by Sam Crescent
“It’s not even noon,” said Killian.
“Considering I haven’t been to bed yet, this is the only thing keeping my head on straight,” he said. “You get the job done?”
“Look, asshole, you’re not my boss, and I’m not being paid to work for you. These hits are coming from the goodness of my heart.”
“Relax, big boy,” said Manic, running a hand through his hair. He looked like he hadn’t slept in a week.
Killian walked around the room while Shadow stayed rooted in place by the door, a hand inside his jacket at the ready. “Did you have any luck finding out which member of your club called for the hit?”
“Right to business, eh?” Manic sat on one of the stools. “The call came from here. From inside my house. Your Boss traced the number and reamed me out a few hours ago. He knows more than me.”
“We’ll have to go through all your members. We have ways of getting men to talk,” said Killian. “Those old bastards are probably still sleeping off their hangovers, so it’s a good time to make it happen.”
“There’s more,” said Manic. “A few more teens were taken yesterday. Their parents reported them missing. Young blonde girls, same description as the last two that were kidnapped.”
“You think it’s the same members of your club?”
Manic poured another glass. “Just do what you’re good at and end those assholes. All of them. Find the girls and you’ll probably find your man.”
Shadow opened the front door, so Killian didn’t stay and argue. They drove out to one of the bigger compounds owned by the club and cut the engine.
“This’ll be fun,” said Shadow.
“Two of us against an army isn’t my kind of fun. Not anymore anyway. I need to come out of this shit alive.”
“That’s always the idea.” Shadow double checked all his clips and then got out of the car. The air was already warming up, the sound of birds creating a deceptively tranquil setting. Things were about to get ugly.
As they approached the one-story structure, a gunshot rang off inside, then another, forcing both of them to draw their weapons. They passed the rows of Harleys lined up and kept their backs to the side wall of the brick building.
“Wouldn’t that be nice, the assholes killing themselves off before we show up.”
“It’s never that simple,” said Killian.
The front door burst open, and a teenage girl ran out. Killian holstered his weapons and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to the shadowed side of the building. When she attempted to scream, he slapped his free hand over her mouth. “Hush,” he said.
One of the bikers came out a few seconds later, looking around for the girl. Shadow came up behind him, a gun pressed to his neck. “Don’t move, motherfucker.”
Once they were all safely hidden from the entrance, Shadow pistol whipped the biker.
“I want to know who put a hit on my woman and kid,” said Killian. “Be smart and answer if you want to live.”
“I know who you are. You won’t let me live anyway, so I’m not saying shit.”
Killian sighed, scratching his head with the barrel of his gun. “Wrong answer.”
He turned his attention to the girl for now. “What happened in there?”
“They said we had to work for them, to sell our bodies. If we refused, they’d kill us.” She started crying. “She’s crazy. You have to help my friends.”
Killian looked over at Shadow, his eyes narrowed as he tried to piece this together. He wasn’t expecting to hear about a woman being involved. As far as he knew there were no women in positions of power in the Dead Angels, so this didn’t make sense.
“Keep them here,” said Killian. “I’m going in.”
****
June left the kitchen after lunch. Her son was still eating and watching cartoons on the flat screen television on the wall. She could hear Bain and Scarlett in the small office off the hallway. They were talking about Killian and not being able to find out what they needed. She even heard Bain say that Boss was probably right about using June to lure out whoever wanted them dead.
No matter what he thought, Killian couldn’t fix this on his own. June was no shrinking violet in need of sheltering. She’d fought every day of her life as a single mom. Assholes hit on her every shift at work, but she dealt with it. June didn’t need saving. Now she had a son to think about, one with a hit on his head, and a man she loved that seemed to have a death wish.
She went upstairs to her bedroom and called Boss.
“Hello, June.”
“I need to take you up on that offer,” she said. “Can you get me out of this house without Bain trying to stop me?”
Boss chuckled. “I sent Chains with no such luck. Bain’s taken your safety personally, so there’s no way I’ll be able to get you out without his consent. Besides, Killian doesn’t want you involved.”
She exhaled, feeling cornered and frustrated.
“There’s something I have in mind. I’ll be in touch.” The call ended.
Not ten minutes passed, when there was a knock on her bedroom door.
“Come in,” she said.
Scarlett slipped inside, closing the door behind her. She had some clothing in her arms. “We look about the same size. I thought you could use something different to wear.”
“Thank you.”
She sat on the bed beside June, resting a hand on her back. “Bain wanted me to talk to you,” she said. “We know you want to help Killian, and that’s fine. I totally understand that. Bain didn’t want you doing anything that could get you hurt, but if you still want to help—”
“God, yes! Please let me help him if I can.”
“The only way Bain agreed to let you go was if Boss took you personally. That says a lot because he rarely gets involved himself. He knows who put the hit on you, and he’ll end it. Boss is a hard ass, but I trust him. I even work for him.”
“And my son?”
“We’ll keep him here. Keep him safe,” said Scarlett. “And don’t worry, Boss won’t let anything happen to you. I know that much.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak when so many emotions were on her sleeve. June wasn’t used to people being kind or helpful to her, and she certainly wasn’t used to fighting for love. Killian was all she had. After briefly talking with her mother recently, it had only solidified the fact she had no one else in the world besides her two men.
Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. June was wearing the cutest floral summer dress thanks to Scarlett. She’d used her time to prepare herself emotionally for what was to come. And she wanted to look beautiful for Killian.
“Chains,” said Bain. “Boss better be in that fucking car or she’s not leaving my house.”
“He’s there. Relax.”
“Nothing happens to Killian’s woman,” he said, a very clear threat in his tone. “Remember what he left behind in Ireland? That’ll be us.”
She watched from a bottom step of the staircase as Chains opened his jacket to expose an array of lethal weapons. “I’ve got this, Bain. It ain’t my first rodeo.”
By the time she got to the vehicle, her nerves were heightened. She’d only heard bits and pieces about the owner of Killer of Kings but never met the notorious bad boy.
“Take a seat,” Boss said after Chains opened the rear door for her.
She got in beside him, a full seat separating them, which she was thankful for. The car began to drive away from the house, and she wondered what she’d got herself into. Killian would be furious that she agreed to this.
“Are you sure this is safe?” she asked.
Boss shifted slightly in his seat. His eyes were dark and evil, his long black hair still damp from a shower, loosely brushed back.
“I promised Killian nothing would happen to you, and I always keep my promises.”
She swallowed hard, feeling intimidated in this man’s presence.
“Who would want to hurt me?”
“Someone who wants to use you to get to Killian. It’s not who I’d expected, but I plan to end them today,” he said. “I don’t like being blindsided. In all fairness though, I found this particularly interesting. I think it’ll work to teach Killian a lesson.”
He spoke in riddles to her.
“And then what?”
What did she expect to hear? Did she want him to admit that he would kill another person? He ran his hand over a series of simple bracelets on his right wrist. They were thin leather bands with tiny black beads, a few of them colored.
He noticed her looking. “It’s a personal tally,” he said. “Of kills.”
“Hits by Killer of Kings?”
Boss shook his head. “My kills. This year.”
Her mouth felt dry and scratchy. She didn’t say another word for the rest of the trip.
They were getting closer to home, her old home. When this was all over with, she wanted to settle somewhere far away from old memories.
Boss pulled out his cell and made a brief call. “Put the word out that June Harris is in town, staying at the Loreli Motel. I want two million for a live exchange.”
June gasped. “You said—”
He put a finger to his lips. “Don’t question my methods.”
His cell rang. “What’s going down?”
She strained to hear what the other man on the line was saying, but she couldn’t hear anything more than garbled voices.
“Shit. This isn’t even our fight. Tell Manic to get his sorry ass down there. I’m not the fucking Dead Angel’s bitch.”
He told Chains to change directions.
“What’s going on?” she whispered.
He chuckled. The man showed no fear, only annoyance. “I wanted the party to come to us, but it looks like it’s already started.”
Chapter Eleven
Killian moved down the long corridor and the club seemed to open up. There were lights, and he saw some cameras set up as well. If this was going live, he was royally fucked, but something told him it wasn’t. The entire room had been set up like some kind of studio.
“Well, well, well, I never thought I would live to see you again.”
A bright light shone in his face, and he put his hand up, trying to protect himself from the sudden glare of it all. The person who had spoken was clearly a woman. Killian held his gun out in front of him. Shadow was outside, and right now this wasn’t sitting well with him. Killian knew he needed to be on the top of his game, as otherwise shit was about to go down, and he didn’t like that.
Don’t screw this up.
For some reason, in that moment, he seemed to think about a time many years ago before he’d even met June when he was having a conversation with Boss.
“I can’t kill women!”
“I get that you think they’re weaker than us, but I want you to realize that they have a strength that no one ever expects.”
Killian laughed. “You’re fucking daft. Off your rocker. Women don’t deserve to be hurt.”
Boss sighed. “One day you’re going to have to make a choice, to kill or not to kill. You need to be sure you make the right decision.”
Over the years, Killian had thought about that one conversation. He’d always believed that killing women was for weaker men. Boss had killed women, and a part of Killian had always hated that about him. In a way, he felt Boss was too cynical when it came to women.
“I see that I’m confusing you. I’ve always found that about men. I guess in a way, it’s why I’ve enjoyed dangling precious little fruits in front of them.”
The bright light was hurting his eyes, and he was struggling to look ahead. He couldn’t see anything as weird shapes appeared in his vision.
Suddenly, he was grabbed, and as he tried to pull out of the hold, his gun was shoved away from him. He reached behind him, and pulled out his knife. Stabbing blindly in front of him, he heard the grunt, and he kicked his leg out.
Out of nowhere there were about six men all over him. His arms were grabbed, the knife was wrenched out of his hand, and he was held down.
“Have you finally secured him?” the woman asked.
Killian fought as he was lifted and pressed against the wall, chains secured around his arms. He tugged on them, but they wouldn’t budge.
“Very nice. I have to say he’s even better looking now than I remember.”
“What do we do if Manic shows up?”
“Tell him that his mother will be waiting for him back at the house, and if he doesn’t complete the shopping, she’ll have a meltdown.”
Killian looked around the room, seeing several old bikers, and they all moved out of the way, giving him a clear shot of a beautiful woman. She had to be in her fifties, maybe even older, but it didn’t look it.
“Ah, I see you don’t remember me. I guess a lot has changed over the years.”
She was wearing a tight-fitting dress that molded to her hourglass figure. Her hair cascaded over one shoulder, and he just knew that this was the woman he’d let live.
Manic’s mother.
Through the fog of his mind, he believed her name was Lauren.
“Ah, I can see that little cloud is clearing.”
He glared at her, and only her. “What the fuck do you want?”
She walked up to him, slapping him around the face. It stung, but he was used to pain.
“That is no way to speak to a lady of any kind.” She tutted. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you any manners?”
“My mother was a whore,” he said.
“Well, I guess your son is going to grow up with the same problem that you did.”
He tensed up at the mention of his boy.
“When I first got the word that you’d breezed back into town, I didn’t believe it. I mean, who would have the balls to come back to a town that he left after killing someone?
Then I find out that the same man who took my husband from me, has a woman and a child himself. It was just too good to let go.”
Killian watched as she grabbed a chair and moved a little closer to him. He saw several of the MC were at her back, and clearly didn’t know what to do. They were waiting for her command.
She had her own little army.
“Do you like what you see?”
It was then that he took in the rest of the room. In the far corner there was a bed, and what he saw had him sick to his stomach. Three ugly-assed looking blokes were screwing a young girl at the same time. Even across the room he saw the fear, the pain, and also sorrow in her gaze. Tears streaked down her face, and Killian couldn’t believe that a woman could allow this to happen in her presence.
Lauren followed his gaze, and sighed. “A wonderful sight if you ask me. I always did like to see men break them in while they’re young.”
Killian returned his gaze to her. “You allow this?”
“I set it all up. I was the one that was investing in that precious little drug. It would have made us a fortune, and believe me when I say I get off on this.”
Suddenly, Lauren stood, and walked over to the bed. Even as the girl was being raped by three men, she cowered away from the woman as she touched her. Manic’s mother was truly evil. There was no doubt about it.
“You took so much away from me. When you came to kill my husband, I did believe you were coming for me, but then I realized that there was something off about you. Never did know who you were, but I got a sense from you that even though you were a monster, much like myself and my husband, you had an issue with morals. You see, darling, when you have morals, you tend to make mistakes.”
It was killing a part of Killian’s soul to see what was happening to that girl.
“You’d be surprised how much people would pay to see this kind of stuff. A man sees what he wants, and he takes it without any questions asked.”
He was going to kill this bitch. Suddenly, he understood now what Boss was trying to tell him. A monster could take any shape or form. It didn’t have t
o be a man, but could just be a woman as well.
All of his life he’d taken pride in not killing women, and now watching this bitch in front of him, he wondered how many other girls had died because he’d let her live.
He wanted to get to the very core of this sickness and exterminate it.
“Does your son know what you’re capable of?”
Lauren threw her head back and laughed. “My son doesn’t have a clue about anything. He’s all about a new order, a modern way of running the club.” She spat on the floor. “I sometimes have to wonder if I gave birth to him, and his precious ways. He thinks he can take over the club. He doesn’t have a clue what the fuck is going on.”
Killian was shocked to see the disgust on her face at the mention of her son.
“It’s going to be easy to take them out though. Men like my son die every single day, and I was happy to let him live, but now it’s becoming a bore to see the guilt in his eyes. He’s no son of mine, and a huge disappointment.”
She took another seat on the chair, and stared at him. “With you though, I’m thinking a more fitting punishment is due. Your wife, she’s on the fat side, but that just means we can hurt her a little more. I love it when they scream and beg.”
He clenched his hands, and she cackled.
“Wow, you really do love that little slut, don’t you?”
He didn’t say anything. His rage was building and as he stared at the woman, every single belief he had now began to shatter around him. She was going to die, and he was going to make sure that he put the bullet between her eyes.
“You think I don’t know what you’re thinking about right now? You’re thinking about what you’re going to do, aren’t you? You want to hurt me, to make me pay for hurting those girls. You men, you’re all the same, thinking you’re some kind of hero when it’s the furthest thing from what you are.” She stood up, and placed her hand on his chest.
Just her touch sickened him, but he stared into her cold eyes.
“You think you’re going to get away with this?” he asked, knowing that if he died right now, Shadow or even Boss would make sure this bitch didn’t live to see another day. He wanted that. All that he hoped was that he’d get the chance to see her fall.