“Where’s the threat?” Grady asked.
“Maggie called. We need to move the kids to Headquarters.”
Grady picked up Nicholas with one arm, keeping his other arm free for his gun. Whiskey took both backpacks and go-bags and picked up Sara while she was still struggling to complete her last pushup. Bones looked at me, waiting for the nod. Pulling my gun, I threw an arm over Beth’s shoulders and pulled her close to me as we moved into the garage and inside the awaiting SUVs. Bones reversed our SUV out of the garage as the last door closed.
A minute and a half later, both SUVs were parked perpendicular to the front entrance of Headquarters with security guards bordering the path to the doors. I pulled Beth along with me into the building and didn’t stop until we were in the gym.
“Holy shit,” Beth said, looking around. “I feel like I’m in a movie. How’d we get here so quick?”
“Practice,” Nicholas said as he smiled up at her. “And you owe ten pushups.”
“She’s a newbie, so we’ll give her a pass on the swear word,” I said to Nicholas before turning to Beth. “And I said the kids weren’t usually in danger. That doesn’t mean we don’t take threats seriously.”
“All right, then.” She handed her purse to Nicholas and dropped to the floor to do ten pushups. “But I’m willing to take the same punishment as the kids. Nobody’s allowed to laugh at me, though.”
“What on earth?” Grady said, raising an eyebrow at Beth on the floor.
The kids counted out Beth’s pushups and cheered when she got to ten in record time.
“New rule for swearing,” I answered Grady. “Kids, can you take Beth up to the classroom and show her around while I figure out what the lockdown is about?”
The kids giggled as they offered Beth their hands and pulled her up from the floor. “This way,” Sara said as she dragged her toward the stairs.
Grady braced a hand behind my neck and pulled me tight against him. His lips found mine and demanded attention. I released an involuntary moan as my nipples rubbed against his hard chest.
I was panting when he finally ended the kiss. “What was that for?”
“I needed to release some stress,” he said, leaning his forehead against mine. “I hate it when the house alarm goes off. Every time Tech yells red alert and to get to the kids, I swear my blood turns cold.”
“Well, starting today, they’ll be in their new classroom. Maybe then you won’t feel so anxious,” I said as I wrapped my hands around his neck. “And maybe later tonight, we’ll work on releasing some more stress.”
Grady grinned as he lifted me by the ass and my legs wrapped around his hips. He kissed me again as he walked us back and pressed me against the wall.
“Mom! Gross!” Nicholas yelled from the open walkway on the second floor.
Both Grady and I laughed, breaking the moment.
“I better go find out why Maggie sounded the alarm.”
He smirked as he lowered me to my feet. “Fine. But I’m holding you to tonight.”
“Head back to your trainees. I’ll loop you in later.”
“You sure?”
I laughed. “Yeah. You still have a couple of slackers. Better go teach them what real men are made of.”
Grady looked over his shoulder to see two of the guys looking bored, leaning against a wall as the others ran laps. “Did I say it was break time?” Grady yelled as he turned and moved their way. “What? Did you both stay up past your bedtime last night?”
I laughed as I jogged up the stairs and entered the war room.
“What’s all the yelling?” Maggie asked from the TV screen mounted on the wall.
“Grady’s got a couple lazy trainees. They’re going to flunk out, but he’s having a little fun with them before he cuts them loose.”
“Hey, we all need to direct our frustrations somewhere,” Maggie said, grinning.
“Talk to me. Why are we on lockdown?”
“You better sit and get comfy while I patch Genie in. She ran into the Atlanta office to work today.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m in Atlanta too. I drove her back yesterday. But I’m waiting on approval to get my old job back. You’re fired, by the way.”
“I’m sure Kierson will be relieved.”
“I talked to him yesterday. I can’t believe you took an unregistered gun into FBI headquarters. Nice.”
Genie’s smiling face popped up on the other screen, and Tech used the remote to turn up the volume. “Hello, my sweet friends.”
“Hey, Genie.”
“Has Maggie filled you in?”
“She was waiting for you.”
“You should sit,” Maggie said.
“Shit,” Tech grumbled, pushing one of the rolling chairs toward me.
Donovan walked into the office as I was sitting down. I kicked another chair over to him. “You just get back?”
“Yeah,” he said, throwing himself into the chair. “I was pulling up to the house as Lisa and Abigail were being loaded into an SUV and moved here. I’m wiped out though. What the hell is going on?”
“Not sure yet. Maggie’s stalling.”
“You’re going to be pissed,” she said.
“How pissed?”
Genie snickered. “Lethal pissed.”
“With a dollop of acid on top,” Maggie added.
“I’m already getting pissed that you two are wasting my time. Now spill.”
“Remember Axle Sorato?” Maggie asked. “And how you sent me to dig up dirt on him?”
“It was only a few days ago, so yes, I do. What of it? You said you found a biker and got some intel, but we didn’t have time to talk.”
“Well, the biker I talked to had left the Hell Hounds when they started getting into human trafficking. Now he’s with another club, but he still keeps a close eye on the Hell Hounds.”
“Don’t tell me the Hell Hounds are back in business.”
“No, not really. The club has been dismantled, all six chapters, but some members started to gather and reopen for business. They don’t wear a cut, but their link is the former club.”
“So Sorato banded together with some of his former brothers in leather. Okay. What’s their play? Reopening their drug market? Or worse, human trafficking?”
“The guy I talked to didn’t know what they were into, only that they started regrouping.”
“None of this is equaling a red alert for my family. What am I missing?”
“No, it was merely interesting at that point. But when we got back to Atlanta, I had some extra time on my hands and started digging up the records for the other known members of the Hell Hounds—at least the ones still breathing and not residing in a six-by-eight cell. I dug into the club’s previous arrest records too and kept digging deeper. Then I remembered that the Hell Hounds did jobs for Ernesto Chaves.”
I was watching Maggie on the screen and noticed her release a slow breath. “No…” I said, shaking my head and standing.
Maggie nodded. “Charges were dropped. Ernesto Chaves is a free man. After Penny died, his lawyer made the claim that Penny was running the show without his knowledge.”
Donovan stood abruptly, his chair rolling back. “He ran a sex slave operation from his home estate!”
“He claimed his estate was large enough that he never noticed what was happening.”
“What about the bank accounts?” Tech asked. “They showed the money trail started years before he met Penny.”
“We couldn’t directly tie those accounts to him. The funds were wired to a third-party account in the Cayman Islands.”
“So that’s it? He’s out?” I asked.
“He was released four and half weeks ago,” Genie said. “His estate in Texas was seized and will be retained by the federal government, but he reclaimed the rest of his assets.”
“Unbelievable!” I turned and kicked my chair into the wall. “So Chaves was the one who hired Axle Sorato to spy on me?”
“Who’s he after then?”
“Bones, Donovan, and Grady’s names were part of the arrest report. Along with Reggie, Wild Card, and a couple of the other guys from Texas.”
“Grady was on that job? I didn’t even know him back then.”
“He was one of the guys Wild Card called to meet us,” Donovan said, nodding.
“Call Texas and get everyone’s asses locked down,” I said to Donovan as I stormed out of the room.
I stomped down the stairs as my temper rose. Ernesto Chaves was an insult to humanity, a waste of space, slicker than dog shit, the worst kind of predator. I was thoroughly pissed that an operation I had turned over to the FBI was threatening so many of our lives.
I looked across the gym and made eye contact with Grady as I stepped off the last stair.
“Clear the mats!” Grady yelled as I crossed the gym floor and kicked off my boots and socks. Grady grinned down at me. “Do you want to change first?”
“Hell, no,” I snapped as I walked onto the mat. “Give me your best.”
Grady ordered everyone to put on safety gear and then ordered three of them to attack me. When the first three crawled off the mat, I motioned to Grady and he sent four more at me. One guy almost landed a strike, almost. When Grady ordered the next batch of men to the mat, they didn’t move.
“Chicken?” Grady asked them.
“Do you blame us? She’s a raging bull with a black belt!” one of the guys answered. “You’re the one who told us to know when we’re outmanned.”
Grady smirked as he pulled off his shoes and socks and joined me on the mat. We circled each other, watching the other’s body for the slightest twitch.
“I take it the news from Maggie wasn’t pleasant,” Grady said before he attempted a kick that I easily side stepped.
I charged with a punch that I knew he’d easily block, but I turned and swept his right leg, taking him to one knee. He spun and used the force of his arm to sweep my legs out from under me. I rolled back, then up and over my shoulders to a standing position before he was able to pin me.
“Nice move.” He rolled to the side out of my range before standing. “Talk.”
“Ernesto Chaves was released.” As Grady’s face reflected a moment of shock, I swept both his legs and threw an arm across his chest with enough force that he landed flat on his back. His body curled slightly as he pulled air into his lungs.
“Shit. You all right?” I asked, leaning over to check on him.
He grabbed one of my legs, pulling me off balance as he twisted it behind me. I hit the mat, and he rolled his weight on top of me to pin me down. “Trainees! Thirty laps!” Grady hollered without looking away from me. “What the fuck? We caught him red handed!”
“His lawyers blamed it all on Penny. And seeing she’s dead, she can’t defend herself and testify against him.”
Grady growled, punching the mat beside my head.
“Well, don’t you two look cozy,” Nana said, standing at the edge of the mat.
“Nana, didn’t you go home?”
“No, dear. I’ve been around. You slept all day yesterday so Dallas and I went out for drinks. We overdid it a smidge, so I slept in this morning. Boy, was I surprised when a bulky security guy stormed into my bedroom at Lisa’s house and declared that I needed to leave. Man, he was smokin’.”
“Why are you staying at Lisa’s?”
“It was less crowded over there. Besides, that woman is unraveling and someone needs to keep an eye on her. Now, are you going to get up, or are you two going to make out with everyone watching?”
“I don’t mind a crowd,” Grady said, nipping at my chin.
“The kids and my Nana?” I slugged him in the arm. “I don’t think so.”
“Well when you put it that way.” He sighed as he rolled off me and stood up. “So where do we stand with Chaves?”
“Maggie’s guessing he’s coming after you guys because your names were in the arrest report. He could be coming after the whole company, though.”
“This is our mess then, not yours. You take the trainees, and I’ll catch up with Donovan and Maggie to gather more intel on Chaves.”
“Really?” I asked surprised.
“I got this one, babe,” he said, leaning down to kiss me before he jogged away toward the stairs.
“He makes me all tingly,” Nana said, watching Grady jog up the stairs. “If I was ten years younger…”
“He’d still be mine,” I said.
She snickered and then amused herself by watching the trainees run their laps. I pulled my phone from my back pocket and cursed when I realized the lens was cracked.
Chapter Seventeen
“Trainees, line up!” I called out to the room. “Can I also get a couple off-duty guards?”
Several of the off-duty guys jogged over.
“You and you.” I pointed to two of the trainees. “Grady has other priorities, and I’m not as entertained by your laziness. Go pack your bags. You’re both out of the program.”
“We have more experience than any of the other trainees,” one of the guys said.
“I don’t give a shit. We don’t hire sloths,” I said, nodding to the off-duty guards who escorted the trainees from the gym. “And now we’re down to nine. How many did we start with?”
“Twenty-two,” Bones answered, walking over with Bridget.
“I was told you were on your way to Nebraska.”
Bones shrugged. “They arrested the stalker before I left, so I didn’t have to go. Where’s Grady?”
“He’s in the war room. You, Donovan, and Grady are officially on lockdown. Chaves was cut loose, and he’s looking for payback.”
“What the fuck?”
“And we initiated a swear rule. Ten pushups if you swear in front of the kids. But I’m thinking dropping the f-bomb might require more.”
He glared at me a moment before heading for the stairs. Bridget bounced next to me.
I handed her my cell phone. “Can you take this to Tech?”
She looked at the phone and giggled before skipping off toward the stairs.
“Darling…” Dallas called out, swaying all hundred and thirty pounds of herself, which was mostly boobs and ass, into the room. “You missed a bitch’n night last night. Your nana is a hoot.”
She blew air kisses at me and then at Nana. Nana made awkward kissy noises back at her. Dallas shook her head. “That’s not how you do it, dear. I’ll teach you later. You have so much to learn.”
“Trainee Scott Bailey,” I called out to the group, ignoring Dallas.
Scott Bailey stepped forward. “Ma’am.”
“Did Grady get a chance to talk to you about your background?”
His shoulders deflated before he answered. “No, ma’am.”
“Enough of that ma’am crap. My name is Kelsey. How did you get out of the gang in Chicago?”
“Walked away. My momma was shot by someone gunning for me. After the funeral, I left Chicago and never went back.”
“No contact at all?”
“No, ma—, uhh, Kelsey.”
“Why did you lie on your application?”
“I’m not that person anymore,” he said. “I even had the tats re-inked.”
“Anything else in your history that you failed to disclose?”
“No.”
“Fine. We’ll keep you on—for now. But if you’re hired in, we’ll have to restrict your assignments away from inner cities.”
He released a breath and stepped back in line.
“All right boys and—girl.” I grinned at the one female trainee still remaining. “This afternoon we are going to try some on-the-job training. Hope you’re ready for this. I need two volunteers to step forward.”
Everyone stepped forward.
I laughed. “If yo
u think you’re the best candidate for the job, step forward.”
Everyone stepped forward again.
“Pretty arrogant bunch,” Nana snickered.
“We’ll see,” I said before turning back to the trainees. “If you’re willing to go up against me on the mats again, step forward.”
No one stepped forward.
“Smart too,” Dallas said to Nana from behind me.
“Okay, fine!” I laughed. “Bailey and Alverez.”
Bailey and Alverez stepped forward.
“Go shower and change for plain clothes security. Meet back here in ten minutes.”
Bailey and Alverez jogged toward the gym’s doors.
“Drake, step forward.”
Trainee Drake took one military step forward, his back ramrod straight.
“Drake, you are tasked with shadowing Donovan’s wife and child. They are currently upstairs in the classroom. If Lisa tries to leave, you stop her. Whenever she’s not with Donovan, you are to be close by.”
I swear he almost saluted me before he stopped himself and merely nodded.
I turned to the other trainees. “The rest of you will be split between the resale store across the street and the private residences and woodlands surrounding them. Go shower, change, and report back in ten minutes to start your assignments.”
Bridget returned with a new phone, handing it to me. I called Whiskey, knowing he and some of the other club members from Devil’s Players would be at the store. I updated him on the threat and let him know I was sending rookies over to help with security. He promised to get them set up with stations.
Next, I texted Tech and told him I’d need seven linked earpieces, plus a couple for the Devil’s Players. Then I called Tyler and asked him to come over to retrieve the guys who would be assigned to patrol the houses and woods. As one of the club’s prospects, Tyler knew the drill.
~*~*~
Alverez and Bailey both jogged back into the gym with three minutes to spare. Both were wearing black suits with white shirts, but Alverez’s fit horribly.
“Bridget?”
“Yeah,” she said from beside me as we looked at Alverez. “I can fix it, but not today. I’ll go talk to Alex.”
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