Poodle

by K. L. Savage

  “What if she’s dead?”

  “Who?” Badge asks, staring and zooming in on his phone.

  “My daughter.”

  Reaper slaps his hand on my shoulder. “Then we bring her bones home, Poodle. Where she belongs. We will give her the funeral she deserved. And you can finally try to find some peace and close that chapter in your life.”

  Is it wrong that part of me wants that? I want her alive more than anything, but if she has suffered, been abused, lived a life full of terror, I’d rather death take her than she spend another waking moment in pain. Just the thought of laying her to rest brings me peace.

  “Tongue? Sharpen your blades—”

  “My blades are always sharp,” Tongue snips and marches through the main room. “It’s insulting that you think I’d keep a dull knife.” Tongue turns his nose up and walks down the hall. “I’m going to go see Sarah. Call me when we leave!” The backdoor slams, and Reaper takes a deep breath to calm his annoyance.

  “He is so freaking touchy lately,” Reaper grumbles. “Okay, Knives, get your stars ready. Bullseye? Darts. And everyone else, whatever your poison, get it ready. That includes you, Poodle.”

  “Are we going to go to him or have him come to us?” I question, thinking it’s better if we flush these assholes out instead of going to where they’re staying. We could be outnumbered and not know.

  “We’re going to flush him out,” he says.

  “How?”

  “Melissa.”

  “What the fuck did you just say? Absolutely not.” I shake my head. “No. I can’t let her be in harm’s way. I won’t.”

  “I’ve already agreed.” Melissa’s sweet voice filters in from behind, and I turn my head over my shoulder to see her standing in the hall, hair wet from the shower, and the strands have dampened the shirt she’s wearing. “If it means getting my sister and putting an end to this madness and saving who knows how many other children, then I’ll do it.”

  “No.” I push from the couch and run over to her, grabbing her arms. I just want to shake her. She isn’t thinking clearly. “You can get hurt. I can’t—”

  “I won’t be unprotected, Poodle.” She lays her hand over my chest, and her eyes drift over my shoulders to the other men in the room. “I have an entire badass group of bikers who will protect me at all costs. Nothing is going to happen to me.”

  “Maybe we need to bring in Boomer or the NOLA chapter. I’d feel better if we had backup. Call all the chapters. We need to—”

  “No. We don’t have time to wait for them to get here. It’s us. It’s now or never.”

  “And fuck the NOLA chapter. Seer’s ass can stay in the damn bayou for all I care,” Tool grouches and spins the screwdriver in his hands., Juliette’s name is carved on the handle, shining from the ivory he poured in the crevices.

  “Still freaked out by his ‘seeing’ ability, huh?” Reaper teases his VP, and Tool throws his screwdriver against the wall until it’s lodged there.

  “He can’t ‘see.’ It’s fucking bullshit. He got lucky. Fucking New Orleans, weird-ass freaky-ghostbusting-spell casting-creepy—” Tool rambles on and on under his breath and yanks the screwdriver out of the wall, then he stomps away toward the kitchen.

  “I really know how to clear a room. Fucking sensitivity must be in the water.” Reaper looks around the room, and his eyes land on Pirate who’s dragging Candy into one of fuck rooms. Looks like Pirate isn’t struggling with booze dick today.

  “What’s the plan?” I ask Melissa, pulling her against my side to keep her close.

  “Well, what do guys do when they come to Vegas?” Reaper asks and glances around for people to answer.

  “Gamble,” Knives says in a ‘duh’ tone.

  Reaper rolls his eyes. “Pussy. They want pussy. I have a feeling these guys aren’t the strip joint kind of guys. I’m thinking they’ll check the corners.”

  I think long and hard about what Reaper is trying to say, and it clicks when he watches his idea catch up to me. “Prostitutes? Melissa isn’t a whore!” I shout, and her hand strokes the middle of my chest to calm me.

  “I never said she was. I need her to pretend to be.”

  “It’s fine. If there is one thing I have a lot of practice in, it’s being a whore,” Melissa says. “I know what they want. And if they take me, you guys will be led right to where they are staying. I can give you numbers, how many people are there before you come.”

  Her chin pinches between my thumb and index finger when I grab it. “Don’t ever think of yourself as I whore. You aren’t. You never were.” If they’re making my girl feel like a whore, killing these assholes won’t be difficult. The killer in me has a deep thirst, and I can’t wait to quench it.

  No one makes my sunflower feel dirty.

  Well, no one except me.

  26

  MELISSA

  “Are you okay? How are you feeling? Is anyone bothering you?” Poodle asks in the earbud I’m wearing for the hundredth time in the last three minutes.

  I sigh, pacing the sidewalk back and forth, sidestepping the used condoms scattered on the ground. Sick. Reaper is leaning against the wall to act like my pimp because every whore needs a boss, right? I can’t be the only one out here shaking my ass without my pimp telling me how to do it. Men of all shapes and sizes are hiding in the corners, cars on the street, watching their girls work to bring them money. Reaper is barely keeping his shit together. His fists are clenched, and his knuckles are white.

  I’m sure he’ll want to try to do something about this way of life, but for a lot of women it’s all they know.

  “I’m fine, and if you keep asking me that, I’m going to take out the earbud and then you won’t know.” He doesn’t need to know that the thong I have between my ass is really uncomfortable and the heels I’m wearing are pinching my toes. Sarah put so many layers of mascara on my lashes that I see black every time I blink.

  The mic rustles and a grunt sounds, then a curse, and I hide my smile.

  “Hi, Melissa? Please, don’t take that off,” Badge says. “We need that to communicate and to hear what’s happening around you. If something happens to that earbud, I have no way of tracking you.”

  Right. The tracker. Badge wanted to be safe just in case Jared turned off his phone or got a new number. It took weeks for Badge to figure out how to track the guy, so he isn’t willing to risk anything. Badge is new to the hacking part of his new job since quitting the force.

  “I’ll be a good girl and not touch it.” I look across the street to see a girl on her knees, skirt up and around her waist as a guy fucks her from behind. She’s sucking another man off as he leans against the brick wall.

  This is a shady part of the city that I’ll be glad to get out of.

  “I can’t have him in my ear, Badge. I can’t focus when I hear his voice. So don’t put him on, okay? You stay on the line.”

  “He won’t be happy about that. I don’t want his serial killer tendencies to zone in on me.”

  I roll my eyes and pop a bubble with the Bubbalicious I have in my mouth to keep me busy. “That’s not how his tendencies work, and you know it.”

  “Whatever,” Badge sighs. “Just be careful.”

  I shiver when the cool Vegas night sweeps around me. I’m wearing a short pink crop top that barely covers my boobs and a leather skirt stopping just at the curve of my ass with fishnets that are torn to make it look like this isn’t my first rodeo. “How long do I have to be out here? Any sign of him yet?” I ask.

  “No,” Badge says.

  “We need to focus,” Reaper’s voice cuts through. “He can show up at any time.”

  “We don’t even know if he will,” Poodle says, and I press my lips together in annoyance.

  “I thought you said he wasn’t going to talk anymore, Badge.”

  “He took the mic from me,” Badge complains, and another grunt comes through the line. It sounds like Poodle got hit in the gut.

  “This is
a long shot,” I say. “We should just go to them.” I’m getting cold feet, literally and hypothetically.

  “Just a little longer.” Reaper grabs my wrist as I strut by. It looks like a pimp talking to his merchandise, nothing special. “If you want to abort, we can, but if you get in that house and we have a better understanding of what’s going on, it means less injuries and possibly no deaths. I need you to hold out.”

  “Sure,” I say and give him a sad smile. His midnight black eyes frown at the edges, as if he hates to ask what he’s asking of me. He lets go of my wrist, and I walk away. The mic is silent, but I know someone is there. I’m not alone.

  My heels kiss the ruined concrete, stained with piss and God knows what else. I make a note to myself to toss these heels in the trash when I’m done here. Needles are littered everywhere, especially along the alleys between the rundown buildings that consist of shady bars, strip clubs, and peep shows.

  “Hey, baby. How much?” a guy asks from a blue Toyota. He’s older, has a ring on his finger telling me he’s married, and he’s looking at me like he wants to do the things he can’t do to his wife.

  “Off the clock, sorry,” I say, hoping he believes me.

  “Aw, don’t be like that. How much?” he pushes, and I turn around to walk the other way. He puts the car in park and gets out.

  “Son of a bitch,” Poodle growls in the headset. “I’ll fucking kill him if he touches you.”

  “Don’t go. Let’s talk. I’ve had a bad day, and I really need to relieve some stress,” he says, trying his hardest to be nice.

  “I don’t mess with married men, sorry.”

  He yanks me by my hair, and my scalp burns as he tosses me against the brick wall.

  “Reaper! Where the fuck are you?” Poodle yells in my ear, and I wince from the high-pitch ring that sounds after.

  “Bitch, I said I had a bad day. Now be a good little whore and suck my fucking cock.” He shoves me down to my knees, and my skin breaks along the cement.

  Tears well in my eyes when memories I’ve kept buried deep surface. Am I really going to have to do this?

  Right as he unzips his pants, Reaper pulls the man away and wraps his hand around his throat, then lifts him in the air. The guy’s feet dangle, searching for the ground, but he will never find it with how high Reaper is lifting him. “She said she’s off the clock, asshole. And as her boss, I agree.”

  “I’ll … give … you … double,” he manages to say through an obstructed airway. His hand grips Reaper’s wrists to loosen the hold, but no way is that happening. Reaper could break this guy’s neck if he wants to.

  Reaper brings the man closer and sneers, “Get the fuck in your car and don’t come back, or I’ll make sure to put a hit on your head.” The Prez of the Ruthless Kings drops the bastard to the ground. He looks between the two of us as he rubs his throat and backtracks toward his piece of shit car.

  He opens the door and narrows his eyes at me. “I bet you can’t suck cock anyway!” he yells down the sidewalk, and for some reason the words make me feel embarrassment with Reaper standing right here.

  “She’s the best fucking cocksucker that’s ever lived, asshole!” Poodle yells in the earpiece, and I cover my mouth with my hands to hide my laughter. Never thought I’d see the day where my boyfriend defends my blowjob abilities. “My girl fucking deserves a reward for being so good—”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Badge growls. “He can’t hear you!”

  Reaper helps me off the ground, seeing the blood trickling down my knees. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. For a second, I thought I’d really have to suck that guy’s cock.”

  “I wouldn’t have you do that. Ever. Please, if you know nothing about me, know I’m not that kind of man.” He looks left to watch the guy pick up another girl in his car. “Come on, let’s go. This was a bad idea. A longshot at best.” He places his hand in the middle of my back and guides me toward the parking garage where the car is.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. I feel like I let everyone down.

  “It isn’t your fault. We never should have brought you out here.”

  “No! Stop. I have a signal. He’s driving down the strip now. He must have had his phone turned off. This is why I need that earbud in your ear at all times, Melissa,” Badge warns me again.

  “How does he even know I’ll be here?” I whisper, staring at Reaper with big eyes. I can’t hide how scared I am. I barely remember Jared, but I remember his cruelty and what he liked to take.

  “He doesn’t. We’re hoping he sees you and feels like he scored big time. They’re in Vegas for you, so we want him to think he found you by chance. Do you want to stay, or do you want to go? Tell me now, Melissa.”

  As my heart pounds, I think about all the men my father—no, not my father—Hector let use me and all the other women that it happened to. I might not be able to erase my past, but I can prevent someone else’s from being so horrible. “I want to stay,” I say, holding my chin high and ready to be the kick ass woman other women need me to be.

  A look of pride stretches across his face. “Okay. Game time,” he says.

  “I don’t like this.”

  “Shut up, Poodle!” we say in unison, and I hear him grumble something, but I can’t tell what it is. I’m just glad he cares enough to speak up.

  “I love you,” he says, and no one says a word.

  It’s odd, standing here with heels too high and a thong up my ass to tell him I love him, but I’m going to. “I love you too. And if anything happens, don’t you ever stop trying to find Ellie. Promise?”

  Badge interrupts, “He’s coming down your road right now.”

  “Promise?” I ask Poodle again.

  “I promise,” he finally says after a moment of hesitation, but he doesn’t sound happy about it.

  I walk away from Reaper and throw my shoulders back, keeping my head high as I tackle the biggest challenge in my life. A pair of headlights come down the street, blinding me for a second as the black SUV gets closer. This has to be him.

  “He’s right up on you,” Badge confirms my suspicion.

  The SUV comes to a slow stop next to me, and the tinted window rolls down. I want to look at Reaper, more reassurance, but there’s no time. I bend over and lean my arms on the window ledge.

  “Well, I can’t believe my eyes. We’ve been looking for you. You working the streets, baby?” he says, grinning evilly and showing a gold tooth.

  “I’m doing what I know.” I lift my shoulder with a shrug, and I hear Poodle take a sharp breath. I can’t focus on him.

  “Hector—I mean Frank—will be real glad to see you again. He isn’t going to believe my luck. Get in,” he says, leaning over the middle console to open the door. “Climb in and the only men you’ll have to work for is us.”

  I plaster on a smile, as if he’s the answer to everything in life, and get in the car. “Oh, this is leather. You guys have upgraded.” I stroke the seat seductively. “It’s so … smooth.”

  He watches my fingers slide along the seat, and he doesn’t hide the growing cock in his jeans as he turns to me. I want to throw up when his fingers stroke my cheek. “You’re so beautiful. I can’t wait to bury my cock in that tight pussy again. I’ve missed you, Melissa.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Poodle’s constant commentary in my ear almost has me running out of the SUV.

  I dare a glance out the window to see Reaper watching me closely, writing down the license plate number and whatever else he can about the SUV.

  “Frank was a fool to let you go, but now that I have you, I might keep you all to myself,” Jared says, pressing the lock buttons to trap me inside. He puts the SUV in drive, and we disappear into the night, away from Reaper, away from Poodle, away from the life that has kept me safe.

  I’m falling into the hands I never wanted to feel again.

  27

  POODLE

  I’m going to kill every person who gets in my way until Meli
ssa is in my arms. I’m shaking, my body is twitching. I need to get out of here. I need to go to her.

  “You need to calm down,” Badge says as he places a gun in the holster strapped to his thigh.

  Right. I’m the one who needs to calm down. He’s the one with the gun.

  “She’s there. With them,” I say, my teeth so tight I wouldn’t be surprised if the bone cracks.

  “We can hear everything; she’s safe.”

  I can hear the unspoken ‘for now’ after Badge’s statement, but he doesn’t say it. I’ve never felt like this before. Sure, I felt devastated when I found Holly. I was seventeen and barely a man, not even a man.

  But now? Now I have a taste of happiness again, and it feels different as a grown man, someone who can truly appreciate what he has in front of him, and I know what’s at stake if I lose her.

  The sanity that’s healed itself will shatter, and my insanity will take hold again. If people thought I was unstable before, they’ll have no idea of the monster that will be unleashed if something happens to Melissa.

  I will bring havoc.

  I will create chaos.

  And I will become strife.

  If her blood is spilled, even a drop, the streets will be rivers with the blood I’ll drain from every single man who took her from me.

  Braveheart opens the van door, and Reaper climbs in. He looks agitated, and the girls on the street get a look at all the guys, and one of them flashes their fake tits at us. Nothing is appealing to me anymore because no body is as perfect at Melissa’s, but Braveheart looks like he might come in his pants from the quick peek.

  Reaper slaps him on the back of the head. “Close the goddamn door. We have shit to do, and gawking at them isn’t going to get it done, is it?”

  “No, Prez.” Braveheart slams the door shut, and the girls disappear from view.