CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
NOAH
Watching that van drive away with Dominik inside gutted me. I had the undeniable urge to go after them. To do whatever it took to get him back. Since that wasn’t an option, I did the next best thing.
Turning to the rest of the Kings, I said, “I have a contact in Elmwood. The guy doesn’t work for cheap, but he’s reliable and always comes through. If we can get him information on Garrett’s family, anyone close to him that he would care about, we’ll have our leverage.”
“Already on it.” Damon pulled out his phone. “Garrett is married. He and his wife have a two year old.”
He held out his phone, showing me the wife’s Facebook page along with her full name. I didn’t doubt that Garrett would trade Dom for his wife and kid. I didn’t enjoy using kids as bargaining chips, but in this case, I was willing to do anything.
“Anyone have a burner phone handy?” I surveyed the group of men, knowing one of them would come through.
Rebel pulled a small prepaid flip phone from his back pocket. “Here. What’s the plan?”
“You’re about to find out.” I made the call, almost ecstatic when the guy answered. “I have a job for you. It’s an emergency. It has to happen now.”
There was a pause on the other end before a gravelly voice said, “Emergencies cost extra.”
We went back and forth, negotiating the details. I gave him Garrett’s name along with his wife’s. Finding their address was part of the job. My guy had come through before, and I believed he would again.
“Don’t kill her or the kid,” I instructed. “Tie her up. Make it look serious. Send me a photo and the address where you take her.”
“Ten grand. I’ll be in touch.” The call ended. Now we waited.
“I know this guy, Phil, he’ll grab the wife and kid.
We’ll use them to get Dom back. I think we all know that Garrett has no plan to let him out alive.
I overheard him say something about The Vultures MC.
He’s up to something. Anyway, it’s going to be ten grand.
I’m happy to put up the money. I have a stash of cash back at the house.
” This wasn’t the kind of payment one made through their bank app.
“We’ll pitch in,” Rebel said, nodding to the SUV they all arrived in. “Let’s get the fuck out of the cold.”
It would take Garrett around an hour to get Dom back to Elmwood. If Phil moved fast enough, he would be able to grab Garrett’s wife before they arrived. The rest of us headed back to my house for the cash.
I couldn’t shake the impatience that had me fidgeting. Unable to sit still. I wasn’t sure exactly what Garrett had planned for Dom, but I knew it wasn’t good.
“The Vultures MC hates us,” Auryn explained on the drive back to my house. “We refused to deal some shady drugs to them. Instead, we formed a partnership with their rivals, the Horsemen. Garrett must be using Dom to form some kind of alliance with The Vultures.”
I didn’t have much experience with any of the MCs from any nearby town or city. When we were hired to do a job, we did it and moved on. Most of what we did involved physical violence and murder for hire. Stuff the MCs didn’t generally hire out for.
“Phil will come through for us,” I promised. “He’s never let me down.”
Phil himself was a pretty shady guy. He had a knack for finding people. Nobody could hide from him for long once he started looking for them. Known for being a hell of a good tracker, he was worth every penny he charged.
Back at the house, I went to my bedroom, to the safe in the back of the closet. After entering the combination, I popped open the door. Stacks of cash greeted me along with a few expensive watches and a gun I used for specific jobs. I counted out the money for Phil, making sure it was all there.
“We’ll pitch in five grand. I sent Stray to his place to grab it. He won’t be long.” Rebel stood stiffly in the middle of the living room. His gaze darted to me a few times as he glanced around the room. I got the feeling there was something else he wanted to say.
Trying not to crawl out of my skin while we waited for Phil to contact us, I chewed my bottom lip until I tasted blood.
When Garrett had shown up at the house, he’d taken Damon and I by surprise.
He knew we were working with the Kings. He and his followers had forced their way inside, beating the crap out of Damon and grabbing me.
I was greatly relieved to see that Damon was all right other than some nasty bruising.
I’d known that Dom would trade himself for me. Not for a second did I doubt that he would take my place. Still, it was a punch in the gut. Having to watch him get in that van. I didn’t want him to be at Garrett’s mercy. Knowing that Project X had something planned.
Shifting from foot to foot, I ran a hand through my hair, trying to calm my racing heart. Come on, Phil. Don’t let me down man.
“Dom never doubted you,” Rebel said suddenly, breaking the tense silence. “When you didn’t show, he never really believed that you’d screwed him over. The rest of us did. But not him.”
My upper lip curved into a slight smirk. “I’m sure he was thinking it.”
“I can see that the two of you really do care about each other,” Rebel continued. “When this is all over, I think we all need to sit down and talk. Maybe it’s time for a new chapter. Maybe it’s time for you and Damon to join the Kings.”
My head snapped up. I searched Rebel’s face. He wasn’t the kind of guy to fuck around. If he’d been thinking about this enough to say something, he meant it.
So much had gone down between our two groups in the past. I wasn’t sure we could leave all that behind and start fresh. Although I was willing to try. Because of Dom.
I nodded. “I think that would be a good idea. We definitely need to talk.”
Damon sat there on the couch scowling, wearing the worst poker face I’d ever seen.
I understood why he wouldn’t be thrilled about joining the Kings.
They killed two of our friends. It was hard to overlook something like that, even if those friends had brought it upon themselves. Hell, they’d almost killed me.
My cocky attitude had made plenty of bad decisions for me in the past. Everything had changed. Now I wanted Dom, and I would do whatever it took to make that happen. Even if that meant joining the Kings.
When Rebel’s burner phone rang, we all jumped. He flipped it open to find a photo of a dark-haired woman gagged and bound with a small child crying on her lap. There was an address. Fuck yes.
When Stray arrived with the Kings share of the cash, we immediately set out for Elmwood. As soon as we got in the car, I forwarded the photo of Garrett’s wife to Garrett himself. I only wished I could see his face when he saw it.
It wasn’t long before we received a return text. What do you want?
I replied immediately. You know what I want. I’ll send you an address soon. You’ll bring Dom there. Hurt him in any way, or try to fuck us over, and your family dies.
Goddamn it felt so good to have the upper hand. A satisfied smile spread across my face when Garrett replied. He’s all yours. Please don’t hurt them.
I’d never had to worry about a loved one getting involved in my criminal activity before.
I couldn’t imagine having a family and doing this shit, even though so many did.
Now I had Dom. Even though he was involved in this life too, I felt like it was time to make decisions more carefully. No reckless choices.
With six people crammed into an SUV, the drive was tight and tense. We were all eager to get this over with. Stray and Auryn made a few attempts at creating conversation. Most of which the rest of us nodded along to, having nothing to contribute. We were all in the zone.
Entering Elmwood got my pulse pounding again. I wouldn’t be able to relax until I saw Dom. The address Phil sent brought us to an empty restaurant. A sign in the window said it was closed for renovation. Knowing better than to try the front door, we went around to the back.
I’d barely knocked when the door swung open. Phil stood in the entryway, a cigarette dangling between his thin lips. His salt and pepper hair was disheveled. Despite the frigid temperatures, he wore only a T-shirt and jeans. Like the winter chill didn’t touch him.
“The wife and kid are in the storage room down the hall,” he said, taking the envelope of cash I handed him without counting it. “This place is owned by my buddy. Nobody will be around until the end of next week. If you spill any blood, clean it up.”
With that, he strolled out the door, sauntering over to a blacked out Mercedes parked behind the restaurant. I promptly sent Garrett the address with a warning. He was to enter alone with Dom. No other members of his organization. No weapons.
We found the wife and kid in the storage room just as Phil had said.
There were a few racks filled with non-perishable goods lining the walls.
She sat tied to a chair in the middle of the room, the kid crawling around on the floor getting into shit.
He’d pulled down a bag of rice, spilling it all over the floor.
Props to Phil for not tying up a toddler.
The woman began to cry, her voice muffled by the tape across her mouth. When Casper picked up the toddler, she almost lost it. Muffled screams and flailing so hard she almost tipped over the chair.
“You need to calm down.” I crouched in front of her, making her look into my eyes.
“We’re not here to hurt you. Nobody is hurting your kid.
I promise. We’re here because your husband made some bad decisions.
He has someone very important to me, so I had to take someone important to him.
He’s on his way. We’ll make a trade, and you’ll go home. Do you understand?”
With tears streaming down her face, she nodded. Having no choice but to believe me, she began to quiet down. Her dark hair was a mess, mascara streaked down her face. Garrett better regret his life choices when he saw her or he was a piece of shit husband.
Looking at the weeping, terrified woman, I almost felt bad for what I would have to do. She didn’t deserve the life Garrett had given her.
It didn’t take long for him to arrive. He was there in less than ten minutes. He must’ve been nearby. As I’d instructed, he entered the building alone with only Dom. Stray and Auryn went to stand watch, making sure nobody else tried to enter the building.
Garrett was visibly relieved when he saw his wife alive. “You fucking won. Here’s your boyfriend. Now let her go.”
He gave Dom a shove into the storage room, holding up both hands, pretending like he was harmless. Seeing Dom had never felt so fucking good. He hadn’t been gone all that long, but it had felt like forever.
“Casper.” I nodded toward the door. “Take the kid outside. Someone take her out of here too. Garrett stays.”
Rebel pulled the tape off the woman’s mouth before untying her wrists and ankles. Immediately she began to shout at Garrett. “What the fuck did you do this time? I thought we were past this shit. You promised me. You fucking promised.”
As Rebel ushered her out of the room, she went without a fight. When Dom and I were left alone with Garrett, I motioned for him to sit on the chair. He sat down heavily, his gaze darting between Dom and me.
“You won, okay? I lost. I accept that.” He seemed to think admitting defeat was the way out of this. Unfortunately for him, there was no way out of this.
I walked a slow circle around the chair, enjoying the way he nervously turned his head, trying to follow my motions. “There are some mistakes you can’t come back from, Garrett. Sounds like your wife has had enough of your shit anyway. Maybe we’re doing her a favor.”
He paled, shooting to his feet. I shoved him back down onto the chair, holding him with a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, man. I fucked up. You know how it goes. You win some, you lose some. I lost.” He was doing his best not to panic and plead. I saw how close he was to begging.
As much as I occasionally enjoyed a good begging session, I wasn’t in the mood for that right now.
“You hired us to kill each other. You thought you would take over our city. You chose the wrong people to mess with this time, asshole. I know guys like you, Garrett. You’re like cockroaches.
You never really go away. I won’t give you the chance to go home, lick your wounds, and come up with another plan.
I’ve learned enough to know better than that. ”
Pulling out the gun tucked into the waist of my jeans under my hoodie, I pressed the barrel against Garrett’s forehead. He started to blubber, to beg and bargain. I pulled the trigger, cutting off his words mid-sentence.
Blood sprayed onto a stack of canned goods on the rack behind him. Damn. Now we would have to clean up.
Dom studied Garrett’s body, watching as it slumped over and fell on the floor. “You know that should’ve been my kill.”
“Says who?” I challenged. “He grabbed me first. He probably hired me first too.”
Dom scoffed. “He was going to hand me off to The Vultures MC. I deserved that kill.”
Flashing him a wicked grin, I said, “Cry about it.”
“Sounds like you need a little attitude adjustment.” Backing me up against the wall, Dom pinned me with his body against mine.
“Absolutely I do. Maybe that phenomenal fucking cock of yours would help.” A rush ran through me when he grabbed me by the throat. God yes, I wanted him so bad.
Dom brushed his lips against mine. “I’ll see what I can do about that.”
His mouth was on mine then, staking his claim. His tongue plunging between my lips in search of mine. His warm breath on my face as he devoured me. I couldn’t get enough of him. Every kiss was a tease. I wanted so much more.
Too bad we had to clean this fucking mess up first.