Perceive by K E Osborn

 

 

KENZI

 

My heart races so fucking fast, I feel dizzy with the adrenaline. The booming sounds of a fight coming from the front of the clubhouse scares the bejesus out of me. I don’t know how to fight, but the look on Axel’s face tells me he’s preparing for one hell of a battle.

“Axel, tell me! It’s him, isn’t it?”

He doesn’t say anything.

It instantly tells me everything I need to know.

Hendrix has come for me.

Axel leads me back up the stoop toward the door, ushering me inside as we keep low. Drawing out his gun, we enter the dimly lit kitchen, and the noise intensifies tenfold. Men calling out to each other, bullets ricocheting off the walls of the clubhouse.

My heart hammers so fucking hard as Axel grabs me, pulling me to face him. “I need you to get inside that industrial kitchen cabinet and stay there. I didn’t think they’d penetrated the clubhouse, but I was wrong. Kenzi. Your best bet right now is to hide and not come out until one of us comes to get you.”

My eyes widen as I shake my head. “No!”

“Kenzi, this isn’t up for discussion. I need you safe. Now go.” He spins me, opening the half-sized door and starts pushing me inside. I don’t have a second to think before I find myself crouching to get into the tight spot. Tears flood my eyes as he leans down, helping me in. I squish up, my entire body shaking as he runs his hand along my arm gently. “I’ll come back for you.”

I reach out, tears soaking my lashes, my voice wavering. “Axel…”

He nods, once. “I promise, I’m coming back.” He leans in, pressing his lips to my temple, then swiftly closes the door, shutting me inside the cold darkness. Panic washes over me instantly as my breaths come in hard and fast. I wrap my arms around my legs, trying to keep myself in a tight ball, but nothing I do is keeping my ears from hearing the agonizing gunfire booming around the clubhouse.

Rix is here because of me.

He wants me.

Axel, his brothers, the SO7 could all die out there in Rix’s search for me.

I shouldn’t be sitting in here hiding.

I need to go out there and face him.

He’s done too much to me.

Taken so much from me.

My teeth grind together, a wave of heat rushing through my body even with the frigid temperature in these tiny confines. My body tenses as I think of all that Rix has had me do, has made me think. How could he tell me the Malice MC were horrible people? The men I’ve met here today have been nothing but welcoming and loving.

Rix IS the bad guy in all this.

Now he’s coming in here taking the one thing from my past I have left.

That I could possibly get back?

No fucking way! 

I have to do something. I can’t sit back in here hiding while I let all those people out there fight for me. Taking a deep breath, I find the strength inside of me and push on the door of the cabinet. It sticks, so I push harder, with all that I have. The stainless steel door opens with so much force, it swings back and hits the other side of the cabinet. I cringe at the loud twang. Glancing at the doorway to make sure no one’s coming through, my body tenses as I slowly jump out. I stand I stretch my legs, then edge my way toward the kitchen door. There are no weapons of any kind in here, so I need to find one. Taking a long inhale through my nose, I puff out my chest.

You can do this!

With quick steps, I rush out of the kitchen into the main clubroom. My eyes widen when I see men wearing all black with balaclavas in combat with the bikers and Axel’s team. It’s an all-out brawl. Some men are already on the floor in pools of their own blood, and I cringe as the metallic smell lingers in the air.

As fast as I can, I duck behind the pool table as a bullet slams into the woodgrain on the opposite side. The ornate pattern of the table disintegrates as it blasts off from the hit, and I drop down underneath, on all fours trying to dodge bullets and even more being seen.

My heart rapid fires as I physically tremble. More than anything, I want to search for Axel and make sure he isn’t one of the men down, but I can’t right now. I have a focus, and it’s directed straight toward Hendrix.

As I crawl under the pool table, one of Rix’s men is down right next to it, so I scurry over to his unmoving body. Approaching cautiously, I poke him in the side. When he doesn’t move, I reach out from under the table for his pistol.

Excitement bubbles up inside of me and think, I might actually be able to do this. Gnawing on my bottom lip as an explosion rattles through the side of the clubhouse, I hold onto the floor for support as the building shakes and groans around me. Everyone stills for a brief moment, then the gun battle continues.

Glancing up, I see Tanner jump on the back of Rix’s recruit, snapping his neck with the ease of a gazelle. His body falls to the floor, her feet catching the landing like she’s the perfect gymnast.

I tense as another recruit lines his weapon up aiming right at her, but then he suddenly starts staggering back, blood oozing from his stomach as Blair comes into sight with his gun aimed at him. It’s so hard to tell which direction the gunfire is coming from because it’s simply coming from everywhere.

Noah races in behind Falcon, they place their backs together, and spin around, guns drawn shooting anything that moves, like something you’d see in a western movie. I smirk, I shouldn’t—seeing people mowed down shouldn’t bring me joy, but Rix lied to me. For years. He brainwashed me, and he’s here to do God knows what to me now.

It’s time he paid for his actions.

Taking a deep breath, I pull myself out from under the pool table. Everyone is distracted and won’t be looking for me. So now is the time for me to go in search.

I must find him.

Rapidly, I move to the side of the building, trying to keep myself shielded from all the excess bullets flying around the place. A bullet sideswipes me, missing me by a hair’s breadth as it lands in the corrugated iron flashing the walls. I take a deep inhale, trying to calm my nerves as I speed up my process. Finally, I get to the front door, and there’s less chaos out front, but my eyes widen when I see him.

Rix.

Standing there like he’s waiting for me.

His head is down. Eyes up.

Haunted.

Dark.

Ominous.

He looks exactly as I remember.

Like evil incarnate.

How could I ever have thought of him as my savior?

An evil smirk appears on his lips, one I used to think was reserved for when he was happy to see me. One he would use just before he would put his hands on me. My entire body shudders in revulsion. How I could ever have given myself over to him is beyond me. Why couldn’t I have seen him for the man he is?

I feel disgusting.

A fit of insatiable anger swells through me, and I pull my gun up aiming it right at him.

He chuckles only igniting my hatred for him even more. “Why!” I scream at him.

Rix takes a step closer, and I aim the gun more forcefully at him, even if I have a slight shake that I’m trying so hard to control.

He tilts his head, letting out an exhale. “That’s a loaded question. Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? Why am I God’s greatest gift to women?”

Revulsion washes over me as I curl up my lip. “You’re disgusting, Rix. Why me?”

He shakes his head. “Why not?”

Aggressively, I step forward, waving my gun at him like some mad woman. “That’s not an answer! You chose me for a reason.”

He shrugs. “I mean you are pretty in a way, but you have brains, and they’re a means to an end. I needed your smarts. You did your job well, Mac. But I’ve got what I need now. You’re of no use to me now, and I can’t have you helping them.” His hand snakes around his back, pulling out a gun.

There’s no time to think before he lifts it, pulling the trigger. I gasp, clenching my eyes.

Everything moves in slow motion.

I came out here with the intention of outsmarting him. To be the one to put a bullet in him, but now I’m seeing all the memories I’ve made with Axel flash before my eyes. Not of the past he swears we share together but of the memories we’ve recently made.

The first time he touched me, his hands running up my leg, telling me how I received my scars.

Hitting the baseball, feeling like it was the most normal thing for us to do in the world.

Empowering me, making me feel like I am the only person in his universe.

The way he makes me feel protected.

Just the way he makes me feel.

Axel floods my senses, I feel him all around me. If Rix is going to kill me right now, the last memory I want to have is of the man who made my life happy.

“Axel,” I whisper just as the hit smacks into me full force knocking the wind from me immediately.

As I catapult to the ground, I let out a gasp, hitting the concrete with so much force, my arm scrapes along the hard surface grazing it. I let out a whimper as I try to catch my breath.

“Motherfucker!” Rix calls out as I try to gather myself.

I shake my head trying to figure out where I’m hit as I hear someone groaning. My head turns to see Ruin on the ground next to me. Three gunshot wounds to his stomach as he grins up at me. “You… need to… work… on your… reflexes.” He lets out a heavy exhale as he passes out.

My eyes flood with tears as I scurry to my feet screaming, “Ruin! Oh God, Ruin. No! Help!” as I rush to his side, but with the three bullet holes bleeding profusely, I don’t know where to start what to press to help him. So I simply put my hands anywhere I can. “Help!” I yell again while glancing over my shoulder to see Rix has gone. Tears rush down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry. Please stay with me!”

The sound of running footsteps race around me as the recruits race past me and out of the battered clubhouse gates. I press hard on Ruin’s body waiting for someone, anyone, to come and help.

“Axel!” I scream, and mere seconds later, men come running from everywhere.

Falcon barrels out of the clubhouse with a bunch of bikers. “Follow them out, make sure they aren’t coming back.”

Axel rushes over to my side. “Someone call Curtains…” He drops to his knees. “Jesus, Ruin!” Axel looks directly at me. “Kenz, what are you doing out here?”

As I start to hear sirens sound in the distance, I let out a whimper. “I c-came for Rix. H-he tried to shoot me, but Ruin pushed me out of the w-way,” I manage to get out somehow through my sobs.

Axel furrows his brows looking down at his brother. “Now you see, that any one of us would take a bullet for you, Kenzi.” He leans forward placing his hand over the other bullet wound on his brother’s torso. “C’mon, Ruin, don’t you fucking die on us.”

I whimper. “I’m so sorry. I should have stayed in the kitchen.”

Axel leans into my side. “Stop! Ruin is strong, you’ll see.”

Kace and the crew walk over. “Axel, hear the sirens? Someone’s called the cops, but we also have an EMT on the way for Ruin.”

Jinx and Curtains rush over carrying a med kit, and Curtains slides into place. His eyes look heavy as he takes in the state of Ruin. “Okay, stand back, guys, and let me and Jinx get to work.”

Axel pulls me to him. I don’t hesitate, wrapping my arms around his body. I need him right now.

We stand back watching Curtains and Axel’s mom work on Ruin as we wait for the ambulance to arrive. I feel as if these few minutes are like waiting for the turn of the next century to come.

I’m physically shaking, the blood in my body turning icy cold with fear. Fear that I’ve done this to Ruin out of some foiled plot of revenge on my part. He stepped forward, he tried to save me. No, he did save me and now he might pay the ultimate price.

A police car pulls up at the entry, and a swarm of officers barrels through the gates with weapons drawn. “Hands in the air, get on the ground!”

Fear ripples through me as Axel pulls me with him. I raise my hands as everyone but Kace drops to the ground, throwing their weapons away from them.

“Stop! Don’t come any closer,” a cop calls out to Kace.

“I’m an agent. I have a badge in my pocket. This clubhouse was attacked. I have six other agents with me, who can vouch for this, and I can have my director to call it in. We have a man down. Please send in the medics, nothing will harm them. The threat has gone.”

The cop, aiming his gun at Kace, nods to his partner to go toward Kace. “Keep one hand up and reach… slowly, for your badge. Hand it to my partner.”

Kace does as directed, handing it to the other cop. He studies it and then nods. The overly cautious cop moves to the radio on his shoulder. “EMT permitted to approach.” 

I take in a deep breath, clinging to Axel a little tighter. Can’t they just help Ruin before it’s too late.

The EMTs rush in with a stretcher. My eyes flood with tears as they push Curtains and Jinx out the way and get to work. I can’t understand anything they’re saying as my head starts to blur. Everything is hazing as I start to feel dizzy, the back of my head pounding with a migraine setting in.

My eyes clench tight as I press my fingers to my temple, and Axel leans into my ear. “You okay?”

“I’m far from okay,” I murmur back.

Axel holds me tighter as I open my eyes to see him looking at me with nothing but concern staring back at me. His hand comes out, swiping some hair away from my face. “I won’t let him hurt you, Kenzi.”

Hearing Axel say my name with such adoration has a memory flicking back to me.

 

“You have a smart mouth, how about I shut it for you?”

His hand comes up gripping my face, his fingers digging hard into my cheeks. I whimper as he moves in so close, I can smell the garlic on his breath when he scoffs, his mouth curling at the corner.

“What did you fucking tell them, Mac?”

Hearing him call me Mac kicks something in my mind. So I push my hands onto his chest and shove him back with everything I have. He grunts as his body goes flying backward, and I pant for breath.

I won’t let him manhandle me like Rix did.

“Who the hell are you?” I spit out, widening my stance and staring down the asshole across the room.

His eyes narrow on me as he saunters toward me again. “I’m the person going to make sure you don’t say anything else to Axel.”

 

Hendrix just said, “You did your job well, Mac.”

The mention of being called Mac brings it all back. That man in the cell, the one who tried to attack me before I fought back, the one I thought was a part of Axel’s team, wasn’t at all. No one on Axel’s team calls me Mac, it’s always Kenzi.

Why the hell didn’t I pick up on this before?

My migraine grows bigger, my head pounding with this new information. I’m not entirely sure what it means, but I think I know enough that I have to tell Axel.

As the police let us stand and start moving about the clubhouse seemingly now satisfied with Kace’s authority, I turn to Axel, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the side. His eyes bore into mine as the EMTs start carting Ruin away. “Axel, I think you have a problem in The Agency.”

His eyes narrow on me in confusion. “You’re hurt.” His hand comes out running down the graze on my arm that’s bleeding. “Did you hit your head when you fell?”

I scoff. “No. Axe, listen to me… Rix calls me Mac.”

He stills and nods. “Okay?”

“One night when you were away from The Agency, a man came into my cell.”

His expression darkens as he listens intently. “Go on...”

“He attacked me, Axel. I fought him off but he called me Mac. I didn’t register at the time, but now I know he wasn’t one of your guys—”

“You thought I sent someone in to attack you?”

I grimace. “He didn’t want me to talk to you or tell you anything about Rix. I was confused as it was, and it just made it worse for me. I didn’t know who to trust.”

Axel runs his hand through his hair, letting out a heavy grunt. “You’re telling me we have a mole in our ranks?”

I shrug. “I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him again.”

“Tell me about him. What did he look like? What did he say? Anything that stood out?”

I think it over for a second, then I remember the one thing that really made my skin crawl. “He called me little lady.”