The Scars We Share: Haunted Hellhounds MC, #4

ONE

BRIDGETTE

TWO YEARS AGO

My mother believed that love came from pain. Sacrifice. At least that’s what she used to tell me back when we would speak. When I was allowed to speak to her.

It felt foolish now, being chained to a bed and fed shitty TV dinner meals by Bone Daddy, to believe that love was anything other than pain. Love was pain, so maybe my mother was right. I had hoped she was wrong for so long that the idea of love wasn’t something I had actively sought out.

But it found me.

He had found me.

Avis. I didn’t even know his last name. But he knew mine, he knew everything about me. He knew my schedule when I worked at the diner, because he was always somehow waiting in the parking lot at the end of my shift wearing a cruel smile and a Mercy Men cut.

I grew up in Chehalis, so the Mercy Men were an outlaw motorcycle club I had always been aware of, but told to avoid. I now knew why.

What I didn’t know was where Avis and his father were. Avis had screamed at me, manic about enacting revenge on some family that he believed had killed his mother. He had been the one to put the chain on me, as he had before, and I was certain he enjoyed it. Gave him more control, even though he already controlled every portion of my life.

I no longer worked at the diner. I stopped seeing my parents and old friends that I knew before Avis. My entire life was the Mercy Men, and one of them in particular.

If I knew he wouldn’t kill me, I would have left long ago.

I had tried. More than once. Each time Avis had found me, and each time I was rewarded. With a new scar. Avis would slice into my skin, writing his name in quick, jagged strokes of a blade, or sometimes it was just a line or a shape. Those were my favorite. They often healed easier, and sometimes the scars weren’t as noticeable.

Avis told me I deserved it. He said I deserved every ounce of pain. He wanted me to scar. He liked it when I scarred. Especially when the scars spelled out his name.

Shower, Bone Daddy growled, even though I knew he enjoyed it far more than I did. He carried the chain wrapped around my ankle into the bathroom and tossed it into the tub, grinning at me with dark eyes while I undressed.

Bone Daddy was the Mercy Men’s Sergeant at Arms. Had been that way for a long time apparently, and he made sure I knew that. He made sure everyone knew that. Even though I didn’t know what it meant. Maybe he didn’t either.

I was certain he had a role in the club, and he sure as hell believed it was important. He felt he shouldn’t have to watch over me while his club did something that was apparently long overdue.

Bone Daddy was annoyed with his babysitting gig. But he was enjoying staring at my naked body past the clear shower curtain.

Need me to help? he questioned smugly as I lathered a strawberry body scrub on my legs. I didn’t get a chance to snap a response. Harrowed screaming filled the home and it made me freeze.

Avis.

GET THE HELL OUT, YOU STUPID FUCK! Avis screamed at Bone Daddy, tossing the door open so hard the handle sunk into the hole in the wall he had put there a few weeks ago. We had just moved in barely a month ago and already the place was in ruin.

Bone Daddy stepped back and glared at the blood-soaked Avis. The man who owned me looked ragged and wild, his black eyes darting to me in the shower.

Fine, Bone Daddy grumbled and pointed a finger at Avis. You owe me.

Like fuck, Avis growled and stepped to the side to let Bone Daddy out of the room. Get out, he then demanded of me and yanked the shower curtain to the side. OUT, BRIDGE!

Avis yanked me by the chain out of the bathroom and onto the bed. He didn’t unchain me as he began to peel off his clothes stained with old blood. He smelled like death, the heady scent I was all too familiar with in this lifestyle.

What happened?

The question only seemed to enrage him further. He moved mechanically, his entire body tense, and I wanted to cry. He was going to take his anger and pain and frustration out on me. On my body.

They killed my dad, his words were as hollow as his expression. But I got away. I’ll always get away.

Who? I asked slowly and watched Avis toss the chain onto the bed. I hadn’t even dried off. I still had conditioner in my hair. But clearly, that didn’t matter.

Avis was naked and already hard, and faced me with a snarl. THE HELLHOUNDS, BRIDGE! he screamed, getting in my face. We’ve got to lay low now, his voice was barely above a whisper, breath hot on my mouth.

Avis kept talking, but I could barely hear him. His words blurred together and he paced the room, manic, and my blood chilled as he started to laugh.

They’ll never get me. Nope. I’m too quick. We need to move, Bridge. Go somewhere… cold. Or warm. With sun.

He tugged the chain until my ankle was at the corner of the mattress and he climbed on. I froze. Like I always did. Too afraid to speak up, too afraid to tell him I didn’t want to do this.

Princess, he muttered, glaring down at me, but his eyes weren’t focused. Fucking Princess, that’s what they were calling her. She was his daughter. The man who killed my dad. She was going to pay for his mistakes but… he shook his head and forced my legs apart, staring down at the string of my tampon.

I’m on my period, I managed to stutter out, chest heaving, entire body shaking.

Avis barked a cold laugh. I like your blood, he said slowly and reached to pull the tampon out, tossing it on the carpet. And I’ll wear it anyway I can.

With a grunt, Avis forced himself in me and I squeezed my eyes shut. I could pretend it wasn’t like this, that my life wasn’t as fucked up as it was, but it was a delusional fantasy I’d never have.

Avis was going to kill me. He told me that himself.

And he reiterated it while he fucked me, mumbling other things about the Hellhounds.

They’ll look for me but they’ll never find me. Blood poured onto my stomach from one of his many wounds. Know why they want to find me? Huh? Speak, Bridge.

Avis grabbed my face and forced me to look at him.

Why?

Because I killed a kid, he said through a laugh. Almost killed two if some big fuck didn’t get in the way… then… there was the other one. The girl. The blonde one. Young, pretty, and so fucking easy, I bet.

Avis groaned and pulled out.

Roll the fuck over, Bridge. I can’t stand to see you look at me like that.

Look at him like what? With disgust? Fear?

He just admitted to killing a child.

Avis flipped me onto my stomach and pushed into me again, chuckling about the blood on my thighs. He kept talking about the Hellhounds, a cabin, Princess, and some cop who shot him. His words blurred together, nothing made sense, but there was one thing I knew for sure.

I wished he hadn’t come back.

Avis pushed my head into the pillow and I cried, realizing I’d be better off dead. I’d be free from him. It was the only way.

TWO

BRIDGETTE

Help me move the body, Avis boomed, reaching down to grab Jack’s legs. BRIDGE! he shouted when I hesitated and flicked a dark gaze at me. This is all your fault, remember? You made me do it.

Avis straightened and let Jack’s body slump against the linoleum in the entryway. He glared at me, daring me to do anything other than what he demanded of me. I picked up Jack’s wrists and started dragging him through the home. Avis barely helped. He sneered at me the entire way, but every time he glanced down at Jack’s body, he smiled.

More blood dripped across my face from the cut in my hairline I was rewarded with from Avis when he saw Jack standing in our doorway holding out a care package.

We had just moved back to Chehalis. To get some sort of normalcy in my life, I had begged Avis to let me find a job outside of the compound. I earned a new scar from that, but I had joined a tiny marketing company that offered PR services to small businesses in the area. Jack was from HR and had brought over a small welcome package. Sure, he had been cute—had been because now that he was dead, all that gorgeous tawny color drained from his face.

Avis opened the door to the basement and stared at me expectedly, and I was in charge of getting the body of a grown man down a set of narrow wooden steps to the dirt floor in the basement. I wasn’t sure why it wasn’t finished, but I didn’t really have time to wonder about those things when I was covered in blood and helping the man who owned me get rid of the evidence.

You’re so stupid, I mumbled, taking Jack’s watch off of his wrist.

You’re the stupid one. Allowing a man into our goddamn home behind my fucking back.

"He works with me." I grumbled, peering over at him. Avis stood by the bottom of the stairs, typing away on his phone.

Well you don’t work there anymore.

What happened to the inch of freedom you were giving me? I questioned and straightened, gazing at him with my jaw set so firm, my teeth hurt. "You said you trusted me. You said I deserved something good in my life."

Avis tucked his phone in his pocket and moved towards me, noting how I stiffened at his proximity. He breathed a laugh and snaked his hand around my throat, squeezing as he drew me in. "Bridge… I tell you what you want to hear. You’re so fucking weak, you never know what you want. Without me, you’d be dead long ago."

With you I’ll be dead soon enough.

He seemed to mull over my words and a smile stretched across his mouth. Keep it up, Bridge. Your blood is my favorite. I have no issue draining your entire body of it.

Avis yanked me closer and licked at the blood on my forehead, moaning as if it actually tasted good, and then let go of me with a shove. Take off his clothes, Bridge. That’s what you were after, wasn’t it? Thought you could get away with fucking someone else while I was at the compound?

I shook my head. He told someone where he was going. Someone knows he was here.

Avis rolled his eyes and crouched to dig in the pockets of Jack’s grey slacks, tugging out a phone. He tried, and failed, to unlock it by pressing random numbers, and then resorted to cutting off Jack’s thumb to use. Avis sat on the floor by the dead body, totally unperturbed by it, and started typing on Jack’s phone.

"Done. Now you no longer work there. Said you weren’t home, that you spooked off somewhere, and now Jack, he reached out to shake the dead man’s head. Is at home making the pasta bake he was telling Regina about."

Avis sat next to Jack’s body, poking through the phone, laughing about something.

"Call the club, Bridge. They need to come and clean up your mess." He peered up at me and I hated it. I already knew what was waiting for me when the Mercy Men would leave.

I’d get a new scar. His name across my stomach, a word carved into my flesh, or a quick slash down my back.

My stomach ached, veins clogged with fear, and I was so damn tired. I couldn’t live like this any longer.

I wished he just killed me every time he had threatened to.

"I’ll deal with you later," Avis menaced as I climbed the stairs. I didn’t turn back at the sound of the circular saw, I just shut the door and grabbed the burner phone we kept hidden in the cupboard above the fridge. I dialled the number of the man who greedily snatched the Prez patch when Psycho, Avis’s father, was announced dead.

Yeah, Teeth muttered from the other end. What now, Avis?

It’s Bridgette, I corrected, and he sighed.

What did he do now? he asked, but I didn’t need to respond. The circular saw made one hell of a nasty sound as Avis used it to sever Jack’s limbs from his body, the blade slowing when it hit bone.

Be right over.

I hung up and powered down the shitty flip phone, tucking it back where it belonged, and I took a seat at the table. That was where the Mercy Men found me when they arrived less than five minutes later.

Teeth entered the kitchen first. He rolled his gaze towards me, pure hatred in his brown eyes, and he motioned for the men to follow him to the basement.

But Bone Daddy stayed put. He slammed his ass down into a wooden chair next to me and reached for my thigh, kneading it with big, meaty fingers.

Missed ya, he said, his wheezy laugh even more wet than the last time I had heard him. Your tits especially.

Thanks, I muttered.

I peered up at the sound of his chair scraping across the floor. He moved closer, his hand diving higher.

Do I get a taste this time?

I placed my hand over his, trying and failing to push it away from the crotch of my jeans. Remember who I belong to.

Bone Daddy was persistent. He pushed his hand until he was fully cupping my pussy outside of my jeans, grinning at me when I gasped.

I’m afraid of nothin’. Especially not a piece of shit like Avis.

His mouth came down on mine before I even had a chance to process his words. His teeth gnashed against mine, splitting my lip, but his tongue lashed out to pick up the bead of blood with a groan.

Give it a fucking rest, Bone Daddy. Teeth grumbled, and I was thankful for the sound as Bone Daddy pulled back, licking his lips.

Won’t stop until she’s mine.

That can be arranged, Avis said from the top of the stairs. She owes you guys for coming to her fucking rescue.

Thought you didn’t share? Teeth questioned, gaze narrowed at Avis.

I stared at Avis, silently begging him not to do this, but his gaze dipped down to where Bone Daddy was rubbing between my legs.

Nah. She’s not worth it anymore.

A frightened squeal worked from my throat when Bone Daddy plucked me off of my chair and slammed me onto his lap, grinding me against him.

And when do I get to have her?

Soon, Teeth sighed. But for now, get off your fucking ass and give us a hand.

Bone Daddy rolled his eyes but slammed his mouth on mine again, stood, and deposited me on his seat.

Like I fucking said, Avis hissed in my ear from behind me. "I’ll deal with you later."

I stayed put while the Mercy Men hauled black garbage bags filled with Jack’s body parts from the basement of the home I shared with Avis. Even though I didn’t wear an obvious chain, there was still one there, wrapped around every single limb on my body, tethering me to the merciless and frenetic mad man who was now staring at me from across the table.

And he was smiling.

Bridge, he said slowly, and reached for my hand, pinning it to the top of the table. Although he was grinning, his touch was hard, unyielding. I need you to go into the bedroom, take off your bloody clothes, pick out a knife, and present yourself to me. Each word was calculated and spoken with enough precision that there was no room for negating.

I did as I was told. I wasn’t stupid. Maybe if I obeyed him, let him carve his name into me, he’d change his mind about sharing me with Bone Daddy.

Mercy Whores were always shared. They weren’t loyal to one patched member, and they were off-limits to prospects. The Mercy Men were a tight knit club and didn’t let many people prospect their club. That was one more dick to worry about for the Mercy Whores.

I wasn’t a Mercy Whore. I had been the sole property of Avis for our entire relationship. Although it was uncommon, we got away with it because Avis’s dad had been the Prez when we started ‘dating,’ if it could even be called that.

As soon as Psycho was out of the picture and Teeth was in charge, my status as a Mercy Whore had been questioned almost immediately. At least while we were hiding the questions had stopped. We’d been back in Chehalis for 3 days. It didn’t take long for Bone Daddy to bring up a topic I had hoped they’d all forgotten about.

Not Bone Daddy. He had always been keen to remember tiny details, so it was no wonder he had been the one to bring it up.

Avis kept his blades he used to slice me up in a black leather knife roll. It was tied and laid atop stacked boxes, one of the first things he had reached for when we moved in. He needed to know where his knives were. I untied the small leather straps and unrolled it, staring down at the blades that Avis thankfully took care of. He’d clean them and sharpen them and then he’d test them. On me.

I picked my favorite—the shiny black folding knife with a blade that looked like an oil slick. I unfolded it and laid it on the bed, pulled off my clothes, and sprawled myself across the blood-stained sheets like an offering. An offering of blood. Of chaos.

Avis entered the room, but I didn’t dare look at him. I heard him undress, and then he picked up the knife, running the back of the blade along the outside of my thigh.

You think this is enough for what you’ve done?

The shiny blade comes into view, tip down, just above my eye. I didn’t respond.

Avis laughed. "Not nearly enough, Bridge."

I tilted my head to the side and watched him run his fingers along the knives until he picked one. A serrated blade that he’d used to saw at my flesh, leaving it tattered and far more prone to scarring.

He was smiling at me as he stepped closer. You did this to yourself, Bridge.

Avis waited for me to respond. For me to confirm.

Yes, I sighed.

"You deserve this."

Yes.

He climbed onto the bed and coaxed my legs apart, settling himself between them. You like this.

He didn’t wait for a response. He quickly sliced along the top of my left thigh, laughed as I screamed, and he held me down. Another quick slice and he entered me, thrusting and cutting and laughing.

"Scream for me," he commanded with a final flick of his knife against my flesh. Avis tossed the blade aside and fucked me, smearing my blood everywhere. I laid limp in his arms while he kissed me with bloodied lips, forcing my own blood into my mouth.

I was crying, which I knew would only make matters worse, but I couldn’t stop. At least I couldn’t feel my new cut anymore, the pain instead in my pussy. I knew I’d bleed. It wouldn’t be the first time Avis fucked me like this and made me bleed. I honestly felt like he preferred to see me bleed any way he could.

"You’re going to take Bone Daddy’s cock like you take mine. And any Mercy Man that wants a taste. Know why? You’re a good little Mercy Whore, Bridge. You don’t deserve me anymore. I’m gonna let them ruin you and then I’m going to kill you."

Avis finished, and he pulled out, grinning down at his blood-covered cock. He squeezed my new cut making me cry out, and forced my foot on the bed, angling my thigh towards me.

AVIS was carved on my thigh just below my hip. The letters were huge, spiky and uneven, and blood flowed freely from the slices, pooling in the crease of my hip.

Lie down, Bridge, Avis grumbled and climbed off of the bed. He shut off the light and drew me against him with a sigh. "This is what happens when you disobey me. This is what happens when you make me mad. Better