by M. Merin
She tosses a duffle bag on the bed before embracing me. “Oh, sweetie. I’ve been so worried.”
“Who brought you, are you staying with us?”
“Roy got back from his trip. He and I will stay with you until this is all settled. How is your little nugget?” Ellie babbles as she practically yanks Danny out of my arms. I can’t help but smile as she uses the nickname I gave him when I was carrying him. My nugget.
“He didn’t enjoy his car seat skidding across the bakery floor, but I swear, Ellie – he’s fine.” I stand next to them as she sinks onto the corner of the bed. Looking at the doorway, I see Roy and Russian standing shoulder to shoulder.
“Russian, we’ll continue our lesson another day, alright?”
He tilts his head, asking me to join him in the front room, so I follow him out.
“Shade mentioned you know how to shoot. Roy is solid, but it won’t hurt to have a piece handy,” he lifts his pant leg and pulls out a pocket 9mm. “Think you can…”
I take it from him and make sure it’s loaded, which quickly answers his question. “Shade needs you more than you know, Jessa. We’ve all noticed the difference in him since he’s been back. Actually, since he met you last spring.”
Russian squeezes my shoulder again before he heads out. I lock the door after him and turn to see Roy still standing in the doorway to the bedroom. I lift a finger and beckon him over – I can see his expression harden as he crosses towards me.
“He’s handling it, Jessa. Not going to say…”
“Fuck that. You had plenty to say when we found each other again so to hell with this ‘club business’ shit.” I know he doesn’t like me swearing but fuck being kept in the dark at a time like this.
Roy’s mouth draws into a hard line. He meets my eyes but doesn’t say anything.
“Michaels told me Shade is following up the first substantial lead they’ve found, but I don’t know anything else,” Ellie says from the doorway, getting a huff from Roy. “Oh, please. God knows how long it will take to settle this matter? I’m not going to sit around this house with my niece and not tell her the little I know!”
“Thank you, Ellie,” I say, still glaring at Roy. “Do you mind if I sleep for another hour?”
“You just stay in bed. I’ll either wake you when the Michaels’ come or when this one is hungry,” Ellie coos in a voice that always brings a smile to Danny’s face.
“Or if Roy hears anything else?” I try to bargain, even though I can tell I won’t win that battle. I kiss Ellie and my son before heading to bed.
*
The week drags on. The only visitors we get are the men who are guarding us or Tammy and the Sheriff – either in the early hours of the day or right after dark. The bruise on my chin has been every color of the rainbow and the cuts on my hands are healing nicely, but it’s great to have Tammy making house calls.
Even with the emergency room doctor checking Danny out after the explosion, I was still so worried something was undetected. But time and Tammy’s visits have calmed that fear – and provided entertainment as she babbles on about goings on in town. Even with everything going on, the Grizzlies were thoughtful enough to order a replacement window for Molly’s Bakery. I’m sure that was a relief for her, not having to go through insurance.
I have nothing left to do but wait for Shade to deal with the threat that hangs over our heads – and the wait is getting more nerve-racking by the day.
Chapter 19
Shade
Sitting shotgun in the truck, I can’t remember the last road trip I took in a cage. Wrench, Jake, Flint, and I travel south with a half-baked plan. We don’t have any contacts that could help us draw Pistario to us, so we work our way to his home turf; with downloaded copies of his credit card statements to work on finding a pattern.
Anything that will help us get a shot at him.
“Glad I get to roll my babies out again,” Wrench is grinning from the driver’s seat.
“Amy hears you calling the drones ‘my babies’ one more time and she’ll remove your balls,” Flint laughs and Jake grunts in agreement.
“My Ol’ Lady takes very good care of my balls, old man.” His deep voice rumbles, still in a good mood about his drones.
“How long for you two now?” I ask. Wrench and Amy were already together when I transferred into the chapter.
“This’ll be fourteen years. We had our boy pretty quick after we got together.” His grin gets bigger as he thinks about her.
“Regrets?” I ask him
“I regret,” Flint cuts in, “that we were so spread out last year, that we needed Marc in the comm room that day.”
Wrench shrugs but doesn’t comment on how, with a skeleton crew, his son was called on to watch and report monitor feeds when the clubhouse was under attack. He happened to be around when Vice got the call that another MC was en route. More to keep him safe than anything, Flint had him lock himself into the secure comm room and announce what he saw on the screens.
“Nobody’s fault. Just bad fucking timing,” Wrench says in a quieter voice, his smile has disappeared.
Flint cuts back in, going over our makeshift plan again but we all know – this will come down to improvising. We don’t have the time to waste, not with Danny and my Ol’ Lady in danger now.
Even with the shit hitting the fan, I can’t help but smile, knowing I’ve got Jessa locked up as my Ol’ Lady.
“Ow!” I turn on Flint when he knocks me upside my head.
“Knock that off,” his rusty voice grates out. “We all got an Ol’ Lady waiting for us at home. You keep your head in the game so we can all get back to them.”
*
The next few days are spent in a rundown motel, eating shitty food and waiting. The fourth day we find our break.
Tuesday night, Pistario has dinner in a private room of one of his restaurants. Afterwards, he and his two escorts slip upstairs. The girls left around midnight and that’s when more guys started showing up, our best guess was a card game. At six in the morning, his security team drove him home. We noticed that the three of them looked exhausted.
It was the only time that week he left his house; so on Friday we decide to sit tight and wait to see if there’s a repeat on Tuesday. We’re all tired of the endless monotony but Jake breaks it up on Sunday afternoon.
“We should rent a cabin,” he opens his mouth for the first time in at least twenty-four hours.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I ask.
“We’ll need some place to take him. Neighbors won’t do and we might need more time than killing him on the side of the road,” he tilts his head to the wall. The couple in the room next to us have been going at it for the last ten minutes.
“Shit,” I pick up my burner and call Wrench, explaining Jake’s point.
Thirty minutes later, Wrench texts me the address of a vacation rental. Says to meet him and Flint there the next morning.
“I’m so ready to get out of this room,” I grin at Jake after relaying the news.
“It smells like ass,” he rolls over on the other bed, cutting off further conversation. Just as I start to fall asleep, the asshole starts to snore.
Jesus! My grandfather would snore so loud, I could hear him in my room down the hall. Jessa’s a light snorer but it still makes it hard for me to sleep sometimes. Lately, when I get frustrated with the noise, I start to play with her nipples until she wakes up all horny. Laying back, I try to concentrate on her.
Worst fucking idea. I end up with hard wood in the same room as Jake. Getting off the bed, I go to take care of things in the crappy shower we’ve all been suffering through this week.
*
The next morning, we hit a grocery store before Jake drops me off at the cabin Wrench secured for us. He drives the rental car to the lookout point we’ve been using to keep an eye on Pistario. Amazing what some fake IDs and credit cards can do.
Wrench and Flint walk in as I’m fixing breakfast.
�
��Fuck, Wrench. Another place with one bathroom?” Flint growls.
“Two bedrooms this time,” he shrugs in return.
“Yeah, go move the furniture out of the way and put the tarp down,” Flint grabs the plate I was about to hand to Wrench, moving over to the couch to dig in.
Wrench looks over to me for help. “How do you want your eggs?” I’ve set up enough kill rooms in my life; he can handle one on his own.
After we all eat, they go to catch up on their sleep and I check out the kill room before going out to sit on the porch. Flint was right in the car the other day. I have to keep my mind straight, ‘cause we all have too much to lose right now.
As the day wears on, I enjoy the quiet of the surroundings. Thoughts of my past and hope for my future flow through my mind, until I hear someone moving around in the cabin at my back – about the same time my cell phone rings.
“They’re on the move,” Jake says without preamble.
“You’re sure it’s him? It’s only Monday,” I stand to reenter the cabin. “Jake says Pistario and his team are on the road.” I let Wrench know the score and he walks back to the bedroom for Flint.
“They just made the turn towards the same restaurant,” Jake announces. “Could use some more eyes here.”
“We’re on our way,” I respond.
Wrench reemerges with Flint in tow and we grab what food is easy to eat before heading out. Getting there, I slip into the rental with Jake while Wrench and Flint continue around to the far side of the building.
“There,” Jake points and sure enough, the same two escorts from the week before are being dropped off at the front door of the restaurant.
I pick up the radio to let the others know. “Man likes his routine. Same hookers are walking in now.”
“Sleep in shifts, stay frosty,” Flint responds. I look over to Jake and give him the go ahead to catch some shut eye. He simply lowers his seat and closes his eyes.
Waking him a few hours later, I let him know about the checks the security team has been doing before lowering my own seat. He reaches behind me to grab an empty water bottle and I try to ignore the sound of him pissing in it. After dark, it’s too risky to open the car door – illuminating us if anyone is watching.
“I miss sleeping,” Jake says out of nowhere. “I swear, the first few weeks we had Gemma home, I couldn’t sleep a wink. Even with Charlie’s grandparents staying in town and helping Connal, Charlie, and me; I was so fucking scared I couldn’t sleep.
“It’s a big change, and sometimes the baby cries for no reason at all. But Connal and I had time to get our heads in the game, to get ready for it,” Jake is unexpectedly long-winded. “If you need to talk or start to get frustrated, give me a call.”
I sit there quietly, understanding this is a turning point for Jake and me, before I finally respond. “Thanks, Brother. Jessa makes it look easy, but the times I’ve taken care of him so she could sleep longer – well, I can see how badly she needs her rest. I’ll throw you an S.O.S. when I need it, though.”
“Charlie remembers meeting Jessa during one of her appointments. Said she seemed sweet,” he offers next.
“Way too sweet for me, but I ain’t ever letting go of her. Of them.”
He lifts his fist up and I knock knuckles with him. Not wanting to push my luck, I close my eyes and take my turn at shut-eye.
I wasn’t a prospect with my Brothers in Rowansville, so I didn’t have any group I was close with when I moved there. Frank and I were well matched at poker and I’d occasionally take rides with him and some of his friends. He was always bitter and chasing the younger Girlies, holding the promise of a patch over their heads for services rendered. I think Frank would have patched Deb if it weren’t for her obsessing about Gunner. Even with Frank on the outside now, it means something that he’s taking my place with that monitoring bracelet. I’ll find a way to pay him back for that.
Jerking awake hours later, I try to make sense of the words coming over the radio.
“It’s time,” Jake looks over to me. “Wake the fuck up.”
According to our plan, Wrench and Flint should have already headed out, waiting just past a curve just over a mile from Pistario’s home. The proximity to the compound plus the long night should lull his guards into complacency. Jake spent his downtime this week, putting together a little surprise to ensure their car will spin out of control.
Reaching behind me, I make sure that I’m grabbing a bottle of fresh water and not piss. Downing that, I open my mouth but the radio kicks in with an update from Flint, “Wrench rolled out the mat. Take it easy on the curve. Over”
Flint
I’m too fucking old for this shit and a night sitting in a car hasn’t improved my mood or my back. As soon as we saw their headlights approaching us, Wrench flipped out the nail strip so there’s nothing for us to do but get out of the way.
He signals me from across the road as he stands inside the tree line. With nothing to do but wait as the car draws even with where I last saw Wrench, and I hear the satisfying pop of a tire and see it careen off the side of the road as the driver overcompensates.
“Fuck,” I mumble to myself when the car ends up flipping. We need that asshole alive long enough to make sure he is the one behind this and that his death will end it.
Wrench makes it to the car and quickly fires off the tranq gun twice. I pull up alongside the wreckage as my radio crackles to life. “We’re about to round the curve.”
“Get out and pack up the nail strip, pull up behind me,” I order them before getting out and turning to Wrench. “Tell me he’s alive in there?”
“Yeah. Guy in the passenger seat wasn’t wearing his belt – he’s gone,” he responds and we both turn to see Jake and Shade slowly approaching us. Shade gets out with a handful of zip-ties and we make fast work of transferring Pistario and his bodyguard into the backseats of the two vehicles, after checking them for any tracking devices.
Heading back to the rented cabin, the now blindfolded bodyguard is tossed into the laundry room and Pistario is attached to a chair in the center of the tarp in the kill room. One look at Shade tells me all I need to know, his head is in the fucking game, alright.
“Question him when he wakes up,” Shade says, pointing to the where the other guy is. “Pistario’s all mine.” He has a leather bundle in his hand and I don’t want to think about what’s in there. I understand the need for men like him, but have never had the stomach for much beyond a quick and dirty shoot out.
Minutes later the screaming starts, another twenty minutes and the smell of blood has tainted the air around us. Wrench’s complexion goes pale; he stands and walks outside without a word. It’s right about then, that the bodyguard in the laundry room starts moaning.
“I got this,” I wave Jake off and grab a bottle of water and a bandana, wrapping the latter around my face to help distort my voice.
I lift the hood that the bodyguard is wearing and pour some water into his mouth. “I imagine you’re thirsty as fuck and wondering if this job is really worth it.”
“Who the hell are you? You have no idea what…”
“Shut the fuck up until I ask you a question,” I snarl, then quiet down when I hear more screaming. “Now listen - hear that? That’s your boss in another room, begging for my buddy to even ask him anything. See? That’s where we differ. I’m going to ask you some questions, and hopefully, you’ll cut through the bullshit and just tell me what I want to know.”
“Any chance I get out of this?” The tone of his voice has changed.
“Do you deserve it? How many fucking girls has he trafficked while you sat back and got paid?” “What? He’s cutting into your business?”
I hit him for that. Not just for assuming I’m like his boss, but thinking he gets to ask any questions. The first thing I did after my father was killed was cut out the skin trade. That never sat right with me. We own a strip club over near the ski resorts but our bouncers are paid to make sure ther
e aren’t extras allowed on the premises.
“Who does he use for hits or clean-up jobs?” I ask.
“You got a fist like my old man. Shit,” he groans. “Like a fucking baseball bat across my face.”
I step forward to strike him again and he slides backwards. “I’ll answer your questions, if you’ll answer one for me.”
“I’ll humor you.”
“If you aren’t a competitor, why are you after him?” He asks.
“We think he sent someone to kill my buddy. My buddy and his family.” I answer after a moment.
“The Idaho job,” he murmurs. “It was just a set up for a murder conviction – I didn’t hear anything about a family being targeted.”
I sit there, letting the silence stretch out; Pistario’s screams have intensified. But what’s bothering me is that I can’t figure out the angle of the guy at my feet.
“Stanley. He calls the guy who handles those jobs, Stanley. I don’t have a last name. I have a picture of him but I’m guessing you didn’t keep my phone?” He volunteers next.
“No. Mind telling me why you’re being so helpful?” I kick him in the hip.
“I need to live.” He answers and I grunt. “I’ve got someone to live for and it sure as fuck isn’t Pistario.”
Everything clicks together, “Are you a goddamn Fed?”
“Ding, ding, ding.” He chimes in. “Twist the heel off of my left boot, badge is in there.”
I do as he says and find it. For good measure, I pull off his right boot and try to find something in there.
“FUCK!” I turn from the room and sliding the door closed, I go and bang on the door to kill room. “Outside. Now.”
I head out into the fresh air and light up a cigarette. Wrench sees me and slips out of the rental car as Jake and Shade file out of the cabin.
“Fucking bodyguard is undercover,” I growl, flashing his badge and everyone starts swearing. “I got a first name. Stanley is the guy who’s handling the hit on you, Shade. What has Pistario said?”
“I haven’t asked him anything,” Shade calmly responds.
“Well, mind asking him to shut this shit down? I think we need to get the fuck out of here sooner rather than later,” I’m using every bit of control I have to keep my voice low.