Page 78 of Ruthless

"It's Daryl," he confirmed when he reached me.

Fuck! I should have been glad that it was over, but I'd wanted to be the one to end him. I'd wanted to gut him and watch the life drain out of him. "What did you say?"

"That my cousin drove a black Camaro. I'd heard about the accident and just wanted to make sure that it wasn't him."

I was sure that the cop’s recognition that Ace was with the Sentinels had helped, too. I took a deep breath and released it. "They got what they deserved."

"Yep."

We began to walk back to our bikes. "Thanks for your help today, brother."

"Anytime," Ace responded, mounting his Harley, which was huge and solid black but for the Sentinels logo on the tank. "I'll let Tanner know."

We headed out together, but at some point we parted, going our separate ways. I headed toward the hospital, anxious to see Ginger and tell her that it was over.

I never made it to the hospital.

****

Ginger

"We gonna take her to the Kings clubhouse?" The man who asked was around my age, and the only one of the three men who hadn't shaved his head. His hair was buzzed close to his scalp, leaving just enough to show that it was red.

"Naw, too many people around their piss-poor excuse of a clubhouse. I don't want any chance of there being a witness to the screams," Rocky grinned sickly, giving me a long look. "Or any shootings. Remember the abandoned house on Tomoka Lake? It’s the perfect place for what I have in mind."

"How we gonna lure Rebel there?"

Rocky wasn't the only one who laughed at that question. "No luring, asshole. Once he knows we have his woman he'll come. Give Wicked a heads up and tell him to meet us there. He wants in on this, too. Then take off her fucking boots in case she gets any ideas about escaping."

The redhead made the call. As he waited for someone to pick up on the other end, he glanced over at me and gave me a wink. I quickly looked away, trying to hold it together. All I could hold on to was the thought that Stevie had seen them take me, and that someone knew. She'd got a look at the van, maybe she'd been savvy enough to get the license plate number.

More importantly to me was that what was happening now had nothing to do with Della. She was safe from this.

How had my life become such a mess?

I couldn't help feeling relieved that they didn't already have Rebel tied up somewhere.

"Yeah, hey, man, we have her and are headin' to the house on Tomoka Lake now." The redheaded man paused while the person on the other end of the line spoke. Then he began to laugh. "From what Deezer said, Daryl didn't know what hit him."

Daryl? It sounded as if they'd done something to him.

"Yep. Payback is a mother, brother," he laughed. Rocky and the driver laughed as well.

"Tell him to bring some beer and shit. We'll have a real party."

"Hey, Rocky said to?" He stopped abruptly. "He heard you," he said to Rocky after a second. "Ok, man, see you there." He pinned his gaze on me once the call was over."Get that pussy ready, baby! It's gonna get a workout tonight." He grabbed the front of his pants. Then, as if just remembering, he came over and roughly tugged off my boots, laughing.

If they thought my bare feet was going to prevent me from trying to run when the chance presented itself they were in for a surprise. Once he was done I turned away and focused my eyes on a bolt on the floor, watching it roll around from the movement of the van. I was frozen with fear inside, but determined not to let them see it. Some people got off on the fear of others, and as Red Devils, I knew what they were capable of. They'd been a cruel, sadistic bunch, and they'd mistreated their women. I tightened my arms around my knees. I had to come up with an escape plan, but all I could think about was whether or not Rebel and I would survive the night.

I didn't see how we could.

It would be all of them against the two of us.

We turned off the main road onto a dirt road. I couldn't see it, but judging from the shaking of the van, the road was definitely not paved. Looking toward the front of the window, I was able to see that we were in the woods, and the road was so narrow that branches scraped along the sides. Pot holes kept the vehicle bouncing from side to side, and one particular hole brought us to a jarring stop.

"Fuck!" the driver swore as he looked over at Rocky. "We're stuck."

"Really, asshole?" Rocky smirked. He opened his door, shooting a glance back at the redhead. "Come on, Todd, let's push this bitch out."

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