Her Regret, His Resolve; Bouncing Back, Book 2

29

David pulled into the driveway of the small, run-down house the next day. It was tucked away in a small town north of the Towers, but he'd found it easily enough with Trace's help. From their secured fortress, the technician found and sent every possible route to the address while he drove, finding the fastest path to his target. For his daughter, he would make the man suffer.

He got out of the car, checking his sidearm. Thinking better of it, he left the gun under his seat and locked the car. Making his way up the path to the door, he listened to the birds chirping in the distance. The wind blew through the trees, making the leaves rustle noisily while the crunch of gravel under his steel-toed sneakers kept him grounded on the task at hand.

Callum and Amber had given him a free pass to do what he wanted. All he needed to do was call it in when he was done, and they would send a clean-up crew to the location. A dangerous gleam flashed in his eyes as he reached the step. He had one target on his mind. Anyone else was nothing more than collateral damage.

He looked up at the door to see a woman watching him. A woman he remembered sharing one passion-filled night with. She left the next morning without a word, and he'd forgotten all about her until Sky showed up in his life.

Dressed in a skimpy tube top and a skirt so short that bending over would give him a view of everything, she looked the same as when he'd picked her up at the bar when he was younger. Taking in his well-dressed state, she sneered. "What do you want? We don't take solicitations, we're not interested in religious stuff, and I'm not buying anything.”

"Well, now I know where Sky got her attitude from," he answered blandly. Smirking at her now pale face, he said, "You don't remember me, do you, Trinity? You gave her my last name without knowing if I was actually her father or not. Thank God for paternity testing proving I was."

She paled even more. "Oh, God. David Marks."

"In the flesh," he said, putting his arms out and shrugging his shoulders. "I want to talk to your boy-toy, and it had better be pronto."

"What for?"

"The way I see it, Trinity, is that you can hand him over to me, or I can burn the house down with him inside," David growled. "That bastard put his filthy hands on my little girl, and he needs to pay for it. I'm here to collect his dues."

Her smirk remained in place. “I don’t have to let you in. I know my rights, and I'm not going to hand him over to you. She was telling lies, David. It looks like you actually believe them."

"She gave details about him that my people couldn't find, Trinity. Specific details like how he's got a mole on the inside of his left thigh," he growled.

Her face completely lost all color as Trinity started to shake. Her mind whirled, trying to make sense of the man's knowledge of someone he'd probably never met before. "What did you say?"

David scoffed at the disbelief in her voice. "Is it or is it not true?"

She nodded slowly.

"Good, then I got the right guy." David bullied his way past her and moved deeper into the house. Looking around each room, he finally spotted several guys lounging with beers in their hands while watching a hockey game on what looked to be a thirty-two-inch television.

Crossing his arms, the action pulling the crisp white shirt he was wearing taut across his muscular chest, he glared at them. He glanced over his shoulder as Trinity came up behind him. "I'm glad my daughter doesn't live with you anymore. Mother of the year. You couldn’t even bring her to the hospital to get checked out. You never once took a responsible action regarding my daughter’s safety and security at all. No, you dropped her off to me, scarred for life, with nothing but a sack of personal items and the clothes on her back.”

He glanced around, finally noting the Scorpion colors on the jackets. He shrugged. Kennedy would look the other way once she knew his reasons. He was sure of it.

"I'm looking for Jericho Tate," David said.

Another man turned his head, taking in the clean-shaven man asking for him. The powder under his nose pissed David off even more. "That's me. What? Do I owe back taxes or something?"

Some of the others moved to sit up, paying better attention to the newcomer.

Ignoring them all, David crossed the floor in a few strides and grabbed Jericho by the throat. "You hurt my little girl, asshole."

Gasping, the other man sneered as he clawed at the hand cutting off his air supply. "I ain't touched your brat, man."

Trinity stepped closer, wringing her hands. "My daughter, Jericho. Did you touch my baby? Was she really lying, or did you say that for me to get rid of her?"

"She was flirting by dressing all pretty and stuff. She was practically begging for it," he finally said.

His eyes darted around the room. Each of his friends looked on in confusion, some fearing to get in between the stranger and his prey. They knew who this man was. They knew that he was part of the mafia who protected them until their leader came of age.

Most of the men rose to their feet and walked out of the house. Seconds later, the rev of engines could be heard over the sound of screaming as David started on Jericho. His pleas for mercy didn’t bother David. What did was the fact that the b***h was actually begging him to spare the bastards life.

Yeah, that was not going to happen. David lived and breathed the Veiðimenn code of no mercy for evil, and the man he was now torturing was pure evil.

"What the f**k does an eleven-year-old know about flirting?" David roared.

Losing his control, he smashed Jericho’s face into the table. The mirror he was doing lines off of shattered, cutting into his skin. The sickening crunch of his nose breaking was like music to David's ears as he pulled Jericho's head up and slammed it down again.

His phone rang unexpectedly. Pulling it out of his pocket, he hit the button and put it to his ear without checking the name.

"Hey, Princess," he said calmly. “I was wondering if and when you would call me up.”

Kennedy seethed over the phone, "I just got a call from Russ, who filled me in on what happened to Skylar. No one hurts my family and lives to tell about it. Whatever you want to do with him, do it. If Eros is still there, put him on the phone."

David turned to the other men, who were watching him intently. "Eros, your Boss wants to talk to you."

The man in question stopped dead in his tracks as he walked toward the door. Turning, he looked at David, his dark skin breaking out in a layer of icy cold sweat. Moving back to the man’s side, he answered the call.

"If you value your life and position in my Chapter, get out of that house. Now. David is not to be touched. I don't care what happens, you do not interfere with his vengeance. What Jericho gets, he deserved for abusing my friend. He pays in blood, plain and simple. Do I make myself clear?" Kennedy snapped, her fiery temper flaring dangerously.

“Whatever you say, Kennedy,” he handed the phone back to David as he told the others they needed to head back to the clubhouse. Glaring at Jericho, Eros shook his head, "Sorry, brother, you brought this on yourself. Queen says you pay with your life for hurtin’ her friend.”

Grinning, David yanked the man to his feet before driving his head through the drywall on the other side of the room. Blood trickled from the wound on his head and from the cuts on his face as Jericho pleaded for his life. Trinity was screaming, still begging David to stop hurting the other man.

"I'll stop when I'm God damn ready, woman," he snapped at her.

She gasped, sobbing as she watched him continue to torture her boyfriend. The deadly, giddy tone of his voice made her flinch. Jericho hollered when David grabbed him by the neck and body-slammed him into the coffee table. Air whooshed out of his lungs as the wooden structure collapsed under him, breaking into sharp, jagged pieces.

A little while later, David threw him into the trunk of the car, smirking sadistically. "When I get you back to the Towers, Skylar's boyfriend wants a crack at you, and I want to watch as your pathetic life drains from your putrid body."

Trinity ran out of the house, terror plainly visible on her face, "What about me?"

"Do I look like I give a f**k about you? You abandoned your child for that piece of s**t. You took his side when she told you what happened, and that makes you just as guilty!" He bellowed, his anger spilling into every word.

She screamed in frustration, "I'm calling the cops on you, asshole!"

He barked a laugh, "Go ahead, then we can all have a beer and catch up on the good ol' days while I wait for my Boss to arrive. They'll get a nice big bonus for hauling you in for breaking your court-ordered conditions, and I'll get a nice pat on the back."

Not wanting to give up, she became smug as she said, "I know the leader of Jericho's gang."

"So do I, considering I helped raise her. Trust me, Queen would tear you into pieces if she was here,” he sneered, referring to Kennedy’s biker title.

Trinity staggered, falling to the gravel with a shocked grunt. He started the car and drove away while she watched helplessly from the ground.