Page 10 of Unhinged

CHAPTER SEVEN

GEARS

My brothers and I ascend the steps, the old wooden stairs creaking under our weight.

The tension between us is palpable. Arrow, normally so composed, looks like he’s struggling with something.

His eyes dart around, his expression a mix of frustration and something darker, more primal.

Acid, meanwhile, looks like he’s wrestling with his own demons, adjusting himself as if he’s fighting an internal battle.

We reach the top of the stairs, and I lead the way down the hallway toward the playroom.

My mind is still reeling from the encounter with our captive.

Her audacity and resilience have sparked something in me that I can't quite ignore, but the club and finding out how she knows the Slayer comes first.

The playroom is bright green and full of toys and anything a kid could want, a stark contrast to the darkness we just left behind.

The television is on and playing the new Mario movie, its soundtrack blaring through the surround sound.

Mac and cheese wafts through the air mixing with my mom’s and baby sister’s scents.

The boy sits at a small table, his attention fixed on the movie as he eats his mac and cheese.

My mom, Bettie, and my little sister, Dillon, sit on either side of him, doing their best to keep him entertained and distracted.

Dillon is playing with a set of colorful Legos, and Mom is perched on the edge of the couch, her gaze flickering between the boy and the door.

“Where’s my mom?” the boy asks for the one-thousandth time.

“She’s helping us with something, then she’ll be back,” I lie, and my mom cuts her eyes to me in a glare.

“If you hurt my mom, I’ll kick your ass,” the kid says around a mouthful of cheesy noodles.

“My brothers don’t let the club hurt women and kids, right, big brother?” Dillon cocks her head to the side and purses her lips.

“Right,” I grind out, annoyed that my sister and mom are on my ass about this already.

They don’t understand the bigger picture; the stakes involved. We’re on the verge of uncovering something critical—information that could lead us to a serial killer and the source of the drugs poisoning our territory.

“Keep an eye on him. We’re gonna go handle some business,” I tell my mom and sister, motioning for Acid and Arrow to follow me.

Mom gets up from her spot next to the boy. She crosses the room and grabs my earlobe, her other hand copying the action to Arrow.

“Raiden and Orion Briggs. Titus Beck, you mark my words. You hurt that female in any way and I’ll have your asses. Your daddy would be rolling in his grave if he knew you even had a female in his basement. You hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” we reply in unison, and I wince at the hollow promise.

The truth is, I’m lying to her—something that feels almost sacrilegious, given how much I respect her.

“Good. Now go deal with the situation and get this boy back to his momma. You know what it’s like to lose a parent, so to even let him feel an ounce of that is cruel.

” She pats my cheek with a knowing look, her gaze softening slightly before she turns back to the table, her attention once again focused on the boy and Dillon.

The weight of her words lingers as we leave the room. I have an expectation to uphold The Renegade and to my dad who lost his life in service to this club.

The three of us make our way down the hallway, then down the basement stairs, the light casting long shadows on the walls.

I can smell her—jasmine and oranges—stronger than before, mingling with the stench of sweat and fear.

It’s almost suffocating, this heady mixture, and it does something to me.

I can’t quite place it, but it unsettles me.

“Fuck, she smells good,” Arrow groans, the words tight and strained.

I give him a swift smack on the back of his head, the sound sharp in the confined space.

“Think with the head on your shoulders, not the one between your legs,” I snap, frustration seeping into my tone. We’re here on business, not pleasure, and I don’t need distractions from my men, especially not now.

Pushing open the door to the basement, the sight that greets us is all too familiar.

She’s still tied to the chair, but her appearance has changed.

Her hair, once neatly pinned up, is now wild and disheveled, her eyes darting around with a mix of defiance and desperation.

The look she gives us is anything but submissive. Instead, it’s almost… mocking.

“So nice of you to join me in my suite,” she says, sarcasm dripping from every word.

I can’t help but feel a grudging respect for her bravery. Here she is, tied up, beaten, and yet she still has the nerve to sass us. If she wasn’t a means to an end, I might admit her bravado has my cock hardening in my jeans.

“Have you decided to cooperate or should my boy, Acid, smack you around a little more?”

“Oooh, can I take option C? We make a deal and he slaps me around? I’ve always liked it rough when I play,” she sasses and I see her wiggle in her chair. The groans from Acid and Arrow behind me are telling. They’re clearly affected by her words and scent, their restraint fraying at the edges.

“Tell us what we need to know and you can take your kid and go,” I growl, trying to keep control of the situation.

“It’s not that easy,” she says, a grimace forming on her face. “I have a few more questions before I make up my mind.”

“Shoot,” I reply and sit on the chair backward across from her, leaning my arms against the back.

She pauses, a groan leaving her throat and I quirk a brow at her. Something is going on with her right now, but I’m not sure what.

“Say I tell you who the Alpha Slayer is. I want to know what your intentions are. I’m not sending the killer to their death.

Now, if you’re wanting to work together, I’d be more convinced to share what I know.

But I can tell you that the Slayer doesn’t know anything about your dealers or drugs.

Their kills are purely based on the hurting of helpless, unsuspecting people, not drugs, unless drugs are their weapon of choice. ”

I let her words sink in, considering the implications.

“I’d prefer to work together. While Acid is one hell of an enforcer, we could use someone else with the Slayer’s skill set as our territory grows,” I answer her honestly.

“So you want to meet and see if they’ll what— join your biker gang?” She laughs, but her face contorts like she’s in pain.

Acid must have really worked her over good.

“Not that it’s your concern, but yes. If the Slayer agrees to stop killing at random and kill for us, he will be unharmed and an ally to The Renegade.”

My nose twitches as her scent gets stronger. Why her scent is so strong when she’s a beta, I’m not sure. Maybe she has a condition of some sort, or the beating put her body in overdrive.

“No.” She shakes her head.

“No?” I ask. “How do you know what he’d agree to? You his secretary or some shit?” I laugh and Acid chuckles along with me.

“Or some shit.” She smiles. “The Slayer won’t agree to stop killing at random. As I just said, their kills aren’t random. They are based on harm to others. They’re not going to give that up to become an assassin for you. No matter what the pay is.”

I look at Arrow and then Acid and they shrug.

“Fine. We could agree to go over the targets with them. I’m sure they’re planned with how under the radar he’s flown. So we just get a heads up and they are free to kill as they want. A you scratch my back, I scratch yours.”

“Okay.” She nods slowly. “I wanna see my son and I’ll tell you what you wanna know.”

“Deal.” I stand, signaling for the guys to follow me as I head upstairs.

Pulling the kid away from my mom, the movie, and the snacks is no easy feat. Mom gave us all an earful again as Dillon laughed her ass off. Seems my momma is fond of the little shit, though I’m not sure why; he’s mouthy as hell, just like his mom.

I try to ignore the pang of guilt gnawing at me. The kid's cheeky demeanor reminds me of myself as a child, too.

I hold his arm as I pull him as gently as I can to the stairs. When I get the door open, we don’t even get to take the first step before Arrow is shoving past us and bolting down the stairs.

“What the fuck was that about?” I snap, looking at Acid.

Acid’s adjusting himself, clearly uncomfortable. His groan is filled with frustration.

“I think it’s the scent. It’s overpowering, man. It’s taking everything in me not to do the same.” His eyes dart nervously, and I understand his struggle. The scent is a heady mix of jasmine and oranges—intoxicating and almost too strong.

“Let’s go.” I head down the stairs, my own pulse quickening as the scent envelops me. It’s confusing; the beta we’ve got here smells so much like an omega, it’s messing with my instincts. This isn’t right. She’s got a kid—she’s not omega-like at all.

Entering the basement, I see her tied to the chair still, but Arrow is pacing back and forth behind her like a madman. His eyes are wide and he’s pulling at his hair; he looks insane.

Acid gasps and I turn to look at him. He’s staring at her too, but his eyes hold sadness and shock. What the fuck is happening right now?

“Mom!” the kid screams, ripping his arm away from me and running to her.

“I’m alright, baby. Don’t worry about me,” she soothes him. Her eyes, however, are wild, darting between her child and us.

“Alright, you saw your kid, and he’s fine, so tell me what I want to know!” I snap.

“Ease up, Gears!” Acid growls, and I turn, scowling at him. How dare he undermine me in front of someone.

The beta’s voice quivers as she adds, “He’s got a bruise on his wrist.” Her gaze shifting to the boy as she rubs her thighs together in an anxious gesture.

“Mom, tell them whatever they wanna know. You need to go home and take your meds,” the kid begs.

“What medicine?” I ask.

“None of your business,” she gasps, narrowing her eyes.

“She takes blockers. She’s an omega,” the kid snaps, unwrapping the rope from around her ankles.

The revelation hits me like a ton of bricks. I freeze, staring at the two of them.

“An omega?” Arrow’s stance becomes rigid, and his eyes widen.

“So, what, the Alpha Slayer is your alpha? You’re protecting the kid’s dad. That’s respectable, but my offer still stands. Tell us who the Slayer is, and you two are free to go.” I try to keep my tone firm, but inside, the pieces are falling into place.

If she’s bonded to the Slayer, of course, she wouldn’t be willing to talk. I didn’t see a bond mark, but they’re not always in visible locations. Still, it means we’ve kidnapped, and Acid has slapped around an alpha serial killer’s child and omega.

This complicates things immensely.

“No. I said if he had one mark, the deal was off,” she growls.

“Mom!” the kid yells at her and my brows shoot up at him scolding her.

“Stay out of it, Judge. This is between me and them. It’s gonna be okay.”

I take a few steps toward her, but her son stands in front of her, eyes wide and ready to defend his mom.

“Nice try, pipsqueak. Your mom and I had a deal, and she’s going back on it. That can’t stand.”

“At least take him upstairs, so he doesn’t have to see this,” she pants.

I nod to Acid, who hesitates for a moment before moving toward the kid. He darts out of the way, positioning himself behind her chair, his arms tightly wrapped around her.

“Arrow,” I bark, needing his help to manage the situation, but he doesn’t move. He just stares at me, shaking his head slowly.

“I can’t. How do you not notice?” Arrow whispers as he leans against the wall, running his hands over his face.

Acid reaches for the kid again, lifting him up, but the child’s scream pierces the air. “She’s the Alpha Slayer! My mom is the killer!”

I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. There ain’t no way this tiny woman is the Slayer, let alone an omega at that.

“Judge. Baby, you know?” she asks, a tear rolling down her cheek as her words falter.

“I’m not stupid, Mom. You have that knife under your mattress, you come home late all the time, and you have blood on you sometimes.”

Fuck. He’s serious. This omega is the serial killer. Well, that’s an interesting turn of events.

“So, what, your alpha just lets you run around killing people alone? What kind of alpha is that?” I ask.

“I don’t have an alpha,” she snaps, her hazel eyes locking on mine. “Or at least I didn’t.”

“Tell me you’re not still blind to what’s right in front of you? Tell me you figured it out?” Arrow grinds out.

“Figured out what?” the kid asks, looking at Arrow. “Mom, what's happening?”

Oh, shit. How didn’t I notice as soon as I walked in? Arrow obviously did and I’m guessing Acid too, but he’s too loyal to let his own shit get in the way of our friendship and the club.

“It’s okay, Judge. They’re going to let us go. We’ll go home and forget this ever happened.”

“No, we won’t,” Acid barks, the sound more growl than words.

“Fuck no,” Arrow agrees, like he’s barely holding something back.

“You know who she is now. Just let us go!” Judge shouts, working the ropes on his mom’s wrists.

“Can’t do that, little buddy.” Arrow smirks, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. His chest is rising and falling faster now, jaw clenched like he’s fighting his own body.

“Why?”

A low rumble escapes Acid. His nostrils flare.

“Your mom is our scent match.”