“I’m praying that they help me, Sienna. Joey texted me and said they were going to kill her. I don’t know how much time she has.”
She nodded, snuggling against me. “They’ll help you, Dillon. They have to.”
I could somewhat hear their voices through the worn door. Scorpio’s more than anyone else’s. He was angry and upset and had every right to be. From what I could hear, Archer was acting as the voice of reason inside, telling him that they needed me. But what could they need me for? I was nothing but a street rat who knew how to boost vehicles. I’m the reason they were in this mess in the first place.
“I wish I had your confidence, Sienna, but I don’t know. I wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t help me.”
A few minutes later, the door swung open, and an angry Scorpio stood in the doorway. “Come inside, Dillon. We need to talk to you.”
My Adam’s apple bobbed as I swallowed nervously.
Sienna gave my hand an encouraging squeeze as I rose to my feet. “You got this, Dillon,” she whispered, just as the door closed between us.
There was no place for me to sit down, so I stood by the door, ready to run if they suddenly turned on me. Zodiac and Scorpio were sitting at the head of the table. The rest of the members were either in chairs or standing against the wall. All of them looked pissed.
“Archer filled us in on the plot holes of your story, Dillon,” Zodiac informed me, immediate pity filling his eyes. “It sounds like you came from a very hard life. We somewhat understand why you did what you did, but it also doesn’t change the fact that it happened.”
I looked at my feet. “I know, and I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t get my bike back, kid,” Scorpio growled.
I heard a smack and looked up just in time to see Zodiac’s hand retreating.
“What Scorpio is trying to say is that we want to help you save your sister, but in return we need your help to get back the bike. You’re the only one here who knows where the bike is, and you’re also the only one here who’s been in their compound.”
“So, you want me to help you?”
Zodiac nodded. “Yes. In return, we’ll liberate your sister from the Hell’s Artillery and offer her our protection.”
“What’s the catch?”
“There’s no catch, Dillon. We’ll help you, but only if you tell us everything you know about the Artillery and their compound.”
Pollux got up from his seat and motioned for me to sit down. “Here, kid, you can have my seat.”
He moved away from the table, taking his place against the wall with Fish.
“They have a lot of members. I’m not sure exactly how many, but I’d say double the amount of yours. Their compound is surrounded by fencing and I think they have quite a few cameras because they somehow knew I was hiding across the street watching them, and knew that I was trying to talk to Joey. When they took me inside, I only saw one room. The main room where all of their men were fucking women and using drugs. Beretta was definitely the one in charge. He ordered them to keep me tied to a chair, beating me senseless while they raped my sister in front of me.”
“Holy shit, kid, that’s some dark stuff right there,” Pollux piped in.
“I didn’t think I was going to survive any of it, to be honest, but there was a woman there who helped me get out. She told me to offer Beretta something he couldn’t refuse, and that’s when I heard his plight involving your bike. I learned how to boost cars from my last foster home. Mr. Sinclair ran an illegal chop shop, and I was responsible for bringing in his inventory.”
“Yeah, Archer told us that part, too,” Scorpio informed me.
“Anyway, telling Beretta I’d steal the bike for him was the only thing that kept me alive. In return, all I wanted was my sister. I barely escaped the rally and spent a good twenty minutes doing my best to evade these two,” I said, motioning to Pollux and Castor. The two men each had equal looks of shock, and it was like the lightbulb in their head clicked on at the same time.
“No shit? It was Dillon the whole time. Can you believe that, Castor?”
“Yeah, asshole, I can. The kid is crafty, I’ll give him that. I mean, he did go all magician and disappeared on us like a white fluffy bunny. Where’d you go anyway?”
I shrugged. “Does it really matter?”
They shook their heads. “Guess not,” Pollux agreed. “Although, I’d love to know your hiding spot, so I can win Hide ‘N’ Seek the next time I play this guy.” He flicked a thumb at Castor, who only rolled his eyes.
A few men chuckled, but the seriousness in the room never disappeared.
“Keep going, Dillon,” Zodiac encouraged.
