Chapter 16 - Nagging Feeling…
I couldn’t sleep. It was two a.m. and Izzy still hadn’t called. I didn’t know if she was just being difficult or if I should listen to the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Everything had been going smoothly since we’d started texting each other on Wednesday. We had worked out some issues and come to a general understanding. I knew shit would be rough, but this was fucking ridiculous. She couldn’t possibly be so cruel to not call. She had to know I’d be out of my fucking mind.
I dialed her number, letting it ring until her voicemail picked up. I tapped end and redialed, but still nothing. Tomorrow, I planned to drive up to her place in the late afternoon and whisk her off to dinner, but I couldn’t wait. I had to know where the fuck she was. I’d probably get kicked in the fucking balls, but I’d go out of my mind if I didn’t know she was at home, safely sleeping in her bed.
I grabbed the keys to my bike and started toward the door, but stopped. I tossed the bike keys on the table near the door and picked up the keys to my 1969 GTO. She had power and speed and I needed both right now.
I sped down I-75 headed toward her house. I gripped the steering wheel, my fingers damp with sweat. I tried to control my breathing and nerves as I drove. Working myself up wouldn’t help get me there any quicker.
What if something was wrong? My stomach turned as I thought about the possibilities. My mind, maybe, was a little too imaginative. If something bad had happened, I would’ve heard by now. Being in law enforcement and seeing all the bad shit in the world doesn’t help keep one’s imagination at bay. Every sick crime scene flashed through my mind, replacing the victim with Izzy.
My blood turned cold the closer I got to her house. I hit redial over and over again until it went right to voicemail. I knew what that fucking meant. Either she had turned off her phone, it had died, or someone else had turned it off for her. There weren’t any other options.
I slammed my fist down on the steering wheel, pressing my foot down against the pedal to pick up speed. I didn’t have time to waste with worrying about the cops pulling me over. They’d have to chase my ass down and follow me to her house if they wanted to catch me.
My heart jumped out of my chest as my phone rang. When I looked down at my phone, I expected to see Izzy’s number flash across my screen, but it wasn’t her. I pressed speaker, placing the phone on my dash.
“What the fuck?” I barked as the call connected.
“Where the fuck is Izzy?” Thomas asked, breathing heavily.
“I’m on my way to her now. What the fuck is going on, Thomas?” I gripped the steering wheel so hard I could have snapped it from the dashboard.
“Flash just called me. He said Izzy was in danger. Somehow Rebel found out who she was. He knows who I am too. Find her, James, and do it now!” he roared, a loud slamming noise filling the air.
“I’m pulling on her street now,” I growled, looking around the neighborhood as I sped down the road.
“I don’t know who knows what at this point, brother. Find my goddamn sister.”
“On it,” I barked, fear gripping my insides.
“Call me back. I’m headed that way with Flash in tow.”
“Give me five,” I replied, stopping the car in her driveway. I tapped end, jumped from the car, and ran up her front steps.
Turning the doorknob, I realized that it was locked. I reared back and kicked in the door.
“Izzy?” I thundered, flipping on the light in the entry.
With no sign of her, I walked down the hallway to her bedroom, but it was empty. Her bed hadn’t been touched.
“Izzy?” I continued yelling, running from room to room, but she wasn’t there.
A lump formed in my stomach and I felt like throwing up. Izzy was gone and Rebel fucking knew about her and Thomas.
I walked toward the front door and something on the floor caught my eye. Turning, I saw a single shoe lying on the floor and her phone on the coffee table.
I ran from the house, dialing Thomas as I jumped back in the car. “She’s gone,” I bit out, slightly winded and in a total panic as I started the car.
“Gone or missing?” he asked, anger oozing in his voice.
“One shoe on the floor and her phone on the coffee table. She’s missing.”
“Fucking Rebel,” Thomas muttered, his breathing growing harsh and loud. “Flash and I are an hour out. We need to figure this shit out and what our next move is.”
“Fuck,” I hissed, trying to think of where they would’ve gone.
“Stay the fuck there and make calls. Do not leave in case she shows up. We’ll be there in sixty.”
“Hurry the fuck up!” I snarled, and hung up as I climbed out of the car.
Once back inside, I dialed Bobby and began to pace. Ring. Ring. Where the fuck was he? Ring. I didn’t have time to wait for his lazy ass to pick up the phone. Ring.
“Hello,” a groggy voice said.
“Bobby, wake the fuck up. Izzy’s been taken and Thomas’s cover may have been blown.”
“Wait, what?” he asked through a yawn.
“Jesus, fuck. Thomas called me tonight. Said Izzy was in danger and that Rebel found out who he is.”
“Fuck,” he spat, a loud thump sounding on the other end of the phone.
“Get your ass out of bed,” I growled, ready to jump through the phone and choke his ass.
If my life—or Izzy’s, for that matter—depended on this asshole, we were in fucking trouble.
“I’m up. Let me make some calls and get back to you,” he said, disconnecting the call.
“What the fuck?” I yelled, my voice echoing through the house.
I called everyone I knew—local law enforcement in Leesburg, DEA, and FBI. All were working to bring down the MC, but the problem was that no one communicated with each other.
No one had seen Rebel. They’d lost track of him when he left the compound hours ago and he hadn’t been spotted since.
Just when I was about to start climbing the fucking walls, I heard a car outside followed by two sets of footsteps up the stairs. Reaching for my gun, I drew as Thomas and Flash burst through the door.
“What the fuck did you find out?” Thomas asked, looking around the room.
“Nothing. No one knows shit,” I ranted, running my fingers through my hair.
“Flash made some calls on the way here. Everyone is searching for them. They can’t get far without us hearing about it.”
I glared at Flash. “Did you open your fucking mouth?” I asked, charging toward him.
His mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide as he stepped backward to avoid my grasp. A set of arms grabbed me from behind, pulling me away.
“Calm your shit down,” Thomas ordered
“Thomas, he’s the only douche who knew who you were!” I roared, prying his hands from my body.
“Listen, fucker,” Flash snarled, moving toward me. “I went into Rebel’s room to leave a package on his bed and I found a file sitting in plain sight.”
“What a fucking clusterfuck,” I hissed, scrubbing my face in my hands. “What was inside?”
“A picture of Izzy with her full name and address and a complete file about Thomas.”
“Think he told others?” I asked, looking at Thomas.
He shook his head and winced. “I don’t think so. No one seemed to act any differently. Rebel was the only one missing at the compound when Flash called me.”
“Did you at least grab the fucking file?” I asked Flash.
“I’m not a fucking moron.”
“When did you know about this?” Thomas asked, stepping in between Flash and me.
“When you called.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew my mistake.
“What the fuck do you mean when I called you?” He glared at me, invading my space. “How the fuck did you beat us here?”
“Well, I—”
“You didn’t give that file to Rebel, did you?” Thomas asked, standing nose to nose with me.
“Fuck, man. No fucking way!”
“Thomas, I’ll fucking kill you if I find out you sold me out, and if Izzy’s hurt, I’ll bring your ass back from the dead and kill you again.”
“You don’t even know how your words slice right through me.”
“Who else could have given him that information?”
“It wasn’t me,” I insisted, turning toward Flash.
“Fuck, dude. You know I love Izzy. I wouldn’t risk her life. I told you that man to man, James.”
“What the fuck am I missing here?” Thomas asked, looking between us.
“James has a thing for your sister,” Flash told Thomas.
There went any hope of explaining it when the time was right. Let’s add more gasoline to the flames.
“What?” Thomas screeched, turning toward me, red-faced, with the veins of his neck popping out.
“Thing isn’t really the right word,” I said, looking him straight in the eyes.
“You’re going to start talking as soon as we get her back safe.”
I nodded, knowing that I should’ve already been straight with him about my feelings for Izzy. Thomas deserved to know how I felt about her and that I wasn’t using her for sex. Flash had made it seem tawdry and sordid, but it was nothing like that.
My phone rang, breaking the uncomfortable silence as Thomas and I stared at each other. I lifted the phone to my ear without losing eye contact.
“Yo,” I barked, chewing the inside of my lip.
“I got some news,” Bobby said, the sound of papers moving in the background.
“Hit me.”
“Rebel was spotted with a female at a motel in Bushnell. I just got the tip,” he said, then he covered the phone and spoke to someone. “Sorry. The wife.”
“Text me the information. We’re heading that way,” I said before disconnecting the call. “Motel in Bushnell,” I said, grabbing my keys from the table and running toward the door. “Move your shit, Flash. We’re taking my car.”
As we climbed in the car, Thomas shotgun and Flash in the back, I threw my phone to Thomas. “Handle it,” I said, starting the GTO and taking off toward Izzy. Thomas rattled off the address to the motel while tapping the screen on my phone.
“Should we call backup?” Flash asked, leaning forward and sticking his head between us.
“No,” I snapped, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “Sit the fuck back. I don’t need your face all up in my shit.”
“Asshole,” Flash mumbled. “How do you want to handle this, Blue?”
“We’re going to find out who else knows and then we’re going to kill the motherfucker,” Thomas said, not looking up from the phone screen.
“Shouldn’t we arrest him?” Flash asked, his eyes wide as I watched him in the rearview mirror.
“Fuck him. He deserves to die after taking Izzy,” I said.
“What the fuck is this shit on your phone?” Thomas asked, holding out my phone and staring at me.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, glancing at him out of the corner of my eyes but not daring to take my focus off the road.
“This shit with my sister, motherfucker.”
“We’re friends,” I said calmly, wishing we weren’t having this conversation.
“There’s some shit in here that can’t be unseen,” Thomas bit out, growling as he continued to scroll.
“Stop fucking reading it, then.”
“A fucking cock shot? Really? What the fuck? That’s my little sister and you’re sending her pictures of your junk?”
“Give me my goddamn phone,” I growled, reaching over as I tried to rip it from his grasp.
“After we kill Rebel, I’m kicking your ass.”
I nodded. “I deserve it.”
If she were my sister, I’d do the same. I’d want to beat the living fuck out of anyone who touched her or harmed her virtue. This was Izzy, and I wasn’t her first, but I planned to be the last damn man she ever bedded.
“Shut the fuck up and drive!” he shouted, tossing the phone back into my lap.
We drove in silence as we made our way to Bushnell. The highway was empty during the dead of night, a streetlight near an exit the only change in scenery.
As we pulled off the highway, Thomas spoke first. “This is how this shit is going to happen. I’ll get the information from the desk clerk while you and Flash make sure no one leaves the motel.”
The closer we got, the faster my heartbeat pounded in my chest. All the horrible things I’d imagined when I thought she hadn’t made it home safe amplified. Knowing that she was in the hands of Rebel, an MC vice president, made my fucking stomach churn.
“Okay,” Flash said, pulling himself forward.
“Then when I get the room number, you’ll wait outside”—he turned to face Flash—“and James and I will go inside and deal with whatever clusterfuck we find.”
“But I want to go inside too,” Flash whined.
“Man the fuck up. We need someone to keep an eye out in case others show up.”
“Fine,” he snapped, slapping the front seat before he slumped in the back seat.
“Fucking pussy,” I mumbled, trying to stop myself from turning around and punching him in the face. “Who’s getting Rebel?”
“Let me deal with Rebel. You get Izzy out of there,” Thomas said, turning to look out the window.
I flipped off the headlights as we approached the motel. The contents of my stomach began to churn inside me. Sweat dotted my brow as nerves racked my body. Jesus, I was so scared of what we might find inside. I’d kill the motherfucker with my own bare hands if he’d hurt her.
Thomas went inside as Flash and I watched the motel, making sure no one left.
“You got a problem with me?” Flash asked, my eyes flickering to him in the rearview mirror.
If looks could kill, he’d be a dead man. “This shit is all your fault,” I said, my voice laced with anger.
“How the hell is this my fault?” he asked, glaring at me.
“You thought it was a great idea to bring her to Bike Week,” I spat out, wishing I could wrap my hands around his pencil neck.
“I thought we could have some fun. How did I know all this shit would happen?” he asked, running his fingers through his hair.
“Don’t they teach you anything at the mighty FBI? You don’t fucking mix personal and business. Ever.”
“James, wouldn’t you call sleeping with Izzy a conflict of interest there, buddy?” A smug grin spread across his face.
“Fucker, I didn’t bring her into my world. I went to her, never the other way around.”
Thomas walked out of the office, motioning to us to follow. I grabbed my gun as I climbed out, and we both ran toward him on quiet feet.
“Room 103. Guy inside said he only saw Rebel and no one else,” Thomas informed us, pulling the magazine from his gun and looking at it. “Ready?” he whispered, stopping before the room and jamming the magazine back in place.
We nodded, removing the safeties from our guns as we approached the room that hopefully held Izzy.
Thomas motioned to Flash to stand in the parking lot, pointing to his eyes and then around the exterior of the building. Flash was to be our lookout. Thomas lifted his chin, standing off to the side as I used my leg and reared up, kicking in the door.
Charging into the room, I looked around and saw Izzy lying on the bed, unconscious. My heart sank as I ran to her. A heat and searing pain sliced through my arm as a loud bang filled the room. My body jerked sideways as I reached for her.
I didn’t look or stop to help Thomas; he could handle Rebel without a doubt. He’d given me a task and I’d follow it—save Izzy and get her the fuck out.
I carried her outside as another gunshot went off. She looked like an angel, resting and blissfully unaware of the shit going down. As I laid her on the hood of my car, I grabbed her face and placed my ear near her nose. She was breathing and reeked of liquor. I lifted her arms, studying every surface of her body. She was unharmed and had simply passed the fuck out.
“Watch her!” I yelled at Flash before running back into the room.
Kicking the door closed, I took in the scene before me. Thomas had Rebel on his knees with the gun to his head. Rebel was bleeding from his leg, his hands behind his head and his chin up in defiance.
“I want to know how you found out about me,” Thomas roared, his hand almost shaking as he held it to the top of Rebel’s head.
“Go fuck yourself,” Rebel sneered, spit flying from his mouth as he spoke.
I stepped forward, wondering what I should do next. I was torn between my duty to the DEA and my feelings for Izzy. Rebel knew information that could end her life and Thomas’s.
Thomas raised his hand, smacking Rebel with the butt of his gun. “You want to get out of this room alive? You better start fucking talking.”
“You’re a traitor and a fucking rat. You might as well kill me, because I’ll put your ass in the ground otherwise. I’m dead either way,” Rebel bit out, wincing from the pain. “I brought you in and helped you move up the ranks. Fucking shoot me, you pussy.”
“Who. The. Fuck. Knows?” Thomas said, moving to stand in front of Rebel with the gun still trained on his head.
“Fucking sucks not knowing something, doesn’t it, Blue?” Rebel growled, kneeling and bleeding all over the floor.
Thomas moved quickly, pointing the gun at Rebel’s shoulder and pulling the trigger. Rebel’s body swayed backward before he righted himself.
“First chance I get, I’m going to taste the pussy on your beautiful sister.” Rebel laughed.
I closed my eyes, seeing red as my stomach turned at the thought of Izzy being in danger. Fisting one hand at my side with my gun still in the other, I fought the urge to push Thomas out of the way and shoot the motherfucker in the head myself.
“I bet she tastes as fucking sweet as she looks.” Rebel smiled, bringing his hand to his face and licking his fingers.
I couldn’t stand the shitty look on his face. I didn’t want to listen to him talk about Izzy anymore. Lunging forward, I pushed Thomas out of the way, and Rebel’s eyes grew wide.
I pulled the trigger, watching Rebel’s body fall back in a heap on the shaggy green carpet. Leaning over his bloodied body, I spat in his face. “Rot in hell, motherfucker!” I shouted, a growl rising in my throat.
“What the fuck?” Thomas asked, hitting my arm.
I looked at him and shook my head. “You two would never be safe with that motherfucker around. He deserved to die.”
“I didn’t get the information out of him,” Thomas groaned as he sat on the bed.
“No one knew. If they did, he would’ve had backup here with him. He had to know we were going to come after him.”
He sighed, setting his gun next to him on the bed. “You’re right. Fuck, this complicates shit with the club.”
“Only thing it does is move you up higher in the ranks, brother,” I said, sitting next to him and staring at Rebel’s body as the blood almost reached my boots. “What do you want to do with the body?” I asked, debating if we should bury him somewhere along the highway or make it look like a setup.
“You take Izzy home and Flash and I will handle it,” Thomas said, standing from the bed as he stuck his gun in his waistband. “Is she okay, James?”
“Izzy?” I asked, nodding. “Yeah, she’s just passed out. Hopefully she won’t remember a damn thing.”
“Fuck. No one can know about Rebel’s death. Got me? No one besides the few people we called. Especially Izzy. Do not tell her.” Thomas moved toward the door and walked out.
I stood and rubbed my face with my hands. When had my life gotten so fucking difficult? Everything used to be so damn simple.
Thomas was hovering over her, checking her for injuries when I stepped outside.
“I checked her. She’s fine,” I said, pushing him away and scooping her into my arms. “I’ll get her home.”
He nodded, glaring at me as I held his sister in my arms. She nuzzled my neck as tiny whimpers fell from her lips.
“Shh, doll. Sleep,” I whispered in her ear as I held her body tightly.
“Flash!” Thomas yelled, causing Flash to jump.
“What?”
“Get your ass in the room. Let’s get Rebel and get the fuck out of here. James is taking Izzy home,” Thomas said, motioning toward the motel room.
Flash looked at Izzy and me, then nodded at Thomas before disappearing into the room.
I laid Izzy in the front seat. “You be careful, brother,” I said as I gently closed the car door, trying not to wake her.
Thomas stepped closer, standing toe to toe with me. “I’ll text you when it’s done. Keep her safe,” he said, holding out his hand to me.
“You’re okay with this?” I asked, taking his hand in mine.
“Fuck no. I’m still going to kick your ass when everything is said and done, but for now, you make sure she’s okay.”
“I’ll wait until she wakes up and then I’ll head back up to make sure shit doesn’t go down in the MC.”
“No, you stay clear until you get the all-clear from me. Do not come back. Stay with her and don’t leave her side. Do you understand me?”
“I can’t leave you without backup,” I said, shaking my head. I didn’t like it one bit.
“I’ll be fine, James.”
“I can’t bear the thought of losing you, Thomas. You’re like a brother to me, man.”
“I don’t have time to stand here and argue with your stubborn ass. Let me ask you this: Do you love her?” he asked, lifting his chin and motioning toward his sister with his head.
My feelings for Izzy ran deep—deeper than they had for anyone ever before. Was it love? To be truthful with myself and him, I replied, “Yes.”
“Then keep her safe, James. I can handle the club, and Bobby will be around for help. Flash too. Now get the fuck out of here and take her home. Make sure she’s sleeping.”
“Not a problem,” I said, smiling and turning my back to get in the car.
My head jerked to the side, pain shooting across my jaw as his fist connected with my face. I turned quickly, gaping at him.
“What the fuck was that for?” I asked, rubbing my jaw.
“Keep your dick in your pants,” he said before leaving me standing outside with a stupid-ass grin on my face. “Get your fucking arm looked at too.”
“I’ll patch up my arm when I get her home,” I said, touching the wound on my arm. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t dealt with before. I could patch it up with a first aid kit and a knife.
I pulled away as he closed the door, leaving them behind and speeding toward Izzy’s before she woke.