pussy Zeezee, it ain''t so bad.¡± I re up at After who is standing by the bathroom door flicking that fucking knife smiling at seeing me in difort. Chapter 23 (Zero) Chapter 23 (Zero) ¡°I''ll share the sentiment next time a fucker shoots you in the butt.¡± After mutters something at my reminder of how she acted when she was shot on her ass cheek and leaves. I ignore Mercy grinning at the mention of the incident as she begins stitching me up. Then After wasn''t Material ? N?velDrama.Org. the dead bitch she is now. She was full of life, still a hard ass but one who smiled and cracked a joke now and again. Now her jokes only muse her at the expense of someone else. But fuck it, she is my sister for all intents and purposes. Never looked at her as anything more. ¡°We''re done here, let''s go check on the patient, call your girl up, find out how far she is, Venus needs to get an I.V up.¡± Mercy washes up her hands while she talks to me and I pull on my cut and rip the rest of my sleeve from my arm off. Mercy used to be a nurse for the military before she decided her life belonged in the field, not caring for the injured. She became our eyes and ears, got a shit straw of luck when her in-tel got her sister and team dead. Now she hides her pain and hurt behind her nosy ways and optimistic but lethal attitude toward life. She is one of the few of us in the club that has retired from the special ops. And maybe the only one who didn''t let that life alter the one she lives now. I wait for Mercy to leave the bathroom, then take a leak. Once I am done I pull my phone out and do as she requested, ¡°How far are you guys?¡± ¡°About another ten-fifteen minutes,¡± Venus says in answering instead of Quinn who must be driving. ¡°Be quick, she needs fluids asap.¡± I clip the call and take a deep breath before I enter the room with the woman who wrecked my life in every sense of the word. ¡°Marone, he is the only one La trusts. Don''t think he''ll leave anytime soon.¡± Beggar''s dry and scraped voice steals my attention as I walk back in the room. Beggar is lying on the bed, her knees are bent to her chest as she keeps her gaze nted on After who is currently wiping the dirt off her face with a dishcloth. River, Ribs, and Gizbee stand around the bottom of her bed. ¡°So what do you think he''d do now, you hunted him before, then you spent years hiding from him, you gotta give us something sweet girl,¡± Gizbee asks Beggar. The man is huge, with a beer gut and a beard that is as gray and old as the cut on his body. But Gizbee is a sweet man who falls instantly into the trap of a woman. And Beggar is one woman he doesn''t want to drop his guard around. She''d slice his neck and not even look back if she had to. The sound of the door opening jerks me out of my thoughts of Beggar''s killing capabilities as Killer opens the door, walking in. Behind him is Quinn, Venus and Jade carrying in packets and medical supplies. Venus wastes no time before she goes to Beggar and I stand quietly by the wall with my arms crossed as I watch the doc fuss over Beggar. Quinn joins Venus, jumping into action as Venus starts ordering her around. Killer surprises the fuck out of me when he walks up to me and hugs me. I am initially stunned then give him a pat on the back. It is fucking awkward but I take it. ¡°How''s the arm,¡± he asks and at the sound of my reply Beggar jerks up and her big eyes stare at me from across the room. They are big and rounded, the pool of ck hooks me in, and it is like my heart is been wrapped tightly in cling wrap ready to be given to her to do as she pleases. ¡°Zero.¡± My name from her lips, intensifies the tension in the room as everybody''s eyes stray from hers to mine. Including Quinn, who I look at, breaking my spell from Beggar''s intoxicating stare to Quinn''s questioning one. She knows the story about Beggar, but in her mind I made it as if she is the bad one, that she left me for another man, that she used me to kill my brother while knowing I was falling hard for her. I told Quinn that Beggar was the biggest mistake I have ever made, I never told her that Beggar and I were two souls that connected in a way that when she left me it felt like I died everyday since, I never told Quinn that Beggar was my Beauty and I, her beast. Killer must sense the tension in the room, guess The Ghost always knows. He moves steadily toward Beggar, pushes her legs aside with familiarity, and without her screaming her lungs out. He sits next to her and starts talking about Aron, his brother''s son and her attention is instantly turned to him when he slips his phone out and starts showing her pictures. I silently thank the brother, and the girls are able to get an I.V up for Beggar. ¡°Guys we need to change her clothes. Move or lose it.¡± After announces and River snorts shaking his head as Ribs, Gizbee, and him leave. Killer and I both stay put. ¡°I said men,st I checked you two both have dicks.¡± ¡°Last time I checked you licked pussy same way as the guys with dicks.¡± I say to After as she res at me. I see Quinn smiling as she takes Beggar''s change of clothes out of the brown sack. ¡°Your woman is standing right here, and you are insisting on looking at a poor innocent woman naked, you should be ashamed.¡± I roll my eyes as After makes a piss poor attempt at trying to make me feel like a pervert. ¡°I want you to leave.¡± Beggars dry discernible voice however grates me up the wrong way. I know Beggar, she has never cared about her nudity before, she has changed in front of all the guys at the clubhouse. Why the sudden change now? I want to ask her just that but one look from Killer has my mouth snapping shut. The brother''s eyes are haunted, telling me it is grievous. I give her onest look, her eyes focused on her hands refusing to lift her head and face me, and I leave. Come hell or high water I will get to the bottom of what she is hiding and La would pay for what he did. Chapter 24 (Beggar) Chapter 24 (Beggar) ¡°We have Chocte and Caramel, I think they out of the Very Berry Yogurt,¡± Jade says from behind me, ¡°But Knight said he''d ask Killer to pick some up on his way back this afternoon.¡± It''s almost two weeks that I am back with The Satan Snipers. Every day I''m here is another day I worry about Kylie. Killer says she''s alive, but how alive is she. I asked him if she was fine, I already knew she was breathing. Killer''s answer is always the same, when the time was right he''ll take me to see her. That doesn''t ease my mind, don''t think seeing her would do it either. But neither does the alternative. I''ve grown close to Kylie, more after she was taken from that room. One would think it was those nights we shared a bed together that brought me closer to her. Honesty can''t ever be that simple. Watching those videos as they tortured her is what bonded me to her. Watching her suffer as I had once, over and over again, made my anger almost suffocating. I lived in the memory of what she suffered, still do. Only now when my mind strays to my own past- her suffering as she screamed my name, begging me to kill her is what keeps me grounded. Kylie is part of my past, present, and imminent future. She is my reality, a strong reminder of what happens if I don''t stop La, if I fail to kill thest two people on the list. ¡°Bee, do you want Chocte or Caramel,¡± Hannah asks me as my hand brushes the turtle neck I am wearing to hide my scars. The woman refuses to call me Beggar. She isn''t many years older than I am but she has a short temper, one of those girly kinds that Spade calls a temper tantrum. ¡°Both.¡± Since I got here, a lot has happened. First, I finally met River, the new president of the Ka Chapter without the added people around. While we never got down to the real questions he wanted to ask, the message was clear- I stay here and keep a low profile for now. He has since taken up the part of an irritantiner. He is a no-bullshit man, I respect that. He reminds me of an older Zero, moodier, bigger, and scarier, but a true hero underneath it all. But he nags me a lot. He wants me to think about writing some stupid test and getting a diploma. But, I understand why Hannah, who is stunningly gorgeous with curves that a woman longed for, chose him. The woman loves giving me food, so I give her my ear and all she ever speaks about is River, the club, and her kid, Jo. Jo is a little girl who said I''m too skinny, way too skinny. I told her all the more reasons she should eat her vegetables. Two hourster she was sitting next to me on the sofa and handing me a bowl of meat. N?velDrama.Org content. She said vegetables weren''t gonna cut it. I ate the meat, and the three bowls of jelly and custard she gave me after. I knew how to eat thanks to Kylie. I also knew what good food tasted like thanks to Kylie too. And I wanted good food, and I didn''t feel bad about it when Mercy, Jade, and Hannah kept offering. Not sure what I expecteding back to The Satan Sniper''s clubhouse, but the wee I got from everybody wasn''t apart of it. Even Whisp is nice to me. At first, I was convinced the men hated me. Like the roles were reversed. Truth is, the distancested the first couple of days. Didn''t me them after I stuck tranquilizers in their skin those months ago. Seems like they didn''t me me either when they proved me wrong on the third day back. Spade said Killer told them to give me a few days to breathe and he''d let them fight him three to one. Which he did, and he wasn''t too chuffed about Spade, After and Zero fucking him up together. I only watched thest half of it before Mercy stole me away for a trip to KFC. It was a good thing too, when we got back Quinn was all over Zero in the lounge faffing like he was a baby. Once those days wore off, I had eight men at my beck and call. The shit didn''t feel right and I said as much. I told them they should be pissed after what I did. Spade said life was like a waterfall, in order to keep remaining, it needs a continuous flow of water. He said that was the way life worked. Snake walked in and said it was all just water under a bridge. A new day, same bridge, no point going on about the fucking water. Still, I apologized after the first week when I got to walking. My mother said apologizing was a waste of time because it didn''t change why you were apologizing in the first ce. Only this time, I knew apologizing wasn''t meant to change the past but more to tten the bumpiness of the present and maybe even pave a smoother road for the future. Chapter 25 (Beggar) Chapter 25 (Beggar) Storm was the first one to ept that apology with a handshake that had me bumping my knuckles against his. He is doing good considering Kylie said he found his free time at the bottom of a bottle. I haven''t seen that bottle or the alcohol from it in his hands since I got here. Most of them are doing good, Bull is himself for the most part beside he has cooled off on the booze and weed. The only part of this picture that is different is over 6 feet tall, with a scar under his eye- Zero. After I met Quinn a few weeks back, I witnessed the two of them together. When I first saw it, I waited for that hurt that a woman feels getting her heart crushed, it didn''te. It was just anger. Think I passed the stages of silly emotions right about the time other girls began experiencing them. Saying I am happy that he is with her is a lie I wouldn''t waste on myself. Nor is pretending he and I didn''t happen. Which he seems to be doing really well besides those rare moments when he gives me that creepy stare that makes me want to run the other way. Mercy however doesn''t think the same. She believes it is some kind of man thing. She keeps saying Zero is going to be trotting his fine ass over to me any day now. But then the red- headed woman that could probably snap my neck in a second is nothing short of Optimistic- A That woman, looks just like I did all those months ago when I first stepped foot in this clubhouse, except she always has a knife in her hand. The way she ys with it warns everybody away. Her lifeline is just death, piss her off and an early grave bes inevitable. I could see why they call her After. She''s exactly what one looks like when there''s no more life to live. You just kept breathing, every human emotion- dead. I rode that path months ago. I am in the finishing stage, the one you get when you are just about done. And it is because of that reason Zero and I just can''t be, I know he knows it now but we haven''t spoken the words yet. But I need to, my just about donees with sliding a knife in his brother''s neck. He''ll need the chatty woman of his when I am done. There is no way I am backing down. Quinn is new to the club, admittedly she is a solid person. She talks a lot about everything. I sometimes wish she would shut up. She is older than I, but her lightness to life makes her younger. She makes me feel like a cold- hardhearted bitch most of the time. Especially when she is fussing over Zero like he is a baby and I am imagining stabbing my eyes out. So I tend to stay away from her. Not that I am avoiding her, I swear I''m not. Since that night they found me, Zero has treated me like all the other women in the house, apart from the two times he remembered that I wasn''t. Living with Kylie taught me that I am not worthless, that I am worth more than I think. All the zeros in her bank ount. She said she had a lot of them. It makes me think of why she said zeros, was she trying to tell me something. I wish I could call her up and talk to her. Knowing Kylie, she''d want me to stand up for what I want. But my lessons in life came too hard, the price too high. My humanity stripped until all I had was a shred, and that too now belongs to Zero. In another life, he would understand the path I am on and love me enough to walk with me on it. The thing is we only get one life and it isn''t fucking simple. At least I can say I had him for a small time. Not that I want him again. I ain''t never fought for a man and I never will. I got nothing to offer Zero besides pain and misery. I may not be worthless but I am still a woman he met on the streets, a woman who happened to also be the one who put his brother in a wheelchair. Mercy, Whisp and Surprisingly Snake keep telling me to talk to Zero. Truth is, I know I have to, but not for the reason they think. I need to tell him about his brother but every time I look for him I chicken out. He is either with Quinn or in the back by the horses or working on something by the barn. When we are in the same space he either leaves or makes sure he is too far away from me. But I catch him staring at those times I get up and run from the room, the man makes the air in the room so thick that it is hard for me to breathe. When Killer told me Zero moved on I was angry, but I understood that life with him in it wasn''t mine to live. Now that I am here, I am constantly reminded that we did share something and memories I won''t forget, yet he has forgotten them so quickly. ¡°You''ve been cleared, that means training tomorrow, I was thinking an endurance warm-up, then some muscle strengthening,¡± Spade slides over the back of the sofa I am sitting on, nting his ass right next to me. I hate it when people touch me, don''t think that would ever change, besides from the few who can. But I no longer shrink away when someone sits next to me. N?velDrama.Org content. Something in me changed, I know it''s not the better kind of change, it never is. I am not sure what part of me is different, not like I have many left. But anger, my anger is something that lives in me, simmers in my blood everyday stirring and increasing, knowing I have a job to finish. Nightmares still ride me, some new, some old, but now my nightmares onlye at night. Killer is always there when they show themselves. He makes sure he is next to me, he doesn''t give me the opportunity to live in it for long. Two nights back, I woke up with him holding me down. His body pressed to mine. I waited for the hardness of his dick. But what I got was a hard glint as he held both wrists in his one hand. The silence in the room became the constant drumming in the air as my heartbeat crushed in my chest. It wasn''t easy realizing that the man above me took power over me because he could and he would. Only the devil himself could release you of the hell you are in by just a look in his eyes. Since the night when Kylie, him, and I rode to the hillside in Seattle, something has changed between him and me. There is a current growth, only I don''t know what it is but it feels inevitable. We both got nothing to give, yet this thing thickens a bit each day. It isn''t sexual just inevitable. When I am with Killer, I don''t feel the small ache thates from seeing Quinn and Zero holding hands orughing at one another, knowing I would never have it. I feel eptance that Zero and I are just a memory. Zero was an obstacle. A test from God, who still held out hope for me, thinking my soul could be saved if I fell in love. That thought just makes me smile, if God held out any hope for me it probably died a miserable death when I killed any chance of my kid ever knowing who her father was, who her mother was. Chapter 26 (Beggar) Chapter 26 (Beggar) Killer told mest week when he joined me on the rooftop that he and I are just the same. Two fucked up people who don''t feel the hollowness of the kill but even fucked up soulless people deserve someone who warms their bed. I smiled that day for the first time and it was the first real smile I had in a very long time. Since then I admittedly smile a lot. ¡°Mercy said she wants my first lesson,¡± I tell Spade. ¡°You bet your damn ass I am having it,¡± Mercyes around and drops the two yogurts on my jean- coveredp with a teaspoon. I go for the caramel first as Mercy joins Spade and me, putting her ass right between him and me. Her red hair brushing my arms. I smile as I pull the silver wrapping off my yogurt and stick my teaspoon in. The first bite always makes my mouth tingle. ¡°Zero is down at the barn and Quinn is at work, now is your chance,¡± Mercy says. ¡°Yeah chicka you better go, once Falones back, you gonna have two women who want your man,¡± Whisp''s voicees from behind me. She and I have be better. She isn''t looking at me as if she wants to gut my eyes out. Guess getting Jade and Falon back earned me respect in her eyes. ¡°He ain''t my man,¡± I gripe in my fucked up voice, knowing it for the lie I want it to be. ¡°That''s it, we are getting your ass dressed and you are going to talk to that man, once and for all, the worst thing that could happen is he rejects you,¡± Mercy says and grabs a hold of me, lifting me up. ¡°Make sure she wears something tight, those baggies are a boner killer,¡± Spade steals my chocte yogurt as he says that and I re at him. Mercy kicks him in the legs, ¡°Shut up dick face.¡± Yeah, that is Mercy for you. ¡°I don''t want to talk to him right now,¡± I tell Mercy as she begins to pull me away, toward the stairs. ¡°If you don''t talk to that man, I''m going to pull my eyes out, and River ain''t gonna be thrilled when I can''t watch him get his ass kicked by Jo,¡± Hannah warns me, and I spot her sitting on a small chair on the side of the lounge reading a book. ¡°That kid is a badass. Can''t believe she shot that duck we ate a few nights back,¡± Mercy yells. ¡°WHAT?!¡± Hannah''s voice screeches. ¡°Shit stirrer,¡± Spade screams as Mercy starts making a fast exit. ¡°Let''s move bitch,¡± Mercy says already on the steps. I don''t need to be told twice when Hannah screams River''s name. The two of them can have a screaming match when ites to Jo. Most of the time River tells Hannah to stop bitching and rx. Other times she tells him not to test her and stop spoiling Jo. He never listens. He is the President of a house full of bikers. If she thinks he''s gonna change his mind she''s crazy. River doesn''t seem like a man who is going to Material ? N?velDrama.Org. listen to his woman unless it is where she wants to fuck. Once we reach upstairs I go to Mercy''s bedroom. It used to be Zero''s but he took the only one that is on the training floor. We both startle when Hannah, Whisp, Jade, Venus, and Spade who is now eating a big party packet of Dorito''s walk-in. ¡°Let me know once River gets home,¡± Hannah says to all of us in the room and myself included ignores her request. None of us want the two of them arguing then fucking ''till all hours of the morning while one of us exins to Jo why she has to go home without her mother and River. The kid ain''t stupid and not that she minds us looking after her. She just seems very possessive of River. I know ites from not having a dad. I would feel the same if I was her. I look around the room that is now decorated in lime and turquoise. From the curtains to the cushions sitting in the center of the double bed. The same bed I once slept in. I know it is the same one ''cause of the ck writing on the base. Killer''s nephew, Aron wrote his name there. He insisted he was marking his territory. The memory makes me smile and brings a lightness to my mood. The women move in the small space as Mercy starts ordering them around, telling one to get a hair iron, and somebody else to grab make-up, while she and Hannah start pulling out outfits from the white wardrobe. I sit on the bed next to Spade and share his chips, enjoying the show. There is something nice about this. It''s an hourter when I am ready. I didn''t want the others besides Mercy to see my body so I changed in the bathroom. My long hair is ited to the side in a French braid. I have on a white shirt, that is opened, with a gray vest that covers my neck right to the top. But my shorts, these things feel ufortable even though they''re loose. Venus says it makes my ass look amazing when I voiced my opinion. I think it just makes me look like a hooker, but I don''t say that to the women. They are all smiling and chuffed with themselves. Wouldn''t want to dampen their mood. Whisp hands me a pair of brown cowboy boots and a pair of socks. ¡°Wear these, in case he decides to fuck you on the tool table, it''ll look hot.¡± I look at her outfit, knee-length shorts and a blue vest, which is tamepared to the clothes I first saw her in at Lazers. She is different recently, I notice she also never strays too far from Texas. Chapter 27 (Beggar) Chapter 27 (Beggar) Spade jumps up from the bed as Whisp begins talking about the new pole Knight and Storm mounted to the floor upstairs in the training room. Spade throws me an energy bar as he grabs Jade''s hand dragging her out of the room, ignoring her protests. ¡°See you,dies,ter.¡± ¡°Make sure you keep it down, we not all getting it five times a day,¡± Mercy yells loud and all of us stare at her. ¡°What? That was days ago. Don''t judge.¡± Mercy flicks her hair as she says this, then bends to pick up the discarded clothes on the floor. The woman like After are both built as fighters. Mercy got hips, a big breast, and a curvy tall body that can make any man feel lesser. After is leaner, but her stomach is ripped and her shoulders are broad, which makes up for her short form. ¡°You were fucking screaming so loud I heard you from outside,¡± Venus bursts outughing. I was witness to that day. The Satan Sniper''s Club was a lot different from the few bikers I have run into during my years in Washington DC. The Satan Snipers mostly didn''t have sex in the open, we heard them now and again or a few kissed each other on Saturday when we were having our open braai. But the ce isn''t a fuck fest. Unless the other Chapters and Charters are around. That''s an entirely new ball game. I only witnessed it for a night before I left here but since my return, I did hear the stories among the women. ¡°Okay, okay, but in my defense, Knight and Storm have the bigger kind, two for one will keep no woman quiet.¡± ¡°Knight isn''t that big, Texas on the other hand,¡± Whisp starts to whistle. Hannah rolls her eyes, ¡°I get the picture, let''s stopparing the size of men''s dicks. Bee you ready, now you need to go talk to your man, don''t take his shit, I know Zero is a lot like River, stubborn and thick-headed. So don''t put on kid''s gloves.¡± ¡°Yeah, show the fucker who''s boss,¡± Mercy adds in as Whisp gives me an encouraging smile. ¡°Just go there and say what you need to say, it is better knowing where you stand,¡± Venus advises me and hands me a sweet, taking away the energy bar I squashed in my hand. I nod my head and stare at all the women who are so different from each other but joined by the club as one. N?velDrama.Org holds this content. Once I leave the room, I rush down the stairs and go through the kitchen, it is closest to the barn. I march up the hill. My head already knowing that he is going to say something terrible and I am going to take it, say nothing. I know I should tell him the truth about his brother. Honesty is what Zero wants and I was going to protect him from the truth, but why should I. The truth is supposed to hurt to the one listening and free the one confessing. As I walk closer to him, I know those words for the lie it is. It doesn''t make me feel better thinking about telling him the truth. But it does make me hold my tongue. I can''t tell. The thought to go back down the hill enters my mind but my feet continue moving closer to him. The shorts I''m wearing creep up my butt and I pull the piece of material down every few seconds. Before I came to the Clubhouse, my clothes consisted of three pairs of jeans, two were men''s I picked up from a charity van a couple years back. Two t-shirts I got from a hooker, Candy when I swapped my mother''s dress for them. It was few days after that I shoved a beer bottle through her eye after she almost got me killed by the drug cartel, I was fuckin'' pissed. Then there was the famous Hood, the one I got from a guy I tried to steal from. He fucked me up and gave me a hundred bucks including the Hooded jacket. I never owned underwear, so that is something that still gets to me. But I did afford myself something nice, A leather Jacket and leather pants. Two items I only used when I went out hunting men from a list that did what La couldn''t, it stripped away my being, the thing that made me human. And I wasn''t yetpleted, I still had two more names left. One of them was the brother of the man I was currently staring at. Maybe I should go, the thought is the most logic my mind has spoken since I put on these shorts and walked up this Hill. I start to do just that, then I stop and think of Kylie. What would she do? That is simple, confront her problems head on. And Zero is a problem. I need to talk to him, even if it isn''t what I came here to say. That will have to be a secret I take to my soon to be early grave. ¡°Zero.¡± He turns at the sound of my scratchy voice. His green eyes, seem like a deep golden yellow from this far. His body is much bigger and scarier than I remember, exins why I tend to chicken out every time I get a chance to talk to him. Even knowing that I have touched that body, and I have caught a glimpse of the man himself, to know that those are his best features, doesn''t make him less frightening. He touches the scar under his eye, something that I will always characterize with Zero. And that frown, it has me gulping. ¡°What do YOU want?¡± He turns back to his task, dismissing me as if I am nobody. But spending so many years on the streets, you know a nobody doesn''t get a reaction like that. A nobody gets no reaction at all. I turn my head to look at the house, the woman peeping through the bedroom window makes me braver. I can do this, I am safe, I can talk to him. My mind repeats the words, over and over again. I take that step, and another until I stop close to him, just barely in the barn. Now I am a few feet away from the man that once wanted to save me. Only now as I stare at his tense shoulders, I know he finally sees what I''ve tried to tell him from the beginning. I can''t be saved, I don''t want to. Chapter 28 (Beggar) Chapter 28 (Beggar) Now, I just want Zero to tell me what he needs to. I want to tell him how I thought about him, how I never stopped regretting the way he found out about me. I want to tell him how I wish that we met years ago before I fell at the feet of a beautiful creature and got myself trapped under a false sense of perfection. I wish to tell him the facts of my life, the ugly truth that I was never meant to remain a permanent fixture in his life, that I would always just be the woman he once knew. But the longer I stand here, facts are just that- facts. I open my mouth to the things I have thought to say. Words I want him to hear, confessions I feel he needs, but my wants be stuck. And the one thing I have tried to crush since I first met Zero hits me that if I was another woman the force of it would have me on my hands and knees. The need for him to ept me is so potent. But doubt is ugly ''cause it is there reminding me of what I can''t have, let alone from a hero like Zero. But hope is a fool''s courage, and I believe those words, and live by them. Only now, as I am faced with this man, who owns the final piece of me I want to be a fool, even knowing that it won''t guarantee shit. Even knowing that our stars only touched. It exploded, and for that time my dim light became so bright, showed me a glimpse of heaven. A taste of something I was never meant to have, the goodness of love was meant for pure souls, not a filthy one like my own. So my words don''te as they should. Instead, theye from somewhere deep in me, a ce I convince myself doesn''t exist, ¡°I keep thinkin'' you''d wanna talk about us, what I did, but you avoid me, why?.¡± ¡°There is no us Beggar, never has been. You should have read the letter, save yourself all this thinking.¡± His words are meant to hurt me, but I have been a woman scorned far worst than a woman rejected. So it just angers me, something I started feeling when La gave Kylie to his men so they could rape and torture her. She survived, but I wonder how much of her soul survived with her. It stirs up this fire deep in me, and anger I sometimes want to unleash. It takes a lot to simmer it down, but I keep managing, knowing soon it will blow. ¡°If you gonna tell me a lie, do it to my face, if you want to reject me don''t do it with words on a paper. I''m standing right here Zero,¡± my voice sounds like someone is scraping at my throat with sandpaper. I hate the sound, it is a reminder of my one day in hell. The same Hell Kylie experienced twenty-one times over for three weeks. Only Zero once whispered how he liked my fucked up voice, he said it made his dick so hard. "I can''t even look at you right now," he ms the hammer on the wooden table. Months ago his disy of anger would have made me jump, now I stand watching him as his actions tell me more than the words he tries to hurt me with. And the sun is my witness that he looks fucking sexy doing it. I should leave now. I tilt my head, my eyes squinted on the man who is angry because he is trying to deny me. Convincing himself we are nothing. But I know that nothing has to always be nothing. It can''te from something so strong, then suddenly die and be nothing. There is always something there. ¡°It''s too bad because I don''t think we''d have another chance to talk about this.¡± ¡°If you looking for redemption you are not gonna get it from me, so leave me the fuck alone.¡± I take a few steps closer to him, andugh at his words, ¡°I epted my fate the day I pushed my baby girl out of my body, knowing I will never hear her voice call me mommy. I lost all hope for redemption the day I handed my kid over to Deno, my soul was already gone but my life was still here, so I gave mine for hers. A life for a life.¡± ¡°I don''t care to hear your excuses. You had your chance to tell me the truth, that was all I ever wanted, but like always you told me what you wanted to, yed the innocent victim.¡± He doesn''t look at me, but I don''t need his eyes when his words yell more than he would ever know. I close my own, knowing that pain he is feeling is from the betrayal I caused, ¡°I knew the day I left our story was no more, but even a fucked up person like me can admit that some small part of me held out hope that I''d get to see you. I don''t believe in hope, it''s a fool''s way of living, but this time I got that hope. I get to see you, I see you smile,ugh even if it is with another woman.¡± ¡°A woman who doesn''t want to kill my brother.¡± His words are true but don''t stop me as I stamp my feet right up to him and grab him by his white t- shirt.Material ? N?velDrama.Org. He spins around and his fingers lock around my wrist in an unyielding grip that I am certain will bruise. "You are right to move on, and you are right about me, but denying what we had even if it is in the past is not right, Judging me without knowing why you are doing it is not right, looking at me as if I was nothing to you is not right Zero.¡± My words are whispered at the end, as I barely part my lips with his name. I pull my wrist, and he lets it go. My back blocks him out as I spin on my boot-covered feet, knowing that now I should leave. Chapter 29 (Beggar) Chapter 29 (Beggar) Big hands cup my hips as his fingers dig into them as a familiar feeling of belonging to this enforcer startles me when he spins me around and I stare at his face, his shiny red eyes. I could easily say he looks like a man who just lost his whole world, but I know he is just a man searching for one to call his own. "What do you expect me to do. YOU left me! YOU betrayed me! What the fuck am I gonna do Beauty, and now here you are and the only thing on my mind is how desperately I want to kiss you right now, my brother''s killer." His confession is low, but the emotion behind it suffocates me. His lips are glorious and electric as it collides with mine. He breathes on my mouth, and I open my lips and inhale his air through my own. Our breath now one. He darts his tongue out and I open my mouth, my lips dangling with his as his fingers grip my hips, pulling me closer to his body. My own hands go around his waist and inside his shirt and Zero crushes me to him as his hands and arms take full possession of my back, and his mouth controls my own, as his tongue dances with mine, sucking me in. And in this moment I feel, I almost want to cry it is so consuming, like I am tasting the essence of life. He lifts me up and my legs wrap around his, as my fingers dig into his neck and his own grip my ass cheeks and he rubs his fingers into my denim-covered flesh and I moan. Zero doesn''t waste our stolen time as he ces me on the wooden table and pulls down my shorts, neither do I when I grab at his jeans and slip my hands in knowing he isn''t wearing any boxers. I pull out his cock, he stops kissing me as his fingers slide away from the small scrap of material covering my cunt from his pration. Zero''s green needy gaze breaks through me as his two fingers push into my wetness. I grip his cock, hard. Two of my fingers manipte the head as he likes it and watch as his neck is thrown back, head up, and his mouthparts. He hisses and brings his hot breath down to my ear as he ces three fingers stretching me out. ¡°You fuckin'' killed me when you left, and now you bring me to life,¡± his words are said through clenched teeth, and I don''t think as he lifts me up and I lock my legs around and guide his length into me. Zero pushes me down onto his dick and I am the one who extends my neck this time at the pleasure I get and his familiar scent wrapping around me as his naked flesh pleasures me in a way only Zero knows. My fingers grip around his nape and my mouth sucks in a series of breaths as his lips suckle on the flesh of my neck right where my pulse beats. His hands move me at an angle as I gyrate my hips, taking his cock in anguid feel of two lovers united once again. It feels like our stars has once again joined. Like I am his. I take this short time and I don''t stop or think of anything besides his body, hands, and the feel of his dick. My body builds with each stroke, the feeling in my womb, the heart that beats in my walls, as the blood rushes, as it swells up and sucks his girth further in. I lose my mind as I race my body to the promise of whates, to the bliss I am certain is sure to follow, to the one thing I am guaranteed will bring me ultimate pleasure and I don''t stop. My insides explode and I milk his release out of him as he makes a delicious noise. We both cumin'', and my eyes open to his watching me, both of us locked in this moment. Now I am not his brother''s killer and he is not the man I can never have. I am just me, a woman with no past or future, just this moment, and he is the man who is looking at me Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. like I have all the answers he seeks. Zero touches my forehead with his and his eyes hold me as a ve to his soul. His eyes tell me what he wishes me to say and I am sure mine tell him that I can''t. Words are just words, the truth has nothing to do with what is said and everything to do with what can''t be. I feel the moment pass by as I would a car if it sped past me on a road- fleeting. My eyes fall, knowing the truth, Zero would never forgive me, and I can never surrender. He drops me down and pulls up his denim. I stand there as he walks behind me, andes back to hand me my shorts and underwear. He doesn''t watch me change as he once took pleasure in, but returns to his task which I see is cleaning his gun. His cum is leaking from between my legs and I don''t mention us not using a condom as I know he must know that. I use my small piece of underwear to wipe my legs and a few of my private parts. Then I slip on my shorts and slip the scrap in my pocket. I touch the material covering my neck, my newfound shield. ¡°I should go,¡± I tell him once I am done buttoning up my denim. I spin on my heel to do just that. ¡°Are you going to kill my brother?¡± His words stop me dead and my head drops in shame, as my eyes close as the inevitability of my answer is sound, ¡°An eye for an eye.¡± ¡°He wants to kill you too, how do I choose you over my own flesh and blood,¡± his question is an answer on its own. Deep words were spoken calmly, as he remains at his task. I turn my head, see a man who is broken, pretending to be sane, and the honesty spills from my poisoned lips, sealing our fate. ¡°You don''t, blood is blood.¡± He is quiet and I stare long and hard at his harsh carved-out face. Zero is a man who probably belonged to the Vikings. A man born to protect innocent people, kill his enemies. Much like me, only my plight for vengeance has overshadowed everything else in my life besides one person, one baby, an innocent girl who didn''t deserve the deal she got. ¡°I don''t want you to go, stay, help me.¡± His honesty is a surprise as much as the small smile ying on his lips and I find myself standing next to him and taking the white cloth he hands me. A silent tear slips down my eye, as I realize that even knowing that I will kill his brother he still offers me a smile. I don''t hope as I wish to, I don''t think or imagine a future as I want to. I pick up a piece of the gun and stand with my shoulder brushing his arm and I help him clean the gun. We don''t speak after that, hours go by as the day dims. We are quiet, our words non, not when he kisses me again, not when takes my body on the table which held his gun and fucks me hard and long making me scream in utter bliss. Zero and I share not a word when our small moment is over shadowed by Knight whoes to tell Zero that Quinn has been looking for him. And just like that on a sunny Wednesday I spend a day with the man who owns the final piece of me, only to be reminded that he is not mine as he turns his back to me and walks away, into the arms of another woman without a backward nce. I have always felt dirty, unworthy. This time I don''t know why I feel it more. The night seems to feel it too, as it bleeds on, darkening this Wednesday, reminding me of who I am, what I am. But this time I remember that it is not true. Kylie Bray said it, a girl I once looked at and judged, taught me that the only person who can ept me is me. The only person who determines how much respect in what I am is me. Kylie Bray, billionaire heiress told me, Beggar- A woman that spent her entire life on the street that I was worth more than all the zeros in her bank ount. She proved that the day she chose me knowing that she might die. Kylie never looked at me as beneath her. Kylie thought I was good enough. Now I wait for Zero to say the same. Only he doesn''te back. I can honestly say that I finally feel let go. Chapter 30 (Beggar) Chapter 30 (Beggar) To say I settled in would be an understatement. A month to date since Zero left me in that barn without N?velDrama.Org content. even an ounce of regret. Our lines were marked that day, he proved to me that all I was to him was a step-in. He showed me that what we had between us was nothingpared to what he shared with Quinn and I admitted to myself that day as I waited for him to return that I was not okay with that. I told Killer what happened, and I also told him how I felt and he understood. Killer held me that night and I made a promise to him and myself to not allow anybody to treat me like I was less. Killer knew me, even with the scars I hid from most of them in in sight. My training started shortly after, only I worked harder, pushed myself further. Training under the watch full craziness of Spade and the eager eyes of Mercy, I have almostpleted my training as a Satan Sniper. One step closer to actually earning some real money. A step closer to finally finishing what I started years ago. Mercy has been teaching me how to hunt, she says I am a natural hunter. I am good with tracking and looking for clues which she calls marks. Last week I was given my first task, which required me to learn the joy of google and fast inte service which is called Fibre. I had no idea people could be found so easily. The job was to collect anything on a Lance Grant. Since then I have be a bit of an inte addict. ¡°So you think they''d let us go?¡± Den has been keeping mepany since I started cleaning the He is currently sitting on the washer while I fold thest bit ofundry. The room is big and has a dishwasher, two driers, and three washers. Two of them have packed up. The one he is sitting on across from the door is one of them. I look up at the prospect who is around the same age as me. His eyes are currently the color of a leopard''s coat is stuck on my new phone I got yesterday. Killer said it took the best pictures and Den told me that these ones with an apple on them are expensive. River didn''tment when I mentioned what Den said over breakfast this morning. I got snappy and banged the phone in front of him as he was the one who got it for me. Which is how I ended up with extra chores for a week and an irritant Den who is getting ants in his pants from staying under ''lock-down. ¡°Don''t know, Hannah ain''t allowed, so if the Prez says yes then Hannah is going to get pissed.¡± I shrug when he lifts his head to face me in his ''what the fuck'' look. His spiked hair is sticking up in all directions like he just woke up, but I saw Chadley styling it for him this morning when I was getting myself a cup of coffee. I still need to get used to the blue hair he has going on. I can deal with the eyes. The guy is smart, yet still green when ites to life. He is the only one in the clubhouse who doesn''t wear their past like a second skin. Still, he talks a hell of a lot ofnguages, which is good for the club but disastrous for me. More so when Quinn starts talking and I tell her to shut up in Italian. Or the moments I curse Spade when he makes me spar with After. The woman never holds back. Mercy at least takes it easy on me. Jade, Whisp, Venus and Chadley are no match for me, I could take them down in under six minutes. So now I am stuck with After kicking my butt. That reminds me that I have training in two hours, so I need to eat. My fingers lock around the handles of the blue stic basket filled with all the socks and underwear. I bnce it on my hips. My ited hair is over my shoulder and rests on top of the pile as I stand there and wait for Den who jumps off the washer and hands me my phone. I slip the device easily in my new jean pocket with my free hand as he opens the door, holding it open for me to pass him. It is thirty minutester when I am finally done with my punishment. I go straight to the dining area knowing Chadley made sweet buns and Custard slices today. My steps falter when I see Killer, Knight, After and Venus all sitting around the left side of the big ck wooden stained table, with pictures scattered all over their side of it. I spot the custard slices and rolls on the right and head straight to it. Grabbing two custard slices I walk closer to them as I take a big bite of one of the slices. I bend over Venus and look down to see the pictures which consist of a bunch of dead bodies. ¡°What happened?¡± I ask them before I slip the rest of the first slice in my mouth. ¡°This is the pictures from the sheriff''s office, the work of a serial killer,¡± Killer answers, his attention still stuck on the mass of photos, ¡°we first thought it was La, but just got new evidence we could be looking at a trained killer gone rogue, grab a chair, I want you in on this.¡± I don''t question Killer''s order. The rules with me and the club haven''t been put down in ck and white. An unspoken one lingers- I am with them for life. It was a deal Marco Catelli- the true head of The Famiglia, my cousin made with the club''s National President Ribs. It was also thest order he gave to me when I lived with Kylie. Chapter 31 (Beggar) Chapter 31 (Beggar) The chair next to Venus slides out as she pushes it with her foot, a silent invitation which I take as she hands me a few pictures, ¡°See the nails are missing besides the index one.¡± I look at the picture of the naked dead girl. Her body is blue, pale, it sends chills through my spine and a shiver rakes up my bare arms. I have never looked at photos of a dead person before. The freckles on her cheeks- dull, I examine the characteristics of what made her- her. My searching gaze doesn''t miss the knife wounds around her upper right arm. One, two, three, four, I count in my mind. Venus hands me another and I take it. This one is a close-up of her nails that are indeed missing with one nail on her point finger that is stained red, like someone did a piss poor job of removing her nail polish. ¡°The Church girl was found near water correct? Where was this body found,¡± I query, my attention trained on the pictures of a girl who probably suffered a painful death. If there is one thing I am good at is finding a target, been doing it for years. ¡°Yeah, by themunity pool, two minutes away from Saint Nicols. This one was found in the Lake, ''bout five miles North from here,¡± Knight answers from the opposite side of where Venus, Killer and I are sitting. Zero walks in the room, and the air seems to thicken, but I know it is just me. My eyes nt themselves down to the pictures in my hands. The stomping of his boots, the familiar sense of foreboding as his imposing tall moody form encroaches our corner is not something I am able to avoid. ¡°Just got a call from the sheriff, Stacy Ferns, sixteen years old, missin'' sincest night, parents said she was supposed to be home yesterday ''round nine. Didn''t rock up,¡± Zero announces. My head remains down reying his words, now is when I wish I had my hood to make me invisible to him. I touch my covered neck as I do a lot. The idea of getting it stops when I am reminded of a girl named Cassidy. Met her only once at the bus station, I was fifteen, she told me she left home to run away with a guy, said he was her first everything until she found out she was nothing but a free fuck, never saw her again. ¡°Maybe she met some slouch, got hooked on his bullshit, and ran away, happens all the time,¡± After voices my same thoughts, flipping her hunter knife in her hand. My frown can''t be helped as I tilt my head watching that knife, knowing I am going to be sparing with her shortly. ¡°Not Stacy,¡± Hannah''s voice filters through the room as she joins in. I do lift my head this time, to see her approaching form, wearing a purple dress that looks pricey and shit, like a businesswoman. She takes a chair next to me and carries on talking, ¡°That girl has never missed church, or had a friend, let alone a boyfriend, especially with Radlyn Ferns as her brother, the guy would castrate any boy who even blinked at Stacy.¡± ¡°Did you get a hold of River?¡± Venus asks Hannah from over me. My big fuck up is when I look up to Zero''s watchful eyes, he is staring right at me. It is unnerving and I don''t even know why I am looking at him, he makes my blood boil when I think of what he did. It doesn''t get better, when I turn to face Venus''s knowing ones. So much for privacy. ¡°Yes, he can''te now, Storm and him are still stuck at the school, trying to figure out who started the fire yesterday, said he''ll text Killer.¡± ¡°We need to go back to thest three sites where the girls were found, Zero get Mercy here, can''t have anymore deaths in this town, it''s already so fuckin'' small,¡± Killer says. ¡°Texted her before I got here, I''ll go with her to the girl''s house, check if she left anything important behind,¡± After announces as the scraping of her chair gets my attention. The sound reminding me of another sound. They all ckout, as my nightmare once again haunts me, cripples me in a way it has before, only this time it is not me who is the one in pain. ¡°Beggar, kill me, Beggar please, please, I''m ready to die,¡± her voice, it chokes me, I need to get to her, but his hand is around my throat squeezing to a point of close death. N?velDrama.Org holds this content. My eyes feel like they''re going to pop out, my neck inches from snapping, my face swollen, hot. Yet, I still fight. ¡°See what happens when you run from me,¡± he whispers, torture on its own. ¡°No, please,¡± I beg as I only know-how. Pulling at his fingers, why does it hurt. My hands are free, I thought it was tied. This isn''t right but knowing won''t stop me wing his hands. Something hard hits the back of my head, voices of other people, this isn''t right, ¡°No, please, NO.¡± Why won''t it stop, please make it stop. ¡°Enough.¡± The word is echoed and I am lifted, who is lifting me, nobody was there to lift me, who is it. I still pull at his fingers hurting my neck. ¡°I got you.¡± Three words, a familiar sound, not the one who makes me whole, but familiar, the devil who saves me, even from myself. It is then I fade away from it all, my mind ck, with the heaviness of my shadows that would not leave me. Chapter 32 (Zero) Chapter 32 (Zero) Since Beggar has returned, I haven''t witnessed an episode. I thought maybe she was better, now I know I just didn''t want to notice. Since our time in the barn, I have avoided her. I knew I was going to do it, I knew that moment was a selfish part of my doing. For that one moment I wanted to have her and I did. I walked away from her that day, moving on with Quinn. I was straight up with Quinn that night, I told her what I did, I gave her the chance to leave me, and she almost did. But the woman had a thick fucking skin and took it in stride. Not saying the shit between us has been a bed and fuck load of roses, she gives me shit about Beggar every time. But I let her, Quinn is a good woman, I know this now because if she wasn''t she would''ve confronted Beggar about it, made a scene, did something nasty, but she hasn''t. And to show my gratitude I stay away from Beggar. She is my past, and I have managed to keep it that way thesest four and a half weeks. It slipped my mind that Beggar wasn''t just any woman, she was a woman with deep bone issues and I used to be one of those people who could make it stop. This entire month I spent some much energy hating her as she red at me whenever I stepped in the room, her eyes using me that I forgot that she had real-life demons. One minute I was cursing her for wearing that tight vest that hugged her perky tits. She only ever wore stuff that covered her neck and back, but it was always tight. N?velDrama.Org holds this content. Next, I was bearing witness to the scars of a woman who made me a man and brought me to my knees. I screamed, ¡°Enough¡± and went for her, only she didn''t obey like she once did. Hannah, After and Venus all rushed to her aid in hysterics, but what stopped my feet from moving was Killer''s chair hitting the ground as he pushed all the women aside and lifted her into his arms like he had all rights to her. Soft words from his mouth to her ear as he rushed off with her, was what she listened to, what calmed her. Yet, It didn''t stop me from following him with the girls right on my tail. Now it is an hourter and we''re sitting in Killer''s room. The ck blinds are drawn, as After sits huddled in the corner on the carpet, talking in low voices with Mercy and Spade. Venus and Hannah are on the king-sized bed. Venus lying across the end of the charcoalforter and Hannah perked up against the headboard and two pillows reading her textbook. I am sitting back-to-front on the study chair by the door, looking at Beggar''s peaceful form as she sleeps in another brother''s room. Sitting here has me questioning everything, all over again, it is safe in my mind but it is there-Her and I. This woman makes me ache in ways I don''t want to ache from. I will rather be tortured a million times over than endure this. How do I not choose her? How do I ever walk away from Beggar, the one woman who made me feel- I can''t. It is impossible. Killer left after he put her down, I didn''t get it, if he wants her why leave. Then again it was Killer, one never understands why he does what he does, so I would be wrong to assume. Beggar stirs and it feels like she locks this rope around my chest and pulls me in. I feel almost trapped, and I hate this fucking feeling. I get up and pull the door open, high-tail it out of the room as her soul hums to mine. Disinfectant clogs my sense as I rush down the stairs, straight to the bar. Killer, Texas, and Whisp take up three chairs on the left, as I go around the bar, grab a bottle of Jack off the shelves on the wall and a ss from the counter. The cap is off in seconds and I pour the liquid in to the ss until it is full, then chuck it back and fill it up again as the burn from the alcohol begins to numb me. ¡°Don''t get drunk, we need you to track Stacy. Mercy and After will be joining you. I need to be here.¡± Because Beggar needs him, not me. Killer doesn''t say the words but they are loud and clear. I keep my mouth shut, because what the fuck am I going to say, Beggar and I are done. Killer is moving in or has already. Any day now he''d be iming her. I down my next ss as Whisp starts talking about her assignment she is going on with Jade on collecting in-tel on La''s whereabouts. It seems like everywhere I go these days is surrounded by Beggar, she doesn''t even have to be in the room. And it honestly frustrates the fuck out of me. The fact is I can''t be with her, she tried to kill my brother, she almost seeded. His enemy is my enemy and soon I would need to face them both when he returns from his stay with my dad. It won''t be long. My iphone rings as I finish off the amber liquid. Slipping it out of my denim pocket, I SEE Quinn''s smiling face on the screen and swipe the green icon. ¡°Watsup?¡± I turn my back to Texas''s eyes who hasn''t left me since I stepped in the room. ¡°Well, here''s the thing, I know we haven''t gotten out and with all the deathstely it isn''t advisable but I got this work function here at the hospital Ipletely forgot about and I need to go, like desperately go, so please say you''lle.¡± Her vibrant voice goes through the phone, into my ears and I close my eyes listening to it, knowing that deep inside I know it isn''t the voice I want to be asking me this. Nor is Quinn a fill in for Beggar, truth is, no woman can take her ce, just like no woman can hurt me like she can. And I won''t let it happen. It is time I man up and I know what I have to do. ¡°Let''s talk about itter when you get back yeah, I''m gonna send one of the girls to pick you up, not gonna make it in time.¡± She''s quiet and I have no idea what she''s thinking, but I knowe tonight I am sure to find out. It is one thing about Quinn I know, is shit with her never stays quiet. ¡°Sure, be careful.¡± ¡°Later.¡± I end the call and face the trio who were no doubt listening. ¡°Is River back, need to talk to him ''bout somethin'',¡± I ask and keep my eyes pinned on Whisp who is the only one of the three not looking at me like I justmitted murder. ¡°Are you sure ''bout that something brother,¡± Killer questions me in that tone he uses when he is pissing me off as he sips his Heineken. ¡°Sure ''bout what? You fuckin'' asses didn''t even invite me, where''s the love,¡± Spade announces breaking my stare off with Killer. I take it as my queue to make tracks. ¡°Hey,e sit your ass down and have a beer with me, had one fuck up of a day, but got news about a couple who''s been staying ''round town,¡± Spade says, and I grab five cold ones for all of us before rounding the bar and nting myself next to him. If the brother got news I need to know. ¡°Well?¡± Texas says as I twist the cap off my beer. ¡°Went to check them out, guy checked out, but the female Cary Johnson, from Detroit, has three 545''s, and rap sheet that screams killer. Did extra digging, found out she was institutionalized for a couple years, got outst fall for good behavior.¡± ¡°Sounds like Ms Johnson is due for some visitors,¡± Texas muses. ¡°Question is who wants to scare the crazydy.¡± Spade asks, as he sips from his bottle. ¡°After and Beggar, they both scare the crap out of me,¡± Whisp suggests and I am ready to refuse. ¡°After is going with Mercy to Stacy''s ce, then meeting Zero to track her, Beggar can handle it but I''d have to go with, she''ll need a ride, and I can''t leave Hannah ''till Rivers back.¡± ¡°I can take her,¡± Den says and I look over my shoulder at his posing form by the door, he looks like a goth nightmare. Those fucking contacts of his grate on my nerves. ¡°Hell to the fuck No, she isn''t riding on your bike, she''d be fucking dead before she made it to the top of the street,¡± Killer''s blunt refusal has Texas chuckling, Whisp coughing and even I find myself smiling. Den is a good brother but the man is young, got a long way to go before he can earn rights to have one of our women on his bike. ¡°I''ll go have a little chat with the crazy person, maybe I''d get lucky and she runs.¡± Texas says as he scrapes his chair and picks up his cowboy hat that was next to his beer bottle. He puts it on, covering the top part of his face. He grabs his biker jacket from behind his chair and slips it on over his cut. ¡°That''s sorted, think I''d also better get moving, needa make tracks to the grocery store, heard Hannah''s makingsagna, gotta fetch the brat from school today too, fuck my luck,¡± Spade says as he finishes off his beer and also gets up to leave. The brother and Jo are constantly fighting. For a man who insists he is at peace with himself his temper boils when Jo is with him, yet the brother will wait in the fucking sun for hours just so she can swim in the river. He ain''t fooling anybody, not even himself. Kid got him glued around her little pinky same way she does River and most of the guys. Even Texas makes sure he stacks up on bubblegum marshmallows for the kid and stashes it in his room away from Hannah. ¡°Get her 7up before you go, she had ser today,¡± Killer tells Spade as the brother checks his phone. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Killer asks me as Spade leaves the room, I know what he is asking and I reply with a sharp nod. I down the rest of my beer and m the empty on the counter. ¡°It''s the only way I know how.¡± I leave him with my parting words and hear Whisp resume their conversation as I turn and almost run into After who pushes me back. ¡°Sorry, my fault,¡± I say feeling like shit. She res at me for a passing second and doesn''t reply as she moves away. I head straight for the tv room, grab my helmet, jacket and keys off the table next to the double sofa and I''m out the door in seconds. The sky is clear as the heat from the tar fills me with anticipation of the ride ahead. Chapter 33 (Zero) Chapter 33 (Zero) Minutes tick by before the smell of familiar fumes touch my senses and the vibration of my ride is between my legs as the sound of my engine brings music to the outside air. I grab my handlebars and shoot to the gate which opens. The ride through town is uneventful except for the asshole who almost caused an ident next to me by the robot. It is closing on one when I arrive at the public pool where most of the murdered girls seem to have in past its days of silver. ¡°Yes, can I help you?¡± A small meek voice asks and I look down to see a young female sitting on the floor with a sketch pad in her hand. She isn''t looking at me, her ss covered face is stuck on the sketch pad, and I mean face, those sses are fucking huge. ¡°Yeah, need to ask you a few questions.¡± She lifts her head, drops her sketch pad carelessly on the cemented floor and stands up. Her ck knee length skirt ruffles and I slowly look at her dress code. Her top is like five sizes too big. Her feet are bare, fuck, women only dress like this for reasons and most of those reasons are not to be noticed. I lift my head to look at her face hidden behind those sses and while I could tell her that she isn''t hiding from no one I shut my mouth, reminding myself it''s not my fucking problem. ¡°Need a list of names of the people that are regrs. Can you help.¡± Her eyes are big and get a fuck load bigger when she takes me in, and I arch my brow. I am aware of what she sees, I am a scary fucking man, much scarier to a little deer like herself. ¡°I, ah, I...¡± She huffs, as she stammers on her words and I don''t hide my small smile. ¡°You what sweetheart?¡± I say. She clears her throat, and turns her head slightly, and I see the pink streak in her hair and the tattoo peaking from the junction of her neck. ¡°You a cop?¡± She asks. ¡°Does it look I am a cop.¡± She shakes her head, ¡°Noooo.¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought so, but I am trying to catch the killer, wouldn''t wanna get kidnapped now would you?¡± I say to her and she drops her head. ¡°No sir, I can get you the list.¡± ¡°Thanks, tell me about Stacy Ferns, do you know her?¡± ¡°Yes, no, well kind of.¡± Her eyes remain focused on the ground and I follow them to her sketch pad that is turned upside down. ¡°You can pick it up.¡± The girl seems to not think that is a good idea when she gives me her attention. ¡°Stacy is nice, most of the others tease me, but not Stacy, we go to church together, she sometimes sits with me...¡± She gets quiet as the sound of a bike approaching us gets louder, followed by another. I leave the meek mousy girl and walk to the bikes watching Knight and Mercy park their engines not far from mine. Knight is the first to approach me and I give him a hug. ¡°Came to give you a heads up, After and Beggar are on their way to the river. Beggar woke up and insisted she goes there now, woman was on fire had a blow out with Killer when he refused.¡± Mercy snorts, ¡°Blow out my fucking ass, she was ready to attack his balls when he threatened to lock her in his room, he wants you to watch her, meaning she''s your pelican, he can''t leave Hannah until River gets back.¡± ¡°Why the fuck do I have to babysit her ass, why can''t one of you do it? She can''t ride with me, I''m with Quinn.¡± I say that as I turn my back, Knight''s hand on my shoulder stops me. ¡°What now,¡± I re at the brother. His angry snarl has my shackles rising already knowing I am not Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. going to like what he is going to say. ¡°Didn''t look that way a month ago. If you wanna im a woman make sure everybody knows she''s imed, and you not walking out of a barn at eight o''clock at night smelling like another woman.¡± He bumps past me and though I feel like fucking shit, I say nothing. If it was an outsider the brothers would shut it, but this is our club, our women. He is right, I know he is fucking right and it is just another reason why I need to take that step. Mercy''s eyes are wide, and I roll mine. ¡°Let''s focus on finding Stacy.¡± ¡°What the fuck ever, if you hurt Beggar I''m going to gut you in your sleep,¡± She bumps me too. I look to the sky for some fucking answers but I get nothing. So I do what I fucking came to do and get my ass back to the meek girl. If I thought she was scared of me, fuck she is terrified of Knight and I can''t for the life of me think why. The brother is shorter than me, less muscle and he is the most mellowed one of us. ¡°So you aren''t or you won''t lift up your sleeves?¡± I catch the end of his words and see why. ¡°Fucking asshole, you''re scaring the girl, just ignore him he left his man pants at home,¡± Mercy tells her. I am ready to send both of them out of here, but I stop when I see that Knight isn''t trying to make her ufortable. Brother is serious. ¡°Lift up your fucking sleeves or I''m going to jump over this counter and do it for you.¡± Mercy makes a point of opening her mouth but one look from Knight she shuts it, seeming to have gotten that he isn''t messing around. The meek girl takes a few steps back and true to his words Knight jumps through the counter into the small space and ms the door closed as she barely manages to get it open. Shutting her in, and caging her with his body, he pulls at her covered arms and lifts the off white color shirt up, baring her skin to us. ¡°Fucking hell,¡± I hear the brother mutter. Mercy and I both move around the small brick building and go through the door to see what Knight is looking at. The mousy girl''s head is bent and her arm is on disy as Mercy closes the door. Her arms are covered in numbers and names. I am clueless, but by the look of Knights face he knows whatever the fuck it means and he isn''t a happy brother. ¡°What the fuck is a nine doing in Ka when there is a killer on the loose.¡± Knight is talking to her but the number rings a bell. ¡°Wait a nine? You mean she is one of those fuckers that trained us?¡± Mercy voices out exactly what I was thinking. ¡°Please, you have to believe me, I am not the one killing those girls.¡± Thedy says pleading as I grab her other hand, ignoring her scared eyes and lift the sleeves up. ¡°What is all the numbers?¡± I ask her as I touch her fragile wrist. ¡°Every time we train a soldier we tattoo a summary of that soldier on our skin, it is a marking, if the soldier goes rogue it is the trainers responsibility to sort it out,¡± She answers without hesitation. Chapter 34 (Zero) Chapter 34 (Zero) ¡°So this person here that is killing these people is your problem? How the fuck is a small thing like you going to catch a killer?¡± Mercy sounds as unbelieving as I feel. I drop the girl''s hand as Knight does the same and Mercy puts herself at the door. ¡°That is the thing. Six months I was briefed about our new special ops team, I was not one of the nine N?velDrama.Org content. chosen for them, but a weekter I was knocked out and woke up with their names on my body and a summary of injecting them with an untested drug to increase aggression. I woke up that night and went to the facility to tell my superiors, only the new special ops team was all lying dead on the floor and the only one remained. I told my superiors, they checked the surveince and saw it was wiped out. THEN a few nightster someone tried to kill me.¡± She lifts up her shirt and shows us the red scar marring her skin close to her appendix. ¡°Doesn''t exin what the fuck you doing here!¡± Knight says. She slips the sses off and her blue eyes look at all of us, she is a cute little thing. Reminds me of a snow fox. ¡°O''Bryn sent me here, told me to hide in Ka, said if I needed you guys, only then must Ie find you. He gave me this.¡± She slips the ring from her pocket. A reminder of our vow we made. ¡°Who is he to you,¡± Mercy asks. She looks at Mercy, and smiles, ¡°He''s my dad.¡± Knight takes the ring, ¡°So I take it you are the hunted, not the hunter?¡± his smile is small but there. ¡°We need to get you back to the clubhouse, I''m going to give River a call, we are going to need everything you know about this guy.¡± ¡°It isn''t a guy,¡± She says, and my dread increases when she continues, ¡°her name is Harley, she''s twenty seven, five foot three, dark blue eyes, brown hair, small chest.¡± ¡°You just described yourself, apart from the age, you look a lot younger¡± I tell her. Her shoulders slump in defeat and my mood falls lower when she looks at me. ¡°Yes, I know, she is my sister.¡± ¡°What''s your name?¡± Knight asks her. ¡°Harlow O''Bryn.¡± ¡°Age?¡± I ask ¡°Twenty four.¡± ¡°Fuck bitch, you look like you''re neen, whatever it is you are eating I need me some,¡± Mercy says. ¡°You need to get her back to the clubhouse, I''ll head to the river, meet upter.¡± I tell Mercy and Knight, giving the girl onest look before Mercy moves from the door and I walk out. Things just got a fuck lot more interesting. If what this woman says is true, which judging by her story is, then we have a female to catch and kill. She is gone rogue, which makes her dangerous. And it is now more than ever that I need to keep my shit tight and protect my club. I am the enforcer of The Satan Snipers and it is time I enforce thew. Chapter 35 (Beggar) Chapter 35 (Beggar) The ce is dead, and the sun is shining at its highest peak. We''ve been here at the river for the past hour. After got off the phone five minutes ago, ¡°So you ready to take down a chick.¡± After just finished debriefing me on the conversation she had with Mercy. We are now searching for a twenty-seven-year-old woman who is a killer, drugged with some heavy scientist shit that made her bat-shit crazy. After said we need to kill first when we spot her. ¡°I''m not killing her, I''m finding Stacy, you can kill her,¡± I tell After as I walk slowly along the river keeping my eyes open. N?velDrama.Org holds this content. ¡°Why do I have to do all the fucking killing, it gets annoying after a while.¡± ¡°You should ask River,¡± I suggest. My foot catches on something that isn''t pebbles or rock and I stop, take a step back, bend to my haunches and move the sand a bit so see what it is. ¡°Fuck it, I think I will do just that, I''m going to be here for a while, not ready to go back on the road just yet, might as well get that fucker to do something for me for a change,¡± She says as I lift the handkerchief and dangle it in the air. I give it a small sniff. ¡°There are chemicals on this,¡± I say to After. Her leather-covered legs bend down next to me as she grabs the cloth also giving it a quick whiff. ¡°Love the smell of that shit, great work, let''s check further down the trail,¡± She orders walking ahead of me and putting the evidence in one of the clear packets we took from the house. Both of us spin around at the sudden crunch of boots rushing toward us. ¡°Wasn''t expecting your ass sote.¡± After announces as I just stare mutely at the tall rough man walking towards us with an angry scowl. I wasn''t expecting him here at all. Zero and I in a space is something I have avoided at all cost. Today is twice in one day that he has showed up. Cramping my style. I touch my covered neck and slip my hood on before I ignore his presence, turn around, and walk to the trees further down. ¡°Just heard about Harlow, haven''t seen that bitch since I went in for training, shit luck for her that she''s hunted by her own sister,¡± After voices out. ¡°Here, catch, we going to have to keep her at the clubhouse ''till we find her sister. River''s gonna take Hannah and Jo away for a few days. Get them safe, maybe to Houston,¡± Zero informs After as a sound of a can pop open. I hear their voices and feet close behind me but I maintain my distance. ¡°Tell em they can stay at my ce, it''s empty and Jo can use the jungle gym,¡± After tells Zero. ¡°Is there any particr reason why you got your hood on?¡± Zero asks in that mock tone of his and I know the question is meant for me but I choose to ignore him. ¡°I got you a coke, Amariya.¡± He says my name knowing it will rile me up because he and everyone in the clubhouse have seen me get pissed off with Killer when he uses my name. ¡°Leave my chick alone, she''s on a roll,¡± I hear After telling Zero and a small smile creeps in as I carry on walking toward the trees. Maybe she isn''t so bad. The red bead on the grass almost goes unnoticed as I step into the small forest of trees. After is the one who picks it up with a tissue in her hand. Zero steps forward and my eyes take in his cut, and the snake eyes on his back feel like they''re staring daggers at me. While the pistol reminds me of all the deaths I have to my name. ¡°I don''t think she''s here, if thedy is crazy chances are Stacy Ferns is already cold,¡± I inform both of them. It is a hard truth, but that is how fucked up life is. ¡°Think you''re right, Thing is, if she is looking for her sister why keep kidnapping and killing other girls. Something isn''t adding up, when the old test subjects got fucked they were still sane to an extent that they knew what they were doing. Do you remember Leslie?¡± Zero spins to get After''s attention and I watch as her face scrunches up as she nods. I remain silent and just listen. ¡°When he found out The Ghost was taking them out he tried to set a trap, though it was a piss poor attempt, thing is the fucker still had enough reasoning in his mind left to think of it,¡± After points out. ¡°Didn''t you say they all had the public pool inmon? Her sister works there doesn''t she?¡± I ask After as Zero turns to face me, considering he was standing a few feet from me with his back to my face he is now really close and I retreat a step or two away. ¡°Yeah, one of the girl''s body was found there,¡± Zero answers with that frown he gets, and the deep wrinkle now prominent on his forehead. ¡°Do you think maybe she doesn''t remember what her sister looks like and these girls have simr qualities?¡± I suggest. Zero''s face brightens and fuck he looks a fuck load less scary when he does it. His harsh features promising things I know he could deliver. ¡°Of course she wouldn''t Harlow was dressed as a nun, her sses covered most of her face, her clothes blocked her body and she''s short, which makes it easy to blend in.¡± He throws me the can of coke and I catch it, which isn''t hard considering he is standing right in front of me. I pop the clip and take a long drink. The gas is weed and the coldness too. It is fucking hot today and I am stuck in a long pr neck and a leather hooded jacket that Killer insisted I wear, and I didn''t dare say shit, knowing I already pushed my luck with him when I fought with him to get my ass here. Chapter 36 (Beggar) Chapter 36 (Beggar) I''m just tired of them treating me with kid gloves. My stomach chooses that moment to roll and I start feeling like puking my guts out. The sudden change must show on my face when After pushes Zero aside and looks at my face for a few beats, then she takes the cold drink and gives me a spective stare. ¡°What?¡± My voice is using and I don''t even know why. ¡°Call me fucking dumb, and the timing shit, but this is the third time this week you had that look when you drank coke. My sister had that look a few times, wanna know what it was?¡± Her big brown eyes tell me she really wants to say it, and I shake my head. ¡°Not really, but you gonna tell me anyway.¡± ¡°You bet your ass I am.¡± ¡°What the fuck are we talking about?¡± Zero bellows and we both face him. ¡°Nothing, I am going to let you figure this shit out on your own first, then I am going to tell you I knew it all along.¡± After says to me, thinking better of what she was about to say. The heat is scorching and I bend down to tie myces of my boots. I stand up as my phone vibrates. I slip it out of my denim pocket and see Killer''s name shing. I ignore Zero''s forward eyes and swipe right to answer. ¡°Yo.¡± ¡°Get your asses back here now, just found Stacy Ferns, she''s dead,¡± Killer''s words leave that ice-cold feeling of rage in me. This girl needs to be stopped. ¡°On our way.¡± ¡°Don''t forget to put your gloves on.¡± I clip the phone off and ry the message to After and Zero leaving thest part out. We rush in silence to the bikes, and my stomach tumbles as we get closer to the road where we parked. ¡°You ride with Zero,¡± After tells me as she grabs her helmet from her bike. I wordlessly walk to Zero''s bike, as he moves ahead of me, not pointing out that he has a girlfriend. Thest time I pointed that out was when I first jumped on his back. It feels like ages ago, but his dark angry scowl and his words are still as fresh as though it happened justst night. So I shut my mouth, minding my own business. ¡°Can we keep this between us,¡± he says as he hands me his helmet and I slip it on and wait for him to Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. get himself on the bike. I don''t answer as it doesn''t need one. He wants me to keep it quiet from Quinn, and I want to tell him it is not me who he should be worried about telling her shit. Wisely I remain silent, and hold his shoulder, swinging my leg over and scoot back enough, holding his hips. ¡°Why are you holding me like a fuckin'' stiff,¡± he shouts and I roll my eyes, knowing he can''t see me. After walks toward us and gives me my gloves and I can say, I take them with a groan. Slipping the green gloves on I ce my hands back to Zero''s hip. ¡°Put your fuckin'' hands around me, I''m not going to be cruising.¡± ¡°Just ride the damn bike, and stop whining,¡± I snap. But as usual Zero does what he wants, and grips my wrists and pulls it until my arms are wrapped around him and my chest is partly touching his. He thinks I am stupid, we both know that this isn''t how I am supposed to hold him. He revs his bike before I can say shit about it and turns and for some reason that just has me fuming. He is such a fucking jackass, him, River and Killer. First River, bossing me around, telling me what to do, buying me shit I don''t want. Then Killer, trying to control my every move and now Zero, first he fucks me, then he walks away and pretends nothing happened. Now, he wants to smile, and get my hands on him. One of these days, I am going to blow. I never had a temper like the one I feel. When I was on the streets, I had to be smart, when I was running from La, I had to be invisible, and when I started hunting my list I had to be quick and tight, one move could get me killed. Now I feel anger, a new emotion, one like this is dangerous. We stop at the beginning of the road waiting for After. Once her blue and white bike is next to us we ride. I love this part of being with the Bikers. There is no feeling freer than the ride of a bike. Zero telling me to keep my mouth shut and then hands on him like I am doing right now does dim the beauty of the ride a bit, but it can''t take the feel of the wind as I lift the shield from my eyes, or the vibration of the bike as it hums between my legs. We make good time as we get to the Clubhouse. All the others are there, and what do you know, shit luck for Zero when Quinn is standing on the porch with Chadley and Jade, in her nurse scrubs. She doesn''t miss Zero''s bike or the fact that I am behind it. He parks it and I don''t take my eyes off Quinn, her face looks like she just witnessed a murder. I swing my legs off his bike and pull the helmet off. I hand it to Zero aware that my hood is still on. ¡°Thanks for the ride, asshole,¡± I tell him, and his fingers brush mine as he takes his helmet from my outstretched hand and a small barely there grin surfaces. My nostrils re as his gaze bes serious as it locks on the person behind me and I don''t need to be a smart ass to know it is Quinn. ¡°Why couldn''t you ride with After,¡± Quinn says in a shout as I pull my gloves off and turn to her. Her curls are all loose and open, she resembles a doll in nurse clothes. I look at her, and smile. It is funny how she thinks I''m a threat. If she only knew how Zero fucked me and left me to go be with her, I doubt she''d even give me a nce. ¡°Quinn now isn''t the time,¡± Zero says, and I move to leave but she grabs my arm and I stop. My eyes slowly track down to her hand on my arm, which she drops, and I scowl at her. ¡°I ain''t never fought for a dick before and I ain''t certainly going to stand here and waste my time while you do it.¡± My head turns to look at Zero and his eyes are hard glints pointed on me. ¡°Sort your woman out, I''m not allowing her a next time.¡± My threat is clear and I ignore Spade, Texas and After watching the show down. Killeres into view as I step away from Quinn and Zero. ¡°Why are you walking away Beggar. The only person here that needs sorting out is you,¡± Quinn purses her lips together, and a few whistles go around me. I pull my hood down, ¡°I don''t like this shit, seen it on the streets more than enough. Women want to fight for their men, thinking it makes them better, but I don''t see why fight for a dick when he doesn''t want you. Even if he did, no man is worth your dignity. I ain''t got any, but I''m sure a pretty thing like you does, so I suggest you step back. I ain''t fighting for no man, but I will fuck you up if you give me a reason too.¡± This is the most I have said to Quinn, and I don''t know why, I normally keep my shit tight, quiet, mind my own thing. But she doesn''t seem to get that, so I exined it to her, hopefully, she gets it now. All of The Satan Snipers are watching and the guys, which I can hear is mostly Spade and Storm are whistling and chortling. Quinn''s doughy expression changes like somebody caught her in the middle of a murder scene, and if she doesn''t leave me be, she''ll surely be the victim. ¡°What the fuck is happening here? Why are you asses still outside,¡± Killer walks toward us and Quinn seems to shrink back in his presence? Zero doesn''t lift his head to anyone as he puts his helmet on his bike and walks toward the house. The way he is crunching his boots I know he is angry. But it shouldn''t be because of me, his woman needs a leash. I hear After snort as Killeres closer to me and lifts my hand to pull my gloves from my clutches. ¡°I am not a baby,¡± I snap and pull my hands away as he takes the gloves away. ¡°At least you listened.¡± He sayspletely ignoring my outburst and Quinn which I do too with the Thing is, she is upset and while it is understandable, I am not the person to be upset with. Zero could''ve said no, but he didn''t. So she is pointing her anger at the wrong person when she should be looking at the man sleeping next to her. She must see that I am not going to give her my time because she spins around and walks into the house. ¡°Let''s get inside, got a fuck load to discuss.¡± Killer walks away and stuffs my gloves in his leather pants. His chains dangle from one side of his butt cheek. I am a woman and I got to admit that Killer is a hot man, even if he is the devil in a sexy coat. Chapter 37 (Zero) Chapter 37 (Zero) The bottles rattle as the fridge door ms shut with more force than I intended. But fucking hell, what the fuck did I do in my previous life to get such a fucking shit run with women. I pop the cap and take a long swig of the hop in my hand. My head drops onto the fridge door, the bottle dangles from my fingers as I think of how fucked this day is. ¡°Zero.¡± Closing my eyes, I try fucking hard to control my anger and not lose my shit on the woman standing by the kitchen door calling my name. Quinn is not the person I need to be here right now. ¡°Not now,¡± I tell her and ites as a plea, only it isn''t heard, and I know this when I hear her shoes move closer to me. She touches my shoulder and I straighten from my position by the fridge and take another much- needed swig of my beer. ¡°When is ever the time Zero, since she''s back you spend more time avoiding Beggar than you actually spend being with me.¡± ¡°If you aren''t happy then go, I''m not forcing you to stay with me.¡± She looks at me as if I punched her and I feel like a fucking asshole for it but I can''t keep having her giving me shit about Beggar. ¡°Don''t look at me like that, you are overreacting, I haven''t imed you Quinn, I like you, fuck you are a fucking great woman. You said you didn''t want to be the other woman and I respected that and gave you this straight, I told you I wasn''t ready for a woman''s name on my dick. You knew the night I fucked Beggar, I wanted to end it, you said no. We good, you and I. You closed that shit down and we moved on. Today it was a fucked up day and I can admit that it wasn''t right having her at my back, but fuck N?velDrama.Org content. Quinn, what the hell were you thinking with that stunt you pulled? If you had waited and given anyone of us a chance you would''ve known that Killer gave the order she ride with me.¡± Quinn is standing in front of me, her curls hiding some of her face. Her lips are pinched together. I lift my index finger pulling them apart. Quinn probably has a shit ton to say, but Killer is Killer. He is the fucking national V.P of our club, I can''t tell him no unless I have a fucking valid reason. I stare at her for a while, she is no Beggar, no Falon, but Quinn is a good woman. We have also been together a fuck load longer than Beggar, and Falon. ¡°We have something, you and I,¡± I tell her, then I chug the rest of my beer down and take my woman''s hand and pull her closer to me. She engulfs me in a hug and I smell her hair before giving her a kiss on her head. ¡°I''ll talk to Beggar,¡± she says, and I already know that isn''t a good idea, but I don''t say it. Instead I do what I should have done in the beginning. I pull her by her hand, and walk as she trails behind me. ¡°Zero where on earth are we going? We have a club meeting in five minutes.¡± ¡°Exactly, the whole house would be here.¡± We get to the lounge area and true to word everybody is here. I can feel Beggar''s presence lurking about as I go to stand in the middle of the room. Her ck her, that wraps her back like a cape is how I spot her as she runs from the room and my words get stuck when I see Killer walking after her and slip his hand on her lower hip. ¡°Yo, I got an announcement,¡± I shout, getting everybody''s attention besides the two who are huddled close to the basement door talking. I smile down at Quinn and she looks as clueless as everybody else. ¡°So I know things are going for shit, and the timing is beyond fucked, but we''re not gonna get younger, so I am staking my im, Quinn is mine, any objections?¡± The room is quiet, not sure what I expected, but it is fuckin'' too quiet. ¡°I do.¡± I hear the voice and at first, I am fucking thrilled when I turn and see my blood brother on the sofa, in his ck and white suit as Mercy moves her body. My eyes go to Beggar and Killer who are both standing by the stairs looking this way. Killer is giving me that fucking re, dead stare and Beggar, her eyes match him, only they are focused on my brother. ¡°Congrats brother, about time you make an honest man out of him Quinn,¡± River announces as he ps his hands together stepping to Quinn and I. He smiles at both of us and I p the prez on his back. The otherse and congratte us, Storm also hugging Quinn which is a first. Killer and Beggare too, and though I am surrounded by my club brothers I keep my eyes alert, looking from Thorn, who is on the sofa and Beggar who is walking with Killer close on her heels that they are actually touching. A movement to the side of my head catches me and I instantly rx when I see After walk toward my brother and sit next to him. She didn''t say anything, but then I don''t expect After to say shit but I do know she won''t let anybody harm Thorn. Beggar and Killer get here, and Killeres and shakes my hand. His eyes say nothing but the tight grip on my hand as his fingers squeeze around it says quite a bit. Beggar walks up to us, I tense, not sure what she is going to say. She has been snippytely. Her temper very unpredictable and Quinn also stiffens next to me and I squeeze her hand in reassurance. It feels like everybody fucking quietens. They all know our short history, our little affair. Her ck eyes that has held me captive, that has been my nightmare as much as my fantasy stares at Quinn, not at me. I frown but don''t say shit, it feels like Beggar is walking past my grave like she is forgetting I exist. From the corner of my eyes, I nce at my brother''s seated body and harden my resolve. She is the reason he can''t walk, he is on a fucking couch. He is also looking at her, and I expect anger but it is not anger on Thorn''s face but something else, something I don''t fucking like, because I can''t understand it. Chapter 38 (Zero) Chapter 38 (Zero) ¡°Now no woman can ride on your man''s back, we good.¡± Beggar knocks me a new fucking one when she smiles at Quinn, her words chilled, there is no fucking malice. Quinn smiles back and I watch them exchange a hug. Beggar gives me her back, and begins to leave and I feel an instant loss. She turns her head and my mouth opens as her hair swings to the side when she does it. She looks right at me, and it is like she knows so much, it is like she is looking in my soul, understanding why I did what I did and telling me she is okay with it. ¡°I told you Zero, hope.¡± She disappears in the small crowd of our men and women. Her words, reminding me of a month ago, when I had her, when she wasn''t my brother''s killer, she wasn''t just a woman, she was my hope. My feet move to go find her, but a hand ps hard on my shoulder and I turn to see Bull, who gives me a slight shake of his head. He knows what I want to do, and I know the timing sucks but I just want to talk to her. ¡°Enough chit chat, alright people we still have a woman to find,¡± River informs the entire room. Quinn takes a seat with Chadley and Jade in the corner as Harlow is brought down from upstairs. It takes me a few good minutes to get my eyes off her, she looks a fuckuva lot different in a tight jeans that does fit her. The sses on her face now a deep purple thick framed rectangle bring out her big round eyes. ¡°Right, now we are going to be working with Thorn on this case,¡± River says and my eyes go to my brother who is still seated on the sofa across from me, only now he is smiling. ¡°Stacy Fern was found dead, they found her body in the back of a scrap car, in the Vikings Scrap Yard. Fingernails off, strangled but this time her tongue was removed with scissors.¡± River carries on and I look to Harlow who is cringing, standing just behind River''s imposing form. ¡°We believe she''s gone, Harlow has informed us that Harley will need more drugs and naturally go to one of the facilities. I''m going to pick two of you from Ka to meet with a few of the brothers and Rest, she''s a soldier from the Ohio chapter, the five of you would need to find Harley to bring her back. We not going to kill her unless we have to. Harlow said there is a cure.¡± ¡°And she''s her sister,¡± Knight points out sitting on the dining room chair next to Spade and Venus. ¡°Right,¡± River says, ¡°was going to get Bull and Zero to go, but we''ll have to see who is going to be the third, any volunteers?¡± ¡°Me, I''ll go.¡± Beggar''s voicees from behind me and I don''t pause to turn my head to face her, she''s leaving. As much as I want to hold her back, I don''t. So I turn my head around and face River. ¡°Seriously? Remember what I said?¡± River seems to be having a public but private conversation with Beggar. ¡°We can stop and see Kylie,¡± Killer suggests and my gut clenches as I turn to Beggar and see Killer''s arm around her shoulders. She is not mine any longer. Killer and Beggar on a fucking road trip. What the fuck do I say to that. The meeting ends, and it is settled. Killer, Bull and Beggar are leaving tomorrow. She is really leaving. Quinn takes herself shortly back to work and everybody else goes about their business. Thorn didn''t say too much to me before he went up to his room for the night, besides a congrattions. It doesn''t look like he likes Quinn too much, but fuck he''lle around, always does. I take a stroll to the water, over the hill. The night sky is always fucking glowing, sometimes it is haunting in beauty, and others it is sparkling with life as the stars flicker. I don''t need to know who it is that sits with their knees to their chest, staring out the water. Her hair is a giveaway and even if it wasn''t I would still know. ¡°You just got back,¡± my words are using, even I can''t deny that. She is so quiet and I think she won''t answer. ¡°Killer wanted to go, he needs to be on the road. He won''t leave without me, I see no reason to stay.¡± ¡°So you and Killer, I gathered as much.¡± ¡°Not every rtionship has to be about sex, sometimes it''s more than that, can''t put a iming on it,¡± her gruff voice is a lot to take in as I bend down and sit next to her. ¡°So you go, ande back then what then? Are you going to finish what you started with my brother? Are you evening back?¡± I stare at her dark silhouette thinking to myself - how many nights have I wished to see her here, and now here she is sitting right next to me but we are miles apart. She touches her covered neck, ying with the material. ¡°I have waited so long to finish what I started years ago, I can wait a bit longer.¡± She isn''t giving up on it, but she is also telling me she will give it time. Nor is she putting a limit which is good for now but is she telling me she''ll be back or not. ¡°Why do you wear those tops now, what do you have to hide.¡± She gets up once I ask the question and I know it is something, I am not going to like. ¡°What I have to hide is my secrets to keep, mine to share and I don''t want to share it with you,¡± She starts walking away and I rush after her. ¡°You keep running away from me, you always running, when are you going to stop and fight for what you want.¡± She pauses and turns to me but remains the small distance apart. ¡°I have been fighting for years for what I want Zero. I have been running for years so I can live to fight Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. another day. You don''t know me, all you know is your fake promises. You once said you would catch me if I fall, yet you don''t see, there was nothing left to catch. I fell a long time ago, there was nobody there when I was falling, and it was a hard fall, most of me was left on the ground. I gave all the rest away until I had just a small piece left, and that I didn''t give away Zero, that was taken from me, from you.¡± I walk to her, closing the distance and I grab her hands but she pushes me back, and I am a weak man because I stumble, pleading, ¡°So fight with me, hit me, but don''t leave, be angry with me, hate me fuck Baby.¡± ¡°How do I hate you Zero, when you are the best part of my story? I can''t fault you for moving on, what you have with Quinn is good, you and I were never meant to be more than a passing by. I''m not gone forever, I''ll be back, but just not now, I think you and Quinn need time. You need time, and I need to catch that girl, and see Kylie.¡± ¡°I''lle with you, you, me and the road, we can figure it out, Quinn will understand.¡± ¡°I don''t want you to Zero. That day you left me in barn I was angry at you, but it was just me not letting go of you, and now I am letting you go, and this is the way, running, so I can live to fight another day. This, now is you and Quinn''s story. Beggar''s story was just that, a story of a beggar who once met a biker, she was just a passer by.¡± ¡°I don''t believe that, you were always Beauty, mine.¡± Her eyes stare with so much power in them that even in the dark, as I beg like a lesser man, I am entranced. ¡°If I had only met you sooner Logan.¡± ¡°ZERO, ZERO.¡± Quinn¡¯s voice can be heard from the distance, calling me and here I am staring at the only woman who I will ever love, letting me go. ¡°Go get your woman Zero.¡± Beggar walks away from me, and I stand there even after I can''t see her any longer. And I am a lesser man because I do drop to my knees as I get my existence ripped out of me. What the fuck have I done. Go get your woman Zero. It is on this night, under a starlit sky, that I am a man brought to my knees by the woman who called herself Beggar. ¡°Zero, I''ve been looking for you, why are you on the floor, your dad ising over, he just called, said to tell you to...¡± Quinn continues on talking and I just stare at the ground, my heart just got ripped to shreds. I got rejected by the woman I love again. If I had only met you sooner. Chapter 39 (Beggar) Chapter 39 (Beggar) ¡°Bull you go around the back, Beggar, and I''ll take the front, Rest, Scurry and Winner you three go inside and make sure she doesn''t leave,¡± Killer orders from his vantage point next to me. We are sitting in a white van in the back of the Walmart Market in Tampa Florida. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Five weeks have gone by since we''ve left Ka. Killer, Bull, and I met up with the others in Houston and tracked Harley, first to a secretboratory in Das. The woman got me good when we managed to get her and knocked me out with a metal baseball bat on my head. She got away and we searched for three days until we got our next lead at the old testing facility in Kentucky. There she went bat shit crazy and starting shooting at us, but she did manage to get more drugs. We found this out because she dropped one of the vials. Killer was getting pissed more and more as we kept losing her. Rest wasn''t helping the situation with her infatuation with Bull. And Scurry and Winner, well they were just Scurry and Winner, they did as they were told. Loyal to a fault, but not much of a brain. The two were brothers, Scurry, the older one by three weeks. Apparently, their dad had a lot of love to share. The two did know how to make meugh and were great at getting information from people. Which was how we finally got our new lead, which led us first on a private jet to California. Michael, Killer''s brother was helping us by hacking into the road cameras and a bunch of other stuff that I was still learning. Now here we were, and Harley was inside the Walmart buying chocte. And I was currently feeling all kinds of sick. I kept getting nauseous, Killer said it could be the riding but Rest insisted something far more permanent than motion sickness. ¡°Begs, want something while I''m in,¡± Winner winks at me, and Killer hits him on the back of the head before he continues loading his 9mm. I drop my head down and smile as I zip up the white overall I was given with a logo on it. My cap goes onto my ited hair as the others also strap up. We are sitting in the back of the van. Killer next to me, also in a white overall. Rest is by the door, her binocrs in her one hand and her gun in the other as she watches Bull strap his knives on his very thick thighs and legs. He is giving her a show, unintentionally and I do feel her pity. Woman doesn''t know the man is broken inside. Winner is next to Killer, probably why he got smacked three times in the twenty minutes we have parked the van. His light green gaze is yful even on such a serious day. The fake mustachepletes his yful look, but I have to admit he is a good looking man, even with the belly. Like a big teddy bear. Scurry is next to me, he is a quiet guy, deep brown eyes and a hard set of jaws. His nose is prominent and his skin is a deep brown that looks like he was born golden. He is a very handsome guy and can tell you a story that is so gruesome and make it funny. Except for times like these, while his brother cracks us up and messes around he just goes quiet. Guess they all have their way of handling shit. Even I do. I touch the choker around my neck and Killer stares at me while I am doing it before he hands me a gun. I take it, zip my overall down and shove it into my holster. ¡°Is it troubling you?¡± He asks me, and I shake my head in the negative. I still can''t believe he got me this Chapter 40 (Beggar) Chapter 40 (Beggar) A week after we left Ka it was fucking hot, and the turtle neck vest I was wearing was driving me crazy. A few dayster Killer walked into our hotel room with a bag with the written words- Graff Diamonds. I opened it and there was a choker made of small diamonds and chains that started from the top of my neck resting on my cor bone. Killer went on to exin the many diamonds that were used to make it, and the pure gold which made it light. It is exquisite and most of all hides my burns. The jewelry is weightless and came with a small key to lock it. Which Killer took delights in locking when I refused the gift. He said he thought I would say no, which is why he waited for me to sleep and locked it on my neck. It hasn''te off since. And I have no idea where the key is. ¡°Let''s move,¡± Killer barks. We open the van and we all go out. I move with Killer to the front of the store where all the people are just moving about. Some walking to their cars, others pushing carts. Non of them aware that inside that supermarket is a crazy psycho killer. ¡°Once Harley is caught, we can head back to DC.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I have been waiting for months, what makes now any different.¡± ¡°She''s asked for you,¡± I nod my head and continue on our mission. Time willeter to think about Kylie, now we have a crazy bitch to capture. ¡°We in, she''s buying a fuck ton of lighter fluid and spray cans, they''re seriously should put a limit on this shit.¡± Scurry''s voicees through the phone. We agreed to use our phones, and Winner set up a six way line, so we can all be connected. ¡°Get closer to her, but do it from the other section,¡± Killer says in to the ear piece. ¡°Have you even been inside a Walmart store,¡± Rest asks Killer and I don''t stop the snorting from my mouth. His blue eyed gaze glowers at me, and I rub my nose and drop my eyes to the floor to hide my smile. ¡°She''s heading for the check out, I think we should make sure she checks out, and you and Begs can get her in the car, put one of those sticks in her neck,¡± Winner suggests. Killer looks at me up and down, before his jaw hardens and he says, ¡°Yeah good call.¡± My eyes widen at that, and I can say I am impressed. Killer and I had a lot of ''conversations,'' what many would call screaming matches about him bossing people around. I exined to him that having no emotions, orck of feelings didn''t mean he was always right, sometimes other people were also correct. ¡°She is at the cashiers till.¡± Killer stands so still, before he is running, and when I say running I mean he is sprinting as if his life depends on it. ¡°Get the fuck out of there now, the ce is going to blow,¡± he screams and my eyes widen as understanding dawns on what he just said. I run after him and hear two gunshots. Killer rushes into the Walmart as we watch Harley go down, and the ce erupts in chaotic screams, kids start to cry, women shriek, and trolleys fall and some are pushed as people barge past me, running. Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. The cashiers also move to the door, right where I am standing and the security guards start pulling their guns out. ¡°Put your guns down.¡± Killer barks at them, showing them his special ops badge and they instantly back down. ¡°We need everyone out of the building, thisdy is considered a fugitive and a national threat. Move.¡± Winner barks in a harsh voice as hees walking with Rest and Scurry tailing behind him. ¡°Begs, you good?¡± I nod in the affirmative, and walk slowly to Killer who put his hands around my waist, grounding me in the now. He did the same when we first left Ka, it is like he senses when I am going to clock out. Killer keeps it from happening. ¡°Get her, where''s Bull?¡± ¡°Climbing down thedder. See you in three,¡± Bulls voice can be heard from our ear pieces. Winner goes to Harley and lifts her up and swings her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. It should feel good that we got her but I don''t feel shit. ¡°Can we rideter.¡± I lift my head up to Killer as his crunched up face is ring at Harley''s unconscious form. ¡°Yeah, let''s cage her, then get the fuck out of here.¡± Killer grabs my hand and pulls me, normally I would say something about this but I know now isn''t the time. Something isn''t right. Winner puts Harley down on the vans flooring and we all get inside, as Scurry and Bull take the front, with Scurry driving. We get to the private Jet and instead of leaving the others at the open field, Killer and I both jump in with them wordlessly. Kylie will have to wait a bit longer. The sun is going down as we touch down to the private strip ofnd that is owned by Killer''s family on the outskirts of Liston Hills. It takes us another hour before we are on the road and heading toward Ka. Winner has Harley strapped to him as Killer once had me, except they injected her with some heavy sedatives. The thought of seeing Zero has my insides getting all twisted. Thest time I saw him I let him go. Deep down I missed him, but I would never tell him that, I wasn''t lying when I told him that beggar was just a passerby, nor did I lie when I said I''d be back. But I learned when I was younger that time does make things easier. It is like forcing a situation you don''t want. Most people on the streets never asked for the life they got, but they became ustomed to it, no matter how much they despised it. It was shit luck, but as humans we either survive or die and make way for those who would. I think when I left Zero I put that into motion. We were going to survive each other apart one way or the other. By the time we arrive at the farm house we call our clubhouse it is closing on night time and making way for the cold nip thates around. The yard is packed with bikes. Killer mentioned that National was stopping by as well as some of the big guns from Houston and a few from Ohio. What he didn''t mention was why, but I supposed that was a muted point, as the reason was currently getting tossed around by Bull as he helped Winner free himself from Harley. I slide my helmet off and I scan the vast amount of bikers. The stench of weed is strong and I see Texas standing with a group of the club brothers smoking a joint. Their cuts all on them and they look bad ass. I tighten my jacket and I feel a sense of loss as I wait for Killer. My training has beenpleted for a few weeks now but I haven''t earned myself a jacket. Rest let me know it would take time to get a cut. She told me hers took years to earn, I didn''t have years. I exined shit to Killer, so he knew that soon we would have to hunt La down, and I knew hunting him, then finishing Thorn off would not only earn me an early death, but even if I survived it would guarantee me a hunted life. La was a bad boss to many, but there were a few of his n that would not take lightly his death. They would avenge him, of that I was certain. Same with Thorn, but him and his people I could handle. ¡°Come on let''s get some food, I''m hungry.¡± Killer grips my hand as I just finish pull thest glove off my right, and I stop him. He turns his short cropped head to me, it is still taking some getting used to, why he decided to cut his hair so short I have no idea. ¡°Killer wait a sec.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± He asks me and I don''t think twice when I ask him honestly, ¡°How do you kill without feeling.¡± I would say his face softens but I think if it was anybody else they would say I was imagining things. ¡°eptance Beggar, I choose to do everything I do, including when I pull that trigger, you''ve got to make that choice for yourself.¡± He touches my face with a barely there brush of his thumb and walks away. And I stand under the night sky, inhaling the strong unmistakable smell of weed, listening to the mass of voices surrounding, while my eyes wonder around this new ce that I admit is now my home, thinking that I am so much worse than all these bikers, that I am capable of much more than these snipers Killer calls his brothers. Chapter 41 (Zero) Chapter 41 (Zero) ¡°Nah, man I heard Bull snickered shot her four times.¡± Knight rys the story to Storm and I as we sit by the bar. Chadley, Whisp, Jade and Venus are all currently behind the bar serving the crowds drinks. The room all of a sudden erupts and my fucking heart almost caves in, fuck my luck. I down the rest of my brandy, and turn to the vision and reason of everyone here, and she is more fucking beautiful than when she left me. Her body is encased with ck leather pants, a thick belt that has three hunting knives in the grooves, and legs that go on for fucking ever are covered with a thick pair of riding boots that are an easy four grand. I take in her leather jacket, it''s a dark gray and the hood is material. My frownes when I get to her neck as she unzips her jacket, and it gets more prominent when she looks at the guy carrying who I guess is an unconscious Harley on his shoulder. My gaze is imprable matching my changing mood, that is tumbling south, fast when Beggar throws her head back andughs. Not only does it make my dick hard, but it has the room quietening as many of the men are looking at the ck haired beauty. That is exactly what she is, a fucking beauty. Her mouth moves and I wish I could be there beside her to hear that raspy voice of hers talk. She is the reason Harley is caught. She doesn''t know that Bull called the club after they took Harley down with the darts. Beggar went behind Killer''s orders the night before they went to Walmart, and handed him the darts, with clear instructions to take her the first chance he got. Which was what led him to the top of the Walmart and his first aim was that. If he didn''t she was going to blow up the entire Walmart. ¡°Fuck bro, you got it bad, are you going to tell her?¡± Spade asks as he sips his beer. ¡°Yeah, just let them get settled, they are bust.¡± I say not taking my eyes off of her. Fuck what was I thinking letting her go. ¡°So this is it?¡± Knight ask as he pats my back, looking to Beauty and Killer who are standing by the lounge area talking to a shit load of guys from out of town. She is different, more animated. I finish off my drink and move closer to them, when Beggar looks at me she actually smiles and I take that as a good fucking sign. ¡°Hey, I heard you guys were on a fuckin'' tailspin tryna get Harley''s ass caught.¡± I say to Killer who shakes his head. ¡°She had us on a whirl wind.¡± ¡°You were the only one who was getting pissy, bitching all of the time,¡± Beggar says and I don''t hide the smile that breaks my mouth wide open. She is giving me those eyes and when I don''t break it, she holds what I see is a fucking diamond cor around her neck and walks off. Killer rolls his eyes and gives me a sharp nod, like I fucking need his permission. I don''t. My feet pull me to her, already knowing where she is going as I pass all the brothers, giving them pats here and there on my way out. She is half way to the top of the hill, and this time I run to meet her there. ¡°Beauty wait.¡± She stops and her leather covered arms wrap around her torso. ¡°It''s Beggar, you had no problem calling me that thest time, what do you want Zero.¡± I take a few steps closer to her, she is four steps down the Hill and I close the gap and put my hands behind my back. There is no stars tonight to set the mood, no romantic ces or words to say to make it all perfect. It is just the sounds of bikes, people, and the thick smell of cigarettes, weed and the earth. None of it says the time is right, but I can say in all truth to this night that if everyone could catch a glimpse into my feelings for this woman who is standing next to me, then everyone would know that there is no perfect time than the first opportunity I got, which is now. ¡°I want you, Amariya, Beggar, Beauty, whatever the fuck you want to call yourself. I just want you.¡± ¡°No you don''t, you have Quinn, I''m your brother''s killer remember, besides who said I want you.¡± I grab her by the back of her jacket and engulf her from the back and put my bare arms over hers. She struggles and I hold her tighter. My lips nip at her ear until she tenses then I breathe my words to her. ¡°Since I had you in my arms that night when I took those guns out of your hands it has been you, Beauty. Though I had another woman in my bed, you were the one with the keys to my soul.¡± ¡°Please, just stop.¡± Her wordse as a plea as her knees get weak, still I hold her in my arms. ¡°You once asked me those same words, and I told you I can''t dammit, before you left all over again you had a shit load to say. I have held back these weeks, even though every part of me wanted to get on my bike and hunt your ass down, but Beauty I fucked up, I imed Quinn. When you left that day it was me on the floor, falling all over again for you. Fuck do you know how many nights I sat on this very hill screaming for you, even knowing you were the one that did that to Thorn. You said if only you met me sooner, but life doesn''t always give us what we want, we have to take it, that bit of goodness.¡± ¡°I have nothing to give you Zero besides misery, I have no goodness, please just let me go.¡± ¡°I can''t let you go, I love you Amariya, and my heart isn''t made to love again.¡± Beauty stills in my arms, and I brush her neck with my scruff. ¡°Love, my mother told me love made you do crazy things, just like money, she said many people would do just about anything for a buck. The day I met Thorn I found out the extent of that anything. The day I met you I learned the extent of love. I never knew you were his brother Zero.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Chaos reins around us as bullets start going through the air and my brothers all start screaming, some duck down and others start pulling out their own. I throw Beauty down and my body covers hers as the mass of noise booms. It is fucking loud, and I need to get there. Shouts and screams can be heard not too far from us. ¡°No, no, no, get off me.¡± Beauty starts pushing at my chest, screaming as a mass of destruction happens right by our front stoop, but I don''t budge straight away. I lock my hands on her waist, I know she is freaking out and I need her to focus. So I don''t hold back the pressure I apply on her hips to get her to quieten. ¡°You good?¡± I ask her. ¡°Yeah, yeah I''m good.¡± ¡°You need to roll down this hill and sneak into the barn, there is a blue tool box. Use a hammer to smash the lock, there is guns in there, and an army type of phone, I want you to signal that phone, press the green button, grab the guns and get your ass inside the house and get the women out, you with me? I am going to go down there and help the guys.¡± I peep just over the hill and cringe as I see a big truck hammering at the clubhouse gate. I can spot a few cop cars but either than that the brothers and After are firing back. ¡°Go now.¡± I tell Beauty and she does. I wait until I see her reach the barn then I roll the opposite way down, straight into the small war zone. Our bikes are fucked as AK47 and Sniper rifflespete for violence. A bullet misses me by centimeters and I rush to the side of the farm house. Knight spots me and rushes over to me, shooting at the truck that is still trying to breach our defense. ¡°Mercy got hit bad, if we don''t get her to a hospital soon she isn''t gonna make it, we got seven down, not sure how many injured.¡± Knight shouts as we both squat down to the side of the building. Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. He slips a gun from behind his back and then he is off, running to the front. I make sure the safety is off and join him. I spot Killer and After closing in on the gate and I start shooting at the men who have jumped over the gate. A man rushes toward Spade and another brother and I clip him in the back of his head. The sheriffs are shooting from that side and we are shooting from this. Time is all we got and I aim to kill, not stopping to take in the damage all around us. Killer manages to get close enough to the truck that has fucked our gate and starts shooting. He must get the driver ''cause the truck goes off and some of the men start running but I and some of the others just take them down like rats. No longer than it takes thest enemy to hit the ground do I take to rush into the house. Beauty and Venus are holding a bloodied cloth on Mercy''s torso, while the other women around us help all the other injured. ¡°Let''s move, we need to get her to the hospital.¡± Venus screams and I rush to them and lift Mercy up as she screams. ¡°Keep pressure on that wound, don''t let up you hear.¡± Venus tells Beauty as she pulls her hand free. True to word Beauty doesn''t let her hand up and the two of us begin to move together with Mercy in my arms and through the front door. A vanes right there by thest porch step and the door swings open as I see Killer and Spade already inside. I go in with Beauty first, and still her hand presses in Mercy''s stomach. By the time we get to the hospital, the staff are waiting by the door and kick into action as we stop in the middle of it all. The doctors push Beauty aside as they pull Mercy from my arms. Beauty stands there watching them rush with Mercy, and I grab at her bloody hand. That seems to get her out of what stupor she is and she surprises me as she hugs me. I wrap my arms around my woman, and even though we were just gunned down, and we lost so many of our people, I feel fuckingplete. It is a selfish feeling considering, but I can''t help it. She is in my arms, right there, holding me. HOW THE FUCK CAN I NOT FEEL COMPLETE. Chapter 42 (Beggar) Chapter 42 (Beggar) Casualties is what I heard some of them say. It is three days since The Clubhouse was attacked. Many of them died, some injured, others just ying down angry. La''s men attacked the Clubhouse, they invaded the Satan Sniper''s privacy, put our children in harms way, hurt our women. I was lucky that night, and like always I decided to run, only Zero was waiting for me and so was Killer. So this time I decided to stay and fight. The Clubhouse was fucked, but the men and some contractors were sorting it all out. ¡°How''s that bottle, still hot?¡± I ask Mercy who is sitting on the floor of our hotel room kicking her legs like she is gone insane. All the women are stuck inside this Motel in Ka''s city while the men work hard to sort everything out. The other Chapters are full in the city, here to help get us back to our living space. ¡°Yes, these fuckin'' stitches are going to kill me if the pain doesn''t.¡± ¡°Stop whining, Bee get her one of those fruit loops from downstairs,¡± Hannah says from the other double bed, where she is currently dressing Chadley''s shoulder. ¡°You want anything?¡± I ask Hannah who shakes her head. I pull open the door and walk down the old hallway and spot Quinn rushing up the stairs with packets of groceries just as I go down. Today is the first day I am seeing her. She wasn''t there the night we had the attack. Since that night Zero and I haven''t said a word about anything. But then when you experience death so sudden even I have to admit those feelings I thought died didn''t even cool down. I was scared for him, I cared about Zero and I admitted it to myself that he is mine and I am his, which is the reason I never fought him when he got us our own private room and like before I left, we fell into a habit of us. Killer backed off but was still around, though I could see him get restless. I know ''cause I felt the same way. We needed to find La and soon. ¡°Beggar, I wanted to talk to you,¡± Quinn says and I stand there waiting to hear what it is. "You''re in love with my man. I know he is sleeping with you, but you can''t have him Beggar. Zero is mine now." My eyes are as shocked as the wordsing from Quinn. "Is he? ''causest night he was in my bed not yours. Don''t talk shit you don''t know. Wait for him to say the words." I bump past her and make my way down the stairs. What I did learn these past few days, was that Zero broke his im on Quinn the same night and took a beating from seven of the guys the day Killer, Bull and I left Ka. I also heard that Zero asked his brother to leave the clubhouse. It was a lot to take in. "You had to go do it didn''t you." Those words have me looking at the man in question as he stands there in the small lobby of the Motel looking all kinds of dirty. ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°Give Quinn shit.¡± He says and I shrug. "You''ll live." "Why Beauty?" He asks as he takes a few steps closer to me. "She talked too much, iming things that weren''t hers to im." He walks closer to me and spins me to face him. He inhales me as he once did and I mistook it for something it wasn''t, this time there is no mistaking anything as shivers rake up my back. ''Way with words'' by Bahamas ys in the background. Zero leaves me stunned when he drops his head to my neck and starts swaying with me, "I love you Amariya." I close my eyes, these things are foreign to me, so I go for honesty when I say, ¡°I think I past love with you Zero." N?velDrama.Org holds this content. "From that night, I set my eyes on you woman you have been mine as much as I yours." I kiss his cheek, as I know those words though they are meant to be mine won''tst very much longer. My lips linger and I feel his catch in his breath, the warm air grazing my cheek, I begin to walk away from him. "I know you n to leave tonight with Killer, but stay the night with me." My head turns to face him. "Get some rest Zero, we got a long ride tomorrow, I don''t want to fall off your back." And I got a killer to catch. I grab the fruit loops and make my way back up to the room and I leave the enforcer of the Satan Snipers in that Lobby with a smile on my face. Three days ago I almost lost him, I almost lost a lot of these people and it wasn''t my fault. I learned an important lesson that night. No matter how much I try to run, or I stay to fight, life is always going to happen the way it is supposed to. It is like the spiral of stairs, you have to take it if there is no elevator, how else are you going to get where you need to go? And sometimes those stairs are going to creak, some might have a chip or few but the destination is either up or down. Life or death. And every now and again, the unlucky ones might get half way up those stairs and fall all the way down. That is life, it is a choice here and there, a time for smiling, a decision that could be life altering but at the end of it all we are still guaranteed death. People like me just have a more bumpy route, but I guess we alle to a time when even all the shit around us is falling we just have to smile, at least we get to live another day, breathe another sunrise. The End Chapter 43 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 43 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) Present Death, the only part of our life already predicted from the moment our fetus is formed. The how¡¯s, when and where¡¯s may vary, but we all eventually die. Death is the finale of moments, only when that momentes it¡¯ssting. The one thing in our lives that is meant tost for eternity and even then, we aren''t sure. Whates after death? Now that is debatable and depending solely on the one who is doing the answering. The believers might say heaven or hell. A few religions may have some varieties on the name but the ces are the same. One meant for the good ones and the other meant for sinners. Some might be convinced in the reincarnation of the soul or like the Atheist believe- the ck space, nothing. But who on this earth really knows anything but for the paths, we take to get there? Now, while those paths we take may seem simr to others and we have that moment where we delude ourselves into thinking that this person or people can rte to what we have been through, it is still our path. Our moments made up of our choices. The circumstances leading to those choices might very well be due to other people, but they are null in the bigger picture, devoid of relevance in the final oue, death. This, here, now, in this open parking lot with a gun in my hand, I pull the trigger, shortening his story. A sudden death, more than he deserves. I tell myself reasons be damned of why I shouldn''t do it. In my case, the one with the gun in my hand, I can honestly say that my reasons are the only thing keeping me going. My eyes don''t leave his shocked gaze as his hand goes to his stomach, so I pull the trigger again. The impact causes my arm to jerk back as the second shot gets him in his chest. He would never understand how my heart shrivelled when he killed my babies. The burning sensation that takes him before death does, is the closest feeling that mirrors my own torturous loss I have felt because of him. Yet, even now, watching his fall, there is no victory felt, no relief of the sweet revenge promised by the minds game of vengeance after the knight has its revenge. For after that moment like all sweetened treats, there is a price that must be paid. I look up into the bright Southern sky, waiting for something, a sign. But the sun doesn''t call to the sounds of murder, it does not hide behind the clouds screaming that this death was different. Truth is, it is not some precious moment, it is just a life-altering one for me- the girl with the gun, And him- the man who has now fallen to the parking lot floor, bleeding to death. I should say I feel some remorse for what has happened, but I can''t, it would be a lie. I was once a girl, who never wanted much besides a safe ce to rest my head at night. Thorn was one of the men that crossed my path and made that impossible. He took from me twice, now I have finally returned the sentiment by taking his life. Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org. ¡°NOOOOOOOO.¡± The screaming from the being who just yesterday imed to love me can be heard in the back of my head. I told him I will destroy him, I did. I never lied. There are moments in my life I wish I could take back, but even watching Zero run toward his brother¡¯s dying form, with his face in anguish- this is not one of those moments. ¡°What have you done, why, WHY?¡± He screams at me as he drops to the ground next to his blood brother and I don''t need to say a thing. Really, what more can I say? I just killed his brother. I took the one thing from him that he loved more than anything in the world. I ripped it out because I could. I told Zero that we were doomed from that moment- When he grabbed that gun out of my hands. The only chance we had was a moment. That is what we are given in life, just moments before death. ¡°Get out of here, the cops are on their way.¡± Killer''s voice has me swinging into action as I slip the gun back in my holster and rush from the scene but even, I can¡¯t stop the scream of the man I love that haunts my ears. Chapter 43: Book 4: Beautys Breath Chapter 43: Book 4: Beauty''s Breath Beggar Present Death, the only part of our life already predicted from the moment our fetus is formed. The how¡¯s, when and where¡¯s may vary, but we all eventually die. Death is the finale of moments, only when that momentes it¡¯ssting. The one thing in our lives that is meant tost for eternity and even then, we aren''t sure. Whates after death? Now that is debatable and depending solely on the one who is doing the answering. The believers might say heaven or hell. A few religions may have some varieties on the name but the ces are the same. One meant for the good ones and the other meant for sinners. Some might be convinced in the reincarnation of the soul or like the Atheist believe- the ck space, nothing. N?velDrama.Org holds this content. But who on this earth really knows anything but for the paths, we take to get there? Now, while those paths we take may seem simr to others and we have that moment where we delude ourselves into thinking that this person or people can rte to what we have been through, it is still our path. Our moments made up of our choices. The circumstances leading to those choices might very well be due to other people, but they are null in the bigger picture, devoid of relevance in the final oue, death. This, here, now, in this open parking lot with a gun in my hand, I pull the trigger, shortening his story. A sudden death, more than he deserves. I tell myself reasons be damned of why I shouldn''t do it. In my case, the one with the gun in my hand, I can honestly say that my reasons are the only thing keeping me going. My eyes don''t leave his shocked gaze as his hand goes to his stomach, so I pull the trigger again. The impact causes my arm to jerk back as the second shot gets him in his chest. He would never understand how my heart shrivelled when he killed my babies. The burning sensation that takes him before death does, is the closest feeling that mirrors my own torturous loss I have felt because of him. Yet, even now, watching his fall, there is no victory felt, no relief of the sweet revenge promised by the minds game of vengeance after the knight has its revenge. For after that moment like all sweetened treats, there is a price that must be paid. I look up into the bright Southern sky, waiting for something, a sign. But the sun doesn''t call to the sounds of murder, it does not hide behind the clouds screaming that this death was different. Truth is, it is not some precious moment, it is just a life-altering one for me- the girl with the gun, And him- the man who has now fallen to the parking lot floor, bleeding to death. I should say I feel some remorse for what has happened, but I can''t, it would be a lie. I was once a girl, who never wanted much besides a safe ce to rest my head at night. Thorn was one of the men that crossed my path and made that impossible. He took from me twice, now I have finally returned the sentiment by taking his life. ¡°NOOOOOOOO.¡± The screaming from the being who just yesterday imed to love me can be heard in the back of my head. I told him I will destroy him, I did. I never lied. There are moments in my life I wish I could take back, but even watching Zero run toward his brother¡¯s dying form, with his face in anguish- this is not one of those moments. ¡°What have you done, why, WHY?¡± He screams at me as he drops to the ground next to his blood brother and I don''t need to say a thing. Really, what more can I say? I just killed his brother. I took the one thing from him that he loved more than anything in the world. I ripped it out because I could. I told Zero that we were doomed from that moment- When he grabbed that gun out of my hands. The only chance we had was a moment. That is what we are given in life, just moments before death. ¡°Get out of here, the cops are on their way.¡± Killer''s voice has me swinging into action as I slip the gun back in my holster and rush from the scene but even, I can¡¯t stop the scream of the man I love that haunts my ears. Chapter 44 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 44 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) 4 months earlier N?velDrama.Org holds this content. ¡°Are you going to just stand there, looking at me or give me a hug?¡± La''s eyes hide a secret spell as they entrance me with just that wide-eyed knowing stare. ¡°Well, I guess that is exactly what you are doing,¡± He chuckles and I stand in the foyer of his hotel room, and watch as he walks closer. He engulfs me and a dark scented whiff of his cologne embraces me as I put my head against his chest, until all I can smell, see and feel is him. ¡°I have missed mi Amor.¡± His words now all I hear. The beat of his chest silent to his deep dark voice that covers me in a web of seduction. ¡°Amariya.¡± The devil calling my name prates through my fog mind that still insists on remembering the sweet bitter love I had for my husband, La Sanati six and a half years ago. ¡°Yo, what''s up?¡± I rub my eyes, inhale a deep sounding breath in an attempt to hide my forbidden thought before looking up to Killer who is standing in front of the hotel rooms armchair I am seated on. His blue eyes and sharp chiselled face give no hint of emotion, or clue to the killer that lives within him. I don¡¯t need it to know he knows the one who is on my mind. ¡°We''re heading to Kylie today, get dressed.¡± The order is given and like Killer, he turns, making a swift exit to either get ready, train or eat. I watch his retreating form, frowning at his sudden change of mind. Yesterday he refused to take me to Kylie. Now we were going The bathroom door of the en-suite opens and like always, I follow the direction of the sound with a tilt of my head. Zero''s big body walks out. Naked chest bared to my eyes. His jeans undone, the ck jocks he¡¯s wearing underneath on full disy. The hard-protruded lines on his body visible. This man is built to be a soldier. He''d just showered, his skin is still misted. A light sheen nkets his skin, making his arm muscles look more pronounced than they really are. His broad shoulders that have carried many men to safety flex and twitch. I have never asked him why he has a slight tremor. The question seems silly and it is something to look forward to every morning at seven twenty when he opens that door. I am never disappointed and he is neverte. All in all, it is hard to miss the powerful, half-naked Enforcer standing and looking at me with eyes I know intimately. I gulp when he smiles in that sexy way, I havee to know is his. HIS one eye smaller when he smiles. The scar under his left eye, the sexiest yet most frightening part of his facelifts an inch. Once that scar was the scariest part of him, but now I havee to know this man, with a heart full of so much to give, once you crack around his hard fa?ade. A month together on the road has helped me with that. The fault in this picture is Zero with all his appeal has not had sex with me this past month. Since Killer, Zero and I left Ka to hunt down my husband, La after he ordered his men to attack the clubhouse, Zero and I have slept in the same bed. But he has not touched me further than his hand on my thighs when we ride, or my breast to his chest and a few short kisses. At night he sleeps on his side and I, on mine. My dreams have not shown itself, nor has anything triggered a reaction to my living nightmare. I know it is not me that is the reason, but something more. What? I don¡¯t know but I will find out. Before I met The Satan Snipers, a dreamless night¡¯s sleep behind a dumpster would have measured up to a good day for me. A small break from seeing La¡¯s lustful eyes as his hands choke me until my own gaze fades into only terror Time has changed me. Now, when my nightmares do show itself, I know it isn''t La''s violence on me that will cripple me, but the screams of another girl, my friend, Kylie Bray. An innocent girl that was once just a billionaire. A girl I thought was weak. I was once convinced that she will never survive my life for one day. She proved me wrong, she survived my hell for weeks and still stands. On the streets we prove our strengths by our actions, our will to survive to fight and fend for another hour. Kylie Bray has proven to be the strongest woman I know. She was raped by my husband¡¯s men for three weeks, over and over again. Beaten within an inch of her life every day. Hours spent getting tortured by those sick fucks, while they recorded it. All that, because she chose to help me. The day I was too weak to stand Inded on her doorstep. When I rang her doorbell, I opened the floodgates that would be her hell. I should say that I regret going to her house the night I escaped from the cruel capture of La, but, then I would never have spent that time with her. I would have never learned about the quirkiness of Kylie Bray. The Southern belle that hates Champaign and prefers a pizza over a burger. She would have never told me that I was worth more than all those zeros in her bank ount when all I felt was nothing but filth toward myself. And how would I have seen her lopsided smile when I shot an arrow in her window ying Archery, or her determination to teach me to dive. I would have never felt the freedom of will when I rode with Killer and her up the mountains and we watched the blood moon disappear as the sun took its ce. Those memories would have never existed. So how can I regret the horror that came after, when those moments before were like strange magic of could BE''s I will never get back. She still stands, but I have not seen her. I have not looked into her eyes and told her I am sorry, because her brother, Killer did not let me. Chapter 45 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 45 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) Today will be different, today I will look at the woman whose life is changed because of me. I will see the damage I have caused, knowing that there is nothing I could do to make it go away. There is no remedy to the past. Once it is done, it is written and sealed in blood, memory and time. My cousin, Marco said, that the past is that which has happened. No matter how we look back on it, those moments, memories will be an unaltered urrence, so we best just learn, observe and move on. I scan the room. The thick rumpled grey and white duvet, a reminder of myte night. Fluffy pillows discarded to the floor, in my haste to run to the bathroom. Empty containers of pudding that filled my stomach just a few hours ago sit in a line on the ck wooden bedside table. All of this a daily urrence since the three of us have left Ka. The man standing shirtless, imposing as the day I first snuck a nce at him from underneath my hood, watches me from across our bedroom we have shared as a couple should. Every day I remind myself, this life is temporary. This man who has not touched me like a lover should, yet still breathes life into me is part of that temporary. I admit it gets harder. Zero is the biggest challenge I have yet to ovee. Nothing good has eversted long enough to consider it a routine before now, especially not a man. In the end he will be no different. There are nights my body sweats and my hands shake as shivers rake up my back at just the thought of going back on the streets. Those nights show me that I have be weak. N?velDrama.Org holds this content. Those nights I get this urge to hold Zero, to wrap my arms around his muscr back and dig my fingers into his torso just to remind myself that this is real. I really did wake up on a soft bed, ate a hot meal and drank a warm drink while the Enforcer of a motorcycle club sat next to me. Even these clothes on my back are mine, not hand me downs or stuff that was stolen. But as much as I want to hold my man, I don''t. Life on the streets will always be there. My past always the darkened taint to my present, reminding me of who I am. No matter howfortable I feel in this moment I have now, there are some things that are set in stone. Relying on a man tofort me is one of those things. Unfortunately, my husband, La is a big part of the reason why a man¡¯s arms is not something I will ever need to warm my chills. No matter how much I crave it And as I sit here looking at the Enforcer of one of the deadliest Motorcycle Clubs in the U.S, I don''t need to seek him out to know that something is up. I can smell it every time he steps into a room. This Zero is not the man I met almost a year ago. He is different since leaving Ka. The man in front of me is not the Zero I know. I get a weird feeling that his thoughts are ying a deadly game of Russian roulette on his mind. On the streets I learned from a young age that there is never mistaking caution for paranoia. Those two feelings can be the single thread that separates you from the living and the dead. As sad as it sounds, it wasn''t until I met my father, and he held a gun to my head that I figured that out. I was twelve, still learning the rules of survival, still hoping. I snort at the thought of how stupid and na?ve I was at one stage. Killer enters the bedroom and I watch the devil as he grabs the charger next to the bed in silence, at ease, leaving Zero and I alone again. Killer has noticed Zero¡¯s behaviour too. But we remain silent in verbalizing our worry, doesn''t mean we are not watching Zero. ¡°Killer''s takin¡¯ me to see Kylie today, I wanna go alone.¡± ¡°I gathered as much, tell her I said hi.¡± He walks closer to me, opens his mouth to say something else but thinks better of it and closes it. Seconds tick by as he just stares long and hard at me. His eyes are filled with questions. What? I am not sure. He turns and walks to his side of the bed, grabs his three rings first, puts them on. His phone is next, sliding into his pocket andstly his wallet, which is a silver thin case that slides easily in the front side of his left pocket. I know this as my eyes watch his actions now, as it has done this past month. His back muscles bunch as he straightens his position and his tattoo that takes up his entire back screams at me to run as it has done this past month too. It tells me to leave him, because that biker insignia knows its owner. When our tide gets high, I will meet the killer that lives inside of the Enforce of The Satan Snipers. ¡°When you get back, I''m taking you out,¡± He says with his back to me, and I don''t hide my surprise. ¡°Aren''t you taking me to Kylie?¡± I ask in my fucked-up voice. It sounds scratchier now after I puked my guts out while he was in the shower. Another thing that has be a daily urrence. At least I feel better once I am done. His shoulders bunch, then drop, it is odd for him and something else that doesn''t go unnoticed, confirming my suspicions. Something is up ¡°Can''t got shit I need to do today. Killers takin¡¯ you in a cage.¡± He finally turns to me and I watch as his face remains closed off. It feels like he just hit me in the chest with a bat, which isn''t something I know too well. I rub that spot frowning. My multi-coloured sock covered feet hit the soft cream carpet as I head straight to the bathroom. ¡°Beauty,¡± His voice is hard and stern, but the silent plea is heard- for what? I don''t know. I am not his equal. I am a beggar, a woman hardened by the trials of life. He should know better than to think he can make me pliant. ¡°I told you my name is Beggar,¡± I snap as I head into the bathroom and m the door closed. The lock on the door makes that distinctive sound, telling me that the door is locked. I strip off my jeans and t-shirt, opening the spray of water. My scarred body steps into the grey tiled shower. The heat and sting from the waters pressure weed as it brings me to reality, hitting my back, reminding me of a simr sensation when something else hit my back too. The door handle rattles and I look at it in fear. My hands go to my neck. The scarred tissue, something I expect to feel. But the strings of diamonds and gold links rx me, reminding me that it is covered and brings me to reality, warding off my minds need to remember. I am here, safe and sound. Kylie is at home and she is away from all those men. No one will harm her again. Vincent might be a made-man but he has honor and I know he is making sure that all those men who touched Kylie die a gruesome death. questo ¨¨ personale non ¨¨ business. This is not business, it is personal. The door rattles a bit more before Zero gives up as he has done every day. He could break it down if he really wanted to, yet he doesn''t. I am not sure what makes me doubt his love for me. The fact that he refuses to fuck me or the reality of this thing between us just a ploy from him to keep me away from his brother. The water sprays my skin. I grab the soap, rubbing the bar on my marked flesh that matches the deep scars of my heart. I rub the sensitive area, where I got shot on my shoulder. Making my way down to the multiple risen scars marring my flesh. I block out the memories of how I¡¯d gotten stabbed, beaten, hurt and burned. But I can¡¯t hide the evidence. It is all on my skin, a reminder of who I am. What I have gone through. What I will go through even in the future to make sure my girl is avenged. Chapter 46 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 46 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) The day I set my future, that day I chose to walk this path, Marco told me that vengeance always He said if you y your cards too soon the opposition will take you out, if you y them toote you will get sloppy. Timing is everything where pay back is concerned. Finding the right mark and knowing how to ce it is just a bonus. I grab the hotel robe that is hanging on a towel hangar behind the white door and slip it on. I open the door to see Zero sitting on the bed, slipping on his boots. He looks at me, and the small visible part of the chain covering my skin. It covers my burn like the pr necks I used to wear. Beautiful diamonds to cover up the ugliness that is my life, keeping me hidden. Unlike the pr neck material that once served the same purpose, these diamonds do note off. Only one person can remove it and he isn''t going to. At first when Killer put this ne on my neck, I was angry and self-conscious wearing so many diamonds. But now I see it for what it is- A permanent protection, a shield, a cor owned by the devil himself. And looking at the hard glint on Zero''s face, he knows it too. Killer has imed me and while I may not be the devil''s mistress, it doesn''t mean I am not owned by Satan. Zeroces his boots and stands up,ing closer toward my stationary form. He is wearing a white tee that stretches across his chest and hangs loose around his hips.N?velDrama.Org content. He lifts his hand, cupping my cheek. The first tender touch I have gotten from him these past weeks. I stare into his dark emerald eyes as his fingers caress my flesh, watching as his gaze falters to the ne. Lifting my own hand to his roughened skin. I touch him the same way he is touching me, finally earning the depths of his soulful green gaze that haunts my days. But also breathes life into me for these times it stares at me with such unaltered heat that I am stationary in these moments. I can say in this specific one I see my past, present and imminent future sh before me. But like life, ites and goes. Too bad this won''t be how we will stay, too sad that our story is just that, a once upon a time. ¡°Tonight, you are mine,¡± His words have my eyes widening. I gulp. He gives me a small grin, showing me that part of him I do know. But all too soon the moment is gone. All too sudden he is a masked man. He touches my nose with his index finger of the same hand that just seconds ago held my face with a caress of a lover. ¡°I want to be yours now too.¡± I say in a roughened tone as I drop my hand from his face. He grabs my wrist and puts my hand behind my back, taking me unaware that I gasp, ¡°What are....¡± My words die in my mouth because Zero''s lips are mashed to mine. Maybe someday soon I will think of why I open my mouth and use my other hand to grip his waist. Why I push my body to his. Maybe someday soon I will question whether this kiss was one of lust or was this really as earth-shattering as it feels in this moment as my body hums for more. But like everything good in my life it ends. And I am left staring at Zero''s retreating form as he leaves me here, with a promise ofter, a kiss and in the care of the devil. He doesn¡¯t look back. I snap out of my mind and into gear long enough to slip on a pair of dark jeans, Zero got for me a week back. A white and ck-tie dyed t-shirt and a brown leather jacket that is tight around my waist when it is zipped upplete my outfit. Twisting my hair, I style it in a French it and pull out my ck studded boots, also bought for me by Zero. He might not have a say about the cor around my neck, but he made sure to draw the line with my clothes. And I had to give him credit when he didn''t bat an eysh when I said he was childish, considering I already had clothes. But the man can be persistent and Killer told me to let him have that. I am still not sure what he meant by ''have that'' so I just caved. I do like the jacket, a lot. ¡°You ready? Let''s move,¡± Killer yells from not too far from me. I turn to see him walk into the room just as I zip up myst boot. He is wearing ck denim pants, a ck and blue button-down shirt that is rolled up by the sleeves showing some of his tattoos on his arms. Add in his blonde hair and hardened exterior, Killer will never be able to blend in. ¡°Are you done?¡± He asks me as I continue to size him up. ¡°Yup, let''s move.¡± He looks at me from head to toe, and I know he isn''t checking me out but assessing me. ¡°Where¡¯s your knife and gun? Strap up,¡± He orders as he folds his arms across his chest. See, what did I say? Assessing. I go to the side of the bed and open the draw. My ck hunting knife is the first weapon I grab. I picked this up a few days after we left Ka. We were in Houston. Spent a few nights with the Houston Chapter and met this woman, names Rangler. She doesn''t talk much, and never batted an eyesh when Zero and Killer walked in. But the spark in her eyes when she pulled out a cloth of knives was something I won''t forget. Bitch sold me this one for thirty bucks. My 9mm silver gun in my hand right now Spade gave me the morning after La''s men attacked the Clubhouse. He said it was customary for my mentor to give me a weapon. I asked him did that mean he finally epted that he was old. Heughed and said the only thing that was old was me keep insisting he was. After checking the safety and re-clipping the magazine, I grab the gun holster from the inside draw and strap it around my leg. My knife is shoved in my right boot. Killer loses some silent battle with himself, walks to the white closet, pulls out a ck coat that I haven''t touched and throws it at me. ¡°Put that on.¡± I wordlessly do as he says, removing my jacket. It is another fifteen minutes, and a change of bootster to a t knee length high top ck boot that I am finally given the okay from Killer. At first when he bossed me around, I used to get annoyed, until Zero, Killer and I left to hunt La. Zero and Killer argued a lot in the first week. Killer won every time. I couldn''t understand why Zero caved. I told him he was weak when we went to bed the one night and heughed a good ten minutes, before exining that he only gave in because it was what Killer needed. Zero said that most of the brothers were frightened of Killer, and for good reason, but not all. A few of them understood Killer¡¯s need to be in control of most things. The most important part of those things revolved around his life and the club was his life. Killer needed his life in his hands to remain sane. The club- they gave him that. Once I understood it, Killer''s ways made sense. I felt a tinge of softening toward his bossy mannerism, but not enough to kiss his ass. I fight with him, especially when he insists, I leave him to kill La. Yesterday he said that killing La won''t make me feel better. I told him feeling better wasn''t the reason I was going to kill La. We¡¯re in the ck Audi, driving at an illegal speed toward Kylie. She is three hours away from where we are staying, but with the way Killer is driving, two hours is all this trip is going to take. Kylie is staying in a hotel suite with Vincent. Not sure why that piece of information was so important but Killer told me this with the warning note in his voice. Killer makes ast-minute decision and takes the scenic route to Washington DC. No matter how fast he drives, I can''t deny thefort I feel sitting in this car, with soft leather seats and that musky smelling through the air-conditioner. ¡°Have you found anything else about La?¡± I ask him as we pass a wide stretch of trees, taking the curved road with ease. ¡°No, he is definitely in Washington. I''m just not sure where exactly.¡± ¡°How¡¯s Vincent, is he still killing every one of La''s men?¡± I ask. Killer informed Zero and I about Vincent¡¯s war. He also told me when Zero left to get food the one night that the police were turning a blind eye and calling it gang wars. Which was one of the reasons Killer didn''t want me to see Kylie. ¡°Yes, but I think it is more than just killing the outfit. Two kids were found at hisst crime scene. Kylie is still not talking, maybe she''ll tell you something.¡± ¡°Will you stop him if you had to,¡± I ask the question that I wouldn''t ask Zero about his brother. Killer is different. We are the same in that regard. I think he knew that the first time I set foot into the clubhouse. If it needs to get done, I will see it through. ¡°If I have to, yes.¡± There is nothing more to say to that, Vincent is dangerous, I said it before. Kylie was raped and beaten. She looks at Vincent as her saviour but she doesn''t know that he is just as much a monster, if not more so than La, the man he hunts. There is a reason La and Vincent hate each other, and as much as I want to tell Kylie, I know it is not my story to tell. A love story more tragic than Romeo and Juliet. ¡°How''re things with Zero. Has he said anything yet?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± Leave it to Killer to bring in the big questions. ¡°Maybe you should ask him, might not be the answer you want to hear but at least you''d know.¡± ¡°When did you be a rtionship expert?¡± ¡°I had a few women, here and there.¡± I look at him and see the grimace on his face as he says that, and I don''t hide myugh. ¡°How is that working out for you?¡± ¡°Just ask him.¡± Chapter 47 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 47 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) Seattle is one ce I dread, more than DC. The city brings back a notable amount of memories, bitter ones at most. I swing my leg off my bike and shove my helmet into my saddle. The restaurant is a ss-encased feeding hole. If I am to describe it, I would say its uptight formal taste is too much for me. But not for the man I am meeting today. This set up fits him like a glove. Since I left Ka with Beauty and Killer to hunt La, something has yed on my mind, bugging me. It¡¯s insistent. Thest time something nagged my brain this much I ended up taking a bullet in my shoulder and lost three men because one of my men betrayed me on the battlefield. Turning to the enemy. It was the first time I met a shadow soldier as dangerous as Killer. But where Killer feels nothing, this soldier felt everything as if he was the one betrayed. He saved my life that day, taught me that a man without emotion is deadly but a man with too much emotion holds the world in his fingers, for he knows and understands all too well the poison of mankind. For me that poison is something I can eradicate, his name is La Sanati. He is the leader of the Outfit, and husband to the woman I love. N?velDrama.Org holds this content. Just a few months ago he kidnapped Kylie Bray and Beauty, but we got them back. It wasn''t in one piece, but they are alive. Barely That night is one thing I keep reying in my head. Beauty''s body tied to a chair, so fragile, broken like the soul of its owner. The small chance that my brother helped put her there sickens me. Beauty once told me that I stole thest piece of her, but what she doesn''t know, she owns every breath I breathe. She is my owner, even if she doesn''t know it yet, she will. A testament to that is the reason I am here, instead of going with her and Killer to see Kylie. The man I am here to see is sitting in the corner with an iPad in his hand, whilst his eyes are engrossed in whatever has got him so unaware of my presence. ¡°Thorn,¡± My voice booms, breaking his upied brain. His green eyes that are closely identical to mine look up from his iPad. He doesn''t miss a beat as he lifts up his hand to shake mine. I pat his seated form on the back, pull out the silver and ck leather chair and seat my ass down. My brother and I have always been on opposite sides of the world. Today is no different and it got nothing to do with our taste in clothing, but the faults in our character. Me? I chose a life like my pops. As a kid, growing up I never wanted another life besides the one I was given by my pops. The life of a biker, a Satan Sniper, has always been the path I¡¯d lead. When I joined as a prospect almost twenty years ago it was as simple as breathing. The day I joined the military was another thing I never had to think about. I remember I was barely sixteen when I started researching about the different divisions. One of the happiest times of my teenage life was the day I got my letter. After two years in the army, I decided to join the navy. It wasn¡¯t long after my training, I got recruited for my first big mission in Iraq, then Namibia. Got home a few years after that. Met a woman. Almost got myself married but the man upstairs took pity on a fucker like me and killed her before I went down that road. Thorn, the club and my pops were there to pick my sorry ass up. It wasn¡¯t long after that fuck-fest I got recruited by Rounder to join the Special Ops team. It was way more than I wanted for myself, even my pops didn¡¯t see thating. Guess, I surpassed my own expectations. A biker¡¯s life, bing an Enforcer is all I have ever seen for myself before I met Beauty, even now, I can¡¯t picture myself without my brothers in my life. Thorn never fitted in with The Satan Snipers. Growing up I watched my dad and his futile attempts to get my brother to join, from the busty blondes to the fast bikes. Thorn never wanted any of it. Not saying my brother didn¡¯t ept the asional woman now and again. I could have saved my pops a lot of time and exined to him that Thorn was never going to be a biker, but I enjoyed the old Toad cracking his head. Thorn, on the receiving side of my pop''s attempt at bribery, wasn¡¯t impressed in the least. Since I could remember, my eldest brother has always been an ambitious man. It was encrusted in his soul from the time he was young. As we got older, had our own lives, his was spent wanting more. The biker life too wild for the Fighter Pilot. Army life too crowded. So, imagine my surprise when he came home one Christmas and informed the entire Club that he was bing a bounty hunter. He was great at it too. The club used him a time or few. He made a name for himself and eventually a solid six-figure sry doing private work for some businessmen. Wasn''t too long after, he opened up his P.I services. It still boggles my mind how he ended up choosing to be a Private Investigator. I still can¡¯t picture him getting his hands dirty. But now as I sit here, I admit that thought doesn¡¯t hold its intensity of truth as it once did. The waitress walks up to me. A flirtatious smile to match her seductive walk which would have had me grinning a year back. She has a huge rack. At one time would¡¯ve appealed to me to the extent that I would have fucked her on the side of this Uptight ce for everyone to see. Now it has no reaction to me whatsoever. It amazes me what power a woman has over a man with just a simple smile. I never thought I would ever love a woman, the concept of it was foreign to me but now, how can I not love Beauty. ¡°What can I get you,¡± The waiter asks as she ys with the long-braided hair of hers. ¡°A coffee, ck, and a breakfast menu.¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± She winks and I don''t need to look to know she is sashaying her hips and ass. ¡°You got me here, what is so important, that it couldn''t wait ''till next week?¡± Thorn doesn''t beat around the bush. He puts his iPad to the side of the table and his coffee cup to his lips, whilst staring at me. ¡°Amariya. We are looking for La, and the way she sees it, you are the one who knows where he is.¡± He chuckles in a low half-ass way my dad does, ¡°What do you want me to tell you, Logan? You know as much as I do. She probably told you that La employed me years back. She was pregnant at the time, and I was a dumb fuck tryna earn a big buck.¡± His grimace is nothing to the sudden dread painting my insides. I don¡¯t know a man who loves money as much as Thorn. ¡°No, she didn''t and I didn¡¯t ask. Hence, why I am here while another man carts my woman around. I want to know what happened all those years ago from you. We''re family, so I want the truth Thorn. Why do you have a bounty on her head? Or better yet BROTHER, what the fuck are you doing on my girlfriend''s hit list?¡± He leans forward, as I lean back. Today will mark the second time I bear witness to my brother show signs of difort. His pupils dte and the slight sheen on his forehead bes visible to the naked eye as his attention scatters everywhere in the uppity ce beside my watchful waiting gaze that remains glued to him. He is nervous, which means one thing in my book, my brother is guilty. ¡°She was pregnant. At first, when I got the job, I just wanted the money and the reference. When I started looking for her, I found out she was sixteen. It was close to her seventeenth birthday when I finally found her. I admit I grew obsessed with finding this girl that La Sanati was willing to pay five mill for. Nobody pays that money for anyone. She is like underworld royalty, the Cosa Nostra''s lost female, did she tell you that she has siblings.¡± Chapter 48 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 48 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) ¡°No,¡± I say. ¡°When her mother ran away from her father it caused the biggest war between the Russian Mob and the Catelli¡¯s. Her mother betrayed her family to the Russians. They solved the problem after a year by marriage. The more I found out about this Amariya Demarco, the deeper I dug. I didn''t know at the time she was a killer. So, I followed her. To me she was a kid that got a bad break and though I felt like shit looking for her with every intention of taking her back to La, I still did it. I told myself he loved her, convinced myself she¡¯d be better off with La than living on the streets. It wasn¡¯t long after I saw her did rumours get back to La''s ears about her pregnancy.¡± ¡°There''s your coffee.¡± The waitress ces my cup in front of me and hands me the menu. When she doesn''t leave, I re at her. The woman scurries to the other side of the small ce. ¡°So, what happened then?¡± I ask my brother as I take a sip of the filtered coffee. ¡°I denied it, I said she didn''t look pregnant. Not sure why I did it, guess following her I got a bit attached to the case,¡± He chuckles and I find nothing about that funny. ¡°La didn¡¯t take my lies too well as you can imagine, but he didn¡¯t touch me. I decided that day to get her first and listen to her story. And I did, she was eight months pregnant, and hiding out in a doctor¡¯s Material ? N?velDrama.Org. room. I asked her why she ran from La, she just screamed Logan, girl went into a fit. I left and went back the following day not expecting her to be there, but fuck she was still there, so I broke in. Should have known better. She attacked me, and would have killed me if her water hadn¡¯t already broken. She was going into earlybour. Obviously, at the time I didn''t believe it and thought it was Braxton hicks. So, I took her. We travelled for an hour but she carried on screaming. She was sitting in the back of the car. I swerved the car to take her to a hospital, but she said it was toote, the babies wereing.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± I¡¯m not sure I hear him correctly. He has the nerve to look ashen, ¡°Yeah, Amariya was having twins, two girls, and I was going to deliver the babies. Only, there wereplications and by the time I got the first one out, there was so much blood. We were on the corner of the road, I¡¯d managed to call the ambnce, but Amariya insisted she pushes. The baby was screaming, and I had to put the infant in the car, to get the other one, but that one was already dead. Once the ambnce came, Amariya was in hysterics, going crazy. When we asked them, what happened they said the baby suffocated, Amariya had it in her head I killed her baby.¡± ¡°Then what happened?¡± ¡°Then I waited a few months, the first thing she did when she left the hospital was hand her baby to Deno, who I had followed. Found out where the baby was taken, then I went back for Amariya, but by that time she was gone, vanished. Few monthster people started dying in numbers and Beggar was the name whispered on the streets of Washington. A wanted Jane doe. The cops put a neat bounty for her, one even a high society investigator like me couldn¡¯t resist. Imagine my surprise when I found Beggar, and was looking at Amariya, only this time she wasn''t just a killer, she was dead inside. When she saw me, she wasn''t running away, she wasing for me. We fought and I tried to make her see reason but she wouldn''t listen, she stabbed me in the back of my spine. The knife nted right there, and then she was gone, thest time I saw her was at the clubhouse a few months back.¡± My frown on my face probably matches my brothers, and while most of what he said sounds true, I feel that there is one important detail he forgot to mention. I have known my brother my entire life, if he didn''t offer this information now, then there is no way I am going to get it out of him without a trade-off. And right now, the only trade-off I could offer him was the one thing I will never give up, HER. Beauty is the only person who could tell me the rest, but getting her to talk would be like using a shovel to dig an empty grave, pointless. ¡°How''s dad.¡± And his change of subject proves it, and while I smile not giving anything away, doubt clogs my mind and a sense of forbidding hits me in the chest. Mercy was right when she said that a girl like Beauty doesn''t want to kill someone for nothing. There has to be a reason, and as I look at my older brother, and see how thesest few years has aged him, I know that I am not going to like that reason. Not one single bit. The thing about truth, it alwayses to life, maybe not when you want it, but ites out. Spending years serving my country, and years serving my club I know first-hand, how the truth can make even a grown man whither. It is a powerful piece of knowledge. But this truth, between the woman who owns me and my blood brother, is going to be a destruction of all of us. ¡°Dad''s good, he''s moving to Ka, decided to spend hisst years that side, just got the newsst week.¡± ¡°Nice, at least you there to keep an eye out for the old bastard, heard you broke it off with Quinn. I didn''t see that happening, you need to stop jumping around with women and finally settle on down.¡± ¡°Look who¡¯s talking, you don''t even know the meanin¡¯ of fuckin¡¯ settlin¡¯ your own ass down. How''s that nurse, still tasting the props?¡± ¡°I actually met someone, names Anna.¡± ¡°Anna? Wow, nice man. How''s the recovery? I see you still with the crutches!¡± ¡°I can walk a bit, but my back kills me.¡± ¡°Better hope Anna loves to ride them horses.¡± He rolls his eyes, ¡°She is ridin'' one horse.¡± Though I keep our conversation light, I want to ask him why he wants to kill Beauty. Chapter 49 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 49 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) He hasn''t answered my question. I want to insist he leaves her alone, but I don''t. I have always been a patient man, I can wait. The rest of my morning I spend in the confines of this restaurant, chatting to my brother. He takes his leave before I do and the urge to follow him rides me like a fucking ton. How I remain seated to pay the bill, only god knows. I got a night to n for Beauty and me. My patience with her has worn out. She has not said she loves me back, nor has she made any attempt to initiate any sexual contact. She is responsive to my touch but remains distant. It¡¯s as though she is waiting for another shoe to drop. She expects me to leave her that much I know. Something is on her mind and I don''t know how to get her to open up. After my goodbye to the waitress, I get on my bike, but not before putting the parking ticket in my denim pocket. I take a quick route to the bank and make a deposit I have put off this month due to time and then I take the roads heading closer to our hotel. Two hourster I stop to get a few things I need for tonight. My phone rings as I¡¯m jumping off my bike in the shopping malls underground parking lot. I watch the ¡°Yo, Spade, what''s up brother?¡± ¡°Prez needs you guys back, four new girls were found dead, three with the same markings of the previous ones. When Harley first insisted it wasn''t her a few weeks back, we thought she¡¯s just bat shit crazy, turns out bitch is right, it isn''t her. Once we confirmed that, she stopped talking. Harlow tried to make her see the logic, but whatever she is on has fucked her up bad, brother. Prez doesn''t want to hurt her, called Ribs. He said we need The Ghost for this one. Tell Killer, Ribs said this needs to take priority now, if this gets to the public, it could be major problems for the government, hence us.¡± ¡°You think there''s a cure for her?¡± I query, but my doubt is thick in my tone. ¡°Don''t know brother, bitch is fucked in her head, but Knight insists we give Harlow a chance to find a cure, brother has never pulled rank for a chick before.¡± ¡°Send the pictures through, if you want Killer involved, he¡¯ll need motivation. Finding La is his number one priority right now. Besides that, we don¡¯t have a clue who we could be dealing with. It¡¯s possible this is more than one person. Do me a favour, keep a close eye on Harlow.¡± ¡°Harlow? You mean Harley.¡± ¡°No, I know what I said, Harlow, chick could know more. It won''t be the first time someone tried to pull a nket over our tracks. I''ll give Killer a call and give him the update, he¡¯s at Kylie''s now, should be done in a few.¡± ¡°Tried his phone, it¡¯s off. Thought he was with you and Beggar. Where she at? Let me say hi.¡± ¡°She''s with Killer, gone to see Kylie. Met with Thorn this morning, Killer suggested we keep my meet with him away from her for now.¡± Material ? N?velDrama.Org. He¡¯s quiet, and I know Spade¡¯s mind is working, ¡°Find anything interesting?¡± ¡°A fuck load, we¡¯ll talk once I get back. Is Quinn gone?¡± ¡°Yeah, left four days ago, can''t believe she said that shit to Beggar and Beggar let it go, fuck, Quinn¡¯s lucky Beggar didn''t fuck her up. She didn''t get such luck with After.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°After was having a bad day when Quinn reminded her that it was her day to cook, let¡¯s just say After wasn''t too happy on getting reminded. Quinn got herself a shiner and took off, but since youing home, you should know Quinn ising back. The job she got at the hospital is a good spot for us. River doesn''t want his woman involved in too much of the Clubs shit. He¡¯s making her leave work and focus on her studies. Looks to me like Prez wants another kid.¡± I snort at that one, if there is one thing I learned about Hannah- She doesn''t do well with River bossing her around. And River doesn''t do well when his woman doesn''t listen. This is going to be a fucking disaster. ¡°Don''t forget the pictures, and keep your eye on Harlow, in fact, get Texas to do it, brother knows how to go unnoticed.¡± ¡°Get your asses back this side. I''ll put a few cold ones in your bedroom fridge and some junk for Beggar.¡± ¡°Shot,ter man.¡± ¡°Later.¡± I don''t go to the shopping mall. Instead, I swing my leg back on my bike and saddle my monster. Beauty and my night have to wait ''till we get back home. Scrolling down my phone I spot her name under Beggar. I must change it to Beauty, I think as I dial her up. Five rings and her gruff voice goes through the speaker, ¡°Yo.¡± ¡°Babe put Killer on the phone will you.¡± ¡°He isn''t here, left me at the hotel lobby and said he''d pick me up when I''m done, that was an hour ago, should be leaving in another couple of hours.¡± ¡°We need to leave now, Spade called, Prez needs us back, looks like Harley isn''t the killer.¡± ¡°I''ll shoot him a text.¡± ¡°His phone is off.¡± ¡°I''ll shoot him a text, meet you back at the hotel?¡± ¡°Sure thing, be safe.¡± She cuts the call, and I start up my bike and ride back to the hotel. It is going to be a very long night. And an even longer week ahead of us. We need to find La, and catch a killer. Chapter 50 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 50 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) A lot can happen when you aren''t looking. People can change. Sometimes in the weirdest of ways. The woman sitting on the sofa staring at me is one of them- Kylie Bray, only she said I must call her Frost. When I walked into this suite, Vincent was drunk off his mind. He and I shared a few words, and as I suspected he was gone after our little talk. And I finally got to spend some alone time with Kylie. When I saw her sitting on the carpeted floor, in a room that once suited the billionaire girl, I just stood there, knowing already she was different. The air in this space is heavy even for me. Vincent was drunk, out of his mind. He could barely look me straight in the eyes. I wasn''t getting a good picture. And when she looked up at me approaching, I was faced with a frozen girl. It wasn''t hard to nod my head and listen to her request of me calling her Frost, no it wasn''t hard at all. Truth is, the longer I stayed the colder I felt. She was, but, a frosted version of herself. I have been on the road for weeks now and up until today I have not dropped the need to see Kylie. It has been a while since I have seen her. Thest time was a glimpse of her as the men dragged her out of the warehouse, away from me. I wanted to know she was fine. But there is another reason I am here, and my friend though her face is disfigured and she is half the person she was, I can see her fighting spirit trapped in there, somewhere. She is begging to find her way. ¡°Maybe I should just learn to ride and then he''d leave me be,¡± I tell her once I get off the phone with Zero. We have been discussing Zero and Killer''s behaviour in lengths. The two of them have been in my space constantly. I can''t leave the hotel without one of them, and though I see why they are the way they are, I can take care of myself. I was hoping to leave the hotel and the confines of Killer and Zero¡¯s watchful gaze and deceptive eyes. The two of them had made it such that at least one of them is always around me. It is almost as though they can read my inner thoughts, like my true intentions are written all over my pale face. Kylie gets up when her phone makes a sound and walks with a limp to the bathroom. ¡°I think whatcha need, is to tell ¡¯em to both fuck off, do what you wanna do. There ain¡¯t one reason why you should listen to either of them. Zero can be an ass-hole on a good day, and Kevin, well my brother never felt anythin¡¯ other than the hardness of his dick, and the trigger on his finger but they still human, both bleed, both are men, so put them big boots on and show¡¯em the badass you keep all chained up.¡± Her voice grows faint, with ites to an overflow of dread as it fills my insides. I get up, knowing that I need to follow Kylie. I do, and head to the bathroom that¡¯s suited for a king, or a queen in her case, with a sunken bathtub that could easily fit four people, and double sink that has arrow designs in the marble and the grey tiles that pale to an almost ash color. ¡°Oh, sugar, I''m not sure whether this is good or bad.¡± My steps are unavoidable as I slowly move toward her standing form, and look at the small device in her hand that has a very uncertain future nned out for me. And as Kylie presumed before she urged me to take the test, she is correct. I am not sure either. Those two lines, reminds me that it is time I finish what I started. I now have a deadline. Staring into her brown gaze, the worry frowns that even Frost can''t hide, I¡¯m aware this is not going to N?velDrama.Org holds this content. go well with Zero, since he is as much a part of this as I am. ¡°Kylie, we need to leave,¡± Vincent''s voice cuts the air like a ck evil whip. I grab the stick and throw it into the bin next to the toilet. ¡°I wish I could cut out his tongue and shove it up his ass,¡± I mumble as my distant cousin walks in. ¡°I happen to like his tongue where it is for now, maybe in the future, if he doesn''t stop calling me Kylie.¡± And for the first time since I arrived here, we both smile as Vincent walks in. ¡°What are you two doing in here together? You know what, on second thought I don''t want to know. Kevin is downstairs waiting for you.¡± I give Kylie a hug, ignoring her stiffness as I understand the need to not be touched. Now I know the intimacy of it so well that it has weakened me. Brushing my cousin¡¯s shoulder, I walk past the seating area, and around the big ss table in the centre of the room, and head straight to the door. The ce gives me the creeps, it reminds me of La. Fake. I sneer at the guards as I make my way to the elevator and press the ground button. My nerves are struck, and I know if I lift my hands, I would find it shaking. Today I found out something that would change my life, and possibly a lot of other peoples too. Killer''s eyes hide underneath his ck sunsses as he turns his head to face me when I open the car door. ¡°Got the answers you wanted?¡± He asks, and I suppress the urge to call him a few very colorful words when I nt my butt on the seat. Chapter 51 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 51 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) ¡°Just drive,¡± I snap and he grins before pulling into the ongoing traffic. ¡°Michael is sending his jet. We¡¯re leaving straight to Liston Hills. We''ll take the bikes the rest of the way to Ka. Zero is back at the hotel packing. Grab my phone, Spade sent us some pictures. I want you to have a look at these ones and tell me whether you see anything we might have missed. If Harley is innocent, and this is the same person, my guess is it could be more than just a test subject gone rogue.¡± I silently grab his phone from the centre of the console of the car. I swipe my finger across the screen and puncture his code, then I scroll through his gallery. The first one I see is a red-headed naked girl. I stare long and hard at her body, ¡°Unlike the other girls, her pubic hair is shaved off, there is a pink scar right there, so it probably happened when the killer was shaving her. Could be intentional.¡± Mercy and After taught me a lot about looking at the ¡®bigger picture when it came to these things. The nails are what I examine next, as the other girls before. I catch it, but it is so small. I zoom in on the picture, trying to see what is on her arm, it looks wrong. It isn''t clear, but it looks like a ck dot from the picture. ¡°Squinting and frowning at the image doesn¡¯t help Beggar.¡±. ¡°Can we see the bodies in person, once we get there? I see something but I can¡¯t make out what it is.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± That is the thing about Killer, he never questions me for no reason. There is trust between us. Something I don''t have with Zero. ¡°This one is stabbed on the shoulder, the other girls all have the same marks on their arms, and the nail isn''t all off, it looks like a sloppy job, either the killer is getting sloppy or they were in a hurry. I don''t think there could be more than one, I hope not.¡± ¡°Hope and facts arepletely different, look at the next picture, that one was sodomized.¡± ¡°I''m not looking at a girl¡¯s ass.¡± I snap, and re at him. And we both go quiet, me with the phone in my hand, and I shit you not I do as the bossy devil driving next to me says. I look at the girl¡¯s anus. I erge the screen when I spot a shiny object sticking out. ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± ¡°A teaspoon, cunt poured sugar in her ass.¡± I know it is bad when I grimace, and worse when Iugh, because Killer smacks my thigh, ¡°That isn''t very nice, imagine if that was you.¡± I do, and try hard to straighten my face, ¡°Point taken, why would someone do that.¡± ¡°How the fuck should I know.¡± The rest of the ride is quiet, and I strongly consider what will be the reason someone would do that to a young girl barely seventeen. I stop looking for answers when my body remembers what was done to me. It was a sick person who would do something like that. Their deepest desires tainted in their minds, matching the sick repulsive needs they choose not to withhold any longer. Once that registers, any light mood I had vanished as the seriousness of the situation be a reality in my head, and also a ticking time bomb. We need to put this to rest. Which means I would have to postpone my revenge on La and Thorn for now. But I can''t do it forever. I have a deadline with their names on it. It iste afternoon by the time we make it back to the hotel. I jump out of the car and walk to the door to push it open. I don''t see the person on the other side and take a step back as the man mumbles an apology and brushes his hands against my coat pocket. I snatch his hand in an instant and twist it. Putting his arm behind his back, I take the device out of his fingers. Killer''s heated body is close to my back. He leaves me to it, watching the show as I knee the thief in his stomach. ¡°That wasn''t very nice,¡± I say in my gruff voice. ¡°Sorry, please, sorry.¡± I let him go and boot his butt as he rushes off. I slip my phone in my pocket and smile at the man¡¯s retreating form. ¡°Sleight of hand, do I want to know how you know?¡± The voiceing from the now open hotel door gets my attention. I walk up to Zero as he crooks his finger, and I kiss his cheek. It stuns me as much as him. ¡°NO, you really don''t,¡± I say to him as his big hand engulfs my waist in a quick caress. Zero is very possessive at times, but he still hasn''t touched me much since we''ve left. I brush the arm he is using to hold me lightly with my fingers and just as he has done this month, he drops it. ¡°I packed up, let''s put this shit in the car and get a move on, did Killer give you a breakdown?¡± He questions me as he joins me in the hotel lobby. We pick up the bags at the same time Killer joins us. ¡°I did, Beggar thinks that it''s funny having a spoon in an ass filled with sugar.¡± Killer moves to take the bag next to mine and I swing the ck suitcase at him but the idiot is fast and takes a step back in time. ¡°That isn''t very nice Beauty.¡± Zero says and makes a tsk tsk sound. I groan as I take the ck suitcase, leaving the two of themughing behind me. My smiles with Killer and Zeroe easy these days. Even though something is up with Zero, doesn''t mean he can''t crack a joke and though they would never admit it, Killer and Zero have gone closer. Whatever feud that caused a rift between them has dissipated like a passing storm, and I am d, as both of men are very important to me. It takes us two trips to get the bags. I stuff the packets of food Zero bought for the trip into the back- seat of the car. A man that I recognize as the guy who brought us the car when we got into Seattle two weeks ago walks toward me. He greets me with a nod of his head before jumping into the sports car. Killer and Zero go to get their bikes and I hear the hums of the engines before I see them. Zero stops right next to where I am standing on the pavement and I see the women on the street turn their heads to get a look at the bikers. Something in my belly flutters as Zero hands me my helmet and riding jacket. I take my coat off and shove it in the back of the car, feeling like the world is watching me. If they only knew that I used to be the girl who was once on the street not too far from here, begging them for a buck or left-over scrap they''d give to their dogs, they wouldn''t bother, but they don''t. Many of them are just standing looking at the girl with the long ck hair, slip on her jacket, put her helmet on, and swing her long legs over the big machine with the imposing man already sitting on it. I wonder what they think when he grips the top of my thighs and squeezes it as I ce my hands around his cut in a quick hug. ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. Do they wish they were me? Chapter 52 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 52 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) The trip to the Jet is a long one. The traffic- bumper to bumper and the cars are fucking driving everywhere on the road, making it hard to go between them. Killer is ticked by the time we get to the private strip owned by Marcus Bray. Beauty swings off my bike and I watch her sexy ass move toward Killer, making my cock stir. Tonight, nothing is keeping me from that ass, and the pussy that I am sure is humming from the ride. I turn my bike and signal the pilot to open the back drop so I can park my bike inside. Thank fuck for Michael¡¯s jet, or else we''d be hiring bikes and jumping in condensed nes. We have offered him money to use his jet and aerone amongst the private hotels and the other amenities thates from knowing the guy. But when we do, he startsughing and says, ¡°You guys pay me when I need you.¡± So far, he hasn''t needed us, but I know that day wille when he will and we will be there, brother or not. ¡°Yo, Kills, I see steamin¡¯ outa your ears,¡± I tease him as he res at my woman. Whatever she is saying to him is testing his patience. At first, I was jealous thinking that he wanted Beauty for himself, but over the weeks I see his need to protect her, like he would someone he cared for. It is his own way of showing emotion, which is why if I didn''t get my head out of my ass, he would have imed Beauty, just to keep her safe. The problem is whether she¡¯d grow attach to him. They have a bond that I can¡¯t figure out. They have a connection that I am jealous of but also grateful for, hence why I decided to make him my backup if something happened to me. There is no other brother''s life I will trust with hers more. An hourter, we are finally in the air, on our way home. Beauty has her legs up on a recliner in front of me. Killer and I are sitting side by side going through N?velDrama.Org content. scenarios and reasons why the government was so negligent to begin with when it came to these trials and test facilities. Some things are just not adding up. The pictures painted aren''t promising ones. ¡°I''m hungry, you have any more of those chocte ¨¦irs¡¯?¡± Beauty asks and I squeeze her calf, as I watch her touch her stomach, it¡¯s fleeting but noticed. A sudden thought conquers my mind, but I say nothing as the possibility of her actually having my baby could be a real thing. I am sure if that was the case, she''ll tell me. You can''t hide a baby forever. She did for seven years. ¡°Yes, got more while you were with Kylie,¡± Killer answers as he slips his phone out of his pocket and scrolls down the screen looking at the pictures. Beauty gets up and moves to the back of the ne. I wait ''till I know she is too far away to hear me. ¡°Spoke to Thorn, he gave me his version of the story, but there''s a big chunk of it that doesn''t make sense, apparently she mes him for the death of her stillborn daughter.¡± ¡°Stillborn? Kid is alive and well.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing, Thorn ims she was pregnant with two kids, one was handed to Deno, the other didn¡¯t make it, I¡­.¡± I go silent, and watch Killer frown as Beauty''s approaching form is heard. ¡°I was thinking about those deaths, what if it was Harley as well as another killer. You guys said that the drug made them crazy? So maybe not all of them are dead. Would exin all the different styles in the killings, maybe we are only seeing what they want to show us.¡± ¡°You saying that this is a game?¡± I ask her as she sits her ass down, and bites a big chunk of the chocte doughy shit in her mouth. Her ck eyes stare at me as she chews, fuck she''s beautiful and all mine. ¡°Beggar''s onto something, I had the same thought. The markings that are simr in style are rtively precise, so we know there is no copycat. But the unique ones look like they were done by apletely different set of hands,¡± Killer voices aloud as his attention shifts to the naked dead girl on his screen. ¡°A few years back while I was looking for a lead on Joseph Kolinski, I came across a dumping ground with four dead bodies, thinking it was Joseph''s hand, I had a look at the bodies. Three of them had identical scars on their backs, raped, busted faces, but the one, her neck was slit clean across. Started with the slit throat, trying to find out who killed her. Chick''s name was Lindsay West. Took me three months trying to track down a lead, once I found her killer, I found Joseph. He was a dumper for La, and sliced the girl''s neck in fear after she caught him dumping the bodies, a quick death.¡± Beauty informs us, not even flinching when she tells the story. Her ck eyes nonchnt at best. She has no regrets for the life she has lived. It makes me wonder if she really will kill my brother. Not if he kills her first. The thought has me frowning and leaves a sour taste in my mouth. ¡°What does that have to do with what we looking at now?¡± I ask her, ignoring the horrific scenes ying in my mind of her killing Thorn, him killing her. Me killing her, Killer taking me out. Fuck. The reminder that my girlfriend is a killer doesn¡¯t sit well with me. Beauty doesn¡¯t seem phased by my question in the slightest as she wipes her mouth and says, ¡°The teaspoon in an ass full of sugar says that the killer we are looking for had time on his hands, as well as a creative idea of torture. Meaning we''re searching for someone who used to do that sort of thing, you know, get information, and maybe interrogate people- that sorta shit. Same with the other victims, the nails clipped off, stained fingers. This to me is all leading to people who are choosing their victims, means they have to be nearby, in a central ce where it is easy to spot their new target.¡± Beauty¡¯s points are impressing the fuck out of me and the fact that Killer is quiet says the feeling is mutual. A year back when I first met her, I thought she was a dumb woman. Since then I learned that my woman has more brains than most people, not to mention she is fucking street smart. Seen and done a lot of shit in her young years. And recently she started reading a lot of books. I am proud of her. Maybe River is right and she should study something. ¡°We¡¯ll get Spade and Snake to check the files and find out who fits which role, maybe check the dead soldiers and women too,¡± Killer suggests as he taps his index finger on his thigh. ¡°And who has beef with a Satan Sniper, I¡¯m startin¡¯ to think they calling us out, these murders have been centralized to Ka. The only ones involved in the military and government is us, towns already been through enough with thest shit storm.¡± ¡°More like fuckin¡¯ screaming thought the same thing which is why I have Venus and Mercy keeping tabs on River,¡± Killer informs us and also shows why he is the best fuckin¡¯ National Vice President. By the time we finally get back to Ka my head is spinning with thoughts and Intel. I need a stiff drink. Chapter 53 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 53 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) Beauty is still as alert as ever. I wonder for the infinite time how her life really was on the streets. The little I know was that from the time she was born, it has been the only life she had ever known, that in the end it became a choice to just stay there, protect her crime family, give her daughter away, be N?velDrama.Org holds this content. a killer. How does she survive all that, when I have watched men die in seconds under much better circumstances? She smiles at me as she swings her legs over the bike, jumping off with her helmet in her hand, as her long hair hangs down her back. I can''t stop my thoughts as my eyes search through her cold obsidian gaze. She didn''t survive. The small pieces left evolved, so she could live to fight another day. She adapted to her environment, like a true predator. The Catelli family were stupid to give her to us. The Satan Snipers will never give her back. ¡°Look at you, looking all badass and shit.¡± Mercyes down the porch steps, giving my woman a hug. She then punches my arm. ¡°Yo, how¡¯s the recovery? AFTER said you won''t stop bitching about it,¡± Beauty smiles at Mercy as the tall curvaceous biker snorts. ¡°The only one bitchin¡¯ here is Hannah, River told her ass to stay home. She just got handed a free pass on workin¡¯ and she throws a fit, if I had a man and he said stay home, my ass will be on the couch watchin¡¯ reruns of Game of thrones.¡± Beauty smiles and shakes her head, ¡°I bet your ass won''t see a week on a couch, you can''t sit still for two hours. You couldn''t even wait a twenty at KFC.¡± ¡°It was a drive thru, who the fuck takes twenty minutes at a drive thru?¡± ¡°Apparently you and Beggar do, the chicken tasted like crap, sure that girl wasn''t one of Spades weekly''s?¡± Killer muses as he stops next to Mercy. ¡°Or a Killer special?¡± Beauty gripes and I don''t hide my smile as she lifts up her hand and lets Mercy remove her gloves. It brings back our conversationst week. We were at the hotel restaurant eating breakfast. She told me that the pancakes on her te were nothingpared to the ones Kylie made for her. I then asked her about her time with Kylie. She was thoughtful before she answered me. She said that those weeks with Kylie reminded her to inhale, that if she cut herself, she''d bleed just as much as if she cut someone else. I think my woman was telling me she learned that she was human, and remembered that she too had to live. ¡°I think we should cut our losses at the KFC and try the new restaurant further in town. The ce is called Bear Ribs or some shit like that. Knight said he took one of his women there when it first opened, food was good. I think I need a vacation ASAP. Beggar and I can go explore the dirt backs of this tiny town. Well what is left of it, that fucking psycho is not helping the already non-existent poption. How is a woman supposed to find herself a man when there¡¯s a serial killer on the loose?¡± ¡°Which is why we need to catch the killer first.¡± Killer voices. ¡°Come quick,¡± Texas yells from the Clubhouse doors, and we all rush in, following him downstairs to the basement where we have church. Harley is standing by the freezers just at the bottom of the staircase, tied to a chain that is secured to a pole. Harlow got River in a chokehold with a thick silver chain wrapped around his neck. Killer notices the same thing I do- River looks calm, considering his position. I snatch Beauty when she takes a step, moving closer to help Prez. ¡°Stop babe,¡± I whisper into her ear, as her ass brushes my dick. ¡°He wants to move my sister to some other ce,¡± Harlow screams, and I swear a fuckin¡¯ huge wave of relief leaves me. ¡°Darlin¡¯, I was tryna exin that the move is just right on up these stairs. We were just thinkin'' little Ms Harley here might prefer a bed to rest her head, but hey, if you don''t want our generosity extending to your sister, it''s your call darlin'', ain''t no need to turn feral on our asses.¡± Texas says from his vantage point by the staircase. ¡°Oh.¡± I watch her face flush as she drops the chain, she had around our Prez''s neck. She jumps down from the chair she is standing on and the chains fall to the ground. River rubs his neck but the man¡¯s face is amused as she stands in front of him with her head dropped. This girl is a feisty little kitten. Might be a small little thing, but she¡¯ll scratch your eyes out if you try to one up her. River taps her nose when she apologizes. Both of them turn to face the rest of us. Harlow¡¯s face is stricken when she notices how many of us are downstairs. River chuckles, shaking his head in amusement. No doubt the chick shocked the fuck out of him, impressed him too going by his light mood. ¡°Wee home, it''s about fuckin'' time too. I was beginning to think you three skipped the country, d to have you¡¯ll back.¡± River rubs his beard as he says this. Killer ps River on the back and walks to Harley. His voice is low but I can hear him talking to the crazy girl. Something on his face passes, before he masks it again. I let go of Beauty as I embrace the Prez, then step back as he gives my woman a hug. She is stiff but pats him awkwardly on the back making me smile. Why the man and Spade torture her like this I wouldn''t know but it is amusing nheless. ¡°We need to call church, it is a long shot, but I think Beau, ah Beggar might be onto something, we might be able to find whoever it is we dealing with, and finally end this,¡± I tell River when he begins to walk back to his chair. I look at the wall behind him and my eyes must show my surprise. The newly stered wall is covered in a white board that has been mounted with nails. There are maps stuck on small pieces of paper. Snaps of people seen through robot cameras. A few pictures of military personnel, and a ton of shots with the dead victims. A few of the girls smiling. ¡°If things were so bad why not call us in sooner?¡± I question as Beauty takes a seat on Spades chair. River runs his hands through his scruff on his jaw. Man looks worn out, ¡°A President¡¯s job isn''t always about club business, sometimes it''s about making decisions about what a brother, or sister needs.¡± He doesn''t look at Beauty as he voices his reason but I know what he is saying, and it reminds me of the conversation I had with my brother earlier this morning. ¡°Yeah, got somethin¡¯ I need to tell you guys. Let me know once everyone is round up, I need to get my woman settled.¡± ¡°Take your time, no stress. Knight and Spade are finishing up the shelving in the Night Club, should be back in an hour or so. Go get a drink, settle in, and check out the new additions to the lounge and bar area. The women went overboard but I have to admit the ce looks good.¡± ¡°Cool. Beauty, let''s go get settled, I won''t say no to a cold one right now.¡± I say as I hold out my hand. She gets up and her fingers interlock around mine. It is not the first time my mind boggles at how perfect our hands fit. I turn and see Killer is still standing by Harley, his eyes devoid of emotion as she res at him through her long dark blonde hair. ¡°Killer, you freaking her out, let''s drink,¡± Beauty says to him, but he barely shakes his head in answer and remains where he is. My woman must sense something, she doesn''t push the issue when he remains where he is and neither do I. Chapter 54 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 54 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) ¡°You won''t take me with you to see the horses?¡± Hannah''s daughter Jo asks me. She has her entire face shoved in mine by the bar. Zero and the other fully patched members are downstairs in the basement, having Church. Whisp and Chadley are preparing food for everyone while Den and Jade guard the main gate. I have been sitting here in the bar googling random shit, and babysitting Jo. But my mind is on finding La, killing Thorn and finishing this shit with the club. Putting an end to these killings has now taken first ce for the club but not to me. I see all of them as important. What I don''t think about is the new life growing inside my body. My mind shies away from that part which should be the most important piece in my life. Thest time it happened, the life growing inside of me was all I could think about. I was amazed that a filthy beggar as myself could carry a life. Something so precious. Look where that ended up. This is the part where I am supposed to think that this time is different, that I am different, but that would be a foolish thought. I am much worse than I was. So, although I want to think about it, or how I am going to tell Zero, I do neither. I concentrate on the fucked-up parts of my life and a few sweet yet annoying ones. For instance, the little girl that acts like a boy who is currently blinking at me waiting for my answer to change. She is persistent. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take you, just not now kid, why don''t you go get me one of those muffins Chadley made?¡± ¡°If I do that, AFTER will you take me to see the horses? Pleeeeease Beggar, my papa said he ain''t takin¡¯ me to see shit until I fess up.¡± Her curly hair reminds me of a barbie doll. Those naughty eyes and thick eyebrows resemble a she demon. The kid is cute, and has one hell of mean streak in her, but she is straight up. When I got back earlier and heard the little demon screaming Papa, I was speechless to find out she was referring to River. What shocked me more was that River was nning on proposing this week to Hannah. All the members of the club wereing to Ka in a few days and one of those members so happened to be Zero¡¯s dad, Toad. Not sure how that was going to y out. Thest time he came to Ka while I was around was the night I ran away from the clubhouse. Zero said he came around a few times while Kylie and I were La''s prisoners. Zero also mentioned that his dad knew about my connection to La but not my connection to his brother, Thorn. That piece of information is the most important part, it holds my identity in his eyes. I wonder a lot at night about his dad¡¯s reaction to me when he finds out that I am not just the woman his son sleeps next to, but I am his other son¡¯s killer. Even now as I sit here with this innocent girl looking at me with such trusting eyes, I am still a killer and my death toll has not reached its limit yet. My stomach growls from hunger and my mouth waters as I think of how nice those muffins are going to taste. ¡°I''ll tell you what, if you get me two muffins, I''ll take you to see those horses and give you one of those chocte ice-creams Knight keeps stashed in the barn fridge.¡± I wink at her, watching her face transform as it brightens. She jumps down and like Jo, she is gone. ¡°I think the idea of punishing a kid is so that they learn a lesson. I don''t think allowing her to go see the horses after she let them out is teaching her anything,¡± Whisp voices out as she walks into the bar area. ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. Her hair is now cut so short and dyed ash blonde, it makes her face stand out. She looks gorgeous like this. ¡°I think not fessing up when you did something good, is a lesson in itself and should be rewarded, besides she didn''t do it.¡± I drink the rest of my fruit juice and m the stic bottle on the counter. ¡°Then Ms Detective, who the hell did? It took us two hours getting those horses back in the barn.¡± ¡°I ain''t no snitch,¡± I inform the woman that once hated me, now I would say we were getting to the friend zone. But I wouldn''t go as far as saying or believing that we were already there. ¡°Oh,e on Beggar, who am I going to tell?¡± She gives me that big eyed stare she gives the men whenever she is trying to convince them of something. Thank fuck I don''t have a dick or I''ll cave. ¡°Someone, and before we know it, the entire Clubhouse would know.¡± Hearing Jo''s sneakers skidding on the floor, I get up off my chair as shees running into the bar area holding two cupcakes instead of the muffins. They don''t have frosting on it as yet, but these are the red ones, my favourite. ¡°Thanks kid.¡± I take the one and wink at her, as I take a big bite. Jo bites into hers too, the kid is cute. ¡°Let''s go before the men get done.¡± I leave Whisp standing in the bar with Jo walking next to me. ¡°You know, I never really opened the stable. I keep tellin¡¯ everyone it wasn''t me, but nobody besides Uncle Spade believes me.¡± ¡°I believe you kid, in fact I know who did.¡± ¡°You lie, who was it?¡± I stop on the hill as she jumps in front of me, her mouth messy with crumbs. Chapter 55 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 55 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) ¡°If I tell you, are you gonna snitch?¡± ¡°Nah ah, I ain''t never snitched, Snitches are wussy¡¯s I ain''t no wussy,¡± She folds her hands and pouts her lips, and I can''t help butugh. ¡°You look worse than a fouls butt when you do that, but I get the meaning.¡± ¡°So? Are you gonna tell me Beggar?¡± I snort, ¡°No, I ain''t no snitch either kid, but I can tell you this, you can figure it out on your own,¡± I wink again and ruffle her curly hair before taking her tiny hand in my own and walking the rest of the distance to the barn and stables. The sun is almostpletely set, so the lights around the hill and walk way brightens our way. Last time I was up this side of the Clubhouse was the night La sent his men. They killed a lot of the Satan Snipers. One of those could have been Mercy. The funeral was a big one and while I didn''t stay for the whole thing, I understood their bond as a club, a family. Something I will never have. It was the day that I decided to stop running, well I didn''t really decide, Killer and Zero caught me sneaking out that night. They weren''t impressed, in fact they were both pissed off. I think I finally understood it then, the meaning of family. Family stuck together, family didn¡¯t leave when things got bad. The two of them weren¡¯t angry that I was leaving. They were disappointed that I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d want me to stay. As fucked up as it sounds, I have only ever known a life alone. Trust is something I learned to never do, no matter how good things seem, no matter how sweet a package looks all wrapped up. It almost got me killed the few times I did. I don¡¯t even think I could trust myself. I didn¡¯t trust myself to keep my baby safe all those years ago and I have known myself my whole life. How am I supposed to trust a group of bikers I met a year ago? ¡°Papa said he''s gonna marry my mama, and adopt me,¡± Jo says as we get to the stables. ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. ¡°I heard, sounds like a solid n. You already calling him Papa, might as well make it official.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I heard mama saying that she doesn''t want to contact my real daddy, says he didn''t want me and if he knew that I was going to be adopted he won''t sign the papers ''cause he''s a jackass.¡± The kid is talking some really deep shit, and while it is wrong to eavesdrop, I would have done the same, so I can''t fault her. I bend down and put my knees on the hard sand ground. My hands go around her shoulders. I spin her around so she is facing me. ¡°I''ll tell you a secret kid, my daddy didn''t want me too, but here I am, still alive, and well. Life doesn''t always happen the way we want it, but it still happens, we have to keep moving, keep breathing until we die. You, Jocelyn, don''t need any blood daddy. See that man down there that you call your Papa, he loves you more than any blood daddy can love their child, more than life himself. From what I heard, it was you that stole our President¡¯s heart before your momma, so if you have any doubts just know that it ain''t blood that makes the bond, it''s in here.¡± I touch her chest, right on her heart. She does me a solid when she throws herself around me, knocking me on the ground. Her hands lock tight around my neck. Her body shakes, the only sign she¡¯s crying, ¡°I love my Papa Beggar. I want him to adopt me so bad, and I love you Beggar, you are the best aunt.¡± Her words are so sweet and pure that I close my eyes and hold the little girl close to me. It is a bitter sweet moment, as my mind wonders what it would feel like to have my own baby girl telling me she loves me. I think of how much she will love Zero, and how happy we could be but I know that is just a foolish thought, a weakness in a precious moment. Stolen moments like these always leave the bitterness of reality once the time passes. It is an agony in itself, a curse. When I was eight, I saw these kids ying dolly house during recess. I asked the girls if I could y. When they agreed, I was as shocked as any. Normally they¡¯d say no, tell me to get lost and chase me away. That day was one of the best days of my young life. When my mother came that afternoon to pick me up, I told her about the game called dolly house. I said I could be anyone I wanted, I chose to be a teacher. She lost her shit, started shouting at me, screaming in one of her crazy rages that I was going to school to learn facts. It was one of the few times I was really scared of my mother. She said imagination was for fools who didn¡¯t taste the mes of hell. I wanted to tell her I was a fool because neither did I, but I did well to remain silent. A few dayster one of those kids I yed dolly house with was beaten to death by her father. I never yed dolly house again. Chapter 56 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 56 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) ¡°Beggar is here now and safe, on condition. I told you that. If she wishes to finish La and your brother off, my hands are tied. She is the only one pointing the gun. I can''t stop her, nobody can unless someone puts a bullet in her head.¡± ¡°Am I supposed to sit back and let her kill Thorn? Finish him off like a fucking dog to be put down?¡± I ask, but we all know it isn''t a question, that is exactly what I am supposed to do. ¡°Zero has a point, it is his brother,¡± Snake says from his seat across me. ¡°Brother or not, the story you told me and the little bit Deno let spill is different, until we know for sure that the reasons are purely a mistake on Thorns part I order you to do nothing. Right now, she isn''t going to hunt your brother down, she is going to be here with us putting a stop to this fuck up and then after that, you, Killer and Beggar are going to go back to what you were doing, hunt down La and put him down like a fuckin¡¯ feral animal. We have time, if that changes, I''ll get the answers from Beggar myself, okay, can we move on, we still have a fuckin¡¯ killer to catch.¡± I give River a sharp nod, it is the best he can give me in the circumstances but if pushes to shove and my brother needs me, I will be there for him. ¡°Tomorrow I want Mercy, After and Beggar at the morgue, check those bodies again, then the three of you need to head to the night club and stock that ce up. Show Beggar the ropes, I want her working the bar once we open. Maybe that will convince her to finish school.¡± After is sitting on my far left on a chair in front of Texas and next to Knight. She is in her usual outfit, consisting of cargo pants and a ck vest. She flings her knife in the air in answer to River¡¯s order. Her hard face already in a scowl. She hates morgues, because of an incident when she first joined the club in Houston, but she won''t tell River no. That is respect. ¡°Killer, you, Bull and Zero do whatever it is you need to and get us a god damn lead. Knight and Texas, I want you both on guard duty here at the club. Spade, brother I need you to watch my woman and kid. If something...¡± ¡°It''s done brother,¡± Spade interrupts earning a grateful smile from Prez. River loves that kid and his woman, I want that for myself with Beauty. But how do I do that when there is a possibility that she might kill my brother, or he kills her first. Either way, getting half of what River has is just a bleak thought. ¡°Snake, I need you on the books, and checking on leads. Venus, I want you on Harley and Harlow watch, check if you can crack into their heads, those girls are both hiding something. The prospects will guard the territory while prepping meals and take over household chores for now. Another thing I want to talk about is Jade, she was voted in a full member but no one patched her in, why?¡± ¡°The weekend she was supposed to be patched in she went missing, since she came back it has been a hit ¡®n miss and a fackuva lot of shit happening,¡± Texas says as he touches his cowboy hat resting on his denim-covered knee. ¡°We can make an hour or two to patch her in, discuss who is going to handle the shit, let''s do it this Friday by the night club. Might as well use the ce for one club party before it opens.¡± River stabs his knife into the desk and calls the meeting to a close. ¡°Zero, Killer and Snake, you three stay.¡± I remain seated, across from RIVER, while ALL the other''s leave besides the four of us. Killer steps out of his shadow, the brother looks like a fucking demon hunter in those leather pants he is donning today. When we weren''t hunting La down, Beauty, Killer and I started watching this programme about demon hunters. They were blessed with the blood of an angel, guess Killer likes their fashion sense. ¡°The Outfit and the Catelli family are at war. Deno called this morning and said that Vincent is on a killing spree, things aren''t looking good. Kylie is witness to all of this shit. The big boss is getting worried, things aren''t all picket fences with the Catelli family. Apparently, there is a shift in power. They might need to call in favor soon if Vincent can''t be controlled.¡± ¡°You need us to take him out just say the word, I am not pulling rank for him,¡± Killer says and I know I show my shock when I look at him and the sneering way, he says it. ¡°He¡¯s your brother.¡± I point out the obvious since nobody else wants to. ¡°Kylie is my sister, Vincent WAS my brother on condition he didn''t fuck my sister.¡± Killer''s voice is cold and I sense the presence of the ghost as he res at me. ¡°Right,¡± I say staring at him, a silent agreement passing between us. ¡°Okay, we take him out if we have to, or whatever they need us to do. The money is already deposited and your orders for this is from National, nobody besides us in this room is to know of this, understand,¡± River says. ¡°Yeah,¡± I mumble as Snake and Killer share a look. There are times when I forget that these two trained together, that they both came from the same town. Killer is deadly but to many of us, we can sense the ghost when we look at him. N?velDrama.Org content. Snake has always been the quieter brother, his profile is non-existent, but from the time I met him, I knew that if all else failed, Snake would be the brother I''d call. Which I did a time or few, but that time we were both other people. Guess he never mentioned our paths crossing years back, and neither have I. I just know he will never let us down. ¡°Where''s Storm?¡± ¡°Honestly?¡± River grimaces. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°He''s with my brother, Michael in New York. They are trying to stop the trafficking ring that La has been running in hopes to lure him out of whatever hole he is hiding in. The FBI and CIA are both on it, Storm is just there as a safety precaution for Michael,¡± Killer answers. ¡°You mean you got Storm to agree to babysit your brother? Fuck Killer.¡± Snake startsughing and I also grin at that one. The little I do know about Michael Stone, he doesn''t like Storm very much at all. ¡°Someone had to do it, it was Beggars idea, she was eavesdropping and suggested Storm do it since he can''t really ride with his leg still fucked.¡± ¡°Yikes, she''s bad, she must''ve known that Michael didn''t like him dating Kylie.¡± ¡°Oh, she knew! Him not liking it is putting it mildly at best, it will make Storm stronger, he is still a VP of the club. Sometime in the real world it exactly what he needs.¡± Killer voices out his logical reason for fucking the brother over, but we both know it is much more than that. He is pissed off with Storm for keeping his rtionship with Kylie a secret. Killer feels betrayed, so the only way he knows to show it is by payback or death. He ain''t gonna go gunzo crazy and kill a brother for acting like a dick, doesn''t mean payback is off the table. It just means payback has to be something drawn out, with an endgame. ¡°He is older than you,¡± Snake says. ¡°Yeah, and what is age really when youpare rank, kills, experience, it''s nothing.¡± Riverughs and shakes his head getting up anding to stand by my chair, folding his arms over his chest. ¡°Fuck, you haven''t changed since I first met you.¡± ¡°Never had need to, the day that changes, I''ll make the effort, ¡®till then the only fuck I give is the one with a hot and waiting pussy, even that ain''t changing me.¡± Killer leaves us with those parting words as weugh at his retreating form. ¡°I see you two sorted out your shit. Nice to see him with some sense of human, tired of fuckin'' looking at the ghost.¡± River says with his eyes still focused behind me. ¡°Yeah, we did. A month can do wonders for clearing shit up. While we on topic, wanna let you know I''m gonna im Beauty.¡± Snakeughs, ¡°You mean Beggar, though Beauty is a much better fit for her. Are you sure this time, or are you going to be iming another woman in a couple months?¡± I deserve that, I haven''t been the most stable man when ites to women. But I know how I feel about Beauty, she is the only woman I am capable of loving. She hasn''t said the words back to me but I know that she loves me too. She stayed. ¡°Don''t do it until the shit with your brother is sorted,¡± River warns me. His eyes are reason enough as to why he is doing it. The President doesn''t think it willst. That pisses me off but I say nothing. He is my president and has earned my respect and consideration. I mean he waited a long time before he imed Hannah, he will know better than most of us. I give him a sharp nod, and after another ten minutes of talking shit, I leave the basement and go hunt down my woman. Chapter 57 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 57 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) ¡°What is a monkey with wings, hmmm.¡± Jo''s voice is the first one I hear as I make it to the stable. Beauty''sughter is the next, and my skin prickles at the sound. My body is in tuned to hers. When I am not with her, I crave the time when I can be. Jo is sitting on a stack of hay eating Knights secret stash of ice-cream, while Beauty sits on a stack of empty beer crates in front of her eating a peppermint ice-cream. ¡°Definitely flings,¡± Jo says as sheughs. I watch them for a few seconds, but as my woman being who she is, it doesn''t take her long before noticing my presence. ¡°OOOH, looks like someone just caught us,¡± Beauty smiles at Jo, and fuck it, she steals my fucking life for these moments when her dimple shows. I haven''t noticed it before. Since we''ve left Ka all those weeks ago I have learned a lot about Beauty. Small things that I haven''t paid any attention to. They just add to the intricate puzzle of her. Every day I fall deeper, even with knowing all that I know of her. I should let her go, but should and would will never have the same meaning. Like wanting to protect her, and save my brother at the same time. Either choice, I still lose. ¡°Uncle Zee,¡± Jo squeals when she sees me. And my eyes dash again to Beauty like it has done a few too many times before. I can''t believe she is mine. MINE She is a beauty. The ckest of beauty''s, not by skin, as that is pale, but in souls. Akin to an evil goddess that has only known a dark way, an evil path and finally like all great leaders learns that even in the darkness there is a glimmer of light. ¡°Your momma is going to go bat-shit crazy if you don''t clean yourself up before she gets back, better get movin¡¯ there kid. Tomorrow I''m gonna help you with that tackle, so best make sure you momma says you can y, yeah.¡± I tell Jo, whose eyes widen by my words. Kid knows I¡¯m right. She jumps down from the stack of hay and runs past me, but not before I ruffle her curly hair, chuckling. Kid is fucking something. I shoot a quick text to After and Knight to watch Jo get inside since I know the two are outside smoking a joint. ¡°My ass is gonna be huge if I keep this up,¡± Beauty says as she takes a big bite of ice-cream. ¡°Since when are you worried about your ass, it looks great to me.¡± I''m surprised she even cares about shit like that. I read the message from After quick, just to make sure she can see Jo. Slipping my phone in my pocket I lean my shoulder on the wooden wall right by the entrance as I cross my ankles. Beauty rolls her eyes and jumps off the hay, ¡°Since I started eating more than one meal a day.¡± Pushing myself off the wall, I close the small space between us, ¡°Your ass is fine. Come on, let''s get out of here for a few hours.¡± I ce my handsfortably on her hips, pulling her flush against me. ¡°We need to unpack...¡± She informs me for the umpteenth time since we''ve arrived. I ce my fingers on her lips, ¡°Beauty, this is your home now, we can leave our clothes in a bag for one night. Yeah.¡± ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. ¡°Yeah.¡± I kiss the top of her forehead. My lips linger on her skin that has tasted the harshness of life but still when I touch her, feels like I am caressing a spark of heaven. She closes her eyes, her body still, calling to mine in this barn, where only the stars and god can see. We havee a long way. ¡°Do you remember when we first met?¡± ¡°Yes, you weren''t mine then.¡± I smile at that, my lips leaving her forehead, ¡°Beauty I was yours from that very moment I walked in that alley and saw the hooded girl with a gun in her hand, our souls touched.¡± She grips my arms, her eyes remain downcast, her voice gruff yet soft at the same time when she utters my name in a low warning, ¡°Zero.¡± ¡°What Beauty,¡± I say it as a dare, a question and an answer. ¡°We were doomed from the moment you pulled that gun from my hands.¡± I lift my head and stare at her as her ck eyes find mine. ¡°Is that what you think?¡± Her breathing is heavy and I know she is feeling the ache of a loving heart just like me. ¡°My hearts been burning for you Beauty since before I even knew you existed, and it''s still burning. I''m still waiting for you. I know you told me that you fell a long time ago baby. You guarded, and I understand THAT. But you, Amariya are everything I need to breathe. I am the one falling hoping that if there is something there for me IN those shards, it will join me.¡± She opens her mouth, and takes a deep inhale, as I let out a huff. Chapter 58 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 58 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) ¡°I have nothing Zero, I can''t, don''t.¡± Hurt curls my insides. She knows her words cut deep and like her, she pushes me away. Turning her back to face me, as she has done before. Blocking me out. Please check at N/?vel(D)rama.Org. When emotions run high, Beauty wants to hide. Not now. She can''t keep hiding. ¡°Don''t hide from me Amariya, I want to see you.¡± My words are raised, themand in my tone not filtered. ¡°I can''t Zero, please, don''t do this.¡± ¡°Look at me.¡± I plead in a loud voice, begging the woman I love and for once she does. ¡°You want to know, you really want to know why I can''t give you what you want. Why if you stay with me all we will have is this, a wedge.¡± She screams at me, her eyes wild as they look at me, showing me the killer within. ¡°Yes, I deserve to know.¡± Sheughs but it is as hollow as the person who stares at me, ¡°I WILL kill your brother Zero. I will end things with La and when all that is done, I will never see my daughter again, you really want to know what I think? I¡¯LL TELL YOU WHAT I KNOW. Love is not an emotion Zero, It is a moment before death and I hope your brother got his because his death is near.¡± ¡°So your love for me won''t change your mind?¡± I ask her. Well aware that I sound using as her eyes lock onto me, unblinking, stabbing me to death with just those deep soulless ck depths, like Onyx. It feels like she is killing me, destroying my life. ¡°I told you an eye for an eye. Your brother will pay like all the others before him.¡± ¡°What happened between you and my brother?¡± She is quiet as she walks further away from me, then she turns back and her soulless depths sink into me, reminding me of a time that seems like an eternity ago, the day Beauty first wrapped her hands around me and jumped on the back of my bike. And that day she left a grown man like me speechless and I know as she opens her mouth that this will be much worse. ¡°Sixteen and pregnant on the streets was hard, add in getting hunted by my crazy ex, it was almost impossible. I was six months along when a deal was struck with Deno. Everything was going ording to n. ¡°But that is the thing about life, nothing ever really goes to n. It is those moments when you least expect the short end that you get it so bad. Your brother was that short end for me, his greed for money. His need to deliver the object of his biggest deal. He was blinded by the promise of all those zeros. La''spdog.¡± I frown when she drops her eyes to the ground but I remain silent wanting her to tell me this story. ¡°Thorn took me from the doctor''s house, I begged him to let me go, I cried as my contractions became so bad. I promised him anything as the blood ran down my legs. I knew something was wrong. But all that knowing, begging, pleading, he still refused.¡± She turns away from me, continuing to kill me with the past, ¡°I told him my baby was in danger. He told me to shut the fuck up before he grabbed me and hauled me out of there like a fucking diseased dog with a cor around my neck. Then when my screaming became too much he parked us on the corner of a road, in the middle of nowhere as the cars drove by and told me to push. I did, I pushed until my insides felt like they might rip into two.¡± Beauty spins around her eyes shine with tears I would never see fall, that just breaks me more. ¡°Both my babies came out alive Zero, both survivors, like me. But your brother, he saw the cops was at a terrible angle. I screamed and he shoved my other baby at me. My after birth wasn''t even out. He left me like a fucking coward on the side of the road, with a dead baby on the ground and a barely alive one wrapped in a dogs nket, he didn''t even cut the cord.¡± She quietens, but I am so close, I push, ¡°What happened Amariya.¡± ¡°The cops rushed me to a hospital, they said your brother killed my baby Zero. Deno was there, he said that Thorn killed my baby. I saw him do it. An eye for an eye. So you see why I can''t just leave your brother to breathe, can you see why you loving me is not enough. How I feel about you Zero won''t change the direction of my bullet, only our expiration date.¡± I pull her into my arms, and she lets me hold her. My mind works hard to think of ways to change her mind, as my heart rips into different sides because what my brother did is unforgivable. He hurt her, he tied a fucking cor on her neck, and he dropped her baby. How much of that is true, I don''t know. I feel like I am caught between two waterfalls. Both options equal simr endings. Me getting split in two. I don''t have another option. In Beauty''s mind, he killed her baby, he set off a dark chain of events and ultimately added a ticker to his already short lifespan. But weren''t paralyzing him enough. I try hard to put myself in her shoes, to wrap my head around her version of the story. He said the baby was born dead, she said he dropped the kid but doesn''t that both equal a mistake. I can''t choose her and not lose him, and I can''t choose my brother without letting Beauty go and I can''t let her go, I tried. But soon I am going to have to make a choice. I squeeze her tighter like my subconscious is already preparing itself for that loss. Like she has already lost, hadn''t she lost enough already. ¡°Come on, let''s leave all this deep shit for tomorrow, let''s take a ride.¡± Chapter 59 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 59 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) There is never a time to tell someone that their brother or sister aren''t perfect, that their sins were unforgivable, but Zero is right, it is another day¡¯s problem. We ride for a few hours, stopping at a gas station. Zero keeps his hands in my jeans pocket when we get an energy drink from the short stop. He makes a big disy of sneaking his hands up my vest when some other bikers stop for some gas. They are wearing cuts with an emblem that I can''t see. Zero says the motorcycle club is called The Sin Riders and that they are 1%ers. Zero exins that they are a small motorcycle club that live in Liston Hills. ¡°I can''t believe you chased that man down, and I thought Killer was a nut job.¡± I shake my head as I slip my helmet on my head, watching Zero saddle the bike. Once he starts the machine up, I grab his shoulder and swing my leg over. My ass on the seat, and my one hand around his waist. Since we¡¯ve left Ka to hunt down La, I have been much more daring with the way I act on the bike. Zero likes it. He says it takes a level of trust to be so free while someone else is riding. I wanted to tell him I don''t fear death, or the idea of getting hurt, but something told me that wouldn''t be something a woman would tell her man while he was giving himself credit. ¡°Did River say anything about me looking at those dead girls¡¯ bodies?¡± I ask him, through the ear and mouth piece he connected in our helmets, ¡°Yeah, You, Mercy and After are going to the morgue first thing tomorrow.¡± The night is dark, the stars and moon are both missing, and while a lot of bikers don''t like riding at night, my man loves it. I noticed things about Zero this past month. We might have been hunting down my husband but I think we were also learning about each other. He is still here, so whatever he learned about me must not be so bad. Except that I want to kill his brother ¡°Did you tell River about my theory?¡± ¡°Yeah, babe, Killer and I both backed it up. River has agreed that narrowing the search down to just interrogators and torturers is an option. He also doesn''t want to be hit off the wrong train missin'' a lead, so we try this way, it works, great, if not we try another way.¡± ¡°Are you driving a bike or an old car, pick it up,¡± I tell him, and just like Zero he squeezes my leg before the bike goes faster. The vibration between my legs makes me hornier than when we left the clubhouse. The thought of us crashing and the baby in my stomach dying, our baby, has me fast rethinking my decision as we push harder. I squeeze Zero''s stomach, a telltale sign to slow and he does, going steady. I know he is great on a bike but I am never putting my life in a man¡¯s hands again. There was a time I loved a man with everything in me. I put my whole existence in his hands and handed him the one key to my soul, my heart, Amariya. He took it, abused it, and tossed it like the garbage I was. I can''t let my feelings for any man ever cloud my judgement, ever change my mind, not even the Enforcer of The Satan Snipers. It''s a long ride back to the Clubhouse but we take it in stride, bending the roads. Zero exined that us, stopping somewhere for a drink wasn''t the smartest of decisions with so many people out for blood. I, better than a lot of people understand his meaning. Having had a price on my head for so long I don''t know how it feels to live any other way, besides the one where you are cautious, and always prepared for the worst. ¡°So I heard we having a patch party, what do we do there?¡± I ask as we park the bike in his parking space next to Killers. All the lights are still on in the Clubhouse and I can hear Texas and Knight talking somewhere outside. ¡°I could tell you but, I''ll kill the surprise,¡± Zero answers me as we both remove our helmet. His hair falls in his face before he pushes it back with his hands. The sides of his hair is cropped close to his skin and the middle is so long that he could tie it up. ¡°I am helping with the set up, how am I going to be surprised.¡± ¡°Smartass.¡± He puts his helmet under his arm and takes my helmet from my hand before his free arm goes around my shoulders and fingers on my left breast. We walk to the porch steps like this, as a sense of Deja vu makes this moment one I will remember more than most. ¡°So I was thinking that we should go for red and green.¡± I hear Jades voice as we enter the clubhouse. We walk straight to the lounge area and my eyes bug out as I see all the new stuff. The walls have been painted a light sand tinge. The sofas are now a dark brown leather that looks expensive. But my attention is drawn by the big television mounted on the wall. Jade is currently standing in front of the monstrosity in a low cut jeans and a short top that shows her dragon tattoo on her stomach and the tail that goes down to her pelvis. Her ck hair is cut short in the front of her face, shaping her chin and the back is longer stopping on her tits. Zero pulls me to the sofa nearest to us. I sit my ass down as he ces our helmets on the side table before doing the same. Venusughs at Jade, ¡°I told you, I don¡¯t need your help, Mercy, Hannah, Beggar and I will be handling it.¡± ¡°But I am better at this,¡± Jade argues. Spade walks in, I look up at him hoping that he didn¡¯t remember I had a session an hour ago which I missed. His body is sweating, and the vest he has on is sopping wet that I am sure if I squeezed it his sweat will drop like water. ¡°What the fuck are you two bitching about now?¡± Spade asks before he gives Zero and I chin lifts. Not sure what happened between him and Jade since I first left, but she avoids him like I once tried to avoid Zero. This time is no different as she marches out the lounge and through the passage. I see Spades jaw tick as he pinches his lips together. ¡°Just give her time toe to terms with it,¡± Venus says to him. A sharp nod is all she gets from the soldier before he storms past all three of us and follows in the same direction as Jade. ¡°So where did you two go? I wanted to go over the color scheme Mercy and I picked out for Friday with you and Hannah.¡± Venus says standing up from her seat and walking closer to Zero and I. ¡°Took a ride, stopped for gas and saw Future with a few of his n at the garage.¡± Zero answers as his hand goes to my left leg and Venus sits on the armrest, right next to me. ¡°What are The Sin Riders doing so far from home?¡± ¡°Not sure, they were headed South, maybe just passing thru.¡± ¡°Hey, you never said anything about my hair,¡± Venus voices as she flings the mass to the front. ¡°I noticed all the women''s hair are different,¡± Zero squeezes my thigh. ¡°There is a new salon that opened up near DJ''s club a week back. We worked out a sweet deal with the owner, got our hair done for half the price, you and After are booked in for next week,¡± She says, smiling at me. ¡°What? I don''t want my hair cut,¡± My voice sounds extra rough as I say this for the millionth time. Venus and the girls have sent me messages this past month, most of it revolved around my hair. Venus rolls her eyes, ¡°A little bit shorter won''t kill you and she needs the business, you agreedst week on the group chat, Beggar.¡± I say nothing to that. We both know I ain''t agreed to shit. I am not happy to have anyone put scissors so close to me. We talk about the color scheme we would be using for Friday, which is going to be Royal blue and ck. I know nothing about decorating or nning a party and Venus senses that so she doesn''t ask for my input but does give me a list of stuff to do. Bull walks into the room and I can tell he is sober because he isn''t staring off into space when he sees the three of us. Hees and seats himself right next to Zero and starts talking about tomorrow and some lead he wants Killer, Zero and him to chase first thing. I try to listen but Venus is talking to me so I tune the men out and focus on her.Please check at N/?vel(D)rama.Org. Chapter 60 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 60 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) ¡°I thought she won''t shut up,¡± Zero groans as we both throw ourselves on the bed. It is almost three in the morning, most of the others are still downstairs but Zero said he wanted a shower and to get a few shut-eye. I was going to sit with the others but Zero had other ns when he half dragged me upstairs. ¡°That''s not very nice, they are just excited.¡± He turns his head to look at me as I do the same. ¡°What isn''t very nice is that my woman is so far away,¡± He grabs me and I squeal as he pulls me under him and looms over me with his hands on either side of my head. His eyes are yful but I see the heat burning behind them. My fingers grip him behind his neck. I lift myself up half way as his mouthes into contact with mine. The touch of his tongue to my own brings back the heat that has been burning me up thisst month, having him so close but not having him at all. I open my legs and bend my knees letting him settle his hips in the cradle I have created for him and he does. His dick is rock hard. I feel it between his leather pants and my jeans. My hips lift seeking the friction my body is wanting but it is not enough. He sucks my tongue as my fingers pull at the cor of his t-shirt. Zero breaks the kiss and uses his right hand to pull the material off his muscr body. I use the moment to pull at his belt. He snaps my jeans open and pulls the small zip down before sliding his hand inside, over my g-string. I lock my legs around his back and tilt my neck toward his waiting lips. He sucks on the small part just above my cor bone as his hands work my jeans off from the inside. I loosen my legs enough. He breaks apart from me long enough to pull my jeans off. We kiss for a long time, and Zero loses his patience when he puts both his hands under my ass lifting me slightly off the bed. His one hand grips the material in my butt and he pulls it at the same time his leather pants rubs against my naked thighs as his rock hard dick rubs my covered pussy. He doesn''t remove the g-string but moves the material from my ass down to my pussy until his finger rubs past my folds. I am wet and his two fingers that y with my juices makes me wetter as he sucks on my tongue. I try to rotate my hips and get him to shove his fingers inside me to relieve some of the heat that is burning me alive but he has other ns as he pulls his hand away and breaks the kiss. ¡°Take this off, I wanna see you.¡± My eyes widen when he says that. I touch the cor around my neck as I attempt to sit up. ¡°Beauty, let me see,¡± Zero says again, and I feel my palms get mmy as he remains above me, making it hard to put distance between us. These diamonds hide the burn but it doesn''t hide the rest of me. I have never been shy of my body, never gave a fuck what people thought until now. At this moment, I feel naked, stripped and vulnerable. But I want him and if it takes him seeing this fucked up flesh of mine to have him inside me, then so be it. I drop my hands down to the bottom of my vest and slowly lift it up. I hear the sharp intakes of his breathing as I unveil the outer parts of what my husband did to me. The one thing I can never truly hide. He marked me, made me his. Every time I look in the mirror, I will know that I was once his. I toss the vest on the side of the bed and release my bra, baring my body to the Enforcer. I don¡¯t look at him until his head descends to my nipple. His hand going gingerly on my stomach. His fingers trace the scars. I slowly begin toy t as his body follows my movement. His fingers find their way to my other nipple. He pinches it, twisting the bud between two of his fingers. I grip his arm as he leaves havoc to my body with every assault he does to my nipples. Kissing my lips, heces his fingers through mine. His other hand works itself between us and my body hums knowing he is pulling out his cock. His dickys heavy and hard on my pelvis as he slips aside my underwear. ¡°I am going to fuck you baby, reim you as mine, you want that don''t you Beauty?¡± He asks me as his dick teases my entrance. I nod my head, my core tightening in anticipation of him filling me. ¡°I want the words woman.¡± ¡°Yes, I want to be imed.¡± ¡°By who?¡± ¡°You.¡± He gives me a satisfied smile as he plunges in me, filling me up with one deep, hard and powerful thrust. My mouth opens in a silent scream as his breathing gets heavier. He starts moving his hips with long forceful thrust after thrust, deep, he is so deep, his cock hits me right inside my walls. I have no option but toe with a small moan. His body is sweaty, his teeth are tight together as he grinds them, making itst. Zero doesn''t slow down, he fucks me long and hard. My body tighten in anticipation as I feel another orgasm approaching. He pulls out of me, grips me by my ankle and flips me onto my front. I lift my body up with my fingers tangling itself around the nket. His hands grip my hips, his blunt nails digging into my skin. The line of his cock is right there by my entrance, hot and hard One of his hands applies pressure to my back. I drop the top half of my body until only my ass is stuck in the air. He doesn''t plunge into me like I prepare for. No, Zero slowly feeds me his hot, thick cock inch by inch. He hisses and groans the further he goes in. I move my hips with his, wanting him to take me deeper. A sharp sting follows my movement on my butt cheek with a sounding smack. ¡°Still, don''t be clever, I waited a fuckin¡¯ month to fuck this pussy.¡± I moan when he pulls half his length out only to slowly go back in. ¡°This isn''t fair.¡± I tell him as I grind my own teeth as my body hums with pleasure. ¡°What isn''t fair is you not making an effort to initiate this.¡± He hammers his dick in me that my body moves a bit forward from the powerful thrust as he says this. Leaving his beating dick in me, he smacks my butt twice before gingerly pulling out of me. His movements are unpredictable. He pushes his dick in hard and I go into a frenzy as my walls and core prepares, but he senses it and switches tactics, going slow. For a few minutes he starts fucking me to a silent rhythm, then he stops and removes his cock and rubs it in the crack of my ass until putting it back inside. I loose track of time. My senses are non-existent apart from the feeling of him inside me. He flips me over to my front, his eyes are wild in lust, and shoves his dick back into me. Hees hard, with a groan. The force of his orgasm sets off my own. I bite his corbone as my pussy clenches around his throbbing dick. My mind nks for a few moments as our bodies enjoy the after effects. I turn my head to the window and see the first sign of morning and I startughing, I am not sure why it is such a funny moment but I feel happy. Zero lifts his body up keeping his dick inside of me. ¡°What''s so funny?¡± He asks with a small grin. N?velDrama.Org content. ¡°How long were we at it?¡± I query in response. He follows my heads direction and also startsughing as he drops his lips and face in the crook of my neck where my cor remains. We bothugh loudly, his body shaking. A knock sounds on the door and weugh harder. ¡°Give us a few Knight,¡± Zero says already knowing who is there. Why are the moments before the storm the sweetest? I watch Zero get up and head to the shower, trying to picture a life with him. My hand goes to my belly as a shiver steals my joy of the moment with the impending doom we will soon face. My phone starts buzzing. I turn to get it from the nightstand. The name on the screen kills the rest of my stolen happiness as I swipe right and ept this life, I had chosen a long time ago. Chapter 61 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 61 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) ¡°Well you should havee to me,¡± I bark at the man on the other side of the phone. Killer, Bull and I have spent hours trying to track down a lead when we already had one in our Club. Radar, a brother from our Houston chapter is that lead. He served with Killer and mest fall when we did an S&R in Hong Kong. ¡°I want your ass on your bike in ten, then when you get here, I want to know the whole fuckin¡¯ story, you got me.¡± I clip the call off and see Killer and Bull staring at me with their ¡®I''m waiting¡¯ faces. ¡°Turns out Radar was asked to stay after the mission in Hong Kong, he had to fetch a test drug t95. Said he only heard about the killings today and thought about the drug. The brother witnessed the first set of trials when he got back to base but left soon after to do something for the Club. Only got back to Houstonst week, said some government agent rocked up at his ce, threatened his sister, now his sister is gone.¡± Bull rubs at his short-cropped head, Killer nods but I can tell his mind is now on finding this girl. ¡°Got to get back and let everyone know. Send Beggar a message, tell her they need to get their asses back to the clubhouse. Everything is saying that these fuckwads are here, it is time we call their bluff,¡± Bull says and, in this moment, I see the brother we patched in all those years back. We¡¯re pulling off our bikes when Texas and Knight start running out of the clubhouse both carrying heavy ammo. I remain on my bike as Killer swings off his and rushes to the two of them. The talk is intense and my gut clenches at the stiff posture of Killer as he listens. After less than two minutes they are all rushing closer to the bikes and Killer signals Bull and I to start up and follow them. We ride along the roads closer into town, passing the locals and further into the residential area until we get to the school. Spades bikeys idle on the pavement but the brother is nowhere in sight. My body tenses, preparing for whatever ising. I pull off my helmet and grab my gun from thepartment I added to my bike a year back. ¡°What do we have?¡± I ask. ¡°"Neil Fitzgerald, thirty six, five eight, scar on his hand, he did four tours in the navy before he was shipped to the Special Forces. He attacked Spade with a fucking crowbar, but the brother managed to subdue him. He has him in the school''s paint room. The Deputy is on his way. Spade said Neil was askin¡¯ for Jocelyn, school only knows her as Jo so they instantly alerted him. Prez is going to lose his fuckin'' mind." Knight debriefs us and the five of us run into the school. When we get to the paint room Spade is sitting on a kids chair with a face towel stuffed with ice to his head. His nose is bloody. I give him a quick once over. His injuries aren''t life-threatening, he''ll be fine. ¡°He''s there behind the shelves, we need to get him out of here before the kids see. The principal has already informed the teachers to keep the kids in the ss for another half hour, so we better high tail it fast.¡± I go with Bull and move the shelves. It takes both of us to lift the dead weight guy. I help lift him up and swing him onto Bulls shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The brother heads for the door. We walk in the passage and form a circle around Bull so the kid''s view is obstructed if they decide to y peeping tom and look through the ssroom windows. By the time we get to the bikes, Den arrives in River''s cage and Bull shoves the man in the back. ¡°Sure fucker isn''t dead?¡± Den snickers when he looks at the man in the back. ¡°No, he has a pulse, so if hees to, just pray to that fuckin¡¯ god of yours that your ass is at the clubhouse,¡± Spade warns the prospect. My phone rings as I sit my ass on my bike. I pull it out of my jacket pocket, ¡°You got my message?¡± I say to my woman whom I have noticed loves the phone. ¡°Yup, we¡¯re leaving shortly. Mercy said you guys found something?¡± I smile as I shake my head, ¡°You are as nosey as an olddy. Yeah, we found a guy. Well, what''s left of him, Spade didn''t like him very much. You know how he is about first impressions.¡± She snorts, ¡°I would rather get knocked out by Spade than Bull, the man has a fighting chance. See you now.¡± She puts the phone down on my ear and I look at it for a moment, is it me or is my woman Please check at N/?vel(D)rama.Org. sounding strange. ¡°What the fuck is wrong with you? Did Beggar not kiss your feet or some shit like that?¡± Spade asks me. ¡°It''s Beauty to Zero brother, chick got him pussy whipped,¡± Knight says before he slips on his helmet. ¡°You guys are just jealous,¡± I say as I slip on my gloves. ¡°Brother the day my dick goes into one woman and she starts expecting answers when she asks me a question is the day, I''ll shoot myself in the foot,¡± Texas informs me before he starts up his bike. We all ride out together and head back to the clubhouse. Chapter 62 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 62 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) Beauty and Mercy are already jumping out of Mercy''s car when we park. Riveres out of the house with Hannah and Den behind him. The three of them walk toward us as we get off our bikes. ¡°Heard from Radar, he''s on his way with one of the members from Ohio, Rebel, she might be able to help.¡± ¡°Never heard of her,¡± I say as my womanes to stand closer to me. ¡°Yes, you have. You will know exactly who she is when she gets here.¡± After assures us as her muscr body stands next to River. ¡°Well, while you three stand here, and think you all bad as shit, us threedies found something too,¡± Mercy says,ing to stand next to my woman. It is then I notice that they are wearing the same style jeans and a ck t-shirt with a pink skull on the front. ¡°Yes, we do all the shit better,¡± After opens her mouth before she pulls out her switchde and starts to y with it around her fingers. ¡°I single handily took out a guy twice my size after he knocked me with a god damn crowbar. How do you better that?¡± Spade crosses his arms over his chest and looks pointedly at After with a look that says beat that fucker. After res at him and lifts her chin tilting it to Beauty, ¡°Show them.¡± Beauty digs something out from her pocket and holds her palm out and open. All of us step closer and ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. see the small device that looks like a capsule mixed with those small electric filters they use in those Vapes these days. ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± Spade asks as his heades right close to my woman''s hand. ¡°t95,¡± Mercy answers. ¡°You spoke to Radar?¡± ¡°No, we haven''t spoken to anyone, the name is engraved on the inside. Guess where we found it?¡± ¡°Death victims body,¡± Knight says. ¡°Yup, Beggar wanted to see the dot on the girl''s arm. Mercy here decided to be brave and touch it, thing didn''t seem right so we bribed the guy to let us cut it, cost me a grand, but well worth it. She was the only one with this in her. We think they were testing it on her to see if she''ll react like them. If this is the drug that started all of this, maybe we can check the crazy bitch upstairs,¡± After informs us, still ring at Spade who is returning the sentiment. Wonder what''s happening there. ¡°Come on let¡¯s get this done, Den you move out to Jo''s school and get my kid to the house. I''ll send Jade and Chadley behind you.¡± We all head inside apart from Knight. Brother goes to distract Harlow by offering her a ride on his bike. In less than five minutes Texas gets a message that Harlow agreed. We listen for the throttle of his bike and the noise of the pipes dissipate. The lot of us rush upstairs to the old room I gave to Mercy that is currently upied by Harley. River, Killer and I step inside first. She isying on the bed and gets up when she sees us all standing there. I move to the side of the bed as River, Texas and Spade remain by her feet. Beauty and Killer go to the other side. Mercy and After stand next to me. Snake walks in and goes behind River, not sure he knows what is going on but he will soon. Bull folds his hands and stands by the door. ¡°We need to check your arms,¡± River tells her. ¡°For what.¡± ¡°We think you might be doing drugs,¡± Mercy says. Harley frowns, looking at all of us, scepticism stered to her face. She must be having a sane moment. Shocking us when she lifts her hands up. The chains we put around them dangling in-between. ¡°Check,¡± She says, and her dark circled eyes look to my woman. ¡°You cane closer,¡± She smiles at Beauty when she says this. Beauty walks the first step, my body tightens in preparation for whates. Killer having a more faster and less bloody n grabs her around her waist. nting her directly behind him. His eyes are void of any emotion when he bends down, his face so close to hers, ¡°You don''t get to make decisions. I am checking it.¡± He doesn''t give her a moment to think about it when he grabs her arm and lifts up the loose shirt she is wearing. Killer presses his thumb on the upper part of her arm. The sharp nod from him has After throwing her knife over to him which he catches as Harley starts going bat shit crazy. We all move in after that in a rush. I got my knee on the bed and my hand is holding her face down as River, Spade and Texas keep her legs straight. Killer digs the imnt out. Her screams are muffled by my hand. ¡°Got it,¡± Killer says and we let her go as Mercy shoves a needle in her neck. ¡°Question is if we got this out so easily why the fuck didn''t Harlow think of it? She is one of the 9s.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know.¡± The small voice has us all turning as Bull moves from the door and we see the pesky woman standing there with Knight standing at her back looking a bit ashen. ¡°Well now you do. Looks like we might have a cure darlin''¡± Texas says. ¡°t95 was an unsafe drug we perfected under a microscope but the test subjects had a weird effect with a patterned dose of the drug. My dad was the one who had the drug trials and forme destroyed.¡± ¡°So who worked close to your dad? There must have been someone your dad would have trusted?¡± River asks from across the room. ¡°Yes, there was one, but he died some months ago.¡± Harlow says. ¡°What''s his name.¡± Harlow looks at all of us, her eyes stopping long and hard on me. ¡°Captain James Rounder,¡± Harlow answers. River seems to have whatever he is looking for and gives her a nod. ¡°Can I see her,¡± She asks. ¡°Later, we knocked her out with some morphine.¡± Mercy answers and my head turns in time to see Killer and Beggar having what looks like a heated conversation. Both of them look pissed. This is bad. They are up to something. Chapter 63 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 63 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) It''s Friday morning, there is still no improvement from Harley or the guy Spade knocked out a few days back. Hannah suggested we dose her with an antibiotic but Harlow thinks that is a terrible idea. River informed us day before yesterday that the patch party was still happening regardless of everything else we had going on. Last night all the girls besides Jade and Whisp pitched in to get the new club ready for tonight. We were done after elevenst night. Zero took my body when I got back and the two of us enjoyed a hot bath with a snack he snatched from the kitchen. When he offered me a beer I declined, and almost slipped up and told him. How I remained quiet, I don¡¯t know. We haven''t discussed his brother either. Not for hisck of trying, it was just me. The pregnancy has been on my mind sincest night. If I confess then it makes it all real. I don¡¯t want to do that but I know that I am on borrowed time. Zero isn¡¯t stupid. After knows I¡¯m pregnant, apparently, she knew it before I even left Ka to hunt down La. She gave me ¡®till morning to tell Zero and now was morning. I don''t have an option, and she¡¯s right, I am starting to show. ¡°We need to talk,¡± I tell Zero as he walks out of the bathroom. ¡°So talk.¡± He drops his towel showing me his tight butt as he opens a drawer and pulls out his ck trousers. ¡°I''m pregnant.¡± I watch his back straighten and his muscles tense. Minutes pass by that feels like hours. He turns to me. His face gives nothing away so I am not sure what do I do now. ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. ¡°How far along,¡± He asks me in a quiet voice. Thest time he spoke to me like this was the day in the barn when he was Quinns. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, close to three months maybe. I haven''t been to the doctor. Kylie bought this test. It tells you how many weeks you are in your pregnancy. Mine said 12 weeks.¡± I jump off the bed and grab my clothes from the floor. My mind is nk so I don''t sense Zero behind me. His hands wrap around my stomach. I close my eyes as I straighten my back andy my head against his naked flesh. ¡°So I am going to be a dad, hah.¡± He kisses the top of my head after he says that. ¡°Yes, guess you are.¡± ¡°Maybe that ass might be getting fat after all.¡± I pull myself away from him and p his chest. ¡°The only thing getting fat is going to be your mouth when I put my fist in it.¡± ¡°Don''t know Beauty, I didn''t want to hurt your feelings but your ass might be getting a bit heavy.¡± My mouth drops open and I re at him as I bend down to pick up my boot. I swing around and throw it close to his head as he barely misses. He grabs his t-shirt from the dresser and runs out of the room. ¡°Coward,¡± I click my tongue and slip on the jeans I worest night before I leave the rest of the clothes in the hamper. Once the bed is made and room is tidy I head downstairs to the dining room where everybody is seated. I check the food. There is scramble eggs, boiled eggs, sausages, bacon, avocado, beans, mushrooms, pancakes and fresh rolls. My eyes lift slightly. I spot the guy sitting directly opposite to where I am standing. At first I think I am seeing things. Brown and blonde hair, very square jaw, full lips. My eyes narrow as he remains unaware of my presence because he is too busy stuffing his face. He finally looks up. A frown creases and that is when I show him my thumb. He does the same and his eyes widen as he chews his food fast and gets up rushing around the table ignoring everyone else. He Which is freaking awkward. ¡°Riya, holy fuck chick, thest time I saw you, you were like this height. Didn''t ever think I¡¯d see you again, especially here.¡± His light blue eyes are so intense, just like how I remember. ¡°What''s up Lukey nukey.¡± I wink at him as big hands wrap around my waist. ¡°You two know each other?¡± Zero asks as he makes a show by putting his head on my shoulder. ¡°Yeah, she was one of the foster kids I crossed paths with. We lived together for a while. A year before I joined the army. Ally, the girl that went missing. She was adopted by a rich family after the social worker picked us up from the house. She just got epted into NYU, called me up to tell me the good news and bam, next thing she is gone. Haven''t seen her in four years.¡± ¡°You talking about the same Ally we hunted down a few years back?¡± Zero queries. ¡°Yeah man, that girl was a fucking angelpared to Riya and I.¡± ¡°I go by the name of Beggar now,¡± I tell Luke, who frowns at me. He must have heard something about me. He says nothing. Instead, he nods his head. ¡°I''m Radar now.¡± He winks and I shake my head, still the same Luke I remember when we were living in the foster house together. ¡°Come let''s get some food in you before my baby starves,¡± Zero whispers in my ear when Radar goes back to his chair. ¡°You just told me my ass is fat,¡± I snap at him and pinch his chin. ¡°I meant p h a t, not f a t, meaning pretty hot and tempting,¡± Zero says from behind me. ¡°And that is supposed to make her feel better?¡± After walks past Zero and smacks him on the head. ¡°You and Killer need to stop doing that shit.¡± Zero says as he rubs the sore spot. ¡°What shit?¡± Killer says as he smacks Zero''s head too. A sweetughes from the back, it is small and soft. I turn my head and see the short woman sitting on the right two ces down from Radar. I give her a chin lift when she looks at me and smiles. Her eyes are hard, which means she has seen shit and that smile is fake. I hate fake people. The table fills up as all the others gather and get into their ces. I take the seat next to Zero and wait for him to bring my breakfast to me. ¡°We''re heading out in a few. Mercy and you will go in the cage, we need to get the ce sorted before three, then we still have to get back here and get the rest of the things.¡± ¡°Okay, is there a dress code for tonight?¡± I ask as Zero ces a mountain of food in front of me. His eye with the scar goes small as he stares at me, ¡°That is something you need to talk to the women about." Chapter 64 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 64 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) ¡°This thing weighs a fuck ton.¡± ¡°It isn''t that heavy Jade.¡± ¡°It is definitely not light, you said it was light.¡± She has her face scrunched up, with her hands on her slender but lethal bared waist. Today as is customary in our club, the patched members spend our day giving the soon to be newly patched member hell for the day. Jade is no exception to the rules. Her hell started at breakfast this morning. Beauty and I were in a deep conversation concerning the right time to tell everybody about the pregnancy. We had just agreed to do it before Monday when After''s chair was detached from her ass by Mercy. ¡°I told you not to touch my eggs, now they''re all fucked up,¡± Mercy yelled as After got up from the floor. ¡°I didn''t touch your eggs bitch, maybe if you stopped fuckin¡¯ everything with two inches you''d notice that nobody gives a flying fuck about your eggs, well except Jade, bitch is the only one wanting to sniff your ass.¡± Mercy then lost her shit with Jade. That was about the time Whisp, Chadley and Den all jumped in. The three had no clue Mercy was only trying to win herself a bet with Killer, Snake and Texas. Somehow my woman being who she is, already knew something was at y here. She didn''t call them out on it, just sat her sweet ass down next to me, with a roll filled with butter and cheese. She watched the show and looked beautiful doing it. Her face was light, her shoulders rxed. I didn''t want to take my eyes off of her, but I did and lucky too. Radar was staring right at us, or should I say he was frowning at my woman, almost as though he was confused. It boggled my mind that the two of them knew each other. The chances that one of our own was so close to my woman, even if it was when she was a kid is unsettling. Knowing that La has a bounty of ten million on her head, and my brother wants her dead makes it worse. A quick talk with Texas and permission to slick Whisp on the brother, my day was looking up. So much so that I volunteered to go furniture shopping and get the sofas for the Night Club. Beauty stayed behind with the rest of the women setting up, leaving Chadley and Jade behind with the guys. N?velDrama.Org holds this content. Chadley was stuck in the kitchen with the caterer we hired for the night. I needed a female opinion so I brought Jade with me. Who am I kidding? I brought her with me to make her as angry as possible, push her buttons and see if she canst the day without exploding. Worst mistake I made. ¡°Why didn''t you ask one of the guys to help with this, you don''t think I am a guy do you? I am not.¡± She bends down and pulls her already rolled up jeans a bit higher on her calf for the god knows how many-nth fucking time since I told her to lift the other side of the white led light sofa. The piece of furniture was the heaviest sofa I could find in the furniture store in Ka''s small CBD. ¡°Are you just going to whine the whole day or actually help me carry this fuckin¡¯ thing so I can go try and find a lead on that killer.¡± I met Jade four years ago. She was a hunted fugitive, framed formitting an obscene amount of crimes. Spade and I were tasked with finding her. It was a Special Ops mission that received clearance from the Pentagon. I never directly questioned an order from the Pentagon before then. Spade and I tracked her from Country to Country. She was like a shadow the way she evaded us. It wasn''t for long. My name isn''t Zero for nothing, and Spade didn''t earn his hard title for being a dumb fuck either. We eventually managed to catch her on the outskirts of Thand. She was getting ready to skip. Only we weren''t the only ones after her. She had blown up half the Outfit¡¯s soldiers, destroyed the Bratva''s drugbs in Asia and started a war with the Chinese Mafia. She was a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. The three of us were eventually caught and taken by the Chinese Mafia, who showed me that their shortness did not mean they couldn''t be a fucking pain in my left nut. We spent a week chained up in Hong Kong, almost getting sold on the ck market. Spade was the one who managed to earn Jade''s trust while getting beaten to an inch of his life every day. And lucky he did, she saved our lives. Chapter 65 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 65 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) Our thank you was letting her get a head start before we went after her. When Spade and I got back to Ka, the Pentagon weren''t so pleased with our piss poor excuse of how we lost her. They bought the story for what it was- Bullshit. Their reaction didn''t sit well with me, so I did some digging of my own and found out exactly who she was. Not many people knew the answer to that question besides a handful of people and all of those people called themselves a Satan Sniper. It was monthster when Jade found us. She was in a bad way, and confessed all her sins. Only thing was that it wasn''t really sins, just crimes of aw abiding citizen who didn''t get justice. She was a young girl seeking to avenge a sister who was sold on the ck market. A father who didn''t deserve an early ending but got one anyway and a mother, who only ever wanted her kids to be happy and was willing to do whatever it took to make it happen, even if it meant taking money from a Drug pin to do it. Jade was the only survivor left unharmed. We took a year and a half to find her sister and we did. Only thing we didn''t think about was the possibility that her sister wouldn''t remember her. It was a psychological reaction to the trauma she faced. The Club took them both in, then Jades cousin a few months after. We haven''t regretted it. I was proud of her the day shepleted her prospect time. Proud of her today for making it this far. Today she will officially be one of us. ¡°Sorry Zero.¡± ¡°Don''t sweat it. Lift, let''s get this done then I''ll take you for an ice-cream, got a feeling it''s gonna be a busy day.¡± ¡°A hot busy day.¡± She adds in a smile that I haven''t seen in a while since the jaded girl got home. Last fall she was kidnapped by La and held as a hostage. His sessful attempt to get Beauty back. He did, for a long time. N?velDrama.Org holds this content. How my woman escaped him stilly as a mystery. One of many where my woman is concerned. A sudden thought plugs itself in my head as I lift the one side of the sofa as Jade gets the other. I am going to be a father. I subconsciously wanted a kid after I imed myself a woman. A few months ago, finding out I was going to be a father would have sent me flying off the hook. But now, with Beauty the possibilities and limits have no bounds. As fucking selfish as I am going to sound, I can''t not think of how perfect the timing is that she is pregnant. She wouldn''t have time to hunt my brother down. Maybe she wouldn''t want to. As for Thorn, he wouldn''t kill the mother of my child, much less if she was pregnant with my kid. He might like money but he loves his family and whether he likes it or not, Beauty is family. We¡¯re going to have a baby. ¡°What you smiling about, did Beggar show you her outfit for tonight?¡± Jade wiggles her eyebrows as her forehead drips from the heat and work I have her doing. The sofa is fucking heavy, even I am feeling the pinch. I say nothing and focus on the task at hand and true to my word after we load the heavy piece of furniture, I take her for ice-cream. Jade being Jade gets a shit load of food and drinks for the others. The day goes by, with a few more rounds. One consisting of a trip to the supermarket on the outskirts of Ka. By four we are finally done. ¡°You sure youdies don''t need a hand,¡± I hear the husky voice of Knight as I open the bathroom door with my towel still around my hips. The girls¡¯ no''s follow shortly and After telling him to fuck off ends it. The brother''s face drops like a puppy who figured out it couldn''t chew a bone yet. Killeres up the stairs with a remote controller in his left hand and a beer in his right. His leather pants have since been swapped for a jeans and dark blue sweatshirt. He looks half normal, but then it is Killer, he was never meant to be normal. The wrist bands, full sleeves of tattoos and eyebrow piercing is a testament to how true that is. ¡°Got a call from Diamond, said she heard about the t95 going lethal. She managed to get a list of the test subjects who were tested with the drug. She''ll have the list sent to us by the end of the night. Wanna check it out with meter?¡± He asks Knight and me. We both agree. I think most of the brothers would. We have been needing some action around here. The women scream as they ooh and aah each other from the other side of the door we are standing in front of. The three of us look to the white door. I flinch when I hear Whisp and After whistle. ¡°If I hear those women squeal one more time....¡± Killer leaves that statement untouched as he marches past me, to his room and ms the door. ¡°Somebody is moody,¡± Knight Shrugs his shoulders and knocks again on After''s door. I chuckle with a shake of my head as I go to Spades room and change into denim pants, and a blue, ck shirt. Once I''m changed, I head downstairs to the bar where the rest of the brothers sit and watch Kansas City and New Ennd Patriots. And it is not the first time today I imagine doing this with my pops, the brothers and my kid. I am going to be a father. Chapter 66 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 66 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) ¡°You not seriously wearing four knives under that,¡± I ask After as she puts on her sleeveless cut. She is wearing ck skin-tight denim pants that have cuts on the knees and just below her ass. Her normal shirt has been tossed aside for a ck skull top with missing sleeves. But what makes her outfit sexy is the ck knee-length boots that go on forever. ¡°Five got one in my boot. Just in case.¡± ¡°She probably has eight or nine. The others she won¡¯t tell you about in case somebody who ns to kill her is listening to the conversation,¡± Mercy says as she finishes up Whisp''s make-up. Mercy and Whisp are both in leather pants andce tops. Whisp is wearing a metalle blue vest that is loose but see-thru. Mercy has on a tight red and cktop that has small pieces of material around her ample breast, showing her cleavage. ¡°Why do you feel it necessary to open your mouth and talk shit that doesn''t concern you,¡± After says as she res at Mercy. Mercy makes a yapping duck face with her fingers at After, ¡°Don''t take your frustrations out on me, not my fault you hunt a bull who doesn''t want what you unting, maybe if you''d dress like this more often, he might be persuaded to take you on. Don''t me the brother for staying clear though.¡± ¡°That is thest time I tell you shit, now everybody knows.¡± After shouts at Mercy from across the room. ¡°You say that every time,¡± Jade says from the other end of the room. She is looking out the window. ¡°No one asked you, J. I Jane, we all know why you standing by the window.¡± Mercy snaps at Jade who goes red in her face. I lean my back against the wardrobe door, enjoying the show. The woman has been getting crap on the whole day. But she takes it like a champ every time. Venuses out of the bathroom. Chadley and her have spent the better part of the hour and a half we have been in this room shoved in the bathroom. The new girl that I saw at breakfast has been gone the entire day. She had a heated argument with Bull this morning, but I wasn¡¯t sure what it was about. I just picked up that the two knew each other quite well. ¡°Is everyone all set?¡± Venus asks as a message beeps from my phone. I slide it out of my faded blue denim skirt. Please check at N/?vel(D)rama.Org. ¡°How''s my kid doing? We getting ready to start the bikes, need anything from the kitchen before I leave.¡± Since I told Zero about the pregnancy he has taken it well. Not sure how to take his reaction, but the messages every five minutes is getting old, fast. I don''t like all the new attention he¡¯s giving me all of a sudden. Living the life I have, I like staying unnoticed and with him I have been since a few days back. Fine I shoot a reply text and slip my phone back in my pocket in time to see Jade scrunch up her face. ¡°Do I have toe with you guys?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± We all say in unison ¡°Fine, but don''t expect me to stay long. I''m not feeling so good.¡± I roll my eyes at that one, and walk to where she has been standing, guarding the window like her life line. She must not want to be with Spade, but her actions when he isn¡¯t looking tells me she is just giving herself a headache, because she is wasting her time. That is something I learned twice, first with La, then with Zero. Both of those incidences led me to only one direction. Your heart will detach itself from the head if it tastes its one and only addiction- Love. And like all addictive narcotics, it sucks you in. You will do anything for it, no matter how crazy it is. You will lose your identity and once it is gone, you are crushed to nothing. It is like an immortal, you feel the agony of the pain every day but it doesn¡¯t die as easily. ¡°I can gut him if you like, Knick him,¡± I stare at Jade to see if she likes the offer. Afteres up behind me, ¡°I call dibs, been a while since I gutted a man as fine as Spade.¡± ¡°Nobody is gutting anybody, especially not Spade, it was my choice to end things. Let''s just forget we saw anything alright. DJ is River¡¯s cousin, she¡¯ll be good for him.¡± Jade announces to us. But I know she is really just trying to convince herself. An ideaes into my head and I slip my phone out and shoot Killer a message quick. We get downstairs in one piece as the men start revving their machines. I go to Zero''s bike, he¡¯s already sitting on his machine with his legs on the ground. He has his hand extended with my helmet hanging from his index finger. I shake my head and take it. The men start whistling, and though I know that they are whistling for the other women, I feel self- conscious. After and I got our way when we went to the salon. Thedy straightened my hair but didn''t cut it. And the high pony I have it in and the dark makeup and red lips Whisp insisted I wear with this leather pants and cktop makes my diamonds stick out. Not to mention that I feel like a ton. My ass feels huge in these pants that fit my body like a glove. ¡°You lookin'' sexy for a baby mama,¡± Zero says as I grab his shoulder, and swing my leg back and over the bike. ¡°You know what would look even sexier.¡± ¡°Well, that''s a loaded question, but I have this weird feeling that your- what, and my what are in opposite directions,¡± He says as we wait for the others to move and I secure my helmet on. ¡°You right, mine is where you shut up and drive.¡± ¡°Hey, Killer is riding with Jade, that¡¯s a first.¡± I don¡¯t look at Killer, as I nudge Zero¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Let¡¯s go old man.¡± He shakes his helmet covered head and we off. The ride is something I would never get used to. There is an electric current that shocks my nerves in just the right ces. It starts with the tips of my toes as Zero takes the bend. The sensation travels up my legs when he straightens and makes hand signals that I liken to one of power. Going right to my core when we stop at a street light and all the bikes rev as their Enforcer ces his gloved hand on the top of my thigh. I know that hand so well, the feel of his callused fingertips as he traces the shape of my body when he thinks I am asleep. Andstly it rushes to my chest, seconds before going through my brain. This feeling of belonging to something more than my past is something that won''t leave me. These times with the Satan Snipers have been that static, that shock, that calling you hear about but you never get to experience. You just keep feeling and hoping until it is all stripped away. Crushed Chapter 67 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 67 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) ¡°After got it, Knight and Snake are already inside, I''ll take thedies through the back.¡± ¡°Are we ready for this shit?¡± River asks us as we loom around our bikes. The lights inside the club are red and reflect partly on the ground and bike. All the men and women are humming for the night ahead. I look up into the night¡¯s sky and like all Satan nights before the sky is clear. ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± I look up to the sky onest time as I follow my brothers inside. Today a new Satan Sniper will rise. The rest of the brother¡¯s head inside the Night Club as I take the girls around the side. ¡°Why can¡¯t we just go in the front like the men?¡± Chadley asks. ¡°You¡¯ll see soon enough,¡± Mercy says from the front of me. When I open the door, the brothers are all in hoods and the sixth star we had madeys on the floor in the centre of the Night Club. I leave the women standing there in awe as I grab my own hood from the bar. It took us hours to move all the table and chairs and make the open space big enough to do this. The metal star in the centre of the room took four brothers to move. ¡°Well, as you have figured out, today is the day we wee a new member into our, we patch them, brand them and by our blood they are reborn. But first, as it is customary the prospect of our choosing has to make the ultimate sacrifice, give up all who you are and be all that we are. A Satan Sniper believes in onew, thew of our brothers, thew of our women and thew of our Club. We respect our own, we give our life for our own and by the blood vow you take today, is the same vow you take to your grave. Step forward, Jade.¡± River¡¯s speech is well-spoken and true to every word he has said. We live, we die as a Satan Sniper. I hear a few of the women whisper as Jade steps closer. Spade, Knight, Killer, Snake and I take our positions at the points of the star. River takes his ce as our president. The room lights are dimmed, Jade steps into the centre of the star. ¡°Jade, years ago you joined us, today you be us. Do you take the vows of a Satan Sniper?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She says loudly. River extends his hand and she gives him hers. ¡°Will you bleed for us?¡± River asks ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Will you kill for us,¡± I ask ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Will you give up all that you are for us?¡± Snake asks ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you promise to put The Satan Snipers above anything else in your life, even death,¡± Killer asks ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you vow your honesty, no matter the consequences to us,¡± Spade asks ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then bleed for us now, and die for us tomorrow,¡± River says as he lifts the hand he is holding and the knife to her palm. He slits across her palm and the blood gushes out. ¡°A deep cut, a deep vow. Now when we drink you are of us, and when you drink, we are one with you.¡± He sips the blood from her hand and Jade walks around us and the brothers in the circle do the same. We each cut our hand. She takes a small suck from us. It is a sign of trust, of binding ourselves to her. We are letting her into our fold and the men standing on this Star are the ones who will have her back and vow her in as one of our women. We all throw our hoods off, and Spade walks forward with her jacket. He hands it to her, and I don¡¯t miss the way he is staring at her. The brother feels something for her. They have history, the two of them have a fuck ton. The raw kind thates from watching the one you love to get ripped away from you. The thought has me looking to the other side of the room to Beauty. I frown when I don¡¯t find her. Noticing the back door is open I give Texas a look who is the closest to the women. He goes by the door and looks out and nods his head. I congratte Jade with a quick hug and a kiss on her head, ¡°I¡¯m proud of you kid.¡± ¡°Thanks, Zee man.¡± I go to my woman, she is standing outside, her body is stiff as she stares up into the sky. ¡°I can¡¯t understand why you still run away from me. Always running.¡± My words juste as I get to her and wrap my arms around her waist. ¡°Why does the light burn you and the darkness is meant to scare the world, but both are something you can just stare at the whole time.¡± ¡°That is how I feel when I look at you, I can just stare the whole day.¡± I squeeze her when she puts her fingers on my arm. ¡°When I first met you, I was too scared to even look you in the eye. I should have known that when I did it would be eyes that will haunt me for eternity. When I left and went to La, it was your eyes that kept me alive, Zero.¡± Her honesty, the rough tenor of her voice, the feeling of her in my arms, makes me a man. I am just a man in love. ¡°I love you too Beauty.¡± ¡°What I feel for you Zero is much more than love. Love dies, this can¡¯t be killed, it is immortal.¡± We watch the night, the stars are non, the music is loud and I hold this woman in my arms. I can¡¯t stop the passing thought that whispers in my mind, This, is power. When we get inside the part is in full swing. I grab myself a beer from behind the bar, nudge Texas to move out of the way. I get Beauty her orange juice and grab some snacks for the table. I already know this is going to be a long night. ¡°Hey, everyone.¡± River¡¯s voicees loud as the music is dropped. We all standstill, waiting to hear what the President is saying. ¡°It hase to my knowledge that we are having a new original soon.¡± The patch members start making a ruckus, knowing exactly what River is saying. I stand here, next to Texas and smile. I think my face is blood red. ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. ¡°Beggar and Zero are having a baby,¡± Mercy yells over River. Everybody goes crazy and the women rush to Beauty who is sitting on the sofa, ready to gut my eyes out for shooting my mouth off. ¡°Congrats Brother. Better get fuckin¡¯ because when babiese knockin¡¯ you ain¡¯t gettin¡¯ nothin¡¯.¡± Texas says as he tips his hat and walks away. All the brothers and woman congratte me, except for one. I look for the brother but I don¡¯t see him at first. I catch him on the end of the room nursing a beer. Knights story has many levels for the hurt and pain he went through. He was once a man that only wanted a family. His methods to get it is his story to tell, but the consequences cost him a son. ¡°Want to head out and check on those names Diamond sent?¡± I ask him, knowing that he needs to get the fuck out of here. He stands up, ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡± I give Beauty a kiss on my way out. Killer and Knight are already on their bikes when I get to the front of Night Club. The name is going to take some getting used to, but After won the bet, so she got to name the club. We head out into the town. The ce is quiet, not many people on the street except for the few at diners and drive-in. The night turns out to be a bust when we arrive at the clubhouse just after three in the morning. The soldiers must have known weing for them. Either way, I am d when I walk into my bedroom and find Beauty on the bed, still up with a book in her hand. She¡¯s in one of my t-shirts and her legs are covered under a thin pullover nket. ¡°I can get used toing home to this.¡± I smile when she barely lifts her head from her book. ¡°I put a bud in the fridge for you.¡± ¡°Nah, I think I reached my drinking quota for the day. I wouldn¡¯t mind eating your pussy if you offering.¡± She ms the book closed and looks at me with her ck eyes that have more than once left me in a puddle. ¡°I didn¡¯t wait up to get nothing, strip.¡± My eyes widen and I am caught off the wagon by her blunt words. Iugh, ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± She smiles when I begin to slowly remove my shirt. Her eyes on my body, watching, waiting. It feels like she is the predator in the room. I am her prey. I work her body until thete morning, over again. I can¡¯t get enough. Beauty screams my name, and groans in pleasure and I don¡¯t stop. When we finally leave our bedroom it is already afternoon time and everyone is off on their own shit. It is the first day in a while that we have the ce to ourselves. And I fucking love it. Chapter 68 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 68 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) ¡°Are youing to the school today?¡± I ask Zero as he slips on his boots. Please check at N/?vel(D)rama.Org. A month has gone by since the patch party. We have found most of the soldiers involved in the t95 testing thanks to Diamond, The Sin Rider¡¯s Princess. There are still two of them out there, but that is a job for the military now. My hunt for La has taken a back to my life since I can''t really do anything dangerous while I am pregnant. ¡°Yup, told ya, if I can''t see you...¡± ¡°I''m too far, I know,¡± I roll my eyes as I finish making up the bed. Zero picks up the three pillows and starts putting them on the bed as I start grabbing his empty beer cans. ¡°How''s my son.¡± ¡°Still here.¡± ¡°I can see that, when is our next appointment?¡± ¡°Two weeks.¡± Zero walks up to me and puts his hands around my waist as I open the drawer and pull out a denim shorts and a light green t-shirt. ¡°I''ll meet you at the school in a couple. Mercy will drive in with you, Harley and Harlow, I got some shit I need to do quick.¡± ¡°Did Killer call?¡± I ask Zero. ¡°Not yet, but he will.¡± A few days ago, I found out that Michael Stone, Kylie and Killer were working together to bring down the trafficking ring owned by La. Kylie was going to go in and look for the girls. I wanted to join her but River said I had to keep a low profile with the baby and Kylie didn¡¯t want me to know. If La knew I was pregnant he won''t be as forgiving. A shiver runs through my body as the thought of what he will do to me takes my mind. A sure way to dampen my mood. It is another hourter when we get to school. It¡¯s a Saturday and besides the ser team that is currently on the ground, the school is empty. I spot Jo dribbling the ball before she passes it to a small boy. She must hear Spades bike as he parks it next to the 4x4. She lifts up her head and starts waving her hands around thinking we can''t see her. I wave back and Mercy starts whistling loudly also iling her hands. ¡°You look like you on crack,¡± I tell as her breast jiggle. ¡°Says the one with a fat ass and an even bigger stomach.¡± ¡°It''s called being pregnant, it is a temporary size.¡± ¡°pssst, keep listening to Knights bullshit when he brings those doughnuts and you won''t be able to see your feet pretty soon.¡± Mercy looks pointedly at my swollen feet. ¡°You eat those doughnuts just as much as I do and you only eating for one.¡± She looks down at her jean covered legs, then at her boobs that are barely held together by a silver button-down vest then grimaces. ¡°You have a point. Let''s get down there, the men are probably thirsty.¡± I give Jo one more look before I follow Mercy. Since the club found out I was pregnant I am permanently on Jo duty. The kid and I have gotten closer than ever. We walk to the entrance of the school''s gate and past the kids on the field. The sun is shining and the air is dry, Radar said at breakfast this morning that today was a perfect day for painting. Since he arrived here, he has only been back to Houston once and he is now transferring permanently to Ka. And I think his reason has to do with a purple-eyed woman. But I say nothing, it ain''t my business. ¡°Did you get the news about the t95?¡± I ask Mercy as we start walking through a corridor. ¡°Not yet. But that is the government for you. Once they find out the serum can''t be airborne and is contained, they start cking, but they will get answers, believe it or not this isn''t the first time we had military test subjects on the street and it won''t be thest.¡± ¡°Yo Bee, I need a cold one.¡± Radar yells from the top of thedder where he is currently sitting while he waits for Spade to bring more paint. It is hours since we got here but the club is working hard to paint the school and get it done before the end of today. I was tasked with refreshments and food. Mercy made hot dogs and has a grill pan on a table with corn she¡¯s currently frying. I smile up at Radar as I ce my hand over my navel. I¡¯m five months pregnant but Mercy is right, my stomach is huge. It is a lot heavier than when I was pregnant with my daughter, Mischa and her twin that never got a name. Yet, I just can¡¯t help myself and get some rest. Zero keeps telling me to rest but I can''t. I like walking around and doing stuff. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll get on that now, you want a hot dog?¡± ¡°Nah, a beer is all I need.¡± I spin around and walk smack into Zero who easily manoeuvres me to his side with his hand wrapped firmly around my waist, partially on my swollen belly. ¡°There is no fucking way you are doing that, I want your ass in my truck, you need a rest now.¡± ¡°Be nice.¡± ¡°I am, I haven¡¯t dropped thedder with him on it. That is fucking nice. Get in the truck.¡± ¡°Such a caveman.¡± Chapter 69 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 69 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) Zero surprises me when he takes my mouth in a deep hungry kiss. ¡°I will show you caveman when my dick is in your ass while I shove a dildo in your pussy.¡± My eyes widen and he gives me a wicked smile before he smacks me on my butt. ¡°Move your ass, I¡¯ll sort Radar out, then I''m behind you.¡± I roll my eyes as I go right to his truck which he parked in the schools parking lot so it isn''t too far to walk. Since the pregnancy Zero hardly rides his bike when I am around. I spoke to Killer about it, he said it was a safety measure in case something is wrong with the baby. I open the front door and jump in, which is a bit of a mission considering this bakkie has a high step. I smell the chocte cake as I sit down and turn to see the brown and blue box on the seat at the back. I grab it and open the box, in it is my new favourite, triple chocte mousse cake. My mouth waters as I dip, my finger in the icing and stick it into my mouth. I see movement from the side and turn my head. The man moving fast toward me is not someone I expect to see now. I am taken off guard. My mind goes back to all those years ago when I was pregnant. ¡°Please, just stop my babies areing, please.¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up.¡± He screams, his eyes look so evil. Why is he doing this, why? The car door opening brings me to reality and Thorn. He grabs my hair and I scream. My foot kicks out, hitting him in the stomach. ¡°Shut the fuck up before I end you.¡± ¡°I thought you couldn''t walk.¡± ¡°Well, a bitch like you shouldn''t be thinking,¡± He sneers as he forcefully pulls me out of the truck by my hair. My knee bends and I feel a slight movement of the baby as I straighten my position. He releases my hair, only to grab my arm, pulling me. My mind is telling me that this isn''t happening but the painful grip he has on my arm is reminding me that it is. What did I say about happiness? It is only a moment. Now, as I face the brother of the man, I call my own, I know my moment has ended. ¡°I am going to kill you.¡± I say through clenched teeth. He¡¯s pulling me. I¡¯m stumbling over my feet. His face is so red, scrunched up into an ugly scowl. ¡°No, you won''t, you just a worthless bitch, MOVE.¡± I kick out at him again, making it harder for him to hold onto me. He releases me. I grab at his head with two hands, bringing his forehead to meet the force of my knee. ¡°Aah,¡± He howls in pain but tackles me in my swollen belly. His head rams hard into my baby. I scream as loud as I can. My back hits the floor hard and I hiss as I try to push him off but he punches me in my stomach. The only thing I can do, I do, I scream but my voice is fucked and my scream isn''t that loud. Why does this always have to happen to me? N?velDrama.Org content. Why am I the one always suffering? When will it end? ¡°Stop, stop, stop,¡± I scream, begging him not to carry on. My baby My stomach pains as a cramp tighten deep in my belly. I puke on the floor and it feels like acid. Thorn gets up, his fingers gripping me by my hair. His ugly fucking face looks at me with so much hatred that I swear it is like I am already in hell. ¡°You should have stayed in your dumpster Amariya.¡± He throws a solid punch to my right eye and another to my side cheek. My lip splits as my eyes beat in pain. The coppery liquid on my tongue, a reminder of who I am. It is sad when it takes someone so evil to bring out the true you. It is devastating when it takes that person to hurt you in so many ways that you have no other choice but to remember the tinge that stains your hands is blood. Why me, Why. I work up enough strength to kick him in between his legs. ¡°What the fuck. ZERO, SPADE.¡± I hear Knights voice from the distance as his heavy bootse closer. My body curves into a ball as I experience the unmistakable agony inside my belly. The different types of voices screaming, swearing and the sound of boots crunching is the only thing that is helping me to stay conscious right now. My body curls into a ball as I try desperately not to feel the pain in my lower belly. Oh god please, not another baby, please, I can¡¯t. I feel Zero''s hands as they wrap around me and lift me. ¡°We going to get you to the hospital, it will be all right Beauty, it will be all right. I got you.¡± Fake promises said at a time of tragedy to fool the sufferer aren''t meant to be kept. I let my guard down because I got too used to living a normal life. I forgot why I chose the streets when I could live in a mansion, but not anymore. Now I remember why I am Beggar. Chapter 70 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 70 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) A haunted man with a cursed soul is worse than a man with a dead one. I recall that saying, remember it written in permanent marker on a train station wall. It was the first and only time I ever ran away from home. I was thirteen, and my dad and Thorn got into a fight that turned bad for the both of them. I tried to stop it. Thorn¡¯s fist got in the way of that. Not sure why I ran away up until this day. But that darn saying, can¡¯t get it out of my mind. My brother is a cursed soul, Beauty warned me. The signs, everything about this warned me. I WARNED MYSELF. I chose to ignore it. He''s my brother. My brother, the one responsible for the death of my baby. NO, NO. He went after my pregnant woman, knowing that was my unborn kid in her stomach. I was so worried about Beauty killing him that I forgot she was the one with a bounty on her head. I judged her for wanting to kill my brother, watched her so closely that I forgot that I should be protecting her. She was the one getting hunted. "How the fuck did I not see it," I scream as I am pushed to the side of the hospitals wall. Bull has his big body close to mine, blocking me from prying eyes. Brother is all up in my face. But fuck it, shit luck, nothing. I can¡¯t live with this pain. There is this ck thick shadow that is sitting inside my chest right now. "He''s your brother man, you¡¯d be just as fucked up if you did," Bull says trying to subdue me. Funny thing about that is I don¡¯t think anybody is going to get me to cool the fuck down. The hospital was seconds from knocking me the fuck out. The waiting room was a fuck show, the women crying and swearing. While the club brothers plotting, nning because that is all they know. And there I was, just sitting and waiting for the doctor to give me some sign of anything. I didn¡¯t like what I was seeing when they rushed my woman away so fast. The nurses shouting as the doctors were all fiddling with, talking so fast, demanding they get an IV line, and some CT scans. I¡¯m sure I heard one of them say the baby is in distress. I have never felt fucking helpless in my life besides right now. For all my badges, for all those fucking missions, and for everything that makes me Zero, means fuck all in the grand scheme of life. Killer didn¡¯t feel the same, he was hopeful in his own detached way. He mentioned a week back that his mama will be d when he told her he was going to be a godfather. Guess that is why he is in the room with Beauty. Why she only wants to see him. Maybe I didn¡¯t tell her enough that I was fucking thrilled I was going to be a dad. I definitely shouldn¡¯t have forgotten that she had an enemy because I loved her enemy. But all that regret means nothing right now. I took an oath to protect and serve my country until the day I can¡¯t. When I was just a boy I took another oath to love, serve, protect, guide and enforce thew as a Satan Sniper until the day I die. And the day I was born as Thorns brother was the day I swore to break any oath, all promises and forgive all his mistakes for now and forever, no matter what. I have failed a lot in my life and I have always considered myself an honourable man. Today I don¡¯t. My brother made a mistake I can¡¯t forgive. I will have to enforce thew. ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. But how do I kill my own brother? The sad thing is as I stand here knowing that my woman is experiencing the same horror she has lived before while another man holds her hand, I can¡¯t kill my brother. He saved my life more times than I can count. He is my father¡¯s eldest son and my only blood brother. How do I kill my own brother? How can I enforce thew that I have sworn to abide by without him dying? I can¡¯t. "She''s going to lose the baby because of me," I say to Bull, voicing out the obvious. My mother was a fucking piece of work on a good day, but for all her shit she never missed Sunday Church. I asked her one day why she always went if she just came home and partied. She said, sometimes it is good to confess to flesh and bones than a spirit, and shrinks cost money. I think that was the only good thing she really taught me and I never used it. Right now, at this hospital under the Texas sky, I feel like confessing to flesh and bone. "It¡¯s all on Thorn not you man." "Yeah but he is my brother. I knew something was up when I spoke to him.¡± ¡°Zero, don''t be hard on yourself. We all fuck up, a time or few. Old man Toad did it double or nothing. But fucker is still breathing, he keeps going. Right now your woman needs you to just calm the fuck down and lie. Brother, I don¡¯t know the shit in your head but I know that up there. That I know.¡± He points to the window of Beauty¡¯s room. I shake my head, thinking about my dad, ¡°My old man never does anything half assed. He wouldn¡¯t be Old man Toad if he cked.¡± ¡°Nah man, and you wouldn¡¯t be Zero if you lost your shit when that woman needed you.¡± Bull releases his hold on me and takes a step back as my shoulders drop. ¡°My baby is in Beauty¡¯s stomach fighting for his life that I am supposed to be fighting for. How the fuck am I supposed to be ok with that? My brother is the one who did it. I can¡¯t right now, I can¡¯t look her in the eyes. How do I look at the woman I love and tell her I failed. I¡¯m just a man Bull.¡± ¡°Zero,¡± Bull warns but I look at him as I freeze everything in me, as I be the machine the government trained. Because right now I can¡¯t deal. ¡°Her and I should never have happened. She is right, we were doomed. I should have walked away and never looked back.¡± Bull¡¯s face hardens, he knows that this conversation is useless. My mind is already set in stone and sealed. ¡°You¡¯re not thinking clearly, you need to stay and deal.¡± I spread my arms out, look at the bulk of a brother and I think of the words I told Beauty not too long ago. ¡°It¡¯s another day¡¯s problem.¡± Only this time when I say it, it is not to lure my woman closer to me, but to avoid her. Because I am a coward. ¡°I am not telling you to be okay with it. I''m just letting you know, whatever you do now, I got your back.¡± My response is a sharp nod. The road captain heads back inside leaving me to my thoughts. My mother was right, it is better to confess to flesh and bone, than a spirit. What did I do to deserve this fuck show? What did she do? I look up from my Vantage Point, stare at the window where she lives, breathing right now. Searching for something, any sign to give me a clue as to what the hell am I going to do. I wonder what is going through her mind. Will she forgive me? I hope she can because I can¡¯t forgive myself. I did not protect her. I failed as a father, failed as her man and I can''t promise that I won¡¯t fail again. Truth is, I am only human. As much as I want the rain to pour, the sun is bright. My bike jacket feeling heavier by the seconds that pass. I stand here on the side of the hospital building looking up at a window hoping my son is safe because right now that baby is the only thing that can save us and even then, I am not so sure. I want to kill my brother, I wish I was like Killer and I have no emotion. That even the cold man I was trained to be could switch off that side that remembered everything that Thorn and I went through together. But I can¡¯t, nor can I allow him to get away with it. Chapter 71 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 71 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) ¡°When I was younger and Kylie was born, my mamma went into earlybour, she was already pushing forty. Kylie¡¯s father was worried about his baby and I was there just worrying about my mamma. A doctor walked out, it was only good news, today I can¡¯t say the same Beggar. Your baby didn¡¯t make it.¡± ¡°Did you wait for the good news?¡± ¡°Yeah, I waited a long time.¡± I nod my head and for the first time in a long time I scramble backwards, knees to chest, hair falling over my face, hands on my toes. Head to my knees but it doesn¡¯t touch, it mustn¡¯t. Killer leaves me alone after delivering me the news. Shouldn¡¯t say I am surprised my baby didn¡¯t make it. Lives been throwing me dry lemons since before I was born. It made sure that I had no way of making lemonade too. I can smell, and sense him before he even walks through that door. The fact that he does is a shocker. I have been here for two days. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you wereing,¡± I say as my hair hides my face. N?velDrama.Org holds this content. I once not too long ago thought that my hair hid my soul, I became invisible. But with the Enforcer, I know that I have never been more naked than I am right now. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I failed.¡± His words strike me and I look at him through the gaps between my hair. White tee and blue denims. I smile when I think of how silly thoughts pop into your head at the worst of times. ¡°You never failed Zero, I have been given a hard life because I was able to handle it. For a long time, I med my mother for everything, and somewhere along the way I felt so guilty. I chose to remember what I wanted her to be, because I knew that wonderful feeling a mother gets when she sees her baby for the first, even if it is on the side of a highway. I wanted to believe my mother felt something for me. I forgot the truth. My mother was bi-pr, her real name was Sofia Catelli. She found out that my father was Capo Dei Capi and decided the streets were safer to raise her unborn baby than under the roof of a killer.¡± ¡°What does that mean Capo diCapi?¡± His voice is soft as he walks closer to me. A sad story to lure an Enforcer. ¡°Like all organizations there is one who holds the most stakes. The president. In the underworld that was my father. My mother was the reason for that. She couldn¡¯t handle it so she ran. After she had me, guess she got worse. How the hell she remained sane enough to beg for food I have no idea. Thing is Zero, when I met you all those things from my past mattered a little less every day, because I got to see myself in your eyes, in someone that wants me. You give me that, even now, you can never fail.¡± ¡°How can you love a mother like that?¡± I smile as the sun burns bright, peeping through the gaps, ¡°That is the easiest question you have ever asked.¡± I tilt my neck and move my hair from my face, ¡°She made me feel important like I belonged.¡± ¡°She chose you.¡± His eyes, they stare at me, so lost, confused, hurt. He looks scarier today, but I know he is not. Zero drops his soulful depths to his shoes as he sits on the end of the hospital bed I amying on. ¡°I can¡¯t kill him, I tried, I.. I couldn¡¯t, he is my brother.¡± His words take me by surprise. Is that what he says? He isn¡¯t here to see me, to mourn the loss of our baby or some crappy shit like that. Zero is here to protect his brother. I knew he was up to something when we were hunting down La. I should¡¯ve known that I was just getting used. But then I got confused when he whispered Beauty, Beauty. Still, I have known since the beginning, we were living on stolen moments. Hoping that we could make a few sweet memories. Our moments were just that moment in time, some just a bit sweeter. For me it is sweetness but the after taste is soar, tangy. ¡°If you expecting me not to go after your brother you are wasting your time.¡± Chapter 72 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 72 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) I don''t need to be an Enforcer to understand that Beauty is going through some heavy and deep shit. She is remembering what happened, recalling all those long ago, dark memories, where my brother was the star of the show. I stand by the door asking myself do I even deserve to be in this room. When I left her here, I went to hunt down Thorn with every intention of killing him. The way my head was thinking, I was a train wreck when I found him. I beat him up but I couldn¡¯t do it. Truth is Thorn is my brother and I can¡¯t kill my brother. I wanted to get him locked up but Thorn reminded me why I couldn¡¯t do that. ¡°You forget that your woman is a wanted fugitive, if I call the cops they¡¯ll arrest her. Her family will make sure she gets killed by the morning. They don¡¯t like it when things get messy.¡± My chest is heaving, as I stand over my bleeding brother. He¡¯s confessed to a lot in this short time at this small cabin I found him hiding in. He left the facility walking perfectly fine. He had me fooled. I shake my head in disgust, ¡°I once looked up to you, but now when I think of you, I just want to spit on the ground. You will always be family, but Thorn, you are no fucking brother to me.¡± I walk out, and I do it hoping that he leaves and never looks back. Because maybe I can¡¯t kill him today, but I have no idea if I will wake up tomorrow and feel the same way. So hesitation as I stand in front of this hospital door is granted. Do I even deserve to breathe the same air as she does? Where she looks for vengeance was once my ce of peace, and now just a reminder of how life can never be predicted. I told her that I couldn¡¯t do it. She told me that she would. I open the door, she is sitting by the window, looking out. She has sat there since Ist saw herst night. I know because I have a camera on the light above the door. ¡°You didn''t have toe so early,¡± She says to me. ¡°I wanted too, I love you, Beauty.¡± She faces me and I wish she didn¡¯t. She looks so frail in that hospital gown, her hair knotted. Her body so small, like she is defenceless but I know that isn¡¯t true. Her smile proves it, ¡°Do you? When I kill your brother will you still love me then?¡± ¡°I just might, that¡¯s what scares me, but do you know what kills me?¡± I ask her, as she faces the window again. ¡°Yes, I do.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°That your love for me will destroy you.¡± ¡°It kills me that my love for you is not strong enough, it kills me that deep down I want it to be even knowing that he killed my unborn child. But he is my brother Amariya and what kind of a man will I be if I don¡¯t ask you to have mercy.¡± ¡°Mercy is for those who have something to lose. Where was my babies mercy?¡± I march up to her, ce my hand on hers. My knees bend as I go head level to hers. ¡°You¡¯re not thinking clearly. You are hurting.¡± I touch her cheek, her handys on top of mine. She gives me a sad smile, ¡°I am thinking perfectly fine Zero." "He is my brother." "And he killed your son. What does that say about your brother?¡± "Really?¡± I sound incredulous as I stand up and take a few steps back from her. ¡°That¡¯s it. You¡¯re just going to kill him? You¡¯ll give up everything, throw away all that we can have for what? We can try again, have ten dozen kids Amariya.¡± ¡°It was always going to be this way Zero. I told you we aren¡¯t meant to be Zero and Beggar. I was always a passer-by. There is nothing that you can say that will change my mind. So just leave." My head drops at her confession, can''t me her for her actions. "What about La, will you kill him too?" "La will get what ising to him. There are worse faiths than death. But now I need you to leave, jump on your bike and go away. I need my strength to fight another day." It breaks me when she says that, she won¡¯t even look at me. Understanding that this is what she wants, I leave shortly. I don¡¯t say goodbye to Beauty. Once I am on my bike, I hit the road full speed. I travel for hours until I reach Liston Hills. My head is a fucking wreck. River has called a meeting but I just couldn¡¯t deal. I needed to get far away from everyone. I have no idea what I¡¯m doing this side of the tracks but here I am in Liston Hills. I shoot Killer a text letting him know I¡¯m in his parts. I¡¯m parked on the side of the road with my bike. The ce stinks of money and secrets. I have no idea what I am doing here. Snake sends me a text. Got a ce not too far from The Estate, it¡¯s a bit dusty, you can use it. Will send the pin drop in a few, keys are in the pot nt by the window. Take your time brother.¡± That is exactly what I intend to do. ¡°Why did I agree to this again?¡± I am currently hiding in a nine-meter tree with a binocr and the brother that showed up a day after I got into Liston Hills. It has been a week since Ist saw Beauty. It doesn¡¯t help for shit, because at night she is all I see. Right now, the time is needed. As much as it kills me, this is the way she wants it and I need to respect that. Doesn¡¯t mean I haven¡¯t texted her, called over and over like a love-sick fool. ¡°Michael asked us.¡± Snake says next to me on the other branch. ¡°He could ask us for anything, why the fuck do we have to spy on a high school girl. Chicks hot, but isn¡¯t she a bit young for him?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Dainy Hallow, Sabastian Delroy and her got into some deep shit a year back, now shit got real. Delroy¡¯s and Stones stand together. ¡°So why are we here and not down there, that pool looks a lot better than this tree.¡± ¡°Her parents are around, apparently her father could be a killer.¡± Snakes says as he puts his binocrs to his eyes again. The calles just after midnight. I hand Snake a beer as I grab my phone off the ck ss table. Killer¡¯s name shing. ¡°Hey man what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I¡¯m heading out. Kylie was shot, I need you here man, she needs you,¡± I close my eyes. Killer has never asked me for much, if he needs me, I¡¯m there. ¡°We¡¯ll be there in a few.¡± ¡°Shot brother.¡± N?velDrama.Org holds this content. Snake looks up as I put my phone down on the table and sit down on the brown leatherzy boy. ¡°Kylie got shot, we need to head back.¡± Snake frowns, but doesn¡¯t say a thing about it. We pack the necessities we need and hit the road in an hour. My mind and body hums with the knowledge of seeing her after so long. Does she want to see me? We make it to the clubhouse in good time. It is close to ten at night but all I want to do is see my woman and jump into a bed with her body next to me. ¡°Hey, I am headed out. How¡¯s the ride?¡± Killer says as he walks toward Snake and I. I look to my room window and see the light is off. ¡°She¡¯s out, best sneak in now and save the chit chat for tomorrow.¡± Killer hits my shoulder and I put my helmet on the seat of my bike and head inside the clubhouse. My feet don¡¯t slow down and I am d everyone is on their own beat upstairs because I really just want to get into bed with my woman. Killer is right, tomorrow is a new day. I open the door and true to word, I remove my rings and clothes and sneak into bed next to Beauty. She stiffens as my arm goes around her waist, ¡°Sleep Beauty.¡± My words must rx her because she snuggles closer to me and does just that. For all my exhaustion that has weighed on me thisst week, I don¡¯t sleep. I hold my woman in my arms and pray to a God I never believed in that we make it through this shit storm. Chapter 73 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 73 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) "Look at me please, have mercy Beauty." I don''t look at the man on his knees next to my bed. I face the window, watching the rain hit the panes. A reflective motion to the emotion I am currently feeling. Rain and silence before storm and vengeance. I am resigned to my life, epting of my faith and what I need to do. "You won''t even look at me," He says in utter shock as though he is the one I wish to kill, will kill. In a way I will. ¡°My momma told me that life was a moment, a beggar had 24 hours in a day just as a Rich man. It''s how we spent it that made one more appealing than the other,¡± Mercy says breaking me out of my mind. ¡°Which one was more appealing?¡± I am been sarcastic when I ask, hoping she would leave. ¡°Truth? My momma is bat-shit crazy. I asked her that one time, she said the streets were better because it didn''t cover up the ugliness of the world. It prepares you for beauty, so one day when it world more precious than beauty¡¯s breath.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you here?¡± Killer asks Mercy from next to me. ¡°I told you everybody else is hunting down thest two guys. You two are the only ones not doing anything.¡± Almost two months has gone by, two months since I lost my baby. Zero left after I asked him to go. I needed to harden myself, and I couldn¡¯t do that with him standing so close. He did beg me a few times, spare his brother, have mercy. But I can¡¯t. He is the only one who can¡¯t see that. He is back now. ¡°I think a trip to the mall would be a great idea now, what do you say guys?¡± Hannahes from wherever she has been hiding. I am sitting on the couch, Killer is on the other couch watching Basketball and Mercy is painting her nails. The smell of nail polish is potent. ¡°I¡¯lle with you, I need to get some stuff that way,¡± Killer says going into protection mode. The reason Killer and I were at home while everybody hunted thest two guys that were affected by t95 was to guard Hannah. ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°If we all going to go why don¡¯t you and Bee go and Mercy and I will stay here.¡± Killer¡¯s jaw hardens, not liking Hannah¡¯s n at all. But the house is safer and Mercy can more than handle herself and protect Hannah. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll fetch Jo on our way.¡± We take Spades 4x4 and head to the supermarket. Killer and I are both quiet. Since Zero got back all those weeks ago this silence pretty much sums up everything that has been my life. Kylie was shot and I haven¡¯t even spoken to her because I just can¡¯t. My loose cks I took from Den a month ago and ck sneakers don¡¯t say badass biker. The leather jacket I am wearing with the prospect sign on it does. ¡°Those fluffy chocte mallows.¡± Killer is standing with his hands behind his back. His cold eyes frowning in a scowl when the shopdy in front of him still can¡¯t find what he is looking for. I have my hands on the trolley handle trying really hard not tough. ¡°Chocte coated Marshmallows, fifth aisle bottom shelf, you wee.¡± Zero scares the crap out of me as Killer marches off like he is on a mission. ¡°You miss me.¡± Zero¡¯s voice is right behind me. ¡°Are you trying to give me an early grave,¡± I say to him when he ces his hands around my waist from behind and a small kiss to my neck. One would think with all his pleading and all the things keeping us apart would draw a wedge between us. It hasn¡¯t. Zero takes my body almost every night. He tells me he loves me twice a day and a bit by bit each day that passes it gets easier for him. But me, I am fighting constantly. My war is with my mind. ¡°Well, I was thinking more of surprising you for a pic by the river.¡± N?velDrama.Org content. I shake my head as he waggles his eyebrows, ¡°Does ite with strawberries.¡± He smiles, and I think to myself, how a man like him can love a woman like me. Maybe miracles do happen. We spend another twenty minutes in the supermarket. Zero takes over the trolley and I help Killer get the stuff on the list with lots of extras. Two trolliester the three of us are walking to the big blue 4x4. Killer clicks the boot open as I get there. The two of them start unloading the stuff in the boot. I see the ice-cream stand on the corner and my mouth waters. Chapter 74 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 74 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) ¡°I¡¯m getting ice-cream. What vour do you guys want?¡± I ask them. ¡°Mint,¡± Killer says as Zero says Vani. I started working part time at the Night Club owned by the Satan Snipers. It earns me some cash. Zero doesn¡¯t like me working at the club but he doesn¡¯t have a choice in the matter since River offered me the job. ¡°One mint, two vani sugar cones please.¡± I ask the olddy with the white apron on. ¡°I have not seen you before, aren¡¯t you a pretty little thing,¡± She says to me in a cheerful voice. ¡°Thank you,¡± I like her. ¡°I heard there were some new bikers in town, didn¡¯t think it will be ady. My god daughter, Lauren used to date one of you years back. They were two lovers, perfect. Didn¡¯t turn out that way in the end. Poor man got himself stuck with Hannah Evans, she¡¯s a New Yorker.¡± ¡°Can I have my ice-cream now?¡± I don¡¯t like this conversation any longer. Olddy is a nosey bitch. She shouldn¡¯t talk shit she doesn¡¯t know. Thedy must heed my unfriendly tone of my voice because she hands it to me quickly. ¡°3 dors,¡± She says. I sigh, realizing I can¡¯t get the money from my pocket so I hand her the ice-cream. A man¡¯s handes from behind me and ces the money p on the table. ¡°Keep the change.¡± My body freezes at the sound of his voice, but this time I am not weak. I am prepared when he grips my hair. ¡°Let her go,¡± Zero says from the middle of the parking lot. ¡°I can¡¯t do that brother,¡± Thorn answers in a mocking voice. My foot lifts up just enough and I m the heel partially on his foot. I grab his hand holding my hair and pull him close to me so he stumbles on my back and I lift him over me. His back hitting the ground. He screams in pain. I stand there not caring that people are rushing out of the supermarket. Not caring for the witnesses. Let them see. Zero rushes over to me and his brother. I can see he is split between us. So, I make the choice easier as I walk past him closer to Killer. ¡°Leave me,¡± Thorn yells. ¡°Amariya,¡± He screams and still I walk. The gun shot that goes off has me stopping and turning slowly. Zero is on the ground, and the nosey olddy that served me an ice-cream has just earned herself a bullet to the head. ¡°You have been on my list for way too long Thorn.¡± ¡°Beauty No.¡± Zero yells from the ground as he attempts to get up. ¡°You have taken lives that wasn¡¯t yours to take.¡± ¡°Beauty, let¡¯s talk about this,¡± Zero begins to get up but Killer is already there. He shocks Zero with an electric Taser until he is down on the ground. And I look into Thorns eyes, pull my gun out as he lifts his and I shoot. N?velDrama.Org holds this content. Death, the only part of our life already predicted from the moment our fetus is formed. The how¡¯s, when¡¯s and where¡¯s may vary, but we all eventually die. Death is the finale of moments, only when that momentes it¡¯s asting moment, the only moment in our lives that is meant tost. Whates after death? Now that is debatable and depending solely on the one who is doing the answering. The believers might say heaven or hell. A few may have some varieties on the name but the ces are the same, one meant for the good ones and the other meant for sinners. Some might be convinced in a reincarnation of the soul or like the Atheist believe- the ck space, nothing. But who on this earth really knows anything but for the paths, we take to get there? Now, while those paths we take may seem simr to others and we have that moment where we delude ourselves into thinking that this person or people can rte to what we have been through it is still our path, our moments made up by our choices. Now the circumstances leading to those choices might very well be due to other people, but they are null in the bigger picture, devoid of relevance in the final oue, death. This, here, now, in this open parking lot with a gun in my hand, I pull the trigger, shortening his story, a sudden death, more than he deserves. I tell myself reasons be damned of why I shouldn''t do it. In my case, the one with the gun in my hand, I can honestly say that my reasons are the only thing keeping me going. My eyes don''t leave his shocked gaze as his hand goes to his stomach, so I pull the trigger again. The impact causes my arm to jerk back as the second shot gets him in his chest. He would never understand how my heart shrivelled when he killed my babies. The burning sensation that takes him before death does, is the closest feeling that mirrors my own torturous loss I have felt because of him. Yet, even then, watching his fall, there is no victory felt, no relief of the sweet revenge promised by the minds game of vengeance after the knight has its revenge. For after that moment like all sweetened treats, there is a price that must be paid. I look up into the bright sky, waiting for something, a sign, but the sun doesn''t call to the sounds of murder, it does not hide behind the clouds screaming that this death was different. Truth is, it is not some precious moment, it is just a life-altering one for me- the girl with the gun, And him- the man who has now fallen to the parking lot floor, bleeding to death. I should say I feel some remorse for what has happened, but I can''t, it would be a lie. I was once a girl, who never wanted much besides a safe ce to rest my head at night. Thorn was one of the men that crossed my path and made that impossible. He took from me twice, now I have finally returned the sentiment by taking his life. ¡°NOOOOOOOO.¡± The screaming from the being who just yesterday imed to love me can be heard in the back of my head. I told him I will destroy him, I did. I never lied. There are moments in my life I wish I could take back, but even watching Zero run toward his brother¡¯s dead form, with his face in anguish- this is not one of those moments. ¡°What have you done, why, WHY?¡± He screams at me as he drops to the ground next to his blood brother and I don''t need to say a thing, really. What more can I say? I just killed his brother. I took the one thing from him that he loved more than anything in the world. I ripped it out because I could. I told Zero that we were doomed from that moment he grabbed that gun out of my hands. The only chance we had was a moment. That is what we are given in life, just moments before death. ¡°Get out of here, the cops are on their way.¡± Killer''s voice has me swinging into action as I slip the gun back in my holster and rush from the scene but even I can¡¯t stop the scream of the man I love that haunts my ears. Chapter 75 (Beautys Breath) (Zero) Chapter 75 (Beauty''s Breath) (Zero) ¡°You are supposed to be my brother.¡± I have River, Bull and Spade holding me back, while After, Snake, Texas and Radar hold Killer against a wall. To say I want to fuck him up is an understatement. He shocked me, and stood there while she killed my brother. River and Spade hauled me to the clubhouse while the others sorted out my brother¡¯s body. It feels like a bad dream. We have spoken about it. She told me she will kill him, she did. My woman shot my brother and now I have no idea where she is. ¡°What happened to showing the innocent mercy? What happened to that fucking code?¡± I scream at Killer. "Where was my mercy, where was my daughters. We are all living on this earth with regrets, things we could take back, your brother¡¯s death isn''t one of those things for me Zero." Her voice is heard clearly as shees so close to me. I struggle against the guys holding me. My nostrils ring. How could I hate someone so much but love them just the same. I want to wrap my finger¡¯s around her neck and strangle. Watch her eyes dance to the beat of death. Yet, I want to save her dammit. "I knew you were everything. I would die for you over again. All you need do is ask Beauty, all you need do is ask.¡± I watch her one eye twitch but her eyes stare me in the face. So cold, so dark. ¡°He was my brother." I drop my head, breaking our contact. For the first time since I stared into my beauty¡¯s eyes, I can¡¯t stand the sight of her. ¡°And those two innocent lives, they were my babies. You once told me that I should never lie to you. I told you, I will destroy you. I never lied Zero.¡± Her words slice me in two. ¡°Why the fuck wasn¡¯t I ENOUGH.¡± I scream at her, staring so hard at her, as my chest heaves. The killer in me present as the day it was born. I pull out of the brothers hold and rush her. I grab onto her t-shirt. River throws his body on top of me just as I get my fingers on her arm. ¡°Get her out of here,¡± River shouts. His body, the only thing keeping me from going after her. Wrapping my hands around her neck, she¡¯s brought out the monster inside of me. ¡°Get him a fuckin¡¯ drink, FUCK.¡± River yells as he jumps off of me. The tension in this room is thick, a drink is the only thing that is going to calm this storm now. It is passing midnight and I am pissed drunk. Half hanging on the bar counter. I must¡¯ve drank over two bottles of Jack. "What are you doing here, came to kill me too?" I slur at Killer. His face looks like shit, I got one good punch and the fucker let me do it. I frown, ¡°What the fuck is up your ass?¡± He is silent as he goes around the bar, ¡°Tomorrow we ride, be up at four.¡± He downs three neat sses of whiskey before silently walking out of the bar. Leaving me and the memories of a simpler life. ¡°We have to do it Logan, dad said the bigger boys do it. You wanna be big or not,e on,¡± Thorn pulls up his socks as he waits for me. Why he chooses to wear those ugly socks with his sandals I don¡¯t know. ¡°But I ain¡¯t big, dad said the next time we leave the stables he¡¯s gonna turn our hide.¡± ¡°If we do it now, we can get back before dad. He won¡¯t know shit.¡± ¡°Why you wanna be big, you eight.¡± He rolls his eyes, ¡°Because Peter McCade and his trio keep beating me up.¡± ¡°So tell dad.¡± ¡°Dad¡¯s a bad ass biker Logan, he alreadyins all the time when he has to watch me y chess.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be a biker like dad,¡± I say as I walk taller to the top of the mountain with my cardboard box tagging behind me from my string. ¡°When I¡¯m big, I¡¯m going to be the richest man in the world and everyone is going to be my friend.¡± ¡°Or you could just be like dad and have brothers.¡± ¡°Yeah, look where that got you brother. An early grave.¡± I shake my head and hit my forehead onto the bars counter. ¡°Come on brother.¡± Knight lifts me up at some stage and gets me in the room. It reminds me of another time when he used to do it from the top of the hill. The reason was her, same emotions just deeper. Pain love hatred I hear her, smell, and feel her presence, but I am too drunk for my brain to register much. The sound of the rm is loud. Seriously loud. The bang on my door is worse. ¡°Go away.¡± ¡°Move your ass,¡± Killer bellows. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ asshole.¡± It takes me a half hour to get my ass on the bike. I follow Killer, cursing that he wrecks his bike with every turn he takes. But the man got good handle. He isn¡¯t our National Vice President for nothing. We stop outside an abandoned building. I park my bike on the rubble as the sun shines way too bright, burning my eyes. ¡°What are we doing here?¡± I say as I shove my helmet on the seat and stuff my gloves into it. ¡°Someone wanted to talk to you.¡± I look up at the clouds before I stare at Killer, trying to figure out who is this person. I don¡¯t ask him any questions, merely follow him into the empty warehouse. The sound of shoes on the floor tells me exactly who our mystery is. ¡°Came to gloat?¡± I ask the man walking in front of me. He looks sleek in a suit, and tie, not at all how I remember him. His hair is gelled back and cut. Clean shaven, but his ck eyes, that is the same. Exins why Beauty had me so entranced, she had the shadows eyes. ¡°No, I came to give you the answers you seek.¡± ¡°Marco Catelli is here to give me answers. I must be fuckin¡¯ important.¡± He ignores my sarcasm, ¡°Have you asked yourself why Amariya had the list. Who are those people she hunts?¡± I frown as I touch my scar under my eye, ¡°No, what does it matter, my brother¡¯s dead, I was there.¡± ¡°Yes, he is. He got what he deserved.¡± River¡¯s voice echoes from the back. I spin around and watch him walk closer to Marco and I. ¡°You went behind my back,¡± I am shocked. I take a step toward him. But Ie to my senses quickly. This is my president. ¡°The club went behind your back,¡± Killer steps out of the shadows. ¡°Your brother was a bad man. He made really bad choices, we had to stop him. What you think he did, and what he really did is on different wave lengths. You forgave him for killing your son, so we couldn¡¯t trust you with this. We had to protect the club.¡± River says. "You all knew," I look at all of them. Killer¡¯s hard emotionless stare doesn¡¯t shock. He will always do as he wants but River. I looked up to him, and this is what he did. "Yes." Killer answers for the three of them. Yes of course they knew. ¡°How long.¡± I direct my question to Killer. ¡°The day Vincent came to see me with Deno. He told me that one of our own were rted to a man named Thorn. Didn¡¯t take me long at all to know exactly who is the rtive.¡± Iugh, because this shit is unbelievable. "She was always going to kill Thorn wasn¡¯t she." I say it as a question but that statement answers itself. "Yes. When Deno and I handed her that list we did it without guilt. Those men all raped Amariya. Your brother was one of those men. She didn¡¯t remember all their faces, but someone else did. Justice was hers." I close my eyes as I take in this information. Denying and saying my brother wouldn¡¯t do it, would be a lie. He once said he became obsessed with her, to what extent, I have always wondered. I didn¡¯t know my brother as well as I wanted to believe. He shocked the shit out of me twice in less than three months but, he was still my brother. ¡°And the child?" "The Child could be La''s or not. We believe that she was pregnant from two different people. Mischa could be anyone''s. But she is a Catelli now, so that point is mute." Marco says and a shiver rises on my arms at the threat lurking behind his calm fa?ade. He is protective over Mischa. ¡°Will she ever get to see her kid.¡± ¡°That choice is hers, she knows that sacrifices must be made. Amariya has chosen the life she has. She gave up her identity, gave it all to young Mischa. I hope my answers would be of help to you, I know how it feels to lose a brother, I have lost two.¡± I nod, "Congrattions on your marriage." Marco gives me his dead smile, "It is bad luck to wish the groom before the actual wedding day." "A wise soldier once told me we make our own luck. I never thanked you for all those years ago." It is a good time as any now. Even with my head spinning. "There is no need to. Look after Amariya that is all I want. She is my blood." He walks out with River and the ghost. I remain in an empty warehouse. My mind, reeling. My brother raped Beauty, he killed her babies. I want to say it is okay but I know it is not. I need time to process this. "So what is your ns?" Killer asks "Today I mourn my brother. Tomorrow I bury him and Friday I''ll finish that list you got from Diamond. I suggest you and Amariya leave and hunt down La. Tell her I said.... " I don''t finish my words I leave Please check at N/?vel(D)rama.Org. it hanging. Honestly I am not sure what I want him to tell her. "Your brother isn''t the only one you lost Logan." Killer leaves me with those words in the air. True to my word, I jump on my bike and head to my dad to mourn the loss of my brother Chapter 76 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar, Zero) Chapter 76 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar, Zero) A lot of things can happen at once. People die every day. Babies born every minute. But what are the chances that we lose more than our share. It is the day after I killed Zero¡¯s brother. The day after Kylie Bray made international news. ¡°Right now, we can¡¯t disclose any information but it seems that they have arrested Ms Bray for the death of her stepbrother, Billionaire, Vincent Stone. One of the hotel residents imed to have heard numerous gunshots before they phoned the police,¡± The reporter says from the TV. Everyone in the clubhouse apart from Killer, Storm and Zero were sitting in front of the TV. Killer was gone to Kylie. Storm was working on getting her out and Zero, was mourning his brother¡¯s death. I was going to spend the day packing. The main members had a meeting and suggested that I spent some time on the road. River assured me that they weren¡¯t kicking me out. It still feels as though I am already an outsider. But I didn¡¯t voice that out loud to River. Anybody with one eye could see that he wasn¡¯t happy with his choices. All that came to a standstill when I got a message from Deno to put the TV on. It all went ording to n. There was only one name left to scratch off the list. ¡°What do you think is going to happen to Kylie?¡± Zero asks from behind me and I am as stunned to see him here as the rest of them. I do wise to remain silent. ¡°Storm is working on a deal,¡± Spade says from the floor. That is thest I hear and see of Zero until the next day. My morning starts off with a run, and the remainder of it is spent doing chores and ducking Zero. When the sun sets, I know no one is going to be looking for me. I sneak out through the back door. My walk up the hill and down to the other side by theke is quick. I don¡¯t want to catch the attention of the Enforcer. Everyone deserves to mourn. I¡¯ve never mourned for my mother when she died. I cried for my babies, all three of them, now gone. I mourned for myself a time or two, but the rest I let slide. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. "How have you been," Zero asks and I don¡¯t stiffen when hees to sit next to me. His voice is so close but the distance is threatening. "Living, I won''t stay long. Killer sent a few guys from National to fetch me, we¡¯ll leave tonight." ¡°Leave, ha.¡± He drops his head in the cradle of bent legs. I have never seen him like this. What have I done? ¡°I¡¯m sorry it had to end this way.¡± ¡°I still love you, Beauty.¡± He lifts his head as his broken face mirrors my helpless one. ¡°I know, but we were just a moment.¡± I close my eyes and take a heavy breath. He lifts the gun, I noticed he had when he stopped next to me. He puts the gun against my head. The chrome metal touching my temple. I don¡¯t open my eyes for a few seconds longer. "I should kill you right now," He whispers those words in my ear. I open my eyes now and look at the sky. How beautiful is it? The reflection of the moon a wondrous sight. "My death by your hands will be like this moon touching this water." ¡°Give me one reason why I shouldn¡¯t kill you right now.¡± He licks my cheek, I don¡¯t move away, I savour it. ¡°I can give you every reason why you should.¡± He clicks off the safety of the gun. I close my eyes, and breathe a sigh of relief knowing my death has arrived. The bullet goes off. Zero "My death by your hands will be like this moon touching this river." her words whispered from that gruff voice, as her haunted eyes refuse to stare up at my dead ones. ¡°Give me one reason why I shouldn¡¯t kill you right now.¡± I lick her creamy cheek. Remembering her smell. Mine ¡°I can give you every reason why you should.¡± I once thought together we could rise up, get through anything. The worse mistake I made was walking in that alley, but it was also the start to something so fucking emotionally tragic that even with this gun against her head, my organs bleed for her as she closes her eyes and exhales a new breath, Beauty¡¯s Breath. I scream as I lift the gun and shoot the water. My knees hit the mud floor. I drop the gun and bend down, palms cradling my head and I fucking cry. I scream at how this could be. Why, why me? She doesn''t touch me, she gets up? I know because I am so attuned to her, even after she proved me wrong. "Goodbye Zero." She walks away. That day, three days after, Amariya Demarco, my only love, killed my brother. Two months after she lost our child, she walked out and left, and I let her go. It was on the fifth day that I buried my brother. My mother decided to show up. She cried bitterly. My pops just stood there. He knew a lot about the shit, Thorn was stuck in. None of it was of a good kind. I still didn¡¯t see my brother as the monster he was, but the truth was just too shocking to process. Maybe, I was just protecting the good I knew he had in him. I don¡¯t know. But that Saturday I put that rose on his coffin I made a promise to myself. And true to my word over the months that followed I hunted the two t95 test subjects down until I found them. Days turned into months, and before I knew it the club had carried on. Killer and Beggar were still with National and while most of everything in my life looked good on the outside, I admit that I miss her. My dad spends most of his time at the clubhouse, always in someone¡¯spany. The other brothers enjoy my dad¡¯s easy nature, Old Man Toad. Too bad he still didn¡¯t get to meet Beauty. Chapter 77 (Beautys Breath) (Beggar) Chapter 77 (Beauty''s Breath) (Beggar) ¡°Do you think you would ever have that?¡± Referring to the couple sitting on our left that hadn¡¯t stopped kissing. I sip my juice as I wait for him to answer. He is thoughtful, that is Killer. He never answers me without thinking about it. "In paper yes, more no. If I did you''d be the first to know." His answer holds me in a trance with the honesty prating through his gaze and the lines of our unspoken story pushes more forward, Zero. Bringing light to the man I left back in Ka, all those months ago. "Finish up, gotta hit the road. Kylie is getting released in six days, and River is getting hitched in four." And just like Killer the moment fades, hidden. A lot has happened since that day I killed Thorn. For starters, Storm managed to get Kylie out of the Pen. We were going back to Ka. Kylie will be one of us, and like me, she didn¡¯t have a choice. "Okay," I finish up knowing we are going to head out. The people staring at me make me want to smile. "So did River mention anything about the assignment he wants me to do?" ¡°Yeah, you and Knight. You¡¯re going to like this one.¡± Killer says as we open the Diner¡¯s doors and step out to our bikes. That is another thing that happened. My bitching and moaning finally paid off and Killer taught me how to ride my own bike. My biker licence was fake but the red and chrome machine I swing my legs over is real. As real as the cut I am wearing that says National Soldier. Got my patch party a few months back. It was a National thing and after I walked through that fire, I became one of them. ¡°Are you two ready to roll.¡± Snake asks from the other side of me and I see the long line of bikers saddle their bikes. Another thing which happened was Snake joining us when Killer and I left to hunt down La. Snake must¡¯ve sensed that our departure wasn¡¯t a short one. If Kylie wasn¡¯t getting released and Hannah and River not getting married we would still be on the road with National, hunting down La. ¡°Yup. I¡¯ll take the middle with you, Beggar you ride two in front.¡± Killer says before he slips his ck helmet on. We ride long and hard. I still get a bit nervous around the sharp bends but Killer assured me it was normal. Two nights of riding, two nights on the bike with the club. When we reach Ka the yard is filled with N?velDrama.Org holds this content. bikes and cars. The clubhouse alive with people. I see a few kids as the prospects manning the gate opens for us. We ride inside, proud. I park my bike next to Mercy¡¯s. It¡¯s been a while since I have seen them. The club members from inside the housee out to wee us. River, Texas, Spade and Frost walk out. She sees me and I go to her, my smile unbidden. She¡¯s changed, guess prisons does that. The street did the same to me. ¡°Wee home Beggar, took you guys long enough.¡± She says in that Southern twang of hers. Killeres from behind me and hugs Kylie, half lifting her up, ¡°I thought you getting released next week.¡± Her half assed smile is not the one I know but I guess this is who she is now. I¡¯m okay with that. We have all changed. ¡°I wanted to surprise you guys. Storm almost outed me when I told him I¡¯d be sharing his room,¡± She shrugs. Killer frowns, ¡°I¡¯m too sober for this shit.¡± I nudge him in his ribcage as I greet the others. Mercy and After I find by the bar that is filled with bikers from the other chapter. I haven¡¯t seen this ce so full before. Once I¡¯m certain that I have greeted the most of them, I take the path up the Hill and down to the water. It¡¯s the one thing I wanted to see when I got back. ¡°Why do you like it so much,¡± Zero¡¯s voicees out from behind me, and my heart speeds up. Since the day I walked out of his life, I stayed away. I give him the answers he seeks, I give it to him straight up, ¡°When I was twelve and the system turned out to be a nightmare I went back to the streets. The river became my shelter. Whenever I was near it, I felt at peace. Guess when I am here, I¡¯m reminded of all the moments. Who I am.¡± Iugh a little, my throat clogs at the same time, ¡°Who knows when I will be back again to see this.¡± My voice is scratchier than usual. ¡°You don¡¯t have to leave, you can stay.¡± He says and I don¡¯t turn around to face him. I am not strong enough. ¡°I never tell you that so that you can change my mind Zero. I told you that so you would know that you couldn''t. Let me go.¡± ¡°Do you even have a heart?¡± He must be looking at me like I just trampled on his bike. ¡°I''m alive ain''t I?¡± ¡°It''s been what? Almost a year now.¡± ¡°And your point been?¡± ¡°My point been is that you juste back, and came to this river. I tried calling you but you never picked up.¡± ¡°I killed your brother, what you have to say is not going to change a thing between us Zero. I will always be your brother¡¯s killer and you will always be a moment.¡± Zero spins me around to face him and takes a step back, opening his arms. "Shoot me, do it. Right here," He hits his chest, right where his beating organ lies. His eyes so shaded. So pure. He is showing me the inner pieces of his soul. For the first time, after all we have been through, I jump into this Enforcer¡¯s arms. My arms wrap around his neck until my fingers interlock around his nap, as my legs tangle around his waist. His one arm goes around my back and the other around my ass. I keep my face in the crevice of his neck. "I hurt when you hurt baby. I was so angry with you that I forgot why you were angry with him. I forgot that you were mourning our baby because I weren¡¯t strong enough to stand on my own. So if you want to break me then do it, leave me, but please Beauty, end my life, because I won¡¯t be able to breathe anyway watching you with another man." ¡°I love you too Zero.¡± Two yearster My monster might have tormented me and destroyed parts of me. But it led me to Washington Streets all those years ago. Which would eventually lead me to a big man, a sniper. A man that called himself Zero. The Enforcer of the deadliest Motorcycle Club in the country, The Satan Snipers. It all began the night when I saved their princess. I stare down at my baby girl. Her beautiful eyes so much like his smile back at me. And it''s at this moment that I finally get it. The hardest paths give us the most wondrous oues. And even as the years go by and my past bes distant memories as I fill them with the happiness of a brighter future. I¡¯ll always think back to that night, on a frigid cold winter, in a dark alley was a girl. And her name was Beggar. THE END The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!