Prizefight: The Hell Raiders MC Goes MMA (14 page)

It took more time than I wanted it to. My instincts kept insisting I should just go to Royse's building and walk in with guns blazing and take Elena back. Every time I put that suggestion up, Stella shot it down fast, saying we needed a plan that included her mother. I got that, but at the moment, I didn't give a shit about the old lady. I just wanted my woman safe and sound in my arms.

By this point, I wasn't fighting it. Elena was my woman, and I had every intention of telling her exactly that, as soon as I had her back. We would deal with the details once she was safe again.

"Hey, Ryker, since you're not adding to this discussion, how about you call the boss and give him an update? Better than you sitting here looking like somebody kicked your dog." Stella's words came with a grin, but it meant he was worried.

I stood. "Yeah, probably a good idea." I slid my phone out of my pocket and headed for the door. I'd rather take my chances with being overheard on the street than counting on a drug dealer not to have his place wired. The sidewalk seemed like a far safer bet.

Kellen came on the line, and I filled him in as I walked up and down the sidewalk to make a more difficult target for anyone listening or taking aim at my skull.

"Okay, got a time frame yet?" The wheels turning in Kellen's head practically made my phone rattle.

"Not yet, but the sooner the better. Can't be soon enough for me."

"I heard that. A'ight, I'll send some boys your way. You might need backup." He went silent for a minute. "Ryker, she'll be okay, man. You have to believe that."

Frustration flared up, but I bit back the words on the tip of my tongue. Kellen went through hell with Vicki when they first got together, so he had a real good idea how I felt. "Yeah, trying to stay positive."

"Good. Okay, keep in touch. Sending the boys to Stella's place when they hit town, but they have your number, too. They'll holler at you before they get there." He ended the call and I headed back inside.

Stella and Juaquin had a bunch of papers spread over the table and were leaned over, studying them closely, and talking quietly. I moved closer for a better look, more than a little shocked to see a pencil drawing of the front of Royse's building at one end of the table. I bent over to see what they were talking about.

"This right here don't make sense. If he lives on the penthouse floor, why have two apartments up there?" Stella traced his fingers over what looked like a mirror image floor plan on each side of the building. "Think he has any relatives or anyone else living there with him?" He glanced up at me, like I might know.

"Never heard of any relatives, or anyone close, but that's not something I'd have heard." Thoughts chased themselves through my mind. Did I know anyone close to Royse? "It's a long shot, but let me call someone. Might be able to find out."

I grabbed my phone and scrolled to Luke's number. This time, I didn't bother going outside. The conversation wouldn't be related to the Hell Raiders, so it didn't matter who heard. He didn't answer, so I left a message, then went back to the floor plans. Luke would call back as soon as he had a training break.

In the meantime, I needed to know everything I could find out about Royse's building. "Let's look floor-by-floor, memorize that fucker's lair."

Stella nodded and pulled the sheet marked 'BASEMENT' to the top of the pile. Most of the rooms there were labeled Storage or Mechanical. "This all looks innocent, until you think about what could be in those storage rooms." Stella looked around. "You got a pen and paper in this joint, man?"

Juaquin flashed his gold grin. "Course I do. I done tol' you, I'm like a fuckin' boy scout, always prepared." He fished around in a kitchen drawer and came up with a small notepad and one of those free pens everyone steals at the bank.

Stella started scribbling something down in some kind of shorthand. Whatever it was, I sure as hell couldn't read it. "Okay, we have to assume the rooms aren't going to be used as labeled. Can't very well put 'Holding Cell' on a floorplan for a commercial building or private residence. City inspectors would pitch ten kinds of hell over that."

"So far, I follow. But where the hell did you learn to write?" The chance to take a jab at Stella refused to be left alone.

He raised an eyebrow. "Shit, I was supposed to be writing something?"

Juaquin laughed. "You know what we need?"

"A tank?"

"Nah, we need someone who's actually been in there and familiar with it." Dude acted like he'd just given some profound advice.

"Too bad volunteers ain't knocking the door down to help, though."

I gave some serious thought to the drug dealer's words, and a spark of an idea started to grow. "Not yet. But if we get word into the right ears that we're looking for someone, they just might."

Stella straightened and turned to look at me full on. "You think so?"

I shrugged. "Royse has more enemies than friends. Place that big, if he's actually using it, has to have staff, and people who come and go. He's bound to have pissed off at least one of them."

"Huh. You have a point. So where do we find these people who hate Royse that much?"

He had me there. "I'll have to get back to you on that one."

Juaquin held up a finger. "You know any of the chicks Elena worked with?"

I shook my head. "I wouldn't even know her except she was part of the prize for a fight I won. I've seen a ton of girls working for him, but never paid much attention. Got all I wanted without paying."

Juaquin interrupted with a laugh. "Right, ain't no white boy ever got all the pussy he wants without havin' to pay up front. Bitches be smart like dat."

Stella and I both flipped him off. I decided right then Juaquin might be an okay bastard. Either way, he could be a valuable asset. "Ain't my fault if they have a thing for fighters. Either way, I got a call in to a buddy that might know some names for us."

We spent the next hour going over floor plans, searching for some weakness we could exploit. Finally, my phone rang with Luke's return call. "Hey, you able to talk right now?"

"No, Ryker, Luke isn't able to come to the phone right now. I'll be happy to take a message for you, though."

My blood turned to icicles at the fake cheerfulness of Royse's tone. Fuck! I ended the call, cursing the day the fucker was born.

The others looked up with alarm, and Stella stood with a hand on the butt of his .38. "What?"

"Fucking Royse. He called me back from Luke's phone. Probably means he had his goons beat the poor bastard down, or worse." I ran a hand over my head. "Fuck this. I'm going to get Elena now."

Stella grabbed me as I started for the door. "Wait, Ryker. You could be walking right into a fucking shooting gallery."

I shook him off and went on, not wanting to hurt a Brother if I didn't have to. "I can't leave her in that sick fuck's hands one minute longer." A fresh chill ran along my spine at the thought of the bastard touching her. I had tried to keep my mind from going there, but too late now.

My phone rang again, but I ignored it. I had nothing to say to the fucker. Juaquin's door succeeded in slowing me down for a few seconds, and as I cleared it, Stella's phone went off. I ignored his shout to wait and headed for his car in a sprint.

I slowed, a handful of strides from the car, and something plowed into me from the side, taking me to the ground. I came back up immediately, grateful for all the hours of training. It looked like the fucker had brought the fight to me.

The guy who took me down had a good fifty pounds and several inches on me. I backed up a little to gain a second to check that no more thugs lurked around to come to his defense. Certain no rescuers waited, I moved in, ready to take him apart.

He threw both hands up, fear spreading over his face. "Wait! Wait, man, Juaquin an' Stella say tell you hol' up a minute."

I growled. "What the
fuck
?"

"I'm sorry, man. Juaquin call and say stop you, him an' Stella gotta tell you sum'n 'fore you take off." The guy took another half step back with every word.

Stella raced around the corner before I could say anything more, stopping in front of me with one hand up while he heaved for air. When he finally managed to speak, he still sounded badly winded. "Fuck, man, warn me before I have to chase you down. Smokin' two packs a day ain't good with this fitness shit."

"What the fuck, Stella? This shit ain't cool." It took all my self-control not to take his head for this bullshit.

He took another deep breath. "Sorry, brother. Boss called. Him and the rest of the boys are just a few minutes out."

I shrugged. "And you stopped me for that? I could have done been there, damn it."

"He said it's club business now, and don't go in without backup. They got something about that interference, and he's loaded for war."

Again, I shrugged. "I don't give a fuck. I can't wait for him to get his ass here and more coming up with plans shit." I turned for the car.

"Brother, you know I can't let you go in there against his say-so."

The world slowed down while I turned back to face Stella, the barrel of his .38 steady on my chest. "What. The. Fuck. He tell you to throw down on me?"

He stayed silent for ten heartbeats. "Yeah, brother, he did. Said stop you."

I've taken some serious fucking hits in the cage, but nothing could have floored me like that. "What now?" All I could do was wait for an opening. I might be down for the count, but I sure as fuck wasn't beaten.

"Ryker!" His name left my lips on a gasp as I woke.

"I should have known you were cheating on me." The whisper slid through the dim room and squeezed all the air from my lungs.

"What?" I sat up and scooted back against the pillows, and tried to shake sleep off at the same time. "No!" A dark shape loomed over me, like something out of a nightmare. Was that it? Was I just dreaming? I forced my eyes open, trying to see more clearly.

Royse stood over me, scowling down, a fist drawn back. "By the time I'm done with you, your boyfriend won't want to look at you."

Terror hit, and then self-preservation kicked in. "What do you mean? You're my boyfriend." I hated the words. The thought of being involved with anyone other than Ryker seemed crazy wrong. But I had to say them. If I died here, I would never get back to Ryker.

"Bullshit. You lied." He came closer, snarling. "I should kill you." His fist flew and glanced off my cheekbone.

I dodged back, wincing as pain exploded through my head. "I didn't, Royse, I swear!" Tears stung my eyes, and I tried to blink them back, but as the pain from his blow vibrated through my cheek, I couldn't stop them.

My crying just seemed to make him madder. He growled as he drew back again, and I didn't wait around to try and reason with him any longer. I slid to the far side of the bed, frantic to get away. The blankets grabbed my legs and held me tight for too long, as if they were on his side. His hand snagged in my hair as I finally kicked free and rolled to the floor.

"Get back here, bitch!" He dove across the bed, trying to keep his hold.

I pulled away with all my strength, ignoring the searing pain in my scalp, and not caring that I left a big chunk of my hair in his grasp. Better to lose some hair than let him get his hands on me again. Part of the blanket came with me, wrapping around my ankle just enough to let him get close again. Fear held me frozen for an instant, but then I started scrambling away.

Royse crashed behind me with a roar, and grabbed the bottom of the stupid dress he'd made me wear. Knew I should have taken the damn thing off. I kicked at him and pulled away at the same time. My foot caught his elbow, not hard, but enough to loosen his grip a little.

I spun and pushed up, trying to get my feet under me, but he recovered and made another grab for me. This time, he got a firm hold of the dress and yanked, trying to topple me over.

Determination gave me a little extra strength, and I fought not to fall into his grasp. A scream tore from my throat as I hung there, halfway to my feet, struggling for balance. A ripping sound filled the air, and the bottom part of the dress started to tear. I leaned a little harder away from Royse and it tore more. He reached for me with his other hand just as the fabric gave way completely.

I half-fell forward, managing to put a few inches between myself and Royse again. The door seemed like it was miles away, but somehow, I had to get there ahead of him. The slippery floor worked against me, slowing me down. The only good thing was it slowed Royse down, too.

"You will pay for every second of fighting me, cunt. Hell is too good for the likes of you!" He made it to his feet and ran after me, even though I had only gained a few feet on him.

Panic hit again. If he got his hands on me, I would never get away, never see Ryker again, never feel anything but pain again. The room spun as I looked for some weapon, or a way out, or anything that might help.

A fragile looking vase on a tiny table caught my eye and I made a grab for it while I tried to stay ahead of him. Spinning, I threw the heavy vase at him, utterly shocked when the thing hit him.

He gave another furious shout as the vase hit the floor and shattered. "You bitch!"

Fear tried its best to paralyze me, make me stand and wait for him, but I resisted. I toppled the little table in front of him and pushed a few more steps toward the door.

He was gaining on me, reaching for me again. If I didn't do something drastic, he would have me and it would be too late to do anything but pray.

I stopped by the big mirror in the entry and grabbed the gold frame and pulled for all I was worth. For a moment, it seemed like nothing would happen.

Royse stopped to stand right in front of me, grinning like some kind of demented thing from a scary movie. He reached for me, and rather than run, I dragged even harder on that damn mirror.

A splintering noise filled the air, and then suddenly, the mirror came down in slow motion. The bottom edge hit the floor and the top leaned, so I pushed. Glass broke, but it wasn't enough to stop him, and it was too slow.

I pushed harder, until the top of the frame swung toward Royse's head. The mirror's weight started to help at that point, and it fell faster than he could move. Something like fear filled his face as he realized it was going to hit him hard.

As much as I wanted to stay and see if it had any effect, I didn't. I turned and raced once more for the door. The knob turned in my hand and glass broke with a heavy crash behind me. I jerked the door open, not looking back.

In the corridor, Mr. Green headed for me at a run. "Miss? Is everything okay?"

"No! He's trying to kill me!" I pushed past him, desperate to get to the elevator.

He grabbed my arm. "No, come on, this way. He can stop the elevator."

The words sank in past my panic and I allowed Mr. Green to lead me on at a run until we reached a door marked Maintenance. He grabbed it open, shoved me through and pulled the door closed. The only sound I could really hear came from my heart, as it beat so wildly my pulse drowned out anything else.

"This way." He led me behind a shelf filled with cleaning supplies, and another door slid open. "He won't be able to stop this one. Come on." Mr. Green went first into the more modern elevator, hurrying to push the button for the first floor.

With no need to run, or fear for my life, for just a second, my brain started trying to work again. "Why are you helping me?" Was he really? Or was he just playing along with Royse's sick game?

He took a deep breath as the elevator dinged to signal a different floor. "Because I know what kind of monster he is. I can't sit by and let him do this to another girl. You have to get out and tell everyone what he is."

"He's not going to let me go. He still has my mom, and he'll use that." The sobs threatened to start again and I paused to swallow hard. "It's useless to try."

"Shh. Your mom is already safe. We moved her while he was out."

My heart stood still. "What?"

"Look, we—the other people who work here, and I—have seen this before. I've lost count of the number of girls he's done this to. He rescues them in some way, moves them upstairs, and acts as if they're his fiancé. Sooner, rather than later, it always ends."

"Ends?" The elevator dinged again, startling me.

Mr. Green nodded. "Ends. He's insane. He suddenly realizes the girl isn't happy to be here, and he kills her. Every time." He took my arm as the elevator came to a smooth stop. "Come on. None of the other girls had anyone to care for them, or help them stay out of his reach. You do. We're not letting him kill you." He led me at a half-run down the hall a ways, then opened a door. "Mr. Black will take you the rest of the way."

I spun to find Mr. Black watching me with kind eyes. The door closed before I could thank Mr. Green. "What next?"

A huge commotion sounded in the hall, and something heavy banged into the door. I jumped, fresh terror filling me. And somewhere, above all the noise, Royse shouted and cursed.

Mr. Black touched my arm, startling me again. "Here. Climb in." His hoarse whisper seemed overly loud in the small space. He pointed me toward a big wire basket on wheels filled with what looked like sheets and blankets, maybe some tablecloths. "You're going down to the laundry. Mrs. Blue is waiting for you there."

The nod I gave him probably looked braver than I felt. I climbed over the side of the basked, suddenly aware of how little of my dress I still wore. Sinking down, I covered myself with the stuff around me, and waited.

The basket started to move with a jolt and a mechanical groan, and I tried to brace myself without moving or making myself visible to anyone who happened to see. Several jolts and a sickening plunge later, the cart stopped moving. I held my breath and waited.

The fabric above me rustled, as if someone were pulling it aside, and I braced myself for the blow I knew was about to come.

"Now, now, Miss Kitty. You know you're not to be in the linens." The cheery female voice startled the hell out of me. The soft
meow
that followed came as even more of a surprise. A
cat
? "You sit tight, there, Miss. You're safe now, just some waiting to do." Shoes squeaked on the floor as she hurried away.

Well, what was I supposed to do with that? She said wait. Did I dare take her at her word? Hell, did I even know how to actually trust someone? Yeah, come to think of it, I trusted Ryker. Maybe I could take the next step and count on someone who gently scolded cats and put everything on the line to help a stranger she'd never even seen before. So, I sat there, and waited. And waited.

All the cuts and bruises I accumulated as I tried to escape Royse ached and burned with a vengeance, reminding me of their presence with every heartbeat. My right eye seemed swollen nearly shut, and throbbed like hell. I probed it with gentle fingers, not shocked to find a gash that could probably use a stitch or two along my cheekbone.

Worse, doubt came at me from everywhere. How did I know these people were really helping? I couldn't be sure what Mr. Green said about Ryker was true, either. Maybe if I ran now, I could get away on my own. I almost tried it. Almost. But I ended up staying put, relying on others to keep me safe. I figured they were my best chance of escape, even if Ryker wasn't there.

Hours passed and my stomach rumbled, reminding me of the food I'd left on my tray at lunch. Oh well, it wasn't the first time I'd been a little hungry. In the past week, I ate enough to last me a normal month, or more. Missing a meal sure as hell wouldn't hurt me, especially since having something to eat every day had become an outrageous luxury the last few years.

Occasionally, some noise startled me a little, but I forced myself to stay put, even while every instinct screamed to get the hell out and run for my life. About the time I thought my damn bladder was about to bust, the squeaky footsteps came back. "Okay, Miss, you can come out now. It's safe."

I stayed put. How could I be okay if I was still inside Royse's building?

"Miss, you awake?" The blankets and stuff above me were pulled away. "Ah, there you are." Kind blue eyes peered at me over the edge of the giant basket. "I'm Mrs. Blue. Come on out of there, you must be stiff as a board. Let's get you a drink." She turned away.

I still didn't move.

She came back. "It's okay, darlin'. Himself is busy and won't have time to look for you any time soon. Your friends did a good job getting his attention elsewhere."