Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Dani fought hard. She kicked, scratched, and even bit down hard when a hand tried to cover her mouth. She refused to be taken without hurting others in the process, but it was no use.

All the fight drained out of her as she watched Gage's body collapse to the ground. It was seven against one. He never stood a chance. And yet, he fought hard to keep her safe. If only she had listened to him when he first asked her to run. Instead she hesitated, too scared to leave him behind, and it cost her. Not just her but him as well. He had been doing fine until she screamed his name.

"Time to go, bitch. Ace would like a word with you."

Ace, the president of the Hell Raisers, wasn't a man she ever wanted to be alone with. Even when she first started hanging around the MC, she knew he was bad news. People outside the MC trembled in fear when they heard his name and those inside the club said it with reverence. She was one of the many who shook with fear. Ace would kill her without a chance to explain and she would never get to see Gage again.

Before she could protest, something hard came down on her head and it was lights out.

Dani was on the floor. At least she figured that was what the hard surface beneath her ass was and she felt something solid behind her. Most likely a wall. Her fingers were numb but she realized quickly she couldn’t shake out her hands like she wanted to. Was she tied up? Her head was pounding too much to think clearly and she wanted to puke. Was this what a concussion felt like?

Wait, why would I have a concussion?

Then the events from the evening came back to her. Sitting on the front porch reading a book while wrapped up in a blanket. Talking to Janet. Deciding she was done living in fear. Gage screaming her name. The sound of motorcycles tearing down the driveway. Gage begging her to run and hide in the woods but her not listening fast enough. The fight.

The awful fight that ended with Gage’s body in a crumpled mess on the dirt.

Was he even alive?

"Gage . . ." His name was nothing more than a croak from her dry mouth as she watched the replay in her mind of him falling to the ground while several men kicked him repeatedly.

"Sorry, I doubt your boy is feeling very good after the beating my men gave him."

Dani recognized that voice, but it didn't make sense.

"Mark?" It had been years since she last saw him. Last she knew, he was trying to become a member of the MC but they wanted nothing to do with him. How could they be “his” men? The guys who came for her wore the Hell Raisers cut and told her they were bringing her to Ace.

Nothing made sense.

She finally managed to open her eyes just enough to see that had changed. Mark stood in front of her, wearing the familiar cut.

"The one and only." Mark held his arms out. "How do you like my new digs?" He spun so she could see the flaming skull that associated him with the Hell Raisers but he didn’t stop there. He also waved his arms around the clubhouse. The one she fought hard to never return to again. She was indeed on the dirty floor, against a wall, and her hands were tied with rope in front of her.

"Why?"

"You're going to have to be more specific.” Mark cackled. There was nothing funny about his evil laugh.

"Why me?"

All she wanted to do was leave this part of her life behind her, to put it in the past and move on. She’d been doing such a good job too. Then she had to go and push her limits, trying to prove to herself that she could travel through the area without wanting to relapse.

She was so stupid.

And her stupidity could very well have killed Gage.

"Because you betrayed the club."

Dani looked over at the new voice and cringed. She much preferred dealing with Mark. At least she knew what he was capable of. Ace was a wild card on the best of days. She figured today was far from a good day.

"No, I didn't."

"Liar!" She had to fight back the scream that wanted to escape when Ace grabbed her hair by the roots and yanked. He pulled her so that their faces were within less than an inch from each other’s. He smelled like whiskey and cigarettes. It made her stomach turn.

He had a long beard, like Gage, but where Gage’s was neat and groomed, Ace’s looked like a rat lived in it. There was nothing groomed about this man. His clothes were dirty and smelled like several different brands of women’s perfume. It had her wondering if he ever changed in between the women he bedded or if he just didn’t care for hygiene.

"You get into a fight at one of my bars and run off so that the pigs are looking for you, and then, the next day, our clubhouse gets raided. You really think the two don't have something to do with each other?"

She had no idea what he was talking about. Yes, she left but she had no idea how that was related to some raid.

"I swear they don't!" Tears raced down her face. The added pressure of him pulling on her hair was making the headache that much worse. She was moments away from puking in his face but she kept the bile down. Something told her Ace wouldn't take kindly to that, and she didn't have a death wish. She’d just found Gage again. She wasn’t giving up a life with him that easily.

If he was even alive.

No! She refused to think like that.

"Bullshit. I always knew you were trouble. We kept you around the first time because you put out, but the second time you were just taking up space. Patch bunnies are only good for one thing,” he sneered. “Pussy."

"Please," she begged. "I swear it wasn't me. I went straight to rehab from the fight."

She realized her mistake immediately when she saw the gleam in his eyes. She’d just given him the leverage he needed over her. She fought hard to pull away despite the pain in her head from where he was holding her hair in his fist.

"That's right.” An evil smirk took over his face. “You liked to sample our product when you were here. A blowjob for a hit, if I remember correctly, and when that wasn't enough, you let my guys abuse that dirty pussy of yours."

The reminder of all the things she used to do for the next hit made her stomach revolt. She wasn't proud of who she used to be, but she was damn proud of who she had become since then. She refused to go back to that person.

"So how long has it been?"

Dani kept her mouth shut. She wasn't going to give him any more ammunition than she already had. But Ace didn't accept her silence.

She heard the crack before she felt the pain. Ace slammed her head against the wall and this time she couldn't keep herself from screaming. She also couldn't keep her stomach contents in. Puke dribbled down her chin as stars danced in front of her eyes. If she didn’t have a concussion before, she was sure she did now.

"Fucking gross." Ace released the hold on her head with such force that she barely managed to catch herself before her face hit the floor. But it didn't keep her from landing in the puddle of bile below her. "Watch the stupid bitch while I wipe her barf off me. I want to find out what she told the pigs before I kill her."

Oh sure, he didn’t care that he smelled like a bunch of different women but clearly bile was where he drew the line.

She had no idea who he was speaking to. She assumed it was Mark but she couldn't remember if anyone else had come in. Her brain was fuzzy from the repeated blows to her head, and while there were no longer stars dancing around, everything was blurry.

"Not so mighty now, are you?" Mark grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the mess she created. She was thankful to no longer have to smell the puke, but she didn't want to go anywhere with him. "You were fine using me after you dumped Gage but you threw me away like trash after you started hanging out with the Hell Raisers. Well, now look at me! I'm one of them. Does that make me good enough for you again?"

What the hell was he talking about? She never threw him away. She started getting high. Every choice she made after that centered around her next hit. It wasn't her proudest moment but it had nothing to do with Mark.

"I didn't . . . do . . . that . . ." The words were choppy and possibly slurred. She couldn't be sure though. Now there was a ringing in her ear that was making it hard to focus.

"Yes, you did. You were fascinated with motorcycles, so I helped you find the club, but when they wouldn't let me in, you ditched me."

Was that a whine in his voice? Was he really complaining about something that happened over ten years ago? They weren’t the same people anymore.

"No, I became an addict."

The one thing she never wanted to happen. She should've stayed the hell away from the Hell Raisers when she had the chance. She thought riding a motorcycle again would make her feel good, like when she rode with Gage, but she’d been wrong.

So fucking wrong.

She floundered a lot after graduating high school. Those first few years were depressing but she would’ve gladly taken them over what she experienced since finding the MC.

"You did, and you sold your body to every club member who was willing. Now it's my turn. Now I get to abuse that pussy." He ripped the front of her shirt in half so that the pieces hung off her shoulders, and she was left in her bra.

Dani tried to cover herself with the remaining pieces of cloth, but Mark slapped her hands away. The two of them battled over her precarious situation, though he had the upper hand. His palms were bigger and she was fighting dizziness. Not to mention she was tied up, so she was working with a handicap. Then there was the fact that she wasn't only seeing two hands. Most times she would see five or six. She was lucky to connect with one every third time or so.

"Prospect!" Ace's booming voice caused them to freeze in place. Luckily she recovered quickly enough to shove the pieces back together and scramble backward on her elbows while Mark was focused on Ace.

"I told you, you could have your piece of ass after I got what I fucking wanted. I planned to do this later but I guess now is as good a time as any."

She didn't see the next thing coming. But she should have.

Ace pulled a gun from the back of his pants and aimed it at Mark. There was no hesitation. No warning. Ace pulled the trigger and shot Mark right between the eyes.

Dani was pretty sure she screamed, and her body was definitely frozen in fear. Mark was dead. His body sunk to the ground, blood pooling around him. Something wet splashed against her face.

Blood.

It had to be blood.

Just like that. One second he was terrorizing her, and the next, nothing. Gone. Was the same going to happen to her?

"Good riddance." Ace kicked Mark's lifeless body. "He was an annoying little fuck. The only thing he was good for was finding you." Then he turned his attention back to Dani, a sadistic smile on his face.

It was then that she saw what he was holding in his other hand.

"No . . ." She tried to scramble further back but her coordination was off and all she managed to do was fall onto her back. "Please, no."

"Oh, yes. One taste of this and you’ll be begging to tell me what I want to know. You’ll tell me everything I need to get your next hit."

Yes, she would, because it didn't matter how long she was sober; an addict was still an addict. All it took was once and she would be craving more.

"Please don't do this . . ." Tears poured down her face of their own accord. She didn’t want to look weak.

She kicked and thrashed but it was no use. Two more men came to join the party, and before she knew it, she was being held down, and the pinch of the needle entering her vein was all she could focus on.

Fourteen months of hard work, and for what?

To be right back where she started.