Chapter 20
It was late.
We’d been back to the compound for a few hours.
I had taken Paige home and stripped her.
I checked her entire body to make sure she wasn’t hurt anywhere other than her face. I was relieved to find only minor bruises scattered here and there. She denied pain other than soreness in her face. I got her to confess that her brother was responsible for that.
She filled me and my brothers in on what happened from the moment those guys grabbed her until she came out of the RV to find us.
Also, she repeated everything that was said while she was with the four of them.
My fury remained at a steady boil, but it hadn’t bubbled over yet.
After feeding her and making her take a long, relaxing bath, I tucked her into bed and told her I had work to do.
I expected her to question me and protest what was to be done.
I wouldn’t lie to her.
Any thoughts of her brother surviving were gone. If he admitted what I was sure was his intention, then he was a dead man. The same for their dad since it seemed he’d been in on it. I wasn’t sure about her mom, though she did say she heard her at one point in the background.
Paige stunned me when she kissed me and said I should do what I thought was best.
And no matter what, she backed me.
Damn, how had I gotten so blessed to find a woman like her? There was one thing she did say.
She didn’t want to see Paxton again. She might not care what I did to him, but she preferred not to witness or take part in it.
That was fine with me, which was how I now found myself in the swamp box with the whole club.
The only ones not here were the prospects, who were keeping an eye on the compound.
Paige was at home, resting with Fenrir on guard duty.
Jauhnna and the kids were at their house. They should be asleep, or at least the kids should be sleeping.
The swamp box wasn’t a true one.
The kind used for cooling air when you have no air conditioning.
It worked by using water evaporation to cool the air.
This one was a decent-sized building. It was cool, but it wasn’t used for that purpose. It was used to hold, interrogate, and torture prisoners. Something we wished we never had to do, but it was a reality in our world, even if we were legit.
Paxton and his men were all still gagged.
They wore the manacles you see prisoners wear around their ankles and then ran up between their feet to their wrists.
We had them sitting on a long wooden bench bolted to the floor.
They were secured in the sitting position by another chain.
They were warily eyeing us as we stood in front of them.
We wore frowns, scowls, and thunderous expressions.
No one could mistake us for friendly or understanding.
One of the ones who wore the fiercest look was Tiago. He asked to be present, and we had no problem allowing him. If anyone deserved to see this, it was him. Paxton’s selfishness had completely changed T’s life.
Diablo got the ball rolling.
“We’re going to remove your muzzles.
You’ll be asked questions.
The more honest and forthcoming you are with your answers, the better it’ll be for you.
We’ll start with the three of you. We want to know who you are and what your skin is in this game.”
Lucky, Cowboy, and Punk slipped down the gags when he finished.
“Who wants to go first?” Diablo asked.
None of them said a word.
I guess we’d have to do this the hard way.
Butcher came forward.
In his hands, he held a pair of needle-nosed pliers. He held them up.
“We’ll get our answers, one way or another.
My name is Butcher.
I’m the club’s enforcer.
I bet by my title and road name, you can guess what I do. I’m good at it and thorough. Nothing means more to me than the safety of my club. You violated that by taking my brother, Scorpion’s, old lady. That is a major fuck up. Don’t make it worse on yourselves. Someone start talking.”
The men exchanged glances, but no one spoke.
Shrugging his shoulders, Butcher came up behind one of them and wrapped an arm around his head.
When the man made protesting noises, Butcher used his hand to apply pressure to where the jaws joined together.
Eventually, the pain was too much, and the man opened his mouth to cry out. As soon as he did, Butcher had his pliers in there and yanked out a tooth. The guy howled in pain. It was no wonder. It was a molar.
“Do I need to go fishing for another one?” our enforcer asked.
His tone never changed.
He remained calm and spoke softly.
“No,” the man garbled.
Butcher let go of his head.
Man One spat blood on the floor.
“My name is Ken.
These other two are Everett and Colin.
We don’t have skin in this game.
Our employer owed Mr. Worthy for keeping him out of prison. When he asked for help to nab a woman, he asked our boss, who sent us.”
Paxton was making urgent grunting sounds and shaking his head as he glared at Ken.
I didn’t know why.
We’d find it out eventually.
“Who is your boss, and what does he do?” Diablo asked.
“Listen, I don’t mind helping you as far as telling you what I just did, and if it has something to do with that guy.
But if I squeal on my boss, I’m dead.
He’s not the sort of man you want as your enemy,” Ken warned.
“Neither are we.
Micro, tell us what you found,” Diablo called over to our brother, who was seated nearby on his laptop.
“He told the truth about their names.
I have their last names, addresses, and next of kin.
Ken is married with no kids.
Colin has a girlfriend and no kids. Everett is single and has three kids by three different moms. He doesn’t care for any of them or have any contact with the children. They work for Angelo Bernardi. He’s based in Houston, and although Italian, he’s not part of the Mafia. However, he does like to make people think he is. He’d give anything to be in the Familia. He’s got a smaller organization, but he’s for sure bad news. Worthy got him off on an attempted murder charge two years ago. It seems that key evidence went missing,” Micro rattled off.
We could see their astonishment.
I knew Micro had even more, but it was enough to show that we had resources, and I wasn’t kidding.
“Fuck this.
I’m not being tortured to protect this fucker.
If Mr.
Bernardi wanted that, he should’ve said so,” Colin said.
“I don’t even like this asshole,” Everett muttered.
“We were told to meet Worthy here in Florida.
We arrived yesterday.
He assured us it was an easy grab-and-go.
He told us where she’d be and showed us a picture of her face so we’d know her when we saw her. We were given a photo of her car and the license plate. We set up surveillance near her home. When she left, we followed and watched for our chance. She entered the parking garage, and we hung back. We gave her about ten minutes, then went inside and found her car. We hung out to wait for her. When she came out about an hour later, we snatched her. Damn, she fought. No one said she was a goddamn Amazon. She tried to fight us, but we eventually got her into the van. We drove her to the campground where you found us,” Ken added.
“Oh, that’s right.
She did fight.
I owe you,” I said to Colin a moment before I drove my fist into his stomach as hard as I could.
The wind rushed out of him. He pitched forward and puked on the floor.
“That’s for punching her in the stomach, cocksucker.
I saw you do it on the garage’s video, so don’t deny it,” I snapped.
“I’d like to know how many others you have kidnapped for Bernardi.
Or for Worthy?” Thunder asked.
“This is the first time we’ve worked for Worthy.
As for Mr.
Bernardi, I’ve done various things over the ten years I’ve been with him,” Ken answered.
“You mean you’ve beaten, tortured, and killed for him.
Hey, I’ve done the same for my club.
However, there’s a big difference between you guys and us,” I told him.
“What’s that?” Everett asked.
“We do it to those who deserve it—those who harm others for fun, profit, or personal gain.
We don’t lay a finger on the innocent.
Those who skate free of justice, like your boss, are prime examples of our prey.
Micro, what about the criminal histories of these three? Do they have any?” Butcher asked.
Micro snorted.
“Butcher, if you were hoping they had clean records, don’t hold your breath.
All three have been in and out of trouble since their teens, everything from extortion, robbery, assault, and murder, they’ve been accused of.
They all spent time in prison when they were younger.
However, they seem to have led charmed lives for the past few years. Nothing sticks,” was Micro’s terse answer.
The three guys knew, based on the looks we gave them, that there was no chance they were walking away after hearing that, which wasn’t a surprise.
Their past crimes guaranteed it.
I was slightly impressed that they didn’t beg for their lives.
Ken, who seemed to be their trio’s leader, spoke up.
“We know our fate.
And we have no right to ask for anything, but I will ask this.
One, don’t prolong it forever.
I’d like to get this meeting with the devil started. Two, Worthy is an asshole, and we had no idea the woman we were to take was his sister. Even we aren’t that cold. Or that we’d be tangling with an MC. I don’t know about Ev and Colin, but I’d like to see Worthy’s demise.”
Glancing at my brothers, they all shrugged.
It seemed they didn’t care one way or the other.
“We’ll let you watch.
As for not prolonging it, we won’t take days.
We’ve got shit to do.
However, before we start, we need to know when you’re due to check back in with Bernardi. We have to be prepared for him and more of his guys coming to find you.”
“The boss might send a few men to snoop and see if they can find our trail if we’re not back or make contact within a few days.
He sent us off, and our orders were to do what Worthy said and let him know when we were done.
I can’t promise they won’t come here.
But as far as him going to the trouble of fucking with you, probably not,” Colin stated.
We wouldn’t rely on their word.
We’d have to put things in place to possibly take out Bernardi’s bunch.
The world would be better for it.
We’d have to see how it played out.
“I’m ready whenever the rest of you are,” I told the crowd.
“Let’s get this done.
I have a wife and kids waiting for me at home, and you have your old lady.
They shouldn’t be left alone due to this shit,” Diablo grunted.
Leaving Bernardi’s men as they were, I moved down the bench to stand before Paxton.
He was trying to act tough.
He was glaring at us, but I saw the fear there.
We’d see how much of a coward he was before I was done. It had been agreed upon before we entered the box that I would be the one to mete out his punishment. Only if I delegated or asked for help would the others step in.
Casually, I reached over and tore the gag off Pax.
He barely let it clear his mouth before he began uttering threats.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll let me go.
You can’t kill a lawyer.
Do you know who I am? Who my father-in-law is? He’s a very wealthy, influential man with connections not only in Texas but throughout the country.
I’m a mayoral candidate, a public political figure. If I disappear, people will come looking for me and won’t stop until they know what happened to me. My parents know I’m here. They’ll point the cops right in your direction. Your entire club will be arrested.”
“And?” I asked.
“And? That means you’ll live the rest of your life in prison if they don’t give you the chair.
My dear sister will probably go to prison, too.
At the very least, she’ll be left alone to fend for herself.
I give you my word of honor that you’ll be left alone if you let me go. You and this club leave us to do our thing, and we’ll let you and my sister do the same.”
“First of all, Paxton, you have no honor.
So I wouldn’t believe you if you said the ocean was wet and blue.
And your parents are the same.
The only one of you worth anything is Paige. How a beautiful desert blossom grew from a patch of camel shit like the rest of you, I don’t know. She has been used and mistreated her whole life by you and your stinking parents. However, even if I was inclined to accept your offer, there’s another reason why it would never happen.”
“And why is that?” he snapped.
“Him.
I want you to look him in the face and tell him how his life and dreams don’t matter, only yours.
Tell him how you’re a selfish prick who only cares about himself.
And when you got drunk and drove, you didn’t care who you hurt. He was one week away from his dream of being a Horseman. You took it away from him and almost took his life,” I snarled as I pointed to Tiago, who zipped forward in his wheelchair.
If looks could make someone’s head explode, Paxton Worthy would’ve died right then and there.
My rage was building.
Tiago appeared angry but not as upset as I was.
“Scorpion is right.
I’d never let you walk.
But it’s not only because of me.
Sure, for a few years, I hated my life. There were times I wished you’d killed me. The pain after I woke up and the surgeries I went through. The days when I can’t just stand and walk across the room to get whatever I want. I hate that I can no longer ride a motorcycle or surf anymore. I miss the ability to have sex in every position under the sun.
“But even more than all that is what you did to Paige.
She’s one of the kindest, most generous, and loving people I’ve met.
Despite being forced to lie and take the blame for you, she went on to help others.
We know what your family used as a threat to make her lie. How could you threaten your sister or anyone with rape and molestation? And don’t lie and say you don’t know what I mean. The creeper great-uncle wasn’t a secret in the family,” Tiago snarled.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.
I hate to tell you this, but Paige has been feeding you a line of bull.
And if she said I was the one driving that night, she’s lying through her teeth.
You may not like the methods we used to get her to come back to Texas, but that’s how you have to handle her. My sister is mentally unstable. Most people don’t see it. She’s very clever at disguising it. She keeps disappearing on us. We have to track her down and bring her back where we can take care of her. I wasn’t serious about hurting her on the phone. It was the only way to get her to listen. It was a shock factor,” Paxton said with a straight face.
I didn’t know if it was because he believed it himself or if he was just that good of a liar.
The fact that he was about to become a politician had me leaning toward the latter.
I was holding back from just killing him instantly, but he made it hard not to do so.
There were plenty of growls and mutters after his little speech.
“You must think we’re fucking morons to believe you.
Paige is the only sane one in the whole bunch.
And your future wife and in-laws are as rotten as you, or they have no clue what you and your family are like,” Tiago spat out.
I knew his fury was growing.
Tiago’s hands were clenched, and his eyes were filled with fire.
He had a temper, but it typically took a lot to trigger.
Paxton had lit the match to a bonfire. As I studied Paxton, I recalled something that Paige said her dad mentioned on the phone.
“Hey Paxton, I have a question.
What did dear old dad mean on the phone when he said you guys were on a timeline and that he didn’t want Paige to blow something for the two of you? What does that mean?” I asked with a smirk.
I swear, it made him sweat.
His gaze was jumping around.
He didn’t want to answer, but I had news for him.
He would eventually. I was okay with inflicting as much pain as I could to get the answers we needed.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Paxton lied.
“Like hell, you don’t.
It doesn’t matter to me how I get the information, but if you wanna lie, that makes it better.
We’re gonna make you scream and wish you were never born.
Ain’t that right, T?”
Tiago’s smile was wicked as he nodded.
“Yes, we are, Scorpion.
And you know what one of the best parts is?” he asked me.
“No, what?”
“When we’re done with him and his dad and anyone else who helped him, we’ll be cleansing more scum from the world.
You and the Horsemen seem to be doing it a lot lately.”
“Yes, we do.
We’ll hang here, and if you need us or need anything fetched, let us know.
Otherwise, we’ll watch the show,” Diablo said.
My club brothers snickered.
Paxton tried to pretend he was tough, but I knew he was close to pissing himself.
If he did that, shit himself, or puked, we’d hose his ass down.
He finally settled on staring at Tiago.
“I’ve been in this chair for thirteen years.
I admit, at first, I thought my whole life was over.
I wondered what I did, which was so terrible that I deserved it.
The pain and the surgeries were awful. Being told that there was nothing they could do and that I was destined to be a paraplegic for the remainder of my life hurt so much more. God, there were days I wanted to wallow in self-pity and end my life. And I hated Paige for how I ended up like this. My dream of joining my best friend as a Horseman went up in smoke.
“But as the years passed and I grew to accept my new life, I decided to make myself as strong as possible.
I studied more than computers, though they helped.
My legs might not work, but my upper body does.
Now, I don’t usually go around showing off, but I think you should see what’s in store for you. I swore I’d never be a victim again,” Tiago said moments before he reached down and tugged up his T-shirt. He yanked it off to reveal his bulging muscles. His arms were as big as mine, and his chest was massive.
Over the years, T and I would get drunk together.
When that happened, we’d talk about what we’d like to do to our enemies.
I knew he was remembering one of the recurring ideas.
Tiago’s biggest one motivated his intense upper-body workouts.
“Scorpion, are you ready to get this started? I have no doubt you’re anxious to get back to Paige,” Tiago said.
“You tell me what you want, and we’ll do it.”
“I’d like him stripped to his underwear and positioned so that he’s kneeling on his knees.
His hands need to be secured above his head.
His legs need to be tied, so he’s unable to move them.
I want him to be in my world,” was his response.
T and I stood back and let our brothers set up the scene.
They were eager to do something to help.
Paxton tried to plead and say that he wasn’t the one to hurt Tiago.
After he came to the realization that we weren’t buying his story, he switched his tune. He swore and tried to resist, but that didn’t do him any good. That’s when he tried to plead his case.
“Please, I’m so sorry that you were hurt.
It was an accident.
I was scared.
I was afraid I’d lose my scholarship. If I did, I wouldn’t have been able to attend college,” Paxton blubbered.
“But it was okay that your sister, when she attended, had to work to cover whatever her scholarship didn’t? And your parents covered your entire law degree for you and not a dime of hers.” I snapped.
“Is that what Paige told you? That’s not true.
Our parents paid a chunk for both of us,” Pax lied.
“Really? Hmm, I wonder why your parents’ financial reports from the colleges and bank statements tell a completely different story? You got a lot of money from them, and Paige received zero,” Micro said.
Hearing that, Pax shifted gears.
He asked for his sister.
Paxton kept insisting that she be called.
We let him ramble until he was positioned just the way Tiago wanted him. Everett, Colin, and Ken didn’t say a word. They just watched avidly. The floor of the swamp box was made of very rough cement, the kind that practically can tear up your hide just by looking at it. It wouldn’t take long for those knees to bleed. To help add to his discomfort, the coolness inside had him shivering in the cooler air.
Tiago reached into a bag he kept attached to his wheelchair.
It allowed him to easily carry frequently needed items, except this time, it didn’t have the usual things I knew he carried.
First, he took out and put on leather gloves that molded his hands.
He flexed his fingers to make sure they fit well.
Next, he withdrew two pairs of brass knuckles.
There was nothing too surprising about them until you looked at them closely.
Then you saw they had words on them.
One read Pay and the other Back. The letters were constructed of uneven, sometimes sharp metal. The sharpness would cause more pain. I wondered where he got them.
At first, T didn’t say anything.
He circled Paxton a few times, examining him without a word.
When he paused, he got into his bag and brought out a device I didn’t recognize, and then a heavy-duty snipper.
They reminded me of the ones used to cut tin, but were much stronger.
Putting them aside on a nearby counter, Tiago returned.
He smirked at Paxton.
“Let’s start out working up a sweat.
It’s how I love to warm up.
Scorpion, you can cut in whenever you feel the need.”
“Thanks, bro, I will.”
It was brutal to watch him pound on Paxton, but so satisfying.
It wasn’t twenty minutes before Pax was a bloody mess.
His face and upper body had the appearance of mangled meat.
Paxton was whimpering and blubbering for T to stop. That’s when Tiago broke his silence.
“Hurts, doesn’t it? It feels like the flesh is being torn from your bones.
I admit it hurt me at this stage, too.
However, what truly was excruciating was the fiery pain that would run through my body without warning.
And the pain after the accident when I woke up. It was as if all my nerve endings were scraped raw and lit on fire. I tried to find something to approximate that sensation. I’ve been told this will. You’ll be my test subject. I’d like your feedback.”
Smiling, my brother removed the brass knuckles and picked up the unknown object.
He turned a button on a small box and touched the tiny wand-like tip to Pax’s nipple.
He cried out.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Something that can be used by those who like a bit of pain with their pleasure.
This one, however, was modified by our friend, Payne, in Hunters Creek.
He took a violet wand used in kink and made it more to his liking.
He assured me that if I wasn’t satisfied that the wand alone was enough, to make the person hold this,” Tiago stated.
He put down the wand and got one more item out of his bag.
It was a metal plate.
T held it up.
“Put this contact plate in his hand and make sure to secure it so he can’t let go of it.
Using this typically would allow it to be more intense and be felt deeper in the body.
In this case, it’ll be fiery hell.”
As I took it and pressed it in Paxton’s palm while he struggled feebly and pleaded, Thunder tossed me a roll of duct tape.
I wrapped three or four loops around Paxton’s hand, securing the plate.
Standing back, I checked out the controller.
I was intrigued to see how this worked.
“If you’re touching him, you’ll feel it, too.
However, the trick is that the smaller the surface area of the wand you touch, the bigger the jolt of pain.
So that’s why you’ll only see me using the tip of the wand, not the entire length of it,” T explained.
“Ready when you are,” I informed him as I made sure not to touch Paxton.
Tiago turned on the wand and then touched the very tip to Pax’s arm.
He shouted in pain.
I was freaking excited. Our brothers were murmuring excitedly, too.
“Leave it to Payne to take something he plays with sexually and turn it into this,” Crash muttered.
“Do you think Jayla lets him use it on her? Or was this from his past escapades?” Turbo asked.
“You can ask him if you want,” Butcher suggested.
“Hell, no.
He might think I’m having sexual thoughts about his old lady and kill me.
Nope,” Turbo said emphatically.
This made all of us chuckle, which was kinda odd in the middle of a torture session, but we didn’t care.
I lost track of time as Tiago kept zapping Paxton and increasing the device’s amperage.
The decibels of the screams he was getting out of Pax were impressive.
Finally, I had to try it.
“T, I gotta try it myself.” I held out my hand.
He shrugged and handed it to me.
“Go for it.
After what he did to poor Paige, you owe him.”
By the time we stopped, our prisoner was lucky his arms were chained above his head.
It was the only thing holding him up.
Moving back, Cowboy tossed freezing cold water over him to arouse Paxton.
He groaned pathetically, but we felt no sympathy for him.
“I have a suggestion.
We should remove anything useless.
He doesn’t need his fingers and toes.
He’d only use his feet to drive drunk again and his hands to steer the car,” Punk said out of nowhere.
“Before you do that, you may be interested in knowing that Worthy Senior left Texas on a flight bound for Florida.
He’s expected to land sometime around midnight.
I’m not sure if that changes your plans, but I thought I should let you know.
And the shit I’m digging up on father and son, in particular, is unbelievable and disgusting. They’re lowlifes masquerading as upstanding citizens. This one as a mayor would’ve been fucking awful,” Micro explained. He was still on his laptop.
“Give us a few examples,” Diablo asked.
“Extortion, threats of bodily harm, actual harm, embezzlement, assault, and from what I’m guessing, rape.
I’m not sure if they’ve ever killed anyone, but if not, Paige would’ve been their first.
They’re beyond bottom-feeder scum level,” Micro told him.
“What about the mom and these in-laws?” I asked.
“The mom knows some stuff, but I don’t know if she’s aware of it all.
However, what she is aware of, she hasn’t objected to or turned them in.
As for the woman he’s about to marry and her family.
Her parents are high society and extremely well off. They have money, clout, and connections. No wonder he wants to marry their daughter. Katharine might be a snotty bitch, but I don’t see that she or her mom are dirty. As for her father, I need to look into him further to be sure, but right now, it doesn’t appear that he’s like the Worthy family,” Micro finished off.
“If you kill us, Mr.
Rosen won’t rest until he figures out what happened.
You need to let me go,” Paxton whispered hoarsely.
“Once Rosen is made aware of what kind of man you are, assuming I’m right about his character, he’ll be so thankful his daughter didn’t marry you that he won’t care what happened to any of you.
Hell, he might have you killed himself,” Micro smirked.
“We’re ultimately doing a public service,” I sneered.
“Let’s leave him here to recover, and we’ll reconvene once Worthy Senior is here.
Do you know where he’ll be headed once he lands, Micro?” Diablo asked.
“Since he’s lost contact with his son, he’ll head for the hotel, and then the campground is my guess,” Micro said confidently.
“If we send a couple of guys to acquire him, they could bring him here.
I think he and his son should have a chance to say any last words to each other, don’t you?” Butcher asked the club.
We all nodded, even Tiago.
Due to the festivities’ intermission, we took pity on the other three men and offered to end their suffering early.
We allowed them to whisper to each other a few minutes before Ken answered.
“If you don’t mind, we’d prefer to see what else happens to this one.
I never met his old man, but if he’s like this one, I won’t shed tears.
I know I’m not a good person, but I would never target family.” The other two were nodding in agreement.
He was right.
None of them were good people, but we did take pity on them and gave them water, and allowed them to take a piss outside.
When we brought them back, they were positioned in a slightly more comfortable way.
They thanked us.
Since the intermission would be a few hours, Lucky and Punk said they’d stay to keep an eye on them.
We weren’t worried they’d escape.
It was more if it looked like Paxton was about to expire, then they’d be able to sound the alarm.
I decided to spend that time with Paige and then return when her dad was here. Butcher and Thunder were going to pick him up for us.