“Lookit these drunk bitches,” one drawls in a heavy southern accent, “Ripe for the pickin’, each’n every one—”
“That’s not what we’re here for,” snaps another man, his voice vicious and even, “We have a job to do, Buck, so let’s do it right. Is that her, right there?”
I watch through the crack in the door as he nods toward the unconscious Kassie. My heart clenches tightly in my chest. What are they going to do to her? What is this?
“That’s the one!” hoots the southerner, “Shit, she’s skinny as hell. Coulda taken care of this’n myself. Wouldn’t need yer help, Dewey.”
“Think we could have trusted you to walk in here and not force yourself on every single one of these bitches before doing your job?” says the second, rabid man. “These are Dante’s Nine property. Not ours. We’re just going to...borrow one.”
“No,” I whisper, as the men called Buck and Dewey scoop Kassie up into their arms. Her body hangs limply between them as the third man looks on.
“Be careful,” he says, his voice raspy and rich, “She’s Declan’s, after all. Don’t want to bruise his precious little peach.”
“Not even a little?” pouts Buck.
“Get a hold of yourself,” snaps the third giant, surveying the room. His eyes alight on Dani, who’s struggling to stay upright.
“What’s your name?” he demands, grabbing her face in his hand.
“I’m...Dani...” she says through gritted teeth.
“Well, Dani, when your men get back from their little errands, you tell them that the Wraiths do not appreciate being crossed. We told them a week ago to quit gossiping like little girls, and they chose not to listen. They’ve taken our reputation hostage with their bullshit rumors, so we’re going to take a hostage of our own. Declan will get his old lady back when we get our good name back from the likes of the Nine.”
“You can’t...hurt her...” Dani pleads.
The man roughly releases her, his body rippling with fury.
“I can do whatever I fucking please,” he spits, “But for Tiberi’s peace of mind, you can say that we won’t touch her. But who knows? Maybe we’ll be lying, just like Dante’s fucking Nine. We’ll just have to see.”
And with that, the three men sweep out of the bar. My eyes are glued to them through the crack in the door as they go. They carry Kassie away as I look on helplessly, searching the biggest man’s face for a sign of empathy. But as I study him through my drugged stupor, the only thing I can make out through his black mask is a flash of gold. His blazing eyes are the same ones that have been starring in my dreams all week.
Leo’s taken Kassie. The Devil’s Wraiths have stolen her as leverage. This utterly unthinkable knowledge slams into my incapacitated brain and finally breaks me. I slip into unconsciousness, falling against the hardwood floor. The Forty-Five Club goes black around me, and I’m out at last. I can only pray that I’ll wake once more to find that this has all been a horrific dream.
But who am I kidding? That would be too much good fortune to ever expect from this bitch of a world we live in.
Chapter Five
Strong hands shake my shoulders, roughly and desperately. For a moment, all I can register is discomfort, and a vague sense of panic. I swim up from my deep, thick slumber, my head pounding riotously. My mouth and lips are dry as I try to speak, struggle to force out the words “stop,” or “lay off”. Dim red light fills my awareness, and I manage to pry my eyes open at last. The shaking stops as I blink up into the bright world. The first thing I see is a pair of bright, penetrating blue eyes, absolutely alight with fury.
“Where the fuck is she?” growl the lips beneath the eyes.
My mouth flaps wordlessly, and I’m shaken once more by unseen hands, my sore, pounding brain rattling against my skull.
“What the bloody fuck happened here?” the voice urges again, “Kelly! Talk to me, goddamn you.” I recall that I know this person who’s taken to manhandling me.
“Declan...” I murmur.
“They’ve been drugged,” I hear another gravelly voice say, “All of them. Someone must have broken in and tampered with some of the booze. Snuck some kind of roofies in, by the look of it.”
The world around me starts to swim back into focus at last. Declan Tiberi is crouched over me, his face a mask of cold anger. The men of Dante’s Nine rove about the Forty-Five Club, taking stock of the situation. I watch as Saul picks Dani up off the floor behind the bar. Sherry, Wendy, and Courtney are helped to their feet, shaking their heads as if they could dislodge the lingering effects of the drugs that way. The events of the evening are coming back to me in fits and starts.
“They took her,” I finally manage to say, as Declan yanks me to my feet, “They...they took Kassie.”
“Who?” he demands, holding me by the shoulders. If not for his iron grip, my shaky knees probably wouldn’t be able to support my scant weight. “Who took her, Kelly? Answer me, for fuck’s sake!”
“I don’t know,” I whisper, fear beginning to spark along my nerves.
“Fucking useless,” Declan mutters, leaving me to prop myself up against the wall.
“She’s probably in shock, Dec,” the tribal-tattooed Ollie says, rushing over to lend me a hand, “Just take it easy.”
“My old lady is missing!” Declan roars, “Fuck taking it easy. We need to take action. We need to assess the situation and strike back. What’s our plan—?”
“There were three of them,” Dani mutters, sinking onto a barstool with Saul’s help, “Big guys. They wore masks.”
“Did they hurt you?” Kip asks, eyeing the three sweet butts for signs of rough play.
“Nah,” Wendy drawls, “One of ‘em wanted to, but no one laid a finger on any of us.”
“Except for Kassie,” Courtney puts in, “They just picked her up and carried her away like it was nothing.”
Declan slams his fist down on the bar. I wince at the sound, at the strength of his fury. I’ve never seen him like this. I truly believe that he could be capable of anything in this state.
“I need fucking information,” he says through clenched teeth, “Come on, now. One of you must have been paying attention. What do you remember? What did you see?”