by Jamie Begley
“Come in.”
As soon as he saw Desmond’s face, he knew it was going to be bad news.
Ice closed the door after Jackal entered.
“So, what’s so important you needed to see me?”
“Justin’s disappeared. He’s been staying with my aunt at an old family residence. When she woke up this morning, he was gone. She thinks he took off last night. She said he went to bed early.”
“And you’re just now telling us?” Ice snapped.
“Ice”—Jackal drew Ice’s attention—“Church got out two days ago.”
“Yo-Yo’s probably taken off to meet him somewhere,” Ice said, thinking out loud. “Call Raft and ask where Church is. If we’re fucking lucky, we can grab Yo-Yo when he tries to meet up with Church. If they’re already together, we’ll have to wait and keep an eye on them until Yo-Yo is alone.”
“You have a man on Church?” Desmond asked as Jackal made the call.
“Hell, yes. He hates me, and I don’t trust that fucker.”
Jackal held the phone away from his ear. “He’s not answering.”
“Damn. When’s the last time anyone heard from him?”
“Last night. He called to check in with me. I’ll call the clubhouse and see if anyone else has talked to him.”
Ice paced Desmond’s office while Jackal made the call. When Jackal shook his head as he talked on the phone, a sick feeling came to Ice’s stomach. He stopped pacing, looking at Desmond.
“Did you tell Yo-Yo anything about me?”
“Of course not. What’s to tell…?” Desmond’s face whitened before he could finish the sentence. “He asked if you ever saw the woman you took hostage. I didn’t tell him yes or no, but I thought it was strange he asked.”
Ice took his phone from his pocket, pushing Grace’s number. It went straight to voicemail.
Ice took off running, slinging Desmond’s door open and pushing the elevator button.
Jackal caught up with him. “As soon as we get off the elevator, call the brothers and tell them to haul ass to Grace’s. Then call Alec Gamble and tell him we think Church’s going for Grace. Maybe he has some men who can get there quicker than we can.”
The elevator opened and they rushed in, pushing the button.
Ice’s mind ran through the worst scenarios possible. He had let Grace come to the clubhouse; as a result, anyone watching the place could have seen them together and told Church. Ice hoped he was wrong, although he had a terrible feeling he was right, that Church had taken Grace and her mother.
It took Ice and Jackal less than three hours to reach Stephenville. The brothers were still trying to catch up to them at breakneck speeds. Ice didn’t even know if Alec had men in Stephenville, and they didn’t want to stop to call him back.
They parked their bikes a block away from Grace’s house, going through several backyards to reach it. Ice had taken the back and Jackal the front, setting their phones on vibrate so they wouldn’t lose touch with each other.
He had already checked his voicemail and received a message from Alec that he didn’t have any men in town, but they were on their way.
Ice cautiously approached Grace’s house, seeing it was dark inside. His throat tightened at how scared she had to be. Ice went to the side of the house, trying to look in the windows, but he couldn’t see anything with the curtain blocking his view.
He moved up closer to the front of the house, looking through another window, which was the spare room Grace’s mother was sleeping in. The curtains were open, and Ice could see the room was empty.
He moved to the front side of the house where the garage was, motioning for Jackal to stay where he was. Ice took his knife from his boot and worked it into the garage door lock, carefully snapping it and releasing the mechanism.
Ice quietly raised the door, sliding underneath on his stomach. Inside was a car he had never seen before. His fear was only heightened by the lack of her alarm system blaring from his entry.
He went back to the garage door, motioning for Jackal. Then he went around the car and pulled his gun out from behind his back as he walked toward the door that led into the house. Grace always kept it carefully locked, but Ice was hoping Church and Yo-Yo weren’t as careful.
Jackal had his gun out as he took the other side of the door, both men looking at each other silently. Ice reached out slowly, opening the door a small amount, worried Grace’s two pets would alert Church and Yo-Yo. It opened into the laundry room, which led to a small hallway that had the entrance to the kitchen on one side and the living room on the other.
Ice slid his body in the small space of the opened door, and then Jackal came in behind him. As both men paused to listen, hearing voices from the living room, Daisy came walking into the room, wagging her tail. He would be shit out of luck if Bear came in; the dog always barked when it saw him. Ice petted the dog as he edged toward the doorway.
He looked out, seeing Grace’s mother tied up to the lone chair. He didn’t see Church or Yo-Yo, which meant they were in the dining room or Grace’s bedroom. He already knew they weren’t in the kitchen since Jackal was pressed to his back, facing it.
“Get me another beer, Yo-Yo.”
Ice and Jackal both froze at Church’s voice from the dining room.
“Make her get it. She isn’t going anywhere with my gun pointed at her mom,” Yo-Yo snapped back.
“She’s busy right now,” Church laughed.
They heard the scrape of a chair then Jackal moved away, farther into the kitchen, keeping to the inside wall so that, when Yo-Yo entered the kitchen from the other side, he wouldn’t see Jackal until it was too late. Ice waited a second to give Jackal time to get in place. As soon as he saw Jackal round the corner to make his move, Ice moved stealthily into the living room, seeing Oceane’s eyes following him.
Ice cast a quick glance toward the front door and saw Bear lying still against the wall. Ice was going to kill the motherfucker for murdering his dog.
Just then, Daisy came up behind him. He was going to get shot before he could get near Grace with the dog’s wagging tail slapping against his leg.
Ignoring the dog, Ice looked around the corner to see Church sitting at the table with Grace on his lap. Her top had been ripped half off and her breasts were bared and bruised. Fury went through him when he saw her beaten face; one of her eyes was swollen shut, and her mouth was bleeding from the corner
Church stood up, throwing Grace to the floor and running for the kitchen when they heard the sound of breaking glass from the other room. Ice shot him, but Church, hearing the gun, turned toward him. The bullet that should have hit him in the back went into his arm. That’s when Jackal and Yo-Yo fell into the room, fighting.
Ice raised his gun to fire at Church again, but Yo-Yo managed to knock Jackal back. Ice hesitated, not wanting to shoot Jackal. Church read Ice’s hesitation and charged Ice, both of them falling to the floor. Ice saw Grace running for her mother as he and Church struggled.
Church was as big as a bull, but Ice had the advantage of having fought more fights, while Church had others fight for him. Church tried to take Ice’s gun away; however, Ice wouldn’t let it go, managing to get another bullet off that went into the ceiling.
Church then used his forearm on Ice’s neck, pressing all his weight on it and cutting off his air. Ice saw spots, and the harder he fought, the more oxygen he lost. As he struggled, Jackal and Yo-Yo fell onto Grace’s table, knocking dishes onto the floor.
With the last of his strength, Ice raised his gun, holding it against Church’s neck and pressing the trigger. Church couldn’t grab for the gun as he would have had to release Ice from his hold, yet he managed to move enough that the bullet only grazed his neck.
Ice’s arm fell to his side as blackness closed in around him.
When Grace ran to Church, trying to get him to loosen his hold, he ignored her, pressing down harder on Ice’s neck. Church’s malicious laughter was ringing in his head so loud i
t took a second for the gunshot to register. Half of Church’s head was blown off, and his body fell forward. Ice pushed him to the side.
“Church!” Yo-Yo screamed over Grace’s terrified cries. He quit fighting Jackal and ran toward Church, only to be shot. He grabbed his stomach, falling to his knees then face forward onto Ice’s legs.
Ice kicked him off, sitting up. He pulled Grace into his arms then turned to see who had shot Church and Yo-Yo, expecting to find Alec. Instead, Grace’s mother was standing there with a rifle in her hands. She set it down on the floor before running to Grace, pulling her away from Ice.
“Mon bébé,” she cried, rocking Grace back and forth.
The doorbell rang as Ice got to his feet, amazed Grace’s mother had managed to kill both men.
Jackal answered the door as Ice picked his gun up from the floor, hiding it in the waistband of his pants.
Alec and several of his men came in.
“The police are on their way,” Alec told Ice, looking at the dead bodies on the floor. “Why didn’t you call them?”
“They would have tried hostage negotiations with Church. He wasn’t going to be taken alive. He knew when he attacked Grace he was a dead man.”
The sound coming down the street alerted them the police were coming.
“I’ll go outside and tell them to call an ambulance for Grace.” Jackal went outside.
Ice started back to Grace, but Oceane’s glare had him staying put. Grace was already upset over her ordeal; he didn’t want to start a fight with her mother over who was going to hold her.
The police came in, turning both men over while asking rapid-fire questions. Ice answered as did Jackal, explaining what had happened. The ambulance arriving briefly halted their questions as they loaded Grace into the stretcher, placing a blanket over her. Ice was worried by the dazed look in her terror-filled eyes.
Finally, the ambulance took her, but they made Oceane stay for questioning.
Ice would have followed after Grace; however, Oceane stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
“Don’t you dare think you’re ever going near my daughter again. It’s because of you he attacked us. When he got Grace’s phone and saw the text that you would see her tomorrow, he told us he was going to kill us so you could be the one to find her body.
“If you try to see or talk to her again, I will use every dime of money at my family’s disposal to ruin you and destroy that club you belong to. Stay away from her!” Oceane screamed at him hysterically. “How many times are you going to almost get her killed before someone succeeds?”
As Alec put his arm around Oceane to calm her, Ice and Jackal walked away, seeing the ambulance turn the corner. He had wanted to snap back at her, but he was aware she had been bound and forced to watch Church manhandle her daughter. If Grace hadn’t managed to untie her mother before trying to get Church off him, there would have been a different outcome. Her mother deserved her moment. She had killed the two men he had unintentionally put in Grace’s path.
“Let’s get our bikes.”
They walked down the sidewalk, ignoring the stares of the neighbors who had come out to see why the police were there.
Once Ice had gotten on his bike and Jackal had mounted his, Jackal asked, “We going to the hospital?”
“No. We’re going back to the club.”
Chapter 27
Three Weeks Later
Ice opened the door to the clubhouse, frowning since he was used to hearing the music blaring from inside at this time of night. He was tired and hungry, having ridden his bike around the city for the last two hours to keep from riding to Grace’s house.
He felt his jeans slip around his waist as he walked. He had lost weight in the last three weeks, his belt now on the tightest hole. He was going to have to get a new belt or a new pair of jeans.
The brothers were all sitting at the bar, facing the pool table when he walked inside. Ice looked at the table, coming to a stop before moving closer. Not many men would have recognized the man playing pool against Max. From the look of it, as he watched, Dalton Andrews was beating Max because the brother couldn’t take his eyes off the famous movie star.
Ice leaned against the pool table. “I take it you’re here to see me?”
Dalton stood up after making his shot. “You’re Ice?”
“Yeah.”
Dalton Andrews, mega-star and rich as shit, looked him over him from his uncombed long hair to his T-shirt, which he wore under his cut. His eyes lingered on his patch then trailed down past his frayed jeans, ending with his dusty boots with the hole in the toe.
His mouth quirked in amusement. “The little bastard got your boot?”
Ice’s throat got tight with unexpected pain at the thought of the dog.
He cleared his throat. “I called it the little shit.”
Dalton took another shot. “Why haven’t you been to see Grace?”
Ice had expected another warning to stay away from her, not a question and answer session. “Her mother told me to stay away.”
“You look like a man who does what he wants. Oceane told me what she said to you. Are you worried I’ll come after you and your club?”
“No, it’s your money to waste. Besides, I don’t leave bodies where they can be found,” Ice said sarcastically, waiting for the actor to start spouting warnings to stay away from his daughter.
Dalton took another shot. “I bet you don’t, but it doesn’t matter. I have no intention of sticking my nose in your business or your clubs’. Neither does Dax or Oceane, who by the way, regrets her harsh words. She wanted to come tonight to apologize, but I told her I would.”
Ice shook his head. “She doesn’t regret one word she said to me.”
Dalton laughed. “No, she doesn’t, but she will behave courteously from now on. I should have come for the visit with her, but I was afraid I would scare you off. Oceane, I knew you could handle.”
“You checked me out?”
“Of course. I know everything about you; don’t doubt that for a second. I didn’t sit back and watch your relationship with Grace progress without knowing who I was giving her to. I love my daughter.”
The action hero who had killed hundreds of men on the screen, who men all over the world admired, showed the love he had for his daughter on his face with a room full of hard-ass bikers.
“Why are you here?” Ice asked.
“Because Grace misses you, and I’m tired of waiting for you to get your head out of your ass and go see her.”
“She’s not angry at me because of Church?” Ice questioned cautiously, wondering if the man was wearing a wire. What normal man would want him involved with his daughter?
“No. My daughter happens to love you.”
“She told you that?” Ice ignored the spike in his heart rate.
“No, she doesn’t have to. I know. I Skype with my daughter twice a week and I saw the changes in her when she started seeing you. It was the first time I’ve seen her really happy in years.
“When she walked out of that house Leon Winston had her locked in, I knew my daughter Adrienne was gone. That monster killed her. Grace survived, but she was only a living shell.
“The last few months, I saw her change. I saw the happiness on her face when she told me you had taken her riding on that motorcycle of yours or when she would be excited that you were riding down to see her. I was overjoyed at the change in her.
“Then, when I come rushing down because two men tried to kill Grace and my wife, you were nowhere around. You lost a few points with me there until her mother told us all she had threatened you.
“Grace thinks you don’t care for her enough to see her because you’re worried over the club. She wants to be more important to you than this.” Dalton shrugged, looking around the room. “I’m to blame for that. I’ve spoiled my women into believing they should always come first.
“Like I said, none of my family will give you any trouble over Grace. If you’
ve decided to end it with her, however, you need to talk to her so she can move on. I can’t handle another day of watching her stay in that house, setting that fucking alarm, and seeing another part of her die. I can’t lose her twice.” Dalton’s voice broke as he took another shot. He missed it then laid the pool stick down on the table.
“I was going to see her when you and Oceane left. I know Dax left this morning. I haven’t been to see her, because I didn’t want to upset Oceane.” Ice let Dalton know he was aware of exactly what was happening with Grace. He hadn’t left her; he had taken a step back until her family left.
“In that case, we’ll be gone by tomorrow evening,” Dalton said. “I’ll see you for the holidays. Oceane will have calmed down by then… maybe.” He reached out to shake Ice’s hand, but Ice didn’t take it.
“I’m going to be truthful. I’m not a good man. I never will be. If I was, I would stay the fuck away from your daughter and never see her again. I would give her a chance to find a husband to give her all those kids she wants, and she’d have a normal life. But I won’t. She’s mine. She’s been mine since the minute I saw her.”
Ice was aware of his men listening, probably thinking he was a pussy. However, if he was going to take Dalton’s daughter, the man had the right to know exactly what she was getting.
“I wasn’t always a good man, either.”
Ice studied Dalton’s face, seeing the hard angles and a nose which had been broken several times. Ice then looked at the man’s callused, scarred hands. Those weren’t the hands of an idly wealthy man. His eyes narrowed on Dalton’s arms. He had unbuttoned his cuffs, and Ice caught sight of the bottom half of a tattoo he recognized instantly. It was one of a biker club he always made fun of for being filled with pussies now, but at one time, when Dalton would have belonged to them, they had been some of the meanest fuckers to ride. He didn’t think Grace realized her father wasn’t quite so perfect.
Ice’s hand went out, shaking hands with Grace’s father.
Afterward, Dalton buttoned his cuffs back together before picking up his expensive leather jacket from a barstool. “I better get back before Oceane comes looking for me.”