Chapter Forty-Two
James
“Thank you, Santino,” Ace says. “Remember, if my name or any of the Saints are mentioned in your case notes…”
“Yeah, yeah. Death, dismemberment. I get it.”
“It’ll be Ellis who suffers, Santino. I kept him out of trouble, and with one call, I can either ensure his new friends kill him slowly or your bosses learn about your son’s interesting career choices.”
The FBI agent nods once, his jaw clicking in anger.
The man is at least two decades older than Ace and matches him in height, but he still concedes to my friend’s demands.
Despite not wearing anything that signifies him as FBI, Santino couldn’t be a more obvious agent.
He’s wearing a suit and tie, and his light brown hair is parted down the side.
“I got it, Demos. But after this, my debt to you is paid in full. I don’t want to hear from you again.”
“Happily.”
Santino nods, then returns to the black SUV he arrived in. Ace begins casually strolling across the street to our parked bikes as if he didn’t just threaten an FBI agent.
“Who’s his son?” I ask.
“Lorenzo Santino. Did him a favor a few years ago.”
“Is he local?” I ask, searching my memory for the name, but I don’t think I’ve heard of him.
Ace shakes his head but says nothing else. Since we didn’t have enough evidence about the South Five’s illegal activities to send to local law enforcement, we turned to Ace’s FBI connection.
At risk of his career and freedom, Santino led a team in raiding the South Five’s largest casino under the guise of taking down rampant organized crime.
“Good?” Ace asks as he buckles his helmet.
I nod. “Yeah. I’ll see you later.”
With that, we start up our bikes and head in opposite directions.
Ace is running point on getting the women who helped us to safety, particularly those who work in the South Five’s strip clubs.
We even send Vinnie’s sisters to him. Meanwhile, I ride across town to meet Theo outside of the Fivers’ warehouse.
I park at the end of a line of bikes and adjust my cut as I stride over to the group of men.
Theo is standing next to Crimson Murfey, the Salt Lake City chapter’s president, doling out final commands.
“Slider, make sure you stay here with Reyes. No one escapes. And don’t let anyone slip past you.
We don’t need undercover cops interrupting our raid. ”
The men in question nod, their jaws tensing and backs straightening.
“Domino, you’re with me and James,” Theo continues, facing one of the nomads.
I’ve only met him twice, but I agree with Theo’s decision to have him with us.
He’s a smaller guy, but he’s a hell of a shot and the most eagle-eyed guy I’ve met.
He could see a frog in the middle of the road from a mile away.
We’re unlikely to be ambushed with him at our backs.
“We’re in and out. Prioritize destroying their shit over stealing it. Don’t shy away from taking out any Fiver you see. They not only killed one of our own a few weeks ago,but my daughter. We’re doing this for Matthew and Shiloh.”
There’s a smattering of shouted agreements, and several guys share determined looks, slapping each other on the back.
There are a few streets between us and the warehouse, which sits on its own block.
I’d have preferred it was even farther out, away from any civilians to lower the risk of unintended casualties.
But I doubt the South Five were considering innocents when choosing this location for their illicit affairs.
The jittery feeling in my veins intensifies as we prepare for the raid. It’s similar to the anticipation that courses through my body before a fight but sharper. Like my instincts know this is much more dangerous, with higher stakes than any fight I’ve ever taken on.
“Ready?” Theo’s shout snaps us all to attention.
“Be smart and ruthless,” Crimson adds. “We’re fighting for the Saints family today.”
And with that, we split into several smaller groups. Our synced movement isn’t so much a practiced choreography as much as a shared chaotic energy of people who have finally been pushed too far.
Domino follows a few steps behind me and Theo, his eagle eyes obsessively scanning our surroundings.
The walk isn’t far but still feels like each second stretches into several hours.
“How’d the club go?” I ask. Theo and June cleared out the South Five’s largest club before coming here.
That one in particular has a reputation for offering more than dances from their women.
Most of the men there were already out of commission thanks to Sadie’s plan, but June was excited to take care of the rest.
“Easy. One guy almost got out a message, but June was faster than him.” He smirks at the memory.
“I can’t believe she didn’t insist on coming here.”
“She wanted to. But we got a call from Benny. He and Luna hit a snag and needed backup.”
“Are they okay?”
“Last I heard,” he said. I’m in awe that he’s not breaking down under the unknown state of his girlfriend.
Maybe it’s the pressure of this raid going smoothly or maybe he’s able to trust in June’s abilities, but he’s not letting fear incapacitate him.
“Seems Bowie anticipated us going for their legal connections. A few goons were guarding Cruz’s house. ”
“They can handle that.”
He nods. “I know.”
I don’t reply as we pass under a streetlamp, a halo of light shining through the broken glass around the bulb. Soon, the warehouse comes into view, and each of my muscles tighten in preparation.
One of the small garage doors near the entryway is cracked at the bottom, and five figures huddle nearby, cigarette smoke pluming in the air around them.
They’re too far away to hear the words being exchanged between them, which is probably good.
Anything they have to say would be a flint against my nerves, sparking the anger simmering in my veins into something deadlier.
“Domino,” Theo says, nodding to the side. The other man hastens to obey, settling himself behind a truck still within view of the door. A few moments later, the watch on Theo’s wrist lights up as Crimson sends the all clear.
Theo looks back at me, and I nod, fingers flexing around the gun held low.
The skin stretched over my knuckles itches, as if begging to crack against someone’s jaw.
We head for the warehouse door just as a loud bang comes from the other side of the building.
All five of the men snap to attention. Three rush toward the direction of the gunshot, passing the truck Domino hides behind.
He easily snatches the last guy, hand falling over his mouth to smother any shout.
A second later, Theo and I both descend on the remaining two guys.
Theo slides a knife over the neck of his, and I leverage the jaw of the other Fiver, throwing my strength into snapping his neck.
I slide through the space of the opened garage door, quickly jumping to my feet and extending my gun.
There’s no one in my near vicinity, but I don’t relax.
The air inside tastes of oil and old cardboard.
At the other end of the building, I hear men talking, hinges creaking, metal pressing together, and boxes moving.
Domino takes his position in front. He peers around the corner and whispers, “Two dozen, at least.”
Theo comes in next. “We can handle that. Easy.”
I silently agree. If not for Sadie’s plan, this place would’ve been overflowing with men. Too many for us to take. But the Fivers are stretched thin tonight, and we’ve multiplied our numbers with the other chapters.
Our progress inside is slower. We pass stacks of crates, shadows pulling beneath them. I peek inside one and find candy packets with drugs hiding underneath.
I’m about to take another step when Domino throws a hand out, stopping me. “Someone is looking this way.”
“There are two guys in the back office,” Theo says, reading off a message from his watch. “James?”
“I got it.” Turning around, I remember the building layout June found and made us memorize.
It takes two turns and one lock picking before I find myself outside the office in question.
This door isn’t locked, so I throw it open and go for the closest guy.
Without waiting for a reaction, I use my arm around his neck to cut off both air and blood flow to his brain.
At the same time, I lift my gun, pointing it at the other guy.
“Move and I pull the trigger.”
“Purgatory trash,” he spits. The guy against my chest has gone limp, but I keep my hold tight. “You won’t make it out alive.”
“Sure you want those to be your last words?”
Expecting a smart-ass response, it takes me too long to realize he’s lunged.
I drop the first guy to block the oncoming punch.
He’s fast and strong, quick to attack and attempts grappling me to the floor.
The goal was to kill them both silently, but then he goes for his gun, and the gamble no longer seems worth it.
So, instead of trying to free my knife or kill him with my hands, I re-aim my own gun, barrel facing his forehead.
Then I pull the trigger.
Blood and bone splatter the surrounding area, including my face. Even with the silencer, the gunshot will have been loud enough for anyone nearby to hear. So, with the stealth approach out the window, I shoot the other man in the back of the head, just in case.
My return to the guys isn’t smooth. I take out two more Fivers before finding Theo crouching behind a wall of crates as the rest of Bowie’s gang opens fire.
Our guys flood into the building from the back doors.
Standing up, I fire over the crates, squeezing off three rounds, then dropping down again.
There are several screams of pain, and across the room, Domino fires with enviable precision and speed.
“Like old times, isn’t it?” Theo shouts over the gunfire.
“What times are you talking about?”
He shrugs. “We haven't done something this stupid together in a while.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Love you too.”
He takes over shooting as I reload my gun before we move closer to the few Fivers remaining. There’s no saying how much time passes before only a single Fiver is left breathing.
“Everyone good?” Theo asks.
“Young caught a bullet in the leg,” Crimson says. “He’ll be fine after a few stitches.”
“Valor will take care of him.”
“What do we want to do with him, boss?” Zion asks, kicking the bleeding Fiver on the ground.
“Kill him. He won’t know anything.”
Zion nods, cocking his gun. He levels the barrel at the back of the man’s head and pulls the trigger, adding to the growing puddle of blood under our feet.
A second later, Theo’s watch blinks with a notification and Crimson pulls out his phone, probably reading the same message on the screen. “It’s Slider. Cops are closing in.”
Exiting the warehouse is faster than sneaking in.
Zion, Guardrail, and Marrow, one of the Albuquerque guys, retrieve the gasoline from where they stashed it outside and start dowsing the space, drenching the Fivers and every crate.
I wait until everyone is outside and heading back for our bikes before pulling a match from my jacket pocket.
Lighting it on the zipper, I toss it through the cracked door.
With a burning hot whoosh, a giant flame ignites, spreading quickly through the warehouse.
I’m already sprinting away when the screaming starts.
Seems one of the Fivers wasn’t dead yet.
Oh well.
Theo and I don’t speak until we’re a couple blocks away from the warehouse. Then, using the mics in our helmets, he says, “We need to find Gray and Bowie. June says Cruz isn’t being helpful at all.”
“We can head over. Get real creative with the questioning.”
“What kind of coward goes into hiding while his men are being slaughtered?” Theo curses and I glance over, noticing how tight he’s gripping the bike’s handlebars. “Neither were at any of the clubs. Their houses have been cleaned out.”
“Have you heard from the prospect?”
“Amado? Nothing. The Cage is a ghost town.”
Though Guardrail, the more seasoned of our prospects, was out with us, we ordered Amado to stay back and keep an eye on the Cage with Rocket. Neither me nor Theo could stand the idea of being near him, and I didn’t want him in Sadie’s vicinity, so the Cage was the best place to leave him.
“We should use Nico. He said he could find Leticia,” Theo says.
I grind my teeth together. This isn’t the first time he’s suggested it. Leticia would make a good bargaining chip. No doubt Bowie would give us Gray in exchange for his cousin. We’d get Bowie too, eventually. But right now, Gray is who we want.
It was his hands that took Shiloh from us. And we will get our revenge in the slowest, most painful way possible. We just have to fucking find the guy first.
I didn’t want to use an innocent young woman, but we’re running out of options. Our men have been all over the city today, and no news on either Gray or Bowie.
Before I can respond, a call interrupts my thoughts. It seems to go to Theo too, because we both move to accept it.
Ace’s voice fills my ears.
And with four small words, my world splits at the seams.
“He’s going after Sadie.”