Chapter Seventeen
T wo Months Later
Anthony had known it would be hectic, that his father wouldn’t allow any of them to have a moment’s peace. He wasn’t wrong.
He was exhausted, all of them were, but not once did they fold. Not even Daisy, although she did get a reprieve from time to time to allow herself to recuperate. Daisy hated being given special treatment, but they all knew if she didn’t have the necessary time to heal, she never would, and it wouldn’t be a good outcome.
They were rarely given full a night’s sleep. On that first night, Lash had them all up at the crack of dawn, cleaning the clubhouse. From there, they were all assigned necessary jobs. Some of the jobs consisted of babysitting. Others were running errands. Some were lookouts. They had to follow leads on the Monster Dogs MC.
All the while, Luke was earning his patch. The other brother, through hard work and dedication, was in fact thriving. Anthony was impressed with how quickly he adapted, which just proved him right. He was a natural, but was simply in the wrong club.
As for the remaining Monster Dogs MC, they had the Billionaires working. Since they had stopped the sale of the girls and with the MC club’s numbers down, they had been able to intercept multiple kidnappings. It wasn’t a job well done, but it was pretty fucking close.
They had to follow all leads. It was part of their agreement with the Billionaires. Now that most of the club was gone, they wanted the last members earning the same fate as well. So far, they had managed to take out two surviving members, but there were still more. The men had actually taken their own lives before they had the chance to talk. Anthony didn’t know if that made them cowards or not. Either way, they were following a lead that had drawn them to a motel about an hour’s drive from Fort Wills.
Lash was in front of him, clicking away at his cell phone. “Fuck.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
This is what pissed him off. His father kept him out of the loop. This was part of his punishment. For the last two months, he didn’t have a father, unless it was to do with Sunday lunch, and they had been sparing. Anthony gritted his teeth and didn’t say anything, although he really wanted to. He stayed silent, watching.
Adam was closer, checking out the motel from his position in the car. Several of the guys were lurking, playing the part of civilians. Anthony didn’t know why they were bothering with him, he was just at his father’s back. He wasn’t even allowed to ride his own bike, and they hadn’t even been granted permission to wear their patches yet. Not even a leather cut with the Skulls insignia. They had nothing. Again, all part of his master punishment plan.
He got it and understood the tests. He needed them to prove to the club, and to him, that they were loyal. Their loyalty to the club was never in question. They simply did what he knew his father couldn’t do, as his hands were tied. It could be considered insolence, disobedience, whatever anyone wanted to call it. The truth was ... he simply did what he knew his father wanted. The Monster Dogs MC, gone.
The club’s association with the Billionaires didn’t hold him or the others back. He did what was needed. And he didn’t regret it for a single moment.
Lash was back on his cell phone, and he watched as he called Alex’s number.
He didn’t hear what Alex had to say. “I need you to get down to the sheriff’s now.” There was a pause. “Yeah, another one.” Another pause.
Anthony didn’t need to fill in the blanks.
“I’ll deal with it when I get back.” With that, he hung up.
“Girls are going missing?”
Lash glanced behind him and just stared at him without saying a word. Anthony had no intention of backing down.
“This is not the time, nor the place.”
“We’re waiting for the scum to return. No one can see us. Someone is stealing girls, right? I’m guessing with you wanting Alex to go down to the sheriff’s office, they’re Fort Wills girls, aren’t they?”
He saw his dad’s jaw tense. “Yes, they are.”
“That means they’re in town.”
“That means they’re ... working in town, but so far, we don’t know where they’re being taken. Whizz has gone through the security footage. They have to have been taken from their beds, or something. We’re working to figure it out.”
He didn’t want to state the obvious, but he felt it had to be said. “But you can’t figure it out?”
Lash sighed. “The parents were asleep and they had tucked their kid into bed.”
“Kids?”
“Yeah, so far a ten-year-old and a twelve-year-old have been taken.”
Anthony didn’t like this. “They’re babies.”
“I know, Anthony. I fucking know this.” Lash growled. “I’m done playing.”
He got up from his hiding spot, and Anthony followed. Usually, they waited for the man to make his appearance, and then they tailed him. So far, it hadn’t been working. None of it had, and now, as they advanced toward the motel room, he had a feeling his father was at the end of his tether.
Little girls going missing in Fort Wills was bad. Their enemies were taunting them, and they were doing it on purpose. He didn’t leave his father’s side.
The downside to being a non-patched member was, he didn’t get a single fucking weapon. Not that he completely minded. He had no problem using his hands, but it would have been nice to defend himself.
His father kicked in the door, and they were able to take the Monster Dog by surprise. Anthony recognized him, only because of their past trips to the enemy clubhouse. There was no real connection. The man had his dick in his hand and was watching the porn channel. Anthony wasn’t interested and neither was his father, as he clocked the guy in the face.
It wasn’t long before Adam, Nash, and Hardy entered the room and closed the door.
“Where are they?” Lash asked.
Anthony watched as his father grabbed the man’s head and then shoved it against the bedside cabinets. He hadn’t quite seen his father in action. Most of what he knew his father was capable of had been told to him. Seeing him now, the man was a machine, menacing, and Anthony was in awe of him.
“Fuck you,” the man said.
This caused Lash to stomp on his dick, not once but twice.
Nash winced. “Fuck me.”
The guy was crying now.
Lash wasn’t done.
“You know, I was going to be nice about this, but two girls, two underage girls, have gone missing in my town, and you know I don’t like when people go missing. It makes me fucking angry. Seeing as you’re the only one here, I feel like taking my rage out on you.”
“You can’t hurt me,” the guy said. “You’re a pussy now.”
His mouth was covered in blood, and he laughed, showing one of his teeth was missing.
“You work for them ... for the pussy Billionaires, and they keep you in check. You can’t kill me. You don’t know how.”
Lash looked down at him and pulled out a knife. “Do you really think that?”
The man’s smile faltered.
“You see, this is the power one has. I may not kill quite so easily anymore. I mean, I do have a deal with the Billionaires, but here’s the thing: they can’t stand rapists, kidnappers, and child abusers, and you fit every one of those descriptions. Now, you’re right, I have a deal that I won’t do anything illegal, and well, in their own code of conduct, they have no sympathy for you. Seeing as you’re all alone, they can’t use you. You’re worthless to them, and I’ve got two girls missing. I’ve got to do what I can, to get them back in one piece. You’re here, and I’m getting tired of the way you guys behave. You give a patch, a lifer, a bad name.” He thrust the blade into the man’s calf. The man screamed and Lash pressed his hand against his mouth, silencing him.
“And I’ve got a problem with that. You see, I’ve got a wife, I’ve got a daughter, and there are a lot of women I need to take care of. You are nothing, and I guess if you can’t talk to me and tell me what is going on, then I get to have a little fun.” And with that, he thrust the knife into the other calf, only this time he gave it a little wriggle. There was no emotion on Lash’s face. No ... pain. He felt nothing.
And in that moment, he suddenly knew he wasn’t alone. He was very much like his father. He could handle what needed to be done. He could inflict pain and kill without blinking an eye.
Nash would randomly laugh. Adam looked bored.
But the man didn’t talk, until after Lash had removed his dick. Much to Anthony’s surprise, he wouldn’t actually touch the thing with his own hand, but he grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his hand, then tugged the flaccid cock and sliced it right off.
That was when the man started talking.
Luke’s dad was in town, but he didn’t stay in one place. He intended to round up a shipment of girls. He was trying to pay his penance to the men he had failed to supply the girls that were meant to be sold. Each girl had to match the description of the order, and Luke’s dad was using Fort Wills to get it. All Lash had to do was get the details from the Billionaires.
He watched as his father killed the man and then wiped the blood onto the bed, before grabbing his cell phone and walking outside.
“You all right?” Adam asked.
He turned to look at the British man.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.”
“I know you’ve killed, taken some of these fucking scum with you, but you’ve never quite seen torture before. That wasn’t even the full extent of what your father is capable of.”
Anthony nodded. “I know he can do a lot worse.”
“Trust me, this was just playtime to him.” Adam looked around the room. “And his life ended too quickly, but with a shipment to fill, we’re on limited time. He needs to get that order from the Billionaires, and then with Whizz’s help, we can protect the rest of the girls.”
And he was starting to see the bigger picture of the club. How vital it was, how much they protected people, and he actually felt proud. Seeing his father torture that man for information, he didn’t care. It showed a side of his father he didn’t realize was still there.
****
D aisy was so tired . She had to read numbers. So many numbers. From Millie’s shipment of new toys, to all the orders. Today was her day at the toy shop, which was fine, but she was tired.
Lash had woken them up at three that morning. He wanted them all showered and down for breakfast within fifteen minutes. She and Anthony showered together and were still in the main clubhouse room with two minutes to spare.
Everyone looked tired. She didn’t know when the last time was that she got a full night’s sleep. She was exhausted, but she was also healed. The stitches were long gone, and other than the doctor telling her to take it easy, there was nothing wrong with her.
Once she healed, she was able to contribute as much as everyone else to the punishment. Early mornings, Lash even got them running and exercising, which hadn’t been fun.
He assigned them all jobs, and from that point, they had to move to where they were instructed. Their days were long, starting early, but they were never consistent. They started work at three this morning, the day before was five. There was no way of knowing when they would go to bed. None of them could go to bed until Lash dismissed them.
She didn’t know how he did it. The man was a machine. He made them stay up until all hours, working, waiting, and serving the club. It was tiring, but there was no stopping it.
Daisy kept doing it, though; she had no choice, even though she was starting to get a little agitated from lack of sleep. They all did the same.
Arriving at the clubhouse, she walked in to find Angel there, waiting with food.
Several of them had already returned from their trips. She looked for Anthony but didn’t see him.
“Hey,” Rachel said.
“Hey.” Daisy dropped into the space beside her friend, and Angel placed a plate of food right in front of her.
Her mother-in-law gripped her shoulder tightly. It was her way of being encouraging, but it didn’t matter. She could handle this. She tried to stifle a yawn, but there was no point in trying.
“Do you know where Anthony is?” There was no point in texting him. Their cell phones had been confiscated. Anything of any pleasure had been taken from them.
“He’s with Lash still,” Rachel said.
Even Rachel’s perky smile had dropped. The other woman looked just as tired as she did. Usually, Rachel had her hair perfectly styled, regardless if it was up in a bun, a twist, or down with curls and ringlets. A light touch of makeup, and she always looked so put together. Now, her hair was frizzy, no makeup, pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes.
“Are you regretting what we did?” Daisy asked, feeling concerned. She didn’t know if Lash was trying to break their resolve, shatter their nerve, or weaken them.
“Fuck, no,” Rachel said. “I’m glad we did what we did. I just wish I had the energy to comb my hair.”
Daisy smiled.
“Don’t laugh.” But there was a smile on her face as well. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve not washed it in over a week.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and trust me, it needs washing.” Rachel lifted up the end. “So much hard work gone to waste.” She took a deep breath. “But it is fine, as it will all be worth it.”
“Why?”
“Well, we’re going to earn our patches back someday. That’s the whole point of this, right? To prove our place once again within the club.”
Daisy nodded. “Yeah, it will all be worth it.”
“But it doesn’t stop me from being so tired.”
She reached out and put a hand on her arm. “We’ll get through it.”
Rachel took hold of her hand, and they just sat there in comfortable silence, but it was silence nonetheless. Daisy pulled her hand away and as she did, the main door swung open and she watched as Anthony stepped in. He didn’t say a word, just looked at her, and she knew she needed to go to their room.
“I’ll see you in a bit, okay?” Daisy asked.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m just going to sleep until one of those monsters dares to wake me up.”
She didn’t linger, and instead without a word made her way up toward the bedroom she and Anthony shared. Even while they were being woken up early, they still shared a room.
Once inside, she stopped by the bed, and she didn’t have to wait long before Anthony stepped through the door. They hadn’t had sex in a long time, since before she had landed in a coma. They didn’t waste time at night having sex; they slept, wrapped together in each other’s arms. Even though they both loved having sex, it was like an unspoken rule between them—that getting sleep was a little more important.
“Anthony?” she asked.
He flicked the lock on the door and then went to her, cupping her face, tilting her head back, and taking possession of her lips. “I love you,” he said.
“And I love you. What’s going on?”
He paused for a brief second, and then pressed his forehead to hers, and seconds later, his lips were back on hers. The kiss was brief.
“There are girls missing.”
“What?”
“Yeah, Luke’s dad is behind it, but we’ve got to find a way to fix this.”
“This is on us?”
“No, it’s on me.”
“Anthony, you’ve got to stop taking the blame.”
“It’s my fault. I was the one who made the decision to end them. If I hadn’t done that, then ... they might still be alive.”
“Stop it,” Daisy said. “Just stop it. It doesn’t matter, we did what we did, and now we have to fix it.”
He kissed her again. Then again. “I love you.”
She knew it was wrong to want to be with him at a time like this. Running her hands up the front of his shirt, she circled them around his neck, and Anthony was already leading her back. Daisy didn’t fight him as he dropped her down to the bed.
Anthony broke the kiss, but his lips traveled down her body, going down her neck. She wore a button-down shirt and a pair of jeans. It seemed the safest option while they were being punished. It didn’t take him two minutes to pull them from her body and toss them to one side.
“They’re in my way.”
She let out a giggle, and of course Anthony was not done with her. The jeans were gone, as were her bra and panties.
Now, she lay beneath him completely naked. She moved up onto her forearms and looked over at him. “This is not fair.” She pouted.
“You’re right.”
If she thought he was fast getting her naked, she had nothing on him actually getting naked for her. The shirt was gone, as were the jeans and his boxers.
She stared down the length of his body. Anthony had been getting tattoos for years, and she looked at him now, marveling at the one of her name, right across his heart. It was in a fancy kind of writing, all long curves and beautiful. When he got it, she thought he was crazy, putting her name on his body. He told her his feelings for her were for life. Nothing was going to change them.
She reached for him, pulled him down, and Anthony didn’t argue. He kissed her again, but this time he didn’t linger. His lips began to trail down, leaving little kisses, making her gasp with each inch he took. The moment he got to her tits, he took one into his mouth, then the other, sliding his tongue across her peak.
She cried out, not wanting him to stop.
He toyed with her breasts. Pushing them together, then lapping between the two as he licked at her breasts. She felt her pussy tighten, and then he let go of her tits and started to move down. Traveling along her stomach, stopping at her scar, but not lingering too long, as he journeyed down, and she tried not to wriggle or gasp. He had always told her that every single part of her was beautiful. Scars and all. She couldn’t help but believe him.
Down he went, and as he spread her legs, she cried out as he eased the lips of her sex open, and then started to lick at her cunt. Going from her clit, down toward her entrance, and then back up to her clit.
She was so close because it had been so long since she had an orgasm. There was just no way for her to last, and much to her surprise, within less than a minute of his tongue dancing across her pussy, she screamed his name as she came, and she did so, hard. It took her breath away.
As for Anthony, he pressed a kiss to her tender clit and then moved up the bed. He moved her among the pillows and then looked in her eyes. “I don’t want to wear a condom,” he said.
“Okay.”
“And I want to get you pregnant, Daisy. I don’t want to wait anymore.”
With everything going on with Tabitha, Nathan, the Monster Dogs MC, they had both agreed to wait on children. Although, much to their surprise, they had wanted to start making a family when they were younger.
“I don’t either,” she said.
She didn’t know what it was, maybe being in a coma, or the very reality that she could have died, had changed her whole perspective. There was no such thing as waiting anymore. She had done enough waiting. It was time to ... do .
Anthony moved between her thighs, and she felt the hard ridge of his cock as he slid between her slit, bumping her clit. She cried out, not from pain but from the pleasure of his touch. It felt so good.
He growled against her lips, and then he moved toward her entrance, and she took a breath as he began to slide inside her. Inch by inch, he thrust balls-deep within her, and as he did, he stared into her eyes, and she was mesmerized. She couldn’t look away and didn’t want to. He was her husband. The complete love of her life.
He took hold of her hands, locking their fingers together, and she didn’t look away, didn’t back down.
Anthony drove into her, making love, and she was more than happy to be taken. There was nothing she wanted more than to be with him. To love him.
He drove harder inside her, thrusting deep, and she knew it wouldn’t be long before he found his release. This had been the longest they had gone without sex, since the moment they had taken each other’s virginity.
She felt the kick of his cock as he came, soaking his seed inside her.
Daisy didn’t know if this was going to be all it took, but either way, they were facing it together, not just as lovers but as husband and wife.