“I’m falling in love with you, Noelle,” he said, in a hoarse whisper, and even though this wasn’t a surprise for me, a shiver ran down my spine. We were having a child together, we were going to be together…so why was it so shocking that Tank was falling in love with me? Was it because I had never expected a man like him to actually say those words?
“I’m already in love with you, Tank,” I told him, and he kissed the tip of my nose.
“I’m never going to let anything happen to you,” he said, and my heart sank a little. I knew he wouldn’t, I knew he would keep me safe. But at what cost?
CHAPTER 21
Tank
I woke up because my phone was ringing, and I realized that Noelle and I had fallen asleep on her bed. I remembered vaguely, carrying her to her bedroom and we had both crashed down on it, exhausted and happy.
Now she was sleeping on one of my outstretched arms and breathing gently. I reached for my phone on the bedside table and answered Glock’s call.
“Hey man, I’ve gathered the troops for tonight,” he said, and I looked at the clock on Noelle’s wall. It was already eight. We had slept most of the day away, and she still looked like she was too tired to wake up.
“Are we meeting up at the bar?” I asked Glock, referring to the local bar where we knew the Four Skulls met up.
“Yeah, see you there in half an hour,” he told me, and I ended the call.
I stared at Noelle for a few moments, at how peacefully she slept. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that I was going to be a father in a few months. I was aware of the things I wasn’t supposed to do as a father. These were lessons that my own father had handed down to me, but I wasn’t so sure of how I could be the opposite of him.
Ever since I had found out about Noelle’s pregnancy, I had this feeling of dread in my soul that I wouldn’t know how to be a good father. It scared me to think that I might find out that I was exactly like my own father. I didn’t ready for this. I hadn’t pictured myself as a father anytime soon, but when I saw Noelle, I knew that I wanted it with her.
I wasn’t lying when I had told her that there was nobody else I would rather have had a child with. I knew she would make a good mother to our baby, and I couldn’t wait to start living that life with her. I might have been afraid of myself, but I was sure of Noelle.
I kissed her forehead gently, and her eyelids fluttered.
“Is it morning already?” she asked, in a groggy voice and I kissed her fully on her lips. Then I slid off the bed, and she opened her eyes, staring at me as I started dressing.
“It’s still night. You should go back to sleep,” I told her as I pulled my jeans up my legs.
“Are you going somewhere?” she asked me, and I saw a look of fear in her eyes.
“I have to go and take care of something,” I told her and Noelle seemed to stiffen up. She was worried about something.
“Is it the Four Skulls?” she asked, and I realized that she had been paying attention when we were conducting church.
“Yes, we need to go watch them so we can figure out what they’re up to with the Dragon Knights,” I told her, as I slipped my jacket on.
Noelle said nothing, except stare at me with a worried look on her face.
“I’ll be back soon, princess. You just stay indoors, okay?” I said, and I went over to her side of the bed and pressed my lips to her cheeks. Noelle nodded her head, and I could see that she was trying to force a smile on her face. I knew she was worried for me, and she would take some time to adjust to this new life she had found herself in.
I was about to leave the room when she called out to me, and I stopped in my tracks.
“Promise me you’ll be safe tonight, Tank,” I heard her say, and I turned and nodded at her. This was not a promise I wanted to make. I wasn’t the kind of man who made promises I couldn’t keep, but I was willing to do anything for Noelle, even if it meant being more careful about the choices I made while under attack.
Out of her apartment, I got on my bike and rode towards the bar where I was supposed to meet my brothers. Tonight was supposed to be nothing more than recon. The plan was to watch the Four Skulls and see if we could work out a better attack on them. Glock’s intel told us that they were not only helping the Dragon Knights with their weapons trade, but a resurgence of the prostitution ring might be in the works too. We needed to confirm that before we took any action.
I found Glock, Gunner and two other guys from our MC waiting in the dark near the bar where we were supposed to meet. I parked my bike and walked up to them, exchanging thumps on shoulders as greetings.
The bar’s doors were visible, and we could hear the sounds of celebration inside.
“See anything yet?” I asked Gunner, and he shrugged his shoulders and turned back towards the bar again.
“Nobody’s stepped out yet,” Glock told me, and he lit himself a cigarette and passed the pack around among the group.
“What are we looking out for?” Sniper asked me.
“Any signs of a prostitution ring in the works. It would prove that they are working with the DKs to rebuild the flesh trade again,” I told him, and we watched the doors of the bar in silence for a few more minutes.
Gunner was smoking one of Glock’s cigarettes too, and he turned to me, and I saw that he was smiling.
“I’m happy for you man. You’re going to be a father!” he exclaimed. Under any other circumstance, I wouldn’t have felt the need to smile back, but tonight, after having left Noelle sleeping peacefully on her bed, I realized that I couldn’t stop smiling.
“Thanks. I’m a lucky man,” I told him.
***
We didn’t have to wait long to witness something that we had already suspected. Within twenty minutes of watching from our post in the dark, we saw two Four Skulls leave the bar.
They hadn’t walked out alone but were tugging two girls along with them.
I could sense Gunner stiffening with rage beside me. I knew what he was thinking because I was thinking the same thing. These girls didn’t look the regular groupies that tended to hang around motorcycle gangs. These girls looked upset and defeated that they were being dragged out of the bar. The Four Skulls had forced them to do their bidding.
The girls were scantily dressed, in clothes that I wouldn’t have seen on anyone other than women who were trying to trade their bodies for money. Their faces were heavily caked with garish makeup and even though their lips had been perfectly lined and plumped; it was obvious that they were frowning.
The two guys were talking amongst themselves, while they led the girls towards a muscle car. The girls were hesitant in getting into the car, but they were pushed in. One of the girls tripped as she fell into the car and the guys laughed.
I could sense Gunner gritting his teeth as he watched in silence. I knew that this scene was bringing back memories of the night we had busted the prostitution ring. The state that he had found Brooklyn in.
I placed a hand on Gunner’s shoulder as we continued to watch. The guys were peering into the backseat of the car where the two girls had been deposited. There were raised voices and even though we couldn’t see the faces of the girls, we heard their cry. One of the girls had been slapped, and now her whimpering cries filled the air. Mingling with the loud laughs of the two men who were their tormentors.
I sensed Gunner’s arm twitching, he was going to make a move. Which could be potential suicide because we weren’t prepared for an attack.
“Stay where you are, Gunner. That is an order,” I told him through clenched jaws, and I felt his shoulders relax a little, but only because he knew that he had to listen to me. If I hadn’t been there to stop him, I knew Gunner would have walked right up to the car and shot the Four Skulls sitting in the front seat. But I was thinking of the bigger picture. We needed to establish their connection with the Dragon Knights first. If we didn’t get that lead, we would not know where to go.
“We need to follow them and see where the
girls are being taken,” I said. Gunner whipped around to me, rage dripping from his eyes as he glared.
“We know where they’re being taken. To the fucking Dragon Knights!” he hissed.
I didn’t reply to him and instead got on my bike. The others followed suit, while Gunner was the last one to get on his bike. We waited for the Four Skulls guys to drive off so that we could maintain distance, and then we followed them.
I tried not to pay attention to the silhouettes of the two women in the backseat of the muscle car. One of them had her head on the other girl’s shoulder, and I could sense that they were crying. They were being forced into this through threats and violence and fear.
The car came to a stop at a deserted junction, and we had to stop some distance away so that we wouldn’t be seen. I was already afraid that they had spotted us. Five Bad Disciples, in noisy bikes…we were very easy to spot. But apparently, we hadn’t been.
There were five Dragon Knights waiting on their bikes where the car stopped, and the Four Skulls got out and dragged the women out of their car. Both girls were crying by now, mascara running thickly down their cheeks. One of the Four Skulls slapped one girl across the face, which made both of them shut up.
I threw a look at Gunner, he was already prepared to pounce.
“We’ve seen enough. We need to head back to the Rusty Pelican,” I said, keeping an eye on Gunner the whole time. I didn’t want him to get away from us, and do something stupid like walk into the lair of our enemies.
“Glock, call Church so we can report it to Axel, and then we plan an attack,” I said, and Gunner gritted his teeth as he continued staring at the group in the distance. I could see him fuming out of his ears.
“And till then, we keep our distance. Do we understand?” I growled, glaring at Gunner who was refusing to meet my eyes.
“Do we understand?” I repeated, and Gunner finally looked at me.
“Yes. I understand,” he said, and we started our bikes and drove away.
CHAPTER 22
Tank
I was worried about Gunner making a rash decision.
We were back at the Rusty Pelican, and Church had been called. Glock and I had been relating to Axel and the others exactly what we had seen; while Gunner seemed to maintain a low profile as we talked.
He had been drinking an endless stream of beers while we spoke to Axel, and he wasn’t even looking at us. I could only imagine what Gunner was feeling. Seeing those girls again, being coerced and forced into prostitution had reminded him of how close Brooklyn had been to getting tangled in it. I didn’t even want to imagine how I would have felt if it was Noelle. I would have wanted to wring their necks with my bare hands and crush their skulls. Nonetheless, I didn’t want Gunner to make a stupid decision and get himself killed; just because he was angry.
Axel was thinking, as he emptied his can of beer. We had told him what we’d seen, and he had listened to us with small nods of his head. Just like us, he wasn’t pleased to hear what we had found either. We had all foolishly been under the impression that the Dragon Knights’ prostitution ring had been successfully crushed. But we were wrong.
“So they are at it again,” Axel said, and I shrugged my shoulders.
“And this time with the help of the Four Skulls,” I said, and Axel shook his head in anger.
“They should have stayed in the dark, slimy corners where they had retreated to,” Glock hissed.
“We need to destroy them,” Hunter added, and Axel continued to shake his head.
“This time it needs to be big. Like really big. We need to make sure that they can’t ever climb out of their fucking hole again,” Glock said.
“We’re not prepared for a big attack. Not right now. We need to plan this out carefully if it’s going to be a success,” I stated, interrupting the others and Axel looked back at me and nodded.
“Tank is right. We can’t make a stupid move now. We need to figure out where they are operating out of, and take them down for good,” Axel growled.
“And what about those two women? What happens to them? The more time we fucking waste, the deeper those women are going to get sucked into the web of prostitution,” Gunner had spoken up, and he was livid.
“We can’t do anything about them now, Gunner,” Glock said, and the two men glared at each other.
Axel and I exchanged looks.
“Gunner, like Tank, said, we need to plan out our attack. As much as I hate to say it, those two women are just going to be collateral damage tonight,” Axel said, and I could see Gunner fuming. He was not a fan of our plan of holding back tonight. He wanted to do something about it tonight. He wanted to rescue the women. Even though I knew that was a bad idea, now with Noelle in my life, I also knew where Gunner was coming from.
“You saw those women. Tank, you saw them!” Gunner thundered at me. I stared back at him with narrowed eyes. I had promised Noelle that I was going to be safe tonight. But a part of me also wondered what she would have to say if she knew about the situation that those two women were in. Wouldn’t she want me to help them?
I looked back at Axel, who was swinging his gaze from Gunner to me.
“We need to rescue those girls from the Dragon Knights. We can’t allow them to get away, not even with a single girl,” I said to Axel. He narrowed his eyes at me, surprised that I was making a rash emotional decision, but then he looked at Gunner again. He knew that I wasn’t asking for permission, I had already decided.
“Take four guys. I’m not sparing any more men on this suicide mission. Make sure that the Dragon Knights get the message,” Axel grunted, and I turned to Gunner and tipped my head once at him.
“Let's go, brother,” I said to him.
“Where are we going to go?” he asked, jumping off his bar stool.
“Where we last saw them,” I said, and we left the bar together, with Hunter and Glock following us.
***
What were the chances that the Dragon Knights would still be where we left them, but there they were. The four of us had parked our bikes at the same distance away, a faraway street light was the only source of light. We were out in the open, at the junction of deserted roads, with stretches of trees on either side.
It was a strange place for a drop-off, but then, the Dragon Knights had reduced greatly in numbers, and they were aware that they were constantly watched. So they had clearly picked this place, where they believed we would never think of looking for them.
The two girls were still there, being passed around between the five DK members, while the two Four Skulls guys watched and laughed. They were discussing business, while the girls whimpered and tried to weakly fight against their captors.
One of the girl’s skirt was rolled up, and her bare legs were on display now. I knew exactly what was going to happen to her in a few minutes. The Dragon Knights were going to test her, try her out, before putting her up on the market. It made my stomach churn.
“We’re outnumbered, brother,” Glock hissed as we stalked towards the group. He was saying something that I was starkly aware of.
Gunner was walking beside me, his weapon loaded and pointed in the direction of the Dragon Knights.
“Yes, but they don’t know we’re coming,” I said and glanced at Gunner. He seemed grateful that I had agreed to do this, that he had my support on this. But he was my friend, one of my best friends and I knew he was at war with himself. Moreover, I couldn’t stand the thought of two helpless women, being beaten up or raped by these assholes. They had violated the MC code of conduct, and now they were going to have to pay for it.
We were close enough to the group to take a shot now, and I knew that if we drew any closer, they would see us.
I cocked my gun, pointing it at the group. These were the very guys who had taken shots at me and put me in the hospital. The only thing was that they had no idea I would be eternally grateful to them for bringing Noelle into my life in turn.
“Cover me,” I growled,
giving my brothers just a few seconds notice before I opened fire on the group.
My brothers shot as well, while I aimed at the heart of one of the Four Skulls who had a tattoo of a snake winding up his neck. One pull of a trigger and he had fallen with a thud on the street, a patch of red started spreading on his white t-shirt, and the two girls screamed and crouched down on the street.
Once again, I was walking straight into the line of fire. I was breaking the promise that I had made to Noelle, but she would have to understand…that I was doing this for her.
***
I was right. We had caught them by surprise.
We had just enough time ahead of them, to take our first shots before the Dragon Knights pulled their guns out too. I had already killed one of the Four Skulls, while Gunner had shot a Dragon Knights in his leg.
They had opened fire on us as well, and there was nowhere to hide except to retreat into the trees. Neither Gunner nor I were going to do that. We kept striding ahead, firing our guns at them, while bullets missed us. The other Four Skulls member had been shot too now, and he ran back towards his car, trying to get away.
Glock took shots at his car, but he managed to drive off with one flat tire. The Dragon Knights were shooting us now, and we shot back. The only thing running through my head was that I was going to betray Noelle’s trust. If I died tonight, she would never forgive me for making her a promise that I couldn’t keep.
Gunner grabbed the hand of one of the girls, just as I took another shot at a DK. Nearly all of them were injured, and I saw that one of them was lying bleeding on the street. Hunter had taken good aim at his groin, and he was going to bleed to death. He deserved it. They all fucking deserved it for what they had done to Brooklyn and the other women.
I grabbed the hand of the other girl, and the remaining Dragon Knights started running.
The girls were screaming and crying, as we started pulling them towards our bikes. Hunter and Glock kept their guns trained at the DKs, shooting at their bikes while they tried to get away. They hadn’t even bothered to pick up their brother who was still on the street now, bleeding.
Snake (The Road Rebels MC Book 3) Page 44