“What’s the catch?”
“If you ever hurt my little sister, I don’t care that you’re my best friend or that we grew up together or that you’re the President of this club. I will hunt you down and I will tear you apart piece by piece. Then I’ll feed your carcass to coyotes!” Danny’s face darkened menacingly.
Archie felt a sense of relief wash over him. “I swear on my life, I won’t hurt her.” Unfortunately, he already had…but he planned on making it up to her when he got her back.
Danny nodded his acquiescence. “Good. Now get your shit together, man. You have to stop walking around here like a zombie. You moping around and sighing all the fucking time is not good for morale. Pull it together, eat something, and then you’re taking the next sleeping shift. You hear me?” He glared across the table. “If Lucy were here, you know she’d agree with me.” It might have been a low blow but manipulation was all Danny had at this point. Archie was off the rails.
He opened up his own meal and took a small bite of the burger. At this point it was cold and the bun was soggy but it was sustenance. Archie and Danny finished their meals in relative silence. Every once in a while Hunter or Mort would pop in to see if they needed anything to drink or another burger. Danny was halfway through his third when the cavalry arrived.
Marco Caraway was the President and leader of the California branch of the Devil’s Own MC. In addition to his high ranking position within the club, he was also Lucy’s godfather and a very good friend to the Hardings. Marco was in his early fifties and greying just slightly at his temples; there was a joviality that seemed to elevate his handsomeness. On this occasion, his face was drawn and pale. It was clear he was a man on a mission.
“You’ve been riding for hours, Marco,” Archie clasped his hand and shook it tightly, “Take a load off. Can I get you something to eat?”
“No,” Marco’s voice was grave. “I rushed out here as soon as I heard about Lucy.” He let out a shaky breath. “When we spoke on the phone yesterday, I started putting all the pieces together. Lucy isn’t the only woman who’s been taken.”
Archie offered Marco a seat and poured him a hearty snifter of brandy. At the very least, he could use a drink; the man was shaking like a leaf. “What are you talking about?”
“Our brothers to the North, the Redhawks? Their girl Julia was taken a few weeks ago, same night as Candy,” Marco pressed. His stomach twisted painfully at her name passing his lips. Even though their relationship failed years ago, she would always mean the world to him. “And Los Santos? One of their patched members, Cecelia, disappeared over a year ago without a trace. She was out near Reno doing some freelance engineering work. Turns out, it was for a shell company owned by Sofía Salma. When you told us she’s the one running the Black Jacks, everything started clicking into place.” His lips pursed into a tight line. “I even spoke with the Nightriders…”
Archie’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you out of your damn mind? You could’ve started a war!”
“Narayan Bosko’s daughter Adela went missing too. She’s seventeen years old, Archie. He came at us weeks ago, accusing us of taking her!” There were very specific rules the Devil’s Own followed and harming women and children were not tolerated. Even the Nightriders knew that. Marco planted his feet firmly and crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t care if the man is a monster, nobody deserves to lose their child.”
Marco was right. Old feuds meant nothing right now. There more important things at stake. “Sofía Salma is taking them and using them to keep us in our place.” The threat of hurting the women they loved was enough to keep them at bay. She was counting on their anger and hostility to keep them down but Archie had a better idea. “Get Narayan on the phone. I’m going to call Rogelio and the Redhawks.” He faced the group. “Sofía is counting on the fact that we’ve been divided for so long. It stops today. Separate we’re weak, but together we’re strong enough to take her down.”
Danny cleared his throat. “The Nightriders, the Redhawks, and Los Santos may be willing to play nice to bring Lucy and the rest of our girls home but what happens after that? It could turn into a bloodbath!” He licked his lips. “If you’re going to do this, we need some kind of insurance.”
“So we’ll write up a treaty,” Archie suggested. “We need to figure out voting rights so everybody gets a say. This is still a democratic club.” He sighed. “We need someone to draw it up…”
“How about Anita?” Danny piped up. “She’s a judge or some shit now. I bet she could come up with something that would make sense. You know damn well she’s helped us all of out a bind at some point. She’s a friend to this club.”
Stalking to the door, Archie leaned his head out. “Mort!”
The heavyset, bespectacled prospect jogged over. “Yeah, boss?”
“I need you to go into town and find Anita Raleigh. Tell her Lucy is in trouble and we need her help.” Mort was halfway out the door when Archie called out to him again, “And Mort? Persuade her, don’t strong-arm her. I won’t have people accusing the Devils of threatening Errol’s citizens. You hear me?” Mort nodded swiftly before heading out. Archie heard his bike flare to life and he rode into town. With that taken care of, Archie turned to Marco. “Let’s get this shit show on the road.”
* * *
An hour later, Rogelio Santos, Narayan Bosko, and Tim Gunter had all agreed to come to Errol to negotiate the terms of their agreement. Archie sent Kyle to make sure the bed and breakfast was set up for the leaders and Hunter cleared the motor lodge for their entourage. Once everyone arrived, the population of Errol would more than double overnight. It was about to get very crowded in this tiny town…
Mort returned shortly thereafter with a very flustered Anita Raleigh. She quickly readjusted her skirt, tugging it down and trying to smooth the wispy strands of strawberry blonde hair that had come loose from her bun. “I hear you need some kind of legally binding contract written?” She shifted her briefcase, grinning widely.
Archie turned to face her and his eyes widened. “God damn it, I told him to persuade you, not knock you around!” There were traces of bruises along her throat and his anger grew tenfold. “I’m going to kill that little son of a bitch.”
Anita stepped in front of Archie before he could stop her. “On the contrary, Mort was extremely persuasive. I was very impressed.” Her blue eyes sparkled with mirth. “Let’s focus on the task at hand, shall we? I understand Errol’s about to become a neutral territory for several rival clubs. So, you need a contract that everyone will be amenable to but will still allow you to make decisions in the event of an emergency.” Her lips curved up at the corners. “I’ll need a copy of your most recently updated charter.”
Archie would now have to scrub the mental images of Mort and Anita from his brain…but least she was happy, he supposed. Anita hummed to herself as she commandeered the small office off the back of the bar. Mort stayed close by, fetching her coffee and guarding the door so nobody bothered her. Every once in a while he’d grin like the cat that caught the canary. It was incredibly disturbing.
“Well that’s an image I’ll never get out of my head,” Danny muttered to himself. He slapped Archie’s shoulder and prodded him toward the back. “Things are settled for the moment. Everyone’s been mobilized. Marco sent the rest of the prospects out to get some essentials. There’s nothing more you can do tonight. So, you’re going to bed. End of story.”
Archie stifled a yawn. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” If Lucy were here, he’d have been in bed hours ago, though they wouldn’t be sleeping. A rumbling sigh emanated from his chest. Archie kicked off his cowboy boots and tossed his cut over the back of a chair. Archie wanted to rest but his mind continued to race. For hours he tossed and turned, thinking only of Lucy and how she must be feeling right now. Even after he succumbed to sleep, nightmares caused him the thrash until he startled awake again, just as exhausted as he’d been before. There was no rest for the wicked tonight…
Chapter Thirteen
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty! Get your ass up!” Cecelia shook Lucy’s shoulder several times. “What the fuck is the matter with you?” Although Cecelia was her usual hardass self, there was a note of worry in her voice. It had been almost three weeks since she arrived and Cecelia had been watching Lucy slip further into darkness. Lucy was barely eating and when she did, it was thrown up a few hours later. Something was wrong and Cecelia would be damned if she sat back and did nothing. “Don’t make me dump you off that bed, chica!”
Lucy groaned and rolled onto her back. “Cece, can you please back off? I feel like shit.” She threw her arm over her face, to shield her eyes. “I didn’t sleep well last night.” Hell, she hadn’t slept well in weeks. Lucy wanted to blame it on stress or missing Gabe but there was something else nagging at her. Something that would change everything…
Cecelia scoffed derisively. “No!” She snapped. “Get up, take a shower, brush your teeth—for the love of God—and stop feeling sorry for yourself!”
“I don’t feel sorry for myself!” Lucy sat up a bit too quickly and her vision swam. She gripped the side of the bed tightly. Nausea churned in her veins as she fought against the urge to vomit all over Cecelia’s combat boots. Breathing raggedly, Lucy desperately tried to control the churning in her gut.
Stepping back quickly, Cecelia got out of the line of fire. “Shit…” Her demeanor went from angry to sympathetic in a heartbeat. “Stay put, I’ll be right back.”
Lucy couldn’t have gone anywhere if she wanted to, not when she was as weak and nauseated as right now. Cecelia returned a few minutes later with a cup of hot tea and several packages of crackers. Laying them down on Lucy’s bed, she sat opposite her. Lucy accepted the tea gratefully and inhaled the sweet peppermint scent. Opening up the crackers, she nibbled on a corner before washing it down with a hearty swallow of tea. She repeated the action several times before she felt strong enough to address the issue at hand. “I’m not wallowing, Cecelia.” Lucy’s hand slid over the still-flat plane of her belly and she exhaled sharply. “I think I-I…” Her voice cracked painfully, “I’m pregnant.”
Cecelia unloaded a string of curses and dragged her fingers through the dyed strands of her blue hair. “Are you sure?” She leaned forward. “I mean really sure?” This changed things. The group was slowly but surely working on a way out of this place. With Lucy’s natural leadership abilities, the pair had gotten more accomplished in the last month than she had alone in over a year. They’d even figured out a way to debug the bunkroom so they had a safe place to meet. Cecelia had high hopes if they stayed the course, they’d be out in a few months. But if Lucy was really pregnant, they didn’t have months to wait…they had to get out now.
“I’m late as hell, I’m nauseous all the time, I’m exhausted…” Lucy pushed herself up from the bed and paced the length of the room. She took another sip of tea and sighed. “If this gets back to Sofía, there’s no telling what she’ll do. We just need to keep working.” She grabbed a fresh set of clothes.
“What are you doing?” Cecelia asked, grabbing Lucy’s arm tight as she walked past. “You can’t just unload this on me and walk off!”
Lucy smiled grimly. “A good friend told me I needed to shower and brush my teeth. Then I’m going to see how well this damn security pass works. We’re allegedly free to come and go as we please. I’m going to test that theory. It’s time we figure out what we’re really up against.”
Cecelia paled. “You want to end up with your face ripped off?” She suddenly felt a rush of protectiveness toward Lucy; nothing was going to happen to her while Cece was around. “Did you learn nothing from my mistakes?”
“You walked into the front hall, stole a gun off a guard, and tried to bust out. I’m going to try a different approach,” Lucy soothed. “Trust me.” A thought passed through her and Lucy turned and walked back to the desk. Leaning over it, she scribbled a few lines on a piece of paper and folded it several times. “If I don’t make it back, there’s something I need you to do…”
“I do not like this, Lucy!” Cecelia snapped. “If we get the group together and I get more done on mapping the compound, we can probably move up our timeline by at least a couple weeks.”
“First I need to determine if this is even something we need to worry about.” Pressing the note into Cecelia’s hand, she narrowed her gaze. “I have a brother. His name’s Daniel Harding…if I don’t get back, I need you to give this to him. He’ll understand.” Lucy rested a hand on Cecelia’s shoulder. “Promise me, Cece.”
There was a note of reluctance in her posture but Cece agreed nevertheless. “Yeah, I promise…” Cecelia hated all of this. She let go of Lucy only because kicking the ass of a possibly pregnant chick wasn’t on her to-do list today. In light of this new information, she had to rally the group and get them to increase their patrols. Julia got a position in commissary and had been slowly gathering food and gear. Bea continued to work in medical and was pilfering supplies as best she could without anyone noticing. Candy’s job was logistical. She was clocking all the guard shifts and had made friends with a couple of the higher-ups who ran things. Lucy, though…she was the brains. Cecelia wasn’t sure how they could do this without her.
Lucy showered and hurried through her routine, ignoring the gnawing in her gut. Her curly hair was still damp as she tossed her purse over her shoulder and headed toward freedom. She said nothing to the guards as she headed down the West hallway and straight for the front door. To her surprise, no one said anything as she swiped her access badge. The massive doors to the outside swung open and she inhaled the scent of the desert deep into her lungs.
Keeping her head down, Lucy stalked outside. The whole time she was just waiting for a shot to the back or someone to stop her. She almost sobbed with relief when she found her Harley parked in a space near the front. Sliding her fingers over the pristine cherry red paint, she tossed her leg over and prepared to flee.
“Looks like we both had the same idea.” Sofía’s voice stabbed through Lucy’s subconscious mind. Lucy nearly groaned; she had been so close, and yet so far away. Sofía moved to the left, leaning against a custom bike with the Black Jack’s insignia emblazoned on the side. “Mind if I join you?”
“Yeah, I do, actually,” Lucy replied curtly. “I’ve got errands to run. I don’t need a chaperone.”
Sofía’s gaze darkened. “I have done nothing but offer you a brand new start. You are respected here. You are not treated like a second-class citizen or as a burden to the club. No one questions your right to ride!” She sighed, “If you would just let me, I could teach you so much, Lucy.”
Toying with the key in the ignition, Lucy scoffed. “You don’t get it, do you? Gabriel may be overbearing and yeah, he’s a jackass sometimes…but he’s my jackass.” She pointed an accusatory finger at Sofía. “You took away my chance to change things with the Devils. You stole my life from me!”
“I saved your life!” Sofía roared, her cool façade suddenly slipping. All at once, the monster behind the mask was revealed. “Do you think I know nothing of this world? My father ran with a group of bikers in California. My life revolved around the club since the day I was born. My mother was a slave to my father’s demands. Although they took vows, he spent every night in a different woman’s bed, tarnishing the good name of our family. He used my mother like a piece of trash, keeping her pregnant until her body gave out…and when she finally died, he found another woman and did the same thing to her. My sisters and I…we swore things would be different.”
Sofía’s entire body was shaking and she was vibrating like a wire about to snap. “When I met my husband, he was soft spoken and sweet. I did not think he could be cruel or ruthless until the day we met my sister’s fiancé.” The haunted look in Sofía’s eyes bled from her soul. “How could my Hector who loved me dearly and doted on our daughters be so unmoving?”
Against Lucy’s better judgment, she listened qui
etly. Bloodshed and hatred between rival MCs was a tale as old as time. What the hell made this story different?
“I had three children with Hector. Magdalena was the oldest and so beautiful. She was a gentle soul. Paloma was the middle child, bright and happy. She could have cured cancer. But my little Teresita was my husband’s pride and joy.” Sofía’s green eyes were bright with tears. “When she was two years old she got a terrible fever that wouldn’t break.” Her breath hitched in her throat, “On the way to the hospital, my family ended up in the middle of a war for territory. They forced my husband off the road. Teresa was shot through three times and Paloma died in the car accident. Hector was beaten so severely that his legs stopped working. He survived, somehow…and although his body was weakened, the hatred that raged inside him only grew stronger.”
Lucy instinctively rested a hand over her womb. Although she wanted to feel no sympathy for Sofía, it crept over her nonetheless. “No one should ever have to go through the pain of losing family like that but the Black Jacks are not innocent either. They gunned my parents down in the street too. For no reason! Just because they could!” She shook her head forcefully. “I still don’t know why you’re telling me this.”
“I am getting there, querida. Patience.” Sofía seemed to rally and the tears were banished beneath her icy exterior again. “Hector changed after that. He was distant and cold. He became bloodthirsty, cruel, and reckless.” Sofía frowned. “Magdalena grew up watching her father try to commit suicide every day.” She straightened her shoulders.
This story was getting longwinded and Lucy’s patience was wearing thin. “Your life is tragic. I get it, but I didn’t volunteer to hear your entire life story. You have two minutes to make your point and then I’m out of here. I’d like to get my errands accomplished before sundown.”
Dealing with the Devil Page 12