by Wilder, L.
The next morning, I woke up to the smell of fresh brewed coffee and cinnamon rolls. I could hear August and Harper talking, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I pulled on my jeans and a clean t-shirt, then went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and splash some cold water on my face. After I was done, I headed into the kitchen and was surprised to see that August was wearing a pair of dark jeans with a dress shirt and her hair was pulled up. Damn, she looked fucking amazing. I glanced over at Harper and noticed that she was also dressed, and August had braided her hair. It was clear that they were about to leave, so I asked, “Where are you two headed off to?”
“I need to run to the office for a couple of hours, so Mom’s coming by to take Harper to the zoo for a little while.” She brought me a cup of coffee and gave me a shy smile as she explained, “I wasn’t planning on going in for another couple of days, but my boss called earlier and he needs me to sign some papers.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just some projections for next month. It really shouldn’t take long.” She paused for a moment, then said, “About last night … I really had a good time.”
“I did too.” I gave her a quick wink and said, “We’ll talk more about it later.”
Before she could respond, the front door flew open and Samantha rushed in with a strange look on her face. “Honey … there’s a black BMW parked across the street that I’ve never seen before. I think they’re watching your house.”
Curious to see what she was talking about, I rushed over to the front window and eased the curtain back. My blood ran cold when I noticed that a second black BMW had pulled up with a third coming up behind it. I could feel my pulse racing while I watched one of the doors slowly open and reveal a large male carrying a Mack-10. As he stood up, he tucked it inside his suit jacket and waited for the guy in the front seat to get out of the car. It was clear these guys weren’t fucking around. Unfortunately, there were too many of them for me to take out on my own. I had to get the women the fuck out of that house before all hell broke loose. I rushed over, and after I barricaded the front door with the kitchen table, I turned to August and shouted, “Grab your stuff.”
“What are you doing? Who’s out there?” August shrieked.
“Grab your stuff, August!” While she snatched her purse and keys, I raced over and grabbed Harper. I opened the back door and motioned for August and Samantha to go outside. “Move it.”
They didn’t hesitate. With wide eyes, they both raced out the door and headed into the backyard. When we made it over to the fence, I pulled back a couple of the loose boards, making an opening for us to get through. I waited as Samantha and August slipped through the fence. Once they were clear, I eased through with Harper, then quickly put the boards back in place. From there, we darted out of her neighbor’s yard. When August looked over to me with fear in her eyes, I ordered, “Keep going. Don’t look back.”
We kept moving forward, passing several blocks before August asked, “What are we going to do? We can’t just keep running like this.”
“We need to find a car. It needs to be something older …”
I’d barely gotten the words out of my mouth when Samantha asked, “What about that?”
I looked over towards Samantha pointing to an old white church van with crosses on the side. While it wasn’t an ideal pick, I figured it would be easy to hot-wire, so I nodded and said, “Yeah, that should do it.”
Thankfully, the doors were unlocked, and we were able to get inside without drawing any attention to ourselves. When I started pulling apart the ignition panel, August asked, “What are you doing?”
“Gonna see if I can hot-wire it.”
“Do you know how to do that?”
“Um-hmm.”
“Wouldn’t keys be easier?”
“Sure would.” Trying not to get aggravated, I asked, “You got a set on ya?”
“No, but there might be a set hidden inside here.” She reached up, and when she pulled down the visor, a set of keys fell in my lap. “Will those work?”
Stunned, I took the keys in my hand and shook my head. “Yeah, they’ll do just fine.”
I started the van, and seconds later, we were pulling out of the subdivision and onto the main road. We hadn’t gotten far when I heard Harper cry, “Momma … I weft Fwoppsie.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. She’ll be there when get back.”
“I wan her.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie. There’s nothing I can do about that right now.” August tried to keep her voice calm and steady. “It will be okay. You’ll see.”
Harper’s bottom lip pursed into a pout as she looked out the window. I hated to see that she was upset, but unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it. I had to get them to safety. I reached into my pocket for my burner cell and dialed Gus’s number. As soon as he answered, I told him, “We’ve got trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Three black BMWs just pulled up at August’s place, and Gus, these guys didn’t look like they were fucking around. They were packing, and there were too fucking many of them for me to take out on my own.”
“Fuck! Where are you now?”
“We swiped a neighbor’s van, and we’re heading into downtown.”
“Are Harper and August with you?”
“Yes, and Samantha too.”
“Good. You did the right thing getting the hell out of there. Get them over to the Sinners’ clubhouse. I’ll text you the address,” Gus ordered. “The boys and I’ll be there as soon as we can.”
“Will do.”
Thirty minutes later, we were pulling through the gates of the Ruthless Sinners’ clubhouse. They were a smaller club than Satan’s Fury but equally as impressive. There were tall security fences surrounding the compound with prospects monitoring all entrances and exits. The actual clubhouse was an old renovated warehouse with various rooms that were much like our own, which included lodging for the members, a family room, and a bar. I’d been there years before but only for a couple of hours, so I wasn’t sure if they’d remember me. Even if they did, I had no idea what they’d think when I rolled up in a fucking church van with two women and a kid. Thankfully, the prospects motioned us through. When I pulled up, Viper, the president of the club, was waiting at the front door for us. Before I got out, I turned to August and said, “Wait here.”
I opened my door, and as I walked over to him, a concerned look crossed his face. He was older, in his late fifties or so, with long salt-and-pepper hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. He was wearing a pair of jeans, his Sinners’ cut, and biker boots, reminding me of Gus. “You guys all right?”
“We’ve been better, but yeah, we’re fine.”
“Gus said you ran into some trouble. You thinking these are the same guys the mayor is tangled up with?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know anyone else who would be coming after her like this.”
“From what I hear, these guys don’t fuck around. If they’re after Gus’s girl, they ain’t gonna stop until they find her.”
“Or until we find them.”
CHAPTER 10
August
I’d thought I was terrified when I went to Satan’s Fury’s clubhouse for the first time, but that was nothing compared to the fear I felt entering the Ruthless Sinners’ clubhouse. Maybe it was the fact that I had my daughter and mother with me or the fact that we were there to seek refuge from the crazy men who were after us. Either way, I was a nervous wreck as I followed Cade and a man named Viper into a small conference room. When we walked in, there were several men sitting at a long, narrow table. They were talking amongst themselves, but immediately stopped when they noticed that we’d come into the room. Viper turned to us and said, “Have a seat.”
Once we were all settled, Cade said, “We appreciate you opening your doors to us.”
“Don’t mention it. Gus and I are old friends, and I have no doubt he’d do the sam
e for any one of us.” As he sat down at the head of the table, he motioned his hand to the man on his left as he said, “First, let me get introductions out of the way.”
I nodded. It felt like I was looking at the starting lineup for the Tennessee Titans as I took in the size of the men at Viper’s side, only instead of jerseys, these bulked-up linebackers were wearing Sinners’ cuts and tattoos. “This here is Axel. He’s our VP. Next to him is Shotgun. He’s the club’s enforcer, and to my right is Hawk. He’s my sergeant-at-arms.”
“I’m Gunner, and this is August James, Samantha Travers, and the little one on the end is Harper.”
“Good to have y’all here.” Viper gave them each a half-smile as he said, “Wish the circumstances were better.”
Cade nodded. “Yeah, I think we’re all in agreement there.”
“I don’t want to get into the details of everything now, especially with the kid in the room. I just wanted you all to know that we’ll do whatever we can to help with the situation.”
“I’m sure Gus will be pleased to hear that.”
“I figure you’re going to be here a while, so I’m getting some rooms lined up for you,” he said, then glanced down at his watch. “In fact, they should be ready now.”
Hawk stood up and offered, “I’ll take them down and get them settled.”
“Appreciate it, brother.” Viper then looked over to Cade. “I’ll have one of my boys come and get you when Gus arrives.”
“Sounds good.” Cade nodded as he stood up.
I picked up Harper, and Mom and I followed Cade and Hawk out of the room. He led us down a long hallway lined with doors and stopped when he reached our destination. As he opened one of the doors, he said, “These three rooms are all yours. You can decide who goes where.”
“Thanks, brother.”
“No problem.”
Once he was gone, Mom motioned her hand to the door across from us as she said, “I’ll take this room across the hall. You two and Cade can have the two adjoining rooms.”
“I can take the room across the hall,” Cade offered. “I’m sure you want to be with August and Harper.”
“No. I’d actually feel better if you were closer to my girls.” She reached for Harper and said, “If it’s okay with you, I’ll put her down for a nap while you two get things settled.”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
“But Momma … I no haf Fwoppsie,” Harper whined.
I kneeled down next to her and gave her a quick hug, “I know you don’t, sweetie, but it’s going to be okay. Just go rest with Gammy for a while, please?”
“Kay.”
“Come on, sweetheart.”
Mom reached for her hand and led her into her room. Once she closed the door, I walked across the hall. After I tossed my purse onto the bed, I turned to Cade and said, “We’re supposed to be in here getting things settled, but what’s to get settled? I don’t have any clothes … or even a toothbrush!”
“I know. Don’t worry about that.” He sounded cool as a cucumber as told me, “We’ll get whatever you need as soon as Gus and the others pull up.”
“This is so insane.” I sat down on the edge of the bed and tried my best to fight back my tears. “Why do you think those men were at my house? Do you think they were there to kidnap Harper again?”
“No.”
“So, you think it’s just me they’re after?”
He didn’t have to answer. I already knew the answer.
“But why would they want me. David could care less if I’m alive or dead.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew the answer to my own question. “Oh, god. They hadn’t come to kidnap me. They were going to kill me!”
“August …”
“I can’t believe that this is happening. It’s just not fair. I’m not the one who broke the law. I’m not the one who got involved with the mob!” I shouted.
“August … everything is going to be okay.”
“Do you really think these men will be able to help us?”
“We wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” He took a few steps towards me and placed his hands on my hips as he said, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, August. You have my word on that.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
He leaned forward like he was about to kiss me but stopped himself. He took a step back and said, “I’m going out in the hall to give Gus a call. Wanna see how far out he is.”
“Okay.”
When he walked out of the room, I laid down on the bed and tried my best not to obsess over the fact that my ex-husband was the scum of the earth. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The longer I lay there, the more reasons I found to detest him, and I was furious with myself for ever thinking I could trust him. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen the signs. I’d just chosen to ignore them, hoping that he’d change once he’d made it to the top, but deep down, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I should’ve listened to my gut and steered clear of him from the get-go. At least there was one good thing out of my time with David—my sweet Harper. She gave me the strength to keep moving forward, even when things were at their worst—just like today. For her, I would pull myself together and face whatever was coming head on.
It had been hours since Cade left to call Gus, and I was starting to get concerned. I was just about to step out in the hall to check on him when there was a tap on my door. As he stepped inside, he announced, “They should be here soon.”
“Okay … so, what happens now?”
“We’ll talk with Viper and make a plan,” he said then stepped towards me. “This is going to take some time, August. You need to prepare yourself for that.”
“Are we talking about a couple days or longer?”
“It’s hard to say, but I’d say longer. Probably much longer, but we’ll know more when we talk to Gus.”
My gaze dropped to the floor with frustration. Seeing that I was upset, he reached for me, pulling me against his chest. The bristles of his day-old beard brushed against my cheek when he lowered his mouth to my neck. Goosebumps pricked against my skin when his lips softly grazed against my flesh. Having him so close set my mind at ease, and I was just starting to relax a little when there was a knock at the door. “They’re here. Meet us in the bar.”
He immediately released his hold on me and started to leave. “I’ve gotta go.”
“Wait!” I demanded, stopping him in his tracks. “I’m going with you.”
A serious look crossed his handsome face as he stated, “Not a chance, August.”
“Cade, I’m going,” I pushed. “If Gus wants me to leave, then I’ll leave.”
“Damn you’re as stubborn as he is,” he grumbled as he walked out into the hall. When we got to the bar, we found Gus sitting at one of the larger tables with several of the brothers sitting beside him and several more standing behind him. They were all talking to Viper and his crew. As we made our way over to them, I heard Viper ask, “You got any idea why Polito’s men would be after August?”
“No way to know for sure. If I had to guess, it has something to do with her ex-husband, the mayor. When we were looking for her daughter, we found proof that he was taking bribes from Polito,” Gus explained.
“But you got the kid back. Why does that matter now?”
“Because I threatened to expose him,” I announced. “He called last night … tried to make excuses for what happened with Harper, but I wouldn’t listen. I was just so sick of listening to all of his stupid lies. I told him that I was going to tell the world what he’d done.”
“Yeah, that would do it.”
“This is all my fault.” I hated that my actions had not only put me in danger, but now, so many others. “Maybe I can talk to David … convince him to let it go.”
“It’s too late for that.” Gus’s expression grew fierce as he said, “But don’t you worry. We’re going to handle this, and David James? He’s done.”
“Thank you, Gus
.”
“Why don’t you go back to your room and see about Harper? We’ve got some things to sort out.”
“Okay.” I knew he was looking for an excuse to get rid of me. As I’d promised Cade, I didn’t argue. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
When I turned to leave, Cade leaned over to me and said, “I’ll be down as soon as we’re done.”
I nodded, then headed out of the bar and down the hall. I tapped on the door, then eased it open. When I stepped inside, I found Mom sitting at the foot of the bed watching Harper sleep with a concerned expression. My mother had always been strong, always finding the courage to face whatever came her way, but I was beginning to think this was all too much for her. Harper being in danger and now me—was a lot for her to contend with, and I wished there was something I could say or do to ease her mind. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could say that would give either one of us peace of mind. I tiptoed over to her and asked, “How do you think she’s doing?”
“This is a lot to take in, and she’s really upset about leaving her bunny at the house.” She glanced over at Harper as she said, “But she’s tough like her mother. She’ll be fine.”
“You think so?”
“Absolutely. Besides, we’re in good hands. This will all be over soon.” A concerned look crossed her face when she asked, “Have Gus and the others made it here yet?”