Chapter 18
Otto
“Everybody clear on their parts?” Gramps asked, looking over the group.
We were lined up in row after row of bikes, waiting for the go-ahead to fire them up and head out. Micky was on my left and Rumi right in front of me, our dad closer to the front.
“Clear,” a couple of voices rang out.
I just nodded.
After Rumi had reminded me, yet again, that shit always went sideways, my guts were a gurgling mass of gross. I’d already been to the bathroom once, but I knew with absolute certainty that I’d hear about it for the rest of my life if I tried to go back. It was time to get our fucking shipment back.
The Sons of Calgary assumed by creating a distraction, no one would notice them loading crates into a rental truck at the warehouse.
Knowing that they’d never be able to make it anywhere near the clubhouse, they’d gone to my house instead.
Esther’s little sister had talked. Whether she’d done so under duress was anyone’s guess, but Titus had been pretty fucking worried when he’d spoken to my dad.
I shook my head, trying to clear it. There was no way I could stay sharp if I was worrying about Esther or her baby sister.
“Let’s go,” Gramps ordered, climbing his old ass onto his bike.
Rumi looked over his shoulder at us, grinning maniacally as he threw up devil horns and started his bike.
The Sons of Calgary had made a singular massive mistake.
They’d been right in creating a distraction, and it almost worked.
But they’d assumed that it would be all hands on deck at my place and we rarely sent every single person out, even in an emergency.
The prospect with his eyes on the warehouse didn’t stray from his post. He called in, reporting the movement.
Someone else followed the truck from the warehouse to a storage unit they used to switch trucks.
That detour had cost them. There could’ve been a chance that we didn’t catch them before they stashed the crates again, but stopping had lost them valuable time.
By the time we hit the pavement, they weren’t far away, and we knew the route they were taking.
The idiots were too worried about the cops to take the interstate, which was really good news for us because back roads were much better for our purpose.
When it came down the line that the two Sons of Calgary trucks were in sight, Leo and Draco were already in place. As we got closer, like a fucking ballet, they pulled onto the road from each side, blocking it entirely with the garage’s tow truck and our unregistered box truck.
The next few minutes were filled with the grinding of gears, squealing tires, and yelling. If anyone had thought the militia group would go quietly, they were very wrong. Shots came from the cab of both trucks as we came to a stop behind them.
Rumi laughed like a lunatic as he jumped off his bike, throwing his helmet to the side.
“Let’s go, motherfuckers!”
Micky chuckled beside me as we ran down and around the corner, pulling the barricades Leo had stashed.
“You need a high-vis vest,” he joked as we threw the barricades up and lit a couple of flares.
“I look good in neon orange,” I agreed.
His laughter was tinged with surprise. We hustled back toward the group and found that one of the trucks had been cleared, but sporadic gunfire was still coming from the other.
“Stop,” my dad ordered, grabbing me by the vest as I worked to get closer. He shook his head. “Esther’s pop’s in the passenger seat.”
I’d agreed when she’d asked me not to kill him. I’d understood where she was coming from and even Rumi hadn’t said a word about it. There were a lot of things a relationship could survive, but none of us was sure that particular scenario was one of them.
None of that mattered, though, when I realized how close the man was. He’d kidnapped Esther and stashed her out in a house that was wired to blow. He’d sent his goons to kill us that morning.
“Fuck,” my dad barked as I shoved him out of the way.
Someone had already shot out the side mirror on the truck.
It was simple to run up alongside unseen.
If I would’ve thought it through, I probably would have been a bit more strategic about the whole thing, but I wasn’t exactly clear-headed at that point.
Fueled by adrenaline and rage, I ripped open the passenger door and dragged his old ass out of the truck.
The rifle in his hand went flying, and the driver was distracted by the movement that someone had a chance to pull him out the other side. I didn’t care about any of that.
My fist hit his face with the most satisfying noise I’d ever heard. He was strong, stronger than he looked, but I had at least forty pounds on him. It was far from an even fight.
“Stay away from my wife,” I growled, hitting him again. I dodged the hands reaching for me and rose, kicking him in the ribs. As he tried to stand, I kicked him again in the jaw.
The idiot tried to get to his feet again.
“Otto,” Micky called, his voice above the others. “Remember what she said.”
No one stopped me as I kicked him back down, kneeling in the center of his back. His hair was slick with sweat as I gripped it and leaned down.
“I ever see you again, you’re dead.”
“Get off of me,” he rasped. “Filth! You’re going straight to hell with my whore daughter.”
“You first,” I whispered, slamming his head against the pavement. When he was limp, I got to my feet.
“He’s alive,” I told Micky, spitting on the man at my feet. I lifted my hands and took a couple steps back. “Kept my promise.”
“You did,” he agreed as I moved toward him. “I’ll take care of—”
When his words cut off, I knew. Spinning, I pulled the gun out of my shoulder holster.
Before I could fire, shots rang out and Esther’s dad dropped back down to his knees, a pistol I hadn’t seen hanging limply from his hand.
Looking up from the trash, I met Rumi’s eyes at the other end of the truck.
“She can hate me,” he said simply. “I’ll sleep just fine.”
He walked away without another word.
“Jesus,” my dad muttered, rubbing his hands over his face.
Another shot rang out from the opposite side of the truck.
“Sounds like the driver didn’t feel like talkin’,” Micky said, slapping me on the back as he shoved me away from the body on the ground. “Come on. We’ve got shit to move.”
Only one of the trucks was actually carrying anything, and it was quick work getting the crates into the box truck we’d blocked the road with. Our work was far from over, though.
“Leo, drive through the night,” Dragon ordered his son. “Don’t stop until you get there.”
“Might stay a couple days,” he said with a nod.
“You hang out in Montana without Lily, she’s gonna kick your ass,” Cam joked, pointing at his brother-in-law.
“She’ll just have Rose spend the night so they can do girly shit,” Leo countered, laughing. “Happens every time.”
“Why do I gotta be punished with a cold ass bed every time you’re outta town?” Uncle Mack complained, grunting as he and Draco heaved a body into the front seat of a truck. “Seems like they woulda grown outta that shit by now.”
“Yeah, that’ll never happen,” my uncle Will called out.
They were joking around and bitching as the adrenaline wore off, and I understood it but I stood there, in the center of the activity, frozen. I hadn’t killed him, but I was still going to have to go back and tell Esther her father was dead.
There was nothing funny about that.
No matter what he’d been like in his life, Esther still had good memories of him. She still loved him. No way around it, it was going to be a blow.
“Listen,” Rumi said quietly, coming up beside us. “Mom can’t find Titus.”
“What?” I looked at him, trying to focus.
“Titus never showed up at the clubhouse.”
“Shit,” Micky muttered. “Exactly what we fuckin’ need.”
“Esther said he was worried about her sister, that she didn’t show up to school.”
“He went to check on her.” It was what I would’ve done. “Fuck.”
“Could be nothin’,” Rumi continued. “But Mom’s about to lose her fuckin’ mind.”
“Heads up, boys,” Gramps called, his voice cutting through the noise making everyone quiet. “If you don’t got a job from this point forward, you’re comin’ with me. Titus is missin’. Long story short, there’s a good chance he’s caught up in this shit.”
“And we’ve got no one left to question,” Micky spat. “Fuck.”
“We’re headin’ back to town. Everyone knows what needs to be done here?”
“This ain’t our first rodeo,” someone called out.
“Come on,” my dad ordered. “Your mom sent me Esther’s parents’ address. We’ll check there first.”
“What was Titus thinkin’?” Rumi grumbled as we reached our bikes. “What a clusterfuck.”
“He was thinkin’ that Esther’s parents are fuckin’ psychotic and if the Calgary boys showed up at my house, they knew that Noel was with him last night,” I shot back. “You woulda rather he left her to the wolves?”
“I’d rather my seventeen-year-old brother wasn’t caught in shit that’s way above his pay grade,” he replied grimly. “Let’s just fuckin’ find him.”
Half of the group pulled off and stopped in a grocery store parking lot to wait while my brothers, dad, and gramps arrived in the small neighborhood where Esther had grown up. I clocked her house instantly. Titus’s car was parked right in front.
“What now?” Micky asked as we parked.
Gramps looked at him like he was an idiot. “Knock on the damn door.”
My dad chuckled as I climbed off my bike and left my helmet on the seat. If this was the only time I would ever see Esther’s house, I was going to take it.
I stood at the door for what felt like a hell of a long time, running my hand through my hair and fidgeting with my clothes before a woman opened it.
“Can I help you?” she asked, looking past me at the bikes.
“Hello, I was wondering if Noel is home?”
“Noel?”
“Your daughter?”
“Oh, no,” she said, shaking her head. “Noel lives across the street.” She pointed. “Blue house.”
“Crap,” I muttered. “Thanks.”
The look on her face was a bit concerning.