by London Casey
The sheet around her body fell to the floor as she covered her mouth in shock, and she stood in just her panties. Her stomach ached suddenly and she ran to the bathroom. The image of Jonesy’s body jumping as she pleasured him mixed with the image of his dead body and she lost it. Ava threw up into the toilet and then forced herself to stand at the sink. She looked in the mirror and noticed Shay standing there.
“I feel like doing the same,” Shay said. “Just so you know.”
“I don’t understand,” Ava said. “Was it because of what happened to him? Or because of what he wanted me to do?”
“Doubt that,” Shay said. “It was Caius. Killing Jonesy was his goal. But doing it himself would have been easy. Typical. So he ordered Jonesy to come here and gave him a time limit to kill himself or else his family would be in danger.”
Ava touched her stomach. It growled with a sick anger. She slowly turned and reached back to keep her hands on the sink. “What kind of man does this?”
“A sick one,” Shay said. “I’ve been warning you, Ava. For good reason. You shouldn’t have stepped foot in this clubhouse. You shouldn’t have set your eyes on me. You’re life is in danger for just being here.”
“I don’t care about that,” Ava said.
And she really didn’t care. She didn’t want to picture what Shay’s brother would do to her if he got a hold of her, but she would let him if it meant that Shay would live.
“I spoke to Jonesy last night,” Shay said. “While you were sleeping. I should have seen something in him. Instead, he took the time to make sure I was okay when he should have been worried about having to kill himself.”
“Stop,” Ava said. She approached Shay with caution. She reached for his strong hands. “It’s okay, Shay. We’re still here together.”
Shay squeezed her hands. She saw a little side of vulnerability in Shay right now and she liked it. She felt helpless with the Caius situation, but she knew what she could do to ease his mind and make him feel good.
As Ava came forward, her eyes and focused on Shay’s neck, he reached up and held her face back. He stared into her eyes.
“Gaige called Chief Jerry to report Jonesy’s death,” Shay said. He took a deep breath. “But Chief had news for me. About Todd.”
Hearing his name almost made her run for the toilet again. “Oh.”
The warm feeling quickly left Ava’s body and was replaced with a cold chill. She was scared to hear what he had to say.
“Todd is dead, Ava.”
The words were a mix of a shock, anger, and regret. Her mind flashed images of when they first met and how he had swept her off her feet. And then she replayed all the times he sexually abused her, and what his plan had been all along.
“Dead?” Ava whispered.
“Yeah, love. Dead.”
“How?”
“There was an accident,” Shay said. “Police report read that he lost control of his car and went over an embankment. Drug and alcohol tests weren’t properly reported and everything was swept under the rug.”
“He was killed then,” Ava said. “I mean, murdered. I know it. It had to be the people he was dealing with… or maybe my father did it. Stein did it, Shay. To protect me. To help me. Because he loved me. “
“Ava,” Shay said with a growl. “You don’t know that. Look at the truth you have…”
Hearing him speak her name made her knees weak. She closed her mouth and swallowed hard. She then asked in a whisper, “What do you believe?”
“Look at me,” Shay said. “He’s gone. He can’t find you. He can’t hurt you. That part of your life you have to let go. If your father did it, then Stein is a good man in my book. But what’s done is done. Death is final, Ava. You have to realize that right now. I’m so sorry, Ava, for what’s happened to you and what’s going…”
The door to Shay’s room exploded open. The guys that piled in were a mix of Back Down Devil and Lost Men. Ava jumped behind Shay. Her fear was instant.
“She was never Stein’s old lady!” Trev’s voice boomed. “She fucking lied to us.”
“Stop for a minute,” Miller ordered. “Goddamnit, Trev. Show some respect.”
“Shay, help me,” Ava begged.
Shay turned and put his arms out.
“Move,” Trev warned. “I’ll fucking kill you. You assholes protected her.”
“We didn’t know,” Shay said. “And it doesn’t matter. You want to fuck Stein’s daughter? After all he did…”
“All he did?” Trev yelled. “What about what I did?”
Shay stepped forward and Trev punched Shay in the face.
Ava let out a scream. She jumped back into the bathroom and thought about closing the door and locking it. She needed to protect herself.
But everything was moving too fast.
Miller came forward and grabbed Trev by his leather. He threw him back. Miller reached down and grabbed Shay by his shirt and pulled at him.
“I’m sorry, Shay,” Miller whispered. “But if he wants you. He gets you.”
Ava watched Miller’s fist come down and connect with Shay’s face. Ava screamed and Miller looked right at her. There were no words to say. He was the President. Shay had lied. This seemed to be how they handed out punishments.
“What about Ava?” Trev asked.
“You are still in my clubhouse,” Miller said. “You still listen to my fucking commands.”
“Fair enough,” Trev said. Some of the Lost Men started to grumble in disagreement. “Let us take what we came with and leave. You have this all worked out. Right, Miller?”
The Lost Men all started to cheer.
“Calm down,” Gaige said. “We’re not celebrating a fucking thing. Get Shay up and deliver him as requested.”
“Deliver?” Ava asked. “What are you doing?”
Miller looked at her again. “What needs to be done.”
As fast as the room had filled was as fast as it emptied out. Gaige and Miller grabbed Shay and put him back on his feet. As they walked him from the room, Shay looked at Blaine. Ava heard him say something, but wasn’t sure what it was.
Blaine and Nate hung back until all the Lost Men were cleared out. Trev looked right at Ava’s mostly naked body and shook his head.
“You’ll pay!” he called out.
“My father was protecting me!” Ava screamed back.
Trev reached for his gun, but Nate threw him from the room before he could do anything.
Blaine was the last to leave, looking back at Ava. He shut the door and Ava was alone in the bathroom. She looked to the toilet and fell to her knees, wishing she could throw up again. When she tried, it only came out as screams that ended in cries.
What is happening? Where is Shay? What are they going to do to him? What are they going to do to her?
The thoughts raced through her mind.
Ava forced herself to stand up. She splashed cold water on her face and then left the bathroom. There had to be something she could do. There had to be a plan. Her eyes went to the door. If there was a way to escape, she could go find Chief Jerry. He could help her.
While Ava got dressed, she tried to think of a way to get out of the clubhouse without being seen. There weren’t many windows where she was, obviously done on purpose to protect the members of the club. Her only option was to go through the clubhouse. But that was a suicide mission.
Unless I run. Or find a weapon first.
Or both.
Ava opened Shay’s door and looked around the hall. It was empty, quiet. It was perfect. She crept from the room until she saw a door. Gently, Ava touched the doorknob and turned.
It was locked.
Shit.
Ava kept walking. She came to the end of the hall and peeked out. There was noise, the normal rumbling of voices, bottles clanking, laughing, the pop of the cue ball smashing into a ball on the pool table. Everything was business as usual.
But Ava still had no idea where Shay was.
Tak
ing a big risk, Ava hurried across the opening and put her back to the wall at the next hallway. She shuffled down and turned to face another door.
“Come on,” she whispered. “Please…”
She touched the doorknob and turned. This one was unlocked. She smiled, her heart pounding in her chest. There was a chance she wouldn’t find anything in the room, but she knew that these guys didn’t just carry one gun or knife on them. They had to have extra protection in their rooms.
Ava pushed on the door and gritted her teeth. The last thing she needed was to open the door and wake someone or find someone waiting for her. If she made even the slightest noise…
A hand touched Ava’s shoulder. Before she could scream, a hand slid across her mouth. She tried to gasp but there was no air. She sucked in a breath through her nose and started to gag at the smell of the hand.
“Sweetie, it’s just me.” It was Blaine’s voice. “Don’t panic, okay? Don’t scream. I’m taking you. For your own safety.”
Ava tried to twist. She threw a foot back which did nothing. As she squirmed, she heard Blaine grunt. He side stepped and pressed Ava against the wall. Ava continued to move, trying to get away.
“Sweetie, I’m going to be honest,” Blaine whispered. “I like a good fight. And your little ass is so fucking tight…”
Ava squirmed again and she felt Blaine’s erection. Long and thick, pressing like a steel pole against her back.
“I’m not trying to hurt you,” Blaine said. “But I’ll fucking stand right here and let you squirm until I come. Won’t bother me at all.”
Ava stopped moving. She nodded.
Slowly, Blaine took his hand away from her mouth. He turned her around. She looked at him. He was so scary looking, but he was also sexy, in his own way.
“Where’s Shay?” Ava asked. “I have to help him.”
“No, sweetie,” Blaine said. “Shay’s gone. Okay? Now, I need you to come with me. I can explain more. But I need to keep you away from the Lost Men. You can trust me.”
Ava knew she had no choice. Blaine put a hand inside of his leather cut and gripped the handle of his gun. It was a silent threat. When Ava looked into his eyes again, he motioned with his head to start walking.
“Sweetie, what I’m going to do for you is nothing compared to what the Lost Men want to do… got that?”
Ava nodded and walked.
She missed Shay and she fucking hated Back Down Devil for doing this.
twenty-four.
Shay never feared the dark in his life. Even when he was a kid. It was Caius who was afraid of the dark. Shay used to keep a flashlight under his pillow so Caius would feel safe in their bedroom. But right now, Shay was tied to a chair in a dark room. Gaige and Nate had done the wonderful honors of bringing Shay to the building where Kaity had fought and was then cut by Caius.
Shay suppressed all his emotions. This was about survival. This was about finally getting the opportunity to face his brother. The rest of the bullshit with Back Down Devil, the Lost Men, and even Ava would be handled when the time came.
A light turned on, followed by another, another, and another. They made loud noises as they turned on. The building was empty and Shay sat right in the middle of the fight circle.
Two men stepped from the shadows. They wore full suits and ties. With wide shoulders and thick necks, they were definitely part of Caius’s security team. Their life wasn’t much different than Shay’s except the fact that Shay got to look like an outlaw and act like one. Plus, a motorcycle was much cooler than some tinted window piece of shit car.
“Hey, fuckers,” Shay instigated.
The man on the left nodded. Then the man on the right punched Shay in the face. Shay rocked to the left, but didn’t fall from the chair. His jaw ached and a ringing sound buzzed in his ear for a few seconds.
He shook his head and groaned. “Fuck. That felt good. Where’s Caius? He got what he wanted.”
“We’re securing the perimeter,” the man on the left said. “Making sure your friends don’t come back.”
“Did you see them? They had my hands tied and fucking threw me into the building, literally. They’re not coming back for me.”
“How sad,” the man on the left said.
Shay looked at him. “You know, did anyone ever tell you that you look like a giant cock wearing sunglasses?”
The man smiled. “My associate is going to loosen things up while we wait for Caius.”
Shay turned his head and saw the man sliding a set of brass knuckles over his fingers.
“Come the fuck on… what do you want?”
The man on the left bent down. “He likes blood. Lots of it.”
The man on the right punched Shay again. The metal crushed against his face. This time he and the chair went down and his head smacked the concrete floor. The entire room started to spin. The man kicked the chair so Shay was on his back.
“Time to match it up,” he said as he bent down.
Another hard swing hit the left side of Shay’s face. Shay’s head snapped to the right. He felt a pop in his neck and he started to throw up.
“Aw,” the man said. “Look at him. He’s fucking puking.”
“Get him back up. We can’t kill him.”
Shay closed his eyes and felt himself being lifted. Once he was back in his original sitting position, he opened his eyes. The room stopped spinning, but the pain got worse.
“Are we done?” Shay asked.
“Not quite,” the man on the left said. “Now it’s my turn.” He reached into his suit and pulled out a pair of cutters. “I’m going to send your club a little joke. Wouldn’t it be great for them to receive two of your fingers? Just like your friend.”
Shay looked at the man and spit a glob of puke and blood. It hit the guys jacket and shirt. He turned the cutters point down and stabbed them into Shay’s left forearm.
Shay let out a harrowing scream.
“That’s enough!” a voice boomed.
Silence filled the room except for Shay’s heavy breathing. He wasn’t going to pass out. Not like this. Not tied to a chair. If this was the end of his life, he would accept it and take it all in. He wouldn’t close his eyes and succumb to it.
A set of footsteps echoed and Shay watched his brother come into view.
Caius.
Still a few inches shorter than Shay, skinnier, his face long and slim. He had a devilish grin on his face and his eyes were tiny dots of pure evil.
“You hurt my brother,” Caius said. “I said to keep him still. Loosen him up.”
“We did sir,” the man on the left said. “He threw up. Then he spit on me.”
“So you stabbed him?”
“I was going to cut off two fingers,” the man said. “For fun.”
“For fun,” Caius said. He looked at Shay. “See the help I have?”
“I see,” Shay said. “Pussies who fight a guy when he is tied up. Punch him with brass knuckles on. Stab him. Yeah, that’s the kind of help you would have. The kind that does all the dirty work because you’re not man enough to do it yourself.”
Caius’s lip curled. He charged at Shay and wrapped his hand around the cutters buried in Shay’s arm.
“Weak?” Caius asked. “You think I’m weak? Look what I’ve done.”
Caius pulled the cutters from Shay’s arm. The pain surged again and blood seeped from the open wound. Shay gritted his teeth and hissed, refusing to show any pain in front of his brother. That would please Caius too much.
Shay kept his eyes open wide and stared at his brother.
Caius lifted the cutters and rubbed his thumb along the blades. He collected the blood on his thumb and then licked it. He smacked his lips together.
“My blood, your blood,” Caius said. “Our blood, Shay. We’re brothers. Until death.”
“Fuck you,” Shay said. “Look at you. Look at this game you’re playing. You’re weak. You should be the one fighting me.”
Caius pulled a gu
n from his jacket and looked at it. He nodded. “Maybe you’re right. I just needed to secure the area, that’s all. I didn’t tell these guys to do what they did. They just… respect me that much.”
“That’s right, sir,” the man on the left said.
Caius pointed the gun at Shay. Shay braced himself to be killed.
One shot rang out and the head of the man on the left damn near exploded. Then he pointed the gun at the man on the right and one more shot did the same.
Both men dropped and Caius tucked the gun away.
“There,” Caius said. “My apologies for what they did to you.”
Shay looked to his left and right. He’d seen hundreds of bodies in his life, but this started to bother him. His brother was a fucking sick man.
“Why?” Shay asked. “What is all this? You just decide to blow up my car? Start a war?”
Caius nodded. “It wasn’t that. I just wanted you to die, Shay. I wanted you to suffer. Seeing the control that fucking club has over you pissed me off. You’re not meant for that life. You’re not meant for any life. When the bomb exploded, and you weren’t in there, I saw the way it affected your club. And the more I researched… the more I talked to Strokner… the more I realized how powerful you really are, Shay. I mean, Strokner’s lips flap more than a fucking hooker’s do. Come on, you guys trust that man? He damn near led me to everything. To the land with the bodies. To the fights. Everything.”
Shay swallowed hard.
Fucking Strokner…
He hated that pompous businessman asshole. And the only reason he had been involved in the club was because his daughter had been shot and killed at a fight.
“Wasn’t my decision to get in bed with Strokner,” Shay said.
“So your club has weaknesses.”
“Everyone does.”
“Not me,” Caius said. “I just proved that to you. Those men were good to me. But it was time for them to die. I made that decision.”
“That’s right… I forgot Caius was short for God.”
Caius laughed. He touched Shay’s face. “Oh, my brother. Look at you. You need a shower. A suit. A purpose. I’m sorry this has to be like this. But I’m going to take over your town. It’s perfect for what I want and need.”
