Beyond the Cut (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #2)(96)
Cade didn’t know about having fun at the clubhouse, or about letting the club torturer anywhere near his girls, even if he did have five kids, but he did know he liked to see the girls smile. And the only way to do that was to bring their mom home.
*
“Time to get dressed, bitch. You’re dancing tonight.”
Dawn shot up on the bed when Jimmy burst through the door. She’d been over every inch of the room during the night, and then again over the course of the afternoon, but there were no windows, and the door was locked from the outside.
“Here.” He threw a shopping bag at her. She recognized the logo from the shop where she’d bought her dance clothes when she’d been with Jimmy before.
“Put them on.”
She stared at the bag. Three years ago she would have picked it up and dressed right away. But she wasn’t the same person she had been three years ago. Hell, she wasn’t the same person she’d been six weeks ago.
“No.” The word fell from her lips before she could stop it. And even though she knew the consequences, it felt so damn good to say that word after so long, she didn’t care.
“Pick up the f*cking bag and put on the f*cking clothes.” Jimmy enunciated every word as he crossed the room toward her. He wanted her to cower and cringe and scream and beg. Like he’d said in the car, he got off on her fear and her pain. And when she thought she had nothing and was worth nothing, when she thought no one cared, and she had nowhere to run, she’d given him what he wanted. But not now. Never again.
“I’m not playing this game anymore.” Her heart thundered in her chest and she backed up to the wall. “You want me to stay and play happy families so you can delude yourself into thinking that gives you legitimacy in the eyes of the senior patch, then let’s go get the girls.” She braced herself for the storm, but Jimmy just laughed.
“You think I want you back to be my old lady again? You think I care what the senior patch think anymore? I’m f*cking president. And this isn’t about getting back together. This is about punishment. Revenge. Justice. You humiliated me when you left. Only reason I didn’t do anything about it was ’cause Wolf laid down the law. He didn’t want any Brethren hurting civilians and drawing the attention of the cops or the ATF. It was revenge or the cut, he said. So I chose the cut, but I knew the day would come when you would be mine again. I was patient. And my patience was rewarded.”
Wolf? She’d always wondered why Jimmy let her go and how she’d gotten off as easily as she had. For months she’d been unable to sleep, terrified she’d wake up with a knife against her throat. Although taking her children away had hurt her worse than any physical pain.
“That’s when I knew Wolf had to go,” he continued. “So I could make this club great again—the kind of club that doesn’t leave a brother hanging out to dry when he’s been humiliated by a f*cking bitch, the kind of club my dad ran. So I went to Viper. I told him Wolf was weak and he wasn’t committed to joining the Jacks. I told him I’d bring him the whole club as a support club if he helped me win the election. Viper wanted more. He wanted puppets to do his dirty work, recruiters to increase his numbers. I had no problem with that. Got me closer to the big man himself.”
“You went to Viper on your own? That’s treason.”
“I got my supporters. Brothers who were tired of Wolf taking the teeth out of this club. And my pal Matchstick, up in Demon Spawn, he hated the Sinners. Fucking Sinners forced his club to be a support club. I recruited them for Viper and in return he helped me steal the weapons Wolf had hidden up in Whitefish, and put me in touch with a buyer. Viper told me to use what I needed to pay off Wolf’s supporters first. I hid the money at Shelly-Ann’s place in case any of the brothers started asking questions, and then she got her greedy paws on it. Viper almost killed me. Told me to find it. Shelly-Ann sent me after you.” He reached for his belt buckle and Dawn tensed. Jimmy’s belt had many uses aside from holding up his jeans, and all of them involved pain.
“Viper came through in a big way.” Jimmy yanked the belt through his belt loops with a sharp crack. “Even got me outta jail. He’s got connections everywhere. The Jacks got puppet members in clubs all over the state. They got cops, senators, judges, lawyers, and government officials in their pocket. Those Sinners are going down, not just in the state but nationwide.”
He doubled the belt and slapped his palm. Dawn steeled herself not to flinch. Confusion flickered across his face, and then he narrowed his eyes.
“When I said no one is coming to save you, love, I meant it. No Cade, no Sinners, no deputy. You’re on your own. It’s you and me and a clubhouse full of Brethren just waiting for a share of what I’m gonna use and throw away. So don’t pretend you’re not scared, when we both know you are.”
Dawn drew in a ragged breath when he closed the distance between them, the belt dangling from his hand. “Can’t you see how he’s used you? How he’s going to use you? Wolf saw it. That’s why he came to the Sinners when Viper started sniffing around. Once Viper does you a favor, he owns you forever.”
“Shut the f*ck up.” He grabbed her hair with his free hand and pulled her forward. “We’re gonna have some fun with my belt. Just like old times. Then you’ll remember to keep your mouth shut. No one gives a damn what you think. You’re a f*cking woman. You don’t know dick about club business.”