“Did you really need all this shit?” Spider grimaces. “It’s like a damn daycare and not a clubhouse anymore. Can we build an extension to house the women and kids only?”
Pushing the cart a little faster than necessary, I clip the back of his boot and heel. “Sorry,” I cover my mouth and bug out my eyes for full sassy effect. Spider’s glare zeroes in and he grumbles, walking away with a quicker stride.
Dana snickers and adds on louder than needed, “We could totally move into our own space, right after you build it.”
Spider flips us off without looking and opens the back of the SUV. To my surprise, back at the clubhouse, Vegas finds a way to get the guys to help us set up a play zone for Eli in the bar area. Boxes and toys litter the place, fitted with things I never knew existed. After they started, there was no stopping Axl’s enthusiasm to make it even better. He was bound to build a fort and he took off to the store alone for more supplies.
At this point, it’s more of a men’s playhouse in the bar, with Nerf guns hidden under the counter. I don’t even want to know what they spent on these toys and the camo tent set-up that’s taking up most of the space.
Axl proudly holds up a tiny camouflage t-shirt, like his but has a skull on it. “Get the kid, woman, we are ready.”
Dana laughs, “I never realized how neglected my man was with the princess and pink stuff.”
“It all ends now. I have camo for my princess, too. Dress her, she needs to be a part of this.”
“She’s six months old, Axl.”
“Get my baby out here,” Axl threatens Dana with a jab to her chest with a plastic knife. She swats hard at it and it hits the floor.
“I’ll get her,” she threatens with a finger to his face, “But only because I want you to do your job and play with her, jackass.”
Axl’s face turns into more of an adult kind of mischief and, before he gets carried away, I drag Dana by her arm down the hall with me. The kids have been holed up back here while we were setting up the bar/playroom. I’m sure they are ready to get a break, and their babysitters, too.
Eli just woke up from his nap and he rubs his face with his little chubby paws. “Hey, bebé.” I pull him up onto my lap and cuddle him just for a minute before I take him to the bathroom. By the time we get back to the bar area, the guys stand in formation, armed with Nerf guns. Axl sternly calls for Lieutenant Eli to come front and center, and waves him over.
Excitedly, Eli runs for him and Axl squats down and removes his little shirt, replacing it with the one he bought for him. The Battle Born men have gone and, in their place, stands an army. Axl arms Eli with a plastic machine gun and a belt with grenades, guns and knives.
“Our mission is to save the princess from being captured,” he instructs, holding Maddy in his arms and leading Eli into their camp.
Before long, the girls and I watch a war commencing, and we feed the hungry soldiers sandwiches, enjoying the show. Cowboy is shot in the arm by none other than Spider, who had decided that black face paint was necessary.
“Abort,” he hollers out to his men and darts to the back door to leave. You remember the problem I had earlier? Well, we already installed the child locks. He pulls and tugs and the door won’t open. He tries pressing the latch above, finally noticing the problem.
“Son of a bitch, what’s the trick? I can’t get out!” He panics because losing would mean nothing, but his pride makes him play the game seriously.
Axl catches up with him and sends a round of Nerf bullets into his back. The girls and I cheer for Axl’s success in saving Princess Maddy.
I got a chance to be something I never believed would ever happen. A mother.
Best day ever.
Chapter 16
Tank
The Las Vegas and Reno chapters teamed up with about ten guys to stake out the Cartel Boss, El Fantasma, who runs the Southern hemisphere based out of Dallas, Texas. He operates this side of the underground tunnels, from transporting drugs, women and children and cash to whatever else Matias orders. For now, there is a working treaty between the Cartels across the globe, sanctions that network the flow of business.
I’ll hand it to Kat. She had a lot of her homework done and she knew that she needed an army for the next phase. Disrupting the carefully planned flow of the underground business. First order of business is stealing this shipment of drugs that’s coming to the States which is worth millions after the mules sell it for the Bosses.
From our spot across the street in the apartment we broke into, we watch with our binoculars the people that enter and leave the facility. Walking in, even as an MC looking to distribute and offer a deal, would be deadly. Unless you have the right contact to score an invitation, walking in would put a bullet in your forehead within seconds.
“We need to get in there or get a device in there to hear and see what is going on,” Blade comments as we watch several young women unload a bus, with armed guards walking into a warehouse where El Fantasma has the drugs weighed and prepared for delivery.
We retreat and head back to the rundown motel the club is staying at, where the group decides that a club girl is needed. Titan is called in and he is immediately on his way down, with one of the girls. The warehouse is kept under surveillance until they can get here later tonight by plane. While we wait, we send the pictures out to all the Sergeants-at-Arms from each chapter. They send us what they can with details on the men in the pictures.
Hector Santiago, one of the top men, frequents his brother's nightclub where he picks up random drifter girls for the night. Santiago has been questioned many times for the same, girls found dead, but was never convicted. He’s dangerous but careless, and exactly who we all agree to target. After a review of the girls found dead, we a have one that will drive him wild, a redhead.
Crystal is loud, confident and has legs to wrap around a man for miles. She struts in the door, with Titan as her escort right behind her. We fit her with bugs and GPS tracking devices.
Blade stands by the door before we leave. “Crystal, you could die if he catches onto why you are there—”
A quiet knock raps on the other side of the door, stopping any conversation. We freeze instantly and draw our handguns, pointing them in the direction Blade stands, next to the door. He carefully steps back against the wall and slowly opens the curtain to peek at who is on the other side.
“Open the door,” he orders and holsters his gun. Solo first cracks it open and takes a look before swinging it wide open.
There are moments when I shouldn’t be surprised anymore but, for some reason, this one floors me. I really should have anticipated it though.
“Woman, is there something wrong with you? Why are you here?” My teeth grind and clench in frustration. Kat walks through the door, dressed all in black and ready for action. As soon as the door shuts behind her, I bark, “Where is Eli?”
“He’s back in Reno. You guys can’t get this done without my help.”
She walks in, her eyes running over Crystal and ignoring the red-hot anger she has summoned out of me.
“You the bait?” she guesses, questioning her.
Biting my tongue, I don’t say another word for now. The guys can’t see the anger swirling inside of me for her leaving our son in Reno. I wanted her there safe and not here.
Crystal’s eyes harden as she looks Kat up and down. “Yeah, and your point?”
“Honey, these men aren’t stupid. Flashy tits and long hair come a dime a dozen for them. You smell like desperation. You want to hook him and his interest? Wear something he’ll never forget.”
Crystal looks irritated but doesn’t argue as Kat continues. “You need expensive clothes, money.”
Titan and Cowboy chuckle in the background and Kat’s furious eyes zero in on the two. “You have a better idea?”
“Kat, she’s meat bait. We just need her to plant a device on him,” Titan’s antagonizing voice laughs at her.
I step forward because I see it happen
ing before he does, and stop her. I know that Blade will see it but hopefully not the rest. I hold her still and grip her arm tightly before she gets a chance to draw the small handgun from around her back.
“Kat,” I kiss her temple, “This is Titan, the VP of the Las Vegas chapter,” I murmur, hoping that she gets what I’m saying and that it cools her off. I then turn toward her target. “Titan, she knows her shit. Meet Katherine Castillo, and the next time you taunt my woman, we will have a problem.”
Kat picks up where she was interrupted and at least leaves her gun in her pants. “She’s not a hooker. You want her to be treated like one, then fine, send her out in that.” Crystal huffs but Kat keeps up her tirade. “If he sees her in expensive threads, he’ll think she’s a kept woman and give her more respect than a throwaway puta from the street. He’ll see money, and sex. The two things these men crave more than anything. You MC boys don’t see that need; all you see is a fuck toy.”
She steps out of my hold and into Titan’s space. The six-foot guy towers over her like a giant she has no problem scowling at from her shorter height.
“Give her a better chance to get out of there without getting fucked up. The best of the two worlds he loves. If she looks like money and then suddenly goes missing, someone will come looking. He will think twice before hurting her, entiendes?”
Titan doesn’t relent and holds her gaze in challenge. “Let’s move this on then and buy what she needs.” Stryker agrees and pushes his VP out the door first. Thank fuck, all I need is more drama to clean up.
We escort Kat and Crystal to some fancy clothing store where she takes Crystal in and they try on a few dresses looking like a million-dollar hooker with how little it covers Crystal’s body. Kat finds a more modest black dress for herself, with long black sleeves that cover her tattoos. Those sky-high black heels make my dick spring to life before my brain catches on.
“Where do you think you are going?”
“In. I’m watching her from the back. And watching for associates of his that could show up.” She reads accurately what my head is screaming. “Suit up if you are coming too, but I’m going in. You walk in with that and you’ll stick out and be on their radar.”
Kat flags over a salesgirl and, before we leave, I’m suited in an Armani disguise. No wonder these guys are all ego. I feel like a king dressed in money. Kat swipes a black card and pays for us, then tucks the card back away before the three of us climb into the back of a rented town car driven by Blade.
Stryker turns around from the passenger seat and tells me, “You’re a banking investor here in Texas on business. She,” he points to Kat, “Is your mistress, not girlfriend and not wife, nobody.”
At this point, she may as well be with how well she listens. Kat sees the fury in my glare that is steaming beneath the surface.
The group of us remain quiet on the rest of the drive over to the nightclub. Rounding the block to our destination, Stryker turns around and watches Crystal closely, “Are you ready to do this?” She nods her head yes. “You may have to fuck this guy to make this look real,” he warns because, not only she may not want to, but it may save her life.
“I can handle a little dick, don’t worry about it. I got this. We agreed on ten grand. I’ll fuck him for that amount of cash,” she confirms and smirks. The money, to her, is enough to start over, or is enough to satisfy the greed.
“Ten grand will be waiting for you at the clubhouse.”
Blade goes over the plan once more while we wait in the line of cars with passengers waiting to be dropped off. “We are dropping Kat and Tank off first. Go inside and sweep the ground floor. Once we get confirmation that it’s all clear, we’ll backtrack and drop Crystal off. We only have about two minutes to draw him to Crystal. If he makes it to the upstairs balcony, we may not have a chance.”
Kat and I look at each other, seeing a clear solution. “Crystal must run into him on accident, at the doorway.”
Kat agrees and, looking at Crystal, adds, “Be submissive and apologetic. Once your apology is accepted, look up and you’ll know how to handle the rest.” In other words, Sell your body as payment is what she didn’t say, but the meaning behind her words is there.
Blade pulls up to the drop-off. I exit the car first and hold my hand out for Kat to help her get out. She places her hand on my arm and I pay the guard a stack of cash to let us walk through without waiting in line.
My hand slides around Kat and rests on her hip, guiding her through the large crowd of people. We stand in the back and look around the room of partiers.
“I’m not happy you’re here,” I tell her in a low voice.
“I know this. But you need me here to make this happen right. You don’t know the man you are at war with or this world.”
Leaning over to her ear, I say loud enough over the music, “You said you would stay safe. You don’t know shit about what we know, Kat.”
“Do you see me going after him myself? No. I said I want to help, and I will,” she bites back at me, staring straight ahead and focusing on her task.
Fuck, she is so stubborn. “Kat, we could’ve done this without you, and you should’ve stayed with Eli.”
“Tank, I came this far, on my own. There is no fucking way that I will just sit at home now.”
“We’ll pick this up after this shit is over.” She ignores me completely and I promise her in my head that she will pay attention to me later.
We look around for the next few minutes, but are not able to spot our man. I send a text to Blade to send Crystal in. Minutes pass and the crowd starts thickening from the time we walked in.
Crystal walks in and does as instructed, staying at the end of the bar, facing the door. She orders a drink, and we sit and wait. Our patience finally pays off when he shows up about twenty minutes later. Hector Santiago walks in with another associate of the Cartel.
He spots Crystal instantly with her deep throaty laugh that catches his attention. She excuses herself and walks away from the man at the bar. He chases after her and she ignores his attempts at calling for her. The man reaches for her arm and her drink is flung from her hand and onto Santiago’s pants and shoes. Okay, that couldn’t have played out any better.
Through the crowd, I see her hand flying back and she smacks his face before shoving the guy back. Santiago steps between the two of them, protecting her from the intruder. The man recognizes him and freezes, then leaves without another word. Santiago turns and faces the bait. She looks down and apologizes, looking distraught. His hand grazes her chin and she barely makes eye contact. Perfect.
He whispers into her ear and Crystal’s hand grazes his chest. Santiago catches her hand and kisses the top of it and doesn’t let it go. Smooth fucker. He tucks her hand into his arm and leads her back over to the bar to buy her another drink.
The only problem is, the guy he brought with him never leaves their side and continually keeps his eyes on her. Crystal plays up the part and hangs off Hector until he eventually takes her to the back room. Shit.
“Go. I’m keeping my eyes on this one. Cover Crystal.”
I’ve never been so conflicted in my life. The Cartel is in the same building as Kat, but I also have a responsibility to the MC. “Go,” she repeats and plants a kiss on my cheek, nudging me toward the door.
My feet move and each step feels like a risk. Once I get to the bathroom, Crystal’s moans fill the air inside. Through the small slot in the bathroom stall, I see their profiles and her hand slipping into his back pocket where she plants the bug. Since I’m in here, I take a piss and step outside, waiting for them to walk out.
I scan the crowd and look for Kat. Then, my heart jumps in my chest.
Kat
Tank finally left me on my own. I watch as he walks across the floor and disappears into the bathroom.
I have another reason why I sent him away from me. I need to place a bug on this other guy. Finding my target, I push off the wall with the device on my fingertips. It take
s me a little longer than I like with the size of the crowd but I weave through the sea of partiers.
Walking with purpose, I move close up on him as he texts on his phone. With practiced fast hands, I slip the small device into his coat pocket and stroll past him without even disturbing the air around.
Successful drop, however, I see that Tank has eyes on me from across the room by the men’s bathroom. I don’t pay him any attention. I wanted a war, but I never intended to create one with him.
Chapter 17
Kat
The door slams shut behind me and the wall rattles with its force.
“You can be as pissed as you want to be, Tank. Point is, you knew the end game here, and it’s never been about you or I.”
“The fuck it hasn’t, Kat! Tell me, if you die, who will raise him?” His voice raises with every word spoken.
I whip around and face him, “You and the club will. He’s home, that’s all that counts.”
His hands fist in his hair. “Why, Kat? Why can’t you just let us take care of this and you protect him?”
“Because I am the best person to mentally go against Matias. I can’t help if I’m miles away. I’m not going after him, you are.”
He blinks, stunned by my words. “What does that mean?”
“After we have crippled his business and the Cartel Bosses see his weakness, you will kill him for me, Tank. He’s waiting for me to come after him. He will never suspect me to send someone in my place.”
Before he answers, he pauses to think on my words. “What else?”
“If I can’t be the one to drive the knife into his skull, then I want you to do it. Tank, he will draw you in and trap you all, and I can’t have that happen. I can’t lose you to him. If we are going to fight, then we are going to do it together. It’s all in or nothing.”
He moves closer to me and his hand runs down my arm, holding my hand. “You’re scared of losing me again?”
Fighting for Forever: Tank & Kat's story, Part 2 (Battle Born MC Book 6) Page 8
