Page 90 of Hell & Back

“Open your fucking mouth.”

When RIP continued to refuse, Darren nodded at Tulsa. He got him in a headlock and torqued his head back while pinching his nose closed. His mouth automatically fell open and Darren dropped in three pills. He accepted the bottle of tequila someone was holding out and poured some in along with the pills. He handed off the bottle and slammed the man’s mouth shut while Tulsa continued to hold his nose. Left with no alternative, RIPhad to swallow. Darren released him and stepped back to turn his attention on Crockett.

“You gonna give me as much trouble as he did?”

“No. What’s the point?” Crockett opened his mouth and tipped his head back, dry swallowing the pills.

“Now, we’re going for a ride.”

Tulsa and Lance hit both men over the back of the head with the butts of their guns. From there they hog tied them and tossed each one into the back of a different SUV.

Race clapped Darren on the shoulder. “Let’s go home, brother.”

DARREN

The ride to Gunnison felt like it was taking forever. Darren was so close to getting his revenge he could taste it. Once he ended Crockett and RIP he vowed to never think of them again. To do so would be affording them space in his brain they didn’t deserve. He was more than ready to put all his energy into getting things back to the way they used to be with Kylie. She’d forgiven him, but he still couldn’t forgive himself. That might take a long time.

Now that the immediate threat of possible death wasn’t hanging over his head, Euphoria and that other fucking drug was starting to make themselves known. As long as he’d been actively participating in the Phantoms’ takedown, he’d been able to ignore the feeling creeping up on him. The long drive here had been boring and allowed plenty of time for his body to relax and the adrenaline rush to subside.

“Almost there, brother,” Dagger caught his eye in the rearview mirror.

“How’s our guest doing back there?” Race asked from the front passenger seat.

Darren turned in his seat to check on Crockett. They’d thrown his hog tied, unconscious form into the rear compartment of their vehicle and found that he was showing signs of rousing. It gave Darren great satisfaction to see the forced erection behind the other man’s zipper. “Good. I think he’s starting to come out of it.”

“Got a text from Jed and Tulsa. RIP’s awake and thrashing around in the back cargo area. They had to knock him out again. They decided to punch him instead of using the butt of their gun again, figuring you’d want him awake when we get there.”

“Yeah. I definitely want them both awake. It’ll also make it easier to get them downstairs.”

“Did Preacher’s guy get the cameras set up in the basement?” Tuck asked from his seat beside him.

“Yes. Everything’s set up and ready to go.”

They passed the city limit sign and the tension in Darren’s chest from the drive here eased a bit only to be replaced by a feeling of guilt. Kylie would be expecting them to all return to tonight. When they didn’t, her worries would turn to wondering how he was dealing with his sexual needs. He’d made her a promise and no matter how bad it might get, he would never seek out another woman just to get off. Maybe he should call to reassure her that he had it under control? He could remind her that he was surrounded by his brothers and Tuck would kick his ass if need be. Plus, Bacon had given him a couple of sedatives before they left as a worst-case scenario.

Fifteen minutes later, Dagger slowed down in front of a single-story, three bedroom, brick ranch style house that they used for things like this. It was nearing one in the morningand everyone in the neighborhood was sound asleep. Perfect. It would make it easier for them to do what they needed to do.

Race had hired a friend of the club to stop by every seven to ten days to make it look like someone lived there. Anytime a neighbor started getting nosey about why he was never there, he would tell them that he traveled a lot for work. Also to throw off any suspicions that nefarious things might be going down in the house, the friend had the occasional bar-b-que on the weekend with his friends and arranged for a high school kid to keep the grass cut in the summer and the driveway shoveled in the winter.

Dagger hit the remote control and the garage door went up. He backed in on one side and waited for Jed to back in next to him before they all piled out. Darren and Tuck moved to the back of the vehicle and raised the hatch. Crockett was awake and shooting daggers with his eyes. If they hadn’t put duct tape over is mouth, Darren was sure the fucker would be cussing them up one side and down the other. He was sure the man was pissed having to ride three hours with his hands and feet taped together behind his back. It sure as fuck wouldn’t have been comfortable.

Race pulled out his knife and leaned in to cut the tape binding the man’s legs together. Darren and Tuck reached inside and unceremoniously pulled him out. If they hadn’t been holding him, he’d have fallen to his knees.

“Knock it off, motherfucker, or I’ll cut your ear off.” Jackson held a knife to RIP’s ear. The man being held between Jed and Tulsa immediately simmered down.

“Come on. Let’s get these assholes inside.” Dagger held the door open, allowing them all to enter. It took a little maneuvering, but they made it. They dragged their captives through the living room, into the kitchen where Race stood holding the door open leading to the soundproof basement. Darren and Tuck managed to get Crockett down the stairswithout any of them falling and breaking their necks. From the sounds of things Jed and Tulsa weren’t having as much luck.

“I will fucking rip your ear off with my goddamn teeth if you give us any shit getting you down the stairs,” Tulsa growled.

“You know, I’m half tempted to pull him down the stairs by his feet and let his fucking head bounce off every step. If it wasn’t for Darren, I probably would.” Jed sounded short of breath as they got their man to the bottom without incident.

At the bottom of the stairs the basement had a large open area. There was a drain hole in the middle where they liked to hang their victims from a pipe as they questioned them. It came in handy when Calliope and Bellamy followed them here and snuck their way into the basement. Calliope had snagged Jackson’s gun and shot her abusive boyfriend before anyone realized what she was up to.

Darren relinquished his hold on Crockett, allowing Dagger to step in. Jed might be the enforcer and Dagger the VP, but Dagger got off on torturing information out of people and often volunteered to assist in the interrogations. Darren sometimes thought that maybe Dagger did it just for the fun of it. Which knowing how he was with his wife and kids, it didn’t quite add up. The man must be super adept at compartmentalizing different areas of his life.

“Now what?” Race stood to the side, smirking at Crockett. He had his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his boot heels.

“Now we strip ’em and throw them in a cell,” Darren announced.

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