by Naomi West
“What is it this time?” he asked as soon as the door was shut, knowing they had already acted out this scene before. “And why didn’t anyone call me about it?”
Tar didn’t sit down this time, which couldn’t be a good sign. “I wanted to, but there wasn’t much that could be done about it. As you know, since you were the one who had arranged this whole deal, there should have been several shipments over the last couple of days. We haven’t been able to get a single one.”
“Fuck!” Tank tipped his head back, running his hands through his dark hair. He had been so involved with Piper that he had hardly given any thought to the shipments other than making sure she wasn’t the one who had ratted them out. “Why not?”
“Same shit,” Tar explained with a shrug. “The cops are heavy on us. We can’t go anywhere without seeing uniforms, and we don’t dare make it all the way to the pickup spots. I thought we could split up into smaller groups and reconvene, but nothing seems to be working. We actually had a couple of men taken down to the station for questioning, because the police are just certain we’re doing something we’re not supposed to.”
“Who were they? Are they still there?” This was a big deal. Tank had been away from the clubhouse for too long. As soon as all this shit was over with, he was going to sell his house and move back in with the rest of his men. Then he wouldn’t miss anything.
“Grease and Big Jim. They were released after only a couple of hours, and they didn’t say anything. I’ve already talked to them quite a bit about their visit to the station, and it sounds like the cops know more than they should. They were asking about shipments and agreements and everything.” Tar’s eyes, always wrinkled at the corners, suddenly looked much older.
“This can’t be happening.” Tar leaned heavily on his desk, unsure of what to do. “This was all planned out so carefully. It was going to be a great thing for the club.”
Tar rubbed the stubble on his chin. “There’s more.”
“Just lay it on me, Tar. It’s not going to make a difference at this point.”
“It might,” the older man countered. “That first shipment we got? The one in the warehouse? We haven’t been able to move any of the goods. It’s the same situation, because the cops are constantly watching us. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had cameras and wires rigged up in here somewhere.” He looked up at the walls and the bookshelf as though he expected to actually find one of these devices.
“Now you sound paranoid,” Tank criticized, “but that’s still bad news. We’re not going to make our money back if we can’t get out and sell the product. I’ll gave to get with Demon and explain that we’re going to have to postpone the shipments for a while until things cool down.” It wasn’t ideal, but there was no point in continuing to try if they couldn’t even leave their clubhouse without being under surveillance.
“Yeah, about that …”
Tank closed his eyes. He wanted to go back to bed and wake up in a different timeline, one where he had never closed the deal with the Red Devils or even met Piper in the bar. He wanted to go back to when things were simpler, even though he hadn’t thought of them that way at the time. “What?”
“He came by with a few of his men. It was a small enough force of them that I could tell they legitimately wanted to talk, so I let them in. It turns out that watching us has gotten the cops onto their backs as well. Demon is pissed, and he made some not-so-subtle threats that we’d better get this sorted out.”
“I’m not worried about them,” Tank answered. “We outnumber them by a good amount, and they don’t have nearly as much power in the city as we do. The only reason I have any interest in keeping them happy is so we can do business with them, at least theoretically. Send Eagle in here. I need to talk to him.”
“I thought you might. I’ll be right back.” Tar returned a few minutes later with Eagle in tow. He opened the door for the slim man and then made himself scarce.
Tank wished he only had to deal with men like Tar, who were easygoing and who understood how real life worked. But there were a lot of types of people in the world, and most of them weren’t anything like Tar.
“Have a seat,” Tank offered, gesturing toward the chair.
“No, thank you.” Eagle rubbed a finger down one side of his rather large nose. “I’ve already had about half a pot of coffee this morning.”
“I’m sure you know what I want to talk to you about.” Tank did his best to remain calm, even though the rage he felt inside made him want to destroy his entire office. It was so frustrating to have worked so carefully on something, only to have it crumbling into pieces before it hardly even got off the ground.
“I know, and I’ve already been on it. I’ve talked to the guys I know on the force, as well as anyone else I thought might be able to give me information. Nobody seems to know anything.” He shrugged, as though it didn’t matter that much.
Tank watched him carefully. “I hope you don’t intend to just leave it at that. Someone’s been lying to you, Eagle. Either that, or you’re lying to me.”
The other man’s jaw tightened. “Hey now. I’ve been a loyal member of this club for a long time, and I’ve been happy to use my connection to advance our own interests. You can’t just throw me under the bus when it’s convenient for you.”
“I didn’t throw you under the bus. I’m just reminding you that it’s there. One way or another, something has to give. We either need to figure out who the snitch is and get them taken care of, or we’ll have to find another way to get the shipments from the Red Devils. And to sell them, too.”
Eagle tipped his head back so that he looked down his nose at Tank. “Why don’t you check with that little bitch you’ve been keeping tied up? It seems to me like a busybody reporter who we already know has been spying on us would be a good suspect.”
“Why do you think I’ve been keeping her so close?” Maybe it had been a bad idea to say anything to the men about his hostage. She was a sexy woman, and even though he knew he wouldn’t cave to her, that didn’t mean someone else might suspect him of doing so. “But I’ve checked through everything, and I know she hasn’t told.” He had yet to get the final results on her phone, but he already knew what the answer would be. Piper had been a pain in his ass, but so far she hadn’t lied to him.
“Right.” Eagle shook his head. “I can’t say I feel very confident in that. It seems pretty odd to me that you would side with some random woman instead of your own men.”
“I never said I wasn’t on your side. I want this situation resolved more than anyone around here.” Tank was beginning to wonder why he had kept this man around other than his connections to the police.
“Which explains why we’ve hardly seen you for the last three days,” Eagle retorted sarcastically. “Look, I’ll go see what else I can find out. There are a couple more people I can talk to, but don’t be surprised when I come back emptyhanded. If you’re here at all.” He flung open the office door and left.
Tank stared at the closed door for a solid minute. There was nothing he wanted more than to run down the hallway, grab Eagle, and throw him to the floor. The kind of disrespect he had shown him wasn’t the sort of thing he accepted in his club. But whether he liked it or not, Tank knew he still needed Eagle. If there was any chance of getting the cops off their tail, then Eagle would likely be the man for the job.
His life was coming apart at the seams, and he was going to have to find a way to fix it.
18
Piper
Piper was filled with a new spirit of life as she stepped into the office. She got a few odd looks from some of the other reporters, but she didn’t care. It had been horrible to be locked up in a biker’s basement, but it had also given her a lot of time to think about her life and her job. So what if Mick didn’t want to give her any of the good leads? She would do what she had to do to get by, but she had a feeling there was something bigger out there for her. Even if her story about Tank and the
Chrome Kings would never get printed, it didn’t mean she had to give up her dream of getting a headline. She would find someone else to track, and she would do a better job of it.
She smiled as she put her hand in her jacket pocket and touched the tracker she had taken off of Tank’s car that morning on her way to work. It had been an impulsive move, but Piper knew there was no reason to leave it on there. She hadn’t even thought about the pet tracking app when she had pulled up her information on her computer, and it was one thing she had managed to hide from Tank. Piper was fairly certain at this point that he wouldn’t really hurt her unless he had a good reason to, and knowing she had put a tracking device on his vehicles just might be reason enough.
Alexa found her in the hallway. “Hey! There you are! I tried to get a hold of you this weekend to see if you wanted to go out for mimosas on Sunday.”
“Oh yeah. My aunt was sick and I had to head out into the country to see her. I didn’t get any reception there.” It was far too easy to rattle off the lie she had concocted. It seemed like the truth at this point. But Piper realized she still needed an explanation for the fact that she didn’t have her phone with her. “And then I dropped the darn thing in the kitchen sink. It’s drying out in a bowl of rice, so cross your fingers I won’t have to pay for a new one.”
“You look different today. Is that a new blazer?”
Piper had a feeling she knew exactly what was different about her. She had finally gotten laid, and the job had been done well. But she wasn’t going to announce that in the middle of the office. “No, same old one. I’m just feeling good today.”
“Oh, is it that story?” Alexa pulled her close so she could whisper without anyone overhearing. “Did you track down that biker? Are you going to march into that conference room and slam down a whopping story that will blow Mick’s mind?” She grinned in anticipation.
“Unfortunately, no. That didn’t really pan out the way I had hoped.” At least this part was the truth. She had lied to her friend once already, but she didn’t like it. “I’m just going to find something else to write about. I know my story is out there.”
The morning meeting went about the same as it did any other day. Mr. Walter shot her an odd look as she sat down, but he said nothing as he handed out the usual assignments. Piper didn’t even feel disappointed as she read her list of leads. They were simple little jobs that wouldn’t take long to blast through, and she was eager to get back to her normal life. Maybe it was because she knew that a sexy biker would be waiting for her when she got back to her apartment, but she went through her day with a spring in her step.
As Tank had promised, Piper wasn’t aware of the man who was following her. She never saw him. Once or twice, she thought she sensed someone watching her, but she didn’t dare turn around and look. Tank had instructed her not to make it obvious, and the safest thing to do was to follow his orders.
She didn’t worry about it much after that until she left work. Her car was in the parking garage closest to the office, and she was ready to get home. But as she fished her keys out of her purse and approached her spot, she noticed something large and shiny in a shadowed corner of the concrete building. Piper paused, uncertain as to why this thing had caught her attention so thoroughly. Perhaps it was the reporter in her that made her take a few steps closer.
It was a motorcycle, something similar to what Tank drove but definitely not the same one. As she stepped closer, she realized why she didn’t know what it was at first. It was lying on its side instead of propped up on its stand.
A wave of fear washed over her, instantly replacing the happy mood she’d had all day. Something definitely wasn’t right here. As much as her natural curiosity pushed her to find out what it was, she knew it was probably something that would put her in danger. She quickly went back to her car, her eyes sweeping the garage but not seeing anyone. Her fingers shook as she unlocked the door.
Two large hands grabbed her from behind, whipping her off her feet. Piper didn’t have a chance to scream before one of those hands let go of her arm and clamped around her mouth. A rough piece of cloth covered her eyes, and she had the sudden uncomfortable sensation of being lifted in the air. Her entire body tensed, bracing even though she had no idea what she was bracing for.
The sound of a vehicle door reached her ears, and she felt the impact of vehicle upholstery underneath her. The hands let go of her, but only long enough to bind her arms and legs. Piper tried to fight them off, but they were too strong. The door shut.
“Tank?” she called out, wondering if she had done something wrong and he had sent his men after her. Whatever it was, she would find a way to explain it to him. “Is that you?
“That’s her,” said a voice from the front seat. It was definitely not the low rumble that emanated from Tank. “That’s the bitch working with Tank to bring us down. We’re going to have fun with this one.”
Piper was too terrified to ask anymore questions. She didn’t understand what was going on, but somehow this was much scarier than when Tank had taken her into his possession. She curled up on the seat, frozen and wishing she had picked a different line of work.
19
Tank
It had been a long day, and Tank was ready for it to be over with. He’d made very little progress in sorting things out with the club, and he hadn’t even been able to get a hold of Demon to talk to him. His mind was swirling with all the possibilities and all the things he still needed to do, but the one thing he truly wanted to do was Piper. A good lay would settle his mind and his body, and then he could start again in the morning.
He’d taken the liberty of memorizing the key code to get into Piper’s apartment, but there was no sign of her when he arrived. His muscles tensed as he quickly ran through the rooms, double checking, but there was definitely nobody there. He couldn’t call her, because he still had her phone.
“Damn it!”
Tank had been a fool to think Piper wouldn’t be able to run off with Grinder watching her. She was resourceful and sneaky, and she had already proven that to him. He was an even bigger fool if he’d thought he could trust her enough not to try. She was probably sitting at the police station right now, spilling her guts and making arrangements for witness protection. He quickly dialed Grinder.
There was no answer, and he tried again. Still no answer. Tank’s temper was starting to get the best of him, and he barely resisted throwing the phone across the room just so he could see the little bits of it smash against the wall.
His next call was to Tar, who answered immediately. Tank ran through a bare-bones story of the situation. “She’s gone, and now so is Grinder. Something is up. I’m heading to her work to see what I can find, but I need other men on the ground searching as well. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Anything you say, boss. I get some men mobilized right away.”
Tank pulled up the number for the paper and called, but it was too late in the day and nobody answered. He had picked up his motorcycle during the day, and he flew through town to the address. Checking the garage first before he went barging into the office building, he found exactly what he had hoped not to.
Piper’s car was still parked, but Tank knew instantly that she was no longer at work. The driver’s door was open a crack, and her purse lay on the ground nearby. Tank snatched it up, furious. When he got a hold of Grinder, he was going to crack his skull. But a quick sweep of the area told him that it might not matter, since Grinder’s bike lay on its side in the corner.
“Son of a bitch!” His voice echoed off the concrete walls, but he didn’t care. He had lost Piper, one of his best men was probably injured or killed, and the cops were riding the tail of the Chrome Kings. Things couldn’t have gotten worse.
He called Tar immediately and explained the situation. “If you find Grinder, he won’t be on his bike. Tell the men to look everywhere, to talk to everyone. I don’t know what happened, but I’m damn sure going to find out.”
/> The next few hours were excruciating. A couple of times, Tank thought he noticed a squad car following him. Let them follow, he thought. All they’re going to see right now is me riding around town, and that’s not against the law. Granted, there were a few people that he wanted to talk to that were probably also being watched by the cops, but he would find a way to make it happen.
There was no sign of Piper anywhere near her apartment building. The docks and the warehouse where he had originally found her were examined as well. Tank ground his fist into his hip as he realized he had very little to go on to find out where she might be.
After he spoke with a man who had dealt weapons to the Kings before, his cell rang. “This better be good news.”
“Yes and no,” Tar replied. “We found Grinder. He came stumbling out of an alley over on 27th Street, all beat up and bruised. He didn’t have his cell on him, so he scared the piss out of the girl working at the bagel shop around the corner when he stumbled in and asked to use the phone,” the man laughed.
“I don’t have time for this.” Tank’s teeth were grinding together, making his jaw hurt. “What did he say?”
“He doesn’t know a whole lot. He was waiting for Piper to get off work when he was jumped. They beat the shit out of him until he passed out, and then they put him in a dumpster.”
“They who?” Tank demanded.
Tar sighed. “He doesn’t really know. They didn’t say anything, and he didn’t get a good look at any of them. But he said several of them were wearing red, and he thinks they were probably with the Devils. It’s just a guess, but it’s not an unreasonable one.”
“Fuck me.” Tank should have thought of that right away. In fact, he realized that the idea had been lurking at the back of his mind but he hadn’t wanted to admit it could be true. Was Piper working with the Red Devils? Had she arranged for them to get rid of her guard? It was possible. Leaving her purse behind could have been a ruse to make him think she had been abducted, when in reality she had gone with them willingly.