Get Away

by Jade Chandler

  Maybe I wasn’t cut out for Vegas and the hard edges there. I was a small-town girl who’d walked into one of the oldest schemes around. I should’ve known if it appeared too good to be true, it was. Otherwise everyone would be vying for a spot there. What was so clear to me now hadn’t even occurred to me before.

  I was spoiled rotten, used to getting everything handed to me, and that had been my downfall. I wasn’t a horrible person, was I? Just one used to getting my way, and even in Vegas where beauty stood on every street corner, I’d assumed different rules applied to me.

  That ended tonight. I would never be selfless like my friend Lila or sweet and funny like Avery, but I could get real and accept responsibility for my life. Delta’s piercing blue eyes flashed in my mind, replacing the heavy thoughts. I wanted him and I didn’t. He was everything that could devastate me, and I didn’t think I could take another blow.

  I’d become good at protecting my heart, and maybe that should change too. But not where Delta was concerned because I wanted love and a family, but he didn’t. I was almost thirty, and it was time to move to the next stage in my life. With that thought, I drifted off to sleep.

  The guys’ voices comforted me when I woke in too much pain the next morning. I focused on getting out of bed and in the shower before they descended on me. The car ride yesterday had been a slow kind of torture, and my body told me how much it had hated the ride. I snagged my bag by the bed and hobbled into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I stood panting and willing the pain to recede. With effort I dug out the pain meds and took one. I’d need it if we were traveling as far as we did yesterday.

  When I turned, a piercing pain shot through my left eye socket and through my brain. I braced myself on the sink and waited for it to pass. With ginger movements, I eased under the spray of water. The water hitting the bruises stung, then the heat eased into me. My muscles relaxed and my breathing slowed. I made myself leave the shower and spent another twenty minutes applying makeup and blow-drying my hair.

  I straightened my shoulders and swore I’d punch the first idiot who pitied me today. I strode out, ignoring the twinges of pain with my head held high.

  Zero glanced my way then back again. “Someone woke up sassy.”

  I flipped him the bird. “Let’s get a move on.” I threw my bag over my shoulder and suppressed the wince that came from the impact of bag on bruise.

  We stopped at a small café and the guys ate a huge breakfast, though I didn’t have much appetite. While the guys stuffed themselves with food, I pushed mine around on the plate.

  We left Albuquerque about ten thirty in the morning and by noon we’d stopped again. The guys were taking it a lot easier today.

  “Got a message from Delta.” Zero checked his phone. “We can take our time.” He glanced at me. “I have no idea when they’ll be back, but he says the threat to you is minimal.”

  I nodded and wished I knew more, but secrets were another annoying biker quality. “Let’s go—we’re wasting daylight.”

  * * *

  We spent another night on the road, then rode into the club compound around ten in the morning on the third day.

  The front door of the clubhouse banged against the cement side of the building and Avery barreled through. I’d barely gotten out of the truck when she rammed into me, squeezing me tight.

  “Ow!” I yelped when a wave of pain tore through me.

  I stepped back and Mark steadied me. “She’s injured.”

  “Yikes.” Avery jumped back and her eyes widened. “Your beautiful face...” She reached out a hand. “It’s so bruised.” Her face screwed up into a tight scowl. “Those bastards—they better pay.”

  “They will.” Mark gave Avery a one-armed hug.

  Rock, Avery’s man, strolled out with his stacked muscles and badass frown. “You okay?” He scanned me up and down.

  “I could use a shower and a rest.” I needed a bit of time to myself. In the past, it had always been Avery, Mark and me, but that had changed. They all wore Brotherhood cuts, they were a family, and I was alone. I was an outsider, and had been for years, probably why I hadn’t come home for the past four years—I hadn’t wanted to face the truth.

  “Come on. You okay with one of the club’s rooms? They are tacky but clean with a bed and shower.” Avery kept up a nervous stream of chatter as we walked through the club’s main room. It was less cluttered and cleaner than before. About twenty bikers sat at tables with the remnants of breakfast on their plates. Eyes appraised me as I strode through trying to look stronger than I felt. I didn’t need this kind of attention. It was as if every one of my bruises was a flashing neon sign drawing attention to my stupidity.

  We finally made it to the room and Avery shut the door. She gave me her goofy grin and a much gentler hug. “Tell me everything.” She plopped onto the bed.

  I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Exhaustion stole my words. I had nothing to say, and worse, I felt like a stranger sitting here with Avery. Our lives had diverged and the distance between us felt immense.

  “I’m so tired. Can we talk after I shower and nap—my body aches so bad.” That was the truth. But I had no idea how to close the chasm separating us.

  “Sure.” Avery patted my leg. “You rest. I’ll be here for you.” She jumped up. “Now that you’re back home, we’ll have tons of time to catch up.”

  Did she think I was staying? “I am going back to Vegas as soon as Delta says it’s all clear.”

  My best friend crossed her arms and gave me that stubborn look of hers. She didn’t agree with me. “Shower and rest. We’ll talk after.”

  She ducked out the door before I had a chance to say anything else. I sat there staring at the closed door. Why was coming home so hard?

  Chapter 17: Delta

  The alarm on my phone blared and woke me up with a pounding head. It’s a fool’s task to try and outdrink Thorn, and I’d been the fool last night. My mouth was hairy and my memory full of holes. I trudged into the bathroom and flipped the shower to scalding before stepping inside. The hot water peeled away the fuzz clouding my brain. We’d spent the past day gathering information, and now it was time to plan. In fact that’s how I’d ended up with a headache, by trying to plan when Thorn had been in a drinking mood. All we’d ended up doing was rehashing what might have been if we hadn’t fucked up DeLuca’s heir.

  And that’s when the night grew fuzzy. Thorn had pounced on me, trying to get to me admit feeling for Glory. I refused to buckle and had ended up with this hangover as we emptied bottles while we argued. Queenie had attitude and could make even Thorn dance to her tune if she tried. A woman like that was trouble, and if you were a lucky bastard, she’d be your personal trouble for your life. She wasn’t for me.

  But one question haunted me. If I had the ability to do it over, would I do it differently? Nope, not really. Glory Atkins was worth a hundred entitled gangster royalty.

  After I got a text from Thorn to get ready for breakfast, I finished dressing and hurried to the SUV. He was already behind the wheel.

  “Took you long enough.” The man didn’t show a single sign of a hangover. He put the vehicle in gear and drove a few blocks to the dive diner where we’d been eating since we’d returned to Vegas.

  The door beeped as I swung it open and strode inside. The furniture and décor had been outdated twenty years ago, and the smell of grease and cigarette smoke hung in the air. The waitress stopped by with coffee and grabbed our orders. Thankfully the food came damn quick.

  “Why don’t you get hangovers?” I grumbled and dug into the steak and eggs she’d set in front of me. I loved a bloody steak with sunny-side up eggs.

  “Who says I don’t. Just don’t let it bother me. Not worth my time.” He ate his ham steak then gave me a smug grin. “How we doing this?”

  “We need to make it appear that another gang took D
eLuca out.”

  Thorn nodded. “I have Eagle checking into the tension between DeLuca and others. We need the right misdirection, maybe even need to set up some noise between DeLuca and a rival.”

  “I hate this covert shit.”

  Thorn just smirked and focused on his plate. We ate quickly without small talk.

  “You should have gone back.” Thorn mopped up the last of the egg with his toast.

  “Fuck you.” I’d already finished and sipped my fourth cup of coffee. “She’s not mine. You didn’t see the way she lit up when Sharpie walked in.”

  Thorn shook his head. “You’re wrong there, but whatever.”

  I wasn’t wrong.

  “You know it’ll happen. She’s coming back here, and you’ll be here...just saying.”

  “Maybe she’ll stay in Barden.” I didn’t think she would.

  “Nah, and Sharpie won’t leave there, so that’s not happening. Zero isn’t falling for one chick, so she’s going to be here with you. All that sexy so close—no way to resist that shit.” Thorn gave me a shit-eating grin. “I’d fuck her in a minute if she wasn’t scared of me.” His gaze went distant.

  “That waitress doesn’t have that problem.”

  Thorn grinned wide. “I know that shit is right, and I’m gonna tap that, soon. Want me to see if she has a friend?”

  I hadn’t been laid in days, and normally my answer would be hell yeah, but I wasn’t feeling it. Not that I’d be admitting that aloud. I scraped back the chair on the worn tile floor and stood. Dropping a twenty on the table I strolled out. I walked back to the hotel, and in my room I changed into running clothes. A run would clear my head and get those endorphins pumping. Before I’d made it a half mile, sweat soaked my shirt. It was 94 now and would only get hotter but still nothing like the Iraqi desert. With headphones blaring some hard-core metal I picked up my pace, needing the burn.

  I cataloged the facts I knew, which should have reassured me, yet I was unsettled. I juggled and shuffled the facts but I couldn’t get them to balance—something was still missing. How did a group like DeLuca’s have any power in Vegas? What was their business line? And what did Jerry do that put him so far up the food chain?

  Jerry could provide answers. With a plan of investigation, I felt better. Seek and destroy was Thorn’s thing—I’d been trained to find answers, and I needed a lot more of them.

  I sprinted the last mile back to the hotel. I ran up the steps to my second-floor room. The waitress was leaving Thorn’s room. “Hey, cutie, you fuck like your friend?”

  I threw my head back and laughed. “He’s one of a kind.” And I slipped in my room, turning down the offer she clearly made.

  I showered and came out to pounding on my door.

  “Where the fuck you go?” Thorn plopped down on my bed.

  “Run to clear my head.”

  “I found the cure for all that bothers you.” He grinned and lay back on my bed. “That old girl had some tricks.”

  I didn’t mention the offer she’d thrown my way because I didn’t need any more shit on my lack of sex—hell, I didn’t even understand why I wasn’t interested.

  “I’m going to go see Jerry and get some answers.”

  “Eagle is on his way over with intel.”

  Thorn’s phone buzzed then a few minutes later a single knock sounded on my door. I opened it for Eagle. He looked at us both and shook his head. “Why do I always get the shit jobs?”

  “Your mama cursed you with a forgettable face.” I grabbed the bottle of whiskey from beside the bed. “Drink?”

  Eagle took my bottle of Pendleton and drank it down. “That’s smooth.” He set the bottle on the TV stand. He strode over to the desk and rolled the chair away before he settled in. “Why do you guys pick rattraps?” He lifted an eyebrow.

  “Where are you?” He was known as a bit of a hotel snob. But in the security business, you spent lots of time in a hotel or motel. In fact some of the guys didn’t even have a house, just moved from job to job.

  “Off the strip in this great boutique place—nicer by far.” He pulled a small notebook from his front T-shirt pocket. “What I know is pretty simple. DeLuca has three new bodyguards since last night. You guys killed all three of the ones we captured and got two of the others who came to the rescue. Three made it back to report.” He looked up with a wolfish grin. “Good job with the IED.” Eagle had never told me what branch of service he came from but I knew he’d been in black ops and it had ended badly for him.

  Thorn nodded. “Had to send a message.”

  “And they listened. Let’s see. Jerry is at the Remington hosting some high-roller deal today.” He glanced at me. “You invited?”

  “Yup, planning on getting more info from Jerry as soon as we’re done here.”

  “What I can tell from the compound confirms what you found out about the layout and security. DeLuca cancelled his plan to go to Jerry’s party and is holed up at the compound. Right where we want him. His sedan is armored and he travels with all his guards now, so the compound is our best bet—the protection is spread thin there.”

  “What are their business lines?”

  “Hard to say, and I have tried to find out. People say they have a hand in porn and prostitution, a bit of loan sharking, but that doesn’t add up to a seat at the mob table in Vegas. They have to have another line, but no one is talking about that.” Eagle flipped the page in his notebook. “My gut is saying money laundering—it makes some sense, but I can’t confirm it.”

  “Whose money?”

  “I’d say other mob money but I have no fucking clue, hopefully Jerry does.” He glanced up again and frowned. “As far as I can tell, Jerry is the only one on your list from the targets who isn’t at the compound—oh, except that guy’s kids—they are out of town and arriving at the airport about five tonight.” He blew out a breath. “What will we do with those kids?”

  “Do what we told Jimmy we’d do.” Thorn sat up. “I’ll meet them at the airport and send them to Jersey on a plane.” He didn’t say anything about option two, but hopefully the boys were as smart as their old man.

  “Tug on them about the money laundering. Could be Jimmy is sending them away to preserve the business.” Eagle frowned. “That actually makes a lot of sense—better shake them down.”

  Thorn sighed. “Does having kids make you a prick? The fucking father is always about protecting the empire, not the children.”

  “They’re in their twenties.” Eagle shrugged. “What’s next?”

  “You find out about enemies?” I needed this op done and over with.

  “Not much there. Maybe some tension with the Chinese mob—but that’s with the Italians in general. The 14K Triad is building a presence in Vegas.”

  “Okay, follow up on that, Eagle. I like that idea.” Thorn grinned at me. “Take him with you to see Jerry. Let’s meet later and see if a plan develops.”

  We all left my room, and I followed Eagle to his truck.

  “Thorn is a spooky brother.” Eagle buckled up beside me.

  I hadn’t worked with Eagle often. Over the years, bikers in the security business created their own small squads. Thorn, JoJo, Mole and I had made up a squad many times in the old days. “Who do you normally work with?”

  “Levi, Nitro and Bravo. I worked with Ringer back in the day.” He grinned. “Now he’s getting fat at home.”

  “Don’t know about fat, but definitely lazy.” I laughed. Ringer was good people but more uptight about shit than either Thorn or me. “You good with the plan—it’s scorched earth.”

  He licked his lips, his biggest nervous tick. “Yeah, I’d be lying to say I’m not worried but I’m good. I’ve missed the last couple hot encounters, so I’m in.”

  “Those are the magic words.”

  “You really come here and fleece these pro
players?” Eagle grinned at me. “You don’t seem the type.”

  “You’re not the only chameleon, brother.”

  Eagle had a way of fitting in everywhere, and while I wasn’t as good at it as he was, I could change up my look and demeanor when it served me.

  We pulled in at the Remington and Eagle let the valet park his truck.

  I strode through the door and two men with hulking muscles and bad-fitting suits headed straight for us. I picked up my pace and kept going for the one on the left. I pulled back and clocked him on the jaw, he stumbled back, and I kicked his knee. I heard the squish of cartilage and tendons—he was down and out. I moved to the staircase with Eagle on my heels. His guy was down but I hadn’t watched how he’d done it.

  “What floor?” Eagle asked from behind me.

  “Seven.”

  He swore low but didn’t say anything else. We ran double time up the flights of stairs—something we’d both trained to do in the military. Sweat ran down my temple by six—I needed to do more stair laps in my training. I glanced over at Eagle—the motherfucker wasn’t even breathing hard. Worse, he had a shit-eating grin plastered across his face.

  “Need some PT?”

  I rolled my eyes with a snort—cocky bastard—then went through the door. It was quiet here. We were about three steps from Jerry’s suite when the door swung open and two more gorillas rushed out. Eagle dashed past and into the suite, leaving me to face the ape twins.

  They turned, surprised Eagle had raced past them. I used the moment of confusion against them by rushing the one closest to me. I kicked out to connect with his knee—big guys often had weak knees. The familiar crunch sounded as he dropped to the ground. I connected elbow to jaw as he fell, knocking him out. Idiot two had cocked his arm back but I slid low and punched him in the family jewels. He dropped and I ran past, giving a quick double knock. Eagle opened the door and I walked in to find Jerry staring at me, already duct-taped to a chair. I wasn’t the only one who worked fast.

  “Jerry, you little bastard. I’m going to enjoy making you squirm.” I cracked my knuckles and Jerry swallowed hard.