Chapter Twenty-Seven
Pike
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been hanging in that fucking abandoned building with three Ghost Riders watching me around the clock, but I knew my eyes hurt like a motherfucker from being plunged into darkness and then blinded by fluorescent lights.
I knew my wrists were rubbed raw from the chains and my shoulders ached from hanging like a goddamn piece of meat.
It had been at least one day, possibly more.
Between the intermittent beatings, which annoyed me more than hurt, and the constant disorientation, it could’ve been a fucking week and I’d have been none the wiser.
Every inch of my body ached, and my mind had started to play tricks on me.
There were times I thought I heard Gemma’s giggle, or that sharp intake of breath Chloe let out when I kissed that spot right behind her ear.
I thought I heard T-Bone’s grunted complaints from under a car, Ashley’s heavy sigh when she asked me about settling down.
None of it was real, I knew that. They made sure I didn’t know the time of day or the passage of time because they played music, shouted nonsense at me, and turned the lights on and off whenever the fuck they felt like it.
It was torture, plain and simple, and I wondered if they would keep this up until I pushed Vendetta far enough that he killed me.
That all was bad enough, but worse than that was not knowing.
My mind never left Gemma or Chloe, wondering if they were okay. If the Ghost Riders had found them. If my MC had sent someone else to watch over them when I didn’t return to Steel City. Shit. My brothers would be going crazy trying to figure out what the hell happened to me.
So would Chloe. She would instantly go to worst case scenario, thinking I was dead.
That would send her already fragile and paranoid mind reeling.
Sure, she’d put on a good show for the kid, because she loved that little girl more than anything in the world and because she had more strength than she realized.
But I knew that kind of fear well, I’d experienced back in the day when my own folks had disappeared into bottles and needles before they disappeared altogether.
That was the kind of fear that ate at you until you were a shell of your former self.
It was soul-destroying and I just hoped Chloe didn’t worry too much about me. Gemma, too. There was this fear that always flashed in the little girl’s eyes when I left to check the property, and I hoped she wasn’t still worrying about me. I hoped that no matter how hard it was, that they moved on.
Forgot about me.
Or at least remembered me fondly.
My thoughts were interrupted by the now familiar sound of heavy boots, that slow gait belonged to Vendetta, the man responsible for my current state.
The chains began to move, lowering me to the ground and I braced myself for the floor under my feet.
My legs wobbled when my feet hit the cement floor, but I dug my heels in, refusing to show this asshole any weakness.
The hood was yanked off my head roughly, just another childish power play.
Vendetta appeared right in front of me, a shit-eating grin lit up his face. “Pike, got some good news. Good for me, anyway.”
I gave him nothing but a blank stare, just to piss him off.
“Your MC gave up the location of the little girl in exchange for your pretty little head.” He stared at me, still smiling, waiting for my reaction.
I didn’t believe that shit for one fucking second.
It had to be a trap, even my weakened mind knew that, but I also knew what Vendetta expected.
Panic. Disbelief. And if my guys had a plan in place, this was my part to play.
“What!” I shouted so loud it echoed all around us.
“No they didn’t! You’re a fucking liar!” I shook my head, thrashing it side to side.
“They wouldn’t do pussy ass shit like this.
That’s the Ghost Riders playbook.” That last sentence earned me a backhand, but I kept up the charade.
“Liar. Fucking goddamn liar. Unlike your fucking club we’d never put a kid’s life at risk. Fucking bullshit.”
Vendetta’s face split into a satisfied smile. “Don’t believe me? Guess what, I don’t give a fuck.”
I sneered. “Just what a liar would say.”
He shrugged and turned away, staring at the men that stood around, guarding me. Protecting him. “You’ll see soon enough. Get him in the fucking van.”
I didn’t put up a fight when they released the chains from my wrists even though the relief was palpable.
I relaxed my limbs as the flexi-cuffs were secured in place of the chains, and when the hood went back over my head, I put up a good show of resistance just to keep Vendetta engaged.
When they dragged me into the van and pushed me against the side wall, I grinned to myself because certainty burned deep in my gut that soon, I’d see Chloe and Gemma.
And my MC.
Somewhere during the ride one of them yanked the hood off my head. I looked up but I was met with the inside paneling of the metal walls instead of windows. Still, a glance through the windshield revealed we were on the interstate, and I knew exactly where we were going.
The cabin.
If they knew the location, then that sure as fuck meant that my brothers had something planned.
“You know,” Vendetta began, surprising me that he hadn’t ridden his bike like a real Prez would.
“I was gonna let you go, let you limp back to your brothers after we beat the fuck out of you. But now I have a better idea,” his smile was downright devious and that wicked glint in his eyes told me I wouldn’t like his plan.
I knew my MC wouldn’t have given up Chloe and Gemma just to save me.
I had no fucking clue what had been happening since the Ghost Riders snatched me off the highway, I just had to hope that whatever my brothers were going to do in retaliation was watertight and that somehow, they’d gotten Chloe and Gemma away to a safe place.
If we were going back to the cabin, I had an advantage.
I knew the layout, and I knew all the hiding places.
If we went someplace else, I was fucked.
***
Finally the van slowed to a stop, giving me no damn clue where we were.
Two sets of hands handled me roughly until the feel of leaves, dirt, and gravel crunched under my boots.
We weren’t in the city, I knew that much because of the absence of car engines and horns, conversations at sidewalk eateries, the general hum of city living.
Instead, there were birds and bugs, and somewhere in the distance the sound of water.
We’re at the cabin.
When the hood came off, I blinked to adjust to the daylight and gave myself a moment to look around. There were no bikes visible other than those that belonged to the Ghost Riders. Though if my club brothers were lying in wait then they’d have made sure to hide their motorcycles.
Someone pushed me forward and I walked, sandwiched between Vendetta and one of his minions. “Let me tell you about my new plan,” he said, and I realized how uncomfortable he was with the silence.
So I gave him more than he could stand.
“Instead of returning you to your MC, I’m going to let you watch me pump the little brat full of bullets before we slit her throat. And then I’ll do the same to you. Since your club is so protective of her, you can die with her,” he laughed, watching me. Waiting for a reaction.
I kept my expression carefully blank.
“It’ll show your MC how fucking stupid it is to trust the enemy,” his smile wavered.
Finally, I smiled.
“Go check the inside,” he barked and two of his men who had to be prospects, rushed up the familiar steps and pushed the door wide open. No gunfire erupted but instead, they came out a minute later and shrugged.
“The place is empty.”
There was no fucking way they checked the entire cabin thoroughly. It wasn’t a big place, but it was big enough that it should’ve taken longer than sixty fucking seconds.
“I thought you said the kid was here?” one of the men asked.
I saw a flash of annoyance at being spoken to like that by one of his underlings cross Vendetta’s face. He shook it off and muttered, “They’re probably gonna meet us here.”
Dumb fucks.
Walking straight into an ambush whichever way you looked at it.
Vendetta yanked me up the stairs and pushed me inside, closing the door behind us. “Let’s get comfortable, asshole. I want your brothers to know I mean business when they show up.”
“You want to hide behind me like a little bitch, you mean.”
His grip tightened but he said nothing. What was the point without an audience?
A soft creak sounded in the dark cabin, and I knew it was the small laundry room where I last touched Chloe. Seconds later the woman herself appeared, pale and terrified but determined. And beautiful.
Fuck! What was she doing here, and where were my club brothers?
Vendetta sucked in a breath, which confirmed that he hadn’t expected her to be here, despite whatever he’d been told. “You fucking bitch.” He shook his head, but his smile was wide. “This is even better than I thought.”
She ignored him, her green eyes trained on me, a hint of worry crinkled her eyes at the corners. “Pike, you’re alive!” she exclaimed. “Are you okay?”
I shrugged. “Been better.”
Her small smile made me feel a million times better. My ribs as well as my other aches and pains were forgotten. “Good. I was worried.”
“Aww, how fucking sweet,” he spat out the words angrily. “This is my show. Where the fuck are they?”
Chloe’s eyes widened innocently. “Rest of who? It’s just me.” She was so believable I almost believed her.
“Bullshit,” Vendetta snapped. “The deal was this asshole right here, for the little girl. Where is the brat?”