Chapter 27 #2
“Definitely yay,” Hellbat cuts in, a stupid grin on his face. “My sword’s not afraid of getting bloody. The sheets end up looking like a murder scene, but damn, it’s so worth it.”
“Naki will shoot your ass again, idiot,” Mindfuck chuckles. “You’re giving away family secrets.”
“He’s not the only idiot here,” I grunt, finally moving again and interrupting this whole weird conversation. “Fang.” I drop into the seat in front of him. “Sending you a location. Viv and Myth need backup with the snakes. Get some cages — or whatever the fuck you need — and bring them here.”
He straightens, frowning. “Bring who? Viv and Myth? Why would they need cages? Don’t they have their bikes?”
Damn it. He can be so fucking dumb sometimes.
“Cages for snakes, fucker,” I snap. “There are snakes there. I need you to bring them here.”
His face lights up instantly. “Oh, hell yeah,” he says, suddenly excited. “I’ve been wanting more reptiles. Momo’s been feeling lonely.”
“Ah, fuck,” Joker groans from beside him. “The dogs and Daisy are cute and Momo’s okay, Fang, but don’t ask me to snake-sit when you have to go on a run.”
“Shut up, asshole,” Fang fires back. “What else are you gonna do? Follow Layla and Sketch around? Aren’t you tired of that already?”
“Ha-ha. Very funny, dickhead,” Joker growls. “But I mean it. Your lizard — or whatever Momo is — is fine. Dogs are fine. The cow is also fine. But I draw the line at snakes.”
“I need the snakes for a future project, Fang,” I cut in, ending their ridiculous back-and-forth.
Fang’s expression hardens. “That better not mean you’re planning to hurt them. I get that Myth had to shoot one — those shitheads threw it at Adora, no other choice — but I’m not bringing those snakes here just for you to kill them. I won’t be part of it. I won’t betray my vet oath.”
I roll my eyes. This fucker. I’ve seen him burn three men alive in one night with a smile on his face. But snakes? That’s the hill he’s willing to die on?
“First of all, asshole,” I say, my voice scathing but steady, “you wouldn’t be betraying any oath.
You never finished vet school. You dropped out.
” I take a breath. “Second, it’s not the snakes I plan to harm.
And you’ll be supervising the whole thing.
” I pause. “I’ll also need some rats later.
Very, very hungry ones. Keep that in mind. ”
“Will the rats be hurt?” he asks, suspicious.
I give him an incredulous look. “They might end up as food for the snakes. That okay with you, Dr. Doolittle?”
He twists his lips, thinking. “I guess that’s okay. No one can stand in the way of Mother Nature,” he shrugs, then stands. “Send me the coordinates.” He walks off without another word.
“Already did,” I sigh, leaning back in my chair, eyes closing. They snap open again the moment Five-Star pipes up with another stupid question.
“If cockpits exist, why are there no pussypits?”
And that’s my cue to leave.
Adora
“You didn’t fuck up with your pranks, Adora,” Temperance says, her voice hard. “Healing isn’t a straight line. It’s more like a bunch of sidesteps. What’s important is that you move forward.”
She pauses, taking a slow sip of wine. “And you’re doing so much better than just a few months ago. Give yourself some grace. At least you didn’t violently spank him with a spiked paddle. Now that might be called unhealthy.” She chuckles quietly. “But it’s also so fucking satisfying.”
“I would’ve just killed him,” Ria declares casually, glancing at the cards in her hand, then at me. “Now what would your mighty therapist say about that?” She smiles sweetly. “Got any sevens?”
“Go fish, you little menace,” I grumble, turning to Temperance. “I would’ve loved to see that spanking. Why the hell didn’t you record it?” I purse my lips in thought. “Got any Queens?”
“I’m a queen,” she laughs, “but you can go fish, Princess. Also, if you want to recreate the spanking, the paddle’s right there on the wall.”
I twist my face, thinking about it. “I can’t,” I say simply, and leave it at that.
Going into the details would be an open invitation to mental disaster.
I’ve been on edge ever since my last therapy session.
There’s too much happening. Too much pressing in.
The thought of asking Ghost about his time in prison is committing murder on my own brain.
But I want to know. Need to know. Otherwise it’ll always feel like there’s a bomb somewhere out there in the world, waiting to implode my whole life.
“What did Ghostberry say when he got home with his ass in tatters that day?” Ria asks, eyes wide with curiosity.
I look at my cards, frowning. I’m definitely not winning this game. “He didn’t try to hide it. He told me what happened,” I chuckle. “Said he got revenge-spanked by Bones’ ex.”
What I don’t say is how fucking clingy he got during his recovery. He played up those tiny wounds like he was dying, and hot make-out sessions and random quickies were his only salvation.
“He actually came after me. Tried to save me from the Riders and Jinx,” Temperance murmurs, her tone shifting.
“I only found out later. He didn’t deserve that spanking then, but I guess he got his punishment in advance.
” She huffs. “I made such a good speech that day about protecting the women they love and all that shit. Spent hours thinking of it, perfecting it. And the asshole just ignored it.”
“Is that hypocrisy I hear?”
The voice cuts through the air, smooth as sin. It stops all three of us cold.
Luca takes the seat right across from me, leans back, and smiles a predator’s smile.
He doesn’t belong here. Not with his perfect hair, clean-shaven jaw, and crisp white shirt.
Even his cut looks expensive as shit. Isn’t he supposed to be part of this club now?
Shouldn’t he look… rougher? Grow a messy beard, maybe?
I’ve never spoken to the man, but Temperance warned me about him. And now I see why.
His vibes are nothing but death.
“Go away, Satan,” Temperance glares, slamming her cards on the table.
Ria narrows her eyes, suspicion painted all over her face.
Luca’s smile doesn’t falter. He turns his head slowly toward Temperance and pins her with a cold, calculating stare.
“I don’t like the man,” he says, “but he was in search of revenge. Rightfully so. Out of all people, I thought you’d understand that best, Temperance.” His smile stretches. “Or is revenge only acceptable when it’s yours?”
“Leave this table,” Ria growls, her tone dangerous, eyes still narrowed on him.
Luca — still smiling — turns to her.
“How’s Tank doing?” he asks casually. “Still not feeling well?”
“Ghost’s revenge wasn’t that rightful,” I grit out, cutting in before Ria can answer — and also making a mental note to ask her about Tank later. “Why are you here, Romano? Trying to stir shit?”
He looks back at me, and a chill coils down my spine. That smile tries to look friendly, but his eyes tell a different story.
“I’m not trying to stir anything,” he says, voice smooth as velvet, soaked in honey. “I’m only here to help you. You destroyed him, and he destroyed you. That should have been enough, shouldn’t it?”
“What are you talking about?” I whisper, unease tightening in my chest.
He leans forward, elbows on the table, fingertips pressed together in a deliberate steeple. The smile vanishes. Ria and Temperance shift in their seats. The tension in the air thickens, turning electric.
“I’m talking about the fact that he’s still playing games,” Luca murmurs. “Still hiding things from you.”
My heart drops straight to the bottom of my shoes.
“Say what you know, Romano,” Temperance spits, her voice all fire and steel. “Stop beating around the bush.”
He doesn’t even glance at her. Just keeps his eyes on me, unblinking. Letting the seconds stretch thin, almost painfully.
“You thought you were done,” he finally whispers. “You thought you were free. But you never were. He never lost control of you. He never stopped playing his game.”
He pauses. His chin dips slightly. “You’ve been walking around with a tracker inside you all these months.”
“Fuck,” Temperance curses. Chairs scrape against the floor. Luca just leans back, expression carved from stone, one hand resting flat on the table.
A hurricane of emotions slams into my chest. A tracker?
There’s too many feelings to sort through. Too many thoughts to grab hold of. He had no right. It was over. He got his revenge.
All this time, he was never actually away. Not for a single second. I knew he was watching me, but not… not like this. It’s always just a game of power with him, isn’t it?
And now? Now he’s trying to convince me to give him another chance, while keeping this from me. Still lying. Still manipulating. Still controlling.
“He implanted it at the beginning,” Luca murmurs, his tone flat. “If he were truly sorry, he would’ve told you. Removed it.” He tilts his head. “Isn’t that right?”
This man is playing his own game. I can see it. But it doesn’t really matter. Because he’s not lying. He wouldn’t risk that. The fucking tracker is real. And whatever Luca gets out of telling me the truth, is not important.
Suddenly, the hurricane inside me stills. I’m not being ripped apart anymore. I’m standing right in the eye of it. It’s quiet. And numb.
Ria and Temperance are talking, trying to tell me something. I can see their lips moving but I don’t hear a word.
Luca just keeps watching me with those dead, cold eyes.
“Thank you for telling me,” I hear myself whisper.
I stand, movements stiff and mechanical, and walk away from the table.
“Adora.” Ria comes to my side and grabs my hand. I can hear the worry in her voice. Maybe she sees something on my face, something I don’t even recognize myself. But there’s no time to dwell.
“I’m okay, Ria,” I say, not looking at her.
“You don’t look okay,” she whispers. “Just don’t kill him here. There are too many witnesses.”
I scan the clubhouse, and see him almost instantly — walking through the doors toward the bar. It only takes a few seconds. The moment he reaches his usual spot his eyes find me. He frowns, shifts slightly, then he sees Luca and his face goes thunderous.
He knows something isn’t right.
I start walking. Straight to him. No pauses. Not looking anywhere but into his eyes. He doesn’t move an inch.
“Where did you put the tracker?” I ask the moment I’m in front of him. Voice dead. Frozen.
His dark eyes study me. He’s taking this seriously. Good. He should. There’s silence inside me, but I can feel how close I am to snapping. I don’t think I’ve ever been closer. Everything’s been piling up, one thing after another, and this is the speck of dust about to topple the fucking tower.
“Did Luca tell you about it?” His voice is low, dark. A world of danger is packed into those words.
The fact that he doesn’t deny it feels like molten steel over my heart. I’d held the smallest scrap of hope that Luca had lied.
“He did,” I confirm. Still cold. Still numb. “Now answer me. Where is it? I want it out.”
His jaw ticks. His eyes narrow.
“It’s not coming out,” he growls, voice dropping.
The self-restraint I manage to muster to keep from launching at him is almost inhuman.
“Take. It. Out.” I feel myself saying the words, but I don’t hear them. All I hear is an incessant ringing and the thunder of my heart.
He says something, but I can’t make out the words. Denial plays across his mouth. My hands start to shake.
Rage. Rage floods in. So big. So powerful it makes my teeth chatter. My fingers tremble with the need to release it.
Who the fuck does he think he is to refuse?
I open and close my fists, trying to stop the shaking. Again. And again. And again. Until my fingers brush something cold.
I look down on instinct, and freeze. My taser. Right there, pressed against my skin. My hand wraps around it before I can even think, grip tightening until my knuckles ache.
When I look up, Ghost’s gaze flicks behind me, then back to mine, and drops to the taser.
“Adora,” he murmurs, eyes darting between my face and the weapon.
He takes a step forward. I step back. The taser rises in my hand, unplanned, out of pure instinct.
“Take the tracker out,” I whisper. I can hear myself again, but inside, there’s no relief. Only rage, ripping through every part of me.
“We need to talk,” he says, voice so low it’s almost gone.
“THERE IS NOTHING MORE TO TALK ABOUT!”
The scream tears out of me — violent, raw, splitting my chest open. Tears burn their way down my face before I even notice.
He said he wasn’t lying. He said he wanted me back. But all he wants is his toy, doesn’t he? All he wants is the stupid woman who believed him. The pathetic fool.
How many times can I fall for his games? What was he planning this time?
What else is he hiding from me?
“You let me walk around with a fucking tracker inside me,” I hiss, waving the taser at him. “You couldn’t give me the courtesy of letting me know. Of giving me any control. Of letting me be free.”
“Adora—” He tries to step forward again, but it’s too late.
“YOU’RE A FUCKING LIAR!”
The probes fire before the last word even leaves my mouth.
There’s a faint crackle — a tiny, electric snap — and then he jerks like being struck by lightning.
The sound that escapes him isn’t even a grunt, just a strangled exhale.
His body seizes. Every inch of muscle locks, his teeth clenching so hard I can hear the grind.
He drops to his knees, shoulders rigid, one hand clawed in midair as if he’s trying to grab at something.
His eyes stay fixed on me — wide, shocked, and burning with something that looks halfway between disbelief and betrayal. Maybe I’ve gone completely crazy, but I swear I can feel the smell of hope dying in the air.
“Nice shot,” Ria whisper-cheers from behind me.
I don’t turn. I don’t look at anyone.
I realize I’m still holding the trigger down, my finger stiff, my pulse racing through my veins so fast it’s making me dizzy.
I throw the taser from my hand — leave him there, on his knees — and start walking toward the entrance.
The crowd parts instantly, like I’m made of poison. Bones is glaring at me, but I don’t give a shit anymore. I need to scrub Ghost out of my life. Out of my memories.
I need to get out of here.