Biker Bait: The Lost Souls MC Series (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

Cas

The ride home didn’t feel as long as the ride there, having Alannah back helped. It’s very rare you see a brother break down and cry but Sparky didn’t try to hide it. Once the Doc couldn’t do no more for Alannah in the van, he made her comfortable as he possibly could and I was
on one side of her and Sparky the other, each holding one of her hands. The last time she came around, Doc managed to get some pills down her throat to help with the pain.

Sparky held her hand in his and didn’t stop the tears running down his cheeks. If I was
insecure I would have been jealous but I know how close they have always been, I always used to think they would end up together because of their closeness, it was mainly his bike she would ride on the back of, and on party nights he would spend his time with her instead of finding his dick a home for the night. I asked him once what he thought of her and all he said was, she was his sister and that was that.

“She’s comin’ home brothe
r.” I choked out.

“I swear to god you better not let her outta your sigh
t.” he warned.

“I’m not fuckin’ plannin’ on it, she’s
gonna be by my side mornin’, noon and night.” I promised him and to her at the same time.

An hour from home, I called the clubhouse and made sure they were ready for the extra visitors that would be bedding down for the night, and my room was cleaned and medical supplies were ready for when we arrived.

“We got a lot of shit to sort out Cas.” Sparky said, he looked tired and run down.

“We’ll all get some rest and pick
it up tomorrow.” I told him, not looking forward to any of it.

The prospect drov
e as close to the clubhouse as possible and opened our door.

Between Sparky and I, we lifted Alannah and carried her through the clubhouse bar and
up to my room. The club girls gasped as we passed them and they saw what Alannah had been through. Satisfied with the fresh sheets and tidied room, we laid her on the bed and let Doc take a closer look at her.

Alannah woke to Doc feeling her head, she barely had her eyes open before she was thrashing about on the bed, screaming the place down around us.

Doc jumped away and I took his place.

“Lana, it’s me, Cas.” I soothed, she was terrified, and she wouldn’t look at me.

I gripped her chin and slowly she opened her eyes, still whimpering.

“You’re safe, I got you.” I told her.

She took in her surroundings frantically before looking above her head and then down to her arms gripping my tee. As if she didn’t believe she was free, she checked above her head again.

“It’s okay, you’re home, you’re with me, you’re safe.” I repeated.

I felt her relax and her face scrunched up in pain.

“I hurt.” she cried.

“I kn
ow you do baby, Doc was checkin’ you over, see if you need to go to the hospital.”

She loosened her grip and dropped her arms to the bed.

“Let him check you over, he ain’t gonna hurt you.” I promised, kissing her gently on her forehead.

I went to move so Doc could carry on with
his assessment but Alannah snatched my hand in hers, she didn’t have to ask, I moved up the bed to give Doc the room he needed and kept her hand in mine.

Everywhere Doc touched her she cried out, I didn’t shed one tear when I fir
st saw her tied up, I didn’t shed a tear when I saw how bad she was in the van but hearing her in pain knowing there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do about it, the tears began to come. Just like Sparky I didn’t try to wipe them away.

“Nothing’s broken, she
’s very badly bruised and the cuts on her head and face aren’t deep enough to require stiches. Given what she went through, she could’ve been a lot worse.” he said, gathering up the left over medical supplies, “Give her these every four hours and these if she needs them in between. I got to go see the walking wounded out there.” he said, handing me two different bottle of pills.

“Let her rest, one of the best remedies for the human body is res
t.” he added before walking out and down the hall.

The Doc had only given her a dose of pain relief ten minutes ago so I kept my eye on the clock and set my phone alarm for four hours’ time.

I doubt she would wake in the next couple of hours and as much as I didn’t want to leave her, I knew she was safe enough here for me to take the quickest shower of my life and wash away her blood and others I felt dried onto me.

First, I found one of the club girls and asked her to fetch me a bowl of soapy, warm water and clean cloths
and have it ready on the bar in ten minutes, it was going to be bad enough for Alannah to see her injuries, she didn’t need to see the blood encrusted on her as well.

Fresh out of the shower and in clean sweats and a long sleeved tee, I made a bee line for the bar, I had my back to everyone as I tried to gather the soapy water and cloths and a shot of whiskey that was pushed on me. I didn’t want to lose myself in alcohol just yet but man, I needed at least a shot of something hard.

The sound of applauding from behind me increased and got louder, I turned to see what the hell was kicking off now and was dumbstruck when I saw each and every brother facing me. What the fuck?

I was about to ask when Oak came and stood next to me, he slung his arm around my shoulders and cheered with everyone else.

“Brothers please, some quie
t.” he yelled, after a minute he had his silence.

“Not only were we betrayed by a man who was our brother but a brother who was our president.” He began, pausing to take another swig from his bottle, “He not only led us to believe one of our own had turned against us, but he used a woman for his own needs. We buried Micky with dis-respect when all along he deserved retribution! You’ve all seen what happened to Alannah
, we lost three of our brothers tonight as well Billy who Michael sent to his death knowin’, no, hopin’ it would end the way it did and all because he lost his sense of brotherhood and of family.”

Everyone
whispered their agreement and carried on listening, “Michael got greedy, and we ain’t greedy men, all we want is a few dollars in our pocket, a drink in our hand, a woman in our bed and the road beneath our bikes.”

Everyone erupted into agreement throwing fuck
yeah’s and hell yeah’s about.

“For a while now,
Castiel Jackson here has proved he can guide and lead us, I trust him with my life, I trust him with all yours’! Is there a brother here against Cas becomin’ president of our mighty fine fuckin’ club?” he bellowed.

Nobody disagreed, I lo
oked around at all my brothers and there wasn’t a single face that opposed my new position.

Shit! The last time I felt like this I had been made vice president. They trust me not only with their lives, but
with their families and their club. I couldn’t find any words to say apart from to stand rooted in place with my mouth hanging open, not very presidential like at all.

I recognised Sparky hand Oak my cut, it had been wiped clean of blood, he took it and faced me, holding it out for me to slip my arms in.

Once it was in place I looked down at the new patch in place of my VP one and instead it said President.

Oak raised my arm in the air in his and shouted out, “Our president!”

That was it, the whole place shook from every brother that could move, man hug each other, jump and cheer.

I was passed around the room, being congratulated, told how well I executed tonight’s’ rescue plan, how much I deserved the position and how much I had their loyalty.

“Told you you’d make a fuckin’ great president.” Sparky said, slapping me on the back.

“Fuck off, you didn’t know I would be president the
n.” I laughed, remembering when he said it in the van.

“I fuckin’ did, once you stripped Michael’s cut, I knew it would be you who took ove
r.” he said, seriously.

“Thanks brothe
r.”

“This calls for a celebratio
n.” someone shouted from somewhere in the crowded bar.

I stood near the bar and raised my hand for them to be quiet.

“I ain’t gonna get all soppy on you fuckers but I just wanna say thanks, not just for havin’ faith in me to make me your president but for tonight, you’re all what brotherhood is about, we all had each other’s back, we lost four members but we will never forget them and along with Micky, we will show them the respect and love in the send-off they’d be proud of.” Each who had a drink and it was most of them raised their glasses and bottles in the air, “The shit with the Ghost Riders is over and as your president I swear to you, we’ll bring this club back to its glory.”

It took a full minute for them to quieten down again and I carried on,

“I’ll celebrate when my old lady is here to celebrate with me, but tonight brothers, drink and party without me, you deserve it, if it weren’t for you fuckers I wouldn’t have been able to bring her home.”

I raised the glass of whiskey I had managed to keep hold of in
the air,

“To the Lost Souls!
” I yelled, necking the shot of whiskey still in my hand.

I escaped as the crowd grew more boisterous, grabbing hold of the soapy water which was surprisingly still warm and slipped away back to Alannah.

I closed the door quietly behind me and locked it. Alannah hadn’t moved from when I left for a shower, I didn’t intend on being this long but fuck me, I never expected what just happened. Sure, if I had the time to think about it I might have saw it coming but this changed everything. I still answer to my brothers but I never needed their permission for nothing, no doubt about it, Alannah is coming home to the club, where she should have been from the start.
Sitting on the edge of the bed I set about cleaning the blood of her face, careful not to touch the butterfly stitches she had in place.

Hunter should be glad he is dead and hopefully burning in hell because it looked like her face was moving in all different colourful bruises and I wanted to hang him by his arms and beat the shit out of him
myself.

Satisfied I removed as much of the blood as
I possible could, I cleared away the red stained bowl of water and threw the blood soaked cloths away. She was positioned dead centre of my bed, I didn’t want to accidently hurt her by lying with her so leaving the room for less than a minute, I found a chair and put it as close to the bed as possible.

I meant what I said earlier, until she was well enough not
to leave my side, I’m not going to leave hers.

I turned out the light and turned the small lamp on
, taking my seat in the chair I watched her, sometimes peacefully, sometimes whining in her sleep, I wiped away more tears that had sprung from my eyes and knew how lucky I was to have her back, not only from the Ghost Riders but back in my life. It was a long year waiting for her but we got there and she is mine, definitely mine.

After a couple of hours there was a knock on the door, I jumped up and answered it before they woke my girl up.

It was Pope.

“Can’t this wait till morning?” I asked him,
pulling the door to behind me.

“Thought you’d like to know, I burnt them all to a crisp, they’ll be lucky if they can identify
any of them. I moved Michael’s body, burnt it in an unmarked grave and buried him, no comebacks on us.” he said, yawning.

“Good, get some sleep, you look like shi
t.” I said, yawning myself.

He turned to leave but quickly backtracked.

“How is she?” Meaning Alannah.

“She’s gonna be alrigh
t.” I smiled.

He nodded and left for his room.

I slumped into the chair again and closed my eyes, I was fooling myself to think I could stay awake. I was exhausted, physically and mentally.

Tomorrow’s a new dawn and I need to be ready for it.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Alannah

   Pain woke me, I opened my eyes hoping to see Cas but all I saw was the soft glow of light and darkness behind it. Was coming home a figment of my imagination? Had I imagined being saved to take me away from the pain of Hunter?

The thought of my imagination playing tricks on me petrified me. I heard movement and coul
dn’t help screaming, no, I can’t take much more.

“No, please, no mor
e.” I begged as I felt hands on me.

“It’s me babe,
Cas.”

I barely heard him, I couldn’t stop sobbing, my body relentlessly shuddering, knowing I was in Cas’s arms couldn’t stop it, I was safe yet I didn’t feel free.

“I got you babe.” he repeated again and again until my sobs ebbed away and my body melted into his.

His phone shrilled from his bedside table causing me to jump out of my skin.

“It’s okay, it’s just my alarm, it’s time for you to take your meds.” he said, leaning back on the pillows.

He reached for the glass of water and a bottle of pills, I took them without hesitation.

“No one is ever going to touch you ever again, I fuckin’ promise you.” he swore.

I went to stroke his cheek but my arm ached from my shoulder to my hand.

“They were…animals.” I said, shakily.

I’m sure there was a harsher word or phrase to describe them but I couldn’t think of it right
now, then it dawned on me I don’t remember coming home.

“How did we get out?”

His face transformed into something I didn’t want to understand.

“Maybe you should get some rest first, we’ve got plenty of
time for talkin’ when you’re better.” he said, staring at my hand he was holding, stroking it lightly.

Now I really want to know.

“Tell me.”

He sighed heavily and looked at me.

“What do you remember last?” he asked.

I thought back, it was hazy but I remembered Uncle Michael and how guilty he looked then nothing.

“Hunter was next to me and then I woke up here.” I told him.

“Maybe it’s better if you don’t know?” he urged.

“Please. I want to know.”

“
All Hunter wanted was Michael, he wanted to fight him one on one without me or Sparky jumpin’ in, so…he knocked you out, kicked the crates and left you to hang.” he said in a rush.

I lost my breath, instinctively I held my throat. It felt sore when I swallowed but on the outside I couldn’t feel anything. For god knows how long I was tied there I was terrified Hunter or one of his men would watch me hang, always tensely awaiting for it to happen. And it did happen, I just w
asn’t conscious to see it myself. I gasped for breath, not only because of what happened to me but because I could be dead now and Cas would have seen me leave him.

“I’m…so…sorr
y.” I said, in panted breaths.

“Calm down Lana, breath
e and then tell me what the fuck you got to be sorry about.” he said, rubbing at my shoulders, that made it worse, I flinched away from him, he took it the wrong way and backed away.

“Don’t go, it hurt when you did tha
t.” I told him, my breathing returning to normal.

“Shit, I didn’t think, sorr
y.” he mumbled, moving back closer, “Now tell me what you got to be sorry for?”

“Because you had to see me like that, you must
have thought I was dead?”

“Fuck
Lana, that shit wasn’t your fault. We had you out in seconds, I wasn’t lettin’ you leave me.”

His tone was ferocious, tears fell down my cheeks,
he really does love me.

“What happened after?”

I had stayed strong throughout my ordeal, for some reason I needed to know how it ended.

“Hunter and Michael got into it, I missed most of the fight as I w
as concentrating on gettin’ you free, by the time we knew you were alive the fight was pretty much over.”

My heart was thumping, why did he stop? What wasn’t he telling me?

“Who won? How’s my uncle?” I asked.

“No one won. They’re both dea
d.” he said, not sugar coating it either, not that I care about Hunter.

Although, how does both of them being dead work? He saw my confusion and spoke,

“A lot has happened in the last day babe. I’m not goin’ to hide anythin’ from you because I don’t want to have secrets between us.” he said.

Something
very bad has happened, I just know it.

“Being
my old lady just bumped you up to the MC Queen. I’m gonna need you by my side like never before and to understand what’s goin’ on, you need to know the truth. It’s gonna hurt you, and you’re not gonna be able to talk about it to anyone but me.” he paused, I waited for him to speak again but he was taking his time.

“Just spit it out Cas.”

He scrubbed his face with his spare hand and forced himself to look at me.

“Pope killed Michael after Michael killed Hunte
r.”

He’s dead? What? No, this couldn’t be true, Pope wouldn’t do that!

“Why?” I asked, I wasn’t going to break down yet, I had to remain as calm as I could until I knew all the facts.

“Your uncle, my brother des
erved to die, you remember bein’ adamant Micky wasn’t a rat?”

As soon as he said it, I remembered Hunter telling me the truth about Micky, but before I could speak
Cas carried on.

“Well, you were right, Michael led him into a tra
p.”

“I know
, Hunter told me about that, I knew Micky wouldn’t do that, I just don’t understand why he would do that to him.” I cried.

“That’s not all babe, you wondered why he made you leave the club, it was becaus
e he had it all planned, keepin’ me away from you, you out in the middle of nowhere…he used you as bait.” he said, whispering the last five words.

“But...he made Billy stay with me, why would he do that if he wasn’t looking out for me?”

As soon as I said his name, everything at the cabin all came back to me.

“Oh god, Where’s Billy? Is he okay? Is he here?” I cried all at once.

“Lana, Billy died just after we turned up at the cabin.”

No words, just pain.

It was too much to comprehend, my uncle using me, using Micky, and as good as killing Billy himself. If Michael hoped I would be taken, he would’ve known a prospect would’ve fought to the end to protect me, knowing all the while he never would’ve stood a chance against the Ghost Riders on his own.

My
fury overtook the pain and grief that was taking root inside of me.

All Billy wanted was to be a part of the club and he died a fucking puppet.

Images of him still trying to protect from biker two sprung to mind, being thrown against the wall and landing in a puddle of blood on the floor where he lay.

I felt sick, no, closing my eyes to the extreme guilt that was sweeping over me.

“Did you see what they did to him?” he asked.

I opened my eyes, I didn’t particularly want to go over it again but I wanted
Cas and everyone to know how hard Billy fought to try and save me, he deserved that.

I recounted everything from the start when I heard the van doors slamming shut,

“I tried to save him, he told me to shoot them but Hunter wouldn’t stop kicking him, you should have seen the blood Cas, he was in so much pain, I threw down the gun hoping he would leave Billy alone…one of the guys came to get me and Billy still tried to defend me, he got another beating…I was taken into a van and all I could see was Hunter stomping on him. He told me to hide at first, maybe if I had he would still be alive?” I cried, becoming more hysterical as I explained.

Cas
pulled me into arms, I was crying so hard I didn’t register the pain. Pain would be better than to feel than this.

“Even if you hid, they would’ve pulled apart the cabin to find you and I’m sorry to say but Billy was always gonna di
e.”

I pulled back sobbing, I stared at him, waiting for the words to come.

“Using you as bait, Michael signed his death warrant the day he put Billy at the cabin with you. When we arrived, he was still tryin’ to save you, he was pullin’ himself across to his truck. He wasn’t just your friend Lana, you were his and he wasn’t alone when he went, his brothers were with him. After everythin’ he went through, he died smilin’ because I made him a full member.”

“You did?” I couldn’t help a small smile
, Billy’s smile would have been bright knowing he made it into the club.

“I did, poor fucker deserved it, I knew if he didn’t fight back hard they would’ve simply shot him to get to you, he
tried to take them all on to save you knowin’ he couldn’t win but he still tried, that’s loyalty and that’s why I made him a brother.”

I wanted to thank him, I wanted to make everything right but the grief took over and the sobs never stopped until
Cas laid me back on the pillow and lay behind me, holding me just letting me get it all out.

Over the past two days I slept on and off, only leaving the bed to go to the bathroom. I welcomed sleep, it took the pain away and everything that caused it in the first place. I cried for Micky and everything he went through. I cried for Billy and the life he will never know as a Lost Soul. I didn’t cry for my uncle, I cried because of what my uncle had done. Cas told me three brothers had died the night they rescued me and I cried for them and for their families. Cas never left my side, each time I woke screaming from nightmares, he would be right there, holding me, promising me I was safe. And then I cried because it hurt feeling how much he loved me.

Waking up today, I felt a lot better, not as tired and achy.
Cas was asleep beside me and I didn’t want to wake him. After five minutes I managed to get out of bed on my own, I gingerly made my way to his bathroom and then that’s when I saw my reflection in his mirror.

I was ghastly, on closer inspection I couldn’t make out one single bruise, the
y blended together in a mix of black, purple and green shades. Parts of my hair was matted to my scalp from the dried blood and I stunk. How the hell has Cas not thrown me into a bath yet? I set about turning the shower on and brushing my teeth until the water warmed up.

Just having clean teeth made me feel a lot better, when
Cas first undressed me out of my blood stained clothes, it hurt to put a tee over my head, so I stayed in my bra and his sweats.

I slipped out of both and stepped into the shower, working as quickly as I could, I washed my hair and body, once, twice and then on the third time I lathered my body in soap I felt I had washed away that awful night. This being the longest I stood up in the last few days, rounds of dizziness caught me off guard a couple of times. I grabbed onto the rail and saw the bruises on my wrists
, instantly remembering being tied up, the warehouse, Hunter and the other dirty animals who took me. My legs gave out and I slid to the basin floor, gasping for breath, letting the water wash over me. I know I’m safe, I’m home and there is a bunch of men out in the bar area who would throw down their life for me if anyone dared to come in here, yet I couldn’t shake the fear that racked my body into submission.

“Lana?”

I heard the bathroom door open and Cas pulled the shower curtain away, he looked like an angel baring down on me. He stepped into the shower, turning it off and lifted me out. Wrapping me in towels he carried me back to bed.

“What was you thinkin’
? Why didn’t you wake me up?” he demanded, drying me with one of the towels.

“I didn’t want to wake you, you’re so tired already and I thought I was okay then I saw these and freaked ou
t.” I told him, holding my bruised wrists out.

“I don’t care ho
w tired I am, it’s still nothin’ compared to what you’re fuckin’ goin’ through, next time wake me up.” he said, seriously.

I nodded, and wiped away my tears.

“Listen, I can’t prolong it anymore I have to go to Church today.” he said.

My eyes shot to his, he hadn’t left my side, I’d forgotten there would be a lot to sort out, for one they would need to elect a new president to take my uncles place.

I was about to ask a million questions when there was a soft knock on the door.

“It’s ope
n.” Cas called as he buttoned his jeans and slid into his cut.

The door opened and Sparky came in, when he saw me sitting up his face broke out into a gorgeous grin. I pulled up the sheet around me and smiled back.

“Barbie, you’re finally awake…and clean.” he laughed warily looking at me.

“Yeah,
I’m okay, so you can stop looking at me like that.” I told him.