Chapter 22
CHAPTER 22
T ally awoke to the feel of soft kisses running down her naked spine. She smiled, hugging her pillow closer to her face.
“Mmm… That feels really nice.” She was deliciously sore between her legs, but if they were going to be riding on the motorcycle again, she didn’t think she could handle another round.
She felt Scar shift behind her and then an electronic voice said, “Your ass is sexy covered in my cum.”
Tally snorted. “So that’s what your voice sounds like. Very mechanical, but I like it.”
Scar’s lips touched her shoulder as he pressed himself flush with her back. His arm came under hers, and when the voice spoke next, it came from in front of her. “I downloaded an app on your phone that does Text to Talk.”
“I suppose that’s easiest since we have a lot to talk about.” She bit her lip and then asked, “ Can you talk? It’s okay if you can’t. I just… Bulldog said you could, but…” She felt her cheeks heat. “I figured if you could then you would have last night.”
“José talks too much.” Tally waited, feeling the muscles in his arm twitch as he texted. “I swore I would never lie to you. I don’t know. I’ve tried over the years and nothing has happened. I feel like I can, but I can’t. Maybe the better wording would be I don’t speak.”
“Does it hurt you, when you try?”
“Hurt is a relative word. Touch hurts. It’s like burning lava. And don’t pull away from me. Your touch burns too, but it’s different. It’s like hot soup on a cold winter day.”
Tally smiled at the analogy. “I’m glad. I never want to do anything to hurt you.”
“I would accept it gladly even if it did.”
Tally scowled. “I wouldn’t.”
That rumbling sound echoed in her ear. “I don’t know if talking hurts because I’ve never done it successfully.”
Tally reached her hand back to touch his bare hip. Despite that they’d had sex four times the night before, he was half-hard against her ass. At his age, that was impressive. But then she imagined it had been a long time since he’d had sex. “Don’t try to talk to me. I don’t care if you can talk. If you need to use a phone to communicate with me, then that’s what you do. Don’t push yourself beyond what you can do. I’ve been meaning to apologize for demanding you talk to me in my apartment. I feel awful about that.”
“Don’t. If your dad hadn’t interrupted us, there’s a chance I might have been able to. I was trying .”
That confirmation meant the world to her, but the reminder about that day brought back the reality of their situation. “What are we going to do about my dad, Scar?”
It was several minutes of silence before the mechanical voice answered. “I don’t know what you know or don’t know. I’ll try to summarize as best I can. You know your father owns a paramilitary group called Primis. Ten years ago, they offered me a position to avenge the deaths of my brothers. I worked with them for two years, but my contract was for five. After I learned some things about what truly happened to my brothers, I left. Went AWOL. Your dad has been trying to find me since. I don’t know how he tracked me to Mount Grove, but he did. In a way, I owe him for that. I was shot and his medical team saved my life. And then, of course, I met you. When I was in Primis after getting shot, your father implied that he wanted me back because I still owed him time on my contract. However, this time it was different. He was very persistent, like he was on a deadline and needed me compliant. I think he wanted me for something specific.”
Tally waited a moment to make sure he was done texting. “Do you know what?”
She felt Scar shake his head behind her. His face was barely touching her hair on the pillow, like he was content just to breathe in the scent of her shampoo.
“Why did you come to Atlanta?” She knew the assumed reason, but not his reason.
“Alpha threatened my family. The plan was to threaten his. ” There was another pause and then, “Instead, he inadvertently gave me you.”
Tally chuckled. “Bet that was the shock of a lifetime.”
“Understatement. But how could I not fall in love with you? Per your own words, you’re awesome.”
Tally’s whole body shook with the force of her laughter. “You’re not so bad yourself.” Sobering, she asked, “Why did you show yourself? That first night. If you were there to take pictures, why come up to me as you had?”
“I saw the two thugs come at you. How was I to know you could kick their asses?”
“Silly man. Not all women are damsels.”
Scar’s chest shook against her back as if he was silently laughing. “You were so fucking beautiful, and the moment I realized you were toying with them is when I fell for you. I just didn’t realize it. But that’s why I stayed. I was obsessed and needed to learn everything about you.”
“Yes, the stalking did clue me in to your obsession.” She rubbed her ass against his groin to soften her words, realistic though they were. “It was moving the things in Mark’s apartment that did it for me, but the moment you collapsed in my apartment was when I knew. It seemed like too soon and I fought thinking the words, but it didn’t stop me from coming after you.”
His lips pressed to the base of her skull. “You gave me back my brothers, Tally. I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Her lips twitched. “That’s the first time you’ve said my name.”
“I wish I was able to say it for real.”
“I’m not,” Tally snapped. “Does it bother you that I’ll never be able to see you?”
“Don’t be fucking stupid. Of course not.”
“ Exactly ,” she emphasized. “Don’t push yourself beyond what you’re capable of doing. Now, back to my dad. What’s the plan?”
“I have to find him.”
“Why do you have to find him? Is he not in Washington, D.C.?”
There was another long pause before her phone replied. “When Keys was at Primis, while the others were getting me out, he attacked their systems. Made them all public. As in everything. All the things the government knew about and the stuff they didn’t. Their financial records were also in that data dump. Right now, Primis is no more.”
Tally’s jaw dropped. “Holy fuck.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Getting rid of Primis doesn’t solve the problem of your father. He’s spent a lot of years protecting his identity. Only a handful of his people know his real name. A man by the name of George Shepard is the public face of Primis.” Then a pause. “Or was.”
“I know George,” Tally told him. “He and his wife, Sybil, visit during the holidays.”
“He’s already been arrested. As have a lot of the higher-ups at Primis. Keys says that there’s no physical proof that Henry Meacham was ever involved with Primis.”
Tally cursed. “So he got away scot-free?”
“Not exactly. Your father’s face is still known, and George is squealing like a stuck pig. He rolled on your dad almost immediately. While there’s no proof, there are enough rumors about Alpha to make the authorities look into him. He’s on the run.”
Tally’s heart seized with fear. “What about my mom?”
“I don’t know. Keys did not mention her.”
“She’s innocent, Scar. Whatever my dad is, she’s innocent.”
“I’ll ask Keys for an update. Depending on what he says, you can call her later.”
“Where are we, by the way?”
“Only just wondering that now? ”
Tally snorted. “No, but your cock is a very effective distraction.”
Scar ground his pelvis against her ass. “Indiana.”
“Don’t start.” She slapped his hip. “I have two more questions.” When no mechanical voice came, she figured he was waiting for her to continue. “After we deal with my dad, what’s next? I assume you want to live in Mount Grove. I have things I still have to deal with in Atlanta, but if I’m going to move, now’s the time to do it.”
“You would leave your restaurant for me?”
“It’s not much of a restaurant anymore,” she reminded him. “I’d take a loss on the building, but it makes sense to sell now so someone else can rebuild how they want. And to be honest, I’m tired. I loved owning my own restaurant, but I want to cook , not deal with people and paperwork.”
“What would you do in Mount Grove?”
She shrugged. “Maybe cook for the club?” she said, half-joking. “Is that what you want, though? To live in Mount Grove?”
There was a long pause where she didn’t feel him typing, and then another few minutes once he started. “I am not a member of the club. I walked out. I don’t know what it would take to go back. But member or not, they’re my brothers, Tally. I want to be there for them, to help watch over their families, and to see my nieces and nephews grow up. ”
Tally lowered her face to kiss the side of his fingers holding the phone. “Then that’s what we’ll do. We can figure out jobs later. But I am telling you right now, I am not moving into Bulldog’s attic.”
She felt his lips twitch on the back of her neck. “I have money. I can build you a house wherever you want.”
“That’s good because I want Keys to go through my finances. Anything that came from my dad, I don’t want it.”
“That’s your choice. Whatever is mine is now yours.”
Tally grinned. “For some reason, I can’t see you collecting model cars or anything of value.”
“No, but you should see my weapons cache .”
Her pulse leapt with excitement, but she still couldn’t help teasing him. “Sadly, I’ll never see it.”
He nipped at her shoulder, making Tally squeal and laugh. “What’s your other question?”
“Well, to be honest, I’m a little afraid to ask it.” Scar’s body tensed behind her, pressing up closer to her back, and he rubbed his nose behind her ear as if to comfort her. But the phone did not voice a prompt. She continued anyway. “I’m a bit worried about what your plan is for breakfast. You’re not planning on hunting in the woods, are you?”
* * *
After Tally and Scar got dressed, they headed into the kitchen area. While Tally boiled water for their breakfast MRE, Scar pulled his laptop out of his bag. He used Tally’s phone to send a text message.
They were in the middle of splitting an egg and sausage meal when his laptop chimed. Scar leaned over Tally to answer the video call.
“Holy fuck! I actually thought you were joking!” came over the line.
Scar glared at Ghost when he punched Keys’ shoulder on the screen. The laptop showed Keys in his chair with Ghost and Ranger flanking him.
“Ow, stop!”
Tally leaned forward, facing the laptop, but her chin was tipped just slightly off kilter of the camera. “Hi, Keys.”
“Hi, Tally!” Keys smiled widely, which made Scar glare even more. “I don’t know if you met these two boneheads behind me, but the redhead is Ghost, he’s our Enforcer, and the white haired one is Ranger.”
As Scar started typing into Tally’s phone, she covered her mouth, trying to muffle her giggles. “Hi, Ghost. Hi, Ranger.”
“She’s blind, you moron. She has no idea what red and white are!”
Keys’ eyes widened and his face flared a bright pink. “Oh, shit. I keep forgetting. Tally, I am so, so sorry.”
Ghost took the back of Keys’ chair and gave it a great push. Keys rolled away from the computer screen. Leaning closer, Ghost said, “I’m Ghost, Tally. We didn’t really get a chance to talk last week.”
“I recognize your voice. You went with Keys to Primis.”
“I did.” Ghost had a look of awe on his face, like he hadn’t expected her to know that.
Ghost was pushed aside by his best friend. “I’m Ranger. I was at the bar when you were here last week so we never met, but I like long walks on the beach, romantic dinners for two, and back rubs.”
A growl rumbled from low in Scar’s chest. He knew Ranger’s flirting was innocent, but he was still going to pay for it when Scar saw him next.
“Holy fuck, dude!” Keys’ voice came from off-screen. “Do you have a death wish or something? Scar’s going to flay you alive.”
Ranger just chuckled.
Ghost moved back to center-screen. “It’s about time you asked us for help, Scar. She’s a good influence on you.”
Tally’s posture changed, and in the reflection of the screen, Scar saw her smile. He pulled her onto his lap, burying his face into the crook of her throat. Tally’s hand came up to tangle in his hair. “We’re a good influence on each other. Keys, what did you find out about my mom?”
There was some grunting and obvious pushing over the laptop’s speakers before Keys said, “Financially, your mom’s in a bit of a pickle. Did you know that she invested the startup money for Primis?”
Tally shifted uncomfortably. “She comes from money and my dad doesn’t, so it makes sense, but no, I hadn’t known that specifically.”
“Yeah. It’s definitely going to take some time for me to sort through it all, but there’s talk about financial espionage charges being brought up against her.”
Tally’s grip on his hair tightened. Scar nuzzled her neck, bringing his hands from her thighs to around her waist. “What does that mean? She had no involvement in Primis.”
“In reality, no, but her thumbprint is all over their financials.”
Tally swallowed hard. “What about my dad? Is he with her?”
There were sounds of typing over the speaker. “Based on the text messages and recordings of phone calls, your mom either has no idea where your dad is or is the world’s best actress. The Feds tapped her phone to see if they could learn anything about your dad, but she’s leading them down an even bigger rabbit hole of confusion.”
“You’re saying my dad ,” her voice broke, “abandoned my mom?”
Keys hesitated before answering. “There’s a good possibility. I mean, maybe they have something planned and all of this is an act, but…”
“But chances of that are slim,” Tally finished for the kid when his voice trailed off.
The typing stopped. “I’m sorry, Tally.”
The motion covered by the table, Scar slipped his hand under her shirt, rubbing the bare skin of her belly.
Tally let out a long sigh. “I really shouldn’t be surprised. After everything I’ve learned over the past week about who my dad really is, I shouldn’t be.” She swallowed hard. “But damn it hurts.”
That statement alone sealed Henry Meacham’s fate. He’d hurt Tally. Scar didn’t care that it was an emotional hurt, that the man hadn’t lifted a finger against his daughter. Hurt was hurt. And no one hurt Tally—and God help them if they did.
The rest, everything he’d done to Scar and his actions as the secret head of Primis, were all secondary. Henry Meacham would die, slowly, painfully, and by Scar’s hands so he could never hurt Tally again.
“Um, I have a feeling that Scar’s thoughts are turning a bit violent,” Tally warned the others. Fuck, she really did read him so well.
“Your dad’s actions hurt you,” Ghost told her. “Did you honestly expect a different reaction from him?”
Tally’s grip on his hair loosened and she started running her fingers through it, scratching the top of his head with her nails. Scar practically purred. “No,” Tally told the camera. “I was saying that to hurry you guys along. I wanna take advantage of that pent up rage in the bedroom before I set him loose on the world.”
His cock was instantly hard beneath her ass. Scar nearly slammed the laptop down, effectively ending the conversation, and took her right there on the kitchen table.
Tally snapped her fingers into the stunned silence. “That was your clue to pick up the pace, guys. Where’s my dad now?”
Typing started up again. Keys’ voice had a bit of a squeak to it, like he wasn’t quite sure how to process what had just happened. “Um, from what I found, your dad has about three squads in the country at his disposal. Before we hit Primis two days ago, I created a contract that sent a number of his stateside squads overseas to clear them out of the building. The ones that were in the building after I locked it down are currently being detained. He really only has access to the men he had with you in Atlanta and maybe a few stragglers.”
“How many per squad?” Tally asked.
Scar didn’t bother to reach for the phone, knowing Keys would have the answer.
“Fifteen,” the kid replied.
“Three squads of fifteen, plus some stragglers and my dad,” Tally murmured. “We’re talking about fifty people. We’re going to need more help.”
“That’s why we’re here.”
Neither Keys, Ghost, nor Ranger said those words. They were feminine.
“Who’s that?” Tally asked. “Scar just stiffened.”
Footsteps sounded. Then, “We didn’t get a chance to meet in person while you were here, Tally. My name’s Ivy Benson.”
“You’re not one of the ol’ ladies.”
“You’re right, I’m not. Call me a friend of the club. Your boy toy and I teamed up last year and spent a lot of time together kicking ass. Not a big talker, that one.”
This time, it was Tally’s turn to stiffen. Scar’s head shot up and he glowered through the camera at Ivy.
The now-ginger woman was in all black and was skinning an apple, looking entirely too calm. “Relax.” She rolled her eyes at Scar. “Fairly certain that’s not a secret.”
“He’s not angry about you saying he’s not a big talker, but the implication that he talked to you when he hasn’t spoken to me.”
Shock crossed the faces on the screen. Ivy cleared her throat. “I apologize. It was meant as a joke.”
“She’s like a fucking Scar Interpreter,” Ranger whispered to Ghost, even though everyone could hear him.
“She also has impeccable hearing,” Tally said pointedly, “and is more than willing to kick your ass next time she’s back in Mount Grove.”
“I’ll behave,” Ranger rushed to say as Ghost and Ivy chuckled at his expense.
Tally rapped her knuckles against the wood of the kitchen table. “I need to go after my mom. She’s innocent, and if my dad’s not going to protect her, then I have to.” Scar turned his head and bit her earlobe. Tally jumped and then corrected, “I mean, we have to.” Then she smacked Scar’s thigh. “The ‘I’ implied ‘we’, dumbass. If you think I’m letting you run off on your own, you’re crazy.”
“I’ve got your dad’s location narrowed down. Unfortunately, it’s looking more and more like he’s in Tijuana, Mexico.”
Tally cursed. “We have a vacation home there.”
“If you do, it’s not on any records I’ve found,” Keys said in a rush, starting to type again. “I’m going to need that address, Tally, and anything else you know about the area and his connections.”
“You two heading to get her mom?” Ghost asked, his eyes shifting to Scar. “We can handle her dad. Thinking a snatch and grab, no muss-no fuss.”
If that was what Tally wanted to do, then that was what they would do. Scar nodded as the door to Keys’ apartment opened and closed. The others shifted, making room for Scissors to come on camera.
“Good morning. What’d I miss?”
“You’re late,” Ivy growled.
Scissors shrugged. “Sissy was looking particularly sexy this morning. I was forced to show my appreciation to my woman.” To the camera, Scissors said, “Good morning, Tally.”
“Hi, Scissors. I’ve been meaning to ask. How did you get your road name?”
* * *
The plan was set. Tally had given Keys all the information she could about the vacation home in Mexico. She had never been there personally, but she knew enough about it for Keys to start doing a deep dive on the area and estate. The home was not in her family’s name as Tally had always thought, but a shell corporation neither Keys nor the Feds had linked to Primis. Keys was now looking into that connection as well.
Tally learned that Keys was former Navy Intelligence, Ghost was a former SEAL, Ranger was a former Army Ranger, and Scissors was a former Army Night Stalker pilot. To her surprise, Ivy, who was not a member of the club, was a former SWAT officer from Atlanta. Ivy sadly lost her sister a few years ago from a drug overdose. Shortly after that, she left the police force as well as Georgia. While she knew of the district where Tally and Simone had lived, she’d left the state before Tally had bought her restaurant and became known as the Blind Chef of Atlanta.
Ivy and Scar had met up in Miami when Scar had been hunting sex traffickers and Ivy had been hunting drug dealers. It was difficult to get a vibe off of Ivy over a video call, but Tally wasn’t sure she liked her. She was gruff, blunt, and abrasive. Everything seemed to be a test with her. If Ivy continued to hang around the club, Tally knew she would eventually meet her in person and get a better feel for her, but until then, Tally would just be grateful for Ivy’s willingness to help.
Ghost and Ranger were best friends and co-managed the club’s bar, Demon on the Rocks. While they hadn’t met before the club was formed, they were inseparable now. The way they spoke, they seemed to have a knack for getting in places and snatching people.
It begged the question who else they’d snatched that they had had enough practice to have developed a ‘knack’.
Tally didn’t dare ask. It was one of those things she just did not want to know. Further, she got the party line of ‘club business’ when things got too detailed. She assumed that had to do with Scar not technically being a club member anymore. But she had to wonder if things would have been said anyway in front of him if Tally hadn’t been in the room.
Scissors and Ivy would be going with them as backup.
The house Tally grew up in was a three-story single family home in Alexandria, Virginia. With five bedrooms, five and a half baths, and double front porches, it made Keys react with the exclamation, “Holy fuck! This place is like Gone with the Wind met Real Estate Porn and had a baby. Wow, Tally. Your house is beautiful.”
“It’s not my house,” she reminded him. “I just grew up there.”
From what Keys could find, her mom was not currently under arrest. The Feds were still collecting evidence.
“Well, we have some options. We either help her legally…or we help her not so legally,” Keys said evasively. “Personally, it’s been a while since I broke into the FBI’s network. I could definitely use a challenge.”
He made it sound so simple. Computers were just one of those things that Tally had never gotten the hang of. She had used a laptop at her restaurant and she liked the convenience of her phone, but she would have been fine without them.
Tally reached for Scar’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “How serious are the charges?” Then, realizing what she just said, Tally rephrased, “I mean, I know the charges are serious. I meant, how realistic is it that they would charge her?”
“Well, frankly, with the media storm of the data dump, they’re still trying to sort through it all. But it’s not unrealistic, Tally. The fact that they already have a wiretap on your mom’s phone and are surveilling her is evidence of that.”
Tally squeezed Scar’s hand. “Can you get her out? I mean, without the Feds seeing you?”
She heard snickering from the computer speaker, but ignored it. Scar reached for her phone.
“I can do it. She just won’t like how I do it.” After a second, another message said, “ I think it would be better to walk her out the front door. She’s not under arrest yet.”
“Yes, but then they’ll follow us to Mount Grove.”
“We can lose a tail. Besides, if Ranger and Ghost are headed to Mexico, I could use a car chase to entertain me.”
Tally scowled. “That’s not funny.”
“I wasn’t joking .”
Tally shifted to face the computer again. “Keys, my mom is not the sort who would survive being on the run. She’s been abandoned by my dad and probably confused out of her mind. Can you change the financials? Make it look like she wasn’t involved?”
“I can do it,” came the reply. “It’ll take time, because the priority is making sure your dad doesn’t get away, but I’ll get it done.”
Tally bit her tongue, hesitant to ask the question she didn’t want the answer to, but also knew she needed to know. “Ghost, what happens to my dad after you grab him?”
She heard Ghost clear his throat. “That’s club business, Tally. Afraid I can’t tell you that one.”
* * *
The ride from Indiana to Virginia was a long one. Scar and Tally ended up staying another night in the cabin. Keys promised to wire funds to the owners for the damage and usage in a few weeks, meaning Scar could save the cash he had on him for other things if needed. They got to Alexandria in just over ten hours. Scar pushed the speed limit, but Tally knew not as much as he would have were he alone.
Tally checked into a hotel, using her name and credit card. She booked a two-bedroom suite for two nights. The next morning, she took a rideshare to her parents’ house. She didn’t even know why she got Scar to promise he would remain behind at the hotel when she knew damn well that he would follow her.
The driver brought her to the U-turn drive. She didn’t bother with the sunglasses and ‘blind act’ because the Feds would already know everything about her. It would be suspicious if she was a well-known blind chef who suddenly needed extra assistance.
“Mama?” Tally called, walking inside. She hadn’t heard the roar of a motorcycle anywhere around, but she knew he was there. How the fuck had Scar beaten her inside her mom’s house? She really needed to figure out how he did that.
“Tally Ally? Is that you?”
Tally resisted reminding her mom that she was the woman’s only daughter and therefore the only person who would call her ‘mama’. “Yes.”
Tally placed her cane by the front door and clicked her way into the house. Keys had assured her that the warrant to investigate Lenora Meacham was for her phone only. They did not have listening devices inside her home and could only surveil her if she left. No doubt, they knew Tally was inside and had identified her.
“Baby, I’ve been trying to reach you for days. Where have you been? Your father went down to Atlanta to help you with your restaurant and I haven’t heard from him either!”
Tally paused in the doorway of the living room. Her mom was one of the sweetest people Tally knew, kind to a fault, but she was eccentrically silly. A proper ‘Southern Belle’. She preferred to have her husband deal with things while she ran the household. Since Tally had moved out, her mom had taken up gardening, needlework, and had tried her hand at painting.
Tally’s father was actually Lenora’s second husband. Her first was a handsome but cruel man, per her mother’s description. Her mom had been prepared to stay with him, believing that a husband had certain rights, but thankfully Tally’s grandfather had caught on to what was going on and was able to help her mom secure a divorce. That was when Lenora had met Henry Meacham, who was still an active duty soldier at the time and older than Lenora by a decade. While Tally’s grandfather was not too keen about letting his little girl marry a ‘colored boy’, he also did nothing to stop the wedding after what Lenora had been subjected to during her first marriage.
Three years later, Tally was born.
Until this past week, Tally would have sworn with her hand on a Bible that her parents had the perfect marriage. Maybe a little old-fashioned, but they loved and supported each other wholly.
Tally was starting to wonder just how blind she really was.
She felt her mom approach her and reached out to hug her. “He was in Atlanta with me, but then I left.” She squeezed her mom tight, noting that the woman had lost weight since the last time Tally had been with her.
“Come, sit. I’ll make us some tea.”
“Actually,” Tally hedged. “I think it’s better if we hold off on that. Mama, you haven’t heard from Dad at all?”
“No, no,” she insisted, sniffling. “I’ve been so worried.”
“Have you heard what’s going on with Primis?”
“Yes. It’s just terrible about George. I’m sure your father’s busy trying to get everything sorted out.”
Tally made a face. Her mom had a way of believing that a husband had the solution to all problems. It was one of the many reasons she had fought to keep Tally in the house instead of moving to Atlanta to start a life of her own after college.
Tally took a deep breath before starting, “Mama, I need you to listen to me very carefully…”
* * *
It was sometime later before her mom’s bags were packed and Tally was calling another rideshare car to take them to the hotel. As both Scar and Keys reminded Tally, her mom was not under arrest or house arrest. The Feds could not stop her from leaving. After a lot of consideration as to where to take her mom, including to Mount Grove, Tally decided that her mom would be the most comfortable at her parents’ estate in North Carolina. One of the club’s prospects was coming in the morning to drive her down.
With the stress of her husband’s betrayal, Tally figured it wasn’t the best time to play Meet the Parents with Scar. It wasn’t like that had gone over very well with her father.
Didn’t stop Scar from joining Tally in her bed after her mom went into the second bedroom. Tally was extremely jealous of Scar’s ability to keep quiet and they ended up making love with her face buried in a pillow in order to keep from waking her mom up with her screams of pleasure.
* * *
Scar descended the old, rickety stairs of the cellar. When the club had purchased the distillery property, there had been no record of an underground portion of the building they’d claimed as their clubhouse. Roughly three years after the club had formed, they’d stumbled upon the former cellar. Since it was empty, the club could only speculate as to what it had been used for, but the assumption was that the distillery owner wanted to store certain assets off the books.
The single room, roughly eight by eight, had a naked lightbulb in the center to illuminate the entire space. Since there was no HVAC system below, it had a dank, mildew smell and was either extremely hot or extremely cold.
Two years ago, the club had outfitted the cellar to fit their more… merciless needs. Chains had been added, as well as a table to store various intimidatingly sharp objects. A single drain in the center of the floor acted as a bathroom for the doomed souls who found themselves in chains and a convenience for the prospects who had the unfortunate task of cleaning up.
The cellar had one permanent resident. Nathan Moore, the child rapist who had abducted Bree when she was twelve years old and then sold her to an amateur snuff filmmaker when she’d gotten too old for his specific tastes. He owed Angel a daily debt of pain and suffering for what he’d done to her adopted daughter. Until that debt was paid in full, with interest, the man would not meet whatever god he worshiped.
Unfortunately for Angel, Bear had given her the ultimatum to either let Nathan Moore heal from the endless months of torture he’d already endured or to let the man die. If she didn’t give him some recovery time, the pedophile was going to die anyway. So while Nathan Moore was not currently undergoing torture, he was still chained to the wall by his ankle with the knowledge that, as soon as Bear gave the approval, Angel would be back.
After getting Tally’s mom to her grandparents’ estate, Scar and Tally had returned to Mount Grove. They were currently staying in Scar’s apartment in the clubhouse that he’d never used before three nights ago. They were keeping a low profile, still trying to figure out the best way to tell the club kids that their Uncle Scar was back without confusing them.
Tally was working out what was next for herself, though she was loving the clubhouse’s commercial kitchen. They were going to have to go down to Atlanta to finalize the sale of her restaurant building as well as terminate the lease on her apartment. Not wanting to pay another month on a vacant apartment, Tally was thinking of going sooner than later.
The chains holding his arms above his head rattled as the cellar’s newest resident lifted his head. Ghost and Ranger might have gotten a few licks in on Alpha during their ‘retrieval’, but they were leaving the man’s fate up to Scar.
Alpha chuckled humorlessly. “For years, rumors have circulated about how signing on with me was like signing a deal with the devil.” The man spat at Scar’s feet. “Ironic, because I always felt the same way towards you after making our deal. I should have known you’d always be my downfall, Solo.”
Scar walked over to the table where a variety of tools were kept, including pliers, tweezers, knives, floggers, bolt cutters, and brass knuckles. Scar removed his tactical vest. Tally still had his cut—it was hers now, as far as he was concerned—and he had yet to discuss with Steel what it would take to gain another one for himself.
Scar turned his back on the table of tools. He didn’t need them. Alpha thought signing Scar on was like making a deal with the devil. Scar’s fists clenched. Maybe the man was right—and the devil was about to collect his due.
In blood.