by Sierra Rose
The dirt road under me told me nothing, but within minutes I’d moved around on my belly under the car and discovered my location.
The old church. Unbelievable.
Chapter 19
Dane
“Gimme an update, Dane… You’re our eyes and ears on the scene,” Rhonda said with a nervous edge to her voice.
Joe piped up, “Local police are standing down from the melee. As long as they are only trying to kill each other, the cops are not getting involved.”
Rhonda rolled her eyes. “Typical.”
I turned from the conversation and typed on my keyboard as I brought up a GPS mapping system. Begrudgingly, Lucky had let them place a tracking sensor on his bike. The tracker was in place. It was done to not only help keep Lucky safe, but also helped the officers know where to send their reinforcements. This was a dangerous situation and everyone who was part of it, knew it. Some part of me felt like it was too much to risk, but I had no choice. Funny how planning out a sting operation was always more entertaining than actually doing it.
My heart hadn’t stopped racing since I got back into the van after putting the wire on Selene. I was nothing less than exhausted, and sincerely ready for it all to be over.
“Lucky is pulling up to the church now…” I said as excitement swelled in my stomach. Good. I needed something to pick me back up.
“What did I say? I told you it would be the effing church!” Joe said, sounding a little too proud of himself.
“Well whoopdie freaking do, Joe! Can we focus, please?” Rhonda snapped. “Shit, it’s like going on the road with the circus!”
Joe cleared his throat. “Ahem… Sorry.”
“There’s a development…” I said as I watched the screen closely.
“Oh?” Rhonda pushed Joe out of the way to get to the control desk. Joe complained but Rhonda ignored him, pretending as if he didn’t exist. Leaning over the control desk, Rhonda looked at the monitor, trying to determine what I she was looking at. “What is it, Dane? This is all Japanese to me.”
“Right here,” I said, pointing to the monitor screen. “This dot… It’s turning in circles, which as you know isn’t a normal human movement.”
“Who is that?!” Rhonda asked. “So wait, which dot is Lucky?”
“The green dot is Lucky. Blue is Elec Delgado’s car…”
“The car is sitting outside the church. Perfect.” Rhonda smiled down at me. “You got a tracker on Selene when she was with you?”
“Yep. The black dot is Dante.” I moved toward the car where the red dot was spinning in a slow circle.
“Also at the church…? Rhonda asked, clearly not used to looking at the GPS tracking mapping software.
“Yes. But it appears he is moving outdoors again.”
“The grey dot is Raphael?” she asked me.
“How did you manage to get a tracking sensor on him?” Joe asked.
I laughed, “It’s on the bottom of his shoe. Double stick tape is our friend.” I winked cockily as Rhonda stared at me, clearly un unimpressed.
“Kid, can you focus?” Her eyes drilled into me.
“Uh, yeah. Sorry… Anyway… do you see this red dot here?” I asked, tracing a larger circle around the dot.
“Yes… why is it spinning so close to Elec’s car?” Rhonda asked. “Who or what the hell is that?”
I smiled broadly as I looked into Rhonda’s steely gray eyes.
“That right there….” I began.
“Yeah?” Rhonda asked with a look of anticipation on her face.
“Come on, man! You’re killing me!” Joe said.
No one appreciated me trying to build up the tension, but I couldn’t help it. A full minute passed before I replied.
“The red dot that’s spinning under the car is none other than Selene Delgado,” I chuckled. “She’s somehow gotten free of the trunk on her own.”
“What?” Joe moved in closer to the other side of me. “How can you tell that she got free on her own?”
Rhonda chuckled. “Why the hell else would she be under Elec’s car moving around?”
“Yep. She’s scouting the place out. I’m almost too scared to watch this go down. It’s like a fucking scary movie where you pray that the girl doesn’t run up the stairs.” I ran my hands through my hair.
“But she always does.” Rhonda dropped down in the chair next to me. “Let’s hope this time will be different.”
I nodded, but kept my thoughts to myself. There were more Delgados on the property that Lucky and Selene could safely take out together. The hope wasn’t that Selene didn’t get caught. That was almost inevitable. It was that the Stone Wolves would show up and save the day.
Chapter 20
Selene
I figured that the coast was as clear as it was going to get. There wasn’t a sign of anyone around, and the sound of a motorcycle approaching left me apprehensive. It could either be Lucky or one of my father’s goons. You never could tell in Pleasant Valley.
I slipped out from under the front of the car, and crouched low to the ground as I let my eyes scan the peaceful open field where the church sat. The sound of my father’s laughter was muted, but dragged down my nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Glancing behind me, I noticed headlights and figured with the lack of trees that moving along the side of the old church to the back was my best bet. Without hesitation, I took off for the church and pressed my back to the outer wall as my heart began to race.
What was it about being in the dark and alone that left everyone scared as hell? I wasn’t quite sure, but I’d joined their ranks.
Turning my head to the left, I let out a squeal as a large figure crowded in front of me and let out a soft chuckle.
“Baby. What are you doing out here in the cold? Come on in and I’ll warm you up.” Dante reached for me as I turned to run. He missed, but barely.
I was barefooted and the briars were something nasty that time of year, but I didn’t let it even began to faze me as I took off for the field. He was bigger than me, but I knew I could give the raunchy bastard a run for his money.
“Selene, this isn’t going to end well for you, baby.” He laughed, and I cringed. He was getting closer.
Maybe I should just turn and fight. Yeah, cause that worked out well for me the first time I did it.
His warms wrapped around me about the time I tripped. We went down together and I got the wind knocked out of me as he flattened me beneath him.
“Damn, you’re the biggest pain in the ass ever, Selene.” He pressed his lips to the side of my face in a sloppy wet kiss.
He reeked of liquor and felt like a ton of bricks on my back.
“Get the fuck off of me, Dante.” I wanted to call him a million names, but he always seemed to be overly sensitive to name-calling, almost like his mother or father had verbally abused him. While he had the upper hand, I decided it was just better to play it safe.
“Are you going to behave?” He pressed his nose against my hair and breathed in deeply.
“Yes. Get. Off.” I shoved my elbow into his chest and rolled over as he moved off the top of me. I sucked in air as fast as I could and got up, growling at the pain of landing in the pokey grass.
He grabbed me by the upper part of my arm and started to drag me back toward the church as I picked small stickers from my shirt and hair.
“This should be fun.” He chuckled darkly and paused by the back door.
“What’s that? Watching you guys get your asses handed to you by our rivals?”
Dante pulled me close and trapped my face in his large hands as he glared down at me. “My rival. They seemed to be too intimately involved with you to call them anything but lover.”
I almost blurted out just how good of a lover Lucky Morrison was, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. No need in throwing gasoline on an already blazing fire.
He moved down and pressed his lips to mine, working his tongue in my mouth for the second time t
hat day as I beat against his chest. One hand moved down to cup my breast and he squeezed hard. Too hard.
I cried out against his lips and kneed him in the balls. He bent over and I jerked my knee up again, slamming it into his face.
“Bitch. I swear I’m going to enjoy teaching you manners.” He stood up and grabbed my hair, pulling me through the back door of the church in time to witness my father walking up the middle aisle , laughing joyfully.
“Someone was trying to get lose. You’re welcome.” Dante barked and tossed me toward the nearest pew.
I let out a loud groan as I hit the back of it roughly. My father ignored us both. His high had obviously taken him far from any semblance of worry.
Looking back, I caught the deadly look in Dante’s eyes as he warned Elec. “Watch my bitch and don’t let her out of your sight.”
He lit up a cigarette and turned toward me, blowing out a thick ring of smoke. “Hold tight, pretty girl. This will all be done soon, and then I’ll teach you what a real lover feels like.”
“Awesome. I can’t wait.” I lifted an eyebrow and let an immense amount of sarcasm pump through my voice. My father’s voice called me from the pointless conversation with Dante.
“Haha! It’s exactly how I planned it,” my dad yelled as his fingers traced the newly polished oak wood of the church pew. “What irony. This is the birthplace of our little feud. This little game of ours. This is where my great grandfather married my great grandmother and the Stone Wolves acted in jealousy against us. It’s been the same ever since. We ruled the town, and the Stone Wolves resorted to playing second fiddle.”
“The Feds will never suspect that we hid the supply here. Shit! It’s genius!” Tomas Delgado said, clearly stroking my dad’s ego like all of them did. He smiled like a creepy clown doll, and I couldn’t help but scowl. “How much did you have to pay off Father James to keep it here?”
“Oh, Tomas. It’s so distasteful to talk about money amongst relatives. Let’s just say that it didn’t put a dent in the Black Hearts’ budget.” He glanced over at me and winked. “Plenty of money still saved up for your wedding, butterfly. The preacher even said he would be happy to perform the ceremony.”
I gave him a ‘go to hell’ glare as Tom laughed loudly. “Budget! Ha!”
Raphael shook his head, “Just because we have enough money to wallpaper the clubhouse, doesn’t mean we should brag about it. Or flaunt it. That’s how jealousy starts. That’s what caused this mess in the first place. Jealousy.”
“I can certainly see why the Stone Wolves would be jealous, though. Look at them, and look at us.” Tom turned his eyes toward me. “Well, some of us.”
“Pitiful. I know.” My dad clicked his teeth with his tongue.
I glanced over my shoulder as Elec moved to stand beside me. “How’d you get out?”
“You left your tool bag in the back, dumb ass.” I crossed my arms over my chest, and tried not to show him just how upset I was with him.
“I’m never careless, Sel. You know this.” He moved away from me, but his words resonated. Had he tried to help me? No fucking way. He was the craziest one of all of them.
Thomas spoke again, and I tucked my thought away for a more private occasion. The night was young, and I had no doubt that I would soon be tied up somewhere again.
“Which of these bricks is the supply hidden beneath?” Tomas asked, as if probing for further insight. He’d been trying to get into the inner circle, but it was damn near impossible thanks to Dante. He was daddy’s main man and the one that was slated to take the king pin seat next. However, without a ring on his finger that classified him as a Delgado, there was no way he was going to make it in. He wasn’t family, and no one would go for that – not even my father when push came down to shove.
“Haha! The party has begun!” Raphael Delgado shouted. He acted as if this was a social gathering of great proportions. “The Delgado family reunion! Let us meet the man that our Selene wants to call husband. Let us see if he is worthy of our Selene!”
Tomas spat, “Fat chance. Nothing more than a greasy hog lover. No class. No honor!”
“Is that so, Selene? Tell us why you would choose to share the most private parts of your body with a lowly Stone Wolf, child. Surely you had to know that we were onto you, baby?” my dad chuckled, but stayed in his position at the front of the church.
I had to force myself to continue looking at him. He was sure to be struck down by God for being so blasphemous in the center of the holy building, but until he did, I was stuck placating him.
It was a travesty to share blood with any of these vile idiots. It was bad enough that they were storing drugs in the floor of the church, just inches from the altar where the crucifix hung for everyone to see, but to pay off the priest? Unbelievable.
Having them even set foot across the antique Italian tile and through the church where their relatives were baptized, confirmed, married and buried was a disgrace to me, now that I knew all that I knew. The Delgados had no respect for anything except for the almighty dollar. It wasn’t the Stone Wolves that had no class. It was my father’s MC. My family.
“Let the fun begin!” Raphael belted out. “Elec, bring my darling girl up here to the front! She wants to marry a grease ball like Lucky, we’re going to make sure she gets her wish! Plus… Dante picked up a very special gift for her.”
“I’m right here. Shit.” I growled and moved toward the back door. There was no way they were letting me go near the front, but I could still listen from the back for the sound of a motorcycle. Surely Lucky knew I was there, or Dane, or someone.
Please. Someone. Fuck, anyone.
“This is all very dramatic,” Elec said as he moved up beside me and slid his arm over my shoulder. “Forgive me for hitting you. I was being watched.”
“Fuck you. Get your arm off me,” I growled at him and elbowed him in the stomach.
“I deserved that,” he mumbled and bent over, trying to catch his breath.
“He’s right though,” I called out to my father. “This is all way too fucking dramatic, daddy. Even for you.”
“Uncle Raph’s got flair,” Tomas said. I was surprised that he didn’t have a shit stain on his nose seeing that he had it shoved up the crack of my dad’s ass each and every time he got a chance.
“Sure, if that’s what we’re calling it these days,” Elec said. “I’m here. Away from the fighting where I should be. Now what?”
Raphael smiled broadly as he stared back at his nephew. “Patience, Elec.”
“You know that’s not my strong suit,” Elec said and walked up beside me again. I knew that he wanted to be in the center of the action, and I was assured that Lucky did too, or maybe he already was.
No. They used me as bait to pull him out of the middle of the fight. There was no way he would leave me to fend for myself. Dane was a different story, and if I survived this shit, I was going to give him an earful and maybe a right hook to the stomach.
“Patience is key if you want to rule the world, Elec.” My father reached for me and tugged me to his side. “I’ve waited a while to tell you that you thought you were so smart. It’s so cute that you think you pulled one over on your old man. Going to pre med school all this time, playing pranks on the Wolves…”
Sickness rolled through me, and I glanced over to Elec, whose lips were pressed into a tight line.
He coughed and walked toward us. “I’m sick of sitting here. This is fucking stupid.”
“You’re getting a little big for your britches, son.” My father jerked his gaze from me to Elec. My cousin stopped dead in his tracks. He was crazy, but not that crazy.
“It must be tough being a big, bad, psychopath like you,” Tomas called from behind his older brother.
“Fuck off, numb nuts,” Elec snapped and rolled his shoulders. “So seriously, what the hell is going on?”
“Gents, if you wait just a little while… I’ll bring the fighting right to you. Have faith. Raph
ael Delgado always has a plan.” My father kissed the side of my face as I cringed.
A muffled cry caught my attention and I glanced up to the second story of the church as fear raced through me. My dad was crazy, and had mentioned a gift he had waiting for me and Lucky. What the hell could he have?
Please dear God, don’t let it be a person. Please.
Chapter 20
Lucky
My Harley roared up the dirt road as I followed the lights of Elec’s car in the distance. Cursing every inch of the way, my pent up rage was almost ready to release. The assholes that did harm to Selene were going to get the first round of hurt.
I was a good man because I chose to be, decent, and honest. I wanted my life to be about looking after people, making my town a better place to live and providing for my woman. I would forever defended my MC and would go to war for my brothers, but the things that went through my mind when I thought about enacting my revenge made me question all of it.
What I had in store for the Delgados and the Black Hearts was neither decent, nor good. It wasn’t even sane. It had the power to make the Devil cower in fear. I had reserved all my anger, all my pent-up rage, solely for them, and I would unleash it as soon as the time was right. I would deliver a lethal blow to my worst enemies that would leave me raw and undone, but finally able to call this shit finished.
They wouldn’t even feel my strike. They’d be dead before they hit the ground.
I rode my motorcycle at full blast, letting the wheels kick up dirt as I whipped around the curves that led to Saint Monica’s church. The lights of Elec’s car had faded into nothingness, but I knew where the bastard was. It was only a few minutes until I joined him. I wouldn’t need to surprise Rafael, but if I could pick off a few of his pups from the outside of the church before going in, I’d better off because of it.
“Psychotic son of a bitch,” I griped under my breath as I watched Elec disappear into the church. A few minutes later, a smaller figure darted behind the building, leaving my heart to pound in my chest.