“Aww, look, she got up for us?” Mouse mocks.
“What’s that smell in here?” Crow mutters.
“I know, it’s terrible,” I say. “Won’t you guys take me out of here? We can go somewhere more comfortable. I bet Griff won’t mind where you keep me, as long as you keep me.”
I think I elicited some interest in Mouse, because his eyes glint with desire, but Crow’s remain as black and scary as the dead of a moonless night.
“The only place you can look forward to going that’s more comfortable than this is your grave,” he says in his drawling voice. The dark, ominous meaning behind his words is even more striking because of his thick Irish accent. It hits me like a second blow to the stomach.
“Lucky for you, that’s where you’re going now,” he adds. “Griff doesn’t need you anymore.”
He grabs my arm and Mouse takes the other before I can even let out the breath I was holding, never mind fighting back.
“Come on, Crow,” I say anyway. “It doesn’t have to be like this. I can make you a very happy man. Both of you. Griff doesn’t give a shit about what happens to me. You can just take me somewhere and keep me there.”
They’ve physically lifted me off the ground and are carrying me out. It’s a tight squeeze down the corridor. And just like the last time I walked this way, my worst nightmare will begin at the end of it. I know this, but I don’t want to know it.
“Is she still talking?” Crow says. “I think it’s time to make her shut up.”
We’re outside. It’s dark, dusty and as silent as the grave. I can hear the dried grass that covers the empty field on the other side of the wall surrounding this place rustling—no, hissing—in the cool breeze.
I hear more than see the knife appear in Crow’s hand. Mouse has let me go and is looking at me with no expression on his face. None at all.
“No,” I whisper. “You don’t have to do this. We can talk about this. We can work something out.”
Crow chuckles and it’s such a cold sound a shiver runs down my spine. “I’ll enjoy this more than anything else you can give me.”
And I have no doubt, absolutely no doubt whatsoever that he means it.
He presses the tip of the knife to my throat, then slides the blade gently along my neck. I’m as stiff as a board, not daring to move a single muscle, not daring to breathe, still as though I’m already dead, waiting to feel the hot blood running down my breasts that’ll tell me I’m right.
“Not here, Crow,” Mouse says, but very quietly like he’d rather not speak. “Take her out in the field.”
Fuck! Even he’s afraid of what’s about to happen to me. And he’s a built, tall man, at least six-six. I’m transfixed by Crow’s black eyes. In them, death is waiting for me. My death. He’ll cut me up in a field of hissing dry grass like some animal he just caught.
Colt
The sound of bikes rumbling to life out front nearly deafens me as the guy manages to drag me out into the courtyard. The dust raised by the bikes of all those Griff just kicked out from the bar is a cloud rising over the wooden fence surrounding this compound, glimmering in the places the yellow streetlamp light hits it. Other than that, the courtyard is dark, silent, and deserted. Nothing’s moving anywhere, and I thank my lucky stars Griff and the other two didn’t follow us outside.
Blaze must know something went wrong by now. He was probably watching for me to come out, might’ve even tried to follow me in. I hope he doesn’t. No sense in both of us facing this shit.
I make myself heavy, dragging my feet, which makes the guy holding me grab me tighter, but also causes him to pant harder. Good. I want him as winded as I can make him.
“Listen, this is all just a misunderstanding,” I tell him. “I don’t know that woman. I liked the look of her the last time I was here, so I just came in to get a piece of ass.”
“Shut up,” he snarls breathlessly. He probably can’t say much more, because he doesn’t.
“How about you just let me go,” I persist. “I never done anything to you.”
“The boss’ orders are the boss’ orders,” he says and has to sigh out the last word.
This is as good a chance as I’m gonna get. We’re past the bar and the office part attached to the back of it. The only light here is from the moon, since the streetlamp light doesn’t reach this far back. But there’s still plenty of buildings around, mostly squat, low ones with dark windows. But anyone could be in there. I gotta make this quick and quiet. No use thinking too hard about it. Either it works or it fails. My situation probably can’t get much worse as it is.
I reach for the knife on my belt, surprised at how sweaty my palm is as I wrap it around the leather hilt.
Now or never.
It’s all the incentive I need.
I go lax and soft, and stop dead in my tracks. He’s got quite a few pounds on me, but the change in his burden surprises him enough to mess up his gait. He halts too, even loosens his grip on my arm just enough for me to twist it free. And the next thing he knows, if he ever had time to know anything more, is the sensation of my cold, sharp knife slicing into the soft part of his throat. He makes no sound, takes no more breaths as I lower him down to the ground slowly to prevent a thump.
I’m the one breathing hard by the time I manage to drag him out of sight behind one of the dark structures.
Don’t think, just do. It’s a motto I’ve come to adopt since joining Devil’s Nightmare MC. It was either him or me.
Now I’m alone in the silent courtyard with no idea what to do next.
I should’ve just let him lead me to Crow.
But then I’d be outnumbered two to one.
From the moment they took issue with me asking for Brenda, my choices were all bad ones. For now, I can only hope I chose the one that was the least bad.
My options are severely limited now. I can either wait for them to bring her out. Or I could search for her. There’s also the option of making a run for it, but it barely crosses my mind. I’ve come here to do a job and I’m gonna do it. I don’t consider coming here to look for Brenda a bad decision, but that’s still most likely my dick talking.
I’m pretty sure they’re holding her in the same place they held Ace and his woman. So that’s where I’ll start looking. And I’ll try not to fear that maybe Crow already got to her.
Brenda
I’m paralyzed looking into Crow’s black eyes. Moonlight glints off them, because they don’t absorb light. They’re too dark and dead and they’re growing even darker, even deader the longer I look into them. Like a void. Like a black hole. Exactly like death. Fight! Fight! Fight! A voice is screaming inside my head, but it’s very far away and behind some sort of thick fog, so the command is not getting through to my legs.
“How about we have some fun with her first,” Mouse suggests with a chuckle, but his voice is tight. It makes my heart race even faster than it was already racing.
“I’d prefer this one all to myself,” Crow says in that eerie accent of his. “I’ll take my time in once and for wiping all the nasty looks she gave me from behind the bar.”