Rising Heat (Outlaw Biker Boys)

by Grey, Helen

  Not only Kathy. But Sarge. Bones. More at stake than I would have ever imagined. The moment I knew that the Outlaws had taken her, I knew that I would stop at nothing to find her. To try to protect her. Even if I had to die to do it. It wasn’t just Kathy that needed saving though. It was me. My future. I had made a break from the gang, but that didn’t mean it was over. Far from it.

  After the brief meeting with Sarge and Bones, we had headed down into Golden. In another motel, we had met with a group of federal agents. Two from the FBI, one from the DEA, and one from the DOJ. This was some heavy shit. I was glad I had gotten out when I did. At the same time, I was worried about Bones. And Sarge, to be honest. While I didn’t know him well, I had seen him around for the past year, keeping along the fringes, much like Bones and I did. He kept to himself. Seriously kept to himself. I think in the times I had been around him, I’d heard him speak about five words. Maybe.

  During that excruciatingly long half hour at the motel, I was quickly brought up to speed. The Outlaws had to keep thinking that I was the undercover. Sarge’s mission in the gang wasn’t over. Bones was on his way out, but he still had some sense of the pulse of the group. I didn’t feel a bit guilty about what was about to go down. The gang got whatever the hell they deserved. Taking Kathy had done it for me. All bets were off. No more misguided sense of loyalty, no more hesitance, wondering if I had made the right choice. No regrets. Absolutely no regrets.

  So here I was, hatred boiling in my heart, pounding through my veins, feeling like a coward. Hiding in the woods, staying away from the action. But this was bigger than me.

  The feds had stressed that my face was not to be seen by any of them or all their careful planning, and even Sarge’s safety would be compromised. After the raid was over, I would disappear.

  There was no doubt that many of the gang members would be arrested. Many of them would end up going to trial. But plenty of them wouldn’t. If Spider escaped, it would be vitally important for Sarge to continue his role, especially to keep track of what was going on with the potential development of an association between the Outlaws and the Juárez cartel. The leaders of the gang had gotten their talons into the cartel, were making deals. It was worse than I’d thought. Spider had been negotiating behind the gang’s back, sending them on jobs that had less to do with financing the gang than proving something to the cartel. There had been murder. There had been twenty women sold into a new sex ring. When I heard the truth of it, I felt the bile rising in my throat. Bones looked at me and nodded. Without exchanging a word, I knew he felt the same.

  I felt betrayed again. By my expectations. By my own foolishness. By my blind faith that the gang had brought me a sense of belonging, of family. Shit. In the beginning, they did, before they’d turned into bottom-sucking scum. I didn’t belong there anymore. Maybe I never had.

  I felt empty. Worn out. Disgusted with myself for wasting so many years with them. Thinking that I was okay.

  Those thoughts hovered on the edges of my consciousness as I watched from just inside the tree line behind the diner. I was supposed to wait here for Sarge. He would get Kathy out.

  Not me.

  If she was in there. If she was safe and unharmed.

  They could have taken her somewhere else. Holding her offsite until I showed.

  I hadn’t had time to ask Bones many questions. How had he found out about Sarge? Did he approach Sarge or was it the other way around? How had Sarge found out where Kathy was being kept? At this point, I loathed placing my trust in him, but knew I didn’t have much choice.

  While I was only concerned about Kathy’s safety and getting her away from the gang relatively unscathed, I also realized that there was a bigger picture to all of this. Sarge had spent over a year finagling his way into the gang, pretending to be one of us. One of them rather. I didn’t know much about undercover operations, but I knew that the dedication it took was nothing to be taken lightly.

  The plan was that the feds, along with a local SWAT team, would storm the diner. They weren’t going to wait for the gang to meet up at the abandoned gas station later. Sarge and Bones had arrived hours earlier, hanging with the gang like normal. When the first flash bang was tossed into the building, they would pretend to defend the gang. A smoke bomb would go in next, and they’d use its cover to get Kathy out.

  I had too many concerns. Too many questions. But there was no time. I couldn’t waste a second berating myself. Feeling guilty or regrets. Not just yet.

  Sarge said that Digger was the one who had been assigned to snatch her from the motel and bring her down here. If I could, I would enjoy wrapping my hands around his throat. The same applied to Spider. The wannabe cartel associate. He was a nobody so desperate to be a somebody that he didn’t realize who he was getting into bed with.

  Unfortunately, nobody’s had a way of making themselves known, of making a name for themselves. And it was those kinds of guys that were the most dangerous. I had underestimated Spider. He might not be the smartest, but he was mean, and he was taking the gang right along with him. Bones was right in that there would be plenty of members of the gang who didn’t want to go in the direction Spider was taking them. But that did little good. Either you belonged, or you didn’t.

  I clenched my fists tightly as I crouched down behind a tree near the back of the diner, desperate to clobber something. Two of the gang members emerged and stood in the back, just hanging around, talking, smoking, and sipping beer. Occasionally, a burst of laughter erupted from inside. My blood boiled. Were they taunting Kathy? Hurting her? My heart pounded, and I had to clench my jaw to keep from shouting, to prevent myself from racing down and storming into the building to find her. Rescue her.

  I shook my head. This was no fairy tale. And it was my fault she was there in the first place. My fault that she was terrified. She would probably never want to speak to me again. Never see me again. At this moment, I would take that, as long as it meant she was okay.

  I waited impatiently for everyone to get into position. The Feds had planned a blitz attack. No red and blue lights, no sirens. They would approach from different points. Black SUVs. Loaded to the teeth. The signal would be the flash bang thrown through one of the front windows. And then it would be every man for himself.

  I hoped Bones wouldn’t get hurt in the melee. Sarge had assured me that he would find Kathy and get her out. The look on his face, the sincerity of his words made me feel that he would do his damned best. Someone with his experience, someone who had been through so many combat tours and life-and-death situations certainly knew how to handle himself. I knew that. For Sarge, dealing with a bunch of bikers was probably no big deal.

  When glass shattered, I stood up, adrenaline attacking my system. A mere second later I heard a sharp, loud pop. Shouts of surprise and alarm. It was immediately followed by a smoke bomb. Another loud pop and smoke gushed over the roof of the diner from the front. The two guys standing in the back threw their cigarettes on the ground and raced around the building to see what was happening.

  All hell broke loose. Shouting. Gunfire. Several guys manage to escape, hopped on their bikes to get away. They surged from the diner like ants from an anthill. Several managed to get past the SUVs. Others didn’t.

  In the midst of the chaos, my heart pounded with anxiety. I stood, staring down at the diner. Where was Kathy? Where was Sarge? That smoke coming from the front of the diner now wasn’t the white smoke of a flash-bang or a smoke grenade. The place was on fire. Shit! How was Sarge going to get her out—

  The sound of breaking glass caught my attention. This time, it was the window that I knew came from the office.

  A flap of burlap was thrown over the sill, and then someone began crawling out of the window. Not just someone. It was Kathy!

  Unable to stop myself, I left the shelter of the trees and raced toward the back of the diner, my blood surging with a combination of relief and fury. Kathy was trying to scramble out of the window, but it was small and to
o high just to jump out of.

  “Kathy!” I hissed. “I’m coming.”

  Hanging halfway out the window, she froze, then choked out a sob of relief when she saw me. Then she was reaching for me. “Help me out! Help me out!”

  Wrapping my arms around her upper body, I pulled. She was shoved from behind and nearly toppled us both to the ground, but I managed to keep my balance. Relief tore through me, but I knew the danger wasn’t over yet.

  “The place is on fire,” Sarge yelled from inside. “Get her into the trees. Disappear!”

  I turned to do just that but paused only a second. My gaze met that of Sarge, and I nodded. A wordless nod that said everything. The guy was okay.

  After a muttered, “Ooh rah,” he disappeared back into the diner.

  More gunfire came from inside as I ran, this time with Kathy in my arms. The smell of smoke, the crackle of flames, the screams of someone inside caused a shiver to race down my spine. I hoped to God it wasn’t Sarge. Or Bones.

  I reached the tree line and continued on behind the cover of the close-growing trees before I stopped and lowered her to the ground, examining her from head to toe, cursing at the ragged looking cuts on her wrists. “Are you all right? You’re not hurt?”

  She said nothing, just stared up at me, and I realized she was probably in shock.

  “Sweetheart, are you hurt?”

  She shook her head. “I need to pee really bad.”

  I laughed and kissed her forehead. “Keep holding it, baby. I’ll find you a place soon. Bones has a car waiting for us on the other side of that ridge,” I said, pointing. “It’s about a half-mile away. We’re going to have to run and keep under cover of the trees. Can you make it or do you want me to carry you?”

  She blinked, cast a fearful glance over her shoulder at the diner, and then looked at me. Her features were set with determination. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  I smiled and kissed her forehead again. “My brave girl.”

  Helping her to her feet, I kept hold of her hand and began to run, weaving through the trees. She kept pace with me. I heard her heavy breathing behind me, but she didn’t ask to stop. Didn’t pause. I was never so proud of anyone in my life. A lump rose in my throat with the intensity of my feelings. I wanted more than anything to stop, to pull her into my embrace, to burrow my nose into her hair, to smell her, to touch her, to make sure that she was all right. But we couldn’t be caught. We couldn’t be seen.

  By the time we reached the top of the ridge, scrambling between the trees, struggling up the small slope, dislodging small chunks of dirt beneath our feet, we were both covered with a layer of dust. Behind us, the sounds of gunfire, shouts, and sirens echoed.

  We finally topped the rise, still hidden among the shelter of the trees. I searched the ground near the bottom of the hill upon which we stood. It looked like a dirt forestry service road down there. And then, maybe about fifty yards away, tucked into the trees, I spotted it. A dark blue Jeep.

  “There it is. Can you make it?”

  Gasping for breath, resting her hands on her knees, she looked up at me and nodded. One more burst of effort and we scrambled down the hillside. Once there, I opened the passenger side door, but she ran behind a bush. “Don’t you dare come over her,” she shouted, and I heard the hiss of her zipper. A second later, there was a long groan and what sounded like Niagara Falls.

  Damn. She really did need to pee.

  When she reappeared, she scowled at me before climbing into the Jeep. Running around to the driver’s side, I jumped behind the wheel and reached for the keys jutting from the ignition.

  And froze.

  I hadn’t gotten behind the wheel of a car since the day I killed my younger sister. Accident or not, I caused her death. I glanced at Kathy. She stared at me, wide-eyed, her chest heaving with exertion.

  “You want me to drive?” she asked and placed her hand on my arm, understanding flooding her face.

  Her voice, the compassion and sympathy in it, took my breath away. Once again I wanted to do nothing more than wrap her in my embrace. Not yet. Maybe later. But maybe not ever if she turned her back on me. I wouldn’t blame her if she did, but I hoped to God she wouldn’t.

  I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles softly. Then I placed it on my thigh and turned the key. “I’ve got this.”

  In a matter of seconds, we were following the county service road around the bottom of another hill, up another, and then wove our way down toward a highway. I wasn’t quite sure where we were, but I knew where I didn’t want to go. I headed south and then west.

  I drove toward the setting sun. Eventually, I got onto a county road that took us toward Cañon City. I didn’t stop there. Not in Salida either. Just before dark, I pulled into a recently refurbished motel halfway up the eastern slope of Monarch Pass. I glanced at Kathy as I pulled into a parking space. We sat there in the growing darkness, neither of us saying anything for several moments. The only sound was the ticking of the engine cooling down. The laughter of a young couple walking past the Jeep.

  “You okay?” I finally asked.

  She turned to me, opened her mouth and questions began to fly. “How did you find me? I didn’t think you’d be able to find me. I thought they were going to kill you and then they would kill me. I didn’t know how to get away. Who was that guy? That big guy who helped me? Where were you when I got back from the pharmacy—”

  I pulled her into my arms. I half-expected her to pull away, to slap the shit out of me, but instead, she crumpled into my embrace and began to weep.

  “Ash, I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m so glad they didn’t hurt you…”

  And then, she did pull away slightly, but only for a second. The next thing I felt were her lips on mine. Desperate. Demanding. I relished the sensation of those lips and even the warmth of tears burning behind my eyes. Tears of gratitude. Of relief. She was okay. She was safe. And I would never, ever let anything happen to her again.

  If she would have me.

  *

  Later that evening, after we had showered, we ran to the store to get clothes, toiletries, and medical supplies for both of us. We grabbed take-out on the way back, a bottle of wine for her, a six pack of beer for me.

  After we’d eaten and tended each other’s wounds, I simply held her.

  Bones had called me from the police station, where he was taken after his arrest. I had been alarmed at first, until he told me it was all part of the plan. He had been arrested along with about a dozen others of the gang members. He wasn’t really arrested, but the feds made sure that the gang thought he was.

  That would keep the heat off him, the repercussions of the gang. He gave me a brief rundown of what happened. Spider had gotten away, but Digger and Mops were in custody. Sarge had disappeared as well, but I had no doubt that he would track down Spider. I knew that bastard well enough to know that the gang members that had escaped the raid would gather at one of the other hangouts in Denver. Maybe they would all leave Denver for a while, until things cooled down. Bones had heard comments that they would relocate down near Pueblo, maybe further down south in Trinidad, closer to the New Mexico border.

  I didn’t care where they relocated. I knew Bones couldn’t talk long or say much, but I was worried about him. “You okay? You going to be able to get out without anybody suspecting anything?”

  “I think so,” he said. “You have any idea where you’re going?”

  “Not yet. You still thinking of visiting your cousin up in Fort Collins?”

  “Yeah, as soon as the dust settles a little. I don’t want to disappear right away, give Spider or any of the other remaining gang members any ideas, if you know what I mean.”

  I did. I also knew that if I needed to, I could always find a way to contact Bones. He would be able to do the same with me. No matter where we ended up.

  By the time I finished the call, I felt a little better. Kathy looked exhausted, a little shocked still, but she
didn’t have any serious injuries. I glanced down at her wrists, feeling the surge of anger burgeoning within me when I saw the bandages, knowing bruised, chaffed and broken skin was underneath.

  Placing the phone down on the end of the bed, I reached for her hands and gently kissed one wrist, then the other before looking up into her face. I would say what I had to say and then let the chips fall where they may.

  “Kathy. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

  She offered a small smile. “I know that, Ash.”

  “When I found out that you’d been kidnapped, I was so… afraid. Alone. I would never have been able to forgive myself if anything happened to you. In fact, I don’t think I can ever forgive myself for what did happen to you.”

  “Ash, don’t—”

  “You can’t go back to Denver. You know that, don’t you?” I felt horrible when I saw the sheen of tears in her eyes.

  “I know. But I’ll survive. I can go back home for a while. Find another job. I’ll probably have to retake my semester, but it could’ve been a lot worse. I realize that now. I’m alive. You’re alive. And really, that’s all that matters.”

  At that moment, I realized that Kathy was much stronger than I had given her credit for. She would come through. She would always remember, as would I, but she would come through this stronger than before.

  We sat on the bed together. I held her hands gently in mine. “Kathy, I have to leave Colorado. Would you consider…” I took a deep breath. “Would you consider coming with me?”

  She stared at me a moment, her eyes searching mine. I wouldn’t blame her if she shook her head and said no. Or even laughed in my face. But I still hoped she wouldn’t.

  “Where will you go?”

  I shrugged. “I’ve got a place near Salt Lake City. I also have a place in New Hampshire.”