“At how much risk to us?” Peg butts in. As sergeant-at-arms I’m not surprised that’s his first thought.
Devil shrugs. “They’re armed of course, and I don’t currently have the detail about how many men will be with the transport. I’m hoping to find out more.”
“You’re suggesting someone infiltrates the group? Are you able to get in?”
“No, not unless I pose as a buyer. But that would need to be at the auction, and that’s not happening here, so it would be too late. It’s a tightly knit organisation and they’d be suspicious of anyone else coming in at this stage. Time’s not on our side, the transport’s already rolling.” He pauses and leans forward. “I don’t just want an interception and rescue, I want this slave ring smashed. That’s where you can help.”
I’m not sure how, but I’ll play along for now. “Where’s it coming from?”
“Washington.” Now Devil breaks off and looks directly at me.
An unwelcome shiver runs down my spine. Coincidence?
“They mainly target women who won’t be missed. One person they were looking for got away.”
Now I start to feel very uneasy. A glance at Devil and my worst fears are confirmed. A cold hand grips at my heart. Sam. She’s got no family and she gave up her job. Devil’s looking at me, his eyes half-lidded, and slowly he nods.
“Sam Redkin. Her physical characteristics apparently fit the bill, and to add to that, it was widely speculated she was a virgin. She’d never shown an interest in men. But before they could pick her up, she left on her road trip.”
Were they still trying to get her? Suddenly I know why Devil had said we’d want to be involved. And yes, I’d like to tear apart anyone who thinks they could just take a woman of ours. It starts to come together. “Was it them, this morning?”
Again, that slow nod. “Her picture’s been given to a buyer, and he’s committed to the purchase. They want her, Drummer, and they’re not going to give up. They knew where she was headed, got in with one of the mechanics where she used to work and got all the intel from him.” Again, he gives a dismissive gesture. “They decided to pick her up on the way to the border as coincidentally their route had already been planned and, very conveniently for them, Miss Redkin had come to Tucson. All they had to do was wait for an opportunity.”
But until today, she’d never left the compound. They had to have been watching us. Or one of my men had turned traitor. No, it can’t be that. I trust all my brothers with my life.
Wraith’s kept silent. He now looks at me, his expression assuring me of his solidarity. “We’ll keep her safe, Prez.” Then he glances at Devil. “Presumably it’s only until the transport goes through. They’ll give up then, won’t they?”
Devil’s mouth twists again, the scar making it look like a scowl. “I’m afraid it’s not as easy as that.”
Chapter Seventeen
Drummer…
“The fuck you mean it’s not as easy as that?” My hand slaps down on the table. “She’s under our protection. We’ll keep those motherfuckers from going anywhere near her.”
“You don’t know what you’re dealing with, Drummer. This ring is a multi-million-dollar operation. You think they care about your club? You might be able to stop one truck, but once they’ve got their sights on someone, they don’t just give up.” He wipes his hand over his forehead and looks up at the air conditioning unit as if it’s too hot for him in here. I’m feeling heated too. “You have to understand, they’ve got a buyer set up, and she meets his tastes, exactly. The buyers have money to burn and the sellers have a reputation to lose. We’re not dealing with your normal criminal types here.”
“You suggesting they’ll take out the club to get her?”
“They’ll annihilate the Satan’s Devils if that’s what it takes. And don’t doubt they can do it, Drummer.”
Now I think Sam’s amazing, but to have that much value for someone else? Could I ask my men to put their lives on the line and my whole club at risk to save her? I haven’t claimed her and have no intention of doing so. But I don’t need to step up, as she is Viper’s daughter, that does put her under our protection. Thank fuck for that.
“We’ve got this, brother.” Wraith’s hand touches my arm. “We’re all behind you.”
As we were for him when Sophie was at risk, but from what Devil’s saying we’ll be up against something worse than destroying another biker club. I don’t tell Wraith there’s no comparison, that Sam isn’t mine. Somehow the words don’t make it out of my mouth.
“We could call in the other chapters,” Peg suggests, showing he, too, is already on board.
Devil’s face twists again, and again he leans forward, his palms flat on the table. “With sufficient manpower, you might beat them once. But make no mistake, they won’t give up on taking Miss Redkin. The only way to keep her safe is to wipe out their whole operation.”
“Which is your ultimate goal. Keeping Sam safe is a by-product, not your main fuckin’ objective.” It all becomes clear.
He doesn’t try to deny it.
“So all that shit about Carter just happening to remember where we are based…”
“That wasn’t crap.” He leans forward, elbows on the table. “That’s what made my plan fall into place. You’ve got the woman who eluded them, and Ben reckons you’ve got the nerve to go up against them. You keep Miss Redkin safe, and we smash this ring to smithereens.”
I lean back in my chair giving him a long cold look. “So how do you see this playing out?”
His intense, challenging stare burns into mine. “We let them take the woman.”
The woman. Put so coldly it doesn’t sound bad. But the woman in question is Sam, and I’m not ready to let her go, or put her at any risk of ending up in a bastard’s hands. “No.” My one word of objection lets him know there’ll be no debate.
Cocking an eyebrow, Devil ignores me. “This is the way they’ll probably do it. I expect an approach and an offer of an obscene amount of money to give her up.”
Wraith scoffs—a million dollars hadn’t been enough for us to betray Sophie. “They can’t name an amount which would fuckin’ tempt us.”
“If that doesn’t work, they’ll take her by force.” Devil takes no notice of the VP.
“Let them come,” snarls Peg.
“Look, however much manpower you bring in; you run the risk they’ll take her and take down one heck of a lot of your men. Do this my way and we can be prepared. This is our chance of tracking them. Of identifying the ringleaders. It’s the drones who’ll be transporting them; the leaders will be finalising the sale. You’re close to the border here; we can make sure we get her back.”
Something just doesn’t add up. Drumming my fingers on the table I think over everything he’s said. “Why us? Why aren’t the feds here preparing to take them down?”
A sharp nod, a cursory look around the room, and then a deep sigh. “Because there’s a leak somewhere, and we don’t know how high up it goes. The kind of money we’re talking about, Drummer, means it could go to the very top.”
“You trust the agents you got contact with?”
“That they want to smash the ring? Yes. Absolutely.” As his dark eyes meet mine, they seem to convey an unspoken message, but what the fuck he’s trying to tell me I don’t know. But it’s Sam who’s consuming my concern right now, and the fact he wants to use her as bait.
There’s nothing about this that I like. “It’s too risky. Sam could be hurt—”
Devil interrupts me, giving it to me straight. “She might be roughed up a little, to keep her in line, but they can’t sell damaged goods, and the rumours of her virginity would stop them—”
I hold up my hand. I don’t even want to think about her being raped, and anyone laying their hands on her in any way is unacceptable to me. “Once they’ve got her, we could lose her for good. There’s no way we can guarantee her safety.” I’m definitely not onboard with the idea.
“Y
es, there is.” He brushes his hand over his face. “Look, Drummer, this is the way with the least risk. Whatever you think, the end result is one way or another they’ll get hold of her, you’ve got to accept that. They’ll call on all their resources to take her. My plan means we’ll be the ones in control. We’ll get a GPS tracker implanted as a failsafe. Use a spy microphone in an earpiece so we can hear everything going on. We’ll know where she is and what’s happening every step of the way.”
Surely, what he’s suggesting will just put her in more danger? “If they find anything on her, she’ll be dead.” He’s not saying anything that makes me feel the slightest bit comfortable.
Devil carries on regardless. “I’ll be bringing in the FBI’s technical experts. You’ll be amazed at some of their toys. An FM transmitter is undetectable, fuck, you can buy one on eBay for next to nothing. The ones I can get hold of are top of the range. Very new.”
“Don’t they have a very limited range?”
“No. The ones I’m considering are good for well over half a mile. We can stay out of sight but still know where she is and hear what’s going on.”
I still don’t like the sound of it. Getting Sam involved in something so dangerous when I’ve only just found her doesn’t appeal to me at all.
“You said the feds couldn’t be trusted.”
Now he grins, an expression that does nothing to soften his face, only making one side of his mouth turn up as the scar pulls down on the other. “Oh, I’ve got enough contacts I can rely on. Don’t worry about that.”
“You want us working with the fuckin’ law?” Peg’s shaking his head.
“I don’t see that you’ve got much choice.”
“Two hundred bikers would be enough to see them off.” The sergeant-at-arms still wants to do this the old tried and tested way.
“You can house that many? On your compound? For months? If they don’t get her this time, they’ll just keep on coming.”
Wraith’s staring at me. “She’s not as valuable now, not after last night. Maybe they won’t want her anymore.”
Devil barks a laugh and looks at me. I shrug and his raised brow shows he’s had no trouble reading between the lines. “Then they may kill her. Out of spite. Or accept she’s been devalued and take what they can get for her. One thing’s for certain, that they think she’s a virgin will stop her from getting raped. Any change in her, er, status, must be kept quiet.”
Peg’s got his eyes closed, then he slowly opens one and squints at me. “What do you reckon she’d say, Prez? Why not let her speak for herself? She’s one of a kind, tough. She might do this.”
If I got Viper’s fist in my face last night, I’ll probably find myself at the wrong end of it again if he gets a hint I’m considering letting her go into danger. “Viper won’t go for it. Not now.” Leaving Viper out of it, how could I possibly ask her? My greatest fear is that being the type of person she is, she’d agree. No, I don’t want her to know anything about this. I’ll keep her safe.
“Keep that part of it low-key,” Devil suggests. “Bring your club in on stopping the transport, but the role Sam’s playing can be kept to yourselves. When she gets abducted, no one will suspect you knew in advance.”
That would be keeping the truth from my brothers. I don’t like it at all. Devil looks down to check the time—he’s got one of those fancy do-everything watches I notice. “I’ve got to go. I’ll text you my number, Drummer. You’ll need to discuss this. Your options are—prepare to be watching her and your backs for a very long time; or we get this ended quickly. You do need to ask her, I can’t get the equipment on her otherwise. You can get back to me with your, and her, answer later today.”
“And the feds? The ones you’re working with. What’s gonna happen if we don’t play ball?” Peg’s suspicions are on high alert, expecting retaliation if we don’t offer our help.
“They’ve no interest in your club.”
Those might have been the words that came out of Devil’s mouth, but how far can we believe it? My fingers tap the table. “If, and it’s a big if. If we go along with this, any idea when things will start moving?”
His mouth turns down, and the corner of his left eye sinks along with it. “We haven’t got long. Early next week I’d guess. I’ll get more intel later. Once you’re on board, I’ll give you everything I’ve got.”
“Who are you getting your information from?” But he’s not going to tell us that.
“Let me know your decision as soon as you can.”
I guess there’s not a lot of trust on either side.
Our three pairs of eyes follow him as he leaves the restaurant, and I wave Marsha away when she comes to see if she can get us anything else. I’ve such a bad feeling in my gut, I doubt I’d be able to stomach anything to eat right now, and looking at my brothers, they’re feeling the same.
“What d’you want to do? Bring the others in or not?”
“I’m still not fuckin’ certain what we’re being asked to do.” I frown. “He’s playing his cards fuckin’ close to his chest.”
Peg puts his hands behind his head. “You need to speak to Sam. She needs warning whether we go along with it or not. We can’t lock her down in the compound indefinitely without her knowing why. ‘Specially not now her bike’s fixed.”
“I don’t see how you can do anything else.” Wraith’s picked up a toothpick and is chewing it. “She’s got a right to know.”
Isn’t that a discussion I’ll be looking forward to? Not. But they’ve got a good point—it would be wrong to keep her in the dark, however distressing the news will be. For a start, she’ll be wanting to go into Tucson soon to get her money situation sorted now she’s mobile again. What valid reason could I give why she can’t do that?
Slapping both palms down on the table I stand up. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. Yeah, I’ll speak to Sam. But if she doesn’t want to do it, it’s a dead fuckin’ duck before it even gets to water. Even if she does, I’ll need one hell of a lot of convincing that we can keep her from harm.”
We make the trip back to the compound in record time. Unlike this morning’s ride, there’s no truck following us, and, although I keep an eye open, no one seems particularly interested in our little group of bikers. But somehow, someone had to know that Sam had left the compound this morning. Of course, she had been riding that exclusive Vincent Black Shadow; her bike would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Which means someone had to be keeping a watch on us. Again, I wonder about a traitor in our midst. For fuck’s sake, don’t let it be that.
The thought makes me look around suspiciously as I enter the clubhouse, unable to get the feeling of distrust out of my head. It’s a bad fucking day when I harbour misgivings about any of the men I call brothers, but to dismiss even the possibility would be naïve.
I don’t have to go and look for Sam. To my surprise, she and all the old ladies are sitting round the table, laughing, and fuck, they’re knocking back shots. Not too many I would hope. Especially if I’m going to be asking Sam to make a decision with such dire ramifications. Viper’s with the group, Sandy on his lap. Dart and Slick are hanging close by, and that fucker Joker is sitting too close to my woman again. My woman? My brothers have got me thinking that way and fuck me if I’m not feeling it too. It must be the situation, not the woman herself.
My eyes linger on her for a moment before I approach. It’s not difficult to see why someone would want her. She’s fucking beautiful, and clearly not just in my eyes.
“Ow!” Joker swings around and rubs the back of his head. When he sees who it is, he quickly vacates his seat. “Sorry, Prez.”
I glare at him and take the now empty chair. Sam turns her head and smiles at me—it’s like the sun coming out on a cloudy day. Just for a moment I allow myself to enjoy the normality of it all, putting to the back of my mind, if only for a short time, the devastating news I’m going to have to share.
Viper lifts his chin at me, I respond with a qui
ck shake of my head. No one asks anything; we keep the old ladies in the dark for a good reason. What they don’t know can’t hurt them.
“Hi, Drummer, we’re just talking about Sam’s bike. It’s the dog’s bollocks, isn’t it?”
Sam looks at Sophie as though she doesn’t know whether her precious Vincent’s just been insulted or praised.
Then she glances at me and I oblige with a translation. “I think she means she’s impressed.”
Looking mollified, Sam smiles. “She’s rather special.”
The club whores have decided to make an appearance. Sophie looks over to them in disgust and wrinkles her nose, she leans forward conspiratorially and stage-whispers, “Stay away from them, Sam, they’re minging.”
“She means disgusting,” I translate automatically, then looking at Soph. “That’s not quite fair, Wheels.” I use the name she’s always hated as my way of getting back at her. “They perform a function.”
“They perform many functions, or so I’ve unfortunately seen.” At Sam’s statement, both she and Soph turn to glance at Viper, and while the rest of us laugh, he turns bright red and hides his face behind Sandy’s head. There’s a lot of chuckling at his discomfort.
I sling my arm over Sam’s shoulder, getting her attention. “Can I talk to you, Sam?”
“Which translated means—”
A hand snakes around and over Sophie’s mouth. “Think you’ve said enough, sweetheart.”
Throwing a grateful look at Wraith, I stand, pulling Sam up with me. While the others laugh, thinking Sophie was on the right track, Wraith and Peg both look uneasy. They both know I’ll be stepping into an extremely difficult conversation.
I lead her outside, into the sunlight, and then decide the best place to have a private discussion with her is at my house. She’s giving me curious looks as I lead her up through the compound, and it guts me to think she’s expecting a relationship talk, which at this point I believe would be far easier, even though that’s something I normally run from. Avoiding the garage, I lead her to the living area.
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