27. Not to Be Trusted Right Now
Chapter 27
Not to Be Trusted Right Now
Steel
Hearing Simone’s soft ‘Hey, honey,’ gutted me. Hell, it gutted Volt and Jackie, too. I thought Jackie would lose her shit and give it away that we were all in the same room, but she kept quiet.
I hated that Knuckles had the upper hand in setting the meet times.
Torque’s cell rang. “Durham, whatchugot?”
His eyes widened and a huge smile spread across his face. “Fuck, yeah! That’s great news!”
Volt’s dead-eyed stare was laced with cynicism.
I twisted my hands up at Torque.
He lowered his phone and put it on speaker. “Kendall, sweetheart. Tell Steel all that for us.”
“Durham had me give a private lap dance to a man named Flip. He asked how my day was going, and I said fine except for the asshole who parked a huge box truck behind my car in the parking lot. I’d wanted to grab lunch on my break, and I couldn’t because of it.”
“Yeah,” I drawled, not seeing the connection.
“He apologized because he said he drove that huge truck and needed to keep it out of sight from the main road.”
Torque grinned. “They got a shipment… how else are they gonna haul that shit?”
I nodded. “Where is Flip now, Kendall?”
Durham answered. “I led him to another room like you instructed earlier.”
He’d said that to keep Kendall from knowing exactly what was going on. “Good man. What about his buddies?”
Kendall answered. “Pump and Scar got a dance from Tessa. Before I led Flip to the back, I heard their other friend say he had to leave… something about ‘the less he knew the better’.”
“Kendall, you deserve a bonus,” Torque said.
“Promises, promises,” she muttered.
“This time he means it,” Durham said. “Go get ready for your next set.”
We heard the phone jostle and then Durham’s voice was no longer on speaker. “I got those assholes tied up in the back, but I’d rather get them inside that box truck, Prez.”
I nodded. “Yeah, but you’re better off with them in the back. Inside that truck, they could bang around and get attention before we’re ready to move.”
Volt waved a hand over the bar where we were seated. “I hate to interrupt, but how is this good news?”
I held a finger up. “I’ll answer in a minute. Durham, you got your CDL still, right?”
“Sure do.”
Torque tapped the bar with his finger. “If Croc’s there, he’s closing. You gotta drive that truck down to the river at ten.”
I lifted my chin. “But keep close tabs on their phones. I don’t know if Knuckles or one of his men are checking in with them regularly. If so, text back, don’t answer any calls.”
“Got it, Prez.”
Torque grabbed his phone off the bar.
I turned to Volt. “That’s great news because we’ll have three fewer Chrome members to deal with, and it’ll make it easier to get the drop on Knuckles if my men are posing as his men.”
“You’re gonna hold them at your strip club the whole time?” Blood asked.
“He doesn’t need to tell you what he’s gonna do with them,” Torque said.
Volt leveled a vicious glare on Torque. “Those last two assholes threatened her at a Target. They deserve vengeance as much as Knuckles.”
I nodded. “I agree. They’ll get theirs.”
Volt caught my gaze. “I’m here to help. We won’t sell you out. Hell, we’d be accessories, or accomplices, depending. I’d rather make those assholes fuckin’ pay.”
Torque shrugged at me. “If you trust them, then I trust ‘em.”
“As much as I’d love for them to suffer, it would be better if we slit their throats in the box truck. If this is supposed to be a drug shipment gone wrong, having three Corrupt Chrome members dead in the truck makes it more believable.”
“Jesus, this is complex,” Cal said.
“You’re right,” I said. “I’d much rather storm the house and get my woman out, but I have to end Knuckles, then go get her.”
“You could divide and conquer,” Cal said.
“Would you let someone else save your woman?” I asked.
“I wasn’t given a choice,” he said. From his dry, disappointed tone, I could tell it still bothered him.
“I’m getting her out,” I said, my eyes landing on Volt.
He nodded. “That’s fine, but I’m gonna be right there.” He looked to Jackie. “You’re gonna have to stay here.”
I shook my head. “No. I’d rather have her go to my place. I can give you directions if you want to drive there yourself, or I’ll have Torque’s old lady take you, which would be better since she’s got the code to get inside.”
Jackie shook her head. “Not a damned chance. The moment you save her, she needs to go to a hospital and have that baby checked out. I’ll be at the nearest hospital.”
Blood dipped his chin. “You were planning to have her checked out at your house, weren’t you?”
I twisted my hands up. “A pregnant woman who says she was drugged garners not only the attention of the cops, but social workers and others. We don’t need that. We need to know the baby’s okay, and that she’s okay.”
Jackie’s shoulders slumped and she turned her head to the side. “Shit. You're right.”
“And seeing as the asshole hasn’t fed her all day, I thought you would know what kinds of food will help her feel better,” I said.
Jackie put her fist on her mouth and twisted her head for a moment, then she looked at Volt. “I don’t give a shit, Volt. I want this asshole’s balls cut off. Starving a pregnant woman…”
I caught Jackie’s gaze. “Do you want to drive to my place… or would you like Shelly to—”
“I think Shelly should take me. I’m not to be trusted right now, because raining on your parade sounds like a far better plan.”
Torque stood. “Follow me, then. I’ll introduce you so you and Shell can get on your way.”
“Now that you convinced Jackie to leave, what’s next? Raid your arsenal?” Cal asked.
“You didn’t bring your own guns?” Torque asked as he came back into the room.
Cal nodded. “Yeah, but something tells me we need to be well fuckin’ prepared for these assholes. Cartels don’t fuck around – with or without a rogue leader.”
I stood. “Yeah. We don’t have a lot of time, an hour and a half goes quick, especially since we need to load three bikes onto a box truck.”
“What about Rafferty? You sending him back here?” Blood asked.
I arched my brows. “He’s watching the house where Simone is. Hell, he’s the reason we found her at all. Him and Alexandra. Another brother is with him—”
“They could be spotted,” Cal said.
My lips tipped up. “Not likely, seeing as they’re in a cemetery.”
Cal shook his head. “Great… a cemetery.”
“This way to the guns and ammo, boys,” Torque said, leading the way out the back door.
Cal and Blood followed Torque.
Volt stopped me in the common room. “I’m not going to keep you from getting to Simone, but be reasonable. For all you know, Knuckles is going to have someone watching her in that house. If he doesn’t check in or give some signal, she could end up hurt worse than she already is. She has to be rescued while Knuckles is at the river.”
I bit my lip. What did I want more: her safety or revenge?
It was a no-brainer.
“Fine. I’ll have Torque take point on ambushing Knuckles and Manuel. You and I can rescue her from that house.”
I kept my eyes on the speedometer, not letting it go over thirty on this residential road. When I’d looked at the map earlier, it had slipped my mind that this cemetery was less than a mile from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
Gravel crunched under the tires as I turned into the narrow drive of the cemetery. I navigated the winding drive until we were on the southern side of the property which would put us behind the house. Once I pulled the truck to a stop, I caught the gleam of Rafferty’s Harley and Nelson’s Triumph.
Volt and I made little noise as we walked across the grass.
When we were eight feet away, Nelson straightened from a crouch and gave me a chin lift. “Prez.”
Rafferty turned around, holding a pair of binoculars. “Volt.”
Volt dipped his chin and spoke in a low voice. “Later, we’re gonna have words.”
Rafferty shrugged one shoulder and tilted his head to the side like it didn’t matter to him. Anyone would see through that show of bravado, though. Especially a man like Volt.
“Knuckles hasn’t left yet,” Nelson said.
I nodded and examined the fence. It was iron bars, and I didn’t like the idea of trying to scale it.
Nelson followed my gaze. “Don’t worry. There’s a huge gap twenty feet away. Looks like the fence was damaged in that tornado that tore through here last fall.”
“Good.” I caught Rafferty’s gaze. “Have you been able to see anything with the binoculars?”
Rafferty shook his head. “Only when Mug did his walk-around and Josie left. They got curtains covering all the windows.”
I itched to make an approach and kill Knuckles now, but that would draw too much blow-back on the club. It took all my self-control to let this plan play out.
From the direction of the house, someone yelled, “Did this shit already, you’re paranoid, man.”
Rafferty turned back to the house and raised the binoculars to his eyes.
“Are they night-vision?” I whispered to Nelson.
He nodded. “Smart, right?”
“It’s Mug again,” Rafferty said in a low voice.
I sidled up to Rafferty and he handed me the binoculars. Mug trudged around the house so fast, he wasn’t cataloging anything as he went.
Handing the binoculars back to Rafferty, I looked over my shoulder at Volt. “He half-assed it. Once he’s back inside, we should get in position to find a decent place to break inside.”
The sound of a motorcycle starting filled the air. I pulled my cell from my back pocket when I heard the engine rev.
“You texting Torque?” Nelson asked.
“Yes.”
“How can you be sure it’s Knuckles? Could be someone across the street.”
I shook my head. “I confronted Knuckles two weeks ago, and before he pulled out of the drive, he revved the engine just like that. Loud and annoying.”
Torque shot me a text back.
Yeah, he texted Flip a few minutes ago saying he was leaving. We’re on the move.
“Tor says Knuckles texted that he’s on the way. Let’s get my woman out of there.”
Within minutes, we made our way through the gap in the fence, and quietly edged around the house. Along the back, all of the windows were closed, but the first corner we rounded, the edge of a curtain fluttered out of the open window.
Mug’s voice carried outside. “Sledge, he said to go easy on our product.”
Sledge’s voice sounded like he was next to the window. “Motherfucker, mind your own business. This is nothing since he’s getting a new shipment. Hell, I’d be with him to inspect it if you weren’t such a fuckin’ pathetic perv.”
I gripped my gun tighter at the thought of Mug making Simone uncomfortable. Volt strode past me and led the way toward the front of the house.
He put an arm out to stop me. “Raff and I have Mug. You take Sledge. He’s a bigger wildcard.”
I lifted my chin. “Fine. But aim below the nose. I want to gouge his eyes out for looking at my woman at all.”
Volt’s head cocked at an angle. “You need this to be believable. Eyes being gouged out is too much.”
“Thanks for the reminder,” I whispered and moved past him to the front door.
My hunch was right. Mug hadn’t locked it behind himself.
Luckily, the hinges didn’t squeak when I slowly opened it. I tip-toed inside and crept down a very narrow hallway. A free-standing fireplace sat in an alcove to my left. It hadn’t been used in over a decade, from the dilapidated state of it. A tiny kitchen was to my right. From this angle, there was a pass-through at the kitchen sink and I saw Simone bound to a plastic chair. Mug stood watching her.
Sledge had to be along the wall on my left since we could hear him so well at the window.
Volt crowded closer to me and I nodded.
We both entered the room together with our guns raised. Volt went straight to Mug, catching him off-guard. Sledge noticed the movement, and had his weapon in hand but aimed toward Mug.
“Yo!” I called to get his attention.
The moment his eyes met mine, I shot him in the shoulder. He dropped his weapon. Volt’s words outside the house came back to me and I kept myself from filling him with bullets.
He charged toward me. I tucked my gun in the holster, and landed a punch to his jaw.
Nelson came around and grabbed Sledge from behind. He shifted and locked an arm around Sledge’s neck, putting him in a sleeper hold. In seconds, Sledge’s body slumped and hit the floor.
Nelson grinned. “Blood splatters, Prez. I’d stand back if I were you.”
I moved toward Simone, but stopped short when Volt said, “A little help here.,”
Volt had pistol-whipped Mug, initially. He couldn’t shoot him since Simone sat directly behind Mug. I looked for Rafferty and saw him slumped against a wall. I should have had another brother here instead of Rafferty. Mug was an enforcer for a reason, and had likely caught Rafferty by surprise. Volt had a split lip, and Mug had a bowie knife in his hand.
“You motherfuckers are gonna die,” Mug said.
From behind me, I heard the strange sound of a toilet lid scraping. Nelson came back into the room and flanked Volt’s other side.
“A toilet lid?” I called out to Nelson.
Mug’s eyes slid to me and then his head turned toward Nelson. It was enough of a distraction that Nelson lunged forward while swinging the rectangular piece of ceramic. I didn’t think there was any way he’d connect with Mug, but that cracking sound was one I would never forget.
Mug’s body stayed upright for a second and then fell to the floor. Nelson pulled his knife out, and I had to look away when he slit Mug’s throat.
I hurried to Simone, untied her hands, and scooped her into my arms.
“Thank God you found me. I didn’t think you’d ever get here,” she said, tucking her face close to my neck.
“Yeah, baby. It’s been killing me not being able to charge in here.”
“Why did he slit their throats?” she asked.
Nelson heard her and said, “That cartel they use likes to slit throats. Makes it that much more believable.”
She pulled her face free and caught Nelson’s gaze. “I think that toilet lid put a wrench into that plan.”
Nelson grinned maniacally. “Nah. Zombieland for the win, baby.”
Simone smiled and looked at Volt. “Aunt Andrea would love him.”
Volt wheezed out a single laugh. “Goddammit, I love you, babydoll.”
I put Simone down so Volt could hug her.
“Love you too, Dad. Thanks for coming.”
“Let’s get you and Rafferty the fuck out of here,” Volt said.
“Did he get stabbed?” I asked.
Volt shook his head. “Not that I saw. You take her, and I’ll get him out.”