Chapter Sixteen
Pike
Joining Chloe in the shower seemed like a good way to dump some of the adrenaline that coursed through my veins after the fight, after her emotions and dealing with the bodies.
I stripped down and stepped inside but I froze at the sound of her harsh, body quaking sobs.
I stood on the other side of the shower butt ass naked and listened as she fell apart. Because she’s a good person.
She was worried about being a killer, which was understandable.
Most people don’t end up killing three people in their lifetime, but each and every kill was for survival and that was never something to cry about.
She saved her life, probably Gemma’s and definitely my life.
Fuck that. I pulled back the curtain and stepped inside, ignoring the soapy water that rushed over her curves and focusing on her face.
“It’s okay,” I assured her through whispered growls and held her while she cried.
Chloe turned in my arms and buried her face in my chest, crying so hard I thought she might break a rib. She was hurting something fierce, and I wished I could fucking take it all away, wished I could shoulder this burden for her.
“Thank you, Chloe.” I kissed the top of her head while my hands rubbed soothing circles on her back. “Thank you for not thinking when you jumped in to help me even though I told you to stay upstairs.”
A watery laugh escaped.
“Thank you for saving my ass.” I held her until the hot water started to cool and her sobs turned to cries and then nothing but a few sniffles.
She pulled back to look into my eyes with a sad smile. “Thank you for rushing into danger to keep us safe. I don’t feel guilty about helping you.”
“Saving me,” I corrected.
Her smile brightened a little. “I don’t regret it, but what does it say about me that I’m so quick to kill?”
I kissed her forehead again, more for me than for her this time. “It says that you’re a fierce protector when it comes down to it. You chose survival every fucking time, that’s why you’re still here.”
She shook her head. “I think maybe you took too many hits to the head.”
I laughed and handed her a towel to dry off while I did the same. “Or maybe you’re too busy beating yourself up to see clearly.” I knew some of that was on me, I’d blamed her the loudest. “I think we both have been guilty of that.”
“No, I think you saw me clearly. Ashley was my fault. I shouldn’t have let her help me. Should have sent her far away from my messy life.”
“Weeks ago I would have agreed with you, but I know my sister, and there was no letting her do anything. She was determined to help you,” I told her. “Felt guilty she hadn’t warned you about Marcus.”
She nodded. “She told me, and I told her it wasn’t her job to warn me.
The truth was it probably wouldn’t have made a difference.
Marcus was really good at hiding who he was until it was too late.
He probably only acted that way with Ash so soon because she was a lot more outspoken and independent than I was.
She never shrank away from the hard stuff and I’m guessing a lot of that had to do with you. ”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. Ashley and I had leaned on each other a lot growing up. I made her tough and she made me thoughtful, but I never thought of like that until now. “We should get dressed. The guys will be here soon.”
We were quiet as we dressed and headed downstairs to greet my brothers. Chloe put on a pot of coffee while I waited anxiously, wondering what the fuck was going on back in Steel City. Other than a few calls, nobody had called or kept me informed of much.
Tonight that would change. It had to.
***
When the Steel Demons arrived, we didn’t say much, simply got down to the business of disposing of the Ghost Riders who dared to fucking invade this space. It took more than an hour to break down and clean up everything, but two prospects left with Maverick to make sure nobody would ever find them.
The front door opened and there was Chloe looking timid and exhausted as she stepped out with a tray that contained coffee, sugar and milk. She came back out with another filled with coffee mugs and one more that held a variety of cookies, shrinking back visibly when the guys pounced.
“Hey, thanks Chloe!” Hawk flashed a smile in her direction. “This is just what I needed.”
She returned his smile and then quickly looked away. Her gaze met mine for a long moment before she turned and slipped back inside the cabin.
“How are things going?” Diesel stepped up beside me, his gaze followed mine to the door Chloe had just disappeared behind.
“Okay,” I sighed with a nod. “We’ve come to an understanding and now we coexist peacefully.” That was the goddamn understatement of the century. “We’re good.”
Diesel huffed. “Seems like better than good, you know, with the way you can’t take your eyes off her.”
I closed my eyes for a few seconds to make sure I had all of my shit shut down tight and then I turned to my Prez.
“She saved my life tonight, man. I told her to stay upstairs with her kid and if she had, I’d be dead, and they probably would be too.
” I told him a little about her freaking out about being a killer.
Diesel nodded sagely. “Yeah, well that wasn’t the look of a grateful man.” He clapped me on the back with a laugh. “Let’s get some fuckin’ coffee before they finish it all.”
He was right, by the time we made it to the table on the front deck there was just enough coffee for us to have a cup each. “All right, what else do I need to know?”
Rocky’s jaw clenched. “The Ghost Riders are increasing their attacks, both in frequency and intensity.” He shook his head angrily. “We’ve taken down a few of them but these motherfuckers are multiplying.” Anger radiated off his broad shoulders.
“Vendetta ain’t gonna stop,” Rebel added. “It’s like he’s forcing us into a war for protecting them.” He nodded to the cabin, just in case there was any doubt who we were talking about.
“They made it here somehow,” I began, fury settled deep in my fucking gut that they’d made it so close and it was Chloe, not me who’d heard them first. “I think it’s time we strike first. We have to show these assholes that we’re not just going to react to their bullshit.”
“Agreed.” Hawk stood taller and set his mug down. “This, here tonight? It demands retaliation but after that, we hit them somewhere they can’t afford to be hit.”
“Sounds good,” Diesel grunted. “Any idea where that is?”
“Not yet,” Hawk shot back. “But I’m confident Slate is digging into it.”
The door opened and Chloe appeared with another pot of coffee. She set the pot down and stepped back, hands clasped behind her back, slightly jumpy but also like she was waiting for something.
“What’s wrong?” I leaned in to whisper the question, not wanting to draw attention to her discomfort.
“It’s been a few years,” she began quietly. “But I might be able to help.”
The guys all fell silent, and half a dozen sets of eyes turned her way. “We’re listening,” Diesel answered for the group.
Chloe nodded, swallowing hard before she spoke.
“I’ve not been there for years, but they keep most of their drugs under the brothels.
” Her eyes slammed shut and she inhaled deeply and then blew it out in a long, rushed breath as if she couldn’t get rid of it fast enough.
“Each basement has a false wall that leads to… more.”
“How sure are you?” Diesel put his hands on his hips, his body leaning towards her.
She took another breath and opened her eyes. “I’m positive.”
“How positive?” Rebel asked.
“I’ll never forget,” she whispered and then shook off the tears that threatened to fall. “Cherry Blossom Court. Oleander Cove. Dahlia Place. I’ve been all three multiple times and each one sits at the bottom of a cul-de-sac.”
Rebel who was always the cynic, even after what happened with his own woman, was the first to put a voice to the sudden tension on the deck. “So you were involved in this shit? If this is something other than we thought it all was—” he began but Chloe shut it down.
Brutally.
“Marcus used to take me there sometimes to make me watch him have sex with the girls, as p- punishment if I didn’t do what he liked.
He made me dress up like the girls once and…
” her words broke off on a sob before she pulled herself together.
“He forced me to take a client and then he burst in and beat the guy up before anything could happen. And he killed one of the workers in the basement right in front of me, just to show that he could. That’s how I know about the rooms beyond the basement. ”
That motherfucker was lucky he was already dead because I would’ve hunted him down and killed him. The sadistic bastard tortured her just because he could.
Chloe wiped her tears and shook her head. “I wasn’t eavesdropping,” she insisted. “But it’s so quiet her and the conversation carried. Anyway that’s what I know, and I hope it helps.” She rushed inside, closing the door harder than necessary in her hurry to get away.
“Asshole,” Rocky growled and smacked Rebel’s chest with the back of his meaty paw.
“What?” Rebel rubbed his chest. “We needed to ask. We had to know.”
He was right, as much as I hated to admit it. “Yeah, well now you know. Happy?”
“Fuck you,” Rebel spat out. “How the fuck was I supposed to guess how bad it had been?” he rubbed his palm over his face. “Now we know it’s good intel though.” The asshole smirked my way, daring me to rip him to shreds like I was dying to.
Instead, I flipped him off. “Better go see if you can verify it, maybe get a friendly civilian to go to one of the whorehouses and check,” I said, thinking out loud.
“First order of business,” Diesel assured me.
“Good. Now we need to talk about the obvious, is this place burned? Do we need to relocate?”
Diesel and Rocky shook their heads at the same time, but it was Rocky who answered.
“We don’t think so. We’ve been watching the Ghost Riders for weeks and tonight they split up in different directions.
They didn’t come straight here, got pinched for a couple of days for breaking and entering two other vacation rentals before they found you. ”
“The phones are headed to Slate so he can see if they let anyone know they found you here. Be cautious and be fucking careful, but right now I think you’re good.”
It wasn’t the best news but it sure as fuck wasn’t the worst either, so I simply nodded.
And poured another cup of coffee.