Chapter 29
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
KING
Beeping in the distance.
The smell of ammonia.
The bright lights surround me.
I can feel my eyes moving, but my lids don’t open.
Then I hear low murmurings. I can’t make out the voices, so I try to open my eyes in an effort to attempt to protect myself.
I don’t know how much good I would do with the immobility I apparently have, but I would feel a hell of a lot better if I could see my surroundings.
Then I slip into sleep again.
What feels like moments later, my eyelids open.
The room doesn’t seem as bright, the beeping still loud as fuck, the smell still fucking awful.
Turning my head, I look at the side of the room and expect to see Shawn sitting in a chair or on a couch or something, but that’s not the sight I’m greeted with.
Instead, it’s Clink and Atomic sitting side by side.
Atomic looks like hell.
“Holy fuck,” Clink shouts as he jumps to his feet and rushes toward me.
Atomic slowly stands to his feet and shuffles behind him. I open my mouth to ask them what the fucking fuss is about when it all comes rushing back to me.
“I was stabbed,” I announce, my voice rough and gravelly. “Why?”
Clink shifts his gaze to Atomic, who has finally reached his side. Neither of them speaks immediately, but I can tell they don’t want to say who or what happened. I arch a brow, my body feeling sore as fuck. I refuse to call for pain meds until I know what actually happened and why.
“It was Nomad Kings,” Atomic finally mutters.
“What?” I hiss.
He nods his head once, then clears his throat before he runs his fingers through his hair, tugging on the ends.
“They got to your guy. I don’t know how they knew you would be collecting from him. I don’t know how they knew,” he repeats his words, “but they did, and they threatened him. He got scared. Did the job.”
Biting the inside of my cheek, I try not to show my emotions.
Although, I think it would be hard to show my emotions right now since I can’t quite figure them out myself.
I understand why they are upset. This came out of nowhere, completely out of goddamn nowhere, but then I recall Clink saying that Shawn’s biological father is the president.
“How did he know that Shawn was my old lady?” I demand. Clink and Atomic share glances with one another. “Wait,” I hiss. “Where is Shawn?”
Again, I’m met with silence as they share looks with one another. “Tell me,” I demand.
“I sent Gnaw to go and get her,” Atomic begins. “Her bakery and apartment are empty. But what is concerning is that the door to her apartment was left ajar. There was a cake on the counter, and her phone was on the floor.”
“Are you fucking telling me that the Nomad Kings kidnapped my woman?” I growl, then moan because that fucking hurts my belly.
“Don’t get all riled up. You’re gonna fuck up your stitches,” Clink barks.
Letting out a sigh, I can’t help but feel like a completely worthless, helpless piece of shit in this moment. I can’t go down to the Nomads and demand my woman back. I can’t even walk my ass to the bathroom to take a piss. I can’t do a fucking thing.
“We already got some guys out to scope out their clubhouse. It’s a little too quiet out there from what I’ve already been told,” Atomic says.
Fuck.
“What happens now? Where is the fuck who stabbed me?”
Clink’s lips curve up into a grin. “You don’t have to worry about him,” he murmurs.
“Dead men don’t pay the bills, brother,” I grind out.
Atomic hums. “They don’t, but honest to fuck, this one was worth it. You’re my brother, King, and we almost lost you. He sang like a goddamn bird, and we ended him for what he did. Weak-ass bitch.”
“What happens now?” I ask.
Atomic doesn’t answer immediately and instead watches me for a moment, then he dips his chin. “Now you heal.”
“And Shawn?”
He leans forward, reaches out, and wraps his fingers around the side of my neck, placing his forehead against mine. “She’s your old lady, brother. We will fucking get her back.”
I don’t get the chance to say anything else because right after he stands and releases his grip on me, the door opens and a nurse walks in.
She shoos them out of the room, then proceeds to check my wounds.
I watch as she types some notes on my chart, then helps me drink some water before she announces that the doctor will be in shortly.
After she leaves, Clink and Atomic make their way back into my room.
We talk a bit more, but they avoid Shawn and the Nomad Kings.
I don’t stop thinking about them, though.
And I make a silent fucking vow. I will kill Shawn’s father and any man who dares to even look at her. They’re all fucking dead.
Then my lips curve up into a grin. “I’m going to blow up their whole clubhouse,” I announce.
Clink and Atomic’s bodies both jerk at my words. They don’t expect them, and I don’t blame them. Bombs and fires aren’t really my thing. I’m more of a “shoot first, ask questions later” kind of guy. But this is different. I want to watch that whole fucking place burn to the goddamn ground.
And I plan on it.
“King,” Atomic grunts.
“Nope,” I snap. “No King. That place is going up in goddamn flames.”
“That’s going to start a war,” Atomic mutters.
My gaze cuts to him, my eyes finding his, and I watch him for a moment. “You’re fucking serious with me right now?” I ask.
Clink and Atomic don’t say shit. They don’t have fucking shit to say. They know that even mentioning that any retaliation from me would start a war is bullshit. Because I’m not starting dick. I’m going to finish what they fucking started.
SHAWN
I’ve got my back against the corner of the cage, wondering what is going to happen next.
I glance around, though I can’t see much because it’s pretty dark in here.
But it seems like this might be the only cage, so I guess maybe that’s promising.
It’s not like they have dozens of people caged up like animals.
Then I laugh at myself.
Like any number of cages are better than others. There shouldn’t even be one cage. I have no more tears to cry. Well, maybe I do, but I refuse to cry them, mainly because I’m scared to death of what’s going to happen to me.
The man who’s calling himself my father, I recognize him and all. But he walked away when I was little, and he never came back. He left me with my mother, and honest to God, as much of a piece of shit as she is, I think it was the right choice.
And what does that say about him and about me in this moment? I know what it says. He’s a fucking monster, and I’m in some deep fucking shit.
I’m not sure how long I stay in solitude in the cage, but when the door to the metal shop opens, the light shines in from outside and I realize it’s morning.
He walks through the door, my father. He’s alone, so that could be a good thing.
Maybe he’ll have some kind of heart and let me go home.
Though, judging by the way he’s watching me as he moves closer, I doubt it.
A light flickers on, and he sits down in a chair across from my cage. I still cannot believe I’m in a damn cage. How inhumane. Though, I don’t think anything about him would be humane. He fucked my mother, created two lives, and then left us with her.
“Shawn Cotton,” he mutters.
“You’ve always known my name. And yet, I know nothing about you,” I state.
He tilts his head to the side, watching me for a silent moment. “Pineville isn’t that big. Are you so oblivious that you’ve never heard my name anywhere?” he asks.
Sliding my tongue out, I wet my dry bottom lip before I speak.
“My mother wasn’t really present if you must know.
She was more worried about what was going up her nose and who was between her legs than her kids.
She’s still that way. I worked my ass off from the time I was fourteen so I could get the fuck out of that hellhole.
So, if I don’t know you, if I never heard your name, it’s because I was working. ”
I’m not sure what I expect his reaction to be, but it’s not for him to smile. I don’t have outbursts, but I’ve been kidnapped and thrown into a cage. All decorum kind of goes out of the window when that happens.
“Seems like your mom hasn’t changed much,” he chuckles.
Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I let out a heavy sigh.
This would be the man who would make children with that woman.
He seems like he almost finds her drugs and men cute.
Gross. I mean, I don’t care who sleeps with whom, but my mother has always had horrible taste in men, every single one, this one included.
“Can you just tell me what the hell is going on?” I ask. “I’d like to get back to my life.”
I try to make myself sound completely unaffected by my surroundings, but I know I fail. I’m scared shitless, completely and totally terrified. He is still smiling as he watches me, then he stands and walks closer to the cage.
He crouches down, his eyes finding mine, and he lets out a little chuckle. “You aren’t going anywhere, Shawn,” he rasps. “At least not until you’re married.”
“What?” I hiss.
“You’re the princess of the Nomad Kings, and I’m not fucking around when I say that I will be damned if you are an old lady to a Dark Horse.”
I want to scream out in frustration. This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. A man who didn’t raise me thinks he gets to decide who I am or am not with? And he kidnaps me to force me to do what he wants. What a fucking psychopath.
“I’m not marrying anyone.”
He barks out a laugh, his eyes focused on mine as he grips the bars of the cage in his hands. I watch his fingers curl around them and wonder if I could break those fingers. I would really like to.
I’ve never been one to think about causing any kind of violence, but right now, I think I would love to watch this man in front of me go down, blood relation or not. He is just such an asshole.
“You are,” he states. “Because you made the mistake of choosing someone from the Dark Horse, I’m going to ensure that it doesn’t go any further. So, you’ll be with one of my men. One of my choosing.”
“You are not a king, and I am not part of the monarchy. So that will not be happening.”
He chuckles. “Seems like you’re the one in a cage with no choices,” he says as he straightens his legs and stands tall, releasing the bars as he does.
He doesn’t look away from me. His gaze is focused, and I wish I could run away from him. Run away from this. I want to go home. I want to go to Elvis. He takes a step backward before he continues.
“I think in a few days, you’ll probably do just about anything I demand of you. Otherwise…”
“What?” I ask.
“I’ll turn your ass out.”
I don’t even have to ask him what that means. I know exactly what it means. I don’t say a word. He gives me a wink, then turns around and walks away from me. I watch as he opens and closes the door. I hear the dead bolt lock, and when it does, a single tear falls from my eye.