Tempt My Trouble (Knights of Mayhem Book 1)

by K. A. Ware

  I gripped the plastic tail with my teeth and pulled, cinching the zip tie and binding my wrists in front of me. To my surprise, when I showed him my bound hands and feet, Butcher lowered the blade from Amanda’s throat and stepped away from her, sheathing his knife.

  When he moved to come toward me, she bent, picking up the gun I’d slid her way. Hope bloomed in my chest as she slowly stood behind him, gun in hand. “Where’s my mom, you son of a bitch,” she breathed, pointing the gun at him.

  Her mom?

  My stomach bottomed out as the pieces of the puzzle started clicking together.

  Butcher spun, snatching the gun out of Amanda’s grip with one hand and backhanded her with the other. She flew sideways with the momentum of the hit and fell to her knees. “Fuckin’ told you, bitch. You get your Mama back when I get her back,” he roared.

  “Amanda? What did you do?” I breathed, unable to process what was happening.

  “You didn’t think I saw you that night and just fuckin’ forgot about it, do ya?” Butcher snarled, taking two steps toward me.

  I scuttled back, sliding against the tile until my back hit the wall and I couldn’t get any further from him.

  He laughed at me, rubbing at his temple with the barrel of my gun. “Not that sharp, are ya? Took a while, but I watched that boyfriend of yours, and he took me straight to you. Problem was when you weren’t with him, you were here, and you’ve got this place locked down like Fort Knox. Couldn’t get you both in one place without that fucker around, so I had to get eyes inside. Was just gonna settle for gettin’ Nat, but you came home early. Couldn’t have planned it better.”

  Amanda got to her feet, using the counter to steady herself. “I had to Fin, he has my mom. She owes him a lotta money and he said he’d kill her if I didn’t help.”

  Either she was an incredible actress, or I was a fool because nothing about Amanda had set off alarm bells for me.

  I looked between Butcher’s twisted smirk and her scared eyes. “But, your mom’s boyfriend, the bruises.”

  She swallowed hard and shook her head. “He was an asshole, but he didn’t hit me. Didn’t even know about mom yet.”

  “Surprised you didn’t recognize my handiwork,” Butcher growled, his voice sending a disgusting shiver down my spine.

  A key in the lock caught our attention, and Butcher moved to stand beside me, out of the line of sight from the front door.

  “One fucking sound and I’ll blow your fuckin’ brains out,” he said, digging the barrel of the gun into my temple. “If you ever wanna see your Mama again, you’ll do like we planned,” he growled, eyes bleeding hate as he glared at Amanda.

  Tears spilled over as she dashed across the room to stand beside Butcher just before the door creaked open.

  “Fin? Amanda?” Stella called out.

  I opened my mouth to warn her, but Butcher gripped my hair and shoved the snub nose barrel into my mouth. “Not a sound,” he hissed.

  “Help!” Amanda cried out, her face contorting as she ran out of the room and into the hall. “Come on, it’s Finley, she’s messed up,” she cried, and the sound of stomping feet came barreling toward us.

  Stella’s feet faltered as Butcher, and I came into view, but Amanda used her grip on my sister’s arm, to shove her our way.

  “There, now you have her. Where’s my mom?” Amanda cried, her hands fisting in her hair. I wanted to hate her for playing me, us, but I couldn’t. She looked so scared and alone.

  Butcher released me, reaching for Stella and pulling her flush to his side. “Fuckin’ missed that sweet ass of yours.”

  “You promised me you’d let my mom go when you got her. Please, just tell me where she is,” Amanda pleaded, taking a step toward the three of us. She caught my eye and looked away, shame and grief clouding her features.

  Butcher scoffed, his laughter laced with menace. “Stupid fuckin’ bitch. She was dead before I even grabbed you,” he said, lifting his arm.

  I screamed, and Amanda looked up just as he pulled the trigger. Her body jerked and bounced off the counter before falling to the floor. Lifeless eyes stared up at me as blood pooled on the white tile beneath her.

  “Fuck! Goddamn it, fuck!” I shrieked, looking to Stella. Her eyes were squeezed shut. Shoulders curled inward as she shook.

  Butcher’s arm around her back tightened, and he pulled her closer to him. “I’ll take care of your bitch of a sister, and it’ll just be the two of us. Gonna enjoy sinkin’ into that pretty little body again,” he growled, rubbing his nose in her hair and inhaling deep.

  She bit her lip and opened her eyes, immediately finding me. I’m sorry. She mouthed, before slowly reaching down to palm Butcher’s crotch.

  “Forget about her, you found me, that’s all that matters,” she said, nuzzling right back into him.

  Bile rose in my throat, and I had to swallow it down as I watched Stella slip into a version of herself I’d never seen.

  Butcher groaned, flexing his hips into her touch. “She took you away from me,” he argued. Tilting his chin, he bit her neck, hard. She stiffened, and her eyes fell closed for just a second before popping back open with new resolve.

  “This isn’t the ghetto. Someone heard the gunshot. We should go before the cops get here,” she said, turning more fully into him.

  I wasn’t so sure, a single gunshot from within a house when our neighborhood backed up into a densely forested area might not raise the concern she was suggesting. For all anyone knew, the neighborhood kids could be lighting off fireworks.

  “We’ll leave when I fuckin’ say we leave,” he bellowed, shoving her away.

  Stella slammed painfully into the wall but caught herself before falling to the ground. Butcher stomped over Amanda’s lifeless body to where I sat, backed into the corner. Gripping a fistful of my hair. He dragged me into the middle of the floor. My feet slipping in Amanda’s blood as I tried to find purchase on the slick tile.

  Tucking the gun into his waistband, he unsheathed the knife at his belt, swiftly bringing it down to slice across my cheek. I screamed in shock, kicking out to try and get away from the hold he had on my hair.

  “Spent two years in jail on bullshit drug charges because of your ass. You took my bitch then ratted us out! Gonna teach you a lesson.”

  “I didn’t! I swear, I just took my sister, I didn’t rat!” I pleaded, trying to turn my head enough so I could see Stella. If she had any sense, she’d already be out the door.

  “Liar!” he spat, bringing the knife down again to slice across my chest.

  Fire erupted where he’d cut, and I somehow knew without seeing, that the wound was deeper than the last. I tried to get to my knees, but with my feet bound together and the tile so slick with blood, I couldn’t get my legs under me.

  “I—I didn’t!” I whimpered.

  “Stop fuckin’ lyin’, bitch!” he roared, shoving me down on the ground and straddling my waist.

  I squirmed beneath his weight, pushing at him with my bound hands, but he just laughed at my pathetic attempts. My struggling and the position must’ve caused my phone to slip from my bra, because it came free as I pushed at Butcher’s abs, clattering to the floor beside my head.

  Butcher’s eyes flashed, and he glared down at me, renewed hate burning behind his cold dead irises. “The fuck is this, stupid cunt?”

  I didn’t even see his fist until just before it smashed into my face. Bone and cartilage gave way to the brutal power of his knuckles, and my cheek exploded in pain. I fought to keep the black around the edges of my vision from taking over. I couldn’t pass out, I needed to stall until Baz, or someone else got there.

  Butcher snatched the phone, and I caught a glimpse of the lock screen.

  Thank God.

  Baz must’ve answered and hung up, or the call had gone to voicemail and eventually cut off. Either way, I was thankful not to have another sin to account for.

  “It’s just my phone. Please, I didn’t do anything,” I choke
d out. My voice sounded muffled from where the left side of my face was beginning to swell.

  Stella finally came into view, taking a step toward us. Butcher scrambled to his feet, standing over me. “Did I say you could move?” he barked, tossing my phone across the room, so he had a free hand to grab my gun from his waistband.

  Stella stopped when he leveled the barrel at her, raising her hands in a placating gesture. “Butcher,” she said, swallowing hard. “Baby, we gotta go. If the cops come, we’re all fucked. Let’s go,” she repeated, slowly shuffling toward the hall that led to the front door.

  “I fuckin’ told you. I gotta handle this first.” He bent at the waist, letting the tip of his knife dig into the flesh just under my collarbone.

  “Shit! I think I hear sirens. We gotta go!” Stella yelled, causing Butcher to straighten a little so he could look back at her. She was halfway down the hall already. He wanted her too much to kill her and staying to deal with me meant letting her get farther away.

  “I’m leaving, are you coming or not?” she asked, turning and darting for the front door.

  Butcher didn’t spare me a second glance as he took off after Stella. She paused at the front door, looking back at me for a split second, before slipping out onto the porch. Butcher lunged, snatching her wrist just before she could completely clear the threshold.

  “No!” he growled, halting her retreat.

  Stella grabbed his forearm, tugging at it and urging him to follow her. “Come on, the neighbors will see. We have to go!” she said.

  “No!” I tried to call out, but my voice was thin and hoarse from screaming and didn’t carry. Ignoring the pain in my face and chest, I tried to scoot myself toward the door. By the time I got to the hallway, they were already down the porch steps and turning the corner to the driveway.

  I tried to scream, but all that came out was a hiss of air.

  Twenty-Six

  BAZ

  I was surprised not to see Rabbit’s car in the gravel lot when I pulled into the compound, I thought for sure she’d beat me to the club. Backing my bike into the line of Harley’s, I killed the engine and pulled out my phone. Seeing I had a missed call from Rabbit, I clicked on the voicemail icon and put the phone to my ear.

  Nodding to Z as he walked out of the garage office, I sat on my bike, listening as the message started with static. Just as I was pulling the phone away from my ear, thinking she’d pocket dialed me, I heard her call out Gunner’s name. There was a voice in the background, but I couldn’t hear what the other person was saying.

  “Z!” I shouted, waving him over as I strained to make out what was being said on Rabbit’s message.

  “Listen to this,” I said, pressing the speaker button and turning up the volume as high as it would go.

  More static crackled over the speaker and then a woman’s voice screaming Rabbit’s name pierced through. My heart stuttered as the static returned for a second before the line went dead.

  This couldn’t be happening, not now. I couldn’t fucking handle losing her.

  “Get everyone that’s here and meet me at Rabbit’s,” I ordered, shoving my phone back into my pocket.

  Z took off for the clubhouse, and I kicked my bike to life, not bothering to put my helmet on before I hauled ass out of there.

  Miraculously, I didn’t get pulled over as I sped down the road. The rain from earlier had subsided but left standing water on the highway which forced me to slow down so I wouldn’t hydroplane and lose control of my bike. I screamed into the wind in frustration every time I had to let off the throttle, adding precious seconds to the ticking clock.

  I hadn’t checked to see what time she’d called, but it couldn’t have been that long since she’d left the voicemail. She said she was leaving The Doll House at the same time I was leaving Johnny’s place in Chinatown. I hit some traffic getting onto the interstate, but I wasn’t on my bike for more than forty minutes, tops. Factoring in the time, it would’ve taken her to get home. She had to have called within the last twenty minutes or so. That was no time at all. She was strong. She’d be okay.

  She had to be.

  I saw the tow truck parked in front of Rabbit’s house from down the block. Amanda’s car was out front as well, and Rabbit’s shiny BMW was parked in the driveway. No sign of Stella’s blue Mazda though.

  Parking in the driveway, I heard the faint roar of Harley’s in the distance, but I couldn’t wait for my brothers to get there. Jumping from my bike, I ran around Rabbit’s car and up the walkway, only slowing when I noticed the front door was halfway open.

  Pulling my gun from beneath my cut, I crept up the porch stairs. Pausing in front of the door, I listened for voices, but it was quiet inside. Slowly, I pushed the door open.

  All caution got thrown to the wayside when I saw the giant bloodstain on the kitchen floor at the end of the hall. “Rabbit!” I yelled, running into the house.

  “In here!” she called out. Her voice was raspy, but I’d be able to pick that voice out of a crowd any day.

  “Jesus Christ,” I breathed, seeing Amanda’s dead body lying lifeless on the floor.

  “Baz!”

  Jerking my head around at the sound of her voice, I saw her—my woman, bloody and bruised. She leaned against the kitchen island, head down, sawing at her restraints with a steak knife.

  “Help me! He took her, we have to get her back!” she grated out, her voice fluctuating.

  “Rabbit, calm down. Are you hurt?” I asked, holstering my weapon. I carefully stepped over Rabbit’s friend and hurried to her side.

  She let out a pathetic whimper. Her arms shook and her fingers, wet with blood, slipped down the handle as she continued to saw at the thick plastic binding her ankles “He took her,” she whispered.

  Kneeling at her side, I covered her hands with mine, stopping her movements. “Babe, look at me,” I said gently. Slipping the knife from her hand, I cut the rest of the way through her bindings, freeing her ankles.

  Rabbit was covered in blood, her hair matted and dripping with it, but I couldn’t find where it was coming from with her curled in on herself. Carefully, I took her face in my hands, forcing her to look up at me.

  “Babe, let me…” I trailed off when I brushed the fall of hair from her face. The entire left side of her face was swollen, bright red welts already forming on her cheek and around her eye socket. A slice marred the other side of her face, a single shallow cut from the top of her cheekbone to the edge of her mouth. It might leave a small scar, but it wasn’t where all the blood came from.

  Rabbit grabbed at my wrists, her eyes pleading. “He took her, Baz. I let him take her,” she sobbed, letting her head fall to my shoulder.

  “Babe, no,” I breathed, curling a hand around the back of her head. Her pain and guilt becoming my own. “This isn’t your fault.”

  She couldn’t possibly think this was her fault. It wasn’t like she could’ve stopped him. My gaze drifted to Amanda’s body, her eyes still wide open.

  The sound of feet pounding on the porch steps caught my attention, and I pulled away from Rabbit, reaching for my gun.

  “Baz?” Jester’s voice called out suddenly.

  Letting out a sigh of relief, I lowered my hand. “In here,” I shouted. I didn’t like the way Rabbit flinched at my raised voice.

  “Holy fuck!” someone said, but they were still in the hallway.

  “What is it?” I asked, moving to get up.

  “Gunner. He’s dead,” Jester said, stepping into the kitchen.

  Gunner?

  I was in such a panic to get to Rabbit that I’d forgotten all about Gunner the second I saw blood.

  “He killed him. She helped him, and then he killed her, too. Now he has her,” Rabbit choked out, curling her arms around her knees.

  Fuck, she wasn’t even making any sense.

  “Hey, we’re gonna find her,” I said, putting an arm around her. I was getting blood all over myself, but it was the least of my worries i
f Rabbit wouldn’t talk. “We just need you to tell us what happened. Are you hurt anywhere else other than your face? Is this all her blood?”

  I glanced up to Jester, but he was looking down at Amanda’s body sprawled across the floor.

  “My chest. He cut my chest.” Lowering her legs, she lifted a shaky hand to the torn flesh. She was covered in so much blood. It had camouflaged her injury.

  “Shit,” I muttered, examining the wound. Blood slowly oozed from the cut. She’d probably need stitches, but it didn’t look deep enough to cause permanent damage beyond a scar.

  “Fuckin’ hell. Who the fuck is this guy?” Jester asked, leaning against the counter and taking in the whole scene.

  “Butcher. Amanda, she played us,” Rabbit said in a flat voice that made my skin crawl. She was out of it, completely detached and in her own head. Maybe it was shock?

  “What do you mean, she played you?” Jester asked, pushing off the counter.

  Rabbit’s eyes fell closed and her lips pursed as she took a breath. “She was working with him. She must’ve let him in. He was waiting for us, used her to get us to do what he wanted. He told her he had her mom, that he was going to kill her…” Her eyes flicked over my shoulder to Amanda, and she quickly turned her head.

  “Is that who was screaming on the voicemail?”

  She nodded, fresh tears spilling over. “He had a knife to her neck. I thought he was going to kill her like—like Gunner.” Her face crumpled, and she tried to breathe through the emotion.

  I shared a look with Jester as she tried to calm herself down. Butcher wasn’t like the rest of his brothers. He was smarter than them. He’d waited, found a way in before making his move.

  “Did he say where he was taking her?”

  She shook her head. “No, he wasn’t ready to leave. He was going to kill me. Stella got him to follow her.”

  Wait, what?

  “She left with him willingly?”

  “No!” she cried, throwing her arms in the air. “She was trying to save me, and now he has her.”