Resurrection (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 3)

by Betham, Michelle

  Twenty-Two

  Coby sat at the head of the table, turning the gavel over and over in his hand as he stared out ahead of him, into the empty chapel. Shane Randell was dead. Shot by Ben Salter. Killed outright by a single bullet to the heart. The Dark Angels were taking care of the body, and Michael was dealing with the fallout. One problem gone. Eliminated. Yet Coby felt cheated out of an act he’d wanted to carry out. He’d needed his own retribution, but that chance had now been taken from him. And maybe he should be feeling relieved about that; he’d been prevented from doing something stupid, something that could have put everyone in more danger. But he wasn’t relieved. Because the shit wasn’t over with, the problems weren’t gone. Why had Ben killed Shane? What had he ever done to him?

  ‘You OK?’ Kip asked, tentatively walking into the room, not sure Coby was in the mood for company.

  ‘I don’t know, brother. This one’s thrown me.’

  ‘You got any idea why Ben’s done this?’

  ‘Something wasn’t right, Kip,’ Coby said, sidestepping a question he couldn’t answer. Not right now.

  ‘How d’you mean?’ Kip frowned, stepping further into the room.

  ‘Michael… It was like there was more he wanted to tell me, but he was holding back, y’know?’

  ‘You think the Dark Angels have got to him?’

  ‘I don’t know. I don’t even know whether to trust him anymore, whether what he’s telling me is the truth, I mean, this could be nothing more than some kind of set up…’ He let out a heavy sigh, standing up and leaning back against the table. ‘I don’t know what to think. But if this is true, if Shane really is dead, I still don’t understand why Ben killed him. He knew I wanted – needed to face the man who’d wanted me dead, he knew that. I just don’t get it.’ He looked at Kip. ‘Lexi all right?’

  ‘They’ve gone all girly out there. All this wedding shit…’ Kip pulled a face, jerking his head towards the door. ‘It’s fucking unnerving, man.’

  Coby laughed quietly, dropping his gaze, focusing on his hand balled up into a tight fist. ‘Aye. I can imagine. As long as she’s OK.’

  ‘I think we could all do with something to take our minds off what’s going on.’

  Coby sighed again, raking a hand through his hair. ‘If we actually knew what was going on it would help.’

  Kip watched his president for a few seconds, feeling slightly uneasy at the fact Coby seemed unsettled. At this moment in time they needed a strong leader, not a man who was distracted. ‘You want me to do some digging, Cobe?’

  ‘Hmm?’ Coby looked up, his face momentarily confused as he tried to refocus.

  ‘Do you want me to do some digging? See if I can find anything out? Asking around can’t hurt.’

  Coby shook his head. ‘This is what the Dark Angels do, Kip. They literally hunker down, go to ground, disappear until the perfect time to hit out. Nobody ever knows what they’re gonna do, nobody can read them. That’s what makes them so powerful. And if they win; if they do bring us down then they are gonna be one fucking dangerous force.’

  ‘They’re not invincible, Coby, come on. You’re making like we’re some kind of pussy outfit. What the hell’s wrong with you?’

  ‘OK. OK, you want to ask around, ask around. But I’m not sure you’re gonna come up with anything that can help us.’

  ‘Yeah, well, I’m not prepared to spend any more time looking over my frigging shoulder. And neither should you. Get back in the fucking game, Cobe. Lead this club. Believe we can fight whatever the Dark Angels are gonna bring us, because if you don’t believe we can do that, how the hell does that look, huh?’

  ‘We should’ve dealt with Ben better.’ Coby’s voice was quiet, but there was a determination building now. ‘Making an enemy out of him, that could turn out to be one of our biggest mistakes.’

  Kip dropped his gaze, aware that what he’d done, unearthing everything about Carrie, Mia finding out, he’d caused that rift. He was lucky Mia had appeared to forgive him, lucky that she seemed to have seen sense and realized Ben wasn’t the kind of man she needed. But the repercussions of that – he wasn’t sure Ben was feeling quite so forgiving. Kip had ripped the only thing Ben cared about away from him, and knowing what he did about the man Ben had used to be… well, he had a feeling that man could well be making a comeback. And that couldn’t be good news for the Lone Riders. ‘If I find anything out…’

  Coby’s eyes met Kip’s, that determination pulled right back to the forefront now. ‘Be careful, son. We want you at that wedding tomorrow, OK?’

  Kip forced a smile, giving Coby a small salute as he backed out of the door. ‘Later, Pres.’

  Coby laughed quietly, once more focusing his gaze on his still-balled-up fist. Kip was right. He had lost focus, for a while. He’d been weak, seeking some kind of solace, some kind of escape with a woman he should never have touched, not in that way. He’d taken a risk he’d been stupid to take. A risk that could have cost the club, cost him the woman he truly loved. And he wasn’t prepared to take that risk again. It was time for him to take the lead, and prepare this club for a fight they knew was coming. They just didn’t know when...

  ***

  Ben killed the engine and climbed off his bike. Walking a few yards along the sidewalk he stopped at the corner of Mia’s street, glancing over at her house. Shit! Coby had one of the prospects sitting outside, something that shouldn’t have surprised him. Still, at least it meant she was home.

  Leaning back against the wall he closed his eyes for a couple of beats while he tried to think what to do next. Walking in the other direction he went round the back of the row of houses in Mia’s road. They were all fenced off, but Ben could easily scale that. He just needed to check… yeah. As he thought. No one was keeping an eye on the back. Again, pretty lax on Coby’s part, Ben thought, as he took a quick look around before scaling the fence to Mia’s yard. Wouldn’t do to have the neighbor’s alert anyone of an intruder.

  Jumping down to the ground Ben made his way to the back door, slowing down as he approached. He had to be careful here. He wasn’t expecting her reaction to be a welcoming one, but she screamed, and that prospect out front was going to come running, and Ben really wasn’t in the mood to waste anyone else right now.

  Peering inside the window that looked into the kitchen, Ben couldn’t see anybody in there. So he tentatively pulled down on the door handle, surprised to find it open. Jesus! Did nobody check the security round here? Carefully and as quietly as he could he pushed the door open, just a touch; a gap wide enough for him to squeeze through before he gently closed it behind him, turning the key to lock it this time.

  He couldn’t hear anyone downstairs. All seemed quiet. So he headed for the hall, stood at the foot of the stairs and tried to listen for noises up there. He could hear the shower, and as he moved around, so he could see up the stairway, he saw the bathroom door was open.

  Slowly climbing the stairs he kept his eyes on the bathroom door, his heart beating like a jackhammer as he got closer. He stopped by the open door, leaning back against the wall just as the shower switched off. All he could hear now was Mia quietly singing an Eagles song, her voice soft as she sung out her own version of ‘Life in the Fast Lane’. Ben felt his heart beat even quicker, because he could hear her moving around now, coming towards him, and the second she reached the door he sprung forward, slapping a hand over her mouth before she had the chance to scream.

  ‘Don’t do it, Mia. Don’t do that, please. It’s me. It’s Ben. And I’m not here to hurt you, baby, OK? I promise you, I’m not gonna hurt you.’ He kept his hand over her mouth as he dragged her back into the bathroom, pushing her up against the wall, her eyes wide and fearful as she stared at him. ‘You gonna stay quiet?’ he asked, his other hand gripping her wrist as he tried to stop her from struggling. ‘I’m asking you a question here, darlin’. Are you gonna stay quiet?’

  She pushed his hand away from her mouth with such force it momentarily stu
nned him, but not enough for him to let go of her completely, his fingers still gripping her wrist tightly. ‘Get the fuck away from me,’ she hissed, her eyes cold, but there was something there, penetrating the iciness, Ben could see it.

  ‘Are you gonna stay quiet, Mia? Because that prospect comes bursting in here, and I can’t promise he’ll walk back out.’

  She laughed, a short, sharp, cynical laugh. ‘And so it begins, huh?’

  Ben took a deep breath, briefly bowing his head, his fingers loosening only slightly around her wrist. ‘Mia, I promise you, I’m not here to hurt you.’ He raised his gaze to meet hers. ‘I’m not here to hurt anyone. But if I have to…’ Another deep breath. ‘I came here to warn you.’

  She eyed him suspiciously. ‘I want you to go, Ben. I don’t want you here.’

  ‘Baby, please, you have to listen to me…’

  ‘No, I don’t. I don’t have to do anything, so please, will you just go?’

  ‘I can’t do that, Mia. I can’t walk out of here without telling you I’m sorry, that I regret with every beat of my heart what happened with Carrie. And I regret not telling you the truth, but when I heard what Lennie had done to you…’ He bowed his head again, closing his eyes. ‘I wasn’t that man anymore, Mia.’ He looked back up at her. ‘I wasn’t that man who’d done those things, I was someone different.’

  ‘But you’re that man again, aren’t you?’ Her voice was quiet, and just a touch unsteady, and it broke Ben’s heart a million times over to think she might be scared of him. All he’d ever wanted to do was protect this woman, to keep her safe, and she was scared of him. How the hell was he supposed to fix that? ‘Ben Salter never really existed, did he?’

  He reached out to touch her face and she didn’t recoil, didn’t even flinch as he lightly stroked her cheek. ‘He did. For a little while. But I guess he couldn’t ever really stay forever. I’m Benjamin Almeda, Mia, and I always will be. I tried running, but I couldn’t leave him behind. He won’t let me. That’s why I ended up back here, in Paradise. I could have walked away and never looked back but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave that man behind, but believe me, baby, there are parts of him that will never come back. Ever.’

  ‘How can I believe anything you say anymore? How can I do that when there are so many lies, so much hurt… How can I believe you, Ben?’

  ‘I really need you to trust me, Mia.’

  She laughed again, and it was like a kick to Ben’s stomach. He’d done this. He’d caused her to feel this way. But things had changed, he’d changed – things were never going to be the same again. And he needed her to trust him, to listen to him, and believe him because he needed her, more than she could ever imagine.

  ‘Trust you?’ She’d almost laughed the words out, and he felt his stomach sink again.

  ‘I love you, Mia. That hasn’t changed. OK, I’m not the man you first met – if I’m being really honest I don’t even know who he was. He just wasn’t me…’

  ‘But he was the man I fell in love with,’ Mia whispered, her voice tinged with a pain that almost seeped into Ben. ‘I didn’t fall in love with you.’

  ‘You did, baby, you did. Believe me, Benjamin Almeda isn’t a bad man…’

  She shook her head, pushing him away but he wasn’t letting her go that easily. Gently grabbing her arm he pushed her back against the wall, his hand cupping her cheek, forcing her to look at him. ‘He isn’t a bad man, Mia.’

  ‘Men like you don’t change, Ben.’

  ‘We can. When we want to. When we have reason to. And yes, I’ve done some bad things, acted like a weak man; hurt people who didn’t deserve it and I am sorry for that. I truly am. But men like me, we can change, Mia.’

  ‘I can’t do it, Ben.’ She shook her head again, a fear clouding her eyes and it tore him apart. ‘I can’t let myself believe something that might not be true. I can’t put myself through that, I’m not taking that risk.’

  His eyes followed his fingers as they continued to stroke her soft skin. ‘The wedding tomorrow… I need you to stay away.’

  She frowned, confusion flooding her face. ‘I don’t… I don’t understand. Why? Why do I need to stay away?’

  He looked at her, right into her eyes, staring deep as he spoke the words slowly. ‘Because that’s when the Dark Angels are gonna strike.’

  Twenty-Three

  ‘Everything set?’ Hector asked, walking into the lock-up.

  Sol looked at his father. ‘Everyone’s up to speed.’

  ‘And Ben?’

  ‘He knows what’s happening now. He knows the plan.’ Sol walked over to a pile of crates, sliding the lid of the last open one shut. ‘You sure these guns are gonna do the job? I never did trust Uller and his crew, not after that hit on that MC just outside of Vegas went bad. Mis-firing weapons, guns that wouldn’t…’

  ‘Where’s your brother now?’

  Sol shrugged. ‘I don’t keep him on a leash.’

  ‘Maybe you should. He’s been doing one too many disappearing acts lately. And look what happens when we let him out on his own. He had no right taking Shane’s fate into his own hands. It wasn’t his place to decide when that should happen.’

  ‘It’s not like it’s caused us a problem though, is it? We didn’t really need Shane. He’d outlived his use a long time ago. And he was never gonna get what he wanted anyway, you were gonna make sure of that.’ Sol’s gaze met his father’s. ‘Coby Walker’s yours, isn’t he?’

  Hector dug his hands deep into his pockets, a slow smile starting to spread across his face. ‘I will take great pleasure in bringing him and his club down. But I’ll take even greater pleasure in making sure your brother pays the true price for what he did.’

  Sol leaned back against the wall, pulling a cigarette from the packet with his teeth and lighting up. ‘He’s come back to us. Back to the Dark Angels. Does that not show you where his real loyalties lie?’

  ‘You saying I should forget everything else that happened, just because Ben chose to stay?’

  Sol shrugged. ‘Considering he was sent here to deceive us, I’d say he’s kind of shown us how loyal he is.’

  Hector laughed, a sound devoid of any humor. ‘That’s not how it works, son. Yes, he’s shown loyalty, and that’s commendable. But it’s too late. What he did, what he knows – that can’t be overlooked any longer.’

  Sol flicked ash onto the dirty concrete floor. ‘Maybe.’ Taking one last drag he stubbed the cigarette out on the wall behind him. ‘You do know that Coby’ll have tight security surrounding the place, don’t you? Me and Hog, we had a drive by last night and they’re setting up already. The place is gonna be flanked by men, all of them armed…’

  ‘It’s all in hand, Sol.’ Hector cut his son off, refusing to listen to negativity. He was too close to the endgame now. ‘As long as everyone knows what they’re doing. A few minutes and it’ll all be over. That’s all it’s going to take – a few minutes, and the Lone Riders will be history, meaning we can move this club into a new phase… exciting times, Sol. Don’t forget that.’

  Hector seemed to drift off into a brief trance, and Sol watched him closely. Did he really have no idea what was about to happen? Because if Sol knew one thing about his father it was that he was rarely made a fool of. And they – Sol, Ben, this club; they were about to end his time here in spectacular fashion, lull him into a false sense of security, make him think that he’d won his first battle, brought the Lone Riders down; they’d let him have that one. But what happened after that, that’s when the game was going to change.

  ‘When do you plan to take out Ben?’ Sol asked, his eyes still fixed firmly on his father.

  ‘When I’m ready,’ Hector replied, his tone dismissive. ‘Get everyone together. I’m calling church tonight. I want to go over everything again, one last time. Make sure everything’s in place.’ He started walking away, then stopped, turning back around to face Sol. ‘Find out where your brother is, and get him back here.’

&nbs
p; Sol watched Hector leave the lock-up, the sound of his heavy, worn boots dragging along the hard ground making Sol’s skin crawl. His father – the man with a devil inside. But not for much longer. The poison was about to be sucked out of their club, something Sol had been waiting to do for years. Something he should have done a lot sooner. Something he needed to do, for his sake, for Ben – for the Dark Angels.

  ***

  Mia felt her blood run cold, like pure ice was coursing through her veins. Her first instinct was to run, to get as far away from this man as she could but her whole body felt as though someone was pinning it back against the wall. She couldn’t move. She could only stare at him with wide, frightened eyes as he told her just what the Dark Angels were planning to do at Coby and Lexi’s wedding. A bloodbath. A massacre. A nightmare scenario that Mia was sure even Coby hadn’t anticipated. He knew something was coming, but this?

  ‘You’re lying,’ she whispered, barely able to keep her voice from shaking, the words only just audible. ‘You can’t… you’re lying.’

  ‘I wish I was, Mia. But this is real, it’s happening. And I can’t stop it.’

  She shook her head, over and over again, as though doing that would make this all go away. ‘You’re sick. All of you. There are going to be kids there, do you understand that? Innocent people, babies, and they’re just gonna stand there and gun them down? For what? Power? Control? You’re fucking crazy!’

  ‘No, Mia, listen to me. Listen! There will be unnecessary deaths, and I’m sorry for that…’

  She finally felt her body release itself from those invisible shackles that had seemingly been holding her back. ‘You keep saying sorry, Ben, but I don’t believe you mean it. Any of it. It’s just a word that continues to fall out of your mouth…’

  ‘I am sorry, Mia, for what might happen tomorrow. But I can’t control what the rest of the club will do, all I can tell you is, I’m only after one man. I only want one man dead, and he is the only one I am gunning for…’