by Kay Marie
“Preciosa, I wanted you to be here for this. To show you that you belong to me and only me,” Rodrigo says. Eduardo moves behind me, taking hold of both my arms while Rodrigo moves toward Rascal. He waves something under his nose that makes his head jolt up.
“Rascal!” I try to take a step forward but Eduardo is holding me in place. Rodrigo is standing behind Rascal holding his head up and holding a knife in his other hand.
“This is for you.” Rodrigo’s eyes are locked on mine as he holds the knife to Rascal’s throat, slowly dragging it across.
My eyes shoot open, sitting up, tears pouring down my face. I look around, it’s still dark. It was just a dream. Scratch that, a nightmare. I lay back down. There’s no way I’m going back to sleep after that. I spend the rest of the night tossing and turning.
Morning comes all too soon. A knock on the door startles me. The click of the door unlocking has me sitting up in bed.
“Buenas días,” Maria greets. “Oh my! Did you sleep at all?”
“I had a nightmare in the middle of the night that kept me from falling back asleep,” I tell her. My eyes are swollen and my head is pounding.
“Let’s get you freshened up and fed.” She helps me out of bed, shooing me into the bathroom.
I go through my morning routine and go back into the room. Maria made my bed and laid clothes out for me.
“Get changed and I’ll be waiting in the hall for you,” she tells me.
I nod my head and she walks out. I change into the clothes she left for me. They fit perfect. I follow Maria into the hall. Without a word, she walks downstairs with me right behind her. This house is so cold. There’s nothing here that makes this place a home. Everything is plain, the bare minimal.
Walking into the kitchen, my nose is assaulted with all the amazing breakfast foods and coffee. Maria motions for me to sit, I comply and watch her move around the kitchen, making two plates of food, bringing them to the table and setting one in front of me. Then she makes two cups of coffee and sits at the table with me.
“Eat up,” she tells me.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, niña, go ahead.” She takes a sip of her coffee.
“Why am I so important to Rodrigo?”
She pauses. “You remind him of someone.”
“My mother? Did he have anything to do with her death?” I pepper her with questions.
“That’s all I can say. Now, eat your breakfast,” she says.
As I’m eating, Paula comes into the kitchen. She eyes me with daggers.
“Why is the prisoner eating in the kitchen? And such a nice meal?” Paula hisses out. Maria responds to her in Spanish and Paula rears her had back as if Maria slapped her.
“I can’t wait until I can have some fun with you,” Paula says to me.
“Paula!” Eduardo walks into the kitchen. “She’s not yours to play with. You don’t touch her unless Rodrigo gives you orders.”
“Yes, mi amor. I’m sorry.” Paula leaves the kitchen, hanging her head low.
“I’m sorry about that, Preciosa. She’s a bit jealous.” Eduardo grins at me, giving me an uneasy feeling. “Rodrigo had me put a TV in your room, so you have something to do in your room. After you finish your breakfast, you’ll go straight to your room.”
I finish my breakfast in silence, eager to get back to my room and away from him. I can’t help but wonder what they have planned for me. Though, I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough.
34
Rascal
The next day, we’re back in Church. This time, Niko joins us from the beginning. Everyone has been working their asses off trying to get information on Rodrigo Sanchez and where he could be keeping Marley.
“To start us off, Ranger and I had a meeting with Andrei and Niko. Andrei is letting Niko handle the Bratva side of this, but told us to let him know if we run into any issues,” Prez tells the room. “Thor, did any of our contacts have information for us?”
“Believe it or not, the Murphy brothers were able to help. Finn and Lochlan are still in New Mexico and they’ve heard quite a bit of chatter,” Thor explains. “From the sound of it, Torres set Rodrigo up with a pretty elaborate set up East of Santa Fe on something like twenty acres of land.”
“Did they say anything about how many men they have,” Prez questions.
“They heard he doubled up but didn’t know an exact number,” Thor replies.
“Tech, see what you can find out about that property,” Prez instructs.
“Already on it, Prez.” Tech is typing away at his computer. That fucker does some amazing things with technology.
“Buster, are the Phoenix Riders up for a fight?” Prez moves right along.
“Yes, sir. Who ever you need will be ready to go at your word,” Buster says.
Prez nods his head.
“Got it,” Tech shouts. “Found his location and hacked his security feed.”
“What’s it look like,” Prez asks.
“The house itself is surrounded by trees, which will give us plenty of cover,” Tech tells him.
“Can you make out how many men there are?”
“There seems to be about six walking the perimeter. Rodrigo is in his office with two men standing outside his door. Another outside a room I would assume is where they’re keeping Marley. Then four more throughout the house,” Tech explains. “Fourteen in total.”
“We’ll take twenty-four. Ranger, Sketch and Buster, y’all will stay here with Mouse, Knuckles and the women. We’ll have Maverick and Tank meet us in Santa Fe. That’s seventeen of our own,” Prez states. “Niko, that leaves you and six of your men. That work for you?”
“It sure does. I have my Brigadier, Dmitry and his boyeviks, his soldiers,” Niko says.
“Tech, how far is Rodrigo’s from here,” Prez asks.
“Eleven hours, give or take,” Tech tells him.
“We’ll leave in two hours. Load up on guns and ammo. No bikes, we don’t want to draw attention,” Prez announces. He dismisses us from Church and I head straight to my room to pack. I grab some gummies for Marley in case she needs them. Knowing that something happened to her when she was Rodrigo’s prisoner before, who knows what state she’ll be in when we get to her.
Once I’m done, I head out to the main room to wait for everyone else. The prospects are preparing the SUVs for us and making sure we have everything we’ll need.
“Has anyone seen Tink?” Diesel glances around the room.
“I think she’s in her room,” Minx tells him.
He looks to Hollywood. “You gonna talk to her before we leave?”
“Nah, not this time. You go ahead,” Hollywood says. Diesel shakes his head and walks away.
“Yo, Hollywood, everything alright,” I ask.
“Yeah, everything’s good.”
Something about his response tells me everything isn’t good, but I leave it alone. I head outside to get some fresh air before we’ll be cooped up in the car for half a fucking day. Some of the guys are already out here.
“You doin’ okay,” Ratchet asks.
“As okay as I can be,” I tell him honestly. I’ve been trying not to think too much about what we’re heading into. Usually, shit like this doesn’t even phase me. I’m always up for going after anyone who fucks with the Savage Menaces. But this is different. We’re going after a man who is holding my Ol’ Lady prisoner for only God knows why. “I can’t help but feel like I failed her.”
“I can understand that. We didn’t truly know who we were up against or what they were capable of,” Ratchet says. “We’re gonna get her back and we’ll make that asshole pay.”
Two hours later, we have our vehicles packed and we’re headed to New Mexico. We have six vehicles in total with four of us riding in each one. We’re staying in pairs so we can stay inconspicuous.
When we get to New Mexico, we’ll be staying at Finn and Lochlan’s house. It’s one of the many they have across the United Sta
tes and it’s a fairly big house. They help save women who have been kidnapped and thrown into the human trafficking rings. They’re currently somewhere on the East Coast, so the house we’ll be staying at is empty.
The drive is long and uneventful. I try to sleep to help pass the time but my mind is running a million miles an hour. I should have done a better job protecting her. If I wouldn’t have let her out of my sight, this wouldn’t have happened. Everyone keeps trying to tell me this isn’t my fault, but I can’t help feeling like it is. I let my guard down. Just because we were at a safe house didn’t mean we were one hundred percent safe. I should have remembered that.
We get to Finn and Lochlan’s close to one in the morning. We get our bags unloaded and meet in the living room.
“Everyone find a place to sleep and get some rest. Our best bet will be to hit at night. We’ll reconvene in the morning and iron out the details,” Prez announces.
I don’t bother finding a room, choosing to crash on the couch instead. I already know I won’t get much, if any, sleep tonight. I’m too wound up and worried about Marley. I sit on the couch and kick my shoes off.
“You’re not gonna find a bed to sleep in,” Ratchet asks.
“Nah, I’ll only end up tossing and turning all night. I’m better off here,” I tell him.
“Have it your way. See ya in the mornin’.” He walks away. I lay there staring at the ceiling for what seems like hours before I’m dozing off.
35
Marley
After I finished my breakfast, Maria escorted me back to my room. I turn the TV on for background noise. Every time I start to doze off, I jolt awake. I finally sit up to stop myself from falling asleep.
Everything from the past two years plays out in my head. From my mom dying, to being taken and escaping, to meeting Rascal and the other Savage Menaces. Being back with Rodrigo is the last place I wanted to end up, but I need to keep having faith that Rascal will come for me. I can only hope it has a better ending than my nightmare did.
An hour or so later, my door is being unlocked. I’m expecting Maria to walk in but instead, it’s Paula. I let out a quiet groan.
“Get up. El Jefe wants to see you.” She walks over to me when I don’t get up quick enough. Grabbing my arm, she yanks me off the bed and drags me out of the room.
“Let me go! I’m perfectly capable of walking on my own, you crazy bitch,” I hiss out. She turns around, back handing me.
“You’re fucking lucky I have to wait for El Jefe’s permission before having my way with you,” she says. “Walk. Now!”
We walk downstairs toward Rodrigo’s office and she shoves me through the door.
“Preciosa, come, sit.” He gestures to the chairs in front of his desk. I take a seat, waiting for him to keep talking. He grins at me. “How was your first night here?”
“Cut the shit. Why am I here?”
His face twists as he tries to fight back showing his anger. “That’s quite the mouth you have. I suggest you watch it.”
“And if I don’t? You’ll what? Torture me some more? I’m not afraid of you.”
“Ah, Preciosa.” He laughs, but it’s void of humor. “I could easily blow up that clubhouse with all those bikers you care so much about. All I need to do is make a phone call.”
I freeze. The last thing I want is any of them dying because of me. They’ve all done so much for me in the past six months.
“Now that I have your attention, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” he tells me. “I brought you here to use you.”
My mind instantly goes to him using my body and a chill runs through my body.
“Not like that, Preciosa. Though, the thought has crossed my mind.” He gives me a skeevy smirk. “I need you to lure out your father.”
“My father? What do you know about my father?”
“I know he’s the Sovietnik of the Bratva. Andrei Orlov’s trusty advisor,” he states. “Nikolay Kalashnik. We were acquaintances once upon a time.”
“And why do you need to lure him out?”
“He took something from me. Now, it’s time for payback.” He sneers.
“How do you know for sure I’m his daughter? Or that I’ll lure him out? What if he doesn’t care that I’m his daughter?”
“Oh, Marley. Your mother kept so much from you, didn’t she? Her and I were close, you know. I even saw her before she died.” There’s a gleam in his eyes like there’s something he isn’t saying.
“What did you do to her?” I grit out.
“I didn’t do anything to her.” An evil grin crosses his face.
“What happened to her?” I shout.
“I made sure she paid for picking that fucking Russian over me,” he growls out.
Tears threaten to spill from my eyes. There’s a knock on the door as one of Rodrigo’s goons walks in.
“Jefe, there’s a phone call for you. It’s really important,” the man says.
Rodrigo sighs. “Have Paula take our guest back to her room.”
The man walks me out of Rodrigo’s office where Paula is waiting for me.
“He wants you to take her back to her room,” he tells her.
She rolls her eyes and grabs my arm, squeezing hard. I try to claw at her hand to make her let go but it only makes her squeeze tighter. The door to my bedroom is already open. She shoves me to the floor and slams the door, locking it.
“She’s got a stick up her ass,” I mutter to myself. I drink a sip out of a bottle of water sitting on my night stand, then lay down.
I manage to take what I imagine was a couple hour nap before Maria comes to get me for dinner. My stomach growls as we walk to the kitchen. Sitting on the table there are two casserole dishes with enchiladas, a bowl of rice and a bowl of beans.
“These are pollo.” She points to one dish. “The others are frijoles y queso.”
“Thank you. It looks amazing,” I tell her.
“You slept for a long time. Eat up.”
I take one of each enchilada and some rice and beans. We sit together, eating in silence. After a few minutes, it registers to me what Maria said.
“Maria, what did you mean I slept for a long time?”
“You went to sleep yesterday evening just before dinner. I knew you didn’t sleep well the night before, so I let you rest,” she explains.
I don’t think that’s all it was. I have a feeling someone drugged my water. It might even have been Maria, trying to ensure I got some sleep.
“Did you drug my water?” I narrow my eyes at her.
She keeps eating, choosing not to respond. Shaking my head, grinning. I take her silence as a yes.
“Do you feel well rested,” she asks without making eye contact.
“I do, thank you.”
“Ah, Maria! It smells amazing in here,” Eduardo says. “And look who finally woke up.”
Eduardo runs his fingers along my shoulders as he walks by. The gesture causes my stomach to turn.
“Tomorrow, you and I get to have some fun. I hope you’re ready.” He chuckles. And just like that, I’ve completely lost my appetite.
36
Rascal
The next morning, I’m woken up to a bunch of clatter coming from the kitchen. After listening to it for a few minutes, I get up and go see who is making all the noise. Walking into the kitchen, Diesel is searching the cabinets.
“Are you tryin’ to wake the dead in here?” I laugh.
He grins. “So what if I am?”
I shrug. “More people to help us go after the Cartel.”
“Hell yeah!” He chuckles. He gathers everything needed to make pancakes plus some bacon and eggs.
“So, I gotta ask. What’s goin’ on with you, Tink, and Hollywood?”
“Nothin’. I’ve been tryin’ to get closer to her, but she ain’t lettin’ either of us past the friend zone. She doesn’t want to choose one of us and it’s causing a rift between us,” he explains. “Though, H has been actin�
�� weird toward her lately.”
“Have you talked to him about it?”
“Tried. He won’t talk about it,” he says.
“He’s an interesting character.” I grin. “He’s like an onion, you gotta peel back the layers.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that.”
“Whatever is goin’ on between y’all, it’ll work itself out,” I assure him.
He nods his head, but doesn’t say anything else. I get the coffee maker set up to brew before more brothers start waking up.
By the time Diesel is finished cooking, everyone is awake. I find paper plates and plastic forks and set them on the counter. Diesel has butter, syrup and peanut butter out for the pancakes and hot sauce, A1 and ketchup for the eggs.
“Everything’s ready. Grab a plate,” he says to me.
After breakfast, I take my coffee and sit outside. It doesn’t take long before Saint joins me.
“You ready to get your Ol’ Lady back?” He drops into the chair next to me.
“Been ready.”
“I still can’t believe you of all people found a lady to tame you.” He chuckles.
“I’m livin’ proof that there’s someone for everyone.”
He shakes his head with a smirk. He zones out, staring out toward the horizon.
“You alright, bro?” I snap him out of his daze.
“Honestly, this shit with Marley finding out Niko is her dad got me thinkin’ about my own family.”
“What about it,” I ask.
“I was adopted,” he says. “I’ve been goin’ back and forth about whether or not to ask my parents about my biological parents.”
“That’s some heavy shit. Have you decided what you’re gonna do?
“Nah, not yet.”
We sit outside for a while, drinking coffee and talking shit. After a bit Ratchet comes outside.
“Hey, fuckers. Prez wants everyone inside,” he says. We get up and follow him inside. Maverick and Tank are here, as well as the Russians.