“Anything on the Rock Demons that got away?” Wraith appears to change the subject.
Mouse shrugs. “Got feelers out with their other charters. As we know, the Phoenix chapter had been going its own way, breaking off from following national club rules. There was no blowback when we took them out, as they’d become a pain in the rest of the members’ asses.” I know that, not that we ever admitted responsibility, but we’d have been the first suspects. To our relief, the other Rock Demon charters had turned a blind eye.
“Found out one of the escapees was the nephew of their old VP,” Mouse continues.
The prez growls at that. “So, he might want vengeance for his fuckin’ uncle’s demise.”
“Might be a problem we need to keep in mind, but he was in California when Heart was knocked off his bike. I’m still checking out the other, but he seems very low-key and has gone underground. No one knew much of him, only recently patched in.”
I open my mouth to remind them I want those two fuckers dead for what they did to Ella, but the VP gets in first.
“Think we’ve got some dots to join here,” Wraith says quickly. “If we leave the prime suspects out of it and ignoring the Rock Demons for now, could it be the Herreras who went after Heart?”
“For what reason?” Drum taps his fingers on the table. “Not saying you’re wrong, Wraith, but I can’t figure out why. As Slick said, we weren’t even aware of Ella and her sister’s connection to them when Heart was knocked off his sled.”
Beef is grinding his teeth, an annoying habit, but a sign that he’s thinking. “Herreras run the drugs trade in Tucson, a protection racket, and the bulk of the guns.”
We do the rest, but we’ve never come up against them before.
Dollar’s been quiet so far, now he wakes up. “We don’t do so much of the guns now, got enough coming in legit.” He should know. “If they had a problem with us, a conversation would more easily sort it.”
Tongue points at Drum. “You said you got the impression this Detective Archer is dirty. Could be on the take from the Herreras.”
“Yeah, man, but what’s the point?” Shooter’s looking puzzled. “If we’re no threat to them, why would they be on our backs?”
Drum bangs the gavel. “We’re just going around in circles. Let’s look at what we’ve got.” He pulls at a finger. “One, looks like we’ve got a dirty cop.” He moves onto the next finger. “Two, said dirty cop is overly interested in us, otherwise, why ask for this case? Three, said cop is related, albeit distantly, to the Herrera family. Four, we’ve got a brother in the hospital and it wasn’t an accident. Five, we wouldn’t have found that out if it hadn’t been for the cop’s partner being upfront with us.”
When he pauses and before he moves on to his other hand, I take over, “Six, we’ve got a custody battle for Amy.”
Drum jerks his chin at me. “Hadn’t been thinking there was any link to the kid. Hmm. Okay, we’ll add that to the list.” He glances down at his hands. “I’m gonna run out of fuckin’ fingers at this rate. On top of everything I’ve just listed, and now I’ve forgotten what fuckin’ number I was at, we’ve got ourselves in deep with the Herreras as we took two of their family out.”
“But we covered our tracks so they might not be aware,” Peg adds.
The prez stops playing with his fingers and tunnels both hands through his hair. He pauses midway and looks at the sergeant-at-arms. “I don’t understand where Heart comes in. Far as I know, neither we, nor he, have ever come head-on with the Herreras. At least not until this week. No, Wraith, let me finish.” He holds up his hand as the VP goes to speak. “We agreed we need to take them out. Close that fuckin’ family down for what they did to Slick’s old lady’s sister. For now, let’s fuckin’ concentrate on that. We can sit with our thumbs up our asses trying to find reasons or waiting for them to come to our door. I say we work on putting an end to their fuckin’ operation. Don’t know about everyone else, but I’d rather be out waving a pistol around rather than sitting on my ass doing nothing.”
Nods of agreement from everyone.
“Let’s vote it. We focus on the Herreras.”
He won’t get any argument from me. When it’s my turn, I shout out my “Aye” fast.
The vote is unanimous and is recorded by Dart.
Prez looks around, and one side of his mouth turns up. “Let’s get some beers in here and start planning this now. Paladin, you want to shout for the prospects to get us something to wet our throats?”
Paladin leaps to his feet. I don’t bother hiding my grin. Yeah, he would be fuckin’ enthusiastic about that job.
A couple of brothers take a comfort break. Returning, Tongue informs us he took the opportunity for an apparently much-needed dump. Beef slaps him on the back and Joker fucking throws him a thumbs up.
Drum drops his head into his hands. “Honest to God, if I didn’t know fuckin’ better, I’d think you lot only just left the fuckin’ schoolyard.”
“At least the meeting will give the heads a chance to freshen up.” Lady gets Tongue’s middle finger flipped toward him.
Paladin re-enters the room, a grin on his face.
“Enjoy that?” Looking up, Drum accompanies his question with a wink.
For an answer, Paladin just grins wider. Marvel slaps him on the back. A man has to go through some shit to get awarded a patch. He’s earned it and deserves it.
The door opens again, and Hyde enters carrying a tray. We all sit stoically as he places bottles on the table and don’t say a word as he goes out the door.
Drum watches him leave, then turns to Wraith. “You have a chance to have that conversation yet? We need to take another vote?”
The VP sighs. “Yeah, we’ve spoken, and not just yet, Prez. See how it goes. Crystal’s mom was pretty persuasive that she had a right to be here, dropping Heart’s name left, right and centre, and he let the detectives in as they put on a bit of pressure. He now knows not to open the gate to any motherfucker without permission from a patch.”
“Keep your eye on him, Wraith. There’s no fixing fuckin’ stupid.”
“I hear you, Prez.”
I frown. While I trust my VP’s opinion, I’ll be keeping a very close eye on Hyde myself.
“Right.” Drum bangs the gavel and we’re back to planning again.
Peg raises his hand. “What exactly are we up against?” As sergeant-at-arms for the club, he’ll be concentrating on how to keep us all safe.
“Mouse?”
“Prez, yeah. I’ve been trying to draw up a family tree. Rabbits have nothing on this fuckin’ lot. The way they multiply, don’t think they’ve heard of wrapping it up.” He pauses to allow the brief laughter to fade. “We know from Diego there are nine senior family members, all living in their own compounds. Diego’s dad heads up one, his uncles the others. He’s got a shitload of cousins around. Five of those cousins he named as being part of the grooming ring. Along with the brother we killed, from what he said, that’s the lot. He could have been lying.”
He’s interrupted by Blade’s growl. “I had my hand on his dick, he wasn’t telling no fuckin’ lies.”
But the prez looks concerned. “Notwithstanding your dick holding skills, Brother, ain’t no fuckin’ way to know if he was telling the truth. Grooming and fuckin’ child porn vids could be a main source of family income for all that we know.”
Mouse is nodding. “It’s big business, whoever’s involved. You can see that from the number of fuckin’ hits on those videos that were on the web.”
“Shit, man. We got that many fuckin’ pedos in Tucson?” Tongue’s looking shocked. Paladin’s eyes open wide too, reminding me all this is new to him.
For the next hour we put our heads together, tossing around ideas.
Finally, we’ve honed down our strategy. It’s risky, lots of margin for error, but it’s the best we can come up with. I can only hope that it works. When Drum bangs the gavel, I go out to the bar, grateful to escape the sm
oke-filled room. My head was beginning to ache with the fumes and all the plotting we’d done.
I’m just getting my second beer of the day when I hear a loud high-pitched scream.
“Horse!”
Spinning around, I see Sophie moving as fast as she can and throwing her arms around the English biker who’s got an affiliation with the club. As she hugs him tightly, Wraith moves alongside, but he doesn’t seem unhappy his woman now has her legs wrapped around another man’s waist. But that I can understand. If it hadn’t been for Horse bringing her here, it’s a pretty damn certainty she wouldn’t be alive. Seeing her looking so agile, it’s hard to believe she came here in a wheelchair.
“Hey, Horse. Want a beer?” I offer to be sociable.
Untangling himself from Sophie’s tight grasp, setting her down and making sure she’s steady on her foot and prosthesis, Horse nods and comes over, still holding Wraith’s woman’s hand. “Slick, how are you, you old bugger?” His free arm comes around me, and I slap him on the back.
I can’t tell him everything’s peachy. Quickly I fill him in about Heart, but keep quiet on the rest of our problems, him not being a patched-in member of the club.
When I ask how he’s doing, he tells me and the rest of the brothers who’ve now gathered around us. “Picked up a lot of work in Sturgis, just about finished with that now.” He pauses and looks down at Sophie. “It’s time for me to go back to old Blighty, love.”
Sophie’s face falls. “I’ll miss you, Horse. When are you going?”
“Next week. I’ll be here for a few days.”
“That’s pants, Horse. I haven’t seen you in yonks, and now you’re going home?”
“Oh, love. Don’t get your knickers in a twist. I’ll be back next spring.”
I listen to the two English people speaking their own language and seeing the grin on Sophie’s face shows she’s toying with us deliberately. Horse is just playing along.
Horse is one hell of a good artist with an airbrush, much in demand. He spends six months of the year in the United States, and we’re happy to offer him a base. This year, however, he’s been given so much work he hasn’t been here much and wasn’t able to get around to my bike. Just as I’m about to remind him, he pre-empts me.
“Haven’t forgotten your ride, Slick. If you want, I’ll do it before I go.”
“Fuckin’ ace, man.” I slap his back.
“We’ll have to have a good old chin wag before you go.” Sophie’s looking happier again.
Horse sends a fond smile toward her, then turns to Wraith. “Thought I’d have seen you at Sturgis?”
As Wraith explains we’d had some shit going down at the club and didn’t want to leave the compound unprotected, I zone out of the conversation and push away from the bar. All the brothers are milling around, starting to relax having come out of church. Sam’s over in the corner playing with Amy; Sandy and Viper sitting close by. When Drum joins them, they look like a fucking family unit. When the prez proudly places a protective hand on Sam’s still flat stomach, I feel my gut clench in an unfamiliar feeling. I’m jealous.
Just when I’m trying to analyse my thoughts, the clubhouse door is pushed open, and fuck me if it isn’t Ella and Jayden entering.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ella…
Having spent the night in Slick’s bed, where I slept surprisingly well, I awake feeling nicely refreshed this morning. Slick had dressed and before he’d left, he’d placed another chaste kiss on my lips. When he was gone, I’d laid my fingers against my mouth like a giddy young girl, leaving them there for a moment while thinking how unexpectedly tender such a rugged biker could be.
When I returned to our room, I’d just finished showering and dressing as Jayden started stirring. Noticing her eyes looked clearer than the day before, I feel relief that the drugs and alcohol now seem to be out of her system.
“How you doing, Jayden?”
She sits up in bed, making herself comfortable before she replies, “I’m feeling fine, Ella. My headache’s gone at last.”
Going over, I sit beside her, taking one of her hands in mine. At least now it feels warm to the touch. I tap my finger to her forehead. “How you doing in there?”
She looks down to where our hands are clasped, and I give hers a squeeze. “I don’t feel like a kid anymore.”
That one sentence makes me want to cry. She’s fourteen years old for fuck’s sake, still only a child. Yet her innocence has been taken away.
“We’ll get you some help to put this behind you.”
Now she’s looking at me, her eyes wide and scared. “I don’t want to live with Mom again. She leaves me alone so much. I’m scared. What if they come after me?”
“You won’t have to,” I say firmly. “You can live with me.” But how am I going to support her when I can’t even support myself? My job at the bar—if I haven’t lost that already—barely provides enough to support one.
“Do I have to go back to school?”
“You’re only fourteen, sweetie. Of course you have to go back, but not for a while. We have to stay here for now, remember?”
She frowns, and her teeth worry her lip. “For how long, Ella? I mean, I don’t mind it here. Everyone’s been so nice, but I can’t have a normal life while I’m here.”
As I explain I have no idea, I consider again how her view of the compound is so different than mine. She sees protective men when she looks at the bikers wearing their cuts. I see monsters. Then I think of Slick holding me through the night, and a voice at the back of my head asks whether I’m wrong not to even give them a chance?
“I’m hungry.”
As if in an answer, my own stomach growls. We both look at each other and giggle. If I text Slick, I’m sure he’d get a prospect to come up with something to eat. Or… Conscious I need to make an effort, I come to a decision. “Go have a shower and freshen up, then we’ll go to the clubhouse. See what we can find to feed us.”
Someone’s left us some magazines, and I flick through the glossy pages while waiting for her to get ready. When she finally appears, pulling her blonde hair into a messy bun, I stop reading gossip about celebrities I don’t give a damn about and stand.
“Ready?”
We step outside into the sunshine, and I breathe in the fresh air.
“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it? I didn’t take much notice yesterday.” Standing beside me, Jayden looks in wonder at the scenery. Living in the city, we don’t appreciate the area we live in as much as we probably should. “You know, seeing the desert around us makes me think of something I’ve always wanted to do?”
“What’s that, hon?”
“Go to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. They’ve got fossils and rocks as well as the animals there. Oooh. And snakes!”
Snakes I can live without. “You’ve never been?” I went once, but way back when.
She jerks her head side to side. “No, Mom couldn’t afford it when my class went.”
She sounds like an enthusiastic child. “You like fossils, huh?”
Now she’s nodding.
“Tell you what, as soon as we can, I’ll take you. Okay?”
As she jumps up and down in excitement, I realise Jayden’s not completely lost, just that the lines have been blurred.
“Come on, let’s go eat.” I take her hand, trying to keep up as she skips along beside me.
“Ella! Wait up!”
Surprised, I turn around, pulling Jayden to a halt. It’s Jill trying to catch up with us. But instead of anything anywhere near approaching a friendly greeting, she narrows her eyes and gestures back at the building we’ve just come from.
“What are you doing back at the compound? Why are you staying with Slick? And what’s she fuckin’ doing here?”
Taken aback by her vehemence, I wonder how to explain. “Jayden’s my sister, the club’s giving her protection.”
“She’s too young to be here. I don’t know what Drummer is thinking lett
ing her stay. And you, what are you doing with Slick? You’re not his old lady anymore. You ran away and left him. He won’t be taking you back. I had to comfort him when you disappeared.”
Understanding what she’s insinuating, which, for some stupid reason makes me feel sick to my stomach, I pull myself up to my full height, which is only an inch taller than hers, and retort, “Whatever he is or isn’t is nothing to do with you.” And I’d once thought she was my friend?
As her head shakes, it’s clear she doesn’t believe me. “I know what went on. It’s all the brothers are talking about. How you went to another club and ended up pulling a train. Fuck, Ella. You were going to come here and be one of us. That happens here too, you know. If you couldn’t hack it, you should have stayed well away.” She looks at me and sneers.
My newfound confidence starts to ebb fast. For one thing, she’s being far too blunt in front of Jayden, and I’m hoping my sister won’t understand. Luckily, perceiving the tension between us, she’s stepped away and seems fascinated by a lizard sunning itself. And secondly, Jill apparently sees nothing wrong in what the Rock Demons had done. The bikers force the girls like that here? Rapidly I’m rethinking my decision to go down to the clubhouse.
Jill’s face curves into a cruel smile, but as she opens her mouth, presumably to do more damage, a male voice butts in.
“Jill, get lost. Don’t think Slick wants you talking to his woman.”
“His woman?” The sweet butt’s voice is shrill. “She fuckin’ left him. She’s not his ol’ lady.”
“Yeah, she is his ol’ lady. So scat.”
Paladin might only have been patched for a day, but there’s no doubt he’s given her an instruction she can’t disobey. Throwing daggers at me, she resumes her way, her hips swinging in an exaggerated swagger down the incline.
“Ella, don’t pay her no mind. I heard what she said. Ain’t one of us here would force ourselves on a woman.”
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