“Bella, get the fuck gone,” Ky ordered in a harsh, menacing voice. He was breathing deeply, his blond hair damp with sweat.
I shook my head and moved further back. Rider’s legs brushed against my spine, and my heart fell when the simple touch of my body on his elicited a pained moan from his mouth.
“Bella,” Ky growled again. “Fuckin’ MOVE!”
“NO!” I shouted back and pushed my arms out further, shielding Rider from them. “If you want him, you will have to go through me first.”
“That can be fuckin’ arranged, darlin’.” A giant redheaded man was glaring at me. “Your boy here is fuckin’ payin’ the price for being a rat. The fucker has to pay. He made that deal with us when he put on that patch five years ago. He knows what needs to be done.”
“No,” I said again. “You will not hurt him anymore.”
The redheaded man laughed sardonically. “Yeah, we fuckin’ will. You weigh ‘bout hundred pounds soaking wet, sugar. You ain’t stopping us. Your man here is gonna die. That’s the price he’s willing to pay. Tonight he crosses to Hades.”
The color drained from my face, but I held strong. I held strong as two of the men began advancing my way. Then a loud gasp sounded from the back of the room. I looked to the doorway to see Mae, Lilah and Maddie rush into the barn. My sisters’ mouths fell open as they took in the scene before them.
Mae came forward first, pushing through the thick gathering of men. Her blue eyes looked up at Rider and filled with tears. “Bella,” she said in a pained voice. “My Lord, what have they done?”
Styx took her by the wrist and yanked her to his side. Lilah’s and Maddie’s husbands followed suit, pulling their wives into their arms and away from me.
“Bella,” Maddie whispered, shaking her head at the sight of Rider hanging from the unyielding chains.
Ky broke through the silence. “Enough!” he shouted, then faced me. “Bella, I don’t give a fuck who you are, and Lilah”—he turned to face his wife, then Mae and Maddie—“you know not to fuck with club business.”
Styx began to sign something and I watched as my sister read his hands. Her head dropped in worry. Ky crossed his arms over his broad muscled chest. “You need to leave.” He tipped his head at Rider. “He fucked with us. Now he pays with his fuckin’ life. Don’t expect you to understand, but that’s the fuckin’ way it is. Bitch or not, you ain’t got no fuckin’ say. Tonight he dies. And he dies real fuckin’ slow.”
I shook my head in utter disbelief of their cruelty, and let my fury free. “NO!” I bellowed in his face. “It is you who does not understand!”
Ky raised one eyebrow, but I did not care for his condescension. I would speak. I was tired of being silenced by men. I would speak, and they would listen!
“Do you know what he has been through? Do you even care what his life has been like? Have you ever questioned why he has done what he has done? Have you ever wondered what it was like for him to be brought up the way he was? No! Not one of you have. If you had, you would not be doing this to him!”
“We couldn’t give a fuck how he was raised,” one of the brothers—the man with the shaved head, Tank—said.
I met the sorrowful eyes of my sisters, safe in their men’s arms. And I laughed, but the laugh held absolutely no trace of humor. I looked up at Rider, and my soul ached. They did not care. How could they not care?
“How could you not care?” I found myself asking aloud. “How do you stand here and tell me you do not care about his life when your women have endured a similar fate?” I looked at Styx. “Mae was brought up in the same way. Conditioned from birth to act a certain way, believe certain things.” I looked at Ky. “Lilah was segregated from her family, and they never cared that she was ripped from their arms, because they believed she was created by the devil.” I pointed at Lilah’s face. “My sister scarred her own face because of what happened to her in the commune! Because of what we were ingrained to believe!”
Ky shook with rage and pointed at Rider. “By his fuckin’ hand! He had her raped, bitch! Or have you lost your fuckin’ mind?”
“He didn’t!” I snapped back. “His brother did. You can lay the blame at his feet for what he has done, but he did not condone those acts. He did not order those crimes. Even your wife believes that, though she is too terrified to tell you to your face!” Ky whipped his head to look at Lilah. She kept her head down.