Thank you for your continued interest and support. I appreciate it.
I do not own Glee or the characters, neither do I own Reaper's Legacy or Devil's Game.
SAM
"I wish I had more to tell you," Marley said. She looked like a raccoon, her eyes completely surrounded by tear-streaked, black makeup.
She was sitting at a table in the Armory, obviously exhausted from her long night.
I still couldn't quite believe I'd actually screwed this woman... On purpose.
Sure, she had a great body, but compared to Mercedes... She was nothing. She wasn't even on my dick's radar.
"You did the best you could," Stud said.
It had taken us a while to find her because she'd gone on a rampage looking for Mercedes and Mel. And when we finally caught up to her, she'd been holding four men hostage in the corner of Rick's bar with a canister of pepper spray in one hand and her phone in the other.
She'd been filming them, demanding that they tell her everything they knew "for the record."
Thank God she didn't have a gun with her...
"I tried," she said looking up at me. "I never should've let her go in by herself. The whole thing was a terrible idea. You'll never know how sorry I am. I hope you can believe that."
Plank grunted, obviously unimpressed, but he managed to keep his mouth shut.
Me... I didn't know what to say. But I believed her.
"It's good you weren't with her," Sledge said, his voice soothing. "If you were, we'd have three hostages instead of two. Not only that, you're not one of us, so they might consider you dead weight. This is better."
"You gonna be okay watching Braylon until we get this fixed?" I asked abruptly.
"Yes," she said, looking up and meeting my gaze again. "I'll take care of him like he's my own. You don't need to worry about that."
"Okay," I told her. "I'll come over and see him if I can. I'm not going to let myself get distracted from finding Mercedes, though. You need a gun?"
"Oh, I've got a gun," she replied, her voice dark... Very dark.
"I'll walk you out," Sketcher said, his expression cold. Something in him had changed, I realized. He'd always been a good man, but he wore a new sense of purpose this morning.
Maybe this would motivate him to pull his shit together.
I'd always assumed him and Mel would end up together. But clearly, she'd gotten tired of waiting.
Fucking Internet dating... Might as well had painted a bright red target on her head.
I was seeing things pretty clearly this morning myself, though.
I needed Mercedes back, safe and sound. I needed her more than my own life.
And I didn't give a flying fuck about any other woman.
If I'd pulled my head out of my ass earlier, this wouldn't have happened, because she would've been safe at home with me. In my bed.
Once I get her back though, I'll never let her go again.
Never.
She wanted commitment?
Well, I would tattoo her fucking name on my forehead if I had to. Whatever it took to keep her safe.
"Any news from the boys in Portland?" Deck asked.
"Not so far," Plank replied. "They think Torque might have the Devil...who goes by Grip...out on the coast. They're looking for him, but they don't exactly have a lot of leads."
"How's the one he shot?"
"Critical but stable, whatever the hell that means," Plank said. "Guess that's something to be thankful for. Okay, let's get going on this. We got two hours before our meet with Seeker. Any thoughts?"
"Let me handle this one," Deck said, crossing his arms. "You're too involved, and that means your brain won't be working. You and Wringer should stay here."
"No fuckin' way," Plank said, shaking his head. "I'm the president. This is my job!"
"You're a father and you're running on fumes," Deck replied. "You do this and fuck it up, your girl dies. Do you really believe you can look this fuckwad in the eye and play nice? 'Cause I don't think you can. Be smart and let me handle it. If you don't want me, have Stud do it. Or Sledge. We're your brothers for a reason. We've got your back."
Plank shook his head again, his face tense. He'd started methodically loading spare magazines for his new gun, which he'd been test-firing earlier.
I knew he planned to kill Seeker with that same gun, because we had spent close to an hour together, carefully choosing just the right weapon to do it...
Something untraceable... With a small enough caliber to do slow, steady damage for a long, long time without ending the bastard's life too quickly.
"Wringer, you need to stay back, too," Stud said. And I glanced up at him and shook my head.
"Nope," I said. "I'm going. Nonnegotiable. I don't need to be lead, but I'll be there."
Stud and Deck exchanged looks.
"Okay, new plan," Deck said. "I'll lead, you guys come along but keep back. We can't let him fuck with you. If he gets you worked up and you do something stupid, he wins. Got me?"
"Got it," Plank said. "Just so long as you remember...in the end, he's mine."
"Ours," I corrected. "Him and his friend."
"And Torque?" Sledge asked. "Thoughts on him?"
"Let him answer to the brothers," I said. "We voted and made a decision for the club. He ignored that. Fucker needs to pay."
MERCEDES
"He's going to go meet with Dad," Mel said, finally speaking.
Earlier, Seeker had come and taken her away, only returning her about ten minutes ago. She'd been gone with him for what felt like an eternity. But realistically, it probably hadn't been more than an hour.
When she'd first come back she'd kept pretty quiet. Now she lay with me on the bed again... I cuffed by my right wrist and her cuffed by her left.
"Why?" I asked.
"I think he's trying to save the situation," she said, her voice sounding a little mournful. "I think he actually cares about me, Merce."
I widened my eyes.
"You can't be serious," I said. "He wants to screw you, I get that. He's a guy and you're hot. But a man who cares about a woman doesn't kidnap her."
"Ask Marge about that," she said, sounding uncomfortable. "Stud totally kidnapped her. Now they're getting married."
That shut me up for a minute.
"Do I want to know the whole story?" I asked finally.
"It's not going to make you feel any better..."
Motorcycle pipes roared outside the house interrupting our conversation and we heard the sound of someone riding away.
"That's Seeker leaving," she said. "If I get away and Dad finds out I'm safe, he'll kill him for sure."
"Don't," I said, looking over at her. She seemed downcast and thoughtful. Shit, we couldn't afford this. "Don't you dare have second thoughts. This guy is dangerous and we're going to get seriously hurt if we stay here. We're going to escape. In fact, we're going to escape soon."
"I know," she said. "I just wish..."
"I don't want to hear it." But even as I said those words, she slipped away into some sort of day dream...
MEL'S MUSINGS...
I was so angry at Seeker before... He tricked me and made me call my dad to say he'd kidnapped me. And then he took Mercedes...
But when he took me into the room where the two of us were alone, a different side of him appeared. He was like my online Brad again...
"I don't think you realize what's happening," I said quickly. "I know you want to find Torque. I get that. If someone had attacked one of our club brothers, I'd be after him, too. But Torque stabbed me last weekend..."
Seeker froze, then I found myself moving through the air, lifted straight up against his chest as he carried me...
He pushed me down, rolled me to my back, and straddled me all in one smooth move, pinning my arms up and over my head.
"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded.
"Explain how he hurt you," he said, his voice grim and his eyes cold. "Now!"
At that, I closed my eyes and told him everything.
A short while later, I looked at him...he was angry...
"What's the story between you and Torque?" he asked.
"Nothing. There's nothing between us. Why the hell you care, I can't imagine..."
"You have no idea what I care about," he fired back.
"And I could give a shit," I murmured.
He growled.
"I want to see it," he said.
"It's none of your fucking business!"
"You are my business..."
Things changed after that, Seeker became... Mellow.
"Mel, you won't believe this, but I didn't plan this. I never wanted to hurt you," he said.
"Then don't. Let me go before things get worse."
"I can't, sweet girl. My brother's life is at stake."
"Listen, Torque doesn't care about me, so it's not like he's going to turn himself in to save a couple of women," I said carefully. "And the rest of the Collectors can't make it happen. I don't know what's going on, but I do know this... If my dad could find him, he'd be dead already. Club business aside, my father would not let a man who hurt me live. Period. Kidnapping us isn't going to get your brother back any faster."
With that, he kissed me, catching my mouth and sliding his tongue deep inside.
Need exploded through me, curling up from my pelvis through my body like fire, and the world slowed as his hips nestled between mine, spreading me open underneath him.
His big, rough hand caught my breast, his callused thumb sliding back and forth across my nipple as the kiss deepened.
Oh shit...
I'd love to say I fought valiantly, but that just wasn't an option.
I don't even have the words to describe how much I'd wanted him earlier that night, but that was nothing compared to this... I was pumped full of adrenaline and anger and fear and so many emotions.
And in an instant they all turned to lust...
I don't have to go into details...but Seeker and I didn't have actual sex. But he got us both off. Just laying on top of me.
And the next morning...
He got me off with his mouth. I felt like a hypocrite getting pleasured while Mercedes was handcuffed in the next room, probably going crazy with worry about me.
And as close as we were, I couldn't even tell her what had happened when she'd asked me...
I suck...
MERCEDES CONT'D
We gave it an hour, or at least we thought it was about an hour. We wanted to be sure Seeker was far away before we tried our escape.
Mel opened the knife and popped out a tiny, thin flat-head screwdriver... And five minutes later, we were out of the cuffs and taking turns peeking out the window.
Seeker hadn't lied... We appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by scruffy shrubs, open ground, and the occasional pine tree.
Only the van sat outside, no more bikes, which hopefully meant we'd only be dealing with Crash. Even so, there wasn't a lot of ground cover.
"If he chases us we don't have a chance," I said, my voice grim.
"He won't chase us," Mel replied. "Here's what we'll do. We're going to sneak downstairs. We'll figure out where he is, then you go out one side of the house and I'll go out the other. I can see a back door from here."
"And if he sees us?"
"Whoever he sees has to slow him down long enough for the other one to get away and find help," she told me. "No matter what it takes. And I'm going to be the one going closest to him."
"Why?" I asked, startled. "Not that I want any extra risk, but..."
"Because you have a kid," she said. "And I'd do anything to get safe. But all other issues aside, Bray needs you and nobody needs me."
"Your family, the whole club...they all need you," I protested.
"You know I'm right," she said. "Don't even try to be noble here or anything. If only one of us gets out, it's you. Let's not fight about it, okay?"
I took a deep breath and then nodded because she was right. My son was more important than the rest of us put together.
"Okay, but promise me something," I said. "You need to seriously try to get away. Don't let yourself get caught just because you want to keep Seeker safe."
She looked back outside... And for a moment I thought she might argue. How much had Seeker messed with her head, anyway?
"I'm serious. I'll start screaming right now and let him know we've got that knife if you don't promise me you'll do your best to get away."
"I'll do my best," she said. "If we get free, we could always give him time to get back before calling Dad, you know. It's not like it's all or nothing. I'm not stupid."
I kept my mouth shut. If I got away and found a phone, Seeker was toast.
"I suppose there's no time like the present, right?" I asked.
"Might as well go now," she said. "I'll keep the knife, unless you know how to use it?"
"You mean to fight?" I asked, startled. She nodded. "Um, no. I didn't take knife-fighting class in school. You can keep it."
"Okay, let's do this thing," she said, using a very fine Arnold Schwarzenegger voice. Unfortunately, it was going to take more than a silly voice to make me feel like a badass, though.
Mel and I bumped fists, opened the bedroom door, and started creeping across the floor.
I was terrified we'd make it squeak, but fortunately, it seemed solid enough.
She eased the bedroom door open, and from downstairs I heard the sound of a game playing on the TV...
"I'll go down the stairs first," she whispered. "Then I'll wave you on. But be ready to go in whatever direction I point you, based on where I see him. If I point back at the bedroom, go up and get yourself back into your handcuff, okay? If I wave you on, that's it. We'll only get one shot, so don't mess it up. I'm counting on you to send help for me if I have to distract him."
"I can do it," I told her, hoping it was the truth. "Let's both get out, though, okay?"
"Oh, one more thing, and this is important," she said.
"What?"
"If you find a phone, call my dad or Wringer," she said. "Don't call the cops."
I stared at her. Was she being serious?
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"No," she said, her voice serious. "I'm not kidding at all. This is club business. If we get the cops involved, things will get much worse, and it'll happen fast, too."
"No," I said flatly. "If I get out of here I'm calling nine one one as fast as I can."
"Then we're not going," she replied. And my eyes widened.
"Are you serious?"
"Absolutely!" she replied. "If you call the cops, Dad or Wringer might wind up in jail before this ends."
"How do you figure?"
"You think I was joking when I said Dad would kill Seeker?" she asked slowly. "This isn't a game. I'll try to convince him not to. And I hope to hell it doesn't happen. But Seeker going to jail for this won't protect him. And if Dad takes him out, I don't want to lose him, too."
"Jesus," I muttered, shocked. "I don't know what to say."
"Say you won't call the cops," she replied. "If you're in the position to make a call, you'll already be safe. I have the right to make the decision for myself, though."
I thought about that for a second...
"Okay," I whispered. I didn't like it, but I'd do it.
She nodded, then started down the stairs very slowly...
This would be the hardest part, because we needed to pass through the living room to go anywhere else in the house. And Crash was probably in there, because that's where the TV was...
I pictured the layout in my head...he'd be facing away, and I didn't remember seeing any mirrors on the walls...
Just a little luck and we will pull it off.
Mel looked up at me, lifted a finger to her mouth and then waved me down.
I crept from step to step, trying to stay completely silent, while still moving fast enough so that we wouldn't lose our opportunity.
Suddenly, Crash came into view just as I reached the bottom of the stairwell...
He was sitting on the couch, his back to us, playing some sort of game that involved shooting at things.
Luckily, it also seemed to involve a lot of loud noises and blowing things up...
Mel touched my hand and I looked at her. Next, she pointed at her chest, then towards the front door. Then she pointed at me and towards the back of the house...
She held up three fingers, then counted down with them... Two, one...go.
I slipped passed her, walking quickly but silently towards the back of the house. Within seconds, I'd passed out of the living room, through a dining room, and into a kitchen.
I found the back door... It was locked, of course, but all I had to do was open the deadbolt. No special security or anything.
They really hadn't been planning to kidnap us, I realized. Because, even I knew that when you plan a kidnapping, you prep a place for your prisoners.
So far so good...
I eased the back door open, and then I heard Crash shout behind me...
I also heard Mel shriek at him and then a loud, crashing noise... I took off out the door, running as fast as I could in a wide circle around the house.
There was a long gravel driveway, and since we'd already been discovered, I followed it, listening for vehicles or gunfire.
I didn't hear anything other than that first loud outburst... But my heart pounded and my brain shut down...
Would Crash really kill Mel?
I ran hard, adrenaline powering my legs.
Then I heard a gunshot...
Fuck!
So I gave a watered down version of what happened between Mel and Seeker in the other room. I hope it was good enough.
There is much more to it in another book in this series, but this story is not about Mel and Seeker...
Stay safe!