She had seen him. She had seen him hit that excuse for a man. She had seen him do it and still she took his hand. She didn’t shy away from him. She didn’t look at him with fear. Adam didn’t know how far he would have gone if Dakota hadn’t stopped him. Tommy Riser had been putty in his hands. Adam could have obliterated him, but Dakota had made the right call. Tommy didn’t know anything. No one, not even the Soul Stealers, would have trusted that guy with any real information.
What would happen when she discovered what else he had done? What his past was? There was so much he hadn’t told her, so much he never wanted her to know. She looked at him like he was her savior, but she didn’t understand that he was no savior; he was a muscle for hire and sometimes he worked for bad people. Adam could never deny his past. It was what had brought him to her. It had built up Scarred Angels and created a legitimate business. His history had propelled him to Dakota Kane; it had made him who he was, a person she liked, and a person she trusted.
A professional hit man was dangerous business. If one man got it in his head to kill another no amount of security would save the hit. There would always be a weak point, a high vantage place a sniper could take advantage of, peer through his scope and end another man’s life from a hundred feet away. Adam didn’t know how to save John Kane, but he needed to find out. If John died, Dakota would be next, and Adam couldn’t live if anything happened to her. He needed to cut the snake off at its head. He needed to find out who was ordering the hit. But the men in police custody weren’t talking and the Soul Stealers were at least smart enough to avoid saying their backer’s name.
The sun was rising over the river, reds and oranges bleeding out into the darkness, the light coloring everything it touched. It had been a long night, a very long night and what did they have to show for it? The same story told from multiple vantage points. The Soul Stealers had been hired to off the Kanes, they had failed, and now a professional hit man had entered the game. But no one knew who had hired the hit man or when he would attack.
“When he’s discharged,” Dakota said.
Adam heard her, her voice drifting through his tired mind. “What?” He asked, looking over at her.
She was still wearing the dirty clothes he had given her, her hair was still a mess, and she still wore no makeup. But she still looked so lovely in the morning light that Adam was taken aback. The light played on her skin and against the dark hairs on her to create a halo from the morning’s light. He still didn’t understand who could want to kill this woman. Not only was she beautiful, but she was kind, as well. She had devoted her life to charity, to giving back; she was truly selfless and some monster wanted her dead because her father had a lot of money.
“They’re going to attack when he’s discharged. It makes the most sense. In the hospital and at home he’ll be under tight security. But in the car ride from the hospital to the home, he’s vulnerable.”
“When is he being discharged?” Adam asked. He knew she was right; now he needed to figure out what to do.
“Today, at nine,” Dakota said. Her face looked grim.
He knew she would have to be with her father when he left the hospital. Adam knew, that no matter how dangerous it was, Dakota would never leave someone she loved to face danger alone. He would never be able to convince her otherwise. It was part of her nature.She had a core that was kindness and love and there was an excellent chance it would get her killed. But it was who she was. She could never stop caring for the people she loved, just like Adam. I could just lock her up somewhere, he thought idly, but he knew it wouldn’t be that easy. Dakota was tougher than he ever would have thought. He knew there was no room that could hold her.
“Call Joey for me,” Adam said as they continued down the road. An idea was forming in his head. It made sense; he always had his best ideas when driving.
People would always have something to say about Scarred Angels, about biker clubs, in general. They would say they were dangerous and out of control, and that the world would be better off without them. But they couldn’t see into the inside of it. They would never understand how they functioned.
The members were brothers. When one called for help the rest arrived. No matter where they were or what they were doing, when one of them was in trouble and needed help, the rest came. That’s all it really was: having someone to depend on. Knowing you are never alone, no matter what happens to you or when you go, if you remain loyal to the club, the club will always be loyal to you.
Pennsylvania Hospital had never seen anything like it before – thirty men on their motorcycles waiting outside of the hospital. They were polite, they parked in the appropriate places, and they kept their engines low to not wake the resting patients. They watched everything and everyone. And people passing them on the street pointed and stared and whispered, wondering questions about what was happening. Every person who walked past them was marked and remembered, everyone and no one was an enemy. They were like an honor guard. They would escort John Kane from the hospital to his home, and anyone who wanted to attack Kane would have to get through thirty men first. It was the day of John Kane’s release, and if you hired Scarred Angels to protect you, they were damn well going to do it.
“Car’s clean, and I got Bill and Wade watching it. Mike, Joe, and Robbie at the entrance to the garage. No one is going to mess with that car.” John Kane would be transported in what looked like a simple black car. It wasn’t simple, of course; the body was reinforced, the windows were tinted and bulletproof, the tires bulletproof, as well. This was how the president moved from place to place and if it were safe enough for the leader of the free world, then it would do what they needed it to do. There were always eyes on the cars and the only people in them would be members of Scarred Angels.
Adam surveyed them from a window in John’s suite. His arms crossed, he stared down at his brothers. They had all worked late last night, but here they were, following orders and ready to put their own lives on the line. What would happen if one of them got hurt, if one of them took the hit for John? Just because they couldn’t afford a bodyguard didn’t mean their lives were worth less – just the opposite according to Adam. They were hard workers. Most had come from tough homes and raised themselves. But he knew that if one of them fell, it wouldn’t be in vain. If a member of Scarred Angels didn’t come back from this, the Soul Stealers would be wiped off the map. They would be hunted down man by man until their name was a warning to anyone else would dare to attack Scarred Angels.