by Zoey Parker
I left the office, putting a plan together in my head. Flush out the guards, get rid of them somehow. Send them on a wild goose chase. They’d probably leave one guard behind. I could take him out on my own.
I went back to the dining room. The men were still eating, oblivious to everything that was going on in my head. I tried to remember what that was like, being able to live in a sort of bubble. I took orders, I didn’t make them. I could sit and eat and mind my business while the president made plans. All I had to do was carry out his orders.
Back then, being president had seemed like the job I wanted. I still wanted it. It just wasn’t the job I was expecting.
I saw Erica laughing with Samantha and Brett. I never counted on her coming into my life either. Everything was less complicated before I met her. God, was it only a day? It felt like we’d already been through so much together, in twenty-four hours. Less than that. How was it possible?
Now, every decision I made carried a little bit of her in it. I couldn’t rush into anything because her happiness or safety would be affected if I was hurt, or if anything happened to the club. Now I remembered why I stayed away from relationships for so long, but I couldn’t have left her alone if someone put a gun to my head.
She turned to me like she heard my thoughts, and her smile damn near killed me. I remembered touching her just a little earlier, the way it felt inside her. The prim princess turned into an animal. I stirred just thinking about it.
Someone else saw me standing there, though, and when he came over to me, I had to change my course of thought fast. “So? What happened?” Onyx did his best to look casual when he spoke.
I backed up, into the lounge, and gave him a brief rundown. “I have to take a handful of them with me,” I said, jerking my thumb toward the dining room.
He sighed, hooking his thumbs into the belt loops of his jeans. “Do you think that maybe it’s time to come clean with them? I mean, all this secretive shit. People are starting to wonder what’s really goin’ on. If you ask them to go with you, you have to tell them why.”
“I didn’t want to do it this way,” I admitted.
“I know. It would have been easier to put it out there later. After everything blows over. But it didn’t work out that way.” He shrugged. “I know you. You’ll do what you’ve gotta do.”
I knew what that was, even though the thought of it turned my stomach.
“Get everybody together,” I muttered to Onyx. “Out here.” I took a deep breath and looked at Erica. She smiled at me, nodding her head. She was the only thing giving me strength. I didn’t know if I could do any of it without her.
I thought about what she’d said earlier when we were in bed together. How she felt responsible for everything. If it hadn’t been for her, I never would have known about the way Lance betrayed me. I wouldn’t have gotten the heads up that someone was going against me. I still didn’t know who the person was. I’d be watching the faces of everyone in the room to see how they reacted when I dropped the bomb on them.
Soon, the whole club was in front of me. They sat on bar stools, stretched out on couches and chairs. The girls stood in the back, huddled together. I noticed the way Erica took her place with them. I wondered if that was a deliberate choice, or if she just felt safer with the girls than she did sitting in the middle of the guys.
I cleared my throat. All eyes were on me, and even after all the time as head of the club, it was still unnerving. They looked to me as the person with the answers. What would they think if they knew how lost I was?
“So listen. You all know there’s a lot of shit going on right now, and there’s been some close calls the last two days. I’ve been keeping as much of it to myself as I could, not because I don’t trust you, but I just don’t wanna put anybody in danger. Besides, I didn’t know the full story. I still don’t, totally, but I plan on going out in a little while to find out what I’m missing.”
I glanced at Erica, who was nodding. I felt my spine stiffen. God, she’d make a great old lady. I wondered how the name would make her feel, or if she even wanted to be one. I knew it wasn’t anything she’d planned on but hoped her feelings for me would be enough to make her consider it.
“The one thing I never wanna do is put anybody in danger, but the fact is, we’re all sorta in danger right now.” I heard a murmur go up from the room. I had expected that. They were probably mumbling, “No shit”—it wasn’t a secret there was trouble. “I think if you’re in danger, you should at least know why.”
This was where things would get sticky, and I took my time. “I know you gossip like a bunch of women around here.” Now there was another murmur, this time laughter. “So you all have an idea how I met Erica last night. She was taking pictures for an art exhibit, which are awesome by the way and I think we should all go when she gets it up and running.” She blushed and shook her head.
“When she was doing that, she heard two men arguing and started snapping pics. She saw something she shouldn’t, and one of the two chased her down. He had her on the ground and was probably gonna attack her, one way or another.” I forced back the flash of anger at the thought and reminded myself I had to keep it together. Would I always have such a strong reaction when I thought about Erica being in danger? It was hard to think straight.
“What she saw was the man, the one who attacked her, stabbing another guy.” There were a few concerned mutters, and a few heads turned in Erica’s direction. She nodded to them, confirming the story.
“Who was it?” Joe turned from Erica back to me. “Who did she see?”
“That’s the thing,” I explained. “I got a look at the memory card this morning. I know this is gonna seem unbelievable, and…” My voice caught. I took a second to get myself back together. I had to be strong for them. I knew they would feel as hurt and betrayed as I did. “Trust me, I didn’t believe it at first, but it’s there in the pictures. The man he stabbed was Lance.”
At first, silence. More than one jaw dropped. Then, all at once, the room erupted. Voices, screaming questions. A few guys jumped to their feet.
“What the fuck are you saying?” I chose to answer that question and raised my voice over the others.
“What I’m saying is Lance didn’t die in the explosion. He was in on the double cross.”
It took a while for everyone to calm down after that. I did my best to hold them together, but it was pointless. I had just told them that one of their brothers went against them. Someone they mourned. One of the girls was crying in the back. I saw Erica comforting her.
“So is he dead now?” Axel asked.
“Yeah. He’s dead.”
“Good,” Frankie said, spitting on the floor. “Bastard. Got what he deserved.”
I looked around the room. Either I was looking at a bunch of really gifted actors, or they were all as surprised as I had been. Not one of them seemed like he was putting on an act. Nobody acted any more hurt or upset than anybody else. I had told myself before I got started that the one who was in on it would overdo it to make up for their guilt. Nobody did that. I was still at square one.
“Where do we go from here?” Chip asked. “I mean, how’s it all come together?”
“Randy called me a little while ago. The Wolves are guarding someone in one of their safe houses on the other side of town. It has to be the guy we’re looking for.”
“I wanna shake his hand,” Frankie growled. “He took care of that traitorous—“
“Now just hang on a sec,” I said, holding my hands up. Everybody was getting worked up again. “Listen, I know how you feel. That fit I took in there today? The holes in the walls? Now you know why I did that. I wanted to kill Lance all over again.” My eyes met Erica’s from across the room. “But somebody reminded me that he was only doing what he thought was right. That’s all anybody can do, what they think is right. From what Erica heard in the alley and the way it looks in the pictures, Lance knew what he did was wrong. He was standing up for himself and saying he could
n’t go through with it anymore. That’s why he died.” I let that sink in for a minute.
“That doesn’t make up for what he did. He got Rick and Jake killed.” Everybody else agreed.
“I know, and now he’s dead, too. That’s over. We can’t do anything about it. All that’s left is finding out why they died, and how to protect ourselves now. I don’t want this happening again. And whatever’s left between the Wolves and us…” My voice tightened as rage flowed through me. “That’s gotta end. I want this over. I’ll do what it takes.”
“What’s that gonna be?”
“I’m going to the safe house and I’m talking to this guy. I’ll need help getting in and covering my back.”
Almost everybody stood up to volunteer. I was proud of them, sticking together. Still, I was suspicious. I couldn’t take the wrong person. I might end up getting my crew and me killed.
“Randy’s already out there. I want Chip, Frankie, Axel, and Onyx with me.”
Everybody nodded and broke up to get their things together. Onyx came up to me. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for me to go?”
I was shocked. Onyx never let me down before. He wasn’t the type to punk out. “I want you there. I don’t trust anybody more than you.”
“I think it might be a good idea to stay and keep an eye on other people.” His eyes shifted to where Erica was still standing with the girls.
“You think so?” I looked at her, wondering. “You don’t think she’ll try to get out again, do you? Not after what happened today.”
“No, but think about it. What if they’re just trying to lure you away from the clubhouse—not just from her? What if they want to flush us out so they can come in and do whatever they want?”
“Shit.” I hadn’t thought of that. “This is why you’re my VP. You think of things like that. Okay, I’ll take Joe. You stay here with the others and keep a lookout. Post a few guys around the perimeter of the building to watch. I’ll do what I can to stay in contact with you.”
Onyx nodded and went over to Joe, I assumed to tell him he was going with me. Erica saw the chance and came over.
“You did a great job,” she said.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. What’s a good job at a time like this? Telling them one of their brothers betrayed them, got two of them killed.”
“Nobody lost it. You kept them under control. That’s a good job in my book.”
I wished I had as much confidence as she did, and again I thought what a good old lady she would make one day. She had a way of making me feel stronger than I was when I needed her the most.
“Do me a favor,” I said, pulling her close. “Try to stay here this time. I don’t wanna go to the trouble of getting into that safe house and have to leave to save you from something. Okay?”
“Okay.” She didn’t fight me or talk back, though I knew she was dying to. It was her way. She didn’t like others telling her what to do any more than I did. I kissed her, short and sweet—anything else might have been hard to stop, and there were other things to think about.
I went into the office, calling the guys in who were going with me. We put together a plan, then went back to the lounge to leave.
“You’re going now?” Erica asked, putting her hands on my shoulders and squeezing. “Are you sure about this?”
I grinned. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
She shivered and shook her head. “I don’t know. I have a bad feeling. What if they’re just luring you in?”
“That’s why I’m not going alone. We have plenty of fire power. It’ll be all right.” She didn’t believe me, though I had to give her credit for trying to act like she did. “Remember: I’ve been doing this for a long time. It’s not my first rodeo. Just the first one you’ve been here for.” I kissed her forehead—again, I didn’t want to get too close to her, or else I wouldn’t be able to stop. She didn’t look convinced, but she nodded like she understood.
“Come back safe to me, okay?”
“I’ll do that if you make me a promise.”
“Anything.”
“Stay here this time.” I grinned and hugged her, then left. I couldn’t hang around anymore, or else I’d be tempted to stay. I didn’t tell her I had the same bad feeling she did, and that I wanted more than anything to be able to stay and protect her.
But that was why I was going. I had to do this to make us all safe in the long run.
Chapter Nineteen
The night was dark, the sky inky black. Not a star, no moon, just heavy black clouds hanging low overhead. The air was damp and a little chilly. It matched my mood.
The first thing we had to do was meet up with Ralph. I had told him to wait for us around a mile away from the clubhouse—not far from where I first found Erica.
Ralph was a good guy to have on my side in a tough spot like this. He was always the one I put on the streets when I needed information since he had a wide network of friends he’d pump for information. He was our connection to the grapevine.
“I didn’t dare get too close,” he told us as we circled our bikes, “but the last time one of my buddies went past, there were still three guards out there. Wolves, of course.”
“These buddies of yours. You trust them?” I asked.
“With my life,” he replied, no hesitation.
“Good enough.” I looked around. “Ralph, Joe, and Chip have the fastest bikes. You create the diversion and lead the guards away. Frankie and Axel stay with me, keep an eye out for when the guards come back. I want them led as far out as you can get them—not toward our clubhouse, or else they’ll turn around right away. Lead them into town if you have to, just get them away from here. Buy me as much time as you can.”
I felt the energy of the men around me like electricity. They were all ready for a fight, dying for one. “Be safe,” I added.
Frankie snorted. “Since when do you tell us to be safe?”
“Since I know you’re out for blood right now,” I snarled. “I don’t want anybody taking risks. I know you can outrun anybody. Just don’t go further than that if you don’t have to. That’s all I’m saying.” I was starting to have doubts about him. He was too quick to question me lately. I welcomed questions. I didn’t want to work with a bunch of mindless drones. But his questions had a nasty feeling to them, like he was saying more than just what came from his mouth. Was he the one? It would all come down to the job in front of him. He could have my back, or he could turn on me.
I heard the sounds of their motors fading away. All that was left was one guard. “We’ll take care of him,” Axel growled. He and Frankie drew their guns and rode straight up to him.
“Can only shoot one of us at a time,” Frankie called out. “So if you’re smart, you won’t shoot either.”
“I’ll blow your head off!” Axel roared. Then I heard what sounded like a pile of laundry falling on the ground, and I rode out. The last Wolf was on the ground, blood trickling down the side of his head.
Axel turned to me and shrugged. “That was easy.”
Too easy, I thought. I had a bad feeling, even worse than the one I had before we left the clubhouse. “Okay. You stay here. Watch for any movement inside, call out if you see anything. Frankie, come with me.” The two of us crept around to the back of the house. Frankie pulled a screwdriver from his back pocket and jimmied the lock.
“I like to be prepared,” he whispered when he saw me looking at him in surprise. I had to hold back a laugh, even with all the tension.
The house was small, just as shabby on the inside as it was on the outside. Threadbare carpet, wallpaper with water stains running down thanks to a leaky ceiling—the plumbing had to be busted. It reeked of cigarettes, booze and body odor. And lots of takeout food. The tiny kitchen table was covered in Chinese containers, stacked up on pizza boxes. My stomach turned when I saw a cockroach crawling from one of the containers, skittering across the top of the pile.
I glanced back at Frankie, who looked n
auseated.
There was a loud noise coming from the next room. The TV. I pointed to the doorway, and Frankie nodded. I walked over to it, my gun still drawn, and peered out at the living room.
He was sitting on the couch, watching TV. Just like at the Wolves warehouse, I got the feeling someone expected me. I turned back to Frankie. “He’s alone,” I murmured.” We left the kitchen, coming up behind him. Even when I cleared my throat and pressed the muzzle of the gun to the back of the guy’s head, he didn’t flinch.
“What took you so long?” he asked, laughing. I looked at Frankie, whose face was a mask of hatred.
“Check the upstairs,” I muttered, and Frankie took off. While he was checking for others, I turned off the TV. “Keep your hands where I can see them,” I ordered. He left them on his lap, one on each leg.