Chapter 38
Tico
The past three days have been the longest of my life. We drove up here the same day Ember was taken and have been planning and executing said plan ever since. The only thing I don’t like is that we’re going to have to hand over almost everyone we capture once we trigger the plan.
With three exceptions.
Scooter, Drone, and Kane are mine.
Thankfully, all three of them are low men on the totem pole for who the Feds are going after so Lucian was able to finagle that arrangement. I had wanted to move in right away, but Lucian made a good point. That if we waited till today, we might be able to bring down The Collector as well.
And he was right.
Half an hour ago, Lucian messaged us that The Collector would be here soon.
As I watch Lucian through the binoculars, I can tell it’s killing him to wait.
All around him, the Chrome Vipers and Oasis people are celebrating having Ember back in their grasp.
And since Lucian is wearing a wire, I can hear everything that those sick fucks want to do to my Ol’ Lady.
“Easy, T,” Lucian says quietly over the line, as if he can sense I’m reaching my limit for listening to their shit.
“I just wish we could handle this our way,” I grumble and I can see him slightly nodding in agreement. From the talks we’ve had, I know he wants everyone here to feel the pain they’ve caused.
“That’s his car,” Lucian says and I lower the binoculars, watching a black SUV approach with a fucking three-car entourage.
The SUV comes to a stop and the cabrón (fucker) even has a fucker open his fucking car door for him. The Collector steps out and I scoff at the fucking expensive suit he’s wearing. He even has a fucking cane.
The Collector, who Weber told us his real name is Earl Andrews, steps forward towards Scooter. Even with my binoculars, I can see the fat fuck sweating.
“So, you finally managed to capture my merchandise. Especially since I’d already paid you in full.” The Collector steps forward a few steps. “Your inability to detain my merchandise doesn’t look very good on our partnership, Scooter.”
Scooter swallows thickly. “We were able to recapture her, so there’s no harm done,” he states, but even from here I can hear the waver in his voice. “And besides, it’s a temporary loan per our contract.”
“And how can you be sure my merchandise hasn’t been soiled already? Has your medic examined her?”
Scooter shares a look with Stitch which has The Collector striking his cane against the cement loudly.
“You incompetent assholes!” He walks forward until he’s right up in Scooter’s face.
“I paid for unsoiled merchandise, and I will be leaving with unsoiled merchandise,” he hisses.
“If she has been soiled, I will be compensated for what I’ve lost. We’re going to retrieve my asset,” he seethes as he pauses to look at the building we know Ember is in before looking back at Scooter, “and if you’ve failed, I’ll be securing three unsoiled assets to take with me in compensation.
Then we’ll be having a discussion to see if we can salvage our partnership. Or if I’ll be cleaning up loose ends.”
They turn, walking towards the building that Lucian says houses the breeding rooms and the cells where they hold their more ‘feistier products’.
Lucian, Scooter, Drone, several other Chrome Vipers, and a few men from Oasis follow them into the building.
Before he enters, Lucian looks over his shoulder in our direction and gives the slightest nod along with a hand gesture.
The signal.
I put down my binoculars and look at the men in my group—Daemon, Taco, Psycho, Chief, and Sandman—and they all dip their chins.
“Moving in for phase one,” I say into my headset and we descend from our perch on the hill.
I palm the remote that will activate our little surprises and in the other, I pull out my gun, though Weber warned us not to shoot to kill unless it was a life-or-death situation.
And while I would really love to make these sick fucks endure everything they’ve done to all the women and children here, my hands are tied since the Feds are involved.
We move through the underbrush until we get to our spot—a large tree near their gate.
“We’re in position.” I pause, waiting for everyone to signal that they’re ready.
“In position,” Weber says.
“In position,” Cobra replies and is followed by three other affirmatives.
I hold up the remote. “Ready in three…two…one.”
I press the button and the explosives we’d buried by their gate explode along with five other spots along their perimeter.
Instantly, chaos explodes among the Chrome Vipers and Oasis men who didn’t follow the others into the building.
I run up to the edge of the destroyed gate, peeking around the corner.
Raising my gun, I spot men rushing our location and take aim, firing off rounds, one after the other, and watch them drop before advancing, knowing they’ll stay down.
I smirk at that.
Weber had given us a little surprise thanks to something Smoke with the Steel Archangels MC had come up with when we battled Oasis a couple of years ago.
Bullets coated in a substance that will immediately distribute a heavy sedative into their bloodstreams. Within seconds, or minutes depending on how much the person weighed, their eyelids will start to droop.
And if we play our cards right, the sedative won’t wear off until they’re already in custody.
Or in our hands in the case of Scooter, Drone, and Kane.
I dart behind a truck to avoid a barrage of bullets and when they die down, I peek around the corner, returning fire.
“Phase two, T. It’s a go,” Weber tells me and I pull out the remote again, pressing the button.
This time, the explosives we buried around their clubhouse and garage explodes, sending debris everywhere.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Shadow,” comes over the headset and I freeze for a second, recognizing Jerry’s voice.
Chingar (Fuck). My stomach sinks as realization sinks in.
Ember.
I look around and seeing that mis hermanos (my brothers) are picking off our enemies, I run for the building where Ember is. I hear someone yelling my name behind me before cursing, but I don’t stop.
The door shuts behind me, and I try to calm my breathing, listening for which way they went. A shout comes from my left, so I turn, gun at the ready and sneak down the corridor. I pass several rooms that are padlocked from the outside, but no sound is coming from them, so I continue.
Turning a corner, I quickly dart back, hoping they didn’t see me.
I wait a few seconds, but when I don’t hear anyone advancing, I quickly pull out my phone, texting for backup.
Right after I hit send, I hear a sound from behind me and my head whips up with my gun aimed, but then I breathe a sigh of relief when I see mis hermanos (my brothers).
Taco squeezes my shoulder. “Two teams split off from ours and are heading to the other entrances to this room,” he whispers and I nod.
“Wire, how are we looking for timing?” I ask and after a few seconds, he responds.
“Wait for my signal, they’re almost in position.”
“You should have fucking obeyed me, bitch. Now you’re going to pay.”
My blood runs cold at Jerry’s hard, emotionless voice and I narrow my eyes.
“No more waiting.”
Rounding the corner, my vision turns red when I see Jerry holding a gun to Ember’s forehead. I raise my gun and fire. Behind me, I hear mis hermanos (my brothers) firing off their own rounds while being cautious of the captives, who thankfully are mostly huddled into corners or under beds.
“Ah!” Jerry cries out as my bullet slams into his shoulder.
He falls off Ember and I turn, shooting again and hitting Rocco’s shoulder, who is standing over Lucian. He falls, clutching his shoulder as he glares at me, pointing at me.
“Kill him!” he yells right as Lucian rips his arms from behind his back and raises a gun to Rocco’s head.
“If anyone moves a muscle, Rocco dies.”
The Chrome Vipers and Oasis fuckers all hesitate, but with mis hermanos (my brothers) and Weber’s men all aiming our guns at them, they lower their weapons, dropping them to the floor.
My gaze locks on Ember, who had at some point grabbed someone’s gun and is pointing it at Jerry while her boot is stepping on his injured shoulder, making him wince in pain. It’s only then that I see the red running down her left arm and I quickly cross the room to her.
“Ember.” I pull her into my arms and hear her take a shuddery breath.
“I knew you’d come, Diego,” she whispers and I feel her body tremble against me.
“I’ll always come for you, Vicious.”
Pulling back, I look at her arm, relieved when I see that they’re just grazes. “Chief!” I call out and he’s quickly at my side, getting to work on her arm.
I turn, looking down at Jerry who is fighting the sedative with everything he has.
Ember takes her foot off Jerry and I swiftly take her place, stepping on his injured shoulder while crouching down, aiming my gun at his face.
Around me, the Feds are gathering up the rest of the Chrome Vipers and Oasis men, handcuffing them and leading them out of the room.
“So, you’re the güevón (asshole) who thought he could kidnap my Ol’ Lady and sell her.
” I make a tsking sound as I lean harder on his shoulder and get out my brass knuckles.
“That was a fucking dumb idea, güevón (asshole). Now, your ass is mine,” I seethe and swing, hitting him in the temple and knocking him out.
“This will do for now until I can properly clean it,” Chief says. “But so far, it doesn’t look like you’ll need stitches.”
Suddenly, Ember straightens and looks around. “Lena!” she calls out and then rushes towards a group of women.
One of them breaks away, sobbing as she clings to Ember. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but I don’t approach, not wanting to intrude. When they pull away, both women wipe tears from their eyes and Ember turns to me.
“Lena’s coming back with us. She was in the cell next to me. She was kidnapped almost a month ago from Sheboygan Falls.”
I look closer at her and then her face clicks in my memory. “You’re one of the ones they kidnapped from across the street from our bar. Our cameras caught it, but we couldn’t find you afterwards.”
Lena nods. “I was walking home from work when they grabbed me. I’d almost given up hope of being rescued until Ember came.”
Ember hugs her again and then bends down, picking up a set of keys off the floor.
“Let’s get the rest of them freed.”
Chief and I follow her around the room—me not ready to take my eyes off her while Chief quietly asks each woman if they have immediate medical needs. Other than minor scratches, they don’t seem to have any major injuries. Thank fuck.
“W-Where will we go?” one of the women asks as she huddles on one of the nearby bunk beds.
Weber steps up beside me. “If you don’t have family that you’d like to be reunited with, there is a battered spouses and children center in Wisconsin that has room if you want to go there.
It is MC protected and it is also a place I can personally vouch for—I’ve been there several times and I know the founders,” he says and the woman’s eyes lock on his FBI badge hanging off his belt.
“Otherwise, we can find you a different shelter if you would prefer.”
She wets her lips as she looks around at the other women who have gathered nearby, listening in. “About half of us were born into this.” She pauses and looks back at Weber. “This other club, are they good men? They won’t hurt us?”
Instantly Weber, myself, and mis hermanos (my brothers) all shake our heads.
“No, they’d never harm any of you,” I tell them.
“The Steel Archangels are a fully legit club and a few of their Ol’ Ladies, some who have survived similar or somewhat similar histories as your own, run the shelter.
Besides the club, they also hire a security company to make sure no one gets in that isn’t supposed to and also to protect everyone inside. ”
The woman rises, walks over to the others, and starts talking quietly with them.
I step back, giving them space to talk amongst themselves. Ember follows, her hand in mine, and Weber steps up to us.
“Per our agreement, Scooter, Drone, and Kane have been placed with some of your men.”
“Where will the others go?” Ember asks and I can feel her body vibrating with rage.
Weber gives her a sympathetic look. “I know you’d rather them have a different fate, but they’ll go into maximum security prison. None of them will ever taste freedom again.”
Ember’s jaw clenches but then she lifts her chin slightly. “I have one request.”
Weber cocks an eyebrow at her in question and I frown, wondering what it is she wants.
“I want to talk to The Collector one more time before you take him.”
My muscles tense. “Absolutely not.”
Ember turns to me with fire in his eyes. “Absolutely fucking yes. This is non-negotiable, Tico. There is something I need to say to the fucker before he’s hauled out of here.”
My breathing comes heavy, hating this but before I can reply, Weber answers.
“That can be arranged and he’ll be heavily restrained,” Weber says which reassures me. I still don’t like it, but I get it.
“Fine,” I grumble, pulling her close and kissing her temple. “You’re gonna be the death of me, Vicious.”
She huffs out a laugh and pats my chest. “Gotta keep you on your toes, Handsome.” She leans up, kissing me. Then she sobers. “What about Uncle Marcus? Is he safe? He’s not going to jail, is he?”
I turn to Weber who shakes his head.
“No, he turned informant before going down to Sheboygan Falls. He was Lucian’s inside man. He’ll come with us to testify, but then he’ll be free to go once the trials are over.”
Ember releases a shaky breath, her eyes misting slightly. “Good. He always hated everything that Scooter got the club into.”
The conversation trails off as the woman who spoke before steps forward and surprisingly, Ember takes her hand.
“What does everyone want to do, Jezebel?”
It takes me a moment but then the name clicks.
She’s the one that stitched up Ember when Scooter, Drone, and Bug attacked her after her mom died.
Jezebel looks hesitantly between us and swallows thickly. “We’d like to go to the club’s shelter if they have room for us. We want to stay together as much as possible. There’s thirty of us in total and ten kids. Do they have room for that many?”
Weber nods. “Yes, they do. I talked to them before the raid. They also have a little daycare onsite as well as doctors and therapists, and there’s a park for the kids to play at. You’ll all be safe there.”
Tears well in Jezebel’s eyes as she nods hesitantly, as if she still can’t believe that she’s free.
I glance over at the women, noting the cautious hope on each of their faces but also seeing the varying brokenness in each of their eyes. While we can’t do anything about the past, I hope like fuck that the shelter’s support and community will help them heal in time.