Stone

by Addy Archer

  “I’m going to smack you silly if you die on me,” Dani vows, making me snort.

  “I don’t feel so good,” I murmur.

  “Don’t you dare go into the light,” she sobs.

  It takes effort to raise my head toward her. “Then hit the damn light switch, ’cause that bright shit is hurting my eyes.”

  “Please, Ry,” I hear Dani’s faint whisper before everything fades away.

  Darkness turns into a blurry mess as I try to open my eyes again. Benny’s face comes into view as a hot flash of pain licks its way through my body, making me gasp.

  “I told ya she’s not dead yet,” Benny states. “She needs to hold on for another hour. Carlisle said he’d have the fifty grand by then.”

  “I hope he brings it in one-dollar bills, because I am going to personally shove them up your ass one by one while Jace and Stone are holding you in place,” Dani seethes.

  I try to laugh, but the pain is too much, and I lose consciousness again.

  C H A P T E R T E N

  – S T O N E –

  “You’re shitting me.” I grunt and step into Carlisle’s personal space. “Tell me you’re making this up, because my woman is sitting in the diner across the street having lunch with my VP’s old lady. Dreamer,” I bellow. “Call Bellick, ask if he has eyes on them.”

  Steam is practically coming out of my damn nose as we wait for Bellick to update Dreamer. The slight shake of his head along with a “He’s not picking up” is enough for me to jog out the door, cross the street, and head for the diner to check for myself.

  Bursting through the door, I see Ram coming from the back. Dreamer probably called him to check inside since I ordered Ram to stand watch outside of the diner.

  “They aren’t in the bathroom, and there’s no sign of Bellick either,” he states.

  I smack a flat hand on the back door, opening it up, and glance left and right through the alley. There are no cars, no people, and no sign of a struggle. There’s nothing except for a large dumpster on the right. Before I reach it, Ram grabs the latch with his sleeve-covered hand and opens it up.

  “Motherfucker,” Ram snaps as I take a step back to release a string of curses myself inside my head.

  “Call it in,” I grunt. “Come on, I need to have a word with Thomas Carlisle.”

  Jogging back through the diner and crossing the street, I head inside the Shaken Titster and stalk right up to Carlisle, the visual of Bellick’s dead eyes staring up at me still vivid in my brain.

  Before I address him, I snap my fingers toward the stage and point at the girl dancing. “Get your ass out and stay inside the dressing room until someone says it’s safe for you to come back out and shake your tits again.”

  I wait for her to disappear behind the curtain and then connect my gaze with Carlisle’s. “Tell me right fucking now exactly what the text message said.”

  “The first text was a ransom demand of fifty grand. Like I said, I thought it was bullshit because she was supposed to be with you. The second contact I received wasn’t another message, it was a call I got right after you ran out the door just now. He let me hear the girls screaming to make his point clear that he wasn’t messing around. He wants his money within an hour or we won’t get her back alive,” Carlisle says, and this time I hear the worry in his voice. “The look on your face and those screams. It’s all real? He has my niece, doesn’t he?”

  I give him a tight nod. “Do we know who ‘he’ is?” I question.

  “How the fuck do I know? I didn’t recognize his voice, and he was smart enough to call through an unknown number. Which raises the question as to how he has my phone number in the first place, because only my personal assistant has it.”

  “Only your personal assistant?” My eyes slide to the door, catching movement as someone enters.

  “And those who I’ve done business with.” Carlisle sighs. “I always approach owners myself when I’m interested in buying their business. I hand them my card to contact my secretary, but sometimes I add my personal number on the back if they tell me they need time to think things through.”

  Okay, that might be another reason why they killed Bellick: to squeeze the info out of him on how to contact Carlisle, since his father sold Carlisle the factory but had to discuss it with Bellick first.

  My upper lip rises in disgust as I watch Lala making her way toward us.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Jace asks from my right. “Ulser told me what you did, and I know for damn fucking sure he contacted you to tell you that you’re out. I bet you just came from the clubhouse, where you couldn’t even step foot on our property without one of my brothers telling you to get the hell off the premises. Same goes for this joint and any other business we own. So what’s not to understand about any of this, Lala? You’re done. No one disrespects our old ladies.”

  “But, baby, I didn’t know. We never had any old ladies at the clubhouse before,” Lala whines, trying to take a step closer to Jace. “Come on, I could work here instead. You know I can dance. You loved watching me. And then if you need some relief, I’d be right here. We could use one of the rooms upstairs. Let me show you how good I can make you feel.”

  She reaches out for his forearm, but Jace jumps back before she can touch him. “Don’t ever come near me or my old lady, Lala. It’ll be the last thing you do. And I hate repeating myself, but I’m going to say it one last time. You’re done. Now get the fuck out of here.”

  Anger swirls in her eyes. When they land on me, it dims slightly, and I just know she’s going to open her mouth to ask me to let her stay.

  “You heard my VP, and you hurt my old lady by disrespecting her, and by doing so, you disrespected us along with it. Not to mention the fact that you created unnecessary trouble between us and our old ladies. Be happy you’re able to roam around town, because if you so much as voice one sneer at any old lady of Trigger Pull MC, there won’t be any second chances.” I glare at the bitch, and she spits fire at me through her eyes.

  She turns, but I pick up her whispered words. Words that make my blood run cold, almost stopping my heart along with it.

  In two steps, I have my fingers wrapped around her throat. “Say it again, bitch. I fucking dare you.”

  Her nails dig into my forearms. “I didn’t say anything. I didn’t mean it. Please, Stone. You’re hurting me.”

  “I’m fucking hurting you?” I spit in her face.

  Jace is holding on to my shoulder. “You might want to put her down. She’s not worth the trouble, and we’re kinda in a situation right now.”

  “Tell. Them,” I growl and tighten my grip some more. “Fucking tell them what you just said, and I might let you live long enough to voice those fucking words.”

  The flash of fear in her eyes shows I gave her the wake-up call she needs as she says, “I hope my brother kills both those bitches.”

  “Fuck me,” Dreamer growls. He grabs a fistful of Lala’s hair, snatches a chair, spins it around, and shoves her onto it. “You’d do best to start rattling details. The shit you’ve seen and experienced in my room is an erotic bite. Nothing compared to the pain I like to inflict when I torture the shit out of people.”

  “It was a joke. Please, let me go.” Fake tears start to pool in her eyes.

  “You know,” Dreamer starts, grabbing a beer bottle from the nearby table, “most of my brothers won’t ever hurt a woman. I, on the other hand, have no damn issues with whomever I hurt, as long as they deserve it.”

  He grabs her arm and stretches it out to place her hand flat on the table.

  “Another thing I’ve told many hang-arounds who I’ve fucked is… can you guess, Lala? Remember what I hate when it comes to pussy?”

  Lala’s eyes go to her hand and back to him. Her bottom lip quivers. “Liars, Dreamer. You hate liars. But I didn’t lie.”

  “Wrong,” Dreamer says as he smashes the bottle on the end of the table and jabs the broken glass into the back of her hand.


  Her screams fill the room as he grabs her by the throat, cutting off her air supply. “You did lie. About the joke part, and by refusing to repeat what you said when my pres asked you. Blabbering how you didn’t say anything. You wasted precious seconds. Spit it out, bitch. Where are Rylee and Daniela?”

  “At home. My brothers took them. They put them in the basement.” A sob rips from her while pain and fear visibly consume her. “Please, that’s all I know. I left, okay? I came here. Please, it hurts.”

  “Oh, it hurts?” Dreamer asks mockingly. “Buckle up, bitch, and brace your plastic titties. We’re just getting started.”

  “She can wait, Dreamer. Let one of the prospects bandage her hand and lock her in a room downstairs. I need you with us. Come on,” I snap and glance at Carlisle. “Are you staying here or coming with?”

  He stands in a flash and asks, “Do you want my two bodyguards to join us?”

  “No, let one of them stay here, and put another one at the diner in case the women return on their own. Wishful thinking, of course, because this bitch has a grudge against our old ladies, and I’m guessing all three brothers have one against both you and my MC along with it.”

  “Her brothers?” Carlisle seems confused.

  Figures. The fucker only deals with the paperwork and main decisions and lets his minions do all the dirty work for him. Lala whimpers as she’s dragged out of the room by one of the prospects while another one follows them downstairs.

  “Benny Reffereen,” I say in disgust. “You fired his ass. He’s a lazy drunk who was also kicked out of this place and your bar. His brothers, Menny and Lenny, right along with him.”

  “Dammit, this is my fault,” Carlisle croaks.

  Stepping closer, I smack his back. “Let’s save that shit till we get her back.”

  I don’t say anything else, just head out, knowing exactly where to find the old farm those brothers have owned since the fuckers became small-time coke dealers. We knew they were dealing, because rarely does something happen in this town without us knowing.

  But these fuckers are idiots who are their own biggest clients, and this is exactly the reason why we let them continue to fuck themselves up—as long as they didn’t bother anyone else in this town.

  Lala lives there too, which is why we found out about their drug-snorting habits. We might have forgettable hang-arounds coming over at the club to have a nice time with some of the brothers, but every single one gets checked out before they’re allowed inside. Like I said, there’s little that slips by us unnoticed in this town we consider ours.

  It’s the reason why we were checking out Thomas Carlisle and staking out the junkyard based on his sudden interest and buying up property. Though it seems now, with Ry connecting us, that Carlisle and Trigger Pull MC are teaming up to face these fuckers.

  Menny, Lenny, and Benny went off the beaten path and will receive a one-way ticket to hell with the shit they pulled. And if they so much as hurt one damn hair on Ry’s head, I will rip their bodies apart with my bare hands.

  I should never have let her out of my damn sight. Why did I even think it was safe enough for us to leave them at the diner all the way across the street from us? One prospect inside, another brother on watch on the outside, and they still slipped right through our fingers.

  They fucking killed Bellick.

  My fingers tighten on the handlebars as I pick up speed. Jace rides next to me while our brothers follow behind us. It only takes a few minutes to get to the outskirts of town where their farm is located, stopping at a safe enough distance to ditch our bikes. We don’t want them to hear us coming; it’ll put our old ladies at risk.

  Carlisle parks his car and steps out. I shake my head at his appearance, with his expensive suit, shoes, and coat. He shrugs out of his coat and throws it onto the back seat of his car, then opens the trunk. To my surprise, he pulls out a double holster, puts it on, and checks two guns before sliding them in place.

  “Any of you guys need anything? I have more,” he says to the few of my brothers who are also gawking at his actions. “Don’t look so surprised, Stone. I didn’t earn this suit by doing business the nice way.”

  The corner of my mouth twitches. “Point taken.”

  I take out my own guns to double-check they’re fully loaded and then slide them back. I signal for three brothers to go left and two others to go right so they can circle around while we go in through the front. The whole place looks deserted.

  Until we step inside.

  One of Lala’s brothers—I’m guessing it’s the oldest one from his slightly bald head—is knocked out on the couch. Ram aims his gun at the guy’s head while Jace signals for me to go into the basement. Two of our guys head for the stairs leading up to the second floor while I gently open the door to the basement.

  I hear a loud groan and the words “Look at them tits. They are mighty fine tits, aren’t they, Manny?”

  “Let me touch ’em, Benny. Come on, make some room, man,” another voice says.

  “Don’t touch me.” I clearly recognize Daniela’s angry voice, and I can feel Jace pushing at my back to go around me.

  I slightly turn and give him a hard stare. We can’t fuck this up. There are two guys down there, and we don’t have a complete visual yet. For all we know, our women have knives pointed at their throats or guns locked on their heads.

  I haven’t gotten the image out of my head from when Keith had Ry in a death grip, ready to slice her throat—and eventually slightly did—and I’m not eager for a repeat. Though I am willing to blow another guy’s brains out in the blink of an eye if they put a hand on my woman, that’s for fucking sure.

  Jace rumbles a growl low in his throat but gives me a nod to let me know he has a grip on himself. Believe me, I’m just as on edge as he is, knowing our women are down there with these scumbags. But right now it can go either way, and I’m not itching to let shit blow up in my face.

  I take another step down and lean forward to get a glimpse of what’s going on downstairs. There are a few things happening all at the same time, and my world comes crashing down as blind hatred starts to pump hot through my veins.

  Without thinking, I grab the banister and jump over it, bracing myself as I land on the basement floor. One quick scan tells me Benny and Manny aren’t armed. The scumbags have their dicks in their hands, their noses white from the coke they snorted.

  Jace jumps past me, Dreamer at his back, each of them grabbing one of the fuckers as I crash to my knees. With shaking hands, I reach for the lifeless body sprawled out on the floor. There’s blood surrounding her, her skin is ashen, and her eyes are fucking closed.

  “Ry,” I croak.

  “Jace! Get me down. Is she breathing? Stone? Talk to me. Stone! Check her pulse,” Daniela screams from behind me, but at this point, I’m too damn chicken to touch her because the reality of Ry not being alive is too much to bear.

  “Move.” Daniela pushes me aside. Jace must have gotten her down. “Jace, call an ambulance.”

  “Already on its way,” Carlisle says from beside me.

  Daniela is pulling at Ry, trying to rearrange her body to reach for the place where she’s bleeding. Her clothes are drenched with blood, a hole in the fabric indicating she was shot. Daniela is now covering the wound with her hands, applying pressure. A roar rips from my throat as I surge up and spin around, ready to rip all three brothers apart, but there’s no one there.

  “Where are they?” I bellow.

  Sirens are a faint sound in the distance when someone grabs my cut.

  I’m ready to punch whoever’s holding me, but Carlisle’s voice rings out harsh as he tells me, “They are being transported somewhere so you can deal with them later. Get a grip, Stone. We’ll handle this later.”

  I take a step back and yank myself away from his grip, giving him a full-on glare. I’m prevented from doing anything else as I watch EMTs rush down the stairs and head for Ry while Daniela starts to rattle off medical terms.
Her hand is perched on her leg and it looks like she was shot too. Everyone is standing back while they do their job.

  There have been moments in my life where I was surrounded by people who wanted nothing more than to end my life. Facing them. Having a knife jabbed in my direction. Feeling the pain of every hit that’s a direct strike in an effort to let me take my last breath in this fucked-up world. I’ve experienced all of it.

  But this? I have never been so afraid in all my damn life, and it’s all because of the woman who’s flatlining. My heart might as well stop beating along with hers, because it’s been ripped of its function as it is.

  I can’t live to love a woman who isn’t alive anymore.

  C H A P T E R E L E V E N

  – R Y L E E –

  Pain. Darkness. Alone. Why is it that I always find myself alone in the darkness with only pain keeping me company? It’s been the vivid reminder of larger chunks of my life. They say that when you die, the best moments of your life flash before your very eyes. Like a movie with highlights on loop.

  Well, before I met Stone, there wouldn’t have been anything to put on a loop. But now? Every inch of his handsome face is etched into my mind. His kindness and worry, the flare of protectiveness. Everything the man does is overwhelming, but I also welcome it at the same time.

  I’ve never had anyone who cared about me and wasn’t afraid to show it, except for Dani, but the kind Stone gives me is in a whole different league of its own. And the memories of my mother have faded due to my father, who knocked them right out of me whenever I would mention her.

  One day he took out all her stuff and burned it in front of me. He told me that where she was, she didn’t need anything anymore. That was the last day I talked about her. I made sure never to ask or so much as mention anything that could lead to a conversation about my mother.