All he had to do was nod his head.
I stumbled back, falling on my car for support. Suddenly it all started to make sense. Every little thing that Rogue had said and every look he’d given me flashed through my mind. I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for his act. How foolish was I? I allowed myself to be seduced by a man like him.
“What do you want from me? Why are you telling me all this?” my voice shook again. Lynch stepped closer to me.
“Crow is fed up with the antics and he wants the Black Cobras gone,” he replied. “So, we need you to bring Rogue back to us.”
“Why? If you guys are working together why can’t you just get him yourself?”
“Because Crow no longer trusts Rogue,” he said. “Rogue made a lot of promises to Crow, and Crow now thinks that those promises won’t be met.”
I gulped, feeling dizzy again. Rogue, the man I had fallen for, was a criminal? He was the one responsible for all of this? How had this happened? I shook my head.
“So, what do you need me for?”
“Well you want to see Hazel again, don’t you?”
“Of course, I do,” I said. I would do anything to get her back.
“Then bring us Rogue, and we will give you Hazel.”
“How can I even trust you to follow through with your word? How do I even know that Hazel is still even alive?” I asked tears threatening to escape my lashes.
Lynch reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
“Crow, I got her with me. Put her on the phone.” After a second he handed the phone over to me.
“Hello?” I asked in a shaky voice.
“Aunt Carli?” Hazel said quietly.
“Hazel! Baby are you ok?”
“I’m fine. Just a little cold and hungry. The big scary men keep watching over me,” she said.
“Hazel tell me where you are!” Lynch quickly grabbed the phone back from me.
“Nice try,” he said as he ended the call. “As you can hear, she is safe. And you can see her tonight if you bring us what we want.”
“Fine,” I said as I clenched my jaw. “What do you need me to do?”
“I’ll text you a place to meet tonight. Make sure Rogue is with you. Once we have him, we will give you Hazel.”
I nodded and Lynch turned and walked away. The second I was alone I let my body fall back slightly onto my car. I should never have trusted a man like Rogue. I shouldn’t have allowed my desire for him to get the better of me. And now I had put Hazel’s life in even more danger.
Rogue had taken me for a ride. And I had completely fallen for it.
27
Rogue
Since we’d gotten Grimm out of that construction site, he hadn’t put down a drink. His wounds were slowly healing, his pain all over his face.
But Grimm was not the kind of guy who was going to admit defeat, especially not now when his daughter was still in captivity.
We were still at the Pit, going over possible plans of attack. But we were all coming up with nothing.
While I sat at the bar and looked around, I could see that there wasn’t one guy who wasn’t carrying a wound. We were all in need of serious medical attention, but none of us were willing to take a break. There was an eight-year-old’s life at stake here.
“We might have only one way out of this, brother,” I said to Grimm. He looked up at me with his bloodshot eyes.
“Are you suggesting that we hand over the club to that motherfucker?” Grimm asked and I remained silent. “You’re out of your fucking mind.”
“Hazel is with them. How do you know for sure what he’s doing to her? The longer she stays with them, the more danger she is in. We need to do something about it now,” I hissed.
Grimm shook his head.
“I’m going to find some other way. I’ll go and speak to the other clubs, the other street gangs, and try and gather forces,” Grimm replied. “If we all attack the Sons of Satan together, they won’t stand a chance.”
“You don’t have the fucking time, Grimm. We need to rescue Hazel now! She’s a kid. How much longer of this imprisonment do you think she can take?” I growled.
“You don’t need to remind me where my daughter is!” he snapped, banging his bottle of beer down on the table.
“Then you need to let go of the club.”
“This is what you’ve always wanted, haven’t you, Rogue? To get me out of the Black Cobras. This is like your dream coming fucking true!” he hissed. Grimm, in his rage, was turning on me.
“No, brother. It was never my dream to rescue my brother from an abandoned construction site inches from his death. Neither was it my fucking dream to try and find my eight-year-old niece,” I replied, glaring at him. I was ready for a fight if he was aiming for it.
Grimm glared, too.
“At some point, you have to choose between this fucking club and your daughter,” I continued. Grimm opened his mouth to say something, but my phone rang in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that it was Carli calling.
Giving my brother another threatening glare, I answered the call and walked away.
“Rogue? It’s me,” she said.
“Yeah, I know who it is. What’s wrong?” I asked, hearing the worry in her voice. Besides, she had never actually called me before.
“I just…do you think we can meet?” Her voice shook as she spoke.
“What happened? Are you okay?” I asked, grabbing my jacket and my car keys from the counter, already on the way to the door.
“Yes, I think so. I don’t know. I just need to see you. Please, can you come and meet me?” She sounded like she was on the brink of crying. I had tried my best to distract myself from wanting Carli. Tried to stay out of her way since the agreement had ended. But hearing her speak now made my blood boil. Had the Sons of Satan threatened her?
“I’m on my way. I’ll see you at your place,” I said.
“No. Not here. I don’t want to talk in front of Amanda. That will just upset her. Can you meet me at the park near my house? It’s called North Banks Park. You’ll find it easily,” she said.
“Okay, I’ll see you there in twenty minutes. Hang on, Carli,” I said and ended the call.
I had no idea what was happening, but from the strain in her voice, she sounded like she needed me.
“I’ll be right back,” I yelled at Grimm.
“Where the fuck are you going?” he yelled after me. But I ignored him. All I could think about was Carli.
* * *
I arrived at the park before Carli did. It seemed to be a regular park with kids playing and running about with their mothers chasing after them.
I stood under a tree, smoking a cigarette, and kept my eye on the entrance gate. Carli showed up some minutes later. Even from the distance, as she hurried toward me, I could sense that something was wrong.
She walked with her head turned down, tucking her long dark hair behind her ears nervously. She’d caught a glance of me at the tree and then didn’t look at me again. She had her arms wrapped around herself like she was very cold.
The more I stared at her, the more I realized that I would never stop wanting this woman. That agreement ending had fucked with my head. Now that I couldn’t have her, I wanted her more. I felt guilty for thinking about fucking her at a time like this.
I shook my head, trying to concentrate on the situation and waited for her to come to me.
Carli stopped several feet from me, keeping her distance. When she finally looked up to meet my eyes, her eyes were puffy and red as if she’d been crying.
“Carli, are you okay? You look shook up,” I said as she stood in front of me. She struggled to meet my eyes, and had her hands tightly clasped together. She nodded her head.
“No, you’re not okay. You can tell me what’s going on. I want to help,” I said. Carli looked up at me, her blue eyes wide and exhausted.
“Do you really want to help me? Or is it yourself you’ve been helping all along?” she asked.
I was confused and I stared at her with furrowed brows.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to imply here, Carli. Yes, I’ve been trying to help you and myself,” I replied sharply. Her nostrils were flared, and she let out a scoff, like I’d said something ridiculous.
“Tell me, Rogue, what do you really think of me?” she asked. I shook my head.
“Okay, look, Carli. I know we have some issues to sort out between us. Things haven’t been easy for us. I want to talk about it, too, because I’ve been having second thoughts about us,” I said. Carli’s eyes softened, but she was quick to make herself firm again.
“But this isn’t the time or place to discuss it. We all need to focus on finding Hazel first, and then we can get to us later,” I continued.
Carli clenched her jaw. I had no clue what was going on in her head, but I could sense that she was unhappy about something.
“It’s a simple question, Rogue. What do you really think about me?” she asked again.
I let out a sigh. Emotions were heightened right now. I knew that she was suffering. The longer that Hazel was away from her, the crazier she felt. I could understand that.
“All right, Carli. Here’s what I think of you. You are beautiful. That is something which is obvious. Nobody can deny how absolutely fucking gorgeous you are. But you are also smart and kind. You are selfless and caring and there aren’t many women like you. Any man would be lucky to have you, and I don’t know if I deserve someone like you. I don’t know if I’d be able to make you happy,” I said.
Those were difficult words for me to say. I hadn’t spoken to a woman like this before. The expression on her face changed, her beautiful features softening again. Her eyelashes were wet with the tears that she tried to blink away.
“You forgot the part about being stupid,” she said.
“What are you talking about, Carli?” I snapped.
“You forgot to mention that you think I’m an idiot, a naïve, stupid woman who you could manipulate” she yelled, catching the attention of the people around her.
I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her closer to me. “What is this, Carli? You need to tell me what’s going on, because you’re not making any sense. When have I ever made you feel stupid?” I asked. She tried to wriggle out of my grip, but I kept her pinned to myself.
Her breasts pressed against my chest, so close that I could feel her heart beating. My breath fell on her face, making her locks tremble. She stared up at me, and in her eyes, I saw fear. Why was she afraid of me? What had I done to scare her?
“You’ve used me, Rogue,” she hissed through gritted teeth. I pressed my eyes close and nodded.
“I know how it makes you feel. I shouldn’t have made you agree to that deal. I know I took advantage of you and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it if I have to,” I said, but she shook her head.
“This has nothing to do with sex. I know what you did. What you’re still doing. You used my trust in you. You used your brother, too!” she said angrily.
I stared at her as tears rolled down her cheeks. I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Carli, whatever you think I did, I didn’t do. You said you trusted me. I would never do anything to betray that trust. I would also never use my brother. He is the only family that I have left.” I pleaded with her to listen to me. “Do you believe me?”
She shook her head and my heart sank into my stomach. What had happened since I last saw her? Why did she think that I would lie to her? I had to make her realize how much I cared about her.
I leaned forward to capture her lips, surprised when she didn’t push me away. Instead, she sank into my arms and pressed herself closer to me. My tongue slipped into her mouth as she flung her arms around my neck. We kissed hard, like two people who’d been separated for years. She pulled herself away from me, her cheeks flushed.
“Rogue…” she breathed my name softly, her eyes falling to the ground.
“I’m in love with you,” I said. She looked up at me with a jerk, that fear appearing in her eyes again.
I opened my mouth to explain what I’d just said, but Carli suddenly shrieked. It was a shrill, painful scream and she used her whole force to push herself against me.
It all happened in slow motion. Carli hurled herself on me and we fell together on the ground. A bullet had just grazed past my ear, splitting my earlobe open before it struck against the tree trunk.
I fell to the ground on my back, Carli sprawled on top of me.
“What the fuck!” I growled. I could hear her sobs, but I didn’t have the time to console her. I needed to make sure she was safe first. I grabbed her by her waist and dragged her and myself along the ground until we were behind the tree.
I looked around the trunk, but I couldn’t see anyone with a gun. The others at the park shrieked and scampered away. It had to be a sniper who’d taken the shot, and I was sure that they were long gone now. I looked back at Carli, who had wrapped herself around my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and felt the stickiness of blood on my hands.
“Carli, have you been shot?”
“I’m not sure,” she whimpered. I quickly checked her body. A dark red stain was appearing on her sleeve. I pulled it up and let out an audible sigh when I saw that the bullet had just grazed her shoulder.
I pulled her closer to my body, wanting to never let her go. I had to get us out of here before the sniper started shooting again.
“You’re ok Carli,” I said.
“I love you, too…Rogue, I’m sorry. I got us into this mess” she cried. I looked down at her in confusion.
“What do you mean? Who shot at us?” I growled and she gulped, staring at me pleadingly.
“There was this guy…he was tall,” she fumbled with her words. I wrapped my arms around her, trying to comfort her.
“Which guy? What was his name? Where did you meet him?”
“He said he was with the Sons of Satan, that his name was Lynch. I was so…scared. I shouldn’t have listened to him. But I was feeling…” she kept repeating the same words and I could barely make sense of what she was saying. Sirens sounded in the distance. Someone in the park must have called the cops.
“Carli, you need to focus. Tell me what he said. Where did he meet you?” I peered into her eyes. Carli stared at me, focusing on my face.
“Just breathe, you’re okay. I got you,” I said softly and stroked her hair.
“You’re bleeding, Rogue. Oh my God, your ear!” she shrieked.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s just a scratch. Tell me what he said,” I growled. Carli pressed her eyes closed, trying to think.
“He got a hold of me in the parking lot. At my office…and he was saying all these things about you and Grimm and Hazel,” she mumbled with tears still pouring down her eyes.
“What did he say?”
“He said that you’re jealous of Grimm. That you want to take over Black Cobras and that you were working with Crow. That you fooled me into thinking that you actually wanted to help Hazel. He said it was you who took Hazel.”
Carli opened her eyes and I saw that fear again. I stared at her in disbelief. It was difficult for me to come up with words to respond to that.
“Rogue, I’m sorry. He told me if I brought you here, he would give me Hazel. I shouldn’t have listened to him,” she cried, covering her face with her hands.
“It’s ok,” I said.
Carli sobbed and I pulled her into my arms.
“He wanted to use me to get to you. I can’t believe that I bought it, just for an hour, but I bought it. I fucking hate myself!” Carli continued to cry while I rocked her in my arms.
“You were scared, Carli. I don’t blame you. You’re doing the best you can to help Hazel,” I said, my voice muffled by her hair.
She pulled away from me to look into my eyes.
“He let me talk to Hazel,” she said.
“Is she alright?”
“She sa
id she was fine. A little cold and hungry, but she sounded ok. But Rogue the second I heard her voice I was willing to do whatever I had to in order to get her back. I am so sorry. Will you ever forgive me, Rogue? I love you. I’m crazy about you…” she said quietly. I kissed her forehead.
“There is nothing to forgive, Carli. You saved my life. You made the right decision when it really mattered,” I told her.
“What’s going to happen now? Why were they trying to get you” she asked.
“They were trying to gain more leverage,” I said. “And they figured you were an easy target to get what they wanted.”
“What will you do?”
“I’m going to call Grimm and then we’re going to attack every holding cell of the Sons of Satan and we’re going to end this today,” I said. I grabbed Carli’s cheeks tightly and forced her to look into my eyes. “I’m going to get Hazel back to you tonight.”
28
Rogue
After I dropped Carli off, I headed straight back to the pit, and filled in the guys on what happened.
“We have to go after them tonight,” I told Grimm. “Going after Carli like that was their last ditch effort to gain the upper hand.”
“I agree,” Grimm said. “When you left, we got confirmation from the other gangs that they are willing to help us.”
“I think our only option is to set up attacks at every warehouse, or place that he could be hiding her,” Cash said. “Patch got a list of six different places that the Sons have been operating out of.”
“Let’s move out then,” Grimm said.
Patch, Bones, Cash, Grimm, and I each led our own group to attack. We still weren’t sure where exactly Hazel was being held, but with all the men we now had on our side, we would beat the hell out of anyone to get the information that we needed.
A dozen of us raided a warehouse in the middle of nowhere that was supposed to be where the Sons of Satan usually stashed their drugs. Crow wasn’t expecting an attack on this scale and he wasn’t prepared.
Rogue: The Black Cobras MC #1 Page 14