52. Chapter 52
As I walk down the stairs, following my brothers and sister down to the sticks, my blood is boiling from what Smoke was able to uncover about our guests. Not only are these fuckers working with Stephan, but they also have ties to Diego and Kristoff, the man we believe to be X and who was trying to get his hands on Mae. However, it’s not only their connections that have me seeing red. It’s what they’ve done and I’m assuming what would have eventually been Mary’s fate. Probably Cassie’s, too.
Thor unlocks the door and we all pile into the room. The stench of urine is strong, and I fight not to scrunch up my nose in disgust. I spare a glance at Levi, who fails at hiding her disgust, but at least she doesn’t turn green or look like she might throw up. I saw Thor passing her a bandana as we left Church, but I doubt she’ll use it. Even though we wouldn’t look at her differently, I know she tries hard not to show any weakness around us. However, strong smells still sometimes hit her weirdly because of her pregnancy and I make a note to keep an eye on her. She’s nine weeks from her due date, but we all know she’ll probably go into labor in about a month or so because of the twins. That and Thor and Dragon are not exactly little by any means.
At Thor’s chin lift, Dragon steps forward and heads to his toy chest as he calls it. After putting on some gloves, he pulls out a wicked-looking knife with sharp serrations along both the bottom and top of the blade. Surprisingly, he sheaths that knife and also pulls out another knife that looks extremely sharp. So sharp, I know it’ll cut through skin like butter. Silently, he walks in front of the men, staring them down. A few swallow thickly and avert their eyes, and I’m almost certain they’ll be the ones to cave first.
“Who do you work for?” he asks and when no one speaks up, he starts cutting off the clothes off the man in the middle, the one who had a hand in many of Mary’s beatings.
Leonardo Adams.
As Dragon works, the two to Leo’s left, Jack Huxley and Brendan Creed, start squirming and can’t take their eyes off Dragon’s knife. When Leo is naked, Dragon continues until they are all hanging naked by their arms, which are holding almost all of their weight, since their toes barely touch the floor.
“I’m sure your arms must be awfully tired by now, so I’ll make things easier. I can make your end painless, or I can make your pain endless. Right now, that is the only control you have. How much pain you endure before you die. Those that tell us what we want to know will earn a less painful death. Refuse, however,” he pauses and places his blade against Leo’s chest, right by his nipple, “and we will make it extremely painful until we get the information we need.” Dragon pauses again and slices Leo’s nipple clean off. Leo’s body and face tighten in pain, but he clenches his mouth shut, refusing to scream. Or talk.
Dragon looks at the other four, and then he smirks darkly when he refocuses on Leo. “I was hoping you would choose the hard path. My little babies have been thirsty for some blood.”
Methodically, Dragon cuts into Leo’s flesh as he hums. The fucker actually hums as he works.
After about five minutes or so, Leo’s body is covered in cuts of varying depths. He’s pale, sweating, and there is blood dribbling down his chin from how hard he’s biting his lip to stay quiet. Dragon steps back slightly, grips Leo’s hair, pulling his head back and exposing his neck. From where I’m standing, I can see Leo’s eyes widen as Dragon lightly runs the tip of his blade across his neck. As he swallows, his Adam’s apple catches the blade, and a small trail of blood soon appears on his neck.
“Feel like talking now, Leo? Your pain will be greatly reduced if you do, though my babies will definitely be saddened that they won’t be able to make you bleed even more for me.”
Surprisingly, Leo just glares at Dragon in response. Or at least, as well as he can with the position that he’s in. Something that makes me extremely happy.
Dragon smirks. “Well, let’s see if working on your friends will loosen your lips. Or theirs.”
He takes a few steps over to Brendan, who is to Leo’s left, the man who tried to pull Mary out of my truck. Brendan’s face is pale and he swallows thickly when Dragon stops in front of him, eying him warily. However, his gaze also darts around periodically, like he’s trying to make sure he keeps all of us in his sights.
“Who do you work for, Brendan?”
He swallows thickly again, and even though he pales further, he doesn’t answer.
“Cat got your tongue? Well, let’s see if we can loosen those lips.”
Dragon looks over his shoulder at me and a few others, giving us a slight nod. We’d already talked about this and how to play it out. Ryder, Timber, Gunner, and I stalk to the closet and pick out our choice of instruments. They would take care of Daniel, Liam, and Jack while I took Leo and Dragon took Brendan. While I also want to get in a little action on Brendan for trying to steal my woman, Leo will get most of my attention for the pain he’d caused Siren in the past. As I pass Smoke, he tilts his head slightly and I know he’ll be capturing everything that everyone says while we work to see who will crack first and give us information.
Even though Dragon already took a knife to Leo, I pick up a bowie knife, but then I spot some end cutting pliers and I can’t stop the grin that forms. I also see that Dragon has a gut hook in the back that I make a mental note of for if I really need to take things that far. Pocketing the sheathed bowie knife, I take the pliers and pinch them a few times in front of Leo’s face. He glares and spits at me, but I easily step back before it makes contact.
I tsk at Leo while simultaneously tuning out my brothers as I solely focus on him. “Didn’t think you’d stoop that low, Leo. Not someone of your rank.” His eyes widen slightly and I smirk. Smoke was able to find out quite a bit on him. Including shit the fuckers tried to keep buried for years. “Now, why were you trying to kidnap my woman?”
He bares his teeth at me and at the action, I bet he’s also been biting his cheeks judging by the blood in his mouth. “She isn’t yours. That bitch and those brats belong to Stephan,” his voice is strained, giving away how much he’s hurting. However, for the amount of damage Dragon has already done, I’m surprised he isn’t showing even more pain.
Rage explodes in my veins and before I even realize what I’m doing, my fist lands on his cheek, whipping his head to the side.
“Mary doesn’t belong to anyone but herself. Yes, I call her mine, but that doesn’t mean I own her. And as for the kids, they belong with Mary, not Stephan. Especially my son.
Leo spits out some blood, which I avoid again, and he snarls at me. “Stephan paid for her outright and he will get what belongs to him, which includes the leech you think is yours. Even if he has to kill every single one of you biker scum to get to them.” He pauses and leers at me. “He paid extra to get her while she was pregnant because that meant she’d be bringing in more profit later.”
Well, that confirms one theory we had. Grinning darkly, I step forward and close the pliers around his remaining nipple, pinching as hard as I can go. His face and jaw tighten, but other than that, he doesn’t react.
“Stephan can try and get them, but he won’t succeed. Besides, I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the fucker who thought he could steal my woman and children from me.” Even though they aren’t my blood, I’ve claimed them as my own and will do whatever it takes to protect them.
Before he can say anything else, I pull hard and his nipple, along with some skin, instantly tear from his body. Leo cries out and I drop the skin into the trophy bins as Levi calls them.
“What’s the real reason why Stephan tried to kidnap Mary? Not that bullshit you just spewed. What does he want with her?”
Leo refuses to talk, so I move to a section by his ribs and repeat the process. Over and over, I pull sections of his skin off until he passes out from the pain. Stepping back, my gaze roams over the damage we’ve done so far. There are a few dozen patches where I’ve torn his skin off and they are littered in between his cuts. Some of them, I even pulled skin from the edge of where his skin was already flayed open.
Looking over my shoulder, Cowboy gives me a chin lift and the rest of us step back as he dumps the ice-cold water over Leo’s head. He sputters and shakes his head as he blinks repeatedly, his body immediately shivering from the cold.
Stepping forward, I repeat my question as my brothers get back to work on the others. “What’s the real reason you were trying to kidnap Mary?”
Leo’s still trying to catch his breath, but he glares at me and purses his lips.
Setting down the pliers, I pull out my knife and jam it into his thigh, making sure I avoid the femoral artery but also making sure it’s hard enough to hit bone. I wiggle and twist the blade, making sure it continues cutting into his flesh, before I ask him again.
“Why were you trying to kidnap Mary?”
“Because they need her.”
Instead of the answer coming from Leo, it comes from Brendan who’s hanging to my right. He’s extremely pale, sweating and his body is well on its way to mirroring Leo’s thanks to Dragon’s handiwork.
Dragon steps back to give me room and hands me his knife since mine is still impaled in Leo’s leg. I step up to Brendan, placing the flat side of my knife under his jaw, making sure he keeps looking at me.
“Why do they need Mary? Who needs her?”
I hear a click behind me and then a small whoosh. Judging by the smell, I’m guessing Dragon grabbed his acetylene torch. Brendan’s eyes widen and without looking, I know Dragon’s messing with the flame to intimidate him.
“Shut the fuck up! Don’t tell him anything!” Leo yells at Brendan as he tries to move his body enough to hit Brendan, but he can only move a couple of inches thanks to how Timber rigged everything in here.
“Fuck you, Leo! We’re going to die no matter what. No one is coming for us.”
“Maybe not for you,” he mutters under his breath as he glares at Brendan.
I narrow my eyes at him before shooting a look over at Smoke, who frowns. His fingers start flying over his keyboard, no doubt messaging the others to be on the lookout and to check our security footage.
Dragon moves closer and hands me the torch, which I take and hold it close enough to Brendan’s face but not actually touching his skin.
Yet.
He winces from the heat, and I scowl. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“He needs her to finish a deal.”
“Who needs her?”
“D-Diego. Diego Vasquez.”
Shit. Hasn’t he made her life terrible enough as it is?
“Why? What’s the deal?”
Brendan shakes his head. “I don’t know exactly. All I know is that Diego needs Mary to finalize a deal with his partner, X.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Timber’s body coiling tight at the mention of X. He looks like he’s barely keeping himself in check and not storming up to Brendan looking for more answers.
I narrow my eyes at Brendan. “Continue.”
“From what I heard, the exchange was supposed to happen a few years ago, but Stephan wouldn’t let her, or the kids, go. Not even with Diego pressuring him to do it. In exchange for not giving up Mary or the kids, Stephan’s been supplying X with women for the cause. Mary also has something Diego needs. That’s why he ordered them back to Forest Creek. He never said what exactly it was he needed from her, just that it was family business.”
A chill runs down my spine. I’ll need to talk to Antonio later. He might have some insight on what Diego thinks he might need.
“Where’s Stephan been getting the women from?”
“I don’t know about all of them, but some of the women and kids he found on the streets as runaways or homeless. He used his badge as cover for telling them that he was taking them someplace safe. That they’d be cared for. He also used that same line on some other women or kids who’d called into the stations to report abusive partners or parents. He told them he’d get them to a safe house, but then hand them over to X instead.”
My vision almost turns red from the amount of anger coursing through me at Stephan abusing his badge in such a way. I barely keep myself from burning Brendan, and while I know he’s had some sort of hand in things, we don’t know the specifics. And since he’s started talking and answering our questions, I don’t want to jeopardize getting more information out of him. But when or if he stops talking… that’s a different story.
“What is your cause?” Thor asks as he comes right up beside me.
Brendan swallows thickly but he doesn’t answer right away.
A dark smile comes over me as I’m finally able to get out a bit of this rage and I lower the torch, burning a trail across his thigh as I inch my way closer to his dick.
“Fuck! I’ll talk! I’ll t-talk!” he yells when I’m a few inches from his dick.
“Don’t betray our cause, Brendan. You’re dead if you talk,” Leo seethes as he struggles even more in his chains.
“Fuck you, Leo! We’re already dead. And despite what you think, no one is going to come for us. You know as well as I do that if we get caught, X will wipe any trace of us. I’m not getting my dick burned off for this shit, even if we are going to die in here.” He pauses and turns back to us.
“Who do you work for? What is your cause?” Thor asks him again.
“A f-few people, but ultimately, we r-report to X.”
“What is X’s real name?”
“K-Kristoff. Kristoff D-Davenport.”
Well, that at least confirms what we previously had thought, but that means we’re neck deep in the Oasis mess again.
“What’s your cause?”
He swallows and a look crosses his face that I can’t decipher. “Oasis, or we s-sometimes just c-called it ‘O’ to keep others from k-knowing what we were t-talking about. It’s the f-founders’ and members’ m-mission to revert humanity b-back to how it used to be. Men should be in c-charge of everything and w-women are only here for b-breeding and keeping the homestead. That w-women of this day and age need to be b-broken to revert back to that s-stage and way of living. Or t-taken before they develop their independent s-streak and forced into the life. That women s-should be a s-submissive to their husband and m-master, doing whatever is ordered of t-them.”
Growls vibrate through the air from almost every one of us and I chance a look over at Levi who looks like she’d love to come over and carve these fuckers to pieces.
We had suspected that this was Oasis’ cause, but now it’s confirmed. We have to stop these fuckers. But to do that, we need to know how far their reach is.
Bringing the torch closer to his dick, but also minding that I don’t burn myself in the process, I place my other hand around his throat, squeezing slightly. “Who else do you work for?”
“D-Diego. Diego Vasquez. Also, s-sometimes, if either Diego or X ordered it, w-we worked with Stephan Hayes.”
“Who ordered you to come after us and attack us today?”
He looks down and to the left, and it’s only my hand around his throat that stops him from moving his head. Thor immediately pulls back, slamming his fist into Brendan’s stomach. He gasps and sputters for a moment, which I don’t make any easier since I don’t relinquish my grip on his throat before he starts talking again.
“S-Stephan. Stephan ordered it. Both X and Diego b-backed the orders. Stephan needs M-Mary back with him so that she can’t t-testify against him since she’s his w-wife and so that she’ll d-drop all the charges. That’s one of the r-reasons he really wants her back. Also to p-punish her for leaving and w-what she did. Her leaving him put a w-wrench in all of our plans, and as soon as everything q-quiets down, he’s going to finally s-ship her and the kids off to X and Diego to d-deal with.”
Now that he’s talking a bit more freely, I step back slightly. “Why did Diego kill Nikos and kidnap Mary to begin with?”
“Because they w-were getting to be a p-problem for the family, and he n-needed them both handled and out of the w-way. He knew what your p-plans were, to m-marry Mary after graduation, and he also knew she was p-pregnant. He was n-never going to let her be happy b-because of what she’d done t-to and taken from Eileen. Because of w-what she’d already d-done to the family, he w-wanted to knock her d-down a few pegs and then s-shatter her. He thought Stephan w-would be able to break her, but as the years w-went on, he knew more was n-needed to do that. That’s w-why he was pushing the d-deal with X and Stephan. He knew X w-would be able to completely b-break her because he’d done it already w-with so many others.”
“What problems were Mary and Nikos causing for the family?”
Brendan shakes his head. “I d-don’t know. All he w-would say was it was f-family business if anyone asked.”
My frustration grows at not being able to get more information about Diego and X’s plans for Mary. Pushing it down as best as I can, I refocus.
“Where’s Stephan hiding out?”
“He b-bounces around different locations. His n-new chick, Claudia’s, apartment; an old s-seedy motel on the edge of t-town; a nearby homestead; and a c-cabin that isn’t too far from the homestead. Though, they’ve already p-probably changed up things b-because we were caught.”
Since he already said he didn’t know the specifics of the deal or what Diego wanted from Mary, I turn my focus toward Oasis.
“Who is in charge of Oasis?”
“X is our G-Grandmaster. There are now six M-Master’s under him. After three of his Masters were killed a few m-months ago, he changed things up. Moved p-people around and ordered more homesteads to be d-developed for them to move between easier. I don’t know where the Masters were m-moved to, or the new people’s names. The only ones I k-know of are Phillip Cole and Diego. X made Diego a Master w-when Diego partnered with him earlier this year.”
It takes me a moment and then I realize where I’d heard that name before. Phillip was Preston’s brother and Preston was Mae’s stepfather.
“What homesteads do Phillip and Diego control?”
“I don’t k-know. That information w-was always kept from us that worked under X’s other branches. The only one of us t-that might know is Leo.” He pauses as he tilts his head toward Leo, but he can’t really see him much since his right eye is mostly swollen shut from Dragon. “Us f-four report to Leo and then to X.”
I look over to Thor, needing to know if we push Leo further now or make him sit a bit more. He turns to Leo and I know he’s cataloguing all of his wounds. Then he turns and cocks an eyebrow at me. Stepping toward Leo, I cauterize the worst of his wounds, not giving a shit as he screams out in pain each time. When I’m done, I turn back toward Thor and give him a curt nod.
Thor gestures to Dragon who walks over to Daniel at the end. He grabs his hair, yanks his head back, and holds his knife to Daniel’s throat.
“What else do you know about Oasis?”
Daniel shakes his head, but then winces when the blade digs into his flesh. “The only other thing I know is that Phillip took over a homestead a bit north of here, but I don’t know where.”
Dragon lowers his knife and hovers it over Daniel’s dick.
“Anything else you want to add? Your death will be less painful if you give us useful information.”
He frantically nods. “I overheard him ordering Claudia to get him money. That’s how he’s staying off the cops’ radar. Using her accounts to fund him until he can get his hands on his accounts again. He was pissed when he found out his offshore accounts were frozen as well. Took those frustrations out on her, which convinced her to give in to him.”
My chest tightens. I never liked her, but I never wanted her hurt. After she said she was with Stephan the night Mary was admitted to the hospital, I knew her attempts to seduce me earlier this summer were part of Stephan’s plans to try and drive a wedge between Mary and me. I don’t know if he knew we talked on Asher’s birthday or not, and I hope he didn’t. It would have killed me if they were hurt because of me.
Dragon moves to Liam and asks him the same questions but he doesn’t have anything new to add and neither does Jack.
Dragon looks over his shoulder at Thor and they have a silent conversation. Since we’ve all been around each other for years, and been through a lot of shit together, we’re all able to read each other pretty well. And that’s before you add in our silent cues or hand signals we use, which come in especially handy when we’re riding. However, Dragon and Thor take that to a whole new level with their twin thing.
Without a word, Dragon steps behind Jack and slits his throat. He does the same to Brendan, Liam, and finally Daniel. Leo’s eyes are wide with fear as he eyes Dragon warily, who comes to stop in front of him.
“Enjoy your extended stay in our lovely accommodations.” He pauses as he drags his knife lightly down Leo’s cheek, leaving a thin red line in its wake. “We’ll give you a bit to say your goodbyes to your underlings and to give you time to think about telling us the information we need.”
Turning off the torch, I hand it to Dragon who sets it on a nearby table and we all file out of the room, Leo’s curses ringing through the air as the door seals shut, cutting them off.
“Judge, gather volunteers in teams of two to scout each of the locations where Stephan could be. Until we know otherwise, we need to assume that the cabins and homestead that are on Mae’s land are the ones Brendan and Daniel were talking about.” Thor pauses and turns to Smoke. “Do you have extra cameras with audio that we can plant in the other two locations? Maybe add to the ones at Mae’s cabin and the homestead?”
Smoke gives him a chin lift. “I always have some ready for situations like these. I’ll get them together and give them to Judge.”
“Perfect. Keep digging into Phillip, Diego, Kristoff, Stephan and now this Claudia chick a bit more.”
“Can we freeze her accounts too?” I ask. “That could make Stephan act out and give us some more clues as to where he’s at. Or trigger him to make his next move.”
Smoke frowns and shakes his head. “I already checked that when he mentioned her name. Her accounts were cleaned out yesterday morning.”
Muffled curses ring out, mine included. Without knowing how much money he has at his disposal, we don’t know when he’ll start to run out. I was really hoping to be able to give him a reason to poke his head out of the sand so we could sniff him out.
“Alright, those that were in on the action, get cleaned up. Cowboy, you’re on first watch duty, so help Dragon clean up the tools. Grab whoever you need to help you take out the trash.” Thor pauses and turns to Smoke and then me. “You two meet me in my office when you’re ready. We need to talk to Antonio.”
“Give me your boots and I’ll clean them with mine,” Timber says as he comes over to me and holds his hand out for them.
Quickly, I undo my laces and slip out of my boots. Handing them to him, I give him a chin lift in thanks and head to the locker room down here, along with the rest of the others that took part. Instead of stripping right away, I walk over to the sinks and scrub my hands as best as I can before walking over to the supply bin I keep down here. After Levi and Reaper ended things with her uncle and a few members of the Black Plague earlier this summer, I started keeping a kit of supplies down here for those that need to keep any wounds clean and dry while taking care of business and then while cleaning up from said business.
Inspecting my clothes, I’m pleased to see that I didn’t get much blood on them and that I should be able to salvage them. Stripping, I place my clothes in a bag and inspect my wounds. The wrap Mary put on my arm is still holding strong, as is the wrap I put on my hands while we were in Church. Putting my foot on the bench, I inspect my thigh, but everything looks normal. I probably should have wrapped it, but at least I didn’t get too bloody. Even though the wounds look okay, I dig out some alcohol wipes as a precaution and clean the area. Wrapping it, I tape it off and grab a nearby towel before heading to one of the empty shower stalls.
Knowing I need to be quick since Thor and Smoke are waiting on me, I wash in record time and dress in some spare clothes I always keep down here. My boots are laying on the drying mat near the door and I put them on before lacing them up.
Heading upstairs, I make sure the secret door fully closes before walking down the hallway and into the main common room. Ethan’s working the bar and I walk over to him. He sees me coming and reaches into the cooler under the counter and pops the top off the beer.
“Grab me one for Thor and Smoke as well.”
He reaches under the counter for the drinks, and I wince internally when I check the clock behind the bar. We were down there longer than I realized, as it’s already almost noon. Granted, we were in Church for a few hours this morning before going downstairs, but still, I hadn’t realized how much time had passed. Beers in hand, I walk across the room and knock on Thor’s door.
“Come in.”