Out of the Shadows (Renegades)

by Ana Stone

  “Look, I know you’re right. But I swear to you that I am trying to change it. If I can get Reese and his supplicants to take the fall, I can save Eli and Rice and Six Pack. They don’t deserve to go down.”

  “I agree. So, here, tonight, you agree to work for me. Eli is legitimate and cannot be tied to any of Reese’s dirty business. He and I have seen to that. I will do the same for you. And Rice. And even your friend, this Six Pack. But you vow to me now that you are done with them.”

  Zeke had no doubt that she meant what she said, but he could not see how she could save them from Reese and make sure Reese went down. Sure, she had money and connections, but it was going to take someone with clout to cut that kind of deal once the feds zeroed in on what all the MC was into.

  “It’s not that simple, Maybelle.”

  “Yes, Ezekiel, it is. You see, I am going to destroy that club and everyone in it, including you, if you do not walk away.”

  “And I’m behind you,” he insisted. “But we need to do this my way.”

  “And just for the sake of argument, what exactly is your way?”

  Zeke leaned forward, putting his arms on the table but at the arch of a brow from Maybelle, promptly removed his arms. “Let the MC have the drugs. We notify the feds and let them document the club taking possession and then passing the drugs back to the Mexican Mafia and getting their pay. When Reese uses that money to buy the guns that are due in this week, the feds document that as well and then they get the club on drugs and can slap them with a RICO for the guns. Reese has been busted once before selling guns. Twice and RICO kicks in. Particularly if we connect him to the Mexican Mafia. They’re in bed with a South American cartel. It’s enough to put Reese and the others away for life.”

  “And possibly your own mother,” Maybelle commented. “She is just as involved as anyone, you know. Who do you think handles all of the dirty money? She’s been laundering it for years through Dillon Morris.”

  That shocked Zeke. As far as he knew his mother despised Morris and he in return. “I find that a little hard to believe.”

  Maybelle lifted her shoulders in a soft shrug. “And yet, it is so. Are you willing to send your own mother to prison?”

  Zeke had to think before answering that question. It was one thing to send Reese to prison. But his own mother?

  “Are you sure about her and Morris?”

  “Who do you think convinced Reese to finally get in bed with Morris on the meth deal?”

  “You know about that?”

  “Ezekiel, you have no idea at the scope of my knowledge.”

  “And you have proof – about my mother and Dillon.”

  “Indeed. Many hours of pillow talk.”

  “Pillow--? Hold on, are you saying—“

  “That Carrie has been screwing Dillon Morris almost as long as she has been screwing Reese? Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. Your mother is not a woman to put all of her eggs into one basket.”

  Zeke wanted to think that Maybelle was lying, but the truth was, he believed her. Carrie might be his mother – at least by blood – but she’d never been a real mother to him. She had always been to self-absorbed to be bothered by a child. She used him as a tool, a weapon when necessary to get what she wanted, but he could not remember one instance in his life when she had acted out of selfless love for him.

  Which made his decision easier. “Yeah, I can do it. Let her go down with Reese.”

  “Very well.”

  “So you’ll give back the drugs?”

  “On one small condition.”

  “Yeah, I know. I work for you. Do what you say you can do and we’ll talk about it.”

  “I need your word now, Ezekiel.”

  “And I need to know you can deliver on your promises first.”

  “Fine, then there’s something you need to do.”

  “What?”

  “Bring Roxy Quinn to me.”

  Nothing could have surprised Zeke more. “Roxy? Why – what the hell does she have to do with this?”

  “That will all become clear in time. Right now, you will bring her to me. And when you do, I will make the necessary arrangements with the authorities and release the drugs to Reese.”

  Zeke had no clue at all how Roxy fit into the picture but it seemed that Maybelle was holding the stronger hand, so he had no choice but to agree. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Roxy’s number.

  *****

  The sound of a phone filtered into West’s sleep, pulling him toward consciousness. He ignored it. He didn’t want to move, didn’t want to dislodge Roxy as she slept, one leg and arm thrown across his body and her head on his shoulder.

  When she jolted and sat, he came to full consciousness. She got up and scrambled around on the floor in their discarded clothes. When she found the phone she took one look and turned the phone for him to see the caller id.

  It was Zeke.

  “Answer it,” he directed, pushing back a surge of anger.

  She took the call, putting it on speaker. “What do you want?”

  “I need to see you.”

  Roxy looked at West and he shook his head no. “Why?”

  “I need you to go somewhere with me. It’s important.”

  Again, West shook his head and mouthed to Roxy. “Hang up.”

  “No.” She said to Zeke then ended the call. “What the hell?”

  West’s reply was to pick up his phone and dial. “Possible new development. Make sure all the primaries in the MC are under constant surveillance.”

  When he ended the call, he spoke to Roxy. “He’ll call back and when he does refuse to do as he asks until he tells you why.”

  “To get it on the record.” She stated.

  West nodded. “Look, I know you don’t want to believe that he’s on the other side, but he is and we have to bring him and the rest of the club down. So, are you with me or not?”

  She got up off the floor and sat down on the bed beside him, taking his hand. “I’m with you.”

  Just then her phone rang. She answered, sending it to the speaker.

  “Roxy? Don’t hang up.”

  “What do you want, Zeke?”

  “Look, I know things have been strained between us and I haven’t been able to be fully honest with you, but I need you to trust me. Just meet me.”

  “Why?”

  “I can’t tell you over the phone. It’s important, Roxy.”

  “Important to you,” she replied. “But not to me. I need to know what I’m getting into Zeke and trust between us is about as low as it can go so unless you’re willing to tell me what this is about, I’m going to hang up and I won’t answer again.”

  There was a long pause. West wondered if the ploy would work. He had no idea as to why Zeke needed to see Roxy. It couldn’t have to do with the missing meth. Zeke had made a point of shutting her out on MC business. And right now that had to be the focus of the MC. Zeke wouldn’t pick now to try and mend personal fences. So what was going on?

  “Look, it’s complicated.” Zeke finally spoke. “And I haven’t wanted to involve you in any of this shit.”

  “And yet here you are, calling and asking me to meet you – to walk blind into something. Talk to me, Zeke.”

  There was another long pause. “Fine. The club got into bed with the guy who owns the new phosphate mine. We set up a lab there to cook meth. The Mexican Mafia is funding it. They supply the labor. They’re backed by a cartel in South America. The MC provides security for the mine, and until a couple of weeks ago, supervised transport of the meth.

  “Then Dillon Morris forced his way in and he handles all the transportation logistics. We just provide security and set up drop points where other branches of the club pick up and distribute.

  “Reese cut a deal with an overseas operative to purchase military weapons. The club uses what it makes from the meth op to buy the guns and turns around and sells them to the Mexican Mafia.”

  “In other words, you’
re all a bunch of low-life, criminal scumbags,” she cut in. “Knowing all this, why the hell should I agree to even be in the same zip code as you, Zeke?”

  “Because I’m working a plan to try and get out of the damn club, and protect Eli and others who aren’t part of this shit Reese has gotten the club into.

  “I have a way out. My aunt, Maybelle – she has connections, Roxy. And she can help us take them down and protect those who need protecting. But she won’t help unless I bring you to see her.”

  Roxy and West both looked at one other in surprise. West was more than surprised. He was downright concerned. Why the hell did Maybelle Justice want to see Roxy? That was more than a wrinkle in the plan.

  His mind went into high gear, trying to figure the angles. Finally he nodded to Roxy.

  “Fine.” Roxy said to Zeke. “When and where?”

  “I’ll come get you. I can be there in under an hour.”

  “No. I’ll meet you at the club in an hour. We take my car.”

  “Fine. See you then. And Roxy?”

  “What?”

  “Thanks.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. All I’ve agreed to is a meet.”

  “Fair enough. See you in an hour.”

  Roxy ended the call and looked at West. “What the hell?”

  West shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me, but what do we have to lose? I’m going to need your phone, honey.”

  “For?”

  “A little app I want to install. All you have to do is activate it and we’ll be able to monitor you in real time.”

  She nodded and looked down. West gave her hand a squeeze. “You’re not changing your mind are you?”

  She shook her head and looked up and he saw the tears falling from her eyes. “I just—“ she paused and swiped at her eyes. “I guess I’m just confused. Is he playing me again?”

  “Does he still have the power to do that?” West asked, hoping above all that she gave him the answer he wanted.

  Her handed tightened on his. “No. He doesn’t.”

  Relief washed through West and not simply for professional reasons. As much as he needed Roxy on his side to see this operation through, he had personal desires that were just as weighty. He wanted her and could not stand the thought of losing her to Zeke.

  “Then let’s get busy. I need to make some calls. Why don’t you get cleaned up while I do that.”

  She nodded and leaned close to give him a gentle kiss. “I’m trusting you, West. Don’t make me sorry.”

  “Never.” He promised, and despite all of the manipulations and half-truths he’d told her because of orders, meant it.

  *****

  It was nearly midnight when Roxy parked in the driveway of the massive white house in Beaufort. Aside from Zeke thanking her for going with him when he got into her car, and her saying she hoped it was not a mistake, neither of them had spoken a word except for him to direct her where to go.

  She got out of the car and followed him to the door. He knocked and waited. A man answered the door. “I am Raymond, the butler. Ms. Justice is in the parlor. If you’ll follow me.”

  Roxy looked at Zeke as he stepped aside for her to enter. “A butler at midnight?” She asked.

  He shrugged without reply so she followed the butler through the house. Something about the place nagged at her. It was almost familiar, which was crazy. She’d never been there before. Maybe she’d been somewhere similar or had seen photos of a place that was similar. Still, it bugged her. She remembered her phone and pulled it out to quickly turn on the app West had installed then crammed it back into her pocket.

  The butler stopped at the door of a room and stepped to one side, gesturing for her to enter.

  “Thank you,” she said and walked into the room.

  It was a large room, with a massive fireplace dominating one wall, two leather sofas facing each other and two deeply padded wing chairs forming a U of seating area, with a large highly polished coffee table in the center of the grouping.

  The floors were hardwood, polished to a shine, with obviously expensive Persian rugs; one beneath the coffee table and another in front of the fireplace. Along the window wall, was a freestanding bar of deep cherry wood on which were several crystal decanters, glasses and a carafe of water.

  A woman stood in front of the fireplace with her back to the door. Zeke followed Roxy into the room and stopped behind the two wing chairs. “Maybelle.”

  The woman turned and looked in their direction. Roxy felt something hot and suffocating consume her mind the moment the woman looked at her, robbing her of balance and a split second later, consciousness.

  Zeke was so shocked that he almost didn’t catch her before she hit the floor. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to one of the sofas. He put her down, then sat beside her and patted the side of her face. “Roxy?”

  Two minutes of patting her face and finally shaking her netted nothing. He looked up at his aunt who stood calmly in place in front of the fireplace. “Call an ambulance.”

  “No need,” she responded calmly.

  “No need? She’s unconscious!”

  “Yes. But she will waken.”

  “How can you possibly know that?”

  “I simply do. Until then, I have documents in the study that require your signature.”

  “Maybelle, this isn’t normal. We need to get her to a hospital.”

  “No, Ezekiel, we do not. Raymond?”

  The butler appeared at the door. “Ma’am?”

  “Fetch me the folder on my desk in the study. It is labeled Ezekiel Justice.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Zeke turned his attention back to Roxy. Her breathing seemed a little fast to him and when he checked her pulse was high. He pulled out his cell phone to dial 911, but his aunt’s voice stayed him. “Raymond is trained in emergency medical techniques. I will have him check her.”

  A second later the butler returned with a folder in one hand and what looked like a medical bag in the other. He gave the folder to Maybelle then walked over to the sofa where Zeke sat beside Roxy. “If I may, sir?”

  Zeke got up and out of the way, watching as Raymond pulled out a blood pressure monitor, stethoscope and a small pen light. Maybelle’s voice drew his attention. “Ezekiel, you need to review these papers.”

  He looked at the folder she held out to him and after a moment’s pause took it. Inside was a contract, essentially binding him to her as head of Justice Security, stating his salary, benefits and the fact that he had already been working for her since he returned to the States but had been doing so on a contract basis.

  “This is a lie.”

  “An exaggeration,” she corrected. “And protection for you. Working for me you have been amassing information on the MC.”

  Zeke didn’t doubt that the contract would hold up. Maybelle would have covered her ass legally seven ways to Sunday. But something inside him balked at putting himself under her thumb and with the way the contract read, that’s exactly what he would be doing.

  He stalled, turning to look at Roxy on the sofa. Raymond turned his head to look at Zeke. “Her blood pressure is slightly elevated as is her pulse.”

  “Can you wake her?”

  Raymond looked at Maybelle and Zeke followed suit. After a moment she nodded. Raymond fished around in his bag and pulled out a small square package. He tore it open and waved it under Roxy’s nose.

  Two seconds later she gasped and her eyes flew open. A split second later she shoved Raymond out of the way and bounded to her feet, her eyes darting from Zeke to Maybelle.

  Zeke went to her, taking hold of her by the upper arms. “Are you okay?”

  She looked at him and when she did, it was like he was seeing someone else. Where there had been worry and confusion, love and anger, he now saw a coldness. “I’m fine.” She said in a flat tone and shrugged away from his touch to look at Maybelle. “Could we have a word? In private?”

  “Of course,” Maybel
le replied then addressed Zeke and Raymond. “Gentlemen, give us the room.”

  Raymond immediately complied but Zeke balked. “I think it’d be better if I stay.”

  “Get out.” Roxy said in a tone he read as command.

  He opened his mouth to argue then slammed it shut, turned on his heel and left. He went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. No beer but in the freezer was a chilled bottle of expensive Vodka. It would do.

  In the parlor, Roxy and Maybelle stood looking at each other. Roxy pulled out her phone, deactivated the app then dropped the phone on the floor and smashed it with the heel of her boot. She looked at Maybelle. “Hello, Mother.”

  Maybelle smiled. “So, you remember?”

  “Most of it. Just an FYI for the future. Don’t do this shit to me again. It’s no walk in the park. I never agreed to this.”

  “I understand and had not there been legitimate need in order to achieve our objective, I would not have.”

  “What legitimate need?”

  “That is above your clearance level.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since we discovered we have a traitor in our midst.”

  Roxy’s pulse quickened at that. “What do you mean?”

  “Just want I said. Your mission was already in progress when we received Intel that classified information had been stolen. We had no choice but to implement emergency procedures to insure there was no subsequent incident and discover the source of the leak.”

  “And have you?”

  “Not as yet, but we have people working on it. And for now we need to focus on the mission at hand.”

  Roxy wasn’t really buying it, but she knew it was fruitless to argue. Maybelle would not reveal anything until she was good and ready so the smart thing to do was play along.

  “I understand. Just letting you know that I won’t do it again. At least not willingly.”

  “So noted.” Maybelle replied. “But to the business at hand. I need you to convince Zeke to sign the contract. It will protect him from prosecution and bring him back into the fold.”

  “Has he been activated?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why isn’t he already on board?”