To Betray A Brother (7 page)

Bryce pulled two keys out of his pocket and wiggled them in front of her. “We are in these two rooms here, six and seven.”

Getting out of the car, he retrieved their bags from the boot and dumped them on the concrete beside the room doors. She sat in the car not moving.

“Come on, Penny. I won’t bite, you know.” He moved to where she sat.

She focussed straight ahead, not daring to look him in the eye.

“Penny.” His voice tinged with amusement. “You are in room seven. I will be next door in number six if you need me.”

"What?" Penny said, unsure if she had heard him correctly.

"I'll be next door if you need me." He smiled and held out his hand. She took it and stepped from the car. Sheepish at the realization, she allowed herself to be led.

He opened the door to room seven, guided her inside, and held out the key. "There you go. I'll be next door if you need me."

Bryce threw her bag onto the bed, while she stood in the middle of the room.

"Sleep well and thanks for your company tonight. I really enjoyed it." He closed the door leaving Penny alone with her thoughts.

Bryce woke. The hair on the back of his neck bristled. He slipped out of bed and into a pair of shorts without making a sound.
There!
Whispers down in the workshop. He reached into a dresser drawer, his hand closing on the Glock. He eased another drawer open and took out a full magazine. A soft click reached his ears as the magazine found home.

The whispers were getting closer, and with his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Bryce moved, rolling his feet from the outside onto the sole, not making a sound as he ghosted across the mezzanine toward the railing. Looking out over the workshop, he made out three silhouetted figures working their way to toward the stairs. He slipped over the railing and dropped the ten or so feet to the concrete floor with a soft thud.

A whisper reached his ears, urgency in the voice. "What was that?"

Bryce took a moment to get a bearing on the intruders and stalked around behind them. Like a wild cat hunting its prey, he came in behind the last one and pulled back on the slide of the pistol, letting it return home unhindered, shattering the silence. The three men froze in an instant.

"You gents have three seconds to enlighten me as to why I shouldn't blow your brains out," His voice took on a low and murderous tone. "Let's get your hands where I can see them. Slowly, mind."

"We're just doing the job we were paid to do," a quavered reply came from the leader.

"Do exactly as I say, or you are tomorrow's worm shit. Turn to your right and head out into the open space. Move." Ice dripped from his voice as he issued the order. "Stop!" he ordered when they were where he wanted them. "Whatever weapons you have in your hands kick them toward the bench. Do it." The men dropped their weapons and kicked them away the metal scraped on the concrete floor. Bryce came up behind the leader, the mouthpiece, put the pistol to his head, and whispered in his ear.

"You move,
muther
fucker, and I swear it will be the last thing you all do." The man nodded. "Hands behind your back." Bryce slid some cable ties from the bench and tied Mouthpiece’s hands behind his back. Satisfied, he repeated the process with the other two men.

He opened a tool box drawer, took out a knife, and moved around to where moonlight shone through a window. He stared at the men, his movements cold and calculating as he stropped the knife across a sharpening stone. The spine chilling sound of steel sliding across stone magnified in the blackness. His voice was barely above a whisper as he spoke. "Now, what did you mean by ‘doing what we are paid for’?"

"We were given money to send you a message." The Mouthpiece spoke again.

"Interesting! What was the message, and who ordered the hit?"

Nobody answered. Bryce moved towards Mouthpiece and held the knife point to his throat, applying enough pressure to puncture the skin. The man trembled as a thin trail of blood ran over the knife blade and down the attacker's throat. He waited a second and slid the knife down through the shirt. He ripped the shirt off and threw it to the floor. With silent methodical strokes Bryce sliced through the material of the intruder's trousers. He removed the assailant's clothes until the man stood naked in the workshop. "Easier to get rid of the evidence if there is no blood soaked clothing," he told them, his voice icy and devoid of emotion.

Blood trickled down the intruder’s naked body and dripped onto the concrete with soft splat before the man finally gave in. His voice trembled. "Jack—Jack sent us.”

“Go on.”

"I don't know. I really don't know anything else." His voice filled with fear as Bryce dragged the tip of the knife down his prisoner’s chest. Mouthpiece flinched as the point of the blade stopped, resting on his penis.

Bryce pushed on the hilt of the knife, its point just piercing the man’s skin. He leaned forward and whispered, “If you don’t tell me everything you know, you’ll be choking on your own blood when I jam your cock down your throat.
Comprendez
?”

Mouthpiece shuddered. His bowels let go.

“Gutless fucker.” Bryce back-handed him.

Mouthpiece trembled. Bryce’s nose filled with the smell of faeces. “You talk, or I bleed these two fuckers out for entertainment. Might just convince you to change your mind.” He stepped toward the next intruder.

“Wait. Wait. I’ll talk.” Mouthpiece whimpered. “He said you’ve been asking too many questions. Keep out of stuff which is of no concern of yours.” Sweat ran down Mouthpiece’s face and dripped to mingle with the blood pooling on the floor. “And we’re supposed to rough you up a bit."

"What’s no concern of mine?"

Bryce paused for second and recalled seeing Justin hand an envelope to Jack at the race. He had figured the payment had been to harass Penny.

“What else?” Bryce growled

"I don't know anything else!" Mouthpiece trembled, frantic as he spoke.

Silently Bryce moved to the other two who remained quiet. He worked quickly cutting their clothes from them and tossed them into a pile in the middle of the workshop floor.

"Toward the door. Move." Bryce motioned with the pistol. All three men did as Bryce ordered and walked toward the door they’d entered not more than an hour ago.

* * * *

Penny stopped in at the cafe for her morning coffee as she headed into
Leather and Lace
. The place buzzed with gossip. "Hey, Connie, what's going on?" she asked of the girl who usually made her coffee.

"The whole town is talking. The police found three men tied to the street light outside of the station this morning."

"What?” Penny's eye brows rose at the news.

"That's not the whole story. There’s more. They were blindfolded and butt naked. It gets better. Whoever tied them there left them facing outward for the whole world to see their glory— or not as the case may be." Her smile lit up the room as she spoke.

Penny grinned at the news. "No!"

"True." Connie continued as she handed Penny her coffee. "Some are saying they had been gagged as well."

"They must have upset somebody. Wonder what they did to end up naked and tied the pole?"

"Who knows?" said Connie, handing Penny her change.

"Thanks, Connie. See you tomorrow." Penny smiled as she headed toward the door listening to the chatter and theories about how the men ended up in their predicament.

Keeping busy, Penny had packaged the last of the internet orders for the day when the doorbell signalled a customer.

"Hi, Penny." Three girls walked in.

"Hi, girls." Penny had seen them around the race track, groupies of sorts, but she hadn't seen them for a while. "Are you looking for anything special?"

"I heard you had some killer Tees in this season," the taller blonde responded.

"Check these out." Penny showed her the rack of the latest T-shirts. She handing her a purple acid washed singlet. "This will look awesome on you."

"Let me have a look and see what else you have." The girls began to flick through the rack.

"Let me know if you need any help. I'll just finish getting this order sorted."

She hummed under her breath as she worked, taking simple pleasure in checking she had completed all of the orders for customers she would never meet. The doorbell tinkled. The girls must have left. Penny shrugged. They’d be back. She stacked her parcels ready for posting and turned to face Justin.

"You just don't learn do you?" With aggression in his voice, he stepped around behind the counter and held up his phone. "I sent you I don’t know how many messages, and you pay no attention. You’re not as smart as I gave you credit for.”

Startled, Penny’s instinct kicked in, and she stepped back. The counter top bit viciously into her back and brought her up short.

“You stupid bitch. If you know what’s good for you’ll stay away from that lying, cowardly mongrel Bryce Huntington.”

With his face inches from hers, foul goat cheese breath engulfed her. Penny fought hard not to gag. Her mind raced, her thoughts tripping over themselves.
Is this a joke? What the hell was happening?
Blood pounded through her veins as she tried to make sense of Justin’s behaviour. Her stomach clenched with the overpowering urge to vomit. Sweat broke out across her brow, stinging. Her eyes darted about as she looked for an escape. Thank god the girls had left. She didn’t recognise this wild-eyed version of Justin.

Confusion tumbled through her mind. She had to get rid of him and fast. "What are you doing here? Get out," she hissed, mustering as much anger as she could. “Or I’ll call the police.” She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone.

Justin shoved her in the chest, and she collided with the wall. "You won't be calling anybody.” He snatched the phone and hurled it across the shop. "Not unless you want to end up like Mick—or worse."

He grabbed her by the throat, his fingers tightening vice-like. Penny's heart raced as she stuck out, swinging wildly trying to break free. Her breath came in ragged and strained gasps as he squeezed. She looked in his eyes in a vain attempt to connect, to find the Justin she’d known, the Justin who had flirted with her at dinner, whose kiss she had deftly avoided at the end of the night. His flat and colourless eyes glared back at her, spittle forming on his lips. He finally released her. Pushing her away, he walked to the door.

He turned. "Remember what I said." His voice dripped icicles. He opened the door and disappeared.

Penny’s knees gave out, and she slipped to the floor, gasping for breath. Her heart thumped, threatening to jump from her chest. She cradled her knees to her chest while sharp pain shot through her as each sob racked her body. Her eyes were closed as she trembled, trying to understand what had just happened.

* * * *

Bryce sat cross-legged on the floor with his elbows on his knees, stretching. He’d just returned from a week away and was indulging in a hard and heavy workout. It always seemed to help him relax back in. He preferred to work out in silence, not allowing music to distract him. The peace settled around him, soothing and centring until the sound of his phone cut across the quiet. He shook his head and ignored it, letting it ring out.

Bryce relaxed back in to the stretch, savouring the moment of clarity and rest. He used his upper body weight to push his inner leg muscles to their extremes. The phone rang again. He reached for the towel, wiped his hands and face, and threw it to the ground. Annoyed, he took several steps and picked up the offending instrument. "What?" he growled into the hand piece.

Stitch's voice came down the line. "Mate, I just heard on the grapevine somebody attacked Penny yesterday."

"What?” His stomach tightened as his grip on the phone went white knuckle. “What do you mean attacked?"

"My niece had slipped into her shop yesterday afternoon to buy some clothes. While she was in the change room, everybody's favourite hero came into the shop
,
threw Penny against the wall, and started yelling at her."

Bryce paused for a second, his right hand clenching and unclenching by its own volition.

"Are you sure?" Aggression crept into his cold, flat voice. The tension in his stomach settled, overcome by the inferno coursing through his veins.

"Well, my niece didn't see anything. Like I said, she was in the change room and thought safest thing to do was to stay put."

"Ok, get hold of Beetle. I want two dogs at Penny's house and three here at my place. It's time the cowardly fucker paid the piper." His heart beat so hard, the veins in his neck strained, threatening to explode at each pulse.

"Whoa, whoa. What are you talking about?" Anxiety filled Stitch's voice.

"Nothing we shouldn't have done a long time ago. We might have buried less of us if we’d acted at the time," he said and hung up. He dressed, grabbed his vest, rolled his faithful old Harley out into the night, and disappeared within minutes.

If what Stitch said was true, it would explain why he hadn't heard from Penny today. Even though he’d been away, they spoke daily, almost always about race preparation. Lately their conversation had shifted a little, taking on a more personal note. He rode hard ignoring every light and sign on the way. After some time, his hot anger simmered over and settled into a cold rage, the kind he knew would burn for days even weeks or until he’d eliminated the cause.

* * * *

Penny heard the bike pull up in her drive, glanced through the curtains, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Bryce.
She raced out of the front door and without saying a word threw herself into his arms, his friendly face more than she could handle. Tears came in racking sobs as she nestled her face against his chest. Bryce wrapped her in his arms, building a shield from the world if just for a moment, giving her the support she needed. He remained silent as she nestled into him, his now familiar scent comforting.

He broke the silence. "Let's go inside." His strong hands guided her to the kitchen table where she sat down. "I don't know about you, but I need a cup of coffee." He filled the kettle and rummaged through the cupboards to find some cups.

She took the coffee from Bryce as he pulled out a chair and sat across the table from her. Penny took a sip and let the fluid warm her from the inside for a moment. "It was terrible. I thought he was going to kill me, Bryce. He had his hand around my neck and pinned me against the wall." Her hand shook as it went to her throat. Her voice trembled as she spoke. He held out his hand, and she took it across the table, comforted by the strength and confidence.