Chapter Four
Elise
Sophie and Kennedy rushed toward me the instant Atlas ushered me inside the clubhouse.
“Jesus,” Sophie exclaimed. “I thought it would turn into a free-for-all. My heart was in my throat the entire time you were out there. Are you okay?”
I opened my mouth to reply but was stopped by Kennedy demanding, “Did you make the formal complaint? I need to know so I can do an immediate follow-up for the restraining order.”
“Down, girls,” Atlas ordered. “Give Elise a minute to breathe. She just had a stand-off with Henderson, his mini army, and the damned sheriff. Calm your tits.” His stare snapped to Kennedy. “And course she made the damned complaint. She’s not simple in the head.”
Kennedy jammed her hands to her hips. “I’m her attorney. I need to know what’s going on.”
“Yeah, and I’m her daughter, so I do, too,” Sophie added fiercely.
A warm feeling swept through my insides, not just at Sophie vehemently declaring she was my daughter but also at Atlas’s defense of me.
“I’m fine,” I assured her, taking her hand. “I’ve dreamed about the things I wanted to say to Robert over the years. It felt good to finally get some of it off my chest.”
“You were on fuckin’ fire out there,” Atlas said proudly. “Henderson didn’t know what had hit him. He was so sure you’d leave with him.”
“Thought his head was gonna explode,” Colt crowed from beside me.
Atlas glanced at him, lips thinning. “We should be so fuckin’ lucky.”
Sophie slid an arm across Atlas’s back. “How bad was it out there? We thought it would turn into a shoot-out. I got worried when everybody started drawing their weapons.”
Atlas dipped his chin to address his wife. “It was tense, but Prez had it under control. Henderson would’ve been the first man down if shots were fired. Dagger knows what he’s doin’.” His gaze cut to me. “You up to sittin’ down and tellin’ us everythin’ you know? Prez is callin’ Church soon, want you in there with us.”
My forehead creased. “You want me in Church ? Where men crush beer cans against heads and beat their chests?”
Atlas snickered. “Ain’t like that... much.”
“It was back in the day,” I insisted. “The second I walk in that room Bandit will climb up from his throne in Hell and throw me out again.”
“Jeez,” Sophie exclaimed. “The more I hear of Bandit, the more I dislike him.”
I turned quickly to say something, and pain stabbed through me. I let out a soft cry as my hand flew to my ribs.
“You’ve had enough, Elise. Please go and lie down,” Sophie implored.
I reached for her hand and squeezed. “I’m okay, honestly. Robert’s retreated for now, but we haven’t got time to relax. He’ll be regrouping as we speak. Honestly, I couldn’t rest now even if I tried.”
Sophie sighed resignedly. “Okay, but your next dose of meds is due. I’ll go set them up.” She pointed toward some plush-looking leather couches at the far end of the bar. “Hole up there with Colt. Work if you must but do it sitting down and with as little movement as possible.”
“It’s okay, Stitch,” Atlas assured her. “I’ll tie her ass down if I need to.” He waited for Sophie to disappear before firmly gripping my elbow and leading me toward the couches.
The doors to the parking lot flew open, and my steps faltered as I watched Stone, his boys, and Abe saunter into the bar.
John’s face was set, his lips thinning as he immediately sought me out. Gold met green, and my throat heated at the concern shining from his eyes as he studied me and mouthed, You okay ?
My mind went back to the last time we were in this very room together.
It was Bandit’s wake, and John had mouthed something at me then, too. Remembering the ache in my heart that day almost took my breath away.
I’d given up on John years before, but the day of Bandit’s funeral was when I let him go.
Coming back here felt bittersweet in so many ways. Years ago, I believed it would be my home, something I’d help build, and a place I’d finally feel I belonged, except it never worked out that way. I could’ve cried when I thought of that young girl who was filled with hopes and dreams for the future.
I swallowed down the burn in my throat.
I knew from experience that living in the past would only make it hurt more. Taking Robert down for what he did would enable me to live the rest of my life in peace, a life which, God willing, would include my daughter, her husband, and Belle.
They were all I needed.
I looked up to see John still staring at me.
Over time, my Stone became the prez he had always wanted to be, and he made me proud. John didn’t look the same, but he was still handsome. His dark hair had turned salt and pepper, and the stubble I used to love had become a full beard. John had always been fit and muscular, but he’d bulked out a lot. His olive skin had a permanent tan from years of riding, which made him appear more weathered.
What hadn’t changed was his golden eyes. John always had the ability to look at me in a way that made my heart beat faster. Back when he loved me, I remembered how our gazes would lock after we’d made love, him still inside me and his legs entwined with mine.
A wave of sadness I hadn’t allowed myself to feel for years washed through me. Hot tears hit the back of my eyes, and I blinked to stop them from falling.
Taking a deep breath, I centered myself. Loving John only brought me pain, and I’d already had enough of that to last a lifetime.
I turned my attention to Atlas, who’d taken the seat beside me, and Colt, who’d joined me by the couches and was setting up an iPad on the coffee table. “Can we get Brett here for this?” I asked. “We need to call Hannigan and go over everything that’s happened. Our next step is to work out the best way to proceed. Brett’s our undercover man, so he should have a say.”
Atlas grimaced. “Well...”
My eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”
“Okay,” he began. “When we first brought you here, we thought Stafford was in on the trafficking ring.” He jerked his chin toward Colt. “When this asshole called and told me to pick you up, he didn’t tell us who Stafford really was. We thought he was a sex trafficker speedin’ outta town with you on the backseat lookin’ like you’d gone ten rounds with Rocky Balboa. We asked Stafford questions, but he clammed up, so we tried to get him to talk another way.”
My stomach sank. “You beat him?”
“I got a couple in, yeah, but it was Prez who went to town on his ass.”
“By the time I got here, Dagger had lost his mind,” Colt explained. “They had him hanging buck naked from a meat hook, and Dagger was wailin’ on him.”
“Jesus,” I breathed. “Brett could’ve been killed.”
He shrugged. “Dagger had already smashed up the bar, so by the time he got to Stafford, he’d got the worst of it out of his system.”
“Why did he smash up the bar?” I asked, my tone full of confusion.
“Took one look at your injuries and lost his shit,” Atlas stated. “He hulked out so bad that Cash thought he’d lost his mind. Prez had veins poppin’ out of his forehead. Veep was worried he’d have a damned stroke. It took five men to take him down and hold him long enough for Abe to talk some sense into him. Straight up, not much in this world shocks my ass these days, but Prez goin’ loco shocked the shit outta me.”
My throat went dry, and my gaze involuntarily darted back to where John had stood just a minute before. “I need to see Brett,” I whispered.
Atlas took his cell from his inside pocket, stabbed a few buttons, then held it to his ear. “Tex. Bring Stafford up.” He listened while Tex said something before replying, “Yeah. It’s time to move things forward. How’s he doin’?” Another pause, and Atlas muttered, “Cool. Appreciate you, bro,” and disconnected the call.
“Everythin’ good?” Colt asked, propping his iPad up on the table.
“Yeah.” Atlas leaned forward. “Tex said Stafford’s better today. He can move at least.”
“Christ,” I murmured. “What the hell did you do to him?”
Atlas twisted his mouth slightly. “Ya gotta understand, we had thirty minutes alone with a man who we thought was complicit in you being beaten half to death and who we reckoned was runnin’ a sex trafficking ring. Men like us don’t have much patience with men like that.”
“So you just went ahead and kicked his ass, no questions asked.”
“We asked questions,” Atlas responded, seemingly a little wounded by my accusations. “He refused to answer ‘em.”
“Brett would never blow his cover,” I explained.
“Well, I know that now. If Colt hadn’t kept me in the dark, he’d have been treated differently. The minute we found out who he was and what he was really all about, we got him fixed up.”
I shook my head at what I was hearing. “You’re lucky the FBI didn’t come and arrest you all.”
“There was no way they’d blow an operation they’ve been workin’ on for years,” Atlas replied. “Now we know what’s goin’ on, we can plan around it.”
“You can’t get involved any more than you already have,” I stated. “Things are delicate. I’m no longer able to spy on Robert, so it will all be down to Brett now. We need to sit back and let him do what he needs to do.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Brett’s voice declared from behind me.
I craned my neck, lips already curving to greet my friend, but the minute my gaze settled on him, my smile froze. “What the hell?”
“Warned ya,” Atlas muttered, getting to his feet to help Brett over.
My jaw dropped as I took in his bruised eyes, broken nose, and swollen jaw. One arm was in a sling, and he walked with such a pronounced limp that he had to lean on Atlas to help him toward the couches.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, shock lacing my tone. “Are you okay?”
His face tensed, but he gave me a nod. “I’ll live.” Slowly, he sank down on the couch beside me. His already pale face turned whiter as he studied my injuries. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help when Henderson attacked you.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” I said reassuringly. “When Robert left that morning, I was all fired up to snoop for the shipping manifest you saw in that meeting. He forgot something, came back, and caught me in his safe, the one I’m not supposed to know the combination for.”
Atlas raised a hand up to stop us. “Wait, what shippin’ manifest?”
“Where they keep their girls before they’re shipped out to buyers,” Colt muttered angrily, positioning his tablet ready for our call with Hannigan.
The screen flickered to life, and I breathed, “Pete.”
Special Agent Hannigan’s gaze flicked over my injuries. “Jesus, Duchess. You okay?”
I smiled reassuringly. “I’m good now. I take it Colt told you about Constance.”
His stare bored into mine, conveying all the emotion he felt for me. “I’m so fucking happy for you, Elise. You deserve it after all this time.”
My smiled widened. “Thanks, but now Henderson knows I’ve been working against him. I can’t go back there. I’m sorry.”
“He’d make you disappear the second you stepped over the threshold of that house, Elise,” Pete confirmed. “Colt can bring you to D.C. We’ve got safe houses you can stay in, and half the department will step up to protect you.”
“I’m not leaving Const—” I glanced at Atlas “—I mean, I’m not leaving Sophie.”
“It’s too dangerous there, Duchess,” Pete insisted. “You can bring your daughter and her baby with you, at least until we get enough evidence to arrest Henderson.”
Atlas sat forward. His elbows hit his knees, and meaty hands dangled down between his legs, his dark eyes locking on the screen. “Gonna stop ya there. My wife and baby girl are goin’ no-fuckin’-where. I protect what’s mine, and now we’ve got Elise, she’s part of that, too. If she wants to go somewhere safer, she’ll have my blessin’, along with a guarantee there’s always a place for her here as part of my family, but if Elise wants to stay, she’s got my blessin’ for that, too. Never thought I’d say this in a million years, especially to a damned Fed, but I’m appreciative that you looked out for her. What I’m not so appreciative of is that while you had her back, you also put her in the line of fire. The only reason I’m not goin’ gonzo on your ass is ‘cause up until you recruited her, she was alone. You came along, backed her up, and gave her somethin’ she needed, so I’m gonna let the rest of the perilous shit you had her doin’ go. But know this, my ma-in-law won’t be partakin’ in any more Fed missions. She can help, but she’ll do it while she’s standin’ next to me or one’a my brothers, where she’s safe.”
I took a sharp breath, and yet again, tears filled my eyes.
The darkness weighing down my chest for the last thirty years lifted, and I felt light again. Nobody had protected me so fiercely since John, and I didn’t quite know what to do with it. What I did know was that it felt amazing to hear Atlas declaring me part of his family.
Just a week ago, my life was bleak at best. The only thing that had gotten me out of bed every morning was my work with the FBI and their dedication to helping me find Constance. Every morning, I’d wake up and pray it would be the day I found my girl. It was surreal knowing she was in the same building and, above all else, was safe.
The thought of leaving Sophie when I’d only just found her made my chest hurt.
Knowing she had Atlas at her back eased my worry somewhat, but it didn’t weaken the protective instincts I’d had since the day she was taken from me. If anything, finding her and discovering my granddaughter’s existence made me even more determined to take Robert down.
Neither of them would be safe until my husband was out of commission.
I waited for a lull in the conversation before asking, “So, what happens next?”
“I go back in,” Brett declared.
Silence fell over us for a few seconds while we weighed up what that might mean.
I turned to Atlas, “He knows all the key players and their movements. The problem is that Brett being here compromises his cover. He’s done a great job in infiltrating the inner circle, but Robert will suspect he’s talked, which means Brett’s in immediate danger.”
“I can convince him,” Brett insisted. “I’ll happily walk back in there and carry on with the job, but I need to know there’s at least a chance of Henderson believing my cover story.”
“It depends,” I murmured. “My husband has to think you despise the club as much as he does.”
“He already thinks that,” Pete interjected. “We’ve had Brett acting like a tool for the last three years for a reason.”
“No,” I told him. “We need more. We need to show him. There can’t be any room for error.”
Pete’s eyes caught mine, and I knew he understood.
I hated the thought of what needed to happen. Brett had been the closest person to me and my most trusted ally for so long. He was almost like a son to me.
Brett studied me, and I saw the instant that the realization hit him. His shoulders sagged and he muttered, “Fuck!”
“We can control it,” Pete stated quietly. “We can stop every few hits, check you over, even administer pain relief.”
Atlas’s forehead furrowed. “What the fuck are you asshats talkin’ about? I don’t speak Fed.”
“We need to convince Henderson that Brett didn’t rat.” Hannigan smirked. “Hypothetically, what would you do to a hypothetical prisoner who kept his mouth shut?”
Atlas glanced at Pete’s presence through the tablet and cleared his throat nervously. “Hypothetically, we’d half hypothetically kill any hypothetical prisoner who didn’t sing like a hypothetical fuckin’ canary.”
Pete’s smirk turned even smirkier. “I rest my hypothetical case.”
Atlas sat forward, a grin curving his lips. “Does this mean I get to beat a Fed half to death? That Fed bein’ Brett ‘dick for brains’ Stafford.” He glanced at me and rubbed his hands together gleefully. “And there’s me thinkin’ my day had already been made with a stand-off at the clubhouse gates. Who knew the big man upstairs would choose to throw even more joy my way?” He raised his hand in the air. “Halle-fuckin’-lujah.”
Colt chuckled. “Depends on Agent Stafford.”
“You know I’m gonna be down for it,” Brett muttered. His annoyed stare landed on Atlas, and he suddenly grinned. “But only on one condition.” Brett jerked his chin toward Atlas. “That ass clown doesn’t get to do it.”
Atlas’s face fell. “Huh?”
“Deal,” Colt declared.
“Now wait a goddamned minute—” Atlas protested but was cut off by Pete asking, “Who’s the best candidate if not him?”
“Bowie,” Colt suggested. “He’s the enforcer and an ex-boxer, plus he hates Brett for the shit he did to Layla. He’ll jump at the opportunity to kick the fuck out of our man.”
A high-pitched squeal escaped Atlas’s throat. “I wanna do it,” he whined. “It’s not fuckin’ fair. Bowie gets to do all the fun shit.”
“I protected Layla,” Brett protested, ignoring my son-in-law’s complaints.
Atlas let out a disbelieving grunt.
“He’s right,” Pete confirmed. “What happened to Layla led him to join the FBI. When Robbie assaulted her, it was Brett who did some digging of his own, discovered what Robbie was up to, and tried to turn him in to the authorities. Pete’s team was looking for a way in, so they recruited Stafford.”
“Fuck me!” Atlas muttered.
I placed a hand on his arm. “It’s a long story and intricate, plus it spans years. Maybe we should fill you all in on the background story when everybody’s together, or else it’ll get confusing.”
“Alright,” Atlas drawled. “We need to get this shit movin’.”
As he got to his feet, Abe sauntered into the room and gave him a chin lift. “Arrow’s on the cameras, says the sheriff’s headin’ our way. We need to get instructions from Prez.” His stare slid to meet mine. “He’ll no doubt wanna talk to ya. Reckon he’ll try to persuade you to drop the charges against your ol’ man.”
His words hit me in the chest, and my lungs began to burn. “He’s not my ol’ man,” I bit out. “Don’t ever say that to me again.”
Abe’s forehead wrinkled thoughtfully. “Sorry. Force of habit,”
I gritted my teeth to stop myself from screaming in frustration.
It wasn’t Abe’s fault. I knew most bikers referred to their spouses as their ol’ ladies and themselves as ol’ men. I’d only ever had one ol’ man, and even though it didn’t work out, I cherished the time we had.
The way John and I imploded broke me for a long time, but we were happy before everything turned sour. I was protective of those memories—they were still the most beautiful ones I possessed—so to assume Robert replaced John irked me, because he may have been my husband in name, but he was never the man of my heart.
John replaced me within months, but I hadn’t come close to replacing him in over thirty years.
Atlas dipped his face to address me. “Will you be cool if I go and hurry Prez up? We gotta lotta ground to cover, and I think you should start from the beginnin’.”
“Go,” I ordered gently. “You don’t need to stick by my side twenty-four seven. I’m used to this; it’s the way my life is. Honestly, I’m more concerned about Sophie and Belle.”
“That’s just it,” he muttered. “It shouldn’t have been your life. You and Soph should’ve been part of this club all along. It wasn’t just you that Henderson took that from; it was my woman, too. Don’t think for one minute I’ll let him get away with it.” He walked over to join Abe, and together, they disappeared down a corridor.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“As you can see, Atlas is protective,” Colt needlessly pointed out.
“He is,” I concurred. “But I never imagined he’d be so protective of me.”
Colt shrugged. “He dotes on his wife. You sacrificed everything for her and went through hell to keep her safe. Most importantly, you never gave up on her. You think he doesn’t respect the shit outta that?”
My chest warmed.
“Not many people would sacrifice what you have for somebody else,” he added. “It’s the biggest compliment he can pay you.”
“Any parent would do the same, Colt.”
“You’d be surprised how many wouldn’t,” he muttered, jerking his chin toward the corridor. “He’ll be in Church, laying down the law and makin’ sure nobody gives you any shit.”
Colt’s words made me cast my mind to John’s kids, and my heart beat a little harder. “Do you think his boys will be mad about Sophie?”
“Doubtful,” he told me honestly. “Breaker’s the closest to Adele, but he lived a long time without Kennedy and the kids. I think he’ll want John to be happy. Cash has grown a lot, so he’ll be okay. I dunno about Bowie. The one I’m most worried about is Freya.”
“Your girlfriend?” I asked.
He nodded. “She’s close with her mom. Not sure she’ll be happy to find out her dad was in love with another woman while he was with Adele. I don’t think she’ll blame you; it’s not like you did anythin’ wrong, but she may have something to say to him when she finds out he’s carried a torch for you all these years. Their relationship’s contentious at the best of times.”
“He’s not in love with me,” I protested.
Brett gave me a disbelieving glance.
Pete’s lips twitched.
“He’s not,” I affirmed.
A knowing grin spread across Colt's face. He sat forward in the same way Atlas had just minutes before, elbows to knees and his hands dangling between his legs. His eyes caught mine, and he studied me intently for a few seconds before crowing, “You really have no fuckin’ idea, do ya?”
“Don’t start,” I snapped. “John hasn’t been in love with me for thirty years. What we had is dead and buried. He moved on.”
Brett and Colt shot each other a look just as soft laughter came from the iPad.
Colt’s expression turned deadpan, and he murmured something that made my chest flutter.
“Hold onto your hats, boys. This is gonna be fun.”