“We need to be there.”
“Fuck yeah,” he grunts as he shifts the car into drive and the machine lurches forward toward the street.
Ignoring the rest of the world, we race toward the hospital, toward our friends. I close my eyes slowly, Presley is just that too, she’s my friend. She accepted me with open, welcome arms when she didn’t have to.
Never once did she hold it against me that I was a clubwhore, neither has Esther or Bellarosa, and they could have, they all should have. I’ve fucked all of their men at one time or another, but they just brushed all of that aside and brought me into the Old Lady fold.
The hospital comes into view, and I jump out of the car as soon as Taz shifts it into park. I’m running toward the door when I hear Taz calling my name from behind me. I look back just for a moment, then shift my gaze forward again and slam right into a hard body.
Warm, firm, hands wrap around my shoulders and I tilt my head back to look up into the eyes of the man in front of me.
They look familiar and I’m taken aback. They’re the eyes that I stared into just hours ago. Eyes that look deep into my own when I come. These are the eyes of my husband.
“You must be Della Ramos. My hijo did well for himself. You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you?”
“Della,” Taz shouts from behind me.
The man’s fingers tighten around my biceps. “Drop your weapon,” he yells behind me toward Taz without ever breaking eye contact with me. “Got a man on her, you, and the woman birthing a baby that you came to see.”
I gasp from his words, Presley. Not Presley.
“I’m okay, Taz. This is Eagle’s father,” I call out, refusing to turn my gaze from the man. His lips twitch at the mention of his son. “I’m going to just go with him. I’ll be okay.”
He snorts, and I know that I’m anything but okay, but Taz doesn’t need to get himself killed, not over me. Not over this.
Without another word, he drops one of his hands from one of my biceps but tightens his fingers on the other. With swift steps, he practically drags me away from the hospital and toward a waiting, all blacked out, fancy sedan.
This all feels so fucking cliché. Pinching my eyes closed for a brief moment, I try not to allow myself to be upset. I have to hold it together, not just for me, but for this baby too. I don’t know what’s about to come my way, so I need to keep my shit together.
EAGLE
Spitting on the concrete floor next to me, I shake my head as I look across the room toward Kade. He’s tied sitting to a chair, his arms behind his back and his thighs to the seat, and ankles to the legs of the chair.
Hopefully, soon enough he’ll be strung up to the hook and we can finish his pathetic fucking ass.
My phone rings in my pocket, but I ignore it. Whoever it is can wait. I’ve already talked to Taz and I know that he and Della are at the hospital. Everyone I give a fuck about is safe. Whoever is on the other end of that phone can fucking wait until I get done with Kade.
“Are you going to tell us the truth?” Dragon asks, his voice eerily calm and collected.
“About what?” Kade asks, looking truly confused.
Dragon clears his throat. “Know your bitch fucked with our shit. Know you fucked with the Zanetti famiglia. Know you’ve got something going on with the Columbians and you, for whatever reason, are bringing that shit to my front door. Didn’t you learn anything from your brother Karma?”
Kade closes his eyes for a moment, inhales a deep breath then shakes his head. “I didn’t know the guy I was working with was going behind his boss’ back. I had no fucking clue. He wouldn’t sell me the good shit unless I got the gold sales, too. I was fucking stuck, man. I’m just trying to stay afloat. Gavino took my women and I know he has eyes on me, watching my every move. My life is fucking over.”
Dragon chuckles. “He does have eyes on you. He knew we snatched you. Weirdly enough, he was willing to vouch for you, says that you’re good now. You’ve learned your lesson. Didn’t give me a kill order.”
“But you’re going to kill me anyway?”
Licking my lips, my phone buzzes again in my pocket, and again I ignore it, waiting to see what Dragon says next. I watch as he leans forward, his eyes searching Kade’s.
“You’re as good as dead, brother. Honestly, I’ll probably be kinder than the Columbians. You’re fucking everyone dry, my man. Tell us what you know about Eagle’s dad.”
Kade looks from Dragon to me, then back to Dragon again. “What will you do for me if I tell you?” he asks.
Dragon lets out a snort at the same time I let out a bark of laughter. I don’t let Dragon answer him, instead I take a step forward and bend at the waist slightly. “Listen here, you limp dick motherfucker. Tell me what I want to know and I’ll kill you. Don’t and…”
“You’ll give me to your father?”
My lips twitch in a slow smile. “I’ve seen him work, he’s a mean fucking bastard,” I state.
Kade’s eyes widen, probably in surprise that I admit to what I’ve seen when it comes to my old man. He has no fucking clue how mean of a bastard that man was, probably still is, if he is indeed still alive.
My father still being alive would be the cruelest joke of all time. Using my thumb, I twist my grandfather’s ring around my finger.
I didn’t know anything about his death, nothing other than being told he died before I was shown a body that was charred beyond recognition.
I figured the painful death was fitting and was told by the police that they would do everything in their power to find his killer. Nobody did anything and I didn’t blame them, either. I honestly didn’t give a fuck, personally.
“Something not add up?” Kade asks.
The question is snarky, but not his tone. He’s completely serious and I wonder if he had something similar happen to him, or witnessed something.
I want to ask him, but honest to fuck it’s not even worth my time at this point. He won’t live past tonight and I’ll get the answers I want from the man himself.
“Fuck,” Dragon hisses next to me.
Shifting my gaze from Kade, I look over to my president. He’s wearing a grim expression as he shoves his phone in his pocket. That grim expression grows deeper as he lifts his gaze to meet mine.
“Mamba, Gator,” he calls out. I hear the men walk into the room behind me, but Dragon doesn’t even look at them. His eyes are focused on me. “Lock him down,” he grunts as he jerks his chin.
I feel Mama’s hands on one of my biceps at the same time Gator’s wrap around the other. Automatically, I jerk in their hold, testing their strength and simultaneously wondering what the fuck is going on.
“Della’s been taken,” Dragon announces.
My entire body jerks again, instantly filling simultaneously with anger and fear. My eyes widen, but he doesn’t allow me to respond. I watch as he lifts his hand and runs his palm over his face and beard, tugging on the end before he speaks again.
“It was your father. Taz was standing right there. Claimed he had a man on him and on Presley in the delivery room. She didn’t even fight him, went with him to save Taz and Presley. Don’t know your relationship with the man, don’t know much about him other than what I’ve learned today. All I know is that woman is a good fuckin’ Old Lady and strong as shit.”
I try to pull out of Mamba and Gator’s grasp, but they’re too strong, their feet planted wide and ready for battle. My entire body starts to shake uncontrollably at the thought of my sweet Della with him.
Closing my eyes, I inhale a deep breath then let it out before I open them back up slowly. “I’m cool,” I lie.
Honestly, though I’m anything but cool, I can’t think about that right now. I shove all of my emotions to the back of my mind. Locking them down, out of sight and out of mind. I can’t think about Della, about our baby, about any of that right now.
All I can do is fight for her, fight to bring her home, and then worry about the rest of
that shit later—after I’ve killed my father. After I’ve murdered him with my bare hands, and after I watch the life drain from his body, for damn fucking certain this time, only then will I think about the emotional shit that I just put behind a fortress.
Dragon jerks his chin. Mamba and Gator release their hold on me, and I shake my arms out as I inhale another deep breath and let it out on a sigh.
“Guess I better find my fucking father. Seems he would like to discuss something with me,” I bark.
Without another word, I turn around and walk out of the room, then out of the clubhouse. Digging into my pocket, I inhale the air around me before I look down at the missed calls on my phone.
Two of them are from Taz, but there is one unknown caller and I know without a doubt that’s him. There is also a voicemail, I have a feeling that’s from him as well as I touch play on my phone.
Chapter Twenty-Two
DELLA
We arrive at our destination, though I’m not sure where we are, I honestly don’t know which direction we drove. I’m completely turned around and confused.
Eagle’s father placed a black cloth bag over my head as soon as I sat down in the backseat of his fancy sedan. I’ve been completely discombobulated since that moment, and nauseous.
“He hasn’t answered my call. Maybe I misread his affections for you,” he murmurs.
I stay silent, he could be right. Maybe we both misread Eagle’s feelings for me. Before I can think too much into his words, before too much doubt can seep into my thoughts, the car door opens and I feel a pair of hands wrap around my arm, then jerk me out of the car.
Stumbling, I blindly walk behind whoever is leading me, pulling me hard with every single quick step that they take. I hear a door open and then I’m shoved forward before it slams hard behind me.
I’m guided through what I assume is a house, then shoved again, except this time I land on the floor. It’s a hard flooring and I groan as pain radiates throughout my knees and legs from the rough fall. The bag is yanked off of my head and I blink a couple of times as I adjust to the soft glowing light in the room.
I’m in a completely bare room, save for a mattress on the floor in one corner and a bucket in the other. I shudder, knowing exactly what that bucket is for and cringing, because I’m going to need it sooner rather than later.
“What are you going to do to me?” I chance asking, ignoring the giant man standing next to the door and focusing on the older handsome man in front of me, the one who looks exactly like his son, except a hell of a lot more sinister.
He tilts his head to the side, his black eyes searching mine. “You’re who he chose. Interesting. You look nothing like his mother, yet everything like the whores I kept and still keep.”
I blink, unsure if I heard him correctly, but judging by the way he’s smirking, I know that I did. “I loved his mother, don’t get me wrong. But she was a good woman, and good women don’t do the things that I like to do. You’re not so good though, are you?”
Pressing my lips together, I bring my knees up to my chest to keep from showing him just how badly I’m trembling in his presence. He chuckles softly then takes a step toward me before he lowers down onto his haunches.
“I know who you are. I’ve been watching you for a while now. I watch everyone my son takes interest in. Including the women he keeps, along with the club, and their women. You, my dear, are every bit a whore, aren’t you? My son is much like me, except I wouldn’t have ever married a woman like you. Fucked her, kept her, killed her when I was done, yes. But married? Never.”
“What do you want with me?” I chance asking again, this time in a voice just above a whisper.
He lifts his hand, cupping my cheek and I fight the flinch. I’ve never been around a man who repulsed me as much as this one in front of me. He does though.
He’s handsome to the eyes, but he is black on the inside, foul with a rotting core. It makes me physically ill to have his touch on me. I can see how Santiago’s mother claimed the Devil was inside of him, I see it.
“You’re going to get my son to talk to me. Then, I’ll decide your fate afterward. However, it will not be with Santiago. It will be a fate that I choose. I know you’re already pregnant with another man’s baby. I’ll have that taken care of too. Whores are no good if they can reproduce.”
My stomach cramps at his words. He stands, his hand dropping from my face and I watch as he turns and walks away from me. His man follows and I don’t look away as the door slams behind them, then I hear the lock slip into place that will keep me here, alone and terrified.
Lifting my eyes to take in the small room, I deflate when I see that the only window has bars on it. There is a small closet, but the doors have been removed. There is nothing that I can do in here to fight for myself, to escape, anything.
Crawling over to the mattress, my stomach twists at the sight in front of me. It’s covered in dried bloodstains. Foregoing the mattress, I scoot to the wall and lean my back against it as my head falls back and I close my eyes.
I’m not making it out of here alive. I don’t know what Eagle’s father wants and I don’t really care at this point. All I know is that he has me, I came without a fight thinking that Eagle and the Beasts would be able to protect me—save me.
There is no saving. He’s going to do some back-alley abortion and hysterectomy, then whore me out somewhere deep in South America. I sit there for hours. My mind coming up with a million different traumatizing scenarios.
Eventually, my ass goes numb, but I don’t move. I can’t. I’m too scared.
I hear voices, then rattling at the door and I freeze. My gaze focuses on the door as it slowly opens. I expect to see Eagle’s father, but instead it’s the big man that was guarding the door while he explained my fate to me.
He sets something down on the floor, but I don’t look at it, I’m too focused on him and his next move, whatever that may be.
He doesn’t disappoint. He takes one step, then two toward me before he sinks down to his haunches, much like Eagle’s father did not long ago.
The stranger doesn’t reach out for me like I expect. Instead, he tilts his head to the side and just observes me for a moment.
I watch him as well, waiting for what is to come. His tongue peeks out and he tastes his bottom lip before he speaks. When he does talk, his voice is slightly accented, with what I assume is a Columbian accent.
“Naturally blonde?” he asks.
I blink, not sure why he would ask me this, but I answer with a nod. His lips twitch. “Natural blondes are worth a lot of money in a single transaction. But, if you possess one, the financial benefits just keep coming until she’s no longer of use. I’m hoping he keeps you,” he points out.
Keeping my lips closed, I refuse to ask him why. He tells me anyway. “I’ve heard so many things about you, Della. You’ve been watched closely for months. No limits, no?”
He waits for me to answer, but when I don’t, his smile grows wider. “You’re going to be fun to break in.” He chuckles as he rises to his feet.
I watch him turn around and walk away from me, closing the door behind him and locking it into place. Only then do I glance down at the floor to see what he’s brought me. There is a small tray with a glass of water and a plate with food on it.
My stomach growls at the sight of the water and food. I don’t know how long that I’ve been locked in this room, but I know that it’s been a while and I’m starving. I also have to pee, and the thought of pissing in the bucket in the corner of the room has me biting my bottom lip to the point where I taste blood.
Inhaling a deep breath, I decide to just do it. Fuck it. It’s just like a porta potty, except not. I can’t hold it forever though. My bladder is wildly protesting as is and I definitely don’t want to pee on my only pair of shorts.
Shimmying my shorts and panties down, I hover over the bucket and close my eyes tightly as I force myself to relax enough to pee in a bucket—literally. Once
I’m finished, I’m forced to drip dry seeing as there’s no toilet paper.
Cringing at the fact that there’s not even hand sanitizer, I grab the tray and take it as far away from my pee bucket as I can before I begin to eat my meal of only fruit and vegetables, accompanied by water.
EAGLE
I probably should have found it odd that my father wanted to meet in front of he and my mother’s headstone. I don’t though. It’s my father and he’s obviously not right in the goddamn head.
Riding up to the area where I know my mother’s headstone is probably located, I find it easily, because I see him standing with his back to me.
There is a fancy as fuck sedan just a few feet ahead of him and what appears to be a bodyguard of some kind standing with his hands crossed in front of his waist as he watches me.
Killing my engine, I throw my leg over my bike and shove my hands in my pockets as I make my way toward my old man.
A man that I thought had been dead the past twenty-five years. A man that I was glad died and left my mother in peace for the remainder of her days, in blissful ignorance.
“So, you faked the whole thing, had the cops in on it and everything?” I ask.
Slowly, he turns around to face me. He doesn’t show any kind of emotion as he looks me over, which means that he’s been following me for a while. The face and neck tattoos would have thrown the man that I knew as my father, had he not already seen them.
“I did. But not for the reasons you think,” he states.
I snort. “You don’t know what I think,” I sneer.
Shrugging one shoulder, I shift my stance to a more relaxed one, putting most of my weight on my right foot.
“Enlighten me, hijo.”
UNLEASH ME: SAVAGE BEAST MC 4 Page 19