“Phil, that’s your daughter you’re talking to,” Mom snaps.
“Oh,” he says, in a sly tone I don’t like, “I’m well aware of that.” He nods to one, then another of his men. “Bring the freak, she’s coming with us.” He turns to my mom who’s looking on in horror. “My daughter will enjoy my hospitality for a time while you have a think about who took those drugs. I’m sure with the right incentive, you’ll remember.”
I try and signal with my eyes that Mom has to keep her mouth shut. God knows what Phil will do if we give him the information he’s after and we’re no longer of any use to him. But her eyes flash sympathy and her own warning. She knows what he’s capable of, after all. If he could contemplate killing his son, he’d not hesitate to take out his ex-wife and daughter.
“We don’t know and can’t tell you,” I cry out as two men approach.
“Then Patsy will have to do some investigating. If she doesn’t, you won’t be coming home.”
Dirt, hands bound, still tries to step up, but a hard punch to his head floors him.
I struggle and cry out as one of the men grasps my arm too hard. That’s Mom’s undoing.
“Stop!” she screams out. “I’ll tell you.”
We’re frozen in a bizarre tableau. I stop fighting the men who’ve got hold of me. Phil swings around and stares at Mom. Dirt’s struggled to his knees and his face is filled with horror.
“Who?” snaps Phil when the spell is broken.
“Let her go and I’ll tell you.”
Instead, Phil signals toward one of the men holding me. He yanks on my hair so hard I yell out.
But still I try to stop her. “Mom. No!”
“The Satan’s Devils MC. They’ve got what you’re looking for.”
She’s achieved nothing.
A very unpleasant smile crosses Phil’s face. “Then I’ll keep Bethany until they’ve given them back. Connor said Beth was fucking one of them.” He pauses and gives a hard look at Dirt. “You, I’m only leaving alive so you can take that message back to your club. Get me my drugs, or you won’t see your girlfriend again.”
My hands are yanked together behind my back and tied, then, each man has a hand on my elbow, and I’m marched out and pushed roughly into an SUV.
Chapter Thirty-One
Mace
“How did they take it?” Beef draws me to one side when I return to the clubhouse.
“How you’d expect,” I tell him. “Devastated.” But I’m distracted, and the VP pulls me up on it.
“And?”
Shaking my head, I tell him what’s worrying me, “They told me to leave.”
He looks puzzled. “What the fuck’s wrong with that? Perfectly understandable, they wanted to grieve alone.”
“I’m not sure, VP. I think Beth is suspicious.”
“That you weren’t telling the truth?”
I shrug. “Tried to be as convincing as possible. Don’t know what she could have picked up.”
“Maybe you imagined it. First step to grief is denial. Probably hard to believe she won’t be seeing her brother again.”
I look down at the ground and then back up. “Are we doing the right thing here, Beef?”
His shoulders rise and fall now. “Fuck if I know, but Connor can’t stay around here. They’ll never see him again, so what difference does it make?”
“At least a mother would know her son isn’t dead.”
“And then she’d try to maintain contact with him. You know what Cad found out about Phil Foster. He won’t give up. He’s a man who likes revenge. Connor stole from him and left him well out of pocket. He’s a dead man if Phil comes across him again.”
He’s right, but I still hadn’t liked delivering the news. For some reason, I’d felt I was letting Ink down, when all I’m doing is trying everything I can to fix his situation. I’d hurt Ink’s woman. Do you ever recover from the death of a loved one? I’m not sure you do. I know my great-grandmother still felt the loss of the man who died sixty years before. She was ninety when she went to join him a year or so back, and in the end, he was all she’d wanted to talk about. She’d never forgotten him, or ever got over her loss.
Would Beth?
I might not mind inflicting physical pain. But mental hurt? Seems it’s there I want to draw the line. Too late. What’s done is done.
To take my mind off the grief of the women I’d just left, I take advantage of Beef’s attention, and broach my embryonic idea.
“Hey, VP. You had a gym set up in Tucson, didn’t you? It get well used?”
“It fuckin’ did, Brother. And does. Drummer insists on it. Monthly sparring matches in the ring too. Should have something like that here.” He flexes his biceps. “I’m getting soft.”
“We use a gym in town, as you well know, Beef.” I raise my chin at him, having seen him there a time or two. “But Ink’s been on about setting something up for ourselves.”
He gives me a calculating look. “You thinking of starting the project for Ink?”
I shrug. “Ink’s idea, but we’d all benefit. Thought of seeing if we could renovate one of the old buildings out the back.”
“What? The ones behind the fence?”
Yeah, Beef had fenced off the more dangerous areas when he’d laid out the backyard for his old lady. “Yes. One of them is fairly sound.”
“It’s a good idea, Brother. Bring it up at tomorrow’s church. Reckon we’d all like to chip in and do something for Ink when he gets out.” The faraway look that comes into his eyes suggests he’s thinking that despite our best efforts and using the drugs and Connor’s knowledge of Alder to bargain with the feds, Ink could still be going away for a very long time.
“You did the yard for Steph, Bro,” I remind him. “At the time you didn’t know you’d see her again.”
Beef snorts. “You think it worked like a charm bringing her back to me?”
I give a half-smile. “Well, it can’t do any harm.”
He slaps my back. “We’re doing what we can for Ink, Mace. But yeah, I think brothers want to do more. A gym’s a great idea in any event, but when every nail hammered in and every piece of equipment set up is for him, well, I don’t see anyone turning your idea around. We’d all give our lives for each other; blood, sweat and tears would be cheerfully donated.”
“And a few cuss words.” I grin now.
“That too,” he laughs. Then, spying Demon, walks off.
“What was that about?”
“A gym. For Ink,” I explain to Lizard. He calls Judge over, and I tell him too. Next, it’s Ro.
I drink beer and spend the next few hours discussing plans for the gym. The notion seems to have gone well. We’re heading into spring which will mean longer, warmer days when we can get work done after we’ve finished our day jobs.
“Let’s walk around tomorrow,” Rusty suggests. “See how much needs to be done. Could always get Viper and Bullet’s crew up from Tucson if the fabric of the building needs more work than we can handle. They did a fuckin’ good job on the repairs to the clubhouse.” He indicates the new brick matched in with the original walls, damage we’d had to repair when the Mafia came visiting a while back.
“Good call,” I tell him. Looking around with a second pair of eyes would be useful and means I’ve got some practical suggestions to bring up at church.
“Mace. Can I do something for you?” Titsy approaches with a wide grin on her face.
Now there’s an idea. I’d not have been in the mood had she asked me earlier but having spent some time talking about doing something positive for Ink, I’m certainly in a better place. As I stare down at her tits in such a low-cut top that her nipples are almost visible, my cock starts to get hard.
I begin to give her the answer which is a very definite yes. I’m opening my mouth to form the word when I’m distracted.
“See you tomorrow!” Ro shouts to no one in particular as he walks toward the door.
A usual occurrence. He nor
mally spirits Mel home when the club girls come out to play. I turn back to what I was preparing to do. “Yeah, doll.” I look over and see the pool table’s not in use. Like Ink, I have no difficulty getting my rocks off in public, and the idea of my performance being watched is often a turn on. “Over there, yeah?”
My hand’s on her ass as she starts to walk over, but my attention is on Pyro and Mel’s progress across the room, wanting to keep it PG while his old lady’s still in sight. So, I see him forced to step back and pull Mel out of the way as the door flies open, and in runs a distraught woman. “Help, I need help,” yells Beth’s mom, Patsy. She’s followed by an anguished Dirt, one of his eyes seems to be shut and swollen.
All eyes shoot to her. She might be small, average height for a woman but tiny to us, but at the moment she’s commanding the attention of the room.
“Phil’s got Bethany. He wants his drugs back.”
Beef moves fast and is over to her before I can get my feet moving. “Demon’s office.” He gives her no choice, taking her by the arm and leading her across the clubroom. His eyes catch mine and he jerks his head suggesting, or more likely demanding that I come along too. He gives the same signal to Thunder.
I pause only long enough to glare at the club girls and even spare one for Jayden who’s sitting on Pal’s lap. Pyro’s got his arms around Mel, holding her back and talking fast into her ear.
Bella and Titsy mime zipping their lips shut.
Beef’s talking on the phone as he opens Demon’s door. “Prez, need you back here fast.”
Then he points Patsy to a chair. Taking the one next to her, he turns it to face her, and reaching forward takes hold of both of her hands. “Tell us exactly what happened, Patsy.”
She needs no encouragement. “After he,” she indicates me with a tilt of her head, “came to tell me my son was dead, Bethany and I discussed it. It didn’t seem right, and maybe it’s just optimism, but we didn’t believe it.”
Christ, and there I was thinking I’d gotten away with it. I exchange a glance with Thunder, an apology in mine.
“Where does Phil come in?”
“I haven’t had contact with Phil for years, but he hasn’t changed his number. I called him to see if he knew about Connor’s death. If he was dead, well, I wouldn’t put it past him that he was behind it. And now he’s got Bethany…” Angrily she wipes a tear from her eye as if she’s got no time for it.
Strength runs in the family it would seem. She’s distraught but will leave her inevitable breakdown until later.
But hell, she’s right to be worried, and so am I. Phil stood by and watched two of his men kick and punch his son almost to death. What a fuckup of a job we’ve done of protecting Ink’s woman. Now Beth’s been kidnapped by a monster. I have no confidence she’ll be returned unharmed. What if he hurts her like Connor? I shift in my seat, knowing I could never look my brother in the eye again. Maybe if I hadn’t been so inclined to blame her, I’d have protected her myself. What did we do? Pass her and her Mom on to two hangarounds who we’re not even confident enough to patch in as prospects yet.
Thunder’s voice pulls me back to the here and now. “Go over the conversation you had with Phil.”
For a second, Patsy bows her head. “It’s my fault,” she says, quietly. “I shouldn’t have called. But Bethany was convinced Connor wasn’t dead, and I wanted to know if Phil knew. When he said he did, I, er, I asked him whether he knew Connor had left drugs with me.”
Phil might not have had that knowledge until she opened her mouth. Alder had, Connor had said his father had left the warehouse by then.
“And?” prompts Beef.
“He was mad, furious. He asked if I still had them. I told him persons unknown had taken the drugs.” She pauses, and her brow creases with pain. “That was the end of it. Until, a couple of hours later he turned up in person.”
“Didn’t Dirt confront him?” That man is never getting patched in.
“Phil bashed in the front door, came in with four other men. Dirt didn’t have a chance. If he’d tried to shoot him, he’d have ended up dead. They disarmed him and tied him up, hit him when even then he tried to help. I couldn’t do anything.” Her voice cracks, and she takes a pause to swallow a couple of times. “They searched the house as if they thought I was lying. Left it in a hell of a mess, but of course, they didn’t find anything. And then they… then he… he said he was going to take Bethany.”
“She was forced to go with them?”
“I thought I could stop him,” Patsy wails. “I thought—or I wasn’t thinking. I thought he’d leave her with me. I’ve just lost a son, I couldn’t risk losing my daughter.”
I stiffen. I notice Beef has too. It’s Thunder who asks, “What did you do?”
Patsy swallows. “I told them the Satan’s Devils MC had taken them.”
Jesus H Christ she’s dropped us right in it.
“But he took her anyway?” Of course, he did. It’s why she’s here.
“Yes.” She’s sobbing now. “He said she’d be staying with him until he gets his drugs back. I’m sorry…”
But who can blame her? I’d just told her, her son was dead. She was a mother doing anything she could to protect her only remaining child.
Beef, Thunder and I exchange glances while she quietly weeps. Behind us the door opens and the prez comes in. His eyes take in the distraught woman and then go to Beef with a raised eyebrow.
Beef sums it up succinctly, “Phil Foster has kidnapped Beth. He’ll release her when he gets his drugs back.” My eyes flick to Patsy and then back to the prez. “Phil knows we’ve got them.”
“Fuck.” Demon pushes back his hair with both hands. “Dirt?”
“Unharmed but overpowered. Seemed he couldn’t do anything. Phil came mobbed up.”
“He had instructions to call us—”
Beef shrugs. Guess Dirt’s going to have to come up with an explanation for us. Can’t see him getting his patch unless it’s good.
Demon turns and smashes his fist against the wall. It’s not hard to know what he’s thinking. Satan’s Devils have been pulled into this mess. Our brother Ink asked for one thing and one thing only, to protect Beth. Now she’s been kidnapped, and if we give up the drugs to save her, there goes our leverage to get Ink released.
“Thunder? Get Rusty.” Prez eyes are full of concern for Patsy. She’s a complete mess, doubled over and crying unconsolably, now having given into that breakdown I’d been certain was coming.
Demon taps his VP on his shoulder, and when he stands up, takes his place on the chair in front of Beth’s mother. “Patsy,” he starts, his voice quiet. Then it sharpens when he repeats her name. The third time gets her looking up. “Will you listen very carefully to what I have to say?”
She makes a visible effort to pull herself together. Beef’s produced some tissues from somewhere, and he passes them to her. After blowing her nose loudly and mopping at her tears, she raises her eyes to Demon. “I’ll do anything. I can’t lose both my children in one day. Look, I don’t know what you took the drugs for. I know they’re worth a lot. Maybe I can buy them back off you? I’ll sell my house, do anything…”
“Fuck woman!” Demon roars. “I don’t want your money. We didn’t take the drugs to sell them. What the hell do you think we are?”
“I don’t know,” wails Patsy. “I just know Phil’s got my daughter, and I want her back. The fastest way is to give him what he wants.” Her eyes close then open again. “He’s a psychopath, with no emotion. He’d hurt her without a second thought.”
“And what happens then?” Demon challenges. “We give the drugs back. Do you think he’ll simply let Beth come home? You know too much, what’s to stop you going to the cops? He hasn’t been busted for drug dealing, he’ll want to keep it that way. I know you don’t want to hear this, but it won’t stop with a simple exchange.”
I’m immediately on Demon’s wavelength. Giving into Phil’s demands won’t solve anyth
ing. Beth and Patsy know far too much, I doubt Beth would be coming home. And Patsy? Well, she might be controlled over threats to her daughter, or more likely, she’ll meet with a fatal accident of some sort. Even we’ll not be safe. If we roll over and give Phil his H back, he could try and turn us into his bitches, threaten to take us down unless we work for him. Now it’s my turn to smash my fist against the wall. Fuck. What a mess. Ink, I’m so fucking sorry. I failed you in the one thing you asked.
“We go to Denver. Face him head on,” I suggest.
“What’s the size of his organisation, Patsy? Anything you know could help.” Demon’s voice and my proposal have Patsy straightening her spine.
She, in turn, ignores Demon and addresses me, “You’d get her back?”
“Patsy,” Demon shoots me a threatening look as he gets her attention again. “We’ll do everything we possibly can to bring her home but racing off blindly isn’t going to help anyone. Tell us everything you know.”
“Thank you,” she says, but I notice she’s trembling. “I don’t know much at all. His brother-in-law, Alder, used to be his business partner years back. He said he had a falling out with him, but I don’t believe that’s the truth. He said it was Alder who’d hurt Connor. Oh my God, Connor,” she wails his name as her double loss comes back to her.
I hold my breath, wondering whether Prez will ease her mind and tell her, her son is alive. In the state she’s in now, I don’t know if that will make anything better or worse, or whether she’d be able to deal with the knowledge rationally. She could rush out and shout his survival to the world, which would cause his death.
“I’m sorry about your son.” Demon sounds genuinely sympathetic, and he probably is because he’s keeping back information she should know. “But I promise you this. We will get Beth back.”
She might not know the reason, but Prez has just made a vow. One we’ll keep. For Ink.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ink
I raise a questioning eyebrow at Sykes seated beside me. He gives an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Neither he nor I have any idea why the detectives want to talk to me this morning. More of the same, I expect. A repeat of the same line of questioning, wanting to trip me up so the prosecutor can build a strong case.
Ink's Devil: Satan's Devils MC Colorado Chapter #5 Page 33