by Rachel Cade
And that’s wasn’t how this was going to end.
He had to play it smart.
“Turn around,” Callas said.
Only Will’s shoes sounded as they scraped the floor in order for him to turn.
“Hands up,” he added.
Flaring his nostrils, Will lifted his arms.
Next he was ordered to go outside.
In the dying sunlight, he saw a biker on the road holding a gun. “I don’t want any police officers embarrassing themselves!” Callas shouted. “You see those guys on the roof? They’ll handle you if you get out of line!”
As Will emerged from the cover of the store, he saw his officers huddled at the next block with their squad cars and there were indeed bikers with guns loaded and pointed on a few of the roofs. The guests from the reception were out of huddled in doorways if they were in view.
Some men were moving and he could see they were working together to put out the fires using hydrant water.
“There’s been some confusion here today,” Callas called out. “But that shit is done!”
On the street, Will saw Los Bandidos, those useless motherfuckers, on the ground - dead.
“The men that were holding Langley and that set fire to the town were not Death Skulls! We said we don’t hurt civilians and we meant it!”
“He’s lying!” Will ground out. “None of you believe him!” He could see some towns people watching from the windows and doors of the storefronts. “They’re a fucking outlaw biker gang!”
Near the stage, he saw Langley crouched on the ground with Scott.
“Why would we try to kill you after we saved you from the fire?” Callas asked him.
“Look at this.” Will almost wanted to laugh. “I’m hurt. He’s holding a gun on me! I’m your Sheriff!”
“That crazy suspicious fire. Who would benefit most if you weren’t around?” he asked Langley. “And how can we forget you selling drugs out of the town with Mitch?”
Will shook his head, staring at the people in disbelief.
His eyes wound around the people of the town, knowing Callas still had the gun trained on him.
Then his eyes landed on Lyndie.
She was standing on the sidewalk in jeans and a t-shirt.
Their eyes locked.
“Lyndie-” A sharp kick to the back of his knees sent him down, he barely caught himself on his hands.
“You’re all just gonna stand there and let this man be my judge, jury, and executioner?” he cried.
Fuck. He needed some god damn assistance!
“That’s what you do,” the voice came from Lyndie. “From the moment you got that badge, you’ve been using it to mask who you really are. Except to me. I was the one you hurt because you thought you could get away with it.” Her mouth pressed tightly. “I told you, you’re not hurting me again.”
“No,” Callas added lowly, “he’s not.”
Will’s palms scratched against the gravel. He could see some of the Death Skulls’ gazes harshen.
“You’re a liar, Lyndie!” Ashley’s voice rang out and when she tried to run in the street, Henry held her back near the barricade of cops. “Let me go!”
“Him and his men…” A throat cleared and someone stepped off the sidewalk holding up his hands. He was hurt bleeding against his suit on his legs. “Him and his men robbed my guys on the highway. That’s the only reason we were here - to get our due. We didn’t know about Los Bandidos. I lost a man in the explosion.”
Will recognized him from a mugshot: Mitch’s connect. Eduardo the Aztec leader.
“It’s over, Will.” He turned his head to see Mitch, the fat turncoat.
A small sound clanged against the pavement, and the object rolled in a circle before stopping a few feet ahead of him.
“My ring!” Lyndie stepped out into the street. Noa’s boots scraped the ground as he held the gun on him and bent down to pick it up,
“The fuck were you doing with this?” he demanded.
Will’s mouth remained a straight line as Lyndie walked out into the street. She held her hand out to Noa, who shook his head.
She stared at him and turned her hand so her palm faced down. And Will watched as the biker slid the diamond on her ring finger. Then he bent down and kissed it, never taking the gun off him with his free hand.
Sirens started wailing in the distance.
“Cops!” the men on the roof shouted.
Will’s head titled back as air invaded his lungs. It was music to his ears.
*
Not regular cops, of course.
Feds with all the bells and whistles, including a helicopter.
Eduardo and his men weren’t too happy about it and had no opportunity to escape.
The main thing he did was tell Lyndie to hide in one of the buildings like the rest of the civilians.
Noa got one last good punch in on Will before the guys closed in on him.
He tossed his weapon before they cuffed him to take him into custody.
It was dark now.
But so many lights were flashing from the cars, it might as well have still been day.
Scott was huddled off to the side with his dad, and Craig, his older son, had materialized out of nowhere.
Langley was staring hard at him as hard as he was thinking.
“You know he did it, don’t you?” He was too far away to hear him, but he knew the man made out his words.
The Aztecs were getting put into blue vans.
Firemen had come to finish putting the fires out. Most of the buildings had come out of it intact.
Amber Falls was a strong little town.
His guys were all in custody.
Everyone except for Whisper. That wiry fuck.
But he was a damn good shot.
Los Bandidos bodies were getting carted into vans too. Cold, just like they belonged.
Durand was a different story though; Noa was held against the side of an unmarked squad car as he pulled out his badge.
Even on his wedding day, he carried that shit.
“I’m Sheriff here,” he declared.
A Fed was holding him by his arm and he didn’t resist. “I know you guys were just doing your job.”
“What about you doing yours?” the Fed asked, staring at the badge. “It’s looks like a war was going on.”
Will nodded. “Three motorcycle gangs were here. They were trying to destroy the town on my wedding day. We weren’t prepared; it must have been some kind of turf war. We did the best we could.”
He glanced at Noa. From here his face was flat but he could see the smugness in his eyes. “I don’t know who called it in, but I’m glad you guys were able to get out here so fast.”
“We actually got a tip that lead us here, not a call,” the officer said. “Our department received evidence of local police unlawfully confiscating supplies from truckers near the state lines and not reporting it.”
“What?”
“It was traced back to your department.”
Will felt a hand on his back and when he tried to resist, he was shoved down headfirst on the squad car. “Sheriff Durand, you and your officers are under arrest.”
“This is a fucking mistake!” He fought against the cuffs. “Let me up!”
“Video footage doesn’t lie, but you explain it at our office in Las Vegas, Sheriff.”
“Will!” Ashley yelled out and he could hear his officers doing the same as they were being rounded up just like these fucking outlaws.
“I am Ashley Langley Durand. You people aren’t going to do this! You’re not going to arrest my husband on our wedding day!” The more Will resisted, the tighter the officers hold became. He thought they were going to dislocate his arm with the cuffs.
He looked over to see his father-in-law and his two loser sons.
“He’s going to jail?” Scott said before covering his mouth. Then his thin fist pumped the air and he yelled out.
“Scott, you shut up!”
Ashley cried.
“Don’t act like you love him!” he shot back. “If you did, you wouldn’t have been screwing Henry at Lil’ Apple.”
Everything went to a halt. At least for Will. Ashley let out a wail and immediately started screaming at his brother. Langley pressed fingers to his temples before lowering his head.
“Ha!” This came from Mitch as he was getting tucked into a squad car. “A pass around, just like I said!”
Will struggled in the awkward position to find Henry as the world crashed around him.
He was near the back of an open van. “That little shit is lying!”
But Will knew he wasn’t. Deep down, he knew.
When he was pulled off the van, his eyes immediately locked with Callas’s - who smiled.
*
Lyndie broke through the scattered crowd as the officer opened the squad car to put him inside.
She made it to him so quick none of the officers had a chance to stop her. “Wait!” Her face was pained as she rushed forward. “Please! He’s my husband. He’s my husband!” Her voice rose above all the commotion.
“Ma’am, please.” Another officer tried to take her arm and Noa stared hard at him as she snatched her arm away and pressed forward.
Her hands were on his face.
Noa’s chest lowered and so did his eyes, his guard, everything.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said softly.
“No,” she answered. “They’re going to take you away. And you can’t go because you’re Max’s dad and you’re my husband …please.”
“I love you, you know that. I don’t want you to be scared.” Noa felt the officer pull him back to get into the back seat.
“Ma’am.” The officer reached for her again.
Lyndie wiped her eyes. “He was protecting us. He was protecting all of us!” she yelled, and her eyes darted to the crowd where her voice carried. “You all know they would have burned down the town if not for them!”
“She’s right.” Langley added. “She’s right. They saved the town, they saved me and my son.” He looked around at the townsfolk.
*
“None of this is real. None of this is happening. That I know.” Ashley wiped at her eyes, pulling away from everyone. “I’m just going to wake up and it’s going to be my real wedding day.”
“You said you’re Ashley Langley?” an officer asked.
“Ashley Langley-Durand.”
“Yes, well, Ms. Langley I’m afraid you’re going to have to come to the station with us as well. We have some questions to ask you regarding Langley Realty.”
“Jesus,” her father said.
“What… what are you talking about? Are you trying to arrest me? I didn’t do anything.”
“This doesn’t have to be difficult.”
“Ashley just go with them-” Langley started.
“No.” She tried to back away. Another officer approached and took her hands.
The agent sighed. “Enough drama here today, alright?”
Ashley’s face twisted and tears rolled down her eyes. “It’s my wedding day.”
*
Chapter Twenty-Three:
Deeper Than Love
Lyndie sat on her couch.
Everything was a blur after she watched Noa being taken away.
“Lyndie, we could call someone to look at you,” Peggy spoke quietly.
“I’m fine.” She said it in reflex, but it wasn’t true. How could it be with everything that happened.
Max was awake and in his carrier in front of her on the floor. He was smiling and playful as she held his small feet in her hands.
She was thankful to be back with him.
Seeing him and knowing he was okay put her at ease as much as it could. But still, in the pit of her stomach, she felt like a part of her was gone.
“We’ll find out what’s going on, but you have to just relax a minute and calm your nerves,” Peggy urged.
A knock came to the door.
Lyndie moved to it faster than any of them, swinging it open without even looking.
When Noa stood on the other side of it, her knees could have buckled. Instead she threw her body toward him.
“They took you,” she said over and over. She was holding him, and it felt real, but the fear wouldn’t leave her yet.
“I told you it would be okay,” he said by her ear.
“God, I was so scared.” Her eyes squeezed shut as she prayed she wasn’t dreaming.
“Lord!” Peggy called from behind her.
“Shit, Skorpio, did you break out of jail?”
“You could say that.”
Lyndie pulled away from him but kept her face close.“How are you here now? Those were people from the FBI.”
She still held him tight as she asked, and he just gave her a look squinting his eyes very slightly.
“What did you do?” she whispered.
“I tried to save Amber Falls, and most importantly get back to you.”
“Will is-”
“Gone from this town,” Noa answered.
Her mouth quivered as she tried to hold her emotions in. She leaned forward and kissed him, holding him tight.
“I’m not going to leave you, Babygirl. I never will.”He spoke softly, holding the back of her head.
“I know,” she breathed. “I know.”
*
The sun was setting, leaving the sky a muted kind of blue that would be scattered with stars soon.
The air smelled like barbecue, but Lyndie barely noticed even as she inhaled deeply before letting it out.
She felt… free.
For the first time in a long time.
Max was jumping in her lap as she sat on the bench. His feet were getting stronger and his favorite thing to do was stand with some help on her thighs.
The sight of him being happy and knowing he was free too made her so happy.
Noa set a huge plate of food down in front of her. “I hope you don’t think you aren’t eating.” His other hand set down a big glass of lemonade.
Lyndie turned on the bench; Max seemed so curious about the plate.
“Too soon for that, Big Man, but don’t worry. When it’s time, I’ll hook you up.”
Lyndie smiled and leaned forward for Noa to kiss her softly on the mouth as he sat down next to them.
“Where’s your plate?” she asked.
“We’re sharing. You know whatever’s mine is yours.”
“Mrs. C, what kind of cake do you like?” Bleed asked.
“Chocolate, I guess. But all cake is good.”
The next thing she knew, a slice of chocolate cake was next to their plate.
She chuckled a little bit. “Thank you.”
“We have red velvet, pineapple upside down, and angel cake too. But if you don’t like any of those we’ll drive and find you something else.”
“That’s so sweet. I love chocolate, though. I’m sure it’s great.”
“So we finally get a chance to meet.” A man she’d never seen before walked up to them.
There was some height to him and he carried a serious face. His hair was long like Noa’s but bone straight.
He wore head to toe black like the rest of the guys, but he had something Lyndie could only describe as a different kind of energy.
Noa glanced over at her before lifting his hand. “Lyndie, this is Whisper. Whisper, this is my wife Lyndie, and the squiggly limbs in her lap is our son Max a.k.a. Big Man.”
“Ahh.” Whisper squatted down in front of them, analyzing the baby. “When you’re a little older, I will share some stories with you about Skorpio.”
“No you won’t.”
“Until then.” Whisper held up a small rattle.
Max’s small pudgy hand reached out for it.
Whisper watched him take it into a pretty strong grip and a slow smile spread over his face.
“You must be special if you caught his eye.” It took a second to realize Whisper was
speaking to her.
“He caught my eye too,” she admitted, glancing over at him.
*
Will groaned hard against the floor.
Had he been unconscious? He was jumped after he got arrested. Things were coming back in patches. When he woke up, he was in a white room. The lights were bright as hell. He didn’t recognize the place, but he felt like it was a padded cell.
His whole body felt like a lit match. Was anything broken?
“Hey. Hey, you piece of shit.”
The voice came from a TV in a wall a few feet from him. When he looked up, he saw Noa Callas on the screen.
“Finally up, huh?”
“What the fuck is this?”
“A place made especially for you.”
Will could barely move, but the knowledge that smashed him would have made him immobile anyway.
He had to unclench his jaw to speak. “You set all that up, didn’t you. They weren’t real cops!”
“I try to be a man with a plan.” Noa raised his brow. “Not only that, I’m a husband and father too.” He panned his phone to show Lyndie at a picnic table in a dress holding Max in her lap.
“Lyndie?” Callas called her and she waved, raising Max’s small hand too, laughing. “My son and my wife. They’re happy and at peace. And I’m going to make sure they stay that way.”
“So bitch let me catch you up. Mitch decided he was tired of the life and decided to flip on your department, so all your guys are gonna be in jail for a good long time. Henry ended up confessing to starting the fire at old man Langley’s mansion, thanks to some footage we caught off Scott’s laptop. You’re unfaithful Mrs. was also cheating with her Realty’s books. Helping your boy Mitch embezzle cash, so she’s also heading to prison.”
Will felt like his head was swimming. He was on a cold floor and barely knew how much time had passed.
“The craziest thing about all this is Lyndie would have never looked at me if you had treated her right. You had a sweet girl and a good kid and you threw it all away for what?”
When he tried to swallow, he realized his throat was like sandpaper.
Will knew he had to get out of here, but the bastard was right, and he didn’t know what scared him more.