“I’ll tell you what. You help bring my family home, and if, if, Victoria wants to be with you, I’ll keep my mouth shut. But you’ve gotta show me what kinda man you are. I won’t be around forever, and when my time does come, I need to leave this world knowing my only granddaughter is safe, looked after, and loved like she deserves to be.”
Fuck me, what do I have to say to get through to him that I love her? Then again, they say actions speak louder than words. If action is what he needs, I can already give him that.
“The two assholes in Mercy who were fucking around with guns and caused her hearing loss, they didn’t run after the twins beat them and promised to finish the job when they got back from the hospital. I ended them. I shot them both between the eyes, and helped bury their bodies far up the mountain.”
It’s this moment Pope drops the Luca-is-a-piece-of-shit facade and looks at me in a new light. The old man’s lips part as he struggles to speak a single word.
“I know I’ve messed up when it comes to her, but no one would have ever gotten away with causing her pain.”
“You killed two patched members?”
“I’m not going to stand here and explain my reasons for what I did. You know as well as I do that if it weren’t me, it would’ve been you, Ricky, or the twins. She lost her fucking hearing. A beating was never going to suffice.”
“I guess that answers two questions I had.”
“And they were?”
“If you were willing to kill for her if needed, and if it mattered who they were.”
“It doesn’t matter to me who you are. If you hurt her, I kill you,” I vow.
The infamous deadly Pope smirk returns, and I begin to relax.
“Okay. If you bring her home, which you better fucking do, and if she wants to be with you, I won’t stand in your way. But know this, Jackson. She’s the most special person to me in this ugly, violent world, besides her mom, and there isn’t anyone I won’t kill for her, either.”
“I hear ya.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Victoria
Flickers of an old, abandoned office are the first thing I see as I struggle to open my eyes and keep them open. My head rolls to the side, and my eyes fully open when I see Mom tied to a chair. Jerking forward, I don’t get far. Trying to move arms is a fail. Looking down at myself, I’m too tied to a chair. We’re not the only ones. My whole family is here, bar Grandpa. Though where here is, I don’t know.
We’re positioned in a circle, and I have a view of everyone. Both my brothers clearly fought back against whoever took us, judging by the bruises and split lips. Mom looks untouched, but Dad has dried blood plastered against his hairline, and his chin is resting on his chest. What the hell is going on?
“Don’t be afraid,” Mom mouths.
Strangely, I’m not scared. So far, this is nothing like Ellis tormenting us, and it’s hard to believe anything will top that night in the fear department.
In all my years, I’ve seen more than I should have, thanks to the club. I’ve learned that when people want you dead, they kill you. If they want to send a message or negotiate a deal, they keep you around, tied up in dingy rooms.
Concentrating on Mason’s moving lips, I try to figure out what he’s saying to Myles. All I get is fragments. Grumps… dead man… Haywards.
Blowing out a long breath, my cheeks balloon with relief. Maybe it’s the shock, or perhaps it’s the faith in the club I have, but whatever it is, the level of fear I should have isn’t there.
In place of fear is an anger, ranging from a simmer to a boil. I’m always going to be connected to the club, but whoever has us only went after me and my mom, because we’re only seen as women, and in this world, women are classed as weak and easy targets. I’m sick and tired of being used to get at men because of men.
The door opens off in the corner, and two men wearing ski masks walk in. I have no chance of trying to read their lips, their masks not showing much of their mouths through the slits.
There’s nothing descriptive about the pair. One goes over to my dad and nudges him until he stirs. My heart races with joy, seeing him waking up.
The other walks over to Mason and presses a phone to his ear. His eyes widen, and his mouth moves too fast for me to keep up.
The call lasts for all of a minute, then the two guys walk out of the room.
Jerking my chin to get his attention, I make a face, asking silently what the call was about.
He mouths, “Cas.”
At least the club knows we’re all missing for sure now. No one’s dead yet, and contact has been made with the club. Hope we’ll get to go home rises.
Chapter Forty
Luca
I run my thumb across the fabric of the patch. This is a day I thought I wouldn’t see. I never wanted to patch in, and now I can’t see a future without the cut. Pope vetoed Ricky and the twins. He told me after the brothers left the back room that Ricky, Mason, and Myles would’ve voted me in after hearing the lengths I went to for Victoria.
Angel, Grim, and Dion were all voted in too, and as I look up, Angel is walking toward me. Taking a long pull on my cigarette, I flick the butt across the grass, where it lands near Angel’s boots.
“Congrats on the patch. Your dad’s proud as fuck.”
“Cheers.”
“Look, as we’re both patched into the same chapter, we need to clear the air. You could’ve been straight with me about Vicki.”
“Was me threatening to break your fingers not clear enough? And her name is Victoria,” I huff.
Holding his hands up, he says, “Sorry—Victoria. I’m not here to sink myself in more messy shit when it comes to a woman, or make enemies over one, either.”
Standing, I hold out my hand, and we shake on it. The past is the past. I can’t try and get Victoria to believe that if I don’t myself.
“I saw you talking to Pope before the vote. I take it you don’t have to fight the twins or some shit just to date Victoria?”
The sarcasm is clear, but I answer him anyway. “I’ve shown him I’m able to hold my own in other ways.” Not that I’ll explain them to Angel.
“So you and Victoria are together now?”
“We will be when she comes home.”
Barking out a laugh, it reminds me of Sparky, so carefree and loud.
“It’s like that, huh?”
“Not for much longer.”
Sizing him up, he doesn’t seem like a bad guy, and he’s more my age than most of the brothers around here. I suppose he could be tolerable now I know he isn’t chasing after the girl I love.
“Mason told Cas she hasn’t been hurt. That’s gonna help while we wait for these British gangsters.”
It helps to a point.
Mom walks out of the bar, spots me, and comes over with a huge smile on her face.
“There’s a sewing kit under the bar,” she tells me, nodding to the patch still in my hands. “I’m so proud right now. Both my boys wearing the patch,” she beams, and then turns to Angel. “And congratulations to you. Welcome to Willow’s Peak.”
“Thanks, Alannah.”
“There he is!” I look around Mom in time to see Leo and JJ coming in fast. Not thinking they’d pile on top of me, I don’t move, and regret it instantly. Leo jumps on me first, followed by JJ.
“Welcome to the jungle, baby Jackson!” JJ hollers, digging his punches into my side, while Leo gets me in a headlock and plants a fat fucking kiss on top of my head.
“Get the fuck off me!”
They only do because we all see two flash SUVs drive through the gates. The Haywards are here.
Straightening my hair as Leo and JJ climb off of me, I stand and rub my ribs. JJ’s a fucking asshole.
Dad walks out, flanked by Sparky and Slade. They greet the four brothers and quickly head inside.
In the bar, I stand close to Pope, and Leo stays close to my side. The four brothers pull out chairs around the table Dad sits at and make t
hemselves comfortable. Although the four of them are bound by blood, they’re each different in many ways. Jamie Boy is detached of any feeling as far as I’ve seen. Ritchie is wild. You only have to look in his eyes to see the unpredictability he holds inside. Cody is slick. He comes across as a friendly kind of guy, but underneath, he’s a snake that’ll bite and fill you full of venom. And the youngest brother, he’s like me. His eyes are full of darkness and secrets, but it’s Ritchie I keep my eye on the most. You can physically see him trying to keep control of himself. I’ve heard the club brothers talking about them and their reputation, and I admire them all.
“We should’ve anticipated this retaliation,” Sparky starts.
Jamie Boy flicks invisible dust off his sleeve as he says, “We did.”
It’s enough to set Dad off.
“So yet again, you’ve kept us in the dark. What a fucking surprise.”
Seeming to ignore him, Jamie Boy continues. “We also anticipated this will be Effie’s attempt to draw us out. She’ll let the family go in return for us.”
Dad snipes, “Since you seem to know fucking everything, what’s our next move?”
It’s Ritchie who answers with a slight shrug. “You’ll give us over to her.”
“Excuse me?”
“She’ll think she has us where she wants us.”
“How does that work?” I ask, gaining everyone’s attention.
The four brothers stare at me, but it’s Jamie Boy who asks Dad, “Your youngest boy, Cas?”
Dad nods and smiles my way. “This is Luca. He freshly patched in today.”
“It works because we want her as much as she wants us. All we have to do is put our big boy socks on and put ourselves in the line of fire.”
He doesn’t make sense. No one of their power puts themselves in the middle of the fight. My face must show my lack of belief in their plan, because Ritchie laughs.
“Look at him. He doesn’t think our balls are big enough.”
“Our family hasn’t stayed on top all these years because we sit back and let others take the fall,” Cody scoffs. “We’ve spent all these years growing our reputations by putting ourselves out there when needed. And in doing so, people talk and rumours spread. Effie Rathbone has no idea about us, apart from us being her enemies. We’re not afraid to stand up front. We don’t set traps to get what we want. We’re Haywards. We always get what we want, and right now, we want Pope’s family returned alive and unharmed, so that’s what will happen.”
“Family is everything to us, and working with you, so are yours,” Austin adds.
Dad inquires, “So what do you propose?”
“Make arrangements to swap us for the Simmons family,” Jamie Boy tells him.
Austin slides a piece of paper across the table to Dad, who takes one look at it and picks up his phone. It must be a number to reach her on.
He types in the digits and puts the call on speaker.
It rings four times before she answers.
“How can I help you, Mr. Jackson?”
The smarm in her tone has me clenching my fists.
“Don’t fuck around. I want my people returned, today.”
“I have a dead brother. Revenge that wasn’t taken by me, but by mysterious men in ski masks, and a dead old man who had no connection to my brother whatsoever. What could you possibly have that I would want in order to let my guests go?”
“The Haywards.”
The line goes quiet for too long before she speaks again. “Now you’re interesting me. How would you possibly get all four brothers to me without them smelling a trap?”
“That isn’t your concern.”
“I’ll meet you at the Eastville Air Hangar at midnight. But I warn you, I want them alive. Anything but breathing, I kill Ricky, Kyla, those very good-looking twins, and the girl. And then I’ll send them back to you in pieces. Do we have a deal?”
“Yes.”
“Then I wish you luck with the Haywards.”
She’s the first to end the call, and Dad stares off with the brothers. “We have seven hours to pull this off.”
Jamie Boy stands and turns his back to us to make a call. I can’t hear what he says, but it’s short, and when he hangs up, he faces Slade and asks, “Can you pull up aerial images of the hangar?”
Slade disappears, and Jamie Boy settles back in his seat.
I’ve lit a cigarette when Angel sits on the table beside me, snagging a smoke from my pack. Cocking my brow, he laughs it off, and Slade returns with a printout of the hangar. Placing it in the middle of the table, the brothers, Dad, and Sparky all get up to look at it.
“Cas, you and your club will ride into the hangar and park, forming an arc as you do. Me and my brothers will drive in taking both cars and park in front of you. Once we have the Simmons’ back, the cars will act as a shield when shit kicks off,” Jamie Boy instructs, taking the lead.
“And then?” Dad snaps.
“Then once they’re safe, particularly Kyla and Victoria, be ready for a good ol’ shootout. You lot like that sort of thing, ay?” Ritchie laughs menacingly.
Sparky rolls his eyes, muttering, “Yeah, we just love them,” causing Ritchie to laugh even louder.
“We’ll have the prospect drive in with the van. He can store more weapons for the twins and Ricky to use once we have them back,” Dad adds.
“What if she’s setting traps as we speak?” I question.
“Then we best be on our toes and not get trapped,” Smirking, Ritchie adds a wink for good measure.
“Come on, boys. This’ll be fun.”
“No doubt about it,” Dad mutters, then focuses on the club brothers. “Everyone, you’ve got three hours to collect all the guns you can get your hands on. We ride out at nine. Any fucker who’s late answers to Pope.”
A low sea of murmuring drifts around the bar, and Pope cracks his knuckles, probably showing he can still throw a punch.
“Luca, come with me.”
I follow Dad into his office and close the door behind me at his request. Sitting in his chair behind the old beaten down desk, he opens the bottom drawer and pulls out a gun wrapped in black cloth.
“I know you can shoot, your Mom taught you well, and I know you’ve got your own piece, but I guarantee this one is better. Saying that, you’ll need more than one. Take both tonight.”
Moving across the room, I pick the gun up and weigh it. It’s fully loaded and ready to go.
“Nice. Thanks, Dad.”
“Before we go back out there, I just want to say be careful tonight. Do not make any rash decisions and go off, guns blazing. You hear me?”
“Understood.”
“And when shit kicks off, you have your eyes everywhere. You go for the enemy, you watch your brothers’ backs, you watch your own, and you don’t go off alone chasing after someone—”
“I get it, Dad. I know how to handle myself.”
“And for the love of God, try not to tell your mom too much about tonight. I don’t need that grief from her.”
We both laugh, and then turn serious.
“Why are you letting them call the shots to get them back?”
Leaning on the top of his desk, he tells me, “Son, you can’t be the one who fixes everything all the time. Their plan is something I would’ve thought of, and it’s a good one. Besides, they gain more from taking Effie down, and if they gain, we gain. Our deal with them benefits this club immensely. And I know, they’ll have something more up their sleeve for tonight, and since they seem to have people everywhere, I bite my tongue and get Pope’s family back whichever way I can.”
Chapter Forty-One
Victoria
My eyes are so heavy, but I dare not close them. All I need is an hour’s worth of sleep, but I continue to blink, fighting to keep them open.
Mason and Myles have been wriggling their restraints around their wrists, but it’s no use. They don’t free themselves, only tear at their skin. Their agitation grow
s with every minute that passes.
Dad’s more focused now, and Mom is just losing her shit.
The door opens a second time, and the fatigue that was just trying to crush me vanishes.
Eight masked men walk in and pair off, going to each one of my family members, apart from me and mom. We’re deemed not as much of a threat because we only have one masked guy untying us and hauling us to our feet.
Dad doesn’t attempt to fight, knowing we’re outnumbered, but the twins apparently haven’t thought that far ahead. They’re both quickly put on their asses and dragged back up to their feet.
I have no idea if we’re being told what’s happening next or not, but I don’t fight my captor and walk in the direction I’m being shoved in.
Through a series of corridors, there’s an open door at the end, and when I stumble through, the first thing I see is a plane. A freaking plane. My fear amplifies, thinking we’re about to be flown somewhere, when the guy holding my arm stops me at a certain point by the staircase leading up to the plane.
My family are positioned on either side of me, and the ropes restraining our wrists are cut. Myles takes advantage and swings his fist, but stops short when a gun is held to his head. The men who brought us out here hold guns to each of our heads. This is it. This is where I die. I should be grateful I’ll be leaving this world with a bullet to the head instead of being burned alive, but still, it’s a world I don’t want to leave.
Tears stream down my face, and the ground beneath begins to vibrate. Blinking the tears away as best I can, I look over to the enormous hangar doors as they open, and catch my breath when I see the club riding in.
A sliver of hope surfaces, and I feel Mason’s hand wrapping around mine. It brings a level of comfort, and his smile helps too.
With the club showing up, I hope this will all be over, and soon. My legs hurt from sitting in one position for too long, and I want to sleep for hours and hours.
They park in a semi-circle, Cas stopping in the centre, and I can’t help a small smile at how beautiful the club is when they’re all together like this. There’s nothing more powerful than these guys on a mission.
His Twisted Heart : Sons of Lost Souls MC Series Book Nine Page 25