Like the rest of the house the room I’m shown into is clean, tidy and well-furnished. The windows though are locked securely, I know as George checked and pocketed the key. There’s an en-suite bathroom, and a bed which would look comfortable in any other situation. All I see when I look at it though is George and/or another man forcing me down on it and me being raped.
George sees me staring down at the comforter and palms his crotch. As I look up in horror, he mouths, ‘Soon’, then, thank goodness, he disappears out of the door. I’m not surprised to hear a key turn in the lock.
As soon as the door closes behind him, instead of relief, my body starts to betray me. My eyes lose focus, a wave of heat floods through me making me sweat. I feel nauseous and dizzy, as though I’m about to faint. My breath comes in fast pants and my heart races.
I sink to the bed before I fall to the floor and, with my head in my hands, try to force myself to slow my breathing. I fight with the feeling that I’m dying, one half of my brain trying to rationally explain that I’m not, the other half swearing I am.
In, out, I breathe. Slow, slow, I tell myself. Making my lungs expand and deflate to a regular rhythm instructed by the sane side of my brain.
Gradually, my panic begins to subside, and then the tears start. Everything is overwhelming me. One minute I was enjoying life with my new boyfriend, looking forward to seeing him again. Then, because of my vain attempt to save my brother, he was arrested, and Connor died despite my efforts to keep him alive. Now I’ve been kidnapped, and I’m beginning to realise, even if the drugs are returned to him, Phil won’t let me go. Everything with him is about making a profit, and I hate to think how he could make one from me.
Will I ever see my home and Mom again?
Will George get his chance to carry out his threat?
No, no. I can’t think of that.
My body, if not my mind, calmer, I view my prison. The only upside is it’s probably more pleasant than the one where Ink is detained, but four walls you can’t escape from means I’m as much a prisoner as he is. The thought crosses my mind that I might have had a more pleasant future if I’d turned myself into the police. At least there’d be some authority I could appeal to if I was mistreated. Here there is none.
I lie on the bed. To say I spend the night with one eye open is an understatement. In fact, I have both. I stay fully clothed, wanting nothing to make me feel more vulnerable than I already am. There’s nothing I can use as a weapon conveniently left lying around, and even if there was, I don’t think it would be something I’d use. There’re easily enough men here who could overpower me and taking them on would only end up with me being hurt. From what I’ve seen, the men here would love the chance to manhandle me. I’ll have to use my brains to escape, not the brawn I don’t have. Why do I run and not work out? Sure, my legs are strong, but I’ve no impressive muscles anywhere else.
When dawn breaks, I use the facilities but do little more than splash my face, wash my hands and clean my teeth with the toiletries provided. I’d love a shower, but I’m not getting naked when there’s no lock on the bathroom door.
A short while after I’m ready for the day, I hear a key turning and the catch on the door opening. Trepidation floods through me, though it’s not one of the men. I notice with relief, it's a pretty Hispanic girl. She looks like she’s in her late teens or early twenties.
Would she help? Perhaps.
“Can you get a message to someone for me?” I ask quickly as she crosses the room and places a breakfast tray on the table by the window.
“No hablo inglés,” she tells me. Then repeats so there can be no mistake, “No English.”
And I don’t speak Spanish. Well, I suppose that would have been too easy. She was probably chosen as the person to deliver my food on purpose so there would be no chance for communication.
She leaves, I don’t stop her. For want of anything other to do, I go to the tray. There are pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage links, together with syrup and a variety of sauces and condiments. There’s orange juice and a pot of coffee. It looks like a breakfast for the condemned man or woman for that matter.
I’ve no appetite, but unsure when I’ll be able to eat again, I nibble on a pancake. I eye the orange juice and sniff it. Then scoff at myself. Why would Phil drug me if he wants me to talk? But what if he can get his hands on a truth serum? Oh, for goodness’ sake. All the films I’ve seen suggest that has to be injected.
As I eat, I stare out the window. Phil’s done well for himself with his ill-gotten gains. The grounds of this place are spectacular. A man comes into view pushing a wheelbarrow. He’s another Hispanic. Somehow, I suspect Phil’s workers aren’t legal and probably paid far less than minimum wage.
I have no watch, no phone. There’s no television in the room. I have no idea of the time, but it seems disproportionately long before the door opens. Again, it’s George.
I’m not going to cower or show my fear, though inside I’m trembling.
“Back on escort duty?” I ask snidely. “Haven’t you got a proper job to do?”
He grabs hold of my hair as I go to walk past him, yanking on it hard. “I suggest you keep a civil tongue in your head. Otherwise, you’ll find something between your lips which will mean you won’t be able to talk.”
I smile sweetly. “Put that cock near my mouth and I’ll bite it off.” I give him my back and make my own way to the stairs, hoping he’s never heard of a dental gag—something I’d read about in a book. But I doubt George is one for reading.
“This way,” he corrects as I head for the room I’d met my father in the night before.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Ink
“I want to fuckin’ go now. Hit them under the cover of darkness.” I slam my fisted hand down onto the table. I’ve been a free man for an hour now and already I’m sick to death of just hanging around.
I’d had no idea what I was going to say when I first saw Beth. Clearly my reaction would depend on her own. What I wanted to do was dispense with words and simply pull her close and take her mouth while pulling her ass against my pelvis, leaving her in no doubt of my physical feelings toward her. Then, I’d comfort her about the death of her brother, and, in time, tell her she was mine. My only worry had been her reaction. Would she push me away as she thinks I hate her? Or, would she understand?
I didn’t expect I’d not even have the chance to see her, let alone touch her.
I thought I’d hit rock bottom when I was arrested for something I hadn’t done. Now I’ve reached a new low. My fear for Beth consumes me and hasn’t gotten easier while I tried to catch up with what’s been going down. Quite rightly, they’ve not wasted time walking me through everything, so I’ve had to get up to speed via piecing together the patches of information I’m hearing. One thing for sure, Phil’s bad news. He condoned the beating and death of his son. Now his daughter’s in his hands, I’m fucking terrified.
I’m a man of action. I can barely sit still, let alone waste time going over old ground.
As he’s already done a time or two during this meeting, Demon heaves a sigh, but keeps his calm. “Ink, I know you’re fuckin’ worried out of your mind. I’ve been where you are, remember? But we’ve got to come up with a foolproof plan. This is Phil Foster we’re talking about. We don’t know the lay of the land, who he’s got working for him, or how well he’s protected. We need information before we can move.”
Cad nods across at me. “I’ve got messages out to all my contacts. If they’ve got any info that can help, I should start getting it anytime now.”
“Beef’s gone to talk to Connor,” Thunder tells me. “He’ll give us what he can.”
I stare at Thunder in confusion, but Pal makes a suggestion before I can query his statement.
“If we wait for daylight, we can use the drone.”
Drone? My eyes crease as I know nothing about what he’s talking about. I’ve gathered some of the details of what went down over
the weekend but had clearly missed a lot of shit. And why’s Beef off communing with the fucking dead? “Connor’s dead,” I spit out. “How the fuck…”
“He’s not dead. Who told you he was?” Prez says sharply.
“The fuckin’ cops.”
That causes laughter to go around the table.
“They believed it?” Demon asks.
“Yes, they fuckin’ believed it. Part of the reason they let me off. I identified him as the man who I’d taken the bag from on Saturday. Gets me off the hook and Beth in the clear.” I think for a moment trying to process this new information. “Patsy and Beth know he’s alive?”
“No, they think he’s dead.”
My eyes widen. Christ. Patsy must be in pieces. One child she believes she’ll be burying and the other… Well, what could be happening to Beth doesn’t bear thinking about. And Beth thinks she’s lost her brother? She must be out of her head with grief.
“Where’s Patsy now?”
“Here at the compound. Vi’s with her.” Demon’s sharp eyes meet mine. “You can’t tell her, Ink. She’s got to believe he’s dead. Don’t want to rehash the reasons while Beth’s freedom’s at stake, but just accept they’re good ones.”
My club wouldn’t decide to mentally torture two women if there weren’t. I raise my chin, not liking it, but agreeing.
I lower my head into my hands. I’ll have to go and see Patsy, but what can I say to her? Fuck all. I feel some responsibility toward her. I like the woman, and if everything works out how I want it, she’s likely to be my mother-in-law after all.
“Are we ever going to tell them the truth?”
Demon’s shoulders rise and fall. “First thing is getting Beth back. Worrying about sorting Connor’s mess can come later.”
It certainly sounds like a fucked-up situation. But I’m happy Beth’s situation takes priority for now.
“What if we do nothing?” Hellfire suggests. “What’s Beth to us? Worth risking our lives for? I mean, she got you arrested, Ink.”
In one split second I’m standing, leaning over the table and snarling at Hell. “I’ll remind you, that’s my ol’ lady you’re talking about.” I’m about as angry as I’ve ever been. “If you lot want to sit on your hands, then I’ll go fuckin’ rescue her by myself.” Never did I think they’d just abandon her, but when I turn to glare at the ex-prez, I notice a strange, almost twinkle, in his eye.
“That’s the way of it, is it?” Pyro asks. “I wondered.” He looks at Thunder and holds out his hand. Thunder slides a twenty into it.
My eyes narrow. “What the fuck?”
“We were fifty-fifty whether you’d keep up the charade when you came out.”
“Claimin’ Beth is not a fuckin’ charade and this is no joking matter.” My hands clench and unclench, then fist again. Maybe it’s because I’ve been cooped up in a cell, but I’m itching to take action.
“Phil already knows we’ve got his drugs.” Bomber gets back on topic. “Even if we wanted to, can’t see how we can sit this one out.”
My curiosity had been satisfied one thing at least, how Beth had come into possession of drugs, though I had been horrified to learn Connor had left such a large amount of heroin in Beth and Patsy’s home. I’d wanted to kill him myself at that point.
The door is opened and then shut as Beef joins us. He chucks a diagram on the table. “Right,” he starts as he sits. “House is in a fuckin’ gated compound. Armed guards on the gate. Man’s got his own private fuckin’ army. Twenty guards on rotation, at least ten there at any time. Phil’s fanatical about his safety. He’s been threatened more than once.”
“Connor have any suggestions?”
Beef nods. “Yes, actually. He’s willing to come back from the dead and exchange himself for Beth.”
“Give the H back to Phil?”
Now Beef’s head moves side to side as he again answers the prez, “That’s where his plan falls apart. The smack is his get-out-of-jail card. He loses that? Agent Caruso will throw the book at him.”
“If he’s still alive to feel the pages hit. Reckon he won’t last long if Phil gets his hands on him,” Bomber observes. “Kid must know what’s likely to happen to him.”
I’m still trying to get my head around the fact Connor’s breathing. But I point out, “Connor put Beth in a fuckin’ dangerous situation on Saturday, where’s this new brotherly concern coming from?”
Beef gives me a measured look. “I’ve spent a bit of time with Connor. He didn’t have any idea SWAT was waiting, and why would he? He had no notion he was sending her into danger. But it’s something else when it comes to Phil. Connor got wind daddy dearest traffics people over the border, immigrants in, others out. Seems a girl like Beth might make him money. Connor’s adamant we have to get her back, and if he has to sacrifice himself, that’s what he’ll do.”
I inhale sharply.
“Pretty girls go missing from Denver, find themselves over the border and sold,” Beef’s eyes have gone dark as he finishes.
I can barely think through the rage that floods my mind, so I restrict myself to, “Phil’s got to die.”
“I hear you, Ink. Man like that is a waste of air.” Thunder nods.
Bomber spells it out, “If we don’t hit him hard, Ink may never get his old lady back, whether or not he’s thinking of putting a ring on her finger.”
Just the thought I might not have a chance to explore a relationship with Beth is enough to give me chills. I’m getting her back. At least it sounds like I’ll have my brothers by my side when I do it.
Prez bangs the table. “The more I hear about Phil the less I like him breathing. So how do we do this? Ideas?”
“He contacted you about the drugs, Prez?”
Demon shakes his head. “It appears he’s leaving the ball in our court. Maybe trying to figure out what sway Patsy has over us.”
“How are you going to play it?”
Prez looks around. “Depends on what we come up with, VP. Timing might be vital to cause a distraction, so I won’t be rushing to pick up the phone. Don’t want to show our hand too early. If he thinks Beth means something to us, he may up the ante and demand more.”
“More?” I’m seething at the delay.
“He could want us to work for him or step back and let him take over our locations for his dealing at the least,” Mace enlightens me, clearly having given this some thought.
Right now, I’d sell my soul to have her back. To hell with the implications. “He’ll think we don’t give a damn about Beth.” On my part, I want Demon to call him this very moment and threaten the wrath of the Devils should Phil harm a hair on her head.
Mace stares across the table at me. “Tip our hand she means something to us then he may up the stakes. He won’t harm the ace he’s holding, not until he knows what we’re going to do.”
“Beth will be expecting us to rush to her rescue.” I hate to think what she’s going through now.
But Mace contradicts, his eyes filling with guilt. “Nah, Brother. She’ll have doubts. We didn’t believe her fuckin’ story about Connor, all we knew was what she did put you behind bars. We blamed her, she was only too aware of that.”
“You voted her in as my ol’ lady…”
But Prez is shaking his head. “Sorry, Brother. Agreed to give her protection, such that we could, but that vote’s in abeyance until we saw how things worked out. Couldn’t let you put your patch on a woman no one could trust.”
My stare roams the table, my eyes widening. “So, she’s left hanging thinking no one gives a fuckin’ damn about her?” It’s my turn for my head to move side to side. “She doesn’t fuckin’ know I’m free, and you haven’t done the one thing I asked for.”
Prez bangs the gavel loudly, the flare in his eyes shows he’s fast losing patience with me. “What was done was done for fuckin’ good reasons, Ink. I’ll be the first to admit that I had my concerns about Beth. But we now know she was pressured into doing what sh
e did. Even if we didn’t, I assure you that we do give a fuckin’ damn. Women shouldn’t be used as pawns.”
“I got out, Prez.” I’m angry that they blamed Beth and didn’t believe her reasons. If I, the injured party, could forgive her, they should have done.
“For fuck’s sake, Ink. How could you for one minute think we’d leave Beth with that monster? Don’t forget, we’ve got the Mexican Horse in our stable, and it’s more than just her at stake. We’re fuckin’ heading for a war and need to win it.” Thunder lets me have it.
I purse my lips, partly to stop myself saying anything else. I’d been so focused on Beth, I hadn’t thought of the ramifications. This isn’t just Beth. It’s us, our old ladies, and Demon must be thinking of his kid.
“It’s not just a rescue mission,” Prez explains slowly, his eyes focused on my face. “We’ve got to hit him hard, so he doesn’t come after us. We’ve got to take him out.”
“There’s one thing in our favour which buys us some time,” Beef butts in. “If he’s thinking of making a profit by selling his daughter, he’ll want to keep her unmarked.”
He’s right, but just the thought of her being smuggled over the border and sold turns my stomach.
Having given me one last stern look, Demon at last says the words I want to hear, “Right, Brothers. How are we going to do this?”
“I like Pal’s idea of using the drone.” Sparky raises his fingers to get our attention. “Means we can see what we’re dealing with.”
I keep my mouth shut about the drone that’s still a mystery to me, not wanting anymore delays.
“Agreed,” Demon says fast. “How are you fixed, Ro?”
“Prez, I’ve got enough C4 to blow that fuckin’ place to smithereens. Grenades, rocket launcher, you name it, I can get my hands on it.”
“That’s my fuckin’ ol’ lady in there,” I snarl.
Prez sends a fiery look my way. “I think we’re only too well aware of that, Brother.” His glare stays on me until I lower my eyes.
Satan’s Devils MC -Colorado Box Set: Books 4-6 Page 72