Diego: Leatherbacks MC (9 page)

Still seething, I did what I needed to at the bar and then grabbed my purse to head to the elevator.  I was almost there when I felt a hand on my shoulder.  I turned, expecting to see Dio, and instead found myself face to face with Micah, drunk and obviously pissed off about something.

“You think you are too good for someone like me?  You only go for fucking the boss?”

“What?  No.  I didn’t say anything like that, Micah.  Come on, I thought we were friends.”

“I’ve got enough friends.  I don’t need anymore.  What I do need is to get laid tonight.”

“Well, if that is what you need to do, I am sure there are plenty of girls who would be happy to go back to your room with you.”

“I don’t want any of them.  I’ve decided to fuck you.”

“You need to step off, Micah.”

My heart thudded heavily.  He was very drunk now and he had an iron grip on my shoulder.  I looked around to see that we were alone in the corridor that led to the garage elevators, despite the crowded casino around us.  I glanced up at the camera above.  Hopefully security was watching.  He was beginning to hurt me and I told him so.

“You need to let go of my shoulder, Micah.  That hurts.”

“I’ll let go when I’m good and damned ready to let go.”

“Micah, please…”

“Don’t fucking
please
me.  All of you women are nothing more than whores.  You all think you are too good for me.  Well, tonight ain’t your night, honey.  I’m about to show you what happens to cock teases when they mess with the wrong guy.”

“You’ve got me all wrong, Micah.  I just…”

The elevator opened, but was empty.  I turned to make a run for the door next to it, hoping his drunken state would slow him enough that I could get into the stairwell there and away from him.  Instead, he lunged forward and shoved me into the opening, clamping his big sweaty hand over my mouth before I could scream.  Pushing the button for his floor, he held me in place, his foul breath making me gag as he growled at me from only inches away.

“I don’t have anything wrong, bitch.  You’re going to do exactly what I want you to do.”

I was filled with panic.  As the elevator went up a few floors, I prayed that someone would be standing there when it opened and saw that I needed help.  My heart almost stopped as it came to a stop and the doors opened, revealing no one.  This couldn’t be happening.  I had known I was setting myself up for danger when I decided to do this, but I never considered anything like this.

Micah was dragging me down the hall as I continued to try to fight to free myself.  With one arm around my waist and the other still clamped over my mouth, he made his way to a room only a few doors down from the elevator and pushed me against the door, holding me there with his body as he struggled to work the door key with one hand and keep his other pressed firmly over my lips. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of one of the other girls down the hall.  It was the same one Dio had sent to entertain the guest who was looking for coke one night.  I think Penny was her name.  Seeing her as my only chance, I took it, clamping my teeth down hard onto Micah’s hand.  He yanked it back and cursed loudly.  It gave me just enough time to get her attention.

“Help!  Help me! Penny! Get Dio!”

Penny looked at me, seeming puzzled at first, and then she smiled knowingly.  Rather than helping me, she opened the door to the room she had been heading into and blew me a kiss, disappearing inside.  I was stunned.  How could a woman let another woman be assaulted and do nothing to stop it?  I began screaming as loudly as I could.  Before I realized what was happening, Micah drew back his hand and struck me solidly with his fist, making my head spin.  I felt myself falling into the opening doorway.

Everything was gray as he shoved me inside and locked the door behind him, fishing around in his pocket for something.  I was aware of the smell of gas fumes as he pulled a dirty bandana from his pocket and stuffed it into my mouth before pushing me down onto the bed.  I could only assume he had wiped his hands on it after fueling his bike.  I felt myself convulse and became frightened I would throw up and choke.  My arms were aching from the way he had them pulled behind my back as he ripped my shirt open.

“Oh yeah.  Those are nice.  I’m going to need both hands for this.”

I tried to get free again, but he was too strong and he had me pinned down with his knees now.  He pulled off his belt and wrapped it around my wrists, cinching them tightly together as I continued to flail around on the bed.  He laughed at my efforts and pulled me upward using the belt.  It felt like my wrists were on fire as the leather chafed with the movement.

“You’re a little fire ball.  I like that.  It’s going to make this all the more fun for me.  I’m going to fuck that defiance right out of you.”

I felt numb as he looped the belt around the bed post and wound it back around to latch it tightly.  It felt like the circulation in my hands was being cut off as they tingled and ached.  I tried to remove myself from what was happening to me as he slipped down and slid off my shoes before moving back up to unfasten my pants.  It was like this was all happening to someone else as I looked on in horror.

“Your body is so damn tight.  It’s going to be a real pleasure fucking Dio’s girl.  He thinks he has his thumb down on everyone around here, but he doesn’t.  Pretty soon there will be a new boss in this place and I’ll be his second in command.  Dio don’t know shit about what goes on behind his back.  He can’t even keep his pussy safe from me.”

Something inside me broke as I realized that Micah was one of the guys that Roland has been talking about the night I talked to him.  It was if some sort of inhuman strength came over me and I began kicking at him wildly.  He stumbled backwards, giving me just enough time to heave my body upwards and bring the belt he had looped around the post up and over it. 

Everything happened too fast after that.  He was coming for me, attempting to throw his body on top of mine to pin me down when the belt suddenly loosened around my hands a bit and I was able to grab the metal lamp that sat on the bedside table.  It didn’t even feel like me who was doing it as I swung it heavily, clipping him alongside the head and sending him reeling backwards onto the floor.

I jumped from the bed and removed the belt.  He was lying on the floor, unconscious and bleeding heavily from where I had hit him.  I hurriedly got my pants pulled back up and slipped into my shoes, wrapping my shirt around me tightly as I fled toward the door and toward the stairs, spotting my purse still laying on the floor near the elevator and grabbing it as I ran.  I was outside on the sidewalk before I even knew how I got there.

Cowering in a corner of the transit bus, I rode to the stop near my house and walked the few blocks home, letting myself in and dead bolting the door.  My heart was still racing and I felt sick from the gas fumes on the gag he had used as much as from what had almost happened to me.  Why had I done this to myself?  Was it not bad enough that my father was dead?  I had to get involved with the likes of the Leathernecks and get assaulted too?  Stripping off my clothes, I looked in the mirror.  I didn’t recognize the girl looking back at me.

After a hot shower, I climbed into bed and slept, feeling like the failure that I was.  I had to walk away from this.  No way could I go back there now.  For all I knew, Micah might even be dead.  I might not have to answer to the authorities for that due to the Leathernecks’ code of not involving them in club matters, but I would certainly have to answer to Dio.  Given the options, I would have rather dealt with the cops.

The day after the assault, I awoke in a panic.  It was almost after noon already.  I couldn’t believe I had slept so long.  I felt a complete sense of panic as I climbed out of bed, very aware of the aches and pains that I felt from the tussle with Micah.  Looking into the mirror, I was shocked at how I looked.  My lip was swollen.  I had a black eye and a larger bruise on my cheek.  My breasts were bruised.  My wrists were raw where the belt had rubbed.  Even my shoulder was marked from his grip on it.

Tears fell down my face as I thought about how close I had become to getting into something that I might not have ever recovered from.  For that matter, I had hit him pretty hard.  I might have to pay for even defending myself.  It wasn’t like it would be up to the cops.  I was going to be tried and sentenced by the club, not impartial jurors.

More importantly, I didn’t know what to do next.  A part of me now was more resolute than ever to bring the Leathernecks to their knees and make them pay for my father’s death.  Another part was terrified of what might happen to me in the process.

It was true that I had developed feelings for Dio, that I didn’t believe he was involved, but it was still his club and he had done plenty for which he should pay.  It wasn’t as if any feelings were mutual anyway.  He had none for me.  He just intended to possess me and no one else was to touch his belongings.  After a bit of brooding and feeling sorry for myself, I was no surer of what to do than I had been.

I decided to try to feel out what I was looking at with the club by calling Hannibal.

“Hey, Hannibal.  How are things?”

“Same as always.  Bunch of drunks blowing their money on slots and sluts.”

“That’s a lovely sentiment, Hannibal.”

“Ah, you know I didn’t mean you.  What’s up?”

“I’m supposed to be covering for Tabitha the next few days, but I think I’ve come down with something.  Dio said that it wasn’t that big a deal that I fill in for her anyway, so I think I’m going to just stay home until my next shift at the bar if that is okay.”

“Ain’t no sweat off my balls.  Just get yourself better.  I ain’t got no time for anyone spreading germs around this place.”

“Thanks.  Nothing else going on over there?”

“Nope.  Micah come through here this morning looking like someone decided they’d finally had enough of his mouth.  He was looking for you, but didn’t say why.  Something I need to know?”

“No.  Not that I can think of.  I’ll see you in a few days.”

I hung up the phone and sat down on the sofa, considering my options.  Micah was alive, so I didn’t need worry about being responsible for killing a club member.  I doubt that Dio was going to do anything to me if Micah told him the truth about what happened, and I didn’t see any reason he would admit what he had done, so the only person I needed to worry about was Micah and that was enough. 

The real question was if I could go through with this.  I was in way over my head with everything here and didn’t know how I was supposed to pull this off.  I had thought it would be so easy to just go in and find the answers I needed, but it was anything but that.  The Leathernecks stuck together.  I had learned a little here and there, but nothing substantial enough to do anything with. 

I had deluded myself temporarily into believing that I might be able to get close to Dio, to gain his confidence and find out the things I needed to know.  I could see now that there was no way that would ever work.  He was too smart and was obviously only interested in me on a physical level.

And now I had one member who would definitely be gunning for me to pay for what I did to him.  If he had assaulted me just for rejecting him, there was no telling what he might do to me for having clocked him with a lamp.  I did the only thing I knew to do.  I retrieved the burner phone and called my contact at the DEA and told him everything.

“Get out of there.  You are in way over your head.  I was afraid this would be too much for you.  I know you want your father’s killer brought to justice, but you are putting too much at stake by setting yourself up for the same fate.”

“I knew this wouldn’t be easy.  I just want to know what happened to Dad.”

“I know you do, but you can’t even get the detectives working his case to help you.  The only reason I am willing to help you is to try to keep you as safe as I can and hopefully bring them down for something.  Lord knows I haven’t been able to nail them for the drugs they import and distribute.  As much as I’d like to bust them for that, I’m not in for giving up a civilian to do it.  Get out of there.”

“There are some strange things going on in there.  Micah was talking about how Dio doesn’t know everything and Roland told me that there are some rogue members.  I don’t have details, but it sounds like Dio isn’t as much in charge of things as he believes he is.  I know he had some sort of problem with missing money and now they’ve found Backbone dead.”

“Wait.  What?  Backbone is dead?  How?”

“I’m not sure really.  They are laying if on some gangbangers in central, but I think it has something to do with the missing money at the club.  I haven’t been able to put the two together yet.  Then again, Dio took me to a cabin looking for him.  He has, like, a whole BDSM dungeon set up in the basement of the place.  Dio said he takes a lot of the rich society types up there for fun and games.  There is always a chance that a husband with enough money to pay a banger had him ended.”

“Could be.  Too many balls up in the air to really know at this point.  Look, you do what you feel you need to do and I’ll keep helping you all I can, but if you think it is getting too hot, you need to get out.  If you don’t think you can bring them down, get out.  Okay?”

“Okay.  I am at the house for a few days.  I am pretty banged up from the incident with Micah and I don’t want Dio to know about that just yet.  It seems that Micah hasn’t told, I’m guessing because he doesn’t want Dio coming down on him for assaulting one of his girls.  So, I just have to figure out a way to make sure I don’t tangle with him again if I stay.”

I left out the fact that I seemed to be a bit more than just one of the girls.  I might not be the girl I’d like to be to Dio, but there was definitely something there that I had to consider was more than he had with them. 

“I’ll trust your judgement, but my advice is to just let it be.  Get as far away from there as possible and try to get your life in order so you can move past this.  Your father wouldn’t want you putting yourself in danger.”

“I’ll let you know.”

“Alright, just keep in touch.”

“I will.”

I hung up the phone, still no more certain than I had been, but I was already in and it was hard to get regular agents into the club.  I decided that the best thing was just to lay low for a few days and then make a decision.  I put the burner phone back in its place and pulled out the files I had on members of the club.  Then I went to the kitchen to find something I thought I could keep down to eat.  I settled for some cream of chicken soup and a glass of water. 

That was all I did for the next couple of days.  I used the files and info to remind myself why I had come here and what I was doing.  Most of these people had a very long history of violent crimes.  Many of them had committed multiple felonies and some even murder.  Drugs were a way of life with most of them, either doing them or distributing them.  In addition to the small time business they did around the club, they worked as part of a larger supply chain.

While I had no intention of getting too heavily involved with trying to bring down the drug trade, it had been a part of my deal with the DEA agent that I would find out what I could in the course of things to feed him as much intel as I could about it.  My father’s murder wasn’t a part of his crime folder, but if my attempt to resolve that open case landed him a drug bust in the process, he was willing to give it a shot by helping me.

After a couple of days of reviewing the information on the club I had been given to help me with finding his killer, I felt a renewed sense of determination.  I was going to find out who killed him and they were going to pay for what they did, even if it was Dio himself.  My sexual attraction to him was just a natural reaction and I would keep that in check from now on.  My focus was right back to getting justice for my father.

The Leathernecks MC would be coming down and I was going to be the one who brought them to their knees, no matter what I had to do.  I wasn’t about to let them get the better of me.  Putting everything back into place in its hideaway, I went to make myself some breakfast and plot my next move.