BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) (16 page)

Chapter 5

Spencer scoffed. “You’re so worried about family and all that old crap you aren’t thinking about the real problems.” He shook his head. “You’re so blind, Kim. You really are.”

Kim’s hackles rose on the back of her neck. “Spencer, if you came into my home to berate me, you can just go. I invited you in to show you I accept your apology and want to make things work, but I won’t let you sit here and make accusations or rude comments in my home.”

“Your home. You really have settled in. This is Diesel’s house. He can tell you it’s yours all day long, but in the end, he’s a loner, and he’s always going to be a loner. The minute things get tough, he’s going to turn on you, and you’ll be on your own again.”

Rage gathered and multiplied inside Kim. “Watch yourself, Spencer. We’re not just a couple anymore. We’re married. You said you supported that, but you’re sitting here telling me that it’s not going to work out. Either you believe in me and my decisions, or you don’t, Spencer. Which is it?”

He didn’t answer right away, gulping down the rest of his beer. He set the empty bottle on the table and stared at it for a second before asking, “Can I get one more?”

Raising an eyebrow, Kim challenged, “Am I going to get some real answers.”

He sighed. “Yeah, you’ll get some real answers.”

Against her better judgment, Kim reached stood and turned toward the fridge, opening the door and reaching inside. She heard Spencer stand but didn’t think anything of it until it was too late. In two loud boot steps, he was behind her, yanking her backward against him and covering her mouth with his hand. She was too busy gasping for air in her shock to scream, and his grip was too tight for her to fight against him.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Kim, so don’t do anything stupid. If you want your answers, you’ll have to come with me, and you’d better keep quiet.” Was he kidnapping her? Was this the club’s doing? Diesel was going to come home and shoot every last member involved, if that was the case. And if not, he was going to hunt Spencer down and tear him limb from limb.

“Calm down,” he screamed at her, and she stilled, no longer wriggling and trying to get free. “That’s better,” he spat. “Now, come on, we’re going.” He didn’t uncover her mouth, so she couldn’t ask where they were going. But she tried to stay in step with him as he walked with her in front of him toward the front door. It was just so awkward she tripped more than once, twisting her ankle and hurting her back with the way he had her bent and arched against him.

Before he opened the door, he told her, “I’m going to let go of your mouth to get you to the car, but if you say a word, I will make you pay for it.” He shoved her forward through the door frame, and she saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway rather than his bike. No wonder she hadn’t heard him coming. It was a Mercedes and probably purred so quietly you questioned if the engine was running as you drove down the road in it. Where had he gotten something like that?

She didn’t ask. She didn’t say anything as she slid into the passenger seat or as he took the driver’s seat. She was going to wait until they were on the road to ask questions. Maybe if she cooperated, and she was able to draw him out, she could find a way to stop this.

But as it turned out, she didn’t have to ask anything, and the more Spencer talked, the more she realized there would be no talking Spencer out of this. He was going through with it, come hell or high water.

“You are such a stupid bitch, Kim! I could have given you anything. If you had just chosen me, none of this would be happening. None of it! We could all be happy. I could be so much more for you.” She wanted to tell him to slow down, that he was driving too fast, but she couldn’t get a word in edgewise. “Now, because you are so fucking stupid, everything’s messed up. Now, I have to take you to DeLucci family house.”

Kim frowned. “DeLucci?”

“The mob, Kim. My asshole brother – your dumbass husband – shot the big boy’s son in that gunfight, and they’ve been on his ass for weeks, trying to hunt him down. Now, they know he’s out of town, and they decided the perfect way to get back at him is to bring you in. When he finds out they have you, he’ll come charging in with that cocky fucking demeanor of his, thinking he can just waltz in, kill the entire mob family, and take you home.”

None of that was okay. It didn’t so much matter to Kim if she was being held hostage for her own sake. She didn’t think they would be stupid enough to hurt her, since she was innocent in all this. And maybe she would be able to convince these guys that it wasn’t Diesel who had fired the gun. Then, everything could go back to normal.

The problem was, Spencer was right. Diesel would come in with his own personal arsenal and no backup, and he would go down in a blaze of glory trying to rescue her. He didn’t know she might be pregnant. In fact, she probably wasn’t. But if Diesel came storming in, he would be killing himself, as well as Kim and, with a remote possibility, their child.

“Spencer, there has to be another way,” she said quietly.

But he shook his head and laughed maniacally. “There could have been. You could have been smart, Kim. I’ve always wanted you, and you could have realized that and chosen wisely. Now, it’s too late to go back and change that. You don’t love me, I know, and now that you’ve connected yourself to Diesel like this, it wouldn’t matter if you ended up with me. These guys already know you care about him, and he’s in love with you. That makes you his biggest weakness. And that’s what they want. They want to get to you through your biggest weakness.”

And that was the terrifying part. “Oh, Spencer, how did you get mixed up with them? Why didn’t you go back to the club and take your place with the rest of the boys?” Kim didn’t want to see anything happen to Spencer, despite his apparent betrayal. After all, they were practically lifelong friends, and there was always salvation, no matter how badly someone hurt you. She had to hold out hope for Spencer.

“Seriously?” he asked in a high pitched voice. “Do you know the beef between me and Diesel? You really are stupid, or naïve. Diesel was ready to make my life miserable. He hates me, and I’m sick of him controlling everything. I couldn’t go back there. No one would have wanted me there.”

Kim stared at him, finding it hard to believe he could really think that. “Spencer, I know you have these issues with Diesel, but he’s actually a very forgiving guy. And it’s not like you’ve done anything wrong yet. It’s just a disagreement between brothers. You can fix that.” He didn’t answer, and she added, “If you go through with this and take me to the enemy to hold for ransom, though, that will change. He won’t be able to let that go.”

Spencer still didn’t answer. He just drove faster, his eyes intently focused on the road ahead of him. Kim didn’t recognize the neighborhoods they were passing through now, and she didn’t like it. She’d hoped for a chance to escape, but it wouldn’t do her much good to get out if she had no idea where she was going.

Finally, he turned off the main road into an old, rich community, and Kim’s nerves got the best of her. Despite her best efforts, she was shaking, almost in convulsions. “I hate these winding fucking roads,” Spencer mumbled as he was forced to slow down and read road signs. Eventually, they came to a stop, and he gazed up at the huge house with a nod. “This is it,” he mumbled as he turned into a circular driveway.

The house looked more like an ominous bed and breakfast hotel. The DeLucci family probably ate on paper plates made of hundred dollar bills, she thought. Not that it mattered. Brutes were brutes, and if these guys were half as evil as she’d heard all her life, the Skeletons could practically be classified as angels by comparison.

Chapter 6

If she’d been nervous with the way Spencer had been treating her, Kim should have reserved her judgment. As soon as they pulled up to what looked more like a compound than a clubhouse, two Skeletons dragged her out of the passenger’s seat of the car and hauled her by her elbows so her knees dragged the ground.

She wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of crying out, though it hurt like hell, even through the jeans she wore. Thankfully, there was threadbare carpet inside that kept the denim from finally ripping and letting the ground do the same to her skin. Kim wanted to fight, but she kept thinking about the pregnancy test she’d never checked. She couldn’t do anything that could harm a baby, and she didn’t want to prompt these guys to, either.

So, she stayed limp, knowing that any injuries would be mild if she didn’t tense up. They slammed her into a chair, bruising her back and tailbone, and she didn’t even try to move as they tied her tightly, her hands behind her back so her shoulders were stretched and twisted and her back at an odd angle. They strapped her ankles to the legs of the chair, and she couldn’t even lift her knees to adjust her position.

And when she looked up – with a gag in her mouth – she noticed that another man was training a video camera on her. That told Kim exactly what they planned, and her fear got the best of her. She could play the strong, obstinate female only so far. Then, she had to worry about more important things.

Tears began to fall from her eyes as she watched the guy make sure the camera was in focus and pointing directly at her and heard him curse at several other guys as they crossed the path between the lens and where she sat. Only then did she notice some of the things these other men carried and that they were being laid out precariously on a shelf to her left.

Kim’s eyes grew wide as she took in the small razor blades that glistened even in the dim light, the matches and lighters, the cloths and the bucket of water, and what looked like a bowl of straight pins. There were even what appeared to be wood splinters, and knowing what she did from videos shown of war and torture performed on hostages, Kim’s fingers and nails already screamed in anguish.

It was a large man in a finely tailored suit who finally came to stand in front of her and took the gag out of her mouth. “If you scream, it will go worse for you,” he said in a calm, carefree voice. It didn’t spark a lot of faith or hope, and Kim felt her limbs begin to tremble with fear.

He scraped another chair across the floor, the sound grating hard and making Kim cringe. She suddenly wanted to laugh, feeling like she was in the Godfather, but the dire situation prevented her from truly achieving the humor she wished she could find in all this. She was just too worried about the possibilities and the unknown. Sitting in front of her and crossing his legs neatly, he told her, “You know why you’re here.”

Not wanting to anger him but not absolutely sure who he was or what he had in mind, she wasn’t going to agree to that statement. “I’m not even sure where ‘here’ is.”

“I suppose I should introduce myself,” he said politely, as if she was a regular guest who had been cordially invited to a prestigious dinner rather than a prisoner tied so tight she was likely to pull her shoulders out of socket. “I’m Corbin DeLucci, and my father is Robert, Sr. My brother was Robert, Jr., and he’s dead now.”

Kim narrowed her eyes at him. So, he was the brother of the man that the DeLucci family – and the police – were so certain Diesel had killed. He gave her a smile that, on the surface, seemed inviting but underneath, she could see the warning and the menace it held. “The appropriate response would be to introduce yourself in return.”

Kim scowled. “I assumed you knew me, since you brought me here and had me tied up. I didn’t think you would kidnap someone you didn’t know.”

His smile faltered slightly. “Now, a smart mouth isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. I don’t respect a sharp tongue or a certain degree of arrogance or defiance. I like cooperation and quiet obedience.” He uncrossed his legs and leaned his elbows on his knees. “I could have assumed you knew who I was, too. But it seems you didn’t. Now, I know who you are associated with, but I still believe introductions are in order.”

With a sigh, Kim simply told him, “My name is Kimberly, but I go by Kim.” If he wanted anything else, he could damn well do his own research.

Corbin leaned back and crossed his arms, looking like some awkward gangster. “And you, ma’am, are the new wife of a man in which we take great interest.” He made a pouting face. “Unfortunately, it is incredibly difficult to get to him with all of the other Skulls around. And I don’t want to lose any of my men trying, especially after the untimely death of my brother. So, when I learned that you’d been left alone, I found it to my advantage to use you to lure in the man with whom I want to speak.”

And that’s exactly what Kim feared. They were going to send Diesel video showing her being tortured to coax him in. He’d come alone, and they would have him. Whether they killed him on sight or tormented him for days on end until he died didn’t matter. He would end up dead no matter what.

And in the meantime, she’d suffer and perhaps die. And if there was a baby…

Now, she was panicked. “Please don’t do this!” she begged, no longer caring how desperate she looked or sounded. “I can call him. I can get him here. If that’s really what you want, I can have him come and talk to you, or whatever! But he’s not your man.”

Corbin tilted his head, considering her closely. “You really do love him, don’t you?”

Frantic, Kim nodded. “Yes, I do. And you’re right. He loves me, and he’ll come for me. But please, let me talk to him. Let me bring him here. You don’t have to hurt me.”

“That’s sweet, and I appreciate the offer. But I won’t take risks. I won’t have you deciding to tip our hand or to tell him not to come, that it’s a setup.”

“He didn’t do it!” she shouted, tears running down her face now. She was sobbing, terrified of what they would do to her, what they would do to Diesel, and how this whole thing might affect a baby she may or may not be carrying.

“That’s not what the police said,” he countered. So, he had an inside man. Lovely. “The bullet was consistent with his gun.”

“Which isn’t the only one of its kind around here! And he doesn’t even have it. Someone else grabbed it, and whoever that was is probably who shot your brother.” But Corbin’s determination didn’t waiver. It was time to play the last card and hope for mercy. “Please, I might be pregnant. If I am, and you hurt me, you could hurt the baby.”

The challenge in his expression told her he didn’t believe her. “Women will say anything to save themselves.”

“But it’s true!” she screeched, her tears coming harder and hotter until they blurred her vision almost to blindness. “I took a test just before Spencer came and brought me here. I never got to look at the results.”

“Then why didn’t you say something before? Why wasn’t that the first issue you addressed when you realized what we were going to do?” he asked.

“Because I was afraid you would use it against me,” she told him, hanging her head and feeling defeated.

He didn’t answer right away. Finally, he told her, “I will assure you that no one will affect any area that could hurt an unborn child. I’m not such a monster. The child is innocent. But we will get a verification, and if you’re lying, you are going to be sorry. I’ll make sure of it.”

That was fine. If she wasn’t pregnant, she could handle it. But at least they were going to find out before they did anything that could harm the baby. Corbin stood and walked away, giving some sort of hand signal, to which a very ugly, scarred man responded. He stepped in front of her, arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his twisted, ruined face. There was a lighter in one hand and something Kim couldn’t make out in his other fist.

Bracing herself for the onslaught, Kim sucked up her tears and faced him, waiting for the first blow.