by Jayne Blue
Lewis looked worse than the rest of us felt. His face had lost all color and he trembled in his chair as Sly hovered over him all menace and threats. I didn’t blame him. A part of me hoped Sly would put Lewis out of his misery and slam a bullet into his brain. He’d sold me and everyone else in the room out. But he still had one thing of value.
“Lewis,” Sly said. “You don’t have a choice. You call your contact and you get Kagan to come to the drop-off point. He wants a body. He’ll get one.”
Colt sat on the far side of the room rubbing his dark stubble with his hand. Since he was the body in question, he was taking all of this very well.
Sly motioned to me. I slid my phone in front of Lewis. Sly sat stoic at the head of the table. He was drained, just like I was. There was a very real possibility that all of this was too late. Varney was out there. He knew Colt was alive and with me when he left Sly’s house. The only thing keeping that information from getting to Kagan right now happened to be Lewis, everyone’s best and worst middle man.
“And as soon as I make that call, what’s to stop these thugs from wasting me on the spot?”
Sly raised a brow. “You came to my house with a gun, meaning to either shoot Colt over here or help. You’re calling us thugs? Make the fucking call.”
Sly leaned forward and patted Lewis on the back. “It’s going to be okay. This will all be over in a couple of hours. Nobody’s looking to hurt you if you do the right thing.”
He took the phone; his fingers hovered over the screen. He glowered at me. “Mickey never would have gone for this. This would have been over day one, pop pop.”
I raised my hand but Colt got to him first. He backhanded Lewis, making his head snap forward. “Take it easy,” Lewis said. “How many times you gonna knock me in the head in one day?”
“As many times as you need!” Sly and I said the same thing in unison. It would have been laughable except for the dozens of eyes staring both of us down. I didn’t know these men well, but things were uneasy within the club. I knew Colt and the others would have preferred dealing with Lewis and me quite differently. I may have spared Sly’s life, but he’d lost something with his club and it was one more thing I could blame myself for. Maybe I hadn’t killed him, but I’d messed up his life.
Lewis dialed the number. “Easy,” I whispered. “Don’t talk too fast.”
I could hear just enough of the voice on the other end to know it was Jinx.
“It’s all over,” Lewis said, locking his eyes with mine. I nodded. Keep going. “Where do you want us to bring the package?”
I clenched my fists. That’s not what we rehearsed. Kagan couldn’t dictate the location. Lewis’s eyes widened, realizing his mistake.
“Green Bluff. She says Green Bluff. The cliffs. Scarlett said Kagan would know why that was poetic justice.”
Lewis’s hand shook on the table but he kept his voice even. A moment later, he nodded and closed his eyes with relief.
“An hour,” he said, looking to me again for affirmation.
Then Jinx must have hung up on Lewis mid-sentence. He pulled the phone away from his ear and dropped it on the table like it was made of plutonium.
“It’s set,” he said. “Kagan wants the proof himself.”
I looked to Sly. This was insane. But he knew club politics. I didn’t. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep every member of his club breathing.
“We’d better get going,” I said, rising. A solid hand came down on my shoulder. Tiny stood behind me and guided me back into my seat.
“What, him?” I pointed to Lewis. Surely they couldn’t expect Lewis to pull off the meeting with Kagan.
Sly shook his head. A look passed between him and Colt that I didn’t like one bit. He closed his eyes and let out a breath. Then he gave a quick nod of his chin, in some private signal.
Tiny’s hand on my shoulder settled like an anvil. I squirmed but didn’t struggle.
“You should let Gunner do the honors,” Colt said, his tone bitter.
“Take her upstairs,” Sly said. He wouldn’t look at me. “Keep them separated until I get back.”
“Sly,” I said. “Don’t do this. Don’t meet with Kagan without me. You could be walking into an ambush. You need me there. You saw how good I am. You need me to watch your back.”
“That’s not your job,” Colt said. He threw my purse to Gunner. Tiny helped me to my feet with rough hands. Then he led me up through the bar and up the stairs. They installed me in the same bedroom as the night I’d stayed here.
Sly at least had the decency to follow me up here. “If everything goes all right, I’m going to let you go,” he said as Gunner came behind me and fastened my hands behind me with zip ties. He owed me, I couldn’t deny that. Still, it pulled at my heart a little to see the uncertainty in Gunner’s eyes. He was one of the good guys too.
“It’s not going to go all right, Sly,” I said. As soon as I said them, the truth of my words settled in my stomach like a lead weight. “Because he won’t stop. I’ve seen it in his eyes. He wants to bring your club down.”
He didn’t answer. “This doesn’t involve you anymore. This is club business.”
His tone was stone cold as Gunner moved to my feet and tied those too. I tested the bindings. They were tight but didn’t pinch. I stifled a smile. Gunner might have a future in this. He gave me a pat on the shoulder then left Sly and me alone.
“I won’t beg you,” I said. “But you have to know that the things I said . . . the things I shared with you were real. I just . . . I want you to know that, just in case.”
“We know how to take care of our own, Scarlett. We’ve been doing it a hell of a lot longer than you have.”
My heart tore in half as Sly gave me one last look. There was heartbreak in his eyes that I knew I put there. But there was something else too. There was the cold determination of a man resigned to his fate . . . whatever that may be.
I had a golf-ball-sized lump in my throat as Sly turned and closed the door, locking it from the outside.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sly
At sunset we rode up to the cliffs. Kagan traveled light. So did we. Sawyer drove the Hummer, Colt and I stayed hidden in the back seat. The rest of the members stayed at the bottom of the hill out of sight, but ready to ride in if they heard a signal from me. I could only assume Kagan had eyes everywhere too. He leaned against his Harley, looking out at the river below with only Jinx standing beside him.
I tried to drive away the vision of Scarlett looking at me with broken, pleading eyes when I left her back at the Den. Whatever happened, she had no place here. Maybe she had no place anywhere. It was over. I couldn’t reconcile the lies she told with what I had to do now.
Kagan never turned around when Sawyer cut the engine. He just kept looking down at the river below, hands in the pockets of his jeans. Jinx straightened as Sawyer opened the door. I had a fleeting thought that maybe Scarlett was right. Kagan was expecting her or Lewis to come out of the car. The split second or two it would take for either Jinx or Kagan to figure out the problem could have been helpful.
But fuck it.
I gave Colt a hand signal. We drew our weapons and stepped out of the car.
“Boss,” Jinx said; his hands fingered his side arm.
It was all I could do not to put a bullet in that fat fuck’s lopsided face. Kagan finally turned, but kept his posture casual. Only a slight uptick in his white eyebrows betrayed his surprise in seeing both Colt and me alive, breathing, and standing right in front of him. The fucker had balls of steel, I had to give him that.
“Awe, now you’re going to hurt my feelings,” I said. “You don’t look happy to see me.”
Kagan smiled. He put up his hands.
“This ends now,” I said. “I see you or anyone wearing a Hawk cut anywhere around Green Bluff again, you’ll end up at the bottom of that river down there.” Even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t how this was going to go. Kagan and the Ha
wks dwelled in the darkness. The pull of it for me was intoxicating. But I would try one last time.
Kagan shrugged. “I could stand here and pretend I don’t know what you’re talking about. Is that how this is supposed to go?”
“Lying slut,” Jinx said. “I knew she’d end up fucking us over.”
“Shut your mouth, Jinx,” Kagan said, plastering a smile on his face.
“You want me dead, or any of my crew, you’re going to have to shoot us yourself,” I said. “You have the balls to take care of that right here?”
Kagan took a step forward. He put a hand up to stop Jinx from advancing toward us. Kagan narrowed his eyes and got close enough to me that I could smell garlic on his breath.
“It’s noble, what you’re doing,” he said. “The Den, the gym, the fight sponsorship. A real respectable operation. But you didn’t really think you’d be able to hang on to all of it without protection.”
“I have all the protection I need right here.” I pointed my gun straight at Kagan’s chest. Jinx stiffened beside him but didn’t move. I sensed Colt and Sawyer moving into position behind me.
“Your Uncle Blackie never thought you were cut out for that patch you’re wearing. We had a long talk about you once. He said you think too much with your dick. Now, I thought that was a little harsh of him to say. Turns out he was right.”
My fingers stiffened on the trigger but my hand was steady. “You’re going to get on your bikes and you’re going to ride the hell out of my town. Or I’ll end it right here. I’m not a murderer but I’ll do what’s necessary to protect what’s mine.”
Kagan cocked his head. “Oh. You’re a killer, Sly. You know what’s in your heart. But your club is going to turn on you. They’ve already had a chance to see your weak spots. The girl, right? She tried to kill you and yet you’re standing here trying to protect her.”
I took a step forward and grabbed Kagan. My Irish temper threatened to get the best of me again. I couldn’t stand the thought of Scarlett even being in this asshole’s thoughts another second.
“Easy, Sly,” Colt said. “We’re going to ride them out of here.” I loosened my grip on Kagan.
Something happened then. I don’t know what spooked Jinx, but he drew down on Colt. A single shot cracked the air and a cloud of red haze shattered my vision.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Scarlett
“I’m getting pretty fucking sick of being tied up, Scarlett,” Lewis said from the back seat.
“Shut up,” I whisper-shouted to him. “I swear to God I’ll knock your ass out again. You sit tight or you will not survive the next twenty minutes. Got it?” I shut the car door against his protests.
He murmured something but I didn’t stick around to hear what it was. There was just enough sunlight to illuminate the path in front of me. I drew my weapon and kept it pointed at the ground as I weaved in and out of the rocky outcroppings, staying to the shadows as I ran up the hill.
Shadows and light. I’d tried so hard to step out of one and into the other. Maybe someday I could. But that day wasn’t today. Adrenalin fueling me, I barely broke a sweat as I made my way up. The rush of the rapids far below drowned out the sound of my advance. But I knew I was close. Angry voices reached my ears and I ducked behind a large rock, almost at the top.
Though I couldn’t hear what anyone said, I didn’t need to. Sly had his weapon pointed straight at Kagan. My own fingers twitched on the trigger of mine. Colt was off to the side. Jinx stood directly in front of him. I slid down to my stomach, making myself as flat as I could as I stretched my arms out and aimed my weapon.
Sly and Colt were closest to me. I aimed my sights on Colt. One squeeze, straight to the base of his skull. It would be over. Sly would be safe. So would I.
Or then there was Kagan. I shifted my aim a few inches to the left. Sly stood almost directly between us. If he moved at the last second, I’d end up taking his head off instead of Kagans.
My heartbeat slowed. I blew a breath out. Cold purpose washed through me with the calming effect of a straight shot of whiskey. This was easy. This was what I was born for. Breathe. Aim. Take it.
Movement to my right. Something shifted in Jinx’s posture. Colt took a step forward, putting himself directly in my sights.
Breathe. Aim. Take the shot.
Jinx raised his arm, drawing down on Colt. I shifted just an inch to the right. Then I squeezed. The shot cracked through the cliff walls, echoing back. I raised my weapon again but there was no need.
Colt was on the ground. So was Kagan. Sly stood over him and a second crack tore through the air as he took the next shot, depriving me of the chance. The back of Kagan’s head exploded. His feet jerked once, then he was still.
Then Sly looked back and up over his right shoulder. I didn’t know if he could see me from this distance. It wouldn’t matter though. I sensed that he knew I was there.
My heart started beating again. He didn’t call my name. He didn’t so much as move. He just stared into the space where he knew I was.
I crab crawled backward until I knew the outcropping would hide me when I finally rose to my feet. Walking with new purpose, I holstered my weapon and headed back to the car and to Lewis.
The sun had made its last slow dip past the horizon, leaving the bluffs in full dark. But I belonged in the darkness and I already knew the way.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sly
“You know you didn’t have to do this yourself,” Colt said next to me. My cotton t-shirt clung to me from a thick coating of sweat. We both dripped from it as I slammed the shovel back into the soft earth and threw a clump over my head. I was almost finished. We stood shoulder to shoulder. Sawyer stood above us at the lip of the hole, keeping look out.
We’d been at it for hours. That’s how long it takes to dig a hole deep enough to bury two bodies in. The desert earth is unforgiving and even without the sun beating down on us, the heat choked around us.
Finally, when we got it wide enough, I threw my shovel up to Sawyer. He held a hand down to me to help me climb out. As I heaved myself over the side, I turned and offered the same hand to Colt. Grunting, he clawed his way out and laid on his back next to me, both of us heaving from the exertion. Colt leaned to the side and wretched, spitting out a mouthful of wet dirt.
I got to my feet and offered him another hand to help him all the way up. Sawyer was already dragging Kagan’s body by the feet over to the hole.
“I can pull us out of that damn hole a hundred times and we’re always going to end up back down there,” I said as Sawyer shoved Kagan’s shoulder with his boot until he rolled and pitched over the side of the hole. Kagan landed face down with a thud.
It took the three of us to haul Jinx’s body to the hole and shove him in on top of Kagan. Then we started the slow work of covering them back up.
“How long do you think before they figure it out and retaliate?” Sawyer said.
I shrugged. “Not long. We need to get word out to the other charters. I’m hoping the shit stays contained to Green Bluff but we have to be ready if it doesn’t.”
Colt nodded. Sawyer took the shovel from me and I took a step back, watching my two top soldiers finish the job of filling in the hole. When they were done, the three of us stood together at the edge of the cliff and looked out at the dark, churning waters of the Great Wolf River far below.
“I really thought I could keep the shit at bay for longer,” I said.
“Scarlett was right about one thing,” Colt said. “Whether it’s Pagano’s crew, or the Hawks or the Brigands, there’s always going to be someone trying to take away what we’ve built. We’re never going to make a clean break.”
I nodded. Sawyer pulled a flask out of his back pocket, took a swig and handed it to me. The sharp taste of bourbon wet my lips as I downed three shots one after the other. It barely took the edge off as I handed the flask to Colt.
“Head on back,” I said to Sawyer. “Colt and I will
be back down in a few minutes. Call the membership together.”
Sawyer gave me a raised brow but did as he was told. He walked down to the bottom of the hill and out of sight. When the last sounds of his engine faded away, I turned to Colt.
“Shit’s got to change, Colt,” I said, taking another hit from Sawyer’s flask.
He shoved his hands into his back pocket and turned to me. “I know you’re pissed. But I did what I had to do.”
“See, that’s the thing,” I said. “What you thought you had to do. This was club business. We work a certain way. You don’t get to decide shit on your own and act on it without bringing it to me.”
He sighed deep and hung his head low. “I’m sorry, man. I truly am. I wanted to have your back.”
I put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re my brother. That’s never going to change. But you need to move on.”
Colt’s eyes flashed in the moonlight as he lifted his head and looked at me. He set his mouth into a grim line and looked back out at the water.
“Dex is on his way back,” I said. “Something happens to me, he’s my Veep, not you. You know he’s earned it. You can’t stand here and tell me you’re going to be happy as my Sergeant-at-Arms for the rest of your life. It’s time for you to spread your wings.”
“You bouncing me from the club?”
“No fucking way. Never. This club needs you. But you’re a strong leader. The longer you stay in Green Bluff the more you’re going to resent not having a bigger role. I respect that, man. I truly do. There’s probably a half a dozen charters that would make a better fit.”
Colt nodded. It was tearing at my guts to say these things to him. But he needed to hear them.
“Yeah,” he said. “I kinda knew this was coming for a while. I think maybe I just needed to hear you say it to give me the kick in the ass I needed.”
“Are we good?”
Colt cocked his head and gave me that fucking pirate smirk. Then he faked a punch and slapped his arm around my back. I grabbed his fist tight and thumped him on the back. We pressed our foreheads together before we separated.