Deliverance (The Maverick Defense #1) (34 page)

I wanted Joy safe and as far away as possible from that club.

“Well, as you said, none of our plans lately are worth shit, so I guess we just go with your earlier suggestion of storming the club and getting her back.”

“Are you for real?” I asked, shocked at his one-eighty, but things had changed since Aidan’s phone call. Time wasn’t on our side, and we had to act fast. Aidan had practically ordered us to get her out; well, that was how I interpreted his call.

“We’ll go to the club, find a way in-”

“Even if we have to bust in the front door?” I interrupted, and he made a noise of annoyance.

“Yes. But I think we should try the door that leads to the alley. Less obvious.” He gave me a pointed look, and I nodded in agreement.

As we had been talking, Ari had inched closer and stood at Lex’s elbow. As he spoke, her eyes never left Lex’s face; she looked up at him as if he knew all the answers, or maybe she wanted reassurance from him that it would all be okay. But it wouldn’t; it would be far from okay. We needed to act and finish this before Donnie could finish us.

“What should I do?” she asked in a soft voice, that still sounded tired, but a fraction stronger than it had earlier. I think the enormity of what had happened today had started to sink in.

Lex turned to face her and rested his hand lightly on her shoulder. “You stay here with Mikey. You stay inside, and you do not go anywhere without him. Do you understand?”

Her eyes grew wide at the seriousness of his words and his grim expression. It sounded too similar to the past warnings I’d given to Joy. Ari nodded, no argument from her, and I saw Lex’s shoulders relax a notch. He looked at Mikey, who nodded his agreement.

“Be careful,” Ari whispered, and her arms shot up from her sides and wrapped around Lex’s waist. Surprised, it was a long second before he put his arms around her and held her. His head bowed and he rested his cheek on the top of her head. They remained like that for longer than I expected, and I started to feel awkward. I cast Mikey a look, but he shrugged. When they pulled apart, Lex smoothed down her hair and rested his hands on her shoulders.

“Try and get some rest. Mikey will make you something to eat if you’re hungry. We’ll be back soon,” he assured her and released her. Stepping away, he turned to me.

“Ready?” he asked, his mouth curved up into a grin that matched mine.

“Fuck, yes,” I answered, and he started out the door. I gripped Mikey’s shoulder on the way out, and he nodded, not speaking, but managed a tight smile.

I had a distinct spring in my step as I walked down the drive and climbed into the passenger side of Lex’s Jeep. This was my kind of gig. I felt like Lex had given me my Christmas and birthday presents all rolled into one.

It was time to get my girl back.

M
y tongue dragged over the roof of my mouth, drier than the desert as it clacked against the parched skin. I tried to mash my lips together to create some saliva as I pried open my eyes, blinking to find my bearings. Dark walls stared back at me, black velvet curtains tied open with a red rope hanging above the door.
The club.
I was at the club. And something was wrong … very wrong. Hands bound behind me and tied to a chair, I struggled to scan the room for any signs of Donnie. But he wasn’t here.

I was alone.

Most people waking up tied to a chair in their crazy ex-boyfriend’s club would have probably been terrified, drowning in their own panic, but an odd sense of calm washed over me. I couldn’t really explain it, but it was as if I’d expected it. That all along my subconscious knew it would end this way—that Donnie would never allow me to walk away.

Slowly, memories returned to me. Being at Mikey’s, Sherri calling, the hospital, Arianna laying beaten and bruised in the hospital bed, going back inside to collect her belongings … someone grabbing me from behind.

Ari.

Guilt twisted around my heart, squeezing the breath from my lungs. Donnie had beaten her to a bloody pulp all because of me; because he’d lost me.
Because you chose Dawson
. When I’d seen her laying in the hospital bed, anger and remorse had burned through me, and I’d wanted Donnie to pay—I
still
wanted him to pay—but I wanted everyone I cared about to remain safe more. I didn’t want anyone else hurt because of me, because of
him.

Voices outside Donnie’s office tugged me from my thoughts, and I strained to make out what they were saying.

“He’s demanding a sit-down, now, boss.”

“Fuck, FUCK!” Donnie roared pounding his fist against the wall. “Why is this happening, now of all times? I only just got back. They didn’t say anything about coming out here.”

“Maybe they followed you, wanted to check out the neighborhood.”

Footsteps sounded up and down the hallway, and I could picture Donnie pacing, his eyes ablaze. Troy had said ‘they.’ Did he mean the Mexicans? Was the cartel here? Now? If it was, that changed things … changed everything.

“This day has turned into a real clusterfuck. Troy, gather some of the men in the back room and make sure they’re packing.”

“Got it, boss,” Troy grunted, his heavy footsteps disappearing farther into the club.

I tested the resistance of the ropes binding me to the chair. My skin chaffed against the tight knots, and I winced in pain. There was no hope of me loosening them anyway as the door swung open and I froze.

“I see someone woke up. How’s the head, baby?” Donnie drawled raking his eyes over me.

“Like you care?”

Donnie’s face twisted with anger. “Care? I fucking love you, baby. You are mine, or did you forget that?” He stalked toward me, predator hunting his prey. “Maybe I should remind you.”

A rough hand thrust into my hair yanking my head forward into his crotch. I gritted my teeth fighting the urge to bite or cry. I wasn’t sure which because too many thoughts were vying for my attention. I wanted to fight back—for myself, for Ari, for all of the girls working at Shakers, even for Sherri—but I didn’t want to stoke the fire further, and the pain of my shoulders being forced together at an awkward angle stole my response. I had to hope that Dawson was coming for me. And, in the meantime, I had to think more like he and Lex.

Silently, I forced my head back against Donnie’s hands until he released me and stepped back, looking down at me like I was his pet.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your big
meeting
.” I arched my brow, trying to exude confidence. It worked. Something flashed across Donnie’s face, confusion or irritation that I’d overheard.

“You don’t need to worry yourself about my business. It’ll be over quick enough and then you and I can pick up right where we left off, baby.” He dropped to one knee and held the back of my head, forcing me to give him access to my mouth. His kiss was clumsy and forceful, and it took everything in me not clamp down on his tongue with my teeth and make him bleed.

“Don’t go anywhere.” Donnie stood, brushed himself off, and exited the room, his laughter trailing behind.

Time ticked by and nothing.

No one came, and I couldn’t hear anything. The only sounds were my rapid breaths and the clock ticking on Donnie’s desk. After twenty minutes, I began to worry that something had happened. It was late Sunday afternoon; the club wouldn’t start getting busy until much later, and even then, the crowd always suffered on a Sunday. People needed to recover from their sin-filled weekends ready to pull on their masks and go about their lives when Monday morning rolled around.

When I finally heard footsteps approaching, I sat up praying to see Dawson burst through the door.

He didn’t.

A large tanned man in a white wife-beater rushed into the room, his gun trained directly on me. Panic pulsed through me and I stared wide-eyed unsure of what to do.

“Vamanos,” he yelled waving his gun in the air. “Out. In the other room, ahora pinche puta,” he all but spat at me.

A second man appeared behind him and strode toward me, yanking me up. Still bound to the chair, pain shot through me rippling into my already tender shoulders, but I bit down on my lip to stop the scream. The guy retrieved a knife from his belt, and in one swift movement, he sliced through the rope sending me crumpling into his unwelcoming grasp. Out in the hallway, another man was checking the other smaller rooms. But there was only me.

When we reached the back room, the one used for
business
meetings, the Mexicans and Donnie and a handful of his men were in some kind of standoff. Stu and Barkley stood behind Donnie looking ready to piss themselves—the closest they’d ever come to anything like this was cleaning up after Donnie. Handling a guy who got too handsy with one of the girls, or setting one of Donnie’s business associates straight, like McCreedy, who had never been seen again after putting his hands on me.

“Any more?” a dark-haired man with a thick mustache said in a thick Spanish accent to the guy holding me.

“No,” he replied pushing me to Donnie’s side of the room. Shaun caught me and wrapped an arm around me. His hand trembled on my shoulder and I risked glancing at him trying to reassure him everything would be fine.

“Gentleman, a drink? A dance? Something a little extra?” Donnie shrugged inside his tailored jacket trying to give off the demeanor of someone in control, but with four guns trained on him, it was obvious he didn’t have control of anything. Members of a Mexican cartel were standing in the room with guns and expressions that matched the somber mood.

The mustached man stepped forward and looked around the room as if admiring the place. “This is your club, no?”

Donnie nodded.

“You make a habit of letting the DEA and their fucking rats into your club?”

The man who had held my life in the palm of his hand for the last two years flinched—something I’d never seen him do. Ever. But the mask remained firmly pulled on as he stepped forward and said, “Are you calling me a liar? I came out to Ciudad Juarez in good faith. I want to do business. It was my uncle’s dream for our family to partner with Los Diablos. Your information is wrong.”

“¡Mira qué cabrón! You dare to question me? Los Diablos?”

The tension intensified. Shaun tightened his hold on me, and I heard someone suck in a sharp breath behind me. Donnie remained calm in the face of it, but I knew him well. I saw the beads of moisture forming along his hairline, the way he rocked almost imperceptibly on the balls of his feet. He was beginning to sweat.

Donnie opened his mouth ready to respond, but Troy slipped into the room and, ignoring the standoff, strolled up to his boss and whispered something into his ear.

“Gentleman,” Donnie addressed the Mexicans. “There’s something I need to attend to, I will be-”

Click, click, click.
The sound of guns’ safety being released filled the room, and Donnie eased his hands into the air at the four armed weapons now trained on him.

“Gentlemen, let’s not be hasty. The matter will take only a few mi-”

A fierce explosion shook the room and everyone dropped to the floor, instinct taking over. Over the smoke seeping in through the door, a ramble of Spanish and English filled the room, confusion and panic twisted into everyone’s faces. Shaun was still clutching me as if I was his buoy. I patted his arm to make sure he was okay, and he nodded shooting me a ‘what the hell?’ look. Although fear zipped through me, I had my suspicions about who was responsible for the diversion.