Chapter 18 Five to One #2
Cal shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “We’ve dealt with threats from assholes far worse than Frank. Gathering all the information we can beforehand is important.”
“Are you on board with us taking over once you call him?” Blood asked.
As much as I wanted to obey the law, I recognized there wasn’t any other choice. My sister would be in the crosshairs no matter what, and I probably would be too.
“Yeah. I’m on board.”
Blood nodded. “That’s good because it’s time for you to call this bastard.”
Punc guided me to the breakfast bar where I’d left my phone on the charger. I grabbed it, scrolled through my recent calls, and hit Frank’s contact.
“Is this Savannah?” Frank asked when he answered my call.
“Yes, um, I have some extra money and wanted to put it toward the loan.”
“Is that so?” he asked.
Punc stood next to me, his shoulder against mine so he could hear both sides of the conversation.
“It is, would you be able to come by tomorrow—”
“Is this the insurance settlement money?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, sticking to short answers so he wouldn’t catch on to my lie.
Frank paused. “Why are you calling on a Sunday?”
My nerves gave way to irritation. “Does that really matter, or do you want your money?”
“Don’t piss me off, Savannah,” Frank said in a low voice.
Punc grabbed a memo pad and scrawled a note - the check had to be converted to cash.
I put some sweetness in my tone. “Since you don’t take checks, I had to get the money in cash. That took some time.”
“Why didn’t Doug tell me you had the money? My men found him walking back from your neighborhood.”
My stomach sank at that info, but I forced myself not to show any reaction. “If I’d told Dad, he’d have taken the money and run.”
Frank hummed, then said, “I can see that. You’re much smarter than he is.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s not saying much. So…first thing tomorrow or do I need to tell my boss I’ll be late?”
Again, Frank paused. “You’re in luck, I don’t have any plans for this evening. I’ll be by in twenty minutes.”
My eyes widened, but I kept my tone neutral. “All righty.”
Frank chuckled and ended the call.
Punc leaned sideways against the breakfast bar, and repeated Frank’s side of the conversation to his MC brothers.
When he finished, I caught Punc’s attention. “I think he knows about you. Dad probably said something when he saw Frank.”
Punc shook his head. “You’re probably right, but there’s no time to worry about that, babe.” He tipped his head at Razor. “Time to move your truck. I’ll head next door to let Mr. Hader know who you are.”
Razor and Punc went out the front door. Blood and Tundra wandered to the French doors that led to the back patio.
“Is there a gate that leads into your backyard?” Blood asked.
“Or any exterior side doors to the house?” Tundra asked.
I shook my head. “There are no side doors, but the gate next to the garage leads into the backyard. Why do you ask?”
Blood held my gaze for a moment. “Tundra and I will be in the back yard. You’re right to assume that Frank knows about Punc being here. If Frank thinks something’s up, he’ll probably bring one of his men with him.”
Punc came back inside and went to his bag near the couch. He pulled out a gun and a knife, tucking both into holsters.
I sidled up to him. “You’re probably going to tell me not to worry, but my stomach’s in knots, and I’m getting a bad feeling about all this.”
Punc wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. “Babe, second-guessing things now doesn’t help us. We thought he might do something like this, and we’re as prepared as we can be for the possibility of an ambush.”
After a moment, I said, “It seems too easy.”
Punc shrugged a shoulder. “Get used to it, Smythe. Now that you’re with me, life is gonna get much easier.”
“Just like that?”
He brushed his lips against mine. “Damn right, ‘just like that.’”
I loved having this man looking out for me. A sense of relief was building, but I didn’t quite trust it. I gave him a small smile. “What about the money?”
Punc shook his head. “You aren’t actually paying him, babe.”
“But when he sees me without any cash…”
“I’m gonna be right behind you. That’s gonna tip him off that something’s up.”
Blood set a wad of cash on the end table. “If you want to keep up the ruse, carry that out, and try to be discreet with it. He probably won’t suspect anything because most people get nervous when they have large amounts of cash.”
Punc grabbed the cash, thumbed the end of the bills, and shot Blood a look. “We could send her out with an envelope.”
“I did that the first time I paid him. He told me not to do that again,” I said.
Both men looked at me, anger simmering in their eyes. I quickly filled the stifling silence. “I wrote the total amount paid on the envelope, so that might have been the bigger issue.”
Blood slowly shook his head. “You’re too damn soft for the likes of Punc.”
“What the fuck?” Punc asked.
At the same time, I asked, “What do you mean?”
Blood leaned a little closer. “That asshole doesn’t offer receipts, tells you not to bring the cash out in an envelope because you marked how much you paid, and you don’t want us to kill him. That makes you soft…‘sweet Ava.’”
I tipped my head to concede the point. “It’s not that I’m soft. I’ve always been told that Karma’s a bitch, and after the past few months, I don’t need any more bad Karma.”
Blood gave the slightest of nods. “Which room is your sister’s?”
“The bedroom on the right, but she isn’t here.”
Blood grinned. “Frank doesn’t know that…hell, from what I hear, he’s likely to assume she is here. Either way, Cal’s gonna keep watch in her room. The guest bedroom is right next to it, if he hears someone coming in through there, he’ll be on it.”
Something about Blood’s words fired up my nerves. Proving how in sync with me he was, Punc slid his finger along my jaw and turned my face toward his. “Take a deep breath, Savannah. Everything’s gonna be fine.”
I nodded.
My cell rang. I moved to the breakfast bar and saw Frank’s name on the screen. “I’m guessing he’s here.” I picked it up and took the call. “Hello.”
“I’m in the driveway.”
“Be right there,” I said.
The phone double beeped and I tucked it into my back pocket.
Punc had his head bent to his phone and fired off a text. “All right. As soon as you walk out the door, Razor’s moving his truck to block him in. I’m coming out with you.”
I grabbed the money, and led the way to the front door.
Frank stood next to his BMW. He wore dark sunglasses and glanced at Razor’s truck when the engine turned over. The moment he caught sight of me and Punc, he yanked his aviators off.
“Bringing your boyfriend into this was a bad idea, Savannah,” Frank said.
“I’m her man, not her boyfriend. And forcing her to pay is a huge mistake, Darren.”
Frank twisted at the waist as Razor parked his truck behind the Beamer. He turned back to me with a sneer. “Had a feeling you’d try something after I saw the motorcycle in the drive last month. My threats aren’t idle, Savannah. Your sister’s going to suffer for this.”
Part of me wanted to gloat that Catalina wasn’t even here, but I restrained myself.
My body jolted when I heard what sounded like glass shattering, and it sounded like it came from the back of the house. Reflexively, I looked over my shoulder.
“Surprised she’s not screaming by now,” Frank muttered.
“Any of your other men with you?” Razor asked coming up behind Frank.
Frank’s expression became proud as he looked at Razor. “Beauford’s crazy enough, I don’t need anyone but him.”
Razor shook his head. “I shouldn’t have asked. You’re probably lying.”
Frank sighed. “Whatever you two are planning, it’s going to backfire. One of my men is expecting my call, and when I don’t get in touch, this is all over.”
“We’re willing to risk it,” Punc said.
I noticed movement from the corner of my eye. Tundra and Blood trudged through the front yard. They were frog marching a brawny man, who I assumed was Beauford, toward Razor’s truck. As the man struggled in their hold, I saw he had a split lip and a swollen eye.
Alarm flickered in Frank’s eyes.
Punc stepped in front of Frank. “You got two choices. Get in the truck willingly, or I put you in it.”
Beauford dug his heels in when Blood and Tundra got him to the passenger side of the truck. Cal came up behind Beauford and helped them get the burly guy into the truck.
Frank shook his head. “There’s a third option. Pete should have heard from me by now.”
Razor fiddled with his phone, then held it out in front of Frank. “That’s a pic from another Riot MC brother. He took it ten minutes ago. It’s right outside your base of operations. Pete’s a little tied up with the cops.”
The side-eye Frank shot at Razor fell flat.
“Get in the truck,” Punc ordered.
Frank hesitated. Razor took that opportunity to pull Frank’s cell phone from his belt holster. He shoved it into his back pocket and glanced meaningfully at his truck.
Punc lost his patience and threw a punch at Frank’s face. I glanced over at the Hader house. There was no sign of anyone over there, but that could be deceiving.
My guess was that it was close to a quarter to six, and the summer sun was still bright. Our neighborhood was quiet, but a car could drive by at any moment.
Frank lunged at Punc, only for Razor to throw an arm out and pull Frank into a headlock. He struggled but instantly stopped when Razor put the muzzle of a gun to Frank’s temple.
“Time to go, Frankie,” Razor said. He locked eyes with Punc. “Check his car. If the keys aren’t in the ignition, get ‘em out of his pocket.”
Punc opened the door to the BMW and a faint dinging sound could be heard. “They’re in the car.”
Razor wasted no time getting Frank into the backseat of the truck cab. He closed the door on Frank and climbed in behind the wheel. Tundra got in on the passenger side and they drove away.
Cal folded into the Beamer and backed out of the driveway.