Surprise! So, Maplestyle asked me, ever so nicely, for an outtake written from Buzz's POV about what the hell he was thinking when he fought back against E the night Bella killed the Kingsman. And it's her birthday, so this is for her! Happy birthday, May!
Then I thought, there's probably a handful of outtakes you all would like to read, so I decided to start this as a separate story where I could post the extras. Feel free to send me requests about bonus scenes you'd like to read, and I'll see what I can do. ;) These bonus chapters will likely all be unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine. BitterHarpy did give it a once over to check me for typos, so thank you for that, my dear! xo
This one takes place near the end of chapter 17 of Clutch.
Clutch Outtake: The one where the Prospect decides to fight back.
Buzz's POV
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. E's gonna fuckin' kill me. "Fuck."
Trigger's doing his best to calm Bella down, but I can't tear my eyes away from the dead guy on the floor. It's the first time I've been this up close and personal with a body, and it's safe to say this shit with the Kingsmen is escalating, so I'm sure it won't be the last.
"Come on, hon. Let's get you outta here," Trigger says to Bella, helping her stand. She looks like she's about to keel over, but she manages to stay on her feet long enough to make it to her car. As she slides into the passenger seat, Trigger pulls me aside.
"I need you to get her to the clubhouse. E's gonna want her under 24/7 watch."
"What about the ..." I point toward the trailer. "You need help taking care of that?"
"Yeah, but I'll manage until you get your ass back here. I'll go get my cage while you're getting her to E, and when you get back, you can help me toss him in the trunk."
"You worried one of the neighbors called the cops?"
He shakes his head. "No. That piece she had is pretty quiet. I doubt anyone heard it. We barely heard it. You just worry about getting her to the clubhouse."
"What do I tell E?"
"That we fucked up. There's no two ways about it. We should've checked the house first, so this one is on us. I'm sure we'll both get a beat down for it." He looks over toward the car and back to me. "You just worry about getting her there. We'll both take whatever he dishes out, you got me? We fucked up."
"Yeah, I got it."
"Good. Here," he says, handing me the keys to the car, "get her safe, take your licks, and get back. We've got some remodeling to do, too. Hope you don't plan to get any sleep tonight."
"Thanks," I say sarcastically as I snatch the keys from his hand.
Sliding behind the wheel, I ease the seat back and start the engine. Bella stares out the window, and I don't dare say anything to break the silence. It's a decent drive into town, so I have plenty of time to think about what fate awaits me when I get us to the clubhouse.
I look over at Mase's old lady and swallow hard. She still hasn't said a word since she got in the car. She's like ... a zombie, just staring out into space.
But I guess that's what happens when you fill some dude with lead.
When I pull into the lot, it's full. Bikes and cars line the pavement, and even though I know this is what I'm supposed to do, I'm anxious as fuck to face the music.
Even if I deserve it.
I park the car and cut the engine. Time to man the fuck up.
I help Bella from the car, and her legs are still a little wobbly, so it takes a minute to get all the way inside, and when we do, I want to turn tail and run.
My beat down is about to be witnessed by most of the club, a few of their old ladies, and mice are everywhere.
When I spot E, he's sitting at the bar, talking to Mac. When he spots us, he looks confused.
"Bella?" He looks at me. "What is she doing here, Prospect? What the fuck happened?" He hops off the stool and steps toward us.
"There was ..." I clear my throat. My heart's about to pound right out of my chest. "There was someone in the house."
E's steps falter, and he looks from Bella back to me. "Was?" he growls.
"Yeah, she, uh ..."
"Spit it the fuck out."
I swallow again, this time just to keep from throwing up. "Bella shot him."
E's eyes light up, and he looks like he wants to rip my goddamn head off. In the year since I've been prospecting, I've seen E mad. I've seen him kick someone's ass, but I've never seen him this pissed before. And the moment his body tenses up and he charges at me, I know I'm about to get the ass-kicking of my life.
"You stupid fuck!" He takes a swing, and no one stops him. "Why did you let her go inside without checking the goddamn house first, huh?"
He lands hit after hit, and for a brief moment, I consider just lying on the ground and taking it, but something in me snaps. As much as I deserve the beating, I can't just lie here and let E knock me unconscious ... or worse.
And the feral look in his eyes tells me if I just lie here and take it, he might do just that.
I manage to hit back, giving me enough momentum to knock him just off-kilter, and it's all the opening I need. With determination not to let him quite literally kill me, I ram my shoulder into his side, pushing him across the floor and into the edge of the bar. He pushes back, and the space between us gives us both enough room to take a few more swings at each other.
Everyone around us eggs us on, cheering when one of us lands a particularly solid hit. But when Bella's sobbing can be heard over the cheers and whistles, E's swing falters, missing me completely. Panting and bleeding, we stare at each other.
E raises a pointed finger at me. "You stay away from me. You got me?" He gets in my face and grabs the edge of my cut, pulling me toward him. "You're lucky she's not hurt, because if she were, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot you right here." He lets go and pushes me away. "Go clean up your mess. And tell Trigger his ass is next."
He walks over to scoop Bella off the floor and disappears down the hallway. Everyone around me goes back to what they were doing, like nothing ever happened, leaving me standing in the middle of the room. A couple of the guys slap me on the shoulder, laughing and shaking their heads. The music gets turned back up, and I decide it's time to head over to help Trigger.
We've got carpet to replace.