Spade (High Rollers MC Book 3)

by Kasey Krane

  I glared at him with my nostrils flared. I wanted to scream. Ask him what he wanted. Who he was. Spade was going to find us. He was going to come to get us eventually. I wanted to scream all that at his face, but I couldn’t and all this man was doing was sniggering.

  “You won’t believe how delighted we were when we figured out who you really are, Ms. River,” he spoke, in a low gruff voice. He was actually smiling now, like he wanted to demonstrate his genuine delight.

  “In the beginning we thought you were just some bitch who’d captured Spade’s fancy. He seemed to be really into you, so you would be of some use to us. We know how these men like to defend their old ladies’ honors, like they have any control over it,” he continued, laughing and sniggering to himself.

  The more I watched and heard him, the sicker to my stomach I felt.

  “But it turns out you’re more than just a chick he’s banging. You’re also the recently deceased President’s precious young daughter,” he continued.

  My shoulders were heaving with anger. My fear had quickly turned into rage when this man started speaking, his despicable face made me sick.

  “Was daddy trying to keep you safe from us, little girl? Would he approve of you being here? Letting one of his boys fuck you?”

  The man was now crouching down in front of me. Beside me, Marley was continuing to squeal. I could feel my whole body shaking, even though I was trying my best to remain still. His breath stank even more, I could see the intricate design of his tattoo creeping up the back of his neck. If only I had my hands free. I would have tried to throttle him right here.

  He reached out towards me, and I tried to steer away from him. The smile on his face just grew wider. He caught one of my stray curls between his fingers and flicked it to the side.

  “Beautiful. I bet you know just how fucking gorgeous you are,” he growled in a low gruff voice. Like he was talking more to himself.

  I couldn’t bear it anymore. I shrieked, it was a muffled cry but my voice was loud. Quickly, the man pulled a gun out of his pocket and held it up, turning it to the ceiling.

  “Shut up little girl, before you force me to use it,” he snapped, crossing his brows. My shrieking and struggling had annoyed him. I could feel the back of my throat burning up. I’d been trying to scream for too long.

  “Sure, my boss would want you alive, you are precious commodity,” he continued. Before I knew what, he was going to do next, he jumped to my side, grabbing Marley now by the back of her head. She squealed too, those tears continued to roll down her cheeks like streams.

  “But this little thing here is disposable. Do you understand? She is of no worth to us,” he hissed. I wanted to cry too. I could see the fear in Marley’s eyes. Was he hurting her? Was he grabbing her too tightly? I wished I could do something to make him stop.

  “One wrong move by you, princess, and your friend is nothing. Do you understand what I’m saying?” he growled, letting Marley go so wildly that she rocked back and forth. He stood up and hovered over me now. “Do you understand what I’m saying, princess?”

  I glared up at him, bleary eyed and feeling myself burning up with rage. All I could do was nod, while Marley continued to cry beside me.

  The man clenched his jaws tightly and tucked his gun back into his pants. At least for now all I needed to do was stay quiet and he hopefully wouldn’t hurt us. Had I really managed to buy us some time? For a short while at least?

  I looked at Marley, hoping she could see it in my eyes—that I was trying to come up with a plan and think of anything I could to get us out of this mess? Marley’s life was more important than mine and I wanted her to know that.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Spade

  Fuck

  I knew what that man meant the moment those words left his mouth. he wasn’t playing around. The only way he would know anything about River and me was if he had some inside information on her. How long had these motherfuckers been following me? Been following her?

  My first instinctual reaction, because he had the balls to even say her name, was to go up to him and kick his face. He cried out in pain and blood spurted everywhere. I wiped the drops from my face with the back of my hand. Then I turned from him and walked towards the door.

  I could see the guys staring at me, full of questions and curious.

  “Finish the job,” I growled at them before opening the door. I pulled out my phone and dialed River’s number, she didn’t answer and I rang the number again. Something was wrong. Something had happened to her since the last time she called me and now.

  I was running out of the clubhouse, headed in the direction of my bike parked outside. I needed to find her, get to her as quickly as possible. Even though I didn’t know exactly what was going on, it had to be something bad.

  “Spade!” I heard Rook’s voice behind me. When I turned I saw that Edge and Rook had both followed me out.

  “Go back in and finish the job. You guys need to focus on finding Mr. Money and dealing with this shit,” I commanded, but Edge now positioned himself in front of me with his arms over his chest.

  “You wanna tell us what the Hell is going on with you? What girl is this fucker talking about? You seeing somebody?” Edge asked.

  I glared at him with my jaws clenched. I’d planned on keeping this thing with River a secret for as long as I could. I didn’t want her involved with the MC just yet, at least not until this mess with Mr. Money was over. I knew she wanted to be a part of the MC, she wanted things to be different than they were with her dad—but I was still trying to protect her. But, I could see that I had no choice. By letting her into my life, I’d already led her into the kind of danger that Buck had tried to avoid.

  “Spade, you should tell us what is going on so we can help,” Rook spoke up now. He had some idea and he could guess who this was about, and I knew he was right. It was time to get the rest of the MC involved. I needed to take whatever measures I had to for River’s sake.

  I looked up at them and nodded my head.

  “He was talking about her, River,” I said. Rook didn’t seem too surprised but Edge had his eyes squinted in confusion.

  “River? Like Buck’s daughter?” he asked and I turned to him. At first it was difficult for me to admit who she really was. It still felt strange talking about Buck like that, but I couldn’t keep lying to my brothers in arms. They deserved to know the truth.

  “Yeah, that’s her,” I said.

  “Buck’s daughter is your girl? Since when? For how fucking long?” Edge was shouting because he couldn’t wrap his brain around the concept. It was understandable. River had been gone from Vegas for several years. How was this even possible?

  “What are you talking about, man? Is this for real?” Edge asked, shaking his head. I drew in a deep breath. Whatever explanation I needed to give these guys would have to happen quickly. River’s life may still be in danger.

  “We were seeing each other before she left Vegas. Buck found out and sent her away. He didn’t want her getting involved with the MC.” I stared at Edge for a reaction. This was another part that I was nervous about when talking about the truth to the guys in the MC. I didn’t know how they would react to the news of me dating Buck’s daughter, technically going against his wishes.

  Edge took a moment to respond, but when he did he thumped my back.

  “You gotta do what you gotta do, man. If you guys still want to be together after all these years; who is anyone else to stop you?” he said. I looked at Rook who nodded his head as well. I knew I had his support.

  “So, what do you think is going on? What was that bozo talking about back there?” Edge continued. I checked my phone again, dialing River’s number but like before, she didn’t answer the phone.

  “Last night when I was being followed, she was on the bike with me. I get the feeling now that they’ve been keeping an eye on her since she got back to town, because of her connection with me.”

  Rook and Edge exch
anged looks.

  “You think they did something to her?” Rook asked.

  “She was trying to call me earlier, but I ignored her calls. I thought she was just checking in on me. But then this guy dropped a hint and now I’m sure she was calling me because she was in fucking danger!”

  I kicked my bike with my foot in anger. Fuck! Why wasn’t I thinking straight? Why wasn’t I more careful last night when we were being followed?

  “When did you last see her?” Edge asked.

  “This morning, before coming here. I left her sleeping at my place.” Under any other circumstance, Edge would have sniggered at that, but now wasn’t the time.

  “So, you think they did something to her at your place?”

  “Or she could have gone to Buck’s place or her friend Marley’s. That’s where she’s crashing for now.”

  Rook nodded his head.

  “Okay, let’s go, let’s see if we can find her and figure this shit out. It’s possible that motherfucker was just trying to scare you off.”

  I knew it was a possibility, but River not answering the phone had triggered panic in me.

  “You guys don’t have to do this,” I said, jumping on my bike.

  “She’s your old lady, man, and our boss’ kid. It’s our duty to do this,” Edge said, as he started backing away towards his own bike. Within moments, we were off in the direction of my house. That’s where we were checking first.

  ***

  We’d checked my place and then gone to Buck’s. There was no sign of River, of any suspicious activity or a struggle. Now the only place left to investigate was Marley’s apartment and I hoped that we found some answers there. I was still continuing to call River’s number but there was no answer.

  The only person I could blame was myself. I should have taken better precautions last night when we were being followed. I shouldn’t have left her alone today in my apartment. I should have told the MC sooner about our relationship so I could get some help in protecting River.

  After all, just like Edge said; River’s safety was our duty and our responsibility. Buck would have expected it of us.

  I just hoped she was safe and she could be in my arms again soon. It was driving me crazy not knowing where she could be.

  When we arrived outside Marley’s apartment building, I spotted the black SUV immediately.

  “That’s the fucker that was following us last night,” I said, jumping off my bike. I could feel that rage returning to my bones again. Finding that SUV here meant that those fuckers were up there with River and maybe Marley too?

  “Okay at least we know they’re still here,” Rook said, joining me. We were all looking up at the building, trying to see if we could find any clues on what was happening inside. We had no idea how many of them were inside, what they were doing to River and Marley. What if we were outnumbered? It would be a stupid move to barge into the apartment like this, unprepared and without backup.

  “What are you thinking? How do we get up there without alerting these motherfuckers?” Edge asked, squinting up at the building too.

  I eyed the balconies dotting the exterior of the building.

  “Those balconies don’t seem to be too far apart. Maybe I could swing myself from one to another, climb up to her balcony that way?” I thought aloud. Neither Rook nor Edge had responded to that and when I looked at them, I saw that they were staring at me like I was crazy.

  “Is that the only plan you can come up with Spiderman?” Edge commented and I grinned. I was surprised I was even capable of grinning anymore.

  “Can you think of anything else?” I asked and there was no response.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  River

  The man didn’t have much else to say to us. He had made his position clear. If I didn’t stay shut and keep out of trouble, he was going to hurt Marley, just to spite me.

  She and I were still sitting close together on the couch. At least we had each other, I tried to keep reminding myself—but the truth was that I had never been this afraid before in my life. I could see the same fear in Marley’s eyes too. We didn’t know if we were going to come out of this alive.

  The man had tucked his gun in his pocket and now he was taking a few steps away from us. To my relief, his phone rang. This meant that he would be distracted for a while, which would give us some time to breathe.

  I glanced at Marley, who still had tears rolling down her cheeks. At least she’d stopped trying to scream now. She knew there was no point in that. Nobody could hear us. Nobody was coming to help us any time soon. We would have to make our own way out of here.

  The man answered the call and turned his back to us. He was talking in whispers on the phone, like he didn’t want us to overhear his conversation. I glanced at Marley again and nodded my head. Just to reassure her. She pressed her eyes close, trying to keep herself calm.

  I was looking around the room, trying to think of anything, trying to spot something in the room that we could use. But what could we do while our hands were still tied? I couldn’t really reach for anything.

  The man glanced over his shoulder at us, looking directly at me while he spoke on the phone. Something told me that he was talking about me and it sent shivers down my spine.

  “One sec,” he grunted in the phone and then giving us one more threatening look, he stepped out of the room and into the kitchen. Marley turned to me, she was hopeful now too.

  I looked around, trying to think quickly, and my eyes fell on the balcony. The door was left open and a cool breeze was blowing into the room. Maybe we could make our escape through the balcony? But we would have to get our hands untied first, without which we wouldn’t be able to climb anything!

  I could sense Marley starting to get anxious beside me too. We didn’t know how long that man was going to be occupied in the kitchen, if he’d be able to hear us move. What if we could get to the front door? Open it without raising any alarms?

  And just as I was about to stand up from the couch, I saw hands on the railings of the balcony. At first, I was startled, but then I saw a familiar form pulling himself up onto the balcony. I leaned towards Marley, trying to get her attention too.

  It was Spade! He was here! Just like I knew he would be. I couldn’t keep still. I wanted to cry out with relief when I saw him. He was trying to be as noiseless as possible, and this was perfect timing. The man in the kitchen would have no idea what was going on out here.

  Spade caught my eye. At first there was a wash of darkness that covered his face. I knew he was angry to see me in this condition—bound and imprisoned, but he rushed into the room through the balcony, pulling his gun out so he could be ready for an attack.

  He glared at me and I tipped my head in the direction of the kitchen, hoping he would understand. We were alone here for now. Spade nodded. He’d caught my meaning.

  He scanned the room quickly before coming up to me. He placed a finger on his lips to indicate that he wanted me to be silent and I nodded. Then his hands were on my face, cradling my cheeks for just a second as he quickly got the piece of cloth untied from around my face.

  Finally, I felt like I could breathe again. I took in rapid mouthfuls of air and stared at him, smiling because my body was flooded with relief. Spade leaned in closer to me. I could feel his protective aura surround me. Now I knew that we were going to be safe. Now that he was here nothing and nobody was going to be able to harm me.

  I wanted to tell him I was in love with him, but I knew I shouldn’t speak a word. He was reaching around and untying the ropes that were keeping my hands tied. Within moments, the knots gave way and I was free again. Free at last. Spade handed me his gun.

  It felt strange and cold and heavy in my hands. I didn’t want to hold it. The last time I even touched a gun was when I was a kid, when I found dad’s in his bedroom. The color drained from my face and I was very afraid but Spade shook his head in silence. He was trying to tell me it was going to be alright. The gun was here to p
rotect me.

  He brushed his hand on my knee before he moved over to Marley. He undid the cloth from around her face first too, and she breathed loudly, she was relived as well. Then he started to get working on the knots in the ropes on her wrists.

  Spade seemed to be struggling more with hers than he’d struggled with mine. I wanted to reach for him, hold him and tell him to relax. I wasn’t worried any more, but Spade couldn’t seem to be able to get the knots untied.

  And then the man walked back into the room unannounced.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Spade

  Twenty minutes ago; Edge, Rook and I were still standing near our bikes, looking up at this apartment and wondering how the Hell we were going to get even remotely close to River. The SUV parked on the curb was empty, which meant that whoever had been driving it, were all up there in the apartment. There could have been one guy or more; we had no way of knowing.

  So, my suggestion of maybe using the balconies to swing my way across to Marley’s apartment seemed to be the only option. So that was what we were going to do.

  We walked towards the building, and all I could think about was River and her beautiful strawberry blond curls and how much I just wanted to keep her safe.

  “Hey, man, you doing okay?” Rook asked as we entered the building. I looked at him and nodded, but he could tell I was trying to keep my rage and anger and fears suppressed.

  “Because I know exactly how I would be feeling if it was Tenley up there instead of River,” he added. Edge was walking ahead of us. We were taking the stairs up to the fourth floor and talking in whispers. Edge had nothing to add because he hadn’t claimed a woman yet. He was single and happily so, just the way I thought I was a few days ago. Till River walked back into my life and turned everything upside down.