by Marie, Kay
“On it, Prez.” He stands from the couch and heads to his room, to his computer.
A couple hours go by before Tech emerges from his room. We all gather for Church to hear what he has to say.
“Whoever their tech guy is, he’s good, but not good enough. I tracked her phone. A number I’ve confirmed is Zack’s, texted her a picture of Buster, Cali, and Caden this afternoon telling her to come home or he’d ruin the happy family.”
“Ratchet and Gunner have been sent to the hospital to keep them safe,” Bull announces. “Go on, Tech.”
“The Russos have a house here— where Big Vin and his wife are currently staying. They have some kind of fancy party going on tonight.”
“Which means they’re gonna have most if not all of his guys there serving as guard dogs,” Bull says.
“Is there anyone attending the party who might be an ally to us,” Shade asks.
“I’ve sifted through the guest list, but none of the names stuck out as an ally,” Tech tells us.
“I’ll reach out to Andrei Orlov to see if he and his men could lend a hand. Ranger, Thor, Trigger, and Tech, y’all stay. Everyone else, you’re dismissed.”
Lips pressed together, I bite my tongue so I don’t say something I’ll regret. I walk out of Church and am about to head for my room when Rascal stops me.
“We’ll get her back, brother. Even if it means going to war with those assholes.”
“She left to keep us safe. To keep Buster, Cali, and Caden safe. Even if that meant putting herself in danger.”
“Why do you say that,” Rascal asks.
I walk behind the bar, grabbing a beer for each of us. Shade sits at the bar in front of me.
“Because of why she ran in the first place.” I continue, telling Shade why Wren ran to New Orleans.
31
Wren
We pull up to an extravagant mansion at quarter to seven. The driver pulls up next to the steps of the front door. A young man with a bow tie opens the door, extending his hand to help me out of the car. As I stand from the car, Zack appears at my side, offering me his arm. I link my arm through his and let him guide me up the stairs.
“Have I told you how delectable you look this evening?” he whispers against my ear.
I nod. Walking through the front door, there are people everywhere. We make our way to what I would call the living room as couple after couple stops us to greet Zack.
“My baby!” A gorgeous Italian woman walks toward Zack with a huge, toothy smile. She wraps him in a hug. Even with her heels on, Zack is still a good six inches taller than her. She turns to me, still smiling. “And you must be Wren. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“Wren, this is my mother, Gabriela.”
I force a smile. “It’s very nice to meet you, too, ma’am.”
“Make sure you find your papà and introduce her to him.” She pats Zack’s cheek. “And your fratelli.”
“I will, Mamma.”
His mother is way too sweet to have raised such an awful man. I wonder what happened. A waiter walks over to us with a tray of champagne. Zack grabs two, handing one to me. Just what I need, alcohol to numb me even further. After doing a lap around the house, we end up back in the living room.
“Ah, Zack. There you are.” A man who looks like Zack, only bulkier with salt and peppered hair, walks over to us.
“Papà, this is Wren.”
His father’s eyes rake over my body, making me feel disgusting. “Such a gorgeous young woman.”
Zack’s arm wraps around my waist, pulling me into his side as if he’s staking his claim on me to his dad. Gross.
“Have you seen your fratelli?”
“No, Papà, I haven’t seen them, yet.”
“They’ll want to meet your beautiful girlfriend.” An evil smirk spreads across his dad’s face. My numbness can’t fight off the awful feeling this man gives me. His gaze goes over my shoulder. I turn to find my very own father, grinning.
“Wren, my sweet girl. How are you,” he asks. He acts as if he doesn’t know that I know what he did.
“Zack, may I excuse myself to the restroom?” I mutter to him.
“Of course. Do you remember where it is?”
I nod my head.
“Don’t even think about running. I have men all around keeping an eye on you,” he says in my ear, loud enough for only me to hear. I walk straight to the bathroom. Shutting and locking the door behind me, I lean against it and take several deep breaths.
“This can’t be happening,” I mutter to myself. I would give anything to be able to call Sketch right now, but Zack took my phone. I dab some water on my face, careful not to mess up my makeup, take one more deep breath, and walk back out. As soon as I walk out of the bathroom, a guy grabs me, pulling me into his chest.
“Hello, bellissima. I’ve never seen you around. What’s your name,” he asks.
“My name’s Wren and my boyfriend, Zack, is in the next room.” The word leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
The man laughs. “You are Zack’s girlfriend?”
“Enzo!” Zack growls out. “Get your hands off her.”
“What’s wrong, brother? You don’t want to share this one?” His laugh is maniacal.
“She’s mine. Papà gave her to me.”
“Ah, the virgin?” Enzo’s eyes move down my body and back up before going back to Zack’s. He mutters something to him in Italian. Whatever he said causes Zack to glare at me.
“There’s no way you could know that.”
Enzo shrugs. “Believe what you will, baby brother. Let me know if you change your mind.” With that, Enzo walks away.
We don’t see Enzo for the rest of the night. Zack is pissed about whatever Enzo said to him and hasn’t spoken to me. Which I’m not complaining about, but it means when we get back to his house, all hell will be released. I am introduced to his other three brothers throughout the night. While they all give me bad vibes, none of them are as bad as Enzo. I’ve lost track of time, we’ve been here so long.
“Sit here with Mamma. I need to talk with Papà before we leave.” He sits me down next to his mom and walks off. I can sense someone staring at me. Without being completely obvious, I glance around at all the people. My father is on the other side of the room, eyes locked on me.
“You might think I’m blind to what’s really going on. I assure you, I’m not. I’m sorry you are in this situation,” Gabi says to me, pulling my attention back to her. “If you listen and do as he tells you, he will take care of you.”
“And if I don’t?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret asking.
“He’ll have his way with you, then dispose of you when he’s done.” It comes out nonchalantly. Zack walks back into the room and beelines for me.
“Time to go.” He grabs my arm, yanking me to my feet. He doesn’t say another word until we get back to his house. I glance at the clock before climbing out of the car. It’s ten o’clock. As I walk into the house, exhaustion washes over me. Zack slams the door behind me, making me shudder.
“Tell me, Wren. Did you sleep with that biker trash?” His breath against my ear tells me his mouth is mere inches from it. He’s standing directly behind me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “Answer me!” He spins me around, my eyes snap open, locking onto his.
Confidence or adrenaline hits me, I'm not sure which. “Yes, yes, I did. Is that what you want to hear, Zack? I gave Sketch my virginity!”
A sharp sting crosses my face as my head is whipped to the side.
“Do you think it makes you more of a man when you put your hands on me?” I seethe.
“You never fucking learn, do you? I will have that trash taken care of for taking what belonged to me.” His hand goes up the slit of my dress, cupping my pussy. “And it won’t stop me from having my way with you.”
I spit in his face and knee him right in the groin.
“You fucking bitch!” His fist connects with my face, kno
cking me to the floor. Straddling over me, he rips my dress down the middle. His eyes flare with even more rage when he sees my tattoo. “You want to be a whore, you got it. I’ll take what I want and when I’m done, I’ll pass you to each of my brothers. When they’re done with you, we’ll send your body to your loved ones. Piece by fucking piece. Starting with this disgusting shit on your chest.”
He rips my panties off and pulls his dick out. I clench my eyes closed and try to take myself to a safe place.
32
Sketch
I got shit for sleep last night. I was up, worried about Wren for more than half the night. Not even smoking weed could calm my mind. I roll out of bed, throw on some clothes, and throw my hair up into a bun before walking out to the main room.
“Fuck, man. You look like hell,” Shade tells me.
“I feel it.”
“I think you need this more than I do.” He hands me a fresh cup of coffee. “We’re gonna get her back, bro.”
“She should have never gone back to him, to begin with. Not after what happened before.”
“What do you mean what happened before,” he asks.
The front doors fly open. “Church, now,” Bull shouts. Behind him walks Andrei Orlov, Pakhan of the Bratva, and his right-hand man Niko. I take a huge sip of coffee before following them into Church. Once everyone is seated, Andrei stands.
“What we know about the Italian mafia is very little. They have laid low for the last twenty years. They know they aren’t welcome in Texas, so why they’re here or if they’re planning something is still undetermined. Know that you have the Bratva on your side. No one threatens my daughter and grandson and gets away with it.” He sits again, letting Bull have the floor.
I stand, needing to get shit off my chest. “Cali being threatened or not, Wren isn’t, nor has she ever been safe with Zack,” I announce. “Even if she wasn’t my Ol’ Lady, she’s Shade’s sister and deserves our protection. Zack beat her and almost raped her. He always threatened to take down the club if she ran to us, so she ran.”
“He did what?” Shade roars. “I’ll kill that piece of shit.”
“Calm the fuck down! You will get your chance,” Bull tells him. “We make a plan of attack before we do anything. Until we get this shit handled, I want everyone on a tight lockdown. Bring all women to the clubhouse. No one rides alone. We don’t know what this kid is capable of or how much of the Italian Mafia will actually be backing him up.”
“I’m working on digging deeper on these guys, Prez. I’ll let you know as soon as I have something,” Tech tells him.
Bull nods his head. “Keep doin’ what you can. I want a Rider to case Zack’s house and one to case Big Vin’s house.”
“I got Big Vin’s,” Diesel states. Hollywood’s eyes shoot to Diesel, but he doesn’t say anything.
Shade is about to talk, but Clutch cuts him off. “I’ll take Zack’s.”
“Y’all can each take another brother with you, but take club vehicles, so you’re less conspicuous,” Bull tells them. “Shade and Sketch, the two of you will stay at the clubhouse. We can’t risk y’all going after Zack too soon.”
I grit my teeth. “Prez, I can’t sit back and not do anything.”
“You don’t need to stake out either house. Zack knows what both of you look like, so if he sees either of y’all, you’ll put Wren at more risk than she already is,” Bull says. Fuck, he’s got a point.
“Rascal,” Clutch says. “You down to ride?”
“Can’t, brother,” Rascal replies. “I got babysitting duty.”
“A prospect can handle her until you get back,” Bull tells him. I almost forgot about her. There’s a chick here from Colorado, staying with us for protection for the time being. I forget her name, but the two of them butt heads like nobody’s business. It’s entertaining some days.
Diesel turns to Saint, completely ignoring Hollywood. “Saint, you down?”
“Let's do this,” Saint says.
“Keep us updated with any information you get. Be smart,” Prez tells them.
“You got it, Prez,” Rascal responds. Bull dismisses everyone while he and Andrei hang back.
I head straight for the gym. I need to work out some pent up anger before I combust. I don't realize anyone is following me until I’m in the gym.
“Do you need something?” I turn to Raze and Kicks.
“We just wanna make sure you’re alright, brother,” Kicks says.
“What do you think?”
“I think a lot is goin’ on in your head that you aren’t saying,” Raze tells me. “You do remember the shit that happened with Minx, right? I’ve been in your shoes, man.”
I sit on one of the benches, letting out a heavy sigh. “It’s my fault she’s in this situation. If I wouldn’t have talked her into coming back with me, she’d still be safe in New Orleans.”
“None of this is on you. She didn’t come back because you talked her into. She came back because she fuckin’ loves you and you love her,” Raze says. “And Zack is a twisted asshole who will get what’s coming to him.”
“Not soon enough,” I mutter. I hop up and head toward the punching bag.
“Why don’t you and I step in the ring. It might help more than that old bag,” Raze suggests.
I quirk a brow at him. “You sure you wanna take that on with the mindset I’m in?”
“Nah, I was gonna offer up Kicks,” Raze says. Kicks looks like a deer in headlights, making us both burst into laughter. “I’m kidding. Sketch, have you seen some of the guys I’ve stepped into the octagon with? I’m not worried about it. If anything, I’ll bring out the punch mitts.”
“Yeah, alright,” I agree. “I’m in.”
The nice thing about our gym is we have a locker room, too. I try to always keep a fresh pair of workout clothes in my locker, along with a few different sets of gloves. I don’t fight for money like some of the guys do, but it’s a great workout. Especially for letting off some pent up emotions. We have a make-shift octagon and a shit ton of workout equipment. A handful of the guys are in here every day, like Raze, Saint, and Diesel. Then there are guys like me who only come in to let off some steam. Once I’m ready, I head back out.
“You ready to throw some rounds?” Raze is bouncing around in the octagon.
“Let’s do this.” I climb into the octagon with him. We start out with some combo call outs before I completely let loose. My anger takes over as I envision the punch mitts as Zack’s face.
Forty-five minutes later, Ranger’s voice pulls me out of my trance. “Sketch, Raze! Bull needs y’all back in Church.”
Dripping in sweat, I walk out of the octagon. Kicks hands me a towel and I don’t bother changing. I need to hear what Bull has to say sooner rather than later.
“Man, those punch mitts are shit.” Raze chuckles, shaking out his hands.
“You sure that’s what it was?” I smirk. He slugs me on my arm. When we walk through the Church doors, we both sober up. As soon as we sit down, Bull starts talking.
“Andrei took a chance and reached out to Big Vin. Turns out, he had no idea Zack threatened the Pakhan’s family, and he had nothing to do with that. Big Vin also informed him that Wren’s father, Steve, willingly offered her up as payment. Telling him she was a virgin and would make the perfect wife for one of his sons. He explained that he would try to reach out to Zack and attempt to reason with him.”
“What exactly does he plan to do? How are we gonna get Wren back,” I ask.
“I offered to pay Steve’s debt, and in return, Wren would be free of them,” Andrei explains. “Big Vin said he would much rather have the money but isn’t so sure Zack will agree to that. He’s become rather fond of her.”
“Fond of fucking beating her!” I roar.
“Sketch,” Bull warns.
“I hate the Russos as much as you do. We will do whatever it takes to get your woman back,” Andrei promises. "I, for one, am not a fan of boys who put their hands o
n women."
33
Wren
I didn’t get out of bed until after ten this morning. Zack hasn’t said a word or even looked at me since last night. He left me bruised and sore beyond belief. He’s been pacing around the house, anxious about something all day. He’s taken a couple phone calls in front of me, but both times, he spoke in Italian. Whatever the conversations were about, they left him feeling some type of way. As long as he leaves me alone, I don’t care what the hell he does.
While I have time to myself, I plan to take advantage of the huge bathtub in the master bathroom. If I tried to use the other bathroom, Zack would throw a fit. Surprisingly, he still has a ton of bath bombs and salts still stocked from before. Including a lavender-infused Epsom salt, which is exactly what I need right now. My mind and body are stressed and tense.
I glance out the window while the bathtub fills. Oddly enough, the bathroom window faces out toward the front of the house. A black SUV with tinted windows catches my eye. That wasn’t there earlier. I wonder if that has anything to do with why Zack is so anxious. I squint my eyes as if that will help me get a better look at it. It’s similar to the SUVs the Savage Menaces MC has. I turn away from the window, ignoring the vehicle. There’s no way they’d be here right now. Right?
Once the tub is filled, I slip out of my clothes and slide into the bath. Instant relaxation. Between the comfort of the hot water and the lavender aroma, I’m in heaven. The moment doesn’t last long when Zack storms into the bathroom.
“You need to get out of the bath now. We have to go.”