Chapter 8 #2
Chuckling under my breath, I take the keys he hands me. “Appreciate it, Ted. You take care now. I’ll be over later this week.”
“I’ll hang on until then,” he gives another phlegmy cough as he waves us out of the reception.
“Fucking cancer,” I mutter as Ford and I go back to the van. Taking our cuts off, we place them on the seat.
“He’s a friend?” Until then, Ford had been quiet, and I appreciated that he let me get the information we needed.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Maestro and I’ll come and make sure he’s okay and that Ada knows to call us if she needs to. Now let’s go pick this fucker up.”
We drive the van as close as we can get to the room that the dick has rented.
As expected, it doesn’t take us long. Ford pretends to deliver a pizza, and when the fucker opens the door, he surprises him by pushing him into the room. I follow and lay the guy out with one punch.
Pussy-assed motherfucker went down like a felled tree.
When he’s down, Ford goes to town with duct tape, tying his hands and feet up, then putting a strip across his mouth while I pack up the room.
“I’ve let Maestro know that we’ve got him,” Ford tells me as I zip up the duffle bag.
“Good job, Ford. Let’s get the fuckhead loaded and back to the clubhouse.”
Ford goes outside and opens the side door of the van before coming back inside. I grab his feet and Ford his shoulders. We manoeuvre him out of the room and throw him in the back of the van. Not caring if we do any damage. He's not going to be around long enough to worry about that anyway.
Half-hour later, I was showing Ford where the back entrance to the clubhouse grounds was.
Robbie was waiting for us, unlocking the ram-proof sliding gate when I waved at him.
We drove through, leaving him to lock up behind us and follow along on his sled.
He passes us as we park by the shack, where our enforcers, Duke and Roar, are waiting for us.
The shack is nothing more than a brick-built building with a drain, a roof and a reinforced door.
I park up, and Ford and I jump out of the van as Duke and Roar pull a now awake captive out the back by his feet.
None of us even wince as his head bounces off the edge of the van as they drag him into the shack, tossing him down on the floor near the restraints we use to keep our captives secure.
They waste no time in securing him and cutting the duct tape from him.
He starts fighting as soon as he’s free — kicking, biting, shouting — until Duke has had enough and punches him in the face.
“What the fuck, man. What the hell do you think you’re doing? I’m not sure who you think I am but you’ve got the wrong man.”
I take my phone from my pocket and look at the message from Hard-Drive.
“You Chad Gorman?”
“Yeah, man.”
“Then no, we have the right man.”
“What the fuck, man? I’ve got nothing to do with your club.”
“Mmm, is that right?” I squat down next to him. I want to look in his eye when I ask him the next question. “So you’re saying my Old Lady was wrong when she told me it was you who attacked her, demanding that she hand over her ex’s greatest treasure? Is that what you’re saying?”
“What? Yes..no. I don’t know?”
“You calling my Old Lady a liar, Chady boy?”
“No..look,” Chad swipes his tongue over his lips. “I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding.”
“See that’s where you’re wrong,” I tell him, standing up.
“I think we understand each other just fine. You put your hands on one of ours and we can’t let that go.
The boys and I are going to leave you here for a little bit to think about the error of your ways, then we’ll be back for a little chat. ”
“Look man. I’m sorry, okay? I’ll leave. How was I meant to know that she’s your Old Lady.”
“Doesn’t matter. You have no right to put your hands on a woman, any woman, and threaten her. Maybe I should go and speak to Ada at the motel and get her story too.” I raise my eyebrow at him.
“No way, man. I didn’t lay a finger on that viper. She hit me in the balls with her mop for no reason at all.”
“I’m done talking. You’re in for an uncomfortable night. The weather's turning, evenings are starting to get cold now. We’ll see you in the morning,” I tell him, turning on my heel and walking out.
I wait outside while Duke and Roar lock the door. We all ignore the shouting and screaming he’s doing. There’s no one to hear him out here. He’ll quieten down in a few hours when he realises nobody is going to be coming.
“You good?” I ask Ford.
He nods. “Yeah, I’m fine. Can I come over tonight and check on Ms. Emily?”
“Of course. You never have to ask. All my grandchildren are welcome in my house.”
He smiles, and fuck if my heart doesn’t ache with how much he reminds me of Chains. “I’m still getting used to that,” he admits. “I’ll be over once my prospect jobs are done.”
“All right then. Let’s get this van back to Buck so you can get to cleaning it.” Turning back to Duke and Roar, I ask, “You both good here?”
“All good, Red. We’ll keep an eye on him over the next twenty-four hours. Hopefully, Hard-Drive will have found something by then and we can put this to bed. Emily didn’t deserve what this shithead did to her.”
“No, she didn’t,” I agree. “Appreciate your help. I’ll see you over at the clubhouse. Let me know if you need me for anything. I’ll go and fill Maestro in.”
I have Ford drop me off at the clubhouse before he takes the van back to the garage.
I’m itching to get back to Emily, but I know the protocol. First, I need to check in with Maestro not only about Chad but also about the business opportunity to buy the roadhouse diner, shop, and gas station opposite the motel. It’s too good of an opportunity to pass up.
I find him exactly where I expect him to be —in the office. He looks up at my knock. “All good?”
“All good, son,” I reassure him, walking in and taking a seat opposite him. “Got him in the shack. Ted switched off the cameras. He had some news that I think we should move on.”
Maestro sits back in his chair. “Do we need Cash for this?”
“May as well as he’s the money man.”
Leaning back, he bangs on his office wall shouting, “Cash.”
I shake my head when he gets an answering knock back. Not two seconds later, Cash appears in the open doorway. “You called?”
“Red’s got something to tell us.”
Cash takes a seat, and I fill them in on what Ted told me. They are both looking interested by the time I’m finished telling them about the opportunity.
Cash says, “I’ll reach out to them. See what they want. Depending on the price we may be able to swing it. I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve got news.”
“Sounds good,” I tell them standing up. “I’m going to check on Emily. Is everything set for this weekend?”
“Yeah, Red, everything is organised. Cut’s ordered, food and drink are in hand. Stacey, Lizzie, and Jenny are sorting it. Don’t worry. Give Em our love. I’ll be over later to check on her.”
“Will do, son.”
I leave them to the business of running the club, glad I no longer have that headache.
Walking up the steps to my porch, I open the front door, slipping my boots off my feet so that I can walk quietly in socked feet to the bedroom.
Seeing that Em is still fast asleep, I strip off my dirty clothes, dump them in the hamper, and take a quick shower before slipping into a clean pair of boxer shorts and sliding into bed behind Em, wrapping an arm around her waist.
I sigh contentedly as I lay my head on the pillow. Did I care that it was the middle of the day? No, I fucking didn’t. Emily had come to mean the world to me, and I didn’t want to have to go through a day like today ever again. My heart almost stopped when I heard the fear in her voice.
I wanted to spend the next few hours holding her in my arms, knowing that while she was there, she was safe.
That’s all I cared about.