Chapter 11 Slash

Hades took his place at the head of the table and sat, leaning forward to drop his elbows on the surface. “Start talkin’.”

Grave sat beside him on the right, looking us over as he crossed his arms.

“Those fucking Bladed Serpents were holding an auction,” Havoc began.

“And they were pinning some of the women down on top of tables, taking turns when we walked in,” I added with a growl.

Grave snarled but remained silent.

Hades narrowed his eyes. “And you busted it up, right?”

“Fuck yeah, we did,” Gunner confirmed, clenching his fist. “But Angel Mackenzie got away.”

Angel. That fucker was a walking dead man.

Hades pulled out his phone and dialed a number. I wasn’t surprised to hear Grim’s voice, the president of the Royal Bastards in Tonopah, NV, answer the line.

“Hades,” he greeted in that gravelly tone I’d heard before.

“Need to discuss the shit that went down. You got time?”

“Sure. I’m in my office. Got to let you know that my SAA and VP are with me.”

“No problem. Grave, Gunner, Havoc, and Slash are all in the room.”

“Understood. This about the auction and Angel?”

“Yeah, brother. Can you fill us in?”

“Angel’s the nephew of Salazar Guererro, family to the cartel. We occasionally provide extra muscle for their shipments.”

I didn’t think doing business with criminals like Salazar was wise, but it wasn’t my call. Not that we were saints. We had our shit we did to earn, and it wasn’t all legal.

“So he’s protected?” I asked, needing to know how much shit I would kick up when I went after him.

“Yes and no. Salazar promised he’d keep him in line. That’s obviously not happened because he’s hiding shit from his uncle, or Salazar is deceiving us. Angel kidnapped underage girls and brought them to auction. From what Xenon dug up, he’s been selling them to a trafficking ring in Vegas. We won’t stand for that shit.”

Good.

“But we also can’t make a move without taking this to Salazar.”

“Fuck,” Hades growled.

“I haven’t spoken to him yet, but he’ll know where we all stand when I do. Salazar will have to give Angel up.”

That sounded highly unlikely.

“There’s more,” Grim announced as everyone at the table tensed. “Maddog and his new ol’ lady are lookin’ for payback too. Angel beat Lark and assaulted her.”

Lark. Molly’s stepsister? Fuck!

Gunner exchanged a glance with Havoc before they both turned to me. Furious, they both looked ready to fuck Angel up. I wanted to be the first to get my hands on him.

“Fred got in deep with the cartel. Gambling. Whores. Drugs. Salazar fronted Fred with the cash. Xenon confirmed that Fred sold Molly to Angel to clear his debts. We’ve learned that Angel planned to sell Molly to Luis Diego. We believe he already did so when you arrived. You interrupted that sale.”

“Son of a bitch!” I roared, slamming a fist on the table.

Hades sent me a look for my outburst. I didn’t care.

“What about the FBI agent?” Grave asked.

Molly’s brother, Torin.

“He’s been working the missing person angle and trying to bust those trafficking rings, but he’s not been too successful. Someone powerful protects those motherfuckers. We’ve had a few run-ins with ’em. Torin isn’t an issue.”

I didn’t like the way he said that. Was Torin’s life in danger? Molly wouldn’t take that well. She hadn’t discussed Torin with us, but there also hadn’t been a lot of time. We’d been rushing from one place to another since we rescued her.

“It seems girls tend to go missing on Friday nights,” Grim continued. “Most of them have happened at After Hours. That fucking club is a menace.” A dark chuckle left his lips. “But we sent some anonymous intel and video feeds that Xenon managed to track down and downloaded shit onto a USB drive. We sent the package to Torin.”

Havoc chuckled.

A grin widened my lips. Torin would shut that club down fast.

Molly was taken on a Friday night, so I knew Grim spoke the truth. If this information protected Molly and other young women, I didn’t care how we distributed it.

“Angel and Luis Diego are moving girls through Vegas and all over Nevada. They need to go to ground. I’m over this shit.”

Grim sounded as pissed as I felt. I believed he would handle this, but I hated being unable to hunt Angel down for what he did to Molly. Maddog would want the same for Lark.

I wondered if Molly knew her sister had become the ol’ lady for the new RBMC Las Vegas president. Somehow, I doubted it.

“So,” Hades clarified. “We’re waiting until you speak to Salazar to move forward.”

“And I talk to Maddog. He’s fuckin’ up my ass.”

Grave snorted. “I bet.”

Grim’s deep voice reminded us we were far from the shit in Las Vegas. Would the Bladed Serpents travel to Ohio? If I had to guess, yes, they would. We fucked with them and shot some of their members. They’d want retribution.

“You comin’ back to Nevada?”

“I don’t want shit to roll back on us here in Ohio. If I’d known all this, I would have kept Slash, Gunner, and Havoc in Vegas.”

“Just learned half of it, Hades.”

“I know, brother. We’re good. Just not likin’ the shitstorm headin’ my way.”

“No. It’s fucking brewin’ here, and the stink is riling up the club. Send your guys and Molly to The Crossroads. Not tellin’ ya how to run your club, just offering some advice. Lock your shit down. You need help, you reach out.”

Hades stared at me, nodding. “Will do. They’re headin’ back to you after I give them a day to rest.”

“Sounds good, brother.”

Hades ended the call. He tossed his phone onto the table and looked me square in the eyes. “You claiming Molly?”

“I am.”

Grave whistled. “Damn.”

Havoc cleared his throat. “I am, too.”

He turned to me, and I could see his real feelings for Molly. I didn’t mind sharing her if it was with Havoc. I knew and trusted him as if he were my blood.

“I’m good with it.”

We both turned to Gunner.

His chin dipped, and he shook his head. “I can’t.”

Grave gripped his shoulder. “If you’re feelin’ something for her, don’t let her slip away. You’ve tortured yourself for the past long enough.”

“I agree,” Hades added. “You want fifteen fucking cocks in your party, go for it. I ain’t judging where you all dip your wick.”

All three of us lifted our middle fingers at the same time.

Roaring laughter followed.

I WOKE WITH A SCREAMon my lips, dying before it had a chance to vault from my lungs. My breath came fast and shallow as I sat up, panting as the dream played over in my mind. The nightmare felt as real as the actual auction, pulling me back into the horror and depravity, Scourge’s vicious grin, and the girl’s lifeless eyes. I lifted my hand to my throat, the ghost of Angel’s touch still lingering on my neck.

Suddenly feeling dirty, I climbed from the bed where I’d fallen asleep, waiting on Slash, Havoc, and Gunner.

They had a biker meeting that Cora called church. I didn’t ask her to go into detail. I’d slept in the truck, but the exhaustion had crept back into my body, and she brought me to Slash’s room. At least, she said the room belonged to Slash. I hoped she was right.

I padded my way to the bathroom and flipped on the light, blinking at my reflection. No one told me I had dark circles under my eyes or smeared makeup, my hair was wild and tangled, or there were red marks around my neck. A slight bruise had formed on my cheek where I’d been hit.

I was a mess, and it wasn’t just physical.

The shower beckoned, and I locked the bathroom door, turned the handle, and let the water get hot. I stripped and brought my bra and panties into the stall with me to wash them since I didn’t have any other clothes. I took care of them first and then placed them over the empty towel bar to dry, draping the towel over the shower rod.

I stayed under the spray much longer than necessary, scrubbing the grime off my body and the memory of that auction. Tears filled my eyes, and I didn’t bother to blink them back. What I went through was a stain on my soul, and I had it easy compared to some of the others the Serpents MC bikers had touched. Salty tears mixed with the water and slid down my face as I wrapped my arms around my waist and cried.

A knock sounded on the bathroom door. “Molly?”

Gunner. He was the last guy I expected to check in on me.

“You alright, sunshine?”

Sunshine? He never called me that before now.

“I, uh,” I stammered, shutting off the water. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“There’s no rush.” He sounded like he stood far too close to the other side of the door. How long did he hear me cry before he called out?

I didn’t bother to pull on my ripped tights or the outfit from last night. A white robe hung on a hook, and I wondered if Slash ever used it. When I slipped it on, I found the tag from the store. Nope. I kind of liked that it was all mine.

When I belted the sash around my waist, it swallowed me up in soft terry cloth, but I liked the warmth and coverage it provided. Soon, though, it became hot as I applied lotion and deodorant and brushed my teeth with the extras gathered on Slash’s sink. I had a feeling Cora left them for me to use.

Shrugging off the bathrobe, I reached for a larger towel, stretching it around me and tucking the end under my armpit. It wasn’t long, barely covering my ass and breasts, but far less confining.

My hair went into an extra towel and curled around my head. Gunner stood there when I opened the door, looking lost but determined.

He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut, his gaze traveling over me. Heat blazed molten silver in his eyes as they swept my body from head to toe.

Of the three, Gunner surprised me the most with his harsh commands and soulful gray eyes. The kind of eyes that churned a turbulent sea right before a storm, cloudy and frothy, hiding the depths within. A man who hid pain and regret but wore it like an invisible badge on his chest.

Gunner was savage, hardened by something in his past or a life that had taken too much out of him. He shouldered a burden I didn’t understand and used that as a crutch to keep me at a distance. He was quiet but closed off. A violent menace that rolled underneath his skin, waiting to be unleashed.

And then there was the other side of him—caring, attentive, almost kind, a contradiction like nothing I had ever seen.

He surprised me when he betrayed the raw hunger and need before he could lock it away, turning his head far too late to conceal it.

“Gunner?”

“I heard you,” he answered in a low, guttural tone. “Had to be sure you were alright.”

“I think it’s gonna take time,” I replied with brutal honesty.

“Yeah.” He swallowed, turning his gaze back to me. “We’re all here for you. Me.” He cleared his throat. “I’m here for you.”

Somehow, I knew that admission was hard for him.

“I appreciate that, Gunner.” I closed the distance between us. “You helped save me when you didn’t know who I was. I didn’t get a chance to thank you, but I’m saying it now. Thank you.”

He lifted a hand and caressed my cheek with his knuckles. “There wasn’t a choice. I’d never let any woman suffer like that. But you? I wanted to fucking gut them for trying to hurt you.”

I smoothed my fingertip over his dark brows, drawn together in his anger. Of course, it wasn’t directed at me, but the Bladed Serpents and Angel Mackenzie.

“I don’t want to walk away from you,” he revealed.

“Then don’t.”

The bedroom door opened, and Slash and Havoc entered. It shut behind them, and Slash locked it. Havoc grinned.

A sudden need crashed over me like a hot wave. I’d never done anything in my life this wild, but I smiled, pulled on the towel, and let it drop to the floor.

Three bikers. One bed. I was a lucky girl.