Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Eight
“They’re not that stupid,” I say.
“Well, Henri might be, but Oscar will be the voice of reason,” Selkie says. We’re interrupted by the shrill ring of Selkie’s phone.
“For god sakes,” she exclaims when she looks at the caller ID. “It’s Jonny Fry.”
“Your dad?”
“Yeah. Why the hell is he calling? The family reunion is over.” Her finger hovers over the end button.
“Pick up,” I tell her. “See what he wants.”
She shoots me a glare. “Who the hell died and made you Master of the Universe?”
Life isn’t gonna be easy with this woman, but I knew that before we fucked. “He might know where the kids are.”
She rolls her eyes, but answers, putting it on speaker. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” she snarks.
“It’s your dad,” Jonny Fry whispers.
“Like that’s a newsflash. Why’re you whispering?”
“Because I don’t want anyone to hear me.”
“Obv,” I say to Selkie with a small grin.
Selkie gives me a solid smack on the shoulder. “Why not?” she says to Jonny.
“For fuck sakes,” I interrupt. “Get to the fuckin’ point. We don’t got time for this shit.”
Selkie mouths ‘fuck off’ at me, then says to Jonny Fry, “What do you want?”
“Do you know where your kid’s at, Selkie?”
Our eyes meet. “What’ve you heard?” I say.
“That Eight?” Jonny asks.
“Yes, it’s Eight,” Selkie says impatiently. “And no. I don’t know where Henri’s at. She’s with Oscar, Eight’s kid. We’re trying to find them.”
“Well, they’re here,” Jonny Fry says. “And Sadie’s just made them. He’s too fucked up to remember how he knows them, but he’ll figure it out when he crashes.”
Selkie sounds half-impatient, half-panicked. “Where is here?”
“I didn’t say?” Jonny Fry asks.
“You didn’t say, dad!”
“At the 311 Boys’ hangout.”
Selkie freezes and my heart sinks into my gut. “Oh shit, does this have to do with Toper?” The tone of her voice is getting higher. “They grabbed the kids in retaliation!”
“Are you listening to me! They don’t know Henri’s your kid. Not yet! But Renfrew will figure it out when Sadie sobers up.”
Selkie’s face is red and she’s blinking fast. “Has Renfrew hurt them?”
“No,” Jonny Fry says. “I think he’s letting them join the gang.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I say. Nothin’ makes sense anymore.
“I don’t know what’s going on and I’m not about to saunter up to Renfrew and ask. I don’t have a fuckin’ death wish.”
I lose my temper. “You fuckin’ prick! Anything happens to them, I will bury you.”
Selkie punches me. “Stop it. At least Jonny called us.”
I start to retort, but Jonny interrupts. “Would you two shut up. You need to get here fast, because when Sadie comes to his senses, I’m not the only one you’ll bury.”
He hangs up.
“Oh my god,” Selkie says, panic in her voice. “We gotta go get them. Renfrew’s gonna fuck them up.”
I want to squeal out of the parking lot and race to the 311 Boys clubhouse, but my head says to call Hangman.
“Settle,” I say gruffly Selkie. “We gotta take the time to plan this out.”
“Fuck that bullshit!” Selkie replies. “I’ll get a cab and do it myself if you’re too much of a coward.” She reaches for the door handle, but I grab her before she gets the door open.
“Don’t be stupid,” I growl as I tighten my grip around her arms. “We need the power of the club behind us. We need Hangman. Only way Renfrew’s gonna respect us. We go in alone, Henri and Oscar will be as dead as us.”
Selkie looks like she’s fighting an inner battle. Finally, the side of logic wins. “Okay. Fine. Call him then but tell him we need help fast.”
“Sure,” I mutter to myself as I step out of the truck. “Because it never would have occurred to me.”
I reach back inside and grab the keys from the ignition in case Selkie changes her mind and takes off on me.
“What are you doing?” she declares.
I sidestep her question. “Calling Hangman. Stay.”
“I’m not your fucking dog,” she barks as I close the door behind me.
Outward I’m calm. Inside, I’m a cauldron of fear and anger. What the fuck was Oscar thinking going to the 311 Boys?
Or maybe he got picked up by them. Or maybe it was Henri who decided to go with or without him. Too much like her mother. Oscar had no choice but to follow to try and protect the girl.
Hangman picks up with a gruff, “What?” It’s clear he’s been sleeping.
“Got a problem, prez. A big one. Gonna need the club behind me.”
Hangman doesn’t let go of grudges easily. “So now you need me.”
I lose my patience and my head. “Fuck off, Hangman. You can bitch later. Oscar and Henri’s lives are on the line. The 311 Boys have them at their clubhouse. We gotta get to them before Renfrew puts a bullet in their heads.”
“Motherfucker!” Hangman says, fully awake now. “Why the fuck can’t those kids stay out of trouble?”
I don’t answer. I know I had a hand in the shit.
He carries on anyway. “I’ll call Joker to put the word out. Where’re you at?”
“Grand Sierra Casino.”
“What the fuck are you doin’ there at this hour?”
“Long story. Can we park that and deal with the shit show happening right now?”
“Yeah,” he replies. “But that bounty hunter is fuckin’ with your head. You used to be solid.”
He’s right, but that bounty hunter is stuck in my heart and always will be. “Where you wanna meet?”
“Right where you’re at. We can decide from there how we’re gonna do this.”
Selkie joins me on the pavement when I end the call.
“He’s coming,” I tell her.
“I’m thrilled,” she snipes.
I see the tension in her body as she stiffly paces back and forth. When I try to take her in my arms, she struggles out.
I lose my patience. “What the hell is going on with you? You think you’re the only one with someone to lose? We’re in this together, wasn’t that what we decided? So let’s be together.”
She turns to me, hesitates, then walks straight into my arms. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. I don’t care about me or what I do. Never have. But if something happens to Henri, I don’t think I could live with myself.”
“I know,” I reply, rocking her. “I know.”
We stay this way, talking softly until the roar of motorcycles breaks the peace.
I’ve never been so happy to see my brothers in my life.
They park their bikes, then surround us, talking too much, asking questions.
Hangman says, “Shut the fuck up, you bastards. We got shit to do. Gotta make a plan.”
“The plan,” Selkie spits, “is to ride up to their front door and kick it in.”
Hangman turns cold eyes on her. “Shut the fuck up, woman. We’re not your lackeys. We’ll get your kid back, but you don’t decide how we’re fucking gonna do it.”
He’s kind of right, but even so… “Hangman, go easy. She’s scared.”
“I’m not fuckng scared,” Selkie snaps at me, contradicting her earlier words. “But why the hell are we wasting time?”
Hangman looks past her to me. “Thirty more minutes won’t matter. They’re either dead by now or they aren’t. If they’re dead, don’t matter; if they aren’t, then Renfrew’s not gonna kill ‘em right away.”
“Jesus fuck, Hangman,” Joker admonishes. “Maybe tone it down a little.” He turns to Selkie. “Renfrew’s not gonna kill them. He knows that if he does, Hell’s Jury will remove him and his boys from the planet.”
Coyote joins the circle. “We go in quietly. Take out the guards, block all exits. I’ll use sound and heat-seeking equipment to establish numbers and locations. Then when we’re ready, we go in hard and fast.”
Hangman looks like he’s gonna argue, but it’s a good plan, and he knows it. “How long’s it gonna take you to get your shit.”
“I’ve already got it,” Coyote says as he jerks his head towards the saddlebags on his bike. “I don’t go anywhere without it.”
“You’re a freak of fuckin’ nature.” That’s Hangman’s way of saying ‘good job’.
“Let’s get going then,” Selkie says impatiently.
“Fuckin’ keep your panties on,” Joker says to her, his patience ebbing. “We gotta talk positions before we go in.”
“I’m going in the front door,” Hangman says.
“So am I,” Selkie says.
“You’re not fuckin’ coming,” he says, giving her his death glare.
She clenches her fists and I sense she’s seconds away from taking a swing at him. I yank her against me and step backwards out of the prez’s range. “He’s right, Selkie. You’re too wound up.”
She turns, takes a swing at me. I catch her fist before it can connect. “Right, because you’ve got a heart of stone!”
“In situations like this, I have to,” I reply tersely. “I’ve done enough of this to know how to keep my head.”
“Fuck off,” she snarls. It’s become her mantra and it’s starting to piss me off. When this is over, we’re gonna be talking about respect.
“Someone hogtie her and put her in the truck,” Hangman growls.
“Anyone touch me, I’ll bite your goddamn hand off.” Then to Hangman, she says, “I’m going whether you like it or not. I know my way around a gun and can give with the best of them.”
He glares at her. He doesn’t like losing an argument. “You’re not fucking—”
“Stop Hangman,” I intercede. “Henri and Oscar are gonna need someone when the shit goes down. We gotta get them out fast.”
Hangman bares his teeth at me. “She gets in the way, you can plan the funeral.”
“Glad that’s over, you misogynist prick,” she says in a hard voice. “Can we go get my kids now?”
I feel elated that she said ‘my kids’. But there’s no time to think about it now. Something to unpack later.
Joker turns to everyone. “Coyote, head out with Jawbone. Do your shit. We’ll be right behind you.”
“On it,” Jawbone says as he straddles his bike.
Coyote follows him. “I’ll text when we’re set up.”
Joker stops them, then says to all of us. “No killin’. A stray bullet might catch one of the kids. Everyone walks away alive, us and them. Don’t draw on them unless they draw on you. Don’t pull the fuckin’ trigger unless you have no choice.” To Selkie, he says, “You got a piece?”
“Yeah,” she says as she digs under her jacket.
I’m proud of her for being ready, for being as tough as she is.
“We go in two ways,” Hangman says. “You.” He points at Trigger, Rocky, King, and Hash. “Get there quietly and come in on foot. Coyote will let you know where the entrances are. King, you assign positions. Surround the building. Jawbone, stick with Coyote.”
“Let’s go,” King says to the others. They mount their bikes and head out, King leading. No throttles, no breaking the sound barrier.
Joker picks up where Hangman left off. “Reaper and Zero, you take out the guards when Coyote gives the word. No fuss, no death throes. Put them to sleep for a while but make sure they’re gonna wake up.”
“Stand guard on the door,” Hangman says. “No one goes in or out. They try, it’s bedtime for them too.”
Reaper nods and heads to his bike. Zero lingers. “I suppose if we just tap them lightly with our guns, that’ll work or choke them until they pass out. Won’t have to do it for long, will we? You’ll be right behind us, so we only have to contain it for a few minutes, then—”
“Would you shut the fuck up and go,” I snarl. Used to be our brother, Jawbone, who rattled on like he was an auctioneer, but he’s got nothin’ on Zero.
Zero looks at me with murder in his eyes and if I wasn’t so agitated, I’d be proud. He’s smart, thinks on his feet, but still a little soft. It’s good he isn’t takin’ shit.
“See ya, then.” He stalks off.
“Ya think he’d be used to getting interrupted,” Stark mutters. Stark and Zero got their colors at the same time. Before that, Stark had to spend a lot of quality time with Zero. His ears must be tired.
Hangman lets out a grunt of laughter. “We go in the front door. Softly. Me first—”
Joker interrupts. “Me first, then you. Eight’s got your back.”
Joker’s right, but Hangman doesn’t see it that way. “You forgot your place in the world order, you cunt? I’ll do what I fuckin’ want.”
Joker blanks his face. “Not when we’re on a raid. What the fuck are we supposed to do if you go down?”
“Jesus Christ. You’re the VP. I gotta tell you your job now?”
“My job is to protect you,” Joker hisses. “If we have a dead president, it’ll be a slaughter.”
Hangman glares at Joker. “I don’t need fucking protection.”
“Would you just get on with it,” Selkie snaps. “This isn’t the time or place to measure your dicks.”
“Let’s send her in first,” Hangman says bluntly.
Even though I know Hangman isn’t serious, I step in front of Selkie. “No. She’ll bring up the rear with Stark.”
Selkie opens her mouth to protest, but I drag her away. “Ain’t about you being protected. It’s how we do things. Front guard. Rear guard. Someone has to have our backs.”
She clenches her jaw. “Fine.” She glances at Hangman. “He should be careful not to turn his.”
Hangman gives her a look that would usually make people piss their pants. Selkie meets his eyes and ups him.
He clenches his teeth, then says to her, “When we’re in and have the place secure, you and Eight find your brats and get them out of there.”
“Yeah. Like I needed to be told,” Selkie retorts.
“Get in the truck,” I mutter, giving her a light push between the shoulder blades.
I turn back to the rest of them. “I’ll follow.”
Hangman straddles his bike as he glares at Joker. “And you’ll fuckin’ follow me.”
Joker gives a rare grin as he dons his helmet. “Will do, boss.”
As we head down the strip, Selkie starts shaking. “Please don’t let them be dead.”
“Yeah,” I say, the thought overwhelming me.