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Dominick
Friday
He wasn’t sure what had happened. All he knew was that he was feeling groggy and disorientated. That was when he knew. The bastards had somehow drugged him while he was asleep. He shouldn’t have succumbed to sleep, not down here, not around these people.
Trying to fight it off was no use. He knew that from the time before. The time he had tried so hard to erase from his memory.
As his heavy eyelids slowly closed he saw the old bitch watching him through the bars.
Her evil smile was the last thing he saw before the damned lights went out.
Face
Friday
I lay in my bed and breathed, I just breathed because I was scared. So fucking scared.
Later today I would be facing the worst of my demons. The warehouse where my life ended and the man who was responsible for ending it.
I hated him. So damned much. And I wanted to hurt him as much as he had hurt me. And the only way to do that was to hurt Winifred Harrison Maingarde. She was one of the two things he cared about. His granny-fuck and his position at the Syndicate. And if everything went according to plan he would be without both very soon.
I couldn’t wait to take them from him.
Hopefully I would survive to see it happen. And just that hope was enough to chase my fears away. I was in the shower when I heard Cuba calling.
“I’m in the shower! I’ll be with you in a second.” I shouted.
She was lying on my bed when I walked out with a towel over my head drying my hair and another wrapped around me.
“Did you take out your piercings?”
“Yes, last night already. They will have to look really closely to notice the holes. I will have to stretch them once this is done or even have them redone. It’s amazing how quickly they grow closed.” Talking about my piercings helped to calm both of us.
“Don’t wear any of the new shit we got you in Joburg. The basic black prison type of underwear is best just in case they make you strip. Are you getting dressed now?”
“No, not right now. I’ll shower and dress appropriately later. We have a quick meet with War in the tunnel in about twenty minutes just to ensure we’re all ready. And stop pulling faces at me. We need them for this part of the plan to work.”
Her face still looked like she smelt something bad. “I hate having to ask for help.”
“So do I, but this time it’s for the best. We need them because Murchison will not expect us to have backup. He thinks he knows all there is to know about us but he’s sadly mistaken. And that is what’s going to save our asses.”
“I’m going with you to meet with War.” She said with an angry frown and I hid my smile. I knew it was fake, she was far too interested in seeing Rock again.
“Fine, maybe Rock will be with him.” I bent to pull on my pants but watched her from underneath my lashes. I wasn’t disappointed, she was definitely interested.
The meet with War went off without a hitch and sadly no Rock which meant no opportunity to tease Cuba. Damn.
The day passed too bloody slowly. At three this afternoon I would be facing a part of my past I have tried hard to remember. I still only had flashes of memory of that night, not enough to piece it all together but enough to know I needed to know more. And if our plans worked Murchison would be forced to give me what I wanted. The truth. Finally.
With last minute orders given I stood in the open garage door, looked back at my crew and winked. “I’ll be back before you even get a chance to miss me, bitches. Be ready to party like rock stars when I get back.”
Walking into the garage I closed the door behind me, shutting their worried faces away.
Minutes later I drove out through the gates and past the Sinners Sons compound. Eyes watched me as I drove past but I didn’t acknowledge them. I kept my eyes on the road as I accelerated away.
Driving towards the warehouse where Murchison used to do most of his business when I was in my teens a heavy darkness settled over me. I didn’t even have to think about the route, it was as if it was wired into my brain. Strangely everything around me looked the same, as if nothing had changed over the last fifteen years. I knew it was my mind playing tricks on me. When I looked closer I noticed that the buildings were even more rundown than they used to be. The road was littered with potholes and weeds and kikuyu grass grew through the sidewalks and in the parking areas of the warehouses and small factories I passed. Most of them were abandoned or taken over by squatters by the look of it.
Finally the warehouse came into view. There were no weeds or grass growing in the parking area. No broken windows or doors. And a brand new heavy chain and lock hung from a strut of the wide open gate. A glance around was enough to make out the cameras that were now fixed to the outside of the building. It didn’t give me a very good feeling about what was about to happen. I drove through the gate and parked next to one of the big black SUV’s at the front of the building. There were four of them which meant he had a lot of men watching over his ass.
Opening my door I climbed out and slammed it shut behind me. It didn’t matter if I slammed the door because I was using one of our inconspicuous sedans. It was a generic white four door sedan that wouldn’t draw any attention. But besides that concern, no way was I bringing my baby on a job from which I might not return.
I slowly drew in a breath then let it out as slowly before I walked briskly up to the front door and pushed. It opened with a squeal of hinges and I filed it away in my mind. No sneaking through the front door. I didn’t hangaround in the reception area but walked through to where I knew he would be waiting.
Walking through the last door into the very familiar large empty echoing space I did a quick glance around and counted seven men. Where the rest were I could only guess.
Murchison stood in the centre of the space and looked at his watch theatrically.
“Right on time as always.” He said with a smile to the asshole standing next to him. “One thing about Noelle, she’s always on time, hates tardiness in others. One of her good qualities.”
I stopped about three meters away and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not interested in chatting about my qualities or any of that shit. We’re here to do business, so let’s get to it.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Another of her good qualities, always gets right to the point, never wastes time beating around the bush.”
I stayed silent and by the tiny muscle jumping next to his mouth I knew I was pissing him off. Something he seems to have forgotten was that as much as he knew me, I knew him. I grew up spending all my time around him, watching him, trying to be him. Until I didn’t.
“There has been a tiny little change to our plans, Noelle.” He was no longer amused. It was all business now.
What now? I shook my head. “No, no changes. We had a deal. I bring you the file and you give me the antidote. Easy. Don’t go making this more difficult than it has to be.” I warned.
And what do you know? The little asswipe couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
“Don’t think you can come in here and try to tell us what to do.” Alexander Harrison threatened angrily. “We tell you what to do. We always tell you what to do.”
I couldn’t stop the soft laugh even if I had wanted to. “How the hell did you get talked into taking the cocky little bastard under your wing?” I asked Murchison, ignoring the spluttering piece of shit at his side. “He has no idea how this works, does he?”
Murchison shrugged as if it was nothing but I saw in his eyes that it was something alright. He had been forced into taking on this loose cannon of a man. Somehow I would use it to my advantage I just had to find a way to do it.
“He isn’t wrong, Noelle. Today we tell you what to do. If you don’t...”
Something was going on here that I wasn’t going to like. I knew it.
I sighed. “I’ve never known you to be someone else’s puppet but it seems times have changed. Instead of being the puppet master you are now the puppet. So Mr Puppet, why don’t you go ahead and tell me what it is you want.”
Rage burned in his eyes but I ignored it because it seemed that I had found a sore spot. He had been told to let Harrison run this his way. Interesting.
“Where’s the antidote, Murchison? No antidote, no file, that was our agreement.”
“Agreements change when the players on the board changes, Noelle. You know this because I taught it to you.” He stepped away from Harrison and looked at one of the men stationed in front of a closed door at the back of the warehouse. I knew that the door led to a small office that Murchison always used instead of the ones at the front of the warehouse. What bloody rabbit was he about to pull out of the hat?
His man turned, opened the door and walked inside and a high pitched shriek of pain sounded a few seconds later. He came out dragging a bedraggled looking girl after him. One look was enough to know things were seriously fucked up because of one spoilt little club princess. There was no way Murchison would have been able to get to her inside the Sinners’ compound. She had to have slipped her guards.
The stupid fucking bloody bitch.
Nothing showed on my face as she was dragged screeching and complaining over and thrown to the cement floor.
“Alex! What is going on? Why are you doing this? I love you! I came to be with you. Why are you doing this?” She moaned pitifully in a stupid little girl voice. Jesus.
I lost my cool, completely.
“For fuck’s sake, bitch, wake the hell up. He doesn’t give a shit about you. You’re pussy, always were, always will be. You’re like one of those sluts I’ve seen going in and out of your daddy’s clubhouse. Nothing more than a hole to fuck.”
That shut her up and put a smirk on Harrison’s face. He gave her a lazy kick in the ribs and she rolled over with a pained shriek.
Jesus, she was loud. It couldn’t have hurt that much.
“Noelle, allow me to introduce you to Keeley Knight, daughter of War Knight, your next door neighbour. She was kind enough to hand herself over to Alexander. She thought the boy loved her and escaped her watchers to join us.”
I couldn’t have stopped the snort of disgust if you had paid me. It made Murchison laugh.
“Exactly! The bitch has no survival instincts whatsoever. Unlike you. Your survival instincts are the best in the business. I need you back on my team.” He kicked the stupid sobbing girl curled up on the floor. “This useless bitch is what we would call a bargaining chip. I’ll let her go back to her family if you come back to work for me.”
Looking down at the shocked and dirty little bitch on the floor I pushed at her side with my boot, rolling her onto her back. Eyes like Rock’s looked up with me, glittering with tears. Pleading with me silently. I ignored the plea.
“Why would I give up my freedom for this? I like doing what I want, I like running my own crew without having to listen to you or your granny-fuck. I don’t have any connections to her or to her family, whatever happens to the bitch is her own fault.” I knew I was being harsh but I had no option other than being a hard bitch.
Harrison looked pissed off but Murchison laughed. His evil cackle echoed around the empty space.
“Damn, girl, I missed you by my side. I forgot how totally focused you are once you’re on a job.” He nodded slowly as he looked down at the girl. There was no life in his eyes when he looked up again. “I’ll give you the antidote for Tersha but you’re not leaving with it. Call one of your bitches in to fetch it. You hand over the file and I’ll have a look at it while we wait. And Alexander and the boys can have a bit of fun with this while we wait.” He dipped his head towards the shuddering girl.
I laughed and shook my head. “Nope, not happening. I’m not calling one of my crew in and giving you another hostage, and you’re not going to make me an accomplice to her rape. Not going to happen. You and I both know I never approved of your little games. He will be dead before he takes one step towards her, you know it and I know it. Is that why you’re doing this? You want me to take care of your problem? Is that it?”
Alexander Kolinic Harrison looked shocked as his eyes flipped between the two of us. Murchison and I. I kept my eyes on Murchison because he was the biggest threat. Harrison wasn’t a threat to anyone, only to himself. Like the little bitch on the floor he had grown up soft and pampered and believing he was untouchable.
Sorry for you asshole, you’re not.
Murchison smiled that dead smile of his I knew so well. “Maybe, maybe not. I haven’t decided yet.” He was silent for a beat or two. “Two of your people can come, one to drive and one to come inside for the antidote. I give you my guarantee that they will walk away unhurt. As long as you give me the file and stay here while I go through it. Do we have a deal?”
It was the best I was going to get at this stage. When he finds he can’t access the file without the key I will make my next move. Using the opportunity to negotiate for the little bitch’s release. Bloody hell!
“Fine. I’ll call them in. I’m reaching for my phone.” I said loud enough ensuring that his men heard me.
As I dialled Cuba’s number Murchison took the phone from me. I knew he was going to do it so I let it go. He put it on speaker then gave it back to me. Hmmm. That was new and a bit weird for him.
“Face. Are you done and on your way back?”
She didn’t say more, just waited. I had warned all of them this might happen and to say as little as possible.
“There’s a little complication. The club princess from next door is here, stuck her nose too deep into our business and it now complicates the situation. I need you to come and fetch the antidote while I see what’s to be done with her.”
Silence reigned for several seconds then Cuba was back. And I knew she was pissed by the growl in her voice.
“Fine. I’m coming with a driver who’ll wait in the car while I pick up the antidote and bringing it back to Tersha. She’s not doing well, so we need to hurry the fuck up.”
The call ended abruptly and I slid my phone back into the side pocket of my tactical pants. I knew Cuba wasn’t at our compound so the chances were very good that War and Rock had been listening. It meant the club would be getting involved. Fucking hell. This op was going downhill like a damned landslide.
“Done. Now what?”
“Now we look at the file.” He said as if it was a done deal.
“No. We don’t. Now we wait for Cuba to collect the antidote and only once she leaves will I hand over the file.”
Harrison tried his bravado bullshit. “There are more of us here than you. I’ll just take it from you.” He threatened.
Shaking my head I looked at Murchison and sighed. “Who the hell trained this little shit? He’s bloody well useless. Your granny-fuck really has to look into the weak ass men her brothers have been breeding. How many of them has she tried out now?”
The bastard smirked. “She’s working on a solution right now, a breeding experiment you might say.”
My heart clenched but I kept my cool and pretended ignorance.
“Anything has to be better than this asshole.”
Again with the smirk. “I tried to convince her to let Dom and you breed her heir but she refused to bite.”
I shrugged as if I didn’t care but hell, I did, I cared one hell of a lot. I prayed Bruno would get to Dom in time and stop the shit the vicious old bag was subjecting him to.
“I’ve been ordered to arrange for you to be bred by this one here but I don’t think so. He’s genes are too diluted, too weak. I’ve decided you will carry my sons.”
Shock rocketed through me and I battled to keep my face emotionless. When his eyes narrowed I knew I had succeeded. Sweat slowly trickled down the small of my back, the only place I sweated when I was under pressure. And hell, I was under some pressure right now.
“You’re going for incest? How aristocratic of you. Why do you suppose the Harrisons are so weak and stupid? Could it be they had the same idea you did? Keeping it all in the family?”
The fucker gave his evil laugh and I was so tempted to smack it off his face. So very tempted. But not yet, not yet.
“It won’t be incest at all, Noelle. You’re not mine and Tersia wasn’t your mother either. Let’s just say I acquired you from a friend who turned out not to be a friend after all.”
What? What the hell was he saying? They weren’t my parents?
And then relief surged through me until I thought of Rentia. She was my family.
Why hadn’t Rentia and I done DNA tests to prove he wasn’t our father? Was it because at that stage of my life I had believed in his bullshit? That he had raised me as he would have the son he wanted from my supposed mother. It seems now that I had.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
“So, you’re saying you’re not my father and Tersia isn’t my mother. Which means Rentia isn’t my sister either. If you aren’t my parents, who is? Or should I say who were they?”
The bastard shrugged as if it wasn’t important and I wasn’t going to push. I wanted him to believe I didn’t care. But I did, so damned much.
“Let’s take this into the office. I don’t need these bastards to know my business.” He said as he kicked the girl on the floor. “Get up and stop snivelling, slut.” The girl rolled onto her knees and painfully got up. Both her eyes were red and swollen from crying, her dress was torn at the neck exposing red marks around her neck and scratches on her chest. It had obviously not gone well for her when she met up with the supposed love of her life.
No way was I walking in first. I waited for Harrison as he huffed out an exasperated breath, grabbed the girl by the arm and dragged her after him. Tears were running down her cheeks but she wasn’t sobbing anymore. Thank fuck for that.
The office was surprisingly clean. A heavy wooden desk and several chairs stood on a clean pale brown carpet. A laptop sat on the desk, turned on, ready and waiting. It was dark in the office because the windows had been blacked out. But as soon as the lights were turned on it lifted the artificial gloom.
Harrison shoved the girl into a chair and she flinched in pain then curled in on herself. Trying to make herself as small as possible. Not going to work, sweetheart, I thought silently. These men were predators and she was their prey. Young, spoilt, impressionable and weak.
“Let’s see the file, Noelle. Let’s at least acknowledge the fact that we are bargaining here.” Murchison winked.
And eeuw! That was sickening and creepy as fuck.
“If I give you the file it leaves me empty handed. Why don’t we do the following? I’ll allow a quick look to confirm it’s the real thing before I shut it down again.”
“Agreed.” He said immediately.
Sitting down at the desk I drew the laptop towards me and after tapping a key to wake it up drew the tiny USB from my pocket. I showed it to Murchison before I slotted it into the port and waited for it to load, opened the folder then clicked on the only file in it. The program allowed me to open the file but not to navigate through it. I turned the laptop and slid it across the desk to Murchison. He avidly dragged it towards him then laughed but the laughter stopped the minute he tried to scroll through the pages.
“What the hell is going on here? Why can’t I see the rest of the file?”
It was my turn to laugh.
“You really don’t think much of my intelligence do you? Why would I give away the only thing that stands between me and the door? You’ll get the key to open the files when I walk out of here, unharmed.”
His growl of rage was cut off by the deep throated sound of a racing engine that could be heard approaching fast, and I nodded towards the front.
“That will be my crew. You give me the antidote and I walk out of here with them. You get the key as soon as we’re safely away.”
As I expected he shook his head from side to side, his face an expressionless mask. Turning to Harrison he motioned toward the door.
“Bring them in. Both of them.”
Shitballs.
I sat silently waiting and almost swore out loud when Rock burst through the door. Fucking hell! This op was well and truly blown. Cuba walked in after him and by the look in her eyes I knew she knew I wouldn’t be walking out of here with them.
“Now this is very interesting.” Murchison looked at Rock who had a sobbing Keeley in his arms. “How did the Sinners get involved in our little arrangement, Noelle?”
I played it the only way I could. I knew nothing. “No idea. I’m as surprised as you. What the hell, Cuba?”
“I’m sorry, Boss. He came over to discuss a truce between us and them and overheard me on the phone. Before I knew it he forced himself in the car and refused to get out. He’s a big bastard, short of killing him there was nothing I could do.”
Sighing as if exasperated I looked at Murchison and shrugged. “I have to agree, he is a big bastard.”
“A truce? You were going to discuss a truce without your boss present? I don’t think so. I think he’s more than just the next door neighbour. Which one of you bitches was he fucking in Johannesburg?”
“He wasn’t fucking anyone. We were working.” I tried but I knew it was in vain.
Murchison focused on Rock. “No, don’t believe you. So, here’s what’s going to happen. I don’t have the time to get embroiled in shit with the Sinners Sons right now. We’ll make a trade. The little bitch and the antidote for Noelle. Easy.”
Rock and his spoilt little sister had screwed us over so completely I knew there would be no way out of my present situation.
So much for the plans Dom and I had made. They were useless now.
Fuck.
I was so screwed.
Rock’s shocked eyes flicked my way but it was too late for that shit.
Between them he and his little bitch of a sister had totally screwed my exit plan.
Fuck.
