Rycks, page 9
“Has some unfinished business,” Thorn said softy. “He’ll be back either tomorrow or the next day.”
I glanced up at the man who had so recently held my life in his hands. I wasn’t sure I trusted him, but at least he’d brought my daughter to me. For that, at least, I was grateful. “Thank you, Thorn.”
He shook his head. “Don’t thank me yet. Jury’s still out on your fate.”
I closed my eyes and inhaled my daughter’s sweet scent. “It doesn’t matter. Bella’s safe. Do what you have to do. Rycks can take over if he has to.” I was trying not to say “if I die” in front of Bella. The kid had been through enough without realizing her mother wasn’t in any better a situation than we’d just come from. Bella was safe. I was not.
“Don’t worry,” Venus said to me softly. “Thorn is thorough. And if it does come to that, I’ll make it quick and painless.” I knew, to Venus, her words were meant to make me feel better, but I wasn’t as brave as Venus gave me credit for. I wanted the fairy tale. I wanted to live happily ever after with Rycks and Bella. I just didn’t want to die. I wanted to see Bella grow into a caring, intelligent woman. I wanted a life with Rycks. “Besides. No matter what, I’ll make sure nothing happens until Rycks gets back.” She laid a hand on my shoulder and stood slightly in front of me. I looked up at her, and her gaze was on Thorn. The man nodded at her as if the two were having a silent conversation and had come to a decision. Did that mean Thorn already knew what he was going to do?
Now wasn’t the time. I had Bella with me. We were together. For now, that was enough.
I was aware of people leaving and the murmur of voices gradually receding. Looking up, I saw the men were mostly gone, except for the one called Fury. Likely he was there to make sure Bella was physically OK. As our crying tapered off and Bella relaxed slightly, he moved toward us.
“Bella?” She looked up at him. “I told you I’d bring you to your mother. Do you remember?” She nodded. “Now, I need to look at you. You remember me telling you I’m a doctor?”
“Yes. But I want my mommy.”
“Not a problem. I just want to get this part over so you can be with your mother and not have to worry about anything.”
“Where’s Rycks? He’s my daddy. He’s supposed to be here.”
Fury looked at me before answering her. “He’s taking care of Rat Man.”
Bella wrinkled her nose. “I hope Daddy kills him. He’s an asshole.”
Venus barked out a laugh before covering it with a cough. “I like this kid.”
Fury nodded. “That he is, little bit.”
Thirty minutes later, Fury pronounced Bella healthy and unharmed, if a bit underweight. Probably the result of stress. He’d looked briefly at her skin all over, and asked her questions like, “Did anyone touch you anywhere that made you uncomfortable?”
Bella had looked at me and asked if he meant like “down there.” When I nodded, she answered without hesitation that no one had. I hadn’t thought she’d been abused that way, but it was definitely a relief to know she hadn’t. Fury had taken time with her, reassured her she could tell him or me, even if she was afraid to right now. There was nothing to be afraid of, nothing was her fault, and there was no time limit on when she could tell us if she remembered someone hurting her.
Now, Bella and I sat on that same lounge chair, Bella curled up in my lap with her head on my shoulder as we watched the sun set on the horizon. I wasn’t sure we wouldn’t just stay here all night. If so, I could wake her gently to watch the sun rising from the ocean view in front of us. A fresh start on a new day. Hopefully, in a new life.
I was just about to doze off when Venus stirred from her spot beside us. The woman had apparently appointed herself our guardian in Rycks’s absence. Then I heard female voices.
“Just because Thorn’s gone soft since taking Mariana as his ol’ lady doesn’t mean this bitch doesn’t need to die. She’s a traitor. Probably the spy the men have all been looking for.”
“If we do this and we’re wrong, Topaz, Thorn will banish us. Or worse. Rycks has some kind of claim on her.”
“Shut up, Mercedes.”
“Easy for you to say. I’m not even supposed to be here. I do something Thorn doesn’t like, he’ll do more than banish me.”
“Only if you’re lucky,” a third voice said. Several women giggled.
“Fuck this shit.” That was Topaz.
Venus looked at me and stood. “Can’t help you with this. Can only keep it one on one.”
“Club girls I can handle. Any of them patched members?”
“Only me.” Venus stepped off to the side into the shadows.
“I’ve dealt with those fuckers at Kiss of Death. Club girls are nothing. Will you protect Bella?”
“With my life, little sister.” That was the most solemn vow I could have gotten from any MC member anywhere. With her calling me “sister,” she considered me an equal. Which meant she absolutely would keep Bella safe.
I stood to meet the threat. Topaz smirked, which meant she believed she had the backing of the other girls in a pinch, no matter their reservations. She might have been going to say something, I really had no idea and could give a shit. I just had no desire to listen to the little bitch.
Taking the three steps separating us faster with each step, I launched my attack just as she spoke.
“Listen, bitch -- UMPH!”
I drove the heel of my hand up into her chin, snapping her head back. Topaz staggered back before falling on her ass. She didn’t immediately scramble up, but glanced around at her buddies. A couple of the girls backed away toward the door, wanting no part of an actual fight. The other three looked nervously at each other.
Topaz got to her feet and screamed her attack. She threw herself in my direction, intending to take me to the ground. Apparently, blow jobs were the extent of her talent. She might be a good lover, but she was no fighter. I sidestepped her attack and she ended up on the ground once again. This time she was quicker to get up. When she rushed me a second time, I leaned into her. We hit with jarring force, hands on each other’s shoulders, but I managed to stay on my feet.
“Thorn’s gonna kill you, bitch! You and your fucking little whelp!”
“He might kill me. But he won’t touch Bella.”
“If you think Rycks is gonna protect you, think again. Guys said he’s gone. Back to Lake Worth and his own, snooty little club. You’re just like the rest of us. Beneath him.”
There might have been a sliver of doubt. I knew how over-the-top protective Rycks was. Even if he left me to face Thorn’s wrath alone, he’d never leave Bella. Unless he didn’t want the complication in his life.
No. Rycks would never shirk his responsibility.
“You might be right. Rycks might be back in Lake Worth. But if he is, then he’ll make sure that any punishment Thorn sees fit to hand down doesn’t involve orphaning Bella. He’ll make sure she’s taken care of, no matter if he arranges for me to care for her, or he does himself.”
“Maybe. But if he does come back, that only means he’s good with Thorn passing judgment on you. For betraying the club, that’s death, you bitch!”
“Not until he gets the final report from his computer people. That’s what he said.”
“You didn’t actually believe that, did you? He’s just making it look good to appease Vicious. As the club shrink, he always demands shit like that. Doesn’t mean Thorn does it. You’re guilty as fuck, and you’re gonna die. I just hope he lets me pull the trigger on your skanky ass!”
“You honestly believe that about Thorn? He’d kill someone for no reason?”
She shrugged. “He has before.”
“Careful where you go, Topaz,” Venus said from behind me. She’d stepped away from Bella but not so far she couldn’t get to the child if she needed to. She was also between the mob of club girls and Bella. “Accusations like that require proof. Can you produce it if I take you before the club?”
“You can’t do anything. You’re just a club girl in disguise. You’re no better than any of us.” Topaz said those words with feeling, but the look in her eyes said she wasn’t so sure. She kept shifting her gaze, looking back to her friends. The second she’d uttered the last sentence, the other girls backed away farther. The two in the back left the patio and went back inside, leaving me there to deal with only Topaz, assuming the other woman might attack again.
Venus saved me the trouble. Faster than I’d have thought possible, Venus lunged for Topaz, snagging her by the hair and shoving her to her knees on the concrete.
“Lyric, would be good for you to take little Bella back to Rycks’s room. I’ll come for you later.”
“What are you going to do?” I didn’t really care. I just wanted to see Topaz’s reaction.
“I’m taking out trash,” she said as she bent down to put her face next to the other woman’s. Venus licked a long line from Topaz’s jaw to her ear, then nipped the lobe sharply. “Too bad, really. You taste good. I’d have loved to find out if you’re as good at eating pussy as you seem to be at sucking cock.”
Topaz whimpered, looking up at Venus with a healthy dose of fear in her eyes. “If you don’t tell Thorn, maybe we could work out something.”
“Oh, baby,” Venus tsked. “Far too late for that. I suppose I’ll just have to stick to men since you won’t be here any longer.”
“You can’t throw me out. Only Thorn can do that.”
There was a long silence while Venus contemplated those words. “I suppose… you’re right.” Topaz gave her a victorious grin, one filled with superior glee. “We’ll just go talk to Thorn now.”
“What?” Topaz’s smile faded and her face paled. “You can’t --”
“Now, this I can. Actually, I could toss you out on my own, but I prefer to have Thorn’s blessing. I owe him more than this. Is small price to pay, letting him make decision about you.”
She pulled Topaz up by her hair and shoved her forward, never letting go of her hair. Venus looked back over her shoulder. “Go to Rycks’s room. Shut and lock door. I’ll be back soon.”
I looked back at Bella, who had a look of satisfaction on her face. She looked up at me. “I hope she has to go away,” Bella said. “She was mean.”
“Yeah, baby. She was.” I held out my hand to her, smiling. “Come on. We’ll go wait for Rycks upstairs.”
“Will he come back, Mommy?”
“Of course, baby. He’ll come back.”
“You sure he won’t go away and leave us here like she said?”
I knelt down in front of Bella. “Now, you listen to me,” I said, gripping her shoulders firmly. “Rycks is a good man. He risked his life to come after you and to protect me. He won’t leave us here to fend for ourselves. He will take us back to his home, and we’ll work everything out from there.”
“You promise?”
Did I? Did I really believe what I’d just told my daughter, or was it all bullshit to soothe her feelings? I thought back to everything that had happened. If Rycks had wanted rid of us, Fury would have said we were staying here. Instead, he’d made Bella aware she could come to him any time she needed. Surely that meant he thought we’d be with Rycks at the Black Reign compound. Besides. I trusted Rycks with my life. More importantly, I trusted him with my daughter’s life.
“Yes, baby. I promise.”
Chapter Nine
Rycks
Some places in the United States were still pretty much wilderness. The Dakotas, for example. While there were bustling cities, there was also peaceful emptiness. Only the wolves and God could find a man in some of those places. Just so happened, I knew of one such area. A friend from long ago owned it. I didn’t know his real name. Hell, I doubt there were many left on the face of the earth who did. All I knew him as was Chief.
The trip took us about six hours. During that time, I got to know Rat Man on a personal level. Basically, I beat the fuck out of him, all the while questioning him on everything except his involvement in the Brotherhood. That was for later. This session was all about power dynamics. Once he cracked and gave me a little information, I could get anything I wanted from him.
I’ll give him credit, though. He lasted longer than most men I’ve interrogated. By the time we landed, I had him singing like a canary. When he wasn’t squealing like a girl. He was also minus every fingernail and toenail he had, his hair and most of his scalp, and his hands were basically useless pieces of meat. I mean, I had a lot more body surface to work with, but it never took much. He’d spilled how he had thrown Lyric at me six years before with the intention of me getting her pregnant. They’d waited until she was at her most fertile, then sent her to me. Had it not worked the first time, they’d have sent her back until I rejected her, or until she finally got pregnant. Had she not conceived, they’d have thrown her into their rotation of women. Either fucked her until she was of no more use to them or sold her. Likely the latter since she was such a lovely find. It was enough to make my blood boil.
Justice had his hands full. He had to watch everything closely. Though the plane had been modified specifically for the messy business I put it through, Justice wasn’t taking any chances. Probably because Blood would still be in charge of the cleanup. The jet was to head straight back to Palm Beach where Blood and his crew would clean the thing from top to bottom. With every drop of blood that went beyond the tarp layered over much of the floor and aft seating, Justice glared at me. He’d probably lecture me later. Maybe try to throw me a beating. Meh. I could take him.
Now, I stood in the wide yard that surrounded the meager shack where Chief resided. There was a lantern burning inside the house but no other sign of life. I knew better than to think Chief was unaware of our presence, though.
“Never thought I’d see you again, boy.” Chief, an elderly Native American, approached from my left. As I’d expected, I hadn’t heard him approach.
“Been a long time.”
He looked at the beat-up Ford I’d brought my prisoner in. Rat Man was under a tarp in the back, too hurt and afraid to move. Just in case, however, Justice was under that tarp with him.
“Hear you have a rat problem.”
It never ceased to amaze me how Chief knew everything he did. “You could say that.”
“Best way to get rid of a rat is to burn him out.”
“That’s what I was taught.” I wouldn’t ask. It was up to Chief to offer. If he didn’t, this whole trip would have been for nothing.
“Got a building couple miles away.” He pointed in a seemingly random direction, but I knew exactly which building he was referring to. “It’s been filled with rats in the past. Had to make a hot fire to get rid of them, but it worked.”
“My rat has some brothers,” I said. Again, I didn’t outright say it. That wasn’t Chief’s way. But I needed to make sure he knew who this guy had for an employer.
“Pfft! He has no brothers. He’s the poor twice-removed seventh cousin. They wouldn’t claim him if their lives depended on it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Maybe all my effort at breaking this one was for naught?”
“Na. You probably learned something. Any knowledge is power if it’s in the right hands. Should save you some time now, though. He knows nothing about the brothers.”
If Chief said so, then I could bank on it. In all the years I’d known him, the man had never been wrong. He never made statements he wasn’t sure of. “Thanks, Chief. I owe you.”
“No. I think I still owe you more than one. Take this off my tab, eh?”
I grinned at the old man. “Your help is still very much appreciated.”
“Give your woman my love. Someday, I expect to meet her.”
I gave him a grin and a shake of my head. “Tell me where you get your information and I’ll consider it.”
Chief barked a laugh. “The spirits, my friend. Spend a few weeks in a spirit walk and maybe they’ll grant you the gift of sight as well.”
“I have no patience for it, old man. I think it’s why the spirits gave me you.”
“Perhaps. One thing I will ask before you go, my friend.”
“Anything, Chief.”
“Take care of your daughter. She is special, that one. Intelligent. She sees things others can’t and always will. Not a mystic, but she’s perceptive. If she tells you something, don’t ignore her.”
“You knew about her?”
“I did.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?” It was the first time I could ever remember being angry at the older man. But if he’d let Bella suffer when he could have told me and prevented it, I might have to kill him.
“You could try,” he said, giving me a stern look. My expression must have given my thoughts away. Chief was a master at reading people, and I’m sure my anger was making it easy for him. “I might be old, but I have powerful allies.”
“She lived in a kind of hell, Chief. How do you expect me to feel about this?”
“Suffice it to say I had someone watching over her until you were ready to meet her.”
That took me aback. “I don’t follow.”
“You weren’t ready to meet your daughter or her mother again until you’d lost the most important thing in your life. Not because you didn’t have room for them, but because you could never have fully appreciated them and what they could mean to you.”
I sucked in a breath. “You didn’t…” I couldn’t say it. If I did, it would make it real and I really would kill the old man. Right alongside Rat Man.
“Of course, I didn’t,” he snapped. He appeared just as angry as I felt. “You take me for a man who kills women for fun? Or even allows a woman to die just to make your sorry life better? No. I knew you weren’t ready, and it wasn’t until her death I realized why you weren’t ready. The devil knew it, too, though he still tried to find them both. Even sought my help. I assured him I had my best man watching out for her.”
El Diablo. He knew. Never had I doubted my mentor, but this might be the one time I took exception to the man’s secrecy.
