I can’t help it; I roll my eyes.
This guy is so fucking dumb, and he clearly just likes the sound of his own voice. At least I’m funny—this guy is just a douche. I feel like I should pretend to be worried, so he thinks his ingenious plan won’t be thwarted by the real heroes in this little story—the Wind Dragon men. It would probably be smart, but the pride in me won’t let me keep my big mouth shut.
I’m a fighter.
“Are you sure you want to kill me?” I ask, keeping my tone even. “It would be a shame to obliterate such beauty. Looks like mine don’t come along every day.”
“I’m totally okay with that,” he replies, standing up and approaching me with a bottle of water. “Have a sip. Need to keep you alive until our plan plays out.”
He brings the bottle to my lips and I open my mouth. He pours a mouthful in, then takes it away. I want more, but I don’t ask. I know he won’t give it to me, and he’ll enjoy that fact. I can manage for now. It hasn’t been long, and I’m not dying of thirst, although by tomorrow I probably will be. My captor exits the warehouse, and I’m left alone with my thoughts. My wrists are now raw from trying to get out of the binds, and they’re stinging something fierce.
Well, shit.
This isn’t how I planned my night to go.
How am I meant to sleep like this?
Dex, where are you?
Sin
“It’s not the Wild Men,” Talon says when I approach him at the front of our clubhouse. “They’re too scared of me and Ranger. Slice is keeping them all under control, so it’s not them, which only leaves us one option.”
“The Kings,” I say, a muscle ticking in my jaw.
“It makes sense. They were selling drugs with whoever betrayed me,” Talon says, cracking his knuckles. “When do you want to do this?”
“They’re probably expecting us tonight,” I say, trying to think of the best plan of action. I slide my phone out of my pocket and call Arrow and Tracker, telling them to come back to the clubhouse, like, now. They tell me that they have the camera footage, but the men who took Faye had their heads covered, so we don’t know who it is. We can still analyze the footage and see if we can find anything that helps though. When I hang up, I look at Talon. “We need to see what we’re up against.”
“Few of us go in and check it out?”
I nod. “I think we should suss it out. We could run in now, guns blazing, but it’s going to be a bloodbath. I don’t want to lose any of my men. I need to be smart about this, but it’s so fuckin’ hard not knowing what the fuck they’re doing to my woman right now. Fuck!” I turn around, running my hands through my hair, then joining my fingers and resting them against the back of my neck.
I need to hit something.
How did we not see this coming?
I wait until the men return and have them all sitting at the table.
“We’re going to the Kings clubhouse,” I announce, looking at their faces. “We don’t know where they have her. Any ideas about the best way to handle this?”
“A few of us can go to scope out the situation, or we can all show up, a united front, and demand that they hand her over now,” Ranger says, glancing around the table. He looks on alert, ready to go to war, and in this moment I know I’ve made the right decision by letting him become one of us.
“This isn’t a normal fuckin’ situation. They’ve declared war by taking Faye,” I add, jaw tight. “United front. I like that. Everyone get your weapons ready. They’ll expect us tonight, so why don’t we surprise them instead.”
“Five a.m. sounds like a good time,” Arrow suggests, running his hand down his beard. “They definitely won’t expect that. They’ll all be asleep, yeah? Maybe have one or two men awake to keep guard.”
I stand up. “I’m going to get ready. You guys do the same, then try to get a little sleep, okay?”
I definitely won’t be able to sleep, but that doesn’t mean that they should stay up with me. I don’t think I’ll sleep until I have her, safe and sound, in my arms once more. Who the fuck do the Kings think they are?
They have no idea who they’re messing with. We took care of them before, and now they’re back for revenge. But they should have left it alone, because when I’m done with them, they’ll have nothing left of their club.
Nothing.
Some might think that what they did was ballsy, but it was just plain stupid. We’ll never give up. And if they’ve hurt my wife, we’ll never stop hunting them. They may as well kill themselves now and get it over with.
The Kings of Hell MC are nobodies.
And soon, no one will even remember their names.
EIGHT
Faye
I WAKE up needing to use the bathroom. I have no idea what time it is, and Douche Lord didn’t return after he left. Neither did anyone else. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing. I kept dozing in and out, so uncomfortable to be sleeping sitting up, my neck sore as fuck. Still, when he finally walks in after I call out for someone, I pretend that everything is fine.
“Sleep well?” he asks, looking smug. I can’t wait to bury my foot in his face. And his nuts. I’m going to kill him, and I’m going to enjoy it.
“Like a baby,” I lie flippantly, squaring my shoulders. “But I do need to pee.”
He comes and stands behind me. “If you try anything, I will give you to the men, do you understand?”
I nod.
Yeah, being gang-raped does not sound appealing. There’s no way I’d try to escape without checking out the area first, looking for a weakness in their security. I can’t just kick him in the balls and run, because I have every element against me.
“I won’t try anything. I just really need to pee, okay?”
He unties my feet first, then goes behind me and undoes my wrists from the chair, but leaves them bound together. Hand gripping my upper arm harder than necessary, he leads me to the bathroom.
“You have two minutes.”
“You’re not going to untie my hands?” I ask, eyes going wide. “How do I wipe myself or wash my hands?”
“You don’t,” he says, looking bored. “You’re wasting time.”
I walk into the bathroom and he half closes the door, giving me a little privacy.
“How do I undo my jeans?” I call out, not wanting him to touch me, but I really do need to go.
He curses and then comes in, studying me. He looks like he doesn’t want to touch me, so maybe he has a little bit of brains in his head after all. Reaching into his waistband, he pulls out a gun. I swallow hard, but try to keep my expression blank.
“You try anything, I shoot.”
I nod.
He motions for me to turn around, so I do, and he cuts the binds off, then walks out, again leaving the door half open. I quickly undo my jeans and pull them down with my panties, emptying my bladder with satisfaction. After I clean myself up and wash my hands and face, I drink some of the tap water with my hands so I don’t have to ask him for some, rub my sore wrists, then look around for a weapon. A few seconds later though, the door is opened fully and a gun is being pointed at me.
“Hands together,” he demands, so I hold them out. He ties them in front of me this time, and I’m silently relieved. Sitting in one position for a long time really is hell—my body is so stiff and sore right now, and putting my hands in a different position will be heavenly. With a gun to the back of my neck, he walks me back to the chair. “Sit.”
I sit down, and this time he actually ties rope around my stomach and the chair a few times. “Not like I’m going to do anything with a gun to my head.”
“I like to take precautions,” he says, stepping back and admiring his handiwork.
“Precautions? Is that what they call being intimidated by a woman these days?” I say, unable to help myself.
&n
bsp; He backhands me across the face.
Fuck.
It hurts like a bitch, blood filling my mouth. I look him dead in the eye and spit the blood on the floor, right next to his white shoes. A few light blood splatters cover them, which for some reason gives me a feeling of satisfaction.
“Probably shouldn’t wear white shoes on the day you’re going to show how much of a man you are by hitting a woman who’s bound to a chair. A woman who would otherwise give you a fair fight.”
Lifting his lips back, his teeth clenched, he gives me a look that says he wants me dead, but stays silent—storming out of the room. I stretch my neck from side to side, closing my eyes, telling myself to think. I need to get out of here. Images of Clover and Asher flash through my mind. My kids need their mama. Dex needs me. There’s no way I’m going out like this. My only option is to try to get the gun from him. But then what? How many people will I have to shoot on the way out? How many rounds are in the gun? So many variables, but what else can I do?
I’m going to have to do what I normally do.
I’m going to have to wing it.
He walks back in seconds later, face red with fury. I can tell instantly that something has happened. Maybe now is my chance.
“Get up. We need to go. Now.”
I look down to where I’m tied to the chair and flash him a look that says, Really, idiot?
He makes an impatient sound like I’m fuckin’ keeping him from somewhere, then cuts the rope with a knife, leaving my hands and legs free. This time he just puts the knife at my neck and tells me to get up and walk, so I get up and walk. The gun is back in his waistband; I guess he doesn’t feel like he needs it. We walk past the bathroom, which is the farthest I’ve been to this point, so I eagerly scan the new surroundings, trying to take everything in so I can use it.
“Sin and the rest of them are at the Kings clubhouse,” he says, tightening his arm around my shoulder, digging the knife into my skin. “But you see, we have a secret weapon here, and to get to you, he’s going to have to get through him.”
“Through who?” I ask, completely lost. The Wind Dragons are at the Kings? Have they got the whole MC at gunpoint or what? I feel a sliver of satisfaction at knowing no one can beat our men. No one can beat my husband. Everyone who is in on this is going to pay for choosing the losing side. The smart ones—such as Talon and Ranger—joined us, because they know that there’s no better.
We come to a stop at a door, and I don’t know what’s behind it, but I know that I don’t want to find out. Taking my chance, I turn to him, lift my knee up, and kick him right in the nuts. The knife in his hand jerks and I feel it cut my neck a little, not deep. He bends over in pain, the knife falling to the floor. I grab it, lift my foot up again, and kick him in the face. He falls to the ground. I give him another kick in the face for good measure, then another one in the stomach because I feel like it, and because the motherfucker deserves it, then look around frantically. All I see are windows that are too high up and two hallways, one leading back to where I just was, and another leading to somewhere unknown. I choose the unknown. I run toward it, but come to a standstill when I see three men standing at the end of it. They spot me.
Fuck.
I brace myself, preparing for the fight of my life, when I hear a vaguely familiar voice behind me.
“Even if you get past them, there are about ten more men waiting.”
I spin and look toward the door. A man now fills it, a man I once knew very well. He looks down toward my captor withering on the floor in pain and smirks. “I told you not to underestimate her. She’s the type of woman who will do anything to get what she wants. Isn’t that right, Faye?”
“Eric?” I whisper, taking him in from head to toe. He’s changed. He looks older, more weathered, like the world has taken everything out of him.
Tired.
What the actual fuck is Sin’s brother—my ex-boyfriend—doing here?
NINE
Sin
THEY don’t see us coming.
“They should probably up their security,” I hear Ranger mutter under his breath, as he and Arrow disable the alarm to their entrance gate. “Idiots.”
They’ve probably never been raided before, like we were that fateful night Mary died. Maybe they’ll learn from this too, and do something about their protection, but for now, this helps us break into their clubhouse with ease. By the time we’re inside, it’s too late for them. Arrow and Tracker knock out the two prospects who are meant to be keeping an eye out for anything, and then we storm inside.
Time to take over what is theirs.
Working as a unit, with me at the front and the rest of the men to my left and right, in the shape of an arrow, we enter their clubhouse silently, guns pointed, minds on one thing and one thing only.
Finding Faye.
We clear two rooms before we come across Ripper, the Kings of Hell MC president, asleep in his bed. My gun is pointed at his temple before his brown eyes even open. He tries to reach for his gun, but it’s not there. Yeah, this isn’t my first rodeo.
“Get up,” I demand. “We need to have a little talk. And don’t fuckin’ try anything.”
Eyes wide, he slowly moves to sit up, pushing the blanket off him, revealing a shirtless chest I could have gone without seeing. Keeping my eyes on his, I take a step back, allowing him space to get out of the bed. “Rally your men into one room. Anyone tries anything, you all die.”
He nods and exits the bedroom, entering what looks like their club’s main living area. Ten minutes later, between my men and Ripper, we’ve gotten everyone together, guns pointed in every direction. It might seem dangerous, because we’re actually outnumbered, but each of our men could take two of theirs easily. I’m that confident in us. I glance around the room, making eye contact with each man.“I’m looking for my wife. Who here can tell me where she is? And don’t fuckin’ bother saying you don’t know shit. I’m not bluffing, I will fuckin’ kill anyone I have to, to find her.”
I then address Ripper. “If my wife isn’t returned to me, now, your men will have to vote in a new president, because I’m going to kill you,” I tell him, staring him dead in the eye so he knows how serious I am. “Then I’m going to kill the next president too. And any that come after that.”
One of the men moves to tackle Tracker, who proceeds to shoot him in the foot.
“Fuck!” the man yells, dropping to the ground and grabbing the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. I glance around the room once more, a schooled expression of boredom on my face. They don’t need to know that, right now, I’m dying inside.
I can imagine what I look like: like a man who has everything to lose, a man who will do anything to get back the woman he loves.
A dangerous man.
“As you can see, we aren’t fucking around,” I continue, cracking my neck from side to side. “Anyone else want to try anything? Next time, I don’t think Tracker will be so nice.”
“Knee next,” Tracker says, smirking. “Then farther up.”
One of the men shudders.
I wait until Arrow makes eye contact with me, then nod at him.
He punches the man in front of him in the nose. I don’t even wince at the cracking sound.
“Tell us what we need to know, or next I will break your neck,” Arrow says in a low, calm tone that is much more intimidating than if he had yelled. With Arrow, you just know that he means what he says. “One of you better speak up, or this isn’t going to end well. I don’t care who it is.” When the man doesn’t speak, Arrow moves to hit him again, until he puts his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay,” he says, throat working as he swallows. He looks to Ripper, as if asking him what to do, wanting to see what his president’s orders are.
Ripper tightens his jaw, weighing his options, but then finally nods. “Tell him.”
�
��She’s being held in a warehouse.”
“Give me the address,” I tell him. “Now.”
He gives me the address, keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact. I look to Tracker. “Who wants to stay with him and make sure he’s not lying? I think someone should take him somewhere else, in case the men here try something.”
“They won’t,” Ripper says, but I ignore him. “I don’t know about Slice though. He’s the wild card here, but you can’t take out his actions on our club. He hasn’t even been patched in yet!”
I freeze, catching Talon’s eye before looking back to the Kings’ president. “What the fuck did you just say?”
Why the fuck would the Kings MC be talking about Slice?
I’m confused as fuck, until all the pieces start to fall together in my mind.
That fuckin’ bastard.
Slice, Talon’s former second-in-command, is the traitor?
This has to burn Talon. Fuck, he was just saying how he trusts Slice more than anyone else in the Wild Men MC.
Fuck!
“I had no fuckin’ idea, Sin,” Talon says, sounding shocked. “That fuckin’ bastard!”
“I know,” I say to Talon, my eyes still on Ripper.
I’ll let Talon handle Slice, as long as he shows him no mercy. I just want to find Faye and have her in my arms, so my heart can start beating properly again.
Slice is going to pay, that’s for sure. He’s caused so much trouble for everyone, just because he’s a disloyal piece of shit. I have to admit, even I’m fuckin’ surprised; although looking back, we probably should’ve seen this. Why didn’t Slice want to join us with Ranger and Talon? We thought it was just because he was loyal to the Wild Men, but how fuckin’ wrong we were.
“Vinnie, you and Ranger take him somewhere until all of this is over. If my wife is hurt, or if he’s lying, Ripper dies.” I nod at him. “Tell your men to stay out of our way, or they won’t make it home to their families tonight.”
I think this is the safest way to do it. If Vinnie and Ranger have the Kings’ president away from all this, we can use him as a hostage without having to worry about the other Kings coming after us. I’ll take the rest of the Wind Dragons with me to the warehouse, because we don’t know how many men are already there, waiting to fight. It can turn ugly, and we need to be prepared.
Last Ride Page 5
