by Sierra Rose
"I hate seeing people broken up and lost. I spent every day of my life watching it on my father's face." I got out of the truck and walked up as the sound of motorcycles approached.
"How is your old man? Seen him since Blade fucked him up this last time?" Dane slid his hands into his pockets and turned as the Stone Wolves approached.
"No, and I don't care to. He knows that he's nothing to me." I ran my fingers over my short hair and stretched, lifting my hands to the sky. "I heard he lost his job, thanks to his drinking. Some part of me wants to go over there and make sure he's alright, you know? I just can't, though. I can't get involved with him and his shit. It's toxic."
"No. I get it. I think it's smart of you to steer clear of him. He's only going to show you hate and disdain anyway. Let him get another punching bag." Dane pursed his lips as my MC stopped all around the truck and turned off their bikes.
Knife, our MC president moved up to the door first, his broad shoulders taking up every bit of the frame.
Johnny answered the door in nothing but a pair of boxers. The dark circles under his eyes were only outdone by the puffy redness around them.
"Hey." He opened the door and moved back. "Come on in."
"Naw. You come out here. There are too many of us." Knife moved back and walked around to stand on the small wooden porch he'd helped the sorrowful man build a few years back. "We're about to head out to the woods to look for evidence. Anything we should know before we do?"
He ran his hand over his balding head and turned to look at all of us. He shook his head no as tears filled his eyes. "Just thank you. No one else is willing to help. Just thank you."
I pressed my teeth into my lip and moved up to stand beside Animal, whispering, "These woods the ones on his back forty?"
"Yeah. They bodies were found there, but the cops didn't do much else. I think we all know who did this shit. Knife just wants to gather the information needed to give the DEA another round of ammo against the Black Hearts." He rolled his shoulders. "Half the fun is going to be finding Rafael and his bastards to bring them in. They haven't been back to the house, have they?"
"No. You and I searched the other day, and Dane and I were there today. No sign of them." I pressed my hands to my hips and took a deep breath. "They’re around here somewhere though. Like fucking ghosts in the night."
"I like spooky stories. This should be fun."
"Sick bastard." I patted him on the bike and headed for Dane's truck to grab my jacket. We were going on foot so as not to miss anything. I wish I could have pushed the worry over Lena's text from my mind, but I couldn't. I checked my phone one more time before throwing it in the bed of the truck. I needed to focus completely on the task at hand. Lena was okay. She had to be. Surely fate wouldn't chuck anymore shit may way for a while. It had to be someone else's turn.
Yeah. Johnny Pike's.
Chapter 7
Selene
"Wake up, butterfly." A sharp slap to my face brought me from my dizziness.
"What? Where am I?" I glanced around and tugged against the binding on my wrists. My vision cleared enough to see the four men in front of me.
My father was closest, his face filled with disgust, as if I was the last person on the earth he wanted to see. "Wake up. Time to talk."
I blinked a few times and jerked back, trying hard not to let the scream that was lodged deep inside rip from my chest. There was no way I was letting him or any of the assholes with him know just how beyond frightened I was.
Dante stood off to my left, his thick arms over his chest as he reclined against the wall. He watched me with calm resolve, which was almost comforting. If he wasn't nervous about my father offing me, then there was a good chance that I would make it out alive. At least today.
"I have nothing to say to you. Murderer." I spat at him and jerked forward again as anger overtook the fear and sense of self-preservation.
"She thinks this is an insult? Women. Fucking stupid women. Good for one thing." He moved back and pressed his hands to his hips. "You look just like your mother. No wonder every man in this town has been watching you. Unlike her though, you're a nothing but a needy whore. She'd be ashamed of you if she were still here."
"Rafael." Elec stepped up. "We don't have much time. Say what you came to say and let's go. This isn't the time for all of this."
"Then when is?" He snapped around and Elec backed away, my cousin still very much aware of the wildly manic temperament my father always put on display.
"I don't know. But it's not now." He lifted his hands in the air and glanced over toward Dante. "Is it?"
"No. It's not. Hurry up and let’s get the fuck out of here, unless you want to take her with us." Dante rolled his shoulders and moved from the wall. "I think we should."
"Fuck you." I pulled again, not caring just how badly the ropes tore into my wrists. I had to get free. I wasn't going to take any chances if I could help it. Maybe Elec would step up and save the day again, somehow. Maybe Dante would. Something told me that he would choose me over my father if he had a guarantee I would be his.
It would never happen, but I wasn't beyond lying to save my own ass.
My father turned back to me and smirked. "We're coming back for our town soon, Lena, and while we're away, you're going to make sure your friend and his cop buddy stay the fuck away from the house. Move back into it and lock it down."
"No. I'm not staying there. Every bad--"
He slapped me so hard I tasted blood.
"Don't tell me what you're doing or what you're not doing." The monster got in my face; the man I'd called father nowhere to be found. "You will move into the house. If you don't, I'll start killing off people left and right. Dare me to. Dare me to unravel the scope of my wrath."
"We’re going to get you, and when we do... it will be my gun pressed to your head. I'll be the last thing you see before you die, you sick moth-"
He hit me again and Dante moved up beside us. "Enough! Shit."
"Fuck you, too." I spat at him as my head lolled forward. I needed to shut up, and I was soon going to when consciousness failed me, but I wasn't listening to his directives. My being in the house made a statement I wasn't going to make. I wasn’t a Black Heart anymore. Hell, if I were being honest with myself, I never was.
"She'll move in, but the boy will want to stay with her. There's no way around that." Elec walked up on the other side of me.
I'd yet to see who was standing quietly in the back, but if I had to guess, it was Mateo. The cowardly bastard wasn't going to do or say anything that might cause attention to rest on him. He was stupid, but he was also smart, and at the moment, I hated him for it. I couldn't stop blabbering things that could only result in my taking another hit to the face.
"Then we kill him first." My father moved back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Dante. You do it."
"With pleasure." He cracked his knuckles as I came up to my feet, the chair pulling me back, but I fought against it.
"No! Don't you touch him! None of you. He's my best friend. We went over the line, but I'll pull back. I'll live in the goddamn house. Don't you dare touch him, or all bets are off. I'll find every drop of evidence against you and bring every last person in this town with pitchforks to light your ass up. I'm your daughter, and you live inside of me. So just remember, I can become a monster too." I clenched my jaw and shook as rage raced through my veins.
"There she is. Threaten her toys, and she'll come out of her cage, ready to eat you alive." He pushed at the top of my head, forcing me back to my seated position. I hit hard, the impact jolting me violently. "She's always been a little greedy and overly sensitive."
"Let's go. She's going to watch over the house. We're out of here." Elec walked to the door and paused as no one followed him. "What? What are we waiting for?"
"I hate this building." Rafael looked around. "Did you know that DEA bastard was here the whole time?" He turned and pinned me with a hard stare. “You did... didn't you?
You were wearing a wire that night, my little mouse."
"Rafael." Dante moved up, but my father pulled out his gun almost faster than my eyes could keep up.
"Don't. You back the fuck up and grovel when I tell you to. You don't have equal footing with me. None of you bastards do." He glanced around and growled.
"I did what I had to do. You killed my fucking mother! I should have slipped into your room and stabbed you a thousand times, but I didn't." I screamed at him as he charged me, hitting me hard and knocking me backward.
I screamed at the pain of the chair breaking beneath me, but it was exactly as I'd hoped. He wouldn't withstand my banter too long before he shot me or attacked. I could take a proper beating and still walk away, but I knew my dad. He wasn't going to make it easy for me. There would be no untying me and walking out.
I needed my hands free, and breaking the chair was the only way to do that.
"You bitch! I don't even know you anymore. Don't call me father. I'll find a new family." He wrapped his fingers around my throat and squeezed tightly. "I'll be back for you... if you make it outta here today."
"Let's go." Elec glanced at me, and as I caught his eye, I could see the truth. He was on my side, but completely stuck. I was the only one tangled up in ropes, but not the only one truly bound.
"Dante. Outside, motherfucker." Rafael released me, popped my cheek a few times and got up. "Don't let me down. I'm not playing any more games with you. You let your grandma die the other day. The boy's up next."
Tears burned my eyes and I closed them, letting my head rest against the broken chair and the dirty floor. I hear the door shut, but not before my father spoke to the last guy in the room.
"Torch up. Any daughter of mine should be able to get free. Let's see just how much of a Delgado she is."
My head jerked up as my eyes moved back. Mateo stood a few feet from me with a gasoline can. He wouldn't look at me as he splashed the pungent liquid all around me.
"What? No! Mateo, what the fuck are you doing?" I pulled at my bindings, unable to get free just yet. Rolling onto my side, I screamed at him again. "Don't do this. What have I done to you? We grew up together, played together, snuck out of the house and caused havoc together. Don't!"
"I'm sorry, Sel." He gave me a sad smile and continued splashing the place.
I screamed as loud as I could, over and over, hoping that Elec or Dante would come back in, but the door remained closed. The smell of the gasoline caused my stomach to revolt. I was going to lose the fantastic breakfast that Lucky made me that morning.
"At least untie my goddamn hands. You can't leave me tied up. I thought you guys wanted my help. I thought..." I choked on the smell and turned, barely making it in time as I threw up. The chair rolled with me and smacked into the back of my head, hard enough to stun me.
The door opened and Mateo paused for a minute, struck a match and dropped it. The whole room lit up as a frantic feeling consumed me.
"No! No! Please!" I rolled back and forth, not concerned about anything but getting up. I didn't know if I had gasoline on me, but I tucked my legs up to my chest and moved back as best I could. My hands wouldn't budge, and the building around me was quickly in flames from floor to ceiling.
I started to hyperventilate as I moved to my knees and closed my eyes. I had to get the bindings off. If I could just--
Something dropped in front of me and I screamed and moved back, almost sliding into a puddle of fiery gas. "Fuck. Fuck. Why can't I catch a break? Just for a minute? A day?"
Hysteria was taking over, and the thick, dark smoke from the fire was getting heavy. I moved to my knees and tried to crawl to the door, but couldn’t because of the size and weight of the chair pieces still holding me captive. I lay down on my side for a minute, breathing in deeply as I let out my frustration in a long string of screams.
By the time I heard the sirens, I could barely hold my head up. I wasn't going to get out alive. I couldn't get free, and the ambulance would never make it in time. Things like that didn't work out for me.
I closed my eyes and curled up into a tight ball, letting my mind move back to the night with Lucky. The warmth of the bubble bath and the delicious tension riddling me as he made love to me for hours. The way he watched me. The softy reverent way he touched me. The way he loved me.
Those things offered peace, and I was calm for a few minutes. Something large dropped beside me, and I flinched as sparks from the burning beam landing on my cheek. I shook my head and resigned myself to death. Grandma would be waiting for me, and mother would too.
Lucky wouldn't survive it without the help of Dane and his MC, but they would rise up around him. It would be fine. I would be free.
"Fuck! There's a girl!" A man screaming at the door caught my attention, but I ignored him, instead focusing on breathing through my nose so I didn't have to taste the char in the air.
Strong hands lifted me up, and within minute there were voices all around me, most of them frantic as I was hoisted into the back of an ambulance.
A pretty, middle-aged woman reached down and checked me, her words soft, but I couldn't make them out. The trauma from everything had my heart racing so fast, that it was only the incessant pumping of my blood in my ears that I could hear.
The door to the ambulance opened, and light flooded the small box again, causing me to flinch. I coughed and tried to turn on my side in case I vomited again, but the nurse wouldn't let me.
"Who are you? Do you know the girl?" Her voice was loud and demanding.
"I'm her brother. I'm here to help." A dark figure moved up beside me, and touched the side of my face.
I blinked past my tears and turned to the woman, not quite able to make anyone out. "I don't have a brother."
"What dear? You're slurring." She leaned down closer and pressed her ear to mine, but I didn't have anything left in me. She wouldn't let the guy hurt me, or I prayed that would be the case. Someone was lying, but he would have to be brought to the truth later. I needed to sleep.
***
Bright lights woke me as I groaned softly.
"Stay still, please. You're in the hospital and will be perfectly fine in a day or two. You've inhaled too much smoke from a house fire. There are no burns on your body, and we're safe here with us." The woman's voice was professional, but caring.
I blinked past my haze and tried to jerk up as adrenaline shot through me. "I have to get out of here. Where's Lucky?"
"No, you don't. And you aren't." She pushed my shoulder gently as one of the monitors buzzed beside us in loud protest.
"Yes I do. I need to warn him." I pushed at her hand as she moved to stand over me.
"I'm going to sedate you if you don't calm down. You're not going anywhere until we get a clear reading on your lungs. Period." She gave me a look my grandmother would be proud of and increased the pressure of her fingers against my shoulder. "Who's Lucky? Your brother?"
"My brother? No. I don't have a brother." I lay back, trying not to let the panic inside of me force me from the bed. I'd be running down the hall with my ass hanging out the back of the hospital gown I seemed to be in without another thought.
"Well, the young man said he was your brother." She picked up her chart. "You've been through a lot. There's a cop from the DEA that we've contacted. We'll have him stop by and get your story on what's happened."
"Where is my phone?" I didn't care about anything other than finding out if Lucky was okay. I needed to know that my father hadn't made good on his plans to hurt my man.
"You didn't come in with a phone, Selene. I'll have someone come in and check your vitals once more, and then it's dinner time." She smiled kindly. "I'm Dr. Pelz. If you need anything."
"I need my goddamn phone. I don't live a normal life. My fiancé is out there somewhere unaware that my father isn't dead, but coming for him. He doesn't know I'm in the fucking hospital. I need him. Now!" I moved back up, tired of playing games.
She pressed a button on t
he wall. "Nurse. We need sedation."
"No. You don't." A deep voice resounded from behind her that was too familiar. "She's okay. I'll find Lucky if that's what you need."
Elec.
"What are you doing here? Is my dad here too?" I moved up in the bed, scrambling backward.
The doctor glanced between me and Elec at a loss as to what to do. "I'm calling security."
"No you're not." Elec glanced over at her. "My sister is frantic. It's expected. She was tied up and left in a burning building to escape. You're gonna give me a minute to calm her down. Then you can bring in your tranquilizers."
"Sedation is not a--"
"Get out. Seriously." He narrowed his eyes.
The doctor paused briefly to look back at me. "Are you okay with him being in here?"
I looked over at Elec, who nodded his head solemnly. "Yes. I'm fine."
She shook her head and walked to the door. "You have ten minutes. That's it."
"That's all I need, Miss." He winked at her before walking over and dropping down in the chair next to my bed. "I'm sorry. Fuck. I didn't realize your father set fire to the place until I heard them talking about it when we stopped for gas twenty minutes later."
"I figured you didn't."
"Dante didn't either. I've never in my life seen Rafael scared, but when Dante figured out that you'd been left in a burning building... Shit." Elec ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a long sigh. "I don't think it's your father you need to be concerned with. That sorry bastard he has as his right hand thinks you belong to him. I'm sure Rafael planted that shit in his head, but either way. He has to taken out, and soon."
"Why are you helping me? You're going to get yourself killed, Elec."
"You're the only one that's ever showed me a bit of kindness, Sel. I'm just trying to repay it. I told you that." He got up. "I'm likely to get shot driving up to the Stone Wolves lodge, but I guess it's now or never, right?"
"Yes. Get Lucky over here. You heard them. He's in danger."
