Chapter 10
Cade
Ever since the rally, I couldn’t get Harper off my mind. It was distracting me from my work and keeping me up at night. I had to find a way to talk with her. To get her away from her parents and have a conversation with her. It felt like her parents were manipulating her. Parading her around for her father’s sake. If I could get her alone, secured away from her family, I knew I could get her to talk with me.
The light in her eyes was no longer there. That fierce light that guided me to her had dimmed in her beautiful stare. I saw it the moment she turned around and looked at me. She was scared. Fearful. Timid.
Not at all like the young woman I’d met at the rally.
The only way I knew I could get around her without throwing red flags was to get Ryan to hire us. Permanently. As his private protection through the rest of his campaign. I went through our files and found his office number, then called him up on my cell phone. It would register as an unknown number on his end, but I was hoping he would pick up anyway.
And sure enough, he did.
“Ryan Thomas speaking.”
“Mr. Thomas. My name’s Cade. I’m a representative of The Black Angels.”
“Why in the world are you calling me on my office line,” he said in a whisper.
“I wanted to call and offer our services for the rest of your campaign,” I said.
“Well, my family and I are just fine. Nothing happened at the rally so that we won’t be needing your services any longer.”
“That isn’t true,” I lied. “We just got done debriefing. The reason I had to run backstage was because there were some rowdy guys that slipped by the police officers posted in the back. The only reason I went in search for your daughter was because I figured she was their target.”
“Wait a second, what?” he asked.
“We didn’t want to cause any more of a scene at the rally, but since I was the one that went after them, I told the club I would call you.”
I was lying through my fucking teeth, but I didn’t care. I could tell by his silence that he was mulling it over. Turning over my proposition in my head. All I had to do was get him to agree, and for the right price, we would be all over that fucking family. If I could convince Ryan that I was in it to save Harper, he might even appoint me as her personal bodyguard.
Which meant I could get that alone time with her.
“How many rowdy men got by the police?” Ryan asked.
“Three that I could find,” I said.
“That you could find.”
“Yes, sir. And the police weren’t any help. They were ready to talk, and it wasn’t until I threatened them that they kept their mouths shut.”
“You what?” he asked.
“Listen. There is a threat looming out there, and it was proven at the rally. And the police? You can’t make the police department sign a waiver not to talk. If they continue to guard you and something happens, someone will talk to the press. But with us? We’ll sign whatever you want. For the right price, of course.”
“Well first, I want to thank you. For personally making sure my daughter was all right. She and that child of hers mean… a lot to me,” he said.
Yeah, I’m sure they fucking do, you prick.
“I can only imagine,” I said.
“What um… price… are we talking?” he asked.
“Three hundred thousand, and that comes with up to twenty-four-seven guarding and a private bodyguard for your daughter. Someone to escort her around town should she leave and someone to make sure she gets from A to B safely.”
“My daughter rarely leaves the house,” he said. “That won’t be necessary.”
I felt my blood boiling as those words rolled off his tongue. He was keeping her in that fucking house. I knew it. I felt my fists clenching at my side as I tried to keep my voice was shaking.
“Well, should she choose to leave and should you want her protected, the offer’s there,” I said.
“Three hundred thousand? And that’s protection until the election?” he asked.
“Yep. There’s a core group of us. Five of us. You get all five of us whenever you need us, then the rest of the Angels at the rest of your rallies.”
“Even at our house during the evening?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. Even then. You just designate who you wish to stay, and we’re there.”
The silence on the phone was deafening. I was ready to reach through the phone and grab his throat. I just wanted him to take the fucking deal so I could get on with this shit.
“Okay,” he said. “You have a deal. But all of you are signing paperwork saying you won’t talk to the media.”
“That’s fine. Let me take it up with the group just so everyone is clear, and we’ll send you the paperwork to sign. Same way we did it the first time. Anonymous carrier. You sign, you pay us half up front, and we get to work.”
“I’ll be on the lookout.”
I hung up the phone and sent a text to Doc. We needed church, and we needed it now. I sat in the clubhouse while the rest of the guys showed up, and I was ready to make this short and sweet. I was one vote and a damn signature away from having Harper all to my fucking self.
“Why are we in church again?” Blade asked. “Didn’t we just do this?”
“You said it was important,” Doc said. “What do you have for us?”
“Ryan Thomas perceived a threat at the rally,” I said.
“But the rally was fine,” Ink said.
“What did you do?” Vex asked.
“I called him like you guys told me to. To let him know the rally went fine. But he had his doubts, and I might have used those doubts to sway him into hiring us for the rest of the campaign.”
“You what?” Blade asked.
“For how much?” Doc asked.
“Three hundred thousand. I told him that got the five of us whenever he wanted us, and the rest of the Angels at the rest of his rallies in town. Plus, private protection for his daughter if he wants it,” I said.
“You just want a piece of that pregnant pussy,” Vex said, grinning.
“Didn’t know you had a thing for lactating titties,” Ink said, chuckling.
“I don’t give a damn what he’s into. Three hundred thousand for less than a month’s worth of work? I’m fucking in,” Blade said.
“Okay. That’s one vote. How to the rest of you guys feel?” Doc asked.
“I’m in. I wanna see if he can slay this pussy,” Vex said.
“Same here. I’m in. And fifty bucks said he can’t,” Ink said.
“Obviously Cade’s all for it, so that’s a majority vote. I’m in as well, by the way. Cade, you arranged this, so you get the paperwork out to him. Call our carrier. He’ll know what to do,” Doc said.
I was seething with how they were talking about Harper, but there was nothing I could do about it. I was just one damn signature away from making bank and talking with Harper, and that was all that mattered.
We ended church, and I pulled out the paperwork, then filled it out and called up our carrier. I gave him the details of what was going on and that this needed to be delivered to Ryan Thomas today.
Then, we needed to set a schedule.