“That happened once,” I pointed out and Tristan chuckled.
“Twice.”
I gasped “What? Seriously?”
“Yeah. Once I explained where I was with Olivia, though, it didn’t happen again.”
“Thank god for small favors, I guess,” I grumbled.
“Yeah, we’ll go with that,” he said.
“We’ll definitely need to keep her away from you, buddy,” I said to Rabbit. “Unless, you want a drop-dead gorgeous, overly sexed woman climbing into bed with you.”
“I’m good,” he said, and I grinned. He obviously had it bad for Parker.
“I’ll talk to Sundance and figure it out,” Tristan said.
I nodded, fighting back a yawn.
“Why don’t you sleep for a bit. We’ll hang out here while you rest.”
“Okay.” I closed my eyes and let my exhaustion win.
Orion
WALKING INTO THE cabin, I found Wrath and discovered he was done having fun with Zilla.
“Is he lucid?” I asked.
“Well, he wasn’t an hour ago, but I’m pretty sure he is now.”
“Jesus, Wrath, what happened to being careful?” I asked.
“I was careful. He’s still breathin’.”
I dragged my hands down my face. “I’m gonna take it from here.”
“Have at it.”
I made my way downstairs and into the panic room, where I found Aero guarding the door to our ‘confession’ booth. We’d built the basement out to be comfortable should we need a place to hole up during bad weather or enemy attack. We also had some escape routes that were only known by the club, so if we needed to get out without being seen, we could.
We’d built a room within that space as a panic room, should someone penetrate the basement, but it had become useful to ‘question’ people should we need to do so where their screams wouldn’t be heard. We didn’t use it often, mostly because things had been somewhat peaceful over the past few years, but if the fucking Predators decided to come at us again, I had a feeling this room was gonna be used often.
“Hey, Ori,” Aero said, giving me a chin lift.
“Hey,” I said. “How’s the asshole?”
“Just checked on him and he pissed, so he’s good.”
I nodded. “I’m gonna talk to him. Ignore any screaming.”
“From you or him?”
I smirked and pushed open the door. Godzilla, whom everyone called Zilla, was zip tied to a chair, and it appeared as though Wrath had used his brass knuckles to improve his face. Zilla raised his head and scowled. “The prodigal son,” he spat out.
I ignored his bullshit jab. “You gonna tell me why you tried to kill my woman?”
“No one tried to kill your woman.”
“Then tell me why you set my grow house on fire with her in it.”
“Bullshit.” His eyes widened slightly. “The building was empty.”
“See, Zilla, it wasn’t empty. This is the problem.”
I pulled a zippo from my pocket and walked around his chair, flicking the lighter lid open, then closed.
Open, then closed.
“She was trapped inside while the fire burned her end of the building…because you disabled the sprinkler system,” I said, continuing to open and close the zippo. “So, this leads me to believe you weren’t working alone, because I know for a fact you’re a dumb piece of shit. So dumb, in fact, your club looks to you for the jobs that require brawn over brains and no one would expect you to disable shit.” I faced him and crossed my arms. “Who was with you?”
“No one, it was just me.”
I grabbed his hand tied to the chair, flicked the lighter open and lit it, holding the flame under Zilla’s palm. He screamed in pain, trying to pull away from me, but he didn’t have the leverage.
“Hurts like a mother fucker, huh?” I said, swallowing the bile threatening to spill from the smell of burning flesh. “Kinda like my woman’s hands are feeling right now. You see, she burned them trying to escape the fire you set.”
“Collateral damage,” Zilla sneered.
I flicked the lighter open again and repeated my ‘encouragement’ on his other hand, wanting him to hurt worse than Raquel hurt.
He screamed again, but still wouldn’t give up his accomplice, so I continued to switch back and forth between his hands until he passed out from the pain.
“Fuckin’ pussy,” I hissed, opening the cabinet on the wall and pulling out ammonia and waving it under his nose as I pressed on his sternum. He came awake with growl of pain, disoriented and ready to fight. “Welcome back,” I said. “You ready for more?”
I pulled my knife from my boot and studied it.
“Orca!” he screamed as I flicked open the zippo again.
I cocked my head. That was a surprise and I’d definitely need more intel on him before I acted on that information. Orca was old school. A faithful soldier. He’d been part of the Predators for more than twenty years and usually kept his head down.
“Anything else?”
“Sonja Myers. She’s fuckin’ Orca. It was all her idea.”
That fucking cunt!
“Thanks, buddy,” I crooned. “I appreciate that. I’m gonna let you sit here for a while and then we’ll decide what to do with you.”
“You gonna get me ice for my hands, asshole?” he snapped.
“Did my woman get ice for her hands?”
He scowled.
“I’ll let you sit here and think about that,” I said and walked out the door, closing it on the obscenities he bellowed behind me.
“Did you have fun?” Aero asked.
“Wait two hours, then get Needles to look at him.”
“Don’t think acupuncture’s gonna cure what’s ailing him.”
Needles was our resident medical specialist. He had a medical degree, but after a few years, he decided he’d focus on acupuncture. He was hippy dippy in a lot of ways, so the new focus suited him.
“If it’s something Needles can’t handle, Raquel’s brother’ll be here in a few hours. He can take over.”
“Doc’s comin’?”
“Yep,” I said. “Text me if you need something.”
I made my way upstairs and found Wrath in the kitchen.
“You got what you need?” he asked.
“Orca assisted.”
“Shit, no kidding?”
I nodded. “I’m gonna head out for a bit, but I’ll be back at the hospital in about an hour.”
“Okay, brother. We’ll keep Zilla alive.”
“Thanks.”
I made my way to my bike and took off for my dad’s place.
Letting myself into my childhood home, I walked back to Dad’s den. “Pops?”
“Shhh!” Violet hissed. “He’s asleep.”
I pivoted and found her standing in the archway that led to the kitchen. “Hey.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, walking away from me. “I thought you’d be at the hospital.”
I followed her. “Needed to take care of a few things.”
“How’s Raquel?”
“On the mend.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you be there?”
“Her brother’s with her. Needed to talk to Dad.”
“Doc’s here?” she asked, pulling a bottle of wine from the rack.
“Yeah. He’ll be here for a few days, I think.”
“And Olivia?”
“No, she’s home with the kids. What’s with the twenty questions?” I asked, leaning against the kitchen counter. “You okay?”
“No.”
I held my arms open and my sister made her way to me and hugged me tight. “He’s dying.”
“Not yet he’s not.”
“He’s losing his hair.”
“That happens with chemo.”
She shrugged, taking a deep breath. “But it doesn’t happen to our dad.”
“Whoa, what the hell? You okay, Letti?
” Drake asked walking into the kitchen.
“Yes. Now, shush, Dad’s finally asleep.”
“No, I’m not,” Dad grumbled, joining us. “What the fuck’s goin’ on? Why’s Letti cryin’?”
“Because you’re fucking dying,” she growled.
He laughed, pulling her into his arms. “I’m not dying. Not by a longshot.”
She squeezed him tight. “You better not be lying.”
“Baby girl, this is the easiest cancer to beat. It’s gonna suck for a few months, but I’m not worried,” he said. “Don’t worry about the hair. It’s gonna grow back.”
“Okay.”
“You cookin’?” Dad asked Drake.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“What else do you have to do?”
“Oh, maybe seeing Alyssa.”
“Still?” I raised an eyebrow. “Wow, that’s like a month.”
My brother loved women. A lot. And he tended to go through them like underwear, so the fact this woman had made it more than a week was kind of a miracle.
“Fuck you,” Drake retorted.
Dad chuckled. “You start cookin’. I’m gonna talk to Ori for a minute.”
“Are you eating?” Drake asked me.
“Yeah, that’d be great, thanks,” I said and followed Dad back to his den.
He closed the door and leaned against it. “So, it wasn’t Jaws.”
I shook my head. “Orca and Zilla.”
“Fuck me,” he said, flopping onto the sofa against the wall.
I pulled one of his chairs to the edge of the sofa and sat down, stretching my legs out and setting my feet on a sofa cushion. “Zilla and I had a really nice conversation. He’s not gonna be able to jerk off for at least a month.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Probably not,” I admitted.
“How’s Raquel?”
“Hurtin’.”
“Jesus, we’re gonna need to nip this shit in the bud.”
“Agreed.” I dragged my hands down my face. “Sorry about the shit I said about Mom.”
“About that,” he said, leaning forward and settling his elbows on his knees.
I watched him closely. My dad was a straight shooter and he tended to tell me more than my siblings, but I could never get a read on what he was thinking by the expressions on his face. He would have made a great poker player, totally unlike Raquel.
“I don’t want to fight, Pops,” I said.
“Me neither, but there’s something you need to know.” He met my eyes. “You think you can stay calm?”
“Jesus, what the fuck?”
My dad sat back again. “That’s a no.”
I sat up and leaned forward, taking a deep breath in an effort to appear calmer than I was. “Tell me.”
Dad dropped his head. “Your mom wasn’t killed by a drunk driver.”
“The cops arrested a guy.”
“I know,” he said.
“Dad, spit it out. Jesus, you’ve come this far.”
“Your mom’s death was a hit. On me.”
I stayed as quiet as I could, my heart in my throat, my blood suddenly running cold.
“Her car had a flat that morning, so she took my truck,” he rasped.
My throat burned with impending tears, the memories from the day of my mother’s death flooding back.
“Who?”
“Kong.”
Kong used to be the Apex Predators’ president, before he disappeared. Six days after he’d gone missing, his burned remains were found deep in the woods.
I swallowed. “How?”
“They followed her from the cabin, ran her off the road, and shot her.”
“They fuckin’ shot her?” I hissed.
“Yeah. There was no way in hell I was telling any of you that at the time. It was hard enough you lost your mom, I didn’t want that visual in your head.”
“But the news would have reported it.”
“We paid off a few people to keep it quiet.” He sighed. “Not sure how much longer we can keep it buried, though. I have it on good authority the Predators are being investigated, and this may come out.”
“Fuck,” I whispered. “Who was the drunk guy at the scene?”
“Some homeless guy they picked up the morning of, drugged, then left in the driver seat of the beater car they had at one of their shops.”
“Kong?”
My dad looked at me and I knew what he was going to say, but I didn’t stop him from making his confession. “I made him hurt before I killed him.”
I pressed my palms to my eyes, trying to ward off a headache. “So, the warehouse is payback.”
“No. Jaws and I had an agreement. This is something different. I don’t think Jaws knew what Zilla and Orca were doin’. And Wrath mentioned Sonja orchestrated this?”
“When did you talk to Wrath?”
“Five minutes after you left Orca.”
Of course he did. Dad was always in the loop, almost in real time. It was evidence of how much our brothers respected him.
“Yeah,” I confirmed.
“Jesus Christ. Today’s the first time in my life I’ve ever wanted to kill a woman.”
“Fuck, seriously. Stupid cunt.”
“No doubt,” Dad agreed.
“Coup?” I deduced.
“Yeah, that’s where I’m leaning.”
“God help anyone who gets in the middle,” I breathed out.
“Well, unfortunately, we’re in the middle.”
“Shit,” I said. “We are.”
“I called Hatch for backup. I was gonna fly out there when he got back from London, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to fly.”
I nodded. “I’ll go if you can’t.”
“You need to wrap Raquel in bubble wrap.” He sat back, suddenly looking deathly tired. “In fact, she should move into the cabin for a while.”
“She won’t leave Sierra.”
“Both of them, then,” Dad said.
“What about Letti and Drake?”
“They’re safe here. I’ve got a few guys on the house.”
“Who’s taking you to and from chemo if I’m not around?”
“Moses. He drops me off, then picks me up when I’m done.”
“You don’t want him to stay, huh?”
“No way in hell,” Dad said.
I raised an eyebrow. “Letti’s okay with not being there?”
“Letti doesn’t have a fuckin’ choice. She’s in school and that takes priority.”
“I should take you.”
He shook his head. “Need you to watch your woman, Ori. If anything happened to her because of this shit and you weren’t there, it’d wreck you. Take it from me.”
“I got her, Dad,” I promised. “What a fuckin’ nightmare.”
“Yeah,” Dad agreed.
Drake banged on the door and yelled, “Grub’s up!”
“I got this, Dad,” I said. “I’m all in.”
“Fuckin’ finally!” he retorted. “Let’s eat.”
I nodded and followed him into the kitchen.
Raquel
THE NEXT DAY, I was released into my brother’s care. There was no point in me staying in the hospital when I had someone who could take care of me, and I wanted out.
The problem was, Orion wouldn’t let me go home. I was ushered to the cabin without delay, and without any personal items.
“You’re not going back to your townhouse, Razzle,” Orion decreed. “Make a list of what you need and I’ll have Sierra pack it when I go pick her up.”
I held my hands up. “I can’t make a list, Orion. I can’t hold a pen or a phone.”
“You tell me what you want, and I’ll write it down.”
“Honey, it would help if I could direct traffic, so to speak, so I don’t forget anything.”
He dragged his hands through his hair. “Raquel, I’m not taking any chances, so, no.”
“You can’t say no. I need underwear.”
“I’ll pack your underwear.”
“Gah! You’re driving me crazy with all this,” I snapped. “I’ll have my brother take me.”
“Like hell you will. Doc’s in agreement with me.”
“Yeah, well, I know how to get around my brother.”
“But you don’t know how to get around me.”
I held my hands up again. “If I had use of these, there’d be a lot of ways I could get around you.”
He smiled…finally. “There is that.”
“Please take me with you, Smoky. You’ll protect me.”
Orion sighed. “If Wrath and your brother can come with us, I’ll take you.”
I nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”
My brother made time for me and instead of Wrath, Rabbit tagged along which didn’t make Orion happy, but he knew he’d help keep me safe.
We pulled up to the townhouse and my brother and Orion did a sweep while I waited outside with Rabbit. Once the all-clear was given, I walked inside and led Orion upstairs while Rabbit and Tristan waited for Sierra.
“I’ve got a duffel and a suitcase in my closet,” I said, and Orion grabbed both and set them on the bed.
I spent the next fifteen minutes instructing Orion on what to pack, including a set of sheets from the linen closet because there was no way in hell I was sleeping (more than one night) on the sheets in his room at the cabin.
“Babe, you don’t actually need this many pairs of panties.”
“Oh, really?” I asked.
“You won’t be wearin’ them much.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dream on, handsome.”
He grinned and continued to pack my bags.
“Do I get to share your room?” I heard Sierra ask.
“Probably not,” Rabbit responded.
“Come on,” she cajoled. “You can be my Velveteen Rabbit and I’ll rub you ’til you shed.”
“Yeah, I’m not taking any chances of you pulling out my whiskers,” Rabbit retorted.
I forced myself not to laugh. Of course Rabbit knew the story of the Velveteen Rabbit. He seriously seemed to know everything.
Orion raised an eyebrow and gave me a smirk.
“She’s insatiable,” I warned. “She’s going to work her way through the club.”
Orion chuckled. “She’ll have at least a week to do it.”
I frowned. “You really think we’ll be there for a week?”
Primal Howl (Primal Howlers MC Book 1) Page 12