9. Lightning
It”s nevergood to get woken out of a dead sleep by a phone call, even more so when the person calling is your brother.
“Fuck, don”t be mad at me. I know you”re sleeping, and you are going to be pissed that I woke you up, but we found Snake Eyes, and we need you to go talk to Officer Lewis and get back here ASAP. And try not to get yourself shot this time,” Thunder says as I sit straight up in bed, registering what he just said.
“I love you too, brother. I”ll see you in a few hours.” I chuckle, and that seems to get Piper”s attention because she sits up and looks at me.
“Be safe, and don”t do anything reckless,” Thunder says before hanging up the phone.
“Was that Thunder?” Piper asks as she sits up and stretches.
I”m momentarily distracted as the sheet falls to her waist, leaving her naked from the waist up. When she realizes why I”m distracted, she pulls the sheet back up.
“Lightning, I asked if that was your brother,” she says, and I snap back out of it.
“Yeah, they found Snake Eyes. I”ve got to go down to the police station and talk to Officer Lewis, and then I have to head back to Mustang Mountain.”
Leaving her and being away from her does not sit well with me. Then an idea comes to me. Before I can even think it over, it”s out of my mouth.
“Come with me, Piper. I”ve gotten so used to having you in bed with me and next to me. I always thought that we”d be doing this together.” There is hesitation in her eyes, and suddenly, convincing her to come with me is the only thing that matters. I don”t think my heart could take it if I have to leave her behind.
I lean in to kiss her, and she melts right into me. The way she kisses me back, I know she feels the same way. By the time I pull back from that kiss that has my heart racing, I am certain that she”s going to agree to come with me.
I rest my forehead on hers, trying to catch my breath “I love you, Piper, and I can”t imagine walking out of here without you by my side,” I whisper and wait for her to tell me that she”s coming with me, that she loves me too.
She”s silent for so long, and I start to wonder if she even heard me.
“Piper, did you hear what I said?” I ask as I pull away and look into her eyes.
“I can”t go back to Mustang Mountain with you,” she says as her eyes lock on mine.
It takes a minute to register what she just said. It wasn”t the “I love you” I was expecting, and it wasn”t the “I can”t be without you, either” I was hoping for. It was the exact opposite.
“What?” I ask as my mind tries to play catch up.
“My job is here. If I lose my job, how am I going to pay my bills? My whole life is here, Lightning,” she says.
“You”re my girl, Piper. You know that means I”m going to take care of you, right?” I tell her, making sure she understands what I mean.
I see the bit of panic in her eyes, and I realize she”s not quite gotten over the fear of what happened with her mom when her dad died.
I thought she had given in and that she loved me, and that was enough. I thought we were in this together, but apparently, I was wrong.
“There are no guarantees in life, Piper. Yeah, my life right now might be a little bit more dangerous than some accountant who lives in the city. But you don”t find love like this every day and while you may not say the words, I can tell by the way you kiss me and the way you hold me that you do love me. You should go ask your mom because even though she had to go through all the pain of losing your dad, I guarantee you she would not give up one minute with him. You know where I’ll be if you change your mind,” I say, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice as I get up and start gathering my things.
She doesn”t say a word or move. She just watches me. Once I have all my things together, I fight to keep myself from going over one more time and kissing her again because I know that if I do, I”m going to beg, and that won’t do either of us any good. I can tell that her decision has been made.
My phone dings, telling me that my ride is here, and I don”t even tell her goodbye because this is not our goodbye; this is not the end of us. She doesn”t know it, but I”m going to fight for us. I just have a few things to take care of first, like making sure Mustang Mountain is safe. I can’t turn around and leave my brothers there to fight this battle without me.
On the way to pick up a rental car, I call Officer Lewis and give him information. He arranges for me to meet his buddy at the state troopers” office in Whitefish.
It takes longer than I like to get my rental car squared away and get on the road, but once I do, I call my brother back.
“I”m on the road. Do you guys still have eyes on him?”
“Yeah, they”re holed up at an abandoned cabin just off of Lake Bliss. Apparently, they”ve been pretty noisy, and someone called in a noise complaint. We went and checked it out, thinking that it would just be some kids partying, but we got lucky on that. This should be pretty easy. They”ve seem to be drunk off their asses all day. Once they pass out, they get up and start drinking again,” Thunder says.
“Send me all the info you can on the cabin and once I meet with the state troopers, we will get a game plan lined up,” I tell him.
“Sounds good. Drive safe. I”ll send everything to your phone,” he says. We hang up, and within minutes, my phone starts going off with an address, other text messages, and photos. The Mustang Mountain Riders are nothing but thorough.
As soon as I get to the state trooper’s office, I am ushered into a meeting room. It looks like they”ve been waiting for me.
“I”m Trooper Miller, and I will be your point of contact on this. Officer Lewis already gave us all the information he has. We”re really hoping to get this guy because we want to put an end to the Savage Bones, so we appreciate you guys working with us.”
“Did Officer Lewis also let you know that we can”t tip off our local law enforcement?” I ask.
Officer Miller looks like he understands what I”m not willing to say out loud. Our law enforcement is compromised, but we”re not quite ready to throw the sheriff under the bus yet, and I”m sure that”s a can of worms they”re not willing to open just yet, either.
“We understand we have to do a bit of a workaround so we don”t tip him off. We already have a plan for that in place. Now, what can you tell us about where they’re currently holed up and the likelihood that they”re going to be there?”
“They’re there. We’ve got eyes watching them get drunk, pass out, wake up, get drunk, pass out, rinse and repeat. They”re in an abandoned cabin, and I have photos and all the information that you might need.” I pull out my phone and go over everything that my brother sent over.
That turns into a phone call with Atlas and a few of the other guys to go over the game plan.
The troopers follow me to Mustang Mountain in unmarked vehicles as I lead them out to Lake Bliss. We”re there when Atlas meets us and takes over, guiding the officers in.
It”s a bit anticlimactic for the rest of us as we just sit and wait to hear what’s happening. Not thirty minutes later, Atlas rejoins us with a big smile on his face.
“They arrested Snake Eyes and a couple of the other lower Savage Bones guys. The other officers were out on a beer run and I doubt they’ll be coming back. We”ll have to figure out where they pull up next, but this is a really good start,” Atlas says with a smile on his face that I haven”t seen in a few weeks now.
“Good. Do they need anything else from us?” I ask.
“Just any information that we have on what they’ve been doing. Bear and Priest are going to head into Whitefish with them and give them all the information that we have. I’m guessing Sheriff Cade isn’t going to be happy we went around him.”
I can tell it bothers Atlas that Sheriff Cade has flipped sides, but it is what it is, and we have to protect the town. If that means Sheriff Cade goes down in flames because of his decisions, then so be it. The need for the many outweighs the need for the one.
“Where”s your girl?” Juice walks up and asks as soon as we get back to the clubhouse.
“Back in Bozeman. She might have a few friends who would like to book you for your skills. Do you still have room on your books for them?” I ask with a huge smile. His face goes pale white.
“Oh yeah, one of your old buddies works at the sheriff”s office with Officer Lewis. We heard all about how you really got your name. It was quite an interesting story about your signature move there,” I tell him just as Thunder walks up next to me, also with a huge smile on his face.
“And I”m guessing there”s no chance you”ll keep this information to yourself?” Juice asks as he shakes his head.
“No chance in hell,” Thunder says laughing as he walks off.
I head upstairs to my room and flop down on my bed without even unpacking. Stirring the sheets gives me an image of Piper”s heart breaking all over again. She”s scared, and I know that. What I don”t know is how to calm that fear so that she will give us a chance.
But I do know that I”m not giving up on us.