Mason

 

The address we’d been given as Skull’s hideout was for an old boarded up office building downtown. It was a squat little brick building with an awning over the front door and a metal staircase leading up to a second story door on the side. The back of the building was set against a wall separating that lot from the next. There was an old faded sign on the front of the building advertising a grocery store.

 

I waved my hand, signaling to the guys to circle around the building. We were still in the old industrial section of town, so everything was vacant, or at least it was supposed to be. I pulled up underneath the awning with Mick and Liam on either side of me. We killed our engines and sat listening for a minute before climbing off the bikes.

 

“This was where all the factory and warehouse workers would come to cash their checks, I bet,” Liam said, eyeing the building.

 

“You still remember when it was open, don’t you?” Mick joked.

 

“I was a kid when this place shut down,” Liam told him, shutting him up.

 

“All right, you two. This is where Skull is supposed to be hiding out, so let’s keep it professional until we’re out of here,” I told them, swinging my rifle around in front of me.

 

“It doesn’t look like anyone’s here right now,” Mick said.

 

We approached the front door and stood on either side of it. The only sound I could hear was the purring of all the motorcycles waiting to be given the word to close in on this joint. I looked at the guys.

 

“I don’t think so either, but we’re going to be careful either way. They could just be waiting for us. What do you think, Liam?” I asked.

 

“Who cares what I think? Let’s just go in. If we see anybody, we take them out. If not, well, your girl better hope they’re still here and didn’t get tipped off,” he said, looking me dead in the eye.

 

“I’m right there with you,” I told him.

 

I kicked the old wooden door. The lock exploded, and the door flew open into a dark, musty room. The air that escaped was rank and caught all three of us off guard. I shook my head while we all coughed away the heavy stink that fell on us.

 

“They’re definitely not down here,” I told the guys.

 

“If they are, they can stay down here,” Liam said.

 

“I promise you, anyone in there isn’t going anywhere any time soon,” Mick added.

 

I chuckled at his comment and nodded to the side of the building. We quickly rounded the corner with our guns drawn. Liam took the stairs first, leaving us to cover his back on the way up. At the top of the stairs was a metal landing with a couple of chairs sitting along the brick wall past the door.

 

The door on the second floor was much sturdier and had a slot at eye level, allowing whoever was inside to look out before admitting anyone.

 

“Shall we knock?” I asked my partners.

 

“Be my guest,” Mick said.

 

We stepped aside and pressed ourselves against the wall, hoping to be out of range if anyone opened the slot. I banged on the door with the butt of my rifle and ducked back to the side. We waited. No one answered.

 

I was starting to get the feeling we’d been had. I could see by Liam’s face that he was thinking the same thing. Either we had bad information or someone had ratted us out to Skull and his men. I had a feeling I knew who that was, even though I would have been reluctant to admit it to the guys.

 

I knocked again.

 

When there wasn’t a response the second time, Liam stepped in front of the door and shot the lock with his revolver. What was left of it fell out of the door, and he slid it open.

 

“After you, sir,” Liam said, stepping aside and holding out his arm to invite me into the building.

 

We walked into a large, mostly empty office. It was dark, but enough light crept in around the corners of the boarded-up windows that we could see the desks and chairs all facing each other.

 

I stepped back and hit the light switch. Fluorescent office lights in the ceiling came on and let us see the room clearly. The walls had wood paneling along them. The desks were old, probably left over from the last legitimate owners of the building.

 

“Check the desks,” I told them.

 

There were three desks. Mick and Liam went to the ones on either side of the room. I went to the one along the far wall, facing the door. Behind it was a cork board with a single picture tacked to it. I pulled the picture down and looked at it.

 

“Guys, they knew we were coming,” I announced, holding up the picture of me for them to see.

 

“You’re kidding me,” Liam said, slamming one of the desk drawers closed.

 

“We both tried to tell you,” Mick said, standing upright.

 

“Let’s go through the desks anyway, but I can almost guarantee you we won’t find anything useful,” I said. I opened every drawer in the desk I assumed was Skull’s. I had no idea who the other two would have belonged to. I didn’t know anyone else in his organization other than Clara, and I was pretty sure she didn’t have a desk.

 

Liam kicked over his desk.

 

“Hey, brother, calm down. It’s just a desk,” Mick said.

 

“It’s not just a desk. It’s Mason,” Liam complained.

 

I knew what he meant, but I kept my mouth shut. There was nothing I could say to him at that point that wouldn’t make things worse. I turned my attention to a file cabinet and opened each drawer, knowing already that they were going to be empty.

 

“Nothing?” I asked the guys.

 

“Not a damn thing,” Mick said.

 

I crumbled the picture of me and dropped it on the floor.

 

“Looks like your girl sold us up the river,” Liam said, stepping in front of me. “You going to bring her in?”

 

“Not now, Liam.” Mick put a hand on his arm and tried to push him aside.

 

“Yes, now. I got my ass kicked for this chick because Mason thought he was getting an old lady out of the deal, but she just turns out to be Skull’s little snitch.” His breath was hot in my face.

 

“Do you want to get your ass kicked again, Liam?” I asked. “Because this time, you’re earning it on your own.” I pulled my gun off of my shoulder and set it on the desk.

 

Mick stepped between us and pushed both of us away.

 

“Nobody is getting their ass kicked here, guys. Both of you back the fuck up. We have a job to do here, and it looks like we’ve been had. I don’t think anyone will deny that. Right?” He looked back and forth between us, making sure we agreed with him.

 

“Okay, good,” Mick continued. “Now, the question is, where do we go from here?”

 

I ran a tired hand through my hair and sighed. I knew exactly what needed to be done, and I felt like such a jackass for not handling it sooner. I’d let that beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed thief steal something more valuable than my drugs this time around. She’d taken my integrity, and it was a good thing I was starting to catch on before she stole my heart with it. Of course, I couldn’t mention that last part to the guys. They never would have let me live that one down.

 

“From here, I need you, Liam, and everyone to go back to HQ. Get the basement ready, because I’m going back to my apartment to pick up our girl,” I said.

 

“Your apartment? She’s at your apartment?” Liam started again. “Jesus H. Christ, Mason, no wonder you can’t get it together, brother. How was it?”

 

“Fuck off, Liam,” I said, grabbing my gun and heading towards the door.

 

“No, really, was it worth selling out your MC?” he asked behind me.

 

“You know what? It was. And if her answers satisfy me back at HQ, it’ll happen again. So don’t think I’m going to bring her back for anyone to lay a finger on her, got it?” I snapped, turning around and getting right back in Liam’s face.

 

“Yeah, brother, I got it. I read you loud and clear,” he said. “You’re a punk,” he added, laughing and walking around me.

 

I laughed, too. I couldn’t fight with him anymore. I had to laugh it off or else I’d knock his block off.

 

I stopped at the door and looked back in while the guys walked down the stairs outside. “Hey, is it possible we’re missing something?” I called out to them.

 

“Like what?” Mick asked, stopping on the stairs.

 

“I don’t know. I feel like there’s another room or something here,” I added. My eyes probed the back wall, looking for a door or panel in the wall that wasn’t quite in place. I didn’t see anything, but I couldn’t shake the feeling we’d missed something.

 

“That’s just disappointment you’re feeling,” Liam called up to me from the pavement. He looked up and shielded his eyes against the sun.

 

“I guess so,” I said with a sigh. I left the light on as I closed the door, not really admitting defeat, but coping with a setback.

 

“Come on, let’s go so you can get Clara and bring her back to HQ before she runs,” Mick said as I started down the stairs.

 

“Oh shit.” I stopped and looked at him, realizing why we’d been had.

 

“What is it?” Mick asked me.

 

“Remember what happened when we left her alone at HQ with Alec?”

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mick said as the realization dawned on him, as well.

 

“What happened?” Liam asked. “I missed it.”

 

“Yeah. Look, she tried to escape, but someone besides Skull tried to pick her up. It wasn’t pretty, and I bet that’s what’s happening right now,” I said as I ran down the stairs.

 

“You really think her boss has it out for her?” Liam asked, running over to his bike.

 

“Yeah, I think so. She was caught, brother. She walked right into a trap when she came to HQ the first time. Bosses like Skull don’t take too kindly to stuff like that, so when she finally got in touch with him, he sent a few of his goons to get her. They didn’t look like they were a welcoming committee either,” I explained.

 

“Yeah, but we showed up just in time and killed two of them. We wounded the third, and no one really got a look at the driver,” Mick added.

 

“How much do you want to bet when she called Skull to let him know we were on the way, he sent some more goons to pick her up at the apartment?” I asked.

 

“You want us to follow?” Liam asked.

 

“Not yet,” I said. “Get everyone back to HQ. You two get the basement ready for her. I’ll call you if anything’s wrong.”

 

“All right, go,” Liam said. “You need to get there while there’s still a girl to pick up.”

 

The three of us gunned our engines at the same time and started pulling away from the building. Mick and Liam rode off in one direction, waving their arms to collect the guys who’d parked in neighboring properties to keep their eyes on the hideout.

 

I sat and listened to all the engines roaring, breathing life back into this dead portion of the city. It was a beautiful sound. I revved my engine and watched as motorcycles started pouring out onto the streets.

 

Then, I spotted someone who wasn’t with us on top of one of the other buildings.