Chapter 17

17

Acid

I tap my finger against the black wooden table, my eyes on my cousin on my father’s side, watching as he smirks, moving his hand between Brandy, a clubwhore’s, legs, her mouth open with pleasure.

I sneer at the fucker, disgusted to know we’re related as my conversation with Piston from yesterday, before Perrie beat the shit outta me, echoes in my mind….

“Don’t you think it’s odd that Hannah went missing at the same time as Aurora?”

I shake my head and reply, “No, I don’t. Hannah never wanted Axe, and as much as the brothers believed she trapped him for his cut, then had an abortion as soon as she got it, knowing Steal wouldn’t allow him to take the cut back, I don’t believe it. She was miserable with him, Eli, and I believe she only told him about the pregnancy out of duty not realizing how bad he was….”

Brandy moans, faking an orgasm, bringing up flashbacks from my childhood just as Steal walks into the room and snaps, “It’s four in the fucking afternoon. You want to get off, take her to your room, Axe. You know the rules, and I’m telling you now, this is your last fucking warning.”

Axe flinches at Steal's cold tone while I tilt my head, watching him and the hate in his eyes.

“You thinking the same as me?” Piston asks as he sits beside me, putting a cup of coffee before me.

“Thanks,” I say as I pick the drink up, then reply, “Yeah, I am. He had something to do with Aurora going missing and the fact he denied being the last one to see her, that he apparently never went to her house….”

I take a sip of the drink, watching Axe glare at our prez as Brandy whispers in his ear.

“Yet I can’t fucking find anything, Acid. It’s like she fucking vanished,” Piston growls, and I nod.

Both Hannah, Axe’s old lady, and Aurora are missing. Instead of acting heartbroken over his woman's disappearance, he’s getting off with the clubwhores, not helping to find her or Aurora, who he claimed to see as a sister.

“Watch him like a fucking hawk, Piston. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was working with Aiden, and let’s ensure he doesn’t find out that we have footage of him leaving her house,” I say coldly.

He replies, “Don’t worry, I am, and he won’t know a thing. Prez is aware of everything; we’ll catch the fucker.”

Axe grabs Brandy’s hand, her light brown eyes lighting up as he drags her upstairs to his room.

He’s more like my father than I fucking realized. The moment he saw Piston and me becoming officers, his true colors started coming through, and he became salty.

“Right, I’m going to head out, spend some time with Cooper before he goes back to his dad’s; that fucker won’t leave the clubhouse until noon tomorrow now,” Piston says as he knocks on the table with his knuckles, then stands.

I don’t want to do this, but I know Perrie won’t talk to me until she sees proof.

“Before you go,” I rasp, keeping my eyes trained on the staircase, hating I’m about to ask this, “I need you to go through the cameras for me, but keep it between us….”

I feel him tense, but again, I keep my eyes trained on the stairs. “Alright, what day?” he asks when he realizes I won’t look at him.

I take a deep breath, my heart pounding, and I rasp, “Eleven weeks ago, roughly….”

Slowly, Piston takes a seat, but I don’t look at him even as he asks, “And what exactly am I looking for, Ollie?”

I chew my bottom lip, my breathing heavy, before I look at my little brother. My eyes race between his, and I admit, “Andrea following me to my room after she spiked my drink.”

He slumps back in shock, his eyes wide, and he questions, “She drugged and raped you?”

I flinch at his words, him not knowing exactly what they do to me, and I choke, “I don’t know if we did fuck. I have flashbacks where sex isn’t involved, but when I woke up, I had a condom on, but it was empty. I told her to leave before I went to my room, but somehow she ended up in my bed.”

He leans forward, his eyes blazing with anger as he demands, “Why in the fuck did you not come to me straight away!”

I shake my head and ask, “And say what, Eli, that she somehow managed to bring drugs into the club? That I was drugged, that I was potentially raped?”

“Yes!” he shouts, causing the common room to quiet before I feel several eyes on us, and I sigh.

“Problem?” Canine asks, and I look at him to see Steal and Anchor standing by. I glare at Piston.

He shakes his head at me, not at all deterred, as he snaps, “Yeah, there fucking is!”

Anger runs through my veins at his attitude. “Fuck’s sake, Eli. I asked for your help, not a fucking lecture and getting everyone else involved!” I snap back at him and stand, but he stands with me and grabs my arm.

“For fucking weeks, Perrie has believed the worst in you, Ollie; I’ve fucking believed the worst!” he snaps.

I rip my arm out of his grip as Steal demands, “Someone better fucking tell me what’s going on right now!”

I shake my head, dropping my chin to my chest.

And this is why I won’t open up about my past. It won’t be between myself and my blood brother. He’ll get the club involved, wanting to track the fuckers down, even though I’ve already done that.

Everyone suffered, apart from Pamala and Aiden, who’re both still at large.

“This idiot let everyone, including Perrie, believe he fucked Andrea willingly !” Piston sneers, and I sigh, looking at him with disappointment.

“Oliver…” Canine says, and I glare at my brother before looking at our uncle. His eyes show concern, and he asks, “What does he mean ‘willingly’?”

All three men look at me with determination to know the truth, and I swallow before admitting, “I woke up with only the memory of telling the bitch to fuck off, an empty condom on my cock, and her naked next to me. I get flashbacks of her begging me to get hard, but that’s it, no memory of fucking her.”

Canine’s nostrils flare as Steal looks at me, his jaw ticking.

“Piston, find the fucking footage and then go over her hospital records, ensure the insemination hasn’t been done yet because the bitch has signed her death warrant!” Anchor growls.

“Ollie?” Piston whispers when he sees I won’t look at him. I’m so fucking angry I may deck him.

I didn’t want the fucking club involved because what that bitch did was way too fucking close to what happened in my past.

Steal sees I’m barely hanging on and says, “Go now, Piston. Give him time to calm down.” Piston curses before doing as told, and I nod to my prez before turning. “Acid!” he shouts, but I put my hand up and storm out of the club, bile burning my throat.

Pity, that’s how they fucking looked at me, and they don’t even know about my childhood.

Shaking my head, I go to my truck, foregoing my bike, knowing the pipes will tip them off.

It’s time I got my fucking answers.

I tilt my head and watch Perrie leave the diner, locking up, and my fingers begin to itch.

Eight, that’s how many fucking scars I counted on her thighs, and I need answers, and I need to get outta my own fucking head, the look of shock, guilt, and pity in my brother’s eyes haunting me, knowing I was assaulted.

He’ll never find out about the rapes; I fucking swear it!

Without turning my headlights on, I turn the ignition, and follow Perrie as she drives out of her spot behind the diner.

I follow her for fifteen minutes before she pulls down a very familiar street.

“Fuck’s sake, of course, she’s staying above the fucking gym!” I snap to myself and pull up on the other side of the street.

I watch Perrie climb out of the Mustang and rush to the door, unlocking it before entering, and I chuckle darkly.

All this time, this is where she’s been, this is where she’s been fucking keeping up with her fighting when everyone thought it was closed.

Sighing, I lean back and wait for ten minutes, ensuring she’s definitely staying here before I confront her, but before I can open my door, she comes back out, and instead of her uniform, she’s in her gym gear.

She climbs into her car.

I frown and quickly start my truck, again ensuring the lights are off, and follow her.

Half an hour later, I’m cursing up a fucking storm.

“Fuck’s sake, Perrie!” I growl as I park and grab my cut, before I climb out of my truck. I put my cut on and storm over to The Fight.

The Rebels own the club, and yeah, they are good people, but the fucking fighters they have are not.

Their guard gives me a nod, noticing the cut, and I head inside. The crowd is already cheering and jumping despite no fighters in the ring, and I scan the room for my brunette.

“Hey, Acid,” I hear from my right, and I turn and give Viking, a brother who runs the place for the Rebels, a nod as he pats my shoulder and says, “I haven’t seen you here before.”

I scoff, “Yeah, mainly because my prez didn’t want me to climb into the ring.” He laughs, and I look around the room and say, “I’m looking for Perrie Halliwell, the girl I grew up with. She just ran in here.”

He winces, and I raise a brow until he sighs. “Fuck, Acid, Perrie’s well known here.”

I frown and ask, “What do you mean,” just as the announcer shouts, “And here’s your favorite fighter…Tinker!” into the mic, causing the crowd to go wild, and I turn to the stage in shock only to see the woman who has captivated me since I was an angry teen climb into the ring opposite a nasty looking six-foot fucker.

“She’s been fighting here since she was fourteen, Acid. It’s how her dad’s gym stayed afloat all the years before he died, no thanks to her mother’s spending.” My mouth drops open in shock at his words as Perrie charges at the fucker, jumping, getting him in a headlock, bringing the nasty fucker down, bashing his face on the ring floor. Viking admits, “She’s undefeated, brother.”

I can feel my body vibrating, anger consuming me.

All those fucking times she asked me to spar, asked her dad to treat her like one of his fighters, this was fucking why!

Three minutes, three long assed fucking minutes, that’s how long it took for Perrie to knock the nasty fucker out.

“And no surprise here, your winner, Tinker!” is announced over the PA system, and the crowd goes wild.

Viking pats my back and says, “The lockers are down the hallway to the right.” I nod, thanking him before heading that way, my eyes on Perrie, who has just taken an envelope from a Rebel’s prospect.

Everyone jumps out of my way as I speed up, watching Perrie disappear through the mouth of the hallway.

I’m going to spank her fucking ass!

“No men in here until I’m finished!” Perrie snaps as I walk into the changing room.

My nostrils flare at the bruise on her back, and I slam the door so fucking hard, the walls rattle, causing Perrie to turn in shock. Her eyes widen when they connect with mine.

“Ollie…” she whispers as my breathing gets heavier, my body vibrating, seeing her lip split and her eyebrow bleeding.

My anger takes over, though, when I see the bruise forming on her jaw, and something hits me.

I nod to her injuries and ask, “Is this why you took a month off work? Cass returned; Natalie was in a coma….”

She swallows. She knows me, and she knows when I’m at a fucking breaking point, and if she confirms what I think she’s about to confirm, this room doesn’t stand a chance.

“It’s-it’s none of your business, Ollie,” she says quietly.

“Answer the question,” I growl coldly.

She winces but nods, and admits, “I’d bruised my ribs, one cracked.”

I angrily roar and grab the bench, throwing it against the wall, and kicking another before I smash my fist into the lockers, but I halt as Perrie moves in front of me, gripping my arms.

I notice the blood on her hands, and I growl, “You didn’t even fucking wrap your knuckles! Seriously?”

She winces and admits, “The pain helps ease my mind.”

I chuckle darkly, then point around the room and ask, “Ease your mind? Really? Then what’s this, huh?” Perrie shakes her head and steps back, and I shout, “You have no fucking idea how dangerous it is for you to be here, Perrie, and from fucking fourteen! These men are fucking dangerous….”

Her jaw ticks, and she gets in my face and growls, “I know exactly how dangerous it is here, Ollie, because four years ago I was raped!” My breathing stops. I stumble back in shock, and her eyes tear up as she whispers, “The Aldo brothers tagged teamed me, stealing my virginity because they lost against me, so believe me, I know exactly how dangerous it is.”

No, please fuck no, she didn’t, not what I went through….

My breathing picks up as I fall against the wall before sliding to the floor. I grip my hair and drop my head, my body vibrating.

She didn’t, please….

“I got my revenge,” she whispers, “I got stronger, and four years later, I snuck up on them and stabbed them in their cocks.”

“They were stabbed in their dicks. The Rebels need Piston’s help. Their Tech, Leads, can’t find any footage, the cameras had been cut, and they just want to make sure it’s a one-off and not a rampage in The Fight.”

The prospect's words echo in my mind. Piston never did find out what happened, and the brothers weren’t saying shit, and now I know why; her dad taught her well….

“No…” I choke, gripping my hair tighter as my eyes tear up, “you should have called me….”

I hear her sniffle and look up as she admits, “I did afterward. You didn’t answer or call me back…. It was then I knew I was truly alone.”

Fuck….