As they got closer to the gate, both men saw the car that had tried to ram into the compound. The gates were fortified though, so short of a Mack truck, no one was coming through the gate without permission. Tiny was trying to get the driver out of the car while smoke and flames began to billow out from under the hood.
“Shit,” Cajun muttered and jumped from the bike and began running. He couldn’t see much, but he did see Tiny disappear only moments before the car exploded into flames.
The guys who were running to the car were thrown back to the ground violently.
*****
Shady and the rest of the people in the clubhouse felt and heard the explosion. All of them stopped what they were doing and ran for the front of the house. All except Shady who grabbed Jas and pushed her toward the panic room in the back of the house. It was a large room they established when they built the main house.
“Shady?” Jas said shakily.
“Nothing is gonna happen to you,” Shady promised and pulled the girl quickly.
As they reached the door to the room, Shady punched in the code and then turned back and out the window to the side, she saw the entrance to the tunnel closest to the clubhouse was now open. The rocks that had been covering it were pushed to the side. They were too close to the house to blow so they were filling them slowly. It was one of the last ones to be filled because they needed to make sure it wouldn’t damage the clubhouse.
Since they discovered someone had been sneaking into the compound, guards had been posted. She scanned the area and saw the Prospect lying on the ground not moving.
Fuck, she thought and pushed Jas inside and then barked out an order. “Go, press the intercom button, it is the green one in the center of the panel. Tell them the Diablos are here.”
Jas’s eyes grew large and frightened. Shady didn’t have time to reassure her everything would be okay. “Jas,” Shady yelled and drew the girl’s gaze again. “First lesson in being a part of the Warriors.”
Jas stood straighter and then nodded. “What?”
“Protect the club first, before everything else. If you do, they will protect you with their lives.”
Jas nodded and then turned as Shady slammed the door and locked her in from the outside. The girl would be safe at least, she only hoped she followed her directions.
*****
Slider ran to the gate. The others had been closer to the explosion and been knocked down. He saw them all coming around so he went to help Tiny. The charred car was lying on its side with the gates on top of it. He didn’t even give it a glance, thinking the driver could not have survived the blast, he only hoped Tiny had gotten out of the way.
He heard rather than saw his brother in the ditch. He was yelling something but Slider couldn't hear him clearly until he got to the edge. Tiny was covered in blood, leaning over a woman on the ground frantically trying to get her to wake up. He was in shock, Slider could tell.
He jumped into the ditch and grabbed Tiny’s shoulder, pulling him back. He didn’t want him to cause the woman even more damage.
“Tiny,” Slider yelled at his brother who was fighting him to get back to the woman. “Stand down.”
“Wake up!” Tiny yelled.
“TINY!” Slider yelled into his face and finally the younger man focused on him. “Stand down.”
Tiny fell back on his ass and nodded and Slider turned to check the woman over. Her arm was broken, he could see that since it was at an odd angle. He could also see the blood in her hair, but the long gash on her stomach worried him. Something had cut her deep.
*****
Cajun rolled over and tried to stand up, the blast had knocked him back a good twenty feet, shit, that was gonna hurt in the morning. As he stood shakily, he was facing the compound, he could see people running down the road to them waving frantically.
He staggered in their direction looking for Shady, he knew she would have heard the blast. He could see Freedom and Harmony, plus a few of the other men who were left at the clubhouse, but no Shady. Where the fuck was she?
*****
Sahara heard someone calling to her. She needed to tell them, damn it, she had failed. They were coming through the tunnels, she was supposed to be going to the strip club and drawing the guys from the compound. That is why she was beaten, so they would come and rescue her.
Instead, she had gone straight for the compound, intending on warning them that Dom was sending in men to the compound. She heard their orders before she left. They were to kill anyone in their way, and bring Shady to a safe house in the desert.
She moaned loudly and tried to open her eyes.
“Don’t move.” She heard a voice say quickly but she had to let them know.
“Trap,” she muttered.
“Call the ambulance,” the man was yelling.
She fought the black fog that was threatening to take over again. Finally, she opened her eyes and looked up. She saw several of the guys from the club standing over her. She turned her head to see who was closest to her. Raven.
Sahara grabbed his arm so he looked down at her and then grimaced and pulled him closer.
“Help is coming,” Raven said to her softly.
She shook her head and whispered, “Trap, Shady.”
Raven leaned back and frowned and then turned his head and yelled loudly.
“Fuck, get back to the compound now. Shady is the target.”
*****
“I assume Dominic sent you?” Shady said dryly to the three men who suddenly appeared behind her when she went to exit the front of the clubhouse to find the guys.
One of them stepped forward, pointed a gun at her chest, and smiled. “Come with us quietly or we will kill everyone we can find.”
Shady rolled her eyes and then stepped forward and growled at them. “Leave everyone else alone.”
The men laughed and then the leader waved with his gun. “Whatever, let’s go and be done with it.”
Shady narrowed her eyes and then walked the way the man was pointing, it was out the back of the main house, she assumed they were going to the tunnels since that was how they got in. She was right, but when she descended the ladder, she heard more men down below. When she reached the bottom, she turned, then the rage pulsed instantly through her.
The motherfuckers hadn’t just wanted her, they were going to destroy the compound as well. One of the men grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the ladder. Men began to crawl up and Shady smiled when she heard Jas’s voice come over the intercom system.
“Damn it, I hope this is the right button. This is Jas, Shady said to tell you all the Diablos are here. Get back to the main house, she is under attack.”
*****
Cajun and Slider stopped in their tracks when they heard Jas faintly over the intercom. The ambulance was blaring down the road and the guys were throwing sand on the car to stop the flames. The girls were with Sahara in the ditch helping to keep her still. It was chaos but Creed turned and yelled.
“Get your asses back to the main house. Find Shady and secure the fucking clubhouse.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cajun and Slider were fighting to get back into the main house. By the time they got back to the entrance of the parking, it was overrun with fucking Diablos. The rest of the club was coming up behind them, and they were also flanking them from the sides but the three men didn’t care. All they wanted was to find Shady.
“Go to the left, I have you covered,” Easy yelled and Cajun nodded and then slid to the side of one of the cars parked in front of the main door. Slider hit his back and he knew that he was with him.
Running quickly while still looking for Diablos, they made it to the door and entered into the main room. No one was there. Cajun pointed to the hallway that led to where Jas was at last. They went to the room and found it empty.
“Panic room,” Slider said and they turned. Two men were at the end of the hallway and they both fired hitting them. Neither of the stopped, they
moved back to the main room and then went to the other hallway and made it to the panic room.
They heard gunfire and the Warriors yelling outside. Slider punched in the code for the panic room and the door popped open. They heard crying coming from the inside and Cajun grabbed Sliders arm before he went in.
“Jas?” Cajun called.
There was more crying but no answer. “Jas,” Cajun tried again. “It is Slider and me.”
Then they heard a sob and Jas’s voice, “Cajun?”
“Yeah, babe, we are coming in,” Cajun said.
“Okay,” Jas said shakily and Cajun poked his head around the door and saw the small girl holding a gun but pointing it to the floor.
Cajun and Slider pushed into the room and Cajun went to the monitors while Slider went to Jas.
“Hey, girly,” Slider said, taking the gun from her hands and then jumping a little when the small girl threw herself into his arms and sobbed.
“Shady pushed me in here and told me to let you know the Diablos were here. I did what she said, then I saw the monitors. They took her,” Jas cried.
“Which way?” Cajun asked, turning. The Warriors had most of the Diablos who were still alive, down on the ground in the front of the compound.
“They went out back, into the ground,” she cried and Slider motioned Cajun to go.
“Tunnels,” he said and Cajun nodded.
Slider waited until Bob came into the room and he kissed the girl on the forehead and turned her over to the woman, making her promise to watch out for her while they were gone.
*****
Creed stood in the parking lot at stared. There was smoke still coming from the front gate, the firemen were there, the local police were coming up the drive and his men were helping their wounded.
Fork came up to his side and said, “Fish is coming to help with the police.”
Creed nodded and then motioned to Easy and Poke who came over to them. “Everything covered?”
Easy nodded. “We moved everything last week, nothing here they can find.”
“Go and get Cajun and Slider to leave now before they get here. If you don’t they will hold you for questioning. Find where the fuck they took Shay and kill those bastards. This ends today,” Creed said and then looked at his Vice Prez. “Call the Savages, we will ride out in the morning to Mexico. Call the Cali chapter and tell them we are coming. Tell Maxi he is in charge of helping the cops bust the buyer at the storage place.”
The guys listened to the orders their leader was barking out, each of them knowing the shit just hit the fan. Fuckers were going to pay with their blood, the Warriors would make sure of it.
*****
Easy and Poke found Cajun and Slider at the tunnel entrance in the back of the house.
“Hold up,” Easy called as Cajun looked like he was ready to climb down the ladder.
Both men froze and stopped. “We are going,” Cajun said firmly, thinking the guys were there to talk them out of going after Shady.
“We know, we are going as well. Creed wants us to help you find Shay,” Easy said and they nodded.
“Do you know where this leads at all?” Slider asked.
“Yeah, to the dessert,” Poke said.
“They had to take her to one of their houses,” Easy said.
“Shit, we haven’t found all of them yet. According to what Tami knew, they had at least five other girls to sell. We only found the two and by now they know we found them, they will have moved the others,” Slider said.
“Dipshit Dom will not be in a fucking shack waiting for them to bring Shady to him. He will want luxury, there can only be so many of those in the dessert,” Cajun said and then men nodded.
Easy pulled out his phone and made a call, ordered whoever was on the other side of the phone to track their GPS through the tunnels and find the closest new home built to the exit. They would start there and then keep looking from there.
“Let’s go,” Cajun said and entered the tunnels first. The men all followed just before the police came around the corner to secure the area. This was one mission they would complete without any help. Someone had taken one of their own and they were going to pay.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Shady got out of the car and looked around. Of course the prick would be in one of the biggest houses in the county. She recognized it, the original owners bailed on the construction. She only knew because Creed and Fork had thought about buying the land, but they voted it down. Shady had done the research for them. There was nothing for miles, when she got loose, she was going to have to walk.
“Francesca,” Dominic Reyes III called to her from the front door. He was grinning at her like he was greeting a long lost friend, not a woman he had ordered kidnapped at gunpoint. Yep a psycho.
“Hello, Dom,” Shady said.
“So glad you could join me, it has been too long,” Dom said as Shady walked up the stairs until she was standing directly in front of him, then looked at him with disdain.
“Listen you ass prick, cut the act. I really don’t want to waste my time listening to you act like everything you have done is okay. You and I both know it’s not. Tell me what the fuck you want,” Shady ground out.
Dom threw back his head and laughed, looking at her with amusement. “Francesca, how I have missed you.”
Shady shook her head as he took her hand and led her into the foyer of the house. None of the men followed, instead they stood guard. Shady paid attention to where each of the men were stationed, she was going to get out of here.
Dom led her to an office, when she entered he pulled a remote out of his pocket and she heard locks click into place. “Americans are so paranoid. Of course, it worked out lovely for me. When we looked for a place to set up, this place had everything I could have hoped. I have been here for a year without any of you finding me.” He laughed while she took note of everything, including the fact there were no windows in the room, so his men couldn’t bust in that way. So one way in and one way out with a lock on the door, perfect.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked.
“Sure,” she replied. “Whiskey. And for a snack…your head on a fucking platter.”
Dom frowned and stared at her before pouring the drink. “We will need to remind you soon of the way a real woman acts. With the privacy this place provides, your lessons will be quite easy to do.”
“Yes, please make sure you warn me when you are going to give me that lesson. I will make sure to pay close attention to your tutelage. I remember the other lessons you taught me, every fucking second of them,” Shady laughed.
“You have led us on a merry chase, Francesca. I thought you had learned better when you were younger,” Dom said with a chastising tone.
“Everyone grows up, even in a fucked up crazy ass house. Plus, let’s be truthful, you could have taken me a month ago, but you shot me. I am a little confused as to why you actually changed your mind. I mean, it doesn’t make sense if you want my inheritance,” Shady said slowly. She needed to keep him talking, the guys would have found out she was gone by now, they would be coming for her. She knew it.
Dom grinned and said, “Ah, so you know about your father. Good, I didn’t want to have to tell that sad story to you. It would only bring up bad memories.”
“You mean the story where your father, the sick fuck that he is, somehow convinced my mother to leave my father and then he killed him in order to have the company worth billions of dollars be transfer to me. It is brilliant I guess, abusing a girl so she was so broken, she would comply with everything you wanted. I just don’t get why the fuck you thought you would get away with it. I mean, even if I hadn’t run away, I would have told someone,” Shady laughed. “No matter what you do, I will never allow you to use me for my father's money.”
“That is where you are wrong, my Francesca. You will do exactly what I say or there will be dire consequences,” Dom said ominously.
“What the fuck ever,” Shady la
ughed. “Like seriously, that fucking is not gonna happen. You have already taken everything from me. How about we don’t play this game? Let’s lay this shit all out on the table.”
Dom went to one of the chairs in the room and sat down and then looked at her and motioned for her to take the other chair. “If we are going to rehash this, let’s do it comfortably.”
Shady grinned and then sauntered to the chair and sat down and crossed her jean-clad legs. She put the right over the left, because the men who took her didn’t search her. They should have. She had a gun strapped to her calf. All she had to do was get to it.
“Why don’t I start?” Shady said and then leaned forward. “I have been looking forward to this for a long time.”
“By all means,” Dom smiled.
“Are we going to be interrupted?” Shady asked slyly.
“Of course not, my men know not to interrupt me when I am in here. Besides, the wonderful part of this room is that it is soundproof,” he shared and winked at her. So arrogant. Yes, he was muscular and bigger than her but, she was no longer the little shrinking violet that he took advantage of. Fuck no, she wasn't Francesca, she was Shady. And Shady was a dangerous woman.
She looked to see where his weapons were, she knew he had them, but they were not in the open, something she was going to have to play by ear apparently. He figured with his strength he had the upper hand, and maybe he did—to a point.
“So tell me the plan?” she announced and leaned back, curling her leg to the side of her like she was settling in to have a conversation. The leg she tucked to the side had the gun strapped to it, she needed to keep him distracted long enough to get it out.
“The plan?” he laughed. “You say this like you have a chance to change something. My dear, you couldn’t be farther from the truth. Since the day my father chose your mother, your future has been set. In a week's time you will become my bride, then we will claim your inheritance, and you will become the perfect loving wife.”
Shady: Ops Warriors MC Page 18