HAVEN

We arrived at the senator’s mansion. The five of us stood outside the circular driveway and waited for several minutes in silence. My guess was they were scoping out the place before we made our way inside, but that was just my opinion. What the fuck did I know? Everything seemed pretty quiet on the inside; the usual hustle and bustle from the servants was non-existent, and there were no lights on, which was very odd considering there were cars parked out front. I didn’t recognize any of them, not the black monster truck, the sports car, and strangely, there was a motorcycle parked that was similar in size and color to the ones that the bikers rode. This waiting did little to settle the nerves forming in the pit of my stomach. I was anxious to get inside and look for Max. My soul yearned for his strong arms, and I wouldn’t be satisfied until I was safely held within them. My desire to see Max replaced any lingering feelings of fear that the bikers were out to hurt me. If they wanted to kill me, I would be dead already. Maybe I was being naïve or just plain stupid, but I felt a level of security with them, like a little sister with four protective big brothers. Craze barked out orders and took control of the situation.

“Snatch, you cover the back, make sure no one leaves. Gan, you stand guard at the front entrance, cover the door in case we get some unexpected visitors. No one gets in, yeah? Sugar, you lead Crete and me inside. Don’t know the layout, and it’s pitch fucking black.”

“Do you think Max is in there?”

“That’s Range’s truck.” He pointed to the big black eyesore. “He’s in there alright, but until we know what the fuck is going on, we stick together, you feel me?”

I squared my shoulders and nodded my head in understanding. There was nothing more important to me at that moment than getting inside and finding Max, hopefully unharmed. The men took their assigned stations, posted out front and around the back, as I led the rest of us through the servants’ entrance. I didn’t have my key, since my purse was back at my apartment, but that didn’t stop Craze from giving the door a hard kick that smashed it open in seconds. Once we were all inside, Crete motioned for me to be quiet as I pointed to the spiral staircase that led to the senator’s room. It was eerily quiet, and the house seemed deserted, which should have been impossible considering it employed a full staff at all times.

Once we reached the door, Crete grabbed me by the arm and positioned me behind his back at the same time he and Craze both drew their weapons from underneath their vests. I allowed them to step inside first before Craze motioned for me to enter once the room was secure. I was immediately struck stupid by the gaping hole in the ceiling that hadn’t been there three days ago. What a big fucking mess, but where was Max? I snapped out of my stupor in time to rush over and check on the senator’s vital signs. The night nurse should have been on duty, but like everyone else, she was missing in action.

“He’s dead,” I whisper-yelled to Crete and Craze. “What the fuck is going on here? Where is everyone?”

“Shotgun blast took out the ceiling. Can’t tell what happened to that asshole.” Craze gave a chin lift toward the senator and did that silent biker thing with Crete. I began to panic at the possibility that something had happened to Max somewhere inside this house of horrors. The thought of never seeing Max again slammed against my chest and shook its very foundation. There was only one other place they could be, where souls were stolen and nightmares began.

The basement.

“They have to be in the basement. That’s the only other place. I’ve only been there once, but I think I can remember where it was,” I shared, anxious to get moving.

“Stay behind Crete. We go in silent, no talking. I’ll signal, and he’ll tell you what to do next.”

“Okay, but I think I should have a gun, you know, just in case.” Craze smiled, and it was the first time I noticed he had dimples. The woman he was in love with was one lucky bitch.

“No fucking guns, girl. We got plenty. Now, let’s go.” Crete on the other hand was still a dick.

“You know what, Crete? You should try eating less red meat; it boosts aggression and could be the cause of your bowel obstruction. Leafy green vegetables should take care of that in no time.”

“Get moving before I obstruct your little ass with my hand print, sugar britches.” I liked this guy. He made me smile.

I found the doorway easily enough and tapped Crete on the shoulder, then pointed silently that we were in the right place. Crete used his big-ass arm to press me back against the wall, while Craze cracked the doorway open just enough to allow us to pass. We tiptoed single file down the steps without turning on the lights until we reached the bottom landing. I could hear yelling coming from one of the rooms, a hysterical woman screaming profanities at the top of her lungs like a madwoman. Right away I knew it was Mrs. Lancaster, and she wasn’t alone inside that room.

“If you leave with these hooligans, Maxie, I’ll make sure you’ll never find that whore nurse in one piece. I’ll spend every dime of my money just to see that every part of her body is used up and spit out before she’s put in the ground to rot. I own your soul, Maxie, and if you think I’m going to let you walk out of here, you’d better think again. I fucking own you.”

She was talking about me as if my life meant nothing, using my kidnapping as a means to control Max and keep him a prisoner inside these walls. Well, fuck that, not on my watch, and not when I have a say so in my future, our future. Max had said it best; it was about us and what we wanted, and no one else would have the chance to dictate our lives again. I broke away from the stronghold that Crete had on me and rushed inside the room before he could stop me. Our eyes took the briefest of moments to take each other in before our bodies crashed together.

“I’m here, Max. I’m here,” I whispered to him over and over, relieved that he was safe and holding me in his arms.

“How did you escape? Are you hurt? Did they touch you?” He checked to see any visible signs of trauma on my body. He was so beautiful I couldn’t stop the tears that started to flow from my eyes. I’d missed him so much and never thought I would ever see him again.

“I’m not hurt, Max.” I held him closely. “Some bikers found me and helped me escape.”

“Bikers? What bikers?” Max held my face in his hands and looked into my eyes.

“What the fuck is she doing here? That’s impossible…I made a deal with Brick.” Mrs. Lancaster was incensed at my surprise arrival. Her face turned to stone with anger and shock.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re alright, Haven. I had nothing to do with your abduction, I swear. Now, can you talk some sense into these people and tell them to let me go?” Jeremy was sitting in the corner, his face a bloodied mess of bruises and cuts. The last time he and I had been in the same room, he tried to force himself on me. No way would I help his ass. Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.

“Not impossible, you stupid bitch. We don’t do business that way, and Brick had no business making that deal.”

Crete and Craze entered the room with their guns drawn and stood with the other three men that were already there with Max. They gave each other a silent greeting using only head nods and chin lifts without uttering a word. They must have had a crash course in that secret biker language. They weren’t wearing vests like Craze and Crete, but they were scary as fuck all the same. They were armed with weapons, including a bow and arrow, which was just…strange. The sight of them all standing so fiercely caused alarm bells to go off, so I gripped Max’s shirt in terror. He himself was holding a shotgun, which explained the blown-out hole we’d found in the senator’s room. My man was hot, if I do say so myself.

“Don’t be afraid, Heaven.” He turned me around by the shoulders to face each of them. “These are my brothers. Range, Sebastian, and that’s Mem over there. They came to take me home, back to the junkyard.”

I smiled in absolute glee as I took in each one of their faces. They stood united to protect one of their own, their brother, who thought he’d lost them forever. I saw the love they felt for each other deeply etched within their eyes. They would die for him and he for them. Max had taken back his life, fought the devil and beat that fucker down.

“This doesn’t change a thing, Maxie. We could still have everything we’ve ever wanted. It’s us against the world, son, don’t you see that?” I almost felt sorry for Mrs. Lancaster. She never stood a chance against Max’s junkyard family. Too bad she never knew it.

“It’s over, Mother, all the lies and the deceit. You’re gonna burn in hell, and I’ll be the one holding the match, I promise you that. You never broke me, Mother. Everything you did will revisit you in your nightmares while you spend the rest of your life in prison for killing the senator.”

I covered my mouth in shock at the revelation that the senator was murdered at the hands of his own wife. She hardly seemed fazed at the idea of spending the rest of her life in jail. She straightened her clothing, smoothed down her wayward hair, and smiled brightly at her son.

“You’d choose them over me, Maxie? Those people are strangers. You and I are family. We belong together,” she shamelessly begged, a last-ditch effort to win back her son.

“I’ve never belonged here, Mother. I have a home, and it’s waiting for me.”

My heart swelled with pride as I watched Max face down his mother and declare his independence. I expected some kind of emotion from her, tears, screaming, a temper tantrum. Anything that showed she was affected by the dismissal of her only son. Hell. If I were facing jail time, I’d find the nearest door and haul ass to Mexico for a while. Not Mrs. Lancaster. All she did was smirk like a deranged lunatic who’d just escaped from a psych ward. She finally broke the silent standoff, but it wasn’t to beg for mercy.

“Do you remember what I told you? I always win, Maxie.”

She lunged for the shotgun he was holding. I screamed when Max pushed me to the floor to shield me from the crazed woman fighting for control of the weapon. She gave up her attempt to grab it away from him and instead placed the barrel of the gun inside her mouth, and pulled the trigger. The blast was enough to remove her entire head from her shoulders. Blood and guts splattered everyone in the room from head to toe. The nightmare was finally over, and Max was free.