Chapter 22

22

NEVADA

Of course, like clockwork everything fell right into our hands. Just like we predicted it would. It's not like it's any of our first rodeos, but something about Meg suddenly feeling the need to communicate felt off. Call it gut instinct, or just plain semantics, but Dave had to be in on it. And if he owned her, there was no way in Hell that he'd let her have a phone to just do what she wanted with. In a way, I'm glad that he thought we were stupid. And he had no idea we were part of an MC, as I'd removed my cut that day.

Dave tied up begging for his life like a goddamn piece of shit is exactly what I didn't know I needed to start my day.

I didn't want Star to have to see this, but well, she's gonna be my ol' lady as soon as we get back and I claim her, and this is part of the life. She can deal with it. Unlike some of the ol' ladies that are shielded from this kinda shit, I know my girl can take it. She's tough. Deep down, yeah, I know she's also vulnerable and has a soft side. But this stuff? She was made for it…

"We can make this really fuckin' quick, or we can make it really fuckin' slow," I say, pacing. "My girl here, she likes to use knives and…" I turn to Star. "Sorry baby, but you're a little unhinged when it comes to sharp objects."

Star is in full business mode. She doesn't like to be played, but she also won't back down and this asshole had it coming. We managed to get Meg away, for now she's safe with the Hellions, but we can't risk her running back to her captors, not that there'll be anything left of Dave when we're done with him. We don't know yet how many are involved, and it's doubtful this is an isolated case. Dave is not only in on the business with Jefferson; he had a real-life prisoner of his own.

"I'm sorry," Meg cried. "I'm so sorry…"

Dave had come out of nowhere with two of his imbecile idiot friends. He didn't even have the gall to involve Jefferson, thinking he could take us by himself. Again, he had no idea that we were part of an MC or it could've been a lot worse if he had dealings with the Skeletons.

"It's not your fault," Star said. "I know he was controlling you."

Meg was inconsolable as the boys led her to the truck where Kyle and Halo took over and put her safely in the car. She was not only exhausted, but malnourished and working for nothing — well, not nothing, if you call giving Dave sexual favors pay dirt.

I shudder at the thought. This asswipe deserves to die a slow death.

Now he and his two stooges are tied up in the Hellions' Ridgehaven warehouse, forty minutes away. Better them be out of the city where Bane can deal with them later, since it was him that told us to keep them all alive. Sucks to be them, I guess.

"We don't know shit, we're just the middlemen!" Dave cried. Amazing how these big dudes fall and crack so easily. Dave ain't so tough now that he has a dozen bikers standing around him.

"This could've gone a different way," Harlem warns. "And it still can. You have an opportunity to save your own hides, but doin' shit the hard way also works for us, right boys?"

Ayes and yeahs go around the space and Dave looks like he might pee his pants.

Star steps in front of me, her blade at his throat. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't cut your vocal cords out of your throat?" she hisses.

"These guys are useless!" Dave notions with his head to the other two guys tied up and gagged. They were making too much noise. "They don't know shit. They can be disposed of. I can tell you everything I know!"

"That's amazing how just yesterday you told me basically to fuck off and tore up my business card and put it in the trash," Star reminds him.

"That wasn't a nice thing to do, Davey boy," I taunt. Seeing my girl in action makes me want to drag her out back and ride her hard and fast. I can't stop thinking about what we did last night until the wee hours of morning. That's why I'm tired, but it was worth every minute. She tried to sneak away for a shower, but I followed her in. Making sure I helped her wash properly before doing it again against the wall of the tiles. She's just as insatiable as me, and I love that about her.

Star trails the knife down his shirt, effectively tearing it with the tip. Damn, that thing is sharp. "I don't know, I think he'd look a lot leaner without his balls attached."

Dave winces as she knees him in the nuts. His face is red as he coughs and hacks, trying to get his breath back.

"I'd listen to her," I warn. "Like I said, she has a thing for sharp objects and she's unpredictable."

I have no clue how far Star will go, but I'm not gonna lie and say I'm not intrigued by it. And we still don't know if Dave knows shit, or if he's just really a bottom feeder with no standing at all with Jefferson. All he does is run a lowdown junk yard that has seen better days.

"Just cut his nuts off and be done with it," Hawk grumbles. "I'm hungry. Never got to eat my double stack of pancakes thanks to these losers."

I snort.

"Fine, I'll tell you what I know!"

I stand behind him and pull his head upright by his hair. "It better be something that we don't already know," I warn. "Because if you give us some bullshit intel it means you're not worth the shoes you're standin' in. Talk!"

"There were multiple trucks comin' in and out of Mississippi," he begins. "Some went off course to throw the feds — after the Caruso takedown, everyone was runnin' scared."

I tighten my hand in his hair and yank. "Keep talkin'."

"They switched tact. The Task Force here was breathin' down heavy. They had a tip off which would've brought down the syndicate, which is why Monty moved half the cargo to Texas instead. It took the heat off everything here for a while until shit with the pigs calmed down and they cooled off."

This Texas thing keeps popping up.

"The Skeletons involved?"

"Not fully, but they have paid for some girls."

Which means they now have sex slaves. I move my hand to his neck. I stare at Star and she stares back at me. Have I ever noticed how fuckin' pretty her eyes are? I think I have, but in this light, they look ethereal. She's so beautiful.

She punches him in the face. "Asshole!"

A few snickers and guffaws ring around us and it's hard not to puff out my chest. I like my girl giving it back to this asshole. This is her time now, and I'm gonna give it to her.

"Hey, it wasn't me!" he cries. "I'm just the middleman."

"Oh, right, like you don't have a say in any of it?" she snarks back, flexing out her fingers. "You expect us to believe that?"

"Believe what you want." He spits and it lands on her boot.

She glances down and I wince. "Uh, oh, Dave, you're about to have a really bad day."

She shakes her head before cutting him across the chest with her blade. He screams. My girl carves into his skin as he bleeds. "You know what this reads, asshole? It says: Trafficker."

"You bitch!"

She steps back, looks at me and says, "Move back, honey, this is about to get ugly."

I do as she says, my dick painfully hard as I watch my girl in action. She turns suddenly and roundhouse kicks him in the head, knocking his head almost clean off his shoulders. I hear ‘ow' and ‘fuck' all around as the boys watch her beat him.

He's so dazed, he doesn't even answer. She follows it with a slap, because that's way more humiliating than a punch.

"Now that was me being nice, Dave. You really don't want to see me mad now, do you?"

"Fuck no," I hear Haze chuckle.

"She's got my vote," Harlem adds.

"I've been meaning to get myself a punching bag." She slides on a knuckle duster and I know this ain't gonna tickle. She punches him in the ribs once, twice, three times… until I hear a loud crack and Dave screams and shouts so loud that I put the gag back into his mouth so my baby can continue in relative peace. "And now I realize I don't have to." She backhands him so the knuckle dusters slide into the side of his nose and it immediately starts bleeding.

"Well, fuck." Tag moves closer, his interest piqued. "Might have to get you to teach my ol' lady some self-defense. Not that she needs any more excuse to beat my ass."

Everyone chuckles.

Star turns. "I've always thought about opening my own studio. Help women protect themselves against assholes like this."

I move toward her, grab her by the face and kiss her hard before moving my mouth to her ear. "You doin' me proud, baby. You like makin' your old man happy?"

"Yes," she whispers. "I'd also like to remind you what I can do if you step out of line."

Barks of laughter ring out as I nip her on the ass but kiss the top of her head at the same time. "Stop bein' a bitch and finish him."

Dave's eyes grow wide, his blood-stained face a testament to everything he deserves. He tries to protest, and it's a pity we have to leave him alive.

Star raises her arm back as if to punch him in the face, but she stops as he tries to speak.

I pull his gag down. "You were sayin'?"

"One of the trucks was intercepted in Texas." His gasping and sputtering doesn't help but we let him continue. "Skeletons' job was to keep local MCs away so we could find it. They suspect the Stiletto Riders…"

Star looks at me for a brief second and I shrug. "Who?" She shakes him.

"Stiletto Riders… they're… they…" He's gasping for air now. It won't be a pity if he dies, but if he has a goddamn heart attack, we won't help him. This man is as low as they come.

"They're an all-women's MC in Saddle, Texas," Brew finishes.

We all turn to him.

"Wait, I thought they were just an urban legend?" Harlem scratches his head.

There are plenty of women MCs all around the country. Most are charity organizations or women who get together to appreciate Harleys, nothing too hardcore. I try to think if I've heard that name before.

"Nope, they exist." Haze's gaze falls on his brother. "But we didn't know they had anythin' to do with this."

Brew shakes his head. "I didn't either. Only learned about Texas this mornin', and we didn't know if this asshole was full of shit."

"I swear to God I'm tellin' the truth! Ask Bane Adler… He knows D— Diamond… the club's prez."

I kick his shin. "What does she or the club have to do with this?"

Dave grimaces, clearly not happy about telling us this part. He doesn't seem to understand that he's a dead man already. Nothing he says now will save him from his fate.

"Rumor has it they have some of the girls at their compound." He winces in pain. "Took them in, housed them… Some of the girls were… pretty fucked up…"

This lands him another blow to the guts and he doubles over, practically crying.

"I looked into her… Tilly St. Clair… She…. She wasn't… She's dead…"

Star's knife drops to the ground and a sound leaves her throat that I hope I never hear again. "No. You can't… You can't know that…"

"Look lady, I'm sorry and all… like I said, I'm just the—" He doesn't get to finish because I punch him in the face this time. A couple of teeth go flying out of his mouth.

I wrap my arms around Star. She's struggling, I can see it in her eyes and in her demeanor; her shoulders slumping as she grasps his words.

"It's gonna be okay. He's lyin'."

"She was the first to go." He laughs. He actually laughs. "Pretty little blonde-haired baby. Sold for a pretty penny. They fucked her up…"

No. He can't be…

"How… How do you know?" Tears stream down Star's face and Dave grins. His bloody, smiling face has my blood boiling.

"You don't know shit!" I yell at him. "Star, baby…"

She collapses in my arms as I hold her up.

"I told you," he grunts. "If you go pokin' around in business that doesn't concern you, you'll wind up bein' the one who gets hurt. Had me a nice piece of ass…"

"Let her finish this," I say, looking up at Tag and Harlem as they approach Dave. I shake my head once to stop them. "He's a lyin' asshole who knows he's already dead, he'll say anythin'."

I tilt her face so her eyes meet mine. I caress her cheek and she kisses me chastely. Then she turns, picks up the knife and she plunges it straight into his heart.

Estelle

I didn't break down. I felt like I could, easily, but Nevada's comfort talked me off the ledge. I may be tough on the outside, but I'm only human.

I'm encased in Nevada's arms and I don't know how I ever thought I could go the rest of my life without him by my side. I killed a man today, but none of it matters. That asshole deserved it and I'd do it all over again just for the satisfaction of wiping out one less scumbag to wreak havoc on society.

Nevada keeps saying that Dave was full of shit. I told him my sister's name at the office when I handed out my card. He was just saying that to hurt me. But now I'm second guessing everything. Tilly could be dead. And I've just been fucking around this whole time, looking for answers when I should've been facing the reality that it could be true.

My baby sister could be gone, but that's a reality I won't allow myself. I can't.

Nevada keeps ignoring his ringing phone, and I don't know if it's that same number he keeps ignoring, or the boys. He took me back to the motel to clean up. Nothing like blood splatter on your clothing to give away something bad just happened. The truth is, I don't feel bad about it. Maybe I should. But after what he said, and what he did to Meg? That just isn't right.

"You okay?" I'm lying with my back to his front as he holds me. I haven't cried. I don't feel anything for assholes who take women's liberty away, but Nevada is acting like I may break.

"I just needed a minute," I say. "And I had that afterward, so now I'm good."

"Estelle, you killed a man today, that has to mean somethin'. It can be traumatic?——"

"Except when it isn't?"

"You just bein' tough, or do you mean that?"

I turn to look at him. "Should I feel bad?"

He shakes his head. "You don't have to feel anythin', Sugar, but if you do,, that's okay too. Takin' a life isn't a small thing, even for pond scum like Dave."

"Maybe I'm made differently?"

"Let me ask you somethin'?" I fold down into his chest where it's warm and safe, waiting for what comes next. "Did you take up kick boxin' because of your ex?"

"Is your next question gonna be why didn't I use it on him?"

He kisses my head. "Nope."

I sigh. "Just because I had the ability to use martial arts back then, doesn't mean that I had the mental capacity to go with it. The thing with an abuser is they manipulate you slowly. They make you become so dependent on them that you don't know who you are without them. I let that happen. I let him do those things to me."

He takes a long moment before answering. I love that about him. He's not always quick to have all the answers. "You can't keep punishin' yourself for bein' vulnerable. I can't say I know what it feels like because I've never been in your shoes, but I know you have a big heart and assholes like your ex didn't deserve your love. I hate that he did that to you, but I'm never gonna put a hand on you that you don't want."

I close my eyes and squeeze him tighter. "We shouldn't work."

"But we do."

"Imagine if I hadn't kicked your ass."

"I want you to do it again."

I laugh. "I bet you do." I think about what else he wants me to do to his ass and I suppress a groan. I've never been more sexual than I have with him. He makes me feel sexy in a way I never have — in a way I didn't think I could be. He lets me be myself and doesn't try to change me. "This time with a vibrator."

He chuckles. "It is a pretty hot thought, you have to admit."

"I can't say I've ever strapped on a big dildo and fucked a man with it."

"Hey, let's not go crazy with the big."

I can't contain my laughter. "Oh my God, you keep me young."

I think he's about to make a joke, but he surprises me by saying, "I know you're thinkin' about what he said about Tilly. But you gotta know, he doesn't know shit. He was just sayin' that stuff to hurt you."

I feel the blood pounding in my ears. "I get that, but I also have to face the reality that it could be true. I don't think I've ever let myself go there." I close my eyes, trying to ward off any negative thoughts. "It's too unbearable."

"Which is why we keep fightin' until we get answers."

I bury my face into his neck. "I can't lose her, Nevada. I can't…"

He pulls me in tighter. "We're gonna do everythin' we can to find her, you hear me? This isn't over. You've been strong for so long, baby, and you've only gotta hold on for a little while longer."

"I'm so tired, but each time I think that, I picture my little sister and I know I have no room to even think about being tired. Not while I'm still breathing."

"We're so close."

"I know. I feel it."

And he holds me for the longest time. I've never felt so safe and wanted. I didn't know safety was a thing I craved until Nevada made me feel it all the way down to my toes. He's the missing piece to my life. I had no freaking clue that things could be this good, and I know it's early days and we've already told each other we love one another, but I'm tired of running. I'm tired of denying myself happiness because of a dark blip in my past and an ex who treated me bad. I'm still me. I'm still not gonna take any crap, but sometimes it feels good to also let someone take care of me. It feels foreign, but now that I have Nevada, I don't want to live without him. I can't live without him.

"Never gonna lose hope," he murmurs. "Not when we have each other."

Those are the sweetest words I've ever heard.

"When you say it, it makes me believe it even more."