Page 18 of Hellraiser

Snap.

With one quick twist, his neck was broken and he was dead.

One down, one to go.

I saved Mr. Hubertson, the English teacher, for last. I let him get through the entire school day, wanted to make him feel that nothing in his sick, perverted little life was out of order. Until that fuckin’ bell rang. Then, his ass was mine.

I waited until he walked out to his car after school and confronted him in the parking lot. He tried to run from me when I asked him if he liked touching lil girls more than he liked teaching mothafuckas how to read. I slammed him back on the pavement, head-first of course. He didn’t move much after that. I pulled out my Glock, wrapped my gun around his hand, and put it up to his head before pulling the trigger and watching his brains splatter. I hopped on the back of my bike and peeled off.

I had the blood of two more men on my hands for Mercy, but if that meant she never had to worry about them hurting anyone ever again, I’d do it again.

My thoughts stirred with the buzz of my cell phone in my pocket. I fished it out and looked at the screen to see a blocked number. My eyes shifted from left to right before I pressed accept and pressed the phone tightly to my ear.

“Speak.”

“I have the footage you asked for,” Rex, my inside man with the Outlaws, informed me. “When can you meet?”

“Give me a location, and I’m on my way.”

“I’ll text you. Meet me in twenty.”

“Bet,” I replied before ending the call.

My heart somersaulted in my chest. As indifferent as I was about my feelings for Mercy, I still wanted to do everything I could to help her win.

After receiving the flash drive from Rex twenty minutes later, I couldn’t wait to get back to Mercy and present it to her. I knew whatever doubts she had about me would dissipate as soon asshe had the drive in her possession. Unable to get her off my mind, I realized I’d made a mistake in telling Mercy she no longer had my protection. I was just talking out the side of my fucking neck. I never meant that shit. I wanted to be with her, and I was a fool for walking away.

My foot tapped the gas a little harder, desperate to get back to her side. I turned down a secluded back road, when I noticed something in my rearview mirror. A group of bikers were following me and closing in fast. My heart rate gunned into overdrive as I recognized the Chicago Outlaws MC patches.

Fuck. Not now.

Before I could react, they surrounded my truck, forcing me to pull over. I quickly hid the drive in my glove compartment. The bikers dismounted, their faces hidden by helmets and masks. My hand instinctively moved to my gun concealed underneath my seat, but it was too late. They yanked open the door and dragged me out, overpowering me in number and muscle.Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, and everything started to fade to black.

They roughly threw me into the back seat of my truck, the impact jarring my already aching head. They sped off, the rumble of motorcycles following close behind. I struggled, feeling the vibrations of the road beneath me. Thoughts of escape raced through my head, but there was no evading the hood over my head and the zip ties clasped tightly around my wrists.

“Got him. Good work, Rex. Let’s move,” Cannon announced.

As they sped away, my mind galloped with alarm. I knew the Outlaws had taken me for a reason, and it wouldn’t be a pleasant reunion.

After what felt like a decade, the truck came to a halt. I heard the doors open and the thudding sound of approaching footsteps. They pulled me out of the truck and yanked the hood off my head. Before I could react, what felt like a steel-plated fist connected with my jaw, sending a fresh roll of ache rolling through my body.

I blinked against the lighting as the faces of my captors started to come into focus—members of the Outlaws. Cannon stepped forward. I squirmed, but a punch to my ribs made me double over in pain.

“Thought you could fuck with us and get away with it, mothafucka?”

I glared at him, refusing to show any fear. “You fucked up taking me. My brothers will find out what you did and come for me.”

Cannon barked out a cruel laugh. “And all this time, I thought I was your brother.”

“You could never be a brother to me, nigga,” I spat. “The Savages are my family.”

“By the time they find you, you’ll be in pieces, nigga,” he warned.

I knew the Savages would be looking for me, but I had to hold out until the cavalry arrived. The aches in my ribs and jaw were intense, but I centered my thoughts around my survival, determined not to give the Outlaws the pleasure of seeing me break down, especially not fuckin’ Cannon.

“Y’know, I could make this end right now if you just give me what I want.”

I glared at him, feeling the blood running down my face, and still refusing to show any sign of weakness.

---