With the rumble of the motor as our only background noise, I drove back to my house. Fury burned like flames through my veins with every second that ticked by.
“Are you going to talk to me?” she finally whispered, obviously unable to stand the silence.
Still not trusting myself not to scream at her, I clenched my jaw and kept my eyes on the road. She didn’t speak until I pulled into my driveway and shut off my truck.
“I messed up,” she murmured with a tremble in her voice. I could hear her swallow in the silence of the cab.
Unable to hold it in any longer, I turned to face her. “You think?” I shouted in incredulous disbelief.
Tears trailed down her cheeks, and some of the fire dimmed within me. I rested my elbows on the steering wheel and scrubbed my face with my hands. Taking measured breaths, I worked to calm myself as best I could before I said or did something I would regret.
“Let’s go inside. You can shower, and I’ll get you something clean to put on.” It took everything in me not to look at how her dress was all stretched out and one of her tits was half exposed. Thank fuck she had a bra on, or I might not have been able to hold it in anymore.
When I got down from the truck, I slammed my door. She still sat in the passenger seat, so I opened her door. “Did you lose your hearing? Let’s go inside.”
No matter how mad I was, I was glad I was standing there, because she literally fell out of the truck. “Jesus,” I muttered. The thought began to settle in my head that Chet had hurt her, which set my anger in motion for a completely different reason.
A sob escaped her, and I huffed out a labored exhale before I wrapped her in my arms. When she settled into shuddering sniffles, I scooped her up and carried her to the house. She had her purse and hands clutched tight to her chest, but her face burrowed into my neck.
“I’ve got you,” I sighed, not wanting to let her go again.
I carried her all the way to the master bath before I gently set her on her feet. The fury within was at a low simmer by then—not gone, but not raging. Firmly but gently, I took her purse and her phone and set them on the counter.
Head bowed, she stood there with her hair a tangled curtain over her face.
Like I was undressing a child, I slipped the dress and undergarments off her, feeling my teeth grinding at the scruff burns on her pale flesh. When I saw teeth marks on the top of her breast, I almost punched a hole in the wall.
“Hailey?”
She glanced at me briefly but didn’t reply.
“Hailey. Did he,” I swallowed with difficulty before I tried again, “Did he hurt you? Assault you?”
If he had I would kill him with my bare hands. Tonight.
She shook her head, wide-eyed and shaken. A small sliver of relief hit me.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded before she whispered, “He thought I wanted to, but I didn’t, I mean, I….” she trailed off.
Whipping the handle to hot, I started the shower. “Get in,” I ordered her again. It took me propelling her in before she moved.
She jumped when the hot water hit her, and I adjusted the temperature. When she made no attempt to wash herself, I huffed in frustration and stripped down to my boxers before climbing in after her.
“Tip your head back.”
She did as I said, and I wet her hair, then lathered a generous amount of shampoo in it. “Rinse.” If I gave her exact commands, she obeyed. Thankfully I had conditioner that I used in my beard or I’d probably never get the tangles out of her hair.
Once she was clean, I shut off the water, dried her off, and carried her to my bed. Unable to stop myself, I pressed a kiss to her temple. Then I went in search of the hairbrush I remembered seeing in the spare bathroom. My mother had left it after she’d spent the night at my house last Christmas.
I stripped out of the wet underwear, gave myself a cursory dry, then pulled on some sleeping pants. After I was done, I returned to the bed where she still sat staring at the wall. I went through my drawers and found an old T-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. My sleeping pants would be way too long for her, despite her height.
“Here,” I said as I held the clothes out. When she stared at them, I sighed and helped her dress.
Working through my words to prevent my thoughts from coming out the wrong way, I brushed her hair. Finally, when I had it smoothed, I set the brush on the nightstand. Needing space, I scooted back to lean against the headboard and rested my arms on my raised knees.
Though I hated to ask, I needed to know. It would decide whether I killed him immediately or dragged it out over time.
“What exactly did he do to you?”
She startled at my voice, but I remained calm and patient. Wide, scared eyes met mine before she shook her head.
“No what?”
She swallowed with difficulty. Then she croaked out, “He didn’t do anything. I mean, not really. It’s what I did.”
“What?” My brow furrowed in confusion.
Blinking her eyes rapidly, she swallowed again. “Can I trust you?”
“What the fuck kind of question is that?” It probably came out harsher than I intended, because she flinched. Trying to regain my calm, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. “Yes, you can absolutely trust me. I would lay down my life for you.”
The words shocked her as much as they shocked me. We sat there unblinking for a moment before she whispered, “I drugged him.”
“Come again?”
“I gave him Rohypnol,” she clarified, and my eyes bugged.
“What the actual fuck? Where the fuck did you get that? It’s illegal as fuck! And why the hell would you go out on a date with that fucker and then drug him?” My voice got louder with each word.
Her bottom lip quivered, and I immediately felt like an ass.
“Why would you care?” she mumbled so softly, I barely heard her.
“Because you’re MINE, goddamn it!” I roared. At that, the tears fell rapidly.
Shit.
I pulled her into my lap.
“He’s getting kids hooked on drugs and prostituting them,” she sobbed in a watery blubbering mess.
Shock hit me. How the fuck did I not know this was going on in my area? Maybe she was mistaken. He was a dick, but fucking hell, he was a cop.
She seemed to calm down after crying it out a bit.
“Are you sure?”
“No. But that’s what the kids told me. I went to get proof. I found his disposable phone, but it was locked. I was afraid the drugs would wear off and he would wake up, so I left.” She sniffled. My heart stuttered, and my stomach bottomed out at the insane risk she’d taken. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to prevent losing my shit. What the hell was she hoping to accomplish with her ridiculously dangerous stunt?
“Okay, where does he keep it? I can send someone in to retrieve it and try to hack it.”
“I took it,” she softly admitted, and my blood ran cold.
“Holy shit.”
“Damn, he deleted shit, but it’s all still here. At least for the last month. Shithead in the dungeon must’ve been right; looks like he switches burners once a month.” Hacker was tapping away at lightning speed on his laptop.
“Fuck.” It was all I could say. We only had the last month, but it was something.
“What do you want to do with this?” Reaper asked. He was my new SAA since losing Lock and Gunny; I knew he was making mental preparations.
Once I’d found out what Hailey had done, I knew she’d painted a huge target on her back. Even if he didn’t remember what happened last night, it wouldn’t take a genius to put the pieces together when he realized his “business” phone was missing. At least we had something to go on, but if we didn’t get to the bottom of this ASAP, Hailey would have a price on her head and never be safe.
Fucking hell.
“Goddamn it. I wished she’d come to me instead of trying to play secret agent. We need to find out how fa
r this goes. If Chet Edwards works for some shithead higher up or if he’s an opportunist piece of shit that works on his own.” My hand raked through my hair. I had no issues hiring Venom’s club to make Officer Chet Edwards disappear. Except other than possibly keeping Hailey safe, it would be a pointless move if he was merely a cog.
“Well, we know he’s getting his supply from somewhere, because he’s not manufacturing the shit. And we know he’s supplying kids to sickos, but we need to find out how he gets hooked up with those sick people,” Soap inserted.
“I’m working on that too, but there’s a reason people do that shit on the dark web. It’s hard as hell to figure out where things originate. I’m good, but these people are just as good, and some are better,” Hacker said with an irritated sigh.
Looking around the table, I took in the serious expressions on the faces of all of my brothers. No one would refuse to help with this, but I owed them the truth about why I was set on rescuing Hailey. By bringing her to our clubhouse, I’d brought her trouble to our doorstep.
Working my jaw, I dropped my gaze to the scarred tabletop, then met my brothers’ eyes one by one. What I was about to announce was unprecedented for me and as such was difficult to admit.
No coward, I hardened my expression and lifted my chin. Daring anyone to question me, I finally said, “Hailey is mine.”
Confusion marred their faces before several broke out in grins.
“Bossman, are you saying you’re claiming a woman?” Hollywood asked with a stupid-ass smile splitting his face in two. I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Shut the fuck up,” I grumbled. “I said it, didn’t I?”
“Ho-ly shitballs,” Cash murmured. Being around since I was a prospect, he knew how out of character my declaration was.
“Moving on,” I pointedly said. A few smothered chuckles made their way to me, and I sent out a glare.
“Like Soap said, we need to find out how deep Chet Edwards is in this shit. Find out if he’s only selling the shit or if what we uncovered on the phone is actually implying he’s tied up in the mess with Danielle. I’m leaning toward that being the case, because I don’t like how he showed up at Hailey’s office to tell her about them finding her. It didn’t sit right with me. It seemed like he was fishing to see if any of the kids had said anything.” I leaned back in my chair.
“Well, the shit on his burner phone sure sounds like he was involved. I’ll see what I can find.” Hacker closed his eyes and raked a hand through his hair.
“What the hell was her plan anyway?” Reaper asked. I rolled my eyes.
“She didn’t really have one,” I muttered. “She thought she’d find out who he was working with and tell the authorities.”
“Jesus, didn’t she know that wouldn’t be admissible?” Vinny questioned with bugging eyes.
“Obviously she didn’t think that through,” I said as I dragged a hand down my face.
“No shit,” Hollywood agreed with his astonished expression matching every other brother in the room.
“Any other questions?” I asked after a heavy sigh.
Silence filled the room.
I ended church, and we filed out. Hollywood beelined for his ol’ lady. He, Reaper, and I were heading over to see Baker, but he only had a small window of time for us, so we needed to get on the road. Tash was in the common area talking to Hollywood’s ol’ lady, Becca, who Hollywood was now draped around as she laughed.
With a wave of my hand, I flagged Tash over. She broke away and approached me with a quizzical expression. “Yeah, Snow?”
“I need you to check on Hailey. She’s in my room. I don’t think she’s eaten anything since yesterday. See if you can round something up for her in the kitchen.”
“No problem,” she said with a nervous smile.
“Thanks,” I said to her before making a circle in the air with my finger and telling the boys, “Let’s go!”
We were supposed to meet with Stuart’s supplier tonight, but I had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen, since Hailey had taken his goddamn phone. I sighed in frustration.
Hollywood shoved his fingers into his wife’s hair and kissed her goodbye. I debated going to check on Hailey myself, but we were on a time crunch and I was the goddamn president. I refused to look like a pussy.
So instead, I roared out of the lot, pipes crackling and my brothers at my back.
15
Hailey
“Stop and Say You Love Me”—Evans Blue
A knock on the door woke me, and I sleepily pushed up in the bed. “Yeah?” I croaked.
Blonde hair streaked with hot pink piled in a messy bun was the first thing I saw as a woman peeked in. “Hey,” she said with a soft grin. “Snow asked me to come check on you. I brought you a sandwich and some chips.”
My stomach dropped and my chest ached at what this woman might be to him.
“Um, okay?” I didn’t know what to say, because I was dying to ask her.
She brought in a bamboo tray and set it on the bedside table. Then she dropped into the desk chair and crossed long, tanned legs. Her shorts had barely covered her ass, and she had a loose-fitting off-the-shoulder shirt over a tank top. She looked perfectly sloppy in the sexiest of ways, and I instantly hated her.
My stomach rumbled.
“I made the sandwich plain cuz I didn’t know what you liked. There’s some mayo and mustard packets on there. If you want me to get lettuce and tomato, I can. Oh, and I made some Chai tea and grabbed a bottle of water.” She shrugged as she apologetically wrinkled her nose. It only made her more adorable, and I really despised her then. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to claw her big blue eyes out.
“It’s fine. Who are you?” I asked in an offhand tone. My gaze flicked up from where I doctored the sandwich to covertly look at her.
A knowing smirk lit her face, and I fought growling. “I’m Tasha. You can call me Tash. I’m not with Snow and never have been,” she said before she pulled her disgustingly plush lips between her teeth. That’s when what she said registered and made me feel like an asshole.
“Oh.” My face flamed as I shoved the food in my face. I’d had some awfully hateful thoughts about her that she hadn’t deserved.
An awkward silence was broken only by the sound of my chewing. I’d gotten halfway through the meal when I stopped. Frozen stock-still, my hands began to shake, and my eyes went wide.
After nearly falling on my face, I gracelessly scrambled out of the bed. I bolted to the bathroom, where I proceeded to vomit up every bite I’d eaten. “Ugh,” I moaned after the last round of dry heaves.
“Damn, I’m not the best cook, but I’ve never had that response to my sandwiches.” Tash’s voice came from the open doorway. Slowly, I rolled my head in her direction. My entire body was trembling.
“I’m sorry. I think it’s all the stress,” I muttered thickly before I carefully climbed up, using the wall for support. On shaking legs, I shuffled to the sink and cupped my hand in the running water to rinse the vile taste from my mouth. Spotting a tube of toothpaste, I put some on my finger and brushed my teeth as best as I could.
When I moved toward the door, Tash backed up, and I could see a calculating gleam in those pale blue eyes. It took a lot for me to make it back to the bed, even with her supporting me.
She tucked me in like a mother would as she chewed on her lip. “Have you been sick before this?”
“A couple times, but with everything that’s happened lately, my nerves are shot.”
“It’s not my business, but, um, could you be pregnant?”
“Absolutely not.”
“No chance at all?”
If I was honest, I couldn’t say that for sure. Nervously, I tried to think of when I’d had my period last, but I drew a blank. It could’ve been last week, but I honestly couldn’t think. Grimacing slightly, I shrugged.
She blew out a big breath. “Okay. Chill here for a second. ‘Kay?”
Closing my eye
s, I nodded.
Tash was gone a few minutes before she returned with a small box in her hands. “They say the best time to take one is first thing in the morning, but we can see what it says, then maybe do another one in the morning?”
“You got a stockpile of those?” I grumbled.
“Sort of.” She shrugged but didn’t meet my gaze. My heart went out to her if she was constantly having to check to see if she was pregnant. Didn’t they make sure their club girls were on birth control? God, I hoped they used condoms. The stuff from that TV show flashed through my head, and my stomach churned a bit.
“Oh” was all I could say.
“I mean, they keep them in the infirmary, you know, just in case.” Her cheeks flushed a rosy pink, which made her dusting of freckles stand out. She really was a pretty girl, and I wondered about her story. I really wanted to ask, but it seemed rude.
“You think I should use it now?” Suddenly, I wanted to cling to her like she was my best friend. I hated to admit I was terrified because Luke and I weren’t together, together.
What if he thought I’d gotten pregnant on purpose to try to trap him? I huffed out in frustration as I threw the covers back again and traipsed back to the bathroom. It didn’t matter. I’d deal with whatever the plastic stick said. If it was on my own, so be it. I’d been prepared to be a single mom anyway.
Fuck it.
I followed the instructions and waited.
Arms folded and foot tapping, I stared at it.
“It won’t finish quicker just because you’re watching it.”
I threw a sidelong glance toward Tash as I pursed my lips with impatience.
Her phone started to beep.
“Did you set a timer?” I asked in surprise.
She chuckled. “Yeah, because I figured you didn’t.”
I shot her a half-assed glare and picked up the test. “Well, shit.”
Her brows rose, and she wrinkled her nose as she bit her lip. I turned the results in her direction.
The little screen flashed “pregnant.”
Twisted Steel: An MC Anthology: Second Edition Page 10
