Freedom (Blackstone Series Book 3)

by J. L. Drake

  “I wasn’t.” Trigger lit a joint and leaned back to blow the smoke away from my face. “But I made a promise to my friend that I’d look out for you.”

  “Honestly, Trigger, I don’t think he wants that anymore.”

  “I disagree.”

  “Then we agree to disagree.” I reached for the handle, and once again he stopped me.

  “We can do this all night, Catalina.”

  “Fine.” I folded my arms, and I could swear I saw him smirk. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Depends.”

  “Did you bring me here because you were afraid of me knowing where you live? Because of who I am?”

  He pointed over his shoulder to a rundown one-story building with blacked-out windows. “Clubhouse is right there, and this is my strip joint. I didn’t take you to the clubhouse because Mike wouldn’t have wanted me to.”

  “Why?”

  “Lots of assholes.”

  Wait.

  “Wait, you said he wouldn’t want me to. Does that mean he doesn’t know I’m with you?”

  Trigger sucked in another long breath. “I spoke to Mike five minutes before I came across you in the desert. When I called him back, he’d already left.”

  I shook my head and let the fact that Mike struggled mentally about where I was hit the center of my stomach. Sinking against the door, I felt the weight of the world take me in its hold.

  “Ahlam Shahraban,” I whispered, and Trigger stepped closer.

  “What about him?”

  “My father has a meeting with him, and he didn’t know I was in the library. They’ll be looking to make a deal. The route will be through Baja to Hawaii.”

  “Hawaii?”

  “Some guy from Dubai is looking to take over the west coast to feed his drugs through California. He wants the Stripe Backs to be the middlemen.”

  “Is that so?” He sniffed once, and I thought he was going to leave, but he took a seat next to me.

  “I wrote the name down. It’s in my bag. I’ll make sure I give it to you before I leave.”

  “That was a big risk…listening.”

  I shrugged. “When people don’t think you’re a threat, they get sloppy. I hadn’t been back in seven years, but being in that house for only a week, I got pretty well caught up on all the shit they’re into.”

  He nodded and tugged at the end of his beard. I sat in silence so he could mull the information over. I stared at the van and the line of bikes and wondered if the locals came here or if they knew better.

  “The biggest part of a motorcycle club is trust and loyalty,” he murmured roughly. “Initially, I trusted you because Mike did.” He peered down at me. “Now you’ve handed me something that could protect my club, and for that, you’ve earned my trust on your own.”

  I really needed to hear that. “Thanks.” I tried for a smile, but my body was still in knots.

  Morgan and Rail joined us a few moments later, and they told me I was going to a hotel. They refused to let me pay when we checked in. I really wanted to protest. I had money, after all, but I was really tired and just let them guide me into the suite.

  Rail was told to stay in the living room tonight, and I intended to head for the shower, but the bed looked so good, I never made it. The last thing I remembered thinking was I had a guy named Rail on my couch. Who would have thought? My eyes were so heavy, I just let them close.

  ***

  “Hey.” Mike’s voice broke through the music of the Brew, his charming smile aimed at me.

  “I didn’t know you were coming in.” I handed a guy a beer before I turned back to the most handsome man who ever lived.

  “I got home early and wanted to see you.” He snagged my waist and pulled me into his arms. I didn’t care I was at work. Nothing was better than this Irons’s hug. Well, any Irons’s hug. I even made Charlotte give them all the time now.

  He leaned back and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “You know, I picture your face at least three times a day, and my imagination still can’t capture just how beautiful you really are.”

  I blushed and felt my heart quicken. “And yet you stand here and have not kissed me yet.”

  “But if I kiss you, I’d close my eyes, and then you’d be gone.”

  “Not gone.” I leaned in and pressed my lips to his for a moment then moved my hands to his chest to settle over his heart. “Never, never gone.”

  I jolted awake and felt my tear-soaked pillow against my swollen eyes.

  My head started that terrible loop right where it had left off last night. How could something so wonderful be taken from me so quickly? Was it karma’s sick game to punish me for being born into the wrong family?

  I tossed the blankets off, showered, and flopped open my suitcase. I felt around until I found a clean bra and panties, then slipped on a pair of ripped jeans and a tight AC/DC t-shirt. I felt a little better. As I was about to close the case, I felt something hit my fingertips. My mother’s famous little black leather bag was tucked into the side pocket. Ever so slowly, I unzipped it and glanced inside.

  No woman should feel scared or alone. Use this wisely as I have. xo M.

  A handgun lay next to a burner phone, and a sharp ring with a metal shard on the end was hidden neatly inside. I looked up at the ceiling and let out a long breath. I wished I could take back all those years of hating her so unjustly. I was young and thoughtless and angry. To know she had given her life for mine brought tears to my eyes.

  Once everything was back in its place, I rolled my belongings out into the room and spotted Rail at the table.

  “Morning, Cat.” He grinned through a mouthful of pancakes. “Hungry?”

  “I am.”

  “Good,” he handed me the syrup, “I hate women who don’t eat. Oh, and don’t freak out, please, because our prospect, Kane, is here.”

  Kane?

  I whirled around to find a man cleaning blood off his hands with a rag.

  Holy shit.

  A full-on human skull was tattooed on his stomach. The eyes were his pierced nipples, and his chest was, well, I didn’t know, as I was too focused on the blood that still stained his face.

  “Morning,” he said with studied nonchalance as he reached for a shirt from the chair next to me. I cringed in shock.

  I looked back at Rail, confused. Had he just witnessed what I had?

  “We had a run-in with an SB prospect.” Rail tilted his head at my fork. “You want me to wipe Charlie off your fork?”

  “I’m good,” I held up a hand, then slid the fork with a droplet of blood over and grabbed myself a new one.

  Don’t throw up, don’t throw up.

  “I’ve never been more turned on.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me when another man walked through the door. “That’s Zay, Trig’s half-blood.”

  Okay…I may need a road map, here, people.

  “Tray, I need you to deal with it. Me and Kane are heading there now.” Zay waved at Rail as he and Kane left together. Rail chuckled then checked his phone like this was the norm.

  In through the nose and out the mouth, Cat. You can handle this.

  “Eat up because we need to move.”

  I dove into the heavy stack of pancakes and nearly moaned at the flavor. I was starving.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Gus’s.”

  Who?

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Mike

  The edges of the paper were now bent, and the middle was wrinkled, but I couldn’t stop reading the note.

  Mike,

  I know I wasn’t honest about my past, but it’s my past. I never thought you would collide with it. Everyone comes from somewhere, Mike, good and bad, but the actions we choose are what define us. I left and never looked back. I may have been born an Esteban, but I’m a Mendez now, and for once in my life, I’m proud of who I am. Of who I have become.

  The look on your face, when you saw me in the house, will forever haunt me. I will not apologize
for being me, but I am so sorry I hurt you. I never meant to fall in love with you, Mike, but I have, and I can only hope that time will heal the tear in the center of my heart.

  Goodbye,

  Cat (Juliet)

  My thumb brushed over the word Juliet, and I squeezed my eyes shut. We were in our own version of that story, and I hated it. In her own way, she tried to tell me. I just didn’t want to see or hear it. I didn’t care because I had fallen too.

  Her hands covered her forehead as she paced the dock, annoyed that Lizzy was on her way back. We had just found a moment alone, and she was once again trying to warn me of something I didn’t want to see.

  “You don’t get it, Mike. We’re like a modern version of Romeo and Juliet…”

  “They ended up together in the end,” I tried to counter.

  “Death separates, and with my blood, I’m not going where you are.”

  I dropped my arms and moved in front of her. Brushing her hair off her face, I cupped her cheeks. “If you believe in us, we can make this happen.”

  “You good?” Cole peered down at me, concerned, and drew me from my thoughts. I nodded, and he offered a hand to help me up. “You in there?” He was referring to my head.

  “Yeah,” I lied, but I would always do my job.

  We gathered our stuff and started the next leg of our journey, the border. We still had five guys we had to deal with before we crossed it.

  “So, what will happen to us?” Marianna spoke softly as she watched out the window. “I mean, we will not be free just because we will be in California.”

  Her haunting words couldn’t be truer. You were never really free from the cartels. If they wanted you, they got you.

  “Be quiet!” I responded with pretend harshness when the sleeping man behind her twitched his eyebrows. “You will do as you’re told.” She looked at me with understanding and let it go. We both watched him until he began to snore again.

  “You know what that one does to me at night?” She used her chin to point at the sleeping cartel member. A haunted expression I’d seen before on Savanah’s face when she spoke of her ordeal, appeared in her eyes. “He told me I looked better to him with bruises. He has broken my bones and hurt me in so many ways. He is a pig, but he never broke me.” Her expression shifted to hate as she turned to the window, her finger pressed against the glass where a bug had been squished. “I did drug runs for a year, and he did so much damage.” Her fingers peeled back her jean skirt to show me a long scar. “I’ll follow your directions. I will do whatever I am asked, but you must help us when we are in the US, or we will simply be brought back to this.”

  Why was the world so screwed up? When did pain and suffering take over and compassion fade into the wind? It was an endless battle that wouldn’t stop in my life or the next, but if we didn’t try to fix it, who would?

  “Nine minutes to the border,” Cole crackled over the radio.

  “Truck one, stop and knock ’em cold.”

  Silence fell over the airwaves, but finally, John spoke up. “Copy that, pulling over.”

  Just as we rounded the corner, I cleared my throat. “We have company, Marianna,” I lied. “I need you to stare straight ahead and not move at all. Can you do that? I need you to promise.”

  “Yes.” She sat a little straighter, and I kept one hand on the wheel and watched as we grew closer. When the roar of the engine idled down, the man behind me woke with a startle.

  “What’s happening?” His voice was still slurred with sleep.

  “Green light,” I chirped over the radio and slammed my truck into park. Marianna’s head did not move as I twisted suddenly and pulled the man’s arm forward to slap handcuffs around his wrists. His eyes went wild, and he tried to fight me, but I was ready and knocked him out with the butt of my gun. When his body went slack, I jumped out of the truck and hauled his ass to the ground. I bound his legs to his arms with him on his belly.

  Cole joined me and dropped his own piece of shit down by mine, and then John did the same. Mark, who returned with a fat lip and a big smile, nodded at his two on the ground. All five were knocked out cold.

  If Trigger had been here, this problem would have been wrapped up in minutes, but we couldn’t think that way, so we called in the two guys at North Rock to come and deal with them. We could only hope the cartel wouldn’t beat them to the punch.

  The walk back to the truck took effort, and my anger grew with each step.

  “Irons?” Cole called as I grabbed a bag from the back of the trailer and headed over to the men.

  “Mike?” Mark followed me back. “What’s happening, man? We’re losing time, here.”

  “They feed on fear, so fear is what they’ll get.”

  He kept his mouth shut while I went to work, doing what I did best. A few times, Cole cleared his throat, but my brothers knew I needed this, so they kept their distance. We all broke at some point.

  Seventeen minutes later, my masterpiece was built.

  “Shit,” Mark huffed behind me, “that’s intense.”

  I kicked the man who had driven with me and woke him from his fog. He groaned and cursed before he opened his eyes in confusion.

  “What the hell?”

  “I wouldn’t move if I were you.” I kept my voice deep and calm.

  He called out to the other men. One stirred slightly, then a couple more.

  Six water bottles filled with an amber liquid circled the men. Six wires were attached to the tops, which then fed in between each of their legs to a square piece of wood they all lay on. A landmine sat near it so they could all clearly witness what fate had in store for them.

  “One of you moves,” I grunted, “you all blow.” I spoke in clear Spanish so there could be no misunderstanding.

  “Salvador will kill you for this. Kiss your freedom goodbye,” the second man hissed.

  I smiled at him.

  “He’ll kill the women too,” he spat and twisted to look at Marianna.

  In a flash, I had my weapon pointed at his head.

  “This,” Cole stepped into my line of sight and pointed to my makeshift bomb, “is a much more fitting death for him, don’t you think?”

  He was right, but I needed an extra minute to allow my hatred for him and his kind to sink into his head.

  In one movement, I lowered my weapon and headed back to my truck.

  “Move on to the border like we planned, checkpoint three.” Cole slapped my shoulder and signaled for John and the rest to move out. They were to be the first to cross. Elena was with John, and she was the one we’d been sent to get, so she needed to cross first. Her mother Martina had the list of names we so desperately needed. Her intel would change the way we dealt with the cartel, so we needed Elena safe and sound.

  Whack! I was hit with something from behind and a puff of white exploded around me.

  “Who are you?” Marianna yelled. I jumped out of the way, then went for the broken coke bag she held. What the hell, had she completely lost her mind?

  “Stop, Marianna! What the heck are you doing? We have to get going. What does it matter who we are? We’re the ones who are trying to get you out of this hellhole.” I spat on the ground to try to rid myself of the tinny flavor that now laced with my saliva.

  “Back to what?” She shook her head. “My life ended the day I was taken. I will never go back. They will always find us.”

  “What the hell, then?” I tossed my arms in the air, unable to understand her. Every damn moment we stood here were moments lost getting across the border.

  She headed toward the bound cartel. “You might want to hurry.” She pointed to the road. “They have eyes everywhere.”

  Seriously?

  “Marianna, you said anything was better than them.”

  “I’m staying. I can look out for myself.” She didn’t move.

  Fuck!

  “Mike, where the hell are you? Get your truck moving.” Cole sounded pissed.

  “Logan, my ride wen
t batshit crazy. She’s staying here.”

  “Fine, leave her. We don’t have any more time. Pull out and catch up.”

  I hated to leave someone we’d tried so hard to help, but at the end of the day, we were sent here on a mission, and Marianna wasn’t part of it.

  I headed back to the driver’s side and hopped inside. I watched her the mirror. She just stood there while I drove off, and I watched until she was only a speck.

  “Best of luck, then,” I muttered and hit the gas to pick up speed. I was over it.

  Assassin by Muse pumped through the speakers when I felt it. My adrenaline pulsed to the beat, and I became hyperaware of my surroundings.

  Shit! I had never done cocaine, so the fact that it was forced into my system was a battle all in itself.

  The dust rose and curled into a blinding cloud in the distance behind me. One of the cartel members must have tried to escape and set the bomb off.

  Holy shit, Marianna.

  There was nothing I could do but head north as fast as I could and make contact with Lopez. I knew the explosion would draw attention. Sure enough, several Jeeps flew by me in the opposite direction. As I continued, I could taste the border with each click on the odometer.

  “Lopez?” I tried my radio every few minutes. “Lopez, can you copy this?”

  Silence.

  “Lopez’s radio is shit,” Cole came through. “I’m at the border. Take lane number four. That’s our guy. I have a visual, and we have the green light to cross. I’ll reach out when we’re over.”

  “Copy that,” I answered.

  I rubbed my head, and some white powder floated down from my hair.

  Shit!

  Using my free hand, I peeled off my t-shirt and pulled out a new one. I finger-combed my hair and used a little of my water and my old shirt clean the rest up. Once I could focus again, I pressed the gas pedal to the floor, but it wasn’t long before sweat lined the collar of my clean shirt, and my heart sped up as I grew closer.