It didn’t even look like the fucker thanked JP.
I stepped out to watch her leave, feeling like someone had unhinged a part of my body, and saw as he backhanded Gigi and her head flung to the side of the car.
“Fuck!”
JP read my reaction correctly, and before I could storm to my bike and follow them, he once again clamped his hand on my shoulder. “I’m only going to say this once: you need to leave well alone.”
“You’re fucking kidding, right?” I shouted. “Who is he?”
“That is Edward Livingston. I’m guessing she’s his kin.”
I racked my brain, trying to figure out where I’d heard that name before, but couldn’t place him. “And?”
“And, he comes with a bucket load of fucking trouble.” A dark look crossed JP’s face before a muscle twitched and he clenched his jaw. “His reputation is not good. He’s not clean and has connections with the Hermanos. Stay away from her. A Sentinel up in their shit would cause a war.”
“Who was that sleazy looking fucker in the other motor?”
“Another odd ball, Tom Vincent. Let’s just say he’s Livingston’s pet, but if you tangle with one, you mess with ‘em all.”
Telling me Gigi had family tied up with the Mexican MC, Hermanos Del Mal, didn’t ease my anger, panic or mindset. She didn’t seem that much younger than me, either. In a normal world, if we’d been at school together, I would have noticed her in the halls and worked my ass off to win her over. But what I saw just then was anything but a normal world.
“How do we check she’s okay?”
“We don’t. But I’ll call a man who can.” JP sensed I was intent on rescuing her and he guessed right. “I have to give you a verbal warning about staying away from the Livingston place?”
“Probably,” I mumbled under my breath, and went back to work.
By then, though, I was already taken with the idea of saving her.
Gears
“Lighten up, Prospect.”
If one more of my so-called brothers told me to lighten up again, they were in danger of getting a Bud bottle jammed up their asshole, sideways.
The fact that I was duty tonight, again, meant that I wasn’t able to get drunk out of my skull, fuck something senseless and get over what I’d seen earlier.
No, my future was a long night of disgusting jobs like unblocking the shitter. I was surprised one of these fuckers hadn’t blocked it already. Too much red meat, beer and whisky had a nasty effect on anyone’s bowels. The drunker they got, the worse their aim became. Add in used rubbers and wads of tissue paper, and I was going to be busy. Not to mention my bad mood because I’d watched some pretty little girl who was probably incapable of fending off a damn bug get slapped about by someone in her family.
That did not sit right with me.
It would never sit right with me.
I would give JP a day to check on her using whatever method he had, and then it would be my turn. I didn’t care who Edward Livingston was or what connections he had.
“You need to get laid.” Wave laughed. “Get your mind off that hot little virgin.” He wasn’t completely wasted, but he was well on his way.
“Don’t talk about her like that,” I growled.
“She couldn’t handle all a’this.” He waved a hand from top to bottom. “Otherwise I’d chance my luck.”
“That and you’re old enough to be her fucking creepy uncle.”
“Old enough to bleed, old enough to—”
“If you value your perfect LA nose then do not finish that sentence.” I’d spent most of the evening trying to convince myself that it was just the knowledge she wasn’t being treated right that had me so taken by her, but clearly I was kidding myself.
“Prospect, I’m just fucking with ya.” He slammed a hand on my back harder than he thought he had. “JP’s worried you may be thinking of doing something stupid.” All of a sudden he didn’t look as drunk as I’d first thought. “Are you thinking of doing something stupid?”
“JP said he’d get someone to check she was okay, but—”
“And he will,” Wave interrupted. “So, sit tight and if you’re thinking of doing something stupid, you come tell me.”
“I’m man enough to tell JP myself if I’m thinking of ignoring him, Wave.”
“I know that, you cocky little shit. I meant tell me and I’ll come with.”
Well, that surprised me. Wave was the joker of the pack, perpetually sun tanned and so pretty he’d make a fortune if he ever decided to go into porn—straight or gay. Where I had grease welded into my fingerprints and under my nails, he looked like he’d had a manicure and I had no idea how he did it. I couldn’t get the smell of burned oil and gas fumes from my skin and hair no matter how many showers I took. The only saving grace was that the club girls I messed around with didn’t give a shit. But Wave looked and smelled like he’d just come from a cologne model shoot.
“And why would you do that?” I wasn’t a brother and wasn’t in a position to pull in favors.
“I saw the look you gave me when I approached her earlier.” And he called me cocky! The smirk on his face was exactly that.
“And?”
“She’s too young for me, fucker, but perfectly legal for you, and I have a feeling if you go without me things will get ugly.”
I didn’t need his insults. “I can handle myself, Wave.”
“Like I was saying—cocky. I’ll be your alibi. Have a feeling you’re gonna need one.”
When JP didn’t take any of the hints I dropped about how Gigi was doing after the previous day, I gave Wave the nod confirming I was ready to do my own investigation. All he said was, “I’ll pick you up from yours at seven. No Harleys tonight, Prospect.”
I had dinner with Mom and had to get a grip of myself when she noticed I was preoccupied. A set of knuckles rapped loudly on the front door.
“That’ll be my ride,” I told her, and because she was my interfering mom, she was close on my heels when I went to open it.
Her face was a picture when she saw Wave stood on the other side. “Goodness, did you forget your shirt?” At least she had the good grace to blush.
“Evening, Mom Geary.” He flashed her his killer headshot smile and she was virtual goo in the hallway.
“Fuck my life,” I mumbled and pushed him out of the doorway before shutting the door on her.
The last thing I heard from inside the house was, “Oh, that mouth of yours.”
An hour or more later we drove down some dark ass wooded dirt track that could have been used to hide an illegal arms factory if JP ever went the way of the Hermano’s and Carnal MC’s. They were our nearest rivals and probably the main reason the local community hated us. Both clubs were troublemaking lawbreakers, and it didn’t make any difference how we behaved; we would always be tarred with the same brush.
“How do you know where she lives?”
“Research,” he mumbled and scratched his bare midriff.
“Fuck. Would it have killed you to cover up?”
“Don’t need to. I’m only planning on making myself visible if your shit gets out of hand.”
As he finished, he pulled the truck off the road, switched off the engine and looked at me. “I’ll be following behind. Think this through, though. You show up and make a nuisance of yourself then you could make it a whole lot worse for her.”
“Just gonna look around and make sure she’s still fucking breathing. You tell JP what we’re up to?”
“Research,” he replied again, confirming it was JP who’d told him where to find the Livingston house and probably commanded him to come and babysit me using his title as President.
With nothing more to be said, I wandered off in the direction he nodded, keeping close to the trees. It wasn’t long before a chimney with smoke billowing through it came into view. It was an old place alright. There were sheds, a barn, and from the citrusy smell, I’d guess there were lemon trees somewhere, too. The ol
d Toyota was parked to the side of the house and I was hoping that was a good sign. I had no idea whether she was here or if there were other people in the house. I hoped that douche who’d hit her was still at work and I’d be able to have a nosy around and not get caught. I edged closer to the property, completely forgetting about Wave. Either he was behind me or not.
I stooped to run under the cover of the leafy branches and made it to a window. Popping up carefully, I saw the kitchen, clean as a whistle inside and decorated with simple furniture.
No sign of Gigi.
No sign of anyone.
I moved to the next window and was able to peer through into what looked like a living room with formal chairs, a TV set and a shelf full of books. Beyond that, I could see the stair case—old, traditional wooden spindles that climbed upstairs, making me wonder if I was going to have to scale a drain pipe to lay eyes on her. If she was upstairs then it might be the only way.
As I was peering up above me, I heard tires rumble up in front of the house. Quickly peeking around the side, I spotted him. From the look of his lunch tin, the dickhead had just finished for the day. I sprinted to the side of barn and waited. The only thing I could do was hang around and see where he positioned himself in the house, and then start poking my head into windows again.
Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to wait to long to figure out where he was.
I heard him shouting and then a glass smashing. The asshole had been in the house less than a minute and he was already on the back of someone.
From my hiding place at the side of the barn it became clear who was in trouble when I saw him drag an auburn haired girl out of the house, round the corner and hurl her through some kind of rickety wooden door.
“Edward, no!” I heard her wail and my blood started to bubble.
“Been out all fucking day providing for you bitches and you can’t even give me a moment’s peace.”
“You didn’t—”
“Don’t argue with me, especially after yesterday. Don’t come back in the fucking house tonight.” The fucker then latched a padlock through the door handle, but left it unlocked.
Gigi pushed against the door, realized she was locked in and then started to whimper.
There was no way he was going to leave her to sleep outside for the night. That was just unthinkable.
I stood dumbfounded, wondering what the hell to do. If I was honest, I was leaning towards knocking the door down and kicking his fucking head in.
Just as I’d cemented that idea in my head, a hand grabbed me. “Don’t do it.”
“That can’t stand, Wave. The man’s a fucking animal.” I raked at my hair. “I can hear her.”
“I know.” He crouched down beside me. “Let’s grab her and take her to the club house.”
“She isn’t some club bitch. I know where she’ll be safer.”
“Where?” His smirk told me he didn’t need me to actually tell him.
“At home with me. Ma being in the house will help her feel safe and she’ll get some food in her.”
“Alrighty then, lover boy. I’ll be waiting in the truck.” Wave ducked and spun around before disappearing back under the cover of the trees.
I waited until I was sure he wasn’t going to come looking for her and then headed over to the wooden door. I could still hear Gigi whimpering, although now it was mixed in with random chatter like, ‘Don’t be scared. Think good thoughts,’ and lots of other shit. I removed the padlock as quietly as possible and pulled the door open.
“No! No! No!” she yelled and scuttled back further into what seemed to be a woodshed piled high with logs and fucking axes swinging precariously from hooks above her. She was living a scene from a fucking horror film.
“Gigi, calm down. Shush!” She was on her butt, her knees curled into her chest with her hands clasping the sides of her head. The only thing stopping her from curling into a protective ball was the lack of space. “It’s me, Gears. Look at me.” I watched as her hands remained the same and she peered up at me stood over her in the doorway. “Fucking hell!” I shouted, only to force myself to quieten my shit down when Ginny started to hyperventilate.
She had a black eye and bruises around her neck.
“I’m gonna take you some place safe, okay? I’m not leaving you here. Can you get up?”
Gigi reached for the hand I’d held out to her and feeling her close to me again for the first time since her brother had driven off with her calmed me. I hadn’t slept a wink because I didn’t know she if was safe.
“Come on. Keep low.” She let me lead the way to the back of what I now knew was an orchard. When she stumbled I had to slow down. I watched as she limped and rubbed her foot. “What the fuck? Where are your shoes?”
Her feet were bare, apart from socks. He’d kicked her out with no fucking shoes and not even a coat. He was going to make her face the elements without shoes and a fucking coat. Even with the flimsy sweater she had on, she’d have been hypothermic.
“I had some blankets stashed,” she whispered. “But he doesn’t normally lock me in.”
She knew she’d just dropped a bombshell. He’d done this before.
I was rethinking my plan to turn around, go back and fuck him up.
“Hop up. I’ll carry you.”
Gigi looked into my eyes, and whatever she saw equated to trust. Her legs wrapped around me and her arms shuffled up under my leather cut, she was emotionally wrecked, tired, hurting and just plain fucking cold.
I ran as fast as I could without falling prey to some tripping hazard I couldn’t see, and was back at Wave’s truck where he was waiting with the engine running. “Any trouble?”
I knew he asked because of what he saw on my face. “No. Let’s roll before I—”
“On it,” he interrupted, sensing that Gigi didn’t need to hear what I wanted to do to her brother. It wouldn’t help her settle down any quicker.
When I tried to deposit her in the back of the truck, she held on so I had no choice but to climb in with her.
I didn’t mind.
I wasn’t ready to let her go of her, either.
I had just over an hour to figure out what the fuck I was going to tell my mom about the sorry state this girl was in when I walked her through the front door.
Gigi
Twice in as many days this random stranger had saved me.
I wasn’t sure whether I was crying from pain, shame or sheer gratitude.
I was in bad, sad shape, but feeling some rare human kindness had hope rearing its head to tease me again.
Last night I had been terrified from the moment I’d climbed in the Toyota with Edward. I wasn’t sure whether he’d just used Tommy as a ride to get to the Sentinels’ place or if he was there for me as a form of punishment again. I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking all the way home, and like normal, that gave Edward some twisted, perverse pleasure. I didn’t breathe properly until he sent a disappointed Tommy on his way. Edward was way too calm about the mess I’d got myself into, and I felt sure some form of heinous punishment was on the cards. He didn’t disappoint. As soon as we were inside the front door, Edward reared back his fist and punched me. The impact caused my eye to swell and bruise instantly. While I lay on the floor sobbing and certain that amount of pain could only have been caused by my eye being physically punched out of my eye socket, he grabbed me around the throat and dragged me to my feet.
“The fucking Sentinels,” he roared in my face. “What the fuck were you thinking, Ginny?”
I couldn’t answer. I could barely breathe.
“Remember that stuff your pretty paw prints are all over? Well, you best not have mentioned that to anyone.”
He didn’t want an answer, and as his hands completely engulfed my throat, I felt ready to die. I wondered if I’d been too weak to end it before because this was how it was supposed to end for me. I was supposed to be taken from this world by him so he would be sent to jail and my momma could be free. My feet
scrabbled for the floor, the tips of my toes barely connecting with the wooden planks as my already sore body sucked in any air that was able to pass the tightening of his hands around my windpipe, and into my screaming lungs.
Ironically, it was Momma who saved me, when I was finally at ease with sacrificing myself for her. It seemed that whichever one of us he ended first would be the true winner because being left behind with him would be a sentence worse than death. Her cry for help from the bedroom brought Edward out of his entranced rage, back to the here and now as he withdrew his hands and left me to slump to the floor.
I didn’t see him again that night.
I stayed in that position for an hour, too afraid to move, the motion of simply breathing hurt more than it should.
Eventually, I got ice for my eye and snuck upstairs to my bedroom, securing the chair under my bedroom door handle and praying Edward would forget I existed before he left for work in the morning.
It worked.
The next day I ignored all the mirrors in the bathroom and sat by Momma’s bedside. She’d been vomiting a lot, and I was worried she’d throw up in her sleep and choke. I did it for most of the day, only daring to leave her to visit the bathroom for both myself and to rinse out her sick bucket. She’d never got the medical help she needed from the drugstore last night and with my eye all bruised and blackening, and finger marks around my neck, there was no way I could risk going out again.
In my need to offer her some comfort and company, I’d forgotten he would be expecting food when he walked through the door.
That was how I found myself in the woodshed.
For Edward, last night had been all about physical torture, and today with the woodshed he wanted me to suffer mentally. He’d never bolted me in before; his cruelty was elevating.
But tonight, it would be okay. I was saved and thank God because I was not dressed for a night in the woodshed and being locked in, I couldn’t get to my stash of blankets.
Gigi: A Black Sentinels MC Novel Page 8
