Reign (The Henchmen MC 1)

If ever there was a good time to do it, to grab the gun, turn it on yourself, and pull the trigger. If there was a good reason to do it, it was to keep yourself from being violated in a new and awful way.

My hands weren't even shaking as my fingers slid over the gun that was warm from being pressed against my skin.

“What's taking so long?” Daniel's voice yelled from down the stairs and I felt my heart skip in my chest.

“Mother fuck,” Martin hissed, readjusting himself in his pants, dropping my hair and closing back up.

My hand slipped from my boot, my opportunity lost, and I slowly tried to get back onto my feet.

Martin quickened this by dragging me up by my hair, pulling me against his body, “This isn't over,” he said in a voice full of warning and promise before I was shoved out into the hallway and made my way down the stairs.

Daniel's eyes fell on me as I got closer, a fire burning behind them. But he just clamped his jaw tight and led me into the kitchen, Martin following close behind me.

“Summer,” my mother greeted, looking over my face. Showing no reaction whatsoever. “Won't you join me for a chat?”

“Like I have a choice,” I countered, somewhat below my breath but she heard, her brow lifting.

Daniel moved over toward my mother, leaning against the counter, looking at his watch. Martin moved toward my side as I sat down on the stool, keeping a good four feet between us.

“We seem to have a problem,” she started, watching me.

“Oh, yeah?” I asked, putting my elbows up on the island, rubbing between my eyes at the headache building. Likely from my face colliding with a mirror.

“Your father is missing.”

My head snapped up, my brows drawing together. “Missing?” I asked, finding that I actually cared. Despite him lying to me my whole life. Despite him kidnapping me. I cared.

V nodded, her eyes getting hard. “I'm sure you understand that this is a rather big deal.”

“Because you can't guilt him into giving you access to the containers by torturing me anymore,” I guessed.

“I had men on him, watching his every move. Watching him scramble without eighty percent of his army alive to do his bidding. No one saw anything. He was just gone. Any idea who might have wanted him?”

I knew exactly who had him.

Don't ask me how I knew. But I knew.

Reign had him.

And, again, don't ask me how I knew...

But I knew that Wolf was the one who got him.

I felt my shoulder shrug, “I imagine he has a lot of enemies, you know... being in the drug trade. Someone saw he was weak and moved in.”

V's eyes went hot, like she somehow knew I was lying to her.

But before she could open her mouth, one of her men came rushing in. “V, someone is here for you.”

“I have no meetings today,” she countered, dismissing him.

“V...” he went on, looking uncomfortable for having to keep pressing the issue, “Says it's Lo.”

V's head snapped up, her eyes going active. What they were thinking, I had no idea, but they were definitely thinking something. “Lo?”

“Yeah, and three Henchmen.”

“Well, well,” she said, smiling, her eyes falling to me. Like she knew. Of course she knew. “This should be fun.” She turned her attention back to the man who had rushed in. “Check them for weapons and then send them in.” She looked over my face with a smirk. “This could get very interesting.”

I felt a cold pit settle in my belly.

No.

This was not good.

I didn't know who the hell Lo was, but I knew which Henchmen they were talking about.

The three that meant the most to me.

Wolf.

Cash.

And Reign.

At the thought of his name, a slicing feeling went across my chest and I dropped my eyes to the counter, sure my eyes would give me away as I worked to draw up a mask of indifference.

Shit.

Whatever was about to happen, I was sure it wasn't good.

Why would they walk into V's compound, knowing they would have to lose their guns, knowing they were outnumbered?

It was stupid.

Reckless.

The door slammed closed and I heard feet coming toward us.

I whipped around on my chair, facing the hallway just as the group walked in.

My eyes went immediately to Reign.

His went to me.

And aside from a tightening of his jaw, his mask of indifference put mine to shame.

“Vanessa,” a female voice said and my head snapped to find a tall blonde standing beside Cash (who was looking at me with absolute horror). Apparently he checked his mask at the door.

“Lola,” my mother's voice said. Warmly.

I turned to find her smiling fondly at the woman with my Henchmen.

And then, to my absolute, complete, overwhelming horror... the women crossed the room toward one another and kissed cheeks.

My eyes went again to the Henchmen who seemed suddenly tense.

Holy fuck.

I was pretty sure things had just went from holy shit to holyfuckingshitballs in the span of ten seconds.

Wolf's eyes went to mine and there was fire behind them.

And I knew.

I knew.

Something was wrong.

Fuck.Twenty-sevenReign“She's out of her fucking mind,” Cash said, close to my ear as we watched Lo walk around, tapping various men on their shoulders and telling them to meet her in 'command'.

After seeing 'command', I was pretty fucking sure I agreed with Cash.

'Command' was the brick building in the center of all the shipping containers. And I guess I had been half-expecting it to be Lo's house. But, no. Lo live in a barracks style room with the rest of her men. And the two other women she had in her ranks as well.

'Command' was a normal, brick home from the outside. From the inside, the brick walls were reinforced with pieces of shipping containers. The windows, I noticed after knocking on one of them as I passed, were polycarbonate. Bullet resistant. And from there, it only got worse.

Because the walls were plastered with poster boards. Poster boards that were covered with pictures, plots, plans for all their current projects.