Hot as Hades (29 page)

 “My men already disarmed you,” he informed her conversationally. “I must say you had quite the arsenal—a gun, as well as a switchblade. And, of course your cell.”

He slid the phone from his pocket. “You really should get a better network. Half the time, it reads service unavailable, but you had a couple of bars for a while and someone named Cowboy certainly wants to get in touch with you.” He pursed his lips as he read the message, evidently scrolled through them. “Who’s Cowboy?”

“My partner. The one who’s going to shoot your ass, when he comes looking for me.”

 He laughed. “It doesn’t matter who he is. Cowboy won’t be seeing you anymore.” He slid the phone into a glass of water on the nightstand, effectively killing it.

Well, fanfuckingtastic.

“Are you going to turn me over to the Raptors?” Her eyes strayed to the all of the, er,
equipment
, for lack of a better term. “Unless you’ve got something more disturbing in mind?”

He ignored the last bit. “Of course I’m not going to hand you over to them!” Kent seemed shocked by the very suggestion. “I’m trying to save you, the way I saved your sister.”

What?! Rose?

She could scarcely believe her own ears.
“
Oh my God,” she breathed. “You have Rose?”

 “Yes, she’s in the other room,” he said smoothly.

The relief evaporated, replaced by a mixture of disgust and fury.

 What if this freak had done
things
to her? Judging by this room, he had some pretty warped desires. “And is she,” she began, nearly unable to get the words out. “Did you…?” He’d said she was in the other room, but was she still alive?

He patted her arm as though they were having a friendly little chat. “She’s absolutely fine, I assure you. You’ll see her in a moment. Rose has been busy, packing our things.” He reached towards her face and she reared back, but there was nowhere to go. He smoothed her cheek with the back of her hand.

For a moment, she thought about trying to bite him, but his voice stopped her. “No, don’t do that, Goldilocks. I know you’re a spirited girl. I will have to put some effort into controlling you, but if you hurt me? I will have to bring you pain.”

Focus!
“You said you were going somewhere?” Any information might prove useful.

“No,
we’re
going somewhere, all three of us. I’m afraid you stirred up a bit of trouble with the club. Honestly, what were you thinking?” he said, as though she’d been a naughty child. “Working for both the Horsemen and the Raptors?”

She might have pissed the Raptors off, but they still didn’t know about the Horsemen’s involvement. She intended to keep the secret, no matter what. She wouldn’t let this mess land on the club.

“I’m not—”

“Shh. I haven’t made my rules clear yet, but lying is another one of those offenses which will only bring you pain. For your sake,
never
lie to me.”

 
Enough with the rules.
“You’ve been following me,” she guessed.

 “Yes, since I saw you the first night on stage,” he said, beaming at her. “I know you didn’t belong in that horrible place and you bore such a striking resemblance to your sister, I had to find out more about you.”

“And you didn’t tell the Raptors about me?”

“If they were too dimwitted to notice, I certainly wasn’t going to bring you to their attention. After all, I have plans for you.”

She changed the topic to what she really cared about. “Let me see Rose,” she demanded.

His lips curved into a twisted little smile. “Ask me nicely.”

She didn’t have time for placating looney tunes, but she would play along if she got to see Rose. It had been months! “Please, can I see my sister?”

“Good girl. Of course you can.” He snapped his fingers, like calling for a pet. “Come here, Rose,” he called.

Footsteps sounded down the hall.

And then Ro appeared in the doorway.
Oh God.
Daisy sucked in a ragged breath. Rose was alive and here!

But she had her head bowed and wore something out of a Stepford Wife porn fantasy— white lacy thigh highs, long white gloves on her arms, a snowy merry widow, with matching lacy panties, and around her throat, a pearl choker.

 “Yes, Sir?” she said meekly.

“There’s my other little Goldilocks,” he said proudly. “Say hello to your sister, precious.”

Blech. I’m going to vomit.
His tone held a foul mixture of the sexual and parental. Those two should, never,
ever
blend.

Rose blinked, gazing at Daisy with a serene expression. “Hello, sister.” Not even a hint of recognition surfaced in the placid depths of her eyes.

Daisy glared at Kent. “What the fuck did you do to her?”

 “I’ve already told you how I feel about women swearing. You are starting to try my patience.”

“Right back at you, dickhead.”

If you won’t play nice, you don’t get a treat.” He glanced at her sister. “You can go, Rose. I want you to continue packing.” Rose left the room, as though he’d pressed some button on a remote control.

“What did you do to her?” she demanded again.

 “If you
must
know, I employed some conditioning, along with sedatives from time to time to take the edge off. It’s very effective, for securing the sort of behavior you want from a subject.” He made a face. “Don’t glare at me. I told you. I
saved
her from Rock. He kept shooting her full of drugs, offering her body to unworthy men. He couldn’t see what a treasure he had! She’s a college educated woman, beautiful, and so very submissive. She deserves to be cherished.”

“Yeah, you’re a real hero,” she said, her lips twisting with disgust.

“Rock planned on turning her into a prostitute, but I offered to buy her instead. I rescued her, got her off that poison, and now she is clean and sober.”

“Is that what you tell yourself?” she spat out. “How you justify what you’ve done to her? She traded one abuser for another.”

“We both know she is better off with me!” he said, scowling. “I’m the only one who touches her now. I gave her beautiful clothes, a good home,” he insisted. “And I assure you I am a generous lover.”

Her stomach clenched.

He licked his lips as his gaze slid over her. “I am a man of unusual appetites. I found Rose appeals to my more nurturing, protective nature. While you,
you
will satisfy the darker desires.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Oh yeah? I wouldn’t bet on it.”

 He laughed. “I’m going to enjoy breaking you in. I knew I had to have you both, a perfect pair. You are going to be very happy being my consort.”

She read between the disgusting lines. “Is that a fancy pants term for sex slave?”

“Must you be so crude? My arrangement with your sister is nothing of the sort. We have a consensual relationship, and so will you and I.” He leaned forward and his lips hovered over hers. “My darling girl, don’t you know why I brought you here?”

“Why don’t you enlighten me?”

“To love you, of course.”

Daisy shuddered.

***

“The rest of the brothers on their way?’ Cowboy asked.

Cowboy and Duke had piled into Cowboy’s old pickup, and Duke held his cell phone, studying a red beeping mark, situated on a map. It showed the location of Daisy’s chip, the one Duke had implanted without her consent or knowledge.

They drove down the highway at a breakneck pace. Between them sat a good selection of heavy duty weaponry seated, in case things got serious. They could be walking into anything.

Duke nodded. “Yeah, but they’re hours away brother. My guess is this will be over before they even get here.”

“Shit,” Cowboy said, with a frown. “Well, we’ll do this Alamo style.”

“Yeah? They died.”

Well, shit. “Fuck. Bad example, but it sounds comforting, you know. Because we’re Texans and all. Hey, I got it. We’ll do this like Butch and Sundance.”

“Also dead,” he said with a sigh.

“Fuck it,” Cowboy said and changed the topic. “You got your medical bag?”

“Yeah, I tossed it in, just in case. And I want you to drop me off before we approach,” Duke said. “With only two of us, we should try to get the drop on them.”

Cowboy shook his head. “I was thinking a more united front approach. Give us the girl or you get two in the chest. Might inspire more cooperation.”

“I prefer the special forces method. Less
come out with your hands up
and more
surprise, motherfucker
!”

Come to think of it? It sounded damn good to Cowboy. “Fine, we’ll try it your way. I ain’t got much experience stormin’ the castle.” He sighed. “And now that we got a bit of time on our hands before the ass kickin’ about to begin, explain to me what happened again. While my woman lay there drunk and unconscious, you decided to stick a needle in her, and insert a tracking device.”

“Yeah,” Duke said, with a shrug. “The night of Lexie’s birthday party, I injected the RFID chip. It’s your basic tracker, no frills. The same kind they use to keep tabs on livestock and pets….and well, there are other military uses for it. But that’s beside the point. It was a simple procedure. No surgery, no blood, only the tiny pinprick of a needle. It isn’t really a big deal.”

“The no surgery part of this chipping thing isn’t the issue, Duke.”

“I cleared it with Captain and Shep.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll be havin’ a word with them too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful you did,
but what the fuck man?!
Who does that against someone’s will?!”

Duke offered a black smile. “Worked, didn’t it?”

Cowboy shuddered. “You’re really fuckin’ creepy sometimes.”

“I know.” He didn’t seem concerned about it.

 “Any chance someone detected the damn thing in her skin??” he said worriedly. He had visions of someone cutting her tracker out.

“On the off chance, she’s packin’ a poodle chip? I doubt it brother.” He picked up his Glock and checked the clip. “So are you going to sit here and bitch at me about ethics, or drive a bit faster and get your old lady back?”

“She ain’t my old lady,” he grumbled. Not yet anyway.

“Seriously? It was a figure of speech. I don’t give a shit about your love life.”

Cowboy shut the fuck up and pressed the petal clear to the floorboard.

***

Kent stood at the end of the bed, stroking his chin absently, while Daisy tugged at the chains on her arms.

 “Don’t struggle, you will only injure yourself. You know, I only had to tie your sister up the first few weeks.” He turned to look at her. “Given your stubbornness, you might take a bit longer. But mark my words. Eventually, you will learn to love the restraints. If used in the right way, they can be very pleasurable.”

She snorted. “I can see where this going. In your head, it’s all Fifty Shades of Grey. But in reality, this is an episode of Law and Order. You know, the sex crimes one.”

“It would be much simpler, wouldn’t it?” he said, resting his palms on either side of the footboard. “Thinking of me as some rapist holding your sister against her will.”

“Uh, yeah, that’s exactly what you are.”

 “I meant what I said earlier, Daisy. Your sister
craves
my touch. I’ve made her orgasm so many times she’s nearly passed out. Eventually, you too will give in. I will break that stubborn backbone of yours and you’ll know true pleasure, and true happiness. I made her love me, and I’ll make you fall for me too.”

And then something strange happened.
Well, stranger.

She had an epiphany of sorts. Eddie had been right! From Kent’s crazy talk, she could plainly see his obsession with her sister. And the preoccupation Sunny had with Roger hadn’t been love either. It had been a destructive fixation. One that ultimately killed her.

 Daisy had feared love all her life, worried it would bring out the worst in her. But what she felt for Cowboy wasn’t this sick sort of stalkery addiction. They had something real. Granted, it was brand new, but it would develop over time, and get stronger. While Kent’s disturbing fantasies would only grow more and more desperate, leaving destruction in their wake.

“No one has brought you to heel before, have they?” Kent said, walking alongside the bed. He leaned over, leering at her.

Daisy glared at him.

She wasn’t a victim, never had been, never will be. The military didn’t believe in gentle lessons wisely imparted by a mentor. No, she’d been thrown into the deep end and taught to survive. The Marines trained her to be a warrior.

And she didn’t fear this little piss ant.

She gave him a nasty little smile, far from intimidated. “Not since basic, but my drill sergeant was a hell of a lot scarier than you, cupcake.”

Quick as a rattlesnake striking, he threw his forearm over her neck, locking down her windpipe. Daisy struggled, trying to break free.

“This is a little trick I learned from my bodyguards,” he told her coolly. “Frightening, isn’t? Nothing quite as primal as struggling to breathe, gasping for air. Now, inhale through your nose, so you don’t pass out,” he ordered. “That’s it. Come on.”

Daisy wasn’t getting enough oxygen, she felt lightheaded. She clutched at his arm, fingernails sinking into the skin and abruptly, he eased up.

Daisy sucked in gulps of air. “I’m going to enjoy killing you,” she croaked, already picturing it. She’d put one right between the eyes, then pump two into his chest, and watch him fall to the floor bloody and lifeless.

Far from being threatened, he looked eager. He reached between his legs, absently petted his erection, which she could see straining beneath the fabric of his pants. “My God, you are going to be such a challenge.”

 “You’ve got no idea, buddy.”

He blew her a kiss. “I’d love to stay here with you, but unfortunately, I have a couple of arrangements to make before we leave.” With that pronouncement, he left the room.

Leaving Daisy to formulate a way out of this mess.

***

Minutes later, Rose drifted back in the room, presumably to pack and Daisy got a closer look at her this time. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her skin had lost all color, probably from staying trapped indoors most days. She could even make out the faint blue patchwork of veins on her arms. Rose had literally withered. Even her eyes appeared to be sunken and her cheeks had hollowed out.