But I still had another card I intended to play.
Chapter Thirty Seven
Cara
I smiled when I heard Damian's bike pull into the driveway. The last few weeks had been amazing, and I was looking forward to many more weeks just like that. But when I saw his face as he stepped through the door, I felt a stab of pain in my heart and a knot form in my stomach. Something was wrong.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I met with Mills,” he said. “It didn't go so well.”
“What happened?”
He told his story to me, and with each word he spoke, I felt the knot in my stomach grow tighter and tighter while the lump in my throat grew larger and larger. When he was finished, I felt wrung out – and like I needed a drink. But I needed to keep my head clear.
“So, what are you going to do?” I asked.
He sighed and leaned back on the couch. “The way I see it, I have two options – I can run, or I can go to the cops.”
I shook my head. “If you go to the cops, you'll be implicating yourself – in multiple murders,” I said. “You will be locked up for the rest of your life. That's a complete non-starter.”
“Then that only leaves me running as an option,” he said softly and then looked at me. “Would you come with me? You and Austin? We can get out of this place. Start over somewhere else. It'd be a fresh start for all of us – completely free of the Kings.”
The knot in my stomach constricted so hard, I almost cried out in pain. What he was asking me to do – to just walk away from the life I'd built here – I wasn't sure I could do. My job was here. Austin's school and his friends were here. As much as I loved Damian, I didn't know that I could just uproot our lives on a moment's notice like that.
Damian nodded but said nothing, seeming to sense my answer without me having said anything. I watched as his face fell, as sadness and pain were etched into his features. My heart broke just looking at him going through those emotions. But I didn't know what else to do.
“What about the vote?” I asked softly. “Couldn't you still win the vote? Get him ousted instead?”
“Sure, it's possible,” he said, his voice suddenly so subdued. “But he'd still be around the city – and more pissed off than ever. I'd spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, just waiting for him to pop up and put two in the back of my head. I don't want to live my life like that. And I sure as hell don't want to put you and Austin in the middle of something like that.”
I sighed and felt tears of sadness and frustration welling in my eyes. I grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed it, burying my face into his chest as I tried to figure out something – anything – we could do to get out from under this.
“But because there's the possibility that the vote could go my way,” he said, “this whole thing is just a facade. We're never going to have the vote.”
I looked up at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Mills is so worried that I'm going to beat him and that he's going to lose the gavel,” he said, “I guarantee he's going to try to take me out before we can have the vote. If I'm dead, there's no need for the vote. He'll probably try to make it look like Fantasmas retaliation.”
I shook my head, trying to deny what he was saying. “You don't know that for sure. You don't know that's going to happen.”
“I do know that, actually, Cara. I know how his mind works. I've known guys like him. He's afraid of losing, so his only play is to take me out. Which is why I need to get out of town.”
The tears raced down my cheeks, and I didn't make any effort to stop them. Why bother? Just when things in my world looked like they were going well, when I was happy, they all fell to shit once more. It was the goddamn story of my life.
“Is there any way I can talk you into coming with me?” he asked.
I looked up at him, the tears streaming down my face. “I–I can't, Damian. My whole life, not to mention Austin's, is here and I—”
His smile was soft and sad. “It's okay, Cara. I understand. I get it.”
He didn't understand it though. My heart was shattering into a million little pieces – and I didn't know that I'd ever be able to piece it all back together again. This wasn't fair. It wasn't right. And I hated God or whoever for doing this to me. To us.
I looked up at him, my body racked with sobs. “How long will you be gone?” I asked. “Will you ever be coming back?”
He sighed and gave me that sad little smile again. “I don't know,” he admitted. “I'm pretty sure Mills is going to put out a shoot to kill order if I ever show my face around here again.”
I threw my arms around him and held him tight. I didn't want to lose him, but I couldn't uproot Austin either. Not to mention turn my own world upside down. What would I do for work if I picked up and ran with Damian?
My heart said go with him, but everything else told me to play it smart. Play it safe. And be practical.
“I love you, Cara.”
I sniffed loudly. “I love you too.”
I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to piece my heart back together again.
Chapter Thirty Eight
Damian
I was sitting in a little roadside diner just outside of Sacramento. I figured that I was going to head up into Oregon. The Kings had a charter up there, and I was going to look into transferring in. I'd been thinking about what I was going to do ever since I'd left Cara's place. And I'd come up with the rough outline of a plan.
Getting into the Oregon charter wasn't a lock. They were going to have to speak to Mills about my transfer, and I knew he was going to give me a less than glowing endorsement. To say the least. But I'd make my pitch to the charter president, lay out everything – and I did mean everything – and start the ball rolling on getting Mills ousted that way.
If I was successful, there was still the problem of him being around and looking for a little revenge, but I figured I'd deal with that when the time came. I could only deal with one thing at a time and at the moment, it was getting my ass approved to transfer charters. Everything else, I'd deal with when the time came.
I sipped at my coffee and nibbled on the sandwich in front of me. After the waitress had dropped it off, I realized that I really had no appetite. I was sick to my stomach and feeling more miserable than I think I ever had before in my life. Which was saying something.
I'd had a taste of happiness. Genuine happiness. And then Mills had gone and ripped it all away from me.
I was devastated, heartbroken, but furious. That deep, abiding rage within me was bubbling just below the surface, and I was having a hard time keeping it in check.
“You need a box, hon?”
I looked up at the waitress, not comprehending what she'd just said. I'd been so lost in thought, I had no idea what she wanted. Thankfully, she saw the perplexed look on my face and smiled as she pointed to the half-eaten sandwich on my plate.
“That,” she said. “Would you like a box for it?”
I turned and looked at the plate, comprehension slowly beginning to dawn on me. I shook my head quickly and gave her an apologetic expression.
“No, thank you,” I said. “I'm on the road. Nowhere to keep it.”
The waitress nodded. “Just doin' my job.”
She left me alone with my thoughts and my barely touched food. One way or another, I was going to be with Cara again. I didn't know how, but it was going to happen. I wasn't going to let that one good thing in my life pass by without fighting for it.
I took another drink of my coffee and had just set the mug down when my phone rang. I fished it out of my pocket and felt my heart skip a beat when I saw that it was Cara. I was hoping that she was calling to tell me that she'd changed her mind and would meet me. But the instant I connected the call, I knew that something was terribly wrong.
“Damian,” she said, her voice cracking and filled with absolute terror.
“Cara, what's wrong?” I said.
“T
hey have us, Damian. They're holding—”
A million different thoughts fired through my brain simultaneously. But overriding them all was the sensation of absolute fear. I didn't need her to tell me who she'd mean by “they” – I already knew. The knot in my stomach constricted painfully, and I felt nauseous.
A moment later, Mills' voice was on the line. “Well hello, Damian,” he said. “Cara and Austin – not to mention the rest of us – are pretty upset you decided to skip town without saying goodbye.”
“I swear to God, Mills,” I hissed. “If you don't let them both go right now—”
“You'll do what exactly?” he said, his voice ice cold.
“I will fucking kill you. Harm a hair on either one of their heads, and I'm going to fucking gut you, you son of a bitch.”
Some of the other patrons turned to look at me, concern upon all of their faces. I stood up quickly, dropping some cash on the table and went outside. I stood next to my bike, the phone pressed to my ear, feeling the rage inside of me bubbling out of control.
“Let's not say things we don't mean and will come to regret,” Mills said.
“Mills, I swear to God—”
“We were supposed to have a vote. And you skipped town.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, like that vote was ever going to happen. If it were, you wouldn't have snatched Cara and Austin when you heard I skipped out. You would have just called the vote, and with me not there, you could have ousted me.”
He laughed. “You've always been smart, Damian. I just don't see why you couldn't put those brains to work for you. For me. And for the club.”
“Because I'm not a cold-blooded killer. I don't want to see this club destroyed because of the path you're taking us down.”
“It's unfortunate, really. You could have helped make the Kings great. Greater than we ever have been before. But you just don't have the stomach for it.”
“What do you want, Mills?”
“I want you to get your ass back here. We have some business to finish up.”
“Text me the location and the time. I'll be there.”
He sent me the information, and I jumped back on my bike, roaring back toward town. All I could think about was Cara and Austin, about how terrified they must be. I was angry – beyond angry. I wanted to rip Mills apart with my bare hands.
I knew, without a doubt, that I was riding back to town and that it was going to be my last ride. I had no doubts that Mills and his men were going to kill me. If only Cara had come with me – I pushed the thought out of my head. There was no use in thinking like that. My only goal was to get her clear of this shit – even though it was going to cost me my own life.
But as long as I knew she and Austin were safe, I didn't care. Their safety was all that mattered to me. So, I punched it and rode even faster back toward town. Toward them. And toward my doom.
Chapter Thirty Nine
Damian
It was well after eleven when I finally pulled into the parking lot of the old, decrepit warehouse – the same old, decrepit warehouse where I'd taken four bullets from Mendoza in what seemed like another lifetime.
As I stared at the derelict building, it struck me that the symmetry of it all was too neat to be a coincidence. I'd always suspected that Mills had put Mendoza up to killing me to begin with. And now, he had me by the balls and was going to finish the job himself at the same place this whole fiasco had started.
Though getting shot sucked beyond words, at least one good thing had come out of it – Cara. If not for Mills setting me up and Mendoza shooting me, I might not have ever gotten as close with Cara as I had become. And for that, I was thankful.
It was a small slice of happiness in a lifetime that was, for the most part, terrible, but at least I'd had that slice of happiness at all. I was grateful for that time, as brief as it had been.
“It's about damn time!” Mills shouted as I stepped into the warehouse.
He was there with four of his most trusted lieutenants. They were standing in a half-circle around Cara and Austin, who had their hands bound, were gagged, and sitting on the floor. Mills' attack dogs were carrying AR-15's – obviously products from their new business venture – and had them pointed at Cara and Austin.
“I'm here,” I said. “Let them go.”
I walked across the warehouse and stood in front of Austin and Cara. Tears streaked down both of their faces and the fear coming off of them was palpable. I gave Austin a wink and an encouraging smile, hoping to alleviate some of his fears. Judging by the look on his face though, I'd failed to even make a dent in them.
“You didn't seriously think I was going to do that, did you?” Mills asked. “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you're not actually all that smart after all.”
“You son of a bitch!”
I lunged forward a couple of steps but stopped in my tracks when Mills' men raised their weapons and had them trained on me – their fancy little laser scopes painting four red dots in the middle of my chest.
“They're loose ends. Like you are,” Mills said. “And if there's one thing I can't abide, it's loose ends. You and your little girlfriend here are the only things tying me to the killing of Mendoza and his guys. I take you out, that problem goes away, never to be heard from again.”
I looked over at his guys. “See this?” I asked them. “This is what you can expect someday too. This son of a bitch is a liar and has no honor. He never keeps his word. One of these days, that's going to be you – so enjoy the ride now, boys. Because he's going to fuck you over just like he's fucking us over.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Mills snapped. “It didn't have to be this way, Damian. All you had to do was go along with the program. If you had, you'd be swimming in cash right now.”
“Maybe money isn't what drives me,” I said. “Maybe, unlike you, I don't like killing, and I don't like being a psycho fuckbag.”
“Watch your mouth,” Bryan snapped – Mills' right-hand man.
“Oh, gee, I'm sorry. Did I offend you?”
“Your very existence offends me,” Mills said.
“That's unfortunate.”
He shrugged. “It's a mistake that's about to be corrected though, don't you worry.”
The sound of bikes rolling up to the warehouse filled the air around us, the roar of their engines echoing off the walls. I looked down at Cara – her eyes were wide, and I couldn't help but see the terror on her face. Austin was still sobbing – and had wet his pants on top of it.
My heart went out to the both of them, and I wished more than anything that I could get them out of there and take away all of their fear. They didn't deserve to be caught up in the middle of my shit like that. I needed to come up with a plan to get them free – quickly.
I had no idea who was coming through the door, but it sounded like a lot of the guys had come. Mills looked positively triumphant as he looked at me. He knew he'd won and that he was going to be free to shape the Kings any way he saw fit – and that all of his loose ends were about to be tied up.
But there was no way in hell I was going down without a fight. I just needed to time it right. Needed to pick the perfect moment to strike. My hope was that I would keep Mills and his guys distracted long enough that Cara and Austin could get the hell out of there.
“Welcome, brothers,” Mills said as the group who'd just arrived stepped into the middle of the warehouse.
I didn't even bother looking up to see who'd arrived – I was too busy trying to come up with a way to get Cara and Austin out of there. But the sound of rounds being chambered – a lot of them – drew my attention quickly.
“What the fuck is this?” Mills shouted, his voice unsteady.
“Change in leadership,” Crank said as he stepped forward.
I looked up to find that Crank and a dozen other guys had their own AR-15's trained on Mills and his four lieutenants. The four guys looked at Mills, their eyes wide, uncertainty filling their faces. Mills looked absolutely apoplectic.
“I told you, we're here to conduct a little regime change,” he said. “Your leadership sucks harder than a five-dollar whore, so we're going to put somebody in the big chair who can handle the job – somebody who's not a twisted, corrupt, greedy, murdering asshole.”
Crank gave me a wink and playful punch in the shoulder. I could give him a big, sloppy kiss for what he was doing. With his eyes, he motioned toward Cara and Austin – telling me to untie them. I dropped to my knees, undoing their bonds, and taking the gags out of their mouths.
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