Page 84 of Wicked Shadows
The false bravado she had just moments before was nowhere to be found. Realization dawned, and she understood how dire her situation was. “Guys, come on. We can fix this. I’ll help you find him, and we’ll take him out of play. I have a lot riding on him being out of the picture too.”
“Not anymore, sweetheart. You’re out completely. No sense in worrying about your job anymore. Remember how Headbanger said you’d die? One custom-made death package coming up.” Bone loved his club and was loyal to his boss. If he’d learned one valuable lesson in life, that lesson was loyalty was most important.
They drove to an abandoned mall and marched her inside, with Detective Gough pleading for her life the entire way. With every word, they mocked her, repeating her pleas in abnormally high-pitched voices. Nutcrusher pushed her down on her knees while Bone chambered a round. He lowered the top of the barrel to her forehead, lining it up directly between her eyes, and smiled when he pulled the trigger, despite her flowing tears and frantic requests.
“Well, that was easy.” Bone smirked and spread out the plastic tarp. “Grab her feet and put her on this. We’ll drive up toward the country club and dump her into the ocean.”
They rolled her up and carried her back to the truck, throwing her in the back with no regard. Nutcrusher slid across the driver’s seat, fired up the truck, and drove north out of the city until they reached an isolated area along the coast. From the top of the cliff overlooking the rocky shore, they unwrapped her from the tarp and tossed her lifeless body over the side. The waves crashed against the rocks, and the foamy plumes leapt into the air from the force and claimed her as part of the sea.
“Goodbye, sweetheart.” Nutcracker watched the ebb and flow of the waves pull her out into the deeper water until she was no longer visible. “The current and the fishes have her now,” he heckled.
“Let’s go kill those undercover pigs now,” Bone replied.
“You really think it’s them? She didn’t say two agents. She said she’d help us findhim. What if we kill two brothers, and they’re not undercover agents?”
“It’s them, all right. My gut has told me it was Renegade from the start. The Doorman made his way into the group all too easy with his weapons and endorsement from Renegade.”
“Spider wanted him too.”
“And where is Spider now?”
“Same place these two will be. I say we make them talk first. Find out what they know and who they’ve told. May be useful info to have in the near future. We may be able to avoid a federal raid—or at least laugh at them while they look in the wrong place.”
“Good idea. Maybe we’ll cut their fingers off one knuckle at a time—whether they talk or not. My castration shears have been feeling unappreciated lately.”
By the time Bone and Nutcrusher reached the old clubhouse, night had settled in and darkness permeated the dimly lit rooms. The tension between Shadow and Nick had subsided, but neither had been overly talkative. Shadow watched the two bikers stroll through the house, nonchalantly checking each bedroom and demanding they all come out to the main room. The feeling something major was going down grew with each step they took.
Their demeanor was off. The more they tried to act natural, the more obvious it was they were anything but natural.
The longer they delayed their intentions, the more they showed their hand.
They thought they were smooth and stealthy, when they were transparent as glass and nervous.
Shadow caught Nick’s attention and slid his left index finger along the right side of his nose. An innocuous move to signal his friend to get ready—they would have to fight their way out of the clubhouse at any minute. Shadow’s gaze traveled over their outlines and quickly spotted the two guns each man carried. They came more prepared than they normally were.
“What’s going on?” Nick asked and leaned against the doorframe. His stance hid his right arm, which was bent behind his back so he could reach his gun in a split second.
“Headbanger sent us. Seems there’s a new development and a change in plans for the girls,” Bone replied. “The deal is off, so we can do what we want with them before we put a bullet in their brains.”
“Prez didn’t tell us about any change of plans.” Nick’s fingers firmly gripped the butt of his gun.
“I’m telling you now. He doesn’t have to tell you when I can do it for him.” Bone walked toward Katrina. “Maybe I’ll start with this one.” He ran his callused fingers along her cheek, his sneer conveying the images conjured by his imagination.
“You’re not doing anything to any of these girls unless I hear it directly from the prez. He didn’t give me the okay, so I sure as fuck don’t take your word for anything. These girls have a specific purpose, and I won’t be the one to fuck that up for him.”
“No, you won’t be the one to fuck anything up. I’ll be the one who fucks you up if you talk to me like that again. Call him yourself. While you wait to talk to him, this one will be sucking me off. Come back later,” Nutcrusher replied and wrapped his fingers around Elle’s wrist.
Shadow flinched, an uncharacteristic reaction for him after what years of training and work had drilled into him, but the man in him responded before the spy did when another man touched her or even thought about enjoying any part of her body. Though she still believed the worst about him, he’d protect her with his life. He had to make her believe he was part of the scheme so she wouldn’t give them a reason to suspect or kill her. But there was no way in hell he’d allow Nutcrusher to do anything to her.
“Get your hand off her.” Shadow stepped forward—threatening him openly. “Unless you want to lose that hand for good.”
Nutcrusher looked over at Shadow, a small smile playing on his lips. “You know, Bone always said you were sweet on this one. You wanna watch? See how good she is before you give her a try?”
“You only get one warning. I’m counting down. When I get to zero, I’ll snap that hand off and shove it up your ass. Three, two, one.” Shadow stomped across the floor, his face dark with malicious intent.
Nutcrusher released her wrist, turned to face Shadow, and took a couple of steps backward. When Shadow had moved in front of Elle, effectively blocking her from Nutcrusher’s view with his sheer size, he stopped abruptly. “Just in time. Maybe you’re not as stupid as your nickname suggests. To be clear, the countdown doesn’t start over if you touch her again.”
The room became eerily quiet with the only sounds coming from the ladies’ rapid breathing. Tension filled every square inch as time ticked by slowly. Shadow stood motionless, daring Nutcrusher to say or do the wrong thing one more time. Shadow arched one eyebrow, lifting it slowly as he wordlessly questioned the other man’s intelligence.
