“He in the basement?” Reg, one of the other guys nods.
“Grinder has him down there,” he says, making me grin. I turn my head to look at Toni and slowly extend my hand to her. She eyes it wearily before slowly lifting her own and sliding her hand into mine.
“You’re about to see why I like playing with blades. You’re about to find out what we do with rats in our club.” I tug her hand, and she follows as I lead her to the basement. Once we’re down the stairs, I lock eyes with Grinder. His gaze slowly moves from mine to Toni and back. He won’t say anything because he knows I’m in charge. He’ll let me handle things just like he would Phoenix if he was here.
“She need to see this?” Grinder asks.
“How rude it would be if I didn’t let her watch,” I say as I lead Toni over to another chair and shove her down roughly onto it.
“This is fucked up,” Grinder mumbles.
“No. This is the fun part.”
Chapter Nineteen
Antonia
My throat’s so dry I can barely swallow. I stared directly into his eyes and said I wasn’t afraid of him, but it’s a stone-cold lie. I am afraid of Leo, because I know what he’s fucking capable of. Anyone in their right mind should be scared of him. I’ve heard the rumors. I’ve heard the gritty, detailed stories of what he’s done to those who crossed him. In hindsight they deserved it, but that doesn’t mean my blood isn’t going cold at the thought he’s making me watch this. Not that I give a damn what happens to Jimmy. He’s done so many fucked up things in his life, I’m surprised he didn’t meet his maker before now. But, what is Leo going to do to me after this is all over?
“You watch Ant here, will you, Grinder?” Leo asks him, saying my street name again. It feels so odd hearing him call me Ant instead of Toni.
Grinder nods and comes right up beside me, crosses his arms, and glances down to me for a split second. He doesn’t say a word, but he doesn’t need to. I know what he’s thinking, that I’m in deep shit.
Leo walks around Jimmy, who has been chained up by Grinder and Reg. At least, that’s what I assume. His hands are hoisted up over his head, using a beam that’s supporting the club to hold him up. Meanwhile, his body hangs against the floor, his legs being tied and secured to the floor as well. No matter how desperate he is to escape this, there’s no way he’ll make it out of here alive. Leo and his boys have made damn sure of it.
A spotlight shines on Jimmy and the distinctive sound of metal being scraped against cement causes me to look in the direction of the sound. What I see shouldn’t be shocking, and yet it is. Leo has his shirt off, dragging a machete against the ground. Why he has his shirt off I have no idea, and here I am sitting in this damn chair, trying to cross my legs because he looks fucking delicious right now. Leo is all man, and there’s no fucking doubt about it.
Jimmy’s eyes widen as he stares at Leo, then his eyes shift over to me. “There’s no fuckin’ way you’re gonna let him do this shit to me, Ant. Whatever you’re plannin’, do it now!” He hollers, like the little bitch he is. The man has no balls, and that’s for sure. Wish I’d known that when I was dating him.
Out of nowhere the sound of footsteps come charging down the stairwell behind me. “What the fuck is this shit!?” A deep man’s voice asks.
Leo furrows his brows, “Prez, what you doin’ here?”
The man huffs from behind me, “You don’t wanna fuckin’ ask me that shit, Leo. I gotta deal with Winnie and Ascher goin’ at each other’s throats after their failed attempt of a relationship, and then I get a call from Cupcake that you’re goin’ all Dexter on some bastard downstairs. What the fuck man? Why didn’t you call me?”
“‘Cause this is shit I can handle, Phoenix. Cupcake shouldn’t have bothered you about this.” With a name like Cupcake, she’s gotta be one of the clubwhores.
“What the fuck is goin’ on, and you’d better damn well tell me. I’m not in the mood for your bullshit attitude right now,” Phoenix hisses from behind me and comes into my view. He flicks a lighter, his eyes scanning me up and down. “This is her?”
Her? Has Leo been talking about me?
Leo nods, “Yep.”
“What’s she doin’ down here watchin’ this shit? Fuck, brother. Women don’t need to see this.”
“She does, and she needs to watch every fuckin’ detail and remember I could be doin’ this to her.” Leo hisses, staring directly into my eyes. He isn’t playing, and I damn well know it.
“Shit, sweetheart, I don’t know what you did to him but . . . damn.” Phoenix chuckles in amusement, looking to his VP.
“She was double crossin’ him, Prez. Then she decided to flip sides.” Lynch speaks up, who’s the club’s enforcer. He’s one of those silent types, only speaking when necessary. I didn’t even realize he was here, but that isn’t too shocking. He’s always around, lurking in the shadows, ready to pop out whenever the club needs him.
“I’m real interested in why this fucker thinks you’re gonna get him out of this,” Leo snarls in my direction, bringing his blade up to Jimmy’s body.
I roll my eyes, knowing exactly why. “He’s my ex, and he stupidly thinks I give a damn about whatever happens to his idiot ass.”
Leo’s eyes go wide. “Your fuckin ex was in my club this entire fuckin’ time?”
“She was practically my ol’ lady, asshole. I sank my cock in there so many times that you don’t even fuckin’ matter to her.” Jimmy pipes up, and man. I wish he didn’t. Almost like a reflex, I jump up out of the chair quicker than any of the club guys can grab me and cross the distance between us. It’s maybe ten feet, but as I pull my hand back, close my fist, and slam it into Jimmy’s crooked ass nose I feel so much better.
“You don’t get to fucking speak! I wasn’t ever your ol’ lady and you damn well know it, and don’t you ever think you can speak for me. No man speaks for me, idiot. Not now. Not fucking ever—” I stop all of a sudden as something on the top of my hand pops, sending an agonizing pain through the top of my hand and my palm. I almost can’t keep my expression straight, but I’m trying so hard. I’ll be damned if anyone thinks they can treat me like shit.
Jimmy cackles like the evil asshole he is. “That’s fuckin’ adorable. Your daddy speaks for you all the time. The man told me after I proved myself I could have you and take the club. Don’t you see, Ant? He was never gonna give you shit. He was moldin’ me to take the club, to be his replacement. He wasn’t ever gonna give it to you.”
No.
I want to believe what he’s saying is false, but I know better. This is my father’s typical behavior.
I don’t give a damn that my hand is killing me, I pull it back and ball it up again, even though the second I close my fist it feels like a thousand needles are pressing through my skin. Then I slam it against his pathetic, bitch ass little face. But as I do the cracking sound rings out in the room around me and I quickly realize the sound didn’t come from Jimmy.
“Holy fuck!” Reg’s voice booms out, and I glance down, seeing my bone sticking out through my skin and blood pooling around it.
“Oh my god . . . oh my god . . .” I murmur over and over again, not sure what the fuck I’m supposed to do right now.
Chapter Twenty
Leo
There’s bone. And blood. Toni looks panicked and that’s not something I’ve ever seen her look like. Her small frame begins to sway as she looks at her mutilated hand. I’m pissed. I’m pissed at her for fucking up my time with Jimmy, I’m pissed that she did something as stupid as punching him and getting herself hurt.
“Jesus,” I hiss under my breath, dropping the machete to the floor with a loud clang. I move toward Toni quick as fuck, grabbing her broken hand in mine gently. “Don’t move it, Ant!” I roar as she tries to pull it away from me.
“It fucking hurts!” She cries, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Well no shit! You just busted your fuckin’ hand on his face!”
�
��I don’t feel so good, Leo,” she says as I drag my gaze to meet hers. She doesn’t look so good either.
“I’m taking her to the hospital. Grinder take care of this asshole,” I growl, nodding my head at Jimmy.
“So, this is her?” Phoenix says as he strolls over and stands in front of us.
“This is her.”
“I have so many questions for you, but obviously not now. The one thing I will ask before you go, do you care about him?” I’m still pissed at her for what she did but I can’t deny the fact that I want to know her answer.
“We’re talking about this now?” She cries.
“Just answer me,” Phoenix snaps.
“Yes, I care about him. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have risked everything.” My chest squeezes at her admission. Phoenix seems satisfied for the moment so I grab her and lead her out of the basement and up the steps.
“Peaches, get me a rag!” I call out to one of the club girls. She hurries off as I lead Toni toward the door. Peaches rushes over and passes me the rag which I wrap around Toni’s hand. As I do, she’s still swaying slightly, I lift her in my arms and carry her to the truck. I hate being in the cage but there’s no way in hell she can ride the bike like this.
I situate her in the seat and run around climbing in and start the truck.
“You’re gonna be okay, Ant.”
“You called me, Ant,” she says softly as I drive.
“That’s your name isn’t it?”
“It is, but it’s weird hearing you say it.” I glance over as she lays her head back on the seat. Shock sets in as she closes her eyes. I drive as fast as I can to the hospital. Once we’re here, they rush her away from me asking all kinds of questions and talking about surgery.
Walking into the waiting room, I run my hand through my hair and contemplate what I’m doing with this girl. Is she someone I should get mixed up with? What’s going to happen after her father finds out we killed Jimmy? I find myself asking too many questions that I don’t have answers for when Phoenix walks in.
“You okay?”
“Jimmy handled?” I ask. He nods his head. “I don’t know, Prez. Did I just start a fuckin’ war with Edge?”
“What difference does it make? He was a rat in our club, Leo.” I nod my head knowing that but it doesn’t change the facts.
“Even still. I ordered it.”
“Fuck that, brother. You did the right thing. Now tell me about this girl. You keeping her around?”
“Fuck yeah, I am.”
“Does she know that?”
“Hell no. I don’t know what she thinks, Phoenix. She fucked me over too and I don’t know how to handle that part. A part of me wants to rip her ass to shreds and send her home to Daddy but the other part can’t do that.”
“I get it, brother. I do. It’s a tough decision but just know that I’m behind you whatever you choose.”
“Thanks, brother. I appreciate that.”
“Have they told you anything yet?” he asks, changing the subject.
“No. Just some shit about surgery to repair the bone.”
“She really fucked her hand up on his face,” he chuckles.
“Yeah, she did. The girl has heart.”
“That’s a good thing,” he adds. I nod my head before scrubbing a hand over my face.
“The shit with Ascher, you wanna talk about it?” Phoenix turns his head to look at me and sighs.
“You know Ascher. The fucker is always in trouble for something. I just think he met his match with Winnie. She doesn’t back down from a good fight.”
“That all this is?”
“I honestly don’t know. I guess we’ll find out soon enough, yeah?”
I blow out a breath and lean back in my seat trying to clear my head and stop worrying about what’s going on in that OR.
Chapter Twenty-One
Antonia
“When’s she supposed to be wakin’ up?” I hear him ask while my head pounds and nausea rolls through my stomach. It’s this nagging, pulsating feeling through my temple like I’ve been hit in the head. I focus on my breathing, inhaling through my nose, exhaling through my mouth. All I do is focus on this right now, waiting, trying to calm myself down as anxiety starts creeping in.
“I don’t know, Prez. I didn’t really stick around to ask questions. I paid off that fine Latina nurse of hers and made sure she got Ant to me quick and quietly. I saw a couple guys from the Devil’s Ash MC out in the waiting room too when I left, so I don’t think they know she’s gone.” Magnum tells my father, and the more I listen, the more alert I become.
Fuck. What happened? What the fuck happened? The last thing I remember is Leo getting me to the hospital, them doing a blood test and giving me some pain medication, telling me I’d need surgery to set the bone and a couple . . . god, what were they called? Fuck. I can’t remember the name of them, but I do remember they’d help me get my hand sorted.
I manage to open my eyes slowly, blink and gaze down at my right hand which is wrapped in some sort of cloth contraption. If this doesn’t look botched, I don’t know what does. “Ah, she’s wakin’ up.” Magnum tells my father, and his footsteps grow closer.
My father scoffs as a sudden agonizing pain rips through the back of my head. He pulls the back of my hair, jolting me awake. “You have so much explainin’ to do, Antonia.”
My scream comes out of me before I realize what’s happening. He yanks on my hair again, this time the pain not as bad as the first. “Now that you’re here with us, where’s Jimmy? He didn’t check in today.”
I narrow my eyes in on him, “How the fuck am I supposed to know where he is? I’m not his babysitter,” I groggily tell him, fighting to keep my eyes open. Whatever drugs they gave me, they sure as hell weren’t weak.
“Don’t toy with me, little girl. He told me exactly what you were doin’ with Leo, even told me you took him to meet your mother.” His tone shows his disapproval.
“You mean he invited himself, then yeah. How else was I supposed to get shit from him? Isn’t that what you wanted me to get from him? Intel?” I stare at him, realizing I’m tied down to some sort of chair. Then it hits me. I know exactly where I am, in a private room in the middle of his fucking club, where he ties down his enemies and puts on a show for his boys. He only brings those he fully intends on harming here, and yet here I am.
He must see I’ve put it all together by now, “I know you double crossed us, little girl. Daughter or not, you’re going to pay for what you’ve done.”
“How do you know shit?” I ask, and his reply is backhanding me against the face.
“Jimmy has never missed a check-in. Not once. He tells me everything that goes down at their club, and I mean everything. I know what you fuckin’ did in front of him. Fuckin’ slut,” he backhands me again and again, so much so that my cheeks constantly burn from the impact, feeling like I’m getting slapped raw.
Soon enough, stars are forming in my vision and I can’t feel my face. He simply continues coming at me again and again, but eventually the pain starts forming at other points of my body. My left arm, legs, my side, but nothing quite bothers me like when he grabs a hammer from a nearby table and swings it from left to right, his eyes focused on my right hand. “All my life, I tried to fuckin’ protect you from shit. The street, your grandfather, hell even your fuckin’ mother . . . but what I should’ve been tryin’ to protect you from was yourself.” He closes his eyes, “You betrayed your family, Antonia. You betrayed the club, and even though you’re my daughter, this isn’t something I can simply look away from. You’re going to pay the price like everyone else who crosses us—with blood.”
He raises the hammer and slams it down on my right hand. My scream rings out, soaring through my mouth like I’m a trained opera singer. I’ve never felt pain like this, but something tells me this won’t stop anytime soon. I’ll be in this chair until I’m either dead, or until Leo comes for me . . . if he even comes.
I’ve
never been the praying type, but right now I’m praying to any god that will listen. I’m praying, hoping, and pleading the man I’m falling for will get to me before it’s too late.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Leo
“What the fuck do you mean she’s gone?” I scream at the nurse that stands in front of me. I’m beyond pissed.
“I’m so sorry, sir. She isn’t in her room and from what I’m being told she isn’t in the building.” Anger surges inside of me, burning straight to my core. I suck in a deep breath knowing exactly where she is. I turn on my heel, ignoring the guys that have shown up and storm through the front door of the hospital. Tugging at my hair, Phoenix, who has been hollering at me since I walked out, grabs my arm and pulls me to a stop.
“I know damn well you hear me, Leo!”
“They fuckin’ took her, Prez! They took my girl and now I’m going to get her back. I’m going to burn that motherfucker to the ground,” I roar. Phoenix nods his head, keeping his grip on my wrist.
“I hear you, brother. Let’s get shit together before we storm them,” he says but I shake my head. No, I know guys like Edge. They won’t back down and they are downright ruthless. I know because I’m just fucking like him. I will tear the world apart for that girl.
“No time for that shit. She’s hurt, Prez. I don’t know how much more she can take. I’m not fuckin losing her.” Something crosses his features and I know he understands what I’m thinking.
“You’re right. I would do it for Kenna.” He knows exactly what I’m thinking and I’m damn thankful for it.
“Exactly. I need to get to their clubhouse. It’s not far from here, Phoenix. I don’t need the club to back me on this but I’m going to get her back.”
“You claiming her, Leo?” he asks.
Sharp Edges (Full Throttle Book 2) Page 7