HIS BRANDED BRIDE: Steel Devils MC

by Sophia Gray

  “I had to run. I paid a man for fake documents to give me a chance at a new life away from my abusive boyfriend.”

  His eyes narrowed again, taking in the fear in my eyes. It could easily be mistaken for being a result of the way he was manhandling me when I had previously been abused, at least that is what I hoped he would see. I was relieved when he let go of my wrists and took a step back.

  “What happened?”

  “He tried to kill me. Look!”

  I pulled up my shirt and showed him the long jagged gash along my side. I had actually gotten it during a really bad car accident when a bottle broken during the crash had cut me as it passed by, but it was hopefully enough evidence to stop him from asking questions. I had practiced answers for just this situation, but I didn’t want to get tripped up due to nervousness now that the time had come. He reached forward and ran his finger along the scar, admiring it as if it was some sort of battle wound between soldiers.

  “Broken bottle? I have one similar.”

  “Yes. He was drunk and pissed…thought it would be a good idea to come after me with the bottle he smashed against the bricks on our patio. He was aiming for my neck but stumbled and caught my side as I tried to run.”

  He nodded knowingly and seemed to relax a bit. He looked around again at the place and back at me.

  “Pretty nice place. I was expecting something a little shabbier in this neighborhood.”

  “I’m a great bargain shopper. Big taste, little wallet.”

  “You’ve done a good job.”

  “I’ve done what I could. Listen, since you are here, would you like something to drink?”

  “Just some water. I try to keep my senses about me when I have problems on my hands.”

  “Problems?”

  “Jack Knife is missing. I wanted to make sure he wasn’t here, which he doesn’t seem to be, but now I have to find him.”

  “Why do you think he is missing? Couldn’t he have just gone off to do something?”

  “Not without me knowing. I always know where my guys are or they answer their phones when I call to find out. I’ve been calling him for hours with no response.”

  “May be a reasonable explanation.”

  I walked to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of water, watching as he turned it up and guzzled it all down before handing the empty bottle back to me.

  “Thanks. I was parched. I’m going to get going. If he happens to come by here, don’t tell him I am looking for him. Just slip me a text message. Okay?”

  “I will.”

  I hurriedly dead bolted the door behind him as he left, leaning against the door to breathe. I felt like I had been holding my breath the entire time he was in my living room. My heart still raced, but was now beginning to settle down. At least it seemed he had bought the whole violent ex story. Hopefully it was enough to keep him from trying to dig further again. It probably hadn’t hurt to have the discussion while he had other things on his mind.

  I pulled out my journal from its hiding spot and made some notes, then opened the burner phone I had bought just for phone calls to my DEA contact.

  “Jeremiah, it’s me. I just wanted to touch base.”

  “Good that you did, Janessa. I was getting a little antsy.”

  “I got into the club okay. Found out a few things, but nothing of major consequence. It seems that there are some rogue members in the club that D doesn’t know about and now his lynchpin man, Jack Knife, is missing.”

  “Missing?”

  “Yeah, D is looking for him. That is all I know right now.”

  “What about these rogue members? Who are they?”

  “I don’t know yet. One of the elders got a little drunk and mouthy and told me, but no details. I’ll have to keep digging.”

  “Okay. I’ll see if any of my contacts can turn up anything from this end on either subject. Just be careful, Janessa.”

  “I will be. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  Tucking everything safely back into its hiding spot, I went to shower. I contemplated what might have happened to Jack Knife. He had been worried about something when he had come by before, but I had no idea what. Should I have told D about that? And if I told him now, would it seem odd that I had held it back? I decided it was best to stay as clear of the situation as possible.

  Chapter Eight

  “Janessa, come here.”

  I had barely made it back into the casino when D was calling out to me from the door that led to the club’s private area. I tried not to look nervous as I walked toward him. Was it about Jack Knife, or had he decided to dig into my past again, after all?

  “Yes, D?”

  “Come inside.”

  I smiled at him, trying to appear casual, as I stepped into the doors and he closed them behind me, waving me over to a chair that sat at a long wooden table among many others. I assumed this was where club meetings took place. A round table, of sorts.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Yes. Quite a bit is wrong. I still can’t find Jack Knife. Have you heard from him?”

  “No. Not a word.”

  “You were upstairs with him the other night. Did he tell you anything that might be useful?”

  “Tell me anything? No. I honestly don’t really know him very well. You know I just started here and I was only with him the one night and for a bit the next day.”

  “He took you home after breakfast. Did he stay?”

  “No. He said he had business to take care of and he left.”

  “What time did he pick you back up for work?”

  I looked at him, a bit puzzled. How did he know that Jack Knife had brought me to work? I didn’t have to wonder long. It was if he was reading my mind.

  “There are cameras everywhere here, Janessa. I see anything that happens in the parking decks and the casino. Eyes cover other places.”

  “He came back a few hours after he dropped me off. Said something about needing to lay low for a bit. We slept until it was time for me to get ready for work and then he brought me back here. I was supposed to go home with him after my shift ended, but he never turned up.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that last night?”

  “I didn’t think about it. I figured whatever he was doing or had done was club business and you already knew about it.”

  “No. I didn’t send him out to do anything yesterday. You sure he didn’t mention what it was?”

  I could see the wheels turning in D’s head. I had done the right thing by telling him. It would win points in my favor that I had told him rather than Jack Knife turning up and mentioning it when I had not.

  “No reason for him to tell me anything like that.”

  “I suppose that’s right. Okay. You can get back out to the floor.”

  I nodded and left the room, feeling a bit shaky now that I was away from him. D had a presence about him that I couldn’t quite describe. He was powerful, yet there seemed to be something a bit vulnerable under the surface. He frightened me and made me want to hold him all at the same time. I found it hard to believe he was the kind of man who would have killed my father, but I couldn’t lose sight that I might be wrong.

  The rest of my shift went without incident. I spent most of it with a VIP the club had brought in for a bit of fun. He was all hands, touching my legs and brushing against my tits. I found it all distasteful, but I smiled and dealt with it. I knew he was going to want to go upstairs, so I made sure he had plenty to drink. With any luck, he would pass out before I had to do anything more than be fondled. He wasn’t someone who could tell me anything, but it would look bad if I didn’t do as expected of me.

  “Doll, you think you can get me some candy and meet me upstairs in my room? Number 408.”

  “Sure. Give me just a few minutes.”

  “Candy” was code for blow. I had been well versed in the fact that I was expected to smuggle in and provide drugs to certain guests and club members. I had a secret compartment
in my purse, one that my DEA friend had given me from their confiscation room. Jack Knife had already provided me with the goods. I retrieved my bag, along with another bottle of scotch and made my way to the elevator.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Upstairs. Special invitation from the guest in 408.”

  “No. That slime ball can get coked up with someone else. Hold on.”

  I found myself being pulled by the elbow from the elevator doors back into the lobby. D looked around and spotted a girl who was similar to me in appearance.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just be quiet.” He turned back toward the girl and called out to her. “Hey, Amy. Come here.”

  I watched as she walked toward him, a huge smile on her face. No doubt she thought she was about to get lucky with D. I couldn’t blame her, but tonight wouldn’t be her best night.

  “Room 408. Take the bottle and a bag of candy up there and do whatever makes him happy.”

  I saw the smile fade quickly and the light dim in her eyes. She gave me a nasty look as she took the bottle from me and walked quietly over to the elevator.

  “She doesn’t seem very happy with that.”

  “She will be fine after she has a few lines up her nose. Nothing excites her more than free coke. Come on.”

  I followed him across the floor toward the exit. Rather than getting onto his bike, I was surprised when we passed it and he opened the door to a silver Lexus instead, motioning for me to get in. I did so and leaned back in the seat, not sure what was happening or if I should be worried about being taken out of the casino by him, but I didn’t dare ask where we were going.

  The city lights seemed to fly by as D roared up the highway and headed out of town. The further away from the lights they got, the more nervous I became. It was like being on an emotional roller coaster. One minute I felt safe and the next I was terrified by what he might have discovered. What he would do to me if he found out who I really was or why I was there.

  My anxiety skyrocketed as we pulled off the main highway and onto a deserted side road. There seemed to be nothing here as we drove further and further, passing through groves of trees on either side until we reached a small cabin. What was this place? No one seemed to live here.

  “Where are we?”

  “You’ll see soon enough.”

  His response did nothing to reduce my distress, but I tried to appear unaffected. After all, I was just a girl working at his club and had no reason for concern. If I appeared nervous, it went against everything I was supposed to be and that would definitely send up red flags. Still, I tensed as he opened the door and flipped on the light switch. Everything was covered in plastic, and I mean everything.

  “Why are we here?” I tried my best to keep my voice even and sound curious, rather than terrified.

  “This is where Jack Knife does some of his best work. I thought maybe he had holed up here with someone.”

  “Why did you bring me here?”

  “I don’t know. I just felt like the company.”

  I doubted that was the truth, but I was in no position to argue. There was no other reason I could think of that he would have brought me here. He had not known me long enough to trust me with club secrets and yet, here I was standing in some cabin that sounded like it might be where they brought people for some decidedly unpleasant business.

  My entire body seized tightly as I realized that this might be the place where my father had died. The reports said he had been killed in one place and dumped in another. Could his dying thoughts have occurred on this shitty plastic-covered furniture in this old cabin? The thought made me ill and before I could get a grip on myself, I suddenly ran out the door and leaned over the railing, dry heaving. I was shaking all over as I tried to gather myself.

  “Are you okay?”

  D was suddenly behind me, looking confused by my reaction. I had to think quick or I might have to over explain things.

  “I’m sorry. Too much to drink. Too little to eat, I guess.”

  “Get back in the car and lean back. I need to look around for just a minute and we will go get you something to eat.”

  “Okay. I’m sorry.”

  “Not a problem. I could stand some grub myself. Don’t throw up in my car!”

  “I won’t.”

  I sat in the car, calming down. It was a real effort to put the thoughts that I might have just stood in the cabin where my father was killed out of my head. I made a note to pay more attention when we left to how we got there so that I could follow up. There wasn’t much I could do now, but when this was over, it might do for a good forensics tech to sweep through it.

  “You look so pale. Are you sure you are okay?”

  I looked up toward him as he got in the car. There seemed to be genuine concern on his face, but all I could see was the monster that was D. I had spent the last couple of days at the casino deluding myself into thinking that maybe people like him and Jack Knife were not the cold-blooded killers I perceived them to be, that perhaps there was another reason for my father’s death than the Black Aces MC. Being in that cabin, I was faced with the reality of what and who they were.

  “That cabin. All the plastic coverings. I’m not used to things like that.”

  “You aren’t used to furniture coverings?”

  “Not when they are placed there to capture bodily fluids that aren’t easily removed.”

  “Is that what you think this place is? Some sort of slaughter house for those who cross the big, bad Black Aces?”

  “You said it yourself. Jack Knife does some of his best work there. I know his reputation as your muscle, your enforcer.”

  “Jack Knife has other interests. He likes to bring some of the bored housewives from the upper crust around here and show them a good time. Come back inside a minute.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “Yes, you do. I want you to see this for yourself.”

  Reluctantly, I got out of the car and followed him back into the cabin. We walked through the large outer den and down a hallway to a door at one end. I looked at the wooden steps appearing through the door opening and tensed a bit, but followed him down them in near darkness. Suddenly the room was flooded with light as he flipped a switch on the lower wall. My eyes grew wide as I took it all in.

  “Fully equipped dungeon. He’s a serious dom. When he told you he was bringing you home with him, this is where he meant.”

  “Oh my god!”

  I walked over to examine some of the items more closely. There was a cage in one corner with a drain and all manners of hoses and sprayers hanging from the bars. One wall was perfectly lined with whips, floggers and chains. Beside them were tools designed to inflict pain of varying degrees. There was even what appeared to be an autopsy table. It looked more like the den of a demented ripper than a BDSM chamber.

  “Are you sure this place is for pleasure and not torture?”

  “I think it is a bit of both, but these women come back for more constantly. He has videos of some very surprising society types you wouldn’t believe.”

  “You’ve watched them?”

  “Well, yeah. I’m a dude.”

  I was surprised to see him blush a little as he laughed. Only moments ago I had labeled him a monster, and now I couldn’t help but see that there was something else about him. He was not to be crossed, toyed with, but he was also just a guy like anyone else when his guard was down. It was odd to both fear him and find him likeable.

  “Can we go now?”

  “Absolutely. Let’s get some food. What do you like?”

  “Pretty much anything.”

  “I’ll take you to Grandma’s House. Come on.”

  I headed back up the stairs ahead of him as he followed behind. I wondered if he was looking at my ass as I went. I found it a little appealing that he might be and then wondered what was going on in my head that I’d consider attraction to someone like him. I tried to focus on lunch instead.


  “Your grandmother doesn’t mind you just parading people in to eat?”

  “Haha. No, that is the name of the place. All made from scratch and a lot of choices.”

  “I’m sorry. I still haven’t been to a lot of places here.”

  “Well, we will have to resolve that in my spare time. I’ll take you to some of the finest dives in town.”

  His smile was disarming and I found myself smiling back at him over the top of the car before getting in. A part of me really hoped he wasn’t so bad after all. Then again, he could be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He certainly had the reputation for one.