“You got a problem, brother.” Thorn smacked my back. “That one is fiercer than a badger and she’s not shy.”
“She’s just a favor—same reason you’re here.” I headed to my ride.
“That’s bullshit—she’s picked you.”
I belted out a laugh. “I thought you were the quiet one.”
The bastard climbed into the SUV beside me. I backed out and turned toward the strip. We needed answers.
“So how we doing this?” I asked.
“We’re going to take pound for pound out on Frank Ricci. He’ll be lucky to be alive when I’m done with him,” Thorn growled.
“We’d be committing the club to retribution if we hurt him that way.” I wanted to rip his nuts off, but I wasn’t sure the club was down for that.
“This is what I know.” Thorn tapped his thumb on his thigh—he was nervous. “Mama and Pixie call her their best friend. She and Sharpie were a thing before he joined, and Zero and he are riding like the Devil is chasing them to get here. Bear is ready to throw down for her too.”
“I met up with her when I was in Vegas last, so I want this right for her, but—”
“Jericho never mentions it, but that spitfire is his cousin on his mama’s side. So you should put a cut on her back—she’s one of us even if she doesn’t want to be.” Thorn stared at me. “You understand me?”
“We make it right for her. And that’s complicated ’cause she wants to be dancing here again.”
“Then we make that happen.” He smirked. “Are you part of what she wants?”
“Fuck that, I’m here because a brother called.”
“Good plan. I’d steer clear.”
Thorn was in charge of this mission and my senior in every way. “Is that an order?” The club could tell me to stay away.
Thorn’s booming laugh filled the vehicle. “Fuck no—just free advice.”
A smart man would take that advice.
Thorn glanced at his phone. “Turn up here. He’s about five minutes away.”
“I wish we had better intel on Frank Ricci. We know he’s a nephew to DeLuca, but what’s his role in the organization?” I hated not having all the details, but Thorn had made a good point. We needed to retaliate fast and send a message. This wasn’t about business, and we wanted to keep it a personal situation.
We pulled into the apartment complex right off the strip, entirely too close for most natives, but this guy probably got off on the thrills the strip offered. First we both pulled on tight leather gloves—we didn’t want to leave fingerprints. I tucked my phone into my back jeans pocket as I got out of the Escalade. Thorn and I headed up the outside staircase to the third floor where Frankie’s apartment was located. As we headed down the outside corridor to apartment 327, we spotted someone coming out of the apartment.
It was Ricci. Thorn and I closed the distance to him and each of us grabbed an arm and dragged him back to his door. Thorn snatched the keys from Frankie’s hand and we were inside in seconds. He’d decorated in all modern shit done in black and white—a player’s pad.
Frankie licked his lips and opened his mouth, then shut it again. “I left just like you said. Why you fucking with me? You know who I am?”
“The man who hurt Glory. The fucker who will wish he were dead soon. I told you she was under my protection and that means you took on the Jericho Brotherhood when you beat her up.”
No one fucked with us or what was ours. And Queenie was mine, or ours anyway. I shook the notion of mine out of my head as I stared at the prick. Sweat beaded on his brow.
“That was Angel. She went against him.” He smirked at me. “You really going to push that door?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time we’d evened the score with the mob—you heard of Lucky. He fucked with us once.”
Frankie lost color. Thorn shoved him onto the white couch while I snapped a before picture.
“What the fuck?” he belted out when my flash blinded him.
“I want Glory to see the before because no one will recognize you after I’m done here.” I thrust the phone back in my pocket and focused on the bastard who’d caused this whole mess. “I warned you, but you didn’t fucking listen to me.”
“The whore asked for that shit,” he spat.
I shot my right out and broke his nose. He howled with pain.
“Fuck, man.” He spoke with a nasal tone now as he tried to stop the bleeding.
Thorn squeezed his throat until Ricci couldn’t speak. “Never call her a whore. She’s our sister, get me?”
He nodded and blood splattered the white couch. The red splotches already improved his décor.
“Why didn’t you just let her go?”
“I break up with the wh—” He shot a nervous look to Thorn. “I mean she doesn’t leave me.” He gave us a cocky grin. “You don’t want to fuck with me.” Somewhere in the past two minutes he’d found some courage.
Good. It’d be fun to strip him of it and then watch him beg me to stop hurting him.
“DeLuca going to get revenge? For a piece of shit like you... I don’t think so,” I taunted him.
“I’m his—” He stopped speaking and gulped when Thorn growled. “I’m not someone to fuck with.”
I gave him my three shot combo, right, left and jab. His head snapped back before he slouched forward, unconscious. I picked him up, slung him over my shoulder, and hauled him toward the back. With a kick, the bedroom door splintered and hung on a hinge. Thorn raised an eyebrow and went in ahead of me. I dropped the prick to the bed and looked around for what I needed. I found an extension cord that was sturdy enough to use as rope.
“In here,” Thorn called.
The bastard had a huge walk-in shower with large sliding glass doors. A solid glass ledge housed the sliding-door mechanism. Thorn grasped the ledge and hung there. If it held his muscle-bound bulk, it’d hold Frank. I threw him the extension cord and he grinned. We had the same plan in mind, which came from working together too many damn times.
I rifled through Frankie’s room and found a sap, a bat and a butterfly knife. There was something unnerving about being tortured with your own weapons. It sent a message almost more powerful than the beating.
It took your shit and beat you senseless.
Yeah, it induced a whole other level of fear.
Staring down at the idiot, I pulled off his shoes and socks before slicing off his shorts, underwear and T-shirt. I hauled him to the bathroom and held him up while Thorn tied him up so he could barely stand. I wanted him vulnerable in every conceivable way. Thorn and I had done this maneuver before on assignment. I had the precision to mete out pain without going too far too fast. A subtlety Thorn didn’t possess. He tended to do too much damage, but we’d agreed to trade blows. And he’d promised to use control—at least enough to leave him alive.
I opened cabinets and doors in the kitchen until I found a deep pot—it’d hold a good amount of water. I filled it in the sink and carried it to the bathroom where Frankie hung unconscious. I threw the cold water on him, aiming for the mouth and nose. The best way I knew to wake someone up.
Thorn stood back to avoid the water.
Frankie sputtered and coughed awake. He stared at me with hatred in his eyes. “You’re going to die.”
“We all are—some sooner than others.” I flicked open the butterfly knife. “You first.”
“No, man, my old man will pay big to keep me alive.” Sweat ran down his temple.
“I won’t be ending your miserable life, although you might wish I had.”
His eyes tracked as I tossed the knife from hand to hand, then sliced across his cheek.
“Fuck, not my face.”
I sliced the other cheek, likely not deep enough to scar. But enough to get his attention.
“How much pain can you take?
” Thorn stepped forward and rang his bell with an openhanded slap.
He shook his head. “Uh...no, man, don’t...” He kept talking but I tuned him out.
My first punch hit him in the gut, then another.
Thorn connected once in the gut and Frankie puked. I jumped back to avoid the splatter.
“You recognize this?” I grabbed the bat I’d found in his bedroom.
“Don’t break anything,” he pleaded as I connected with his knee. The sick crack of broken bone was as clear as his scream.
I worked him over with the bat with a slow precision. This work sickened me, but I remembered Glory’s face, her bruised body, and I shut down the recrimination.
I dropped the bat and noticed the fucker was out again.
“Thorn.” I nodded to the unconscious Ricci. He left to go get another wake-up call.
In a couple minutes Thorn was there with the same pot full of water. “Salt water.” He tossed it on Frankie, who woke up screaming.
Picking up the sap, Thorn moved forward and landed the first smack on his junk. Ricci only thought he knew pain. On the second blow he threw up again, but nothing came up.
Ricci passed out again. Probably for the best because this next part would sting the worst. I took his knife and sliced across the top of his cock. He’d never think about fucking the same way again. That would definitely leave a scar. Every time he tried to fuck after this, he’d remember the lesson I’d taught him. I took the knife and sliced near his balls, wanting the suffering to last for weeks.
I glanced at Thorn, who nodded and untied the prick. He dropped to the tile floor. The cream tiles were smeared with blood and vomit.
“We gotta move him.” I didn’t want him accidently dying by choking on his own puke. I lifted under his arms and dragged him into his bedroom. Thorn kicked him as he walked by. I moved him, leaving him on his side on the white carpet. Ricci was still breathing, and he should count his blessings.
As we left his condo, I left the door wide open and hurried to the Escalade.
“Should I call the police?” Thorn pulled out a burner phone that all the security guys carried.
“Probably. We don’t want him choking out.”
Thorn made a call and we sped across town to the dealer and turned in the Escalade for a Mercedes SUV. In a more compact vehicle, Thorn barely fit in the passenger seat.
“We need to send the message.”
Thorn nodded and called home. Jericho had agreed to have a middle man reach out to DeLuca and explain we were square—to gauge what, if any, blowback we might expect.
My knuckles were bloody, but I’d avoided blood on my clothes. I’d never been the kind to get off on violence, but I’d had no trouble seeking retribution for my queen. I wondered what Queenie had been doing while I’d repaid the bastard who hurt her.
Chapter 11: Glory
“So what’s your deal?” I frowned at my keeper. I’d shake him to demand answers but I hadn’t recovered that much, yet. My body ached and that was after I’d taken the powerful pain pills the doc had prescribed.
The stoic Eagle just sat at the kitchen table playing solitaire. But the smallest sound had his eyes moving—he was a total predator. Yet I didn’t feel safe.
I’d wanted Delta far away from me. But as soon as he left, the unease crept in and I hated it. The damnable truth was I felt safe with him, apparently only him.
Eagle didn’t even glance my way.
“You could talk to me.”
He didn’t even show a sign he’d heard me. And that pissed me off on top of all my other churning emotions. I didn’t need him. I didn’t need Delta. I didn’t need anyone.
Liar, my snarky inner critic shot back.
I needed to talk to someone. “Give me your phone,” I demanded from my seat on the couch. He ignored me.
With effort, I pushed up from the couch and accepted the stabbing pain that greeted me. Once the pain had settled, I stomp-limped back to the kitchen and held out my hand. “Give me your phone.”
The stout, bearded biker raised a single shaggy eyebrow at me, then turned back to his game.
“I need to talk to...” I almost said Avery but that wouldn’t cut it with Mr. Silent. “With Rock.”
He gave me a hint of a smirk and kept playing solitaire. I wanted to sweep those cards to the floor but I restrained myself. It wouldn’t do me any good, and I refused to let this man provoke me into a full blown fit.
His phone pinged and he pulled it out of the front pocket of his blue flannel shirt, read the message and dropped it back inside.
“What?” I shouted in the empty kitchen.
He threw his head back and laughed, and not a quick laugh, but a long, good laugh. I had no doubt it was at my freaking expense.
The door banged open and Eagle stood up. “Fucking glad to see you.” The first words he’d spoken since Delta left. He shot me a glance still full of laughter before he hurried out the door.
“You harass Eagle? He doesn’t like people, you know.” Delta smiled down at me.
“Me harass him? He wouldn’t talk to me! And he laughed at me.” I fisted hands on my hips and gave him a fierce scowl. “Tell me shit about what you two were doing, or give me a phone to call Avery.”
Thorn shook his head. “I’m leaving this shit to you.” He turned to walk past me. There was lots of room between me and the living room coffee table, but that biker was gigantic and dwarfed me and the living room.
I tapped my foot and tried to stay mad, but I couldn’t, not with that idiot grinning at me.
“You should’ve been nicer to Eagle.” Delta stepped forward and pulled me close to him, then swooped me up and carried me to the couch, placing me on his lap, yet again.
God, he smelled perfect with a mix of leather and cologne. I could’ve gobbled him up. But I didn’t want him. If I kept repeating that then maybe I could remember I didn’t want the blond Adonis. The arrogant jerk wasn’t my type. I liked a more refined man. Hell, I had tried to like more refined men, but the rough-around-the-edges type always drew me in. Mark, Zero, Delta.
“What happened?”
He moved forward, kissing me with a gentleness I didn’t expect. I fell into the kiss like a pathetic girl who’d spent the day craving it. Which I had, but I didn’t have to act like it, did I?
Nope! You have some pride.
But my body was imitating a horny teenager who finally landed the quarterback. His kiss was dangerous, igniting a burn deep inside me that swept through me like a wildfire, the gnawing hunger of lust drove me forward. Maybe he wasn’t what I wanted but he was everything I needed right now. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed back for all I was worth. I couldn’t deny the tangible thrum of need flowing between us, and I needed some good, no, I needed some great!
My body melted into his until it felt as if we were one—merged together—the same pulse, heartbeat and breath. I’d never been so completely lost in another, and I didn’t want to find my way out. No, I just needed to burrow deeper until he’d consumed me. Safe. Cherished. Possessed.
His arms tightened around me.
“Ow,” I yelped in pain.
“Goddammit,” he cursed, dropping his arms to his side. “You make me forget everything.” His finger traced the stitches on my cheek. “Like this and this.” He stroked my bruised face.
He leaned away from me and I wished he were closer. “We took care of Frankie.” He smiled at me. He slipped his phone from his pocket. “Want to see photos?”
I didn’t. I thought I was bloodthirsty, but I wasn’t. I mean I was glad he’d paid, but I was equally glad it wasn’t me who’d done it. “Not really.” I felt like a coward for saying that.
“Better that way.” He nodded. “I didn’t want to show you but it’s your choice.”
“Okay. What’s next?”
“We gather intelligence on DeLuca and his protection. I’ll want to shut down that porn business and make sure Angel gets the message that you’re off-limits.”
“How will you convince him?” I couldn’t see how that would work. DeLuca was powerful, more powerful than the Jericho Brotherhood.
“I’m very persuasive.” He traced my jaw. “I promised you I’d make this right, and I will.” Without another word he stood and picked me up. “You need to rest.”
“Put me down.” I smacked his shoulder.
He opened the door to the room that held all the bags. “This is your room.” He gently placed me on the soft bed. “TV remote there. And full bath in there. You need to rest and recover.” He pointed to one of the bags. “That one has the cream from the doctor.”
“Thanks.” I smiled at him. “You can be nice when you try.”
“Back at ya.” He gave me a two finger salute and left.
I decided to relax with a hot bath. Lord knows my aching body craved it.
Over the next three days all I did was rest. Eagle never came back, and Thorn left for hours at a time, but Delta stayed with me. I wasn’t sure if that was because he wanted to or because I’d irritated the silent Eagle. Either way, by day three I was feeling almost human again. The swelling was nearly gone in my face and the bruising much lighter. My sex and inner thighs still ached, but they no longer sent horrible random strikes of pain through me whenever I moved. I was on the mend. Today I hadn’t even had to take the pain pills the doctor prescribed. Although I still took the ibuprofen to help with pain and the swelling. And I used that cream religiously because it really helped.
“Here’s a suitcase.” Delta stopped in my room. “Can you pack up your stuff?”
“Are we going somewhere?”
“Soon, maybe tomorrow, and I like to be ready.”
I wished he had told me where or what was going on but I was happy to have something productive to do. I packed up the clothes he’d bought me along with the makeup. I still couldn’t believe he’d done that. He’d been the best lover I’d ever had and he’d swooped in and rescued me without a single complaint, but the makeup had changed something between us. That was the action of a caring man, and it had touched me down deep where it counted.
Get Away Page 10
