Fuse's Hold

by E. C. Land

  From what we’ve been told so far and from the condition Simone had been found in, these men are sick and twisted. They’re also some of the most powerful people in the world.

  My eyes scan over new information I’ve received on the group of white supremacists to finally get a lock on them. I clench my jaw as I read thoroughly through each word, deciphering the code it’s put in.

  Fuck, these men are hidden well. And with them, they’re keeping my woman hidden from me.

  I made a promise when I found her, I’d be doing right by her and that means no more of my bullshit avoiding her or pushing her away. This means I’ve been fuckin’ celibate since she’d been taken.

  I’ve not had another bitch in my bed or anywhere else in the clubhouse come near me. I made it known to all the strays they’re to leave me alone. I’m not fuckin’ around. Shit, I even went out to get a new damn bed and started building a house near the rest of my brothers who were doing the same. The only houses done so far are Chains and Tyres. The rest were still in the process of being built. All of them coming together and should be ready in a month or two.

  Once Chains brought it up in church about the house he wanted to build, several of us decided to do the same thing. This puts us all still on the property of the club but gives us space. Breaker and Nora’s house is going up on the other side of mine and Ryder’s is on the other side of Chains’. Pitch Black put his at the far end closest to the bayou and dock. Even Axel is moving his family to a new house on club property.

  Sitting back in my seat, I nearly see red as I break the code. Auction to take place most will be sold except for the one. The beauty the leader takes to his bed.

  Fuck.

  I stand to my feet and storm out of my room, away from my computer. I now knew something of my woman but not her location. Fuck I even knew subconsciously that she was suffering; however, it’s now confirmed.

  I make my way out to the main room to find Tyres holding his daughter in his arms while talking to Chains. I feel a sense of panging guilt when I look at Wren. Not because she’d been taken alongside Lyrica, but the fact Lyrica wasn’t rescued with her. I found security footage that had been in the place we’d rescued Wren from and killed the man we all thought to be Tiny’s father. On the footage, I saw what my brave Lyrica endured in the time frame before she’d been taken away. This all happened to keep the little girl safe from the cruelty that they’d have most likely thrust onto her.

  Blowing out a breath, I make my way over to them. “We need to find her, Prez, Amaya sent me a code she’d intercepted and it’s not good. Lyrica is in the hands of the leader of this group and who knows what he’s doing to her.”

  “Do we know a location to start looking yet?” he asks.

  “All of the information we keep getting is zeroing in on Montana and Iowa. From the latest, it seems we should look closer to the border of Canada and those two states,” I mutter.

  “Think if we call Mountain, his men can check it out before we head out and only find it’s another run around?” Tyres suggests, looking miserable. He hates the thought of leaving Wren behind, but he’ll go with them to find Lyrica since he also saw the footage and feels indebted to my woman for doing what she did for his daughter.

  “I’ll give him a call,” Chains agrees, pulling his phone out to do just that.

  Moments later, he’s disconnecting and nodding his head. “Mountain says they’ll check it out and find her if she’s up there. They’d been hearing some rumblings and were already looking into it. Trust me, Fuse, everyone is looking for her and not giving up on it.”

  “Thanks, Prez. I need her back here,” I say, balling my fist at my sides.

  “Get that, brother, I do. I only know a small portion of what you’re feeling from when Deanna took Tiny from me, from us and this very clubhouse with all of us still here,” Chains growls, not wanting to bring up the shit he’d gone through.

  “You’re right. It’s only a small portion of what I’m feeling. I fucked up in not claiming her like I should have. I pushed her away and now I’m regretting every damn bit of it,” I mutter, speaking the truth.

  “Why don’t you go to the ring?” I turn my attention to Pitch Black, who’s joined us.

  “Patton’s ring?” I frown.

  “Yeah, I’ll go with you. He’s got some new fuckers he wants me to go a round with. Might do you some good.” I couldn’t agree more.

  Nodding, I agree, “Alright, let’s do this.”

  As I pass Chains, he tells me that he’ll call if he hears from Mountain before we get back and tells us to also take Pipe, Shock, and Steel with us.

  Stalking to my bike, I straddle her. I give myself a moment to suck in a deep breath and release it through the burning pain that’s been constant since the day she’d been taken.

  Closing my eyes, I could still see her the day before she’d been taken.

  Walking into the clubhouse, she’d scanned the room while talking to Faith and Nora. Her eyes locked on me and I knew Lyrica was coming, so I’d put Tara to work stroking my cock. I acted as if I didn’t see her, but I did and I didn’t miss the hurt in her eyes.

  If I’d known that was the last time I’d see her, I’d have done things differently. I would have grasped hold of her and held on as fuckin’ tight as I could. Because that’s exactly what I’ll be doing when I get her back. There are no ifs to this scenario. I will find her and hold on to her with everything I have.

  Chapter Two

  Lyrica

  Present Day

  A cool cloth washes over my face and I’m not sure whether to cry out in pain or sigh in relief at the feel of it against my skin. My body aches all over so badly I wish I could be left alone to die.

  Why would they be using a cool cloth against my skin when they’re going to kill me? Leonard made his declaration after ordering my beating to leave me barely alive. Now someone is using a tender touch with me.

  I try to open my eyes but find I’m unable to do so. It feels as if there were weights holding them down, keeping them shut.

  The cloth moves away from my skin only to come back landing in another spot that causes me to whimper due to pain.

  “Shh, sweetheart, it’s okay. You’re safe,” a male voice says, causing me to involuntarily jerk.

  Safe?

  There’s no way. No one knew where I was. No one. I’ve been kept moving and hidden from sight as per Leonard’s orders. He didn’t want anyone to find me. So this man’s words are a lie.

  “I’m Cut, medic to the Inferno’s Clutch MC,” the man says, and my heart starts beating profusely. He lies, the medic for the Inferno’s Clutch MC is Pipe. “We’re at the Montana Charter, sweetheart, so you’re gonna need to calm down, okay. You’ve been through enough shit.”

  You could say that again.

  But I’m not stupid. Even if there was a Montana charter, they wouldn’t have found me. Leonard, with his sick twisted games, is at it again. Fucking with my mind. Making me think I’m safe when I’m not.

  “Just leave me to die in peace,” I croak. “Please just let me die. I can’t take it anymore. Kill me now instead of playing games with me. I know that’s what you all want for my actions now that I took Allen’s life.” I barely utter the words loud enough for anyone to hear me.

  Cut mutters something inaudibly and I’m not sure what he says, but either way, I just want him to leave me to die.

  It’s too much to bear.

  Darkness seeps back in, taking hold of me and I welcome it with open arms. Praying for death to take me away from all the hurt and pain.

  Cut

  Fuck, I’d never seen anything like this in my fuckin’ life. That’s saying something even for me. I’ve been to war, seen my brothers blown up. Seen enough shit to leave me with nightmares for years to come. I’ll never forget the horrors those men went through alongside me.

  Soon as Lyrica spoke her words, she’d passed out once again. Mountain and my brothers, who went to the loca
tion we’d heard about, found her lying beaten and bloody. It’d taken us nearly a month to find her after the national Prez called about different locations she could be in in our area.

  Soon as they got here, I took over. They’d had to call me back from a run I’d been on for the club in order to help her. There’s no fuckin’ way Mountain would trust an outsider, let alone one of the strays, to clean her up or address the wounds.

  I wouldn’t either. Not when it comes to one of the brothers ol’ ladies. Fuse is also a damn good friend of mine and this shit is fucked.

  Doing the best I can, I finish cleaning Lyrica of dirt, grime, and blood. She was taken nearly six months ago. The trauma I’m sure this woman has been through is excruciating to think of.

  Finishing up with what all I’m able to help her with, I leave her in peace and step out into the hall. I make sure Kraken, one of our members, is standing near her door. Mountain ordered she have a guard on her at all times until we got a hold of Fuse.

  I had to agree with him on this. She’s delicate and needs a protector. I’m not sure why but she does. I didn’t even see her eyes due to them being swollen shut and yet still felt the torment coming through them.

  Stalking through the clubhouse, I make my way to my Prez’s office. I knock and wait for him to yell out. We’ve all learned to hold off on entering his office without him calling out first. More than once, we’ve walked in on him with a stray between his legs or on his desk. Not that any of us give a fuck, but sometimes it’s best to give a man privacy.

  Especially him.

  “She okay?” he asks the moment I step inside and close the door. Scanning the room, I find not only my Prez but VP, Quake, and Screamer.

  “Not good, Prez, not good. She woke up for a brief moment and at that moment thought we were them trying to fuck with her head. I don’t know what all shit they pulled on her, but it’s completely fucked. The woman is ready to die because of all that she’s been through,” I say, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of my nose.

  “Yeah, she’d wanted us to leave her there to die. I’ve gotta call Chains and let him know. I think we need to get her ready to move. She’s not gonna be able to straighten her head until she’s home with them,” Mountain mutters.

  “You’re right. She won’t. That woman doesn’t have a leg to hold on to until she’s home with her ol’ man. Might want to warn them though she’s not in good shape. We take her home. They need to understand she’s been hurt severely. Broken wrist, leg, and definitely from the coloring, her ribs. And that’s without taking her to the hospital. I’ve braced her wrist and leg for the time being, but we’ll have to get her to the hospital at some point,” I mutter.

  “Pitch Black’s ol’ lady is a doctor down there. We get her to them. She’ll be able to help her,” Stinger, my VP, announces.

  “Then let’s get her ready to go. We head out in an hour. The sooner we get our asses on the road, the sooner we get to Louisiana,” Prez declares as he leans forward on his desk and lifts his phone up to make the call need in order to help this woman who belongs to one of out brothers..

  All of us start for the door as he puts the phone to his ear and says, “Chains, we found her.”

  Chapter Three

  Fuse

  This past month since Chains sent the Montana charter out looking in their area for Lyrica, I’ve been to the fights nearly every night. If I don’t, I’m out of my mind thinking of Lyrica and about not being able to get to her.

  Each night that I pass out due to sheer exhaustion, I’m haunted by visions of her. Chains needed me to look into this Nixon fucker some more. I know this is his way of getting my focus on other shit going on with the club. He’s still a variable we don’t know much about. Or he was until I did a facial recognition on him with a program connecting him to several organizations. A man like him has multiple pots he’s sticking his hand in for the honey. However, there’s one that stands out more than others. This led me to finding out he’s the trainer of the girls, he buys and sells them to men and women, whoever the highest bidder is at the end of the day.

  Shaking my head, I let out a harsh breath while punching the bag once more. Patton had informed Pitch Black and me there weren’t any fights tonight due to other shit he’s got going on. So I moved to the gym here at the clubhouse and commenced wearing myself out.

  Giving the punching bag a combo of hits, I don’t pay attention to the door to the gym opening. My vision starts swirling with images, as they always do, of Lyrica as I punch. She’s never out of my head, no matter what I do. I simply readjust my focus when I’m in the ring. Not having an opponent to go up against doesn’t give me that. So there she is.

  Her smile. The pain when she sees me with other women. The feel of her pressed up against my back as we ride. Her laughter always caused my chest to tighten, knowing it wasn’t me causing her to laugh.

  Fuck. I miss her.

  I just want to be able to hear her voice, see her beautiful eyes. Take her in my arms and finally hold her to me.

  “Fuse.” I still my hand against the bag after punching it once more and turn to face my Prez and VP, who called my name. I’m breathing hard and know my eyes are probably wild-looking.

  “Yeah,” I finally mutter.

  “You need to get a shower. Take a sleeping pill, get your shit together. We need you on your game for later and that’s not gonna happen with the state you’re in,” Chains declares.

  “I’m good, Prez,” I say, making my way from the bag to the bottle of water and towel sitting on the workbench close by. I wipe my face and look back at my brothers. “There’s no way I could sleep right now anyway, even with a pill.”

  “Then you need to at least shower, brother, and get your shit together. Mountain called, they’re on the way.” I pause the towel over my face and pull it away.

  “Come again,” I demand, my heart, which is already racing, stops altogether.

  “They found her and are bringing her home as we speak,” Chains states, arms crossed over his chest. I scan his face for any further news and only he’s Chains. He won’t give away shit unless he wants to.

  “They’ve got Lyrica,” I said gravely.

  “Yeah, they’ve got her, brother. They’re bringing your woman home. You have some time to get your shit together ‘cause I’m tellin’ you now, you’re gonna have to keep hold of your temper when you see her. Lock that shit down so you can take care of her. She’ll need you.” I nod at what Chains is saying.

  “I’ll lock it down. Is she okay?” I ask tentatively.

  “Don’t know, brother. All Mountain said was to have you and a doctor here the moment they get here. Meaning you and Angelina are both here for the time being.” Again I nod. I have no fuckin’ desire to be anywhere else. Not when I know she’s finally fuckin’ coming home.

  I need to make sure shit in the house is finished up. All the brothers agreed that we should get mine finished first before the others. This meant I know I had a house ready for her to come home to, but we still needed shit. I’ve got a bedroom set in the master, a bed in the guest room and a couch. That’s about it.

  “What’s the ETA?” I need to know how long I’ll have to wait. I know it’s over twenty-four hours of straight driving through without stopping.

  “Tomorrow. Mountain said they weren’t stopping to sleep. They’ve got some in the truck with Lyrica and four on bikes.”

  I let out a harsh breath, wishing I didn’t have to wait so long, but I’ll take the time and do as my prez says. Lyrica will need me on my game when that truck pulls through the gate and I need to have my shit together. That means Chains is right and I need to take a sleeping pill and knock the fuck out for a bit.

  Walking past him and Tyres, I head to my room here in the clubhouse to do just that. I won’t sleep for long, but what I get will be enough.

  Tyres

  “What didn’t you tell him?” I ask, turning my attention to Chains from watching Fuse head out of the gym.


  “That it’s bad. Mountain told me she wanted them to leave her there to die,” he states, causing me to cringe.

  Fuck.

  There’s not much I feel guilt for. Shit. I’m an asshole to nearly everyone who’s not a part of our family or club. But when it comes to Lyrica. I feel the shit that she’s endured down to the fuckin’ bone.

  The footage of the night she and my daughter were taken haunts me. For what she did to keep them from touching my baby. A child, not even one yet at the time. They didn’t lay a hand on my little tiger because of what Lyrica did. She’d allowed them to degrade her. Do as they’d wanted to her until she’d been taken away right before we’d gotten there.

  If not for her, who knows what could have happened to Wren.

  Now she’s been found and is coming home, but hearing Chains say she’d wished for death guts me. To think those fuckers killed her spirit makes me want to go after them and beat the fuckin’ shit out of them before slicing their throats and pulling their tongues out through the hole.

  Better yet, chop them up and grind them down to feed to Bart and the rest of the gators.

  Bart might not belong to anyone in particular, but he’s definitely somewhat mine, as I actually have been known to have conversations with him and I know he understands me. Or I think so.

  “He’s gonna need us, all of us, Tyres. Shit, he might even need his cousins,” Chains says, and I meet his gaze head-on when he mentions Fuse’s cousins. He’s not wanted anything to do with them because of who their father had been. But that doesn’t mean the DeLancys haven’t been looking out for him or at least Fèlix and his brothers.

  “We’ll be there for him, as we always are,” I mutter, nodding in agreement. “We’ll be there for both of them. Lyrica’s been through hell and that hell started by her protectin’ Wren, so I’ll do whatever the fuck I can for her and Fuse both.”