Dirty Salvation (Renegade Souls MC Romance Saga Book 1)
Page 42
He kissed her forehead. “Go back to sleep, baby.”
“‘kay” and right there naked on the couch, legs tangled together, her hand laid across his chest Zara dropped to sleep again, her little puffs of air through pursed lips cranked out his smile.
The smile vanished reading a text from Grinder. His tracker had done the impossible.
Loathe to leave her, not when they’d had a moment, she was finally accepting what he felt for her, what they had together, he slid her to the cushions, she muffled like a little sleepy cat making him grin and wish he had more time to assure her. He was in his clothes and pushing feet down into his boots when she woke, blinking owl slow at him. Rider crouched by the couch, stroked a finger down her cheek.
“Head up to bed, Icy, it's late. I gotta go to the club for a while.” before she could ask if something was wrong, he saw the question in her eyes he added. “Not leavin’ you alone, two prospects will be outside if you need anything but I won’t be that long.”
“Is it…?”
“Yes. I’ll tell you more when I get home. You’re safe, Zara. He’s nowhere near here. I’m gonna end this, okay? For us. This shit will end once and for all.” Something detached in Zara’s eyes as he expected, her coping mechanism racing to life, but strong as he knew she could be it disappeared an instant later, she nodded.
He kissed her and wanted to say all kinds of love shit but it would feel too much like a goodbye and he intended to walk back through that door to her very soon.
Once Rider had retrieved his handgun from its lockbox in the safe upstairs he kissed Zara again, she was already dressed in the clothes they’d torn off her earlier, she wasn’t sleeping anytime soon.
“Be safe.” she told him, worry in her eyes.
He cocked her a grin and cupped the back of her neck briefly connecting their foreheads gently. “Always. I’ll see you soon, baby.”
Striding out to his bike there was hard tension on his shoulders, not only to do right for his club but for his girl as well. There was no doubt he wanted Hades dead, that was a given long before he even knew what that maniac had done to Zara. Now, though. The hate was an ulcer festering in his gut. Better yet it was his only fucking focus. Zara would only come back to life fifty percent knowing Hades lurking someone still breathing, and that wasn’t good enough for Rider, he’d tasted her sweetness, he knew she loved him, it was in her every action and stolen glance, the way she cuddled into his spine when she thought he was sleeping and would murmur his name so reverent, but he wanted more, he wanted her to live for him, like she was his life now.
Hades was gonna die.
Die hard and painful.
For his old lady's happiness. For his club.
Dirty shit landed on a president's shoulders all the time. Rider had done a lot of things he probably shouldn't ever be boastful about, but this, he was gonna sing like a goddamn Nightingale just as soon as that bastard was burned to ash. His jaw set, eyes turned flat. Love was a crazy motivator and stabilizer all in one. He felt invincible suddenly.
He revved his bike, braced both boots on the ground as the engine idled, reaching a look down the midnight overcast street while he fastened his helmet under his chin, waited until two of his prospects turned onto his quiet road a minute later he had a quick word with them, basically saying if anything happened to Zara he’d make jelly out of their bones and feed their innards to the junkyard dogs.
They laughed nervously not sure if he meant it.
Where Zara’s safety was concerned, he meant every damn word.
Death and love all in the one night. It was new to him but something he welcomed.
With a chin jut to his boys, trusting they’d do as he ordered to watch the house like it was the pentagon, he kicked up the bike’s stand and roared off towards his club and the strategy meeting waiting in church for him.
The agenda; how to kill one motherfucking enemy for good.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
“What has sixteen holes and says ughhhhh? A dead motherfucker." – Snake
It wasn't the archetypical circumstance for Rider to come into contact with the local law right when he was off to do criminal shit, but there was good old Charlie-boy on the side of the road leaning against his patrol vehicle as if lying in wait for some fuckwit to come by.
Seriously, worse timing ever.
Rider slowed his bike until he stopped where Charlie was parked up on the west side of Armado Springs on the turning out of town. Goddamn nosy fucking cops.
He liked Charlie, he was a good man, just what their town needed, a cop without a bidding price, but fuck it to hell, now was not the time for chats over coffee and donuts.
The engine idled, he rested both boots on the ground, jutted his chin to the lawman, suspiciously staring, his hands resting on his belt that just so happened showed off his weapon.
"You're out late, Rider. Something I should know about?"
Instinct dictated he should tell a lie here. Otherwise what was he supposed to reply; just out to kill a man that I hate, no biggy, sheriff.
"Can't a man go for a ride, Sheriff? not against the law last time I checked." he kept his tone light.
"At five AM? call me skeptical but my spidey sense is itching."
Rider laughed. He really did like the cop. Just not tonight when he was pumped full of adrenaline and heading out to put several bullets in one cocksucking moron once and for all.
"They do a cream for that nowadays."
"Be straight with me, Rider. I always look out for you and your boys, you do good shit for this town, I'd hate to see that go to waste, we're usually on the same side."
"Usually," he answered dryly but went on. "You can relax your cop sense, Charlie. I'm out at this god forsaken hour because my old lady wanted some ice cream and I'm a gentleman going to get it for her so she doesn't bitch my head off."
He saw Charlie's brows hike up. "Since when do you have an old lady?"
Rider toughened his voice. He didn't mind playing along, to swerve Charlie away from the real issue at hand, but explaining himself or his life he would not do to anyone least of all the law. "Is that any of your business?"
"No. Curious, I guess. You never seemed the type to settle down. You really have a woman?" Whatever Charlie saw on Rider's face made him laugh and he held up both hands. "Easy, friend. I'm happy for you, so will my wife when I tell her, though as she sees it you'll be breaking hearts all over town now if you're off the market." He smirked. "though, she doesn't know you like I do."
"True enough." Rider's impatience rode his spine. The fuck with idle chat. "We good here, or you want to braid my hair next?"
Charlie laughed. "Nah, we're good." Rider revved the engine, ready to head off again. "And Rider...? remember when you head back into town after doing whatever you're doing, to pick up a quart of ice cream ... just in case I'm still sat here." With a grin playing on his mouth Charlie opened his car door and slid inside.
Smart-mouth cop.
With his own smirk, Rider took off.
"There's been no movement since he went inside, boss." Grinder's voice low informed so as only Rider and the other two brothers could hear. All of them crouched down behind bushes surveying the large abandoned warehouse. From the outside, it looked pretty secluded, no vehicles in sight besides the burned out husks of a few dotted here and there, Grinder informed he'd only seen Hades head inside, no one else and was pretty confident the guy was alone.
"Snake, head around the back, I want eyes all over this place, Capone, go with him, no one moves until I give the signal, I don't want him spooked and taking off before I can kill him."
"Would be rude as shit if he did that, Pr
ez, since we gone to all this trouble." agreed Snake. Joker maybe most of the time, but he was one of Rider's most reliable men.
"You sure it was him?" he questioned Grinder.
"Sure as I can be. He wasn't in his leathers, no club colors, looked like a fucking vagrant in an oversized puffer coat and skull cap, but I trust my source, they always give reliable tip-offs, plus, they have no love for Hades, he's screwed over the Apollo's too many times for them to have any solidarity, besides that, they owe you a solid, Prez, I made sure all of 'em were reminded of what you did for their club last year and to remember that good and proper if they caught sight of this jerkoff. Jamie Steele already offered a helping hand if we needed it."
Rider nodded, the Apollo King's president was a decent enough guy.
His eyes fixed to the building. Is he inside? planning his next move? He had to believe he was brewing something otherwise why wouldn't Hades have taken off out of town, out of the state by now.
Nah. That jackass wanted to destroy Rider's club.
Worse. Get hands on Rider's old lady.
Not ever again.
He was just glad this showdown was happening far, far away from Zara, she'd suffered too much at the mercy of monsters, he wanted this done for her.
It was that thought alone that kept him calm. Only just.
"We wait to see if anyone else joins him." Grinder nodded and sent texts to the other men to sit low and tight. Sliding his own phone out, it was switched to silent he noticed a message from forty minutes ago, with a scroll he brought up the text thread he had going with Zara. The grin masked by the darkness split his face. He must have only just left the house when she sent him a single emoji heart.
Damn.
If he wasn't about to murder someone he might have taken the time to sap out over his girl.
Phone shoved away, he skimmed on his leather gloves and tugged the beanie hat down over his head. Grinder was already wearing his own, rarely seen without it. Rider was itching to get closer to the warehouse.
They waited for two hours and two more, sure in the fact Hades wasn’t meeting up with anyone who could over power Rider and the boys.
And it was time.
Sending out silent messages, his two men around the back knew to be ready, they were all going to go in as one from all sides, let the dickhead try to escape if he could. With his gun tucked into the waist at the back of his jeans both he and Grinder crept forward, using burned out cars along the way for cover, it wasn't ideal, but it wasn't as though their technique was gonna get a Yelp rating.
"On three..." he mouthed to Grinder who nodded back.
It wasn't the first time the Renegade Souls had stormed a building. But it was the first one they stormed to find ...
"What the fuck?"
The sentiment was echoed by all four men as Rider strode through the burned shack, dampness, old smoke and mold stung his nose. What he noticed right away was an open grate in the floor, from what used to be a drainage system, next to that was a pile of bricks, and on top of that a simple piece of white paper.
Better luck next time. I'll say goodbye to the bitch for you.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
"The bible was right. The devil did have a handsome face. He was also bat-shit crazy.” – Zara
"Isn't she gorgeous, Mace? she drives like a dream. Did you hear her purr?" Gushed Zara, running her hands over the yellow hood of her brand new previously owned car. She was grinning ear from ear.
Pretty-boy chuckled rubbed a hand over his mouth, but she saw his smirk. "Oh sure, Ma'am, the best yellow car I ever saw and make no mistake, people will see you coming for miles in this banana skin."
"Oh quiet, you. She's beautiful! You don't have to wait, I want to drive her home and surprise Rider."
Her biker man wasn't back yet, still, only nine am, and sure she was a little worried but had to believe he was taking care of himself. Instead of getting more sleep last night, she'd cleaned the house from top to bottom and just thirty minutes ago called Mace to go and get the car with her, too excited to wait another minute. The two prospects stayed back at the house for when she returned.
Her heart softened thinking of Rider as though today was the beginning of the rest of her life and she was eager to share it with him. Silly, but it was how she felt.
"Okay. But straight to the clubhouse, you get me? Prez will have my spleen if you're out alone right now."
She agreed and climbed behind the wheel.
Maybe it was a mistake to stop at the seven-eleven for a few supplies, maybe she could wait until later, but she was passing right by there, Beyoncé keeping her company on the radio, she pulled into the parking lot. She'd get the fixings for burgers tonight, maybe a couple of cases of beers for the boys, whichever ones happened to stop by the house.
In her own little happy bubble, she exited her car, gave it an affectionate pat.
Maybe if she hadn't stopped.
Maybe if she hadn't been so in her own happy circle.
Maybe if she'd only stayed home and listened to Rider. Stay at fucking home.
Maybe.
Maybe.
Then just perhaps Zara would not have seen the large figure hidden mostly at the side of the store, with his shoulder resting to the brickwork and a nasty smirk on his face.
"You're a hard one to find, sweet love, but how serendipitous that we're both here at the same time? Nah, I followed you. I thought you’d never leave that house, but here you are and here we are. Don’t you have a kiss for me? I thought you’d be pining for me. I told you once I’d always find you, didn’t I?"
That voice.
It was his simple wicked voice that brought Zara's feet to a dead stop and rendered her nervous system into a sloppy mess of panic. Transported back years to the first time she’d heard the same voice and how it rendered her powerless then, too. A shiver began in her belly and reached out across her body, frozen and terrified looking at the man she hated with all her being.
Hades; two feet away.
Think. Think. She screamed in her own head, her heart hammering, moisture dried in her mouth, she swallowed a few times to unstick her tongue, eyes darting left and right between the distance of the store door and her car. She could make it, just walk away, what was he even going to do in broad daylight? But it was Hades. That old feeling of being without a solution barraged her mind, rendered her useless.
She couldn't seem to come unglued. Move goddammit, Zara! He can’t frighten me anymore. But he did. He really did. Many times, she'd had that mental conversation of what she would do and say if ever faced with this man again and everything she'd planned, all her cocksure insults just drifted away.
Fear was immobilizing. Coming face to face with the devil himself.
CHAPTER FORTY
"How many men does it take to kill one asshole?" – Snake
Goddamn it, they'd been played! Fury blazed Rider's eyes retracing his steps in a fast stride, his men in line with him all adding their own dialogue he didn't listen to, fists clenched at his sides, his head was fucking buzzing. They'd been fucking played. It didn't matter if they had the building surrounded, Hades had probably led Grinder there and escaped the moment he was inside, all the while Rider and his crew guarding a fucking empty shack for hours. He should have known. Fuck.
"There was no way we could have known, Prez."
"Now this prick is just annoying me."
"Can we kill him already?"
Fat chance. Trying to was growing challenging but around the white noise Rider's blood was pumping fast he only had one thought as he grabbed his phone. Before he could call to check his girl was safely at home he saw she'd sent another message.
Air punched out of his lungs.
She'd left the house! to pick up her fucking car. Jesus. Of all the ... he exhaled and hit send on the call, it rang and rang and ... he hung up and called the house ... the same results ... he was going to fucking kill his prospects if they'd let her out of their sigh
t.
One of them picked up. "Where the fuck is Zara?" His snarl was like an animal, his leg swung over his bike roaring it to life, waiting to hear that his girl was in the kitchen or curled up with a movie.
"Hey, Prez. Pretty-boy picked her up a while ago, she was excited about her car, they said to hang here until they got back."
Hanging up, curses fell off his tongue.
"Rider?"
"Hades is going after Zara and my fucking old lady thinks everything is sorted here so she's gone to collect her car and I'm thirty cocksucking minutes away." Teeth clenched, he’d never felt this dread before. He hit call on her number again and after a few rings it went to voicemail."
"Shit. Let's ride, boys." Snake growled climbing onto his bike. "We head to your house?"
"You two head to the club, she might be there already. G, you're with me. Whoever finds her, fucking sit on her."
At the last second before he rode off he called Hawk, thank fuck someone answered. "It was a setup, he's gone after Zara and she was at the car dealership with Pretty, get a hold of him and tell him to get to the club with her asap, I'm thirty minutes out, heading back now."
Throughout his life, Rider had endured a lot of bad shit, beatings from fights he was too small to be equally matched in but would never back down from, and then his cutthroat climb to the presidency, yet on that ride back to Armado Springs was the worse thirty minutes of his life, he'd never been so gut terrified before.
He needed to get to Zara before Hades did.
Hang on, baby. I'm coming.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
"It's an honor to be my old lady, faithless sweet love." – Hades
"Ah-ah, don't even think it, sweet love. Get your bony ass over here to me like a good girl." Hades advised like they were the best of friends, those nasty eyes pinned to Zara.