AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t be a drama queen, I will make this quick!” I call over my shoulder loudly, praying they start falling quicker and heavier. “Plus, I want these men to make a fuss over him. Pretend that he matters, and all that. No matter how loud it gets, stay there. If I die, you have my permission to massacre them.”
“I wouldn’t need your permission to do anything,” he retorts. Then the uproar starts. Smiling to myself, men start shouting from everywhere. They are shouting at Heckles from behind me and the two clubs united in front of me start shouting at me.
“Louder!” I laugh and cup my hand around my ear. Finally, after what seems like hours, they start to understand what I mean. Relief plasters over the guy's face, but it’s quickly masked as light shines through the cracks. That’s not good.
A large boulder slams itself mere inches away from me, and that’s the cue I needed to make a run for it.
Taking off into the crowd, we all book it back to where we came from. I can’t tell if Heckles or his minions are behind us, not that I care. They have discharged most of their weapons. Slowing down, I halt and let them all pass us.
I refuse to let this continue on for any longer. Turning slowly, Heckles gets closer and closer. Once he realizes that I’m training his revolver on him, he stops. We both shake with the moving ground, but neither one of us makes a move toward one another.
“I love you,” he shouts, arms wide. “All I do is love you, and this is how you repay me?”
“Leather, let’s go!” One of the guys shouts from behind me, the pounding of footsteps getting further and further away.
“You didn’t love me! You abused me, made me into something I’m not!” I scream, keeping the gun as level as I can.
“You’re the delusional one. I had nothing but love for you, but you made me so angry! I had to do what I thought would make you love me! I tried to get your brother to follow, yet he was too fucking pathetic! You said you never wanted kids, but would change your mind for the right man. I tried to give you kids, all ages of them, to help us raise money for our own family!” The more he shouts, the more I realize that he’s too far gone to make any sense. Trafficking children only benefits the ringmaster, and that’s not who I want to be.
He was great at the beginning, that much I can admit. I honestly thought I loved him and thought the feelings were reciprocated. Until I met Prez, Knuckles, and Tornado. That’s the feeling of love. Someone who brings you joy because they think your vibe is off. Someone who is willing to make themselves look like an idiot just to see you smile. There’s no amount of happiness for me to describe how those three idiots make me feel, yet I have been the idiot for holding out for so long. Poor Knuckles has been trying for as long as I can remember. Now that I’m faced with the decision, it’s suddenly that much easier to make.
“Goodbye, Heckles,” I call out. Pulling the trigger, I watch the realization sink into him as the bullet hits him between the eyes. I thought I would revel in the feeling of having my greatest enemy struck down, but it’s not a victory. It’s an underlying numbness that placates me.
Turning on my heel, I sprint out of the tunnel and away from the man I once feared.
“Shit!” I scream, nearly stopping in my tracks. A hand grabs my shirt, yanking me along. “The kids! I can’t leave them behind!” Trying to pull against them, Knuckles doesn’t let me go.
“There’s another team working on it, we have to go! Now!” A boulder slams behind us, then another one right next to us. Running for our lives, I watch as the rock covering the exit starts moving out of place. Exhaustion has settled in my bones and joints already, but if I don’t get out of here, I’m as good as dead.
Knuckles doesn’t give me the chance to jump, instead practically ripping my shoulder out of its socket to get me through the entrance in time. The rock grazes the bottom of my foot as we land heavily on the ground. I gasp for air, and struggle to push it into my lungs. A figure kneels beside me, checking me over frantically. Swatting away their hands, my vision feels like it’s going to cross. That, or I’m going to throw up from overexertion.
“You’re safe,” Prez mutters, pushing a knot of hair away from my face. His face is blurred behind the involuntary tears in my eyes.
I finally did it.
I’m free.
Chapter Forty-Four
Leather
The car ride back to Daryn’s is long. No one says anything, and I don’t want to be touched. It is honestly hard for me to bear because I don’t want silence, but I can’t have the music too loud. Not knowing what to do with myself, I tucked back into a corner of the van and haven’t moved. They have talked about what went down, tried to talk to me about what I experienced, yet all I can think about is the bullet I put in his mouth.
“Earth to Leather.” A hand waves in front of my eyes, breaking me from my trance. Well, more like the never ending loop of me making Heckle’s head explode.
“Yeah?” I ask, smiling widely. Knuckles sits back slightly, a perturbed look on his face.
“Uhm, we’re back at the clubhouse,” he mutters, looking over his shoulder. Tornado, Prez and Knuckles are left in the car with me. The rest of the guys have all gotten out and are already almost to the front door.
“Oh! What are we waiting for?”
“It’s going to be pretty hectic inside…” Prez trails off, glancing toward Tornado. “We were thinking of maybe getting a hotel instead of staying here.” Scoffing, I wave him off.
“I will be fine. We’ll just go right inside and to the room.” A brave face always solved my problems in the past. Unfortunately, this is the present, and I don’t know the severity of what music will do to me. Between sitting in silence and music being blasted, I have no idea what my body will react to, if anything else.
“Leather,” Tornado starts, reaching toward me and grasping my hand in his. “You freaked out when they started playing music too loudly on the drive here. I can guarantee they are pumping rock music through the speakers in there right now.”
Shaking off his hand, I huff in annoyance and fling myself from the van. I don’t want them babying me because of this shit. Yeah it was traumatic as fuck, but I will be fine. I always am.
