Rose (Road Kill MC #3)

by Marata Eros

  I hang my head. Nothing's simple anymore. “It's hard for me too, Daddy. Drake is taking Charlie.”

  When his eyes meet mine, tears stand in his. Mine drip down my face. “Oh, Rose.” Dad pulls me into his arms. “I'm sorry about what Mom said. She just reacted without thinking. We'll work through this.”

  As long as Drake has my boy, we won't work through anything.

  *

  Noose

  Wring and Lariat say nothing, cupping their chins like mirror images of each other.

  “Marriage? Jee-sus—Noose? Are ya crazy?” Snare pounds his fist on the table.

  I keep staring at my calloused hands.

  Yup, certifiable.

  “One week, pal—one week. That's how long you've known Rose.” His scar ripples as he pulls an exasperated face.

  I shrug. “I know. Don't you think I know how crazy I am?”

  “When you decide something, you do go hard,” Wring comments dryly.

  Trainer keeps his mouth shut, as do the rest of the men gathered for church.

  Vince taps his fingers on the table. “Okay. Diablo's been put on notice that he's fucking with someone's property, and now you're talking about marrying this girl? Pfft.” His casual grunt echoes in the silent room.

  “I can't be without her.”

  “Fucking move her in. Make her permanent tail!” Snare gripes, folding his arms. “What? Did she cut off your nuts?”

  Feels like it. “Already asked her.”

  Lariat leans forward. “Well? Suspense is driving me insane. Tell us.”

  “She said okay.”

  Snare slaps the table. “Okay then.” He gives a mock-wipe of his brow. “Why'd we need a meeting for Noose to tell us he's got permanent snatch moving in?”

  I swing my face in Snare's direction. “Rose is not snatch.”

  His eyebrow rises, tweaking the scar, but he says nothing.

  My eyes run over the brothers. “I want Diablo out of the picture.”

  “Like sanctioned?” Wring asks in his steady way.

  “Yeah.”

  “Just off the motherfucker?” Snare asks. “Oh, that's not gonna be obvious. No. Uh-uh.” He shakes his head then narrows his eyes at me.

  “I can't let him have the kid. It hurts Rose.” And it's fucking unjust as hell.

  “So you need us to devise a score to settle.” Prez cuts to the chase.

  I nod.

  Lariat whistles through his teeth. “You do him with rope, and every swinging dick in blue from here to bum-fucked Egypt will know it's you.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Can you stand if someone else does him, Noose?” Wring asks quietly.

  He gets me. I hate to delegate, but getting him dead is more important than my vengeance, no matter how sweet. “I can stand it.”

  Prez strikes the gavel. “Done.” His penetrating gaze holds mine. “When do you want to move on this?”

  “Saturday.”

  It's a date.

  *

  Rose

  I take one step in front of the other.

  Noose returned me to my parentsʼ, safe and sound. Charlie and I spent a few more precious days alone, pretending that Drake hadn't stolen him from me.

  Now it's time to say goodbye.

  Noose is coming over later tonight, by my request. I can't have him here when Drake comes.

  He might kill him.

  I stand behind Charlie, palms pressed flat against his chest as Drake pulls up in a car I've never seen. It's some souped-up vintage thing with a loud engine. Figures.

  He hops out, a spring in his step, and saunters up the driveway. The day is bright, conjuring a false sense of well-being and beauty that doesn't agree with the evil that walks toward me.

  “Hello, Rose.”

  I don't say anything back.

  He sinks to his haunches, leather creaking with the movement. “Hi little guy.”

  Charlie crosses his arms. “It's Sir Charles.”

  “What the fuck is that?” Drake looks at me.

  “That's a bad word,” Charlie announces immediately.

  “Yup!” Drake says, jumping to a standing position. He doesn't have Noose's size, but he's a lot bigger than I am.

  My palms dampen against Charlie's shirt. My body remembers everything.

  Drake enjoys looming over me. He can loom all he wants. My focus is on Charlie. I figure he won't molest me right here in the driveway in front of the neighbors and his “property.”

  I suck back my emotions, wanting Noose's solid presence so badly, I can barely breathe.

  I try not to panic. Supposedly, the prospect guy is still watching me.

  “You know, Rose?” Drake begins in a speculative drawl.

  I give him no expression as my reply.

  “You're welcome to tag along. See all the great things we've got planned for Charlie.”

  “Really?” Charlie jumps up and down excitedly. “Wanna come, Aunt Rose?”

  No. Yes. What is Drake up to? Again, I don't think he'll do anything. He's already beaten me. Taking Charlie was the last thing.

  Charlie grabs my hand, pleading, “Please, Aunt Rose.” His dark-brown eyes gaze up at me. The breeze lifts his nearly platinum hair.

  He'd believed my explanation of Drake: that he was a friend of Anna's.

  This deception is the most terrible thing I've ever done.

  “Okay,” I agree, breathing through my fear of being so close to Drake.

  “Follow me,” Drake says with a wink.

  I do, my heart sinking. Supervising Charlie, making sure he's okay, is the right thing.

  But it feels wrong.

  Noose would be so angry if he knew.

  I turn off my cell.

  *

  Noose

  “What the fuck!?” I bellow into the phone, and the plastic frame creaks under my grip.

  I hear a clatter on the other end of the line.

  Trainer picks it up. “You just made me deaf.”

  “Ask me if I care,” I seethe between my teeth.

  Silence.

  “Tell me again in actual motherfucking words what the fuck is going on. Diablo came to get the kid; I got that. Then—what—Rose just trots after him? No.”

  Wring silently watches our interchange, along with the rest of Road Kill. We're armed to the gills. Every weapon anyone has proficiency with comes with us.

  I'm hoping like hell I can go in there and legitimately do Diablo. He's fucked with my property. Whether Rose knows I'm here to stay is not up for debate. I am. Period.

  Waste him, and the threat stops. But the kill has to be legit, or Chaos and Road Kill go to war. Over one woman. Having bad blood isn't enough of a reason. But females will make men war. Haven't they always?

  But now Rose has gone into the fucking nest of Chaos snakes.

  Why?

  Why would Rose go with Diablo, a murderer and rapist, and put herself in harm's way?

  The only fucking thing that makes sense is Diablo forced her.

  “I don't know, Noose,” Trainer says, trying to keep calm. To keep me calm.

  Forget that.

  “She just walked after him.”

  “Got two citizens there, Noose. Does that change things?” Vince's eyes are hard but tired. Tired of war. Just tired.

  I set my teeth. “Nope.”

  “Good,” Wring says. “But know this—they've already hurt her once, and now the kid's there, plus your old lady. Whether she knows she's property or not, you've claimed her. Chaos is fucking aware. This is a direct challenge.”

  Murmurs of agreement zing around the parking lot.

  “We get Rose out of there—safe.” My eyes meet each of theirs. “Then we finish what Diablo started.”

  Our intel is fresh. Different location but just as remote.

  I'm getting Rose and Charlie back. The rope in my pocket has the devil's name on it.

  13

  Rose

  We must have driven just about t
he same distance as that fateful day that Noose and I went to the cabin and… better not to think about that. It'll just make me ache worse for him.

  Drake parks, and the roar of the engine abruptly cuts off. I jerk the handle and swing the heavy door wide.

  Charlie scoots out behind me, screaming an excited, “Yay!”

  A huge play yard, newly erected, stands at the knoll of a gently sloping hill. Trees scatter the rich scent of pine, their branches hanging like green arms encircling the large wooden jungle gym.

  “Nice,” I whisper. I could never provide something like that for Charlie.

  I survey the area. A huge log home, flanked by more copses of trees, looks like a large whiskey colored jewel of intersecting logs. Woodland shrubs anchor the foundation along the entire perimeter. A wide inviting porch is dotted with Adirondack chairs along the length.

  Hope flares. Maybe Charlie will be okay.

  I glance at Drake.

  He's been watching me take it all in. “Let's go inside. Someone to see you in there.”

  Drake takes my elbow.

  I yank it out of his grasp. “Don't touch me,” I hiss.

  He just smiles, walking as though I'll follow him.

  What choice do I have? Charlie is blissfully playing on the swings, slide, and other brightly colored handholds on the little mountain climbing apparatus.

  With a sigh, I trudge after Drake, climbing the broad, split log steps in the center of the porch.

  He moves to the huge entrance door, assembled with hand-forged hammered copper fasteners. Drake depresses the thumb latch and pushes the door wide.

  His body blocks whatever's inside. Whoever.

  I walk in behind him, and he moves around my body to close the door behind me.

  Charlie's delighted screams permeate the inside of the house as he plays with the abandon only kids have.

  But I'm frozen in place. Like ice. Like death. I can't breathe. Move.

  Ned, my boss from work, is seated in a huge log chair like a throne, his light-blond hair a halo around his head. A gun is pointed nice and steady at my chest. “Hello, Rose.”

  *

  Air roars into my lungs, and saliva dries in my mouth as I choke on my spit. “What?” I whirl, facing Drake. He spreads his hands out at his side.

  I turn back to Ned, feeling light-headed. I've had protein. My sugars are great—I made sure of it. That's not the issue. I'm scared out of my mind. “Why are you here, Ned?”

  I can't wrap my head around why he would be in this place, holding a gun on me.

  “You won't be missed, Rose. Now that you're involved with Noose from Road Kill.” He shrugs.

  My heart pounds, my mind circling a terrible epiphany. Deep down, I understand that when I have answers, I'll also have death.

  Keep him talking, Rose. My fear lodges in my throat, and I push my words through it. “What does my boyfriend or whatever this is”—my eyes flick to the dark barrel of metal pointed at me—“have to do with anything?”

  Drake walks casually toward where Ned sits.

  He turns, placing a familiar hand on the ornately carved pine back of the chair Ned sits on. Ned lowers his hand, resting the butt of the pistol on his knee.

  I lick my lips and jump as a squeal of happiness pierces the air. Ned stares indulgently at the window for a second, then his eyes move back to me.

  Cold. Hard.

  This can't be because I've rejected him? A married guy, my boss?

  “Charlie is mine.” His voice is flat.

  I fall to my knees, hand to my heart. Lights dance across my vision like lost fireflies. “No.”

  “Yes, Rose. Drake messed it up, killed the tramp by accident.”

  That flat pisses me off. “Anna was no tramp.”

  He shakes his head. “Not at first. But when promised enough, she became one. She was my little sex slave. Willing. Anything to get away from Drake. Of course”—Ned shrugs—“Drake didn't know about our dalliance. Believed Charlie was his.”

  “Did you ever wonder why I'd beat Anna to death?” Drake asks me.

  I'd spent hours wondering why that son of a bitch had beaten the mother of his child.

  I distance myself from fear, self-loathing, and the slew of other emotions that bombard me. “Why?”

  “Ned came to me. Told me he had a little problem I'd love to solve.”

  Ned smiles, tilting his gun in an aw shucks gesture.

  My breath scalds me as I force it in and out of my lungs, my heart beating like a wild beast banging its way out of my ribs.

  “You—what? Promised Anna a way out from the MC, from Chaos and Drake? Then when things got complicated, you had Drake kill her?” I yell, standing.

  “It's simpler than that, Rose. I simply came to Drake and showed him proof of the child's DNA. Told him she'd begged me to bang her. Wanted to fuck another man. And that kid wasn't his—he was mine. Nature took its course from there.”

  Blackness eats at the edges of my vision as I stare at Drake. “And you didn't find out what anything was? You just—killed her?” I choke, tears coming out of my eyes so fast they blind me.

  “Nobody wants a bitch that fucks around on them.” Drake shrugs. “It was slower than I thought it'd be. Killing Anna. She fought back.” He adjusts his dick as I sob. “It was fun.” Drake's eyes glitter at me.

  “What do you want with Charlie? You're married. You—” I can't finish because I'm blubbering.

  “Not married. Never been married. Will never be married. It's a front.”

  I see Charlie in his smile and the light color of his hair, and I still want Ned dead so badly my teeth ache with it. “Why Anna?”

  “I'm the flesh mover, Rose.”

  He stands, terribly tall from my vantage point. Like a king on a dais.

  I retreat a step. “Flesh mover?” My voice is hollow, my hands like chilled ice.

  “We sell women, you naive cunt.” Ned flashes a smile like a mouth full of shark's teeth.

  I don't realize I've backed up until my butt hits the door handle and a yip escapes me.

  “I try everyone. Anna didn't want me to taste her. But I convinced her that if she kept fucking me, I'd get her away from Drake.” He smooths down his tie—a tie I've seen at the bank a hundred times. “And I'm a man of my word.”

  He steps closer, and I flatten myself against the door.

  “Having Drake kill Anna is not getting her away.”

  He tilts his head, seeming to consider my statement. “It is, of a sort.” Ned steps nearer, the gun loose at his side.

  I study his expression. He'll use it.

  “So the current dilemma is you work at the bank where I launder money. Chaos Riders don't want to lose my unique skillset with money and moving flesh. Road Kill is not aware I'm working both sides of the coin. But you—you're tied too closely to a murder. You have my blood under your roof.”

  “Anna's blood,” I whisper.

  The barrel swings around, and I whimper, turning my head away.

  “Whatever.” His eyes find mine. “But in the spirit of fairness, I think we can keep you alive. First, Drake gets you as a consolation prize. Anna's gone, and he likes the idea of fucking you. When he grows tired, we'll sell you to a country where you can be lost. You're no virgin.”

  His eyebrows rise as though it's a question, and I look away.

  He laughs, a loud braying sound that echoes in the confines of the all-wood house. Ned goes on. “If you don't cooperate with Drake's wishes—”

  Drake grunts while my eyes are shut

  “—he'll kill you too. After he's had his fill, of course.”

  I open my eyes, murdering him with my gaze.

  He doesn't flinch, as though he expects nothing less. “I know what you'd like to do to me, Rose. It's been fun working with you. Now it's time for you to submit. So you can live.”

  “What about Charlie?”

  Ned chuckles. “Look around, stupid girl. This is what Charlie has.” He does a s
low spin, enjoying showing off his opulent surroundings.

  “Is this from all the women you sold?” My voice takes chunks out of his self-love.

  He nods, unfazed. “And other endeavors.” Ned seems to suddenly become bored with my presence. Maybe he knows I'm stalling. His gaze shifts to Drake. “Take Rose downstairs. Entertain her.”

  Ned’s eyes glow like a demon’s as Drake takes my arm.

  Silent tears course down my face. I won't see Charlie. I'll never see Noose.

  Life becomes so transparent in that moment. Every decision so easy. Of course I would have been with Noose.

  But now I'll never know.

  14

  Noose

  I finger my rope like a talisman.

  That's just how tied I feel to my weapon. No pun intended.

  We move through the woods, leaving the potential for buffoonery to some of the brothers who like to ride in like the cavalry. They can step into the caboose of the train that we three will ride.

  The stealth is me, Wring, and Lariat. Snare's a good brother, but he’s too noisy for my plan.

  I don't wear my cut, boots, or anything bulky. Clothes tight to the body can't be pulled or used in close quarters. I might have to use my fists.

  I know I'll use my rope.

  The three of us go in—against an unknown number. Sounds like the sandbox to me.

  Wring drills me with his eyes. Lariat’s on point. He nods.

  Ready.

  We move forward like a well-oiled machine.

  A shrill scream reaches my ears. My heart stops. Young, pre-pubescent. No fear—playing. The tension in my shoulders relents.

  Wring rolls his eyes, making the hand signal for forward.

  I tap my chest. He waits.

  My eyes move through the dense tree cover and spot Charlie immediately. A wave of relief rolls through me.

  I spot two guards flanking a kickass log house. Charlie seems safe.

  Lariat and I exchange a glance, and he indicates he'll stay here, keeping Charlie in sight.

  I nod.

  Wring and I use the trees like a corridor to the log house.

  The guards never see us coming.

  Just how we like it.

  *