26. Deacon
DEACON
“Ah,” Rat said as we stepped out into the fresh air.
He drew in a deep breath before I clapped his back. “God, this feels good.”
Rat tapped me on the shoulder. “Uh, Deac.”
I rolled my eyes. “What?”
“Are those our bikes?”
I whipped around so quickly that I made myself fucking dizzy. My eyes focused and sitting there, clad in all black with leather seats and trim, was Bessy.
“Oh hell yeah,” I said as a grin spread across my face.
“How the fuck did our bikes get here?” Rat asked.
“Trust me,” one of the deputies said as she cruised past us, “you don’t wanna know.”
“Well, maybe I do,” Rat said as a smirk spread across his face. “So please tell me it had something to do with one of your co-workers trying to ride.”
The woman snorted with her laughter. “A woman never kisses and tells.”
“You kissed my bike?” Rat asked as he walked over to her, strutting his stuff as always. “Never thought I’d be jealous of my bike in all my life.
I couldn’t help but laugh. As I clapped him on the back, I turned my sights toward my own motorcycle. The only thing that would’ve made it better was Char climbing onto it with me. What I wouldn’t have given to feel her arms wrapped around me. Clinging to me as if I were her last saving grace.
But this part of the plan couldn’t include her. Not if we wanted to continue keeping her safe.
Because as far as I was concerned, she had done enough.
“Good luck,” the female deputy said as she made her way back inside.
I pointed to the deputy. “Get in contact with the two that are gonna be with us. Tell them to stick to the highways and keep a safe distance back. We need them to be our lookouts while they stay clear of the warehouse.”
“You don’t want them in there with you?” she asked.
I shook my head. “It’ll absolve them of any issues if they stay as far away from the warehouse as possible. Got it?”
The woman blinked before she nodded. “Got it.”
“Good, now get the word out. We have to get out of here.”
And just as the woman went to disappear into the door she held open for herself, Rat’s cheeky asshole decided to show itself.
“What!?” he asked as he whipped his leg over his bike. “I don’t even get a name?”
“You know where I work!” the woman said with a giggle. “What’s the point in names!?”
“Good to see you again,” I said as I eased onto my bike.
Rat chuckled as he grasped the key already in the ignition. “Sounds like I’ll be back then.”
“Sounds like it!” the woman said before disappearing into the building.
And when he struck up that bike, the corners of his mouth curled into that Cheshire cat grin he had buried for weeks.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” he said before revving his engine.
I couldn’t get on the road quickly enough.
Feeling the wind whipping around me as sand slicked its way against my teeth filled me with the energy I needed to tackle our next hurdle.
We had to be swift about it, too. My head was on a swivel, keeping a look out for anything that seemed squirrelly or suspicious.
If my men were following the plan to the nines, then they were already twenty minutes ahead of us.
Good, because we needed the waves heading to the warehouse to be spaced out.
Not only did it keep us safe, but it kept that bitch on her toes just in case she was already there.
Though, I didn’t think for one second that she’d beat us there.
As the clubhouse came into view, guilt gripped my gut.
I should’ve brought Char back to the clubhouse.
I mean, for fuck’s sake, she called it her home.
Her voice echoed off the corners of my mind.
That one little word stunned me to my spot.
Our clubhouse had become her home. The one thing I never thought she’d feel with us, and she stood back at that precinct, feeling every single bit of it.
We should’ve celebrated. We should’ve cut her a copy of the key to this place.
We should’ve outfitted her bedroom with whatever the fuck she needed.
But instead, we were chasing some motherfucking bitch who decided to take her anger out on us.
I’d make her pay for robbing Char of such a beautiful moment.
Because that woman had been robbed of enough.
“Dallas,” I said as I cut the engine to my bike. “What gives?”
“Yeah,” Rat said as he swung his leg off his bike, “I thought you were going with everyone?”
He shook his head as he stood up from the rocker on the porch. “She’s already headed back to the warehouse.”
A growl percolated in my chest. “She’s what?”
“Fuck, we gotta go,” Rat said as he slipped his leg right back over his bike.
“How far out?” I asked.
Dallas leapt over the porch railing and touched down in front of me. “The guys are about twenty minutes ahead of her, but she’s right behind them.”
I grinned. “So we’re bringing up the rear.”
That’s when Deputy Carlyle stepped out of the house. “Yep. All four of us.”
“Oh,” Dallas said as he thumbed over his shoulder, “and him. He’s kept a watch on the topographical map inside the house.”
“So she’s still being tracked,” Rat said.
Deputy Carlyle quickly worked his way down the porch steps toward us. “She is. So how do you guys want to play this?”
Rat smirked. “You could always ride with me.”
I chuckled. “Not if this goes according to plan.”
“Her heading to that warehouse wasn’t part of the plan,” Dallas said.
I shrugged. “How many guys are ahead of her?”
“Three,” Carlyle said. “And my other deputy that’s with me. He’s about five minutes behind them, and he’s gonna perch up around the highway.”
“Perfect,” I said with a nod of my head. “Dallas. Rat. Let’s head out. Carlyle?”
“Wait five minutes and then head out behind you guys?”
I pointed at him. “Find a perch spot that’s closer to the warehouse, but not on top of your other deputy. Stay there, and don’t move for any reason. Just keep a watch for that woman, and follow her wherever she goes. Got it?”
Carlyle nodded. “Got it.”
“Good,” I said as I turned back toward my bike. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here. I’m ready to put some nails in this bitch’s coffin.”