Seizing Control

by Kylie Hillman

  It's time to end this nightmare.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Lainey

  Present Day

  We pull into a large, deserted yard with two huge, brand new looking sheds after about ten minutes of bumpy, dusty riding over a dirt road. We rode past the city limits over half an hour ago and I’m well and truly lost.

  Each rider follows my father into the shed closest to the road. It already has six or seven Harley’s parked in it as well as a white van that has seen better days. It doesn't have the plumbing company signage anymore but I'm positive it is the van I was pulled into yesterday.

  “Wait here,” Mik orders after he signals me to get off his bike.

  I lean against the seat and watch as Mik lights another smoke as he walks away. He groups with Dad and the other officers, who are congregating near the open doors of the shed. The non-officers are milling around, stretching, lighting cigarettes and just generally shooting the breeze whilst they wait to be told what to do.

  “Baby girl!” Dad beckons for me with a wave of his arm. I move quickly to his side. It's not usual for anyone outside of the MC to come along on Club business and I feel totally out of my depth. Looking to Mik for comfort, I find he is staring at the ground. Nobody else acknowledges me, except Dad. There is an undercurrent of tension in the air that has me confused.

  “You sure you can handle this?”

  I meet Dad’s eyes squarely and answer his terse question. “Yes, I’m sure.”

  I contemplate what I am going to ask, trying to muster the courage needed to request what I really want. I don’t think my father is going to take it very well. He prides himself on how tough his kids are and I am about to let him down big time.

  “Dad…” I pause for a second. “I don’t want to be the one who ends him.”

  I look at Mik to see if he’s paying attention but he’s still concentrating overly hard on stamping out his cigarette butt with his boot.

  “I want Mik to do it for me. I only want to watch.”

  Mik jerks his head towards me. Shock and doubt are clouding his rugged features. Realization dawns that he didn’t believe a word I said to him before we rode out here. Stubborn man does not listen!

  “Fuck no. That’s not what we agreed on!” Dad exclaims. He swings towards Mik and grabs him by the front of his jacket. Mik’s fists clench and Timber makes a move to separate them. I motion him to stop and step up to my Dad instead, grabbing the arm he is holding Mik with and tugging on it.

  “Did you put her up to this?” he spits his questions at Mik.

  Mik shakes his head angrily, not dignifying him with an answer. I tug harder on Dad’s arm.

  “Dad, for crying out loud. Will you just stop your crap today and listen to me? Please?”

  I’m begging him now, tears of anger threatening to spill. I don’t understand why he has such a hard on against Mik. They were fine with each other earlier this afternoon.

  “I need to see him ended but I can’t be the one who does it. I’m not built like that, I'm not built like you!” I plead with him to understand what I’m saying. “For my piece of mind, I want Mik to do it. He’s been through all of this with me and I want him to end it for me.”

  Dad releases Mik, practically throwing him away from us and he stumbles backwards a few steps before regaining his balance. He looks ready to launch himself at my father but backs down when Timber wraps a heavy arm around his shoulder. Dad gathers me against his chest in a bone crushing hug.

  “I get what you’re asking, baby girl, but I don’t think that piece of shit deserves to be the one who ends him for you.”

  I pull back as far as I can from Dad and let him see the full depth of my anger towards his current behaviour. He doesn’t even blink in the face of it. His rigid posture and indignant expression displaying his sense of self-righteousness for all to see.

  “Don’t talk about Mik like that!”

  Dad shakes his head sadly at my demand. What the hell is going on?

  “I’m going to let you choose him to do it, not because I agree with your choice, but because it is your choice.”

  I shake my head at his words. I don’t understand what is going on here.

  "What's wrong with choosing Mik?”

  “Now is not the place, but we need to talk about some important shit soon. I found out some fuckery this afternoon that you need to know.” I pull away from Dad and throw myself into Mik’s arms. Dad has lost it. He walks off without another word and everyone scrambles to follow him.

  “Do you know what he’s talking about?” I ask quietly. Mik shrugs slowly, although I can see his thoughts running a million miles a minute trying to work out what has set my father off. Grabbing my hand, he pulls me behind him, out of the shed we parked in and then into the shed next to us. The door is being held open for us by the SAA of the Emerald chapter, who quickly ushers us in.

  I don’t know what I expected to greet us once we were face-to-face with a captured Brendan. But seeing him strung naked by his arms from a chain connecting to the rafters of the shed, and bleeding from the mouth definitely wasn't what I had envisioned. He has a rag tied around the bullet wound I inflicted and he's in obvious pain from at least one serious beating. His feet are barely touching the ground and there is a small puddle of blood under him. It shocks me but I’m not naïve. I realize it’s about to get a lot bloodier.

  Taking in my surroundings, I spy an unconscious Stu tied to a metal chair about ten metres away from Brendan. He doesn’t look in much better shape. When he spots him, Mik lets go of my hand and stalks over the chair. He kicks Stu hard between the legs and he regains consciousness with an ear splitting scream.

  “What was that, motherfucker? You haven’t seen my fiancée anywhere, huh? Fucking lying piece of shit!” Mik yells at Stu, punctuating every second word with a punch to the face or torso. “Not so fucking tough now are ya? Fucking scum, abducting an innocent women for a fucking rapist!”

  Mik’s last punch knocks the chair over with Stu in it. He appears to be knocked out but that doesn't stop Mik as he begins kicking his unconscious form. I try to stifle my stunned gasp at Mik’s viciousness but don’t quite stop it in time. His head swings to me at the sound. His eyes are glazed and feral. I have never seen him like this.

  Upon Dad’s signal, Timber moves forward and grabs Mik, pulling him back next to me. Dad orders him to calm down. Mik struggles futilely against Timber’s hold, intent on ignoring the order until I wrap my arms around his waist. He holds me to him tightly, chest heaving with exertion and fury, but he finally stops struggling and relaxes in Timber’s iron grip.

  “Bravo, bravo,” Brendan’s raspy voice interrupts what Dad is about to declare. “I’d clap if I could. All that misguided anger over my beautiful slut. Oh Lainey, darling, if only he knew you loved every moment we were together. You couldn't get enough of my cock slamming your tight, wet pussy. It was only yesterday that you were moaning around a mouthful of my cock.”

  I turn in shock to where Brendan is hanging and he winks at me with his least swollen eye. Mik shoves me behind Kyle so I’m out of Brendan's view and lunges for him. When he can't shake Timber’s straining hold, he curses at Brendan loudly. A rapid volley of profanity fills the air.

  My Dad, on the other hand, silently stalks over to Brendan. Unsheathing his hunting knife from his belt, he stabs it savagely into his left thigh. His piercing scream bounces from the walls of the shed and I cover my ears until it stops.

  “Talk to my daughter again and I’ll cut your fucking tongue out next,” Dad threatens.

  My legs feel like jelly and my heart pounds harder when Brendan starts laughing. Maybe Mik was right. I don't know if I can handle this.

  “Good to see you again, Beast.” Brendan mocks. “Did you get my little present today? I’m sure it rocked you all to realize that your little golden child was introduced to his drug of choice by none other than little Lainey’s biker scum boyfriend. Your very own godson.”

/>   I turn to Mik with wide, disbelieving eyes, seeking his assurances that this isn't correct. At Brendan’s words, he sags in Timbers hold. I try to get him to make eye contact but he won’t look at me. Timber whispers in his ear something in his ear and he curses loudly one more.

  “You didn’t? Please tell me it wasn’t you?” I ask him. He finally raises his head to look at me, shaking it once in denial but I can tell by the look in his eyes that there is more to the story than a simple denial can convey. I move away from him, seeking my Dad’s safe embrace.

  “That’s what you’re upset about,” I state quietly when he wraps his big arms around me.

  Dad nods solemnly at my question and my whole world falls apart around me. The noise in the shed kicks up a notch as everyone starts talking at once about the bombshell that just dropped. My ears start ringing as the ramifications of this start sinking in… everything that happened to me... everything I let Brendan do to me was all caused by Benji’s drug addiction and my need to protect my twin from the fallout. If Mik is the one who started Benji using then everything that happened to me can be traced back to him. My soul can’t quite grasp this new information because I have never seen Mik use anything stronger than weed. He hates hard drugs and makes it his mission to ensure they don't enter the Club. This doesn't make sense.

  “Not so cocky now are you, you stupid slut? You ran away from me to the person responsible for all of your problems this whole time. You ruined our relationship over nothing.”

  Brendan’s words and subsequent laughter rub salt in my new, emotionally charged wounds and I see red. My temper snaps and I stalk towards Mik, taking everyone by surprise. Mik stares at me in horror but doesn’t say a word. He doesn't even try to stop me.

  Drawing my right arm back, I punch the man I consider my soul mate as hard as I can in the mouth before reaching inside his jacket and pulling one of his handguns from its holster. Turning quickly and running towards Brendan, I aim and shoot him in the shoulder. His body jerks from the blow.

  “Shut the fuck up, Brendan!” I shout.

  He needs to stop laughing, I can't listen to it anymore.

  “Just shut the fuck up!”

  There's a collective gasp of shock as I aim once more and shoot him in the other shoulder. He's lucky, I was aiming for his heart. My shaking hands just saved his life. His head slumps to his chest after the second shot and he finally falls quiet. The whole world is spinning and I can’t make sense of anything. As I raise the gun to take another shot, someone barrels into me from behind and I go down with a thud. Before I hit the concrete floor, strong arms cage me knocking the gun from my hands and rolling me onto my back so I don't hurt myself as I land. When I realize that it’s Mik cradling me, I start kicking and yelling for him to get away from me.

  “Lainey, stop it!” he orders me firmly. “Angel, calm down. I can explain.”

  The fight leaves my body at his words and I go still. My God, I hope he can explain because my heart can’t stand the thought that he might be even a little bit responsible for my nightmare.

  He pulls us both upright and I slowly take in the chaos I’ve caused. Half of our MC is grouped near the door, guns drawn whilst the Emerald Chapter has gathered behind Brendan, rifles pointing at me. Dad and Timber are staring daggers at Mik and I with the remaining members at their back. Dad is twirling Mik’s handgun around one finger, looking ready to blow.

  “Why didn’t you fucking tell me that I was being blamed for giving Benji drugs?” Mik asks Dad with icicles lacing his voice. “You convict me without giving me a fucking chance to defend myself. What the fuck are you playing at, Beast? I'm your VP, your godson and soon-to-be your fucking son-in-law. You know me.”

  If Dad looks ready to blow, Mik isn't too far behind. They’re both standing tall and proud, eyeing each other with barely contained rage. I never noticed until this moment how alike my father and fiancé are.

  Dad shrugs as he maintains eye contact. “Didn’t have time to tell you shit.”

  It’s abundantly clear that he doesn’t want to deal with this now.

  “You can give us your excuses after we’ve finished here, VP.”

  I hear the insult in Dad's voice as he calls Mik VP. He’s refusing to recognize the much bigger role he plays in our family.

  “Fuck you, Beast! You’ve got this so fucking wrong,” Mik continues but Dad just cuts him cold by refusing to acknowledge that he’s still speaking. Instead my father shakes his head at me in disgust and I feel my cheeks turning red when I think of the stunt I just pulled. He's going to kill me for losing it in front of the Club.

  “You got your shit back together or do I need someone to take you outside?”

  I drag in a deep breath, pull myself to my full height and step away from Mik before answering him. “I’m good.”

  “You fucking better be.”

  Turning his back on Mik and me, Dad walks to Brendan and backhands him hard across the face. Lifting his head slightly Brendan glares at Dad.

  “You got anything to say before we end you?”

  Brendan spits at Dad’s feet before smiling sadistically at me.

  “Yes, I do.” He pulls in a ragged deep breath before he continues. “Are you sure you know where all of your brothers are?”

  “Pardon?” I look at Dad to see if he knows where Brendan is heading with this.

  Dad shakes his head at me. He's not buying into Brendan's head games. I wish I could be so confident. He backhands Brendan again.

  “I told you not to talk to my daughter. You speak to me, and only me. I know where my kids are, cunt, so let's do this.”

  Dad gestures to Mik coldly with his handgun. He steps forward and takes his weapon out of Dad's hands.

  “If you’ve still got her blessing, finish this.”

  Mik glances at me, one strong eyebrow raised. I can see worry about our relationship in his eyes, hiding just beneath the fury that is radiating through his entire demeanour. Knowing this man as I do, I can discern that there is a whole story behind Mik, Benji and the drugs that I’m going to find hard to stomach. I nod in affirmation to his unspoken question. I still want him to handle this since I’m trying my hardest to keep faith that the man who owns my soul has a good reason for possibly being responsible for my twin’s drug habit.

  Giving me a tight smile, Mik strides over and gets in Brendan’s face.

  “Fuck I wish I had time to play with you. Give you real payback for every second of pain you caused my woman. Unfortunately, it’s your fucking lucky day. We have the rest of your mess to clean up instead.”

  Coughing roughly and then spitting the blood on Mik’s VP patch, Brendan looks past Mik and straight at me.

  “You really need to phone home and make sure all your brothers are accounted for, Lainey. Before this scum you chose over me causes another one of you to get hurt.”

  Mik punches Brendan so hard in the face that the chains he is hanging from jerk wildly and he spins in a full circle.

  “FOR FUCK SAKE! MAD DOG!” Dad bellows, his words booming around the tin shed. “We don't have fucking time to play. Finish him.”

  Mik punches Brendan again so spurred by a subtle incline of my father's head, Timber rushes forward and grabs him. Brendan starts laughing like an evil puppet master at the commotion ensuing in front of him when they struggle. My heartbeat sounds like thundering drums in my ears as I witness Brendan working his magic on the situation. Even naked, beaten, and shot he manages to yank our strings and make us dance to his tune. I hate him with every part of me.

  "Dad please check. I need to know,” I beg.

  He regards me for a long moment and then agrees with a curt nod. Swearing, he beckons the President of the Emerald chapter to him and they storm outside together.

  I’m left standing near Brendan when Timber drags an irate Mik away to a dark corner and the rest of the brothers rally around them. I haven’t seen Mik this worked up since the court case. Is it because the actions he tried to hi
de are out in the open? Or because he's hurt by the insinuations?

  “This isn’t over, Lainey, I have many hands left to play.” Brendan’s raspy voice jerks me from my chaotic thoughts.

  “If you had just given in instead of running away then nobody else would need to be hurt. What happens now is on your head, remember that, baby girl,” he lectures me as I stare at him disbelievingly. “You need to accept that I'm not letting you go, and get ready leave with me. I love you more than someone who could give your brother drugs ever could.”

  “Stop talking,” Kyle barks at Brendan, punching him in the gut. He ties a piece of material around Brendan’s mouth before he grabs my arm and drags me towards the group huddled around Mik.

  “Stay away from him,” he orders me quietly. “He’s just trying to mess with everyone’s head. Mad Dog isn't the bad guy, Maddi.”

  I frown at my twin’s best friend. What would he know? The nasty feeling of foreboding settling in the pit of my stomach tells me that this situation has been underestimated and something bigger than anticipated is going down.

  “Stop stressing, Mads. Prez is outside now double checking that everyone’s accounted for, just like you asked. I'm sure everyone's okay.” Kyle tries to calm me, bumping my shoulder with his as a show of support.

  “You don't know Brendan like I do. He’s either finally gone completely insane or he has something up his sleeve, Kyle. My money's on him having a contingency plan, he's too calm for someone who should think he's about to die.”

  As we reach the group, Mik emerges from the middle and gathers me in his arms.

  “Fuck Angel, I’m so sorry. I have no fucking idea what’s going on here.”

  I melt into his embrace. I know I should stay away from him until I find out how he is involved in Benji’s drug problem but I’m tired, stressed, and this situation is not going the way I had envisioned. I need his comfort right now.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening…” I sigh into his chest. “We’re supposed to be here to kill him and end my nightmare. Instead he’s running everything again. I mean, how would he have one of my brothers? He’s here, so is Stu. The Club’s on lockdown. Benji’s in Perth and Connor’s with him. Everyone is safe.”