Page 40 of Chill’s Chance

“Wrecker has already picked them up.” Wildcard says. “I called him before we left the airstrip and he called me back a few minutes ago to say they are on their way to his scrap yard. He’ll have them broken down, and the parts sold off before the day’s over.”

“Their alibis are solid.” Spark says. “Phones pinging at the colonel’s hunting cabin. No trail leading back here. They made certain no one could tie them to Chill’s disappearance. Fuckers.”

“They’ll be dead fuckers soon enough.” I say.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: HUNTER

When we drop Chill off at 1% so she can get her bike, I’m torn. I want to get behind her on that bike and hold her, but I don’t feel worthy. I watch her walk over to her bike and feel a tremendous sense of failure. Not only did Abbott and Billet get their hands on Chill today, but they raped her back when we were all serving together. How did I not know this? Why didn’t she tell me?

“You doing alright?” Showtime asks as we head back to the clubhouse.

“I guess.” I respond. “Just pissed off that these guys got the drop on us. When I saw Abbott grab Chill, I didn’t know what was happening until it was all over.” I shake my head. “I was fucking happy to see him, thought it was just a weird coincidence running into him here in Vegas.”

“So you didn’t know they raped her?” Showtime asks and I can feel her eyes on me, so I shake my head.

When her words penetrate, I snap my head in her direction. “Did you know?” I ask her. “Does everyone know but me?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know who all knows, to be honest. Puma and Spark know. Spark recognized those assholes on the security camera when Jonathon sent out the alert. From the chatter on the line as we were driving over to the airstrip, I think most of the guys know. Chill told me one night after we’d been drinking and talking about horror stories.”

“What horror stories?” I ask Showtime and see her blush.

“Chill and I often talk about our experiences with men who think because we’re women, they can take what they want. Not all men, but too many. I won’t share what she told me, and I don’t want to get into my past.” Showtime explains. “But now that you know about these assholes and what they did, you can probably understand how Chill got to be so good at torturing men.”

“She imagines these guys as her targets?” I ask and Showtime smirks. “Still don’t understand why she didn’t tell me what happened.” Showtime is silent as I think about my time in the Marines with Chill and the assholes in the back. I don’t know when they would have had time to attack her. We were always together. Except for when I left to tell Nicole about Chill. When I returned to base, Chill was gone. Fuck. “They raped her when I was on leave, didn’t they? They’re the ones who told her I was married.”

“Yeah.” Showtime responds, even though I don’t need her to do so. All the pieces are falling into place and I feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. “They told her that if she could seduce and fuck a married man, that she was just a whore.”

“God dammit.” I explode. “No wonder she wouldn’t take my calls. She thought I told them about us. Didn’t she?”

“She didn’t tell anyone that you two hooked up. She didn’t know you were married. How did they find out about you two if you didn’t tell them? Did someone see you two together?”

I think back to the night we finally gave in, trying to remember if anyone could have overheard us. “It’s possible.” I admit. “I sure as hell didn’t tell anyone. Fuck. What a mess. It explains why she thought I set her up today.”

“She thought you set her up?” Showtime asks, her eyes narrowing at me. “Did you?”

“No!” I explode. “Of course not. But before Abbott grabbed her, Chill saw me greeting him. When we both woke up in that room, she accused me of setting her up. I can’t believe this. I wish she would have told me.”

“She couldn’t.” Chill says. “When it happened, she went to the colonel and told him. He refused to believe her, took their side and suggested she leave the service. So she did. When she patched in to the Demon Dawgs, Spark gathered data on the three men back there. Enough data to prove they’d done this before to other female soldiers. She told them she would keep the evidence hidden as long as they didn’t do it to anyone else. She threatened to go public with everything if she discovered they hurt another woman.”

“Is that why they came after her today?” I ask. “Why did they wait so long?” When Showtime doesn’t respond, I think about our argument before she accepted I didn’t betray her. “She called the colonel and used the blackmail to get me an honorable discharge, didn’t she?” I ask Showtime. “That’s how they knew where to find her, because she told him to send my belongings to 1%, care of Chill.”

When we reach the clubhouse, several of the members come to help us carry the prisoners into The Pit. “Showtime, need you to go cover the gate. Sterling should be here soon, and I need you to distract him until we’re done down here.”

She nods and takes off for the clubhouse.

“Are we hanging them up?” Dice asks Puma.

“No, just toss them in the cells for now. Strip them first. Get their phones and any other devices, then toss their clothes in the fire.” Puma tells us.

We all move to follow his instructions. “We aren’t killing them today, then?” Dice asks.

“No. Not only are we expecting Sterling, but Chill will want Showtime’s help with these three. Seems fitting that the two women take out the rapists.” Puma says with a grin.

“Does that mean we won’t get a piece of them?” Dice whines. “I really want to give them some pain.”

“Me, too.” I agree.

“You’ll get your shots. Chill needs to deliver the final blow. She needs to exercise the demons.”

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