Cable: a Steel Paragons MC novel

by Hart, Eve R.

  I shot him a warning glare though I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t like him talking about her like that for some fucking reason.

  “Sorry,” he said straightening and holding up his hands in surrender. “I just mean that he was probably able to put on a good front. Not saying she was dumb to fall for it. Just that it was believable.”

  “What’s that?” Iron asked making me turn my attention back to the computer screen.

  “A countdown timer…?” I answered, but what the fuck was it for?

  “Bomb?” Ky said and I felt him stiffen behind me.

  “No,” I said with a shake of my head. “Computer wipe. He knows I’m on here.”

  “Can you stop it?” Iron asked.

  “Nope. Maybe if I had more time.” Really couldn’t do a hell of a lot in less than a minute.

  “Fuck it. We got what we needed. Let’s get back,” Iron said and led the way back out of the house.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Claire

  A week went by— or what felt like a week. The days seemed to blend together with the ups and downs. Half the time, I wasn’t really aware of where I was.

  Two more girls were brought in. Two more names I added to my list.

  Lavinia

  Kaylee

  The ‘party’ had been a disaster as he mildly put it.

  One thing I’d learned about him, he liked order. He liked everything to run smoothly. To play out the way he saw it in his head. And something else I’d picked up on, it threw him off when the slightest thing went wrong. He completely lost his shit. And someone always paid for it.

  Destiny.

  I had been right about her.

  She didn’t go down without a fight.

  She bit a man. A so-called fucking client, as he called them. She waited for the right moment and then sunk her teeth into the man’s neck. I hadn’t been there to see it but when I overheard him telling someone the story, I couldn’t help but smile. Fuck him. Fuck all of them. That was what they got for the evilness they brought to the world.

  The man was pissed but he’d live.

  And as for Destiny, I was sure she wouldn’t much longer. Hell, for all I knew she was already dead.

  I didn’t know what he was doing to her but I knew she was making the perfect example for him. Fear, that was how he liked to keep people in line. He was mean and sick and ruthless. He was soulless and cunning. Stoic to the outside world and hardly missed a thing.

  But for some reason, he was losing control. There was something going on but I didn’t have the first clue what. I felt like it was more than what had happened with Destiny that night.

  He was smart in the way that he wanted to be untouchable but was very much aware that no one was. That was maybe worse somehow because he was always looking over his shoulder. Always aware of his surroundings and that meant that it would be hard for anyone to get close.

  This told me that even if I had some hope that someone would save me, they wouldn’t ever get to.

  Hope.

  Something I was losing with every single second that ticked on.

  “I have been too good to you,” he said as he stepped into the room.

  Every hair on my body stood on end. He was too calm and collected which told me he had a plan in his head.

  “You have passed your usefulness. You are nothing but a junkie now.”

  And whose fault was that? Not mine. I didn’t ask for this. I may have walked into this situation but I didn’t do it knowing what was on the other side of the door. Before I knew it, I was caught in something I had no clue how to get out of. And now I realized there was never a way to.

  One minute he was filling up the doorway, the next he was dragging me out of the room by my hair.

  I screamed and kicked which only caused him to yank me harder. My feet and legs worked overtime trying to get beneath me to help me move with him.

  No.

  Not the room.

  But that was where we were headed.

  He flung me as if I weighed nothing. My body flopped and rolled until I collided with the hard, unforgiving wall. A tiny whimper escaped past my lips as tears stung the backs of my eyes. I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t give this man my tears.

  The room was dark. I hadn’t been in this room but I imagined it much like the one at the old house.

  I looked around and realized that I was pretty much right. Only, this one was lacking cages. Instead, the girls were chained to the wall.

  The air was stale and smelled strongly of urine. Another sign that he was losing it. He would never stand for that sort of thing. He may have been a monster but he wasn’t sloppy.

  Five girls.

  Five chains.

  Five gags.

  Five sets of scared and tired eyes looking at me.

  That was what I was met with when I looked around.

  This house hadn’t been prepared. The room hadn’t been blocked off like the last one. The windows were covered with drapes like in the old house, but the walls were still bare. There was no thick soundproof padding lining the space. I assumed that was the reason for the gags now.

  He was cruel. He loved to leave them in the cages untied and didn’t like to have them gagged. He would let them scream and cry out until their bodies finally gave up. Until their souls were crushed. He liked them to have just enough freedom to feel like they weren’t trapped. In the cages, they could move freely. They weren’t held down by huge chains. There wasn’t the eerie sound as a reminder that you were trapped with every movement you made. There wasn’t that weight dragging you down.

  It was maybe really fucked up to think that the cages were better in a way.

  He didn’t want them broken, he just wanted them broken-down. He wanted them pliable enough so they wouldn’t fight but still held a tiny glimmer of light in their eyes.

  I hadn’t seen what a completely broken person was like. And I never wanted to. But I’d overheard him say once that the girls were harder to move when they were wild. He’d had a girl so broken that she had snapped. He wasn’t able to sell her off because she was so feral.

  I cried that night after hearing him talk about that girl. The way she died was more horrible than anything I could ever imagine. And as he told his men about it, he made it sound as if it was a well-deserved death.

  So, yeah, I had cried.

  Because I couldn’t imagine going through something as horrible as that.

  Because I realized how cruel he really was then.

  Because I feared that would become me even with the so-called freedom I had.

  With every day that passed. Every high. Every breath I took. I was slowly starting to suffocate and give in to the madness that filled my head.

  I was drowning.

  And I didn’t see a way to stop it.

  My eyes landed on Destiny and my heart broke.

  Her body was face down and her eyes were so swollen I wasn’t even sure she could see.

  Blood.

  There was so much blood, the carpet soaked through and my stomach churned then.

  Her naked body was covered in cuts and burns. So many that I had a hard time finding a clear spot of skin.

  Her chest slowly rose and fell but it was so faint that I didn’t think she’d last much longer.

  It was then that I knew I was too far gone because I wanted nothing more than to be strung-out so I could escape this whole thing.

  “I don’t think one lesson is enough. I want to make sure they get it. You don’t fight me. You don’t go against me. It will not end well for you.”

  His tone was cold. Dead. And it sent shivers down my already shaking body.

  As he stepped to the side, three of his men came stomping into the room. I was their target and I was a tiny bit relieved that Destiny would have a moment of peace.

  Chains rattled. My body flopped around like I was a rag doll. My arms were shackled above my head and as my back hit the wall, I cried out from the pain that vibrated my e
ntire body. But it was the sound of a blowtorch being fired up that made me freeze with the dread of what was to come.

  “No. No!” I screamed out as he held up the metal rod to the flame. “No!”

  My pants were ripped down my legs, my lower half now completely exposed. And when the pathetic excuse for a sidekick couldn’t get my pants completely off, he pulled a knife out and cut them to shreds.

  I gritted my teeth as the sound of my own flesh searing filled my ears. The pain was unlike anything I’d ever felt. My body twitched and I pulled against my restraints with everything I had in me. It was useless. I couldn’t get away from the agonizing burn that shot through my body.

  As my screams echoed off the walls, he pushed even harder against my hip.

  The pressure stopped as he took a step back but it did nothing to ease the unbearable pain. My head sagged and my legs gave out on me but I remained upright by my arms. Drool poured out of my mouth and I thought I couldn’t get any lower.

  I didn’t have to look to know the symbol that now scarred my skin. I’d seen it one too many times before.

  I didn’t need to see to know that I’d been marked.

  To know that my fate was so much worse than it had been.

  A marked girl.

  I was now for sale.

  “Fuck you,” I grit out having lost my damn mind.

  His evil chuckle pierced through the pounding in my ears.

  “I think you need one more. Just so you remember who you belong to.” His words came out so calmly but with an edge.

  Then, just because he was a sick fuck, he heated the rod up again. My legs were held open and my screams did nothing to stop what was coming.

  Right there, on the tender flesh of the inside of my thigh, he branded me a second time.

  With his meaty paw, he gripped my hair and wrenched my head back.

  “Don’t think that it is over for you,” he said, his face so close to mine that I had no choice but to look at him.

  Nina

  Laney

  Vivianna

  Cate

  Marcie

  Adelle

  Destiny

  Lavinia

  Kaylee

  Claire

  Yes, my name was there now. On that list. The one filled with the names of the girls that I wanted so desperately to help— to save. But now that mine was there, all hope was lost, what little there was to begin with.

  “Give her just enough to stop the shaking. I don’t want her to die before I can sell her,” he said as he turned his back on me and walked to the door. “It won’t be long. I already have someone that is ready to take you off of my hands.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Cable

  “Hey, Bridget,” I said the moment she stepped into my room.

  “Hey, Cable,” she parroted with a hint of laughter in her tone.

  “What’s that?” I asked as my brows furrowed at the stuffed thing she had in her hand.

  “I got you something. Two somethings actually. Well, Lake got you this one,” she tossed the stuffed pillow at me and as I caught it, I flipped it around so I could see the front and I barked out a laugh immediately. “I think he went out looking specifically for a pillow with a crab on it.”

  I quickly turned it around and placed it in my lap knowing that was the reason he’d bought it.

  “Oh, I’m supposed to tell you that you now have crabs on your junk,” she said with an eye roll and a shake of her head.

  That also made me laugh really fucking hard.

  “And I made you this. I’m not crafty so it’s not great. But I figured you could hang it on your door,” she said handing over a small wooden sign that had a few words on it.

  I looked at it harder, reading the words in my head, and damn if it didn’t make me smile.

  Was it weird that the sign almost made me cry? Yeah, I got a little choked up there for a moment.

  “Thanks, Bridget,” I finally said as I sat the handmade sign in all its crooked, messy glory down on my desk.

  “No problem, big dude.” She gave a half shrug like it was nothing.

  I straightened up remembering that the thing I’d ordered for her came in. And because shit was sure to go crazy, I had a feeling I’d need to ask for a favor as I gave it to her. I tried to play it off as joking so she wouldn’t get freaked out about that last part.

  “I got you something too. But I’m gonna need you to open it now so I can borrow it.”

  Okay, so that was a little shitty of me. But really, what choice did I have. I had gotten it for her and here I was asking to use it before she even knew what it was. Maybe it was more about doing something nice than knowing she’d actually use the thing. It was also kind of a joke since she didn’t have one and all. Not that there was really any more room in that messenger bag of hers to put it. But still, it was the thought that counted, right?

  “Well, okay then.” She let out a light laugh as she playfully eyed me.

  I hadn’t wrapped it because I didn’t really see it as that type of gift, but it was still in the generic packaging from being shipped.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have been getting gifts for another man’s woman. Especially, not one of my brother’s. But really, this felt more like buying something for a sister. It kind of canceled out though, right, because she’d gotten me something too.

  “This is… wow, Cable. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever use it but hey, if you can then—”

  Her words died there and then she was dragging her eyes up to look at me.

  There was a moment where I saw it all sink in for her and it crushed me a little bit.

  “The bad guy?” she asked softly.

  “The bad guy,” I repeated as a way of not saying too much.

  “Now?”

  “Soon,” I answered with a firm nod. “Real soon.”

  I felt it coming. Like watching a tidal wave roll in, creeping toward you so slowly that you wonder if it will ever make it there even though you know it will.

  Then she was shoving the thing in my direction and running off. I assumed to find Lake. Probably to take a moment to tell him how much she loved him and shit. But I knew she wouldn’t try to stand in the way or plead with him to stay.

  I swallowed down the lump in my throat. Hated that I did that to her but she would have found out soon enough. Truth was, I didn’t mean for it to go down this way. Maybe I hadn’t really thought it through.

  I thought I’d been trying to be funny but now I realized that I completely missed the mark on that one.

  A few hours later, Arnold was on the move and I was right there watching where he was headed.

  I didn’t call Iron right away, there was no need to make him aware if this guy was just running to the bank or some shit.

  He looked like he was driving in the direction of his office building. Same fuckin’ route he took every damn day. I let out a frustrated breath thinking that this guy’s only excitement was leaving something at work and having to go back and get it.

  “Fuck,” I said to an empty room.

  But then he didn’t stop where he should have.

  “Holy shit,” I breathed out as I leaned closer to my screen while my mind tried to anticipate where he was headed.

  I reached for my phone without another second of hesitation.

  Think I got something, I typed out blindly and then sent it to Iron.

  It wasn’t long before the sound of a herd of elephants rang out right beyond my room. Or, bikers. You know, same thing.

  They were coming in mob form and I’d been so caught up in trying to figure out where this guy was going that I didn’t even think to…

  I looked down at the sign Bridget had given me and a small smile tipped up the corners of my lips.

  “I’m naked in here, deal with it.” I called out the words that were written in front of me just before the door flew open.

  “Ah, fuck,” B-ry said.

  “I knew you had something weird,
” Bocca said and though I wasn’t looking at him, I had a good feeling that he was smirking.

  “Bocca likes to wear man-thongs,” Brand said like it wasn’t a big deal.

  And, well, I didn’t know that.

  Hmmm.

  Did everyone have something odd they liked or was it just us nerds?

  “Cami likes to paint my ass when I’m naked,” Brand added like he could somehow read my mind. “I kind of like it, too.”

  A smile lit up my face as I looked at my Prez. I hoped this wasn’t going to make him weird around me but… well…

  Fuck it.

  Sure there were things I knew about my brothers just from looking into them, but sometimes there were just things you couldn’t find by doing the kind of searches I did.

  “I like to be spanked,” Iron said making the whole room stop dead still. He had a look on his face that either said he couldn’t believe that he’d admitted that out loud or that he’d just come to the realization that he did actually enjoy it. “Whatcha got?”

  “He’s on the move,” I said moving my attention back to my screen. “I thought he was heading to work like he forgot something at the office. But then he just kept on going.”

  We all watched, waiting to see where he would end up.

  “You think this is it?” Iron asked over my shoulder.

  “He’s driving into a less populated area. Could be. Maybe it’s Keften’s new house.”

  “Knight, B-ry, Mouse, Bocca, Seven. Load up the SUVs,” Prez started barking out orders as he watched behind me, his eyes glued to the screen. “Brand, Lake. Round everyone up now. We roll out the moment we find where he stopped.”

  “No plan, Prez?” I asked.

  “Go in. Fuck shit up. Find Keften. Get out.” He paused for a beat. “Save the girls, but I pretty much think that goes unsaid.”

  I hopped up and pulled on my pants. Then tossed on a clean shirt and lastly shrugged on my cut. Making sure I was loaded and ready to go, I strapped myself down with three guns and two knives. I wasn’t going to fuck this up, for damn sure.

  “Where is that?” Iron asked when the car stopped moving for a good long minute.