Chapter Thirty-Five
It was late that night when I got a call from Micro to go to his office asap. Snarky bastard calling me over there like I’m his fucking puppet. I was just getting into bed, but I threw my cut back on over my t-shirt, and stepped back into my boots. At least I wasn’t naked yet.
I made my way to the office as quickly as I could, which admittedly wasn’t easy with the boots unlaced, and when I stepped into the office, I was surprised to see he wasn’t alone.
Torch was standing in his office, and they both looked panicked.
“Shit. This isn’t good news, is it?” I asked as I shoved the door closed, and stepped up closer to the desk.
“Torch… uh… he has a message from Ice. Something he didn’t want to risk doing via any kind of technology,” Micro said, dropping heavily into his chair, and gesturing to Torch to speak.
The guy looked exhausted, and had clearly ridden all the way here from the Wiltshire chapter for something, so it had better be important.
“It can’t wait? I was just about to get my head down. I’ve been awake for almost two days straight.”
“You need to hear this,” Micro said quietly.
Torch kicked a chair in my direction and sat down in the other, so I followed suit.
“Okay, so first, you need to know that Ice found this out by uh… by methods that I won’t go into, even though I know there aren’t cameras here anymore. It’s just… you don’t need to know that part.”
I had really been hoping there wasn’t going to be a whole bunch of beating around the bush first. Was it really fucking necessary? I was literally dead on my feet right now.
“You wanna get to the point, man?”
He cast a frustrated look in Micro’s direction, and he nodded at him.
“Look. You’re family, yeah? I know you’re mafia, but you’re also one of us. And Ice didn’t want to risk your girl, but it looks like she’s dug herself a hole she might not get out of.”
What the fuck.
“Jamie? The cop?”
Torch nodded, dragging a hand over his shaved head.
“She’s been digging into things she shouldn’t be. Ice has things tagged on the local police systems, and you know he won’t be the only one. Anyway, she looked up three dangerous names today.”
Oh Jesus no. Not the Don. Please not the Don.
Torch took a deep breath. “The Don, Luca Vanotti, and… Jesus… and you. The real you, I mean.”
Fuck. It was so much worse than I’d imagined. How the fuck did she even get those? What was she thinking?! I dragged a foot up on the chair and started lacing my boot. I had to get to her and it had to be now. Fuck me. What if it was already too late?
“How long ago, man? Could they have got to her already?”
“Hey, take a breath. We’re coming with, okay? We’ll get your girl out, and then… well, you’re gonna have to make a call as to where you go, because this needs damage control, and she needs to be unreachable while we fix this.”
I laced the other boot as I listened to Micro. They were backing me on this, and I really fucking appreciated that. I didn’t expect it, but this is biker life. This is the fucking brotherhood I didn’t want to lose.
“Do we know where she is?”
Torch nodded, checking his phone. “Ice says her shift ended at eleven, and there was nothing on her calendar, so she should have gone home. I have the address-”
“Don’t fucking tell me that. I don’t need to know you fuckers looked her up. I’m not being an asshole, just… she’s mine. You get that right?”
Torch grinned. “Hearing you loud and clear. Let’s go save your girl.”
I ran out of that office like my ass was on fire, racing back to my room to grab my go bag, my piece, and some clean phones.
Then we got on the road, three motorbikes racing in the direction of the woman I had realised I loved, and hoped it wasn’t too fucking late.
Jamie
The twitching curtains of my neighbours were my first hint, and I really wished I wasn’t already out of my car when I realised it. I turned fearfully toward my house, and saw a light moving in there. A torch maybe. Someone was in my house. Oh god.
They’d found me that fast, and why was I surprised by that?
Why did I think they’d take longer than a few hours to find me?
Maybe I’d already been on their radar, because I’d been linked to the club with my stupid, childish attempts to get noticed.
Guess what… being noticed is not a good thing when mafia guys are involved.
I ducked down behind my car while I pondered my options.
They’d have heard me parking up, and that means I had seconds before they wondered why I hadn’t gone inside, but if I started the car up again, they’d know they were busted, and…
and what if they came out, guns blazing, and my neighbours were caught in the crossfire.
I never thought guns, and risk of collateral damage, were something I’d bring to my quiet little neighbourhood.
The roaring of engines caught my attention, and I realised more were coming.
More bad guys coming to kill the little copper who stupidly thought drawing attention to herself was a good idea.
Hey, maybe I saved Eddie, but dying in his place no longer felt like a risk worth taking.
It was fight or flight time, and I was opting for the latter.
In a moment of panic, I ran from the car, and down the street, ducking down behind the neighbour’s car on their drive.
I just had to see who was coming. Once they saw I wasn’t there, they’d leave, right?
They’d go and track me down elsewhere? They’d…
oh god, my phone! I dug it out of my pocket and switched it off, frantically pulling it apart to remove the battery and everything, because I was sure there were ways of forcing it back on to track people.
I didn’t want to do something that dumb.
The roaring sound was louder, and that’s when I realised it was bikers incoming. Three motorbikes came around the corner and passed me, stopping right outside my house!
As one of the guys got off his bike and strode toward my house, I could tell, just from the way he moved, that it was Grease! Oh god! I thought maybe I could find him and he’d keep me safe, but he was in on it. Whatever was going on, whatever they were planning to do to me, he was a part of it!
I swallowed hard, panic making my heart thud so loudly in my ears that I couldn’t tell what was going on over there, because I couldn’t hear over it.
“Oh god,” I whispered to myself, scrambling further back, so I was closer to the neighbour’s house.
If, for some dumb reason, Mrs Overman opened her front door, she’d see me squeezing between her garage door and car, and probably speak to me, and from there, we’d both die.
Please don’t come out. Please stay inside.
A loud bang made me jump, and the other two bikers scrambled for my door, going inside.
They were all in my house! I don’t know why that fact didn’t hit me before.
There were strange men in my house, probably trashing everything in there.
My furniture. My photos on the wall. My books.
My god, everything I cared about was in that small house right now, and I think I was focusing on those details rather than the bigger picture, because it was too terrifying to comprehend.
Grease suddenly strode back down the path, and paused by my gate, staring at my car, before he walked over and leaned down to peer inside it.
“She’s here somewhere,” he yelled to whoever he was with. Good guys, bad guys, I had no idea.
I suddenly realised that staying in one place was the mistake. I should run. I should be putting as much distance between me and these men as I could, because if they meant to find me, they’d search, and if I was found here, I might get someone else hurt. Or worse.
While he was focused on the car, I scrambled up from the drive, my legs weakening a little before they held, and I turned to make a break for it.
I ran down the street, catching the word ‘FUCK’ from behind me, and then heavy boots were thundering on the pavement behind me, gaining on me way faster than should have been possible. Was panic making me move too slowly? Was I about to pass out from the terror?
Strong arms caught me and dragged me back, before my momentum could pull us over.
“Shhh. Calm down, little pain, it’s just me.” Yeah, that was the problem wasn’t it? I focused on his body wrapped around mine, and the surprising looseness of his grip, and used my training to save my life.
It was the first time I’d really had to rely on it in a life or death situation like this. My elbow rammed into his gut, and he grunted as his grip loosened further, and I spun to try and punch him in the throat.
“Jesus fuck!” He dodged me, so my fist glanced past him, and then he grabbed me and slammed me against the six foot fence he’d caught me beside.
“Chill out, Jamie, it’s me, for fuck’s sake! I said it’s me!”
I struggled with him, and that struggle kicked up a notch, as I heard more footsteps approaching, and voices that I didn’t recognise. Or did I? Was that Micro with him?
“Thank fuck! You wanna get her on the back of your ride, so we can get the fuck out of here?”
“It’s only a matter of time before one of these old biddies calls the pigs, man.”
Pigs? I turned to glare at the guy with the shaved head, who looked, quite frankly, like the kind of guy you cross the street to avoid.
“Pigs?”
He squeezed his eyes closed, lifting his hands in apology.
“Sorry. I only open my mouth to change feet these days.”
“What’s going on? If you’re going to kill me, just do it here and leave, but please don’t hurt my neighbours.”
Micro snorted, and lifted his eyebrows at Grease.
“I dunno what kinda stuff you guys indulge in, but I’m out.”
“Fuck you,” Grease grunted at him, wrapping a hand around my mouth, as he tugged me tighter against him. I tried to ignore how good it felt to be pressed against him, because I now understood that he was here to kill me. Why him though? Why couldn’t it be someone else? Anyone else?
“I don’t have time for your mouth right now, little pain, so open your fucking ears and hear me. We need to get the fuck out of here, before reinforcements turn up looking for you.”
Reinforcements?
I tried to speak and he cursed. “No. I don’t need you to speak. I just need you to get on my fucking bike with me, so we can leave.” I was shaking my head, even though going with him would be amazing, if it wasn’t for me to die.
“Can’t let you say no to this, babe. It’s this or you die.”
Oh god. My breath started rasping behind his hand, and I elbowed him again.
“Fuck!”
“Okay, lemme help,” Micro said, leaning closer to me, “PC Charles, you know me, and you know Grease. This is Torch, another brother of ours,” the guy with them tipped his lips up on one side in greeting, “and we need to get you out of here before someone comes to kill you. That’s not us.
We’re not here to harm you. We’re here to save you. ”
I froze, all struggles stopping the instant he said that, and Grease cursed again, suddenly releasing me.
“You thought we were… that I was gonna kill you?”
Torch laughed, slapping Micro’s back as he turned to head back to their bikes.
“Who knew you’d be the one speaking sense, man?”
Micro turned too and started heading back toward the three motorbikes resting at the curb near my house.
“Grease?”
He groaned, lifting my chin with his thumb and forefinger, to look me over.
“Baby, I can answer your incessant questions once we get somewhere safe. Somewhere they can’t find you. I’ll tell you everything then, so can you just come with me, and hold on tight while I take you to safety?”
I found myself nodding dumbly, so he grabbed my hand and we ran back to where they’d parked, and the scary guy, Torch, handed him a helmet. He helped me get it on my head, and climbed on his bike, straightening it up from the rest, before he reached for me and helped me on it behind him.
“Hold tight,” he yelled back to me as he pulled his own helmet on. So guess what? I held tight, and a little thrill rushed through me as the vehicle suddenly roared away from the pavement, and I absorbed the fact that I was wrapped around Grease, and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.