The VIP Room: King Part 17

Henry pulled up, rolling the window down. "Get in, Evie."

"Go away, Henry. Please, just leave me alone."

The man nodded and the electric window slid back up. Evie continued walking, her feet becoming sore and tired, but she refused to ride in his car or have anything to do with King again.

The car followed her until she stumbled into Penni's apartment building.

Penni was sitting at the table, jumping up when she saw her. "What happened?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. Make sure you lock the door when you leave for work and inform the concierge that if someone comes knocking on the door without permission, I'll call the owner and complain about him not doing his f.u.c.king job."

"Okay, do you need me to get you something?"

"No. I'm going to lie down for a while. I'll see you tonight." Evie shut her bedroom door before Penni could pry any further.

Limping into the bathroom, she started to run water into the tub before getting undressed and climbing inside, hissing in pain as her blistered heels were engulfed in the warm water.

Evie drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. She lay her head down on her knees as tears fell from her eyes. Evie couldn't remember the last time she had cried so hard. Keeping the water on, she cried until her sobs turned to hiccups.

After a while, she turned the water off and got out of the tub. Wrapping a towel around herself, she went to her dresser, pulled out one of her own t-shirts then took a pair of fresh underwear and got dressed.

She went back into the living room, relieved to see Penni had left.

Going to her purse, she took out her phone and checked the messages. There were three from King and one from Shade. She touched on Shade's message.

"Going hunting. See you soon."

"Pull up the security tapes from my apartment this morning and get out," King said, walking inside his security room.

Trey pulled up the requested tape then slid his chair back before leaving the room.

King sat in the chair, forwarding the tape to where he wanted it, then pressed play, watching Evie walk into the room. King saw her accidently knock the folder over then she was about to set it back down when he saw her turn toward him in the hallway. King pressed stop, looking at the expression on her face.

She had laid it out for him to see and he had ignored it. He was too used to the betrayals he had suffered through the years.

She hadn't even glanced at the papers in the folders.

Regret filled him at what he had said; he had deliberately pushed her away.

Last night had been the best night he had ever spent with a woman. h.e.l.l, the last few weeks were some of the best he'd had in his whole life. Now, he had destroyed her fragile trust with a few well-placed, cruel words.

He took his phone out, calling her, and it was no surprise when she didn't answer his call. He texted her a message instead.

"I'm sorry. Meet me to talk." He sent the message.

It pinged back an hour later with her response. "f.u.c.k off."

Chapter 19.

"You're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes." Evie turned away, putting her dirty dishes in the sink. "I've been here long enough." Too long, Evie thought.

As soon as Rabbit had called her and told her Ramos and Moran were heading out of town, she would board her plane.

Rabbit said Ramos had agreed to King's cut, so there actually hadn't been a confrontation between the two men. Evie was relieved King wasn't gaining a new enemy who was trying to move into his territory; he would be able to hand over the reins for the city to the Predators without conflict.

"I have to go to work. Dinner tonight?"

"Sure, I'll even pay," Evie offered.

"Sounds good to me. I'll be back around six."

When Penni left, leaving her with nothing other than time on her hands, she decided to pack. Taking out her cases, she laid them open on the bed. One by one, she emptied the drawers then the closet, leaving out only what she would wear tonight and tomorrow.

When she finished, she looked down at the filled cases, which held the extent of her possessions. She reached down to a case and pulled out a thin t-shirt, a skimpy blouse, a modest dress, her leather skirt, and one by one, she tossed them to the floor. Evie went into the kitchen and grabbed a trash bag, gathering the clothes into a pile then stuffing them into the bag.

She had almost nothing left, which was what her life felt like at the moment.

Grabbing her purse, she went out the door, locking it behind her. Then, after catching a cab, Evie went shopping.

It wasn't much fun without Jewell, Bliss or Raci, but she picked out the clothes she would need for the next few months. When she finished, she caught a cab back to the apartment. Going through the lobby with her shopping in tow, she didn't take the offer of help from the concierge.

After getting in the elevator, Evie looked down at her watch. She had just enough time to get showered and changed before Penni arrived back from work. She got off the elevator, juggling her bags while searching for her keys. Finally, she found them at the bottom of her purse.

She was so occupied trying to unlock the door with the bags, she didn't notice someone coming up behind her until it was too late. A blinding pain struck at the back of her head, forcing her to her knees, the bags dropping from her hands. She was jerked to her feet by a pair of rough hands and then dragged to the elevator.

Dazed, Evie was slow to react; the doors of the elevator were closing before she was able to begin struggling.

"Stay still, or I will hit you again." Evie felt the barrel of a gun pressed against the back of her skull as the b.u.t.ton to the elevator was pushed. "It doesn't matter to me if you're still alive or not as long as King thinks you are."

A rough hand jerked her out of the elevator then into a black SUV that was waiting. Shoving her inside, she fell face-forward into the vehicle.

Evie managed to sit up in the seat with no help from the man who had shoved her inside. He was in his early thirties with brown hair, and the ugly expression on his face let her know he didn't care if she got to their destination breathing or not. She didn't try to make conversation.

Clearly, she'd been lied to about the deal and had been taken to hold over King until it was completed.

She and King had obviously not been discreet the last few weeks. King had been seen with a variety of women over the years and no one had gone after them. His sister had been killed when he was younger, and since then, King had not become close with anyone.

The only reason Evie had been taken was because she was convenient. It was easy to s.n.a.t.c.h her and blackmail King. However, if Lily had been near, she would have been the target.

Evie's stomach sank. Her kidnapping, whether she lived or died, had sealed King's fate.

King was in his office when he received the call from Rabbit, pa.s.sing along Ramos's orders-stay out of the deal. When it was over, Evie would be released. After disconnecting the call, he called Ice.

He had learned a hard lesson several years ago; they had no intention of giving Evie back. She would be used whenever they wanted to use his city. If he didn't comply, she would die.

King went to his security office, calling in reinforcements from there, as well. Afterward, Henry was waiting for him outside. They knew the location of the meeting, and because he was having Evie tailed, they knew where they were keeping her. She was tied up in the same building where the drugs were being sold.

Henry parked the car as close to the location as he could. King and Henry then both got out of the car, using the city they were familiar with to maneuver their way closer.

The car tailing them was being dealt with, so they wouldn't be expecting King to show up. They had put too much faith in King not striking against them because of Evie.

He had backed off when they had taken his sister, and she had been butchered. The same wasn't going to happen to Evie.

King and Henry managed to get close enough to see Ramos and Moran enter the warehouse in different vehicles. Rabbit was inside Moran's car. Rabbit had been the one who had taken Evie to make sure his lucrative cut of the deal was a success. He had been gaining a steady reputation of seeing deals of this caliber involved no bloodshed to those paying for his skills. Unfortunately, he had left a trail of victims like Evie to realize his goals.

Evie had placed too much trust in Rabbit because they had been in the military together. She had also trusted King not to hurt her, afraid of being hurt. Both of them had let her down. She clung to The Last Riders for a reason-she would never have been in this position with the club.

King saw movement behind the warehouse as the Predators moved in. Jackal and Ice were in the lead, giving directions and spreading the men around the warehouse. After Jackal used the darkening sky to get closer to the building, unlocking a side door and going inside, Ice and Max followed behind.

King and Henry used the cars parked outside to hide, making their own way to the door. He reached out to touch the handle when the first shot could be heard from the inside.

"s.h.i.t." King jerked opened the door and stepped into h.e.l.l without a second's hesitation.

Evie tried to loosen the tight zip-tie around her wrists, but she quit when two cars pulled into the warehouse. Men climbed out of the cars, holding guns casually by their sides.

Rabbit got out of one, casting a look of apology in her direction. Evie had already figured out he was the one behind her being taken as insurance against King. She had played right into his hands when she had asked for his help in finding out the information she wanted.

Evie was watching as the drugs and money were exchanged when the one who had been left standing guard over her suddenly fell to the concrete floor next to her. Evie stared at him blankly before looking up to see Jackal pulling a knife covered in blood out of the man's back.

When Jackal put his finger to his mouth, telling her without words to remain quiet, Evie nodded her head, showing she understood. Jackal then bent over her chair, cutting the cord at her wrists.

He jerked her from her chair as a bullet struck it, toppling it backward. A small scream pa.s.sed her lips as Jackal pushed her down to the floor, covering her body with his while grabbing his own gun and returning fire. The men scattered like ants, each running to their own cars.

They didn't make it. They were gunned down steps from their cars. The one who had kidnapped her was one of the first to be killed. Ramos and Moran were each next.

Once their bosses were no longer in control, their men fought unsuccessfully for their own lives. All thirteen of the men were killed. The only one spared was Rabbit, who had hunkered down by the table and didn't move.

When no one was left moving, Jackal helped Evie to her feet. "Are you hurt?"

Evie started to shake her head but dizziness overcame her; only Jackal's hand on her arm kept her from collapsing.

"I was. .h.i.t on my head."

"Can you walk?"

"Yes."

He didn't take his hand away. "We have to get out of here."

"Evie!" King grabbed her, hugging her close. She tried to move away from him, though. He didn't let her go, yet he allowed her to put some s.p.a.ce between them.

"Let me go."

King's arms dropped from her at her cold request.

"King, we need to leave," Jackal ordered. King nodded, stepping back.

It was completely dark when they left the building.

"I'll get the car." Henry jogged off.

"King, thanks for having my back," Rabbit said.

"How did they know about Evie, Rabbit?" Kings harsh voice had Rabbit coming to a stop.

Evie looked at the man she'd thought was her friend. He was going to try to talk his way out of it; it was what made him so good at his job.

The Predators were coming out of the warehouse behind them. Max was carrying the bags containing the drugs and the money.

"What about my cut?" Rabbit asked, as if he had been the one to rescue them.

"You're not-" Evie began angrily.

A shot rang out in the night; Rabbit fell backwards, a hole in the side of his head. The Predators ran for cover, trying to figure out where the shot had come from.

Instinct set in. Evie threw herself into King's arms, pressing against him as tightly as she could. "Don't move!" Evie yelled to everyone around her.

They were under the scope of a cold-blooded killer, and any move they made could be their last.

Chapter 20.

"Evie..."

"Don't move, King." Evie pressed against him harder.