Ace didn’t hesitate and pulled me into his lap and began kissing me back. He sank his hands into my hair and held my head tight as he took over the kiss. Ace controlled it banking the heat between us. We broke apart, and I looked dazed into his eyes.
“Monkey sex?” I whispered. Ace grinned and stood up, cupping my ass in his hands. I wrapped my legs around Ace as he carried me through the bar towards the offices. I heard hoots and hollers from the peanut gallery. And I raised my hands above my head and threw my head back and let out a cheer. Laughter met me in return.
Chapter Ten.
8th January 2015
Sitting curled up in one of Phoe’s huge office chairs, I faced her across the table. Master Hoshi told Akemi he’d four more people who needed employment. And as I was so successful with Angel and Kris, Butch and Simone, Master Hoshi was sending them to me. Wonderful, I wouldn’t call my four successful unless them not being serial killers counted.
An idea had come to me. Phoe once mentioned a plan and never followed through. I planned to take Artemis legit now, and the idea I had would move us in that direction.
“Talk to me.” Phoe said. She wore a pale blush blouse and one of those tight pencil skirts Drake loved watching her in. Phoe’s hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, and her seven-month bump protruded like Santa’s belly. Phoe rubbed a hand over it.
“I got an idea. You don’t have to buy into it. There’s enough work for where I wanna lead my people, but this could help you.”
“Yeah?” Phoe asked curiously, tilting her head.
“You still looking for a team for child rescues?” I asked. Phoe’s eyes grew wide and alert, and she straightened.
“Yes. I can’t find anyone willing to take the traffickers on.”
“What about Artemis? I’m taking us legal. We’ll still bring in bounties and do paid rescues, but I’m getting four new recruits. From their files, well… they enjoy messy, messier than Simone and Butch, that’s saying something. The plan is to continue working the legal bounties and rescues. On the side, we can track shit for Eternal Trust and rescue the kids.”
“For real?” Phoe breathed excitedly.
“Yeah, if I take the team away from the black market bounties, then I’m cutting their work. The team likes money, but they prefer blowing shit up and bringing down scumbags more. I can parcel out bounties and rescues, we’ll stay away from security and private investigations. Leave that to Hawthorne, so we don’t piss on his patch.
Then on our downtime, I can have my tech guys track leads and find these trafficked kids. My teams will go wherever they need to, to bring a kid back. All I’ll ask is you cover costs. Which won’t be cheap.”
“Can do better than that. How much do bounties go for? The ones you chase?”
“Rarely take a bounty for less than twenty thousand, although we aim for ones higher.”
“So if I cover costs and then offer a bounty of say ten thousand minimum, and then five thousand for every child rescued?” Phoe mused.
“If the Eternal Trust is found to be paying bounties on traffickers, it would cause a shit storm that will bring the Trusts crashing.”
“Ah, but I didn’t mention the Trusts, I said me. I can easily afford that. It can’t be set up as a payment, but set up as a loan or gift, we can sort that. I’ll talk to Stuart, he’ll tell us how to get around the legal shit, so the Trusts don’t get dragged down by this. North will have some input, I’m sure.”
“As long as you can keep the Trusts separate from what we do, I’m fine with it. Sure my teams would appreciate the monetary rewards. Want time to think this over Phoe?” Phoe shook her head vehemently.
“Hell no. I want you to go ahead and set up the rescue plan, too important to delay on. We’ve a load of missing kid cases that I can dump on you now. I can give you an office at HQ so you can link in. I’ll take you on as a consultant for the missing kid cases and get the ball rolling. Pay you guys a consultant fee out of my money. Artemis will be employed by me and not the Trusts, but I can set up an office for you at HQ.” Now it was my turn to shake my head.
“No we’ve somewhere we work from, somewhere that is safe for us until it’s known we’re no longer working for black market bounties. May need the expertise of some of your staff to help us become legal and set up the business if that is okay with you?
If we’re coming out of the shadows, we’ll need our own place to work from, and we’ll need the legal crap that comes with it. We’re changing our name, the team voted, and we’re now called The Juno Group. I got people who can set up but we ain’t exactly up on legal shit. We’ve never had to be until now.
Going to speak to Hawthorne, let him know what direction Juno’s going in. We’ll let Dylan know what back up we can provide, should he need it and see if Hawthorne’s willing to help. If not, then tough shit. Juno’s going ahead with this, anyway. The guys so far are on board.
The new four, I haven’t yet met, they’re due the next few weeks. Be fantastic to give the teams a focus straight off the mark. I’ll take something like ten percent off their earnings to keep Juno running and so on. The rest they can keep.”
“Sounds fair to me. Will you personally be going on bounties and stuff?” Phoe asked curiously, and I worked out why she was asking. I gave Phoe a grin and saw the astonishment in her face.
“Yeah, I’ll be making a home here, with Ace.” I gave Phoe what she wanted to know, and she smiled. I blinked as Phoe’s face lit with an inner light and beauty.
“I’m so happy for you.” Phoe whispered.
“Can see.”
“I love Ace. He took five bullets for me. Ace put his life on the line to save me. He’s so intense, dark and handsome, so, well, you know!” Phoe pinked up a little. Well, well, Phoe had a tiny crush on my Ace. That was okay, I’d a little crush on Drake.
“Ace is all that and more. Ace has a soft spot for you, he wouldn’t have taken five bullets for anyone else. He’d have let them hang.” I snickered. Phoe laughed and then sobered.
“Will it be hard getting out of the dark side of your business?” Phoe asked, concern lacing her words.
“No. Who wants to go up against Artemis?” I asked, smiling and glanced up as Drake and Ace appeared in the doorway. Drake moved around to Phoe who rose to her feet, and he laid one on her. Drake’s hand cupped her pregnant belly gently. Phoe fisted her hands in his tee, and when Drake let her go, she looked dazed. Ace came towards me and slung an arm around me.
I tilted my head towards Ace. Ace glanced at me with a quizzical expression, and then Ace grinned and laid one on me too. That was better! By the time he’d finished, my toes were curling, and I was aching inside. I heard a muffled snort and looked over and saw Drake and Phoe grinning at us. Ace nuzzled my neck, and I shivered.
“Business done?” Ace asked, and I nodded. “Lunch?” I nodded again, and grinning Ace walked me from the room with a head tilt at Drake and a sly grin at Phoe who began giggling.
“We’ll sort out the nitty-gritty later!” Phoe yelled at our backs. Drake laughed.
Ace took me to lunch at a small restaurant five minutes from the clubhouse that did a roaring trade in simple meals. We ordered ribs and fries, and I began telling Ace my plans. Ace listened intently and threw in a few ideas of his own, but overall, Ace was encouraging, especially when he realised what it meant for him and me.
“Are you sure babe this is what you wanna do?” Ace asked.
“Yes, I want to be a family. We’ll buy a house somewhere local, I’ll leave the safe house as our offices and leave the cabins there for the guys. The place is wired and easily defensible if needed. For now, if you can support, I don’t want anyone knowing where we’re working from.
It will take a while to clean up our act, shall we say? Once it’s known Artemis is off the market, security won’t need to be as tight. We’ve targets on our backs, once we’ve dealt with those, we can be legitimate.”
“Need help with those targets?” Ace offere
d. My instinct was to turn him down. But I realised Ace was trying to meet me halfway and curb those protective instincts I nodded. Ace’s monster showed briefly in his eyes, and I realised Ace needed to let his monster loose a little.
“Think my monster will snap them up whole, but yeah if you’re offering, it might mean getting your hands dirty.”
“Got soap and water.” Ace smiled, and I relaxed settling back and took a mouthful of rib.
◆◆◆
Ace was serious about getting his hands dirty. He stood at my back as I had several unpleasant meetings with people, I’d done previous work for. Being told their favourite hunter was off-limits and no longer available had caused some nasty scenes. Blood had been split a couple of times. I wasn’t always the one causing the blood loss.
Ace was content to stand in the shadows and look threatening, something Ace did well. A few scenes occurred before word began getting around, and other meetings went smoother. Buzz and Nigel had been doing their part, refusing dark bounties and seeking higher-paid legal ones.
Simone and Butch hadn’t flinched when I broached my plans. Angel just told me to send him where blood was most likely to be spilt. Which I could tell bothered Ace slightly. Kristoff merely grunted and muttered something about us being family. I could accommodate them, all four bought into the child rescue. It was part of the code we had. Children should be safe no matter what, avenged if needed and most definitely rescued. Precious little lives.
While they had appreciated Phoe’s offer of payment, they were willing to do it for free, but of course, money never hurt. None of us was hard up for money. Buzz and Nigel got a percentage of the bounties they found for us guys and a percentage of rescues.
Knowing my guys, they’d money invested, squirrelled away, hidden and discreetly banked somewhere. Probably under a few aliases like mine was. None of us was stupid. Having a mission target, one that meant something, went a long way with the six of them.
Ace met them one at a time as I broached the new way we’d be doing things. He never judged them and accepted what they were to me. Ace gave them a verbal offer to drop in at the bar or clubhouse if they wanted some downtime. I thought Simone and Butch may take Ace up on that offer, but Angel and Kris were solitary. So be it.
It was a week after the meeting with Phoe when my phone rang again. I saw an unknown number and knew who it was.
“Santos.” I answered.
“Did you enjoy my gift?” Smooth tones asked.
“Rage MC very much enjoyed your gift.” I informed Romeo Santos. Ace sat forward, his gaze intent, and I beckoned Ace closer so he could hear.
“Ah, you gave Jacked away?”
“I gave it to those who had a better claim than me.” There was a pause.
“Interesting. I hear that you are going legit.” Santos said.
“My business is going in a different direction, yes.”
“A shame. Do we have a ceasefire?”
“What do I get in return?” I asked slowly.
“Two further gifts. My final two.” I looked at Ace and saw him nod. Ace’s need to get his hands on Thunder was consuming him. Rage had been out daily searching and finding nothing. They’d traded precious markers which still led to nothing.
“Deal. If we cross paths again, this deal becomes void.” I told him. Ace nodded an agreement.
“Agreed.” Santos replied.
“Keep away from Rage territory.” There was a pause again.
“That can be negotiated.”
“Non-negotiable.”
“Deal.” Romeo Santos sighed and hung up. A few minutes later, an address was texted to my phone, and I showed Ace. He called Drake and Rage, and we drove fast to it. Didn’t want Santos changing his mind.
To my great shock, we found Thunder and one other massive surprise. Romeo Santos clearly had no familial feelings for his father as Miguel Santos lay trussed up. A shiver ran down my spine when I wondered what type of man would serve up his own father. Romeo Santos was a different species from his father, Miguel sought to protect his son, Romeo sold his father for peace. Shit on a stick, Romeo Santos would cause problems down the line, I could foresee it.
Miguel Santos died hard. Ace and I handed Miguel to Drake, who had a prior claim on him. Miguel Santos had threatened to rape Phoe when her fuckwad ex-husband had kidnapped and tortured her. He’d groped her while Phoe couldn’t escape and was tied up. The asshole didn’t beg, he cursed us until Drake put a bullet in his head. For what Miguel Santos attempted to do to Phoe, his part in shooting Ace and then his interference with me. Miguel Santos died fucking hard. Beaten and broken, the guy died.
Thunder suffered. I made sure Thunder suffered for twenty-four hours before my monster was satisfied. Those who had been with Rage when my attack happened were present for him. They each took their turn. When Rage finished, it was my turn. Thunder suffered far worse than Misty. I made everyone leave me with Thunder apart from Ace and Akemi who point blank refused to leave. Ace didn’t once blink as my monster rampaged and I set it free.
Every indignity Thunder had done to me was returned tenfold. Far worse than Misty had suffered. Ace did not join in but watched without judgement as I paid that bastard back for everything. By the time I’d finished Thunder had resembled nothing human. I’m not proud of it, it was awful, but Kayleigh was finally avenged. I gave the knife to Ace when I stood back.
“End it.” I told Ace as he stared at the misshapen lump that had once been Thunder. Ace took the knife and crouched in front of Thunder who managed to open one eye and glared at Ace in hatred.
“How’s it feel?” Ace asked. Thunder grunted, unable to say anything as I’d smashed his jaw a couple of hours earlier. “Everything you did to my old lady and look at her. Look at my woman. How proud and strong she stands and look at you here, a piece of shit as you always were.” Ace slid the knife into Thunder’s throat and watched as he choked out on his own blood.
“Akemi will clean up.” I told Ace. Ace wiped his hands on a rag to clean the blood off them.
“It’s done. It’s finished, baby.” Ace drawled.
“Yeah, Kayleigh can rest in peace.” I told Ace and saw a weight lift off his shoulders. Ace’s entire body relaxed, and I knew then what this had meant to him. The chance to put his lost love in the ground where she belonged. Now it was just us, him and me. No Kayleigh between us.
“Yeah, babe she can.” I whispered to Ace as his gaze came to my face. Ignoring the sodden mess of humanity laying at our feet, he bent over and kissed me lightly.
“Us and the twin's babe.” Ace whispered.
“Sounds fucking good to me.”
“Love you Artemis.”
“I love you too, Ace.” Together we walked away from the clearing where we’d done our work. Ace’s arm snaked around me and pulled me close and then let me go as he threw a leg over his bike. Ace looked at me.
“No woman has ever ridden behind me since I lost her. Get on.” I grinned at my man and climbed on after him. I wrapped my arms around Ace’s waist, and he kick-started the bike, and we roared off towards Rage.
Epilogue.
15th January 2015
I lifted my head from Ace’s shoulder as Silvie came running in. Silvie was red-faced and out of breath. We both sat up.
“Phoe’s in labour!” Silvie shrieked, and the room turned wired. Phoe was six weeks early. Shit. Boots hit the floor as men raced towards the door. Apache caught Silvie’s hand and dragged her behind him, forcing Silvie onto his bike. I climbed up behind Ace, and we roared off. Rage hit the hospital together, causing the receptionist to go wide-eyed in terror and lust as she took in the entire MC.
“Phoenix Michaelson.” Ace snapped at the poor nurse. The nurse tapped at the keyboard.
“Mrs Michaelson’s upstairs in maternity, but you can’t all go.” She exclaimed. Rock threw her a stare over his shoulder.
“Try to stop us.” No matter what, the MC would be there to support their Prez. We raced up
the stairs and found Phoe’s eldest son Micah pacing. Micah and Carmine had both come home for a weekend. Drake was missing, and Carmine appeared from a room.
“In here. We warned the hospital everyone would probably come, they opened up this room for us to wait in.”
“Your mom?” Fish asked. Marsha clung to him, wide-eyed and scared. We all loved Phoe. If anything went wrong, Drake would lose it.
“Baby’s determined to make an appearance. They tried stopping labour, but it’s coming whether we’re ready or not. Mom’s okay, she’s pretty calm, Dad’s losing it. They’ve thrown Dad out once already. Micah calmed him down, and they’ve let Dad back in.”
“They can’t stop labour?” Silvie gasped, paling.
“Hey, women give birth every day.” I told her with a smile. “Chin up, lady. Phoe will be fine and so will the baby, Drake may be a hot mess though.” I said with feeling, and a couple of the guys groaned. Hot mess was an understatement. Drake would be climbing the walls.
We waited for two hours before anything happened. Micah and Carmine seemed content to pace. Apache stayed huddled in a click with a few brothers. Other brothers lounged around. Silvie sat with Jodie and Serenity who portrayed calmness, Tye was bouncing a ball off a wall, and none of us had the heart to tell him to stop.
Every time a door slammed in the corridor, Tye’s head snapped up and dropped. The younger children were scattered around on various laps. Cody and Harley stood close to Ezra and Lowrider who had their arms slung casually around their shoulders.
Christian, Jared and Aaron remained near Chance who had arrived an hour after us with Hellfire. The room was definitely crowded, and although we were drawing looks, no one dared tell either MC to leave.
There was a commotion, and Drake appeared carrying a bundle in his arms. At Drake’s side hovered a midwife fretting. Drake strode into the room, and everyone stopped talking and moving.
The Hunters Rage Page 19