37. Tricks Up His Sleeve
CHAPTER 37
TRICKS UP HIS SLEEVE
Nisa
This place is nothing like the Chrome Creed clubhouse.
It feels like a low budget BDSM dungeon or something like that.
The prospect shoves me through the double doors of the clubhouse without so much as a second glance. He didn’t bother to give me his name, and I didn’t bother to ask.
The scent of stale beer, sweat, and something more metallic, something wrong, hits me first. The bright red floors shine under the dim, flickering overhead lights, but it’s the walls that make my stomach tighten. A darker red, stained and uneven, like blood that was scrubbed away but never quite disappeared.
Chains and handcuffs dangle from rusted hooks along the walls, their metal glinting in the low light. Some are clean. Some aren’t.
And then there are the photos.
Faded, curling at the edges, nailed haphazardly between the restraints. The faces of fallen bikers stare back at me, some young, some old, all of them claimed by the Hands of Hell. Their legacy is soaked into this place, into these walls, into the air I breathe.
I glance at the women moving through the room, the sweetbutts. None of them meet my gaze. They keep their heads down, eyes fixed on the floors, hands busy with whatever task they’ve been assigned. One scrubs a table, knuckles tight and white as she scours at a stain that probably won’t ever come out. Another gathers empty bottles, moving like a ghost between the men.
I wonder how many of them chose to be here.
I want to help them. I want to tell them they don’t have to live like this. But I know better. I can’t help them. Not now.
A whistle cuts through the thick air, sharp and mocking.
“Damn, fresh meat.”
“Hey, sweetheart, come sit on my lap.”
Laughter follows, dark and mean, but I don’t stop walking. I keep my head up, my shoulders back. I won’t let them see me flinch.
Then I see him.
A throne sits on a raised platform, slightly elevated above the rest of the room. It’s massive, more of a statement than a chair. Thick black leather, detailed with silver studs and skull carvings along the arms.
And draped across it like a king surveying his kingdom is Alex.
His leg hangs lazily over the arm of the chair, his fingers tapping against the worn leather. He watches me, a slow smirk stretching across his face like he’s already won. Like he owns me.
I stop at the base of the podium, my hands clenching at my sides.
I don’t kneel.
I don’t bow my head.
I just meet his gaze and wait.
Because if I’ve learned one thing in this life, it’s that the real monsters love a show.
"You wanted me here?" I speak and right away three large bikers come to surround me.
"You're going to show respect or you're going to be put down like the bitch you are." The one to the left snarls in my face.
I scoff and take a step back.
"Show respect? Your president asked for me to be here. Not the other way around." I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest to look at the man sitting up on the throne.
The smirk that was just on his face is gone and replacing it is a deep grimace.
"No, I asked Marc to show his face. He wanted to prove to me that he was down for my people and I told him what he had to do in order for me to believe that." Alex finally speaks to me. He slowly gets up from his throne like chair and takes a step in my direction.
At once the men that were surrounding me back off. Almost like an unsaid order.
"Well I don't know what Marc is planning to do, all I know is I'm expected to be here now, so here I am." I shrug.
Every last part of me wants to turn around and head for the doors. I want out of here but I have to show Marc that I'm back on his team. At least make him believe I am. I have to do this for my mother, Leo, hell all of Chrome Creed.
"You're a stupid cunt, aren't you." Alex tilts his head as if the words that just came out of his mouth weren't absolutely atrocious.
"What are you talking about?" I lift my chin trying to figure out what he's talking about. Marc is the one who set this up. He's the one who wants me here.
He's the one who wants me here.
The thought hits me like a ton of bricks.
"I didn't you'd actually show up. Talk about playing right into his hands." He shakes his head and my blood runs cold.
I'm all alone in an enemy clubhouse because the one person who I just went against told me to. I don't know why I thought this was going to be a good idea.
"You one of Creed's sweetbutts?" Alex asks pulling me out of my thoughts.
The mere implication that I'm nothing more than a plaything for the guys causes me to screw up my face. "No, I'm not."
"Yeah, I didn't think so. I also know that you've been staying there. Chrome Creed only keeps women around for one of two reasons. Either they're a good piece of ass or they're family. Since you're not ready to lay on your back I'm assuming you're someone's ol' lady." Alex leans in closer and whispers the rest to me, "That just means I'm about to have Leo and all his boys breaking down my doors in a minute. I hope you survive. You might just turn out to be very useful to me."
I shake my head ready to deny it all. Ready to keep up the show. I'm supposed to be here on my own.
Before I can get a word out, doors that lead to the back of the clubhouse swing open and a group of people come walking out.
My heart drops to the ground and my mouth gapes open. I recognize some of them. They aren't part of HOH. No, they are part of Marc's crew. The same people that I tried to get in good with. The same ones that I allowed to manipulate me into almost destroying what I know consider my home.
They are here too.
I have to swallow down the lump in my throat when I see Marc come out of the back.
That same cocky grin on his face.
"You did it! I swear I didn't think you could manage it." Marc smirks and nearly skips in my direction.
I bet he feels so full of himself right now. He actually manage to get one over on Leo. From the very beginning it seems like he's been one step ahead. I really thought that this time we'd be ahead of him. So much for having a well laid plan.
I know there's no way out of this.
Even if Leo and the rest of them show up, the Hands of Hell along with Marc and his men will kill me before they ever have a chance to reach me. I don't have any weapons on me that I could use to save myself. I'm screwed.
All I can do is keep up the ruse.
"What are you talking about you didn't think I could manage it? Have I ever let you down before?" I squint at Marc who simply tsks and shakes his head.
"Oh no, of course not but then again that was before Leo got his hooks into you again. You think I'm stupid don't you? You think I don't know that your loyalties lie with them? That weak ass phone call you made to me was nothing but you're last ditch effort to play my game. It's my game Nisa. You were never going to win." He growls at me and closes the distance between us.
His hand flies out faster than I can process. My cheek stings from the force of the back of his hand against my face. I don't fall though. I can't somehow he's managed to grab hold of my hair and is now pulling me in the direction of Alex.
"So you see what I was talking about. This is the perfect opportunity for you to finally put Chrome Creed into the ground. She'll tell us everything we need to know about them and they'll do whatever they can to get her back safe and sound. Those bastards actually believe that she's family. It's a childish notion. You and I though, we're cut from the same cloth. We know it's the money that rules everything. "
Alex steps back and the rest of his club surrounds him at his back.
He's not here to help me. I know that for sure.
"Seems like you've thought of everything." Alex speaks but his voice is more deadpan than anything. It's almost as if he's not interested in what Marc is telling him.
I can't get a read on him. I don't have the mental capacity to try and decipher the incredibly strange leader of this club. All my focus is on Marc and what I can do to get away from him.
It was so dumb getting mixed up with him in the first place but at the time my broken heart was making my life choices.
"Of course I have. You know who I am Alex. Now, I'm thinking all we have to do is...wait." Marc glances down at me, the crazed excitement in his eyes is scaring me more than the hold he has on my hair. What does he have planned? How can I reach out to Leo and the rest of the guys to let them know that my plan has backfired. I need to get out of this. I promised it would all be okay.
Marc lifts me so I'm close to his face now.
"You know it really is a shame that you chose to go back to your roots. You were meant to be a queen leading all of this right beside me but now you're nothing more than a used up hole. One I'm sure the rest of the guys in here aren't going to have much problem having fun with. I'm going to get first dibs though. I've waited far too long to feel that pussy wrapped around my cock. Whether you're fighting me off or not makes no difference to me." He chuckles and I try my hardest to pull away from him.
"You're not going to touch me. I'd rather die than let you fuck me."
"That's no longer your choice. You belong to the Hands of Hell now. I traded you for their army."
My eyes dart over in Alex's direction. I'm not sure if he heard Marc or not but his eyes are trained on me. Staring. Staring like I'm his property.
The feel of his gaze on me makes my skin crawl.
"Fuck you." I snap at Marc.
"Soon enough." He leans down and presses his lips to mine. An unwanted kiss that I desperately try to get away from.
My heart has gone from silent to beating like a drum in my chest. I try to lock my legs in place as Marc starts to drag me toward the back rooms. I know what comes now and I'm in no way ready for it. This can't be the end.
I put my feet back on the ground trying to find purchase but instead I feel a deep vibration.
It's like thunder rolling through the sky except it feels like it's coming from below.
It doesn't take long for me to figure out what it is.
A tear slides down my cheek at the realization.
My calvary is here.
They've come only to be massacred.