Page 54

54

Phoenix

N ight is closing in as Jesse and Tweak slide through the door where Lace, Stitch, Mason, and I are holed up. We've been here all day, laying low, fielding calls from the others about what they've dug up during recon.

Our guys have seen men going in and out of the warehouse all day, and the Devils heard in town that a rowdy group of leather-clad men had been harassing locals for weeks now. Their descriptions of the troublemakers fit with the pictures we have of Scar's men. It has to be them.

We're close now. Hopefully soon, we can move to rescue Raven.

Jesse's eyes are wide as he addresses Mason. "We got one."

"One what?" Stitch asks.

"One of the Bastards. Followed him when he left the warehouse all alone," Jesse answers. "He went to some dump a mile away, and we jumped him. We have him tied and gagged in one of the Devil's rooms." He sends a wary look my way.

My heart skips a beat. They've kidnapped one of the Bastards. He's here now—our link to Raven, our key to getting her out.

Acid churns in my stomach as the realization hits—how they'll have to get the man to talk. What they'll do to him. It's ugly and violent, but they took my sister, and none of the rest matters now. It's wrong, I know that, but I can't bring myself to care.

Jesse leans in, whispering something to Mason, who pales at the news. His eyes meet mine, and I know something is wrong. "What is it?" I ask, afraid of the answer.

He shoots Jesse a look before pulling me to the side of the bed. "Nix."

"Tell me," I croak, my heart picking up its pace.

Mason swallows hard as he holds my hand. "The guy they picked up, the Desert Bastard from the warehouse . . . Baby, it's Martin."

My heart stops.

Martin.

It can't be. The Bastards beat him to a pulp and threw him on our doorstep with a warning. He was my friend, Kat's boyfriend, he'd never—

Oh, my God.

"Kat." Tears fall from my eyes as Martin's lies start to piece together.

From that first day in the parking lot and the library meet-up, it was all a plot to get closer to me and the Sons. Dating Kat, her sudden drug problem, her disappearance, Martin's 'attack'. All of it was orchestrated for Scar and the Bastards. Every time I ignored my gut feeling, every time my intuition tried to warn me and I shrugged it off I was helping him.

I fed right into his hands.

"Oh, my God. Kat." I break down in Mason's arms, devastated at the truth I'm now facing. She's been gone for weeks now, and if the Bastards had her this whole time—if she's still alive—

I can't process the horrors they must have put her through during that time.

Mason holds me until my tears no longer fall. After the sadness, I feel numb. Then, I feel angry.

"Take me to him," I say with a trembling voice.

"Nix, I don't think—"

"Take me to him!"

Jesse and Mason exchange a look as my fingernails dig into my skin. Blistering anger and hate-filled rage consume me for the man who lied to me and hurt my friend. The same man whose friends were now holding my sister captive. I want to look into his eyes and ask him 'why'. Then, I want to watch as my family destroys him.

"Take me," I say once more, and they obey.

We find Reaper pacing outside the room, fists clenched, looking like the Devil himself. I wonder if Martin is already dead, taken out by the beast of a man before me. But there are no bruises or wounds on Reaper to be found. No sign that he's seen the man I once called my friend.

"He's waiting until we're ready for the last phase of interrogation," Mason tells me. "If Martin doesn't give us what we need, we'll unleash Reaper on him."

Part of me wants to tell him not to wait. To send in the club's enforcer now and stop wasting time, but I know there's something I have to do first. I need to face him and get answers of my own. Then, I'll let the boys take over.

Mason and Jesse pause outside the door, eyeing me carefully. "You sure about this, Phoenix?" Mason asks.

I nod. "I need to do this." With that, Mason opens the door with great reluctance.

Inside, Martin is bound and tied to a chair with a bag over his head as two men in Devil's cuts stand guard over him. All the furniture is against the walls, and thick plastic sheeting covers the floor. For the blood.

I ignore the nausea stirring in my stomach at the thought, steeling myself for what I need to do. Martin wiggles in his seat when he feels Mason and Jesse approach. They pause for a second before ripping the bag off his head, exposing the monster beneath. I take him in from the wildness in his eyes to the scowl on his face to the crisp black cut over his shoulders—the one that clearly reads "Desert Bastards MC".

His frantic eyes meet mine, and he goes rigid. One of the Devils unties the gag at his mouth, and immediately, Martin starts pleading with me. "Nix, thank goodness. Tell them this is all just a misunderstanding. They've got it all wrong."

I scoff, unable to hide my disgust for the man who played me for so long. "No, I don't think it is, Martin. They found you with the Desert Bastards, walking around freely, talking like you were old friends. Then there's that new vest you're wearing . . . "

He shakes his head violently. "I was just playing nice, hoping to get close to them so I could help Kat."

"Save it, shithead," Jesse bellows. "We saw you. Heard you. Turns out, until recently, you were a prospect for the Bastards. Now, you've got a nice new member patch. How's that serving you?"

Martin's face pales as he drops his head. His shoulders begin to shake in what I think is an attempt to gain sympathy. When I hear his dark laughter, I know he's given up the game. "Jesus, I can't with you fuckers anymore."

He looks me dead in my eyes as he continues, "I really wished it was you, Nix. Tried to find my way in that day in the library, but Viper's treasurer already had his hooks in you." His eyes drift to Mason. "Lucky bastard."

We let him talk, let him dig his own grave as we listen with difficulty. "You know, they said if I found a way in with you—if I'd taken you in Kat's place—they would have made me an officer. Too bad your entourage was always six feet away. We could have had so much fun."

I'm seething when I speak, so angry at Martin and the Bastards and myself. How could I have been so stupid? How did I not see through him this whole time? "So, this was all so you could join them? You wanted to prove yourself to those sadistic assholes?"

Maniacal laughter echoes through the room. "I'm shocked you believed a word of my bullshit, Nix. They told me you were smart, that I'd have to be careful if I went after you. Guess they were wrong. You're just a naive, weak little girl. So easy to pull the leather over your eyes."

He smirks at Mason. "Isn't that right, Raptor? She's the easy twin?"

With a guttural growl, Mason lashes out, crashing his fist against Martin's jaw. Blood spatters the plastic below him as he cackles. "Too bad I never got a taste."

Mason moves to strike again, but I stop him. "You may be right. I was naive and weak then." I take a step closer. "But now, I'll never let myself be those things again." I inch closer. "Where are they? Where do those fuckers have Raven and Kat?"

A bloody smile curls over his lips. "Mmmmm, Kat . . . She's probably sleeping off our last session. I wore her out pretty good."

My stomach curdles at his implication. "Where are they?" I demand.

He licks his lips, smearing the blood as he watches me. "I bet your sister is under my brothers right now. Being taught how to take it rough," he laughs again, and my anger boils over.

Without a second thought, my arm strikes. Lightning fast, my fist connects with his nose. The crunch of bone beneath my knuckles is more satisfying than I imagined it would be. And his howl of pain is my prize.

Jesse watches in amazement and Mason with pride as I lean close to my sister's captor. I know he won't tell me what I want to know, not like this. It's time to let the Sons take over. "I hope they tear you limb from limb."

As I back away, I see a flash of fear in his eyes as Jesse and the two Devils close in. I turn for the door, unsure I can stomach watching what the men will do to him. Mason is right on my heels as I walk back to my room.

The world I knew has changed drastically since leaving New Mexico. I always knew it would, but I had no clue how much I'd change with it . . .

Everything I knew about right and wrong has been questioned. The lines between morality and depravity have started to blur, and the girl I used to be has been left behind. Somewhere along the way, she lost her innocence, her unending optimism.

I don't mourn her like I expected I would. Instead, I resolve to rise from her ashes better and stronger. Gone is the weakling who ignored her instincts and let everyone else make decisions for her. Here to stay is the Phoenix I've always been destined to become.

Part of me will always be kind and fair, like my mother, but right now, I need to be strong and resilient, like my dad. Like Raven. I know what has to be done to save Kat and my sister. I've already accepted it.

Touching Mason's arm, I tell him, "Do whatever it takes to get our answers. Whatever you have to do to make him talk, do it."

He eyes me for a minute before nodding and kissing my swollen knuckles. "Stay here with Lace and the others. I'll be back when this is done."

The door snicks shut, and silence stands in his wake.

Hours seem to pass as time crawls forward. Since Mason left, every minute seems to stretch to eternity as we wait for answers.

It should scare me. It should make my skin crawl and my heart ache, knowing what's being done in the other room, but the only thing I can feel anymore is resolution. The idea of Mason beating someone to a pulp for information should be sickening. Yet every second that passes is another that Rae and Kat are in the hands of rapists and murderers.

The Bastards had this coming— Martin had this coming after what he'd done. It's only fair. It's what he deserves.

For Kat.

For my sister.

The door handle jiggles, and I shoot up from the bed. Mason and Jesse come inside, each with fresh bloody cuts on both hands. The skin is split where their knuckles collided with Martin's body over and over again.

"So?" Stitch asks.

Mason nods, and our eyes meet. "He gave us everything. Shift changes at all the doors, number of men inside, firepower, where they're holding the girls. Everything." My heart stutters at the news.

"Viper's been updated," Mason continues. "He made the call. Said we move in tonight."