Chapter 17
Hawk
We had worked it out with our suppliers to make two shipments. The shipment arriving at the warehouse was low-quality shit that could not be traced back to our supplier. It wouldn’t matter if it ended up in the DEA’s hands. While we had the DEA’s attention, our real shipment was happening at another warehouse across town that Snake was overseeing.
I got to the warehouse and hid my bike in the abandoned building next to it where everyone else had parked. I switched out my coat and slid into a Devil Saints leather cut, gagging while I did so. The club had stolen some of their cuts years ago after the shootout had happened.
I knew this plan was going to work, but the thought of wearing something that could’ve been potentially on the back of who killed my father was sickening. I left my shotgun at my bike, having it just in case I needed it, then I headed for the main warehouse.
The delivery trucks were arriving now, and I knew we had to unload them quickly so they could leave. Our trucks would then be used for transport. One would stay here at the warehouse, and the other would be headed for the Saints’ compound.
The trucks we had were identical. We had to pay a great deal of money out of pocket in order to secure this operation, but as we began loading up the identical trucks, I could feel us getting one step closer to freedom.
Fox had agreed to drive the truck all the way up to the compound, but it took some convincing for Mac. He wanted to be the one to do it, not someone below him. He felt the President of the gang should be the one to take the most risk in this operation, but Fox wasn’t having it. Fox was the one that knew the most about driving trucks, but he was also the thinnest, which made him light on his feet and hard to catch.
“Did you park your bike up on the hill like we talked about?” Mac asked him.
“Yep,” Fox said. “I drive, I park, I slide out into the darkness, and I round up the side of the mountain to get to you guys.”
“And if we aren’t there?” Mac asked.
“Get the fuck outta dodge,” Fox said.
Those of us who were wearing the Devil Saints jackets were loading up one truck with the low-quality drugs, then those who were simply wearing nothing but orange vests and work clothes would be loading up another truck. Just in case this went south, we needed to make sure there were enough get-ups on camera to make it look like this was strictly a Saints operation. We wanted the DEA to believe that the saints owned this compound. The trucks and the workers. If there were too many people wearing Saints’ jackets, then it would look too conspicuous. It had to look like a legit operation.
I came out of the shadows and started loading the drugs in the auto part crates onto the truck before we shut the door, then I banged on the side of the truck in order to get Fox moving. I watched him in my sunglasses as he drove off, making sure he got away from the warehouse all right with the big rig before I started back for the shadows. The people dressed in orange vests still weren’t quite done loading up the truck that would stay here, and I knew the DEA agents would be here pretty soon.
We all had to make sure we were cleared out by then. Otherwise, we risked getting caught.
I walked back into the shadows and switched out the Devil Saints leather cut for an orange vest and hat. Those of us who stayed behind finished loading the other truck with the auto part crates with the low-quality shit. Having a truck here with the drugs would set off the DEA agents we knew would be arriving soon. They’d pull up footage of the warehouse and see us all in Devil Saints cuts, and that would lead them right to their doorstep.
The perfect plan if we could all get out of here without being seen.
We all dodged the cameras before making our way back to our bikes in the abandoned warehouse. We cranked ourselves up and took the backroads all the way to the Devil Saints compound, making sure to stay out of sight while we made sure Fox got there safely. We stayed with the truck, making sure nothing would happen to it while it was on the highway, and the moment we hit the main drag that took us right into the heart of their territory, we diverted.
We wound ourselves up a massive red clay mountain that perched us right over their compound. We cut off our bikes and watched the truck pull right up to their main lodge, and I smirked as we prepared for the show. Any minute now that DEA agent would be pulling up to the warehouse, and I couldn’t wait to watch these assholes go down in flames.
If we were lucky, a firefight would ensue, and we could watch their blood spill like they spilled ours all those years ago.
“Hey shitheads,” Snake said as he rolled up.
“Get our shipment handled?” I asked.
“Yup, we are all set on our end. Truck is gone, and all of the drugs are hidden in our mechanic shop.”
“Good,” Mac said.
“As I was riding over here, I saw a black sedan headed in the direction of our warehouse.”
“Then it shouldn’t be long now,” Mac said. “All our guys out of there?” he asked turning towards Talon.
“Yep. Made sure of it. Left behind a Devil Saints cut, too. Just in case they needed more proof,” Talon said.
“Fucking perfect,” Snake said, chuckling.
We all sat there as the sirens started whirring way off in the distance. I started getting anxious, wondering if this was going to go down as planned. We all sat on our bikes as a few of the Devil Saints came riding up, scoping out the truck that was just sitting there without a driver.
That’s when we heard Fox huffing himself up the hill, sweat pouring down his face as he dragged his bike out of the shadows.
“I was wonderin’ where you’d put that thing,” I said as he pulled up beside me.
“Figured crankin’ up my bike would’ve given me away. Damn this mountain’s tall,” Fox said.
“You got the keys?” I asked.
Fox pulled them from his jeans pocket and held them up for all of us to behold.
“Unless someone knows how to hotwire an eighteen wheeler, that shit isn’t goin’ anywhere,” he said.
The sirens were getting closer and closer, and we knew it was about to be on. We saw the Devil Saints beginning to panic as someone threw open the doors of the truck. A man hopped up into the bed of the truck, no doubt checking out what was in those wooden containers as the sirens got closer and closer. They were so close we could see the lights flickering down the road, and that’s when we saw everyone beginning to panic.
They were running around and shouting at one another. Some were running into the compound and coming out with guns, which prompted all of us to scoot back a bit onto the mountain. Black sedans skidded into place and guns began to fire, and for a split second I locked up. I was thrown back to that night, where I’d fired my first ever gun at an actual human being. I remembered the people I’d hit. How they screamed and gurgled on their own blood. I remembered how scared Sydney had looked, watching her father while the life fled from his eyes. I could only imagine how frightened she was now, sitting in that house alone waiting for me to come back.
She was probably wondering if I would ever come back.
The shotgun hung on my back just like it had that night The Devil Saints rolled up on us. We listened to the gunfire ring out into the night as more and more DEA agents showed up. We heard people screaming while the officers called for backup. We saw people being hauled off in handcuffs as motorcycle after motorcycle rolled up onto the site of the party. It was absolute chaos, and we watched with grins on our faces as the entity of The Devils Saints finally came crashing into the ground.
“The DEA’s gonna have plenty to lock them up for,” Talon said.
“No fucking joke,” Mac said.
“How’s Syd?” Fox asked.
“Probably worried sick,” I said.
“Well, this has come to a head,” Mac said. “Take the back trail down the mountain and get back to her.”
The bloodthirsty lust in me wanted to stay and watch this some more. It gave me a shivering pleasure to watch those assholes sink to the ground in their own pools of blood. They’d slaughtered many of our own, ripping from me the most important man in my life.
And because they did, it ripped from me the only woman who’d ever meant anything to me.
“Hawk,” Snake said as he hand came down onto my shoulder. “Go home to her. This is good. We’ll call if something happens.”
I nodded as I drew a deep breath, taking in the stench of metallic blood and fired guns that were filling the nighttime air. I backed my bike all the way up the trail and got into some thick brushes before I started it up, then I slowly made my way back down the mountain. I had to get fifteen miles down the road before the gunfire dissipated into nothingness, and I cruised the highway while I made my way back to Sydney.
For the first time since she’d appeared on my doorstep two weeks ago, I finally felt relaxed. I knew that she was safe, I knew that my daughter was safe, and I knew I was coming home safe to her. I smiled at the idea of slipping back into bed with her, and she’d probably be so happy to see me that I’d be able to take her body again like I’d wanted to so many times over the past six years.
My toes curled at the thought of her soft skin against mine as I exited off the highway and headed towards my house.
Home. The place my father had raised me in.
Home. The place I’d first had sex with Sydney.
Home. The place where I first met my daughter.
Home. The place I hoped Sydney would stay.