Fabio's Remorse (Hell Raiders MC Book 5) (18 page)

Fabio's words about Tanya's past replayed in my memory. "Fabio said you survived something terrible."

She gave a brief nod. "My boyfriend sold me to the Saxons to clear a drug debt. I spent six years there as a slave. If one of them wanted sex, I had no choice, and they could do absolutely anything, and did. When Trip came and wanted to take me away, I was too scared to go. My therapist has been a lifesaver."

I considered her words. "I haven't talked to anyone yet. I thought reliving it all would be too painful." I shrugged. "Stupid, I know."

Cherry patted my arm. "Wanting to protect yourself from a devastating memory is not stupid, honey. It's self-preservation. But now you've started moving on."

We all talked some more, and I even shared a few details. How could I have ever been nervous about meeting these women? Talking to them, sharing a little of my torment, made things easier. I thanked them, and then gave in to exhaustion from my long night of physical activity, and went to take a nap. Donning one of Fabio's t-shirts, I climbed into bed, and quickly fell asleep, surrounded by his scent.

Some time later, the soft click of the door opening roused me from dreams of making love with Fabio. I smiled and rolled over, ready to welcome him.

My eyes focused on the evil figure who had haunted me for so many years. My lungs froze, seized by terror.

34

Fabio

I fucking hated shopping for groceries, especially when the list came from a bunch of chicks intent on feeding several people
healthy
shit for a whole week. First, they made a science of laying out those fucking stores in ways that utterly defied logic. Who the hell puts the baking shit next to the laundry detergent? Shouldn't that go next to the chocolate?

By the time I made it to the checkout, my knees and shoulders ached like the end of a twenty-mile forced road march in full gear with a sixty-pound pack. Getting the pick-up loaded turned into another huge undertaking, but I finally managed it, and headed back to the house.

The moment I pulled in the driveway, Georgie stuck her head out. "Wake Crank's ass up, send him to the garage. Send Skates, too." She grinned and disappeared back inside as I drove into the garage.

Crank appeared, bleary-eyed and grouchy as usual, while Skates just grinned in that unreadable way of his, and we started the massive unloading job. In the kitchen, the women put their usual system to work, putting things away in record time. By some miracle, they didn't run out of space for everything.

"Fabio, hun, you gotta try not to keep your girl awake all night." Cherry smiled, stashing a massive box of cereal. "Poor thing went back to bed for a nap a little while ago."

I placed a dozen plastic shopping bags on the table. "What makes you think it wasn't her keeping me awake?"

Georgie laughed aloud. "Please. Women are practical. Sleep or sex, sleep will win out every time."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really? Maybe ol' Dix is doing it wrong then, if you'd rather sleep." The banter continued through load after load of supplies.

We went back out for what we both hoped would be the last load. "Can't fucking believe I volunteered for that shit, man."

Crank made a derisive sound. "I can. You're dumb as fuck lately."

The punch I landed on his upper arm caught him mid-step and staggered him sideways, and he nearly went down. I made a smartass remark about helping him up if he fell, but he froze, a serious expression on his face.

I followed his line of sight to a clump of dusty fiberglass insulation on the floor. Off to the passenger side, the quarter-sized bit of pinkish material could have been there the day before, but I didn't think so.

I shook my head, and pulled my 9mm from my waistband, looking upward. There weren't too many places that insulation could have come from. I spotted it first glance. The access stairs for the attic.

I thought fast. We needed the women out of the house, and safe, but I didn't want to alert anyone who might be listening. "You see that little rabbit over there?" I hoped to fuck Crank and Skates caught the hint.

"Wonder how it got in here?" Skates got it immediately and played along.

"Yeah, man. A cat probably caught it, or something. The girls might like to see if they can rescue it. I'll get them." Crank disappeared inside, and came back a moment later with Cherry, Georgie, and Tanya on his heels. We hustled them into the truck, with instructions to keep the doors locked and to arm themselves. We needn't have asked. Georgie already had her .40 out and ready.

At my signal, Crank started up into the attic, and Skates and I headed inside to clear the house. Every instinct demanded I race directly to the guest room to check on Justine. My muscles ached with the need to get to her.

Teeth gritted, I fell back on my training. I couldn't do her any good if I allowed the enemy to get in behind me, and capture or kill me. So I crept through the house at a snail's pace, with Skates covering my back, clearing each fucking room, one at a time. With the doors secured behind us, I could proceed to Justine in relative safety.

Careful as fuck, I eased up the stairs, expecting to hear a blood-curdling scream, or worse, at every heartbeat. The kids' rooms were easy to clear, being relatively small. My sister's room, with its
en suite
master bath, and walk-in closet, was a different matter.

When nothing but the guest room remained, I said a silent prayer, signaled Skates to fall back to give the others the all-clear, and pushed the door open. Justine sat up on the bed, eyes wide with fear, shaking her head.

Well, fuck, I'd just scared the piss out of her by barging in like that. "It's okay, baby." I stepped into the room, and a massive force clocked me behind the ear. Darkness swallowed me before I could figure out what happened.

***

Justine

Fabio collapsed, sinking to the floor.

A scream finally ripped from my throat. Too little, too late. I couldn't do a thing, with my hands and feet bound. My heart tried to jump out of my chest, or stop. It didn't matter which. He had me again. And this time, he would make me pay. I knew it.

The madman standing over Fabio laughed aloud. "Big, bad biker ain't so bad now, is he?" He kicked Fabio's ribs, making the air leave him in a
hmmph
. "Now, what say we get on down to business?"

I shook my head, but he only laughed, and came closer.

"Sorry, it don't work that way. See, I fucked up with you. Of course, you were my first, so I guess you could forgive me." He actually sat on the side of the bed, as if he thought we were going to have a nice little heart-to-heart.

It made me sick, but logically, I knew the longer I could delay him, the greater my chances for rescue. So I asked. "How did you fuck up?" I prayed the question didn't send him into a rage.

He chuckled. "I fucking left you alive. See, I watched you a while. Wanted you bad. But I knew you were the kind that would figure you was too good for me. I wasn't tryin' to get sent up the river, so I knew, if I was going to fuck you, you had to die after." He shrugged. "I was soft though. Didn't have the balls to just break your neck. So I left, and somehow, you lived."

His words sent me tumbling back through the memories. "It wasn't easy." What else do you say to a man who just told you he intended you to die?

"I bet not. I didn't do it again for a long time, but one day, I got a service call to a house, and the woman looked just like you. Couldn't help myself. One and only time I did it at work. But after that, I had the need again. A while later, I found out you lived." He shook his head. "I puked for three days, figuring you reported, and my DNA was in the system, and they had me tied to all the others."

"I didn't report." My voice shook, as I realized I was bargaining with him, hoping to win some sort of favor. Like mercy.

He laughed. "I know that now. You moving was a smart. When I checked back a couple weeks later, saw the place empty, figured it all went as planned. If I didn't see you when I went on a call to the school, I never would have known. Took me forever to track your ass down." He smiled, almost gently, taking my jaw in his hand. "And now, I have to be sure you die this time." His fingers applied bruising pressure, and I winced with pain. He laughed again.

A heavy thud came from the hallway, and he looked up as if startled. "Wait for me here. Seems like your biker's friends figured out I'm here." Before I could protest, he put a piece of heavy tape over my mouth and pressed it tight.

My blood ran even colder, and I shivered uncontrollably.

He stepped over Fabio's body and slipped from the room, nearly silent.

Tears ran down my face uncontrollably. The man I loved lay on the floor, maybe dead. His friends, the ones who were supposed to help keep me safe, were nowhere to be seen. And the madman who haunted me for years had me bound and gagged. Hopelessness turned my bones to jelly and I collapsed to the side, trying to hold back the sobs that choked me.

A shout of anger sounded in the hall, followed by a massive thud, and a grunt of pain. Hope gained a faint hold in my chest, and I struggled to continue breathing.

Skates stuck his head in the door, and took everything in at a glance. "No worries, sweetheart. We got him."

Crank's voice rumbled in the hallway, but I couldn't hear what he said past the desperate pounding of my heart.

An eternity later, Cherry and the other girls came in, grim faced and frowning. Georgie and Tanya came to me and started removing the things he used to tie me.

"I'm sorry, honey, this will hurt." Tanya took hold of the tape over my mouth and pulled it loose all at once.

Pain burst across my face, but I didn't care as I dragged in big gulps of air. "Fabio."

"Cherry's checking on him." Georgie tried to soothe me, but I scooted across the bed, needing to see for myself.

"He'll be okay. Just a nasty goose-egg on that hard head, and a few bruises. He's had far worse." Cherry rose from his side. "I'm going to grab a wet washcloth, bring his ass around."

I dropped to my knees at his side, anxious to touch him. His hand presented the closest possibility, and I grabbed it with both of mine. "You have to be okay, Fabio, I can't lose you again." The tears I hated so much rolled again.

Cherry returned, handing me a cold washcloth. "Here, honey, wipe his face. It'll wake him up."

I prayed she was right, and followed her directions. After a moment, his eyelids flickered, and a wince crossed his face.

"What the fuck happened?" His low growl touched every cell of my body.

"You're okay, son." Cherry bent down to touch his face, as if reassuring herself of the truth of her words. "The bastard slipped in somehow. He clocked you good when you came in here, but Crank and Skates got him. They said tell you they're setting up in the garage, whenever you're ready."

Fabio grunted, and pushed himself up to a half-sitting position. His eyes found me, and a look of profound relief spread over his face. "You okay, Jus?"

I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.

"Baby, I'm sorry. He should never have got by us." His face gray with pain, he pushed himself up to full sitting, then caught my hands and pulled me to him. "Fuck, I'm so sorry."

Crank appeared in the doorway. "Hey, man, time to get the kids from the bus stop. You might want to pull yourselves together a little so you don't scare them when I get them here." He ducked out just as quickly.

Georgie came in with another washcloth. "Here, sweetie, let's get you cleaned up." She knelt at my side and gently sponged at my face.

Gratitude overwhelmed me, but this time I managed to hold back the tears.

35

Fabio

A sledgehammer pounded in my head, and my ribs felt cracked, but I forced myself to my feet. "This does not touch the kids. Period. Understood?"

Everyone around me nodded agreement. Justine tugged my arm over her shoulder. "Let's get downstairs. They haven't met everyone yet, so they'll want to see you right away."

"Yeah." It took some work, but with her help, I managed to drag my ass down the stairs, and drop to a seat on the sofa. "What the hell did he hit me with, anyway?"

"Crank said he had a breaker bar on his belt. It's a miracle he didn't break your thick skull." Cherry smiled. "I'm glad he didn't."

I tried to chuckle. "Yeah, me too." Even more, I was glad to have Justine tucked in close to my side on the sofa.

The kids came storming in, Crank in tow. "Are you okay?" The concern in Nicole's voice tore at my heart.

"Yeah, honey, I'm okay." I pulled them both in close for a big hug, ignoring the pain in my ribs. "Just a little bump on the head."

"Who hurted you, Fahv-bio?" Tyler's eyes were huge, betraying his fear.

I balanced him on my knee. "You remember a bad man scared Justine?"

The kid nodded.

I considered how to tell the truth, without giving too much away and scaring him. "He tried to hurt her again. We stopped him, and he's gone now, but he hit me in the head first. He won't ever hurt anyone else again."

"You sure?" That trusting face brought a lump to my throat.

"Yeah, li'l man, I'm sure." I hugged him again. "Now, this is my friend, Cherry. How about you go to the kitchen with her. I bet she can find a good snack. She's really good at that."

He gazed up at her, and seemed to immediately decide he could trust her. "Okay. I likes cookies."

"Well, I might just be able to come up with some." She started for the kitchen and Tyler followed, chattering away about his day.

Trip and Dix came in, standing silent by the door. I took the hint and leaned in to give Justine a light kiss. "Got some shit to take care of, baby. I'll be back." Standing up hurt like a motherfucker, but I did it, slow and careful. When I reached the door, the others led the way out to the garage, still silent.

Skates lifted the corner of a tarp spread in the bed of the pickup, revealing a bound and gagged rapist, and supplies. Trip lifted an eyebrow, and I nodded in confirmation. I still had every intention of carrying out Hell Fire. Without a word, we all climbed into the pickup.

On the street and rolling away from any potential unwanted listeners, Trip spoke. "Crank found us a location where noise won't be an issue. We'll take care of business, sanitize, and drop him off."

I nodded. We'd agreed to go less lethal with this one. A few hours in hell was not enough punishment for all the lives he destroyed, so he would survive Hell Fire, at least for a time.

Slightly over an hour outside town in the middle of BFE, Trip turned off the two-lane and drove slowly onto a rough dirt track, crossed a cattle guard, and continued on. We stayed quiet, not anticipating what we were going to do, but determined anyway. As the sun dipped near the horizon, we drove into a low barn. Crank rolled the doors shut behind us as we climbed out of the truck.

"No worries about sound traveling?" Trip broke the silence.

"None. Not even a fucking cow to hear him scream."

"Good. Okay, let's get started." Trip pulled the tarp off and started spreading it at the back of the truck, while Skates grabbed a trio of halogen lanterns to provide the light we would need. Dix reached in for the duffel bag of tools and supplies, while I grabbed the motherfucker and heaved him off the truck.

With a pair of heavy duty shears, the type emergency responders used to cut heavy clothing away from injuries in a hurry, Skates roughly stripped the rapist's clothes away, and ripped the duct taped gag off.

He cried out as several layers of skin came off with the tape. "W-what are you going to do to me?"

The terror on his face brought a grin to my face. "What do you think we should do to you, motherfucker?"

He lay there before us, naked except for the zip ties holding his hands and feet bound tight, and fucking
laughed.
"Go ahead and kill me. I had a good run. People will still speak my name with fear." Guess that fear he showed at first was fake as fuck.

I squatted down at the edge of the tarp, fully aware the man before me was a psychopath. "Now who said anything about killing, buddy? We wouldn't do nothing like that, would we boys?" Trip and the others chorused agreement. "That's getting into some serious shit there. Nah, we got other plans."

He laughed again. "That's exactly what I thought. Well, do your worst, then. Turn me over to the cops. I could use a nice little state-funded vacation." He looked perfectly relaxed.

Time for my own laugh. "You hear that boys? He wants us to do our worst. Guess it's time to get down to it, then." I leaned close. "I hope you're hungry, motherfucker."

A flash of doubt crossed his face, but he quickly concealed it, and smiled. "Actually, I am."

"Good. You'll like this little dish. We call it Hell Fire." I nodded to Trip, who had pulled a pair of Tyvek coveralls over his clothes, and put on a pair of heavy rubber gloves.

Trip returned my nod. "Get him ready."

Skates and Dix, also wearing Tyvek and rubber gloves, each knelt at one side. Skates cut the zip ties holding his feet. I stood, and moved off the tarp. We had decided since my ability to move was compromised, I would provide security. So I stood where I could see his face very well, and pulled my 9mm and clicked off the safety.

At my nod of readiness, Skates and Dix each grabbed a knee, and wrenched the man's legs up and apart. Trip went to work.

"It's amazing the amount of damage the human body can sustain, and still live. Over the last year or so, we've had a chance to explore that pretty thoroughly. So I advise you to hold on for the ride, motherfucker." He took out a propane torch and lit it with his cigarette lighter. Next came a two-foot length of rebar. Using vice-grips to hold the rebar, Trip heated it until the steel began to glow reddish.

The man started to struggle where Dix and Skates held him, and the fake fear he showed earlier turned real. "You can't—"

"Now, be a good sport here, buddy. How many of your victims said those exact words?" Trip gave his bloodthirsty grin. "I'll tell you the same thing you told them. I not only can, but I
will
." He bent down a little, still heating the rebar. "The key here is temperature. Too cool, and you'll bleed out from the damage fairly quickly. Too hot, and the shock might stop your heart. Just right, and the tissues will cauterize as it goes in, allowing you to experience all the pain, without the risk of catastrophic bleeding."

I had to admit, this side of Trip curdled my blood, and I called him Brother. Until he met Tanya, and suddenly had a reason to turn into a cold, ruthless bastard, he was fairly easy-going. The Saxons MC changed us all, but him more than the rest of us. Even if my stomach rolled with the knowledge of what was coming, I didn't look away.

"I'd say that's about perfect." Trip turned off the torch, grabbed a three-pound sledge, lined up the reddened end of the rebar with the rapist's asshole, and swung the sledge.

The man's agonized scream ripped through the barn as eight inches of red-hot steel plunged into his ass. After a few seconds, his eyes rolled back in head, and he fell silent, unconscious.

Trip caught the bottle of water Dix tossed his way and poured it over the steel, cooling it rapidly. "Can't have him cooking all the way yet." He traded places with Skates, who splashed more water on the man's face to wake him.

"Well, hey there, sunshine. You ready for the next course?"

"No! No, please! No more!" The rapist's sobs had as little effect as his victims' had.

"Well, buddy, you said do our worst. We ain't even started yet. See, the secret to calling a bluff is knowing what the other man's holding. Now you might think you're some big bad serial killer, but I got news for you. We've been at it a lot longer, and a lot more successfully, than you could dream of."

Dix took over. "So you raped and killed a few women. That's small potatoes, man. We take down killers, criminals, thugs, men who make the world quake with fear just by their presence. And you know what? Nobody even fucking knows. You ain't even made it out of nursery school, buddy." He gave Skates the nod.

"No, please! I'll do anything!"

Skates grinned and took out his knives. "What, you practice your lines? Keep going. Won't do you no good." He dropped to one knee. "I grew up on a farm. One of the biggest jobs every summer was castrating all the young male animals. The secret is to use a really sharp blade, and work fast, to cut down the pain for the beast." He gave a nasty smile. "But you ain't no beast, and ain't innocent. You might want to grab on to something, 'cause this is going to hurt like a motherfucker."

The man screamed before Skates even touched him, and at the first bite of the blade, started puking. Dix and Trip rolled him a little so he wouldn't choke, and Skates kept working. He was still going strong about half a minute later when Skates flipped a pair of testicles on the tarp by the man's face.

"Hope you didn't plan on havin' kids, 'cause that ship done sailed, buddy." Dix tossed a greasy shop rag over the wound and applied pressure for a couple minutes. "My turn now. You still hungry?"

The man shook his head frantically, beyond begging anymore.

"Aw, come on, I'm a real good cook." Dix surrendered his place to Skates and took up a position in front of the bastard's face. He pulled a tiny camp stove from the duffel, and a little cast iron skillet, only about four inches across. "Now, if we wasn't short on time, I might slice the meat real thin, add some mushrooms and onions, but we're in a li'l bit of hurry here, so I'm just gonna pan fry it."

As soon as the skillet heated, Dix made a big show of opening a butter packet from some fast food joint and dropping the butter into the pan with a sizzle. With a pleased smile, he skewered the testicles with a meat fork, and placed them in the skillet like a fucking chef with some highly prized cut of meat.

The rapist turned into a blubbering mess as the smell of his balls frying permeated the barn. The rest of us might have went a little green around the gills, but he was too far gone to realize it. After a couple minutes, Dix pronounced his dish done, and placed it on a plate with a fork and knife.

At his nod, Trip freed the rapist's hands. "Now, buddy, I know you can't sit up, on account of the rebar stuck up your ass. God knows, I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, or something. So you gonna have to just kind prop up on your elbow. Normally, we'd let you feed yourself, but in the interest of time, I'll help."

While Skates held the bastard's head, forcing him to watch, Dix made a big show of cutting a chunk off one of the balls. "Open wide, buddy." He shoved the fork into the man's mouth.

When the rapist tried to spit, Skates clamped his hand over his mouth and nose. "Swallow, motherfucker, if you want to breathe."

He complied. By the time he reached the sixth and final bite, he didn't even struggle.

Moving fast, Trip bound him again and opened a package containing a new blanket. "Now, buddy, I would take that rebar out of your ass, but that might make you bleed to death before we're ready. So I'm going to roll you into this blanket, and we'll put you back in the truck. We'll clean up here, drive you back to town, and drop you off somewhere." Trip rolled him into the blanket, as promised. "Oh, and buddy? Anybody asks what happened to you, you tell them Hell Fire."

Shaking violently with shock, the man gasped, then spoke. "I know your name, where you live. Y-you won't get by with this." He looked squarely at me as he said it.

I laughed. "Well, see, if you say anything, you have to admit who you are and what you've done. Now, if anyone come's asking about you? I don't know shit. But I
will
know you opened your mouth. Then, no matter where you are, what kind of protection you think you have, you'll get another visit from my friends. And this will seem like a walk in the park."

Dix and Skates lifted him, slung him back into the truck, and covered him with a fresh tarp, while Trip gathered and cleaned the tools and returned them to the duffel. Crank rolled up the original tarp, with all the mess and evidence inside.