by Carol Dawn
“When we get home tonight, you’re getting your spanking, little one, do you understand?”
She nods her head ever so slightly.
“I only want you to learn that you can’t talk about yourself like that. I think you’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. The cutest Little in the entire world. And all mine. Being mine means you don’t get to talk about yourself in negative ways. It not only hurts you, but it also hurts me. Do you want to keep hurting me?”
“No, sir.”
“Good,” I kiss her head. “When we get home, you get fifteen spanks on your bottom.”
“Okay, sir.”
“Good girl. I’ll be back before you know it.”
I guide her back downstairs before meeting Ink and heading out. Slim came through for us yet again. I got me one unlucky fucker to take my anger out on. He’s about to find out what happens when someone messes with my woman.
Chapter Fourteen
Trigger
“How did Slim find him so quickly?” Ink asks.
“Slim narrowed it down,” I say.
“Narrowed it down, how? Come on, man, I know you can speak a whole sentence. I’ve heard you do it all morning with your woman.”
“Thea is worth all words.”
“You saying I’m not?” Ink pouts. “Come on, brother. Just use a few more words and tell me how he did it.”
I take a deep breath and remind myself that Ink is family, and I can’t kill him. Bear would be pissed.
“He accessed some cameras from the book shop and the surrounding buildings. With what we had, and the small description Thea was able to tell me, Slim narrowed down his location. Happy?”
“Much better,” he smiles. “See, was that so hard?”
The idiot has a death wish.
Following Slim’s directions, we arrive at the trailer in twenty minutes.
“Shall I do all the talking, Mr. Talkitive?”
Before I can answer, Ink walks up and bangs on the door.
“In a fucking minute?” a male says from inside when Ink continues to bang.
“What?” the door swings open.
“Hey there, buddy,” Ink says, smiling. “Gotta minute?”
Ink shoves past the man and walks inside. Not even trying to hold it back, a snicker pushes past my lips as I follow Ink.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” the man says.
“Well, that’s a loaded question,” Ink mumbles. “Let’s start with you. What’s your name?”
“You’re the morons who stormed into my house,” the man says in disbelief. “I think I have the right to have my questions answered first.”
Leaning up against the wall with my arms across my chest, I wait silently for Ink to do his thing.
“Actually, you should probably answer first before my buddy here,” Ink nods in my direction. “skips the niceties and goes straight to kicking your ass.”
The man glances at me and takes a good look. He must really not like what he sees. His face pales, he takes a step back and grabs ahold of the couch. That’s when I notice the bracelet with the sharks tooth around his wrist.
I have that effect on people.
“Uhm, yeah, okay,” he says. “Names, Mark.”
“Hello, Mark,” Ink greets.
Smartass.
“I’m Ink. This here is my brother, Trigger. Want to know why we call him that?”
“Not really,” Mark mumbles.
“Trust me; it’s a great story. You see,” he begins. “Years ago, we both were prospecting for the same motorcycle club. As prospects, we never got to do any of the fun jobs. It was always, go get this, go clean that, get rid of the bodies. Stuff like that.
Well, one day, our old Prez, Bass, had us join in on a run because they were a few men short. Honestly, I think it was a test to see if we could handle it because every member was there. Sneaky bastard. Remember that, Trig?”
“Mmm.”
“Anyway, we were supposed to be scoping this man out. He was accused of rape, but they never found evidence, and he was free to roam the world to rape again. Our Prez didn’t believe he was innocent. So, there we sat, hiding in the woods around this man’s house. Waiting.”
Ink pauses.
“Trigger here said his gut was telling him they were in the wrong place. So, he went searching further into the woods, against the prez’s orders, I might add. A few of us followed him. About ten minutes later, we stumble across an old treehouse. Trig signals for us to stop, so we do.
Moments later, there’s sound of a struggle. I’m halfway through a blink when Trig’s already climbing the ladder. He’s really fast, by the way. By the time we reach the ladder, we hear six shots ring out. We find a woman in the corner, Trigger pointing his gun at the dead man on the floor. I remember Prez’s mouth dropping open in shock. He said, ‘you could have stopped after one.” And you know what Trig said, Mark?”
Mark shakes his head.
Ink starts hysterically laughing, causing me to grin. I remember what I said.
“He said, my finger slipped,” Ink is bent over laughing.
Mark walks further back against the wall.
Ink has done his job and made the man even more frightened of me.
“So, from that moment forward, we’ve called him Trigger. Because the crazy bastard is trigger happy.”
It takes a couple of minutes for Ink to calm himself down. The whole time, Mark won’t take his eyes off me.
Smart man.
He’s backed himself up against the wall.
Stupid man.
“Oh hell,” Ink wipes beneath his eyes. “That story kills me every time. It’s one of those, you had to be there, stories. Anyway, back to why we’re here.”
Ink walks over and flops down on the couch.
“A couple of nights ago, there was a woman attacked in the parking lot of the Book Bin. Know anything about that?”
Mark frantically shakes his head.
“Weird,” Ink says, rubbing his chin. “We actually have video proof that it was you. Do you have a twin or something? Our Prez is a twin. They look a lot alike. Except for the hair and the eyes. Anyway, want to try that answer again?”
“Look, man,” Mark says, running his hand through his short hair. “I was paid a hundred bucks to scare this woman. I was told what to say and what to do. If I did everything right, another hundred was waiting for me when I was done.”
“Hmm, I see. What were you told to say and do?”
“He told me to mention how I told her not to tell anyone about the letter. He said to say that I needed to teach her a lesson.” Mark starts pacing back and forth. “Then he said to slice her deep down her face. I did everything he told me, and I never got that other hundred.”
My fists clench. It’s taking my whole willpower not to move from this spot.
“Who was this person?”
“I don’t know, man,” Mark shouts. “I couldn’t see his face. He came up behind me and held out the money. I couldn’t back down from some easy cash.”
“Easy cash?” Ink asks.
“Yeah, man. Scaring and slicing up a bitch is easy money. Didn’t take no time at all and gave me a great story to tell the guys.”
Ink smiles.
Yes, the fucker actually smiles.
“I bet that was a fun conversation, huh?” Ink asks. “Telling the buddies all the details about how she screamed and begged.”
Mark seems to have forgotten who he was in the room with. He smiles, and his hands start twitching like he’s high.
“Oh yeah, man. They fucking loved it. I had to retell it so many times.”
“I bet they did,” Ink chuckles. “So, you for sure didn’t see the man’s face?”
“Nah, man,” Mark says, relaxing by the second. “I did see his hand when he was handing me the money; he had a tattoo on his wrist. A snake eating its own tail. Pretty awesome. But that’s all.”
“Sounds awesome. Just to make sure I got al
l the details, tell us again how it felt when you were attacking that woman?”
I loosen all my muscles and wait. I know exactly what Ink’s doing. He wants me to hear how he felt when that fucker touched my woman. He wants me pumped and ready to give it my all. I don’t need any more fuel. Remembering the slice on Thea’s face is enough fuel to last a lifetime.
“Oh, man! It was amazing. The way the fat bitch was struggling in my arms has me hard every time I think about it. The feeling of her tits against my chest when I slammed her against the car, fuck man. Nothing has ever felt more perfect.
She fought so fucking hard, bro. But, as you can see, I’m a big man. Fat or not, she wasn’t going anywhere. My favorite part was slicing into the plump face of hers. All that extra skin made it so I could cut a little deeper without causing too much damage. It was so fucking beautiful.”
Ink stands up and dusts off the invisible dirt from his pants.
“Damn, man,” Ink laughs. “Well, I guess I’ll head out now. Oh,” he stops at the door, looking back. “Do you remember how I told you Trig got his name?”
Mark’s grin vanishes, and he glances at me.
“Yeah,” he says.
“Sometimes he says guns are for pussies. It’s better to work with your hands. More satisfying. He’s a weird guy. Anyway, see ya later.”
Ink walks outside and pokes his head back in.
“I totally forgot to mention,” Ink says, smacking his forehead. “That woman, her name is Thea. And Trigger here is her man,” Ink smiles wide when Mark’s face pales. “I guess I won’t be seeing ya, after all, Marky. Have fun, Trig.”
“Plan to,” I say.
I stand there and stare at Mark. Every few seconds, his eyes glance toward the door.
“Not a smart move,” I tell him. “You wouldn’t make it to the door. And even if you did, I love a good chase.”
I wait another minute before I stalk forward.
“Come on, man,” Mark says. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know she had a man.”
I have so much I want to say, but this scum isn’t worth my words. Halfway to him, I break into a run and slam my fist into his face as hard as I can.
Hearing the crunch of broken bone has me smiling. I straddle his fallen body and lean down to his ear.
“This is for Thea,” I whisper.
I want him to know the reason he’s dying today.
I punch until his face is no longer recognizable. Then I punch some more.
I’m not sure how long I keep at it before I finally stand and walk out the door.
Ink takes one look at me, smiles, and shakes his head.
“Crazy fucker,” he says. “Let’s get you back to your woman. Bear already has someone coming to clean up the mess.
I hop on my bike with a smile.
“You might want to get cleaned up before Thea sees you, man,” Ink says. “You’re a bloody mess. And I mean that in a literal way. Not the British way.”
I start my bike and make my way back to the club, smiling wide as the wind dries the blood on my face, neck, arms, and hands.
Hell yeah!
Chapter Fifteen
Thea
“You’re almost as talkative as Mason,” I mutter.
Brick chuckles. “Just a lot on my mind, darlin’.”
“Oh? Anything you want to talk about?”
I wait silently as Brick just stares at me. He eventually reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet.
“There are some things about me even my brothers don’t know,” he starts. “I know they worry. But I can’t stop.”
“Stop what?” I ask quietly, trying not to ruin the mood.
He smirks at me, ignoring my question.
“Last month, one of the men I’ve been…working…with told me that his daughter was kidnapped. I made a promise that I’d help find her.”
He hands me a photo of a beautiful woman with bright blue eyes, light blond hair, and the happiest smile I have ever seen. She radiates joy.
“She’s beautiful,” I say, handing back the photo.
“Yeah, darlin’,” he says with a sad smile. “She’s very beautiful.”
Afraid of the answer, I ask, “Did you ever find her?”
Brick shoves his wallet, with the picture, back into his pocket.
“No, and I’ve searched every corner I could reach. It’s like she’s vanished into thin air.”
I lay my hand on top of his, momentarily shocked at how much larger his is than mine.
Brick chuckles.
Ignoring him and turning the topic back to the female, I say, “I don’t want to overstep, and please, tell me if I do, but don’t you think telling your friends would be the right decision? From what I’ve gathered, you’re all a bunch of amateur detectives.”
“Amateur detectives, huh?” he says with a smirk. “Nah, we’re just a bunch of cavemen who pretend to be civilized. We do have one special weapon on our side, though. He’s the real detective.”
“Slim, right?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“Then my question stands, why not bring your friends into the fold? They could help you.”
“You’re right,” he agrees. “They could help me. But they could also get in too deep and get themselves killed. My world isn’t a pleasant one, darlin’. It’s cruel, vindictive, and sometimes downright deadly. I need my family to stay as far from it as possible.”
People were starting to mingle too close to our conversation. So, I did the only thing that mattered upon seeing the lost look in Brick’s eyes. I stood on a chair, bent down slightly, and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Sometimes,” I whisper against his ear for only him to hear. “We care about people so much that it makes us blind. Your brothers can handle whatever situation they may have to in order to help you save this woman. You just have to trust them, Brick. Trust them to help you.”
Brick wraps his arms around my waist and squeezes me tightly. Too tightly, but I don’t say a word.
“I’ll let it slide this time, brother,” a very sexy voice says from behind me. “But I don’t ever want to see my woman pressed that tightly against your body again.”
With a chuckle, Brick releases his hands, grabs my waist, and places me on the ground in front of Mason.
A very bloody Mason.
“Oh my god, are you okay?” I rush to him and start searching his body.
He grabs my hands and gently pushes me away.
“I’m fine, little one,” he says with a smile. “But I’m very dirty. Keep your hands to yourself until I can get cleaned up.”
“You’re covered in blood,” I say, shocked. “How are you fine?”
“It isn’t his, pretty girl,” Ink says, coming in the door behind Mason.
Mason just stares at me as I process Ink’s words.
“Uhm, the person whose blood it is…are they okay?” I stupidly ask.
Mason shakes his head but doesn’t say a word. He’s patient as I work through my fears and doubts.
After a few minutes, I’ve managed to get my thoughts in order enough to talk.
“Did they deserve it?” I ask. My voice is quiet, but my heart is pounding so loudly that I’m having a hard time hearing anything else.
Mason killed someone. What do I do with this information? He told me that he’s killed in the past and that he will again in the future. But I wasn’t prepared for how to handle it.
Everything in me tells me that he’s a good man. The world sees a mean man who doesn’t want to be bothered. An emotionless man who takes his darkness and spreads it out into the world.
But I see a man who will stop at nothing to keep his family safe. I see a man so full of love and compassion but is afraid to show it. I see a man who is willing to kill to protect those who need protecting.
Knowing he doesn’t want me to touch the blood on his body, I clasp my hands behind my back and look up at his face.
“Alright,” I smile. “I trust t
hat you did what was best. Now, please go wash your face. I can’t see you under all of that war paint.”
He chuckles, winks, and walks around me.
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your spankings when we get home, little girl,” he says next to my ear.
I turn quickly to see if he’s being serious, but he’s already walking away.
Uh oh!
Chapter Sixteen
Trigger
Pulling into Thea’s driveway, I hop off my bike and wait for her to do the same. I know I shocked her when I walked in covered in blood. But I wanted to see her real reaction. I wanted her to see the real me.
I don’t want to hide any part of myself from this woman. I’m not an easy man to deal with. I need to know that she’s strong enough to be my woman. Because if I think for one second that my darkness is destroying her light, I’ll make myself walk away.
I’ll do everything in my power to protect my delicate little girl. Even if it means giving her up.
We don’t say a word as I unlock her front door and walk inside. I give her a look when she tries to walk beyond the front door.
She nods her head and stays put.
“Good girl,” I tell her before checking the house.
“All clear,” I say, sitting down on the couch. “Come to me, little one.”
She hesitates for a mere second before doing as I ask. I grab her hand and sit her down in my lap.
“Are you in pain?” I ask, checking the bandage on her face.
“No, Bear made me take some pain pills he had in his desk,” she says, snuggling into my body. “I tried to refuse, but he wouldn’t hear of it.”
“He must have seen that you were in pain,” I explain. “There’s no way he would sit by while someone was suffering. Especially a woman.”
We sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
“We have to talk about what you saw today,” I break the silence. “I need to know what you’re thinking.”
“About the blood?”
“Yeah, baby, about the blood.”
“Complete honesty?” she asks.
“I always want complete honesty, Thea. I’ll always be honest with you. Even if I can’t tell you something, I won’t skirt around the topic. Being in a relationship like the one we’re heading for honesty is the only way it will work.”
