Chapter 11
Mina
Five Minutes Prior
“Mina…I need you to wake up, babe.”
I try to open my eyes, but the side of my face is literally pulsing in pain.
“What the fuck?”
“Oh, thank God. I was worried he hit you too hard.”
“Tony?”
“Yeah, babe. It’s me. How’s your head?”
I try to lift my arm, but I’m restrained. The room is dark, with only the dim red rope LEDs along the ceiling to give me any light. Tony is standing next to me with an ice pack in his hands. Mac is sitting at a table nearby. My vision feels off, and my head is spinning.
“Why did you hit me?” I ask as Tony presses the icepack to the side of my face. “Fuck! That hurts!”
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s really swollen. I wasn’t the one who hit you.” He glares back at Mac, who only scoffs and rolls his eyes.
Mac is an older bouncer who’s been with the club since Jocko started it.
When Declan took over, he was the first to pledge his loyalty to him.
He was also the first to join Declan in the illegal activities.
He’s a piece of shit that honestly has always given me the creeps.
He’s in his late sixties with a bald head.
He has dark eyes, almost black. And he’s covered in tattoos and scars.
“Fucking traitorous whore,” he seethes as he looks at me.
“Dude. She might not even know. Give her the benefit of the doubt,” Tony replies as he shakes his head.
“Did you fucking hit me!?” I snap at Mac. He grins as he nods.
“I’d do it again if Declan asked me to. We told Declan where to find you.
We saw your truck outside of Ray's and saw you through the window. You couldn’t just be a good little whore and help restrain him when he was here, could you?
No. You had to go out with him. Did you love his cock that much that you wanted more? ” He spits at my feet.
Tony looks at me with pity in his eyes. I don’t know what the fuck is going on.
“What did he do?” I ask Tony, but Mac stands and stomps over to me. He grips my hair, ripping my head backwards to look up at him.
“Your new boyfriend is the one who killed Jocko!”
“He didn’t…Why does Declan think that?” I ask. My mind is spinning. Mac releases my hair and shoves my face forward. It’s Tony that speaks this time.
“When Jocko left, it was to find Langston. We don’t know why…Declan never told us. But the morning when Jocko’s body showed up, there was a note with him. It said something along the lines of Jocko’s death was to be considered a warning.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“He did! Declan received another threat two weeks ago, and now Myles is here. That’s why we wanted your help to restrain him. So he and Declan could have a little…chat,” Mac says.
“Where is he now?”
Mac points to a door along the back wall.
“Is he alive?”
“For now,” Mac says as a maniacal grin spreads across his lips.
“What the fuck did you hit me with?” I open my mouth and stretch my facial muscles. I instantly regret the decision as a nauseating pain hits my body.
“Just my gun. You went down fast, too.” Mac pulls out the gun. He walks slowly around me as he trails the metal across my body. The fear is bubbling in my stomach. It seeps up into my throat, making it hard to breathe.
*Knock* *Knock*
“Showtime!” Mac says as he slips the gun into his waistband.
He pulls out a knife and presses the tip into the fabric of my hoodie.
I can feel the sharp blade slicing into my skin as the sound of tearing fabric mixes with my scream.
He drags the knife along my shoulder blade, and I can feel the warm blood beginning to soak my hoodie. My scream dies as my voice cracks.
“Dude, you didn’t have to go so deep!” Tony shouts as he rips the slice in my hoodie open to look at the wound. Tears blur my vision from the searing pain.
“You…You fucking…bastard!” I say through the tears.
“It’s not too deep. Just try to stay still,” Tony begs as he tries to hold the hoodie fabric against the wound to stop the bleeding.
“Stop, please!” I scream.
“I’m sorry, babe. I’m so fucking sorry. Mac, get the fuck away!”
“She deserves this! She’s a fucking traitor! Plus, you heard Declan. He wants Myles to hear her screams.” Mac walks around me again to my back, shoving Tony aside. His fingers run through my hair before winding into the waves and gripping at the scalp.
“Stop!”
“Shut the fuck up, Mina!” He rips my head up again. “You’re no longer his favorite. Do you know what that means?” A smile twists on his face, making my stomach flip.
“It doesn’t mean shit, Mac!” Tony snaps as he moves in front of me. He looks like he’s going to attack Mac, but with his hand in my hair, I hope he doesn’t do anything until he releases me.
“You know as well as I do that she’s free game now.” Mac licks his lips as he runs the knife along the neckline of my hoodie.
“Back off, Mac. You’re not touching her!”
Mac's eyes narrow at Tony. He raises his knife, pointing it at him.
“You can either leave, join, or watch. I don’t fucking care.
After this is all over, I finally get what I’ve wanted for the last five fucking years.
” He glares back down at me. He leans, pressing his face against my neck and inhaling deeply.
“I’m going to fucking destroy that magic pussy of yours now that Declan’s not under your spell anymore.
I’m going to make you wish you were dead,” he whispers against my neck.
My body trembles at the threat. I look at Tony for help, but he’s walking away from me toward the table. He sits facing away from us. Mac laughs when Tony rests his elbows on the table and puts his face in his hands.
“Aww. What’s wrong, Tony? You don’t want a taste?”
He turns back toward us. He glares at Mac like he’s close to slitting his throat. His eyes shift to mine before he gives me a forced smile, trying to calm me.
“No need. I’ve had her plenty of times.”
“You what!?” Mac snaps as he releases my hair and stomps over to Tony. Tony stands to size up Mac. Mac may be older, but Tony has more muscle and is taller.
“You heard me. I don’t need a taste, because I’ve already memorized it.” He glances at me with a smirk. “I know how she tastes…How she feels…Fuck, I know every God damn sound she makes as she comes.”
Mac grabs Tony by his shirt, pulling him closer.
“Declan’s going to fucking kill you!”
“I don’t fucking care. I’m done. This place has gone to hell since Jocko died.” Tony rips free from Mac's grip and starts to walk toward me.
“You’re not fucking leaving!”
*Click*
The sound of the gun's safety being clicked off snaps my gaze back to Mac. He’s standing there with a different gun now pointed at Tony. It has a silencer screwed onto the barrel.
“Mac, just let me go. Let us go.”
“No. You know too much. Declan won't let you leave breathing. And her?” Mac laughs. “She ain’t leaving before I get my fucking reward!”
He waves the gun to the right, telling Tony to move aside.
“You're not going to touch her! I won’t let you.” Tony shouts as he shifts his body to protect me.
I can hear muffled shouts from the other side of the door. Mac takes another step closer to Tony, pointing the gun right into his chest.
“Then I guess I'll deal with you first.”
Tony moves fast and grabs Mac’s wrist. They struggle.
The metal of the gun flashes in the dim red light of the room.
The guys push and shove, pulling at the gun as they each try to wrestle away from the other.
The gun goes off. The flash of the light and the low, silenced shot is covered by my scream as Mac and Tony stop moving.
I watch in horror as their bodies slowly fall. My chest slowly unclenches as I watch Tony lower Mac's gasping body to the floor. I can see blood staining his chest from the bullet wound. His breaths are sounding gurgled as he struggles to breathe.
“I’m sorry, Mac. It didn’t have to be like this,” Tony says as he leaves Mac lying on the ground and goes to stand. Mac sputters like he’s trying to say something. He grabs Tony’s shirt, pulling him back down to him.
Tony leans down closer to Mac to hear his final words. They were friends. I can see the pain etched in Tony’s face as he tilts his head to listen to the hushed dying words.
A sickening sound is heard, followed by Tony’s widening eyes and his mouth dropping in a choked gasp. He pulls away as Mac takes his final breath. A smile now permanently frozen on his lips.
“Tony?”
Tony takes a step toward me with his hand at his neck.
As he takes a few steps closer, the dim light finally illuminates him enough, and that’s when I see it.
The knife’s embedded in his jugular vein.
Blood seeps through his fingers as he tries to hold the knife in place, but it’s no use.
The knife’s too deep. I can’t get out of my restraints. I can’t help him.
“Tony, no!” I sob as he drops to his knees in front of me.
He rests his head against my lap. He looks up at me with tears in his eyes. His voice chokes as he tries to speak.
“I’m so sorry, Mina.”
My heart breaks, and my tears fall, landing on his face.
“I’m so sorry, Tony. I’m so fucking sorry.”
His eyes slowly close as he slumps onto my lap. His lips move, but no sound comes out. I can read his lips, though.
“I love you” are his final silent words as he rips the knife from his neck. Blood spurts, leaking onto my lap as his body falls to the floor. My lungs are gasping for air. I can’t breathe as I watch him take his final breath.
Light floods into the room as the door flies open, and Declan comes rushing inside. He glances between the dead bodies of both his men before his rage turns on me.
“What the fuck happened?” he asks as he runs up to me.
He wraps his hands around my neck and begins choking me.
I can feel his thumbs pressing into my throat.
The pressure is cutting off my air supply.
He shakes me back and forth as he strangles me.
My legs flail as I try to kick at him, but it’s no use.
Darkness is beginning to fill my vision.
My lungs burn as they desperately fight to take in even a single gasp of air.
“You stupid fucking bitch! What did you do? Why are my guys dead?” his voice hisses as he whips my head back and forth.
I’m fading fast. I can’t think straight. Everything feels fuzzy as the darkness finally takes over, plunging me into silence.