by Sweet, Izzy
I think this is the longest we’ve been separated since he grabbed Levi and me from my parent’s house.
It’s almost surprising how much I miss him.
I check one last time on Levi before heading to bed. Brushing a kiss across his forehead, I tuck the blankets tight around him and straighten to leave when I notice a strange sound coming from somewhere.
A light pinging sound.
Confused, it takes me a minute to hunt the sound down and discover it’s coming from Levi’s iPad.
Grabbing his iPad off the charger, I frown down at the lit-up screen showing he has an incoming FaceTime call from an unknown number…
Oh shit, is it Robert?
Hurrying out of his room, I run into mine and shut the door behind me as I slide the accept button.
Heart racing, I stare down at the screen, waiting for it to connect.
Crap. With everything going on I completely forgot about getting a new phone or trying to call him. He’s probably freaking out.
The call finally connects and Robert’s worried face appears on the screen.
I start apologizing right away, “Oh my god, Robert! I’m so sorry I haven’t—”
The picture suddenly changes on the screen as if the iPad is being rotated, showing a white wall, window, and doorway, before Mikhail’s angry face appears.
“Allison, my dear, it’s comforting to see you’re safe and well,” Mikhail sneers coldly. “I’ve been so worried.”
My entire body goes weak and I drop the iPad to the floor in shock.
No. No. No…
“Pick up the iPad, Allison,” Mikhail demands as I struggle to get a grip on myself.
I’d much rather stomp on the damn thing like I’m stomping on his face, but fuck, he has Robert.
“Pick up the iPad or I’ll kill your fucking uncle right now!” Mikhail snarls.
Swallowing back a whimper, I slide down the door and somehow find the strength to pick up the iPad.
It takes even more strength to look at his face again.
A sickeningly beautiful face that’s haunted every sleeping and waking nightmare I’ve suffered the past two years.
Eyes boring into mine, Mikhail asks, “Where are you?”
My soul sinks with dread and I feel like I can’t catch my breath.
I can’t let him know where I am. I can’t let him hurt Levi or any of the guys…
“Please, don’t hurt Robert,” I try to plead with him.
Pleading with Mikhail rarely works. If anything, it only seems to encourage him to be meaner.
But I don’t know what else to do.
God help me, please, I don’t know what else to do.
Mikhail’s eyes light up with a psychotic gleam that promises violence. “Are you in Kentucky? I’ll come get you.”
I swallow down the bile rising in my throat and slowly shake my head back and forth.
“Allison,” he says, his voice sharpening. “Tell me where you are.”
Again, I shake my head back and forth.
I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.
Face contorting with rage, I know Mikhail would reach through the iPad to hurt me for refusing him if he had the power to do so. “Tell me where you are!”
When I shake my head again, the picture on the screen moves until it shows him standing beside Robert.
“Hand it to me,” Mikhail says to someone not in the picture as I stare into Robert’s frightened eyes.
I’m so sorry, Robert. Fuck, I’m so sorry for getting you into this.
“Hold this,” Mikhail orders and the picture shakes as whatever device they’re using is moved back to show more of him and Robert.
Taking a deep breath, Mikhail smiles tightly at me and says, “This is for not answering me.”
Mikhail’s arm slashes out and his fisted hand slams down on top of Robert’s left shoulder.
Robert immediately cries out in pain, his knees buckling. It’s not until Mikhail grabs Robert by the arm and yanks him back up that I can see what’s been done.
Sticking out of Robert’s shoulder is the handle of a knife.
Horror rolls over me and I have to bite my knuckles to keep from screaming.
“You did this, Allison. You did this,” Mikhail snarls as his face turns back to the screen.
“Don’t tell him, Allison! Don’t tell him where you are!” Robert groans through tears.
“Oh, you want me to cut your fucking tongue out, too?” Mikhail grins at him.
Snapping his fingers, Mikhail holds his hand out to someone. Another slim knife of some sort is placed in his palm.
“Please, Mikhail! Please don’t! Please,” I beg through gasping sobs and rock back and forth.
Weighing the knife in his hand, Mikhail takes his time considering my plea. He pointedly looks at Robert then back to the knife as if he’s actually weighing my request.
The fucker always does this shit. He loves to not only physically torture me, but also torture my mind.
It’s the mindfuck he really gets off on.
The night… the night he beat me so badly I ran away… I didn’t run just because he hurt me. I’m used to him hurting me.
I called the cops and ran because he went too far.
He went too far when he yanked my dress up in front of Levi and tried to…
Mikhail tips his head to the side and lifts the knife up to tap the point of the blade against his chin thoughtfully. “You know, Allison, maybe it’s because I miss you, but I’m feeling rather lenient right now…”
He walks in front of Robert and before I can get another please out of my throat, he slams his fist down on Robert’s right shoulder.
Dropping to his knees, Robert lets out this sound that’s a mixture between a groan and a scream.
Angrily Mikhail yanks Robert back up to his feet, and when Robert’s tear-filled eyes meet mine again, they still plead for me not to tell Mikhail.
He’s willing to die for us.
Just like my parents.
My parents who begged and tried so hard to free me from Mikhail once they realized the mistake they made when they pressured me into marrying him.
They ended up paying the ultimate price for that mistake.
Mikhail killed them by staging a fatal home invasion robbery gone wrong.
I know it was him not only because nothing was actually stolen from their house. I know because the fucker told me all about it a week later during one of his torture sessions.
Biting down on my knuckles, I taste blood as I choke on my screams.
Snapping his fingers, Mikhail’s eyes remain locked on mine as another knife is placed in his palm. He doesn’t bother this time to give me false hope. No, face lighting up with this sick kind of glee and madness, Mikhail grabs Robert roughly by the back of the neck and jabs the tip of the knife against the hollow of his throat.
“Last chance to save your uncle,” Mikhail warns. “Where are you, Allison?”
Fuck
Oh fuck.
I can’t tell him.
But I can’t let Robert die for me either.
Lip curling up, Mikhail begins to twist and dig the knife into Robert’s flesh until blood begins to drip down his neck.
Not knowing what else to do to stop Mikhail, I sob out, “I’m in Kentucky!”
“Oh?” Mikhail grins, still twisting and digging in the knife. “Where in Kentucky?”
“I don’t know!” I lie and break out in more sobs, praying he’ll believe me.
“You don’t know? Honestly, Allison…” Mikhail shakes his head like he’s disappointed and his arm tenses.
“I’m serious, I don’t know where I am, Mikhail! All these hills and trees look the fucking same to me!” I insist.
Mikhail frowns and his arm stills as he thinks over what I’ve told him.
We both know that if he kills Robert right now and doesn’t know where I am, he’ll have a hard time finding me.
“How close are you to your paren
t’s house?” he finally asks, keeping the blade poised at Robert’s neck.
“I don’t know,” I whimper, again trying to play stupid.
“Don’t fuck with me, Allison!” he snaps and pushes the tip of the blade into Robert’s neck.
“I’m not that far! Maybe an hour away,” I gasp.
Mikhail nods his head up and down, but he doesn’t pull the blade out. “Very well, I’ll give you twenty minutes to get here.”
Choking in disbelief, I say, “What? I need more time than that!”
“Twenty minutes, Allison,” he repeats firmly, “and pray I can restrain myself for that long.”
Mikhail nods at someone and the call ends.
Screaming, I throw the iPad and listen to it crack against the wall. Then I scramble to my feet and run out of the bedroom.
I need Coy.
Fuck, I need him right now!
Running up to Poster Boy, I grab him by the front of the shirt and croak, “Call Coy. I need him right now!”
Eyes widening in shock, Poster Boy looks down at my hands gripping him then he scowls at my face. “What’s wrong, Allie?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him, but I find myself hesitating. If no one can reach Coy, the guys will probably keep me from leaving, believing that would be the best way to keep me safe and from doing something stupid.
And they would be right.
I end up telling him, “I just need him. Please, I need him right now, it’s important.”
Poster Boy nods his head again and looks down at my hands.
I let go of his shirt and he digs his phone out of his pocket.
He continues to scowl at me as he lifts the phone up to his ear. I cross my arms over my chest, watching him intently, praying Coy answers.
After about a minute, he sighs and shakes his head. “No answer.”
Dammit!
“Try again, please,” I plead, barely holding myself together.
Poster Boy nods his head and presses the phone back to his ear.
Another minute passes and I can hear every second ticking in my head.
I have eighteen minutes. Eighteen minutes to save Robert.
Coy, pick up the goddamn phone!
“No answer,” Poster Boy says again, and I have to bite my tongue from screaming in frustration. “Allie, what’s wrong? Is it Levi? We can help you.”
I shake my head. “It’s not Levi. It’s….”
Again, I want to tell him. I want help.
Lord, please send me help.
I need an angel or something because I don’t have a fucking clue how I’m going to save Robert from Mikhail on my own.
“It’s?” Poster Boy presses when I don’t finish, looking worried now.
Sucking in a deep breath, I pull myself together and resign myself to what I have to do.
Then I cringe and look at Poster Boy. “I had a nightmare. A nightmare I think might have been a memory, but I don’t know if it’s real.”
“Maybe I can help? I knew you pretty well back in the day,” Poster Boy offers.
I smile at him sadly. “Thank you, but in this situation I think only Coy would know.”
Poster Boy nods his head but there’s a touch of suspicion in the way he looks at me. He’s not completely buying my act.
I hate to do it. I hate to waste any more time when I need every second, but I know if he gets even a whiff of me planning to bolt, he’ll lock me down.
Uncrossing my arms, I tell him, “I think I’m just going to have a glass of water, calm down, and go back to bed. Let me know if you get ahold of Coy?”
“I will,” Poster Boy says without hesitation, and I feel his eyes on my back the entire walk to the kitchen.
I force myself to go through the motions. I grab a glass, fill it up with water, and sip from it, all the while counting down how much time I have left in my head.
Pray I can restrain myself for that long.
My stomach churning from the water, I force myself to gulp down some more before I empty the glass in the sink.
It’s even harder to force myself to walk slowly back to my bedroom so I don’t tip the guys off. My hand shakes as I close the door quietly behind me and turn off the light so they think I’m going to bed.
I listen by the door for a few more seconds. Listen to the guys quietly talk about reaching Coy for me. They’re worried, but they don’t mention anything about being afraid I’m going to leave.
With no more time to waste, I quickly scramble to find my clothes and stuff in the dark. Stripping out of Coy’s shirt and boxers, I yank on some black leggings, a black shirt, and my boots. Then, having already planned this out while I was sipping on the water, I grab the gun Coy keeps in the little cubby next to the bed.
Moving quietly and doing my best to make as little noise as possible, I walk up to window and silently slide it up. Throwing one leg over it, I cast one last look back at the bedroom door.
I never thought it would come to this…
I never thought I’d have to leave Levi behind.
Unbearable sadness threatens to overwhelm me, but I choke it down.
I know if I don’t make it out of this alive, and there’s a good chance I won’t, Coy and the MC will love and protect him.
They might even do a better job than I have…
I just wish I could give him one last kiss goodbye.
Gripping Coy’s gun in my hand, I carefully climb out of the window and thank god his bedroom is on the first floor. Once my boots touch the ground, I crouch down and slowly make my way across the front of the house, praying no one spots me.
Using the bushes as cover from the neighbors, I only stop when I near the windows. A quick peek shows me that Hammy and Tampon are still hanging around, unaware and unconcerned. Once I reach the driveway, I straighten a little and jog up to my minivan.
Scared to death I’m wasting too much time, I use my key to unlock the door and slide in so the van doesn’t beep. Then I send another thanks up to heaven that Coy backed the van in for me when we got home today. He did it in case I wanted to go grocery shopping or something.
Doing the same thing I did when I ran over Hammy’s bike, I put the van in neutral and let it roll down the driveway. Afraid the sound of it starting up right next to the house will tip the guys off.
Setting the gun in the space between the seats, I’m just about to twist the key in the ignition when my passenger door opens.
Jumping in shock, I blurt out, “Jesus Christ,” when Jude slides into the passenger seat and shuts the door behind him.
“Hate the man,” Jude mutters under his breath then flashes a white grin.
“What?” I gasp at him, my heart in my throat.
Goddammit, is he going to try to stop me?
Ignoring my question, Jude continues to grin at me and asks, “Where are we going? Somewhere fun, I hope?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Coy
Riding over to the crematorium, I think over the information Jude gave me. There’s a lot of it to unfold and even more he didn’t tell me.
I can feel it in my very bones.
What he did tell me is that Allie is married to someone who is a big player in a big ass Russian mafia. Big and fucking violent. The men Jude’s affiliated with in Garden City have been warring with the Russians for a few years now. And out in Garden City, the Russian presence is pretty much wiped completely out.
Apparently that’s not the case down in Florida or in a lot of the other bigger, more populated states on the east coast.
Whatever part of the Russian mob Mikhail is from is the same group that was troublin’ Garden City. That we just happened to have… the luck, I guess we could call it, to be connected to Mikhail gives us some backing with Garden City.
Jude also wanted to make sure I knew that Mikhail disappeared from sight when Allie went missing.
Meaning that fucker is probably on his way here, hunting for her.
None of that i
s good news, especially since we already have a war on the horizon after we fucking murder Diamond. Even in my head, I know for a fact that’s what this is—murder.
I first made my bones when I was seventeen. And over the past five years, I’ve killed more than ten men, each one leaving a mark on me some way or the other.
But Diamond? Fucker’s taking that mark with him. I don’t imagine for a second that I’ll feel anything but joy over this pig-fucker’s death.
Grem pulls in directly behind me as we reach the crematorium. We own the two miles of land surrounding this place, so all the screams and smells ain’t really a worry for us. It’s not completely private, but it’s damn close.
I grin at the open door at the back of the building. Already, I can hear muffled bellowing comin’ from inside the place.
Yeah, today I’m gonna unburden my soul a bit.
“Ready for some fun, brother?” I ask Grem as we walk to the door.
“Always,” Grem says with a gleam in his eyes.
He’s back to rubbing that fuckin’ gremlin bell of his on his kutte, and I can tell he’s ready to torture this fuck for a good long time to make sure he dies in misery.
“Remember, I don’t give a fuck what we do to him, but we can’t be fucking about here for a couple of days. This fucker dies tonight,” I say.
“Aw, Dad, but I wanted to have a sleepover,” Grem says in a fucking growl.
“You didn’t bring your sleepin’ bag, asshole,” I say with a laugh and walk through the back door of the building.
“One thing,” Grem says before we go any further.
“Yeah?” I ask.
“I know you took over the reins for the MC, brother, but you did right by Hound with havin’ him get all the backing we need from the club,” he says. “This is a declaration of war, make no mistake about it.”
“Yeah, I know some of the brothers are hesitant. But havin’ the old man out there right now, explaining what went down with Diamond is gonna make things a little smoother. Taking out a VP is some serious shit,” I say to him.
Nodding his head, he says, “Let’s get it done.”
Making our way past a tall partition wall, we step into our work area.
Diamond, the soon-to-be former VP of the Bloody Scorpions, is already strapped to a metal chair and waiting for us.