Shadow’s Heart (Devil’s Inferno MC #3)

Chapter Five

Wreck

R egaining consciousness is fucking painful. My head feels like someone’s standing, smashing a hammer constantly into my skull. If I don’t have a concussion, I’ll be highly fucking surprised. The fucker who knocked me out certainly has one hell of a powerful kick. I have no idea where I am; the last thing I remember is the boot to the head as I lay bleeding on the floor of Devil’s Ink.

As I take in my surroundings, I realize they must have moved me somewhere else once I was out cold, just like I thought they would. At least I was right about that, even if I am in an awful situation right now.

I’m chained to a wooden chair in the middle of what can only be described as a torture room. There’s a metal door directly in front of me, that even if I wasn’t chained up this way, I’d have no chance of getting through. It looks like it only opens from the outside. There’s no handle on this side of the door. To my left there’s a table and wall full of different weapons and objects that I’m under no illusions will be used on me at some point. That’s the only reason I can imagine for them being in the same room I’m being held in.

Whoever these people are. Whoever took me. They mean fucking business. This setup is fucking professional. They’ve left no room for me to make a move to defend myself or to escape from whatever they have planned. This certainly wasn’t a spur of the moment kidnapping. They know what the fuck they’re doing.

If I wasn’t in such a dire situation, I might just be impressed with the setup that they have here. It’s something I’m sure Blade and Flame would fucking drool over. Our Enforcers could only dream of a setup like this. Don’t get me wrong, what we have isn’t bad, but this is another fucking level. Some of the weapons lining this room are fucking ancient too. I can tell by just looking at them. The wood and metal have clearly aged, but they’re still in prime condition to be used and cause some fucking damage. I really do not want to be on the receiving end of anything that’s in here, but I’m not going to have that choice in the matter. I’m at the mercy of these men and whatever they have planned for me.

Despite knowing that I’m in a really fucked up situation, I can’t help but be so damn relieved that I managed to hide Sera away and keep her away from whatever hell is about to rain down on me. She’s seen and been through enough already. No way in hell would I ever want her to be stuck in this hell right next to me. I’ll gladly deal with whatever is about to happen, knowing that Sera is safe and sound, more than likely already reunited with Blade. I know that whatever I’m about to experience is going to be bad. This room gives that away. If I make it out of this alive, whatever happens to me here is going to have an impact. There’s just no way this won’t affect my mental well-being somehow. I just really hope I survive whatever these fuckers have planned, even if I have to deal with whatever the aftermath turns out to be. I’m not even remotely ready to die. I have far too much to live for.

Tipping my head back slightly, I stare at the ceiling, trying to figure out who the fuck I could have pissed off to even be in this position. It doesn’t make any fucking sense to me. I don’t have any enemies, and as far as I’m aware, the club has no issues right now either. So who the fuck has taken me, and why? The way the men who took me focused on me and only me leads me to believe I was the attack’s target. It just doesn’t make any fucking sense to me. I’m fucking clueless as to why I’m currently at some unknown group’s mercy.

I jolt from my thoughts when I hear metal grinding against metal, indicating the door is being unlocked. Hopefully this means I might get some fucking answers about why I’m here. Or at least I can hope. I watch as a man I can only assume is one of my attackers enters the room, closing the door behind him. I don’t hear the locks being engaged again. Not like it matters; I’m not going fucking anywhere anyway. I’m more than a little tied up right now. Shit, this isn’t really the time to be cracking jokes, even in my own head. I need to focus on the guy who’s just entered.

If I had to guess, I’d say this is the guy I have to thank for the pounding currently taking place in my skull. He’s not a small man, not even remotely. He’s got to be about six foot five, and he’s fucking built. He’s not quite as big as Rock, and that’s not all that surprising; there are very few people out there as big as Devil’s Inferno’s Treasurer. But still, this guy is fucking massive. The way his black clothing clings to his body shows off all the muscles he has underneath. His dark brown, nearly black hair is cut short, in a similar fashion to what you see on members of the military. He doesn’t take his eyes off me as he prowls towards me, a scowl on his face and anger in his hazel eyes.

I have no idea what I could have done to cause the anger he’s showing right now, but there’s no mistaking that it’s all directed at me. He doesn’t say a word as he stops in front of me and draws his fist back, punching me square in the mouth. Hard. I feel my mouth filling with blood from the blow and turn my head slightly to the left to spit it on the floor. His punch is definitely as effective as his kick. My jaw is aching already, and the pounding in my head is increasing rapidly. Just what I needed. Not.

“Why am I here?” I say as I stare directly into his eyes. I may be his prisoner. I may be at his mercy, but I’ve got nothing to lose by fucking asking questions and everything to gain.

The chuckle he releases sounds downright evil, and I can’t help the chill I feel travel down my spine at the sound. This man isn’t someone to be messed with. The vibes he gives off aren’t for the faint of heart. One thing I’m entirely sure of: this isn’t his first fucking rodeo. He’s definitely done this before, and that’s really not good news for me. Not at all.

“You’re really going to play dumb?” He asks, his voice hard and serious.

“I’m not playing dumb. I have no fucking clue why you attacked and took me.”

“If that’s the story you want to tell, go for it. I’ll leave you with your thoughts on just what you could have done to gain the attention of The Khaos Group.” He says, dropping one hell of a bombshell.

What the actual fuck? There is no way in fucking hell I should be on The Khaos Group’s radar. I’ve done absolutely nothing to warrant their attention. The Khaos Group isn’t some run-of-the-mill organization. They’re part military force, part mercenary, and part vigilante. They’re the world’s answer to the worst of the worst. They may be a private organization, but they’re sanctioned by nearly every government worldwide. They might just be the most deadly force on the planet. They are not an organization anyone wants to tangle with.

As he turns and leaves, I can’t help being more fucking confused than I was before he came in. It makes absolutely no sense that The Khaos Group is behind my attack and abduction. I’ve done precisely nothing to warrant their attention. Okay. Sure, I’ve done my fair share of shit as a member of Devil’s Inferno that’s against the law, but it’s always been done protecting someone who needed it. Someone, that the law failed. Normally pretty badly, and I know for a fact that some of the things that we’ve done in the past have been commended by some of the higher-ups within The Khaos Group. It might not be a well-known fact, but being best friends with the VP does gain me knowledge that others don’t have.

Devil’s Inferno may be small time, especially when compared to The Khaos Group, but from what Shadow has explained to me, The Khaos Group likes to help and acknowledge smaller forces and organizations that help deal with the issues that plague the earth. Even as big of an organization as The Khaos Group is, they can’t be everywhere and help everyone. It’s just not possible; there’s more injustice and evil in the world than you could possibly imagine. So while The Khaos Group focuses on the big players, they rely on organizations like us to help individuals who need helping the most and to remove the smaller players from the board.

Learning that The Khaos Group is the force behind my abduction dashes all my hopes of ever being rescued from my current fate. There’s no way even Tech, with his mad skills, will be able to find anything to help locate me. The Khaos Group has members who are just as talented as Tech on their payroll; they wouldn’t leave anything about me and my current situation in the online world where Tech could find it. I also very much doubt there will be any physical evidence left behind at Devil’s Ink for anyone to follow either. These guys wouldn’t have made any mistakes. I’m not that lucky. They’re far too professional and well trained to leave anything to chance.

This fucking sucks. I’m well and truly screwed, and not in a good way. Despite what is more than likely the entire MC doing everything in their power to find me, they’ve got no chance. Not against The Khaos Group and the resources they have at their disposal. I know they’ll keep trying; none of the members of Devil’s Inferno are the type to just give up, but I have little to no hope at this point. The Khaos Group is not a force Devil’s Inferno can outsmart and win against. Fuck, the only force on the planet that could help against The Khaos Group is The Khaos Group itself. That’s certainly not something I can see happening, not in this lifetime.

Eventually everyone will have to turn their attention from searching for me to helping Shadow cope with my loss. I can only imagine how my best friend is taking the news I’ve been taken. He’s got to be a fucking mess; I know I would be if the roles were reversed. He’s only going to get worse when he realizes there is no hope of finding me and bringing me home. God, the thoughts of how he’ll feel when he finally finds out I’m dead are crushing. I hate that he’s going to have to go through all this. I wish I had a way to stop the blow that’s going to hit him when he finds out I’m not coming home.

Shadow might be the VP of Devil’s Inferno, and yes, in his own right, he’s just as deadly and lethal as every other member, but there’s one major difference when it comes to my best friend. He doesn’t enjoy being that way. He much prefers sticking to the background, working in the shadows to collect information. Shadow’s personality isn’t that of a hard-nosed biker; he’s a big fucking marshmallow, really. He’s that person you see who is always happy and smiling. The one who never hides away what he’s feeling and who feels everything so much more deeply than everyone else. He isn’t going to take my loss well at all.

Fucking hell, the only reason he spent the past few months taking out the trash is because he felt guilty for not being there to protect his sister from the horrors she experienced growing up. It’s the only time I’ve never tried to talk him out of a violent situation because I could see how much he needed to be involved in their demise. I wasn’t wrong either; the darkness that’s hung over his head since he found out what Sera had experienced growing up has slowly gotten smaller with each person who got what they deserved. I can only imagine it’s nearly nonexistent now that the last people on the list have been taken care of. I may not have seen him since then, but I’ve spoken to him, and I could hear it in his voice; it was no longer tinged with pain.

Thinking about Shadow brings tears to my eyes. The thought of never seeing him again has more chance of breaking me than anything these guys could do to me physically. Ever since my conversation with Sera recently, I’ve become aware that the feelings I have towards him aren’t as platonic as I’ve always believed. I’ve been blind to the fact that what I feel towards him is a hell of a lot more than friendship. In my own defense, it never crossed my mind that it could be anything more. I’ve always been straight, or at least I’ve believed I am, until Sera asked how long I’d been in love with Shadow. Her words unlocked something inside me; it was like the floodgates opened, and I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I don’t just love my best friend; I’m in love with him.

Realizing that fucked with my head a lot at first, everything I’d ever believed about myself suddenly wasn’t true. I spent a lot of time thinking, and I came to the conclusion it didn’t matter that I was in love with a man, because my feelings had nothing to do with Shadow’s gender and everything to do with who he is as a person and the connection that’s always been between us. Shadow is the most amazing person I’ve ever met; it’s no wonder I fell for him without even realizing it.

Even with my epiphany, I never planned on doing or saying anything. Shadow is straight. He’s got a girlfriend who he clearly loves, or at least he’s got to be close to that feeling. Specifically when you take into account that he kept their relationship a secret even though he fucking hates secrets. Actually hates to mild a word; he abhors secrets. Anyway, I planned on just carrying on as we’d always been, just with the awareness of my true feelings now. All I have ever wanted was to see him happy and live the life he always wanted, filled with someone who loves him more than life itself. It looks like I’m never going to get to see it now.