CHAPTER NINE
RAHYNE
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay, honey. I can pick up the shift if you don’t feel up to it.”
Luna shook her head. “I got this. You go do you.”
I had come back to work to keep my mind occupied after what had happened. Grayson had kept me captive in his apartment—and his arms— all weekend, and I needed to get back to my life as soon as possible.
I liked working with Luna, she was young but efficient. Never complained, was always at work on time, didn’t flirt with the clients and I had to admit Scarlett did me a favor having her bartend. I don’t think I ever could have done it without her.
“Alright, I’m heading out. Call me if it gets to be too much. I’ll come right over. I was planning a quiet night at home, without Grayson. He had literally exhausted me with all of his sweet love making. Who was I kidding, I loved every freaking minute of it. I still couldn’t get used to the idea of constantly being with someone, then again, tell that to my body that yearned for him even now.
As I took my apron off, the door to the entrance busted open and we both screamed as shots were fired. I heard shouts in Spanish and then five men appeared out onto the floor. They were all carrying guns and looking like they came with a purpose, to cause damage. I looked at Luna and pressed my finger to my lips, keeping her quiet. We ducked behind the bar, but I knew they’d eventually reach us.
Sure enough, after a few seconds, a rough and mean looking man caught us as he hovered over the counter. “Well look what we’ve got here boys. Hello ladies.” He reached down and pulled Luna up by her long hair. She screamed out, but it was useless. Grayson told me they’d be gone for a while, and he’d have Jackson out front just in case. By the looks of it, either Jackson had disappeared, or they had hurt him. The club didn’t open for another three hours, and no one would show up until an hour before opening. We were on our own until then.
I saw one of the guys go behind the bar. He was short, with a buzzed haircut and a nasty scowl. He wore a black leather vest and he was covered from neck to wrists in tattoos. I did focus on one tattoo, two pistols on his right arm with the words Los Perdidos engraved on it. I remembered the gang name from what Grayson had told me. He didn’t give me too much info on club dealings but that information, he said I had to know. These guys weren’t welcome at the club, and I could see why.
Another taller man with a beard and a leery gaze crept up towards us and we tried to back away, only to be grabbed and manhandled by two other men. They were all sporting the same tattoo, some of them were wearing bandanas on their head, and chains hung from their black worn out jeans. They all looked rough and menacing.
The guy behind me started to smash bottles, dropping them one by one. When I looked over at him he only smirked. “Duck, bitch.” As he said it, he brought up a bat and swung it at my head. I dropped to the floor and covered my head as broken glass shattered around me.
When he was done, he lifted me up, forcing me against his lewd arousal. I took the chance to kick him in the shins and tried climbing over the counter. I managed to drop to the floor on the other side when I heard Luna scream again making me freeze. She was standing in front of me, and the guy that stood before her had her clutched by the neck, a knife pressed to her throat.
He chuckled and the sound made me cringe.
“Keep screaming, puta! I fucking love it!” He stuck his tongue out and licked her chin. Luna just slammed her eyes shut and turned her head.
His eyes suddenly went to me and I tried running off, but I was grabbed and brought down to my knees in seconds. The man holding Luna smirked. “Hey Rubio! Why don’t you take the blonde and I’ll take this young bitch. She’s fucking hot!”
I watched as Luna struggled in the man’s grasp whimpering as he pulled on her hair, and my heart went out to the girl. My eyes focused on the floor, where a pair of black boots came into sight. Immediately, I was dragged up and pressed against the front of the counter. The same big guy, with the makeshift blonde tips, the one who had attacked me two nights ago was now standing in front of me. I could feel my fear start to overwhelm me. “You always liked the young ones didn’t you, bro?” He looked down at me and smiled, knowingly. “Anyway, this one I want for myself.”
He placed his hand on my neck and I struggled to get away. His left arm was wrapped in a sling, but he had enough strength in one hand to cause pain. He smirked down at me. “Struggle, puta. This time, you’re not getting away.”
I spat in his face, but it didn’t faze him, he just smiled and reached out to wipe his cheek. Looking at me, he placed his finger in his mouth and moaned. “I can’t wait to see what you really taste like.”
I nearly gagged from repulsion. Out of the corner of my eye I caught the other two men smashing up the stages and the venue. The furniture was being thrown across the room, curtains torn, floors lifted. They were there for that reason, to ruin Ravenous and hurt the Hell’s Lovers. But the one called, El Rubio, was there for one sole purpose. He sneered at me and I closed my eyes trying to keep from shaking. This man was here for revenge, and at this point he was going to get it.
Turning my face, I saw one of the men head towards the staircase and Scarlett seeped into my mind. Luna suddenly yelled and all their attention was back on her. I caught her eyes, giant frightened saucers that looked back at me. I could tell both of us were focused on that door that led to our friend. Luna had somehow managed to get out of the hold she was in, and was behind the bar holding a broken shard of glass.
They laughed at her as one of them pointed at Rubio. “Can you believe this, bro? She wants to hurt us, that’s fucking adorable.” He lifted his gun up and pointed it at Luna.
She stood her ground and I watched her throw a bottle at him. He laughed harder as he ducked. She continued to throw broken shards of glass at them until she swung one at El Rubio. The broken bottle struck him on his head and he loosened his grip on my neck as he held his temple. I took advantage of his temporary daze and leaned back, kneeing him in the nuts. I ran towards Luna as she shoved past the guy with the leather vest, sending him sprawling into the broken glass. She scurried past him and we both managed to run down the hall and get into the back-storage room.
My hands were shaking as I looked for something to place against the door. The door had a lock, but wasn’t enough to hold them back. I looked around spotting some empty pallets against the wall and I immediately started to drag them over. Wooden tables aligned the back wall and we shove them against the wooden panels. Finally, we sat down on the floor, worn out and scared.
There was pounding on the door and I started to shake. “Come out! Get the fuck out, putas! I swear when I get my hands on you there won’t be anything left to give your families!”
More banging and I reached over to Luna. His voice was full of venom. “Open the fucking door!”
The storage room is located right on the other side of the bar and we were able to make out everything they were saying. I cringed as more bottles were broken and thrown against the wall.
“Yo, Gabriel! Man, maybe we should go, man.”
From outside the storage room door I heard his voice, a voice that has haunted me since that night. “I say when we go! And I’m not leaving until I have this bitch’s cunt! You hear me blondie? I’m gonna ride you like a fucking pony!”
“Rahyne, do you know where Scarlett is?” Luna’s whisper was meek and full of fear.
I shook my head. There was no way of contacting her either, I had left my phone on the bar counter. “I have no idea. God, I hope she’s not upstairs.”
Again, we could hear one of the members complain. “If we don’t get out of here the 5-O are gonna be on our ass, man.”
Sure enough, sirens could be heard in the distance.
Luna’s eyes widened and she leaned in to me. “She’s upstairs, she’s got to be. She must have called the cops.”
I looked at the door and a loud bang came from the other side. Again, the same loud noise echoed and I realized that he was shooting at it. Luna grabbed me by the hand and pulled me towards the back corner of the room.
He kicked the door in and it moved slightly. Gratefully it was large and heavy, so it wasn’t easy for him to get open. We could hear the sirens getting closer and another man shouted.
“Let’s go, man! Tuco is going to fucking kill us!”
“Who the fuck cares about Tuco? I’m getting what belongs to me!”
Cold chills ran up my spine as he continued to bang on the door. Suddenly we could hear shouting, bullets started flying around us, sending Luna and I down to the floor. After a good fifteen minutes, a heavy silence hung through the club and we lay there, waiting.
A loud banging on the door startled us and we both screamed.
“LAPD!”
We sat there staring at the door, afraid to move. The banging started again. “LAPD! It’s alright! Open the door!”
“Open the door Rahyne! It’s okay!” Scarlett’s voice on the other side sounded like a godsend.
I reacted first and scurried up. Luna helped me drag the tables and pallets away from the door. As the doorframe became visible we noticed the fresh bullet holes that penetrated it. We just looked at each other in shock. Thank God we had thought of reinforcing the door. I opened it slowly and Scarlett ran in, flinging herself at me.
“Jesus Christ, Ray! Oh my God! Are you alright?” She cupped my cheeks, running her hands down my arms and then turned and grabbed Luna’s hand pulling her towards us. She hugged us so tight I grimaced from the pain.
“We’re alright. We’re alright.” I patted her on the back and she finally let us go.
A young cop stood at the doorway and cleared his throat. “Ladies, if you could make your way out please.”
I nodded and led the way out into the club. Bullet holes marked the stages and bar, the place looked as if a bomb had exploded. We propped up a table and a few of the remaining chairs and sat down. Luna grabbed us a whiskey bottle and passed it to me.
“Ladies, I don’t think…”
I looked pointedly at the cop and he shrugged. “As long as you can remain sober enough to answer the questions.”
I nodded, and he walked away.
About ten minutes later Wolf, Grayson, Cain and Riggs walked in. Riggs scanned the room and then the bar until he focused on Luna. He tensed up as she flung herself at him, but I noticed how he closed his eyes and relief flashed through his features, yet he didn’t touch her, he just let her hold onto him. Wolf ran over to Scarlett hugging and sweeping his hands down to her belly. I met Grayson’s eyes and his expression said it all. He looked murderous.
As he turned to leave, I yelled. “Grayson! Riggs, stop him!”
Both Riggs and the younger cop had to block his path and almost wrestle him down. One of the cops even put handcuffs on him. I watched as they dragged him to a chair and he still struggled.
“That’s enough!” I shouted as they continued to manhandle him. I pushed through the group of cops and men and stood in front of Grayson. “I said that’s enough! He’s not the bad guy here assholes!”
I knelt down in front of his hunched form and cupped his cheek. He looked up at me, his eyes stormy and concerned. “Did he lay a hand on you?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll fucking kill him,” he whispered earnestly.
I shook my head. “You’re not killing anyone.”
He gave me a tormented look and I pressed my forehead to his, soothing him with soft caresses down his arms.
“What the fuck are we going to do?” Riggs picked up a chair. “This is crazy!”
Scarlett’s voice rang out. “I can tell you exactly who it was. One was called El Rubio, the others I’m not sure of, but several of them were wearing the same tattoo. The symbol was a pair of crossed pistols that read Los Perdidos.”
Grayson closed his eyes and looked up at Wolf. “They’re Tuco’s people.”
Cain scoffed. “That mother fucker doesn’t take no for an answer. You know that better than any of us, Wolf. He said we’d have to pay him back for his lost time. I guess he’s sending a message.”
Grayson huffed out a breath and stared right at Wolf. “This is fucking personal.”
“You have dealings with this gang?” An older man, around mid-fifties and wearing a leather jacket and jeans leaned against the bar. A badge hung from around his neck and he looked pretty relaxed amongst the chaos. Several other officers milled around taking pictures and assessing what had now become a crime scene.
Wolf eyed him warily. “Got into it with them a few months ago. Wanted to sell me something I wasn’t interested in buying.”
“Are you sure you weren’t interested?”
“Damn straight I wasn’t interested!” He clutched his fists to his side in a fight ready stance.
“No need to get defensive, Mr. Stone. It was just a simple question.”
“I don’t like what it implied.” I watched Scarlett place a hand on his arm and Wolf quieted down.
Looking down at Grayson, handcuffed and looking defeated I stood up. “A few nights ago, I was assaulted.” I paused for a minute remembering what happened.
“I left late that night, and as I was walking to my car I was dragged to the back of an alley. It was dark, but I recognized him right away. I’d seen him before at the club. He had been harassing me. He told me that he wanted to hurt me…” My voice cracked and I felt Scarlett grab my hand. I continued recounting the events because I needed to make sure this guy was put behind bars.
“He shoved me down onto the concrete and taking his knife out he ripped off my shirt…”
“That’s enough!” Grayson’s voice rang out and I closed my eyes, stopping. “That’s enough, baby,” he whispered.
Sitting up he looked at the man. “She was almost raped. You want the story, look up the report she made. We’re giving you a face and a name. What more do you need?”
The cop nodded. “Looks like you’re messing with pretty bad people. Ramon “Tuco” Moreno and his brother Gabriel aren’t men you want to be trifling with.”
“They walked up on our property and touched our women.” Riggs’ voice was low and menacing. “The next time they step foot in here I’ll put a bullet between their eyes.”
The cop raised his hand to stop him. “I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that. This is a public establishment, so technically they’re allowed to step foot in it.”
Wolf wrapped a hand around Scarlett’s waist. “My wife and I live upstairs. The club is an extension of my home. I want a restriction placed on him and I want a warrant for his arrest.”
The man shook his head. “Like I said, you’re messin’ with a big gang here…”
“Are you going to help us out here, or am I going to have to talk to your superiors. I got friends in high places, Officer…” Wolf leaned in to read the name on the badge, “Lowery.”
“It’s Detective,” he corrected. “Look, all I’m saying is that they have a lot of people who protect them. It’s not going to be easy to catch them.”
Wolf looked at Grayson. “Don’t you worry about that, Detective. We can help with that.”
Detective Lowry frowned at him. “I don’t need your help, Mr. Stone. I don’t want you messing around with the case. That’s final.” His voice was low and stern.
I looked down at Grayson and frowned. “Can you untie my man now, please?”
Grayson looked up at me, but I avoided his glance as well as Scarlett’s and the rest of the members. The last thing I needed was to be scrutinized by my own people.
The officer quickly came up to us. “I’m going to let you go under one condition.”
Grayson sighed. “What’s that?”
“You leave the justice to the cops. Okay?”
Grayson nodded, but as he was uncuffed he reached for me and looked at Wolf with a look of determination I hadn’t seen on his face before.