Bones
Ithought a lot of Stitch.
I looked up to him.
I respected him.
He was my father in every way that counted.
But I would never understand how he could do the things he did to people in his playroom.
He strung them up and tortured them in unimaginable ways—whatever it took to get them to talk.
Sometimes it just took a simple threat. For others, it took hours, even days, of horrific beatings and heinous acts to get them to start talking.
As I stood there staring through the two-way glass, I couldn’t help but wonder what lay in store for Ben.
His arms were bound over his head, his feet barely touching the ground, and his eyes were wide with fear.
I couldn’t blame him for being terrified.
Stitch and Wrath stood before him, arms crossed with angry scowls on their faces, and with his gun nowhere in sight, he was helpless to defend himself.
It didn’t help matters that there was a variety of tools splayed out on the table. He knew what was in store for him, which was why he told Stitch, “I wasn’t gonna hurt her. I would never hurt her.”
“I’m gonna give you a piece of advice here, kid.” Stitch stepped closer to him. “Don’t speak until spoken to. You got that?”
Ben nodded. “Yeah, I got it.”
We all watched as Stitch stepped over and said something to Wrath.
While it would be up to a club vote, he was priming him as a possible replacement as the club’s enforcer.
It was a role he’d had since I’d met him, and while it would be hard to see him go, I understood why he was ready to step down.
His role in the club was an important one, but it was also a trying one that left him mentally and physically exhausted.
After their brief exchange, Stitch turned his focus back to Ben. “Tell me what you wanted with the girl.”
“Nothing. I was just...”
Before he could finish his thought, Stitch drew his hand into a fist, clutching his brass knuckles, and slammed it into Ben’s ribs. He immediately started gasping and wailing out in agony. Ignoring his cries, Stitch growled, “A second piece of advice... Don’t try to bullshit me. You lie, you pay.”
“What do you want from me?”
“Last piece of advice.” Stitch punched him again, causing the air to rush from Ben’s lungs, “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Ben wasn’t a small guy. He was just over six-two and weighed about two-seventy, but it didn’t matter how big or small the guy was.
Brass knuckles to the ribs hurt like a motherfucker.
It took him a moment to collect himself, but once he was able to catch his breath, Ben muttered, “I don’t know how I got pulled into this.
I was just supposed to show up in one of her classes and ask her out. ”
“And why were you supposed to do that?”
“So I could get closer to her and earn her trust.”
I’d been struggling with the fact that Elsie’s life had been in danger, and hearing Ben discuss the details of it made my stomach turn.
I’d already heard from her what had happened.
It didn’t take much to piece the rest together.
Bruton wanted his grandson to sweet talk Elsie into giving him information on the club, and when she didn’t buy into his tricks, he panicked and tried to take her.
He'd threatened her life, and for that, I wanted to charge into that room and beat the hell out of him myself. The fact that I couldn’t kill him, much less beat him, was eating at me.
I could feel the tension building inside me.
My palms were sweating, and my heart was racing.
I wanted to hear everything the asshole had to say, but I was quickly reaching that point of no return.
I needed to step away and clear my head before I lost it.
I didn’t like it, but I knew Stitch would get the information we needed. With that in mind, I turned to Torch and said, “I’m going to check in with Big.”
He nodded, then said, “I’ll keep you guys posted.”
“Appreciate it, brother.”
I took one last look at the two-way window and felt a twinge of satisfaction as I watched Stitch punch him once more.
The guy deserved everything he got, so I felt zero remorse as I turned and walked out the door.
As soon as I stepped outside, I tilted my head back, closed my eyes, and inhaled a deep breath of fresh air.
I stood there for a moment, just taking in the night air.
It helped, but it wasn’t enough to calm the storm that was raging inside my head. I opened my eyes, and the second I saw the sky full of stars, I knew the perfect place for me to get the reset I so desperately needed.
But first, I needed to check in with Big.
I took in one final breath, then made my way into the main clubhouse.
I wasted no time and went directly to the office.
When I walked in, I found him sitting at his desk with Maverick.
As I approached, I could see that they were going over all of Bruton’s financials and were trying to make some headway on the offshore accounts. “Having any luck?”
“Yeah, I think we’re getting closer.” Big glanced up at me, and the second he saw my face, he fussed, “Damn, brother. You look like hell.”
“Been a long day.”
“No sense in making it any longer. Go take a break.” Big motioned his head towards Maverick. “We got this covered.”
“I’m good. I’ve still got a couple of hours in me.”
“We got it. Now, get the hell out of here and go check on your girl.”
My first instinct was to argue and jump right into working with them, but deep down, I knew my head wasn’t in the game, and I wouldn’t be any help to either of them. I also liked the idea of checking in on Elsie, so I did as Big said and left them to it.
As I started out into the hall, I thought about Elsie and the shit day she’d had.
I figured she could use a break from the crazy, too, so I went to the kitchen and grabbed a few drinks and a bag of her favorite chips.
Once I had everything I thought we’d need, I made my way down to Elsie’s room.
My hands were full, so I had to knock with the tip of my boot.
It took her a minute, but eventually, the door eased open and Elsie appeared with a surprised look on her face. “Whoa. What’s all this?”
“Grab your coat. I have something I wanna show you.”
“My coat?” Her brows furrowed. “Are we going somewhere?”
“Elsie, get it and come on.”
“Okay, okay. I’m getting it.” She reached behind the door and grabbed her coat. As she slipped it on, she asked, “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
I handed her the bag of chips, then started down the hall. When we reached the roof access, I reached up and pulled the cable for the stairs. Once I had them down and in position, I started up the first step and said, “Come on.”
To my surprise, Elsie didn’t argue and followed me up to the roof.
When she reached the top, I took her hand and led her over to my secret spot.
It wasn’t anything special. It was just a couple of old chairs that were lit up by a strand of old Christmas lights, but it was quiet, and I knew no one would disturb us.
When I plugged in the lights, a bright smile swept across Elsie’s face. “This is so cool.”
“I thought you might like it.”
“I love it.” As she sat down in one of the chairs, she admitted, “I had no idea this was even up here.”
“Most folks don’t. That’s why I like it up here.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she tilted her head back and looked up at the stars. “Beautiful.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I was talking about the stars.”
“And I was talking about you.” I tilted my head back and rested it on the back of the chair. “Don’t know how you do it.”
“Do what?”
“Take a shit day and make it better without even trying.”
“You do the exact same thing for me.” She let out a sigh. “Today was awful. I just wanted to go to class and get what I needed for my project, and then Ben comes along and suddenly I’m wondering if I’m gonna get out of there alive.”
“Really hate you had to go through that.”
“I only have myself to blame.” She looked over at me with puppy dog eyes. “But don’t worry. Next time, I’ll listen and do whatever you tell me to.”
“You mean that?”
“Well, yeah. Of course, I do.”
“Then, move in with me.”
I knew it was fast. We’d only been dating for a couple of weeks, but I’d known for years that she was the one.
I watched as her eyes widened and her mouth fell open, and when her nose wrinkled, I knew she was about to argue.
“Move in with you? Seriously? We just started dating, and now, you want to live together?”
“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do.”
“You don’t think that’s rushing it a bit?”
“No.”
“No?” She stood and started pacing in front of me.
I knew then she was about to really amp it up.
“We’ve been on two dates, and I’m not even sure that one of them was actually a date.
I mean, we slept together, but we spent most of the night watching the game with the guys.
I’m not sure that counts. But even it does, it’s been two dates. ”
“It’s been six years, Elsie. You know me better than anyone, and I’d dare say I know you just as well.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah, that’s absolutely right.” I stood up, and her face flushed red when I told her, “I know the only reason you like Oreos is because of the center. I know you like daisies because they remind you of your mother. I know you say you like scary movies, but you also sleep with a light on for days after watching one. I know you bite your bottom lip when you get nervous, and I know your cheeks flush whenever you see me come into a room, and they don’t do that for anyone else but me. ”
A small grin slowly spread across her face as she tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, letting me know I was getting to her. “You definitely know how to win an argument.”
“Only when it’s important to me, and nothing’s as important as you... You mean everything to me, Elsie.” I brought my hands up to her face, gently brushing my thumb across her cheek as I said, “One look at you, and my day is made. I don’t know a better way to say it than that.”
“You said it pretty damn well.” She studied me for a moment, then smiled. “Okay. I’ll move in with you, but only on one condition.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“I need you to not to forget about me.”
“Hmmm? How could I forget about you?”
“Pretty easily actually,” she scoffed. “When you’re working on something, you tend to get tunnel vision.
You go into your office, and there are times when you don’t come out for days.
I get it. I know you have things to do, and the brothers are counting on you for stuff, but I need you to find a way to fit me into the equation. Even if it’s only for a few minutes.”
“I can manage that.”
“Okay, then I guess that settles it.” She stepped over to me and wound her arms around my neck. “You should probably know... I’m not a very good cook.”
“I’m aware.”
“And I like cats, but I like dogs better.”
“I know that, too.”
“So, we’re really doing this?”
I didn’t answer.
Instead, I lowered my mouth to hers, kissing her with a promise of what was to come.
The beat of her heart next to mine calmed me, refueled me, and that’s when I knew.
She wasn’t my first, but she would be my last. I pulled her closer as I continued to devour her mouth, claiming her in the only way I could in that moment.
Damn.
I loved how her body instantly responded to mine, but it made it hard not to take her right there on the roof. I was quickly losing my restraint, so I stepped back and broke our embrace. Disappointment flashed through her eyes until I said, “I think it’s time we took this inside.”
She nodded, then waited as I unplugged the lights. We gathered the rest of our things and made our way back downstairs. I took her to my room, and we spent the next few hours tangled in each other’s arms. A night with Elsie and a few hours of sleep were just what I needed to get my head straight.
The next morning, I woke up well before Elsie.
I hated to leave her, but I was eager to find out what Stitch and Wrath had been able to get out of Ben.
Being careful not to disturb her, I eased out of bed, got dressed, and headed to Stitch’s playroom.
When I walked in, I found Savage and Two Bit standing at the two-way glass, and neither of them even noticed when I walked up.
I had no idea what had them so enthralled until I stepped up to the window.
Ben was no longer hanging with his hands bound over his head.
Instead, he was sitting down in a chair.
He was drooped over, but I could still see that his face was bloody and swollen.
It looked like he’d had a hell of a night.
We were all staring straight ahead when I asked, “What’s the latest? ”
“He don’t know shit,” Savage grumbled. “Dude bribed him to take Elsie out, so he could get information out of her. But she wasn’t having it.”
“So, he didn’t know anything about who Bruton had working for him?”
“Fuck no.” Savage shook his head with disgust. “He thought it had something to do with the town council or some shit like that.”
“You gotta be kidding me.”
“Nah, this kid is as green as they come. Get this.” He nudged me with his elbow. “He actually thought he had a chance with Elsie and got all butt hurt when she blew him off.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, I almost feel bad for the guy.”
I didn’t hold the same sentiment as my brother, but I kept those thoughts to myself.
I was about to ask him what Cotton thought about the situation when my phone chimed with a message.
I got an uneasy feeling as I pulled my phone from my pocket.
I glanced down at the screen, and as soon as I saw the message, I knew there was going to be trouble—big trouble.
Unknown Caller:
LET HIM GO
OR THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES.