"Well that"s the next race, they"re the runners, pick one." CJ held the list in front of me so that I could read the names.
I glanced over them briefly and in trap number five, there was a dog named Sammy"s Home. I sn.i.g.g.e.red which earned me an unreadable expression form CJ. "I"m putting some money on trap five," I stated pulling out a 10 note from my wallet.
CJ looked at the form guide and frowned, "That"s the least in form dog out of the six on offer."
"I liked the name!"
"Did you also lose your d.i.c.k in that accident? You"re talking like a bird."
The bell chimed indicating that someone had entered the building. We both turned to see two blokes stroll through the bookies and head towards the counter. CJ took my ticket, proceeded towards them, and stood in line calmly observing the situation.
"Is Arnold around?" the bloke in the leather jacket asked placing his hands in his jean pockets and swaying back and forth on his heels.
"He is, hold on one minute," the young woman scurried to the back room to get the old man.
"This is gonna be like taking candy from a baby," the bloke in the leather jacket said to his friend who sn.i.g.g.e.red at his comment.
f.u.c.king p.r.i.c.ks, this was Arnold"s livelihood. He was an elderly man and his daughter had been helping out as much as she could but this wasn"t her thing. I"d asked CJ for the back story on this place before we came, to gain an understanding of the businesses they were protecting and services they were offering.
The security firm offered a variety of different options and each of the boys were responsible for a particular division, and Fallon held it all together running the office. The problem was that they"d grown too big too quickly, they had taken their eye off the ball in certain areas allowing p.r.i.c.ks like these to try and muscle in on their territory. Hopefully with the help of CJ and myself it would allow them to regain the reigns but they may need to draft in more men if things got too heavy.
I watched as Finn slowly made his way into the room and over to the two blokes at the counter.
"Is there a problem boys?" he asked placing both hands on the wooden surface taking a casual stance.
I noticed the two men glance at each other before they returned their attention back to Finn.
"No problem, we"re after Arnold," the second man stated casually.
"I"m afraid Arnold"s busy and asked me to sort out any further dealings with you."
The man in the leather jacket stood tall, "What the f.u.c.ks it gotta do with you?"
I heard the bell chime again and turned to see Eli with a smirk on his face. I stood making my presence known and saw the panic on both bloke"s faces, although give them their dues they still fronted it up.
"I think it"s time you were going!" Eli held open the door and directed his statement to the few punters scattered around the bookies unsure as to what was going on. They quickly grabbed their belongings and scarpered out the door without even looking back. Eli closed the door behind them and turned the sign to closed, before casually leaning on the door.
"Now boys, the first time you took the p.i.s.s and came into this establishment pretending to be part of my firm, I let it go because I thought you may have had a b.u.mp on the head or lost your marbles. However, the second time you walked through that door you really took the p.i.s.s, not only because you asked for more money from poor old Arnold but also because you disrespected my firm again. So here we are again, and now this is the third time that you"ve been here and I"m still finding it hard to work out if you"re f.u.c.king brave or f.u.c.king stupid?" I noticed the bloke in the leather jacket remove his hands from his pockets and clench his fists as he knew what was about to happen.
"So you"ve left me in a bit of a predicament because I have to explain to my brothers why I"ve allowed a b.i.t.c.h like yourself come in here and take the p.i.s.s. Now have you got anything to say?"
"Not to you, you c.u.n.t. Do you know what firm we belong to?"
Finn sn.i.g.g.e.red, "Do you think that bothers me? You need to remember that you"ve stepped on our patch and I"ll give you a little something to take home with ya."
Finn lunged over the counter and grabbed the man"s arm, pulling it straight to reveal his hand. In quick succession, Eli had surged across the room and grabbed the other man from behind. CJ wrestled with the bloke Finn had hold of as he stabbed a blade forcefully into his hand. The blade went through his palm and stuck his hand to the wooden counter, I hadn"t had many dealings with Finn but his calm exterior made him come across a little psychotic.
The bloke screamed in pain and I watched in wonder at the altercation. It didn"t shock me, I"d seen enough violence to last me a life time from being around the club and being in the army but it was the way these brothers worked well together like they could read each other"s thoughts. I felt like a spare p.r.i.c.k at an orgy but I knew CJ wanted me there for numbers and he knew if I needed to, I"d join in.
"Now which finger don"t you like?" Finn asked calmly. I moved closer, he wasn"t really going to do it, was he?
"No man, you don"t have to do this. I"m sorry for coming in here, I promise not to do it again just give me a chance to prove it."
"See there"s only one thing I hate more than people taking the p.i.s.s out of me, and that"s whinging b.i.t.c.hes. Now the problem for you is that you fit into both categories." Finn removed a meat cleaver from behind the counter and laid it on the surface. I could hear the bloke"s heavy breathing, as the panic rose inside him and he thrashed around but CJ held firm.
"Now, do you have a preference? I see you"re married, now would wifey get the hump if you didn"t have a ring finger or would she be more concerned if you didn"t have these two fingers, to finger her p.u.s.s.y?" Finn rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "What does the pinkie do...not a lot but it"s cute I don"t know if I could chop that off." He looked at Eli with a puzzled expression, "Help me out here man otherwise I"m gonna have to chose myself. Decisions decisions!"
"Well if he can"t choose I"d take the thumb," Eli stated expressing his preferred body part to take. This conversation was surreal but had the desired effect on the two blokes as they thrashed around trying to get free.
Finn stared at the bloke calmly waiting for a decision but he was too busy whimpering preparing himself for what was about to take place. "Tick tock tick tock..." Finn moved the meat cleaver over each finger as he said it. "Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, times running out."
The bloke franticly tried to pull away, I joined CJ to hold him. Finn lifted the meat cleaver high and brought it down and the bloke screamed, it was the highest pitched scream I had ever heard in my life. Finn kept his composure and placed the cleaver on the counter with blood dripping from it. He calmly tugged on the other blade to release the bloke"s hand, CJ and I let go of him at the same time so he could cup his hand. "Now let that be a mother f.u.c.king warning to you and your firm. If I see or even hear that any of you have been sniffing around my businesses, I"ll cut every f.u.c.king members hands off. Now make sure you go back and tell them." The bloke"s hand was p.i.s.sing out blood all over the floor, he stumbled backwards before eagerly heading towards the door.
"I think you"ve forgotten something!" Finn juggled the bloke"s fingers to the roar of laughter from Eli, only encouraging him further. When the two men didn"t respond he threw the fingers at them one by one as they left the building.
"You cut all four fingers off?" CJ asked looking disgusted.
Finn nodded, "Well I couldn"t decide and he didn"t state which one."
"You"re one sick mother f.u.c.ker Finn."
"Why thank you!" He stated taking a bow towards Eli who was still chuckling.
The bell on the door chimed, and we all turned to see Rian. "What did I miss?" he asked stepping further into the room.
CJ pointed to the floor, and we watched as Rian looked down and the horror register on his face. He shrieked like a girl and physically shivered as he stepped over the fingers as if they were going to grab him.
"Is it okay to come out?" Arnold popped his head out of the back room.
"Yeah, you may need some cleaning fluid and some bleach. In saying that, you may need to buy a new counter as you"re never getting the blood out of that." CJ stated.
"Ever the practical one!" Eli rolled his eyes mockingly.
Arnold disappeared into the backroom and an attractive dark haired woman came out holding a tray with a bottle of whisky and five gla.s.ses.
"Here, I thought you could do with this," she placed the tray onto the counter. "Do you want me to do something with that?" she asked looking at the meat cleaver.
"No babe that"s fine, I"ll sort that out." Finn stated. She smiled politely and walked back to the office with Finn staring at her a.r.s.e.
"Charlotte"s married," Eli stated firmly not wanting his brother to mix business with pleasure.
Finn held up his hands, "I was only looking!"
"Yeah yeah!" Rian mocked.
"Well if you don"t need us anymore we"re gonna make a move," CJ stated referring to the both of us.
"Yeah that"s fine. Look I appreciate you both coming this evening, safety in numbers and all that." Finn did look sincere. "I would shake your hand Jay but I don"t think you"d want to." He held up his hands covered in blood.
"Nah, I"m good thanks. See you all soon." I held up my hand indicating that we were off and followed CJ from the building.
I started the engine and slowly pulled out into the moving traffic.
"You"re quiet Jay, what"s up?"
I manoeuvred around a car trying to park, "Nothing, just thinking."
"About?"
I let out a sigh, "I miss that brotherhood, watching you and your brothers interact just got me thinking."
"There are plenty of places where you can get that bond, you only have to look at the club for that."
"It"s not the same," I said dismissively.
"You"ve only seen it through the eyes of a child. The time it took your parents away from you, the time your dad was incarcerated, you need to see it also from an adult perspective. The freedom, the brotherhood, the laughs and jokes, the p.u.s.s.y available...do I need to go on?"
I shook my head, "No I get the picture."
"But seriously Jay, you said you"d become a hang around which I think is great. See what"s involved and make an informed decision, just don"t base a decision on a child"s perspective."
"What if I want children eventually though, club life and families don"t mix too well although that"s how we market it."
"Things are changing, what with Duke and Diesel soon to become fathers, and Spike taking on the twins, things are going to have to change because I can"t see Ink and Ash putting up with that can you?"
"Ink and Ash?" I shrugged my shoulders not knowing who he was talking about.
"Oh sorry man, they"re Duke"s and Diesel"s old ladies. They won"t take any s.h.i.t even off their old men." CJ sn.i.g.g.e.red at the thought.
"So how come you haven"t settled down yet?" I asked as I indicated into our estate.
"I"m all for happy ever after but I just haven"t met the one. Not that I"ve been looking, I"m a great believer that if it"s meant to be then it"s meant to be." CJ turned his full attention to me, "And how are things with Sam?"
"I"ve only seen her a couple of times but I enjoy her company."
"Well I"m glad to hear it, do I know her?"
"I really hope not but I haven"t asked her yet."
CJ bit the side of mouth to try to hide his smirk, he knew what my comment was in reference to. I knew there was stigma with prost.i.tution but I liked to think that the club members would be a little more liberal than most considering what they got up to. I was hoping that Sam hadn"t been with anyone from the club, but if she had I"d have to deal with it. I couldn"t believe I was even having these thoughts, she"d refused to come out for a drink with me so I shouldn"t be holding out much hope that she"d want me to be anything but a punter, but I wasn"t giving up so easily.
Chapter 6.
Sam I applied the last layer of mascara on my eyelashes as I sat at my dressing table humming to a song on the radio. I enjoyed this calm before the storm as I was able to take stock away from work and especially Spyder. I placed the applicator back into the tube and was startled as my bedroom door flung open with force, banging off the wall and knocking my picture off the hook and onto the floor. I stood, physically shaking and stepped back knocking over my stool in the process but I wanted to put some distance between myself and whoever it was coming through the door.
"You"ve got a freshy." My eyes widened as I turned my attention to the young girl that Spyder was man handling into my room. "You know the drill, get her ready coz you"re wanted at the Marriott at 7.00pm."
The girl was sobbing and fell to her knees as he released her, I glared at Spyder annoyed that he"d taken another girl as he"d promised that he"d reconsider taking on anyone new. "Don"t eyeball me b.i.t.c.h, I"ll wipe that f.u.c.king look off your face if you carry it on."
I didn"t back down, I pulled back my shoulders and narrowed my eyes further as I slowly walked towards him. "You said you wouldn"t be bringing anymore girls here." I stated coldly trying to ignore the whimpers coming from the girl on the floor.
Spyder reached out and grasped his hand tightly around my neck, "You aint listening, open your mouth one more time and you"ll regret it." He tightened his hand further and I felt the pinch. My hands instinctively went to my neck to try and prize his fingers from my throat but his hold was too strong. "Do you understand?"
I couldn"t speak as he was squeezing my wind pipe but I managed a small nod indicating that I did. He slowly let go and I breathed heavily trying to get oxygen into my lungs. "Good girl you continue to learn fast, now do as you"re told and get her ready by 6.30pm. You"re going to see your little army friend."
My heart quickened at the thought of seeing Jayden again, I knew I was growing fond of him but I needed to keep it together because he was just a punter. My breathing was slowly returning to normal, and I stood tall hoping it would help. I thought Spyder had left but he stood in the doorway a.s.sessing me, "What"s up?" I asked confused by his facial expression.
His scowl was alarming, I didn"t like his unreadable expressions because it meant he was unpredictable, I didn"t know if I"d be getting a beating, raped or flowers. "Spyder what"s up?" I asked gently not wanting to antagonise him but tried to stall for time.
He shook his head as if pulling himself from his thoughts, "Just make sure you"re f.u.c.king ready." He turned on his heels and stomped from my room slamming the door behind him. I shuddered as he left the room, he made me on edge whenever he was around because of his unpredictability with situations.
The young girls whimpering caught my attention, I composed myself quickly before I sat down beside her. "Come here babe," I wrapped my arms around her and was surprise when she came willingly. I cupped the back of her head and held her close, her tears instantly soaked into my blouse but I continued to hold her, knowing all too well what she was feeling at this moment in time.
Her breathing became a little more controlled but now her uncontrollable sobbing had stopped, she"d given herself hiccups instead. I pulled back slightly and looked down at her blotchy tear stained face, she couldn"t have been much older than sixteen.
"s.h.i.t!" I said aloud shaking my head but cupped my mouth realising that I"d worried her further as her eyes widened. "Sorry babe, I didn"t mean to startle you." I placed my hands either side of her face and tilted her head so I could see directly into her eyes. "We don"t have long, I need to get you ready for this evening but I need you to give me a brief explanation as to how you got here." Her eyes filled with water again and her lip quivered. "It"s okay babe, I"m not going to hurt you, if anything I"m trying to find out a little about you so I can hopefully make it right." She furrowed her brows and as she blinked she unleashed the tears she"d been trying to hold at bay.
"I need to know where you"re from, how you got here and what you"ve been told?" I released my hands from her cheeks and she shuffled across the carpet so she could rest her back against the bed. "Let"s start off with a name, I"m Sam and you are?" The girl opened her mouth and mumbled something inaudible, "Sorry I didn"t catch that."
"Leanne," she whispered.
"Okay, well nice to meet you Leanne." She smiled briefly but it wasn"t a true smile as it didn"t reach her eyes. I crawled across the carpet in her direction and nestled myself beside her as I looked at my watch, "We don"t have long, like I said I need to know where you"re from, how you got here and what you"ve been told."
"Can you help me?" she asked quietly.
I shrugged and let out a sigh, "I don"t know but if I have that information I can at least try." This caught her attention, I briefly saw hope on her face before she turned her attention to a small rip in her jeans, circling her finger over the hole while she contemplated her next move.
The silence was deafening but I didn"t want to rush her, if she was willing to give me information I at least wanted her to offer it freely rather than me interrogating her. She"d already been through a rough time, but what I didn"t know yet was how long ago she"d been taken and whether she"d been given the same story as me.
"I"m from a respectable home, I"m not a runaway or anything like that."
I thought it strange why she"d give me that information first and to be honest I didn"t believe her. "The thought hadn"t even entered my mind," I said telling her what she wanted to hear.
Leanne slowly nodded her head accepting my response and returned her attention back to the hole in her jeans. There was another long pause, I discreetly glanced at my watch realising that we didn"t have long at all before we had to make a move but I really wanted to hear her story and at least try and put her at ease before we left to meet Jayden.
"I wanted to do some modelling, silly I know as thousands of girls want to become models. I met a man at a casting session, and he said I had what it took. He gave me his business card and asked me to give him a call should I want to meet up and produce a portfolio."
I chewed on the inside of my mouth while I contemplated what she"d just said. "Spyder, Jackal or Pyet?" I asked wanting to know who had taken her.
Her head spun around quickly as her eyes locked on mine, shocked that I knew the very people that had deceived her. "Pyet," she replied softly.
I rubbed my forehead as his name rang in my head, it wasn"t dissimilar from what had happened to me but I didn"t want to tell her that. On hearing her words my initial reaction was, what a f.u.c.king stupid b.i.t.c.h to be taken in by such a man, but her words rang true and only highlighted what vile men Spyder, Jackal and Pyet were.
"So where you from?" I asked leaning on the bed to help myself up from the floor.
Leanne mimicked my actions and stood beside me, "Nottingham."
"Okay, do you know why they"ve brought you here?" Leanne"s eyes immediately filled with tears as she placed her hand over her mouth to try to stifle the noises.