Chapter Sixteen
K endrick hated leaving Sutton.
“I’ll be back after I take care of a few things. I need you to stay here and promise you won’t leave the compound under any circumstance.” He brushed his knuckles down Sutton’s cheek. The shiver she tried to hide made his dick jerk, but he couldn’t do anything other than shove the desire down.
“When will you return?”
“Sutton, you’re safe here.” Her fear fueled him to end the shit as quickly as possible.
“I know.”
He watched her swallow and wished they were alone, thinking how it was with his dick in her mouth while she had her lips wrapped around it. He was a fucking sadist.
Not wanting to leave her without feeling her against his frame, he pulled her close. She smelled like raspberry and vanilla, reminding him of the shower gel and what they’d done that morning. His dick jerked with need.
“Andre will stay here with you.”
She pushed away from him, shaking her head in denial. “No, he goes with you, or I won’t stay.”
“Sutton, this isn’t a negotiation,” he growled.
“You’re right. This is me telling you how it’s going to be. He goes with you, and I stay here, or we all go. Period. What’s it going to be?” She nibbled on her plump bottom lip. Kendrick wanted to bend her over his knee and teach her she didn’t tell him what the rules would be. However, he let her have this victory. Oh, she’d pay for the defiance later. His hand itched. He let her see the fire in his stare, let her know without words the way she affected him as he reached for her, allowing her to feel his erection straining against her.
“My woman has a temper. You win this time, but trust me, there will be consequences when I return, Passerotta.” He kissed her hard and fast, knowing if he didn’t, he’d toss her over his shoulder and do a lot more if he didn’t get the fuck out of there.
Kendrick and Andre rode with Traeger and a couple of other men in a large SUV, watching the scenery pass by in a blur with thoughts of Sutton and the stricken look on her face.
“Hey, everything will work out. Besides, when you get back, you can take her back to the cabin, and after you put her over your knee, you can kiss her all better and apologize for being heavy-handed.” Traeger winked at him from the passenger seat.
The other men chuckled as he grunted.
“Am I that obvious?” He wasn’t sure if he was asking about being upset at leaving Sutton or the need to dominate. Hell, all the Royal MC members appeared to be of the same mindset. Of course, he hadn’t noticed Jeter being as dominating, but then again, he and his younger brother were nearly a decade apart in age.
“Alright, we are about ten minutes out. The casino has a loading dock, which Keys says is the best place for us to enter. From there, we’ll split up and keep in contact through the earpieces.” Traeger held his hand out, giving Kendrick and Andre one.
After ensuring they could all speak and hear, everyone went silent. Kendrick checked his weapons, unscrewing the silencers and putting them back on.
A voice in his ear crackled, giving them directions.
“There’s movement on the executive level. However, I just found a new schematic of the casino. It appears someone has been digging and doing construction under the radar.” Keys tone held an odd note.
“There’s more so just out with it.” The SUVs pulled up between two semi-trailers. Their driver, Digger, kept the vehicle running while they waited for Keys to speak.
“The area is expansive, at least the size of two football fields. There appear to be rooms, and the walls are thick. There are receipts for equipment. Fuck, brothers, the shit that went on down there could rival the best BDSM clubs. I’d say they’ve got a hidden club below the casino that only members can access.”
“Shit. How will we find the entrance, let alone get in?” Traeger asked.
“You wound me with your lack of faith.” There’s tapping, and time passes—Kendrick’s pulse raced. Sweat beaded on his upper lip, even with the air in the vehicle keeping it cool.
After closer to fifteen minutes, Keys gave them the all-clear signal. The three of them exited while Duke, Rev, Steelshot, Smoke, and a few other MC brothers he hadn’t met exited a third vehicle.
“I swear riding in a cage is such a bitch,” Smoke grumbled.
Kendrick holstered his two Glock 19 nine millimeters into the double shoulder harness. The custom piece allowed him to have two extra magazines for easy loading.
“When you get inside, you’ll find a storage garage. From what I see through the camera footage, this is where they brought in all the groceries and products. Now, the issue I’m having is finding cameras I can hack that lead to where this undocumented area is. I hate sending you guys in blind.”
Kendrick heard the frustration in the man’s voice, but he’d been in worse situations. At least they had a way of getting in undetected, he hoped.
“We’re going to split up. Rev. You, Smoke, Rig, and Razor will go to the casino floor. It’s why I had you dress like that,” Duke said. He waved his hand toward the men who had on what Kendrick assumed wasn’t their typical attire.
“Last time I wore a fucking tie was at my Pops funeral, man. You’re lucky I didn’t burn it.” The man they called Smoke rumbled. He had black and grey hair but couldn’t be much older than Jeter. His voice, though, sounded as if he’d gargled glass.
Duke laughed and slapped the larger man on the shoulder. Kendrick tuned them out as he began walking through the cavernous space filled with shelves upon shelves of shit.
In a suit, he still couldn’t pass for what the upper echelon considered respectable, not with his tattoos unhidden. Taysey had grumbled several times about them, saying he could have them lasered off for a small fee before their wedding. The fucking whore was about two sandwiches short of a picnic if she’d honestly thought he’d remove one line of ink from his skin.
As they passed an elevator, he noted that the men walking with him and Andre were like them. Each dressed in clothing that made them appear to fit in, but none could be considered gentlemen. Hell, he would rather choke on his tongue than have to follow society’s rules of what’s right and wrong. His hands flexed next to his sides, itching to pull the guns from their holsters. On his right hand, there were three skulls. The one in the center had its mouth open wide with a mouthful of fangs tinted green, while on his left, a singular skull shrouded in smoke. It had green eyes. The significance of green was an ode to his maternal grandmother, who had the same color eyes as he and his brother. She’d be rolling in her grave if she saw his chest full of tattoos.
Once, one of his lovers asked him why he sported so many skulls on his body. The three on his right hand were for the men he’d killed to take his place as head of the Calderone Family. One was for his father, the second was for the man directly under his father, and the last was for the consigliere. The chief advisor didn’t fight Kendrick the night he'd walked into his home. Hell, the old bastard smirked and lifted a cigar before closing his eyes. The other skulls were meaningful in different ways, except the one at the center of his throat—the meaning behind that one only one other person knew.
“Here we go. This elevator needs a keycard to enter. Keys, whatcha got for us?” Duke stopped in front of a gold-plated door.
Kendrick paused behind him. He clasped his hands to keep from pressing the button to see what the fuck would happen. The urge to kill Frankie and whoever else thought it was a good idea to touch Sutton fueled him.
“Here we go,” Duke said, holding up a card.
“Damn, Keys is fucking good.” Traeger clapped his hands together.
Andre’s lips tilted up in a slight grin.
Kendrick stayed silent. These men were on a mission, but he was out for revenge.
SUTTON WOKE WITH AN ache at the back of her skull. Her eyes widened as she realized she was no longer in the clubhouse.
Her mind worked to piece together the events she could remember. Kendrick and the others left, and she asked if there was somewhere she could take a nap since the night before, Kendrick had kept her up in the best way possible. She fought a blush and pushed thoughts of making love out of her mind.
A prospect took her into one of the rooms at the back of the clubhouse after Ayesha called King, and she’d followed him like a sheep to—no, she wasn’t going to be slaughtered.
Very little light allowed her to see where she was, but the rhythmic movement of the tires on the road let her know they were moving fast. She worked to sit up, keeping her eyes trained toward the front in case the driver happened to have a way of looking back at her. Saliva filled her mouth behind the tape the fucker slapped on it sometime after he knocked her out. Thank fuck he didn’t drug her again, but she was sure she would have a concussion with the power behind his hit. If she could rub her skull, Sutton didn’t doubt she’d feel a knot big enough she’d have ordered a CT Scan.
Whoever took her from the clubhouse obviously decided what he would get from her kidnapping was better than sticking around and becoming an MC brother. She hoped he knew King and the others would hunt him down to the furthest corners of Earth. Not because of their loyalty to her but because the asshole broke their trust. There were rules, and if she wasn’t mistaken, he’d royally fucked up.
“I’m here to see Mr. Dragna. Tell him I have his package.”
Shit. She needed to pretend to be out. Easing back to the floor, she let out her breath and closed her eyes.
Seconds ticked by slower than a month of Sundays. Oh, yeah, she indeed had a concussion. Her brain coming up with shit like that was not in her wheelhouse typically.
“You sit tight. I need to check it’s just you and the package.”
Sutton rolled to her stomach, making it easier to hide her flickering eyes when the doors opened.
The unmistakable sound of the locks clicking, followed by a squeaking as a door, sent her nerves on edge. She allowed her mind to wander away, knowing someone entered the space. A hand on her calf brought bile to her throat, but again, she stayed in her zone. When she’d been a child, she’d created a world within herself. The void was where she’d gone to save her sanity. God, she’d thought her world as an adult had become safe and light.
Demons were everywhere. They wore different clothes and looked like everyone else but were all the same inside. Vile humans preying on those they thought were weaker. Sutton had gotten free from one before. She could do it again.
“How hard did you hit the whore, kid? She’s not even flinching when I squeeze her ass. I wonder if I fuck her right here if she’d wake up?”
“It’s your funeral. From what your boss said, he wanted to sample her before selling her off.”
Her ears picked up on bits of their conversations—the words alluding to rape and selling her filtered in. If the bastard running his hands over her thought she’d allow him to stick anything inside her without a fight, he’d learn how wrong his assumptions were.
“It’s a shame. I bet she’s got a nice pussy. Alright, you’re good.”
The door slammed seconds after he slapped her ass. Sutton wished she could’ve seen his face so she could remember who she’d shoot if she had the chance.