Acid (Black Hearts MC #7)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

ACID

“Why have those guys got different patches?” Olly asks.

“They’re part of a different club,” I answer as I roll my bike to a stop outside the club. I keep my eyes firmly fixed on his mum and the mark on her face.

“Why are they here? Are they starting a war? Are you going to shoot each other?” he asks.

I look at him and frown. “Shut the fuck up, kid,” I sigh. “No war. No one is going to die,” I add. “Now get off my bike,” I order. He sighs and climbs off. Rhea stands next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. I can tell she’s fighting back the tears. “Bambi!” I yell. The prospect quickly comes running over. “Take Olly down to my room and set up the console. No 18 certificate games,” I instruct.

“Oh man! But I’ve played them before. That shit is the bomb,” Olly whines.

“Oliver!” Rhea snaps.

“Sorry, Mom,” he sighs, apologising.

“Here.” Rhea pulls out a candy bar from her bag. “Just this once,” she says with a small smile. Olly snatches the candy bar then wraps his arms around her waist. Rhea’s face scrunches up in pain. “Go on, then,” she says, forcing a smile through her pain.

“Candy and gaming at a biker club late at night! Chad can kiss my bony ass!” Olly shouts as he follows Bambi into the club.

“Oliver!” Rhea yells after him.

“Sorry!” he yells back.

Her gaze comes to me. “We need to talk,” I demand. She nods. “Go take a seat on one of the benches, and I will grab us a drink,” I tell her, pointing to the benches.

She nods and makes her way over. Watching her, I notice her walking stiffly, trying hard to cover her pain.

“You want me to take a look at her?” Dixie asks softly.

I look down at her at my side and smile. “Yeah, I will come and get you in a bit. I need to talk to her first.” I sigh.

“Come find me when you need me,” she says before she walks off inside the club.

“Is this something we need to worry about?” Ghost asks as he comes to stand next to me.

I cross my arms over my chest. “At the moment, I don’t fucking know. I thought I had solved this problem, but apparently, he didn’t get the warning,” I state.

“You need us, tell me. I will call church,” he says, squeezing my shoulder as he walks in. I follow behind him and grab a couple of beers from behind the bar. All the brothers and Satan’s are stood around laughing and joking, having a good time. As I am about to leave the bar, Star grabs my arm.

“What, Star? I ain’t got time to hang about,” I sigh.

“Firstly, rude. Secondly, Rose gave me this.” She reaches out and hands me a business card.

I look down at it. “A women’s refuge?” I question.

“Yeah, her sister runs a centre for women of domestic abuse, or well, abuse in general. Anyway, she thought if your friend needs it, just call that number and tell her Rose sent her.” Star smiles softly.

I smile and place a kiss on her cheek. “Thanks, darlin’.”

“Get off my fucking woman!” Ghost yells from across the bar.

Star laughs. “Go on, before he beats your ass,” she urges. I continue to walk out of the club, hearing Star yell from behind me. “Jesus, will you calm your tits, Casper!”

I cough back a laugh. Never in my fucking life would I have thought anyone, let alone a woman, would be able to speak to Pres like that. Rhea doesn’t turn around to face me as I approach. I know that it is because she is in pain. I place her beer down in front of her and sit opposite her.

“Thanks,” she mutters.

“So, you want to tell me how this happened?” I press.

She looks up into the night sky, a sigh escaping her. “He came into the bar drunk. I asked him to leave. Even a few of the regulars tried to help me. They eventually got him out. He shouted some shit at me, nothing I can’t handle.” She shrugs as she takes a sip of her beer.

“Then what?” I press.

“Then,” she croaks, her voice breaking. “After I locked up, Jack offered to walk me to my car. I accepted, just to be safe, you know.” She shrugs. “Then I remembered I didn’t switch on the alarm. I completely forgot, too distracted with what happened, and with Jack chatting and being with me. So, I told Jack to head on home, and that I would be fine. No one was there, so he reluctantly agreed. I ran back in and turned on the alarms. When I returned to my car, he was there. Joe. He was just standing there, blocking the driver’s side. I was scared, but I knew he was drunk, so I stood a chance to fight back.” She pauses, shaking her head. “He wasn’t drunk. He played drunk. He was sober, strong, and waiting for me.” Her bottom lip quivers. “I tried to fight back. I stabbed him with my keys, but he just continued to hit me,” she whispers. “I gave up fighting back. I just laid there on the ground while he did what he wanted to me.” She sniffs.

“What did he do?” I growl.

Her brown eyes flicker to mine. She smiles as tears trickle down her cheeks. “He pushed me face down in the back seat of my car and fucked me.” She sniffs.

“That ain’t fucking, darlin’,” I seethe.

She shrugs. “Potato, patato.”

I shake my head. “No, it fucking ain’t. Fucking is good, and fucking is consensual. He fucking raped you darlin’, and you may not want to say it, because then that means you’re admitting it. But bottom fucking line, that is what he did,” I state, trying my hardest to contain my rage. “Stand up,” I order.

“What?” she asks, confused.

“Stand up. Show me your ribs,” I order.

She slowly gets to her feet and lifts the hem of her top. Her stomach is a sea of blues, blacks and purples.

“Fuck, Rhea,” I hiss. Getting up, I move to her and crouch in front of her. I delicately trace my fingers over her stomach, causing her to let out a little whimper. I stand up. “You need to see a doctor,” I tell her.

She shakes her head. “No, no doctor. I don’t want Oliver knowing anything is wrong. He’s had enough to live with already. We were just getting to the good times. We were happy. I won’t destroy that for him.”

I nod. “You at least need to see Dixie. She’s a nurse,” I state. I reach out and stroke the hair back from her face to take a closer look at the mark on her face. “I will kill him,” I warn her.

“I don’t think I would be upset if you did,” she answers honestly.

I bend down and scoop her up in my arms. She wails a little from the pain in her ribs. “Sorry Mama, but I ain’t making you walk that far to see Dixie,” I state.

“I walked most of the way here. I can walk the few paces to the club,” she argues.

“Dump your car?” I ask as I walk across the parking lot.

“I torched it,” she answers, surprising the shit out of me. “Sorry, I know you helped me get it,” she apologises.

“You’ve got nothing to apologise for. The only thing I would have done differently is to make sure he was fucking inside when you set it on fire,” I smirk.

“Should I be worried?” she asks, looking up at me.

“Nah, you’re safe, Mama. I don’t kill friends. I kill for them.” I wink. I walk through the club and straight to the back room. I don’t need to call Dixie. She spots me and follows, as does Star and Queenie. I place Rhea down on the hospital trolly we acquired, with the help of Scar taking one for the team and fucking an EMT. Dixie smiles in greeting and places a blanket over her.

“Can you lift your shit?” Dixie asks softly.

“Huh?” Rhea frowns, confused.

“Shirt. She means shirt. It’s her thing. You’ll get used to it,” Queenie states.

“Oh, sorry,” Rhea apologises. She sits up slowly and lifts the hem of her top. She struggles to lift it over her head, and Star is there in an instant to help her remove it.

“There you go.” She smiles softly.

I stand the side, leaning against the wall. Rhea’s gaze keeps landing on mine for comfort. She’s anxious at not knowing a single person in this room apart from me. “Dixie, Star and Queenie,” I introduce, nodding my head at each of them.

“Hi,” Rhea greets them.

“Who is watching the kids?” I ask. “I thought you had them Queenie.”

She turns and smiles. “Yeah, I did. They are soundly sleeping back at mine. Star gave me a call.” She winks, giving my arm a gentle squeeze. “It’s all good. The prospects are with them,” she assures me.

I mouth the words thank you, and she gives me a nod. “Er, your bruising runs pretty low. Is it okay if I check, Er, lower? You would need to remove your jeans,” Dixie says softly.

Rhea’s worried eyes land on mine. I nod, trying to assure her that she’s safe. She lifts her hips, wincing in pain as she does. I watch as she begins to try to slide her jeans down her legs.

“I will wait outside,” I state as I turn the handle on the door to leave.

Rhea freezes. “No!” she says, panicked. I pause. Star and Queenie look between us. “Please don’t go,” she pleads, her voice breaking. “Just stay this end,” she adds, trying to smile. I release my hold on the handle and go to her. Leaning down, I place a kiss on her head and take her hand in mine.

“You need me, I’m here,” I assure her. I look at Star who has a soft look in her eyes.

“You’re a good guy, Acid. If I wasn’t already madly in love and constantly wet for your Pres, then I would definitely be making a play for you.” She winks.

Rhea lets out a laugh, quickly followed by a hiss in pain. “Thanks for easing the situation,” she says, smiling at Star.

Star shrugs. “I have a gift.”

“Okay sweetie, now sorry for killing the mood, but I’m about to take a look, erm, you know, down there,” Dixie says as she puts on a pair of latex gloves. Rhea nods while gripping my hand tight in hers. “Okay, I promise I will be gentle,” Dixie states before lifting the blanket and taking a look. “Oh fuck,” Dixie gasps.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard Dixie swear like that. Rhea sobs and turns her face to the side, burying her face in my torso. I hold her close, stroking her hair as she sobs. Dixie looks up at me with apologetic eyes before she returns back to what she was doing.

“I’m sorry, this may ping a little,” she warns.

Rhea lets out a little laugh through her tears at Dixie’s mix up before she quickly hisses in pain, followed by her body tensing.

“Shh, it’s okay darlin’, I’ve got you,” I say, trying to soothe her. Dixie tends to her injuries, while Star and Dixie go and get her some fresh loose clothing, only they come back with a bottle of whiskey.

“Drink this,” Star says as she hands her the bottle.

Rhea shakes her head. “Thanks, but I don’t really drink liquor,” she declines.

“Well, if there was ever a time to drink, it’s now. Don’t worry about the kid. He is living his best life shooting zombies with Bambi. Now, I don’t know about you, but the pain you’re in right now, the shit you’ve been through... If it was me, I would want nothing more than to get completely wasted and forget for one night. If that’s not your thing, then you do you. Whatever makes you feel happy. So, I will ask again. Fancy a drink?” Star asks, offering the bottle again. Rhea smiles and takes the bottle, downing a large gulp. Star smiles. “Come on, let’s make you forget,” she says, holding out her hand to Rhea.