by J. M. Walker
When I was locked in the other room, he had punched me, letting the security think he was standing with them. But after he kicked them out, he apologized to me. I must have been dreaming. Too many punches to the face, pain taking over and making me delusional.
As Meeka stared up at me, she had so many questions. I wanted to answer them but it would have to wait. We needed to get to safety first.
Tyler had told me the plan. He called Angel and my brothers showed up. As cliché as it sounded, hell had officially frozen over.
“What are they doing here?” Meeka asked, rising to her feet.
“They’re saving us.” I realized that as much as I didn’t like asking for help, this time it was warranted. Without Tyler calling them, Meeka would end up like the girls in the basement. Everything I did was to protect her. As much as it bothered me to work with Tyler, I knew when I needed that extra help.
“Well, well, well.” Charles folded his arms over his chest. “What do we have here?”
His men moved behind him.
“You think you’re safe?” Charles sneered at Meeka, taking a step in her direction. “You think because you have men at your beck and call, that nothing bad will happen to you? I will fuck your mind. I will make sure you think of me every time you close your eyes.”
I struggled to my full height, pulling Meeka behind me. “You touch one hair on her head, I’ll skin you alive.”
“Oh, Asher.” He laughed. “I don’t need to touch her.”
“What the actual fuck?” I growled, crouching to take him on full force. No matter how broken and bloody I was, there would be no way I would let some bastard threaten my girl.
“Brother.” Coby came toward me. His dark eyes held me captive. I was unable to look away. I had been a shitty friend. To him. To all of them.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered.
He shook his head. “Not now.” He cupped my nape, leaning his forehead against mine. “You love her.”
It wasn’t a question but I answered anyway. “Yes.”
“You want to keep her safe.”
“Yes.”
“Then trust us.”
“I trust you with all of me.” And I did.
Coby nodded once and turned back to the crowd filling out in the small room. “It’s going to get messy,” he muttered.
“You can’t kill me,” Charles grinned, feigning a yawn. “You want to know why?”
“We need you to bring down the organization,” Angel answered. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t hurt you a bit.”
Charles’ eyes widened and he took a step back. His men moved behind Angel. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me.”
Dale rubbed his hands together. “Can we play? Can we? Can we?”
Angel met my gaze, waiting.
I nodded once.
He smirked. “Have at it.”
THIRTY-FOUR
Meeka
I WOULD NEVER be able to get the sound of Charles’ screams out of my mind. They pierced my ears, grating into my soul. As much as he deserved to be put away, instead, he was being tortured.
Asher and I stumbled down the hall, the sounds becoming quieter. His brothers and the men who worked for the organization were let loose on Charles. I didn’t know what they did. I didn’t want to know. The small smirk on Asher’s face bothered me. I understood. God, did I ever understand but I was human. I wouldn’t be who I was if it didn’t upset me at least a little bit.
This shit wasn’t done. Not by a long shot. So many questions were left unanswered. Tyler. Charles. The organization. The demand to know what the hell was going on was on the tip of my tongue but I held back. It wasn’t the right time.
“Hummingbird.” Asher gritted his teeth, taking deep shallow breaths. “Stop thinking about it.”
He knew me well. He knew I wanted the answers. He knew I wouldn’t be able to move on until I found out more.
“I’m trying,” I whispered.
The house was huge. It took almost ten minutes to get out into the fresh air. Much to my surprise, the building was surrounded. Men dressed in black circled the area.
A large man walked up to us, holding his hand out. “I’m Agent Smith.”
I returned the handshake.
“Is that your real name?” Asher ground out.
The man smirked, a twinkle hitting his dark gaze. “It is. For now.”
So many secrets. I was getting sick of the lies.
“What’s going on?” I asked, keeping a tight hold on Asher’s waist.
“Thanks to you two, we’re able to shut this part of the organization down,” Agent Smith explained. “I understand that the operation is nowhere near being brought to an end, but it’s definitely a good start.”
Asher grunted. “I need to sit down.”
I led him to the ambulance, sitting him on the back of the bus while Agent Smith followed behind us.
“You understand we will need to bring you in for questioning.”
My head whipped around. “Asher needs to go to the hospital.”
“And he will but after, we’re going to get the answers we’re looking for.”
“What if we can’t give you those answers?” I asked, sitting beside Asher while the EMS worked on him. Another ambulance pulled into the parking lot, the EMS leaving the bus abruptly to go into the house.
“You will.” Agent Smith narrowed his eyes, looking between us both. “We will have to separate you two.”
My heart jumped. It was inevitable. They needed to get the facts from each of us. If they questioned us together, we could feed off of everything the other said.
The EMS bandaged Asher up and took a step back. “Lay on the bed. You need to go to the hospital to get that arm taken care of and those ribs. Meeka, we will need to check you out as well.”
“I’m fine.” But even as those words left my mouth, my head swam. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I took a deep breath.
“Right.” The EMS shone a light into both of my eyes. “Were you drugged?”
I swallowed hard, remembering Jessa and Sara. “Yes.”
He nodded and looked at Agent Smith. “You can ask the questions later. These two need to go to the hospital.”
I thanked the EMS and together, we helped Asher onto the gurney. “I’m going with him. You can separate us later,” I told Agent Smith, not giving him a choice in the matter.
“Fine,” he grunted, glancing at his watch. “I’ll meet you there.”
As he walked away, the rest of Vice-One appeared. They headed our way, their heads down.
Angel nodded once, motioning to Dale and Stone. He muttered something and they followed suit, heading in the opposite direction. Coby walked along side Angel, stopping once they saw me.
Coby gave a curt nod, crossing his arms under his chest and stood off to the side. Watching. Waiting. For what I couldn’t be sure but I knew he was protecting his brothers.
“How are you feeling, brother?” Angel asked, rubbing his knuckles.
“Like shit,” Asher nodded toward his hand. “Is it done?”
“For now.” Angel frowned. “I don’t like working with that fucker.”
He was talking about Tyler. I couldn’t imagine working with my love’s ex. Especially one who destroyed a part of them and continued to cause shit.
Sliding off the back of the ambulance, I closed the distance between Angel and me. Standing a foot away from him, I had to tilt my head far back to meet his gaze.
He raised an eyebrow.
I took that as my cue and wrapped my arms around his waist, squeezing him. “Thank you. Thank you for everything. For saving us.” My voice wavered. “I can’t thank you enough, but please know that I appreciate everything you have done.”
Angel cleared his throat several times before he returned the embrace.
I smiled. “I don’t know what happened in there. I don’t want to know.” I released him. “I deal with enough
of that darkness from Brogan.”
“Really?” Angel rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yeah.” I sighed, brushing it off. “That’s not important. I just wanted to thank you, all of you, for what you’ve done tonight. For what you do. For … for fighting for our Country.”
“It’s our job, Meeka,” Angel said, his back stiffening. His cheeks reddened.
Asher chuckled. “Come here, Hummingbird. I think you’re making him uncomfortable.”
“Thank you,” I told Angel again as I slipped into the ambulance.
His eyes beamed but he only walked away. He met up with Coby, and they both headed toward Agent Smith.
Talking amongst themselves, Agent Smith glanced my way every so often. I wasn’t sure exactly what he thought I could tell him. Asher knew more so I had hoped he would be able to give the Feds what they were looking for. If we could bring even a brick of this organization down, the rest would crumble in time.
***
(Asher)
“Tell me how Tyler Bone or T-Bone contacted you? Has he been in on this the whole time? Have you ever run into him before?”
The questions hit me over and over. Agent Smith didn’t waste any time. I was holed up in the hospital with Meeka at my side, trying with everything in me not to drive my fist through the man’s face.
“Can you wait to ask questions?” Meeka placed her hands on her hips.
“No,” he gave her a once-over, lifted his chin, and focused back on me.
Dick.
“Tyler didn’t contact me.” I told the Agent how Tyler showed up at the mansion. I also mentioned the fight between him and Angel and how Coby and I went to his place to force him to drop his shit. And that was when Charles was there.
“So you had no idea that Tyler was working with Charles?” Agent Smith raised an eyebrow.
“No. I told you that,” I huffed, sitting forward and winced through the onslaught of agony in my side. “I don’t know shit. I’m tired. Hungry as hell. And I would like to spend these last couple of minutes with my girlfriend before we’re separated for questioning.” And I wanted to fuck her. God, did I ever want to. I wanted to hold her and never let her go. The urge to mark her, to make every man aware that she belonged to me, was intense. Charles touched her. He laid his hands on her. My girl is strong but I can see the fear in her beautiful eyes. I needed to erase what Charles tried to take from her. I needed to bring my Meeka back to me.
“I’ll give you five,” the Agent mumbled and left the room.
“Asher.”
“Meeka.”
We spoke at the same time.
I laughed but a sharp pain shot up my back. Fuck.
Meeka only smiled, cupping my cheek. “I love you. I love you more than anything. Don’t worry about me.”
“I have to worry about you. Charles touched you. You were fucking—” I swallowed hard. “You were sold. He bought you.” I didn’t know where he was. Everything in me prayed that this was over. That we would be left alone. But I wasn’t stupid. It took more than us being kidnapped for—God, who knew how long we were gone—to bring him down.
“Asher?” Meeka’s forehead creased in the middle, a dark set of worry shadowing her gaze.
I didn’t know how to express my fear into words. Charles bought and paid for her. Fair and square in his eyes. But I knew my brothers. They had beat it into him that if he so much as breathed the same air as her, he would be skewered like a pig.
“I don’t know how long they will need to question us,” I grabbed her hand, pulling her down onto the bed beside me. “And I have no fucking idea how long they will keep us separated. The only thing I can ask is for you to tell them everything.”
She nodded. “I will.”
I had to ask. Something had been eating at me since we were taken. Just the mere thought of it, made the beast within raging with fury. “Meeka,” I growled, my voice harsher than I had intended.
Her eyes widened. “What’s wrong?”
Taking several deep breaths, I closed my eyes. It didn’t happen. It didn’t. It couldn’t have. Meeka was strong but even that would have broken her. “Did Charles …” I couldn’t say it, but that one word was on the tip of my tongue.
“Did Charles …” Her mouth formed a silent o.
“No.” She shook her head. “God, no.” She kissed me softly. “He didn’t hurt me. Not like that.”
A breath left me on a whoosh. It had been a fear I had been holding onto since her and I were taken a couple days before. I had come to learn that Charles had no intentions of keeping me alive. If I were him, I would have done the same thing. He didn’t need me. He only needed me to make Meeka break. Fortunately, it never came to that.
“What else happened?” I asked her, needing to know every single detail.
“I woke up in his room. He threatened me and had his girls clean me up.” She shivered. “It didn’t make sense. It still doesn’t. Why was Tyler there? What does he get out of it? Does he think Jay will take him back?”
“I don’t know,” I grumbled. “I don’t know anything. All I know is that there was a reason Tyler was there. He may have saved us but there is an underlying reason behind it. He’s not the type of man who gives without taking.”
Meeka scoffed. “Jay can vouch for that.”
As if she heard her name, Jay and the rest of the King’s Harlots made their way into the room. Much to Agent Smith’s dismay, his questions would have to wait.
Brogan came up to Meeka, wrapping her in a tight hug.
“Angel told us what happened,” Jay said, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what?” I asked. It wasn’t her fault we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because Charles wanted Meeka, I didn’t think it would matter where we were. He would get her no matter what. And I would kill him. I made that promise to myself as soon as I found out he had touched her.
Meeka touched me gently on the arm. “You’re growling.”
“Sorry,” I cleared my throat. “I can’t stop thinking about Charles buying you.”
Max gasped, shaking her head.
Brogan swore.
Jay stayed silent and immobile.
A soft knock sounded on the door. “Boss, that Agent is heading here to speak with Asher and Meeka,” Creena stated.
Jay nodded once. “We’ll meet you back at the clubhouse. I’m just glad you two are okay.” Much to Meeka’s surprise, Jay hugged her, not letting go for a couple of minutes. Soft whispers passed between them before Jay pulled back. “Let’s go.”
“Take care of each other,” Max said, her gaze sliding between us.
“We will,” we replied in unison.
And we would.
THIRTY-FIVE
Asher
I SAW HIM one last time before things ended.
Leaving my step-father alone in the alleyway, surrounded by boxes and garbage, the scene was made to believe that he was homeless. That someone had murdered him in his sleep and stolen what little property he had left.
A part of me stayed with him. The darkness that simmered inside of me since I was a small boy. Growing up, every shadow I saw reminded me of Elliott. The man who destroyed my innocence. Made me see things a young child shouldn’t see. Do things no human should be held accountable for.
Relief flooded through me. I should have felt guilty. I committed murder. Smiling to myself, I scratched the scruff on my jaw. But it was self-defence. He came at me with a knife. I would never say anything to get under his skin. In all of the years of training I had, one thing would stick with me forever. Get them to make the first move. And I did.
Pulling my phone out of my jacket pocket, I dialed the one person who could make anyone disappear. “It’s done.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew right then and there that I could spend the rest of my life being happy.
It was time to move on.
***
(Meeka)
&n
bsp; It had been a week since I saw Asher. One-hundred-and-sixty-eight hours since I felt his touch and heard his deep voice. After everything went down at Charles’ mansion, I for sure thought he would make an appearance again. I didn’t know what happened when Vice-One left their mark on the guy. The screams of agony still haunted my nightmares. I was just thankful that we were okay and taken out of that hell. It could have been so much worse.
But I didn’t want to think about that. For whatever reason, Charles had been quiet. We still didn’t know who the front runner of the organization was. I had always assumed it was Charles but Asher made it clear that he was too much of a pussy to put something so powerful together.
“Meeka.” Brogan snapped her fingers in front of my face.
I blinked. “What?”
“I asked you when the last time you saw Asher was?”
“Oh.” I frowned, looking down at my folded hands in my lap. “Sorry. It’s been a week.” Way too damn long if you asked me. But Agent Smith refused for us to be together while he got all of his questions answered. I had only been holed up in that interrogation room for a couple of hours. With Asher, the agent was shoving his weight around and tried to intimidate him. But I knew it wouldn’t work.
“When are they releasing him?” Brogan asked, spinning on the stool and took a chug of her beer.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You would think with him being innocent and a victim, he would have been released days ago.” She shook her head. “The system fucking sucks.”
Yeah. It did.
As much as I missed Asher, at least I knew he was safe. But I wished we would find out what was going on with Charles. The guy just disappeared. He was needed to bring down the main hub of the sex crimes but how could that happen if we didn’t know where he was? A thought crossed my mind. Maybe I wasn’t told where he was to keep me safe. The less I knew, the better.
Squeezing the bridge of my nose, I breathed through the impending headache. The hairs on the back of my neck tingled. My body stiffened, sitting up straighter.