Old Lady (Iron Disciples Book 2) (22 page)

“So why are we both here then?” I ask.

“Last week Cade and I were ambushed by the Kings and the
Outkasts so I’m pretty damn sure this is their second attempt to finish what
they started since we blew up their first try.”

“What do you mean finish what they started? What are they
planning on doing to us Eddie?”

“My club is like this big venomous snake to some people
and by taking us they think they just pulled out our fangs. Just because you
take out a snake’s fangs, doesn’t mean it can’t still bite you and I plan on
doing some biting!”

“That’s big talk for a man whose been tied to a chair for
twelve hours.” Says a voice in the darkness. “What’re you going to do, gum us
to death?”

“He can gum this!” Says the voice of a man probably doing
some unseen and obscene gesture.

“You guys are real tough,” Eddie replies. “Why don’t you
untie me and face me like a man or are you too much of a pussy?”

“Oh we’re tough. We’re just not idiots.”

“That’s debatable,” I reply, getting into the
conversation.

“So the she-bitch can say something besides fuck and
dammit.”

“Not for you, you piece of shit. I just call it like I
see it and all I see right now is a bunch of fucking cowards. I bet-”

Out of nowhere a fist collides with my head, snapping it
around so fast I can see stars in the pitch darkness. Immediately I get the
coppery taste of blood in my mouth. I spit it out straight in front of me
hoping to catch whoever just smacked me. Apparently they’re prepared for this
because I don’t hear any angry swearing about it.

“Didn’t take much to shut that one up did it?” Asks a new
voice.

That makes at least three people in the room with us.
Let’s see if there’s more.

“They really are terrified of us aren’t they?” I ask
Eddie. “I mean most kidnappers just wear masks but these fools are so afraid of
us they have to keep the lights off as well. Kinda pathet-”

I don’t get to finish my sentence before a fist hits me
square in the nose. It’s so hard my head rocks back and forth several times
before the agony hits me. I clench my teeth as pain explodes all over my face.
I steel myself for more abuse and continue.

“You pussies hit like weak little girls. Geeze, I’ve had
rougher sex. You think maybe you could put a little muscle in-”

This time when I wake up I know I’ve gone too far. My
whole face is just in agony. My nose is certainly broken along with my
cheekbones and jaw I would imagine. One more time my mouth gets me into
trouble. It takes me a second to realize I’m lying on my side on a cold hard
floor. I’m aware that my face is lying in either a pool of drool or a pool of
blood or both. I think I’d feel a lot better if I could get myself upright. A few
minutes of squirming around and I get myself up on my knees, even with my hands
tied behind my back.

“Eddie?” You here Eddie?”

I swallow back my own concoction of terror and blood,
waiting to find out if I’m all alone now. What the hell was I thinking, mouthing
off to these guys? I swallow again. There seems to be a constant stream of
blood running down my throat and I’m starting to wonder if it’s the blood and
not the fear that’s making me nauseated. I decide to just spit the stuff out.

“Eddie!”

“Shh…” He finally hisses. “We may not be alone.”

“And you’re afraid if I talk too much they’re gonna do
what? More of what they’ve already done. I think I already paid the price for
my mouth.”

“It can get worse…it can
always
get worse.”

“Yeah well mayb-”

“Hush!”

I’m just on the verge of snapping back at him when I hear
the door opening. They’re either leaving or coming in. I vote for the former
over the latter. I don’t have long to wait. Pretty soon I can hear footsteps
approaching. I consider saving a mouthful of blood and spit for whoever gets
too close to me but I decide my face can’t tolerate any more beating.

The stale smell of tobacco assaults my nostrils just
before strong hands grab my arms and haul me upwards and onto my feet. I hear
the scrape of a chair, and then they force me backwards causing me to sit down
hard. The jolt to my ass goes straight to my spine causing me to cry out.

“I suppose you two are wondering what you’re doing here.”
Says a menacing voice. He sounds like he gargles with gravel so I find myself
referring to him as Rocky in my mind.

“Let her go.” Eddie says. “She has nothing to do with the
club.”

“Is that how you’re going to play it?” Asks a threatening
voice. He sounds far scarier than Rocky so I’ll call him Trouble. “We know who
you are Eddie, and we know this is Cade’s old lady.”

To my surprise, Eddie laughs.

“What’s so fucking funny?” Trouble asks.

“If Cade ever heard you calling a club whore his old lady
he’s slice you from your balls to your ugly face!” 

My first impulse is to scream at Eddie for calling me a
club whore. Fortunately I realize what he’s doing before opening my big mouth.

“Prove it.” Rocky says. I can just about hear the evil
smile in his voice.

“Excuse me?” Eddie asks.

“I said prove it.” Rocky repeats.

My heart sinks. I know exactly what he wants us to do and
I’m not sure I can go through with it. Eddie’s probably smiling inside right
now.

“I don’t take advantage of women,” Eddie says, “And I
certainly don’t rape them!”

“You won’t be taking advantage of her.” Trouble replies.
“Given your present circumstances I’m sure she’ll be plenty willing cooperate.”

“Isn’t that right, Ms. Biker Whore?”

Shit! I don’t know where I land on any of this. Under any
circumstances I would have chosen death over fornicating with Cade’s evil twin.

“I’d rather get intimate with a bull’s pizzle than to
touch
his
schlong!” I reply.

“Well maybe you can picture the bull instead of me then.”
Eddie replies.

“A bull would certainly smell better.” I shoot back at
him.

“Wow,” Trouble says. “Looks like we have the beginnings
of a lover’s quarrel. Maybe we’ve got Mr. President’s old lady here. She can’t
be just some old skanky whore.”

“So what’ll we do with them?”

“Plan’s the same.” Trouble says to his partner in crime.

“And what’s that plan?” Asks
my
partner in crime.

“You two put on a little show for us and we might be a
little more merciful in the end.”

I hear footsteps receding in the distance before a sudden
brightness fills the room. It’s like a sudden explosion right in front of me
and I become blinder with the light than I did before in complete darkness. I
bend my head down towards the floor in a futile attempt to escape the searing
light. As if I didn’t have enough pain in my head, I suddenly have this. When I
finally get my eyes open I can see Eddie staring at me. The look on his face
chills my blood. My face must be really messed up.

“Is it that bad?” I finally ask.

“Ever see that film, Beauty and the Beast? Not the cutesy
Disney version, but the serious one with Ron Pearlman?”

“I think I saw the trailers.”

“Well if you and old Ron we both in that movie, they’d be
calling him the beauty.”

Then he sees the look on my face and amends his previous
comment. “But unlike his, yours isn’t permanent.”

“Great, well if you two are finished getting caught up,
how ‘bout the show?” Rocky says with an ugly smile.

Turns out my name for Rocky is pretty damn accurate. He
actually looks like Sylvester Stallone did in that first Rocky move; just a
little older and with a scruffy several days growth of facial hair.
Surprisingly he’s not wearing a cut and neither is his partner.”

“You guys too chicken to wear your colors around here?” I
ask.

“Yeah, we’re not a part of some pathetic little gang of
scruffy men acting like boys on bicycles or are we street punks peddling dime
bags on street corners.”

“Then who are you?” I ask.

“Ever heard of the Juarez Cartel?”

“Shit!”  Eddie swears under his breath. “You’re the thugs
who attacked Cade and me last week.”

“Yes, we’re those soldiers who attacked you. You and your
brother turned out to be more resourceful than we thought. That won’t happen
again.”

“It’s already happening.” Eddie replies.

“You’re fucking crazy!” Rocky says. “We’re the ones in
control now, not you or your little gangs.”

“If that’s the truth, then why are you getting so
sidetracked about me and her fucking like rabbits? Is that really a necessary
part of the game plan here?” Eddie asks.

Both men get quiet for a minute. It turns out Eddie’s
pretty damn smart when he wants to be.

“You know,” Trouble replies. “You may be right. I guess
that means we should just accelerate the plan here and get down to fucking
business.”

Shit! I don’t like the sound of that at all.

Trouble pulls out a long wicked looking knife. “You wanna
do the honors?” He asks.

Rocky nods and takes the knife blade first, then hefts it
in his hands. He looks over at me and licks his lips. He takes a couple steps
in my direction. I can see him react to the fear in my face. I can see his eyes
widen and his breath quicken. He’s going to enjoy this moment; and I do hope
it’s just a moment and not some long torture session.

“Just business,” Eddie breathes with pleasure. “It’s just
business.”

Rocky takes it be the handle and hefts it in his hand. I
glance over at Eddie to see if he has some kind of last ditch plan here but he
is looking on passively. Rocky takes a step in my direction, and then Eddie
speaks up.’

“Now why would you go and waste the girl? Who’s gonna
give a shit about her? When you’re faced with a rabid dog, what do you cut off,
his tail or his head?”

“Maybe we’ll cut off both,” Rocky answers.

“That’d be the safe thing to do.” Trouble says.

Rocky nods. “So…I get the woman and you do the guy?”

Trouble considers the point for a moment, and just when
you can see the answer beginning to cement itself in his mind Eddie gives it
one last try.

“She’s pregnant.” Eddie says.

How the hell did he know that? Or is he just bluffing?

“Now why would a club whore go and get herself knocked
up?” Trouble asks.

“She wouldn’t.” Eddie declares. “And she’s no club whore.
She’s Cade’s old lady and if you do so much as harm a hair on her head the club
will hunt you to the ends of the earth and you’ll never be able to sleep at
night.”

Rocky stops in his tracks and looks to Trouble for an
answer. “What now?” He asks the other man.

“This does muddy up the waters a bit doesn’t it?” Trouble
asks himself.

“You know I speak the truth,” Eddie says. “I know my
brother and he’ll get every chapter of the Disciples from Redding to Chula
Vista, from Medford Oregon to Portland and they won’t stop until he has made
you pay, at it’ll be one hell of an expensive war! How can you guys conduct
your business when you’re fighting a war? You murder my brother’s unborn child
and you’ve just signed your death warrant.”

“You killed
my
people!” Trouble suddenly explodes
in rage. “You and your brother killed my cousin and injured four of my guys.
That has to be paid for.”

“And you’ll get your pay in spilling
my
blood!”
Eddie shouts back.

Eddie’s little ploy is only going to work if they know
just how much Cade and Eddie hate each other. Any other sibling would go to war
to avenge his brother’s death and if they think that then we’re back to them
killing me instead of Eddie.

“Come on,” Eddie carries on. “I’m the one who had the
rifle. I was the one who killed your cousin. My brother just had a .380. No way
he could have hit anyone from that distance and in trucks; no fucking way.”

Trouble remains quiet as he considers the option on the
table. I watch his face looking for signs that he has made up his mind as I
consider what has just transpired. So Eddie either knows I am pregnant or it’s
just a clever ploy he is using to keep me safe and it appears to be working. I
just can’t get my head around the fact that he is sacrificing himself for me. That’s
not the Eddie I have come to know and hate. After a minute Trouble steps away
from us and motions for Rocky to follow. They have a brief discussion before
coming back over to us. I can tell by the resolve on Trouble’s face that
something has been firmly decided.

“This may be the dumbest thing I have ever done,” Trouble
begins. “But I’m not killing a child; not if it can be helped. But here’s
what’s gonna happen. After we deliver your friend’s body, we’ll have to keep
you for a few days just to make sure the club isn’t going to go nuts with some
knee jerk reaction and start a war anyway. If things seem calm then we’ll let
you go unharmed.”