I tucked the phone back into my purse. “Nothing. It was just a wrong number. Now, tell me your theme again.”
She mashed her lips together while narrowing her eyes. “I’ve only told you three times already. Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been out of it all morning.”
I turned my head slightly until Crossbones came into view. He was rifling through a rounder of newborn onesies, clearly trying to blend in. Unfortunately for him, the leather vest and motorcycle boots stood out like a flashing neon sign, drawing the attention of almost everyone in the store.
Maybe Dakota had grown accustomed to Little Ricky following her everywhere she went that an added biker didn’t even register.
Bear wanted me to trust him implicitly, but the added security only increased the feelings of uneasiness. I hadn’t always known everything that had gone on within the club walls, but if we were in danger, Jamie would’ve at least given me a warning.
The bell over the door jingled, and I whipped my head around, already reaching for the gun in my purse.
Lauren.
She nodded to Crossbones before making her way over to us. “Did you tell her?” she asked Dakota.
“Not yet,” my daughter said with a shake of her head. “She’s been acting weird since we got here.”
“I’m acting ‘weird’ because we seem to have a security detail that I wasn’t made aware of,” I hissed while gesturing toward Crossbones.
“He’s with me,” Lauren answered smoothly while examining the price tag on the side of one of the cribs. “Now, let’s get right to it. Silent Phoenix won’t help us, and we won’t stop until we know what happened the night of Dakota’s wedding. It leaves us in a very precarious position. We can either stay in their good graces and look the other way, or we can make another enemy but get the answers we want.”
“What—you want to go after the Sons on our own?” I choked. It wasn’t as if the thought hadn’t crossed my mind, but we didn’t have the numbers.
Even Jamie hadn’t had enough men to take them out.
I’d gone after Manny on my own, only making it out by the skin of my teeth and with more than a little help from Jamie. The three of us against the Sons was a joke.
“I’m not suggesting we declare war or anything,” Lauren stated before lifting a small lamp off the nightstand near the display crib. “We start small. Someone within the club is giving them information. So, we follow them… see where they lead us.”
Dakota nodded in agreement as if it was the most obvious solution.
“Absolutely not.”
Lauren’s eyes widened in shock, and she brought her arms up over her chest.
“You’re saying no?” Dakota spluttered. “No? Just like that? Even knowing it might help us find my dad?”
“Dakota,” I pleaded. “Just let it go… please. Now, we came here to shop for your nursery. Let’s pick out a few things, and then we’ll grab lunch.”
“Celia,” Lauren began. “You of all people should be on board with this. Don’t you want to know where he is?”
I did.
More than anything.
But I wasn’t willing to risk anyone else’s life. Jamie wouldn’t have allowed it. Plus, Bear had asked me to stand down while the club looked into things. I’d given Molly my word.
“For all we know, someone stole his body from the casket, and this is nothing more than a wild goose chase.” The lie slipped easily off my tongue. It was still better than the alternative that Jamie had sold his soul to the feds.
“You really believe that?” Dakota asked, her head cocked to the side.
I busied myself with a basket of Minky baby blankets, rearranging each rolled bundle until they all looked uniform. “It doesn’t matter what I believe.”
“Why?” Lauren demanded.
The next basket was filled with sterling silver rattles. I bypassed them and moved on to the swaddling blankets, fighting to hold my emotions in check.
“Answer me, Celia,” she tried again. “Why are you against this?”
“Because.”
Lauren blew out a frustrated breath. “Because, why?”
“Because neither one of you has any idea what you’re up against,” I snapped before holding up a blanket. “Did you see this one, Dakota? It has baby superheroes on it.”
She flicked a small glance toward the blanket in my hand before rolling her eyes. “That’s DC, there’s nothing super about it. Stop changing the subject and tell us why you’re so against this, Mama.”
My forehead dampened with perspiration. I dropped the blanket back into the basket and moved across the store with Lauren and Dakota on my heels.
“Mama… answer me.”
“Because I said so,” I ground out through clenched teeth.
“Why?” Lauren demanded. “Just tell us why. You at least owe us that.”
The fluorescent lights overhead seemed to burn hotter, and a line of sweat ran from my temple down toward my cheek. “Because you don’t know these men.”
“And you do?” Lauren asked. “They killed my mother, Celia. Then, they showed up at my house and tried to kill me. I’m not going to sit back and wait for them to come after someone else I love. And you know they will. As much as everyone wants to pretend it’s over, we both know that it’s not. I’m not willing to sit back and wait to be picked off. What is it that’s holding you back?”
A sales associate made her way toward us with a big smile before taking in the situation. Once she saw our faces, she quickly disappeared back toward the register.
“You’re pregnant,” I admitted softly. “Both of you.”
Lauren shook her head with a bitter laugh. “You know, I didn’t peg you as being a traditional sort of woman, but I guess I was wrong. According to you, I should just be sitting at home, waiting on my blessed arrival, right?”
I spun until I was facing both of them, my chest heaving with each ragged breath. “You’re pregnant, and you think that for whatever reason, it protects you. Not with these men. It makes you a more lucrative target, don’t you see that?”
My hand came up over my mouth, but I pushed the words out. “They won’t hesitate to break your body with theirs, and they won’t stop until the very thing you love has been ripped away from you. They won’t care that you’re pregnant when they leave you bruised and bloody, begging for help that will never come. I can’t let you go after them.”
“Mama, is that what happened to you?” Dakota whispered.
Lauren sucked in a sharp breath. “Jesus.”
My eyes stung with tears that wouldn’t come, and I hitched my purse up on my shoulder before moving toward the front door. I didn’t stop until I reached Jamie’s truck.
After climbing in and locking the doors behind me, I let my head fall against the steering wheel with a soft thud. I’d admitted my worst fears and released my demons all in one breath. I had to hope it was enough to keep them from doing something stupid.
My phone vibrated from inside my purse, and I fumbled for it without lifting my head. My fingers closed around the rectangular shape, and I pulled it into my lap.
Can you come by now? I don’t feel comfortable leaving the cash somewhere for you to pick up.
For two people who hadn’t lost a minute of sleep stealing from my kids over the years, it seemed as if my parents had suddenly decided to grow a conscience.
Their insistence would’ve made sense were Jamie still around, but as far as they knew, he was dead.
Why were they in such a rush now?
I’ll be there in fifteen.
I quickly tapped the reply and leaned back in the seat. What I wanted to do was go home and clear my head, or maybe rewind back to a time when Dakota knew nothing of biker clubs.
My phone began buzzing again before switching over to the truck’s system. When Angel’s name flashed across the display, I cleared my throat and picked up. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself. Where are you?” His voice boomed through the
speakers, and I turned the volume down before pulling out of the parking lot.
“I’m—my parents texted.”
He went quiet before drawling, “Didn’t know Satan had a cell phone.”
I grinned and made a right back toward Broadway. “Yeah, makes it easier to keep tabs on the demons.”
“What’d they want, Celia?”
“They, uh, they said they have the girls’ money. I’m headed there now.”
He clicked his tongue against his teeth. “Just like that, huh. Why now?”
“That’s what I’ve been asking myself. The timing is odd, isn’t it?”
“Completely,” Angel said, and I could picture the look of confusion on his face as clearly as if he was sitting next to me. “Considerin’ that Jamie all but forgave the debt at Dakota’s wedding.”
“Wait—he did?” Most of the details of Dakota’s wedding had begun to blur, making it impossible to remember what, if anything, we’d talked about.
Had he told me?
“He damn sure did, so why are they in such a hurry to give you the money back now? Don’t sit right with me, kid.” I turned on my blinker and merged into the turning lane, lost in the monotonous clicks.
“Tell me you ain’t headed there alone, Celia,” Angel chided. “You’re too smart for that, girl. I’ll meet you, but your ass ain’t steppin’ foot inside without me. You hear what I’m sayin’?”
“I hear you, old man,” I said with another soft smile. “How far out are you?”
He chuckled. “You tell me.”
I pulled into my parent’s long driveway, unsurprised to see the ocean blue Chevy truck parked behind their cars. “You stalking me now?” I asked, as he swung the door open and climbed out.
“Nah, just makin’ sure you’re safe. C’mon, let’s go find out what these two assholes really want.” He patted the holster on his hip. “She ain’t got a yard full of cops this time either, does she?”
I pushed the doorbell. “We’re not shooting anyone… we’ll just get the money and go, okay?” I’d never admitted it, but Angel had given me a much-needed distraction from the conversation at the baby boutique.
Several minutes passed, and no one came to the door. Angel rapped his knuckles against the wood with a frown, keeping one hand on his gun.
After telling myself that they were in the backyard, I grabbed the doorknob and twisted. It opened to an empty den.
Angel held his arm out before moving around me and into the house. “Stay there, Celia.”
“I’m not standing on the porch,” I snapped. “I’m sure they’re just out—”
The small breakfast table where my father sat and read the paper every morning while my mother made breakfast was now covered in money.
Large stacks of cash that completely covered the wood underneath.
It looked as if someone had robbed a bank.
“Angel,” I whispered, no longer convinced that him drawing a gun was overreacting. “What’s happening?”
He shook his head. “Your parents always have this kind of cash lying around?”
I shook my head. “Never.”
“Let’s get outside and call the club, okay?”
I’d just opened my mouth to agree when I saw it. I sucked in a sharp breath and pointed with shaking fingers towards the cabinets.
The corner of the counter near the stove was smeared with blood. It ran down the lower cabinets and had pooled on the carpet.
Home invasion.
A burglary gone wrong.
The cash on the table mocked every one of my plausible explanations. The text I’d received hadn’t come from my father, but from whoever was responsible for this.
I shuddered with the realization that Lauren was right. The Sons hadn’t disappeared. They’d been lying out of sight in the tall grass, just waiting for the next opportunity to strike.
And it was only a matter of time before they came for me, which meant I was going to have to break my promise to Bear.
If the Sons wanted a war, I’d give them a war.
Chapter Seven
Grey
Awareness settled over me, ringing loudly in my ears and pricking the backs of my eyelids even as my body fought against it; urging me to stay in a state of unconsciousness until I was healed. Saint might’ve wanted me alive, but Cobra was doing everything in his power to send me to the Reaper.
It was payback, for the things I’d done to Manny; the ways I’d forced him to stay alive until Celia was ready to put him down.
My fingers brushed against cotton sheets, and I breathed a shallow breath of relief that I was no longer lying on the cold concrete floor. Reluctantly, I opened one eye, and then the other before taking in my surroundings.
I was back where I started—a hell made up of complete white. My nose wrinkled at the medicinal stench in the air, more evidence that I was going to be kept on the brink of death for as long as it suited them. I slowly turned my head to the side to see that my bruised and cut left wrist was back in fabric restraints while my right was in a sling, securely fasted to my chest.
A wave of nausea washed over me as I tried lifting it, leaving me to guess as to whether it was broken or simply dislocated. I tried swallowing past the lump in my throat, immediately wincing at the soreness. The ringing in my ears intensified, along with the urge to cry.
Even if I did make it out alive, I had no way of defending myself when my shooting arm was being held together with bandages and a nylon hammock.
The room suddenly fell silent just as a familiar voice dryly noted, “Well, this all looks fuckin’ terrible.”
Ignoring the jolt of pain in my neck, I lifted my head and stared disbelievingly toward the center of the room. “What the fuck? It ain’t possible—I gotta be dreamin’.”
“Well, that sure as fuck ain’t the greeting I expected,” Slim said with a laugh, pulling a metal folding chair up alongside my bed. “The fuck have you gotten yourself into this time?”
“But, you’re… you’re dead,” I spluttered. “I saw you lyin’ in the goddamn casket!”
He jerked his head up and down. “Yeah, I’m still fuckin’ dead. From the looks of it, you are too. Jesus fuckin’ Christ, I leave you alone for three years and look at you!”
I fell back against the mattress with a heavy sigh, somehow comforted by the confirmation that I’d lost my goddamned mind and was now chatting with the ghost of my best friend.
“Yeah, well, I’m still sober,” I said as I watched him crack his knuckles. “Don’t that count for somethin’?”
His eyes wandered down my neck and chest before coming to rest on my arm. “Maybe if you weren’t tied down to a fuckin’ bed, we could celebrate. Tell me, how the hell did you end up in this mess, Jamie?”
“I don’t know… just lucky, I guess.” My eyelids grew heavy, and I blinked, fighting the urge to give in to oblivion. I’d spent years wishing that I could hear the sound of his voice again. I wasn’t letting myself fall asleep now. “They—the men who did this—they call themselves the Sons of Death—”
He let out a rough bark of laughter before leaning back in the chair. “Well, they ain’t mincin’ words, are they? I guess Sons Who Like Stabbin’ and Shit would’ve been too long to fit on a kutte.”
“You know,” I groaned. “Don’t remember you bein’ this funny while you were alive.”
“Oh, you just weren’t payin’ attention. I was a fuckin’ hoot. Ask anybody—well, fuck. Guess you can’t exactly do that, can ya? Tell me about these bikers. What do you know about them?”
I ran my tongue over my teeth, still tasting the blood from where I’d bitten down on it while being hung. “You remember us lookin’ for the pricks that hurt Celia?”
He nodded. “Yeah, you ever catch ‘em?”
“All but one. From what I can gather, Cobra started the Sons—met up with someone named Saint, and they fuckin’ dismantled my club from the inside.”
“Jesus, who rolled over?”
Slim smiled. “Bear? Easiest way to find out if it’s him would be to check his blood alcohol level. Fucker tends to drink himself into a stupor when he’s stressed out. You know what I’m talkin’ about.”
I smiled at the truth of his words. “You should’ve seen him at your funeral, Slim. He’d pour a shot out for you, then knock one back. He passed out on the porch, so we dragged his ass into the bed of David’s truck, left him to sleep it off. Only, we didn’t know that David and Elizabeth were stayin’ down in Port Arthur.”
“Oh, Christ.”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “He woke up covered in seagull shit with no idea where the hell he was.”
Slim wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes as he erupted in another fit of laughter. “Sounds like Bear. You really think he’d turn on you?”
“I don’t know anything anymore. Someone put me here… just wish I knew who that was.”
He ran his hands over his face before folding them under his chin with a resolute nod. “What has this Cobra guy given up?”
I shrugged, fighting to remember anything important that might’ve been said before I’d been beaten into unconsciousness.
“C’mon, Jamie. Think. Why does he want you to think it’s Mikey or Bear?”
“They want me to think the club’s turned against me?”
He nodded. “Don’t forget that. They’ll use it to try to get into your head. Today, it’s Mikey. Tomorrow, it might be Celia. Fight to hold on to what you know. Would Bear roll over?”
“No,” I answered firmly.
“Good. Now tell me who would.” Slim leaned back in the chair, somehow looking more alive as a zombie than I did with a heartbeat.
“I got no fuckin’ clue. I’ve been lookin’ into it for the better part of a year, and I’m no closer now than when I started.”
Savior: Silent Phoenix MC Series: Book Five Page 9