Immense Tension

by Arden, Dana

  “I couldn’t see inside Greer, but Banshee left with Desiree. He said he was taking her home. I didn’t think anything of it.”

  I remove my hand and step back. “We’ve been sitting here most of the morning trying to pinpoint the exact time and you even watched as they searched rooms. Nothing. Clicked.” I yell in his face. Strong arms wrap around me and pull me back into a hard chest.

  “Princess, calm down. Getting rung up isn’t going to get the answers any faster and I need your mind right.” Spook grumbles in my ear. “You worked with Mad Dog for months, so I know you are capable of figuring out motives and possible destinations.’’

  I drop my chin to my chest. “Banshee is my friend. What possible motive would he have to take my daughter?”

  “I don’t know, but there has to be something. You and Poison know him better than most.”

  I lift my head and scan the room for Poison who’s missing. “Where’d Poison go?”

  Brute pulls out his cell and bellows in his phone to Trenton who is manning the gates. “Did Poison leave?” He nods and then throws his phone against the room. “He’s gone, just hopped on his bike and took off.”

  What the hell is going on? The two men that have gained my trust and respect seem to be scheming and for what reason? What’ve I ever done to deserve this?

  Chapter 27

  Poison

  Hearing that Banshee left with Ryland lights a fire under my ass and I leave as quietly as I can. Trenton let’s me pass at the gate. I need to get to my best friend and get answers before the rest of the club and the Chaotic’s get to him.

  There’s no way that Banshee would hurt her or Greer, so why would he have taken Ryland with him and Desiree. Desiree hasn’t been with the club long. She comes and goes as she pleases, but she’s never given me a reason to think that she was up to no good.

  As I come to a stop in front of the shack that Banshee purchased a few years ago as a fixer upper, I barely give myself time to put down the stand before I jump off and run to his front door. I know he’s here because his black lifted Chevy is parked in the driveway.

  I don’t even bother knocking and just barge in since the fucker doesn’t believe in locks. The house is trashed with beer cans, pizza boxes and empty Chinese containers all around. I stomp down the hall to the first door on the right and kick it open.

  Banshee must’ve had a bender last night because he doesn’t even stir. He’s laid on his stomach with the sheet barely covering his ass as I kick the mattress hard enough it slides slightly. He still doesn’t respond.

  The rumble outside clues me in that the clubs have converged on my moment to get answers. Not even ten seconds later, the sound of boots trampling through the wreckage get louder as Spook enters the bedroom.

  “Out.” Is all he says as he nears Banshee on the bed.

  I step around him, but don’t leave the room. Brute, Trigger and Rudy pile in as I watch Spook grab Banshee by the arm and drag him out of the bed. He hits the floor with a thud. Still no reaction.

  Trigger and Spook lift him by his arms and pull him down the hall and toss him on the couch. Trigger draws back and a right hook descends on Banshee’s cheek. This gets a grunt out of him and his eyes begin to flutter.

  When his eyes fully open, he takes in his company and a smile breaks out. “Hey fuckers!” He slurs.

  Spook grabs him by his throat and lifts. “I want to know where my kid is? I want to know what possessed you to take her from her crib and leave?” After he speaks, he releases his throat.

  Banshee’s face is cluttered with confusion. “I didn’t take Ryland.”

  Rudy unfolds the pictures of Ryland in the backseat of Banshee’s truck that Mad Dog emailed and shoves them in his face. “You saying this ain’t you, fucktard? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like your ugly mug, my granddaughter and a whore leaving the gates of the Devils clubhouse.”

  He seems to become more coherent and takes in the room again. He stands suddenly. “I don’t remember leaving the fucking clubhouse. You’re telling me I drove here with Ryland?”

  I step forward. “Yeah, man. Where the fuck is Desiree?”

  He rubs his eyes. “I don’t remember being anywhere near Desiree. Shit, most of last night is a blur.”

  Spook and Trigger step back. I gradually get in Banshee’s face. “Motherfucker, I don’t know what you were hopped up on last night, but Ryland is gone and you’re the last person to see her.”

  He slumps on the couch, shaking his head as fear clouds his eyes. “I seriously have no clue where Ryland or Desiree are and I don’t remember leaving the clubhouse much less taking Ryland with me.”

  Peabody slams into the backdoor like he’s running from a ghost and by the pale color of his face, I wouldn’t be far off. He edges closer to Brute and whatever he’s telling Brute ain’t fucking good.

  Brute strides to the backdoor with my brothers and the Chaotic’s behind him. He stops at a decrepit shed and opens the door. He flicks the light and steps back. “Well, we found Desiree and she won’t be talking.”

  I creep to his other side and peer in to Desiree lying awkwardly on the ground with her throat slit.

  The answers we need definitely won’t be given and Banshee’s worthless.

  Chapter 28

  Greer

  It has been the longest three days of my life without my baby in my arms. Everytime we get a lead and think we are closer to finding her, it’s a dead-end.

  Spook went back to the Chaotic’s clubhouse yesterday to work with Professor, but I stayed here. This is the last place Ryland was and I feel that I need to be where it all happened.

  Trigger stayed back with me. We haven’t left each other’s sides. When I can’t take the day anymore, Trigger and I sit in the main room and contemplate our next move with a bottle of Jack, like right now, we’re rambling about the possible people who would have it out for me enough to take Ryland.

  Randie…gone.

  My mother…in the wind.

  The numerous politicians on Dimitri’s payroll…most in jail or made a deal with the Feds.

  And then it hits me, the only person we haven’t been able to locate is Dyson.

  I place the fifth of Jack on the coffee table and turn to my brother whose lounging with his arm over the back of the couch.

  I shove his side and he jumps. “Dyson, Trigger. We never got the lowdown on what happen to Dyson.”

  He sits up and rubs his scruff with his hand. “Fuck! But why would he be involved? The douche’s house was blown up.”

  I nod. “True, but what if he was given a head’s up and it was all a ruse to end suspicion in his direction? He’s been in Dimitri’s back pocket for as long as I can remember. He’s a sick-fuck, Trigger and if he has my daughter I don’t even want to think of what he’s doing to her.”

  “We need a techy that’s better than what we have. We need to get Rose.”

  I pull out my phone and call Rose. She still has all the information from her searches on Dimitri and I hope she can comb through his financials again with the hope of finding an inkling to Dyson.

  ***

  Spook

  The tightness in my chest doesn’t do any justice to the ache in my heart. I’ve kept myself busy at the clubhouse going through every piece of information we have had on Dimitri, Farrah and any of his goons.

  I tried to get Greer to come back to Cumming with me, but she wasn’t having it. She wanted to be where she felt closest to Ryland. It was selfish of me to want her, because it was a ruse to soothe my own tension. Having her within touching distances would have made the days and nights bearable.

  Knowing that Greer has Trigger eases my mind, but it doesn’t help the strain hoping that Ryland will be found unharmed and Greer will mentally leave this unscathed.

  She’s been through enough in her twenty-eight years that most people don’t even tip the iceberg on. She’s dealt with abuse to a degree that would wreck most. She’s stronger than she
gives herself credit for and she’s loyal to a fault.

  Neither of us saw the possibility of Ryland being taken with the degree Greer, Brute and Mitz went to conceal her.

  My phone rings and I look at the screen. It’s my woman and some of the stiffness in my muscles relaxes.

  “Hey, Princess.”

  “Spook.” She sounds breathless. “We’ve got a lead and the Chaotic’s are closer than we are.”

  I stand from my perch and begin walking towards Rudy’s office. “Hold on. Let me get to your dad’s office.” The door is open and Rudy has his forehead pressed to the desk. “Prez.” He looks up with eyes that haven’t seen sleep in days. “Greer’s on the phone and they have something.”

  “Get the boys in the meeting room.” He growls as he gets up and stomps off to Church.

  Chase is behind me and nods, letting me know that he’ll get the brothers.

  Entering the meeting room, I put my phone on speaker and place it down on the table. The room slowly fills and when everyone is seated and quiet, I tell Greer to fill us in.

  “Okay, Trigger and I were putting our heads together earlier and it hit me. We never looked into Dyson anymore after the explosion other than it wasn’t his body in the house. I called Rose and she was able to determine the transactions between Dimitri and Dyson, which lead her to tracking his financials.” She puffs out a loud breathe. “He’s in Atlanta. He has a condo on Spring Street.”

  “What else, baby girl?” Rudy probes.

  “He hired a nanny last week. Why would a man that has no kids hire a nanny unless he just acquired a kid, my kid.” Greer grits out. “Before ya’ll go guns blazing, he has security everywhere. Rose was able to get a satellite image of the condo and there are three guards out front, two in the back and we don’t know how many inside. We need to get her fast. He’s bought tickets for Mexico. He’s planning on leaving the country with my girl.” She begins to sob.

  “Not over my dead fucking body, Princess. You and Trigger get your asses here. We’re going to get a plan together and suit up. We’ll have our girl home by bath time.” I roar towards the phone.

  “Please, please be careful, all of you.” She whimpers.

  “Don’t you worry about it and just get here, so we can have our family back together again. Love you, Princess.” I say with less aggression than I feel at the realization that my little girl is in the hands of a pedophile.

  “Love you too, Spookie.”

  Chapter 29

  Spook

  We arrive in Atlanta in Dani’s Excursion and park a few blocks from Dyson’s condo. It’s time to do some recon.

  We strip off our kuttes and start to take in what we can see from the truck.

  Rudy starts with his observations. “So we can see the three out front. We need to see if they’ve got a break schedule. If we can get at least a ten minute window, some of us will be able to get through the front door.”

  “Wait.” Chase interrupts. He’s looking across the street at a pizza joint. “I think I have an idea on how to get in, but it’s just going to be one of us.”

  “Not happening, Chase.” Rudy growls.

  “Listen, Prez.” Chase calls out. “We have the floor plans. We know if we enter in the front door there’s a reception desk on the right and elevators across from the door. There’s also a side door on the left and a door for the stairs. If one of us can get in there and distract the receptionist and not draw attention from the guards, the rest of us can come in through that side door. The elevators don’t require a card and we know he’s on the top floor. Some of us can take the stairs and the rest can take the elevator. We have to assume that he has a guard or two outside his door.”

  I nod. “He’s made valid points, Prez. It would be easier than trying to take out five guards outside, then trying to get past a receptionist who could call the cops and rush the rest of the mission to get to Ryland with too many unknowns from the bottom floor to the top.”

  “Yeah, but whose scrawny and goofy enough to pass as a pizza boy.” As we sit back and ponder who the best fit would be, there’s a knock on the window and Trigger is standing there with stupid look on his face. “We’ve got our pizza boy.” Rudy chuckles.

  Trigger may not be scrawny, but he sure can pass the goofy test. He climbs in and sits on the only available spot, the floor.

  “Why are ya’ll staring at me? Is there a booger hanging out of my nose?” He pouts.

  Rudy pats him on the shoulder. “Nah, son. We just nominated you to pizza boy.”

  Trigger looks at him bewildered. “I don’t think this is the time for a pizza run. We need to get in that condo and jack this fucker up. I need to get my niece and get her back to Cumming to Greer.”

  “No, dumbass.” Rudy grunts. “We’ve made a plan and you are the key to its success.”

  Trigger’s intrigue by the aspect of being the key to anything and listens as Chase re-explains the plan. When he’s done, Trigger has a cocky grin on his face.

  “Yeah, I got this. Let me go get that pizza and see if I can steal a shirt that fits my big ass.”

  He gets out of the truck and runs across the street. Twenty minutes later, he struts to the truck with three pizzas and a red shirt placed haphazardly on top.

  He climbs in, setting the pizza in my lap and pulls off his black t-shirt replacing it with a red Russo’s Pizza shirt.

  He opens the top box of pizza and pulls out a slice of pepperoni making my stomach growl. He passes the box around and everyone grabs a slice.

  With a mouth full of pizza, he mumbles. “So, what time do we want to get this party going? Is the receptionist a dude or a woman?”

  Rudy slaps Trigger on the back of the head. “What does it matter? Just go in there and use your normal charm.”

  “Yeah, but if it’s a dude, I gotta come up with new shit. I don’t hit on dudes, so I’ve got to get prepared.”

  I can’t help but laugh at his ass. As much as this shit has drug us down, he can still bring us out of our funk enough to make us forget even just for a few.

  “It’ll be dark in about twenty minutes and it’ll be easier for us to get to the side door without being noticed.” Rudy relays.

  Trigger nods as he shoves another bite in his mouth. He swallows. “I got this. I’m good at distractions.”

  There’s no doubt about that.

  ***

  Trigger’s been inside for a couple of minutes and the rest of the gang and I have quietly and successfully made it to the side door undetected.

  The longer we wait the more anxious energy rolls off us. We have five more minutes until we make our way inside, which should be enough time for Trigger to do his part.

  When the time arrives, Rudy gradually cracks the door and peeks in. He turns his head and nods. We file into the entryway and half go to the stairs while the rest take the elevator.

  I chose the stairs in case there’s a guard on the door. Hiking up ten flights of stairs is just a warm up for us. The need to have Ryland cradled in my arms outweighs the burn in my calves.

  Reaching the tenth floor, Chase looks through the small window. He holds up one finger signalling that there’s only one guard.

  Ryker slides past Chase, grips the door and opens it suddenly, shocking the guard long enough for him to put him in a chokehold. The ding of the elevator indicated the rest have made it up.

  We all step out into the hallway simultaneously. We tie the guard to a pipe in an open storage closet and gag him with a rag, but not before we remove his keys hoping he has a key to the condo.

  After several attempts with the keys, Brute finally has the right one and slowly turns it. As the door creaks open, I leisurely sneak in putting my back against the walls.

  The first sound I hear is a baby crying, my baby crying. In an attempt to get to her I push off the wall, but I’m stopped by a hand on my arm. I turn my head to see Rudy by my side with the same furious look on his face, but he shakes his head no. I know I can’t act o
ut of anger, but the longer I listen to her cry the urge to run gets stronger.

  Rudy whispers. “All in due time, Spook.” I nod.

  As we fill the entrance and move down the wall a foot at a time, a gruff man’s voice booms through the condo. “Shut that fucking child up or I’ll shut you up.”

  I spin to Rudy only to find Brute up against my back. Looking further down the line, I see Rudy has been demoted to the last one as apparently he couldn’t handle his rage.

  Brute taps me on the forehead and I begin to move again. At the corner of the wall, I peek around the corner to a sitting room. As I go to round, a tall man in an expensive suit storms towards a door in the hall.

  When he opens it, the screams get louder and I make my move. I come up behind him unexpectedly and place my gun against the back of his head. “I suggest you don’t move any closer to my baby.” I growl.

  His body tenses and then his shoulders lower. I look in front of him to a middle-aged woman frantically trying to calm Ryland.

  I yell over my shoulder. “Rudy, get up here and get Ryland.”

  Rudy passes and holds out his hands to Ryland, who quiets and reaches for her grandfather. “Come on baby. We need to get you back to your momma.” He says against her cheek. He turns and is about to leave when a gunshot rings out from the other room.

  A screaming woman’s voice reaches my ear. “I suggest you hand that child back to Olga or I’ll shot the closes man to me.”

  I wrap my forearm around Dyson’s neck and place my gun to his temple. I pull him out into the hall and towards the sound of the women.

  Coming into the sitting room, I see a skinny, blonde-haired woman who looks as though she’s seen better days. Her face is overly wrinkled and plastered with makeup to hide her flaws, but all it does is make them more obvious.

  Before I can speak, Rudy comes forward with Ryland in his arms. He hands her off to Brute and takes in the woman.