Steel balked. “Stiletto, you need to let him talk.”
Durty jerked her head toward Steel, snorting. “And who do you think you are? We don’t answer to you.”
“Both of you, stop!” Lace snarled at them all. There was no time for games. Looking back at Stiletto, she shook her head, moving with slow precision toward the two. “You need to think clearly Stiletto. We need him alive for information. You can kill him later, okay?”
Stiletto’s jaw moved with the clenching of her teeth, evidently debating on whether or not she was going to listen to her friend and president. The smallest of nods was given in affirmation to Lace’s order.
Steel swept his tongue over noticeably dry lips. Speaking while he lifted his hands to rest on his hips, he leaned back against the desk. “And how did you find this out? Or do you have some kind of death wish?”
Xander cleared his throat, his Adam’s apple rubbing up against the razor-sharp blade, causing a trickle of blood to trace down his neck. His voice shook with the apprehension of the predicament he was in. “I’m a Warrior.”
“The fuck you say,” exploded out of Lace with a snort.
“I’m one sixteenth Navajo. I’m a Nomad, and they asked me to infiltrate your clubs to get information. Which is why I signed up to be a bouncer at Domino. I—”
Lace cut off Xander’s little speech, anger filling her veins as the knowledge sunk in. “That’s how they knew our every move.”
Durty tried to push past Lace in an obvious gesture to get her hands on Xander. “That’s how they knew we were at the bar that day.”
Sting grabbed Durty and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms about her, so she couldn’t escape. “That’s why you were never around when all this shit went down.”
Stiletto’s face was turning red with fury, the hand that held the blade, tightening again. “That’s it, we grease this rat-fuck son of bitch right now.”
“Not until we find out where Viper is.” Lace tried to clear her head as all the information and emotions clouded her thoughts.
Steel pushed off the desk, stepping next to Lace as if he could feel her turmoil. His hand dropped to her lower back, thumb caressing her skin. “Why tell us this now? Not only will we kill you, but so will they. It makes no sense.”
“Maybe it’s another trap. We’ve stepped in enough of those today, what’s one more, right?” Sting said.
“I’m in love with her,” Xander blurted out.
“Yeah, okay. That’s easy to see by the way you’re always staring at her.” Lace shook her head, rolling her eyes at the same time.
“Look, she saved my life a couple of years ago in Tajikistan. I never saw her again after that, until that day in the bar. I’ve wanted to talk to her, but she seems untouchable, so I wasn’t sure how to approach her. I know where she is, I can take you guys there.”
Steel glanced at his watch, then back to the group. “We’ve got ten minutes until this shit fest starts. Sting? You and Stiletto need to take the kid and go get Viper. Lace and I will handle business here.”
Xander let out a breath of relief when Stiletto stepped away from him, wiping his blood off of her blade onto her jean clad leg. “There’s one more thing.”
Lace groaned, her eyes falling closed. “What?”
“Before the fight starts, Vader is going to show you a picture of Viper and tell you that if Steel doesn’t lose the fight, she dies.”
Chapter 33
Tangled Up In You
There it was. Right there. Out in the open.
Vader had this shit planned the whole damn time.
Lace was going to puke.
Bolting for the bathroom, she dropped to her knees when she got to the toilet and dry heaved. The retching caused the bile to coat and burn her throat, tears silently streaking down her cheeks as her body finally gave into the demands of her emotions.
There were very few people out there that could hold a candle against Cobra. This man lived to fight. He not only lived it, but ate it, breathed it, and slept fighting. Any chance Steel had, which had been fifty-fifty at best, just dropped to zero.
Vader knew Lace would’ve accepted his challenge, already having kidnapped Viper, she had no chance. Having shown her ass, Steel unwittingly jumped in to save the day.
She’d let her emotions get the best of her and now it was going to cost her the one thing she cared the most about.
And she’d just stripped Durty of her heart patch for doing the same thing.
“Tilly?” Steel stepped into the bathroom, kneeling down by her side. “I need you focused right now. Can you do that for me?”
Clearing her throat and wiping her eyes free of the water works, she offered a weak nod. “What have I done? I did this. You’re going to die because of me.”
“Enough, Tilly. We got this.”
His hand was gentle when he lifted her head, forcing her to look into his green eyes, which showed nothing but love for her.
“How,” she gasped, amazed he was as calm as he was. He was a dead man walking.
“Durty went down to fill everyone in. I’ve sent the other three to go get Viper. I can stall the outcome until they get her. When they do, they’re going to call you. You’ll signal to me they have her and I’ll end the fight.”
“Do you even hear what you’re saying? This isn’t some fucking movie, Henny! This is real shit. It doesn’t happen like that.” Lace was frantic. How could she not be?
Steel laughed low and brushed the hair out of her eyes. “T, now you promised you were going to focus. If it doesn’t work out that way and something goes wrong, I want you to go to my office at the shop and there’s an envelope with your name on it. Take it to my lawyer. Everything I have is being left to you. It’s all explained in a letter. Can you do that?”
“Wait, what?” Lace stuttered as she pushed up from the floor. He had a letter and will already drawn up? Why would he be that prepared? “Why?”
“You know the world we live in. And I’m not dumb, you’ve done the same thing.” He stared pointedly at her, which made her drop her gaze to the floor. “You’re the only one I trust to keep the business running. Since it looks like we’re at war, I don’t want you to have to wait. Time is of the essence here.”
“I don’t want to think about that, H.” Lace threw her arms around his neck, pressing her body close to his, burying her face into the crook of his neck. She couldn’t stop the tremble of her body when he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight into him.
“We got to face the facts, T. If this doesn’t go as planned, I need to know you’re taken care of.”
A throat being cleared interrupted the two. Lace reluctantly lifted her head up to see who had the balls to stop their last moment together.
Durty grimaced. “I apologize. It’s time.”
Lace nodded, swallowing down her heart that was now in her throat. All she could do was stare at Steel’s hand when he took hold of her own, trying to memorize every little thing about it. The tiny hairs that littered his skin, some brown, blond, and graying from the age. The shallow wrinkles from lack of moisturizing, and calluses from years of hard work. His nails were bitten down to the quick, a nervous habit she’d been on him about since they were teenagers.
“Come on, T. We can’t keep stalling. I need that stone cold, high riding bitch right now. Please?” Steel searched her eyes as he pleaded with her.
Lace nodded, giving his hands a squeeze. “You got her, no worries there.” A lie. Whoever said ‘It’s better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all’ had never watched their best friend, or man they loved, get beat down and die in front of them.
Fuck that.
Refusing to let go of his hand, they stepped out of the office together, moving as one unit—one soul. There was no way she was going to release his hand until the very moment he entered the ring. No words were spoken as they made their way down to the octagonal metal cage,
already descended to hover about two feet above the straw covered floor.
Lace had never given much thought to the cage before, even when she watched Nytemare kill another girl. That was the last match the steel cage had seen, blood and bone. Never had it had an ominous feel to it, as it had now. She’d never look at the cage the same way again.
A figure stepping in front of her snapped Lace out of her reverie.
Vader.
“What the fuck do you want?”
The sadistic curve of his mouth matched the amusement in his flat black eyes. His hand lifted, displaying a cell phone open to a photograph. “You females make this shit too easy. This is why my name will be remembered.”
Lace leaned forward to get a better look at the picture. Viper was bound to a chair, her clothing torn and bloodied. Her face beaten to a pulp, almost beyond recognition. Her eyes were swollen shut, her nose was at an unnatural slant, and her hair was matted with sweat and blood.
Steel squeezed her hand in warning as she opened her mouth, causing her to close it before she said something she’d later regret.
“Now that we’ve established who the king is here, here’s how this is gonna go down.” The obsidian eyes glinted with the devious edge his voice portrayed. “Steel is going to make sure he loses the fight. He wins? She dies. If he starts looking like he’s going to win, she dies. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to die real fast, let Cobra play a while. Keep it entertaining. I want to see you bleed some. I want my money’s worth.”
Lace ground her teeth as Vader listed his demands. She was going to kill this bastard, even if she died trying.
Across the ring, Cobra had removed his shirt and was bouncing in place, readying himself for the match. Lace couldn’t help but wish there was a way to kill him outside the ring, before the bell rung to start the fight.
“Fine.” One word uttered by Steel as he peeled off his t-shirt, handing it off to Lace.
Vader smirked and tucked his phone away as Durty tapped on the mic, getting everyone’s attention. He feigned sadness and wiped at an imaginary tear. “It was nice knowing you, Steel.” Vader turned on booted heel and walked away from them without so much as a backward glance.
Lace drowned out Durty’s voice over the PA system by solely focusing on the man that stood before her. Steel was her only concern. “Are you sure about this?”
“As sure as I can be.” Half of a smile was given as Steel rolled his head from side to side. Sighing, he stepped closer to her, brushing the back of his knuckles against her cheek. “It’ll be okay. No matter what happens, you’ve got to stay strong and focused for your girls.”
“I don’t want too, Henny,” she whispered, trying to keep the tears from flowing once more. God, how she wanted to kiss him. To take one more precious moment with her.
“To think of all the shit that’s happened to us, Tilly, and to end up in this shit. A fight to the death in the middle of the California desert? God has a sick sense of humor.”
“Hang on as long as you can. Give them a show. Maybe your stupid movie plan will work.” Lace tried to give him the brightest smile she could, her arms wrapping about his neck as she drew him to her. She had to stay positive.
His whiskers rubbed against her cheek roughly, his voice gruff in her ear. “If shit does go down and I lose, I don’t want you to watch, Tilly. If this is my fate, so be it; but I don’t want that to be your last memory of me.”
How could she deny him? She sure as hell didn’t want to watch him die, but she wasn’t going to leave him alone in that ring. She was going to be with him, if it came to that. Stiletto better pray she got to Viper in time, or else no one was going to be safe around Lace.
“Okay. Deal.” Was she going to promise him that? Hell no. He was on a need to know basis and he didn’t need to know she was lying through her teeth. He knew her well enough to know she was lying anyway.
Steel’s lips caressed her cheek, before stepping back and away from her. Dropping down, he rolled under the bottom edge of the metal frame of the ring. Pushing himself up, he wiped his jeans clean and glanced over his shoulder at Lace, then turned all his attention to Cobra entering the same way.
Lace backed away from the cage with quick, jerking steps, the ringing in her ears louder than the cheers from the overexcited crowd at the opportunity to see the face of death. She was seconds away from hyperventilating. She had to turn off the emotional switch, as hard as it was in the moment.
The loud, bass like clunk of the cage slamming against the dirt packed floor was a prison door being slammed shut, locking her heart and soul away forever. A big part of her heart was in that cage, and it had better keep fucking beating.
Chapter 34
Moth
Sting’s truck sped along the dirt road Xander told him to turn onto. Stiletto was in the back seat, one of her knives ready to slice and dice if Xander’s information didn’t pan out.
“How much farther?” Sting grilled Xander, afraid Stiletto would accidently-on purpose nick the kid’s jugular.
This was a fine mess they were in. Sting wasn’t sure what to think or feel. He knew Durty was losing her mind, blowing up his cell phone with texts. She hadn’t wanted him to go with them, but his president’s life wasn’t something you toyed with. He’d known Steel briefly while overseas, and even if it hadn’t been club business, he would’ve gladly put his life on the line for him.
Sting assured Durty, or at least tried to, that he’d come out of this rescue mission, unscathed. He hoped he could keep that promise. He knew an open gunfight or confrontation wasn’t going to be a solution. He needed to ponder on how to get in, grab Viper, and run.
Knowing Stiletto? He highly doubted either of the men were going to lift a finger tonight.
“Turn right at the next stop sign.” Xander swallowed nervously. “I swear, I didn’t know any of this was going to happen or I never would’ve joined the club. I’m not down with this kind of crap.”
Stiletto’s voice was mephitic coming from the back seat. “You better hope I get to her in time.”
The finality of her statement even gave Sting the chills.
“I don’t give two shits about your so-called intentions, you better pray my sister is alive and well, or else it’s going to be a very long night.”
Sting glanced over his shoulder at Stiletto, feeling a faint tickle of apprehension at her insinuation. He really didn’t want to clean blood out of his truck tonight.
Turning right, Sting noticed a grouping of buildings looming off in the distance of the headlights. Once again, Sting’s phone chirped at him, alerting him that Durty text yet again. He hated to ignore her, but needed to keep focused on the matter at hand. The only person he’d be talking to was Lace.
“The building is just past the rock plant on the left. You’ll want to park in—”
“Shut the fuck up. Sting, turn the headlights off and ease into the plant’s parking lot.”
Not daring to glance back at Stiletto when he heard rustling in the back seat, Sting followed her directions. “What’s the plan?”
“I need information.” Stiletto drew in a breath; her voice sped up, firing questions at Xander. “Have you been in the building before? How many rooms? How many windows? How many men are inside? What room is she in?”
“Look, all I know is that she’s in there. Vader will call one of the guys in the room with her, to tell them to kill her. They had no plans of releasing her.”
Sting shook his head in disbelief. “Is there anything you do know?” It seemed like Vader didn’t tell his members much of anything, or allowed them to be in places he used for things like this.
A low chuckle came from the back seat. “One thing is for sure, Vader didn’t expect to have a snitch in his midst. We all know snitches get stitches.”
Coming to a complete stop, he turned the engine off. Shifting in his seat, he angled himself to look at Stiletto. “What do you need us to do?”<
br />
“Give me five minutes. They aren’t expecting us, but we’re running out of time.” The door to the truck opened up, dimly illuminating the cab of the vehicle. She was strapping a pistol to her thigh while she spoke. “You stay here and make sure this cum guzzler doesn’t move from this spot.”
Before Sting could acknowledge her, she’d silently closed the door and darted toward the cement wall next to the building she needed to gain entry to. There was a male standing guard at the entrance of the building, and several lights on in the windows.
His jaw dropped when Stiletto jumped onto the wall like a cat, gracefully vaulting herself up and onto the fire escape that led up to the rooftop. A few more moves and she was on the roof, out of sight.
“Dude, you’d better pray on everything holy, that Viper and Steel come out of this in one piece. Stiletto won’t be the only one after you.” Sting looked long and hard at the man before him.
Xander fumbled over his words, the stench of uncertainty and fear thick about him. “I—I know. I never wanted this to happen. I mean, I transferred in from somewhere else, and they aren’t like this. Are you sure she’ll be able to get to Viper? She’s going to be hella guarded.”
Sting out right laughed. “Any doubts I had about her disappeared when she scaled that wall like it wasn’t even there. I’ve been on stealth missions in Afghanistan, but we were armed to the teeth. That woman right there has nothing more than a set of throwing knives and eight rounds in her gun. That ought to tell you something right there. I want you to understand, you’ll have to answer for this shit. Coming out and telling us was the right thing to do, it may or may not save your ass. You’re lucky I’m not kicking your ass right now. Because of you, my ol’lady got beat so bad she was in the hospital. I’m owed a pound of flesh for that alone.”
“Understood.” Xander said. “I’m not saying I’m not at fault for what happened, but I was put in a no-win situation and am trying to make up for that now.”
Policy of Truth (Sacred Heart Continuum Series Book 1) Page 23
