“Well?” I finally ask.
“I think I can eventually get one hand loose but it’s gonna take some time.”
“I can guess why you’re here, but why me?”
“What do you mean you know why I’m here? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well you’re the president of a biker club so…”
“And you’re the ex-president’s old lady so…”
“So why are we both here then?” I ask.
“Last week Cade and I were ambushed by the Kings and the Outkasts so I’m pretty damn sure this is their second attempt to finish what they started since we blew up their first try.”
“What do you mean finish what they started? What are they planning on doing to us Eddie?”
“My club is like this big venomous snake to some people and by taking us they think they just pulled out our fangs. Just because you take out a snake’s fangs, doesn’t mean it can’t still bite you and I plan on doing some biting!”
“That’s big talk for a man whose been tied to a chair for twelve hours.” Says a voice in the darkness. “What’re you going to do, gum us to death?”
“He can gum this!” Says the voice of a man probably doing some unseen and obscene gesture.
“You guys are real tough,” Eddie replies. “Why don’t you untie me and face me like a man or are you too much of a pussy?”
“Oh we’re tough. We’re just not idiots.”
“That’s debatable,” I reply, getting into the conversation.
“So the she-bitch can say something besides fuck and dammit.”
“Not for you, you piece of shit. I just call it like I see it and all I see right now is a bunch of fucking cowards. I bet-”
Out of nowhere a fist collides with my head, snapping it around so fast I can see stars in the pitch darkness. Immediately I get the coppery taste of blood in my mouth. I spit it out straight in front of me hoping to catch whoever just smacked me. Apparently they’re prepared for this because I don’t hear any angry swearing about it.
“Didn’t take much to shut that one up did it?” Asks a new voice.
That makes at least three people in the room with us. Let’s see if there’s more.
“They really are terrified of us aren’t they?” I ask Eddie. “I mean most kidnappers just wear masks but these fools are so afraid of us they have to keep the lights off as well. Kinda pathet-”
I don’t get to finish my sentence before a fist hits me square in the nose. It’s so hard my head rocks back and forth several times before the agony hits me. I clench my teeth as pain explodes all over my face. I steel myself for more abuse and continue.
“You pussies hit like weak little girls. Geeze, I’ve had rougher sex. You think maybe you could put a little muscle in-”
This time when I wake up I know I’ve gone too far. My whole face is just in agony. My nose is certainly broken along with my cheekbones and jaw I would imagine. One more time my mouth gets me into trouble. It takes me a second to realize I’m lying on my side on a cold hard floor. I’m aware that my face is lying in either a pool of drool or a pool of blood or both. I think I’d feel a lot better if I could get myself upright. A few minutes of squirming around and I get myself up on my knees, even with my hands tied behind my back.
“Eddie?” You here Eddie?”
I swallow back my own concoction of terror and blood, waiting to find out if I’m all alone now. What the hell was I thinking, mouthing off to these guys? I swallow again. There seems to be a constant stream of blood running down my throat and I’m starting to wonder if it’s the blood and not the fear that’s making me nauseated. I decide to just spit the stuff out.
“Eddie!”
“Shh…” He finally hisses. “We may not be alone.”
“And you’re afraid if I talk too much they’re gonna do what? More of what they’ve already done. I think I already paid the price for my mouth.”
“It can get worse…it can always get worse.”
“Yeah well mayb-”
“Hush!”
I’m just on the verge of snapping back at him when I hear the door opening. They’re either leaving or coming in. I vote for the former over the latter. I don’t have long to wait. Pretty soon I can hear footsteps approaching. I consider saving a mouthful of blood and spit for whoever gets too close to me but I decide my face can’t tolerate any more beating.
The stale smell of tobacco assaults my nostrils just before strong hands grab my arms and haul me upwards and onto my feet. I hear the scrape of a chair, and then they force me backwards causing me to sit down hard. The jolt to my ass goes straight to my spine causing me to cry out.
“I suppose you two are wondering what you’re doing here.” Says a menacing voice. He sounds like he gargles with gravel so I find myself referring to him as Rocky in my mind.
“Let her go.” Eddie says. “She has nothing to do with the club.”
“Is that how you’re going to play it?” Asks a threatening voice. He sounds far scarier than Rocky so I’ll call him Trouble. “We know who you are Eddie, and we know this is Cade’s old lady.”
To my surprise, Eddie laughs.
“What’s so fucking funny?” Trouble asks.
“If Cade ever heard you calling a club whore his old lady he’s slice you from your balls to your ugly face!”
My first impulse is to scream at Eddie for calling me a club whore. Fortunately I realize what he’s doing before opening my big mouth.
“Prove it.” Rocky says. I can just about hear the evil smile in his voice.
“Excuse me?” Eddie asks.
“I said prove it.” Rocky repeats.
My heart sinks. I know exactly what he wants us to do and I’m not sure I can go through with it. Eddie’s probably smiling inside right now.
“I don’t take advantage of women,” Eddie says, “And I certainly don’t rape them!”
“You won’t be taking advantage of her.” Trouble replies. “Given your present circumstances I’m sure she’ll be plenty willing cooperate.”
“Isn’t that right, Ms. Biker Whore?”
Shit! I don’t know where I land on any of this. Under any circumstances I would have chosen death over fornicating with Cade’s evil twin.
“I’d rather get intimate with a bull’s pizzle than to touch his schlong!” I reply.
“Well maybe you can picture the bull instead of me then.” Eddie replies.
“A bull would certainly smell better.” I shoot back at him.
“Wow,” Trouble says. “Looks like we have the beginnings of a lover’s quarrel. Maybe we’ve got Mr. President’s old lady here. She can’t be just some old skanky whore.”
“So what’ll we do with them?”
“Plan’s the same.” Trouble says to his partner in crime.
“And what’s that plan?” Asks my partner in crime.
“You two put on a little show for us and we might be a little more merciful in the end.”
I hear footsteps receding in the distance before a sudden brightness fills the room. It’s like a sudden explosion right in front of me and I become blinder with the light than I did before in complete darkness. I bend my head down towards the floor in a futile attempt to escape the searing light. As if I didn’t have enough pain in my head, I suddenly have this. When I finally get my eyes open I can see Eddie staring at me. The look on his face chills my blood. My face must be really messed up.
“Is it that bad?” I finally ask.
“Ever see that film, Beauty and the Beast? Not the cutesy Disney version, but the serious one with Ron Pearlman?”
“I think I saw the trailers.”
“Well if you and old Ron we both in that movie, they’d be calling him the beauty.”
Then he sees the look on my face and amends his previous comment. “But unlike his, yours isn’t permanent.”
“Great, well if you two are finished getting caught up, how ‘bout the show?” Rocky says with an ugly smile.
Turns out my name for Rocky is pretty damn accurate. He actually looks like Sylvester Stallone did in that first Rocky move; just a little older and with a scruffy several days growth of facial hair. Surprisingly he’s not wearing a cut and neither is his partner.”
“You guys too chicken to wear your colors around here?” I ask.
“Yeah, we’re not a part of some pathetic little gang of scruffy men acting like boys on bicycles or are we street punks peddling dime bags on street corners.”
“Then who are you?” I ask.
“Ever heard of the Juarez Cartel?”
“Shit!” Eddie swears under his breath. “You’re the thugs who attacked Cade and me last week.”
“Yes, we’re those soldiers who attacked you. You and your brother turned out to be more resourceful than we thought. That won’t happen again.”
“It’s already happening.” Eddie replies.
“You’re fucking crazy!” Rocky says. “We’re the ones in control now, not you or your little gangs.”
“If that’s the truth, then why are you getting so sidetracked about me and her fucking like rabbits? Is that really a necessary part of the game plan here?” Eddie asks.
Both men get quiet for a minute. It turns out Eddie’s pretty damn smart when he wants to be.
“You know,” Trouble replies. “You may be right. I guess that means we should just accelerate the plan here and get down to fucking business.”
Shit! I don’t like the sound of that at all.
Trouble pulls out a long wicked looking knife. “You wanna do the honors?” He asks.
Rocky nods and takes the knife blade first, then hefts it in his hands. He looks over at me and licks his lips. He takes a couple steps in my direction. I can see him react to the fear in my face. I can see his eyes widen and his breath quicken. He’s going to enjoy this moment; and I do hope it’s just a moment and not some long torture session.
“Just business,” Eddie breathes with pleasure. “It’s just business.”
Rocky takes it be the handle and hefts it in his hand. I glance over at Eddie to see if he has some kind of last ditch plan here but he is looking on passively. Rocky takes a step in my direction, and then Eddie speaks up.’
“Now why would you go and waste the girl? Who’s gonna give a shit about her? When you’re faced with a rabid dog, what do you cut off, his tail or his head?”
“Maybe we’ll cut off both,” Rocky answers.
“That’d be the safe thing to do.” Trouble says.
Rocky nods. “So…I get the woman and you do the guy?”
Trouble considers the point for a moment, and just when you can see the answer beginning to cement itself in his mind Eddie gives it one last try.
“She’s pregnant.” Eddie says.
How the hell did he know that? Or is he just bluffing?
“Now why would a club whore go and get herself knocked up?” Trouble asks.
“She wouldn’t.” Eddie declares. “And she’s no club whore. She’s Cade’s old lady and if you do so much as harm a hair on her head the club will hunt you to the ends of the earth and you’ll never be able to sleep at night.”
Rocky stops in his tracks and looks to Trouble for an answer. “What now?” He asks the other man.
“This does muddy up the waters a bit doesn’t it?” Trouble asks himself.
“You know I speak the truth,” Eddie says. “I know my brother and he’ll get every chapter of the Disciples from Redding to Chula Vista, from Medford Oregon to Portland and they won’t stop until he has made you pay, at it’ll be one hell of an expensive war! How can you guys conduct your business when you’re fighting a war? You murder my brother’s unborn child and you’ve just signed your death warrant.”
“You killed my people!” Trouble suddenly explodes in rage. “You and your brother killed my cousin and injured four of my guys. That has to be paid for.”
“And you’ll get your pay in spilling my blood!” Eddie shouts back.
Eddie’s little ploy is only going to work if they know just how much Cade and Eddie hate each other. Any other sibling would go to war to avenge his brother’s death and if they think that then we’re back to them killing me instead of Eddie.
“Come on,” Eddie carries on. “I’m the one who had the rifle. I was the one who killed your cousin. My brother just had a .380. No way he could have hit anyone from that distance and in trucks; no fucking way.”
Trouble remains quiet as he considers the option on the table. I watch his face looking for signs that he has made up his mind as I consider what has just transpired. So Eddie either knows I am pregnant or it’s just a clever ploy he is using to keep me safe and it appears to be working. I just can’t get my head around the fact that he is sacrificing himself for me. That’s not the Eddie I have come to know and hate. After a minute Trouble steps away from us and motions for Rocky to follow. They have a brief discussion before coming back over to us. I can tell by the resolve on Trouble’s face that something has been firmly decided.
“This may be the dumbest thing I have ever done,” Trouble begins. “But I’m not killing a child; not if it can be helped. But here’s what’s gonna happen. After we deliver your friend’s body, we’ll have to keep you for a few days just to make sure the club isn’t going to go nuts with some knee jerk reaction and start a war anyway. If things seem calm then we’ll let you go unharmed.”
I watch Eddie’s face as Trouble’s words soak in. I have always wondered what it is like to know that your death is imminent. To know with finality that there is nothing you can do about it. I can’t really see his expression change, but I swear I can literally see the light go out in his eyes. He’s a dead man and he knows it and has just accepted that fact. I wish I could say something to him privately. I don’t know what the hell I would say to the enemy who just sacrificed his life for me though…
I wait till I catch Eddie’s attention before I say anything. “I’ll make your death count Eddie, I swear it!”
“No you won’t.” He replies.
I open my mouth to respond, but close it as the two men from the cartel move to enact their revenge on Cade’s brother. Both men literally launch themselves at Eddie who is still helplessly bound to a chair. Thankfully much of what they did they blocked by their own bodies. But I hear the screams and I see the spray of bright red blood as it fountains up striking the ceiling before showering me in its hot sticky messiness. I didn’t intend to watch them, but they attacked so brutally fast that I couldn’t drag my eyes away. Trouble brutally plunges his knife repeatedly like a jackhammer down onto Eddie’s neck and chest area while Rocky stabbed his stomach in and out with frightening force. It was probably all over so fast he didn’t feel it but I can’t be sure. When they finally step away I get one quick glimpse into the rage both men visited upon their victim before I begin to vomit. The spasms are so great I end up falling to the floor in a pool of blood and my own stomach’s contents. Just before I pass out the last thing that registers in my mind is the sour smell of vomit mixed in with the coppery smell of Eddie’s blood.
Chapter Eighteen
Letters
I’m thirsty! My tongue is sticking to the inside of my mouth and right now I’d give my left tit for a glass of water right about now. I massage my wrists for a full thirty seconds before I realize they’re no longer tied behind my back. I’m free! They actually let me go. Slowly I sit up and begin to take stock of my body. I seem to have all my parts intact, but my face feels like someone dropped a bowling ball on it; repeatedly. I look around me. I seem to be in a field behind a couple barrack like buildings. For all I know I could be a thousand miles away from Monterey. It’s time to stand up and find out where the hell I am. I get about half way up when my head starts spinning and I have to go back to my knees.
“Fuck.”
Maybe if I just sit here for a bit I can get my bearings and stand up. The pain in my face prompts me to do a little exploring. It’s hard to t
ell with just my fingers and no mirror and after a little very gentle probing I decide something has to be broken given the amount of swelling. Breathing through my nose is absolutely impossible. It even feels a little difficult to breathe through my mouth and that’s a bad sign. I swallow in an attempt to quell the panic I feel rising. This is not a good time to have a freak out. Suddenly a picture pops into my head of Eddie’s body lying on the ground in front of me. He is so violently mangled had I not known him I would not have recognized him. They had forced me to stare at him telling me that I would experience the same treatment if the club decides to retaliate. I sit for another ten minutes when I feel a sudden buzzing in my pocket. What the hell? I maneuver around until I can get my hand in my pocket. There’s a phone in my pocket and it’s ringing. I might as well answer it. I can’t get into any worse trouble than I currently am in.
“Hello.”
“Hel…who is this?”
“Morgan,” I slur into the phone. Man I don’t even sound like myself.
“You don’t sound like-”
“It’s me Cade. Can’t talk.”
“Oh shit! Are you okay?”
“My face…”
“Oh my god Morgan I am so sorry. Where are you?”
“Don’t know.”
I can hear the panic creeping into his voice. He knows I am fucked up and he’s afraid he won’t be able to find me. I’m not even sure he’ll find me.
“Okay…just describe everything around you. I’m putting you on speaker phone so one of my brothers that lives here can tell us where you are.”
I do my best to describe everything around me. I could be anywhere so I don’t know how Cade’s going to find me. After I get finished Cade tells me to hang on a second. I can hear them talking back and forth but I can’t quite make out what’s being said. Then after a few minutes another voice comes on the line. I can tell he is from Monterey. He even seems to have an idea where I could be. He asks a few very specific questions and within minutes he figures out almost exactly where I am. I am at the back corner of a Coast Guard training grounds. Cade keeps me on the phone until the second he pulls up in front of me. I know I’ve been found when a long procession of motorcycles with a black SUV following.
Old Lady (Iron Disciples Book 2) Page 15