Trigger The Storm

by K. J. Dahlen

  When they left the bedroom they found everyone was up and drinking coffee already.

  Caine went over and grabbed a couple extra cups and handing one to Georgia, he turned to Mountain. “So who is coming?”

  “I got a hold of Stone last night before I went to bed and he in turn got a hold of Shay Montross. Apparently, the SEALS got their guys and a shitload of evidence about what they were doing in the area. Also, what they were setting up in Washington. Now we have to have a parley and see where we go from here.”

  Caine sighed deeply. “I guess this is bigger than just an MC taking over a town isn’t it?”

  “Way bigger,” Mountain replied. Motioning to Georgia he added, “She uncovered a shit storm coming and we have the option of stopping it before it becomes a problem.” He turned to gaze at Georgia and smiled. “A few months ago, Stone told us about a mission, a mission he was charged with. Shay Montross wanted him a set up a network of concerned citizens that would keep an eye out for trouble. Homeland Security and the FBI are spread too thin to watch everything and these terrorists are everywhere, waiting and watching for the opportunity to strike. If the Vipers had completed their mission, this strike would have hurt a lot of people. We found out and were able to stop it with a little bit of luck and the right person coming forward at the right time.” Before he could say anymore, there was a knock on the back door.

  Georgia went to the door and opened it.

  Stone was there with a group of about fifteen other men. She stepped back and allowed them to come in.

  Her kitchen suddenly got a lot smaller as the men took up more and more room.

  Stone Masterson shook hands with Mountain and made introductions to everyone.

  Not only was Shay there but the SEAL leader, Donny Hastings was also present.

  Georgia was going to leave the men alone to discuss whatever they came to talk about when Shay pulled her into the conversation, “Ms. Lacey I was wondering if you could identify the men you saw at the Reaper’s clubhouse?”

  Georgia turned and looked at the photographs in his hand. She shrugged. “I don’t know if I can or not. I really didn’t get a good look at their faces.”

  “Please try. We need to wrap this up without any mistakes.” Shay nodded.

  Georgia walked over to the table and spread the photos out then searched each one carefully. She took a deep breath as she noted all the men in the photos were dead. Slowly and carefully, she pulled out the three men she’d seen that day. Then she frowned and picked up one last photo. There was something familiar about the man in the photo. As she studied it carefully, she finally remembered where she’d seen him. She looked up at Shay and tapped the picture. “I know this guy but not from the Reaper’s clubhouse.”

  “Where do you know him from?” Shay asked.

  “He came to my shop looking for some guns.”

  Shay frowned. “You sell weapons?”

  Mountain chuckled. “She makes and sells them. She’s a gunsmith, the best in the states.”

  Georgia nodded. “He came in about a month ago. We got to talking and he was surprised to find out that I handmade the weapons I sold. When he asked to see some, I showed him the ones I had in the shop but he said he was looking for something different. He asked if I ever made rapid fire assault weapons. I told him I’d never done them before, that I’d never had a reason to do them. He started telling me that he liked the weapons I’d made and he began to pressure me to make at least one of the assault rifles. He wanted to see if I could do it. In fact, he almost dared me to do it. I told him I didn’t want to do it and he almost got mad about it. He offered me an insane amount of money and couldn’t understand why I refused his demand.”

  Shay glanced over at Stone and Mountain. Shaking his head he asked Georgia, “Did he ever come back to try and talk you into it again?”

  Georgia shrugged. “No, but over the last few weeks I saw him watching me and it was beginning to freak me out.”

  “Why would he want a handmade assault weapon?” Gage asked.

  “Because there would be no serial number or papers on the weapon,” Stone explained. “Guns sold that are made in a factory are imprinted with a registered serial number. I don’t think Georgia’s weapons would have that distinguishing mark.”

  “That would be where you would figure wrong,” Georgia interjected. “Not only do my weapons have a serial number they are also registered for ballistics. I fire and record every weapon I make, just in case someone uses my weapons thinking there is no record. The ballistic reports are on file with the national database, so every law enforcement office that askes will find them.”

  Shay frowned. “Why do you do that?”

  “Every weapon should be considered a weapon of destruction. It can be used for good or evil. I’m a responsible gun maker. I don’t want the weapons I make to fall into the hands of radicals or idiots.” Georgia shrugged.

  “Did you tell him that?” Stone asked.

  “There wasn’t any reason to tell him. I wasn’t going to make the weapon any way.”

  “Can you make a rapid fire assault weapon?” Shay asked.

  “I could but I refuse to.” Georgia shook her head. “The man just couldn’t understand my turning down that much money.”

  Shay nodded. “I wish there were more people like you out there.”

  “He took a call when he was in my shop.” She frowned. “He spoke Arabic, so I couldn’t follow the conversation.”

  Shay frowned. “Did he say anything you could recognize?”

  Georgia shrugged. “I heard him say one thing over and over, the words Al Mira. I don’t know what it means but he said it several times.”

  Shay slowly turned his head and stared at Stone. “If he told the Vipers about her unique ability she could be in danger.”

  “What unique ability?” Georgia asked.

  “You make weapons that aren’t registered,” Stone answered.

  “And?” Caine asked.

  “If they got their hands on her, they could force her to make an arsenal of weapons that couldn’t be traced,” Shay stated. “Did this man ever buy a weapon from you?” he asked Georgia.

  “No but he kept coming back to the shop once or twice a week. There was one weapon he was looking at, I was working on a sniper rifle and he was very interested in that.”

  “We should take this back to the Hell’s Fire Compound,” Stone suggested. “We can go over the paperwork the SEALS found and see if we can figure out their next move.”

  Shay nodded toward Georgia. “She’ll have to come with us.”

  “If she goes, I go too,” Caine insisted. “And if I go, my men come with us. We’re a team and we don’t leave a man behind.”

  Stone shrugged. “You and your men are welcome to join us.” He turned to her and asked, “Are you going to argue about relocating?”

  Georgia shrugged. “I have nothing left here. My shop is in ashes and my last living relative is dead.” She turned to Caine. “Besides, I want to stay with him.”

  “Let’s go back and sort through the evidence.” Shay nodded. “I’m sure there’s something in there we can use to stop what’s about to happen.”

  “We’ll get her packed up and come over as soon as we get her father settled,” Caine informed them.

  Stone nodded. “We need you to come to us no later than tomorrow. The Vipers know by this time what happened to the group they had here, she won’t be safe as long as she stays in this little town. As long as she stays here, they can get to her, snatch her and be long gone before anyone knows she’s even missing.” He turned to Georgia. “If they get you, they will force you to make their weapons. If they get their hands on you, they won’t give you the option of refusing their request. These men are from the Middle East where a woman’s life is valued at less than nothing. If you refuse them, they will kill you without remorse.”

  “I would rather they didn’t,” Georgia retorted without batting an eyelash.

  �
�Me too, that’s why I think you’d be safer with the Hell’s Fire MC,” Shay agreed. “Would you mind bringing any of your weapons with you?”

  “I gave what guns I had to Mountain’s men the other day. They wanted more than crossbows to face Lyle’s men. I don’t think they used them but they still have them.”

  “What about the guns Lyle collected from your shop before it burned down?” Mountain asked.

  “Those are still in the parking lot of Gordie’s bar.”

  “I’m sure Calico would have collected them and put them under lock and key until they could be returned,” Mountain told them.

  Georgia nodded. Then looked over at Stone “You can take them with you if you like. I think they’re safe in your hands. As they are they won’t shoot but sooner or later someone could replace the firing pins and then they would shoot.”

  Stone turned to Caine. “You make sure you and your men stay with her every minute until you get her back to Sabine Pass. If there’s only one on her, they might shoot you and take her.”

  “The police from Cameron are supposed to be here today to sort out this mess,” Caine informed them. “They will want to speak to Georgia. She did shoot and kill Lyle Boyd.”

  “I can take care of that,” Shay interjected. “With what I’ve heard of this guy, death is the least he deserved. He did shoot and kill two people that night. And we do need her to be safe. The Vipers are aware of her now.”

  Caine nodded. “We’ll get things wrapped up here as soon as possible.”

  “I only have a few days before I have to get back to Washington and I need this to be sorted out before I go,” Shay told them.

  Georgia watched as one by one the men left her house. When only Caine, Gage and she were left, she went to her room to pack her clothes. From the front porch of Georgia’s house, they could see most of the town. Caine and Gage were watching the streets as the town was swarmed by police from Cameron and State law enforcement officers escorted the jailed Reapers into secure vans for transport to Cameron and New Orleans.

  The Reapers all looked hung over and beaten up. They were subdued and barely grumbled as they were loaded up and carted off.

  From where they were, they could also see a line of Mountain’s men waiting and watching as well.

  Caine turned to Gage and grinned. He saw Gage grinning back. “So, what are you going to do about this Viper thing?” Caine asked his friend.

  Gage shrugged. “I suppose I’ll have the track down Michael and see what he has to say. It’s been five years since I’ve spoken to him by his choice but now, I don’t care. I’ll go after these men myself if I have to.”

  “Good luck with that.” Caine scoffed.

  Gage nodded. “Yeah, this is not going to be fun. Michael might kick my ass for even showing my face again.”

  “Why?” Caine frowned.

  “Because the last time I saw, him I knocked him out. I was pissed when I forced him to take a nap. He hadn’t slept in four days and was about to lose his mind. Between no sleep and the amount of whiskey he’d been drinking, I was seriously worried about him. I crushed a sleeping agent in his whiskey. When he woke up two days later, he blackened both my eyes and broke my nose.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “Yeah…” Gage took a sip of his coffee. “He owns a bar in western Wisconsin called the Cove. It’s right on the Mississippi River and it serves awesome Bloody Marys’.”

  “When are you leaving?”

  “Probably as soon as we go to Sabine Pass,” Gage reasoned.

  “Good luck with that. I wouldn’t want to be the one to bring this man back into the scene.”

  To Be Continued…

  IN BOOK FOUR

  Hell’s Fire Riders MC Series

  COLD VENGEANCE

  Hell’s Fire Riders MC Series

  BOOK ONE IN HELL'S FIRE RIDERS MC SERIES

  Spawned from The Sin’s Bastards MC Series…

  When Stone “Pappy” Masterson, a former soldier meets a mysterious, younger woman, she rocks his world. But McKenna has secrets—the kind of secrets that can kill or get her killed. Will Pappy be able to save her?

  BOOK TWO IN HELL'S FIRE RIDERS MC SERIES

  When an unusual messenger shows up at the Hell’s Fire Rider MC Compound, she asks for Dewey Mann, Stone’s VC. The message she brings delivers Hell to their door.

  When Dewey first sees Trudy, he thinks the worst. Who is she and who sent her? Then he cannot help but to be drawn to her as he begins to feel like a moth to a flame. He needed to tread carefully as she could mean the destruction of their entire organization.

  Trudy has been hiding almost all her life from the Cartel after she sabotaged them, years ago. With her smarts and computer skills, she has remained untouchable. That is until she meets Dewey, a huge man leading other huge, scary men. What is it about him that keeps her focused on him?

  Can the combined MC’s and their teams of Ex Veterans stop a madman who intends to literally tear the United Sates apart? Or will they all burn when one of their own betrays them?

  BOOK FOUR

  COLD VENGEANCE

  CHECK OUT THE SERIES

  BEFORE HELL’S FIRE RIDERS

  EXCERPT FROM STONE COLD

  SIN'S BASTARDS MC BOOK SIX

  Organized Crime takes on the MC

  Bastian drove into the barn slowly. As his car slowly lowered to the basement level, he looked over at the small box sitting on the seat next to his. With Sawyer’s help under the influence of the truth serum, he knew exactly where to look for the missing item. Now that he had it, he knew his time with Sawyer was running out.

  He lifted his eyes and glanced into the rearview mirror. His battered blue eyes looked weary to him. The bruise on his cheek told its own story. He was two hours later getting back, but then he never expected to run into Malvin at the church either.

  Malvin had caught him unaware. He must have been waiting in the shadows until someone came for the hand. He’d turned his head at just the right moment. The flashlight in Malvin’s hand was set to crack his skull but Bastian turned and caught it alongside his face instead. The pain from the blow would have laid him low except for one thing—Bastian was used to setting his own pain aside. His survival instinct often put him in this position and he needed to push through it.

  The battle between the two men was over too quickly as Bastian instinctively struck him with the heel of his hand in the throat. Unfortunately, for Malvin, he had been holding a small screwdriver in his hand when he struck out. He watched as the other man collapsed on the floor. His screwdriver had gone deep into his throat and it didn’t take long before the other man’s wheezing stopped altogether.

  Rather than stay and explain things to the police, Bastian had dragged the man into the confessional booth and closed the curtain. He was thinking about the awful surprise someone was going to get when they opened the curtains to confess their own sins.

  Bastian went about taking the loosened board off the outside bench. Reaching inside, he found it, then after replacing the board, he tucked the relic inside his pocket and left the church. Snapping off the latex gloves, he shoved them in his pocket and escaped the area before anyone knew he’d even been there.

  Now after a two hour trip back, Bastian was exhausted. His head was pounding and he could feel the skin around his wound cracking as the dried blood broke with his every movement. He made sure he closed the doors behind him and before he went down the hall, he checked the outside cameras. Nothing moved outside. so Bastian went down the hall.

  Sitting down heavily at his desk, the first thing he checked was Sawyer. Turning up the volume, he heard her calling his name.

  “Hey, Priest. Where are you? I need to talk to you.”

  “Can you give me a little time to clean up?” Bastian asked. His words echoed back through the microphone in the speaker.

  Sawyer nodded.

  Bastian closed his eyes for a moment, then got to his feet and opened anothe
r door opposite of the one that led to the room Sawyer was in. He entered his bedroom, stripping off his clothes as he went. Going to his dresser, he grabbed a clean pair of jeans and T shirt and then walked naked to the shower. After a short cleansing shower, he dried himself off and got dressed.

  Going back into the office, he checked the monitor again. Sawyer was still laying on the bed, blindfold still in place. Bastian ran his fingers through his hair. His wound hurt but it had stopped bleeding. Straightening his body, he went to the door pausing in front of the mirror. He studied his face. The bruised eye and cheek didn’t hurt as much anymore but he still had his headache.

  Not wanting to think too hard about it, he pushed open the door and went over to the bed. Sitting down beside her he asked, “What can I do for you?”

  ~* * * *~

  His voice gave her the shivers. The clean soapy smell of him was pleasing but she could still smell his real scent. It smelled clean and fresh almost like being outside in the woods. “So did you find the hand?” she asked.

  “Yes, I did. It was right where you told me it was.”

  Sawyer shook her head. “I never would have remembered that day. My mother told me to forget everything that happened, then Max’s evil twin told me the same thing. I was so scared I didn’t want to remember. What was that stuff you gave me?”

  He didn’t answer for a moment then he told her, “It was a simple truth serum. I’ve used it before. Then all I did was ask the right questions.”

  “I remembered things I thought long forgotten.” Sawyer shuddered. “I had forgotten the church we went to after the meeting with Max.”

  “Fear will block a lot of things. You were only a child at the time and Max’s brother threatened your whole world.”