by Jayne Blue
I leaned up and kissed him on the mouth. He kept his hands down and kissed back.
“I’m forgiven?” he asked and gently put his hands on my hips.
“For now. Truly, Robbie is an old high school friend. I have high school friends, college friends, neighborhood friends. Furry friends.”
“Your point?”
Kase and I were now squeezing words in-between kisses. I suspected the pizza was going to get very cold. Dinner was, all of a sudden, the last thing on my mind.
“My point is be cool, Kase. I’m not looking for anyone else. I wasn’t even looking for you,” I said, and I felt his hands slide my skirt up, a tiny inch at a time.
“Yeah, I got it. Same here. But if that banker douche bag puts his hands on you again, I might have to rearrange his stock portfolio.”
“That’s not even funny,” I said as the giggles broke free.
“Kase!” It was Brogan. He’d come in the front door! Oh my gosh!
Kase and I separated, and I prayed Brogan hadn’t seen anything.
“Where are you two?” I heard him call again. Thank God, we were okay. We weren’t yet naked. Though that was seconds away!
I walked toward the family room.
“Here, in the kitchen. We’ve got a pizza if you’re hungry.” Kase turned a chair around and plopped himself down on it.
Brogan walked in and seemed relieved to see us both. This was good. We were fine, he didn’t see anything.
“Great, thanks, yeah. I’m starved.”
“What’s up, brother?” Kase asked him.
“I needed to get you up to speed. The fucking Bane assholes are up to their shit again.”
“Bane? That’s the other gang? With that guy Crank, and Danny Doyle?”
“Yep, it’s what why I’m making Kase follow you around. Thanks for that, man, I wouldn’t trust my sister to anyone but you,” Brogan said as I handed him a paper plate for his pizza. Kase and I exchanged a glance. Man, we were on thin ice. It had been a close call.
I didn’t want to think about what would have happened if Brogan had seen us.
This was so dangerous.
“We’ve got a lead on who cut Tracks and A.C.”
Sometimes it was easy for me to forget how dangerous Brogan’s life was. He kept it from me, but I was hearing it now. I was also unwittingly affected since Kase was now my bodyguard. I didn’t like them planning revenge in our kitchen.
“This should be for the police.” I had made this argument with him before.
“Where were the police when they were stabbed when those businesses were torched?” Brogan said defiantly. Kase was in full agreement with him. They were right on these points, but it still scared the heck out of me.
I was scared for Brogan, the way he’d operated in the shadows, and now in full light, as a man who would take a bullet for anyone in the neighborhood. Whether that person was worthy of his sacrifice or not. And now, it dawned on me that Kase shared more than the bike and the club with him. He shared that same idea. They’d both served time, they’d both been involved in the wrong side of the law even after that, and now, when things were looking up for them, for their club, I was worried they’d throw it away because they didn’t trust the authorities. Because maybe they thought they were tougher than the law.
I suppose they were. But they weren’t tougher or faster than the knives that were out now. I shuddered to think that it could have been Kase and Brogan in that alley.
“I’m going to need you to ride with me.”
“What’s going on, what are you heading out to do? Why does Kase need to come with you?” Kase gave me a look like I was overplaying my concern. Maybe I was. But it wasn’t an act. I didn’t like Brogan’s tone. And I didn’t like that they were going out to do God knows what against this Bane group.
“Look, little sister. Stay here, keep this place locked up. I’m not coming back tonight, and I have to have Kase and my crew on other stuff. You gotta be very suspicious okay? Everyone in this neighborhood is in danger until we root these assholes out.”
I had no argument about why Kase shouldn’t go. I couldn’t tell Brogan that I had feelings for Kase. I could kiss Kase and hug him, and tell him if he wasn’t careful, I’d kill him myself. I could only stand there and nod.
I was the little sister.
I was supposed to stay here.
“Thanks for the food. Come on, we need to get rolling,” Brogan said and stood up. He checked the front door to be sure it was locked. Kase gave me a wink. I bit my lower lip, trying not to give my nerves away.
“Lock this back door after we leave,” Kase said to me. Brogan came back into the kitchen.
“Yep, don’t forget.”
They both walked out the door. The screen slammed.
I did as they instructed. I locked the doors.
And I sent up a prayer to the patron saint of bikers and kid sisters that whatever the Great Wolves were up to, they would be safe. And they wouldn’t get themselves arrested for doing it.
Nine
Kase
I wanted to stay right by her side. This was fucking new. Normally I was champing at the bit to get out there, to mix shit up, to dole out some damage. But right now, my brain was with Em.
It had been close; Brogan had nearly caught us, and we’d only been at this little deception for a day. I was going to have to be much more careful about grabbing Miss Emlyn. This was proving to be a challenge. I nearly ripped the head off the mild-mannered banker. And then later nearly ripped her skirt off in the kitchen. She was my drug. I’d have to learn how to keep my shit together around her or risk this whole thing.
I needed to focus on club shit right now. I had zero future with Emlyn if Bane spread their tentacles in Stickney Forest. I had no idea what Brogan was leading me to tonight, but I followed on my bike and tried like hell to get my head on straight.
We rolled out of Stickney Forest and into the sparsely populated outskirts. We met Titus, Thorn, and A.C. in the parking lot of Waffle House off Exit Three.
“Here’s the deal. Ridge has good intel that an old roofing tile warehouse is a front for where their cooking meth,” Thorn told us.
“Jesus, they’re not wasting time,” Titus said.
“You okay to be on this field trip,” I said to A.C., who looked a little gray. He’d been at the funeral for Tracks, but he was still patched together himself.
“I’m going to get rid of Bane, even if it kills me,” A.C. said. Maybe it was better for A.C. to be out working for the club rather than inside somewhere, drinking himself unconscious. If it were me, the opportunity to hit back was better than a stiff drink.
“For Tracks,” I said.
“You better fucking believe it,” A.C. said. And we turned our attention back to Thorn.
“This is what we want, evidence, we need to show the cops that Bane is cooking and distributing from here,” Thorn said.
“This isn’t my favorite. I’d like to murder someone over this Tracks shit,” A.C. said and Titus nodded in agreement.
“We all would, but then we’re in fucking prison and no one is here to stop Bane.”
“Our job today: evidence. We’ve got a local cop who’s open to looking at the evidence, no matter where it comes from, you get me,” Thorn said, and we did get it. If we lost our shit, Bane would win.
“Here’s how it’s going to go. Kase, me, and Titus are climbing up there, getting to that window and doing our best to take pictures. I’m the A.V. department today,” Brogan said.
“Tracks, you and I are going to head to the front door. If we need to, we draw them out. If all goes well, we are just there so they can get the pictures. Easy,” Thorn said.
“Got it,” I said.
We separated. If Thorn’s plan worked, we’d have no fight tonight, which sucked, but I saw the wisdom of the plan. Bane wanted us out of Stickney Forest. What better way than to goad us into violence? It was better to hand evidence over to the police, than to b
e the same as Bane, and wind up behind bars.
If we were back in prison, Bane could terrorize anyone they wanted to.
Titus and I put our back to the side of the building and boosted Brogan up.
“Jesus, man, you weigh a fuck ton,” I whispered as Brogan’s boot dug into my shoulder.
“Shut up, Titus, hand me the camera,” Brogan ordered from his perch on our shoulders.
Titus did as instructed, and Brogan got to work clicking away. The window was uncovered and there was light inside the building. I hoped conditions were okay for photos. I trusted Brogan had that part covered. I did wonder how he was the top of this pyramid and we were the bottom. Shit, I hoped he hurried the fuck up. His boot dug into my shoulder. As wide as Titus and I were, this shit was bad planning.
He clicked away.
“I’m getting something, this could be good. This is a special camera, it’s fucking amazing.” I marveled at Brogan’s sudden interest in photography while all feeling left my shoulder.
That’s when all hell broke loose.
“What the fuck?” Brogan said and we heard yelling. And gunfire.
“Take that, you mother fuckers!” We heard that loud and clear. It was A.C. Had he bust in there? Why?
Brogan leaped down.
“We’re fucked. A.C. has lost it. Off plan, man.” The blood rushed back into my shoulder as I processed what we were dealing with.
The popping of gunfire ripped through the quiet night air. We hauled ass. The three of us ran around to the front, where Thorn was wrestling A.C. to the ground.
“Help me,” Thorn said, and we ran to his side.
“Move these two!” I heard someone from inside the building say.
“He took members of Bane out. I think three went down before they knew what hit ‘em. They’re blocking the door, but they won’t fucking be for long. He only winged ‘em,” Thorn said, which explained the fact that we all were still alive and bullet hole free.
Brogan used the back end of his piece and thwapped A.C. on the head. He went limp.
“Much better solution then me wrestling him,” Thorn said as we dragged them both up and tried to continue to make progress away from the building.
“We need to get out of here, fast,” Titus said, and no more obvious words have ever been spoken.
“Put A.C. on my bike,” Brogan said, and the door of the building opened. Gunfire erupted over our heads. But luckily, we were near our bikes. I helped haul A.C. onto Brogan’s hog and we all gunned it.
Members of Bane, now recovered, or able to crawl over the damage A.C. caused, headed for their bikes too. The chase was fucking on.
There was no way we were all getting out of here without bullet holes. That was the last thought that ripped through my head before a bullet ripped through my jacket.
Fuck.
It missed me, but the jacket sustained a major wound.
We sped out onto the road. I stuck close behind Thorn; he was going to try to stay off the highway, keep out of sight of the cops. That was the plan. If we went on the interstate, we’d be pinched for speeding, and good luck explaining what the fuck was going on with the unconscious A.C.
We’d gotten a small head start, but Bane was hot on our tails. We’d have to outsmart them instead of outrunning them. I had an idea about that.
I sped up next to Thorn and he looked at me. I pointed to him to follow me. And he trusted me to do it.
We had maybe one minute of play here, and the crew would need to follow me without question. I wasn’t an officer, I wasn’t their leader, but I was their brother, and when you were with the Great Wolves crew, that was enough.
The most Bane would be able to see was our taillights. I knew that, in a quarter mile, a hill rose up on the country road we were traveling. There’d be about thirty seconds where the rise of the road would make it impossible for Bane to see us. They’d have to trust that we were still going the way we’d been headed.
The window was fucking small, and it was coming up. We had four bikes; A.C.’s had been left behind, a price he’d have to pay for losing his shit back there.
I hoped that we were nimble as we’d need to be to do this. If I remembered right, we’d be able to dirt bike this shit and confound those mother fuckers. If I remembered wrong, I’d lead all of us to disaster.
As the hill rose up, I looked behind us. Bane would be on this hill in a few seconds. I knew they were back there but couldn’t see them.
We crested the hill and I put my hand up at a right angle to show the crew what I was doing. We’d have to keep our speed and then drop it, fast, and slide our bikes down as well. There was no time to explain. I had to do it, and hope they all were watching, closely.
I knew, on the downstroke of this hill, there was a field, and it was high with corn right now. That corn was going to save our assess, and if they’d decided to plant soybeans or some shit? Well, we were dead.
I was mildly relieved to see corn as we barreled down the hill. I took the sharp turn right, into the field. We needed to be deep enough into the row for our tracks to be covered.
I gunned it, and my brothers, three bikes strong, were behind me.
We pierced the line in the narrow track between rows of corn. And in my mind, I was counting. It had been ten seconds since we went off-road. I peeled off from the row, hopefully enough so Thorn could do the same thing, just ahead of me. And I throttled down to a sliding stop into the thick of the crop.
I watched, and Thorn was doing the same thing, but to the left. And then Titus just a bit farther in, above me on the right, and finally, Brogan. It was going to be tough—he had A.C.—but he peeled left. I cut my engine and heard Thorn and crew do the same.
It had been fifteen seconds, maybe twenty, if I missed a beat.
I listened for the roar of Bane’s bikes. The fact that they had more than one or two these days was enough to worry about. On top of the fact that they were distribution for whatever the fuck was in that warehouse. Bane was more serious than they’d ever been.
If the death of Tracks wasn’t enough of a message, we had another one tonight. Bane was violent, more organized than they’d ever been, and amassing cash.
Fuck it all.
I could hear Bane’s bikes crest the hill. They were coming. We stayed quiet, engines cut, lights off. I looked over at Thorn. The Bane group kept going on the road we’d been traveling.
“Good, we need to go now. Thoughts?” Thorn asked me, and I nodded.
“We’re taking a long way home. They’ll figure this out in about another thirty seconds. We need to be long gone.”
“Yep.”
“Okay, back there, Brogan?” Titus checked in.
“Yeah, A.C. is awake enough to be upright. Let’s go,” Brogan said.
If this was going to work, we needed to take advantage of the next thirty seconds. I knew there was a road on the other side of this row. I started out and we took it single file.
Bane was going to figure out we’d turned off, at some point.
But by the time they’d figured it out, we’ll have doubled back several times.
I thanked God for my time visiting my Grandpa’s farm. I knew the back roads better than anyone in the club.
We didn’t see or hear Bane again on our nervous ride out of the corn and onto the highway. It worked, and finally, we made our way back to Stickney Forest. Hopefully, with evidence in Brogan’s camera, a somewhat foggy A.C., and new information on just how big Bane was getting.
It had to be five in the morning before we rolled back into the neighborhood.
And at that moment, the ugly truth hit me in the gut.
Bane didn’t need to follow us to hurt us.
Ten
Emlyn
It was good that Brogan and Kase were gone. I worked, undistracted by my impure thoughts of Kase and my lying schemes to Brogan.
I crunched numbers. I elaborated on plans. I spent the night trying to turn hope into a business plan.
Morning came quickly and I got ready to head to Friendly Forest.
I packed up my bag and headed out. I was a little earlier than usual. Thanks to my early, solitary sleep!
It was a short walk and the morning was already warm. In the last few mornings, I’d had an incredibly sexy escort to work. And while it was spectacular to have Kase next to me, or to ride with him, it also made it impossible for me to mentally prepare for my day.
I’d need to direct all my focus on how to get the money to expand Friendly Forest. It was kind of nice this morning to have the walk to work to collect my thoughts. I was going to get Robbie to loan me the money. Darn it, I had to. The kids in the neighborhood needed this.
Just as I appreciated my ability to think about work, instead of my love life, a roar of a bike engine interrupted the quiet of my walk. I had about three blocks to go and there he was.
I turned around to the light of the Harley and put a hand on my hip.
“Really, Kase?” I said as the bike got closer.
“Kase? You fucking him? I mean, Brogan’s little sister fucking Kase? Aren’t you the little slut? Your brother is going to be so pissed.”
I looked on the other side of the light and realized the jacket didn’t have the Great Wolves patches or the familiar wolf insignia. This biker was Bane.
“Leave me alone.”
I turned again and walked with purpose toward downtown. The man had blocked my path to my house; that wasn’t an option for escape. All I could do is walk to work. I needed him to see that I wasn’t afraid of him.
He seemed to get the idea and turned his bike down one of the side streets. Good. Wow, I hoped Brogan and Kase got these idiots out of the area. I shook off the little encounter. I wasn’t a little girl. I wasn’t that easily scared, jerk.
Then the light was on me again. The biker had turned down a street and looped back ahead of me. This time he parked his bike at the corner. The corner I needed to get to if I was going to reach work. The dark of the morning had never scared me before. But now, I realized, what Kase had said before was true. It may as well be midnight. I was in the dark, no one was out, and this jerk was at best trying to scare me. At worst, he was planning to hurt me so he could hurt my brother.