I studied her for way too long before looking away. I walked to the window and looked out at nothing as I tried to regroup. I'm not in the habit of going soft over a pretty face, but there was something about her. Maybe it was my knowing what had been done to her, mixed with that look of innocence I'd just seen in her eyes.No, that's not it. Something in her seemed to speak to me, something that I've heard of before but never thought made sense. I tried to recall if anything like this had ever happened before and drew a blank. This was a first, and because I wasn't prepared, I'm flustered. I don't do flustered. My mind grabbed onto the one thing that might explain this shit.I've always been a sucker for a damsel in distress, though I've learned how to choose those who were really in need from the ones who only wanted to get close to me. I can't stand to see any woman in her position, least of all one so young. Now my mind was replaying all the horror stories I'd heard of what her fat
There was a time I felt bad about pulling the wool over my stepdad's eyes, but it was for the greater good, so I've learned to live with those feelings. He still sees me as the businessman he'd trained me to be, whereas dad, who had been keeping track of his only son over the years, seemed to know some of what I really am. I'm still not sure how. But the fact that he'd gotten that much told me that his words of missing me, his only son, were true.When he'd called me up that last time it was the first I'd known of him knowing me so well. He even knew a little about my special forces training and some of the stuff I'd done for the agency before going out on my own. And so he'd asked me to look into some shady shit that was going on in his backyard unbeknownst to the others here. The little hiccup today, though monumental to the two women now sitting huddled together, was the least of it if what dad suspected is true and is probably the reason he got sidetracked and didn't deal with thi
I'm not too up on the latest biker bullshit though I'd heard stories before I came here and had done some research on my own to get some idea of what I was walking into. There's some shit that these people do that I can never wrap my head around, but one thing I know, if a seller has a buyer lined up, then there were talks of a deal.I walked outside, where some of the men were still milling around, no doubt talking about what just happened with Sam. I saw the only Billy in the group that I'd met so far. A middle-aged beer gutted man with a dirty grey and brown beard who looked like he hadn't seen the inside of a shower in ages.I knew from the way he reacted when I called out his name and started walking towards him that he knew precisely why I was coming after him. His eyes jumped around like a cornered rat looking for an escape. There is none.I saw my two shadows move away from the wall where they'd been standing and follow behind me. I stopped right in front of this specimen, look
I looked up at the roof of the building where one of my guys was lounging, waiting for some action. I didn't want to yell up to him or give his position away, so I pulled my phone and hit the number three. "Where did he go, Wolf?" I swear that fuck sniffed the air."He just crossed the town limit; why?""Bring him back, but not here, you know where. And Wolf, I want him alive!""On it!" I barely saw his shadow on the side of the building across from where he'd been as he leaped to the ground about twenty feet below and took off at a sprint. "Use the car, Wolf, or grab a bike; this isn't the desert."I heard him stop even though I could no longer see him. "Oh, yeah, okay." I shook my head and hung up as I heard an engine roar to life somewhere on the other side of the lot. Finally, I was getting somewhere. I worked the kinks out of my neck and headed back inside.I felt eyes on me as I walked but paid no attention to the men who were lounging about in the yard. Some of them, the ones I'
Since I'm not used to nor have I ever been in the habit of explaining myself to anyone, I wasn't about to start now. So when Silla asked me once again why she and her mother couldn't go back to the clapboard house they lived in, I didn't give her an answer, and she didn't push. I'm not sure if that was because of me and my standoffish air or because her sperm donor had beaten her into submission so often that she was afraid to speak up.I didn't like that one bit; I didn't want her associating me with such things in her mind. Then again, maybe it's for the best. Perhaps it's best she keeps her distance out of fear. That pain in my chest grew stronger with the thought, but I ignored it this time as I heard my shadows come back in and stand outside the door, just in time."Sebastian, Garret, come in here, please." They opened the door and walked in, making the two women jump. They have that effect on most people since no one ever knows that they're there until they're ready for them to.
I walked into the middle of the yard and waited and was just in time to see Wolf dragging in his prey. I guess he conveniently forgot that I told him not to bring him here. Most likely, he's doing it so the others can see and know fear. For someone who likes to live his life in the shadows, he can be a real showoff. I didn't show my exasperation at his tactics when he came to stand in front of me with his latest catch hogtied and fit to be tied. No pun intended."Hello, Sam!""I thought you told me to get out of town; I was on my way when this…" He looked at Wolf with a healthy amount of fear. I didn't bother asking what he'd done to him because I know my Wolf can do a lot in a matter of seconds."Wolf, did you drag him back here like that?" I looked at the rope he had tied around the older man's girth with its intricate knots that kept him pretty much from moving everything but his feet and head. He smiled at me in that way of his that I've grown used to."No, I kicked him part of the
"Mace, we'll be having two more for dinner, and they'll be around for the next little while. Have your staff fix up the two guestrooms for them, will you." I found my chef and Jack-of-all-trades in the kitchen concocting some shit that was bound to make me feel like a grazing animal. This fuck had gone to some convention for kitchen hacks like himself and came back with new ways to torture my ass. Some days the shit he puts in front of me passed off as healthy eating makes me wish I'd left his ass to die in the desert instead of saving his life.One selfless act almost seven years ago had gained me a lifelong sidekick and one of the few people I trust. "Who? I refuse to take care of that riffraff you've taken up with. When are we getting out of here anyway?" The six-foot-four African American man glared daggers at me as he chopped something green and no doubt tasteless."I told you before; we'll be here for a while. As to who's coming here, it's a young woman and her mother. Her old m
"He just came out of the bathroom. I guess he's finished his call.""Did we get the trace?""Working on it now, boss.""Good, keep me posted. By the way, I don't think we should get rid of this one just yet. He seems to be the link we were missing.""I think so too.""Have you boys started working on him yet?"'" Nope, we thought we'd let him sweat a little bit first, let his guard down, and that's exactly what he did." Yes, he did. I hung up the phone and sat back in my chair in the home office at dad's place. It never ceases to amaze me just how fucking dumb the criminal element truly is. Then again, no one here would expect me to take the measures I have.All phones had been cloned and tagged. Any calls going in and out were recorded. Like the one Billy just made in the bathroom. Even the bathrooms were bugged for sound, but only where it wouldn't infringe on anyone's privacy in a court of fucked up law. I don't need to hear the men taking a shit or pissing. But I am very intereste