by Brook Wilder
Even if it did fucking hurt like hell.
Fernandez sat back, tapping his gun on a raised knee.
“You won’t be cracking those jokes for much longer, Jacobsen.” He sounded as though he was talking about the weather. “I’m going to make it slow and painful for you, just like you did with Carlos. My men told me how his body was when he was found. You are such a disgusting animal that you didn’t have the decency to clean up after yourself.”
“I was a little distracted.”
“I figured you would be. Certainly with a pretty, sweet little thing like Amber about.”
I growled. The pain was down to a fierce and persistent throbbing. “If you’ve ever touched her…”
“Relax, I haven’t had the pleasure. Not like I did with Liz.” Fernandez licked his lips. “That girl I do miss. She was amazing in bed, even if she was fighting me.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t keep her if you preferred her.”
“Because I’m not having a weakness. She’s Calder’s weakness. I’m not about to have the same one.”
“No, you just exploit Noah’s.”
Fernandez shrugged.
“It’s an easy bet, isn’t it? Women always end up being a man’s weakness, whether we want them to be or not. It makes us end up being a shadow of our former selves. We’re not the same afterwards. I wasn’t going to let that happen.” Fernandez smirked. “Woman are good at wringing our cocks dry and making us break a sweat when we need them, but that’s it. You shouldn’t get involved.”
I growled. “No, you should just sell them on instead to people who will beat the shit out of them.”
Fernandez shrugged.
“That is a very profitable area. It’s a pity that your big boss didn’t realize that. He took one look at Cassie and decided to fuck off out of that. And since then, him, you, and the rest of that goddamn club has been a huge pain in my ass. All of you should have fucked off a long time ago. Take the hint and go.” Fernandez thumped his chest with his fist. “This is our turf now, not the GRMC’s.”
He was bloodthirsty. I was used to seeing bastards, sadistic leaders, and masochists up close, but there was something about Fernandez that took it to another level. I felt a cold sweat breaking out. Or was that just from bleeding out?
“You’d be hard-pushed to get us out of Eden,” I growled. “Eden is our home. Most of us grew up here. We won’t let you take our home away. Bikers don’t lie down and roll over.”
“You think? We’ve got all the cards, Jacobsen. We’ve got the Russians on our side, we’ve got Khloe working for us, and she’ll be able to bring in more girls…” Fernandez’s eyes glinted in the dark. “And we’ve also got Amber.”
“Amber?”
“Yes. Khloe called me. She had given Amber the choice to come back or stay with you. She made it out like she could protect Amber better.” Fernandez sounded positively gleeful. “Amber chose her, and she walked into a trap.”
Amber had been played. Khloe knew how susceptible Amber would be in her current state, and she played on it. Amber was only thinking about her child’s safety. Diesel couldn’t fault her for that, but how could she seriously believe Khloe would keep her safe? Khloe still had a hold on her, that much was evident.
Had I realized that Khloe was doing it for Fernandez, I would have grabbed her as soon as I saw her. Instead, the only thing I could do was snarl at Fernandez. “You bastard! I’ll kill you if anything happens to her.”
Fernandez laughed. “I highly doubt it. You can’t stand up, as it is. I must say, Amber’s a smart girl. Seems like she doesn’t love you as much as you thought she did.” He reached into his jacket and brought out a stun baton. “Now, shut the fuck up. We’re going to have some fun with you later, and I plan to make you suffer.”
I wasn’t able to move as Fernandez lunged across the truck and jabbed the baton into my chest. An electrical charge went off, setting off lights behind my eyes.
Then everything went black.
Chapter Thirty Seven
Amber
I was aware of Khloe sitting in the back, her gun in her lap. I didn’t dare turn around in case Khloe shoved it into my face. But I could feel Khloe staring into the back of my head, almost as if she was daring me to challenge her.
Fear kept me glued to my seat. I was too scared to challenge Khloe on anything now. The realization that I made the wrong decision, and that my situation now was even direr, had hit me hard. And Diesel had been taken. God only knew what Fernandez was doing to him.
What have I done? I wished I never left Diesel’s side now. He was dangerous, but he would never harm me. That much, I believed. Khloe, on the other hand…
She wouldn’t be as pleasant. Her interests lay elsewhere.
Kayla seemed to know this as well. She drove a little over the limit, never taking her eyes off the road in front of her. I tried to catch her eye, but it didn’t work. I also noticed she was trembling. The poor girl was terrified.
What the hell had Khloe done to her? Kayla was a kid. She didn’t deserve to be a whore or beaten to a pulp. I wanted to cry for her.
But that would more than likely piss Khloe off.
Finally, Kayla turned into the street where Khloe’s brothel was. There were several cars lining the block with quite a few men going into the brothel itself. I hadn’t seen most of them before, but the ones I did made my blood chill.
Russians. And lots of them.
Kayla turned the car into an alleyway beside the brothel and pulled to a stop outside the side door. I flinched as Khloe jabbed the gun into the back of my neck.
“Get moving, Amber. Come on. We haven’t got time to sit around.”
I wasn’t about to argue. I noticed that Kayla was immediately out the car, hurrying into the building. Grabbing my backpack, I climbed out. Khloe jumped out at the same time, keeping the gun pointed at me. I wondered briefly if I could knock the gun away and run, but quickly put that thought out of my mind. Life wasn’t an action movie.
Taking a deep breath, I hitched my backpack over my shoulder and went into the brothel. Khloe was close behind me, and the side door shut with a decisive slam. Then she pushed me towards the lobby.
“Come on. You’re going to need to get to work shortly. Your clients have missed you.”
“What?” I stumbled and missed my footing. “You didn’t say I would still be working! You said I would have sanctuary, nothing more.”
Khloe giggled. That giggle sounded maniacal.
“Apparently fucking a pregnant girl is something of a fetish. You’ll be in even higher demand when you start showing more. And customers are willing to pay even more.”
“I thought you didn’t do fetishes.”
“I do now.” Khloe pointed towards the stairs. “Now, quit your bitching. You’ve got an hour to freshen up in your old room. Don’t keep the customers waiting.”
I wanted to cry. This wasn’t what I wanted. But Khloe wasn’t going to be moved. If anything, I might get a gun butt to the face. Heading towards the stairs, I was aware of several Russian men in suits sitting in the lobby, watching. One man said something in Russian, which had the rest of them laughing. I tried not to look their way and focused on climbing the stairs. If I had a chance, I was going to run. I couldn’t stay here. Khloe would do anything to keep me here. I was a commodity, and a valuable one at that.
The back door wouldn’t be guarded, surely? The girls always needed an escape in case of a fire. But when I went past my room and peeked around the corner, I saw a huge, hulking Hispanic man standing by the back door.
Dammit. I was trapped.
My heart getting even heavier, I headed back to my room. If I could pretend I had fallen ill, maybe I would be able to stop anyone touching me. The thought of having sex with anyone else made my skin crawl.
Kayla was in the same room, pacing around so furiously that I was surprised there wasn’t a hole in the floor. She turned when I came in, signaling hurriedly for me to shut
the door. Then she burst into tears as soon as the door shut behind me.
“Oh, Amber!”
“Kayla.”
I dropped my backpack and hurried to my friend. Kayla flung her arms around my neck, sobbing into my shoulder. The poor girl felt ice-cold, and her breathing didn’t sound right. My heart broke. She was ill and beaten, and yet she was still working.
I eased Kayla back and brushed my fingertips against Kayla’s cheek. Kayla flinched and jerked her head away.
“Don’t. It still hurts.”
“What happened to you?”
“One of the Russians. I’ve been given to Torchev’s men. He…” Kayla was starting to hyperventilate. “He likes to strangle girls he’s having sex with. I fought back and… He…”
I took Kayla and led her over to the bed, and made her sit down. Then I sat beside her, holding her and rocking gently as she cried..
Khloe wouldn’t have let any of her customers harm her girls. Their looks brought the money in. Taint the looks and the money dried up. Now she was throwing that out the window. Why?
“Does it hurt?” I asked quietly.
“A lot. And so does my chest.”
“He broke some ribs?”
“I think so.” Kayla coughed again. It sounded awful. “And I think I’ve come down with something. But Khloe won’t let me complain, won’t let me rest. She slapped me herself for attempting to ask for a couple of days off to recover.”
Khloe had gone off the deep end. She had lost it. Now I knew what it was like to be stuck in a snake’s pit.
“What’s going on here?”
“Khloe,” Kayla said miserably. “She lied to us. About all of it. Half of the girls are Russian property now, as she made with the deal, but the other half, the half we thought was safe, Khloe gave to the Cartel.”
“You what?” I stared. “That wasn’t part of the deal. We’ve been sold off regardless?”
“Yes. Khloe runs us all and takes a bigger chunk out of the money we earn, but we have to be ready for any Russian or Cartel member who wants some fun.” Kayla looked up at me, her eyes wide and shining with tears. “You were given to the Russians, but Fernandez requested you personally. I don’t know why, but it was enough for Torchev to exchange you for me. And they’re… They’re certainly not kind.”
This was not good at all. If Kayla stayed, she was going to be killed. She wouldn’t be able to take much more. If anything, Kayla needed a hospital. That cough was sounding worse and worse by the second.
I was trying not to be sick myself. My fear was twisting my guts up badly. I started pacing, trying to ignore the way the room swayed whenever I moved.
“We need to get out of here.”
“We can’t,” Kayla said sadly. “Security’s locked up even tighter than before, and Khloe has threatened us with death if we do try to leave. Whether by her hand or by others, I don’t know, but I don’t want to find out.” She stared at the floor and finally whispered. “I don’t want to die, Amber.”
She sounded resigned, as if she was accepting her fate. I was shocked to hear that coming from her. I hurried over to Kayla, hugging her as tightly as I could.
“We’re going to get out of here, Kayla,” I promised fiercely. “You’re not going to die in here. I won’t let that happen. I’ll protect you.”
Kayla sniffed and wiped at her nose with her sleeve. “You’ve got a baby to think about, Amber. You can’t worry about me as well.”
“I can, and I will. We’re friends, aren’t we? We stick together.”
Kayla stared at me with such wonder that I started to feel uncomfortable. When was the last time anyone had looked at me with such genuine trust, looking to me for the solution? I didn’t think that had ever happened.
“I didn’t think I was deserving of friends,” Kayla murmured.
I gently kissed her head. “We both are. And we’ll get out of here.”
Whether they walked out or were carried out, they were getting out of that place. I would get Kayla to safety even if it killed me. Survival was beginning to take priority. But it was Kayla’s survival rather than my own.
They jumped when they heard loud banging from downstairs and lots of shouting. Kayla whimpered and shrank back. “They’re coming back!” she whispered and began to cry.
I squeezed my shoulders and slid from the bed.
“Stay here.”
I padded towards the door and opened it a crack. There was no one in the hall, so I slipped out and headed towards the stairs. Nobody else had come out of their room. Either they were ignoring the commotion, or they were too scared to come out.
Reaching the top of the stairs, I looked over the banister and saw Diesel. He was being dragged in, his legs trailing behind him as two Cartel members hauled him into the lobby by his arms. I had to clap my hands over my mouth to suppress a gasp when I saw him to keep myself from screaming.
He looked awful. Blood covered most of his face, his hair was a mess and his bandana was dangling about his throat. From the red marks around his neck, it had clearly been used to strangle him. His clothes were covered in blood, his shirt ripped to shreds. He had also lost one sneaker.
I had never seen Diesel, the strongest, toughest man I knew, look so broken.
Just behind Diesel, sauntering in as if he owned the place, was Ruiz Fernandez. He looked like a cat toying with his food, smirking at Diesel’s broken form. I could see splatters of blood on his shirt, and he was tugging brass knuckles off his hand.
The Russians were taking an interest as well, a low murmuring starting between them as they watched the Cartel tug the half-conscious biker across the floor. I watched in horror as they hauled Diesel towards the basement door, kicking it open before tossing him down the stairs. Diesel let out a grunt and I heard the thuds as he landed. Fernandez said something to one of his men and they laughed. Then they also descended into the basement, slamming the door behind them.
Chapter Thirty Eight
Diesel
I had been taken hostage in the Middle East. I had been interrogated to the point that they had almost killed me, before I was rescued. It wasn’t something I wanted to relive, but it did mean I could handle whatever Fernandez could do.
At least, for a time. Fernandez had been completely ruthless. He used anything he could find to beat me. Some bones were definitely broken, and I lost count after a while. My head felt like it had been split open, and everything looked fuzzy. I could barely keep my eyes open. By the time we reached the brothel, my strength had completely left me. I couldn’t fight back.
It was a wonder Fernandez hadn’t broken my jaw after the many kicks to the face I had taken.
That fall down the stairs almost felt like a blessing. I was so weak and broken that I just tumbled down. I wasn’t able to stop falling gracefully and ended up in a heap in the middle of the huge basement that I hadn’t even known existed. A few moments later, Fernandez and two of his men reached me.
Fernandez disappeared out of sight while I was dragged into the middle of the room. Then my arms were lifted above my head and clamped into something cold and sharp. I managed to make out manacles attached to chains that hung from the ceiling.
Where the fuck had these come from? From the fittings in the ceiling, they had come with the basement. Had Khloe been running side business of doing enhanced interrogations?
My arms and shoulders screamed at me as I was hauled to my feet by my wrists. My shoulder feeling like it was about to pop out of its socket. Soon, I was being held upright, my feet limp on the concrete floor. Fernandez’s men were perusing the various toys and weapons around the room, picking up one after another, and sizing them up before moving on to the next one.
I snarled. “I’m going to kill you for this, Fernandez.”
Fernandez stared at me. Then he threw his head back and laughed. “Excuse me, Jacobsen? How are you going to do that? You’ve been shot, you’re bleeding like a stuck pig, and you can barely stand up straight without
support. You really think you’ll be able to kill me?”
“Set me loose and we’ll see,” I snapped.
Fernandez snorted. He walked away and snapped his fingers at his men, pointing to an armchair in the corner. “Bring that over to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
I watched as the two Cartel members started to jostle the bulky armchair across. Fernandez turned back to me with a smirk.
“No chance are you being set free. You think you can pull some Gladiator shit? Kill me even while you’re bleeding out?”