At least I didn’t have to worry about Maddie, she would call me once she reached her dad’s place. Meeting the man who was our father didn’t appeal to me in the least. I’d seen pictures of him, but he was a stranger to me and would probably always remain one. After all, he hadn’t cared enough about seeing me when I was growing up. I didn’t have bad feelings about him, I just simply didn’t care.
Stone had said that he’d see me later at the bar, which meant that I’d be working there again tonight. Right now I wanted to hunt Trudy down. She probably wouldn’t want anything to do with me after today but I wanted to at least tell her that I was sorry. I went to the closet and pulled a t-shirt off the hanger, hoping that I’d find her at the bar.
She wasn’t there when I arrived. Ty was working though, and the look that he gave me told me that he wasn’t too happy with me. I walked up to him anyway. “Do you know where I can find Trudy?”
He barely glanced at me. “Why?”
I couldn’t blame him for his suspicious tone. “I just wanted to tell her that I’m sorry for sneaking away.” I paused, waiting for him to restock the shelves with the clean glasses and turn back toward me. “Did she get into trouble because of me?”
I heard him release a harsh breath before saying, “She wasn’t crying because she was in trouble, she was crying because she was fuckin’ worried about the trouble you were in. Stone left here looking for blood.”
What? I hadn’t expected that.
“Trudy has a soft heart,” he went on to explain. “She’ll do anything for anyone.”
I just stared at him.
“Animal took her to his room right after you got back.”
Now it was his turn to stare at me, and then it dawned on me what “taking Trudy to his room” meant. I frowned. “Why do you let her go with other men?”
Something flickered in his eyes. His jaw clenched. “That’s her job.”
“She likes you, Ty.”
“Trudy likes everyone.” A muscle twitched in his clenched jaw.
“No, she really likes you. Doesn’t it bother you to know she’s, uh, with other men?”
He shrugged, but I could tell that it did bother him. Why were men so afraid to show their feelings? I knew Ty was a patched-in member, but he wasn’t an officer. Still, if he wanted to claim Trudy, he could. I’d seen them both eyeing each other when they each thought the other wasn’t looking. They clearly had a thing for each other, so what was the problem? I kept staring at him, thinking I’d see the answer in his expression. Then the truth hit me in an instant.
“You’re married.”
He didn’t deny it. When he glanced past me I turned to see Trudy entering the room looking a little disheveled, her cheeks rosy. Animal wasn’t far behind, looking quite happy and energized. I swung back to Ty.
“Does he know how you feel?”
His chuckle held little humor. “Honey, they all fuckin’ know.”
“Then why—”
“They also know I won’t claim her until I get my shit sorted and that’s gonna take me a while. The girls here don’t have a choice. They want the protection of the club, they have to earn it.”
Boy, talk about a messed up situation. I felt bad for them, and in spite of what Ty had said, nothing was going to make me understand how his brothers could sleep with a woman that they all knew he wanted. But there was nothing I could do about it. Seeing Trudy walking up behind me in the mirror on the wall behind Ty, I swung to face her.
“Trudy, I’m so sorry. I swear I thought you were giving me a chance to leave on my own when you said that you had to get your purse. I mis—”
“Honey,” she surprised me with a hug, “I’m just glad that you made it back okay. Did you find your sister?”
She was so sweet. I nodded. “When I came back and saw you crying—”
She sat down on the stool next to me. “Stone was livid when he found out you’d gone off alone. And when he’s angry, he’s scary.”
I couldn’t argue with her. He was scary and sexy.
“I was worried he was going to, ah—”
“Kill me?” I tried to make light of it, but for a while I’d been worried that he was going to do exactly that. “No, he only frightened me half to death with his big, bad, scary-ass biker attitude.” And then he’d fucked me like he owned me, only I didn’t tell her that.
All at once the door exploded open, slamming back against the wall as several bikers burst through into the bar. The one in front yelled out, “Got a situation outside the gate! The boys still in church?”
“Yeah,” Ty responded, moving quickly to retrieve his gun from where he kept it under the bar. He glanced at us briefly as he rounded the bar. “You girls stay here, and if you hear gunfire, get your fuckin’ asses in the safe room.”
Safe room? That was the first I’d heard about it, but Trudy answered him with a nod, watching Ty head to the door.
The next commotion came when Stone and his officers rushed through the bar, guns already in their hands. Seeing that, and the stoic looks on their faces, made my heart pound with fear. That they were ready to meet whatever head-on was apparent in their eagerness. I didn’t hesitate, running toward the window to see what was happening.
I was vaguely aware that Trudy had moved up beside me. My gaze took in the army of Dark Menace bikers rushing about, all seeming to be heading in the same direction. Whatever they were moving toward was just out of sight. I turned toward the door.
“Rachel, no—”
Ignoring Trudy, I grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open, stepping outside. There was a black truck just outside the gate. It looked like whoever had parked it had rammed it into the fence on purpose. Stone and his men were still walking toward it. I knew what I was looking at, but the significance of it took longer to sink in. Trudy had followed me outside and I shook off her hand where it was trying to hold me back. When one of the bikers shifted I was able to make out the outline of a body slumped over the wheel of the truck, confirming my worst fears, and then it struck me like lightning that the truck I was looking at was the same one I’d forced Maddie to take.
No, it can’t be!
I let out a scream and began to run in that direction. “Maddie!” I didn’t even realize that I’d caught up to Stone. I felt my heart in my throat. “Maddie!” A strong arm curled around my waist and hauled me back against a hard, unyielding body. “Let me go!” I struggled like a trapped animal, panicked to get free. I was so focused on the shadowy form inside the truck that I wasn’t even sure who was holding me back.
“Rachel,” Stone growled low in my ear, holding me easily as I continued to thrash about. “Sweetheart--” He grabbed my chin with a firm grip and forced me to look at him. I calmed somewhat, feeding off the intense composure in his eyes. “Let us check it out first.”
I blinked, trying to decipher his words, trying to calm my panicked breaths. He wouldn’t let me turn to look back at the truck, instead holding my teary gaze with his own. “Stay here, okay?”
Nodding numbly, I sank to my knees when he released me. By now his men had reached the truck and were crowded around it, peering inside and commenting in low tones. I held my breath, waiting for the confirmation that would destroy me. I sensed a presence next to me but couldn’t tear my gaze off the scene on the other side of the gate. I watched Stone walk up to the driver’s side of the truck, look inside, and then glance up in my direction, giving me the answer I was holding my breath for with a shake of his head.
It’s isn’t Maddie.
Oh, thank God. The relief rolled off my shoulders. It wasn’t Maddie, but who was it, then? The sun was glaring on the windshield, so I wasn’t able to make out the driver. Where was Maddie? So many questions went through my head as I kept my eyes glued to Stone, looking for a clue. His cell rang and he retrieved it from his back pocket. Whatever was being said caused him to straighten and scan the area.
I automatically mimicked his actions, unsure of what I was lo
oking for. We were surrounded by mountains and thick forests. Stone issued some commands to his men and I watched a few of them scatter. Then his attention came back to me.
“Inside, now!”
His tone warned me that it was dangerous being out there, and I didn’t hesitate getting to my feet. Trudy grabbed me by the hand and we turned and rushed back inside.
****
STONE
“You get my fucking message?”
I knew that he wasn’t talking about the fucking message I’d received from Rebel. As soon as I heard Wildman’s voice I began to look around, something warning me that the fucking coward had eyes on us. It wouldn’t be difficult. We had plenty of surveillance cameras around the grounds, but outside of that there were plenty of places someone could hide to do their own watching.
Wildman’s message was clear. He had Rachel’s sister. I covered up the mouth piece and turned my head to my brothers. “Wildman has eyes on us.” Pit Bull, Bulldog, and Shooter took off immediately. They were the best trackers we had.
“What do you fuckin’ want?”
His laugh was grating and without humor. “I want my girl back.”
I pretended I didn’t know what he was talking about. “Who’s your girl?”
“You know who the fuck I’m talking about,” he said with force. “That cute little piece you’re holding for collateral.”
How the fuck had he found that out? “Nice pussy,” I taunted, knowing Wildman had a short fuse. “Always wet and ready for my dick.”
“I want my fuckin’ property back!” he snarled like a rabid animal, taking the bait.
It was my turn to laugh. “You’re a greedy fucker, first taking over the Predators, now demanding my woman.”
We’d already heard that Wildman had stormed back to the Predators’ clubhouse and demanded that they join the Red Devils or he’d kill them, their women, and their families. He’d convinced them that he and Killer had been working out the logistics when the situation with Wild Marauders had gone down. The Predators were weak pussies now that their president, Killer, was dead, and were obviously too afraid of Wildman to question his intentions and authority.
I glanced at Rachel. “Inside, now!” Satisfied once I saw her backside rushing toward the door with Trudy I turned my attention back to Wildman. “Not gonna happen.”
“Been looking for that bitch and her mother for years. I—”
I cut him off. “Get to your fuckin’ message. We know that you have her sister.” Leaving Ronald Manson dead in the truck that Rachel had sent Maddie off in was a clear statement that he wasn’t messing around.
Wildman growled, “Yeah, we got her fuckin’ skinny-ass sister. Gotta tell ya, chick doesn’t have the stamina to survive my bunch. They’ll tear her to pieces when I give her up.”
I held my anger in check, knowing that it would only fuel the cruelty of a prick like Wildman.
“Here’s how shit’s gonna go,” he began, sounding over-confident. “You give me back my girl, her sister gets to live. You don’t give her back to me and her sister joins her man in hell. Then I come after your club and take back what’s mine anyway.”
His mistake was in threatening my club. “You can fuckin’ try.” I clenched my teeth, wanting to reach through the fucking phone for his throat and rip it out. “And I repeat, not gonna happen. Rachel stays in my bed.” There was no fucking way I was going to let him get his hands on her. A few seconds later I heard a woman’s shrill scream in the background.
“You hear that? And that was just a nipple twist.” He laughed.
“You’re a sick fuck.” A plan was already taking shape in my head. I listened to his demonic laugh. He had reason to laugh. He was a lucky fuck, too, and he knew it.
I hung up. He called me right back but I ignored it. Fuck! I glanced at the brothers that were still hanging around the truck. “Take care of this fuckin’ mess,” I ordered sharply. “We have another meeting in an hour.” Church twice in one day, that was a first. But instinct warned me that we needed to act fast if we were going to get Rachel’s sister back alive.
Christ, this day had turned into one big fuck-up.
Chapter 14
STONE
I entered the bar, my gaze landing on Rachel where she was sitting on a stool, clearly distraught. Trudy and Lulu were both talking to her in low tones, obviously trying to keep her calm. Rita was at the other end of the bar, clearly not giving a fuck. She made a movement to leave her stool when she saw me, but I held my hand up, warning her back.
Trudy glanced my way and I motioned her away. She said something and then she was leaving with Lulu. Rachel swung around to face me, slipping to her feet as I approached.
“Stone.”
She threw herself at me, curling her hands into my cut. My arms automatically closed around her, and for the first time in my fucking life I wanted to give comfort to someone. She was shaking like a wet kitten and I held her tighter, running a hand up and down her back.
“Was it Ronald?” she asked against me in a soft tone.
So, she’d been thinking. “Yeah.”
“Oh, God, Stone. He has her.”
“The important thing is that she’s still alive, sweetheart. We’ll get her back.”
She pulled back a little and looked up at me. “You’re going to go get her?” she sounded surprised.
“Fuck, babe, we don’t abandon innocent women to animals like Wildman. He’s made it clear that he’ll kill her if he doesn’t get you back.” I wasn’t going to pussy-foot around, deciding to tell her like it was.
She shuddered. “The one thing I didn’t want to happen. I don’t understand how he found out about Maddie, much less Ronald. She wasn’t even going to pick him up before leaving town.”
“She was going to leave him behind?”
Rachel nodded. “I’d convinced her that Ronald had to stay or you would think that he had skipped town without paying you back. So she called him to let him know what was going on.”
Fuck. I had a bad feeling about this. My gut told me that I’d just found out who the fucking leak was that was feeding Wildman information. Rebel couldn’t give us a name, saying only that he’d overheard a couple Red Devils talking about someone in town who was on Wildman’s payroll for any information regarding Dark Menace. Now it appeared that the “someone” had been Ronald Manson. The stupid fuck had led the enemy right to his own wife, and Rachel, and had ended up dead in the process.
Stupid fuck.
Stupid dead fuck.
If I had to guess why, Ronald had climbed into bed with the Red Devils in a desperate attempt to earn some extra cash to pay back his loan to us, unwittingly opening up a whole other can of fucking trouble.
“I can’t stand the thought of Maddie in Wildman’s hands,” Rachel murmured against me. “He’s evil, Stone. He’ll hurt her. You saw what he did to me.”
I clenched my teeth at the desperation in her tone. She wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know. The Red Devils were known for their sadistic tendencies. Ronald was proof of that. They could have ended him with a shot to the head, clean and fast. But they’d gutted him and slit his throat. We were going to get Maddie out of there, but I had no doubts that she’d be used and beaten before that was accomplished. Wildman wouldn’t care how he returned the woman. As long as she was alive he’d figure that he’d kept his end of the bargain.
“Maybe I should go to him.” I could feel her trembling against me. “He doesn’t want to kill me. He just wants to use and degrade me.”
“Fuck, no.”
“But it’s my fault—”
I pushed Rachel back so that I could look at her. “No, it’s not your fault. Look, I have church in a few minutes. We’re going to discuss how to get her back.” Then, because I couldn’t stop myself, I slanted my mouth over the parted softness of hers and kissed her long and hard. It occurred to me then that I was having a hard fucking time resisting her. I was more concerned with rescuing
her sister than the loss of the money that Ronald owed the club.
That still had to be dealt with.
I swallowed her soft moan, groaning hungrily, wanting more than a fucking kiss. Now wasn’t the time, but I wanted to drag her back to my room and fuck the hell out of her. Fuck that, I wanted to take her right there, in the bar. My hands slid down her back, and then I was cupping her curvy ass. Jesus, she was hot. The first woman to take me from zero to a hundred in a fucking second flat, no preliminaries, no dirty talk, just the touch of her full mouth beneath mine.
Her surrender.
I ground my aching dick into her, not giving a shit that Rita was still there and probably shooting daggers at us. A moment of relief came when Rachel responded, winding her arms up around my neck and fucking melding into me as if I could absorb her. I wanted to fucking devour her! Only it was more than that, and that shit wasn’t good. I didn’t like how it made me feel, and I knew that I had to fucking walk away before I hurt her.
Wrapping my hand in her hair I intended to do just that, but once the silky length was wound against her scalp it only bound us tighter. The growl that rumbled in my throat was more to express the frustration I was feeling, because holding Rachel snug against me felt fucking good. My dick was so hard it hurt, and recalling how wet and tight her body curled around it when I was inside her wasn’t helping.
Somehow I had to find the fucking strength to break away. She was still collateral, and club property. Just because Ronald had gone and gotten himself killed didn’t wipe the slate clean. Yeah, I knew that that was a fucking excuse to keep her right where I wanted her. She opened her mouth and tangled her tongue with mine.
“Why don’t you just fuck her right here?”
Rita’s voice penetrated the moment like breaking glass, which was good, because I’d thought about doing that very thing myself.
“You fuck me wherever and whenever you want,” she said smugly.
Dark Menace MC: Stone Page 11
