Ink (5 page)

Eight

Ink was pissed.  He had probably never been so pissed in his life and scared.  He had punched Law in the face and walked out of the hospital with his ass hanging out only to be carted right back in by Moose and Mike and given a fucking shot that had knocked him on his ass.  It had been six hours since he’s found out Angel had gone to Zip to get his fucking kid back and that she hadn’t told a  soul until she’d pulled into the parking lot.  The brothers had headed out as soon as Spec got her call and apparently had listened while she gave that fucker a blow job in exchange for the kid.

He knew how helpless she had felt when he had left to do what he’d thought was right.  He hated himself for making her feel that way.  He had hurt her.  He deserved this agony of not knowing anything.  How could she love him this much?  How could she risk everything for a child that wasn’t even hers?

Ink felt like a pussy.  His pregnant wife was out taking care of shit while he lay in bed like an old broken down man.  How could he let this shit happen?  How had everything fallen apart so completely?

He looked around at the men who filled his room.  Law stared at him with a cocky grin that made Ink want to stab him in the eye.  Moose frowned as he leaned against the wall beside the door.  Mike snored in the chair by the window.

“Anybody gonna tell me anything?”  He accused.

“She’s fine.”  Moose said simply.

“Are you just gonna let that prick fuck her?  Just stand here and let her do this shit?”

“I’m not there!  What the fuck man?  You think this isn’t hard on all of us?  That girl means the world to all of us, not just you and she feels like all this shit is on her so she’s setting it right.  Don’t you go throwing shit at us right now.”  Moose was pissed.  “Don’t you do that shit.”

Law looked like nothing at all was wrong.

“It’s pussy.  She’s doing what she feels she has to.  It’s not like Zip hasn’t been in there before and Angel’s no virgin.  She spreads her legs and gets shit done and moves the fuck on.”

“That’s my fucking pussy you son of a bitch.  Give him Nikki if that shit means so little to you.”  Ink pushed up in the bed.

“Nikki is a strong as shit woman who didn’t flinch away when I almost put a bullet in her brain.  She could handle a dick in her pussy if she thought it’s what she needed to do.  Stop selling that woman so short.  She is doing this shit to save your kid.  You telling me you wouldn’t bend over to save Cat?”  He nodded.  “In a fucking heartbeat.”

“Noah’s not her kid.”  There, he’d said it.  How could she do this for a kid that was nothing to her?

“Who the fuck cares?  You think Mrs. wouldn’t take a bullet for Shad?  You think she wouldn’t kill for him?  I’m willing to bet she would and any of us too. She sure as shit wouldn’t think twice of laying on her back.  Angel is her kid man, Noah is yours and she will love him just because of that shit, she won’t even have to try.”

Ink felt his eyes sting.  She was risking her life for a boy she had never even seen and Law was right, she would do anything for him, just because he shared blood with Ink.

“How can you be so stupid when it comes to your own woman?  How can you be so blind?”  Law spat.

“Any news?  Can you tell me anything?”  Ink was desperate.

“Haven’t heard anything since she blew him.”  Law said with that asshole grin.

“I’m going to hurt you when I get out of here.”  Ink said darkly.

“Brother, you get the fuck better and I will stand and let you beat me until I can’t move.”  His mouth twitched down in a frown.

Law turned and left the room before Ink could make a comment and Moose sighed and walked to one of the miserable looking chairs that sat near the bed.

“Scared the fuck out of him.  The three of us been through some shit together.  Hit Law pretty hard to see you down.  Guess it could happen to any of us.  Wish you’d have trusted us man, we could have gone with you.”

Moose’s eyes looked over bright and Ink felt like grit.

“Wasn’t part of the deal man.  I wasn’t thinking clearly, just wanted that kid.  Didn’t want that shit getting out until I knew and I had time to talk to Angel.  Just couldn’t get my head around it.  I guess I was ashamed for not knowing.”

Moose nodded, but he didn’t look up.

“This shit with Angel.  You can’t make her feel anything about it.  She’s gonna have trouble with it as it is, she don’t need it from you too.”

Ink knew that.  He nodded.

“Yeah.  How am I supposed to do that shit Moose?  She is letting him touch her because I’m a pussy and let this shit go down.  She will hate me for it.  She will hate me for all of it.”

“You fucking let it go.  There’s shit we have done that she doesn’t bring up.  You think she likes the fact that we kill people?  You think she likes knowing we let bitches rub all over us when we are on the road because it’s what’s expected?  That shit happens, just like this.  She’s taking a hit for the club.  She is probably the only way we could get a hold of any of them this quick.  She knew it.  Don’t punish her for thinking.  She’s smarter than any of us.”

“I hate this shit.”

“We all do, but she will be fine.  She has help there now.”

Ink nodded.  He had to trust his brothers.  He had to trust Angel to be strong.  God he loved that woman.  She was stronger than this.

He knew she was.

He loved her.

He was the weak one here.

“I need to be there man.”  Ink said in a voice that was more a plea than a statement.  He would beg if he had to, but he had to be there.

Law stepped back in the room with the pretty little nurse that had been so good to him, Lauren.

“I just wanted to let you know my shift is over.  Amy will be taking over for me so be good to her and no more trying to leave the hospital, you could have hurt yourself.”

Law tilted his head and studied her.  “What are you getting up to tonight darlin’?”

Lauren sent him a saucy grin that showed more spunk than most women could pull off when talking to a man like Law.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Law sent her a slow smile and nodded slowly.

“Yes ma’am, I do believe I would.”

Nine

Angel paced the room she had slept in the night before.  Zipper hadn’t come back last night and she wasn’t sure he was there now.  She had showered and tried to clean herself up the best she could.  The bed had been disgusting.  Zip had apparently found some shank to fuck because there was evidence all over the sheets.  Angel had stripped the bed and found a couple of clean towels to lay on.  It had been a miserable night, but she knew she needed to rest as much as she could.

She had gotten a text from Spec saying he would see her later which meant he was there and she was safe, but she was still scared.  She wanted to be with Ink, wanted to talk to him at least, but she knew he would be furious and might not want to talk to her at all.  He may never want to talk to her again.

The pain in that thought almost doubled her over.  That couldn’t’ happen.  After everything they had to be ok.  They would work it all out.  They had to.

She heard a loud bang and jumped.  Then she heard cursing and lunged for the door.

“Angel!  Got somebody out here for you!”

She heard as she pulled the door open and stepped into the hall.

She heard a woman’s curse and recognized the voice as Jazz.  Angle’s blood turned to ice and she adopted a look she had seen the brothers wear all too often.  She blanked her expression and walked slowly into the warehouse.  Jazz struggled against Zipper.

“You son of a bitch, we had a deal.  I can’t help it that he didn’t fucking die.  Let me go!” Jazz raged.  “I tried to have him run away with me, but he wouldn’t.  What are you doing?”

“Hello bitch.”  Angel said as she stepped into the dim light.

She loved the way Jazz froze and turned to her and how she struggled harder against Zipper.

“Zip, baby, come on…”

Angel fought the need to flinch when Zipper backhanded Jazz across the face.  She hit the ground hard.

“See sweetheart, I brought her to you.  I promised I would.”

“I see Zip, thank you sugar.”  Angel said as she watched Jazz. “What about the kid?”

“He’s in the trunk of my car.” 

Angel didn’t flinch the way she wanted to.  Poor kid, but he was safer in that trunk.

“Are you sure he’s alright Zip?”

“He’s fine sweetheart.  I told you I’d bring them to you.  Now you’re mine.  You just have to kill her.”

He pulled a gun from his waistband and handed it to her.

Angel took the gun.  She wanted to kill them both, more than she wanted anything in that moment, but she had never taken a life before.  It felt big.  She would never be able to go back from this moment, never be the same.

“Come on Angel.  I want to fuck you.  Kill that bitch so we can fuck.”

“You son of a bitch!  It was all you.  You wanted to kill Ink so you could have that bitch!  All I wanted was the money and my kid!  You stupid bitch how could you be so stupid?  He spent the night in my bed!”

Zipper kicked Jazz and then he turned on Angel.  The light in his eyes was bright and she knew he had lost his mind.  Jazz moaned on the floor as Zipper made his way toward Angel.

“This was not the deal Zip.”

Angel’s hand shook as she held the gun on Zipper. 

“Stop Zip.  Not like this, I don’t want this, not this time.”  Angel was scared.  She could admit it to herself.  Her finger lay on the trigger, it tightened, more…

BOOM

Angel screamed as something warm and sticky splashed across her face and Zipper fell to the floor at her feet.   Had she shot him?  She couldn’t focus on anything.  She heard screaming, she heard voices calling her name, but all she could think of was Noah.  Noah was in the trunk of Zip’s car.

Angel turned and ran.  She heard her name as stumbled toward the old car that sat in the parking lot and turned to find Ink standing in the doorway.  He had saved her.  He had come to her even as sick as he was so she wouldn’t have to take a life.  She knew it had been him and even though he couldn’t stand on his own, he had protected her because that was just the sort of man he was.  Her man.  The man that loved her even if she wasn’t perfect.  He loved her, not in spite of her flaws like she had once thought, but her flaws made her and he loved her because of them.

Ten

Ink leaned against the wall.  He was exhausted and covered in a cold sweat, but he had done his duty, he had killed that son of a bitch and saved Angel from having to carry that with her for the rest of her life.  He hated that he couldn’t chase after her, but she was safe and he would have to trust his brothers to go after her.

“You look like shit brother.”  Shadow said as he stepped up beside him.

“Yeah, Might have overestimated myself a little bit here.”  Ink admitted with a self-depreciating grin.  “I had to be here man.  I can’t explain it.”

Shadow clapped him on the back enough to make Ink wince.  “You don’t have to.”  His head tilted.  “Don’t you know that?  It doesn’t matter and you don’t explain shit to anybody.  We do what we do because it’s what needs to be done.  We stand together because we are brothers.”

Shadow shook his head.  “All these years and you still don’t know it.”

Shadow shook his head and walked away.

Ink sat heavily in a chair Spec slid his way.

“You look confused.”  Spec said as he watched Rider drag Jazz down a darkened hallway.  The blonde brother looked like a pretty boy, but he was ruthless and he was pissed.

“I guess I thought I’d owe you guys an explanation.”

“Guess we learn something everyday brother.”  Spec stood and nodded toward where two prospects cleaning up the bloody mess that had been Zipper.

“We take care of our own.  I understand why you’re here, but you didn’t have to be.  You got serious trust issues brother.”

“I know.  I guess I didn’t, but I do now.”

“Get him the fuck out of here and back to the hospital.”  Preach said as Ink’s world grew fuzzy.

“Angel?  I need to see her.”

Preach nodded and helped him stand.  Every step was a struggle, but the need to see her face drove him on.  The distance to the door seemed longer than moments ago, but he would walk forever to see a glimpse of her face.

“Angel.”  He called and she turned and offered him a nervous smile.  She was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, even with blood spattered on her shirt.  He watched her lips move forming his name before his legs failed him. 

She was safe.

He found himself on his back in a van with the pretty nurse leaning over him.

“Hey there.  Welcome back.”  She said as she ran her hands over his body.

“Careful there darlin’ or my wife might kick your ass.”  Ink said in a voice that sounded weaker than he liked.

Lauren laughed.  “I bet she would, but I need to check you out.  That was the deal.  I agree to help you get out and I get to run my hands all over you to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself.”

Ink let out a laugh.  He felt pretty good considering.

“Where’s Angel?”

Law spoke from the front seat.  “Meeting us at the hospital.  She’s fine, she got…”

Ink drifted off again.