Zephyr Chapter 21 #2
“What the hell happened in Mobile?” Pirate asked.
I answered. “She found out I’m licensed to practice medicine. I hadn’t told her that.”
“By the gods, why the hell not?” VP asked, incredulously.
“I was waiting.”
“You were hiding it,” Everlyn snapped.
At the same time, Norse said, “You were protecting yourself.”
His words were right on the nose, so I remained mute.
“Why would not telling me he’s a doctor protect him? Protect him from what?” My shieldmaiden pounced.
“We have to postpone this talk. I’m sorry. But time might be of the essence with this guy. We need to go. Everlyn, if you insist on coming, then fine. But Allegra, you have to stay here. You won’t be alone. Only a few of us are visiting him,” Raider stated.
His tone said there was no room for debate, so Allegra, while appearing less than happy, didn’t say a word.
“I’m ready,” Everlyn said.
As we stood, she rose shakily. I tried to offer my arm, but she ignored it. Instead, she took Raider’s when he offered his. He gave me a sympathetic look. He knew how much it hurt.
Leaving Allegra where she was, we walked to the opposite end of the longhouse. The door there had the same biometric scanner to gain entry as the metal door at the bottom of the stairs into the clubhouse. I brought up the rear and shut the door.
Inside, it was a large area. On one end was the actual secure room where people or items could be kept. The entire room was one big panic room with smaller rooms and spaces inside, including two cells on the opposite end.
In the middle was an open area. It could be used however we wanted.
For now, we’d use it to interrogate the captive if needed.
I hoped it wouldn’t get too bloody. I took a chair from the stack against the wall and opened it up.
I set it behind Everlyn. She didn’t smile or say thank you, but she nodded before easing down onto it.
There was a man slumped in one of the cells. He didn’t look in too bad a shape. His head rose. He studied us. The guy was a man I’d place in his mid-forties. When his gaze fell on my woman, he stopped. His expression was even more speculative. I didn’t like it.
“What the hell are you staring at?” I barked.
That brought his gaze back to me. He said nothing.
“Say hello to our unwanted visitor. This is Ducky, the former president of the Albany, Georgia, chapter of the Wayward Wanderers. He was Caves, Showtime, and Tree’s president.
And those four fuckers who came here last night that we shot to pieces were his too,” Raider’s announcement rang in the huge room, echoing.
“You don’t have much luck when it comes to your people, do you?” Everlyn asked.
“My club was fine until you fuckers started killing them off,” Ducky barked.
“Your people started it. We just finished it,” Pirate remarked.
“It should’ve never started. Why did he have to fucking find out?” Ducky muttered. It was like he said it to himself, yet he murmured too loudly.
“Who found out what?” I asked.
Ducky’s mouth clamped into a tight, thin line.
“Ah, come on, you can tell us,” Harbinger coaxed.
Ducky remained mute, glaring at us.
Invader let out a big sigh. “He’s forcing our hand.”
Suddenly, Everlyn spoke again. “What happens if he doesn’t answer you?
The same thing you did to Caves? Or more along the lines of what happened last night?
They never knew what hit them. They were stupid.
Who in their right mind rolls up on an MC and doesn’t expect them to be carrying their guns and returning fire?
Only idiots. I swear, after meeting some of your men, no wonder they didn’t survive.
And honestly, you don’t appear any smarter. Eliminating you all is a mercy.”
Her tone was dry and sarcastic, and it cut to the bone on Ducky, even if she never raised her voice. She was pounding on a sore spot. It was evident by the way his whole face tightened and his eyes spat fire. He sat straighter before he spat out.
“Shut your mouth, bitch! Women are to be seen and fucked, not heard. You don’t have an opinion or say in anything.
Someone needs to teach this club how to treat their whores.
They’re pussy, nothing more. A nickel a piece if that.
Get rid of her and bring in ones you can mold.
But if you want to keep her, I can show you how to adjust her attitude and make her do everything you want while she begs you to hurt her more. ”
The sick eagerness on his face told us that Ducky was for sure like Aksel. No wonder he made him president of a chapter.
“I’d shut my mouth if I were you. She’s no whore. She’s Zephyr’s old lady. I want you to repeat what you said at your clubhouse. You remember when you were huddled, hiding in a closet, and you begged us not to kill you,” Pirate taunted.
Ducky stood and came to the bars of the cell he occupied. “Fuck you.”
“No thanks, you’re not my type,” Pirate said back, smirking.
“Maybe we should add some pain to the questions. That might loosen his tongue. It did with Caves,” Invader remarked.
“Yeah, but he didn’t really spill until Everlyn went to work on him. That was beautiful,” Harbinger stated, blowing a kiss her way.
When she smiled back, I felt a surge of jealousy.
She was angry with me. Could Harbinger win her away?
Everlyn shook her head, but there was a slight smile on her lips.
I resisted the urge to toss her over my shoulder and carry her out of here and to our bed.
The ancient desire to conquer tried to overtake me, but I fought it back.
The truth was, I’d never be able to force her compliance or acceptance of me.
It had to be her decision. A derisive laugh came from Ducky.
“You expect me to believe that this slut hurt or scared Caves? Don’t make me laugh. Aksel was right. You’re weak.”
“What did he say when he was pissing himself in that closet?” she asked Raider, ignoring Ducky.
“He mumbled something about Aksel wanting us tested to see if it was true,” Raider answered.
“What test? What was true?” Everlyn asked.
“That’s what we want to find out,” Invader told her.
A deep sigh came out of her. “You know what has to be done. Don’t wait on my account. You won’t offend my sensibilities. We’re all tired. Let me know if you need me to do anything.”
“You heard her. Let’s get this over with,” Raider said.
And just like that, the room became a hive of activity.
A heavy chair was brought to the middle of the room, and its legs were bolted to the brackets there for that reason.
Once it was done, Invader and Harbinger unlocked the cell and dragged a struggling and cursing Ducky out.
His ass was slammed down onto the chair seat.
On the chair’s arms and legs were leather manacles.
Swiftly, they secured him so he wouldn’t be able to get up from the chair.
Ducky tried to jerk free, which was stupid, but he panicked. When that didn’t work, he tried intimidation, telling us what Aksel would do to us if we didn’t let him go. More of the shit Caves had said. When that didn’t work, he tried to bargain.
“If you let me go, I’ll tell you anything you want to know, but you have to let me leave. I’ll have to hide for the rest of my life if Aksel knows I survived. You can help me. Tell everyone that you killed me. That way, he’ll never come looking for me.”
He was clearly terrified of Aksel.
“We’ll think about it, but you have to tell us what you meant and anything else that pertains to Aksel. We can’t give someone a deal like that for insignificant information,” Raider told him.
Ducky sat there, scanning each of us, trying to see if we were telling the truth or not. After a minute, he sagged.
“Caves and the others had come back that first day of the rally bitching about the women they ran into and how there was a showdown with a bunch of other bikers who were with them. Everyone was drinking, and Caves started boasting how he would kill the men and take the women. He was taken with one. He wanted her for himself.” Ducky paused, shifting his gaze over to Everlyn, then back before continuing.
“He was showing photos of your club and the women to the rest of the club. I was on a video call with Aksel in the same room. He overheard what Caves said—his description of the leader and a few of the men. Aksel stopped talking to me and demanded to know what Caves was saying.
“I had no choice but to let the idiot on the video call. He told Aksel what had happened, then sent him the photos he had taken. Aksel studied them for a long time, and then we were given orders. He wanted Caves to prove he could take out you and anyone else with you.” The Wanderer's former president pointed to Raider when he mentioned the word you.
“If he did, he had to bring back proof that you had been killed. Without it, he wasn’t to return.
Failure wasn’t permitted. Caves agreed without thinking it through.
Before he left, we arranged a rendezvous spot with him.
The orders were that he do it himself. I asked after the hoopla was over, when it was just me and Aksel on the call, why he wanted Caves to go alone. ”
“What reason did he give? Come on, that’s not enough to buy your freedom,” I egged him on.
Ducky bared his teeth at me for a second, then he continued. “Give me a second to breathe, man. My mouth is as dry as the desert. I need water.”
Normally, we didn’t give those we brought here any comforts, but we had to keep him talking, so Invader went to get water from the tap in the small kitchen that was down here.
He was back within seconds. He held the cup and poured water into Ducky’s mouth.
The prisoner kept drinking until it was gone.
“I need to piss,” he whined half a beat after finishing off the water.