Chapter 17
Brewer
Everyone lost their fucking shit once the announcement was made. There wasn’t any yelling, but everyone kept defending the other as to why they shouldn’t be the one to go on the inside. Diesel kept defending Grave and Knox because of their relationships and Rock kept defending me because we’d been best friends since fucking high school. I kept defending Mick because he was a damn pussy and was good with numbers but not much else. And every time someone brought up Rock with his technological skills I kept telling people he’d be valuable on the outside to keep tabs on whoever was on the inside.
Which left only one option.
Me.
Diesel kept volunteering to do it, but we all knew how that would end. Everyone knew he was the President of our club, and the second he landed his ass in jail The Black Saddles would set up an attack on him. They’d also be all over Rex trying to keep him safe. Which left me. I kept to myself, and not everyone, besides my few contacts, knew what club I was involved with. I could easily go inside, unnoticed, and take care of this fucker once and for all. Rock was the only one defending why I didn’t need to be in that place, but everyone knew I was the logical choice. I had police officers I could pay off and relationships I’d cultivated that had strings I had yet to tug on. I could get it done the smoothest. I could get it done the quickest. And I could get it done without raising any flags.
I knew I was the only one that could do this.
No one wanted to talk about it, but it had to be said. Diesel dismissed church because everyone was fucking tired and he was fed up with the situation. And I knew why. We were trying to clean up our act and there we all were, debating on who the hell was going to kill Rex. Diesel ordered us to take some days to ourselves to think about all this, but I didn’t have to do any thinking.
I had to prepare myself for what was coming.
I kept my distance from Makenna and Ana. Being caught up in me at this point, spelled danger for them. But to say I wasn’t thinking about them both, was a lie. Every waking moment I thought about them. About Ana’s big, innocent eyes and her bright little smile. About how she instinctively curled into me, like she knew I could protect her. And Makenna. That woman had me turned inside out. Every fucking free moment I had, she was on my mind. But not just her body. No. Her presence. Her aura. The comfort she poured over my body just by standing next to me.
The selfish part of me wanted one last night with her, even though I knew it was wrong.
Diesel already had a church meeting on the books for tomorrow. To officially discuss the plan. I’d announce it then. I’d announce that I was volunteering for this job and I’d mount a defense as to why every other asshole in that group wasn’t prepared for something like this. And it didn’t bother me one damn bit if it pissed Rock off. I wasn’t going to let my best friend who was always an asset on the outside to risk his fucking teeth doing bullshit he wasn’t prepared to do.
I tossed my gun onto the kitchen table and shrugged my vest off.
I already had the proper authorities in place. I’d been calling in favors for the past three days. Men I’d rubbed elbows with who asked favors of me I needed to cash in. I worked on getting an onslaught of police officers and guards on my side to not only arrest me, but fill the jail so I could easily maneuver around the place. I meticulously laid plans out so this would be quick and efficient.
The issue was, it had to look real.
From the perspective of The Black Saddles, all of it had to look real.
Which meant I had to actually be arrested.
I tossed my vest over the gun and raked my hand through my hair. Shit. This was really happening. I wasn’t new to the concept of taking lives, especially to protect my own. But for some reason, this felt different. I didn’t know why and I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to figure out why, but this felt different than all those other times.
Those other times had been impromptu. Like when The Black Saddles rolled up on us the first time. Or they had been to defend the life of an innocent. Like the shootout at The Black Saddles lodge to get Grave’s woman back. But this was neither of those situations. This wasn’t impromptu nor was this a rescue mission.
The sole purpose of this was to kill.
And yes, it would finally take the heat off Knox, and possibly the RICO case. It would take care of the asshole that threatened Everly. But there was something else I still couldn’t put my finger on.
Not until I looked out the window and saw Makenna’s house.
Shit. If I did this, she already had a target on her back. For all I knew, The Black Saddles were looking into all of us. I’d let my guard down and let her crawl underneath my skin, and in a moment of weakness I’d attached myself to that woman. And she had a daughter. A helpless daughter that had no idea the kind of darkness that came with a man like myself. Hell, Makenna was just as helpless. Just as clueless to the man she’d allowed between her thighs.
I raked my hands through my hair and groaned.
If there was even the slightest threat to them, then I had to keep them safe. But I couldn’t do that if I was inside a jail cell. But then again, I had no choice. Rock wasn’t going to do this and Mick was a damn idiot, so this fell onto my shoulders. This part of the mission to clean our shit up fell onto my person to take care of. And I was going to do right by my family.
But I also had to do right by the women I’d willingly dragged into this fiasco.
When I got out, I would have to keep them safe. Taking care of Rex would cause a backlash that would send that damn group into a tailspin. And if they weren’t researching us now, they would be once word of Rex’s death got around. And it would be easy to pinpoint who murdered him once they got word I was in jail. There was only so much cover-up we could do with something like this, but we had all determined that Rex’s death was worth the shit we’d have to dig ourselves out of.
Damn it. This war had so many sides to it I could hardly keep up.
I gazed out the window and watched. I took in all the lights on in the windows of her home. Every part of me wanted to walk over there, take that sweet woman in my arms, and taste her one last time. I had no idea how long this plan was going to take or how long I’d be on the inside. Which meant I had no idea how long they would be without protection. Be without me watching over them. Be without someone to take Ana to school if her car broke down again or take her to work if she was rushing around trying to figure out what to do.
I could call Rock and have him check on them. I knew if I explained to Rock what had happened, he would understand. He’d protected more than his fair share of flings on the side when shit kicked up with the group. He was unapologetic about the women he fucked, but he always made sure they never got wrapped up in the bullshit of our lives.
It sounded wrong to call Makenna nothing but a fling, but I wouldn’t tell Rock that.
I could protect her once I got out. I was good at that. Her and Ana would be okay once I got back to my house after this mission. But everything inside of me needed one last night with her. One last feel of her skin against mine. She was a drug, and I was having withdrawals. My hands shook and my knees locked up. I had no idea what it was about this woman, but I had a feeling it would take more than a stint in jail to rid me of the effects she had on my person.
Yeah. I definitely wasn’t telling Rock what the fuck was up with her.
I opened my front door and started onto my porch. And as my legs carried me across my lawn, my heart slammed against my chest. Blood rushed through my ears. My dick throbbed to life against my jeans as I stepped up to her front door. I needed to taste her one last time. To get her out of my system so I could go into this with an even head. I wouldn’t be able to complete the mission at hand if all I could think about was burying myself within her again.
And when I got out, I’d make sure they were safe. Her and her daughter. They would be safe with me, and until then Rock could drop by and check in on them.
The foundation was laid and the plans were set into motion. All I had to do was talk with the guys tomorrow and let them know exactly how this was going down.
Then, I rose my fist and knocked on Makenna’s door. And I found myself wishing and hoping with all my might that she would open up.