“Your wrong! They didn’t want you, if they would have known about me they would have came for me then. Just like they’ll be coming for me know. I don’t belong with you or Derek! I belong to them. If you were half the woman Queenie was you might have been able to keep my father’s attention, but you weren’t so get over it,” I said louder than I wanted. I didn’t want her to know just how much she was getting to me. She had always had a way of cutting right to the bone with words.
“Believe what you want, Breeanna. I really don’t care at this point. Once you get me my money you can go back to doing whatever the hell it is you’ve been doing. By then I’ll be long gone from here. Derek will be dealt with and I’ll be a free woman finally. We can forget we even knew each other. I don’t have a heart so don’t sit there and think for one second you can hurt my feelings. The only reason you’re still breathing is because you have my blood flowing through your veins. I can easily change my damn mind once I get what I need from you.” Charlotte was fuming. I might not have hurt her feelings, but I definitely was pushing her buttons. Now is not the time or place to relish in the fact that I could finally give as good as I took where she was concerned but I couldn’t help it.
“What do you mean Derek will be dealt with? You mean to tell me he’s not in on this too? I find that hard to believe after hearing the truth about the two of you plotting for years to take my inheritance. Oh, and my grandmother seems to think you had something to do with her death. What else have you two been hiding from me? What do you all want from me exactly?”
“Oh my, child. Seems like those men you call family have been keeping you in the dark, haven’t they? How about I tell you a little story,” she paused waiting for me to acknowledge that she once again had the upper hand. When I refused to even blink in her direction she continued anyway. “Well, I’m going to tell you anyway. Many moons ago I met a man that turned me inside out. At the time he was a nomad for the Grizzlie MC. He was a few years older than me and way more experienced than I was. He was originally from Denver but had chosen to travel to find the people who had stolen from him. When he was a teenager his father was murdered in cold blood while on a business trip in Las Vegas. It took some time, but he was able to track those responsible down, which led him to South Carolina. He convinced me to infiltrate the club you love so much as a club whore. It didn’t take long for me to realize he was only using me to gain information. I’m not going to lie and say I cared about the people there, but I did want Rowdy. I wanted that man more than I wanted my next breath. I never told Carmen at the time especially when he found out that his plan had been ruined when I got kicked out of the club. I went back home to my parents to wait for Carmen to get his shit together.”
“He was headed to Denver to regroup and I was supposed to go with him. When he found out I was pregnant he took off leaving me behind to be married off by your grandparents to a man I despised. Derek’s father and my father were long time friends wanting to bring the two family legacies together. Within a month there was a wedding thrown together staging the rest of my life of faking it until I make it. While Derek was away on business for a long weekend, that was what he called his trips to see his sidepiece, I snuck away to try one last time to get Rowdy to myself. I wasn’t stupid I know he was the only one it could be. Rowdy was an animal in the sack and would loose his head forgetting to suit up if you know what I mean. When they tossed us out on our ass again I vowed one day I would make them all pay. After you were born I took off to Colorado to find Carmen. I would need help serving justice and I knew he would have the backing to make that happen.”
“Honestly Bree, I would have never come back if it was for the fact both my father and Derek’s came looking for me personally. They paid the president of the club off to ensure I wouldn’t be welcome back ever again. The scandal was covered up using the story that I was away at a clinic due to postpartum depression. Upon my return I was locked in a room to prevent me from running off again. I had every intention of taking off to destination unknown leaving you behind with my mother to raise. I wasn’t made to live in suburbia.” I let everything she had just told me. If she honestly didn’t like suburbia she had a fucked up way of showing it. Growing up she was the perfect stepford wife. She was always put together, sitting on all different charities while hosting luncheons for the rest of the fake women that were thrown together.
“Mother you took to it like a fish to water. Don’t try to bull shit me,” I snapped back finally.
“I was only after one thing that came with Derek, money. The money is the only reason I stayed and put up with it. Oldman Loftland offered me a sizeable allowance each month if I stayed and played the part of the perfect wife. I was free to do whatever I wanted with whoever I wanted as long as it stayed away from the peeping eye. When the old man kicked the bucket things my life was turned upside down. That old bag you loved so much pulled the rug right out from under me and Derek. She had it out for both of us, threatening to tell you everything when you turned eighteen. She took my lifestyle making me dependent on what Derek was willing to give me.”
“Grandmother Helen never liked you. That was no secret. At least now I know why. She’s a much better person than I am putting up with your shit all those years. To think you called me disgrace to the family name. You might want to check in the mirror before you start pointing fingers from now on. You make me sick just looking at you. Tell me, did she really die from cancer or was that just a ploy,” I shouted at the woman before me. She sat on the ottoman showing no signs of remorse.
“That’s a tricky question. Yes, your grandmother was battling cancer, but I just helped expedite her death. When they found the cancer, it was already too far gone to do anything about it. She started showing signs that it was taking its toll, so I used it to my advantage. The morphine they were administering for the pain was the quickest way to send that old bitty to hell. While she was sleeping I snuck into her room and delivered a dose that stopped her heart instantly. The corner signed the death certificate with the cancer as the cause leaving no one else the wiser. Even Derek didn’t bother to question it. I wasn’t aware that the bitch had been to the lawyer to have her will changed until we were notified by his small firm.”
I found myself snickering at the fact my little spitfire grandmother was able to beat her at her own game. I wanted to come back with something sharp, but I wasn’t sure if I would let her in on the fact that I knew most of her trip down memory lane. Instead I went with goading her some more. “Well, that must have thrown a sizeable monkey wrench into your plans. Let me guess, dear old dad still keeping you on a chain. Throwing you a few scraps every now and then?”
“Don’t play stupid, bitch. We all know that you’re aware the old huzzy left you everything. You forget you were willing to sell you shares of the business that old bitch left you to the asshole you thought was your father,” Jewel jumped in.
Shit, how’d I forget that little detail. So, they knew some, but did they know it all? Should I just come out and tell them they were screwed or let Charlotte continue to with her story. No doubt it would end with why I was here. For now, I just cut Jewel a nasty look before turning my gaze back at my mother.
Charlotte was laughing hysterically. I waited for her to calm down, knowing I probably wasn’t going to like what she had left to confide in me. When she finally got a hold of herself she delivered the next blow. “Bree, I admire you wanting to keep what you know to yourself, but it’s of no consequence. Whether or not the old bag left it to you or not it still belongs to me. You’ve already missed your appointment today but that’s okay. We’ll be going to visit the lawyer tomorrow with a set of our own papers. If you want this to all go away and continue living your poor excuse of a life, then you’ll sign the papers willingly. If you refuse, I’ll won’t have a way of protecting you anymore. Carmen will choose to resort to keeping you around long enough for your birthday before he sends you to meet your beloved grandmother. One way or another I�
�ll get what’s mine and Carmen will finally get the money that was stolen from him all those years ago. In the grand scheme of things, a hundred and fifty thousand is mere jump change. I was willing to have it over in exchange for his help getting the job handled. By the time your new family would be able to find you I’ll be sitting on the beach somewhere on the coast of Barcelona without a care in the world.”
“So, you think my inheritance belongs to you? You think you’ll be able to walk away with it all? I doubt Derek would appreciate you cutting him out of his cut? I’m sure that you two would finally want to be done with one another. With me gone and the money from my inheritance delivered you two won’t have a reason to stay married now will you?”
“I guess I forgot to tell you Derek’s hand in the events that have lead us to where we are now. You see he was upset when his mother passed. They had that love hate relationship. It took it rougher than what I anticipated and tried to turn over a new leaf when we found out that the changes his mother had made to her will. I can honestly say that a man is capable of loving another man’s child. He worshiped the ground you walked on. Every time I would go to court to challenge the will he would show up to keeps tabs but that was it. He decided to go another route wanting to groom you to work along beside him. He was convinced that taking you under his wing would benefit him and you. If he played the role of the loving father than you would feel inclined to sign over you shares of the company when the time came. If not, he would make sure you were married to someone who would. He pushed you to study hard and let me take charge with trying to turn your body into something more desirable. He had a couple of men picked out, none of them overly handsome yet the still walked away wanting the women on their arms to be the whole package. At one point you were promised to a pit boss for the Russian mob. We had him for dinner a few times when you were home from college, but you didn’t pique his interested.” She let that last sentence linger long enough to see if she could still shake me.
“Derek was trying to fix one of his many fuck ups he made in the name of the company business. One of his many mistresses made off with some money that belonged to the Kovaleski’s before your father had time to launder it for them. Valdimir manage to catch up to the woman and recover most of the money she had stolen, but he still blamed your dad for letting it happen. Derek decided to offer you as a way into the family business and securing the ties that Seacrest and the mob have had for almost thirty-five years. After meeting you Valdimir told your father he would have to come up with something better than that. That you weren’t strong enough or beautiful enough for him to deal with for the rest of his life. You see his family was very traditional even if they are some of the biggest criminals nationwide. So, another plan was made promising Valdimir twenty percent of the holdings in Seacrest Enterprises. Ultimately, he promised them your shares leaving enough to boost his majority company wide. The Kovaleski’s were willing to wait until you turned twenty-five or they could produce someone in their family will to marry you.”
“Both of you are seriously fucked up. I thought my upbringing was screwed up. Being made to spread my legs for a select group of members is one thing. Being married off to the fucking mob is a whole another thing. Bree, if it wasn’t for the fact that I want nothing more than to slit your fucking throat and need a way to disappear before Wall finds my ass I would help you give your mother a beat down she deserves,” Jewel said right in front of my mother.
“Jewel, now is not the time to even speak like you have a conscious. Weren’t you one of the one’s that helped orchestrate that little attack on Bree outside the bar. It was thinking Zeke would be able to swoop her up and bring her back that almost got her gang raped.” My mother saw me flinch at the mention of what almost happened to me months ago. “Yeah, Breeanna, Jewels here is the one that came up with the idea to just snatch you from the bar. She claimed you were just a club whore that was helping at the bar. That little mishap is the reason why Carmen is now a wanted man by his club as well. He is a determined one though recruiting a couple low life’s to help now that the rest of the original crew he sent down is now dead. Anyhow, back to Derek, shall we. Derek wasn’t aware that I had been able to find you. He was beginning to stress as your birthday was fast approaching and he has a deadline of July 5th to turn over the shares of the company stock. He was planning on making a run for it until he received the letter from your lawyer with an offer to buy. Dear ole Derek had to pull some shady shit to come up with the money so quickly but didn’t have a choice. Now that you’ve missed your appointment and he doesn’t own your shares he will most likely skip town. In doing so he will have a target on his back becoming a hunted man. I’m hoping it won’t take long for the Vovaleski’s to catch up with him. Then I’ll be able to collect that insurance policy I took out on him a few years back.”
Looks like Charlotte had everything planned out. I was about to rain on her parade, telling her that no matter what she did to me she still wouldn’t be seeing a cent of my inheritance thanks to Tony, when the door to the apartment opened and an older man walked in followed by a shorter man looking like he’d been in a fight with a bear. I looked at the older man, knowing in my bones this must be the infamous Carmen, seeing his left hand bandaged up. Something in my mind clicked bringing a smile to my face before I felt pure rage take over. Looks like Diesel got the best of both of them before one of these assholes shot my dog!
“Oh, would you look at that. Two grown men that got their asses handed to them by an eleven-month old puppy,” I was saying before the crack across my jaw sent me seeing stars. The one who I thought was Carmen, was quick to throw my mother out of the way like a rage doll when I started talking about Diesel getting a piece of him.
“If you want to see tomorrow you little bitch, I suggested you learn some damn manners. That fucking beast of a dog you call a puppy might have had the upper hand at first, but I bet those bastard’s you’ve got waiting at home for you are digging a nice size whole to burry that nasty mutt!” Carmen was fired up and breathing hard waiting for me to say something else. Who was I to disappoint him? This man killed my dog and drug me away from my family for money. I’ll make sure my brother knows exactly what this prick has done to me and sit back and let nature take its course. Wall will undoubtedly be on a rage when he sees my swollen face. I normally do not believe in violence, but this is definitely one of those times I would enjoy watching it paly out.
“You’ll pay for that. I’m going to enjoy watching my brother give you the beat down you deserve,” I managed to yell before the second crack of his fist knocked me out cold.
Chapter 23
Tank
We have been riding all fucking morning with no end in sight. After our first stop around ten this morning we divided up into groups trying to span out our search. One group was led by Wall with Viking, Zeus, and Blaze with him. The second group consisted of Axle, Hawk and Happy. With me I had Throttle and Ghost. We rode through all the rest stops off of 26 before dipping off to check the seedy motels around the area. Axle and the guys choose to check all the truck stops and gas stations while Wall and his group forged ahead closer to Columbia. We were chasing our dicks and we knew it. Until we got a lead on the fucking car there was no telling where they could be by now.
A little after one Throttles blue tooth on his bike started going nuts. Immediately my brother started dropping gears to stop along the shoulder of the road leaving me and Ghost to follow suit. Wall could be heard a mile away. “You fuckers need to head this way. Just got a message from Yasmin. They’re over in Yacht Cove. I’ll meet you fuckers at the Lexington exit. You ain’t there in thirty I’m leaving without your asses. Call Axe and let’em know.” Then the line went dead.
“We’re about fifteen minutes from the meet up spot. Ghost, you call back and tell Doc what’s going on. I don’t want to worry that Yasmin is setting us up to for them to hit the fucking house,” I yelled to Ghost. Throttle was already on the phone with Axle explaining
what Wall had said. Axle said to be ready. They would be rolling up behind us in a few minutes and we would ride in together.
The wait felt like forever. I sat with my kickstand up looking in the rearview for any sign of bikes. It was the longest six minutes of my damn life. As soon as I saw the glint of chrome signing behind me I dropped the clutch and took off. Both Ghost and Throttle were right on my ass grabbing gears done the interstate. They only thing on my mind right now was getting my woman back.
I expected to see Wall and the crew as soon as we jumped off the exit. I checked the clock on my phone when we stopped at the shoulder of the road confused as to why they weren’t here. I assumed Wall was here already or closer then what we were when he called. We still had five minutes before his deadline was up. Something wasn’t right. “Somebody try getting Wall on the phone. That fucker should be here by now. I got a bad feeling bout this shit.”
Happy was the first to call letting it play through the Bluetooth for everyone to hear. After the phone rang five or six times it went to his voicemail. Before Happy could disconnect and try to call again I called my Dad next. Viking was the only other one riding with Wall that had Bluetooth on his bike. If they were still on the road he would be the only other one to hear the phone ring. Again, the phone went to voicemail.
“Where the fuck are they? If Wall has taken off half-cocked trying to play fucking hero I’m going to kill him! If one fucking hair is misplaced on my woman’s head because he decides to pull a Rambo it’s going to be his on fucking funeral,” I screamed to anyone who would listen.
Finding Me: Dominant Devils Book Three Page 36
