“How do you know?”
He sighed. “Because Sabbath took off with Priest, Warrant, and Skid again. The rest of the club is too distracted to notice anything out of the ordinary. Trust me. No one will see.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you down there in fifteen.”
He nodded then quickly made his way back down the steps.
“Speaking of men being head over heels... that man fucking loves the shit out of you.”
Tears filled my eyes. “I know,” I said softly. “And that’s what scares me the most.”
The men all stared at me with strange expressions, each one different and totally within character of who they were.
Clash stood against the door with his arms crossed over his chest, that cocky, confident smile widening on his face.
Ranger looked pensive, like he was deep in thought, and worried about everything.
Wasp sat on the couch, his dark eyes boring into me as they silently begged me to drop to my knees and obey the Master’s wishes.
And then there was Snyder... a look of hurt, concern, and utter devotion warred in his eyes, staring at me like I was his whole fucking world. I loved and hated that look because I knew we were playing with borrowed time, and eventually, Sabbath was going to catch on to what we were doing behind his back.
“Why am I here?”
They all shared a look.
“We need to formulate a solid plan, Shasta, one that will end this once and for all,” Clash exclaimed, speaking first like always.
“Is the old plan not good enough?”
“It’s not that it’s not good enough, Shasta. It’s just that we don’t think you’ll be able to get them to fall as easily as you did us,” Snyder stated, moving a bit closer to me.
Shooting Wasp a look, I wondered if he exposed the little secret he shared with me to the rest of the men in this room. From the blank look in his eyes, it was obvious he kept it locked up tight.
“So, can we take him down with just the five of us? You all saw Sandman the other day, he’s not going to be able to help us. The man can barely walk.” Tears started streaming down my face, because in that moment I felt used and exposed. These men had slowly worked their way into my life, and now they were telling me that the whole reason for doing this doesn’t even matter anymore. How is that fair?
Snyder cupped my face, bringing my attention back to him as he wiped each individual tear away with his thumb. He had this way of captivating me even when a sea of men were in the room. “We just want to keep you safe, Shasta. With how Sabbath has been lately, adding more to your numbers is only going to increase the chances of him finding out. Not to mention, Sabbath has something up his sleeve. He’s seeking out the Crows, and I feel like he’s planning a massacre.”
“Good. They can all burn in Hell for all I care.” Hoax and all his men needed to go.
“But our fear is, you’ll be caught in the crossfire. Both Sabbath and Hoax have a history with you, and both are seeking revenge. Hoax tried to kill you once already, who’s to say he won’t do it again?” Ranger asked, sounding like the voice of reason.
“You mean too much to us, baby girl,” Clash added. “And Warrant and Skid are loose cannons, either one of them could turn on us and drive that nail into those coffins we’re all trying to avoid.”
Wasp nodded. “They’re right, little minx. Even with what I told you before, the risk of bringing them in is high. They’re all loyal to Sabbath, and none of them are strong enough to stand up to him. Not like us.”
I nodded. Their words seemed legit, but it still felt like everything I’ve done up to this point was pointless.
“So, basically I’m just a common whore now? No better than the sweet butts you fuck every day?” I cried. “The whole fucking reason for this was to bring Sabbath down, and now you’re saying to give it up? Fuck you all. Fuck you all for using me this way and then making me feel even less like a human than I already did.”
Snyder tried to touch me again, but I wasn’t having it. “Shasta, please. Don’t get angry. We’re all here for you. You’re the reason we’ve started to see Sabbath for who he really is.”
“You took advantage of me! None of you actually give a fuck about me or my feelings. This false sense of security you’ve given me has been riddled with lies. I’m done, Snyder, especially with you. You’re the worst of them all.”
He looked at me totally wounded. Well, good. He deserved to be hurt after the pain this shit has caused me—the pure inner turmoil skating around behind Sabbath’s back has placed me in.
“You know that’s not true!” he fought back. “You mean everything to me! I love you.”
I slapped his face, tired of the bullshit. “Just leave me alone! All of you. I was better off being the oblivious Ol’ Lady, at least then I wouldn’t have been used and made a mockery of in front of everyone.”