Page 5

Knuckles

When I saw that fucker hit Hannah at the club, leaving her on the floor barely conscious, all I could see was a tiny woman with a monster looming over her, trying to beat her into submission. Dead fucking wrong . Hannah was far from a helpless victim. No. So much fucking worse. I could have rescued a victim. I could wrap her up in Bubble Wrap and lock her away from the cruel world. I felt a migraine coming on, starting in my fuckin’ dick. She was the predator. I knew it in my fucking soul. And I’d be a son of a bitch if the thought of her exacting vengeance on a world of monsters didn’t make me hard as a motherfucker.

Hannah frowned at me, her eyes narrowing before going wide as realization hit her. She tried to get up, but I held her still. “Oh no, motherfucker! Put that thing away before you poke an eye out!”

I slid her a lascivious grin. “I mean, if you want to get close enough for me to poke your eye, I’ll happily accommodate you.”

“You’re a cad, Knuckles.” She still wiggled and squirmed, trying to get down, until my cock throbbed when she brushed over it with her pussy. She might have had on underwear and those stupid yoga pants all women seem so fond of now, but I was certain I could feel the heat coming off her. And, fuck, I desperately wanted to bury my cock so deep inside her she’d never be able to get me out.

I raised my eyebrows, a chuckle escaping my throat. “A cad, huh?”

“And a complete asshole. Bastard!”

“Admittedly, I’m probably a bastard.”

“You’re an asshole too.” I had to fight not to laugh at her stubborn mien. She reminded me of an angry toddler. With a definite bite.

“Probably. But you’re gonna tell me everything. Every. Fuckin’. Thing.”

She gave me a disgruntled sigh. “Can we not do this now, Knuckles? I’m fucking beat. Literally.”

I couldn’t help but wince. Even now, the bruise on her face was a darkening red. By tomorrow it’d be even darker. “Yeah, baby. You are.” I looked at her for a long time. She stared at me calmly, her gaze never wavering from mine. I could see the resolve in her face. I absolutely would not get anything of substance from her tonight. “Fine. Here’s the deal. You can put this off now. Get you a good night’s sleep. Take time to get straight whatever lie you’re going to tell me. If you do, I’m staying in your room with you. You are not leaving this place without me going with you.”

“You’re out of your mind!”

I shrugged. “You don’t like that option? Then you spill it all. Now.”

I let her look her fill, knowing she needed to push her boundaries. To know that I wasn’t going to give in on this. I saw the exact moment she decided she’d rather give me something now and run when my back was turned. It was hard to keep the smile off my face, because I knew the second she opened her mouth everything she was spilling was complete and utter bullshit.

“The reason I didn’t fight Dillon at the club was because I freeze up when I see him coming at me.” She shrugged. “I took a couple self-defense classes and I was pretty good.” She sounded reasonable. Even shivered as if remembering everything she’d gone through. “But when I see him, hear him, I can’t seem to make myself do much to defend myself. Certainly not attack him.”

“You did your research, I’ll give you that.”

Instantly, her expression changed from matter-of-factness to a deep scowl. Yeah, she didn’t expect me to buy it either. “You don’t know anything about what I do, Knuckles.”

“Which is the whole Goddamned point. Explain it to me.”

“It’s none of your fucking business.” Finally, she threw a serious elbow at me, catching me across the cheek hard enough to make my ears sing. I let her out of my grasp and she moved away from me a couple feet. Like that would save her if I decided to bring her back to sit on my lap. “Look, I didn’t ask for your help back there. I didn’t need it. Everything happened the way it was supposed to. Right up to the point where you stuck your big fat nose in where it didn’t belong.”

“You got hit pretty fuckin’ hard there, girl. No doubt you got a concussion. How exactly did you have it handled?”

She shrugged, and I knew she was getting ready to lie. I thought it would be better than what I’d got before, but apparently Hannah couldn’t lie worth a damn. “Dillon would have taken me home and I’d have slept it off.” Christ! The woman was looking everywhere but at my face, biting her lip for fuck’s sake. Like a little kid who knew she was in trouble, trying to make something up on the spot and failing miserably.

“You are soooo full of shit.” I chuckled, think I even snorted a little. “Stick to the truth, girl. You’re a horrible liar, and you can’t tell tall tales for crap. You need to learn to think on your feet if you’re gonna keep doin’ this shit.”

“Fuck you, Knuckles. And I’m not a little girl! You know I’m the same age as Gunnar, right?”

“Well, considering you’re his twin, I’d hope you were the same age. Also, Gunnar’s a kid next to me. You’re a kid next to him.”

It was like I’d flipped some kind of fucking switch. Hannah’s expression hardened. In the place of the vulnerable Hannah, the too innocent Hannah, and the angry spitfire Hannah, was a stone-cold killer. I knew the look intimately because I saw the same raw intent on the face I saw in the mirror every fucking morning.

“All right,” I said, nodding. I stood slowly. This was the woman I wanted to bring out to play. “I think I finally hit the jackpot.”

“What did you guys do with Dillon?” It was more of a demand than a question. She held herself loosely, readying herself for battle. I’d seen that look a lot too. Just before I was challenged in the yard. After that, I always pounded that same someone into the ground. Which wasn’t the best option this time.

“Why do you want to know?”

“So I can finish what I started tonight.”

“What’s that, Hannah? What did you start?”

“He’s a serial abuser, Knuckles. It’s escalating. Tonight was the last test, and he passed with flying colors.”

There was something in her eyes I didn’t like. I wasn’t sure I could put a name to it, but this was about more than punishing a piece of shit like Dillon. It was…

I cocked my head to the side in confusion. “You’re not doin’ this to punish Dillon.” When she opened her mouth, I spoke over her. “Not only to punish Dillon.” When she continued to stare at me, I continued. “You’re punishin’ yourself.”

“Think what you want, Knuckles. I can deny it all I want, but you’re gonna believe what you want. I have a purpose in life. A way to make the right people pay. There’s no way anyone can deny what they did.”

I thought for a moment about everything she’d said. And about what she hadn’t. I knew she was planning on leaving the second I turned my back. I’d have to be blind not to see her intent. Or stupid. And I was neither. “Knight says Dillon went home. Been keepin’ tabs on the place and he’s not left since he got there.”

“Good. Tell Knight thank you for me.”

“You tell him yourself.”

She shrugged and turned to go to her room. I knew I should follow her and demand she not lock the door. And that she stay put and rest. I also knew it wouldn’t do a Goddamned bit of good. Hannah was more like Gunnar than I’d first pegged her for. It was because she was a woman. It had been a long fucking time since I’d had to read a woman in anything other than a prison environment. I had no idea how to pick up on the subtle cues from her that were imperative to staying alive where I came from. It was both unnerving and exhilarating.

It wasn’t long before I heard a small thump . I stood and strolled to Hannah’s room, opening the door she hadn’t bothered to lock. She’d likely known I’d just break the door down if she did and was trying to save her house from any major damage. The window in her bedroom was open, the breeze moving the sheers in a gentle wave.

I chuckled as I took out my phone and texted Knight.

Me: She’s gone.

Knight: Got her. Car GPS.

Me: I’m headed that way. Eyes open.

Knight: Sending Chains and Hawk as backup.

Me: Tell Torpedo.

Knight: Tell him yourself.

“Fucker.” I couldn’t help the smile as I tucked my phone in my pocket, checked my knife, then tucked it in the waistband of my pants. I’d prefer my gun, but being an ex-con makes carrying one not the best option. Next was my throat mike and earpiece. Both tested out OK with Knight, so I headed out to my bike. No need to hurry. I knew where Hannah was going, and I’d know if she got into trouble and needed help.

The ride to the little house in the suburbs was uneventful. I took my time, enjoying the ride. Knight had already tapped into the guy’s security camera in case things went sideways before we got there.

“Man, I can’t wait for you to see this shit.” Knight’s muttered comment came from my earpiece.

“She good?”

“Oh, yeah. She’s good, all right. Ain’t gonna be much left of her boy there when she gets done.”

There was something itching between my shoulder blades. Something telling me I better get my ass in gear and get to Hannah. One thing I’d learned in prison was to trust my instincts. If something seemed off, it was.

I gave the bike more gas, speeding up and weaving my way through traffic until I pulled up at the sprawling McMansion inside a gaited property. Chains pulled up at the same time I did and was off his bike in quick, efficient movements. The gate had a keypad, and Chains had some kind of gadget he used on it. I had no idea what. Didn’t fucking care. I wanted inside this property. Now.

Seconds later, the gate swung open and I rolled through, not caring if my bike made noise. No one was around to hear anyway. There were no close neighbors. Knight had confirmed no one was in the house but Dillon and Hannah.

“Uh, guys, you might want to, uh… she’s gonna kill him. Like right now.”

Yeah. I thought so.

Strangely, I expected panic would hit me when it came to the physical confrontation I knew was gonna happen when Hannah got there. I had no idea exactly what was going on in her head, or what her end game was, but I was willing to let her beat on a few dipshit assholes beating up on people weaker than them. Or, at least, people smaller. And there was no doubt in my mind she could take care of herself.

Unlike Gunnar, Hannah was small. Delicate even. Until you got a good look at her. She was covered in a layer of fine muscle. I got a look at her midriff when she had on that tank top and would move a certain way. Her abs were ripped better than most men I knew. Her arms were finely muscled, so you wouldn’t guess the strength in them. I saw how they stood out when we fought briefly. Also, the way she sat on my lap, the way she stood up to me and never flinched back from a fight and didn’t hesitate to make her stand? Yeah. Hannah wasn’t a woman who’d been beaten down by an abuser. If anything, she was ready for an abuser to fuck with her. Wanting it, even.

Which was how I ended up whistling a tune as I rode down the road even if I did crank the throttle a bit to pick up the pace. I was certain down to my bones Hannah could take care of herself, had probably even planned this very scenario with that fucker. Didn’t change the fact I still need to be by her side. To be honest, I was really fucking looking forward to seeing the carnage she was unleashing at this very moment.

I pulled around to the back of the house. The attached garage was open so I pulled inside, making myself at home. Chains and Hawk followed me. We weren’t quiet either. Hawk even revved his big Hog a couple times before shutting it down.

The silence after the constant rumble was deafening. There was nothing. Nothing at all.

“You think Knight was wrong? Maybe she snuck out with dickwad in tow without Knight pickin’ up on it.” Hawk scrubbed the back of his neck as he looked around the garage, which had one car in the three bays. The rest was spotlessly clean, with none of the suburban garage-y things inside or outside. No garden hoses. No lawn mower or weed whacker. The floor was a gleaming black-and-white check. The silence was almost eerie.

“I didn’t get it wrong.” Knight’s voice came through my earpiece. “Second floor. There’s a room on the southwest corner. That’s where she’s got him. Thankfully, she had the foresight to put down plastic on the carpet.” There was a pause. “And the walls. I’m not sure, but there might be some plastic taped to the ceiling too.”

“Jesus.” Chains chuckled. “She’s serious about this, huh?”

“Yep.” Hawk opened the door to the back of the garage leading into the house. “Let’s go see what she’s up to. If we need to call in someone to clean up, I’d like to get it done sooner rather than later. Replacing ceiling stucco might take a while.” We all snorted. My brothers took everything in stride. No one questioned if we were going to cover for Hannah from whatever we were getting ready to find upstairs. Didn’t matter that Hannah wasn’t part of our club officially. She was Gunnar’s sister, so they just assumed the club would take care of it and made plans accordingly. Torpedo and Bohannon would both be proud.

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes at the thought of the two of them approving anything I did or didn’t do. Kiss of Death was my club. They were just keeping an eye on it until I was ready to take over again.

“Does Gunnar know we’re here and what’s goin’ on?” Chains moved in front of me, leading the way up the stairs. The laundry room just inside the house off the garage was empty and almost sterile in its cleanliness. The kitchen we went through to get to the main stairs was the same. Not a dish in the sink. Spotless counter tops with nothing sitting on them except one large vase of fresh flowers. The room was dimly lit with the only light being on the baseboards lining the hall. Safety lights.

There were a few small tables with more fresh flowers. Enough that the hallway reminded me of the way a funeral home smelled. There wasn’t a speck of dust, cobwebs, clutter, or anything to suggest anyone actually lived in the place. From what I could tell, the whole fucking place was unnaturally tidy. There was nothing out of place anywhere I saw on the way through the house to the upstairs.

The closer we got to our destination, the more I could hear voices, one of them Hannah’s. She had someone with her in the room Knight indicated, but I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. The sounds were pretty high-pitched. Could go either way.

I opened the door and Chains went ahead of me into the room. I followed, and Hawk brought up the rear. In the far corner of the room, the man I’d seen hit Hannah sat on a tall, white stool, his feet braced on the middle rung with his knees apart. Oddly, he was dressed in an expensive-looking suit but no socks or shoes. The whole corner was covered top to bottom in thick black plastic. Around the stool were what looked like thousands of roofing tacks covering nearly every inch of the plastic on the floor. There were also several large pieces of broken pottery scattered around the stool like they’d been dropped or thrown.

Dillon sat on that stool holding a… flower vase above his head? Like the one on the kitchen counter. And the ones on several small tables throughout the house. I stared at those flowers. Unless I was mistaken, every vase I’d seen had flowers arranged exactly the same. I’d done every mental exercise I could find in any book on psychology and improving your brain activity and all the shit in the prison library. I’d encouraged Gunnar to do the same. Both of us had practiced and practiced until we basically taught ourselves to have close to photographic memories. So, I was ninety-nine percent certain.

“Now, now, baby boy.” Hannah’s voice was deceptively sweet. Saccharine sweet. “No one is making you stay like this. All you have to do is get off the stool and walk away.”

“You put roofing tacks everywhere, fucking bitch!” Anger bloomed over Dillon’s face and he threw the vase against the nearest wall. The second he let the vase go, there was a harsh ZAP ! and a shrill shriek erupted from his throat. “Give me another vase! Give me another vase!”

Hannah gave a sigh, like she was terribly sorry… for him. “You really should have thought your actions through, Dillon. I’ve already proven the pad is pressure sensitive up to three pounds.” She shook her head sadly. “I’ll have to go find another vase. I don’t have any more in this room. Exactly two vases of fresh cut flowers per room, unless it’s one of the suites like this one. Suites get three vases of fresh cut flowers. Remember, Dillon? You just broke the third vase.” She sighed again, her shoulders slumping. “I don’t want to break up the set in the hallway. That would make everything terribly mismatched. Like the time when you hit her over the head with the one on the left at the end of the hallway. She had to put Legos in her shoes while she walked to the flower store to get more, then walked home. No. I learned the lessons Carol paid for pretty well --” She was cut off with another ZAP ! and a shrill scream from Dillon.

“Hannah! Please! Get me another vase! I don’t care from where! Please!” Dillon was frantic now. He stood on the stool rungs but was too awkward to hold the position no matter which bar he put his foot on.

“I can’t break up the set, Dillon.” She gave him a look of sympathy so sincere I swear she actually felt sorry for the guy. “You taught me and Carol the importance of appearances. The hallway is too public an area. This house might be our private residence, but you never know when there will be guests who’ll need to come down the hallway.”

“Look, Hannah.” The man looked desperate. Sweat glistened on his forehead, one bead trickling down his temple. “I get it. I’m sorry. I realize how silly it all was. I shouldn’t have gotten angry with her all those times, or with you tonight, OK?”

Hannah’s face lit up and she clasped her hands in front of her in an “oh, goodie” pose. Her soft brown curls swayed gently as she bounced up on her toes like she was excited. “Really? So when I move all those tacks and let you down from the stool, you won’t be angry with me?”

“Nope.” He smiled, sensing victory. I was anxious to see how this played out because there was no way Hannah was letting that bastard off the hook that easily. I knew it like I knew my own name. Of course, if I was wrong, he still wasn’t getting off the hook -- the giant meat hook I’d hang his bleeding body from. “All’s forgiven.” I could practically see the wheels turning in his mind, the plans, all the ways he was going to hurt Hannah when he got down from the stool.

If it had been more than a step or two, the guy might have jumped down and taken the pain to one foot, but the room was rather large and she had him in the corner farthest from the door. She’d apparently removed all the furniture except for the tables where each flower vase had sat. He’d have to make at least four steps to even get off the plastic.

“OK. Let me go find something to remove --” another ZAP ! and a scream from Dillon.

“Turn this motherfucking thing off, Hannah! Right fucking now!”

She smiled sweetly. “I’m sorry, Dillon. But the switch to turn it off is on an app on my phone.”

“Well, get your Goddamned phone…” he trailed off, his eyes getting large and round as he seemed to remember a problem with Hannah getting her phone.

“That’s right. You took my phone when I tried to call 9-1-1 after you pushed me down the stairs two days ago. I promised not to tell them what happened, that I’d only get my wrist looked at where I was certain I’d broken it, but you told me to put an Ace wrap on it and suck it up. You wouldn’t let me have my phone back, would you, Dillon?” She sounded so sweet, so matter-of-fact it was hard to argue with her. “You said bitches who couldn’t keep their mouths shut didn’t get to have phones.”

“You got it looked at later,” he whined. “Anyway, I was right. It wasn’t broken.”

“And you still don’t get it.” She shook her head sadly as another ZAP ! followed by several shrill shrieks from Dillon echoed through the room. Sitting on the pad like he was, I had to wonder if his balls were singing. No way they avoided damage. Made me smile. Again, Dillon tried to balance on the stool, keeping his ass from what was apparently a shock pad. I was betting there was some serious juice that wasn’t supposed to be there. “It’s not about being right, you son of a bitch.” There was the Hannah I was expecting. All pretense at feeling sorry for Dillon or, more probably, pretending to be the woman Dillon wanted her to be, was gone. It was all a mind game. A way of fucking with him. “It’s about not fucking torturing the woman you married, or the woman you’re dating.”

I sucked in a breath. “Now, wait just a Goddamned minute!” Hannah didn’t even glance in my direction at my outburst, obviously already knowing I was there. God, this woman was complicated! I had no doubt in my mind now that Hannah knew her surroundings exactly. I knew she was an experienced fighter, but she was so very much more than that.

“Oh, thank God!” Dillon practically sobbed in relief. “She’s crazy. You’ve gotta help me. Just move the tacks so I can get off the stool. I can take care of the rest.”

I tilted my head, then glanced at my brothers to see their reaction. “Whadda ya think, Hawk? Should we help a brother out?”

Hawk snorted. “You know he still don’t get it. Right?”

“Oh, I know he don’t fuckin’ get it,” I bit out. “It sounded a lot like you knew his wife, Hannah.”

“She’s the reason I’m here.” Hannah leveled her gaze on me but didn’t expound. Instead, she cocked her hip, suddenly looking very bored. The bruising on her face was stark even in the shadows of the room, and I felt a smoldering rage building again. Now, I had a target for my rage right in front of me. “And you’re right. He’s a dumb motherfucker. I knew he’d never get it, but I really tried to give him the opportunity to at least pretend to be contrite.” Hannah stood there, her lips curling into a smirk as Dillon squirmed on the stool just before the pad delivered another shock. His face contorted in pain. When he could breathe again, he screamed in pain and fury over and over.

The shocks seemed to be coming with increasing regularity. And intensity. We all stood there and watched dispassionately. I didn’t know about anyone else, but I was enjoying the fuck out of the show.

“Please, Hannah,” Dillon’s voice cracked, eyes wide with that pleading kind of panic that always seemed just a little too late. Which, of course, he was. “I’m begging you.” Tears and sweat streamed down his face. Kind of surprised me the guy hadn’t tried to use his suit jacket as a way to get across the tacks, but honestly, it wouldn’t have made a difference and I think he knew it.

Hannah tilted her head slightly, those brown curls swaying as if considering his words. “Begging?” she mused aloud, her tone only slightly mocking. “That’s new for you.”

And the shocking continued. At one point, Dillon almost toppled over. I was surprised he didn’t, given how hard those shocks seemed to be getting. I wondered where the limit was, but honestly, I couldn’t give a fuck. Bastard deserved this and more just for hitting Hannah at the club tonight. Judging by his other transgressions, he deserved a whole fucking lot more than what he was currently getting.

Across the room, Hawk flicked a gaze my way, an eyebrow arched. “So? We doing this, or what?”

Dillon’s eyes darted between us like a cornered animal. He stammered out a pathetic half-laugh. “Yeah, c’mon guys, help me out here.”

“Huh?” Hawk gave Dillon a questioning look. Then his eyes widened in understanding. “Ohhh… You thought I meant that we should help you.” He grinned. “Yeah. No. I just want to get this done so I can make sure the mess is cleaned up in time for me to go to my kid’s birthday party.”

Another ZAP ! had Dillon’s body jerking violently before settling back into trembling. The motherfucker had threaded his feet through the rungs of the stool in an effort to stay on it. He was either stupid or a fucking pussy, because I was pretty sure the pain he’d get from the tacks on the floor was nothing compared to what he was feeling now.

“How many others have there been, Dillon? How many other women have you terrorized?”

“No one! I swear! No one!” He was panting now. I thought he might have pissed himself.

Hawk leaned back against the wall casually, crossing his arms over his chest with an amused snort. “Dumb bastard.”

“You honestly think I didn’t do my homework before I came after you?” Hannah tilted her head looking at him like the dumb shit he was. “I baited you. And you did exactly what I was told you would do. Right down to the fucking flowers in every room.”

“What?” He looked so dumbstruck I had to cover my smile with my hand. Not because I didn’t want him to know exactly how big a dumb shit I thought he was, but because I knew I was gonna get to play scary monster come to eat his face pretty Goddamned soon and I wanted to get into character. Because, yeah. I was gonna enjoy the fuck outta this.

“Before Carol, there was Marissa. And before her, a woman named Geri. Pretty sure you know why I couldn’t talk to her.”

Dillon went white, his mouth opening and shutting before he swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Doesn’t matter.” She smiles sweetly. “Even if you don’t admit what you did to the others, I know what you did to me. So do several people in that club. I also made sure we were in the direct line of a security camera before you hit me.”

“Please, Hannah.” Dillon wept as he begged. “I can’t take any more. Please.”

“Let me ask you something.” Dillon lifted his gaze to hers. “What did you do to me when I begged you to stop?”

Dillon’s face crumpled, and he sobbed and sobbed. Hannah moved to the edge of the tacks on the floor and waited. The shock pad went off again and she moved forward. I glanced down at her feet to see she had on thick-soled boots at least. The second Dillon’s body relaxed after the shock, she lunged forward and plunged a knife into the side of his back five times in rapid succession, going for his kidney and the renal artery. The abdominal aorta if her knife was long enough. She twisted her knife before jerking it out the final time and stepping back.

Dillon looked at her in shock as he clamped his hand over the wound. Blood poured through his fingers. “Oh, God.” He gasped. “Oh, God!”

“God doesn’t give a shit about you, Dillon. No one fucking does.” Her words had no heat in them. She delivered them in a “so sorry for you” voice that made me smile, especially when Dillon started sobbing.

He tumbled off the stool and onto the roofing tacks with a strangled cry. He was definitely bleeding out. Just not very quickly.

Dillon rolled over with a groan and a cry, finding and clinging to my gaze, pleading with me. “Please, man. Call an… ambulance.” He was already gasping for breath with the blood loss. “Don’t let… me die.”

“Sorry. We’re ex-cons and refuse to carry cell phones so no one can track us. She’s the only one with any way to call help and, if I heard correctly, you took her fuckin’ phone.” I shrugged. “Them’s the breaks, pal.” I almost thought the smartass was more fun to play than the eat-your-face-off monster. Almost.

Dillon sobbed out another breath, gasping once. Then again. Then he was still.

“Well. That was fun.” Hannah’s bright smile was genuine. “You guys wanna grab a beer after I clean up the mess?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Come on, little hellion. You’re in a heap o’ trouble.”