I knew I had no choice and these guys really are my only chance to get Reva back, but isn’t it twisted? Putting my faith in people I don’t know and turning my back on the team my sister and I have been working with for years? Choosing outlaws over the government to get the job done? Insane, right?
“Thank you. I hope I’ll be able to,” I say in all honesty.
“Whatever you need, we’re also here for you,” Xena says from my right.
She’s Lochlan’s Old Lady and being in the midst of all these Old Ladies has been an eye opener. Even more when I see the guys pull their women in their arms and give them a tight hug as if they need their strength.
First the feeling of jealousy hits me because I long for the exact same thing. My gaze automatically slides to Kray but when I notice the look on his face...dread fills my veins. Whatever has been said inside those walls cannot have been good.
Kray is still standing in the doorway of Church and waves me over. When I’m almost to him, Deeds leans in and whispers something to Kray. Kray’s whole face contorts into anger but Deeds doesn’t seem phased.
“Remember what I said, and update North when he finally gets his ass over here.” Deeds switches his attention to me. “Before you get your panties in a bunch and get in Kray’s face...it was a club decision to put you under our protection. Kray is assigned to you and automatically you get North thrown into the mix too. You’re not to leave on your own. Don’t go all vigilante either, no one needs that shit and certainly not your sister. Let us handle it while we keep you safe in the process.”
“Understood, sir,” I automatically reply.
I want to add ‘I’m not stupid.’ But I can respect his words because he’s right to voice them. Again, it’s the whole ‘it’s my sister’ and not thinking reasonable because of it. I am thankful they are letting me help out instead of pushing me away like my own team did.
“Good enough,” he replies and stalks over to Lips, giving her a hug.
Realization again sets in. The things voiced during their meeting have all hit them hard. My mind travels over everything I know about this case and even if the whole black-market thing we were trying to bring down is about guns, drugs, even organs, and...shit. Women. Sex. Slaves. Oh, no.
My heartbeat speeds up and once inside the room I spin on my heels. I’m about to demand he must tell me everything but I’m prevented from doing so due to North who strolls in behind me. Kray closes the door and hands North two files. North switches files and opens the bottom one first.
Kray growls and places his hand on top. “The other one first, save this one for later.”
North steps away and stalks over to the table to sit far away from us before he digs into the files.
I glance at him and back to Kray. “Any chance I’m getting what you just gave him?”
Kray slowly shakes his head. “I’m going to get you up to speed myself since you know the majority of the case.”
“Then start telling me the things I don’t know. And it’s easier to give me the files you just handed North, I’m a speed reader, it’ll save the both of us time.” I cross my arms in front of my chest in defense, knowing very well he’s going to keep things from me.
“Zay Brice...he...” Kray starts, clearly getting uncomfortable under my stare and it puts me more on edge.
“Also known as Shade. A ruthless fucker, top of the food chain so to say. If you need a new kidney, guns, drugs, to get rid of your ex, a body to use for your personal kinks, give him a call. That Zay Brice, right? Go on,” I urge.
Kray releases a string of curses but suddenly North is standing in front of him. His back is to me but he’s holding a folder out for me to take behind his back. Without a sound I take it and glance through the pictures and papers. My breathing becomes choppy and my heart is beating in my throat.
“You know the whole testing the merchandise together we’ve been doing for years?” I hear North say.
“Could we not do this here?” Kray snaps.
“Oh, we’re doing it here, buddy. It’s the whole point of me sayin’ it because of this case. Now, when it comes to your ten plus, I’m clearly pulling back but it doesn’t stop me from testing and putting my foot down when it comes to the added boundaries, ‘kay?” North’s words make me glance up from the file I was going through.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Kray mutters and his eyes connect with mine over North’s shoulder.
They drop and he sees the file I’m holding, the one North sneakily gave me. Clearly the one Kray didn’t want me to see and I now know he wasn’t planning on telling me anything about the details I’ve glanced over either.
“You motherfucker,” Kray roars and pushes North out of his path to head straight for me.
I hold out the file and snap, “You weren’t going to tell me about this, were you?”
“No,” he snaps, his chest heaving. “I didn’t want you to see the possibility...”
“You have no right to keep this from me. I’m a big girl, you asshole. One who’s been a special agent for years. One who’s seen worse than this and still I focus on getting my job done.” My voice is shaky from emotion and I hate it.
I want to be so damn strong and hold myself together but it’s the look in Kray’s eyes that makes me feel vulnerable. He takes another step forward and I just know he’s going to wrap his arms around me to pull me against his chest, but I can’t.
“No.” I swallow hard and take a step back. “Keep your damn distance. I’m not your girlfriend or merchandise to test for a night. I’m a special agent, your contact person, the one connected to the case and we all have a job to do.”
The words are out of my mouth and I know I’ve said them to push him away from me. But I’m hurt. Not only because even if I knew he would hold back information, I somehow hoped he would be open and honest about it. I guess the reality always hits you harder than you expect.
“Not very nice, Vienna,” North snaps. “Not fuckin’ nice at all. You dropped a solid point in my opinion, but I already disliked your mouth so I guess the end score is still the same. Though, if you insult me or my brother again...I won’t care if my brother has a thing for you. I’ll kick you in the cunt hard enough to launch you straight out of the fucking clubhouse. Understood?”
His words hit hard too and my whole ‘stay professional, and stay strong’ shield cracks. The file I was holding falls to the ground and I point at Kray while my words are addressed to North.
“You know I damn well didn’t mean it, but he hurt me. Even if I know damn well some things need to be kept from some members of a team but this? This is too big of a detail to ignore; he shouldn’t have kept it from me and you know it. Why else would you give it to me? And I can’t go all soft and let him pull me into his arms. We’re nothing to each other. We met last night, shared a damn bed together, but that’s it. I need to think about my sister and I can’t do that if I’m missing out on crucial details.” My rambling words make my chest heave even more.
North groans and mutters, “For fuck’s sake. Why do chicks always blow up and expect us to make sense of it all. Wait...” North’s face swings toward Kray’s. “You fucked her? Alone? And you said nothing to me?” he roars.
Shit. Bad choice of words. I jump in between the both of them and I must say...they’re almost touching foreheads and I’m sandwiched in between. Dammit, not a good time to be tiny.
I give North a firm push but the ton of bricks doesn’t move an inch. “Stop it, you big mammoth. It wasn’t how my words made it out to be. I heard the glass shatter. The bottle of scotch he threw into the bathroom. I didn’t know what it was then and I couldn’t sleep so I snuck into his room to see what the noise was. I found him sitting against the headboard, sleeping in an awkward position. Besides the smashed bottle in the bathroom, his knuckles were all raw and bruised from punching the wall. I was so damn tired and didn’t want to be alone. I also didn’t want to leave him alone with the punching and glass mas
sacre. Nothing happened. We slept and when I woke up, he was out of the bed and dressed, hovering over me. See? He wasn’t even awake when I crawled in there. No fucking. He didn’t cheat on you, jeez.”
North’s head tips down and a smug smile tugs his lips. “Went all prude on you did he now?”
I roll my eyes and huff out a breath. “You two are a bunch of teenagers. No. Idiot, he didn’t. His dick was hard and ready, just as it’s poking my ass now. Nothing prude about it. He’s respecting boundaries, you, professionalism, the works. Since I was the one who was parading around him naked before he punched the wall and smashed the bottle. I felt responsible for his outburst, okay? Happy you got all the details?”
North swallows and gives me a nod. “Yeah. You happy you got all the details too?” he fires back.
My hands fist at my side. “Yes,” I say through clenched teeth. Aware he’s changing subjects to guide our attention back to the case at hand.
“You at least could have warned her,” Kray growls at North.
“No, Kray. As I said, she’s an agent. Pretty sure she’s seen worse, but most of all? What if we do find her and that fucker made her his to replace this chick he had before her? ‘Cause my gut tells me he fucking did. This means there’s a solid chance she’s hurting from the burns he might have inflicted. And being somewhat prepared doesn’t take the shock away but for fuck’s sake...no one can school their features if you care about a person or if it’s family. But I know for damn sure she will handle herself better when she’s completely in the loop. Trust my fucking judgement, asshole. I’m the one still thinking with the head on top of my shoulders when it comes to any woman. You, on the other hand, when it comes to this one, your cock is so hard it’s horded all the damn blood...your other head tries to take over but that one is occupied with the whole ten plus status too. Shit. I can’t believe you didn’t get your cock wet with her sleeping right next to you. Really? Damn. First, I was pissed but I think I’m disappointed now. Should I be disappointed? Does your junk still work or does it only function when I’m in the same room?” North snickers over his own words while I’m giving him a full-on glare.
Kray’s arm wraps around my waist and he turns, taking me with him and guiding me to a chair. “Come on, let’s sit down and talk things over.”
“Oh, yes, please...we need to talk things over because clearly the man forgot where to shove his big...”
Kray spins around and grabs North by his cut. “About the case, asshole. Fuckin’ focus. We’re not discussing her, me, or us for that matter.”
“I knew that.” North yanks his cut free and takes a seat next to me, Kray sits down on my other side.
To my surprise these two completely switch to being professional. Kray updates both me and North about the rest of the details and I get the feeling that this time, he does tell me everything.
With North’s outburst I also have become aware Kray feels the same pull I do when I’m near him. Maybe Kray did want to shield me by holding back those gruesome details. But North was also right, I need to know, need to see. Because if I’m thinking logically, Shade has some twisted things in store for my sister, and the time she’s already been gone is too big of a window to be oblivious to the things that could already have happened to her.
“All those months you guys were building a case, no one has been able to pinpoint where the fucker lives or runs this online black-market company from?” North questions.
“No. But Reva was close. She only mentioned it to me but the last thing she did was place an ad where she knew one of his guys would reply to. She created some kind of code where she could leave a trail or something? I don’t know all the details but she explained it as easy as leaving breadcrumbs she could track and reveal the road to his place. I guess she was successful, right? The way she was taken and her computer wiped clean,” I sigh, feeling helpless all of a sudden because if it took us months, and still not able to locate him...where does that leave us now?
Kray places a hand on my thigh and gives it a gentle squeeze. “We have two brothers who are damn good with computers, Vienna. And don’t underestimate North’s computer skills, he can pull them apart and fire ‘em up with a twist of his hand. Chopper also mentioned bringing in Nerd, she’s also brilliant when it comes to codes and computers. She is Dams’ Old Lady. They belong to Areion Fury MC but Broken Deeds MC has worked with them a few times. Don’t worry, we’re good at what we do, okay?”
I know all of this should give me some hope, but in all reality, I feel drained and hopeless.
“Deeds mentioned something about her being placed under protection? Full lockdown?” North asks Kray.
“Yeah, two brothers at all times,” Kray replies.
“Why don’t you two stay here tonight? I need to head back to check on Kazz. I bought a new habitat and I want to make sure everything is working as it should. I’ll be here early tomorrow morning or if there’s been a development in the case...I’ll be here as soon as possible.” North shoves his chair back. “Oh, and hey...Deeds also wanted me to ask why you know sign language.” He connects his gaze with Kray. “For real, she can sign? He told me to ask but I was too stunned to ask why I needed to ask, did you see her use it?”
I wipe my suddenly sweaty hands on my jeans and stand. “I’m really drained. You mentioned something about staying here? Do you have a room I can crash in?” I grab the file from the table and glance down to find the stuff I dropped on the floor earlier.
I’m gathering all the papers and photographs from the floor when both men squat in front of me.
“Spill,” Kray snaps.
“Now,” North adds. “It’s very damn clear you’re hiding something.”
Chapter Seven
***Kray***
My gut is telling me she wants to share but can’t, as if she’s protecting someone. I soften my tone and tell her, “We promise you, what is shared in this space between the three of us will not leave the room, okay?”
She eyes the both of us and gives a slow nod. “Okay. But please, honor the promise you just made because what I’m about to tell you there is absolutely no record of. No one knows because my sister made sure to track down and erase whatever was filed about it.”
Now it’s our turn to nod.
She hangs her head and says, “Reva is completely deaf on one side and hears very little on the other side. At a young age she was sick and had a really high fever...they were late discovering it because she doesn’t feel pain like a normal person would. She feels pain, don’t get me wrong...she just has a very high tolerance. Anyway, our mother made all of us learn sign language and Reva can lip-read flawlessly. She’s also very observant if she’s not consumed by her computer. All of this makes her even better than someone with normal hearing; she hardly misses a thing. Therefore she didn’t want it on her record and choses to completely ignore her disability because she’s developed other ways to make up for the lack of her hearing.”
I give her a genuine smile. My gaze slides to North who has a glint in his eye. Vienna notices it and she pokes his chest with her finger. “I’m warning you, mammoth. Don’t think this makes her even more intriguing to you.”
I have to bite back my laughter. Seems I’m not the only one who can easily read North and his intentions.
North takes a step closer to Vienna and tilts his head. “What if I swear to find her within two days? If I pull through, you’ll back off if I think she’s a ten plus? Offer me a fair shot at getting to know her?”
Smart suggestion. And I have to say, I’m liking the idea and North’s interest for her twin. Maybe this is our shot to both have our ten plus. Twins. Close connection, like how North and I have grown a close friendship over the years.
“You guys and your ten plus labels,” Vienna grumbles. “The whole world is filled with women, why do you have to go after my sister? You don’t even know her.”
North shrugs. “Cause it’s the first time we ran into a ten plus, then clearly you wer
en’t my ten plus. The things I’ve read and heard about your twin? She sounds like mine. I’d like a shot to get to know her, but you’re already blocking me at every turn.”
“Get her back and I’ll let you get to know her. If she wants to get to know you that is,” Vienna promises.
Smart woman. And I couldn’t agree more, because who cares at this point? We all want to find her sister as soon as possible and the way North has shown interest in her, it doesn’t hurt to give him some more motivation. In the end, everybody wins if Reva’s returned safe.
“Perfect.” North shoots her a brilliant smile. “I’m heading out. I have two leads I need to follow up on. Not to mention I have an idea I want to set in motion with a little help from Chopper and Nash. Talk later. Oh, and since we’re all honest and shit...I have this.” He holds out a phone. “I had your phone cloned so if anyone contacts you or whatever, we’re also aware, okay?”
Vienna’s eyes grow wide. “Ooookay,” she slowly drags out the word as she processes this little detail of information.
It’s obvious we didn’t ask her permission—it’s not like we needed to ask—but then North does show we’re being honest and out in the open with everything.
“But one of you or both will be with me and any information that comes through I will share anyway.” She acts indifferent since we’re all working on getting Reva back.
“Right, but I’m holding onto it...with Kray not leaving your side and all.” North shoots her a wink, strolls to the door, and throws over his shoulder as he walks out, “Later, folks.”
“Come on,” I tell her and grab the pile of files from the table.
She follows behind me without a word. North and I each have a room here at the clubhouse. It’s nothing much, a single room with a large bed, TV, and a bathroom. But it’s everything we need when we have to crash here for a few days.
Kray (Broken Deeds MC, #6) Page 6