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I pressed a kiss on her forehead and pushed my emotions to the back of my mind. Moving on autopilot, I searched the penthouse for the supplies I needed. I’d set the last item next to the mess in the living room when Facet, Ghost, and Raptor returned.
The space where Shank’s body had been was eerily cold, and I knew we all experienced it. They had rolled his body up in the area rug he’d fallen on and had dragged him back to the elevator area to wait for us. We’d bring him home to his ol’ lady and give him the sendoff he deserved as a loyal long-term Bastard.
Quietly and efficiently, we erased all signs that the night’s events had taken place. It was, after all, our specialty. Our cleaning company did this professionally, so it was damn near second nature for us and came in handy after situations like we’d found ourselves in.
“How is she?” Ghost asked as we bagged up the last of the cleaning items and the clothes we’d been wearing. It would all be incinerated.
None of us cared that we were standing there in our underwear. Facet had gone down to the parking garage to retrieve our change of clothes from our bikes. He’d bypassed the security system, leaving everything on a loop since before we pulled into the garage. No one would be the wiser that we’d been there. Especially since all the witnesses were either dead or coming back with us.
It would be tricky crossing state lines in an out-of-state SUV with several bodies in a trailer we’d rented to carry Angel’s bike. We’d decided he would drive one of Kalashnik’s SUVs in case Kira needed him. It set my teeth on edge, because I wanted to be with her.
“Voodoo,” Facet said as he tossed me my bag. I caught it midair and returned to the room Kira rested in. I’d been in to check on her several times while we cleaned, but there hadn’t been a change.
Quickly, I dressed as I kept an eye on her.
While I waited for my brothers, I went into the bathroom and grabbed several towels and wet a few washcloths. Carefully, I cleaned as much of the blood from her as I could, disposing of the towels in a bag and tying it off.
“Ready?” Raptor asked from the doorway. I nodded. “Okay, wrap her in the comforter. Bring any of the linens that she’s touched or bloodied. Ghost and Facet are going to do a final wipe-down before we lock the place up.”
“I know what I’m doing,” I grumbled at his lack of faith in my ability not to leave behind evidence.
“Hey. It wasn’t anything personal. I just know you might not be thinking clearly.”
“I’m good. Kalashnik still alive?” I asked.
He nodded. “Both of them. For now. Grishka might not make it back to Ankeny, but we’ll see.”
“I want him alive.” My teeth ground in frustration.
“Voodoo. I’m not going to drain Angel again by having him treat that Russian piece of shit just so you can torture him.” His exasperation did nothing for me.
“It’s my right!” I roared as I took heaving breaths. The windows shuddered. A glass vase shook on the dresser and toppled over. Raptor snagged it before it hit the floor.
“Chill, bro. We don’t have time to clean more messes.”
Clenching my fists, I nodded. Yeah, I knew he was right, but it didn’t help.
The trip back to Ankeny seemed to take twice as long, since we didn’t dare ride like we had on the way there. There was too much to lose if we got pulled over. We’d even secured our cuts in our saddlebags so we wouldn’t stand out to any of the locals. If anyone saw our Iowa plates, we were nothing more than a group of civilians on our way home from a road trip.
During our last gas stop, I checked on Kira again. We had lain all the back seats down, made a bed with her head up by Angel, and strapped her down the best we could. Each stop had been the same.
No change.
Except during the last one, she didn’t seem quite as pale. While the brothers stretched their legs and checked on our “cargo,” I climbed in to sit next to her. Though she was still unconscious, I talked to her like she could hear me.
“We’re almost home, baby. I swear to fuck, you better wake up. I’ve gone almost thirty years without you, and I’m not prepared to do any more. You hear me? We have puppies to raise. We have vows to say. We have babies to make. In fact, I might plant a baby in you before the vows just to make sure you don’t try to go anywhere.” A sad smile curled the corner of my lips as I imagined her swatting at me and telling me I was crazy. More than anything, I wanted her to open her eyes and tell me I was a misogynistic asshole.
Not that I really was. I’d never believed in that barefoot and pregnant shit.
Hell, we had a fucking female president in the Baltimore chapter. Granted, we’d been pissed as fuck at Ghost for stepping in to help her, but I’d had time to reconsider. The older brothers of our chapter would never allow a woman to be voted in as a member, but it didn’t mean I didn’t respect Gamble and the shit she went through.
“You’re supposed to tell me to fuck off, then I tell you to make me, then I fuck you compliant.”
“Wow, you’re a real romantic. How ever does she resist you?” My head swiveled to Ghost standing in the partially open door.
“Jesus fucking Christ, bro! That shit isn’t funny,” He’d damn near gotten his nose caved in.
Completely nonplussed, he shrugged and grinned. “Just thought you might like to know that Angel did you a little favor.”
