SOULLESS (Black Thorns, #2)

by Franca Storm

  But I’m not sure all of that even qualifies as an excuse. I’ve basically made a decision for the both of us. And, because of me, Neil didn’t even get to have a say in it, to make a choice about us having a child. Fuck. It’s awful. I’m awful. It’s unforgivable.

  We aren’t in the same situation as we were before when he was pushing for us to keep our baby. For fuck’s sake, we aren’t even together right now. After losing our child last time around, all I’ve wanted is to try again—to get that promise of a life with him that’d been ripped away from the both of us back. But like this? Having it happen this way?

  No. I can’t tell him. Not yet. He’s going to lose his mind. He’ll never forgive me for this, for taking away his choice here.

  An approach in my peripheral vision jolts me from my thoughts.

  Sipping at my orange juice, I look up to see Malcolm heading over to my booth. I roll my eyes at his overconfident swagger. Arrogant bastard. He’s wearing a black designer suit, which is laughably out of place in this down and out pub. If he were anyone else, he’d already be half way to having his ass kicked by a few of the hard-ass guys situated around the pub. But the asshole is above all of that. His reputation protects him from everything.

  Everything except me.

  He gives me a head nod by way of a greeting as he reaches the booth and slides in opposite me.

  “So, you’ve left the protection of Black Thorns, Roxana. Why? Have you finally seen that biker trash for what he really is?”

  Wow. No smalltalk. He’s getting right to the insults. Fine by me. I’ll get right to my threat then.

  “I wonder how Alexa would feel about all of this; to know what kind of a man you are?”

  His eyes almost bug out of his head. “What?”

  “You heard me.” I lean across the table and tell him, “You see, you think you’re God. You think no one has the reach that you do. But you’re just a thug with money, Malcolm. Here’s a lesson for you. Everyone has a weakness, a breaking point. And Alexa is yours.”

  He sits back uneasily. Panic plays on his face.

  Good.

  “How do you know about her?”

  That’s for me to know. Like I’m going to tell him who my sources are.

  “Did you really think you could fuck with me—in any way—Malcolm?”

  He slams his fist down, the force of it shaking the rickety wooden table. His eyes flash with fury and he spits his words like venom as he says, “You bitch.”

  “I’m doing what you’ve forced me to do, to protect the people I love.”

  “Everything you have, everything you are, is because of me,” he sneers.

  “Wrong. You gave me a foothold and I did the rest. I built it all, Malcolm. Don’t ever forget that. You can’t claim credit there.”

  He takes my words in. As much as it probably wounds him to recognize it, he knows I’m right.

  But he’s not done.

  I get that message when he grabs my wrist painfully, making me spill my drink over the table. I gasp at his unexpected move and he smirks, enjoying my reaction. Urgh. Sicko. He always did relish having power over people.

  “I loved you. You know that?”

  Nice try. “You aren’t capable of that.”

  “Think what you want, but I did love you. The two of us could’ve had everything together, Roxana. I’ve always treated you like a fucking queen and you know that makes you the exception. You were special to me, so you never suffered seeing my dark side, baby. And, after all that, you do this to me? You threaten Alexa—my seven-year-old daughter—to twist my arm into agreeing to something I never fucking wanted to! You know how long I’ve waited to avenge what Skinner did to my mother. You know there’s nothing I’ve wanted more than to see that through. And you take that from me?”

  “Vengeance won’t bring her back. It’s ridiculous. Skinner is dead, Malcolm. You’re seeking vengeance on a dead man. Neil isn’t his father. He killed him, for fuck’s sake. He’s the antitheses to him in every way. There’s no road to vengeance left. You need to let this go. We’ve all lost people to Skinner. I lost my mom in a crash that Skinner engineered. So, take it from me. Let. It. Go.”

  He growls and releases my wrist roughly then gets to his feet.

  I think that’s it and that he’s done, but then he catches me off guard again when he suddenly leans into me and whispers, “You know what this means? You know what you are really doing here? You’re crossing me, Roxana. You’ve just made yourself my enemy.”

  He smirks as he sees my anxious reaction to his words and then he turns his back and walks away.

  What the hell did that mean? Was that a real threat, or him just trying to get inside my head and make me worry?

  I check myself. He’s just trying to scare me.

  I turn my head towards the bar and see Ralph sitting up there now.

  He walks over and slides into the booth, taking Malcolm’s seat.

  I run my fingers through my hair, trying to ebb the flow of adrenaline coursing through my veins. I may have acted calm on the surface, but I’m not fool enough to think that I wasn’t in danger there. I can’t think of anyone more dangerous than Malcolm Kent. The fact that he was at the top of Neil’s list was definitely warranted.

  “We’re good,” I breathe. “It’s done. Thanks for the backup.”

  “You have no idea how hard it was for me to wait back there with you over here with a man as dangerous as Kent.”

  “I know, but I told you I’d be fine. I just needed the security of knowing I had some backup, given my…situation,” I tell him, gesturing to my belly.

  “I get that, sweetheart.” His eyes sweep over me, checking that I’m okay. “Rox,” he says, frowning. “You’re bleeding. Right hand.”

  I glance down to see blood-red nail marks etched into the back of my hand. “The asshole has nails like a woman. He gets manicures and everything. It’s not a big deal,” I say, brushing it off. Even as I say the words, all I can think about is that I hope to hell the scratches heal before I see Neil again or he will lose his shit completely.

  I hold out my hand. “List, please.” Ralph pulls it out of his cargo jacket pocket and hands it to me. I scan it quickly. “So, the top spot’s taken care of now. Who’s next?” My eyes narrow when I see the second name on Neil’s list. “Riley.”

  “Shit,” Ralph grunts. “That psycho.”

  “What’s his beef with Neil?”

  Since returning to the city, I’ve had Ralph look into all of the names on the list and their significance to Neil.

  “Skinner killed his sister. Unlike Malcolm, he hasn’t shown any threat towards Ax, but the potential is extremely high, because it’s another blood debt situation. I guess that’s why Ax has him so high up on his list. How do you want to deal with this one?”

  “The way we’re going to deal with the rest of the twenty on here. Release everything.”

  Ralph eyes me incredulously and gasps, “What?”

  “You heard me. They’ll destroy each other without us having to lift a finger. And any who don’t, we’ll deal with them personally.”

  “That’s all our leverage, Rox. Everything we’ve built over the years. You get that if we do this, your business that Dealer is running in your stead here in Brockford will collapse? We release all of this and there will be nothing left to hold over people. It will be over.”

  “I know.”

  He smiles then. “Wow. I can’t believe it. The day’s finally come.”

  I know what he’s getting at and I do not want to listen to his ribbing about it.

  “Roxana James is finally ready to settle down.”

  “In case it slipped your mind, I’d already settled down. My interior design business?”

  He shakes his head. “Who were you kidding? You were still holding the Brockford business in your back pocket. You weren’t fully committed to your new business or settling down. No, this here, destroying the business so you and Ax can be together, thi
s is the real deal on the settling down front.”

  I can’t help a smile forming on my face. “It’s what I want.”

  He leans over the table then and wraps me in a tight bear hug.

  He groans and pulls back quickly.

  “Be careful. You might be tough, but that stab wound in your side needs time to heal, so take it easy.”

  He rolls his eyes. “Yes, Mom.”

  I take his hands in mine and tell him, “I was so worried after my dad told me what’d happened.”

  “I’m good, Rox. It’s all okay.”

  “I think you should leave. You and Michaela.”

  “Rox, don’t.”

  I squeeze his hands tighter with urgency. “Ralph, I’m serious. You retiring from the business was supposed to be your out, but look what’s happened. You need to leave. And I can help you disappear, so nothing like this will ever happen again. Please let me do that for you.”

  He takes a moment and then he tells me, “It’s what Michaela wants. To leave here.” A huge grin plays on his lips as he tells me, “She’s pregnant, too. We just found out a few weeks ago.”

  I lunge across the table and throw my arms around him. “Oh wow, Ralph! Congratulations!”

  “Thanks, gorgeous.” His excitement turns to concern as he tells me. “Fuck, Rox. Michaela was freaked after what happened to me.”

  “Then make her happy. Let me help you.”

  He nods slowly. “All right. Okay.”

  “Thank you,” I say, smiling at him.

  I release him and rest my head back against the soft cushioning of the booth.

  A few moments of silence pass between us, until I end up blurting out, worriedly, “I just hope Neil can get over me cuffing him in his office.”

  I’d put it out of my mind, operating with tunnel vision while I’d dealt with the Malcolm situation, but now that it’s over, I’m really worried about it.

  “I’m sure he will,” Ralph assures me.

  But I’m not so sure. Shit. He was so pissed off when I left him in his office. Maybe he’ll calm down? Yeah, that’s a huge maybe for someone with a temper as ferocious as Neil’s.

  At least I don’t have to worry about that until I’ve taken care of this list of his.

  Chapter 17

  ~Ax~

  My damn wrists are bleeding. My feet are battered to shit, even with me wearing steel-toe motherfucking boots, from me tryin’ to kick the fucking radiator off the goddamn wall. And I’m sweating like a bitch in heat from hours and hours of tryin’ to break outta this shit Rox put me in. Jesus fucking Christ. The clock on the wall’s been tormenting me as I watched the hours tick by.

  The one time none of the boys come barging into my office to interrupt shit I’m doing is the one fucking time I need ‘em to. It’s cuz of that stunting shit Rox set up—kept ‘em entertained for hours.

  I look over my shoulder at the pipes connecting the radiator to the wall. I managed to pull it out a bit. But Rox is right. Fucking bitch. I ain’t the goddamn Hulk. But my rage sure is rivaling that monster’s right ‘bout now.

  A sound at the door catches my attention.

  I listen carefully, hearing someone muttering and cursing as the lock clangs and the door shakes.

  Finally!

  It seems like another hour ticks by, but it’s really only minutes, before the door bursts open, ripping off its hinges from the power put behind it.

  Smiter rushes into my office.

  His eyes dart to me immediately. Pure shock.

  I gesture with my eyes to the door. He gets it and pushes it back into place so it ain’t wide open no more. Last thing I need is any more of the boys seeing this; me in some submissive state. That ain’t gonna fly for any real man, let alone their club Prez.

  He runs over to me and unties the shirt wrapped ‘round my mouth, then pulls out the gag. Makes me cough and choke like a deep throating whore, cuz of the sudden relief of pressure and my sharp intake of air.

  I feel his hands on one of the cuffs. “Please tell me you got the keys to these. Don’t look like normal cuffs. What the fuck?”

  “They ain’t,” I tell him when I finally manage to stop choking. “Key’s in my room. Right bedside table. Top drawer.”

  He don’t need to be told twice. He sprints outta the room, making sure to shut the door behind him. Don’t take more than a minute for him to come back in with the key. And a spare shirt. Fucking awesome guy.

  He gets ‘em off quick then hands me the key. I pocket it in my jeans, then take the shirt from him and pull it on. “Fuck,” I breathe. “Thanks, brother.”

  “Rox do this?” he asks, putting two and two together.

  I snatch my cut up off the floor and shrug it on. “Yeah. Nobody hears ‘bout this. You feel me?”

  He nods. “Got it. To the grave, Ax.”

  I slam my hands into my desk, the rage that’d been ripping through me for the last few hours non-stop, finally exploding outta me as I knock the massive, heavy thing over. I thrust my foot into the two chairs nearby, kicking ‘em both into the damn wall.

  “Stupid fucking headstrong woman!”

  “What’s going on, Ax? Why’d she do this?”

  “She took off.”

  “What? No. She can’t. I’ll go check the perimeter. We woulda seen her leave through the gates.”

  “She woulda gone through the rear exit.”

  His eyes go wide. “Woulda had to go on foot then. No road to ride on. That’s miles and miles to Reirdon Falls town center.”

  “Yeah, well. She’s fucking pigheaded, ain’t she?”

  He nods and blows out a breath. “Yeah, she is.”

  I lean on the edge of the toppled desk and run my fingers through my hair. “Shit.”

  “Why’d she leave?”

  “To sort this Kent situation out by herself. The whole damn list actually.”

  “What?” he gasps.

  Before I can get another word out, Dealer barges into my office. He eyes the messed up door and then looks at me and asks, “Where is she?”

  “Gone.”

  “You let her leave?” he yells.

  “Let her? You think anyone lets her do shit? She fucked me over.”

  “How?” he asks, his eyes darting ‘round my office, tryin’ to figure it out.

  “Don’t matter. She just did, all right? She’s gone after Kent.”

  He starts freaking out then, shaking his head wildly and then kicking shit. The wall. The chairs. “I didn’t think she’d…considering…she ain’t in no condition to do this....”

  “No condition?” Smiter says. “That food poisoning thing? She was wolfing down popcorn not long ago. That ain’t an issue no more.”

  “It ain’t food poisoning!”

  My eyes narrow. “What?” I fume. “That’s what you told me, Dealer.”

  I’m shocked a second later when he tries to meet my gaze, but he can’t. He can’t look me in the eye. That ain’t good at all. “What the fuck is it then?” I demand, getting real worried, cuz of his reaction.

  “Shit,” I hear Smiter breathe.

  I glance at him and see some sort of realization on his face. “What?” I eye Dealer. “What the fuck’s going on?”

  Dealer takes a step towards me and finally looks right at me as he says, “She’s pregnant, Ax. Roxana’s pregnant.”

  Fuck. She’s what? I can’t…I can’t fucking breathe.

  “We’ll get her back, Ax,” Smiter says, tryin’ to comfort me.

  “I’m gonna head back to Brockford and see if she’s passed through,” Dealer adds.

  When I don’t respond, Dealer takes a step towards me. “Ax? You hear me?”

  I hold up my hand. “Get out.”

  “No. We gotta move on this now.”

  “Now! Get out! Right the fuck now!” I bellow, completely losing my shit.

  They’re barely out the door before I snap and start trashing my office.

  “Fuck!” I roar. “Fucking hel
l!”

  Chapter 18

  ~Ax~

  I swing my leg over my bike, dismounting. I bring my hand to my aching shoulder. I managed to ride the distance from the clubhouse to Brockford with the boys, in spite of this damn injury, thanks to some painkillers that Smiter hooked me up with. Damn thing’s still aching, though, and it’s been a bitch to ride with. Half the journey I was riding one-handed.

  I watch Dealer and Smiter both get off their bikes as well. As I pull out a smoke and take a long drag, Dealer’s eyes widen at something behind me. Smiter’s too busy staring at the strip joint in front of us, Temptress. Looks like he’s fixated on it. I dunno why. It ain’t like we all ain’t done that shit a thousand times before.

  “Jesus,” Dealer exclaims.

  “What?” I ask, turning to see what he’s looking at.

  Whoa. A crazy-ass fire. Thick black smoke’s coming from one of the buildings in the distance over by Brockford’s industrial district. It looks real bad.

  “That’s Riley’s place,” Dealer tells me. “The lumber yard.”

  “What? You sure?”

  “Yeah. I been working here long enough to recognize what’s what. It’s his place all right.” He looks hopeful as he says, “Maybe he was inside.”

  “One less asshole on the list to worry ‘bout. You good to check it out?”

  He nods. “Yeah. Call me the second you get any word on Roxana.”

  “You got it,” I say as I watch him hurry to his bike. In the next moment, he’s gunning it and roaring away.

  I turn my attention to Smiter who’s still staring obsessively at Temptress. Walking over to him, I ask, “You that hard up for pussy, cuz of the lockdown?”

  “Ain’t that,” he grunts back at me.

  “What then?”

  “I…uh…me and Halle…”

  “The owner?”

  “Yeah, her. We…”

  “Hell, no, Smiter. You fucked her?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I swear to God, if she don’t cooperate cuz of that, I’ll kick your ass. I gotta find Rox, man!”

  He steps back and runs his hand over his skin head and over the eagle’s wing tat snaking up his neck, all anxious and shit. “I know. I’m sorry. I told you I didn’t wanna come down here.”