Chantal Fernando (6 page)

“You ready?” I ask him.

He nods and gets on his bike. I do the same. I lead the way to our first stop, to a man who I know for a fact sees everything that goes on in this city. If you sneeze, he hears about it.

And I need all the information I can get my hands on.

SEVEN

Faye

“S
O
tell me,” I say, tilting my head and studying him. “Did you get all those men to take me down because you knew I'd kick your ass one-on-one?”

“You never shut the fuck up, do you?” he snarls, dark ominous eyes filled with hate pinned on me. “How does Sin fucking put up with you? You must be really good at sucking dick.”

So he knows Dex. Just who is this man?

“I am,” I agree, trying to get out of the binds at my wrists. “One of my many qualities.”

I have to wonder why I'm here.

What does he want—to use me as leverage of some kind? He has to know that Sin won't let him live after this, no matter what he barters with to hand me over. He's clearly an idiot.

“What's your plan? Stop being stupid. We're both adults here. Why don't you just tell me who you are and what you want?”

My concern is that I've been here several hours and he hasn't contacted the MC. Wouldn't he do that if he was using me as a hostage? To demand whatever he wants from them? This doesn't bode well for me. However, I'm not one to concede defeat. There's a way out of this, and I'm going to find it. These assholes kidnapped the wrong woman.

Were the men who helped bring me here from an MC? They must be, right? Their faces were covered, so I never got to see them. I'll find out who they are though, just wait and see. The only man I've gotten a good look at is the one standing in front of me, and he seems to be the leader. But I have no idea who he is.

He grins, a little too evilly for my liking, and says, “What I want is the Wind Dragons to leave me the fuck alone. Everyone thinks they're so smart, but they're all fucking stupid.”

My eyes widen. “Are you with the Wild Men or the Kings of Hell? People are just changing MCs like they're changing their underwear, aren't they?”

Could the man in front of me be Talon's traitor?

He slams his hand down on the table he's sitting at, making me jump. “We're going to use you as bait. When Sin and the rest of those fucks come here, we're going to kill you. In front of them. No one fucks with the Kings.”

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.

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?