Page 70 of Out for Blood

I wanted to say it was okay, that she didn’t know what she was doing, but I knew better. She’d done it because she wanted Cooper to herself. She’d done it to get me out of the way.

“Savage, it’s time you stepped aside,” Maree said to him. He looked over at me for confirmation before I nodded and he stepped back from the girl. She looked over at him, almost for help, but he looked away. She knew what was coming. So did I, but for the first time, I didn’t want to help her. Maree grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her back. She screamed as the pain ripped through her scalp and she fell back onto the ground, about the time Maree pulled back with the bat and bashed her in the side of her stomach. Manna let out a terrified scream, followed by a painful howl as she lurched over to cover her injured side. Maree whaled on her, using the bat over and over again until blood sprayed all around the room from her injuries.

Maree dropped the bat, now splattered with blood, and stood over the trembling and weakened body of the girl. A few months ago I would have felt bad, I would have run in to stop this from happening, but I understood the betrayal that she’d cast on the club with what she’d done. No one rats in the club. No one goes outside the club.

Mana broke the rules.

“Pl-please,” she begged Maree, holding her hands up.

Maree was ruthless, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her up to her feet again. She pushed her out the door and off the porch. A loud thud could be heard all the way into the bar where I stood. Curiosity got the best of me and I followed them outside. Maree had a blade in her hand. It was one of Savage’s, I recognised the design on the side. He stood to the side, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked so intimidating when he did that, but I knew he was a softie at heart. He was to me and my girls anyway.

“You scrawny, no-good whore,” Maree said, her voice darkening with every word. She grabbed at Mana’s arm and pulled it up, causing Mana to scream out in pain as the shoulder was pulled from its socket. She clutched at it, trying to push it back in but Maree’s hold on her was too great. With a sadistic sense of glee, I watched as Maree cut into the tattoo that represented she was part of the club and cut around the skin, peeling it back from her arm. Mana let out a horrified scream as she watched her skin being peeled from her arm, unable to do a damn thing about it. When it was done, Maree let go of her arm and threw the piece of skin in the dirt. The logo of the Ghost Rebels lay there, looking up at me. Mana rolled around, clutching at her arm in agony as she sobbed for mercy.

“Mercy?” Maree turned back. “You ask for mercy after what you’ve done, you cunt?”

Maree threw Savage’s blade up in the air, caught it again and marched back to Mana, slamming the blade down into her chest. Mana’s sobs were cut off as her life drained from her. Maree made a move to come back inside, stomping on the skin laying in the dirt and grinding it in the dirt further. She grabbed my arm and looped hers through mine, leading me back inside.

“Savage, take out the trash, will you?” she called out over her shoulder.

Ruthless. Maree was ruthless.

And for the first time since I came here, I understood what it meant to be an old lady, and I was starting to learn just how ruthlessIcould be.

ACE

Maree, Orla and Sheridan were all sitting at the bar, laughing asif nothing had happened today. Savage had told me exactly what happened with Amanda and I was more than a little impressed that Sheridan had been okay with it, and more than a little turned on that she had laid her claim to me, even if Maree had done the dirty work.

“Where are the girls?” I asked Sheridan.

“They’re at the bonfire around the back,” she said. “We’ve just been waiting for you guys to get back before we head out there too.”

“Let me just close the front door,” I said, grabbing my keys. “No one should be coming, but you can never be careful.”

Sheridan moved off with Orla and Maree out the back door while I locked up. Kendrick was running up to the door when I was about to close it, half out of breath, half crazed.

“What is it?” I demanded to know.

“I just got word from Brogan,” he said, panting. “He made bail. He’s out.”

Fear flooded through my entire body at those words as realisation dawned on me. I moved out the back to find Sheridan and the girls. He would come here for them. I know it.

I looked around the club members, frantic, to find my family. “What is it?” Hawk came over to me, sensing my distress.

“Fucker made bail,” I ground out. “Where the fuck are the girls?”

Hawk and I made our way through the throng of members partying and having a good time, completely unaware of the danger that lurked.

“Surely the fuck wouldn’t come here,” Bear said after being brought into the fray. “We’ll kill him on sight.”

“Where are they?” I asked, looking around, almost blinded by the large fire in the pit.

“Ryleigh’s over there with Sheridan and Maree,” Hawk said, pointing.

“Where’s Shauna?” I heard Chains grumble from behind me. I turned to see his eyes darker than I’d seen them in a long while. “She was just fucking here.”

“Spread out,” I called to them. Everyone jumped to action, Kirby running over to let the girls know to look for Shauna and the reason. I saw the fear in Sheridan’s eyes.

Everyone began to look around the compound, our lands spread out into the woods so it was going to be really fucking easy for him to hide.

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