“Can you tell me what happened to the two of you? Sledge just told me he took care of you and that was it.” I ask.
Kayne speaks before the girls could. “He drugged them and tied them up in the garage. Poison’s immune system was stronger than he thought. She fought him every step of the way and he ended up cracking a rib. Siren was out cold, didn’t stand a chance.” I can hear it in his voice, there’s something he isn’t telling me. But I don’t want to know. Not right now.
“What are we going to do about him? If he was gone before you guys got back, I’ll guarantee he’s still here somewhere. Watching and waiting. He thinks in his sick twisted mind, I’m his property. That I belong to him. I don’t. I never have and never will. Sledge needs to be taken care of and I don’t mean to crawl back home to the Serpents MC. I mean gone for good or he will never stop hunting me.” The conviction in my voice surprises me. It must have surprised everyone else too because Poison releases a giggle and Siren is doing her best to hold in hers. Stryker and Blayde’s shoulders are shaking and Kayne is trying to hold back his grin but I can see it in his eyes.
“Oh, fuck. You’ve created another one.” Rooster mumbles under his breath.
“Just like your ma,” Texas drawls next to him. With the guys cracking your mama jokes in no time, teasing and laughing with each other. The tension in the room has eased drastically.
Kayne hasn’t taken his eyes off Poison the entire time. I see a stress line in his forehead. He doesn’t join in with the rest of the guys. Something else is bothering him. Poison gives him a reassuring smile and turns her attention back to me.
“You did what you had to do. Don’t blame yourself for anyone else’s actions.” She leans in and gives me a tight hug. “I promise I’ll be fine.”
Poison stands up and limps back to her seat. When she sits down pain crosses her face but she still gives Kayne a reassuring smile. What they have is special and I hope someday Stryker and I will reach that point.
Kayne slams his gavel on the table, silencing the room. Everyone stops talking and all eyes go directly to him.
“Now, we have another problem. Some how Candy knew about Holly’s past. She’s currently awaiting her trial. Holly, do you want to take the reins on this one or sit back and watch?”
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
“We’re going to get information from her,” Stryker answers, turning in his seat so he can see me. His blue eyes are searing into me, reassuring me. “You don’t have to do anything. Don’t feel pressured. I figured you’d want in on this since she’s the reason you’re sick and hurt.”
“What do you mean sick?” God, I feel like such an idiot. I have no clue what’s going on.
Stryker hesitates before answering. “We think she’s been poisoning you.”
If I wasn’t sitting down before, I sure as hell would be now. My stomach’s churning and I think I will be sick again. Siren must have seen the look on my face because she pulls me up from the couch and leads me out of Church and into the bathroom quickly.
I reach the toilet and vomit everything in my stomach, which wasn’t much to begin with. Tears roll down my face and my head is pounding again. My stomach is cramping even harder and I dry heave again. I can’t stop it. I cramp and dry heave. Making retching noises. Sweat beads on my brow and Siren comes over with a wet washcloth. She dabs at my forehead, wiping away the sweat, making me feel a little better. I lean back from the toilet and rest my head against the wall. I’m too weak to move anymore. I close my eyes and let the darkness overtake me. I can’t stay awake any longer and drift off to sleep with my head resting on Siren’s shoulder.
Chapter 12
Stryker
I watch helplessly as Siren helps Holly out of Church. I want to go to her and help, but I can’t. I’m stuck here until Kayne releases us and from the look on his face, he’s not letting us go anywhere. He’s fucking pissed someone infiltrated our club and hurt our women and it all leads back to that bitch Candy. When I get my hands on her, I will crush every bone in her body, one by one until she talks. I’ve never thought about hurting a woman until I figured out what she was doing to Holly.
My sweet innocent, Lil’ Bit, Holly. She’s been through so much in her short life and deserves to be happy. She deserves everything she wants or needs and I will give it to her. If she wants revenge on Candy, she can take the reins. If she wants to end Sledge when we catch him, it’s all hers. I will do anything and everything to protect the woman I love.
That thought makes me hesitate. Do I love this woman? I’ve never been in love before but what I have with her is different from all the rest. I want to spend every waking minute with her. Buried between her legs, making her laugh, making her moan. I want it all. The good, the bad and the ugly. I want her to give me everything. If that’s love, then yes, I’m utterly and imperfectly in love with that woman.
“Stryker,” Kayne growls at me.
“Here, Prez,” I answer. Shit, he’s glaring at me like he wants to rip my head off and shove it up my ass. I look at him and swallow hard. This man, the President of our MC is a strong leader. He lets us make mistakes and fix them. He lets us learn from those mistakes and knows what every brother here suffers from. We don’t even have to tell him. He can read each of us like a book and lets us come to him with our own issues and then will help us in how to correct them.
My biggest issue right now is someone hurting Holly the way they have and the biggest secret of my own. I know I need to face it head-on, but I don’t know if I have the strength to look at the man who seeded me and tell him how fucked up I am. How fucked up I’ve become since he walked out of my life and left me with that vile woman. I’ve taken care of one part of my past, now it’s time to face the other part.
“You have something you need to share?” Kayne asks.
“I do, but I don’t know if I’m ready to face that part yet. It affects a lot of people.” I answer, casting my eyes down on the table. I can’t look at him or Blayde sitting right next to me. Shame washes over me for keeping it this long.
“When you’re ready, brother. I’ll listen.” Kayne reassures me.
“Thanks, Prez. I appreciate it. I promise, soon I’ll tell you. I just need a little more time to come to head with it. Right now we have another more important issue at hand that needs to be handled.”
“Candy,” Kayne replies. I look up from the table and his jaw is clenched tight.
“Do you want me to get it started? I’d be happy to take some aggression out on that bitch.” Poison’s voice is low and deadly from the end of the table.
What Sledge did to her and Siren will haunt them until they both face it head-on. Not only will Holly need salvation from him, but they will too. When we found them, they were both tied up to a beam in the garage by their wrists, in their panties and bra. Bound, drugged and gagged. Their toes were barely touching the ground. Siren has cuts and bruising around her thighs and stomach. Poison has a cracked rib from fighting him off, bruising on the inside of her thighs and cuts on her back and stomach. They both swear he didn’t touch them that way. I thank the Bike God’s he didn’t have time to violate either of them. But he still did enough damage to their bodies and minds. It’s going to take a while to recover.
“I know you need it, Poison, but you’re not alone in this one. He took something away from all three of you and Candy helped. When Holly is feeling better, the three of you will get your chance.” Kayne says gently.
Poison looks up and nods her head. “Fine, but I want to be the one to start it.” She wants her power back. Sledge and Candy took that away from her when they drugged her.
“I agree.” Kanye takes a deep breath. “Now, Butch and Talon, get on setting up the meet with Kingston’s drug dealers. I’ll get ahold of Cahal and set up a shipment.”
Kayne slams the gavel down on the table and everyone gets up to leave. Everyone except Kayne, Blayde, Poison and myself. Kayne levels me with a look that has my blood fr
eezing in place. Poison slowly made her way over to our end of the table and is sitting on Kayne’s lap. His hands are holding her tight.
“Are you going to talk now or do you need more time?” He asks.
I suck a deep breath through my teeth. It’s time to come clean. “I found some information a while ago about my birth father. Shocked the hell out of me and I don’t know how to handle it anymore. I thought if I ignored it, he’d go away. That’s not working. The asshole keeps showing up and if I don’t tell you, I’m going to explode with rage.” I cast my eyes down on the table, tracing the scarred wood with my fingertips.
“Who is it?” Kayne asks. His voice has taken on a softer tone. Like he’s anticipating my explosion and is treating me like a kid. That has my temper on edge.
“I’m not a fucking kid,” I growl.
“Then stop acting like one and act like the enforcer you are. I didn’t give you that title because I felt bad for you. I gave it to you because you get shit done, no matter what the consequences are and keep the rest of us safe. So, it’s time to man the fuck up and spill it.”
I look up from the scarred table and stare at Kayne. “One thing you need to know before I tell you who he is, is all the fucked up shit my mother used to do when I was a kid. She’d constantly tell me I wasn’t good enough. I was a monster. A piece of shit, just like my father. So, when I found out who he was, all the taunts came roaring back. It was like a switch was flipped in my head. Her voice was quiet for so long that I really thought I was past it. After killing Karl, they came roaring back with a vengeance.” My hands ball into fists and the need to smash something is strong. I crave to feel bones crunching under my knuckles. I crave the power it gives me.
“How did you find out who it was?” Blayde asks. He’s still sitting beside me. His blue eyes are boring into the side of my head.
“He told me,” I answered quietly.
“Wait. You’ve talked to him? Who? How?” The confusion in Poison’s voice makes me edgy.
“We’ve all talked to him.” I’m being cryptic and I know it’s pushing Kayne past his tolerance level. “My father, the man who seeded me and disappeared, is Reaper.” I rush the words out fast, praying they didn’t catch it.
Poison gasps. Kayne curses under his breath and Blayde doesn’t say a word. His body stiffens when I mutter Reaper’s name and make everything I’ve learned come to light. Fuck, they heard me. I stand up from the table, my body shaking with rage.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Kayne growls.
“I need to clear my head and I can’t be here right now. I’m going for a ride. Someone please stay with Holly and keep her safe. I’ll explain everything to her when I get back.” I stalk from Church and head to my room. I grab my keys off my dresser, my bandana off the end stand and stalk toward the front door.
I yank it open with a hard pull and spot Duke and Ace sitting on their bikes ready to go. I stalk over to mine, my steps heavy on the driveway.
“What the fuck are you two doing?” I snarl.
“No one rides alone. Kayne’s orders. Besides, we haven’t had any bloodshed in a while and I know the perfect place to take you. Relieve some of that assholeness you have going on.” Ace flippantly responds, shrugging a shoulder.
I throw my leg over my bike and fire her up. The deep vibration of my Harley settles my mind. Ace and Duke do the same and we take off. Ace is leading, I’m to his left and Duke is behind him to my right. Together, the three of us fly down the open road without a care in the world. I let my worries drift away as the wind whips my face and the sun beats down on me.
All too soon, Ace is signaling to turn left into a rundown parking lot. There are a few cars parked haphazardly around the lot. He pulls up close to an old building that has seen better days and parks his bike. I follow behind him.
“What we’re heading into is sacred. Not everyone knows about this place, but it will help. Come on.” Ace dismounts his bike, removes his riding gloves and heads for the door. He doesn’t wait to see if we follow.
I quickly swing my leg over my bike and follow. Duke does the same. I scan my surroundings, waiting for someone to pop out and shoot my ass. My hand is resting on my gun strapped inside my cut. My nerves are on edge when Ace opens the door. He leads us down a dark hallway to another metal door. He knocks three times and someone moves from the other side. They knock back and Ace knocks again. The door opens to a burly man on the other side. He’s huge. Sporting tattoos all up and down his arms. His muscles are bulging under the black muscle shirt he’s wearing. He has a scowl on his face but when he spots Ace, that scowl turns to a grin.
“Bout fucking time you show your pretty face, fucker,” he greets Ace.
“Remember the last time you called me pretty?” Ace taunts back. “How’s your jaw by the way?”
“Still fucking hurts, dick.” He rubs his jaw. “You here for you or one of them?” He cocks an eyebrow in our direction.
“This fucker needs to let off some steam.” Ace answers, slapping me on the back. My body tightens when he touches me. A low growl escapes my throat.
“You’ve come to the right place, boys. There’s someone here itching for a good match.” The guard opens the door wide letting us pass.
Ace takes the lead down a set of metal stairs, deep into the basement of this building. The further down we go, the louder the chants grow. Deep grunts and groans fill the air. Where in the fuck did this fucker take me?
We reach the bottom of the stairs and walk into an open space. There are throngs of people standing in a huge circle, cheering and chanting. The smell of blood and sweat tickle my nose. The atmosphere is thick with excitement and adrenaline. It’s making my blood race and the rage I tucked away coming to the forefront of my mind. Ace talks to some big motherfucker and motions to me. The dude nods his head and points to the back.
Ace leads us to the back and into a room the size of a closet. Once Duke closes the door, it cuts out the sounds coming from the ring. There’s a single chair placed in the middle of the floor. Ace walks over to it and motions for me to sit. I do what he says and plop my ass in the chair. Ace stands in front of me while I watch everything around me.
“Stryker, this is a secret I’ve been holding back from everyone. I come here when I need to release some rage. They have a good system and we can make a lot of money tonight. Dan will set you up with someone who matches you in height and weight.”
“How is this different from the fighting ring we make money off of?” I question.
“Because what we do is controlled with rules and refs. This is different. There is no ring and only a few rules. You’ll see when you go out there how freeing it is.” The glint in Ace’s eyes tells me he really enjoys this bare-knuckle brawling. Who am I to judge what someone enjoys? I enjoy shedding blood and burying myself balls deep into Holly’s pussy.
“Where the fuck are we?” I ask.
“We’re in an underground fighting ring. I’ve been wanting to approach Kayne with this idea to make some more money for the club. It’s not legit but it’s a good way for us to earn some quick cash.” Ace answers. “Ok, here are the rules. One, no weapons. Your fists and legs are your weapons. Use them.” He flips a finger in the air. “Two, anything goes. The more blood you expel from your opponent, the higher the wages go.” Ace flicks his third finger in the air. “The only way to call the fight is when the opponent is on the ground unconscious or refuses to get back up. If that happens, you win. You’ll get to take home twenty-five percent of the bets. Got all that?” I nod my head. “Good. Now strip out of your cut, shirt, socks and boots. The only thing you’ll wear is your jeans. I’ll tape up your wrists.”
I shrug out of my cut and hand it to Duke. He takes it and carefully tucks it under his arm. Next is my t-shirt, socks and boots. Leaving them in a pile on the floor. I empty my pockets and hand it all to Duke who puts them in the pockets of my cut. The concrete is cold against my bare feet as I stand up. Ace appro
aches me with some liquid in a bottle and tape.
“This is oil to make your body slick, so the punches roll off you. Your opponent will be doing the same thing.” Ace squeezes a handful and lathers it across my shoulders, stomach, back, arms and neck. He avoids my face. He wipes his hands on a towel tucked in his back pocket. I didn’t notice it before. Ace grabs my hands and tapes them up. He goes around my wrists, down my hands and stops just before my fingers. When he’s done, I flex and unflex my hands, creating the tape to move with my fists.
“Ok. You’re all set to go. They’re going to knock when it’s our turn. Get focused and ready. Your opponent will be looking for blood. Center that rage you have brewing inside of you and use that to your advantage. You’ve fought before, but this is different. This is a controlled setting and this fucker you’re up against won’t hold back. He won’t show he’s scared of your size. This is your salvation, right here. Right now. Think about all the fucked up shit that’s happened to you.” Ace slaps my oiled covered back with a hard thud.
I take his advice and think about all the vile shit my mother and Karl have done to me over the years. All the punches, slaps and beat downs he gave me growing up. I think about how many times he’s broken or fractured one of my bones. All the bruises he’s created on my body when I was too weak to defend myself. I think about my mother taunting me, telling me I’m a worthless piece of shit. A monster. Just like my father. Images of him flash through my head. How much trouble he’s caused me recently. How I want to strike at him and knock him on his ass.
I think about all the shit Holly, my Lil’ Bit, has been through. I think about the tears in her eyes when she tells me about Sledge and how he hurt her body and mind. How he tried to get at her again.
The rage brewing below the surface comes at me full steam. My muscles coil tight, my heart is thumping against my chest. I’m ready to unleash holy hell on my opponent. A knock on the door has my adrenaline pumping fast through my veins.
Stryker's Salvation (A Savage Saints MC Book 3) Page 11
