Chapter 44
Falcon
We made it back to the clubhouse and a couple of bunnies met us outside along with Knox and a couple other guys. “There’s one in the bed. Is the other one still alive?”
Daisy looked up at me. “What other one?” Her voice was still hoarse.
“Will someone get her some water?” I asked in the direction of the women. I looked back down at her, still holding her close. “Found one in the parking lot at the hotel. Looks like you got a shot on him; I wasn’t sure he’d still be alive anymore. You got one to his chest, but I’m not sure how much damage it did. You did good, darlin’.”
“I thought I killed him,” she said as she shook her head .
“Don’t worry. We can fix that.”
Knox waved us inside. “The girls will take care of her while we handle business. I called Hawk, too.”
Daisy gripped me tightly and shook her head furiously. “No, no, no. I want to stay with you.”
I ran my hand over her knotted hair and kissed her forehead. “You need to get some water and rest. You’ll be just as safe here as at home and I won’t be too long.”
Her blue eyes flooded with tears. “Falcon, I need you.”
My chest felt like a vice grip clamped around me and someone was tightening it over and over. I wanted to fall to the floor with her in my arms, but I also needed to see if either of those assholes could give us any useful information before we showed them their destiny. I couldn’t take her with me for that part. “I’m here. And this is for you. Once I get this settled, I’m taking you home. Promise.”
“Honey, come with us. We have some clean clothes you can change into,” one of the bunnies said as she wrapped an arm around Daisy. The bunnies understood this part. She was still so new to all of this. She’d be upset, mad even, but I couldn’t leave this to the other guys. I had to go.
I cupped her face before they pulled her away and kissed her cheek, then her forehead. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
She nodded and wiped a stray tear from her cheek before turning to go with the bunnies.
“She’ll be fine with them. They’re good girls,” Knox said.
Once she was out of sight, I looked at him and said, “Take me to them.”
We walked through the clubhouse and out into the backyard. At first glance, it was just like any other yard. Lawn chairs, grills, a fire pit, horseshoes, and several trash barrels were scattered around. But as we walked past all the fun stuff and started to get near the tree line, there was a shed tucked away just inside the woods.
“Both are in there. Some guys are warming them up. I think you’ll find all you need,” Knox said as he put his hand out.
Shaking it, I said, “I owe you.”
He smiled. “Yeah, well, Hawk and I have an understanding. But I’ll hold you to that sometime.”
The sounds of men in fear for their lives along with a familiar metallic smell permeated the room as I pulled the door open. Making sure it closed fully behind me, I took in the space. It wasn’t much different than ours. A simple shed with some soundproofing, particle board over that, and some tools were hung around the room. A few hanging bulbs lit the area, and the floor was covered with tarps.
Two metal chairs held the men we collected. Their wrists and ankles were bound, but they were not tied to the chairs. I walked to the one I’d found in the parking lot and leaned down. “You still with us?” I asked before I shoved my finger through the hole in his shirt, into the bullet wound. The rounds were small, but my fingers weren’t and I’d stretch it out some. He was tough, though, not screaming out but thinning his lips and letting out a long grunt. His face was losing color, but he was still sweating.
“They say anything?” I asked as I walked to the driver of the van. Looking down, I found the small tear in his shirt where I just barely shoved my blade into him. I grabbed his shoulder then pulled my knee up to the same spot and he wheezed as his head fell forward.
The two guys still inside with us laughed. “Naw, but we mostly haven’t talked much,” one of them said as he swung a length of chain around.
I stood between them and crossed my arms. “Where were you supposed to take her?” Silence. “How did you know where we were? Someone had to tip you off.” They remained mute, so I looked up at my brothers. “Did you guys find a wallet on them?”
One of them brought me two wallets. “Both of them had ID. Want our guy to check them out?”
I pulled my phone out. “Thanks, but I think Keys can probably link this all together faster, since we’ve already been looking.” I took pictures of both of their licenses and sent them to Keys. Looking through them, bullet-wound-guy, James, didn’t have much for personal effects and some cash, but the driver, Daniel, had pictures of a pretty little woman and two kids standing with him, all smiling. They looked like an insurance commercial. I lifted one out so he knew I saw it, then handed the wallets back over. “But you’re welcome to them.”
I paced around for a minute then stopped and stood by James. “Do you want to help yourself or not?”
His eyes cut in my direction. “Why would I help you? I’m dead already.”
I grabbed him by the collar then slammed my fist into his temple. His head wobbled for a minute, but his eyes blinked back open. Releasing him, I walked to Daniel, the guy from the van. “How about you?”
His face wasn’t as hard as the other guy’s. His eyes looked ahead though, not at me. “I don’t know anything.”
Losing my patience, I grabbed his leg and the front of his shirt, pulling him up into the air, and dropped his back onto my knee before pushing him hard into the floor. Squeezing his wrist, I twisted his arm back and up as I dug my knee into his spine. The shed shook and he moaned in pain.
“Still don’t know anything?”
He wheezed then whimpered. “I was just on the crew. I didn’t make the arrangements, I swear.”
Letting go of his arm and standing, my boot flew into his back, and he cried out then coughed several times. Walking back to the one still seated, James, I stood in front of him and looked down. He glared up at me, his skin growing more ashen by the minute. “You killed the lead. We were just part of the crew.”
I put my hand on his shoulder and dug my thumb into the bullet wound. He clenched his jaw and tried to be tough, but the harder I pressed, the more he shook. He finally let out a snarl. “We were just told to watch the house and grab the girl if she showed up,” he said between panting breaths.
“And do what with her?” I asked as I dug deeper into the wound .
He growled through clenched teeth then said, “We texted a guy and he sent us an address. We were supposed to take her there and then talk to the main guy.”
I was losing my patience with these fuckers. I grabbed his head and threw my fist, a loud pop echoing through the building as he fell off the chair.
“That might have done him in, hoss,” one of the members said.
I walked to the other guy who was still curled up on the floor, crouched, and rolled him before pulling him up by his collar. “Where were you going? Don’t make me ask again.”
“Please don’t hurt my family. I’ll tell you everything I know.” I stared at him waiting for him to continue. “We were headed back to Jersey.”
“And then what?”
Desperation filled his eyes. “Just a checkpoint. Drop her off, then set the meeting with the guys. We were just trying to make some extra money, man.”
I pulled him closer to my face. “Just some extra money. Moving women around like cattle? Listen to me, because I want you to fully understand this before you die,” I said as he whimpered. “Since you thought it was okay to kidnap my woman because it was just some extra money, I’m sure you’ll understand why I’ll go to your house and pick off your kids and your wife, one by one, nice and slow.”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt them. Please,” he begged. “They don’t even know about this. ”
“You’re not very smart to be in this line of work. Never trust the other guy. I’ll be sure to tell your wife why she’s being killed, after I off the kids while she watches.”
He tried to scream out something but was cut off when I snapped his neck and let him fall to the floor. I stood and went to the other idiot who wasn’t bleeding anymore and checked his pulse. “He’s gone.” I righted myself. “Need some help cleaning this up?”
“Naw, man. We got it. But what you gonna do now? How you gonna know where to go?”
I wiped my hand over the man’s pants to get the fresh blood off before pulling my phone out. “I know exactly where to go.”
After stepping out of the shed, I sucked in a breath. It was musty and stank of blood in there. I wouldn’t go after his family. They had nothing to do with this; he even admitted they were innocent. But sending him to meet his destiny thinking I would? That made it so much sweeter.
Dialing Hawk, I waited for him to answer then asked, “Hey, where’s Tony Romano?”
“They found his place. He has a compound where it looks like they keep the women, but he doesn’t stay there. There’s a few places he’s known to stay, none in his name, but Keys did some cross-checking and it’s our guy. He’s at the strip club right now, but Petrov has some guys watching to tail him once he leaves. We’ll know where he is when you’re ready.”
“Good. How far out are Eagle and Rooster?”
“A few hours ‘till they can get to you. ”
I made my way back to the clubhouse. “I’m gonna go speak to Knox then make sure Daisy’s all set.”
“How’s she holding up?”
Sighing, I answered honestly, “Not sure. She’s tough, though.” That I knew. I felt bad for passing her off to the bunnies, but shit needed to be handled. And I was going to have to explain that she was going to have to trust me and trust these people while I took a little ride.