Chapter Twenty-Seven
Blood sat on his bike in the parking lot outside the police station where Cat had been held overnight. The club’s bail bondsman was inside, bailing her out. The man knew not to speak to her about anything that had gone on, so when Cat walked outside, she didn’t know if they had been able to save Holly or not.
One look at her as she walked toward him, and Blood could tell she was making all kinds of assumptions when she saw he was alone. Cat tried to hold it together as she walked, but when she got closer, her face crumpled, and she dashed the last few yards toward him.
Blood’s arms opened wide, wanting, for the first time in his life, to comfort a woman and make everything better. Cat flung herself into his waiting arms. He held her tight, his head dipping to hers as she broke down. “Shh, shh… babe. She’s okay. We got her.”
She pushed out of his arms to stare up at him. “You got her?”
Blood cupped her cheeks, his thumb brushing her tears away. “She’s at the clubhouse. It’s over, Cat. It’s over.”
“Is she okay? I want to see her.”
Blood nodded. “I know you do. I’ll take you to her. Undertaker’s been with her the whole time. He’s the one who found her and got her out. He hasn’t left her side. She won’t let him out of her sight. It’s the weirdest shit I ever saw.”
“Is she hurt?”
“Physically, she seems okay. Mentally, she’s pretty fragile. Undertaker’s been very protective of her, and she’s latched onto him. But she’s been waiting for you. We told her we were going to get you and bring you to her.”
“I want to see her.”
Blood nodded and brushed the hair back from her face. “How’s my little jailbird? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but that place was awful. I don’t ever want to go back.”
“Don’t plan on lettin’ that happen, babe.”
She stared up in his face. “What happened with your father? Did you—”
He shook his head. “He got away. We trailed him through some underground tunnels. They led to another building, but we lost him.”
“I’m sorry.”
He passed her a helmet and climbed on his bike. She scrambled on the back, and they roared off.
***
Undertaker sat on the bed in the room Cat had been staying in at the Clubhouse. Across from him, sat her sister, Holly, and between them a deck of cards as they played a game of War on the worn chenille bedspread.
His opponent didn’t seem to have her head in the game, though, and he could understand that, considering what she’d been through. He’d brought out the deck of cards mainly to get her mind off everything that had happened. That and he was running out of ways to entertain her that didn’t involve touching—something he very much wanted to do and was finding it hard to keep a tight rein on.
He’d gained her trust while rescuing her, and ever since then she’d latched onto him, not wanting him to leave her sight. He supposed it was some kind of hero worship, the kind women usually reserved for good-looking firemen, not middle-aged bikers like him—especially one old enough to be her father.
He flipped a ten of diamonds down, and she flipped a queen of hearts. When she didn’t scoop up the cards right away, he glanced up at her and gently prodded, “You won, darlin’.”
Those pretty blue eyes met his with a vacant stare, and he had to take a breath. She really was so young and innocent, and damned if that didn’t pull at him.
He smiled. “Not the first time the queen of hearts has done me in.”
That got the corner of her lips tugging up. Pretty pink lips, no lipstick, no gloss, just soft billowy lips that called out to be kissed.
Hell, pull your shit together, old man. She’s half your age.
He scooped up the cards and put them in her pile. “You go first this time, sweetheart.”
There was a knock at the door, and he turned his head. “Yeah?”
The door opened, and Blood led Cat in. The minute Holly saw her sister, she was off the bed like a shot, the cards scattering, along with the small teddy bear she hadn’t let go of since last night.
The two sisters flew into each other’s arms.
Undertaker stood from the bed, his eyes connecting with Blood’s, and he lifted his chin toward the door, signaling they leave the two girls alone. “We’ll let you two catch up.”
The moment he did, Holly pushed out of Cat’s arms to stare at him, her expression once again filled with anxiety. “You’re not leaving, are you?”
Undertaker’s grin communicated his patience with the girl. “No, babe. I’ll be just down the hall in my office if you need me. You and your sister need some time alone.” Why did the look in her eyes make him feel like he was abandoning her?
Cat’s curious eyes moved between them.
“You’ll be fine, Holly. You’re safe here. I’m not going far,” he assured her.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
She reluctantly nodded, and he and Blood moved out into the hall.
Blood gave him a look.
Undertaker put his finger to his lips, signaling for Blood to stay quiet. He didn’t want Holly to hear him make any comment about the state she was in. He led Blood to his office.
Instead of moving behind the desk, he went straight to a side credenza where he kept his booze. Unscrewing the bottle of Jack, he poured himself a double shot and tried to disregard the tremor in his hand. Tossing it down, he turned to find Blood standing, his arms crossed and a smug look on his face. “You want one?”
“I’m good,” Blood replied with a grin.
“Wipe that smile off your face. This shit’s not funny.”
“Parts of it are.”
“The part where a sweet girl like her would turn to the President of the fucking New Orleans chapter of the Evil Dead MC to feel safe?”
“No, the part where it makes you so uncomfortable your hands shake, ol’ man.”
“Fuck you. My hands aren’t shaking.” They both knew that was a lie.
“You say so.”
“You tell anybody about this, you’re a dead man.”
Blood let out a rumble of laughter at that. “Right.”
“What the fuck am I supposed to do with her? She won’t let me out of her sight. I can barely get out of the room long enough to take a piss.”
“Gee, a gorgeous young girl can’t bear to be from your side. Cry me a river.”
“Bite me. This is serious.”
“Cat’s here now, so I’m sure she’ll transfer all that clinginess—that seems to give you the hives—to her.”
“You better be right. It’s pretty hard to run an MC when I’m playing babysitter.” Undertaker moved behind his desk.
“They come up with any intel off that laptop?”
“Yeah. There’s a meet planned between Black Jack and the Death Heads in two days. We plan to crash the party.”
“Where at?”
“End of Highway 23.”
“Down past Port Sulphur?”
Undertaker nodded. “Wholesale seafood place down there all the way at the end.”
“Strange place for a meet.”
“Yup. Especially when it’s scheduled for two a.m.”
“Sounds like something besides seafood coming in on those fishing boats.”
“Be my guess.”
“How we pullin’ this off?”
“We’re gonna make it look like Black Jack double crossed his new friends.”
Blood nodded. “So the other chapters of the Death Heads can’t pin it on us.”
“Exactly.”
“I like the way you think. How’re we getting in and out?”
“Easy’s got a cousin with a boat he bought out of Navy salvage. The kind his daddy used to run up and down the Mekong Delta back when he was a Navy Seal.”
Blood chuckled. “You turning this crew into a bunch of Special Op warriors?”
“Sandman’s gonna rig the SAW machine gun to it. We’re goin’ in hot.”
“Go big or go home.”
“You know it.”
Blood moved to leave, but Undertaker stopped him. “Oh, and the kid you brought in, the one who gave these girls up to the Death Heads?”
Blood turned back. “Dax the dick? I’ll take care of him.” He moved to head for the door again, trying to decide how he’d kill the little punk. He’d promised Cat he’d handle the “Dax problem” for her, and he’d meant it.
“I already did.”
Blood turned back, frowning. “What?”
“He’s the one responsible for Holly being down the hall right now in the state she’s in. So I took care of him. He wasn’t gonna draw breath one more minute. She’s just a kid. She didn’t deserve this.”
“You’re right, she didn’t.”
“You good with it?”
“Yeah, I’m good with it.” Blood grinned. “Thought that little girl wasn’t giving you time alone to piss. How’d you find time for that?”
“I took five minutes.”
Blood chuckled as he walked out. “You are so screwed.”