Devon

All eyes were on Doc as he answered the phone. We’d been waiting on agent Moore’s call all morning, and as it approached noon, we knew our window of opportunity was closing rapidly. Through Doc’s intel, we knew the ship containing the Russian women was coming into Liberty Terminal, and after my meeting with Harlan Cavanaugh, we knew it was coming in today. What we didn’t yet know was the name of the ship the girls were on, or how exactly we were going to rescue them. Doc and the FBI had been working on a plan, but so far had remained tight-lipped on any details. They still had major concerns regarding a potential mole within our ranks.

“Dalton, whatta ya got?” Doc listened intently for several minutes as he furiously scribbled notes in his journal. “Got it. Understood, we’ll see you there,” he said finally and hung up before addressing us. “Alright, everybody, listen up. That was Dalton on the phone. They’ve got all the information they need to make their move but they need our help.”

“Our help?” I exclaimed. “I thought we were in this together. Our asses have been on the line this whole time. Now that we’re at the goal line, we’re just the help?”

“Goal line? This isn’t a game, Sparky,” Doc snapped back. “This is an FBI operation, and they need our assistance as much as we need theirs. This isn’t about who gets the glory for taking down the bad guys, this is about saving those girls and running these piece of shit pimps out of Savannah.”

“I know that Doc, I—”

“Good, then get your fucking head on straight and listen up.” He cut me off and returned to addressing the group. “I need Hatch, Doom, and Sparky to come with me. Gator and Curly are gonna hang back here and mind the store.”

“What the fuck about me?” Alamo said

Doc gave him a concerned look. “I didn’t want to automatically count you in on this one, brother.”

“Why the fuck not?”

Doc simply answered, “Boats.”

With that single word Alamo’s face paled. Alamo, being from Amarillo Texas, spent most of his life land-locked, and was notoriously uncomfortable on, or near the water. However, after a few seconds of debating his fate, he responded with, “Fuck Davey Jones, I’m in.”

Doc nodded with a grin.

“So, what did Dalton say?” Hatch asked

“Good news. Once we had the basic time of the shipment and the port of arrival, Dalton was able check the shift schedules and records of every dock worker and supervisor scheduled to work within the time range. He came up with an interesting name; Dudley Kauffman.”

“Who the hell is Dudley Kauffman?” I asked.

“He’s the Chief Operator at Port Liberty and, more importantly, he’s a degenerate gambler.”

“Let me guess,” Hatch said. “Even more importantly, he owes money to the Dixie Mafia.”

“And the Russians,” Doc added. “Which made him the perfect guy for them to squeeze and use for their new operation. Lucky for us, Dalton’s got him now, and had been doing some squeezing of his own.”

“Great! It sounds like they’ve got all the info they need to rescue the girls as soon as the ship hits the harbor,” I said.

“It’s not quite that simple, and that’s why they need our help,” Doc replied.

“How so?” Alamo asked.

“According to Mr. Kauffman, the Russians have been doing this for quite some time and have a system in place to insure safe delivery of their cargo to their clients.

“What kind of system?” Doom asked.

“The girls come from Russia on a small, unassuming vessel that was built in the seventies. This allows them to unload at smaller ports, and remain a little more under the radar. The girls are kept in a modified shipping container for the entire twenty-one-day journey and are monitored by two armed guards.”

“Jesus,” I said.

“These young women are nothing more than cattle to these sick bastards,” Doc said.

“How exactly are we going to get to them?” I asked.

“Carefully.”

* * *

Poppy

The men filed into the kitchen just as Willow and I set platters of food on the pass-through between the kitchen and the great room. Olivia had busied herself making a huge urn of coffee, but she did it all the while bitching about the asshole formerly known as “Doc.”

My focus went directly to Devon as he approached me, taking my hand, and leading me out of the kitchen. He didn’t take me far, just down the hall and into a room usually used for the babies to nap during get-togethers. Closing the door behind us, he pulled me in for a gentle kiss, and this made me very, very nervous.

“Ohmigod, are you walking into something that might get you dead?” I rasped after breaking the kiss.

He grinned. “I hope to God it’s not.”

I gripped his cut. “Devon Cade Wallace, are you and Dad coming back in one piece, or am I going to be visiting the hospital... or the morgue?”

“We’re gonna be fine, baby. Just wanted to kiss you.”

I frowned. “What aren’t you telling me?”

He kissed my nose. “A lot of things.”

I let out a frustrated growl. “Devon, you’re freaking me out.”

“Baby, we’re gonna be fine. It’s a pretty simple extraction and we’re just there to back up the FBI.”

“The FBI’s involved?” I squeaked. “Just how bad is this?”

“It’s not good.”

“And you’re going because of all the shit with Olivia?”

“It’s not just because of that,” he countered.

“I can’t believe the FBI’s gonna let a motorcycle club be part of their business.” I stared up at him. “What have you guys gotten yourselves into?”

Devon kissed me again and I sighed, leaning into him, knowing I wasn’t going to get any information out of my man. “You better keep yourself safe. And my dad. Please don’t let anything happen to Hatch.”

“Baby, we’re covered.”

“Famous last words.”

He stroked my cheek. “Nothin’s gonna happen to either of us. I promise. Now, I’m gonna kiss you one more time, then I’m gonna go eat whatever incredible creation Willow’s put out, ’cause, holy shit, that woman can cook.”

I sighed. This was true and I kind of wanted to eat whatever she’d made too. But I wanted to kiss my man more, so I raised my chin and accepted his lips on mine before letting him lead me back out to the kitchen.

I stuck close to him, but I was divided between him and my dad. I was grateful Hatch seemed to know I needed him and didn’t stray far while we all ate as a family. Before the men left, Hatch pulled me aside, giving me a bear hug. “Love you, Poppy.”

“I love you, too. Please keep each other safe,” I begged. “I want you both back here quickly, hear me?”

He grinned. “Yeah, baby girl, I hear you. We’ll make sure that happens.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

“I’m gonna go call your mom before we head out. You good?”

“I’m good, Dad, thanks.”

He smiled, hugged me one more time, then walked away and I returned to Devon, who wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close. “Feel better?”

“Not in the slightest,” I admitted.

“It’s all good, sweetness. We’re covered.”

I nodded, but it wasn’t a nod of agreement... it was a nod of resignation, because let’s face it, it didn’t matter how I felt, they would still do this dangerous thing... whatever it was.

He chuckled, kissing my temple. “Gonna make it up to you, Poppy. You’ll see.”

“A diamond might help,” I grumbled.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“A big one.”

Devon laughed. “Okay, baby. I’ll see what I can do.”

I gave him a gentle squeeze. “Please be careful.”

“Always, sweetness,” he whispered, kissing me quickly.

Then Doc did the call out and the men filed out of the building and into God knows what kind of danger.