by Wilder, L.
“That’s where you’re wrong. We have a lot to discuss.”
“Like what?”
“I know you want me to come home and you’re willing to do whatever it takes to get me there, but have you thought about how things are going to be once you have me back.”
“It will be like it used to be. We will be a family again.”
“You know I don’t want that, so how are you planning to keep me from leaving? Are you going to watch me every second? Lock me away … keep guards on me every minute of every day just so you can make sure I stay put? Is that the way you want things to be, or would you rather me come willingly and be the trophy daughter you’ve always wanted me to be?” I gave him a moment to consider the thought before I continued. “I’ll be the daughter you want, but it will come at a cost.”
“And what is that?”
“Meet me. Talk to me face and face, and I will explain everything.”
There was a long, agonizing pause before he finally answered, “Fine. I’ll be at your apartment tomorrow morning at nine.”
Nine was just a few hours away. I was worried that Gus and the others wouldn’t have time to prepare, but I felt I had no other choice but to agree. “Okay. I’ll be there.”
“Come alone, Alejandra. There’s no reason for things to get messy.”
“I will. You have my word,” I lied.
“Good. I will see you soon.”
As soon as he hung up, I turned to Gus and said, “He’ll be at my apartment at nine.”
Gus nodded. “We’ll be ready.”
I let out a deep breath as I looked over to Shadow and said, “I need some fresh air.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“That’s okay. I won’t be long,” I told him as I started out the door. I rushed down the hall and out the front door, and I was practically running as I headed towards the back of the lot. Once I’d stopped, I placed my hands on the fence, clinging to it as I thought back over my conversation with my father. Tears started to stream down my face as I remembered the sound of his voice, and the hatred it stirred inside of me as he spoke. I detested everything about him, and the mere thought of having to face him again made my stomach turn. Nausea crept over me, and before I realized what was happening, I felt the bile burning at the back of my throat as I hunched over. I tried to fight it, but I couldn’t stop myself from getting sick. I was still bent over when I felt a hand run across my back.
As he reached for my hair, pulling it away from my face, Shadow asked, “You okay?”
I wiped my mouth, and after several deep breaths, I stood upright and nodded. “Yeah. I’m better now.”
When I turned to face him, he said, “You don’t have to do this.”
“I know I don’t, but I need to do this. Please don’t try and stop me.”
Without responding, he reached for my hand and led me back into the clubhouse. When we got back to his room, I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Once I was done, I went back into his bedroom and found Shadow waiting for me on the edge of the bed. I sat down next to him, and neither us spoke for several minutes. Finally, he said, “You asked me about the nightmares.”
Surprised that he’d brought them up voluntarily, I turned to him and said, “Yes … what about them?”
“I’ve had them since I was just a kid,” he admitted.
“Do you know why you have them?”
He nodded. “They’re my mind’s way of making sure I don’t forget.”
“Forget what?” I pushed.
“Occasionally, I’ll have a dream about my time in Afghanistan, but mostly, they’re about the years I spent in foster care.”
“Did something happen while you were there?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” He paused for a moment, then ran his hand through his thick hair. “Janice and Cal weren’t exactly the loving, doting type. They were both alcoholics who liked to use the kids as punching bags, especially me. Cal was also a fucking pervert who got off on raping the oldest girl in the house, Michele. She was only ten years old when it started.”
“Oh, my God. That’s awful.” A part of me had always known that he had a tragic past, but I never dreamed it would be so terribly horrific. My heart ached for him as I told him, “I can’t imagine going through that, especially after losing your parents the way you did. It must’ve been so hard for you.”
“Yeah, but it was worse for her.” I could hear the agony in his voice as he said, “I tried to make it stop, but everything I did just made it worse. No one believed me until the night he killed her.”
“He killed her?” I gasped.
He lowered his head and sighed. “It was an accident. I’d gone in to her room to stop Cal from raping her for the hundredth time. I was fifteen at the time and thought I was strong enough to take him on. I was wrong. Michele tried to help, but when she did, he pushed her, causing her to fall backwards. She hit her head and never woke up.”
“Oh, Shadow. That must’ve been terrible for you to witness as a child.”
“It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever faced.”
He’d finally let me in, and for the first time, I understood the darkness that dwelled deep inside him. I wished there was a way to erase his pain, but it had become a part of him, making him the man he was today. Hoping to learn more about his past, I asked, “What happened to your foster father?”
“One of the neighbors heard the argument, and for the first time in four years, they actually called the police. Both parents were arrested, and all the children were removed from the home. Cal was sent to prison and Janice was put on probation.”
“They both deserved much worse than that.”
“Cal got his in the end.” He looked over to me as he said, “I looked him up a few months after I’d patched in the club and found out he’d been murdered by one of his fellow inmates. While I never asked, I’m pretty sure that Gus had something to do with that.”
“Do you feel like you missed out on getting your revenge for what he’d done to you and Michele?”
“There are days when I think it’s one of the reasons why I’ve had such a hard time letting it go, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. He got what was coming to him.”
“Then, why do you think you’re still having these nightmares?”
“She died because of me.”
“What?”
“If I hadn’t gone in that room … if I’d just come up with another way, then she’d still be alive.”
“You did everything you could, Shadow. You were just a kid. There was no way you could stop him.”
“I could’ve made her run away with me. I could’ve put a bullet in his head. I could’ve …”
“No. You have to stop doing this to yourself.” I got off the bed and knelt down in front of him. I looked up at him as I placed my hands on his face. “You aren’t the one to blame.”
“Maybe not, but I’ll never be able to forgive myself for what happened.” I shrugged. “It’s one of the reasons I became the club’s enforcer. I wasn’t able to protect her the way I should, so now I’m doing whatever I can to protect my brothers. I guess you could say it’s my way of finding some sense of redemption.”
“What exactly does an enforcer do?”
“Let’s just say that I use any means necessary to ensure my family’s safety.” An intense look crossed his face as he said, “I wish I would’ve done the same for Michele.”
While I was curious to know more about his position in the club, I knew the nightmares he was having were more important, so I asked, “Do you think she would forgive you for what happened?”
“I don’t know.” I gave him a moment to consider my question, and eventually, he mumbled, “Yeah. I guess she would. She was never one to hold on to things, but I’m not her.”
“So, you think I’m to blame for all the things my father has done … that I should’ve found a way to stop him … that it’s my fault that you were shot today?”
; “Our situations are completely different, Alex.”
“I don’t agree. I think they are very much the same.” I leaned towards him and briefly kissed him on the lips. “I think you and I are very much the same.”
Before he could respond, Riggs knocked on the door and said, “It’s time.”
“I’ll be right out.” He helped me to my feet as he stood up and started for the door. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Where are you going?”
“We’re going to check things out at your apartment. We want to make sure we’re prepared for your father, but T-Bone will be around if you need anything.”
“Oh. Okay,” I replied, unable to hide my worry. Before he turned to leave, I said, “Please be careful.”
“You know I will.” As he opened the door, he turned to me and said, “Just hang tight and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
After he was gone, I crawled into bed and tried to settle my racing heart. Even though I was exhausted, I couldn’t begin to sleep. I was only a few hours away from seeing my father again, and I was finding it difficult to keep it together, especially after everything Shadow had shared with me. He’d finally opened up to me, making my decision to leave with my father even more difficult. I knew the brothers were trying to find a way to trap him, kill him even, but I knew he’d never let that happen. He was too smart to let someone undermine him, not even his own daughter. I had no choice. I had to go with him. It was the only way I could protect Shadow and the others. I’d have to give up my life to save his, and I’d do it without a moment’s hesitation. I loved him with all my heart, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do to protect him.
After spending several hours trying to prepare myself for what was to come, I finally decided to get up and get dressed. I pulled myself out of bed, and I was about to head into the bathroom when I heard my cellphone ringing. Thinking it might be Shadow, I rushed over and grabbed it off the desk. When I looked down at the screen, I was surprised to see that it was Jason calling. It was way too early in the morning for him to be calling, so I quickly answered. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“I need you to come over to my place.” His voice was filled with panic as he said, “I need you to come now.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“There’s a man here. He says he’s your father, and …”
Before he could finish his sentence, a moment of static came through the line. Seconds later, I heard, “Hello, Alejandra.”
My blood ran cold at the sound of my father’s voice. I was stunned, confused, and found it nearly impossible to form a complete thought. I had no idea how my father found Jason, but the fact was, he had. “What’s going on? Why are you with Jason?”
“I’m surprised at you, Alejandra. I thought my own flesh and blood would be smarter than this.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You really think you could pull a fast one over on me?” he hissed. “You think you can get yourself wrapped up in that fucking biker club, and I wouldn’t find out about it?”
“But how did you know?”
“You were seen last night, my precious daughter … outside by the fence.”
My heart sank as I remembered the nauseous feeling I’d felt after speaking with him on the phone. I’d hoped that the fresh air might help the queasy feeling, and I’d run outside. My chest tightened when I thought back to Shadow coming out to check on me, and I was appalled by the fact that we were being watched. “What does any of this have to do with Jason?”
“You have half an hour. If you aren’t here by then, I put a bullet in his head.”
“And if I do?”
“Then, I let him go … and if you come willing and alone, I’ll end my strike against Satan’s Fury.”
“Do I have your word on that?”
“You do.”
“Then, I’ll come, but please don’t hurt Jason,” I pleaded. “He has nothing to do with any of this.”
“Your time is running out, Alejandra.”
“I’m on my way.”
CHAPTER 21
Shadow
I knew what it was like to love someone with all of my heart only to lose them. It had happened to me twice, first with my family, and then with Michele. It nearly broke me, and after everything I’d been through, I thought I was destined to be alone, that love just wasn’t in the cards for me. I accepted my fate without contention, but all that changed when I found Alex. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, and I wasn’t going to let anyone, especially her piece of shit father, take her away from me—not this time. This time, I wasn’t taking any chances. My brothers and I would be ready for Navarro, and if he so much as made a move towards Alex, I’d put a fucking bullet in his head. As I took one last look around her apartment, I felt certain that we’d thought of everything. Riggs had set up several backup cameras that were battery operated that we could use to monitor Alex even if Navarro managed to kill the power. The brothers had hidden themselves in different locations throughout the area, including her apartment, the roof and neighboring buildings.
Once we were certain that we’d left no stone left unturned, Riggs came over to me and asked, “You ready to go get her?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Take a breath, brother. We got this. We won’t let anything happen to her,” he tried to assure me.
“I know, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’ve missed something.”
“Not a chance. We’ve gone over everything multiple times. And with the additional cameras, I’ll be able to track her every move.”
“It’s not her that I’m worried about.” I took another quick glance around her apartment before saying, “We better get going. I want to make sure we have plenty of time to go over everything with her before he gets here.”
Riggs nodded and followed me down the stairs to our SUV. Once we were both inside, I started the engine and headed towards the clubhouse. My mind was running a mile a minute as I drove out onto the main road. Since none of us had any idea how this would all play out, I tried to think about every possible scenario, making sure we were prepared for anything that might happen. I thought we were prepared for anything, but I was wrong—very wrong. As soon as we got to the clubhouse, I went to my room to find Alex, only she was no longer there. Thinking she might’ve gone to grab a cup of coffee, I rushed to the kitchen, and once again, there was no sign of her. The uneasy feeling I had at Alex’s apartment started growing stronger as Riggs and I searched the clubhouse for her. None of the brothers had seen her, including T-Bone who was just across the hall.
Since his door was propped opened, I was hoping that he’d know where I could find Alex. “Have you seen Alex?”
“She’s not in your room?” he asked sounding surprised.
“Come on, T-Bone. Think,” I growled.
“Fuck, man. I don’t know. I haven’t seen her, and I’ve been sitting right here since you left.”
I looked back over to Riggs and asked, “Where the hell could she be?”
“Let me see if I can find her using her phone.” He quickly turned, and I followed him down the hall. As soon as we got to his room, he rushed over to his computer and started typing. Seconds later, he looked over to me and said, “Looks like she got a call about an hour ago.”
“From who?”
“A guy named Jason Brazzle. Got any idea who that is?”
“He’s a friend of hers, but I don’t know much about him. How long has it been since he called.”
“It was just over an hour ago.” He went back to typing and seconds later, he announced, “I got her. It looks like she’s heading over to his place.”
“What the fuck? This doesn’t make any sense. She knows what’s about to go down, there’s no way she’d just leave without …” I ran my hand over my face as I tried to collect my thoughts, and then it hit me. “Goddammit!”
“You think her father is
behind this?”
“He’s gotta be. There’s no way she’d just leave without talking to me first.”
“Then, we better get our asses over there before it’s too late.”
As we raced out the door, Riggs put a call in to Gus, letting him know what was going on. Having no way of knowing if it was just some kind of trap, Gus ordered T-Bone and Gauge to follow us over to Jason’s place. My heart hammered in my chest as I pressed my foot against the accelerator, racing towards the address Riggs had given me. I tried to gain control of my panic, but nothing was working. I knew it was just a matter of time before she was in her father’s grasp, and I wouldn’t be there to protect her. Guilt and anger consumed me as I parked across the street from Jason’s apartment. As we got out of the SUV, Riggs looked over to me and said, “It’s apartment 302, so I’m guessing we need to head up to the third floor.”
As we started towards the front door, I noticed T-Bone and Gauge waiting for us in the alley. I motioned for them both to follow, and with our weapons drawn, we headed inside. Trepidation swelled through me as we made our way up the stairs. I kept expecting to come across one of Navarro’s men, but there were none in sight, making me even more anxious as we approached Jason’s door. Riggs leaned towards the door, trying to see if he could hear anything on the other side, and after just a few seconds, he nodded. Navarro was there. I took a quick glance around, and when I saw that there was no other way for us to get inside, I gave T-Bone the signal to knock the door down. With one swift kick, the wood splintered into a thousand pieces, giving us access to the apartment. We charged inside, but immediately froze when we saw a tall, dark skinned man with his gun pressed against Navarro’s temple.
He seemed completely unfazed by Navarro’s three men who had their guns pointed directly at him, and didn’t so much as acknowledge our presence as he snarled, “I’m not letting you do this … not after what you did to her mother.”
Navarro’s face filled with repulsion as he growled, “I always knew you were in love with her, Marcus. Hell, anyone could see it. So fucking pathetic.”
I quickly scanned the room and was overcome with relief when I spotted Alex huddled in the corner with her friend, Jason. He looked like hell as he leaned against her with his arm across her shoulder. His eyes were nearly swollen shut, and bruises and cuts covered his face. Someone had given him one hell of a beating, and from what I could tell, Alex was the only thing keeping him from falling on his face. When Alex’s tear soaked eyes locked on mine, it was all I could do to keep from rushing over to her. I knew she was distraught, but at the moment, there was little I could do to console her.