by E. C. Land
“Speak for yourself, I don’t get hangovers, thank you very much,” Emerson slurs.
I don’t know how many shots she’s had since we came back in, but I’m thinking more than enough.
“Whatever, lightweight.” Nora rolls her eyes.
The conversation between these two would make a man want to put his head through a wall. Love my woman, but her friend is just too damn blunt for my taste. Though I wouldn’t dare say that to Emerson. I’d never tell her she couldn’t hang out with her best friend, so I’ll suck it up and endure. Besides, I think Nora might try to rip my dick off if I did.
“I think it would be a good idea. Ally, you can use my card and get everything you need,” Hammer says.
“Uncle Hammer, I can’t ask you to do that,” Ally rushes out, her eyes widening in panic.
“Consider it a birthday gift.” He shrugs.
“Well, then it’s settled, shopping tomorrow,” Nora announces, clapping her hands together in excitement. How someone could be that excited over shopping is beyond me.
“Only if Mac goes with you,” I say as I remember I need to find out why the fuck he didn’t tell me that my woman was coming to the bar. Mac was on watch duty today at the salon. He’s in for a beatdown if he doesn’t get his shit together.
Pulling my phone out, I shoot him a text to find out where he is.
“We don’t have to go tomorrow,” Ally says.
“Yeah, sis, you do. You need clothes before work,” I inform her, holding her gaze. Besides, maybe spending time with some women outside the clubhouse walls will do her good.
Nodding, she sits back and turns her focus toward the band playing on stage. Demons Among Us are playing tonight and, as always, drawing a crowd. The place is packed. And my gut is starting to get a knot. Perhaps it’s nothing, but I’ve never not listened to my gut.
“You guys about ready to go?” I ask, turning my focus to Emerson, who’s staring at me like she’s more than ready. Yeah, it’s time. I need to sink my dick in her again. This time with her soaking me with her juices.
“Can’t we stay a little longer?” Ally asks, surprising me.
Looking toward Hammer, I silently ask him what he wants to do as my phone vibrates in my pocket.
“Sure, we can stay here a while longer,” Hammer says, gaining a real smile from Ally before she turns back to watch the band.
“You sure, Hammer,” I ask, as I pull my phone out, I find a message from Mac saying he saw Hammer and I here so he left, wanting to get away from Nora before he ended up putting his head through a wall. Well, it’s good to know I’m not the only one who gets it.
“Yeah, we’ll be fine. Just give the keys to your truck to Axe. He can bring it back here so I can get your sister home when she’s ready,” he says.
“Will do,” I say as I stand, pulling Emerson with me. The last little bit she’s been quiet, leaving the talking to her friend. But the way she keeps throwing those heated looks my way, I can imagine what’s going through her head.
“How are you getting home, Nora?” I ask, figuring I’d be a gentleman and make sure Emerson’s friend gets home safe.
“Oh, don’t worry about me. Levi will make sure I get home,” she says, waving in the direction of the man she’s talking about. He must have seen her movement because he walks over. Levi is one of the guys who runs security here at the bar.
“Hey, brat, what’s up?” Levi asks.
Brat?
“Hey, big brother, think you can take me home?” Nora asks, looking at her brother, smiling sweetly.
“I’ll get Heathe to come take you home. I’m working right now,” he says, sighing.
Seeing that she was taken care of, I pat Levi’s shoulder in understanding as I guide my woman out of the bar, more than ready to get her to our room at the clubhouse, locked away from the rest of the world, where I can spend the rest of the night making her scream my name until she goes hoarse.
26
Emerson
This morning couldn’t have started out any better, considering I woke up to Hades’ mouth between my legs. I don’t think anything can remove the smile from my face. How could he be awake with only a couple hours of sleep after spending most of the night driving me crazy?
I should feel exhausted, yet I’m exhilarated. Nothing can bring me down.
I’d decided to invite my sister to go shopping with Nora, Ally, and I. If I didn’t think inviting the rest of the women would overwhelm Ally, I would have asked them to come too. I’m sure they’ll understand.
Against protest, Hades made us bring Mac along. Even Ricochet took Hades’ side, saying it’s either take him or keep my ass at the clubhouse. He definitely has taken to the big brother role like a champ.
You would have thought both of them being bossy toward me would have annoyed me, but it didn’t.
I’m completely on cloud nine.
“How is it you never get hangovers?” Nora asks, drawing me out of my thoughts. We’ve already been to a couple stores and tried different outfits on.
“Nora, you should know by now Emmy is just lucky in that department,” Steph says as she bumps her shoulder to mine. I must admit this is nice spending time with her without everyone hovering over us.
Well, I should say not completely hovering.
Mac isn’t the only bodyguard we seem to have considering both Dragon and Gadget are tagging along but thankfully staying far enough back to give us space. Steph’s pregnant and with the underlying threat to Ally and myself, I don’t blame them for coming along.
“Yeah, well, I need more coffee once we finish here. My head is still trying to recuperate from last night. Ally, you should get those jeans. They look hot,” Nora says, nodding as Ally steps out of the dressing room. We’re attempting to get her to try different things to find her style. And I must admit, she’s absolutely gorgeous. The ripped jeans fit her just right coupled with the black and white skull fitted tee she picked. I think she may have found her style.
“Thank you. I must say I do like how comfortable these jeans are,” Ally says, a tint of blush rising on her cheeks.
“Well, let’s go grab you a few more pairs. Now to find you some more shirts and underthings,” Steph says.
“I agree. You’ll be turning heads faster than a man can whip his dick out,” Nora giggles.
“I think we can hold off on talking about any guys whipping dicks out around Ally,” I speak up, as I notice Ally’s eyes widening in terror. I might not know everything she’s been through in her life, but I know she’s not had it easy, especially when it comes to who’s held her captive most of her life.
“Yeah, let’s talk about this new job you’re about to start. Are you excited to be working at Devil’s Ink?” Steph asks.
“Umm, I guess so. I’m more nervous. It’s my first job,” Ally says, wrapping her arms around herself.
“There’s nothing to be unsure of, Ally. Working with Burner will be good. He’s an amazing artist. You should ask Cleo to see the tattoo on her back. It’s the most stunning piece I’ve ever seen,” Steph suggests.
Ally doesn’t say anything as she nods her head.
“How about we leave Ally to get changed, then after we can go grab some coffee? I could use a cup.” I stress the part about coffee. There’s nothing better than getting to swing by my favorite coffee shop.
“You guys suck. How about you two go ahead and go grab your drinks? I’ll wait here with Ally. I don’t think I can walk in there and not get one. And with Controlling Alpha One and Two following us, I’m sure they’d snatch it right out of my hand,” Steph says while placing her hands on her stomach.
“Heard that, Doc,” Dragon growls.
“Of course, you did,” she shoots back at him.
“Sounds good to me. We’ll be right back. My head won’t stop pounding,” Nora groans.
“That’s because you drank last night,” I say, laughter filling my voice.
“Yeah, it sure was fun, though. Y
ou know, Heathe wouldn’t even give me a kiss goodnight when he dropped me off at home,” Nora says in a loud whisper as we passed by Mac.
Glancing in his direction, I notice his eyes narrowing on Nora as his hands ball into fists. Oh, shit, he must have a thing for my best friend. Well, if this isn’t gonna be fun to watch. Nora’s not one for wanting to settle down. She claims having three older brothers is enough He-Man in her life.
Inwardly grinning, I’m gonna be getting to watch my best friend as she finds her world being turned upside.
Deciding to have some fun, I link arms with Nora as she continues to tell me all about the rest of her night.
By the time we get over to the coffee shop, I can all but feel the anger rolling off Mac as he follows along. Maybe I should clue Nora in so she can stop torturing the man. Decision made, I turn to him, letting him know we’d be right back and head toward the restrooms.
“Okay, what gives?” Nora asks the moment the door closes.
As I open my mouth to answer, someone plows through the same door and slams it closed. When the woman turns around, the smile I had on my face vanishes.
“What do you want, Susie Cue?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
“What do I want? Well, that’s simple. I want you gone so everything can go back to normal. I want what’s mine,” Susie Cue spits as she locks the door.
“Hold on. This is the bitch you told me about?” Nora bites out.
“One and the same,” I confirm.
“Oh, honey, you need to get a reality check and move on.” Shaking her head, Nora steps forward. “I’d suggest walking back out there and finding yourself a different man who isn’t taken. You set a bad example for all us women who are single,” she says, pointing at the bathroom door.
“I don’t think so, bitch,” Susie Cue screeches right before pulling a gun out of the back of her pants. Pointing it in our direction, she focuses on Nora and pulls the trigger.
Screaming Nora’s name, I fall to the floor by her side, trying to stop the bleeding.
“Get up,” Susie Cue orders, pressing the gun against my head.
Lifting my hands up, I do as she says. I need to find a way to get out of this and to do that, I need to keep my shit together.
“You’re gonna do as I say or you’ll get the same treatment. Better yet, I’ll go shoot that whore of a sister and the other woman as well. Got it?” Nodding in agreement with Susie Cue’s demands, I follow her quietly out of the bathroom. I start to panic when we head toward the back of the coffee shop. The entire time, Susie Cue keeps the gun pressed into my back.
Tears silently fall down my face as I think of my best friend bleeding out on the bathroom floor. I can only pray someone finds her soon.
“Come on, I don’t have all day. It’s time you go where you belong.” Her laughter is filled with venom as she pushes me through the back door and into the arms of a man waiting there.
“Hello, Chosen one. I told you I’d find you, didn’t I?” My eyes widen as I take in the man holding onto me. The one who haunted my nightmares.
Closing my eyes, I can’t help but ask myself how the hell my day just went from being such a wonderful day to downright horrifying.
27
Hades
“Alright, let’s get this show on the road,” Twister says, banging the gavel down on the table after we all filed into the room. “Hades, were you and Hammer able to find anything out from your sister?”
Clearing my throat, I sit forward, placing my elbows on the table. “Yeah, found out they move around every six months. She said it’s getting close to the end of the six-month mark, so if we were gonna do anything, it would have to be quick. Though she believes we might not even have to go after them. And I have to agree with her on this part. Charles, one of the leaders, is gonna come after her.”
“We’re not using Ally as bait,” Burner growls, interrupting me.
“Chill, brother, no one is using her as bait,” Twister says sternly. “Finish what you were saying, Hades.”
“Well, from what we found out from Ally, the Chosen are the women who belong to each of the leaders. One of their previous leaders was Jake. Though she didn’t say his name, I was able to figure that part out from what she said about them. There’s a total of five leaders. And Ally supposedly belonged to Charles as Lynsdey belonged to Jake, though I’m not sure which one of these fuckers Emerson was supposedly going to belong to. It was Charles and his group that killed Timothy Rogers the day I got her out of there,” I finish telling them.
“You telling me they could be coming after my ol’ lady?” Thorn seethes.
“I honestly wouldn’t put it past them,” Hammer says from where he’s sitting.
“These men have it in their heads that these so-called Chosen are their link to the Devil himself,” I say.
“So, what the fuck are we gonna do about it?” Ricochet asks from across the table.
Turning my focus to him, I smile. “They want a connection to the Devil. We give them a direct line to him. You don’t fuck with me or mine without being burned. Those assholes may have been able to take me down once, but the Devil doesn’t come without his demons. I believe it’s time for a little fun. Who here objects to playing with fire?”
“Nothing wrong with a little fire play to make a man horny,” Burner says.
“Who says it’s just men that get a kick out of playing with fire?” Boss says sarcastically.
“Would you two shut the fuck up?” Stoney growls as he narrows his eyes on a smirking Boss.
“By all means, do it for me,” Boss says, turning her focus on Stoney. Something in her eyes shifts as she looks at him.
“Enough. Let’s stay on track here,” Twister rumbles. When everyone returns their attention to the table, he nods for me to continue.
“Like I was saying, I assume we can all agree on fire, but I think we get Gadget to build some of his nifty little explosive devices to draw them out. Once we have them, we dismember each and every one of them, limb from limb,” I state.
“I like the way you think,” Ricochet says, nodding his head in approval.
“Does anyone have any objections?” Twister asks, looking at each person in the room. When no one speaks up, he smiles. “Good, then it’s time to end these crazy fuckers once and for all.”
Before anyone has a chance to say anything else, the door bursts open. Mac’s eyes are wide and his clothes are cover in blood. Dragon and Gadget storm in behind him, their faces a mask of fury.
“Where’s Emerson and Ally?” I ask, my stomach clenching in dread waiting for them to answer.
“Ally went to the hospital with Doc. Nora was shot in the stomach. Emerson is missing,” Gadget growls.
“What the fuck happened?” Twister demands, though his words feel miles away as my vision begins to blur. My woman is missing and her best friend is shot.
“The girls wanted to go grab a coffee while Connors stayed with Ally in the clothing store. When we got to the coffee shop, Emerson said they were going to the bathroom real quick, so I stayed at the entrance to the hall for it. I watched a woman go in right after them. Minutes passed, and I figured the guys’ bathroom was next to the women’s, so I’d hear when they came out. When I came back out, neither of them were in the main area. I went to check on them and found Nora on the floor bleeding from her stomach and Emerson was gone. Same as the other woman who’d followed them in there. I fucked up.”
“Yeah, you fucked up majorly. That’s my sister you let get taken. All because you had to do what? Take a piss?” Ricochet roars.
“Mac, go get cleaned up. We’ll deal with you later,” Twister orders before turning his attention to our brothers. “Why didn’t you go to the hospital with Nora and your ol’ lady?”
“I need to get on my computers and find out what happened. Something about this whole thing has my gut twisting. Dragon, however, was ordered by Doc to make sure Hades didn’t lose his shit and instead focus on bringin
g her sister back,” Gadget informs us.
“Go check your computers. I want a report in fifteen minutes,” Twister says.
“Only need five,” Gadget calls out over his shoulder.
“We need some people at the hospital,” Hammer says.
“I’ll go,” Burner speaks up, already moving for the door.
“Take Dagger with you,” Hammer yells out.
My mind is reeling through all this. I have yet to speak up or move. I know what I have to do to get my woman back. I’ll find her with the help of my brothers. I won’t allow what happened to Ally to be done to Emerson.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. When I open them, I feel the trigger pull and the devil within come forward.
The time has come and there’s no going back.
28
Emerson
Burning pain consumes my body with each lash of the whip. I’m not sure how long it’s been since Susie Cue all but handed me over to these men. All I know for sure is the moment we entered the building, they were on me like a hound to a bone.
My shirt and jeans were ripped off my body, leaving me clad in only my bra and panties. Then I’d been chained in the middle of the room with my arms spread out. Lashes started right after. I’ve cried out with each one, unable to stand it.
I’d like to think I’m strong, but I’m not. I know, without a doubt, if they continue with this, they could kill me.
“So, you finally found my Chosen,” a strange voice says from behind me.
“Yes, Booker. I was just giving her a punishment,” says the one who took me.
“Ahh, Charles, I do love watching you give out punishments.” The one called Booker laughs. I can hear his footsteps coming closer. “You know, getting my hands on you has been very trying, yet I am happy to finally meet my beautiful Chosen one. For you will be the one who brings me closer to the Dark Lord, and I will be his vessel to use. For we shall be joined by blood and son. You will carry the son of my lord.”