Wet Work: A Dark Bad Boy Romance

by Carmen Faye

  “Don’t go anywhere,” he said before giving me a cold smile. He stepped up to the driver’s position and started the van. As he drove, I strained with every bit of strength I could muster, but I couldn’t tear the tape to literally save my life. I’d used duct tape before, and I couldn’t understand how anything so easy to tear off the roll could be so hard to break. It didn’t help that with my hand and feet taped together; he had me bouncing around in the back of the van like a BB in a tin can, and I banged my head painfully several times.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity of misery, the van rocked to a stop. The man glanced at me as I sat up again after he’d knocked me over with his careless driving.

  “Wait here,” he said then snickered.

  I called him several names, none of them complimentary, but with the tape over my mouth, they all sounded like muffled gibberish even to my own ears.

  “Same to ya.” He laughed as he slammed the door.

  After a few moments of silence, I managed to scoot myself across the floor to the side door. I was still on my back, trying to work the door lever with my feet, when the door unlatched and slip open.

  “Who is she?” a big man with a swollen and bruised face asked as I screamed and tried to scramble back away from the door.

  The man that had kidnapped me grabbed me before I could get very far. It’s hard to move when you don’t have use of your legs or arms.

  “Don’t know, but she was in his place, so I figure she’s important. The way I see it, it’s easier this way. Now he’ll come to us.”

  The second man nodded. “Good thinking. Get her in the clubhouse.”

  The first man produced a nasty looking knife that he opened in some complicated flipping motion that terrified me. I was afraid he was going to cut me, but he used it to slit the tape around my ankles. He again flipped the knife in a complicated pattern then dropped it in his pocket and tore the tape from my ankles. I sat, refusing to move in both fear and defiance until he thinned his lips, reached in and pulled me out by the arm. I stood as he slid me across the van floor because it was clear he would drag me right out onto the ground if I hadn’t. He slammed the door and then marched me across the small parking lot into a decrepit looking building that had probably been a gas station once.

  Inside, the building was a wreck with worn furniture, water stained walls and ceilings, and a lingering smell of mildew. The man threw me toward the couch, and I stumbled before catching myself and managing to sit down. There were about ten men clustered around, and they all looked at me like a lion eyes its prey.

  The man with the ruined face stepped up to me and ripped the tape from my lips. It hurt like hell, but I said nothing, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt me as I tried not to cry.

  “What’s your name?” When I didn’t answer, my eyes welling with tears, he grabbed my face roughly. “I’m going to ask you one more time, and if you don’t answer, you’re not going to like what we do to you.” He looked me over slowly then smiled. “Though from the way you look, I suspect we will. Now, what’s your name?”

  I began to cry silently, the tears leaking from the corner of my eyes and streaming down my face. “Leah. Leah Tennyson.”

  “Interesting. I’ve been looking for you. You know Pax?”

  I nodded but said nothing; afraid that if I said the wrong thing, then they would have their way with me.

  The man smiled. “Okay, Leah Tennyson, here’s what you’re going to do.” He pulled a phone from his pocket and dialed.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  “This cum dumpster is a shitload more trouble than she’s worth,” Butch said. “How the fuck are you supposed to find her, and why should I care?”

  “You want Jonas? He’s got her. We find Leah, we find Jonas,” I replied. As soon as I’d realized Leah was missing, and what must have happened to her, I’d returned to the clubhouse to plead my case for having the Chasers help me rescue her.

  “But you don’t know that Jonas fucking has her.”

  “Who else would it be?” I snarled. “You said you didn’t take her, the Aviators probably didn’t, so that leaves Jonas. Someone was at her house. That was also probably Jonas, trying to clean up his tracks.”

  “Why?”

  “How the fuck should I know?” I raged. “Maybe he wanted to get even. Maybe’s he’s just a crazy motherfucker! But you want Jonas? I’m giving you a way to find him.”

  Butch looked at me for a moment. “More likely he wants to draw us into a trap and ass fuck us good.”

  “Maybe.” I agreed. “But this is your best chance at finding him.”

  Butch was staring at me, clearly thinking it over when my phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket. “Pax.”

  “Pax, brother, how are you?”

  I put the phone on speaker. “Jonas, you motherfucker. What have you done to Leah?”

  “Nothing yet. She’s right here, scared but unhurt.”

  “What do you want?”

  “What do I want?” Jonas asked. “The same thing I’ve always wanted. You and the fucking Chasers out of my town.”

  “It’s not your fucking town,” I said, playing to Butch. “It never was and never will be.”

  “We’ll see about that. Are you alone?”

  “Yeah.”

  “If you want your piece of ass back, I have a little task for you. You do that, you two can walk away without a hair on her head being harmed. You try to fuck me, and I’ll cut her tits off. Got me?”

  I looked at Butch. “What do you want?”

  “It’s simple, really. I want you to kill Butch and Gregor, and lure as many of the Chasers into a trap as you can.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “You’re the one with the golden tongue. You’ll figure it out.”

  I looked at Butch. “Let me speak to Leah.”

  “Pax?” Leah said, her voice quivering.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay. I—” she sobbed then was gone.

  “That’s enough. See, I told you she wasn’t hurt. How long she stays like that is up to you.”

  I was beginning to sweat, trying to figure out what to do and keep Jonas on the phone. So long as he was talking, he wouldn’t hurt Leah.

  “Okay, okay! Give me a minute. Let me think.” I stalled, my mind turning over idea after idea. “Okay, here’s the plan. I’ll tell Butch that you offered me a position in your club and that I’m going to meet you. We’ll meet at…” I paused, trying to build the plan as I spoke. “We’ll meet at the motel where I found you. They’ll think I’m setting you up, but I’ll really be setting them up. You can have your men waiting in the trees, and when I go inside to meet with you, they can take them out.”

  Butch glared at me in silence, but I shook my head, urging him to stay that way. “But that leaves Butch and Gregor.”

  “Goddammit! If I just walk up and shoot them, the club will kill me, and you won’t get what you want! Do you want Butch and Gregor or do you want the club? I can’t do both!”

  There was another pause.

  “When?”

  “How fast can you get ready? If I’m going to do this, I have to move fast.” I wanted him to be scrambling to get set.

  “Two hours.”

  “We’ll be there in two and a half then.”

  “If you fuck me, Pax, she’s dead, and it won’t be quick.”

  “If you touch her, I’ll kill you myself.”

  “Just make it happen. And Pax… when you get there, shoot Butch and Gregor. Otherwise, I’ll know it’s a trap, and she dies,” Jonas said then was gone.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Butch roared.

  “What do you think I’m doing? I’m setting him up!”

  “You’re setting us up to walk into a trap!”

  “That’s what he thinks. He doesn’t have to know how many brothers come with me. Get half out there now. Get them in the trees. The other half rides with
me. We’re the bait. Before they hit us, we hit them. We take them from behind before they even know what hit them.”

  Butch continued to glare at me. “I still don’t fucking like it. How do I know I can trust you?”

  “My ass is on the line as much as yours. You don’t like my plan then you come up with one. You said to find Jonas. I found him, and I’m delivering him, and his entire fucking club, to you on a silver platter. You know where they’re going to be, when, and what they’re going to try to do. If you think you can do better, fine, tell me your plan.”

  “Fuck! Gregor. Get half the brothers and ride out to the Sleepy Eye. Get your asses in the trees and get low and wait for our signal.”

  “Not Gregor. Jonas is expecting him.”

  “How the fuck are you going to pull this off? You’re damn sure not shooting me.”

  Blanks would be the obvious answer, but it wasn’t like you could walk down to the nearest gun store and buy blank ammunition. “You’re going to have to trust me. I’ll miss. You two fall down like I’ve shot you. That has to be his go signal. It will be ours. When the brothers hear the shots, they take out Jonas’ men.”

  Butch stared at me. “It’s too risky.” He must really be scared since he didn’t throw in a fuck or a shit.

  “It’s the only way! You want him, here he is. Otherwise, we’re going to have to find them and take them out one at a time. What makes a bigger impact? We pick them off one or two at a time, or we wipe them out all at once?” I knew Butch liked statements, and this would be a big one. Depending on how many men we killed, it might even make the national news.

  Butch continued to glare at me. “Fuck! Randy, take half the brothers and get out there. Now. Ditch the bikes somewhere so they won’t be seen. When Jonas’ men show up, I want you already in position to take them. If you can take them quiet, do it as soon as they settle.”

  “No! Wait for the signal. They have to be able to answer Jonas if he talks to them. If all his men go dark, he’ll know we’ve set him up.”

  “I don’t give a fuck.”

  “He’ll rabbit, Butch. You know he will. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone but himself. Do you want him or not?”

  “Goddamn, cock sucking, frog fucker! I hate this fucking shit!” I waited as Butch stared at the floor, thinking. “Fuck. Wait for the motherfucking signal. Go! Fuck!”

  “Okay, here’s the plan,” I began as the plan came together.

  We spent an hour working out all the details; making changes to give us the biggest advantage and to minimize the risk. There was no way around it, it was dangerous as hell, but it was the only way. I didn’t want my brothers killed, especially not by that fucking Jonas, but I was in it to get Leah out, no matter the cost.

  We rode into the parking lot of the Sleepy Eye Motel, sixteen strong, Butch and Gregor leading the way. The parking lot was empty, and I knew before we even dismounted we were in the kill zone. I scanned the trees, but there was no sign of Jonas’ men. I walked up until I was between but slightly behind Butch and Gregor. This was the moment. If they couldn’t sell this, Leah was going to die, and I probably was too.

  I quickly pulled my borrowed weapon, since the police still had mine, and fired two quick shots behind their heads. They dropped straight down an instant before the woods opened up, the roar of large caliber handguns splitting the quiet. A few brothers got off a couple of shots, but they were quickly mowed down as I ran for the safety of the motel.

  I slammed my back against the building, my pistol at high ready. I had no idea which room Jonas was in. After a moment, a door, six down, opened and Jonas stepped out. I pointed my pistol at him, but he was holding his own weapon to Leah’s head.

  “I’ve done what you wanted. Now let her go!”

  “Drop your gun,” Jonas replied.

  “No.” Leah’s eyes went wide. I was taking the biggest gamble of my life.

  “I’ll kill her.”

  “You’ll be dead a second after.”

  Jonas shrugged, but the gun never moved. “She must be important to you if you’re willing to kill everyone in the club for her. No, I think you’ll do as I say.”

  I licked my lips. A stalemate. I needed something, anything, to distract him. I had barely completed the thought when there was a scream from the woods and another round of gunshots. Jonas glanced away from me, his eyes going instinctively toward the sound. The Chasers all leaped from the ground and charged into the woods. Jonas obviously had another card up his sleeve.

  Leah twisted violently away, and I squeezed the trigger as I ran. Running, with an unfamiliar gun, I missed, the bullet impacting the block wall well away from his head, but it was enough to make him jerk back. Leah was fighting like a wildcat, screaming and clawing for escape. Jonas shot in my general direction, but due to trying to control Leah his shot was wild and nowhere close.

  He dragged her back into the room just as I arrived. I barged through the door as he shoved her away and tried to bring his weapon around as I blew through the door, trying to get in close before he had a chance to hurt Leah. The report from his weapon was deafening in the room, and I heard Leah scream in terror. I never slowed and plowed into Jonas, intent on killing this bastard with my bare hands.

  We tumbled over the bed and onto the floor. I could hear more gunshots outside, but my only concern was Jonas. We each still had our pistols, and we struggled to twist them around to point at our opponent while using our free hand to prevent them from doing the same.

  “I’m going to fucking kill you,” I said, all my aches and pains from our previous fight forgotten. This was it, the fight to the death, and we both knew it.

  His gun roared again, and I felt the heat next to my head, and Leah screamed again, her voice muffled by the ringing in my ears. Why didn’t she fucking run?

  Jonas dropped his own gun and put his now freed hand on my own weapon and began to twist it toward my face, grunting in effort as I strained to prevent it. I pulled the trigger, hoping for a lucky hit, but got nothing but another scream from Leah and a roar of pain from Jonas as the muzzle flash burned his hand.

  Gun jammed, I let him twist the useless weapon away from my hand as I grabbed his head and tried to twist it off. Breaking a man’s neck isn’t as easy as it looks in the movies, but we tried, grunting and straining, our muscles bunched and bulging as our hands clawed at each other’s face.

  Kicking and clawing, Jonas rolled me over, his face twisting in a mask of hate and pain as I pushed desperately at his face. The pain had to be incredible, as previous wounds that had only begun to heal were torn open again. I slowly twisted his face to the side, my desperation giving me strength, until I rolled him off of me. I scrambled away, trying to get some room, but he was immediately after me.

  Leah was standing in a corner, both her hands over her mouth as she stared at us with wide eyes.

  “Run!” I roared, but before she could react, Jonas was on me again. I was slammed back into the tall chest of drawers, the legs collapsing on the far side causing it to fall to its side as we rode it down. The impact felt like it snapped my spine and I screamed in agony. I clawed at Jonas, desperate to gain some room to recover, pulling at his shirt as I tried to drag him off of me. We fell off the chest as I hauled him by his shirt, the impact on the floor hurting far more than it should.

  I threw myself off and scrambled away, my movements slowed by my pain. He could sense victory within his grasp, and he launched himself at me. I was still getting to my feet when he shoved me back, hard. Off balance, I stumbled back two steps, catching myself on the doorjamb as he charged after me. He drove a crushing right into my jaw that snapped my head back and caused my vision to dim. I knew if I passed out he’d kill me, and Leah too. I stumbled back again, trying to clear my head. He threw another hard right that I tried to duck. I took the blow to the forehead, snapping my head back again but doing little additional damage. I staggered back another step as he closed.

  He’d driven me into the tin
y bathroom that was barely big enough to hold the sink, toilet and tub. This is where we would finish it. With no room to maneuver I had to get in close. I stopped backing and threw my own wild roundhouse. He saw it coming and tried to dodge, but the room was so small he couldn’t get out of range and only managed to slam the door. The blow connected solidly; rocking his head back and I lunged in, trying to press my advantage. He was stunned but not out of it, and he met my charge with one of his own. We clawed at each other, shredding our shirts and flesh as we engaged in a deadly dance. Grunting and shoving, our hands locked around each other’s head, I drove him back. He connected with the sink and tore it from the wall. Water began to spray in a fan from the broken plumbing, the floor instantly becoming slick. He shoved at me, using the wall as a brace, and we went down in a tangle, tearing the shower curtain down as we crashed into tub.