Chapter 14
Fourteen
BUBBA
The beer in my hand was warm, but it sufficed for the time being. I wasn’t drinking it; I just needed something to do while waiting for Maddox to return. He hadn’t been part of our brotherhood very long, but his presence was missed. He was a nice balance, giving me a reprieve at times from being the responsible one.
Not that either of us was entirely in charge. That role belonged to the petite blonde who’d won all our hearts.
The sound of his engine turning into the parking lot slowed my heart rate. I wanted to touch base with him, but with Brooks asleep, I didn’t want to wake him, so I stood and walked outside. Leaning against the railing, I watched as Maddox climbed off his bike. He stretched, and I winced in sympathy. Riding that long without breaks was killer. My muscles ached by proxy.
Maddox’s steps were slow as he advanced up the stairs. Exhaustion coated his movements, making him sluggish and sloppy. At least, I hoped that was the reason I was able to scare him.
“Hey.”
Maddox jumped back, clutched his heart, and dropped the phone he had in his hand. “Jesus fucking Christ, man.” He bent over and picked up his phone, checking the screen before sliding it into his pants. Sighing, he brushed a hand over his face and joined me against the railing.
“Sorry. But I’m pretty hard to miss.”
He chuckled, nodding. “Yeah. I’m not at my best.”
“Did you find her?”
“Yes and no. She wasn’t where she was supposed to be, but I know who took her.”
“Agent Bones?” Darcie asked.
This time, we both startled and spun around at the sound of her voice. Her hair was a mess, and she wore that awful shirt Grayson had on earlier, but she was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
“Hey, Princess.” Maddox smiled, some of his tiredness evaporating at the sight of her. She fell into his arms, hugging him tight, and I wondered if she’d been worried he wouldn’t return. He squeezed her tight and kissed her head before letting her go.
“I’d come out here to avoid waking anyone, but that seems in vain. I’ll wake Brooks and meet you in your room.”
They nodded and stepped into the open door. Grayson nodded as he stepped back and closed it. Brooks was already awake when I opened our door.
“What’s going on?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.
“Maddox is back. We’re talking in their room.”
He nodded, climbed out of bed, and stepped into his jeans. Once he was dressed, I knocked on the door between our rooms. Grayson opened it with a cocky smile, and I prepared myself for the smart-ass remark he was sure to make.
“The gang’s all here.” He wrapped his arms around Brooks and me. “Did you miss me? Never mind. I know you did.”
Rolling my eyes, I shoved him off and stopped myself from pulling Darcie from Maddox’s lap. Just barely. Instead, I sat as close to them as possible without being in his lap. He smirked but didn’t seem to mind. Taking that as an invitation, I pulled Darcie’s legs into my lap and ran my hand up and down the arch of her foot.
She sighed softly, and I vowed to do this more often, if only to hear that sound. The four of us listened to her for a while before we seemed to remember we had news to discuss.
“I’m assuming you passed?” Maddox asked, glancing at me.
“Hells yeah,” Grayson answered, flopping onto the king-size bed before us. He leaned on his elbow, propping up his head as he lay on his side. “We even set a record.”
Maddox’s eyes widened, and he smiled. “All right.” He lifted his fist and bumped his knuckles with Grayson. Brooks took the empty spot before me, running his fingers over the side of her leg close to him. The four of us surrounding our queen felt right.
“So, Agent Bones?” Darcie asked.
“How did you know?” Maddox asked. His brow furrowed as he stared at her. I watched as they communicated with their eyes, their years of familiarity so palpable at times I’d be jealous if I didn’t know how much Darcie loved us all. “What you found on the server,” he said after a few seconds.
“Yes. Well, technically, Tank did.”
“Oh? Does that mean you forgave him?”
She blew out a breath. “I’m working on it. But I realized I was only hurting us by being stubborn.”
“And you were going cross-eyed looking at the screen?” he teased.
“There’s that, too.” She laughed.
“You never did enjoy the tech lessons.”
“They’re boring!” she protested. Her head tilted toward Brooks. “Besides, I learned a much better use of technology. It’s more fun than numbers and code words.”
Brooks blushed but kept her eye contact. His confidence had surged since Darcie had come into his life. I didn’t know it was her back then, but I remember how more self-assured he’d felt every time after their sessions.
“Speaking of screens,” Grayson butted in.
“No,” Maddox said before he could finish.
“What? I was going to ask?—”
“We know,” the three of us said simultaneously, followed by a laugh. Grayson pouted but perked up when Darcie patted his hip.
“We’ll talk,” she whispered, winking.
“So this agent?” I interrupted.
“JJ said an agent showed up and showed something official, saying she was to be moved about a month ago. He tried to reach out, but my number wasn’t in service.”
“That adds up to what we found. An agent had approached Jackal, asking questions. He knew enough that Jackal was caught off guard and confirmed the safe haven before remembering to ask for the code phrase. From the description, it sounds like Agent Bones.”
“Fuck,” Maddox cursed. He pulled out his phone, but Darcie stopped him. She turned in his lap and cupped his face.
“We have to trust she’s safe. He hasn’t revealed this trump card yet, so we don’t want to tip him off. We need to stay the course and finish this. Then we can confront him about Becca. Until we know his true motives, we can’t risk him doing anything to her.”
Maddox rested his forehead against hers, squeezing his eyes tight as he nodded. “If he hurt her…”
“I know. Believe me, I know.”
The threat was implied. It should have made me question things, but it didn’t. I wasn’t a fan of violence or killing. I hadn’t joined other MCs because of it. But if someone hurt my family, there were no lengths I wouldn’t go to ensure it wouldn’t happen again.
“Agent Bones will learn quickly why you don’t mess with a Mississippi girl.”
Maddox bellowed a laugh, kissing Darcie as the three of us glanced back and forth. They broke the kiss, and Darcie turned back and placed her legs on my lap again.
“Um, Sunflower. Why don’t you mess with a Mississippi girl?”
She smiled, and if I didn’t love the girl, I’d be scared shitless. “You met Crow tonight, but before him, there was Gator.”
“Fuck,” Brooks hissed, and my heart dropped to my stomach.
“So?” Grayson said, frowning.
“Come on, Pretty Boy. Use that thinking head of yours,” Maddox teased.
“That’s the problem. Used it too much tonight. Gator. Gator. Gator.” He kept repeating the word like he was tasting the word. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes grew the size of saucers. He bolted up, slapping the bed as he attempted to find words.
“Do you mean? He? You? For real?” he sputtered.
Darcie laughed and nodded. “Oh yeah. Pigs aren’t the only animals useful for disposing of bodies. If you don’t know your way around the marshes and swamps here, you’ll end up as gator food.”
“Damn. That’s hot,” Grayson said, shifting himself.
“Dude! Keep it in your pants. You’ve already tortured me for hours,” Brooks said, slapping Grayson’s arm. “Let’s return to bed or we’ll be falling asleep in enemy territory, and I’d rather not make it that easy for them.” He pushed Grayson off the bed with his foot. Pretty Boy fell onto the floor sputtering as we laughed. “I’m kicking you to the other room now. Go. You’ve had your reward. My turn.”
“Rude. But fine.” He stood and stomped off toward the open door. “I need to do my night routine anyway.”
Kissing Darcie, I left the room and shut the door. Tonight, we’d attend Stanley’s “surprise” meeting incognito and figure out what the hell was going on with the Mavericks. The return of someone had me on edge, and I wasn’t sure we shouldn’t be more prepared to deal with shit tonight instead of only gathering information. But until we knew more, I’d keep my suspicion to myself.
We were in disguises again with borrowed patches to blend in. It felt wrong to wear them, but it was the only way we could gain entrance. I scratched my beard, my hand pausing when I touched the unfamiliar hair. It was harder to change my beard than hair, and I refused to shave it or dye it. Darcie had talked me into gluing a beard over it. A beard wig . What the fuck was my life?
Smiling, I checked where everyone stood. The meeting took place in a large warehouse on the outskirts of town. If I had to guess, this was where they kept their product. It was close to the interstate and hidden. There were two other warehouses in the compound, and they had a lot more traffic coming and going than seemed reasonable.
We’d camped across the street for a few hours, and bikes and trucks had been entering and exiting for hours. More suspiciously, the trucks left lower than they’d been going in. Brooks took a few pictures for Agent Bones, hoping to appease him until we knew more. The license plates were changed as well, confirming they didn’t want to be tracked.
An hour ago, the trucks had stopped, and bikes took over. They’d poured in, and I lost count after one hundred. If shit went sideways tonight, we’d have a harder time getting out of here alive.
I had to curb my urge to haul Darcie back to the hotel room.
Not only would she not appreciate it, but it wasn’t who she was. If I tried to change her, it would ruin our love, and I’d rather worry about her than ever do that.
“I don’t like the look of this,” Grayson murmured. We’d split into pairs, with Maddox on lookout and getaway since he was the most likely to be noticed. Darcie had donned her male disguise again, hoping to fly under the radar. Tiny, Mack, and the other guys from MCD we’d met last night were among the crowd. Grayson and I had taken the upper portion to give us a better view of the layout. We’d have a more challenging time escaping, but we could ensure everyone else did. It was a calculated risk I’d been willing to take.
I ignored Grayson, hoping he’d take the hint and focus. The crowd had grown denser and rowdier as the night went on. The men of this MC were the type of men we wanted nothing to do with. Looking at them, I could see the cruelty in their eyes. They wielded fear like a weapon and used it to get what they wanted, even against each other.
That wasn’t a brotherhood.
I had to hope that the Mavericks could return to their former glory once the Diamonds were gone.
“Is it weird that I still find her hot as hell dressed as a guy? My dick doesn’t seem to care.”
I rolled my eyes at him, again choosing not to answer. This was what Grayson did—talk nonstop. The less I encouraged it, the better off we’d be.
The crowd of leather-clad men grew rowdier up front, and I listened to the guys beside us. “What do you think it means he’s back? I heard he’d been undercover. Something to do with that slut.”
Instantly, I went on alert and scanned the crowd to find Darcie. She was still with Brooks, and Tiny was close by. My heart rate picked up, and I wondered what it meant and who this guest was. Cheers rang out as two men stepped through the door. I didn’t know who the younger guy was, but there was no doubt the older man was who we were sent to bring down—Stanley Driscoll, aka Agonizer.
Power oozed out of him, commanding the obedience of everyone near him. There was a slimy feel about him despite his country club look. Bike chic? Yeah, it didn’t work. His smile was a little too perfect, his face a little too cutting. But the way his eyes swept the room sent chills down my spine. They were too all-knowing, filled with malice and greed. They took the measure of a man in an instant, knowing his weakness and how to manipulate it to his benefit.
The coldness they held was terrifying. This wasn’t a man but a monster.
In my assessment of Stanley, I’d taken my eyes off the other man. So when Agonizer held up his hands to quiet the crowd, I blinked in shock.
“Sorry for the delay, but I know you’ll forgive me when you hear why.” He smiled, and the crowd whooped and hollered. “It’s good to be back in Jackson. Not only do I have my son returning back to his rightful place at my side, but we’re taking our club to the next level.”
More cheers and shouting. He smiled, eating it up.
“Now, the reason we were late. I have a gift for y’all. Son?”
He turned to the younger man, and I instantly knew who he was. Chase . The man Darcie believed she’d killed. My relief for her was short-lived when I realized who Chase held in his grip. His face was bloodied and bruised, but there was no doubt the man beaten to a pulp was none other than Hank.
Fuck.