Chapter 5
*~* Fury *~*
Waking up this morning, I feel damn awful. I say waking up, but all I’ve done all night is doze now and again. Not knowing where Jamie is, and that she is safe, is driving me nuts. I could ask around, but that would put me firmly on Whack’s radar. I don’t want that.
Taking my time with a shower and my morning routine, I’m hoping to miss most of the brothers at breakfast. I can’t face having them look at me like the officers did in last night's meeting. I realize what a damn fool I’ve been and don’t need to be reminded in the eyes of everyone in the club.
Walking into the kitchen, I think I’d rather have walked into a full room than just having Bandit sitting there alone, obviously waiting for me.
“Whatever you’re going to say, save it. I’ve been through the grinder with Whack, and even he didn’t come close to what I’m putting myself through.” I walk past him and fill a cup from the coffee machine.
“I don’t give a fuck about you, your state of mind, or whatever Pres has said to you.
Know this. I am watching you. I won’t be sneaky about it, I won’t be doing any black ops surveillance.
I have all the time in the world to watch and listen to your every move.
If you make a wrong move, and let’s be clear on this, a wrong move is whatever I see as a wrong move, I won’t give any warnings, second chances, or go easy on you.
I’ll fuckin’ tear you limb from limb. That is all I have to say on the matter.
” Standing from the table, he gives me a nod and leaves the kitchen.
Bandit doesn’t scare me. None of the brothers or anyone that I have met in my life so far scares me, but I know that he meant every word and that if he comes for me, it will be a fight to the death. I’ve never been so sure of anything ever.
Knocking on Pens’ door, I enter and, as usual, he has his head buried in paperwork. His desk is always full of work but it always looks organized. I couldn’t have four sheets of paper on a desk and have it look like his does.
“Do we have a spare SUV that I can use? I have some errands to run, chores to do, and my hog doesn’t fit the bill.” I’m not lying, but I’m also not being truthful.
“Sure. You want an SUV or the pickup? Construction has left one here after it had some work done at the mechanic's shop. Depends on how covert your chores are, I guess.” Busted… Pens has me figured out from the get-go.
“SUV, please.”
“Yeah, I thought as much. Don’t let Whack catch you anywhere you shouldn’t be.” Pens throws me a set of keys and I head out of there before anyone sees me and I get busted again.
Climbing into the SUV, I glance around the compound. No one is watching, but more than that, there is no pickup in the yard either. He is so crafty that man. Leaving the compound, I nod at James who is on gate duty.
As soon as my cell is linked to the SUV by Bluetooth, I place a call to Shawn. We talk for a few minutes but he has nothing concrete to tell me as yet.
I’ve known Shawn for a long time and he always, but always, has information to pass on.
I don’t know why he’d lie to me. I just know without a shadow of a doubt that he knows something, and he isn’t passing it on.
I’ll give him another twenty-four hours and if he doesn’t come good by then, we’ll be having a different kind of conversation.
Heading out to the mechanic's shop, I try to put the pieces of the puzzle that are Jamie's accident together. First of all, there are just too few pieces. She’s driving, she’s on the right side of the road, there are no hazards, she is hit head-on by a truck larger than her vehicle.
There are no tire marks to indicate that the oncoming vehicle had a malfunction, braked hard, skidded, or tried to avoid the collision.
No one stayed around after the accident to check on Jamie’s condition.
The driver vanished and has never been seen again.
I’m sure Wraith had it figured from the start when he said it was no accident.
Now those pieces don’t add up either. What could Jamie possibly have done to make someone want her dead?
That’s what this accident says. Someone took a larger vehicle and rammed her head-on.
That is not a warning shot, that counts as a headshot.
Arriving at the shop, I park around back and as I get out of the SUV, I see Jamie’s truck for the first time since the accident. Holy fuck! She was lucky to walk away from that.
As I stand in front of it, I marvel that anyone could survive such an impact. Smoker’s voice startles me as he comes up beside me.
“There was an angel sitting beside her that day.”
“I think it was sitting on her lap, not beside her. How on earth does someone walk away from that?” I glance at Smoker and then back to the vehicle.
“I’d say that crumple zones had a lot to do with it.
You notice that the oncoming vehicle did little damage to the passenger side?
With my limited knowledge of crash scene investigation, I’d say that she was targeted pretty good.
I spoke to a cop from the scene, and he thinks due to the lack of tire marks, someone was drunk or asleep and drifted across the centerline. I don’t buy it.”
Smoker walks to the front of Jamie's truck and points at several indentations among the damage.
“See these marks? They show the set of push bars on the front of the other vehicle. There’s no paint or chrome plating transfer in any of those marks.
Also, look at the size of those indentations.
That’s twice the size of conventional bull bars.
I know people make homemade shit for their vehicles, but to make something that size?
They were intended to maim or kill. You don’t put shit like that on something without a reason.
” Smoker shakes his head and then looks at me for my thoughts.
“Hell, I defer to your expertise and knowledge on this, but you're echoing Wraith’s comments from day one. He said right from the start that this was no accident.”
“I agree, Fury. Someone was out to kill your woman, and you need to find out who and why. If they’ve gone to all this trouble, they aren’t going to be happy that she’s up and about already.
I’ll lay you odds of a hundred-to-one that they know she’s on her feet.
” Smoker tips his head to me and I feel my gut twist knowing he’s right.
“I take it that there’s no point in trying to fix that?” It looks like it is beyond salvation, but I have to ask.
“Not a chance. It’s a write-off but she can leave it with us, and we’ll sell it for parts. She’ll get her insurance payout, buy it back for a few dollars and then let us make some money for her. That’s my suggestion.”
“What do you suggest I get her as a replacement, Smoker, bearing in mind what we know?” I don’t know what kind of vehicle she could drive to stay safe from someone this intent on doing her harm.
“Bearing in mind that we know, Fury, someone will try again? A military Humvee is about the only thing I know that could stand up to this kind of punishment.” He looks at me and I see he isn’t joking.
“Do you know where I can get one?” I match his seriousness with my own.
“As a matter of fact, I do. You’ll need around thirty thousand dollars to buy it and maybe another ten thousand to make it right for her.
It can be done, but will she want to drive around in something that big?
It will certainly make a statement.” Smoker looks doubtful, but I’m already sold on the idea.
“How long before you can get one and have it ready?” I ask.
“If I push everything else to the sidelines once it’s delivered, five days. Five days to get it here with any extra parts from my contact. Ten to fourteen days, tops.”
“Get on it. Sooner if you can. Money is no object on this one. I’ll pay whatever it takes to speed the process up.”
“Okay, Fury. I’ll get on the phone right away and see what he has available for immediate delivery.” Smoker heads inside and I walk back to the SUV, giving Jamie’s truck one last glance.
Driving back to the clubhouse, it takes all my willpower to stay away from Jamie’s house and the practice. I know she isn’t at the house and I know she won’t be allowed at the practice, but I don’t know where else she could hide out.
My cell rings and seeing it’s Smoker, I take the call via Bluetooth.
“Smoker, what’s up?”
“Great news if you can stretch your budget to forty-five grand.”
“For Jamie, I can go higher, but what have you got?” I can feel the excitement bubbling through me.
“Well, my guy has an armored Ford pickup ready to drive and available for sixty grand. As I’m offering him a cash sale and immediate delivery, he’s willing to do me a diamond deal at forty-five. Can you do that?”
“I have the money, but I’m not sure how fast I can get it from my account.
Damn, I think I have a limit on withdrawals to secure a higher interest rate.
I reckon I can withdraw ten grand at a time without incurring penalties.
Regardless of that, I’ll get the cash.” I knew that would bite me in the ass at some point.
“The shop via the club can buy the pickup and you can pay back the club in installments to save those penalties. I’m good to get it then, yeah?” Smoker sounds almost as excited as I feel.
“Great. Go for it. How long for delivery?”
“He can have it to us within two days. I’ll get Bank on it right away and I’ll let you know when I have hands on it. Seeya.”
The line goes dead, and I’m left excited but bewildered at the same time. That was fast, but an armored pickup should be just what the doctor ordered. I can’t help but grin at my own unintended pun.
Arriving back at the clubhouse gate, I’m just in time to follow Breaker through into the compound. As he gets off his hog, I wave him over.
“What can I do for you, Fury?” Breaker walks over and leans on the hood of the SUV.
“I’ve been over to see Jamie’s vehicle. I was going to pay for the repairs as a gesture, but man, have you seen that thing?” I watch him for his reaction.
“I haven’t seen it, but some of the brothers have said it’s totaled.”
“Well, I went over and talked a while with Smoker. We go along with Wraith’s conclusion that it was a deliberate attempt on Jamie’s life.” I tell him all that we’d spoken about, and I can see him straighten up from where he’s leaning on the hood.
“Fury, just how sure are you that someone might try again?”
“Sure enough that I’ve just spent forty-five thousand dollars on an armored pickup to help keep her safe.”
“An armored pickup might not be enough to save her in a crash, Fury. That’s no guarantee.” Breaker shakes his head at me.
“No, Breaker, it might not. They already tried that and failed, so I’m thinking that next time might be more of a bullet to the head type of attempt. I didn’t mention it to Smoker outright, but I think we were on the same wavelength.”