Crash: Ruthless Bastards (RBMC Book 9)

by Chelsea Handcock

  They started spending more time together after that, just talking or having a meal. Sadie had been hurt from the altercation, but even after the big dog had healed, she wasn’t right by Kayla’s side like he had observed previously. In the house, even in the room but not right on her heels. Crash had thought it was a good thing Kayla was finally healing, coming into her own, but could it have been more? The timeline added up—Braya’s information and Kayla’s change. He, of all people, knew how revenge could motivate and drive a person. But was Kayla really capable of all this?

  The gas pump stopped, and Crash removed it, paying for his fuel at the pump. He decided to hit the john, then see if this rinky-dink hole in the wall had a charging cable for his phone. He wasn’t surprised when they didn’t. They did have a big old clock behind the counter on the wall, and he realized he didn’t have time to wait around or stop at another place if he wanted to make it to El Paso with time to spare before the bank closed.

  Getting back on his bike, he started thinking again, running the different things he knew about Kayla over in his mind. She was smart, no question about that. She was also the type of person people were more than willing to talk to, and everyone talked to her, all the Ol’ Ladies and even some of the guys. He knew Crank had attended some of the session Kayla held with Kathy and even done a few on his own. Katie, Tess, Jada, and Maddie and now Jinx, Joey, and Hunt. He had also seen Tuck at her place but doubted his President allowed anyone to mess with his head or his feelings, but it would have been so easy for Kayla since she had become a trusted friend of the RBMC.

  If Crash was in her position, he could see how a few well-placed questions would garner a shit ton of information. But it all still didn’t make any fucking sense. What would be the point? She already knew the RBMC had her back, that he had her back. Why all the fucking drama? Moving away because she needed more, wanted more. Then the notes, Braya... none of it made any sense.

  They had confirmation the cartel had her, took her right off the street but lost her. Who took her, saved her, or is holding her? And why? Her father didn’t have her, there wasn’t a bounty on Kayla’s head any of them could find. The cartel was out, and the dirty feds were following after Braya and him, so who exactly had an interest in Kayla?

  The questions kept coming with no answers. It frustrated the hell out of him, but it had helped with his anger. At least he was doing something now, trying to figure out who was yanking his chain. All he knew was, whoever that was, Kayla, Braya, or someone else, he was about to yank back on the fucking chain, hard enough to make them show their faces. He was done playing games and being manipulated. It was time for him to take action.

  Hours later, Crash finally made it to El Paso, dead tired, and his head fucking hurt. It was early morning hours, and he knew he needed to get some sleep, but he also needed to make sure Braya and Axel had arrived and were safe. Thankfully, his phone had died after he received the information on the place they would be staying. It didn’t take him long to find the chain hotel. He hadn’t even gotten into a parking spot or put his kickstand down before Axel was barreling out toward him.

  “Where the fuck have you been, and why the fuck wouldn’t you answer your damn phone?!” Crash had barely placed his feet on the ground when Axel yelled, “They took her asshole, right out from under me, and I don’t know where the fuck she is.”

  He got off his bike then thought better of it, his mind catching up to what Axel was saying. Braya was gone. Taken.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “Shit.” Axel said, looking rattled. “We flew into the airport, the pilot parked, we got our stuff ready to disembark, and airport security came onto the plane, said there was an issue. Fuck man, I didn’t have a choice, we had to follow them. Braya, myself, and the pilot followed them through the airport. They put me in one room and Braya in another. Held me for four hours, and when I was finally released, their exact words to me when I asked about Braya were, I don’t know what you're talking about. We had information to detain the passengers on your plane for suspected drug trafficking. You and the plane checked out. You’re free to go. I asked again, and he told me no woman was in or had been held in his offices, and if I wanted to cause a problem, he could call the airport authority.”

  “Jack was waiting for me. They tore his plane apart, but we all know there wasn’t anything there to begin with. He asked about Braya too and got the same answer. When he went over his paperwork with TSA, her name was not on the flight manifest, man. It was like she was never there. Do you have any idea how much power someone would have to have to take over airport security and the fucking TSA?

  “But that isn’t it, man. She figured it out, all of it, on the way here. She knows what's going on. I think the sister has her and whoever is helping the bitch has clout, a lot of it. I don’t think you're going to be seeing your girl again.”

  “Like fuck I’m not. Give me your phone.”

  “Why does everyone keep asking for my damn phone? Every single fucking time I give it, something truly shitty happens.”

  “Braya used your phone?” Crash asked.

  “Yeah,” Axel replied, “right before we started to descend. She and her sister have a way of communicating. A general message board where they leave a seemingly random message, but they have a code or some shit. Braya looked it up, showed me the message, and that was it. All she said was we weren’t going to the bank.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  This was bullshit. Braya had been led into airport security with Axel and the captain of the plane. Not even ten minutes later, three official looking men came into the room and said she had to follow them, and like a good little girl, she did precisely that until she was placed into an SUV with darkened windows. She knew her message had been received loud and clear, and she was finally going to get to the end of this little adventure. So, she sat compliantly, her mind going a mile a minute. She watched every turn they took, looked for buildings that stood out, even street signs.

  These assholes seemed to be driving in circles. There was no way she would ever be able to figure out where they were going or how to get back to the airport. Hell, she didn’t even know how to get in touch with Axel or Crash, not to mention, with her phone being back in Defiance, she couldn’t even get in touch with Tuck. She wondered briefly if the clubhouse had a listed number which made her laugh to herself. This whole situation was so fucked-up.

  After what felt like hours of driving, the SUV finally pulled up in front of a nondescript building in an industrial area. She was guided inside without a word and placed in a room. Throughout the whole thing, she kept her mouth shut, just waiting and watching.

  Even now, she was waiting in a locked room. Braya knew it was a locked room because she had tried the door several times. The room was dull—no windows, cement walls, and the only furniture was an army-like cot with a grungy looking mat laid on top. She wouldn’t have called it a mattress, more like a flattened pillow with some hard shit stuffed inside. And there were stains on it, lots of stains. Gross. Unfortunately, the floor wasn’t much better. So, she flipped the mat, creating a massive dust cloud which caused her to cough and sneeze for a few minutes before the dust settled, and she was able to find a halfway clean spot to sit her ass on.

  And so, the waiting began. She would sit for a while, then stand, go to the door, recheck the knob, listen for any noise coming from outside the room, rinse and repeat. One thing she wasn’t, which surprised her, was freaked out or scared. She should be, there were so many fucking variables to her theory. Braya could totally be wrong about everything, but she had a feeling she wasn’t. When the door opened, revealing the person standing there, she knew she was entirely right about everything. and it infuriated her.

  “I don’t know if I should slap you or hug you.”

  Kayla stood there looking fresh as a daisy and smiled at her like it was just another day they had met up,

  “How about we start with the hug, and after I explain, I’
ll let you slap me if you still feel like you have to.”

  Braya stood up and walked right to her sister, smacking her in the face, hard.

  “How could you do that to me, not to mention Crash? You manipulated both of us. Just like our parents did all our fucking lives. I never would have believed you had it in you. Kayla, it was so wrong on so many levels; it makes me sick to even look at you.“

  Braya stepped back, but not before noticing one of the big men from the airport standing by the door, looking like he wanted to come into the room and throttle her for smacking and yelling at Kayla. All Kayla did was bring her hand up to her cheek and hold it for a couple of seconds before waving the very unhappy man off and shutting the door.

  “I deserved that,” Kayla said, leaning up against the door, no longer holding her cheek. The pink handprint still gleamed on her face, giving Braya a small sense of satisfaction. Braya sat back down on her spot, glaring at her sister.

  “Hell yeah, you did and a lot more, from where I’m standing. Why would you do that, Kayla? Why would you play with people you consider friends and family? This was all so planned and calculated. Who even are you? Because this is not the sister I know behavior.”

  “Maybe you don’t know me all that well.”

  “You got that right. I actually liked the person I believed you to be. This one...” Braya said, sweeping her hand down indicating Kayla, “I’m not so sure.”

  “There is more going on here then you know, Bray. If I had another choice, I would have made it, but—”

  “But nothing, Kayla! Cut the crap and tell me the story I already figured out. For some unknown reason, you wanted Crash and me together. You played that man like a fiddle to get him in bed with me, then made him feel sorry for me. I also know you took the coward’s way out and let me do your dirty work by telling him your father had his sister murdered. And let me tell you, Kayla, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you for that one. I blurted out that name like it was nothing, like she was nothing. How could you? You had known for months, before you moved, about Evelyn St. John, that she was Crash’s sister, that because of your father, she was murdered, but you kept your mouth shut. Then you send those fucking letters, putting the two of us together.” Braya shook her head and looked down unable to look at the sister, just a few short hours ago, she would have done anything for.

  “Good job, by the way. I think your plan worked, maybe a little too well.”

  Kayla stepped closer and eventually, sat down on the cot next to her. At first, only their thighs were touching, but eventually, Kayla reached out and took Braya’s hand, linking their fingers.

  “I didn’t have a choice, I needed the two of you together. Four months ago, my father put a bounty out on you. He knew we had been in contact somehow and knew about the tape you found. He couldn’t come after me, after the spectacle he made of how close we were and all that other bullshit after I was taken, but he knew if he went after you, it would force my hand. At first, the bounty was only ten grand; we easily took care of that.”

  “Wait, who is we exactly?”

  “Rock works with a couple of other law enforcement men in their own club, I guess you could call it. They are loosely allied with the RBMC. He came to me after Talon gave him the information. We’ve gotten close.”

  Braya looked at her sister, really looked at her and realized she looked good, better than she had in a long time. And for once, Sadie, her service dog, wasn’t by her side. That puzzled her. For years, Kayla couldn’t function without that dog. Now, she was running around with a man named Rock, doing God knows what, and she looked good. It was so weird.

  “Anyway, two months ago, the bounty went up, and just three weeks ago, it went up again. We were trying to figure out how to get you safe, when Micky Perez decided to take me, and I missed our call. He had me for a couple of days before Rock and his boys found me. By then, the wheels were already in motion, and I thought it was better to just let it play out. If you were with Crash, you were safe, and if my father believed you were on the way to the bank and the information he wanted, he would back off long enough for you to get it.”

  Braya got up off the bed, releasing her sister's hand, pacing away, only to turn around.

  “Do you know how fucked-up all of this is? It would have been so simple had you just told me what the fuck you were thinking! Hell, telling Crash or even Tuck one of the women, anybody about Evie. You didn’t need to let all this shit play out. A fucking phone call would have stopped it all. I’ve known those men for two days now, and even I know that.”

  “It isn’t that simple. Yes, I could have made that call, and Crash would have gone after my father, probably killed him, but what kind of justice is that? He needs to pay for everything he’s done, but not quickly, not just—”

  “You want him to suffer? What by going to jail or some shit? Are you stupid, Kay? Your uncle would have him out of there quicker than shit and kill him himself. Hell, I bet my mother and her family would have helped. He knows too much, holds too many secrets. There was never going to be suffering beyond what I’m sure the RBMC and Crash could dish out. You were so fucking wrong with all of this, I can’t even believe it.”

  “Rock and Talon said…”

  “I don’t give a shit what those men said”, Braya exclaimed, pointing toward the door. “You know it. Deep down, you fucking knew it, and you still went through with it. What was the point, Kayla? Why?”

  “Because he would keep you safe when I couldn’t. I know the two of you would be good for each other, you need each other.”

  Braya laughed loudly, looking up at the ceiling.

  “Are you really that fucking naïve? We’re good for each other? Why? Because you said so? I’ll bet my last dollar, Crash and I have nothing in common besides some out-of-this-world chemistry. Your plan worked though, he totally fucked me, Kay. I hope you're happy about that. But do you know what happened after he fucked me? He cleaned himself up and laid down on the other bed in the room and waited until he thought I was asleep before bolting for the door. But you already knew something like that would happen, so you padded the outcome. What did you give him, Kay? What happened to me when I tried to go after you, or did you dig further and give him even more? Like the first time my mother broke my arm because I didn’t do what she wanted? Or one of the many medical reports after one of my uncle's lessons? You know what made me feel so much better, dear sister? The man wanted to fuck me, that was fine. He did it and regretted it before his cock was even dry, but then you go and make him pity me?”

  “I didn’t think, I didn’t want…” Kayla stammered.

  “You’re right, you didn’t, your plan sucked. Now, tell me what the next step is because I’m done with all of this. I’m happy you have gotten close to that man out there, and I hope the two of you live long and happy lives, but Kayla, what you did, all of this, you have to realize the RBMC will not let it stand. They trusted you. Let their women and children confide in you. You’re just as much of a target now as I am, and I have to tell you, if I was going to place a bet on the RBMC or some paid thugs, I would put it on the RBMC every single time.”

  Kayla got up and brushed off her jeans.

  “You're not reasonable, and you're not listening to me. I did all of this for you. To make sure you're safe. Rock and Blade will make Tuck see I’m not a threat. He’ll understand I needed to protect you and Crash.”

  “Fuck, you're delusional. That isn’t going to happen, Kayla. You hurt Crash, brutally, heart deep, and they’re brothers. Tuck isn’t going to take your word or anyone else’s where his family is concerned.”

  “He’ll take Talon’s word for it.”

  “Who the fuck is Talon?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Crash didn’t know if he should get back on his bike or follow Axel. The other man blurted all that shit, then just turned and started walking away. Braya was gone, someone had her, and he didn’t have the first fucking clue who. It was bringing everything
back, all the shit from when his sister went missing. He refused to let another women pay because he wasn’t enough. He needed information, he needed a plan, and that wasn’t going to happen driving around fucking El Paso like a maniac. Once he had it, all bets were off.

  Finding Axel just at the hotel’s front door, he held up his currently useless phone. “Do you have a cord to charge this fucker?”

  “Yeah, I think I can help you out with that brother. There’s some fucked-up shit going on. I was just along for the ride, but now I’m pissed.”

  "I know the feeling,” Crash said, clapping Axel on the back. “Let's get this fucker charged and figure out what the hell is going on." They made it to the room Axel had rented, and Axel told him Braya’s theory.

  It made sense, perfect fucking sense, but they were still missing information, like who was helping Kayla. Braya had a lot of faith in her sister, but this was deeper shit than what he thought Kayla herself was capable of. His phone finally got some charge, and he dialed the one person he knew would have something by now. Tuck answered immediately.

  “Where the fuck have you been?”

  “Long story, phone was dead, just getting updated now about the situation.”

  “Fucker, that’s a rookie mistake. When on a mission, you never let your emotions take over, and you did, making errors that may have cost that girl.”

  Crash knew it and thinking about Braya right now gutted him. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Do you know anything?”