Chapter 17
I was ready to inflict pain when I made it to the dungeon.
I’d taken time to eat, and River and Cobra joined us.
Cobra teased me about saving such a delicious meal from the garbage.
Lakelyn had thrown a balled-up napkin at him and threatened that if he didn’t hush, she’d never cook for him again. He wisely shut up. River laughed.
When it was time to take care of business, I had River stay with his sister. He had strict orders to call me if she needed me. Lakelyn assured me she’d be fine, and I was to concentrate on what I was doing. I’d kissed her silly before Cobra, and I left the house.
Entering the dungeon, I heard Mera screaming.
From the outside, it wasn’t heard. We made sure this was more than thoroughly soundproofed.
She was trying to scream down the building by the sounds of it.
Howler and Brutus were inside. I hoped they hadn’t stood in there with the crazy bitch the entire time.
If so, I’d have to give them a bonus in their next paycheck.
Cardiac had sent me a message earlier to say the dog that got hurt was patched up and doing well, so I knew he’d taken steps to ensure the man didn’t die from his wound.
He’d been shot in the upper arm, so unless the artery was hit, it was unlikely it would’ve killed him.
When I got to the middle of the room, Mera spotted me.
She went from a screaming demon to a moaning and pleading child.
“Oh, God, thank you, thank you. You’ve finally come.
I’ve been telling them they have it all wrong.
I had nothing to do with what happened, Tyrant.
I swear on my life, I didn’t. I asked them to call you, but they refused.
I don’t know what she told you, but whatever it is, I know she lied. Let me tell you what really happened.”
I decided to see how far she’d go to save her ass, so I pretended to be open to hearing her. “Okay, just take a deep breath and relax. Tell me what happened. There’s so much I don’t understand, and I heard one thing from Lakelyn, and now you say she’s lying.”
“Did you kick her off the compound?” she asked.
“No, I didn’t,” I told her, which earned me a swift scowl that was quickly wiped away by a sad expression.
“Then she lied to you. Okay, here’s what happened.
I went for a walk. I was just out rambling around.
The weather was too lovely to be inside.
I wasn’t paying attention to where I was until I heard voices.
When I looked around, I spotted Lakelyn by the side gate.
I didn’t know she even knew it was there.
I didn’t remember it until then. Anyway, she was talking to two men.
I had never seen them before, so I was curious and worried.
“I went over to them. She wasn’t happy to see me.
I asked her what she was doing there and who those men were.
She told me it was none of my business and that I’d better go back to the clubhouse and keep my mouth shut.
Well, there was no way I would do that, and I told her so.
I informed her I would find you and see if you knew the men.
When I did, she had one of those men try to grab me.
“She yelled that they had to take me with them, or I’d go and tell you and the others that she’d been talking to them.
If I did that, you might suspect she was working with them.
I’d gotten a short distance away after I fought off the one guy closest to me when you showed up.
Then, there were gunshots going off, and I didn’t know what to do other than to get down on the ground and pray that I wouldn’t be killed.
Why was I brought here with him? I’m innocent in this.
It should be Lakelyn in here, not me,” Mera whined.
“You’re a lying whore,” the man growled. He grimaced and held onto his arm. I had no doubt it hurt. Cardiac would’ve prevented him from dying, but not given him anything for pain. Enemies didn’t deserve that treatment.
“Shut up! You don’t know anything about me,” Mera hissed back.
“Like hell, I don’t. You came to my boss, saying you knew where he could find the woman he was looking for.
That you’d help him get her if he’d help you get the man you wanted, Tyrant, the president of the local Kings of Anarchy club.
You moaned and cried about how she stole him out from under you and how you hate her and want her gone. ”
“He’s lying, Tyrant!” she yelled.
“Quiet! I’ll do the asking, and I expect you to answer. It’ll be in your best interest to do so. First, what’s your name?” I asked the guy.
He stared at me and then must’ve thought answering wouldn’t give too much away. “It’s Rémi.” His name told me he was primarily French-speaking, though I detected a slight accent, too.
“Rémi, mind telling us what you were doing here on our compound? And who is your boss?” I asked, just to screw with him.
“My boss sent us to retrieve the other woman. This one set it up that we were to be nearby, waiting for her text. When it came, we were to come to a side gate and use a code she gave us to enter.”
I was surprised at how forthcoming he was. I wondered if he’d continue to be that way. “So Mera sent you a message and the code to enter and take Lakelyn.”
“Yes.”
“No, I didn’t! They got it from her, not me. I’ve never seen this man or his friend before. She’s paying him to lie for her. I would never do that. This is my family. I belong here.”
Ignoring what Mera said, I spoke to Rémi again. “Who is your boss? Did he say why he wanted the other woman? What did she do?”
“I don’t ask questions. I just do my job. If the boss says to do something, we do it. And I’m not telling you who I work for.”
“You don’t need to. We know. It’s the Jacquot family. I’m not sure if the order came directly from Hugo or Jean-Baptiste, but I know it was them. They were the only ones who would come after Lakelyn. What were you to do with the brother?” I tacked on.
“We were only to get the woman. Her brother would be dealt with later.”
“Dealt with how?” Cobra asked.
Rémi shrugged. We attempted to get more answers, but he’d said all he intended.
We’ll see about that. But first, I had to deal with the caterwauling Mera.
She was giving me a migraine with her incessant whining, crying, screaming, and protestations of innocence.
I had news for her. Mera hadn’t been innocent since she was about thirteen.
She was a woman who liked to use her body to get what she wanted.
There was nothing wrong with that, as long as she knew where the lines were and didn’t stray over them, which she clearly did.
Finally, I’d had more than enough. I let out a loud whistle and then shouted, “SHUT THE FUCK UP!” This got her attention, and she shut her mouth.
“Rémi, what were you to do with Lakelyn after you got her? Where were you to take her?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I can’t tell you that.”
“You do realize, don’t you, that you’re not walking out of here? If you’re afraid the Jacquots will kill you, think again. They won’t get the chance. We’ll do it. What talking gains you with us is a less painful and quicker death,” Howler informed our prisoner.
Rémi sat there, thinking over what my sergeant-at-arms said. It was two minutes or more before he sighed and shook his head before answering.
“That may be, but if I stay quiet, my family might remain safe. I can’t talk. I’ve got to protect them.”
“They’re threatening your family?” Brutus asked.
“They are. Do you think most of us would work for them if we had a choice? Some of us did stupid things when we were young and can’t get work anywhere else but with them.
Others get trapped by them, and their families are held over their heads to make them work for or with them.
They don’t inspire loyalty. They use fear.
I have a mom, two nieces, and a sister to worry about. If I help you, they’re dead or worse.”
“Worse, how? As in, they might be sold as sex slaves?” I pushed.
The way he stiffened told me the truth. Those sons of a bitches were selling people as slaves. We had confirmation that Lakelyn’s dad told the truth.
“What if we promised to ensure your family was safe? That we’d get them somewhere, and they’d be secure while we take care of the Jacquots? The only thing we need is confirmation of who you work for and the plan once you have your hands on my woman,” I asked. I growled at the “my woman” part.
Rémi frowned. “Your woman? No one said anything about her belonging to someone. We were told a bunch of bikers stole her, and they were afraid she’d been brainwashed to believe she wanted to remain with them. Her dad was the one who arranged a marriage between her and the boss.”
“Utter bullshit, fucking lie,” Cardiac muttered.
“Will you swear on your entire club’s heads that you’ll do everything you can to protect my family?” Rémi asked.
“I swear. We don’t believe in hurting innocents. People, like your boss, aren’t immune. And if you’ve helped them with this and other stuff, I can’t say you can be spared,” I advised him.
“I’m not the best man in the world, and I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I know I’ve hurt good people to keep my family unharmed. At first, I was blinded by their lies and money. I deserve what I have coming, but my family doesn’t.”
“Okay, once again, tell me your boss’s name,” I asked.
“It’s Jean-Baptiste Jacquot.”
“JB? Not Hugo?” Cobra asked.
“Hugo is no longer in charge. His oldest took over about nine months ago. He’s been content to let his dad remain the face of it for now, but there’s been a power struggle between Hugo and his sons, especially Jean-Baptiste.
It was Jean-Baptiste’s idea to start a new business venture dealing with people. ”
“You can’t believe him! He’ll say anything to get you to go easy on him and protect his family,” Mera shouted.
“Shut her up,” I told Haze.