Enemy (The Aces Book 3) Read online

  “Why didn’t you go in the truck to get him, Kiera?” Stone asked from where he leaned against the door frame. “Or let me handle getting the information?” I took a deep breath, the fiery rage within my chest stirring, ready to be released, but I held it back. For now.

  “It’s going to be a surprise,” I said simply, still staring at the chair as I imagined Lorenzo tied to the ice cold metal.

  “What is?”

  At his question, I glanced over my shoulder. A smile curled my lips as I responded, “I want to see his face when he realizes I’ve got him and no one is here to save him.”

  Stone stared at me unblinking, his ebony gaze seeming to see right into my soul. Neither of us spoke, locked in our stare down, and for the first time since meeting him, I felt a deeper connection. Not just one of physical desire and needs, or angry and argument fucking, but where we finally understood each other even with no words being spoken.

  “We got him.” Ciar’s deep graveled voice filled my ear. My smirk grew, and my body coiled tightly in anticipation, ready to finally get my hands on him.

  Time for some fun.

  “Where do you want him?” Brooks questioned, holding Lorenzo’s feet while Chase held his upper body.

  “Front and center,” I told them, pointing at the chair. “I would hang him from that hook up there, but I want to be able to look down at him.”

  The guys secured the bastard to the metal chair, Elliot and Garrett watching from the doorway next to Stone. None of us said a word, the sound of the handcuffs latching, jangling against the metal the only noise in the space. I felt electrified, thousands of jolts running across my skin as I looked at Lorenzo’s blond hair flopping out of his perfect hairstyle.

  “You sure you’re up for this?” Garrett asked, watching me with the intensity that only he could manage. The rest of the guys stepped out quietly, leaving the two of us alone.

  Well, almost alone.

  “Garrett,” I started, but before I could finish my statement, a set of tattooed arms curled around my waist and pulled me in tightly. Black currant and grease filled my nose, the rough scruff covering Garrett’s jaw rubbed against my scalp as he tucked my head under his chin.

  “I’m not going to take this away from you, but please remember you’re not alone, Kitten.” I wanted to be irked, irritated that he felt I needed to be coddled, but just for this moment, I squeezed him back.

  “I know,” I whispered, my words nearly lost against the soft material of his shirt. I felt him nod against my head, before stepping back and looking down at me.

  “Good, now get to work,” he commanded playfully. My lip curled, and I gave a smart-ass salute that made him laugh. “She’s all yours, Stone. Have fun.”

  “As long as whatever she has planned isn’t going to be directed at me, I’m sure I will,” the enforcer countered, coming into the room and switching places with Garrett.

  “Ha ha,” I deadpanned. “Just you wait, I may have something special planned just for you.”

  “I don’t doubt that in the slightest.”

  I didn’t actually have anything planned, but I was glad he knew me well enough to be prepared.

  “Ready?” I asked, redirecting the playful conversation as I looked to him out of the corner of my eye. Arms crossed tightly, his body was tense, looking every part of the enforcer that he was. “Water, please, my little assassin,” I called. It was only a few moments until a bottle of ice water appeared, clutched in Chase’s tanned fingers.

  “Have fun.” Chase winked, closing the metal door behind him, and just like that, it was finally time. As much as I was looking forward to this, I took a moment. The past danced and flared in my mind, haunting memories coming forward as I stared at Lorenzo.

  The sting grew, burning my back as the end of the whip cut my skin. The snap that echoed in the room was loud while my whimper that I tried to smother was quiet. The floor of the room was cold, despite having tried to wrap the comforter around as much of me as possible. The man my father had picked out for this week’s session stood in the corner, scrolling through his phone, not even bothered that I was being punished at the hand of my bodyguard.

  “Now, bitch, I’m going to hope you do what you’re supposed to; otherwise, I’ll add another ten and maybe some other fun stuff I know you just love,” Lorenzo sneered, tossing his favorite disciplinary tool into the corner and out of view of the camera. Swallowing the bile that quickly rose in my throat, I ground my teeth together and stood. Before stepping over to the bed to get this fucking shit over with, I couldn’t stop the glare as I looked over my shoulder.

  His skin is going to bruise and bleed under my hand one day. I will make sure of it.

  Pulling myself out of the memories, I glanced at the tools lined up on the table. Each sharp and deadly piece of equipment waiting for me, calling for me to bring justice not only for myself, but my mother and any person Lorenzo had the sick pleasure in hurting. I rolled my shoulders back, ready to begin. Unscrewing the cap to the bottle, I chucked it over my shoulder and into the corner. I couldn’t stop the crazed sense of giddiness that filled me, accompanying that underlying anger that I always harbored as I dumped the icy cold liquid on Lorenzo’s head.

  “What the fuck!” he screamed, jolting awake and immediately tugging on his restraints. It didn’t take long for him to stop struggling and look around in surprise. When he finally saw me, his gaze narrowed and he ground out his usual insult. “You. You little fucking bitch!”

  “Yes, Lorenzo, me,” I said, tilting my head and smiling brightly. “What a wonderful reunion, isn’t it? I’m sure I don’t have to introduce my companion over here, so I’m not going to.”

  “Grave, legendary Enforcer for The Aces MC,” he murmured, watching Stone carefully. Lorenzo’s pulse galloped, his neck pulsing as the bastard realized just who he was in the company of.

  “Scared, Lorenzo?” I asked, keeping my voice light.

  “Of course not,” he scoffed, the lie blatantly obvious in his words. When his eyes darted to Stone standing menacingly in the corner, I laughed.

  Like Stone is the scariest thing in here. Yeah, right. Stepping closer, I looked down at the spineless little man in front of me. Memories of every session, every shout, hit, and lash filled my mind as I leaned forward, bracing my hands on his.

  “Oh, you’re scared of Grave? Well, it’s what comes before the grave that you should be scared of. Do you know what that is, Lorenzo? Me,” I hissed. “I will be the last person you will ever see, and you will hope to have died long before I let you. I have a lot of years of revenge to pay back. Starting now.”

  At the end of my statement, I grabbed a finger, twisting until it snapped under my grip. The sound of his shrieking was something I had longed to hear. Every session I’d endured, I envisioned listening to his howling scream one day.

  And today was that day.

  Several bloody hours later, we hadn’t gotten any information that we didn’t already know about my bastard father. I did learn that Lorenzo could hold his tongue surprisingly well, but I knew it shouldn’t surprise me. You couldn’t be my father’s lieutenant without being loyal and hush hush about business dealings. A pound sounded on the door right after I kicked him in the shin out of anger.

  “Stay here, be a good little bodyguard,” I told him in a sickeningly sweet voice. “There’s plenty more in store for you.”

  “Bitch,” Lorenzo muttered, his swollen jaw making his word garbled, but it was still loud enough for us to hear and apparently enough to set Stone off. Lunging forward, Stone kicked out, hitting Lorenzo right between the legs resulting in the girliest screeching I had ever heard. Who’s the bitch now?!

  “Every time I hear you refer to her in such a manner, I’ll take a body part,” Stone ground out. “Got it?” My brows went up, surprised to hear him so protective until his whispered statement from the other night filled my thoughts.

  I won’t apologize for being possessive.

  Shaki
ng my head, I dislodged the spiral of thoughts that had started to weave together. Focus on the task at hand, I commanded myself. Revenge first, bastards later. I yanked open the door and stepped out with Stone behind me. Glancing around, I found my men and Elliot scattered around the small room, a stranger waiting with them. I eyed him carefully, but Chase didn’t hesitate to jump in with introductions.

  “Kittycat, meet my mentor, Valerian. Val, meet Kiera Casterelli.” With his wave, my attention was pulled to the strange man. He was shorter than Chase with graying hair that was slicked out of his face. Despite being older, his chiseled cheekbones were prominent, a strong jaw covered in a wash of stubble that matched the graying head of hair.

  Valerian wore a pair of black slacks, a black button up, and a black jacket, but I could see the slight bulge on either side of his waist cuing me into the double shoulder holster that lay beneath the fabric. His keen hazel gaze looked me over, a brow raising at the blood splatter that littered my skin and clothes. The silence was tense as I waited for him to make a move. A few more seconds passed before he glanced at Chase.

  “I like her,” Valerian said, flashing a miniscule smile and sticking out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Miss Casterelli.” A tension I didn’t realize I had melted, my hand reaching out to shake his. Chase did a little dance, the light within his eyes bright and cheerful.

  “Call me Kiera, please, I don’t want to be associated with that bastard,” I told him. “Good to meet you too. Glad it’s not the same way Chase, Ciar, and I met. I don’t know if I could handle all that excitement in the same day.”

  “Good thing you won’t have to,” Val said.

  “Yay! Happy introductions, good. All right, Kittycat, you go home and get some rest. Val will take over,” Chase instructed, but when I opened my mouth to argue, he cut me off. “Nope, you can come back in a few hours and take back over, but I don’t want you to burn yourself out. Besides, if anyone can get Lorenzo to talk, it’s Val, and that’s the main reason we kidnapped him. Okay?”

  “Ugh, fine,” I grumbled under my breath, “as long as I get to be the one to kill him.”

  “Yeah, she’s a keeper,” Val told Chase. The rest of the guys started toward the door, all conversing amongst themselves when Val stepped up next to me. “If you hurt him or Ciar, I will make you wish you were dead.”

  “Pft,” I scoffed. “I just used that line on that piece of shit in there. You don’t scare me, Valerian, and I wouldn’t ever hurt Chase, or Ciar, as much as he’s a broody asshole, so save the so-called threat.”

  “Yup, seal of approval. She can stay,” Val called out over his shoulder to the guys who were all watching with confused expressions since my response hadn’t been exactly quiet.

  Good, because I’m not going anywhere.

  Chapter 12

  December 20th

  Friday Evening

  Stone

  The car ride was quiet; the only noise filling the space was the radio and some soft rock song that I didn’t recognize. Kiera’s focus was out the window, her profile covered in splatters of blood, so I drove well within the speed limit and kept vigilant around the mirrors. Hopefully we don’t get pulled over; otherwise, I have no idea how to explain that.

  I figured what Kiera had done in that room should scare me, but all I felt was pride. The brat was finally getting revenge and her fire back, and that was all I wanted. Well, I wanted her forgiveness too, to show her how much I cared about her, but I knew that time would come soon enough.

  “Kiera,” I started after pulling the car into the garage and turning it off. Neither of us moved for a moment as I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

  “For?” She glanced over, the darkness of the room making it hard to see her features, but I felt her gaze on me.

  “Everything. I know saying the words doesn’t mean much, if anything, but you still deserve to hear them,” I told her.

  “I appreciate it,” she whispered, climbing out of the car. When she realized I wasn’t moving, she stopped at the door, looking back at me. “You coming?”

  “Yeah, just wanted to think for a bit,” I explained, but when she didn’t go inside, I realized she wouldn’t until I followed. Sighing, I got out, my chest aching slightly at the distance between us, but I knew it would be a long road.

  “Didn’t want you to leave or go off and do something dumb,” she said with a small smile. “Beer?”

  “Yeah, thanks. Also, I wouldn’t go off and do anything.” Her brow was raised, skepticism blatant in her expression. “What? Don’t give me that, Brat.”

  “Give you what? I don’t know you all that well, Stone. Any meaningful conversation has basically been just us shouting at each other,” she countered.

  “What do you want to know?” I asked resignedly, taking the beer with a nod when she held it out. She hummed in thought, sinking onto one of the stools at the bar. Leaning against the counter, I waited for her answer. While I didn’t necessarily like talking about myself, when Kiera had walked out that day earlier in the year I realized I couldn’t let my suspicion continue to rule my life. Letting Brooks and Garrett take the lead, I held back until they had created some kind of path for forgiveness. Not much point trying to apologize and make up for fucking up when Kiera was too focused on wanting to cut my balls off.

  “I want to know who Stone Ronin was, the one before the club.”

  I was silent, my eyes tracking the liquid inside the bottle that I held as I tilted it back and forth. “So we’re going to have one of those kinds of conversations?” I murmured, testing the waters to see if there was some way I could get out of holding the sharing stick. Based on her pursed lips and raised brow that was a no. Damn.

  “Well, I’m sure you can probably guess, stereotypical shitty childhood. Parents who always fought before Dad walked out when I was little. Thankfully, it was just my mom and me, but she got pretty sick when I was eleven. Breast cancer, stage four,” I told Kiera quietly, my eyes glued to the drink in my hands. “Died just after I turned twelve. After that it was bouncing around foster homes which could have been worse, I guess. Learned pretty quick to keep my head down and how to fight back, and when I turned eighteen, I enlisted.”

  “Rangers,” she added. It wasn’t a question, but a statement of her remembering. I nodded, taking a long pull from my drink. The next part of my past wasn’t something I talked about, but I had told her I would try.

  So I’ll try no matter how much I’d prefer to leave it behind me.

  “Actually did well in that part of my life.” I grinned, glancing over at her. “I’m sure you can guess why.” The chuckle was soft, and a smile curled up, but her gaze was hesitant. She knew something was coming, something that wasn’t easy to talk about. Hell, part of me wanted to lie, worried how she would react, but I took a deep breath and spit it out. “I excelled, though losing my men during deployment was hard. Even with the heartache and mental trauma of that, I got married after a year and a half in, had a kid.”

  Or so I thought. My brain ground out at the memory even though everything inside me cringed at digging into this part of my past.

  “Wait,” Kiera cut in, her hand waving in the air, “you have a family?” Her brows shot up, eyes wide. I shook my head, rushing to explain before she could freak out.

  “No, not anymore. Found out a few months after the baby was born that he wasn’t even mine. She had been in a relationship with my Lieutenant Colonel, and the kid was actually his, but she tried to play it off that it was mine.”

  “I think I’m still struggling with the fact that you had gotten married,” she muttered, staring at me with surprise. “I don’t think I could ever picture you tied down. Like ever.”

  “I am with you, aren’t I?” I countered before I could stop the question from tumbling out.

  “Are you, Stone?” she whispered. Setting the bottle down, I faced her fully.

  “I’m trying to be, if you’ll let me.” She didn’t speak, and after a long mome
nt of contemplating my few short words, she nodded and waved me to continue. “As for how I went from soldier to a club member, that’s a whole separate ordeal. One of the other soldiers had gotten attacked, mugged after an outing to a bar in the city where we were stationed. I didn’t have much of a strong alibi as to where I had been that night, and that same bastard who took my wife and my family set me up to take the fall for the assault.”

  “Why?” Kiera scoffed, getting up to grab another beer for each of us. I hummed my agreement as she held the bottle out for me to take.

  “Didn’t want me to ruin his perfect career,” I explained. “In the military, it’s illegal to commit adultery, and he could have been facing some serious charges. I was the only one who would have been willing to prove what he’d done. After setting me up to take the fall, no one believed anything I said.”

  “What a dick. I hope you punched him right in the junk.” Her statement made me laugh, and her mossy irises sparkled as she took another swig of her alcohol.

  “I fucking wish. But yeah, that’s about it for who I was before The Aces.”

  “How’d you fall in with them? One doesn’t just toodle loo into a motorcycle club compound all willy nilly.”

  “Toodle loo? What are you? Five?” I teased.

  “Shut the fuck up and just keep talking.” Her tongue came out at the end of her sassy response.

  “Uh…” I trailed off, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. “I was living on the streets. No one willing to do anything to help, and any friends I’d thought I had were wary of me. No job, no assistance, nothing. My PTSD was bad, and I found myself constantly considering ending it just so the memories would stop. One day some drug dealer tried to jump me. I don’t even remember fighting back, but when I was done he was unconscious on the ground. Gunner Abbott, President of The Aces MC at the time, and his officers had watched it go down.”