SHADES: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series Book 3) (34 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

Shades pulled the phone away from his ear and squatted down in the gravel yard of the Gulf Coast Chapter, feeling like the ground had just shifted under his feet. Feeling like his whole world had just spun out of his control.

They had Skylar.

The fucking DKs had Skylar.

Holy fucking shit.

He’d fucked up. Christ, had he fucked up. He’d promised her he’d take care of it, that he’d keep her safe. But he’d done nothing to end the DK threat to her. Instead he’d handled his own club’s problems first, always putting his club first. Always putting her problem to the back burner.
When we get back from New Orleans, babe. When we get home, babe. After I make this last run, babe. I’ll take care of it, I promise.
All bullshit. It didn’t matter that he’d meant to take care of it. He hadn’t. And now she was in the hands of his enemy, and it was all his fault.

He felt his chest tighten and thought for a moment he was going to be sick.

Ghost looked down at his brother, wondering what the hell that call was about. Shades looked shell-shocked. Reaching down, he pulled the cell phone from Shades hand and put it to his ear.

“Who is this?” he barked into the phone.

Boot’s voice came across. “Ghost. He okay?”

“No, he’s not fuckin’ okay. What the hell is going on?”

“Christ, Ghost. Shit. It’s bad. We got a call from the DKs. They told us to forget about looking for that chick anymore. Said they had her.”

“Skylar?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure?”

“Tink checked with her uncle. Skylar was at some open house with some other broad. When the homeowners returned, they found the other lady collapsed on the floor. She’d taken a bad blow to the head.”

“Is she…is she okay?”

“Yeah. I think she’ll be okay.”

“And Skylar?”

“Skylar’s gone.”

Ghost looked over as Shades suddenly lunged to his feet and headed toward his bike. Ghost growled into the phone, “I gotta go.”

Shades threw his leg over his bike as Ghost got to him, grabbing his arm.

“Whoa, brother. Take a minute. Think it through. Let’s get a plan.”

“I have to get that spy-cam, Ghost.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Ghost frowned.

Shades tried to shake him off.

“Shades, Brother, we’ll do whatever we gotta do to get her back, but I need to know the plan.”

Shades took a breath, obviously trying to regain his concentration, and then he explained about the spy-cam.

Ghost ran a hand down his face. “Christ.”

“We’re wasting time, Ghost.”

Ghost nodded. “Yeah. Let me tell the guys.”

“Just you and me, Ghost. We have to move now.”

“Yeah, okay. Just give me a minute, bro.”

“I can’t lose her, Ghost.”

“You won’t.”

Shades nodded, but it wasn’t with conviction.

Ghost stepped away and quickly dialed up Blood. He glanced over at Shades, who was firing up his bike and a moment later tore out of the lot.

“Yeah,” came Blood’s voice through his phone.

“Blood, it’s Ghost,” he yelled over the thundering pipes. “They got Skylar. They took her.”

“Who took her?” he barked. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“DKs. We need you, brother.”

“I’m on my way.”

“You gotta tell her father.”

“Shit,” Blood cursed, and Ghost knew he was thinking about how this was going to destroy Undertaker.

Without waiting for an answer, Ghost disconnected. Griz walked up and heard what Ghost had said to Blood. Ghost snapped at him, “Wrap it up here, and you and the guys get to Atlanta. I’ll call you.”

Griz nodded somberly.

Ghost started up his bike and roared down the road after Shades.

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

Skylar began to come around. Her mind still fuzzy from whatever drug she’d been given, she had a hard time focusing. She tried to lift her arm to rub her face and stiff neck, but she couldn’t move. She writhed and yanked, only to realize her arms were pulled behind her and zip-tied to the metal chair she found herself sitting in.

Panic flooded her system, and the adrenaline boost helped to clear her mind. And then it all came flooding back.

The Devil Kings had her.

She looked around her. An empty room, except for the chair that appeared to be bolted into the cement floor. What looked like old dried blood stained the floor beneath it and appeared to be splattered around the walls.

Oh, God. What was this place? Some kind of torture room or interrogation room where they beat whatever they wanted out of someone? A house of horrors couldn’t be more terrifying.

She began to whimper, knowing there was no way out. No escaping for her. She was totally at their mercy. She wasn’t even sure where she was. She’d never been to Rusty’s clubhouse, but then, she wasn’t even sure if this was it. She could be in some abandoned warehouse for all she knew.

The door opened, and one of Rusty’s brothers walked in, closing the door behind him. Reno was his name, she remembered. He wasn’t the kind of man that was easy to forget. He was a big man, six three at least and muscled. But it wasn’t just his size that made him stand out, it was also his demeanor. He took badass to a whole different level and to Skylar, he had always been one of the scarier members.

Although he’d been at the nightclub on the night of her birthday, he’d hadn’t come to the table. Instead, he’d stayed off to himself at the end of the bar. But she’d seen his eyes watching her that night. Almost as if, even then, he hadn’t trusted her.

He never laughed. Hell, she’d never seen him so much as crack a smile. And it would have been a beautiful smile, too, because aside from the fact he was a terrifyingly scary dude, he was also very good looking in a rugged way. He had dark hair that hung past his jaw and brows that slashed low, giving him a stern look. But it was his piercing light eyes that caught one’s attention. They practically burned a hole in you when he turned them on you.

He had a bottle of water in his hand, and he unscrewed the cap as he approached her. Then, without a word, he fisted a handful of her hair and pulled her head back. The bottle was pressed to her dry lips and he tilted it up, pouring it down her throat. She gulped, trying to keep up with the flow of water streaming from the upturned bottle, but she soon couldn’t. As she began to choke, his grip relaxed, and she managed to twist her head to the side. Ice cold water spilled down her chin and over her chest before he let her go and pulled the bottle away.

She sucked in a lungful of air, gasping and coughing.

Reno stepped back and looked down at her while he nonchalantly screwed the cap back on the bottle like he hadn’t just tried to drown her.

She glared up at him.

He took a step toward her again, threatening, “You still thirsty, I got more.”

She took the comment for what it was, a veiled threat. He’d seen the way she’d glared at him, and he didn’t like it.

Skylar dropped her eyes, ready to play the obedient, submissive prisoner. She didn’t want to make this any worse for herself than it already was.

“No. Thank you for the water.” She tried to say the soft words with sincerity. Glancing up at him, she saw that his eyes had dropped to her chest. She looked down at herself. Oh, God. With the water all down her front, she was practically a contestant in a wet T-shirt contest. And with her arms manacled behind her, she could do nothing to cover herself from his lustful gaze. She looked at his face. “You meant to do that, didn’t you?”

His eyes lifted to hers, and he smiled. The first smile she’d ever seen from him. It revealed even white teeth. But it wasn’t a pleasant smile. It was a scary smile.

“You ready to talk? The drug wear off enough?”

She nodded her head. “Yes.”

“You better tell Rat what he wants to hear, you don’t, it’s gonna go bad for you,” he warned.

“I can only tell the truth.”

“Truth better include where our damn money is.”

She watched as he moved to the door, opened it and yelled for someone to get Rat and let him know she was awake.

A few minutes later, Rat stalked in.

Reno moved to lean against the wall, his arms folded across his broad chest, obviously turning over the reins to his VP, who moved to stand over her.

She looked up at him. He was almost as terrifying as Reno. His face was just as hard and spoke of years of callous violence and disregard for anything that threatened his club. But where Reno was probably only in his thirties, this man was much older. Fifties if she had to guess.

His long scraggly hair was solid gray, as was his scruffy beard. He wore glasses on his long thin nose and when he smiled down at her with his evil smile, his teeth were yellow with age.

“Well, girly, did you really think you could run from us? You think we couldn’t find you? There’s no place on this earth DKs can’t find you.”

“I’m sorry I ran, but I didn’t kill him. I swear.”

Rat and Reno exchanged a look that seemed to read to her as half surprise and half confusion. What was that about? What weren’t they telling her?

“Please, you have to believe me.”

“I ain’t gotta do shit, little girl,” Rat snarled.

“If you didn’t do it, why’d you run?” Reno asked, his eyes narrowing on her. There was just enough of a thread of something in the way he asked the question that had her clutching to a shred of hope that maybe,
just maybe
some part of him was giving her just the shadow of a doubt that what she said might be true.

“I went out to get us coffee. When I came back I found him. That dagger sticking out of his chest.”

Rat leaned down in her face. “Yeah, the dagger he bought
you
.”

She trembled at the look in his eyes. “Yes, I know it was my dagger, but I didn’t stab him. I swear it’s the truth.”

“Then why’d you run?” Reno asked again. She could hear it in his voice. He was cutting through all the other bullshit side issues. He didn’t give a fuck whose dagger it was. He knew the important, pivotal issue was why she ran. She’d bet that whether he believed her or not all hinged on that one answer.

“Because I knew you wouldn’t believe me. It was my dagger, like you just pointed out. I was standing there with not just the proverbial, but
actual
blood on my hands. I knew you’d think I did it. It’s obvious you still do.”

Reno’s brows rose. “
Because you
ran
. You and the bag were
both
gone.”

Rat must have had enough, because he grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head back. Then he growled down at her, “You think you can steal from the club? Stab a brother?”

She was so scared, she could barely find the voice to whisper, “I’m the one that called 911. I swear I didn’t kill him.”

Rat released his grip on her hair, shoving her head violently. “Yammer. Yammer. Yammer. She sounds like a broken record.” He looked over at Reno. “See if you can get anything out of her.”

Reno met his look and nodded his head once.

The door slammed behind Rat, and then Skylar was alone with Reno. She stared up at him, and her heart dropped to her stomach. Oh, God. What was he going to do?

He straightened from the wall and moved to stand over her. She had to tilt her head up a long way to meet his cold eyes. She knew he was trying to intimidate her, and it was working. God, was it working.

“I don’t like doin’ this. So I’m gonna go easy on you at first ‘cause hurtin’ women ain’t my thing. But make no mistake, Cupcake, I will get answers from you.”

“Reno, please—” Her eyes fell to his hands as he pulled his rings off. He flexed his hand once, and fear shot through her as her brain scrambled for any words that would make him believe her.

“Please, Reno, I’m telling the truth. Rusty had a lot to drink that night. When he came home, he practically passed out the minute he hit the bed. He was still out like a light when I woke up. So I went out to get us coffee. Starbucks. His favorite. I was trying to do something nice for him. When I came back, he’d already been stabbed, and the bag was already gone.”

“So, you want to stick with that story?”

“It’s not a story. The club has enemies don’t they? Someone must have known about that bag and whatever was in it.”

“Like you don’t know.”

“I don’t know.”

“Right.”

“It’s true.”

“I think more likely it’s true that, yeah, he passed out, and then you went lookin’ in that bag and decided to take the money and run.”

“Reno, do I look stupid to you?”

He didn’t say anything, just narrowed his eyes at her.

“I’d have to be not just stupid, but an idiot to steal from the club. I’d have to be out of my mind, freaking crazy.”

“Well you bitches all got a little crazy in you.”

Skylar shook her head trying to think how she could convince him.

“Or maybe you were just desperate,” Reno added.

“I wasn’t desperate. I had a good job that I loved. I made decent money. I had no reason to steal from the DKs. And I would never have done that to Rusty. He was good to me.”

“Yeah, he was. Always good to the broads. Always believing every motherfucking word that comes out of their mouths.
His
flaw, not
mine
.”

He leaned forward and grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head back. He got right in her face and said, “So don’t go makin’ the mistake of thinkin’ I give a shit about you. I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you.”

Skylar’s breath was coming rapidly now. “Please, Reno. I know you don’t give a shit about me. I know that, but that doesn’t mean that what I’m telling you isn’t the truth. Someone else knew about the money. They had to have, because someone else did this. You have to stop focusing on me and think of who else it could have been, because right now, they’re getting away with it and probably laughing about how
easy
it was to get away with. Laughing their asses off at the whole lot of you.” She snarled the last part, trying to shake some sense into him. It got to him, but not the way she intended.

He moved so abruptly, it took Skylar by surprise. He straightened, pulled his arm back and backhanded her across the cheek. Her face exploded in pain. God, if that was him going gentle, she was in real trouble.

“Watch the way you fuckin’ talk to me, woman.”

She knew she’d pushed too far, but she had to get through to him. “As long as you keep focusing on me and not the real killers, they’ll keep laughing... all the way to the bank.”

Crack. He backhanded her again.

“You want, I can keep this up all day. You’re nothing to me but a murderous, thieving bitch who turned on one of my brothers, you understand?” he roared.

The door opened, banging against the wall.

“Where is she?” someone thundered.

Skylar’s head was bowed, her hair hanging in her face, blood running down her chin from her busted lip.

“Didn’t know you were back,” she heard Reno growl. She peered up as Reno stepped aside, revealing her to the man that had just burst into the room.

Her eyes blinked.

It couldn’t be. Perhaps that blow had knocked her brains loose, because she swore the man looked like Rusty. But that couldn’t be. Rusty was dead.

Wasn’t he?

The man grabbed a fistful of Reno’s cut and shoved him back against the wall. “You don’t fucking touch her.”

Reno’s hands lifted. “She’s all yours, Brother.”

The man released him with a shove, and then dropped to his knees in front of her.

Her mouth fell open in shock, but she managed to whisper in a confused voice, “Rusty?”

“Surprised to see me, babe?” He pulled a bandana from around his neck and wiped the blood gently from her mouth and chin.

“Y-you’re alive. Oh, m-my God, you’re alive. Thank God. Thank God.” She stared at him, stunned, and then her eyes filled as she broke down in tears, her shoulders shaking.

He rose to his feet to stare down at her. He just stood there, his expression cold.

Skylar tried to pull herself together. She studied his expression. He thought she did it. He may not want Reno to beat her, but that didn’t mean he thought she was innocent. She could see it in his face. Oh, God, no.

“Rusty, I didn’t stab you. I swear I didn’t. I went out for coffee, and when I came back I found you like that. I felt for a pulse. I couldn’t find one. You were so cold, and there was so much blood.”

“Yeah, I was in critical condition for a long time.”