Page 28 of Demon
“Son of a bitch.I take it since you’re bringing it up, it’s a serious debt?”
Gizmo nodded.“It’s not like the Devils have detailed accounting, at least not online where I could hack in and see what they’re doing, but from what I’m hearing, yes, it’s a serious debt, as in high six figures.”
Demon blinked.How in the fuck did someone get into that kind of debt with an MC that ran drugs, people, and pussy?Demon didn’t think the guy was in debt for having people brought across the border to him, so that was out.But in order to run up that kind of debt, either he was dealing, muling or using platinum plated pussy.Demon didn’t know which was preferable because to him, it was all stupid.
“Okay, but I’m not sure why what her father is mixed up in matters here?”He hoped phrasing it like a question would get Gizmo to tell him what was going on.
“We all know that the Devil’s don’t just bring in drugs, but they’re coyotes too, bringing people across the border.”
Demon nodded, he’d known that, but he still didn’t see why Gizmo was so concerned about it.
“It seems that the Devils don’t just transport people into the country.Their human smuggling operation goes both ways.”
Demon’s stomach dropped.Was this going where he feared it was?He didn’t want to say it, because that was like summoning the worst thing he could think of into existence.He closed his eyes and forced himself to keep his breathing slow and steady.
“Tell me.”
Gizmo took a pull from the glass Puck had just brought, his eyes never leaving Demon.Demon couldn’t guess what he was thinking but the longer it took to get the information, the more he knew it was going to be bad and the worse it got in his mind.
“When I started looking into Randy, I had someone reach out, someone I hadn’t heard from in a long time.Turns out this old friend is working on the Switchblade problem, and he’d seen Randy’s name before, and more than once.That’s not here nor there right now, what matters is he saw the name in the few weeks, it seems he’s got a woman who’s become a problem and he’s willing to sell her to the Devils, who are an extension of Switchblade’s Diablos.There was a description attached, along with the tidbit that the troublesome woman is Randy’s daughter.”
Demon stood, his fists clenched at his sides.His chair fell over backwards from his sudden movement, but he didn’t care.His firecracker was in danger, not only from Jim Bob and the idiots he hung around with, but from the one man who should make sure she was always safe.The one who should protect her above all things.
Knowing that Ronnie’s father would sell her to pay off his debts made him want to do more than rearrange a few teeth, it made him want to find a deep hole somewhere in the desert and make sure he was never heard from again.
He clenched his fists put his head down and paced the three steps from the table to the wall and back as he forced himself to take deep, slow breaths, and let them out just as slowly.No matter how badly he wanted to, he couldn’t go racing off to protect her, not yet.There were things he needed to know first.Then he’d go make sure she was safe.
He lost track of how long he paced, trying to keep from losing his mind knowing that Ronnie was in danger.If they hadn’t yet taken her, they likely had a plan.If it were Demon, he’d set it up so that when she went to take down Jim Bob, they would ambush her.Making her come to them was way easier than tracking her down or breaking into her home to kidnap her.And would leave less evidence too.
He didn’t know how long he’d paced.He was vaguely aware of Puck coming and going, and when he was finally able to open his eyes without seeing red, he found that the other prospect had brought his food, along with fresh drinks for both him and Gizmo.
Going back to the table, he picked up the half full drink from before he’d asked about food and drained it.
“Give me a sec, then you can tell me the rest of it.”Demon didn’t wait for an answer but spun on his heel and headed for the head.
As he took a piss, images flashed through his head.Women he’d encountered while he was overseas with the Marines.Women who’d had no choice in what was done to them, both because they were in a country where women had little to no rights and those who didn’t know any different, because they’d been sold into the situation.Not all of them had been mistreated.But the ones who hadn’t been treated well, those haunted him.
When he finished, he went to the sink to wash his hands and the same images flashed through his mind, only this time, every woman was Ronnie.Every horror he’d seen was happening to his firecracker.Demon left the water running as he pushed open the stall door, bent over and emptied his stomach.At least it was all liquid and came up easy.
When his stomach stopped heaving, he went back the sink and washed his hands again, rinsing out his mouth and using a strip of paper towels to wash his face.He stared at himself in the mirror and swore he would never let that happen to her.He didn’t care if it cost him his colors, he couldn’t let her be sold into slavery like that.
He finished in the restroom then went out to find out the rest of what Gizmo had found, including Ronnie’s address.He would eat, despite not being hungry, then he’d go watch her place and make sure she stayed safe.Demon detoured to behind the bar, where he grabbed a bottle of water.He cracked the seal and took a pull before he made it to the table.
“You okay?”Gizmo asked one brow lifted as he watched Demon sit down and pull the plate close.
Demon nodded as he picked up one of three chicken thighs and peeled the skin off.
“Yeah, no worries.Why?”He popped the skin into his mouth enjoying the burst of flavor while at the same time, his stomach rumbled, and ached.As if he wasn’t feeding it now.
“You look a little green.You ready for the rest of this or you want to eat first?”
Demon ignored the comment about his color.“Tell me.”He finished peeling the skin off the piece he’d picked up and took a bite.It was nice and hot but not too hot.He wouldn’t have cared if it was ice cold, it was food, and he needed the fuel in order to do what needed to be done.
Gizmo watched him for a moment, as if trying to decide if he should, then he started talking.
“I’m not getting a lot of details, at least not yet.My source said there was an off-hand comment someone made that made him think that maybe this wasn’t the first time Darq had given them women to pay off his debts, but he didn’t know, he didn’t have any details.I’m still looking into that.If there’s a history of women he knows disappearing.More importantly, if you’ve been playing tonsil hockey with her, I take it you’re not good with letting this happen to her?”
Demon didn’t answer.He kept eating and looked up at Gizmo, letting all the rage he felt that Ronnie’s father would set her up for something like that show in his eyes.
