CONTROL: A Dark Bad Boy Baby Romance (Blackened Souls MC)

by Naomi West

  The closer the warehouse got, the more his brain spun. He tried to imagine every possible scenario and how it could play out. He wanted to be prepared for anything, and ready to take whatever came at him. He imagined various tactics and strategies, imagined every way possible that Carter might have this set up as a trap. He just hoped he was the smarter one in the scenario. That no matter what Carter had planned, he’d have out thought him and would be able to out fight him. There was no option for failure in his mind. Get in. Find Sara. Get Sara. Get Ian. Kill Carter. Those where the only things that would happen. Nothing else was allowed to become a thought for his mind to play with. If he thought about everything that could go wrong, it might trip him up and get in his way.

  The warehouse came into view down the street. Saxton made a quick turn left, down the alley parallel to the warehouse. He didn’t want to take a chance of anyone peaking out and seeing him. He pulled his bike into a pool of shadow, shut it off, and listened. In the distance, he heard the rumble of many bikes. His crew was close.

  He walked closer to the warehouse so that he could see it from beside another building and still be in the cover of darkness. The building was low and long, all block and very few windows. He could see just three on this side of the building, all of them small. Maybe the front had more, maybe not. It would be hard to get in through a window, but not impossible.

  The door might be harder. Along the back was a wide shuttered door, the type used for deliveries. Another man-sized door was beside it. It was the metal type, though, with a strong lock. Hard to break through. If it was unlocked, cool, but that was unlikely. He could shoot it open, but that would cause too much noise and would ruin his chance of surprise. It was also a little too well lit and out in the open for his liking. A window was his best option.

  The other thing disturbing him was that there was no light on in any of the rooms where the windows were. That could be a good sign, or it could be bad. Hopefully, it meant the rooms were empty. But if someone was in there, watching and waiting, having the lights off and waiting in the near dark would give them an advantage.

  As Saxton tried to decide which window would be best to break in through, he heard the first car alarm go off. His guys were at work. Over the next minute, several more alarms started. Nothing changed from what he could see of the building. He approached the window that was somewhat off to one side, a little more obscured from sight by shadow than the others. It was low enough to see in, but when he stood to the side to look in, all that was visible was darkness. He had no choice but to go in blind and hope he chose well.

  With all the noise going on, he didn’t bother to hide the breaking glass. His guys would all be smashing car windows as well, so there was plenty of noise to cover what he was doing. He picked up a large rock from the ground and held it, then banged it against the window. With the rock tight in his hand, he knocked all the glass pieces from the frame. Then he dropped the rock and hoisted himself up and through the window. It was a tight squeeze, and he felt the pinch of glass cutting into his knee and down his shin as he pulled himself through.

  When he landed, he let his eyes adjust and paused to listen before doing anything else. He felt at the cut on his leg and it didn’t seem like there was too much blood, so it must not be too bad. It didn’t feel very deep and wasn’t too painful. It wouldn’t hinder him in any way.

  He seemed to have landed in some sort of office. He thought he could just make out a desk in the corner and a filing cabinet. But the only light was the early dawn creeping in through the now broken window. All he could hear were car alarms and voices. The voices seemed to be coming from outside where the alarms were. It sounded like there was something of a crowd out there. Hopefully the Crows in the warehouse were all out there, too.

  Saxton opened the door of the small room a crack and listened again, sticking just his head through the door. The next room was much larger. It held slightly more light. The one window he’d seen from the back wasn’t the only one in this room. There were several at the front as well. But no lightbulbs were burning or any other light source than the rising dawn’s glow. The space sounded empty. Only the whirring of subtle machines—probably whatever heated the building—could be heard.

  He stepped into the bigger room and looked around. The wall he stood nearest contained two other doors. Maybe more office type rooms or closets. Across the room was a hallway leading back. It was too dark down the hall to see anything.

  He started with the nearest door. It was locked. He knocked softly, pressed his ear against it to listen, and heard nothing. The next room was the same. She should have heard him knock if she were in there, but just in case, he said her name quietly at each door and waited again. He figured he’d hear something if she was in there with Ian. Them talking about who could be at the door or moving around in there.

  Outside, there were several people standing in the street. Car alarms still blared, though it seemed that several had been turned off already. His diversion was coming to an end and he needed to hurry. His guys couldn’t go out there and break more windows with so many people watching. They’d now be waiting nearby for further instructions.

  Saxton shifted his eyes from the windows to the dark space ahead as he made his way to the hallway. He wrapped his hand around his knife and kept it at his side, ready to pull it in an instant should someone appear. He stepped out of the dim light and paused beside two doors.

  The doors behind him looked like the doors across the room—metal and plain with knobs. But the one he faced had a large, thick bolt across it. So that it could be locked from the outside and keep whatever was inside in. This seemed like the perfect room to keep a captive in. When he pressed his ear to the door, he heard some movement, but no voices.

  “Sara?” he whispered at the crack in the door.

  The movement stopped, but there was no response.

  “It’s Saxton,” he tried again.

  Faintly, he heard, “Saxton?”

  It was her. She was here, after all, and he’d found her. He slid the bolt open slowly to keep the noise to a minimum. Then he opened the door.

  Inside, Sara stood, a shocked and relieved look on her face. Ian sat huddled in the corner and looked up at him, hope flooding over his little face.

  “You came for us,” she said.

  “Of course I did.” He crossed the small space and wrapped his arms around her.

  She didn’t hug him back, but rested her head on his shoulder. Her arms were pinned behind her, and he realized her hands were bound. What a nice guy Carter was. Couldn’t even let her be unbound in this tiny room.

  “I wasn’t sure if you would come after the way I treated you. Saxton, I’m so sorry, I—”

  “It’s okay.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her briefly. “I’ll get you out of here and we can forget all about that.”

  She nodded and tears tripped down her face. She was dirty and so was Ian. This room, whatever it was, wasn’t finished like the room he’d first landed in when he came in through the window. This one was probably used to hold people in the past and hadn’t been cleaned between captives. The walls were covered in smears and layers of grim, and the floor was just as dirty. One bulb hung from the ceiling, and it was covered in cob webs and dust. There wasn’t even a place to sit or urinate.

  “I knew you’d come,” Ian said. His voice was a little too loud for Saxton’s comfort.

  “Of course. We just need to keep very quiet, okay? I’ll get your mom untied.”

  “Me too.” Ian raised his hands, which had been buried in his lap, and revealed ropes tying them as well.

  Saxton shook his head. “He tied a child up, too? Sick bastard.”

  “We weren’t at first,” Sara explained. “But I tried to fight back. Then he tied us.”

  Saxton smiled at her and turned her so he could cut her free. As he pulled up his knife and positioned it, he felt something hard and cold press against his head. He pulled his knife quickly
through the thin rope to cut it, then took a step back.

  “So you’ve come,” Carter said.

  Saxton took a deep breath. Sara spun at the sound of Carter’s voice and her face melted into a horrified expression when she saw the gun pressed against Saxton’s head.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Let him go!” Sara said.

  Carter removed the gun long enough to point it at Ian. “Get in the corner.”

  Sara obeyed and hurried to the corner closest to Ian so that she could stand in front of him to protect him.

  “I guess you do love my sister after all,” Carter said, pressing the gun against Saxton’s head again. “I’m so touched. And you made it so easy for me to kill you. Drop the knife.”

  Saxton let it go and with a clatter, it hit the cement floor. Carter put his foot over it and kicked back. From the corner of his eye, Saxton saw the knife slide out of the room. He should have given a weapon to Sara. A knife, a small gun, anything to protect herself. Now it was too late and he’d messed up. She was untied, but that wouldn’t do her much good.

  He considered his options as Carter tightened his arm across his throat. If he used his martial arts training to get free, Carter might shoot Sara or Ian. The guy had zero morals, that was clear. He probably would shoot the kid. No wonder he’d shot Liam like he had.

  Saxton’s best bet was to go with Carter until they were away from Sara, then try to make some kind of move. That way, she was safer. She would still be locked in that room, but maybe Saxton could get away from Carter and get back to her fast enough. If he could get a text to one of his guys, he could have someone get her out now that he knew where they were. But it seemed unlikely that he’d be able to send a text anytime soon.

  Carter stepped back, moving Saxton back with him. They moved out of the room, Carter keeping his arm tight against Saxton’s throat so that he could barely breathe. When they’d cleared the room, Carter kicked the door shut.

  Saxton turned his head sharply to the right, like he’d heard or seen something. He felt Carter turn, too, but of course, there was nothing there.

  “You have other guys here?” Carter asked.

  “No.”

  Carter grunted like he didn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter. Saxton’s plan had worked. His faking hearing something and getting Carter to look had given just enough distraction that Carter forget about the bolt keeping Sara and Ian locked inside. He banged the gun into Saxton’s head and pushed him forward hard.

  “Walk,” Carter barked.

  They approached a door at the end of the hall. When they stood in front of it, Carter shoved Saxton to it.

  “Go down.”

  Saxton pulled open the door and saw the top few steps of a flight. Carter flipped on a light so Saxton could see to walk down. They entered some sort of cold basement. It looked like this was used as a storage space with boxes lined up in the corner, growing mildew and some toppled over. An old bar mirror rested against a collection of stools and bar taps. A neon sign that read “Cold eer” sat against the wall.

  In the middle of the room, surely where Saxton was being led, was a large roundish patch of a dark stain. Probably blood. In the center of the stain was a circular drain. So they killed people down here and let their blood run into the sewer. Nice plan. What did they do with the bodies after? Cut them into pieces and stick them in vats of acid to melt the bones? Or leave them in the streets to rot like they had done with Liam?

  Saxton was a little grateful for that, actually. At least having his body meant they were able to bury Liam properly, and in his Jagged Souls jacket and patch. If Carter had dumped his body, they might not have the murder weapon, and they might not even know Liam was dead. He could have run off somewhere.

  Carter pushed Saxton down to his knees in the center of the dark mark and pointed the gun at his head again. “Boy, this feels familiar. Hmm. Can’t think of why…”

  Saxton gritted his teeth. “Enough with the games, Carter. I know you killed Liam.”

  “Oh right.” Carter chuckled. “I almost forgot. Liam. He was a friend of yours, wasn’t he?”

  “My second in command.”

  “Aww, I bet that hurt to lose someone so close,” Carter mocked.

  “What would you know about close? Look how you treat your own sister. You scum. I hope no one is stupid enough to get close to you. You’d just use them.”

  “Well, sure. That’s all people are good for. You’re all just pawns in my game. And Liam got a little too close to me.”

  Saxton harrumphed. “Is that why you killed him? He could have turned you in or something? Taken your business? What? I’d love to know your reason for shooting someone in cold blood like that.”

  “Oh, Sammy, I thought you knew. Liam was a little too close. In more ways than one. He was fucking my old lady, planning to take my spot. Doesn’t that sound like the nice guy you knew?”

  “Like you would care if someone was screwing your woman. I’m sure you ran around on her.”

  “It’s my business to. But it’s hers to keep her legs closed. Besides, it wasn’t so much that as his plans to take me out and take over the Crows.”

  Saxton shook his head. “There’s no way Liam wanted that. He loved being a Jagged Soul.”

  “Well, maybe you didn’t know him so well after all. Seems like maybe he just wanted to be in charge. Maybe he even wanted to run your little biker club.”

  None of this sounded like the Liam he knew. Maybe he’d screwed Carter’s girl. Any of his guys might do something like that. Hell, Saxton might even do something like that if the timing and mood were right. But to take over a gang like the Cruel Crows? Or to have aspirations to take over the Jagged Souls? No. Liam had been like a brother. Never once had he shown any hint of jealousy or anything close to wanting to be in charge. He was happy to take commands. Happy to go about doing his own thing and not be responsible for a huge group.

  One time, Saxton had put him in charge of a project, so that he oversaw a group of ten of their guys. By the time the job was done, Liam had been relieved. He’d told Saxton that ordering those guys around all the time was stressful and he didn’t know how Saxton did it. He didn’t mind being second because it meant he only had to do what Saxton said, he didn’t have to decide what was to be done.

  This was probably one of Carter’s tactics. Get Saxton upset and mad so he would react and say something or do something stupid. Well, it wasn’t going to work. He knew Liam and Carter hadn’t. He’d stand by that.

  “Seems to me,” Saxton said, “I do remember something about him screwing your woman. Something about her being so skanky and nasty, he was going to give her back to you gladly.”

  Carter slammed the gun into the back of Saxton’s head. It sent a spike of pain through his skull, then throbbed hotly.

  “Good thing I took Liam out then. He even begged for his life, the sad little fucker. All sniveling like, ‘Please, please, don’t kill me, please!’ It was pathetic.”

  There was no way that was true, either. He’d seen Liam take hits to the jaw and not flinch or even respond. He’d seen him have a gun pointed at him and roll his eyes. Liam had been tough. And he’d never have begged someone like Carter for anything. Even his own life.

  “So you got Liam. What’s your beef with me?” Saxton asked.

  “I don’t like people who ask too many questions or know too many things. And you do both. If you would have let it go and forgotten about Liam, everything would have been fine. But no. You couldn’t let it go. Had to keep searching, had to keep poking around where you don’t belong. You barked up the wrong tree. The Crows stay out of the spotlight for a reason. We take out anyone who threatens to shine the light on us. And besides, if you’re banging my sister, I don’t need her telling you extra insider information. She’s been on close watch as it is. One little toe out of line and I have someone on standby to take her and the kid out. And she just so happened to stick her whole foot out of line when she hook
ed up with you and tried to protect you.”

  “She has nothing to do with any of this,” Saxton said. He had to make sure that if Carter killed him, Sara and Ian would be let go safely. “Leave her and her son alone. She’s loyal to you. Trust me. She left me because I wanted to come after you.”

  “I don’t buy that for a second. She practically wet her panties trying to get me to let you go.”

  “Well, it’s true. That’s why she came home in the middle of the night with Ian and without protection. I let her go off because she threatened to have me locked up if I hurt you.”

  Carter burst out laughing. “My little sister. My true defender. I guess I didn’t give her enough credit. It’ll be a shame to kill her. If she would have been willing to work for me, she could have been my second. Maybe the only person I’d ever trust to do that. And with her kid as a constant bargaining chip, I could have kept her in line. But she thought she was too good for that.” He laughed once again. “Then didn’t she go off and sell herself to you anyway. That little whore. Maybe I’ll find out what she’s worth before I slit her throat.”