Greatest MC Romance Box Set

by Blair Grey

  Putting his gun away, he held up his hands as he tried to make his people believe him. “You know me. I wouldn’t do that. She’s trying to fuck us all up. She’s trying to get into all of our heads. Can’t you see what she’s doing to you? I can see it. You can’t listen to her.” He came back to me, looking around. “Where’s the gag? I need to shut her ass up.”

  “Pam took it with her.” I’d seen her put it into her pocket. I wasn’t sure if she’d done that on purpose or not, but she’d taken the thing with her when she’d left. “And I’m not trying to get into anyone’s head. I’m just trying to get you all to listen to reason. If you let me go, then I can make sure the proper authorities know that Jake is the mastermind behind this whole thing.”

  “No one is going to listen to you, Santos.” Jake looked back at the people who now wore confused expressions. “We have to stick together here. We’ve all seen this type of thing happen before.”

  “Yes, we have,” I agreed. “And you don’t want to be a part of this thing he’s got going on. If I die, then there will be some problems. If you’re part of killing a child – well God help you.”

  Jake shook his head. “It’s not like that and all of you know that. No one ever finds the people we take out. We see to that. And this will be no different. No body, no crime. Remember those words, people. This is what we’ve based our security agency on.”

  “It was what the agency was based on. Not anymore.” It occurred to me that as the president of The Keepers, I should’ve had a meeting where I talked about why we’d changed our tactics. “There can be murder charges brought against people even when no body has been found. If there’s enough evidence, such as surveillance footage, witnesses, and things like social media and even cell phone records, prosecutors can get a conviction even if there is no body recovered.”

  Lonnie looked at Jake with a scowl on his face. “The thing is that you never said we were going to get this deep, Jake. I can’t speak for anyone else, but it’s bothered me that you’re making the orders for what we do when we’re on the job. We should be able to make up our own minds about how to handle our jobs. And if we want to follow the new rules, then we should be able to. You do things the way you want and let others do as they want. She’s right. If you want to do things your way, get your own agency.”

  It was all falling apart. But I was still tied up, and that was a huge problem. “So, anyone want to release me so we can end this stupidity before someone else gets hurt?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Clyde

  Carl had his ear to the wall as Lucas worked on the lock. When his eyes went wide and he jerked away from the wall, he didn’t have to tell us to run the way he was, but it didn’t stop him. “Someone’s coming out!”

  We all ran to hide behind the bushes again. This time two women came out the door. But they didn’t seem to be in any hurry as they talked to each other as they went to the van.

  My gut clenched as one thought ran through my head. They’re going to get Tequila’s son.

  “I’ve gotta go,” I let them know as I began moving as fast as I could to get to my truck.

  Garrett ran alongside me. “Do you think they’re going to get someone to hold over her head?”

  “I do.” Looking back at Carl, I nodded. “Keep trying to get inside. If you get in before I get back, tell Tequila that I’m going to get her family to keep them safe. I’ll be back after I’ve secured them.”

  “Will do.” He let me know.

  Garrett went with me to my truck. “Don’t worry about her, Clyde. I’ll make sure we get her. If we can get inside.”

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Getting into my truck, beating the women to Tequila’s home was my top priority.

  As I sped down the street, I noticed the white van was stopped at a coffee shop drive-thru, giving me time to get to the people who needed protection more than they even knew. Stepping on it, I sent up a prayer that the people who didn’t seem to like me - even a little - would see fit to leave their home with me.

  I knew it was going to be a stretch. But I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. There was no way I was going to let those women take Tequila’s family. If they wouldn’t come with me, then I would stick around to make sure no one took them or hurt them in any way.

  Minutes later, I pulled into the drive. Sending up one more prayer that they would believe me and not fight me on this, I got out and went to ring the doorbell.

  One ring with no answer had me knocking on the door with a persistence that finally had her mother answering the door. “You!”

  “Mrs. Santos, there’s no time for this,” I began.

  “My name is not that.” She went to slam the door in my face, but I caught it before she could.

  “I’m sorry. Look, Tequila is in danger and now your whole family is as well. I need you all to come with me right now.” I saw Edward coming up behind his mother. “Edward, get Tommy now. We need to get the hell out of here before the others come to get you. They’ve got guns. We need to go now!”

  “Clyde Thomas, you are not a man that we will be going with. Not today. Not ever!” He pulled his mother back and tried to wiggle the door out of my grasp. “Leave us alone!”

  Holding the door firmly in place, I wasn’t going to let him lock me out. “Tequila has been kidnapped. They’re holding her in an abandoned building about fifteen minutes away from here. There are two women on their way to get you all to take you there so that you can be used to make her do what they want her to. All of you are in danger. You’re gonna come with me so I can take you to my hotel where you’ll all be safe. Then I can get back to trying to rescue your sister.” I looked at her mother. “Your daughter is in terrible danger. I need to hurry back to try to save her. Please, get Tommy and let’s go. I have no idea how much time we have. But I do know there are women with guns coming to get you.”

  Suddenly, the boy came running into the living room with a backpack on one arm and a purse on the other. “Momo, here’s your purse. Come on. We’ve gotta go with this man. I can feel it. Something’s wrong.”

  As if his words were magic, his grandmother took her purse from him and followed him out. “Edward, lock the door, mijo. Let’s get out of here, pronto!”

  Tommy rushed past me. “That your truck that’s running in the drive, mister?”

  “It is. Get in and I’ll get you guys to a safe place.” The three of them all got into the backseat of my truck then I get behind the wheel and backed out of the driveway before speeding off. Just as I got to the end of the block, I saw the white van stop in front of their house. “Look back.”

  All three heads turned, and everyone saw two women get out of the van, heading toward their front door. Edward hissed, “No!”

  I slowed down so they could see what would happen. Both women drew their guns. One stood to the side of the door as the other one rang the bell. “See? I told you.”

  Tequila’s mother made the sign of the cross over her body and Edward looked like he might be about to faint. Tommy nodded. “I knew it. I knew you were telling the truth, mister. There was just this sound to your voice that told me you were a man to be believed.”

  Seemed the kid had an instant liking for me just the way his mom had. “Thanks for your help, Tommy. Without you, I don’t know if I would’ve gotten you all out of there before trouble arrived at your door. You can call me Clyde, instead of mister. I’m a good friend of your mother so I’m sure she’ll be fine with you calling me that.”

  “You’re a good friend of my mother?” When I looked at him through the rearview mirror, I saw some confusion in his face. “Are you from Baltimore or Rockville. She lived in both places?”

  “I’m from Baltimore.” I thought the question a bit odd.

  His grandmother put her arm around his shoulders. “Maybe you should just be quiet, nieto. This is a shock to us all, being part of such a terrible thing. Let us pray in silence for the saints to protect us.”

&n
bsp; His green eyes met mine in the mirror. “We’re going to be okay now. Right, Clyde?”

  I didn’t want him to think anything other than that. “You are completely safe now. Those women who went to your home don’t know this truck. They won’t be looking for it. But you can certainly pray if you want to.”

  He looked at his grandmother. “Momo, I think we’re going to be okay now. I feel safe with this man. You should too.”

  Edward huffed. “Oh, este, chico!”

  “Tu, callate, Edward!” his mother reprimanded him. “Please ignore my son, he’s sensitive is all. Allow me to introduce myself to you. I am Mrs. Puente.”

  “Puente?” I found it interesting that she had the same last name as the girl I’d spent the one night with before leaving for boot camp. “Are you any relation to the Puente’s from Baltimore? I mean, I don’t know if they live there anymore. There was a family with that last name who lived across the street from us when I was in high school.”

  Edward and his mother locked eyes, but neither said a word. But Tommy was more than happy to answer my question, “They lived in Baltimore. I never did. I was born in Rockville. But they all lived in Baltimore before that.”

  “No hay razon para contar todo nuestro negocio, nieto,” his grandmother whispered in his ear, but it was loud enough that I could hear.

  But I didn’t understand a thing she’d said. Until Tommy asked, “Am I telling all of our business by letting the man who is saving us know that you guys lived in Baltimore before moving to Rockville where I was born? I didn’t know it was some sort of a family secret, Momo. My apologies. Geeze! I can’t say anything in this family.”

  His uncle was quick to say, “Cuida a tu abuela, mocoso!”

  “Brat?” Tommy shouted. “How am I being a brat? And I am minding Momo, Tio Edward. I’m merely unsure of what our family secrets are. And I am completely unsure of why two of them are where we used to live.”

  The eye rolls that came from his grandmother and uncle were so overexaggerated that I had to laugh. “It’s okay, Tommy. I don’t need to know anything about your family. All I need to know is if you guys are hungry. If you are, then you can order room service at the hotel I’m taking you guys to.”

  “Room service?” Mrs. Puente asked with a smile so big it shown in her dark eyes. “We haven’t had lunch yet. I only made some tacos for breakfast. But lunch would be nice. Don’t you think so, Tommy? Wouldn’t lunch be nice?”

  “I’m not hungry. I’m too worried to eat.” He chewed nervously on one fingernail. “What if Tia isn’t okay?”

  Tia?

  I didn’t know how the word, mom, was said in Spanish. But I didn’t think that Tia was it. The one thing I did know was that I didn’t want Tequila’s son to worry about her. “Hey, buddy, listen, she’s going to be fine. I’ve got some close friends who are there right now, making sure she’s safe. And as soon as I get you guys settled into the hotel, then I’m going back, and I am going to get her out and bring her to you.”

  Edward nodded. “She’s always been so brave. Brave and stupid, that’s our Tequila. Off to the Marines, she went right out of high school. Brave? Yes. Stupid? Again, yes.”

  “She was so heavy until the last year of high school when she decided she was going to join the Marines,” her mother took over the story of Tequila. “Once she’d made that decision, she dieted and exercised like it was her job. No tacos for her - only salads and baked chicken. But she did it. She lost about a hundred pounds that year. She didn’t even look like my little mono grueso. That means chunky monkey.”

  “Then Papa was killed,” Edward added. “The worst day of my life.”

  His mother moved her arm off of Tommy’s shoulders to put one around her son’s. “That took a lot out of my poor Edward. He’s never been the same since that day. But of course, there is one more terrible day in our lives that have left deep scars in us all.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward shaking his head. “We don’t talk about that day.”

  I knew she had to be talking about the suicide of Tequila’s sister. I would assume that was hard as hell on the whole family. “Tequila told me about that. I’m sorry that you all had to go through that.”

  The way Edward’s eyes popped nearly out of his head had me thinking that not many people were told about that. “She told you about our sister?”

  Nodding, I felt like I shouldn’t have said anything about that to them. “I’m sorry if it offends you that she told me about her. I shouldn’t have brought it up. That was rude of me.”

  Mrs. Puente shook her head. “No, it’s okay. We just didn’t know she would tell you about her is all. It’s kind of strange that she did.”

  I sort of thought so too, now knowing how secretive her family was. “She and I are pretty close. And the plan is to become closer. I know she hadn’t introduced us. And I know you guys are – um – private and reserved,” that seemed like the most polite way to put it. “But I would love nothing more than to be able to be around you all. I really like Tequila and I’m pretty sure she likes me the same way.”

  “Parece que esta enamorado,” Mrs. Puente whispered in Edward’s ear.

  “In love?” he gasped. “So soon?”

  She smacked him on the shoulder. “No seas tan Ruidoso, tonto!”

  “Sorry, Mama, I’ll try not to be so loud. But seriously. Love?” He looked at me. “You love Tequila?”

  What is it with everyone and the word, love? “I like her very much. I never said, love. But one day, who knows? Maybe.”

  The way Edward and his mother looked at each other with grim faces told me that they were not happy about that at all. But it wasn’t up to them if we fell in love or not. So, I tried not to look at them or care what they thought.

  “Hey, there’s a sack back here with a baseball and a couple of gloves!” Tommy said as he’d found the gift his mother had never taken to him.

  “One glove is mine,” I let him know. “But the other glove and the ball is for you, Tommy.”

  “I love baseball. It’s my favorite sport,” he gushed as he pulled the things out the bag. “Thank you so much, Clyde!”

  Tequila told me he didn’t like sports. “I love baseball too. That’s why I got that stuff, so you and I could play. I was a pitcher. I can show you all sorts of cool pitches.”

  “For real?” his jaw dropped. “I’m a pitcher too.”

  She could’ve mentioned that. “Then you’re in luck, Tommy. I’ll have you making some insane pitches in no time. You’re going to freak your coach out when he sees you throwing the ball.”

  “Yes!” He tossed the ball up into the air a few times. “You’re pretty awesome, Clyde. I’m glad you picked us up.”

  “Me too.” I had no idea why Tequila would want to keep me away from her son when we had so much in common. “I’ll make sure your mom lets me come over now that we’re all friends.”

  The way everyone went silent and looked at each other had me wondering if Tequila would actually allow that. “You do know that he’s not Tequila’s son, right?” Edward asked.

  I didn’t know what to say. But Tommy did, “My mom’s name is Crystal. She named me after my dad. And the night she died, she told me that no matter what everyone else said, he wasn’t a bad guy. He never came around because she never told him about me. She said he was a hero who went to serve our country and that I should always be proud to be his son.”

  “Crystal Puente?” I could barely breathe.

  “Yes,” her mother said quietly. “Crystal Puente was her name. May she rest in peace.”

  May she rest peace.

  Chapter Twenty

  Tequila

  Dissatisfaction with Jake’s idea of killing me and my family had sent a handful of people away from the main room we were in and they’d disappeared. “Donald, go see if you can find where they got out from,” Jake ordered one of the remaining men. “We’ll need to make sure that’s locked back down. This isn’t over.”


  But I thought he might be very wrong. No need to tell him that though. The dissension within his small troop should’ve told him plenty.

  I watched from my position, tied to the chair, as Jake answered a call that had come on, “Yeah?”

  Making sure to turn away from me as he listened to the caller, I saw his back hunch a bit. Which meant he wasn’t happy with the news he was getting.

  Donald came back into the main room with a grim look on his face. “It’s a window, boss. They broke it. We’ll have to get a board to cover it up.”

  Running his hand over his face as he put his cell phone back into his pocket, he seemed almost ready to give up. Almost. “There’s a stack of lumber in the very back room. Get someone to help you.”

  Donald didn’t rush off to do Jake’s bidding even with the order. “Hammer and nails, boss? Just putting some lumber against the empty window frame won’t keep anyone from coming inside.”

  Jake’s face began turning red as frustration rose even higher inside of him. “Take someone with you. Go to the back room. Find some fucking wood that will cover the motherfucking window. Then you will look around for whatever the fuck you need to secure that piece of wood to the window frame. Or do I have to do everything for you?”

  I had no idea how he’d managed to get anyone to follow him with his shitty attitude. Donald had to walk past me as he went to the back room. “Maybe going out that window might be a wise thing for you to do as well, Donald. Whoever hasn’t abandoned this man when this is all over, will be dealt with. And it won’t be nice. That, I can promise you.”

  “Your time is just about over, Santos. You should be praying instead of talking.” He walked away from a smirk on his thin lips.

  He’s out.

  I’d been thinking about the times I’d had while serving in the Marines. I’d learned a lot about fighting and getting myself out of jams back then. One thing I hadn’t done but had seen was getting out of one’s bonds while being beaten.