She rolled her eyes, huffed, and spun on her heel, heading back to the bedroom. She stopped in the doorway, the question she wanted to ask searing her mind. It was there, on the tip of her tongue, and she desperately wanted to know. Almost as much as she didn’t want to know at all.
“Don’t ask, Elle. Just try to get some sleep. You’ll need it for tomorrow.”
Dread filled her heart, then her feisty anger took control. She wasn’t giving up without a fight. She refused to bow down to them. Though she didn’t trust Axle, he had spared her more than once in a short time. Crawling back on the bed felt a lot like defeat, making it difficult for her to rest and sleep as he prompted.
She heard the door open and recognized Spider’s voice before he saw she was already awake. She waited for the two men to enter her room, sensing they were close, before opening her eyes. They were closing in on her, leaning down toward her in a surprise attack.
“Hey!” she yelled in mock surprise.
Spider sprayed three short bursts of liquid into her face, and her body went limp. “Works every time,” he boasted. “I love this shit. Used it on this one slut the other night, and she didn’t remember anything.”
“Man, you know if Headbanger gets wind of you flaunting that, he’ll cut your balls off and mount them on his handlebars as a warning to the rest of us.” Axle released a harsh huff toward Spider and snaked his arms under Elle’s back. “Grab her feet. I’ve got her head.”
They carried her out to the waiting van and put her in the back. Spider climbed on his motorcycle and pitched the keys to the van to Axle. “Drive her to the old clubhouse. I’ll meet you there to help get her inside. Headbanger will have my head on a platter because I’ll be late for our officers’ meeting by the time we’re done.”
Axle slid behind the wheel and followed Spider off the property. “Just stay down and pretend to be asleep. He’ll be gone soon enough. The club takes the officers’ meetings seriously. He’s already on thin ice with the prez, so he won’t risk being too late.”
“You can just let me go, you know?” She had to try—he was looking out for her well-being for a reason.
“Ah, you know I can’t do that. And if you know what’s good for you, don’t act like I’m your friend. None of us are good guys, sweetheart. You wouldn’t want to be our friend.”
“You’re not as good of an actor as you like to think you are, Axle.”
She barely heard his laugh over the roar of the road. “I guess I’d better go back to acting classes, then. Evidently, I won’t win one of those little gold statues anytime soon. Or maybe I will. Maybe I’ve completely played you to get you to cooperate.”
“Maybe,” she conceded. “You wouldn’t be the first. Hopefully, you won’t be the last either.”
At the former clubhouse, a wide metal door opened for the van to pull completely inside, fully hidden from the outside. Once the door was shut, the blackness covered everything. “Pretend you’re still asleep. He’s coming now,” Axle whispered.
The back door of the van swung open, and Spider grabbed her ankles, dragging her roughly toward the edge. “Grab her head. I’ve got to get going. I’m so fucking late.”
Axle grabbed Elle under the arms and helped carry her inside. The musty, mildewed smell of the interior was a stark difference to the opulent mansion she’d been expelled from the night before. Dust and dirt covered everything, infiltrating her nose and threatening to make her sneeze. She held her breath until Spider dumped her on an old, filthy mattress thrown on the floor in the corner of the room.
“Want me to send someone by with food and beer?” Spider asked on his way out.
“Nah. I’ll call one of the probies and put him to work. Get to your meeting before you get kicked out of the officers’ club.”
When she heard the rumble of Spider’s motorcycle and the loud metal clank of the roll-up door, she bolted up from the mattress and searched her new cell. The lights barely cast dim rays around the windowless room. The interior doors were thick steel, designed for maximum security. The rooms with working lightbulbs were near mirror images of the first room.
“You must be hungry. Come in here and choose what you want. I’ll order takeout,” Axle called from the other room.
“Is this what I needed my rest for?” She held out her arms and gestured to the dilapidated furnishings.
He cut his gaze to her, and his lips lifted on one side in amusement. But something closer to remorse shone in his dark eyes. “No, sweetheart. Not hardly.”
* * *
The midday sunin Southern California was hot. In the remote, arid hangout of the Devil’s Dominion initiation grounds, the heat was nearly unbearable. But the members of the club didn’t mind, because the Doorman’s induction into the group was cause for celebration. And for beating up the new guy.
“Gather ’round,” Headbanger yelled over the roar of the crowd. A hush immediately fell over the group as they did as he commanded. “Some of you have met our newest member. He had a nickname before he came to us, but we’ve changed it. He’s now known as the Doorman. Tonight is his official induction into the club. Some of you will be pissed to know he’s entering the ranks higher than any of you pussies did because he’s of better use to me than you are. What do you think of that?”
A loud rumble of discord and outright threats floated over the crowd of angry bikers. “What the hell? What the fuck’s so special about him?”
“He has contacts we need to complete our next weapons shipment. AR-16s, fully auto, locked and loaded. We’re keeping a few dozen for ourselves and selling the rest. Military-grade aerosol canisters, gas masks, and whatever else we need. He’s our man.” Headbanger smiled broader the more the men grumbled and groaned.
He loved riling them up before an initiation. The extra surge of testosterone and adrenaline produced much more creative consequences for the new recruit. It also kept the men sharp, ready to dole out pain for pleasure. As long as no one killed or permanently incapacitated the new member, nothing else was off-limits.
“All right, boys. Make the Doorman feel at home.” Headbanger stepped back, his snide sneer in place.
