Madness Ends (17 page)

It was a burning pledge, one that Gabby felt in his own soul.

Chapter Eighteen

Although Kaiya couldn’t hear what was going on, she saw the devastation raining around them just as Vicious shoved her into an old van. He’d dragged her quickly outside a moment before the building seemed to explode, and her heart nearly burst from fear. Had Gabby and Boone stayed outside? She hoped to God they had, because if they’d been inside…if
anything
had happened to them… It made her heart ache painfully.

Cipher’s gleeful face suddenly popped in her line of vision, and Kaiya vowed to kill either or both bastards the first chance she got.

“Give me the journal,” Cipher demanded.

She read his lips, but she stubbornly refused to acknowledge him.

He grabbed her jaw between his fingers and applied enough pressure to make her squirm in pain.

“The journal, bitch!”

She couldn’t control how her gaze flickered to the backpack she clutched, and he followed her eye movement. He let her go, pushing her back to grab it up and open it. She watched in fury as he pulled out the leather-bound book and skimmed through it. From his pocket, he withdrew a square device and it took her a moment to figure out it was a GPS locator.

Vicious got into the van and started it up.

She looked helplessly out of the passenger mirror and watched the bus depot getting farther behind. Almost immediately, they were lost in the sea of fire trucks and ambulances arriving, along with people hurrying forward either to help the bombing victims or just to get a thrill from everyone’s suffering. She wanted to weep for those who had been caught in Vicious’ debauchery. She’d seen the euphoric pleasure plastered on his face that he’d taken in hurting all the innocent people, poor souls who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Why hadn’t she taken Boone’s warning more seriously?

She stared at Cipher, consumed with hate, as he ignored her to focus on the journal in his hands. He simply didn’t give a shit that so many had been wounded, possibly killed, by his actions. How could this piece of shit have been part of the Men of Hell? Sure, they were no angels, but they didn’t destroy innocent bystanders just for the hell of it. And her club didn’t betray one another. She didn’t even blink at the thought that she claimed the Men of Hell as her own. She had come in as an outsider, a promise made by Chloe, and reluctantly agreed to by Romeo, but Kaiya stood firm by Gabby’s and Boone’s sides, and she’d do anything to protect them. Kaiya took a deep breath and embraced the knowledge that what she would have to do to survive might be soul altering, but she wouldn’t hesitate to do what she had to for herself and her men—or for the club.

“You’re going to die today,” she signed to Cipher.

Her hand movements must have caught his eye because he looked at her. “I can’t read sign language.”

She knew that. That didn’t stop her from continuing. “I’m going to kill you, Cipher. For me. For those people who you just hurt. For the Men of Hell. I’ll find some way to kill you.”

Kaiya stared at him in the eye, trying to convey all the hate she was feeling. Slowly, she smirked at him. Cipher’s nostrils flared with his anger and before she knew what he planned, he backhanded her. Stars exploded through her head just before darkness descended.

* * * *

“You called,” Stone Cold said mockingly as soon as he picked up the call.

“Turn on your fucking news,” Boone ground out as he began walking away from the chaos all around them. Gabby followed on his heels. Boone glanced at their bikes, laying on their sides like beached whales. There were too many people around to dig them out of the rubble. He began looking around for an alternative method to get the hell out of there.

“What’s that noise?”

“Your little psycho blew up the bus depot in Sioux City,” he replied. “He took Kaiya.”

There was a short pause. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m fucking sure! Now, you’re going to tell me where he is.”

“How the hell would I know that?” Stone Cold demanded.

“Because you told me I was going to need your help. You told me he called you. You’ve been playing me from day one, you piece of lying shit.” He broke off and took a deep breath, closing his eyes on a fucking prayer. “Please. He has my woman.”

There was some rustling around in the background, as if Stone Cold were moving it around. A muffled voice swam through the connection, then Stone Cold cleared his throat. “Eagle thinks he may know where they’re heading.”

Boone’s heart jumped in hope. “Where?”

“There’s a small town back in Nebraska, off the 77, called Highwinds. He’s probably headed there.”

“Why?” Boone demanded. “What’s there?”

“It belongs to the Knights.”

“What? The whole town?”

Stone Cold sighed. “It’s more like a farm. We store things there, although it’s not easy to get to.”

Something about his tone didn’t ring true. “Are you fucking with me? You send me to some made up fucking place so you can get to him and the fucking cash he has first? If anything happens to Kaiya, I will personally hunt you down and empty my clip in your forehead.”

“Listen, I obviously don’t know what he’s thinking, but if he needs to lie low, he’ll be there.”

Boone locked gazes with Gabby. What was he supposed to do? Trust the one man he couldn’t trust at all? “You said off the 77?”

“Yeah. Down a road called John Zinger Field.”

Everything inside Boone tightened. The conversation he had with Kaiya about the locker numbers rolled through his head. “That’s where she’s at.”

“Now you sound sure about it.”

“I am,” he said grimly and hung up. He nodded to their bikes. “We need to get our wheels.”

Gabby cracked his knuckles and turned away. “Already on it.”

Chapter Nineteen

“I’m going to fuck her in the ass, then I’m going to blow her apart, bullet by bullet,” Vicious suddenly said out of the blue.

He’d been thinking about what to do to the deaf girl for the hour he’d been driving. In his mind, he pictured every single filthy thing he could do to Boone’s bitch. It had been a complete tossup on who was going to be their prisoner, because the way Vicious figured it, any of them would’ve been a good candidate for revenge. Boone to flat out torture and kill, his big mute of a sidekick, or the deaf pussy that road behind him. It just so happened that he got the girl.

“What?” Cipher said distractedly.

“I’m going to fuck her in the ass,” Vicious repeated. “Then I’ll blow out her kneecaps, her pelvis, hands. Break her collarbone. She’ll be a bloody stain on the floor when Boone finally finds her.”

Cipher stared at him, his mouth forming a little circle of disbelief. “You can’t do that to her.”

“Why the fuck not?” Vicious demanded.

“I may do a lot of shit, but I don’t rape women.”

Vicious shrugged. “You won’t be raping her. I will.”

In his head, he played through the scenario and how satisfying a tribute it will be to honor Bizerk’s memory. He didn’t even have Bizerk’s body, having left it behind as he’d fled. There wouldn’t be a tomb or monument dedicated to Bizerk, so the girl would have to do. A sacrifice to appease the ghost haunting him.

“She hasn’t done anything to you,” Cipher stressed.

“Shut up!” Vicious snarled. “Her association with the Men of Hell is all I need to condemn her. If she suffers, then Boone suffers.”

He didn’t add afterward that he would kill Cipher, take all his stash and bury the man in the woods, never to be found again. No one would miss the nerdy accountant, and he’d take the fucking money and go after the Whiskey Knights next. The club was supposed to have his back, be his Brothers, but Stone Cold was only interested in the club’s bottom line. Stone Cold had turned his back on him, so they’d be the next to fall. Then he’d create a club dynasty that would send all men cowering in fear. He could almost hear his future brothers chanting his name. Perhaps he’d name his club after his fallen love.

The rest of the trip was spent in silence. He didn’t care. Cipher was simply a means to an end and once Vicious had what he wanted, that would be all he needed of the man. He’d first approached the man in hopes of ferreting out any information on Boone and Gabby, but once he had learned there was a shit load of money involved, Cipher’s fate had been sealed.

“Turn there,” Cipher said, pointing to a road that was mostly hidden by the woods.

“I know how to get to Highwinds,” Vicious snapped.

“John Zinger Field. I buried the money off this road.”

“You buried money? Are you a fucking idiot?”

“What?” Cipher demanded. “I stole a shit load of money from the Master and the Men of Hell. I had to hide it and I didn’t want to put it all in one place in case it was ever discovered.”

“So you gave yourself a fucking treasure map?” Vicious snorted derisively. “I bet your favorite book growing up was
Treasure Island
.”

“Shut up,” Cipher said coldly. “And drive one point five miles.”

“Whatever,” Vicious muttered.

He drove. Hell, whatever mother lode bullshit Cipher spouted about was worth putting up with the little dick for a tad longer. And once he had whatever Cipher had buried, well, no one would miss him in these thick woods.

“Here,” Cipher said. “I remember this area now.”

Vicious pulled over and turned off the engine. As he got out of the van, he heard Cipher waking up the cunt. She moaned and the breathless little whimper of pain made his dick harden. Perhaps it wouldn’t be such a chore after all to fuck the whore.

The back of the van opened, and Cipher jumped out before turning to pull the reluctant woman with him. He smirked at her and all she did was lift her chin, as if she were too good for him. Fucking bitch. Soon, he’d show her just how low she actually was.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get your fucking treasure.”

He clamped a hand on her wrist and led her forward. Cipher hurried to lead the way, holding up his compass and journal as they traveled deeper into the woods.

* * * *

“She better not be fucking dead,” Gabby muttered as they pushed through the dense underbrush.

“Don’t say that,” Boone ordered.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Gabby asked.

Boone pointed to a rag tied to a tree. “Stone Cold said this was the shortcut.”

“Why couldn’t we just take a fucking road?”

“No road.”

Gabby grunted. “If this place is their holding warehouse then there’s a fucking road
somewhere
. He’s fucking with us.”

“Maybe.”

“Bullshit,” Gabby muttered.

Boone spun and grabbed his cut, yanking him close. “What would you have me do? Huh? This is all I have to go on!”

Gabby brought his arms up and through Boone’s to break the hold. “They were
hunting
us, Boone!”

“I know!” Boone yelled. He flexed his jaw, as if gritting his teeth together. “Don’t you think I know they were watching our every fucking move? That attack in Lincoln was them playing with us. It was why they never showed up in Omaha! They realized we were following the key trail and they laid in wait.”

“Then why the hell didn’t we see it?” Gabby raged. “So fucking obvious.” He turned and kicked a tree stump in anger and frustration. He flashed back to that fateful day, as he’d stood tied up next to the insurgent who had led him forward to be killed. They were all to die by firing squad. He was first, the two reporters were next and Boone was last. They were to serve as a warning for any and all to get the hell out of their country.

“I didn’t see the consequences of my actions that day either,” Gabby whispered. “I didn’t mean to get those two reporters killed.”

Boone froze, staring at him. Gabby knew he was shocked. Hell, this was a subject he had personally declared off limits, and to bring it up now, in possibly the worst moment ever, was way out of character.

“Gabby—”

“I knew we were all going to die, so I just reacted.”

“You did the right thing.”

Gabby shook his head. “You say that because you’re still here. But those two young men are gone because I acted foolishly.”

“You acted
bravely
.”

Gabby snorted. “No, Boone. I was a coward. I didn’t want to die, especially trussed up like a turkey awaiting slaughter. I joined the military because I had no choice, not because I wanted to die for some damned glorified concept.” He ran a shaking hand through his hair as tears filled his eyes. “It was all a joke… One big damn joke for me. But not to you. And not to the men of our platoon. Not to those reporters. And because I was selfish, they died.”

Boone grabbed his jacket and hauled him close. They stared at each another.

“Listen to me. It doesn’t matter how or why you were there. We were all dead that day, but the difference you made was that their bodies weren’t desecrated. They were brought home to their families. There are two mothers who won’t ever have to wonder what happened to their sons because you made sure our deaths wouldn’t go unknown, or unavenged. You took a fucking grenade for me, Gordon. If you were truly selfish, you wouldn’t have risked your life like that.”

For the first time in his adult life, tears poured down Gabby’s cheeks. They may have been silent, but he cried for the men he didn’t save that day as well as for the grief and self-loathing he had harbored for years. Boone pulled him in tight and anchored him to the ground. Otherwise, he thought he might float up and away as each layer of guilt was stripped away. When the tide had run its course, his shoulders felt lighter. The bleeding dam in his heart had been plugged. He wasn’t completely whole, but the first step toward self-forgiveness had been breached.

“Gabby?” Boone asked.

Gabby looked at his friend. He hadn’t known Boone that well, even though they’d been through boot camp together and stationed in the same unit. But now the man was his best friend and he was thankful to have him in his life.