Black Skulls, page 7
I tried rolling over and huffed in frustration when I felt something constricting my waist. I looked over and saw Cole’s sleeping face next to me. Cursing, I shoved him off me, sliding away from him. I didn’t do this shit.
Cole blinked up at me as I slid from the bed. He sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “Really, Amelia? You couldn’t just slide out of bed without making a huge departure?” he grumbled.
I ignored him and slid my clothes on. I sat down in the recliner near his dresser and slid on my boots. Once I found my phone, I slid it into my back pocket. He was watching me silently the entire time. When I placed my hand on the doorknob, he finally spoke. “What is it with you, Amelia?” he muttered quietly, almost to where I didn’t hear him, but I did.
What was it with me? It was times like these when I questioned if he really did have feelings for me. It was times like these when I wondered if I was just digging myself into a hole that I was going to spend a long time dragging myself back out of.
I wiped my face clean of emotion and made sure my eyes were blank when I turned to look at him. Letting my cold eyes meet his, I smirked at him. “Cole, don’t read too much into this.”
His eyes flashed with anger, and before he could get off the bed to stop me, I was out of the room and headed outside to my bike. I got stopped halfway by Travis, Katie, and my dad. I glared at them. I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone’s shit. I was setting myself up for heartbreak with Cole, and I hadn’t realized it until today. I just wanted to ride out of here and put some distance between me and this hell I called my life for a while.
“What?” I spat at them.
Cole walked up beside them, and I tensed up. Even though he hadn’t yet showered and he just threw on his clothes to come out here, he still looked and smelled great. “What’s going on?” he asked them, his eyes flickering between me and them.
Travis ran a hand through his hair, and his eyes met mine. “Amelia, we need you to get out of town for a while. The ATL are everywhere, and we need you to be safe. You’ll possibly get killed otherwise.”
“What?!” Cole barked before I could say anything. “Hell no! She fucking stays here where we can protect her!”
I ignored Cole. “Not a problem. I was leaving anyway,” I told them.
I walked past them and over to my bike. Before I could get on, Cole wrapped his arms around my waist and yanked me backward. He then proceeded to kick my fucking bike to the ground. I screamed in aggravation once he set me down and turned around to slap him. His face snapped to the side, but just as quickly, he looked back down at me.
“What the fuck is your problem?!” I screeched.
“You’re not riding out of here!” he roared, towering over me, glaring into my eyes. I wasn’t intimidated though. I was fucking pissed. “It’s out of the fucking question!”
I turned around and looked at my bike. I wanted to hit Cole on the fucking head with a tire wrench. How dare he throw my fucking bike on the ground like that?! Was he out of his goddamn fucking mind?!
He turned me back around to face him with his hand on my arm. “Amelia, I can’t let you ride out of here like that,” he told me, his voice softer now, desperation in his voice as he tried to get me to understand his point of view. “You’ll get yourself killed. You need to stay here where we can protect you. No matter what everyone else thinks, you’re safer here.”
I glared at him. “I didn’t ask you what the fuck your problem was about me riding out of here,” I snapped at him, not giving a fuck about him or his stupid fucking feelings. “You just fucking shoved my fucking bike on the ground and most likely broke something on it. I take as much pride in my bike as you men do. That was a fucking dick move, Colton. So, I hope you fucking accomplished what you aimed to do.”
I shoved him away from me and turned around, lifting up my bike. I rolled it to the garage, getting even angrier at the scratches I saw to the paint job and the messed-up parts from being kicked to the ground so roughly.
I wanted to do nothing more than punch Cole in his fucking face for this. You just didn’t pull this kind of shit on anyone’s fucking bike—man or woman.
I rubbed my greasy hands on a towel. I had been doing nothing all day but working on my bike. It was dark outside, and I was the only one left in the garage. I could hear music pumping from inside of the clubhouse and everyone’s loud laughter. I was glad they were all having fun. Instead of having an opportunity to get laid and drink myself sick tonight, or hell, maybe even riding off into the sunset, I was having to fix what I could on my bike while waiting for the other parts I needed to get shipped in.
“I love a girl who can fix a bike.”
I snapped my head over to where the voice came from. My eyes trailed up boots, to jean clad legs, up a t-shirt, to a cut that was clearly not ours, and finally to a face I really wished I could just fucking forget.
I scrambled up from my sitting position, grabbing the blow torch and pointing it at him. It was my only fucking weapon in here. I had to have some way to protect myself from him.
No, it wasn’t the leader of the ATL that was here. It was his Sergeant at Arms, Todd. Todd was given an opportunity to rape me, too. Not only that, but he helped deliver some blows to my body.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I ground out.
He stepped forward, and I let flames shoot out of the torch. He took a step back. “I just want to talk, Amelia. I was told that Travis, Katie, and daddy dearest would like you to ride off into the sunset away from us. I’d just like to let you know that it will never happen, dear.”
I cursed. We obviously had a traitor in the club that was ratting everything to the fucking ATL. When I found that bastard, I would kill them with my own goddamn bare hands.
Suddenly, I remembered the goons on the gate. He was able to get past the members. The gates were also closed and locked.
“How did you get in?” I snapped at him.
He pulled a gun out of his cut, smirking at me. “It’s called a clean shot to the forehead using a silencer,” he informed me. “You’ve pulled a trigger and used a silencer before. You should have known that, love.”
I heard the door to the office open, and the guy disappeared into the shadows. Someone placed their hand on my shoulder a moment later, and I screamed, swinging around, burning the person with the torch. The torch was knocked from my hand as a voice that sounded familiarly like Cole’s roared in pain. “For fuck’s sake, Amelia!”
I gasped. “I’m so sorry, Cole!” I exclaimed.
I turned away from him and ran my shaking fingers through my hair. Fuck, I was all out of whack right now. Too much had been happening to me in too little time. I was struggling to deal with it now. I was crushing under the weight of everything that I was being faced with. I wanted away from it all so bad, but I had a feeling it would only follow me and become worse if I ran away.
Cole turned me back to face him, his eyes meeting mine. “Amelia, are you okay?” he asked me softly, his eyes scanning my face.
I ignored his question. I didn’t have the energy to lie right now. Not after having to put up a strong front to that guy.
“Your arm,” I murmured, looking down at the burn, avoiding the topic of conversation that he wanted to discuss.
He looked down at the burn and shrugged. His eyes met mine again, and I quickly looked away from him. “Amelia—”
I grabbed his wrist. We needed to get back to the clubhouse where it was safe. “Come on. Let’s go to the clubhouse so I can take care of your arm.”
I walked us forward. We were almost out of the garage when Todd stepped back out of the shadows, holding a gun that was pointed at us. Cole immediately yanked me behind him, not giving a second thought to the burn on his arm. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he ground out through clenched teeth. “Do you have a death wish, mother fucker?”
“I figured I’d give you the same message that I just gave Amelia. She will never be riding off into the sunset, Colton. One of us will kill her first.”
Before I realized what was happening, Cole had his gun out and had shot the fucker with a clean shot to the forehead. He turned to me as Todd fell to the ground. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, slowly releasing it. But it didn’t do anything to help his anger. “Are you going to continue keeping fucking secrets, Amelia?!” Cole roared.
“Yes,” I ground out, standing my ground against him. “This doesn’t fucking concern you. I can take care of myself. I don’t need you or the fucking club to do it for me.”
He slammed the huge toolbox to the floor in anger, making me jump slightly. “I don’t give a fuck what you think you’re fucking capable of doing!” Cole hollered, seething at me. “This is much bigger than anything you can fucking deal with by yourself without losing your fucking life! I won’t allow you to fucking keep all of this shit to yourself, even if I have to be your mother fucking shadow!”
“Break it up!” Travis shouted, jogging into the garage.
He yanked Cole back from me, and a pressure I hadn’t even realized had been on my arm was released. Cole shoved Travis off him and walked over to me, towering back over me. His eyes bore into mine with a coldness that chilled my bones. “If you keep doing stupid shit like this, I’m going to fucking walk away from you. I won’t stand around and watch you get yourself killed. You mean too much to me for that. Let me know when you make your fucking decision.”
He stormed out of the garage. I ran a hand through my hair. Cole had finally admitted that I meant something to him, but it was too late now. I was putting the Black Skulls and the Bloody Royals in danger by staying here. I couldn’t continue on with my life here. I had to get out. I would put the clubs before myself.
Travis looked down at me as two members began getting rid of the body. “I don’t know what’s going on, and a part of me doesn’t want to know. Get your shit together, Amelia. The clubs aren’t blind to the way Cole feels about you. He’d give his very own life up for you. You may think that’s not any different than him laying his life down for a man with a cut, but it’s much more than that. You’re crippling him, Amelia. You’re twisting him all around, and I don’t like it one bit. Get your shit together.”
I knew he was speaking some truth to some degree, and it pissed me off that it was so fucking visible to everyone else. It also pissed me off that he was confronting me about shit that was none of his fucking concern. Travis may be the president, but when it came to me and my business, he had no fucking place in it.
I didn’t know where he thought he was going with his little speech considering I ran by my own book, and I didn’t give two fucking shits about anyone else when it came down to what I wanted or needed to do.
So, I denied everything.
“You and my fucking dad need to learn to stay out of business that has nothing to do with you,” I snapped at him. “Cole and I are fucking for fun, Travis, nothing more. Quit making this shit out to be more than it is.”
He took a step forward, pointing his finger in my face. His eyes were blazing with anger. I glared right back at him, not backing down. He couldn’t do anything to me that someone else hadn’t already done.
“I won’t let you fuck him up, Amelia.”
He walked out before I could say anything else. I went outside to Cole’s bike. I had to get out of here. Not only was everyone in danger with me around, but Travis had said it himself. I was twisting Cole around and starting to fuck him up. Besides, not only was I twisting Cole, but I was twisting myself, too.
I used my tools and took the parts off Cole’s bike that I needed for mine. Not only was I getting the parts I needed so that I could ride out, but I was stopping Cole from following me. I knew the second he found out that I had packed up and left, he would be out trying to find me.
I was hoping like hell that this would delay him and give me time.
Cole
I glared at the ceiling of my room. My head was pounding with a hangover from hell. Fuck, I shouldn’t have drank so much last night. It was all Amelia’s fucking fault. Had she not decided to keep fucking secrets all of the fucking time, I wouldn’t even be feeling this fucking way! I didn’t want to deal with the shit I was feeling last night, and I still wasn’t ready to deal with it. So, I’d drank until I didn’t give a fuck anymore.
Amelia always kept secrets. I still didn’t know what happened to her to get her locked up in jail. She refused to tell me how she got the knife wound on her shoulder. Hell, if I hadn’t been in the hospital when they said she was raped, I wouldn’t have known that either. Not only that, but if the ATL president hadn’t practically forced her to tell me his message, I would have never known who raped her! How much more shit was she keeping from me and the clubs?
I didn’t know, but I vowed I would find out.
I slid out of bed and hopped in the shower. When I got out, I got dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and my cut, slipping on my white high-tops. I slid my gun into my cut and went out into the bar. I was fixing myself a cup of coffee when Lorenzo poked his head into the bar room. “We’re at the table, Cole.”
I nodded in way of acknowledgement. I walked into the chapel with my cup of coffee in my hand. Everyone was silent, looking down at the table. “What’s going on?” I asked, immediately catching on to the bad mood.
“Amelia rode out last night,” Luke informed. “She didn’t say anything to anyone. She didn’t even leave a note. And her phone was left on the bar.”
I slammed my cup onto the table, breaking it with the force. Coffee spilt everywhere, but I didn’t give a fuck. “What do you mean she fucking rode out last night?!” I roared. “How in the hell did she leave? I fucked up her bike on purpose yesterday so that she couldn’t!”
“We’re not sure,” Mom said. “She’s smart, though. It probably wasn’t hard for her to figure out a way.”
It hit me. I knew exactly how she fixed her bike. Not only that, but she killed two birds with one stone. She was always smarter than anyone gave her credit for.
I jogged out of the clubhouse and over to the bikes. Sure enough, my bike was missing parts. I sighed and sat on the ground, running my fingers through my hair. She had obviously made her decision. I never regretted anything in my life until then. I regretted ever saying those fucking words to her last night. I should have never even given her the option of leaving.
Fuck, I said a lot of stupid shit when I was pissed.
I got up and stormed inside, sending the doors to the chapel crashing against the walls. “I want her found!” I roared. “We ride out in fifteen minutes. We’re checking all of the charters and hotel rooms around. When I find her, her ass is mine.”
Amelia
I opened my eyes, but it was dark all around me. I couldn’t make anything out. My wrists and ankles were bound together by rope.
Where in the hell was I?
The last thing I remembered was leaving my phone on the bar. I was about to walk out to the garage when everything suddenly went dark. I couldn’t remember anything after that. What in the hell was going on?
A door opened, and I cringed away from the sunlight that filled the once dark space around me. When my eyes adjusted to the bright light, I looked around me. I had been thrown into a trunk. There was a dead body lying beside me.
And when I realized who it was, a blood-curdling scream ripped itself from my throat.
Heather was lying still beside me, her body pale, and when I let my arm brush against hers, her skin was ice-cold against mine. Blood covered her clothes, and the lower part of her was naked. Tears pooled in my eyes, and I choked back a sob.
“You should have listened to us when we told you that you couldn’t leave town, dear. Did you think we wouldn’t catch you fixing your bike so you could ride out in the middle of the night?”
I glared up into the ATL president’s eyes. His cold, dark eyes glared right back at me. I felt the fear seeping into my bones, but I channeled all that fear into anger. He had killed Heather; he killed a woman of the club. She was only sixteen; she hadn’t even had a chance to live yet!
“You deserve to burn in hell,” I spat at him.
He leaned forward and put his face next to mine. I recoiled and gagged at the scent of his breath. It smelled like weed, cigarettes, alcohol, and pussy all mixed into one. “Darling, when I’m done with you, you’ll be burning in hell with me.”
I couldn’t stop the fear from chilling my bones that time.
7
Three fucking days. I’d been gone for three goddamn days. I knew my misery was coming to an end soon because of his three-day rule. After the third day, which was today, he would either decide to kill me, or he would rape me, beat me, and leave me somewhere for someone in the club to find me.
For three days now, I’d been stuck in a room with Heather’s body. It smelled horrible, but the guilt I felt was ten times worse than dealing with the smell. I wanted to shut it all the fuck off, but I couldn’t—not when the reminder of the shit I’d dragged her into was right fucking next to me.
I glared at the ATL president when he stepped into the room. Without a word, he walked over and kneeled in front of me. I struggled against the cuffs that held me against the pipe in the floor, desperately wanting to get away from him. “I don’t want to kill you yet, love, because I need your people to get my message.”
He trailed his hand down my naked body. Swallowing vomit, I bit back the scream that was practically begging for release. I couldn’t cry, wouldn’t scream. I couldn’t show him that what he was doing to me was affecting me.
Damaging me.
I closed my eyes and allowed myself to fall into the welcoming, blissful darkness to help myself.
Cole
Amelia was still missing, and on top of it all, my sister decided to take off on top of it all. Why the hell my sister decided it would be a great fucking idea to run away from home when Amelia was missing, I didn’t fucking know. It wasn’t the time for her to be throwing one of her fucking hissy fits just because she wasn’t getting her fucking way.
