by Naomi West
“The Crows know that I know, and they don’t like it. They want me dead. So, they kidnapped someone I care very much about and her son to—”
“You got a girlfriend, boss?” his road man, K9, asked.
“Something like that,” Saxton said. “Maybe. Or I want her to be. But she’s being held captive with her six-year-old son in order to get me to come to their rescue so that the Crows can kill me. It’s a trap. And that’s why you’re here.”
Crasher punched his fist into his hand. “We’ll take them out. I’ve been looking for an excuse to go after them. They’ve cause too much trouble in this city and I’m sick of it. Killing Liam is enough excuse to finally take them down, but if they’re after you, too, nothing is going to stop me from smashing a Crow skull or two.”
Saxton nodded. “We have to be smart about it. They have a big crew. But if we move fast, hopefully they won’t be fully assembled or expecting us to have big numbers.”
“Just tell us how you want to roll this, and we’re on it,” Blade said.
“I need a way to get in the place they’re keeping her without them seeing me, so I can break them out and find Carter and kill him,” Saxton said. He left out the part about not knowing for sure that where they were headed was where she was being held. They might be doing this for nothing.
Crasher nodded. “Some kind of diversion?”
“That would work if it’s good enough and big enough. They’ll be expecting something, I’m sure, and they’ll be on the look out. It has to be something that would make them all leave the building and not suspect it’s a trap.”
K9 spoke up. “I have an idea that should do all that. If we smash enough glass and set off enough alarms, it’ll make a racket and should bring them out, as well as a bunch of other people. Chaos in the streets.” He grinned and crossed his arms.
Saxton considered this for a moment. That might be enough to make the warehouse men come out to see what was going on. It probably wouldn’t draw Carter out, but maybe he would at least leave wherever Sara and Ian were long enough—assuming they were there—that Saxton could get in and get them out. Unless he had a guy who would just tell him what was happening. And someone like Carter might. This could go either way.
Unless they did something like set the building on fire, Carter wouldn’t be forced to budge. And doing something like that was only an option if all they wanted to do was kill Carter and if they were sure Sara and Ian weren’t there. But a fire was far too dangerous if he had to get in and get Sara and Ian out. Who knew what sort of warehouse death trap they were being held in. A fire and smoke could kill them before he even got to them.
This was probably the best option. It was at least a start. If it didn’t work, they could always come back and try something else. Except then Carter would know and he’d make different plans. Maybe he’d hurt Sara. They needed to have some sort of back up plan in place.
“That’s a good start,” Saxton said. “I like it, but what if it’s not enough?”
The guys exchanged thoughtful looks.
“We can’t do something like light a fire until Sara and Ian are safe,” Saxton said. “But that’s a sure option to get Carter out once we know there are only Cruel Crows in the building.”
“I like the fire idea,” Blade said.
“I need you all to be on alert for Carter,” Saxton said. “If he runs, grab him. Hold him for me so I can kill him myself. Killing Liam was bad enough, but going after Sara and Ian made him dead three times over.”
“We’ll get him.” Crasher put his hand on Saxton’s shoulder. “We’ll make sure they’re safe, and we’ll get him.”
“Let’s roll out then,” Saxton said. “No time to waste. They may already be gathering bigger numbers.”
K9 held up his phone. “Just heard from Skull and Thorn. They’ll meet us on route.”
“Perfect.” Saxton walked to the door, glanced behind him into the room of his crew and said, “Let’s go get them.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Saxton hopped on his bike and started it up. Within minutes, the whole parking lot of the Jagged Souls headquarters was alive with bike engines snarling. Saxton led the procession, not wasting any time in making sure the men were behind him. This was what Crasher and K9 did best. They had the address, and they’d make sure everyone got there and put the plan into action.
Saxton turned off from the route his MC would take. He needed to be alone, to go in from another direction to search for Sara and Ian. He would approach from the back of the warehouse while his MC went around the front. That’s where the main road was, and it would be filled with cars.
He wished he had more information. How many Crows were in there? What was the layout of the warehouse? Were Sara and Ian even here at all? Going in blind was more risky than he liked. But there was nothing that could be done about it. And Sara was well worth the risk. If he had more time, he’d scope the place out. He’d have a crew watch the building, take notes, track Carter. But Carter had made this far more difficult for him. He might be walking into his death because of it, but that would just be a chance he’d have to take. If he died to protect Sara and Ian, it would be worth it.
The closer the warehouse got, the more his brain spun. He tried to imagine every possible scenario and how it could play out. He wanted to be prepared for anything, and ready to take whatever came at him. He imagined various tactics and strategies, imagined every way possible that Carter might have this set up as a trap. He just hoped he was the smarter one in the scenario. That no matter what Carter had planned, he’d have out thought him and would be able to out fight him. There was no option for failure in his mind. Get in. Find Sara. Get Sara. Get Ian. Kill Carter. Those where the only things that would happen. Nothing else was allowed to become a thought for his mind to play with. If he thought about everything that could go wrong, it might trip him up and get in his way.
The warehouse came into view down the street. Saxton made a quick turn left, down the alley parallel to the warehouse. He didn’t want to take a chance of anyone peaking out and seeing him. He pulled his bike into a pool of shadow, shut it off, and listened. In the distance, he heard the rumble of many bikes. His crew was close.
He walked closer to the warehouse so that he could see it from beside another building and still be in the cover of darkness. The building was low and long, all block and very few windows. He could see just three on this side of the building, all of them small. Maybe the front had more, maybe not. It would be hard to get in through a window, but not impossible.
The door might be harder. Along the back was a wide shuttered door, the type used for deliveries. Another man-sized door was beside it. It was the metal type, though, with a strong lock. Hard to break through. If it was unlocked, cool, but that was unlikely. He could shoot it open, but that would cause too much noise and would ruin his chance of surprise. It was also a little too well lit and out in the open for his liking. A window was his best option.
The other thing disturbing him was that there was no light on in any of the rooms where the windows were. That could be a good sign, or it could be bad. Hopefully, it meant the rooms were empty. But if someone was in there, watching and waiting, having the lights off and waiting in the near dark would give them an advantage.
As Saxton tried to decide which window would be best to break in through, he heard the first car alarm go off. His guys were at work. Over the next minute, several more alarms started. Nothing changed from what he could see of the building. He approached the window that was somewhat off to one side, a little more obscured from sight by shadow than the others. It was low enough to see in, but when he stood to the side to look in, all that was visible was darkness. He had no choice but to go in blind and hope he chose well.
With all the noise going on, he didn’t bother to hide the breaking glass. His guys would all be smashing car windows as well, so there was plenty of noise to cover what he was doing. He picked up a large rock from the ground
and held it, then banged it against the window. With the rock tight in his hand, he knocked all the glass pieces from the frame. Then he dropped the rock and hoisted himself up and through the window. It was a tight squeeze, and he felt the pinch of glass cutting into his knee and down his shin as he pulled himself through.
When he landed, he let his eyes adjust and paused to listen before doing anything else. He felt at the cut on his leg and it didn’t seem like there was too much blood, so it must not be too bad. It didn’t feel very deep and wasn’t too painful. It wouldn’t hinder him in any way.
He seemed to have landed in some sort of office. He thought he could just make out a desk in the corner and a filing cabinet. But the only light was the early dawn creeping in through the now broken window. All he could hear were car alarms and voices. The voices seemed to be coming from outside where the alarms were. It sounded like there was something of a crowd out there. Hopefully the Crows in the warehouse were all out there, too.
Saxton opened the door of the small room a crack and listened again, sticking just his head through the door. The next room was much larger. It held slightly more light. The one window he’d seen from the back wasn’t the only one in this room. There were several at the front as well. But no lightbulbs were burning or any other light source than the rising dawn’s glow. The space sounded empty. Only the whirring of subtle machines—probably whatever heated the building—could be heard.
He stepped into the bigger room and looked around. The wall he stood nearest contained two other doors. Maybe more office type rooms or closets. Across the room was a hallway leading back. It was too dark down the hall to see anything.
He started with the nearest door. It was locked. He knocked softly, pressed his ear against it to listen, and heard nothing. The next room was the same. She should have heard him knock if she were in there, but just in case, he said her name quietly at each door and waited again. He figured he’d hear something if she was in there with Ian. Them talking about who could be at the door or moving around in there.
Outside, there were several people standing in the street. Car alarms still blared, though it seemed that several had been turned off already. His diversion was coming to an end and he needed to hurry. His guys couldn’t go out there and break more windows with so many people watching. They’d now be waiting nearby for further instructions.
Saxton shifted his eyes from the windows to the dark space ahead as he made his way to the hallway. He wrapped his hand around his knife and kept it at his side, ready to pull it in an instant should someone appear. He stepped out of the dim light and paused beside two doors.
The doors behind him looked like the doors across the room—metal and plain with knobs. But the one he faced had a large, thick bolt across it. So that it could be locked from the outside and keep whatever was inside in. This seemed like the perfect room to keep a captive in. When he pressed his ear to the door, he heard some movement, but no voices.
“Sara?” he whispered at the crack in the door.
The movement stopped, but there was no response.
“It’s Saxton,” he tried again.
Faintly, he heard, “Saxton?”
It was her. She was here, after all, and he’d found her. He slid the bolt open slowly to keep the noise to a minimum. Then he opened the door.
Inside, Sara stood, a shocked and relieved look on her face. Ian sat huddled in the corner and looked up at him, hope flooding over his little face.
“You came for us,” she said.
“Of course I did.” He crossed the small space and wrapped his arms around her.
She didn’t hug him back, but rested her head on his shoulder. Her arms were pinned behind her, and he realized her hands were bound. What a nice guy Carter was. Couldn’t even let her be unbound in this tiny room.
“I wasn’t sure if you would come after the way I treated you. Saxton, I’m so sorry, I—”
“It’s okay.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her briefly. “I’ll get you out of here and we can forget all about that.”
She nodded and tears tripped down her face. She was dirty and so was Ian. This room, whatever it was, wasn’t finished like the room he’d first landed in when he came in through the window. This one was probably used to hold people in the past and hadn’t been cleaned between captives. The walls were covered in smears and layers of grim, and the floor was just as dirty. One bulb hung from the ceiling, and it was covered in cob webs and dust. There wasn’t even a place to sit or urinate.
“I knew you’d come,” Ian said. His voice was a little too loud for Saxton’s comfort.
“Of course. We just need to keep very quiet, okay? I’ll get your mom untied.”
“Me too.” Ian raised his hands, which had been buried in his lap, and revealed ropes tying them as well.
Saxton shook his head. “He tied a child up, too? Sick bastard.”
“We weren’t at first,” Sara explained. “But I tried to fight back. Then he tied us.”
Saxton smiled at her and turned her so he could cut her free. As he pulled up his knife and positioned it, he felt something hard and cold press against his head. He pulled his knife quickly through the thin rope to cut it, then took a step back.
“So you’ve come,” Carter said.
Saxton took a deep breath. Sara spun at the sound of Carter’s voice and her face melted into a horrified expression when she saw the gun pressed against Saxton’s head.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Let him go!” Sara said.
Carter removed the gun long enough to point it at Ian. “Get in the corner.”
Sara obeyed and hurried to the corner closest to Ian so that she could stand in front of him to protect him.
“I guess you do love my sister after all,” Carter said, pressing the gun against Saxton’s head again. “I’m so touched. And you made it so easy for me to kill you. Drop the knife.”
Saxton let it go and with a clatter, it hit the cement floor. Carter put his foot over it and kicked back. From the corner of his eye, Saxton saw the knife slide out of the room. He should have given a weapon to Sara. A knife, a small gun, anything to protect herself. Now it was too late and he’d messed up. She was untied, but that wouldn’t do her much good.
He considered his options as Carter tightened his arm across his throat. If he used his martial arts training to get free, Carter might shoot Sara or Ian. The guy had zero morals, that was clear. He probably would shoot the kid. No wonder he’d shot Liam like he had.
Saxton’s best bet was to go with Carter until they were away from Sara, then try to make some kind of move. That way, she was safer. She would still be locked in that room, but maybe Saxton could get away from Carter and get back to her fast enough. If he could get a text to one of his guys, he could have someone get her out now that he knew where they were. But it seemed unlikely that he’d be able to send a text anytime soon.
Carter stepped back, moving Saxton back with him. They moved out of the room, Carter keeping his arm tight against Saxton’s throat so that he could barely breathe. When they’d cleared the room, Carter kicked the door shut.
Saxton turned his head sharply to the right, like he’d heard or seen something. He felt Carter turn, too, but of course, there was nothing there.
“You have other guys here?” Carter asked.
“No.”
Carter grunted like he didn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter. Saxton’s plan had worked. His faking hearing something and getting Carter to look had given just enough distraction that Carter forget about the bolt keeping Sara and Ian locked inside. He banged the gun into Saxton’s head and pushed him forward hard.
“Walk,” Carter barked.
They approached a door at the end of the hall. When they stood in front of it, Carter shoved Saxton to it.
“Go down.”
Saxton pulled open the door and saw the top few steps of a flight. Carter flipped on a light so Saxton could see to walk down. T
hey entered some sort of cold basement. It looked like this was used as a storage space with boxes lined up in the corner, growing mildew and some toppled over. An old bar mirror rested against a collection of stools and bar taps. A neon sign that read “Cold eer” sat against the wall.
In the middle of the room, surely where Saxton was being led, was a large roundish patch of a dark stain. Probably blood. In the center of the stain was a circular drain. So they killed people down here and let their blood run into the sewer. Nice plan. What did they do with the bodies after? Cut them into pieces and stick them in vats of acid to melt the bones? Or leave them in the streets to rot like they had done with Liam?
Saxton was a little grateful for that, actually. At least having his body meant they were able to bury Liam properly, and in his Jagged Souls jacket and patch. If Carter had dumped his body, they might not have the murder weapon, and they might not even know Liam was dead. He could have run off somewhere.