Chapter Twenty-One
Jinx
E VERYONE HAS BEEN searching for Hope all over the compound and inside the clubhouse. She went with the ol’ ladies and kids when Vault cleared out the clubhouse so we could talk about shit but now she’s missing. Gwen and Faith told us Hope started back before everyone so she could run up to the bedroom and get changed before we all had dinner together. None of us saw her enter the clubhouse or go upstairs at all. King and Fox are currently going through the footage from the security cameras to see if they can follow her movements but they’re having a hard time pulling anything up. While the cameras weren’t shut down, there is something wrong with the feed. I have no clue what they’re talking about because I don’t know about computers and all the shit my best friend does when he’s working. Still, I always try to listen and figure out what’s going on because it’s only going to help us as a club for more of us to understand what the hell King is talking about when he goes off on one of his tangents.
“Guys, you need to check this shit out,” Deegan calls out, racing into the clubhouse from outside as I stand from the table with Killer.
Killer and I just came in and sat down for a second to try and figure out more places to search for our girl. We follow Deegan outside and I once again don’t spot Hope’s car in the parking lot with the rest of the bikes and vehicles. That was the first thing I looked for when Killer and I went outside because she wouldn’t walk anywhere with how sore she’s been. We didn’t see it and thought she might have gone to the store or something and forgot to tell anyone. Hope isn’t like that, but things happen so it was a possibility in my mind and it’s the one that gave me hope that she was still here somewhere and nothing had happened to her.
A group of us follows Deegan outside and walk around the clubhouse to the back where we unload the stupid fucks who screw the club over. Sitting just in front of the door is Hope’s car and it’s not empty. I can see someone thrashing around inside and wonder what the fuck is going on. Killer and I step up to the car and I startle when Killer starts laughing his ass off. It’s so loud I’m surprised his laughter isn’t echoing off the clubhouse to fill the air around us even more.
“What’s so fuckin’ funny?” Vault asks, pissed that we can’t find Hope anywhere as he steps up next to us.
“Seems my girl was listenin’ in to our conversation for at least a little while,” Killer says as I realize what, or who, I’m looking at in the back of Hope’s car. “She delivered that stupid skank directly to our door. It still doesn’t explain where my daughter is, but I’m gonna guess this is Ice.”
“That’s definitely Ice,” I state as Killer steps up and tries to open the backdoor of Hope’s car.
The door doesn’t open and I look to the front, noticing the doors have been locked. Killer isn’t gonna get the doors open because I know there’s something messed up with the locks on Hope’s car. For some reason, you can lock them with the button on the inside, but the only way to get back in her car is with the keys. I immediately start searching the ground around the car for her keys.
“What are you lookin’ for, Jinx?” Vault asks me with a smile on his face.
“There’s somethin’ wrong with the locks on her car. We need the keys to open the doors. Even if the bitch inside presses the button to unlock the doors, they won’t open. She kept meanin’ to make an appointment at the garage to get it fixed, but didn’t get around to it. I should’ve made the damn appointment myself, but we weren’t together and I knew she wouldn’t appreciate if I just randomly made her one,” I answer my President while continuing to search for her keys.
“Everyone look for Hope and her keys. Bring them to Killer or Jinx the second you find them,” Vault orders everyone outside as I hear the guys start looking for any sign of them.
When I don’t find the keys directly around the car, I make my way around the building to see if she happened to have dropped them somewhere. A sense of foreboding fills me because if we find the keys and aren’t able to find Hope, it means something has happened to my girl. When I get closer to the line of bikes, I see something glint in what’s left of the sunlight. Making my way over to Fox’ bike at the very end of the line, I bend down and grab a set of keys. Hope’s keys. I know they’re hers because she has a keychain that Faith got her on them. It’s something cute and funny that Killer didn’t appreciate when he saw it. The keychain has a bike on it with the words ‘Ass, Cash, or Grass. No one rides for free.’ Faith saw it and laughed her ass off. She immediately bought it for her sister because that’s the kind of humor they have. We all appreciated the keychain while Killer wanted to rip it from Hope’s hands.
“Got the keys,” I call out as Killer walks up to my side.
Neither one of us take any steps toward the car once I stand with the keys in my hand. Instead, we look around the compound to find Hope. My gaze travels over to the tree line as I search for my girl. Hope isn’t one to play pranks like this. If she were going to hide from anyone, she’d let her sister or mom know. Sometimes she needs to disappear for a few minutes to collect herself or she just wants some alone time and will make sure someone knows that’s what she’s doing. Hope doesn’t ever just disappear without a thought for anyone around her.
“Where the fuck is my Baby Girl?” Killer questions no one in particular as King rushes from the clubhouse.
“Get the fuck inside the clubhouse,” King says, his voice full of panic as I hold the keys tight in my hand and rush with Killer back inside.
King and Fox have their laptops set up at a table in the common room and the only ones allowed in the room are the ol’ ladies and kids. For now, the Phantom girls have been told to remain in their rooms. Bronx is standing at one end of the hall while Ezra, another Prospect, is stationed at the other end so none of them can sneak around the clubhouse to listen in on things that don’t concern them.
“We finally got the footage pulled up. Neither one of you are gonna like what you see. I need you to remain calm and don’t fly off in a rage,” Fox states as King takes his seat and Killer and I stand directly behind the two men with everyone else coming to stand behind us.
Killer takes his wife in his arms as Gwen watches with us. Fox presses a button on his laptop and we see the footage start to play. It shows Hope walking around the clubhouse and heading for the main door to come inside. Before she can get there, a man shows up behind her from out of nowhere. Hope turns to face him and they exchange some words. We can’t hear what’s being said, but before I can open my mouth to find out why, King starts talking.
“We managed to get the footage back, but we’re unable to get the audio pulled up just yet. We’ll keep workin’ on it, but you all need to see this shit and we weren’t gonna make you wait for the audio,” he says, not looking at anyone as his eyes lock on the screen of his dad’s computer.
I watch on as the fucker with Hope raises his hand and punches her. Hope immediately drops down to the ground and he doesn’t bother to fucking catch her. My girl lands in a heap on the ground and doesn’t move again. Red fills my vision and Killer growls out in rage as Gwen starts crying and Faith rushes up to her parents’ side to find out what’s going on.
“No!” she screams out as we all watch the fucker pick Hope up and takes her toward the gatehouse that’s sitting empty.
I barely make out a dark car sitting just outside the gate as the dead man walking makes his way there and ungracefully tosses Hope in the trunk after opening it one handed. My entire body is shaking with the rage and fear racing through my veins. In seconds I’m surrounded on each side. My dad stands to my left while Devil steps up on my right.
“I know you’re ready to fuckin’ lose your shit, Carson. Right now, you need to pull that shit in and compose yourself so we can figure out where Hope is. You harness that fuckin’ rage and fear you’re feelin’ right now and force it to make you focus even more than you would. We’re gonna get Hope back, but you won’t be any good to her if you don’t control yourself,” my dad says, keeping his hand on my shoulder so I can’t just pull away from him. “What did you find outside?”
“Hope overheard us talkin’,” Vault starts to speak as Killer and I remain silent, rage rolling off of us and filling the common room as King and Fox try to keep their own emotions under control. “Some things never change from when she was a little girl. Well, when I ordered the rest of you to leave Ice alone until we figured out a way to get her here that wouldn’t put feed into the delusions that skank already believes, Hope must have heard me. She took it upon herself to go get that bitch and keep her locked in her car. Hope even pulled the car around back by the doors we bring stupid fucks in the clubhouse through.”
“That’s my girl,” Fox says, a smile on his face as Kim walks up and sits at the table with her husband and son. “She wasn’t gonna let that bitch get away with this bullshit. Never thought she’d risk herself like that when she’s still usin’ a cane, but I can say that none of us should be surprised she solved the problem for us.”
“You’re right. My daughter is stubborn and doesn’t always think things through. In this situation, I’m glad she was able to get the skank here, but now what are we supposed to do with her?” Killer asks the room because Vault and Slim won’t allow any of us to touch her.
“That’s easy,” Gwen speaks up, stepping away from her husband and wiping the tears from her face. “The ol’ ladies are gonna get that fucking skank in here and we’ll deal with finding out what she knows. You’re more than welcome to watch, but if this bitch has something to do with my daughter being hit and taken, I’ll be the one to end her.”
Gwen isn’t usually a blood thirsty woman. If anything, she stays as far away from confrontation and all the bullshit as she can. However, if Ice knows something about who took Hope and where she’s being held now, she’ll let her mama bear out to get whatever we need so we can bring her girl home.
“You’re not goin’ down there alone, ladies. A small group of us will go with you and make sure this bitch doesn’t escape. Gwen and Shy will lead the questionin’. Kim, are you able to go down?” Vault states as we all face him.
“No. I’ve been doing too much while searching for my niece. Gwen, you give this bitch fucking hell for me and make sure she knows if we catch one lie, I will make my way down there and deal with her myself,” Kim says, the pain she’s feeling at not going down with the other ol’ ladies filling her eyes.
I can’t keep watching the footage on Fox’ laptop because my girl is hurt and there’s nothing I can do about it right this second. King is typing away on his and I know he’s doing whatever he can to continue searching for his cousin. Killer and I remain standing next to one another as Slim steps up next to Vault and they talk for a few seconds before Slim addresses us and Vault makes his way over to Annabell when she enters the common room.
“Killer, Playboy, Jinx, Devil, King, Fox, Vault, Ghost, Raptor, and myself will be the ones to go down with the ol’ ladies. Fox, take over whatever King is doin’ on the laptop and keep us updated on anythin’ you find. The ol’ ladies goin’ down will be Gwen, Shy, Sam, Annabell, and Savannah. Everyone else stay up here and make sure you’re ready to go based on what we find out from the skank we’ll have Shy and Sam bring her into the cells,” Slim orders, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear as we all remain still and quiet while he speaks. “Let’s fuckin’ go.”
As one we all move toward the basement door where Vault and Annabell are waiting for the rest of us. They go downstairs first as we all file down and head for the door that will open to reveal Hope’s car. I keep her keys in my hand and move to the front so I can be the one to unlock the doors. Gwen is standing at one door while Shy takes the other one. As soon as I get the doors unlocked, both women open the doors and all we can hear are Ice’s shrieks and screams about being kidnapped and beating the fuck out of anyone who touches her.
“Shut the fuck up, skank!” Shy yells out, her voice commanding as Ice turns wild eyes from Gwen to her and shuts her mouth. “Get the fuck outta the car and we won’t make you suffer more than you’re about to.”
“You can’t touch me. Jinx won’t let you. Baby, tell them that I’m yours and you’re not gonna let anything happen to me,” Ice whines, her voice grating on my last fucking nerve.
“You’re not fuckin’ mine. I have a girl and I’ve loved her for as long as I can remember. You will never be even a quarter of the woman she is and I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last female in this world. Ice, you’re a manipulative bitch and I hope you get everythin’ you have comin’ to you after the lies, betrayal, and laziness you’ve shown this club. You should’ve realized when you were fuckin’ kicked out that we don’t tolerate bullshit and you can’t seem to help yourself. You’re obsessed with becomin’ an ol’ lady and you don’t have the first clue what it takes to be one. So, I’m not gonna stop a single thing from happenin’ to you,” I inform her, my voice hard and cold as I glare at the bitch still in Hope’s car.
“Don’t lie to them, Jinx. I was made for you and it’s just a matter of time before you realize that slut won’t ever love you the way I do,” she tries again which only makes Gwen lose her fucking mind.
“Listen here, you pathetic piece of shit. My daughter is the furthest thing from a fucking slut. You are the only one here that’s a slut. Hope is one of the best women and Jinx is lucky she’s his woman. It’s just a matter of time before they make everything official. You’re a crazy bitch and it didn’t take much for my daughter to get you here, did it? She’s using a fucking cane and still managed to overpower you and get you stuffed in the backseat of her car to bring you here. You’re weak, pathetic, delusional, a slut, and an addict. No one in this club will touch you and they sure as fuck won’t save you,” Gwen states, her voice dark and hard as she reaches in and pulls Ice from the car by her hair.
Ice tries to fight Gwen off, but she doesn’t land a single hit she throws. Dropping Ice to the ground at her feet, Gwen bends down and grabs Ice’s arm. I watch on with Killer and my dad as she yanks it behind Ice’s back and makes her get to her feet. Ice is screaming in pain and anger as Gwen yanks her arm up higher and I know if she doesn’t stop, she’ll end up dislocating the skank’s shoulder. I hope it comes to that point. I don’t typically condone violence against a woman for any reason. This situation is happening because of the choices Ice made and now she’s going to see just what the ol’ ladies of the Phantom Bastards can do. Especially when one of their own is on the line. Gwen will always fight for her daughters and will let herself go to that dark place we all seem to have buried deep inside us.
Surrounding Gwen and Ice, we make our way into the basement and Slim leads us all to the cells as Ice continues to scream and cry out for help. No one is going to save her. The ol’ ladies get Ice into a chair and strapped down as she continues to fight against Gwen and Shy. When she’s finally contained and they know she’s not gonna get free, both women step forward and Faith steps up in front of her. Her glare is enough to make me want to cower a little bit. I’ve never seen Faith so damn angry as she is right now.
“Where the fuck is my sister?” Faith asks Ice who isn’t paying attention to Faith as she tries to get free from the leather strap holding her in place.
When Ice ignores Faith, she steps up even closer and pulls her fist back. The crunch of her fist hitting Ice in the nose fills the cell we’re in and blood immediately begins to spurt. Ice is finally quiet as she looks up at Faith like she’s seeing her for the first time.
“Again, where the fuck is my sister?” Faith questions the bitch in front of her.
“I don’t know where that crazy bitch is,” Ice says, hate filling her voice as she glares at Faith and doesn’t look anywhere else but at her.
“When did you put all the cameras in the clubhouse up?” Gwen asks, stepping up next to her daughter.
Ice starts laughing like the crazy bitch she is, throwing her head back and closing her eyes as if she’s not surrounded by people who want to fucking gut her. For several long minutes, we all wonder what this bitch is laughing at until she brings her head back down and looks between Faith and Gwen.
“That was the easiest thing I’ve ever done. No one pays attention during the day when we’re all left alone in the clubhouse. You’re really too trusting if you ask me. I went from one room to the next and placed the cameras and bugs. My boss wants to get all the dirty details about this club and tasked me with finding the information. He provided all the equipment, minus the ones I purchased myself to put in Jinx’ room. The only room I wasn’t able to get inside is where they meet,” Ice states, pride filling her voice as she lets her eyes drift over to me and I glare at her.
“How the fuck did you get in the bedrooms?” Shy questions her, stepping up and folding her arms over her chest. “And who the fuck is your boss?”
“I took a key from one of the guys and made copies. Returned it to him before he even realized it was missing. And my boss is Becker. He’s going to take down this fucking club and I’ll be at his side to rule over Pine View,” Ice informs us as we all look to one another knowing this is something we’ll have to discuss in church once everything has settled down.
“Becker isn’t going to do anything. These men will get him and make sure he pays for the crimes he’s committed over the years. See, we don’t fucking forget a damn thing that’s been done to anyone in the club. You fucked up, Ice. The men won’t touch you, but the same can’t be said for us,” Gwen informs her as she grabs a pair of pliers from the tray near her.
I watch on with Killer as his wife removes every single one of Ice’s nails. Ice screams once again and doesn’t stop when Gwen sets the pliers back down and grabs a knife. Faith takes the knife from her mom’s hands and proceeds to cut small slices all over the skank’s body. She removes Ice’s shirt and stands in front of her, doing something no one else can see. I look on and wonder what the hell is going on as Ice screams and tries to get away from Faith. Gwen and Shy start laughing as they step up closer to see what Faith is doing and I look over to Killer. He’s smiling like a fucking madman as the three women back up and we all start laughing our asses off.
Faith has carved words into Ice’s chest. Slut, Skank, Bitch, and Traitor now decorate her body as Shy takes the knife from Faith’s hand. Shy proceeds to add cuts to Ice’s body before bringing the knife up to the handful of hair that she’s grabbed. Even I know you don’t fuck with a woman’s hair. Especially one as vain and narcissistic as Ice. Shy cuts the length of hair from Ice and lets it fall all over her lap and the floor beneath them. When Ice realizes what she’s looking at murder fills her eyes.
“I’m going to kill you!” she screams out, trying once again to get out of the straps while trying to lunge for Shy.
“You’re not gonna do shit. I suggest that if you have anything else to say that you do so now. Like, where the fuck is Becker. The pussy is hiding out and no one can find him. Even his parents don’t know where he is,” Shy states as she steps back and lets Gwen move forward with a lemon in her hands.
Gwen squeezes the lemon and rubs the juice all over Ice’s body as she starts screaming in pain. The juice goes down into the cuts the girls have marked her body with.
“You’ll never find Becker. His boss will hide him and keep him safe from you. If Hope is missing, and I really hope she is, then you’ll never find her either. She’s as good as dead and you’ll never get her body back. No, I don’t know who the fuck is above Becker either. No one does. That’s why they’re so successful. You’re all too fucking stupid to pull off the shit they have,” Ice says, her voice cold as she shows that she does actually have a brain for the first time since any of us met her.
“Oh, we’ll find our girl. Unlike you and anyone you associate with, we actually give a fuck about our loved ones. Her dad and I won’t rest until we bring our girl home. If you know anything about Jinx, then you know he’ll never stop fighting to bring his woman back to him. You’ll never be lucky enough to fucking experience anything like that because you don’t know the meaning of loving another person or what it takes to give the kind of loyalty every single member, ol’ lady, and associate of this club live every fucking day. I’m done with this bitch. I want to find my daughter. Can we end her now?” Gwen states as Killer steps up to his woman and pulls her into his arms when she starts to cry again.
“Yeah, we can end her,” Shy says, taking the gun Slim is holding in his hand.
“No! You can’t kill me! Becker will come for me. He loves me and I’m going to have his baby,” Ice lies because we had the Phantom girls examined when they first came in and Doc told us an interesting story about this skank.
“You’re not pregnant, Ice. See, when you had the exam done by Doc, he discovered in your medical records that you can’t have kids. Due to an accident when you were younger, you had to have a hysterectomy done. So, yeah, you’re about to die. I’d say it was nice to know you, but that would be a lie. Rot in fucking hell,” I inform the room as Ice looks at me with such a deep loathing in her eyes that I’d be afraid if I didn’t know she was about to take her last breath.
“Let me do this,” Faith says as Shy goes to aim the gun. “She’s fucking with my sister and I deserve to be the one to end her life.”
“Baby, I don’t want that shit on your shoulders,” Killer says as he tries to move his daughter away from Shy. “It will change you in ways you can’t even begin to comprehend yet.”
“I know that, Dad. If roles were reversed, I know Hope would be the one to pull the trigger for me. I’m just as strong as she is and I can do this. My sister will know this bitch is no longer breathing by my hand and no one else’s. I’ll be okay, Dad. And if I struggle, I’ve got you to help me,” Faith says, not taking her eyes off of Ice as we all wait to see what’s going to happen.
With a nod from Killer, Shy hands over the gun and Faith aims at the skank in front of her. She doesn’t hesitate to pull the trigger and put a bullet right between Ice’s eyes. Releasing the breath she was holding, Faith hands the gun over to Slim and steps into her parents’ embrace. Killer gets his daughter and wife out of the cell we’re in while Vault steps up and turns to face us.
“Everyone clear out. I’ll have the Prospects clean this mess up. I’m gonna inform Fox what was said in here. King, get back to doin’ your thing on your laptop. I want every known associate of Becker’s so we can figure out who the fuck his boss is. We’ll set up search teams to go out and search Pine View for any sign of Hope. Jinx, you get your choice of goin’ out and searchin’ for your girl or helpin’ King work on the computer. Fox and him will need help. Let me know what you wanna do,” Vault orders as we all start to leave the cell behind and make our way back up to the common room.
Killer, Gwen, and Faith are nowhere to be seen when I get upstairs. Heading for the bar, I take the bottle of water Morgan’s holding out for me and give her a nod of thanks. I make my way to the table King and Fox are sitting at knowing there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to remain in the clubhouse while others are out searching for my girl. I’ll be out there with them until she’s brought home again. Hope will know that I did everything in my power to bring her home because for me there is no other option. I can’t lose her when we’ve already lost so much time together.