“Ah, I didn’t know she signed up for some extra shifts,” I mutter lowly, getting a smirk from Boss. She’ll probably end up making some sort of sly comment about how I’m far too concerned when it comes to Venom. She’s always insinuating I have a thing for her, but I don’t. At least, I’ve never acted on it.
Fuckin’ a friend is never a smart decision, even if she’s as chill as they come and looks like a damn vision. Hell, her and I mesh together so damn well it’s crazy we haven’t slept together yet, but she hasn’t expressed any interest and I’m not exactly in the mood to fuck up my friendship with her.
“I’m gonna end up sending a couple of you to Boston, but I haven’t made any decisions as of yet. I want to get more information on how things play out up there. Last thing I want to do is alert anyone we’re watching and spook them off.” Boss has personal reasons for wanting to fuck up this cult. They’re the reason her father’s dead. While they’ve killed thousands of women across the United States, I don’t think Boss gives two shits about them. The nail in the coffin is the fact, after she and her father had finally begun to repair their relationship, the cult ripped him away from her. The woman has a wound in her heart that’ll never heal. She’s cold like her father but fuck if she isn’t her mother’s daughter. She’s the best of both worlds and I’m damn sure that’s why Cowboy locked her down.
“Alright. Heard anything about Vex’s progress?” Muffler asks.
Vex is one of our full patch members. She’s down in Virginia working undercover as a college student since the cult loves to target that demographic. They go after women just starting their lives, who might be secure but they’re not overly confident in said security. It’s sickening, the way they go after the most vulnerable women.
“Yeah, she hasn’t given me much . . . but she thinks they’re using Virginia as a recruitment ground in addition to furthering their cause,” Boss comments.
“Recruitment?” Chuckles repeats.
Boss nods. “Yes, they’re trying to bring both men and women into the cult, to procreate and obviously keep it alive for many more generations to come.”
“What sick bastards,” Omen curses under his breath, getting a bunch of muttered agreements in response.
“When we goin’ to crack some skulls?” Hoodrat, one of our other full patch members asks.
“Whenever I say it’s time. Vex is doing her thing and we’re making progress, so we won’t fuck that up. I want to know as much as I can about them, and the last thing I’ll do is act stupidly and lose every bit of progress we’ve made. When we’re ready to crack skulls I’ll let you know, so don’t worry your pretty little head, Hoodrat,” Boss grumbles.
He smirks and crosses his arms over his chest. “Awe, did you just call me pretty? Wouldn’t want to make Cowboy jealous now, would we?”
The club is known for swinging around with other people’s partners from time to time, but I don’t see Boss doing that when it comes to Cowboy, unless it’s another woman. “Better shut your mouth before someone else does for ya,” Chuckles speaks up, getting an eyeroll from Boss.
“Enough of this shit, let’s get back to business. Vex is doing well and I’ll keep everyone updated as I receive more information from her. In the meantime, I’ll be gathering bits of information about our new friends up in Boston and then I’ll send two of you up there.”
I want to speak up and ask her to send two of us up now, but I won’t. Boss always has a reason for doing things the way she does. I just wish I knew where she’s heading with this. Most of the time waiting is good, but sometimes if you wait too long it only ends up fucking you over more.
Chapter Two
Venom
“Momma?” Peyton’s voice rings out like I’ve never left. Opening my eyes I see nothing but brightness. A shining, white light surrounding me. For a moment I wonder if I’m in Heaven. This is what they make it sound like, a bright place like this. Though I don’t think I’ve been much of a religious person after everything I’ve endured. In all honesty, I’ve lost a good bit of my faith because of it.
“Momma?” Her voice rings out again and I find myself looking from the right to the left, searching desperately through the whiteness for my baby girl.
God, she isn’t even a baby anymore. She’s . . . she’s twelve now.
“Momma?” Peyton’s voice surrounds me and suddenly as I blink, she appears right before me. The same copper tinted soft brown hair she had when she was a toddler. Her eyes are just as bright as mine, with their grassy and emerald mixture.
“Yeah, baby?” I say to her, kneeling down on the ground, I take her hands and can’t stop smiling, seeing her face clearly for the first time in ages. I know this can’t be real, it feels too . . . off.
She draws her brows together and her smile turns into a grimace. “Why haven’t you come to get me, Momma? Don’t you love me anymore, or do you hate me just like Daddy says?” Her voice goes from soft-spoken to a shrieking scream. I rip my hands away from hers and cover up my ears. My vision begins to spin and before I know it everything goes black.
Blinking my eyes over and over again I glance to my left and see nothing but pitch blackness. Fuck, it must still be pretty damn early. Grabbing my phone, the screen lights up and I see it’s not even five in the morning. Jesus. I knew it was early but I was hoping it would at least be seven.
I’ve had dreams like this before, but they’ve never been like this. I decide to get up and head over to my ensuite bathroom. It’s not huge, but it’s enough to get the job done. With a small walk-in shower, a toilet, sink, and an over the sink cabinet . . . well, I’ve got everything I need right here.
I strip out of last night’s clothes and toss them on the pile I have on my floor. Every Thursday I do laundry, so I’ll get to that mess in a couple days. Pulling my glass door to the side, I turn the handle and let the hot water hit the tile walls. I’m the type of person who likes my showers to be scalding hot, almost to the point where it’s burning my skin. I turn the cold side on just a tad, enough so it isn’t scorching, but it’s still the way I like it.
Stepping in, the water stings against my flesh. I place my hands on the wall and breathe in and out slowly. It’s something I do every day, trying to understand why she haunts my dreams the way she does.
I know I left her, but I didn’t think I had a choice when it was all happening. They were too powerful, too terrifying. They targeted me like they target everyone, and my husband . . . he dragged me along for the ride. When I was forced to make that horrible decision to leave Peyton behind, I made a vow to myself. A vow that I would get stronger and I wouldn’t ever let her go again. I only needed to have allies, resources, and knowledge to do it, and now here I am. A member of the Iron Vex MC, hunting the same cult that ruined my fucking life.
It was merely a coincidence that we ran across them, but one I’m thankful for every day. It’s allowed me to gather more information about them without being worried about looking suspicious.
I get out of the shower, blow dry my violet hair and plaster on a bit of foundation, a tad of neutral eyeshadow, and of course eyeliner. Then I head back into my room, put on my clothes, and slide my cut over my shoulders. Since I’m ready for the day, I head downstairs to have my morning cup of coffee and as soon as I’m done, I’ll head out into the city. I’ll be going early for my appointment, but I haven’t had a good ride around Manhattan in a while. It’s about time I went for another stroll.
Here I sit on a bench in Central Park after Beretta changed our meet location, again. I should’ve known she’d change the place, better yet the time. My nice leisurely ride around the streets of New York turned into a complete waste of time. We were supposed to meet at nine, not ten. Now I’ve wasted another hour and I’ll have to come up with some sort of excuse to give Boss when I get back, an excuse I haven’t even thought of yet. I’m sure it won’t be too hard, especially if I pull the cult card. I could tell her I was following a lead, and it was early so I didn�
�t wake anyone up. It could work, I just hope I don’t piss her off in the process.
Beretta comes strutting up in her full leather ensemble, though she’s wearing dark denim skinny jeans, or maybe they’re jeggings. Either way I don’t suppose it matters. Her hair’s styled in thick, bouncy curls and I’m positive she’s wearing a pair of sunglasses that cost as much as a month’s worth of rent for a studio apartment in the nice part of the city.
“Vanna, nice to see you,” Beretta calls me by my first name. I swear my mother gave me this name because she was a huge Wheel of Fortune fan, but I never had the chance to ask her. She died when I was fifteen from a heart attack. To this day I regret not knowing the meaning of my name. I’ve just had to accept it’s one of those things I’ll probably never know.
“Likewise. What do you have for me today?” I cut straight to the point as she takes a seat beside me and casually looks out onto the other people in the park. It’s early, so of course you have housewives running around the water, pushing their babies in their strollers. The occasional elderly couple strolls by enjoying the fresh morning air. Everything seems so peaceful and if I wasn’t the type of woman who had experienced all the hell I have, I wouldn’t think anything of it. I might even be thankful for sitting on this bench on this sunny, vibrant day, but instead the only thing I crave is vengeance.
“They’ve moved.” Beretta’s response is short and factual.
While she sticks to facts, my worst fear has hit me like a ton of bricks. Unable to refrain from looking at her, I turn my head. “What do you mean they moved?”
“You didn’t expect them to stay in Kansas forever, Vanna, did you?” Beretta pulls her glasses further down on her nose and cocks a brow.
No I didn’t think they’d stay there forever, but I doubted they were going to move so abruptly. “Was there any sort of indication?”
“About a week ago, yes, so I had my people observing from a safe distance.”
“A week ago and you didn’t think to tell me?” I snap at her, more frustrated than I care to admit. Pretty much every penny I make working security at events and doing extra jobs for the club goes to this woman, and I make good money.
Beretta scoffs and looks down at her perfectly manicured nails. “Vanna, I told you at the opportune moment, when I knew where they settled. Would you prefer I provide you with half-assed information?” A few moments of silence pass us by as I don’t feel the need to answer her question. “As I thought, now they’ve moved quite a bit closer. They’re setting up outside of Boston, and I have something for you.” Beretta digs into her purse and pulls out a smaller manila envelope and hands it over to me.
I rip open the envelope and pull the contents out. A few are leasing documents where an LLC is renting a massive farm, though the name is one I don’t recognize. “I know you’re smart enough to figure out what they’re doing.”
I nod, knowing very well how they’re funneling everything through startups, making it more and more difficult to track them. I flip through the paperwork until I get to the back and there are some paperclipped photographs.
Copper tinted hair with glowing green eyes, but they’re more the shade of grass versus emerald.
“She looks just like you now,” Beretta tells me, smiling a bit, though her smile quickly fades. “I’m so sorry you’re in this situation. I do hope you find some comfort in knowing they’re close now. Only a three-hour drive to Boston.”
As Beretta’s voice fades into the background the only thing I can think about is how I’m going to get to Peyton. They’ve kept her from me for far too long, made me feel like I was weak, like I couldn’t ever go to the police after what they did. They made my life a living hell, and I’m one hundred percent certain they’re doing the same to other vulnerable women.
I flip through the photographs and see Eric, my estranged husband, smiling with a woman a few feet behind Peyton. She seems young. She looks like me. Knowing him he’s lured her into the same trap and he’ll do everything he can to keep her there.
Clenching my fists, I vow I’ll get my vengeance sooner rather than later. He won’t hurt anyone else, and neither will the cause he follows.
Chapter Three
Ricochet
Sipping on my beer, I catch the door open and close quickly. For a second I think I’m goin’ a bit crazy because I don’t see anyone new around, but I realize a dark shadow sitting at the table we have in the corner. Narrowing my eyes, the hue of her purple hair gives her away.
Venom’s usually one who sits at the bar with me, or one of the other guys. Never since knowing her has she been the type who keeps to herself.
“Can you get me a vodka on the rocks?” I ask Iris, who draws her brows together immediately.
“A vodka on the rocks . . . you sick or something?”
“No, for Venom.” I motion with my head toward the back of the room and Iris’ mouth shifts into an ‘o’.
“Give me a minute and I’ll have it ready.”
I give Iris a minute and keep an eye on Venom, who’s now leaning her head back against the wall. No one in the club would just walk up to her and ask her what’s goin’ on because we all appreciate our space. Not only that, but we respect one another not to hover. Now, I’m not gonna be hovering but I will bring a woman a drink who looks like she desperately needs it right about now.
“Don’t think I’m not noticing you staring at her,” Faith mutters, causing Iris to giggle beside her.
“I’m just makin’ sure she’s alright,” I tell Faith, but I don’t think any of us believe my bullshit excuse.
“Mhm,” Faith responds, cocking a brow at me.
“What’s with the sass?” I question.
“You and the fact you don’t do shit when it comes to her. We all have bets on the fact you two are gonna ruin your friendship one day.”
“You do huh?” I don’t believe her at all. No way would there be some sort of high school bet goin’ on without me knowin’ about it until right now.
“Don’t act like I’m screwing around with you. Ricochet, you’re a ladies’ man, we all know it . . . but when it comes to that lady your eyes linger a little more, you prefer to stay in her company, so don’t sit here and act like you don’t feel anything toward her.”
“I never said that,” my reply shoots out of my mouth before I can stop myself, and not only that, but the angered tone that came with it was a sure shock to me, and most likely to Faith as well.
“You’re right . . . you didn’t, but given the way you just snapped at me . . . I’m pretty sure I’m gonna make it out on top with this bet,” Faith giggles, and I roll my eyes at the woman.
Iris hands me the drink and I grab my beer, slide off the barstool and walk over to where Venom is. I don’t ask to take a seat across from her because I know she’ll more than likely tell me to fuck off. It’s how she gets when she’s aggravated, but I care too much about the woman to walk away and let whatever she’s battling fuck with her head even more.
“You look like you need this,” I tell her while scooting the vodka on the rocks across the table at her.
She wraps a hand around the glass and gives me a head nod in thanks, then brings the glass to her lips and takes a sip. “Thanks.”
I sit across from Venom and don’t say much of anything. I’m not here to pressure her into saying anything, and I’m not here to give her some sorta lecture either. I’m just here, for whatever she needs, regardless of what it is. She sits across from me sipping her vodka in silence and I finish off my beer.
Still, what Faith said burns deep in the back of my mind. I like Venom in more ways than one, but I’ve never wanted to ruin our friendship for any reason. We get along well, in fact, very well. The last time I fucked a woman I was friends with it ended up backfiring and after the fact, the chick and I weren’t friends anymore. The last thing I want to happen is to lose Venom, not when the woman knows things about me I haven’t even told some of the brothers here. Nor have I told
Emerson, and Emerson is damn near my best friend.
Fuck, I wish this decision wasn’t the type to plague my mind with warnings of what the future might bring.
Chapter Four
Venom
I can do this. I can fucking do this. It’s not like I have any other choice now . . . because if I get caught they’ll kill me. God, they won’t just kill me, they’ll make sure I suffer . . . and Eric . . . and Peyton too.
“Are you alright?” Eric nervously asks me, his chest rising and falling with every breath.
I nod though it’s a lie. I’m not okay. I’m about to risk all of our lives to get out of this damned place, a place I never thought we could be free from. While it seemed like solace at one point in time, in reality we’re living in a prison. There are no physical walls, yet there are walls.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” I question him, taking his hand in mine.
We’ve been married for a little over two years. We were high school sweethearts and he went into the Army. He didn’t even make it to Iraq and gave me some sort of excuse about being discharged for medical reasons. While I never pressured him about it or searched for more information, I knew there must’ve been more to the story. Someone doesn’t just get medically discharged after going to basic training.
“If it’s what you want, I’ll do it, Vanna. We’re family. We’re in this together.” I grab onto Eric’s hand and squeeze it, silently thanking him for supporting me. I was so fearful he’d betray us, but he hasn’t. Instead he immediately jumped on board and decided this was the best for our family. I can’t express how thankful I am. I know I’m one of the lucky ones here. There are so many others whose husbands would’ve betrayed them. They would’ve told the leaders what they planned, got them stoned to death, maybe even pulled apart limb by limb. It’s shit from the Handmaidens Tale, but this is our reality. This is the life we live.
Venom's Secret (Iron Vex MC Book 4) Page 2