Page 38 of Liberator

“Why would you need me?” I asked.

“Information. You came for something, apparently something important enough to risk your life and those of your few friends to get. I have to assume it has everything to do with this,” he answered.

He held up a small phone. It had to be Vikki’s. I cringed involuntarily.

“You recognize it. Good. I had worried you would be foolish enough to deny it. I want you to tell me who it belongs to. Who has been spying on my business?”

“Fuck you!” I yelled.

“Such a shame,” he said before picking up a board and slamming it into my dislocated shoulder.

My shriek echoed on the walls, and I lost consciousness. An icy water bath brought me back abruptly, as he had known it would.

“Let me tell you what I already know. That may help you loosen your tongue,” Aguilar calmly announced. “Your tattoos show who you belong to. Your club has been causing me trouble for a while now. I am not your friend. Your pain is enjoyable to me, so you may expect more. The phone had one video left on it.It showed my farm. I assumed the phone belonged to one of the workers there until you arrived.”

“You see, one of my guards was stupid enough to wipe the phone clean when he found it. He thought to keep it as a prize. I could not trace it back to its owner and was forced to guess. Needless to say, the guard is now dead. You have proved to me that I was mistaken and blaming the wrong group. Because of that mistake, I now have ten fewer workers. I do not like making mistakes. You will now tell me the name of the spy so that I do not lose more staff. It is an inconvenience to import more,” he concluded.

I was a fool. Vikki wasn’t here. She never had been. Petrov had been right to hold off. I’d risked the prospects and Sweet for nothing. If I survived by some miracle I’d be lost on my own because Prime wouldn’t forgive me. And worst of all, I’d given Aguilar a clue about the spy. I’d practically outed Vikki and put her in danger when she’d been safe.

With nothing to lose I clearly replied, “Sinners don’t betray family. Fuck you sideways, Aguilar. I’m not telling you anything.”

“We shall see,” he said.

Chapter 27

Prime

The roar of bikesand the screeching of tires brought me out of my office at a run. There was shouting and scrambling as the crowd in the bar frantically shifted to let Sweet have an open path. Terrified women clung to their men or hid beneath tables. Security guards pulled their weapons while searching for the source of the attack.

No guns were blazing. No enemy barged in. Yet, chaos surrounded me. Two prospects barreled in after Sweet. Their eyes were wide with terror. They were covered with blood and smelled strongly of smoke and sweat.

“DOC!” Sweet roared. “Doc! Help! Hurry!”

I pushed my way through the crowd and into the empty circle they’d provided for Sweet. In his large arms he carried a man, another prospect, Ike. The man was bleeding heavily although there was a shirt tied around the wound to put pressure on it.

Fear and anger mixed with my shock. One of my prospects was bleeding out and I had no idea why. I had to rein in my emotions and find a way to deal with a situation that was out of control.

“Clear the bar!” I shouted.

Flame, Rod, and Stretch began to take what was left of the patrons out the front door. All three appeared to be just as confused as I was.

“How bad is it?” I asked as I stroked Ike’s lolling head. My touch brought him around enough for him to feel pain. He screamed in my face, and I paled. I hadn’t meant to cause him agony.

“DOC!” Sweet yelled again. He wasn’t listening to me at all. He had a one-track mind. His only goal was to find Doc.

“What the hell?” Doc called out as he came from outside. “What the fuck is going on? Can’t a man go on a damn ride without everybody freaking the hell out?”

“It’s Ike, Doc. You have to save him. Can you? Please!” one of the other prospects babbled in a panic.

Doc took one look at Ike and his face turned to stone. “Take him to the back. I’ll do my damnedest, but I can’t promise anything.”

Sweet put him on the table in the infirmary but didn’t back off.

“You have to let him go, Sweet. You’re in Doc’s way. Move!” I ordered.

“HOLD HIM DOWN!” Doc demanded of the shaking, overwhelmed prospects who’d followed us.

I assumed he needed Ike to remain motionless while he dug out the bullet to keep from causing more damage. I stepped up to help, but Doc shoved me away.

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