20. Soul
Soul
The auto body shop is buzzing when I peel off my helmet. The familiar scent of motor oil floods my nose, and I hate that after all these years, my insides still recoil at that scent.
Dad came home reeking of it most days. The only thing he liked more than drinking and fucking patch bunnies was fixing up cars. That’s probably why I never got into it.
Havoc lifts his head out of an engine and grins when he spots me. “Look who’s pretending he’s actually going to get his hands dirty.”
I flip him off, and he chuckles. “You wish I was here to help your lazy ass. I’m here for Steel.”
“Office.” He tips his chin at the door in the back of the shop, chuckling at my joke when he knows I avoid the shop as much as possible.
Unlike him.
Kings Auto is one of our oldest legit businesses, and even when we were kids, Havoc was always hanging around the bays, itching to get his hands on something that needed rebuilding. Now, he spends more time here than at the clubhouse.
It’s fine by me so long as Steel doesn’t need me to do it.
We all have our roles within the club, but most members, ranked or not, hold other jobs for the club to keep everything running. Havoc handles Kings Auto, while Chaos handles our strip club, Sapphire Rise. Legacy does our books, and Ghost deals with security and surveillance.
As the vice president, I don’t handle any one thing. Mostly, I just take care of the shit Steel doesn’t want to do—like this morning when we needed one of our recent shipments moved to a different location because the cops have been sniffing around that particular warehouse district.
It’s only early afternoon, and I’m already tired and annoyed.
I walk through the shop, earning a nod from a few of the guys as I pass. Aimee is seated on a workbench, legs dangling directly in Havoc’s line of sight.
“Hey, Soul.” She smiles. “What are you doing here?”
“Being distracting,” Havoc answers for me.
“Seems like that’s her job.” I jut a thumb at Aimee, grinning.
Havoc stands tall, bracing his hands on the car. “If so, she’s doing a damn good job.”
Aimee smiles widely, not the least bit guilty that it takes Havoc twice as long to work on anything so long as she’s at the shop with him. At least if she’s here, he’s happy. And when he’s happy, shit gets done, and I’m not needed.
“Stop flirting and get back to work.” I slap Havoc on the shoulder as I walk past.
“At least I’m working,” he yells after me, and a few of the guys chuckle.
As promised, Steel is in the office, staring at a stack of papers like he’s on the brink of losing his mind. There’s nothing he hates more than dealing with the business aspects of running the club, even if he’s damn good at it.
“You look like hell.” I drop into the chair at the other side of the desk.
Steel leans back, rubbing his hand down his face. “The city is citing us for an environmental violation over how we’re storing antifreeze. It’s bullshit, of course.”
“Zane?” I guess.
He has the city council in his back pocket.
And the cops.
And just about everyone who has the power to fuck with us in Vegas.
Steel nods.
“Legacy said he’s getting somewhere with the bank accounts. He and Ghost found something new apparently. Another shell corporation or offshore account, or something. You’ll have to ask them to explain that shit.”
I’ve never been great with numbers or computers. In school, I was better at getting into trouble than passing tests. Thankfully, the club doesn’t give a shit if I’m book smart so long as I can handle what needs to be done for them.
“Legacy said he’ll have something for us in a day or two.”
“Good.” Steel taps the arm of his chair. “How’d the transfer go?”
“It’s done. I still can’t figure out how the cops could have suspected that warehouse. We were careful.”
“Can’t seem to be careful enough lately.” There’s grit in his tone, and I hate that everything he says lately sounds like he’s suspicious of Emery.
Steel and I have butted heads more than a few times over the years, but we’ve never struggled with trust until Emery came into the picture.
“I don’t think Zane had anything to do with the eyes on our shipments,” I say. “Since the Iron Sinners fell, there have been plenty of other clubs sniffing around. Could have been any one of them.”
“Didn’t say I thought it was Zane.”
“You didn’t have to.” I shake my head. “Look, I know you’re pissed about the wedding.”
“I’m pissed about a lot of shit right now, but the wedding isn’t one of them.” He leans forward, bracing his forearms on the desk. “A heads-up would have been nice, but we both know you’ll do what the fuck you want either way. If you’re happy, then good. You deserve it.”
There’s no sarcasm, and even if we’ve been at odds about Emery being here, his statement sounds genuine.
“Thanks.” I clear my throat.
Steel nods. “Shit’s about to hit the fan. I feel it. We need a united front to see that shit through. We’ve got to figure this out for the club.”
“Did Tempe make you practice that speech in the mirror?” I joke.
Steel glares, but he can’t hold back his chuckle. “She might have made me promise to bring it up.”
“Figured.” I laugh because that sounds like Tempe, playing the peacekeeper, drawing out Steel’s soft side when she knows she’s the only one who can. “She’s a smart one.”
“Don’t I know it.” His phone rings, and he pulls it out. “Speaking of…”
Steel leans back, and the chair creaks with the movement. He’s smiling now. But not the same smile he gives the guys when they tell a joke or do something stupid. It’s the smile reserved only for Tempe and their kids.
“Hey, wildfire,” Steel answers. “I’m just finishing—”
His grin falls, and he shoots to standing. Tempe’s voice is panicked on the other end of the line, but I can’t make out what she’s saying.
“When?” His tone is that of the president now. “Ember? Austin?”
Tempe says something that has Steel’s shoulders loosening, even if it does little to erase the tension.
“Okay, we’ll be right there. Stay inside with the kids.” He hangs up, and his phone is already ringing again, just as mine starts to ring from my pocket. “Let’s go.”
Steel bolts out of the office with me on his heels. At the side of the bay, I spot Havoc on his phone, his expression grim.
“What the fuck is going on?” I ask, pulling my phone out and seeing Chaos’s name on the screen.
Steel types out a text instead of answering the next call coming through. “Feds just stormed the property.”
“What the hell?” I follow after him, shoving my phone into my pocket as Havoc jogs out of the shop, aiming for his bike. “At least we moved the shipment off-site last week.”
“They weren’t there for guns.” Steel pauses at his bike, his jaw tense.
I’ve known Steel my whole life. Long enough to know whatever he’s not saying is not good.
“What happened?”
“They got Emery, Hayes.” Steel drags his hand through his hair. “They went straight to the neighborhood and said they’d received a report that she was being held against her will.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“I know.” He takes a deep breath, and I know whatever he’s going to say next is going to make this ten times worse. “She tried to leave Charlie with Tempe, but they wouldn’t let her. They took them both.”
My heart is a lead anchor that sinks so fast and hard that my feet are rooted in place for a second. I swear there were sounds a moment ago, but now, there’s nothing but my blood thundering between my temples.
“Soul.” Steel grabs my shoulder, snapping me out of my spiral, but it doesn’t stop my vision from tunneling.
“He fucking did it,” I say, not able to process the words, much less believe them. “On our own damn property. She should have been safe.”
I promised she’d be safe there. That Charlie would be safe.
I’m going to be sick.
“We’ll figure it out,” Steel promises. “We’ll get them back.”
When I meet his stare, there’s nothing but determination blazing. He’s had his doubts about Emery, but in this moment, he’s not my president. He’s my brother.
“I need them, Jameson. Emery. My daughter—” My voice cracks.
“I know.” He nods once, gripping my shoulder. “We’ll get them. I promise.”
The ride back to the compound takes forever, partly because I know I’m going the wrong direction.
Emery and Charlie aren’t there anymore. They’re with the Feds.
Or worse, back with Emery’s uncle. Either way, every fiber in my being resists returning to the clubhouse when I’m certain each mile puts more distance between me and them.
After spending ten months scouring all of Vegas for Emery, I thought my patience had been tested. This ride proves me wrong. I’d only scratched the surface because I’m summoning restraint from the depths of my soul as I stay at Steel’s side.
We reach the gate to the compound, and it’s off its hinges, evidence of the Feds ramming straight through it.
It’s like they knew the guys were mostly scattered today, working on other things.
There weren’t enough bodies here to stop them in time, especially since they went to the neighborhood, not the clubhouse.
By the time Ghost’s alert came through about the damage to the gate, they were already dragging Emery and Charlie into a car.
Havoc beelines for the clubhouse, while I go with Steel to the neighborhood. By the time we pull up to his house, Tempe, Reagan, and Luna are on the porch with tears streaking their faces.
One more nail in Zane’s coffin.
“Jameson.” Tempe darts off the porch, running into Steel’s arms.
He hasn’t even gotten off his bike when she wraps herself around him. He holds her in his lap, whispering something into her ear while she sobs against his chest. Only when I climb off my bike does she finally look up.
Tears fall freely down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Soul. I tried—I had Charlie, and then they just took her. I couldn’t stop them.”
“It’s not your fault, wildfire.” Jameson tucks her hair behind her ear.
“It’s not,” I second. “This isn’t on anyone but the assholes who came here. Thank you for trying.”
“She was crying—” Tempe sobs, collapsing against Steel again. “I should have done something else.”
“Tempe.” I stop beside Steel’s bike, and she looks up at me with tears in her eyes. “You did everything right. This isn’t on you. This is on them.”
My insides churn, but for Tempe—for Emery and Charlie—I can’t break down. They need me.
Steel’s phone rings, and Tempe slides off his bike, wiping the underside of her eyes. He doesn’t release her hand as he answers his call.
“Tell me you know where they are,” Steel says as a muffled voice comes from the other end of the line. “We’ll meet you at the clubhouse in thirty.”
He hangs up, climbing off his bike and kissing Tempe on the forehead.
“Go, I’ll be okay.” She plants her hands on his chest.
“You sure?”
“The girls have got me.” She looks over her shoulder, where Reagan and Luna nod assurances.
“Stay inside. I’m sending a few guys out now to watch the neighborhood.”
She nods, biting her lower lip and turning away.
Steel waits until the girls are gone before turning to me. “Tanner is heading to the clubhouse. He figured out where they’re holding Emery and Charlie. The good news is that they’re still with the Feds.”
“The bad news?”
“They’re still with the Feds.”
“Fuck.” I drag my hand down my face.
“Tanner has some ideas, but we’re going to have to wait and hear him out. If they don’t let her go willingly, it’s going to get messy.”
“Then we figure it out, or I’m storming that damn building.”
I’m not the kind of man who deserves two people as wonderful as Emery and Charlie. But now that I have them, I’m not letting them go. Even if it means I need to go down in order to make that happen.