SOULLESS (Black Thorns, #2) (26 page)

“Does that mean—?”

“Yeah, it means you can pretend to pull a miraculous escape like last time. Right, this is how shit went down, as far as Ax is gonna know. You heard us talkin’ and went after him. We followed you down.” He glances around the table. “Not all of you. Me, Runner and Smiter. Mullet, you and the rest of the boys hold the fort while we’re gone.”

“Yeah, boss man,” Mullet agrees.

Everyone else nods, immediately agreeing to Grit’s barked orders.

Well, that was easier than I thought.

As Grit dismisses everyone and ends the meeting, I raise my eyebrows at him, surprised he gave in so easily.

He smirks at me. “Been looking for an excuse to head down after him. Thanks for giving me one.”

He pats me on the shoulder and says, “Better take Ax’s bike. You ride any other and there’ll be hell to pay if he finds out.”

Oh shit. I didn’t know that was a rule.

“We’re riding in ten.”

I nod. “I’m going to need a weapon. A Glock, if you have.”

He grins. “You got it. Heard what a good shot you are.”

I smile as he hurries out of the room to get ready to ride.

I follow him out, only to bump into Runner and Smiter. They both ruffle my hair in turn.

“Hey!” I cry, batting them both away. “Stop that, assholes!”

“You’re something else, sweetheart,” Smiter says.

“Yeah, good job in there. But, for fuck’s sakes, don’t try to pull that shit again or Ax will freak the fuck out,” Runner says.

I laugh as they both lead me down the corridor towards the garage.

Chapter 30

~Ax~

I flatten my back against the concrete wall of the dimly lit hallway. Dimly lit? That’s a fucking understatement. It’s almost pitch black, except for one creepy looking light bulb giving me and Sin
some
goddamn visibility. Thing looks like it’s ‘bout ready to give the fuck in and die anytime now, though.

Jesus fuck. I’m sweating like a bitch in heat.

And it ain’t from the workout of running through the damn place and dodging security like ghosts for the last half hour. Nah, I’m in the best shape of my life.

It’s just…this place.

That door.

Just ‘round the corner to my right.

Place I remember as hell on earth.

Place he tried to screw me up permanently.

Place he tortured me, almost to death.

But
almost
is everything in that kinda situation. Means he failed. Means I was stronger.

“Ax!” Sin hisses at me.

I jerk my head to my left. He’s a few feet away, his back against the wall, too. We’re almost there. Almost to our target anyway.

Getting out’s gonna be a whole other story. I just know Dealer’s gonna be in a state. Kent wouldn’t have left him untouched. Any opportunity to inflict pain and get off on the power of it ain’t something a sick motherfucker like him is ever gonna pass up.

Means we’re gonna be carrying dead weight.

Well, I am.

This is the end of the line for Sin.

Poor fucker dunno it yet.

Didn’t wanna have to do it. Killing family members ain’t something I look forward to. Putting a bullet in my old man’s head was more than enough of that shit to last a lifetime. But I figured Sin woulda been buried by now with all the dangerous stuff he’s always mixed up in.

He ain’t, though.

So I gotta be the one to do it then.

Can’t risk it.

Can’t risk him being ‘round when my kid is born. Cuz I know the asshole. If it’s a boy, he’ll come. He’ll try to take him and mold him into another Skinner. Hell, Skinner’s
career
is the greatest accomplishment this family’s ever had, according to Sin. Fucked up bastard.

That messed up way of thinking is getting buried for good today.

“What?” I hiss back.

“You all right? You’re sweating.”

“Fine,” I snap.

“Good. Then…check it out, yeah?”

“Will. Calm the fuck down.”

My whole body tenses up as I force myself to peer ‘round the corner. Shit. As soon as I see that goddamn door, it happens. A flash:

“I will break you, biker trash!” Kent roars, driving the blade in deeper.

“Never…fucking…happening…” I choke out as he twists the damn thing.

“Tough talk. But that’s all your kind ever is,” he says, ripping the blade out and relishing my grunts of agony.

I watch him walk to the workbench and pick up the blowtorch.

“Ain’t…gonna…break…fucker….”

“We’re about to see the truth of that, Barron,” he says, firing up the torch.

Shit. I blink hard and come back to reality to find Sin tugging on my arm.

“Get back!” he whispers harshly, slamming me back ‘round the corner to the wall I was pressed up against before.

“Fuck,” I breathe, scrubbing my hands roughly over my face and tryin’ to get a grip.

“You gotta get it together
now.”

I grab his arm and jerk him into me. “Tell the truth here. Skinner got me outta here back then?”

He looks shocked that I’m asking. “Well, Thorns pulled you out, but your old man tracked you down and gave ‘em the location to hit, yeah.”

“Cuz it looked bad on him, having his son getting screwed over by a suit like Kent, right?”

“Nah,” he says, shaking his head. “Weren’t ‘bout that.”

“Then what?”

“He knew Kent’s rep. Knew he was hurting you real bad.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re lying for him and he’s a corpse now, Sin. Give it up. If that were true, why he hire Broker as his VP after that fucker tortured me, too, over my club tat?”

“You dunno?”

“Know what?”

“Skinner did the same thing to him
just
cuz he found out Broker touched
you
.”

I jerk him into me. “Why didn’t you tell me this shit?”

Emotion flashes in his eyes, shocking me. “You been done with the family for a long while,
Neil
.”

“Ain’t had no choice. The man Skinner became...killed my mom. Killed my kid. Nearly killed my girl.”

He looks away in shame. “I know, kid. I know. He got too twisted.”

I let go of him roughly and he shakes out his shirt.

I blow out a breath, tryin’ to get a hold of myself. Being in this place is fucking with my goddamn head. Jesus. “If my kid turns out to be a boy, what you gonna do there?”

“Nothing.”

“Look at me, Sin.” Gotta see his eyes when he says it.

“Only club in this family now is Thorns. And any of the rest is up to you and yours, Neil. I’m done with all that now.”

He ain’t lying. Him and Skinner had the same tell. Eye twitch thing.

“Why’d you look so happy when you thought ‘bout me having a boy then?”

“Thinking ‘bout the stuff I could teach him. Stuff I coulda taught
you
if things had been different. Never had my own kids, so gotta live vicariously, right?”

Jesus Christ. He’s actually changed. For real. A hell of a lot.

“Fuck,” I mutter, resting my head back against the wall. “Get outta here.”

“What?”

“Go. Your part of the job’s done.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Look, Sin, just…just go, yeah? I got the rest.”

“I
know
, Neil.”

My gaze snaps to his. “Know what?”

“Dealer’s the one here. Not Roxana. You were gonna bury me here.”

“How—?”

“I been ‘round a long time. Seen a lot, just like you. Was Skinner’s right hand for a long time, too. Can’t get shit like that past
me
, kid.” He grins. “Good try, though.”

“Why’d you come along then?”

“To see if you’d do it.”

“What if I had?”

“You ain’t
him
, Neil. You ain’t Skinner. And you ain’t the guy you’re risking your life to save in there either. You ain’t twisted. I just wanted to make sure that was still true. Woulda been a fucking tragedy otherwise.”

“I don’t get—”

“You old man asked me to check—make sure being Prez wouldn’t twist you like it did to him.” He eyes me soberly. “He told me the second he went after you and your girl, he knew you’d come for him, take him out. Knew he didn’t have much time. Didn’t want it either. He was done a long time ago, Neil. Maybe that’s why he did some of the shit he did near the end—he didn’t care no more.”

“You making excuses for his shit?” I growl.

“Nah. Just saying. So, this is where we’re at. You ain’t gonna kill me. We both know it. So, you wanna do this thing and get outta this hell hole, or what?”

It takes me a good while to absorb everything he’s saying. But, finally, I nod. “Yeah.” I draw in a breath and peer ‘round the corner at the door again, gritting my teeth and forcing myself to focus on what’s gotta be done
now
, not what
was
done to me back
then
.

I pull my pick set outta my pocket and tell Sin, “Cover me.”

“You got it, kid.”

I take another look ‘round the corner. No guards there still. Good.

And then I move with Sin right at my back, holding his Beretta ready, covering me.

I skid to my knees at the door and get to work on the lock. It ain’t an easy lock to no layman. Luckily, I don’t qualify as one of those poor fucks. I got this in the bag. Piece of cake for a guy with my history.

Takes me maybe thirty seconds to pick the thing.

I shoot to my feet and tell Sin, “All right. We’re in.” I pull my Desert Eagle and flip the safety off.

I eye Sin and he nods. The two of us barely need words.

I kick open the door and me and Sin flatten our backs against the wall, either side of it.

Sure enough, as we figured, two ugly looking motherfuckers all roided-out, come running out, tryin’ to figure out what’s up.

Before I can even take a shot, Sin’s fired off two right through their fucking temples.

“Jesus.”

Is he tryin’ to stop me from making a kill here? Nah, I’m imagining shit.
Get a grip.
This damn place! Has my head all screwed up.

We wait for any other sounds. Footsteps. Guns being cocked. Radio transmissions.

Nothing.

I step through the door, holding my gun at the ready, just in case, as I scan the torture chamber.

Only thing in sight is Dealer.

He’s tied to a chair.

And there don’t seem to be a mark on him. I was wrong then? Kent didn’t touch him? I don’t get it.

His eyes are swollen and red raw, though.

“Roxana,” he croaks out.

Oh shit. Kent must’ve told him that she’s dead. I rush over to him and tell him, “She ain’t dead. She’s safe. It’s a fake out, Dealer.”

He throws his head back and draws in a breath. “Jesus Christ. Fuck. Thank fuck.”

“Sorry. Kent had to believe it.”

His gaze snaps back to mine and he says, “So, this ain’t a suicide mission then?”

“What? No.” I glance behind me at Sin who’s watching the door and we exchange a
what-the fuck’s-he-getting-at
look.

Dealer shakes his head. “You idiot.”

I don’t got time for his reprimanding bullshit right now, especially since I ain’t got no idea what the hell he’s getting at.

“Just shut it and let me focus on getting you outta this shithole,” I tell him as I walk ‘round to the back of the chair to free him from it.

As soon as I see the cuffs, my blood runs cold. “Fuck.”

He looks over his shoulder at me. “Yeah, Ax.”

They ain’t any old regular cuffs. Top of the line shit. Real hard to pick—except for a guy like me.

“He knows we’re here?” I ask Dealer, already knowing the answer, but hoping somehow that it ain’t the case.

“Yeah. I’m the damn bait. It’s why he didn’t touch me. Said he were saving it for you. Sick bastard. You shoulda just left me here, Ax. I’m old. Lived my life.”

“Just shut it and let me concentrate here,” I say, dropping to my knees and getting to work on the damn cuffs with my pick set.

“Fuck,” Sin mutters.

“Sin, long time,” Dealer says.

Sin nods. “Yeah.”

“You switched sides now? Saving my ass here?”

“Seems you and me don’t got much of a choice with my nephew and your daughter shacking up. Gonna be family soon.”

“What?” Dealer asks, looking over his shoulder at me. “You asked her to marry you then?”