Chapter Eleven
Beast
“Explain to me again why I had to fall back?” I asked as I glared at Casper, Torch, and Venom.
The fuckers had shown up about the same time I’d been notified Lyssa was gone.
They had yet to tell me why they were here.
Honestly, I didn’t give a shit, as long as they helped me get my woman back.
If I had to guess, I’d say Wire had notified them of Tony’s location, or had spotted him heading our way.
I just didn’t know why they wouldn’t have called to let me know.
Maybe I could have stopped Lyssa from going out to meet him.
“Because I have men who owe me favors. They’re going to extract Lyssa,” Casper said. “It’s better this way. You won’t be tied to any of the dead bodies left behind, and neither will I or the Dixie Reapers.”
Torch cracked his neck. “As if that’s ever bothered any of us before.”
Casper glowered. “Maybe not, but we’re not exactly getting any younger. You want to leave a mess behind when you kick the bucket?”
“Really? Now you have me dying any day?” Torch shot back. “Fucker.”
The two of them bickered like an old married couple. While it would normally be entertaining, right now I needed them to focus.
“You think I give a shit about that? I want Lyssa back, and I want those fuckers to bleed. They threatened her little sister or she’d have never gone to them willingly.”
Torch stood silently, but I noticed the tension in his jaw.
He wasn’t too happy about this either. For whatever reason, he was letting Casper take the lead on this.
I fucking hated it. She was my old lady, my everything.
I hadn’t had a chance to tell her what she meant to me.
It ate at me. She’d been gone too fucking long.
They’d had her for hours, and from what we’d heard, she’d reached the home of her new owner.
I snarled just thinking about someone putting their hands on her.
“Every second she’s with them gives them another opportunity to hurt her. They could be doing anything right now. What if your men are too late?” I demanded. “What’s wrong with using the guys who gave you the intel on this place? Aren’t they still here?”
“Jesus,” Torch muttered. “Would the two of you shut the fuck up? Do you have any idea how hard it is to stand here while my baby is in that house with all those soulless bastards? Hearing the two of you snipe at each other isn’t helping anything.
All you’re going to do is make me have a fucking stroke. ”
“If you don’t want to stand on the sidelines, why are you?” I asked.
“Fuck this shit. I’m not.” He pulled his gun and marched through the wooded lot toward the house. Casper had sent scouts and we already knew the location of all the guards, assuming they hadn’t had a recent rotation.
I followed Torch, my own weapon in my hand and a knife strapped to my thigh.
He’d already taken out the guard at the back door by the time I caught up to him.
I heard Casper behind me, muttering about fools not listening, and I went back to ignoring him.
How could he leave his granddaughter in this place?
It seemed cold even for him, and I’d heard some horror stories over the years.
Torch shot at anyone who moved, the silencer on his gun keeping this relatively quiet, while I rushed up the stairs to the second floor.
I didn’t know for certain if Lyssa was up here, but my gut said she was.
I went door to door, taking care of anyone who wasn’t my woman, leaving them bleeding out on the floor. All the fuckers needed to die.
I knocked down the last door on the hall, and what I saw made my blood boil and rage filled me.
A man had pinned Lyssa to the bed and had been in the process of ripping her clothes off her.
With a snarl, I launched myself into the room and went after him.
Sorry son of a bitch didn’t even have a weapon on him.
Shooting him would be easier, but I needed him to suffer.
I yanked the knife from the sheath on my thigh and slashed at him. I drew blood across his abdomen and his bicep.
“Well, if it isn’t my whore’s first love.” He smiled. “You should sit back and enjoy the show. I’m about to show this bitch how a real man fucks.”
I glanced at Lyssa and noticed she was entirely too still and hadn’t said a damn word yet. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused. “What the hell did you do to her?”
“Gave her a little something to make her more docile. Once I’ve been inside her, she won’t be as inclined to fight me. I always break them the first time, make sure they understand there’s no escape.”
“Oh, she has an escape. Me.”
“You?” He threw back his head and laughed. “Boy, I’m older than you and I haven’t stayed alive this long by being stupid. You think I’m scared of some low-life biker?”
“I beg to differ. If you were smart, you’d have never bought my woman. You signed your death warrant the second you touched her.”
I went after him again, not holding back.
I watched his blood flow, sent him to his knees.
The moment he realized I was going to kill him, I saw a flash in his eyes.
Anger. No, more like fury. He was more than just pissed.
He’d thought himself invincible, which made me wonder why.
He’d been unarmed and hadn’t fought back very hard.
“Why did you think you’d win?” I asked. I was missing something.
“There are thirty men in this house, all armed. The fact you slipped past them is admirable, but you can’t kill them all.”
“And why do you think I’m here alone?”
The man waved his hand, blood dripping from his fingertips. “Your men are no match for mine.”
My men were… I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. “Exactly who do you think you’ve bought?”
“A biker’s whore,” he said. “I saw the way you’ve trained her. I was impressed, and more than willing to pay top dollar for such a treasure.”
I gripped my knife tighter. “A whore. Right. You really are a dumb shit, aren’t you?
Lyssa isn’t a Goddamn whore. She’s my old lady, and the daughter of Torch, President of the Dixie Reapers.
If that isn’t enough to make you realize the error of your ways, you should know she’s also the granddaughter of --”
“Me,” Casper said, stepping into the room. “I’d say it’s nice to see you again, but I’d be lying.”
My shoulders stiffened. “You know him?”
Casper gave a regal nod. “Dealt with him a time or two. Slimy fucker who doesn’t like to play by the rules. Right now, he’s waiting for help to arrive. Sorry, Carlos. No one is coming because they’re all too busy bleeding all over your floors.”
“She’s your family?” Carlos asked, tipping his head in Lyssa’s direction. “Well, that will make her submission even sweeter.”
“Are you really so arrogant you think you can walk away from this?” I asked. “Or are you just stupid?”
“I’m going with stupid,” Casper said. “Only an ignorant motherfucker would go after Lyssa. First, it was clear she’d been claimed by you, the President of Reckless Kings MC.
Did they think you’d just let them take her without repercussion?
And anyone who did even a little digging would find her connection to Torch and me. ”
I eyed my woman, worried that she still hadn’t moved or registered the fact I was in the room with her. While Casper toyed with Carlos, I crept closer to the bed. She lay so still, if her chest hadn’t been rising and falling, I’d have thought he’d killed her.
“Tink, you with me?” I asked, running my fingers through her hair.
I glanced at Casper when I heard a fist hitting flesh, but it seemed he was just taking his time with Carlos.
I wasn’t worried. The top-rated assassin in the world could surely handle a two-bit human trafficker.
I lifted Lyssa into my arms and walked out of the room.
As much as I wanted to end Carlos myself, the woman in my arms was far more important.
I met Torch on the stairs, and he made me stop so he could check on his daughter, running his hands over her arms and checking her eyes.
“Drugged,” I said. “I need to get her the fuck out of here.”
“I’m going to give Casper a hand. If you trust me to have your bike returned to your compound, pick any vehicle outside and use it to get our girl home.”
“I can give them a ride.” The guy shoved his hands into his pockets. No cut. Not wearing a suit. And he wasn’t dressed in head to toe black like the men Casper had called in. So who the fuck was this guy?
Torch ran a hand down his face. “Fuck my life.”
“You know him?” I asked.
“Yeah. Punk-ass keeps sniffing around Venom’s daughter. I trust him to get the two of you home safely. If nothing else, he’ll want a way to earn points with my VP.”
“Fine. Get us the fuck out of here.” I followed him out to the driveway and climbed into the backseat of one of the SUVs.
“My name’s Tyson,” the guy said. “I’ll have you home as quick as I can.”
“Don’t need any cops pulling us over,” I warned.
He snorted and flashed a badge at me. “No worries. I’ve got it covered.”
What. The. Fuck. Casper and Torch had let a cop come along for this trip? And the guy wanted to date Venom’s daughter? What was it Charlotte had always said? Not my circus, not my monkeys. I shook my head and turned my attention to Lyssa.
“Beast?” she asked, slurring my name like she’d drank half the clubhouse’s stash of liquor.
“Yeah, Tink. I’ve got you.” I held her a little closer. “Anyone hurt you?”
“Tony touched me,” she said.
My teeth ground together. “Where?”
She tried to grab my hand but fumbled it a few times before she dropped it between her legs. My gaze clashed with hers. Was she saying what I thought she was? Had he…
“Tink, I need you to tell me. What exactly did he do?”
“Touched me there.” She turned her face into me so her words were muffled. “Sorry. So stupid.”