King (Rogue Rebels MC)

by Nicole Elliot

  “Juan, you’re making a big mistake,” I said through gritted teeth, straightening myself up.

  “Juan, please let her go,” Paola continued to wail, and instead of targeting me, Juan extended his hand past my shoulder and landed a cracking slap on Paola’s face. With enough force to jerk her face sideways. She cried out with pain, and another volley of tears poured down her cheeks.

  “Stop battering her. Hit me if you have to!” I snapped at him. Juan turned to me with a smile and then reached for my face again. I was cold to his touch, my body slithering from his proximity.

  “We wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty face of yours, would we? Besides, I have other plans for you, sweetheart,” he said and slammed the car door shut on us.

  Paola was sniffling beside me, and I tried to calm myself as Juan sat down on the front seat beside the driver.

  “Let’s go,” I heard him say, just as Paola wrapped her long cold arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder in solidarity. I wasn’t really in the mood for hugs, even though I forgave her. Whatever she had done or not done, this wasn’t her fault. All I needed to do, was figure out an escape plan or somehow get in touch with King.

  Through the dark tinted glasses, I couldn’t see a thing outside, so I didn’t even know where they were taking me.

  Chapter 15

  King

  Elwood had called Church, and my brothers and I were standing in a circle around him, discussing what our next moves against the Muerte Viviente were going to be. We were all in agreement that we needed to act fast before they retaliated. Even though they were small and useless against the Rogue Rebels’ authority, chances were that they were going to try and seek vengeance. Especially since I had stolen their prized possession, Valentina, from them as well.

  “Do we know where they like to hang?” one of the guys asked and I nodded my head.

  “Hiputi, it’s a gambling bar downtown, in their hood,” I told them. As far as I knew; the Muerte Viviente hadn’t changed their congregation location in all these years.

  “We could hit that?” Slade suggested, and Elwood was thinking.

  “Are there more kids?” he asked, and Commando shrugged his shoulders at his father.

  “There could be more. The ones we rescued were the ones on lease to the Black Skulls,” he said, and I shook my head.

  “There aren’t anymore. The gang is running massive losses at the moment, and I sniffed around. There are no other fighting rings in operation right now. My guess is that they put all their kids to work with the Black Skulls,” I told them.

  “So, the only reason for us to attack the Muerte Viviente would be to teach them a lesson?” one of my other brothers spoke up, and Elwood took in a deep breath.

  “Yes, and also to make sure that they are so far defeated that they can’t do the same thing to any other children anymore,” he said.

  “The best way to do that would be to take out Juan Castillo,” I suggested, and Elwood met my eye.

  “He’s their leader now, but what is to stop them from appointing another leader after he’s taken out?” Girth asked from beside me, and I turned to him.

  “Because without Juan, and if they’re reduced to rubble by us, it will take them a very long time to band together again. The gang is running low right now, technically, they don’t have the power or control they used to. Now is the best time to hit them where it hurts,” I told him, and when I turned back, I saw that Elwood was nodding his head, he agreed with me.

  “King is right. Now is our opportunity and we should strike when we have the chance. Put an end to these scumbags,” he growled, and a cheer rang out in the bar. We had all been waiting for Elwood’s approval to take them out. Everyone who had gone to the warehouse and seen the way the kids were being treated, knew that this needed to come to an end once and for all.

  Commando thumped my back like it was my own personal victory…and I knew that in a way, it would be. Once the Muerte Viviente were eliminated, it would mean that Valentina would be finally safe. It would mean that we could start living our lives together.

  The front doors of the bar slapped open, and we looked up to see Moira charge into the place.

  “Moira, my darling daughter…you’ve arrived just in time. We were going to start celebrating!” Elwood greeted her, and I could see that he was clearly in a good mood.

  Unlike Moira, who looked like she had something on her mind. Instead of responding to her father, she weaved through the crowds of the gathered MC, and it appeared like she was heading directly in the direction of Commando and me.

  Even before she had spoken, I knew this had to be important. Despite having her whole family connected with the MC, Moira made sure that she stayed as far away from this life and our environment as possible.

  When our eyes met, I knew this was about Valentina.

  “King, she’s not at my place. Please tell me you know where she is,” Moira came to a stop directly in front of me. There was silence in the bar, everyone’s attention turned to us, and I could hear myself breathing hard.

  “What are you talking about? When we left church this morning, she said that she was going to go back to your apartment directly,” I hissed, and my fists were clenched on my sides. I knew I shouldn’t have let her walk home by herself. Moira’s eyes widened, and a sudden fear had entered them. She considered Valentina to be her responsibility, and she was already beginning to blame herself.

  “I came home an hour ago. She wasn’t there, and I waited for her, she didn’t show up. You think something’s happened?” she was speaking too fast, but I caught every word of it.

  “They’ve got to her,” I growled.

  “Who?” Moira asked, her mouth dropping open in horror.

  “The Muerte Viviente,” Girth said from over my shoulder and then I felt Commando’s hand on my shoulder.

  “We’re with you, brother. Whatever you need to do,” I heard him say.

  “We need to go to Hiputi and beat the shit out of some assholes till they tell me where they’ve taken her,” I said, and I looked up at Elwood. He was staring at me, turning the information over in his head. Then he tipped his head once in agreement.

  “Commando and Girth, go with him,” Elwood said, and within seconds, the three of us were charging out of the bar and towards our bikes.

  “Hey! King! We’re going to get her back,” Commando said, as we revved up our bikes. I couldn’t respond to him. I couldn’t do anything but zoom off. This had quickly turned from the happiest to the worst day of my life. I couldn’t lose Valentina again, not after I’d promised her that I would keep her safe.

  I cursed myself under my breath as I rode. I shouldn’t ever have let her go back home on her own. I should have known that it wasn’t safe yet.

  Chapter 16

  Valentina

  I felt like it was a nightmare in my sleep. This couldn’t be happening to me again!

  I realized that I had been knocked out cold, and this time when I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in a motel room. Instead, I was in the storage room of the gambling bar that the Muerte Viviente had always hung out in. I recognized the room from my childhood. It was the place that Papi never allowed me to peep into.

  I’d heard screams coming from this room, and I knew Papi did bad things here. To people who disrespected him, or went against him. Now, it was me who was tied up to a chair and left here. How had my life come to this? Juan had confirmed it now, Papi was the one who had brought this upon me.

  I pulled at my hands, but they didn’t give way. Whoever had tied my hands together behind my back had done a pretty good job. I could feel the rope burning and chaffing my skin the harder I pulled, and I cried out, in agony.

  They had left me on a chair, too hard and too uncomfortable, and I had no idea how long I’d been captive here. It could have been a couple of hours, or it could have been a day. I was hungry and tired and my wrists hurt.

  I was still wearing the yellow dress; I saw when I look
ed down at my lap. The yellow dress I had bought for church, the one I had selected just because I wanted to see the glimmer in King’s eyes when he saw me in it. When I thought of him, I knew I didn’t want to give up so easily. I still had some fight left in me.

  I looked about the room, hoping I could find some way to get out of this place, but it seemed unlikely. Just one low hanging bulb swayed in the room, throwing a pale-yellow light around, while most of the corners were shrouded in shadows.

  The walls were disintegrating, and there was a horrid stench of damp wetness. I could hear the trickle of drops of water falling from the ceiling somewhere and collecting in a bucket that someone had thoughtfully placed under it. The dripping contributed to the damp stench in the room, and I gulped. The floor was dirty, the walls looked slimy, and the loud voices of people and a hum of grunge music echoed in the room.

  There were people outside. They were probably Members of the Muerte Viviente gang. I knew it was a gambling bar, and I had an idea of what the scene outside this room would look like. Men from the gang, gathered around gambling tables, watching and playing and sloshing drinks down their throats. Juan and his cronies were resting easy in the knowledge that they had me tied now, that I wouldn’t be able to make it out of here.

  I tugged at the rope again, and once again, it seared my skin, and I winced. Chances of me getting my hands to slip out of the confines were very little. So, I hurled myself forward instead. If only I could crawl over enough to the door and use the handle on the door to cut through the rope? It was an impossible task to undertake, but I had to try something. I couldn’t just wait around here for Juan to come back and do with me as he pleased.

  I fell forward on the dirty, grimy floor, the chair falling with me because my arms were still tied around it. I groaned when my cheek hit the concrete, and I pressed my eyes closed from the pain. The floor was reverberating with the sounds of the thumping music outside. But the only thing I could hear was King’s voice. His reassuring words. Wherever he was, whatever he was doing; I knew that it wouldn’t take him long to get into action and look for me. Eventually, he would find me. Eventually, he would think of looking in Hiputi, and then Juan and his gang would have no chance against the Rogue Rebels.

  The door of the storage room creaked open, and I held my breath. I couldn’t twist my head up enough to look at who was coming in, but I was already bracing myself for an attack.

  “Well well, look who's woken up from their beauty sleep,” it was Juan’s voice, and he sounded as menacing as ever. I knew he always hated Papi, even when he was younger and worked as one of the fighter kids in the ring. It was more than just a handful of times that Papi had beaten the shit out of him for being disrespectful. So, it was no surprise, which Juan was thrilling in his torturing of me. He had waited a long time to stick it to my father and now was his chance. And Papi had happily obliged.

  I struggled against my bonds again, to no effect, and I heard the crunch of his boots as he took a few steps towards me.

  “The best idea for you, beautiful Valentina, would be just to stop fighting and accept what’s going to happen to you. It will be the least painful option for you,” he said, and his shoe came into my sight. I still had my cheek pressed to the floor, my nostrils flared with rage. If he was going to rape me or kill me or hurt me…I wasn’t going to let him do it without putting up a fight.

  “Fuck you, Juan! You’re nothing but a weak loser!” I screamed, and the sound of his shrill laughter rang out in the room, the sound bounced off the walls.

  Then he bent forward, hovering his face right over mine. Even though I couldn’t see him, I could sense his every movement.

  “Your choice of abuses is very cute, Valentina…so typical of the Luis family, you can’t even instill fear in my heart without cracking me up,” he hissed and laughed some more.

  “Your battle is with Papi, take it out on him and leave me out of it. Hurting me will not hurt him. He gave me up willingly, so what else do you have to gain?” I screeched, cutting his laughter short.

  I heard him crack his knuckles and the sound made my heart stop beating for a moment.

  “You don’t get it do you, sweetheart? He gave you up for a particular reason. So that he could pay off his debt to me. I’m going to make excellent money on the market when I sell you. Such a beautiful face, a flawless body and those tits…” he continued and whistled like a hungry wolf.

  My breath ran out, and I could feel myself going cold. I knew exactly what he was talking about. The Muerte Viviente were going to sell me in the flesh market; they were going to make money from putting me into prostitution.

  I screamed again, and this time, Juan fisted a bunch of my hair and lifted me off the ground, including the chair that I had my arms tied around.

  “Stop screaming, Valentina, nobody is going to hear you,” he hissed in my ear. I was in pain, and I couldn’t stop kicking my legs around, and he crashed me down on the floor, my ass bouncing off the chair as he did. I couldn’t help but scream, and Juan’s slap landed with a sting across my cheek.

  “Shut up. Stop whining like a little bitch. Just shut up and deal with what your father is doing to you!” Juan was growling, right up at my face and I glared back at him. Tears were streaming down my eyes and it felt like every inch of my body was hurting, every cell in my body was on fire. If I could inch just a little closer to him, then I’d rip his veins out with just my teeth.

  “Be a good girl, and I might just initiate you into the business myself. Believe me, you can’t ask for a better first, then me,” he said and his face stretched in a smile again. I spat at him, the spittle landing straight on his cheek and with one forefinger, he wiped it off his face.

  He punched me, this time toppling me and the chair over and I was on the floor once again. Just then, we heard a sudden uproar outside. My breathing quickened. Something was going on outside. I didn’t have to look at Juan to know that he heard it too.

  “It’ll just have to wait then. Don’t go anywhere,” he said and still laughing, I heard the crunching sounds of his shoes as he walked away from me and out of the door.

  I was alone once again, and I tried to concentrate on the sounds outside. My heart was beating fast, and I couldn’t stop imagining that it was King. That he had found me. I was going to be safe.

  Chapter 17

  King

  We had charged into the bar, just the three of us and I’d said a silent prayer before we entered. Chances were that we were going to be outnumbered. I prayed to God to keep my brothers alive and for me to find Valentina and get her to safety.

  I was carrying, as were Commando and Girth, and when we first entered the dingy bar, we didn’t need to use our guns straight away. We used our elbows and our knuckles instead.

  I punched, and I could hear my brothers doing the same behind me. Muerte Viviente members came charging towards us, but we were better trained, and I was on a mission. I needed to know where they were holding Valentina. I twisted arms and punched guts, and gang members went flying, falling to the floor holding their stomachs. I was leaving a clear path for my brothers to follow as I edged towards the back door.

  “Where is she? Where is Valentina?” I growled as another guy came at me. I socked him out straight with a punch to his jaw, and in the same moment, I slid my gun out from my belt and pointed it at the group that was making its way towards me.

  “Where the fuck is she?” I growled, and they stood back. I couldn’t see any of them carrying; they weren’t prepared.

  Just then, the back door opened and the man of the hour stepped out. Juan clapped his hands in slow motion when he saw me standing there, pointing my gun at a group of his men.

  I hadn’t laid eyes on him in ten years, but there wasn’t much that had changed about him. He was still his slimy self, and just one look at him made my blood curdle.

  “You’ve grown up, Jesus. Almost a man,” he said, with a sickly smile stretching his lips. Behind me, I could hear Comma
ndo and Girth fighting still. They hadn’t stopped throwing punches yet and were keeping the others in check. However, most of the bar had fallen silent now. Everyone’s eyes were trained on Juan and me.

  “Can’t say the same about you, Juan,” I hissed at him. My eyes were bloodshot; my muscles were taught in my neck. He erupted in a forced laugh and clapped again.

  “Jesus Moreno. Always the one with the sense of humor. How are you brother?” he said and stepped towards me, but stopped when he heard the click of my gun.

  “Where did you take Valentina?” I barked at him, and he widened his eyes like I had said something shocking.

  “Since when do you care about Valentina Luis, my brother?”

  “I’m not your fucking brother. I have nothing to do with you!”

  “But Jesus…after what Romero did to all of us? What do you care what happens to his silly daughter?” he continued, and I clenched my jaw, gripping my gun a little tighter in my hands. Juan was glaring at me, trying to peer into my soul through my eyes.

  “Unless…wait, brother are you fucking that booty?” he asked and clutched his belly as he broke into another laugh. I couldn’t stand him talking about Valentina like that, but I needed to know where she was.

  “Where is she?” I ignored his questions.

  “You are! You’re scoring that pussy! Since when? Does Romero know that you’ve been sticking your dick in his daughter all these years?” Juan continued to laugh, and I growled and charged towards him.

  Juan backed up, with his hands up in the air. My eyes shifted to the door he came out of.

  “If you kill me now, brother, you will never know where she is. She’s just going to rot away, and you’ll spend your life looking for her,” he said, and I stopped in my tracks.

  I knew he was lying. There was no place that he could have possibly hidden her that I wouldn’t be able to get to. But time was of the essence, and I needed to find her before she gave up.