AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A loud sound comes from overhead and makes the house rattle.
“That will be him now.” The woman smiles, turning her attention to the man who claims to be my father. “Let this be a lesson to you, Marty. Never, ever lie to me again.”
Footsteps come from the back of the house. Footsteps that I immediately recognize the beat of because they haunt my nightmares.
“Hello, Muñequita.” His voice courses through me, traveling under my skin like thousands of trapped ants. I look across the room and see my trainer standing in the arch, his arms folded and a rotten smile on his face. “Did you miss me?” he asks
“No… No. Screwy!” I scream his name out, despite knowing it’s hopeless.
“Scream all you like. He won’t hear you. He’s probably on his way to Gunnison to meet up with his buddies.”
My eyes widen when I realize they know about the attack the club intends to make on Verretti. It means they’ll be prepared. Screwy and the others are walking into a trap.
“We knew they had you, Muñequita. The spy they had working the Pueblo auction wasn’t as trustworthy as they thought he was. Not after we let a few of Raphael's men loose on his sister.”
“No one takes from Raphael Verretti. He’s gonna take the whole club down. I doubt their women will be of much value, but they will make good little fuck toys until we tire of them.” He shows me his teeth.
“You can’t. They’ll kill you.” I’ve seen what Screwy’s capable of alone. I can’t imagine what they could do together. But my threat only makes his smile widen.
“Maybe,” he shrugs. “If they were heading to the right place to try.” He pushes the man who claims to be my father out of the way and takes over the pressure of his hand around my neck with his own.
“How?” I ask weakly.
“The club aren’t the only people who have spies, little doll.” he says, his nose sliding over my cheek. “We know about their pretty tech girl, we knew about their plan to take us down, and we planted what we needed them to think. Them bringing you back was a surprise, though. We didn’t expect them to deliver you back to us gift-wrapped. We pay good money to have our assets’ past records erased after they are taken. Turns out, their hacker is better than we gave her credit for. Lucky for us, your papa here’s still loyal, or maybe you just still have that same thirst you had three years ago, Marty?” He turns his attention to the man beside him.
“Just pay us what you said you would and get the fuck out of here,” he tells my trainer, actually looking ashamed of himself for the first time since this shit show started.
“You’re supposed to be my father. How could you let this happen?” I ask, feeling steamrolled by all the information I’ve taken in such a short time.
Screwy and the club are in danger, and I have no way of warning them. I should be trying to escape, not seeking answers.
My trainer laughs, and it’s not faked or put on for dramatic effect. It’s genuine.
“Let it happen. Muñequita, it was him who handed you over to us in the first place. Gambling’s a nasty little habit, isn’t it, Marty? Especially when you play with the wrong people.”
“You sold me.” I’m stunned as I stare at the man standing beside me.
“It wasn’t just that. You knew too much, and I had no way out, Lydia. I didn’t know they were gonna… It was better than what she wanted to do with you.” He looks at the woman who’s tapping her toes impatiently. “I saved your life, Lydia,” he adds as if he expects me to thank him.
“Enough!” the woman, whoever she is, yells. “You have what you came for. Take her and leave.”
My trainer pulls a thick brown envelope from his pocket and smiles as he hands it over to the woman.
“It’s been so long, Muñequita,” he tells me, his long fingers creeping up my neck and clamping at my jaw. I spit at his face, watching my saliva land just below his eye and run down his cheek. He uses the back of his hand to strike my face, but the sharp, familiar burn is nothing like the pain that’s drowning me inside.
“They’ve turned you into something feral. I shall very much enjoy taming you all over again.” He pulls a syringe from the inside of his jacket and then uses his teeth to pull the plastic casing from the needle.
“No, please don’t.” I know all too well what follows. The blackness, the numb feeling. What if I forget who I am again? What if I forget the man who saved me? The needle pierces my skin, and I feel the cool fluid mix with my blood.
My eyelids instantly feel heavy, and I slip further and further away until there is nothing, not even heartache.
“Promise me you’ll keep trying him.” Squealer looks worried. The whole club is ready to leave, but since Prez announced that Screwy will be meeting them in Gunnison, all Squealer's done is panic and pace. He can’t get hold of his brother, and I can tell he doesn't want to leave.
“I swear I’ll keep trying–just ride safe. Screwy said he’d meet you there, so that’s where he’ll be,” I assure him.
“He’s not gonna be in a good place, Alex. That girl meant something to him. She changed him. Why the fuck would he give her up?” He asks me exactly the same question he did an hour ago, and I still don’t have any answers for him.
“Maddy tracked the cage he’s driving. He left Lydia’s parents’ house thirty minutes ago, and he’s on his way to Gunnison just like he said he would. You can ask him yourself when you see him. Maybe he just wanted to make sure she was somewhere safe.” I try to come up with a reasonable explanation.
