Chapter 26
Istand in the rain, not caring how long I’ve had to wait. My clothes are stuck to my skin and my lips are trembling. When her car pulls up outside her house, I still wait at least half an hour, until I see the trail of lights, she put on when she got home, go out.
I move across the street and head down the side of the house so I can access it from the back door. The bobby pin in the lock trick is a classic and guaranteed way for me to get inside. So I stick with it. It takes me no time at all to gain entry and within a few minutes, I’m standing in Agent Consuela’s kitchen. As I predicted, it”s basic and neat, and when I see the picture of her and an older woman on the refrigerator door, I snatch it away and slide it into my back pocket.
Slowly, I move into the living room, creeping my fingers over her furniture as I head toward the room where the last light went out. Taking my time, I open the door and find her lying in her bed. Her eyes are closed like she hasn’t got a care in the world. It makes me want to slash her open so she bleeds all over the pretty, purple comforter she’s under. I step a little closer and take my knife outta my belt, crouching down over her body and taking in her sweet floral scent. She’s out of it, I guess taking down the president of one of the biggest clubs in the country is exhausting work, and this bitch is about to get a rude awakening. I press the tip of my knife under her chin to make a dimple and as she starts to stir awake I laugh.
“Don’t move,” I whisper, keeping my hand steady as a rock and enjoying the look of horror that flashes on her face when she realizes what trouble she’s in.
“How did you get in here? What are you?—”
“Shhhhh.” I soothe my hand over her long, brown hair and giggle. “Those aren’t the questions you need to be askin’,” I whisper.
“I don’t know who you are or?—”
“I’ll tell you who I am,” I cut her off for a second time. “I’m the last face you”re gonna see. I’m the bitch who’s gonna kill you.” I press the tip of the knife deep enough to draw a little blood. “Unless, of course, you wanna drop all charges you’ve made on Prez, and send him home.” I make my best attempt at a friendly voice to make it sound appealing.
“I can’t do that.” Consuela shakes her head.
“Usually, when someone’s got a knife to your throat you tell them what they wanna hear, darlin’,” I remind her of the situation she’s in.
“You can kill me, it won’t change anything.” She tries to sound brave but I can feel her shaking.
“It sure would make me feel better.” I shrug, keeping the knife in place as I reach my other hand across the nightstand and turn on the lamp. I want to see the full sight of her fear.
“Jimmer turned himself in,” she blurts out at me.
“I was there, sweetheart. I saw you arrest him.” I let her know I ain’t buying her bullshit when I backhand her across her cheek, then snatch her jaw in my hand. She doesn’t scream like I expect her to, in fact, she barely flinches.
“Prez is working with me. He’s saving his club.” She closes her eyes as if she’s praying for me to believe her.
“Do you really expect me to believe that?” I pull open her bedside drawer and roll my eyes when I find a gun exactly where I’d expect one to be. I thought these agent types were supposed to have an edge.
“It’s the truth, you can ask him yourself, the place he’s at has no visiting restrictions, you can go speak to him any time you like.” Her voice quivers and she starts to sound desperate.
“Great.” I take the gun in my hand and point that at her too. “You can drive.”
“Now? You want to go now?” She looks at me as if I’m trying to be funny.
“Yeah.” I nod my head as I tuck the knife back into my belt and keep the gun aimed at her pretty, little face.
“I guess I don’t have much choice.” Consuela shrugs as she makes use of the space I’ve given her and climbs outta bed.
I watch her get dressed, in much more casual clothes than she made her arrest in earlier and then, following her out to her car, I ensure she has nothing stowed away in the glove box or under the seat before I gesture to the passenger seat for her to get inside.
“You can climb across to the driver’s seat,” I demand, refusing to give her any chances to lock me out or speed away. Once she’s behind the wheel, I get in after her and buckle up.
“Safety first.” I smile at her sweetly. She snarls at me as she pulls on her own belt and starts her engine.
I remain silent, and somehow hold on to my anger for the entire forty-minute drive to wherever this bitch has Prez locked up.
“You’re gonna have to put that away.” Consuela eyes up the gun I’m still aiming at her, as we pull up to a set of gates. “There are guards to get through and they won’t let you pass if they think you”re holding me against my will.” She has a smart-ass look on her face that makes me want to punch her, but she also has a point.
“Okay, doll face.” I reach into my back pocket and pull out the picture I stole from her refrigerator. “The woman in this picture. I’m assuming she means something to you.” I slam it onto the steering wheel in front of her so she can take a good look at it.
“She’s my mother.” I hear a crack in her voice, which confirms I’m right.
“Well, if you try anythin’ once I put this gun down. She’ll be dead,” I warn. “Don’t piss me off.” I open the glove box and shove the gun inside before Consuela pulls up at the gate and flashes her ID.
“There’s a flaw in your little plan,” Consuela tells me once we’re through and she’s parked in front of the building. “She’s already dead.” She smiles me a checkmate smile before getting outta the car, and I scowl across the roof at her as I follow.
“Guess you’re just gonna have to trust me.” She shrugs.
* * *
I sit and wait in the visitor’s room, while Consuela goes to fetch him. The bright, fluorescent lights above my head are reflecting off the walls and giving me a headache but I remain focused because this place has conspiracy written all over it.
“Rogue?” Prez looks tired and confused as he passes the guard on the door and scrubs the sleep out of his eyes. I wait until we’re alone before I speak.
“What’s going on?” I ask him straight. The way I see it, if it smells like shit and looks like shit, chances are it”s fuckin’ shit.
“Has Jessie not filled everyone in? I spoke to him hours ago.” He offers me a cigarette and I’m surprised when he takes a Zippo out from his pocket to light it.
“Jessie wasn’t back when I left, but it only took me a few hours to find out your friend’s address. I should remind her of that.” I make a mental note as I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at him.
“You could have asked Maddy, she already had it.” He laughs.
“You think she would have given it to me? And besides, the world can survive without the expertise of Maddy Summers… Donavon, whatever she calls herself these days.” I didn’t come here to talk about the club’s fuckin’ golden girl. I came to fix shit up.
“You said it took ya hours,” he points out, seeming way too calm given the situation he’s in.
“It did. I had to pull some strings and it took me some time. Grimm probably thinks I’m dead in a ditch somewhere.” I shrug.
“I can assure you, he won’t.” Prez laughs, and when he sees the serious look on my face all his humor disappears.
“What’s goin’ on, Prez?” I ask him again, softening my voice, and trying my best not to sound scared.
“Consuela spoke to me briefly when she came to fetch me. Everythin’ she told you is true. I’m here of my own free will. I’m not havin’ any of my brothers bein’ locked up. The deal is done. They get to live their lives,” he admits, flicking his ash into the ashtray and waiting for my response.
“Are you crazy?” my words come out all weak and raspy.
“Are you really asking me that question?” He laughs at me again, but I can tell it’s all a front. “Look, Rogue, I get that no one is gonna get this to start with, it’s why I told no one about it till it was done. But you’ll understand, eventually.”
“I understand, now,” I tell him, feeling all kinds of emotions that I don’t wanna be feeling. Usually hurt and anger is a lethal combination for me, but there seems to be a calmness in the atmosphere surrounding us, one that makes me really think about what this man is doing for everyone.
“I thought they’d sent ya here to try and change my mind,” he admits when we’ve both been silent for far too long.
“Nah. I wouldn’t do that, even if they wanted me to. Us stubborn assholes have to stick together, right?” I pull together a smile for him despite all the fear and pain inside me. “Don’t mean it doesn’t hurt though,” I admit, figuring he deserves that much outta me at least. I sure as hell ain’t gonna let him see the tears that are fighting to come.
“Careful, you”re almost soundin’ like you”re gonna miss me.” He winks.
“I am gonna miss you.” I stare back at him, hoping he knows just how much I mean that.
“I was never gonna be the man responsible for havin’ Grimm taken away from ya. You two are fuckin’ weird as shit, but you complete each other.” He blows out a cloud of smoke around his grin and it makes me laugh a little.
“Does it have to be this way?” I ask, quickly turning things serious again. I’ve dealt with a lot of blows in my life, but this one is cutting real deep.
“Unfortunately, it does. And I need ya to help everyone else come to terms with it. You may be bat shit crazy, Rogue, but you have a clever way of thinking, you never let your emotions get in the way of logic.”
“You”re jokin’, right? You should ask your bitch buddy how we got here.” I laugh through the tears that are still threatening to break.
“She told me.” He nods his head. “And I’d expect nothin’ less outta ya. But Consuela’s not our enemy, and no more treatin’ her like one. All this would have happened anyway, and that”s down to Cliff and his actions. Kathrine has allowed me to control this. Without her, everyone would be goin’ down.”
“Kathrine, huh?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Don’t get it twisted, Rogue.” He shakes his head.
“Hey, I never said anythin’,” I hold my hands up in defense. “Who am I to judge the old man gettin’ his kicks from a special agent?” We both laugh and when the laughter stops, I ask him a much more serious question.
“What d’ya need from me, Prez?”
He smiles at me as if he expected it to be coming.
“I always knew you were special, Rogue. If you had a dick, you’d have a cut and every one of my brothers know it. I need ya to stick around, keep that garage runnin’ because Skid is gonna have enough shit on his hands with a kid comin’. But, above all that, I need you to keep everyone safe. Keep ya crazy in its cage until a time comes when it’s needed.” He smiles at me and I look up at those bright lights and hope they will help contain my tears.
“You got it, boss.” I eventually look back at him and nod my head. Then standing up, I lean across the table and place a long, lingering kiss on his forehead.
“You”re special too, you know that, right? Not many men would have given a troubled, psychotic kid like me a job.”
“What can I say, good mechanics are hard to come by.” He’s still smiling as I pull away.
“Thank you.” I get a little overwhelmed when I figure these could be the last words I ever say to him. Prison will not be a safe place for a man like Prez, and he knows exactly what he’s getting himself into.
“And when you get inside that jail, you give ‘em fuckin’ hell.” I pull myself together because he needs to know that this feisty, little bitch that he has a soft spot in his heart for, ain’t gonna be letting him down.
“Laters, Prez.” I blow him a kiss before turning my back and walking away, and I manage to hold my tears until I get past the guard on the other side of the door.
Consuela is waiting by the security desk and I hate the look of pity she has for me as she steps toward me.
“Don’t.” I hold my hand up as a warning when she goes to touch me.
“I’ll give you a minute.” She opens the door to outside and gestures for me to head out.
She comes out to the car ten minutes later and I wipe my sleeves over my eyes to get rid of my tears before we make the journey back to her house. I leave her gun in her glove compartment when she pulls up in front of my car and instead of getting out, I sit with her in silence.
“I guess I should thank you,” I speak first, staring through the windshield as the rain continues to pour. “I don’t know what I’d do if Grimm got taken away from me.” I feel pathetic and vulnerable for admitting that out loud, especially to a complete stranger.
“I wish things were different. I don’t know Jimmer as well as you do but I know he’s a good man, and that he’s doing a good thing.”
“And there’s nothin’ else we can do?” I check, holding on to just a little hope.
“I’m sorry, the Souls have been on my department”s radar for over a decade. I’ve been working the case for three of those years, myself. Up till now, they’ve been clever. What Cliff did screwed it all up, every club member would be going down if Jimmer hadn’t given himself up.” She seems sad, but I don’t know if I buy it.
“Jimmer helped you take down the Lambroni brothers, that”s a huge deal, surely that has to stand for something,” I argue.
“It does, it got him the privileges he’s got now, and it strengthened your club’s bond with Burlusconi when it should have been severed. Jimmer Carson’s a very clever man.”
“The cleverest you’ll ever meet.” I smile fondly when I think of the impact he’s had on everyone’s lives.
“Look, I really do wish there was another way. I’m sorry. I know how much this is gonna hurt everyone who cares about him.”
“No, you don’t.” I look over to her and shake my head sadly, getting out the car and crossing the street to go home.
* * *
“Where the fuck have you been?” Grimm looks wired when I step through our cabin door, and all the rage instantly drops from his face when he sees how upset I am.
“What’s happened?” He rushes toward me and grips my throat in his hand, peering into my eyes like he’s trying to read my thoughts.
“I went and saw Prez,” I admit, leaving out the part where I nearly slit Consuela’s throat. Minor details aren’t necessary.
“So ya heard?” He sounds every bit as deflated as I am as I nod my head. “Jessie came home and told us. It’s weird around here, Rogue. No one”s talkin’ to each other.”
“Come here.” I slide my hand under his ear and draw him closer. He’s soaked too, which I’m guessing means he’s been out looking for me.
“I hated not knowin’ where you were,” he tells me, and I swallow the lump in my throat when I think about all Jimmer is giving up, not just for us but for everyone.
“I’m sorry. I was hurtin’ and I’m… I’m scared,” I confess, knowing that with Grimm I never have to hide how vulnerable I can be. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. “But we’re gonna be okay. We’re all gonna be okay. Our Prez is making sure of it,” I tell him as his hand cradles my head and he holds me against his chest.