by Harley Wylde
A knock at the door startled me bad enough I dropped my phone. It clattered on the tile and I winced, hoping it hadn’t cracked the screen. I went to the front door, put my hand on the lock, then hesitated. Theoretically, I was in the safest place ever. Except I knew I hadn’t received a warm welcome.
“Who’s there?” I called out.
“Colorado.”
I chewed on my lower lip. He’d never been mean to me. Still… I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take the chance and open the door. I had no doubt if anyone in the club hurt me, Slash would tear them apart. It didn’t mean I wanted to cause problems, though.
“Shella, I know you’re scared. I’d cut off my arm before I hurt you. Wizard needs you to look at some pictures. Outlaw asked for his help, but he’s tied up right now. He gave me a tablet with the images. You don’t even have to let me in the house.”
I flicked the lock and opened the door, peering out at him. “What pictures?”
“Slash had Wolf, Outlaw, and just about all of us trying to track down the guys who hurt you in high school. And Outlaw called Wizard. We know about the two at the diner, but Wizard wants you to verify if these other men were in on it too. Don’t want Slash gutting the wrong person.”
Maybe I should have been horrified my husband planned to kill my rapists. Another woman might have been. I was far from what I considered normal. Having been raised around the club for the formative part of my teen years, what I considered an everyday occurrence would horrify most people. Yeah, Griz had tried to keep all that from me and Lilian, but we’d still heard stuff.
I took the tablet from him, bracing myself as the images loaded. The first two were the men I’d seen at the diner. A cold sweat broke out across my brow and a chill skittered down my spine. I flipped through five more images.
“This one,” I said, pointing to one of them. “He was part of it.”
“And the others?” Colorado asked.
I flipped back an image. “This one too.”
“Not the other two?” he asked.
I shook my head. I didn’t recognize either of them. If I’d gone to high school with them, they’d changed too much for me to know who they were. I couldn’t even be certain how many there’d been that day. One of them had slammed my head against the cement floor a few times and left me dazed. I mostly remembered pain.
I swallowed hard and handed the tablet back to Colorado, my hand shaking so bad I nearly dropped the device. He grabbed it from me, then tugged me against his chest, holding me tight.
“You’re okay, Shella,” he murmured. “We won’t let those sick fucks hurt you ever again. I only wish you’d told us when it happened.”
Woulda. Shoulda. Coulda. It was in the past, which is where I’d wanted it to stay. Coming back to Blackwood Falls had been a mistake. If I’d kept running, I might have been able to leave it all behind me. Eventually. Being here brought it all back and had me scared to venture outside the house. Yes, I had Slash, but at what price?
“I’m glad you don’t hate me,” I said.
I felt him tense before he backed away. “What the fuck? Why would anyone hate you?”
“I know everyone would have been happier if I’d stayed gone. You don’t have to pretend otherwise. Dragon made it clear what he thought about me coming back. I know there are others who aren’t happy about it either.”
He reached out and tipped my chin up. “You listen and you listen good. Every last man in this club would never condone what happened to you. And it fucking happened on our watch. You should have been safe. You weren’t. To make matters worse, Griz asked you to leave for a while and not one of us tried to stop you. If anyone says shit to you that makes you feel bad about being you, you come tell me. I’ll lay them the fuck out.”
I fought back a smile. “Thanks, Colorado. I appreciate it.”
“Surprised Slash left you here alone, though,” he said.
“I figured someone was outside the door, lurking or whatever.” I looked around. “Guess not.”
His brows lowered as he scanned the area. He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped on the screen. When it dinged a few minutes later, his eyes flashed with anger.
“Slash did leave someone here. You remember the Prospect called Simon? He’s patched in now. Goes by Romeo. He was supposed to be on guard duty.” Colorado started tapping again.
“I’m sure it’s fine. Maybe Badger called him away for something, not realizing Slash asked him to be here.”
“Motherfucker,” Colorado muttered. “Hot Shot called him away. Slash is going to be fucking pissed. Go back inside and lock the door. I’ll wait here until either Slash comes or sends someone else.”
Something didn’t seem right. “What’s going on? And don’t tell me club business because it’s obviously not.”
“That’s for Slash to tell you. Ask him. I’m not about to get my ass handed to me because I mouthed off when I shouldn’t have. Go inside, Shella. I need to keep you safe.”
Yeah, but from what? Or who?
I shut the door and locked it. After I checked my phone, which had cracked as I’d feared, I tried to busy myself in the kitchen. If Slash did come home, he might be hungry. And I knew I was supposed to be eating three meals a day. The baby needed me to stay healthy. I rubbed my belly as I looked through the cabinets and fridge. The butterflied pork chops looked amazing.
I rinsed them, seasoned them, and popped them into the oven. It would take a good forty minutes for them to cook, maybe longer since they were so thick. Plenty of time to make some mashed potatoes and maybe some squash with onion. I set the pot of water on the stove to boil while I peeled and sliced the potatoes. I added a dash of salt to the water before I dumped them in.
Someone had brought us farm-fresh squash yesterday. I washed it and sliced it up. I melted some butter in a skillet while I sliced up a sweet onion, then put both the squash and the onion into the skillet and cooked them until they were soft. When everything was finished, Slash still hadn’t come home and I wondered if I’d made a big meal for nothing. I went ahead and fixed him a plate, then slid it into the microwave. Fixing my own, I sat down and took a bite, the flavors bursting on my tongue.
My mouth watered and I realized I’d been hungrier than I’d thought. I’d made it halfway through my meal when I heard the front door open. Knowing I’d locked it, I wasn’t too worried. Although, there were several guys in the club who could pick a lock. I set my fork down and watched the doorway. If it wasn’t Slash, I’d have the option of running out the back door.
I heard the thud of boots as the steps grew closer, then my husband appeared in the doorway, staring down at his phone with his brow furrowed and his lips turned down. My shoulders relaxed and I picked up the fork again, shoveling another bite of food into my mouth.
“Lunch is in the microwave if you want it,” I said.
He looked up and smiled. “You made lunch?”
I nodded. “Got hungry. Colorado made it sound like maybe you’d come home, so I decided to make enough for two. If you didn’t eat it today, I could have always put it away for tomorrow.”
Slash came farther into the room and leaned down, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Thanks, butterfly. I’m starving.”
“He wouldn’t tell me what’s going on. I know it has to do with me. Is the club pissed I’m here? Do they want me to leave?” I asked.
“You’re not going anywhere. You’re my wife, and the cut you have hanging in the closet says you’re my old lady. If anyone here has an issue with it, I’ll handle it.”
“Why would Hot Shot tell Romeo to leave his post?” I asked.
Slash cracked his neck and sat down with his plate. “Because he’s a fucking idiot. The fact I knocked him out cold for his stupidity should put an end to it. Badger took a turn with him too. If that doesn’t, Colorado was ready to light him up. You have plenty of people who want you here, butterfly.”
Right. Plenty but not all. Which meant Hot Shot probab
ly was one of the ones who wished I’d leave. I couldn’t change the past, couldn’t go back and not be such a bitch to everyone. If I could, I would.
“Thought you said once they found out what happened to me everyone was fine with me being here,” I said.
“I didn’t want to talk about this shit with you, Shell. I don’t want you stressing out.” He set his fork down and leaned forward, bracing his arms on the table. “Look. Hot Shot and one other brother decided you might be lying about being raped. They saw your webcam show and said a rape victim would never do something like that. I think I put an end to their way of thinking. If I didn’t, Colorado telling them he worried you’d pass the fuck out when you were pointing out your attackers should have done it.”
“I don’t know if that was all of them,” I said softly. “Honestly, it seemed like there were more. What if there are others? What if you take out the ones I know were there and someone else decides to get even? I have a baby to think about, Slash. I don’t want to bring more trouble to the doorstep.”
“I’m not about to let them get away with it, Shell. They’ll pay for what they did. End of story. You don’t get a fucking say. I can’t get you to leave the damn house because you’re scared. You think I’m going to let you live the rest of your life like that? Fuck no!”
I sighed and nodded, knowing I wouldn’t win. Once he made up his mind, that was it. Part of me loved how protective he was. The other half wanted to be able to fight my own battles. I knew Lilian had trained with Dragon to learn some self-defense. Maybe I needed to learn a few moves too. Although, probably not right now. What if I was hit in the stomach or fell hard and lost the baby?
“Wolf, Colorado, and Steel are rounding up the men who hurt you,” he said. “I’ll be taking care of them soon enough. And if there were others, I’ll get their names.”
“You’re bringing them here?” I asked.
“Beneath the clubhouse. I don’t want you anywhere near them, you hear me? Not unless I know they’re restrained good enough they can’t hurt you.”
“I don’t know if I could face them anyway.”
“You should,” he said softly. “If you need that for closure, to say your piece to them, I’ll make it work. I just won’t take a chance with your safety, butterfly. There will be several brothers down there with us, and those men won’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting their hands on you.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
He winked. “Lunch is great by the way. Best damn pork chop I’ve ever had. And whatever you did to the squash is fan-fucking-tastic.”
My cheeks warmed. I wasn’t the best cook in the world, but I did well enough. It made me happy that he enjoyed the food I made. Maybe if I had some recipe books, I could learn to make more stuff. I didn’t want to serve him the same sort of meals week after week. Although, he sent someone to pick up take-out at least three times a week. I’d thought he wasn’t too crazy about my cooking but it seemed I was wrong.
“I like cooking for you,” I said.
I’d never thought I’d be all domestic and crap, but here I was. Married. Baby on the way. And I liked cooking for my husband. Hell, I didn’t even mind the cleaning. I’d been so focused on survival since I’d left here, I hadn’t had a chance to really settle anywhere. Now that I was back home, and Slash seemed intent on keeping me here, I could relax a little and make the house into a home. We hadn’t painted anywhere yet, but I’d added some personal touches to the house. It felt a little cozier than it had before.
I definitely wanted to paint the baby’s room, after I knew what we were having. If what I’d read was correct, I had a little bit to go still. I thought I was only around two months pregnant, or close to it. Assuming the time on the webcam show when Owen hadn’t used a condom was when I’d gotten pregnant. Condoms weren’t exactly fail proof.
“Thank you, Talon,” I said.
“For what?”
“Being you.” I reached over and placed my hand on his. “As scared as I was to come back here, I had nowhere else to go. You heard them fire me at the strip club. I’d have lost my apartment, starved, and not even had money for gas. It was like Fate threw you into my path again at exactly the right time, even if I didn’t want to admit it.”
“Anytime, butterfly.” He reached out and ran a finger down my cheek. “I’d do anything for you.”
I wanted to sigh in contentment, but I held it back. This wasn’t some sappy romance movie. Slash hadn’t said a word about loving me, even though it was clear he felt something. I might not get the fairy-tale ending, but this was close enough.
Chapter Ten
Slash
JJ Pierce, Mike Stratton, Billy Simms, and Joe Fredrick sat tied to chairs, sullen expressions on their faces as they eyed me. Fuckers had no idea yet why they were here, but they’d learn soon enough. And my fun was only beginning. Wolf had made sure I knew which was which. I remembered seeing JJ and Mike at the diner, and knew they were the ones who’d scared the shit out of Shella when she’d gone for a burger.
“You boys know why you’re here?” I asked.
“We’re not boys,” JJ said, spitting on the floor. “We’re grown-ass men and you need to let us go before we send the cops after you.”
“Isn’t that cute?” I asked Wolf. “They think they’re men. Last I checked only little bitches gang-raped girls. Probably couldn’t get laid any other way.”
JJ snarled and fought against the ropes holding him down. I just laughed in his fucking face, then took my booted foot and shoved his chest until he fell over backward, chair and all. He still struggled and cussed a blue streak, but I switched my attention to Mike.
“In case you haven’t figured it out, I know the four of you raped Shella in high school. In fact, I know two of you had rape charges filed against you since then but the cases somehow fell apart. No worries. Those girls will get justice.” I smiled. “Now, before we get started, anyone want to tell me who else was there that day? I already know some cheerleaders shoved her into that locker room. But I want to know if you four were the only ones who hurt her.”
“Fuck you,” Mike said.
Joe stared straight ahead, his jaw tight as he remained mute. Sooner or later he’d talk, or at the very least scream.
Billy had paled a little and his gaze skittered around the room. Sweat beaded his brow and I decided he was the weakest link. He also hadn’t had any other girls pointing a finger at him claiming he’d raped them. Unlike JJ and Mike. I held my hand out to Wolf and he slapped a large knife against my palm. I curled my fingers around it, brandishing the blade in front of Billy’s face. The stench of urine filled the air as he pissed himself. Definitely the weakest.
“Anything you’d like to say, Billy?” I asked.
“It wasn’t just us,” he blurted. “There were three others.”
Seven. Seven of these fucking assholes had raped Shella. A red haze settled over my vision and I snarled, wanting to rip the fuckers apart. I wanted to bathe in their blood, dance in their entrails. I wanted their heads on spikes and to piss on their bones after I sent them straight to hell.
“Shut the fuck up,” JJ said where he still lay on the floor.
Steel walked over and yanked him upright, the chair teetering for a moment before settling on all four legs again. Then he hauled back his arm and slammed his fist into the asshole’s face, breaking his nose. “That’s for scaring the shit out of that sweet girl in the diner the other day.”
“Oh, God. Oh, God.” Billy looked like he might piss himself again. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. Just don’t kill me!”
“Shut. Up,” JJ said. “They don’t have shit on us, you moron. Stop talking!”
“Shella identified the four of you as part of the group of boys who raped her,” I said. “Whether you talk or not, you’re not leaving this room alive. The question is how much you suffer before you die. The more you give me, the easier I’ll be on you.”
“W
hich cheerleaders were in on it?” Wolf asked.
“Lauren, Faith, Erin, and Carrie,” Billy said. “They were in on it. Said Shella needed to learn her place.”
I leaned into Billy’s space, the knife still clutched in my hand. “And how many times did you rape her?”
The blood completely drained from his face and his eyes went wide. He shook his head back and forth, not wanting to answer. I slammed the knife down, embedding the blade into his thigh, and he squealed like a little pig.
“Once!” he yelled out. “Just once. I-I didn’t want to, but JJ said…”
“Shut. Up,” JJ yelled.
“It was one time too fucking many,” I said. “Give me the names of the others, Billy, and I won’t make you hurt as much as the others.”
He rattled off more names and I saw Wolf tapping on his phone. I knew he’d be sending the info to Outlaw to see what he could find on them. Sooner or later, they’d be in this room too, and none of them were getting out of here alive. The cheerleaders I’d deal with another way, but it would still leave a lasting impression.
“Now, Billy. We’re going to play a little. For each cut, you’re going to give me another piece of information. When I’m satisfied you’ve told me everything you can, I’ll end your suffering.” I yanked the blade free of his thigh, making him scream again. I made a slice along his bicep. “That’s one. Give me something. How many times did JJ over there hurt my girl?”
“F-four,” Billy stammered.
Fire burned in my gut and I knew JJ wasn’t dying anytime soon. No. He’d suffer greatly before I was finished with him. I made another cut and got another detail from Billy. When he didn’t seem to have anything left to say, I sliced his throat and let him bleed out.
“What now?” Wolf asked, standing back, arms folded over his chest.