24. Whos Your Family?
Chapter 24
Who's Your Family?
Simone
The door slamming behind me scared me to death. Sledge and Mug focused on the doorway, and Mug appeared apprehensive.
A bear of a man lumbered into the room. His gaze met mine. Extreme unease coursed through me. Without casting my eyes at his patches, I knew. He had to be Knuckles.
His pale blue eyes scanned me up and down. The strawberry-blond goatee made him appear younger, but I put him in his late thirties. A nasty grin split his lips. Oral hygiene would do him good, based on his teeth.
“Don’t she seem familiar?” Sledge asked much louder than necessary.
Knuckles turned to Sledge and shrugged. “Looks like any other brown-haired, brown-eyed snatch, except she’s got a gut.”
Josie sidled up to him. “Hey, Knuckles. Actually, she’s pregnant.”
Knuckles looked down his nose at her. “Why the fuck would Steel have a pregnant bitch around?” He looked at Mug. “You assholes grab the wrong bitch?”
Mug’s eyes widened. “Josie said she’s with Steel.”
“You didn’t verify that shit?” Knuckles demanded.
I couldn’t help myself. “You could verify with me. And seeing as Josie messed with Steel’s condoms, she oughta know I’m with him.”
Josie glared at me and lied. “I didn’t do that.”
Knuckles narrowed his eyes at Josie. “Where’s her phone?”
Sledge looked ashamed. “Oh hell.”
Josie moved toward me.
Knuckles shouldered her out of his way. His breath hit me like a stale-coffee-scented gust in my face. “Where’s your phone?”
To keep quiet or cooperate? I figured the former would have him pawing all over me going through both pockets, so I cooperated.
“My right front cargo pocket.”
He pulled my phone free without feeling me up. Then he pointed the screen toward my face, which made the phone unlock. He turned it around and started scrolling. I didn’t know what he was looking at and I struggled against yelling at him.
If he was checking my contacts, he probably wouldn’t learn much without calling people since I stuck to generic names like Mom, Dad, and Lex for Alexandra. If he opened my photos though…it would be another story.
“Why are there pictures of Riot MC brothers on your phone?”
By now, I suspected Steel had to know I was missing.
This place was a hovel. Not a clubhouse. I wasn’t conscious when they brought me in here, but the inside felt like a ramshackle building with a bathroom. In a place like this, I had no clue how Steel would know where to find me.
“Answer me!” Knuckles thundered.
“I have family in that club,” I semi-lied.
“Who’s your family?” Mug asked.
Sledge wandered toward me. “That’s what it is.” He stared at me, squinted, then snapped his fingers. “You look like one of the old ladies. She’s property of a president. Can’t fucking remember which one.”
Knuckles wrapped his calloused fingers around my lower jaw and squeezed. “Who are you related to?”
Part of me wanted to keep that secret, but I didn’t know if Steel was searching for me. Getting the Riot MC involved might be my best shot at getting help.
My stomach roiled with nausea. This nausea had an edge to it that felt like more than just morning sickness. I had no idea what Special K would do to my baby, but the sooner I got to a hospital, the better. Tears threatened as I imagined all the awful things that could happen to my peanut. I wouldn’t cry in front of these assholes.
“My dad’s the Jacksonville president.”
“Does he know you’re pregnant?” Josie asked.
I nodded.
Knuckles smiled and set my phone on a nearby card table. He pulled out his phone. It wasn’t in a protective case, and I’d never been so happy to see an Apple icon. As long as Knuckles had his Bluetooth enabled, my AirTag would send a signal to my network… but who knew how tech savvy Knuckles was?
He tapped his phone screen, and put it to his ear. After a moment, he said, “I hear you got a bitch pregnant.”
I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as I listened to his demands. When he mentioned not feeding me and how babies needed their food, my eyes flew open. Knuckles had his back to me, but Mug noticed my alarm and chuckled.
Knuckles hung up on Steel, and switched back to my phone. He had to point it at me to unlock it again. After tapping the screen a few times, he held it flat. Then, I heard a phone ringing over the speaker as he paced to the other side of the small room.
“Simone! Where are you?” Dad demanded. The sheer worry in his voice wrenched my heart.
“Thought your name was Jade,” Mug said.
“Did your mother name you Mug?” I muttered.
Mug stepped toward me. “Bitch, I oughta backhand you.”
Knuckles turned and glared at Mug, but spoke into the phone. “She ain’t gonna tell you that, Volt. You shoulda taught her how to take care of herself.”
“Let her go,” Dad said, his voice lethal.
“Oh, I’ll let her go… after Steel pays and you pay, too.”
Dad failed to hide his sigh. “How much?”
“Since she’s pregnant, I figure you can pay double. Three and a half million.”
“That kind of cash takes time.”
“Too bad,” Knuckles said.
“She’s pregnant. Whatever you used to attack her… she needs a doctor.”
Knuckles aimed a lascivious grin at me. “Good point. We have a club doctor, he’ll love examining her.”
“At a hospital, motherfucker!” Dad yelled.
“Time’s wasting, Volt. Better call your mother chapter and your Vegas brothers to get you some money.”
My stomach had lurched at how much he’d asked for from Steel. Demanding twice as much from Dad, I hated this man anew.
He ended the call and messed with my phone some more. “Need to send some of these pics to Pump. This friend of yours can’t be more than eighteen.”
I fought against an eye roll and prayed he didn’t do that. My hunch was that he was looking at pictures of Jasmine, though it could have been Alexandra since she was a young-looking twenty. Either way, neither one of them deserved to be on the radar of an asshole like Pump.
A metalic-sounding pop from outside captured everyone’s attention.
Knuckles widened his eyes at Mug. “Were you followed?”
Mug looked affronted. “No. Not a damn person knew we were there besides the moron prospect at their gate. I knocked him out cold. We were in and out.”
Knuckles narrowed his eyes. “You got in and out of their clubhouse without being seen?”
A coy smile quirked Josie’s lips. “She came outside and made it so much easier for us.”
In hindsight, I should have stayed in Steel’s room eavesdropping on him and Jordan.
No, I couldn’t blame myself like that.
I had every right to walk down to that fire pit. Josie and Mug never should have been able to get into the compound the way they did.
Knuckles jerked his head to the side. “Go check out that noise. I don’t trust it.”
Mug shook his head. “Nobody followed us, but I’ll go. Probably the sun beating on that cheap metal siding making it pop.”
“Check it anyway,” Sledge muttered.
Mug trudged out.
Knuckles glared at Josie. “Leave. You served your purpose.”
Surprise rushed over her expression. “But I haven’t been paid—”
He leaned toward her. “Go, or you won’t get paid shit.”
She glowered at him, then calmed herself, turned on her heel, and left.
Once the door closed behind her, Knuckles noticed the cocaine on the card table. “Dammit! You assholes are sampling the product again. Got enough fuckin’ problems with the cartel breathing down my neck. I don’t need y’all making it worse.”
Sledge stood. “Still don’t think Steel’s gonna give up shit. Why should we wait? Kill this bitch, and go after all the Devil Lancers. Be done with it.”
With a glower, Knuckles shook his head. “When are we gonna be in a position to extort money out of two fucking clubs again?”
I watched Sledge pace the small room. “Right. Forgot about that.”
Knuckles crossed his arms. “You stop snorting our blow, you won’t forget shit.” He crossed to a small window and pulled the ratty curtain to the side. “Where the hell is Mug?”
It had been less than five minutes since Mug left. I didn’t think he had anything to worry about. The idea that someone could be here to save me was wishful thinking.
Those odds were ever not in my favor.
Being a stubborn, independent twenty-something, I’d wanted a top-of-the-line smartphone and took advantage of a deal exclusive to new customers. It was a double win for me. Cut my dependency on my parents and it got me a fabulous phone. And my parents no longer had the ability to locate my phone by GPS
That would have come in handy right about now.
The keys in my pocket came to mind, but no way would Dad think to involve Alexandra or Jasmine in this. They were the only two people who knew about my keychain. If only Rafferty had come up this trip. He might know about the Apple AirTag on my keys. And no doubt, Raff would call Alexandra to ask her if she had any ideas on how to find me, but Steel hadn’t mentioned anything about Rafferty yesterday or today.
I fought against a sigh because I was gonna be stuck here for a long while. I needed to think about anything except how hungry I was.