The Ties That Bind 2 by D. A. Young (6)

 

CHAPTER TWENTY

 

With a gasp, a disoriented Pitch opened his eyes. His entire body felt like it was tingling all over, and numbness was setting in. He was in an upright position, sitting in a chair with his feet bound. He lifted his head, wincing at the crook in his neck and the dull pain at the back of his skull. Pitch tried to raise his arm, and that’s when he realized he was in a room with metal bars and bound with rope, in addition to his hands being cuffed behind him. Was it Barrera? It didn’t feel like it after he’d gone to all the trouble of brokering a deal with him. He tried to recall what happened.

“Good to see you,” a familiar voice croaked next to him. Surprised, Pitch swiveled his head, grunting at the pain it caused. Digger was in the next cell and in the same position as him. “I wondered what happened to you and Harley.”

“You too.” Pitch’s mind was whirling. “Why are we here?! Who did this?!”

“That would be me.” Minnie entered the room holding a glass of water. She held it to his lips. “Drink up, Kevin.”

Pitch glared at her, sinisterly. “Bitch, do you know who you’re fucking with? I didn’t even recognize you with your clothes on.”

Minnie threw the cold water in his face. With a sweet smile that didn’t melt the ice in her eyes, she cooed, “Oops, it slipped.”

Pitch attempted to lunge at her but quickly realized he was in no position to do anything, let alone maintain his balance. “You’re a fucking dead whore when I get my hands free.”

She backhanded him hard enough to make the chair tip on its back legs. “Looking forward to it, douchebag. I should warn you that I’m much better equipped to handle myself than Vargas’ sister.

Pitch’s head was spinning not just from the blow, but because Minnie knew about information she shouldn’t even be privy to. His accusing eyes held Digger’s remorseful ones. “You told her that? Why?!”

“I was fucking drunk at Club Flex, and she was on duty, working me over.” Digger’s face was flaming red, remembering Minnie grinding on him in the dark corner. The blonde whispered all the salacious things she’d do to him if Digger would just relax and tell her his troubles, promising to make it all better. Feeling devastated about being cut off from The Immortals, he’d confided in her how loyal he’d been to Slade and the club. Dropping his eyes, he hung his head in shame. “Told me to come here and meet her for a drink and talk privately before going back to her place. I’m sorry man. She played me good.”

“And where exactly is here??” Pitch demanded of his captor, glancing around the bare, unfinished walls of the room that he didn’t doubt was soundproof.

Minnie laughed at him. “Why in Chatham’s ATF bureau, baby!”

“She’s an undercover agent,” Digger confirmed miserably. “But it’s not just her—”

“Why didn’t you tell me he was up?” Lorelai complained to Minnie as she entered the room.

“Sorry, I was just about to come and get you. I’ve got to leave and start my shift soon anyway.” Minnie stopped next to her supervisor and whispered, “When are we going to let Marcus know they’re down here? I told you before, that it doesn’t feel right to keep information from him.”

Lorelai walked her back to the door, keeping her back to the two men. “He’s on his way out the door and not even thinking about work. Prime example: where is he right now? In Albuquerque waiting to pick up his daughter. All he cares about is spending time with Billy now. You remember, Billy; don’t you? The one whose coming down to be with Ransom Lawson?”

Minnie’s eyes darkened and Lorelai clucked sympathetically. She was aware that the younger agent had developed a fondness for the biker despite her insistence that she was just immersing herself in the role she was assigned. Lorelai had no problems with Minnie, an up and coming hotshot agent, coloring outside of the lines occasionally as long as she got her job done and made Lorelai look good.

“Yeah, I remember. I’ll be back when my shift’s over.” Minnie shoved past her and ran back up the stairs of the hidden tunnel.

To Pitch, Lorelai spoke briskly. “Sorry about that cheap shot. We’ve been waiting forever to get you or Harley alone. How’d you slip your babysitting detail?”

“There’s some internal drama going on at the shop. What do you want with me?” Pitch couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. The fucking ATF in Chatham! “Is Marcus an agent as well? Who else is in on it?”

“That doesn’t concern you!” she snapped. “What does concern you is the part you played in murdering those Aztec members!”

“I didn’t kill anyone!”

“But you were there and didn’t report it! That makes you an accomplice,” Lorelai clarified, satisfaction glinting in her eyes.

Pitch said nothing else to incriminate himself. He was racking his brain, trying to figure out what else they knew. What about Harley and the women they’d killed?

Digger spoke hesitantly, sensing his friend’s displeasure. “I told them that the three of us didn’t pull any triggers. That you and I were guarding the trucker, and Harley was in the back of the truck securing the delivery the Aztecs were tryna confiscate. They only want our recorded confessions. I said I needed to speak to you first.”

Finally, something useful to come out the fucktard’s mouth. Something was off, but Pitch couldn’t put his finger on it. Lorelai wanted more than that. With a suspicious glare, he asked her, “Is what he said true? That’s all you’re looking for? A confession?”

She’d never liked or trusted the white boy who was way too slick and full of himself, Lorelai thought. But he would serve a purpose for the task she needed to be completed. Digger was a complete moron, and Harley was flat out unstable, but Pitch used logic and was wholly invested in himself. He didn’t give two shits about The Immortals or selling them out, especially three Immortals in particular. To most people, bartenders blended into the background only providing the alcohol that enabled them to speak freely in front of them. Lorelai knew what he was gunning for. Now, all that needed answering was the lengths he’d go to get it.

“You have my word that as long as you didn’t kill anyone, you’ll be able to leave of your own free will as long as you never return to Chatham. “Give me your truth,” Lorelai pressed. “That’s all I’m interested in. It will be video-recorded so there’s no mistaking your identity.”

“You do want that, but I want you to tell me what else you really want,” Pitch challenged.

Lorelai clapped slowly at his astuteness and despite his throbbing head and immobility, Pitch tried to bow. “Very good, Kevin. I think you and I are going to get along just fine. Now, tell me what happened at the shop.”

***

Lucy, Jenna, Tawny, and the rest of the Ol’ Ladies were waiting at Slade’s house with empty boxes when Ransom pulled into the driveway in Marnie’s truck. She was kind enough to lend it to him and would drive him to Albuquerque, where she planned to complete her Christmas shopping. Shakes was at Ransom’s room in the barracks, boxing his clothes, photography equipment, and photographs. They would dispose of Harley’s stuff later. Claudia planned to take Harley shopping at the mall for new clothes to celebrate their fresh start.

Lucy reached him first and hugged him. “I’m so sorry, baby boy. How’s Claudia?”

“She’s not doing well, Tia. I think she’s in shock. I just came to get her things, and then I’ll be on my way.”

Jenna held up the box in her hand and the packing tape. “We’re here to help, hon.”

The remaining ladies murmured their agreement. Ransom unlocked the door and stepped into the house that held a thousand memories. They were assailing him, the bad ones outweighing the good, and he mentally pushed them aside to accomplish his task. “She has a sunflower china set that was my grandmother’s. She’ll want that and any childhood knick-knacks Harley and I made her. Tia, if you could help me in the bedroom, please.”

Once in the bedroom, Ransom entered the bathroom and collected her toiletries, including hair products, blow dryer, curling irons, makeup, and perfume. Lucy cleaned out her dresser and packed up her shoes, while Ransom packed up her hanging clothes. When he came out of the walk-in closet, Blaze, Jester, and Deke were waiting for him with grim faces.

“Lucy, please check on the other women,” Blaze requested of his wife.

She hesitated, fearing club retaliation against Ransom, though her husband had given his word. “Blaze—”

Lucy stopped speaking at his searing look of disapproval and immediately left.

When it was just the four of them left, Ransom set the box he carried down on the bed and waited expectantly.

Jester scratched at his red beard with frustration, his brown eyes dulled by sadness. “Hell, Ransom, I ain’t got the words to express what I’m feelin’. I wish shit hadn’t went down like this.” He pointed at the younger man. “You fuckin’ think about walkin’ away and losing contact for good, I’ll find you and beat your fuckin’ ass myself. You hear me?”

Deke’s voice was scratchy as he echoed the sentiment. “It ain’t just you, but your mama too. Claudia is good people. You just got dealt a shitty hand. Now, get your ass over here.”

Ransom hugged him first then Jester. “Thanks for everything. I’ll remember that.”

Blaze handed him the black duffle bag that Pitch had come to town with. It was bulging, so Ransom knew it contained much more than fifty-thousand dollars. “Take it.”

Ransom shook his head, touched by the generosity but unable to take anything of Slade’s. “I appreciate what you’re tryin’ to do, but I don’t want anything of his.”

“This ain’t him. This is us. The men in this room, son. Lucy, Jenna, and everyone else would roast our balls if Claudia went without what she was accustomed to.” Blaze’s eyes were compassionate. “You’re going to need it for your brother also. Take. It.”

The phone rang and one of the women answered it. There was a piercing shriek of dismay and then a barreling up the stairs when Lucy burst in with an ashen face, hyperventilating, and eyes ballooned in fright.

“Ransom!”

 

 

***

Albuquerque

 

“How long’s he been like this, Ma?” Ransom grilled Claudia impatiently as he stared at Harley, unconscious in his hospital bed. He glanced over to see Claudia staring blankly at the IV bag dripping and partially sustaining her son. He knew she was in shock from the things he’d told her that transpired after what she’d already been exposed to with Harley and because her oldest child lie near-lifeless.

“Ma!”

Claudia jumped at his harsh tone, coming out of the fog she’d been trapped in. Judging from his impatient tone and exasperated expression, she’d missed everything he’d said. Her eyes fell to his injured, bandaged hands and knew he experienced discomfort trying to ride his bike like that. He’d beaten Slade, his father, her husband, to within an inch of his life. She’d heard the commotion between the two and tried to rush back in, but Blaze held her back with a few choice words.

“You can’t treat them like they’re babies anymore, Claudia! They’re grown men who are gonna make mistakes! Let them stand on their own two feet!”

He escorted her back to the car, where Harley was curled on his side. Claudia rubbed his back soothingly. “Everything will be fine, mi hijo. I’m waiting for your brother and then we’ll go.”

“I don’t feel well,” Harley mumbled. Can’t go back there.”

“No! You don’t have to worry about that! We’re not going back there ever again.” Claudia was heartbroken and trying to keep it together for him. How could Slade have done this to them? She was a fool for ever thinking to make a deal with a devil. A cry escaped her, and Claudia shoved her fist against her mouth to keep her tears at bay.

“Don’t cry, Ma,” Harley slurred. “It’s gonna be fine. Ransom will fix it. He can do anything…”

Claudia wasn’t paying attention to him. Ransom emerged from the garage, and he wasn’t wearing his cut. Aside from his hands being taped up, there wasn’t anything else to indicate he’d been in a brawl.  He bent down to her window and grinned like he used to when he was little and wanted to share a secret with her.

“Hey, pretty lady.”

“Mi corazon! What happened?!”

“We’ll talk about it later. Right now, I’m going to grab your things from the house. I want you to drive to Albuquerque and check into a hotel. We’re gonna salvage what we can of this Christmas as a family. Can you do that for me?”

She could see the emotions in his eyes but knew Ransom was keeping it together for her sake, and she needed to do the same. THEY WOULD BE FINE. “Si, mi hijo. I’m going to go to the Sheraton and get us a couple of rooms. Tell the girls—” Claudia faltered, thinking of her lifelong friends. “Tell them I love them forever! That I wish things were different! That I’ll understand if they pick sides! Tell them...”

“They will know what you mean, just like I do, Ma.” Ransom rapped on the top of the car. “Now, get outta here!”

Claudia started the hour-long drive toward her destination, listening to holiday music the entire way while Harley slept. They’d just entered the city when Harley started convulsing. She’d flipped him on his back and saw the foam spittle at his mouth and his eyes rolling in the back of his head.

“HARLEY!!!” She swerved into a Burger King and ran in, screaming for someone to call 911. Crying, she ran back out to the car and opened the passenger door. “Harley, hold on! Can you hear me, baby?! Hold on!!!”

His skin was clammy to the touch, and his nose was bleeding. Claudia could see white residue around it, and she screamed her fear and anger while patting him down. She found the bag of coke and was terrified to see what little was left, her heart stopping at what that meant.

Harley had done this on purpose.

Claudia could hear the ambulance sirens wailing as it got closer and closer. She kissed his forehead as the ambulance pulled into the parking lot and grabbed the bag of coke from inside of his jacket.

“For an hour. The doctor said he’ll be fine,” she replied in a listlessly. “He did it on purpose, baby.”

Ransom heard her words but was having a hard time processing them. “What are you saying?”

“The amount of cocaine he ingested…” Claudia reached for another tissue, surprised that she had any tears left to cry. “Harley wanted to die, Ransom. You will never be able to convince me otherwise. My baby wanted to leave us!”

There was a knock at the door, and then it opened to reveal a concerned Rage. His eyes drifted to Harley’s prone form, then Ransom’s grief-stricken face before finally landing on Claudia. She looked so lost that he automatically wanted to scoop her up, take her away, and make her forget everything. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I was in town, waiting to pick Billy up from the airport. I stopped to visit an old buddy who’s here for surgery when I saw Ransom run by downstairs.”

It was a complete lie. He’d heard the 911 call on the police scanner and was across the street from the Burger King, getting gas. He’d watched Claudia falling apart, feeling helpless as they loaded Harley into the ambulance and she jumped in.

‘Billy’s not due in until the day after tomorrow,” Ransom corrected him and Marcus cringed. Shit! Now he had to explain to his baby that her plans were altered.

“You were supposed to think that. I was picking her up and was enlisted to help decorate the Airstream trailer that she’s renting,” Marcus dryly informed him. “It was going to be a surprise, and now that you know she’ll be pissed at me for ruining it.”

“Oh my,” Claudia said with an exhausted laugh. “Guess the cat’s out of the bag now. That was sweet of her.”

“What time does her flight get in? I’ll go and meet her instead.” Ransom wasn’t suggesting, and his tone brooked no argument. He welcomed a distraction from this nightmare that was his current reality. Shit just couldn’t get any worse, or so he hoped.

“Should be in the next hour. Let me give you the info.”

Ransom was relieved that Marcus wasn’t putting up any protest. He needed Billy. He needed to hold her and feel proof that something in his life was going right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

 

Billy’s arms were laden with bags as she left the baggage claim to find a cart rental. She was thirty minutes early and thought to kill time by grabbing a bite to eat before Marcus arrived. She couldn’t wait to see Ransom’s face when she surprised him with the trailer. In one of her bags, carefully packaged, were the ornaments she and Melody had collected throughout the years. Billy wanted to share them, along with the story behind each one with him. But there were nearly a hundred ornaments, and his eyes would probably glaze over. Ransom would probably knock the ornament out of her hand and silence her with a kiss that would lead to newer traditions like getting hot and heavy and tangled up in the tinsel. Or at least that’s how Billy hoped the night would go.

She’d just put all her bags onto a cart when she heard a man greet someone enthusiastically right near her ear. “Is that you, Isabelle?!”

Billy felt a tap on her shoulder and didn’t recognize the white man wearing the baseball cap. He was nondescript and almost homely looking, reminding Billy of that cartoon character Ziggy.

She realized he’d mistaken her for someone else, but now he looked vaguely familiar to Billy after all. “Sorry, but you’re mistaken.”

Instead of releasing her, the man pressed the barrel of a gun to her side under her trench coat and whispered, “No, I don’t think I am, Billy. You need to come with me.”

Don’t panic. Billy tried to catch the security guard’s eye, but he was conversing with an elderly couple by the conveyor belt. The barrel pressed deeper against her side. “Don’t do anything foolish, Billy. I really don’t want to hurt you. Instead, what I’ll do is shoot that pregnant young woman to your left. Do you really want to be responsible for the deaths of a mother and her unborn child?”

“How do you know my name?” Her knife was in her purse that was trapped underneath her buttoned jacket to prevent being pick-pocketed.

“The less you know the better. Let’s go.”

He led Billy to an idling black Ford F-150 at the curb. The man opened the back seat and shoved Billy in as the driver automatically hit the locks before swiveling around to greet her.

“Good to see you again, Billy,” Pitch greeted with a congenial smile, his angelic features serene. “Please don’t think about making a break for it. Your door lock is child-proof.”

Every warning Ransom had ever given her about his brother’s friend was warranted, Billy deduced, just from the eerie calmness about him.

“Where Harley is all emotion and physicality, Pitch uses his brain and its power for anything but the greater good. Always has in order to get what he wants. Pitch can’t be trusted; he’s got his own agenda.”

“Pitch.” She greeted him, trying to keep her voice neutral, aware that her captor sitting next to her had a fixated stare and gun trained on her.  “Who’s your friend?”

“That’s my good buddy, Digger. Say hey, Dig.”

“Aahh, I thought he looked familiar. We met once, briefly, at Inferno.”

“Hey.” His voice was soft and his smile pleasant. Neither of those things reassured Billy that she wasn’t in any danger as the truck pulled away from the curb, leaving her cart of luggage at the curb.

“How have you been, Billy?” Pitch asked conversationally, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror. “School going okay?”

He was just talking to her like they hadn’t just kidnapped her at gunpoint. Billy wanted to scream at him, lose her goddamn mind, and fuck shit up, but the look in his eyes was…expectant. Pitch wanted that reaction from her. She’d bet money that was what got him off. Billy would be damned if she gave him that satisfaction. “School’s great. I was worried about calculus, but I have a feeling I aced the exam. How have you been?”

His blue eyes hardened, and his mouth compressed into a nonexistent line. “Who, me? Not so great. My best friend’s turned into a drug addict, and his father and his motorcycle club have been holding me captive for the last two weeks. I managed to escape only to be kidnapped by a crazy ATF bitch who insists that I give a videotaped, signed confession to get my freedom, but the kicker is that I need to take you and keep you for awhile until she says to release you. Make sense? I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me. It sounds a little fucked up and far-fetched to me too.”

Heart racing, Billy looked out the window, trying to quell her rising panic as they bypassed the bright lights of the city. “Damn, and I thought my week was stressful.”

“Do you have any idea what a popular girl you are, hated or loved, Billy?” Pitch went on to ask, then answered his own question. “Ransom wants you, Harley wants you, Claudia hated you for breaking Ransom’s heart, Slade doesn’t want you in his son’s life, Marcus wants you in his life, and Lorelai is using you. Me, personally, I don’t see your appeal, but you sure do know how to rile up emotions in everyone you encounter.” Pitch gave a mirthless laugh. “You are completely oblivious to how much power you wield at your fingertips, and that’s the craziest damn shame of it all.”

“Is this the part where I apologize for not being a cold, callous manipulative bitch like you and taking advantage of people’s emotions?” Billy asked contemptuously, unable to take back what she just said.

Pitch’s tight smile was nasty. “That wasn’t very nice, Billy. I’m looking forward to you making it up to me.”

“I bet you are.” The city lights were fading into the distance. “Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere that you won’t be a bother while ‘boss bitch’ makes her move.” His eyes crinkled with malicious glee. “And man, is it a doozy! I almost wish I was there to see it.”

“And I get to leave when Lorelai’s done?”

“Sure you can,” Pitch said easily. A little too easily for Billy’s liking. Even if Ransom hadn’t warned her about him, she wouldn’t have trusted Pitch.

“She said we weren’t supposed to touch you,” Digger mumbled, drawing Billy’s attention to him.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” Billy encouraged him graciously.

“Shut up, Digger!” Pitch snarled at his partner who flushed and looked down at his feet, then quickly raised his head and focused on Billy once more. Digger was the follower who’d do anything Pitch asked of him. Even hurt or kill her, Billy was sure of it. If they’d made a deal with the ATF, Pitch would want to keep his hands as clean as possible. He’d make Digger do the grunt work.

“Don’t even think about doing anything foolish, Billy.” Pitch’s eyes burned diabolically in the dark cab of the truck. “Lorelai’s orders were to bring you back when she called. She didn’t say in what condition, though.”

“My father and Ransom will find me,” Billy replied with a confidence she was far from feeling. There was no doubt in her mind that Marcus and Ransom would look for her. Billy returned her attention to the obsidian darkness of the night, choosing to focus on that instead of the alternative of her grandparents being dealt the devastating blow that her body had been discovered.

They’d find her. She just had to keep her cool and rely on her wits to survive until they did.

***

Ransom stared at the flight screen, focusing on one particular number with foreboding. Billy’s flight arrived thirty minutes earlier than scheduled, but she was nowhere to be found. Ransom had spent the last thirty minutes canvassing the airport for any sign of her. Rudely, he pushed himself to the front of the information desk of the airline she’d flown.

“Flight 9285 from San Francisco. There was a young woman on board. I need to know if she was on that flight,” he abruptly cut into the conversation the employee exchanged with another passenger. To the man, he added, “Sorry.”

The young woman thought Ransom was attractive and would have even flirted with him if it wasn’t for his rude, bossy attitude. Plastic smile in place, she requested, “Sir, please move to the back of the line behind you, and I’ll be with you once it’s your turn.”

“Ma’am, I need to know if my girlfriend got on her flight. Her father said she was supposed to be on it, but I don’t see her anywhere. That’s not like her. Can you please help me?” Ransom tried to reign in his menacing aura, but her condescending expression was making it hard.

“I can’t imagine why she wouldn’t show up to be with a polite, well-mannered dreamboat like you,” she snarked, typing in the flight number. “What’s her name?”

He’d ignore her sarcasm and the filthy looks of the impatient travelers he could feel boring into his back as long as she helped him. “Willamina Stanton.”

Ransom felt his heart slow then crystallize with fear as she typed in the information and surveyed the screen. She then looked up and around before staring at him utterly puzzled. “Sir, are you positive that you were supposed to pick her up at the airport? It confirms that Ms. Stanton was on that flight. Is it possible that she could have caught a cab and is on her way to surprise you?”

“No!” Ransom snapped impatiently. “May I please use your phone?”

“Yes, of course. I’m going to call security over while you do that, so you can give them a description of her.”

With shaking fingers, Ransom dialed information and requested the number to the hospital. He called the hospital and requested Harley’s room number.

“Hello?” Claudia’s voice was low but suspicious, and Ransom didn’t blame her. No one from Chatham knew that Harley had overdosed and was fighting for his life.

“It’s just me, Ma. Is Rage still there?”

“Yes, do you have Billy?”

His stomach dropped at her question. “I need to speak to him, Ma.”

“What’s going on, Ransom?”

Fuck! He didn’t want to be the one that told the man who didn’t approve of him with his beloved daughter that she was missing. “Do you have any pages or messages from Billy saying she arrived? I don’t and I’m at the airport, but she’s not here.”

“No, I do not. What do you mean she’s not there, Ransom?”

“I mean that her arrival was confirmed, but I’ve checked everywhere except the ladies rooms, and she’s not here, Rage.”

“I’m on my way.”

He hung up and Ransom closed his eyes and shoved his hands through his hair. “Sir, security is on their way to talk to you.” He opened his eyes in time to see an airport employee wheeling a cart of luggage by, and a flash of color caught his eye.

“STOP!”

***

“What do you know?” Marcus bit out as soon as he set foot in the security office that Ransom and two security officers, one who was monitoring the cameras, had already occupied.

Ransom held up a neon green alien luggage tag and tossed it to him. “Her bags were found abandoned curbside. They’re pulling up security footage now. I bought her this when we visited Roswell this summer.” His fists clenched, he tried to prevent his logic from succumbing to his wrath. “She’d tied it around one of her suitcases that belonged to her mother.”

He looked like he was about to lose his shit, and Marcus felt the exact same way. Whoever had his baby had signed their death warrant with this move. “Why aren’t we viewing the footage now?”

The man didn’t even look at him but only answered him in a dismissive tone that made Marcus want to put his foot up his ass. “We need to wait for our boss’s approval. He’s on vacation with—”

Marcus dug into his back pocket and extracted his ATF badge and thumped him in the forehead with it before tossing it to the other guard for verification. “Bitch, my name is Marcus Glover, and I’m a federal government agent. My daughter is missing, and we ain’t waitin’ on shit! Pull the motherfucking footage up or the only place you’ll be working security at is 7-11.”

“Yes, sir!”  The man accessed the footage and pulled up the time frame that Billy arrived.

Marcus smiled wryly at a fulminating Ransom. “You’re dating my daughter. You were bound to find out sooner or later. It was one of the reasons I wanted to keep Billy away from Chatham.”

“Does she know?”

“Not until Thanksgiving night.”

“What else did you tell her?”

“I told her about your real family business. She deserved to know.”

Yet, Billy had stayed with him. Her twenty questions at lunch by the beach and the warning of not lying for him or doing conjugal visits made even more sense to Ransom now.

“Sir, here she is at baggage claim.” Ransom’s breath caught as he observed the black and white video of a smiling Billy in a knee-length black and white houndstooth coat, jeans, and black combat boots, waiting for her luggage. She’d changed her hair, and it was styled in long thick braids. He could feel her happiness through the screen, and she didn’t appear to be in any danger. She gathered her bags and disappeared from the screen.

“Where did she go?!” Marcus grilled him.

“I’m assuming to get a cart. We don’t have that angle, but this is her again leaving with this white guy.”

The man was wearing a hat and kept his head lowered. He was pressed up against Billy as she wheeled her luggage cart. She kept glancing around as he guided her toward a waiting dark-colored truck, opened the back door, and shoved her in. “He’s got a weapon on her. It’s the only way she would have complied. Zoom in on the license plate.”

Ransom leaned over the man further to view it but didn’t recognize it, but Marcus did. He grabbed the phone and dialed a number.

“What do you know, Rage?”

“I know who owns that truck.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

 

Something was going on, Minnie was sure of it. She slowly spun around the pole to Color Me Badd’s “I Wanna Sex You Up” while covertly watching Shakes, Blaze, Deke, and Jester ignoring the dancers as they conversed at the table reserved just for the Immortals. Their expressions ranged from glum to pissed off as they drank heavily and gestured wildly amongst one another. There was no sign of the Lawsons and Minnie was relieved. After leaving Lorelai, she’d toyed with the idea of giving Ransom a heads up as to what she was planning.

Minnie liked Ransom. He wasn’t like his fellow bikers and seemed to have a moral compass. Ransom didn’t treat her or the other girls like pieces of meat, and most importantly his sexual appetite matched hers. Minnie was a confident woman and had never been jealous or felt competitive with another woman. But she was jealous of the infamous Billy that had caught his eye and held his heart. Ransom fucked her with a vengeance as if to try and forget the girl. Minnie wasn’t mad at all. She’d taken all of him and found herself looking forward to the next time she could get him in bed. Minnie also liked his conversation and the photos he took and hid from the world.

Fuck the dumb shit. Ransom didn’t belong in Chatham, and he sure as hell didn’t deserve what was coming. Minnie was going to page him if he didn’t show up tonight. She’d just finished the song when Ozzie shouted her name from the bar, waving the telephone receiver. Casually, she made her way through the tables, winking and ruffling men’s heads as she went to retrieve her call.

“Who the hell is callin’ me here, sugar?” she asked the beefy bartender who shrugged in return.

“Don’t know; just don’t make a habit of it. You already got eyes on ya, so be quick about it,” he warned, making her aware that the club members were watching.

“Guess I’ll be quick then.” Minnie took it from him. “Hello?”

Marcus snarled on the other end, “You’ve been compromised. Get to the safe spot and call me at the number I’m going to page you from. NOW.”

He disconnected the call and adrenaline pumping, Minnie feigned distress. “I gotta go, Ozzie!”

“What’s up, Minnie?”

“My mother had a heart attack. Doctors said she might not make it through the night. Would you mind telling the guys?”

“Yeah, get out of here. I’ll square up for you.”

Avoiding speculative eyes, Minnie hauled it to the dressing room as fast as she could without drawing too much attention to herself. She threw her regular clothes on over her skimpy attire and grabbed her coat. She slipped out the back entrance and down the back alley of the buildings until she got to Inferno. Strange. The bar was completely dark. Lorelai had said nothing to her about closing up early. Minnie checked her surroundings before using the key Rage had given her when she first arrived in town. She entered the building and locked it behind her. Minnie moved toward the bathrooms and tapped the wooden panel next to the ladies’ room. The secret door slid open and then shut behind her. She ran down the stairs to find the cells empty.

Alarmed, she pulled out her glock and grabbed the cordless, pulling her pager out she dialed the number Rage had entered. He answered on the first ring. “Talk to me, Minnie. Who’d you lend your truck to? And why do they have my daughter?!”

“Rage, I…don’t know,” she answered honestly. “Lorelai asked to borrow my truck earlier. She was keeping Digger and Pitch in the cells and needed their confessions. She’s going after The Immortals. I’m here at the bar now, and everything is closed down.”

“Stay there and man this phone, Minnie. I’ll be in touch,” Marcus instructed forcefully. “You should have come to me!”

Shame-faced, Minnie paced the small room. Shit! She’d screwed up! “I’m sorry, Rage. Lorelai said we weren’t to concern you with this matter since you were leaving the bureau. She also said Director Shore allowed her to take lead on this one.”

“Digger and Pitch snatched my daughter from the airport, Minnie! Can you think of where they would have taken her?”

Minnie glanced around the room. It contained the video camera, computer, and some paperwork on the table. “Gimme a second, Rage.” She powered up the computer and scanned the search history. “I think I might have something. What do you know about a place called Bisti-De-Za-Nin Wilderness?”

“Nothing, but you’re going to be receiving a call from Director Shore soon. You tell him everything except that. Understood?”

“Copy that. Boss?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I fucked up. Good luck.”

***

“Bisti Badlands are located in the San Juan Basin,” Ransom informed Rage curtly as they drove. “I’ve been there a couple of times and photographed it.”

Rage reached under his seat and pulled out a box and took out a cell phone. He tossed it to Ransom. “Turn it on, press number seven, and hit send. Keep quiet.”

Ransom did as he was told as Rage started the vehicle then took the phone back. “Director Shore, this is Agent Glover. Have you spoken to Agent Fitzgerald recently?”

“No, I haven’t seen or spoken to her, Marcus. What’s going on?”

Marcus tried to remain calm as he filled the director in on what he knew, but his raw fury couldn’t be contained when it came to his child. “She sent those two men to kidnap my daughter! I’ve tried calling her cell phone, and she isn’t answering my calls! I don’t know what her agenda is, but it’s obviously being driven by personal feelings instead of professional ones. I want charges pressed against her!”

“Those are serious allegations, Agent Glover. Do you have any proof?” Shore was all business now, and Marcus understood that he couldn’t afford to take sides.

“Agent Hoffsfields can confirm everything I’ve told you. “I’m going to try and find my daughter.”

 “Do you have any idea where they would have taken her?”

Marcus hesitated. If he told Shore, the man would have Bureau of Land Management, FBI, and the local police there to roll out the welcoming mat. Marcus and Ransom were seeking personal justice. He’d call the closer he got. “Not sure yet, but I’ll keep you posted.”

“See that you do. We’ll get your daughter back, Marcus. I’m going to track Agent Fitzgerald down after I speak with Agent Hoffsfield. Good luck.”

When he hung up, Marcus pounded the steering wheel. “That fucking bitch! I’m going to kill her! Why would she do this?!”

“What does Lorelai have on you?” Ransom wanted to stay focused on anything but what Pitch and Digger were capable of. He needed to keep it together in order to bring Billy home safely. Hang on, baby. I’m coming for you, love.

“She’s pissed that I’m not interested in fucking or having a relationship with her. I’m retiring and leaving Chatham.”

Ransom laughed sardonically. “That makes three things we have in common, then, if you include loving Billy.”

Marcus took his eyes off the road, taking in Ransom’s stoic face. “Say what?”

“I left The Immortals and am getting Harley and Ma out of Chatham for good. Or at least that’s what I was trying to do until he overdosed. All I want to do is do right by them and Billy. It’s two days before Christmas and shit gets blown to hell. I wanted was to give her a memorable Christmas. Billy deserves it after the year she’s had.”

“So does your mother.” Marcus’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. Claudia hadn’t said anything about leaving Slade or of their plans to move. “I imagine living with your father couldn’t have been easy on her.”

“No, but I want my mother to have choices as an independent, newly single woman. She devoted her entire life to the three of us. Claudia deserves to have her own life and discover what does or doesn’t make her happy.”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“Damned straight they do. Were The Immortals on your radar?”

“Yes and no. We’re aware of the activity that goes on, but we were hunting for bigger game. Your club is essentially bait, bringing all the players to Chatham. Thought we had  a big catch with Barrera, but no one was interested in biting.”

“You’re an asshole, but because you’re also Billy’s father, I’m going to give you a week to clear out of Chatham before I tell Shakes. I find it ironic that you were so worried and warning Billy away from me, but it was your deranged co-worker that orchestrated this bullshit.”

“Don’t remind me. A week sounds generous.”

“I think so too, and you’re fucking welcome. Do you mind if I use your cell phone?”

***

Billy was awakened by icy air in her face and a rough shake to her shoulder. She opened her eyes to find Pitch at her door. “Get up, princess! We’re here; let’s go!”

He unbuckled her and yanked on her arm until Billy fell out of the truck cab. The air expelled from her body as she felt the impact of the frozen solid ground she’d landed face down on. Billy felt nauseous as she struggled to catch her breath and pull herself up on her hands and knees, spitting out dirt. Dusting her hands off, she wiped her mouth clean. “Where are we?”

They were in an unusual, primitive world of gray, black, red, and purple sands and rock. The rock was weathered, multi-colored, eroded, and weirdly prehistoric looking. Thousands of weird formations: hoodoos, ridges, arches, rocks balanced atop each other, fossils, and small slot canyons resembling dinosaur eggs.

“This is the Bisti Badlands,” Pitch answered. “Four thousand acres that you’ll never find your way out of if you try to escape, Billy.”

He gave her a hard push forward that made Billy stumble, but she caught herself. “Move it!”

They walked in a line, with Pitch leading, Billy in the middle, and Digger behind her. Judging by the way the sky lightened up, dawn would break soon. Billy shivered in her thin coat against the wintry air. She wasn’t dressed properly for this environment and her feet were starting to ache. The Doc Marten combat boots were more for show than comfort. Coyote calls made her shiver at the nearness of their shrill howls. She could hear rattlesnakes shaking their tails in warning and small animals scurrying to safety in the dark. Billy hated the company she was in but was almost glad that she wasn’t alone.

It was almost an hour later when the sun rose, bathing the unique landscape in pink and orange. Pitch stopped suddenly, and Billy almost ran into his back. He pointed upward toward an opening in a giant dinosaur egg-shaped cavern. “We’re setting up camp there. Move!”

Billy clawed her way up the side of the jagged hill, scraping her hands and knuckles and chipping her nails as she climbed with no assistance. She wanted to scream when a tarantula scurried across her hand. Finally, they made it to the cave and stood converged on a small landing outside of it.

“Scout it, Dig.”

Wordlessly, Digger obeyed. He came back five minutes later, nodding affirmatively at Pitch. “All clear.”

“Get your ass in there, Billy.”

She complied without resistance, huddling against the far wall across from the two of them. “How long am I supposed to stay here?”

“Until Lorelai pages me, then we’ll drop you off at an undisclosed location..” Pitch reached into his pocket and withdrew a cigarette for himself, lit it, and handed the pack and lighter to Digger. “In the meantime, let’s chat. Tell me what you see in that asshole Ransom.”

Pitch was jealous of Ransom. It was something he and Harley had in common, Billy thought to herself. How pathetic and insecure they were.

“Aside from the fact that he would never pull a bitch move and kidnap someone?” Billy glared pointedly at them. “Ransom is a good man. He doesn’t hide behind other people and let others do his dirty work. He’s not a coward, knows his own mind, and isn’t afraid to do what’s right. This hiding like a coward scenario wouldn’t even be in his playbook.”

Pitch sat up straighter with a venomous laugh. “You don’t know shit about your precious Ransom, you stupid bitch.”

Billy laughed back at him, infuriating Pitch even further as she goaded him, “I know that he’s more of a man than you will ever be! I know you hate him because he’s well-liked and people respect him. You can’t stand how easily things come to him, can you? He doesn’t have to rape and torture women like your gang of perverted bastards do..”

Pitch and Digger stared at each other in shock. How could she possibly know that?

“I know that the three of you came to Famon, and I know what you did to Carmelita.” Revulsion dripped from her voice. “The three of you are sick and twisted animals that death would be too good for. I don’t even know how someone like Ransom could even be associated with the likes of you!”

Digger lowered his head and Billy scoffed at him. “Why do you look so ashamed, Digger? You’re not proud of what you did to Angela? Or should I say, Janet? She told me all about what you and Harley did to her at The Immortals compound! Real big men all of you are!”

Eyes wild with anger, Pitch crossed over to her and grabbed Billy by her neck, lifting her up and holding her against the cave wall. She kicked out at him, catching him in the knee with her heel, and clawed at his face. He drew back, evading her nails, and punched her in the face, the blow landing under her eye. “You don’t think I’m a man? Let me show you I’m a man, bitch!”

He ripped the sleeve of her coat and the strap of her purse broke, scattering its contents. Billy kicked at his legs, trying to go for his balls with her chunky heels, but he maneuvered himself agilely. Then she went for his eyes, intent on gauging them out of his head as he tried to rip her blouse away. Billy laughed wildly in his red face. “I bet this is the only way you can get it up isn’t it, little man? Ransom is more of a man than your little ass will ever be!”

The insults Billy hurled drove Pitch crazier and he slammed her against the cave wall. The pain blinded her, but she managed to punch his nose and push him off of her. Billy whirled away toward the edge of the cave, waving her hand dismissively at Pitch, and jeering, “You’re a fucking sad ass mama’s boy! I bet you breastfed until you were eighteen, didn’t you?! I bet she liked it too!”

“Pitch, no!” Digger screamed, panicking at how quickly everything had escalated. “We’re not supposed to hurt her!”

“Fuck that, you dumbass! Don’t you see? She knows too much!”

“I do! I know what a sad impotent freak you are!” Billy derided, rolling her eyes and pointing at him. “I bet you can’t even get it up without another man present!”

He was going to make her pay. The look on his face wasn’t even human as he charged at her, and Billy screamed, falling to her knees, cowering from him. Pitch kicked her as hard as he could and the force of it vibrated through Billy’s body, but she still managed to catch his leg and rise up. Shouldering him above her and over the edge of the cave, he went, screaming, arms flailing aimlessly until his voice cut off abruptly.

“Pitch!” Digger ran toward the edge while Billy retreated into the cave. Panic rose inside of Digger as he searched for his friend. This wasn’t supposed to happen! What would he do now? “Pitch!”

“He’s dead, Digger,” Billy declared from behind him. “And you’re next.”

Digger spun away from the ledge, not intending to meet the same fate, and Billy was ready for him. She plunged her dagger into his chest and twisted it. His eyes bulged, and his mouth and chin trembled. Blood seeped across his chest, darkening and he opened his mouth to scream but only blood gurgled and spewed out. She was his judge and jury, her expression chilling, as she looked down her nose at him contemptuously. “This is for Angela, you sorry ass motherfucker! I hope you burn in hell with your buddy!”

Only when he crumpled in a heap in front of her with his eyes unseeing did Billy withdraw her dagger. At least she could give her friend some closure, Billy thought to herself, recalling the rest of her call with Angela.

***

“I heard him, Billy. One of them that raped me! He said the monster was there, at the school! I heard him!”

Icicles formed down Billy’s spine at the terror and conviction in her friend’s words. Billy one hundred percent believed what Angela was saying. She leaned over and opened her nightstand drawer, reaching in and pulling out her revolver. Billy opened it and checked the bullets before going to make sure the front door and windows were locked and secured. “Where did you hear him, Angela?”

“The night of your play. He addressed the man I bumped into as “Pitch”, and he said “Harley” was looking for them! “Harley” is the worst of the monsters’ names and the other one is “Digger”!”

Billy was convinced that she couldn’t have heard her friend right. “Angela…where did your attack take place?”

“Outside of Albuquerque in some biker place!”

Jesus, God, no.

“And the name of Harley’s brother who saved you?” Billy croaked.

“Ransom,” Angela sniffled. “He was nice in a rough way. I could tell he felt bad for me. I couldn’t stay there and risk putting you in danger too, Billy. Hearing his voice brought everything back for me. I can’t sleep without them invading my mind. I’m so scared to sleep and am completely exhausted, Billy. You wouldn’t even believe me if I told you what they were capable of.”

Regrettably, she did know because of Carmelita Wilson’s murder. Could the world really be that small? Angela was probably the main reason Ransom insisted that Billy heed his warnings about Harley and Pitch.

With a sickening feeling, Billy realized that it was Harley who’d watched her at the theater. She had to tell Ransom about that and Angela when they were together. Billy wouldn’t worry him now, especially since he said Harley and Pitch were being punished.

“Billy, would you consider coming to stay with me when my time comes? I know I don’t have the right to ask anything of you, but I have no one else…”

***

She still planned to tell Ransom everything, Billy told herself as she wiped the blood off her dagger onto Digger’s body. But why not extract a little vengeance if the opportunity arose? She gathered the rest of her things and left without looking back. Outside of the cave, Billy eased her way back down the rocks, searching for Pitch’s body. The car keys were in his pocket, and she needed to retrieve them in order to get out of there. But she didn’t see it. Pebbles sliding past her were her only warning as she glanced over her shoulder to find a bloodied and mangled Pitch up further than the cave with a rock in his hand that he hurled at her. Billy dove to her left, but it managed to clip her shoulder, making pain radiate down her arm.

“You’re a dead bitch!” Pitch was making his way toward her, an evil twisted mask of hate and cunning on his face.

Billy tried to maneuver down the hill as fast as she could. She wasn’t going to fight him on uneven footing. He was fast, and she could hear him grunting and snarling, breathing down her neck. Five feet down, just as Pitch grabbed the collar of her shirt, a shot rang out, and Billy stumbled and slid down the rocks to her freedom. She grabbed her dagger from her purse, whirling to find Pitch laying inert against the rocks, cradling his arm.

“Are you okay, Billy?”

She tried not to let her emotions get the best of her as the older Native American man with the shotgun and kind smile cautiously approached her. Behind him were two more men who also carried guns. Silent, they nodded respectfully at her.

“H-How do you know my name?!” she cried, tears of relief falling down her face. She was shocked at  the scales being tipped in her favor. “Who are you?”

He rewarded her with another smile. “My name is Jacy, Miss. I’m a friend of your Ransom. He said to tell you he’s on his way with your father, and that he loves you very much.”

Billy slumped forward with relief and he caught her, allowing her to have a good cry on his shoulder.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

 

“Thank you, as always, for the hospitality and all you’ve done, Jacy,” Ransom spoke with great feeling. “I don’t think I can ever repay you. It was too close a call.”

The call Ransom had made in Rage’s truck was to Jacy. Farmington was thirty-five miles from the San Juan Basins. Accompanied by his cousins, Jacy headed to the Badlands. They saw the empty truck that fit Ransom’s description and followed the trail of footprints, arriving just in time to find Billy fleeing from Pitch. On Ransom’s orders, they brought Billy and Pitch back to Jacy’s house but not before his cousin brushed away Pitch’s tracks. The official story was that Pitch abandoned Billy and Digger to go his own way after leaving the airport. She and Digger struggled in the cave before she killed him in self-defense.

“It was an honor to help your woman, Ransom. She’s a good soul, and it was the least that I could do after all you’ve done for my family. Rozene is back to working with our youth, and she’s renewed her old friendships and dropped the negative ones. Seth and his friends have given us no more trouble.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Are you sure you’re fine with this?”

They walked side-by-side to the shed a mile back from the house. “It’s the best place to do it. Are you sure you want to do it with a federal agent sitting in my house?”

Ransom laughed. “I got the green light to do as I see fit as long as justice is served. Besides, he’s too busy stuffing himself full of Adsila’s Christmas tamales to move anyway. You’d best go back and keep an eye on him, or there’ll be none left for the holiday.”

They reached the door and Jacy stopped. “This is where we part ways and I allow you your privacy.” He handed Ransom the item he’d requested then left.

Ransom opened the door and slipped inside to find Pitch how he’d left him earlier— shivering, gagged, stripped down to his boxers, and staked to the floor with metal hooks. With perverse pleasure, he saw that Pitch’s injured arm was still bent backward awkwardly as Ransom had purposefully pinned it. His fingers and toes were inflamed and bloated from the pliers Ransom had broken each one with, his body a mosaic of bruises. Copious amounts of sweat rolled off his face, and his blue eyes were bright and feverish. Pitch licked his lips nervously as his eyes darted about, blinking rapidly to avoid Ransom’s predatory stare as he set his supplies on the table.

“I’m back. Did you miss me? Sorry to keep you waiting. Billy was just catching me up to speed on your and Harley’s hobbies.”

Pitch started mumbling, the muffled noises increasing as his eyes widened when Ransom pulled his sleeves up on his thermal and crouched over him and removed his gag. “What was that?”

Gasping for air, Pitch shouted at him, “Everything I did was to protect everyone from Harley! All you ever did was use him and make him feel inferior to you, and that fed his madness! You should be thanking me that I was able to keep him on a leash!”

Pitch coughed and wheezed as his organs rattled around from the weight Ransom put behind the blow to his stomach. “Should I also thank you for feeding his cocaine addiction?! He’s in the hospital now, fighting for his life because he overdosed on the drugs you provided!”

He closed his eyes at the pain the truth brought. All he’d wanted to do was provide the dumb bastard with some comfort. Pitch was going to die here, of that he was sure. Ransom planned to drag out his torture, just like he would have done with Billy. That bitch. She’d seen right through him to the insecurities Pitch tried to hide from the world. How easily she’d played him! It was because of her that Ransom was going to prolong his misery. Well, not if he could help it.

“No, what you should be thanking me for is how I saved your bitch from him!” Pitch’s words were like a thousand needles pricking Ransom’s skin. “You have no clue how he lusts for her, do you? The night you brought her to the compound, we ran a train on some newbie whore.” Pitch’s breathless whistle was full of admiration. “I don’t think she was ready for everything she got that night. Your brother, your twin, bit her everywhere, choked her, and laughed as she cried in excruciating agony and terror. Harley couldn’t slake his lust that night. Do you want to take a guess what he called her the entire time?”

Ransom remained silent, sickened by his brother’s nefarious ways.

Pitch laughed maniacally at him. “You know, don’t you? Even if you won’t say it, Ransom. You know. Do you also know that he wanted to pay her a visit at school the night of her play? What do you think would have happened then? Don’t even get me started on what he did to that college student I substituted her for. You know. There were others in addition to those two. We went on a shopping spree, searching for women, not just for ourselves, but for Gualtierro Barrera who paid us all that money your greedy bastard of a father accepted.”

Focus. Don’t think about it. Not now. Focus. Ransom forced his hands not to wrap around Pitch’s neck and squeeze until the blood vessels popped and he released his last exhale. Rapists, murderers, and flesh peddlers. He could stomach plenty but this…Ransom thought he was going to be physically ill.

“What I know is that you enabled him. You encouraged his deviant behavior in order to give in to your own. You think you’re better than Harley because you can control yourself, but you couldn’t today. Billy won. She sees you for what you are. You know.” Ransom smiled. “You’re ugly inside out, and I’m going to play doctor and cure you of your ailments.”

He twisted Pitch’s broken thumb and when he screamed, Ransom shoved a small block of wood between his teeth to keep his mouth open. “You speak ugly words.”

He picked up the compact blowtorch Jacy lent him and shoving it down Pitch’s throat he fired it up. The bastard went berserk, trying to break free.

The grotesque, garbled sound Pitch made was music to Ransom’s ears. “You see ugly situations and manipulate them to your advantage instead of preventing them.”

He picked up Billy’s knife that she was kind enough to lend him and stretched Pitch’s eyelid open wide. Carefully, he punctured the center of it. It reminded Ransom of cutting into the runny part of a sunny-side up egg and watching the yolk ooze out. Jerking and twitching, Pitch was a man possessed by the hell Ransom was inflicting upon him. Ransom leaned over him to speak so Pitch could see him. “You do ugly things without thinking of the consequences to your victims.”

Ransom yanked his boxers down, preparing Pitch for a Dr. Lawson castration special, held the blowtorch up for Pitch to see and let that bitch rip until the putrid stench of burnt flesh filled the shack. The fight left Pitch’s body as Ransom took care of his other eye with the knife. Then he opened the door to air the shack out, allowing the frigid air to turn Pitch’s body a deathly pale until gradually it took on a bluish hue. He stayed, leaning against the table, watching and waiting until Pitch released his last reedy exhale, finally succumbing to his injuries, shock, and cold.

Ransom wrapped the body in tarp, put it in the garbage bin per Jacy’s instructions, and scrubbed the evidence away. When he was done, he went back to the house to awaken Rage and Billy.

His heart broke, observing her injuries. Ransom held Billy close to him, embracing the warmth of her soft, supple body and that she was alive and safe. She pressed a kiss to his lips.. They hadn’t had a chance to really talk and wouldn’t until after Ransom visited Harley and check on Claudia.

“Come outside with me, fancypants.”

“I saw your photography of their family. You’re damn good, babe.” The images Ransom had shot were cohesive in style, depth of field, color, and tones showing his dedication to his craft and subjects.

He smiled with pure pleasure at her praise. “I’m glad you like them.”

Ransom held the passenger door open to Rage’s truck and slammed it shut after Billy climbed in. He held onto her hand as they drove for fifteen minutes to a ravine. Billy wound her window down. “Wow! What is this place?”

He kissed her fingers. “This is the Navajo side of the Badlands. You needed to see this place the correct way, love. I want to hopefully erase all the bad memories they gave you.”

They got out of the truck and walked toward the edge. Billy tipped her head back, drinking in the brilliance of the star-kissed sky guarding the mystical natural wonder. They appeared close enough to touch and twinkled as if only for her, tempting Billy to try her luck.

“This is surreal!” she breathed in complete awe of their beauty. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Me either,” Ransom agreed quietly, his attention focused solely on her. He was amused by the childlike wonder on Billy’s face. Ransom knew that if he told her they paled in comparison to her. She’d be embarrassed and try to laugh it off. But it was true. Even with all her bandaged scrapes and cuts, Billy wasn’t just the stars but the sun and the moon too. Most importantly, she was his entire world.

His rage still burned white hot for what Pitch tried to take from him, how he’d hurt her, and Ransom regretted his swift retaliation. Vengeance was a dish best savored. He would have to be content with Pitch’s piercing, agonizing screams and moans still echoing in his ears.

“You’re too quiet, Ransom Lawson. What are you thinking about?” Billy was anxious, wondering if he was still dwelling on what happened.

Instead of answering honestly, Ransom replied with, “I’m thinking that every star in the sky came out tonight to recognize and accept your truth. I hope they take it and run with it too. That they spread the word through the entire fucking universe, so a motherfucker never questions it—or you again.”

“My truth?” Attention momentarily diverted from the sky, Billy glanced up at him with a puzzled frown.

Ransom lowered his head until his lips hovered directly above hers. “That you’re mine, fancypants.” His kiss was a fleeting brush against her lips, but it packed enough of a punch that Billy was left reeling yet starving for more. “Always have been. Always will be. The stars have written it so, babe.”

“And?” Billy teased archly.

“And I’m yours,” Ransom amended before capturing her lips again. “Always have been. Always will be.”

Reciprocity. It was so damn essential.

“You didn’t tell me about Rage being an agent.”

“No, I didn’t. I should have, but I was trying not to think about that. I love you and am loyal to you both, Ransom. I hope you can understand and respect my rock and a hard place position. Believe me, it wasn’t a fun one to be in,” Billy finished miserably.

“I would never jeopardize our relationship nor put you in a position where you felt like you were betraying either of us, fancypants. Believe that.”

They stayed in the truck, content to just star gaze, not talk, and just be in the moment until the early morning light chased the stars away. Then they drove back to pick Rage up. He greeted Ransom with a brusque, “Did you make it count?”

“And then some,” Ransom replied with a respectful nod. Their relationship had shifted into something more solid and comfortable as they searched for Billy, the most important person in their worlds.

“Good man.”

They thanked the Martinez family for their hospitality and headed back to Albuquerque.

***

“Where’s Ransom?” Harley asked Claudia. It was the first time he’d spoken since being admitted to the hospital. He watched his mother yawn then stretch from the chair next to his bed. She’d hardly left his bedside except to eat in the cafeteria and shower in their hotel room.

“He’ll be here soon. There was a problem that he had to take care of,” Claudia said evasively, pouring him a small cup of water. It was an awful feeling, not being able to trust your own child, but Harley left her no choice. “Are you hungry? I could get you some soup and crackers?”

“No, I want to leave now,” he grumbled petulantly. “Can they check me out?”

“Did you forget the reason you’re here?” Claudia snapped back waspishly. “The coke you snorted? You’re not getting out of shit so easily this time. The police will want to speak with you.”

Harley tried to sit up, determined to leave, but Claudia pushed him back down and put her hand on the call button. “Do it and they’ll be here faster than you can set one foot on the floor!”

Exhausted by that failed effort, Harley whined, “You’re supposed to be on my side!”

Claudia slapped him hard across the face. “I was on your side until you stopped being on your own damn side! How could you do that to yourself, Harley? Why would you put that shit in your body? Dammit, I was driving next to you, singing freaking “Joy to the World” while you were overdosing!” She slapped him again. “You’ll never know how terrified I was to see you like that! Pitch gave you the drugs, didn’t he?”

Harley could feel the walls closing in on him. If she knew that, it meant Ransom did too. What else did his brother know?

The door opened, Ransom entered the room, and Claudia abandoned her interrogation and ran to him, relieved that she wouldn’t have to confront Harley on her own. “Thank God you’re back! Is she okay?”

“She’s a little bruised but fine, Ma.” Over her petite frame, Ransom locked eyes with Harley, who flinched at the lethal intent found in them. “Let’s take a walk.”

Ransom knew everything.

***

Claudia wept softly into her handkerchief as she finished reading the article about Carmelita Wilson for the fifth time. She thrust the papers against Ransom’s chest in denial. “Are you sure that it was Harley and Pitch? There has to be a mistake!”

Frustrated with her unwillingness to see the detrimental issue at hand, Ransom shoved them back at her. “Wake the fuck up, Ma! There’s no mistake, and Pitch confirmed it to Billy! I saw with my own eyes what he was capable of the day I met Billy! I was on my way to returning Angela to a safe space after Harley and Digger held her hostage all night raping her!”

“That’s not who he is, Ransom! My Harley is sweet!” Claudia moaned, gripping the park bench she sat on. “He’s kind and caring to me! He’s—”

“He’s a serial rapist and a murderer! Ted Bundy was also known for being charming and handsome, and he killed more than twenty women! Harley is all of those things!” Ransom argued. “He’s not a baby and will now be held accountable for his actions.

“This is all my fault!” Claudia wailed. “I should have left Slade long ago and took you both with me. I did this to Harley with my babying and trying to clean up his messes to protect him.”

“We both did.” Weary from the enormity of it all, Ransom rose to his feet. “I should have done something after rescuing Angela. How many more girls would be safe where they belonged if I had? Are the cops still coming to talk to him?”

“Yes, now that he’s conscious. I don’t think we should prolong this.” Full of sorrow and heart heavy with despair, Claudia also stood, leaning into her son and trying to draw strength from him. 

They walked, each lost in their own thoughts as to what the future held. The Immortals had been their life.

“I think I want to go to California when we leave,” Claudia announced. She offered Ransom a wan smile. “I’d like to spend time with my family. Even though I foolishly closed most of the lines of communication with them because of Slade, they never turned their backs on me. I’d like to apologize to them and see about hopefully mending fences. What about you? I know that the idea of living in the same state as Billy holds great appeal to you.”

Ransom smiled. “The last thirty-six hours have been crazy as hell. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Billy, but I want to put my degrees to use. I’m going to focus on photography, and I want to travel. I want to go places where people don’t know me or what my tats symbolize. I want to do it all and hopefully with her by my side.”

Claudia snaked her arm through his and squeezed affectionately. “You’ve got a good heart, hijo. Go slow, though, with Billy. She’s still a baby, and I just don’t want her to get married before she is ready to be married to you. Let her have a life too. I didn’t do that, and even though I had a job managing the office, it was still linked to the club and Slade. I never did anything for myself.” Her mind wandered to Rage. “I’m terrified but excited to see what the next chapter in my life holds. I plan to serve Slade divorce papers in the new year.”

“I don’t think I’ve said this lately, but I love you, and I’m so fucking proud of you, Ma. Whatever you want to do, I’ll support you a hundred percent. In the end, we’re all going to be okay. Trust me.”

In the elevator, they held hands. Watching the numbers change with each floor they passed Claudia hesitantly inquired, “Will you make it quick? He won’t suffer?”

Not looking at her, Ransom answered her honestly, “He needs to suffer for the atrocities he’s committed. If we weren’t in a hospital, he would meet the same fate as Pitch. I’ll settle for smothering him.”

They reached level six, and the elevator doors opened to complete chaos. Nurses and doctors were scrambling about and calling out a code. The turmoil appeared to come from Harley’s room. Leaving Claudia behind, Ransom raced down the hallway as people filed out and a sheet covered his brother’s bed. On either side of the bed, blood pooled on the floor, and Claudia’s purse tipped over on the tray table. “What happened?!”

“He committed suicide,” a nurse answered with a sympathetic look. “I went in to see if he felt like eating and found him. He used the razor blade from your mother’s toiletries. I’m so sorry.”

Ransom stepped past her and lifted the sheet. Tears blurred his eyes as he looked at the deep gouges in Harley’s wrists that his brother had ensured were deep enough that death was inescapable. Ransom laughed, and the nurse shot him an odd glance. “Sir, are you okay?”

He didn’t answer, just continued laughing until his tears fell. He sank to the floor and continued to cry with Harley’s blood seeping into his jeans. He cried for all that his brother should have been, the idea of him, not who Harley actually was. That was how Claudia found him, and she internalized her hysteria to be there for her only child now. She went to Ransom and held him as they wheeled Harley’s body away.

The irony of the situation was not lost on either of them.

Finally, Harley had done something right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY- FOUR

 

Billy slipped into the suite that she shared with Ransom, carrying a large, white plastic bag, to find Rage flipping through channels with the remote. He paused to hear her report. “Claudia’s sleeping. She didn’t eat anything, just took a shower and lay down. I went downstairs to the deli, grabbed everyone some food, and put hers in the fridge with a note. How’s Ransom?”

“He woke up not too long ago and has been on the phone with Shakes and Blaze. Ransom said Slade is screaming at anyone who’ll listen to go and get his wife back for him,” Marcus replied casually and tossed the remote on the sofa and came to the counter to rummage through the bag. He helped himself to a roast beef and cheddar sub and a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. “If you’re good, I’ll head to my own room?”

“I’m straight. Any word on Lorelai? I can’t believe she turned out to be so vindictive,” Billy shuddered. She served him a severe look. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Marcus.”

“No one has heard from her. Director Shore has issued a warrant for her arrest,” Marcus stated flatly. He held his arms open to her, and Billy slid into them. Marcus never wanted to let her out of his sight again. “You know I lost a hundred years off my life when you disappeared, right? I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you, babygirl. I’m so damn happy you came and found me. I love you.”

“I love you too, Daddy, and let’s keep everything between you and me? I don’t want to worry my grandparents.”

“You and me both. The last thing I need is for Neville to come after me with a horsewhip. I also set up an appointment with a therapist for you.”

“I told you that I don’t need a therapist!” Billy argued stubbornly.

Marcus frowned at her. “You killed a man. You’re going and that’s final. Try me and see what happens. I will hogtie your aggravating ass and deliver you myself. Then I’ll tell Neville and Porsha what happened.”

“Fine!” Billy glowered.

Marcus knew he was pushing his luck and decided to quit. “I’ll leave now. Remember, I’m right across the hallway.”

“I’ll remember that in case I need anything, thanks.”

Marcus scoffed, “I meant that so you’d remember to keep it down, Billy. No father wants to hear—”

“Goodnight!”  

In the hallway, he looked at the keycard he swiped off the counter in a split second decision, headed to Claudia’s door and let himself in. Marcus tried in vain to respect her privacy and give her space, but Jesus, she’d been through so much in the last two days. All he wanted to do was see with his own eyes that she was okay. The suite was dark and quiet. He’d sit on the sofa, eat, and maybe take a nap, wanting to be there in case Claudia needed anything. Marcus had just settled down when he heard the first sob. He set his food down and slowly opened the bedroom door. Claudia was sitting with her back to him on the other side of the bed. Her knees were drawn up, and she had her arms wrapped around them as she tried to stifle her cries.

“Claudia.”

She tried to wipe away her tears, hating for Rage to see her weakened yet needing him near. His presence comforted her. “Not now, Rage.”

Instead of retreating, Marcus approached the bed. He sat down next to her and unlaced then removed his black boots while Claudia watched. When he was finished, a silent Marcus lay down on the bed and watched her. She didn’t have to say a damn thing to him if she chose not to. It was time to stop fooling himself. He didn’t want to be alone either.

Claudia looked nothing like the firecracker Marcus was used to. Seeing her forlorn and defenseless was fucking with him. The Claudia he knew was about as fragile as a hurricane. He wondered if the internal war she was clearly waging would end soon and if her conscience would ultimately defeat her emotions. Marcus didn’t have long to wait. Claudia launched herself at him, choosing to take shelter from her grief in his arms. Neither commented on how perfectly they fit together.

“Why are you always around when I need you?” she complained, but it held no heat.

“Quit being so needy and maybe I won’t be around.”

Neither of them admitted to hating that concept.

“My baby boy, one of my two pride and joys, was a monster,” she whispered, ashamed to vocalize that fact, afraid Rage would judge her.

“He was.”

“He killed himself. Harley wouldn’t have been able to withstand Ransom’s wrath or look me in the eye again, now that I knew what he was.”

“You’re right.”

“I wish I could have a do-over, Rage. I swear to God, I’d do everything right if given a second chance,” Claudia sniffled. “A mother should know her children! I failed him on so many levels.”

“You’ll drive yourself insane if you think like that.”

“Billy told me you’re leaving Chatham.”

“I am.”

“Where are you going?”

“The West Coast. Still undecided.”

“Will you keep in touch?”

“I refuse to seek the attention of a married woman, Claudia.” Marcus knew through Ransom what she’d done, but he wanted her to say the words aloud and get used to them.

“I left Slade.”

“Mmmm.” ‘About fucking time’ was their unspoken agreement.

“I won’t go back.”

“Time will tell.”

Irate, Claudia raised up on an elbow and slapped his stomach, making Marcus laugh. The way his dark eyes crinkled hypnotized her. “Is that all you have to say about it?”

Marcus pushed the heavy swath of her hair over her shoulder and away from her face, absorbing her beauty. Despite their exhaustion, Claudia’s eyes were sparkling, and her cheeks were flushed. She enjoyed their verbal sparring as much as Marcus did.

“You obviously haven’t heard that Slade isn’t happy you left. It’s not my business to say anything about it. Maybe a year from now, if you’ve gone through with it and taken some time for yourself, I’ll have more to say.”

“I don’t care about Slade’s happiness. I only care about my own and Ransom’s. And maybe a year from now, I won’t care what you have to say,” she dared him sassily. It was followed by “Oh!” when Marcus sharply swatted her behind. “I don’t care what you say or don’t say, Rage. I’m not going back.”

He pulled her back down against him. “Little liar, you do care. Shit’s not gonna be easy, Claudia. Sleep now.”

“But it will be worth it, won’t it?”

Marcus kissed her forehead. “Anything that gives you peace of mind usually is.”

***

“Babe, I brought you something to eat.”

Ransom was on the phone when Billy entered. He gave her a tired smile and motioned for her to come to him, tugging her into his lap when she did. He secured his arm around her, kissing her softly while Shakes talked. Billy tasted so sweet that Ransom cradled the phone with his neck and jaw to plunder her mouth.

“Shit is hitting the fan hard. Deke patched Slade up, and now, he’s tearing the house apart. He’s screaming for the prospects to bring Claudia back home. You’d best get out of town before he does something foolish, Ransom.”

He broke the kiss to answer his friend coldly. “Then let him, Shakes. I thought I made myself clear, but I have no problem ending this for good.”

At his answer, Billy arose from his lap and opened her suitcase. Ransom watched her pause as she stared into it for a long moment, and her shoulders sagged. Then in true Billy fashion, she squared them and headed to the bathroom. She slammed the door hard enough behind her to let Ransom know there was a problem. He could hear the shower running and hoped it would cool her off.

“We’re going to have Harley cremated ASAP. I want to see if someone can do it tomorrow. You need to make the club aware of what Barrera’s been up to and reach out to Vargas. The Aztecs should know he’s been poaching in their backyard.”

“I’m on it. Ransom, I’m real sorry about Harley.” Shakes was silent and Ransom allowed him a moment to mourn the friend he’d known. “I missed all the signs—”

“Nah, man. Don’t do that. Just mourn him and move on. It’s all you can do. You tell Slade?”

“Yeah.”

When Shakes didn’t elaborate, Ransom urged him. “I can take it. What’d he say?”

“He said he had no children.”

It shouldn’t have hurt him after everything that transpired, but the pain rippled through his entire being. Ransom felt his defenses weaken then disintegrate in the face of such callous spitefulness. Why was he surprised? Slade had never celebrated anything his child did in life. Death would be no different. He’d never tried to know or appreciate the value of family. “He’s right. I’m about to crash, so we’ll catch up later, alright?”

“Take care.”

Ransom hung up and lay back against the pillows as Billy exited the bathroom, naked except for her braids and engulfed in a white towel. His dick stirred as she teased him with the perfection of her flawless silhouette. Billy lifted her arms and unwrapped the towel, causing her breasts to jiggle, tempting Ransom’s taste buds. Her braids tumbled down her back, blocking his view but drawing attention to their length as they brushed the top of her sumptuous ass. “Come here, wildthing.”

Billy shook her head, making her braids sway seductively, and Ransom easily envisioned them flying around her body as she rode his dick. “No, babe. Just lay down and get some rest.”

Ransom was off the bed and invading her space before she finished her sentence. He tossed her over his shoulder and dropped her unceremoniously on the bed then followed her down. Green eyes serious, Ransom commanded, “Tell me what’s bothering you. Lie to me, and I’ll paddle that ass, fancypants.” He blew on Billy’s nipple, grinning as it puckered up. “On second thought, cancel that as a punishment. We both might like it too much. Gimme a minute to find something tougher.”

Billy pushed him back and scooted back on the bed. She grabbed a pillow, turned it sideways, and hugged it to her body. “Cut it out, babe. I’m just worried about you is all. You’re too calm and collected. I want you to stop holding everything in and be real with me, Ransom.”

He stood up and shirked his clothes before coming back to Billy, who was momentarily distracted by his gloriously naked tattooed body. Ransom grabbed a condom from the box he’d placed under his pillows, tore it open, and sheathed himself as Billy tracked his every move with hooded eyes, licking her lips in anticipation. “I think you’re missing a prime opportunity, fancypants. You’re naked and now, I am too. The last thing I want is to be ‘shrinked’, Billy. Let’s talk later.” With a devastatingly sexy smile, Ransom instructed her, “I suggest you make use of that headboard.”

He dove under the pillow, using his shoulders to spread her thighs as he licked and nibbled his way up the insides of her thighs until he reached her core. Ransom touched his tongue to her clit, moving in slow luxurious circles before dipping lower to tasting her cream. Billy’s head banged against the headboard, and she reached behind her and clutched it tightly, lifting and pressing her pussy closer to his face, encouraging him to take more. Ransom’s hands slid to her bottom, holding her in place while his tongue slid up and down between her saturated folds before plunging in and eating his favorite dessert eagerly.

 

Billy’s eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her body shook at her impending orgasm. She tried to pull back, but Ransom tightened his grip on her thighs, alternating between nibbling her clit and plunging his tongue deep into her pussy as his fingers caressed her booty. Shrieking like a banshee, Billy combusted, and the waves of her orgasm crashed over her like a massive current, pulling her under her and sweeping her away. Ransom moaned fervently at her response while voraciously lapping up her nectar.

Billy saw the dark, stormy desire raging in Ransom’s eyes when he slid her down under him and hungered for all of it. “Allow me to return the favor, babe. Let me taste you.”

 

“Ssshh. We got all night, Billy. Kiss me.”

 

Her arms dropped from the headboard to encircle his neck, crushing her to him as their mouths fused and Billy tasted herself. Ransom’s tongue traced her lips and Billy quivered, goosebumps spreading all over her body as she opened her mouth, inviting him in. He expertly explored the silky cavern of her mouth, stroking and gently sucking on her tongue.

 

Billy’s eyes smoldered as she broke contact and removed the pillow between them, allowing her ripe breasts to spill into his waiting hands. Billy sighed with pleasure as Ransom squeezed them together and flicked her nipples as his hot shaft sank into her. His groove was torturously slow as he ground into her and teased Billy with tantalizing licks and gentle suckles to the swollen, throbbing buds, making her delirious with ecstasy as the sound of her pussy suctioning him in, repeatedly filled the room. It was soon joined by her heavy panting as Ransom hooked her legs over his shoulders and plunged deeper, pounding on her g-spot, making Billy arch into him with every stroke.

 

“Baby, baby, is it good to you?” Ransom groaned. and Billy couldn’t even articulate a response. She too was busy drowning in sensations that left her in a heightened state of sensitivity as Ransom’s dick rubbed along every nerve ending in her pussy, stretching and filling her to capacity. Ransom never wanted this ride to end as he surged into her tightness, propelling both of them toward release and Billy contracted around him. With every breath he took, Ransom inhaled the fragrance of them.

 

With every stroke in, Billy became more aroused. Ransom wanted to stay lost in her forever, but the orgasmic explosion was unavoidable. Billy clung to Ransom as white-hot pleasure radiated from her toes all the way to her fingertips and she milked his cock until he lost himself inside of her. Forehead pressed to hers, they swallowed each other’s inhales and exhales as their heartbeats gradually slowed. Ransom eased out of Billy to take care of the condom. He turned off all the lights and allowed her to pull him into her arms. “Are you still mad?”

 

“What makes you think I’m mad?” Billy hedged, not wanting to spoil the mood.
 

“This is me, Willamina Stanton. Don’t play me like that. What’s on your mind?”

 

Billy rolled over and turned on a light. Ransom threw his arm over his eyes as if to shield them and Billy caught his arm, bringing it down to stare down into his face at what he didn’t want her to see - his red-rimmed eyes. It was just as she suspected. Ransom was too proud to bend. “Don’t shut me out, Ransom. I need to know where your head’s at because I’m scared and not too proud to admit it.”

 

“I promise to keep you safe, Billy.”

 

“I know, but I’m scared that I’m in over my head with you,” she softly admitted. “You told me that I didn’t belong in your world and that’s why we couldn’t have a relationship. Then you decided that I could handle it, but I don’t think I can, Ransom. I killed someone and intended to kill a second person with no thought of the consequences. I wanted to.” Billy trailed her fingers over the tattoos on his shoulder with troubled eyes. “I love you, but I don’t belong in this world, Ransom, and if you were completely honest with yourself, neither do you.”

 

“I left, Billy, and have no intentions of going back,” Ransom assured her tersely. His hand cupped her chin and drew her in for a soft, coaxing kiss. “Stop borrowing trouble.”

 

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Then why are you entertaining the notion of fighting Slade if he confronts you? Haven’t you and Claudia been through enough? After everything he’s done, don’t let Slade take any more from you, Ransom. He’s not worth it.”

 

He stiffened at her words, and his hand fell from her face as his eyes turned to shards of ice.

 

“You don’t know Slade like I do, Billy. You don’t get to decide when I’m done with him! You don’t know the lengths that he drove Harley too! If he’d even gave half a damn, things might have turned out differently! You don’t’ know what it was like growing up with a man like him, so do us both a favor and spare me the lecture. Slade Lawson made us all miserable. I shouldn’t have let him live. He deserves to die with Harley,” Ransom ended on a venomous note that Billy jumped on.

 

“You wish you’d killed Harley instead of him committing suicide?”

 

Ransom was quiet for so long, Billy thought he’d fallen asleep. “Yes. I wish he hadn’t cheated me out of it. He deserved the same fate, all the pain and suffering he inflicted upon his victims. He was my brother, but I didn’t know him at all. Harley wasn’t like that when we were younger. The pressures of being groomed to take Slade’s place really fucked him up. The price of being the firstborn in our world was too much for him to handle. With a lot of help from Slade, he grew insecure. But it didn’t give him the right to do what he did.” A look of revulsion spread across his face. “And the flesh-peddling?! Jesus fucking Christ, Billy! The Immortals do their fair share of illegal shit, but they don’t sell women. Ever. Slade was right about him! He was fucking weak and the perfect target for Pitch to prey upon. Digger was looking to fit in, and he knew I would veto patching him in, after what he did to Angela. He had nothing to lose.”

 

“Do you think Harley hated you?”

 

Pain flashed in Ransom’s eyes, making Billy’s heartache for him. “He didn’t trust me enough to confide in me and rejected my efforts to help him at every turn. Harley couldn’t be himself around me, Billy. Maybe he did hate me. I’m still in shock from what he did to Angela.” Ransom cringed at the memory. “You didn’t see her. I’m glad she’s alive and still can’t believe that she’s your roommate. Have you told her the news?”

 

“No, I’ll wait until I go visit her in January,” Billy answered evasively. She’d given Angela her word that she wouldn’t breathe a word of her pregnancy to anyone. But the guilt was weighing on her now, knowing that it was Ransom’s nieces or nephews Angela was carrying. Would he and Claudia be interested in the children? She would have to speak with Angela when they saw each other again. Sometimes Billy felt like she would implode from all the secrets people trusted her with.

 

“I thought about her all the time and wondered if she was alright. It’s good that she has you as a friend, baby. Think I can go with you to tell her?”

 

“I’m unsure if that’s a good idea. Your identical appearance might be triggering for her.” Ransom covered his face with his hands and rubbed them over his face as if to scour off his features. Billy contritely added, “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be. Just be there for her, Billy. Let her know I am too if I can help in any way.”

 

“We’ll see, babe.” She leaned over and kissed him soundly. “What are your plans when you leave New Mexico?”

 

“I’m going to pursue photography. I’ll need to put my portfolio together and I plan on traveling to do it, but my home base will be California with my baby.” Ransom rolled over until Billy was on top of him. “You wanna come along?”

 

“That depends. Is Paris on your agenda in the spring?”

 

“I suppose it could be. What’s in Paris?” Ransom’s hands were busy trailing up and down her neck, back, and calves, massaging Billy and making her body languid and ready for whatever sexual position he was going to put her in next. Freak.

 

“Don’t spaz out. Nick Olente will be filming scenes for his next project there for two weeks, and he received a grant that will cover our expenses while there for the project. I’d love for you to come.” Billy tugged Ransom’s lower lip between her teeth playfully. “We could explore the City of Lights together, baby. Say yes.”

 

Like he was going to leave his woman alone in one of the most romantic cities in the world for Nick fucking Olente to make his move. “Shit yeah, I’ll go to Paris with you.”

 

Billy rested her head on his chest, content to be with the man she loved. “I love you, Ransom.”

 

“I love you too, wildthing. You know, eventually, I’m going to ask you to marry me? And that you’ll say yes?”

 

Billy rose up to brace her elbows on his chest with a speculative brow. “That scenario is contingent upon you staying out of any MC clubs, Ransom Lawson.”

 

“I swear, I’m not going back in, Billy. You have my word that life is behind me,” Ransom vowed solemnly.

 

She broke out into a beautiful smile, relaxing against Ransom as relief, followed by pure and unadulterated joy flooded through her. “Then I guess I’ll be saying yes to you when the time is right.”

 

“‘Cause you thought you had a choice? I think I know what’s bugging you, Billy.” Ransom eased her to the side and left the bed. He grabbed his boxers off the floor and put them on. Then he opened her suitcase and started pulling out the ornaments Billy had brought with her.

 

“What are you doing, baby?” Billy sat up and wrapped the sheets around her body. She reached across the bed and picked up a clear case that contained the hand-painted wooden toy soldiers Melody had purchased from Harrod’s while on assignment in London. Their uniforms were painted in shades of lavender, gold, and hot pink. “These are my favorite!” She spied another container of ornaments shaped like glass slippers in the palest pink and sprinkled with gold glitter on the side. “Wait, I love these too! Mom and I found these at the Rose Bowl flea market three years ago.”

 

Ransom held up a reel of burgundy brocade velvet trimmed in gold with alarm. He could feel his balls shrink once more at the fancy and feminine as fuck decorations. Ransom had never cared about shit like this before but was used to multi-colored lights and mismatched ornaments. Then he looked at Billy’s ecstatic face as she opened the cases and surrounded herself with the familiar ornaments and felt like a colossal dick. Billy’s year had been devastating with Melody’s death, and then she was kidnapped at gunpoint and murdered someone who was well deserving of it. She’d stepped way out of her comfort zone but handled everything like a champ. What the hell. He could tuck his balls away for a couple of days to make her happy.

 

Suddenly, her face fell. “I planned on pulling all of these out and us decorating a tree while I recounted the history behind each one, but we don’t even have a tree.” Billy tugged on her bottom lip for a moment then smiled at him sweetly. “I’ve always had one, but at this point, I’m just glad that we’re together.”

 

Ransom leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “I’m glad we are too, fancypants. Which is why I asked Rage to pick this earlier.” He went to the closet and withdrew an artificial Christmas tree box. He grimaced. “I know you’re probably used to a fresh tree, but the pickings were slim. I’m so sorry, baby. I planned on making Christmas perfect for you, and so far your trip has been a complete shitstorm.”

 

The man was a lunatic. His family had been blown apart and he was apologizing to her over a holiday??? Billy flipped the comforter off and ran to him, barely giving him time to set the tree aside to catch her. “You didn’t?!  Are you kidding me right now? I can’t even believe you went to the trouble with everything you have going on! Babe, it’s perfect!”

 

Ransom laughed as she showered his face with exuberant kisses. “Wildthing, you haven’t even seen it yet. How do you know it’s not a Charlie Brown tree?”

 

“Who fucking cares?! It’s ours, Ransom! Thank you!” she screamed with excitement.

 

Billy got to share her ornament stories as they decorated the tree, and Ransom had to admit it that was a kickass tree. When they were done, Billy ceremoniously plugged it in and they climbed back under the covers to admire their work.

 

“I promise you’ll have a fresh tree next year, fancypants.”

 

“Next year, I still won’t care as long as we’re together, babe.”

 

Ransom secured his hold around her. “The best is yet to come for us.”