Property Of Drex #2 (Death Chasers MC #2) (15 page)

Chapter 25

DREX

My fist collides with Mikey’s face, creating a satisfying crunching sound that has my sadistic smile turning up. He spits blood out as he turns to face me, fear and terror in his eyes.

He only thought he was scared of Ben.

“Is Benny involved in this?” Sledge demands.

Mike whimpers while shaking his head. “Benny is clueless. He’s over his brother’s death—has been for years. Even said it’s part of the cycle. But we knew we could make you think it was him retaliating. He’s simple-minded and everything he does is done at face-value. He never has a hidden agenda because he’s too stupid for that.”

“Then why send us Eve?” Sledge goes on.

“Because he wanted the fucking file. Herrin was taunting him, hinting that he knew something about one of the guys in his crew being a rat. And he knew about Eve’s old man pissing you guys off. I don’t know how he knew, but he did. To him, it was a simple exchange of each person getting something they wanted. Revenge on a dead man for you guys; a file on a rat—that turned out to be a fed—for him; and money for Eve.”

“Why the gag if the basement was soundproofed?” Sledge asks him, moving on in the line of questions quickly, even though the gag is the least of my questions right now.

“Ben,” Mikey groans, spitting out more blood. “He said he couldn’t handle hearing her scream. The dumbass thinks he loves her.”

All that does is piss me off more, but Sledge pulls me back when I lunge at Mikey.

“I’d stray from all feelings Ben thinks he has for Drex’s girl,” Sledge grumbles, struggling to keep me back even when Dash comes to help him.

“I’m fine,” I growl, shrugging out of their hold.

Mikey looks like a terrified lamb in front of a lion. He has no fucking clue how close I am to losing it.

“You want to know where I keep the cars?” I ask him with an eerily calm tone. “You want to know how I fix them up?”

“No!” Mikey exclaims. “I don’t. I don’t want to know.”

“I plan to tell you
all
about it,” I go on, taunting him. “I’ll give you every fucking detail.”

“Please. Please don’t. I swear I will keep my fucking mouth shut and leave. You’ll never see me again.”

At least he’s smart enough to know me spilling secrets means a death sentence to him.

“You took his girl,” Sledge says emotionlessly. “Sounds like you wanted to know pretty damn badly.”

Mikey sobs, shaking his head. He’s restrained to the chair he’s in, tied up with unrelenting wire in the same position I found Eve.

“No. Ben took her. Not me. I swear I don’t want to know. I swear! Please don’t tell me,” he cries.

“If you don’t want to know our secrets, then spill yours,” Dash tells him. But he better be fucking bluffing. Mikey is dead. No debate. “Who’s your inside man?” he goes on.

Mikey tries to get his sobbing under control enough to answer.

“I don’t know his name. I just know he’s on your team.”

“What team?” Sledge snarls.

“No,” Mikey says, shaking his head emphatically. “I won’t tell you anything until you let me go. I’m not fucking stupid. Once you have all the answers you need, you’ll kill me.”

I look over at Sledge, and he frowns. He knows damn well I’ll never agree to that. We’ll figure it out some other way.

“In the video, you mentioned he gave you the idea to lean on Cecil,” Dash goes on.

That’s news. No one told me about that. Cecil? Fucking Cecil has been our rat this whole time?

“Cecil owed some money to one of the families upstate. He was two million short on his payment. Either he got a few broken legs and lost his tongue, or he paid it in full. His life was at stake next. He told Ben and the feds everything he knew, and then he left town—after our partner gave Ben the money to pay Cecil’s debts—so you guys wouldn’t figure it out. See? I will tell you all you need to know if you just let me go. As soon as I’m safe and have your word you won’t come after me, I’ll call and tell you everything. Then I’ll fucking disappear. You’ll never see me again.”

Not fucking happening.

“Why the feds?” Dash asks, processing things on a higher level than I can right now. My focus is on blowing Mikey’s brain full of holes.

“I’ll tell you. Just let me go. Please,” he cries. “I swear I’ll tell you.”

“Make a call,” Dash tells him, handing him a phone. “To Ben. Let him know you’re running. Let him know we have Eve back, but that we don’t know you and he are involved.”

He picks up Mikey’s phone, and starts scrolling through the contacts.

“Anything in there to tell us who our inside mystery man is?” Sledge asks him.

“Think I’d be wasting my time down here if there was? He keeps his call logs erased, and our tech guy says he can’t find anything linking his number to any of our guys.”

“All calls to him are made via burner phones only,” Mikey quickly inserts. “Set me free, and I’ll give you his number and his position in your crew. I swear.”

His position can’t be too high if he doesn’t know about the cars. His position in my crew…

“I need a list of any and all employees we have outside of our guys,” I tell Sledge. “If he was in the club, they wouldn’t have needed Cecil to leak info. It has to be someone linked to us indirectly.”

Sledge’s eyebrows go up as he pulls out his phone and walks away. Mikey looks wide-eyed and fearful. He knows I’m going to figure it out on my own.

“Make the call to Ben. Hope your acting skills are to die for,” Dash says dryly. “Your life literally depends on this.”

He verses Mikey on what to say a little longer before he turns on the interference router by the door. It’ll keep the phone from being accurately traced back here while Mikey is talking. If Ben looks for him, it’ll give him some random location far away from our warehouse.

“Put it on speaker,” I tell Dash.

“He’d probably know something was up if he could tell it was on speaker,” Dash argues. “But I have these.”

He hands me an earpiece, and I put it in. He puts one on as well, then the phone is dialing and he’s holding it to Mikey’s face.

“Fucking shit, dude! What the fuck is going on?” Ben roars when he answers. “Where’s Eve? Where are you and fucking Larry? If you’ve fucking touched her, I will—”

“Eve is with the Death Dealers,” Mikey says flatly, turning off his sniveling and tears like a pro. “They found her. Larry and I barely got out in time. He took off, Ben. Told you he was a waste.”

I can hear everything clearly through the earpiece, as though I’m on the phone with him myself. How I keep from losing it, I don’t fucking know.

“Damn it,” Ben hisses. “Where’d they take her?”

“I don’t know. I was too busy trying to get the hell out of dodge. Look, I’m laying low for a while. I don’t want this shit coming back on me when Drex does the math and figures out we were involved. Eve lost consciousness, possibly went into shock or something, so for now we’re safe,” Mikey lies, submissively bowing his head and looking me dead in the eyes like a whipped dog trying to prove his loyalty. “But they’ll figure it out eventually. You need to pull out and run too.”

“I’m not fucking running. It’s his word against mine, and Herrin will never allow a war over Eve. You wiped the hard drive, right? I couldn’t find the video footage. That was you, right?”

“Yeah,” Mikey lies again. “I used all emergency protocols. I’m pulling out, Ben. This shit is getting real and fast. I’m done.”

“Fuck you. Get your ass to the second location. We’ll meet there and figure out what to do. Like I said, Herrin won’t allow Drex to make a fucking move, and Drex has been on his leash for a really long time. He might care about Eve, but he’s a loyal puppy to his father. He even let his own sister go without a damn second thought when she crossed Herrin. She’s probably dead by now, and Drex probably killed her himself at Herrin’s request. Do you really think he’s going to go against Herrin just for Eve?”

My jaw grinds, and Dash’s eyes dart to mine. The one topic of conversation not allowed in the club was just spat out by someone who has no fucking clue what that will cost him.

“Drex might care about Eve more than you think,” Mikey says while continuing to stare at me. “I’m not willing to risk it.”

“Fucking pussy,” Ben growls. “Fuck you. I’ll remember this when we meet again. And we will meet again, Mikey. Count on it.”

I wouldn’t count on it.

“I’ll take my chances,” Mikey says while tensing his lips.

Dash ends the phone call, and I crack my neck to the side.

“I did what you wanted. You’ll let me go, right? I’ll tell you his name as soon as—”

Two gunshots almost deafen the room when the sound echoes and resounds off the basement walls. Mikey’s head is thrown back, and his body jerks like a headless snake for a few seconds. Then, a long breath leaves his lips as blood runs down in a steady stream from the entry wound.

I don’t bother viewing the exit wounds that will be gaping open, as I toss my gun to the side.

“Have someone clean this shit up and get rid of the body,” I calmly tell Dash.

“Damn it, Drex! We needed him to tell us who the fucking leader of this shit is. It’s obviously not Ben. He’s just a pawn in a bigger game of chess. Someone went through a lot of trouble to fucking set this all up.”

“I don’t give a fuck. We’ll figure it out without Mikey. I wanted him to suffer longer, but it turns out I didn’t have the patience because I’d like to get back to Eve.”

Sledge walks back in, and we turn to face him as he eyes the mess I’ve made then rolls his eyes at me. “I knew that would happen.” He blows out a breath. “I’ve made the calls. Helen, Colleen, and Liza are pulling up all employee files right now.”

“Good. Let me know when they’re in. I’m going back to the hospital. And let me know when you’ve got that meeting set up with Benny.”

“Still think that’s a bad idea,” Sledge groans. “Herrin is going to be furious when he finds out you’re doing all this behind his back. And I doubt Benny will meet with us, considering he would think it was below him to meet with the son.”

I shrug carelessly. “I think Pop is figuring out his
leash
on me is long fucking gone.”

I’m about to prove it in more than one way. Mikey ripped open an old wound and gave me a sick reminder of who my father really is. I guess I should have figured it out a long fucking time ago.

Chapter 26

EVE

“Why do you keep staring at me?” Rush growls, glaring at me as I sip my water. My throat is already feeling better.

“Because I don’t trust you,” I tell him honestly.

He snorts derisively, but he goes back to messing with his phone while Axle’s lips twitch. Since I found out Drake is just down the hall, I’ve wanted to go see him, but no one will let me out of this room. Rush is the asshole who just glares at me when I ask to go.

I don’t actually feel strong enough to walk just yet, but I still want to see Drake. Especially since Axle told me how bad he was hurt in the wreck. I’m just relieved he’s still alive.

“You don’t like me,” I say to Rush when my staring no longer seems to bother him. Maybe I’m feeling antagonistic or just bitchy. I’m not sure.

But with Axle right beside me, Rush doesn’t scare me. That could be stupid on my part.

“I don’t have a problem with you,” Rush says without looking up.

“You’ve acted like it since I first met you.”

He groans while looking back at me again. “You’re one of
those
girls, aren’t you? The kind that drives a man fucking crazy for explanations.”

“I call out a contradiction when I see it. You act like you don’t like me, and yet you say you have no problem with me.”

“I helped save you. Guess that should contradict your own statement,” he says with a ghost of a smile.

I bristle in the bed. No one has elaborated yet on how they found me or how I got here. No one seems to want to either.

I continue staring into Rush’s cold blue eyes, and he finally rolls those eyes while glancing at the door then back at me.

“I hate Herrin. Everyone knows it and they know why. I’ve hated Drex for being Herrin’s obedient little bitch for years. You were just a means for me to fuck with Drex. Now you’re the reason Drex is off his leash. Life is about to be fun because of you, so no; I don’t have a problem with you. Never actually did. I didn’t trust you, but don’t take the trust thing personal. It’s rare I trust anyone. Occupational hazard.”

I’m not so sure what he means by all that, but Axle tenses beside me before cutting his eyes toward Rush like he’s saying too much.

“Why do you hate Herrin?” I pry.

“Because he’s the kind of man that causes those trust issues. In this life, having a president you can’t trust is like living in paranoia central. I’ve seen what he’s capable of doing to his own flesh and blood—”

“Lips are getting too loose, Rush,” Axle interrupts, glaring at him.

“Drex told her our secrets,” Rush tells him with a cold smile. “I think she deserves to know his.”

Bile rises to my throat for reasons unbeknownst to me. Whatever is so secretive can’t be good. It’s really, really not good, judging by the look on Axle’s face and his tense jaw.

“We don’t even know the truth,” Axle growls. “She almost put
us all
at risk when she went against him.”

Me? Are they talking about me? No. They can’t be. I haven’t done anything.

“We only know Herrin’s version of the truth, since she didn’t get to talk to any of us. Hell, she’s been in hiding for years. You still trust him? Still believe he’s telling the truth?” Rush drawls, acting like this is casual, but I notice the subtle way his fists clench.

Whatever is going on is really pissing him off.

“I hate Herrin too,” I admit when the tension seems to get suffocating between the two. “He’s an asshole.”

Axle’s glare melts into amusement, and Rush laughs lightly as the tension starts to ebb.

“Don’t let just anyone hear you say that,” Axle says with a puff of laughter, shaking his head.

“She can just blame it on the trauma for a while,” Rush snickers.

The door opens, and my breath lodges in my throat when Drex walks in, looking freshly showered. Drex’s eyes drop to the empty bowl of soup I had earlier. It was the best taste in the world, and Sarah left to go buy more.

“You still hungry?” Drex asks quietly, looking over at me. Four days has wreaked havoc on my appetite. I was starving, but had a hard time eating. I finally managed to get it all down. I also know my body isn’t exactly lovely to look at just yet, considering I lost the weight in weird places, such as my legs and arms. Not so much anywhere else.

Rush speaks before I can say anything. “Anything left for me?” he asks Drex.

Drex smirks while cocking an eyebrow, and Rush curses while running a hand through his hair.

“Fucking knew you shouldn’t be the one going in. Did you at least find out anything?”

Drex shrugs. “Sledge can fill you in. Anything happen while I was gone?”

“Your girl called Rush out,” Axle says with a grin.

Rush rolls his eyes while standing and walking out, and Drex cocks his head in question… toward Axle. Yeah, he’s still acting like I’m not in here.

“You don’t want to know,” Axle says with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I need to go check in on Drake. They’re going to take him off some of the painkillers today.”

“Is it common to keep him so drugged up?” I ask Axle, ignoring Drex like he’s ignoring me.

I feel like I’m on the damn elementary playground.

“We pay for abnormal care. No one wanted Drake in any pain, and the doc said it was unlikely he was conscious when they took you due to the trauma he suffered.”

“He was definitely unconscious,” I confirm.

Drex sucks in a sharp breath, and I look over at him. It’s almost like he looks relieved.

“Good,” Axle says softly. “The one time they tried to wake him up, he was crying out in a lot of pain. It was right after the first emergency surgery on his right leg. He couldn’t really tell us anything, and the doc was worried about his blood pressure from the stress of the pain.”

I grimace at hearing that, and Axle frowns.

“He’s been mumbling ‘that fucker’ a lot in his sleep. We thought he knew who took you.”

I shake my head. “He’s referring to Cecil probably. Right before the wreck, I had assumed Cecil was coerced by Benny to turn over information to the feds. Obviously now I’ve reworked it to where he was working for Ben and not Benny.”

Axle looks surprised. Drex looks furious.

“You figured it out?” Axle asks.

I nod. “Yeah, it made sense after working with Drake for a bit. What I can’t figure out is why involve the feds? Is the other guy linked to this inside the FBI? If so, how didn’t Ben know about the Hell Breathers’ FBI problem? I mean, I guess it could have been a deep cover operation where only a few other FBI guys knew, but if you guys figured it out, one of their own should have been able to. Right?”

“Stop,” Drex growls, glaring at me as Axle swallows whatever he was about to say. “Don’t think about it. Don’t even try to think about it. Just fucking forget anything and everything dealing with this.”

His eyes are icy cold and almost verging on murderous. I don’t like that look. Especially when it’s pointed at me.

“So you’re back to not trusting me?” I glare back. “Really? You’re such an asshole.”

I cross my arms over my chest, and Drex stalks toward me. I don’t move or flinch. He stops short, then looks at Axle.

“I’ll go check on Drake. You stay here. And don’t let her fucking talk about any of that shit,” he snaps.

When he turns and storms out of the room, Axle cocks an eyebrow at me.

“You’re right,” he says, shrugging. “The feds don’t make sense.”

My smile curves up, and he and I start running any possible scenario that would involve the feds.

The problem is me. I thought I fit into this puzzle, but thanks to Ben, I know I was an unexpected coincidence. I’m really starting to hate the word
coincidence.
I also became the wildcard that exposed part of their hand.

Someone is going to be pissed, and a bigger target is going to be on my head when they want to seek revenge for fucking up their elaborate scheme.

The question is… who?