Striker: No Prisoners MC Book 1 (34 page)

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Striker’s chest tightened as ragged sounds of anguish poured from Lila, but this was exactly what she needed. She’d smiled, and worked so hard to show everyone she was fine from the moment she rolled into his hospital room. But he knew better. He sensed she was clinging by a thread, and he’d just cut it with one swipe.

Striker wasn’t sure how much time passed, but after a while, Lila’s sobs calmed and her breathing became steady. Unsure if she was asleep, he sat and held her while he rubbed her back in a soothing circular motion. Eventually, she lifted her head and gave him a watery smile. Her bruised face, ravaged from the exhausting cry, still looked beautiful to him.

He drew her head to his shoulder, in no rush to let her go. After witnessing her being groped by a psychopath, he wasn’t sure he’d ever let her go again.

When Lila finally spoke, her words were not at all what he expected her to say. “I’m so sorry, Striker. The things I said to him. And I let him touch me. You’re the only man who is supposed to touch me, but I let him. And you had to watch.” Tears streamed down her face anew, and she lifted her head until he could see her somber eyes. “Please know I didn’t mean a single word I said to him.”

Christ. Was this what had been plaguing her mind? “Baby, stop.” Striker silenced her with a quick hard kiss. “You were incredible. The only reason we got out of there alive is because of your quick thinking. You did exactly what I’d told you, exactly what you had to do to keep us both alive. We can deal with the fall out. I’m more sorry than I can express that you had to endure that, but I don’t for one second hold anything that happened in that room against you, nor do I believe a word you told him.” He held her face tenderly between his hands, and stared straight into her eyes as he spoke. He needed to make sure she believed him.

“I wanted to die when he touched me. It was so much worse knowing you watched, yet having you there gave me the strength to do what I had to. Does that make any sense?” she sniffed and rested her head back down on his shoulder.

Striker tried to tamp down his reaction. She needed him calm, not murderous. “Watching him and knowing I couldn’t help you was the single worst experience of my life. That feeling will be burned into me forever. I promise you, baby, that no one will ever hurt you again.”

She burrowed closer, and pressed a gentle kiss to his chest. “What happened to him?”

Striker stiffened. He knew this question would come up eventually. It went against all his instincts to let her in on his plans for Earl, but she had been traumatized by the man and needed closure.

It wasn’t a lack of trust. He believed in his soul that Lila would willingly go to jail before she betrayed the club, but he didn’t want her to feel in any way responsible for Earl’s fate. That was one hundred percent on the motherfucker himself.

“Striker? Is he out there? Do you think he’ll come for me again?”

He sat up straighter, and gazed at her abused face, trying to decide how much to tell her.

“I can handle it. Just tell me. I won’t freak out, and I won’t repeat anything. Ever,” she added with conviction.

“I know, baby. I trust you completely. I just don’t want you burdened with any more bullshit.” He gave her a sad smile. It would take her some time to get over all of this. Hell, it would take him some time as well, and violence had been a part of his life for as long as he could remember.

Lila remained quiet, and Striker couldn’t deny her the resolution she needed. She deserved to know that Earl wasn’t a threat any longer; she wouldn’t need to look over her shoulder every time she stepped out of the house.

“We have him,” he stated simply.

A look of confusion crossed her pretty face. “What do you mean?”

“Some of the guys went to the house and he was still there. They’ve been holding him until I’m well enough to deal with him.” He was curious to see what she was going to do with the information, and was more than prepared to convince her Earl’s fate was not her responsibility.

“I didn’t know it was possible to feel fear like I felt when I woke up in that room. When I saw you tied to that chair…God, Striker. He would have killed you, wouldn’t he? If we hadn’t escaped he would have raped me while you watched and then killed you, probably me too.”

It was said more as a statement rather than a question, but he answered anyway. “Yes, baby, that’s exactly what would have happened. Acer did some digging, looks like he was responsible for the death of at least one other woman. Same situation, a woman he developed a sick obsession with.”

Lila’s face morphed into a look of disgust. “Well, then I’m glad it ends here. I won’t lose a wink of sleep feeling sorry for him. What will you do to him?”

He shook his head. No way in hell would he give her those details. The idea of revenge and the knowledge that Striker was taking him out of the equation may sit well with her on the periphery, but she’d struggle with the details. He planned to make Earl suffer and beg for his life before he learned there was no way he would
 
leave alive.

Once the dust settled, and Lila got over the immediate trauma, details about what happened to Earl would eat away at her. It was a guarantee. She was good. Her life was based around the notion of helping people, doing no harm. She would have to be satisfied with the knowledge that Earl was no longer a threat.

Striker cupped her face between his hands, and stroked her cheek with his thumb, enjoying the feel of her under his fingers. He needed more, wished he could strip down and feel her skin all over his, but neither one of them was in any shape for activities more strenuous than blinking.

“All you need to know is that he won’t be a problem for you or any other woman again. I’m not going to give you details. Can you just trust that I will take care of you?”

She looked like she wanted to argue, but relented in the end. “Of course. I trust you with my life. I love you Striker.” Tears filled her eyes again, but she held them back this time.

He kissed her, sliding his tongue into her mouth as she opened to him. As was typical, the kiss turned hot and needy within seconds. Striker speared his hands into Lila’s hair, and devoured her mouth, shifting his sore body as best he could. He wanted to feel as much of her as possible. He pressed against her and continued to kiss her with abandon until he felt her flinch. Shit, he’d nearly forgotten they were both all busted up.

He pulled back to avoid hurting her further, and rested his head against hers. “Sorry, baby. I lost my head.”

“That makes two of us.”

“Shit, Lila, I want inside you. I want to fuck you hard, until neither of us has any room in our head for anything but intense pleasure.”

Lila groaned. “Striker…”

He kissed her again, just a quick taste this time. “Come on, baby, let’s get some sleep. The sooner we heal, the sooner I can sink into that hot pussy. It’s the only way I’m going to be one hundred percent convinced that you’re safe and here with me.”

***

The next morning Jester and Hook came by in a van to take Striker to the warehouse. Lila put up a moderate fight, saying he wasn’t in any shape to leave the house, but eventually she backed down, aware of how important this was. He’d originally planned to wait until he was fully healed to deal with Earl, or at least healed enough that he could beat the shit out of the man before killing him, but he didn’t want this hanging over their heads any longer than necessary. He would have to amend his plans a bit, but in the end, Earl would still be dead, which was the important part.

He tried to walk as normally as possible from the van to the warehouse. Giving Earl the satisfaction of seeing him hurting and impaired was not part of the plan. Hook unlocked the doors to the warehouse, and instructed the prospects guarding Earl to wait outside. Gumby was there as well, and he remained inside.

Earl was duct taped to a chair much as Striker had been just a few nights ago. One of the guys had obviously beaten him, and he didn’t look nearly as smug as the last time they were in a room together. His head hung down, but Striker could see he had some bruises on his face.

“Hey, Earl.” Gumby smacked him on the side of his head and he jolted awake. “You got a visitor.”

Earl’s eyes grew wide with fear as he saw Striker approach.

“Cut him loose,” Striker ordered Gumby.

“Sure thing, VP.” Gumby sliced through the duct tape with a knife.

Earl didn’t try to stand. He just stared up at Striker. “How’s Lila? I didn’t want to hurt her, but you have her so brainwashed she doesn’t realize how much I love her.”

Striker reached out and grabbed Earl by the throat, much as the man had done to Lila. He wanted him to feel what she felt, to experience the same fear and pain. Earl made a choking sound and tried to pull Striker’s hand away, but he was no match for the strength of Striker’s hatred, even in his injured state.

Striker’s body protested the action, and intense pain shot through his side. He ignored it, and squeezed, taking pleasure in the way Earl’s eyes bugged and his face turned purple as he gasped and tried to draw in a sufficient breath. “How’s Lila? Let’s see, she has nightmares where she wakes up screaming, remembering your filthy hands on her. That what you want to know?”

Earl gasped and tried to shake his head. “No…you’re…lying.”

“You don’t love her, you sick fuck. You have a perverted obsession with her just like you did with the girl you killed in Mississippi.”

Striker released Earl’s throat seconds before the man would have lost consciousness. Earl crumpled to the floor, choking and wheezing as he tried to fill his lungs with air. Striker wanted him to feel relief for just a moment, to think that maybe he wasn’t going to die, maybe Striker would be merciful.

Earl struggled to his feet and looked at the men around the room. “I’ll stay away from her. I promise.” His voice sounded rough, similar to Lila’s.

“Damn right you will.” Striker pulled out his gun and pointed it at Earl’s head. He waited for the moment Earl realized his death was certain. Once that inevitability was reflected in the bastard’s eyes, Striker pulled the trigger once, turned, and walked back to the van. It was over. Lila was safe.

It was time to put this shit behind them and get on with their life together.

“Come here, babe. I want to show you something.”

“I’m coming! Just grabbing another beer. You want one?” Lila called from the kitchen.

“Sure. You know I’ll never turn down a chance to be served by my little woman.”

Lila walked into the living room and gave a roll of her eyes. “Here.” She held the beer out to him. Before he could grab it, she pulled it out of his reach. “Oh wait, I forgot to shake it up for you, let me do that now.”

She laughed as Striker leapt over the back of the couch and lunged for her. “Don’t even think about it, wench,” he said as he caught her. With a playful growl, he hauled her over his shoulder and dumped her onto the couch.

When she stopped laughing, he joined her on the couch and pointed to a wall in the foyer, near the front door.

“Oh, Striker…” She looked at him, and the rest of her sentence lodged in her throat when she saw the look of pride on his face. “You didn’t have to hang that up.”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I did. You did a great thing for those kids, and they honored you for it. Fuck yeah, we’re hanging it up.”

Lila chuckled. His sweet and crass combination never failed to amuse her. “Well, thank you. I was surprised enough when the football team invited me to their end of season banquet. I never dreamed they’d give me an award.” She glanced at the shiny plaque that now hung on her wall. It read,
We honor you, Dr. Lila Emerson, for your dedication and service to the safety and wellbeing of our youth.

Three months had passed since the incident with Earl White. Three amazing months where she and Striker had grown closer, and connected in a way she’d never imagined. She had friends and a family she loved and who loved her, a job she excelled at, and a man she adored. Life was good and the damage inflicted by Earl was fading into a distant memory.

“Okay, I won’t pretend I don’t love it.” She laughed. “But I’m even more excited by the fact that four schools in the county are using the program now.”

“You’re an amazing woman.”

“Striker.” Her voice was soft and her heart melted at the look of intense affection on his face.

“I mean it, baby. You are so much more than I deserve, more than I ever even thought was possible for a guy like me.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit. So many people count on you, trust you, and respect you. You are a good man.”

He didn’t respond, but leaned in and captured her mouth with his. The kiss was sweet and ended before she would have liked. “Marry me, Lila.”

Her eyes popped open, and she gasped. “What?!” She looked down at a black velvet box in his hand. Tears flooded her eyes, and she brought her gaze back up to his. “You want to marry me?”

“More than I want to ride my Harley. More than anything I’ve ever wanted.” His voice was thick and caught on the last word.

The smile that erupted on her face was so large it hurt her cheeks. “Yes! Of course I will marry you. There is nothing I want more.” She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed for all she was worth. She didn’t even care what the ring looked like. Being bound to Striker was all that mattered.

A sheepish look crossed his face. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I have reservations for us tomorrow at that new restaurant I town. I was going to do this in a more proper way, but I just couldn’t wait any longer.”

Finally, she looked down at the ring and smiled. “I don’t want a fancy dinner. I much prefer to be in our home. Everything about this is perfect.”

With a sly smile, she stood up, moved in front of Striker, and dropped to her knees, settling between his powerful thighs.

He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you want to call and share the news with anyone?”

She shook her head. “No. I have something more important to do first.”

Striker lifted his ass and allowed Lila to draw his sweats past his hips. She smiled when she found him hard and ready. She rose fully on her knees and reached for the hem of her shirt, drawing it over her head, revealing new lingerie she’d purchased. She knew just what her man liked.