by Nicola Jane
Before I go into church, I call Tillie. Of course, she doesn’t answer. “Don’t come to London,” I say into the voicemail. “We’re not over, we just both need space, and I’m trying to sort this shit out back here. It isn’t safe, Sunshine. I’ll call after I’ve been to church. Answer.”
We sit around the large table and Blu throws some photographs down. Various men feature, all unaware that someone followed them and took these pictures. “These men all share an interest in Cobra.” Blu points to a man in a suit. “Meet Alec Baros. Greek underboss. Currently has a hit on Cobra which we could actually claim if you’d taken photos of his body,” he says, glaring at me. “All the others want him alive. He owes them money. This one in particular.” He holds up another photograph. “None of these men will be happy if they discover we ended Cobra. They’ll come looking for their debt payment here. Our other problem is Acid. This man,” he says, pointing again to the photograph, “is Viktor Petrova. He’s asked for named associates of Cobra. He’s offering money for names. I can guarantee that Acid will have given this man Matilda’s name. If he goes after Matilda, he’ll want his money and he’ll do anything to get it.”
“He won’t kill her, not if he wants his cash,” says Lake.
“It’s more about saving face. Cobra made him look weak by stealing drugs and money and then disappearing.”
“I get that we caused this by ending Cobra, but do we really care? It ain’t our problem,” says Rock.
“It’s our problem,” says Riggs firmly. “She’s Blade’s ol’ lady.” The guys all turn to me, some smiling, some patting me on the back and congratulating me. “She’s also carrying his kid,” he adds. “At the minute, she’s safe, but we need a plan before he finds her.”
“Fuck, brother. I’m sorry,” says Rock. “I didn’t realise.”
“Neither did he,” jokes Lake.
After church, I call Tillie again. This time, she answers. “Where are you?”
“Why are you calling?” she asks coldly.
“Don’t be like that, Tils,” I mutter. “We’re gonna be okay,” I add.
“There is no we. You really think that your weird behaviour is okay?” she snaps. “You think it’s okay to yell at me, then just pack your shit up and leave me alone in a hotel then leave me a voicemail telling me we aren’t over?”
“I understand you’re upset,” I say.
“Upset?” she repeats. “I’m not fucking upset, I’m angry. Every time I think we’re getting somewhere, you do some random shit like disappear on me. Well, I’m done. I’m not putting up with it anymore. We’re over.”
I shake my head even though she can’t see me. I’m tired of this drama. Why can’t she see I’m doing this for her own good, trying to keep her safe? “We’re not over. Couples argue all the time, Tillie. It’s normal. I left to give us some space and to sort the shit out with Acid. If I’d have told you I was leaving, it would have caused another argument, and I’m so tired of arguing with you, sunshine.”
“We’re in a new relationship, we shouldn’t need space,” she screeches. “I’m not getting into this. If you can leave Scotland with no explanation, I can end things with no explanation.”
“You ain’t ending anything. We’re together. I’m gonna sort Acid—”
“We’re over!” she screams, cutting me off.
“You’re pregnant,” I say and the line goes silent at her end. “Four weeks. So no, Tillie, we ain’t over. Far from it.”
“I’m not pregnant. I told you it wasn’t my test. I did one to prove it,” she says.
“Yep. The one I have in my pocket that tells me you’re four weeks pregnant. It’s why I came here to end this war with Acid and the Cobra MC. I can’t leave London and you can’t live in Scotland with my kid, so I’m gonna sort this out and then you’re gonna come home and we’re gonna raise our kid together.”
The line goes dead. She’s hung up on me. I curse and redial her number, but she doesn’t answer. The door opens and Sara stops dead when she sees me. “Oh.” She looks back over her shoulder like she’s escaping someone.
“Going somewhere?” I ask.
“Just getting air,” she mumbles. Her phone flashes in her hand and she holds it to her chest. I take it from her, ignoring her protests. Tillie’s name flashes up and I answer, pressing it to my ear.
“Hurry the hell up. He just called me and threw a spanner in the works. I’m at the end of the road,” says Tillie. I disconnect and keep hold of Sara’s phone.
“Let’s go,” I snap.
“She’ll freak if she sees you.”
“Do you know how much fuckin’ danger she’s in right now?” I growl. “There’s men looking for her. Acid passed her name on to pay off Cobra’s debts,” I yell. “So we’re gonna go get her before she ends up dead! How the fuck did she even get back here so quick?”
“She didn’t think the Acid thing was that serious,” gasps Sara. “She took her mum’s car.”
“I didn’t want to scare the fuck out of her. I took her to Scotland for a reason!”
“She called me upset, saying you’d just left. What was she supposed to think? Jesus, you bikers are fucked up,” she mutters. “You never just say what you’re thinking and it makes shit far too complicated.”
“I’m about to say exactly what I fucking think, don’t worry about that!” I snap, heading out the club gates.
Tillie is standing at the end of the road, her arms folded and a pissed expression on her face. She glares at Sara accusingly. “I didn’t tell him,” she says, holding up her hands. “He took my phone when you called.”
“You’re a stubborn ass!” I growl.
“And you’re rude and arrogant!”
“We’ll talk about this back at the club,” I hiss as a car slows nearby. The last thing we need is an audience.
“I’m not going to the club!” she snaps.
The car stops on the opposite side of the road. Its blacked-out windows are making me feel uneasy. “We need to go, now,” I mutter.
The driver’s door opens and a large man gets out and opens the back door. I groan. This isn’t going to be good. “Fuck you,” snaps Tillie. “I might be carrying your kid, but that doesn’t mean I have to do as you say.” She’s oblivious to the man staring at us with a grin on his face.
“You’re pregnant too?” gasps Sara.
“Looks like we both screwed up,” mutters Tillie. I resent her seeing my kid as a fuck-up, but now’s not the time.
“Sara, this is very important. Walk off like you’re mad at us. Go back to the club and tell Riggs that Viktor Petrova is here. Stay calm, don’t look around,” I whisper. Both girls stare at me, alarmed. “Now,” I growl.
She does as I ask just as Viktor crosses the road towards us, making a show of fastening his suit jacket. “Fuck you, Blade!” she snaps, turning on her heel and stomping away.
“Mr. Archer,” he says, staring at me with cold blue eyes. “Ms. Edwards.”
“Mr. Petrova,” I say.
“Now the introductions are out of the way, let’s take a seat in my car.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I reply, taking Tillie by the hand.
“I can take her from you,” he says, nodding to his henchman, who’s pointing a Glock with a silencer attached our way. I glance towards where Sara is still hurriedly walking toward the club. It’ll be a few minutes before she alerts them. “But I’d much prefer less drama, so if you’d step this way,” he adds, pointing to his car.
“We can talk here,” I mutter.
“Mr. Archer, I really do not have the time or patience for this right now. I can have him put a bullet in your head and take her, or you can both talk to me like adults. Either way, the girl is coming with me.”
I give Tillie a reassuring smile and lead her towards the car. “You have a gun, right?” she whispers and I shake my head. “Are you kidding me? I thought you were supposed to be able to protect me.”
“Oh, so now y
ou’re happy for me to kill someone?” I whisper hiss, and she rolls her eyes. “I wasn’t expecting to come out on a rescue mission tonight because I thought you were in fucking Scotland . . . safe!”
“I was heading that way next,” says Viktor. “She wasn’t going to be safe for long.” Tillie glares at me as the henchman opens the car door. Tillie gets in first and I follow. There’s another man already in the back with a gun pointed at Tillie. She grabs my hand tightly. “We’re going on a little journey,” says Viktor, taking a seat opposite me.
TILLIE
We’re driven in silence to a large stately home on the other side of London. “This is quite a journey,” says Blade. “A long way for a chat.”
The car door opens and we step out onto a gravel driveway. We’re ushered around the back of the house to what looks like a barn. I begin to panic again, but Blade gently squeezes my hand to ease my fears.
Inside the barn, there’s huge bales of hay stacked up on both sides. In the centre, there’s a pen with large pigs inside. They snuffle around excitedly when they see us, but I can’t imagine these are domesticated pet pigs. They’re so fat, they can hardly walk. Viktor points to a hay bale and we take a seat. It seems a strange place to have a meeting and I feel sick with nerves. “Matilda, I’ve heard so much about you,” says Viktor.
“I’ve heard nothing about you,” I say.
He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Have you seen your father of late?”
I shake my head. “I’ve never met him, if you’re talking about Cobra.”
“Pity. You see, he left, and that means we have a big problem.”
“We?” I repeat.
“I say we, but I mean you. In my business, when a person owes a debt and they can no longer pay, well, that passes to the next person in line, unfortunately for you.”
“Let me get this straight,” says Blade. “You want Tillie to pay a debt that Cobra left, even though she’s never met him?”
“It sounds so simple, doesn’t it?” asks Viktor, laughing.
“How much?” I ask.
“It’s gone beyond money, I’m afraid,” says Viktor. “A lesson needs to be taught.”
“To whom? Cobra’s gone. He doesn’t care about a fucking lesson,” growls Blade. Viktor nods to one of the many goons who have appeared. He grabs Blade and another moves forward and punches him in the stomach. I cry out, unsure of what the hell I can do. Blade smirks, shaking off the punch like it was nothing.
“Show some respect,” says Viktor calmly. “I can’t be seen to be weak. Men would take advantage.”
“What do you want?” I hiss.
“The money he left you, to begin with,” says Viktor. “Then we’ll talk more.”
He turns and heads for the door and I’m left wondering how he knows about the money when I’ve only just found out. “You can’t keep us here.”
He turns back and marches towards me. Blade stands, but Viktor’s goons move in, holding Blade back as he grabs my face in one hand and pushes me up against the wall of hay bales. “I will be keeping you, Matilda, for as long as I see fit. I’ve always wanted a pet.” His face is so close, I can smell his whiskey-laced breath. He glances down at my chest pushed up against his. “Torturing you might make me feel a little less pissed that your father stole from me, or maybe he’ll appear out of the woodwork once he knows we have his long-lost daughter.”
“I didn’t even know him,” I whisper, tears rolling down my cheeks.
“It’s a cruel world. A high price to pay for a distant family member, but rules are rules, and I made sure he knew them very well before he borrowed from me.”
“I can give you the money, all of it. Please just let us go,” I beg.
He grins, pressing his nose into my hair and inhaling deeply. “You’re not scared enough. I want you begging. I want to see the fear in your pretty little eyes as I fuck every ounce of self-respect from you. Men need to see what will happen if they screw me over.” His hand runs along my shoulder and I shudder in disgust. It only pleases him more and he wraps his hand in my hair, pulling my head back hard, causing me to wince as pain rips through me. A commotion behind us makes him look back over his shoulder. His men are beating the crap out of Blade.
“I’ll beg,” I say desperately, “if that’s what you want. Just let him go. He’s nothing to do with this,” I cry.
Viktor smiles. “Where’s the fun in that?” he asks. He pulls me by the hair back towards where the men are now chaining Blade to shackles attached to steel beams. He’s bleeding from his cheek and eyebrow, and there are bruises appearing over his face. Viktor wraps some thick silver tape around my wrists. “Outside, there are guard dogs roaming freely. If you step out of this barn, they will ravage you to death.” He sits me on a hay bale. “I’ll have someone come and sort the money transfer soon.”
I wait for them to leave before pushing to my feet and rushing over to Blade. He smiles and the split in his cheek opens and spills more blood down his face. “Oh shit,” I cry. “You’re gonna bleed out.”
Blade smirks. “It’s flesh wounds. I’ll be fine.”
“What are we gonna do?”
He looks around the barn. “I’ll think of something.”
Chapter Twenty
BLADE
The beatings dished out by Viktor’s henchmen get worse throughout the night. Every hour, they come and beat the crap outta me. It’s an unfair fight with me shackled to a steel beam, but when I helpfully point that out, they just get more mad. Tillie cries throughout each beating. That’s more painful to listen to than the fists hitting my flesh. I watch through swollen eyes as she curls up tight on the hay bale, trying to keep warm. It must be almost dawn but neither of us have slept a wink.
“Maybe I should at least try and run,” she whispers, her voice croaky from the crying.
“Nah, Sunshine. It’s all good. The Kings will be here with a plan.”
“You’ll end up dead before they get here,” she hisses. “How will they know where we are?”
“They’ll know. It’s what we do, find people.”
“And you don’t think they could have found this maniac before he took us?” she snaps. “Seems a little late now.” I filled her in on what Blu had found out and the reasons I was trying to keep her safe. It gave us something to talk about in between beatings. “Is the big plan to just let them beat you to death?”
I laugh and pain rips through my ribs, causing me to cough, I spit blood out onto the floor, groaning. “I just want to let them think they’re winning,” I say. “I fight best when I’m in pain.”
The barn door opens, and Viktor waltzes in looking freshly showered and relaxed. Behind him, two henchmen dragging another man in with a bag over his head. He’s fighting and yelling. Tillie sits up when Viktor stops beside her. “Excuse the intrusion. We had a busy night gathering villains,” he says with a smile.
The two henchmen stop behind Viktor, their prisoner cursing. Viktor rolls his eyes impatiently, turns to the man, and sticks a knife into his chest. Tillie gasps aloud, covering her mouth with her hands. The wound isn’t enough to kill him, but he stops his yelling. “Better,” says Viktor, wiping the knife on a handkerchief and placing it back in his pocket. “Would you like to meet the man who gave you up, Matilda?” he asks. She shakes her head, scooting back along the hay. “He was quick to give your name. Disgusting really, giving up a defenceless woman like that.” Viktor nods to one of the men and he removes the bag from the prisoner's head.
Acid blinks a few times, letting his eyes adjust to the light. He spots Tillie and grins. “The trouble these days is no one lives by any kind of code,” says Viktor.
“And you do?” snaps Tillie.
Viktor smiles, wagging a finger at her. “I like you, Matilda. You’re going to be fun.” She needs to stop provoking him—he enjoys it.
“You wait ‘til you see what I can fucking do,” she hisses.
Excitement lights his eyes and it’s cleare
r now more than ever that he’s a lunatic. “She likes a fight,” he says, rubbing his hands together and grinning at his henchmen. “Finish the job,” he adds, nodding towards Acid.
Acid begins to fight again. “I gave you the girl! What the hell is wrong with you?” he yells right before his throat is slit. He gasps and blood trickles from the thin slit. I watch the life slowly drain from his eyes as he gurgles. Blood projects from his mouth and the two men drop him. As his knees hit the floor, he reaches for his throat, but it’s too late. He tries to hold the slash closed anyway. Tillie buries her face against her knees, and when his body finally hits the ground, she flinches at the sound.
“My babies are hungry.” Viktor smiles, leaning into the pen as the pigs waddle around with excitement. They must smell the blood and know feeding time is here. The two men drag Acid’s body to the pen and toss him over the side like a slab of beef. The pigs waste no time tucking in. “My accountant is on his way to transfer the money,” says Viktor, then his eyes fall to me. “My men said you were upset,” he says.
“I can’t complain. At least there’s a roof over our heads,” I say, and he laughs. “I’d prefer fair fight, but I heard your men were pussies, so I get they’re worried about me.”
Viktor laughs harder, but his henchmen don’t look pleased. “You think you can take on my men?” I nod in response. “Even with broken ribs?” he adds. I nod again, and he shrugs. “It could be entertaining,” he says. “Let me think about it. Maybe we could make it interesting and add a little bet in there.”
“I win and kill you?” I suggest.
“Or you lose and I fuck your piece of ass right in front of your face,” says Viktor, and I smile. He wants a reaction from me. “That’s settled then. I fuck her and you get a beating. I can’t wait.” He strolls towards the exit and Tillie glares at me.