Chapter 6
6
RACE
T he bell above the door at Ink Envy jingled in greeting as the door swung open. Race stood with Dagger at the glass display case showcasing all the different jewelry Chris offered for piercings. Not that any of them were looking to get anything pierced, it just happened to be where they ended up when they started talking. Jackson waved in greeting and joined them at the display case.
“One of you getting something pierced?” Jackson looked between Race and Dagger.
Race snorted. “No. Not happening.”
Dagger laughed. “No. Already took care of that years ago.” He wiggled his brows up and down and grinned like an idiot.
“Was that before or after Ginny?” Jackson asked.
“After. Had to have something to entice her with.”
“Your dick wasn’t enough?” Race chuckled.
Dagger turned and scowled his direction. “Yes, my dick was enough. I just wanted to give her something she couldn’t walk away from. So, see, it worked.” Considering they’d been married twenty-five years, it most certainly had. Not to say they hadn’t had their share of ups and downs in the beginning.
“You get your girls dropped off at Bling?” Race redirected the conversation. If Dagger was given half a chance, he could go on forever about his pierced dick and his sexual escapades.
“Yeah.” Jackson leaned an elbow on the display case.
“You want coffee?” Chris asked from the other side.
Jackson looked around and noticed everyone else was having a cup and accepted the offer. It only took a moment and Chris returned with a steaming mug and placed it on the counter in front of him.
“Thanks,” Jackson picked up the mug and took a drink. “Thanks. I needed that. Ever since Bellamy told Calliope she had a new line of baby and childrens clothes in her shop, she’s been bugging me to take her to Bling. I caught a quick glance and brother, I gotta tell you, it’s gonna cost me a fortune.” He took another drink. “Gonna cost you, too when you’re little one gets here. Better hope you’re having a boy.”
Race would be happy with either a girl or a boy as long as they were healthy. Secretly, though, he was hoping for a boy to even things out. As it stood right now, he and his son, Derrick were outnumbered three to two.
“You lucked out Dagger, your kids are older,” Jackson said.
“No. I’m not lucky because they’re older. I’m lucky Amelia got a job working here so she can spend it all over there.” He hitched his thumb in the direction of Bling, just a couple of buildings down from where they were. “And their tastes get more expensive as they get older, too.”
“Yeah, they do.” Race nodded in commiseration, having two girls of his own. One a teenager and the other a tween.
“I don’t know what you’re complaining about, all the money you spend on your girls goes right back into your and Bellamy’s pockets.” Dagger hitched a brow at him, daring him to argue.
Race chuckled. “In a roundabout way, I guess.”
“She still thinking about opening a store for bikers?” Dagger asked.
“Yeah. It’s not gonna happen before the baby gets here. She’s got too much going on already.”
“What kind of stuff would she have?” Chris asked. “Is it going to be manly man biker stuff or girly foo-foo stuff?”
“Leather, Harley stuff,” he shrugged. “You know, the usual stuff.”
“I guess she’ll have stuff for women, too?” Dagger asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Biker slut stuff?” Dagger’s eyes lit up.
“I imagine.”
“You get that new guy hired yet, Chris?” Jackson pulled one of the chairs lining the wall over to take a seat. Sounded like a good idea to Race, so he got one for him and Dagger.
“Yeah. Boz says he can start in three weeks.” Chris took a drink.
“What kind of name is Boz? He a biker?” Dagger scratched his chin.
“He rides a bike, but I don’t think he’s part of a club. And I don’t know where Boz came from. Might’ve been the name he was born with. It’s what was on the application I had Kylie check into.” Chris shrugged. “As long as he isn’t involved in anything shady and can take some of the load off me, I’ll call him anything he wants.”
Race laughed and finished his coffee, while Jackson tried not to choke on his when he laughed.
“Where’s Lettie?” Dagger asked.
“She’s on vacation this week and next. Went back to Seattle to visit her parents.”
“Oh, I’m supposed to let you know that Amelia won’t be in after school today because Ginny’s doing her hair.” Chris raised his chin in acknowledgment.
They fell into a companionable silence for a moment then, Race said, “I got a call from Jed this morning.” He couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he started to relate what Jed told him. “He’s made contact with Sadie,” was as far as he got before he was interrupted by Dagger.
“Does she swallow?” He thought it was hilarious the woman’s last name was actually Swallow.
“He doesn’t know yet,” Race responded. “They’re going on their first date tomorrow night.”
“A date? Jed’s going on a date?” Jackson was shocked at the news.
Jed was a major player in their club and Race wasn’t even sure if he’d dated in high school. Women came easy to him, so he doubted he ever had to work for pussy in his life.
“Yeah. That’s what he said.”
“How did he manage to meet her?” Chris brought a sketch pad from the back counter with a box of colored pencils then took a seat next to Race. He started absently sketching something out.
“He bumped into her at a coffee shop then apologized for running into her. She said she was good. Then he told her he was new in town and wanted to know where he could get a good steak. She suggested some place and he asked if she would go with him so he didn’t have to eat alone. Some bullshit about not wanting people to stare at the poor, pitiful man eating all by himself.” Race shook his head.
“She bought that?” Jackson couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah. I guess so. They’re going out tomorrow night,” Race said again. Chris’s drawing was starting to take shape. It was beginning to look like a gas tank for a motorcycle. “Whatcha drawing?”
Before Chris could reply, the sound of gunshots and breaking glass cut him off. They all dove to the floor to take cover, bullets digging into the wall above the display case where they’d just been standing. The hail of bullets didn’t last long. The silence that followed the shooting was almost more deafening.
“Everyone all right?” Race asked from his position on the floor. It seemed he wasn’t the only one that was reluctant to raise their heads and check things out.
“I’m getting sick and tired of people trying to burn down or shoot up my place,” Chris growled, raising to his hands and knees.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! They could hear more shots ring out from a little farther down the street.
“Bellamy!” Race jumped up and ran for the door, the glass now shot out of it. Chris was hot on his heels. It vaguely registered that Jackson and Dagger were running out the back door. They would take the alley and come into Bling from the back in case whoever was shooting thought to use the alley as an escape route.
Race peeked his head around the door frame for more Phantoms that might be waiting outside Ink Envy to see if they could pick one of them off and didn’t see any. Not seeing anyone in front of Bling, he gave Chris the signal to go. He took off at a run, the sound of Chris’s boots pounding behind him.
Coming up on his old lady’s shop, he found all the front display windows and door glass had been shot out and was lying on the ground like shining diamonds. He pulled his gun from the back of his jeans and aimed it toward the interior while Chris made sure no one circled back and tried to take them out. The broken glass crunched beneath his boots as he entered. He motioned for Chris to take one side of the store while he searched the other. They met up at the head of the hall. “Anything?” he asked Chris.
“No. Nothing.”
At least there weren’t any customers in the store getting caught in the spray of bullets. He nodded his head and eased his way down the hall. The tightness in his chest eased when he heard Bellamy’s raised voice coming from the back.
Race didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at what he saw. Bellamy was standing over a man with her gun pointed at his back. She stood with her high-heeled shoes planted shoulder-width apart, her arms fully extended, no sign that she was injured or afraid. She looked like a complete bad ass despite her pregnancy belly. He slipped his gun in the waist band of his jeans and thought he might need to thank her brother, Preacher, again for teaching her how to handle a gun and seeing to it that she was proficient and confident enough to use it. Belatedly, he noticed her Grandma Martha was waving a broom over the downed man’s head and Cathy had a spray bottle aimed at his face. He raised his brows in question at his brothers who’d entered through the back door. From the splintered door frame, it looked as if the asshole on the floor had kicked it in.
“Calliope! Where’s Calliope?” Jackson shouted.
“Here. We’re here.” She stepped out of the break room, gently bouncing a crying Harper against her chest. Jackson stepped over the downed man and pulled them both into his arms. He held them tight, like he was never letting them go and dropped a kiss on Harper’s head, then a quick one to Calliope’s lips. He dropped his forehead to hers and whispered words meant only for his wife.
“Bleach,” Dagger filled him in on what Cathy had in the spray bottle. Of course, leave it to Dagger, he pulled his phone out and started taking a few pictures of the scene before them.
“Baby, you can put the gun down now.” He gently pushed her gun down and away from the fucker on the floor. After she relaxed her stance and loosely held the gun toward the floor, she turned to tell him, “I shot him in the shoulder. I thought you might want to question him about where they took Darren.”
“Good thinking, baby. ’Preciate you didn’t kill him.” He kissed the top of her head and hugged her as tight as her belly would allow. “You can stand down now, ladies. We got this.” He took a good look at Martha and Cathy and asked, “Anyone hurt?”
“No. We’re good,” Cathy replied and lowered her weapon.
“Luckily, we were in the break room getting coffee when this asshole kicked in the door and tried to sneak down the hall,” Martha added.
“You did real good, ladies,” Dagger complimented them on a job well done. Race hated that they’d been forced to deal with any of this.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “As much as I hate to say it, call your brother and let him know you and Martha are okay before he sends an army to Redemption.” Preacher had eyes on his sister and grandmother at all times since things with the Phantoms heated up. He had no doubt he was getting the lowdown even as Race was trying to sort things out. Speaking of sorting things out, he needed to get a move on before the police showed up to check things out.
“Sorry, baby, but I’m going to have to take your car. Dagger and Jackson, load this asshole into the back of Bellamy’s car. Take him out to the cabin while Chris and I deal with the police.”
Dagger’s phone started to ring. He pulled it back out of his pocket and put it to his ear. “Hey, Ginny girl. What?” His eyes flew to Race’s. “I’m on my way.”
“What is it?” Dread filled Race’s chest.
“Ginny’s shop got shot up.” His wife owned a hair salon on the other side of town.
“Go. I’ll get Maverick to meet you.” Dagger pocketed his phone and ran out the front door to get to his bike. “Jackson, I got Calliope. After I help you load this asshole, you take dumb fuck here, then swing by and get Trick to help transport this piece of shit. I’ll get the women to the clubhouse,” Race instructed. “Chris, go back to your shop and wait for the police. Try and draw them to you first and keep them there as long as you can so we can load this piece of shit up.”
“You got it.” Chris nodded his head and took off out the back door. He’d enter his own business through the back and run out the front to catch the police before they could catch them with the Phantom at Bling.
“We locking down?” Jackson asked.
“For now, we need to.” Race didn’t have enough men to cover everything that needed covered. He’d meant to reach out to Chance of the Black Horsemen, a support club to the Sons, and see if he could spare some men to come help out, but shit just kept happening. If Chance was unable to send any, he’d have to reach out to Preacher, and Race would rather have his dick pierced with a dull needle than ask for his help.
He dropped to his haunches to get a better look at the man who’d been stupid enough to target his old lady. “You fucked up coming after our women.” The Phantom sneered through bloody teeth and laughed.
The sounds of sirens coming nearer lit a fire under both his and Jackson’s asses. “Baby, can you pull your car closer?”
Bellamy hurried to her car and backed as close to the back door as she could get. She left it running and hopped out to go back inside. Race and Jackson unceremoniously tossed him in the back. “We’re getting some goddamn answers out of you, motherfucker.” He reared back and punched him in the jaw with enough force to knock him out.
By the time he got back inside, Bellamy and the others were in the front of her store talking to two police officers. He smiled behind his hand as he witnessed all four women trying to talk at the same time, arms flailing and all. Harper’s crying just added more to the already chaotic mess. By the time the police officers had their stories, he could clearly see how frazzled they were and more than happy to be done with the interviews.
Now, he needed to get the women, including Martha and Cathy for now, to the clubhouse, get it locked down, then meet his brothers at the cabin, or what they liked to call Hotel Pain.
KYLIE
Kylie sat at her desk watching Tuck lounge on her couch, scrolling through his phone. Having him here doing something so mundane as that warmed her heart. She’d come so close to losing him that if she could find some way to keep both of them with her at all times or maybe mirochipping them, she could rest easier. Darren being kidnapped by the Phantoms only served to prove life was way too fragile.
She mentally scolded herself for ever thinking about trying to keep them at her side. They would balk at the idea the same way she would. She released a frustrated sigh and told herself to get back to work. She was trying to run down leads on where the Phantoms might have taken Darren.
Raised voices coming from the common room startled her, causing her heart rate to jump. With all the horrible crap going on with the Phantoms, the first thing to come to mind was that they were being attacked. Then it registered the voices she was hearing sounded a lot like women and they were all talking over each other. “What the?” She looked to Tuck and saw he was as confused as she was.
Tuck frowned and dropped his feet to the floor. It took a little effort, but he managed to get himself up and moving with the help of his cane. He wasn’t quick enough to hide his limp or how heavily he was relying on his cane. He’d had physical therapy this morning for the first time and the soreness in his leg was to be expected. She thought that he was doing too much. He disagreed, saying until they found Darren, he didn’t have time to sit back and wait for his leg to heal. At least the gunshot wound to his side was healing nicely and not giving him too much trouble.
“Stay behind me,” he motioned for her to follow. Since Darren was taken, no one was taking any chances. Frankly, she was surprised Race hadn’t locked everyone down.
She almost bumped into Tuck when he stopped at the end of the hallway. She wasn’t sure what they were seeing. It was chaos. Race was trying to get Bellamy, now seven months pregnant, to have a seat on the couch. From the looks of it, she didn’t want to sit down. She was talking animatedly with her hands, saying something about her shooting a man. What? At the same time, Martha was standing at her granddaughter’s side, also speaking loudly at Race. To his credit, he hadn’t yelled at them to all “shut the fuck up.” He was getting close to doing just that if the redness in his face and his pinched mouth was any indication.
Cathy, an employee at Bellamy’s store, Bling, was also here. That didn’t make sense. Shouldn’t someone be at the store right now? Kylie glanced at the clock above the bar and saw that it was definitely time for the shop to be open. Had something happened at the store?
Calliope took a seat in one of the recliners with Harper asleep in her arms. She looked a little frazzled. Where was Jackson?
Off to the side and a little closer to where Kylie and Tuck were standing, she heard Dagger say, “It’s okay, Ginny girl. Once we deal with the one we caught, we’ll get all the shops up and running again.” He had her wrapped tight in his arms, holding her head to his chest. Kylie had never heard Dagger talk so soft and sweet to Ginny before. She always found him to be more of a loud goofball, always poking the bear with the other brothers. This side of him was sweet and she wasn’t sure what to do with that. From what she’d heard being around the Sons and their families, Ginny was always considered the more serious, responsible one with a spine of steel. Whatever happened had to have been bad.
Bellamy wandered over to Dagger and Ginny with Race following behind her with an exasperated scowl on his face. “They can fix your salon first, Ginny,” Bellamy smiled and patted her arm.
“Are you sure?” Ginny’s smile wobbled as she fought not to cry.
“Absolutely. You have a schedule you need to keep and my clients can order online from my store if they want something before we reopen Bling.”
“Come on, baby. You need to have a seat. You’ve been through a lot and I’d feel better knowing you’re taking it easy.” Bellamy must have seen that Race needed to take care of her, so she nodded and waddled over to the couch where Martha had already taken a seat. She was talking to Cathy who sat in one of the chairs diagonal to her.
Tuck took Kylie’s hand in his and headed for Race.
“Ginny, why don’t you go join the other old ladies?” Dagger’s shoulders relaxed as she tipped up on her toes and kissed him. He watched her make her way to the group, sitting on the loveseat. Dagger’s expression turned hard as he refocused his attention on Race. “This is fucking shit,” he growled.
“What’s going on, Race?” Tuck asked when they joined them.
Kylie had never seen Race look so angry.“Ink Envy, Bling and Ginny’s shop all got shot up.”
“What?” Tuck couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah.” He motioned for him to follow him to the bar.
“Baby, why don’t you go have a seat with the other old ladies?”
She didn’t want to go sit with the other women. She wanted to go to the bar and find out all the details the men were going to keep from their wives. Instead, she kissed his cheek and found a seat on the couch with Bellamy and Martha. She looked everyone over and was happy to see no one had any injuries. At least there was that. “What is going on? Someone shot up your businesses?”
“Yes. We heard gun shots coming from the direction of Ink Envy first and before we could register what was going on, there were gun shots coming through the front windows of Bling. Thank God we were all in the back in the break room. Before it even sank in that we were hearing gunfire, someone was kicking in my back door. He had a gun out and I guess he was coming after us. I don’t know if he intended to shoot us or take us. Regardless, I shot the asshole first.”
“You shot the guy?” Kylie shouldn’t be surprised. Bellamy had practically ripped a teenagers testicles off after he posted lies about Races, daughter, Liza, online. She also got involved in a gunfight trying to protect the girl from human traffickers.
“Yeah. I wasn’t taking a chance he might shoot one of us and I only shot him in the shoulder. Grandma Martha got a few good hits in with a broom and Cathy held a spray bottle of bleach in his face and told him not to move.” Bellamy smiled at her coworker. Cathy giggled and shared a look with Bellamy and Martha.
“Wow. Look at you all pregnant and badass.” Kylie thought she might want to be the other woman when she grew up.
“Yes, and Race doesn’t know whether to be happy I can take care of myself or be pissed that I have to,” Bellamy shared with them. “Anyway, after we had the jerk face down on the floor, Jackson and Dagger came in through the broken door and Race and Chris came in through the front.”
“I’m so glad everyone is okay.” After everything with Tuck and Darren, she wasn’t sure she could handle much more. “How are you holding up, Martha?”
“Psh.” She waved her hand in the air. “I’m good. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
No, Kylie supposed it wasn’t. Not long ago someone else had broken into Bling with the intent to take Bellamy and use her as leverage against Race. In the process, Martha had been shot and spent several nights in the hospital. As far as she was concerned, Martha was one tough woman.
The front door opened and three men dressed like FBI agents minus the suit jackets walked in. They scanned the room and nodded in their direction, then went to the bar to meet with Race.
“Oh, boy,” Bellamy cringed while Martha shook her head and added, “That can’t be good.”
“Who are those guys?” Calliope asked. “Do you know them?”
“Um, those men work for my brother, Isaac. I knew he had people around close to keep an eye on me and Grandma, but wasn’t sure how close. Uh, oh. Race doesn’t look happy.”
Since working for the Sons, Kylie had discovered Bellamy’s brother Isaac was actually a crime boss in Lost Junction who went by Preacher.
“Why would your brother have men looking out for you and Martha?” Calliope set her recliner to rocking.
“He knows the Phantom Furies are giving the Sons a lot of trouble. He’s been contacting Race to get updates, which annoys Race to no end. Preacher thinks the Sons are spread too thin and won’t completely relax until he has his own men in town to watch over us. He’s very overprotective.” Marsha nodded her head in agreement.
“He sure is. He sends a man with me every time I take a vacation. Kinda cramps my style having a bodyguard hovering close. How’s a woman supposed to find a man with a bodyguard hovering behind me everyone where I go?”
Race, Tuck and Dagger came over to say they were leaving. “We have to take care of club business and I’m not sure how long it will take. Those three guys,” Race hitched a thumb over his shoulder, “will be staying to help provide protection while we’re gone. Bellamy and Martha already know them, but for the rest of you, they’re Marco, Daniel and West.”
“I’m going with them,” Tuck leaned down to kiss Kylie.
“Should you be driving?” she asked quietly, not wanting to embarrass him.
“It’s all good. Race is driving my truck.”
“Well, okay. Be safe.”
Tuck leaned down and kissed her again. “Stay here until I get back. If it starts getting late or you get tired, go lie down in our room. I’ll wake you when I get back.”
Race, Tuck, Dagger and Chris left through the front door, leaving Preacher’s men talking to Cutter at the bar. That left Miles at the gate.
“Ginny. Jane. I’ve been wondering something. Have either of you ever had any close calls or scary moments when you worried Dagger or Maverick might not make it home?” Bellamy rubbed her hand on her belly.
They both looked at each other, communicating silently, a whole conversation going on, then Ginny said, “There was this time about ten years ago, that we thought all of the brothers in the Sons of Redemption would end up dead. Monk, the president at the time, and Tinker, his vice president, had it in their heads that the club was going to become big time drug and gun dealers and run whores on the side.”
“How do you know about this? Isn’t it club business? I thought old ladies weren’t supposed to know anything.” Calliope adjusted Harper in her arms.
One night when Calliope was explaining how she and Jackson got together, she’d explained that she’d grown up across the street from Maverick, Jane and Jackson. Because of who they were, she’d been exposed to club life a lot more than Kylie, Lindsey and Bellamy. She’d even told the old ladies she’d been to some parties at the club before she and Jackson got together.
Ginny grinned at Jane. “We have two eyes and two ears. Being quiet in the background as we serve up beer while our husbands hang out and talk shop, we tended to hear and see things we probably shouldn’t. They were having a bonfire one night and I volunteered to go inside and get a round of beers for a few of the brothers. As I was walking down the hall, I could hear Monk and Tinker arguing in Monk’s office. Tinker thought because he and Monk brokered the deals, they should get a bigger cut and the suppliers should pay out more since the club was taking all the risk.
“I don’t know all the details, but not long after that, there was a meeting between the Sons and their supplier. From what I put together, an argument broke out, shots were fired and Monk was dead. Tinker went down and the cops were coming. My brother works for the RPD and he helped fill in a few things for me. I’ve never asked Dagger about it because it’s club business, but putting two and two together with things I wasn’t supposed to overhear, I discovered a couple of the other brothers were hit, too. Everyone was able to get out on their own except Dagger and Tinker. Jed was left with a choice; help Dagger and still have plenty of time to get out of there before the cops showed up, or help Tinker and risk both of them getting caught. He chose to help Dagger, thank God, because he was closer and more seriously injured. But because he chose Dagger over Tinker, Tinker was arrested and taken to the hospital until he was released to jail. He was convicted and given ten years. After the first couple of times Dagger, Mav and Race went to see him, he told them not to come back. The Sons were no club of his for letting him get caught.”
“Wow,” Calliope whispered. “I had no idea.”
“One time Maverick was sent on a run with Tinker and Boner,” Jane spoke up. “Tinker shot his mouth off and got Maverick shot.”
“I didn’t know that,” Calliope’s eyes were round.
“Luckily, it was a graze. On his hip. You wouldn’t have ever seen it,” she explained.
Over at the bar, Cutter took his cell out of his pocket and put it to his ear. He listened, frowned at the three men sitting in front of him, then replied. Two minutes later, Lindsey was entering carrying Declan, the baby she and Trick had had recently, followed by Keegan and Reagan, Trick’s kids with his first wife. Bringing up the rear was a man dressed sharply in a slate gray suit with a shirt and tie the color of orange sherbet. He was a very attractive man, if you liked the CEO white-collared sort. He had a diaper bag slung over his shoulder and was carrying a car seat. He followed Lindsey toward the area the women had claimed as their own.
“Ladies,” he smiled and nodded his head. He placed the car seat and diaper bag on the table closest to the sitting area, then leaned down to kiss Martha on the cheek. “Don’t get up,” he told Bellamy. He leaned down and kissed her cheek as well.
“Isaac, what are you doing here?” Bellamy asked.
“Can’t a loving brother visit with his sister and his grandmother without having a reason?” He pulled a chair from one of the tables and pulled it over to sit next to Bellamy.
“Yes, a loving brother can, but with those three here,” she motioned to the men at the bar looking their direction. “I can only assume they called and told you what happened and you’re here to see for yourself that all is well. Neither me nor Grandma were hurt. Neither was Cathy nor Calliope and the baby, in case you were wondering since they were also there at the time.”
“I’m glad everyone is doing well.” He smiled at both Cathy, who blushed wildly, and Calliope.
“How did you end up with Lindsey and the kids?” Bellamy asked what the rest of them were wondering.
“Daniel told me what was going on and that the Sons were stretched thin. I called Race and told him I was coming and wanted to know if there was anything he needed me to do. He asked that I round up Lindsey and the kids and bring them here so Trick didn’t have to worry.”
“How long are you in town for?” Bellamy asked.
“Don’t worry,” he patted her hand and leaned back in his chair. “I bought a place here in town so I won’t have to put Race out by staying with you.”
“You what?”
“Yes. I bought a place so when I come to visit my niece or nephew I have someplace to stay. You didn’t think I was going to be the uncle who only visits on holidays, did you?” Bellamy shared a worried glance toward Martha. “I’m going to spoil the little thing rotten.”
“Oh, boy,” Bellamy sighed, already seeing the arguments between her husband and her brother.
Kylie agreed. Oh boy, indeed.
RACE
With the women finally situated and safe inside the clubhouse, Race’s shoulders relaxed the slightest bit. He couldn’t believe how close he’d come to possibly losing Bellamy. Again. What the fuck? He loved the woman beyond reason and if anything ever happened to her, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. He sure as hell didn’t want to find out. He motioned for Cutter to give him a beer, then filled Tuck in on everything going on.
“What the hell is wrong with them? Why do they want Redemption so damn bad they’re willing to take us and and our families out?” Tuck asked Cutter for a bottle of water.
Race’s phone rang in his pocket. Half dreading what he might hear if he answered, he was slightly relieved to see Miles’s name on his screen. He was manning the gate, so it could be anything. “Yeah?”
“Three guys out here say they work for Preacher and want in.”
Race sighed heavily and wiped a hand down his face. “Let ’em in.” Should’ve known the men Preacher sent to watch over his grandmother and sister would insert themselves into this situation. He hung up his phone and waited for them at the bar. He motioned for Cutter to give him a shot. He tossed it back and set the glass on the bar when the door swung open. Cutter placed a beer in front of him without having to be told.
Preacher’s three guys were dressed in dress pants, white long-sleeve shirts with ties and shiny shoes. They stuck out like a sore thumb.
He took a drink of his beer, taking his time acknowledging them. “If you guys want to blend in better, try jeans, tees and boots.” His measured gaze took them in from top to bottom. “You look like feds.”
“This is what we always wear,” Daniel responded while looking down at his clothes, then checking out the other two with him. Race had met the trio before when something Preacher was working on happened to be something the Sons of Redemption were working on at the same time. The other two fed wannabes were Marco and West.
“I’m sure in Lost Junction you fit right in.” He smirked and took another drink.
“We contacted Preacher,” Daniel started.
Race held up his hand, cutting anything more he might have said. He turned on his bar stool, giving them his full attention. “Already figured as much. My question is this. After seeing Ink Envy get shot up, and I know you were sitting somewhere close by, why didn’t you haul ass to Bling? You know, where Martha and Bellamy were at?”
The three men shared a look, West shrugged, then Daniel faced Race again. “We have an apartment above the deli across the street. We were able to hack into Bling’s cameras and were watching things inside. By the time we heard the shots at Ink Envy and we got up to see what was going on, the shooters had moved down to Bling and opened fire. We ran down the stairs and was getting ready to cross the street when we saw you and your guy entering the building. We went back up to monitor the cameras. We saw that Martha and Bellamy were okay and that you had things under control.”
Race hitched a brow and frowned. “I guess that’s when you called Preacher?”
“Yes, I called Preacher and filled him in while West deleted things from Bling cameras before the police looked at them.”
“You’re welcome,” West smiled smugly.
Did Preacher only surround himself with arrogant assholes?
“So what has Preacher sent you here to do?”
“He wants us to keep a closer eye on them while you take care of business.” Business, meaning the club’s need to interrogate the fucker they caught.
He sized them up and debated on what to do abut them. Having come to a conclusion, he said, “Since you know I need to be somewhere, you good with staying here and keeping an eye on the women with Cutter and Miles?”
“Yes, we’re good with that.”
“Good. Cutter and Miles are in charge while we’re out.” Race stood and watched the trio exchange another look.
“Is there a problem with that?”
“No. No problem,” Daniel replied.
Race, Dagger and Tuck all told their women they were leaving and said their goodbyes. He held the door open for Tuck and thought he looked like he was limping more than usual. “Why are you limping so much? Thought you had therapy today.” He accepted the keys Tuck handed him as he slipped by. He settled into the driver’s seat and waited for Tuck to hoist himself up into the passenger seat.
“I did. They worked me hard today and I think my therapist might be a sadist.”
He laughed and started the truck. “Nice. Almost as nice as mine.” He backed out and made for the front gate, following Dagger and Chris.
After the hour-long drive, they finally made it to Hotel Pain. It was positioned a couple of hundred yards into the woods behind the cabin. From the outside it looked like a derelict building about to fall down at any moment. The outer shell had a cedar shake roof and wood siding. The moss and small plants growing on it hid the reenforced walls and roof underneath. It was off limits to everyone when they had family events at the cabin.
Race led the way through the door and found that from the looks of things, Jackson and Trick had gotten bored waiting on the rest of them and had a little fun. The Phantom’s face was bruised, swollen and bleeding. They were pushing him back and forth like a kid on a swing as he dangled from a chain attached to a hook in the ceiling. His cut had been removed and Dagger went straight to it and pissed on it. His VP was a little scary when he got quiet like this. Dagger was a pretty happy go lucky kind of guy and very little got under his skin. The only exceptions were when someone fucked with the Sons or they fucked with his family. This fucker had done both.
Dagger walked a slow circle around him, his teeth clenched. “We gotta name for this piece of shit?”
“His cut says Slip,” Trick replied. He had moved to stand against one of the walls with his arms crossed over his chest. Jackson now leaned against the opposite wall, standing much the same way.
“You find out where they took Darren?” Race asked them.
“No,” Jackson gritted his teeth. “Fucker won’t tell.”
“We have some business with him first, Dagger, then you can have your fun.” Race stepped up in front of Slip. “Before you think about spitting on me, keep in mind the last guy who did that got his lips Super Glued shut. It made things difficult for him when the pain got to be too much and he couldn’t throw up out of his mouth. It came out of his nose and he couldn’t breathe. Needless to say it was a horrible way to die. Suffocation by vomit.”
Slip’s face paled beneath the blood and bruises.
“From the looks of things, my brothers got a little aggressive and might’ve broken a couple of ribs. You’re already having a hard time breathing.” Race started to pace back and forth in front of their captive. “What do you know about Euphoria?”
“EZ Lay?” Slip’s chuckle turned into a fit of pained coughs. His voice was hoarse and winded when he started speaking again. “I know that if a man takes it, he’ll get super horny and he has to fuck it out of his system. Jacking off won’t do it.”
“And a woman?” Race asked.
Slip smiled, his teeth bloody. Hanging from the chain, his arms were stretched to the limit. His feet touched the floor, but his legs couldn’t support him. “She’ll fuck whether she wants to or not.”
“How do you know this?” Jackson asked. “That what the cartel told you?”
“That and they said we should test it out.” His left eye was swollen shut and his cheek cut under his right eye.
“I’m guessing that’s what you did?” Trick shoved off the wall. “Tested it out?”
“Of course. Paid the first couple of people to test it. Then we just took people off the street.” His laugh came out as more of a wheeze this time, blood leaking down his chin. “You’re friend that got taken is so fucked.”
Dagger punched him a couple of times in the stomach. “Where is he?”
“You think I’m gonna tell you knowing I’m dead either way?”
Dagger punched a couple more times. He only stopped when Slip laughed again. “What the fuck is so funny?”
“They’ve never tried putting two guys together. Maybe your friend will be the first.”
Dagger stomped over to the workbench and grabbed a hammer. He brought it back and held it in Slip’s face. “Last chance. You need to be a little more forthcoming. Where are they doing the testing? The clubhouse?” He tightened his grip on the hammer, his intent clear. “Nothing?” His question met with silence, he swung the hammer, taking out one of Slip’s knees.
The man screamed in agony. His legs completely gave out, his weight suspended entirely by his wrists. His face was white and his breathing shallow and raspy. He was on the verge of passing out from the pain. “Fuck you,” he managed to get out before he lost consciousness.
They all shared a look, knowing there was nothing further the Phantom was going to tell them. Race nodded, giving Dagger the okay to end it. He pulled his gun from behind his back, took a step back and fired one shot into Slip’s forehead, ending his pathetic life. In anticipation of what Dagger was going to do and having witnessed it many times before, Jackson and Trick had pulled on two ropes on either side of where Slip hung, raising a sheet of plastic to catch the splatter. It kept the clean up to a minimum and the DNA from showering every inch of space behind their victims.
Race, and he imagined the rest of the club, didn’t feel sorry or have regrets for taking this man’s life in the least. He’d planned to do the same to them and their wives. As far as the Sons were concerned, it was justice.
“Get him down and take him out to the tree.” The tree was one they often tied their enemies to when it was necessary to let the wild hogs eat them. It took care of any evidence left behind.
“You know, we really should look into getting an incinerator. Then we could take the ashes to the river and get rid of them. We keep feeding the hogs and they’re going to eventually find their way here, and we don’t need them around the kids,” Trick thought out loud.
“That does sound like a good idea. Why don’t you look into it and bring it to the table?” Race said.
Now that this was dealt with, it was time to go home. It pissed him off they still had no leads as to where Darren would have been taken. He worried for his friend and brother and what the Phantoms might be doing to him.