by Blair Grey
“No offense, Chap,” I said as I shook my head. “But I don’t think reading a passage from the Bible will help us much at all.”
“You’re right,” he agreed as he pulled a little metal rod out of the book he’d opened. “But this lock pick might help.”
Carl jabbed me in the ribs. “He’s more than just a man of God, Clyde.”
“I can see that now.” I led them to one of the other doors I’d found. “Come on, this way. There’s a door back here. I can’t hear any of their voices from back here, so I think it would be the best place to go in.” Looking at Garrett who’d come up to walk beside me, I asked, “Did you tell them our theory?”
He shook his head. “I’m not about to go saying anything that might be bad for them to know. I think what we know is a need to know basis and they don’t need to know.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. But you’re right.” I did think it was pretty spectacular of them to come when they had no idea why they were needed. “You guys just loaded up and came because he told you that I needed some help? And you didn’t ask why? You didn’t want to know what was so damn important?”
Axel shook his head. “You said you needed help. There’s no reason to ask what for. We’re brothers. We come to the rescue for whatever reason.”
Carl nodded in agreement. “Plus, we know one of our own would never ask for help if it wasn’t important. So, this information you have is pretty juicy, huh?”
“Yes, it is,” I let him know. “But it’s not ours to give out, so unless we have to, Garrett and I are keeping it to ourselves. It would hurt the woman I care about as well.”
“Yeah, hurting the one you love is never a good idea,” Axel said.
Did I say that I loved her?
Lucas started trying to unlock the door with his little tool. “When you figure out that you love a woman, there is nothing you won’t do for her.”
Again with the love word?
Carl patted me on the back. “We guys will jump over the moon for the women we love. Ain’t that right, Clyde?”
“How the hell would I know? I like this woman. I care about her. I’ve never said that I love her.” I felt like I’d fallen into an old episode of the Love Boat.
Ryder came up on the other side of me, wearing a knowing grin. “It’s hard to admit, I’ll give you that. But when you know, you know. You know?”
I do not know. “How’re you coming with that lock, Lucas?”
“It’s tricky,” he said as he stood back, contemplating the situation. “It’s not feeling right. I’m wondering if they melted the other side of the lock. That’s what it feels like. But that would mean that even they couldn’t open the door from the inside if they did that.”
“That would make sense. One way in and one way out,” I said as Garrett nodded.
“Then take me to the one door you know they’ve used,” Lucas directed.
I wasn’t entirely sure of which door that was. “I didn’t see the way they went in. I got here afterward. The van is parked between two of the doors. It could be either one, I would guess.”
“Take us to one of them, then,” Carl said.
Leading them to the one I’d gone to first, I thought that might be it. “But I know they can hear us from both of these doors because I can hear them when I’ve been near them. Also, I think there are about ten people inside. I’ve got no idea what kind of firepower they have, but I know they have some.”
Every one of the men pulled out their guns as Carl said, “I know what we have. And we’ve got the upper hand since they don’t know we’re here.”
Lucas looked grim. “As long as they don’t hear me clicking away at the lock. We need some background noise to cover the sounds I’ll be making.”
Garrett raised his eyebrows. “Music.” He held out his hand. “Give me the keys to your truck and I’ll crank up the stereo.”
Ryder put his hand on Carl’s shoulder to get his attention. “While he does that, we’ll have to hide. I’m sure they’ll look outside to see where the sound is coming from.”
I’d parked far enough away that they wouldn’t see my truck. “Here, Garrett. Go turn it on. Don’t stay in it, in case they come all the way to the truck. They’ll recognize you.”
Axel took the keys from me. “I’ll do it. They won’t recognize me. That way, if they do come all the way to the truck, it won’t look like a setup.”
“Thanks.” Having them here to help, made all the difference in the world. “So, let’s go over here. There are some bushes that’ll cover us.”
We’d barely gotten into hiding place when the stereo came on and sure enough, a couple of people came out of the building. Two men walked straight toward my truck but stopped as soon as they’d located the sound. Turning to walk back in, they both scanned the area.
Taking my gun out of the holster at my back, I aimed it at one of them. Lucas shook his head as he held his finger to his lips. He was right. The sound of the shots would bring more people outside and even make it, so Tequila might get shot inside.
I didn’t understand what she’d done that was so bad to warrant her being gagged and tied up. I also didn’t know what their plan was. But I knew it had to be something permanent if they’d had the balls to tie her up.
At this point, if they did set her free, she’d kill them all. I would’ve done the same thing.
Not knowing how much time we had, I sighed heavily as the two men went back inside, closing and locking the door behind them. “Garrett, go tell Axel to come back but leave the radio on,” Carl instructed him. “We’re going to need every man and gun we have once we get that door open.”
I must’ve had a worried expression on my face as Axel walked back up and patted me on the back. “Don’t worry, brother. We’re going to get the woman you love back in your arms soon.”
“Thanks, brother.” I figured I might as well go along with the whole being in love with her thing since they weren’t going to give up on it. “I just want to hold her and kiss her and let her know that she’s got me, no matter what.”
Collective sighs met my ears as Lucas pulled out his lock-picking tool again. “Oh, the first days of love are the best. But for us, they’re kind of the worst as well. This lifestyle sure is hard on love, I’ll tell you that right now. Being in an MC makes love hard. But it’s worth it in the end. Your old lady will walk through fire for you because she knows you will do the same for her.”
“Amen,” Carl agreed.
“So true,” Axle said with a nod.
Ryder bumped his shoulder to mine. “You’ll soon see, brother. There’s no stronger love than that between a biker and his old lady. The stress and danger that come along with the biker lifestyle make for bonds no one can break. Even between brothers.”
“If that’s the case,” I had to ask, “Then why would hers be doing this shit to her?”
Garrett gave me a sharp look. “Remember, Clyde, they don’t know what we know. And we know that what she’s done can look very bad in some of her MC brother’s eyes. Or MC sibling’s eyes. Fuck, I don’t know what you call people in an MC when they’re of mixed genders. So confusing. You’ve got to admit that.”
Axel nodded. “I agree. Confusing. And this chick is the president? Wow. Progressive. It’s cool that you can find love with such a strong woman, Clyde. It takes one hell of a strong man to be secure in that type of relationship.”
“She is strong, smart, confident, and now she’s in a lot of danger. I have to wonder who would be here to help her if I wasn’t.” It made me feel horrible for her. “Her strength has made her kind of a loner.”
But she won’t be lonely anymore because I’m not going anywhere.
Hell, maybe I do love her.
“It’s most likely all she’s gone through that has made her strong,” Carl said. “Her sister’s suicide left her to raise the boy she left behind. That’s the primary reason she left the Marines was to play mommy to the kid who was about four when it hap
pened.”
She told me she was Tommy’s mother!
Chapter Eighteen
Tequila
“Pam, Sheila,” Jake called out to a couple of the women in his group of misdirected people. “You two go get her family and bring them here. Tell them she’s got a surprise for them, so they don’t get upset and try to run or call the cops.”
I wasn’t sure if they would fall for that or not. But I prayed at least one member of my family would see through the ploy.
Pam came to me, pulling the gag out of my mouth. “Their names. And don’t lie.” She pulled a gun out of the holster at her back. “Or I’ll end them right there. At least this way, you’ll get to say goodbye to each other before you die.”
My lower lip trembled for only a second before I took back control of the fear that tried to come to the surface. I wanted to kick myself for never setting up a plan in case this ever happened. “Pam, you’ve got a child. A little girl, right?”
“Don’t, Tequila. I’m not going to gain sympathy for you now. You have none for us. If you care about my kid so damn much, why would you put us in danger of the world finding out what we’ve been doing here in D.C.?” She looked over her shoulder at Jake who watched every move she made.
“He’s not the one in charge, Pam. I am. You don’t have to do what he says to.” I thought she should know that I could protect her if she decided to leave Jake’s group. “You can just leave here, not go to my home, and I’ll make sure no one hurts you or your daughter.”
“That’s not how it works. Their names. Now!” She put the gun back in her holster. “You’re just making this take longer than it has to.”
I had some hope that Clyde would wake up and find I’d gone. Surely, he would notice that I hadn’t taken a thing with me and begin to worry. Maybe he would call someone on the council to find out if they knew where I was. Maybe Amanda would be who he called. She would think about the many calls and threats Jake had made and seek help from the others in my MC.
The more time it took to get my family to their hideout, the closer it would get to others figuring out that I was missing. “They went out of town. I’m supposed to be on a long weekend. They left.”
Pam sighed then walked back to Jake, telling him what I’d said. He glared at me the whole time before ordering them to go check anyway. He held up his cell phone. “You can thank the secretary, Sandra for giving me the names you refused to. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Believe me, I know.”
Sheila and Pam walked toward the door, leaving me sitting there with my hands and feet tied. My mind raced to find a way to stop them before they got to my family. “Don’t go! I didn’t want to say this. It’s going to be my ass. But he’s there. He’ll kill you both.”
“Who’s there?” Jake asked with a grin. “This fictional badass from somewhere in Mexico? No one believed that bullshit, Santos. No one.” He looked at the women as they stood still. “Get going. No one is there who’ll kill you. Only her old mother, sissy brother, and that kid are there.”
Sheila looked at me, searching my eyes. “Are you telling the truth?”
Watching the novellas with Mom seemed to be paying off. “I am telling you the truth. I’m not trying to hurt any of you. None of this has to end in bloodshed. I get it, you all are mad at me for what I’ve done. But my family had nothing to do with that. Just leave them alone. I’ll do anything you want if you’ll just leave them alone.”
Of course, I had no idea if they killed me if they would leave my family alone, but I had to try. Everyone in that room was a proven killer. I had no doubts about what any of them were capable of. But I had hope that some of them would have a problem killing perfectly innocent people and a child at that.
A few people huddled with Jake, giving me a glimmer of hope that we could come to some sort of a compromise. Even if that meant me not getting my way. Even as I thought that way, my brain almost cramped at how weak I was being.
You don’t negotiate with terrorists, Tequila!
Making deals with liars never worked out. But this was my family. It wasn’t just me.
The threat of bringing in Clyde and Garrett wasn’t a thing I worried about. Those men wouldn’t fall prey to these people. But my family didn’t know how to protect themselves. And they would most likely believe the women who would tell them that they were bringing them to me for a surprise.
The huddle broke up and Jake came to kneel next to me. “We might work with you here, Santos. It wouldn’t bother us to kill your family, so don’t think that’s why I’m making you this offer. But it might make more sense if a couple of others can be put in their place. I know I’ve said that we will kill them all, but that means we’ll have to go around and find them, bring them here, and then kill them. Or something of that nature.”
I already knew what he was going to say he wanted. And I already knew I would tell him what he wanted me to. “They’re yours.”
“You do realize that you will not go free, right?” he asked to make sure I understood his evil intentions.
“I understand. You want me and the two men from the Iron Cobras. You think that with us dead, you will never get caught. But you’re wrong.” He had to be aware that everyone in our agency knew what had been done. “The men haven’t been told a thing about our procedures prior to my presidency. But you can bet your ass that if they go missing, their MC will come looking for answers. What are you going to do then? Kill them all?”
“You aren’t making things easy.” He looked back at the women who waited by the door. “Go get her fucking family. She’s trying to twist shit up here.” His eyes came back to me as the women left. “When will you understand that you hold no cards? When will you get it through your stupid, female mind that I am in charge here? You can’t do anything. You have control over nothing. And I’ve had to work under you for a solid year. I’ve never worked under a woman in my life. It’s humiliating.”
“I would think that haircut would be more humiliating than working under a woman.” His fist caught my jaw, knocking my head to one side. That all you got? My mouth shut tightly, to stop the words from coming out of it.
“Why waste a bullet on your obstinate ass?” he asked. “Beating you to death will be so much more fulfilling. And your family can watch that happen before I have each one of them beaten to death. I’ll let the boy watch it all before we do the same to him.”
“That’s a shitload of work, Jake. And whoever does the beatings will have signs on their hands of the handiwork they did. When we all go missing, someone will investigate. And you’ve made it no secret to anyone that you’re not happy with me. You’ve made lots and lots of phone calls to me and my assistant that can be easily seen with a simple search of our cell phones. Mine’s not with me. You won’t be able to destroy it. Too bad.”
Standing up, he slammed his fist into his palm, cursing quietly under his breath. There were so many things that he hadn’t thought through. If he even manages to kill me, it will be a miracle.
One of his underlings came to me, looking grim. “You’re making things worse.”
“Can you tell me why you’re going along with this, Lou?” Out of all the people there, he was the one who confused me the most. “Your wife is dealing with cancer right now. You shouldn’t even be here. You should be with her. This whole thing could end very badly for any or all of us. See, I was with Clyde when they coerced me into leaving the hotel with them, Lou. And he knew that Jake was harassing me. Clyde’s the Sergeant at Arms for his MC, he’s not a dumb man. He’ll alert the council and who knows how they’ll handle this? Your wife needs you right now more than she’s ever needed you. And you’re here, following this lunatic, instead of being with her.”
For a moment he just stood there, then he turned around. “I’m out of here, Jake. She’s right. I shouldn’t be involved in this.” He looked at everyone else. “Anyone else want to walk away from this? If you do, then come with me.”
“You’re not go
ing anywhere,” Jake informed him. “You will stay until this is finished.”
Lou shook his head. “I’m not yours to order around, Jake. I came here on my own free will and I will leave the same way. You never said a damn thing about killing her or anyone else. We were supposed to talk to her about ending the contract with the MC and taking the men out of training. You’ve gone too far. I’m not going to be a part of any of this.”
I tried not to smile as Jake pulled his hand over his face in frustration. “Are you going to make me kill you, Lou?”
“Jake, stop it,” I said with a calm tone to my voice. “You can’t kill everyone who disagrees with you.”
He pulled out his gun, aiming it at Lou. “I can try.”
Lou’s jaw went tight as he stared down the barrel of the gun. “This is out of control and you know it.” Looking back at me, he said, “There is more to this than you know.”
“Stop!” I shrieked as Jake used the butt of the gun to knock Lou out. “What was he going to say that you had to do that to him? How bad could it have been? You’re going to kill me but still, you wouldn’t let him speak?” Looking at the others who seemed stunned, I asked, “Do any of you know what Lou knew? Do any of you want to be the next victim on Jake’s list? He’s obviously hiding things from you people too.”
“I am not.” Jake turned to look at his followers. “I couldn’t let him leave is why I knocked him out. He’s going to wake up with a headache is all. No one can leave here right now. That is all there is to it. If we start to fall apart now, things will get ugly and none of us need that.”
“Ah, I get it now. You’ve got all these people here so you can blame one of them for the murders.” Nodding, I knew that was it. “You’re going to play the hero at the end of this thing by killing one or more of your own, claiming they were the bad guys. And it would work, in your mind. Only a detective would see right through you. No one else has harassed me. So, how will you fix that?”