I counted the seconds in my head until I felt a turn and tried to build a map of sorts in my head. I had no way of knowing how long I was out or what I had missed, but if I could at least get myself back to the point where I had woken up if and when I escaped, then I might be able to find my way back to the clubhouse or some sort of safety. I might recognize where I was. I had to believe it was a possibility because otherwise, I would just kill myself now. I would find something sharp or wait until the car was at its fastest and throw myself out headfirst because it would be better than being stuck with Jacob for the rest of my miserable existence, however long that was.
We hit a bump in the road, and I tried not to groan considering I was simply laying in the floorboard with my wrists tied behind my back. Not exactly a ladylike or comfortable position to be in.
Finally, we stopped, and I relaxed my breathing and closed eyes as much as I could. I didn’t know what a performance I was putting on or if they even cared whether or not I was awake as they led me into somewhere that wasn't Jacob’s place or the clubhouse. I had been there before, so many times, knowing the intimate details of the steps leading up to the rusty door at the back and the happy dinging sound the front door made as if you were walking into a friendly corner store.
This was too quiet, too methodical and even. And then I was bumped and manhandled down steps that scuffled under my feet like concrete, and I knew I was in a basement. I didn’t know if I believed in any kind of deity, but just in case one existed I silently prayed because I knew if the Diablos or Jacob were taking me into a basement there was a good chance they never expected me to come out. At least not alive.
Once they untied me and turned the swinging light on overhead, there was no more pretending to be asleep. I wanted to fight, and squirm and kick I did to no avail. The muscle Jacob chose for this task was strategic in more than just being former Saint members— they were huge, much beyond my capacity to get free.
"Where's Jacob?" I seethed, not wanting to waste time. If he wanted to punish me, then I wanted him to get it over with and move on. I would go back to being his little bitch for now and then take my next chance to escape. That was, if Seth didn’t find a way to come for me.
It was dumb of me to see myself as some kind of princess her dark knight would come to save, but it was the one time I would allow myself to be stupid.
"Oh, he'll be here," one of the men sneered, and I swore he was missing more teeth than the last time I saw him. I rolled my eyes as his sour breath hit me, and then he was gone, locking the door behind him, of course. Not that he would leave it there. There would be guards outside that door as well as other men in this house. I looked for the crawl space and saw it had been bricked up, of course. If I had to guess, this place didn’t belong to any of the Diablos, it was likely on loan from the Shadow Order considering their tentative based alliance right now. Maxum was birding all kind of gas in the wrong direction.
I didn’t have to wait long to see Jacob. It was like seeing a ghost, not just because he was an ass from my past but because he also looked like he had turned into a ghost. His eyes were sunken in, his weight had dropped from the last time I saw him. He looked like the hell he had caused me for long, had come back upon him tenfold. I wasn’t that naive to think he was paying some kind of penance though. If I had to guess, I would think he had been diving too hard into the MC lifestyle, thinking he was a badass because he did illegal things like drugs. I had been with the Blue Diablos long enough to realize they weren't a real club. Membership was only backed up by their being the biggest assholes in the area, and there was no loyalty among them. It was just a big party of those who couldn’t make snuff in whatever walk of life they tried before.
"Well, if it isn’t the little betraying bitch who thought she could get away from me and hang out with the enemy."
I rolled my eyes. It wouldn’t matter if I was nice to him or not, he would do what he wanted to me. At least, I would go down as an actual bitch if he was going to call me one. "The Saints aren’t your enemies. They're just too damn good for you to try something legit with like they have been offering you for years."
"Only enemies keep what isn’t theirs," he said, circling me like a female lion toying with its prey. I didn’t bother following him and making myself dizzy. The misery would come soon enough. I was sure of it.
"I'm not fucking property, Jacob, and maybe if you had learned that sooner, you would have had a chance of keeping me around. You will never have me willingly again, so why don’t you just take me and drop me off somewhere instead of subjecting yourself to this ridiculous show of power over someone who doesn’t love you. It isn't like you love me either."
He started laughing, and that was the first time I felt fear. It made me shiver. It was this grating sound. "It's a matter of fuckin principles, Reagen. A man like me can’t be bested by a whore like you and whoever the hell you're letting get balls deep inside you. That’s surely the only way you're getting them to defend you and keep you there. It's the only good thing about you, that perfect pussy, no matter how many times it's been wounded."
I wanted to throw up at the way he was talking about me, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of affecting me that way. It was just words, and I knew better now that I was worth a hell of a lot more than tits and ass. Even if I had learned that men valued that from me, I valued myself more now. And I thought Seth did too, if I wasn't mistaken.
“So, what is it you want with me, Jacob?”
“Your fucking soul.”
I didn’t see it coming, hadn’t noticed the way he dug into his pocket and pulled it back out. His knuckles were wrapped in brass, and he brought them down on me again and again until my face was numb from the aching, and I could taste blood in my mouth.
Chapter 17
Reagen
"Oh, were you asleep? It's not time for sleep. It's time for dinner!" Jacob's voice called down the stairs, waking me from my tentative sleep. If my brain was working right at all, I had been in this place for about three days now. There was no sign of anyone coming to save me and no way out while I was locked in a basement and still healing from the beating I took my first night here. It was brutal, and I couldn’t even remember most of it. I didn’t want to think about what had happened after I passed out from the pain and head injury. I knew I woke up naked and feeling like everything on my body was bruised and bloodied.
I had been granted a crop top and some panties which were more revealing than I liked, but it was better than being bare in here. But I had also been lucky enough to only be around Jacob since then. But now I saw through my one eye that wasn't swollen all to hell that three men were headed down the stairs, laughing and pointing at the broken-down bitch Jacob was keeping down here. If I had a mirror, I would probably laugh at myself too.
Or cry.
I didn’t think this was about my dinner, so I kept my head down and waited for what was next. It was pitiful that it had only taken three days to break me again. Three days and I was a little piece of putty for him to play with and mold to do what he wanted. That little piece of hope I had been clinging to was hanging by a thread.
"On all fours, bitch. Time for you to be our table." Jacob turned to the other men as they laughed. "Be sure to cover up that ugly face of hers."
It was vain, but as I let my hair and head hang down, my back as straight as I could get it without screaming with the pain from the bruises, I worried my face would never look the same again. What would Seth think if I ever made it back to him? Would he even still want me?
Each man took a turn eating off my back. I was made to crawl around on the floor and not drop a single dish. If I did, I got a beating from each man however they liked.
A kick to my stomach. A pull of my hair. A slap to my leg. A foot on my back. I lost count at some point.
I was then left alone, a fan on me and the AC on blast, nothing to help me as I was frozen out, shivering and coughing, and whimpering.
In the dark, I thought I was alone. I thought I would be alone for the night, but I wasn't.
He was so quiet, I didn’t know he was there until I felt his hands on me. I cried and tried to fight, but it felt like I had nothing left. Every claw I dug into his back made him bleed, but he only liked what he was doing more. I thought I already knew what a sick bastard he was, but I was wrong.
Chapter 18
Seth
I had some of the prospects scope out the neighborhood three times now so we could figure out how to get in and out without getting our heads blown off and without risking Reagen’s safety. From what the boys had heard from the pigs who came in and out of the place, turncoats almost all of them, Reagen was still alive and being used as their own personal toy. It was why I had not gone to scope it with them, because I would have blown the whole fucking plan by trying to rip apart every single one of those monsters.
I was not a good man and would never pretend to be. Most of us Saints weren't, but our name was fitting when you looked at organizations like the Shadow Order and the Blue Diablos. They had some sick notion that women were lesser and should be treated as such. That they were property, almost like rag dolls to order around and bend to their will. It was why my Reagen came to me so fucked up and still had trouble believing in herself sometimes. She hadn’t said it out loud, but I could feel it.
There was no telling how she’d come back to me this time after being with Jacob again. He was a damn good brainwasher if nothing else. Should be using his talents for the military or some shit instead of wasting it on hurting women and doing drugs with a bunch of misfit criminals.
And the worst part was I had been such an ass, avoiding getting tied down when everyone knew from the moment I fought for her to stay with us, broken and bloodied, she had me wrapped around her little finger. She was mine, and I was hers, even if I would never say that to anyone out loud.
Tonight would be the night we would get Reagen. We had left her in there long enough, and I was itching to get her safe and back in my arms. Not to mention to make that fucker Jacob and his friends who used to belong to the Saints pay for all that they had done. Bonnie was still in the hospital recovering. They hadn’t harmed Reagen on the way out from what we'd been told, wanted to keep her in pristine shape to give to Jacob, who mind you, was not Prez or VP over there with the Diablos. If that didn’t show how corrupt and disloyal all the Diablos were, I didn’t know what did. Did their Prez even know about this? If he did, I couldn’t be certain he would care, but I got the feeling Jacob wasn’t exactly operating under his orders. The Prez may have had something against Reagen and her betrayal of the Diablos, but I didn’t think he would sanction these kinds of resources and her being held in a house waiting to be sold two hours away from the clubhouse. It was some run-down suburb full of drug dealers and addicts trying to mind their own business.
He had chosen the perfect neighborhood, and I assumed he probably had a dealer nearby or something, probably how he knew about the place.
I shook my head as I revved my engine, leading a group of prospects and a few of the Crypt Keepers who volunteered to help after being told the situation. I understood Tony didn’t want to risk anyone else high ranking for this, especially with impending war and the Shadow Order and Maxum still on the loose. Who knew when that shit would hit the fan? He needed all hands on deck when it did. And there were already members stationed at the hospital with Bonnie to protect her, from both enemies and herself. We all got the feeling as soon as she could get up and go she would get herself into trouble again. It was in her nature. In her blood. I didn’t think any of us would keep her down for long.
We rode into the night, lights off as we approached the neighborhood in question. The neighbors, if they saw, would probably think it was a drug deal gone bad or something, nothing out of the ordinary. We quietly surrounded the place, guns at the ready. There was a low fence at the back that had some rotting pieces of wood and a pretty dismal front yard. The driveway next door was empty as well and a good place to park some of our bikes just out of view of the nearest window. Not that I thought Jacob and the crew would look out. They were probably drunk and high if not torturing my woman, the one I was ready to make my ol' lady. And probably cocky as hell they were getting away with this by now. If we were going to come we would have already, right?
Heh . . . amateurs.
I nodded my head, and those at the back worked their way inside the fence to the back door. I was with them, smiling when I saw the door was simply sliding glass, nothing more. No wonder this neighborhood was full of low-class criminals— there was such an ease of access.
At the signal, we fired, rushing in to the sound of broken glass and a door being shot through with bullet holes. This was the kind of place cops hesitated to come to, knowing they would just end up losing their men in deadly shoot outs. They would come pick up the evidence afterward and make a sloppy declaration it had to do with drugs or a hit or an altercation. I knew enough to know cops didn’t care about everyone the way they should.
It was in our favor right now anyway.
We spread out through the house, holding every man we found at gunpoint, but there was no sign of Jacob or my Reagen.
"Fuck!" I hollered seeing a door leading down to what I assumed was a basement. Locked, of course. I didn’t like ambushing him like that if he was down there with her. But what choice did we have?
I nodded to two men, and the three of us busted the door and went down, guns pointed far out in front of us in the dark. The light suddenly went on, swinging above us and blinding us momentarily. "Stay the fuck away or I blow her brains out. Either way, I own her."
Shit. He had a gun to her head, and I didn’t know what to do or how the hell we would get out of this. If we shot at him, he could easily get that shot off in her head before anything hit him. If he didn’t, then shooting him could make the gun go off. We were at a standstill, and I tried not to wince at the sight of her. There were bruises and some bloody streaks on her body, especially her face. Some were older, healing, and others were likely from just today. I wanted to hate myself for not getting to her sooner, but hurt was better than dead.
"Put your fucking weapons down," he ordered with his teeth gritted.
I sighed and nodded, all of us setting our guns on the bottom step and putting our hands over our heads. All I needed was for him to move the gun away from her. If he aimed at one of us, the others could take him down easily. Guns weren’t our only weapons, and these were not small men. I was just not risking her life. Nothing was worth that.
Then, what she did, she did so fast, we were all in shock. Her elbow swung back straight into his gut, knocking the gun just an inch from her head. She turned as we grabbed for our guns and rammed her knee into his balls, twisting his wrist and grabbing his gun as he stumbled back, grabbing his junk like a pussy.
Her eyes were wild, the gun pointed at Jacob. Her hair swung full of sweat and dried blood, her body mostly exposed to us. She reminded me of a frightened animal, and I wanted to cry for her.
I didn’t want a man’s life on her conscience either, but this was up to her.
And then she pulled the trigger as he pleaded for his life, a hole in his chest as blood splattered on her already dirty body. She dropped the gun, and I caught her as her knees buckled and she began to sob.
"It's over," she said with a tumbling lip. "It’s over." She kept saying it, and I nodded to the boys as I carried her up and out. They could clean up the mess. I needed to get her to a doc and get her home.
Now.
The doctor had been in and out with her for forty-eight hours now. I had insisted she be kept in my room instead of taking her to the doc because I wanted to be near her. I had to know she was okay, and I was vainly hoping she would ask for me.
She had yet to, and I had kept my distance. It wasn't a big deal seeing as from what the doc told me, she was not good off. The doc had even gotten a nurse to come in and do some female ex
am. I didn’t want to think about why that had to be done nor would I press Reagen to tell me what had happened. I wanted her to feel safe to move on from it. After all, Jacob was dead.
Tony was supposed to be coming to meet with me any moment now, and I was afraid it was about how badly we fucked up by allowing Jacob to be killed like that. We didn’t need any more reason to be on the bad side of the Diablos, but technically, not a single one of us or the Crypt Keepers pulled a trigger. It was Reagen, and it could be argued she did it in self-defense, but if I was being honest, I should have stopped her from doing it. There was a process we were supposed to follow— capture, questioning, a trial of sorts involving the other MC, even if they were enemies. It could have bridged the gap between us. But who the fuck wanted them as allies anyway?
I felt a hand on my shoulder before I saw him, and I caught myself biting at my nails like a little sissy boy. That was what I had turned into, and for her, I supposed that was okay with me. She was worth it, and I didn’t know how I had never seen it before. No sleeping around with whores compared to what it was like to be hers. Where had she been all this time? Where had my heart been?
"How’s she doin'?" Tony asked, and I shook my head.
"She's alive, but she hurts. They are trying to keep her comfortable with some meds, but they say she has to come off soon not to get dependent on them. She's real banged up, especially her face. They think she'll have a few scars. But she'll heal. A lot of the bruises are already starting to fade. But you didn’t come here to check on her, I know that, Prez."
He nodded, and I leaned my shoulder against the wall, hands in my pockets as I waited for what he had to tell me. "You're right, though I am glad she will be okay. At least in body. She has earned her membership as far as I am concerned."
Abandon (Midnight Saints MC Book 1) Page 11
