Chapter Thirteen
T he Billionaires took an hour to arrive, which wasn’t bad. By the time they did, all of the girls had been able to step out of the cage. Anthony watched as his father talked with the men, and he glanced around, seeing no sign of Luke, and made his way inside.
He went to the room where the girls had been kept, and found Luke inside the cage. Folding his arms across his chest, he watched the other man. For a long time, this guy had been his enemy. In school he would have gladly killed him. There were moments he believed he could do it now.
He stood just within the locked door. Anthony didn’t know if it was sad of him to no longer be shocked by what he saw. Over the past couple of years, he had seen a lot of damage done to women, children, and even men. There were no bounds for the cruelty of man.
“I can’t believe it,” Luke said.
There was no reason to talk. He had a feeling Luke needed to get this off his chest.
“They raped, tortured, and killed a girl in front of them. You saw what they looked like. None of them could have been older then fifteen.” He shook his head and then laughed. “I don’t even know why I’m surprised. My dad was fucking Daniella for a lot longer than I knew. Probably when we were younger than fifteen.”
“Your dad is still out there.”
“I know,” Luke said. “It means he will try to kill me.”
“Do you know where he could have gone?”
“I know of a couple of places. Since I handed Ryan to you guys all those years ago, the secrets I know are limited.” Luke turned to look at him. “You know my dad always felt I was a traitor for what I did.”
“He did?”
“Yeah, Ryan was acting within the best interests of the club, and by handing him over, I apparently was not.” He snorted. “Ryan’s name became like a god. He was able to get to a Skull and hurt her.”
Anthony watched him, seeing the anger and disgust. It was true. Luke was not like the club he was born into.
“When did you start to suspect?” Anthony asked.
“About the club and all this?” Luke raised his hands in the air and then dropped them down in defeat. “A couple of years ago. I don’t even know why I got suspicious. I heard one of the guys talking about the bounty he got a share in. It wasn’t cash, but it was a woman. I didn’t know what he meant, so every chance I got, I researched. I dug in deep. I did everything I could to make my dad believe I felt remorse for what I did all those years ago.”
“Did you?”
“Hell, no, not all of us believe it is right to act that way. I’m not a monster and I’m not a gentleman, I’m just a guy—a normal guy who knows consent and all that shit.” Luke ran fingers through his hair. “At first, I didn’t think it was possible. I thought it was some kind of trick that my dad laid for me to find. Like he wanted me to doubt him so he could prove I hadn’t changed or something like that. You know?”
He understood what he was saying.
“Then, I decided to follow them on one of their runs. You know, the ones that talked about bounty and how excited they looked.” Luke’s face scrunched up in disgust. “I had never seen anything like it. I couldn’t believe what I witnessed. They rounded up a group of women. Not girls this time. Just women. Different hair colors, different body shapes, the works. At least fifty, could have been more, could have been less. I watched how they hurt them, scared them. They always targeted one woman, and they would hurt her, sometimes scar her, or kill her, and that would keep the other women in line. I actually think they always did that so they’d find an extra body. They are not allowed to kill anyone from the order sheet. If they fail to fulfill an order, they get a death sentence,” Luke said.
“You found all this out?”
“I learned everything I could, with the intention of coming to the Skulls with it. I just ... I needed to make sure I had enough evidence so you wouldn’t doubt me or think it was some kind of trick. I needed you guys to believe me.”
He seemed so earnest.
“I didn’t see everything that went on. How could I? If I started trying to get on these runs, my dad would have gotten suspicious, and with a lot of the guys out of the club, I was able to sneak around. It was all I could think to do. I wasted so much time.”
Anthony couldn’t believe what he was about to say to him. “You can’t blame yourself for this.”
“I’ve got no choice.” Luke looked around the cage. “Look around you. They were kept in these conditions, and I’ve been doing my research for years, Anthony. Do you get that? Fucking years. Do you have any idea how many women that is? How many people have died because I didn’t act sooner?”
“How could you have known?” Anthony asked, and he couldn’t believe he was even trying to reason with him. “You’re not responsible for this, and if you even try, you’re onto a losing battle. You had nothing to do with any of this.”
“But if I had come to you sooner—”
“There’s a chance we could have kicked you to the curb,” Lash said.
Anthony turned to see his father step into the room. His hands were by his sides, and he looked so calm.
“And you’re not wrong. There was a chance that without good hard evidence, I would have been convinced it was a trick. Something designed by the Monster Dogs MC to set a trap. I wouldn’t have responded. You did the right thing. People died while you were gaining that evidence.” Lash shrugged. “It happens. We win some, we lose some. There’s not a lot we can do in between.”
Luke hung his head.
“But I promise, if you let this get to you, it will eat away at your soul. Even if you could have stopped your father and your club, there are dozens, hundreds, thousands of men out there with the same agenda.” Lash put his hands on his hips. “All you can do is keep fighting. That is all you can do. It’s all we can do.”
Luke got to his feet. “You’re right. I want to join the Skulls. I want to stop this. I know I’ve got to prove myself—”
Lash held his hand up. “For now, we’re heading home, cleaning up. Then, we’ve got to deal with your dad and the fact he’s still out there, causing whatever fucking mess he can. Will you give me and Anthony a minute?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Luke left the room and Anthony turned toward his father.
“You wouldn’t have turned him away, would you?” Anthony asked.
“No, I wouldn’t. The Billionaires just needed someone from the inside to be able to act. There was a chance people could have been saved, but Luke didn’t know that.”
“And you’re not going to tell him?”
“I just spent a couple of days torturing the boy to get this information. The only person he trusted was you. He didn’t break, and trust me, he could have. Men have done so for less. He’s going to be a good asset, and we also know it is not safe for him out there alone.”
Anthony looked past his father’s shoulder. “Do I need to answer to the Billionaires?”
Lash laughed. “Son, I don’t bow down to the Billionaires. I work with them because I happen to believe in their cause. But they are not the boss. Nothing is going to come of it, and now that the girls have been found, they are going to work to get them home. Everything is good.”
He looked at his dad.
“We’re not good?” Anthony asked.
“Son, you completely went against all my instructions. You went behind my back, and yeah, part of me is proud of that. It’s no different than what I would have done back in the day. You’re going to be one hell of a leader. You have goodish instincts.”
“Goodish?”
“Your woman is in the hospital.”
Anthony hadn’t forgotten that.
“Goodish is still a compliment.”
“But I still got her hurt.”
“You weren’t prepared for what happened. Either way, at the club, I can’t let it slide. You will learn to follow my instructions and if you want back in the club, then you are back to rock bottom. Trust me, this is not going to be easy, and there is a chance I am going to choose Luke over you, and you’re going to take it like a man. You’re going to take your punishment in front of the club, in front of your friends.”
“I already take full responsibility for what happened.”
“Good.”
Anthony’s cell phone started buzzing again. “Sorry, this has been blowing up since we got here.” He pulled out his phone, and then he saw the missed calls and texts. He looked up toward his father. “Daisy’s awake.”
****
D aisy smiled at her father and mother, and she was so pleased to see them. She was so happy to be awake and just part of the family. She felt different. Tabitha kept looking at her with guilty eyes. Her parents seemed to not want to stop looking at her. She missed them.
There was one person, though, she wanted to see, and each time she looked toward the door, she hoped he would step right through.
Nothing.
“I’m going to grab a coffee,” Whizz said, getting to his feet. “You want something, baby?”
Daisy shook her head. “No, no, it’s fine.”
She knew they were taking turns calling Anthony, and he still hadn’t picked up.
Once Whizz left, she was alone with Tabitha and Lacey.
“Don’t worry, he is going to call him, and Anthony will be here in no time,” Lacey said.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Only you checking the door every couple of minutes, otherwise, not so much,” Tabitha said.
“If I were you, I would make him pay for being the one to have to answer all the questions,” Lacey said. “I can’t believe you got married without telling me. That seems to be a thing your generation is doing.”
Tabitha shrugged. “I didn’t know either. At least when Simon and I got married, we had a lot of witnesses.”
Daisy sighed. “It wasn’t exactly planned. We didn’t even talk about going to Vegas. It just happened. Passing one of the marriage parlors, and then the next thing, we’re there, and it’s like happening, and we’re married.” It had been one of the scariest and yet happiest moments of her life. Anthony had promised to devote his life to her, and she to him.
“Do you think he’s okay?” Daisy asked. “I know you have all called him.”
“We have,” Tabitha said. “He’s just doing club stuff.”
That meant Tabitha didn’t have a clue, and it was starting to sting for her friend.
“He’ll be here,” Lacey said. “You know him. We all do. There is no way he is not going to be here for you.”
She looked toward her mother and was so happy with her vote of confidence. Anthony was going to be there, but she couldn’t help feeling that sense of doubt. It was there again, that horrible feeling that something bad was going to happen. She couldn’t quite explain it. She had felt it when they were about to storm the Monster Dogs MC clubhouse. That feeling was there again, only different.
Daisy was about to ask Lacey about the damage when the door opened and she just knew it was her man. Turning her head, there was Anthony, and sweat beaded his brow as he stepped into the room.
She looked into his blue eyes, the same eyes she had fallen in love with so long ago. Daisy had never told anyone, but even as a girl she had loved those eyes. They reminded her of the ocean—so clear, so blue, and so beautiful.
When she looked at Anthony, he made the world feel like a safer place. She trusted him with her whole heart and knew he would be there for her, that he loved her. He’d never willingly hurt her. The whole room faded away until the only two that existed were the two of them.
Anthony went to her. She couldn’t move out of the bed as she was still healing. She had been stabbed. There had been internal damage, and they fixed it, but she was still recovering. He wrapped his arms around her, and the moment he touched her, that bad feeling faded until it didn’t exist.
“You came back to me,” Anthony said.
“Always. I always will.”
He pressed his face against her neck.
“And you didn’t leave me.”
“Never.”
She held onto him, closing her eyes. There was movement, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that Tabitha, Lacey, as well as Whizz had left, closing the door behind them.
Anthony pulled away, but he sat on the bed beside her, taking hold of her hand. He kissed her knuckles. “I had to tell them,” Anthony said.
She couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m glad they know but I haven’t forgotten that we promised to tell them together.”
“It got fucked up. Daniella was the one who alerted them.”
“Did we lose anyone else? What about Luke?”
“I got to Luke. My dad was ... talking with him.”
She knew what that meant.
“What is going on?” Daisy asked.
Anthony reached out and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “Don’t worry about it. Not yet. I’ll tell you more when you’re better. When you are completely healed. I won’t ever do something like that again. I can’t put you in danger.”
“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t cut me out. I told you there was a risk. There is always a risk with something like this.”
“But with you, it is not a risk I am willing to take. I can’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to you.”
She was not going to argue with him about this. It wasn’t over, but she knew what had happened at the Monster Dogs MC clubhouse was still a little raw for him. It was going to take time, and she had a feeling he was going to become even more protective of her.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’m fine. I’m feeling good. I’m feeling strong.”
“You’re feeling strong?”
She nodded and laughed. “Don’t look so surprised. I can feel good and I can feel strong.” She glanced over at the machines. “I won’t be dancing around and singing, which you should be happy about.” Anthony wasn’t a big fan of her singing. She would often sing just so he’d come and kiss her, and he would do that to shut her up. She loved this man.
“I’d give anything for you to sing and dance,” he said.
“Does this mean you’re going to stop kissing me to shut me up?”
“Never. I’m never going to stop kissing you.” And with that, he took possession of her mouth.
She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, pulling him in closer, not wanting to let him go. She loved this man more than anything.
There was no holding back now. No keeping secrets, not from the club, not from anyone. There was a chance she could have died, and she was feeling that now more than ever.
****
“I t was a real fucked -up mess,” Lash said, removing his boots and socks.
Angel crawled down the bed and moved in behind him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her face against his back. “You did good,” she said.
“I had no choice. They had already killed a girl to make an example of her. We found her body around the back. Thrown among the trash like she meant nothing. The Billionaires are going to take care of it.” He rubbed at his thigh.
“I’ve got you.”
He hated talking to her about this shit, but Angel insisted he not keep it a secret from her.
“I know the world is bad. I know the world is fucked up, but even I didn’t realize what evil fucks were in the world.” He rubbed his eyes and Angel kissed his cheek.
“I know,” Angel said.
“You know, we could have saved a lot more than the girls tonight,” Lash said.
“I figured that was bothering you. How could you have?”
“Luke had been learning about this shit for years, Angel. Fucking years, and he was too afraid to come to me. Does that make me a bad man?”
“Stop it,” Angel said. “You know it doesn’t make you a bad man. He wasn’t just your average Joe off the street. He is a member of our enemy club. Don’t blame yourself for this. The people that need to be blamed are the men that do this. Not you. Not the Billionaires. Not Luke. The men that go out of their way to hunt down girls and woman and men, and sell them to the highest bidder. They’re the ones to blame. Not you.”
Lash put his hand on Angel’s arm and released a breath. “Thanks.”
“I’m not just saying this to make you feel better,” Angel said. “I’m saying what is true, what is right. I don’t lie.” She moved off the bed and knelt at his side. “I don’t want you to take all this guilt, Lash. You do what you can and that is all you need to do.” She ran her hands up and down his thighs. “You’re a good man. You’re an amazing leader and you have done things for the Skulls that people never thought were possible. I know you didn’t want this job, but you’re good at it. Just like Anthony, he will be good when the time comes.”
“He needs to learn his place, babe,” Lash said.
“I know, and you’re going to have to be the one to put him in his place. I get it. The club has to come first. You’ve always told me that.”
He cupped her cheek. The club did always come first, but there were a lot of times he didn’t quite follow those rules. The truth was, the way Anthony was with Daisy was how he felt when it came to Angel. There was no way he would survive without her.
“I love you,” he said.
Angel smiled at him, that sweet smile. The one he craved for her to give him all those years ago.
“I love you too.”