“Missy? Babe, where the fuck are you?” Nothing. Not even any feet underneath the stalls.
My heart started to beat like it was gonna go nova. I ran, threw myself onto my bike. I started her up and squealed outta the parking lot before I had time to think anything else, heading for the clubhouse.
I knew something was fucked up the instant I stepped into the bar. Half the guys' bikes were parked outside, but nobody was inside. It was a fucking ghost town.
I listened close. Couldn't hear a single brother snoring or fucking like they always did on lazy afternoons.
Shit. I started to back away, toward the door. If Missy was being kept here somewhere, then there had to be a better way to find her...
“Fuck...” I stumbled down the steps leading into the garage, and then felt something behind me that shouldn't have been there.
I whirled, reaching for my gun, and caught a blur right before it crashed into my face. The asshole's metal pipe knocked me flat. Vertigo took over, dragging me down, smearing everything to blood red, the color of rage and confusion.
A fat boot landed on my chest and pressed down hard. My ribs screamed.
“Get this fucking rat off the floor and load him up like Fang wants. We got the girls. If she doesn't make him sing, then maybe the little sister will...”
Serial. If I could've reached up and strangled that sick motherfucker, I'd have done it in a heartbeat. But my brain wouldn't cooperate, spinning into a thick, incomprehensible blackness.
I was out like a light, an early preview of the death they had waiting for my sorry ass.
VII: Under the Blade (Missy)
One Hour Earlier
I never knew how they got in without us noticing. My head was spinning as I walked to the bathroom, wondering how I was going to break the news to Jackie. I wasn't even sure how I'd navigate a road trip this week when I'd never been more than a hundred miles outside Redding my entire life.
I was barely looking for wet floor signs when I pushed open the door, much less three burly men in leather waiting for me. I crashed right into his chest and he had his hand over my mouth before I could scream.
I fought them anyway, kicked and thrashed as they picked me up like a piece of wood, carrying me to the SUV outside. I twisted in the big man's arms and caught a flash of Brass still waiting at the counter. Perfectly normal, and totally twisted.
There were too many blocking the view. God damn it, if only he'd turned around.
Luck was never that kind. As soon as they threw me in the backseat, another man stuffed something fat and rubbery in my mouth. My teeth were struggling with the gag when another rag covered my face, reeking like thick medicine. The smell had a resemblance to all the high powered pain killers daddy was on during his last days.
Ether.
All the horror in my head melted away in one breath. By the second breath, I was falling into a deep black abyss, too lifeless to even think about screaming for help.
“Wake up, bitch.” A rough hand caressed my cheek.
I jerked up. Too fast. My head throbbed like a bad hangover, and I struggled to adjust to the bright lamp hanging somewhere overhead. My wrists burned, and so did my shoulders. I realized a second later I was tied to a chair, identical to the girl right across from me.
Jackie! My heart sank and tears pricked at my eyes when I realized it was her, right before the rage set in.
She was still passed out, a tiny shred of mercy, her small face slumped on her shoulder. They must have given her the same crap they'd given me.
“Who are you? Why're you doing this?”
The man who'd touched me from behind stepped into the light. I recognized the fucked up mess of barbed wire on his face right away. Serial, and the other headed bastard named Splitter with the nose ring was right behind him. Several other dark shapes lingered behind Jackie, the light obscuring their faces.
“Let her go, asshole,” I hissed. “I don't care what you do to me. But my sister doesn't deserve this, she's got nothing to do with anything your club wants. You can't –“
He cut me off with a sharp slap across the face. My cheek burned when I twisted my head back into place. The pain didn't stun me for some weird reason. It only added to the blinding rage tearing through my blood.
“She's got everything to do with helping this club. You and your cute little twin are gonna help us loosen up the rat's tongue before we pour concrete over his fucking carcass.”
Jesus! They're really going to kill him.
I started to shake. The animal talked way too easy about killing the man I was just beginning to love. Serial showed no remorse. There was nothing in his dark eyes. Not even pleasure. It was like staring into a machine designed to look and talk like a man, but murder was its sole function.
“Just be a good girl and cooperate, baby,” Splitter said behind him, chuckling beneath his breath. “This'll all be over fast if you do. You don't have to die with your old man. Nobody believes that shit about him claiming you.”