by E. C. Land
“How are you feeling, Chaz?” she finally asks me.
“Nothing I can’t manage. When can I get out of here?” I ask.
Connors’ head snaps up and I swear it was like something from The Exorcist. Her gaze zeroes in on me. “Chaz, do you realize you just woke up from a coma? You almost died. If you had not been just outside this hospital, you wouldn’t have made it,” she snaps.
“I get it, Doc, I do, but I can’t be in here when Bethany is missing,” I state.
“Look, I understand, and I knew this shit was going to be like this. You are all the freakin’ same. Why you men can’t simply follow hospital protocol is beyond me,” she mutters as she finishes checking me over.
“You better be happy you’re family, Chaz, otherwise your ass would be staying here. As it stands, we’ve got your house ready for you. It’s been agreed that your ass will stay there. And the only reason I agreed to this is that Tanner, Hunter, and Lex all agreed to allow my new Physician Assistant, Annslee, to stay with you until we’re sure you're out of the woods of infection. When you're better she’ll be moving into her new apartment,” she says, slamming the door behind her.
“Guess she’s gone to get your discharge papers,” Tombstone chuckles.
“Yeah, now tell me who the fuck this De Luca fucker is and what he’s got to do with this,” I demand.
“Some of the guys from the Devil’s Riot rode out there with me and Hellhound. When we walked into the building, that motherfucker Jacob was there.”
“Fuck, what did he do with Bethany?”
“He didn’t do anything to her, at least physically. The fucker’s dead,” Tombstone growls.
Stunned by that little bit of news, I lay my head back. If Jacob is dead, then that means Bethany has to be in the hands of this Leo De Luca.
I don’t know what he wants with my woman, but I’ll be damned if I’m not getting her back.
Come hell or high water, I’ll get her back.
Chapter 25
Bethany
How is it time can stand still, yet fly past in the blink of an eye? It’s been three weeks of me being held captive by Leo and in that timeframe, he’s done nothing to me other than refuse to let me leave the premises. It’s not like I could go anywhere anyway. Not when there are guards everywhere you look.
By the time I’d woken up from whatever drug Leo had given me, I was lying in a soft bed in a house somewhere I didn’t know. Leo had been sitting in a chair across the room next to the window waiting for me to wake up.
When I’d asked why I was here, he’d simply shrugged and said I’m to repay the debt Jacob occurred with him. The jerk had owed over twenty grand for the coke he was supposed to disperse for him and snorted it all instead.
Refusing to meltdown in front of this man, I’d straightened my shoulders as I faced him and asked what I’m expected to do to repay it. His response had been a simple shrug of the shoulders. “You’re mine until I figure out what I want to do,” he’d stated before leaving my room.
Infuriated, I’d screamed and gone after him demanding to know. Ballsy, I know, but damnit, I’m tired of being bullied and pushed around like I’m trash.
All my life that’s what I’ve dealt with and now I’m done. I won’t allow them to do anything else to me. It’s not like they haven’t done enough. For all I know, Chaz is gone and Melody is left without her father.
Nothing else he could do to me would be worse than not knowing if Chaz were dead or alive.
“What are you doing sitting out here?” I’m jerked out of my head at the sound of Leo’s question.
Blinking, I stare up at him as he stands over me. I’d wanted to get out of the house, so I came out here to sit in the garden. It didn’t matter to me that it was cold and drizzling. No one would care if I were sick or not.
I mean, it’s been almost a month, and no one has even tried to find me. At least not that I know of.
“Bethany, I asked you a question. I don’t like to repeat myself,” Leo states crossing his arms.
“I felt like sitting out here,” I mutter as I meet his cold stare. As many times I’ve tried to figure him out since being around him I’ve yet to understand how he can be an asshole yet nice to me at the same time. Since we’ve been here, he’s never once hurt me physically. And most of the time he ignores the fact that I’m there.
“You’re going to get fuckin’ sick sitting out here. Get inside woman,” he orders, grabbing my arm.
“What do you care if I get sick?” I snap irritated at him. Let me rephrase that, I’m pissed with him and this whole situation. I should be home where I belong and not here. I want to be with my family, to call my dad, and snuggle with Melody.
“I care because you’re to cover a debt and if you can’t seem to listen and do as you're told, I suppose I’ll just have to figure something else out. Maybe give you to my dumbass cousins who shot your little boyfriend,” Leo snarls, causing me to flinch. I hate those two.
Whenever those two jerks come around, they taunt me about Chaz and how he’d fallen to the ground after being shot in the chest.
Tears fill my eyes involuntarily, but I blink while taking a shuddered breath to keep them from falling.
Sighing, Leo releases my arm and puts his hands in his pockets as his gaze softens the smallest bit. “Look, I’m not trying to be a fuckin’ asshole to you. I haven’t decided what to do with you because for some reason I can’t figure you out, you intrigue me. Maybe it’s the fight I see in your eyes or the light surrounding you. I don’t quite know. Either way, I don’t want to see either tarnished by the evil in this world,” he confides.
I find myself speechless because I know he’s not lying right now.
“Then why keep me here?” I ask, my brow crease.
“How about we get you inside where it’s warm and I’ll tell you why?” Leo suggests, holding an arm for me to take.
“Fine,” I say as I take his arm.
Leo leads us through the back door and into the living room. Instead of sitting on one of the couches, he has me sit with him on the floor in front of the roaring fire.
“I know you think I’m an ass and you’re right, I am. But when it comes to women, I’m not one to hurt them. My momma didn’t raise no fool who beats women. I know your background, Bethany. Jacob was a piece of shit for doing what he did to you. It’s one of the reasons he was maimed before I slit his throat.” I gasp at the fact he’s just admitted to being the one who killed Jacob.
Granted, I have no hard feelings for the jerk being dead, I don’t want to see the image in my head of him dead in that chair.
“Anyway, he offered you up to pay his debt, which I accepted before I finished the deed. He wasn’t going to stay alive either way,” he says.
“If you were going to kill him anyway, why did you have me kidnapped?” I ask, cautiously.
“Because I wanted to know you,” he shrugs.
“What? Why?” I blanch.
“You don’t know your family’s history, do you?” he asks.
“Umm, no, I don’t,” I say shaking my head. “What does my family have to do with this?”
“Your mother was a De Luca before she married your father,” he states, and I swear my jaw hits the floor.
“Wait, wait, wait, how was my mother a De Luca if my Uncles Reaper and Angel don’t have that last name?” I ask, baffled by all of this.
“Reaper and Angel have a different father than your mother. Jeanna, your grandmother, was married to my uncle before he passed away due to unfortunate events. My father took over after and helped her leave when she found out she was pregnant with your momma.” Leo goes on to tell me how my grandmother had married my uncles’ father, who was the president of the Satan’s Keepers MC.
“Wow, that’s a lot of information to swallow,” I mutter.
“I’m sure it is,” Leo chuckles.
“So, if you're related to me, then why kidnap me. You said I was to pay off Jacob’s debt. I’m
confused.” Lifting my hands, I massage my temple keeping the headache I sense coming on at bay.
“Because I need your father and uncles’ help. They are still pissed with me and everyone because of what happened to your mother. But I had nothing to do with it,” Leo growls, his hands clenched into fists.
“What happened to my mother? I only heard she was killed,” I whisper.
“She was. The Satan’s Keepers were fighting a war against another club that didn’t give a damn about the families of those members. After Jeanna was killed, your uncles and father asked mine to protect your momma and you. Long story short, during the trip to the safehouse, my father had been set up, the car was ambushed, and your mother was taken. I’m not gonna tell you the rest of what happened. The guards were able to at least keep you safe,” he says.
“If it wasn’t your fault, why are they pissed with you?” I ask.
“We didn’t protect your momma. They blame me for them getting hold of her,” Leo shrugs.
“Oh. Can I ask what you need their help with?”
“I have a traitor that I need to find and I need them to help protect my little sister. She’s just a little older than you,” he declares.
“Wow, that must be a gap between you two,” I blurt out. Leo might not look old, but I know he’s older than me especially if he’s my mom's cousin. Right? God, I’m so damn confused. My family tree is freaking nuts to try and figure out.
“You can say that,” he chuckles.
“Well, I guess we need to figure a way to get them to help you.” Leo looks completely surprised by my announcement. But if what he says is true then my uncles shouldn’t hold it against him for what happened to my mom. Maybe I can convince my uncles to help. They wouldn’t want the same thing to happen to another woman.
I hope at least.
After a good moment or two, Leo nods his head, “Okay, you help me get them to agree and I’ll let you get back home to that boyfriend of yours,” he says.
“You mean, he’s okay?” I ask, and this time I’m unable to keep the tears from falling.
“Yeah, he’s alive,” Leo nods.
Relief at hearing those words floods through me. Closing my eyes, I send a thank you to whoever was watching over him.
“Alright, let’s get started I want to go home,” I say as I open my eyes determined to get home.
Chapter 26
Chaz
I swear to fuckin’ God if one more person asks me if I’m okay I’ll pull my gun out and shoot them. I may only be a musician and music shop owner, but it doesn’t mean I don’t know how to shoot.
I don’t give a damn if I just got home from the hospital a couple hours ago. I’m not going to be cooped up in my room while everyone else is doing something to keep busy as we figure out how to get Bethany back.
“Chaz, you are supposed to be lying down,” Annslee, the new addition to our home and the pain in my ass at the moment, chastises me as she notices me stepping into the living room to find everyone gathered around.
Tombstone, Angel, and Reaper glance in my direction from where the three of them are huddled up in the corner.
Ignoring her, I make my way toward the three men. “What’s going on?” I demand.
“We’re trying to figure out how to get Bethany away from De Luca,” Reaper says, his lip curling as he says the guy's name.
From the way he says the name and how Tombstone acted earlier at the hospital, I feel like I’m missing something. “Do you know this De Luca guy?” I ask, getting straight to the point.
“You can say that,” Angel grunts.
“Who the hell is he?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. I automatically regret the movement.
Neither of them seems to want to answer the question and I contemplate giving Gadget a call. He’d tell me who the fucker was and where I can find my girl.
“Reaper, Chaz is family and should know. Tell him,” Tombstone finally mutters.
“Fuck, I hate talking about the piece of shit,” Reaper snarls, before explaining to me that De Luca was their cousin. And how he and the rest of his side of the family are head of some Italian mafia organization that deals coke. When he gets to the reason for hating the fucker, bile rises in my throat as they describe the way they found their sister.
I can see where he’s coming from blaming De Luca. I mean, the motherfucker had the nerve to kidnap my woman, someone who is related to him.
“So, what are we waiting for? If it’s your cousin, then call his ass up and demand he return her,” I state.
“Not that simple. Scythe found out that Jacob owed a debt for coke he was supposed to sell,” Angel mutters.
“Fuckin’ hell, what’s that got to do with Bethany? She’s not married to him nor is she with him,” I snap, growing more frustrated by the minute.
“One, Leo isn’t one to let go of twenty grand and not have a debt paid. He’s a ruthless fucker who does what he has to get what he wants. Second, just because Bethany is related to him doesn’t mean he won’t have her be the one to pay it. We’ve been trying to figure out which one of his places he might be held up at. De Luca has around fifty safehouses in the States and no less than ten in other countries,” Reaper says.
“Then we give the asshole the twenty grand. Bethany is worth a hell of a lot more than that and I want her back,” I command. I didn’t care if I had to pay the money out of my pocket. I have it sitting there and if it means bringing her home, then it’s not going to waste.
“I knew you were a good man,” Tombstone says, patting my back.
“Guess it’s time to try and get in contact with De Luca then,” Reaper grunts, scraping his hand over his face.
“Umm, I hate to interrupt, but Chaz, you really should be lying down or at least sitting,” Annslee snaps from behind me.
“Look, Annslee, I don’t need you to tell me what the hell to do. I’ll rest when I'm well and ready too damnit,” I yell as I turn to face the woman.
“Now, I know you have manners.” Everyone in the room grows silent as we all look at the woman the voice belongs to.
My Fairy girl is standing in the entrance to the room next to a giant of a man and another woman who refuses to look up.
“Bethy.” Tanner is the first one to break the silence.
Without saying anything, I stalked toward Bethany and pulled her into my arms.
“Careful,” Annslee calls out from behind me.
Jesus fuckin’ Christ, the woman and her orders can go the fuck on.
“Fairy girl, thank fuck you’re okay,” I murmur, placing a kiss to the top of her head.
“Yeah, baby, I’m okay,” she whispers as she pulls back enough to look up at me with the brightest smile.
“De Luca,” Reaper sneers.
“Reaper,” the other man states calmly.
“You’ve got some balls to walk into this house,” Tombstone snarls before pulling Bethany out of my arms to hug her. “Thank fuck you’re okay, Princess,” he says.
“I’m okay, Daddy. I promise. Now, can we all sit down please and be civil?” Bethany asks.
“Be civil? Bethy, this dude had you kidnapped and you want us all to be civil with him,” Lex yells from where he’d been sitting.
“I have to agree with him, Fairy girl. This guy . . . ”
“His name is Leo and he may have taken me but he’s family and we’re supposed to forgive family for their mistakes,” Bethany says, her gaze meeting each and every one of us in the room.
“Bethany you don’t have to defend me,” Leo mutters, his gaze soft as he looks at my girl. When he lifts his head to face all of us his eyes go cold again. “You all might hate me, but Bethany has made a deal with me to clear Jacob’s debt,” he says and my body tenses.
“What the fuck?” Tombstone growls.
“Daddy,” Bethany murmurs. “Can you all please sit down? Mia, please sit.”
The woman who’d been staying in the background finally looks up and another swirl of t
ension fills the room.
“What the fuck?” Reaper snarls and the woman flinches. I don’t blame him for being pissed. The woman standing before us has a scar from the corner of her mouth to her ear, along with what looks like fresh bruises.
“Uncle Reaper, this is what my deal was. We take Mia in to protect her. Well, more or less, I kinda agreed the club would help protect her,” Bethany whispers.
Damn, if my girl doesn’t know how to get her way when she wants to because she knows none of us nor her father's club would turn away a woman who is hurt.
Just goes to show how big Bethany’s heart really is.
Chapter 27
Bethany
You could cut the tension filling the room with a butcher knife. It was so damn thick. I knew when I met Mia that my uncles would take her in.
They couldn’t hold anything that happened against her. She’s just as innocent as anyone else in this mess they seem to have between them and Leo. I want to tell them all where they can shove the anger and animosity they have against each other.
“How do you expect us to protect her?” Angel asks.
“Umm, at the clubhouse,” I murmur, knowing it’s better to get right to the thick of this so they can get the hell over it.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Chaz and the last time was the day he’d been shot and I was taken. I know none of this would have happened had I not ran out of the doctor’s office. Then again, the asshole goons could easily have done what they’d done with Chaz and I walking out together.
“Hold up. Princess, you agreed to allow a woman to seek safe haven at our clubhouse without speaking to any of us,” my dad asks, his eyes narrow as he looks from me to Leo.
“Yes, Daddy. Leo never once hurt me and is only trying to do what any of you would have done for me. It’s what you did do for me, Daddy. Didn’t you give me to your sister to raise me so you could keep me safe?” I ask, knowing I’m right.