“Follow me.” Molly tugged him toward her car. “Dakota,” she said as they reached the trunk. “You wanted to know how Bear was taking the news.”
When she hit the release button, my eyes went wide. It was filled to the brim with weapons.
“Let’s just say I’m doing penance for my sins. Little Ricky, call your father. Tell him we’ve smoked out his traitor and we’d like an army. We’re going to war.”
“How soon can we leave?” I asked, running my hands reverently over the steel on a Glock.
“Dakota, while I appreciate the help, I think it’s best if you let the professionals handle this—”
“But I solved the mystery,” I argued. “Me, Jimmy. I discovered the traitor. Oh, and newsflash, they’ve got my sister. I’m not sitting this one out.”
He bit his lip. “I just think that maybe until you’re a little more comfortable—”
I loaded bullets into the magazine before sliding it back into the Glock and calmly unloaded it into the paper target on the tree. I resisted the urge to blow the smoke from the barrel like they did in the movies. “I think I’m comfortable.”
“Are we just ignoring the fact that you faint at the sight of blood?” Zane asked from behind me.
I smiled, knowing that was as close as he was going to get to giving me his blessing. I looked over my shoulder with a wink. “Then I guess I just won’t look, will I, Big Guy?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Grey
“Get up.”
I jerked awake at the sound, reaching for Kate even as my body screamed in agony from the movement. She continued snoring softly beside me, blissfully unaware of the danger lying just feet away. Her hands curled around her stomach as if she was giving herself a hug.
I would’ve smiled had there not been someone else in the room. Reluctantly, I rolled toward the voice. “You can torture me here, Cobra. Ain’t leavin’ her alone.”
When he moved, a shaft of light from the doorway hit me in the face. He’d never left it open before. “I’m getting you both out of here.”
I cocked my head to the side, certain I’d misunderstood. “You’re bustin’ us out? What does your buddy, Saint, think about that?”
“Saint lost control of the situation the moment your son was killed. I don’t have much time and, unless you’ve decided to rot in here, we need to move.”
“Katydid,” I whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. “Need you to wake up, darlin’.”
She smacked her lips together, exhaling a soft sigh.
“Drugs are still in her system. She’ll have to be carried.” When I went to lift her, he chuckled. “By me, Grey. You won’t make it to the door with her.”
Bile surged in my gut at the thought of what I was about to do. I was handing my unconscious daughter over to the motherfucker who’d raped my wife. I’d put the very thing that had pulled me back from the brink of death and given me purpose into the arms of a monster.
Celia would’ve had me by the balls if she knew.
Probably would’ve sent me to hell herself.
As we didn’t have any other options, I decided it’d just be one more thing I took to my grave.
The fluorescent bulbs flickered overhead as we stepped out into the hall, and I winced at the brightness until my eyes adjusted. At first glance, it looked like we were inside an aircraft hangar, but without windows or some form of natural light coming in, we could’ve been anywhere.
Dizziness sucker punched me in the jaw, and I placed my left hand on the wall in front of me, fighting against a body that wanted death.
Kate.
I had to get Kate somewhere safe.
With that thought, I pushed off the wall and forced myself to keep moving. “Where are we?”
Cobra turned, and I was struck by Kate’s arm, dangling limply at her side. If I hadn’t seen her chest rising and falling, I would’ve thought she was dead.
“New Mexico. Place was used as a nuclear missile vault for the military back during the Cold War. We don’t have much time—”
I looked down the deserted hallway, suddenly wary of taking another step. “How do I know Saint’s boys won’t be waiting around the corner?”
“You don’t,” he stated flatly, keeping his back to me this time. “If you’d feel more comfortable staying behind, be my guest, but I gave you my word. I have no desire to kill a man who’s already broken—an opinion that Saint doesn’t share.”
I nodded, suddenly too tired to talk.
“The best games are the ones that get pushed into overtime. Evenly matched adversaries, if you will. No one wants to watch a game that’s won right out of the gate.”
“Not really,” I huffed. “Not really a sports fan.”
“Of course not,” Cobra answered cryptically. “Men like us prefer a different sort of playing field, don’t we?”
We moved at a slow pace down hallways and up flights of stairs. I clung to consciousness with everything I had and forced my legs to keep moving. When Cobra threw his back into a metal door, I went down to my knees, blinded by something I hadn’t seen in months.
The sun.
I dug my hand into the soft soil, letting the grains slip through my fingers. Everywhere I looked, I was met with vibrant bursts of color from the crayon blue sky to the green on the trees. I’d been surrounded by whites and grays for so long that it was almost overwhelming.
The scent of pine was everywhere, and I breathed it in, silently weeping at my first taste of freedom.
“You can cry later,” Cobra reminded me. “Right now, we need to get away from here.”
I composed myself and, ignoring the twinge in my shoulder, I pushed myself to my feet with a low grunt and took one last look at my prison. It was cleverly hidden in the side of a mountain, and I would’ve rotted away for decades before anyone ever came across it.
I followed Cobra through a narrow clearing, paying close attention to the sticks and pinecones littering the ground. One wrong step and I’d be finished.
Kate.
I had to stay strong for Kate.
A tan Jeep Cherokee straight out of the seventies sat just off a worn dirt road. Otherwise, the place was deserted. Not a motorcycle in sight.
“Where is everyone?” I asked gruffly.
He opened the passenger seat and slid Kate’s limp body across the bench seat. “I imagine they’re following up on the lead into your son’s death—”
“There’s a lead?” The ignorant sound of hope in my voice shocked even me. It wouldn’t matter if every single one of them was brought to justice, it wouldn’t bring him back.
Just like killing Donald hadn’t brought Ma back to me.
“False lead,” he corrected. “I just needed to buy us some time.”
Despite my misgivings, the Jeep fired up with a deep rumble. Cobra threw it into drive and branches scraped along the windows, pleading for us to stay. The tires dipped into a muddy rut, but he managed to get us back onto the road.
Kate cried out, not quite asleep but not fully awake, before sitting up with a sudden gasp. Her eyes were wild and frantic as she searched the cabin. “Mike.”
She relaxed again, but that one word was enough to detonate the bomb residing where my heart used to be.
“Kate was there,” Cobra stated, keeping his eyes on the winding road. “When they shot him. It’s why Saint wanted her—maybe he thought she’d reveal the killers with the right motivation.”
How far was she willing to go to save her old man?
“Thought you were all set to build your cult leader’s compound. What changed your mind?”
“Truthfully?” He glanced over at me. “He lost sight of what we were doing. Going after your in-laws instead of dismantling Silent Phoenix and killing you.”
Kate’s head fell against my shoulder, and I shifted to keep her from falling forward. “What do you know about Saint anyway? Where the fuck did he come from?”
“Honestly? I never met the guy. Woul
dn’t surprise me if he was some politician with the kind of power he has—”
“Wait a minute,” I argued. “You’re tellin’ me that you went to war for someone you never met and now you think you’re just gonna walk away without him findin’ out?”
Saint had taken over the Sons without revealing his identity.
I was wrong before. This wasn’t some David Koresh-sounding bullshit, it was straight out of the Wizard of fucking Oz.
“Saint’s become obsessed with finding out who was responsible for killing your son. Wants to start another war before finishing this one. I’ll be long gone before he realizes anything is wrong. I never gave a fuck about who capped the kid.”
I clenched my jaw and leaned across the seat, ignoring the flashing in my vision. “You don’t give a fuck about my kid?”
He clicked his tongue against his teeth with a shake of his head. “You seem to have me confused with Mother Teresa. I only ever cared about what happened to you—”
My nostrils flared. It was the same shit he’d been saying since day one. “Yet here you are, helpin’ me escape when you should’ve put me down months ago.”
“Do you know what it’s like to set out with a clear goal, this one thing you just have to accomplish, only to wake one morning to find you can’t remember why you started in the first place?”
I shrugged my good shoulder and slouched down until the back of my head rested against the seat. I needed sleep; we could talk later.
“Grey.” Cobra snapped his fingers. “Stay awake.”
“Why?” I groaned. “Don’t know how to fuckin’ drive without me givin’ directions?”
He slammed on the brakes so suddenly that I barely had time to get my left arm out in front of Kate before my right shoulder slammed against the dash with enough force to leave me gasping for breath.
“As I was saying…” Cobra took his foot off the brake, and the Jeep began moving downhill again. “I started the entire fucking thing to avenge the Serpents. The club may have turned on me, but my mission never changed. I was always going to kill you.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s stoppin’ you now?” I wheezed out through clenched teeth, before bracing myself for the next impact.
He surprised me by laughing. “I’ve told you. I want to know I took you down at your best.” The Jeep slowed to another stop, and he retrieved a cell phone from the glove box. “So, this is where I leave you—”
I looked out at towering pine trees lining either side of the mountain trail and then back to him. “And where the fuck is this?”
“Couple miles outside Mirror Lake.” He held the phone out. “You may have service, you may not. Just know that they’ll trace the phone, so you’ll want to ditch it soon. I think this makes us even now, no?”
Mirror Lake?
I wracked my addled brain for the memory, almost weeping with relief when it came to me.
“What if we took the girls to Mirror Lake?” Wolverine asked with a sly grin. “Got a cabin up there—all the fishing gear. Might keep ‘em entertained for a weekend. Always kept you busy as a kid.”
“I’d be willin’ to get in on that,” Angel added. “Just leaves Celia, all alone in that house. Might be a good chance to reconnect…”
I shook my head, hiding a smile. “You two just got it all figured out, don’t you? Alright, if you take the girls, I’ll see what I can do to win their mama back.”
Wolverine clapped me on the shoulder. “That’s a fine idea you’ve come up with, kid. A fine idea.”
The door swung open underneath my hand, and I checked the side pocket door for a weapon before pulling Kate to the edge of the seat with my good arm. I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done even if I found something. I couldn’t shoot, and I didn’t have one-tenth of the strength I’d need to use a knife.
It didn’t mean this was the end of the road for us, though.
“You of all people should know that we’ll never be even ’til blood’s been drawn,” I said, as Kate brought her hand up to pat my cheek. “Soon as I’m healed, I’m comin’ after you with everything I’ve got. Made a promise to my girl that I’d send you screamin’ to the Reaper.’
Cobra’s eyebrows went up in surprise even as his face lit up with a manic grin. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. I think I’ll be working alone from here on out, though.”
“Tell you what,” I said, draping Kate’s body over my left shoulder. “Figure I’ve got a couple of weeks to a month before I’m in any shape to fight. Seems like a fair head start to me.”
As I moved to slam the door, he leaned across the seat. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The terrain was uneven, and in spite of my attempts to wake her, Kate was nothing but dead weight. I raised my shoulder, trying to reposition her several times, but was still soaked in a layer of sweat within minutes of hiking into the forest.
Trees seemed to bend and arch onto the overgrown path, slowing us down. If we didn’t move faster, the Sons would be on us before sundown. I was so focused on the low-lying branches that I missed the exposed roots and stumbled to the forest floor with a low groan. Instead of blinding pain, something soft broke my fall.
When Kate cried out almost immediately and began struggling, I realized that my soft landing hadn’t been dirt. I rolled away from her to assess the damage.
“My leg,” she whimpered, rocking back and forth. “Help.”
Her bare foot was twisted at an abnormal angle and already swollen to twice its normal size.
“Oh, fuck, Katydid.” I pressed my fingers into the tender flesh, and she came up off the forest floor with a roar. Her fingernails dug into the battered skin on my chest, and tears filled her eyes as she fought to free herself from my grip.
I’d broken her foot when I fell.
In the middle of goddamned nowhere, with armed bikers that were going to be looking for us any fucking second, I’d just crippled my daughter.
She shifted against the dirt floor before squeezing her eyes shut with a wince. “My foot hurts… and my head hurts—” With another low moan she leaned to the side and began vomiting.
I squeezed Kate’s shoulder and rubbed along her spine as her body purged the remnants of the drugs. When she finished, she sat up, only to collapse against my chest with a whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you apologize to me, darlin’.”
“Where are we?” she croaked.
My throat was so dry that it hurt to swallow. “Somewhere outside of Mirror Lake. Do you remember coming out here with Wolverine and Angel?”
She nodded, studying the dense trees. “I don’t see the lake, though.”
“Yeah, we got a few miles to go, darlin’. Think you could use your old man as a crutch.”
A tear streaked down her dirty cheek, and she shook her head. “No, Daddy. I need to sleep. Just let me sleep for a little longer, okay?”
“Okay, sweetheart, but just for a minute.” I settled her against the trunk of a nearby tree before getting to my feet. As much as I wanted to collapse beside her, we couldn’t stay here. They’d be combing every inch of these woods once they realized we’d gotten free.
I pulled the cell phone from my pocket, surprised to see that there were three bars of service. Cobra’s warning to ditch it echoed in my head as I punched in the number and hit send. “C’mon, princess. Pick up.”
“Darlin’—” I said before realizing I’d gotten her voicemail. My throat tightened just hearing her voice, but I held it together long enough to get out what needed to be said.
“Celia, it’s me. I need help—we’re outside of Mirror Lake. Me and Katy. Gonna try to make it to Wolverine’s old cabin, but we’re in bad shape, darlin’. If—” My nostrils flared, but I forced myself to say it. “If I don’t make it… need you to know that you were the best thing that ever happened to a poor fuck like me. I, uh, I love you, princess.”
Swiping the tears away, I dialed the only other person I thought might be home. I had to ditch
the phone soon before they had Jeremy track us down.
“Who’s this?” Angel said by way of greeting. “Got the caller ID now, so if you little shits think you’re gonna pull one over on me again, you better think the fuck again.”
I swallowed. “It’s me—”
“Jamie? Christ, kid, where are ya?” I could hear him moving around.
“Somewhere near Mirror Lake. There was a military bunker built into the mountain. Fuck, Angel—I’m turned around—”
“Okay… okay,” he said soothingly. “What’d I teach you as a kid? You remember? Get you a stick about three feet long and find a spot where it’ll cast a shadow. Make sure it’s level and then mark the end of the shadow with a stone or pinecone. That’s west.”
I nodded before brushing away more tears. “Yeah, uh, then I wait, right?”
“That’s my boy. Wait a bit and then mark where the shadow moves. Straight line between the two’ll give you an east-west line. If it gets dark—”
“Look for The Big Dipper and trace up from the front of the bowl to the first bright star they point to,” I answered dutifully, surprised I’d remembered jack shit about something that happened over forty years ago.
“Pole Star will give you true North. Now, Wolverine’s cabin was on the south side of the lake. You get turned around, just keep movin’ downhill. Lake is at the base of the mountain. I’m comin’ to you—”
“I got Kate,” I admitted. “We’re pretty fucked up—won’t be long before the Sons come lookin’ either. I can’t keep this phone, but I’m gonna try to get her somewhere safe. If I don’t make it—”
“Don’t you talk like that, Jamie. I’ll search the entire goddamn mountain if I have to, but I ain’t leavin’ without the two of you. Keep together and stay out of sight.”
I nodded and looked up at the sun shining brightly overhead. Staying hidden was easier said than done.
* * *
“I can’t, Daddy,” Kate pleaded. “I can’t go any farther—”
Savior: Silent Phoenix MC Series: Book Five Page 29