Page 24

Riley

I gripped the phone so hard my knuckles turned white, and the buttons down the side dug into my hand. My gut told me this was a trap. I wanted to go back and get the prospects, but I didn’t dare. Slater’s last sentence haunted me.

Come alone or you’ll never see your friend again ran on a continuous loop in my mind as I rushed to the fish restaurant to meet the one man I most hated in the entire world.

The restaurant’s small front parking lot looked nearly empty. I craned my neck to look at the back parking lot and from the limited view I got, it was empty as well. That worried me because I remembered this place as always being packed. The last families were retreating from the playground across the street. Two joggers turned and jogged away.

I rushed up to the front door of the restaurant and pushed it open. That’s when I realized there was no smell of fish or any kind of food to be found.

A sick feeling twisted in the pit of my stomach when I realized this was no longer a public place because the restaurant had gone out of business recently.

Slater was a clever bastard. He was standing there in the middle of the empty restaurant, wearing his police uniform. His sidearm was in place at his hip, along with that baton he liked so much. I wanted to claw his eyes out when I saw how smug and self-confident he was.

I turned to face him, refusing to let him see that he was getting to me. I approached cautiously with my hands in my coat pockets. My burner phone buzzed again. When I stopped about ten feet away, we glared at each other.

He told me, “You look good.” Although he looked at me with admiring eyes, it felt creepy rather than complimentary.

“Now’s your big chance to get everything off your chest. Don’t waste it making small talk.”

He smiled at me, but it was a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Still have that smart mouth, I see. If you’re not careful, one day someone will shut you up permanently.”

Not allowing myself to get sidetracked, I asked, “Where’s Maritza?”

“She’s safe for the moment. That’s more than I can say for you, young lady.”

Doubling down with a level of stubbornness that would make Havoc proud, I said, “I want to talk to her again.”

Slater’s calm and cool mask slipped for a moment. “I said I’d fucking take you to her after. Now, get off my back.”

“I’m starting to think you’re just full of shit. You said we’d meet at a public place. You said one conversation. You said I could see my friend. Do you ever do anything but lie?”

He glared at me for a moment, and then his eyes softened, revealing something twisted but sincere.

He took a step closer and lowered his voice to a sultry whisper. “I never stopped thinking about you. Even after you ran to that pack of bikers and pretended like I didn’t exist.”

I reminded him irritably, “You threatened me and tried to rape me.”

“I loved you and protected you as well,” he insisted. “You just need to be with me one time to get over your fear. Just one time.”

“I’m gonna have to call bullshit on the whole idea that you love me.”

“I didn’t used to be this way,” he lied. “Want to know what broke me? You.”

I wasn’t about to fall for this nonsense. “That was all in your mind. None of it was real.”

“Not true. You and I have a history together. You seem to have forgotten about it.”

I looked at him in confusion.

“You don’t remember Jewel?”

Shock rolled through my gut as he mentioned a client of mine from years ago. Jewel had been in an abusive relationship, and I tried to help her get over it. “You’re the dirty cop she was seeing? She never told me his name, as she was my client my focus was on teaching her coping mechanisms.”

“You fucked up my entire world.”

“That was a long time ago, and you fucked up your own world,” I told him. “Don’t put that on me.”

“Listen up, Riley.” His tone shifted, turning calmer and darker. “I’m giving you one last chance to make it up to me, to be the woman you’re meant to be. We could be good together—or you can keep hanging all over that biker trash until he kicks you to the curb.”

“I don’t like you, much less love you,” I said between gritted teeth.

“Then I need you to know that things are about to get ugly for you. You led me on. Why the fuck did you do that and then try and act like you were too good for me?”

“I was just trying to be polite. I told you no, and you didn’t listen.”

“How do you think it made me feel to see the way you smiled at that fucking biker like he was a man worth having? You thought you were too good for a man of the law, yet you opened your legs for a damn biker. Once you met him, it was like I didn’t matter anymore. Like everything I did to protect you meant nothing.”

“That’s a messed-up thing to say. You were the only thing I ever needed protection from.”

“You aren’t a very good judge of character, Riley. You’re naive about that ignorant biker, just like you are about your friend.”

“Wait,” I stammered. “What in the world are you talking about?”

He looked over my shoulder. “You should ask Maritza.”

I blinked, trying to work out what he was talking about in my mind. “What?”

I whirled around and saw Maritza standing behind me, all the way in the back of the room. She looked fine—no bruises or scratches.

That’s when it hit me, and my blood ran cold. She wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“Ritz?” My voice was hoarse and strained. We’d known each other for years. Why would she betray me to a degenerate asshole like Slater?

Maritza jerked her hoodie up and pulled the drawstring to make it tight around her face. “Look, I didn’t want to do this.”

I stepped back. “Yet, you did. What I want to know is why. Did he offer you money, drugs, police favors? What made you betray our friendship?”

“You did. I had to do something,” Maritza yelled. “You don’t understand. Aaron approached me, told me about Havoc and all the dangerous biker shit he was pulling you into. I thought if I helped him talk to you, he could talk some sense into you.”

“What dangerous biker shit?” My hand came up, and I pointed at Slater. “He’s the only dangerous thing in my life, and you led him right to me like a naive little girl.”

“I was scared,” Maritza said, her voice finally betraying her emotions. “But not of Slater. I was scared of you. Of what you’re turning into.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Slapping my chest with one hand, I told her, “I’m exactly the same person I’ve always been. It’s you that isn’t making any sense.”

“You’re not the same, Riley. You used to be strong, clever, and cautious. Then Havoc came along, and suddenly you’re riding on motorcycles and disappearing off the face of the earth for days at a time. We all tried to contact you, but you didn’t answer. I’m not going to stand around doing nothing while one of my best friends is laid up in a meth house smoking her life away.”

“Where in the world did you get all that nonsense? I have never stepped foot into a meth house, and I’ve never done drugs. Havoc isn’t a drug dealer, drug user, or any damn thing else. You know where I was? I was hiding from Slater!”

“We all know what goes on in the Dark Slayers clubhouse. There is a sex dungeon, drugs, alcohol, and women get passed around there. You’re throwing your life away and getting nothing in return. He’s just using you, Riley. But you’re too blind to see it. I can’t stand to watch you get swallowed whole by that damn biker club.”

Slater stepped forward. “Maritza’s not your enemy, Riley. She’s your true friend. She’s the one who’s still fighting for the real you. The woman who used to have morals and dignity and hope for a bright future.”

I told him, “Stop lying. Everything bad that’s happened recently happened because of you. Everything was good until you decided to target me. Then my life turned to shit.”

I turned on Maritza next. “You lied and let me think you were in danger. You lured me here so an asshole cop could corner me. Do you have any idea what he plans to do to me?”

“I was trying to help you,” Maritza said with quiet dignity.

“We had a friendship, and you freaking destroyed it by letting a dirty cop brainwash you.” I told her in a loud, clear voice, “If I make it out of here alive, we’re done. Don’t ever contact me again.”

I turned to Slater. “I know you think you’re clever, but the cold, hard truth is you’re not. You manipulated her and used her because you knew I wouldn’t ignore her distress call. You don’t want a conversation. You want control. It’s all you’ve ever wanted with me. I don’t want to see you again either.”

He reached out and clasped his hand firmly around my arm. “You think you have a choice? I’m never letting you go. I’m the only man you’ll be seeing for the rest of your natural life. And you know what? Now you’re mine, I get to say how long that will be.”

I jerked my arm back, but he held it tight. It’s okay, I told myself. Havoc will be here soon. I just needed to keep him talking.

Maritza’s hands came up to her mouth and she whispered, “What in the hell are you doing? What do you mean that you’re going to be the only man she sees for the rest of her life?”

I glanced over at my former friend, wondering how I let her get me into this mess. “This is how women end up abducted and held in a metal shipping container in some dude’s backyard.”

“But he’s a law enforcement officer.” Turning to look at Slater, she whispered as if to herself, “You said you were going to help her, not kidnap her.” Then she gave her head a shake, maybe of disbelief. “This can’t be happening. Tell me this isn’t happening.”

“Shut the fuck up, Maritza. You did your part, now get lost. I’ll keep up my end of the deal. All you have to do is keep that pretty, talented little mouth of yours shut.”

Maritza teared up and opened her mouth, probably to apologize. I cut her off, “Leave. Just go, before he decides to do to you what he’s doing to me.”

Maritza just stood there shaking her head, clearly having an internal conflict about what she had done. It sounded like they traded favors or something more than just him convincing her that I was a danger to myself for hooking up with a biker. Within seconds, she ran out the back door.

“Now, it’s just you and me, Riley. Time for us to take a little ride.” He jerked me towards the door, uncaring about whether or not he was leaving bruises.

“You’re not going to get away with this. Havoc will come looking for you.”

“Wrong, princess,” he flung back in the snarkiest tone imaginable. “He’s going to come looking for you. But you’ll have disappeared without a trace. He’s not going to risk going to prison by killing a cop. You know that, and I know that, so let’s not pretend anyone is coming for you.”

The moment the cool afternoon air hit my skin, it was like my fight-or-flight response kicked in full force. I was not going to let this man just walk off with me and stuff me into his patrol car. Not this girl and not today. I began struggling hard against his grip, but he was so much stronger.

My eyes inconspicuously looked around, searching for any trace of Havoc. I’d told him where I was going, so I knew that he and his club would be headed this way. There was no sign of him, But I saw a white van like the club used parked up the street. I couldn’t be sure it was him and his club members, I just hoped that it was, and my time hadn’t run out.

Panicking, I flung myself against him, knocking him off balance as I stomped hard on his foot. When his grip loosened, I twisted sideways, elbowed him in the ribs with all my might, and made a run for it. I didn’t make more than a few steps before his hands landed around my waist and he picked me up off the ground like a rag doll.

“You are not getting away from me this time, bitch.”

I struggled harder, trying to get out of his grasp.

“Just calm the fuck down. I can’t even think straight with you acting like a wildcat.”

Just then a scream sounded out. It wasn’t Slater. It was a deep voice yelling his name.

I recognized that voice and when I looked to the right, this time I saw not only Havoc but also Storm, Celt, Breaker, and Grit. They were all hovering around Maritza, who was pointing in our direction while having a bit of a meltdown. Even I could see that she was trying to rally the troops.

Slater tried to pull me closer to his patrol car, but Havoc wasn’t having it. He charged straight for Slater, followed by Storm and Celt right behind him. Their boots pounded against the pavement. Slater turned, dragging me with him, but Havoc was already on him.

Someone wrapped their arms around me and jerked me out of Slater’s grip at the same time Havoc tackled Slater, sending them both crashing to the ground. “Get her out of here!” Havoc yelled to his club brothers.

The person with their arms around me was Maritza. She said, “Your biker friend is right. We need to get outta here.”

“What? I’m not leaving him here fighting for his life.”

“These guys are fucking giants. We’re gonna get mauled if we accidentally get in their way.” She was still trying to drag me away and I was getting pretty tired of everyone being hands-on with me. I shoved her away and told her in no uncertain terms, “I’m not leaving him!”

She stopped arguing and trying to put her hands on me, but I did back up with her to avoid getting mangled in their altercation. Celt stepped between us and the fight, with the intent of protecting us. I still had a clear view of the brawl but was none too happy about what I was seeing.

Slater scrambled to his feet, gun in hand. I screamed, but Havoc lunged forward and knocked the weapon wide. The pistol skidded across the pavement and disappeared underneath a parked car.

The men didn’t hesitate to keep throwing fists. My whole world narrowed to just Havoc, him taking one hit after another. The man I loved was taking a beating and I desperately wanted to do something to help him. But the truth was, I couldn’t do anything. These large, muscle-bound men going full frontal with each other were above my weight class, not to mention my skill class. All I could do was stand helplessly by and watch.

Maritza’s arms came around me again, this time for moral support. I hung onto her momentarily forgetting that she had betrayed me. We could talk more about why she did what she did later. Right now, I needed my friend.

Panic rose in my mind when they just kept going at each other, neither one willing to give quarter. The sheer brutality of the fighting was hard to watch. But I wanted to stay, to be there to clean his wounds and take care of him, to show my gratitude for him having my back. If not for Havoc and his club brothers showing up, I might well have disappeared off the face of the earth today, never to be seen or heard from again.

Their fighting styles were different. Slater was furious, throwing one wild punch after another, while Havoc’s experience in bare-knuckle boxing came in handy. He kept his guard up and his punches were more focused and controlled.

Slater’s face was beginning to look bruised and bloody. He was also slowing down somewhat. Slater poured what appeared to be the last of his energy into a series of punches, and one of them was a mean right hook that collided with Havoc’s jaw, snapping his head sideways.

Blood came flying out of his mouth and he spat a mouthful onto the ground. Without so much as a grunt, Havoc surged forward and slammed his fist into Slater’s gut, then caught him with an uppercut.

Slater staggered back, caught his balance, and took advantage of the fact that he was the perfect distance away to catch Havoc with a roundhouse kick to the face. Luckily, Havoc was alert enough to block him with a fist to the side of Slater’s knee. It made a sickening crunching sound.

Havoc made a growling noise in the back of his throat. It sounded low, dangerous, and completely exasperated. He pushed both hands into Slater’s chest, driving him all the way against the brick building. Again, there was a thud when Slater’s back hit the building. Not being used to seeing this kind of violence, the sounds of flesh hitting flesh added another dimension of horror to this situation.

“You’ll pay for daring to lay a hand on Riley, much less trying to abduct her and hold her hostage for life,” Havoc snarled with raw emotion.

Slater was leaning back against the building, out of breath, with one hand pressed against his side. His head snapped over to glare at Maritza. “You stupid bitch. The very first chance I get, I’m gonna fix it so your mouth can’t tell any more lies.”

Havoc reached out and punched him in the face. “Do not talk about Riley or her friend that way. You’re a stupid fucker to think you can talk like that with me standing right here.”

Slater stood there with his hand up to his face. “You broke my fucking nose. Assaulting a police officer is a serious offense.”

“Do you see anyone in this abandoned parking lot? Anyone at all?” Storm asked.

Havoc took advantage of the distraction and took a step closer to Slater, brought his palm up, and shoved his head back into the brick building. “My friend is right. Exactly who the fuck do you think is gonna call the cops?”

Blood ran down between Slater’s fingers as he glared at Havoc. “I’ll call this in myself and my brothers in blue will come running,” he said, as he fumbled to get his phone out with his free hand.

Havoc snatched it out of his hand and tossed it to Celt. “This ain’t over, asshole. You’re coming with us and you’re gonna answer every fucking question we put to you or else.”

Slater’s chest puffed up. “That’s not how this works. I’m not obligated to go anywhere with a bunch of fucking criminals.”

Havoc grabbed him off the wall and tossed him towards Breaker and Grit. They both took one arm each and, when he struggled, he got punched in the ribs on both sides at the same time.

Storm jerked his chin towards the white panel van. “Chain him up in the van with Devin. We can interrogate them both when we get back to the clubhouse.”

Breaker asked, “What about the woman?”

Storm shot an assessing look in Maritza’s direction. “She needs to come with us. For now, she’s a guest. She told us about what Slater had in mind for Riley and that makes her a friend of the club. Any acting out at all and her status can change.”

“I don’t want to go with you,” Maritza said in a scared voice.

I spoke up immediately, “Slater filled her mind with a bunch of lies about the Dark Slayers MC being an outlaw club. She thinks the brothers are going to pass her around.”

Celt’s voice rang out, tense and angry. “Why does everyone think that shit? We are not that kind of feckin’ club. Ain’t no Slayer gonna do anything with ye unless ye be askin’ real nicely. If any of them do, I’ll beat their arses myself.”

My arms tightened protectively around her. Although I was still very much conflicted about her lying and endangering my freedom and maybe my life, I vouched for her. “Maritza’s my friend. I’ll make sure she stays out of trouble.”

Maritza turned to me with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry about Slater. I didn’t know…”

I cut her off curtly. “We can talk about all that later. Right now, we just need to get outta here.”

She stammered, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

I deadpanned back, “I’m pretty sure it’s not optional. If you don’t come with us, Slater is going to circle back around and get revenge on you if and when the Slayers let him go. At least if you’re with us, you’re safe.”

She glanced away with a slight nod. And that was that.

Meanwhile, Havoc stood there with his chest heaving, watching his club brother haul Slater towards the van. For a cop, he was being a big baby about it, kicking and screaming every step of the way.

Havoc’s eyes landed on me, and he began moving towards me. He looked every inch the badass biker, bruised and battered. All his fury melted away in an instant. His slow walk became faster until he was practically running. His eyes were full of worry and concern.

My feet felt heavy and stuck to the ground. Otherwise, I would have flown into his arms in a heartbeat. I didn’t have much time to unpack what was going on because within seconds he was standing in front of me, looking me over with a critical eye.

“Are you hurt, sweetheart?” he asked. “Did that bastard bruise you when he put his hands on you?” He reached out, gently turning my arms over to see the marks Slater left on me. His fingers skimmed over one, as he cursed under his breath.

“I don’t mind a few bruises. Thanks to you and your club brothers, I survived it.”

“He’s a fuckin’ dead man,” Havoc growled. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”

“I don’t want you to kill him. Remember, we decided sending him to jail was the way to go?”

I reached up and began wiping away the blood from his face with the sleeve of my shirt.

“I don’t want to risk you ending up in jail over an egotistical asshole like Slater.”

His forehead dropped to mine, as his arms came up around me and tugged me closer.

“Yeah, I remember.” Bringing one hand up to cup my face, he added, “I was just hoping you didn’t.”

“I don’t want you going to prison for killing some asshole who doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Don’t do things that pull you down to his level. You’re better than that, you know?”

He pulled me into his side and held me tight. I wrapped my arms around his waist and just enjoyed the moment. When he looked down at me, his gaze was filled with love and admiration.

“You’re right. Now that I’ve met you, I am a better person. And I don’t know if I’ve ever properly thanked you for that, sweetness.”

I playfully grabbed his shirt and tugged him down for a kiss. “You can thank me later. Let’s get going. Abandoned buildings give me the creeps.”

“I always say, give the lady what she wants,” he teased before scooping me up off my feet and playfully carrying me to the van.

I pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. “I almost forgot to ask. Did you get your man, you know, the IT guy you went to find?”

His expression shifted to one of satisfaction. “We sure as fuck did. We not only got him but also grabbed all the information off a bank of servers Slater’s old man set up. Hacker thinks it might be enough to put their whole business out of operation and land them in jail.”

“That’s good news, babe. I’m proud of you.”

He climbed into the van and settled into a seat with me still on his lap.

I saw Maritza hesitating at the open side door of the van and called out to her, “It’s okay, Ritz. I promise you’re safe with these guys.”

She reluctantly climbed into the van and took the one remaining seat.

Havoc didn’t need to declare his undying love for me. I knew he loved me because he’d shown up when I needed him, just like he told me he would. Havoc was a man of action, who kept his word and would always have my back. He probably wanted to chide me for putting myself in danger, but he wasn’t. Knowing how protective he was, that must have taken some real self-discipline.