Page 60 of Traitor

Brianne kept looking past Grey toward us; clearly hoping one of us would step in and save her. Grey jerked her chin back toward him. “Stop looking at them—ain’t one of them gonna help you right now. Now, tell me who you’ve been talking to.”

She kept her gaze on Carnage as she answered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about—”

The bartender slammed a glass down on the counter with a thud. “Dammit, Brianne—don’t fuck with these guys.”

“Listen to your boy, Bri. He’s trying to keep you breathing,” my father coaxed.

She threw her head back, laughing. The majority of her teeth were nothing more than rotting black stumps thanks to her drug use. She looked up at Grey and spit in his face. “Fuck you. I owe you nothing.”

Grey closed his eyes and wiped the saliva from his cheek. “You shouldn’t have done that. That’s gonna fucking cost ya.”

He gestured for Carnage. Without a word, the burly biker drove his fist into her stomach. She gasped in pain and tried to curl her body inward, but the cuffs restricted the movement.

Grey stepped back up. “That’s a warning. Now, tell me who you’ve talked to.”

She shook her head. “He said I could never tell. I’m his good girl.”

“Jesus Christ!” My father roared. “We’re not gonna get a fucking thing from her at this rate.” He knelt down in front of her, stroking her thighs with his palms. “Brianne, baby, tell Comedian what he needs to hear.”

She bit down on her cracked lip as if she was considering it before shaking her head tearfully. “No.”

He smiled and patted her on the back. “It’s alright. I understand. I do.”

She nodded, her body visibly relaxing, just as his fist connected with her cheek. I felt sick to my stomach. The only thing that had kept me here was the need to find out if she’d been responsible for what happened to Lauren.

Brianne howled in pain and her cheek began swelling. He’d probably shattered the bone. My old man knew just where to strike.

Grey called out, “This can be over if you’ll just tell us what we need to know.”

I realized that the bartender had disappeared to the back at some point, probably unable to witness his girlfriend being beaten. Just to be safe, I pointed it out to Little Ricky and he drew his gun before going to check.

The last thing we needed was for this guy to call it in.

Each time Brianne refused to talk, she got a fist, while Grey urged her to reconsider. I was ready to call it a bust when she blurted out, “I followed the redhead.”

My head whipped around, as did Torch’s.

“He said to follow her, so I did. She went to the gym and then home with someone else. I had to wait around until she went back to her car. He said to make sure she was alone, but I messed up—”

In my anger, I stormed over to her. I only saw red as my fists began raining fury down on her face. “You goddamn bitch,” I screamed.

Grey pulled me off. “We need more out of her, Mikey. You’re gonna have to hold back.” He kept talking softly to me until my vision cleared and I was able to take in the damage I’d inflicted. Brianne’s face was unrecognizable. Her lips were puffy, as if she’d been stung by a thousand bees, her eyes nothing more than slits.

I’d done most of that to her. I’d battered her—granted, she’d almost gotten Lauren killed, but I’d raised a hand in anger against a woman. The transformation was complete—I’d become Comedian. I leaned against a table, trying to hear over the sound of the blood rushing in my ears.

“Jesus,” she whimpered through her tears.

“He can’t save you now,” Comedian answered her with a grin.

“It’s time to give us your contact,” Grey urged.

She spat out a mouthful of blood onto the bar floor. “I don’t know. I never met him—he’d message me through the computer here and then leave me drugs when I followed through. We’re in love,” she said, almost wistfully.

She’d turned on the club for cyber-sex and drugs. The tweaker had lost her goddamned mind.

Carnage spoke up, “That shit with Ian and Monica? You behind that?”

She struggled to find him through her swollen eyes before nodding. “All I had to do was tell him where they were or where they were going. I didn’t do nothing else to them. I just watched them. You have to bel—”

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