by Harley Wylde
“I know,” I said softly. “I didn’t before, but I do now.”
He gave a nod and went back to silently watching me. I’d never known quite what to make of Wolf. He never talked much, but I’d seen him laugh with the other guys. And yet, there was always something lurking in his eyes. Like he was haunted. I’d heard he was in the military, and there were rumors he was missing a leg, even though he seemed to have two. If he wore a prosthesis, I couldn’t tell.
Whatever demons he wrestled, I hoped he managed to find happiness along the way. If someone could accept me with my past, then I knew there had to be a woman out there for Wolf. Maybe I’d work on finding him someone when I got back home. All the guys needed someone. If they settled down, then the club pussy would go away. I knew Mei and Adalia would be fine with that. So would China and Elena.
I fought not to smile. Maybe I’d enlist their help. We could call it Project Matchmaker. Watching the guys fall would be entertaining as hell, and I knew that none of them would know what hit them.
Chapter Ten
Dragon
Warren Bruce wasn’t at all what I’d expected. Already battered and bruised from the Reckless Kings taking their pound of flesh, he seemed rather sad and pathetic. Until he looked at you. I could see the madness in his eyes, and I knew that Lil was right. If this man went free, he’d hurt someone else. Even getting him help wasn’t a guarantee. If she needed this man in the ground in order to feel safe, then I’d make it happen.
“He hasn’t given us Charlotte’s location,” said Hawk, the Reckless Kings’ VP. “Beast is out looking, but he’s chasing his tail at this point.”
“I’ll see what I can get out of him.”
Hawk sighed. “You don’t intend to leave him breathing, do you?”
“Nope. Lil needs this, needs him gone.” I glanced his way. “If you’re squeamish, better head out. This is going to get messy.”
“Fuck,” Hawk muttered. “I heard the rumors, but I didn’t know they were true. That really how you got your name?”
I nodded and nudged the bag at my feet. “I don’t have all my stuff, but I brought enough, and ran to a store so I could improvise a little. I’m about to strip this fucker down. Leave him naked and tied down like he did to my woman.”
“Your woman?” Bruce asked. “Yours? The pregnant bitch didn’t belong to Beast?”
“Nope. You snatched my woman, terrorized her. Now you’re going to pay the price.” I unzipped my bag and pulled out a large knife. The man alternated between whimpering and laughing like a lunatic as I sliced through his clothes, leaving him bare-assed in the chair. “Anything you want to say before we get started?”
“Wanted to hurt Beast,” the man muttered. “This was all to get to Beast. Bitch lied. She was supposed to be important. Fucking cunt.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Lilian told you she was important to Beast?”
“Not the pregnant whore. The other. Charlotte.” He said her name and sneered. “Fucking useless.”
I leaned down into his space. “And what did you do with the useless woman?”
He cackled and whipped his head from side to side. “She’s gone! Gone, gone, gone.”
I could feel Hawk behind me, knew he wanted answers. “Is she alive? Or did you kill her?”
The man smiled, but it was like watching the Joker smile. “She’s alive. For now.”
He giggled, then started cackling again. Fucking lunatic. I used my knife to make a shallow cut across his chest, like he’d done to Lil’s breast. He screamed and thrashed against the bonds tying him down.
“Where is Charlotte?” I asked.
He giggled. “I’ll never tell. Never. Never. Never tell.”
“He’s batshit fucking crazy,” Hawk muttered. “And this is just one version. Wait until you meet the others.”
Others. Now there was an idea. Exactly how did I draw those out? The cut hadn’t done the trick. Threatening him hadn’t worked. Maybe I hadn’t threatened the right person? “Too bad about his woman,” I said, looking at Hawk and hoping the VP would play along.
“What?” the man asked, his voice and tone completely different from before. “What did you do to her? If you’ve harmed her, I’ll fuck up your stupid whore.”
Bingo! I winked at Hawk, then turned to face the man. I blanked my expression, trying to look as bored as possible. Any emotion and I could tip my hand. “Oh, not me. I haven’t done anything.” I slid my cut from my shoulders and handed it to Hawk, knowing things would get messy soon. “But those guys upstairs? Oh, they’re having a good time with her.”
Bruce screamed and yanked at the duct tape holding him down.
“Talk about a whore,” Hawk said. “She loves getting fucked by multiple men. Begs for it.”
“Lies!” the man screamed and thrashed some more, spit flying from his mouth. “She’d never do that! She was supposed to be mine!”
I looked at Hawk, an idea forming. “Maybe he needs proof. A visual. He was nice enough to send one of my woman stripped and tied down.”
“No! No, no, no.” Bruce shook his head, his eyes wide and his chest heaving. I’d struck a nerve. Good.
I nodded to Hawk and we moved out of range so the psycho couldn’t hear us. “Find out the description of the woman he wanted. See if you have a club whore who would look close enough if we leave her face out of it. Then get her stripped, tied down, and take a few photos of her getting fucked. We’ll break this bastard.”
Hawk nodded and left me alone with Warren Bruce. The man was going to pay for what he’d done to Lilian. I knew Beast would want a piece of him if Charlotte had been hurt, but I didn’t plan on leaving anything. The man had taken my woman and I wasn’t going to let that slide. She wanted justice, and I was damn well going to give it to her.
While Hawk handled the proof we needed, I decided to work on Bruce a little more. I added a few shallow cuts to his arms, his thighs. Even scraped the blade along his pubic bone, letting it trail down to his pathetic dick. No wonder the woman hadn’t wanted him. I didn’t think she’d have noticed if he fucked her. I’d seen babies with bigger dicks.
“Maybe your woman just couldn’t be satisfied with someone like you,” I said, smacking his dick with the flat of the blade. “She needed someone bigger. Stronger.”
He hurled curses at me, his voice changing several times during his tirade. Yeah, I had this fucker where I wanted him. That bitch of his was the key to everything. Beast had known it, to some extent, but he hadn’t thought to use it to get what he needed. I’d get this ass to talk one way or another. Break him. Get Charlotte’s location, then I’d do what I did best and make him scream.
By the time Hawk returned, I’d removed the man’s fingernails, toenails, and had even snipped off the tip of his pinky. He’d cried, screamed, begged. But he hadn’t broken. Yet. Hawk gave me a lift of his chin and held out his phone, and I knew he’d gotten what we needed. I only hoped it was good enough to fool this piece of shit.
I turned the screen so Bruce could see a woman with her hands tied behind her, a gag clearly tied around her mouth and knotted in her hair. They’d bent her over and had men holding her legs open. I hoped they compensated the woman for this shit, unless she actually liked it, then getting fucked was compensation enough.
I showed Bruce four different Reckless Kings fucking the woman, and he came unglued. “Here’s your precious whore. Look at her! She loves getting tied up and fucked. Loves being held down and forced to take those big dicks.”
I swiped the screen again. “Oh-ho! I bet she really loved this one.”
I showed him the image of the biggest cock in the shots taking her ass. And that’s when I knew he’d give me what I wanted. He cried. Tears ran down his cheeks, snot covered his upper lip, and he looked utterly crushed.
“No.” He whimpered. “She wouldn’t. She’s not like that.”
“Oh, she is. She’s up there getting fucked by every guy here, and she loves it. Can’t get enough. In h
er cunt, her ass. I bet she’d take three men at once and swallow some dick too.”
Bruce sobbed and went boneless.
“Where the fuck is Charlotte?” I asked. “Next time I have to ask, I’m cutting off your dick and showing it to your whore so she can laugh at how pathetic it is while she’s up there having fun with real men.”
He blubbered and babbled, but I eventually got her location. Hawk gave me a nod and took off, and I knew he’d get the info to Beast.
“You made a grave error when you took Lilian,” I said, reaching into my bag. I pulled out the tools I needed, then started a fire in the metal barrel nearby. Once the flames were nice and hot, I knew it was time to begin. “You’re going to scream. Beg. Cry. You’ll want me to end it and let you die, and you will. But only when I’m ready. You fucked up, Warren Bruce, and you took my woman. The mother of my children. And now you’re going to pay the price.”
There was no fight left in him, which took a little of the excitement out of it. Yeah, I was a sadistic fucker. I got off on causing pain to assholes like this one. I’d never harm an innocent, but anyone who fucked over the club or came after Lil was fair game.
I toyed with him, dragging things out. I gave the Reckless Kings enough time to verify the intel was good. Once I knew this fucker hadn’t lied, I stopped holding back. One nod from Hawk, and I let loose.
After I ripped his balls off, I knew I didn’t have long before he’d bleed out, so I put the metal poker into the flames until the end glowed red, then I used it to cauterize the wound. His screams only made me smile. Poor fool didn’t realize we were only getting started.
By the time I’d finished with him, half his body was scorched until the skin had blackened. I’d used the hot poker several times to burn through layers of flesh, or rammed it straight through parts of his body. The floor was soaked in his blood and waste, and I held his heart in my hand, crushing it. I tossed the useless organ into the burn barrel.
“We’ll get rid of the body,” Hawk said. “Beast called. When he found Charlotte, she was unconscious and her pulse was weak, but she made it to the hospital. We’re hoping she’ll make a full recovery. Baby’s gone, though. Beast said it looked like she’d miscarried.”
“Might be a good thing, if this fucker was the father,” I said.
Hawk nodded. “That’s how we feel too, but Charlotte… I’m not sure how she’ll handle all this. Mentally, I mean.”
“Women are stronger than we give them credit for,” I said, thinking of all Lilian had been through.
“You’re not going back to yours looking like that, are you?” he asked.
I looked down at my blood-soaked clothes and boots. Fuck. I’d really loved these boots too. I wasn’t sure the blood and gore could be scrubbed from them, but I’d get a Prospect to do his best. “She’ll want to know I did what I’d promised.”
Hawk’s brow furrowed. “She made you promise to kill him?”
I held his gaze. “No. She made me promise to do what I do best.” I waved a hand at what was left of Bruce, letting him know that Lil knew of this side of me and it was what she’d wanted.
He gave me a nod. I used a rag to clean my hands off. I’d need my tools cleaned and returned to me, but I’d handle that later. I grabbed my cut, then walked out, but his voice halted me. “You can’t go into Beast’s home like that. Use the room at the clubhouse. I’ll have Lilian brought to you.”
I walked out and went to the room I’d been given that first day, then stood there, waiting for Lilian to arrive. When she came through the door with Wolf at her back, she took in my appearance. She didn’t look sick, or get pale. Her gaze scanned me head to toe, and when she looked into my eyes, I saw acceptance and relief.
“Shower and I’ll burn that shit,” Wolf said.
“Get someone to clean the boots.”
He looked at them and snorted. “Yeah. Right. I’ll do that, but I’ll also make sure you have another pair because there’s no fucking way all that’s coming out of the leather.”
I removed the boots and tossed them into the hall, then stripped off my clothes, Wolf gathered them and left, leaving me alone with Lilian. I got the shower as hot as I could stand it, then scrubbed the shit out of my hair, beard, and body. I didn’t want a single trace of that asshole’s blood on me when I took Lil into my arms.
“They found Charlotte,” I told her through the open shower door. I didn’t give a shit if the floor was getting wet. Right now, I needed to see Lil because she was the only reason I had a grip on my humanity.
“You made him talk,” she said.
“Yeah. He gave up her location, but Hawk said she lost the baby. Said it looked like she’d had a miscarriage.”
Lil cradled her own belly. I knew she was trying to put herself in Charlotte’s position, but I didn’t want her going there. Our babies were fine, and so was she. And I’d make damn sure it stayed that way.
When the water ran clear, I got out and dried off. Lilian rummaged through my things and handed me some boxer briefs and a pair of jeans. I pulled them on, then gathered her into my arms. She stared up at me, full of trust and love. My heart warmed, knowing that the darkness inside me hadn’t scared her. Then again, she’d been with men worse than me. Maybe to her I wasn’t all that dark and fell more into the shades of gray. I wasn’t good, but I wasn’t completely evil either. “You okay, baby?” I asked.
She nodded. “Thank you.”
I pressed my lips to hers, kissing her soft and slow. “I’ll always give what you need, and try to give you what you want. I knew you needed him in the ground, and you wanted him to suffer first. It’s done. Just don’t ask about the details.”
“Was he humiliated?” she asked.
I grinned. “Stripped him naked while he was tied to the chair. Made fun of his tiny dick, then made him think the woman he wanted was getting off on being tied up while multiple men fucked her. Even found a way to give him visual proof. And Hawk seemed to make sure every damn one was well-endowed just to make the shit feel even worse.”
“Good.”
“You know, your dad and I both thought you’d be better off with a doctor, lawyer, or just some regular guy with a normal job. Someone safe. We were wrong, weren’t we? That’s not what you need at all.”
She slowly shook her head.
“You need someone with a little monster inside, a darkness that can be used to keep you safe when necessary.” I ran my nose down the length of hers. “Someone to make you obey, tell you what to do, and punish you when you don’t listen. Isn’t that right, baby?”
“Yes, Dane. That’s what I need. I think it’s been you since the moment I saw you. Even then, when I was terrified and broken, there was something between us. I could feel it. Whenever you were nearby, I watched you, felt drawn to you like a magnet. It’s why I asked you to help me.”
“I don’t like the thought of you here with all these men so close, but do you want to stay here until we leave? If Beast found Charlotte, he may want the extra space at his house. I’d imagine he’ll try to take her home with him when she’s released from the hospital.”
She glanced around the room. “This is fine. It’s just a few days, right?”
“Right. Then we’re going home. And no, I’m not leaving you with Grizzly. When I say we’re going home, I mean you’re going home.”
“To your house?” she asked.
“No, babe. To our house. You can change whatever you want. Make it into a home. But your shit had better be hanging next to mine in the closet, and if you go to Grizzly’s it had damn well better only be for a short visit. Your ass will be in our bed every fucking night. Naked.”
She smiled. “I can live with that.”
“Damn right you can.” I kissed her again, needing to taste her. Feel her. Remind myself that she was mine, and I was hers. And maybe remind her too.
Chapter Eleven
Lilian
One week later
The Reckless Kings had be
en nice, and hospitable, but when it was time to go, I could tell they’d been happy to see us leave. Honestly, I thought Dragon might have scared them a little. I’d heard whispers about what he’d done to the man who’d kidnapped me, and the way they said it, the overall tone, left no doubt they were a little worried about my man and what he was capable of doing.
Charlotte had still been in the hospital, but Beast had called the clubhouse to let everyone know she’d pull through. I wondered if maybe this time he’d claim her and ignore the little voice telling him she deserved someone better. If nothing else, I hoped the scariness we’d all survived had taught him that life was too short to not take what he wanted. And I’d been able to clearly see how much he wanted Charlotte, enough to give her up if he thought she’d be better off with another man. He might have spouted some nonsense about Charlotte’s brother, but if the man had eyes, then he’d already known that Beast cared for her. Hell, the psycho who planned all this shit had noticed it. The entire club had to know how their Pres felt. Idiot.
Being home felt… strange. Everyone looked at me differently, even though the men still kept their distance. If anything, they gave me even more space. Dragon thought they were worried I was going to break after my ordeal, but they were wrong. Being with Dragon made me feel stronger. I still wasn’t too thrilled about other men getting close or touching me, but I didn’t feel as terrified as I had in the past. I wasn’t going to voluntarily leave the compound without at least one Devil’s Fury member or Prospect with me anytime soon, but I liked to think that was just me being cautious and not too chicken to live my life.
I’d moved into Dragon’s house, or as he called it our house, and surprisingly my dad hadn’t even grumbled a little. He had hugged me so hard I thought he might crack some ribs when I’d first gotten back, but he seemed to accept that I was with Dragon. I even had a property cut to prove I was his. Wearing it gave me the biggest thrill, even if he didn’t allow me on his bike right now. He was convinced it wasn’t safe while I was pregnant, and he was so cute in overprotective mode that I hadn’t argued. Yet.