BLOOD PRINCESS: GODS OF CHAOS MC (BOOK 17)

by Honey Palomino

  Chapter 44

  RIOT

  Wreck went around the side of the house while I knocked on the door. I was ready for anything. And completely unsure what to expect.

  What I didn’t expect was the person who answered the door. It took a while, the sounds of shuffling coming through the door before it finally opened.

  A frail woman stood there, her eyes widening when she saw the likes of me standing at her door. She wore a long blue floral housecoat and leaned on a cane. Her face was sunken in and her hair was thin and grey.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “Ma’am, hello, my name is John. I was wondering if that was your van parked out front?”

  She looked past me, looking at the van in confusion.

  “Well, yes,” she said.

  She didn’t look like she was in any shape to drive.

  “Is there someone else that drives that van besides you?”

  She squinted at me suspiciously. “Why?”

  “I’m looking for someone who might have been driving it. Do you have a son, ma’am?”

  “Yes, but he’s not here, so I think you have the wrong house.”

  “Can I ask where he is?”

  “Well, he’s camping at the lighthouse. Why are you asking me all these questions? Who did you say you were?”

  She broke out in a fit of coughing and I waited until she was done. She may have been sick, but that wouldn’t keep a mother from covering for her son. Maybe he wasn’t really gone.

  “When did he leave? Where is this lighthouse?”

  She shook her head. “You just keep asking questions and you aren’t answering any of mine.”

  “Forgive me, ma’am,” I said. “My sister is missing and I’m trying to find her.”

  She looked me up and down again and shook her head.

  “You aren’t from around here. If someone was missing on this island, everyone would know. I don’t trust you,” she said, her tone turning mean and accusing.

  “Ma’am, please, if you could just tell me where this lighthouse is, please?”

  “No!” she shouted, slamming the door in my face. I heard her start coughing again through the door and shook my head as Wreck came back around.

  “Fuck!” I growled. “Did anyone go out the back?”

  “Nope,” he said. “I looked in the windows while you were talking to her and she’s alone.”

  “Let’s go back to the castle,” I said. “I need to talk to the king.”

  Chapter 45

  JOE

  I’d spent a big part of the day with Diana, and it was a nice distraction from the drinking and worrying. When Slade called her and told her they’d found Willa’s necklace and drawings she seemed to be as happy about it as I was.

  I liked her a lot and I decided if I liked her this much, more than likely I’d like her annoying partner if I gave him a chance.

  When the guys showed back up to the castle with Eva, I could tell by their faces that they’d made some progress.

  “Tell me everything,” I said.

  Riot took a deep breath and filled me in.

  “Well, I’m not sure exactly what we’re looking at, but I’m hoping you can shed some light on it. First, we found a bunch of sketches, concentrated mostly in the park around the statues of the girls and in front of the supermarket.”

  I glanced over at Eva and cringed. I never wanted them to see those statues. Hell, I didn’t want to see them myself. But a church’s congregation had taken it upon themselves to do that, and as much as I hated it and thought it was inappropriate, and that the girls would hate it if they ever saw it, I let it stay up, knowing they had good intentions, however distasteful I may have found it. I could see Eva felt the same way about it by the look on her face.

  “Then we found this,” Eva said, pulling the necklace away from her chest. Of course, I recognized it immediately. Poppy had them made for the girls before they were even born. Looking at Eva now, I saw Poppy’s eyes staring back at me. I yearned for her.

  If there was ever a sign sent by Poppy, it was that necklace.

  “What else did you find?” I asked.

  “We found the fucking van!” Slade piped up, unable to help himself. I raised a brow, staring at him curiously. The man had no self-restraint, to a degree that was almost admirable. To live in the world with no filter, not a care for how others expect you to behave must be absolutely freeing, I thought.

  “And?”

  “This is the weird part,” Riot said. “The woman that answered the door was sick. Really sick. She said the van was sometimes driven by her son, but she wouldn’t give us his name. He wasn’t home. She said he was camping at the lighthouse, wherever that is. I don’t know if he’s the one we saw driving away with Willa, but it’s very possible, although she said he’s been gone for a week.”

  “What’s this woman’s name?”

  “Betty Anderson.”

  I nodded, trying to piece it all together.

  “There’s one more thing,” Riot said. “All of the drawings we found were of the pony. Eva said Willa draws that all the time. But there was one more figure that we can’t figure out. It seems to be a rocket?” He pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture to show me.

  I nodded, my brain almost exploding as it all came together.

  “That’s not a rocket. That’s a lighthouse. And I know who it belongs to.”

  “Who, Father?” Eva cried.

  Rage washed over me. Andrew and Sullivan had been sitting in the corner, taking this all in as the Gods filled me in.

  “Harold, my driver.”

  They jumped up as I said his name, their eyes widening. I turned to them.

  “Bring Harold to me immediately!” I barked.

  “Whoa, hold on a minute,” Riot said. “We don’t want to tip him off. Let us go to the lighthouse first and see if Willa’s there.”

  Andrew and Sullivan looked at me questioningly.

  “Fine,” I said, almost unable to breathe. “Go get my girl.”

  “We didn’t see a lighthouse on the map,” Riot said. “Can you tell us where it is?”

  “It’s not on the map because it’s not in service. It’s on private land. Harold’s family owns the land. Betty Anderson is his daughter. I had no idea she was sick.”

  I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and drew them a small map to the lighthouse and handed it to Riot.

  “Please hurry.”

  “You bet your sweet ass, we will!” Slade shouted. “Let’s go kick some ass boys!”

  I shook my head, watching them walk out, my head spinning.

  When they were gone, with Eva and Clara and Diana following them out, I turned to my guards.

  “Bring me Harold.”

  “He’s already gone home for the night,” Andrew said.

  “Go drag his ass out of bed and bring him to me now!”

  They jumped up, running out without a word.

  I grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured a huge shot, downing it in one gulp, before throwing the glass into the fire.

  Chapter 46

  STRYKER

  I caught Clara’s eye before we left, silently trying to let her know I couldn’t wait to get back to her. I could still feel her lips on mine, hell I could still smell her on me. We’d quickly had sex again in the guest house before joining everyone else in the king’s study. Seeing her face light up when she realized just how close we were to finding Willa made me want to keep that look on her face forever.

  This was way too much, too fast, I knew that.

  But I couldn’t fucking help it. My body had quickly become addicted to her and to be honest, I didn’t care if anyone thought I was crazy. As long as she didn’t think I was too crazy to make love to again, then I was good.

  Hell, they could have locked me up in a mental institution, I didn’t care, as long as they let me touch Clara again, I would be happy.

  The moon hung heavy in the sky as we followed the map to th
e lighthouse. It was on the other side of the island, down dark, winding, forested roads. When we reached the locked gate, Slade jumped out and cut the lock, throwing open the gate and waiting for Riot to drive through.

  An eerie quiet fell over the car as Riot parked on the side of the road.

  “Let’s walk in from here, I don’t want to alert them to our presence,” he said.

  We jumped out, each of us pulling out our guns as we made our way through the darkness, the only light provided by the moonlight bathing the dirt road. A few minutes later, we rounded a bend and the lighthouse came into view.

  We hid in the treeline, taking a few minutes to see what we were dealing with. The lighthouse was small and dilapidated, the edges crumbling. A small faint light shone at the top and the door at the bottom was flung open, revealing a spiral staircase that led up through the center of the column.

  We searched the darkness for any signs of life, but all was quiet and still.

  Chapter 47

  WILLA

  “It’s so dark out here,” I said. I kept moving, afraid of what Dragon would do if I stopped walking. He kept touching me, his hands running over my arms or brushing against my butt any chance he could get. Each time he tried to kiss me, I pulled away, but it was becoming clear he was growing impatient with waiting.

  I grabbed the bottle of whiskey from his hands and took a drink of it, the liquid feeling like razor blades against my throat.

  “I like it dark,” he said, snaking an arm around my waist and pulling me close. He smeared his lips against my cheek and I tried to smile and not puke. I needed to get away from him and I was feeling more and more desperate with every minute.

  “I think it’s kind of scary,” I said.

  “You don’t have to be afraid,” he said. “You’re with me.”

  I resisted the urge to laugh. Dragon was skinny and short and while he was bigger than I was, I didn’t see him fighting off any danger we might encounter anytime soon.

  “If you’re so afraid, let’s go back to the lighthouse,” he said.

  “I like it out here,” I said. “The fresh air is so nice.”

  “Okay, then,” he shrugged, pulling me even closer. His hand dug into my side. “We can do it out here under the moonlight, if you’d like.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I asked, my voice nervously cracking.

  “There’s nobody around, why not?” he asked, his head bending as he planted a kiss on my neck. I squirmed out of his touch and he closed the distance between us again, pulling me to him again. “Stop wiggling away, Princess.”

  I hated when he called me that. All it did was remind me of what a big mistake I’d made and I knew he meant it mockingly. It was rude and mean and I wished so badly I’d never gotten in the car with him in the first place.

  “Let’s keep walking,” I said, taking another drink of whiskey, trying to think my way out of the situation and buy time at the same time.

  “I’m tired of walking,” he said.

  “Just a little further,” I said.

  “No, dammit, that’s enough!” he shouted. “I’m fucking done with this game. We’re gonna fucking do it right now, you hear me, Princess?”

  He grabbed me, hard this time, his lips smashing violently into mine. When he reached out and squeezed my breast hard, I cried out, wrenching myself from his grip.

  “Stop!” I cried.

  “You fucking owe me, Willa!”

  I shook my head. “I can’t, Dragon. I don’t want to!”

  “I don’t give a fuck what you want, you privileged little bitch!”

  “Why are you doing this?” I cried. “You don’t even like me! I saw the texts, Dragon! I saw what you said about me!”

  “You have no idea what I’ve gone through for you!” He spat the words with hatred. “You think I wanted to babysit your annoying ass? You’re right, I can’t fucking stand you! But you know what? You’re going to fucking pay for my time, Willa, do you understand? I’m not letting you get away before I get what I want.”

  “I didn’t do anything to you!”

  “No, but you’re going to,” he laughed, reaching down and unbuckling his belt. “Get over here now!”

  My eyes widened and for a split second, I froze, flashes of the past threatening to overwhelm me. I shook my head, refusing to allow myself to succumb to the memories.

  I wasn’t a little kid anymore.

  I was strong and smart and there was no way I was going to let Dragon hurt me.

  “No!” I shoved him, then I took off running.

  “Ah, fuck,” he muttered. I heard his footsteps behind me and I ran faster, doing my best to outrun him. The trees whipped around me, reminding me of the last time I’d run through the forest, when I was leaving the castle that first night. I’d been so scared then. It was nothing like how scared I was now.

  His hands made contact with my back, pushing hard, sending me flailing through the air and landing on my hands and knees on the ground. In seconds, he was on top of me, flipping me over and attempting to grab my hands. The whiskey bottle I’d been running with had landed near me and I grabbed it, knocking him on the side of his head as hard as I could.

  He flinched, reaching up in confusion and touching his head, his fingers coming away drenched in blood. His eyes widened and he looked down at me in anger.

  “You fucking bitch!” he shouted. He pulled a hand back to strike me and I slammed my knee up into his crotch. He cried out, his voice echoing like a wounded animal in the night as he rolled off me, his hands gripping his crotch.

  I scrambled to my feet and took off running through the darkness again. Lost and disoriented, I could hear him rustling through the trees behind me, calling my name. Once I realized he was following the sound of me whipping through the trees, I found a large trunk to hide behind, holding my breath, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest.

  “Oh, you’re hiding, are you?” I heard him call out.

  I stayed frozen in place, fear gripping my heart. I still had the bottle, but I would have to get close to him to use it, and the last thing I wanted was to get close to him again.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he chanted, his eerie laugh winding through the trees. “Willa, Willa, Willa, come little princess…”

  Leaves crunched under his feet and I could tell he was moving closer to me. If I moved now, he’d find me.

  “I’m fucking bleeding, you little bitch,” he muttered. “I can’t believe you hit me with my own fucking bottle.”

  His footsteps grew even closer, until he was so close to me, I could feel the heat of his body. It was dark and he couldn’t see me, but if he just turned his head to the right, he’d see the outline of my body in the darkness.

  It was now or never.

  I raised the bottle over my head, hoping I had enough strength to knock him out this time. My hand sliced through the air just as he turned my way. His arm shot out and he grabbed my hand just before I could land a blow.

  I cried out as he twisted my arm roughly. The bottle fell to the ground.

  “Let me go!” I cried.

  “You little bitch, I’m going to fucking kill you!” His fingers dug into my arm as I tried to wrench myself free of his grasp.

  We were both shouting at the same time and didn’t hear the footsteps coming. When his hand released my arm, it surprised me, but then I saw his body levitate into the air and I froze, watching in confusion as he flew backwards through the air.

  He landed with a heavy thump a few yards away and I was immediately surrounded by three very large figures.

  I screamed in terror and they tried to hush me.

  “It’s okay, Willa, you’re safe now,” one of them said, gathering me into his arms. “Shh, you’re safe, you’re safe.”

  Sobs wracked my body as I fell to the ground. I watched in awe as one of the men pulled Dragon up by his arms and threw him over his shoulder. He kicked and screamed and they carried him away like an angry toddler throwing
a tantrum.

  “Let’s get you home now, Princess Willa,” the man said, helping me to my feet gently. “This is all over now.”

  Chapter 48

  JOE

  I seethed as I waited for them to retrieve Harold.

  I’d done nothing but give him a job for thirty years. It was a privilege to work for me. To think that he’d been involved with Willa’s disappearance enraged me.

  When Andrew and Sullivan brought him to me, he looked sheepish and old. Gone was his usual impeccable attire, replaced by wrinkled pajamas and tousled hair.

  “Your Majesty,” he said, bowing before me.

  Andrew handed me a piece of paper.

  “Sir, he was in the middle of making this when we arrived.”

  I unfolded the paper and gasped when I saw it was another ransom note, this time with instructions to drop the money at the statues in the park by tomorrow night.

  “Leave us!” I demanded.

  “Sir, are you sure?”

  I glared at them and they shut up, silently leaving us alone.

  “Harold! What were you thinking?” I demanded.

  He sank down in a chair, his head hung low in shame.

  “I am so sorry, Your Majesty.” His voice was barely a whisper.

  “I don’t understand,” I raged. The urge to tear his head from his shoulders overwhelmed me. I forced myself to walk away from the old man. I poured myself a drink and downed it, then poured another. “Have I not been good to you all these years? How could you betray me like this?”

  He didn’t reply, just sat there quietly, wallowing in his shame.

  I shook my head.

  “Where is my daughter, Harold?”

  “She’s safe,” he mumbled. “She’s with my grandson, Artie.”

  “I didn’t know you had a grandson,” I said.

  He looked up at me, his eyes peering up at me as he shook his head.

  “You never asked, Sir,” he said. “My daughter had a son sixteen years ago.”