Chapter 18
Eighteen
Light
The plan is simple and smart.
I had Pipe do just the basic research into the company the bill of sale is connected to, and we found out that it's not just the business that Deke wants but the land.
He's already bought up the businesses that surround it, and this last one is all he needs to have that entire block.
From what Pipe found out, it looks like the cartel is fronting a new condominium which would mean big bucks for Deke as well as a bump in reputation.
He needs this business, or he's out of some high paying partners.
From what he's been doing to Melissa this whole time, I'm pretty sure Deke is damn near desperate, so when I reached out to him and told him I had the bill of sale and wanted to meet up with him to do the transfer, he was all for it. He wanted to set up some place private, but I nixed that idea.
It's a Friday night. There's only one place that he would be. In his underground gambling ring.
It's almost too easy.
Melissa went back to the house to pick up a few things to bring for Tyler.
The doctor's told her that it's possible to try and wake him up tomorrow, and she wanted to have a few things there in case they were able to.
I felt bad for not being able to spend more time with Tyler, but once all this is done, I can spend all my free time with him.
The rest of the guys want to meet him too.
Apparently, I've been talking about him a lot.
I didn't realize just how much that kid meant to me.
The night air is thick with the roar of engines and the scent of gasoline and leather.
I ride up front, the rest of my brothers falling in behind like shadows. A full line of black and chrome cutting through the dark, bound together by purpose. By fury. By loyalty.
We don't speak.
The plan is simple, but the tension is coiled tight in my gut.
Not only did Deke make enemies out of Brutal Chains MC but also the crew that Semi used to run with.
He didn't want to reach out to them, but it didn't take much convincing for him to see that his old crew was the best option to remove Deke from our lives permanently.
They'd been looking for Deke for months, and we can deliver him right to them.
We're riding toward the east end, past the rail yards and the forgotten warehouses. The city thins out until it's just cracked concrete and neon signs. We pass the meatpacking plant and roll into a back lot barely lit by a flickering streetlamp.
The gambling den is hidden in a converted factory, tucked between two condemned buildings. We slow our bikes and coast to a stop.
I kill the engine and stare at the building.
Something feels wrong.
Too many cars in the lot. Not enough movement at the doors.
Semi pulls up next to me and nods once. “Other crew’s right behind us. They'll stay out of sight until Deke comes out, and then they'll pounce. This should be it.”
It should be.
But it doesn’t feel right.
We move in as a unit. The bouncer at the front recognizes us. He steps back, not dumb enough to try and stop the Brutal Chains.
We head inside.
It’s chaos. Men crowded around tables, smoke hanging in the air, girls half-dressed taking bets, drinks flying in every direction. A bare-knuckle fight is happening in the back, two guys beating each other bloody while a crowd screams for blood.
Hook mutters, “Looks like home.”
I cut through the haze and head straight for the office upstairs, where Deke should be.
But the room is dark.
I shove the door open anyway. Only one guy is inside, older, sweating, face pale when he sees me.
“Where the hell is Deke?” I ask.
He swallows hard. “He left. About twenty minutes ago.”
I blink.
“What?” That didn't make any sense. Deke knows I have the bill of sale. It's what he wants, so why would he leave before he could get it.
“I don’t know. Said he had something more important to handle. He looked... rattled.”
The bad feeling in my stomach hardens into something colder.
Deke wouldn’t just walk out before a major transaction unless...
My phone buzzes.
I yank it from my pocket. Unknown number. One message.
Image attachment.
My blood turns to ice.
Melissa. Tied to a chair. Duct tape across her mouth. Her eyes wide and full of fire. She’s fighting, I can see it in her posture. But she’s helpless.
Behind her, grinning like the devil, is a man I can only assume is Deke.
The background is familiar. It's her house. The same place I sent her, thinking she'd be safe until I returned. I didn't realize I was sending her right into the hands of a crazed, desperate stalker.
I swear I'm breathing, but it feels like I'm not getting enough oxygen. I need to get to her. I need Melissa.
My vision tunnels.
I don’t remember moving. Don’t remember the sound of my boots pounding down the stairs. I just remember the roar of my bike as I fire it back to life.
“Light!” Semi yells behind me.
I don’t stop.
“Light, wait! We need a plan!”
“There’s no time,” I shout back. “He’s got her. He’s got Melissa.”
I don’t care if I’m riding into a trap.
I don’t care if it takes my last breath.
I will burn the entire fucking city to the ground if that’s what it takes to get her back.
And God help anyone who gets in my way.