Page 33 of The Queen of Nightmares

JACK

Everything hurt. Even my fucking eyelashes hurt as they brushed against the skin of my bruised and swollen eye socket. I kept my eyes closed as I listened to the shouts outside that had started up just a few minutes ago. The sudden commotion had drawn them outside and ended the latest fun the Boogeymen were having at my expense, so I was grateful for the distraction.

If I had to guess, one of my men, or all of them, had come in an attempt to rescue me. I cursed silently. I didn’t have time to relay any orders when I had been taken, but Doc should have known that his priority should be on keeping my woman and child safe. I could die happy knowing that they would live. If the club angered Oogie, there was no doubt he would take it out on my little Queen. He’d already threatened her several times, but his final words to her had been what made me see red.

When I heard him say those words, I’d lost my shit. It wasn’t until the bullet slammed through my shoulder that I slowed down, but it was the strike to my skull from behind that had put my struggles to an end. I’d woken already strung up like a fucking deer, which was pretty fucking ironic since that was the same method of torture the Devil’s Nightmares employed.

Instead of hanging me by my arms, though, I was hanging by my fucking feet. My one arm was useless. I couldn’t move it at all, thanks to the bullet I had taken to my shoulder. My other arm could move, but I chose to wait until I had a chance to act. If they did anything to that arm, I wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting free. My only option was to bide my time and play the good little captive until the perfect moment came. Hopefully, it will come sooner than later.

When the yelling died down, I cracked open my bloodshot eyes. After hanging for so long, I was having trouble seeing straight. Of course, that may also have something to do with the blow I’d taken to my head or one of the numerous punches they’d landed. I was hanging like a fucking piñata for them, and they were taking full advantage. I knew I had at least a couple of broken ribs, making it difficult to breathe.

There was another concern I was facing. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been hanging here by my feet, but a body could only take about ten hours before it shut down. The best case scenario would be that I died from a brain hemorrhage. The worst case would be that my internal organs slowly crush my lungs until I could no longer breathe.

I blinked to clear my vision, giving my head a small shake. The first thing I saw was the puddle of blood under me. Blood was still dripping from my fingertips at a fairly steady rate. It was likely another reason I felt so goddamn woozy. The sound of the door opening caused my body to tense involuntarily, and I had to stifle my groan of pain. I wasn’t going to let these mother fuckers see they had made me weak.

“Get him down and throw him in the cage.” There was no mistaking the voice of Oogie. Even through the constant woosh of my heartbeat pounding through my head, I could still hear his fucking voice. I was going to make sure I killed him real fucking slow. As soon as I could move.

Rough hands grabbed and lifted me until the chain wrapped around my legs and feet was clear of the hook in the ceiling. My body landed hard on the cold cement ground, stealing what little oxygen I had. The cement might as well have been the icy ground outside; it was so fucking cold. The place was what I would have expected from a torture room. The temperature was cold enough to make me involuntarily shiver while the heat was kept so low it barely kept the room above freezing.

I coughed and groaned, but thankful as fuck that I was no longer hanging even as I worked to stop myself from writhing on the floor with the pain. My entire body was adjusting to the sudden change of position. My ribs felt like they were being pried out of my chest with a pair of pliers, while my skin felt electrified as feeling rushed back into my fingers and toes.

Hands grabbed my chained feet and began to drag me across the room. I was pulled inside a large metal cage that looked like it was meant for a dog. If I had to guess, it was six by six by six. It would be large enough to sit comfortably, but if I were to stand, I’d have to hunch over. I also wouldn’t be able to lay out straight.

The cage was welcome, though. It meant that I would be left alone. If I could rest, I could escape. I would do anything to get back to Sally. But only if I were able to kill Oogie before I left. I couldn’t leave him alive, or he would just keep showing up like a fucking cockroach.

Heavy boots walked closer as the cage door was slammed, and a padlock clicked into place. “I should really just kill you and be done with it.” Oogie stared down at me with triumph. It was the same look he’d been wearing ever since I’d woken up chained and bleeding. “But you have caused me so much trouble that I just can’t help but want to play with you for a little while. The boys have bets going on about how long you’ll last. A few of them think it could be weeks.” He tilted his head as he grinned at me. “But I think you’ll only make it a few more days.”

He turned around and barked an order at one of the men standing by the door. “Bring him in.” He turned back to me, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Just so you know, every man that comes to my compound in an attempt to rescue you will die swiftly. Or slowly. It depends on my mood at the time.” He shrugged.

The door opened, and a body was dragged inside. They pulled him over, stopping just outside the cage before dropping his arm. Oogie kicked his side, and by his lack of response, it was apparent he was already dead.

“This one came waving a white flag. Can you believe that shit?” He laughed. “Waving a white fucking flag like this was the Civil War or some such bullshit. He tried to say that your woman kicked him out of the club, and he wanted to join me.” I narrowed my eyes and looked closer. The man was wearing a cut, but his name patch was missing. His face was a mess, but after blinking to clear my vision a little more, I finally recognized him as Bear. I huffed, ignoring the pain it caused. My woman had good fucking instincts. That fucker had been pushing back too much lately, and the club leaders had already voted to put him on his last fucking warning.

“I’ll be watching closely for any other tactics your men try to use. You won’t be able to make a dupe out of me, Jack Ellington. You will die here. The only thing that will change is whether you’re still alive when I bring your old lady in. Will you still be alive when you watch me fuck her? Have you opened her ass yet? I think a sweet peach like that would have a nice tight asshole. I can’t wait to make her bleed.”

He turned to walk away as I seethed through my teeth. I had to grip my ribs tight with my good arm as my breathing sped up from the picture he’d painted. I wanted to rip him apart with my bare hands and my teeth in his throat. I closed my eyes, trying to get the image he’d painted out of my head as I panted shallow breaths. Before he left the small concrete building that was hardly bigger than a shed, he paused again, his hand on the metal door.

“Oh, there is one more thing,” he said in a cheerful tone. I just knew that whatever he was about to say next was going to put me over the edge of sanity. And I was right.

“I know about the baby, Bones. Imagine if I let her have your spawn and raised it as my own. Your son will grow up to be just… like… me.” As the door shut behind him, his laughter echoed around the room before fading away.

ChapterTwenty-Five

THE QUEEN OF NIGHTMARES

Aloud commotion woke me from my fitful sleep. I was startled, sitting up with a jerk as I listened intently. It took me a minute to shake away the disorientation and realize I was on the couch in Jack’s office. Late last night, Doc had brought Zero to the clubhouse along with a duffle bag holding clothes and necessities for an extended stay. The men had decided that I wouldn’t be safe at the house. As much as I longed to be in the space that Jack and I had shared, one that held his touch and smell, I had to agree. I wouldn’t have felt safe there, even with a guard.

I slowly stood up, glad I was wearing sweats and a long-sleeved shirt, and patted Zero’s head as he whined next to my feet. “I know, boy, let’s go see what’s going on out there.” He huffed out his agreement, and together, we walked out of the office and down the hall to the main room to see Barrel pacing back and forth with a grim expression.

He was dressed in all black, wearing what I could only assume was tactical gear. He walked over to one of the tables and began taking off a heavy looking sack from his back and setting it down.

“I couldn’t get through to look around the fucking compound.” He sounded pissed. More than just a failed assignment should have caused. “That fucking weasel should have been put down instead of kicked out,” he seethed.

“Who?” I asked, making every head turn my way.

“Fucking Bear was there.” He started pacing again, yanking at his green hair in agitation. “As I was sneaking up to the compound, ready to get to work on the plan, the fucker showed up waving a white flag and bringing every fucking member of the club outside. There were so many men and so much shouting I couldn’t sneak past. I had to stay hidden where I was until the uproar had calmed down. Luckily, no one believed him when he tried to say he wanted to jump ship.” Barrel sighed in defeat. “As soon as they killed him, Oogie put every single club member on guard. They surrounded the whole fucking compound.”

“Bear showed up?” Doc demanded in angry shock.

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