by L. Wilder
“You know how things go in Mexico. Maybe they just decided to stay a little longer.”
“Maybe,” she answered in a low, concerned voice.
“I’m sure she’s fine. If we haven’t heard from her by tomorrow, I’ll check on her,” I offered.
“You’re right. I’m sure she’s okay.”
“There a reason why you needed her?”
She looked down at Mia cradled in her arms. “I just wanted to see if she could watch Wyatt while we went for the baby’s checkup.”
“I can keep an eye on him.”
“Are you sure?”
I gave Wyatt a little nudge with my elbow as I said, “Gotta figure out how to beat him at this game. Figure it’s gonna take a while.”
“That would be great. I’ll be back in a couple of hours, and if you need anything, just call.”
“Take your time,” I told her as I tried to return my focus to the game. I was surprised to see that Wyatt was already two kills ahead of me. “Damn, dude. You’re good at this.”
Never losing his focus, he fired off several rounds against the enemy. “You can catch up. Make your advance, stay covered, and change your weapon. That one is for girls.”
“Is that right?”
“I thought you knew that kind of stuff,” Wyatt taunted.
“Guess I still have a lot to learn.” I laughed as I switched to my secondary and tried to catch up to him. We hadn’t been playing long when Dusty came in. Needless to say, I lost my spot on the sofa and the boys quickly forgot I was even in the room. I sat back in the recliner and smiled as I watched them play. They were good together—two little amigos that had found a friendship that would last them a lifetime.
Once Wren returned from the baby’s appointment, I went back to my room and got to work. Over the past few months, I’d been busy. The demand for weapons was continuing to increase, and in order to keep up, the club had to make some changes. We’d done well with our shipments in the past, managed to stay under that ATF’s radar, but with the increase in deliveries, it would be harder to stay that way. It was time for us to start buying the parts separately, which would make it easier to ship them without detection and leave the full assembly to be done once they reached Mexico. It was up to me to check out Nitro’s new contacts and make sure they didn’t have any skeletons lurking in the closet. He had his own people for this sort of thing, but he wanted me to be there to double check their findings. Nitro wasn’t a man who took chances, and that’s why Cotton used him. Over the years, we’d established an understanding. We all knew in our line of work there were high expectations and the failure to bring results would bring consequences that threatened to pull us under.
I’d gone through the first guy with no real red flags, but the second was a different story. I knew right away something was up with him. I picked up my phone and called Nitro. As soon as he answered, I blurted, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me?”
“About?”
“Claybrooks.”
“You mean the cop?”
“Damn. You had me worried there for a minute.” We’d had our run-ins with cops in the past, each one thinking he’d found his way inside, but none had ever made it very far. It was evident that Claybrooks was working an undercover op, and it wasn’t like Nitro not to smell him from a mile away.
“Yeah, I thought you could have a little fun with him,” Nitro snickered. “Give him something to occupy his time for a while.”
“You want me to bury him?”
“Make an impression.”
“You got it.”
As soon as I hung up the phone, I started working on Mr. Jonathan Claybrooks, aka Detective David Keen. I sent a phishing email requesting to run an update on his computer’s security, and within the hour, he’d responded with everything I needed—his password, home address, pin, email addresses, and his social. Once I had that information, there was nothing I couldn’t do. I started with his email contacts, sending evidence of misconduct to his commanding officer and the mayor. It would only be a matter of time before he’d lose his job, but that wasn’t enough. Before I closed out his email, I sent a malicious virus to everyone on his contact list, making sure they all knew he was behind the destruction of their own personal security. I reported his car stolen, triggering his vehicle’s security system to send a remote signal that blocked the engine from starting. Then, I moved on to his bank accounts, completely clearing his checking and savings accounts. After I had his cell phone and utilities shut off, I attacked his social media, slamming his Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages with goat porn and golden showers, along with photoshopped pics of him wearing KKK t-shirts and hats – just enough to leave a lasting impression on everyone who knew him. Finally, just for fun, I changed all his passwords and added a required updated pin to each, making it frustrating as hell for him to regain access to any of his accounts.
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the computer screen with a sense of satisfaction, knowing that I’d just yanked the rug out from underneath Keen. Sure, there was the possibility that over time he could convince people that he’d been hacked and get his life back, but the damage had been done. That element of doubt would always be there, leaving a lasting scar on his reputation. Every time he picked up his phone, each time he logged into his computer or used his debit card, he would remember this day and the panic he’d felt. After today, Keen and all those detective pricks would think twice before they fucked with Nitro again. I was just about to add his name to the possible American terrorist list, FAA No-Fly, and DHS Homegrown, when there was a knock on my door.
“Yo, Big Mike.” Q’ stuck his head inside. “You heard anything about Tristen? Some chick keeps calling the bar. Says she’s been trying to call her cell but can’t get her to answer.”
Hearing her name for the second time that day gave me an uneasy feeling. Tristen had been with the club for just over a year. At first, she was just one of the hang arounds, looking for a good time with no real connection to any of the guys, but over time, she started to make herself useful. She did what she could to help around the bar and in the kitchen, and it didn’t go unnoticed. When Cotton found out she was a runaway, he hired her and set her up in one of the rooms at the club. She seemed happy, like the club was her home. It wasn’t like her not to answer the phone, or let us know that her plans had changed. “Has anyone been able to reach her?”
“Not that I know of. You mind talking to this chick and see if you can get her to chill the fuck out?”
“Yeah. I’ll see what I can do,” I told him as I stood up and followed him back to the bar. When I picked up the phone and put it up to my ear, the line was dead. “She hung up.”
“Guess it wasn’t that important after all.”
“Did she say who she was?”
“Nope. Just that she was looking for Tristen.”
“Yeah. I guess I better see if I can figure out what’s going on with her.”
“Bet she found her some guy down there in Mexico. Liable to just move down there or something. Not like there’s anything holding her here.”
“She’s got us.”
“But not in the way she wants. Girls like her will always want more… and honestly, she deserves it. She’s a good kid. Maybe she finally found what she’s been looking for.”
“Stranger things have happened, but I’ll do some checking just to be sure.”
“Let me know what you find out.”
I went back to my room, and as soon as I logged into my computer, there was a glitch in the screen. To anyone else, it would look like nothing – just a flicker – but I knew all too well what it meant. Someone had synced a rat to one of our servers using a remote access tool. They were slick, but not slick enough to get past me. I picked up my burner and made a call to Cotton.
When he answered, I said, “We’ve got trouble. You better come check this out.”
“I’m on my way.”
As soon as I hung up, I started a cou
nter attack. They’d only managed to crack the outer layer of my security system, so I still had time to stop them before they got into our main database. I started with an intrusion inspection, so I could find exactly where they were located. To do that, I would need their IP address. They were using an encrypted network, so all the traffic was routed through relays, making it difficult to locate them.
I was still working to find the exact address when Cotton came charging through the door. “What’s wrong?”
Without looking away from my computer, I answered, “We got ourselves a hacker.”
“Damn it.”
Cotton leaned over me, watching as I typed away on my keyboard. Even with him breathing down the back of my neck, I managed to get the IP address. I was surprised to see it was coming from an apartment building only a few miles away. “Got him.” I wrote down the address and handed it to Cotton. “We need to get someone over there, now.”
“I’ll send Stitch and Maverick.”
“Make sure they get everything. Computers. Phones. Anything this guy might be using. We need to know what the hell he’s after.”
Cotton made the call, and once he had everything sorted, he turned back to me. “Got any idea who this guy might be?”
“No idea. I’m going to do what I can to slow him down, but I gotta tell you… whoever this is, he knows what he’s doing. In a matter of minutes, he breeched my firewall.”
“You gonna be able to hold him off?”
“I’ve got this covered. Just let me know when they get back to the club with this guy.”
“You got it.”
Once he was gone, I considered launching a virus, but decided to hold off. I wanted to have access to everything they had on their computer, knowing I may need it later. I bombarded their server with garbage files, making it impossible for them to get any further into our system. Going up against another hacker is like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube that keeps changing just as you get the first pattern in place. I was making headway when it became apparent that my assailant was no longer there. It wasn’t long before I got word from Stitch that they’d gotten our guy and were heading back to the clubhouse. I knew where they’d be taking him. When there were questions to be answered, questions that some guys weren’t so willing to answer, Stitch brought them to his playroom. It was a place where he didn’t have any problems getting answers.
Knowing they’d be back any minute, I grabbed my laptop and started towards the back of the clubhouse. When I walked into the room, Maverick gave me a strange look—a look I might expect if I was about to be the brunt of some joke, not the kind I’d expect after they’d just apprehended the guy who’d just tried to hack into our database. I stopped dead in my tracks and asked, “What?”
He smirked as he motioned to a chair centered in the back of the room. “We got the big, badass hacker for ya.”
His sarcasm didn’t go unnoticed as I looked over to see who they’d bound to the chair. I’ll admit I had my own thoughts about who our hacker could’ve been – maybe an old enemy that resurfaced to take his revenge, or a member of an MC that was set on taking down our club. There’d been a hundred different ideas that crossed my mind over the past hour, but never once did I ever imagine that it could’ve been the person sitting in that chair. I glanced back over at Maverick and growled, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Nope.”
I looked back over at the beautiful blonde with emerald green eyes as I ran my hand through my hair. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“You got a name?” the older guy asked, but I didn’t answer. On any other day, I might be inclined to talk to the handsome biker, but today, under these circumstances, there was no way in hell I was gonna talk. I couldn’t. There was too much at risk. No matter what happened, I had to keep my mouth shut and bide my time. I couldn’t show any sign of weakness or everything I’d been fighting for would come crashing down around me – or worse, they’d kill me.
He took a step closer and knelt in front of me, glaring in a way that made my skin crawl. I twisted and tugged against the restraints around my wrists, hoping that I might be able to slip my hands free, but it was pointless; they were on too tight. “Who do you work for? Why were you trying to hack into my club?”
I didn’t answer. I just sat there silently staring back at him, and it was clear from the expression on his face that it was just making him even angrier. He stood up, slowly walked behind me, and then I felt a blade rake against my skin. My hands were released, giving me a false sense of relief, but only momentarily. He reached out and grabbed my arm, jerking me up on my feet. He tugged me towards the center of the room, and panic started to set in when I noticed a chain hanging from the ceiling. I tried to break free, but there was no getting away from him. Just as I feared he would, he cuffed my hands to the chain, making it impossible to get free.
“Do you know where you are?” he asked as he motioned over to the guy with the long, black beard and coal-black eyes. “This is his room. Any idea what he uses it for?”
The looks of the man were enough to scare me, but my fear hit an all-time high when I started to look around the room. There was a metal gurney in the back, and strange machines and contraptions hanging on the walls. It took me several seconds to comprehend all the different things I was seeing, but when I noticed the assortment of knives and chemicals on the long counter, I quickly realized exactly what the room was used for. My stomach turned and bile rose to my throat as my imagination began to run wild. I couldn’t stop thinking of all the things he might do in this room—and what he might do to me.
“Now, I am going to ask you again. Who are you and what do you want with my club?” he snarled.
The answer was sitting there on the tip of my tongue, begging to be released, but I clamped my lips shut and remained silent. I had to hold it together. When I didn’t answer, his eyebrows furrowed and one of the veins in his neck started to bulge out, making me feel a slight sense of satisfaction that I was getting to him. I waited patiently for him to make his next move. The last of his restraint went flying out the window when he reached up and took a hold of my face. His fingers dug into my cheeks as he forced me to look at him.
“You think you can come after my club and get away with it? You’ve gotta be out of your fucking mind. No one fucks with my club. No one.” He released his hold on me and turned his attention to one of the guys in the back of the room. “Big, grab her laptop. See if you can find out what the hell she’s been up to.” Then, he looked back at me. “Don’t reckon you’re gonna give me the password for that damned thing?”
I knew their guy was good, probably one of the best I’d ever encountered. Knowing it would only be a matter of time before he’d hack into my computer, I had wiped it clean – at least as much as I could in the short amount of time I’d had. It would take him some time, but he’d find what he was looking for. I knew I could just give him the password, make it easier on myself, but I’d never been one to do things the easy way. Besides, I needed him distracted. The longer he was working on my computer, the less he’d be on his.
“Doesn’t matter. I can get in,” the big guy assured him as he reached for my laptop. When he picked it up, a brown liquid came trickling out of the side. He looked over to me with a questioning look, and I had to suppress my smile as I remembered that I’d poured my soda over it just as they’d broken into the apartment. He rolled his eyes, then gave it a hard shake, forcing more of the cola out of the keyboard as he started for the door. “You know where I’ll be.”
As soon as he was gone, the older man walked over to the two remaining men in the back of the room. The guy with the short, dark hair and green eyes never took his eyes off me as they discussed their next move. They talked for several minutes, and then without warning, they started to file out of the room. Just before the door closed behind them, the lights turned off, and a blanket of darkness fell over me. While I could no longer see what was hidden in the pitch-black, I k
new what was there. I tried my best not to think about it. I tried to conjure up a story in my head or an old memory that could help me forget that I was hanging from a chain awaiting my demise, but every thought led back to him—the man with the long beard and dark, threatening eyes. I just had to hold on a bit longer, but each second seemed like an eternity as I hung there suspended in the darkness. It felt like I’d been there for hours when the room started to feel colder, much colder, to the point that the tips of my fingers and nose became numb. I don’t know how they’d done it, but they managed to drop the temperature dramatically, making me feel like a piece of meat hanging in a freezer. The cold air felt heavy against my skin as it stole the warmth from my body. My teeth started to chatter and the shivers set in, making it difficult to concentrate. I’d almost forgotten where I was until the lights flickered on and I caught sight of him standing in the door way.
“Gets pretty damn cold in here, doesn’t it? Place can drop forty degrees in less than half an hour.”
My heart started to beat wildly against my chest as he started walking towards me.
Paying no mind to the freezing temperature, he slowly removed his leather jacket and placed it on the back of a chair. As he approached me, his eyes locked on mine. “You’re no different than anybody else. Everybody’s got secrets.” His voice was low and full of warning as he spoke. “It’s my job to find out what those secrets are, and you should know… I’m good at my job.”
He took a black and white bandana from his back pocket and used it to cover my eyes, blindfolding me as he continued to talk. “How far this thing goes is up to you.” I felt the cold air bite against my stomach as he began to unbutton my shirt, stopping just below the edge of my bra so only my lower abdomen was exposed. “How much this hurts is up to you.”
I had no idea what he meant, but I was about to find out. Before I had a chance to brace myself, there was a crackling sound followed by a strong, painful tingling against my stomach. Every muscle in my body drew tense as an electric current flowed through me. It was like a thousand tiny pins and needles stabbed my fingers, toes, arms, and throughout my entire body. A sour taste filled my mouth, and the tightness in my chest made it difficult to breathe. I had no idea how long it lasted, but it felt like a lifetime. I was just about to pass out when the shock suddenly stopped and my body fell limp against the restraints.