EAGLE
“You know she’s not going to come back unless one of us drags her kicking and screaming, right?” Weston stated from his seat at the counter.
As much as the man pissed me off for wiggling his way into my little hellcat’s heart before I could, I knew he spoke the truth. “Let’s give her some time and she might reconsider.”
Weston scoffed. “That woman has three moods—sleepy, stabby, and stubborn. If she’s decided against doing something, there is no way to convince her otherwise. Just you wait and see, there’s going to be some ridiculous diversion that will aid in her escape from the compound.”
“We’re not keeping her trapped here anymore,” Cognac pointed out, a confused look on his face.
I love the man like a brother, and for all he could talk any woman who isn’t Dax into his bed, he didn’t really understand the way a woman’s mind worked. Does anyone though?
“It doesn’t matter. She told me she sees us as smothering because we care about her. Dax doesn’t like to lean on people, and the only reason Harper and Wes get away with it is because they have been grandfathered in from before her brother died,” Sprocket explained.
Now there was a man who could get into anyone’s head.
Watching him work his magic on Dax has been equally interesting and frustrating.
It’s almost as if the two of them have their own language and can read between the lines of what’s really coming out of their mouths.
So far, all I’ve been able to do consistently is piss her the fuck off...
well, maybe not as bad as Picasso. If the two of them have been able to bury the hatchet, then there’s hope for her and me to find our footing—if we don’t kill each other first.
“Isn’t Wednesday when Tilly goes into LA to get the parts for Sprocket?” Picasso mused, rubbing his chin. “All we have to do is keep a look out for her truck and then we’ll know if she leaves.”
“Nah, my little demon will do something with more flair to it. That’s far too simple and you already figured it out. She’s fooled a whole criminal empire for years. Sneaking out of here will be a cakewalk. The real question is, do we let her go, and or do we tail her?” Void asked.
Weston grinned. “Well, since Bob Ross gave her back her phone and smartwatch, I’ll be able to track her with those, as long as she takes them with her.”
“Why wouldn’t she just ditch them, if she’s that desperate to get away from us?” Picasso challenged, glaring at Wes.
Wes sighed and shook his head. “You just don’t get her at all, do you?
It’s not about being away from you physically, it’s emotional distance she wants.
Besides, she has Harper with her and the last thing she would ever do is put her in danger again.
If I can track Dax, then I’ll also know where Harper is.
If something goes down and she sends the S.O.
S. signal, I’ll be able to get to them. Do you trust this Tilly woman? ”
“Yeah, she’ll be good for Dax. Tilly’s enough of a rebel to play along but won’t jeopardize the Saints safety.
Besides that, her husbands are men we trust completely,” Sprocket said as a knock sounded on the front door.
“My money’s on that being Gator. No way he’ll believe Dax at face value, too paranoid for that. ”
Void wandered over to the door and sure enough, there he was. Gator’s face told me all I needed to know. Dax had told him who she was, and he wasn’t gonna be happy with me.
“Come on in. We were just talking about your wife.” Void smirked, as he stepped to the side.
Gator growled at Void. “Back off, she’s already told you she wants nothing to do with you.”
“Water under the bridge, my brother. You’ve already had the pleasure of meeting the little demon who holds my heart.” Void laughed.
“You still have one? I thought you sold it to Lucifer himself,” Gator snarled, as he brushed past my enforcer and right up to me. “What the fuck you playing at, Pres? I got some looney chick in my house saying she’s Two Tricks and asking us to babysit her bimbo bestie.”
We all froze at his words, and I could see Void’s hackles rise at the trash that Gator was spilling.
Gator had been with us since the beginning and I trusted him to be our scout for business ventures and other MCs that were struggling to take over, growing our numbers.
I valued that he’d always been a straight shooter with me.
He’d told me not to mess with Tricks and move on, which is why I did it when he was gone.
The downside to Gator was he didn’t know when to back off.
“Clearly, you didn’t say any of that to her face since you’re still in one piece without a mark on you,” I stated, crossing my arms. “That little hellcat doesn’t do well when people insult her or her family.
As for what she said to you—it’s all true.
That pink-haired pint-sized badass is the one and only Two Tricks, also known as Dax, the enforcer. ”
“You went and goddamn did it, didn’t you? That asinine plan to kidnap and use her as leverage to get what you wanted!” Gator snapped, his face starting to turn red.
I dropped my arms and stepped right up into Gator’s face, fury blazing in my veins.
“You might be my friend, but you better watch your mouth, before I cut out your tongue. I’m the president, not you, so you don’t get to make the calls to keep this crew alive and prosperous.
” Gator’s jaw clenched as if he was fighting back words.
“You got something to say? Get it off your chest, man. Fucking challenge me for all I care. I will destroy you and you know it.”
That seemed to break him from his silence.
“You brought a goddamn motherfucking war to our doorstep that we had nothing to do with. That bitch of yours is going to ruin us because you had a good fuck and let that woman lead you around by your cock! Since when do we let women dictate what we do in the club? She walks into my house like she’s the boss bitch and you put that crown on her fucking head. ”
My fist collided with his face, knocking him to the ground, where I pounced on him, landing blow after blow. “No one fucking talks like that about her. I’ll fucking kill you.”
Eventually, I was wrestled off him and dragged a few feet away, with Void’s arm around my throat.
Picasso had Gator by the throat, shouting at him but the rage rushing through me was all I could hear.
I was zeroed in on the man who dared to say that shit about my woman.
Whatever Gator was still saying didn’t get any nicer, since Picasso pulled his gun and aimed it right at Gator’s forehead.
My hearing snapped back into focus as I struggled against Void’s hold.
“You would fucking kill me, just like that, over a woman? A member of your crew, a brother that’s been with you since the beginning? You know Mutt and Tilly will never forgive you if you do this,” Gator challenged.
“In a motherfucking heartbeat. No one speaks about our woman like that. No one,” Picasso roared, spit flying into Gator’s face.
Then, like a flip of a switch, Gator sagged and lifted his hands in surrender. “Alright then.”
Picasso froze, looking at the others with wide confused eyes. “Alright then, what?”
“I accept that Dax is who you say she is—that she’s queen of the castle, and ruler of the Hidden Empire,” Gator stated, holding Picasso’s gaze.
Sprocket stepped up beside Picasso. “What the fuck was all that then? Were you testing us?”
“Yes, I had to know you were serious. There have been many women coming in and out of your lives. I had to know this one was different.” Gator sighed, yanking Picasso’s hand off and taking a step back.
“The fact that you were going to kill me without hesitation, and the rest of you were going to let him, said it all.”
Cognac took this moment to laugh his ass off. “Goddamn you, Gator, don’t you think there was a better way to figure that out, where you didn’t end up looking like ground meat?”
“Not on the way over here from my house, no,” Gator said, using his shirt to wipe at the blood dripping from his nose and split lip. “God, Tilly’s gonna be pissed.”
“Well good thing Dax is going to talk her into sneaking out for the day, so you’ve got some time,” Wes said, walking up to Gator. “Weston, second to Tricks and also one of Dax’s men.”
Gator raised a brow at this but shook his hand. “They let you live?”
“Seeing as Dax would, at a minimum, cut off their dicks if they hurt me, it was the wise choice,” Wes stated, a cocky grin on his face.
“Don’t let East fool you. We’ll still kick his ass if he fucks things up for us,” Picasso muttered. “Now enough of this bullshit, are you going to look after her friend, Gator?”
Gator walked into the kitchen and grabbed a dish towel off the stove and an ice pack out of the freezer.
“Like I would let a woman who clearly can’t protect herself stay with you bastards.
The pixie said it would only be for a few days so I don’t see why we can’t play host. Tilly doesn’t have any solid female friends and if she’s hit it off with your woman that makes the world a better place for us. ”
“Does this mean you’re finally gonna let go of the one time I drunkenly hit on T at the barbecue three years ago?” Void scowled at Gator.
“We’re cool, man. We’ve been cool. She came clean and told me it was a dare anyway. I just liked busting your balls about it is all.” Gator smiled as they exchanged knuckle bumps.
Wes walked over and leaned against the wall near me. “You sure having Tilly and Dax be friends is a good idea?”
“You gonna stop them?” I asked, giving him side-eye. “I piss her off enough as it is. I’m not looking for more trouble.”
Wes grunted. “Seems you’re smarter than I gave you credit for.”
“If she’s not gonna talk to us today, then it seems we best deal with business as usual until she makes her way back home,” Sprocket spoke up. “I got bikes to fix, and I think it’s the best plan to take a look over everyone’s ride to make sure we’re ready for when shit hits the fan.”
“It’s been two days since I’ve checked in with our people. Who the hell knows what chaos is happening? Let’s hope Dax doesn’t hide out for too long or else the Empire is gonna get worried and that’s never a good thing,” Wes added, pushing off the wall and heading upstairs.
Just as we were all going to head out of the house, the warning system on our phones went off, alerting us to someone approaching. I hit the speed dial for Rooster in the security room.
“What the hell is going on?” I demanded.
“I don’t know, Pres. Nothing is showing up,” Rooster blurted, as alerts sounded off in the background, along with people yelling trying to find out what had tripped the system.
Stepping out on the porch, I heard the distant sound of a helicopter. “Do we have anything to watch the sky?”
“Who would be coming at us like that? The Mad Dogs don’t have that kind of pull. Hell, no one has that kind of equipment,” Rooster snapped. “It seems that they’re flying low enough to get caught by the motion sensor to the far east of the property. What do you want us to do?”
The sound of the chopper got louder, until I noticed that another was coming from the south as well. “There are two of them for fuck’s sake. We need shooters on the roof. We need to ground them any way we can.”
Men started to pour out of the clubhouse, guns drawn and pointed at the air, ready for them to pass overhead... only it never happened. “Rooster, can you tell where they are?” I yelled into the phone.
“Pres, I told you we don’t have any way to keep track of something in the sky. The only reason we even knew about them was because they flew way lower than they should have been.”
It clicked. This was my little hellcat’s diversion.
“Call everyone off, it’s not an attack, just a cat sneaking out the back door,” I muttered.
“What?” Rooster shot back. “I don’t get it.”
“The only person who would have that kind of pull around here is Two Tricks, and we happen to be playing a game of chicken right now. We aren’t in any danger. Tricks is just flexing to show us what she can do,” I explained.
“Whatever you say, but everyone’s gonna demand an explanation, Pres,” Rooster said before he hung up.
“You gotta hand it to her, she keeps things interesting.” Sprocket chuckled as he passed me down the steps. “Could she be more perfect?”