Biker Bound: The Lost Souls MC Series (23 page)

“This is between us Kitty, let her go now.” Alannah says, focused on her target.

I have no doubt Alannah will pull the trigger and not miss. What worries me is if Kitty gets a shot in first.

“Alannah, put the gun down,” Pope orders.

“No, that little boy upstairs lost his dad because I didn’t pull the trigger to save him. I am not going to make that mistake with his mom.”

She is adamant, the building guilt she has held onto all these months is what will save my Kristen now.

“Let her go, you know her aim is shit hot Kitty and I ain’t going to try and stop her,” I say.

I stop breathing expecting her to let Kristen go.

“I didn’t expect to leave here alive,” she smiles.

“What did you fuckin’ expect?” Cas growls, losing his patience.

“You dead,” she tells him.

In seconds the club erupts into a blur before my eyes.

Kitty keeps her hand in Kristen’s hair and swings her gun from Alannah back to Cas.

Deep down I never thought she would ever pull the trigger. She aimed straight for Cas and the gun goes off.

In the blink of an eye a second shot goes off and Kitty falls back into the wall. Alannah had shot her in the shoulder. Using the hand in Kristen’s hair she releases her to hold her shoulder. Kristen falls to the floor and I take advantage of the opening.

I cross the distance between us and scoop her into my arms.

“You okay? Tell me you’re okay,” I beg her, kissing the top of her head.

“I’m fine, she didn’t hurt me.”

Knowing she is safe in my arms I look around. Kitty’s shot didn’t hit Cas, it hit Pope.

Laying on the floor in his own blood, Cas and Sparky begin working on keeping pressure on his stomach. Alannah notices Kitty slumped against the wall.

“Are you happy now?” she asks, bending before her.

“I’ll never be happy again because of you, since the day I met your momma, you’ve both brought me pain.”

“What are you talking about?” Alannah demands.

“Have you ever asked yourself why Hunter hated Michael so damn much?”

“Cas told me it was because Michael killed his brother,” Alannah says.

“Do you know why he killed him?”

“You obviously want to say something, so stop playing fucking games and tell me.”

“Your momma had everyone wrapped around her little finger just like you and in the end, it got her killed.”

“My mother died during child birth,” Alannah reminds her.

“There is some truth to that,” Kitty laughs then winces in pain.

“Don’t listen to her Lana, she’s just fuckin’ with you.” I tell her.

“It’s like history repeating itself again, except this time it’s you instead of Rayna fucking Ray. They all tried saving her too. Michael more than the others. I tried saying it was you who killed her as you are the reason she didn’t make it…”

“Lana, don’t fuckin’ listen to her shit,” I tell her again.

Cas and Sparky are still with Pope and Oak is on the phone, I presume to the emergency services.

“Didn’t make what?” Alannah asks, completely ignoring me.

“If she wasn’t pregnant with you they would have been able to save her, she choose to save you over herself.”

“Why? What happened to her?”

Kitty doesn’t answer her, she spots the gun to her left and before I can get to it she reaches over and takes it.

She goes to put it to her head but Alannah stops her.

“Oh no you don’t, you answer me. What happened to my mom?” Alannah begs.

The struggle continues and I fear for Alannah’s safety with the gun flying around.

“Help her,” Kristen screams.

“Go upstairs and make sure Zach is alright,” I tell her.

I watch her go and then run to help Alannah. One foot away and the gun goes off. A quick scan around and no one is hurt.

“Stop this Kitty, it isn’t right,” Alannah screams.

“Lana, get away from her,” Cas yells, his hands covered in Pope’s blood.

Kitty takes advantage of Alannah’s brief loss of control and Kitty gets the upper hand. She uses her elbow to push Alannah away slightly and she falls on her ass.

Everything is happening so fast. Kitty lets her hand fall to the ground with the gun and winces from the pain her shoulder.

I pull my gun out and point it at her.

“Stay where you are Kitty, it’s over.” I tell her, keeping my gun on her.

Cas is at Alannah’s side and not giving her a choice he drags her back from us.

Oak comes over and bends in front of Kitty. Without saying a word, he pulls her cardigan to the side and takes a look at her wound. He is either not afraid of the gun still held loosely in her hand or he trusts her not to shoot him.

“Let me help you darlin’, I promise I’ll get you out of here and get you some help. We’ve been friends for too long and been through too much to see you dead now over a traitor.” He says, soothingly to her.

Her chest deflates and her eyes water over. She looks tired and fragile.

“I miss him, he’s all I ever knew.” She whimpers.

“I know darling’, but I also know it wasn’t always hearts and flowers,” he says, raising both his eyebrows at her. It was a statement that I had no clue what he was talking about.

“After she died, he had no choice but to love me and he did.”

She? Is she talking about Alannah’s mom, Rayna?

“He loved you in his own way, but don’t forget I knew Michael too and he always looked out for number one before anyone else.”

“You knew?” she asks him.

“I had an inkling.”

What the fuck are they talking about?

Kitty begins sobbing and Oak helps her stand. I keep the gun trained on her and look over to Alannah, she also heard their conversation and looks as confused as I.

“I hate to tell you this Kit, but everything that happened to Michael was down to him, it ain’t Alannah’s fault and it ain’t Cas’s.” Oak tried again.

I don’t think anyone but me noticed she left the gun on the floor when Oak pulled her up.

Oak’s words flipped her again, the tears rapidly dried up and the frost descended over her again.

“He should never have got in the way,” she whispers, looking over at Pope.

“Kitty,” Alannah says, “Was Michael in love with my mom?” she asks.

“Who wasn’t,” Kitty spits scornfully, “Perfect Rayna, everyone loved her.”

“What happened to her?” Alannah asks, almost begging her for an answer.

“Oak, you were there, tell me what happened?” Alannah screams.

“I ain’t got a clue what she’s goin’ on about Lana. As far as I know, Ray died givin’ birth to you,” he replies in earnest, willing her to believe him.

“I’m not telling you shit Alannah, I have to live without what I want…you can live without the truth.” Kitty tells her, dropping to the floor.

I could see she was going for the gun, but I couldn’t stop her and nor could Oak. For a woman with a gunshot wound she sure could move fast.

Raising her arm, she pointed the gun towards the group surrounding Pope still bleeding out from the stomach.

“Put it down Kitty,” I yelled as loud as I could.

The club went silent with trepidation. I didn’t need to take my eyes away from Kitty to know she had every pair of eyes in the room on her.

“Slade.”

I know Cas is telling me to take her out but I can’t pull the trigger.

Kristen is safe, Zach is safe. I can’t justify killing a woman who’s grief-stricken to the point of her getting herself killed.

My brothers are in immediate danger and I still can’t bring myself to shoot her. I always thought I would be able to take anyone out whether it be a guy or a woman but it turns out, I can’t kill a woman.

I step in her line of sight and in line of her gun. If I can’t kill her, I will stop her from hurting anyone I love.

A strangled cry comes from the bottom of the stairs. I don’t look but I know it is Kristen. I told her once I was bound to my brothers and I would die for anyone of them and I wasn’t lying. Every ounce of me doesn’t want to die. I don’t want to leave her or Zach but if it comes down to it, I will die knowing what love feels like and knowing one of my brothers didn’t die because I couldn’t pull the God damn trigger.

“Slade, no.”

She didn’t scream it, it sounded like she could barely utter a word but the pain and fear in it already killed me inside.

Kitty’s face was just as dedicated as mine, a stand-off to end all stand-offs.

There was nothing left to say, not from me and not from her.

I felt it at the same time I heard it, a single shot had me falling to the ground. Searing pain shot through my body and when a second shot blasted Kitty fell beside me. It all happened in seconds, reeling from the burning pain I frantically look around and then pat my body down looking for blood. My leg. I had been shot in the leg.

Alannah is standing frozen in place staring at us both on the floor.

“I couldn’t let you die and you wouldn’t move,” she murmurs, Cas is at her side and tries to pry the gun from her hand.

Once he has it, he bundles her into his arms and she sinks into him. Kristen runs towards me and falls beside me.

“If Alannah hadn’t shot you, I would’ve done. What the hell were thinking?” she yells at me, scanning my body.

When she sees my leg, she begins shaking.

“I’m okay,” I tell her, keeping pressure on the wound.

“Slade, you’ve been shot, you’re hardly okay,” she scolds.

“I will be okay then, don’t worry about this,” I tell her, “Where’s Zach?”

“Somehow he slept through it all, one of those girls is watching him,” she replies.

“How are you doing?” I ask, not really wanting to hear her reply if this has been too much for her and she now wants out.

“I’m more concerned about you.”

That’s all I want to hear for now. Sirens become louder as they get closer and everyone snaps into action.

“Get her body out of here before the paramedics and cops get here.” Cas growls, “This was a party with too much to drink and things got out of hand, no one is to say anything but that.” he orders.

Kristen moves to my other side as two of the prospects move towards Kitty.

“I’ll do it,” Oak says, picking her up like a broken doll with care and remorse for the friend he couldn’t save.

“Won’t the cops want to know about her?” Kristen asks quietly near my ear.

“Remember what I said about my world being different darlin’. This is one of those times that you’re gonna see just how different they are. Can you handle this?” I ask.

She stares intently at me before committing to an answer.

“She threatened to kill me, she nearly killed you so yeah…I can handle this.”

“Good.”

Gripping my hand behind her neck, I pull her down and press my lips to hers. I need to remember to thank Alannah for this. If she hadn’t of shot me and tonight had gone another way, I wouldn’t be here to feel her against me. She tastes like salty tears and fear but she has never tasted sweeter.

“Miss, I need you to step back so I can see to his leg.”

I look up to see a paramedic standing over us. Kristen moves back and releases my hand.

Flickers of something I can’t work out flash across her face and she moves further away from me.

“Kristen?”

“I need to check on Zachery,” she says, before she escapes back up the stairs.

The paramedic could be amputating my leg right now and I wouldn’t feel a thing because the pain of watching her walk away hurt more. I don’t understand, she just said she was okay.

The rest of the night became a blur, the meds they gave me until I arrived at the hospital had me drowsy and falling in and out of consciousness and then everything went black.

Chapter Eighteen

Kristen

Everything came crashing down around me when I left Slade with the medic. Everything that happened with that crazy ass woman took its toll and I couldn’t handle it. What made it worse was Slade intentionally putting himself in danger. He was prepared to die and leave us. After everything he said and done to make me fall in love with him he was going to dismiss it.

After he was taken away and Pope was also bundled into the back of the ambulance Cas had promised they would follow them soon and everyone else began clearing the bar. Oak never came back from where ever he took Kitty’s body and I never asked.

With everyone occupied I quietly retrieved Zachery and an overnight bag and slipped out unnoticed. I wasn’t sure if I was running away or not but I knew I couldn’t stay here tonight.

When my father’s life was drawing to an end Zachery was my rock without him even knowing it. All I needed now was my son.

It has now been two days since Kitty went bat shit crazy and I still haven’t been to the hospital to see Slade. I don’t know how he’s doing or if he’s even still in the hospital?

It took a day and a half to clearly see being held hostage wasn’t what was tearing me apart, it was the fact Slade had purposefully put himself near death.

If he could do that, how easy would it be for him to just walk out on us? I told him Zachery would always come first in my life and I didn’t want him to get hurt. He promised me he would never hurt us but how did he think I would feel if he had died two days ago?

The motel in Willows Peak was still closed from the fire so I returned to the motel I stayed in after I found out the truth about Billy.

It was obvious Slade knew where I was because at some point yesterday one of the prospects turned up and sat vigil outside my room. When I took Zachery for dinner he followed and waited for us to finish before he followed us back to the motel. He done the same when we left for breakfast this morning too.

I have to go back to Willows Peak at some point but I know when I do I will have to see Slade.

A knock at the door didn’t have me fearing who was on the other side because I knew the prospect would have stepped in.

Climbing off the bed I opened the door to find Sparky standing on the other side.

“Can I come in?” he asks.

“Sure.”

I don’t have the same perception of him as I did when I first met him. He doesn’t scare me with his size and tattoos when all I see in him is love for his wife and child.