I shoved him backward.
He stumbled.
A gap opened up between him and the doorway.
I was free.
Run!
I leaped past him and pushed myself as fast as I could.
Run, run, run.
I skidded into the lounge, tasting the breathy relief of freedom.
But it all came crashing down.
I didn’t get far.
A few steps, that was all.
Rubix launched himself at me; his heavy leathered bulk knocked me off balance and sent me sprawling to the sickening carpet below.
I cried out as my arm bent painfully; air shot from my lungs.
Rubix breathed hard in my ear, his body crushing mine to the floor. “You try that again and the outcome won’t just be a few fucking bruises.” He kissed my cheek, then climbed to his feet. With a savage jerk, he yanked me upright. Capturing my chin, he snapped my head back to glare into my eyes. “The result will be a lot worse. Understand?”
His green gaze glinted, sending me whirling into a sudden flashback.
“We have to kill him, Thorn. There’s no other way.”
I peeked through the stair railings, eavesdropping on my father and his vice president when I should’ve been sound asleep.
My father bowed his head, looking tired and stressed. “He’s one of us, man. Teach him a lesson but don’t fucking murder the son of a bitch.”
Rubix scowled. “He broke the code. He’s got to pay the punishment.”
I didn’t know who they were talking about, but I didn’t like the sound of it. Ever since I was old enough to understand, I knew the lifestyle we lived was high risk and often dealt in high penalties for disobedience, but I’d never witnessed or heard of people being killed before.
My tummy rolled as I tiptoed back to my room. I loved my parents, but I couldn’t handle hearing my sweet father who’d bounced me on his knee, painted my room my favorite buttercup yellow, and shared his desserts with me could kill someone just for disobeying.
“You’re not going to ruin my plans a second time, bitch.” Rubix shook me, dispelling the memory. “I’m through with you fucking everything up.”
He spun me around and twisted my arms behind my back. “Move,” he ordered, kicking at the back of my knee with his boot.
I bit my lip at the pain, refusing to cry out. My leg buckled, stumbling forward before my balance saved me from face-planting again.
Without another word, Rubix marched me from the house.
I didn’t struggle—what would be the point? I had to save my strength for another opportunity and this wasn’t it.
I blinked at the brightness after being in a gloomy house. The sun hung low in the sky. I guessed it was late afternoon.
Late afternoon.
It’d been nighttime when I’d been drugged and stolen from Arthur’s arms. I tried to work out if my abduction took place last night or the night before … or even before that.
It depends how strong the drugs were.
An icy chill coated my insides. If it was more than a day … why hadn’t Arthur come for me yet?
Because he’s …
I slammed up a mental wall, not able to think of him dead or gone.
Deciding to believe in miracles, I clutched blindly to hope. I visualized Arthur and his Club storming the perimeter and mowing down these men. I fantasized about him thundering in on his bike and rescuing me.
And if that doesn’t happen … then what?
I had no answer to that. I would just have to save myself—through whatever means necessary.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked as Rubix pushed me forward, forcing me to lurch faster toward the large Clubhouse in the center of the complex. My bare feet landed on sharp stones and weeds. Cigarette butts littered the pebbles and black splodges of oil-stained concrete pads outside small community houses.
This was Dagger Rose.
This was my old home.
To a child, the compound had been a treasure trove of magical machinery, gruff teddy-bear men, and interesting finds of bullet casings and dirty bandanas. Now it was just destitute and unhygienic. The aura of poverty and violence sat heavily like a rain-clogged cloud, shadowing everything with black greed.
It was the exact opposite of Pure Corruption. There, men had families, love, wealth, and a president who earned their loyalty rather than demanded it. Arthur had turned a tarnished lifestyle into something safe—a true brotherhood rather than a bunch of criminals.
Men appeared from behind closed doors, all watching me with evil in their eyes. I shuddered as I remembered the rules I’d been forced to recite as a little girl.
No getting caught.
No using the merchandise.
And above all else, no going against family.
Rubix broke the third one. He went against family. He murdered my family.
Hatred effervesced in my stomach.
He’ll pay. Somehow, I’ll make him pay.
Rubix forgot one important thing: Once a member of Dagger Rose, you were no longer a single entity. You were absorbed by the clan—a cog in a machine that ran on unquestioning fealty. He broke that fealty and owed his life to pay it back.
He’ll pay forever in hell.
The concept of individual ownership was nonexistent, as was the tolerance for secrets. Men ate, slept, fucked, and fought as a family—unfortunately that family was now governed by a traitor. With Rubix as top dog, everyone else, including children and wives, all came second. Nothing was more important than the Club.
It was an age-old tradition to obey such strict guidelines—people said it forged bonds that were unbreakable. However, I thought it encouraged resentment. No one had anything to be proud of. No family to love or belongings to cherish. Everything they had belonged to the prez.