Page 21 of Liberator (Serpent Sinners MC #2)

Chapter 21

Vikki

Soon the families began packing up their things and leaving. Flame and I wandered to the small lake that was in the park. Here it was dark and silent. In the darkness I was able to speak frankly. I told her that Rage had confessed to me about his past.

“His rage comes from his childhood circumstances,” I told her.

“That much we all know, chica. But I’m sure he told you the details. I ask that you don’t pass them on to me. His secrets are his to tell. Don’t break his confidence. It isn’t the way to uphold your vows as a Sinner,” she replied.

“I won’t. I made a promise to not speak of it. I just thought I should let you know that he was trusting me more. I wondered if he was using it to make me say I’d be his woman. Is he that kind of man? I don’t trust men, and I think you know that. You’ve been around him longer. What do you think?”

“I can’t say what he was thinking when he confided in you. Men have motives sometimes for what they do, but even they don’t always realize that’s what they’re doing. I do know it was very hard for him to tell you of his past because of how difficult it is for me to do so. Give him credit for having the bravery to give you that piece of himself whether or not he was using it to claim you,” she explained.

“What do I do about him? I miss him when I don’t see him, and I worry when he’s hurt. However, he keeps trying to protect me, even save me. I need to stand on my own. I don’t understand what I’m supposed to feel or do,” I exclaimed.

“Standing on your own and having someone who has your back don’t have to be exclusive from each other. It’s possible, even logical to have both. The MCs should have proven that to you. Each man can take care of himself most of the time, yet they aren’t so determined to do so that they refuse help when it comes. If the others hadn’t gone with Rage to the border he’d be dead now. If they hadn’t worked as a unit when you were rescued you’d be a captive or deceased. Heroes don’t always work alone,” she told me.

“It is difficult for me to see things in anything other than stark black and white, good or bad. I don’t know how to deal with the in between areas. I suppose it is something I need to work on,” I admitted.

I was pleased that we’d made it back to the club without detection, but my conversation with Flame kept me awake most of the night. I was so tired I didn’t noticed the voices until I’d begun mopping the floor in front of Prime’s office. The female’s voice sounded familiar, but not the male’s. It was gruff and held an accent.

While my head was trying to solve the mystery of who was in Prime’s office I rested my head on the mop handle. Before long I realized I was once again overhearing a private conversation that wasn’t meant for my ears. The words mafia and cartel caught my attention and gave me a clue about the people talking. I was frightened to realize that the mafia boss Drago Petrov and his daughter Zoe were actually inside the room in front of me.

It was a rare thing for them to come to Prime instead of sending for him or just calling. The circumstances had to be very secretive and dire to bring them to McAllen. I had to bite my lip to stop the quivering. To me the mafia held the same position as the cartel. They would use me and torture me if I was caught.

I leaned the mop against the wall and was ready to run and hide when I heard the man mention trafficking. I couldn’t move any longer. I had to know the rest of the story. Was I to be a bargaining chip between the mafia and the cartel? Was this man trying to get Prime to agree to trafficking in order to pay the rest of the debt the club owed? If either were true I’d have to run not just from the door but also from the city, maybe even the country.

“Aguilar has had the audacity to bring his business directly into my territory. He does not even try to hide this foolishness from my eyes. He is visibly challenging me. I can only assume he wishes to die, especially since everything he is doing is set up to make it appear I am to blame. I cannot and will not tolerate this. He is destroying my name,” Petrov stated with anger.

“We overlooked the small things he did for too long,” Zoe added. “I begged Father to keep a war from occurring, now we have no choice. Aguilar has gone too far and will have us all in prison or dead if he is allowed to continue ruining the Petrov reputation.”

“Not only is he building up his trafficking business and making it seem as if it is my organization, but he is now taking girls and boys as young as twelve to fifteen and selling them to the highest bidder as labor or prostituting them. This I do not condone. I am a man of business, and I am known to be quite ruthless at times, yet I do not exploit children,” Petrov explained.

“I’m assuming you came to me about this because I still owe you a debt. What is it you want the Sinner’s to do? We can’t take down the entire cartel on our own,” Prime replied.

“I do not ask for you to do so. It is a spy I desire. I wish someone to infiltrate his business and send me proof of his actions. I have ways to use the proof, pictures and videos or paperwork, to have him taken down. He will pay the price for his actions with prison or death. I do not care which at this point.”

“Getting a spy inside his organization won’t be an easy task. I’m not even sure it’s possible. My men are recognizable by their tattoos and their demeanor. It might have to be a prospect who hasn’t yet become so immersed in our lifestyle that he can’t hide what he is. The problem with that is the prospects haven’t been challenged with any dangerous tasks. I don’t know that they can hold up to such a deep cover job,” Prime admitted.

“I told Father I should be the spy. It is better that a woman infiltrates the organization. A grown man will not be trusted. Only a woman can act as a prostitute that will not be questioned. However, Father refuses to allow me to be sullied in that manner. I am to remain pure to marry a man of his choosing,” Zoe said.

Without thinking it over I made the most reckless decision imaginable. I barged into the room and shouted, “I’ll do it! I can be the spy. I’ve been among them before, and I won’t be suspected.”

“Who is this female?! What is she doing spying on us? Have you mislead me to believe you are trustworthy?” Petrov howled as he reached for his gun.

“Don’t be hasty, Petrov!” Ditch shouted back, getting between Petrov and Prime. “Don’t pull your gun. Vikki can’t hurt you. She’s not a spy. She’s one of our prospects and she has a really bad habit of listening at doors.”

“Is she not the one you brought back from the last trafficking raid when you were rescuing someone’s son?” Zoe asked, putting a calming hand on her father’s arm.

“I will not stand for such insolence! She must be punished,” Petrov announced.

Prime glared daggers at me. His anger filled the air around me and sent shivers up my spine.

Ditch kept moving his eyes from me to Petrov. He wasn’t certain where he was needed most.

“She has a lot to learn. It doesn’t appear she has been paying attention to anything she’s been told. I promise she will be punished severely,” Prime growled. “Leave us, Vikki! Go to your room and don’t step foot out of it until I give permission, which won’t be for a very long time. Don’t even consider defying me or you will be tossed as a prospect. Do you hear me?!”

“Wait,” Zoe said with purr. “I think she has value to us. There may be a way to exact punishment, redeem her in your eyes Prime, and get what Father needs.”

Prime’s gaze swiftly moved to Zoe. There was no longer anger on his face. He appeared to be mesmerized and extremely attentive.

“What are you saying?” he asked.

“Yes daughter, what do you have in mind for this disrespectful woman?” Petrov added.

“She has offered herself as a sacrificial lamb. I suggest we consider it. She has been used before, so she is well aware of what she is volunteering to do. She has already proven that she is able to spy without being noticed. I did not hear her outside the door, nor did you. She has the look they will want. Her body and face are in excellent condition. I do not think they will break her for I see a determination and anger in her face that cannot be denied.”

“You don’t want to do this,” Ditch stated. “You can’t go back to that hell.”

I didn’t want to, not really. But there wasn’t anyone else as well suited as me. I had to sacrifice myself for those little girls and boys. It was my duty and my way to prove I was a loyal Serpent Sinner.

“Yes, I do. For the children I will go back and face hell,” I replied.

“Don’t let her do it, Prime,” Ditch begged.

Steely eyes met mine and I didn’t look away or blink. Prime saw something in mine that startled him, yet he only said, “I don’t think we have a choice. Vikki is the perfect person for the job. However, there are several unbreakable promises she will have to make. Are you willing to follow the rules for once, Vikki?”

“I am because it will save my life,” I admitted.

“Exactly,” he answered. “First, it is a fact-finding mission only. You will not attack, fight, or in any way try to release the victims. Any form of that will get you and them killed. Second, you can’t allow yourself to be seen by any of the higher-ranking people. You are well known to them and despite the recent changes to your appearance you could be recognized, then you would endanger yourself and the club. Last, and most important, no one else is to know of this mission until after you are gone. Rage can’t be told. Do you understand and agree to all of these stipulations?”

I scanned all the faces. Prime’s was set in grim lines. Ditch’s was fearful yet resigned. Zoe looked proud and slightly saddened. And Petrov showed skepticism, which I was sure I could change.

The door was locked. They sat me down and a plan was made. My safety wasn’t guaranteed. I was aware I could be lost among the other captives, used and abused, and might lose my life. It was what every Serpent Sinner was willing to face. I’d already made a promise to uphold their sanctity and honor the club. I’d vowed to die for it.

The true fear didn’t take hold until I was back in my room, alone without anyone to talk to. My body shook even in a hot shower. I broke down and sobbed until there were no tears left to shed.

In my head I saw my torturer’s face. I felt him slobbering all over me each time he slammed into me. I felt his hands slapping and punching to try to get me to say I wanted him. I remembered the smell of urine and blood that made me forget how handsome I’d once thought he was. He turned into a monster, the foulest creature I could imagine.

I smelled the filthy room I’d lived in with darkness surrounding me. The first movements I’d felt of the child within me haunted me. The desperation, sorrow, and defeat that had overcome my will to live so many times returned in full force. Begging him to kill me had changed nothing. Seeing the proof of his fertility had only made him more excited, more gleeful as he ravaged what was left of my now limp body. I’d given up hope, yet I’d lived.

I owed the Sinners for my life and that of my daughter. It was payback time. If I died, which I was almost certain would be my reality, at least my daughter lived, and I’d learned how it felt to make love with a man instead of being raped.

Yes, I was finally able to admit to myself that I loved Rage. Sadly, he’d never know. I wasn’t going to tell him. He didn’t need that burden to bear once I was gone. However, I could go to him one last time and concede that we shared a relationship if only for sex. It would be my way of saying goodbye and thank you in case I never returned.

The corridor was dark and still. The men had found their beds for the night. I’d missed my shift in the bar. I hadn’t thought of it once, and no one had come to search me out. Instinctively I knew Prime had told everyone to leave me alone. Whatever explanation he’d given had worked like a charm. Not even Rage or Flame had knocked on my door.

It was dark in Rage’s room as well. He laid face down across his bed in nothing but his bare skin. I smiled at the sight of his firm ass glowing in the darkness. I knew the shape of it quite well by then. I’d filled my hands with its tautness and listened to his moans of satisfaction as my nails dug into it from passion.

I slowly ran my hands from his neck, down the slope of his back, and over his tight butt. He stirred and awoke. He tensed slightly until I whispered, “I need you, Rage. I never thought I’d say that to any man, but it’s the truth. I don’t want a mate or even a protector, yet I find I need you in whatever way I can have you. I’m willing to concede to the fact they we have some kind of relationship, though I can’t define it in simple terms. Just please don’t question me about it tonight. I want you to take me and make me feel alive. That’s all.”

His expression was a mix of smugness and desire as he rolled over and tugged me against his warm, naked body. It dawned on me that he thought he’d won, and I was saying I would be his woman. I opened my mouth to straighten out his crooked thinking, but his tongue filled it, and I stopped caring about what he was imagining. This was possibly our last night together anyway. Even if I survived the assignment I’d be returning as a used and abused woman. This time it was going to be because of my own choices, which made it far worse. He probably wouldn’t want me once I’d done the things that marked me as a prostitute.

I answered his kisses with a fierceness that took possession of my soul. I wanted memories to sustain me of how sex should be when I was faced with men I’d have only loathing for.

The robe I’d put on after my shower was quickly dumped on the floor. Rage’s hands explored every inch of skin they encountered. Their tenderness brought a sob to my lips that I swallowed so he wouldn’t hear. Each urgent caress was a new file for my memories of when I mattered to someone.

I stroked his broad chest and bent to flick my tongue over his nipples. He tasted of salt and a mysterious flavor that I knew to be uniquely his. He shivered beneath my attentive tongue. Then his fingers slid over my ass and farther until they spread my femininity and delved inside.

My head came up with a moan of pleasure. He added a second finger and moved both in and out rhythmically. It was wonderful, but nowhere close to enough. Sweat broke out over our skin as I pushed back to force his fingers deeper and escalate the speed. I felt his cock harden and rise where it laid against my belly. It quivered and jerked, coming to life and asking for release.

Rage removed his fingers and I yelped with the abandonment. He used one hand to force me to look at him as he sucked the fingers from the hand that had been inside me, thoroughly enjoying my juices and making sure I saw it.

My insides clenched so hard I nearly came just watching him lick his lips. He took his wet fingers and spread my mound to play with the sensitive nub beneath its protection. My eyes closed and I blew apart, my cum wetting his belly.

Rage was surprised but didn’t protest when I lifted my hips and impaled myself on his staff. He guided me in riding him until we both found a spectacular release that exhausted us.

I fell asleep on top of him. We woke up twice during the night to have sex, once in slow motion. When I awoke for the third time, the sun was still hiding. I slipped from the bed and left him sleeping. The only explanation I gave him was in a note that he wouldn’t discover until I was gone just as I’d promised Prime.