Page 17 of Cocked Hammer

The hinges squeaked when I pushed the heavy metal door open a smidge. The fact they were in there talking about me had piqued my interest enough for me to risk getting into another meaningless argument with them. Truthfully, I didn’t much care anymore; my mind had been made up for weeks now. If one of them did anything to me again, I would kill them all. I couldn’t prove it, but the only reason Dimitri was still living was the promise I asked of Sledgehammer. I should have let my lover kill him the first night he and I were together. Maybe I was too scared of what would happen that night, but I no longer feared them. They didn’t have any power over me anymore and never would again if I had any control over the situation.

“I don’t know. She’s probably in there fucking the worthless biker,” Alek mindlessly answered and lifted a package from the box.

“Fuck all of you,” I sneered in a nearly inaudible tone. Enough was enough. It was strange timing, but this was not the worst thing they’d ever said about me or did to me for that matter, but something inside me broke when they mentioned Sledgehammer.

“Are you enjoying the show, little girl?” Viktor snapped in his gruff voice, the hatred within him unmistakable.

“Not at all. I’m tired of this stupid shit.” No truer statement had ever passed my lips the entire time I had walked the earth. I refused to take anymore.

“Stupid shit?” He sarcastically laughed, his round belly bouncing. “Don’t you see what all of this is?” His hand waved around in the air. “It’s a fucking sham! I would never let you run a business. You idiotic whore! We needed you to be believable so we could smuggle Russia’s finest heroin into Ohio.”

“You’ve been dealing drugs out of my pet shop?” My eyes blinked in disbelief, a huge lump forming in my throat.

“You mean inmypet shop? Who paid for it, Galina? It sure as fuck wasn’t you.”

“No,” I gasped, and hot tears burned my eyes as they peaked over my lower eyelids and drifted down my cheeks.

“No,” Viktor mimicked me and feigned shock. “And now that you know, I’m going to kill you, and that biker you let ruin your sweet little cunt is next.”

All it took was him threatening Sledgehammer, and I was alive again. In a mad fit, I dashed around Viktor and headed to the register where I kept my gun safely tucked beneath in a cash bag.

“If you’re looking for your gun, I moved it weeks ago.” My shoulders slumped, and my head dropped while my eye closed. “Turn around. Slowly,” Viktor added as the all too familiar clicking noise of shells being loaded into his favorite hunting rifle resonated in my ears. It came as no surprise since he hauled that thing everywhere with him. Always in his car, close at hand.

“Kill me and leave him out of this! He doesn’t know anything!” I shrieked through the flood of tears pouring down from the gallons of the hatred I held for this man standing behind me. Doing as he asked, I pivoted and faced him, praying that giving my life would be enough to save Sledgehammer. Not only was I labeled by the lies of my family, but I was also intoxicated by them. It was easy to believe those who claimed to care about you when you didn’t know the difference between love and hate. Every day was a constant reminder of failure, but any life was better than my previous one…or so I was told. I was stuck in limbo, and on most days, prayed for the inevitable to finally swallow me entirely —for death to bring me the sweet peace that I did not deserve. There were times it was so close, I could smell its alluring stench, and the bitter taste was one etched into memory for all eternity. I was a lost cause without a reason to live, buthegave me purpose. This was my gift to him. I would trade my life for his.

“Oh, Galina, I know, but he will. I’ll make sure he knows how his pretty little fuck toy is the reason I killed him.”

“He. Will. Kill. You!” I screamed, lifting my knee, and forced it with all my might against his balls.

“Fuck!” he grunted, shielding his testicles with his hand while his body lurched forward in pain. “Stupid bitch!” His hand hooked the barrel, and he swung the stock in my direction. My legs folded against my body when I jumped in the air to dodge it, but my ankle was clipped in my landing. My ass bounced off the hard floor, and my eyes quickly focused on the butt of the rifle as it made contact with my face. Horrific pain jolted through my cheekbone, and warm liquid, I assumed to be blood, poured from somewhere around my eye.

13

Sledgehammer

The back of my head rested on my cupped hands, and I closed my eyes, tipping the chair backward, and blew out a sigh. I had been on edge since we got the confirmation I grew to loathe in a very short timeframe. For Lina’s sake, I hoped Monty Cat would have been a dead-end, but at the same time, I was fucking ecstatic we finally had an answer for the club. Sleeper, Wily, Ghoul, Tin Man, and I were heading out today with Goob, E, and Kicker to put an end to our problem.

“What’s on your mind, brother?” Sleeper asked as he joined me, and my eyelids slowly lifted. He dropped an arm full of firewood onto our usual bonfire spot and casually strolled back to where I was sitting. My eyebrow arched as I eyed him questionably. “Didn’t feel like chopping any in this damn heat, so I bought some beside the road.”

I smirked and simply shook my head. He was a damned good brother, but the fucker hated to break a sweat if it was not necessary. “Fair enough, I guess.”

“You ready to get this shit over with?”

“Why the fuck not?” I choked out through a yawn, stretching my arms and legs before planting my boots on the ground.

“Seems like a nice day to torture someone, right?”

“Every day that ends in ‘y’ is a good day for that.” Now, it was his turn to question me without actually doing it in so many words. He bit his tongue while his eyes narrowed in my direction. “I have anger issues.” My shoulders rose and fell casually. There was no reason to dance around the truth. Was it normal to enjoy inflicting pain upon others? The answer would be no on every continent of the world if you asked someone, and they thought someone else was listening, waiting for their response. Yet, if no one would ever find out what happened, that number would rise exponentially, in my opinion. The majority of people always hid behind the expectations of society. I chose to openly embrace my rage instead of allowing it to fester inside me. It would probably bite me in the ass one day. Until that time came, I was going to do what I needed to get by.

What I didn’t mention was how fucking nervous I was that Lina’s name hadn’t been cleared before we found out. The thought of losing her paralyzed me with fear. I loved that damn woman and hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her. Of course, it would be nothing to call and tell her, but it didn’t seem like enough. She deserved more than a phone call. I wasn’t the flowers and chocolates kind of guy, fucking and fighting was more my style. For her, I wanted to be more.

I held my breath as we pulled around back in a couple of unmarked vans, and I zipped my black hoodie up over my shirt. All us bastards wore similar attire in case someone was around and was stupid enough to try and rat us out to the law. The plan was always to not be seen or get caught, but shit happened. More often than not, someone fucked up somewhere.

“I’ll get Lina out,” Tin Man assured me with a nod. The club voted, and for now, her life would be spared. It didn’t mean she was in the clear with the club, but I would prove her innocence.

“Thanks, brother,” I said and truly meant it. She was supposed to go to Tin Man’s farm with me today to visit with Xander, so when he arrived at the pet shop without me, it wouldn’t be a big deal. It was not the first time she rode somewhere with another brother and met up with me.

I had to be the one to deal with Dimitri. The first thing that came to my mind every morning I woke up was Lina, and then it was the fucker who had hurt her. It was never something I considered forgetting. Hell, I was going to kill him at our clubhouse when I found out what happened to her, but I’d made her a promise. The time had come for him to suffer, and I was going to make sure every damn last minute of his pitiful life would be spent in agony.

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