Trench
Four long days. We should have been back in two. The shipment was on time, but the buyer wanted to back out at the last minute. I phoned Alexei, but I never expected he’d show up personally to deal with it. He was so much bolder than his father and the man was willing to run point on his dealings, against the better judgment of his security team. I could see it in the way they tensed whenever he made a split-second decision.
Alexei was ruthless in business and he didn’t give second chances to people who fucked with his money. So, it came as little surprise when he shot his long-time business partner in the head for backing out of a multi-million-dollar munitions deal at the last second. That was Alexei, always one step ahead. He anticipated it and that was why he hired Pandemonium for the run. He trusted my club. We could have killed the bastard ourselves, kept the money, kept the ammunition supply and reported back to Alexei that we were late to the party. Pinned it on just about anyone else, but he knew how I conducted business.
When the first shot rang out in the old, abandoned warehouse, we expected a bloodbath, but Alexei was prepared. The dead man’s associates wouldn’t be talking. They were dead within seconds of Alexei pulling the trigger. It happened so quickly and quietly. Alexei handed his gun off to the man on his right, who wiped it clean and put it away in the trunk of their car. The men with Alexei secured the money from the buy gone south and staged enough evidence to have the Russians eating out of his palms, looking for swift payback. And, they would be looking hard at the Disciples.
Thanks to Tori, Alexei had eyes on them now. She’d been right. Preacher was cooking the experimental drug she’d identified as ‘Crush’ and Alexei was out for blood. I’d since learned his younger sister’s drink had been laced with one of the tablets a couple months back and she was only alive because of life support. There was no guarantee she would wake up from the coma.
Alexei discovered a while back that the man we were sent to meet was already placing orders with the Disciples behind his back. His purchase brought the lethal new drug to New York and his territory. To his sister’s assailant and to his home. That was enough to sign his death warrant with Alexei.
Alexei asked us to hold back our return to Sparrow Creek another two days to redirect the shipment to another buyer three states away. In exchange for his double earnings on the drop, he padded our payment with an extra half a million and a guarantee that Preacher would burn. He was leaving Aaron to me.
I had one person on my mind as I walked through the door of the clubhouse. I needed to breathe in her familiar scent, feel her soft skin against my weather-worn face, hear her laughter. Everything else could wait. The front room was empty and too damn quiet. I moved past the bar toward the kitchen before I finally heard Stryker talking.
“I’ll tell him, Aimee. You don’t want to be around for this. Understand?” Stryker’s voice was uncharacteristically filled with concern. They must have heard the bikes pulling up outside, but his tone had me tensing up.
“Tell who, what?” I asked, startling them both. Aimee leapt at me and flung her arms around my waist, sobbing. I kept my hands by my side, clenching and unclenching for restraint. “The fuck is going on? Where’s To-,” Her name didn’t have a chance to leave my mouth before I took in Stryker’s grave face, my heart hammering with the realization that something had happened to her.
“Trench, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault,” Aimee began, her forehead leaning into my chest and her sobs muffled by my cut. I wanted to peel her off me, but I was frozen in place.
“What’s your fault, and where’s Tori?” My question was meant for Aimee, but my eyes were glued on Stryker who took a heavy step away. He’d been worked over hard from the looks of it. His lip was swollen and split on the bottom and fresh bruises decorated his jaw.
“D…Disciples,” Aimee hiccupped. I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently eased her away, afraid that I might snap and she was too close.
“Where? When?” I moved around Aimee and towards Stryker. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“I did, Pres. Your phone went straight to voicemail. Clutch’s too.” Stryker defended. Shit! I should have gotten Reap to set up the Bluetooth in my lid before we left. “It happened about an hour ago. They grabbed her from Aimee’s salon. I tried to catch up with them. Fuck!” Stryker ran his hand up and down the back of his neck in frustration.
“How many?”
“I saw four at least. They were in a cage. An older model, dark blue Suburban. I managed to catch hold of one of the motherfucker’s shirts, but two more came out of the vehicle and took my ass down.”
“Did you see which direction they went?”
Stryker and Aimee both shook their heads in distress while I reached for my gun, turning back to the one direction that might have answers. Reap might not get his chance after all.
Lo saw me coming. He glanced down at my piece and pulled the door open before I even reached the stairs leading inside. The weight of the door crashed heavy against the wall as I stepped in.
“Where?” I stopped in front of Flex’s face. Judging by the swelling around his eyes, he probably couldn’t see me well, but he could damn sure feel the cold barrel of my Glock pressed against his forehead.
“Where? You’ll have to be more specific, Trench,” he scoffed. I leaned forward and pulled his head back by the roots of his hair. He winced in pain as I pressed the barrel harder against his skull.
“Where is Tori, motherfucker?”
“Hold up, brother. I just heard.”
Clutch joined Lo with me inside, but stood to the side. I didn’t avert my eyes from Flex, but I knew they were scared for me. Of me. Flex tried to laugh through the pain. Instead, it came out garbled as he choked back his own phlegm and blood.
“They actually pulled it off. Son-of-a-bitch, that’s got to sting.” Flex taunted. “That was their fucking plan all along, Columbo. I was nothing more than a distraction. Guess ole’ boy got one right.”
I felt my finger testing the weight of the trigger in the well and I wanted to end this miserable shit, but I still needed a location.
“Where, Flex?”
When he didn’t answer, I lowered the gun and shot the first round into his kneecap, listening to him howl in pain and scream every curse under the sun. I was way beyond giving a shit who heard. I needed to reach Tori before Aaron or that prick father of hers had a chance to hurt her.
“Fuck you, man,” Flex fought to keep conscious through the pain. “You know what? Fuck all of you. I hope you shits kill each other. The warehouse,” he finally offered through clenched teeth and bleeding gums.
Lo and Clutch waited for my word.
“You know the warehouse?” They nodded in unison. Pandemonium had been watching their stockpile for a while. We never intended to raid it, but it was smarter to stay ahead of the train. “Get Reap, Stryker, Deuce and Lynch to approach it from the South. You, Lo, and I will take the North. Tell them to carry heavy.”
“What do you want to do about him?” Clutch asked as he balled up a bandana from his pocket and shoved it in Flex’s mouth between screams.
“Reaper’s going to be pissed, but he’s coming with us. I might need a bargaining chip for Tori. Put him in the cage and have one of the Prospects follow us.”
Back outside I heard Lo already instructing the Prospect to bring the truck around. I walked fast to the garage, going straight for the back room, where we stored the weapons, mostly unregistered pieces that wouldn’t leave a trail to our doorstep. Clutch ran in shortly after, a little out of breath as he climbed on his ride and watched me slam the safe closed. He lifted his shirt slightly to show he’d come ready. His way of assuring me he was on board with whatever went down.
“Guys are grabbing their shit now. We’ll get her back, brother.” He offered, before turning the engine over and lifting the kickstand with his booted heel.
“Or we’ll go out in one hell of a blaze of fucking glory,” Lo hollered over the roar of the engines just before the garage echoed our departure.