Chapter 27
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
Julie
My hands shake as I pace back and forth in my father’s kitchen, my body filled with anxiety.
Where are they? Has whatever Yak’s been working on finally come to a head? Is Aragon…dead?
My eyes dart to the clock, and I groan.
One hour.
They’ve only been gone for an hour. How is that even possible? It feels like they’ve been gone all night.
God, this is horrible. How do people live like this?
With all this anxiety. My dad’s been a cop my entire life.
He never hid it from me that he might not come home one day when neither of us is expecting it.
I’ve always known that his job is dangerous, so I thought I had a strong grasp on this whole patience thing.
Leave it to Yak and my dad teaming up together to take down a bad guy for me to realize I’m not as strong as I thought I was.
A knock on the door makes me jump. I turn and stare at it in suspicion.
I never called Liz, so who could possibly be here? My dad isn’t the type to just have people drop by.
“Julie, it’s Ray. Open up.”
My shoulders relax as I take a deep breath. Moving, I open the door.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask as I step to the side, letting him in.
“Your dad told me he was out and needed someone to watch over you. Is everything okay?” he asks as he shoves his hands into his pockets.
“Everything is fine,” I lie.
Everything is so far from fine it’s not even funny. The two men I love could be in the middle of a firefight right now, and I would be none the wiser. Or worse yet. They could be dead.
As soon as the thought enters my mind, I shake it away.
No. I can’t go thinking like that. Dad and Yak need me to be strong right now.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You seem a little tense,” Ray asks, reminding me that I’m not alone.
“I’m fine. Thank you for coming over, though. You really didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s not a big deal. I mean, don’t you know I would do anything for you by now?”
Something about his tone makes my body tense.
Ray has never outwardly hit on me or even made any sort of move, but for some reason, Liz’s warnings play through my mind.
He wants you.
“So what were you doing?” I ask, walking toward the kitchen.
I hear him fall into step behind me. “Oh, I was just out, checking on things.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, you know how it is. I like to keep an eye on what’s mine.”
I brush off the uneasy feeling.
Your mind is playing tricks on you.
I point to the cabinet that holds the glasses. “Would you like a glass of water?”
“Sure.” As I pull down a glass, he drums his fingers on the countertop. “So what’s new with you lately?”
“Nothing really. Busy with work and life. You know how it is.” I grab the water pitcher from the fridge and fill the glass.
“Thank you,” he says as he reaches for it.
“Of course.”
“You forgot to mention getting tied up with an MC.” He scoffs. “I couldn’t believe it when your dad told me he was going somewhere with your boyfriend.”
My body freezes once again, but this time in fear.
I know my dad. He might have called Ray to ask him to come watch over me because that truly sounds like something he would do, but I know for a matter of fact, my father would not have mentioned the club. He wouldn’t have said anything about what’s going to transpire tonight.
“I’m sorry, you must be mistaken. I’m not seeing anyone associated with a club,” I say, my voice eerily calm.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Julie. It’s unbecoming. I know all about your criminal boyfriend and him sneaking in every night,” he says darkly.
Taking a shaky breath, I turn to face him. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve seen him. Letting himself into your house. I’ve watched you embrace him like he means something to you.”
My hands go clammy, and my throat feels tight.
My eyes dart to the front door, but it’s too far away. Not only that but he stands between me and that exit.
The back door. If I go out the back, I can go to the side gate and rush to Mr. Rawlin’s home. He’s always there, and he would call for help without asking questions.
“How do you know that?” I ask as I take a step toward the back door.
“I’ve been watching you.”
“What? Why?” I ask, taking another step back.
He shakes his head like I’m the only one speaking nonsense. “Because I care about you.”
I must say something with my face because he scoffs.
“Don’t pretend like you didn’t know I was interested in you. I mean, come on. Did you really think your neighborhood was that heavily patrolled just because of your dad?”
Just a few more steps.
“Ray, I’m sorry if I ever gave you the wrong impression, but I’m not interested.”
He cocks his head to the side. “Don’t say that, Julie. You might not see it now because that criminal fogged your mind, but we belong together. I’ll treat you like a queen.”
“Ray, as flattering as all of this is, that isn’t going to happen. I’m in love with someone else. I’m sorry, but I think it’s time that you leave.”
He sighs as if he’s disappointed in me. “You really shouldn’t have said that.”
Turning, I rush toward the back door. I fight to unlock it and rush down the stairs, the cold air slapping me in the face. Before my bare feet can even touch the snow-covered grass, though, he wraps his arm around my waist and covers my mouth with a cloth.
“I really wish you didn’t make me do this, Julie,” he sighs disappointedly.
I try to fight out of his hold, but things go hazy.
It takes me a minute to realize what’s happening as my body goes limp.
Drugged. The buttwipe drugged me.
Yak
“Sir, I’m going to apologize in advance for whatever happens next,” I say to my girl’s dad as I drive.
He looks at me quickly before looking back at the road. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means I genuinely have no idea how my brother is going to react when he sees I’m not alone.”
Benjamin grunts as I roll up slowly to the group of men before stopping.
“This is it,” I mutter as I get out of the car.
I watch as my brother’s eyes widen and everyone else takes a step back.
Yooper stomps toward me. “Yak, what in the ever-living fuck are you doing?”
“I’m here to end this,” I tell him, not backing down.
“And you brought a fuckin’ cop!” he snaps.
“I brought my girl’s dad,” I shout back.
“Un-fucking-believable. Out of all the reckless shit you’ve ever done…” He shakes his head.
“Look, Yooper, I don’t like this either, but when the man my daughter claims to be in love with shows up to my house and says I need to take care of her because he’s walking into a dangerous situation, I’m not going to turn the other way.
Not when the threat has his sights set on my little girl,” Benjamin says harshly.
Yooper runs his hands through his hair as he paces. “God-fucking-dammit. Right when I think shit can’t get worse, it does.”
“This is going to work, Yooper. We both know it will.” I look him in the eyes.
He turns toward me. “What did you find out?”
“Swi…” I stop myself from saying Swift’s full name.
I might trust Benjamin tonight, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.
I don’t want to throw a brother, even a distant one, under the bus.
“Six got with me and said the trackers were live. Some of them are still at our secure location, but the other half have been moved. He’s still going through phone records and shit, but we have proof.
Enough for a take-down. He said if we don’t move now, this shipment will be lost to us. ”
“Jesus Christ. You have someone stealing weapons from under your nose?” Benjamin mutters.
Yooper and I both ignore him. He doesn’t need us to confirm or deny. He’s not a stupid man and can read between the lines.
“What the fuck is going on, Yooper? Why the fuck is your brother hanging with a cop?” Wolverine demands.
Yooper’s eyes fall shut as he takes a deep breath.
“Let’s get this over with,” he mutters before turning to face the others.
The three of us walk forward toward the crowd of angry-looking brothers.
“Guys, I’d like to introduce you to my old lady’s dad,” I say.
All eyes swing to the chief.
He raises his hands, palms out. “All you need to know is tonight I’m not here as your enemy. I’m strictly here to lend a helping hand and make sure the threat against my daughter is put down.”
“I know some of you had questions about why my brother decided to join our club after already being established at a different one. He did because I asked him to,” Yooper says.
The small crowd murmurs as guys look at each other.
“Quiet,” I shout.
“As I was saying, I asked my brother for help because I realized not everything was as it seems. I noticed that guns weren’t making it to us that we had ordered.
Or they would go missing while we had them.
Then I started to notice a mounting tension between one member and myself.
He was constantly questioning my every move. Undermining me when he could.”
“Aragon. You’re talking about Aragon, right?” Yukon asks, arms folded against his chest.
Yooper nods.
“He handpicked several men to help him steal from the club. Create a hostile environment between all of us so he could take me out and take over for himself,” Yooper says.
“That motherfucker,” Hoser snaps.
“No, no, I wouldn’t have missed that,” Wolverine says, shaking his head.
I look right at him. “You did because you trusted him and you didn’t know to look.”
Yukon’s eyes swing to me. “That’s why you took over that run and switched things up.”
I nod. “It was the first run in months that had everyone staying together and no cop interference. We went completely under the radar,” I confirm.
“And yet, despite my brother’s best efforts, guns still wound up missing after the fact. Which leads us to tonight,” Yooper says.
“I placed trackers on all the guns and crates. We know exactly when Aragon removed them from the premises and where he took them. I also have a paper trail provided by a friend to prove that he’s been pocketing the money for himself,” I add.
“Are we seriously talking about Aragon, a legacy, planning a coup?” Wolverine asks, looking at everyone.
“Think about it, it makes sense. The man has hated every minute that Yooper’s been president. He thought he deserved the spot. He constantly fights back even when we all know that he shouldn’t. You honestly can’t be surprised,” Sap tells him.
“I mean, shit, I saw it the first day I joined the club. You were just too blind to see it.” Poutine shrugs.
“This is insane. I’ve always hated that dickhead,” Goose mutters.
Goose’s best friend, Dice, frowns. “Is it weird that I’m kind of offended he never asked me to join his cause? I mean, I wouldn’t, but it would have been nice to have been asked.”
Goose pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.
I bite my tongue to stop laughing. I haven’t spent a lot of time around Dice because he’s been busy with his kid, which is totally understandable, but I’m glad he came out tonight when Yooper put out the call.
“So what are we going to do? We can’t let this stand,” Yukon asks.
“Does his dad know?” Canuck asks.
“As far as we can tell, no,” Predator pipes in.
“Again, what are we going to do?” Yukon says, repeating himself.
“We are going to take him and his cronies out. You don’t mess with a King and not pay the price,” Yooper declares.
I nod. “It’s time for war.”
“With a cop?” Sauga, our chaplain, asks, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I’m not here as a cop but a concerned father. Tonight is like Vegas. What happens, happens and we never talk about again,” Benjamin says.
“Fuck it, I’ve done weirder shit. Let’s do this,” Keener says, rubbing his hands together.
This is it. Everything I’ve been working for has been leading up to this moment. Let’s just hope it goes off without a hitch.