A/N - Hey guys! Apologies for the massive delay in getting this to you, I've been in Los Angeles for work and it's all been a little crazy. Those of that know me will know why. Anyway, here's something to tide you over, I'll be back to my more frequent posting from now on, promise! One every couple of days, I think, just so you're linked in.
Thank you as always for your continued support and love. I love your feedback and follows, they mean a lot to me. And there's all sorts of hell to come...!
A direct call from Tig Trager was never something to be ignored. David waited in his car, patient as he sat beneath a street lamp which highlighted his vehicle out in the darkness. He had given Eglee his location - just in case he wasn't back in an hour - because however much faith Hale had in some of the other members of the MC, Tig had always been the wild card. He hadn't been given many details, only a demand for him to come out, alone. If he was nervous, he was trying not to show it. He drummed his fingertips on the wheel as he sipped his coffee and waited for the sound of a Harley.
Eventually a car pulled up and Hale dipped his head to see it was Tig. He watched for a moment as Tig leaned down and roughly pulled Swift out, her hands bound behind her back with his belt as he gave her a shove towards the cop car. Hale shook his head. "Well I'll be damned." He opened the door and took to his feet, squaring up to Tig as he looked over one pissed-off young woman. "I didn't expect this."
"Always expect the unexpected," Tig smiled, tugging Swift's hair and exposing her neck as he buried his nose in her, wanting to get one more dose before he handed her over. He could feel beads of perspiration on her skin, he ran his tongue against them, tasting the salt, and grinned as he felt her shivering in his hold. "That's, like, rule number one."
Swift rolled her eyes, she was bored by their exchange already. She glared at Hale, irritated by just the sight of him. There had been a point where she thought he might be useful, but now he was just as bad as the rest of them. "Can we go now? I just need to take a shower, go to bed." Tig growled hungrily at the thought, he would do anything to strip her down right now, fuck her in the bathroom until she could barely stand from exhaustion, then toss her down and fuck her some more. He suppressed a dangerous sort of smirk as he looked at David.
"Hale here's gonna take care of you. And me," he added, extending his palm. "Twenty five, right?"
David laughed at that, of course that was what he wanted. Why did he expect anything more than that? "I would have brought cash with me if I'd known this was why you'd called me out." Tig shrugged, running a hand through his hair as he wrapped one arm around Swift's neck. He gave her breast a squeeze as he sucked on her earlobe, his eyes still fixed on Hale with a challenging smile.
"Wasn't exactly something I could put in a text," he chuckled, pulling her tighter against him and pushing his hand up beneath her skirt. "I'm sure I can keep her busy out here while you go get it." Hale opened his mouth to object but Tig chuckled. "Come on, it's not like you can make a bank transfer, not quite my style."
"You'll get your money," David murmured. He kept a steady eye on Swift, he wanted to move her away, for some reason Tig was clearly making her extremely uncomfortable. "Let me take her, I'll drop your cash to the club before the end of the night." Tig seemed convinced, Hale knew better than to try and pull a fast one. He took a step forward and rested his hand on Swift's elbow, tugging her gently towards him. "Come on, Effie, get in the car."
Tig's fingers suddenly sank into her harder and his lip curled into a hard snarl as he dragged her back a few steps. "Effie?"
Swift could feel her heart sinking into her stomach. The slightest glimpse of panic flickered through Hale's eyes and she suddenly felt Tig digging his nails into her. Her eyes closed, this was a disaster. Fucking Hale, ruining everything, there was no way that Tig was going to let go of this, she just knew it already. She could feel something in him, changing, becoming more possessive over her. He didn't like the thought of someone knowing something more than he did and Hale could tell he had put his foot in it.
"Tig, shit, I just-"
Before Swift could say another word, he slammed her down to her knees on the ground. Swift yelped as she landed heavily in the dirt, and Tig twisted his hands in her hair as he pulled his gun out and pushed it to the back of her head. He snarled as he spread her legs, pushing her knees apart with his foot, and Tig unlocked the safety without even thinking about it. Hale tried to stop him but Tig simply shifted his target for a second to back him off.
"Trager, now come on," David said quickly. "It was a slip of the tongue."
"What do you know? Who is she?" Tig looked at him expectantly. Hale didn't answer, he rubbed his hands together awkwardly, knowing that he had already made things bad enough, he didn't want to make it any worse. When neither of them answered, Tig roared furiously and threw Swift flat on her back, clambering over her, straddling her body as he shoved his gun into her mouth. She squealed in frustration as she tried to buck him off, but to no avail, Tig was full of frustration and his strength was uncontrollable. "Who the fuck is she?"
His anger distracted him and Hale managed to pull his own gun, lifting it to Tig's temple. "Back off, Trager. I need her alive, you put that down or neither of you go home."
"What do you want her for?" Tig's eyes narrowed as he looked at her. If Hale needed her, she was worth something. "The price just went up, Hale. One hundred grand, cash, and you can have her back."
"What?" Hale watched in dismay as Tig grabbed her and dragged her to her feet again. If there was any fear in her eyes, she was using everything she had ever been trained in to make sure she was hiding it from them both. "No, that wasn't the deal. You give her over and I'll get you your damn money." When neither of them responded, Hale hesitated as he looked at Swift steadily. "Is this a play? What's the deal, are you splitting the difference?" He laughed, as if he had answered his own question. "Jesus, are you conning me? Even now?"
Before Swift could answer him, Tig hurled her towards the car. "You don't talk to her. You don't get anything from her, not until I get my fucking money." He kicked the door shut once she was inside and lifted the gun to Hale. Their barrels faced one another and Hale swallowed, he had never been in a direct stand-off like this with a Son. Tig wasn't stupid, he wouldn't pull the trigger, but the threat that he might made Hale remarkably nervous.
"I'll find her," David muttered. "You go to the club, you need help hiding her? I'll find someone that'll crack and I'll take her back."
Tig laughed as he paced around his car, putting the vehicle between them. "Suck my dick, Hale. She's mine until you pay out, you'll never find her." A smile twitched on his lips. "Forty-eight hours, or I'll kill her. Then she's no good to anyone but me until that body rots away." He wet his lips with a smirk. "So cough up, and quick."
He got into the car and slammed it into reverse, heading away from the meeting spot. Swift sat in silence in the back, staring out of the window, and Tig glanced at her a couple of times in the rearview. Her mind was racing, it was bad enough that one person knew her real identity but the second Tig started doing his homework, she was sure that he would kill her. A fed, they'd been fucking around with a fed, talking casually and involving her in hits. There was no doubt he'd put a bullet between her eyes. When she didn't speak, Tig wrinkled his nose and wondered how to try and start a conversation with her.
"Effie, huh?" She didn't answer and he smiled. "I quite like that. Sexy. Unusual."
"Kinda like me," she muttered quietly. "What's your plan, kid? You're going to hold me hostage? He'll just come looking for me."
"I'll find somewhere to tuck you away," Tig murmured as he headed out onto the freeway. He'd get a call into the club, drop off the radar for a couple of days. Hale would take his threat seriously, if he didn't and she wound up dead, he'd be charged with neglect. "Don't worry, Effie, you know I'll take care of you."
She laughed, that was what she was worried about. Tig's idea of taking care was… painful, at best, she was sure of that. She closed her eyes softly. "Don't call me that."
"What? Effie?" He paused at a red light and twisted around to look at her. "You going to tell me what that's about?" he asked. "Or you going to make me work it out?"
She shook her head, she couldn't tell him. She needed as much time as she could get, he couldn't keep her tied up for the next two days. She just needed to find an opportunity to get out. "Hale's crazy. He's obsessed with me reminding him of some, I don't know, old girlfriend or something. He's just got a weird fetish hard on, that's all. It's nothing." She forced a smile. "Let's just get out of town. Have a drink, fuck, sleep."
Her eagerness to deflect made Tig sure that Hale was on to something. He nodded coolly as he raced along the PCH, he would take her somewhere else, for sure. The second he had exhausted her and she was asleep, he would set Juice it, he'd find out who the hell she was and deal with her appropriately.