Loco, page 17
The souvenirs of his conquests, and me gone.
Loco
By the time we got to the warehouse where Russ and his gang had been hiding out, they were being held by some of the members of the Vegas Watchdogs, a club that we were friends with. I wondered what the VWs wanted with Russ.
The industrial park had been abandoned for years. The warehouse was located in the back. The windows had long ago been broken out by vandals or the homeless looking for a place to sleep. There were about six bikes parked near the entrance, and I could see one of their prospects manning the entry door. We parked close and once the noise from our bikes had died down, the stark silence of the area was noticeable.
Cole acknowledged the prospect as we walked to the door. “Hey, man.”
Chin lifts were exchanged.
“BF said to go on in.” The kid was around the age that I’d been when I’d prospected for the Desert Rebels.
He stood back while we plowed through the door and into the building. There was no one up front, but I could hear the distant drone of voices coming from the back.
“Maybe we can get the VWs to do the dirty work for us,” Snake said, bringing up the rear.
“The fuck we will,” I snapped, giving him a glare. “Russ is mine.” I was looking forward to ending his pitiful life.
Just before we entered the back room I heard BF’s familiar growl say, “You fucking assholes aren’t leaving here alive.”
BF was short for Bigfoot. The six-foot seven-inch man was fucking huge and scary and wore a size sixteen boot. Hence his nickname. Come to think of it, he also resembled a sasquatch. The man was a hairy motherfucker.
“Hope you’re just talking about Russ and his gang, Brother, ‘cause we have nothing against Vegas Watchdogs,” Cole joked, making his way over to the huge Enforcer of the other club.
“Hey, Brother.” Cole was a big man, but BF swallowed him up in a hearty man hug. “The little prick is popular these days.” He even had the deep, daunting voice of a giant.
“What’s your beef with him?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Was caught dealing bad drugs in our backyard.” Anyone with a brain in their head knew that the VWs didn’t deal in drugs and didn’t tolerate them in their territory. “Put two civilians in the hospital, one didn’t make it.”
I tightened my jaw and looked to where they had Russ gagged and hanging from the ceiling over a piece of plastic. His two usual sidekicks were trussed up like pigs and sitting on the floor against the wall. Russ knew what was coming, the fear unmistakable in his watery eyes. By the looks of him, the VWs had already beat the shit out of him.
“Where’s the rest of his crew?” Cole wanted to know, disgust turning his jaw hard.
Someone laughed. “The rest ran as soon as they saw us coming. Left their leader to fend for himself.”
“Why’d you want him?”
BF directed his question toward Cole, but I was the one who responded. “Owes the club money.” I decided to keep it simple. He didn’t need to know all of our business.
“So who gets the honors?”
Cole’s question caused my back teeth to clench. I wanted the kill shot, I deserved it, for Millie, but the VWs had just as much right to end Russ as we did. No one wanted the weasel and his gang walking the streets.
BF snorted. “Figured we could share. We’ve already beat the shit out of them.” A few of his brothers guffawed.
“We could cut him in half,” Happy suggested, gaining a muted groan from Russ. The reaction of some of the VWs suggested that they were on board with that idea, even though it was a stupid suggestion and had been said in jest.
I spoke up. “There’s a tattoo on his back that needs removing.”
Russ groaned again behind his gag. He knew what removing a tattoo would involve, and since there wasn’t a torch in sight there was only one other way to do it. Too bad LD wasn’t here--knives were his specialty.
“Have at it, Brother.” BF stepped aside and joined his men.
Cole looked at me. As Enforcer it was really his job to inflict pain and retribution on an enemy, but he knew that it was personal for me, that I wanted to deliver pain to the asshole who’d been harassing and had taken a shot at my woman. Without a word, Cole took out his knife and held it out in my direction. He knew that I didn’t carry a knife. I preferred a gun.
Grinning, I stepped forward and grabbed the knife, and then directed my gaze on Russ. His eyes were wild as he shook his head and moaned loudly. As if any of that would make a fucking difference.
I walked over to where he was hanging. “You’re a stupid fuck, you know that?” Tears ran down his thin face. “All you had to do was pay us back. We gave you time, but you chose to waste it by doing stupid shit, like messing with my woman, and now you’re going to fucking pay.” I snorted, recalling that day that I’d found him at the old lady’s place. “Hell, we might even be doing your grandma a favor.”
The noise that came out of him sounded like a wounded animal begging to be put out of its misery, or in Russ’s case, begging for clemency. But I had none, and the time had come for him to pay the piper. Demon may have been taking our club down the straight and narrow, but we still had to deal with shit according to its severity. Still had a reputation to keep up, and talk on the street held value. The Desert Rebels would never be known as a pussy club.
I went behind Russ and used the knife to cut the back of his shirt open. He began to squirm and moan wildly, anticipating the first cut. His two cohorts were also making noises of protest behind their gags. None of it mattered to me.
“Too bad you gotta ruin that pretty tattoo,” one of BF’s brothers who I didn’t recognize said jokingly.
“Won’t matter, stupid,” Snake laughed. “He ain’t leaving here alive.”
That was the truth. I reached up with the knife and began to slice away at the beautiful lion tattoo Morty had done, relishing in Russ’s muted screams. His body twisted and jerked so I grabbed his belt to hold him where I wanted him. The smell of blood grew stronger with each slice of his flesh and soon blood began to pool beneath his feet on the plastic. Thank fuck for that. Cleanup would be a lot easier.
As I cut, I recognized that I was in the zone, the one where I blocked out the shit that didn’t matter so I could do my job. I vaguely took note of the low murmurs in the room, concentrating on what I was doing. Russ was nothing but skin and bones, the tattoo covered his entire back from shoulder to shoulder, and I was basically skinning him alive.
His tattoo wasn’t the first one I’d ever had to remove.
By the time I was done, Russ was unconscious, and I was covered in his blood. Flaps of skin were piled up beneath his feet, surrounded by blood. It was a fucking mess, and the coppery smell of blood was sickeningly overpowering. It’d been a long time since I’d smelled that.
If we left Russ like he was he would eventually bleed to death, if shock didn’t get him first. At this point I’d done what I wanted to do--inflict as much pain as possible. It was no fun working on a man who’d passed out.
I stepped back and looked down at my bloody hands. “Fuck, I hope there’s a bathroom in here somewhere.”
“Has to be one,” Happy said. “People used to work here.”
I’d have to go looking. As I walked past Cole, he held out his hand for his knife. “Let me wash it first, Brother.” He dropped his hand and I left the room.
Chapter 26
Millie
u dont have 2 worry bout rus anymore
Did I want to know what Loco’s message meant? Probably not, and I hadn’t responded to it. That text had come in twenty-four hours ago, and I hadn’t heard anything else from him. It also explained why Body had taken off shortly after he’d followed me home, and without a goodbye or a single word to say that he was leaving. Did bikers not believe in saying goodbye?
I had a feeling that Loco’s silence was a result of the small mound of panties I’d left on his bed. Surely he’d seen them by now. I guess he didn’t care why I hadn’t been there waiting for him when he’d returned. Or maybe he was smarter than I gave him credit for, and realized that I needed time to calm down, bury the hurt of finding a drawer full of panties that didn’t include mine, and remind myself that he had a past that I couldn’t change.
I couldn’t get past the worry that I wouldn’t be enough for him, though. I was nothing like the women from his past. The fear that he’d grow tired of me left my stomach twisted in knots. I’d fallen for Loco fast and hard, and while he was controlling and possessive, it was in a way that I liked. It turned me on.
I thought about the men from my past. Stuart hadn’t counted, because we hadn’t been romantically involved. But there had been Brian and Ross. Both had been controlling and abusive in different ways. With Brian, the abuse had been mental. He’d discovered my insecurities early on and had used them against me.
With Ross, my last serious relationship, the abuse had been physical. I’d hated myself by the time I’d found the courage to leave him. Getting knocked around on a daily basis had been one of the reasons that I hadn’t been with anyone in the two years since we’d broken up. Also, Brian, Ross and Stuart had all happened in the same year and I’d needed the break and the time to re-evaluate my life and the poor choices I’d made.
I’d always asked myself why I’d allowed Brian and Ross to treat me poorly, and had come to the conclusion that it was because of my upbringing--inconsistency in foster homes, and lack of guidance. I couldn’t blame it all on my foster parents, though. Some had been loving and good to me, but they’d been stretched because they’d filled their homes with too many children.
Then at eighteen I’d been thrown out into a world that was filled with people who had more life experience than I had. Looking back, I was sure that Brian had seen an innocent woman who lacked confidence who he’d thought he could shape into the woman he wanted. I’d been willing to let him at first, thinking that he would make me a better person. It had taken me a while to realize that I was the only one who could make myself better.
Loco wasn’t trying to change me. He wanted me the way I was. That went a long way in my book. And the only time he was physical with me was when it mattered.
My phone buzzed and I grabbed for it, hoping that it was Loco. It was V. Huh, she must have been calling from work, because it was mid-afternoon. Maybe she’d forgotten something. “Hello.”
“Millie!”
I could tell immediately that something was wrong by the tone of her voice.
“I need your help.”
“Of course, honey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
She sighed heavily. “I’m okay. I’m at Bull’s clubhouse. Something awful happened today at work, with his uncle. He, um, passed away. I can’t go into detail right now, but BS is home alone. I left a key under your mat the other day in case something unexpected came up again.” I knew she was referring to the recent lockdown that had been sprung on her. “Sorry I forgot to tell you. Do you mind taking care of her again?”
“No problem, honey.” There was so much sadness in V’s voice, and I knew that if she couldn’t go into detail about what had happened to Bull’s uncle, it must have been bad. Had it been club related? “Please tell Bull I’m sorry about his uncle.”
“I will.”
“Since you left me a key, I’m going to leave BS there, if you’re okay with that. I think she’ll do better staying in her own home.”
“Good idea, honey. Thank you so much!”
I could tell that she’d been crying. “V, is there anything I can do to help?”
“Not right now, but thanks. I don’t know how long I’ll be on lockdown again—”
So it was club related! Did that mean Lissa was on lockdown, too? I didn’t question V any further, because it was obvious that she was too upset to talk about it right then. “Don’t worry about BS, I’ve got her until you come home.”
“Thanks again, Millie. I’ll talk to you again later.”
We disconnected and I set my phone back down. I wondered what had happened, and if V was in any danger. Bull seemed super preoccupied with her safety, which I thought was sweet. I knew that he’d keep her safe until whatever was going on was over.
I glanced at the clock. BS wouldn’t expect her dinner until after five because that’s when V usually made it home. I had a late afternoon job to take care of, and then I would be done for the day. It was close to Helen’s, so I decided that I might stop in since she’d been gone the day before.
I tried not to let Loco’s silence get me down, but he was all I could think about as I drove myself to the Walton’s residence. They’d gone to Hawaii for two weeks, and I’d been taking care of Oreo and Freckles, the children’s Guinea pigs.
I was in and out in half an hour and on my way to Helen’s.
Then I was going to head to the clubhouse and seek out Loco.
Loco
I threw back my third whiskey while I stewed about something I didn’t know how to fucking fix. Stepping into my bedroom and seeing the panties that I’d collected strewn about my bed and Millie gone was a message that I’d received loud and clear. What pissed me the fuck off was that instead of staying and talking to me about it, she’d just left without a word.
I had a fucking past! And maybe I still needed to clean some shit up and make changes, but it didn’t help that I had a woman who second-guessed herself and questioned my motives when it came to her. Finding that drawer had hurt her, I got that, but fuck, give me a break! I was a man-whore and we did stupid shit. As soon as I’d seen what she’d done, I’d called a prospect up to get rid of the collection of panties. I’d also stripped my bed and told the prospect to burn the stuff. Then I’d ordered a new fucking bed.
This relationship shit wasn’t easy, and I had to ask myself if it was worth it.
A lot of shit had been going down in the club lately, most of which involved LD’s chapter in Vegas, but it still affected us. The murder of Cappy, their VP, and now Bull’s uncle. Taking out Freak and Stretch, the last of the fucking Knights. The cops nosing around. LD had a traitor in the house, and until they found out who it was, they were on fucking lockdown again. I hadn’t shared any of that with Millie because it was all club business and wouldn’t affect her. Besides, I hadn’t wanted to scare her away. If I’d thought she was in any danger I would have brought her in and locked her ass down too.
Hell, maybe her reaction to those panties was a sign that I should just turn her loose. It wouldn’t be easy, I already had feelings for her, but letting her go now would be a helluva lot easier than waiting until I was actually in love with the woman. The sex was good--it was out of this fucking world good--but I’d been happy before with random pussy, and I could be happy with it again. It would make my life easier.
Easy sounded good right then.
I motioned our newest prospect, Bam Bam, over for another shot. He brought the bottle over and poured. “To the fucking top,” I grated when he went to pull away. I was beginning to feel the buzz. “Leave the bottle.” He didn’t say anything, he knew better, even though it was our top shelf stuff, expensive, and usually saved for special occasions.
I sighed. Yeah, maybe I should give Millie up. Make both our lives easier. I should stick with what I knew best. I caught Kelly’s eye where she was talking with Snake and motioned her over. Her smile revealed that she thought she knew why I wanted her. She was right. I had something to prove, and I needed the familiarity of being in control of my fucking life.
“You want me, baby?” she cooed, slithering around me like a snake in Eden’s Garden. The strength of her perfume stung my eyes, but I overlooked its stinging power by looking down at her tits. The only thing that her top covered were her nipples, and I wondered why she even bothered.
I finished my drink, grabbed the bottle, and slid off the stool. “Yeah, come on.”
She followed me without speaking, knowing the drill. Club sluts weren’t kept around for their conversational skills, and I wasn’t in the mood. I was feeling good from the whiskey and had made up my mind that I was going to do something stupid. Part of me, the drunk part, realized that there’d be no coming back from what I was about to do, and didn’t care. The other part of me wanted no part of it. Christ, my dick wasn’t even fucking hard yet.
As soon as I opened the door to my room, my eyes lit on the bare mattress of my bed. I didn’t give a fuck. We’d just be adding more stains to the ones that were already there. I sat down on the end of the bed and brought the bottle to my lips, drinking down a good portion of it. Then I handed it to Kelly. She took a drink and set the bottle on the floor at our feet.
“I thought you were off the market,” she made the mistake of saying, even while her hands reached for my cut.
I slapped her hand away. “You don’t touch my cut.”
She laughed nervously. “What can I touch?”
I was slow in answering due to the alcohol in my system. “You know what you can put your hands on. But first, get naked.”
She stood directly in front of me and removed her miniscule top, dropping it to the floor. Next, she slithered out of leather skirt. I wasn’t surprised to see that she wasn’t wearing anything beneath it. The number one rule of the club was that they were ready for dick at any time, so some of them made it easy by skipping underwear. My eyes landed on her bare pussy before traveling up to take in her heavy tits.
Nothing.
