One by one, they lined up next to each other, nodding and smiling.
“We’re with you.”
***
We hid in the shadows and behind the trees when we could. We stayed low, we stayed quiet, and we stayed together. We quickly determined there didn’t seem to be anyone else on the island. Royce usually planned his trips and parties here weeks in advance, but since bringing me here wasn’t on his schedule, we seemed to be all alone. We snuck up to the main house and watched from afar for any signs of life.
Nothing.
No Travis. Not even Jasper was there, who sometimes traveled to the island with him. No gardeners, no pool boys. Nobody at all in sight.
Nobody but me and the girls and - once I’d broken away and snuck up to one of the windows of the main house and peeked in - just Royce. He sat on one of his luxury couches, flipping through a book, a snifter of whiskey by his side.
“Let’s go,” I whispered, running back to the girls. We trailed a quarter mile away to the southernmost tip of the tiny island and walked up onto the pier. I got to the end of it and fell to my knees, dipping my head under the pier.
“Yes!” I exclaimed, pulling the ropes attached to the boat underneath. It was small, but it would work. I turned to the girls after pulling it out.
“This is for you,” I said. “Just go. Go until you find help.”
The thing is I wasn’t sure I was going to succeed in killing Royce, but I was going to die trying. I didn’t want these girls stuck here and dependent on me. I wanted them out of the way first. I was all by myself on this one.
My heart churned when I thought of Wreck. I had no idea where he was or if Royce had killed him too. I couldn’t even really process the thought of Doc being gone yet. Royce was a ruthless bastard and I couldn’t let him get his hands on these girls one more time.
“We aren’t going to leave you!” Anna said.
“I can’t risk it,” I protested. “I can take him, but just in case, I want you out of here. Just keep going until you find someone to help you. There’s another island nearby - I saw it out the window on the plane.”
“No,” she said, crossing her arms. “We aren’t leaving you here.”
“Please!” I cried. “You’ve been here too long. I should have saved you years ago, I should have done something sooner. This is all my fault, you have to go while you can!”
“This isn’t your fault,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s his. And he’s the one that has to go. We’ll do it together.”
I looked in their eyes, one by one, and I saw the same thing there that I saw when I looked in the mirror. Pure hatred for Royce.
“Okay,” I said, finally. “But if anything goes wrong, promise you’ll run right back here and leave.”
“We aren’t going anywhere without you,” she said. I nodded, my heart in my chest. So much had gone wrong, because of choices I’d made. I should have told Jesse right away who I was without waiting and I certainly shouldn’t have chosen to tell him while we were standing in the middle of the ocean. Now, Doc was gone because of me. If Jesse’s hurt, I don’t know how I’ll survive.
But I know one thing.
No matter what. Royce won’t.
“Let’s go,” I said. We turned and made our way back towards the house.
I already had a plan of how I would kill this bastard.
It was only fitting.
***
He made it easy on me.
By the time we made it back, he was already there, throwing meat into the tank, the fish swarming the surface and fighting for the bloody pink flesh. He looked slightly surprised to see me walk in and only a little irritated.
“You got out,” he said.
Slowly, I walked over to him, nodding.
“Yes,” I said. “The girls had a key.”
“I thought they might, those little bitches.”
“You’re sick, Royce. Disgusting.”
“Yes, well, that’s part of being human isn’t it?”
“Is it?” I asked, taking a small bit of meat off the plate and throwing it in the water. I watched the fish swarm around it, creating bubbles on the surface of the water in their feeding frenzy. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t felt human for a long time.”
“Oh, please, Vanessa!” he sneered. “Don’t give me some sad woe-is-me song. You had a good life. All the luxuries of being my wife. The house, the clothes, the jewels…”
“I didn’t have a life and you know it. Don’t act like you didn’t keep me prisoner now, Royce.”
“I told you earlier, Vanessa,” he said, a sickening smile spreading across his face like a venomous snake. “It’s simple. You’re mine. That doesn’t mean I didn’t treat you well. Hell, I barely touched you. You’re lucky.”
“Lucky, huh? Because you didn’t pass me around to your friends? You’re right, Royce. I was lucky. But those other girls? All the ones you’ve been using to make money and connections and blackmail your friends? If I’m the lucky one, what do you call them?”
“Fuck them, they’re lucky too,” he said. “Do you know what their lives would have been like without me? They’d be on the street. At least with me they have a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear. Not to mention, this beautiful paradise they live in!”
“Are you fucking immune to what you’ve done to them? You really are that big of a fucking heartless monster aren’t you?”
“Hey, they needed to pay for what I was giving them. If all they have are their bodies, so be it.”
“You’ve ruined their lives!”
“I gave them a fucking life! Just like I gave you a life, Vanessa! You should thank me!” He was growing angry now, his face turning scarlet. But his voice stayed calm and smooth, just like it always did. “I’m no monster! I make things happen. I make people happy! Money problems? Call Royce! Going to jail? Call Royce! He’ll fix everything, he’s got connections. So what if I need a little time to blow off steam every once in a while! Do you know how hard I work? How much pressure I have?”
“Yeah, it’s all about you, right?”
“Yes, it is!” he answered, throwing the plate of meat across the room, in a rare display of emotion. It landed in a loud crash, leaving streaks of blood on the white floor. He closed the distance between us, his face inches from mine.
“You don’t think you’re lucky?” he asked, reaching up and cupping my chin with his fingers. I peered into his eyes defiantly. I wasn’t afraid of him anymore. He trailed a finger down my chin, across my jaw, and down my collarbone, before sliding his hand down and palming my breast. He squeezed, hard, but I didn’t flinch. I raised my chin higher and took a deep breath. “Maybe that’s it, huh? I didn’t fuck you. Are you jealous, Vanessa? Are you jealous of these girls?”
“No,” I shook my head, my eyes shooting daggers at him.
“Tell me something, darling,” he said, squeezing my breasts harder. “Did you get what you wanted? From the biker? Did he fuck you the way you wanted me to?” he asked, his eerie calmness returning quickly.
“Shut up,” I said. I couldn’t think about Jesse now.
“I should have gotten rid of you long ago,” he said, letting go of me and turning away. “I should have brought you in here and thrown you in this tank as soon as I got you, but I didn’t. I promised your dad…” he trailed off.
“Promised my dad what?”
“It doesn’t matter now, Vanessa,” he said, turning back to me and shaking his head, dismissing my question. “You’re dirty now. You’re useless to me. Do you think I need a wife who’s been passed around like a fucking clubhouse whore to a bunch of thugs, darling? There’s no reason to keep you around now.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Royce,” I whispered, a ghost of a smile forming on my lips.
“Wrong? Am I, darling?” he asked, as if we were having one of our hate-filled civil conversations over dinner.
“There’s one more reason,” I said, nodding calmly.
> “What’s that, dear?” he asked.
I reached both hands up slowly, resting them on either side of his head. I let the smile play on my lips as I looked him in the eyes.
“You need me here, Royce,” I said, drawing out my words as slow as possible as I saw the girls move in behind him. “So that I can watch you die.”
He started to laugh but then he was in the air, his body weightless, his head headed straight for the tank. The expression of disbelief on his face was beautiful and unforgettable. The girls picked him up all at once, lifting him up and over the edge of the tank, dipping his most perfect, beautiful, prized possession into the water.
The fish were still hungry.
Their meal had been interrupted and thrown across the floor.
They swarmed around his face, his body squirming and flailing in the air as the girls held on tightly, keeping his face submerged as his beautiful, prized, red-bellied piranhas nipped at the cherished flesh of his face, his lips, his eyes.
I stood back, smiling at the irony of it all as I reached up and touched my own face.
When the girls finally let go, his body made a huge splash in the water. We watched him disappear into the tank, his body completely submerged now as he flailed around.
My heart swelled with the sweetest joy as I watched the frothy, red bubbles float to the surface of the water. His body stilled as the fish continued nipping at him with violent enthusiasm.
The girls cheered and jumped, clapping in happiness as they hugged each other.
I couldn’t believe it was over.
Once and for all, I was finally free.
We were all free.
My head spun as I was overcome with emotion. I tried to breathe but the room was swirling around me. I walked up the stairs and back towards the front door, desperate for air, desperate to be away from him.
I opened the front door and stopped in my tracks.
I blinked twice and then once more, positive that I was hallucinating as the dizziness overtook me.
The two men running towards me were like two apparitions from my past.
“Jesse? Daddy?!” I cried.
They caught me right before I hit the ground.
EPILOGUE
“Doc would have loved this,” Grace said, as she wrapped her arms around Ryder. They stood on the front porch of the clubhouse together, watching the Gods dance around the huge bonfire they’d erected after Doc’s funeral. The flames flickered up towards the sky, competing with the brightness of the stars. ‘Whiskey River’ played in the background, Willie’s voice bellowing through the darkness as if he was serenading Doc into the afterlife.
Riot and Lacey were pouring beer on the bonfire in sacrifice to him. Across the way, Slade and Diana were sitting around a smaller campfire with little Jeremiah, trying to teach him how to roast a marshmallow that was shoved onto the end of a long stick.
Wreck and Frankie sat in the corner petting and feeding insects to Oliver and Olivia, like old friends. Dr. Moretti sat close by, talking to Cherry as she dabbed her eyes with a napkin. Doc was her best friend, they’d known each other for decades. Outside of Ryder, Doc’s death had hit her the hardest of anyone in the club.
Doc’s son, Jason, had flown in for the funeral earlier, and insisted on coming to the club to go through his father’s belongings and spend more time with the Gods that Doc had loved so much. He was the exact opposite of Doc. His hair was cropped close to his head, his tan, youthful face was the epitome of health. He was handsome, tall and built like a stallion. About to finish up his fifth year of residency soon - he’d be a full blown surgeon before the year was up. He’d worked so hard to make his dad proud and now Doc wouldn’t be around to see him achieve that goal.
He walked up to Ryder and Ryder pulled him in for a hug.
“I hope you know how proud of you Doc was,” Ryder said. “I know he was a man of few words, but you were his greatest achievement, Jason. You meant more to him than anything in the world.”
“Thank you,” Jason said, nodding. “Can we talk for a minute?”
“Sure, of course,” Ryder answered.
“I’ll be in the kitchen,” Grace said, giving them some space. They sat down on the porch together, both of them staring up at the trees.
“Your dad was a good man,” Ryder said. “He loved it here. He loved everything about this place.”
“I can see why, it’s beautiful,” Jason answered. “Ryder, my dad told me about your organization, the work you do.”
“He was an important part of it,” Ryder nodded. “I don’t know how we’ll go on without him,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. Ryder was doing his best to hold it together, for everyone else, but inside he was a big ball of ragged anguish. He couldn’t help but partly blame himself. He should have left another man there with Doc. He'd probably never forgive himself for not thinking that through. But mainly, he blamed Randolph. If the girls hadn’t killed him first, Ryder would have done it with his bare hands.
“This whole thing you’ve got going,” Jason said, “it’s just so goddamn noble.”
“I guess you could say that,” Ryder replied, shrugging, always humble. “I never planned this, it just happened naturally. I stumbled across Grace when she needed help, and the next thing I know, we’re saving women left and right.”
“When Dad told me about it, he couldn’t contain the pride he felt.”
“We’re all proud,” Ryder said.
“I can tell. That’s why I want to be a part of it,” Jason said, turning to Ryder and looking him in the eye.
“What?” Ryder asked, his voice full of shock. “No, Jason, you don’t want this. You can’t just give up everything you’ve worked for.”
“I don’t care about any of that. I want to live in my father’s footsteps, I want to continue what he helped start. Please, Ryder?”
“You don’t understand, Jason. It’s not so simple. You can’t just join Solid Ground, you have to be a God, too.”
“Then I’ll be a God. I can ride. Dad taught me when I was thirteen.”
“No way, man…”
They went back and forth, their voices trailing off into the star-filled sky as they debated the pros and cons of giving up a lifetime of doing good work as a doctor and joining up with the club.
Wreck and Frankie sat in the corner, their heads close together, their fingers intertwined in their laps. Wreck hadn’t left her side in a week and he had no plans to do so in the future. And what a week it had been.
After fainting at the sight of her father and Jesse, Frankie had finally regained consciousness on the plane. She’d spent hours talking with her father as he explained everything to her, just as he had twice earlier that day. She’d quickly realized she had a choice - be upset that her father had made that fateful choice so long ago and reject his presence in her life or understand that he was a victim of Royce’s too and forgive him and embrace him now as a part of her new life. She chose forgiveness.
The Gods loaded up the plane with all the girls, leaving Royce’s bones floating at the top of his piranha tank, his flesh picked away completely by the ravenous fish. After they’d landed, the girls had been taken to the safe house with the others and given a chance to start a new life - with Grace making sure all their needs were met - clothes, food, money, housing and most importantly, counseling. They would have a lifetime of haunted memories of the horror Royce and his men had inflicted upon them, but they at least had a chance now at recovering as much as possible.
Once again, Solid Ground had pulled through. Although, most of the credit went to Frankie, she knew she couldn’t have done it without the strength of those girls. They’d all saved themselves together.
Royce’s death was ruled a tragic accident by the police and Travis and all his friends were being charged with just about every crime under the sun. A few days later, Frankie was contacted by Royce’s lawyers. As his wife, his entire fortune was left to her. Royce probably hadn’t wanted it
that way, but since his arrogance had prevented him from preparing a will, the law defaulted to give everything to his spouse.
She told Grace the next day that she wanted to be Solid Ground’s benefactor. She was awash in gratitude for their help, not just for her, but for those girls, too. She wanted to make sure they kept going for a very long time and she couldn’t think of a better use for Royce’s money.
Wreck looked over at her as she petted Olivia’s head, his heart so full of love he thought it might burst. He didn’t care what she looked like. He didn’t care about all the years spent apart. None of that mattered.
Just like Frankie didn’t care that he was littered with scars - the ones you could see and the ones you couldn’t. Because that wasn’t what was important.
What was important was what was on the inside - what was in their hearts. Their hearts were scarred too, but now that they were together, they had a chance at healing them.
“I want to give you something,” Wreck whispered in her ear. She leaned over and kissed him gently and he pulled her up, much to Olivia’s dismay. “Come with me.”
“She’ll be back,” he said to Olivia, as the owl scooted over and snuggled against Oliver, the two of them sitting back and watching the party like a couple of Gods themselves. The only thing missing was their cuts.
Wreck led Frankie to his room and pulled open his bedside drawer. He pulled out what till now had been his most prized possession - the picture of Frankie and her mother. He didn’t need it anymore. He had the real thing right in front of him.
“I’ve had this for years,” he said, handing it to her. “It’s yours now.”
Her eyes filled with tears when she saw it. She ran a finger over her mother’s face, shaking her head.
“I can’t believe you have this!” she said, her voice quivering with emotion.
WRECKED: GODS OF CHAOS MC, BOOK FOUR Page 20