Page 25 of Crusher

He grabs my face hard with one hand, squeezing my injured cheeks while his fingers bear down like a vise. “Keep running your fucking whore mouth. I can keep this up all day.”

Wrath floods my veins as I seethe at him.

His lips curl with satisfaction as he views my swollen flesh, bloodied nose, and busted lip. I refuse to cry, even if the pain is intense. And I won’t beg them to let me go because I know it’ll be useless. But I promise one thing. Once I’m out of these damn restraints, I’m going to give this motherfucker something to really smile about.

I’m gonna kill him, even if it’s the last thing I ever do.

9

CRUSHER

“You got Crusher,” I address the caller after pressing my cell to my ear.

“Hey, Crush. There’s some kid here saying he knows you.” There’s skepticism in Country’s tone, which makes me suspicious. I don’t know too many kids, so I’m not sure who he’s talking about.

The sounds of clanging metal and machinery running in the background remind me that my brother is at the auto shop today, hopefully finishing the repairs on my bike. After Sentinel, he’s the only one I want working on my baby.

“What kid?” I ask.

“How the fuck should I know?” Country lets out an incredulous laugh. “Rode his bike here and said you know his sister. And by bike, I mean bicycle.”

I have to think for a minute, but then it comes to me. Kyle. What the fuck is he doing at the shop? And where’s Sadie?

Tension stirs in the pit of my stomach as my gut tells me something’s wrong. I don’t think she’d let her kid brother ride his bike all over town, and I doubt he came looking for me just to tell me to stay away from her. “Put him on the phone.”

“I’m not a fucking babysitter, you know. I do have shit to do. We got all this bullshit happening with the club right now, and?—”

“Quit your bitchin’ and put him on the phone already.” There’s a bite to my tone as my worry begins to grow.

Without another word, I hear muffled shuffling as Country passes over the receiver. Then a small, quiet voice comes across the line. “He-hello?” The kid sounds nothing like he did when he caught me sneaking out of his sister’s bedroom this morning.

I keep my voice steady and calm. “Hey, Kyle. It’s Crusher.”

“I think my sister’s in trouble.” The words tumble out of him with undeniable concern.

The uneasiness I felt multiplies, coupling with a rush of anger. My blunt nails bite into my palm as I clench my fist, leaving half-moon impressions on my skin. “Start from the beginning, and tell me what’s going on.”

I hear his worried sigh. “She dropped me off at soccer practice this afternoon, but she never came to pick me up. She always picks me up. And she’s never late.” He emphasizes his words and I don’t doubt they’re true.

From the first time I met Sadie, she talked about her brother like he was her own kid. I know how important he is to her and there’s no way she’d leave him hanging. She puts Kyle above everything, including herself.

“I thought maybe she had to go into work, or something happened at the house, or maybe there was another accident on the road like what happened the other day.” He’s probably talking about mine. Though I doubt he knows it was me. “My teammate and his mom waited with me, but after thirty minutes, Sadie still hadn’t shown up. And I didn’t want his mom to say anything bad about her, so I pretended that I forgot she told me to catch a ride home.” He’s a good kid, always looking out for his sister.

“Then what happened?”

“When I got home, she wasn’t there and neither was the truck.” He swallows hard. “I tried calling her phone lots of times, but it kept going to voicemail. She always answers when I call.”

“You think she could be with anyone else? A friend maybe?”

“I called Tessa, and she said that Sadie stopped by, but that she’d already left. I didn’t want to worry her, so I said she was probably on her way to get me.” He pauses as if he might regret not saying more to her friend. “Is… is she with you?” He sounds hopeful, and I hate to be the one to crush that.

I wish I could lie to him and tell him what he wants to hear. But honesty is best if I want him to trust me. “No, kid. Sadie isn’t with me. I haven’t seen her since I left you guys this morning.”

Memories surface in my mind, reminding me of how beautiful she looks when she sleeps, when I make her come, after I’ve kissed her long and hard…

Fuck.

If Gamble hadn’t called about heat coming down on our businesses and the cops harassing our brothers, I wouldn’t have left her side. But when my club needs me, I have to go. This shit is coming at us from multiple sides, and we need it to be resolved yesterday.

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