All Sinner No Saint

by Serena Akeroyd

  “You won’t believe it, Wolfe,” she whispered. “The Prez is my father. My real one. H-He was trying to keep me safe.”

  “By kidnapping you?” I snarled, my hands biting into the soft flesh of her arms.

  “He doesn’t trust you, and considering what Bomber’s done over the years, you can’t blame him.”

  “Are you defending him?” I growled, taken aback by her words.

  “No, dammit. Of course not. But he let me call you here, let me—”

  “You mean they’re still alive?” Flame asked, his tone deadly serious.

  She blinked at him. “Yes, Flame, I didn’t manage to take down an MC compound all on my own. I’m not the Bride,” she grumbled, talking about the role Uma Thurman had played in Kill Bill. One of her favorite movies.

  “Why did he let me come here? We were expecting a Mexican standoff, not you standing here waiting on us to pick you up and take you home, Lucie,” I ground out.

  “Ramon… I told him about his plan, and he says it’s bullshit. Carlos isn’t looking for me, Ramon is looking to curry favor.”

  “Curry favor?” Flame repeated. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “It means he’s done something wrong and is trying to lick ass,” I growled, my temper soaring as I stared at her.

  “How the fuck does he know this?”

  “Because they distribute for the Guerreras now. Carlos is ass-deep in a turf war he’s losing,” she whispered, then she gulped. “There was a rat in the fold… he called him back home. But I think Jodie-May was the one who told Ramon about me.”

  My top lip curled in a sneer. “After her greeting, maybe that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.”

  I grabbed my phone and connected to Axe. “Take Ramon to The Pit.”

  “What? Why?” Axe demanded, and I heard him shuffling the phone around.

  Rage flushed through me. “He’s there?”

  “Yeah.”

  I snarled. “Take him down. Bad blood.”

  That was our code word for ‘shit has hit the fan.’

  I heard the sound of a gun cocking before it went off. Lucie tensed in my arms, obviously hearing it too, but the scream that sounded was followed by a fuck ton of curses.

  In Spanish.

  We shot each other relieved looks.

  “I said to detain him, not shoot him,” I grumbled.

  “Yeah, well, the motherfucker is slippery. See you later.”

  He cut the call, and I shoved my phone back in my jeans pocket. When I looked back at the gates, I saw a man standing there with a cut and patches that matched mine.

  When our eyes caught, he smiled and fuck, if that wasn’t Lucie’s smile, I didn’t know what was. It had that evil twist to it that made you realize you were about to be toyed with… whether that was in a good way or a bad way, there was no way to tell from their expression.

  Behind me, I heard the cocking sound of a dozen guns, but I hollered out, “Wait for direction. He has information that will help the club.”

  That caused more confusion than it solved, but I didn’t need to start a battle we might lose. Only hell knew how many Knights were in the compound behind us, and I wasn’t about to trigger a blood bath that might be totally unnecessary.

  Lucie, seeing the direction of my glance, looked over her shoulder. When she saw her father, she tugged at my hand and said, “He wants to explain something.”

  “He’d better fucking explain something. That’s for damn sure,” I snarled, storming over to him and almost spitting in his face as I ground out, “You think you can take my woman from me? Hurt my brother?”

  “I was saving her ass, that’s what. Far as I knew you hated my girl. Wasn’t about to let her stay with you fuckers if she didn’t need to.”

  “Lucie does nothing she doesn’t want,” I retorted. “She came back to us of her own volition. Hell, we didn’t even know where she was.”

  The other Prez spat on the ground. “You didn’t have her followed?”

  “She was exiled. None of our business,” I retorted, but the words were bullshit. He was right. I should have, and his disgusted look told me that too. “When the shit hit the fan, I wasn’t on the council. I had no power.”

  Lucie tugged at my hand. “We don’t have time for this. Please, Martin, tell him what you told me.”

  “Ramon Sanchez lost favor with Carlos. He was supposed to take out this important lieutenant in the Colombians’ setup in Queens, but he fucked up. Was high on coke so the bastard got away. The next night, the Colombians retaliated. Shot the shit out of one of their warehouses, set it on fire, lost them over ten million worth of product.”

  Flame whistled. “Ramon has a hit on his head?”

  “Yeah. He got out of town almost immediately after he fucked up the job with the lieutenant.”

  “Why’s he here though?”

  “Probably just trying to ass lick. I have no doubt that Carlos Rodriguez hasn’t forgotten about Lucie, but it’s the least of his worries at the moment. If Ramon can bring her back, then that might reduce his death sentence to losing a fucking arm or something.”

  Lucie winced at that, but I was past the point of giving a fuck.

  “Why did he warn us? Why set shit up?”

  “I know Ramon. He’s a wily fucker. I’ll bet he’s setting himself up two nests to roost.”

  “What do you mean?” Lucie asked.

  “He means, if he can’t get shit settled with Carlos, if he’s done us a favor, maybe we’ll let him bed down with us.” I rubbed my chin. “He wasn’t going to hurt Lucie. Just make it look like he had.”

  “Wouldn’t trust him with my fucking goldfish, never mind my daughter,” Lucifer snapped, his arms bulging as he folded them across his chest.

  “Accidents happen all the time,” Flame concurred, shooting me a look. “Can’t blame a man when he’s trying to help.”

  “We sure as fucking can,” I snarled.

  Flame just shrugged, but the fact his lighter was back in his damn hand said everything as far as I was concerned.

  “Let me guess. You Flame?” Martin stated, eyeing the lighter. Flame smirked at him and blew out the flame on the small device.

  “What gave it away, I wonder?” he mocked.

  Before Flame could get snarky, I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Look, man, you obviously took her for a reason. I want to know what the fuck your game is.”

  “She’s been in danger all her life. I wasn’t there to protect her. This time, I could.” His jaw clenched. “My war wasn’t with you, but with Bomber.”

  “That mean you’re backing off?”

  “I have no beef with you, and our businesses don’t even mix. Especially not if you’re getting into ghost guns.” He cocked a brow at me. “If you’d be interested in supplying me with them, I’d be interested in buying.”

  Fuck, he knew about the guns?

  Just who in the fuck was our rat?

  “Don’t bother asking. You’ll find out soon enough when he doesn’t show up over the next few days,” Martin said with a smirk that made me want to slap him.

  “Are you going to leave me alone?” Lucie inquired, her hand gripping mine like she’d done when she was a fucking kid. Hell, back when I’d been a fucking kid too. As much as I loved that she looked to me for comfort, I hated the need for it.

  “I don’t want to,” Martin admitted.

  “She doesn’t need your—”

  “What? Help? Seems like I helped you out already if you’ve taken Sanchez prisoner,” he sneered. “You let him go to anywhere other than your pig farm, then you’re a fucking idiot.”

  I gritted my teeth in irritation, but I was still uneasy. This felt wrong. I was glad there was no battle today, glad we’d shed no blood, but I didn’t trust this fucker. He and his MC had been hitting us hard for years, and him just backing off like this?

  Narrowing my eyes at him, I asked, “Ramon on your shit list?”

  Martin smirked. “What
do you think?”

  “You fed me any BS?”

  “No. He’s a dumbass. Brain’s in his cock. And what little he had left of it, he’s fucked or snorted it away.” Martin leaned against the gates, managing to look cool as shit as he did so. “Rubbed me up the wrong way a few times. Fucked over a few of our girls. Got them pregnant, pissed off some brothers. Won’t be any shame to me if he’s fed to the pigs.”

  “Does anyone else know you’re Lucie’s biological father?”

  He blinked. “My MC. They know that’s why we went to war with you bastards.”

  Shaking my head, I spat, “Why go to all this effort to get her and then give her away? You went to war for her, for fuck’s sake.”

  “I’m not giving her away,” he replied softly. “But I can’t get your girl, not now that my man ain’t in your clubhouse. Not about to part mother from daughter when, as far as I can see, you’re fuckers but not complete and utter scum. Plus, Bomber mistreated her, neglected her. You ain’t gonna do that, are ya?”

  My nostrils flared and I surged forward. The second my hand was on his cut, hauling him into me, I saw four bikers appear out of nowhere from behind the gates. I didn’t give a fuck. “You had eyes on my girl?”

  “Got eyes everywhere,” he retorted, completely unaffected by my words. “I’ll still be watching. The second you think you’re safe enough to treat her like shit, I’ll be there, and I’ll find a way to get her to me.”

  Lucie sucked down a breath. “I never asked you to do this.”

  “You didn’t have to. It’s what a father should do.”

  “Stalk his daughter?” Flame demanded, his temper soaring. “Seems a bit fucked up to me.”

  “So says the pyromaniac assassin,” Martin scoffed. “Yeah, then there’s the fact my guy says you’re all sharing her?” He cut Lucie a look, and I had to admit, I was proud when she just stared him down, didn’t even flush. “All of you are fucked in the head, but what can I say? So am I. Hardly lily white myself. But you do anything to hurt her or the girl, all my shit will be raining down on you.

  “Now, get the hell out of my sight before I change my fucking mind.”

  I stared him down, stared at him until he just cocked a brow because this felt all kinds of fucked up.

  Was he going to pull out a weapon the second I gave him my back when I turned my bike around?

  He’d gone from a full-fledged abduction to releasing the daughter he’d been stalking for only fuck knew how long…

  Something wasn’t right here.

  I backed off, with Lucie and Flame at my side, as we retreated to our bikes.

  Home. I needed to get her home. We could ask questions later, demand answers another time. Getting her away from this dump was imperative. Especially before her father changed his fucking mind.

  ❖

  Dagger

  “I didn’t do anything! Why am I here?” Jodie-May screamed, her terror absorbed into The Pit like the black hole it was as we watched Flame smash Ramon’s face with his brass-knuckled fists.

  Watching Wolfe shove a ball-gag into her mouth to shut her up, I reached up and rubbed my temple as the ache from earlier made itself known. I thought I had a concussion, but it wouldn’t be the first or last time. I just needed to stay awake and to try not to let the screams echoing around The Pit shut me down with pain.

  “She didn’t,” Ramon lisped, his back rounding like a pissed cat’s as he fell on his hands and knees, only to stagger when his busted leg connected with the ground. His back was bruised, swollen, and bloody, thanks to Flame’s wrath, and I only wished like hell I could take part in the fun, but there was no way I could do anything other than stick fast in this chair.

  Flame spat on the ground a few feet away from him. “Like we’d believe you.”

  “Believe me or don’t, but I’m telling the truth. Jodie-May knows jack shit.”

  Wolfe strode toward him. He didn’t attempt to bypass the blood and piss on the floor, just waded through the mix to grab a hold of the back of his hair and jerk his head back.

  “If not her then who?” he demanded as he stared into his eyes.

  “You’ve got a prospect who likes blow,” Ramon sputtered.

  “None of my guys take drugs anymore,” Wolfe claimed.

  I cleared my throat, then winced, instantly regretting it. “That first day Lucie said Gutter was high on something.”

  “That’s his name,” Ramon agreed, his breathing deep and uneven as he spoke. “He watches out for me. Listens and sells me info. Took those pictures of my kid.”

  He wouldn’t be watching out for anyone after the day was out, that was for fucking sure.

  Texting Axe the information, I knew Gutter would be down here in a few minutes, sharing Ramon’s experience like a true friend.

  “Do the Guerreras know you’re here?”

  Ramon’s eyes narrowed into slits, and when he grinned, his teeth were bloody. “Why would I tell you that? The second you learn that, I die.”

  Wolfe’s nod was slow when it came, but what wasn’t was the kick he aimed at Ramon’s stomach and then between his legs. As the bastard howled, I smirked—that was one splinter of pain in my skull that was more than worth it.

  “The second I learn that, the second you don’t have to suffer, fuckwit.”

  Ramon’s eyes clenched closed, and Jodie-May began to sob.

  Unlike him, she wasn’t in the middle of the floor. The Pit was a concrete slab, around twenty-by-twenty feet. It slanted downwards, angling toward the middle of the room where there was a kind of drain. It was a cesspit of sludge, one that Bomber had inserted as it created a fucked-up compost that sunk into the soil around it.

  It was either genius or, if the feds ever raided us and dug around in the soil, we were fucked.

  So, while Ramon was in the middle of the pit having the shit kicked out of him by Flame, Jodie-May was tied to a chair. Her arms were bound with Saran Wrap to the armrests, her ankles to the legs of the ratty seat.

  Did I feel guilty when I looked at her?

  Guilt and me had a complicated relationship.

  Sure, I knew I should feel guilty, maybe even shame, but she was potentially complicit in a situation that would have put my old lady in danger—there was one code among the sluts that were our sweetbutts, bring no harm to any member of the MC. Our old ladies were at the core of the fucking MC. If she was involved in this shit, she’d committed one of the worst offenses.

  Men joined an MC because they needed the brotherhood. Wanted the thrill, the danger. They couldn’t play pretty with other boring fuckers in society and needed out. Needed the freedom that came with this way of life.

  Our women didn’t choose the MC. They chose the man. That meant they needed our highest level of respect and protection, something that Jodie-May, stupid bitch that she was, seemed to have forgotten. Because if she’d known that Gutter was helping out? She was as fucked as Ramon was.

  A few minutes later, after watching Ramon having the shit kicked out of him some more by Flame who, amusingly enough, looked bored shitless, I could hear the outer doors rattling.

  This place was behind a false wall just in case the feds came looking. The door shook, opening with a squeal. Heavy booted footsteps sounded next and… whimpers?

  I frowned, turned away from the battered bruise that was Ramon, and waited on the new arrivals.

  Gutter’s shoulder looked dislocated—Axe’s signature move when he was pissed off. He was cradling his arm like it was a baby. The second he appeared in the Pit, his eyes flared wide with terror—prospects never learned about the Pit until after they’d been inducted—and his gaze cut over to Ramon.

  At first, I could tell he wasn’t sure who the fucker was—with the way Flame had worked him over, I couldn’t exactly blame him—but when understanding dawned, his Adam’s apple bobbed. Then he cut a look at Jodie-May and he was the one who saved her—confusion. It was etched into his features. His brow low, his eyes round with surpris
e.

  Wanting to keep things clean, I dared get up from my seat and, without missing a beat, swooped down, pulled my knife from its sheath in my boot, and began to cut Jodie-May free from the Saran Wrap. She tensed then began to scream behind her gag.

  “Shut up,” I hissed. “I’m letting you go.”

  “You sure that’s wise?” Wolfe asked, his tone curious, not pissed.

  “Gutter didn’t know about her. He would have if she was involved.”

  Wolfe shrugged, but because he trusted me, stormed over to Gutter and grabbed his bad arm. The howl of agony that whistled around The Pit had Jodie-May flinching. I wasn’t surprised when she pissed herself. It was a harrowing noise, but I’d heard worse.

  When I grunted, her cheeks blanched then blushed as she realized what had happened. Stepping away from the small puddle of piss, I reached over and hauled her shaky ass out of her seat after I’d removed the gag.

  “Come on,” I mumbled, guiding her out of there. Behind me, the beatings restarted. Gutter howled again in pain, and Ramon grunted with every kick and hit to his already fucked body.

  I didn’t need to hang around to see what was going to happen. They’d get confirmation those bastards were the only ones working together, and once that happened, it would be bye-bye Ramon and Gutter.

  Jodie-May was trembling when I guided her through the false wall. When she was out of the narrow corridor and back in the room where we held church, she began sobbing, her thin shoulders drooping as she stumbled to her knees.

  I didn’t attempt to comfort her, didn’t say shit. Just stood there, looming over her, letting her cry.

  After a few moments, she whispered, “He’s gonna die, ain’t he?”

  “Yeah. They both are. You’re lucky—this could have been your last day too.”

  A high-pitched squeak escaped her and her heavily made-up eyes, eyes that resembled a raccoon’s at the moment, grew wet with fear. “Can I stay here?”

  “Do you want to?” I questioned, surprised.

  “T-This is m-my home. Aaron’s too.”