Saving Glory (Hells Saints Motorcycle Club Book 4) (17 page)

“So you let him know.” Jules’s jaw hardened.

“Yeah. I did. I let him know,” Glory said with sadness. “I thought that maybe considering the history between our families Vincenzo would make it right for us, maybe even give Hal’s debt a pass. And that was my first mistake. Because while I thought I was asking for help from a family friend, what I got was a deal with the devil. But I didn’t understand all of that until it was too late. By the time I realized the trap I had caught myself in, Hal was in the Marines. He was happy. My brother was finally a part of something bigger than himself. Surrounded by men who had his back, he had found his family. He had become the man he was meant to be.”

“And you? What happened to you?” Jules kept his voice even with effort. Glory’s story was killing him.
Fucking killing him
. To be that young, that vulnerable and that trusting only to become a victim of some old lecherous bastard. When Jules thought of how the motherfucker probably sat in a dark corner and jerked off while he watched Glory dance, Jules was filled with a violent rage that had him clenching his teeth so hard that he felt a back tooth crack.

Glory broke into his thoughts with quiet alarm. “Jules?”

“Yeah baby. I’m right here. Keep talking,” he reassured her with a long measured breath. “Hal joined the Marines and I get it was good for him. Now I want to hear what happened to you.”

“Me?” Glory bit down on her lip as she seemed to struggle for the words.  “I was—lost. I couldn’t be the person I had been before. And I had no idea what kind of person I was supposed to become. I was just grief and sorrow and the only thing that stood between my brother and a wasted life. So I did what I thought I had to do to keep Hal safe— feathers and sequins and all. Now I see that if I wasn’t so desperate and—” Here she grimaced and flushed in embarrassment, “
Dumb
. I might have been able to work out the truth behind the lies. At the time, working for Vincenzo seemed a small price to pay for holding on to what little I had left. Then I met Gino. Gino was Vincenzo’s nephew and he would come out to Vegas every few months and throw his money around. He was nice to me. Nice in a way no one had ever been before. When he offered to give me a chance at another life, I jumped at it. I don’t know what kind of deal Gino struck with Vincenzo, but he got me out of there. And I was grateful enough to believe all his lies. It wasn’t long before I realized that I had made a horrible mistake. I put up with the cheating and beatings all the while waiting for my chance, and planning my escape. It all came to head that night in his garage when we caught Raine with that box. He was seconds away from bashing her head in when I hit him with his own gun and ran away. I thought that finally I was free.” Glory paused with a shuddered breath and brushed an angry tear from her cheek. “But I didn’t have a lot of money or any real place to go so of course it didn’t take him long to find me. And when he did—” Glory lowered her eyes and flushed in shame. “After he— after he punished me— he got it in his mind to go get Raine. And you know the rest.”

Glory’s chest filled with fear and her mouth went dry with the pain of remembering.

“Yeah, baby, I know the rest,” Jules reached out with a gentle touch and tilted her chin up until their eyes met again. Until the only thing that she could see was his love and concern. When she sagged slightly in exhausted despair, Jules gathered her up in his arms and moved them both towards the bed. He murmured gently to her until she felt her eyes grow heavy and her exhausted limbs turn into lead weights. Finally she surrendered herself into the warmth of his strong arms and thanked God that he didn’t press her further.

Because she couldn’t talk about it anymore.

She couldn’t talk about how, after Gino found her, she realized the hell that she had been living in was merely a fraction of the perversion that he was capable of. He had raped her and sodomized her. He had caged her in and made her crawl and beg like an animal, then had beaten her with closed fists for days.

And days.

And days on end.

Glory couldn’t tell Jules that the only thing she had felt when Reno blew off the back of Gino’s head was gratitude.

And she was ashamed to tell him that the thought of Vincenzo being dead, even at the hands of her own brother, filled her with relief.

*****

He punished me.

After Jules had tucked an exhausted Glory safely into his bed, he fought through the rage as he walked across the compound to the clubhouse where he knew Prosper and his brothers would be waiting.

He punished me.

Her words stopped Jules in his tracks. He took a deep breath, pulled the flask out of his back pocket, and took a deep hit. Then another.

He punished me.

A red haze of murderous rage clouded his vision as the memories of the night Glory had arrived at the compound filled his mind.

Glory huddled in fright, wedged between Claire and Raine.

Glory—bruised, battered and suffering from shock.

With barely controlled violence, Jules spied the ax that sat near the fire pit. He hefted the twenty pounds of wood and steel over his shoulder and leveled it down on the thick log as easily as if he were running a knife through a soft pat of butter.

Glory’s hair hacked off.

Whack!

Glory’s eye blackened and swollen shut.

Whack!

Glory’s lips peeled, torn and bleeding.

Whack!

Glory’s vocal cords permanently damaged from screaming out against the torture.

Whack! Whack! Whack!

Jules continued his rage until the pile of wood was splintered all around him. Not for the first time he wished it had been him and not Reno who had blasted a hole through the skull of that motherfucking piece of shit, Gino Abiatti. To think that Glory had put herself at risk at the hands of another one of those fucking…

“Brother, you done making matchsticks?” Diego’s shout cut through the red haze of Jules’s murderous thoughts and filtered through the cool night air. “We need you at the table.”

Because Prosper was natural born leader with the instincts of a killer, and a man who acted quickly and decisively, Jules was not surprised to see that Hezekiah Jones—president of the Aces, and Gianni Abruzzi—front boss of the Bonzini crime family were already at the table. Jules took his seat opposite Diego. Once all the information was gathered, Prosper would bring in the rest of the crew and they would vote on what action would be taken. When Jules saw Hal seated at the far end, he lifted a questioning eyebrow to Prosper. Not customary for a non-patch member to sit in on a meeting. Gianni’s presence fell under the umbrella of associate, and Hez’s club was an affiliation, but having Hal here as a civilian constituted a breach in protocol.

Prosper clearly read the look that Jules threw him and announced to the room, “I don’t know shit about this Santino asshole. Right now we only have the girls’ account of what the motherfucker is all about. Hal knows him— has dealt with him, and I want him to look at the video and put his two cents in. Executive damn decision. Anybody got a problem with that?”

When the men in the room stayed silent, Prosper got up, dimmed the lights and nodded for Diego to begin streaming the video to a projector from Glory’s phone. It soon became begrudgingly obvious to every man in the room that the girls had done a damn fine job recording the events under the circumstances. The video was clear if a little shaky.

Play, pause, repeat, play, pause, repeat.

Rewind.

“That’s that asshole Bautista all right, boss.” Diego narrowed his eyes at the screen. “What’s he doing this far up the East Coast? And how the hell did he get here with us being unaware?”

“Damn good question, brother.” Prosper snorted out. “Dettinger and Beast have been monitoring the Colombian action in Miami and the Keys. And as far as we know the Aces have been doing a pretty good job of containing that bullshit up to this point. But my gut’s been telling me all along that the cartel has been a little too quiet. Maybe this is why,” Prosper turned to Hezekiah in angry speculation. “What’s your take on this, Hez?”

Jules turned an interested eye to the president of the Aces MC. In the MC world, the Aces were a relatively new club and Hezekiah Jones had risen high in the ranks quickly. Jules did not know him well, but what he did know, he liked. Jones was a tough motherfucker who stepped up when called upon, but could also be counted on to keep a cool head when needed. He had been a heavyweight champion in another life. When one of his punches resulted in the permanent brain damage of an opponent, Jones quit the ring.

“The only thing I can figure is that with my boys keeping things tight in Florida, looks like the Colombians found another way of expanding. With respect—” Hez gave Prosper his full attention. “Your women being at the scene is telling me that the Saints know a lot more about this than the Aces do. And I’m not feeling real good about that. You know as well as I do that this alliance we got is only as good as the trust that comes with it. The Culebras and the mob are making their heroin deal on
our
turf,” Hez said with emphasis. “Motherfucker was setting us up. Hate to think that the Saints had a heads up on that.”

Prosper looked hard at the president of the Aces and scowled. “Let me make one damn thing clear. Our girls were not there out of any fucking prior knowledge or say so on this club’s account. We don’t use our women to do our dirty work, and they are going to answer to their men and me for shoving their noses in where they don’t belong.” Prosper lashed out in anger and let his words be heard. The he grumbled out reasonably, “You got a woman, Hez?”

Hez snorted in the affirmative.

“Then you know what the fuck I am talking about when I say some of the shit they do—” Prosper shook his head and sighed.

“I hear ya, brother.” Hez commiserated. “Long as it’s understood, going forward anything the Saints know, the Aces know too.”

“Word, brother.” Prosper assured him. Then he turned his attention to Gianni Abruzzi.

“Did Santino have the backing of the family in Nevada to do the heroin deal with the Culebras?”

Gianni sat taller in his chair and his eyes met each man’s at the table.

“I can assure you that the family in Vegas is not a part of what happened here,” Gianni said with surety. “The Cosa Nostra has no interest in brokering a deal with the Colombians. After Vincenzo’s death, the son looked to take over his father’s family. Santino is known to be—let’s call it—unstable—and the reins were passed to the family member next in line. Santino’s cousin, Giuseppe, now heads up the West Coast family and Santino did not take that well. He made some threats before he left Vegas. As a matter of fact, the family has been eager to talk to him for a while. Santino acted on his own in this,” Gianni told them.

Nods all around the table.

“Wonder why they tried to kill him?” Jules looked at the video clip that was paused on the screen.

“Because they found out that he didn’t have the juice behind him that they thought he had. So at that point he became expendable,” Hal broke in.

“How the fuck do you know that?” Jules swiveled his head to look at Hal.

“That guy you called Bautista said it.” Hal kept his eyes trained on the video.

“When?” Prosper growled out.

Hal gave Prosper a quick glance, then volleyed a look to Diego. “Hey, man can you rewind that? Hold. No. Go back. Yeah. Right there. Pause it now.” When Hal got up and stabbed at the screen, the men in the room followed the motion closely.

Sure enough, Bautista said something to Santino just before he got off that first shot but of course the girls were too far away to record any of the conversation.

“You reading his lips?” Diego asked incredulously.
At Diego’s tone, Jules turned and looked to see every man at the table eyeing Hal with respect and maybe a little suspicion. Hal looked back at the group and shrugged.

“It’s something I picked up in special ops. And I’m actually not that good at it. I’m good at video shit like this where I can watch what’s being said over and over again. Syllable by syllable. But in the field there are guys who could read lips in real time. Right on the spot. From fifty feet away,” Hal told them. “They are unbelievable.”

A moment of incredulous silence filled the room.

“What did he say exactly?” Gianni asked.

“ ‘
My Sicilian friends in Vegas tell me you won’t be missed
.’ Those were the Colombian’s exact words to Santino before he started shooting,” Hal said.

“
Mafankulo
!” Gianni spat out. And when he did every man in the room turned to him with an expression of shocked expectation. Because for just a second, it seemed that Gianni was going to shed that perpetual veneer of tight control and composure. But then with a rigid gesture he shot the cuffs of his heavily starched white shirt and straightened the already perfect knot of his imported silk tie. His face was once again a blank mask when he said, “Leave this to me. I’ll find out who these Sicilian friends are that the Colombian claims to have.”

Jules regarded the mobster carefully. He thought begrudgingly and not for the first time that there was something innately confident and authoritative about Gianni Abruzzi.
He had it.
That unique quality that transcended time and circumstance. There was only one other man that Jules had ever met who exuded such a magnetic force and presence.

And that man was seated at the head of the Hells Saints table.

“I’m gonna put the club on high alert status, but I’m not sure lockdown is the smart way to go.” Prosper got up and paced the floor. “We can get everyone in here and secure the perimeter—that’s not a problem. But that would be tantamount to warning the fuckers that we know what they’re up to. Right now, all they might know is that two women saw them out in that field. Bitches could have been anyone, yeah?”

“That’s a definite,” Hal called out a confirmation. “Like Glory said, I bike that trail all the time. And I’m not the only one. Granted, it’s not a heavy traffic path, but it’s not unusual to run into a jogger or someone out with their dog. I doubt, with everything that was going down, that they got a real clear look and even if they did, all they saw was two scared women. At least my sister and Claire had the common sense to somewhat disguise themselves. They had their hair covered up in baseball caps and wore those big sunglasses.” Then Hal added with thought. “Santino’s not the smartest guy under the best of circumstances. I doubt, that with everything else he had going on, that he would have two and two together.”

Prosper hung an unlit cigarette from his mouth and paced the floor for a minute or two.

“So this is what I’m thinking—notify everyone we’re in high alert status. Let the brothers know that they need to do whatever it takes for them to keep their families safe, then I want the boys here. Set up some grills, tap one of the kegs. Make it look like a regular meet for anyone who might be watching—business as usual from the outside. Inside we arm the fuck up and prepare for an attack. My guess is they’re gonna try to surprise us. They will most likely use something that can contain a crew of armed men like maybe a utility truck or a delivery van. Some Trojan horse type shit. When it happens we’ll be ready. In the meantime, Jules can work his magic and find out what the hell we’re dealing with.”

“So either the fuckers are already gone and this can be a good drill for the boys, or we are ready for them when they make their move,” Jules confirmed.

“Exactly,” Prosper agreed grimly.

“So where we gonna put our women?” Diego leaned back in his chair and drew his fingertips into a steeple. “Please tell me that one of you fuckers have thought that through. Because I’ve got to tell you right now, the shit is going to hit the fan in a big way if I have to go back home and tell my woman that she is going to have to pack up our kids and hide out in a hotel.”

Despite the dire circumstances, every man in the room released a small commiserating grin when Prosper growled out a long suffering sigh.

“Aw shit. I hadn’t thought of that. A full scale turf war with the Colombians ain’t gonna be nothing compared to managing this situation with the women.” Prosper shuddered. “There is absolutely no way that I am going to talk Pinky into being locked up in that house of mine without her girls. And we just don’t have the room for everyone. Besides all of our addresses are public record and I can’t spare anybody to keep a watch on them.”

“That leaves out the lake house,” Hal added. “Remote enough, but it’s not secure.”

“Reno’s place is a goddamn fortress,” Jules offered.

“Still an address of public record. They storm the gate, the girls are on their own.” Diego shook his head.

“So what are we gonna do with them? I can’t waste any more time on this shit. We’ve got about one minute to decide, then I’m gonna book them all on a plane somewhere, and deal with the fuss later,” Prosper announced.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Diego muttered.

“Bring them to me.”

All heads turned to Gianni.

“The house is large and the grounds are secure. The women will be safe there. Dolly will join them. My daughter will be happy for the company.”

“You have a daughter?” Prosper said in surprise.

Gianni nodded and said simply, “I have a daughter. She’s been away. Now she’s back.”

“You don’t know what you’re offering.” Diego shot out a warning. “I love the hell out of my wife and kids, but they’re a handful. And all those women under one roof? Damn.”

“Like I said, the house is large.” Gianni shrugged. ”And I don’t imagine it’ll take more than a few days for this to be over, one way or another.”

“Appreciate it Gianni. But I have got to agree with my brother, D, on this one. Our women are feisty and hard-to-control pains in the ass under normal circumstances. Lockdowns are a damn nightmare.” Prosper admitted with honesty.

“I’ll go with,” Hal suddenly volunteered. “Run interference. See to their needs and shit.”

“Why the hell would you do that?” Jules dismissed his earlier misgivings about Hal being a non-patch. “We could use you here.”

Prosper shook his head and said, “Not this time. You know it and I know it, Jules. We’ve already bent the club bylaws more than we should have. No fucking offense, Hal.”

“None fucking taken,” Hal assured him. Then he added with a wry grin. “I’m willing to take one for the team.”

“Then if you’re willing,” Diego said with relief. “I’d sure feel a hell of a lot better about dumping our women on Gianni here, if you were there to help out.”

Gianni stood and reached behind him to release his suit coat from the back of the chair. “I will go now and make preparations if it’s settled.”

“Yeah. Shit’s settled.” Prosper lifted his chin at Hal. "Brother, you wanna stick around for a few more minutes? While you’re here, I’ve got a few more questions about this Santino asshole. It’ll be a while before the girls get packed up anyway. Then you can meet them at Gianni’s.”

Diego let out a low chuckle and slapped Hal on the back. “Take my advice and take your time. I’d rather face a cartel shoot out any day than spend a couple of days playing house boy to that bunch. And don’t let Raine give you any shit. And if she wants you to do something for her and you say no to her then she smiles at you instead of getting mad? Whatever you do, don’t smile back at her. Not even once. That’s how she knows she’s got you. Works on me every damn time.”