Hell’s Fear (Hellfire MC #11)

Chapter One.

Phoe – 31 st October 2022.

I smiled as we rose in the limo towards our destination. This was the final night of the event I’d organised for Halloween, and it was my turn to experience it. I was so excited I was bouncing in my seat.

Beside me, Clio grinned at Rosie, who was rubbing her hands together in glee.

“Phoe, I’ve heard loads about this place,” Rosie exclaimed.

“It’s meant to be brilliant, although Drake was bitching like God knows what when he did it,” I replied.

“Well, Marissa, Lina, and McKenna organised it. Anything those three are behind is always going to be an exciting event!” Carly smiled.

“Yeah, and Marissa’s aware of the guy’s weaknesses. Pretty sure we can expect some surprises,” I agreed.

“Chance had to force Chatter to come. He’s not recovered from encountering dolls—twice,” Chey said, giggling.

“Chatter seriously has a phobia of them. I wouldn’t expose him again, but he claims that once he’s survived, he’s proud of himself. Chatter gets a weird kick out of it,” I pronounced, shaking my head.

“Well, I’m sure Marissa and the gang have some shocks ahead. How long do we get in there?” Mina asked.

“Four hours. Marissa says it’s really difficult,” I answered.

“Can you tell us more?” Marsha inquired.

“All I know is Marissa bought that massive warehouse next to their land and converted it into escape rooms. But it’s not one room you have to escape from, there’s several. I think they have different areas, and they all link into a main enclosure. So, if you’re a large party, you’ll all end up there together. Then you have to break free from that,” I replied.

“This is going to be crazy,” Chey laughed.

“Did you pick teams, or did Marissa?” Alice asked.

“I did. I split us into Hellfire, Rage, RCPD, Hawthorne’s, and Unwanted Bastards. The numbers are a little lopsided, but it’s cool.”

“What’s nice is that the other MCs who aren’t attending are shoring up the MCs who are. That took some organising, Phoe,” Bunny said.

“You’ve no idea. I’m so glad that Christian and Cody have taken over a large part of running the Trusts. That gives me plenty more time to plan events for Rage,” I admitted.

“Phoe, you’re going to quit them?” Dana asked, aghast.

“No. But I’m letting the boys take on more responsibilities. I’m working mornings only now. The club has expanded so much I’m needed there more,” I replied.

“Plus, the Trusts are immense and require additional leadership. They’ve grown beyond my wildest dreams, but it’s time I step back before they consume me. Christian is taking over the Eternal Trust, and Cody is going to lead the Rebirth Trust. I’ll be dealing with the Phoenix Trust. I’m hoping one of the other children will want a position in the Trusts eventually,” I said honestly.

“And if they don’t?” Dana asked.

“There’re plenty of kids in Rage; hopefully, a Hellion will take interest, or we’ll hire someone. As long as there is a Michaelson at the helm, I’m happy,” I said.

“Pretty chilled about letting it go, Phoe,” Marsha commented.

“I’ve been thinking about it for several months. The Trusts are my dream, but my passion is my family. Sally doesn’t want to run the Trusts, and she’s content being the face of them.”

“As long as you’re okay,” Clio remarked, and I nodded.

I was satisfied with my decision. Carmine had claimed his woman, and the others would soon follow. I was anticipating grandchildren in my near future and wanted to be around to enjoy that. Lots of grandbabies, enough to drive their parents crazy and to continue to build what Drake and I had started. That was now my newest dream.

Chance

“Why do we allow Phoe free rein like this?” I challenged.

“Because we’re all fuckin’ psychos, and we get off on being terrified,” Inglorious answered with a dark laugh.

“Dude, I’m wondering the same. Phoe gets more extreme as time goes by. Does anyone know anything about this one?” Blaze demanded.

“Just that it’s a warehouse Marissa, Lina, and McKenna bought and turned into a set of escape rooms,” Sunny offered.

“I heard there are several areas, and you pick one and have to work through the rooms in it to escape,” Calamity interjected.

“Any ideas on the themes?” Ramirez asked.

“None. Phoe made everyone who’s been before us keep quiet. Not a single fucker spilt the beans despite threats and bribes,” Chance complained.

“There better not be you know whats,” Chatter murmured.

“Phoe’s got you twice with them. I doubt she’s going to do it a third time,” Pyro replied.

Chatter sent Pyro a look that spoke volumes, and Pyro shrugged.

I shook my head. “We do this because we love that woman and overindulge her,” I answered my own question.

“That’s the damn truth,” Diesel said.

“Not too late to run,” Ben suggested, and we all snorted.

“If we run, you know full well what she’d do. Plus, the other teams have already done this. I ain’t letting no fucker lord it over me,” Inglorious stated.

“They’d brand us cowards,” Davies agreed.

“I bet my Harley they all had the same conversation,” I said adamantly.

“Yeah, but they stuck it out, or the women would have tittle-tattled,” Rock pointed out.

“True. Can you imagine Artemis, Thalia, Molly, Casey, Irish or Autumn keeping their mouth shut if the other teams didn’t do this? The old ladies would have crowed about it,” Ezra responded.

“Shit news on Irish returning without her snitch,” Chance muttered.

“That’s life,” Ezra said with a shrug.

“Lindsey certainly would have had Lowrider by his balls if he went yellow-bellied,” Shotgun remarked.

“Yup, they did this. We have to,” Fish moaned.

“Phoe worked with Marissa on this. I’m just hoping it’s not going to be a repeat of a couple of years ago,” I said.

“Which time?” Shee asked, laughing.

“Yeah, the lunacy of last year, with Dave Schrader, Marissa’s maze, or the hellhole she turned Reading Hall into?” Hunter demanded.

“And let’s not forget the other Halloweens she did when it was just Hellfire,” I muttered.

“Mum certainly goes all out on this holiday. She does all holidays huge, but this one she really loves,” Fanatic said.

“Don’t you have a clue what your mom has planned?” Calamity inquired.

Fanatic shook his head. “Nope. Mum doesn’t share plans with anyone, and my siblings wouldn’t tell me what this was about, either. Trust me, I tried the big brother tactics, and they all laughed.”

“So, nobody has an idea what we’re walking into?” Shee asked.

“This ain’t good. It’s escape rooms, which means we have to use our brains, and those clues are abstract,” Calamity complained.

“What fuckin’ brains? We got cops, PIs, and bikers,” Inglorious stated with a bark of laughter.

“I suppose the positive is that there’s not a penalty if we fail to escape,” Ben said, sending Inglorious a dark look. “And speak for yourself, fucker. Us cops have brains, we need them to solve crimes.”

Everyone offered Inglorious and then Ben the stink eye.

“Now you’ve mentioned penalties, you’ve jinxed us. Any bets on Phoe setting up consequences for those who can’t escape?” I asked, knowing full well Phoe had done that.

With a united glower, we all turned and glared at Fanatic. My nephew made me chuckle as he scowled right back. “Don’t blame me for Mum!” he clipped his English accent on full show.

“You snooty little shit!” Shee teased, and Fanatic stared at him.

“If Fanatic ain’t got that look from Drake and Chance, I’m a monkey’s uncle,” Chatter murmured.

“You have started getting hairier. Chey commented on it the other day,” Celt replied, and I choked on my laughter.

“Why the hell is Chey looking?” Chatter shot back.

Celt opened his mouth, closed it, and looked disturbed. “Good fuckin’ question!” he finally said.

Lights appeared in the car park we were waiting in, and we saw the limo arrive. Thirteen women spilled out, all clearly in a good mood.

I smiled as my woman made her way to me. Clio was bouncing with excitement, and I forced a smile to my lips. This was going to be a shit show for the men, it always was, but the girls were in a great mood. That warmed me.

Shit was going down around us, but their happiness meant we were protecting them from a lot of it. And that was our job. To stand in front of them and the kids and ensure they understood they were loved and adored.

“So exciting!” Phoe cried.

“How can you be excited when you know what’s coming up?” I asked, amused, as Phoe hugged me and backed away, bouncing on her toes.

“I don’t! This time, I’m going in blind. I sent the lists to Marissa, and she’s picked our suites,” Phoe chortled.

Oh fuck. Heads swivelled towards Phoe with horror written across some expressions, and others held pure fear.

“Did you just say my cousin organised the rooms to match the teams?” Nando demanded.

“Yes!” Phoe cried, clapping her hands together.

“You do realise these fuckers are going to hold me responsible for whatever Marissa puts them through?” Nando asked through gritted teeth.

Phoe smiled sweetly. “Nando, dear, I very much doubt that.”

Nando glanced at us.

“Dead man walking,” I sang at him, raised my fingers in a gun shape, and made a trigger motion.

“Fuck!” Nando shook his head. “I’ve disowned Marissa. That has to count for something.”

“You got the Hawthorne name? Yeah, you’re responsible,” Tiny grunted out.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Just put me out of my misery now,” Nando complained.

“Oh no, fucker. You get to suffer like the rest of us, and then we’ll get you after,” Inglorious promised.

“No wonder the boss has been hunting Marissa down for the last two days,” Davies mused as he eyed the huge building in front of us.

“Oh, come on!” Phoe called as she began marching forward. The women followed her, all shooting us various degrees of smirks.

I sighed. This was going to be a nightmare.

Phoe

I was laughing at the looks the guys kept sending me and then each other. The car park was downhill to the warehouse, and we had to walk along a windy, treeline path with spooky lights, and broken and tilted gravestones, which looked genuine. There were a couple of bodies hanging in the trees, and I saw several move to avoid them.

I was really looking forward to this. Usually, I understood what was going to happen. This time, I didn’t, and it was exciting walking into the unknown. I knew for a fact that Marissa would have planned an excellent show. Plus, I was enjoying the looks of trepidation on the faces of the others.

Last year, half of the men here had completely lost their balls and bottled out of doing my fright night with Dave Schrader.

This was my revenge. Well, a second revenge, considering the zombie actors I’d hired to plague them last year for being cowards. A haunted escape room would be loads of fun, and I couldn’t wait to get started.

It was a clever idea of Marissa’s to open the warehouse up as suites, and she could hire out to multiple teams this way. It made good business sense, and it wasn’t built far from the haunted maze and house on the same land. Whenever I’d driven past, the car park was always full, which meant Marissa, Lina, and McKenna were making money. That made me happy, as those three women worked so hard.

We reached a road fork. One way led to the haunted house, the other to the warehouse. We took the path leading to the Escape Rooms and soon ended up at the huge building.

“Woah, who painted that?” Ben asked.

The outside of the warehouse was decorated with scary faces and figures and dark scenes.

“McKenna got someone in,” I replied. “There’s no mistaking what’s inside looking at those images!”

“They’re definitely graphic,” Ben murmured with a hint of trepidation.

“This is so exciting!” Clio squealed, and I grinned. Yes, it certainly was.

◆◆◆

We entered a large reception room, and a girl stood behind the counter. She offered us a wan smile as I walked up to the desk.

“Welcome to Haunted Nightmare Escape Rooms,” the girl welcomed a little stiffly.

I peered at her name badge. Brooke.

“Hi, I’ve got a booking for tonight,” I said.

“Phoenix Michaelson?” she asked.

“Yes. It’s for seven suites,” I confirmed with a smile.

Brooke gave me a stiff smile back, and I frowned. This wasn’t the usual friendly welcome.

“You’ve paid in advance. Please stay within the areas designated to you. Only exit through the doors and refrain from damaging the walls or seeking alternative exits. And please restrain yourself from hurting an actor. We will take prosecution in those instances,” Brooke said and offered a weak smile.

I gave my guys a stern look and received some sheepish smiles in return. Yeah, at least I didn’t have to pat them down and check them for a weapon like Drake did Gunner.

“Miss Hawthorne has stated that all weapons must be locked in a locker and the key held by one of you. Would you please disarm yourself and then step through the metal detector?” Brooke directed.

The guys swapped glances, and I wondered who’d kick off.

“We’ll keep ours, thanks, we’re cops,” Ben replied.

“Yeah, we can’t hand over a police weapon,” Nando agreed.

Brooke looked frightened and seemed about to argue but nodded instead.

“I need to see your IDs, please,” she asked.

The four cops all showed their IDs, and Brooke waved them through the metal detector.

Meanwhile, the rest finally disarmed.

I almost laughed at the number of weapons being dropped into a locker. We walked through security and assembled on the opposite side.

“Would you all please get into your teams? A member of staff will take you to your suites. You have four hours to escape. Failure to do so will result in a penalty play, introduced by Phoenix. Listen to the clues, and remember, you may not hurt our staff or actors. I can’t tell you how many rooms there are in your suites, but you will know when you’ve escaped.

“Should you find yourself in the main room, you will remain there until the rest of your teams arrive. Once four hours end, you will be expected to escape the final room while the failures are locked into cells.

“You have an hour to escape the main room. Refreshments will be available in the third room of each suite. You may eat and drink to your heart’s content, but do remember the time limits! Good luck, have fun, and please enjoy yourself,” the girl said.

I frowned. She hardly filled anyone with excitement or joy. As we separated and followed a member of staff, I glanced back.

Sweat beaded on her brow, and she looked petrified. Her eyes screamed a warning, and I didn’t understand why. The door shut, and I forgot about her.

I followed the guy who chatted happily to us as he led us to our suite.

Let the games begin!

Brooke

Brooke watched as the door shut. She hoped Phoenix had got her silent message.

A gun nozzle jammed hard into the back of her head.

“Please don’t kill me,” Brooke begged. A hand ran down her cheek and gripped her as she was forcefully turned to face the fat man holding the weapon.

“Why would I harm a pretty thing like you?” he sneered and licked her cheek.

Tears began falling down Brooke’s cheeks.

“Keep your hands off, Norton,”

Norton spun and glowered at the giant confronting him. “If I want a bitch—”

“I said no rape or beatings. Are you in fuckin’ charge? Do as you’re told!”

“Fuck this Volcano, who the hell do you think you are to tell me no!” the fat guy shouted.

Brooke shook under his hands.

“You want lead on this? No fuck ups, Norton. Take the kid back to her friends. You’re going to join a team instead of watching them,” Volcano ordered.

Brooke didn’t think she’d be any safer with Volcano than the other guy, but at least he wasn’t licking her face.

“You telling me I can’t get my dick wet?” Norton demanded.

Volcano sighed and whipped out a gun. Brooke screamed as he shot Norton straight through the head.

“Oh shit!” another guy said. He wore a badge saying Summoned.

“Clean this mess up. I don’t want anybody seeing the blood should someone stop by. Dump Norton in the trash. If anyone else has a problem, find me. I’ll be waiting,” Volcano sneered

Brooke shook as Volcano began to walk away. “And return the kid to her friends and lock them in. If any are harmed, then I’ll take it out on your hides.”

Summoned

“Fuckin’ Volcano. Always making a mess,” Summoned said as he grabbed Brooke’s arm and walked her back to the room where some of the staff had been locked up.

He snickered under his breath. Volcano may have saved this one but while he’d been organising things, some of the guys had already had some fun.

Summoned eyed the girl in his grip. She was a tempting morsel, but Volcano had made it clear he’d kill anyone who ignored his orders. The fucker had always been insane and Fury had preyed on that insanity.

There hadn’t been enough Venomous Fangs to take over the facility completely, but there were plenty to tackle three rooms. The layout of the Escape Rooms aided the unnoticed infiltration.

Summoned grinned.

It was time to strike a blow.