“Might want to think about that one, Prez. You know she’ll be back.” Beast stood there, arms at his sides, and waited until Tobias had Mercedes out the door before he relaxed even a little.
Thorn nodded to Fleur. “You talked to her about this?”
“Talked to me about what?” Fleur wasn’t sitting there and letting the two men talk about her like they were the adults in the room and she a naughty child.
Thorn turned to her, addressing her for the first time. “The men in our employ who were part of the team who plotted to drug and rape you are in the basement. The other four have been taken care of, but we’re still trying to decide what to do with these two.”
“Why would Beast talk to me about that?”
“Because he thought you might want a say in what happened to them.”
“I didn’t have a say in the others.”
“That’s because they were going to jail. These two… not so much.”
Fleur just stared at him for several long minutes, her mind not really processing what he was saying. If they weren’t going to jail, then what? Finally, she just shrugged and shook her head. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“It’s best if we talk about this downstairs,” Beast said, glancing around. While no one in Salvation’s Bane would rat them out, especially on a matter like this, the less the club as a whole knew about things like this, the more deniability they all had. If anyone took the fall for punishments dealt out by Bane, it would be Beast. He was the enforcer. That was part of his job.
“What am I going to see down there?” Fleur got the distinct feeling whatever had happened so far was probably not the most civil of occurrences. No one had alluded to such, but there was a very violent vibe coming from both Thorn and Beast. It was like the two men were strung so tight they were about to snap. Funny. She’d never thought about bikers caring about who they hurt, so she didn’t think it was their conscience bothering them for beating up someone. She thought it might just be the fact that the men were employed by them. “Is this because they betrayed you in some way?”
“Absolutely,” Thorn said immediately. “They were hired by the club to work on club property. They betrayed the trust we put in them, so they aren’t getting out of this. What they did was just about the worst thing they could have done.”
“I see,” Fleur said. Then she sighed. “Well, I didn’t get a say in what happened to the men who flogged me. I guess if you’re giving me this opportunity I should at least investigate and hear you out.”
“You understand,” Beast said, “that by going with us down there, seeing what’s going on and what we’re gonna do to these fucks, if you go to the police with it, you’ll be guilty of the same crime. Right?”
“This is the part where I should run screaming. Except I want to know what’s going to happen to the assholes who sold me out. I honestly don’t care what you do to them. If they’ve done it once, they’ve done it more than once, and they’ll keep doing it until someone stops them.” She stood as gracefully as she could considering part of her bare ass was on the chair. “After that, can I please go? I’ve got shit to do. Like finding a place to sleep tonight.”
Beast reached for her, grabbing her hand once more as he dragged her after him. “We’ll discuss that later. Right now, I want this done.”
Beast had a look on his face like he thought he was going to hell. She had no doubt he’d done a lot of bad things in his life, but why did Fleur get the feeling he considered this worse?
“I’m going to tell you now, before we go in there. People are gonna die tonight. No doubt about it. The only question is how.” He urged her on. “I have no qualms about it. Would gladly do it myself, no matter how grisly. I just hate dragging you down to this basement with me.”
“Then why do it?” Fleur got the feeling there was way more to this than she realized.
“Because you belong with us,” Beast said. The conviction in his voice was unmistakable.
“And you know this… how? I’ve been here less than twenty-four hours and have been asleep most of the time.”
“I just know. Besides. Where’re you gonna go? You have no home. No family. You certainly can’t stay at Debbie’s. I’m giving you a chance to put down roots. Start over. All you have to do is take it.”
She stared at him a long moment before speaking. Beast liked that. She considered her words carefully. “Looks like you’re making that decision for me whether I like it or not.”
Beast didn’t even have the good grace to look embarrassed. “You need someone to help you make decisions. Clearly, you’re no good on your own.”
A flare of anger and hurt shot through her. Before she’d realized it, Fleur had taken a step forward and swung her hand. Beast merely jerked back, avoiding the blow. Instead of being angry she’d tried to hit him, he chuckled. “I can see baiting you is going to be a party in itself.”
“Bastard,” she muttered.
“I was teasing you.”
“Yeah, well, it’s too soon for that. Especially now.”
He sobered. “I’m not the best at the social thing,” he said. “My job is to protect. I’m suspicious of everyone, and I never get close to anyone not in the club. It’s not… safe.”
Fleur narrowed her eyes, studying him closely. “That’s why you’re so upset about this. These men were part of Salvation’s Bane.”
“Not exactly, but close. I had intended to recommend New Kid be a prospect. Was putting in a good word with our boss at a paramilitary company most of us work for so he’d hire the kid. The bartender, not so much, but he was still hired by me.”
“You know, having me as part of Salvation’s Bane doesn’t mean you can trust me.” Fleur had to point out the obvious. Beast was probably flying on blind instinct right now. He was obviously the controlling type, and something like this would seriously shake his confidence.
He gave her an impatient look. “That’s not why I want you here.”
When he didn’t elaborate, Fleur prompted him. “So… why do you want me here?”
Beast just shrugged and continued on.
“I’m not stupid,” she said softly, hoping he was the only one who heard. “If I do this, if I go with you to see this, I’ll be tying myself to Salvation’s Bane forever. Thorn won’t want me leaving until he’s satisfied I won’t betray you.” He didn’t answer her. Just opened the door to the basement and ushered her inside.
Once Fleur moved ahead of him, Beast locked the door with the deadbolt, then followed her. At the bottom of the stairs was another, heavier door which he also locked. This one had a double deadbolt.
Fleur stopped, watching him intently. “Paranoid much?”
“You’re being allowed down here because this is directly related to you. No one is allowed down here unless there is a very good reason.”
“And you’re just letting me walk in?” When Beast opened his mouth, Fleur held up her hand. “I got what you said before. What I don’t get is, if you won’t even let your club down here, why are you letting an outsider?”
“Just accept you get a say in what happens to these bastards,” Beast said, snagging her hand again and leading her down the dark hallway into a dimly lit room. The only light hung over the heads of the two men tied to chairs. She recognized the bartender and gave an involuntary shiver, trying to twist her hand out of Beast’s. He was having none of it, his grip tightening. The other man, she didn’t recognize. Wait… was he the man who’d pulled her out of line and brought her straight into the club?
The second she had a clear path, she took three steps in their direction. Beast snaked an arm around her waist, halting her forward progress so she spat, hitting the younger looking of the two men in the chest. “You bastard!” The outburst surprised her. As a rule she wasn’t prone to bursts of temper, but seeing those two, recognizing them, and knowing how they’d set her up to be raped and tortured just kind of snapped something inside her.
“I’m sorry, Fleur,” the young man pl
eaded. “I’m really, really sorry! I didn’t think they’d hurt you! Debbie said you liked stuff like that but just needed something to relax. I was only trying to help! You’ve got to believe me!”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” She shrugged Beast off, advancing on the man again. “You didn’t think they’d hurt me? And you just took Debbie’s word that this was what I wanted? If that’s true, why not approach me? Why not tell me what you were doing? Ask me if it got me hot to be a little out of control? Ask me if that was what I wanted?” She spat again, this time hitting his face. Then once again for good measure. “I have no idea what they’re going to do to you, but you deserve everything they do and more!”
“Don’t you get it, you stupid cunt?” The man strained against the bonds holding him to the chair. “They’re gonna fuckin’ kill us!”
Beast growled, but Thorn put a restraining hand on his shoulder.
Fleur’s immediate reaction was to deny it, but she had a feeling the man was right. She closed her eyes and took several calming breaths. She needed to think, to choose her next words carefully. All eyes were on her, she knew it. So, how did she feel about this? Could she actually stand there and watch this? Could she even acknowledge it was going to happen?
“Beast said you were hired by the club to work in their establishment,” she asked the bartender. “Is that right?”
“Yeah. So?” The bartender was belligerent, seeming not to care about his fate. Maybe he was just blustering, trying to deny the club any pleasure in killing him.
Fleur looked around her. The only people in the basement were Beast, Thorn, and two other men. She addressed the two men she didn’t know. “I’m Fleur Durand. I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the two of you.”
It was Thorn who answered for them. “Tobias and Ripper. Ripper’s our intel guy.”
“What does Tobias do?”
Thorn shrugged. “He’s always here on club business. Especially when there is a security issue involved.”
“In other words, not my business.”
Thorn shrugged.
The breather was what Fleur needed to calm down and think rationally. Did these men deserve to die? She couldn’t make that moral judgement.
“What did they tell you when you were hired on?”
The bartender answered. “To keep my fuckin’ nose clean. I’ve never been in trouble, and I’ve worked for these motherfuckers for three damned years!”
“You know,” Ripper said softly. “I’ve had several hours to go over all the security tapes.”
“Yeah. So?”
“So, I pulled every single feed from every single shift either of you worked.”
That was the point the bartender broke down and started sobbing. “I don’t want to die,” he whimpered.
“Wow,” Fleur said. “I thought you were a big strong man. Why you crying now?”
“I don’t want to die!”
“You think I wanted to get drugged, beaten, and raped?” She jerked her head at Ripper. “I’m guessing I’m not the first girl you’ve done this to. Why should they give you mercy when you didn’t give those other girls mercy? Or me?”
“But you got away,” he whined, snot dripping steadily.
“Are you actually using that to plead your case?” Fleur had no idea why she felt the compulsion to do this. She was surprised the men hadn’t stopped her questions already.
The man cringed. “Just please don’t let them kill me. I’ll do anything! Please!”
The emotions roiling inside Fleur were so overwhelming, she thought she’d be sick. Anger. Fear. Surprise… Hate. She hated these two men for what they’d done to her.
“How could you do this to another person? Either of you?”
The bartender snorted. “Just another bitch to me. You walk in there with your skimpy little outfit -- like now. Little cock tease. Then you cry foul when someone touches you. You want the attention, or you wouldn’t dress that way.”
Beast lunged for the man but Thorn got there first, backhanding the man with a vicious strength. The man toppled over, still tied to the chair. His head hit the concrete floor with a sickening thud. For several moments, Fleur thought the blow might have killed him, but then he groaned, his eyes fluttering a few times before closing.
“Pick him up,” Thorn ordered. Ripper and Tobias readily obeyed. “Wake him up.” Tobias poured a bottle of water over the bartender’s head until the man sputtered and opened his eyes once more.
When he looked like he might have his wits back about him, Thorn crouched down in front of him. “That one’s for disrespecting the young lady,” he said softly. “You’ve got a long list of transgressions to pay for. Whether or not you have to pay for all of them will depend on your conduct while Fleur is here.” The bartender gasped for breath, still reeling from the head trauma.
“How many women have you two sold out?” Fleur was surprised her voice sounded as calm as it did. Neither man said anything. The bartender was still stunned, and the other one was sobbing like a baby.
“Does it really matter?” Ripper spoke softly. “They did it once, and I found text messages they were planning on doing it again.”
Fleur turned to Beast. “You were responsible for hiring them.”
Beast grunted. “I was.”
“The others involved -- Debbie, and the three guys. They get treated differently because you -- the club -- weren’t responsible for them.” Fleur wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but she was beginning to understand the graveness of the situation.
“Correct.”
She took in a shuddering breath. “I get it. You gave them your trust, and they betrayed you. Hurt people you were supposed to look out for.”
“We can’t have our own people involved in something like this. Not only because they hurt innocent people, but they put the club in danger. Salvation’s Bane is family to all of us. You don’t put your family in danger. It’s no secret we do things that aren’t exactly legal. We can’t have anyone here coming under that kind of scrutiny.”
“We were never part… of your… precious family,” the bartender gasped. He was getting more and more control.
“But you were taken in by them,” Fleur insisted, finally getting it. “They trusted you. Gave you a job. Paid you well.” She looked at the other one. “If Beast made you part of security, he had to have trusted you.”
“He still can trust me,” he pleaded. “It was a stupid mistake.”
“One you made over and over,” Thorn said. “Until you got caught.”
“One more thing,” Fleur said, turning to Beast. “You’re the enforcer. The guy in charge of enforcing the rules.”
Beast put back his shoulders, obviously proud of his job. “I am.”
“Say you fuck up,” she said, not liking it when he stiffened. She didn’t like putting him on the spot, but this was something she had to know. “You fuck up, and someone gets hurt because of it. Like this situation. What if someone gets killed? Or maybe it’s just the excuse the cops are looking to investigate the club more closely. I’m assuming you have some less-than-savory dealings?”
Beast shrugged but said nothing.
“So, the cops start looking. What happens then?”
It was Thorn who answered. Fleur didn’t take her eyes off Beast as the president spoke. “As enforcer, it’s Beast’s job to prevent that from happening. If he fails in his duty, there are measures in place that would lead any investigation to Beast. He’d take the responsibility.” There was a beat of silence. “And pay the consequences.”
Fleur’s stomach turned over, threatening to empty its contents. She knew what was coming and couldn’t blame them. Maybe it was the intimacy she’d shared with Beast the night before. Maybe it was because he was big and had proven he’d protect her. Fuck. Maybe Fleur just like the way he smelled. All she knew was she didn’t want to be without him. Not now. He hadn’t promised her anything other than sex before she left them, but it didn�
�t matter. Knowing he was the kind of man who protected his entire club with his life was… something. If she was part of that circle, would he protect her as fiercely? Also, could she really blame him or Salvation’s Bane in general for disposing of the two predators? They destroyed lives. For money. For the thrill. For whatever reason they came up with to justify their actions, they still hurt people.
Fleur wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. “I don’t want to be here when…” She trailed off, unable to say it. “I understand, but I don’t want to witness it in case I get asked.” She looked up at Beast. “I’m a terrible liar. I can talk my way around anything I’ve seen so far, but not if…”
“At least you’re honest about it. That’s all I ask.” Beast jerked his head to the left. A second later, he let her go and a heavy hand settled on her shoulder.
“Come on, Fleur,” Ripper said. “I’ll take you back to Beast’s room. Do you mind waiting for him there?”
She didn’t trust herself to speak. She’d reached her limit. “No,” she whispered, then looked up at Beast. “Will I see you tonight?”
“You will. Give me an hour.”
She nodded. Then, on impulse, Fleur stood on her tiptoes and curled her arms around his neck. She pulled him down to her and kissed him. It started out gentle enough, but Beast took control quickly. Those wonderfully big arms wrapped around her so tight she thought she might break. She loved it. The feeling of safety was matched only by the heady lust she felt when he thrust his tongue inside her mouth once and lapped at hers. Then he squeezed her once before setting her back firmly on her feet.
“Go, Sunshine,” he murmured. “We’ll talk later.”
She nodded and went with Ripper back upstairs. Back to Beast’s room. Could she face him when he came to her? Would he even come to her first? And what was going to happen in the meantime?
No. She didn’t want to know. Not now. She wasn’t squeamish, but if Beast took his job as seriously as it seemed he did, then this would take something out of him. If he needed to share, she’d see to it he did. After all, it was the least she could do since he was in this situation because he’d rescued her.
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