Chapter 32
HAWK
The rules went down before Hart unpacked the second tablet. I laid them out on the table with a splay of my hands while Diesel stood behind me and four of my men watched the perimeter.
“Your people don’t set foot on this property without my say.
Evidence stays in your chain of command.
Nobody,” I paused and gave him a look that made most men turn pasty.
“No one pulls a trigger unless they’re already being shot at.
You get the collar, you get the case and the credit. We stay out of the paperwork.”
Hart held out his hand. “Agreed.”
That was why I’d agreed to work with him and not the county sheriff. Hart understood, and based on what I’d seen and heard, he had his own vendetta against the Hellhounds.
Good. We needed another man like that in our corner.
He built a warrant stack while I watched.
The ledger photos became the backbone of the setup, the names, routes and all the juicy information Callie had saved matching up with active sightings.
He layered the drone card timestamps over that, putting the Hellhound surveillance assets on our property on three separate dates.
Once he added in the school sign-out footage and cross-referenced his database with Diesel’s found footage, we had a name he tacked onto the list.
The plates from the vehicles that chased us last night went down next, then he backed up to the traffic cam footage from the fire at Callie’s shop.
Every single piece lined up. It was a fucking masterpiece of interconnected layers that not even Ridge would be able to wiggle out of.
“You getting him too?” I pointed at Ridge’s name on the papers.
Hart’s mouth pulled to one side. “He’s either the luckiest asshole on the planet or has half the force in his pocket.
I’m close to getting him, but I need a little more to make sure it sticks.
If I take him down, it needs to be one hundred percent perfect or he’ll slip through my fingers.
” His jaw tightened. “I’m not letting that happen, but I need a little more time for Ridge. ”
I didn’t like it, but I had nothing else to offer him.
By two in the morning, he had what he needed, including a warrant signed by a judge he trusted.
“Diesel.” I barely had to turn my head to spot the man who hadn’t moved from just behind my right shoulder.
He took a step forward, arms still crossed, eyes going bloodshot from the hell we’d all been through.
I tapped the table, my fingers inches away from Hart’s work.
“Take Preacher and Dylan. You’re going to run a silent brigade to watch the Hellhound lieutenant.
Keep an eye on all exits, especially that parking garage he favors out on Lincoln.
You’re backup for Hart and his team. They’ll hit the front doors the way they’re trained. ”
“We’ll have men on every exit.” Hart rolled his shoulders, then his neck. “But I wouldn’t mind extra men, especially ones who know the Hellhounds and can see things I won’t.”
Diesel nodded. “We’ll go set up.” He left the room with barely a look over his shoulder.
Callie had left the room hours ago to check on Cody, and we’d been running so many scenarios that I’d finally come to a decision on how this all needed to play out.
Colt was a wildcard. Even now, he sat in the corner, shoulder bandaged and rage replacing the emptiness now that he had his son back.
I straightened and crossed the room to stand beside him. “You’re staying here.”
An immediate refusal launched him up with a curse. “You need me.”
“Your family needs you here.” I drilled a finger into his chest, being careful to avoid his wound. “Stay here with Cody and Callie. Watch out for them. You’re a liability out there. If any of them see you, this turns into a personal war. We don’t need that level of bullshit.”
He opened his mouth, no doubt to argue, then snapped it shut. From the man who used to run at every opportunity to the guy who stayed for his kid. Talk about a turnaround.
“We’re all his family. We all belong to Callie.
” Colt pitched his voice low enough to reach me and no one else.
“Don’t act like you and Diesel are going to walk away when this is over, because that’s bullshit.
We are a family. So I’ll stay here, but the two of you are coming back so we can do this the right way. ”
There was no right way. There was what we wanted, what I’d changed the rules to get, and what we should do. Which was walk away. We should let Colt, Cody, and Callie create their perfect family that would never cause any kind of eyebrow raising or questions.
Hell. I ran a hand through my hair, annoyed by the smirk Colt sent my way. “Keep your radio on. I want updates from the house.”
Colt tapped his forehead with one finger. “Sure thing, boss.”
“Take Cody and Callie to the safe room.”
Colt rolled his eyes, but there was no heat in the move, just stubborn annoyance. “I know. Jesus, you think I’m going to park them out here on the couch or something?” He nudged me toward the door. “Go take care of this so we can put it all behind us. I’m tired of the bullshit.”
Yeah. We all were. Colt left the room with hurried steps.
Less than a minute later, Callie’s voice drifted through the house, and I spotted Cody in Colt’s old hoodie as Colt guided them to the hidden door leading into the safe room beneath the house.
“Okay.” I slapped my hands together. “I’m going out to watch over the operation. I’ll hold back a good distance but I’ll be in the area if you need an extra set of wheels.” I stuck my earpiece in and checked in with Diesel.
We’d upgraded from handheld radios a while back but never really used the more sophisticated technology until tonight.
A rattle of footsteps sounded in my ear, then Callie’s low voice. “For the record, I hate this, Hawk. I can hear everyone walking over us. It’s creepy.”
“But it’s safe.” I called out orders to my team on my way out the door, Hart on my heels.
Callie sighed. “And I hate that I understood every word you just said. There’s something to that saying about ignorance being bliss.” Another sigh, then, “Be careful, Hawk. All of you. You hear me, Diesel? I don’t expect you to answer, but you better come back. Both of you.”
My chest squeezed tight at the emotion in her voice. I’d never heard anything like it before, and it reminded me of everything we had to lose if all this went south. “See you soon, Callie.” I would do everything in my power to make that true.
Two of my guys fell in step behind me as I left the house and swung onto my bike.
The ride to the other side of town helped clear my head and get me focused on the main objective.
Clearing out the filth the Hellhounds created had to be my priority.
None of us could keep going and move on with our lives as long as they were around to cause trouble.
“Two guys are going to try and break for the county line on the south entrance.” Diesel spoke low and calm into my ear.
“Choke point activate.” Hart’s voice snapped out sharp and engines roared as all three of us sped up to reach the action. “Get it all on camera.”
“Body cams live.” A new voice joined in. “Two bikes coming our way. Choke closing in.”
I listened to it all as we weaved around cars and hit a side road that would spit us out within eyesight of the Hellhound house.
“Breech.” Hart spoke again, and a thud followed. Footsteps surged.
I’d have loved to be there, to be right in the thick of the action, but while we were welcome to help from the sidelines, I didn’t dare enter that house with Hart out of respect for the case he’d built. If we showed up on camera, there would be too many questions.
So I throttled back and stopped a block away in one of the safe zones Diesel had pointed out somewhere around midnight when he and Hart tagged cameras.
“Got one trying to destroy evidence.” The voice I didn’t recognize continued. “Looks like the lieutenant. Caught him trying to destroy phones and dump a bag of documents. Evidence secured.”
Fuck that had been close. We had the ledger photos, which gave us a lot of information, but anything this crew had would only help build the case against them, especially if Hart could cross reference more matching data.
“Secondary units engage. Close in on all locations. We’re still looking for Ridge.” Anger threaded through the radio as Hart cursed. “Let’s go.”
An hour later, confirmation came through the comms. The Hellhounds had lost their leverage and all plausible deniability.
There was something to be said for a sanctioned pressure campaign that came off without a hitch.
Now they were exposed and if Hart continued to do his job, we were all safe.
Except he hadn’t managed to find Ridge or secure a warrant for him.
“Circle back.” I gave the order to go home and turned around.
Adrenaline pumped, but I managed to keep it under control.
Would’ve been nice to storm the compound and get a first-hand account of everything but like Callie agreeing to stay in the safe room, I had to do what was best for my guys and to make sure every conviction held enough weight to stick.
I drove to the property with the radio chatter in my ear and the wide open road helping bleed out the adrenaline so that by the time I parked and made my way to the safe room, I no longer had that narrow focus of one objective.
Everything rushed in at once, and I paused at the top of the steps leading down to the door where my heart and soul remained quiet but safe. I knocked twice and Colt opened the door, stepping back and to the side with a finger against his lips.
Callie sat on the single bed, her back against the wall and Cody in her lap. He’d curled into a ball, his entire body drawn up into the hoodie except for one hand that held a fistful of Callie’s shirt.
Her eyes remained closed, the sunken cheeks and dark shadows beneath her eyes almost convincing me not to wake her up. But she’d want to know. She deserved to know that we’d made serious progress tonight.
I sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand between mine. “Callie.” I wasn’t the kind of man who softened my words, but I did temper the usual hardness. “We did it. The Hellhounds can’t come after you anymore.”
Her eyelashes fluttered, a moment of sleepiness clouding her face before it cleared. She inhaled deeply and blinked. “If this is a dream, I’m going to be so pissed off.”
Colt snorted a laugh behind her.
“You’re not going to ask if I’m sure?” I almost grinned. It would be completely in line with Callie to question me a million different ways until she was satisfied with my answer.
She rested her cheek against Cody’s head and squeezed my fingers. “I trust you, Hawk.”
“It’s not completely over. You still need to give an official statement.”
“Hawk.” Diesel stepped into the room. His choppy hair stood up on one side where he’d been riding, but the way he stood in the doorway with his hands curled into fists kept me from pointing it out.
“Yeah?”
“Got another update.” His gaze skipped from me to Callie and back to me. “Hart got the last warrant. He has what he needs to go after Ridge.”
I stood and rubbed my hands together, the adrenaline returning so fast everything else fell away. “We finish it today.”