by Wilder, L.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that our night together was so amazing. When we were kids, things always came so easy with Caleb and me. We could just be ourselves, never thinking about what we should or shouldn’t say or how we should act with one another. Back then, it seemed so simple. I’d even fantasized about Caleb and me falling in love. In some random moment, we’d suddenly realize that there was something more between us than just a friendship, and we’d become high school sweethearts. We’d go on dates, hold hands and make out, and even go to prom together. All those little fantasies died the day I decided to protect my heart and walk away from our friendship. I thought I’d lost my chance forever, but I was wrong. I felt that same connection I’d always felt for Caleb the moment I saw him standing in that garage, but I’d been too blind to see that he was feeling it too. There was no denying it now—not after the night we’d shared and his reaction to me going to KeShawn’s place. It was clear that he felt just as strongly about me as I did him.
I was still going over it all in my head when my cellphone rang. It was rare for me to get calls, especially since I’d moved away from home, so I thought it might be Caleb trying to reach me. I quickly pulled it from my pocket, and dread washed over me when I saw it was my brother, Eddie. I never heard from my brothers unless they needed something, and I had a feeling that this time was no different. “Hey, Eddie.”
“Hey, sis! How’s it going?” he asked in a chipper voice.
“It’s going.” I tried to brace myself as I asked, “What do you need?”
“Can’t I just call to check on my little sister?”
“You could, but you never do.” Even though neither of them had ever given me any reason to, I loved both of my brothers. After my mother ran out on us, they were the only real family I had, so I always tried to do what I could to help them out when I could—even if it meant forking over all of my rent money to bail them out of jail or to square them up with their drug dealers. “So, what is it that you need, Eddie?”
“Well, I ran into a little trouble last night and got myself locked up. I’m gonna need you to come down to the police station on Main and bail me out.”
“Sorry, but I can’t today.” There was no way I could tell him the truth—not that he’d believe me if I did. “I’m kind of tied up right now.”
“Get untied up, Darcy!” he fussed. “I ain’t got nobody else I can call to come get me out of this joint.”
“You should’ve thought about that before you got yourself locked up.” I knew spouting off was only going to cause him to do the same, so I quickly rebounded by saying, “I’d help out if I could, but I just can’t do it today. Do you want me to try to get in touch with Danny and see if he can head over there?”
“No point in that.”
“Why not?”
“He’s in the fucking cell next to me, so he won’t be much help,” he scoffed.
“Damn.”
I let out a deep breath as I tried to think of some other option. Before I could come up with something, Eddie said, “Look. Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure something out.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Danny’s still got a call. Maybe he can find someone who owes him a favor.”
“Okay. I’m sorry I couldn’t help.”
“Don’t sweat it. We’ll be fine,” he assured me.
I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty after the call ended. It was the first time I hadn’t been there for them when they needed me, but there wasn’t anything I could do. There was no way I was going to walk away from Caleb and the rest of his brothers when there was a chance I could help them get Kenadee back. Besides, there was always the possibility that a couple of nights in jail might make them think before they did something stupid again. I tried to hold on to that hope as I put my phone back in my pocket and lay back down on the bed.
CHAPTER 15
Rider
“Are we sure that we can even trust this girl?” Gus asked with concern. “Seems odd that she has this kind of connection to Lewis.”
“When I did her background check, I found no ties to him or anyone else that seemed suspicious. Her brothers are both trouble, but with dumb shit like dope and fighting in bars. No gang association whatsoever.” Riggs turned to me as he said, “And Rider can vouch for her…They have history. Grew up in Oakland together.”
“We can trust her,” I replied with confidence. “You have my word on that.”
“Good.” Gus thought for a moment, then said, “Now, the only question is when we send her in.”
“I don’t know, brother. I think we’ve gotta wait…at least for a little while,” Moose told Gus. “Darcy waltzes in there right now, not but a few hours after he’s taken Kenadee, and he’s gonna smell a rat.”
“He’s right,” Riggs agreed. “He’s never gonna believe it’s a coincidence if she shows up there about that fucking bike.”
“So, what do you suggest?”
“We send her first thing in the morning,” Moose answered. “Give things a minute to settle down.”
“And what about Kenadee?” Blaze barked. “We’re just supposed to sit back and wait on this motherfucker to kill her?”
“If he was going to kill her, he would’ve already done it.” Shadow looked him directly in the eye, trying his best to assure his brother and best friend that his ol’ lady would be okay. “He could’ve killed her at the store, but he didn’t. There’s a reason for that.”
“And what reason would that be?”
“If he’s smart, he’ll plan on using her as bait to get to us. Plain and simple.” Shadow leaned forward as he continued, “There’s just one problem. He’s going to be dead long before that can ever happen.”
“We’ve just got to be smart, brother,” Riggs added. “We need to get his numbers down. If the Red Knights have tied up with him, then I say we go after them first. Take them out before Lewis has any clue that we know they’re in cahoots.”
“We just going to show up at their hangout and wipe them out?” T-Bone asked.
“No. That would draw too much attention. We don’t want to tip Lewis off. I think going after them individually is our safest bet.” Riggs never ceased to amaze me. Not only was the guy brilliant when it came to computers, but he was also a master at thinking outside of the box. “We hit them at home, the streets, or at their fucking hangouts, and one by one we end these motherfuckers before they have a chance to team up with the Disciples.”
“How are we going to find all these assholes?”
“Shadow will take care of that,” Gus assured him. “He still has Bonds in one of his holding rooms, and with a little pressing, he’ll give us the names we need.”
“And after we’ve dealt with the Red Knights, then we hit Lewis’s place?” Blaze pushed.
“You got it.” Gus nodded. “We’ll take care of him and whatever crew he’s got holed up there as soon as Darcy gets those cameras planted and we can see what the hell is going on in there.”
“So, Darcy goes to Lewis’s place first thing in the morning,” Blaze started. “She’ll use painting his bike or whatever as a way of getting her foot in the door. Then, when he isn’t looking, she’ll plant the cameras and mics throughout the house.”
“That’s it.”
It sounded like a solid plan, but none of them had mentioned the fact that we were putting Darcy’s life in danger. One wrong move, and I’d lose her. I couldn’t stand the thought, so after keeping my mouth shut as long as I could, I finally said, “So, we’re going to send Darcy into the lion’s den…alone—with no gun or way of protecting herself, and just keep our fingers crossed that she doesn’t end up with a fucking bullet in her head?”
“Darcy’s a smart girl, Rider. She knows how to handle herself.”
“And we’ll be using a radio transmitter so we can talk her through it,” Riggs explained. “From the minute she walks through that door, I’ll be right there with her, and if something goes wrong, we’ll b
e there waiting.”
“What aren’t you getting? She’ll still be in that house alone with Lewis!”
“Lewis has done his homework, and he knows who is and isn’t a brother of Satan’s Fury.” Riggs shook his head. “No way any of us can go in there with her without him knowing.”
“What about Clay?” Moose suggested. “Why couldn’t he go with her? Pretend to be her boyfriend or something.”
“Hadn’t considered that.” Gus thought for a moment. “Might be a chance for him to prove whether or not he’s got what it takes to prospect.”
I knew better than to question Gus, but sending Clay in with Darcy didn’t make me feel any better about things. He was good guy, tried hard, but the kid was green. Since I’d never seen him in a situation like this, I was concern that he wouldn’t know how to handle himself with men like Lewis. Hell, if he hadn’t been around gangs before, they’d scare the shit out of him, but then again, that might play out to be an advantage. If he looked freaked out, then maybe, just maybe, Lewis would actually believe that he was simply Darcy’s boyfriend and nothing more. We talked a few more minutes, then Gus sent Shadow to start working on Bonds while Riggs went to his office to see what he could find out. While they were both busy working to find all the members of the Disciples, he and I went to talk to Darcy. When we walked into my room, she was curled up in the covers on my bed like a cocoon, and for a moment, I thought she might be asleep. “Darcy?”
She pulled the covers down to look at me, and her eyes widened with surprise when she saw that Gus was standing there next to me. “Oh, hey!”
As she unwound the covers and sat up in the bed, I told her, “We need to talk.”
“Okay.” She quickly stood as she asked, “What about?”
Gus stepped forward as he looked down at her and said, “About going over to KeShawn Lewis’s place. We think you might be able to help us after all.”
“Okay, great. What do you need me to do?”
Her eyes narrowed as Gus told her, “First, I want to make sure you know that you don’t have to do this. It’ll be dangerous going over there. On a good day, Lewis isn’t a man I’d ever trust. He’s short fused and acts before he thinks, so there’s no way for any of us to know how he’ll react to you showing up over there.”
“I know, but I think I’ll be okay,” she assured him. “Just let me know what you need me to do.”
Gus took a few minutes to explain everything to her. She seemed fine with Riggs fitting her with a radio transmitter and that Clay would be tagging along, but I didn’t miss the flash of unease that crossed her face when he brought up the cameras and microphones. Darcy was a smart woman. She knew it wouldn’t be easy to get into Lewis’s house, much less planting the cameras without being caught by one of his crew. It was a big risk, one that I didn’t want her to take, but it was the only way. Once he was done going through everything, Gus asked, “Do you think you can handle all that?”
“Yes, sir.” She hesitated for just a half-second, then continued, “I can do it. No problem.”
“Good. I’ll let the others know.” As Gus started for the door, he glanced back and said, “Be ready to head out first thing in the morning.”
“I’ll be ready.”
As soon as he walked out of the room, I stepped over to her and asked, “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
“I’ll admit I have my concerns, but they aren’t enough to stop me from doing it.” Her eyes met mine. “Besides, if the roles were reversed, Kenadee would do the same for me.”
Before I even realized what I was doing, I’d reached for her, pulling her towards me as I wrapped my arms around her. As I stood there holding her, I couldn’t stop thinking about her being in harm’s way. I wanted to protect her, keep her safe, yet I was allowing her to be put in danger. The thought ate at me, making me wonder if I was making a huge mistake by letting her go through with this thing. “I’m going to need you to be careful, very careful.”
“I will be.” She nestled her head against my shoulder as she hugged me back. “You don’t have to worry. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m going to hold you to that, ’cause I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”
Darcy looked at me for a brief moment, studying me with a soul-searching stare, then lifted up on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to mine. Damn. She felt so fucking good in my arms, better than I could’ve ever imagined. Needing more, my hand slipped to the nape of her neck and tugged at her hair, guiding her mouth towards mine. A light moan escaped from her throat as I delved deeper, my tongue tangling with hers. It wasn’t long before we were both lost in the kiss. Without thinking, my hands dropped to the hem of her t-shirt, and I’d just pulled it over her head when there was a knock at my door. There was no missing the frustration in my voice as I called, “Yeah!”
“Need you back in the conference room.”
“I’m on my way.” I lowered my mouth to Darcy’s ear, softly trailing kisses below her ear before I whispered, “We’ll have to finish this later.”
“Okay.” When I released her and started for the door, she asked, “How long do you think you’ll be?”
“Can’t say for sure. Just make yourself comfortable, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Okay. Just be careful.”
I nodded. “Always.”
I walked out of the room, closed the door, and started back to the conference room. When I walked in, I was surprised to see that Shadow and Riggs had both returned and were standing up front with Gus. As soon as I found my seat, Shadow started passing out folders with names and photographs of each of the Disciple’s members. “Turns out the Red Knights have twenty-one members. We managed to get all their photo IDs and possible locations of where they can be found. If we can cover our tracks and remain off radar, we shouldn’t have a problem wiping out these fuckers by the end of the night.”
“Are we waiting until nightfall, or are we doing this thing now?” T-Bone asked.
“The sooner the better,” Riggs answered. “I know it would be easier to lay low at night, but time isn’t on our side. We need to move while we know where we can find these guys.”
“Understood.”
Gus looked out at us as he said, “Shadow and Riggs will break you into groups and give you all the information on your targets. We need to move fast on this. Get the job done and get the hell out of there.”
We all nodded.
“We’re keeping this whole thing low profile,” Shadow announced. “No cuts or bikes today, fellas. Take the SUVs and don’t leave any evidence behind. I want each of you in direct contact with me at all times. Nobody makes a move without checking in first. Understood?”
All the guys responded in unison. “Understood.”
“Once you have your assignments from Shadow, get geared up and let us know when you head out,” Gus ordered.
Shadow and Riggs started passing out information to each of the different groups. As soon as Gunner, T-Bone, and I had our list of names and addresses, we went to the garage to gather a couple of extra weapons and ammo. We were all silent, each preparing for what was to come on our own, as we each grabbed a couple of our old .22 revolvers. They didn’t leave an exit wound, so there would be less mess, especially if we were able to get close—really close. Once we’d loaded up with extra ammunition and a few thick plastic bags, we radioed in to Gus to let him know we were on our way out. With T-Bone behind the wheel, we set off for downtown, and fifteen minutes later, we were pulling across the street to the backside of our first address. The worn-down house was on a main street right in the middle of the hood, making it difficult to advance without being seen. As he killed the engine, T-Bone turned around and offered me a baseball cap. “You got your silencer on?”
“Yeah.” I threw the hat on my head. “I’m set.”
“I’ll go first. We’ll go in through the back,” T-Bone explained. “Keep your head down and let’s get this thing done.�
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As soon as he got out of the truck, my pulse started racing as Gunner and I followed him up to the back door. The two of us watched in silence as T-Bone took a quick look through the window, then glanced back to make sure that we were ready. We gave him the nod, and seconds later, he was reaching for the doorknob. Thankfully, it was unlocked, and we were able to enter without breaking down the door. While we’d been in situations like this before, it was impossible not to feel anxious as we stepped inside. T-Bone held up his hand, and we all immediately froze when we heard voices coming from the next room. Our target was just a few feet away, but he wasn’t alone. We could only hope that the others were also members, and we could take out more than one while we were there.
As I waited for T-Bone to give the okay to advance, I took a quick look around the kitchen, and my stomach turned at the filth: dirty dishes piled up in the sink, the garbage can overflowed, and roaches covered the walls. After several moments, T-Bone eased up to the doorway for a better look, then turned back to us with a nod. With my gun drawn, I followed as he started into the next room. When we walked in, three men were sitting on the sofa smoking pot. The big guy on the end caught my eye first. He had a dragon tattoo that started at his back and made its way up to his neck, stopping just as it reached his cheek. I had no doubt that he was one of the guys in the photographs Riggs and Shadow had shown us, and the guy next to him looked familiar as well. The third guy I wasn’t so sure about. He was thin with no ink that I could see, but it was hard to tell with all the smoke billowing around him.