by Charlie Lee
I slept hours on end yesterday before Saxon woke me up because we were stopping for gas. We continued on, stopping a few more times. Once to eat and spend most of the ride to Denver talking about different things we didn’t know about one another. We laughed when we found out we both loved classic rock. Saxon told me he’s always wanted a large family. Whereas I never gave it a thought. I’ve been so wrapped up in Zoe and my job that my personal life sat on the back burner of my life. Now, as I stand in the shower, I can honestly say I would give it all up to be someone’s mother.
I sigh, open the shower curtain, and grab my shampoo and conditioner off the counter. There are certain things I’m willing to give up. Good hair products aren’t one of them. Blue jeans or heels either. I can’t wait to get a pair on my feet. The flip-flops I bought are a necessity right now, but my feet are aching for a pair of Louboutins.
My mind wanders back to the unexpected phone call I received from Ricky when we were walking back to our vehicles after eating yesterday as I lather my hair, rinse, and run the conditioner through my hair.
Curtis had me put it on speaker as we all stood there listening to him tell me there was a change of plans. We’re still meeting in the same spot, which is up into the mountains from this shitty motel, but he isn’t going to be there. He promised Wilder would be with a woman named Kate. We were to give her the money in exchange for Wilder. He didn’t give me time to say a word. He hung up and never answered my calls.
“It’s a motherfucking setup,” Cain said. “Curtis, Katch, and I are going ahead of you in the morning. Staking that place out. Don’t any of you leave the motel room until you hear from one of us.”
Don’t leave the motel room. That part keeps running through my head over and over. This shit-hole place is a one level motel with the doors walking right out into the open. He’s striding over to the lobby right now. Don’t leave the motel room.
“No,” I scream. Shut off the water, grab a towel, quickly dry off, and struggle to get clothes on. I know this is me being paranoid because it’s Saxon we’re talking about. Uneasiness creeps up my spine, my sixth sense telling me something is wrong.
“Saxon!” I yell, hoping he’ll answer me as I toss on his T-shirt. That and my panties will have to do. When he doesn’t answer, I begin to panic and fling open the bathroom door.
My panic turns into a muffled sob when a gun slams into the side of my head. My world spins and everything goes black.
Twenty
Brick
“We all knew this was a setup, man. Makes me want to kill the son of a bitch more. Roan is flipping his damn shit over not being here,” Dilan tells me.
His eyes go dark as fuck. He’s feeling the same thing I am. Shit ain’t right. Either the cartel got to Ricky last night, or the fucker is trying to play us himself. My guess would be the former. If we can track his ass down, then I guarantee they can. They want their money. Don’t give two flying fucks in the wind how they get it. Little do any of them know ain’t none of them getting a dime of the money we brought. The only way Curtis will hand it over to them is if we become trapped in negotiation over Wilder, and that shit ain’t happening.
“Yeah. I’m surprised Eden didn’t flip her shit over this. She might be learning the ways of this club, but I’m grateful as hell right now that she’s oblivious that there might be some gun firing going on.” Not sure if my words are true or not. She was quiet for the rest of the ride. Except for when she talked to Amelia on the phone after Zeke called me to check in. He was pissed I didn’t inform him of what was going on. Never crossed my mind. I didn’t even get a chance to see him at the barbeque, let alone look for his ass to tell him we were taking off. Not like I usually tell him what I’m doing anyway. I should have this time, though. Being that he has as much of a worried interest in this as the rest of us do.
“It’s a good thing she doesn’t know. I’m afraid there’s going to be bloodshed before this is over. You better get her that coffee; if she’s anything like my wife, she’ll be grumpy as hell until she takes that first sip.” I nod and follow him out the door.
“Meet in your room in thirty to go over the final plan.” He walks down the sidewalk toward his room, while I take the stairs.
“Darlin’, I promise I’ll get you some Starbucks the minute I can,” I whisper to myself.
I push open the door, kick it shut, and stop dead in my tracks when someone slides their hand around my neck and places the cold metal blade of a knife to my throat. The coffee slips out of my hands.
“You fucked up, biker boy.” His English is heavy through his Spanish accent. The room is still fairly dark and the shower isn’t running, but the light is peeking through the bottom crack of the closed bathroom door. I close my eyes and pray like the fool I am that my woman is still in there. Alone.
“If anyone fucked up, it’s you. This place is full of bikers, motherfucker,” I say sarcastically.
“That might be so, but the only one I care about right now is the one who has the woman with our money. Turn on the lights, Alejandro. Let him take a look.”
My eyes fly open. The knife is sitting right on my Adam’s apple when I gulp to see Eden on the bed. Her hair wet, her eyes wide, and a man sitting with his back against the headboard, her between his legs with a gun to her head. Blood trickling down the side of her face.
“You rotten motherfuckers.”
“Shut up, you piece of shit. Did you really think a biker gang could outsmart us? You played right into our hands. We’ve had Ricky for days. The little boy, too. Don’t worry, though, the kid is fine. He’s playing with my sons. Likes it so much I might keep him. He’s a smart kid.” I keep my eyes trained on Eden. She starts shaking at the mention of Wilder. I know she’s thinking we won’t get out of this, but we will. My eyes silently tell her that. I tell her to hold on. Keep her mouth shut and let me handle this. It’s time for her to come through, and I have no doubt she will.
“Cuff him to the chair. He’s about to see what happens when someone gets in the way. And if he says a word, you cut him.” The minute he lets go of me, I elbow him in the gut, spin and knee him in the balls. The bastard drops to his knees. I halt when Eden whimpers.
“Sit the fuck down or I’ll shoot her. Swear on that little boy's life I will.” Bile climbs up my throat when the fucker presses his gun to the top of Eden’s thigh, whispers something in her ear, and her eyes clench shut as she spreads her legs open wide. Her panties showing, my T-shirt she’s kept from day one hanging off her slender shoulder. Hold on, baby. Fucking hold on.
I struggle against the cuffs being placed over my wrists. I want to dropkick his damn minion dead when he circles the tape around my legs over and over, bounding me to this fucking chair. This fucker would be child’s game to me. His neck would be snapped in a second, but they hold the Queen of Hearts right now and know it.
“She’s beautiful. It’s a shame you’ve tainted her.” The man I dropped stands up and slams his gun into my face. The sting doesn’t compare to the one in my chest; the blood dripping from my cheek is cold compared to the boiling blood in my veins from what I’m witnessing from the man on the bed. The one scaring the fuck out of Eden. I’ll get out of this, and when I do, I’ll be cutting his fingers off and shoving them down his throat.
He runs his dirty hands up the outside of her leg, stopping shy of what’s mine. He pushes them open further, and I keep one eye on her face, the other on his hands. Silent tears fall from her pinched eyes. I’m mumbling everything I’m going to do to this men behind the confines of this room. He jerks her head back, runs his tongue up her neck, slides his hands up her sides, and cups one of her breasts while sliding the barrel of his gun back and forth across the other. Goddamn it.
“You have about four fucking minutes before my brothers come looking for me, asshole,” I growl, needing to sidetrack this fucker. They want to play Russian roulette, then bring it on.
The evil bastard throws his head back in laughter. “Good,
I only need three for what I want to do. Ricky told us how sweet her sister was. How her pussy dripped and tasted of the sweetest fruit. I need to know if it was just another one of his lies.”
My heads jerked back and a cold blade slides down my cheek, but my eyes remain on her. They can do whatever the hell they want to me as long as they stay the hell away from her.
He walks over to the bed, presses the gun into Eden’s temple. All the self-constraint she’d been gripping on to shatters. The slimy prick runs his palm down her front, slow and on purpose. He’s going to die. Motherfucking die, but not before he experiences a form of his own torture. The tips of his fingers dip into Eden’s panties.
“Please, don’t do this,” she begs, her entire body convulsing.
“Begging gets you nowhere with me, sweetheart,” he spits.
“Stop,” I roar. “Fucking stop.”
I’m struck again in the side of the head with the end of a gun. Alejandro roars in laughter and Eden screams at the top of her lungs. He rips his hand that was inches away from destroying her and slaps her face.
“Keep fighting, baby. The brothers will be here,” I grit out.
“Cut that fucker and make him watch this,” Alejandro demands.
A knife slices across my chest, cutting into my white shirt and flesh. My leather cut saving the majority of my chest. The fucker begins cutting it off me, nicking my flesh. This bastard just guaranteed his fucking death warrant.
Alejandro pushes Eden back on the bed, sealing his lips to hers. He’s a fucking sick and twisted fucker attacking her lips. It only lasts a few seconds before he sits up roaring in Spanish.
“Hijo de su puta mande! Vas a pagar por lo que hiciste.” What the hell did he just say?
Eden continues to fight underneath him, while the other one holds her down.
“Cunt,” he roars, lifts his face several inches from hers. His bleeding tongue dripping down on her. She must have bit him.
He backhands her with his Glock, knocking her out cold. The sight of her limp body petrifies every single cell inside of me, wiping away the rage, leaving behind the promise of terror and loss.
“Move,” Alejandro orders. “Continue on with the plan. I’ll fuck this bitch later until she’s bleeding from every single fucking hole.”
The door to the room swings open. A small part of me feels vindicated knowing it’s my brothers and a blood bath is about to ensue. This time with me as the victor. When I turn my head, I’m dead wrong. More of Alejandro’s men march in. There’s a fucking army.
I begin to fucking beg like a little bitch for them not to take Eden. They’ll break her down until she doesn’t remember who she is and then kill her. I open my mouth but then shut it when four of the fucking goons release me from the chair, throw a black bag over my head, and then begin beating the fuck out me. Blow after blow comes at me from every direction, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do but take it. My head snaps back, my stomach constricts, and the pain behind my eyes disorients me. I’m going to drown in these fuckers’ blood when I get to them. Watch them burn in fucking hell and roar with laughter.
“This bastard is a pig, boss.” Someone grunts as I’m lifted from the chair.
“Shut the fuck up, Ricardo, and get him out the back window.”
“We still leaving the girl, boss?” another voice asks.
“For now. I want the Diamond family to know this is the kind of shit that happens when you fuck with me. I’d love nothing more than to fuck her sweet pussy. Unfortunately, we don’t have time. Plus, she smells of him, so leave her be. She can thank this white trash for her life.”
I can see their fucking smiles through the darkness.
“My dick’s hard now, boss. She’s mighty fine.”
“And you're gonna be mighty dead, you fuckface,” I snarl through my anger and pain.
“Angelo, you greedy prick. Shut the fuck up before I put a bullet in your head. Tape this fucker’s mouth shut.” The door slams and then I hear a lock click. “Figure we have a good fifteen minutes on his men before they bust through that door. Hell’s Lovers MC is about to find out what happens when they’re allies with the Diamond family. We can thank Ricky for putting all of this in the palm of our hand. Dumb fuck has no idea he should be rewarded instead of punished.”
I can barely stand up. Pain is shooting down my arms, across my chest, and down my spine. I manage to head butt someone when they try and put tape over my mouth. I can hardly see a thing with this cloth bag covering my eyes.
“Payback is gonna be a bitch,” I say when glass shatters everywhere from someone kicking out the window. The men struggle to manhandle me through it. I have to fight the urge to battle back. This is all kinds of fucked up, but it’s better than I expected. They’re taking me and not Eden. She’ll be left with my brothers and safe. Joke’s on these fucks because I just won.
“Gonna mark her, boss? Make her our property.”
My body thumps on the ground, glass cuts through my skin on the way out. My side landing on something hard. I can feel my ribs snapping.
“Hand me your knife.”
The next thing I hear tears out my fucking heart. Eden’s scream of agony. She was knocked out dead cold and brought back to reality courtesy of a sharp blade. They’ve messed with the wrong bastard. When vengeance comes, I’ll be carving the Hell’s Lovers’ logo into each of their fucking foreheads until my blade meets their skull.
I’m heaved up onto my feet with Eden’s cries and screams assaulting me. They begin pushing me away from the window. It’s my last chance and hope it doesn’t backfire on me because I need her to stay right there.
“Trust the club, Eden,” I roar. “Trust the club, baby!”
I’m rewarded with a punch to my cracked ribs and then knocked out with a blow to the back of my head right after I’m tossed in the back of a van.
My chin is resting on my chest and my mind begins to clear one tick at a time. I roll my head from side to side, forcing my eyes to open as far as they will go. A warehouse. Musty, rotting smell, water dripping next to me. I fight to move my hands, but they’re tied to the back of the chair. Each flex and movement blinding me with pain shooting up from my side.
Eden. The fear in her eyes. Her blood dripping from her head. That fucker touching her then knocking her out. It’s a potent explosion of anger. The pain in my body is nothing compared to the fucking rage racing through me. With a loud roar and ripping my hands up, I pull free from the fucking duct tape. These bitches may claim to be smart. They fucked up by leaving me alone. Now they are gonna see that they have met their match.
Getting my legs free, I toss the wooden chair into the wall and then run. The main area of the warehouse is fucking huge. However, there’s not a man in sight for me to kill. That’s all I see right now. The urgency to kill someone. It’s embedded in my skull. Dripping from my fingers. And I’m ready to drive my fist through some motherfuckers’ mouths.
I find a door and open it thinking sunlight will blind me. Wrong.
Three men, one woman bound on top of a disgusting mattress. Her body contorted with the men filling all of her.
“Puta Madre.”
“Agarrenlo antes que se vaya.”
They rattle off just as they tuck their dicks back into their pants.
I feel fucking sick.
The beaten woman begins screaming for help. Crying out and scratching at her skin. I see Clara. They reach for their Glocks, but not fast enough. I’ve lost all sense of clarity and decision-making skills. I take the first one down easily, sending his face straight into my knee. The second one comes at me swinging. A fist to his side takes the air out of him, sending him to the ground. Time to have fun, since the final one can’t seem to find his Glock.
I pound his face in. With each punch, something inside of me shatters and releases. Pent-up rage and anger swirling into fucked-up redemption. The woman’s cries long gone. I’m unable to turn my attention to her. My actions and body are n
o longer mine. I grip the sides of his head and twist until his fucking neck snaps and his body goes limp.
Standing to my feet, I’m still thirsty to kill the other two sick fucks. I glance over to the woman huddled in the corner trying to cover her body. What’s left of my heart and soul cracks right down the middle. She ain’t no fucking woman; she’s a damn kid.
“Are you—”
The barrel of a gun is pressed to the back of my head. The sound of it being cocked stops me.
“Down to your knees.”
I drop to them knowing I may have been the king of this fucked-up palace for a bit, but it’s their game and I’ll damn well play it to keep Eden and Wilder safe. My end game. Don’t regret the kill or beating the fuck out of the men. I’d never walk away from the shit I just witnessed.
Alejandro saunters in front of me with a sly grin on his face. “Admire your passion and drive.” He pulls out his own gun. “I see you caught my boys with their dicks out when they were supposed to be guarding you. Shame, shame.” He shakes his head from side to side. “No discipline. They always take their dessert before the main course.”
In a quick movement, Alejandro swings his gun and fires it. Brain matter paints the wall. He repeats the action. “Lesson learned.”
Screaming, so much fucking screaming. Blood and brains strewn about the place.
“Shut the fuck up, bitch,” Alejandro roars, turning the gun on the girl in the corner. “They took my virgin pussy, but I’m not done with you yet.”
He orders one of his goons to take her to the safe house. I listen to every single detail needing to know exactly where his safe house is. That’s where I will find Wilder.
“East wing?” the goon asks.
“In my bed.” Alejandro rolls a toothpick between his lips. “Walk her up the lane naked to show the world she’s mine.” Jesus Christ. These men are messed up in the head. It’s no wonder Roan’s family took part of them out. Christ Almighty.