“You let me worry about that. You’re right, that’s where they’ll focus, so we’ll have to do some kind of diversion.”
“Decoys,” I suggest. “Get a load of trucks. Send them off in all directions. They won’t know which one is carrying Max.”
“Max may need check-ups when he’s released,” Demon muses aloud. “I’ll contact this vet. See what he’s made of. It’s possible he can be persuaded to make a house call, if necessary, instead.” I’ve got a feeling James might. I’m happy to leave that with Demon. “Pick up a couple of burners from Cad.”
“Sure.”
“Want you at church next week.”
So I’ll be making the trip back anyway. I don’t tell him he’s just contradicted himself, but maybe he means for me not to be seen around town or working at the shop on a daily basis. Should be able to get there and back without being followed, but how much can I get out of her between now and then? He’s given me a week to earn her trust. “May not have much to share,” I warn him. “Reckon it’s going to take more than a minute to get Stevie to open up.”
“It probably will. But the brothers will want to hear anything you do find out from your own mouth.”
There’s a knock at the door. Demon calls out they can enter, and Ink comes in. His face is grim, and he brings with him a faint acrid smell of smoke. “Pyro’s pal from the fire service was there and got his team to turn their backs while I had a look around. The back door was fastened shut with heavy duty wire. No way she could have opened it.”
I know that myself. If a big fucker like me couldn’t budge it, she wouldn’t have had a chance.
“You go inside?”
“Nah. The fire was intense, man. Continued to burn after you got out. There’s virtually nothing left. Anything she had is gone. If anything survived, it would be badly smoke or water damaged.”
I doubt if she’d have brought many personal possessions with her. Anything she had would have pointed to her past. Having escaped with her life, I doubt there was anything gone she’ll be too worried about. This won’t be the first time Stevie has had to start all over again.
Except for some stuff. “She needs clothes.”
“She’s about the same size as Jayden. Ask Pal if she’s got anything spare that will keep her going for a few days.”
“Can you send Vi out to stock up? I’ll pick it up when I come back for church.”
“That’s a plan.” Prez nods.
My mind circles back to the fire. “You see anyone other than firefighters?”
“Like who?” Uninvited, Ink takes the second chair.
“Cops? Marshal?”
Ink’s eyes shutter as though he’s trying to remember. “Cops, yeah. Hanging around waiting for the firefighters to get what they need.” He pauses. “What does a US Marshal look like?”
Demon and I look at each other. I see his mouth turning up at the corners. Ink’s got a good point. A marshal checking on a woman who doesn’t exist would hardly be wearing his badge. “All the cops in uniform?”
“Nah, looked like a detective there.”
It was obviously arson. A detective is likely to be assigned to investigate a crime.
“If the marshal knows he’s lost his witness, they’ll be searching everywhere,” Ink notes. “Firefighters have already determined there’s no body in the ruins of her house.” I look at him assessing, wondering if Demon’s considered tapping him for VP.
He’s come up with another good point. Wiping my hand down my face, resting my fingers on my chin, I shake my head. “Got more than one group of people searching for her, Prez. Starting to wonder whether we’ve bitten off more than we can chew.”
Demon studies me for a moment. “She’s right, though. Marshals will move her fast if they know she’s exposed. It’s not something that’s gone into lightly. The info she’s got must be hellishly important for them to give her a new identity in a new town.”
“And the people coming after her scary enough that she’s given up everything.” Ink looks impressed. “She either hates these people she’s up against, or puts society’s needs above her own. Pretty damned impressed with that myself. Now it’s likely she’ll have to do that all over again.”
A little earlier I’d been considering telling the authorities where she is so she could be looked after by people who, to date, have never lost a man. Or woman, come to that. Now I’m realising, if the US Marshals knew, they’d take her away and I’d never know where she was, would never see her again. It’s just my need to protect her that makes me want to keep her close, isn’t it? Along with my desire to want to reunite her with her dog. Sure, she’s an attractive bitch, wouldn’t turn down someone with her looks, but I’ve got a stable of sweet butts here I haven’t tried yet. Nah, that’s not influencing me at all.
I glance at Ink, then at Demon. “Someone who isn’t meant to know where she is, found out. Unless we discover the how and the who, we could be putting her back into danger again. Sure, the US Marshals have an impeccable record. Doesn’t mean they can’t fuck up a time or two.”
Ink nods. “There’s a leak somewhere. Could be within the US Marshals’ outfit, or with the cops.”
“Or someone just got lucky, or she herself slipped up.”
Demon looks sharply from me to Ink, then back again. “You’re right, Beef. Anyone can fuck up. We didn’t know Taser would go off the rails, but Ingot certainly found out. He’d prospected, earned his patch, spent more than a few years sitting around this table, then killed Ingot off in the hope he’d get an officer patch. Maybe a marshal wants something more. It will be a big case, possibly big money involved. Maybe enough to prove tempting. We need to know more. Right now, I’m as much in the dark as she is, and that’s what I don’t like. We get her to contact her handler, might be the very man she shouldn’t trust.”
Ink’s shaking his head. “Bad business with Taser. Man must have had a screw loose. Who’d want an officer patch when that comes with responsibility.”
Okay, then. Ink doesn’t want a seat at the head of the table. I’m beginning to understand Demon’s problems.
I start pulling at my fingers as I sum up. “First, Stevie doesn’t want to be parted from her guide dog. Not only is Max her salvation, but also her friend. The likelihood is if she’s whisked somewhere else, the dog will be left behind. Second, we don’t know who she’s running from, who might have turned, or who to trust; the leak could have come from the very people who have guaranteed to keep her safe. Third, we do have somewhere we can hide her, at least until Max is recovered enough to go with her, wherever she might go.”
“And four,” Demon takes over with a glint in his eye, “you would never see her again.”
I shrug as if that’s no matter while ignoring the thought deep down that it is.
“Alright. Beef, we go with the plan we discussed earlier. But you stay with her, talk to her, get her fuckin’ drunk, don’t care how you do it, but I want to know what we’re fighting here, who we should be looking out for.”
“You got it, Prez.”
By the time we’ve finished all the discussions, it’s late in the evening. Violet informed me that the events of the day had caught up with Stevie, and she showed her the bed in my room. I resign myself to an uncomfortable night on the sofa, can’t intrude or ask if she wants to share. We’re barely friends, and far from lovers.
The lack of accommodation here makes me long for Tucson. The clubhouse is quieting down but still a few brothers are talking and drinking. Knowing there’s no point in trying to get my head down right now, I grab a beer and take myself outside into the pleasant warmth of a Colorado summer evening and place a call to my prez. My real prez.
“You got Drummer.”
Knowing him of old, I don’t introduce myself. He’d only tell me my name’s displayed on his phone. “Sorry to call so late, Prez.”
“Nah, I was still awake. Zane’s got a cold and don’t we all know about it.” I don’t hear complaint i
n his voice, just sympathy tinged with pride. In the background I can hear a baby wailing, and Sam’s voice soothing him. “What you got for me, Beef?”
Pleasantries over, I get right down to business. “First off, Prez, my situation has been resolved. Sally was here.” When he stays silent, I go on, “Did what I should have done in the first place. Told her how it is.”
“She accept it?” When I reply in the affirmative, he continues, “So, you telling me you already want to come home? You haven’t been there five minutes.”
“Got a job to do here, Prez. Not plannin’ on lettin’ you down.”
I believe I hear a sigh of relief.
“How’s it going? You have a sit-down with Demon yet?”
I shift to get comfortable on the hard wooden bench. “I can see his problem. At least one man here could do the job from what I’ve seen, but no one possible has any desire to step up. I’ve made a few suggestions, but nothing positive has been decided about a new VP yet. I’ve, er, I’ve been distracted.”
“Tell me it doesn’t involve a woman. You only just got rid of one bitch.”
I laugh, as I’m meant to. “Nothing like that, Prez. But yeah, there is a woman involved. And a dog.” I raise the beer bottle and take a long swig. Then, my throat wetted, I explain what’s been going on, and what Demon has proposed.
“You go off the grid, that means you’re not doing the job I wanted you to do.” Drummer’s not so much complaining, as stating the facts. “Demon should have run this past me, not you.”
“I expect he’ll make contact, Drummer. But I’m sort of doing this on my own. I was there, he wasn’t. Can’t walk away from this, Prez.”
“Knowing you, I’d expect nothing less.” He goes quiet for a few seconds. I’ve no worries he’ll object, he’s just thinking it through. When he speaks again, as I thought, he gives me his blessing. “Yeah, you do what you have to, Beef. You need any help from this end? Need somewhere else to go? You come back home. Bring this woman with you if you need to.”
I explain the Satan’s Devils connection. He agrees to warn the other chapters too. They all might get visitors trying to find where Stevie could have gone. As the national president Drummer takes the protection of all his chapters seriously.
I promise to let him have the number of my burner, then end the call.
In the end my night turns out not to be as bad as I feared. Due to the explosion that destroyed a lot of the clubhouse, the sofas are new and not lumpy, just short for my tall frame. The ability to catch a nap anytime, anyplace, was honed when I was a soldier, and this is far from the worst I’ve ever experienced. But as I try to get comfortable, I hope there will be more than one bed in the cabin. I’m getting old and prefer my creature comforts.
The next morning we get an early start, leaving immediately after we’ve grabbed some breakfast. Driving the club’s SUV with darkened windows out of the compound, I decide to take the opportunity to discover the back streets of Pueblo, to ensure I haven’t picked up a tail. Leaving the clubhouse, I thought I saw a truck pull out behind us, but I lost him a while back, then a white Chevy seemed to be getting a bit close, but after a few twists and turns and a short stay in a parking lot out of sight of the road, he disappeared as well. Eventually when it’s all clear, I start following the instructions that Demon had imprinted onto my mind.
Stevie’s quiet in the back seat. A precaution we’d taken so she wouldn’t be visible as a passenger. Beside her is a bag crammed full of essentials that she and I might need over the following days. Luckily it’s summer, so lightweight tees, shorts and jeans, don’t take up much space. We’ve also both got a couple of sweaters, having been warned the nights can get chilly. Both Violet and Jay contributed to Stevie’s haul. She’s also got shampoo, conditioner and other, what the girls called, essential stuff. I’m no stranger to living with a woman, so suspect that includes tampons, the item they didn’t want to discuss. Like I hadn’t told them about the condoms. Hey, I’ve been a boy scout.
We’ve both got burner phones—hers fancier than mine. She’d been holed up in a corner with Cad for a while, why she got a brand-new model we haven’t discussed.
I know she hates leaving Max, hates that she can’t keep checking up on him. Demon’s promised a brother will find out how he is every day and let her know if there are any problems. The other worry she must have is that she’s literally putting her life in my hands. She’s only known me a few days, knows nothing about me at all except I’m a biker.
What would I have done in her place? Part of me is pleased it’s me she’s decided to trust. Not that she’s got much choice, the authorities haven’t done a good job to date, and if they found her, they’d whisk her out of my life. She would lose her dog, and I’d never see her again. That thought bothers me causes me to wonder whether that would be for the best. Still, I’ve agreed on this plan, now I’ve got to go along with it.
It’s less than an hour’s drive to get to the cabin, though with the backtracking I’ve done it takes a good sixty minutes more. While Stevie’s content to be alone with her thoughts, I use the time to think. No one should have discovered where she was. If she moved on, what guarantee is there that the same rat won’t resurface? She’s escaped two attempts on her life. Would she survive a third? I doubt it. Unlike a cat she probably doesn’t have nine lives. Three is a stretch for any human.
She’s blind, and while I know that doesn’t make her completely helpless, the thought that there’s someone after her must be terrifying, but at least she hadn’t seen the car heading toward her. She might have smelled smoke, felt the heat of the flames, but hadn’t seen how close her escape from the fire had been. On the other hand, I had. Maybe watching her face death twice explains the strange urge I have to protect her. I’m glad Demon hadn’t suggested anyone else. Or maybe he just thought I would have a better chance of getting her to open up.
If I’d been back in Tucson I could have reassured her any of my brothers would look after her. Here? I’m sure the brothers are good men, but I can’t personally vouch for them. Not yet.
Did Demon take the opportunity to get me out of the way? So I wouldn’t be able to do the job I was sent here for. Hmm. Something to ponder.
Then it hits me. Sally and I are over. There’s no longer a reason for me to stay away from Tucson. I could go back.
But I can’t. For starters, I haven’t done what I came here to do. Have been so tied up with the woman in the back seat, I haven’t had a chance. Need to get that sorted for Drummer.
Then there’s Stevie herself. What would happen if she contacted her handler? Something tells me they wouldn’t give a damn about her dog. While we haven’t discussed it, there’s a chance he might not make a full recovery, that he won’t be a working dog any more. Would the marshals just put her in line to get a new service animal? Would they understand the bond that’s grown between woman and canine? To them she’s not a person, she’s a commodity, her only use the information she carries with her, the evidence that will maybe break their big case. What would they care of her mental wellbeing? Their job simply to keep her alive, until she has her day in court.
Chapter Eighteen
The road has been fairly flat for a while after we left Pueblo, but then it starts to climb. I follow the directions, a couple of times checking what’s written on a piece of paper I have resting on my lap. As I turn off the freeway, it’s like I’m driving into a different world.
I’m no stranger to mountains, Tucson is surrounded by three ranges, but here the vegetation seems different. Evergreen trees start to close in rather than open desert. I begin to anticipate some time to simply chill out. Since moving in with Sally I’ve had a tension inside me, it would be nice to enjoy some down time and relax. I crack the window an inch, breathing in the smell of spruce and pine.
“That’s nice,” Stevie murmurs from the back seat. “Are we in a forest?”
“Getting there,” I reply.
“Is it much furthe
r?”
“Don’t think so. Looking out for the track now.”
Demon warned me it wasn’t particularly easy to find. He was right. When the milometer shows me I’ve clearly overshot the turning, I find a place to manoeuvre the car around and go back. I’m not surprised I missed it. There are tire tracks from the vehicle the prospects had brought, but the gate is almost invisible with a fallen tree in front of it, and only possible to spot if you’re watching for it. I stop the SUV.
“Just got to open the gate,” I explain, remembering to voice everything.
The barbed wire fence and gate are hidden by the dead branches of a tree. It looks impossible to move but is actually easy. Taking a leaf from the prospects’ book, I drive through, stop, relock the gate, and swing that tree in front again. Anyone passing without knowing it was there would never notice it. I’m pleased with this first level of security.
The road climbs steeply for another mile or so, and around us the forest becomes dense. The road divides, but I’m prepared, taking the right-hand fork. Another few hundred yards and there’s another gate. I’m surprised to find it opens automatically on my approach, then closes behind me.
Cad’s standing on the other side, nodding with satisfaction.
I hang my head out of the window. “Didn’t expect to see you here?”
“I came up with Sparky to check everything out.”
“That gate electric?”
He both nods and shakes his head. “Yeah, solar powered. This time of year should work okay, as long as the panel’s kept clear. That SUV you’re driving has the trigger to open it. It’s easy enough to pull aside manually if needed though.”
I’m surprised at the sophistication, it’s not what I expected.
“Mind if I hitch a ride?”
“Be my guest.”
Satan's Devils MC Colorado Boxset 1 Books 1 - 3 Page 86