Oh yes, didn’t I say that? They checked the tunnel daily and we never really knew when someone was going to be in the tunnel. And that’s why Star kept her eyes on us and the tunnel when we were sneaking through it.
Tilting my head to the side to indicate we should go we stood and quietly walked down the tunnel. We didn’t speak until we were safely back inside our building.
After a quick debrief with my crew I went upstairs to talk to Rentia and Denver.
If it was at all possible Tershie looked even thinner and weaker than she had when we brought her up here. She was awake and gave me a wobbly little smile.
“Hey, sweet girl, how are you feeling?”
She pulled a face. “Not so good, Noey.”
I took her hand and held on tight. “You be strong for me baby girl and we’ll get you sorted out, okay?”
She gave me a little nod as her eyes slid closed tiredly. Beckoning to her parents to follow me I left her room and pulled the door half way closed.
“I’ve made arrangements for her to be taken to a specialist in a private facility. All we have to do is make sure she stays strong until it’s time to move her.” I looked at Denver when I gave them the next part.
“As you know, that asswipe has his men watching the compound which means we can’t take her out of here without them following us and taking her from us. I know for a fact he won’t hesitate to hurt you guys, and her, to keep you where he believes he has total control over us.”
“Then how the hell are we getting my baby girl out of here?” Denver snarled.
“Through an underground tunnel. We’re going to have to be damned quick because it isn’t our tunnel. It belongs to the bikers next door.” When they would have interrupted I held my hand up and they fell silent. “This is an emergency and if War wants to get pissy about it he can take it up with me once we’ve got Tershie safe.” And then I lied ever so slightly. “I don’t believe he would mind when he finds out why we’re using their tunnel.”
Rentia took my hand and clasped both of hers tight around mine. “You are doing so much for us. Putting yourself and your friends in danger and we both know this isn’t all the bastard wants from you. He wants you back in his clutches, stealing shit for him and his whore and they will hurt you if you refuse.”
I patted her hand and grinned. “He’s overly confident and thinks he has the upper hand when he doesn’t. I can’t say much but I’m not the only one after him. He has made many, many enemies over the years. And as they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And let’s just say I’ve made it my mission to make friends with some of his enemies.”
“I hate that you deal with the underworld instead of living a good life with a man who loves you and who will give you babies. I want all that for you.” My sister said softly as she pulled me in for a hug.
I didn’t know what to say to that because number one, I couldn’t have children and number two, with my fucked up face there was very little chance of finding a man who could look past the scars to the person behind them, and number three, I liked my life and wouldn’t change it for some man. So I didn’t say anything, just hugged her back and made my excuses. I had to get back to my crew to plan for tomorrow.
We still had to run our business while dealing with the asswipe and had a lot to do before the sun set once again.
Leaving my sister and her family I made my way downstairs to our conference room which also served as our war room. Star and Cuba were already set up and they were waiting for me. I hadn’t even closed the door behind me when Star started talking.
“We need someone with a medical background on our crew. Look at how helpless we are right now. If we had someone who knew what he or she was doing we wouldn’t have to find outside help and worry about them staying silent when we need things seen to.”
Mads stared at her with narrowed eyes. “I know you, you already have someone in mind, don’t you?”
Star shrugged but didn’t say anything as she avoided everyone’s eyes while concentrating on her laptop.
“Who? Who do you want to bring in and do you think this person is trustworthy? We can’t have someone we can’t trust completely running around our home.” I warned.
“I can guarantee he’s trustworthy.”
Stunned silence hung in the room.
“A guy? You want to bring a guy into an all-female crew? And how can you guarantee that he is trustworthy?” Evvie asked softly, so very softly. None of us were fooled though. She was the one who would be the hardest to convince that a man on the crew was a good thing.
Star looked up and gave her a dirty look. “I can guarantee it because he’s my cousin and a fully trained paramedic. Plus he’s several years in towards becoming a doctor.”
“Why would someone like him want to join a less than legal crew instead of working for an ambulance service or a hospital?” I asked the question that was on everyone’s lips.
“He’s not employed at the moment and I haven’t mentioned it to him yet. And he would join us because no one will give him a job because of...of his record.” Now she looked a tiny bit worried.
“Come on, Star. Stop stalling, just give it to us straight. What’s wrong with this guy?” Cuba sat sideways in her chair as she watched Star.
“He...he has a temper and more than once he...uhm...he beat up the assholes who had abused the women he had to help. After the last time they fired him. I think he’s exactly the kind of person we need on the crew. He hates men who abuse women”
I made a snap decision. We needed him and we needed him right now.
“Call him. Tell him to come in and to bring all his shit with him as he’ll be living and working here now. Tonight, Star. We need him to look after Tershie and get her ready to move as soon as Dom contacts us.”
“What?”
“Are you serious?”
“I don’t believe this.”
Their shock rang out around the table until I lifted my hand and silence fell.
“Yes, I’m very, very serious. None of us have a clue how to take care of Tershie. He does and if he hates abusers can you guys imagine how pissed he’s going to be when he hears why she’s sick?” I turned back to Star. “Go ahead, call him, tell him we need him tonight and you’ll tell him everything once he gets here. Prepare a file for him then send it to me.”
Star pulled a face at me then got busy calling her cousin while Cuba and I filled the rest of the crew in on the meeting with Dom. None of us were happy about using the tunnel again so soon but there weren’t any other options. It was the tunnel or nothing.
After going over the plan once again we just sat there in silence. We all knew there was a very good chance we would be going up against the Sinners Sons tomorrow night.
Star broke the silence.
“He’s on his way. He said if I’m fucking with him he’s going to put my head in the toilet and flush it. Such an asshole.” But she grinned as she said it and we could all see the relief in her eyes. She was obviously close to the guy and had been worried about him.
“What’s his name?” Mads asked curiously.
“Stef, his name is Stef Burger and he’s two years older than me.” Star mumbled as she typed furiously, focused on something else already. Hopefully her cousin’s file.
“Hmm. Does he have a woman, Star?” Pet asked as she wiggled her eyebrows.
“Huh?” Star looked up in confusion. “What?”
“I wanted to know if he has a woman.”
Star first looked at Pet and then at the rest of us and then a look of understanding slowly dawned and she grinned. A very evil little grin.
“No, he doesn’t have a woman.”
“Ooh, fresh meat.” Pet made smacking noises with her lips and everyone laughed at her antics.
Star quickly looked back down at her laptop and I frowned when I realised she was biting on her lips to stop herself from grinning. Star loved pranking us and I felt sure there was something about this guy she wasn’t
telling us. Tilting my head to the side I stared at her through narrowed eyes as I thought about what it could be.
Was he super ugly? No, it couldn’t be that. Star and those of her family I had met were all damned gorgeous, so I didn’t believe the man was ugly.
Then a little light went on in my head. He had to be gay. Not that I gave a shit but it would be funny to watch the girls flirting with him.
I was about to get back into the discussion of the best and easiest way to move Tershie when my phone rang. Glancing at the unknown number I raised my hand and my crew fell silent. Watching me intently.
Sliding my thumb over the face of the phone I answered. “Yes?”
“Be ready to move at ten tomorrow night. Unfortunately we can’t make it any earlier for safety reasons. We will take care of the watchers before giving you the signal to move.” Dom’s voice was like ice.
“If you take them out they will know something is up.” I cautioned.
“No, they won’t. They are going to think the bastards decided to have a little party of their own. When they are discovered they will be passed out in their car or on the ground, I don’t care. We have you covered.” He continued not giving me an opportunity to disagree or even agree. “I have a specialist, two paramedics and an ambulance standing ready to take the patient to a private facility. A car will transport the rest of the family to the same facility where they will be safe until this mess had been sorted. We thought about getting a paramedic into your compound tonight but that’s too risky right now.”
I quickly interrupted. “Don’t worry about getting a paramedic in here, we’ve got one coming in who is part of the family. He’s coming in unmarked and won’t raise any red flags with our watchers.”
Dom was quiet for a beat then spoke again. “That’s good news. I was worried about the kid taking a turn for the worse during the night and you not having anyone qualified to help her. Right, be ready to go at ten. We have planned for the best case scenario but we both know shit can go sideways very quickly, be prepared to fight if you have to, and good luck, Face.”
With that he was gone and I blew out a heavy breath.
“Dom’s guys are going to make it look as if the assholes watching our back wall passed out while having a little party of their own. If that’s the case then we can use the back door instead of the tunnel.”
Cuba shook her head. “We can’t. The door is too small. We’ll never get a stretcher with her strapped to it through. Everyone else can crawl through but we’ll have to take Tershie out via the tunnel.”
“Okay, let’s do it that way then. Pet, Evvie and Mads will escort Rentia and Denzil out through the door while Cuba and I along with Denver and Stef will take our girl out through the tunnel. Star will watch our asses.”
After laying out the plans I focused on the rest of the preparations to get my family safely out of the compound. Part of those preparations had been a call to Bruno Nichols earlier today.
At first I had tried some bullshit excuse to get one of his teams assigned to protect our gates and perimeter. But he told me to cut out the bullshit and tell him the truth. When I told him I urgently needed them because of my asswipe sperm donor he insisted on leading the team himself. They would arrive around eleven thirty tonight because Bruno had to reroute his best team from a job they were on their way to do in Pretoria.
I was about to check the time on my phone when the buzzer for the gate sounded and Star grinned. “Stef is here and so are the badasses we ordered. Evvie and Mads, you better get your asses out there and escort everyone in.”
“Who died and made you the boss?” Pet teased and Star suddenly looked flustered.
“Sorry! I didn’t realise I was ordering everyone about.” Her face was blood red as she blushed furiously.
I laughed as I stood. “Cuba, you’re with me. Mads, Evvie and Pet you stay in here and watch our backs. Star, keep your eyes on those monitors and let me know the instant you see any movement out there.”
With that I walked out to let our new team member and our temporary bodyguards in.
I did not look forward to the meeting with Bruno.
After giving me a cursory greeting he ordered his team to familiarise themselves with the layout of the property. I knew it was purely so they could see it for themselves after being briefed on a virtual layout. Once he had his men settled into their positions he turned to me and nodded towards the building.
Following me inside to my office he firmly closed the door behind us. Leaving Cuba standing with her mouth wide open as the door closed in her face.
Shit.
I quickly explained everything I couldn’t over the phone. Bruno went from angry to enraged in minutes.
“I want to be kept abreast of every single move you make. Murchison is out for your blood and there’s no way I’ll allow it to happen again. He’s done enough damage already.” Bruno wasn’t happy at all.
“He has me over a barrel, Bruno. For now I have to do exactly as he says or my family will suffer. As soon as I have them safe, and by safe I mean so safe no one can find them, not even me, then and only then will I move against him and that bitch.” I tried to calm him and explain why I was allowing the bastard to manipulate me.
“We won’t allow him to get near your family, sweetheart. My men and I will watch your backs while you get them out of here. Are you going to use the back door?”
I didn’t want to lie to him so I just nodded but I think he knew I wasn’t telling the whole truth. We ended our meeting soon after and he went off to do whatever he had to do. I knew I had to tell him about the tunnel but I wasn’t ready to listen to him lose his shit with me.
I had to use the time we had left to ensure everyone we loved was safe from the sperm donor’s clutches, including Bruno and his family. And now I had to worry about his team and their families as well.
Shit. My problems just kept growing and growing and soon it would be totally out of control. There were so many people connected to us, innocent people that the sperm donor wouldn’t hesitate to hurt to get us to comply with his orders.
For now he had the upper hand but I knew if I could just have some time to work on the problem I would find a solution.
But I had no time right now. Maybe after we got Tershie out. Maybe then I would be able to concentrate and work on our problem.
Not our problem. My problem.
He was my blood therefore my problem to solve.
God willing, permanently.
CHAPTER EIGHT
War
Friday - Midday
War couldn’t believe he was fucking nervous. Nervous about meeting a grown man who was his son. Last he talked to him they had been about two hours away and making good time which meant he would be arriving soon.
They had talked quite a few times since he got the results of the DNA test. But even more over the last week but not enough that he got a feel for the man he was. Kid was cold and distant and after a private talk with his president War understood why he was the way he was. His life under the thumb of Flash Warne and his bitch hadn’t been easy. It had enraged him to find out his son had suffered physical and mental abuse from both of the Warnes. It was the abuse he had suffered at Flash Warne’s hands that made him want to find the fucker and rip him into tiny little pieces, then feed him to the sharks.
He had just finished a call to his old lady, the millionth one today alone. If possible she was even more excited about Kid’s visit than he was. She had wanted to be at the clubhouse when he arrived but War had persuaded her to prepare a private family dinner at home instead. He was about to go into the common room and get a beer when Mouse knocked on the door jamb and walked into his office with his laptop under his arm. Not good. He really didn’t want to deal with any shit right now.
“Whatever you need can you be quick about it? My old lady has been blowing up my phone all morning and I have to keep her calm and at home. I don’t want her rushing out here and revealing the existence
of my son to the rest of the brothers before we are ready. For now, as you know, it’s only the officers who know until we have the sitdown tomorrow.” War grumbled. “I headed her off by asking her to make her special chicken dinner for the boy, so once we have them settled I’ll be heading home with the boys and we’ll be back later for the party.”
Mouse looked worried as he sat down in the chair in front of the desk with the unopened laptop on his lap.
“I’ll be as quick as I can, Prez.” He opened his laptop as he spoke. “As ordered I’ve been keeping an eye on the bitches next door and as you know they pretty much are who they say they are. Ex-cons going straight and living clean. But yesterday afternoon things changed. I was going to come to you yesterday but you were busy with all the stuff you’ve got going down and then I had another glitch in the tunnels I had to check up on.”
He waved a hand as if to wave it all away. “But to get back to yesterday afternoon. Murchison, the Syndicate’s number two, pulled up to their gates. At first they let him and his goons sit outside the gates, but eventually they let him in, but only him, and he was escorted inside. He was in there for about thirty to forty minutes when he was once again escorted out. He was pissed when he went in but he came out very fucking pleased. The women escorting him, not so much. Not long after he left he had men watching the front and back of their property and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s checking on us as well. I tried to hack their system to see if I could find out more, but the computer bitch was waiting for me and kicked my ass out. I have to give it to her, she’s damned good at what she does.”
“Is that it?” War asked with a frown because he couldn’t see why it would be of importance to their club. If the bitches wanted to get dirty with the Syndicate there was nothing they could do about it. They would watch though just in case it impacted their own businesses.
Neither Black Nor White (Iron Dogz MC, #6) Page 9