Liberated (2 page)

“Are you okay?” Jesse yelled. “Anybody hurt?”

“We’re okay,” Flint replied. He scrambled across the truck seat to reach Kendra on the other side and grabbed her in a big hug. “You scared the living shit out of me,” he murmured into her hair. “Please don’t ever do that again. I thought my heart was going to stop when you stepped out of the truck with your gun. Don’t you realize they could have killed you?” He hugged her to him even tighter as if he never wanted to let her go.

Kendra closed her eyes and sank into his warmth. She could feel his heart racing wildly underneath her cheek. Now that it was all over and the adrenaline rush was leaving her body, she didn’t feel so good. She was grateful that Flint was there to hold her up because her legs were beginning to tremble.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. “Why in God’s name did you do that?”

“Do what?” she muttered against his leather jacket.

“Get out of the damn truck and start shooting. If something had happened to you, I never would have been able to forgive myself. You should have stayed down in the floorboard of the truck where it was safer.”

Kendra leaned back so she could look at him. “They were going to kill you, Flint. We both know that. I didn’t have time to think about it. I knew the moment they spotted you that it was on. They drew their weapons first.”

“I’m not saying it wasn’t justified. I just don’t understand why you put yourself at risk to protect me. I never would have wanted you to do that. Not ever.”

“You’re my guy,” she simply said as if that explained everything.

Flint let out a long sigh and kissed her forehead. “Yes darling, I am.”

“Thank God Jesse and your crew got here when they did,” she said, her voice shaky now. “I’m not sure what would have happened otherwise.”

“From what I saw, you were handling things extremely well all on your own. My money would be on you over the Liberators any day. I bet they about shit in their pants when you unloaded the shotgun into their SUV. Will you be alright here a minute while I go talk to the guys?”

She nodded.

“I want you to stay in the truck. Don’t look over there at the bodies and don’t go over there. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Good. Let me go talk to Jesse. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

F
lint tucked Kendra into the passenger seat of the truck and made her promise one more time not to go over to the SUV. When he felt sure she would stay put, he walked over to check out the situation. There were four dead bodies on the ground. All of them had been shot multiple times.

Jesse immediately pulled him aside, out of earshot of the rest of the crew. “We need to get this mess cleaned up fast and move everybody out of here. The gunshots could probably be heard from miles away. I’ll have the crew take care of the bodies and dump the SUV. Your job is take care of Dr. Shaw.”

Flint frowned. “Take care of her? What exactly do you mean?”

Jesse looked at him like he was off in the head. “You need to make sure she doesn’t breathe a word of this to anybody. She’s a witness to everything that went down here today. I don’t care what you have to do to make sure she doesn’t talk. Just take care of it. We can’t have any loose ends.” Jesse turned to walk away.

Flint grabbed his arm. “What do you think happened?”

“It’s fucking obvious. You ran head on into the Liberators, shot the hell out of their vehicle, and took out a couple of guys before we got here. I don’t know how you did so much damage to their truck though.”

Flint nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’s about how it all went down. Don’t worry about Kendra. I’ll make sure she doesn’t say anything. Are they all dead?”

“If not, they will be,” Jesse replied, very matter-of fact.

“Four down,” Flint noted. “That means there are nine left to go.”

Jesse raised his eyebrows. “What are you saying?”

“The all out war between the Steel Infidels and the Liberators is back on. I’m sick and tired of them attacking and us defending. We need to go on the offensive and take them all out. Every single fucking last one of them. It’s the only way. This is never going to be over until we do. As soon as we can get the crew together, we need to take a vote before the council.”

Jesse looked surprised, shocked even. “I thought you were always the one who was against the violence. You said the bloodshed between the Liberators and Steel Infidels had to end for the sake of the MC. You’ve always said that. For years.”

Flint shrugged. “I changed my mind,” he said firmly. “Funny how little things like two murder attempts on your life can change your perspective. Things are different now. Call for the vote. It’s way past time we dealt with this and put it behind us once and for all.”

Jesse clapped him on the back. “Yes sir, little brother. Glad to have you back. Now go take care of the doc.”

Flint took one last look at each of the bodies on the ground before heading back to Kendra. He was glad to see she hadn’t moved. “Are you still doing okay?” he asked.

She tried bravely to smile. “I’m a little shook up, but otherwise I’m fine. Are they all dead?”

Flint looked away, unable to meet her eyes. “Yes.”

“Did you know any of them?”

“You mean personally?” he asked, then shook his head. “No, not anyone in this group. Wouldn’t recognize them if I met them on the street. I knew plenty about them though.”

Kendra started to say something, then stopped. She chewed on her bottom lip a moment before working up the courage to ask the question that had been bothering her. “Did I kill anyone? You need to tell me the truth.”

Flint grabbed her hand and linked his fingers through hers. “Kendra, look at me. You didn’t kill anyone. I promise. With the exception of the driver that you hit in the leg, I’m not sure you even shot anybody else. There were a lot of shots fired, and most of them came either from my gun or from the crew. Don’t start worrying about this. I can see it’s already messing with your head. You need to put those thoughts out of your mind right now. But just to be on the safe side, you need to give me your shotgun.”

Kendra looked confused. “Why?”

“I think it would be best if it didn’t stay in your possession. At least for now. Is it registered to you?”

Kendra shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Where did you get it? Think back because this is important.”

Kendra thought for a moment then shrugged. “My uncle gave it to me several years ago. He owns a sporting goods store on the outside of town. It may have even been my Grandpa’s. I really don’t know.”

“Okay. It really doesn’t matter as long as it is not registered or traceable in any way back to you.”

Kendra looked up at him with her big brown eyes. “I’m in big trouble, aren’t I?”

“No,” Flint replied firmly. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re not going to be in any trouble and if you ever were, I would protect you. You acted in self-defense. They drew their weapons first. You said so yourself.”

“I assume we’re not calling the police?”

He shook his head. “You know why we can’t. That’s all the more reason why you should get out of here as fast as you can. I don’t want someone spotting your truck. If anyone asks you what happened to your side mirror, tell them you slid off the road and hit a mailbox. Do you want me to drive you home or can you make it by yourself?”

“I can do it,” she replied “I’m sure Jesse needs you more here.”

“Okay, let me get the crew over here to push you out and get you on your way. Go very slow, and if you get stuck on an icy spot, just wait for us. We’ll be down the mountain real soon right behind you. Hand me the gun and all of the shells that go with it.”

Kendra dutifully handed the gun to him along with the extra box of shells.

Flint propped the gun up on the side of the truck. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “Come here.” He slid his arm behind her and pulled her close one last time. “I promise everything is going to be okay,” he whispered in her ear. He touched his lips to hers for one brief moment before letting her go and waving the crew over.

K
endra didn’t waste any time once she reached the bottom of the mountain road. She turned the truck toward Bardsville and headed to the wildlife clinic rather than going straight home. She needed to be around animals and her staff members, not sitting at home by herself fretting over things that couldn’t be changed.

The decision to shoot had been easy.

Kill or be killed.

Protecting Flint had been her main focus so she hadn’t hesitated when it came time to pull the trigger. Unfortunately, the aftermath was proving to be a little more difficult to deal with. She found it ironic how the movies never accurately portrayed the horrifying thud of bullets tearing through flesh and bone or the gaping wounds the bullets left behind. Or how a person gasped for breath when their lungs filled with blood, causing them to technically drown in their own fluids.

Kendra knew it would be a long time before she could forget those things.

If ever.

She was known around town as a savior of animals, and now she wondered if she would also be known as a killer of people. Oh sure, Flint had tried to make her feel better about things, trying to reassure her that the bullets from her gun hadn’t killed anyone. But how did he know for certain? How would she ever know for sure that she hadn’t murdered another human being? Would the doubts in her mind circle around and around until they eventually drove her crazy?

The MC would destroy all of the evidence. Of that much she was certain. Jesse and the crew were already loading the dead bodies into the back of their truck by the time she had left the scene. She hated to think about what would happen next. Would they bury the bodies? Burn them? Would the men’s family members ever know what happened? Or would the women who loved them wait at home forever for their man to return?

She wished she knew exactly where all of her shots had landed. But in the end, she wondered if it would it really make a difference. The final result would remain the same. There had been a gun battle between two rival motorcycle clubs, and four men died.

Rather than hiding in the truck and waiting for it all to be over, she had instead chosen to be a willing participant. It had been her choice and hers alone to grab the gun. Nobody forced her to pull the trigger. Not once, but several times.

On the other hand, Flint was safe and alive. At least for now. She had protected her man when he needed her to. Of course he wouldn’t have asked her to do it or even wanted her to. But Flint would live to see another sunrise because of her. And that’s all that really mattered when it came right down to it.

Kendra made the conscious decision right then to put it out of her mind and get the hell over it. She didn’t have time for regrets. She always did what needed to be done, and this time was no different than any other.  

She took a deep breath.

Whatever happened, there would be no regrets.

F
lint walked into his house and headed straight for the refrigerator. He grabbed a cold beer and unscrewed the top. After taking two long swigs, he pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table. He rubbed his tired eyes then leaned back and closed them for a second.

He was physically exhausted and mentally whipped. What a fucking nightmare the last few days had turned out to be. The mess with the Liberators was bad enough, but to drag an innocent woman like Kendra into all his shit was unforgivable.

He still couldn’t fathom how the day’s events had gone downhill so quickly. From making love to an amazing woman in the shower to watching her almost get killed right in front of his eyes. It made him physically ill to remember watching Kendra stepping out of the truck and into the path of the Liberators’ bullets.

Everything had happened so fast, catching him completely unprepared and off guard. It never should have happened. He was a smart man. Why didn’t he think ahead and at the very least warn Kendra that the Liberators could come up on them at any time? He hadn’t wanted to frighten her and so he downplayed the seriousness of the situation. By trying to protect her, he had instead placed her in incredible danger.

He’d made a big mistake and hadn’t given Kendra enough credit. She was a tough woman and could’ve handled whatever came their way. She had more than proved that today.

What if something had happened to her? He couldn’t bear the thought of harm coming to Kendra because of him. Because of his choices. When he had looked into the Liberators’ eyes, his first and only thought had been of Kendra. Of how he could possibly keep her safe. The thought never occurred to him that she was thinking the same thing about him. His mind still couldn’t wrap around the reasons why.

He would never forget the overwhelming feeling of horror that engulfed him when he saw her step out of the truck and take aim. Time had stood still and his heart ceased to beat. Unable to stop her in time, he’d watched helplessly as the events unfolded.

And when he was finally able to make his way to her and push her back into the truck for safety, what did she do? She snatched up more shells and crawled out the other side of the truck! If he could have grabbed her at that moment, he would have cheerfully wrung her neck.

God! Kendra was exasperating and infuriating. And he wanted her desperately, madly. More than he had ever wanted any other woman before. The feelings he had for other women in the past never came close to this. She was everything he could have ever hoped for in a woman. Even as terrified as he was for her today, he couldn’t have been prouder. He knew deep inside it was so much more than a physical attraction. He burned for Kendra.

But he couldn’t have her.

In his heart, he knew that to continue the relationship would be wrong. She deserved so much better than him. Kendra deserved more than to be drawn into a life of firebombs, shootings, and murders. A life of being afraid and always watching over her shoulder.

Flint didn’t want her to ever feel afraid again. Not like today.