“She need to see this?” Grinder asks.
“How rude it would be if I didn’t let her watch,” I say as I lead Toni over to another chair and shove her down roughly onto it.
“This is fucked up,” Grinder mumbles.
“No. This is the fun part.”
Chapter Nineteen
Antonia
My throat’s so dry I can barely swallow. I stared directly into his eyes and said I wasn’t afraid of him, but it’s a stone-cold lie. I am afraid of Leo, because I know what he’s fucking capable of. Anyone in their right mind should be scared of him. I’ve heard the rumors. I’ve heard the gritty, detailed stories of what he’s done to those who crossed him. In hindsight they deserved it, but that doesn’t mean my blood isn’t going cold at the thought he’s making me watch this. Not that I give a damn what happens to Jimmy. He’s done so many fucked up things in his life, I’m surprised he didn’t meet his maker before now. But, what is Leo going to do to me after this is all over?
“You watch Ant here, will you, Grinder?” Leo asks him, saying my street name again. It feels so odd hearing him call me Ant instead of Toni.
Grinder nods and comes right up beside me, crosses his arms, and glances down to me for a split second. He doesn’t say a word, but he doesn’t need to. I know what he’s thinking, that I’m in deep shit.
Leo walks around Jimmy, who has been chained up by Grinder and Reg. At least, that’s what I assume. His hands are hoisted up over his head, using a beam that’s supporting the club to hold him up. Meanwhile, his body hangs against the floor, his legs being tied and secured to the floor as well. No matter how desperate he is to escape this, there’s no way he’ll make it out of here alive. Leo and his boys have made damn sure of it.
A spotlight shines on Jimmy and the distinctive sound of metal being scraped against cement causes me to look in the direction of the sound. What I see shouldn’t be shocking, and yet it is. Leo has his shirt off, dragging a machete against the ground. Why he has his shirt off I have no idea, and here I am sitting in this damn chair, trying to cross my legs because he looks fucking delicious right now. Leo is all man, and there’s no fucking doubt about it.
Jimmy’s eyes widen as he stares at Leo, then his eyes shift over to me. “There’s no fuckin’ way you’re gonna let him do this shit to me, Ant. Whatever you’re plannin’, do it now!” He hollers, like the little bitch he is. The man has no balls, and that’s for sure. Wish I’d known that when I was dating him.
Out of nowhere the sound of footsteps come charging down the stairwell behind me. “What the fuck is this shit!?” A deep man’s voice asks.
Leo furrows his brows, “Prez, what you doin’ here?”
The man huffs from behind me, “You don’t wanna fuckin’ ask me that shit, Leo. I gotta deal with Winnie and Ascher goin’ at each other’s throats after their failed attempt of a relationship, and then I get a call from Cupcake that you’re goin’ all Dexter on some bastard downstairs. What the fuck man? Why didn’t you call me?”
“‘Cause this is shit I can handle, Phoenix. Cupcake shouldn’t have bothered you about this.” With a name like Cupcake, she’s gotta be one of the clubwhores.
“What the fuck is goin’ on, and you’d better damn well tell me. I’m not in the mood for your bullshit attitude right now,” Phoenix hisses from behind me and comes into my view. He flicks a lighter, his eyes scanning me up and down. “This is her?”
Her? Has Leo been talking about me?
Leo nods, “Yep.”
“What’s she doin’ down here watchin’ this shit? Fuck, brother. Women don’t need to see this.”
“She does, and she needs to watch every fuckin’ detail and remember I could be doin’ this to her.” Leo hisses, staring directly into my eyes. He isn’t playing, and I damn well know it.
“Shit, sweetheart, I don’t know what you did to him but . . . damn.” Phoenix chuckles in amusement, looking to his VP.
“She was double crossin’ him, Prez. Then she decided to flip sides.” Lynch speaks up, who’s the club’s enforcer. He’s one of those silent types, only speaking when necessary. I didn’t even realize he was here, but that isn’t too shocking. He’s always around, lurking in the shadows, ready to pop out whenever the club needs him.
“I’m real interested in why this fucker thinks you’re gonna get him out of this,” Leo snarls in my direction, bringing his blade up to Jimmy’s body.
I roll my eyes, knowing exactly why. “He’s my ex, and he stupidly thinks I give a damn about whatever happens to his idiot ass.”
Leo’s eyes go wide. “Your fuckin ex was in my club this entire fuckin’ time?”
“She was practically my ol’ lady, asshole. I sank my cock in there so many times that you don’t even fuckin’ matter to her.” Jimmy pipes up, and man. I wish he didn’t. Almost like a reflex, I jump up out of the chair quicker than any of the club guys can grab me and cross the distance between us. It’s maybe ten feet, but as I pull my hand back, close my fist, and slam it into Jimmy’s crooked ass nose I feel so much better.
“You don’t get to fucking speak! I wasn’t ever your ol’ lady and you damn well know it, and don’t you ever think you can speak for me. No man speaks for me, idiot. Not now. Not fucking ever—” I stop all of a sudden as something on the top of my hand pops, sending an agonizing pain through the top of my hand and my palm. I almost can’t keep my expression straight, but I’m trying so hard. I’ll be damned if anyone thinks they can treat me like shit.
Jimmy cackles like the evil asshole he is. “That’s fuckin’ adorable. Your daddy speaks for you all the time. The man told me after I proved myself I could have you and take the club. Don’t you see, Ant? He was never gonna give you shit. He was moldin’ me to take the club, to be his replacement. He wasn’t ever gonna give it to you.”
No.
I want to believe what he’s saying is false, but I know better. This is my father’s typical behavior.
I don’t give a damn that my hand is killing me, I pull it back and ball it up again, even though the second I close my fist it feels like a thousand needles are pressing through my skin. Then I slam it against his pathetic, bitch ass little face. But as I do the cracking sound rings out in the room around me and I quickly realize the sound didn’t come from Jimmy.
“Holy fuck!” Reg’s voice booms out, and I glance down, seeing my bone sticking out through my skin and blood pooling around it.
“Oh my god . . . oh my god . . .” I murmur over and over again, not sure what the fuck I’m supposed to do right now.
Chapter Twenty
Leo
There’s bone. And blood. Toni looks panicked and that’s not something I’ve ever seen her look like. Her small frame begins to sway as she looks at her mutilated hand. I’m pissed. I’m pissed at her for fucking up my time with Jimmy, I’m pissed that she did something as stupid as punching him and getting herself hurt.