Through The Weeds (Nightshade MC Book 2)

by Shannon Flagg

  “Are you saying what I think that you're saying, Buster?”

  “I know, this is more than just the bar to you, Train. It's your home, and I'm sorry, but I don't see any choice in it. We can vote it.”

  “No. I get it.” For a moment Train had no expression at all, and then he smiled widely. “I'll go and get the C4.”

  “You do that.” Buster looked around. “All these rooms have been cleared?”

  “We cleared up here, the kitchen and the bathroom.” Train replied. “You guys got the basement and the bar.”

  The office. No one had checked the office. It was the last place in the bar that Caroline, or her body, could be. Buster had to consider that he wasn't going to rescue her so much as recover her. He was going to have to bury the woman that he loved, and the circumstances wouldn't allow for anything near what she deserved.

  Buster didn't say a word, he just turned and walked down the stairs. He'd never felt what he experienced in the mere seconds it took to walk over to the office, open the door and step inside. The lights were off. He turned them on, and his eyes focused on Caroline.

  She was bound to a chair with duct tape. Her inner arms were exposed and one was covered with burns. “Caroline.” He moved forward.

  “Stop right there. Not another step or I put one through her head.” Jake stepped out of the bathroom. “Hello, Buster. I was rather hoping that you were dead already.”

  “No such luck,” Buster replied. “What the fuck did you do to her?”

  “Only what I had to,” Jake replied.

  “I'm going to kill you,” Buster told him. He didn't need the details of what he'd done; it only took for him to look over at Caroline.

  “No. You're not.” Jake smiled. “Lose the gun or guns. You know what, just to be on the safe side, lose everything that you could use to try and kill me. The key word is try. Now, I'm not known for my patience, so here's what's going to happen. You're going to get online, transfer everything in your bank accounts to mine. If you do that, I'll let you and Caroline live.”

  “How do you know about the money?”

  “I have my ways.” Jake chuckled. “I've always wanted to say that. And what part of 'lose the weapons' did you not understand?”

  Buster didn't want to put down the gun, but he believed that if he didn't, Jake would end Caroline's life. He couldn't have that. Besides, he didn't need a weapon to kill Jake. It would be significantly more satisfying to take his life with his bare hands. He set his gun down. Caroline stirred on the chair, mumbled something, and he noticed the sweat pouring off of her.

  With Jake holding the gun, it was a risk to go at him, but Buster figured every second that he let the man breathe was one big risk. The time for reasoning was over. The time for waiting had passed. Now was the time for him to act.

  “Good boy.” Jake chuckled. “Now, come around here and start the transfer. I'll write the number down for you. Remember, one wrong move and you're a dead man, but I'll kill Caroline first.”

  Buster nodded. He was sure that they were both dead either way. He wasn't sure exactly why no one had come into the office, probably they were clearing whatever they needed out of the bar. It was hard to walk past Caroline without checking on her, but he needed to focus.

  The desk, her desk, was as neat as usual. The computer was on, and Buster saw his bank's homepage up on the screen. Jake certainly had done his research. “You gonna write it down on what?” he asked, and his eyes focused on the heavy metal stapler Caroline had insisted she needed when she'd apologized for spending fifty dollars on it, as if he'd give a shit what she spent on a stapler.

  Jake kept the gun in one hand, picked up the pen with the other and started to write down a number.

  There wasn't going to be a better chance to get the upper hand. In one swift motion, Buster picked up the stapler and swung as hard as he could swing. There was a sharp crack when it connected with the side of Jake's head. The gun went off, probably from a reflective curling of his fingers on the impact, and the bullet tore through the door.

  The first blow was probably enough to kill him, but Buster didn't stop swinging the stapler until he was covered in blood and Jake's head looked more like a smashed, and bloody, pumpkin. He dropped the stapler to the floor, rose to his feet and turned to the woman he loved.

  “Caroline. Caroline.” He touched her shoulder and her face, but there was no response. Buster fumbled for the knife he kept on his belt, cut the duct tape that bound wrist and elbow to the arm of the chair. She'd been tied tightly; her hands had started to turn blue from lack of circulation. “Caroline.” She didn't stir until he started to massage her hands, and then she screamed. “Caroline. It's okay. It's me.”

  She continued to scream; the veins in her neck bulged from the intensity of it. Her arms flailed out. Once she realized they were free, she tried to get up and run, but he hadn't untied her feet yet. Shit. Buster managed to catch her before she fell. “Easy, it's me. He's dead. You're safe.” His words didn't bring her any calm. If anything, she began to fight harder.

  Buster didn't realize that they had an audience until Train stepped forward. “They dosed them, all of them. Jillian managed to not swallow the pill and spit it out.” His expression was serious as he moved forward and crouched down next to them. “Tell me what I can do.”

  Buster realized that meant Jillian had been awake and aware the entire time. If there was any silver lining in what happened to Caroline, it was that if she'd been dosed, she likely wouldn't remember much. Caroline stopped screaming when Train spoke. “Help me get her out of here. Is everything ready?”

  “It's good to go. Danny's taking Amelia back to their place. She was hit in the shoulder, hit her head when she went down, but I think that it's going to be something Maggie can fix. Ace is still downstairs trying to get Jillian out. He's gonna need a few minutes with that.” Train cleared his throat. “She tell you anything?”

  “She's going to need to see Maggie. He burned her. It's pretty bad. Got to be cleaned and wrapped.” Buster eased Caroline back in the chair, freed her legs. “Can you walk, Caroline?”

  Caroline looked at him then. Her eyes widened as if she'd just realized who he was. “Does this mean that I'm dead or you're alive?” she asked.

  “We're both alive, Caroline. And Jake isn't. He's dead. He will never hurt you again.” Buster reached out, cupped the side of her face with his hand. He'd expected that she'd pull away, but she didn't. Instead, she leaned into the touch.

  “You killed him?”

  “With your stapler.” Buster looked over as Train chuckled. “You ready to get out of here and go home?”

  “Jillian and Amelia. Are they...”

  “They're alive. They're with their old men, and they're going to be fine.” Even though Buster wasn't sure that Jillian would ever be fine again, there was no way he was going to tell Caroline that now. Right now, she didn't need anything else to hurt her.

  “I need to see them.”

  “You will, but first, we need to get you home.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I need to see them, now.” Buster didn't think that it was a good idea, and it must have shown on his face. Her eyes narrowed, and he knew that she wasn't going to budge. It both surprised him and gave him hope that she hadn't been broken by whatever had taken place in this room.

  “Alright.” Buster leaned in and kissed her lightly in case it was too much, but she deepened the kiss, and his cock swelled. He pulled back because she was too fragile for more.

  “Give me your arm.” Train's voice broke into the moment. “Got to at least get it covered, or it's going to get more infected. Now would be good.”

  Caroline smiled for the first time and held out her arm. “Be careful.”

  Buster knew that Train would be gentle with her. It gave him his first view of her arm, and his stomach clenched with tight hot anger. The letters weren't perfect, but he could make out what they were because he knew. Jake had taken inspiration from
a Nightshade tradition and used a brand. If it were possible to kill the man again, he would, and it would be much more than blows to the head.

  <#<#<#<#

  It took an hour for Caroline to calm Jillian down enough to go with Ace. In that time, Buster had made sure that Train was on top of everything and the guys weren't clearing the rooms out too much. It needed to look like they hadn't known this was coming. When the cops did come around, it would look like The Wild Cards had accidentally exploded their devices before they got out. They'd buy it because there would be no other explanation, or at least that was what Buster hoped.

  “We're ready when you are, Buster.” Train had a small black control in his hand. “Cleared the place myself. Everyone's out.”

  “Do it,” Buster replied. “I'm going to get Caroline home. Maggie should be there any minute, and her arm needs the attention.”

  “I've got this.”

  “You're more than welcome to come and stay at my place. You know that, right?”

  “I know. But I'm gonna take that house on Maple. It's got electricity and water. It'll do until I figure something out.”

  “It's yours as long as you want.” Buster figured it was the least that they could do for the man. “It's a good place.”

  “Good as any. Get out of here.” Train looked over as Caroline got out of the truck. “Someone's feeling a little bit clingy.”

  “She's got the right to be. Thanks, Brother. Come by the house in the morning. We'll regroup. Figure something out.”

  “Sounds good. See you there.”

  Buster turned to Caroline as Train walked away. “You should be in the truck. Sitting and resting.”

  “I'm fine. You're not. What's going on? Don't look at me like that. I'm not stupid. Tell me, so we can go home and I can get some drugs.”

  “We're going to blow the bar up.” Buster was too tired to beat around the bush. “There's too much blood and too many bodies to cover up. It's the only way.”

  “That sucks.” She looked over towards the bar. “Maybe we should have shot him the minute he walked through the door.”

  “Maybe.” Buster grabbed her chin and turned her head until her eyes were on his. “And maybe he'd have killed you right there. You did good, Caroline. Really good. Don't you doubt that. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Good. Get into the truck. It's time to go.” He helped her into the truck next to Jillian and walked around to the passenger side. Manuel was behind the wheel. Buster nodded to him. “Thank you, Brother.”

  “My pleasure,” Manuel replied. He pulled away from the curb just as there was the sound of faint sirens in the night. Detroit's finest, and Harris, were on their way. The rumble of the explosion a few seconds later filled the truck. Manuel sped up and Buster turned to watch through the back window as the bar burned away.

  Chapter Twenty

  “This is going to scar, there's no way around it.” Maggie spoke softly as she applied a thick cream to the burn on Caroline's arm. “The good news, if any news can be good, is that the severity of the burn and the amount of skin I had to remove will likely make the letters unrecognizable.”

  “And the bad news?” Buster asked.

  “Infection has already set in. You're going to need to take antibiotics to counter it and be very careful with keeping it dry. I'm also going to recommend that you limit the movement as much as possible. I've got a sling in the truck.”

  “That's not so bad.” Caroline reached out with her good hand and squeezed Buster's hand. “Right?”

  “Right,” he replied but he didn't even crack a smile.

  “I can give you something for the pain and something to help you sleep. Right now, I think that you're still in a bit of shock, which is perfectly natural, all things considered.”

  “It could have been a lot worse.” Caroline knew that was true. She could have had the same experience that Jillian had. “I'll be fine.” She looked over when Buster sighed. “What?”

  “Stop trying to downplay what happened to you.” There was an anger in his voice that she hadn't expected. “Just because Jillian and Amelia were hurt worse than you are doesn't mean that what happened to you is nothing.”

  “In comparison, it is.” Caroline didn't mean to raise her voice but it came out at nearly a shout. “I wasn't raped. I wasn't shot!”

  “You were tortured!” Buster shot back. “Tied up and drugged!”

  “You don't need to remind me what happened. I remember.” She remembered everything that had happened before the drugs and most of what happened after. “And I got off easy.”

  “There's nothing easy about it. He branded you, marked you.” He shook his head. “Is this part of the shock, Maggie? Or the concussion?”

  “It's not the shock or concussion. This is me, being me,” Caroline replied.

  “It's been a long and difficult day for everyone.” Maggie spoke up. “For now, it might be best if you agree to disagree about this.” She began to pack her things back into her kit. “Here are the pills, Caroline. I suggest that you take them now. Get some sleep.”

  Caroline wasn't tired. She didn't say that, and she had no intention of taking the pills, at least not yet. “I just want to check on Jillian first. Make sure that she's settled.”

  “She's out for the count. I didn't give her an option in taking the pills,” Maggie replied.

  “Still, I want to see for myself.” Caroline heard Buster mutter something underneath his breath, and she ignored him. “And after that, I'll take the pills. Okay?” She looked to Buster.

  “Do what you'd like to do, Caroline. It's what you're going to do anyway,” he said and then sighed. “Shit, that didn't come out right.”

  “I think it came out just how you wanted it to. I get that you're pissed about today, pissed about what happened and losing the bar but that doesn't mean that you need to get frustrated with me.”

  “And how should I feel with you?” He demanded. “Ever since you stopped screaming, you haven't seemed to give a fuck about you. It's been about Jillian or Amelia or even me with the bar. What about what happened to you?”

  “You think focusing on what that son of a bitch did would make it easier for me? You want me to get locked in my head and think of nothing but the way I could smell myself cooking when he took the brand to me?” The scent was still in her nostrils, despite a shower where she'd all but drowned herself under the steamy spray as best she could while keeping her bandage dry. “Is that what you want?” She was screaming again. She never screamed like this.

  “No. I want this to have never fucking happened. I want to have been able to keep you safe.”

  His words stopped whatever Caroline was going to say next as she realized that he blamed himself for what Jake had done. “This isn't your fault, Buster. You couldn't have known.”

  “I should have known.” He shouted the words. “I should have taken Jake out long before tonight, before he got his hands on you.”

  “You couldn't have known,” Caroline repeated. “No one could have known.” She noticed that Maggie had taken her kit and eased away from them during their outburst. It was probably a smart move. “I'm fine, Buster. Really.”

  “No, Caroline. You're not fine. You're trying to be strong or...”

  “I can't dwell on it. I've got to keep moving. I've got to focus on something else. Please. Please let me do that.” Caroline heard her voice shake. “Because if I start crying, if I let myself break down, I'm not going to stop, and then I'm not going to be good for anyone.”

  “You're always going to be good for me.” He closed the distance between them. “I'm flying blind here. I don't know what to do for you.”

  “Come check on Jillian with me, and then let's go to bed. Let's put this day behind us.” Caroline reached out and ran her hands over his chest. “It was a pretty shit day all around.”

  “That it was.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “If Jillian's sleeping, we shouldn't wake her. Her b
ody needs to rest.”

  “I know. I just want to see her and make sure that Ace is okay.” Caroline could barely breathe when she thought about how much everyone had lost because of Jake and his bullshit. Ace had almost lost Jillian. Danny had almost lost Amelia, and they'd all lost the place that they considered to be their home base. “Wait, Train lived at the bar. Where is he now?”

  “He's staying in one of the houses we're nearly finished with. I invited him to stay here, but he likes his alone space. He'll be fine,” he added with a smile. “I'd tell you not to worry about him, but I figure that's a lost cause.”

  Caroline had to smile. “Yeah, it pretty much is.” There was something that she was more worried about than Train's well being. Jake had known things, things that weren't well known, like Buster's money, and she couldn't help but wonder how he'd known. How did she bring it up to Buster? How did she suggest that there was an informant so soon after Edge's betrayal?

  <#<#<#<#

  Caroline stared down at the bandage covering most of her lower arm and sighed. There would be scarring. She'd never forget the moment or the intensity of the pain, but it was something that she could live with. She was lucky it was the price she paid, because Jillian and Amelia had paid more.

  Jillian was a shell. She hadn't spoken since they'd found her. Only whimpers. Maggie had strongly suggested a hospital, maybe a psychiatric ward where she could get some help dealing with what had happened to her. Ace had nearly taken her head off right there. No hospital. No shrinks. He'd said that Jillian wouldn't want to be locked up, and that was the end of it. Maggie let it go, but Caroline wondered if she'd been right. Amelia was drugged into a deep sleep. She'd lost a lot of blood and her body needed to heal. She hadn't been raped; she'd told Danny that much in a brief moment of lucidity. Caroline didn't know why she was so worried about her, but she was.