“Are you okay?” she asked softly.
I put my finger to my lips, asking her to silence her words before I nodded my head. The last thing I needed was anyone else getting hurt because they became some sort of loose end my father had to tie up.
Then, I walked outside.
Please forgive me, Cage. I hope you understand.
And as I made my way to the open door of the black SUV, the minutes of my life ticked down as I clung to my purse.
Fucking hell, what had I just done?
19
Cage
“You good?” Bear asked.
I chugged back the water as my vision finally settled. It wasn’t tunneled any longer. I didn’t feel weak in my knees. I was sick with worry, though. Sutton was out there, vulnerable. Exposed. She had no mode of transportation unless she took a cab. At the mercy of someone who wasn’t me.
I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m as good as I’m gonna get for now.”
“Good. Now, I have an important question for you,” Diesel said.
I glared at him as I shook my head.
“I know what you’re about to ask, and don’t,” I said.
“I don’t know what he’s about to ask,” Toxin said.
“He’s about to ask if Sutton was ever on his side, idiot,” Grave murmured.
“Not my fucking fault I’m not a mind reader,” Toxin said.
“Shut up,” Diesel said curtly.
I shook my head. “There’s no way. I know Sutton. She came after me to warn me about the fact that her father knew I was coming this way. She’d never betray me like that. We—I—”
All the guys looked at me with pity in their eyes. They were judging Sutton, when they had no basis on which to judge her. Well, they did. But not the proper judgment necessary for her character.
“Look, she’s many things, but she’s only her father’s daughter by blood. She’s not like him,” I said.
“Are you sure about that? Because her coming to find you could have easily been her father sending her after you. In order to track you down and get to us,” Diesel said.
“Yeah, for all we know we’re now targets,” Rock said.
“Which makes our families targets,” Brewer said
I paused. “Holy shit.”
“What?” Saint asked.
“That’s why she left,” I said breathlessly.
“I’m not following,” Diesel said.
“Now, look who doesn’t get it,” Toxin murmured.
“Sutton is nothing, if not compassionate. She’s empathetic to a fault, which is why she keeps herself locked away to badly. Because other’s emotions affect her in ways it doesn’t for other people. She’s got that same mindset right now. But she’s got all this shit piled on top of it,” I said.
“She thinks she’s the reason our families are targets,” Grave said.
I peeked over at him. “It’s the only explanation for why she’d leave. The only logical one that doesn’t assume her character is absolute shit. Which I know it isn’t.”
The guys still looked at me with quizzical expressions, though. And they looked at me so long in silence I began to question my own mindset. My own disposition. There was no way Sutton would betray me like that. There was no way she set all of this as a trap. If she did, where were the bullets? Where were the guns? Where was the stormy rampage now that we were all situated in one place?
But what if the guys were right?
Could this have been a set up this whole time? If so, that meant Lars probably put his daughter in my path from the beginning. Every date. Every get together. Every time we snuck around. Even last night, when we’d enjoyed one another like our palpable tension had been begging for us to do for weeks.
“Are you sure about this?” Diesel asked.
I saw her the second she entered the room. Dark brown hair. Brown eyes. Tanned skin that made my fingertips itch to trace red marks against it. Her long legs and thick thighs made me stare, but it was her broad shoulders and her tits that made me double-take. This angel of a beauty was wrapped in darkness. Clad in nothing but salacious want and intent as she glanced around the room. She looked at everyone like they were nothing. Useless little trinkets to her debaucherous ways.
Then, she caught my eye.
For entire heartbeats, she stared at me. Ran her eyes up and down my form. I licked my lips and grinned at her, watching as her hair softly poured beyond her shoulders. Her cat-like eyes were shaded with blacks. Her ruby red dress sparkled against her skin. She had heels as high as the sky, flexing that ass for all to see.
But something told me in the pit of my gut that I’d be the only one to touch it.
The question was, would she let me tonight? Or would she make me work for it?
“Yes. I’m beyond sure,” I said, nodding.
“Don’t tell me that’s good enough for you,” Rock said.
Diesel shook his head. “I’m not so sure it is. But until we have concrete proof, we can’t do anything one way or another. We don’t bring any harm to women and children. Never, unless we have existential circumstances. And even then, it’s to remove them from the situation. Not take them out.”
“I won’t let any of you hurt her,” I glowered.
“Hold your horses, Romeo. We’re just trying to figure out how fucked we are right now,” Toxin said.
“You can ignore the sarcastic toilet mouth in the corner,” Brewer said.
“Hey, you’re the one that found him,” Rock said, grinning.
“From the first time I met her, there were no signs of nefarious intent. I plan on trusting my gut until there is evidence directly in front of my eyes to skew that notion. Because my gut has never been wrong,” I said.
“Not once?” Diesel asked.
“Everyone’s gut is wrong every once in a while,” Bear said.
“Not mine,” I said curtly.
“Hey, guys?” Saint asked.
“What’s up?” Diesel asked.
“So, I’m listening to the police scanner, right? Figured it might give us something interesting to go on. It says there was a robbery at a junkyard. Some girl took a motorcycle, and she matches the description of this girl,” Saint said.
“Sutton,” I said.
“Right. Sutton. I mean, she didn’t have wheels when she left,” Saint said.
“Cage, can your girl hotwire a bike?” Diesel asked.
I snickered. “She found me in Redding based on a picture and a Google search. She can shoot a gun with complete accuracy with one hand tied behind her back, and I taught her on our first few dates how to ride a bike in the first place. It wouldn't shock me one damn bit if she knew how to do that.”
“Sounds like a hell of a woman,” Brewer said.
I turned around, facing him. “She is. She’s worth every single piece of heartache we’re about to go through in order to get her back. In order to make sure she’s safe.”
The guys in the room fell silent as the police scanner came to life again. Talking about a 9-1-1 phone call at a gas station just outside of Redding. Some woman had gotten herself into an iffy situation. I heard the words ‘dark features,’ ‘black SUV,’ and ‘men with sunglasses.’ And that was all I needed to know.
“That’s Sutton,” I said.
“That’s the gas station—Wendy’s combination on the highway headed out of town,” Bear said.
“She’s been snatched up by her father. We have to move,” I said.
“Not until we have more details,” Diesel said.
“How many more details do you need? We know her last known location!” I exclaimed.
“And that could be any woman with dark features. There are plenty of them around here because we live near the damn ocean, Cage. Cool your jets and let us do our thing. You asked for our help, so trust us with it,” Diesel said.
“Before you ask, no. I can’t tap into CCTV cameras remotely. They are on a closed circuit. I’d have to actually be there in order to access the
footage. And by that point, we might as well just ask the woman behind the counter who probably placed the police call in the first place,” Rock said.
“Okay, then it looks like we’re headed to this gas station,” Diesel said.
All of us headed out to our bikes and threw our legs over the seats. We revved our engines, pulling away from the lodge before I fell into formation behind Diesel. I brought up the back, riding behind the other guys and keeping one eye trained on my rearview mirrors. I knew that was Sutton. I mean, come one. A black SUV? Sunglasses? That screamed of Lars’ men. I drew in a deep breath before I looked up, and I saw Rock pointed to his helmet.
He pointed his finger to me, and then to his helmet.
“Seriously?” I murmured.
I reached up and pressed a button on the inside of my helmet that brought to life the headphones inside. Usually, I used them for music. A bluetooth connection and a simple set up. But when I pressed that button, I heard the voices of all the men in front of my chattering away.
“He here yet?” Bear asked.
“I’m waving him down to tell him to get connected,” Rock said.
“I thought we had to set shit like this up before we left,” I said.
“There he is!” Diesel exclaimed.
“I’m the tech guru. I know how to do all sorts of shit hands-free,” Rock said.
“I’m sure your woman is a fan of that,” Toxin said, snickering.
“Anyway, Cage. I want to ask you something, and I need you to answer me honestly,” Diesel said.
“Shoot,” I said.
“When we do find Sutton and we found out she has been working for her father all this time, are you prepared for that?” he asked.
“That’s not going to happen,” I said.
“That’s not the question he asked,” Grave said.
“It’s not a question we have to entertain,” I said.
“Look, we know you have faith in this woman. But this could go a completely different way. I need to know if you’re prepared for that or not,” Diesel said.
I sighed. “No. I’m not, if you want an honest answer.”
“So, with that said—”
“You don’t have to say anything else because I get where this is going. I’ll lay it out for you just like this. If we find Sutton and she’s been colluding with her father this entire fucking time, then she’s got our father’s blood on her hands, too. If she’s been working with him, then she knew about the slaughtering of my crew and decided to go along with it. And if that’s the case? You won’t have to worry about her. Because I’ll take care of her personally,” I said.
Everyone fell silent before Diesel cleared his throat.
“All I needed to know,” he said.
I knew that wouldn't happen. I knew Sutton better than that. At least, I thought I did. I believed I did. But if that was the case? If she’d been playing me this entire time? I’d slaughter the lot of them. I’d put a bullet in every man dressed in black and I’d put a bullet between Lars’ eyes.
And then, before it was all said and done, I’d run down every sin Sutton ever committed before putting a bullet between hers, too.
20
Sutton
I rode in the black SUV for what seemed like hours. My shock and fear were getting the best of me, and I was having a hard time calculating just how far away we had driven. The sun was still hanging heavily in the sky. Which meant we hadn’t traveled for long. It was still lunch time around here, which meant my father and his assholes weren’t too far outside of Redding this entire time. It made me sick to think about. I snickered in anger. I didn’t know what the hell possessed me to think I could actually get away from my father.
But it was time to end this bullshit once and for all.
I watched through the tinted windows as the desert passed us by, peppered with random circumstances of trees. It was the oddest setting. The oddest layout of land I’d ever been to. And yet, there was a beauty about it I wouldn’t trade for anything. In that moment, I made up my mind. I’d never go back to Nevada. I’d never go back to the life I had before all this. California had captured me. Body, mind, and soul. I’d die before I ever went home with my father.
Or home, in general.
We pulled off the road and into a dusty parking lot. I looked at the building, from the remnants of it, the damn thing looked to be an old rundown diner. I was honestly shocked there was an “open” sign illuminated in the window. Because the thing looked closed otherwise.
“Come on,” one of the men said brutely.
The SUV door flew open and I was dragged out of the car. I cried out and squealed, trying to pull myself away from them. I clung to my purse, wrapping it up in my arms while they frisked me. The men groped my breasts a little too hard and squeezed my ass cheeks a little too much. One of them knocked my legs apart and ran his hands way too far up my fucking thighs. I felt them peeking down my shirt. One of them ran their fingers through my hair to pull my head back.
I ripped away from them, stumbling to the ground before I scrambled up.
“You guys think I’m really that much of an idiot to bring a damn gun to see my fucking father?” I asked.
The men grinned at me as one of them reached for me again. But I backed away once more.
“You guys touch me like that again, and I won’t kill him. But I’ll kill every last one of you if my father doesn’t first for touching his little girl like this,” I glowered.
And after they were done looking at one another, one of them grabbed my arm and hauled me to the front door of the diner.
“Let me go!” I exclaimed.
The door crashed open and they tossed me into the diner. I stumbled against the bar, looking up to see an absolutely petrified attendant behind the counter. The cook stared at me from the kitchen, with a knife gripped firmly in his hands. No one needed to die. No one needed to get hurt. I shook my head quickly at him, trying to convince him to stand down.
I had this. And if things went according to plan, the only person who would be injured was my father.
“Welcome, princess.”
My father’s voice hit my ears and I slowly panned my gaze over to him. He sat there with a smile in the corner booth. As far away from the front door as he could get. The blinds in the place were drawn. No one could see in, and no one could see out. I looked back at his guys that guarded the door, and one of them licked his lips.
I wanted to slice those damn things off his face with a knife.
“Father,” I said.
I slowly walked over to him and was promptly greeted with a cup of coffee. Her hands were shaking as she poured the drink, then she scurried off. My father passed me the creamer and sugar. As if we were having one of our infamous lunch outings.
“So, how have you been?” he asked.
“Do we really need the small talk?” I asked.
He snickered. “I suppose we don’t.”
I made up my coffee to give my hands something to do, then stirred the thick creamer around in the black liquid.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked.
“Of course. You can ask me anything,” my father said.
“Why did you have to kill all of them?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t kill all of them.”
“I mean, the crew. His crew. Why did you have to kill them? You could have chased them out of town.”
“Ah, well. Where’s the fun in that?”
His nonchalance toward the question made my stomach sick.
“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?” I asked.
He grinned as he sipped his coffee before he put the mug down.
“Not if you’re still of some use to me,” he said.
“Use to you?” I asked.
“Of course. You're my daughter. I’m assuming your loyalty is to the only ounce of family you’ve got left.”
“This is madness, Daddy. You don’t have to do this. Slaughtering entire families just
to get to me isn’t going to solve anything. Your empire is back home. Not here. They don’t have to pay for my actions here.”
“Who says you’re the only one I’m after? You forget who I was tracking in the first place,” he said.
“So, you’re still going after Cage.”
“Of course. Not only is he not dead when he should be, but he defiled my daughter. Touched something that wasn’t his. There aren’t many negotiations surrounding you that would go off without some complications once they learned you’d had your mouth around the cock of some rundown, leather-clad biker,” he said.
My jaw fell open. “What?”
“Sutton, you and I have a duty to this family. Your mother had a role to play in all this, and so do you. Just like everyone has their role to play. Even me,” he said.
“What—what role? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He sighed. “You’re my daughter. And my only child. I can’t rightly pass on my empire to you. The men would never listen to a woman in charge. I was in the process of finding you a suitor. Someone that I knew would treat you well in marriage, give you beautiful children, and enable me to have someone I trusted to pass my business to. So to speak.”
Was I really hearing what I thought I was hearing?
“But you always said—”
“Oh, Sutton. You’ve always been so headstrong. So independent, just like your mother. But your mother fell into being taken care of just like I know you will. With time. Eventually, your mother enjoyed not having the stress of financial worries and debts on her back. Eventually, your mother enjoyed the role she played. The dutiful wife. The faithful mother. The vixen in bed. Your mother led a happy life. One I was in the process of carving out for you until I caught wind of your little affair with Cage.”
“So, I was just some business deal to you. To secure an heir to your throne,” I said.
Dead Souls MC: Prospects Series Books 1-5 Page 13
