Page 28 of Property of Indiana

“Absolutely,” she asserts. “If they think I’m just gonna lay there while they defile me? They’re out of their fucking minds. They might still accomplish their goal, but I’ve suffered enough abuse in my lifetime so the joke’s on them because I’ve got an implant. It’s a newer one so it’s not visible like the others are. I won’t get pregnant short of a flat-out miracle.”

I start to giggle even though there’s absolutelynothingfunny about rape. Having lived through it myself, I know the emotionaltrauma she’s likely hiding, just like me. “Good for you,” I tell her. “I wasn’t so lucky the last time.”

“They’ve taken you before?” she asks.

“Yeah, several years ago at a party, they assaulted me. I nearly killed myself because of the emotional and physical damage I suffered until I saw two pink lines.”

I hear her indrawn breath then she whispers, so low it’s almost hard to hear, “You’re the one they’ve talked about, Zoey. They decided to set this up to breed women after they found out you got pregnant. They’re doing it so they can build up an army or something like that. They’ve got a school where they start training kids when they’re young to become assassins. Also, they sometimes sell off those who don’t get pregnant right away, and I’ve heard them say they also plan to auction off the younger girls when they get older.”

“Oh, my God,” I say. My parents are involved in this ludicrous, disgusting enterprise.

Raising children to kill others? Breeding women then auctioning off the kids? Selling the women who can’t become pregnant?

Who does this kind of shit? I wonder if the church my parents have attended forever is at the helm because neither my father nor my mother are the type to lead anything. They’re followers through and through.

“Letti,” I whisper.

“Yeah,” she says as tears trickle down her cheeks.

“I’m part of the Kings family, they’re going to come for us,” I promise her.

“I wish that made me feel better, but it doesn’t because the question remains, will they make it before you’re violated again or I’m sold off because as I shared, there’s no way in hell I’ll be giving them any offspring.”

“They’ll make it in time,” I swear, hoping that I’m right because time is of the essence.

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

INDIANA

The clubhouse isin uproarious chaos and there isn’t a single brother sitting as we ready the armory and arm our person, preparing to head out and tear the town apart until we find my old lady and daughter.

Icer is back to his usual self, he’s torn the main room apart when we woke him up to share the news with him. There isn’t a piece of furniture still intact, and his eyes are withdrawn and empty. The spark of life that was in him is no longer present, he’s in kill mode. I have no doubt at all that whoever gets in his way while searching for his princess and sister will die a bloody, pain-filled death.

Of course, I’m nearly at the same level, although I haven’t destroyed the common room to pieces. I would’ve but fucking Icer beat me to it. Still, I’ll help replace what he destroyed once my… no,ourgirls, are home.

“Just heard from Splicer, Hazard is going to make it,” Riptide announces and the first cheers of the day pierce the air. “Sphinxreached out too, he wasn’t in the thick of the group so he had no idea what was going down but he’s putting out some feelers with the guys he has gotten in with and is hoping to give me a location of where our girls are being held.” A smile splits my face at his use of our. Zoey got under his skin the same way she did me and Icer. He now sees her as our family and once you’re in with Rip, you’re in for life.

“I’m done,” Icer announces—finally! I’ve been waiting for this to happen so I’d have a valid excuse to search the town. When he assembles his semi-automatic rifle and straps it to his back, I know that things are about to get done. I tuck my Ruger SR9c into the back of my jeans and toss spare clips and bullets into the upper pocket of my cut.

Rip, with murder in his eyes turns to me and grits out, “I don’t give a damn who you have to torture to figure out where they’re being held, do what you’ve gotta do, but do not go in without us.”

“Will do,” I say with a nod of my head. I salute the brothers as I follow Icer out the doors. “We have orders not to infiltrate without backup,” I tell him.

“I have backup,” he remarks, patting the rifle.

“Human backup,” I reiterate. “But I’m with you, if we feel we can’t wait, we go in ourselves and get the job done.” He nods his head and sticks out his fist, I thump my knuckles against his as we fire up our bikes.

It takes less than five minutes for us to hit the center of town where we shut our bikes off and stand in the middle. Icer liftshis rifle into the air and sends off five warning shots, they’re loud enough that everyone freezes on the spot and turns in our direction. All of them have a shocked appearance plastered on their faces.

“Listen up!” Icer bellows, his rifle butt up against his shoulder blade. “We’re done playing the middle man, we no longer give a fuck about peace. The Onyx Dragons have declared war and we’re here to deliver!”

“You don’t fuck with the Kings!” I yell out the reminder for those who have forgotten. “Our women and children are protected at all costs! We will light up this town and burn it to ash! Someone better start talking and tell me where the fuck my woman Zoey and our daughter Elodie is! You know our numbers, they’re programmed into your phones, somebody better send me a message with their location.”

“You have three minutes starting now,” Icer comments, making sure everyone sees him starting the timer on his wristwatch. “Just in case you’ve forgotten, I’m not a man to be messed with. Snuffing your life out is no hardship for me, you mean nothing to me! But my sister and niece do! Somebody better deliver my princess to me or heads are going to roll!”

When he walks to his saddle bag and pulls out a Molotov bomb, a malicious grin splits my face. Hell to the yes! Everyone dashes away, all of them yelling at each other as the town starts accusing each other of knowing their location.