Bocca: A Steel Paragons MC Novel

by Eve R. Hart

  Remembering the look in her eyes, I knew there would be no saving her anyway. How many innocent lives had she fucked up? How many innocent people had she taken before their time? This was what I had to focus on even though it was really fucking hard.

  There had been too much silence. I was smart enough to know that there were probably guards right outside the door and I had to make it seem like nothing was wrong. They couldn’t see me, so I had that on my side. I started the drill and let out a roar. There, that should have bought me some time. At least a good few minutes. Hopefully long enough for me to free myself from the wall. I knew there would be no way for me to release the chain from my neck, so I chose to focus on the giant eye bolt on the wall.

  I needed something to stick in there to get leverage so I could turn it. Sadly the drill wasn’t going to help me here. I looked around. Her stiletto stuck out for some reason. It was better than nothing. So, trying my hardest not to think about it, I ripped the shoe off of her dead body. Then I got to work. Yes, this was definitely what I needed. Must have been a well-made pair of shoes, because it didn’t even feel like it was going to snap when I turned with all my might.

  Finally, I was free—from the wall at least. I started up the drill again and let out another wail of pain. It wasn’t all that fake, because as I walked over and snatched up my clothes, I felt every single movement. I felt like I was on fire and being stuck with a million needles all over. I needed to get the fucking bamboo sticks out of my skin, but I needed to get the hell away from this place more.

  It took everything I had in me to put my pants and shirt on. I looked at my jacket thinking that I needed the extra coverage if I was going to be among people. I was sure I looked like a hot fucked up mess. I didn’t need to draw attention to myself that was for sure. So, feeling like I had no choice, I slung the thing around and grunted, then cried out in pain as I shrugged it up my arms.

  The chains dragged along the floor as I made my way over to her bag. I was convinced that there had to be something in there to help me. I dug through, finding numerous torture devices. And oddly, lipstick. But none of that shit girls usually carried around. No tampons. Extra pair of panties. Loose change. Movie ticket stub from two years ago. You know, junk.

  There was a set of keys and as I pulled them out, I noticed the BMW on the key fob.

  Score!

  I tossed out some of the shit I didn’t even want to think about, then tucked the chain into the bag. Hey, I was being smart here. I in no way, gave a shit that I was about to walk out of here carrying a purse. Anything to help me out, I was all for that shit.

  There were two ways out. Through the door—which I knew I wouldn’t end up making it far that way—and the boarded up window. I just had to get the board off. And lucky for me, it was screwed in.

  Damn, must have been my lucky day.

  Okay, not really. I mean look at what I had to go through to get this sort of luck.

  My grip wasn’t great as I picked up the drill but I kept going. I screamed as I unscrewed each one that was holding the board on. I would have said that it was dramatics to keep up the charade that I was still being tortured, but I had to admit that more than half of it was real.

  What felt like an eternity later, I was finally lowering the heavy wood to the floor as quietly as possible.

  I hefted myself up and didn’t even look back as I freed myself from this hellhole.

  As much as I wanted to run, I knew I had to play it smart. Also, I had to make it to her car. That was the best way out of this situation. I mean, I was not only broken and battered, but I also had a fucking heavy chain to carry around. Running wasn’t really an option.

  I stumbled as I tried to stand. The fucking hole in my calf making it hard to make any kind of movement with that leg. I was so close, I just had to get to the fucking car.

  I leaned against the side of the house as I made my way to the corner. Once there, I took a moment because damn, I was really hurting. I took in a few deep breaths then peeked around the corner. Strange that there weren’t a bunch of guards milling around the front. Seemed odd to me. I couldn’t see, or even hear one. There was nothing. Only an eerie stillness in the air. I wasn’t going to take it for granted and I wasn’t going to think I was in the clear.

  Strangely enough, there were a bunch of SUVs, trucks, and cars parked in the driveway. Like there was some kind of fucking party going on here. Scanning my surroundings, I noticed that most of the houses were in conditions that suggested they should be condemned. There probably wasn’t anyone around for miles. Or maybe there were some squatters, but I imagined that they wouldn’t cause a fuss over what the hell was going on in that house.

  There, parked on the curb, was a tiny, bright red, convertible BMW. Yep, that was my ride. Fucking awesome. I imagined that I’d have to sit in the back seat and put the top down just to drive the damn thing. No, I wasn’t complaining. It was my damn golden ticket out of this shit-hole and I was going to take it.

  I wormed my way through the vehicles, keeping as low as possible. I checked the front door, seeing only a single light illuminating the huge front window. There was no movement at all and while I found it extremely odd and a tad bit careless, I figured it was a good time to make my move. Summoning up all the energy and strength I had, I took off like the devil was chasing me. I hit the button to unlock the car, yanked open the door, and drove away thanking God that it had the auto start function and was ready to go.

  My eyes flicked between the rearview and the road ahead as I drove. Somehow, I’d made it out undetected.

  I had no idea where I was or how the hell to get out of this neighborhood. I would have bet this car had GPS but I wasn’t about to slow down long enough to tap the giant screen that was there. I ran on instinct, hoping that fate or some shit would help me out a little right now. I may have driven around in circles, but I finally hit something that looked like a main road. I took a left on a whim and punched the gas.

  There I was, driving around in a dead chick’s car, chain around my neck, too many holes and cuts on my body to count, and not one fucking clue where the hell I was, let alone where I was headed.

  City lights started to come into view. I was fading and the thought of pulling over to take a nap seemed really appealing right about now. But I knew I couldn’t. I had to get somewhere that was somewhat safe. I had to get myself patched up. I dreaded actually getting out of the car. Not only did I look like hell, every movement had me wincing in pain.

  I pushed forward, the sign passing on my left was like a damn godsend. Charlotte. I wasn’t far from where I’d started this journey. And home was a little beyond that.

  But I couldn’t go home just yet. I wasn’t safe. The club wasn’t safe. I had to figure out my next move. As much as I wanted to run to my brothers, have them patch me up, then figure out the next thing to do to take out these ass holes, I knew I couldn’t bring this to them just yet. I loved my club. My fucking family. I had to keep them safe. Which meant that I had to figure this out by myself for a while, and steer clear of the compound. They were looking for me. I had to keep that trail away from home and at the same time, I needed to figure out a way to keep them from finding me.

  Suddenly, one person popped up in my mind. Someone that would help me with no questions asked. Someone that was aware of the club and all the shit we would get ourselves into. That very person happened to live right in the middle of the town I was driving into.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Silas

  “Aren’t you getting a little too old for all of this?” I said as I walked up behind the man hidden in the shadows, his eyes scanning the area before he decided his next move.

  “Fuck off,” he replied back as if he knew I was there even before I spoke.

  Okay, so he probably did. He probably used his bat ears to hear me walk up or his strange super nose to smell me in the light breeze or some weird shit. Did it surprise me? Nah, because I knew this guy, though he liked to pr
etend I didn’t.

  “I’m not ready to retire any more than you are,” he said as his head slightly turned to the side and he glanced at me for half of a beat before going back to the mission. “Croatians. I can tell by the mark on the door.”

  Oddly enough, the huge metal door and its frame were still standing even though the rest of the building around it was burnt to a crisp. The light mark looked like it had been there for years, though I suspected that wasn’t the case.

  “This part of the country…I’d say Keften Jugovac, perhaps?” I tucked my hands in my pockets and rocked back on my heels.

  “Yeah,” the hunter grunted in agreement, his eyes still scanning the scene. “I need to make a call.”

  Which he did, talking in something akin to Polish but with some strange, thick dialect. One I didn’t recognize and had trouble following along. He hung up almost as quickly as he’d gotten on.

  He wasn’t one for lingering. Time wasn’t a luxury in his line of work.

  While mine, time was usually on my side. Scoping out a target. Learning their habits, seeing into their soul. These were things that took time and patience. Skills that I had honed over the years. I’d learned to wait and breathe. I’d learned to sit in the dark and quiet all the thoughts that I had floating around in my head. I’d learned to view life from a scope or a pair of binoculars. I was the guy that was silently watching from afar, tucked so tightly into the darkness that you didn’t even sense that I was there. Then, when you least expected it, I took the opening. I fired. I killed. Then it was over and the world became busy again.

  But, the hunter, he moved. In and out of the darkness like a curious alley cat on the prowl for his next meal. He tracked and searched, only pausing long enough to scan for the next clue.

  Two men with very different jobs, two very different approaches to situations. Yet, the shadows were our only friend.

  “Let’s move,” he said retreating back into the darkness like a panther, his back to me the whole time as he walked away. He didn’t wait for me to fall into step because he knew that I would.

  Nadya called me in for one reason, and one reason only. Sure, she might have cared about this guy that we were hunting. The lost brother, or whatever. But that wasn’t the reason behind her call. I was here to pull the trigger, to end the lives of the men that had left the bodies behind. The innocent girls. The ones that were to be sold off to a fate worse than what they’d received. Maybe? Yeah, I truly believed that because these people were monsters. They had a deal with the devil that went much further than mine, hers, or even this asshole’s here in front of me.

  “Get in,” he said as he dropped down into his car. Nondescript, four-door coupe, just in case you were wondering. Something that didn’t stand out and even the dark blue wasn’t something that would be noticed sitting on the side of the road. One you’d expect to find stickers on the window and a damn car seat or two in the back.

  “I’ll take mine,” I said with a shrug. “Give me the address.”

  “Get your gear and get in the fucking car.”

  So, I wasn’t going to waste time arguing with his super focused ass. I ran to my car. This one fast, black. Sure it was more noticeable but it also got me here in record time.

  I scanned the area as I popped the trunk to my car. Upon opening it, it looked completely devoid of anything, even those little plastic tags that sometimes come off of grocery bags. You know the ones I was talking about. Those little fuckers always seem to come off at the wrong time and somehow manage to stick to you in an irritating way. Like a pimple in your ass crack. Just can’t seem to get rid of those fuckers.

  With the quick press of a hidden button, the bottom lifted up and I dragged my case out from the hidden space. Then I closed the trunk and didn’t even care to check if the car was locked. There was nothing in it that would give me away or that I would miss if it was taken. And it wasn’t like I didn’t have enough money to replace it if I wanted to. Besides, it was three years old, which meant it was time for an upgrade.

  I tossed my case in the back seat before I slid into the front one. Then he took off…like an old lady. I mean, there were still cops around the corner so I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to catch any unwanted attention. Only once we were a few blocks away, did he really punch it. Well, as much as a car like that would allow. His eyes constantly scanned the horizon.

  “Remember Dallas?” I asked because I knew it would not only irritate him but make him smile on the inside as well.

  “Yeah,” he said in a flat tone, but I could see the quick twitch of his lips.

  “You think we’re too old for that shit?” I asked as a joke. I mean, I was getting up there in age but I wasn’t slowing down. I wasn’t a party guy, but I didn’t mind having a crazy time every now and then. And I certainly didn’t mind sharing.

  “No,” he said but for some reason, it sounded like he was holding back a sigh. “But it just doesn’t have the appeal that it once did.”

  “You looking to settle down, Huntsmen?” I said turning my head to face him as a shocked expression overtook my face.

  “You and I both know that there is no such thing as ‘settling down’ in our line of work. There is go until you can’t anymore, or death. That’s all. You and I don’t get the bullshit fairy tale. We don’t get the girl to come home to at the end of the day. This is it. This is all our lives will ever be.”

  I settled back into my seat knowing his words were true. We were fucked up people. And fucked up people didn’t get the happily ever after shit.

  “You don’t have to be so depressing about it,” I mumbled as my eyes stared blankly out the front windshield.

  “I’m not going to lie to myself. You shouldn’t either.”

  Fine. He had a point. It wasn’t that I was out there hoping for that mushy shit. But the thought of having someone to crawl into bed with at the end of a long job, someone that maybe knew what I did and didn’t judge me, was slightly appealing.

  And completely unrealistic. I realized that as I thought about it.

  With a shrug, I ended the pointless conversation and let the silence take over as we weaved our way to the city limits.

  We end up in a neighborhood I imagined flourished long ago. The houses old and crumbling. The yards overgrown and the pavement cracked and ransacked with potholes. He pulled up along the curb between two houses. All of them seemed to be abandoned and I wouldn’t doubt that some of them had been taken up with squatters. There were a few worn paths I’d noticed leading to the back of a few of the houses. But I couldn’t see any form of life. No lights, not even from candlelight. Just nothing.

  “There,” he said pointing through the space between the houses. The next street over was barely visible through the trees and overgrowth. But I could see it, the light flickering through the front window helped give it away. Clearly, that house had power somehow. “Gear up. I’m not waiting long.”

  He pulled out his handgun from his side holster, checked the clip, then tucked it back away. Then he patted his leg on the opposite side as if someone were checking for their wallet in their back pocket. The knife was there, I already knew that much. But Hunt, he wasn’t one to go in half prepared.

  Without another word, he pushed open the door and stepped out into the midnight air.

  I twisted in my seat, snatched up my case, then exited the vehicle myself.

  Then we were moving, our heads on a swivel as we danced in and out of the darkness of the trees. We crossed one backyard into the next, and at the back corner of the house, we paused so I could set up. I was already loaded down with multiple weapons. I had a feeling my guns were going to keep themselves tucked at my side for this mission. Quiet and calm was needed right now, I sensed it and I had no problem with it. I could kill a man with my bare hands as quickly as I could pull the trigger of a gun.

  I pulled out my detached scope and tilted my head around the corner of the house. The one we were looking to breach was across th
e street. The oddly quiet street. There were several vehicles parked in the driveway and all I could think was these people weren’t even trying to be inconspicuous. Careless, perhaps. But I knew it was more than that. They had power and held no fear. It didn’t matter if people knew they were there because no one would mess with them. Well, they may have had that mostly right, but I was fucking here now.

  “If they have him, he’s in there. I’d bet the basement,” Hunt said, crouching down behind a bush so that he could see the place for himself.

  “Nothing on the outside. No guards that I can tell walking the perimeter. Camera right outside the door. Twenty, maybe twenty-five feet radius. Full night vision. Another one in the hall,” I said moving the scope around so I could see everything that I was able to. “Two men in the living room. That’s all I got. They aren’t moving. One’s standing just shy of the window, I can see his shoulder. One’s sitting on a chair in front of him.”

  “I need to see more. Moving in.” He didn’t wait for me to give the okay before his feet were moving.

  I rolled my eyes and tucked my scope in my pocket. Then I shoved my case between the side of the house and overgrown bushes. If I couldn’t get it on the way back that was fine. I sure as hell would be able to replace it, no problem. I wasn’t oddly attached to my things like some people were.

  There was no buddy system, hand on the shoulder while we crouched low and moved together. Nope, not for Hunt. He almost always worked alone and it showed. I mean, so did I, but I also knew how to be a safe team player. But that wasn’t even it. I knew him, he knew how to do things right, he just chose to go his own path. He was like a grumpy old man, way too set in his ways.

  Around the back, we found an opened window. Not the kind of open like someone had pushed it up to let the breeze in. This was broken, the dust and dirt-crusted along the jagged pieces, but it was clear that the room on the other side had been untouched by the elements for a prolonged period of time.