Chapter 31
CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE
Brew
“He’s not gettin’ out,” I say to Cash, and it’s final. He knows what I mean, and I’m not kidding around. “Been sittin’ ducks for the better part of two days, these guys could easily slip away.”
“That’s not gonna happen,” Cash replies. “But when I give the order, I want them alive. If what Gareth said is true, they’re worth far more to us alive than dead.”
Of course, I know that already. There are so many unanswered questions that The Grid and Ridgley and his men have to answer for.
Ridgley has been elusive for years, but I’ve got eyes and ears everywhere, and with Sawyer on board dedicating every spare second he has to the cause makes me feel better that we’re gonna hone in on him soon.
“You don’t have to explain that to me.” I don’t care how petulant I sound.
Fuck this. I’ve waited a long time to get this close to The Grid, and the fact that they’re sneaking around in Louisiana, New Orleans no less, isn’t just fate, it’s destiny.
All of their destinies will be final in the coming days.
I’ll make sure of it. “But you of all people know how long and hard I’ve waited for this.
How long we’ve all waited. I know keepin’ them alive will make interrogation paramount, and I’m prepared for that.
” I thumb behind me to Haze, Sawyer, heck, even Logan came to the meeting.
Logan and Cash may not always see eye to eye, but they’ve worked out their differences over the years, and I know Cash is eager to have Logan join the MC. The reason my older brother has held off for so long isn’t about stubbornness, it’s semantics.
I feel Logan’s hand on my shoulder. “We don’t want a gunfight. I know you’re not trigger-happy, brother, but one wrong word out of any of their mouths and you could be. If we’re ever gonna find Ridgley, you know what has to happen.”
Hearing him say those words makes me cringe.
I want to punch something. Hurt someone.
The pain comes flooding back. His men are the ones who took Valencia from this world.
He may have been the last one to see her alive, but I’m gonna be the last one to make him suffer.
Make him pay. Just like I did all of those bastards.
“So what about Gareth?” Haze puts in, trying to calm the situation. “He suitin’ up to come and put his life on the line.”
“That’s mandatory,” Cash says. “Just because he’s Bane’s brother doesn’t mean I trust him.
I doubt it’s a trap, but we’re prepared.
Had Rock check out his less than favorable credentials, and turns out all of what he’s said checks out.
He’s an ex-soldier, Brew, and he’s been undercover and off the spectrum for a couple of years. ”
“If he’s been undercover all this time, why not say that when Big Papa’s men nabbed him?” I argue. “Somethin’ fishy goin’ on, no matter which way you look at it.”
“Bane said he suffers from paranoia and PTSD,” Cash says, making me shut my mouth.
“So trustin’ anyone who comes along isn’t second nature to him.
Not makin’ excuses, but he has a complicated history.
I’m sure you two have a lot more in common than you think, but he’s probably not gonna be on the Christmas card list anytime soon. ”
Ryder, the VP, snorts. The other committee members were already briefed earlier today, so it’s just us in the meeting room.
I’m all for a plan of attack, but I hate sitting around waiting for the go ahead.
One thing that hinders me doing what I really want is following club rules.
I respect the club, don’t get me wrong. When I was lost, fresh out of the military with an injury and no place to go, the MC took me in, and the rest is history.
I owe this club, and I respect Cash. He’s like a father to all of us.
My mom did the best she could, there’s no disputing she’s tough, but I know we drove her mad over the years. Raising three boys is no easy feat. If my dad had been like Cash, I wonder if things would’ve turned out differently. I guess we’ll never know.
I run a hand over my face. “Got word Steven’s hearin’ is next week,” I say. I don’t even know if Erica knows yet, but I need to break that news to her soon.
As well as Haze now housing Nova and our mom, I need to keep Erica and Olive safe. I wonder if I should take them out to the cabin.
I’ve always had a place out of town amongst the wilderness.
I go there sometimes to decompress and switch off.
They’d be safe there, but we’d also be away from the club.
Housing Erica and Olive at my place would be too obvious if she’s being watched because it’s also Erica’s place of work.
The more I think about it, the more I know she could be a sitting duck.
“Know it,” Cash says. “We’re gonna be prepared no matter what. How’s Erica holdin’ up after everythin’?”
“She’s shaken,” I say. I told Cash about the letter; not the contents, but briefly what he said. The fact that he knows his ex’s whereabouts means she’s a target. “But I’m takin’ care of her.”
Silence falls over the men until Haze slaps me on the back. “Finally grown a pair?”
I shoot him a look. “It’s complicated.”
“Jesus,” Logan mutters.
“You tellin’ me you’re plannin’ on claimin’ her at the table?” Cash piques a brow. “Or you just gonna sit back like a pussy and let a good woman get away?”
Chuckles ring around the table.
“Not doin’ shit like that,” I mutter. “I’m claimin’ her because she belongs to me.”
“Glad to hear it,” Cash says. “Erica is part of this club by association. Once we know more next week, we’ll put a plan in place. That motherfucker won’t step one foot near her, that’s a guarantee.”
“Already on it,” Sawyer mutters. “He won’t get far, and he sure as shit won’t get anywhere near New Orleans.”
“We move tonight,” Cash says. “Brew, you’re leadin’ the charge, just remember what I said.”
Finally. I’ve been half tempted to fuck Cash’s rules and do what needs to be done, but I also know that’s not a good move. The best laid plans are ones that are thoroughly thought through. Okay
I may not be an angel, but I know that the devil will be on my side when I lead that charge. They’re all gonna wish they were never born.
The raid was swift. Silent. So ridiculously well executed, you’d think I’d done this for a living.
We went in under the cover of darkness when two new men arrived at the house.
In full camouflage and night vision goggles, we stormed the compound and dragged the men into two nearby vans, moving them quickly to the warehouse.
The warehouse isn’t for the faint-hearted, but it’s where we can interrogate without any worry, and the cleanup is easier, too.
I whack the bastard whose nose bleeds all down his face with the back of my hand, just like the pussy boy he is. “I’m gonna ask one more time, then I’m gonna cut out your tongue,” I spit in his face. “Where the fuck are the rest? And tell me where Ridgley is.”
“I-I don’t know, they told us to wait here until further notice,” he snivels.
I hit him again. “Bullshit. And who are they?”
He’s strapped to a chair, so the next move I make will be bloody, and I can’t fucking wait. The anger boils inside me. We’ve never been this close. I feel it in my bones.
“Our handler. He tells us everything, we don’t do anything until he calls in.”
“So you mean to say you’ve been hidin’ out for the better part of a week, just waitin’ around for somethin’ to happen?”
“We were waiting for the next shipment,” he says, confused.
My blood runs cold. “The next what?” Oh, I heard him, but drawing this out might make him spill.
“S-shipment,” his voice wobbles so much, I barely hear him. “The girls.”
I turn to Haze. “Pliers.”
He frowns. “Brew?”
“Pliers.”
“Wait!” The man cries. “Please!”
I turn, punching him in the face, the crunch has gotta hurt, but his nose is already broken. He groans in pain, and I know I’ve made this bloody for myself, but I don’t care.
I turn again, Haze handing me the pliers with a grimace. “Should’ve known you’d go the old-fashioned route.”
The men next to him watch on with wide eyes. All their mouths are gagged, and I’m pretty sure at least one of them pissed their pants.
“Well, I am resourceful,” I say. The man resists, of course, but Haze steps behind and helps me open his mouth.
“You had one chance to talk, and you blew it.” I glance at the man next to him.
“Let this be a lesson to you that I didn’t come here to play.
You string this out, you lose teeth, then tongues, then balls, then I hang you upside down to bleed out, trust me, there are veins that bleed slowly for days. ”
The dick in the chair struggles, but he ain’t going nowhere.
I don’t hesitate, I clamp onto his molar and rip the thing out.
Blood spurts everywhere as he yelps, and I’m glad I changed into coveralls.
The plastic sheeting below is a sure indication that things were always gonna get messy.
He howls in pain, choking on his own blood.
“Now.” I say. “You’ve got a lot more teeth in that stinkin’ head of yours, and today I’m feelin’ kind. I’ll only rip out all of your teeth before your tongue as a courtesy. Then again, this gets pretty old fast.”
“I think he might have somethin’ to say.” Haze lets go of his face. The dude spits more blood out, and I wrinkle my nose in disgust.
“The shipment is tonight at the docks. There’s cargo coming in after midnight with artifacts for the museum.”
“The museum?” I frown.
“Holy shit,” I hear Logan behind me. “They appointed a new director a few months ago.” Then, to the bastard in front of me, he asks, “He involved?”
Dickface nods.
“Great. Nice little tidy up for Callaghan,” I mutter. “Just what the new Mayor needs to boost his popularity, especially if he tips off the new Chief of Police.”
“Love it when a plan comes together,” Haze agrees.
“Now, if you’d just told me that earlier, we wouldn’t have had all this...” I wave a hand at him, “nonsense, would we?”
Of course, all the men have to stay until we get to the bottom of this, because if he even dares lie about it, we know exactly where to come. Torturing him would’ve been fun if I’d had more time to draw it out, but what matters is intercepting the shipment.
“What about Ridgley?” Logan steps beside me. “Who answers to him, your handler?”
Dickface nods. “W-we’ve never seen him, we get orders from our handler, then he oversees the drop.”
My eyes light up. “He gonna be there tonight?”
Dickface nods.
“As far as the handler knows, we’re still on,” Hustler says from behind me. The old dog may be getting on, but he sure as shit is as sharp as a whistle, and only too happy to help out here at short notice. “You usually communicate by text?”
He nods to the bleeding man. “We h-have t-to check in right b-before the drop.” It’s garbled, but I can work it out. “If w-we d-don’t, he’ll k-know something’s up.”
We already have the cell, and Hustler waves it over his face to Face ID him. “Perfect,” Hustler says. “I wonder if Face ID works when someone’s dead?”
“Always one way to find out?” I suggest.
“N-no!” The man blurts, fuck he’s disgusting. I should just slice his face so I don’t have to see his ugly mug one second longer. “You’ll need me to get past the guards and onto the d-dock, t-think about it.”
“Your Handler, what’s his name?” I bark.
“Evans.”
This poses a problem, but only because I want to rip out his jugular.
It means we have to take him along. Since the others are dressed in combat gear, similar to us, it won’t be too hard to pass off as one of them.
This could actually work out perfectly.
“Lucky for you,” I say, stepping away. “You get to live for a couple more hours.”