"She's hurt," I said, sliding out of the van. I looked up at him. "Someone obviously beat the hell out of her."

"She's fine. Just a few bruises," he answered, peering at her face in the darkness. "Maybe now the cunt will follow orders without any lip."

"Cunt?" Brandy got out of the van and I watched in horror as she spit in his face.

"You fucking bitch!" he hollered and backhanded her.

Stumbling backwards, she put her hands to her face and began to cry.

I rushed to her side and touched her arm. "You okay?"

"Don't touch me," she hissed, jerking away from me.

"I'm just trying to help."

"I don't need it," she replied, looking away.

"God, I should just shoot you now," snapped Skull, wiping his face off. "We don't really need you anyway."

Just then, two other men rushed around the van, both of them pointing their guns at us.

"What's the problem?" asked one of them.

"That bitch spit in my face," said Skull, motioning toward Brandy.

"Yeah, but look at what you did to hers!" I cried surprising myself. "You beat the shit out of her and you're whining because she spit on your face?"

He took a step toward me and the look on his face chilled me to the bone. "Don't start with me, bitch. You'll be next. I don't give a fuck who you are, either."

Knowing what he was capable of, I held my tongue and looked away.

"Now, enough with the bullshit and get walking. Both of you," said Skull, motioning toward a shoddy two-story building with a red door and a sign that read "No Trespassing."

"Looks like Mud's the only one here," murmured one of the bikers as we walked past an old white pickup that was parked near the dumpsters. The garbage inside was bad enough to make me gag.

"Smells like death in there, doesn't it?" said Skull, noticing my sour expression. "You piss me off anymore and I'll put you in there with the trash. Of course, the smell won't bother you, because by then you'll be dead."

I ignored him.

When we got inside, the lights were on and I noticed that the place was similar to Griffin's, only without a stage. Besides there being a bar, there were two stripper poles, three pinball machines, and two pools table in the back next to an old jukebox.

"It's about time you made it," said a gravelly voice.

I turned toward a man getting up from a black leather sofa that was stationed near the back. He was naked from the waist up, muscular, and had several tattoos on his chest and arms. He looked like he was in his forties and reminded me a little of the actor, Danny Bonaduce, with his red hair and ruddy complexion.

He didn't say anything when he saw Brandy's swollen face, but his eyes widened in surprise when he noticed me. "Look at what we have here. You are not at all what I expected. I take it this is Adriana?" he said, turning to Skull. "Raptor's 'real' Old Lady?"

"I am not Raptor's 'real' Old Lady," I muttered.

His head snapped back toward me. "Is this the right girl, Skull?"

"It is, Mud," he answered, smirking. "She's lying."

So, this was Mud. "I'm not lying," I snapped, angrily. "I'm not with him. I'm not even dating him. As far as I'm concerned, Brandy is his Old Lady."

He looked at Brandy. "You're Raptor's Old Lady?"

She laughed coldly. "I don't know. He hasn't decided yet."

"You the pregnant one?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"They got you pretty good," he said, staring at her face. His eyes lowered. "You bleeding between your legs?"

"No," she answered quietly, looking embarrassed.

"Then you're probably fine."

"How do you know, are you a doctor?" she asked.

"No, but I'm the guy who says whether or not you're going to get another beating, so show some respect," he snapped.

She gritted her teeth together but didn't reply.

Grunting, he turned back to me. "What are you, a college student?"

I nodded.

His eyes traveled down my body. "I can see why Breaker was obsessed with a chick like you. You're definitely his type."

"What type is that?" I asked, scowling.

"Young and sweet," replied Mud, walking over to me. Before I could do anything, he grabbed me by the jaw and held it tightly while he examined my face like I was some kind of animal. "Skull, she looks like that actress, what's her name?" he asked, releasing me. "From Desperate Housewives. Eva something? She played Gabrielle."

"I don't know," said Skull. "Never watched it."

"Longoria," said one of the other men.

"That's right. I didn't care too much for the show but those bitches were hot. Especially her." He walked over to the bar and grabbed the bottle of whiskey that was sitting there. He unscrewed the cap and turned to me. "So, how desperate are you?" he asked, smiling darkly.

I didn't reply.

He took a swig of the bottle and then wiped his mouth. "Come on, now. What are you willing to do to walk out of here alive?"

"You'll let us walk out of here alive?" I asked.

"Maybe. See, I'm not the bad guy here. I've been forced into this situation by those bastards, the Gold Vipers."

My eyes narrowed. "Did they force you to kill Krystal?"

"Krystal? Oh, you're talking about the blonde, aren't you?" he said. "She was a little firecracker, that one. In a way, they did force me to kill her. Those assholes killed a part of my family and someone had to pay."

"She had nothing to do with the Gold Vipers," I said sharply. "Nothing."

"Wasn't she Tank's Old Lady?" he asked Skull.

He nodded.

"Well, there you go."

"No, they were only dating," I spat. "She was going to break up with him."

He snickered. "Oh. Well, I guess I saved her the aggravation."

I gritted my teeth. "You're a fucking jerk."

Instead of getting angry, he smiled. "A fucking jerk? No, what I am is a mother-fucking asshole. Your worst nightmare, if I want to be."

I opened up my mouth to respond when he pointed at me, his smile now gone.

"Know when to shut the fuck up and you might live longer."

I shut my mouth.

"Wise choice. See, I hold your life in my hands. I mean, you might be as sexy as fuck," he said, glancing down at my body again. "But, we will not tolerate any back talk from either of you. I think Brandy already learned her lesson."

I looked away.

"Speaking of Brandy, what should we do with her?" asked Skull.

"I don't know. Whatever the fuck you want. Just don't kill her," he replied.

Skull grabbed her by the arm. "I was hoping you'd say that. Let's go."

She tried pulling her arm away, but he grabbed her by the hair and started pushing her toward one of the hallways.

"Where are we going?" she cried, struggling.

He pulled her hair tighter. "You'll see when we get there."

"Please, let me go!" she sobbed.

"Shut up and walk!" he growled.

I took a step toward them. "Wait, please don't! You know she's pregnant. What kind of a monster are you?!"

He laughed. "Maybe if you're lucky, you'll get to find out later."

"Let her go!" I cried, moving toward them. I knew he was going to rape her and it tore me up inside.

One of the other bikers grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

Skull, looking frustrated, took his gun out of his jacket. He pointed it at her temple. "If you don't stop fucking around, I'll kill this bitch."

"He will, too, if you keep trying to interfere," said Mud calmly. I could tell by the look on his face that he was enjoying the scene.

"It's okay," said Brandy, forcing a smile through her tears. "I'll be fine."

I jerked my arm away from the guy holding me. "I doubt it. Not with that animal."

"Enough of the bullshit. Go easy on her," ordered Mud. He turned and looked at me, a smirk on his face. "I don't want the bitch bleeding to death from a miscarriage. At least not until I get my money from Raptor. Then, as far as I'm concerned, both girls are free territory for anyone who wants a piece."

I stared at him in horror as I realized our situation was even worse than I'd thought. Even if Trevor gave him exactly what he wanted, Mud wasn't ever planning on letting us go.

Chapter Twenty-two.

After Slammer left a message for The Judge, we brought Misty back to the clubhouse with us to keep an eye on her. Fortunately, she gave us the directions to Mud's new setup in Minnesota without hesitation. I could tell that she was cooperating only because she was frightened of what we were going to do with her when it was all said and done.

"We should let the rest of our crew know what's going on," said Tank, rubbing his eye. It was just us three standing by the bar. Misty had fallen asleep on one of the sofas nearby and was snoring softly. "Maybe they can help."

"It's after midnight. Let them sleep. Not a whole lot they can do, unless they're willing to contribute financially," replied Slammer, looking wearier than ever. "Which I wouldn't expect them to do, anyway."

"About that, I'll pay you back. Every single cent of whatever The Judge charges you," I told him. I'd never felt so committed to Slammer and the rest of the Gold Vipers as I did at that moment. The fact that he was willing to front me that kind of money to save Adriana, a girl he didn't even really know, meant more than I could ever express.

"I know you will, Raptor," he said, patting me on the shoulder. He smiled grimly. "Truth is, I feel responsible for this mess. If I wouldn't have hired The Judge to kill Breaker, Adriana and Brandy would be at home sleeping right now. And, Krystal," he looked at Tank, his face full of regret. "She'd still be alive."

"None of this is your fault," said Tank, looking cross. "Don't go blaming yourself. You pulled that shit before on me and I already told you not to come down on yourself like that."

"Tank's right. Breaker started this war when he raped Jessica," I replied. "Unfortunately, some people got into the crossfire, but seriously, Prez, nobody blames you for this shit."

"Still, I should have taken better precautions or at the very least, handled it differently from the very beginning," he muttered as his phone started ringing. He took it out of his belt and checked the screen.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"The man who will hopefully make all of this go away," he said, before answering. "Hey, Judge."

It didn't take much to convince my half-brother, Jordan Steele, A.K.A. The Judge, to help us with Mud, especially when he learned of his demands.

"How did he react when you told him Mud wanted his head on a platter?" asked Tank.