17. Crow
CHAPTER 17
CROW
I just hope this isn’t the biggest mistake of my life.
“She’s gonna be fine.”
I stalk toward the bathroom to wash my hands. It took nearly an hour for Jackyl and I to finish tending to Sunny, but she’s now clean, bandaged, stitched, and sleeping. She had very brief moments of consciousness, but she was never with it long enough to confirm that Kenny did this to her.
“Maybe physically,” I finally say. “But mentally? Who the fuck knows?”
“Sunny’s strong. She’ll get through this. We’ll make sure of it.”
“Yeah.”
After drying my hands, I walk back into the room and to the door. “I’m gonna go see how Ghost and Addi are doin’. You got things handled here?”
“I’m good. I’ll stay with her for a while, and then get Blain and Conner to keep watch overnight and wake her every few hours.”
“Okay. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do, Pres.”
Jackyl sits in the chair in the corner of the room, and I head downstairs. I’m bombarded by Kitty and Molly before my feet even touch the last step.
“How is she?” Molly asks.
“Did Kenny really do this to her?” Kitty spits out.
“She’s pretty banged up, but she’ll be okay,” I tell them. “She’s sleeping right now, but you can go up and see her if you want. Just be quiet.”
The girls practically shove past me to get to their friend. I don’t blame them. There’s not much that could keep me away from my friends in the same situation.
I glance around the room and spot Journey near the bar.
“VP,” I call out.
He spins around and meets me in the middle of the room.
“What’s up?”
“They’re still down there?”
“Yep.”
“Have you checked in on them at all?”
He shakes his head. “Figured you’d have ordered me to if that’s what you wanted.”
“Okay. I’m heading down. Hopefully, they’ve got some answers.”
“I have to say, I’m surprised you sent Addison into the Nightmare Room.”
“She’s a cop. Might as well put her to work for us.”
Journey grins, but before he can comment on my decision further, I walk away. I don’t have time to hear him analyze me or my reasons right now.
When I reach the basement, I stop to watch the monitor outside of the steel door. I’m surprised to see Kenny strung up by his wrists, his feet dangling a few inches above the floor. Addison is pacing the room, but her eyes never leave Kenny, and Ghost is leaning against the wall like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
I flatten my hand on the scanner, and the door slides open.
“How’s it goin’ in here?” I ask as I stride inside, and the steel barrier slams closed behind me.
“Oh, just fine,” Ghost replies lazily. “Your girl is damn good.”
“I’m not his girl,” Addison snaps. “And thank you.”
“So, Ace, what answers have you gotten?”
“She’s fucking crazy!” Kenny shouts. “She hit me!”
Addison stops in front of Kenny and grabs a fistful of his t-shirt. “I hit you because you hurt my friend,” she seethes.
“I told you, I was paid to do it.”
Wait a second…
“You honestly want me to believe this isn’t just a case of retaliation for kicking you out of the club?” I ask.
“If I wanted to retaliate, I wouldn’t have hurt Sunny.” Kenny swings his gaze to Addison and practically growls. “I’d have hurt that bitch.”
I lunge forward and yank the former prospect out of Addison’s grasp and close to my face. “You lay so much as a finger on her, and I’ll kill you.”
Addison’s sharp intake of breath barely penetrates my rage, but it does register. I loosen my grip slightly.
“I’m officially laying claim to her,” I say, not thinking about the consequences of my words when I leave this room. “Put one hair on her head out of place, and there’ll be a line of Soulless Kings waiting to deliver your soul to Hell.”
“Uh, you’re laying claim to me?” Addison asks. “I don’t think so.”
Kenny laughs like an idiot, and I haul my arm back before landing a punch to his jaw to shut him up.
“We can talk about this later,” I tell Addison without looking at her.
Consequences… so many consequences.
Ghost pushes off the wall and steps around Kenny to stand next to me. “The one thing we haven’t been able to figure out yet is who sent Kenny to do their bidding,” he says, completely ignoring the tension I created in the room.
I narrow my eyes on Kenny. “Well, care to enlighten us?”
“Not particularly.”
My muscles tense, and I curl my fingers into fists. “I’m not in the mood for games, motherfucker. Tell me what I want to know or meet your maker.”
“You’re gonna kill him?” Addison asks from behind me.
“I’m gonna subject him to the same treatment he gave Sunny,” I say. “Got a problem with that?”
“I mean, I’m a cop, so yeah, kinda.”
“Then get out,” I snap.
“No.”
I slowly turn around and advance on her. Addison takes a step back, then another and another until her back hits the wall.
“Imagine that Sunny was your daughter,” I say with forced calm. “Would you want your daughter’s attacker to get away with what he did?”
Her eyes dart beyond me to the swinging man but only for a moment. “Sometimes, good people do bad things for good reasons.”
“What?”
“The way I see it, you’ve got two options.” She lifts one finger. “First option is you can kill him. But then you have to live with the fact that you took away Sunny’s chance to face her attacker and any chance you have to find out who hired him.” She lifts another finger. “Second option is to have him arrested and put on trial for what he did. He’ll suffer far more in prison than he will six feet under, and you’ll actually have a chance to get answers.”
Her words rattle around in my brain. There are pros and cons to both options, but I’m man enough to admit that there’s wisdom in putting Kenny’s sorry ass in jail.
“I suppose you want to make the arrest,” I say, that thought giving me the most pause.
Addison sighs. “Crow, you kept me here because you wanted me to see that the Soulless Kings aren’t bad. This is your chance to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt.” My heart skips a beat when she lifts a hand and cups my cheek. “You want me to trust you, and I need you to trust me.”
“So, you believe we didn’t kill those Limitless Throttle bastards?” I ask.
“I believe that I’ll get to the truth, no matter what.”
I search her eyes, trying to figure out what to do, and then I nod. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah. You’re right, Ace. Trust is a two-way street. So, you can go, and you can take Kenny with you.” My expression darkens. “I just hope this isn’t the biggest mistake of my life.”