He pushed the bedroom door open, his lips on mine and his hands on my face. His fingers ran down my sides, and cupped my ass, lifting me into his arms. He carried me across the room, and placed me on his bed. I sunk into his soft comforter as he kicked his pants off and got in the bed on top of me.
"You're so fucking beautiful, Sunshine. I need to be inside of you."
"I need you inside of me," I breathed as he thrust deep into my wetness. I closed my eyes at the delicious intrusion when a darkness fell over us. I blinked open my eyes to Cash, and watched his eyes dim as a look of pure evil crossed his face. My confusion was quickly replaced with sheer terror, as I saw the gun pointed at his head. The silver barrel glistened in the dark room, and every horrible thought I could imagine raced through my mind.
"Don't fucking try anything, or I blow both your brains out!" someone yelled from behind us.
Fear wracked my body, causing me to shake uncontrollably. The terror consumed me, and the scream that was inside me desperately tried to claw its way out, but couldn't find its way. I needed to keep my cool, or neither one of us was going to get out of this alive. I was not ready to die. I just started figuring my life out, and there was no way in hell I was going to sit here and let this guy kill me.
But, what other choice did I have?
Cash
Two things went through my mind. The first: Kade should have killed this fucking bastard when he had the chance. The second: If he laid a fucking hand on my Sunshine, I would kill him and I'd guarantee it would be a slow torturous death.
The pure horror in Aubree's eyes ripped at my insides. This was the exact thing I had warned her about. If I would have just let her fucking walk away, she wouldn't be here right now. She'd be on her way back to the life she was meant for, and this would be my problem. And mine alone. But, now, it was bigger than that.
I needed a plan. It didn't matter what went down as long as, in the end, Aubree was safe. Like a fucking moron, I left my gun on the kitchen counter, which left me at a disadvantage. I had another stashed under my bed if I could just get it without this prick seeing me.
"Get up!" Anthony demanded, and I slid out of Aubree, seeing the humiliation and fear streak her face.
"I'm sorry," I mouthed as I got to my feet.
Aubree grabbed the blanket, and brought it up around her, hugging it to her naked body. She pushed up against my headboard, and I caught her eye and mouthed, "Trust me." I didn't have a plan yet, and really had no fucking clue how I was going to get us out of this, but it was all I could offer her. No matter what happened, I would keep her safe.
I held my hands up and turned around. "What the fuck do you want?" I demanded.
"To chat. I've been waiting in here for fucking ever."
"My apologies for keeping you waiting," I spat, trying not to lunge at the fucking bastard. I knew I could take him, but he was the one with the gun right now, and I was butt ass naked. This bastard was fucking dead, but first I needed to get Aubree out. "Now, why don't you let the girl go? She has nothing to do with any of this."
"I could," he said. "But, after listening to your little fight out there, I'm thinking she's worth more to me in here."
Anger surged through my veins, and I flexed my fingers, trying to calm the rage. I needed to keep a clear head and, if I let emotions control a single move, we could both wind up dead.
"You want to talk, then talk," I growled, keeping my eye on his gun, waiting to make my move.
"I'm here on business."
"I didn't think you were here for fucking dinner," I muttered. "Now, get to the point."
"You and your boys need to stop running goods, or you'll start piling up on the side of the road like the Montamos pussies." He had told me and Kade that he was the low man on the totem pole, but I was beginning to think that he was full of shit. Low levels didn't come to deliver messages. "There's a new Queen in town, and she's taking over."
I looked him straight into his dark eyes. "That's never going to fucking happen. We've controlled this area for thirty fucking years, and we're not going to let some immigrant come in here and rip that out from under us. Fuck you!" I yelled, spitting venom with my eyes.
He lifted his hand and pistol whipped me across the face, causing Aubree to gasp. The taste of blood filled my mouth, and I wiped the little bit that was spilling down my lip. He had to do better than that if he wanted to scare me.
"I don't want to have to kill you," he said, and the amusement in his voice pissed me off royally.
"What I find funny is that you break into my house, and tell me what I'm going to do in my town."
"You can choose to disobey the request, but you might as well get a shovel and start digging your grave now."
Who was he fucking fooling? We both knew that he couldn't walk out of here with me alive. The message wasn't for me to bring back to the club; it was for Aubree. I was going to be the first body thrown on the side of the road.
I didn't want Aubree involved in any of this, and now she was in deeper than most. Fuck.
I took a step toward Anthony and, just as I expected, he flipped out. "I told you not to fucking move!" he yelled, coming at me and, when he was close enough, I headbutted him.
"Son of a bitch!" he screamed out as I rammed into him with all that I had. We both fell to the floor, and I grabbed his wrist holding the gun. I slammed it into the floor, trying to break his hold, but the fucker wasn't giving up on it that easily.
The gun discharged a bullet, ripping through my wall. Aubree's screams filled the room as I continued to struggle with Anthony. He punched me in the face, and we rolled closer to the bed. With one hand, I held the wrist with the gun down, and with the other I searched under the bed.
My hand skimmed back and forth across the carpet until the tips of my fingers hit exactly what I was looking for. Anthony tried to knee me in the dick, cheap shot especially considering it was fucking hanging out.
He threw a punch into my side, and I grunted as the pain radiated through my stomach. I rocked back, trying to get my hand around the grip, but it was just out of reach. Anthony reached up and his hand locked on my throat.
He squeezed, blocking any air from getting in. I couldn't breathe and I could feel myself getting lightheaded, feel the life being sucked right out of me. I wasn't going to let this fuck win. I struggled against him, using him as leverage to get that extra inch to retrieve the gun and end this. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it. I used what little strength I had left to slam his hand into the ground, hoping the gun would fly loose from his grip.
My body tried frantically to gasp for air, but I ignored the impending death, and managed to get my hand around the gun just as Anthony shook free of my hold.
A single gunshot echoed through the house. My ears rang, and everything became dim as Anthony's hold on my neck went limp. My hand was still under the bed. I never had a chance to pull it out.
I looked down at Anthony. A bullet hole right through the top of his head, and he was dead, currently bleeding out on my carpet.
I lifted off of him, and my eyes settled on Aubree. Her eyes were wide as she held Anthony's gun out in front of her. She was frozen in shock, and I jumped up and went to her, taking the gun out of her hand. I tossed it onto the bed, and took her face into my hands. "I'm so sorry, Sunshine." I urged her to look at me, examining every inch of her. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, and uttered a few sounds, but she couldn't seem to form a single word. I pulled her against my chest and hugged her tightly. I rocked her back and forth assuring her that everything was okay now. Unfortunately, they were just words. The truth of the matter was, a war was raging on the outskirts of our town and I just brought us to the front lines.
"Is … Did I kill him?" Her voice shook with panic, and I tried to calm her by smoothing her hair, but her body was shaking uncontrollably. "Is he dead?"
I scooped her up and carried her out to the living room. She had already experienced more of my life than she ever needed to know about, and now she had blood on her hands.
I placed her on the sofa, and retrieved my t-shirt from the floor. I draped it over her, and helped her get into it. "Look at me," I said, taking her face back in my hands. She blinked up at me, her brown eyes full of so many emotions I couldn't decipher what was going through her mind. "You didn't kill him."