Chapter 13 #2
And just like that, we launched into preparing for a mission.
We’d employ whatever resources we felt were necessary.
Aubrielle remained in church with us since this initial part required her.
While she absorbed what was said, I kept her close, rubbing her arm, trying to ease the tension humming through her.
???
In less than a week, we had the initial meeting set. After church on Sunday, I coached Aubrielle on what to say. We’d returned to the house, where it was quiet. When she was ready, she placed the call on speaker. I sat next to her, listening. Her hands were clenched.
Oliver answered after the third ring. He pretended to be apologetic about how things went the night before. He told her that he had spoken to her brother, Rome, and assured her that Rome wouldn’t be a problem. Then, he asked if she was calling to return home.
I was proud of how calm she was. Aubrielle explained that the club had discussed his offer to meet. We were willing. However, there were a couple of stipulations. She asked her dad if it was okay to bring me into the conversation.
Oliver had agreed, and after she muted the call, pretending to get me, I gave her a sound kiss for strength, then we unmuted it.
There was some back-and-forth. Oliver insisted we come to their home.
I told him it wasn’t happening. It was a location not in either party’s territory.
Reluctantly, her dad gave in and asked for a date and time.
I set it up for Friday, five days away, at ten o’clock at night.
The location was outside Clinchport, a cluster of homes with fewer than one hundred people, which lay between Bristol and Big Stone Gap.
The majority of the tiny town had been wiped out, or its residents had moved, after a huge flood in the late seventies hit the area.
Clinchport was remote, with cabins and abandoned structures dotting the area.
The thick growth of trees helped to hide nefarious deeds.
Exact GPS coordinates would be sent an hour before the meet.
Oliver hadn’t liked that part, but he had no choice, and he knew it, so he agreed.
On Monday, I took her to turn in her key to her landlord.
The woman met us at the apartment. She had been sad to see Aubrielle go, but she had a waiting list of renters.
After verifying the apartment’s condition, the owner had no problem returning the deposit and told us she could lease it right away. It was a relief for the week.
The week had been a rough one for Aubrielle.
She struggled to concentrate. Her sleep was disturbed.
Mayhem offered her time off, but she declined.
It was her only escape, as she called it.
However, tonight, she was off because of the meetup.
The only other thing she had done today was start her computer class at the college.
As usual, I took her there, this time accompanied by Jonas.
He assured me he’d never take his eyes off her and if he spotted trouble, he’d call.
Everything had gone fine. I went to pick her up and found her and Jonas deep in conversation.
They both said they believed the class would be valuable.
For the remainder of the day, we spent time together until my brothers got home, and then those going with us met to go over final preparations, not that there was much.
We’d worked on it every evening this week.
There would be four of us: Mayhem, Reaper, Crusher, and me, plus Aubrielle.
Since we didn’t trust her family, we had seven others hidden nearby in case the Carters brought reinforcements.
Our backup was Romulus, Remus, Tinker, Ink, Hail, Gravel, and Diesel.
The rest of the guys were at the compound or covering Eden.
We wouldn’t leave the families at the compound without protection.
It was a relief to leave. We rode our bikes.
We weren’t sure if the Carters had anyone watching our compound.
If it were us, we would. Because of that possibility, we took the precaution of letting our backup leave the compound through a rear gate that led to a road connecting to a main hardtop road a few miles from the front gate.
They would arrive before us and stake it out.
Aubrielle was tense during the ride. I rubbed her thigh, trying to ease it. Her fear of her family tore me up. Only time and the results would show her what our club was capable of.
The GPS location for the meet was a cabin that happened to belong to Hail’s family.
It was used for the occasional hunting party or weekend getaways.
It had basic amenities, including electricity, water, and an indoor bathroom.
However, it had a wood-burning fireplace, which allowed for a more rustic feel, according to Hail.
And it was buried back in the trees where no one saw it unless they specifically took the private dirt road to the place.
We arrived ten minutes before ten o’clock.
There were two vehicles there. One was an SUV and the other a pickup truck.
They were moderately expensive, not the luxury kind you’d expect from someone making money the way her family was rumored to be.
It showed they were careful not to flaunt their money.
Killing our engines, we took our time getting off our bikes.
It was to stretch out their nerves, not ours.
As a precaution, each of us, including Aubrielle, wore a Kevlar vest under our clothes. She was shocked at the weight. In addition, hidden in each of our ears was a tiny, almost invisible earpiece. It allowed our backup to monitor us and for both sides to communicate.
There was a light on inside the cabin. Hail had ridden out here early today and unlocked it.
As we approached the door, it swung open, flooding the room with light and casting Oliver Carter into the shadows.
When we got close enough, I noticed his fake, welcoming smile. It might fool others, but not us.
“So glad we could arrange this. Nice place. Come inside, let’s get comfortable,” he said pleasantly. He acted as if he were the owner and in charge. For now, we’d allow it.
Reaper motioned for Oliver to precede him inside. A barely perceptible twitch of his cheek told me Aubrielle’s dad disliked turning his back to us. Good. But he complied. It was up to him to win us over to this partnership. After he did, we’d loosen up enough to be convincing.
Inside, I examined the room. It was a moderately sized cabin with only two rooms. The main area, which combined the living area, kitchen, bedroom, and a small bathroom, according to what Hail had told us.
Without a word, Mayhem moved over to check the other door, making sure no one was hiding there. Rome’s jaw tightened.
In addition to Oliver, Jock, Rome, and Jace, they had brought another guy. There was no doubt he was a fighter. I heard Aubrielle’s faint inhalation. I leaned down to nuzzle her ear so I could whisper.
“What’s wrong?”
She kissed me, then ran her lips up my jaw, whispering back, “That’s their prize fighter, Truce. The one Spawn said was threatening to leave them.”
Our conversation was private from her family and from this Truce guy, but everyone else heard what we said because of the earpieces.
I squeezed her hand before straightening.
I didn’t expect expressions of total welcome from her dad, uncle, and brothers.
However, it was the hatred on Truce’s face as he stared at Aubrielle and me that surprised me. What the hell was that for?
“Thank you for coming. Make yourself comfortable,” Oliver stated. He kept acting as if he owned the place, which would irritate Hail to no end.
“How did you find this spot?” Oliver tacked on as we found places to sit.
There weren’t enough chairs or sofa space, so I sat on the bed with my woman. Crusher and Mayhem leaned against the walls behind the chair Reaper took. Oliver, Jace, Jock, and Rome took the other seats, leaving Truce to stand.
“A friend told us about it a while back. He mentioned there was a good hunting cabin out this way. I’ve never been here before today.
It seemed best to meet somewhere between you and us.
We didn’t get to introduce ourselves fully last time.
I’m Reaper, president of the Iron Punishers.
You’ve met Mayhem. He’s our enforcer, and next to him is Crusher, our sergeant-at-arms. And lastly, this is Shadow, Aubrielle’s old man.
I don’t need to introduce your daughter,” Reaper said, smirking.
Rome shifted at the mention of me being Aubrielle’s man, but a quelling look from his dad froze him in place.
Truce stared holes through me. What the hell was his problem?
Had he taken too many punches to the head?
Or was he that loyal to the Carters? Maybe Spawn’s information was wrong, and the guy had no intention of leaving them.
Jace appeared to wish he were anywhere but here. Jock looked sorta lost.
“Hello. Pleasure to meet you officially. I’m Oliver, Aubrielle’s father, and these are her brothers, Rome and Jace, and my brother, Jock.
And this is an associate, Truce. First, I want to say we’re sorry about the misunderstanding the other night.
Emotions were running high. We’ve been worried about my daughter.
She hasn’t been home or spoken to us in a few months,” the eldest Carter explained, as if it excused his actions.
“You’re lucky. We typically won’t give someone a do-over after they insult and piss us off.
Mayhem and Shadow, in particular, weren’t initially for this meeting.
Your son treated his sister and Mayhem’s old lady like whores.
You need to know that further disrespect will result in us leaving and you having zero contact with Aubrielle and us,” Pres warned them.