Page 43 of Ruin
We all got nicknames in the club. They come to us for one reason or another. I got mine because I bit someone’s finger off. It was just a reaction. All my anger and tension had been building up for months. We got into a tiff with a different MC when I was just a prospect, and some fucker grabbed my cheeks, squeezing them like I was a five-year old kid. I kicked him in the balls, grabbed his wrist, and took a mouthful of finger and bit down. I spit it on him afterward and told him to keep his fingers away from my fucking mouth if he wanted them to stay attached.
That was just the first time.
The guys found it funny. I didn’t see the humor in it. It was just a way to survive. I do what I can to make it through to the next day—after all, it’s how I’ve always lived my life.
Since this guy is down for the count, I look for another.
Grizz is taking on two guys, which shouldn’t be difficult for him. He’s about the size of a Grizzly, but since I’m doing nothing, I may as well help the guy out.
I flip my bat, crack my neck, and walk through the chaos to the other side of the bar. Grizz shoves the guy far back enough I get a good swing in and hit him right in the gut. He keels over, groaning, so I knee him in the mouth. Blood spills to the floor, along with a tooth as he drops to his knees.
Something hard and heavy comes down on my back, and I growl as I stumble forward, trying to keep my balance and breathe.
“Sorry, bro!” Shark calls out with a grin.
I look behind me on the floor, and see an unconscious Iron prick.
Did he fuckingthrowhim at me?
Chaos erupts all around me. There’s screaming, wood cracking, bones breaking, boots squeaking, and a ton of other noises that I am suddenly finding too overwhelming now that I’m not focused on fucking someone up. So, I take the opportunity to go around the bar and into the back hallway, where people usually like to look for more weapons. There are three doors off the hallway. The back emergency exit door, one that has a smallwindow, showing a tiny ass stockroom, and another labeledoffice. That’s where I’ll find what I need.
I try the knob, but it’s locked. I roll my eyes, step back, and kick it out. The frame splinters, the door slamming against the wall. It rebounds hard, so I hold my hand out to catch it. I swear I heard a scream but it probably just came from the front.
The room is dark with no windows, so I flip on the light switch.
The room brightens under the fluorescent lighting, pain shooting through my head as I try to adjust. The crack in the wall showing where the safe is hiding is clear as day, so I go right to it. I tear the panel off and take the handle to yank it out of the wall. I pull too hard and stumble back into the desk that scrapes along the floor, the safe hitting me in the gut and landing hard on my thigh.
This time I do hear a yell. And it sounded like it came from beneath the desk.
I drop the heavy ass safe to the ground, then move around the desk, holding my bat at the ready. Though the scream sounded feminine, it doesn’t mean they won’t fight. Some of these women are taught to shoot first. Sometimes they do it out of fear because of what’s happened to them over the years.
“Please don’t hurt me,” someone says quickly. I bend down and find a tiny woman with a big round belly and dark hair. She has a busted lip and a black eye. I know my guys didn’t do this. We don’t hurt women, no matter what.
“Are you hurt?” I ask.
She stares at me for a long moment then shakes her head. I offer her my hand. “Let me help you.”
“No. Don’t touch me.”
She pushes herself back, curling up in the corner and trying to make herself smaller, which is difficult with how pregnant she is.
“I’m not like the men you’re used to,” I assure her. “We don’t hurt women.” I glance at her stomach. “And we definitely don’t hurt children.”
She frowns, as if considering what I’ve said, but doesn’t know if she can trust me. I can tell by the emptiness in her eyes that all this woman knows is fear and pain. I guess we’re not all that different in that way..
“Come on,” I say, urging my hand forward a little more. “I know a doctor. He can help you and your baby.”
She shifts away like a frightened animal, the desk squeaking as it moves across the floor another inch or so.
This poor girl is terrified and I can’t blame her, given she’s been held by these assholes.
“No, I can’t. They’ll find me.”
“I promise you, I will kill anyone who tries to come after you.”
My words are firm, and I’ve never meant them more in my entire life.
She frowns again. “You can’t make that promise.”
