by KB Winters
I shook my head silently.
“That’s bullshit Moon and you know it,” Jana said with more ferocity than I expected. “It’s not just you and Beau anymore. You have us. All of us.”
I accepted their kind words because it was the only thing to do in the moment. Cross was their family, technically the boss of their men and I knew how break ups in a situation like this worked. I’d seen it plenty with my family’s social circle. Usually the couples all kept the half of the couple with the most power or influence, so usually the husband. I vowed that after this was all over, I’d do better about getting out and making new friends.
Living life.
“Thanks, ladies.” My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out, frowning at the unknown number. “Excuse me. Hello?” I got up from the table and walked to a spot where I could hear.
“Is this Moonbeam Vanderbilt?”
I didn’t recognize the almost robotic voice but immediately I went on alert. “Who’s asking?”
“Please confirm your identity, ma’am.” The voice on the other end spoke with an air of authority and a whole lot of irritation.
“You first.”
“Officer Jones,” he grunted out angrily.
“That’s a common name, do you have a first name?” What kind of cop called without identifying themselves?
“No.”
“Okay, neither do I. Have a good day.” I ended the call and took a quick glance over my shoulder where Beau played with the other kids but mostly he climbed up Stitch’s long body which was perfect since he was little more than a kid himself. My phone rang again and I went in search of Jag. I couldn’t be sure, but if the caller was a cop, he was a crooked one.
Jag looked up when I placed a hand on his shoulder and I pointed at the ringing phone. “What’s up?”
I answered the phone on speaker. “Hello?”
“Ms. Vanderbilt?”
“Who’s calling?” I couldn’t help but smile at the frustrated growl he let out.
“Officer Jones.” Jag grabbed the phone from my hands and did a bunch of quick hand moves before he handed it back. The call was recording and I relaxed.
“Officer Jones who refuses to identify himself properly? Tell you what, keep your first name and give me your badge number.”
“Are you Moonbeam Vanderbilt, mother of Rainbeau Vanderbilt?”
“How is this any of your business? I don’t even know who you are.”
“There’s been an accident at the camp, Ms. Vanderbilt.”
Jag’s dark brows rose in question and I shook my head, pointing at the area just outside where Beau played with his friends.
“And what does that have to do with me?”
The faux officer sighed heavily. “We think one of the injured kids is your son, Rainbeau. That is your son’s name, isn’t it?”
“You think? Well when you have your facts straight Officer Jones, let me know. It’s pretty reckless to pass out this information if you don’t have any real answers.”
“You’re saying Rainbeau isn’t yours? Little kid with black hair?”
“Nope, I’m saying it’s none of your business. Officer.” It probably wasn’t smart to taunt a police officer or a gangster, but when he messed with my kid, he would get a fight right back.
“Yeah, you think you’re so smart, you dirty bitch! Wouldn’t it be a shame if something happened to that little bastard?” After that he hung up the phone and Jag took the phone from me.
“That was rough but don’t worry, Moon. We’ll get that asshole.”
He walked away with my phone and I walked to the window, staring at my boy who was having a ball using Stitch as a Jungle Jim.
“I hope so.”
In fact, I hoped they found the caller and systematically dismantled everything that mattered to him, and that vengeful thought only made me angry.
“Hey, you look like you’re ready to slug someone.” Cross’s hands landed on my shoulders in a soothing caress. “Everything okay?”
I shook my head and told him about the phone call. “Pretty sure he just threatened me, but I will be fine.”
“He did,” Jag said when he returned and handed over my phone. “It was smart to hang up and force him to call back. It’s taken care of, or at least it will be soon. Very soon.”
“So we’re still on lockdown?” I looked up at Cross for an answer and he nodded with a sympathetic smile.
“Yep. Sorry babe.”
“You don’t look even a little bit sorry.”
His grin widened. “I’m not.”
Truth was, I wasn’t sorry either. Spending this time with Cross was nice even though the circumstances weren’t ideal. I knew I’d be disappointed when it came to an end.
But for now, I’d enjoy every minute I had with him.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Cross
The clubhouse was tense all week. We were all on edge because of the wall to wall news coverage about the biggest political scandal to hit Nevada since the mob took over Vegas. All the news anchors couldn’t help but talk about the evidence linking Bill Pacheco and a few other government officials to a website that sold underage girls. Kids. Fucking little girls like Ripcord’s kid sister.
It was good that it was all anyone was talking about; that could only be good news for us. But it also meant Roadkill was more determined than ever to retaliate since they were about to lose their cash cow and maybe their freedom.
The proof was in their petty retaliation, vandalizing one of our dispensaries a few days ago. The damage was minimal, mostly they broke a lot of bongs and glass pipes, the glass doors on the fridges and the display cases. But the dumbasses had given themselves up by not stealing the cash or the weed. They were planning something.
“Sons of Sin are here,” Lasso said, and everyone stood collectively.
We’d been planning for the past few days and today was the day it would all come to a fucking head.
“Five minutes and then we head out!” I wound my way through the clubhouse to the back bedrooms because, for once, I was doing exactly what all of my men were. I found Moon and laid a kiss on her that would sustain me through this shit show until I could sink into her slick pussy once again.
We rode out to the south side of the property with the Sons of Sin MC to plot out how tonight would go. Me, Savior and Stitch left the group to start phase one of our plan, which began at the Roadkill MC compound. We tiptoed onto the property as soon as the sun went down and the dumbasses made our job easy because all the bikes, cars and ATV’s were parked in one spot.
“Too bad we can’t just blow these fuckers up.” Savior was a crazy motherfucker who worked hard all night to get the explosives ready for tonight.
“That wouldn’t help our plan, would it?” As much as it would solve all of our problems to just put these explosives all around their main clubhouse, I wanted them to suffer. A lot.
“Okay,” Stitch strolled up with his confident gait and a satisfied smile on his face. “My bag is empty.”
“Mine too,” I said with a grin. “It’s a good thing these cocky fuckers are too stupid to do perimeter sweeps while they party. Must be nice not to have worries.”
Forty minutes later we crept off the property and went back to the meeting spot.
“All done?” Gunnar clapped his hands, eager to get on with kicking some ass.
“Yep. In twenty minutes, we’ll get in position and in thirty we’ll set off the alarms at the dispensary,” I answered.
Ripcord nodded but I could see his nerves, which reminded me of myself about a decade and a half ago when I was still earning my bones as a young Bastard. “What if they don’t come?”
“They will,” I assured him. “They’ve been planning this at least since the night of the break-in, and it would be better for them if we all ended up dead. That was their plan and our plan is to fuck up theirs, by striking first.”
Ripcord nodded and slid a glance to his President. Gage didn’t look happy
about any of it but he knew like I did that if we didn’t act first, Roadkill would not stop. A look passed between the two men. Resolve and resignation. Tonight might not be pretty but it was fucking necessary.
When the alarm sounded inside the dispensary we were all on alert. Jag was back at the clubhouse keeping an eye on the women and children as well as us. We had wireless comms so he could direct us when the shit turned chaotic. Lasso, Golden Boy, Stitch and Savior were inside with two Sons of Sin. The rest of us were on our bikes about a quarter-mile away, ready to strike as soon as Roadkill crossed our paths.
The energy crackled in the air like one of those nights where a desert storm struck out of nowhere. The hair stood up on the back of my neck, down my arms and all over my body. It was the same feeling I’d had in combat, when the enemy was close, and I knew there was about to be a fight to the death. That was what tonight was; not everyone would survive.
This was war.
The sound of motorcycles in the distance had everyone falling quiet. Still, like an immovable river. About sixty seconds after the last bike raced past us, we rode in two straight lines the whole way there. Silent. Focused.
Deadly focused.
The dumbasses parked right up front, not at all suspicious. We moved quiet and perfectly in sync, even the Sons of Sin, into the dispensary. White Boy Craig stood at the center of nearly a dozen men, armed but not protected.
“Come on out boys, you’re outnumbered,” he laughed, completely oblivious to his own fucking danger. “We counted four bikes out front so unless some of you are sittin’ bitch, we got you.”
They tossed out a few high-fives and talked some shit while we moved in, Ripcord with a gun aimed right at White Boy Craig’s back.
“You always were a dumb fuck, White Boy. I guess that’s why you can’t count.” Before he could even turn around, Ripcord squeezed off two shots. One in each of his knees.
Craig went down, crying like a little bitch. “My fucking knees! You shot me in the fucking knees!”
“You’re lucky it wasn’t your fucking dick, asshole.”
Those were the last words I could hear because bullets started flying and they were coming from all directions. Ripcord had White Boy Craig more than handled so I got to work helping take down the other pieces of shit. In the distance I heard the explosives going off like it was the Fourth of July and New Years Eve combined, telling me that the Roadkill who’d been on stakeout bought it good.
Lu had a bullet in his gut and writhed on the ground in pain while I caught two prospects running like hell towards the exit.
Cowards. That’s what happened when a fucked up MC recruited the most fucked up minds they could find and turned them even crazier. It couldn’t have been more than two or three minutes when the dispensary fell silent.
Mostly.
“You fuckers set us up!”
“Quit your fuckin’ bitchin’.”
“You won’t get away with this. The cops will be here and there’s no way you can cover this shit up.” Craig looked so pleased with himself.
“There you go, trying to think for yourself again. I got three words for you dumb shit, stand your ground.” Ripcord took the butt of his gun and brought it down on Craig’s temple, knocking him out cold.
Jag called in. “Hey Cross, we got the coordinates on the girls.”
“Dispatch the last group and tell those fuckers to be careful, these girls will be scared as shit.” That was the last thing we needed.
“Uh, actually the Feds are here. Not inside the clubhouse but in Mayhem. Trafficking is the Feds’ jurisdiction and as soon as the story hit, the task force landed in town. They’re eager for our help but they made it clear—”
“That they run the show? Fucking dick lickers.” I didn’t give a damn who got them, as long as they were safe. “Fine. Send a few guys to help.”
“Will do. Tanya is on her way up there and she said she didn’t think she had to remind us, but keep your fucking mouths shut until she gets there.”
“Thanks, man. Talk soon.”
I looked around at the carnage around us and sighed heavily. It wasn’t how I planned for things to go but if it hadn’t been them it would have been us.
“All right boys, guns on the ground. Everyone but Stitch and Gage, get the fuck out. Fast.”
The sound of sirens grew closer and closer, the signs of a long fucking night ahead.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Moon
“Mom! Mom! There’s a girl outside and she’s with a police officer.”
Beau was an even bigger ball of energy from being cooped up inside all day or from an overload of testosterone and before I could ask any more questions, he was through the door again.
“Beau, wait up!” Having his scheduled disrupted was making him difficult to manage and as much as I wanted more time with Cross, I could use less of the strong headed man routine from my little boy. I walked as fast as I could without running, but Jag with his eagle vision spotted me. I slowed down when he called my name.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
I shook my head because as soon as he asked the question, as soon as the words were out, I felt confirmation of my fears. “I don’t think so. Beau said a girl was outside with a cop and that just doesn’t make sense. Does it?”
“Fuck no. I’m coming with you.” Jag walked beside me, stopping only when we reached the opaque glass doors.
“Oh, it’s only Detective Haynes.” He was useless but seemed harmless.
“Only doesn’t apply when it comes to cops, Moon.”
I nodded but the defense of the detective died on my lips because he was right. What was the detective doing here and why did he have that young girl with him?
“Duly noted.”
“No problem. I’m right here if you need help, remember that.”
I did, taking a deep breath and pushing the door open. My heart raced and my legs felt like limp noodles but I managed to stay upright. “Detective, what brings you by?”
“Where’s your boyfriend?”
“Go inside, Beau.” I stared at my defiant son until he gave up and marched away from the young girl with the dirty face.
“But, Mom—”
I shook my head. “Now, Beau.”
“Okay.” With all the drama of a pre-teen he dragged himself away.
When he was gone, Haynes’ smile transformed from an overworked decent guy smile to evil incarnate. “Cute kid. It really would be too bad if something happened to him.”
“What did you say?”
He snarled. “I said it would be too bad if something happened to him. You got hearing problems?”
“Officer Jones,” I said numbly.
“Yeah, you fucked me good, bitch.”
I grinned, feeling pleased with myself. “Damn. Never would have taken you for a dirty cop.”
The girl winced when he squeezed her arm and finally I looked at her, little more than a child. “Are you okay, honey?”
She nodded but it was filled with fear.
“She’s fine, better than you’re gonna be. For now.”
I didn’t know what he meant but dwelling on it wouldn’t help me now. “Jessica?”
Wide blue eyes snapped to mine, surprise written all over them. She gave a barely imperceptible nod and that gave me the fuel I needed to keep going.
“Don’t worry about her name, just tell your boyfriend to get out here. Now!”
“I don’t have a boyfriend, Detective. Maybe you could ask for him by name?”
“Cross. I want to speak to Cross.”
I kept my voice calm and did just what Jag had instructed. “He went to one of the dispensaries tonight, something about vandalism.”
“Bullshit. Get him right now or I’ll put a bullet in her fucking head.” Jessica shrieked so loud it echoed in the air. “Don’t make me ask again.”
“Ask as many times as you want. Cross isn’t here. But you know that, it’s why you showed up now,
isn’t it?”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” He shook his head. “I’ll never understand what the fuck women like you are thinking, getting mixed up with these guys. They’re criminals, you know that.”
“And what, I should hook up with a man with a badge and an itchy trigger finger? At least these guys are honest about who they are.”
“A fucking gang, that’s who.”
I laughed at his hypocrisy. “And aren’t you part of the biggest gang around? I guess it’s hard to see when you’re in so deep, or maybe you don’t care that Pacheco is a pedophile. Either way, my guess is you’re just as guilty.”
“I don’t fuck no kids!”
“You just help them get sold to vile men looking to do terrible things to them, right? My bad. You’re a real American hero, Detective.” His face was red with anger and the hand with the gun twitched. “Kidnapping is still against the law, isn’t it?”
“You can’t kidnap someone who doesn’t exist,” he said with the kind of confidence that only came from carrying a badge and a gun. The dirtier they were, the more confident they appeared.
“Yeah?” I pulled my phone from my front pocket and snapped a photo, not caring at all that he was temporarily blinded. “Let’s see what the Feds think about that image.” My fingers fumbled to turn the recording on, but eventually I got it.
“Delete that now or I’ll put a bullet in you and your little fucking bastard.”
“Let the girl go and I will.”
Haynes shook his head. “You have no bargaining power here, Moon. I’m an officer of the law.”
“Are you? Because from where I stand, you look like a criminal.”
“Fuck you, now get your goddamn greasy boyfriend out here,” he snarled, and I figured I’d touched a nerve. Probably the word was out he was corrupt.
“I told you, he’s not here.” I heard Jag rack the slide on his gun behind me which gave me a little more confidence. But I also knew he wasn’t a cop killer. Bad cop or not. “My guess is that your connection with Pacheco screwed you. I mean who would ever believe a cop who likes to have sex with children?”
“You stupid fucking bitch!” The detective raised his hand in the air and squeezed the trigger. Twice. I shuddered. The good cop was the one who was deranged. “The next bullet goes in her head.”