Loving Nicole (Savage Brothers MC #3)(34)

It rings twice.

“Yeah motherf*cker, want to tell me where you’ve been?”

“Drag, listen quick man.” I say, knowing I don’t have much time and honestly I don’t want to hear it. He and I are going to have it out soon.

“Where in f*ck are you? Do you know what went down today?”

Dragon’s voice comes over my phone, but it’s faint at best. The line is full of distortion and noise and I have to strain to hear it.

“Do not use the cages today…”

“What are you saying *, I can barely hear you?”

“Man, listen the cars are rigged to blow. I got Dani now, but you really…”

“You got Dani? Fuck, man your signal sucks. Where’d you find her? We’ll…”

“Listen, Dragon! I can’t talk. You got to hear me. The cars? Especially yours! Do not use it today. Don’t use any of them, get Freak to…”

The call drops.

Fuck! If it wasn’t for fear of discovery, I’d have thrown the damn thing across the field. I try to call Dragon back and it won’t connect. I try again and get the fake busy signal and look at the screen of my phone to see, ‘Call failed.’

That’s it I guess. I hope he got enough of the conversation. I can’t think about it right now. I have to get Dani safe. It’s been long enough now that if the other two were coming back they would have, right? Shit. I don’t even know how long it’s been. Fuck it.

I quietly make my way to the front entrance, draw my gun and take a breath. Then I kick the door open, shooting in the area I last saw the f*cker. As my eyes light on him, my gun trains on him and only him. I shoot him three times, which is all I have left before the hammer clicks and nothing happens. Doesn’t take long to empty the chamber. I should have brought a machine gun, those f*ckers are more fun. It doesn’t matter though because the bastard is dead. I watch as his body falls to the ground. I feel nothing but the wish that I could have got the other two.

I’m not completely over the f*cking edge just yet. I take the time to reload my gun. Now is not the time to get caught with my pants down.

That done, I walk over to Dani. I get down on my knees and try to check her out. The sight of her hurts. It was bad from a distance, but it’s even more monstrous up close. She has to be dead. No one could survive this kind of beating, especially a woman as small as Dani. I should have gotten here sooner. My hand trembles as I move it to her neck which is colored with…rope burns? Did they strangle her? I try to move her hair, but it’s so caked with mud and… shit, it’s soaked in her blood. I slide my fingers to her throat trying to find a pulse.

I find nothing.

“Oh f*ck, Hell Cat, don’t do this to me. You’ve got to survive, to punish this S.O.B.”

I go down flat on my ass, feeling the hurt and pain seep into my system. I let another woman down; I was too late yet again. I reach out for her hand, needing to hold it… To take just a minute to tell her how sorry I am for letting her down. I pull her hand to me and yell out in denial as I see her fingers. Her beautiful hand, that I’ve felt slide over my body countless times in the last little bit is now almost as unrecognizable as her face. Her fingers have been broken and they’re swollen and distorted, bending in ways I’m not sure can ever be straightened. Then I notice she has no small finger. It has been cut right at the base of the hand. The wound is open, angry, and so infected that if she were still breathing… Motherf*cker.

I scream out in denial, as I pull her broken body over to my lap and I hold her hand in mine. She feels warm—not overly warm, but still she is not cold like death. I know because I have held death. I have seen death. I use my free hand to brush her face gently, because she’s endured so much abuse you can barely make out the distinction of her features.

“I’ll get him Hell Cat. I’ll get him and make him pay, darlin’.”

I kiss her forehead in goodbye and slide her off my lap when I hear it… It’s faint, very faint, but I latch onto it immediately.

“Zander,” her voice whispers, it is disjointed and full of pain.

“Oh f*ck darlin’, you are hanging on. That’s my Hell Cat. I knew you had balls of steel. Let’s get you home.”

It takes me awhile, and I’m worried every f*cking minute that we’re about to be discovered. But, I manage to get her loaded into my truck. Every movement causes her pain. I find myself wishing she’ll let herself sink back down into unconsciousness.

“Hang on a little longer, Hell Cat. Just a little longer and I’ll have you at the hospital.”

“No.”

It was one syllable but the terror in her hoarse whispered voice spoke volumes.

“Hell Cat.”

“Married. He’ll…please, Zander.”

Dani had never asked for anything. I didn’t even know the word please was in her vocabulary. I should concentrate on that, but I find I can’t. Instead I focus on the word that I do not like. The one word that makes me embrace anger. Married. My Hell Cat doesn’t know it, but she’s going to be a widow pretty f*cking soon.

I call Doc and arrange to have him meet us at the club. Then I try constantly to call Dragon. Each time the call goes unanswered and I’m asked to leave a message, my gut clinches. Fuck. I hope I wasn’t too late.