I had a look around the hotel room making sure that I'd packed everything and grabbed my bags to leave the room when my phone bleeped. I decided to ignore the message for now as I had my hands full and made my way down to the reception area to check out.
"Was everything okay for you sir?" asked the busty receptionist.
I smiled, "Everything was fine love."
"Will we be seeing you again?" I saw her eyes flicker to her left towards the window and she swallowed hard. Before I knew it, there was an almighty racket and the sound of breaking glass. I bolted over the reception desk and flew on top of the receptionist trying to protect her from what sounded like gunfire.
Before long, the sound ceased and all that could be heard was the sound of a set of wheels screeching away from the scene. I looked up at the receptionist, she looked a little shaken but it was her facial expression before the event that intrigued me.
"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you."
She shook her head, "Not at all."
"Don't fucking lie to me, it's written all over your face. That's why you started a conversation with me coz you were stalling for time."
"Not at all, I wouldn't do that."
"Yeah keep telling yourself that sweet," I got to my knees and peered over the counter to see if anyone was around. I couldn't hear anything out of place so I leaned onto the desk and pulled myself to my feet. Once I was standing I patted my body from my shoulders all the way down until I reached my feet making sure that I was in one piece before I returned my attention to the receptionist still cowering on the floor.
"So who's responsible?" I asked in a monotone voice. There was no point getting angry with her she obviously wasn't directly involved as she'd been shot at too but she knew who was responsible.
"I don't know what you mean?" she sat up and brushed her dress off to clear some of the shards of glass from the window smashing.
I didn't have time for her shit, I walked towards her and pushed her back onto the floor before I straddle her aggressively. I'd left myself open to be kicked in the balls but I knew by her scared expression that she wasn't going to kick off, in fact I knew she'd squeal like a pig without me even putting any pressure on her.
She glanced around the reception area before she returned her attention back to me. "If they find out I've said anything I'm going to be in so much trouble."
"What and you think by not telling me you aren't going to be in any trouble?"
Her eyes widened as she took in the information I'd just told her and I saw her body starting to shake.
"Okay," she whispered. "It was the Satan's," the receptionist continued to glance around the area to make sure no one was around to hear her.
I smiled, "Thank you that's all I needed to know." I rose to my feet and walked over the debris towards the exit. I could hear the sirens in the distance and wanted to be out of here before the police arrived, I jogged over to my car that was parked in a space close to the hotel so should anyone have tampered with it, it could be seen on CCTV. It didn't look to be damaged which was a godsend, I stuck my keys into the ignition and it started first time. I reversed from the space and could feel my adrenaline pumping as the sound of the sirens got even closer. I drove from the car park at speed and onto the main road just in time to see a string of police vehicles hurtling towards the hotel. I knew I'd be picked up later regarding being there at the time of the incident as I'd be on the surveillance camera but I didn't have time to deal with any of that now. If they wanted me, they'd have to come and find me.
I accelerated through the traffic trying to create some distance between the hotel and myself, it was only when my phone vibrated indicating that I'd received a message that I sighed with relief as it brought me into the here and now.
I reached for my phone and swiped the screen to see that the two messages were from Keira's phone and dread filled my body again. I couldn't open them while driving through fear of them being horrific and I didn't want to crash so I waited another agonising couple of minutes until I was outside the hotel in which Fallon was staying.
As I parked the car, I pressed the attachment and took a deep breath as I watched the short film clip.
Keira was still bound and gagged but didn't look to be too distressed. I watched the clip a few times trying to look for any clues that may reveal where she was but there weren't any. It was only then that I realised that I had the volume down and couldn't hear if anything had been said, I increased the volume and the words started to play, "Don't make me cut this baby out of her CJ, stay away."
"FUCK!" I shouted as I banged the steering wheel several times, earning me some strange looks as people entered the hotel directly in front of me.
I moved my hand and rubbed my face out of frustration contemplating whether to open the second attachment. I was pulled from my thoughts as someone banged on the window, I clenched my fists and turned to see Fallon standing next to the car with a concerned look upon her face.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah babe but I don't want you out here talking to me, can you please go inside and I'll be along soon."
She looked confused by my outburst at first and then I saw the realisation on her face, why she shouldn't have come outside and spoken to me. Fallon glanced around the car park discretely before she stepped back and briskly made her way inside the hotel. Now that she was out of the way, I was able to watch the final clip. I pressed play on the screen and watched the short video of the bullets being fired at the hotel and the cheering in the background over the sound of the vehicle being driven at speed. As the clip ended, I noticed that there was a message attached, "Just think how many brothers could be taken down with that amount of bullets."
I quickly forwarded the video clips onto Recon and Finn, hoping that they could pick apart the information and find something that would lead us to Keira.
I looked in the rear view mirror quickly to see if anything was out of place before I exited the vehicle. I knew there was a possibility that I had been followed here but I was going to get changed and kitted out in my leathers before taking off on my Harley to join the other guys. Fallon had followed my instructions and had parked my motorcycle a couple of streets away and the only way to get to the street from here apart from using the main roads was a simple short cut down an alley and over a wall. This meant that it was easy for me to see if I were being followed which hopefully I wouldn't be.
I casually walked to the hotel lobby and was greeted by Fallon. "How you doing Twizz?" she smiled at my greeting.
"I'm sorry about going out there but I saw the concern on your face and wanted to just hug you."
"That's okay babe, hopefully everything will be sorted soon and we won't have to look over our shoulders anymore."
Fallon placed her hands onto her hips, "Why am I not convinced by your words?"
I smirked, it was only Fallon that had the ability to be able to read me like a book. "They've got Keira and are threatening to cut the baby out if we sabotage the drugs deal."
Fallon placed her hand over her mouth, she knew what Keira and the baby meant to me and I could see that she was worried for their safety.
She slowly lowered her hand and touched my arm lovingly, "Do you know where she is?"
I shook my head, "No but the guys are all over it."
"Yeah I bet they are. Is there anything that I can do to help?" she asked hopefully.
"No, that's why I didn't want you being seen with me because you'd then be put in the firing line which I don't want."
She smirked, "Always looking out for me big brother."
"Of course so where's this room of yours, I need to get changed?"
"Follow me."
I followed Fallon along the corridor and up one flight of stairs, the room itself was spacious and I was grateful that she had my leathers laid out on the bed ready for my arrival. We'd decided to go for clean cuts so we weren't associated with any club easily as we didn't want to draw unwanted at
tention to ourselves. Not that it mattered, when a group of us travelled in close proximity we always managed to turn heads because of the noise of the motorcycles.
I removed my jacket and saw Fallon's eyes widen as she noticed Locke's blade inside its recognisable sheaf.
"It's a very poignant symbol," she said quietly.
I smiled, "Yeah it is and very significant for today's event."
I swung the jacket around me and placed my arms into the sleeves, it felt good wearing something like this again rather than the other clothes I'd been wearing all week. I fastened my jacket and placed my gloves into my pocket should I need them later on my journey as I was prone to getting cold hands and didn't want anything to hinder my performance later in the day.
"Have you got my keys?"
Fallon walked towards me and adjusted the lapels of the jacket before handing over the keys to my Harley.
"What's the time Twizz?"
"Erm...I don't know I haven't got my watch on."
I rolled my eyes, "What has Finn told you about always wearing your watch."
She frowned, "I'm inside, what's it matter about wearing a stupid watch?"
"I'll have you know that we all paid a lot of fucking money for that stupid watch!" I said in humour but was annoyed that she wasn't wearing it. Now it was Fallon's turn to roll her eyes before she made her way over to the bedside cabinet.
"See I'm now putting on my very expensive watch, are you happy?"
"Ecstatic, now stop being such a smart arse." I walked towards her and leaned down to place a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Right I'm off now to join the rest of the guys, promise me that you'll stay in here locked away until we're back."
"Cross my heart," Fallon drew a cross mid air over the place where her heart would be in her body like a child, making me snigger.
"Look after yourself."
"Stay safe," she shouted after me using the clubs motto.
I mock saluted as I opened the door and stepped into the corridor. "Now lock that door and do as you're told for once in your life woman."
"Yes sir," she saluted back and we laughed in unison. I turned and strolled down the corridor towards the stairwell and the adrenaline started to build in my body. This was it, this is what I'd dedicated my life to over the past couple of months, this was the revenge that Locke had so desperately sought and now I was going to get it for him.
Chapter 10
CJ
"We need to all be out of sight from the road," I was becoming increasingly anxious and the guys weren't listening to me.
"I've already gone through this CJ, the way the car and pickup truck are positioned we can't be seen from the road." Recon was getting annoyed and it was only a matter of time before we ended up coming to blows. The thought made me chuckle as I could possibly do with a fistfight to make me feel better but this wasn't the time or the place.
Because of our position within the woods, it was difficult for us to all stay hidden but Recon had come up with the idea of faking a break down scene. A bloke from the building site had happily offered his services to be the stranded driver and we'd hired a pickup truck to make it look authentic. We used this vehicle to hide our motorcycles behind and they couldn't be seen from the road offering us the cover we needed but I was still concerned. Further down the road Duke, Hound and Buster were positioned in a lay by should any of the Satan's get away from us. They were armed with a stinger that would easily take out the tyres of a motorcycle should it get past and they were prepared to do whatever it took to stop the group.
Everything was now in place but it was the waiting around that was killing me although there was no point analysing everything now as it was too late to do anything about it.
"CJ are you there?"
"Yeah go ahead Woods, I can hear you loud and clear."
"They're shaking hands as we speak and the bags containing the money and the drugs are open on the ground."
"Okay, just keep me posted on events mate."
"Like I say, nothing much to report but they're currently doing the deal and people are franticly counting the drugs and money."
"Cheers Woods."
I returned my attention back to the group. "Right that was Woods on the radio, the deal is going ahead so the guys could be passing within the next 5 minutes or so. Keep your eyes and ears peeled."
I was interrupted by my phone ringing, "Sorry Recon I gotta get this it's my brother." I passed him the radio so he could be kept up to date with the events from Woods and I turned to answer my back on the group as I answered the phone.
"What's up Rian?"
"Did you tell Fallon to stay in the hotel when you saw her last?" he asked almost panicked.
"Yeah of course I did why?" I was confused why he was bothering me with such a trivial thing at this moment in time.
"I take it you haven't got your tracker app up?"
I frowned, "Well no not at this exact moment in time as I'm a little busy Rian."
"Well she definitely ain't sitting in a hotel and by the speed she's travelling she's most certainly in a vehicle."
I rolled my eyes and let out a deep sigh, "What the fuck's she playing at?"
"My bet is that she's on her way shopping but the car is heading out of town into a more rural area."
My heart lurched in my chest, "Follow it Rian, follow the fucking tracker. I've got this horrible feeling that she's been taken by the same people that took Keira."
"Fuck, I didn't think of that." He'd been concerned when he first started this conversation but now I could tell he was frantic.
"She greeted me outside the hotel so it would only take one of them to see us together and act on it."
"Right I'm on it man, she's only 10 minutes away but I can make up ground."
"Right get on with it and keep me posted."
It was as I put my phone away that all hell broke loose. I had been so involved in my conversation with Rian that I hadn't paid any attention to the commotion around me.
Diesel, Recon and Stoney had taken off on their Harley's after the group pushing them further up the road to meet the rest of our members lying in wait. I was quietly confident that the guys were able to deal with them but I hadn't seen how many Satan's there were.
I noticed the radio on the floor and picked it up, "Woods can you hear me."
I could hear rustling but he answered." Yeah CJ I'm here," he whispered.
"How many of them in total mate?"
"Six of them headed your way including Hustler and Slick but Onyx and Priest are still here. I think they envisaged an attack and have hung back but they're arguing."
"Fuck!" I didn't know what to do for the best. Did I take the fight to them or wait for them to come here?
"Woods can you hear me?"
"Yeah!"
"I'm coming to you, I'm bringing the fucking fight to them."
"See you soon partner."
I could tell by the way Woods was out of breath that he was making his way towards his motorcycle, and if there were two of them left, then it would be a clean fight. The adrenaline kicked in as I mounted my ride and I eagerly made my way towards the meeting place going further into the woods. This was it now, I was taking chase and there was only one of us that was going to survive and the way I was feeling right now, I wasn't the one that would be falling.
I accelerated up the hill, the roads weren't perfect for Harleys as they were probably better suited to motocross but I knew we'd all be in the same position. I made it to the place where the meeting was held and heard a rumble from a Harley further behind me. As I turned to my left, I saw Woods cut across a grassed area, he pointed in front of him indicating for me to follow as I presumed that's where Onyx had obviously gone. We rode our Harley's to the limit, picking up speed on the awful road and I only hoped that we'd come out of here and join a proper road rather than a dirt track. I understood why they'd possibly chosen this location but it wasn't doing well for the suspension on my motorcycle.
Woods indicated that there was something ahead and low and behold there they were. They had obviously thought that they were out of the firing line and had taken a steady ride through the woods heading for Manor road. This had only made it easier for us to catch up with them. I could see that they were having some type of conversation in front, hands were flying everywhere as they tried to communicate which only made me feel better about the situation. They obviously didn't have radios which also meant that whoever had Keira couldn't be contacted easily and be informed regarding the situation. We'd caught them on the back foot and it was always easier being the predator rather than the pray.
I accelerated knowing that my conquest was in sight and smiled like a Cheshire cat as we made ground on them.
I pointed to Woods and indicated that I wanted him to deal with the other rider as Onyx was all mine. Woods gave me the thumbs up as we navigated up the track, in places we had to ride single file and others we could ride side by side. The windy track wasn't suitable for our Harley's but the two guys in front were experiencing the same difficulties so we weren't at a disadvantage.
"We're running out of road," I screamed over the noise of the engines. The track came to an end and veered off in two directions. Woods hung back letting me take the lead as he knew I was going after Onyx no matter the cost. I could've asked Woods to come with me but I wanted this to be a fair fight, he was better off dealing with the other guy and hopefully round him up like the others.
Onyx turned left and accelerated down the road now that he had tarmac under him rather than dirt. My frustration mounted as it took me what felt like forever to join the main road but as I did, I accelerated after him knowing that I was a skilful rider and confidant that I'd be able to catch him. My only disadvantage was that I didn't know the roads, he obviously did and weaved in and out taking more of a racing line where I had to predict bends in the road.
I rode the bike to the limit trying to put pressure on him hoping that he'd make a mistake but he held his own and was obviously a competent rider. I was gaining on him but only slightly, "Fuck!" I misjudged a bend and my advantage had been taken away as easily as that.
CJ (Aces MC Series Book 6) Page 15