Chapter Sixteen
The door closing behind Sally and the kids makes me feel like I’m on the brink of a new life. One where I don’t see the need for a woman. I give myself a moment to draw in a deep breath, then a hacking cough draws my attention to Stevie, still seated on the couch.
She’s my responsibility now. She’s my job. I suppose, as she’s alive, you could say I’ve been successful doing it, but hell, it was sheer luck we escaped with our lives today. But, in her case at least, not totally unscathed.
“Beef.”
“How the fuck do you do that?” Ink asks, amazed.
She gives that typical shrug I’ve come to expect from her. “He walks a little unevenly. I heard his boots on the floor.”
Well, of course, we all look down and examine my feet. Must admit I’m feeling a bit self-conscious as I complete my journey to her. “You okay?” I didn’t like the sound of that cough.
Ink gets in fast, “I got Rusty to take a look at her. He’s not particularly worried. Just said if her cough gets worse, she may need to get checked out.”
“I said all that without speaking,” she says, drily. “I don’t want to go to a hospital. When they find out I’m not dead, that’s the first place they’ll check.”
Pyro’s eyes meet mine. Who? he mouths.
I shake my head. Fuck knows.
“You okay here, babe? I’ve got to update the prez on what’s gone on.”
She presses her lips together, a sign which I’ve noticed means she’s thinking. “Can I speak?”
I give a quick look around. It’s just members, no old ladies, sweet butts or prospects within hearing. “Yeah.”
“I’d be dead if you hadn’t been there, Beef. Those kids? Well, they took that off my mind for a while, but now I’ve got to face up to the facts. I need someone on my side. And someone who saves me rather than tries to kill me is someone I know I can trust. Your prez is your boss, isn’t he?”
I remember a nod isn’t sufficient. “Yes.”
“Then if he wants me to, I’ll speak to you both.”
“I want that,” a voice bellows from the direction of Demon’s office.
She stands. “Lead on, MacDuff.”
Chuckling slightly, I go to put my arm around her. “Take hold of my elbow, Beef. Just steer me in the right direction.”
“While you’re in with Demon, I’m gonna head out to her place. See what’s going on.”
“Can you see if you can find my white stick? It was in my bedroom…”
“Cops will be there, Ink,” I warn.
Stevie’s expressive face shows she hadn’t thought of that.
He nods. “I’ll do what I can, Stevie.”
She thanks him. I’m more interested in what he can find out rather than anything that can be saved.
I’m not surprised to see Pyro going with him. He’s got firefighter friends who may well be in attendance and who might be able to give him a clue as to what accelerant was used or anything useful.
I just remember to stop her in time to move a low stool out of her way, then we’re walking in to Demon’s office. I place her hand on the back of a chair. She takes a second before she sits down. Anyone else I would think she’s taking in her surroundings, but clearly she can’t be. After a moment she nods and holds out her hand in Demon’s general direction.
He reaches over the desk to take it. “I’m Demon, President of the club.”
“Stevie Nichols,” she responds. “Though I expect you already know who I am.”
“I might,” Demon replies, the smirk showing through in his voice. “If you were who you say you are. Sit.” When she does, I take the seat next to her. “First off, Stevie, are you alright?”
She closes her eyes briefly. “I’m fine, apart from a bit of a cough. That’s nothing. I shouldn’t be, wouldn’t be fine if Beef hadn’t been there. I don’t think what’s happened has really caught up with me yet. I’m just so pleased I wasn’t alone.”
Demon’s eyes catch mine. We don’t need words for the sentiment to be exchanged between us that we’re both fucking glad I was too. We all know if I hadn’t been she most likely wouldn’t have made it out alive.
“I told you I was the prez. My role is leading this motley crew, running our businesses and keeping everyone in the club safe. If we’re providing you protection, you are our business. But if that’s going to cause any harm to come to my club, I need to know about it. Beef got you out of the house, as he should. But from the soot on his cut he was wearing it. Anyone watching would have seen him take you away.”
“Not necessarily here,” I tell him. “Fuck, they’d already know I was involved with her, Prez, from the amount of times I’ve been to her home and have been checking up on the dog. But I wasn’t followed here, I made sure of that. I could have stashed her anywhere.” But I can’t deny someone might know the Satan’s Devils are involved.
Stevie’s nodding. “I don’t want to bring more people into it. That’s why I left home in the first place, couldn’t risk putting my family in danger.”
Again, Demon and I exchange glances. Her leaving wouldn’t necessarily guarantee they’d leave her folks alone, but now’s not the time to tell her that.
“She’s in Witness Protection,” I tell him.
“Have you a handler? Someone you can call? Get you moved on?”
“That’s the point. That’s what he’d do.”
It doesn’t take a genius to realise why she doesn’t want to do this officially. “She can’t go anywhere without Max, her dog,” I tell him.
Prez digests that for a moment. If she refuses to go to her handler, it means we can’t get her off our hands. I wait, wondering what he’s going to do. His next words show me he’s not going to run her off, or not immediately.
“Who’s after you, Stevie? What do you know?”
Her lips press together. “I don’t want to say. Suffice to tell you, I saw something I shouldn’t.”
Demon shakes his head. “Is this from before you went blind?”
Stevie gives a short laugh. “No, sorry. The use of my word was confusing. I have ways of identifying people without using my eyes.”
Demon’s staring at me. “Have you got any suggestions how we handle this, Beef?”
Instead of answering, I stare at Stevie. Now the adrenaline rush of getting away from the fire has died down, and my anger, then sorrow at seeing the end between me and Sally, welcome, but the admittance of failure all the same, I’ve started to think more rationally. There are some questions I want answered.
“Leaving aside the hows and whys of your situation. Who knows you’ve come to Pueblo?”
“My handler. Who he’s told, I don’t know.”
“Who’s he with? FBI or cops?”
“Er, FBI.”
My eyes meet Demon’s again. A federal case is more serious. “They usually play it close to their chests. Only people who know are those that need to.”
“I know,” she says, adamantly. “That’s why I thought I was safe. I haven’t done anything to draw attention to myself. I’m not stupid. It’s my life after all. I looked into everything before I accepted leaving my old life behind. The US Marshals providing witness protection haven’t lost anyone, ever. Unless the person slipped up themselves.”
“Have you?” Demon asks.
A vigorous shake of her head. “Absolutely not.”
I lean back, my hands clasped behind my head. For a moment I stare at the ceiling above. It doesn’t provide inspiration. I start speaking my thoughts aloud. “Most people in Wit Sec are criminals. Only a very small proportion are innocents. You sure you’re not involved in something you shouldn’t be?” Changing my viewpoint, I bring my eyes down to stare at her. “Babe, whatever you’ve done we don’t give a damn. Wouldn’t call us criminals, but we live outside the citizen world as much as we can.”
“Beef!” she cries out in frustration. “I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve been caught up in something that I
’d give anything to have avoided. I should have been safe here. No one should have been able to find me. I’ve got a new life, and I’ve done everything I can to protect it. I assure you, the very last thing I want to do is die.”
That’s where I do believe her.
Demon is staring at me. I’ve brought a woman onto the compound, involved my brothers, when I don’t a clue what’s going on. I’ve been seen around her wearing my cut, it’s almost a certainty that someone, somewhere, suspects where she is. If I was in Demon’s shoes, hell, even wearing mine, I’d want to know what we’re up against.
“Come clean, Stevie,” I instruct her, using the tone which would have had Sally shaking.
Maybe it’s because she can’t see my fierce expression, but Stevie, unlike Sally, doesn’t comply. Instead she suggests again, “Take me to a motel. I’ll wait it out there until I can collect Max, then I’ll contact my handler—”
“No,” I interrupt. The thought of abandoning any woman in her situation wouldn’t sit well on my shoulders. But her? I’ve got a vision in my mind of her innocently opening the door to someone who says they’re a motel employee, then of her lying dead or bleeding out on the floor. “If you’re going anywhere, you won’t be alone.”
Demon has remained quiet for a while. He now steps back into the conversation. “Beef wears a cut. Clearly shows which club he belongs to. Chances are whoever is after you knows exactly where you are. Might be too dangerous you staying here. Nah, hear me out. You’ve got challenges, shall we say? Don’t want to play on them or make you out to be less of a woman than you obviously are, but things which we take for granted, you struggle with. Only a fool would ignore that. So, I think you’re in danger staying here, and as you won’t tell us who’s coming for you, I can’t rule out collateral damage to the club.” His eyes meet mine briefly. Only a couple of months back and they had to rebuild. If she could see she’d be able to tell that for herself. Be a few years yet before the new brickwork starts merging in with the old. “But a motel isn’t a good option, and I’d have concerns about you going alone.”
There are two things I’m reading loud and clear. One, is Demon’s got an idea, and two is I’ll be the one going with her. I haven’t got a problem with that, though I’ll have to run it past Drummer. He sent me here for a reason after all, and I haven’t had much of a chance to sit down with Demon and discuss it except for our one brief chat.
Demon doesn’t disappoint me. “You need somewhere to hole up until your dog is back on his feet. Club’s got a cabin up in the woods. Less than an hour’s drive from here. Hellfire used it when we were kids and had had enough of the city. Club members use it from time to time. Might need a bit of cleaning, but hey, that’s what prospects are for. You can stay up there with Beef.”
“Max…”
“We’ll keep an eye on him for you. Soon as he’s fixed, bring him to you. You’ll be off the radar and safe there until you can talk to your handler and get yourself moved on.”
“No records linking the cabin to us?” I sit forward, interested in his proposal.
“Nah. Club’s owned it almost from the start, but never been our name or any one of the members on the deeds. Be hard as fuck to trace. From forty years ago more likely to be paper records covered in dust.”
I can imagine the various purposes it was probably used for. Back forty years this particular club wasn’t part of the Satan’s Devils, and Blackie, the first prez, was into things we no longer touch. Probably more than one member needing to keep his head low from time to time.
“It’s a nice place once it’s clean and tidy. Got water and electric. Remember it well from when I was a kid. Jeannie and Bomber have used it from time to time as well.”
Stevie looks like she’s thinking. “You sure no one other than your club knows about it?”
“Wouldn’t have suggested it if I thought there was a chance. If you agree, I’ll get the prospects to clean it up, and you can go there with Beef tomorrow.”
“You sure you don’t mind?” Her teeth worry her lip. “I know you offered your protection as part of the security service you run, but I can’t afford to pay you much.”
“We’re branching out.” It’s Demon who answers her. “If you’ve been straight with the information you’ve given, when you can, you contact your handler. Put in a word for us. We might get more work out of it.”
My eyes open wide as I wonder whether she’ll swallow that. Us work with the US Marshals? I very much doubt it. But I’m happy that Demon is foregoing payment. No Devil likes a woman being hunted, killed or tortured. If Demon hadn’t agreed to extend his protection, I’d have contacted Drummer. I’d briefly considered taking her to the Tucson chapter, but without knowing who’s after her, I can’t risk it. If they were determined enough, they’d search for her at any of our chapters. They probably still will, but this way, they won’t find her. I’ll need to talk to Demon about it and get him to warn the other clubs.
“I want to stay alive,” Stevie says. “And I need my seeing eye dog back. If you’re sure I’m not putting Beef or your club in any danger, then yes, I’ll go to the cabin. But…” She must have heard our intake of breath as both Demon and I open our mouths, and she holds up her hand to stop us. “But. Once I know my way around the cabin, Beef doesn’t need to stay. I’m sure he’s got better things to do with his time. I’ll be fine once I’ve learned the layout. Perhaps give me a burner phone in case I need help, but I don’t need a babysitter.”
I suppose I’ve got so used to Sally, she’s taken me by surprise, and damn it if I don’t feel disappointed. What she’s suggested would probably work, if the cabin is as far off the radar as Demon has stated.
One thing I’m fast learning, is Stevie’s not helpless. To do the right thing she’s already uprooted and left everything she’s ever known. Why wouldn’t she be fine staying alone?
Demon raises his eyebrow toward me, then raises his chin. “Get settled in, Stevie, see how the ground lies, then Beef can make the calls.”
The meeting is over, or at least the one with Stevie in it. Demon has used gestures to make it obvious he wants me to return. Helping her stand, I take her elbow. Once in the clubroom I see Wills and Dan, and point them in the direction of Demon’s office. Then thankfully I spy Violet and take Stevie over.
“Violet. This is Stevie. Can you take her under your wing for a moment while I have a chat with your old man?”
Chapter Seventeen
Returning to Demon’s office I patiently wait until he finishes giving instructions to the prospects. From the brief chats I’ve had during the short time I’ve been here, I’ve discovered both are more than ready to patch in. Might not know enough about them to give them my vote, but everyone here thinks they’ve served their time and earned enough trust to be brought to the table. When that happens, Beaver and Karl, the hangarounds, will take their places as new prospects. But even when they are, the club will wait a time before trusting them with information that could bring harm to the club. Hence, it’s Wills and Dan who’ll take the lead on preparing the cabin. They’ve shown they can be trusted to keep their mouths shut about where they are going, what they are doing, and why.
Watching Demon, I admire his style, appreciating how he’s addressing the prospects. His manner of showing the job will be done to his satisfaction or else neither will be getting their patch makes me hide my smile. This close they won’t want to fuck up. I doubt I’ll find a speck of dust when we go to the cabin tomorrow.
Wills’ face is serious as he takes an old-fashioned looking set of keys from Demon. His eyes meet mine and he jerks his chin as he goes out the door. It's a silent promise they’ll do what’s needed.
I retake the seat I’d vacated moments before. “I’d take her back to Tucson, but—”
He’s there before me. “No Satan’s Devils chapter would be safe, Beef. I commend that she doesn’t want to give herself and who she’s hiding from away, but it’s making our lives fuckin’ diffic
ult. I don’t know how to prepare us. Are we facing one man? Two? A gang or an organisation?”
“Someone with reach, that’s for sure.”
“I agree. That’s your number one priority. Get her to tell you exactly what we’re dealing with.”
I’ll try. That’s all I can promise. Stevie’s protecting herself, and quite rightly. But in doing so, she’s not protecting us. Club first above everything. Something occurs to me. “D’you reckon she might believe our sympathies would lie with who’s trying to silence her?”
Demon taps his fingers against his desk. “Must admit it had occurred to me. But nothing immediately springs to mind.”
“Not all MCs are as clean as ours.”
“True. Would be easier if we knew where she came from: north, south, east or west. It could be anywhere.”
We both go quiet. Each dredging the depths of our minds thinking of shit that we’ve heard on the grapevine in which she could be involved, but nothing immediately comes to mind. Feds are always chasing MCs trying to get something on the gangs as they call us. But likewise, it could be the Mafia or, my personal favourite, something she’s learned about a corporate organisation from working behind her PC. Demon’s right, I’ve got to get her to tell me. There’s just a chance it might affect where our loyalties lie. Of course I wouldn’t let any harm come to her, but persuade her against testifying? Yeah, that I could do. Though my leanings are against it. I’ll want nothing to do with people who’re trying to take out an innocent woman.
Thinking time is over with no productive result, so I ask something else. “What do you think about leaving her alone, Prez?”
“You’ll find the cabin is out of the way. Biggest danger is someone seeing you coming or going and following you. My view is that it’s best if you stay with her and out of sight. Anyone who’s seen you will have noticed your nomad patch. If we’re questioned, we can say you took off and we don’t know where, they’ll probably believe us.”
Demon sounds certain there will be a ‘they’ turning up. I’m right there with him. It makes sense that not only Stevie, but I will stay off the grid. “Biggest risk is when the dog gets out of the vet’s. We’ll have to get him up there without being followed.”
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