by Crimson Syn
“Oh, really,” Gunner eyed him.
The man was wearing a plaid jacket and jeans. He looked decent enough, but we both knew we couldn’t trust anyone but ourselves. We’d been sitting at the bar for a couple hours. It was nearly two in the morning, but we figured someone was bound to come, and that someone had seemingly just arrived.
“I come bearing a word of advice.”
“And what kind of advice can you possibly have for us?” I elbowed Gunner giving him a gesture like do you believe this guy.
“You’re so smart aren’t you Jason Riggs.”
I frowned and the atmosphere became serious rather quickly. “How do you know my name?”
“I know all your names. I also know where you’re all located. I’m an old friend of Ryder Chase.” Ryder was Wolf’s wife’s father, and co-founder of the Hell’s Lovers. The mere mention of his name had me placing some trust in this guy.
He looked around for a second and then laid his eyes back on us. “While you’re out here scoping the place and getting your drink on, shit’s happening where you come from.”
I leaned forward. “You caught my interest old man. What do you know?”
He shook his head. “It’s not what I know, it’s what I’ve heard.”
Gunner looked at me and we sat silently, waiting for more.
The man came in closer and lowered his voice to the point that we had to strain to listen. “If they found out I was doing this, I’d be a dead man.”
“I ain’t got time for all this murder mystery shit. Spill it or leave, man,” Gunner stated impatiently.
“El Rubio ain’t here no more. He left this morning. Said he needed to help a friend down in Cali. Nestor something or other. Didn’t catch the last name.”
“And why should we trust you?” I asked.
“Because that fucking gang murdered my best friend. They shot him down in a bar just because they didn’t like his tattoos. That’s what they said, they shot him in the head right in front of me,” he looked down at the table. “He had three kids and a wife. We were just having a beer at a bar.” He shook his head. “I owe the Hell’s Lovers. Ryder took me in when I needed protection and I vowed I’d look after him and his boys whenever I could.”
“So, what now? You want revenge?”
He smirked. “I thought I was past my vengeful days, but when I saw him sitting there…” he pointed to a back booth. “I recognized his gang’s tattoos immediately. I didn’t say a word, just stared at him. Motherfucker was all alone. I wasn’t sure what he was doing so far away from where he came from, but then I heard him on the phone with a Tuco. He’s got plans and told him he was going to deliver a package for him, something he’d be happy with. After he hung up he disappeared, but then I saw you walk in.”
He looked at Gunner and Gunner raised a brow. “And?”
“You’re also a Hell’s Lover.”
“Was a Hell’s Lover.”
The old man shrugged. “People talk. To them, you’re Hell’s Lovers’ bounty hunter and word on the street is you’re lookin’ for El Rubio Moreno.”
I stared at Gunner. “Bounty Hunter?” I nodded. “It suits you.”
“Everyone’s talkin’ about it. That motherfucker doesn’t have a chance and he knows it. Too many MCs in Seattle respect the Hell’s Lovers. Soon as he heard you were here, the coward ran away.”
“Word spreads like wildfire. So now you’re helping us?” I said.
The old man nodded. “I’m just giving you a word of advice. Whatever you left back in Cali, I suggest you go after it. Tonight.”
With that, the man stood up and walked out of the bar. I stared back at him and a sense of dread swept through me. I looked at Gunner and he nodded.
“Go. Wolf’s going to need you. I’ll continue asking around.”
I ran out to my bike, and took off like a madman. It was a long ride back home and I was going to need to stop halfway. I only hoped it didn’t have anything to do with my Luna.
I PULLED over into a hotel on the side of the road. It wasn’t a five-star hotel, but it was someplace I could rest my head. After driving all night and making a few rest stops, I was starting to feel the pain in my back. Thirteen hours on a bike would kill any man, but I needed to get back home as soon as possible. I figured I’d sleep a couple hours and continue on my way, I was still a solid four hours away from L.A. It was getting around three in the afternoon and all I wanted was a hot shower and a soft bed.
I got a key and then made my way to the room. I needed to call my girl and make sure she was alright and then I’d drift off. As soon as I was done with my shower I dialed Luna’s number but there was no answer. I waited a few minutes and dialed her again, but still no answer.
I stared at my phone as I laid down on the bed. I placed it on the pillow beside me figuring I could hear it when she called me back.
I was jerked awake by an incessant ringing in my ear. I had fallen asleep and it was pitch black outside. The phone stopped and when I picked it up to see who was calling I noticed over twenty missed text messages from Grayson telling me to call him back. It was seven o’clock and he’d been texting me for nearly three hours. Fearing the worst, I quickly dialed him.
“Hey man, everything alright?”
“Fuck Riggs, I’ve been trying to contact you for hours!”
That sense of dread deepened. “What is it, brother?”
There was a pause and I could feel Grayson’s hesitation. “Tell me, Gray. What the fuck is going on?”
“I lost Luna.”
The words pounded and echoed through my brain and I gripped the handlebar trying to control myself. “You lost what?”
“Luna. I can’t find her. She was with Rahyne this afternoon, they were doing some inventory. According to her, Luna told her she needed to use the restroom. After ten minutes Rahyne thought she was taking too long and went in to look for her, but she was nowhere to be found.”
“Were they alone?”
“Knox was supposed to, but I figured it would be okay to leave them for a few minutes. They were inside goddammit!”
“Fuck! I told you not to keep her out of your sight!”
“Shit, I know! We’ve looked everywhere, Riggs. I can’t find her. I was hoping you’d heard from her.”
“Fuck no, I haven’t heard from her. Shit, I knew something was wrong when she didn’t answer the phone.”
“Where are you?”
“Four hours away.” It hit me then, the alarms went off in my head and Luna’s pretty face popped into my head. I was four hours away from her, how could I have been so stupid to leave her. I felt that tug on my heart and I shut it deep down immediately. I went numb, it was the only way I could cope with any of this.
“Grayson, listen to me very carefully,” my voice was low and serious.
He quieted down and didn’t speak a word as I continued. “Look into her foster father, she never told me his goddamn name, but he lives in the neighborhood behind the old warehouses in Lincoln Heights. Her foster mother’s name was Elizabeth she was a teacher, motherfucker was her husband. If you ask around I’m sure someone will know that piece of shit. Go there, but don’t go alone. I have a feeling something’s going on, something big. I’m a couple hours away.”
“Hey, Riggs. Are you going to be okay?”
“Just do what I tell you, Gray. Keep me fucking posted and let me know when you find him.”
I hung up with Grayson and dialed out to Luna. Pick up, pick up, pick, baby. Please pick up. Suddenly the phone was answered and I could hear heavy breathing.
“Who is this?” I growled into the phone.
I heard a man laugh and then I heard a scream in the distance. I gripped the phone, feeling it creak under the force of my hand. “Who the fuck is this!”
“She’s all mine, now, Hell’s Lover. Your precious Luna is finally back home where she belongs.”
“If you lay one finger on her I’ll rip your fucking heart out.”
“You sick son of a bitch. I know who you are and I will find you!”
“And I know who you are Jason Riggs, and I already have what you most want in this world.”
“I’m going to kill you,” I whispered angrily.
“I can’t wait to meet you, Riggs. In the meantime, I’m going to have a little fun with your bitch. You broke her in good for me, didn’t you?”
I could hear her scream in the distance and I felt my heart slam in my chest. “I promise you, that if anything happens to her I’ll make sure you’ll pay for it for the rest of your miserable life.”
“What happened to just killing me, Riggs?”
“Killing you is too kind for the likes of a shit like you. Torture has a nice ring to it.”
“We’ll see about that, Hell’s Lover. We’ll see about that.”
The phone went silent and without hesitating, I ran to my bike and got back onto that highway. I was going more than a hundred miles per hour, but I didn’t give a shit. If the cops followed me then fine, I’d lead them right where I needed them to be.
CHAPTER TWELVE
LUNA
“Get your hands off me!” I struggled against the ropes. Each twist and turn, tightened the rough rope and burned at my skin.
“You’re little boyfriend’s on his way. I think El Rubio here is very excited about that.”
“Ese cabrón is on my shit list. Him and his friends.”
“Fuck you! You’ll never be able to hurt him. The Hell’s Lovers never ride alone!”
“Well, you’re little boyfriend is heading down that highway all alone right now. And do you know why?”
I stared up at Nestor, feeling hatred towards the man who was supposed to take care of me. I knew he would find me. It was only a matter of time. “Why?” I gritted out.
“Because I told him how tasty your cunt was on my tongue.”
I spit at him and it landed on his cheek. Laughing he wiped it away and then he pointed the gun he was wielding to my temple. “Sign the fucking papers!”
“Fuck you!” I screamed.
He gripped me by the hair and I screamed again. “You sign the papers or I’ll invite El Rubio here to stick his cock into you.”
My eyes went to the man who had grabbed me in the back of Ravenous. I had only stepped out for a moment to throw some boxes in the dumpster and there he was. He looked big and menacing blocking the door. Tattoos covered his body and he had a pure evil look in his eyes. I remembered him from that night a few ago. He had tried to hurt Rahyne back then, but we managed to hide away.
As I stared back at him, he snarled. “Look at the piece of meat I just came across. You’re the bitch who did this to me.”
He pointed at a deep scar that now lined the left side of his face. I remember I has thrown a bottle at him to distract him. I guess it had done enough damage to leave a mark.
I looked around me and tried to run, but he grabbed me so quickly I didn’t have a chance to react. One moment I’m struggling and being lifted off the ground, the next moment I wake up in an old warehouse with Nestor leaning over me as he was tying me up to a metal chair.
I looked over at El Rubio and shook. He was licking his lips as he stared at me. His hand went to his crotch and he stuck out his tongue at me, wriggling it around disgustingly.
I struggled in the chair again and Nestor shoved my head down on the table before me.
“I’m not going to sign it over to you! It doesn’t matter what you do to me!” He slapped me across the face and I grunted in pain. The right side of my face was already numb from the last three punches I’d received. My eye was starting to swell and close up and my lip was bleeding.
“You’re not going to keep me from what is owed to me! That money is mine! Now sign the fucking papers!”
Of course he wanted me to sign my rights to the insurance claim over to him. Everything my parents had left me, he wanted to destroy. It wasn’t fair to them or to me, and I wasn’t going to let him have the last thing they left on this earth for me.
I looked up at him and sneered. “Fuck you.”
He hit me again and I screamed, the chair toppling over. Nestor grabbed me by my hair and a searing pain went up my neck as he yanked me back up into a sitting position. Leaning over me he snarled. “I’m going to get what’s owed to me and you’re not going to stop me little slut.”
“How long is this going to take? I need to take the bitch to Tuco, he’s waiting for her.”
“Nobody told you she was yours to take!” Nestor yelled.
El Rubio’s eyes became dark as he walked up to Nestor. “You listen to me, cabrón. The deal was I bring her to you to sign the fucking money over. Bitch comes with me when you’re done. Tuco’s going to need her for leverage. Since the Hell’s Lovers won’t budge, we’ll take what’s most precious to them…their old ladies,” he stepped up closer to him, poking him in the chest. “And don’t forget you owe me for getting you the bitch.”
“She’s not the Hell’s Lovers! And she’s definitely not yours to keep.”
El Rubio went up to him and gripped him tightly by the collar. His voice was soft yet held all the vile he could muster. “I keep whatever the fuck I want. Understand?” He let him go and pushed him back roughly.
Nestor staggered back and glared at him. “You can’t keep her, she’s mine!”
El Rubio smirked. “I don’t care what you do to her. So go ahead and get your dick wet and finish this.”
Nestor seethed at El Rubio and then his eyes came to me. “Sign the papers, Luna!”
“You’re a piece of shit, Nestor,” I breathed. “You think you’re a real man, but your nothing but worthless.”
“You think I’m worthless? You think I’m fucking worthless, huh!” He strode over to me and slammed my hand on the table. He placed the pen in my hand and squeezed. “Sign the fucking papers, or when your boyfriend arrives I’m going to cut him up in little pieces and feed him to you.”
“No!” his empty threats did nothing but anger me. He had no idea who Riggs was or what he was capable of.
He slapped me across the face again and I felt the blood shoot out of my mouth, the taste of copper powerful against my tongue.
“We’ve got to go, cabrón! Apuraté!” El Rubio pressured him from the window.
Nestor leaned in on me again and I flinched as pain shot through my head from his yanking on my hair. “If I have to give you up, then I’m going to get what I want before you go.”
“Do it and let’s go! Tuco’s waiting.”
I watched in horror as he unzipped his pants and slowly pulled out his dick. It was thin and long and it absolutely disgusted me.
“Now, be a good girl and suck for daddy.”
I screamed and he took the opportunity to shove it in my mouth. His acrid smell filled my nostrils and I bit down on him. He yelled out and grabbed my hair. I screamed as he slammed my head against the table and then darkness overcame me.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
RIGGS
I parked my bike near the warehouses where I had initially found Luna that dark night. It was the only place I could think of where it was isolated enough for her foster father to take her. It was nearing midnight and I knew the streets would be empty at this time of night. I had texted Wolf and Grayson with the address and then silenced my phone. I knew they were coming and they’d bring the brothers.
I lifted the seat of the bike and pulled out my P226 Sig automatic. I carried it everywhere I went and I was grateful I had kept it close. Lifting it, I traced my fingers along the sleek black handle. It had been a part of me for so long the familiar feel of it brought me comfort.
I slowly made my way up the street, listening intently to any sound that was out of the ordinary. As I rounded a corner, a piercing scream echoed through the night taking my breath away. Another scream came immediately after it and I ran, I ran knowing that was a scream of pain, of torture. They were hurting her and I wasn’t there to protect her.
I made my way towards the back of one of the warehouses until I found a door. Tugging on it, it propped open easily. I quickly made my way through the dark corridors until I found an open space. I forced my eyes to adjust to my surroundings and I could see a man standing before a chair. His pants were around his ankles and I heard whimpering behind him.
I raised my gun and pointed it at the man’s head as I walked to the other side of the space finally getting a better view of what was happening. The man, Nestor Alvarez, was in his late fifties by Grayson’s description and I’d know it was him by a missing pinky finger. I also recognized the pig since I had found him in this exact position nearly a year ago. Once again, he had his cock out and his pants around his ankles. He was trying to force himself against Luna’s lips as her head wobbled back and forth. I could make out her pretty face, marred by blood and black and blues. My blood boiled and I saw red, without thinking I pulled the trigger, but my gun was suddenly pulled up forcefully. I heard a man’s wail of agony, but didn’t have time to react.
A fist met my face, taking me off guard. And as I staggered back I looked up to find El Rubio staring back at me. I kept my eyes trained on the man we’d been searching for and I smiled darkly.
“Fuck me. I get two for one tonight.”
“I’ve been waiting for you, cabrón. You ready to have some fun?” he sneered.
I didn’t give him a chance to react and slammed into him full force. I slammed him against the floor and we both struggled before I was able to gain some leverage and punch his jaw. He shoved me off and I slammed back onto the ground. My head hit the cement, but I was too full of adrenaline to even notice the blood that was now seeping from the back of my head.
I searched the ground for my gun and spotted it lying a few feet away. I quickly got into action and swung all my strength into the next round of punches, sending him sprawling face down onto the floor. I went to reach for the gun when his foot came out and made contact with my knee, sending me sprawling onto the floor.
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