Page 49 of Puma's Pride

“You call this safe?” Corinne shrieks.

“Yes. You’re still alive. You aren’t hurt. This was scary, I won’t deny it. You aren’t the only one shaken up.” She scoffs, so I give her the brutal truth. “If you were on your own in your car today, how would that have ended?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: PUMA

As we ride to the clubhouse, I glance back at the cage behind us and see Alisa and Corinne in a heated discussion. My heart sinks as I consider the potential ramifications of this latest attack. I know it shook Corinne. It shook me. When Alisa called for help, the guilt swamped me. I should never have let them out of my sight. I hope Alisa can talk her down. I glance over at Trouble and see his eyes flit back to the SUV as well. At least I won’t be in this fight alone. Trouble will do all he can to keep Corinne in our lives.

At the clubhouse, I disembark and head for the SUV, Trouble next to me. I lock eyes with Alisa and I can read everything I need to know in her deep chocolate orbs. She’s worried. About me. I pull her in and kiss her head before speaking. “She’s upset. I can tell. We’ll figure it out.”

“Why don’t you go check on the kids? We’ll be with you soon. We can have a movie night.” I smile at Corinne, and I feel some of the tension flow out when she gives me a small smile and a nod. At least she’s not demanding that they leave immediately.

The San Diego clubhouse has El Bodego, we have The Pit. Both of which are where we entertain enemies of our club. We rarely allow outsiders in, but I’m making an exception for Trouble. After all, this piece of shit likely killed one of his.

“Corinne is upset.” I say as we make our way to the entrance.

He nods. “Understandable. She’s talking about leaving and how she never should have come to Vegas.”

My heart drops as I consider the ramifications of her leaving not only the clubhouse but the city as well. I thought she’d only want to go back to her condo. I could still keep her safe there, although it would be harder and take more men. The thought of her moving away has me rubbing my chest to relieve the pain.

“I think Alisa and I calmed some of her fears. Alisa told her how much more dangerous it could have been if she had been alone in her own car.”

“Good.” I say. “Are you going to keep working on her?” I ask him.

He grins. “I plan on using every trick I know to convince her to stay.”

“Good.” I say as we descend the steps into The Pit.

The only good thing I can say about my predecessor is he did an exceptional job planning out our clubhouse. The Pit being his crowning achievement. It sits under a barn on the adjacent property. No one would think of looking there because on paper a metalworks company owns the land. Several buildings dot the landscape, including an old barn at the backend of the property. The barn is nothing special, except it holds a secret along with rusty farm equipment. Hell on earth sits under the wood and dirt floor. A pit where those who sin against the Demon Dawgs earn their passage to hell. We help them out by giving them a preview.

“Impressive.” Trouble says when we enter the open room we lovingly call The Pit. Chill and Dice already have our guest hanging from a hook in the center of the room. Against the back wall are two tables covered with various items. Tools Chill uses for interrogation. Against the wall are two locked cabinets. Next to them, in a corner, sits an ice machine, like the ones you’d find at motels. A large tub sits in front of it. I can see Trouble’s mind working as he takes in the room. This is Chill’s domain, but not all the equipment is hers. Dice and some of the other guys like to help her out. Even though she has her choice of helpers today, I doubt she’ll need them. My SOA will have the bastard crying for his mommy before she even draws blood. A search of the car and our captive left us with no information. We’re working blind here, but I have full confidence in my SOA’s ability.

I lean against the far wall and watch Chill hold up each tool on the table. She studies it and tries it out before discarding it and moving on. I keep my expression neutral even though inside I’m chuckling. Because I’m not the only one watching her. Our guest has a clear view of her and every move she makes has him flinching. What a wuss.

When she finally selects a serrated military knife, I see his body tremble. She turns to face the man, and the torture begins.

“Have you heard of Sumer?” She asks the man. He shakes his head as he watches her glide the knife through the buttons on his shirt. “It’s one of the earliest civilizations. Its location is in the southern part of Iraq. They introduced the concept of using eunuchs to protect their harems. Do you know what a eunuch is?” She asks with a wintry smile. Our prisoner stares at her, his mouth open, his eyes wide. His response is a whimper accompanied by a strong smell of ammonia.

“They created eunuchs to protect the harems.” Chill continues with her history lesson, ignoring the piss trailing down the drain. “I always thought it would make a fitting punishment for rapists.” She’s talking as if to herself, but I know he’s hearing every word as she removes his last stitch of clothing. As he hangs there naked, Chill steps back and studies him. “I have a theory. Men who don’t get enough sex develop a build-up of testosterone which fucks up their brains. These guys get plenty of sex, so they don’t do stupid things. Like attack women who belong to the Presidents of two different motorcycle clubs.” She gives him another once over and frowns.

“Looking at you, I bet you haven’t had sex in a really long time. Which might explain how you made such a stupid move.” She steps forward and places her knife under his flaccid penis. I can barely hear his whimper over the sound of every other man in the room sucking in his breath. This just makes Chill smile wider. “As SOA, it’s my job to get assholes like you to talk. For some in my position, they mostly use their fists or other means to beat the shit out of someone. Me, I figured out long ago how best to get a man to talk. Threaten his pride and joy. Most SOAs don’t go there, because they’re men and men have a hard time whacking off another man’s penis. I don’t have that problem.” She shifts the knife just enough to prick the man’s tiny pride and joy. His scream makes her laugh.

“What do you want to know? Please, I’ll tell you everything. Just get this bitch away from me.” The man blubbers. Chill chuckles as she moves away, gesturing for Trouble and me to take over. I see Trouble shaking his head as his color returns.

“Who the fuck are you?” I ask.

“Greg Spada.” He says.

“Greg Spada is dead.” I reply.

He shakes his head. “I faked my death.”

“Why?”

“Because I found out Sal and Junior killed by brother.” Greg spits out. “Those bastards used him and then killed him. I want revenge.”

“Who the fuck told you that?” I demand.

“Juan. He was friends with my brother. He contacted me and told me what happened.”

---