Bossed Up (Iron Vex MC Book 2) Page 7

  “I’m going down to the Cuban place a couple blocks away. Is anyone in the mood for anything?” Tala questions the club.

  “Mind grabbin’ me that sandwich you always get?” Ricochet questions her.

  She nods, “Sure. Anyone else?”

  No one makes a sound.

  “Okay, I’m gonna head on over.” She says, heading for the door.

  “Want any company?” I don’t like the idea of having her walk the streets alone, but then again, she’s a staple of this community. Everyone around here knows her, and they’re either terrified to cross her, or they’re thankful for whenever she’s lent a hand to them.

  She smirks and shakes her head, “No, I’m a big girl. I can do this by myself.” And just like that she’s gone.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The most dangerous woman of all is the one who refuses to rely on your sword to save her, because she carries her own.

  ~ R. H. Sin

  Boss

  I’ve been craving Cuban food so bad lately. At Destiny’s birthday party we went all out, and I might’ve been the one eating most of the cake. Needless to say, I’ve been on really good behavior with what I’m eating since then, so now it’s time to treat myself. The Cuban joint caters a lot of the massive parties we throw, considering none of us are big fans of cooking. Well, unless you count Faith and Iris, but those two ladies are from the south and most days I’d say they don’t count. Everyone from the south knows how to cook, right? It’s like a rite of passage or something.

  I turn the corner and slowly start approaching the doorway when I notice it’s open. I swear it’s a bit past twelve, which means it wouldn’t be open right now. They close for lunch from noon to twelve-thirty every day.

  Figuring they might be having extended hours or something, I grab onto the metal handle and pull it toward me. “Mateo? Luis?” I call the two sons’ names out, but silence is the only thing that welcomes me.

  Still, even though I feel a rock in the pit of my stomach, I continue. For some reason I feel the need to look on the ground first, so I do, staring at the yellow linoleum floor. It’s worn as usual, nothing appearing any different. I avert my gaze around the corner of the counter and see something on the floor. I place my hand over my gun, looking around and trying my best to be as quiet as possible. Darting my eyes back and forth I don’t see a thing. Not one thing is here.

  My heart pumps a mile a minute in my chest as I round the corner, and as I do, what’s before my eyes makes my blood run cold. Out of instinct I drop to my knees and grab his head, but already know he’s gone. There’s no sign of life in his eyes, and the blood is dried around his mouth and neck. He’s been like this for hours at least.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” a man’s deep voice says from behind me, just as a shadow casts over my body.

  “Did you do this because you were waiting for me?” I question, turning to look at the man who was trying to gather my attention.

  Blood covers his hands and he’s tossing a butcher’s knife back and forth between both of his hands. “You usually come here at two on Thursdays, not noon. I thought I had more time to get things ready, Boss. Tsk. I guess I’ll simply have to deal with your early arrival.”

  It’s true, every Thursday I do usually come here to grab a bite to eat . . . but if he knows this, he’s been watching me for some time.

  “What do you want?” I question, slowly moving my hand to my gun, but he notices my slight movement. He kneels down on the ground and presses the blade to my throat, a smirk that only begs for me to do something. He’s itching for more blood and it’s obvious. I know his type. Unapologetically sinister.

  It’s now when I see the worn-out patches on his cut. They’re faded, obviously have been through hell, or this guy doesn’t take care of shit.

  “I want your club to become allies with mine,” he speaks oh so seriously.

  I glance down at the blade on my throat, “This isn’t how you speak with people you want to have your back. Or are you trying to scare me into being your ally . . . I don’t even know your name.”

  “Spark, you see, I’m the Prez of the Dragons Fire MC, Boss. I can be your worst nightmare, or your best friend. The choice is up to you.”

  “We’re already starting off on the wrong foot, Sparky.” I grumble, calling him by the wrong name on purpose.

  He cackles, “I’ve missed feisty women like you.” Spark presses the blade further against my neck, causing it to burn. “I get the feeling you don’t want to be an ally.”

  “No, not really. You’re only pissing me off.” Even with a knife to my throat I’m not going to act like a coward. I wasn’t raised to fold into whatever my enemy wanted. I was taught to hold my ground and fight for it, to the death if necessary.

  “Would you change your mind if I told you what I know?” He cranes his neck to the side, staring into my eyes. This fucker is twisted, and it’s a damn fact.

  “No.”

  He snickers, tears the knife away from my throat and wraps his hand around my neck. Tightening his grip, he brings his face close to mine, sticks his tongue out and drags it against my cheek. “I plan on doing so much to you, but I can’t wait to see your eyes when I do it.” With one hand on my neck, he uses his other to try and yank down my jeans. I kick at him with all my might. No. I’m not going to let this fucking happen.

  I manage to get a kick at his face, and he lets go of me for a second. Enough to give me a five second head start, so I get up on my feet and run away, but it doesn’t last. Something hard slams against the back of my head and I fly forward.

  Thankfully, I put my arm in front of my forehead, so I somewhat catch myself. My feet are being dragged and I try to move my legs, but my body doesn’t move. Dizziness swarms my vision before the pain comes cruising in.

  A heavy pressure comes up over my back as the sound of denim ripping can be heard. At the same time fear washes over me. Fear because I know what’s coming, and no matter how hard I try to fight this, I can’t move. I don’t know what he hit me with, but the impact has made me so weak and disoriented besides all the pain.

  In one movement he’s slid himself inside me. It’s hard and fast just as I thought it would be, he only cares about his power complex, about overpowering a strong woman, about taking something from me.

  I close my eyes and try to ignore what he’s doing to my body, but the way he digs his nails into my side makes it impossible. Spark brings his lips to my ear as he rams his cock inside me, “He came here to try and take her from you, and I know it. If you don’t pledge your allegiance to me right now, I’m going to take your daughter and I’m going to wait until she turns eighteen. Then I’ll make her my personal breeder. Her sole purpose will be giving me children, taking my cock whenever I want to give it to her. That is, unless you vow, you’re an ally.”

  I don’t say a word. Not a damn thing, but Spark grabs my neck and flips me over so I’m on my back. He pounds his cock into me harder, smirking as he watches my face. “Did Stoney fuck you like this too?” He asks with a laugh, “I guess it doesn’t matter. You’re damaged goods after all. The point is, you pledge allegiance to me or I’ll make your life a living hell. I’ll do what Stoney failed to, and I’ll take your precious daughter. Mark my words, Boss. I’ll take her, and I’ll enjoy it. I’ll do what your father did to Kathryn but I’ll ensure she’ll never get out.”

  I don’t respond, refusing to give this man what he wants.

  He picks up something from the floor beside me and slams it against my head. He does it over and over again, then slams it down on my shoulders, my knees, my neck. He hits me everywhere you can possibly think of hitting someone.

  “Tell me you’re going to be my ally!” He roars, still pumping his cock inside me.

  I won’t give him this satisfaction.

  I refuse to give him the satisfaction.

  I’ll die before I give any man like this what he wants, and if I get out of this, I’m going to make sure h
e dies in the most gruesome of ways.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I’m going to love you in your weakest moments and your strongest ones

  ~ Unknown

  Cowboy

  “She’s been gone for an hour . . . is that normal?” I question Ricochet. Tala is usually back by now, but for all I know she could’ve gotten caught up in a conversation.

  He shrugs his shoulders, scrolling through his phone. “She’s probably fine, brother. I bet Luis and Mateo are telling her how their mother is doing. She went back to Cuba to see their sister’s babies. Apparently, the chick just had her sixth kid. Can you believe that?”

  “Damn, that’s intense.” I mutter, still not feelin’ good. An eerie feeling has been slowly eating at me for the last few minutes. So, I stand up from where I sit in the barroom and head out to the garage. Maybe Devi’s seen her. At least it’s what I’m hoping.

  “Devi, you seen Boss? She’s been gone for a bit.”

  She narrows her eyes in on me, “No. She went up the street, right?”

  “Yep, the Cuban joint on the corner.”

  Devi furrows her brows together and I know she’s thinking the same thing I am. “Wanna go check it out? Boss isn’t the kind to mull around.”

  “I know she isn’t, and yeah, let’s go.” I tell her.

  “I’ll come with,” Venom speaks up.

  “Cool.” I reply back to her, walking alongside Venom and Devi as we go to the Cuban restaurant. I know Tala has made this trip hundreds of times without anyone going with her, but still this doesn’t feel right. She would’ve texted someone if she was gonna be a while. It’s not like her to go radio silent. Hell, even if she ran into someone, she would’ve told us.

  “That’s weird. The sign says closed,” Devi speaks up as we turn the corner.

  “What time is it?” Venom questions Devi.

  “Twenty past one,” Devi responds, and both of the girls share a concerned gaze.

  I walk ahead of them both and go in front of the doorway, instantly seeing blood. “Blood,” I comment, placing a hand on my gun, I move forward slowly, surveying every inch of this place.

  “Jesus, that’s a fucking lot of blood.” Venom comments as she comes through the door with Devi.

  “Be alert, ladies. There’s no telling who’s in here with us.” I say, moving to the right, I make my way around the corner of the counter and see a man’s body. “Body,” I tell them while I move past it. I’m sure one of them is going to kneel down and check for any sign of life, but there’s no use. He’s gone.

  I continue on, heading a few more feet and spot another body on the ground. But this time, my eyes settle on a familiar emblem. “Fuck,” I lose all sense of control, drop to the ground and pray to whatever god there is that she’s okay.

  “Tala, Tala,” I repeat her name over and over again while I turn her over. I even shake her, looking for a sign of life, and she flutters her eyelids. Her normally picture-perfect skin looking like an abstract painting. Dried blood below her nose and lip. Bruises already turning purple, blue, and black on her face.

  “Oh my god,” Devi makes her shock obvious.

  “Is she dead?!” Venom asks, her tone full of concern and worry.

  “No, no. She . . . she’s alive. Barely. We need to get her back to the club. Now. Call Ricochet. Get one of the cars out here. I don’t wanna carry her out on the street like this.” I’m dishing out orders and Devi’s already on her phone doing as I tell her.

  “Cowboy,” Tala whispers my name.

  I look back down to her torn apart face and she presses her lips together, almost like a tremble as if she’s about to break down crying. “Sssh, baby. Relax. That’s all you need to worry about.”

  She tries to move her head to the left and the right, to tell me no I assume, but she grimaces in pain. “Stoney . . . we need to call S-stoney.”

  “No, we need to focus on getting you back to the club.” I tell her, brushing my hand against her hair. I do my best to soothe her. She doesn’t need to worry about anything right now. Not a damn thing.

  I didn’t miss the way her jeans were cut . . . so I know what happened to her.

  “Dragons F-fire, Spark . . . threaten . . . Destiny.” She rasps out, her eyes pleading with me. She wants me to get this message to Stoney as soon as possible and there’s no doubt about it.

  The front door comes open and Venom clears her throat, “Relax, it’s Ricochet.”

  “Call Emerson, I need you to get a message to Stoney right now.” I tell him before he’s even turned the corner. He pulls his phone out and presses it to his ear. “Em’, I need you to call Stoney for me. You need to tell him,” Ricochet pauses and waits for me.

  “A guy named Spark threatened Destiny. Boss’ beaten up really bad. We just found her. That’s all I have for now.” I say, and Ricochet nods, repeating pretty much everything I just said.

  Glancing back down to Tala, tears are streaming down her face. She’s fucking terrified, but she’s trying so damn hard to be strong through this. I pull her closer to my chest and press a kiss to her forehead, “Don’t you worry about a thing, baby. I got you. Everything is going to be okay.”

  Epilogue

  As long as you feel pain, you’re still alive.

  ~ Unknown

  Boss

  Three Days Later . . .

  “What are you doing here?” Cowboy questions someone at our apartment door, but I have no idea who he’s talking to. Everyone at the club has been giving me space, some time to rest after my attack.

  “I came ‘cause I damn well needed to, now get outta my fuckin’ way. How is she?” Stoney practically pushes past Cowboy to get to me, but I see he isn’t alone.

  There’s a woman with him, and oddly enough . . . she looks an awful lot like me. My skin tone is a bit more tan, but we both have dark hair and dark eyes. She keeps her eyes trained on me while Stoney rushes over to me, taking a seat beside me on the couch he grabs my hand, which is weird as fuck. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m alive, Stoney. I’m fine.” I tell him.

  “Yeah, well you look like fuckin’ shit.”

  I cock a brow, “Well, aren’t you a real peach.”

  “Fuck. I’m sorry. I . . . I just couldn’t stay down in Virginia knowin’ how bad you were messed up. It didn’t feel right to be down there, to just sit down and not do a damn thing. And I figured you could give me the details, about what happened.”

  “Have you found him yet?” I ask, hoping he has. I need this monster off the streets, away from our daughter.

  “Hi, I’m Rachel.” The woman interrupts our conversation, causing Stoney to tear his hand away from mine.

  “Boss,” I introduce myself, but then again, she probably knows who I am.

  She smiles lightly, but anyone can tell this girl feels awkward as fuck. “This is my fiancé, Cowboy.”

  “Fuck, I thought that was a rumor.” Stoney cackles in amusement.

  “Is it really so hard to believe someone can stand being with me?” I cock a brow, getting an amused chuckle from him. Though, I don’t miss the way Rachel keeps her eyes focused on our interaction.

  “Rachel’s my woman,” Stoney says with the biggest smile.

  “And it’s obvious you have a type,” I let out a laugh, and see Rachel release one as well, but as I laugh a rearing pain shoots through my side.

  “Shit, baby. You okay?” Cowboy comes over to my side, taking the other seat that’s open on my alternate side.

  “Mhm, just hurts to laugh too hard,” I murmur, trying my best not to let everyone see me this messed up. There isn’t any hiding the bruises, but damn, if I can hide how weak I am I will. I look over to Stoney, “You said you wanted to know what happened?”

  He nods, “Yeah. I wasn’t given very many details.”

  “I’ll give you the CliffsNotes if that’s cool?”

  He gives me a curt nod, “Yep, that would be better.”

  “Went there to grab lunch f
or Ricochet and I. The door was open, so I walked in. Knew something wasn’t right so I rounded the corner and saw one of the guys there dead. Knelt down, tried to see if he was alive but he wasn’t. Your boy, Spark, came at me from behind. God,” I roll my eyes, “He’s a cocky fucker. Thought by threatening me I’d give him what he wanted.”

  Stoney narrows his eyes, “What happened next, Tala?”

  I vividly remember the way everything went down, but I’m not giving him every gritty detail. He doesn’t need to know what was done to me. “He pressed a blade to my neck and said if I didn’t vow to be an ally to his club, he’d do what my father did to Kathryn, to our daughter.”

  “Slimy piece of shit!” Stoney slams his fist down on my coffee table.

  “It was only a bunch of threats before the beating started to happen, but I didn’t align myself with him or his club. I’d never do something like that.”

  I feel Cowboy’s gaze on me, but I’m not going to say a damn thing. Stoney doesn’t need to know his arch nemesis raped me. “That’s it?” Stoney questions, almost like he’s assuming something else happened.

  “That’s it.” I lie through my teeth. Enough people are pitying me right now for being beaten as severely as I was. I don’t need pity for another reason.

  “I’m gonna get his ass, and when I do, he’ll suffer more than he’s ever made anyone else.” Stoney promises me.

  “Correction. We’ll. Whenever you have him, do me a favor and don’t fuckin’ touch his ass until I’m there. I have my own bone to pick with him.” Cowboy hisses in a dark tone I’ve never heard from him.

  “Agreed . . . but, Tala, I had an idea. An idea that if . . . if Spark was to ever come by and dig into shit legally, it would be a way to protect her. You open to hearing it?”

  Furrowing my brows together, I nod. “What do you have in mind?”