Vengeance Road (Torpedo Ink 2)

Bruiser began screaming before the cattle prod even touched him, let alone was applied to any area he’d been threatening on Breezy.

A couple of the other Torpedo Ink members snickered. “Breezy’s been off-limits since Steele laid eyes on her,” Keys said. “Isn’t that right, Ink? You notice any man touched her even before she was with him, that man got the holy hell beat out of him, cuz I noticed that shit. But I got a healthy dose of self-preservation that’s clearly missing in these two.”

“Everyone knew, even then, you didn’t touch Breezy,” Mechanic agreed.

“Guess they must have missed that memo,” Maestro said. “You get that now, Bruiser? Maybe a little late for you, but hopefully you get it now.”

Bruiser was sobbing and nodding his head up and down.

“I been thinking on this for a little while now,” Keys said. “Wondering about how a man that protective of his woman might feel about someone taking his boy. His son. If it was me, I’d walk through hell to get that man. Follow him right down into flames so I could fuck him up. That about right, Steele?”

“The minute Lizard walked in with Candy, Bridges grabbed her by the hair, shoved the kid into her arms and went out, barking orders at everyone,” Dart said. “He didn’t tell any of us where he was going, but once he had Candy in the truck with Junk, he came back and told Bruiser and I to come here and if Breezy came back, to teach her a lesson. A hard lesson.”

“Where was Donk? He’s never far from Bridges.” Steele’s voice was mild. Deceptively so. The thought of Dart and Bruiser teaching his woman a lesson of any kind made the monster in him show his teeth.

“He was still in the clubhouse. He’d been drinking with Bridges and snorting cocaine. The two talked in whispers and then Bridges left. Lizard jumped up and ran to his truck, probably worried Bridges would kill Candy he was so far gone. Donk was still there. I think he was waiting for Riddle and Favor.”

Just the names of the three men who had raped Breezy when she was fourteen made the monster emerge even more. He felt cold inside. Cold outside. Just plain ice. There were no compassionate feelings in him at all, as if his personality had split and this one had come forward to allow him to do everything necessary to survive. He remembered his monster. He had needed him, the block of ice that couldn’t be stopped.

“Did Donk follow Bridges?”

“We left. I gathered my shit and got out of there. Donk was getting crazy with the cocaine and I don’t like being around when he’s like that. Bruiser and I headed out.”

“Have you heard from Bridges?”

Dart hesitated just that fraction of a second too long and retaliation was swift and brutal. Steele wasn’t playing around. He was on the move now, Code gathering intel his way and Steele taking it forcibly. One of these two men would put him on the right road to finding Zane.

When Dart stopped screaming, Steele looked at him impassively. “My son, Dart. He’s out there somewhere scared and alone without his mother. He’s with a man who beat the shit out of his daughter daily and gave her to three of his friends to be raped when she was only fourteen years old. I don’t know about you, but that’s not a man I want my son with. Not even for a minute or two, let alone this long. So, if I were you, I’d just tell me whatever I want to know and get it over, cuz this isn’t going to stop.”

Dart coughed and spat blood and then shook his head. “I got no call to love Bridges. If I knew something worthwhile, I’d tell you. He called me a time or two looking to see if Breezy showed up. When I told him no, he cussed me out and hung up.”

Steele glanced at Mechanic, who quickly picked up the two cell phones and walked away where he had a quieter space to get into them.

“Need your passcode,” Steele said to Dart.

Dart gave it immediately.

Steele called the code out to Mechanic and waited for the man to nod his acknowledgment that it was correct.

Steele touched Bruiser with the cattle prod without triggering it. Bruiser’s entire body shuddered. “Need yours as well.”

Bruiser broke into another sob. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“I don’t give a fuck, just give me your code.”

Bruiser turned his head to look at Dart, his eyes wild. “I’m sorry, man, I had to do it.”

“Do what?” Dart asked. Involuntarily he moved his body to try to ease the strain of the chains he hung in, but it only hurt more, and he couldn’t stop the groan that slipped out.

“The fucking code, Bruiser. You don’t give it to me now, I’m going to slit your belly open and watch your coward’s intestines slither all over the floor.” Again, Steele’s voice was low and mild, completely at odds with his words, but that only made it worse.

Bruiser called the passcode out loudly and then burst into loud sobs. Steele ignored him and wandered back toward Mechanic, who was moving quickly through Bruiser’s phone. He scowled down at the text messages he was reading, and then handed it to Steele.

Steele took the phone and walked back to stand in front of the two men. “This is very interesting, Bruiser. Seems you had a very special arrangement with Bridges. You two were buddies, who knew?” He nudged Dart. “You know that, Dart? You know that Bruiser here, your best friend, had a close relationship with Bridges?”

Dart frowned but he didn’t say anything, instead waited to see where Steele was going with it.

“Bruiser here says to Bridges he’s willing to do whatever it takes as long as Bridges gives him Breezy. You really wanted my woman, didn’t you, Bruiser? Seems Breezy pissed you off by choosing me instead of

you. Bridges promised her to you, way back then?”

“He did.” Bruiser nodded over and over. “I did everything he asked, and he still gave her to you. He said when you were tired of her, I could have her.”

Dart glared at him. “What the fuck were you doing for him?”

Bruiser shook his head, sobbing, trying to squirm out of the chains.

“He was skimming drugs and money from the club, giving what he took to Bridges,” Steele said. “He stupidly admits it right here in his texts, throwing it in Bridges’s face as a threat. Bridges comes back saying he had nothing to do with skimming, and the club would cut off Bruiser’s balls if they found out.”

“No fucking way,” Dart said, but the shock on his face confirmed that he knew Steele wasn’t making it up.

Using the cattle prod, Steele pushed at the two spheres hanging between Bruiser’s legs. “Not very big, but still there. You really are a dumb ass, aren’t you? But that’s not the interesting part. Bruiser, what did you tell Bridges you’d do to get my woman?”

Bruiser swung his body in a complete rejection of admission.

Steele shook his head. “This is the most fucked-up club I’ve ever come across.” He showed the phone to Dart. “I’m reading this shit. I couldn’t make it up if I tried. Bridges tells Bruiser if he wants Breezy, he has to kill you, Dart, because you’re becoming a pain in the ass with your continual opposition to Bridges’s lifestyle and presidency. Apparently, if you question your president or call for another election, that makes you treasonous and it’s okay to put out a hit on you.”

Steele pulled the phone out from under Dart’s nose and switched his attention to Bruiser. “You agree with that? You think because Dart questioned Bridges’s sanity, that he deserved killing?”