Page 70 of Claymore
“Yeah! Yeah, I’ll get her out. Ink!” Tank shouted, his eyes averting to the bedroom door.
Ink was just about to make it outside when he turned around frantically, rushing back over to Tank. He listened to his instructions, hopping from cover to cover until he could reach it. I made it back there with him, patting him on the shoulder while we hid behind the corridor wall.
“Take care of her, okay? We don’t know how this shit’s gonna go. She and that ledger need to be kept safe. Think you can do that for me, brother?”
“Yes, Claymore. She’ll be safe. Don’t get yourself killed.”
I won’t. I hope.The bullets stopped flying, the air around us had finally started to quiet down when Ink started leading Ella out.
“Ella. Ink’s taking you back to the clubhouse. I need you to stay there and stay safe. We’ll be there when we can.”
“No. I can’t leave you!”
“I’ll be fine. I’m not alone. I love you,” I said.
“I love you too.”
Ink led her to his bike, putting the key in his ignition. Soon, Ella’s face was hidden behind her dome and she wrapped her arms around Ink, whizzing down the streets the very way we came. I turned to my right, noticing that there were more bikes headed our way.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
“I’m nearly out,” said Vegas.
“Me too,” I confirmed.
“We’ve got to go. Now!”
We all piled onto our bikes, heading the opposite way so we wouldn’t lead them right to Ink and Ella. I gripped my bike handles tightly, soaring down the long stretch of road behind Tank, Archer, and Vegas. I glanced over my shoulder once to see how many of them were heading our way and that’s when I felt a shot clip my shoulder. It knocked me right off my fucking bike and I slid across the asphalt, feeling the hot gravel graze against my skin.
My eyes struggled to stay open as the sun’s glare was still too bright, even at this late hour. I turned my head to see there were still some of those fuckers chasing Tank and the others down, but now, I wasn’t sure I’d ever make it back to them. I spotted two clunky boots walking up toward me. They were leather, large, and had a hard steel-toed front. They kicked me once in the head so hard I felt like my skull was gonna fall out of my ear.
“Night night, pal.”
I felt the sharp pain hit the side of my skull again and the world around me slowly faded to black.
***
All I could see was her. Those bright blonde curls, the smile on her face, the way her body glistened in the soft morning light. That’s all I could see. That’s all I wanted to see. The memory slowly melted away, and my heavy eyelids opened up to a dark, damp room.Where the fuck am I?I felt an intense, sharp pain shooting up the back of my neck into my skull. I groaned, trying to sit up, but my wrists and legs were bound.Zip ties? Great.
The pain was unbearable. Every breath felt like a knife twisting inside me, every tilt of my head felt like it was slowly being sliced off. I grunted, gritting my teeth while I felt around on the ground looking for something to help me. My fingers pricked on a few glass shards and I grabbed one, getting to work on my zip ties. I sawed away at the material, feeling the glass pierce my skin, but that’s when I heard a loudslam!
It startled me, and I dropped the fucking shard, sighing just as a door opened up in front of me.Well, at least I know where my way out is now.
“You really are a fighter, Claymore. I’ll give you that. I guess that’s what my fucking sister loves about you, huh? It’s a shame she got involved with you motherfuckers. Every day I toy with the idea of killing her after I’m done killing all of you.”
“Ray.”
His once neatly-trimmed hair was a long, disheveled mess, and his beard was thick, pressing up against his neck when he moved. He looked stronger. He had muscles that bulged in ways they never did before, stretching his tattoos. I saw his deep-set eyes, the exhaustion, the wrinkles that appeared on his face.
I’m gonna fucking kill you for what you did. Stronger or not. This will end.
“Ah, you don’t look so good, buddy. Here, this might help,” he said, holding out a line for me.
I turned my nose up at it, looking away and he fucking cackled.
“Too good for the birdie powder, huh? You goddamn Rebels be fucking with my shit. All you’ve ever done is fuck with my shit! I can’t wait for the day I fucking kill you,” he said, snorting up a bit of it.
“What are you waiting for? You have me here. You could’ve killed me. Your goons could’ve done the job and saved you the trip. What am I here for?”
