by B. C. Falls
Blake shakes her head, “You aren’t. I’m doing it,” then puts her hand on my arm.
“No, Blake. It’s time I go home and if I can help you get there then I’ll do it.”
“I was thinking this over actually. You are adopting a little teenager aren’t you? Or at least trying to?” Tod asks with a smile on his face.
“Kady,” I say.
He pulls out a file and lays it open. “The one with the ties to all this.”
“Ties to all this?” I ask sitting up straighter.
“Kady is the daughter of one,” he looks over at the file again, “Margaret Mills?” I nod. “She’s related to Antonio Lopez.”
“Holy shit,” I whisper.
Antonio, as we’ve discovered over the last two years, was the head of a gang in California. He basically ran SoCal’s drug world for the Cartel but was excommunicated when he loaned money to some white girl in the suburbs. Antonio went back to Mexico never to be heard from again.
“This is all too coincidental and so crazy,” Blake says, I reach over and take her hand in mine.
“It does seem kind of crazy, but we believe that it’s just a coincidence. Kady and her parents have lived in Kentucky way longer than both of you have,” he closes the folder in front of him still smiling like he’s hiding something. “So here’s the deal: You help us get these bastards behind bars and we’ll give you Kady.”
“Yes, but I want the adoption legal before we start.”
“No problem at all,” Tod says. “We’ll get started on the paperwork. Thank you for your help, Royce,” he stands up.
“If it helps Kady and Blake stay safe, I’ll do anything,” I say before he leaves with a skip in his step.
“He set you up,” Blake says.
“I got that impression also.”
“What a fucking dick,” Blake says before surprising me by pulling me in for a hug. “I can’t ask you to do this, Royce. It’s too much. I don’t think it would be smart or safe for either you or Kady.”
“I have to. I need to for my future and Kady’s, and if this is helping you in the process then I’ll do it, Blake. I’ll do anything.”
“You are too loyal and good for any one of us.” I lean back and smile at her. “You’ll never not have me around”
“You are my person,” she laughs a little. “We’ve been through so much shit together. You got me out of hell and now… now it’s my turn to get you out of hell, even if I have to go there myself. You are my person and I need you just as much as you need me. Just like Christina and Meredith.” She’s half crying and half laughing at my words.
Stupid Shonda.
When her arm wraps around my shoulders I lean into her. “I swear Royce, I’ll do everything I can with all that money to keep you and Kady safe.”
Later that night, I’m sitting in my living room with Kady’s head on my lap. I’ve told her it’s going to be legal and she’ll never have to leave or be away from me. I run my fingers through her hair as she sleeps. Peace. That’s how I feel in this moment even though there is so much ahead of us and so much that could go wrong.
“Hey,” Blake says sitting down in front of me. I smile at her because my peace is also with her. “You know you don’t have to do this.”
“Blake,” even after I told her I wanted to she still reminds me every couple hours that I don’t have to.
“No seriously, Royce. I’ll give you money. I’ll let you go away somewhere far that he’ll never come looking for her or you.”
I put my hand up to stop her from continuing because I know her and she would. “That’s not a life I want for either of us. Or you. We need to get ourselves home.” She sighs and leans her head down on my shoulder.
“You won’t ever not do this, will you?” I shake my head no.
“I don’t deserve you,” she says and she’s been saying that a lot lately too.
“Shut up. You do. And we’ll figure it all out,” I promise her.
Present Day
“That bitch is causing a lot of trouble,” Jeff says putting the phone down.
“That bitch is family and how about I kick your ass,” I tell him as I pull on the rope tied around my hands again. “You aren’t going to let me go once she gets here, are you?” He shakes his head with a big grin plastered across his dumb lips. “You won’t get away with this.”
“Oh my beautiful, stupid girl, I will and you want to know why?” I spit at him but he doesn’t even flinch when it hits his face he just starts to laugh. “Now you know I love it when you get all feisty on me.”
“And you know my man is going to rip you apart once he finds you. Whether I’m dead or alive,” I growl.
“Your man is nothing more than a stupid cop,” Jeff stands and walks over to the kitchen to wash his face. I keep tugging on my ropes. “Why did you leave me, Royce? We could’ve been married by now.”
“You beat me.”
“You wouldn’t listen!” he yells, “You couldn’t fucking listen to save your life and you deserved every hit I gave you!”
“No I did not! No one deserves to be beat like you beat me. You put me in the hospital more times than I could have counted.” If I could, I would wipe the tear falling from my eye. “You destroyed me.”
“If I destroyed you so much, how the fuck are you sitting here?” he growls. “If I hurt you so badly, then how did you move on, huh? You obviously didn’t need much savin’,” he gestures to me.
“Blake saved me,” I whisper.
“What was that?” he asks walking towards me. “What did you say?” I don’t answer. “Answer me, dammit!” his fist connects with my jaw and the chair loses its balance causing me to fall to the side. Jeff kicks me in the chest making my whole body tense up from the pain. “Stupid bitch, still can’t fucking listen!” He goes to kick me again when a horn honks outside. “Oh, they are early,” he starts laughing again.
My whole body is so tight with pain. I can’t move. I can’t breathe right. The pain isn’t the worst I’ve ever felt but the worry is. I have a life I need to protect.
I watch with tears in my eyes as Jeff goes to the door. He opens it slowly and peeks out. “Hola amigos!” he yells and my heart drops.
“Jeff don’t do this. Please don’t.” He doesn’t even look back at me before walking out the door. I can’t hear what they say, but the conversation is heated and it sounds like Jeff isn’t winning anything at the moment.
“Now wait just a minute!” Jeff yells. “No. We had a fucking deal!”
I try to pull at my hands one last time hoping that the rope came a bit loose when I fell over. “Come on. Please, God. Please let this come loose,” I pull as hard as I can. I feel it start to slip out of the knot.
“Stop!” Jeff yells right before a gun goes off. I freeze, my heart stopping at the sound. There is rustling around outside then a couple more shots before the door flies open. Jeff comes rushing in with a large shotgun in his hand. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” he says as he pushes the door closed.
“What the fuck did you do?” I ask.
“Shut up. Just shut up.”
“Did you kill those men?” I ask pulling my hands apart until the rope falls away.
“Yes, and fuck there will be more of them. We gotta go, Royce.” He comes towards me, the shotgun hanging loose in his hands. I jump up once he’s closer, taking my last chance, and grab for the shotgun. He doesn’t see it coming, but he is stronger than me and shoves me back.
The shotgun leaves his hand though staying in mine. “You dumb bitch, it’s out of rounds!” he yells before coming towards me again. I lift the gun like a bat and start swinging. I miss every time though. Seems Jeff hasn’t changed much; he was always faster than me. “Stop it!” he yells. I swing one last time hitting him in the shoulder but he’s quick getting the shotgun from me. “Bitch!” he slams the butt of the gun down on my head. Pain radiates through my skull as I fall to the floor.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Dane
<
br /> “I need to make a call,” I tell Dallas standing up from the table.
It’s been a day since Royce took off and half a day since Blake. Trent and I have been up all night trying to make any connections we can to find the bastards who did this. We don’t know many people in this world though and we’ve come up with nothing.
“Come on,” I tug on Trent’s arm to follow me outside. He’s been drinking ever since Blake ran off. “Get your shit together,” I tell him. “We have to get our girls back.” He stumbles out of the bar next to me.
“Fuck you, Dane!” he pushes back against me when I try to help him walk. “I lost that girl twice,” he holds up two hands to my face, “The love of my life walked away twice. What does that tell you, huh? She obviously doesn’t want to be saved!”
I walk us towards my truck, Boxer now hot on our heels. “No, you fucking idiot! It means she wants to save everyone else. My girl is doing the same damn thing,” I push him into my truck. “They carry the world on their shoulders. The pain of everything that has happened to them is constantly pushing them to believe they need to keep us at a safe distance.”
“But they don’t!” Trent slurs this time instead of yelling.
“I know brother. I know they don’t. We need to get them back.” I pull my phone out and call the last person on this Earth I had ever wanted to call.
“Dane Stone? Why the hell are you calling me?” My old Captain answers on the second ring. “You know I told you to never call me ever again.”
“I know Cap,” Trent’s eyes go wide. “I need a favor.”
“Oh damn, Dane you sound like shit what have you gotten yourself into now?” he asks.
Captain Tanner was one of the road captains for this club right when I started here. We did not agree on anything and eventually he left because of a huge fight we had about a gun run he thought the Death Patriots should do. Half of this club are first responders or current or ex-military. It would have ended too badly. He only left after we got into a fist fight. I would’ve called him earlier but Dallas ordered all of us to not to.
“My girl, she’s wrapped up in some shit, man. I can’t find her. I need you to locate someone for me.”
“And why the fuck would I do that?”
“Because you are a good man, Tanner.”
He sighs heavily, “Give me the name.” I tell him everything I know and he tells me he’ll call once he knows a location. Sometimes it’s good to break the rules.
I fall back against the truck as I wait for the phone call that’ll answer everything. Kayden and Grayson come walking out of the bar minutes later. Kayden has a cup of coffee in his hand and Grayson is carrying a bag I know is full of guns. “Here,” Grayson tosses me the bag, “Let’s get going.”
“Where are we going?” I ask.
Kayden hands Trent the cup of coffee. “Drink this up buddy,” Trent starts sucking it down. He looks at me with his eyebrows pulled together and anger lacing his features. “Wherever Cap tells you to go.” Kayden folds his arms over his chest.
“You ain’t goin’ alone, brother.” Grayson puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Thank you,” I reach into my pocket and pull my phone out. “Could be a bit.”
“We’ll wait,” Grayson goes to the back of my truck and lowers the tailgate. I get Trent into the back of the cab with Kayden’s help.
Three hours later my shirt is off cause the heat got turned up from the sun being at full height, the guys have killed at least three six packs between the two of them and Trent is still passed out. We haven’t left this spot since I first called Cap. The boys are restless and with the lockdown in place, it’s way too crowded in the bar to cool off. I can’t sit still for more than thirty minutes, my thoughts all over the place with where Royce is and what Jeff is doing to her.
“Dane,” I hear Kayden say but I don’t move. I’m finally sitting after pacing for about an hour. “Dane!” he yells I look up at him.
“What?” I ask anger lacing my voice.
“Phone,” I look down at my phone next to me and quickly pick it up.
“Cap. Tell me you found them,” I ask breathless from the adrenaline pumping through me.
“They are in an industrial building just outside of Charleston. I’m sending you the coordinates,” he pauses. “Jeff’s got some guards there though, about six men and I’ve gotten word the Cartel are going to move in soon.”
“Fuck. Thanks Cap. I gotta go.”
“Dane, don’t go in there without backup. This shit is not something you want to get tied up in alone.”
“Will do,” I hang up and get around to my side of the truck. I look back at the guys. “I gotta go talk to Kady then we’ll leave.” Kayden nods his approval. I walk over to the cabins on my right, finding mine easily in the front row. I knock before I walk in. Kady is sitting on the floor with Lacey next to her. “Hey Lace, can I talk to Kady for a second?” Lacey looks over her shoulder at me.
“Sure,” Lacey gets up quickly and walks out the door I hold open for her.
“Thanks,” I tell Lacey, I turn just in time to catch Kady as she runs towards me. I wrap my arms around her, “It’s okay, Princess.” I whisper. I kiss the top of her head.
“What’s going on?” she asks. “Danny wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“I asked him not to. I wanted to tell you,” I put my hands on her cheeks lifting her head so she’ll look at me. Tears lie just on the brims over her eyes waiting to fall. “Royce is in some trouble and we’ve been looking for her. Trying to find her has been kind of hard and that’s why we’ve been waiting around.”
“Did you find her now?” she asks with hope in her voice makes me regret coming in here at all.
“We think we did,” she smiles a little. “I’m going there right now with a couple of your uncles and Trent. We found Blake too.”
“Blake is back?” her smile grows.
“She is. She went out last night to look for Royce. We think they found each other.”
“So you’ll bring them back here?”
“You know I don’t make any promises when it comes to my job,” I tell her. “But this time I’ll promise you. I promise to bring Royce back, Princess. I also promise to bring your little baby sister or brother back,” her eyes go wide.
“Royce is pregnant?”
“Yes, and I’m going to bring them back here so we can be a family just promise me you won’t be scared. Boxer is going to stay with you okay?” I whistle and Boxer comes running through the door once I open it. “Don’t be scared.”
“I won’t,” she says, “I’ll be strong.”
“Good girl. I love you, Kady!” I kiss her forehead.
“I love you too, Dane,” she hugs me tighter as she lays her head on my chest. I tighten my hold for a couple seconds.
“Gotta go Princess.”
“Please Dane,” she holds on to me.
“I promise,” I kiss her head one more time before I have to pull myself away from her. “I promise,” I say for the last time.
I open the door finding Lacey standing there with tears in her eyes just like Kady. “Kady really loves you guys.”
“I know. We’ll be back,” I tell Lacey. “Take care of her.” She nods as she walks back into the cabin.
When I get back to my truck, Trent is out and putting a vest on, Kayden tosses me one and I secure it quickly before climbing into the driver’s seat.
Grayson is already in the front seat. “Where to brother?” he asks.
“Charleston.”
Kayden and Trent climb in the back. “I’ve got some friends out there.”
“Let’s do this,” Trent checks the chamber of his gun just as I turn over the engine.
“Dallas, two o’clock.” I turn my head looking over at the bar where Dallas is yelling for the guys to get on their bikes. He walks up to Grayson’s window and knocks.
I lower it. “Cap called. Don’t like how you did it but let’s go. Together,” he o
rders. I don’t bother to acknowledge him. This is my family. “Let’s go!” he yells as he turns around.
“So much for leaving the club behind,” Trent says. The back door opens and we all look.
“Assholes going without me. She’s my fucking sister,” Luke grumbles as he pushes against Kayden to scoot over. “Move big guy,” Kayden moves over. “Don’t do that shit again,” Luke says punching Trent in the chest. “Let’s go,” he hits the roof of the truck with the arm hanging out the window.
“We weren’t trying to cause a scene and everyone would’ve noticed if you came with us.”
“Everyone already noticed an hour ago. We were just waiting for you to get in the damn truck,” Luke laughs. “Nice try though, boys.”
“Shut up,” I growl. “Get your fucking heads in it,” I pull towards the gate and wait for it to open. The sound of bikes starting up sends my blood pumping.
Luke chimes in again, “Chief is going to get pissed.”
“Fuck it,” Trent says. “We have nothing else to lose.”
I don’t care. Trent is right, we literally have nothing left to lose if we lose our women.
Once the gate opens wide enough for me to get through it, I take off. The bikes follow closely behind despite me trying to get away just a little bit. I don’t mind them tagging along. I just need to get to her as fast as I can and they better not slow me down because I will not be waiting for anyone.
Royce
My eyes start to slowly open, the pain in my head has dulled enough over night that I finally can. My skin is cold against the floor I’m lying on and I swear to god I might have actually pissed myself.
“Royce,” Blake says and my eyes snap open. “Oh, thank God. I thought you died.”
“I’m breathing ain’t I?” I ask trying to sit up, failing and falling back down slowly. “Why are you here?” I ask. “Missed me?”