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“That’s a little parting gift, so you know not to come back. And if you need any more…motivation, I’m happy to give your wife a call. Or maybe you don’t want me talking to Catherine? Should I call your mistress, Lori, instead?” Crawling backward in the gravel, the man just shook his head.

“I didn’t know…Kyle…Mr. Spencer…He didn’t give me all the information. I’m leaving now. Please don’t…Just don’t do anything else.” The man was nearly blubbering now.

“Make sure Kyle gets the message.” Charlie spit the name out like it was poison.

“You fuck with Lilah, you fuck with the entire Reaper’s Guard.” Charlie stood over the sniveling man, looking down at him with disgust. In a swift move, she kicked him in the gut, and he curled up into himself with a loud oomph.

“C’mon, Lilah. We’ll go back inside so you can finish your shift. Bull, get rid of him.” Charlie paused, looking down at the PI with disgust. “You’re fucking pathetic. Letting spoiled boys pay you to harass innocent women. Disgusting.” Gerald had the decency to look ashamed.

Charlie steered me back toward the bar, I couldn’t speak, my brain having difficulty processing everything that had just happened. How my worlds crossed like that, how my past was trying to ruin the future I was building.

“How. Dare. He,” I finally got out, stopping before we got to the door, turning on my heel to where Bull was practically shoving the man into his car.

“You tell that motherfucker I want NOTHING to do with him. He can send whoever he wants, but it wont work. He tries this shit again, then I’ll go to the media. I’ll ruin any chance he has. No one will work with him. Even the soulless demons I’m unlucky enough to call Mom and Dad. The stigma alone will ruin him. I may not be able to get back at him physically for what he’s done to me. But I can make sure his reputation, his persona, will sink just as low as he has.”

All I needed was a reason that wasn’t just for myself. If Kyle came after the club, after Eliot or Beth, then I’d attack guns blazing.

“I broke up with him because I didn’t want to ruin MY life. Let me be clear, though. I have zero problem ruining his. Get the fuck out of town.” It was my life, my town, and they weren’t going to take anything more from me.

Chapter 25

Scythe

My arms ached, muscles sore as sweat covered my body, but I didn’t let any of that show. Blood dripped onto the floor, fat drops from superficial wounds. I was just getting started. I didn’t need him bleeding out before we got what we came for.

“You ready to talk yet? We don’t have anywhere to be. All the time in the world to continue this conversation.” Atlas spoke calmly, looking relaxed in the metal chair he was seated in. His voice echoed across the abandoned warehouse we were using to conduct the meeting. The man’s grunts and cries were useless in the concrete wasteland. It wasn’t like there was anyone around to hear him.

We picked the dirtbag up after we caught him sniffing around one of the safe houses and hauled him somewhere private to question him. Chained to the ceiling, he was shirtless, his arms cuffed above his head. The position in itself was uncomfortable; his chest was restrained, restricting his breathing, while his arms were bound tightly. The blood loss from my earlier rounds of questioning wasn’t helping.

“Just looking for my girl. Don’t know shit about biker gangs,” he declared, despite the several prison tattoos littering his body that said different. Most notable was the tattoo that was clearly a coverup, the familiar logo of Iron Dragons MC still visible between the shotty lines of the newer tattoo.

Our clubs had crossed paths over the years, but never in a way that caused concern. We respected their territories, and they did the same. The attempt to hide their insignia meant he either left or was kicked out. Keys was already digging through everything about our guest, whose name turned out to be Ned Hicks.

“I already told you everything I know. A guy hired me to find his wife. Yeah. I used to be in a club, but I’m nomad now. Need to make money somehow.” His story was constantly shifting, but at least we were closer to the truth. The mysterious benefactor was Crow. How close this Ned got to him was the real question.

“Whats the wife’s name?” Atlas asked. And the idiot’s eyes widened as he scrambled to make up an answer.

Another hour passed, and I had abandoned my knives for pliers. After playing dentist and manicurist, we learned a bit more. With confirmation that he was working with Crow and was given detailed information regarding Seph’s Trail, I was let off the leash.

Moving Ned to a chair with his arms cuffed behind him, I got to try out some new tactics. The plastic bag wrapped around his face was held in place, my eyes on the clock, counting the seconds so I could remove it at the last second, timing it so he didn’t pass out.

As I pulled the bag off, he gulped air in, his face a mix of blood snot and tears. His breathing was harsh, each inhale desperate. He was sobbing, his words unintelligible. Atlas had stepped out to take a piss, so it was just Ned and me.

“Please! Stop! I’ll talk.” He pleaded between coughs, but I was distracted by the vibration of my phone.

“Make sure you remember everything. Let’s give you a few more minutes to think it over.” Pulling the bag back over his face. I stepped away to answer the phone. His cries were muffled by the plastic, but he still managed to make a fuck ton of noise.

“Angel. You alright?” I asked. I wasn’t gonna miss a call from my girl, especially when I had a minute to spare.

“Yes! I don’t want to bother you. I just wanted to let you know I’m home, and Dare is outside.” Her sweet voice filled me with warmth. Then a loud grunt and crash had me turning. Ned was really fighting this time, his body almost throwing him off the chair.

“Is everything okay?” she asked. The concern in her voice warmed me.

“Just Atlas being a loud asshole. Gotta go help him.” A puddle formed under Ned as he fought hard for air. Walking toward him, I regretted having to end the call so soon, but the sooner this was done, the better.

“Sweet dreams, baby,” I told her.

“Night, honey.” The call disconnected, Lilah’s soft voice lighting a fire under my ass. I ripped the bag off Ned.