Broken Deeds MC: Second Generation #1

by Esther E. Schmidt

  I’m still staring at their taillights when I feel strong arms wrap around me along with Archer’s scent. “I heard what happened, are you okay?”

  “Those prospects should have been more careful,” I grumble and point at Woolerton’s body. “I thought he was dead. He is now, but dammit, getting shot at twice in one day is some serious shit.”

  Taking a deep breath, I try to calm myself because this isn’t Archer’s fault; people with bad intentions will always find a way to feed their destructive needs.

  “I have to talk to you,” I calmly state.

  Worry slides over his face. “We’re okay, right?”

  My hand curls into a fist and I punch his shoulder. “This isn’t about us, you idiot.”

  I stomp off into the direction of our house and by the sound of footsteps following me I know Archer is right behind me. Roan holds the door open for me and I head straight for the kitchen to wash my hands. I’m drying them off when I face Archer who is leaning against the wall.

  “Did you manage to find Sven?” I question.

  His face turns grim as he gives a sharp shake with his head.

  “Dammit,” I mutter and throw the towel on the counter. Bracing myself for his reaction, I casually ask, “Did you check Zuri’s place?”

  Confusion spreads his face. “Zuri? Why would we check her place?”

  I put my fists on my hips and snap, “Because I’m fairly sure she’s involved in this shit somehow.” I can see he doesn’t believe me. I step closer and narrow my eyes. “Shall I provide evidence so you can believe that instead of my word?”

  He has the nerve to narrow his eyes at me as anger flashes over his face. “I believe your word but seeing the situation we’re in I would need proof.”

  “The situation we’re in?” I hiss. “I gather you’re talking about the two times my life was at risk, not about my heart in this matter, right?” My throat clogs up and I have to swallow hard to push back all the emotions running through me. “Never mind. Follow me, I have all the proof you need on my laptop. But just so you know? I’d rather shove the whole laptop up your annoying ass.”

  I slam my shoulder against his arm as I rush past him. What a damn asshole, still thinking my actions have a hint of jealousy as a motive. I would like to say I have the patience and strength for the both of us to pull through this shit, but enough is enough.

  CHAPTER TEN

  – ARCHER –

  “Don’t you dare run,” I snap and catch her before she enters the living room.

  I cage her in between my body and the wall. Her eyes are spitting fire while all it flames up inside me is desire. Maybe it’s the rush of knowing she’s safe or how she took action in eliminating a threat on her life and others, I don’t fucking care. This woman flames me up inside and out and I’m thankful she’s here in my arms. Even if she’s pissed.

  “Back off, Archer,” she hisses.

  “Never,” I growl and run my nose along her jaw. “This shit isn’t about jealousy. You know it, I know it. But I need proof since Zuri demanded a talk yesterday where she said she was threatened by you. I called bullshit but she put on this dramatic show how she would have to protect herself and file a complaint or restraining order if I didn’t do anything about it.”

  She’s so pissed, anger is vibrating off her in waves. My dick is harder than ever to see her anger boiling for both our sake.

  “She wanted me to make sure she was safe. Maybe stay the night to see for myself how you would come and make a scene and maybe just attack her along with it.”

  All the anger flows from Bee and she’s suddenly shaking with laughter. The corner of my mouth is twitching as I step back and watch Bee hold a hand over her mouth in an effort to wipe away her laughter, but she’s failing miserably.

  When she’s finally able to say something the words flowing out are still tainted with a laugh. “You have to be shitting me. Come on, how many men would fall for that? Spend the night so the woman will come and all hell will break loose? That’s the kind of setup that’s bound to explode. She’s cray-cray. Let me show you what I found.” She walks into the living room and starts to explain as I follow her. “I lost track of Sven when I tried to see where he went. When I hit a dead end, I reversed my search to see where they came from. Turns out…they went to meet with Zuri first.”

  She hits a few keys on her laptop and turns it toward me. I watch how both Sven and Woolerton get out of a car and how Sven steps close to Zuri, almost intimately. Woolerton is blocking the angle but there’s no denying what I’m seeing. Or not seeing for that matter.

  “Sven and Zuri are exchanging saliva,” Bee says with satisfaction. Though her tone changes when she mutters, “But why the hell would she try to screw with me…with you…us?”

  “Same reason those two fired bullets at our clubhouse. They want the MC under fire so we might switch our attention at the pressing matters instead of focusing on them. And she dragged you into it to taint our credibility. But who knows since the woman has been coming onto me for a while. She has ulterior motives for sure. A few days ago, I gave Vachs the order to talk to both Sven and Woolerton since he observed them for days and didn’t get anywhere. I guess we might have spooked them and they turned desperate, who knows?”

  “Well, you might say it worked. But we do need to find Sven and I think you should strap Zuri onto a chair and shove some splinters underneath her fingernails to get her to talk. She’s in on things. Even if it seems innocent and self-explained. I mean, there’s no law in her hooking up with Sven. But what if she had an affair with him while she was with Galen?”

  I grab the chair next to me to keep my body from shaking with anger. What Bee just suggested is a logical twist but there’s more. I have no clue if Bee checked out what she asked me about, but it now falls into place for me.

  “Bee?” I wait for her gaze to hit mine. “Did you check Zuri’s background? You asked me what she did for a living.”

  She shakes her head. “I didn’t, why?”

  “I mentioned she was a manager, yeah?” Bee nods. “At a DNA lab.”

  Bee’s eyes widen. “You’re shitting me.”

  She sits down and starts to let her fingers fly over the keyboard, quickly glancing through files while there’s a string of curses flowing from her mouth. Her fingers freeze above her laptop and she suddenly shoves it away. Falling back into her chair, she glances at me with a determined look.

  “What are you thinking?” I ask with keen interest.

  She slowly crosses her arms in front of her chest and snaps, “I bet that bitch was the inside man and the drive behind all of those murders. And I think there are many more than the ones on the pile Galen had and those I found.”

  I tilt my head. “Proof?”

  Bee points at her laptop. “Her name is on all lab results. And I could kick you for not seeing it or letting me know her full name, dammit. We should have questioned it sooner. I bet she even tampered with results. I had questions about a few, remember? Wyatt checked up on them and their family members and those around them said they were keeping their nose clean. Some even insinuated the cops planted DNA evidence.”

  Every single word coming from her is a straight hit; I know she’s right.

  “Can you pull everything together and write highlights down? I need to have a full table to discuss things before we go hunting. Sven is labeled as a fugitive on the run, but I’d rather keep Zuri off the record before we pick her up and bring her to justice.”

  “You’re thinking she’s going to run like Sven?” I nod at Bee’s question.

  “Maybe she’s already on the run. Sven walked out of that alley and called someone, remember?”

  Bee releases a string of curses underneath her breath, her eyes go to the playpen where Queenie is playing. Roan and Diamond are sitting on the couch, deep in conversation. Our eyes collide. Bee stands and steps closer as she slides her arms around my waist.

  I pull her close and tell her, “We’ll g
et them, the both of them, and get to the bottom of this shitpile they started.”

  “We will.” The determination in her voice soothes my soul and having her in my arms makes my heart beat stronger.

  “Come on, let’s get a few things for Queenie and call your parents.”

  She pulls back and reaches for her phone. “You’re right, it’s better if she stays with my parents today…or a couple of days, whatever works. Let’s hope we catch them soon enough but for now it’s best to know she’s safe while we can fully focus on work.”

  Bee makes the call and we both head upstairs to pack a bag. A few hours pass where Queenie is picked up, Roan and Diamond return home, while Bee and I head for the clubhouse and wait for everyone to get into church.

  Once I have a full table, I close the door while Bee hands out sheets of paper where she summed up her findings. There’s still no trace of Sven and it puts me on edge. I have no clue if he’s on the run, chased Woolerton and saw what happened when Bee shot him, or if he’s with Zuri somewhere…waiting for a chance to attack.

  And it still boggles my mind how these fuckers think they can go up against us. I mean, I get the part where they pulled on masks and fired bullets at the clubhouse to cause a distraction. Zuri trying to taint Bee and label her as a jealous wife in an effort to create some form of backup story for herself.

  Easier to put the law on her side and tell them Bee faked the evidence for instance. Or Zuri is actually insane enough to want me, and to have me she would need to get Bee out of the way. No matter their train of thought or actions; they have to be complete idiots to come at us.

  Maybe I’m wrong, but Woolerton came here too. The fucker pulled a gun on my woman and my mother. Though he might have wanted to come clean and save his own ass, becoming aware he had no way out from the hole he dug himself into when he faced Bee.

  Fuck. Handling cases and facing danger is all I’ve ever known. Yet the havoc thrown at us today–putting those who make my life worth living at risk–is awakening a barbaric mindset to rip apart the two people responsible. Once there were three but since Woolerton died by Bee’s hand I’m okay with killing the two others myself.

  “What a fucking bitch,” Wyatt snaps and slams a flat hand on the paper in front of him. “Is this for real? I mean, I’m reading it but fucking hell…she wrote it in black and white, word for word in an email to Sven how he needed to kill Galen to keep them both safe.”

  Yeah. Bee was able to hack into Zuri’s personal and work email and recovered some of the deleted emails around the time of Galen’s murder. Turns out the whole “mugged by a homeless man” was staged. We’re certain Sven killed both Galen and the homeless man.

  It’s all very clear now that we know more details and can see what Galen saw with less information since he was living with Zuri. It seems Zuri has a shopping addiction and goes through money like water flowing over a damn waterfall. The way she spends it there’s no way it all comes from her paycheck and she has no savings.

  What we did find out was the amount of cash missing from those who were murdered. Some of them didn’t have a load of cash but most were criminals with loads of drug money. All off the record for easy grabbing without anyone giving a peep.

  Why we didn’t think of the money angle in all of those murders makes me pause, but on the other hand, we do have all the facts now and both Zuri as Sven are dirty and guilty, as was Woolerton but he already met his maker.

  “You guys have loads to discuss. I’m going to make some food for all of us,” Bee says and is about to turn but I gently wrap my fingers around her wrist to prevent her from leaving.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to sit in?” I question.

  She takes her hand from my grip and pats my chest. “I’m sure. I’m all up-to-date and you guys need to make decisions. I hope they like the plan, fill me in later if needed. I’d rather focus on making some spaghetti to take my mind off of things and feed all of you in the process. Then we’ll all be ready to face anything coming our way.”

  “Thank you,” I murmur and place a kiss on her delectable mouth.

  She pats my chest again and I watch her leave the room. Facing all of my brothers–who have their eyes on the papers in their hands–I take a seat and wait for them to read over all the details before I tell them my thoughts on how to handle this shit and the plan Bee suggested.

  “There’s still no news or alert popping up about those two. How are we going to handle this?” Pax questions.

  “For the past few months Zuri has been making advances at me. Bee suggested I try to lure her to me using this angle.” All eyes are focused on me as I continue, “I’m calling her to say we’re going on full lockdown and I want her safe here at the clubhouse. She should feel special for me telling her she’s a part of our MC.”

  Vachs shakes his head. “Call to say your woman is pissed and you’re tired of her shit.”

  “Vachs is right. If her pussy has been dripping for you while having it filled by Sven she might not be so easily lured here. And if a man calls to say he’s sick of his own woman’s shit the other will spread her legs to welcome you home. It would also be in her favor to tie you to her, you should definitely offer your dick. So, call and tell her you want to meet at a motel. Quick and straight to the point,” Baton suggests.

  “What motel? We need to be able to have the situation under control. She might be with Sven, planning your murder instead of getting ready for your cock.” Wyatt cringes as soon as the words left his mouth.

  “Say she would pick up when you call,” Ganza starts. “Because there’s a good chance she’s left if she is in fact fucking Sven. Hell, it could be one of two ways. One being she’s screwing Sven because they’re in bed together with the whole killing for money thing. The second because she needed him for the money but now that it all blew up she might distance herself from him. I mean, she’s not exposed.”

  “No, but they could have eyes on us. If so, they would have seen Bee talking with Woolerton before she killed him,” I grunt.

  “Call and we’ll know. Take the motel near Lexbench Inc. It’s remote and we can pick one of the rooms with connecting doors, lure her inside to take her out with minimum risks. If she shows that is,” Wyatt suggests.

  I grab my phone and thumb through numbers until I reach Zuri’s. Everyone’s eyes are on me when I make the call.

  She picks up on the third ring. “Archer?”

  “Yeah. Wanna fuck? My wife is pissed and it’s been too long since I got my cock wet. You offered a few times. If you’re still up for some action that is.”

  “Yes. I…sure,” she purrs and I have to swallow the bile rising up in my throat.

  “I’ll book us a room at the motel near Lexbench Inc. Meet me in an hour since I have shit to take care of later today.” I don’t wait for her reply but hang up.

  “No beating around the bush,” Pax snickers.

  I grimace and grumble, “She was dripping and way too greedy to accept.”

  Wyatt smacks a flat hand on the table. “Let’s set this shit in motion, folks. Time is ticking away and we have to be there before she arrives.”

  “We don’t even know where the fuck she is now.” I release a sigh and stand to check my gun; I’m always ready for action. I shove my gun back and grab my phone to book two adjoining rooms. “We’re taking two vans and you’d better all fit in there. Wyatt, head out now and get things set, I’ll take my bike so she sees it parked out front when she arrives. I’m going to get Bee up to speed and then head out. Talk later.”

  Everyone strolls out of church and I head for the kitchen. My woman is making her hands busy and is stirring the sauce.

  “Smells delicious,” I murmur as I step closer and cover her back with my front as my hands go to her hips.

  She leans back and tilts her head, offering me her neck to nuzzle.

  “We’re heading out. Shit is going down at the motel near Lexbench Inc.”

  She stiffens for a fraction
before her attention goes back to stirring the sauce. “Be careful and get back soon, I’m not making food to throw it away, understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I promise her, both knowing it’s not about the food at all.

  She places the spoon down on the counter and turns her body to wrap her arms around my neck, pulling me down for a kiss right after. I lick the seam of her lips and plunge my tongue inside when she grants me access. There’s raw intensity in both our hands roaming our bodies, and in the fire of our kiss.

  Pulling back way too soon, I tell her, “I’ll be right back.”

  “You’d better,” she croaks.

  I give her another hard kiss before stalking out as I head for my bike. It’s time to take this bitch out and I hope she’s planning to kill me with the help of Sven so we can take both out in one go. But even if it’s just her, it’ll be a good thing. Fucking bitch has a direct link with Galen’s death and it’s time to rip her away from life as she knows it.

  My thoughts are all over the place during the ride over, but when I park in front of the motel, I’m completely focused. A quick scan lets me know the two vans are parked to the side. A door opens and I head straight for it. When I enter I’m faced with Wyatt and Vachs.

  “Ganza and Pax are in the other room. We have a few spread out around the motel to keep an eye out and one in each van in case we need to block her car or backup in the parking lot.” Wyatt releases a deep sigh. “Fingers crossed Zuri shows. Sven too so we can nail the both of them in one go.”

  I stalk to the window and slide the curtain a tiny bit to the side to glance outside. “She’ll show.”

  “Quite certain of yourself, huh?” Ganza asks.

  I keep my eyes on the parking lot. “Zuri has been making advances for months. I’ve always told her I’m faithful to my wife and how she has her eyes set on me because she’s lonely after Galen’s death. Believe me, she’s jumping at the chance. Even if it’s only to see if I show or get some information. She has no clue we know every fucking detail of what she’s been up to, including all her deleted emails with Sven.”