Page 39 of Striker's Yield

I figure Horse and Twister will catch up. There’s no time to wait around. I’ve got to find my woman before any more time passes by.

I don’t know if Tony would hurt her or not, but something about this whole thing doesn’t sit well with me.

Athena said the men from the car, the ones who took Autumn and also dropped Lila off, they’re the ones who broke into Autumn’s apartment. On the security feed, they talked about the bossman. Is that bossman Tony? Do they have a connection to ‘Marionette’? To Autumn being taken the first time?

There are too many dots, and I’m not liking where they are leading.

“You ready to talk?” I ask, slamming my fist into the guy’s face again. I decided to start with the pantie sniffer, I figured he’d be easier to break.

“Fuck you,” he spits.

“Nah, you ain’t my type,” I sneer and slam my fist against his jaw. “Where’d Tony take my woman?”

“I ain’t tellin’ you shit.”

“Wrong answer.” Turning away from him, I move to the table with all the different tools scattered around. Picking up a butane blower, I grab a pair of work gloves and a metal pipe. I make my way back to the one I’d been beating up.

“Oh shit, looks like he’s gonna take a page out of Twister’s book,” Hade mutters.

I ignore him and focus on the asshat. “You know what we do to those who cross us? We make ‘em pay. More than that, we make ‘em suffer. You might be working for the fucker I want, but you’re gonna suffer the same fate if you don’t tell me where the fuck he took my woman.”

“I’d seriously tell him what he wants to know, man,” Brass says, cringing. “I’m sure you don’t want the fate he’s got in store for you.”

“Wh-what are you gonna do with that?” the guy asks, eyeing the pipe and torch in my hands.

“Well, this . . .” I hold the pipe up and grin. “It’s going to be shoved where you surely don’t want it.” Holding up the torch, “This will be used to burn you from the inside out. I’ll fry your ass until you take your last breath. How’s that sound?”

“Damn, he’s going to make it even more epic than Prez did.” Thorn snorts.

The other guy I hadn’t even started in on surprises me when he shouts, “He doesn’t know where ‘Marionette’ would take her, and all I know is he was taking her back to base.”

So Tony is ‘Marionette’. This answers my question on if he was or not. Now, I just have to find where this base is.

I toss the pipe and torch over to Thorn and pull my gun out from where I keep it in the shoulder holster. I’d already secured the silencer, I didn’t need ears to hear if there were any close enough to hear a gun go off.

If I didn’t have a woman to find, I’d take my time and make them beg for mercy.

Aiming between the eyes of the one I’d beaten, I pull the trigger, ending his misery.

“Brother, before you kill ‘em, let’s get your woman back,” Brass remarks, sounding reasonable. “We need to keep him around in case we need to get more information from him.”

I nod, seeing reason. All I care about is finding Autumn and getting her back before something else happens to her.

CHAPTER 20

Autumn

“Welcome to your new home, darlin’,” Tony says, finally releasing me into a massive room that looks like it could be in a fairy tale book. I mean, it even has the canopy bed with the flowy white curtains and the balcony door. There’s even a fireplace with a sitting area and everything.

“I’d like to stay, but I’ve gotta run. There’s a meeting I can’t miss, but I’ll be on the property.”Tony comes up right behind me and strokes the backs of his fingers along my cheek.I step forward in hopes of getting away from him, but he grips my hip tight enough to cause me to wince. “Don’t pull away from me, Autumn. Never pull away from me.”

I nod, thinking it best not to fight him right now.

“Good girl,” Tony coos, loosens his grip, and turns me until I’m facing him. He reaches up and runs a hand through my hair, tangling his fingers in it. “Now, don’t think of running away. You’ll have a guard on you at all times. I’ll allow you to go through the house as long as you promise to be good.”

“I’ll be good,” I whisper. There’s no way in hell I’m not going to attempt to find a way off this property. I might not have paid attention to the turns and such while in the trunk of that car, but I surely did on the ride here. Getting away from him is a priority. No one knows where I am.

Tony stares at me intently for a long moment before nodding. “All right, sweetheart,” he murmurs and plants his lips against mine. I struggle to keep myself still and allow him to kiss me.

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