by Lilly Atlas
Somehow this was…what? Punishment? A warning?
“You good now?” Rebel rasped. Gone was the affection he’d come to speak to her with, replaced with a cold, unwavering tone that gave her little hope that this was somehow a tragic misunderstanding.
“Why?” Her voice was barely a whisper. Buck up, Kori. Showing weakness wouldn’t be smart. She injected some steel into her spine and cleared her throat. “Why are you showing me this? Why the fuck am I here?”
Rebel smiled and pushed off the wall. He sent a look to Savage who nodded and landed a wicked blow to the wrecked man’s stomach. His head lolled to the side but he didn’t make a sound. Was he even conscious?
“It’s simple, baby girl.”
The nickname that just over an hour ago reminded her of her mother and gave her hope for a future that included a father now made her stomach lurch and bile burn the bottom of her esophagus.
“You’re here to save your boyfriend.”
Chapter Twenty
“Well, it could have been a hell of a lot worse, Mac,” Lucky said to the manager he’d hired for this bar. Technically, Lucky ran all three bars, but seeing as how he couldn’t be in three places at once every night, he’d hired someone for each bar. That gave him time to run the business side of things without having to babysit drunk co-eds looking for a little what-happens-in-Vegas-stays-in-Vegas action.
Mac rubbed a meaty hand over his hairless scalp. “Yeah, some broken glass, coupla trashed tables.” He shrugged. “A big fuckin’ mess, but nothing that will prevent us from opening tonight. Fuckin’ Ivy League assholes can’t handle their liquor. Or keep their women under control. Every fight is over some snooty rich pussy.”
Lucky snorted. “I’ll get some prospects over here to clean up the mess. I’m thinking this isn’t worth reporting to the insurance company. It’d just be a giant ass pain. We’ve got some extra tables and chairs in storage at Spinners. Prospects will bring ’em over and we should be good to open tonight.” Spinners was one of the other bars Lucy handled.
“Thanks, man.” Mac held out a hand.
Lucky grasped it and slapped the man on the back. “You’re doing good here, Mac. Profits are up and the place is always packed. Just what we want to see.”
Mac beamed and puffed out his chest a bit. A little bit of praise went along way when dealing with employees. Lucky had learned that lesson early on and used it frequently. It set up a culture where the guys who worked for him wanted to keep him happy and keep the compliments coming. In turn, business was prosperous.
“All right, man. I’ll catch you later.” Lucky stepped toward the door. “Oh, wait a sec. You see Robbie around at all lately?” On a typical day, his contact spent hours at the bar. To him, happiness was a belly full of booze and veins full of heroin.
“Nah, man. Actually, he hasn’t been here in two days. Figured he was sick or something.” Mac shrugged and went back to his task of lining clean glasses on shelves behind the bar.
Lucky shook his head. Sick, right. In reality, one of two situations was the likely. Either Robbie ran out of money and was cowered in an alley fighting off some serious cravings, or he’d finally overdosed.
There was a third scenario. The one he’d been fearful of yet somewhat resistant to entertain as a possibility. And that was that somehow Rebel discovered Robbie had been feeding Lucky information. Jesus, that would be bad on so many fucking levels.
He left the bar and headed out in search of his source, a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.
Kori swallowed and wished with everything inside her that she’d never knocked on the shed door. Actually, if she were wishing for stuff, she’d back up an hour or so and wish she’d stayed in bed with Lucky. Blissfully unaware of the awaiting horrors.
“So,” Rebel said. “Here’s what I need from you, baby girl. Savage needs a woman. A good woman. He’ll be taking over at some point and I want him settled, happy. That woman is you.”
Jesus, no. Kori shook her head as the coffee she’d drank in her car worked its way back up. No, no, no. This could not be happening. “I can’t—”
“Sure, you can,” Rebel said with a swipe of his hand, effectively ending her protest. “And you will. You don’t have to get married right away, but it will happen before the year is over.”
Rebel’s words bounced around in her skull. This had to be a joke, some kind of sick, twisted initiation into the club, right?
The serious look on Rebel’s face said no. And the lustful look on Savage’s face sent chills running down her spine. She glanced at the half-dead man on the chair. “Is that what this all is?” She pointed to him. “What? You’ll strap me to the chair next and beat the shit out of me if I refuse?”
Both men laughed. “Not you, sweetheart,” said Savage.
Icy dread filled her veins. “Lucky?” she squeaked, barely audible, but both men caught it.
“Let’s just say that Lucky found out about some business dealings he doesn’t fully agree with. Robbie, here—” Rebel pointed to the lifeless bag of bones “—has been running his trap, feeding Lucky information he just doesn’t need to have. I cannot afford to have this fucked up. Especially not by one of my own fucking men. So that leaves me with two options. One, Lucky ends up in this chair and I put him out of commission. Or two, you marry Savage and Lucky stays safe.”
All of a sudden, the stale air in the shed rose to about two hundred degrees and Kori swayed on her feet. She could barely process what has happening. If she married Savage, Rebel would leave Lucky alone? But why would that prevent Lucky from outing Rebel and his illegal drug running. Hell, it would probably enrage Lucky into taking action. That was if he didn’t just leave…
Oh my God. She backed up until she hit the closed door and slumped against it in defeat. That was it. He wanted Lucky gone. This would do it. It wasn’t arrogance that told her that, but the last three weeks spent in Lucky’s arms. He cared deeply for her and wouldn’t be able to watch her paired off with Savage.
“Ahh, I see you’re catching up, baby girl.”
“You’re trying to drive him away.”
Savage’s grin was nothing short of predatory. “That’s right, love. We all know Lucky’s flirted with the idea of transferring to the Crystal Rock chapter. Hell, it might have happened by now if it wasn’t for you. So, he’ll run off to lick his wounds in Arizona, leaving us to conduct our business.”
“It won’t work. He’ll be mad, furious. Don’t you think he’ll tell his friends in Arizona? To get back at you?” A flame of anger sparked in her.
“Nope. I sure don’t. Not with you here in the crossfire. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Like a slobbering puppy with a new toy. That pussy of yours has certainly done something to him. Thank you for that. For a while I thought we’d have no choice but to off him.”
The flame ignited into a raging inferno. “You bastard. You fucking bastard,” she screamed at him. The fury burned so hot she couldn’t think past the hatred for these two men. “How could you do this?”
Rebel shrugged. “Really, Kori, it’s not personal. It’s business. We stand to lose more money than you can imagine. Money that will be partly yours. If you step back and think about this rationally, you’ll see—”
“Money? You think I want your fucking drug money? Your blood money?” She pushed off the wall, legs shaking and breathing ragged as she tried to control her temper. What she wanted to do was lunge across the room, wrap her hands around Rebel’s throat and squeeze the life out of him. Unfortunately, both men had the strength advantage tenfold. “And not personal? You’re my father. My fucking blood.”
Tears of rage and despair filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. What was she supposed to do? She needed time. Time to come up with a way out of this hell. But that would never be granted.
“Oh God.” She wiped the salty wetness off her face only to have it replaced by the next round of tears. “I need to think. I don’t know—”
“S
orry, honey, can’t take the chance that you’ll run right to Lucky. Besides there really isn’t anything to think about. You want him to live, correct?”
A sob broke loose and she nodded.
“Then the decision is made. Tomorrow, before the barbecue I’ll announce your engagement to Savage.” He stepped around her and opened the shed door. “Give me your phone. Can’t have you calling your boy.”
Reluctantly, she handed over the phone. What choice did she have? They’d take it from her if she didn’t relinquish it and she’d lose her shit completely if Savage put his hands on her.
“Go straight to my house. I’ve got a prospect who is gonna follow you and babysit you until I get there so if you thought you’d run straight to Lucky, you better think again. Keep your mouth shut. Do not try to contact Lucky in any way. My prospect has orders to keep eyes on you at all times. I’ll tell Lucky you’re busy tonight. Get moving.”
With an unbelievable amount of effort, Kori tamped down her murderous rage. Savage winked and blew her a kiss before he landed another blow on his captive. For a second, she actually envied the beaten man in the chair. His pain would be over soon whereas hers was just beginning and with no end in sight.
She forced herself to walk towards the door, ominous music playing in her head like she was a prisoner in movie walking toward their executioner. She avoided Rebel’s gaze and slipped through the door.
“And Kori?” he called.
“What?” She didn’t bother to face him. Catching a glimpse of his satisfied smile would most likely make her vomit or charge him with the hope of clawing his face off.
“Make it look good. Everyone needs to believe this is true love.”
She gagged and rushed off to her car before the hysterical sobs could claim her. Tomorrow she would be responsible for causing Lucky a pain no one should ever have to endure. The pain of heartbreak. The pain of betrayal.
An image of Lucky beaten and broken flashed through her mind.
Rebel was right. There really was no choice.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lucky sipped his beer and bounced his heel while he stared at the hallway leading to Rebel’s office. It had been over twenty-four hours since he’d seen or spoken to Kori, and like a junkie, he was itching for a fix. A few minutes ago, a text came through from Bull letting him know she was in Rebel’s office with him.
Savage was mysteriously missing as well and Lucky had a sneaking suspicion Rebel was up to his matchmaking tricks again. The rest of the club members milled around the clubhouse while the ol’ ladies set up tables of food for a barbecue.
“Hey, Lucky.” A honeyed southern accent that could only belong to Bitsy tickled his ear. She was fairly new to the club and had been with a few of the brothers, but if rumors were to be believed, she viewed Lucky as her ultimate prize.
“Hey, Bits.” He shifted his gaze to her as she came around and stood in front of him, trailing her hand along his arm as she sidled up.
“You look lonely over here all by yourself.”
On a normal day, he’d drop some line about how he’d been waiting for her, they’d flirt a little, and within in the half hour he’d have her under him in one of the back rooms. She was his exact type after all. Blond, stacked, experienced, loose morals.
Today, however there wasn’t even a stirring of desire. She looked cheap, fake, and far too obvious in her quest for a quick fuck. Nope, she wasn’t Kori and he straight up didn’t want anyone else. Huh, maybe he really had evolved.
Bitsy placed a small hand with long, witchlike fake nails on his knee and started to slide it up his thigh.
“Nuh uh.” With a shake of his head, he tapped the beer bottle against her forearm. He didn’t even want to touch her. “Hands off, Bits.”
Her painted lower lip popped out in a spectacular pout that nearly had him laughing.
“Sorry, hon,” he said. “This ride’s closed though I’m sure there are at least ten others in here who’d take you for the ride of your life.”
“We’ll see,” she said with a wink. “Never say never.” She turned and left, her hips swaying seductively in shorts that didn’t cover her entire ass. Lucky took another swig of his beer and chuckled to himself as he imagined the choice words Kori would have for the other woman.
Kori had blown him off last night. The flimsy excuse Rebel had some prospect feed him about her wanting to spend a little more time with her father hadn’t fooled Lucky for one second. Best guess was that Rebel pitched a fit over their impending cohabitation and Kori spent her evening soothing daddy’s ruffled feathers.
While he waited for his woman, Lucky’s thoughts drifted to his fruitless search for Robbie. Three hours of his afternoon wasted yesterday searching back alleys, a few crack dens, and bars Robbie frequented. Shaking heads and shrugged shoulders at each stop. No one had seen Robbie in days. Not that strung-out junkies and used-up whores were the most reliable of sources, but still…
Lucky’s gut was churning.
It was time to bring Kori into the mix. At least give her enough information to decide if she’d be willing to follow him to Arizona. She’d said as much the other night, but was it just pillow talk? Or did she mean it?
She was on to him. It was growing harder and harder to hide his hatred of Rebel and Kori was no dummy. She picked up on his cues. Telling her about Rebel’s deception and drug sales went against every protective instinct in him, but if he was going to rat her old man out to Shiv and Striker then she needed a warning.
“Listen up!” Rebel always sounded like someone sick with laryngitis when he yelled. His smoke-roughed voice strained and the effort he put forth was obvious, but the booming quality he aimed for just wasn’t there. No matter. When Rebel spoke, his minions listened.
Lucky lowered his bottle after tipping the cool liquid into his mouth and the beer went flat in an instant. He had to work to swallow and keep it down. Rebel and Savage stood at the mouth of the hallway with Kori sandwiched between them. Her hand was tucked into Savage’s, his bruised knuckles evidence that he’d been caught up in some shit in the last day or so.
What. The. Fuck.
“Got an announcement to make before we hit it hard. Smells fuckin’ good in here and I’m starved.” He rubbed his stomach, a giant grin on his face.
Lucky tried his damnedest to catch Kori’s gaze, but she seemed to be looking at anything and everything but him. Panic clawed at his chest.
“Just want to let you all know that my daughter will be making an honest man outta Savage before the year is up.” Pride evident in his eyes, he slapped a hand on Savage’s back.
Lucky blinked. He should probably be pissed, outraged, furious…one of those emotions, but the words spilling out of Rebel’s trap were so unbelievable Lucky couldn’t make sense of them.
Kori. And Savage.
Engaged.
At any time now, the camera crew would burst out of hiding and everyone would laugh at the look on Lucky’s face. For years, he’d be hearing about what an easy mark he was and how he bought it all hook line and sinker.
Seconds ticked by with nothing but confused murmurs and inquiring glances flicked in Lucky’s direction.
“Congratulations!” someone yelled and Lucky had a sneaking suspicion the slightly southern twang belonged to Bitsy.
“Thank you,” Savage called back as he drew Kori into his arms, her back pressing against his front. She smiled and leaned into him.
Lucky stared at her, hard. Looking for anything. Any kind of clue that she was there under duress. Any inkling of unhappiness, fear, or mistreatment. All he saw was the shining face of a woman in love. A woman who wouldn’t meet his eye.
Then it came. The anger. It rose like a storm swell, swirling his blood as it grew in intensity and threatened to take out the entire room with its strength. He slammed the beer bottle down so hard, it shattered against the bar, but the sound was swallowed amid the cheers and calls for a kiss.
Savage spun Kori around
, gripped the back of her head and claimed her mouth in a ferocious kiss. This was it. This was when she’d slap his face, push him away at least. Instead, she wound her arms around his neck and gave as good as she got.
Lucky had had his ass kicked a number of times. A few of them pretty brutal beatings. He’d been stabbed once as a deviant teen. Fuck, he’d even taken a bullet in Afghanistan. But nothing, not any amount of pain he’d experienced in his life compared to the ruthless demolition of his heart. There was no gentle zigzagged crack down the middle splitting it in two. With one kiss, Kori had obliterated every cell that beat in his chest.
Lucky shoved through a group of his brothers yelling catcalls and cheering at the passionate display.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Bull. “Sorry, brother. I really thought she was into you. I guess there was more to all those meals she ate with Rebel and Savage.”
Meals with Rebel and Savage? She hadn’t mentioned it. Sure, she’d told him when she was supposed to be going out with Rebel, but had never mentioned Savage’s involvement. Jesus. Had she been seeing him on the side all along while pretending the man made her uncomfortable? He grunted a response to Bull and continued to work his way through the crowd.
One quick scan of the room and he found his mark. Bitsy stood with a group of club girls, her eyes tracking his every move.
“Let’s go,” he said, throwing an arm across her shoulders and tugging her away from the others.
“Where we going, stud?” She batted what were probably fake eyelashes and licked her lips. Too bad his dick didn’t even twitch.
“Away. Anywhere with a flat surface.” He strode toward the exit with her.
“Now that’s more like it.” She bounced up and down next to him, her tits remaining in the exact position they’d started in. Fake. Go figure.
I don’t do bikers.
Well fuck her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kori was two seconds away from throwing up in Savage’s too-eager mouth when he ended the kiss.