Chapter 3 #2
The men smiled at Archie, then let them both through. No questions. No ID checks. Carver would have to let Tank know about that. Had Archie been in distress and this a trap of some kind, they wouldn’t even know it. They’d trusted the young man far too easily.
In the elevator, Archie leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and sighed. “I’m ready to be home.”
“I’m sure Takeshi will be happy to take you there after he sees you’re safe and sound,” Carver replied.
Archie smiled. “You don’t get it. Takeshi is my home. I’m almost there.”
The numbers on the screen climbed higher, the young man beside him relaxed even more. Carver envied him a bit for the confidence he held in that moment. He’d never thought of another person feeling like home. It was a foreign concept.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Archie took off down the hall. Carver followed him, a smirk in place as the young man seemed to gained heaps of energy.
“They’re in Tank’s office,” a voice called from the reception desk.
Carver didn’t get a chance to greet the man. His focus was on ensuring Archie was properly reunited with his family.
At the door to Tank’s office, Archie threw it wide open in a theatrical way that almost had Carver laughing out loud. There was nothing reserved about his actions any longer.
In a blur of movement, Archie took off running into the room. As Carver moved into the doorway, he saw the young man basically launch himself at Takeshi. The two embraced tightly.
“Well, fuck. That was quicker than expected,” Tank said, relief and frustration lacing his words. He was probably bothered by the fact Carver’s guys did what his couldn’t.
“Glad I could deliver him in one piece. He needs a shower and a doctor checkup. The bitch was feeding him, so heaven knows what’s in his system.”
Carver watched Takeshi looking over Archie as if to see if everything he’d said was true. Then the other man turned and moved his hands around.
Archie grinned at the motion, then turned to Carver and said, “He’s telling you thank you. I’ll say it too because we both mean it. You saved me.”
“It’s no biggie. Besides, I couldn’t turn away a three-favor-deal from Tank.
That’s too good an offer for an easy job like this one.
” Carver’s smile went wide at the memory.
He’d savor having those favors in his back pocket.
If for no other reason than the fact that it annoyed Tank to have to give them out.
“How did you even know where to go?” Memphis jumped in, his voice hard. “I’d searched high and low for Mordecai, yet you stormed the place within hours of hearing from Tank. Seems suspicious.”
Carver straightened at the incrimination beneath Memphis’s question.
“You trying to accuse me of something? No need. My club runs on a system of checks and balances. I knew Mordecai was about to wind up in hot shit, and I only needed one reason to go in and take her out. Besides, I had to wait until the rest of my guys could come help me free the others.”
It wasn’t the full truth, but they didn’t need to know that. Most of what he said was accurate. He refused to lay all his cards on the table with this group. Especially since he knew they weren’t telling him everything either.
Archie gasped and spun to face Carver. “The men in the collars, right? You saved them all?”
Carver smiled and nodded as he quickly built a lie in his head.
“Yeah. My boy Smush took a few of the others and went to grab them once we cleared the place.” He turned to Tank.
“It’s your call what happens next. We can torch it all or you can dig through the evidence she left behind.
Either way, the favor count remains the same. ”
While he didn’t actually have anyone named Smush in the club, he knew it was close enough to Slash that Tank wouldn’t call him out for it. Besides, Tank was distracted by having his men all in the same place again.
If there were men in collars there, then he’d absolutely take care of it. He’d have to call Trix as soon as he left.
Tank shared a look with Memphis before he answered Carver. “We’ll take a look at the evidence. How big of a mess is there? Can you pile up the bodies to burn outside or is it too residential?”
Carver laughed, then replied, “We can make it work. Doubt your team wants to work around all that death and blood anyway. Can be a real deterrent.”
Archie and Takeshi were in their own world as the rest of the group quietly went over the merits of what would be best. It was agreed Carver’s team would definitely take care of things to the best of their ability, which meant setting that house ablaze.
Hex was going to love getting that news. He loved a good fire.
Fucking pyro.
Cohen, one of the guys on Tank’s team, cracked a joke about citizenship rights. Carver didn’t understand the nuance, but he laughed with the group anyway.
“I’m just glad Carver was able to find me so fast. I never doubted you guys were coming. And though he wasn’t who I expected, I’m grateful all the same,” Archie said to the group once everyone calmed. “He’s a good guy, Tank. Well worth the favors he intends to ask.”
Carver grinned wide at the completely false praise. “You hear that, Tank? No whining when I come calling those babies in. Archie here believes I’m a good guy.”
Deciding to leave on a high note, he turned around and stalked out of the office on cloud nine. He waited until he was back at his bike before dropping the facade as he dialed Hex.
“Tell me there aren’t fucking collars on the survivors.”