by Eve R. Hart
“What do Sketch and Claire have in common?” The words flew out of my mouth before I could try to come up with my own answer.
Iron’s jaw clenched tight and that was the only indication we got that he was pissed.
“Monty. The one who took the guns,” Iron said.
I started putting the pieces together. It made sense, but how would Monty be able to pull something like this off? It took manpower. And probably a vehicle at the least. Sketch wouldn’t have gone willingly, so either he felt safe going or… or they had Cami already. If her life was threatened, Sketch wouldn’t hesitate to go along in order to save her.
“Cable,” Iron said, pulling the big nerd back into focus. “Get that list of where Sketch used to live. All those places from when we were looking for Keften.”
Cable pulled out his phone.
“Knight,” Iron barked. “Head to Cable’s apartment. Find Claire and bring her in.”
We all shared a quick look. We knew, just fucking knew, that Claire wouldn’t be there. But Iron was doing his best to keep the big nerd from spinning out of control.
It seemed like that was all we were doing at this point.
We were strong, but I had to admit that some of us were starting to unravel. I couldn’t blame them. If it was Chris that had been missing… well, I couldn’t think about that right now. But the thing about having brothers at your back, they’d always be there holding you together and sewing you up so you could keep on fighting.
Knight darted off without a word.
“Where the fuck is Colby?” Iron asked as he pulled out his phone and called the man. “Fuck, he’s not answering.”
“Where was he headed?” I asked because I couldn’t remember where everyone was going.
“Container yard,” Iron answered. “Let’s ride. B-ry, you’re coming too. Cable, send people out to those locations when you find them.”
With that, we headed out.
Hopefully, we wouldn’t have another person to add to the missing list.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Sketch
Yo, God!
I don’t know if you’re real or whatnot, but we gotta have a chat in case you are. I guess it’s less of a chat and more me hollerin’ at you.
So, listen. My life don’t fuckin’ matter. We both know I’m not good enough for you. That’s fine, I’ve made my peace with it. If I go out now, I do it fuckin’ smiling. I found a place and a family, what more could I ask for? I also found love, so that’s a damn good bonus. Thanks for that, by the way. I mean, if you had anything to do with it. If I understand it right, you make people. So, I guess you made Melissa. Good on that, bro. She’s fuckin’ perfect. Anyway, if you made her then it’s all on you. Seriously, good job.
What I need here is a small miracle or some shit.
I’m not looking at it for me. See, my girl Cami is one of the best people I’ve ever known. She don’t deserve this. And neither does that sweet little baby growing inside of her. I’m beggin’ you to save her, please.
I’ll give my life for hers. I really don’t mind.
Then again, maybe you don’t want the other team collecting another soul. Is that how it works? I don’t really get any of that shit. But I’ll go wherever you want me to. I’ll even be your little bitch for eternity. It’s a small price to pay if you just let her make it through this.
So, yeah.
Piece out or amen or whatever the fuck I’m supposed to say here.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Sketch
“Sketch.” Cami’s voice floated softly into my ear.
My body rocked but I couldn’t seem to get my damn eyes to open.
“Sketch, someone’s coming, get up.”
“What?” My lids opened finally and I came alive with a jolt, quickly realizing that I was stuck in an uncomfortable position. Pain burned a path from my face down to my fucking toes, I swore. “The fuck are we?”
I didn’t remember much.
I suppose I’d missed a lot since I’d passed out like a damn pussy.
Fuck!
“They moved us,” she told me.
Yeah, this wasn’t the container. At least it felt cooler, that was something. But I had no idea where the hell we’d been moved to or how long I’d been out.
“Tripp?” I murmured quietly.
“He’s dead, remember? Him and the Prospect. They left them back in the container.”
“Ain’t dead,” I told her and the corner of my lips curled up a little. “Saw him breathing. Bet they think he’s dead. Probably just knocked out.”
“How does that help us though?”
That was a valid question.
I’d hoped that he’d wake up and help us get out of this situation, but clearly, that plan was shit.
“Where the fuck are we?” I asked instead of answering. Mostly because I didn’t have a good one to give her.
“I have no clue,” she told me. “Right after you passed out, that guy’s phone rang. And after that, they were moving us. They put us in the trunk again and I heard gunshots at some point not long after the car started moving. But I have no idea what happened. Then we were here.”
“Okay,” I said looking around.
I didn’t recognize anything. But at least there seemed to be air conditioning here, though I couldn’t see any vents in this small room. But whatever, there was cool air coming from somewhere. That was something. We were moving up.
My arms were bound behind my back and I was on my side. I knew it would hurt too damn much to try and sit up so I didn’t bother moving. The room was bare. The paint was new. Besides that glossy untouched look, I could smell it in the air. Like it had been recently done. The carpet beneath me was new too. It fucking stunk like chemicals, but at least it was soft. I almost felt bad that I was bleeding all over it.
“How are you holdin’ up, C-money?”
“I’m okay.” Her voice was quiet and I could tell she was trying her hardest to be strong.
The door opened before I could say anything else.
In walked some fuck in a suit that I sure as hell didn’t recognize.
“Who the fuck are you?” I asked without a care.
Now I did sit up, trying my best to protect Cami with my body. It hurt like fuck!
“Good question,” the fucker said and I could easily hear the thick accent in those two words. Didn’t know what it was, but I could tell he weren’t from around here.
“Do I know you?” I shot back.
“No, but you might remember my brother.”
I stared hard at him but I couldn’t figure it out. Clearly he wanted me to because he stayed silent for a real fuckin’ long time.
“Look, motherfucker, if you are going to kill me, just fucking do it. My head is pounding and if you want to play games, I ain’t got two fucks to give about it.”
He chuckled at my words but it held a sinister edge to it.
I rolled my eyes at him. These fuckin’ bad guys, they were all the damn same.
“It took a long time to find out who killed him,” he said and looked like he was getting ready for storytime.
Here we fuckin’ go.
Could I fall asleep until the end without him noticing?
His hand went to my jaw, which happened to be swollen and hurt like fuck. So him grabbing it hard as he got in my face was not fun at fucking all.
“That bitch. I told him that falling in love with a whore would only drag him down. And guess what? It did.”
“Right, sure. Whatever.” The words slurred as they came out.
“I hadn’t heard from him in a while,” he went on. “He’d had some trouble a few years back and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d run into the same thing. Seems your club almost brought him down once. But he was smarter. Until he got up with her.”
“Who the fuck are you talkin’ about?” I spat out.
“Maybe I should show you,” he said, and then smirked inches from my face.
The door opened and some fucker pushed a fighting woman into the room. She fell to her knees and tried to get back to her feet, which she was having trouble with since her hands seemed to be trapped behind her back.
“I believe you two know each other,” he said as he moved away from me and yanked the woman up to her feet.
I knew who it was but my brain didn’t want to admit to it.
“Or that’s what Monty tells me.” He pushed her in my direction and I could do nothing to cushion her fall.
“Sketch?” Claire said, eyes wet but also angry. “Cami?”
“It’s all good, girl. We’ll be fine.” I tried to smile and wink at her but I felt like nothing on my face was working right.
She didn’t look like she believed me even a little bit.
I guess I couldn’t blame her, with me being all busted to hell and tied the fuck up.
I still wasn’t putting the pieces together.
What did Claire have to do with all of this? And Monty? Who the fuck was this guy and why did he have beef with me and my club?
“I’m gonna need some answers,” I said as Claire awkwardly rolled to my side and scooted behind me. I hoped she and Cami were huddling together because I couldn’t do shit to comfort them. “You talk like you’re some big fuckin’ deal, but I ain’t got a clue what dots you’re wanting me to connect. You’re gonna have to spell it out for me, fucker.”
“Keften Jugovac,” he said sounding very unhappy. Claire gasped behind me. “Ringing any bells now?!”
“Oh, yeah. Think I remember that dude. Fucking dusted him.” Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say but I couldn’t help myself. “Was fun watching my club torture the hell out of him. Damn, night I won’t ever forget. Shame there aren’t more like it.”
His fist met my face and I closed my eyes to keep the stupid instant tears hidden. I wasn’t no bitch. I sure as hell wouldn’t let that shit show.
“You killed my brother.”
“Yeah, so what? He was a sick fuck and fucked with people I care about. Don’t ask me to feel sorry about it just because you got me all bound and beaten here.”
Big words for someone who was in my position. Maybe I should have shut the fuck up, but then I wouldn’t be me.
“I’ve got the kid,” he said and I didn’t have to ask to know he was talking about Beau. Damn, we were so fucked.
“What do you want?” I asked. Yeah, I sounded like I was ready to give up because I’d do anything to save the women behind me and the kid that wasn’t in this room with us. “Kill me and let them go.”
“I can’t do that,” he said with another fucking smirk. “I’m going to kill your club off one by one, and you’re going to watch. Well, she is. She’s the one I really blame.”
With the way he was talking, it sounded like we were going to get to live a little while longer. I could work with that. Gave me more time to figure a way out of this shit. But how many of my brothers was he going to kill until I did? How many had he killed already?
I couldn’t figure out how he’d found Claire. Or how he connected us to Monty. How did Monty and Vass get caught up with this guy? There was shit I was missing and I had to figure it out before I died.
“I can see you trying to come up with answers in that small head of yours.” He rolled his eyes. “I suppose I have luck to thank for everything. I’ve been keeping tabs on your club. Well, trying to. It seems you have a lot to hide. But then Monty got his hands on some of your illegal weapons.”
“Don’t think it much matters if they are illegal or not, seein’ as your brother was selling women and all. And whatever else he fuckin’ did. I’m getting the feeling you ain’t much different, so don’t you fuckin’ dare look down at your nose at me.”
“Women mean nothing. If you’re going to make money off of something, might as well be something as worthless as them.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I looked at him like he’d lost his damn mind. “Women are like unicorns… all fucking magical and shit.”
Sure, I was trying to piss him off more, but I meant that shit. Especially if you found the right one.
Another crack to the face and I winced.
“Look, I know you feel the need to take shit out on me, but can you leave my face alone? It’s the thing that reels the bitches in.” I gave him the best smug smile I could muster up at the moment.
“You’re an idiot.”
“I won’t argue with that, but does it really matter?” I shrugged like I didn’t give a fuck. ‘Cause I didn’t! “So, you got lucky getting up with Monty. Who knew Claire, here, and you were able to put five and three together to get twelve, right? And bam, here we are. Monty got beef with me so that was where you decided to start. Gotta say, hooking up with him is the dumbest fucking thing you coulda done. You think I got shit for brains…” I simply shook my head like he was the idiot.
“He got you, didn’t he?” he shot back, head cocked to the side like he’d just won this round.
“Yeah, but what you’re missin’ is that I don’t give a fuck if I live or die. You think you scare me?” I snorted and rolled my eyes at him. “You don’t. I’ve dealt with Devils much worse than you. And guess what?” I leaned forward. “I’m still fuckin’ here, bitch.”
That man turned so red I would have sworn that his eyes filled with blood. He was pissed. Good. A man pissed off is a man that makes mistakes. Or some shit like that. My point was, he was gonna fuck up now and I was gonna take advantage of it.
However, I didn’t expect him to pull a gun.
That hadn’t been in my plan, though I couldn’t tell you why. I really should have seen it coming.
The shot went off, sounding twice as loud in this small room. The girls screamed behind me and I grit my teeth together to keep the pain from ringing out through my mouth.
“Not so tough now,” he said.
With dead eyes, he turned away from me and walked out of the room, his goons following behind him.
“Motherfucker!” I roared once the door was closed.
You know, gettin’ shot isn’t all that great. It hurts no matter what.
I looked down at the hole in my boxers. Damn, these were my cleanest pair. Guess I was going to have to do laundry when I got out of here.
“Sketch,” Cami said and her voice was all kinds of shaky. “You just got shot.”
“I know. I’m fine.” I was. I’d live, so there was that. Either he was a shit shot or he hadn’t meant to leave me here to bleed out because it had barely skimmed the inside of my thigh. A little too close to my goods, if I was telling it like it was.
“We need to put pressure on it,” Cami said and I sensed her moving around behind me.
“Cami, let it go,” I told her. “We all got our hands bound, it’s more trouble than it’s worth.”
“Sketch, he’s got Beau,” Claire cut in and I could hear her straining to free herself. “I need to get out of here now.”
“We got this Claire. Just need a moment to think,” I said, and then let out a long breath. “You got any idea where we are?”
“The church,” she said unhappily.
“The fuckin’ church we used to post up in? This don’t look like that abandoned shithole.”
“Well, the front still looks the same,” she told me. Now that I knew where we were, I felt a pang in my gut. Guess she was as thrilled to be back here just as much as I was, never mind the situation we were in. Going back to that time in our lives wasn’t easy. “This is that closet we found in the back. Remember? The one behind the office. Which is all fixed up too. I don’t understand what’s going on. Was that Vass I saw out there?”
“Yeah,” I grunted. “You got anything on you?”
“Maybe a stray pacifier in my pocket, but that’s about it. Oh, and a travel thing of diaper rash cream. They always seem to end up in my pockets for some reason.”
“Can you get to it?”
“The passie? Maybe.”
&n
bsp; “No, the butt cream. That shit is slick right?”
“Yeah, kind of. I’d say it’s more thick and silky, but whatever.”
“Scoot over to my hands and let me see if I can dig it out.”
It took us for fucking ever to do this, mind you. Luckily, not a single person came in to check on us.
I popped it open and told her to turn around. They had Claire and me done up with rope just like Cami. Still thought it was an odd choice, but whatever. Probably all Monty’s doing. Dumbass. I slathered cream all over her wrists and worked it in. Then I did the same to Cami and told them to carefully try and work themselves free.
Then I got to work on myself. All we really needed was one of us out, but if we had three sets of hands free, it would save a lot of damn time and thinking.
What next?
Well, I hadn’t gotten that far.
One fuckin’ step at a time.
All I knew, I was getting us out of here.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Melissa
Hours had gone by and I was losing my mind.
My son was missing. Sketch was missing. And apparently, there were others missing too.
I was surrounded by people I didn’t know but they seemed to take me in like I was one of them. I couldn’t say that I hated the feeling, even though I was scared out of my mind. Was this what it was always like with this club? Was there constant danger? The mother in me worried over too many things. And the almost girlfriend in me worried about the same things all over again.
This was awful.
Could I handle something like this?
But really, did I have a choice?
Tripp was in deep with this club and so was Sketch. The way they talked about it, honestly, it wasn’t something I would ever dream of asking them to give up. And with the way the people in this kitchen had taken me in, I knew there was more to this club than the danger that lingered around us now.
However, that didn’t make any of it easier to stomach.
“Can I get you anything?” a woman, that I thought I had heard someone call Laurel, asked me.