Beyond the Cut (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #2)(94)
“Jimmy.” Dawn stared at him aghast.
“That’s President Jimmy, love. And I’ve come to take you home.”
TWENTY-FOUR
I shall uphold my creed or I shall turn in my colors.
SINNER’S TRIBE CREED
He rode like the devil was on his ass.
Streetlights, stoplights, traffic, pedestrian crossings, and school zones flew past as he raced through the streets of Conundrum.
The prospect had come running out of the clubhouse just after he started his bike, and from the look on his face Cade knew the news was gonna be bad.
Wolf is dead, he said.
Mad Dog is president, he said.
And Cade knew exactly where he was going to be.
*
Dawn screamed when Jimmy dragged her from the house.
“Please. Don’t leave them. They’re too little to be on their own.”
Where were the neighbors who’d complained about shots fired at night? Where was Cade? And where was her damn purse and her gun?
“Mommy!” Maia and Tia ran after them, and Jimmy turned and pointed his gun at his two sobbing daughters.
“You want to live, you’ll shut those mouths and you’ll go back inside.”
“Go to Martha’s house after we’re gone,” Dawn shouted. “Then ask her to call Arianne. The number is in my phone. Please, Jimmy. Let them come with us…”
“Shut the f*ck up.” Jimmy spun around and slapped her. “I don’t want those brats. They destroyed my f*cking life. You draw any attention and I’ll f*cking shoot you and get rid of you once and for all. I’m racking up the body count today and three is my lucky number.”
Dawn sucked in a sharp breath. Oh God. Cade. Had he killed Cade, too? Despair gripped her hard and she took a deep breath and pushed her fear away. Right now she had to survive and escape. Then she’d find her girls and get the hell out of Montana forever. There was nothing left for her here anymore.
“Why do you want me, Jimmy?” She stumbled when he shoved her toward a black SUV, parked at the side of the road. No back lanes or shadowy alleys for him anymore. No attempt to even hide the kidnapping. He was president now. Untouchable.
Two Brethren brothers she didn’t recognize opened the door and Jimmy shoved her inside, before climbing in beside her.
“I don’t have your money,” she continued. “I never did. And you’re president now. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”
“I know you don’t have the money.” His face twisted in anger. “Shelly-Ann caused me a whole lotta grief with her lies, and when I found out, I made sure she was damn sorry she did. As for you, I like havin’ you around.” He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. “Pretty face. Sexy body.” He gave her nipple a cruel pinch and Dawn gasped. “Love the way you f*cking scream. Nothing gets me off like your scream. Lotta girls broke when I beat them. Inside and outside. I never broke you.” He squeezed her breast and Dawn had to fight back the nausea as seven years’ worth of terror hit her in a rush.
She grabbed the door handle, but the driver had locked the door. She screamed and pounded at the window until Jimmy smashed her head against the glass and promised there was more of that waiting for her if she made any more noise.
After a long drive, the SUV pulled up outside the Brethren clubhouse, a converted barn in the foothills of the Tobacco Root Mountains just outside the Conundrum border. One of Jimmy’s companions opened the door for him, bowing as if he were some kind of royalty. Dawn stepped out of the vehicle, and back into a nightmare.
Jimmy hadn’t wasted any time. He already had a president patch pinned to his cut, and as they walked toward the clubhouse she could see workers buzzing around what used to be Wolf’s house, a small bungalow near the back of the property.
Other than the construction, everything was exactly the same as when she left. The front door opened into a makeshift office foyer, complete with a potted palm, a rack of magazines and a water cooler, all designed to throw nosy cops off the scent.
Gail, the house mama and pretend receptionist, sat behind an empty desk filing her nails. She had grown her platinum-blond hair down to her waist, and her breasts threatened to explode from her low-cut fluorescent-green tank top. She waved absently when Jimmy shoved Dawn forward.
“Long time. No see.”
“Gail.” Dawn bit back a grimace. Gail had made it clear from day she joined the club that she wasn’t interested in friendship, bonding, or female solidarity, and she definitely wasn’t interested in anyone who might be a threat to her position. Gail looked out for only Gail. In that way, she was very much like Jimmy.
“Quit yapping.” Jimmy pushed Dawn into the clubhouse proper. Her nose wrinkled when she inhaled the familiar stench of unwashed bodies, stale sweat, cigarette smoke and beer, as she fought back the stomach churning memories associated with the unpleasant scent.
A few Brethren members watched TV in one corner, and another cleaned guns at the worn kitchen table. Clothes hung off the free weight machine, but the pool table was busy, as usual. The bikers she knew smirked as she walked past and a few newbies gave her quizzical looks. But of course no one talked to her, because Jimmy hadn’t given permission. She was nothing here until he acknowledged her.
He steered her into a small room containing a bed and dresser. Jimmy flicked on the light and closed the door, then pointed her to the bed.