Broken (Soldiers of Darkness MC Book 1) (25 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Izzi

We leave the bike at a bar about two blocks from the Soldiers of Darkness clubhouse. And that’s when Zeb and I become just another biker couple out for a few late night drinks. We down a beer and a couple of tequila shots in another bar a little closer to the clubhouse, and from there we can actually see the Soldiers’ compound. Zeb’s been staking it out for most of the day, because both he and Sam had a feeling Mack and Viper were aware that something might be happening. He knows where Mack’s got men watching and he knows how to deal with them. All I know is I’ve got a nervous excitement burning its way through my soul and I’m pumped. I’m ready. I’ve fucking got this.

‘It’s time to go,’ Zeb says, taking my hand and pulling me off my stool.

I cling onto him as we head out of the bar, out into the street, and even though it’s almost midnight there are still plenty of people milling around, sitting outside the late-night fast-food restaurant, chilling and chatting and laughing, while I prepare to kill a man. It sounds so far-fetched, so out there, but that’s what I’m about to do. And my heart is beating hard and fast, my stomach tied up in a mess of knots but the adrenaline is coursing through my veins, veins that are flooded with that power and poison Zeb kissed into me.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a joint, lighting it up and taking a drag before he hands it to me. ‘Here. It’ll take the edge off.’

‘What if I don’t
want
the edge taken off?’

‘Take it, Izzi.’

He looks at me, and I take it from him, dragging deep, feeling the smoke unfurl in my lungs as I inhale, the heady feeling already hurtling towards my brain.

I hand the joint back to him and watch as he takes another draw, and his fingers tighten around mine, a quick squeeze of encouragement, it’s all he needs to give me.

‘We’re going in round the back.’ He takes one last drag on the joint and stubs it out against a wall, dropping the butt onto the pavement. ‘They’ve got two guys out front but only one out in the yard. So you’ll go in through the back door.’

I feel the tiniest flicker of something – I don’t know if it was fear, but it was
something
– the second he lets go of my hand, but I kick it away, I get rid of it. I can’t afford even the slightest hesitation. So I suck whatever it was up and follow him around the back of the clubhouse, but all I can see is a high fence and I don’t feel much like scaling it.

Zeb turns to look at me, and he grins, and I stare at him, cocking my head slightly.

‘I ain’t gonna make you climb that, princess. Your man here, he’s already prepared your entrance.’

I’m not asking any questions, I don’t really care how we get in there, I just need to do this now.

Zeb starts kicking away at a mound of earth and grass at the foot of the fence, at the same time reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small pair of wire cutters. And I watch as the earth and grass is removed to reveal the beginnings of a small hole.

‘You can crawl through there, princess.’

It isn’t a question. So he doesn’t get an answer.

‘
You
can’t.’ I point out, because even as he crouches down and extends the hole with the wire cutters there isn’t any way in hell I can see of
him
getting through there. ‘So how are
you
getting inside?’

He stands up and smirks, tucking the wire cutters back into his pocket. ‘The easy way.’

I laugh out loud as he scales the fence with the speed and skill only someone who’s done this many a time before can display. And then he drops to the ground and flashes me another grin from the other side of the fence.

‘We really need to have a word with your boyfriend about his lack of alarmed security.’

I give him the finger before I kneel down, not caring that my legs and arms are being splashed with dirt as I slide through the hole, I just want to get inside the compound.

Pulling myself to my feet I begin to kick more dirt and mud into the hole I’ve just crawled through, and then I turn to look at Zeb, who raises an eyebrow and gives me a sideways smirk. ‘Dirty in every sense of the word, huh?’

I move towards him and he catches my waist, pulling me against him, his mouth crashing down onto mine in another hot, heavy kiss and I bury my fingers in his hair as he releases more of his strength into me, another dose of whatever it is he gives me that makes me feel the way I do now.

‘When this is over, baby, I am gonna play with you so hard you ain’t gonna be able to move for days.’

‘Promises, huh?’ I smile and lightly run my fingers over his beard, touching his mouth with its almost perfect, symmetrical lips – why am I just noticing these things about him now? Because it’s time. We always knew it was coming, deep down, and I smile again because I’m not afraid of what I signed up for. Zeb is giving me my life back – he’s giving me
a
life. A new life. And it’s all I ever wanted. After losing Aiden and my dad I never thought I’d be able to live again. I was wrong. I
can
live. It just has to be a very different life to the one I knew before.

‘Promises,’ he murmurs, his hand dropping to my bottom, pushing me harder against him.

He kisses me again, and I feel him pull the gun out from my belt and place it in my hand.

‘Once, Izzi. Remember what I told you, and you only have to do this once. Then it’ll all be over, and we can get out of here.’

I look at the gun resting in my palm before I raise my gaze, my eyes meeting his.

‘Resurrect that anger, princess. Bring that hate to the forefront and fire like your fucking life depends on it.’ He leans in to me, his mouth touching my ear as he speaks. ‘Because it just might.’

I feel a shiver wrack my body as he rests a hand against my hip, and I close my eyes for a beat or two as I try to compose myself. I need to be completely focused.

‘Let’s go.’

I tuck the gun back into my belt and take the hand he holds out as we head towards the clubhouse.

‘Who the fuck are…?’

Zeb has the prospect in a neck hold before the poor guy can even get his sentence out, but he needs to silence him, albeit temporarily. We’re not here for a bloodbath. I’m only here to finish what Viper started. An eye for an eye, I’m not even asking for two anymore, not if I can end the man himself. One will do. One will be more than enough. It won’t bring my dad or Aiden back but it
will
help me to move on. It’ll leave
me
able to deal with the hand life’s dealt me. Selfish? Maybe. But right now I don’t fucking care. I’m not sure I ever will. I ceased caring that night. They did that to me. They ruined me. Payback, that’s all this is.

I watch as Zeb presses against the prospect’s neck before dropping his seemingly lifeless body to the floor, but I know he’s only going to be out for a short while. There’s no permanent damage. But Zeb still drags him over to a lamppost and ties him up against it, giving him a slight kick just to make sure he’s still out cold. Better to be safe. Then he turns to look at me, and I shiver, because I’m excited. This is really fucking happening, and I’m on the edge of a dark and dangerous precipice but I can do this.
 

Zeb heads back over to me, stopping to slide a hand around the back of my neck as he passes. ‘You have no idea how much this shit turns me on,’ he growls, and I grab onto his shirt and kiss him like this is the last kiss I’ll ever give him. But I have every idea. I know, because I’m wet, I can feel it, and
this
is the reason why. The danger, it’s addictive!

‘I know,’ I whisper, taking his hand and sliding it up under my skirt. His fingers push my panties aside and he touches me, and I groan quietly. ‘It kind of turns me on, too.’

He smiles, and laughs, and he quickly plunges his fingers inside me for a few beautiful, glorious seconds, long enough to set another fire burning within me and I am so fucking ready now.

One more deep and dirty kiss and then he pulls his fingers out of me and wipes them on his jeans. ‘Time to go get ‘em, princess.’

I smile, and he laughs again and takes my hand as we make our way to the back of the clubhouse.

‘OK. Just one more thing to do…’

He lets go of my hand and reaches into his pocket again, pulling out what looks like a small Swiss army knife and I watch as he crouches down and does something to the lock on the door, taking just seconds before he breaks it loose.

‘Done.’

He stands back up and tucks the knife into his pocket.

‘Gimme a couple of minutes, baby, OK? I’ll get ‘em out front, then you go inside and wait for that bastard to come to
you
.’

He tucks a finger under my chin and kisses me one more time; a rough, violent, beautiful kiss and I swallow every breath he breathes into me. I take it deep and I hold it there, because I need it. It’s what’s going to get me through this. His strength is
my
strength, that’s the way it was always supposed to be, I get that now.

‘We’re almost there, Izzi. Remember that.’

I watch as he walks away, round to the front of the clubhouse, and I wait until I hear him shouting, hear a commotion start out in the compound before I go inside. And I reach around to touch my gun again, even though I know it’s still there, I just want that reassurance. And I’m still not scared. I can’t let the fear through, it’s too dangerous. Instead, I recall every painful, terrifying second of that night a little over a year ago. It’s what I have to do, in order to lessen the risk of any other emotion fighting its way forward. There’s no time for fear. I need to hate, like it’s the only emotion I’ve got left inside of me, and I know it isn’t. But I have to believe it is. I have to.

‘Going somewhere, beautiful?’

He’s got my arm up my back before I had time to see him coming, and yeah, he took me by surprise but Sam taught me well, and it takes just a second before I wind my leg around his and in one swift move I turn and slam him back against the wall, drawing my gun on him. Jesus, my hand isn’t even shaking! All I can feel is a rush so fucking strong I can’t even describe it.

And then I focus, and I see just who it was who almost had me there. And still I stay focused.

I came here to finish a job. And he isn’t getting in my way.

Mack

‘You don’t want to do this, Izzi.’

‘You don’t get to tell me what to do, Mack. Where is he?’

‘Jesus, come on!’ I start to lower my hands but she cocks the fucking gun she’s got aimed at my freakin’ forehead and I raise them back up. What the fuck happened to her?

‘Did you think I was spinning you shit, Mack? Hmm? When I told you I’d had to learn things and do things that were once incomprehensible to someone like me. Did you think I was lying? That I didn’t have it in me?’