I stomp out of the meeting without another fucking word. Son of a bitch wouldn’t listen anyways. He’d be singing a different tune if it was Nicole out there missing. I’ve been messing around with Dani for a month now. I thought it was just sex. Hell, that’s all I’ve ever wanted from a woman. I don’t think I’m built for more—or at least I wasn’t.

Then the damn woman turned shit on me. She got jealous of a fucking night I had before her, and I even hooked up. Freak’s woman Nikki had never had a threesome and wanted to. Brother trusted me to show his woman a good time—and it fucking was a good time. Still, it wasn’t something I was looking to repeat. Dani flipped her fucking lid. Sure, she thought it was something more recent, but still. If I live to be a hundred, I don’t think I will ever figure that damned woman out.

Maybe that’s what keeps me interested. I don’t know. All I know, is that she is different from any woman I’ve been with. Dani has so many layers, I’m not sure I’ll ever reach the center. The only thing I am certain of is, that trying will be a hell of a ride.

The last few days have been special. Something happened when she thought I had screwed another woman while visiting her bed. I don’t know what exactly, I just know it caused her to reveal a little more of herself to me, and in doing that I saw this vulnerable side I never knew existed with Dani. She let me in…not a lot, but enough that she spoke vaguely of her past and her fears.

I need to keep her safe. She might not have told me the story, but I saw the desperation in her eyes when she thought of it. I heard the fear in her voice and the hopelessness that was inside of her. I’m not in love; I don’t do that shit. I will never be the type to be owned by a woman like Dragon, or Dance for that matter. But, I wasn’t lying when I told Dragon she’s mine. I’ve claimed her, and I will protect her.

So even though it’s against Dragon’s orders, and everything I should do as a member of the club, I’m getting the ATV out of the shelter, and driving up to the cabin. I’m going to interrogate the bastard, and I will find out where the fuck this Michael is before he can hurt Dani.

“Hey Crush, Drag and the boys didn’t say anyone was coming back tonight,” Frog says as he unlocks the shed door, after I knock.

“Drag’s stressed man, he probably forgot. He tell you about plans for the piss-ant we’re holding?”

“Yeah dude, I was just about to go in there and let him go.”

“I’ll do it, I’m supposed to relieve you anyways. I got to play shadow and see where the fuck the dude heads out to.”

“Sounds like a fun job—not.”

“Pretty much, but one of the sorry-ass perks of being the club VP.”

“I hear ya. I guess I’m out of here then. Call me when you need relief.”

“Will do,” I say and barely keep from screaming get the fuck out. Frog pisses in the wind for another ten minutes or so and finally leaves.

I lock the door and go into the back area where the dipshit is chained up. There’s no coming back from what I’m about to do. I know it, but I’m still going to do it. Am I doing it for Dani? Yeah, she’s a big reason but not all of it. Dani screams of fear, she screams of being trapped. She screams with the same scent and brokenness as another woman in my life. A woman I lost long ago. A woman I wasn’t able to help, and that won’t be the case this time.

He looks up at me when I walk in. You can tell Dragon has worked him over pretty good; he’s stripped naked and chained from the ceiling, hanging like a slab of meat. Still, the fucker is barely bleeding. That’s not good enough. It also proves to me that Dragon didn’t try hard enough to find out the needed information. If Nicole was the one in danger the bastard would be missing body parts, or at the very least he wouldn’t be able to look at me from two good eyes. To me that is just further proof I have to do this. Dragon is blinded by his need to keep things calm because of Nicole being pregnant.

“Alright fucker, time for round two.”

“I told your buddies the last time, I don’t know anything.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t believe you.”

“Man, you can knock me around for another day, but it’s the truth. I don’t have anything else to tell you.”

“We’ll see, there is one thing that you don’t understand.”

“What’s that?”

“The last time, I wasn’t the one asking the questions.”

“What difference does that make?”

“I’m not going to be as nice.”

“Man, you don’t have to do this! I’m telling you…”

“Yeah, you aren’t telling me nothing yet fucker, but you will. You will.”

I drag a chair over in front of him. I straddle it and lean over the back.

“Looks like my brother worked you over pretty good, too bad you didn’t give him the right answers.”

“Man, I don’t know anything, I’m telling you! I told your friend that!”

“My friend?” For some reason that strikes me funny as hell. This guy really is not made for this line of work.

“Please man, you got to listen to me.”

“I don’t, actually,” I say, reaching in my vest pocket for cigarettes. I slowly take one out of the pack putting the others on a small table. I’ll need them eventually. “I don’t have to listen to a fucking thing you have to say,” I add, lighting my cigarette. I inhale the nicotine, watching the asshole in front of me. “I only have to listen if you say something I want to hear. The only thing in question is if you’re going to tell me what I want to hear.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Did you know I don’t smoke? Nasty habit really. Hate the damn things,” I say exhaling the smoke, while watching the orange glow flicker.

“Man, I don’t think…”

“Only reason I pack smokes around is sometimes they come in handy. Do you know what they are handy for?”

“Man…”

“They make good lie detectors,” I say, reaching the cigarette over and touching the burning ash on his stomach. To his credit, he doesn’t cry out. We’ll see how quiet he is when I move the burns down to his shriveled up dick.

“Damn it…”

“We’re going to play a game.”

“A game?”

“You tell me what I want to hear and you won’t have to see what it feels like to have cigarette burns on your balls.”

“Fuck, man…”

“I really hope you tell me what I want to know. I don’t want to touch your nasty ass junk.”

“God, please listen to me…”

I put the cigarette back in my mouth and slide the knife out that I keep in my pocket. He watches as I pull out the blade. It’s just a small pocketknife, but then that’s all it needs to be. I put the cigarette in the ashtray on the table across from me, getting ready.

“Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to be impressed with the size of my blade.”

Asshole looks at me like I’m insane. Hell, he should. He has no idea how close I am to the edge.

“You’re not from Kentucky, so maybe you don’t know about them. Have you ever had Rocky Mountain Oysters?”

Again, that stupid look. Fucker.

“Never tasted them myself, but it’s basically deep fried balls.”

“Oh shit, man, seriously…”

“Doesn’t matter what really, pig, sheep, goats, even sniveling ass-wipe balls probably work. I don’t want to touch your shit, so I figure my knife can fix it so they don’t move around while I fry them. Sounds like a good plan to me. What do you think?”

“Man, I’m telling you, I don’t know anything!”

“Well, I mean, if you don’t want to do it that way I can just cut the fuckers off, it’s not like you’re going to need them.”

I take another hit off the cigarette, let the nicotine calm me, and take a deep breath. Time to get the party started. I’m giving up everything, might as well make it worth it.