Harmony smiled and said, “Ditto.”
Shady drawled, “You know, Free is saying that because next to you, we both look completely normal, right?”
Harmony frowned and said, “Fuck no, it doesn’t matter what the fuck I do, you bitches are as fucked up as I am, so more power to ya. And hey, my dad is gonna be here in just a few weeks, so ya’ll remember his welcome to San Diego party.”
“Okay, you realize Fish hates parties, right?” Treat said.
Harmony shrugged, “Yeah, but they have those cakes at my favorite new store, and I needed a reason to get the largest one they had so I could freeze some of it.”
Bob leaned forward. “Is it Red Velvet?”
Harmony nodded reverently. “Of course.”
“I’m in; Bear seems to think that this whole healthy kick he is on means I have to eat the same rabbit food as he does. While I agree I have lost the baby weight, I am soooooo done with this shit. Last night, he made tofu burgers. I mean, what the holy fuck is that about? It’s not really! It is a fake burger, and not a good one either. It is gross and wrong.”
“Awww,” Moon said, opening her arms and hugging Bob as she sniffed a little. “That’s cruel, want me to talk to him?”
Bob nodded sadly and said, “Hell yeah, tell him that tofu is like the devil.”
Shady sighed loudly. “Okay, back to business. My mother is still hiding out in Nevada somewhere. She has been moving from hotel to hotel in Vegas now. Right now, I’m not sure which one she’s in, she has changed her alias so many time it’s stupid.”
“Is there something else we can look for?” Freedom asked and opened her computer. “Boony is putting together an algorithm, he said the more info, the better.”
Kit walked into the room and smiled at the women. She was the newest Lady Rider and had just passed her riding test. Data and Numbers were already designing a bike for her. “I already sent him a list of things I know she cannot do without, plus any accounts I remembered, I mean, I’m sure she has changed them, but still it may help.”
“How was your meeting with the lawyer?” Shady asked, and Kit smiled.
“Good, everything checked out perfectly.”
Shady nodded and then looked around the room. “Things are going to get crazy around her for the next few weeks. Everyone, make sure you’re doing your target practice with the guys.”
Jilly grimaced and said, “Shady, I hate to say this, but I am hopeless with a gun. I have tried, but I just keep closing my eyes.”
Treat leaned over and put an arm around her sister and said, “You want me to help?”
Jilly looked at her and shook her head. “I don’t think it would help.”
Harmony stood and stared at Jilly for a minute and then said, “Come on.”
Jilly frowned, “Where?”
“To the range, I got this,” Harmony said and walked out of the door.
Jilly turned and looked at the others in the room. “Should I really go?”
Shady shrugged. “She is one of the best shots I know.”
“But she is a little…” Jilly said.
“Scary?” Freedom said.
“Frightening?” Rain said.
“Bloodthirsty?” Bob snorted.
“Demented?” Nike said from the chair she had been sleeping in. She was on duty last night, manning the phones for Broken Wings.
“A psychopath?” Shady laughed, and Jilly’s eyes kept getting wider and wider with every word.
“Uh, yeah?” Jilly said.
“She is the best,” Shady shrugged.
Chapter Six
Blade paced across the waiting room, the doctor had come back in because of some test results he got back and asked him to leave while he talked to Rebel. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he didn’t like it. That had been ten minutes ago, what the fuck could be taking so long? He didn’t care it was a doctor talking with her alone, he was feeling very protective of the blue haired woman who was going to change his and Shark’s life. For the better was still up in the air.
Shark walked down the hallway and saw Blade standing just staring at the door. When he got close to his best friend, he asked, “What’s up?”
“Doctor is in there about some test result. Asked me to leave.”
Shark raised an eyebrow and said, “Why?”
Blade shrugged and said, “Your guess is as good as mine. But I don’t like it.”
Shark nodded slowly and then said, “Tank is at the diner, and he has a few others of the Furies as well scoping things out. Right now, there is no sign of them, only one bike at the hotel, and it looks to be broken down. We need to find out where the fuck they’re staying at. It would give us a better idea who they’re working with, and also if they have another club that is going to help them.”
“If another club does, then we could have problems. Right now, with all our guys, and the Furies, it’s still going to be a little tight. We have experience on our side, which will help, but those bastards are fucking crazy,” Blade said grimly.
“Man, you know what fucking sucks? You know that half of those assholes who we’ll be fighting against are men we used to hang with,” Shark said, and Blade nodded.
Before he could answer the doctor walked out of the room, and he had a grim expression on his face. Shark looked at Blade who began walking to the door. He didn’t knock, he walked right in, and when they saw Rebel laying on the bed with her eyes close, they paused. When she opened her eyes and stared at them with a neutral expression, they both knew something was wrong.
“What did he say?” Shark demanded, and Rebel raised an eyebrow to him.
“None of your business,” she answered and then turned her head to the side and closed her eyes. Neither man was going to allow that, both of them moved to the side of the bed.
“Come on, Rebel,” Blade said softly, and the younger woman sighed and opened her eyes.
“If I don’t tell you, are you going to have Boony hack the database?” she asked.
Shark grinned and said, “You know Boony?”
Rebel glared and said, “Yes I do, and I also know what he does, and if you think for one second, getting him to hack into my information is okay, you are wrong. Some things are none of your business.”
Shark sighed, and Blade sat down and took her good hand. “Rebel, you seem to be having a problem with what we’re saying.”
She opened her mouth to argue but it snapped shut when she saw the look in both of their eyes, she had seen that before, shit, they were so totally...BIKERS!
“Good thinking,” Blade said, knowing she had been about to argue but stopped herself. “Now, listen and listen good. You are ours, we decided that practically from the first night we saw you.”
“Oh my God, you don’t just see someone and decide that you’re going to claim them. I grew up in a club, so don’t blow smoke up my ass,” Rebel snapped and then moved around a little to get more comfortable.
Sure they had talked, and sure she had really wanted to get to know them more, but this? No way, not until she finished what she started.
Shark shook his head. “Rebel, you need to understand something. Blade and I have made up our minds.”
She glared at them and then said, “Well good for you, unmake them up. I have shit that I need to do.”
Blade nodded. “And now that we are aware of what that is, we’re going to help you.”
Her eyes got wide, of course, they thought they did, but they didn’t know everything. No one did, not even her father. Hell, Rebel hadn’t told anyone but her mother, and that was when she was saying goodbye to her at the grave. That was the one time she had allowed herself to say it out loud, before then, she had kept it to herself.
Rebel had been devastated when she went for her check-up a month before she left Louisiana. It had been routine, nothing big, just some pain in her stomach where the scars were at. The doctors had told her when she was shot that scar tissue would form, there had been a lot of damage d
one with that small bullet. Looking at the two men she felt something for, she had hoped before the doctor came in they had felt something for her as well. But now, there was nothing to be done, she needed to make a clean break.
“You can’t help,” she said quietly and then pushed herself up higher and stared at them. “And I don’t want you to. I can handle this on my own, and when I’m done, I’ve decided I’m going to go back home.”
Shark and Blade looked at each other and frowned. This wasn’t what she had been saying earlier, hell, both of them had seen the look in her eyes when they told her Shay thought of her as a Prospect. Rebel wanted that, hell, she had practically been frothing at the mouth. Now suddenly she was singing another tune, and she was acting like she had never wanted them, which was bullshit.
“Okay, what the fuck is going on?” Shark snapped, and Rebel narrowed her eyes.
“Nothing is going on; I have thought about it. I’m glad you guys know why I’m here. I discovered what the Black Hearts did to your club, and I knew they were going to keep coming after you, so I came here hoping that when they came, I would find the man who killed my mother and finish him. They are evil, everything they touch is fucking tainted, I know you already know that, which is why you aren’t pissed about finding out about my past. I joined the club with the intentions of putting myself close to the Lady Riders, hoping I would be accepted. But now that I think about it, that was bullshit. I wanted revenge, and I still want it. But becoming a member of your club right now would be for the wrong reasons, and I’m not going to do that to them or myself. So, please tell Maxi and Kink, I am tendering my resignation. I am going to wait for my father to get here, and then together we will decide on what to do about that bastard, and I am going home. End of story.”
What the fuck? Blade thought and looked at Shark who was also looking confused. What the fuck had happened here? This was not how it was supposed to go, and Rebel was not saying what they thought she would say. Sure, they figured she was going to resist a little, but this, no way.
“You are not making any sense,” Shark said slowly as he looked her in the eye. She didn’t react, even though she could feel the confusion in him and Blade. But there was no way she was going to tell them the truth, she barely knew them, and she needed to deal with this herself.
“Yes, I do, you know the Black Hearts killed my mother. You know I followed them out here to get revenge, it’s not rocket science, guys. Hell, I’m surprised it took the club so long to find out. I figured you would have discovered it a week after I started at Bitches. But I assume you had a lot more going on than looking at a dancer’s background. Anyway, like I said, the jig is up. But the good part is, I found the guy, I know he is here, and I told my father that as well. When he gets here, he and his brothers are going to help me take care of this. So, you are officially off the hook. If it’s okay, I will call Shady and the other Lady Riders tomorrow and let them know I won’t be coming back.”
“Hell no it’s not okay,” Blade yelled, and Rebel closed her eyes for a second and then opened them again and stared at him. She was not going to show how her heart was breaking right now because if she did, then she would fall apart, and right now, she couldn’t afford that.
“It is my decision,” she said firmly and then looked at both of them and reached for the button that would call the nurse. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to have the nurse give me some pain meds, and I’m going to lay down, I’m not feeling all that well. My father and his brothers are on their way, and while I appreciate everything you guys have done, it is all good now. We won’t get in your way, but we will make sure the one is dead before we leave. I am sure if you ask my father, he will give you everything we know about the Black Hearts and where they came from before Nevada.”
Shark stared at her, they both knew something had happened with the doctor, hell, it wasn’t like she was hiding it. She was being obvious, but it didn’t matter, they couldn’t call her on it because neither man knew what the fuck was going on. By the look on her face, if they pressed it, she was going to shut them out completely, and neither of them was going to allow that, not now.
Shark leaned down over her and stared intently. She couldn’t meet his eyes at first, but when she did, he wanted to yell. She had shut them out. “I don’t know what the hell happened here, Rebel, but this is not over, it will never be over like this. So for now, we will leave you to sleep, get stronger, and in the morning, we will be right here. Then we will figure out what is going on, and mark my words, Rebel, we will figure this out.”
She shrugged. “Suit yourself, but the doctor said I would be released tomorrow.”
Blade leaned over as well and said softly, “Good, then we can have a nice long private conversation about this shit.”
She shook her head. “No.”
Shark caught her off guard by leaning lower and capturing her mouth in a hard kiss. She almost groaned when she felt his lips on hers, but she didn’t. She held on to her emotions refusing to be pulled in by him. When he released her lips, Blade was there, and he kissed her as well. Fuck, they were lethal together, and Rebel knew if she gave them one ounce of encouragement they would have deepened the kiss, but she didn’t. Instead, she waited, and when Blade leaned back, she said in a cold, detached voice, “Thank you, goodbye,” and held up the button and pushed it.
Chapter Seven
“Dammit,” Shark said when they entered the waiting area right outside her door. “This shit is not going to fly.”
Blade nodded and said, “We need to find out what the fuck is going on with her. The doctor coming in and then all of the sudden she is turning cold, he told her something to make it change.”
Shark growled, “Yeah, I got that, but if we break into her records, she will be pissed the fuck off. You heard her, she already knows Boony can do it.”
Blade stared at the window. “Then we need to think of another way, one that won’t have her ready to cut our dicks off.”
“We could call her father,” Shark said slowly, and Blade shook his head.
“Like that won’t come back and bite us in the ass.”
“True, but she won’t talk to us, so what the fuck are we going to do?” Shark growled and ran a hand through his hair.
Blade just stood there and then finally hung his head. “I hate to say this.”
“No fucking way,” Shark snapped, and Blade shook his head.
“We’re out of options, brother, and if she’s getting out tomorrow, we need answers now. She will be in the wind if she gets outta here,” Blade said, and Shark groaned and put his hands up to his face and scrubbed them.
“Fuck!” Shark said, and then his hands fell. “Fine, fine, fine!”
He pulled out his phone, hit speed dial, and took a deep breath and waited. When she answered, Shark said, “Harmony, we need your help.”
“Yeah, we were waiting for your call. Shady, Freedom, and I are already on our way. We will be there in about fifteen minutes,” their President’s woman said. Shark wanted to groan.
“How the fuck did you know we were going to call?” Shark said, and Blade smiled.
“‘Cause you are a man, which really explains it all, but since you are a man, and I don’t have crayons and paper, I will tell you. When dealing with a woman, especially one who doesn’t feel well, it would normally be easy. They would want you to take care of them. But we are dealing with a Lady Rider, and a Bitch, which means, no matter how shitty she feels, she will never let you in to take care of her. We figured that you were gonna fuck this up, so we decided to just come on up and deal with it. And since we’re not allowed to go any-fuckin-where without a babysitter or on a bike. We are in the Hummer, and we have backup. So, the plans are, we are gonna come there, sort this shit out, and then bring your woman back to the compound when she is released, and you guys can do your thing,” Harmony said. Shark heard laughter in the background, which only fueled his anger for having to call them and ask for help.
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br /> “Whatever, just get up here,” Shark snapped and hung up the phone.
Blade shook his head at his best friend, “That went well I take it.”
Shark glared at him. “Sure it did, it gave them something to hold over our heads. I’m starting to realize why all the men who claimed a Lady Rider have a certain look on their face, almost like hopelessness.”
Blade barked out a laugh. “No way that is happening to us. Part of the battle is knowing. And we know.”
Shark glared at his friend and said, “The first time I say ‘Whatever you say,’ to our female, grab me and slap me around. It may break the thrall she put me under.”
Blade shook his head and then looked around and said, “Brother, I will kick your ass if you do that.”
“Good, now, we need to check in with Tank and see if anything has changed. Gimme a few to do that, and then you can go for a run and get some food for us, I am not eating that shit in the cafeteria.”
Blade nodded and then walked to the hallway and looked up and down while Shark pulled out his phone and dialed another number he had on speed dial. Tank answered on the first ring. “Anything new?” Shark asked.
“Nope,” Tank said, “but the waitress wants your phone number; I think she has a crush on you.”
“Fuck off,” Shark chuckled.
Tank said, “Well, the guys are here too, they brought the new Prospect Ironside. Since no one knows him, he is going to the place Rebel saw the other asshole turn into. Here is the weird part, the parking lot went to several businesses, but one of them was a private eye, slimy little fucker too. He’s not talking, which means that is where the bastard went.”
“Is there a connection to Angela Reyes?” Shark asked quietly and looked up and saw Shady and the other Lady Riders moving down the hallway slowly. They were smirking, but when Shady’s eyes met his, they narrowed, and she lifted up her head in greeting. Shark did the same and then said, “Find that connection and if you need to call Boony do it, call anyone who can get us that information.”
Welcome to Hell (Ops Warriors Book 7) Page 6