by Leah Wilde
I tilted my head, unsure of what he really meant.
“You inspired me. I waited to see you. I knew that eventually the tables would turn, and I would be faced with the same decision you had to make, where to place my loyalty. In realizing that I would be faced with that choice, I had to evaluate my loyalty in the basement of Gage’s clubhouse,” he continued tormenting me.
“What did you decide?” I asked, though I knew the answer already. I could tell he wanted me to ask.
“I decided that, unlike you, my loyalty is unwavering. I am loyal to Ivan. Are you even loyal to yourself, Julia? I imagine if you were, you wouldn’t have even taken a job from someone like Gage in the first place. Or were you bored with your life? Were you searching for a way out? Is that why you took the job from an obvious thug like him? Were you trying to shake things up?” He flooded me with questions. He was good at filling my head with doubts.
They were all good questions that I needed to be asking myself, especially since I didn’t have any good answers for them. I’d been wondering why I had taken Gage’s job offer since that first day. So far, I couldn’t think of any good reasons beyond needing the money to help with my mother’s bills. At the same time, being stuck in this life, I hadn’t been able to take the time to address any of the important daily concerns of my normal life.
Oh, but if I made it out of this mess, I would have a great story to share. That thought brought a smile to my face. Dimitri didn’t seem too amused by my smile, though.
“Is something funny, Dr. Danvers? Is your betrayal of yourself and of your boyfriend funny to you? It’s not going to be funny to him when he sacrifices himself to try to rescue you,” he taunted me.
I didn’t respond. In fact, his reaction made me settle into that smile, allowing it to spread further across my face, ear to ear, just because it drove him crazy.
“Wait,” he said. “If we let him see you here, if he knows you’re alive, you might be in even more danger. He might decide to sacrifice you so he can escape with his life again. No, no, we can’t have that, Dr. Danvers. We’re going to have to kill you first, I guess.” A smile crossed his face now. “We may even kill you before he gets here so that he finds your body when he arrives.”
We were back to his little fantasy about murdering me. I was beginning to understand why he’d taken this line of work over many other things he could have done with his physique. He took far too much pleasure in the violence of it all.
“The possibilities are endless,” he continued, smiling like a schoolboy. “If you’ll excuse me, Dr. Danvers, I’m going to go work this out a little more. I need to decide exactly what I’m going to do, how I’m going to do it, and when it needs to happen.”
I rolled my eyes as he stepped out of the room again. I began to wonder if there was a practical reason for his restlessness. I wondered if he wasn’t talking so much shit to cover up the fact that he really was scared of Gage and his men. After all, they had defeated men who had presumably been trained to kill their targets with some measure of efficiency.
I took his apparent concern as a good sign for me. It meant I had a chance to make it through this. Not being someone who wanted to depend on someone else for security, however, I continued working the chair after he left the room. It was wooden, for crying out loud! I had to be able to break it eventually. Eventually the wood would give, right? At least that was my thinking on the matter.
The chair didn’t seem to budge. There didn’t seem to be any distress or any weak points I could exploit to free myself. I didn’t want to be stuck on this boat waiting for Gage to arrive or for Dimitri to decide he was tired of playing with me.
If my theory about the bear’s concern over Gage’s arrival was true, it meant that I offered him a distraction. As a useful distraction, he would probably keep me around until the last minute, which increased my chances of being rescued.
My mind filled to the brim with possibilities and theories, questions and reflections. Just as Dimitri seemed to need me as a distraction, I was beginning to realize I needed him, too. I felt like there was some truth in what he’d told me earlier about looking forward to talking to me at Kings of Hell HQ, but not because he knew he was going to talk me into helping him at some point. I felt that I understood why he had looked forward to talking to me, because in my wooden chair, locked away in a closet and unable to tell if it were day or night, I felt the same way.
I caught myself wanting him to come back in so I would at least have someone to talk to or listen to besides my own thoughts, which were getting more and more persistent, and more and more panicked. Dimitri was becoming a comfort, offering me solace from the growing noise in my own head. I wanted him back because he also helped me pass the time faster than the waves rocking the boat. Even if it meant having to listen to him fantasize about killing me.
Chapter 30
Gage
We took two boats out in the middle of the night, shrouded by darkness. The mayor had given us night vision goggles and made sure we were equipped with the right gear for jumping in the water in the middle of the night to swim a good bit of the way to the yacht.
There were five of us in each boat. We had fully automatic assault rifles, handguns, and knives, just in case it got down to hand-to-hand combat. We even had radio headsets so that we could communicate with each other across the water.
“Alright, guys, let’s get a little closer. We’ll stop when we can see the boat,” I told everyone. We had a GPS app that had locked onto Ivan’s cell phone, courtesy of the mayor, again. He’d pulled some strings to get access to the phone system he used.
“I still don’t like using all this stuff the mayor gave us,” Jorell chimed in. “It feels too much like we’re working for him.”
“Let’s keep the line clear for important updates,” I responded. “And, Jorell, think of him as a wealthy partner with incredible connections. You’ll be surprised who you ended up using as partners in our line of work. So let’s be grateful that he was willing to help us.”
“Right, he could have been a dick and turned everyone against us. We could have been picked up by the Feds instead of being attacked by Ivan’s men,” Juarez chimed in.
“Alright, guys, that’s enough. We’ll air this out when we get back to HQ. Right now we have a job to do, so let’s get to work. Keep your eyes out for Ivan’s yacht.” I listened as the line went dead.
Jorell was becoming a problem. He seemed to want to foster dissent, but little did he know, his time with us was coming to a close. As part of my new push to better the MC, I wasn’t going to be able to tolerate him for much longer. His attitude wasn’t productive or helpful.
“I think I see something,” Ricky said over the line. Sure enough, there was a small green blip on the horizon.
“That looks like it,” I said.
“Hey, if we’re out here with night vision goggles on, how do we know Ivan doesn’t have anyone watching for us with night vision?” Jorell asked. “Sorry, it just occurred to me.”
“You know, you’re right,” I replied. It seemed that none of us had thought of that. “I’m sorry, guys, but I think it’s too late to do anything about it. Let’s get a little closer to make sure it’s actually him, and then let’s ditch the boats. The best way we can avoid being detected is by splitting up in the water instead of sitting together in these boats.”
“Right,” Jorell agreed.
“Hey, there aren’t any sharks or anything we need to worry about in Lake Michigan, right?” Juarez asked, getting a laugh out of everybody.
“You’re thinking of the ocean, you idiot,” Chase teased his fellow knucklehead.
“Alright, knuckleheads, radio silence unless it’s important. If there’s a chance they might see us, there’s also a chance they might be able to listen in on this frequency,” I told them.
My nerves were beginning to knot up in my stomach as our target grew closer and closer to us. It wasn’t because I was worried about Ivan or Dimitri,
or even the job we were doing for the mayor. I was worried about Julia. I was worried for her safety.
My veins ran icy cold as I realized I was going into the very situation I had hoped to avoid with her. It was Lisa all over again. I could see the scene with Lisa playing over and over in my head. I couldn’t let the same thing happen to Julia, but I was sure we were too late. There was little opportunity to avoid it at this point.
“What’s going on, Gage? What are you thinking about?” Ricky’s concerned voice came over the line, snapping me back to the water with the yacht getting ever closer to us as we approached it. I could feel the mounting tension among my men. It was an eager kind of tension as they readied themselves to pounce.
“Alright, guys,” I said, deciding to address the operation ahead of us. “In just a few moments, we’re going to be diving into the water to swim the rest of the way to Ivan’s yacht. I want to thank you all for coming out here with me to hopefully finish this rivalry for good. We have a mission ahead of us. I’ve given you all the names of the men we’re supposed to capture for the FBI to pick up on the boat later.”
I took a deep breath and sighed. I was as ready as I was ever going to be to do this, but I wasn’t ready at all. I was just tired of this shit. I was ready to get back on top and simply maintain our position.
“This is going to be another gunfight, guys. Understand that there is a chance we won’t all make it back. Let me thank you now for your commitment to the MC. Everyone here tonight has already proven themselves to me by showing up and showing that you’re ready to go through with something like this,” I continued.
“You suck at motivational speeches,” Ricky joked over the line. “Guys, let’s go kick this Russian’s ass!”
Everyone cheered over the line, and I heard the splashing sounds of my men diving into the water to swim out the rest of the way to the yacht. I was the last one in. I had my doubts about our mission. I had my doubts about how trustworthy the mayor was, but I felt like I owed it to Julia to do whatever I could to try to save her. I’d fucked up in the past, and this was my last opportunity to get it right. If I couldn’t set the record straight by taking out Ivan, then at least I wouldn’t have to wake up in the morning to face another day of failure.
“What time is it?” Ricky asked as we got closer to the boat.
“I don’t know. Probably about three or four in the morning,” I told him. “Why?”
“There are people moving around on the boat,” he said.
“That’s probably just security,” I told him. “Chances are Ivan and his higher ups are asleep at this hour, resting up for tomorrow’s big deal.”
“Or your buddy, the mayor, gave us up,” Jorell reminded me.
“I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt.” I looked at the people walking around on board. There were only a few of them. It wasn’t enough to be more than just security. We were going to be fine.
“If you say so.”
The line went silent again.
“Everybody look for a way up. If you find one, let the rest of us know,” I ordered the team as we reached the boat.
We quickly found ways up onto the deck.
“What now, fearless leader?” Ricky whispered.
“Now, we start shooting,” I said, pulling off my night vision goggles and approaching one of the guards from behind. I put the barrel of my handgun right against the back of his head and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out in the darkness as he crumbled at my feet.
“Jesus Christ,” Chase exclaimed. “Next time, silencers.”
I laughed. “You know, guys, in the old days, we would be in the process of fucking over the mayor and FBI right now.” The first shot felt so good I started musing.
“What do you mean, Gage?” Ricky asked cautiously.
In our all-black suits, we were able to hide in the shadows all over the boat, which was good. I ducked down as one of the dead guy’s comrades came around the corner to check on his friend with the new hole in his head. I heard men talking in Russian as they came out to see what the commotion was.
“I mean, if this mission had occurred just a few years ago, we’d be shooting everyone instead of leaving a few alive to make someone else’s job easier. Then, we’d take all the drugs and all the weapons with us,” I explained.
“Sounds like you’re finally coming to your senses,” Jorell said, chuckling.
“I didn’t say I wanted to do it that way, just that I remember a time when it was that way,” I argued.
“Fair point, but still.”
Several men stood on the deck with guns ready. They couldn’t see us in the dark. They looked around, dumbfounded, unable to find who had shot their comrade.
“I don’t see any of the guys we’re looking for,” I told the guys over the line.
“Maybe they aren’t here,” Ricky said.
“No, they’re here,” Jorell said. “A deal like this wouldn’t go down without leadership.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “They’re probably inside. They probably just sent security out to try to stop us.”
“What’s the plan, boss?” Juarez asked.
“We take out security first. Then we wait and see who else shows up to the party. Keep your eyes out for the four most wanted and for Julia. We need to keep them alive,” I answered.
“It feels like the list just keeps getting longer. Why don’t we just grab the girl and go? Let’s leave them all alive,” Jorell protested.
“No, sir. One’s already dead. Leaving him as the lone casualty would be just as bad as leaving no one.” I couldn’t shake the urge, though, to just run out and start shooting everyone. If it had been up to me, Ivan and Dimitri wouldn’t get off the hook so easily with just a little jail time. I would have put bullets in every head until I reached them.
I gritted my teeth against my desire to give up on the plan and screw over the mayor. I wanted to show him we weren’t afraid. We could have been bigger than the mayor if we wanted to be, and if we went along with his plan, we would be one day. Or, we could do it the way we used to do it. We could take the power ourselves.
I closed my eyes and breathed. I saw myself walking straight into the yacht, down the steps to where Ivan and Dimitri sat with the other two guys we needed to keep alive. I saw the shocked look on their faces as I pulled out my gun and my knife, shooting one in the face and stabbing another in the gut until everyone died where they sat.
It certainly would have been beautiful, but it would have created a lot more struggle for us on the back end of all of this. Instead, I decided we needed to go along with the plan. We needed to secure the guys the FBI wanted. We needed to clear the other guys out. And we needed to take Julia with us when we left.
“Are we ready?” I asked everyone.
“Ready,” I heard each of them say in turn. It filled me with pride to know that these men were following me into battle against Ivan. Even if they disagreed with me, they were going to trust me enough to walk in behind me and put their lives on the line.
“What’s the plan again?” Juarez asked.
“Take out security. Look for the four we need to leave. Wound them so they aren’t likely to try to escape, but let’s leave them alive for the Feds. Got it?” I snapped.
“Got it. Let’s do this.” Juarez was ready. With him and Chase at my back, I knew we were going to be successful. My grip on my handgun tightened. I could hear the assault rifles my guys had as they got ready to strike.
“On my word,” I told them.
Time seemed to slow down. Ivan’s guards moved in slow motion, spreading out to secure the perimeter of the yacht in the dark. I didn’t see the night vision goggles on any of them.
Then, the lights came on, eliminating any shadows on deck. The water lit up a few yards out from the boat. Everything was suddenly visible, and that included us, all ten of us, crouched down with our guns, waiting for the opportunity to strike.
“Fuck.”
Chap
ter 31
Julia
Dimitri came back in, saving me from my wandering thoughts. Unfortunately, it meant having to deal with him again.
“What time is it?” I asked him, curious enough to finally say something about it.
“It’s about four in the morning,” he said. “It’s still dark out. That’s all I really know. I haven’t checked the time. Time changes when you spend as much time locked away in a cell as I did, don’t you think?”
I smirked. “I think it does,” I agreed. “It doesn’t feel like it’s that early. It doesn’t feel like anything really,” I added, realizing for the first time that my internal clock was on its own time. It wasn’t trying to calibrate with clocks, just with its own natural rhythm and timing. Also, I started wondering how long I’d been on the boat, and if Dimitri ever slept. Surely sleep changed with this sort of detachment as well.