“What?” Grace asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Yep,” I shook my head. “She said Frankie didn’t die. That she’s Frankie.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Ryder said, his eyes filled with confusion.
“Tell me about it! But that’s the only Frankie I know,” I shrugged. “Right after she told me, the wave took us out. I didn’t get an explanation from her.”
“What the fuck?” Riot said, shaking his head. “Does she look like her? Wouldn’t you have known?”
“She doesn’t look anything like her,” I answered. “Not at all.”
“How bizarre,” Grace said, staring down at Vanessa. Or Frankie. Or whoever the hell she was. “I guess stranger things have happened, though.”
“Have they?” I asked, “Because I can’t think of anything stranger than this.”
Grace walked over to me and pulled me close for a hug.
“Whatever’s going on, we’ll figure it out, Jesse, don’t worry,” she said.
“Not if she doesn’t wake up,” I replied.
“She’ll wake up, Jesse,” she said. “She’s strong. She’s fighting.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said, my voice thick with emotion, my heart breaking into pieces in my chest. “Because right now nothing makes any sense to me at all.”
“Of course it doesn’t,” Ryder said. “But it will.”
I pulled away from Grace before I dissolved into a puddle of emotion at her feet and sat down in a chair next to Vanessa’s bed.
“It’s her laugh,” I murmured.
“What about it?” Riot asked, walking over to stand near me. He placed his huge warm hand on my shoulder.
“I didn’t want to believe it. Frankie died. I mean, shit, I went to her fucking funeral, you know? But when Vanessa laughs - it’s Frankie’s laugh,” I said, shaking my head.
“Well, does it matter?” Ryder asked.
“What do you mean does it matter?” I asked.
“Did you love Frankie?” he asked.
“With all my fucking heart,” I answered.
“Do you love Vanessa?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I just met her. But there’s something there, for sure. I haven’t felt like this around a woman since I was in love with Frankie.”
“Well, that’s what I mean. You can’t hold on to the past, son. No matter who this woman is, what her name is, or where she came from, she’s still the same person you have feelings for today. And that’s what’s real. Those feelings you have now. The past is over and it’s never coming back.”
I stared at Vanessa’s face, searching for answers that weren’t coming. Ryder was right. But still…
“Maybe this time the past did come back,” I mumbled.
I reached over and put my hand over Vanessa’s again, nodding.
“I’m right here, babe,” I whispered in her ear. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Actually, Wreck, you are,” Ryder said. I looked up at him in confusion.
“What?”
“You’re coming with us. Royce’s party is tonight. We need you.”
“I can’t go to that, I have to stay here!”
“Doc will stay with her. He’ll be here if she wakes up. We need you to help us tonight - it’s what Vanessa would have wanted,” he said.
“Don’t say it like that - for fuck’s sake, she isn’t dead!”
“That’s not what I meant. Of course she’s going to pull through. But in the meantime, you have work to do - work that means everything to Vanessa. You have to do it for her.”
“For fuck’s sake…” I muttered, shaking my head.
He was right. The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint Vanessa as soon as she’d woken up by telling her we’d blown our chance to bring Royce to his fucking knees.
“Fine,” I relented. “But only if Doc stays here all night.”
“I got no problem with that - have you seen the nurses in this joint?” Doc said, walking back through the door as if I’d summoned him just by saying his name. “With this new Clooney haircut, I just might have a chance at banging one or two of them!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Wreck
Back at the clubhouse, I couldn’t sit still. I put on the stupid monkey suit that Grace had ordered, slicked my hair back and let Lacey put that fucking makeup on my face to hide my scar. To say my heart wasn’t in it is an understatement, but I was desperately trying to get in the spirit. There was no doubt that I was going to thoroughly enjoy taking down Randolph, but it was so hard to be away from Vanessa that it was tearing me in two.
I’d texted Doc a million times by now checking on her and I’d only been away a few hours. He’d promised to let me know if there was any change in her condition or if she woke up.
I just wanted to get this over with and get back to her as fast as possible.
“When are we leaving?” I asked Ryder as I walked out of my room and joined the others on the porch. I looked around at them and couldn’t help but smile.
Ryder, Slade and Riot were all wearing suits, their shorn hair and clean faces rendering them completely unrecognizable. There wasn’t a tattoo in sight. I hadn’t seen Ryder outside of his cut in a long time and although they were all trying, they still looked pretty fucking rough to me. It was that look in their eye - the one that told you they’d seen some shit - that would never go away. I don’t care if they were wearing a fucking doctor’s coat or a priest’s frock, I would have taken one look at them and known not to fuck with them.
“Soon,” Ryder said, in answer to my question. “How are you holding up?”
“Not well,” I muttered. “Just want to get this over with and get back. You two still look like a couple of thugs, though,” I said, gesturing to Riot and Slade. Slade flashed his missing-tooth crooked grin at me and I shook my head. “Guess there’s no hiding the truth when it comes to some things.”
Slade walked over and patted my back, hard.
“Don’t worry, Wreck,” he said. “Most women don’t mind a few missing teeth when you’ve got so many extra inches down South.”
I groaned and shook my head again.
“Ain’t nobody gonna see what you got down South, asshole,” Ryder said. “Not today, anyway.”
“Hey, I got a good woman now, I don’t need anyone else. I’m just saying, it’s never been a problem.”
“Whatever,” Riot said, laughing, rubbing his newly shaved chin. “With my beautiful face on display and uncovered like this, nobody will be looking at you anyway, Slade.”
Grace walked outside and a low whistle escaped from her lips.
“Hot damn, y’all clean up real nice!” she said, as she planted a kiss on Ryder’s cheek.
“Hey baby,” he said, pulling her close to him.
“Almost ready to go?” she asked, looking up at him with such love in her eyes. I couldn’t help but think of Vanessa, how it felt to hold her in my arms, to sink myself into her in that cave, to kiss her, to smell her - I watched the two of them with a heart full of envy.
“Yeah, what about you?” he asked.
Grace had prepared another safe house in Portland just in case we managed to get some of the girls to safety today.
“Ready as I’ll ever be!” she replied with a smile.
“Alright, then. Let’s pile into the SUV and get going, guys,” Ryder said. He dipped his head, kissing Grace’s forehead.
“Stay in touch with me, okay, babe?” she asked.
“You know it,” he replied, kissing her again and sliding behind the wheel. We all piled in - me in front with Riot and Slade in the back.
“We look like we’re going to a funeral,” Riot said.
“You look like you already died, dude,” Slade said.
“Fuck you, asshole,” Riot snapped.
“Hey, I’m just saying - all that hair on your face hid all that ugliness under there,” he shrugged. Riot reached over and punched his arm.
“Stop
acting like a couple of fucking kids,” Ryder said, as he began driving down the long curvy road that led to the freeway. “Get your fucking heads on straight.”
“Yeah, Slade,” Riot said. “Don’t make Dad pull the car over!”
We all laughed, even me. It felt good for a second, but as soon as I realized I was laughing, I felt like shit.
Vanessa was lying in a fucking hospital bed fighting for her life. Laughing about anything wasn’t a fucking option for me at this point. Ryder glanced over at me and nodded.
“She’s gonna be alright, man,” he reassured me.
“Yeah,” I mumbled.
“You’ll be back there soon, don’t worry,” he said.
“I know.” I thought about her eyes, her hair, her laugh. I didn’t give a fuck who she was. If she was Frankie, fine, she had some explaining to do, but if not, so what? She was Vanessa, and that’s the girl I wanted. “Let’s annihilate this fucking prick Randolph and get the fuck out of there as fast as possible.”
“That’s the plan, man, that’s the plan…” Ryder said.
I took a deep breath and reached for my phone to text Doc again…
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Ryder
We pulled into the circular driveway of one of the biggest houses I’d ever seen, and I turned off the engine. Slade and Riot whistled from the backseat.
“This is fucking huge,” Riot said.
“That’s what she said,” Slade joked.
“Shut up! Now!” I snapped. “It’s fucking go time. Now, you understand the plan, right?”
“Yes,” Riot answered, his face growing serious.
“Alright, then,” I said. “Don’t fuck this up.”
I left the keys in the ignition and we poured out of the vehicle. As soon as we walked up to the door, it opened and a short stocky guy in a suit walked out.
“Hello, gentlemen. I’m Jasper. Mr. Randolph’s butler. Welcome to Randolph Manor.”
He turned and walked back through the large wooden double front doors to the house.
“Welcome,” he said, bowing formally. “Mr. Travis will be with you shortly.”
He led us into the foyer and I immediately began assessing the place. I could see there was another exit straight ahead that led to a back yard with a big, sparkling pool amongst a lush and perfectly landscaped garden.
“Who’s Mr. Travis?” I asked. “I was expecting to see Mr. Randolph.”
“Royce couldn’t make it today,” a big booming voice echoed through the foyer and we all turned to see a huge dark-haired man walking towards us with an outstretched hand and a stiff smile. “I’m Travis McKnight. Mr. Randolph’s assistant.”
Right away I knew who he was. Vanessa told us to expect him. She’d also told us that he was the one assigned to watching over her and making sure she didn’t get out of line, so as far as I was concerned, he was just one more asshole to take down.
“Travis, nice to meet you. I’m Ryder, this is Jeremiah and Edgar and Jesse,” I said. Everyone shook hands and Travis led us into the back of the house.
“The party is in full swing already. I’ll introduce you around, but please make yourself at home. There’s a full bar and anything else that suits you. Mr. Randolph instructed me to make sure you have the best time possible, so we’ve got some ladies mingling around for your exclusive entertainment.”
“Entertainment?” Slade asked.
“Yes, they’re very entertaining girls, if you know what I mean.”
I resisted the urge to punch him right then and there. We had to go slow. We had to do this right. We walked outside to the pool and I saw exactly what he meant. The girls certainly looked entertaining upon first glance, but if you really looked into their eyes, first, you’d see how young they were, then you’d see the deadness there, the numbness that only comes from being forced to let a half dozen old, bald, white men paw you like a fucking bunch of drooling abusive pricks.
And that’s all I saw. Six old men, sitting around drinking whiskey and sucking on cigars, their big fat guts all shiny and white in the sunshine.
“I didn’t realize this was a pool party,” I said, the suit growing hotter by the second. I glanced over at the other guys and saw their eyes darting around and taking in all the details. Good. That’s what they were supposed to be doing. With any luck, we could get these girls separated and out of here in a very short time.
All eyes turned our way when we stepped outside. The girls looked shocked to see us, probably because we weren’t old or bald or fat. The men looked pissed. Probably because we weren't old or bald or fat, also. They had no idea what was in store for their old, bald, fat asses. I hated men like that. Rich men who felt they were entitled to anything they wanted, just because they had money. Rich men that didn’t care about anyone else, especially the young girl’s lives they were ruining.
“Wow, those are some young girls,” Slade said.
Travis smiled and turned to him.
“Yes, they are. Are they too old for you? I could have some younger ones brought over.”
My stomach churned and I saw Slade’s hands ball into fists at his side. Slade was a wild card. He was fearless, and that’s why I appreciated him, but he was known to fly into an uncontrollable rage when provoked and I said a silent little prayer that he could keep his shit together long enough for us to complete our mission. I shot him a warning look and he smiled over at Travis.
“Younger, eh?” he asked.
“Sure, of course. Mr. Randolph told me to make sure you were completely pleased.”
“I think these will do for now, but thanks for the offer,” Slade answered.
“Of course,” he replied. “Let me introduce you around.”
We followed him around the pool, stopping to shake hands and exchange names, but these men were not interested in us in the slightest, except maybe pissed that we were now their competition. They were indistinguishable, so alike in their appearances, in their frames, in their beady eyes and smarminess that I couldn’t tell one from the other.
Unfortunately, there were enough girls here to go around for everyone.
“Can I get you gentlemen some drinks?” Travis asked as we made our way back to the table.
“Whiskey.”
“Whiskey.”
“Whiskey.”
“Whiskey.” We all answered at once and Travis raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything, he just turned on his heel and walked back inside. We sat down at a table under an umbrella that shaded us from the heat.
“These fucking suits are hot as a motherfucker,” Riot mumbled. “I didn’t know this was going to be a fucking pool party.”
“Yeah, well, you take that shit off and everyone will see your tats, so just deal,” I said. “We won’t be here long. The sun’s going down, it’ll cool off soon, too.”
“Ten-four,” he replied. The girls were surrounding the men, but looking over at us. They were all wearing tiny bikini’s, their young bodies on full display for these lecherous pricks. I turned away, unable to look at them. I couldn’t wait to get them out of here.
Travis came back with our drinks on a tray, the amber whiskey sparkling in the sun.
“Gentlemen, please feel free to walk around the house as much as you want. Bedrooms are upstairs, and you’re welcome to use them anytime. These ladies give the best massages.”
“Oh, yeah?” Riot asked.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Samantha, come here,” he called. One of the girls walked over and stopped behind Riot. She smiled, running a hand along the back of his neck. He reached up and grabbed it, stopping her.
“Maybe later, sweetheart,” he said, smiling at her. “Think I’ll just sit here and drink for a bit, if that’s okay?”
“Of course,” Travis replied, sitting down with us. The girl walked away and back over to one of the other men, his arm snaking around her waist and pulling her down into his lap. I resisted the urge to cringe and turned back to Travis.
“
So, where’s Randolph?” I asked, mustering an interested smile.
“He had a personal matter to attend to. Family emergency, I’m afraid. He asked me to apologize on his behalf.”
“I see. That’s too bad,” I replied.
“Do you mind if I look around?” Slade asked. “I’m really into architecture, and this place is beautiful.”
“No, of course not, help yourself,” Travis said. “Check out the eucalyptus spa in the master bathroom upstairs. It’s made of reclaimed redwood.”
“Will do,” he said, picking up his drink and wandering back into the house.
“So, Mr. Randolph tells me he’s going to help you out with your business investments,” Travis said.
“Yeah,” I answered. “You worked for him long?”
“A very long time,” he nodded.
“What’s that like?” Riot asked.
“It has its perks,” he winked, “as you can see.”
“Looks like it,” I answered, trying to muster a lascivious smile. In my mind, I was punching his fucking teeth out and he was spitting blood.
“If you want to spend some time alone with any of these girls, just say so. Like I said, they give great private massages,” he winked at me and my stomach turned again.
“Looks like it,” I nodded, gesturing to a girl that was rubbing the back of one of the assholes by the pool. After a few seconds, he patted her on the ass and stood up and she followed him into the house.
“They’re very skilled,” Travis said.
“Excellent,” I said, sipping my whiskey, as Travis stood up and excused himself.
“Gentlemen, I have some work to do for an hour or so, then I’ll be back to join in on the fun!” he said, winking again.
“See you soon then!” I said, nodding. He left, leaving Riot and Wreck and I sitting there watching the others.
Soon, all the other men followed suit - each one taking a girl upstairs.
“Guess it’s go time,” I said, after the last one trailed into the house, a girl that couldn’t have been more than fourteen following him.
“Let’s wait just a few minutes,” Riot said.
WRECKED: GODS OF CHAOS MC, BOOK FOUR Page 16