Page 25 of Tease Me

I don’t hesitate as I line up my shot and squeeze the trigger. Kendell doesn’t move a muscle as she gets covered in blood from Martin. No, I didn’t miss the shot I was aiming for. The bullet hit Martin directly between the eyes and dropped him. Kendell doesn’t scream or shout with everything covering her. If anything, she stands taller and keeps her head held high. Right now, I’m so fucking proud of Kendell. But the moment doesn’t last as I see her start to waver as if she’s going down. Rushing to her side, I wrap my arms around her and hold her up.

“Cash gotta get these fuckin’ cuffs off my girl. They’re diggin’ into her wrists and I can see the blood poolin’ under them. I want someone to get Kelsey out of here too. She deserves to have a proper burial for Gideon and my girl. I don’t really give a fuck what happens to the asshat here, but we either need to burn his body in this house or take him and bury him where no one will ever find him,” I tell Cash, not letting Kendell go as I hold her trembling body close to mine and pull her even closer as my best friend leaves the room and goes in search of ways to get these cuffs off Kendell.

“Sparky, are you with me?” I ask Kendell, moving us down so I can look at her and see the emotions she can’t ever keep hidden for very long from me.

“I don’t know what I am anymore, Trent. H-h-he killed her. She didn’t deserve that and he took her from us. Gideon is gonna grow up without his mama now. What am I supposed to tell him? How do I get him through this?” she asks, her words broken up by the sobs she’s trying so hard to hold in.

“Get it out, baby. It’s just us here and none of us will judge you for breakin’. You just lost your baby sister in a traumatic way. It happened a foot from you. You’re allowed to break down and not be okay right now. We’re gonna get Gideon through this together, Kendell. It’s not all on your shoulders anymore to get through all this shit on your own,” I tell her, not letting her hide from me as I lift her chin with my finger. “I told you I’m all in and that means not just for the good shit. It’s for the bad shit, the good shit, and everythin’ in between.”

Cash returns immediately with bolt cutters or some shit in his hands. He gets to work on cutting Kendell loose and I bring her hands up in between us so she doesn’t suffer any more damage to the wounds. Savage, Titan, Reaper, and Cash all move over to Kelsey’s body and work to get her ready to go back to the clubhouse. Cash removes his cut from his body and hands it over to Savage while pulling his shirt off with one hand. He places it over Kelsey’s head and covers her body before putting his cut back on. Together, the four of them lift her body and carry her through the house as I lift Kendell in my arms and hold her close to me as we move through the house. The hallway is lined with the members of the club as they mourn a girl that was under our protection. Every single man’s head is bowed until we pass and they fall in line behind us.

Rubber and Jay have already moved the vans closer to the house so we don’t have to carry them down the road. They don’t deserve to be carried that far. The four men carefully and gently set her body in the van before they climb in to surround her body so it’s not jostled around on the ride back to the compound. My best friend nods at me so I know he’ll personally take care of Kelsey. I get in the second van with Kendell in my arms. This time instead of taking a seat in the back, I grab the passenger seat and hold her in my arms the entire ride back.

Kendell doesn’t move the entire trip back and I’m really getting worried about her. She’s never been like this the entire time I’ve known her. I don’t understand what the hell I’m supposed to do here to help my girl through this shit. This is completely out of my comfort zone but I’m going to figure it out. I have no choice because the only way Kendell will open up is if I prove to her that I’m not gonna let her down and that I’ll truly be at her side when things get rough and hard to deal with. There’s isn’t anything I won’t do for this girl and her nephew. We’re going to have to work together to get Gideon through losing his mom. Again, a first for me because I usually only celebrate the loss of life at the clubhouse with a bottle of alcohol and a party with the rest of the club. I’ve got no clue how to help Gideon and Kendell.

I don’t pay attention to the ride back into Clinton City. Instead, I hold my girl close and put all of my focus on her.

“What do you need, Sparky?” I ask her, keeping my voice low since everyone is silent in the van today.

It’s another first for us. We’d usually be talking and celebrating the fact that we killed the stupid fucker who took Kendell and Kelsey from us. Instead, no one’s laughing, talking, or celebrating a damn thing. We’re all mourning the loss of Kelsey. We didn’t protect her and keep her away from the abusive piece of shit who hurt her for so long. There’s nothing there to celebrate because we didn’t do our jobs. We should’ve been surrounding the house at all times. Even when the girls weren’t there. We made a few changes to keep Kelsey safe, but it still wasn’t enough in the end.

“I don’t know what I need, Hawk. Maybe just Gideon in my arms to remind myself that he’s still here with me and okay. I should probably see the doctor too. Martin got in a few good hits in to my stomach. I don’t feel any abnormal pain or anything, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. Can we get an appointment with Dr. Morris?” she asks me, hope in her voice mixing with the panic because we have no clue what’s going on with our baby right now.

“We can make that happen, Sparky. Do you need anythin’ else? Can I get you anythin’?” I question her, needing to know what I can get her when we get back to the clubhouse.

“No. Though, I should probably eat and have something to drink. That, seeing the doctor, and Gideon is all I need for right now. And you. I need you, Hawk,” she says, the dam breaking once again.

“We can get all that taken care of once we get back to the clubhouse. Before we have Dr. Morris check you out, I want to have Doc look you over. Make sure there’s no internal damage we’re not seein’. He should have everythin’ he needs at the clubhouse to check you out. If I can get her to the clubhouse, I’ll have Dr. Morris come there too. I don’t want to take you away from the clubhouse just in case there is somethin’ wrong and we make it worse by movin’ you too much,” I tell her, watching as Tripp pulls his phone from his pocket and makes the call to see if Dr. Morris can come to the clubhouse.

“She’ll meet us there,” Tripp says as he puts his phone back in his pocket just as my brother drives back into Clinton City.

“Thank you, Tripp,” I tell him as I turn my focus back on Kendell.

Her eyes are starting to close and I know she’s so damn tired. With Kendell trying to be strong and all the crying she’s been doing isn’t helping at all. So, I lean down and whisper in her ear to sleep. She doesn’t need to be worried about anything right now. I’ve got her and I make sure she knows that as my girl finally lets her eyes slide closed and the exhaustion pulls her under completely. Placing a kiss on her forehead, I make a silent vow to do everything I can moving forward to help her and Gideon. They’re both gonna find out very soon that there’s nothing I won’t do for them. There’s nothing the club won’t do for them because the very second I can, I’m gonna claim Kendell as mine.

Chapter Seventeen

Kendell

DR. MORRIS WAS waiting for us when we got to the clubhouse. Exhaustion filled every part of me and all I wanted to do was sleep. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that option because we needed to make sure everything with the baby was okay. That was more important than sleeping and Hawk and I both needed it for our own peace of mind. If we don’t know what’s going on with our little one then we’ll both do nothing but worry about him or her and I won’t be able to sleep or anything else. My mind is already so overwhelmed with everything else that happened and it’s hard to even think about processing the events of the last however many hours. I still don’t even know how long I was gone and held within Martin’s clutches as he beat, taunted, and hurt me in ways no one else will ever be able to hurt me again.

Hawk gets out of the van with me still in his arms. He hasn’t let go of me for a second since he picked me up and I don’t want him to. Hawk’s becoming my lifeline and the only place I feel safe. When I’m in his arms, I can forget about all the pain, anger, and hurt filling me. I don’t have to think about the fact that my sister isn’t coming home. Kelsey is gone and there’s nothing I can do to bring her back.

“Where’s Kelsey?” I mumble, asking Hawk as he carries me into the clubhouse and through the common room.

“Cash and the others are gonna take care of her, Sparky. He won’t leave her side until she’s inside the clubhouse. Doc is comin’ in to take care of her with some help from one of his friends who works at a funeral home. We’re gonna take care of everythin’ so you and Gideon can have a proper burial for her. There’s a spot of land where we’ve buried others from the club in the past who don’t have family or any other loved ones,” he tells me, his voice soft as he goes through the door of a room in the hallway where Reaper’s office is.

“Thank you, Hawk,” I say, burying my head in his chest once again before he lays me down on a gurney like they have in hospital emergency rooms.

Once I’m settled on the bed, Hawk doesn’t step back or anything. He grabs my hand and holds it tightly in his. I look around and see all sorts of medical equipment filling the room. They have a regular hospital in the clubhouse and I can’t even begin to process why they would need all this shit for their personal use. So many questions run through my mind, but I keep them to myself because I’m afraid of the answers and there’s nothing else I can think about tonight.

“Kendell, it’s good to see you,” Dr. Morris greets me, her voice warm and gentle as it pulls me from the random thoughts I’m having.

“Will you be able to tell if everything is okay with the baby?” I ask her, watching as she walks to the end of the bed I’m in and place a hand on my leg in comfort.

“I will. I brought the portable ultrasound machine so we can take a look and make sure everything is okay. Can you tell me what happened?” she answers me, turning around to put on a pair of gloves so she can examine me.

“Well, I was kicked in the stomach and side repeatedly. He could’ve kicked me a lot harder, but a kick is a kick. I tried to protect myself the best I could, but I was restrained and could only move so much. He also kicked me in the back and head,” I tell Dr. Morris as a deep, feral growl erupts from Hawk with the news of what was done to me.

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