CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ky
Once we had pinpointed the location of the house where the fucker was holding Sera in, we headed in that location. It had taken a while to find out where it was, but with Kon’s help, yet again, and Knox’s tech savvy, we could find her relatively quickly.
There was no way I would be left on the sidelines while Ink swooped in and saved her. I was determined to be front and center for this extraction. Ink’s feelings on the matter be damned.
We all believed Angelo had a place in New York, and that’s where I was expecting we’d be headed in, but both Knox and Kon relayed the same information. The fucker had a summer home in Florida. Once we nailed down a location, we all got on our bikes, even Everleigh came along, just in case Sera needed medical attention. Willow and Finn were left with Zoe and Lexie while we were gone.
Mariah was still on ice down in the basement, and I made sure a couple of prospects remained to watch over the women and the clubhouse, and watched over the bitch too. We were down two prospects since she had killed the two prospects that were watching over the women while they shopped.
We had brought along a cage that Everleigh drove, just in case we couldn’t transport Sera any other way. It will be at least a full day of riding before we reached Tampa. But I was up for it.
As we neared our destination, a growing sense of dread settled in. Angelo had days to work her over, and God only knows in what condition we’ll find her in. I just pray we get to her in time.
I couldn't settle, a knot of anxiety tightening in my stomach, sure my dad would warn me against getting involved. However, I was already deeply entangled, and I was determined not to retreat at this point.
Arriving in Tampa two days later, after taking more rest breaks than I wanted to since Everleigh was with us, we rode straight to the Burning Sentinels clubhouse. They’ve been our allies for several years, but a relatively small club, compared to us. We’ve done business with them over the years, they originated in Kentucky. Dragon, the club’s President’s old man, started the club when he left the Marines in the sixties. A few years back after his death, the charter moved to Florida, where Dragon met his ol’lady Luna.
We were going to get a cheap motel, but the Burning Sentinels wouldn’t hear of it, putting us up in their clubhouse. We left Everleigh in Luna’s capable hands there, since the poor woman looked ready to drop. She needed to rest after what she’d been through the last few days. Even though she’d been against staying back in Briar Creek, arguing that she was needed just in case a medical emergency arose.
My father reluctantly relented, and I watched in fascination the way they interacted with each other still. It had been years since they reunited. I stood on the threshold of their room, impatient to get down to business now that we were finally here, but turn on my heel and head back to my sled when it looked like they weren’t going to be done going at it, for a while.
As Kick’s son, that was something I didn’t want or need to see.
The Burning Sentinels clubhouse was much smaller than the one back home, but it wasn’t lacking in the sweet butt department. In fact, I hadn’t seen an array of women like that in a long time. But the thought of fucking a club whore while Sera was locked away somewhere with Angelo, doing whatever he was doing to her, I felt like the lowest of the low. As it is, we needed to jet, and I was on tenterhooks waiting to leave.
Ten minutes later, after my father and his woman had stopped sucking face, we finally set off toward the house where we knew Angelo was keeping Sera. Arriving at the sprawling estate, the address given to us by Kon, who’d also joined us tonight—under the cover of darkness, we silently make our way to the front door.
I was surprised by how low the security was in this place—it seemed like it would be a cakewalk. But I’d learned over the years as a member of the DCMC that nothing is ever as it seems.
“Ready?” my father questions the brothers gathered around. We all nod as one, with our weapons at the ready, Kick kicks down the door, the element of surprise on our side, shooting at the shocked occupants.
I blast my way inside, reloading the gun as I go. The opulence of the place doesn’t even register, as I have only one thing on my mind. Get to Sera and get her out of here. Knox had sent everyone copies of the inside of the house, so I knew instantly where the basement was. But it surprised me that the fucker Angelo was nowhere to be found. It seemed like he left his men as sitting ducks for us.
Or so I thought.
But then the fucker appears, right from the direction I was moving in.
The basement. Where I was certain he was holding Sera.
I swing my gun around, intending to shoot, but freeze in my tracks. His grip on Sera's arm was like a vice, adding to the mosaic of bruises that painted her body, a testament to the violence she had endured over the short time he had her. Seeing her in that state, my anger was like a moving tornado, and if I could, I would’ve shot the bastard where he stood. As it was, I’d be putting Sera in more danger than she already was if I tried anything.
She was completely naked, and I could tell she wasn’t with it.
He must’ve drugged her or something?
Her head was lolling around, and her usually bright brown eyes were vacant and distant, but there was an underlying pain hidden in them. My eyes trail down, noticing the blood on the inside of her thighs, and my heart stuttered. I knew what that blood meant. If we could get her away from here today, she would need medical attention right away.
The hand not holding the gun clenched into a tight fist. Not one inch of her previously blemish free skin was spared. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and tell her that everything would be okay. But I knew, looking at her, nothing would be okay ever again.
Mostly, I wanted to launch myself at the smug asshole, thinking he held all the cards. But in the end, I would kill him with my bare hands if I had to.
He could take that to the bank.
As one, we turn our weapons on Angelo, and in turn, his men turned theirs on us.
“Did you all really think I wouldn’t know you were coming?” The prick eyes us warily, holding Sera up by her hair, in front of him like she was nothing more than a rag doll.
She doesn’t even wince in pain, and it looks like she’s already checked out.
His days were numbered, but I wasn’t willing to put her in anymore danger than she already was.
“I think you’re not a very smart man if you think holding a defenseless woman in front of you like a human shield will stop us from taking you down,” my father growls, and I couldn’t help my head from swivelling in surprise in his direction. But all Angelo does is laugh. Dressed in pressed dress slacks and button-down white shirt, not one dark hair on his head out of place. He reminds me of Kon.
But Kon still has a sliver of humanity inside him.
This motherfucker had none.
Without letting her go, she looks at us with vacant eyes, like she has nothing left to live for.
Hold on sweetness, I try to convey to her silently, this will all be over soon.
Taking us all by surprise, he throws her down to the marble floor where she lands heavily, half his goons’ weapons were trained on us, half on her. I desperately wanted to go to her, but the thought of them shooting her because of me made me hesitate. So I remained standing in place, wiping all emotion from my face, even though I wanted nothing more than to exact my revenge on all of them.
And I would, I just needed to bide my time.
“Now, let’s get down to business, shall we?” he sing-songs. He motions with his gun, and the biggest motherfucker I had ever seen appears in the middle of the circle our boys and his had made. He was close to seven feet, and muscle upon muscle. A scar on the left side of his face mars his already ugly mug. Too many hits to the face will do that to you. The realization of what Angelo is planning hits me in the solar plexus, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of showing I was intimidated.
“Okay, fine. Let’s get this shit over and done with so we can leave,” I drawl. Surprisingly calm, knowing I had my brothers watching my six
Something was telling me this was a setup, and I knew it the minute he ripped off his shirt, exposing his chest and the scars that marked it.
“Not so fast. This will be done on my terms or not at all.”
“What the fuck is this?” Kick demands, not taking his finger off the trigger of his Ruger.
“This is payback for all those years ago,” he says, never taking his eyes off me.
Fucker’s gone and lost his mind. That’s the only thing I can think of for his rambling.
“Payback? For what? You’re the one who shot me, remember? Asshole,” I spat.
He paces as he talks, the disgust on his face plain for everyone to see.
“For making a fool of me. For that brat of a daughter of hers. That night, all those years ago, when you two saw each other at my fight club, was very enlightening. Though it wasn’t the first time you’d been in the same room together, was it? I’d gone out of town on a business trip, and left a man behind to watch my dear sister.” He circles around me, and I want nothing more than to drop kick him where he stood. But I force my face into an unreadable mask, letting him prattle on.
“The first thing she did was go to a bar to pick up a filthy biker, bringing him into my home and fucking him. So when I learned of this, I hatched a plan; I wanted you dead for having your filthy hands touch what’s mine. But I underestimated your skill and strength when you faced off with my best fighter. It was only weeks after we left you lying in a pool of your own blood that I found out the bitch was pregnant. With your kid. This time will be different. This time, I won’t leave any loose ends.”
His words hung in the air, and I felt my breath catch in my throat. Baby? It couldn’t be? Was Willow really mine?
A calculating look crosses his face. “I’m not that much of a monster, I’ll even give you a week to prepare.” He motions toward Sera. “But until then, she stays with me. You beat Tino, my best fighter, you can take her with you. If you don’t, you leave her here with me and leave my property.” He turns cocky, and I want to take that smug smile off his face with a rusty spoon. “I’ll even give you safe passage back to wherever you came from. But I also want Mariah back whether you win or lose. Do we have a deal?” Angelo demands, confirming my suspicions that the bitch was a plant from this motherfucker.
I force my face into a mask of indifference, that the bombshell he just dropped, hadn’t made my head explode. My father opens his mouth, no doubt to give him a spray, but I put my hand on his arm, stopping him.
“We have a deal. But I’m warning you, if Sera ends up in any worse condition than she is right now, I’m coming for you. You hear me? You piece of shit.” I deliberately get in his face, ignoring his goons who have all trained their weapons on me now.
Reluctantly, I take one last look at Sera, unable to believe that she had deliberately kept Willow’s paternity from me all these years. What is it with me and the women I get involved with? Why do they turn out to be lying, betraying bitches?
I’m pissed off at her for what she’s done, but I’m not completely heartless. Once we rescue her, I’ll leave her at the hospital to get the medical care she needs, but right now, I can’t look at her without wanting to ring her neck. But seeing her in the state she’s in right now, does something to my conscious and I want to take her away from this place and make her safe.
Turning my attention away from Sera, and back to Angelo, Steeling my heart for her betrayal. I couldn’t look at her face, but I also want to kill all the motherfuckers that were in the room for doing this to her. My confusion and frustration with this entire situation threatening to make me come undone.
Starting with Angelo.
“I’ll send you all the details of where the fight will be held,” the motherfucker drawls. “Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen. ”
The hardest thing I had to do was turn my back on the woman who was battered and broken and leave her in this house of horrors without looking back. But I did it, resolute in ending this asshole for good.
Forcing one booted foot in front of the other, until I was outside in the sunshine, taking deep calming breaths. The sound of heavy boots making noise on the concrete has me spinning on Ink.
“Did you know?” I demand, holding him by the front of his T-shirt.
“Back off, brother,” he grits out, trying to push me back, but I won’t be moved. He sighs and goes slack. “No, of course I didn’t know. The only thing I knew was the kid she was carrying was yours. But I didn’t know about Willow being yours, too.”
He sounds sincere, but do I trust the motherfucker? He’s been spending months with Sera and Willow.
The kid she had been carrying was mine? Why the fuck didn’t she tell me? Just another omission of the truth, like with Willow.
My thoughts return to her beaten body. The blood coating her thighs, my heart ached knowing what she had been through these last few days. I wanted to return and shoot up the entire place, but I knew alone I wouldn’t get too far. Then we would both be fucked.
“If I find out you knew, and you didn’t tell me, you and I are gonna have issues,” I tell him before letting him go and giving him a slight shove, which moves him a few paces back. I throw my leg over my sled and start the engine, revving it for a few seconds, before I peel out of the pretentious estate, not bothering to wait for the rest of my brothers to catch up.
Back at the clubhouse, I shut myself in my room, feeling like I was going to explode. I had hoped we would’ve rescued Sera and brought her back with us by now. But I should’ve known things never go as planned. I had to win the fight before any of that could happen. Hearing my brothers arrive minutes later, it wasn’t long before there was a loud knock on my door.
Reluctantly, I swing it open to find my father standing before me, his face a stormy mask. “What the fuck was that back there?” he demands, not waiting to be invited in, but pushing past me. His legs in a wide stance, his fists against his hips.
“That was me taking control of the situation,” I reply, crossing my arms over my chest.
But all he does is scoff.
“That wasn’t taking control, kid. That was giving into the fucker’s demands.”
My anger boils over. “What would you have me do? Let him kill Sera, the mother of my kid?” I yell back.
“A kid you only found out about today.” We round on each other, the need for violence is all-consuming. But do I want to turn that violence on my own father? I don’t think so.
“Pot, kettle, black, pops.” I sneer, knowing full well the lengths he’d gone to for his own kids, especially when Lilly was taken by an enemy and sent to Mexico to be sold into sexual slavery.
But before my father could reply, the door bursts open, and Everleigh stands there, a frown of worry on her face.
“What the hell’s going on here? I could hear you clearly throughout the clubhouse.” And just like that, with her appearance in the room, my father’s demeanor changes immediately. He becomes instantly calmer. Softer.
Everleigh enters the room with her hands on her hips, her expression twisting into a scowl as she waits for an explanation.
“Well?” she demands when she doesn’t get one from either of us. Looking around the room, her face changes to one of worry. “Wait. Where’s Sera?”
“She’s still back at the house,” I explain, running a hand through my long hair. Did I do the right thing, or should I have let my brothers just shoot up the place when we had the chance?
“So, what are his demands?” she asks.
Dejected, she sits on the edge of the bed, looking worn out. I tell her everything, ignoring my father’s scowling face.
She’s his ol’lady, the first lady of the club, she should know what’s going on. Her shock is hard to mask when I tell her that Willow is mine. How did I become a father to two children at twenty-six when it was only a short time ago, I was enjoying my life, easy pussy on tap, and no other obligations, bar the club?
“How do you plan on handing Mariah over to him?” she asks.
“I don’t. She’s going to face club justice, that hasn’t changed.”
“So, you’re determined to do this?” She asks, a note of skepticism in her voice.
“Getting Sera back is my top priority. Yes.” I say without hesitation. Even though I’m still angry at her for her lies.
Getting to her feet, she smiles a watery smile, touching my face tenderly and ignoring my father’s growl of protest at the move.
“But the man wants you dead, Ky.” Shaking her head. “Your father will not mourn you, the club will not mourn you. You need to beat the bastard,” she says shakily. Adding, “You’re truly your father’s son. He’s never shied away from his obligations, and now, neither will you. I’m proud of you.” She draws me in a warm hug, which only lasts as long as my father allows, bringing her back against his own body, so that they’re touching from front to back. I can only hope I find a tiny piece of the same thing with someone. I huff.
Someone? Don’t you mean Sera?. A voice in my head breaks a piece of the ice that I’ve built around my heart.
I smile down at her, My heart swelling with her words. “That means a lot to me. Thanks.”
***
Throughout the following week, I survived on minimal sleep and food, only interacting with Angel, my trainer/manager, among my brothers. I trained around the clock, my thoughts consumed with Sera while I did. If her condition had gotten worse since I’d seen her last week, I would take great pleasure in gutting Angelo like a fish. I was determined to be the victor in that asshole’s little show of intimidation tactics.
Anticipation fills the air as the night of the fight approaches, leaving everyone, myself included, on edge. I wasn’t worried for myself, because I was confident I could defeat the asshole’s chosen fighter. I was more worried about Sera and how she was faring.
We let the Burning Sentinels MC know we’d be staying longer than originally planned. They were cool with it, letting us bunk down at their clubhouse for an extended period. For their kindness, we invited them to the fight club tonight, so when we all arrived together, we drew the attention of all the patrons. Especially Dragon, the President of the club, who was an imposing figure, towering over even Tiny.
Tiny, my brother and VP of the club, returned from Washington without his family, and calling him despondent would be the understatement of the year. Since returning, he’s thrown himself into his work, always the first to jump into action when danger calls. And tonight was no different. I was just afraid he would get himself killed.
Angelo’s guy stops us at the door to the warehouse, making us give up our weapons before entering. The fucker was clueless to the fact we had other weapons strapped to various parts of our bodies.
We all wore our club's colors, causing a stir with the patrons as we walked through the building. I look around, my hands casually stuffed into the front pockets of my jeans. I don’t know what I thought I’d see when I finally spot Sera, maybe her dressed to the nines like she was three years ago, looking down her nose at me.
But it certainly wasn’t her naked form locked in a cage barely big enough to hold a dog. When her eyes meet mine, I can clearly see tear tracks on her pale cheeks. I want nothing more than to open the cage and let her out. Then I would tear Angelo limb from limb with my bare hands.
She looked worse for wear since the last time I’d seen her.
Her damp and limp hair clings to her scalp, giving her a sickly appearance with her pale face. Well, paler than she had been a week prior.
“Forget about the fight, let’s shoot up this place and kill the motherfucker and his fucking goons right now.” Ink leans into me, his voice gravelly, telling me he’s about as affected by what he’s seeing as I am.
“We’ll have our revenge, brother, don’t you worry.” I hiss, my voice laced with venom. “I don’t want anything to happen to Sera if we act too quickly. But what I need from you is to get her out of the cage while everyone is watching the fight,” I explain.
“As good as done, brother,” he replies. And our hands grab each other's elbows, a kind of truce settling between us. Our relationship has strengthened over the last week, after he’d admitted to me that there had been nothing but friendship between him and Sera. I just hope it lasts long enough for us to do what needs to be done.
Ink strides off and at that moment, Angelo appears, looking composed. I’m going to enjoy watching the life seep out of those eyes of his when I’m finally done with him. But for now, I play the role.
“Well, if it isn’t the star attraction,” he drawls, coming to stand next to me, his armed guards around him.
“Why is Sera in a cage?” I demand, my jaw clenches so tightly I’m sure I’ll break a tooth.
He smiles that slow, evil smile.
“Dear sister is my insurance policy,” he says. “Go out the back and get changed. The fight’s about to start,” he orders me and walks away. If it were any other time, I would’ve blown his brains out, but because he’s holding all the cards at the moment, I reluctantly stride to the back of the warehouse where the change rooms are, and quickly change into my red boxing shorts, leaving the rest of me naked.
Tying my dark hair out of the way in a tight bun high on top of my head, I do a few minutes of warm-up exercises. Angel knocks before opening the door, saying, “You’ve been summoned. The fight’s about to start.”
I snort. “Of course. How’s Sera?” I ask. Something crosses his face that I can’t decipher, and when he says his next words, all I want to do is to run out there and kill the fucker.
“She was moved closer to the ring. She’s still in the cage.”
I take a few calming breaths, praying Sera can hold out just a little longer.
“Shit! I told Ink to get her out while everyone was preoccupied with the fight.”
A slow smile transforms his face. “Don’t worry, she’ll be out of that cage within the hour, if I have to break it open myself.”
Relief that my brothers have my back overwhelms me, and that’s the only thing that will get me through tonight.
For now, though, I need to be focused on the fight and getting the best of my opponent. Once we have Sera out of here and safe, and back at the clubhouse, then I’ll be able to breathe freely.
Loud, pounding music plays through the speakers positioned throughout the warehouse, a place that wasn’t as rundown as the last time I fought one of Angelo’s men. This time, I was determined to come out unscathed.
I could feel the rough edges of the gunshot wound on my shoulder as my fingers move over it. My Such Is Life tattoo—with wings on either side, runs from one shoulder, across my chest, to the other shoulder, covering it almost completely, as though it weren’t even there.
Angelo was yet to pay for that, but tonight I was going to make sure that he did.
“Come on, brother, it’s time,” Angel calls out. With one last exhale, I follow him out to the main arena. The first thing I notice is the cage, with Sera inside, her eyes tracking me as I get closer to the boxing ring. Seeing her in it makes me want to commit murder. But I was confident that Ink would successfully get her out, and if by some chance I wasn’t going to make it, at least she would be safe away from this place.
I silently convey with my eyes to hold on just a little longer. She gives a slight nod of her head, though she’s bent like a pretzel. I see Ink standing directly behind the cage, giving me a chin lift, his eyes lock on me, silently telling me he’s got this.
Putting everything else out of my mind, I climb into the ring, and that’s when I get my first look at my opponent.
It’s not the fucker we saw at Angelo’s last week, but a completely different guy, someone more evenly matched to me, and my heart rate suddenly ratchets up. The guy has a sneer on his face, like getting rid of me will be easy. I return it, as we touch boxing gloves.
Okay, motherfucker, let's do this.
And then suddenly, it’s on.