by Jordan Marie
The youngest of the two stands a solid six foot maybe even six-two. He’s got brown hair and looks entirely too pretty to be a biker, but there’s something about his face that says he’s seen life at its worst.
“Alexander?” I ask the question-not really a question—to the two, hold out my hand to shake, and wait for a response.
“Crusher,” the older one says, ignoring my hand. Fair enough. I draw it back and look him over.
“I’m Agent Lodge.”
“Figured that. It’s everything else I’m not entirely fucking sure of,” he replies, his tone hateful.
“That would be two of us, although I figure I know more than you.”
“That wouldn’t take very much. You feel like sharing it with me?”
I look around the room and frown.
“It’s not very private,” I tell him.
“I’m not about to leave my brother in this hellhole either. Especially if it’s just to go off to have coffee with a man I don’t know and don’t really care if I get to know—no offense,” he says, laying it out.
His attitude is not unexpected, his kind and mine don’t normally mix. Then again, I’m not the usual type of my kind. So, mostly I ignore his attitude.
“None taken. I guess we just get into it then.”
“I guess so,” Crusher says. I sit down and wait. Crusher remains standing, as does the man beside of him.
“Let’s start at the beginning. How did Westin Cross get on the bad side of Chul Pak?”
Silence.
“Listen boys, the way I got it figured, I have information you need. Your buddy in there, breathing by a machine, is not going to tell you shit. That means you need me a fuck of a lot more than I do you at this point. This is not even my case. So how about we stop the pissing match and seeing who has the bigger dick, because I’m fine with the size of mine and could give less than a shit about yours. You can either tell me what I ask, or I’ll just walk out of here. It doesn’t bother me a fuck either way,” I tell them, only partly lying.
“This is not your case?” Crusher asks, catching onto the one piece of hard information I gave him. He’s sharper than I might have given him credit for.
“I spend my time chasing the monsters that hide in the bright light of day, not filth like Chul Pak.”
“Then why are you bothering with him now?” Crusher asks, seeming to relax and sitting down. The man at his side follows suit. I’m taking that to mean we’re getting somewhere, but who in the fuck knows.
“Because I got a call in the middle of the night by a woman who was terrified.”
“A woman?”
“I don’t like it when men hurt good women. Now, I don’t know if this woman is good, but I get the feeling she is. I know she was laying it all on the line to get your boy in there a good burial and to protect his son. So, to answer your question, she is the reason I’m doing this.”
“My boy in there ain’t dead yet, Agent Lodge.”
“Your man in there was found in a dump face down, bullet holes through him and so much blood gone from his body, I called the coroner not an ambulance.”
“He’s still breathing,” Crusher argues.
“Through a machine.”
“Semantics. Diesel has something to fight for. He’ll pull out of this.”
“I see hope springs eternal in Tennessee,” I mutter.
“You got kids?”
I tap down that burn… the one that has never let me go—even years later.
“Not a one.”
“Then, you have no idea. Diesel would come back from hell itself if it meant making sure his boy was okay.”
“I will tell you what I do know, Alex—”
“Crusher.”
“Crusher, I know that Mr. Cross’s son is far from okay and so is Rory McDaniels and since they are breathing on their own and I want to keep them that way—they are my only concern. Now, I’m going to ask the question again. How did Mr. Cross get on the bad side of Chul Pak?”
“Chul Pak doesn’t even know my boy,” Crusher says and I frown.
“Right. I’ve had enough bullshit. I didn’t haul my ass all the way across the U.S. to get spoon fed shit,” I shrug. I’m actually stationed in Montana, but I’ve been in Quantico the last few weeks. I’m not one to enjoy dealing with bureaucrats and that’s all I’ve been doing. What’s worse is that when I leave here I have to hop another plane and go back for more meetings and more bullshit. I hope I can find some strong ass coffee to chase the shit already in my system.
“Chul’s stepbrother King, though, that’s different,” Crusher says and I turn to face him.
“Now you have my attention.”
“Timothy King, brother to one Rory McDaniels.”
“You’ve been doing your homework on Rory,” I mutter, sitting back down.
“We’ve been turning over every fucking stone we could find for the last week trying to find Diesel’s boy. I’m hoping you can help with that—which to be frank, is the only reason I agreed to meet with you today Agent Lodge. Your kind and mine, we don’t mix.”
“You don’t know what kind I am, but I’ll give you that…for now. How did your boy get on the bad side of this King?” I ask, finally feeling like I might be getting to the end of this damn riddle I’ve been pouring over for months.
“He stuck his dick in the same skank as King,” the guy with Crusher says, finally proving he apparently can talk.
I frown.
“I’m going to tell you this because I feel like I’m finally getting information I need and I don’t want to see this go downhill and stop that progression,” I warn him. “I happen to have a lot of respect for Rory McDaniels. I don’t take kindly to you calling her names—and by that, I mean, not at all. The woman I met is a good woman, doing what she can to protect a little boy who might not be hers by blood, but is hers in her heart.”
“You met her?” Crusher asks.
“I did. I helped get her out of Virginia. Wanted to do it one way, she wouldn’t agree so did it the best way I could.”
“How did you do it?”
“You might not get this just yet, because we’re strangers. But, I don’t give information without getting it. I don’t see as if I’ve gotten very much from you at all, Crusher.”
“Fine. Ask a question get an answer and then I get mine,” he says. “Seeing as how I’m easy to work with.”
A ghost of a smile filters across my face. This bastard is about as easy to work with as the bureaucrats in Washington, he’s just a little easier to understand.
“The woman I met, is King’s sister. There’s no way she’d let him touch her and if he did she’d kill him or die trying to make that happen. So, my question is, why does King hate your boy?”
“As far as I know he doesn’t.”
“Bullshit. He was shot several times, left for fucking dead, his truck was torched and his woman and child are on the run. I’d say—”
“He doesn’t really know Diesel and believe it or not my brother in there has no idea who King is. They fucked the same woman—not this McDaniels chick, in fact before she called me I’d never heard of her.”
“Then—”
“My turn. How did you find Rory McDaniels?”
“She called me. She managed to escape King’s house with her boy—”
“That is not her child,” Crusher growls.
“She says he is, and it’d take an act of God to separate that little boy from her side. I got to warn you, I’m not even sure that would do it. The woman I met and that child have been through hell together and he trusts no one but her.”
“She’s protecting him?”
“That woman is doing more than that, and that’s all you’ll get on the subject of Rory McDaniels.”
“You really like her.”
“Let’s just say your friend in there was a lucky SOB to get her on his side before he bought it.”
“He’s not dead. I wouldn’t be putting him in the
ground just yet, Agent Lodge.”
“Like I said, hope springs eternal.”
“Diesel will pull out of this for his son and when he does, if this McDaniels chick means something to him, he won’t let you around her.”
“I don’t think he’ll have—”
“Let me clarify that. My brother has been fucked over by women again and again. If this Rory is half the woman you seem to think she is and my brother wants her, I won’t let you get within shouting distance of her.”
“Are you threatening a federal agent?” I ask, for some reason finding his response something to smile about.
“More like a friendly warning,” he shrugs.
“So noted. You going to ask your questions now?”
Just as I ask the question, a doctor comes in and heads straight to Crusher.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” he says and Crusher stands up immediately, his friend standing beside him and I can tell from the look on the man’s face, hope is slowly dying.
I hate it for him. I’ve seen this side of the coin too many fucking times to count—each time it sucks.
Knowing that this Diesel is leaving behind a good woman and a child makes it suck that much more.
14
Crusher
“What did I miss?” Rebel asks coming in the waiting room an hour later.
Agent Lodge left to crash in a hotel. I hate to admit it but I kind of like that asshole. He’s not like cops in suits I’ve met—especially the federal kind. He’s showing an unhealthy interest in Rory McDaniels and since I don’t know what that woman means—if anything—to Diesel, that could be a problem. I also have no fucking clue if I can trust her. I’d like to think I can, especially since Ryan is apparently with her, but I have no fucking clue. I rub the back of my neck. Feeling older than the fucking hills and missing Hellcat so bad it hurts. I should have brought her here with me, I just wasn’t sure what we’d find. She hates that I do it, but I still try everything I can to keep her out of harm’s way.
“Gun, you head back to the hotel. Get some shut eye now that Rebel is here. We’ll meet up for dinner and discuss what we’re doing,” I tell him.
“What about you?”
“I’m not leaving until I know if Diesel is out of the woods.”
“That might be a while, Crush,” Gunner responds and maybe it’s just me, but in my head, I hear him add… or not at all.
“Then, I’ll be here a while. I’ll grab a nap on this chair, but I need at least one of you assholes alert to have my back,” I joke—only half lying.
“I’ll stay,” Gunner says obstinately.
“Suit yourself,” I say with a shrug, leaning my head back on the seat.
“Will someone answer my question? What happened while I was gone?” Rebel grumbles.
“Visit from the FBI,” I tell him, without opening my eyes, refusing to talk about the other.
“Diesel’s kidneys quit working,” Gunner answers, and I want to punch him in his damn face. It’s not a normal reaction and Gunner isn’t doing anything other than repeating the God’s honest truth, but that’s still how I feel.
“Motherfucker.”
“They’re hooking him up to dialysis,” Gunner adds and I sit up, intent only on punching Gunner in the mouth to make him shut up. That’s when my phone rings. I pick it up without checking the caller ID, and hoping it’s Dani. I need something to take me away from this shit before I snap.
“Hello?” I growl, wincing because my frustration bleeds through the greeting. Dani will understand though. She gets me when no one else does.
“Uh… Mr. Dawson?”
“Ms. McDaniels?” I ask, clearing my throat. I stand up immediately. I look over at Gunner and motion with my hand. He immediately nods and takes out his phone.
“I wanted to follow up and make sure you contacted the hospital and Agent Lodge,” she says, her voice sounding nervous and borderline panicked.
I look over at Gunner and I can hear him talking to the boys at the club, running a trace on my phone. I just need to keep Rory on the phone long enough for it to stick.
“Are you there?”
“Yes. Sorry I was distracted for a moment. I’m at the hospital now, Ms. McDaniels. You didn’t tell me that Diesel was—”
“If you knew he was dead you wouldn’t have come. I needed you to claim the body, to protect him so that Ryan has somewhere to say goodbye to his father.”
“You’re not disputing that Ryan belongs to Diesel?”
“Diesel is the only father that Ryan will ever claim,” she says her voice almost angry and that makes me relax. Perhaps this Lodge was right about Rory. That bodes well for my brother if he just manages to hold on.
“I think you and I will get along just fine, Ms. McDaniels.”
“I doubt that, since we’ll never see each other,” she says surprising me.
“Rory—I can call you, Rory?”
“Whatever,” she mutters and for some reason that makes me grin.
“Rory, Diesel is going to want his boy back and from what I hear, he’s with you.”
“Diesel…” she gasps and goes silent.
“Rory? Are you okay?” I ask her, worrying that maybe King has gotten to her before I can.
“Are you…” she stops.
“Rory?” I prompt her when she doesn’t keep talking.
“Are you saying that Noah is alive?” she whispers. It sounds like those words are full of… hope.
“Very much so.”
“But I saw… I… Oh God,” she whispers and this time I hear tears.
“Ms. McDaniels?”
“Noah’s alive,” she says through the tears, her voice still whispering.
“That means something to you,” I respond, definitely feeling better about Rory McDaniels.
“No, Mr. Dawson that doesn’t mean anything,” she says.
“I’m afraid I don’t—”
“It means everything,” she replies, cutting me off.
“You care about my brother,” I acknowledge and let that information sink deep inside of me.
“I want to speak to him.”
“Rory—”
“No, wait. Ryan needs to speak to his father. Can I call back and you make that happen?” she asks.
“Ryan’s not with you?”
“I can’t… I can’t have him with me like this, it would be too dangerous, but he’ll be with me when I call back. Oh my God, I can’t believe Noah is alive. I didn’t tell Ryan about his father. I couldn’t handle seeing it crush him. He’s too fragile right now. I felt so guilty, but now…” she stops talking as a sob rakes through her body and I hear it and the sound makes me feel like a major asshole. I should tell her the truth, but I can’t risk her running.
“Ms. McDaniels, tell me where you’re at. We’ll come get you.”
“I… I can’t do that. If King finds out…”
“He’s looking for you now. You need to get safe—Ryan needs to be safe. Tell me where you are and I’ll come to you.”
“I… I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I don’t know you Mr. Dawson.”
“Diesel—”
“Went out on his own for some reason. How can I be sure he didn’t leave because of you? Or someone else? Ryan said Noah didn’t feel safe at his home anymore. I don’t know how these biker gangs work, but I don’t think it’s supposed to work that way.”
“We’re not a gang, Rory.”
“Whatever,” she mutters and damn it, I really do think I like her.
“Tell me where you are, and I’ll come to you personally. Ryan will tell you that you can trust me.”
She starts to answer and then I hear someone talking to her. I frown. If she feels like she’s in danger, who would she be talking to?
“I’ll talk to him. I’ll give you my decision when I call back… but it will be tomorrow. My boss just told me that I have to work late tonight. I want Ryan to talk to his Dad tomorrow though. If he do
esn’t then all deals are off the table,” she declares.
“Rory—”
“And if you are playing me Mr. Dawson you need to know that I will kill you personally. I don’t have much left in life now…not now,” she whispers. “But I have Ryan and I will not let anyone hurt that little boy. Are we clear?”
“We’re clear, Rory. I promise you, if you give me a chance I’ll make sure you and Ryan both are safe and happy.”
“I’ll never be that again, but if Ryan gets his father back, he will be happy and that’s all that matters. I have to go back to work now. I’ll call you tomorrow about seven p.m., eastern standard time,” she says and then before I can respond, hangs up.
I look over at Gunner, putting my phone away.
“Tell me that Scorpion managed to get a trace,” I mutter.
“Got it. No, hold up. We’ll get back with you,” Gunner says into the phone. He hangs up and turns to look at me.
“Where is she?”
“You aren’t going to believe this shit,” Gunner mutters.
“What?”
“Boss she’s at a diner in Hazard, Kentucky.”
“You’re shitting me,” I respond, almost laughing. Hazard is probably just a little over an hour from London—which is where I used to live.
“You think she was bringing Ryan home herself?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t think she trusts anyone but Diesel with the boy, but this works to our advantage for sure.”
“Want me to call Dragon and the boys?”
I start to answer, but then I remember my conversation with Rory. Will she think I’m fucking her over? I look toward the doors where Diesel is breathing through a tube with the help from a machine. Not even pissing on his own anymore and having to have a machine clean the toxins out of his body. She thinks my brother is okay… me sending one of my former crew to pick her up will be the least she’ll be mad about.