Maybe not in other towns, it wasn’t, but in Creswell Springs, when a stranger caught the eye of the Angel’s Halo MC prez, and he didn’t like what he saw—or he felt like the stranger was a threat—it was grounds to haul the motherfucker into this old shack and question him. So far, this one hadn’t been very forthcoming. Hence, the beating he was getting.
It turned to an agonized groan when I picked up a blade and stabbed it into his right thigh. With his hands tied over his head, they took most of his weight when his knees buckled on him for a minute from the pain.
“Fuck!” he roared, his breathing coming in heavy pants now. He turned his bloodshot eyes on me and spat at my feet, earning him another punch to the face.
“Untie my hands, cocksucker,” he growled. “Let’s me and you do this right.”
I smirked and pulled the blade from his thigh, keeping quiet. I wasn’t there to talk to him. Getting answers was Uncle Spider’s job. He was the “good cop” in this little game. And when I didn’t answer their taunts, that only pissed them off more. I fucking loved it.
“Who do you work for?” the enforcer asked when the guy stopped cursing so savagely at me.
“Fuck you,” he seethed.
Uncle Spider sighed in disappointment. Turning, he walked over to the chair several feet away and sat. Stretching his long legs out in front of him, he crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a nod.
My smirk turned into something feral as I strolled to my long table of tools and took a moment to choose my next toy. This fucker’s legs seemed to be his weakness, so I grabbed the ball bat and walked back over to him. The first strike to his left knee had him screaming even louder than when I’d stabbed him.
Without giving him time to recover, I took out his other knee. Two more slams to each leg and he was sobbing as his entire weight shifted to his arms because he could no longer stand on his own.
“Tony Garcia!” he yelled, snot mixing with the blood still coming from his nose and dripping into his puddle of puke. “He’s looking for his niece. She ran away months ago, and he sent me to find her. Followed her trail close to here, then it went cold. Figured she was still in the area. That’s all. I fucking swear.”
I froze.
Delaney had said her uncle’s name was Tony, and I didn’t think it was a coincidence that there were two girls on the run from their uncle in the same town. Which meant this motherfucker had come to take my treasure away from me.
I didn’t even wait for my uncle to give me the signal. I wasn’t even thinking past the need to protect my girl as I pulled my gun and popped two in the bastard’s forehead.
“The fuck, Max?” Uncle Spider grumbled.
“I believed him,” I said with a shrug as I tucked the gun back into the waistband of my jeans. “Maverick and River are looking for a homeless girl. I figure that’s who he’s looking for.”
He grunted but nodded. “Yeah. I have a feeling that’s who he meant too.” Standing, he frowned at the mess on the floor then at the guy hanging lifelessly in front of me. “It’s Chance’s and Elias’s turn to clean up. I’ll make sure they do it right. You head on home.”
I flexed my shoulders, trying to relieve some of the tension that was starting to tighten them. “You sure? I can take care of this.”
“Nah, you did plenty tonight. Good work.” He picked up my shirt and tossed it to me. “Be careful. Don’t want you playing chicken with another elk.”
I grinned. “Ah, come on. I need a little more excitement in my life.”
He shoved my arm. “Get home, boy.”
I laughed and grabbed my cut on the way out the door. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot at the garage and turned off my bike, I grabbed my phone, doing a search on Tony Garcia.
The number of Tony Garcias in the state of California alone was astronomical, but I knew I’d found him as soon as I started reading his list of crimes.
“Sonofabitch,” I muttered when I saw the top article about the man. He was into drugs and prostitution of underage girls. As I skimmed through other articles, I knew Delaney had every reason to fear him.
If she hadn’t run, it was only a matter of time before she became one of his working girls.
I had to sit there and get control of myself before I went up to the apartment, not wanting to scare my girl with how I was shaking with rage.
In my gut, I knew I was going to have to put an end to Uncle Tony. If he had men out looking for her, then he must want to use her for something. And I would die before I let him get his filthy hands on my little treasure.
Tony Garcia’s days were numbered.
7
Delaney
The feel of strong arms wrapped around me and warm breath on my neck had my eyes blinking. It took a minute for my mind to clear of sleep before I could recognize my surroundings, but once I did, a smile lifted my lips and I cuddled back against Max’s hard body.
I felt the vibrations of his groan through my back, and the breath on my skin became…heavier. His hold tightened, tucking me closer, and I lowered my lashes as I enjoyed just being in his arms.
So, this was what peace felt like. Wrapped in the warmth and safety of a man I knew all the way down to my soul wouldn’t hurt me. With my heart light as a feather, yet a messy puddle of goo in the center of my chest. I wanted to bottle up this feeling so that I could carry it around with me
