by K E Osborn
“Jones, what’s the ETA?” I ask the only cop I could find on short notice, who isn’t affected by this club, and who doesn’t really know Hudson that well. Last thing I need is Hudson knowing about this right now. His best friend’s in danger, I need Stone out of this!
“We’re coming up to it now, sir. Should be just around this bend,” he responds and I pull to the left to see the giant red warehouse coming into view. The thing that scares me the most though is the fact that there’s only one motorbike in sight.
“Jones, do you see what I see?”
“Yes, sir. You should park out by that tree. Not too close, so whoever is inside won’t hear us.”
“Agreed.” I park the car and we get out, pulling our weapons. The sound of a power tool sends a chill down my spine and I glance at Jones, who clenches his jaw tightly as we approach the front of the building.
Suddenly the power tool stops, and the sound of a ringing phone takes over. We both stand up against the wall of the building and listen in.
“Yo, Prez,” a young man’s voice chimes.
“Acid, José is being a cunt and wants us all here. He thinks we’re doing something behind his back. Stop what you’re doing and get back to the clubhouse. You can finish when we all go back to set up the cameras later, when the heat shows up to find the bodies.”
Thank fuck, he has his phone on speaker so we can hear the conversation clearly. My posture stiffens at the word ‘bodies.’
We’re too late!
“Sure thing, boss man.” Hiccup.
Furrowing my brows, I clench my jaw.
“Acid did you just hiccup?”
“I don’t know man. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I’m just cruising along, doing some shit. I’m fucking high as and it’s awesome.”
“For fuck’s sake, Acid. I told you not to take those pills and smoke joints today, you fucking little shit. Fuck! Just get your ass back here. Can you at least do that?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming now. Over and out.”
Jones looks at me and I point toward the back of the warehouse. We run making it just in time for the runty looking man to stumble out and jump on his bike. He takes off, not thinking about his helmet which flies off his handlebars onto the dirt. A storm of dirt and pebbles fly up and around in a swirl as he skids off down the road fishtailing his bike. Once he’s safely out of sight, I gesture toward the warehouse.
“Go!”
We race toward the door at lightning speed. My feet can’t get me in there quick enough. When I enter the warehouse, my heart stops beating as I look down to the floor to see Adam laying lifeless and still. Pale white, like there’s nothing left—no life at all.
“God, no!”
I rush to him, my knees hit the concrete as my hand rushes to his neck. The gaping bullet wound in his head, half his face deformed, makes bile creep up my throat. But my heart leaps back into gear when I feel it. It’s faint. So fucking faint, but I feel it.
“Fuck! Jones come here,” I call out and he rushes over and bends down.
“Is he?” he asks.
I grab his hand placing his fingers on Adam’s neck. Jones’s eyes light up as he looks at me and he smiles. “Is that a pulse?”
“So you feel it, too?”
“Yeah, it’s hardly there, but it’s definitely there, sir.”
“I don’t think we have time for an ambulance. Get him in the car. Take him now. Get him to a hospital. Where’s Barringer?”
Jones shakes his head. “I don’t think you wanna see, sir. But he’s in the box over there.”
My chest tightens, and I clench my eyes shut tight. “Shit, is he?”
“Yes, sir, there’s no way he’s alive.”
Opening my eyes, I clench my fists tight and shake my head. “Okay, then let’s concentrate on Adam, get his clothes off.”
“Sir?”
“It will all make sense, just take everything off, except his trunks and then get him to the hospital now. Don’t tell anyone, if the Savages find out he’s still alive, they’ll come after him. We gotta keep this under wraps. If he pulls through, he’s going to have to go into witness protection. He’s gonna fucking hate that, but it’s the only way. Go… go now!”
Jones pulls Adam up quickly stripping off his clothing then takes him outside. I slowly stand up, my knees crunching from being on the ground for too long. I take a deep breath preparing myself for what I’m about to see. Turning, I walk over to the box and look in. My stomach churns and I wince looking at Doug, cut up into pieces, his head placed firmly on top. Rubbing my forehead, I try to hold down the bile. I can’t look anymore, so I turn away and huff.
“Fuck!” I yell out and then it dawns on me. The phone call, Mad Dog said they were coming back. When they do and see Adam gone, that’s going to be a problem.
Fuck! What the hell am I going to do about that?
Then it dawns on me. Pulling out my phone, I dial the number for my contact at the morgue.
“Chief, how nice to hear from you again. Not a social call I’m presuming?”
Normally, I’d laugh, but I can’t find the strength. “Not this time, Jane. I need a fresh cadaver, and I need it fast. Like within thirty minutes fast.”
“Oh, Chief, c’mon.”
“Jane, I know I’m pushing it, but if you do this for me, I’ll invite you over to dinner with Evie and me. I’ll even invite Macca, I know how much you like Officer McDonald. God only knows why.”
She chuckles and sighs. “Okay, tell me what you need.”
“Okay, first, no questions. Second, you know my officer Adam Donovan?”
“Yeah?”
“I need a cadaver that looks as close to him as possible.”
“Oh, shit Chief. What’s he gone and gotten himself into?”
Sighing, I wince. “You know I can’t say anything, Jane.”
“Damn it! You know I thought being in your pocket would give me all the inside info, but nope, just snippets to tease me here and there. Okay. So we had a guy come in this morning he’s around the same build, same hair, his jawline is probably similar. I think he would do.”
“Jane, you are the best. I’ll text you the location, and I really need this body as soon as possible. If you can do it now, that would be best. This is of the utmost importance.”
“Your wish is my command, Chief. You own me a dinner with Macca though.”
“Done.”
“Okay, prepping the cadaver now. He’ll be on his way in ten.”
“Thank you.” Hanging up from Jane, I dial another number, I need this body to look exactly like Adam, no questions asked.
“Chief.”
“Bentley, I need your makeup expertise and I need you to drop everything and come now.”
“Okay, but you know this will cost you, right?”
“For crying out loud, why does everything have to cost me something? Yes, sure, you can have anything you want. I just need your expertise as a mortician, and I need your help making a cadaver look like someone else.”
“I can do that. No worries. Text me that address and I can leave now.”
“Great, see you soon.”
I hang up and take a deep breath. At least, that’s semi-sorted.
I didn’t have to wait long. Waiting here with Doug’s dismembered body felt like a fucking lifetime. The cadaver is good, with the right touches from Bentley, at a glance, it will pass for Adam. With the right amount of fake blood added to his face around the bullet wound I put in his head, I should be able to pull this off.
Bentley is working on the body now, it’s where Adam was left lying dying on the ground. My heart is racing knowing that the Savages could be back at any given moment, so we have to work fast. Bentley is putting extra blood and scarring on his face to try and hide the dissimilarities, but with the gaping hole in his head it’s hard to tell anyway. Using the paint-like substance on his face, which doesn’t move once set, it’s all starting to take shape. He’s also framing hi
s face and making him look just like Adam. It’s scarily accurate actually.
My skin prickles when I hear footsteps approaching, so I turn drawing my gun and aiming. Jones walks through the warehouse doors and freezes when he sees me. I instantly relax and exhale.
“Shit, Jones, way to scare the shit out of an old man.”
“Sorry Chief, thought I better come back to get you.”
“Yeah, you thought right. As soon as Bentley is done, we’re out of here. I just hope like fuck this works.”
“I’m done!” Bentley announces standing back assessing his work.
“Okay, let’s get the fuck out of here, and hope they’re all too obsessed with themselves to care about looking too closely at the body,” I say and we all rush out of the warehouse.
I’ve had to do some crazy shit over the years to pull off undercover fuck ups. But this takes the cake, and I hate fucking cake…
The constant beeping of the machines is grating on me as I sit at Adam’s side. His head’s bandaged up and he looks a mess. His face is swollen and he isn’t out of the woods yet. He’s critical but stable in the ICU. I have a guard on him 24/7. I haven’t told Hudson or his wife, Hannah. I think it’s best if they think he died. As hard as that will be for them, Adam can’t come out of witness protection, not as long as the Savages are still around. If they find out he’s alive—that is if he pulls through—they won’t stop till they finish the job they set out to accomplish in the first place.
“You have to get through this, Donovan. You have to fight!”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
After dealing with fucking José for the last hour and a half, over nothing in particular—he was just making noise and making me furious—we head back to the warehouse to finish what we started. Getting off of my bike, I walk alongside Acid, who’s still semi out of it. I’ve lost all my good men, and I’m left with this stupid gutter fucking arsehole who’s driving me crazy. He can finish slicing and dicing Stealth, so we can put him in the box. Then we can get the clean-up crew in here and set up the cameras for tonight’s show so we can get the fuck out of here.
Chops stayed back at the clubhouse to make sure everything stayed as it should, and that the Cartel didn’t show back up on our doorstep again. Dirty cunts, thinking they own everything.
We walk inside and the smell of death lingers in the air. Curling up my nose, I look over to Stealth lying dead where I shot him and smirk.
Stupid son of a bitch.
“Right, let’s get to work. Acid cut up Stealth. Blade set up the cameras, and Penetrator call in the cleanup crew. Let’s get this mess fucking done and go back and watch the fireworks!”
I stand back to see my brothers at work, feeling a sense of pride that we beat the enemy and didn’t go down today. Sure, we got interrupted by the fucking Cartel, but we won. We won this war, and as Acid places Stealth’s parts into the box, making sure his head is placed on top, I take a moment to breathe in my accomplishments today.
We beat the heat.
There will be no evidence pointing to us, the cleanup crew will see to that. And when Hudson Stone comes here for the meet at six p.m., he’ll find two boxes.
Two presents.
Boxed up nicely… just for him.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
It still amazes me when I look in the mirror to see the white raised angry looking scar staring back at me. It reminds me of everything I lost by being stubborn. My job meant everything to me, and I put my life on the line, literally, to be a better cop. But in doing so, my heart stopped beating—three times on the operating table.
I died.
The doctors brought my body back to life, but not without some injuries. I have a slight speech impediment, a scared up face which is almost totally unrecognizable, and I walk with a limp. But they brought me back none-the-less. My heart and soul, however—that died the moment I had to leave Adam Donovan behind.
The Chief watched over me, said it was best while I was recovering that no one knew I was alive. I fought him on it, but in the end, he won out when he showed me the logic of his thinking. Hannah, Hudson—they were safer if I were dead. That’s what was important.
So the Government gave me a new identity—Christopher Boyd. Born and raised in Mount Gambier. It was far enough away for me not to be noticed, but still close enough for me to keep tabs on my family.
I watched from the shadows as Hannah visited my grave.
I watched as Hannah dropped to her knees and fell apart over my death.
I will never forgive Mad Dog for taking my life away. For making it so I can never see or talk to my kids, or to make love to my beautiful wife ever again.
Sure, I can see them from a distance, but even that technically is a no-no.
Sure, you could say, ‘you’re alive, be grateful’ but is life worth living if you can’t share it with your true love?
One thing is for sure, though, I believe in karma, and one day I will be free—free to come out of the shadows. Free to show my mangled face.
One day, revenge will be mine and it will be oh so sweet...
Epilogue
Pulling up at the expensive looking gates of Aldinga, I take a deep breath. This could be dangerous if Mad Dog finds out, but I have no other idea of where to take my men, and they’re looking to me as their respective leader right now. So this is my best plan. Looking to my right at Lookout, Behemoth, Jigsaw, and Crash behind me in the cage, I nod and turn back toward the screen and press the red button.
Waiting for the annoying little man to come on the screen, I adjust my sunnies so he can see me properly. Gadget appears, spots me, and groans excessively and loudly making me roll my eyes.
“Oh man, what are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you, too, Gadget. I’d like to talk to Gator if he’s here?” I ask putting on my most pleasant voice.
“I’m here!” He appears on the screen behind Gadget and furrows his brows. “No offense, Techie, but we haven’t arranged a visit for Steel.”
“I know, we’re not here for him. It’s me, Lookout, Jigsaw, Behemoth and Crash in the cage. Remember how you said if I needed a place to stay your door was always open? Well, we’re all seeking sanctuary.”
Gator exhales and nods. “Let them in, Gadget.”
The gates open and we ride through and into the compound. It looks the same as last time I was here to drop off Steel’s Hog. Which I notice is now parked nicely in the VP position.
Gator and Gadget walk out as we park our bikes, duck walking them in line with the others in the compound. Gator and Gadget step up as I climb off my Hog and stand up taking off my lid.
“Mad Dog up to his usual tricks?” Gator asks.
“Yeah, something like that,” I announce. “So, what do you say, want five new brothers?”
Gator smirks and tilts his head. “Welcome home, brothers.”
in
Meltdown of Mad Dog: A Satan’s Savages MC Novel #4
Click here to preorder
Meltdown of Mad Dog: A Satan’s Savages MC Novel #4
is available for preorder and will be released 18th May 2016
Click here to preorder
BLURB
My name is Mad Dog.
I’m the President of the Virginia Satan’s Savages MC.
I’m a man with nothing left to fight for.
My name is Amelia.
My life’s a mess.
All because of my ex-husband and his Goddamned MC Club.
In the early days, Mad Dog and Amelia were undeniably happy. Their life in the club together, along with their three young boys, was bliss. That was until one fateful night their world turned upside down. Having their lives torn apart pulled them in opposite directions.
Mad Dog is trying to run a club that’s failing miserably, and all he can think of is the family he once had and lost. With the club irreparably broken—his family gone, his brothers turning on him—Mad Dog is losing track of everything, and running the
club in a direction no one saw coming. The Cartel is on his back, and he wants war. But will the war only lead him down the path to the inevitable? A Meltdown of Mad Dog?
Check out this new release from Addison Jane
Bayward Street
is available for preorder and will be released 19th May 2016
Click here to preorder
BLURB
The law said I was a runaway.
I preferred the term survivor.
After being broken down and emotionally tortured for fifteen years, I made a choice to change the path that my life was on. It left me alone, homeless and scared, but alive.
The streets were where I found my family. A group of kids like me who society had failed to protect.
We weren't teenagers anymore – we were a statistic, a nuisance, the scum on the bottom of the city’s shoe.
When he showed up that night, I never expected to feel the things I did. He was honest and protective and he saw straight through the hardened exterior that I had created. He made me want to fight for something better.
I could run, go back to the street and continue risking my life just to live. But now, being offered something more, I wasn't sure if I could go back without at least a taste of what it was like.
We came from two completely different worlds, but they were about to collide. And I was about to learn that maybe the grass really wasn't that much greener on the other side.
Check out this great book from Kathryn Kelly
Misconduct
A Death Dwellers MC Novel
Click here to purchase
BLURB
In the final full novel of the series tells the story of Digger Banks, traitor to the Death Dwellers MC. His brother and club enforcer, Mortician, is charged with the task of putting him to ground. Will both brothers survive and can the Death Dwellers withstand another betrayal and tragedy?