by Ana Jolene
Pulling a blade from my back pocket, I watched as his eyes went wide. Did he think I was going to carve him up like a Christmas ham?
It was a good idea, but not what I was planning to do. What I did instead was release him of his bonds. He seemed entirely surprised as he flexed his arms and legs. “Get up,” I barked, pocketing the blade again. I wasn’t going to kill him while he was bound and defenseless. I wanted him to believe that he had a fighting chance so that when I did kill him, he knew that he’d been defeated, fair and square.
His hair was a messy knot on his head, the color merging from black to brown in the dim lighting. The blood-spattered shirt he wore was torn in many places, his belt and shoes having been removed prior to being thrown in here in case he got smart and wanted to use them as weapons. As far as killers went, they could take anything and use it as a weapon so we’d played it safe. With a rough tug, Kitt removed the gag from his mouth. “What do you plan to do with me now?” the man rasped. “Kill me?”
“No.” I wasn’t done with him yet.
“Wait!” Knuckle called out just as I was swinging for another hit. Kitt and I shared confused looks. “I can’t believe this,” he breathed. When the Phantom simply stared at him, Knuckle smiled. “What, you didn’t think I would make the connection? You gotta give me a little more credit than that, Cavezza.”
Cavezza?
Now the bloodied face showed emotion, the corners of his lips curling up in a terrible rendition of a smile. Blood coated his teeth where I had knocked one of them out. “Knuckle Haste,” he mused. “You gonna let your secretary do all the bloody work or are you going to fight me instead?”
Everyone knew that the higher up you were in rank in a motorcycle club, the less dirty work you did. It wasn’t a matter of not being able to hold your own, but it was a level of respect that was gained with rank. Knuckle laughed. “And why the fuck would I be stupid enough to do that?”
The low, threatening voice caused the little hairs on the back of my neck to rise in panic. “I want a chance at killing the man who murdered my brother.”
His brother? My mind quickly tried to process the files of information I had on the Phantoms in my head. There were two brothers in the Phantoms. The eldest, Anthony Cavezza, was known for his leadership skills and his knack for racketeering. His diamond mind and skills in trading made him powerful and intelligent—two attributes that many would pay good money for to covet.
Vincent Cavezza, on the other hand, wasn’t gifted with a sharp mind. He was selfish, ruthless, and money-hungry, often barging through the carefully paved path his brother had made. In taking Anthony out, we’d hoped that it would shut the Phantoms down. After all, once you chop of the head of the beast, or the brain in this matter, everything else faltered without it.
That was clearly not the case here. The man in front of me was worse than his brother because he was willing to do anything to get what he wanted.
Vincent made a go for Knuckle, but the prez had anticipated it. His arms shot out, grabbing hold of Vincent’s arm before he could land a punch. Eyes of the coldest steel narrowed as Vincent attacked again, this time landing a hard blow that knocked Knuckle over.
I jumped into the melee, tackling Vincent before he could lash out again. Despite the fact that he’d been tied to a chair for days, Vincent had a surprising amount of strength left in him as he pummeled me with heavy fists. On a grunt, I flipped him over, returning the many hits to his torso and head. Vincent slumped forward.
“Stop!” Knuckle barked. “Don’t kill him.”
“Why?” Kitt and I asked in unison. The bastard certainly deserved it.
“He’s their leader. We could use him.”
“For what?” Kitt sounded angry now.
“Just trust me, will you?” Knuckle snapped as he pulled out his red bandana from his pocket and dabbed the gushing wound of his head. In this state, it was hard to argue with Knuckle. He was a grumpy fucker on the best of days but when he was bleeding, you’d better watch your ass.
“He killed all those innocents,” I argued. “And nearly had Seven raped.”
“Trust me,” Knuckle said as I shot him frosty daggers with my eyes. “He won’t be doing any of that after this.”
“Weren’t you just saying I needed to finish this?” Why had he suddenly changed his mind?
Knuckle stepped forward, an angry look of determination flaring in his eyes. “We aren’t going to kill him.” His tone rang with finality. To argue would be to question his leadership.
I beat back the retort on my lips. Fucking hell. Juiced up, there was nothing more I wanted than to see Cavezza’s lifeless eyes staring up at me. But I forced myself to back away from Vincent, allowing Kitt to handle him. I couldn’t trust myself not to do anything while he was so close.
I knew that as long as he was living, he would remember who did him wrong and that meant G, Seven, and Trey were likely on his hit list. What Knuckle was asking me to do was beyond what I could handle at the moment. I stepped out of the room to go back upstairs before I could do something I would regret.
“Get Angel in here,” Kitt called out. “We need to clean up the blood.”
If I had my way, there would be more of it. Blood splattered on the walls, the floors. Blood meant redemption had been achieved. Instead, Vincent was still in there breathing when he shouldn’t be.
* * *
“What the fuck did you do in here?” Angel seemed pissed when he saw the state of the cell. Kitt and I shrugged, disclosing no information whatsoever. “Fuck, I hate you guys,” he muttered as he stepped over a pool of blood. “You know how I feel about this shit.”
I hid my smile. Everyone thought it was fucking hilarious that Angel had a severe case of OCD. The prospect had to have things in meticulous order or he’d go ape shit. While it was a pain most of the time as he griped about everything not being in the exact position it was supposed to be in, in some ways, it kept us all on track. The files were always in order. The bikes were perfectly lined up in the back. The bathroom was always clean. Having him around had its uses.
And yet how did he hope to survive in this lifestyle where everything was done on a whim and people did shit simply because they wanted to? No wonder Angel complained so much. I would too.
“Get to work,” I said with a smile.
He shot me a glare over his shoulder. “Why don’t you get your ass in here and try cleaning this shit up?”
“Hey, watch it. I’m not above reminding you of your place.”
Kitt laughed and walked out of the cell, probably to keep an eye on Vincent while the basement was being cleaned. I closed the door behind him, enclosing Angel and myself in the blood-splattered room. “So,” I said as Angel began to work. “Learn anything?”
“Daniel Harrison killed himself two years ago,” the prospect rattled off. “He has one living sister. They were both abandoned as children so he was a little bit clingy; she was the opposite—very detached with everyone. I checked on her. She’s harmless.” He wiped his hands clean with a bandana, another compulsive habit of his.
Hearing those words was a bit of a relief. It meant that Daniel wasn’t a threat to Seven. However, if he wasn’t the person who had broken into the house then that meant there was still someone out there. “What about the Martins?”
“They’re dead. Died in the initial flares.”
I nodded. It was just as Seven had said.
“Sorry there isn’t any more info,” Angel said. “But that was all I could find.”
“Thanks, man.” I clapped the prospect on the shoulder. “It does help.” By process of elimination at least.
An eyebrow arched at this. “Sounds like you really care about her.”
“Seven is a friend.” The look the prospect shot me told me that he didn’t believe that lie one bit. But before he could say anything, I left him to his cleaning, pulling out my phone to check on Seven. She picked up on the third ring.
“Hello?”
“How are you feeling?”
I could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m okay. You know, you don’t have to keep calling in to check on me. I told you I’m fine.”
“I know. I just want to make sure.” I found that I couldn’t stop thinking about her, worrying about her. “Anyway, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about Daniel. He killed himself about two years ago. I thought you might want to know.” There was a gasp on the other end of the line. When there was only silence, I asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said after a moment. “I just wasn’t expecting that news.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Daniel and I had a special relationship. It was rooted in our shared experiences with our pasts. He and I were both abandoned as children, and I guess we seemed to bond over that fact. Learning that he’s dead . . .” She let out a weak sigh. “I just wished there was something I could have done for him.”
I knew what it felt like to feel helpless. Daniel was no different than my mother who suffered from her own self-created depression. And there was no question that abandonment could fuck with your mind. To have it done to you at such a vulnerable age must’ve been hard on the both of them. But Seven had proven that people could rise above it and still come out as a full, able-bodied person. Sadly, the same couldn’t be said for Daniel.
At least he wasn’t the one responsible for the break-in. But because of Seven’s past, it wouldn’t be easy finding out who did. Any number of those men she’d been with could want to hurt her.
“There’s something else,” I started, knowing that Seven wouldn’t want me to withhold any information from her even if it involved protecting her. “G won’t be re-opening Giovanni’s again. There’s too much damage.”
“I was afraid of that. Guess I’m out of a job, huh?”
“We’ll find you a new one.”
“What’s going to happen to G then?”
“He’s leaving Ward Two.”
“Why?”
“It isn’t safe for him here. He stood up against the Phantoms. Made himself their enemy, Seven. The Phantoms will hunt him down. No one stands up against them and walks away.”
“That isn’t fair! What was he supposed to do? Just throw his money at them whenever they came knocking?” Her words were appropriately angry.
“It’s fucked up,” I agreed. “But I’m more concerned about his safety. Glory MC will be helping him relocate. But I wanted to let you know in case you wanted to see him one more time.”
“Of course, I do.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “God, I can’t believe this is happening.”
I wish I could be there beside her instead of simply talking to her on the phone. “We’ll figure it out together. Don’t worry.”
“Where are you now anyway?”
I hesitated to tell her to truth, mostly because I didn’t want to trigger any more bad memories of the other night. I wasn’t sure how she would take it if I said I’d just beaten up Vincent Cavezza. “I had a meeting with Glory MC and now we’re at one of the safe houses.” At least that was part of the truth.
“You’re coming home soon, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’ll wait up for you.” A smile spread over my lips. I liked the sound of that. A lot. Perhaps maybe too much.
Seven
After calling me, Lennon had encouraged me to come to Neptune’s. I hadn’t realized until now but I was acting like a hermit, cooped up in my alarm-protected home while everyone else was trekking on without me. I guess in a way I needed that time to myself to recuperate. After everything that had happened, I just needed time to compose myself privately before facing the world again.
Neptune’s was closed to the public today. I was thankful for the smaller crowd because it meant that anyone in here was a trusted person of the club. There was no need to worry about unexpected guests or random fights. I could relax here.
Focus, I mentally chanted to myself as I held the dart poised steadily in my hand. The game had been Kitt’s idea of fun. I had only agreed to it because I thought it would shut him up. Apparently not.
Just as I was about to send the dart sailing, Kitt bellowed loudly, throwing my concentration off while startling me in the process. Instead of the dart hitting the dead center of the board, it zoomed right, nearly catching Dex in the eye.
“What the hell?” he cried.
“Sorry!” Good thing he had fast reflexes otherwise we’d have another disaster on our hands. I whirled on Kitt who had dissolved into hysterical laughter behind me. “You’re such an asshead!”
That outburst only made Kitt howl even harder. “Oh come on, Seven. You pushed me on my last turn and I caught myself only when my face crashed into a pair of boobs!”
I grinned. “That just makes me a great wingman.”
Kitt hooted as I headed for the bar. “She just hates losing,” I heard him tell Lennon.
Indy shot me a smile as she poured a drink for me. “Nice aim,” she said with a wink.
“Dex certainly won’t agree. I think he’s scared of me now.”
“Might be a good thing,” she drawled but her smile disappeared as I tossed back my drink. “So how are you feeling?”
“Still a bit gutted about it all but I’m dealing with it.”
“Yeah, I still can’t believe what happened but I’m here if you need me.”
I smiled. “Thanks.” Just then, shouts exploded outside. “What the hell is going on out there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Seven!” a familiar male voice cried out. “Seven!”
Indy’s eyes grew wide. “Who is that?”
The other people in the bar were starting to notice the disturbance. I rose from the stool, frowning as everyone turned to me as though I could explain what the hell was going on. Hell if I knew myself.
Trey pushed through the doors of Neptune’s, looking like a man who’d just escaped a scuffle. His hair stuck out in all direction as he staggered towards me. “Seven!”
Angel barreled in right after him, slamming a hand down on the back of his shirt, ready to haul him back out. “What the fuck is going on here?” Trey was breathing hard from exertion. “Are you okay?” I asked him.
“You’ve got about five seconds before I throw you back outside, motherfucker,” Angel threatened.
“It’s okay. I got this.” Angel shot me a skeptical look but didn’t budge. “What’s wrong, Trey?”
Trey let out a breath. “Thank God you’re okay. They wouldn’t let me see you. I heard about the attempted rape. I went by your house a few days ago but no one was there. I just wanted to know that you were okay.”
“I was with Glory MC. And I’m okay.”
“You don’t need them.” His tone quickly turned angry. “They’re the reason the Phantoms came to Giovanni’s that night. If there’s anyone to blame, it should be them.”
What was he talking about? “The Phantoms were the ones that attacked us. Lucky stopped them from raping me.”
“Don’t delude yourself. This is their world, Seven. You can’t honestly believe that their hands are clean of blood.”
I thought of Lucky, knowing full well that he’d killed before. I’d been there when he’d put six bullets into the two men who were going to rape me. But then I also thought of Tansy and how Glory MC had taken her out of that cage and given back to her what the Phantoms had stolen.
“I think you should leave.” I wasn’t going to stand around while he badmouthed Glory MC.
Trey looked completely shocked by my request. “What? No, I’m not leaving here without you.” He stepped forward to grab my arm, but not before I could put a chair between us. Bright eyes peered down at the barrier before his gaze lifted, meeting mine. “Don’t be stupid, Seven. You aren’t safe here. Come with me. I’ll protect you.”
“Don’t patronize me. You’re hardly in a position to tel
l me what to do.” My tone had turned sharp and angry.
“I wasn’t—”
“And don’t stand there making assumptions about things you know nothing about, insulting what has become my family. Glory MC came when I called them. They were the ones who put a stop to it all. They helped us. Helped me. And now they’re going to help G. So don’t stand there insulting them like they didn’t save your life that night. I won’t let you do it.”
“Seven, just let me—”
A voice behind me thundered with deadly warning. “The lady asked you to leave.” Spinning, I found Lucky standing behind me, arms crossed over his chest.
“Don’t act like you’re any different than the Phantoms,” Trey sneered. “Can you stand there and say you haven’t killed anyone?”
Lucky slid a look in my direction. “You don’t have to answer that,” I said quickly.
“I have actually,” Lucky admitted, shocking not only Trey and myself, but also the other onlookers who had come around us to see what all the noise was. “I killed two men who were going to rape Seven. I also killed others in Ward Three before that.” Lucky advanced, lessening the distance between them. “He was a mistake though. I should have kept him alive long enough to question him first.” He shrugged and Trey gave me a look that communicated, See? I was right! “But I don’t regret it because if I allowed him to live, he would’ve taken one of those girls he was fucking into the sex trade. So you tell me, should I have left him alive to prey on those women?”
Trey remained speechless through all this.
“Go home, Trey,” I told him softly.
Angel took that as his cue, grabbing a rough hold of Trey’s arms and pulling back. He fought against his hold, unwilling to give up so easily, but something in my expression must’ve gotten through because Trey allowed himself to be led out. I let out a breath, feeling worse than ever. Had I just gained an enemy?
“I’m sorry about that,” I said to Lucky.
“It’s okay.” His eyes were still on the door. “I want to talk to Angel when he gets back from throwing that asshead back outside though.”