Dead Man's Isle (Harlequin Crew #2)

by Caroline Peckham

  JJ shifted Rogue upright on his lap as she fought with him like she was desperate to get out and go after that asshole.

  I spanked her thigh to snap her out of it and she gasped, glaring at me and slapping me hard across the face. The truck veered and JJ caught the wheel to stop me careering off the dirt road and I growled at Rogue.

  “What the fuck were you thinking?” I barked at her.

  “I was thinking Shawn was gonna fucking die at my hands while he was exposed,” she snarled. “Seemed like a damn good opportunity to me.”

  I shook my head, though I couldn’t even fucking argue with that. She almost took him out, and her plan might have really worked if she could actually fire a gun for shit. That didn’t make me any less angry though.

  “That was badass, pretty girl,” JJ chuckled and I shot him a glare, finding Chase fighting a grin at her too. Assholes.

  “Well I hope you enjoyed the field trip, baby,” I snarled in fury. “Because we’re officially at war with The Dead Dogs and that means you’re not leaving the house until Shawn’s head is full of bullet holes.”

  I leaned back in the La-Z-Boy chair Shawn liked to use as a throne whenever he was here and sighed. He'd texted me, asking me to stop by. Well, asking was a little soft for the ‘come over’ text message I'd received but still, he'd told me to come so here I was, wearing a red dress because he liked that colour on me and sitting on my own.

  It had been almost an hour, but I didn't bother shooting him another message because this wasn't that unusual. He'd be here when he got here and if he changed his mind about wanting me to wait for him then he'd just text me again. And as pathetic as I knew that made me, I just didn’t care enough to argue over it. Apathy was my new favourite flavour and I was finding it easy to swallow most of the time.

  A knock came at the door to the big apartment and I looked towards it with a slight frown. Shawn had men hanging around downstairs - this entire apartment building was full of his gang members and there was always someone watching the comings and goings. So people didn’t just come knocking on the door at random.

  "It's Travis," a voice came from outside and I pushed to my feet at the sound of Shawn's number two calling out a greeting. Or was he number three? Maybe four? Whatever, he was one of the gang banger elite as far as The Dead Dogs went and that meant he was cool. Or it meant Shawn said he was cool. I never really got to know many of his people so I couldn’t say I’d formed my own opinion on him.

  "Shawn's not here," I called back, keeping my ass in my chair.

  "No worries, sweetheart, I can wait with you until he is. I need a word with him when he gets back."

  I considered my options then shrugged. I was bored as fuck and Travis was one of Shawn's men, so I couldn't see the problem in having some company while I waited around.

  I got up and opened the door, smiling up at Travis and stepping aside to let him in. He was a big fucker, some combination of muscle and plenty of food filling him out, his skin dark and smile used to breaking hearts. He tipped an imaginary hat to me, my gaze catching on the skull he had tattooed on the back of his hand as I smirked.

  "Oh, I didn't realise The Dead Dogs employed gentlemen in their ranks," I teased, closing the door behind him and heading over to the fridge. Shawn always kept it well stocked, so I grabbed a couple of beers out and tossed one to Travis as he dropped down on the couch.

  "Well, you wouldn't would you, secret girl?" he asked, smirking at me over the top of his bottle as he took a swig. "Shawn likes to keep you hidden away as if the rest of us won't even realise you're here just because he keeps you to himself most of the time."

  "I don't have any interest in The Dead Dogs," I said as I dropped into my seat and took a drink of my own beer. "So there's not a lot of point in me spending time with them too often."

  Not that I'd have minded really. I was bored a lot. And kinda lonely too. In fact, I couldn't remember the last time I'd had someone to sit and drink a beer with.

  "We don't have to talk gang bullshit then," Travis replied. "You can tell me all about your day. Are you into knitting or some shit? Is that why you're sitting around up here when the sun is shining? You got some cardigan you're tryna finish for my boy to wear on a chilly evening?"

  I laughed loudly at the idea of Shawn in knitwear and Travis grinned at me.

  The sound of the front door slamming against the wall made me flinch and I whipped around as Shawn strode in, his gaze moving from me to Travis and back again as a sneer pulled at his top lip.

  "Well doesn’t this look like a cosy little gathering?" he asked with a wide smile, that dangerous look falling from his face as if it had never been there. But it had.

  "Your girl was kind enough to let me come in and wait for you, boss," Travis explained, standing his beer on the coffee table and getting to his feet. "She was just being hospitable."

  "Oh yeah, my little woman is always supremely hospitable," Shawn agreed, throwing me a look that made my stomach clench. "What are you doing here, Travis?"

  "I found that asshole you were looking for. The one who stole the-"

  "Where is he then?" Shawn asked with a wide smile which didn't reach his blue eyes and my gut knotted.

  "Got him in the warehouse. You want me to deal with it, or-"

  "Nah. I'm feeling all kinds of het up right now. I think I could use a workout."

  Travis nodded and headed towards the door while I remained where I was, hoping to escape that look Shawn was giving me, but I knew that wasn't going to happen.

  "Come on, sugarpie," Shawn said, holding a hand out to me. "I think it might be fun for you to see what I do to men who touch things that belong to me. Don't you?"

  "Sure," I agreed like I didn’t have a care in the world, getting to my feet and taking his hand. He squeezed my fingers tightly and towed me along as we took off after Travis, following him to the elevator and riding it down to the ground floor.

  Shawn cracked jokes with him and I tried to relax too, smiling along, but the knot of unease in my gut was only tightening and I couldn't figure out why. Shawn never wanted me anywhere near any of his work and I never wanted to get near to it either. So why the fuck was I being brought along for the ride?

  Travis hopped into his car and Shawn nudged me towards the back seats as he rode shotgun and I listened to the two of them laughing and talking shit on the drive. But more than once, Travis caught my gaze in the rear view mirror and the looks he shot me were more than enough to set my anxiety on edge. He was worried about something and considering his line of work, I was inclined to be pretty worried in response to that myself.

  We drove away from town to an old industrial estate and Shawn opened my door for me, taking my hand once more with a crocodile's smile before leading me into a dark warehouse. It was empty, abandoned, more than a few of the windows busted and puddles of water coating the concrete floor.

  I spotted a few lower ranking members of The Dead Dogs hanging about the place, but they moved out of sight as we passed them. When we walked through to the main part of the warehouse, we found a shivering, shirtless man tied to a chair, his face bloody and body beaten.

  He wheezed in a breath and raised his head to look at us as we entered and fear filled his swollen eyes as he caught sight of Shawn.

  Shawn gave him a look like a feral beast who was starving for a meal before leaning down to speak in my ear.

  "I catch you playing whore for one of my men again, and we're gonna have a problem, sugarpie. Got it?"

  Objections coated my tongue, but one look into his blue eyes told me to keep silent so I just nodded and he leaned in to press a rough kiss to my mouth which bruised my lips and made my pulse scatter.

  When he strode away from me, I found Travis watching us, looking a little uncomfortable, but not saying a word. He was a soldier after all and Shawn was the one in command. There were no white knights in stories like mine.

  The guy who was tied to the chair started screaming as Shawn turned to
wards the wall where a bunch of tools and knives were laid out and I got the feeling that this place saw this kind of thing a lot.

  I didn't flinch as he picked up a hatchet and began spinning it in his hand, his smile widening while the guy screamed and thrashed against his chair. Death had brought me to this place after all and I'd seen enough blood when I killed Axel to know I didn't need to fear it unless it was mine.

  Shawn circled his prey, a shark in the water with an injured seal at his mercy and I just watched as he taunted him. I didn't know if this man deserved his death or not but there wasn't anything I could do about it. So as Shawn began making a song and dance out of asking the guy if he'd seriously believed he could get away with stealing from him, I just retreated to that place in my head where the sun was shining and the waves crashed against the golden sand. I heard gulls calling and tasted salt on my tongue and could almost remember what it was like to truly smile as bright as that sun.

  Shawn began swinging the hatchet and the guy stopped screaming long before he was done with it. I watched the massacre without a flicker of emotion crossing my face, feeling Travis's gaze moving to me more than once but it didn't really matter what he thought of me or my reaction. It had been nice to have a friend for a little while there. But I doubted we'd be hanging out again any time soon.

  Shawn tossed the bloody hatchet to the ground with a loud clatter as the metal hit the concrete and he turned back to us, grinning wildly, his face and body splattered with blood. Travis held his ground as he approached him, not even flinching when Shawn's fist collided with his face.

  "I see you making moves on my girl again then this asshole's death will seem like a daydream in comparison."

  "Yes, boss," Travis agreed, spitting a wad of blood from his mouth and cutting me a look before dropping his gaze again.

  Yeah, my friend count had definitely just dropped back to zero.

  I remembered an episode of The Power Rangers where the Green Ranger had been held captive by Rita Repulsa and he’d been all sad and powerless and shit. It had worked out okay for him. Then again, I didn't have any other Power Rangers to come help me out, so I was probably just gonna have to figure this one out for myself.

  Shawn took my hand and tugged me back out of the warehouse, the blood of the man he'd just killed still wet on his skin.

  "You know why it's so important I gave that motherfucker a death by my own hand, sweetcheeks?" he asked me casually and I shrugged.

  "So everyone knows what happens to anyone who crosses you," I guessed.

  I probably should have been afraid, screaming, running, I didn't even know what, but when I considered running from here, from Shawn and from all of it I could just see more of the same. On and on and on forever. One shitty town to the next, one group of assholes after another. I used to run in hopes of finding a home. Or just because I'd figured out that the place I was at wasn't it. But I didn't see the point anymore. Unwanted things didn't find homes because we didn't belong anywhere. And at least Shawn wanted me. For now. That was better than the alternative of heading back out on the streets. Besides, better was an elusive concept. And one that didn't apply to people like me and the lives we got to pick.

  "Come on then, sugarpie," Shawn growled. "I'll let you remind me why I like keeping you around and then we can forget this little mix up."

  "Already forgotten," I agreed as we made it back outside.

  Shawn grinned then shoved me to my knees beside Travis's car and I realised he meant right now, while he was still covered in the blood of that guy and feeling the high of the kill. I hesitated and he cocked his head at me as he looked down, waiting for my next move. Maybe I should have run. But my heart was thumping again and despite how fucked up a little part of me knew this was, I was actually feeling something for once. A little fear and shock, but that was okay because it was better than the endless empty abyss I usually existed in.

  So I gave Shawn a sultry smile, let my gaze run over his muscular body then hitched my skirt up so that I could get off on this too.

  I rolled his fly down and took his cock like a good girl as I started to touch myself and in my head the sun was shining and the waves were crashing and I could almost taste happiness too.

  I wanted to scream as I remembered that girl. Her false smiles and empty heart and her vacant fucking life.

  The longer I spent away from her, the clearer I saw her and I fucking hated that. Shawn used to laugh at how broken I was. And I used to smile with him because I was beyond caring about it. But now I cared. I cared and it was too late to fix her. But that didn't mean I was going to keep on being her either. She was my shameful little secret that I never wanted anyone to see. But Shawn knew, that was who he thought I was, but he was wrong. And I was determined to show him that at long last when he met his end at my hand.

  Fox was still yelling upstairs and occasionally JJ or Chase would pitch in, but mostly it was Luther who was going back and forth with him. I couldn't understand all that much of it, thanks to the fact that I'd been locked down in the freaking basement while they decided what to do with me.

  But I'd told Fox. I'd told all of them. Shawn was mine. He'd owned me for too fucking long and I wanted to take that piece of me back from him myself. They'd had no right to try and keep me away from him and I was just as determined as ever to be the one to pull the trigger on him in the end. I was probably going to need a few more lessons with a gun before then though because point and shoot hadn’t worked out the way I’d hoped.

  "Enough!" Luther bellowed. "That girl has been a problem to you your whole fucking life and I'm done with it."

  The door banged open at the top of the stairs and I fought a flinch as Luther pounded down them towards me with Fox and the others right on his heels.

  "You keep away from her," Fox warned and my eyes widened as he pulled a fucking gun, levelling it at his dad's head with nothing but cold malice in his eyes. "I'm not some kid you can just force into line anymore. Ten years ago you took her from me but that won't be happening again. I'll do whatever I have to to ensure that."

  JJ and Chase looked stuck for words, but their postures said they had Fox's back on this. If he pulled that trigger, they'd be right there with him.

  Luther arched an eyebrow at his son then slowly turned to look at me again.

  "This girl is gonna be the death of you," he said in a low voice that sent a shiver down my spine. "If you keep up this back and forth, tryna force her into line and make her conform to your idea of what's best for her then I can already see what way that'll play out. You can't keep her if you keep trying to control her, son."

  "I'm trying to protect her," Fox snarled and Luther nodded.

  "Yeah. But I don't think she wants protecting. Do ya?" He nodded his chin at me and I set my jaw, wondering if my answer might be my death but giving it anyway.

  "I'm sick of being forced to dance to someone else's tune," I replied. "I want to control my own fate for once in my fucking life beyond just running away."

  "You hear that, Fox?" Luther asked, looking back to his son who looked damn close to pulling the trigger. “Are you listening to the girl when she speaks?”

  "Me and Rogue can sort our own-"

  "No," Luther barked so suddenly that I was pretty sure all of us flinched and it must have been a miracle that Fox didn't pull that damn trigger. "Your way ain't working. And I get the feeling this needs to work if I'm ever gonna get my boys back. So here's what I'm gonna offer. You want Shawn Mackenzie's head, wildcat?"

  His question was for me and I couldn't help but arch a brow in surprise, but my answer came quick enough. "Yes," I said firmly.

  "Well, the Harlequins owe him a death. So I can't just let you have it." My upper lip peeled back, but he wasn't done. "Not unless you're one of us."

  "What?" Chase gasped while JJ breathed, "No," and Fox just wheeled his furious eyes from his father to me while still pointing that fucking gun at his dad’s head.

  "You boys are gonna nee
d to hush up if you don't want me taking action against you. It was your truck the girl snuck into today, Fox, and that means the failure of that shit show is on all of you. Now let the girl talk. I wanna hear how much killing that fucker means to her."

  "I want his death more than I want damn near anything else," I said without needing further prompting. "I'm owed it. Hell, I'm owed a lot of freaking things, but revenge is pretty fucking high on my list and right now, he's the asshole I most wanna serve it up to. So I'll do whatever I have to to give it to him, no matter what you say."

  "Good," Luther replied, clapping his hands together like we'd just sorted something out, but I still wasn't certain what. "Then you can become one of us right now. That means my son can't go on locking you up in this house, because I can order you out of it. The Harlequins report to me, not him, so if you're in, you're no longer subject to his protection. You’ll be a member of my army and under my command, not his. Then maybe the two of you will have a shot at figuring your shit out without his fucking fury colouring the air."

  I gaped at him, unsure what the fuck to say. I hated the Harlequins. I'd never wanted to be a part of any gang and I still had every intention of running from this place just as soon as I could get my hands on the rest of the keys to that fucking crypt. Though as my gaze moved to JJ's honey brown eyes, my heart snagged on that idea and I had to fight against the desire to forget about it. Forget about all of it. And just…stay.

  Fuck. These boys were beneath my skin again already and I didn't even know how to begin untangling myself from them. Or whether I even wanted to anymore.

  But what I did know was that I wanted fucking Shawn dead, and I was sick of Fox locking me up in this fucking house. And it sounded like Luther was willing to offer me an alternative.

  "It's blood in," I said, unsure why that was the first thing that came to mind, but it did. And I wasn't up for killing some random asshole just to gain membership to their stupid club.

  "I already know you got the killer in ya," Luther replied, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "The way you did Axel in ten years ago proved that. And if you want an official body to swear in on then Shawn can be your hit."