“Maybe you should call the FBI. You can tell them everything you know. It may not seem like you know much, but you might be able to give them the link they’ve been missing.”
Immediately, Rachel shook her head. She wanted to turn on Gabriel, but she couldn’t. It may have looked like his life was over. That was far from the truth, though. If she turned against him, he wouldn’t stop until he’d ruined her. He wouldn’t just kill her, either. That would be too merciful for Gabriel. He would want to see her suffer first. “I can’t. He’ll never forgive me if I do that. The only way I’ll be safe is if I disappear or Gabriel dies.”
The entire warehouse went silent. Even the TV was muted. Griffin took a step back from her, looking deep into Rachel’s eyes. His mouth was drawn into a tight line, his shoulders stiff. He didn’t speak at first, just watched her. Then, he stood a bit taller, nodding. “Then I’ll kill him and put an end to this once and for all.”
“Griffin,” Vlad snapped. His voice echoed across the warehouse, making everyone look at him. It was the first time she’d heard Vlad call Griffin by his given name and not Shakespeare.
Griffin turned to face Vlad. The two of them stared at each other. Everyone else watched silently. No one wanted to get between the two of them. “Levi,” Griffin said, his voice low and even. Challenging.
“Think this through,” Vlad said. His eyes never left Griffin’s. His hands balled into fists, his breathing slowing down. “What you’re talking about . . .”
Griffin cut him off. “What I’m talking about is keeping Rachel safe. I’m not going to let that bastard get his hands on her. And if the only way to make sure that doesn’t happen is to put a bullet between his eyes, then that’s what I’m going to do. Are you going to stop me?” Griffin took a step forward.
Rachel’s eyes went wide. Griffin had just issued a challenge to their leader. Even Rachel knew that wasn’t something you did lightly. Her heart rate sped back up as she watched the two of them. Should she get between them? Try to keep them from attacking each other?
Before she could, Merc stepped forward. He didn’t quite get directly between the two of them, but he was close enough. If either of them went for the other, he’d be able to grab them. “Both of you need to chill out.” He looked pointedly at Griffin. “You know damn well acting on emotion is just going to get you killed, brother. And if you try to go after Gabriel by yourself, you’ll definitely get yourself cut down. Think, damn it. Use that brain of yours.”
Griffin glared at Merc, but he didn’t respond. His shoulders were tight and tense. Hell, his entire body looked ready to spring into action at the drop of a hat. Finally, he let out a breath and nodded. “Fine. Help me come up with a plan, then. You’re the Marine. You plan it out, I’ll execute it.”
“Is that really the best idea?” Padre spoke up next, looking around at everyone as he spoke. “The FBI is already looking for him. Shouldn’t we just let them do their job? He won’t be able to hurt anyone once he’d behind bars.”
Chops burst out laughing. His pot belly shook with each laugh as he smirked at Padre. “You know better than that. That dick’s so rich he probably wipes his ass with hundred-dollar bills. He’ll have the best legal team money can buy. How much you wanna bet he’ll be walking free before the ink even dries once they arrest him?”
The tension waned, and everyone else spoke up, voicing their opinions. Some agreed with Padre, that they should let the law handle it. Others agreed with Chops and Griffin, that a bullet was the only way to take down someone as powerful and corrupt as Gabriel.
Rachel stood off to the side, fighting back more tears. Who should she believe? She’d been the one who’d started the whole argument. Gabriel would still try to come after her until the day he died, of that she had no doubt. But did she really want him killed? Would she be able to live with herself if she did? Each time she looked at Griffin, would she still be able to see him as the man who loved her even when she hadn’t loved herself? Or would she just see the man she’d asked to kill her ex-husband?
She hadn’t even realized the discussion had stopped. Hannah bumped against her leg, bringing her back to reality. She blinked a couple times and looked around. They had a map of the city spread out on the coffee table they’d brought from the club house. Some of the guys had gone back to getting the place set up while the rest all stood around the map.
“These are the Joker hideouts we know about,” Merc said, pointing at a number of locations on the map. “If Aaronson had to lay low at the last moment, he probably went to them, and they’d have stashed him at one of these. We can scout them out, try to figure out which one it is. Once we know where he’s at, we watch that place for a couple days, get a feel for their schedule. It won’t be hard to find a time when the place is least guarded. Then, a handful of us go in together. Keep it a small group, hit them fast, take out Gabriel, and get out.”
Rachel’s mouth went dry. The men all nodded in agreement with Merc’s plan and started discussing who would watch each location. She couldn’t let them do it. Her body moved on its own, grabbing Griffin’s wrist to get his attention. Everyone looked at her, but she ignored everyone other than Griffin. “Don’t do it. Don’t kill him. Let the law handle it. Once he’s in custody, I’ll get out of the country. He won’t be able to follow me. Even if he does beat the charges, I’ll be long gone by then.”
Griffin’s gaze never left hers, his eyes almost unreadable. “Are you sure about this?” he asked. When she nodded, he did as well. Then, he looked over at the others still gathered around the table. “I’m going with her,” he told them.
Vlad’s mouth set into a hard line, but he nodded, equally sharply. After that, no one argued, even if the look on his brothers’ faces nearly destroyed her all over again. Rachel watched each in turn, seeing the shock turn to sadness. Could she really let him do that? Could she let him walk away from everything for her?
She reached down and cradled her belly and her—no, their—daughter kicked against her flattened palm. How could she not?
29
Rachel
The guys spent a good bit of time going over the map Merc had laid out. After Rachel’s plea not to kill Gabriel, they shifted focus. Instead of finding him to take him out, they planned to find him and turn him over to the FBI. Merc figured it would take them at least a couple days to get the detailed intel on the Jokers and Gabriel’s connection to them. By then, the Jokers could’ve smuggled him out of town. With all his offshore money, Gabriel could easily disappear until his lawyers were done.
They couldn’t let that happen. They had to find Gabriel before he got out of town, if he hadn’t already. The only way that was going to happen was for the Steel Kings to use their intel and resources to track the man down. Merc doubted the FBI had as detailed a workup on the Jokers as the Kings did. The FBI had hundreds of biker gangs across the country to monitor. The Steel Kings only had to worry about their solitary rival gang.
Rachel stayed out of their way, playing with Hannah instead. There wasn’t anything she could really contribute to their plan. It wasn’t like Gabriel had ever shared any of his escape plans with her. No doubt they’d all included leaving Rachel behind as a scapegoat. Would he even have sent his lawyers to help her out? Or would he have just left her to rot in FBI custody? Probably the latter. More than likely, he’d set her up as the mastermind behind the whole scheme. He’d have probably planned on the FBI wasting resources on interrogating her and digging into her background, which would’ve given him a little extra breathing room to flee the country.
And now they were out there searching for the pair of them. Would that weaken their search at all? Would they go about things differently when looking for a couple rather than a single man? Rachel had no idea how the investigation worked. If you’d asked her how to organize a charity ball, she could’ve given you an entire list of things and the order to do them in. But an FBI manhunt? A fugitive on the run? Those were well outside of her wheelhouse.
Griffin walked over to her a little while later. His eyes were bloodshot, his smile not quite as vibrant. He’d aged years in the last couple weeks. Did she look the same? She hadn’t been paying much attention to her appearance, since she spent so much time locked down in the clubhouse. But she felt as tired as Griffin looked.
“How are you holding up?” He sat down on the floor next to her. Hannah immediately moved over to him, nudging him with her nose until he gave her the attention she required.
Rachel shrugged, then let out a sigh. She was holding up as well as possible. She just wanted it to all be over with. She wanted to be able to live her life again. Whether that meant just being able to go out for Italian without looking over her shoulder or starting a new life on an island in the Pacific didn’t matter much. She just wanted to move on. “I’m okay,” she settled on, not sure how to get her thoughts into words. “Just tired, I guess.”
Griffin nodded, then reached out and placed his hand on her stomach. He smiled as he did so, and Rachel smiled back. “You’ll get through this,” he promised. Gently, he rubbed her stomach. “Just think about our daughter, okay? She’ll give you the strength to keep going.”
Our daughter. Those words rang in Rachel’s mind. It was the truth. Griffin was more of a father to the unborn child than Gabriel would ever be. He was willing to risk everything, including his life, just to make sure she stayed safe. Gabriel would never do that. He would always put himself first. Maybe if it had been a boy she was pregnant with, Gabriel would’ve cared about the child. A male was an heir. A female was only worth as much as she could be married off for.
Taking Griffin’s hand in hers, she brought it up to her lips and kissed it. That little act said far more than she ever could have. Griffin’s eyes lightened a bit, some of the darkness receding. She wanted him to think about her and their daughter. He could draw strength from them, too. He was going to need it.
The only way they were going to get through this was together. Which just made everything that much more difficult. How would Rachel be able to start a new life in some remote part of the world without him? Sure, she could draw strength from her daughter. As long as she was safe, Rachel could and would keep going, even if it meant marching to the end of the Earth. But without Griffin by her side, could she really live?
Still, he needed his family here, too. Rachel had already cut ties with almost everyone she knew. Her family, her friends, none of them mattered anymore. She didn’t mean anything to them, not really. But Griffin? Everyone in the Steel Kings loved him. They relied on him. Not only would he be leaving them behind, but they’d be losing him.
Nothing about this was easy. No matter how many times she thought about everything, there wasn’t a good answer.
Griffin sat with her and Hannah while the others worked. Neither of them spoke, both lost in their own worlds. Once everything of importance had been moved to the warehouse, the guys started filtering out. Those with wives and girlfriends left first. Rachel’s shoulders slumped as she watched them leave. But they wouldn’t be safe in the warehouse. If the Jokers found it, they’d be caught in the crossfire. Better for them to lay low somewhere else.
Then, the rest of the men partnered up to head out to scout the various locations. Griffin stayed sitting right next to Rachel, Hannah’s head in his lap. “Aren’t you going with them?” she asked. Didn’t he want to be out there on the front lines, finding Gabriel himself?
“Not this time,” he said with a shrug. Then, he looked over at Rachel and smiled. “Padre and I are gonna hang here, keep you safe. The others will handle the dirty work out there.” When Rachel frowned, he grinned wider. “Trust me, we’ve got the good job. We get to sit and watch TV and eat snacks. Those guys will be sitting on their asses hoping Gabriel is dumb enough to poke his head out of one of the Joker’s hidey-holes.”
Rachel didn’t quite believe him. Staying at the warehouse probably was the nicer assignment, but it wasn’t Griffin’s style. He wasn’t the kind of guy who liked to sit around doing nothing. It’d have been one thing if they’d needed someone to hack into their security or someone to play dispatch between the groups. But just sitting around the warehouse, waiting for something that might not happen?
Griffin was going to go insane.
30
Griffin
God, Griffin wanted to be out there with his brothers. One of them was going to find Gabriel when it should’ve been him hunting the bastard down. But he wasn’t about to leave Rachel alone. They hadn’t used this warehouse for anything in years, and it was owned by a dummy corporation Griffin had set up with no direct ties to the Steel Kings. But that didn’t mean the Jokers didn’t know about it. Hell, they’d made enough trips from the clubhouse to the place that day. And while they’d been careful to avoid tails, no one could be certain they weren’t followed.
Plus, he’d seen the look in Rachel’s eyes when he’d announced he would leave the country with her. If he left her alone with some of the other guys, she was liable to slip out when they weren’t looking. She’d try to disappear without him to save him from having to walk away from the only true family he’d known. No way was he going to let that happen.
He loved Rachel. He loved his brothers, too, but they would understand. This wasn’t the kind of love you walked away from. It only came once in a lifetime, and he needed to grab it with both hands. They all knew that as well as he did. They wouldn’t like him leaving, but they’d get over it. He wasn’t irreplaceable.
Rachel was.
She let out a yawn, and Griffin helped her stand. “Come on, we’ve got a bedroom set up in one of the back offices.” She nodded and let him lead her to the makeshift room. It wasn’t the homiest of places, but it would do for a quick bit of shuteye. The pregnancy had to be taking its toll on her body. It was only a matter of time before the baby came.
Once she was safe and sound in the bed, with Hannah lying next to it, Griffin headed back out into the main area. Padre sat on the couch, watching some bland action flick. When Griffin flopped down next to him, he caught Padre studying him. “What?” he snapped, harsher than he meant to.
But Padre didn’t take offence. He just grinned. “How’re you holding up?”
Griffin let out a sigh, leaned back, and closed his eyes. Padre was a good man. He wasn’t ordained in any specific religion, but he was the closest thing the club had to a priest on hand. At the very least, he was always good to talk to. He never judged anyone, no matter how stupid they were being. Griffin wanted to talk to Padre about everything going through his mind, but he couldn’t.
That took energy. Energy he just didn’t have. Besides, he’d never been good at putting his feelings into words. He could fix a computer or a car with ease. But people? Emotions? Those confused the hell out of him, even his own. Besides, as conflicted as he was, he’d already made up his mind to follow Rachel. Nothing would change that.
“I’m good,” he said at last. “Just ready for this to all be over.”
“Aren’t we all?” Padre chuckled. “I heard what you told the guys earlier. You really going with her when she leaves?”
Griffin sighed again. Of course Padre couldn’t take a hint. Once he had his teeth in you, he was worse than a terrier. “I am. Haven’t figured out where we’re going yet, but I know I’m going with her.”
“Good,” Padre said. The word surprised Griffin. When he opened his eyes, Padre was grinning at him. He shrugged, then continued. “It’s always important to find someone you love, someone who makes everything worth it. Not everyone is as lucky. It’s not going to be easy for the two of you, but as long as you have each other, you’ll do fine.”
“Thanks,” Griffin said. Nothing had changed, but his shoulders didn’t seem as tense. In a way, hearing Padre say the things he’d been thinking had taken a bit of the weight off Griffin’s shoulders.
A loud crash echoed around the warehouse, and Griffin jumped. He turned toward the TV, frowning, but it showed a bu
ff man making out with a skinny-as-a-stick woman. Whatever that sound was, it hadn’t come from the movie. Which meant it’d come from outside.
“I’ll check the front,” Padre said. He was off the couch in a flash, gun in hand. Padre’s eyes flickered from Griffin to the room where Rachel was napping, and Griffin nodded.
If it was the Jokers, whatever they’d crashed out front would just be a distraction. While Padre headed to check that out, Griffin pulled out his own gun, then silently moved into the bedroom with Rachel, easing the door shut behind him. Hannah was up, growling softly. She looked at him for only a moment before turning her gaze back toward the window.
Crossing to that side of the room, Griffin peered out the dingy window. They hadn’t bothered to clean it, and Griffin could barely see through it. Anyone outside wouldn’t have a chance at seeing through the grime, though, and that worked to his favor. A group of guys was heading down the alleyway toward the door at the back of the building. The grime prevented him from making out any details, but it wasn’t like the Kings would be coming in the back door like that.
A single nudge was all it took to wake Rachel up. Griffin held a finger to his lips until she nodded. Then, he pulled her up off the bed and into the bathroom attached to it. Not the best hiding place in the world, but they’d have to get through him before they could get to her.
“Stay here,” Griffin said, his voice barely above a whisper. He didn’t think the Jokers had gotten in yet, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He knelt down and pulled the extra gun he’d hidden in an ankle holster and handed it to Rachel.
Her eyes went wide as she stared at it. She held it gently, as if she was afraid it might crumble to dust in her hands. With a sigh, Griffin took it back from her, flipped the safety off, and showed her how to hold it.
Hunted: Steel Kings MC - Book 4 Page 11
