Wayward Soul (19 page)

Chapter Thirty-Four

When we get back to the clubhouse, everyone is standing outside. Once I get off my bike, a few of the guys come up to see how I'm doing. This is why I will always choose the club, but I want to choose Casey, too. I just hope I can have both. I can tell they are all itching to find out what's going on.

Most of the members who know my father are in Vegas. Johnny and Prez were the only ones here who knew, and that's only because they were here when I arrived years ago. Johnny calls attention and the guys all look around, waiting for some answers. "Church,
”
he says, then walks into the clubhouse.

Once everyone is seated, Johnny starts, "Tonight, one of our own ratted out a brother. One of our brothers has suffered because of that, and another almost took the blame.
”
He looks around the room at all of the puzzled faces. None of these guys had a clue. Shit,
I
didn't even have a clue. "Our president became a rat and took money in exchange for getting Gunner alone. He was going to help his old man take Gunner
’
s old lady and torture her." My blood boils at the words coming from my VP. "Once he was done with Gunner and Casey, he was going to finish what he started with Gunner's mom. If this, alone, isn't reason enough to put both of these animals down, I don't know what is. But, according to law, we put it to a vote.
‘
Yay
’
or
‘
nay
’
for the deaths of Jaron Foster and our prez.
”
I hold my breath. Either way, I'm putting them both down. I just may have to go against the club to do it.

Johnny goes around the room and I am hearing more
‘
yay's
’
than
‘
nay's
’
. Johnny skips over me because he already knows my answer. The look on his face tells me not to say anything until the vote is over. Once the vote is done, the majority of the men voted
‘
yay
’
.

Letting out the breath I was holding, I feel the adrenaline coarse through my veins. I have been waiting all of my life to kill my father. He took away my childhood and made my mom's life a living hell. I stop listening to the conversation in the room. The only thing I can think about is moving on to the task at hand.

When Johnny finally calls an end to church, I am up and out the door. Jase catches up to me and grabs my shoulder. "What, J? I have more important things to take care of right now,
”
I say, knocking his hand off me.

"You need to fucking stop for a second, cuz. You got a good girl back in Vegas waiting for you, but you are determined to spill their blood here. Do you really want that on your conscience when she comes back home? Why not let the boys deal with it?"

I know he's trying to get me to back down, but I can't. "I'm fucking doing this for me! You didn't fucking hear him and the shit he was spewing. He wanted to fucking torture my girl in front of me. He threatened to kill her, then go after my mom. I can't just let that go. If it was the other way around and you were in my shoes, you're telling me you wouldn't do the same damn thing? So get off your fucking high horse and get out of my way."

"Shit," he says, running his hand through his hair. "Gun, you know I always have your back, but think about how she will handle it. Do you really think she'll be okay with this?"

I can't think about that right now. "She
’
ll understand, and even if she doesn't, I guess it's a chance I'm willing to take,
”
I say as I make my way to the garage.

When I open the doors, I see them both hooked to chains in the center of the large room. Smiling, I walk straight for my old man. "You deserve everything that's about to come to you, you sorry son of a bitch." My fist connects with his face and I watch him rock back from the force. He cries out and I hit him again.

The rest of the guys walk into the garage and form a circle around both the men hanging. Johnny motions to me to start. "My father threatened to torture and kill my old lady in front of me. Then he told me he would go after my mom.
”
I turn to my dad. "What's wrong,
dad
. Can
’
t get it up unless you fucking hurt a woman? Is that what does it for you?"

He snickers and I just want to bash his head in. "You're no better than me, son. You take joy in hurting people just like I do. A real chip off the old block, huh?
”

I shake my head. "I would never hurt a woman, especially one I supposedly loved."

Laughing, he spits blood on the floor. "You may not physically hurt her, but when she finds out what you're doing, it
will
hurt her.
”
I know he's trying to get to me, but how much of that statement is true? Will she hate me for doing this?

My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out and see her face on my screen. Putting the phone to my ear, I walk outside for a minute. "Hey, beauty,
”
I say. Anger is pulsing in my veins and I want nothing more to beat the fuck out of him, but her voice instantly calms me down.

"Gunner. I
’
m sorry to bug you, but I need to tell you something."

A million different things are running through my head right now. Is she pregnant? Does she not want anything to do with me? "What is it, babe?"

She takes a deep breath. "I know you
’
re about to do something which could change you, but I just want you to know that no matter what, I'll still love you. All I ask is that you don't tell me any of the details because I don't think I could handle them. I know you have to do what you have to do and I respect that. Just come back for me. Please." The last words are more like a plea.

“
Beauty, nothing is gonna stop me from bringing you back to me. I already told you you
’
re mine, and I protect what
’
s mine.
”

I hear her giggle and her breathless reply makes all this worth it.
“
Good because I
’
ve decided I
’
ll never let you go. You
’
re it for me.
”

I smile.
“
Is B there?
”

She puts him on and I tell him my plan. When we get off the phone, I can
’
t wait to get this over with so I can get my girl.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Walking back inside the garage, I focus on what needs to be done. The guys have been working them both over, and I just want to get this over with.

I grab the torch and make my way to my old man. Lighting it, I crank it up as high as it goes. Watching him squirm away from me just makes me laugh. When I was tied up, he acted so fucking tough, but now he
’
s whining like the pussy he really is. I take the torch and run it close enough to burn him in the chest through his shirt. The screams that fill the room are so fucking loud, some of the guys cover their ears, but continue to watch in fascination.

I run the torch over his jeans and dick and his hands, making sure he can never hurt a woman again. I watch the material start to catch fire and I don't even try to put it out. Luckily for him, he won
’
t have to live through the pain for too long. I watch his skin bubble up and his screams get even louder. When I put the torch directly on his skin, the pain is so bad, he passes out. I continue to run it down his back and Prez looks at me, fear in his eyes. As much as I want to turn the torch on him, I refrain. The boys can take care of him. I turn the torch off and hand it to one of the guys.

“
What are you gonna do next, Gun? You want Prez, too?
”
Johnny asks.

I just smirk.
“
He isn
’
t fucking worth the effort. You boys can take care of him.
”

I pull out my gun and put the barrel to my dad
’
s forehead. Without a second thought, I pull the trigger, watching his skull and brains splatter across the room. That motherfucker got what he deserved and I won
’
t lose a wink of sleep over it.

I step back and watch the guy
’
s taking their turns hitting Prez with various tools from the garage. As much as I want to fucking kill the bastard with my bare hands, I would rather be spending my time with Casey.

I walk over to Johnny and tell him I need to head out to clean my house before Casey gets here. He just laughs at me and tells me I
’
m pussy-whipped, but I don
’
t care. I can
’
t wait to get my girl home where she belongs.

When I get home, I don
’
t take time to worry that the lights are on in my living room and a car is parked in my driveway. Walking in, I find my beautiful girl picking up broken glass from the floor.
“
Beauty
…”
I say. I must have stayed in the garage longer than I thought.

As soon as she sees me, she runs to me and I pick her up. Wrapping her legs around my waist, I push her body into the wall and attack her mouth, teeth clashing and tongues dueling.

Breaking our kiss, I run my hands down her face.
“
Beauty, I
’
ve fucking missed you so much.
”
I kiss her again and run my tongue along her lips. Pulling away from her mouth, I look into her eyes.
“
As much as I want to fuck you right now, I need to shower and clean the blood off the floor in my room. Then you and I have some very important lovemaking to do.
”
She giggles as I lick and suck my way down her neck.

I carry her down the hall and towards my bedroom. As much as I hate her seeing it like this, I know it
’
s going to come out anyway. I hear her gasp when she sees the damage.
“
Gun
…
,
”
she says, wiggling so I let her go. Once her feet are on the floor, I hold her body to mine as she looks around the room.

Blood is splattered on the floor, and there are broken pieces of wood scattered around. She looks up at my face and runs her fingers over the cuts and bruises.
“
Gun, who did this?
”

I look at the sadness in her eyes.
“
You sure you want to know?
”
I ask. I know she
’
s going to blame herself, but I won
’
t allow it. That
’
s what my mom did.
“
My father was the one who was threatening your life. I couldn
’
t let him hurt you, so I had one of my guys look into him. He was paying off my prez and he got into my house. After knocking me out, he tied me up. I spent the next few days tied to that chair. I got free and stabbed him in the leg. When Johnny and Jase showed up, they tied him up, taking him to the garage of the clubhouse.
”

I hear her intake of breath.
“
Beauty, I
’
ll be fine. I would have died for you to keep you safe.
”

She looks up at me and whispers,
“
Was he the one texting me?
”

I just nod. Burying her head into my chest, she starts to cry.

“
I hate that he saw you like that, baby, but there was nothing I could do. We will never have to worry about him again. It
’
s over. He will never touch you.
”

Her body relaxes into mine and I pick her up and carry her in to the bathroom. Sitting her down on the tub, I turn on the shower. Waiting for the water to warm up, I strip out of my clothes, then strip off hers, too.

Grabbing her hand, I pull her into the shower with me. Her eyes roam my body and every time she finds a cut or bruise, she softly runs her fingers over it. Seeing me hurt is hurting her. I can see it in her eyes. Looking at the floor of the shower, red water is running down the drain. Her body shudders and she grabs a rag. Lathering it up, she runs it down my chest and arms. She has a look of determination on her face as she gently washes my injuries.

Smiling, I grab her hands, holding them down by her sides. "Casey, I'm okay. You don't have to be gentle with me." She giggles, then bites my nipple. "Fuck,
”
I say, sucking in a breath. I swear this girl will be the death of me. As much as I want to fuck her until we both can't breathe, I want to show her that she means something to me.

Pulling her to my body, I kiss her deeply, then grab the shampoo to wash her hair. We spend the rest of the time in the shower, washing and caressing each other. When we're done, I turn off the water and wrap her in a towel. I grab one for myself, dry off, and toss it onto the counter. Picking her up, I walk her into the extra room.

"Why are we in here?" she asks, looking around the room.

”
I don't want to think about the past few days. All I want to do is lie with you wrapped around me all night."

She smiles at me as I place her on the bed. I turn the light off and she scoots to the middle, pulling the covers down. Lying down beside her, I pull her into me.