Rocket (Hades Abyss MC 2)

by Wylde, Harley

  My phone chimed and when I saw the message I winced. Speak of the devil.

  Church in ten.

  Great. The man was back in town for a few hours and it looked like the fun would start already. I wasn’t about to leave Vi alone, so whether she liked it or not, a Prospect was going to come sit with her. If she didn’t want to see Teller, then I’d ask someone else.

  “Baby, I have to go to the clubhouse for a bit. I need someone to stay here with you, but if you don’t want Teller here…”

  She groaned. “Fine. Send Teller, but if he does that puppy-dog eye thing, I may kick his ass. I’m tired of sympathy. I’m not a pathetic, weak woman who’s going to break.”

  I bit my lip so I wouldn’t smile, then kissed her softly. No, my woman wasn’t weak or pathetic by any means. I’d never met anyone stronger in my life. She hadn’t cried much the last two weeks, unless she thought no one was watching. Even the nightmares were something she’d thought no one knew about. Even though I soothed her when they happened, I knew she wouldn’t like me seeing her that way, so I always feigned sleep when she snapped out of it. The last thing my sweet Vi wanted was anyone to view her as less than a fearless, capable woman. She was the perfect old lady. While I’d refused to let her get a tattoo just yet, the property cut I’d requested was finished and now hung on her side of the closet. She’d had it a week, but there hadn’t been a chance for her to wear it yet.

  “Love you, Vi.”

  “Love you too,” she said softly, then smiled.

  She tugged on my beard until my lips pressed against hers once more, then I pulled back before I was tempted to take things further. Technically, her recovery time was up as far as sex was concerned, but I didn’t know that she was quite ready… or me for that matter. Even if I wanted her more than air, I also didn’t want to risk hurting her.

  I shot off a quick message to Teller to get his ass over here immediately, then I went to the bedroom to get my cut and put on my boots. By the time I was ready to leave, Teller was in the living room and my woman looked ready to murder him. I almost felt sorry for him, until I thought about the weeks I’d suffered believing there was more between them. That alone was enough for me to let him suffer Vi’s wrath a bit longer.

  “Vi.” She lifted her gaze to mine. “Be good. Don’t kill him, or Spider might get upset.”

  She snorted and rolled her eyes, then picked up the remote and ignored Teller while she channel surfed. As for the Prospect, he was frowning at her and seemed to be at a loss. The Violeta who had emerged the last few weeks had a bit more bite than she’d had previously. She wasn’t afraid to get snarky with anyone, or let them know exactly what she thought or how she felt. If anything, her ordeal seemed to have released her inner warrior.

  I pulled my keys from my pocket and went out to my bike. It didn’t take long to reach the clubhouse and I went straight to the back and pushed open the doors to Church. Looked like everyone was already present, which explained Spider’s glare as I took my seat.

  “Sorry,” I said. “Had to make sure Teller was there to keep an eye on Vi.”

  His features softened a fraction and he nodded. The Pres was still a hard-ass and wouldn’t hesitate to gut some asshole who deserved it, but he’d also developed a soft spot for Luciana and Violeta. It was the most human any of us had ever seen him. Even his son, Diablo, had commented on the changes in his dad during one of his visits.

  “Surge gave me everything he had on the Chaos Killers,” Spider said, flipping open a file folder in front of him. “Human trafficking is just a small portion of what they do. As we learned the hard way, they’re also into torture for profit. They run a site that permits people to bid on what happens to the women they kidnap. Those who survive are sold, usually to low-level brothels that don’t care about looks. The women die a few months later from disease.”

  My stomach knotted, realizing Vi could have suffered that fate if we hadn’t been able to find her. How many women had been put through that? As much as I wished I could have kept her from facing that nightmare, if she hadn’t, we might have never discovered what the Chaos Killers were doing and more people would have suffered.

  “They’re also snatching kids from larger cities. Rocket was able to trace a few who were sold to private collectors,” Spider said.

  “I’m sorry but what?” Marauder asked. “What the fuck is a private collector when it comes to a damn kid?”

  Spider looked like he’d sucked on a rotten egg. “Pedophiles who are extremely wealthy and think they can do whatever the fuck they want. They buy the kids, groom them, and then when they’re too old they sell them to the highest bidder.”

  “That’s fucking disgusting,” Fox said. “I’m surprised the universe hasn’t decided enough is enough and wiped out the entire fucking planet. It seems like no matter how many assholes like that are taken down, fifty more crop up in their place. Anyone else sick of this shit?”

  “The world is a truly fucked-up place,” Bear said. “And it ain’t getting any better. Even if taking out the Chaos Killers doesn’t fix everything, it will at least save some lives. I’ve done a lot of bad shit in my life, but I don’t condone hurting women and kids.”

  “I think we can all agree on that one,” Knox said.

  “I spoke with Casper VanHorne, but he’s dealing with a personal issue right now. He had Specter contact me and the man agreed to help, but on his own terms. Honestly, we can’t afford to say no,” Spider said. “Every club I reached out to this morning is on board. Our new Chapter in Mississippi has been having some problems with Chaos Killers as well, so they were eager to join the fight. I spoke with their Pres, Titan, and he’s ready to kick some ass.”

  “What about DCA?” Shooter asked. “If we could get them on board, along with Specter, then I bet this shit would handled within days.”

  With everyone throwing out ideas and possible ways to end the murderous Chaos Killers, all I could think about was whether or not any of those plans would leave Vi vulnerable to another attack. The rest of the Chaos crew had to know that Hades Abyss was responsible for the bloodshed in that cabin. And if anyone had passed along my name since Vi had been wearing her Property of Rocket bracelet, then it could put an even bigger target on me, and by association, on her as well.

  “What about Luciana and Violeta?” I asked. “How will all this affect them? Are they going to be safe here? Is there any place that will be safe for that matter? Or have we painted such a big fucking target on ourselves at this point our women are in danger?”

  “Don’t you mean haven’t you put a big fucking target on us?” Spider asked. “I heard what you did when you rescued Violeta, and while I can’t blame you, your actions have consequences, Rocket. You didn’t just put a bullet in everyone. You tortured the fuck out of one of them in the name of revenge.”

  “Would you have done anything different if it were Luciana?” I asked, my voice harsher than I’d intended and I got looks of warning from the Pres and VP. “I didn’t mean anything by it, but seriously. If Luciana had been taken and tortured the way Vi was, would you have just put a bullet in them and walked away?”

  Spider stared me down, silent. After a few minutes, he sighed and shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t have walked away.”

  “I need to stay with Vi. No matter what the club plans, I need to be here with her. The thought of not knowing if she’s safe makes me a bit batshit crazy right now. If you’d seen her…” I swallowed hard, thinking of my first glimpse of her in that damn cellar. “They burned her. Cut her. Bruised her from head to toe. Cracked her ribs. She’s going to have scars from what they did not just on her skin but emotional ones too. She’s acting all tough and shit, but she’s having nightmares.”

  “The Prospects will remain here,” Spider said.

  “I don’t give a shit if they’re staying.” My jaw tightened and I knew I was treading on thin ice, probably half a second from the Pres beating my ass, but I didn’t care. “I’m not leavin
g her. I can’t.”

  Fox studied me and I noticed that Spider’s cheeks were flushing, his eyes were narrowed, and it looked like his teeth would break if he ground them any tighter together. Yeah, I was possibly getting my ass kicked today.

  “I’m not trying to buck your authority,” I said. “I didn’t know where the fuck she was or who had her. Then I had to see her bloody and broken. She’s my everything, Spider. If that makes me a pussy, then so be it, but my life isn’t worth living without Vi.”

  “Let Rocket stay behind if we have to go after the Chaos Killers,” Bear said. “We should leave a few patched members to hold down the fort anyway. Since I have no doubt that you and Fox will both go, and as Sergeant-at-Arms I’m sure as fuck going, these bastards could very well wipe out all the officers.”

  “Yeah, because my ass isn’t staying home either,” said Knox, the club Treasurer.

  Spider shook his head. “All right. Then I guess it’s time to add a few more officers and leave their asses here to watch over the compound. Congratulations, Brazil, you’re our new Road Captain. Slider, you’re the Secretary for the club. Should have filled those roles long ago, but we were doing fine without them after the last two retired.”

  Dread snorted. “Retired. Good one.”

  “I’ll have patches made for both of you,” Spider said.

  “Seeing as how the other ones are six feet under,” muttered Marauder.

  Fox snorted. “No vote, Pres? Your word is law and all that shit?”

  “Do I look like I give a fuck if those assholes want the jobs or if the rest of you fuckers are happy with my decision?” Spider asked, his tone biting. “Motherfucking pansy ass --”

  “Think you can find another way to squeeze fuck in that sentence one more time?” Bear asked.

  Spider narrowed his eyes.

  “You don’t scare me, old man,” Fox said, and I watched the vein in Spider’s head pulse.

  Without warning, Spider launched a punch right for his VP’s face. Fox worked his jaw back and forth, then had the audacity to smirk at Spider. Some days I swore the dickhead had a death wish. Bad enough I was pissing off the Pres, but with Fox winding him up too, we were all going to get our asses beat before Church was over.

  “Rocket, Slider, Brazil, and Cotton. The four of you will remain behind with the Prospects to keep an eye on things. If shit goes south, Brazil will be in charge,” Spider said. “The four of you can get the fuck out of here. The rest of you stay behind so we can work on a plan to take down the Chaos Killers once and for all. I’m tired of their shit. I’m tired of everyone’s shit, including you pains in my ass. I’ll make sure the four of you receive an update once we have everything ironed out.”

  I didn’t need any further urging to get the hell out of here. My chair scraped across the floor as I hastily stood and started for the door. I felt the others at my back as I stepped out into the main part of the clubhouse, and the doors of Church hadn’t even swung shut before I heard Spider bellowing at Fox to “stop being a fucking asshole.” It seemed that being married to Luciana had only mellowed him for a short while. The Pres was back to his usual self, around the club anyway.

  My bike kicked up dust as I sped down the streets through the compound. I parked in front of the house and couldn’t help but smile a little. Since Vi had come to live with me, the place had changed. She’d once commented on the flowers Luciana had planted at Spider’s place, so I’d created a flower bed and brought home a bunch of plants. Vi had transformed the place. The wind chimes she’d hung off the front porch tinkled in the slight breeze. Even though she’d been broken and abused when she’d first gotten here, she’d made my house into a home. Our home.

  I got off the bike and went inside, quickly finding Teller and Violeta in the living room. She’d fallen asleep watching TV with her feet now in Teller’s lap. I’d have yelled at him to keep his hands off my woman, except he seemed to be napping too. It pissed me the fuck off. What was the point in him staying here with her, if they were both asleep?

  I stomped over to the TV and shut it off, then turned to face them, ready to give the Prospect a tongue-lashing. Then everything in me went still. There was a dart sticking out of Teller’s neck, and another in Vi’s hip. What. The. Fuck? Snatching my phone from my pocket, I called Dread, not giving a shit if Church was still in session or not.

  It took four times of me calling back to back before Dread picked up.

  “Spider is pissed as fuck. What do you want?” Dread asked.

  “Get to my house now, and bring backup. Teller and Vi were shot with darts and both are unconscious. I have no fucking clue how someone managed to get them both, unless maybe Vi was already asleep. She likes to take naps.”

  “Did you check the house?” Dread asked.

  “No. I’m not leaving this fucking room. If I leave her…”

  “Understood. We’re on our way,” Dread said.

  The line went dead, and not even two minutes later it sounded like every brother I had was outside my house, the pipes on their bikes loud enough to rattle the windows. Dread, Spider, and Fox came through the front door, guns drawn. Three more brothers followed them and started checking the house, and I heard more coming in the back. Dread came straight to the couch, where Vi and Teller still hadn’t woken.

  I’d left her. She’d been out of my sight only long enough to attend Church, and some fucker had gotten to her again. I couldn’t keep her safe. The love of my life, the woman I couldn’t live without, and I’d failed her yet again. Bringing her back here with me, keeping her in my house had been a mistake. She needed someone better than me, stronger, a man who could keep her safe. That obviously wasn’t me.

  Dread gently removed the dart from Vi first. He studied it, turning it around, then sniffing it. When Dread set it aside and reached for the medical bag I’d just noticed, I hoped that meant he could help her. And once he’d managed to wake her, ensured that she was all right, then I’d find a safe place for her to stay because it obviously wasn’t here with me.

  “Chaos Killers aren’t this fucking smart,” Dread said. “This is more like something ex-military would use, or one of those groups of assassins.”

  “So you think the club has another enemy?” Spider asked.

  “Maybe.” Dread pulled out a vial and a syringe from his bag, withdrew some of the serum inside, then injected it into Violeta. When he was finished, he turned to Teller and did the same thing using a clean needle. “If I’m right, they should wake up soon.”

  “If you’re right? If? Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I demanded. “What the fuck do you mean by if?”

  “I couldn’t exactly test the damn darts at your house, now could I? No. I don’t have a full-service lab handy, Rocket. I’m about ninety-nine percent sure what they were dosed with, and I treated them the best I could.”

  “Jesse?” Vi called softly.

  I spun to face her, falling to my knees next to the couch. She reached for me and I pulled her into my arms, breathing in her scent as she clung to me. Even though I’d put her in danger by leaving, she still came to me. It made my heart ache. She was so fucking trusting, and while I’d earned that trust, I no longer felt like I deserved it.

  “Teller’s waking up,” Dread said.

  “Can you get him and ask everyone to leave?” I asked quietly. “I need a minute with Vi.”

  Spider placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t do anything stupid. Your thoughts are written all over your face, boy, and you’re wrong. This isn’t your fault.”

  “He’s right,” Fox said. “It’s not your fault, and it’s not the Chaos Killers. Found a note. Marcus did this as a distraction.”

  “Distraction from what?” Spider asked.

  “He’s gone. The reason the Chaos Killers knew where to find Violeta didn’t have anything to do with them watching us, not in the way you think. Marcus was planted here,” Fox said. “The fucker has been spying on us and reporting back to the Chaos Kille
rs since before the girls even came to stay with us.”

  “That motherfucker,” Teller muttered as he staggered to his feet. “It’s my fault, Pres. I vouched for him, said you could trust him.”

  “He fooled all of us,” Spider said. “Every last one of us. And that little shit is going to pay when I get my hands on him.”

  Chapter Seven

  Violeta

  Marcus had betrayed the club? I didn’t understand why. Even though he’d scared me at first, everyone with Hades Abyss had terrified me back then. After I’d learned to trust them, I’d been comfortable around Marcus. Not once had he ever made me feel that he would hurt me. If what Rocket said was true, then Marcus was to blame for the Chaos Killers abducting me from the hotel. Why would he do something like that? He had to have known what they planned. Was he just as evil as my father and his men? I didn’t understand how I hadn’t seen it, how none of us had seen it.

  “Did anyone else know Marcus had a sister?” Spider asked.

  Teller shook his head, then winced and pressed his fingers to his temple. “No. I’ve known the guy for years and he never once mentioned a sister. Met his mom once when we were younger, but his dad has been MIA pretty much all his life from what he’d told me.”

  “I’ll get Surge to do some digging. I need to know how that little shit slipped through the cracks and got in with us deep enough to pull this crap, and then I need to find him,” Spider said. “He’ll pay for what happened to Violeta.”

  “Could…” I stopped and licked my lips. “Could he have a good reason? You mentioned a sister. Is she the reason he did it?”

  “The note says he didn’t have a choice, that the Chaos Killers had his sister,” Fox said. “But he could have come to us with that shit and we’d have helped him get her back. If he’d trusted us, we could have found a way to bring her back safe without you ever being placed in danger.”

  “If they have his sister, then I can understand why he did it,” I said. “What they put me through is nothing compared to what others have suffered at their hands. If they still have her, there’s a chance she’s either held captive at one of their hideouts, or she’s been shoved into a brothel somewhere.”