Torn (29 page)

ELI

H
olden and I were right in the middle of the newest spy game when my doorbell rang.

“Hang on, buddy. I’ll be right back.” Rising from the couch, I walked toward my front door, wondering who in the hell would show up unannounced. The last person to come to my home unexpectedly was Beth, but seeing as how she was no longer in my life, I tossed aside any nerves associated with her dropping in on me again.

Pulling open the large wooden door, my eyes landed on Mike, and he looked like he was in need of friend right about then.

No words were exchanged as I gestured him inside and toward the den, raising my finger to indicate I would be right back.

As soon as I checked on Holden, I joined my friend.

Trying to keep things light until he chose otherwise, I started in on his favorite subject. “How’s Sierra doing? Find the unlucky son of a bitch who’s responsible?” I teased, knowing full well he was still searching for the man who knocked up his baby sister.

“Fuck you,” he grumbled. “Pour me a drink.” The slight tilt of his lips told me he wasn’t as angry as he liked to portray.

Handing him a glass of the best scotch around, I took a seat opposite him. “So,” I started, “what’s going on with you?” Eyeing him up, I noticed he looked a little worse for wear. His hair was as unruly as usual, but there were dark circles under his eyes, his face drawn as if he hadn’t slept in days. “You look like shit. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“Is it the whole thing with Sierra?”

“I wish that’s all it was, but no,” he huffed. “It’s a woman who’s got my head all twisted up. Can you believe that shit, man?”

“Actually…no. The great Mike Hawkings is all messed up over a woman? Someone call Ripley’s,” I joked.

“You’re an ass, Warner. Besides, that show isn’t on anymore.” He cocked a well-groomed brow. “Is it?”

“Hell if I know.” It was nice to be the one on the other end of the spectrum. My life had finally fallen back into place, which in turn allowed me to focus solely on Mike and his issues. At least for the evening. “Wanna talk about it? About this mystery woman?”

“I don’t even know where to begin, man. I’ve never met anyone like her before, and the small fact my charms don’t work on her just makes me want her even more.” He tried his best to give me a smile but he was only half successful, the side of his mouth curving up before falling flat.

“Well, it seems like she comes across as a challenge, and that could be the only reason you’re intrigued. Although I do have to say, I wasn’t sure if there was a woman in existence who could resist the great Mike Hawkings,” I goaded.

“Right?” he asked, completely thinking I was being serious. “Me, neither.” I contemplated throwing something at that thick head of his, but he finally grinned, giving way to the fact he was pulling my leg. “No, seriously. It’s more than that. The first time I laid eyes on her, I knew she wasn’t like every other woman I’ve met. I don’t know how to explain it,” he insisted, “but she’s…she’s just…different.”

Frustrated with his lack of articulation, he threw his hands up and blew out a puff of air. “Fuck it. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” Reclining in his seat, he rested his head on the back of the chair. Moments passed in silence, but it was all good. Sometimes, buddies needed to just be, to sit with each other without feeling the need to fill the empty quiet.

A little while later, my mouth opened to ask him about the garage but he beat me to it, speaking up before I had the chance to inquire about his livelihood. “I’m surprised you let the little woman out of your sight for a few hours.” Yeah, he was definitely more comfortable talking about my love life than his own; that much was obvious. But I didn’t mind. Any excuse to talk about her was most welcome. “Where did you say she went again? Out with Jasmine?” Suddenly springing forward, he smiled wide and said, “Have you fucking seen Jasmine lately? Holy shit, brother. She is one fine piece of ass,” he declared, wiggling his eyebrows and laughing.

“Don’t you have enough issues with women? Besides, she’s married. And has two kids. So get her out of that sick head of yours.” Shaking my head, I realized he was never going to change. Hopefully, whatever woman was weighing heavy on his mind would be exactly what the doctor ordered. He needed to settle his ass down and do it soon.

“Yeah, you’re right. I have enough issues. I don’t need to be adding any more to my plate.” He agreed with me. Holy shit! I think Hell just froze over. “So, where did they go?” Okay, we’re back to that then.

“They went to some bar called The Underground. Ever heard of it?” Mike was in mid-swallow when he spit out his drink.

Wiping the remnants of scotch off the front of his pants, he answered precariously. And it wasn’t anything I ever wanted to hear. “The Underground? Is that what you said?” I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard of that place, although I’ve never been there. I’m not that dumb.”

My pulse quickened as I honed in on what he was saying. “What the hell does that mean?” I sat up straighter. “What kind of bar is it?” The anticipation was killing me, and if he didn’t answer me in the next two seconds, I was going to hurdle over the coffee table and strangle him.

“The Knights Corruption MC owns that bar. You already met the prez. Marek.” Shaking his head, he continued to stare at me incredulously. “They went to a notoriously dangerous biker bar.”

****

I’d placed a call to Kalista’s mom, making sure she was home so I could drop off Holden. Once he was safe, I told her I’d explain everything later. I took off before she could argue with me.

I’d never driven so fast before in my entire life. Mike came with me, knowing damn well he was going to need to be my back-up in case anything went down inside the bar. Knowing what I did about the club, they didn’t take lightly to intruders in their space, Kalista and Jasmine surely sticking out like sore thumbs in The Underground. My only hope was that Marek was there. We weren’t friends or anything of the sort, but I hoped he had enough respect for me to allow me to gather the women and walk away without incident.

Another reason I had brought Mike with me. Since he’d done the guy a favor as well, it would go a long way to smoothing things over…if they escalated beyond the norm.

I tried over and over to call Kalista, but there was no answer. Either she couldn’t hear her phone or she couldn’t get to it. I was praying for the former.

“What the hell were they thinking going to that place?” I kept repeating, more rhetorical than anything. Mike simply shrugged, mass confusion twisting his face, masking his obvious annoyance with the two of them, as well. Mainly because he witnessed the anger and concern from me. A good friend will always mirror their buddy’s worry, as if it was theirs to own.

“Everything will be fine, Eli. We just have to hope they left once they discovered who owned the bar.” He was drumming his fingers on the tops of his knees, trying his best to conceal his uneasiness.

“But that’s just the problem, man. I don’t believe either one of them know exactly who the Knights are, or what they’re capable of. Especially not Kalista, since she’s been gone for so long. Fuck!” I yelled, striking the steering wheel twice before gaining some semblance of control. “That woman walks through life with blinders on. There is no way in hell she knows who these guys are.”

Kalista’s naivety was somewhat endearing, in most cases. But it was her obliviousness which would most likely cause quite the issue tonight.

Stepping on the brake so I didn’t plow right through the bar, I swerved into an empty parking space. The place was packed and in full swing when we arrived. Mike and I counted eighteen bikes all lined up out front.

Son of a bitch!

Placing a hand on my shoulder, my dear friend did his best to calm me before I walked into the bar, proverbial guns blazing. Shrugging off his hold, I bottled in the anger and nervousness until it mixed into something I could later use when faced with danger.

I hope to hell I’m blowing this way out of proportion.

Even as the thought careened through my head, I knew I wasn’t.

Exhaling a deep, pent-up breath, my fingers circled the door handle, pulling it toward us and allowing us to see our first glimpse inside The Underground.

Stepping over the threshold, my eyes instantly darted all over the darkened space, looking for the one woman who made my heart beat faster, in both anticipation and anger. Yes, I was angry with her, but more so with myself for not finding out more about the place when she’d first told me they were going there. Pushing all self-deprecating thoughts to the side, I focused on my one true agenda.

To locate and remove both women without incident.

I felt like we were on some kind of stealth mission, our targets located somewhere within the vicinity of the bar. Laughter mixed with shouting immediately put us on high
alert. M
ike moved past me and walked a step ahead into the rough crowd of people. He had never been afraid of anything, oftentimes rushing into situations without a second thought. At least that time, we had some sort of plan. We agreed not to pull any unnecessary attention to ourselves, but that went to shit as soon as we walked into the bar.

Both of us screamed outsiders, all eyes slowly turning to take us in as we waded through the throng of people flanking us on all sides. The shouting became clearer the farther in we walked, and it took us all of about three seconds to find out why.

“Why don’t you leave her alone? Big tough guy doesn’t like to be told no?” I heard a woman ask, setting my heart on full blast the more I recognized who it belonged to.

Jasmine.

Which meant Kalista was nearby.

“Goddamn it!” I cursed under my breath. I knew they were still there, even though I prayed like hell they weren’t. We were a few feet away from the bar when I saw her, shrugging away from some asshole. She was practically in Jasmine’s lap, trying to get away from the fucker’s hands pawing at her.

Without another thought, I sprinted through the remaining people blocking my way, grabbed hold of the guy touching my woman, and slammed him against the corner of the bar.

The entire scene reminded me of a bad movie, the one where the music skids to a stop and everyone stares at the person causing the disruption. In those scenes, either boisterous laughter would erupt or a deadly bar fight would break out.

I doubted I was going to hear anyone laughing, so I braced myself for fists to start flying.

“Don’t you ever touch her again, do you hear me?” I roared, spit flying from my lips and hitting him in the face. I’d lost all sense of decorum and manners when I’d seen him touching her. But more than that, it was the look in her eyes I’d witnessed. She was scared and unsure of how to escape unharmed.

How long had she been subjected to the likes of those men?

A second was too damn long in my book.

Someone gripped me from behind, and at first I thought it was Mike. However, I quickly realized it wasn’t my friend when a sinister voice sounded in my ear. “If you want to walk out of here alive, you better unhand my man.” Before I could think of telling the intruder to fuck off, I heard a sound which slammed my heart to a stop inside my chest.

The click of a gun being cocked.

Right next to my ear.

Mike was on my other side, yanking on my fists holding the bastard to the bar. I vaguely heard Kalista gasping for air, trying her best not to succumb to her fear, seeing me smack-dab in the middle of a very dangerous situation.

But I didn’t care. For as much as I tried to rationalize how the night would play out, convincing myself to keep a cool head no matter what I saw, all my rationale flew out the goddamn window as soon as I saw her in distress. I’d gone on autopilot, simply reacting and no longer thinking.

The man I was holding was almost my height and build, but for some reason, he wasn’t fighting back against me. At first I thought it odd he was remaining still, but then I’d discovered he was a little more than intoxicated, his reflexes gravely inhibited as his body tried to catch up to what was happening.

But it was enough of an advantage, and I welcomed it with open arms.

“Do you want your precious little lady to wear your brains all over her? I won’t ask again,” the man behind me growled, pushing the muzzle of the gun into my temple. Hard.

As if coming out of some sort of trance, I unclenched my fists from the guy’s jacket, shoving him back just as he started to stumble toward me. Lowering his gun, the mystery man turned his attention to the asshole I’d just accosted.

“Maybe you should stick to the whores you already know, Breck.” Moving closer so he was standing in front of me, but not blocking my view of the guy, he said, “Otherwise, you could have ended up fuckin’ your sister.”

Wait…

What?

KALISTA

E
verything happened in slow motion. All of the people surrounding me seemed to stop breathing, the delayed motion of their eyelids fluttering closed a thing witnessed only in a warped dream. Voices carried through the air around me, the muffled sounds so incoherent I couldn’t focus on a single word.