by Eve R. Hart
“Did I wake you?” her soft voice floated through my speakers.
“Nope,” I replied, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and trying to look as alert as possible. I still had a boner that throbbed like mad but luckily, it was hidden under my desk and out of view of my camera.
“Liar,” she said in a sweet, joking tone as she eyed me with a smirk tipping up the left side of her mouth.
“What’s going on?” I asked, wanting to get right to it.
Lucy wouldn’t have reached out, especially not like this, if it wasn’t something serious.
“I sent you some files. I hate to dump this on you and run, but it kind of came up last minute. I’m leaving in an hour, but I couldn’t let this go. I found out that there’s an auction tomorrow night.”
To that, I sat up straighter. She had things going on that I didn’t know about, but I had a clue about some of them. Lucy was good, the kind of person that wanted to do illegal things to make the world better. She’d never kill unless she really had to, and even then, I feared she might have been too soft and timid to actually do so.
She didn’t have to specify what kind of auction, I knew right away. And it wasn’t something that I could turn my back on. I suspected that was why she called me. Maybe she’d been in a bind, but I had a feeling she wouldn’t put this on someone that couldn’t handle it. And I imagined she would think that I’d have a whole group of people to have my back.
Unfortunately, I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be as great of an army as she thought. As I sat there thinking about it, I could only think of a handful of people the club could spare right now, and half of them, well, I wasn’t sure I completely trusted just yet.
“Go on,” I said, knowing that she wouldn’t reveal too much even though this should have been through secure channels. It was always good to be a little paranoid. I’d learned the hard way that there was always someone out there bigger and better than you.
“I’ve got an address and everything you need to get in. I also sent you the guest list so you’ll be prepared. You need to blend in, Bocca.”
I looked at her pointedly. I had a feeling I knew what she was saying and it made my skin crawl for multiple reasons.
“That means suit and tie, buddy. Hope you can get one in time.” She almost looked amused at this.
“Don’t worry,” I said still holding a scowl on my face. “I have one already.”
I didn’t bother to mention that there would be no fucking tie. Or that it might fit a little snug, I was a little but more buff than I used to be. I just hoped it wasn’t too tight. Remembering the last time I’d worn it, I seemed to recall that it had been a bit big. Fingers crossed that it would work. Because I was not looking forward to stuffing all the info she’d sent me into my head as well as make the time to not only find a suit, but someone that could do immediate alterations. Fuck me.
I’d not only have to look like one of these sick fucks, I’d have to act like them too. I knew, even before I looked at what she’d sent me, that I was going to have to find something deep inside of me to help me keep my calm. I couldn’t even let my false mask slip for a second.
“I’m sorry to just drop this on you like this. You know—”
“I know, you’d have my back. I get it. I hope you guys have a sex-filled honeymoon,” I said and shot her a wink. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at me. Lucy was used to me by now. “And congratulations again.”
“Thank you,” she said as she beamed.
That was something I didn’t see coming. No, not her being all glowy and happy and whatever—The Clean thing. Not that I really knew what went on in their lives before. Or knew Clean outside of what he did for the club. But there was just something about the two of them that seemed odd from the outside. Like they were two different pieces to two totally different puzzles. Somehow, though, they fit together.
“Tell your husband I said hello,” I added. It may have been a nice thing to slip in there, but it had its purpose. I was no idiot.
“I know,” his deep voice rang out from somewhere in the background. “Thanks, man. For everything.”
I had to smile at this. I for sure didn’t want that man on my bad side. He fucking knew how to make a body disappear like it had never been around in the first place. I was no dummy, I didn’t want him to think I was talking to his woman without him knowing. I wanted to make that shit clear. I had nothing to hide and sure as fuck didn’t want it to seem like I did. I had no desire to end up like all his other jobs.
We ended our chat and I got to work sifting through everything she’d sent me. I could tell her work was rushed. Hell, half of it seemed incomplete. One of those things being the background checks and full rundowns on these sick fucks that would be there. I had work to do, and pretty much no time to get it done in.
So much for sleep.
I got up and stretched. It was time to go find Cal and Loch. And probably Axe too.
Though Axe hadn’t officially taken over, it was clear that the move was coming. He was right there most of the time, with Cal and Loch, taking in everything and helping to dole out orders.
I knew they wouldn’t be able to turn my request down. Given what I was going into and planning on doing, they would decide how it would go down and how many brothers I could take with me. It was time to put my pretty please face on and hope I could get enough bodies to back me up.
CHAPTER TWO
Bocca
“I don’t like this,” Cal said, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.
I didn’t either but there wasn’t anything to be done about it. The club had too much going on and it looked like I was going in alone. Though I swore up and down that was fine and that I’d be able to handle it, it did throw a wrench into my plan to take these guys down. Now, it had turned into a fucking recon mission. Sit back, watch, take names, and find out who was behind the show. It was still far from safe but not nearly as dangerous as going in there with the intent to take someone down.
This, unfortunately, meant that I wouldn’t be saving anyone tonight. I agreed with them, there simply wasn’t enough time to plan anything else. I understood that and even if I had hoped to shut the shit down, in the back of my mind, I knew it was going to take more than what I could come up with in less than a day. Still, I had to try.
I was basically going in alone and blind. The only things I knew were where it was being held, how to get in, and what little I’d been able to dig up about the people on the list. There were simply too many of them for me to do my normal, in-depth search. I was able to find the top layer of their dirt, basically. I found a few of their open associations. And a couple of the names I already had files on. That was something. But I didn’t really need to do much digging into these people to know that they were sick scum. This wasn’t some party for people with deep pockets, even if it was set up to look that way. This was an auction for innocent humans. The people that were going to show up were coming with one intention only, to buy themselves a slave. To own a human being and do unimaginable things to that person.
It not only made my blood boil with rage, but it made me sad too.
“Can’t even spare Seven?” Axe asked and though he was usually a mask of flat stone, I could see the anguish in his eyes and hear the slight panic in his tone.
Seven. Not my first choice. Nothing against the guy, I trusted him with my life. He was a good brother and a fucking deep part of this club. But this wasn’t a job for him. He was too emotionally connected to this and I couldn’t keep an eye on him as well as do the job I needed to do.
“No,” Cal said shaking his head.
This was one of those moments where Axe showed that he was still a little green. I was sure that once he sat back and really thought about it, he would see that it wasn’t the best of ideas.
“So let’s figure out where to go from here,” Cal said after a long pause.
I gave them with a list of people I thought would be
the main buyers. I let them know about the ones I figured were new to the scene. And lastly, the ones that I wasn’t sure about. Since I had no idea what group was behind the auction, I left him a list of big names in the area. People that I—as well as Lucy—had kept tabs on. I would admit that she did keep a closer eye on them than I did, but that was just how it went. She got to choose the balls she juggled, while I was usually handed mine. Sometimes, I was lucky enough to have free time and could do my own thing, but I had to admit that the club kept me pretty fucking busy.
You see, it wasn’t over once I did the initial digging. No, there was always checkups and such. Not usually for the members of the club, though sometimes I would do one if I was asked to or got the sense that someone was being shady. There were people outside the club I had to keep a constant eye on. Like the people we worked with. Lately, it had been a bunch of looking into other clubs and their members. That was a lot of work and took a lot of time. Some of the MCs we were looking to work with had a good amount of members. I, most of all, knew that it took just one person to fuck everything up.
“Go in there and don’t turn any heads. Don’t fuckin’ get yourself noticed, not even a little bit. I ain’t happy about this but feel like I don’t got no choice. I can’t look the other way when I know you’re willin’ to go in there alone.”
I agreed with Cal and I was pretty sure Axe and Loch did too. I’d put him in a bind when I decided to come to him with this, but I knew what I was doing. It wasn’t like I could have taken off on my own and leave not a word behind on what I was doing. That wasn’t how it worked here. I hated putting the club in danger, but I had come to him because I needed help along with wanting him to know what was going on. But it looked like I wasn’t going to get the help that I’d hoped for.
I left the office with a plan. I also knew I hadn’t given them an address to where I was headed. I was smart enough to know that Cal might change his mind. Or Loch or Axe would do their best to guilt him into something that the club really couldn’t do right now. It was a safety measure. If they didn’t know where to find me then they couldn’t send backup when I hadn’t expected any. It would have thrown me off and quite possibly messed the whole thing up. I had a plan and that was what I was sticking with.
I was to go in alone and pose as one of them. I had to play my part well enough to blend in and find out as much as I could. I’d be there when the actual auction took place and I could rescue people later. Take the buyers down one by one after this shit was over. It wasn’t the best-made plan, it left a lot of room for things to go sideways. It left time for the captured to get tortured even more. And abused. And raped. Anything and everything you could think of that those bastards would do. No, I didn’t fucking like it, but I had no choice but to take it. Because something was better than nothing. Or so I really hoped.
Later that day, I showered, cleaned up my facial hair, and pulled my suit out of the back of my closet. I hadn’t looked at this thing in years. Five to be exact. I bought this to wear to one specific thing. That thing being the funeral for my father. I had never intended to wear it again and honestly had no idea why I’d kept it.
But I guessed it was good that I had, because it sure came in handy right now.
I checked the time and decided that if need be, I still had time to figure something else if it was too small. I sure as fuck couldn’t show up looking like I was wearing my little brother’s suit—not that I had one of those. That for sure would make me stick out like a sore thumb.
As I laid it out on my bed, the memories of my past came flooding back. Nothing really significant or heart-clenching. Just the fact that my life had been so different long ago. As a kid, I would have never thought I’d end up here, but I sure did hope. Maybe not this specifically, being in a motorcycle club and all. But I had wished for some excitement and even a greater purpose that held some joy. I had the perfect balance of all of that now along with a family to back me whenever I needed them too.
Well, except for now, I guess, but it wasn’t like they didn’t want to. And if you looked at it the way I was choosing to, they did back me. They let me go out on my own despite the fact that they felt uneasy about it.
Okay. Alright. It could work. It was snug, but if I didn’t puff my chest up it wouldn’t strain. I went into the bathroom, flipped the back of the suit jacket up and yes, did the bend over and check my ass thing. I couldn’t imagine there would be a lot of sitting at this place given what I needed to do, but I still had to make sure I wasn’t going to split seams.
Damn, that’s a hot ass.
Yeah, judge all you want, but you know you do the same thing.
The one thing I hadn’t held onto was my spiffy shoes. That was something I had to take care of. I had already planned on heading to the city a little early to do just that. I knew just the place to go though I wasn’t all that thrilled about going in there. I wasn’t this guy. I never really had been. It was what I’d been forced into and at one time, it might have even felt like part of me. But that was so long ago. I liked my sneakers, and then boots in the winter time. I liked my tees and jeans so worn they probably needed to be replaced. I liked my hair long and unruly. And I liked my facial hair however the fuck I decided to have it. Maybe I was still rebelling against my upbringing a bit, but who wouldn’t?
I took the jacket off and placed it back on the bed. I needed to pull my hair back in a way that made it look somewhat like I cared. Like those men that used a shit load of product and had that model shine to it. I cared a lot about my hair, I could admit that, but I still had those broken strands from pulling it in and out of elastic hair ties. It was just something that couldn’t be avoided. Tonight was one where my flyaways needed to stay down and not make me look like some kind of psycho madman.
There was a knock at my door just as I was smoothing back the last few pieces that were trying their damnedest to rebel.
“Yeah?” I called out as I walked out of the bathroom.
Loch stepped in and shut the door behind him. I knew he was due to take off any minute now on the next run. He and a bunch of brothers were heading down to South Carolina to handle some shit with the pipeline. I knew he wouldn’t be gone even twenty-four hours. All of this was covered this morning in Church. A meeting that I couldn’t miss, but also hadn’t really had time for.
I could see the strain and exhaustion showing on his face. He had been doing his best to help Cal stay on top of things. Being the head chapter had its perks, but it also came with its own weights to carry too.
“You sure about this?” he asked pointedly looking me in the eyes.
What was I supposed to tell him?
Not really, but I kind of feel like I don’t have a choice.
It wasn’t that I didn’t have a choice, because I did. I could have kept this information to myself. I could have told Lucy that I just wouldn’t be able to help her out on this one. I could have even found someone else to hand this off to. But I just couldn’t. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I didn’t personally look into this. As it was, I wasn’t going to be able to do as much as I had hoped. And you better fucking believe that I was going to take down each and every single fucker that I ran into tonight.
“Yeah,” I said with false bravado and a cocky smile. “This is nothin’. Don’t worry, I got this.” I slapped him on the back because it felt like something I should have done at that moment.
As he eyed me skeptically, I knew I’d overdone it.
And then I waited for it because I knew the big brother talk was coming. He couldn’t let me go without it. He wasn’t going to tell me anything new, anything I didn’t already have in mind or plan on already, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t give him my full attention. Sometimes it wasn’t about the words that people said, it was about the meaning behind it. Loch was gruff and standoffish, but he had a heart. Same as Cal. Cal was all heart, you just had to know how hard to look to see it.
“Keep your head down. Shit
looks like it’s gettin’ ready to head south, you fuckin’ bolt. You hear me?”
I nodded with a serious expression to let him know that I did indeed hear him.
“I’m not comfortable with this, but I get it. This couldn’t have come at a worse time.”
He wasn’t wrong there.
“Don’t insert yourself more than you have to. Don’t stand out and make damn sure that you keep your emotions in check. I mean it, Bocca, someone so much as coughs funny, you get your ass outta there.”
“I got it. You really don’t need to worry. This is simple enough,” I said, standing tall. “I’m not taking my phone, so there will be nothing to trace me back to here. I won’t give them a reason to suspect me at all.”
“Good,” he replied. “Check in as soon as you can. I’ll see you tomorrow and we’ll go over everythin’ then.”
With a pat on my back, he ended the conversation and walked to the door.
“It doesn’t look right on you,” he said over his shoulder and I knew he was talking about the suit. I couldn’t argue with that and I knew it had nothing to do with how the clothes fit me. It was just the clothes themselves and what they represented. Yeah, couldn’t disagree with him there.
I’d once been that person, but was I really? No, it was all for show. A little kid playing grownup. A forced formality and life that I had no choice but to accept. But I didn’t now, this life was mine, and I wasn’t going to forget that for one second. I’d made my way to the man I could actually look at in the mirror. And I could—look at myself, that was.
“I think I look dapper,” I got out right before he stepped over the threshold.
“Smart-ass,” he mumbled as he shook his head at me.