by KJ Dahlen
Falcon brought to the attention the problems the club had been having while trying to get supplies and men enough to rebuild the clubhouse. Over the last two months, since Eagle blew up the old house and they decided to rebuild, they’d had one problem after another. Not only that, but they’d all seen more and more Road Dogs in the city. That alone was dangerous for not only them but innocents as well. The Road Dogs were an unstable MC and anything could and would often happen with them around.
Talon nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking the same thing. There have been several sightings of Eagle watching us as well. He stays in the shadows but he’s out there yet and I can feel him close. He’s been waiting and watching and it wouldn’t surprise me to find out he’s behind some of the trouble.” Shaking his head he admitted, “Every fucking time we get a line on him, he disappears back into his hole again.”
Condor stared his prez for a moment. “You need to get Blue on his trail. If anyone can find Eagle, he can.”
“You’re the second brother tonight that’s told me that and I’m going to talk to him tomorrow.” Talon raised a brow at him. “I’m just wondering why it took you so long to suggest it.”
Archie returned looking satisfied. He had been standing outside the bedroom doorway listening for the last few minutes. “How far are you in your rebuild?” he asked Talon.
“Not quite as far as we need to be.” Talon crossed his huge arms over his chest and stared back at him. “Why?”
Archie smiled slightly. “Because I’d like to help you finish. I have one of the biggest construction companies in the nation. I can have men and supplies delivered in the morning.” Holding up his hand he went one to say, “I know I have no say in this at all, but I’m offering to help.”
“Why?” Ricki asked.
“Because they allowed me to finally meet you. One of them even saved your life, little girl. When I got the call from Talon tonight, I admit, wouldn’t take no for an answer. I had to come the moment I found out about you. I sort of pushed my way in here to meet you and this is something I can help them with. I made my fortune building things. I know construction and I can help.” Shaking his head he claimed, “Maybe my son is the way he is because I didn’t spend enough time with him when he was growing up. Maybe I let him think the structures I was building meant more to me than he did. I don’t know, but everything I did back then was for my family. He just never saw it that way.”
Talon snorted. “Every man makes a decision for himself. How he wants to live his life is one of those choices. Slasher didn’t make good decisions, and it had nothing to do with you. He could have followed your footsteps and worked hard to build something good for himself but he didn’t. He chose to be a biker, which isn’t a bad thing...” he paused to add while wearing a crooked smile. “But he chose to be a biker who doesn’t give a shit about anything but his own gratification. That’s on him and not anyone else. He took that taste of power and wanted more and more. He let the greed take over and nothing became out of bounds to him. Again, that was his choice, not yours.” Shaking his head, he added, “We all make the choice of which path to follow. He made the wrong one and that’s on him.”
“The offer still stands,” Archie stated.
Talon looked over at Falcon, Rogue, and Condor.
They all gave their nod.
He looked back over at Archie and held out his hand.
Archie took it and they shook hands on the deal.
Archie then looked over at Ricki. “I’m hoping we can spend some time together over the next few days as I want to get to know you.”
Ricki shook her head. “That could be dangerous for both of us.”
“What do you mean?” He cocked his head at her.
“If you don’t think Slasher isn’t having you watched, especially this close to coming into all that money...you are just plain crazy.”
Archie shook his head. “The will doesn’t take effect until after I’m gone. I’m still alive, so he won’t get the money anyway. That codicil was added that if I was already dead, he would have to wait.”
“That’s not the way I read it,” she replied as she shrugged. “And I know I’m not a lawyer, but that is not what I understood from it.”
Archie frowned and went to retrieve the will again. When he brought it back into the bedroom, he read it again. Then he frowned and read it a third time. “That little bastard,” he swore as he looked at her. “You’re right. Mark reworded it to say exactly what you said. Richard would have gotten the money in a few days if he presented this document to the courts. Mark failed to put in the words if I died between then and now. He would’ve to have this document in order to show the courts and as you have it, he can’t show the original to the judge.”
“Or he could just ask for the document they have on file,” Talon pointed out.
Just then, the security system on Condor’s phone went off and he pulled out to see what was coming. He saw several shadows moving around the screens and he growled. Looking up at Talon he announced, “They’re coming.”
Talon got on his phone and texted the clubhouse. He asked, “Are you secure here?”
Condor nodded. “Oh yeah, might even have a surprise or two in the works.” He got to his feet and motioned them out to his security room. He then paused to hold out his hand to Ricki and then ushered her down the hall.
When he got there, he sat down and turned his monitors on.
Four big screens lit up and everyone could see various parts of Condor’s property. There were six icons of heat, showing up on his screens.
Condor looked over at Archie. “We can’t tell who these men are.”
Archie shrugged. “Your point?”
“One of them might be your son and we won’t be able to tell until this is over. Are you okay with that?”
Archie let out a heavy breath. “Richard stopped being my son a very long time ago. I know now that he wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me for nothing but money. He damn near killed his daughter on at least two separate occasions. I know he murdered her mother. Like Talon said before, a man has to choose his way in life and Richard chose poorly. I can’t stand up for him now.”
Condor looked back to his screens and caught the sight of several more heat signatures out there. “We got more bodies.”
“The new ones might be our own. I called them in,” Talon said.
Archie stepped back and made his own call. When he returned he said, “I called my security in as well. Please tell your men not to shoot them.”
They continued to watch the screen and suddenly, all hell broke out as the two groups began to battle.
Ricki sank to the floor and moved to the wall, where she sat, rocking a bit. She’d seen violence up close and lived it up close, so her instincts were to hide when she could. She then felt panic, so she crawled over behind a desk. She felt it in her gut, something bad was about to happen. She leaned out to call to Condor.
Then suddenly, the house shook, as chunks of wood and ceiling flew everywhere. Dust puffed out as a blast ripped open the front of the house and the wall past the monitors.
The three men of Princes of Hell had been thrown back by the explosion. They were all trying to get up from the debris covering them.
Before the blast dust even settled, men rushed in and knocked all three of them out with the butts of their weapons.
Chapter Ten
Ricki was dazed as well but managed to keep herself hidden from view. She tucked her toes behind the desk and put her hand over her mouth. She peeked around the desk she was hiding behind and saw men standing over the bodies of Talon, Condor, Falcon and Rogue. Her heart pounded in her chest as she saw at the man her mother had told her was her father. She’d never been this close to him before. Then she saw the weapon in his hand and knew she had to stay hidden or he would kill her and she wasn’t ready to die yet. She hadn’t come this far to get shot today. If she’d had a weapon, she could have used it, but still there were too many of
them. Her concern went from herself to the men on the floor.
God, please don’t let these men shoot them.
Then Slasher stepped over to Archie who was lying on the floor, almost in the hallway and snarled, “Take this one with you. Let’s get out of here before those idiots outside realize what’s going on in here. He’ll work as a bargaining chip for these fools to turn the bitch over to me, so I can finally kill her.”
Two men reached down and grabbed Archie. One of them asked Slasher, “Where you want us to take him boss?”
Slasher looked down at his father “Take him to the warehouse. If these bozos come looking for him, they won’t find him and they’ll waste their time scouring the entire city for him while the old man dies of neglect. Take him there and leave him with one guard, then come back to the clubhouse.” Slasher grinned. “We got an unwelcome party to set up. Don’t worry about the old man, he ain’t going anywhere.”
They dragged him out of the house.
Slasher followed. As he walked past Talon, he kicked his boot into Talon’s belly and snarled at him. “One of these days, I’ll put a bullet in your head same as I did your old man.” He sneered at the unconscious man. “You’re lucky that day isn’t today but Eagle wants you alive to see the bullet coming. He’s paying good money, so you lucked out.” He then walked through the debris to the outside.
Ricki waited a few minutes before she crawled out of her corner. She went to Condor first and began patting his cheeks. “Oh, please wake up, you have to wake up now. Please wake up, sweetheart?” she begged him.
Condor groaned and began to move his head from side to side. Holding his head he whispered in pain, “I thought we weren’t sweethearts yet.”
“We aren’t,” she insisted. “I said that to piss you off but you aren’t playing fair.” She paused and waited for him to open his eyes and finally he did. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
“What the hell happened?” he groaned as he tried to sit up. He leaned against the desk and closed his eyes briefly. Then he opened them again, and looked around the room. He saw the carnage and then he saw the others all laid out. “Are they still alive?”
“I don’t know. I checked on you first.” She turned to the one closest to her. It was Falcon and when she touched him, he groaned. That was a good sign, at least to her.
He opened his eyes and groaned again, just louder this time. “What the fuck?” he growled.
She moved onto Rogue and he was still out. She patted his face a bit and when he began to groan, she moved on to Talon.
Talon had blood running down his face from a wound one of Slasher’s men made when he hit Talon viciously with his weapon.
Sitting up, Ricki kept looking at them all. “Thank God, they didn’t hit you hard enough to kill any of you.” Her hands shook.
Talon took a few minutes to come around and when he did, he grabbed both his head and his belly. “What the fuck happened here?” he groaned as he tried to sit up.
“Slasher was here, that’s what happened,” Ricki informed them. “It was all a setup. His men out there were sent to pull the attention to them, then a small bomb went off, leaving the house free and clear for Slasher to just walk in.”
Talon finally looked around and couldn’t see Archie anywhere. He turned to her. “Where’s Archie?”
“Slasher took him.” She began to tremble, moving closer to Condor.
Condor noticed and frowned at her. “What happened?”
She curled up into a ball and tucking her legs close to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them. Then she began rocking slightly.
Condor looked over at Talon with worry in his eyes. They all waited for her to speak.
“There were like six of them,” she told them quietly “Slasher and others. You all were dazed from the blast and they knocked you out with their guns. Then Slasher found Archie lying on the floor and he ordered his men to take him with them. He said he would be their bargaining chip and he would trade Archie for me. He wants me, so he can kill me once and for all.”
Talon sat forward as he groaned long and hard. “Why the fuck does my belly hurt so damned much?”
She turned her head. “Slasher kicked you. He said one day he was going to put a bullet in your head just like he did your dad but that day wasn’t today. He said Eagle had plans for you, so he couldn’t kill you yet and Eagle wanted you to see the bullet coming. That Eagle was paying him well, or he would’ve killed you today.”
“Fuckin hell,” Talon swore. “Eagle went over to Slasher’s camp? No wonder, we can’t find him.”
Falcon put his head back against the wall that propped him up. “Shit, boss, he must be waiting until we get the new club built and then blow it up again, but I have a feeling this time, he won’t give us a warning. He’ll just blow everyone up.”
More men stepped into the carnage left by Slasher’s bomb.
Talon and Falcon raised their guns to the newcomers but lowered them when they saw their own brothers.
“What the fuck happened in here?” Crow asked.
“Slasher wanted a parley, but he never said a fucking word.” Talon growled.
Stinger looked around but didn’t see Archie. “Where is the old man?” He frowned.
“Slasher took him with them when they left,” Falcon told his brothers.
“Well shit,” Crow swore as he gazed at the debris that had been Condor’s security room. “At least, he didn’t get the girl.”
“No, but he plans to use his own father to make us turn her over to him,” Condor told his brothers.”
“What the fuck?” Stinger shook his head. “Why would we make that deal?”
Talon got to his feet while still holding his belly as he grunted in pain. “Because he knows where Eagle is too. Eagle is working with the Dogs now.”
“That fucking son of a bitch,” Crow and Stinger swore at the same time.
Talon looked over at Condor and Ricki. “You guys aren’t safe here anymore. You should come back to the compound with us. At least, there’s safety in numbers and you can bunk in the cabin.”
Condor nodded and ushered Ricki toward the door.
She broke away and went to the bedroom.
Condor went to the kitchen and got out an icepack from his freezer. He placed it at the back of his head. Wincing, he went back to the front door.
Ricki returned with her backpack.
When they stepped outside the house, they were confronted by eight men dressed in black.
Each of them was holding an automatic rifle in his hands.
No one dared to move.
Chapter Eleven
“Who the fuck are you?” Talon growled.
“We are Mr. Kyler’s security detail,” one of them said. “Is he here?”
“He was,” Falcon told them. “But he isn’t anymore.”
The one who spoke before looked around at the bombed house. “What the hell happened here?”
“Archie’s son came to call.” Talon snarled. “This is his way of knocking.”
The eight men looked at each other.
“Richard took his dad?” the same man asked.
Talon nodded. “Yeah, Slasher got to his dad.”
“Where did he take him, do you know?” the man who seemed to be leader asked.
“Why do you ask?” Falcon wanted to know.
“Because we’re going to get him back.”
Talon shook his head. “The eight of you against Slasher’s men? No way.”
“There’s more than eight of us,” the leader told them. “Mr. Kyler has a lot of friends in high places and we can get an army if we need to.”
“This is our city, our territory, we’ll get him back and we’ll destroy Slasher in the process.” Talon stared back at him.
“I’m Niko Belonte and I lead more than just these men. Do you mind if we come along for the ride?”
“Suit yourself.” Talon raised a brow at him. “But you better be prepared to take my ord
ers. If you aren’t, then walk away. The Princes of Hell are in charge of the city and this rescue mission.”
“Is his granddaughter here?” one of the other men asked.
“Yeah, what about her?” Talon wanted to know. “She’s under our protection. You don’t need to worry about her.”
Niko shook his head. “Mr. Kyler tasked us to protect her as well. He made his wishes very clear on that.”
“Like I told you before, this is our city, our territory,” Talon stated angrily. “Here, we make the rules. Not you. Archie Kyler has no power over us and over these streets. We do.”
The eight men heard his words and understood what he was saying.
“We’ll take your orders,” Niko agreed.
“Then you can follow us back to the compound.” Talon gave him a nod. “We’re about to make plans to hit Slasher’s club.”
Condor took Ricki’s hand and led her over to a garage set back from the house. “We have to take my cage.”
“I thought you were a biker?” she asked. “Don’t you usually ride your bike?”
Condor paused and turned to glare at her. “Yeah usually, I ride on two wheels but I never take a woman on my ride.”
Ricki saw the raw pain in his eyes and didn’t say another word. She looked confused, but stayed quiet.
He opened the door.
A huge black truck sat in the shadows.
“Wow,” she whispered loudly. “Is everything you own huge?”
Condor tipped his head back and laughed out loud. “Pretty much sweetheart. I’m a big guy and I like room.”
She shook her head. “Still not your sweetheart there buster. Come on.” She motioned toward the truck. “Let’s get it done.”
Condor chuckled at her bossiness. So little but so fucking bossy. He lifted her up into the seat and went over to the driver’s side. Settling behind the wheel, he drove out of the garage carefully and then he stopped. He got out of the truck then he and Falcon loaded his bike in the back.