Judgment Road

by Christine Feehan

  "I'm better, thank you," Anya said in her most polite tone. Her voice was tight. She avoided looking at Czar and the cut he wore.

  Yeah, his woman really didn't like his club or their colors. The last time he saw his jacket--his colors meant everything to him--it had been in the bathroom on the floor covered in vomit. Shit. He brought Anya's hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. "I won't be long. Have fun with Blythe or rest. Don't open the screens yet, Blythe," he added as a caution and a way to tell both Czar and Blythe that Anya was still hurting.

  Alena stood and collected the trays, leaving the mug of coffee. She smiled when Anya thanked her so politely, but her smile was strained. Anya wasn't rolling over for them, and Reaper knew Alena had made breakfast to try to break the ice.

  To his astonishment, Savage handed him his jacket. Clean. Even smelling good. Savage didn't look at him, just kept walking. He would never say a word about cleaning his brother's jacket for him, but he'd done it and Reaper was grateful. All the club members were working to make up for their screwup. Blythe closed the door and moved deeper into the bedroom. She smiled at Anya. "How are you really feeling?"

  Anya watched her warily. This was a setup if she ever saw one. "The pain is a lot less. I was under the impression you weren't . . ." She stopped, not knowing what to say. Hadn't Reaper said Czar would never tell Blythe? How much did she know?

  "Czar came in upset last night. Very upset. We have a rule in our home. He tells me the strict truth if I ask. Most of the time I don't want to know club business, but if I ask, I have to know I can handle the truth. I love my husband very much, so I'm careful of the things I decide to ask about. It's also a protection for me. I can't testify against him if it came to that because I don't know anything. They can't compel me by threatening to take my children away."

  "And you're okay with the things the club chooses to do."

  "He promised me no drugs. That was a high priority for me. I know they wouldn't touch human trafficking because they go after those that do. They have to do things, sometimes to get information they need. I understand that. But if I ask, he tells me. That simple. Last night, I asked." She sighed and sank down on the edge of the bed. "He told me what he did caused a rift between you and Reaper. It also caused a rift between Reaper and him."

  Anya had heard a little of what had transpired between Czar and Reaper the night before. She knew their relationship was strained.

  "You have to understand, they don't fight. They're always in sync. They trust each other and have each other's back. Czar has worried about Reaper for a very long time. The entire club has worried about him. Czar knew immediately that Reaper was attracted to you. You don't know what a big deal that is. Reaper stays away from everyone."

  He'd stayed far away from Anya as well. Then he started coming into the bar and she couldn't get her mind off him.

  "The moment he wanted you fired, which was completely out of character for a man like Reaper, Czar knew it was you. He came home so excited. He kept asking me to make certain Reaper didn't mess up and lose you. Then last night happened and Czar was so afraid for me, he insisted Absinthe question you. Reaper protested. Was angry with him. He said some of the others were as well. Ice, Storm. Preacher. Savage, of course. Lana and Alena. But he knew they wouldn't speak against him because they don't."

  Apparently, Lana had. More and more it looked as if Reaper had at least protested. That was something. Anya held that to her. The pills were making her sleepy, but she wanted to hear what Blythe had to say. In spite of everything, she was beginning to hope there was a slight chance. She just didn't know if she could forgive them all, and she didn't want to come in second to the club.

  "What they did to you was wrong. They were brought up as children without parents or society to teach them. They had Czar. He was ten when he started trying to save them all. A little boy with toddlers being brutalized, just as he was. They made their rules and code and have lived by it ever since."

  Anya was well aware of that. She'd been on the wrong side of that code.

  "Reaper has made it clear that you're the one for him. Everyone in the club has accepted you. I want you to know, when Czar came back to me, and he'd been gone for five years without a word, I didn't want anything to do with him. I was pregnant when he left. He didn't know it, but then . . ." Blythe stumbled over the words and her eyes filled with tears. "I was beaten with a baseball bat when I was eight months along. She lived two days. I couldn't have any more children, and he wasn't there."

  "Oh, Blythe." Anya sat up straight, wanting desperately to comfort the other woman.

  "I didn't think I could ever forgive him. Eventually, he convinced me to try, and I'm so glad I did. I'm happy. Really, really happy, Anya, and I think if you can find it in your heart to forgive Reaper and the others, you'll find you have a huge family, men and women who will love you and watch out for you. I'm not saying it will be easy, Reaper is a damaged man. They all are damaged. But he's worth it."

  "I don't want to be second to the club, and if nothing else, what happened showed me I would be."

  "What happened to you was awful. Czar was devastated over the whole thing, so more than anything, that told me it had to be terrible for you. I'm so sorry. I know they seem horrible, frightening people with no real emotions, but that isn't true."

  Anya didn't react, but just sat shaking her head, tears shimmering in her eyes.

  "I wish I could do something to help you feel better, but I can only try to reassure you that they are good people with their own code and once you're with them, they will extend every protection to you and your family." Blythe shook her head. "I thought that I would be second to the club as well, but it isn't the case. They've all accepted me into their family. I know I'm one of them. The children are family to them. You would have that too."

  "And if you left Czar? If you broke up with him? Would you still have them?"

  "I think so. I think they'd always watch over me and the children. Certainly, if something happened to him they would."

  Anya was silent a moment and then she shook her head again. "Reaper and I didn't have a past. We're not exactly in a relationship. I don't know what he wants from me half the time and I don't know if he can give me the things I need, because I can't be second."

  "Czar puts me first. He loves the club, but I know I'm first. Reaper's playing catch-up with learning how to be in a relationship. He makes a mistake and learns from it. I don't believe that you'll ever be second again, not with Reaper, not if you give him a chance."

  Anya pushed at the dark hair falling around her face. "I don't know if I'm strong enough."

  "You're strong. Give him time to show you. I promise you, Anya, you won't ever regret it. I'll be here to help you. So will Alena and Lana. The men will help you. All you have to do is ask for what you need."

  Anya slid down deeper under the covers. "I'm sorry, I can't quite keep upright. They gave me some pretty heavy pain pills."

  "Go to sleep, honey," Blythe said. "We'll talk more later. Just think about what I've said."

  There was no way Anya could do anything else when she closed her eyes--all she saw was Reaper.

  ELEVEN

  "Two of these three men are hit men," Code said, pointing to the photographs of the three men who had been in the bar the night before. "This one, Tom Randal, the one Alena conned, is an investigator and is on retainer with the Ghost Club. Steve and Mike Burrows are hit men and work, also on retainer for the club, under the guise of being consultants. They are uptown hit men. They work out of private offices, I kid you not, in San Francisco. Randal works from an office in the same building."

  Reaper's heart took the blow like a hard punch. He'd been expecting it, but he'd also been holding out for a miracle. There were just too many hits coming at Anya. They weren't out of the woods yet, he knew that. She was still trying to pull away from him. He had to get her away from the club for a little while, seal her to him somehow before reintroducing her into their
world.

  "Are they here for Anya or Czar?" Steele asked the question the others wanted to know.

  Code glanced at Reaper as if expecting him to lose his shit. He held himself still, already knowing the answer. "Czar isn't on their radar. They were sent to track Anya. Apparently, Randal was the one to track her, and then he was told to get information on the club and the club's president for future reference. They didn't believe our club was large enough to bother milking our bank accounts . . ."

  Transporter snorted. "They clearly haven't managed to hack into your books, Code. They'd see we stole billions from the Swords and that we all had healthy bank accounts before we ever settled here."

  "No one's going to ever find my real books," Code said. "But I put enough firewalls and other protections in to make it look like I thought I had something to protect in case anyone came looking. Mostly I thought the feds would look our way at some point."

  "Our paperwork is impeccable and will hold up under any scrutiny," Steele said. "How did Randal find Anya?"

  "She's memorable. A beautiful woman like Anya? People notice," Code said. "He started flashing her picture around and eventually found the man she bought that piece of shit car from. Then it was a matter of tracking gas stations she visited, again, just by showing her photograph to the attendants. Randal arrived a couple of days ago, saw her with his own eyes and confirmed with the Ghosts that he'd found her. They sent the Burrows brothers."

  "Where are they now?" Reaper asked.

  "All three are checked into rooms at a motel in Fort Bragg," Code replied.

  Czar tapped his fingers on the table, an indication that his brain was already putting together the pieces of the problem and working through it. "They're probably waiting for tonight. They'll check to see if she's in the bar and will try to make their move if she goes outside alone."

  Code cleared his throat and glanced again uneasily at Reaper. "I read through all the email exchanges. They're in code, but the encryption is pathetic. Easy to break. They aren't going to kill her clean. The Ghosts want an example made of her. They want the Burrows brothers to spend time with her and slice her up, keeping her alive as long as possible."

  Reaper started to rise. He'd go now, kill both fuckers and leave their bodies in plain sight so the Ghosts knew he'd declared war.

  Czar waved him to his seat. "This one is for your woman and we want to do it right. We want her protected even after we kill them, otherwise the Ghosts are going to just keep coming after her." He waited until Reaper slowly sank into the chair.

  "Who do we have on Anya and Blythe now?" Steele asked. He knew, but it was important that Reaper remember both women were being guarded.

  "Gavriil and Casimir in the house and Fatei and Glitch," Reaper replied, naming the two newest patched members as well as two of the prospects, all who had attended at least one of the four schools in Russia. He reached for the bottle of water sitting in front of him and downed half of it. All four were good men, but he wanted to be looking out for Anya himself.

  Czar nodded. "The Burrowses won't make their move on Anya until they know she's alone and they have time to spend with her."

  Reaper's fingers curled into two tight fists. "They aren't going to get the chance. If you're thinking of using her as bait . . ."

  Czar lifted his head and their eyes met, piercing, angry, two bulls ready to charge each other. The room went dead silent.

  "Get your fucking head out of your ass, Reaper," Czar hissed. "You think I don't know I totally fucked up? You think I don't know I'm responsible for hurting a woman? Not just any woman? Your woman? My brother's woman? I know you're fighting to keep her and that's on me. She couldn't even look at me. I don't blame her. I take what we did squarely on my shoulders. Coming at me isn't going to help."

  "I'm not so sure," Reaper snapped, standing. "You went home to your woman. She's still in your bed, safe and secure. You have that. I don't. Mine's ready to walk and there's not a fucking thing I can do or say that, so far, is changing her mind."

  Czar stood too. "You're not going to make me feel any worse than I already do. We can beat each other if that's what you want, but the truth is, you want someone to punch and you want someone to punch you. You like to inflict pain when you're pissed and you like to take it. We can do that and be two utterly selfish bastards or we can figure out how to keep your woman safe and get rid of these Ghosts so they don't keep coming at her."

  Reaper knew every word was the truth. He didn't have to like having Czar call him on his shit, but he had to do the right thing for Anya. He sank down into the chair and reached for the water bottle, downing the rest to give the adrenaline time to recede.

  "We have Hammer's wife to get out of there as well. We're going to have to make our move fast to pull her out, especially after we kill the hit men coming after Anya. I want Randal alive, if possible. We need as much information as we can get from him. Alena, you're on that. Once she leads him close, Storm, you and Ice secure him and put him in the chamber. He can yell his fucking head off and no one will hear him. That will give us time to get down to San Francisco and get Hammer's woman before we have to deal with him."

  "We still don't know what we're looking at once we get down there," Transporter said. "Do we take the bikes or one of the vans? I'll need to know how to prep the vehicles. Weapons, tools, paper to cover everything in case we get stopped. I need information to have a place to start."

  Mechanic nodded. "We'll be going in blind, and if I don't bring the right tools for the job, they'll kill her for certain."

  There was silence. It was imperative they have information, but getting it was going to be a problem.

  Absinthe rubbed at a spot on the table, glanced warily at Reaper and then sighed. Looking down at the tabletop, he spoke in a low voice. "Anya might be able to tell us how to get through those tunnels. She can tell us how at least. She said she was looking at blueprints of tunnels under the building."

  "Absinthe," Czar said quietly. "You were acting under my orders."

  "Doesn't make it any easier."

  "If she hadn't fought you, and I didn't expect her to," Czar admitted, "she would have been fine. I thought she'd answer the questions and we'd walk out of there without incident. I misjudged the situation because I was so blind, wanting Blythe safe. What happened isn't on you. It was my call."

  "No," Steele said. "It's on all of us. We could have insisted on a vote and stopped it. We could have spoken out and sided with Reaper. We had options. Reaper could have told us all to go to hell and walked out with her. No one can stop him if he doesn't want to be stopped."

  Reaper took a breath. That reality was a hard punch in the gut. Harder still, because he knew Anya was well aware of it. He had chosen the club over her. He'd put Czar's protection above hers.

  "He's right, Czar," Reaper had to admit. "But it won't happen again. If she takes me back, I'm going to fight for her. You all might as well know that up front."

  "I think you've made that pretty clear," Czar said. "Absinthe, I have to admit, I was more focused on Anya's state of mind than what she was saying."

  "I absorb and can recall verbatim," Absinthe said. "You, better than anyone, know it was necessary to know exactly what an adult said, what they were planning, the times, the routes, everything. You trained me to hone that ability. But I trained myself to listen and sort of record what was said."

  Preacher nodded. "She did say she was looking at blueprints. I hate this. I hate this for her and for you, Reaper. For all of us. We took the easiest and fastest route available to us to get the information we needed. She was innocent."

  "We didn't know that," Steele said. "We can beat ourselves up or make her safe and get this other woman safe. It isn't going to matter if you get her to stay with you if she ends up dead."

  That was Steele, the voice of reason. That was why he was Czar's VP. When the rest of them were out of sync, he managed to bring them back together.

  "We need to find out just how m
uch of those tunnels Anya remembers. Will she help us, Reaper?" Czar asked, going straight to the point. If she wouldn't, he'd have to find another way to rescue Hammer's woman yet still keep his men as safe as possible.

  "I'm not going to say she isn't hurt. And pissed. She'd holding it tight, but it's there. None of us are her favorite people right now, me included," Reaper said. "But she asked about the woman a couple of times. I can't imagine her leaving another woman in the hands of these Ghosts, especially after seeing their handiwork. She told me when they're wearing suits they always wear little gold cuff links in the shape of ghosts."

  "Alena and I can head down to the club to try to get information," Lana offered. "If we establish ourselves, we can be in a position to back you up. If we go in first, two tourists just checking out the club, we'll be of more help."

  "I could follow them up," Mechanic added. "I can get the place wired as fast as possible. We could get lucky and get something to help. In any case, I'd be there if they get in trouble."

  Alena snorted. "Not likely."

  Lana flashed a small smile. "Just yell if you need us to bail your ass out, we'll come running and save the day."

  Mechanic flipped her off.

  Czar ignored the byplay. "We'll need you, Alena, to pull in Randal for us before the two of you go. Take the BMW. It's fast. Transporter and Mechanic swear that thing is a rocket now. It has all the compartments needed for weapons. The two of you look like you were born for a convertible. It will cost enough to give you the clout to get in, but not so much as to put you under suspicion. If you take enough cash, you might even see their casino. Don't push. That's not necessary.

  "Reaper, we need to do this as fast as possible. I don't think Hammer's woman has much time left, regardless that they gave him a week to get the money together. They want to make a statement to the Diamondbacks. They want them to know they're serious. If they can make the Diamondbacks worry about their women, they have a pipeline all over the country. Remember, the Ghosts think they're just that . . . ghosts. They have no idea we're on to them."