by Wilde, Leah
She stared at me, wide-eyed.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Look, I got into this because I love motorcycles. I love the way it feels to hop on my bike and hit the open road. Whether you’re an outlaw biker or one of these new school cats who keep it clean and work nine to five, you got into it because you love the way the bike feels, and you love what it means. I got into what we do for a living so that I could ride all the time and so that we could also control what comes in and out of our communities. We’re not in it just for the money, though that’s nice. We’re in it to monitor what’s going on.”
She tilted her head. “Don’t make yourself sound like a hero, Gage. You’re far from it.” She pushed herself away from me again and grabbed her jeans from the floor. She dropped her pants, and I caught a brief glimpse of her hot pink cotton panties before she pulled her jeans up over them. I wanted to bend her over the side of the bed and just slide those panties to the side. The color made her skin look so delicious and innocent.
“You coming?” she asked as she walked out of her room, zipping and buttoning her jeans as she went.
“Wait, you’re coming back?”
“Just to get some answers. Then, I’m out.”
Chapter 20
Julia
Dimitri looked pretty rough when I walked into the room. He sat slumped against the ropes on his chest. At first, I wasn’t even sure if he was breathing, so I approached him slowly to make sure he was. I held my hand up to Gage and his men to keep them waiting at the door while I checked on him. His chest heaved slightly in the dim light, and I gave them the thumbs up to close me in the room with him.
Once the heavy steel door slammed shut, I sat down across from the tired, beaten down Russian. The table had been moved out of the way, but my small chair still sat about where it would have if it hadn’t been moved.
“Dimitri, I’m here,” I assured him in Russian.
“Don’t let them back in here,” he croaked.
“Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, they don’t seem to be as eager to come in here.”
“Good. Thank you for coming back.” He looked up at me, and I could see his severely beaten face. His life was turning into a horror movie.
“How do you know I left?” I asked him.
“It took them a while to find you after I asked for you. You would have been here much sooner if you had been here,” he answered. “You have to be able to piece things like that together when you can’t understand what the people around you are saying.” He tried to laugh but choked, probably on blood.
“Gage said it sounded like you wanted to talk.” I kept my voice gentle and comforting. After all, Dimitri had never wronged me. I had just been hired to get information out of him. Unfortunately, he hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with any real info just yet. I couldn’t have prevented what happened to him in my absence. In all honesty, I doubted it would have been prevented had he been talkative.
“I’ll only talk if you can promise me you’ll keep them from coming back in here,” Dimitri told me.
“I can do that,” I answered, knowing I didn’t really have any control over what Gage and his men did to him. They saw this man as their prisoner, and they were determined to treat him as such. I knew I couldn’t promise him anything, but I would promise him anything if it meant getting something out of him so I could get out of here.
“And I know that as soon as I tell you, you’re going to run up there and tell Gage,” he continued. “Can you promise me he’ll let me go once he knows?”
“I’m sure he’ll want to verify any information you give me before he does, but that’s the plan.” That was not the plan. It was never the plan. I could see that now. At least the beatings would end, though. Maybe Dimitri knew that it wasn’t the plan, but he seemed to want a little comfort before opening his mouth.
“Okay, I can tell you one person who is going to be part of Ivan’s big drug deal,” he started. He spoke slowly through his labored breathing.
I was on the edge of my seat. I wasn’t planning on hanging around after he gave me this information. I was going to deliver it to Gage and get the fuck out of Dodge. Dimitri was about to deliver my ticket to freedom.
“It’s the mayor,” he said.
“What?” I couldn’t believe my ears. Was I the last person alive to get involved in this massive, international underworld?
“Try not to be so naïve, Dr. Danvers,” Dimitri said. “You already know crooked politicians exist. Don’t pretend to be shocked.”
“I’m not pretending,” I told him. I didn’t know whether to be more shocked that our mayor was crooked or that Ivan was that connected.
“Ivan stays under the radar because he pays off the radar not to see him.” Dimitri tried to force a smile but it only came across as a bloody grimace. “Besides,” he continued, “no one will be heartbroken if Gage were to rough up the mayor for more information.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“Oh, you don’t know him as well as you think. Gage is power hungry, Dr. Danvers. If you haven’t seen it yet, you will. You’ll probably see it soon,” Dimitri predicted.
“Can you give me any more information?” I had to ask.
He shook his head. “Just remember, you promised to keep them off of me.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” I stood up and looked down at the beaten man before me. I could feel my face harden. I could hear my voice grow cold.
“You promised,” he pleaded.
“Don’t beg, Dimitri. There’s nothing more pathetic than a man your size being broken down like this. You’re better than that, or that’s what I thought.” I turned and walked out of the room.
Gage and his two favorite henchmen waited for me in the pit. Gage’s eyes lit up in anticipation when he saw me, and I realized I had leverage. If I played my cards right, I knew I could use the information Dimitri had given me as a way to get out of here and get back to my life.
“Anything?” he asked.
“In private.” I jerked my head to the side to indicate that we needed to talk away from everyone else.
Gage shot a confused look at the two men standing by the door and shrugged as he walked off with me. I needed time to figure out how I was going to approach him to secure my freedom for the information he needed. I led him up to the third floor, back to his room at the end of the hall.
“What’s so important that you couldn’t tell me in front of everyone?” he asked as we closed the door.
I pushed him back against the door and pressed myself against him. I ran my hand down between his legs and stroked the front of his jeans. Two could play at his game and use sex as a tool to earn compliance. I put a hand gently around the back of his neck and leaned up to whisper in his ear.
“I want you to let me go after I tell you this,” I told him in the most seductive voice I could manage.
“Nice try, Julia, but you know you I can’t do that.” He laughed hoarsely and grabbed my arms with his massive hands. He pushed me back away from him. There was no humor, no desire in his eyes. They were hard, stony. In fact, he looked like he was on the verge of another angry outburst.
“I don’t know if I should tell you, then,” I said. I felt like a prisoner in his MC’s headquarters. I wondered if he would ever let me leave, for any reason.
“Oh, you should,” he growled. “That is unless you want me to throw you down there with Dimitri.”
Panicked questions swirled around my head. Why was he turning on me like this? Was Dimitri right about Gage? Had he been playing me the whole time? Was I doomed to share Dimitri’s fate in spite of everything that had happened? I didn’t understand how this man who had seemed so caring could suddenly be so mean and cold.
“I’m waiting, Julia.”
I gave in. “Okay. Let go of me and let me stay out of the basement. If you can do those things, I’ll tell you. Since you won’t let me go.”
“Done, but you’re not leaving until this is over. I want
to make sure you’re safe.”
I supposed that was the best offer I was going to get from him. I sighed. I realized I probably wasn’t going to get away at all, no matter what happened. The best I could do was to play along until I found an opportunity to leave on my own.
“He says the mayor is going to be part of a big drug deal that should be going down soon. He said Ivan’s arranging a massive drug deal that’s going to include the mayor and a few other corrupt government and law enforcement officials, but he won’t tell me who the others are.” I said it in one breath, giving up the only hope I had for leverage against my imprisonment.
“I knew I could count on you.” Gage cupped the back of my head and kissed my forehead. Once again, his demeanor was pleasant. I began to wonder if it wasn’t all just a game to him. Maybe Dimitri had been right after all.
Gage held me close to him and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed me, pushing his lips forcefully against mine. I didn’t return his kiss, and he gripped my hair, tilting my head back.
“You don’t want to celebrate?” he growled. “I can make you want to.” He placed a hand between my legs and started rubbing his fingers against my jeans.
His touch drove me crazy, and he knew that, but I couldn’t let him distract me. I couldn’t give in and pretend that everything was fine. I decided I wasn’t going to let him use sex as a weapon against me anymore.
“No, Gage.” I pushed his hand away from my crotch and pulled myself back from him.
“No? You don’t tell me no,” he said with a cruel laugh.
“I do now,” I informed him. “Besides, you have work to do. You’ve got the information you want. Now is not the time to distract yourself with sex.”
“But it is a good time to celebrate,” he argued, reaching for me again.
“No, it’s not. Nothing has happened. Nothing has been solved. You need to get your men together and do whatever it is you’re going to do.” I was shocked at the strength I heard in my own voice.
Then, in an effort to seal the deal and redirect his attention, I stepped closer to him. I ran a hand gently down the side of his face and spoke in his ear again.
“We can celebrate when this is over. I’ll be waiting for you, and I want you to do all those things you’ve been afraid to do to me because you think I’m too inexperienced.”
It worked. He looked at me with hope in his eyes, kissed me quickly, and headed out the door. He went down the hallway to the stairs without as much as a glance back. He knew—or thought he knew—that I would still be around when the job was finished, but, in reality, I needed the time to figure out how I was going to leave. Getting him off my back and out of my pants was the first step to getting out of here.
As he walked away from me, trusting me to be here when he came back for me, I couldn’t help but feel a certain measure of satisfaction that I’d completed my task. I sat down on the bed behind me and let the small sense of closure wash over me. I had finished my job for him, and I would be rewarded handsomely if the information checked out. I would be able to pay off some of my mother’s medical debt and start moving forward with my life, instead of always trying to live in the shadow of her dementia.
As long as she suffered, there would be new bills, but paying off the old ones would help immensely. I hadn’t said anything to Gage about it. Giving myself time to think about it, I realized we didn’t know each other all that well. It had been one hell of a whirlwind romance, but I hadn’t really let him that far into my life. He’d been in my body, and I couldn’t help wanting him back in there every time I saw him. Dear Lord, there was something so incredibly sexy about that man. He was everything I had never wanted, but with him, it was right. Gage Noll made the undesirable irresistible.
Even sitting on the bed, staring at the perfect opportunity to leave without being noticed, I wasn’t sure if I could. I wasn’t sure if I should. I wondered if the insatiable desire I felt for this underground crime boss could be transformed into something more, something deeper. I felt myself already growing worried for his safety as things moved forward. I knew that he would soon be making the move he’d been waiting to make, and I knew that he would be putting himself and his men in danger.
That probably meant I would be in danger too if I stayed around.
“Come on, Julia. Get it together. You know what you need to do,” I told myself out loud on his bed.
Chapter 21
Gage
When Julia turned me down and told me I had work to do, I realized I’d been getting soft around the edges for her. I had to toughen up for the road ahead if I expected to take Ivan down. I focused on hardening my resolve as I walked down to the pit to get Juarez and Chase.
“What did she say?” they asked in unison when they saw me.
“We know at least one person who’s going to be involved in an upcoming deal Ivan has planned. Let’s get everyone together in the boardroom. We’re going to see the mayor,” I told them.
“What about Dimitri?” Juarez asked.
“Don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine,” I said, dismissing any concerns about leaving the Russian unattended.
A few minutes later, I sat in the boardroom with Juarez, Chase, Angelo, and Ricky, the heads of the MC. We were the kings to the princes beneath us. A few of the other guys crept in and stood along the back wall, waiting to hear what the news was and what my plans were.
The round boardroom table had our logo carved into it—a grim reaper with horns, a crown, and two smoking revolvers—with a plate of glass set over the carving to create a flat surface. The walls of our boardroom had photos of prominent members of the Kings of Hell from the early days of the MC up to the current roster. Our current club didn’t use the boardroom nearly enough, I thought. It felt good to walk in and get a sense of history, to see the founding Kings standing together in a framed photo behind the president’s throne.
“Brothers, I called this meeting today because we are about to embark on the next chapter of the Kings of Hell legacy,” I started, standing in front of my throne. “We are about to eliminate one of our biggest rivals.”
A murmur of anticipation and restrained excitement flowed through the room. I could feel the energy being held back by almost every member present. It was no secret that something big was about to go down.
“As everyone knows by now, we captured Ivan’s muscle, a Russian bear who goes by Dimitri.”
Juarez and Chase beamed at their success in taking him down.
“This fucker’s so damn Russian that we had to get someone to translate for us. He doesn’t speak a lick of English, but thanks to Juarez and Chase, we were able to get through to him in our own language.”
The boys chuckled, obviously remembering the fun they had beating the man nearly to death.
“Now, we know that Ivan has a large drug deal coming up in a few days, but we have some information as to where the drugs are going, who is buying them. It may be enough information for us to finally take his ass down and take over his operation,” I told the room.
Eyes shifted side to side as members looked at their neighbors, sharing the realization that we were about to finally eliminate this cock sucker.
“The Kings of Hell will be on top again. We will own Chicago and all of the surrounding areas once again. We won’t just be dealing with the street rats or the yuppies who want to relive their youth. We’re going to be on top. We’re going to have the city in our pocket once more. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go to a fucking bar without getting picked up by the cops?”
Everyone cheered.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to reclaim some of our lost business and keep members from having to spend nights in this hell hole?”
The Kings at the table pounded their fists in support.
“What do we have to do?” Angelo asked. Angelo was our field operative. He monitored chapter operations outside of our home here in downtown Chicago. We rarely saw him unless we held a meeting or there was a
n emergency.
“We are going to see the mayor. According to Dimitri, he’s one of Ivan’s guests for this little deal he’s got going down. Apparently, he’s not the only heavyweight in attendance, but he’s all we’ve got to work with.” I eyed the rest of the room. “The rest of you princes can go. I’m only taking the kings with me.”
The members who had been lining the back wall left the room. I wondered if any of them would be ratting me out to the mayor or the police. I always wondered that. That was why I rarely allowed them in for meetings, but today was an exception. Today’s good news had to be shared with everyone, I felt.