Chapter Twenty-Three
The shock wore off slowly and then the fear began to settle in. Gabby had been a part of many an argument, many which she had instigated herself. But never had she been a party to violence where fists and feet and elbows became involved.
The sickening crack of bone against bone still rang through her ears. The sight of Sully's booted feet lying on the ground had made her spine shudder. She'd known that she was supposed to fight back, scream, bite if ever anyone tried to take her. Her father, her brother, Eagle, and Prince had all drilled that into her as a child. But no one had ever mentioned what to do if she saw an attempted murder.
Because that's what it had been. Those weren't the jabs she'd seen her brother and his friends exchange as kids. Now she sat huddled on the dingy sofa of a warehouse somewhere just outside the city. Slowly, her body came out of its sluggish impotence and she looked around for a way out.
She could get out of this. There was always a way out. Every problem had a solution. She just had to find the right process, the best order of operations. Just like Prince had taught her.
Someone was going to find her. She had her cell phone in her pocket. Prince would call and when she didn't answer, he'd know something was up. Then he could track her phone just like they did on television. But when she peered down at her phone, she saw no bars. No service.
She closed her eyes and let out a shuddery breath. It wasn't the end of the world. Someone could still track a cell phone if it was out of service. If nothing else, they could see where it had been last and work from there.
She weighed her options in the meantime. She sat in a warehouse turned into a garage. There were motorcycles all around and two race cars. If she could get the keys, she could ride a bike or a car out. There were also bound to be wrenches and crowbars around that she could use as weapons.
But even before that, she could use her feminine wiles to gain an edge. She could flirt her way out, cry to get some sympathy, or throw a tantrum to show how difficult she was going to be.
Gabby turned to the dark haired man whose eyes were locked on her breasts. "What's your name?" she asked.
The man smiled. "You can call me papi, mamacita." He ran his hand down her body toward her ass in the seat.
Gabby struck out like her brother taught her. But the man caught her fist. Then he grabbed her ass, anyway. He took out her phone and held it up. "Look what these bitches are getting off welfare."
He threw the phone down to the ground and smashed it with his booted heel. Gabby blinked at the pieces of glass and plastic. Could a dead phone be tracked?
"Or she got it on her back," said the white-blond haired guy.
"I am a United States citizen," said Gabby. "I was born here."
"Then show me your papers, mamacita," said the blond one who seemed to be in charge.
"They're at home. My name is Gabrielleia Hernandez."
"You know what, mamacita, shut your fucking mouth," said the dark haired, handsy guy. "Unless it's around my cock."
He reached for his belt buckle. Gabby's heart beat into her ears and drowned out the sound of the leather strap coming undone from the metal buckle.
"Roman, you want first crack at that ass?"
Roman? Gabby looked around again. Motorcycles. Racecars. There was a Nazi emblem on the hood of one of the cars.
"Roman?" she said. "Roman Voigt? I know you. You're the one who hit Crow in the race."
"Good," Roman grinned. "You're Watchers Crew property. So you're used to being shared and passed around."
"If I were you," she said, "I'd let me go. You've already pissed off my brother, Hawk."
Roman's advance halted at the sound of that name. His eyes twitched as he studied her. The man had to have looked Hawk in the eye at some point in his miserable life. If so, then he would see the similarities in Gabby's face.
"And my boyfriend is coming after you, too. FBI Agent Yohaness Obademi? Does that name ring a bell?"
"Fuck." Roman turned his head skyward.
The dark haired guy wrapped his belt around his wrist. He looked between the two of them. Uncertainty now clouded his glassy eyes.
"Oh, yeah," Gabby continued now finding a reserve of steel from somewhere inside her chest. "And did I mention my dad is the District Attorney, Samuel Hernandez. And my soon to be mother-in-law is a judge which means, unless you let me go, you are well and truly fucked."
The rest of the crew took steps back from her as she continued to talk. Roman's pale face turned ashen. The dark haired one lifted his belted hand to rub at the nape of his neck.
And then the sound of dozens of motors filled the silence.
Gabby turned back to the men with a triumphant grin. "You hear that? Only a Dodge Charger makes that kind of growling sound. And that roaring like a lion ready to charge? Yeah, that's a Harley. Sounds like my brother and my boyfriend are here. They're gonna kick your asses."