by Dace Everan
Alisha nodded, patting her pistol. “As always, sugar pie.”
Lania nearly grinned as Jariko’s eyes lit with lust. Trig reholstered his weapon, and his fingers flew across the keyboard. Alisha chuckled and hugged Jariko’s arm. “Awe, look at that, hon, he’s checking us out,” she purred sweetly. Jariko snorted, pecking her on the temple. “Lania, Laird sent us and we are here at your disposal. Whatever you need, we will provide.”
Lania looked at the brute of a man. “Okay, take me to this place and get my man back,” she ordered.
Trig shook his head. “No, like Jariko said. We go in silent. You will stay here.” He looked at Alisha. “You can watch her. Cal will kill us all if anything happens to her.”
Alisha shook her head. “I don’t know you. I don’t take orders from you.”
Lania grinned, patting Trig on the shoulder. “Poor Trig, shot down,” she badgered.
Trig stood and towered over her. “I don’t know, harpy, but I’m pretty sure Cal is in danger and the last thing he needs to worry about is you,” he reminded her.
Lania narrowed her eyes. “I can take care of myself,” she argued.
Trig growled, baring his teeth at her. “Don’t give a shit. Cal gave me orders. You stay or none of us makes a move,” he reprimanded.
Jariko held up his hands. “Whoa. Relax, people. Alisha and I will go scope the place out, check back in when we know what’s up and we’ll go from there.”
Trig glared at Lania, debating the man’s words. He shook his head. “No. You two will stay here and watch her. She’s sneaky, likes to run off,” he warned, closing the laptop. These two were ex-military. They knew what they were doing. “You know where I’m going. You know who we’re dealing with.” Wait. He looked at the two. “Lania, will update you while I’m gone. I’ll call in an hour. If I don’t call, it’s in your hands on what happens.” Both Jariko and Alisha gave him a look of understanding. If he didn’t call, things had gone bad for him.
* * * *
Cal slumped in the chair. His eyes closed, listening to the voices around him. “I told you, she’s smart. She’ll figure it out, Ben.” A woman’s voice. It sounded a lot like his wife Lorena. The sound of flesh meeting flesh filled the room, followed by a thump. “I told you not to talk to me like that! She is an idiot. Used up, damaged, and stupid! She won’t figure shit out!” yelled Ben.
Cal took inventory of his current situation. Gagged with a cloth shoved crudely in his mouth. He sat on a hard chair. Wooden, he assumed. His ankles tied to the legs and his hands tied to the back of the chair. Okay, he was captive and helpless. Ben was yelling at his wife about Lania. What for?
“Stupid little bitch! She was supposed to have been mine that night. To Master and fuck and do whatever I wanted! Then she would have made me plenty of money for those waiting in line for her.” A soft sob filled the room.
“Ben, please.”
Ben pulled his wife up by the front of her dress. “I could have reused her over and over. She’s of sturdy stock. Could have helped her get all better, made her think I was her master. She was young and trainable. Then I could have gotten her back in with the new stock of customers and fuck!” Ben shoved his wife away, frustrated in how his life had turned out. The fury he had felt when Lania had gotten away ten years ago had nearly killed him. The one fucker who had panicked and run from his club and called the cops, reporting what he had seen, had ruined him on so many levels. The desire he had felt for Lania had taken him over for years. Then he’d met Lorena. Had a kid and put Lania to the back of his mind. To the back of his mind but never out. Lania Graylin had never been far from the forefront of his thoughts. He had watched her grow, watched the spoiled little princess as she traipsed around like a slut who owned the world. Had watched her that night at the club she had thought she knew so much about. He ground his fists and glared at Cal. Her little pet. She would come for him, and when she did he would have her again. With Frank and his wife in the back room it would be a neatly tied up little package. Lorena and Cal would be dead. Frank and his little slut, too. Of course they would figure out that it was Frank who killed Lorena and Cal and of course his own wife. With the rumors he had put out there, anyone would believe Frank was capable of this.
Ben inhaled sharp breaths. This would work! It had to. He had spent too many years waiting for the perfect moment. Then she had started getting regular with this fucker. He crossed the room, grabbing Cal by the hair and forcing his head back. When the man’s eyes opened, Ben offered a leery grin. “She’s mine,” he seethed, slamming his fist into Cal’s bloody face. By the time he was done with Lania’s precious pet, no one would recognize him.
“No, Ben! Please. Just stop this craziness,” pleaded Lorena.
Ben glared back at her. “What! You want him too, you little slut!” He let Cal’s head drop to his chest and crossed to his wife. He grabbed her foot as she tried to crawl from him. He yanked on her and pulled her back.
Cal cringed as her screams filled the room. When she went silent, Cal lifted his head and had to know. He spotted Ben on his knees, the look of utter bliss on his face, the throes of masochistic demented need fulfilled. Lorena in front of him. Her body now bleeding out. The look of shock and relief in her eyes told Cal she was fine to be dead. He looked back up at Ben and saw terror. A tortured soul had replaced the previous look of bliss. She had probably been the only woman to love the sick fuck and he’d just killed her. Reality was a bitch and she just bitch-slapped Ben right in the face.
Ben’s face cleared of any emotion and his gaze met Cal’s. “Soon, I will have Lania and she will serve me as she was supposed to have.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lania paced the room, agitation filling her. Her heart thumped a mile a minute. Jariko and Alisha were gearing up and readying themselves. Five minutes and if Trig didn’t call they would be heading out. An hour had passed and they hadn’t heard from Trig. Worry filled Lania. Trig was a good friend of Cal’s. Cal would be devastated if anything happened to the man. She crossed to the two. “What do we do?” she asked.
Alisha shook her head. “You stay here. We’ve already notified Laird. He will be here shortly to take care of you.”
Lania shook her head. “No. I need to know if Trig is okay!”
Alisha shook her head. “You were given your orders. Don’t make us tie you up and leave you here for Laird.”
Liana narrowed her eyes. These two had no idea who the hell they were messing with! Fine, they could go. As soon as they left she was the fuck out of here and going to Ben’s herself. She could handle him. She could handle Frank as well!
Lania waited ten minutes after they left before making a move. She inched out the window and peered down the side of the building, rolling her eyes at the three-story drop. Mmm, thank goodness for those gymnast lessons mother had sent her to. She shimmied along the ledge until she reached a balcony, hopped the railing, and tried the patio doors, grinning when it eased open with a quiet slide. She peeked into the room and was welcomed by darkness. Score. She raced through the dark apartment and exited out the front door without a problem. She took the stairs down and crossed the street, entered the alley, and zigzagged until she was nearly clear across town, and walked into the biker bar.
Once inside, she scanned the area, relief hitting her when she spotted the man she had hoped would be here. She crossed to him and plopped down on a chair across from him. “Busy, sugar?” she asked, running her booted foot along his pant leg. She could feel the leather of his biker boot under there. Tall, scruffy and red-bearded. Mick was scary looking. He’d scored more scars on his face from the last time she’d seen him, as did his hands. She could only imagine the damage his body had gone through over the years. She had heard he had been near death a few years ago. She had sent a private doctor to his club house to take care of him.
His big blue eyes settled on her, and she could see his pretty lips curl in a smile. “Get your ass in my lap, Lania,” he ordered, o
pening his arms to her. Lania complied and hugged herself around his thick frame. “Good to see you, girl. Not so good though,” he shared.
Lania nodded. She had promised never to bother him unless dire need arose. He hated having her associated with him in any manner. “My friends are in trouble. My business partner, I think, has gone completely fucktard on me and I need to get my friend back.”
Mick grunted and hugged her tighter. “How many do we need and are we making this hush-hush?”
“Hush-hush, and three others are involved that can’t be hurt,” she relayed, laying her head on his thick chest, his beard tickling her cheek. His hand was gentle as it rubbed her arm. Being in his big arms made her realize how much she really missed him. A small smile came to her lips at the remembrance of their first meeting in the busy halls of the court house. She had been placed next to him as they both waited for their appointments. His for a murder, hers for her incident regarding the club and the sickos in it. He’d studied her, then in a gruff voice had told her to stay strong and don’t let the weaker people take her down. After things had cleared up she had found her way to him. She had found him in a dingy bar and told him she had listened and she wouldn’t let the weaker people take her down. But she needed a strong person in her corner. Of course after a summer of roaming with him and his gang he had told her to go home. Assured her they would be there for her if she needed them.
“All righty. Up and gather my boys. There in the back room,” he ordered. Lania did as she was told, receiving a smack on her ass as she walked away from him. She stopped and looked back at him with question. “I told you to stay outta trouble,” he grumbled, downing the rest of his dark drink. Anyone would guess whiskey and pop, but from the smell of him, straight pop. Mick might be the big bad biker but he was no dummy and he stayed sober for everything.
* * * *
Cal rolled his eyes in annoyance. How the fuck did the good guys get caught by this half-wit fuckwad! For fuck’s sake! Trig was hunched over, tied in the same manner as he. Two others, a man and woman, were tied together and had black cloth sacks over their heads. Cal glared up at Ben. He swore in the last hour he’d grown horns and gathered about three more personalities. So not cool to work with a psychotic mess. He wasn’t sure how the fuck they were going to get out of this one. He hoped to fuck Lania had been smart enough to call Laird and demand back up.
* * * *
Lania hopped off Mick’s bike and surveyed the house in front of her. The lights to the living room were on. She could see someone’s silhouette pacing back and forth. She glanced at the neighboring houses. All seemed quiet. She was surprised no one was coming out to check what the ruckus was with the fifteen motorcycles driving through their neighborhood.
Mick snorted. “Too scared and don’t want to get involved,” he said, answering her questioning look.
Lania nodded, looking at Mick’s men. All hard men, all had been a part of his club for years. All ex-cons who would do anything Mick would say. “Thank you again, Mick,” she murmured, grasping his hand.
Mick gave the delicate hand a squeeze. “Don’t thank me yet, sugar.” He led the way up the stone steps and walked right into the house. No knock, no hello, he just walked in like he owned the place, his men right behind him.
Lania waited a few minutes until Popper, a short little man that carried a machete on his waist, poked his head out and motioned for her to come in. Lania had been told his name was Popper because he liked popping off the heads of his victims with that knife. When Lania entered the room, nausea hit her. Lorena lay in a bloody heap on the floor. Cal and Trig were tied to chairs, and she assumed the other two were Jariko and Alisha. Mick had Ben by the throat and pinned to the wall, a knife at his groin.
“This your Ben, Lania?” Mick asked roughly.
“That would be him,” she answered, crossing to Cal and loosening the rough rope on his wrists. As soon as he was free he pulled her into his lap.
“Woman! I swear.”
Lania moaned a sigh of relief, hugging him back. “Yes I am sure you do,” she answered, kissing his cheek. “Stay still. I’ll get your feet.”
Cal shook his head. “Get Trig,” he ordered, already bent over to free his feet. His gaze on the burly biker that held Ben captive as he unloosened his binds.
“He has men outside,” Jariko’s muffled voice warned.
Mick nodded to his men, and seven dispensed from the room.
“Frank and his wife are in another room, Lania. Ben was behind it all. He killed Lorena,” Cal revealed.
Lania freed Trig and went to Jariko and Alisha, removing the bags from their heads. She needed to deal with the mess in this room before she opened up another. After she had Jariko and Alisha freed, she motioned for Mick to place Ben in the chair that had held Cal. She was quick on tying him securely. “Mick, can your men please remove Cal, Trig, and the other two from the room, please.” Mick all but nodded his head and the room was cleared. Cal and Trig argued as they were hauled out, fighting against men to get back into the house to stop Lania from doing something she may later regret.
Mick stood behind Lania as she stared at the man in the chair. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret, hon,” he warned.
Lania shook her head. “Only one thing I regret ever doing in my life, Mick.” She glanced at him. Her eyes full of sorrow. “Had I not made that mistake, I wouldn’t know you.”
Mick grunted. “You have a man out there that looks genuinely concerned.”
Lania nodded. “Yes, and the things I want to do he cannot see because he’s a cop.”
Mick grunted. “I’ll leave you be then.”
Lania didn’t look at Mick as he left her with Ben. Her gaze focused on Ben. Cal didn’t need to see this side of her. Knowing that she had this side that could so easily hurt another being without thought. She unsheathed the knife she had hidden in her boot.
* * * *
Cal struggled against the man who held him in a death grip. When the gruff-looking leader named Mick came out, he snarled. “Order him to let me go!” he demanded. Mick merely glanced at him, passed, settled on his bike, and lit a cigarette. Cal grunted, struggling again. “She’ll regret anything she does to him!” Cal argued, his gaze smoldering, begging Mick to free him, to stop Lania from doing something she would have to live with for the rest of her life. “She’s healing from her past. This will only bring it all back and she will have to start all over again!” Cal argued. He hoped his words were getting through to this biker, that he had a heart for Lania and could understand the pain she had gone through already and help save her from inflicting more hurt upon herself. “Do you want her to be in this lifestyle? Do you want her to struggle for some semblance of normalcy?” he snarled.
Mick took a long, smooth drag from his cigarette. His gaze focused on the draped window of the house. After a few minutes of silence, his dark gaze met Cal’s. “You need to have faith that she knows what she is doing.”
Cal grunted and slumped in the arms that held him. “I have faith in her…I have no faith in Ben and the words he will utter to her.” If she found out that it was he who had been responsible for what happened to her those many years ago…she would crumble and the hurt and pain would take over.
Mick narrowed his eyes. Lania was a smart girl. She knew better than to risk her life and freedom for scumbags. He would give her twenty minutes to play with the fucker and get the info she wanted before he intervened. It was the least he could do.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cal staggered forward as the hulk of man released him. He looked at Mick. “Go. Stop her from what she may regret,” he ordered, waving his hand in a silent order for his men to round up and head out. Cal rushed up the stairs and burst into the house. He came to a stop in the entrance of the room and the scene before him. Lania slumped against the wall, her eyes closed, a bloody knife in her hand. Fat tears rolled down her cheek and she cried silently. Ben slumped over in the chair Cal had occupied a mere t
wenty minutes prior. His chest slowly rising and falling, he was still alive. Relief filled Cal. She hadn’t killed him. Bruised him up a bit, but had let him live.
Cal rushed to Lania, falling to his knees in front of her. “Lania.” Her name slipped from his lips in a scratchy, quiet whisper. She inhaled a shaky breath and her eyes opened. Green met blue and silence surrounded them. Cal waited, knowing she had something to say. A request. He could see from the pain in her eyes. From the tremble on her lips. The way her jaw worked.
“Take me home, Cal,” she whispered. The knife fell from her hand, clunking to the floor with a deafening thud. Cal gathered her up in his arms and buried her face in the crook of his neck. “Lania.” He breathed her name and squeezed her as she sobbed, her body going limp in his arms.
* * * *
Cal settled onto the chaise, his gaze on Lania as she sat at her desk, papers spread out in front of her. A strand of hair fell across her forehead, and his lips curled in a smile as she was too distracted by the paperwork in front of her to even fix the minor imperfection. His heart tugged at how much he loved this woman. He reclined back on the chair and closed his eyes. He would wait all night if he had to. Two months had passed since they had returned home, since the hell they had fallen so quickly into had passed. Ben was sitting in prison for the murder of his wife and the selling of his own daughter. Thank fuck they had managed to get the info out of the crazy fuck to save her and the other women he had captured. All were now in care of next of kin or family getting the help they all needed to deal with their trauma. Lania made a point to go see Charlotte every week. A trust fund had been made for her with her father’s portion of the business. Ben was also charged with the attempted murder of Frank and his wife. As well as the kidnapping of two police officers. Nothing was mentioned of Jariko and Alisha. Laird had requested they not be mentioned. No mention was made of Mick and his groupies. Lania had injured Ben in a way that made his wounds look to be self-defence on her part. Everything had wrapped up on their behalf quite nicely. All except Lania. She still hadn’t spoken to him about what had been said between her and Ben while they had been alone. Deep down he knew that asshole Ben told her everything.
