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Kid
War set the laptop in front of him and they all moved in close. The scene was an office with crappy furniture and they watched as the woman called Evvie quickly dusted the desk then placed a couple of framed photos on it. She stepped back and looked over the room, nodded to herself and was about to walk out when Face walked in. They slapped palms and Evvie walked out and closed the door behind her.
Face sat behind the desk and moved the photos a couple of millimetres it seemed, then she opened a drawer and pulled out an ancient laptop and turned it on but that’s it. She just had it sitting there as if it was a prop like a scene in a movie.
And that’s when he realised it was exactly that. A scene they had set up to throw Murchison off the scent or to confuse him. He had to know they had a world class hacker on the team. Why would he fall for this shit smokescreen they’ve put up?
The door opened and Bruno ushered Murchison and the other man inside before closing the door after a furious look at Face when she waved him out.
Not a word was said in the conference room when they recognised the fucker with Murchison but every single one of them froze when recognition hit them.
“Noelle, how is my granddaughter today? I’d love to see her and her mother once we’re done here. Maybe my grandson can come home with me for a visit when I leave. I hope you have the answer I want, if not...” Murchison threatened as he dusted the chair with a grimace before he sat down and settled himself as if he was on his home turf.
“Nope, you won’t be seeing them. And I actually don’t have an answer.” She said as she lazily leant back in her chair as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“That’s a real pity, Noelle, a real pity. But, before we continue with our business I’d like to introduce you to your future husband, Alexander Kolinic. Alex, dear boy, this is my youngest daughter Noelle.” Murchison watched her like a hawk and grinned when her lips thinned in anger.
“You tried this bullshit when I was seventeen and I told you then and I’ll tell you again. No, I will not marry one of your little lap dogs.” Face Murchison’s eyes were cold and dead as her gaze moved to the fucker preening in the chair next to Murchison.
Murchison didn’t answer her, Alexander did and he was pissed off.
“The one who is the dog here is you, bitch. You look like a man with all those muscles and I’m going to have to put a bag over that fucked up face before I’ll be able to fuck you. But I’ll do my duty to the family as instructed. We will marry and give them the child or children required. By the look of you it seems you have a problem with authority. A pity, you were beautiful before you decided to disobey orders and had to be disciplined.” He gave a sick smile as he looked her over. “I think I’m going to enjoy seeing to your discipline, and by the look in your eyes it will be often. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Alexander. That’s your name, right?” She didn’t let him answer as she continued. “Let’s be clear. I’m not marrying you. And taking your dick?” She shook her head. “Nope, not interested in having your micro dick anywhere near my pussy, or submitting to your fucked up idea of discipline. And anyway, didn’t Murchison tell you? I’m sterile, can’t have kiddies. I have no idea why he and his granny-fuck are lying to you and your family but as I believe in honesty, there you have it. Sterile. No kid. Ever.”
She turned away from him as if he was no longer in the room or fuming with rage at her put down.
“Now, let’s get down to business. You are blackmailing me into doing a job to save your granddaughter’s life, a granddaughter you poisoned to get my compliance. I have a few conditions of my own, daddy dear.”
Murchison threw his head back and laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. “Oh, Noelle, Noelle, Noelle, your training definitely succeeded. So headstrong. And to think I was disappointed because you were a girl. I wanted a son and your mother gave me you.”
He turned to look at the asshole in the chair next to him. “Sorry, Alex, I should have warned you that she’s a bit of a handful. And that sterile nonsense? Just something I had the doctor tell her to keep her from getting pregnant just to spite me. She hasn’t had many lovers and has tested clean since coming out of prison. But once the job has been completed you can have her examined and tested to prove her viability as a breeder to your family.”
Face didn’t say anything or show any emotion. She just watched them silently. She was like a predator waiting for an opening before she struck.
The atmosphere in the conference room was heavy with rage and disbelief. The horrors she had suffered as a child and a teenager under Murchison’s hands had hardened her and made her into the predator that she was, but despite all of it she had retained her conscience. And it had already cost her dearly.
Murchison turned back and all humour vanished from his face. He was as emotionless as she was. Kid looked between the two of them to find any features they might have in common but there were none. Murchison was average height with very pale freckled skin, ginger hair and ice blue eyes in absolute contrast to the woman sitting across from him who had a creamy skin, dark hair and pale green eyes.
His attention was ripped back to the asshole when he spoke.
“I’ll not entertain any conditions from you. You will do this job or Tersha dies, in agony. I’ll give you three weeks to get me the file. Do you understand?”
“Perfectly.”
If he could have Kid would have ripped Murchison’s head off his body and kicked it all the way into Table Bay. Around him tension rode the rest of the men as they realised how fucked this situation actually was.
“Good. Get to Johannesburg and use that body to fuck one of Hawk’s inner circle to get you inside the compound. I heard they’re not too picky about the women they use around the club.” He grinned as if he had just said something extremely funny.
Again Face didn’t say anything, she just stared at him and this time he was the first to look away and Alexander Kolinic, who was a fucking dead man, picked up where he had left off.
“I will require a pregnancy test when she gets back. I’m not raising some filthy biker’s bastard as my own.” He growled.
“Agreed. And if she’s pregnant we’ll get rid of it for you.” Murchison said as got up then pulled the sides of his jacket closed and buttoned it slowly. While doing so he turned towards Face as if he had forgotten something.
She sat unmoving, no expression on her face at all.
“Oh, by the way, that whore you call Pet has been hanging out with War Knight’s little girl. I’ve made sure there are photos on facebook of the two of them drinking and partying together. She was there when the dumb little bitch met Alex. He’s now “dating” her, but not for long.” As he said dating he made those ridiculous air quote things. “Where do you think Knight will come looking when she disappears? I suggest you hurry, get to Johannesburg, do the job and get back here before I make her disappear.” He gave an evil little laugh. “Who knows, I might even join Alex and teach the little bitch some tricks before we ship her out. And you do remember that I know a lot of lovely little tricks, don’t you?”
Kid grabbed Rock and slapped a hand over his mouth as he jerked forward. Wheels grabbed his president and did the same. Both men struggled to get free but more of them grabbed hold and kept them silent and immobile. They didn’t struggle long; they both knew they had to be calm until the bastards were gone.
It was very clear what they were up against and they would be able to move on what they had learned before Murchison and that sick fuck Kolinic walked out of the front gate.
They stood silently waiting as they watched the two men leave the office and disappear. The minute the door closed behind them Face hissed in a cold emotionless voice. “Pet, in my office, right the fuck now.” Then she stood and walked out, slamming the door shut behind her.
On the laptop the view changed from the office to the outside of the building where the two men were being escorted to the gates by Bruno and two of his men. They strolled out and got into the waiting Mercedes SUV. Three black SUV’s drove away shortly thereafter. The minutes felt like hours as they waited for Face or one of her people to come back to the conference room.
Eventually she walked in. She was white as a sheet and her pale green eyes looked like pale green ice, her voice was like an ice cold wind straight up from Antarctica. Any and all emotion had been wiped from her face and eyes.
“They’re gone.”
When she looked at War her face didn’t change at all.
“I’m sorry one of mine is involved in the shit surrounding your daughter. Pet didn’t know she was your daughter, she introduced herself as Kelly Cameron. Your daughter refused to listen to the warnings of her friends or my operative about picking up strange men in a club. She left with him and his friends and Pet hasn’t had any contact with her since.” She gave War the information without any inflection in her voice. “You need to get your daughter and your wife behind your gates and keep them there for however long it takes to neutralise the threat to them. I have Star pulling everything she can get on Alexander Kolinic and who he’s connected to. We’ll send what we find to Mouse.”
No one answered her and she continued as if talking to herself.
“We’ll be leaving in the next hour or so. If you need anything reach out to Star, she will be staying behind with Bruno and his guys guarding her and the baby. And Carla will be back on Monday so she won’t be alone for too long.”
Animation came back to her face when she clapped her hands and drew in a deep breath. “Right, let’s get you guys back to your side of the fence. We have a lot of shit to get done before we leave.”
War shook his head and gave her a tight smile. “No, sweetheart, we’re going nowhere and you’re not leaving for Joburg until we have solid plan in place. We’re not going to throw you to the Dogz without at least preparing the poor bastards.”
Spider and the rest of the guys laughed but Kid didn’t. They finally had a chance to get close to Murchison and Winifred Maingarde and he knew his prez wasn’t going to pass up on the opportunity.
“I need to call Hawk before this goes any further. And Face, we’ll be leaving within hours of each other, so settle down and relax until I can get back to you.” As he had expected she didn’t react well to his orders.
“Fuck you, biker man. My girls and I do not take orders from you or your president.” She snarled her top lip curled up to reveal sharp and pointed eye teeth. Something else she didn’t share with Murchison. Good to know.
Kid smiled but it wasn’t a nice smile and strode right up to her, their chests almost touching. He looked down into her coldly furious pale green eyes and dropped his head until it rested against the side of hers. Fuck, she smelt good but he had no time for that. At six foot two he was only about three or four inches taller than her. He usually preferred small women so this was new to him. Strangely he liked that she was tall with toned muscles and able to take care of herself unlike the women he usually gravitated to.
His voice was sharp as a knife and he spoke in a soft whisper. “You will wait until I get back with my president’s orders. This is bigger than just you and your crew. I’m my club’s SAA and it’s my job to keep them all safe, you will listen to me and you will follow my orders. Are we clear?”
To his surprise she started laughing then patted his chest before stepping away. “It’s good you’re so sure of yourself, biker man. I suppose it works with the women you’re used to dealing with but not with me. No man will ever again order me around or control me, those days are long gone.”
Kid snorted out a mirthless laugh and shook his head. “Baby, I hate to be the one to disillusion you but you’re following orders right now and you are under the control of Murchison. And do you really think you’ll get anywhere near the Iron Dogz compound without me and my men? You leave here without talking to me first and you’ll regret it, bitterly. Hawk isn’t someone you want to piss off.”
Those pale green eyes glittered with rage but it was the only part of her that showed any emotion. Her body language was relaxed and her face an impenetrable mask.
Fuck. This woman was unlike any woman he had ever come across in his life. Even the Crow had more animation in her face than the woman in front of him. The only way to read her was to watch her eyes, which he did.
None of her rage showed in her voice. “Murchison might think he’s in control but he’s in for a rude awakening and so is his granny-fuck. It’s coming and it will be soon, very soon.”
War pushed Kid out of the way and moved in close. “What are you talking about? What do you know?”
She just shook her head and shrugged. “I’m not discussing my business with you. What I know and what I’ll reveal are two vastly different things.”
“You are so damned stubborn.” War sighed. “I wish my daughter had a tenth of the strength and common sense you have. We’ve spoilt her and raised her to believe nothing can touch her but that isn’t true. Instead of keeping her in a protective bubble I should have prepared her for the ugly reality that surrounds us every day.”
Face shrugged and stepped away from him. “It’s not too late to start her training. She’s young, she’ll learn.” The look in her eyes said she had no interest in War’s daughter or in her training.
It was then Kid had an idea that was wicked as it was smart.
“Why don’t you hire Face and her crew to train Keeley? They won’t care if she complains or threatens them with you. She’s nothing to them unlike your brothers.”
Face immediately shook her head. “No, not happening. I’m not bringing a stranger into my home and place of business. Especially not one who’s in love with a Syndicate puppy like Alexander Kolinic. She will try to gather information for him. Not happening. We have a vulnerable baby living here. No. Fuck, no.”
War was silent for a long time as he stared first at Kid and then at Face. Finally he spoke and it took everything not to grin when he saw Face’s eyes light up with rage.
“I think that’s a damn good idea. I’ll deliver her to you once you’re back from Joburg. It will be payment for the use of my tunnel without my permission. I’ll leave her training up to you and your crew. You teach her what you think she’ll need to survive in our world. There’s no timeline so you take as long as you need.”
Before Face could answer Cuba stepped forward with a snarl on her face. “Please, Face, say yes and give her to me. I’ll train her, like I did those women in prison. She put Pet in danger and I want to show her how we deal with spoilt little rich girls who piss me off.” Her eyes glittered with rage as she glared at them. “She’ll be a bit battered and scarred when they get her back but she will be trained to behave and follow orders. My fucking orders.”
Face stared into War’s eyes as she spoke. “Fine, but you’re responsible for her, Cuba, and if I find her anywhere near sensitive areas you will pay the price. Are we clear?”
Cuba clapped her hands with glee. “Yes! She’ll be made comfortable below and stay there until she’s ready to leave. I swear it.”
Turning slightly Face gave a small smile and nodded. “My price for failure is your car. Are you still happy to take on the whining little princess’s training?”
The crazy woman had a wide grin on her face and nodded repeatedly.
“Oh yeah, she’s going to be a changed person once I’m finished with her spoilt princess ass.” Cuba’s eyes were filled with evil glee and Kid could see that War and Rock were not entirely comfortable with the way this was going.
But he had met Keeley and he didn’t doubt she was going to try and give the women here hell. They were going to turn her privileged little world upside down. Hopefully she’d learn a valuable lesson while she was in their hands. And he hoped she wouldn’t be too damaged once the mad blonde was done with her so-called training.
“Have you thought this through, Dad?” Rock asked softly. “Mum is going to have your nuts if anything goes wrong with her precious little baby girl. And scars? I don’t like this.”
War just shrugged. “Your mother will understand once I explain.” Then he changed the subject. “We have shit we can’t put off but Kid will be back later after he’s spoken to his president and we’ve discussed the best way forward for all of us. I’m sorry I can’t invite you to the clubhouse right now, but once this weekend, and the shit we’re swimming in, is over we’ll have a sitdown on my side of the fence to discuss how we move on from here.”
Face sighed and slowly shook her head. “The longer we delay leaving, the more time he has to increase the pressure on us. He’s already poisoned my niece and threatened your daughter. The men who guard our gates have families too. I can’t be seen to delay...”
Kid interrupted her before she could finish.
“Text him and tell him you’re leaving on Monday because you need the time to prepare everything you might need for the job. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know you’re following his orders. It gives us time to come up with a solid plan.”
She sighed and nodded. “Okay, but we’ll be leaving on Monday whether you have a plan or not.”
Kid held out his hand to her and she looked at it as if it was a snake. But eventually she took it and he had to suppress a shiver when he felt her callused palm touch his own callused palm. Her grip was firm, her handshake solid, but when she wanted to pull away he held on to her hand. Why? No idea, but it felt right somehow.
“We have a deal.” He said before he slowly let her hand go. He grinned when she wiped her palm over her gorgeous ass as if to wipe away his touch.
Not happening, baby, he thought to himself as he slowly curled his fingers over his palm, holding on to the feel of her rough palm against his.
That palm told him all he needed to know. She worked hard on her strength and maintaining her body. He liked that, a lot. He liked it so much he wanted to see that body laid out naked and tied spread-eagled to his bed right before he slid inside her and took her hard.
Stepping back he frowned and gave his head an internal shake to clear the shit out of it. She was nothing but a means to an end. With Face under their control they had a line to both Murchison and Winifred Harrison and at the end of the day, if it proved necessary, she was expendable. Her entire crew was expendable. His club came first, always would.
It was something he would have to explain to War before he handed his daughter, his half-sister, over to these women. He would advise him to wait before he did that shit.
Not waiting for the others to move he looked at his men and nodded towards the little kitchen where the tunnel was. He left while War and Rock were still talking to the women and made his way through the tunnels and up into the hidden room at the clubhouse. He made sure no one saw them as they exited into the passage and quickly made their way up to his room. Scar didn’t follow them in but went to his room to fetch his pack. Once back he dug out the device to search for bugs and cameras in the room.
Lucky for War he found none.
His brothers stood around him, waiting for his orders. “I’m going to call Hawk and tell him what we’ve just been told. It’s up to him and the other officers to decide what we do next.”
Dizzy looked at him and shook his head slowly from side to side, a sad look in his eyes. “You’re going to fuck her over, aren’t you? Use her to get to that old bitch then leave her to deal with the fallout which will most probably result in the death of every single one of those women. The Syndicate will have a use for the baby, so she won’t die, not immediately anyway. But the rest of them and their families? Dead men walking right now.”
“Dizzy! What the fuck, dude?” Spider snapped. “We don’t do shit like that, you know the club is not like that.”
Again Dizzy shook his head. “Look in his eyes and tell me what I see is wrong. Go on, tell me. He’s going to use Face to get to the Syndicate, and when those fuckers find out that the information she gave them is all bullshit, a smokescreen to get to Murchison and the others? What do you think they’re going to do? Where do you think they’re going to go first? To the women and the innocents connected to them, that’s where.”
Silence settled over the room as their eyes turned on him and he couldn’t tell them that Dizzy was wrong, because he wasn’t. He didn’t think any of them had realised just how observant Dizzy had become since his ordeal. Despite what Dizzy was saying he had to do what was best for the club.
While standing there listening to those two bastards talking to Face a plan had surfaced and he would push hard for his president to go with it. They would hand her a folder that was a mix of truth and lies to hand over to Murchison. When he and the old bag acted on the fake intel and attacked they would be walking into a trap. When the Syndicate retaliated against the women for setting them up they would do their best to protect them but at the end of the day they were collateral damage. The club and his brothers’ families were more important than the ex-cons. A sad fact but the truth none the less.
And how sure could they be that the women would get hurt? There was no telling what would happen once they pulled off the plan. They might just break the hold the Syndicate had on Southern Africa by taking out Murchison and Maingarde.
“When it comes down to the vote I’ll be voting no.” Dizzy said quietly as he turned and walked to the door.
“Dizz! Come on man! You can’t just turn your back and walk away.” Scar called out as Dizzy pulled the door open and stepped into the passage. He stopped, turned and came back into the room and looked over the men before his eyes settled on Kid and he felt the sadness and disappointment in his brother’s eyes burning right into him.
“I’ve done a lot of shit I’m not proud of, all of you know this. But this, this is worse, so much worse. If the club votes to go forward with your plan I will be laying my kutte on the table because that isn’t a club I want any part of.” After dropping that on them he walked out and softly closed the door.
“Fuck.” Spider whispered as he looked at Kid then at the floor. When he looked up his eyes were bleak and without its usual twinkle.
“Call Hawk and let me know when he calls for church. This isn’t something he can decide by himself, it will be a club decision.” He turned without another word and walked out.
Kid rubbed both hands over his face and groaned. Being the SAA of the club he had a duty to think of their safety first, everyone else came second. And right now the women were way down on the list of importance.
Looking at Scar and Buzz who stood with their arms crossed over their chests staring at the floor he was suddenly pissed off. None of them understood the responsibility he carried on his shoulders. None of them.
“I’ll text you once I’ve spoken to Hawk. Go, have a beer and relax while you can.” He turned away from them to the small window that was covered with bars and welded mesh. It offered hardly any view of the outside. Not that he was looking.
Pulling his phone out of his pocket he called his president. Once he made his report it would be out of his hands and in the hands of his president and the officers of the club. His decision was made. The wellbeing of his club family came first.
