“Who’s the woman in the picture?” Carly murmured the question quietly, hoping the two women would understand why.
When Rose answered her back the same way, only breathing out the answer, she knew Rose at least had gotten the idea. “Darla. She’s friends with the club.” Friends didn’t mean the woman was involved with a particular member, but Carly didn’t let herself dig too deep into what it meant until Rose continued. “Neptune’s a favorite of hers.”
Oh, hell no. Schooling herself to stillness, she looked at Rose in time to see a pained expression cross her features. Not able to stifle the need to stake her claim, she whispered back, “I’m thinkin’, after the past couple of days, that’s no longer the case.” The smile Rose flashed her vindicated Carly’s emotion even as she stuffed it deep inside a box far back in her psyche. She—they all had to focus. “I’ve got one gun on me.”
Jenn scrambled closer and put her mouth next to Carly’s ear as she whispered, “Mace in my bag.”
Rose was right there, nodding to indicate she’d heard Jenn, too. Then Rose helped keep things into perspective by reminding Carly, “Remember? I’m a cop. Shacked up with a BFMC officer. In case you’re wondering, Wolf’ll be all over this.” Her next words were a surprise, however, “There’s a tracker on my phone, a Taser in my bag, and I’ve got my Sig on my six.”
Carly pulled back and stared at Rose, who grinned back at her. She leaned in and asked, “Bad guys know you’re a cop?” Rose shook her head, then shrugged, which wasn’t the answer Carly would have wanted, but was a maybe she’d take. “Ryman—” At the blank stares from the two women, she remembered how he’d introduced himself to them. “Monday’s my partner. I work…” It took a moment to find the right words. “Security in the private sector, and he’s my backup. He’ll be all over it, too.”
“Well, shit.” Rose wrinkled her nose and kept up the theme of bravado that Carly prayed would help carry them through whatever was coming. “I hope we get to deal with the baddies before our men get here.”
The van slowed and turned, the surface underneath the wheels changing to something uneven that had gravel and small rocks pinging against the undercarriage. Carly braced herself, head tilted to the side to try to hear anything that might signal what would be waiting for them at the end of this drive. Scraping sounds against the sides of the van validated her initial instincts, and she saw Rose give her a tiny nod, indicating she’d made the same connection.
They were in the woods where her father had died, undoubtedly abducted by the hands of the men who’d killed him. There were a variety of things these men did not know, including her well-honed skill set and those of her companions.
It couldn’t have been a more perfect setup if Carly had done it herself.
***
Neptune
Ryman and Wolf spoke nearly at the same time, their words overlapping over the earpiece.
“Carly’s stopped moving.”
“Rose’s phone is in Waltham’s Woods.”
A shiver made its way up Neptune’s spine, making his breaths come short.
Waltham’s Woods was where Gibby had died.
The party had come to a screeching halt when it became clear the three women weren’t at the clubhouse anymore. Ryman had quickly volunteered that he had tracking on Carly, not disclosing how exactly, and Wolf wasted no time in verifying the device he’d put into Rose’s phone was still working. Carly had moved out of range for the earpiece to keep transmitting, but the conversation he’d heard from the women had been chilling. There’d been a brief strategic meeting, and at the end, Neptune dispatched fully a third of the men to follow Monk home, instructed to stay there and protect Amanda.
The rest of the men were with him, in a convoy of motorcycles followed by a couple of trucks. He didn’t want to think about the need for those vehicles, at least not until he had Carly safe again. There was no room for emotion in him right now, just the mission and ensuring a successful outcome. We’ll get them back. I know we will.
Reaching up, he tapped the earpiece and spoke. “Not leading my men to slaughter.” He remembered the silence of those woods, the trees trapping all sound and muffling it so he hadn’t been able to hear the cops rolling up the lane but had seen their lights instead. “Bikes are gonna be too fuckin’ loud. We’ll stop at the farm just before and stage out of there. Take a walk through the woods.” That would put him and his men with the best advantage. “And we’re not leaving until those women are safe and the assholes are put in their place.”
“What’s their place, brother?” Wolf’s voice was strong, vibrating through the words, feeding Neptune a line he needed so he could state it plain.
“Ain’t among the living, I tell you what. Earning themselves a short shift in a six by two, and we’ll dig that mother as deep as we need to.” He threw up a fist, pumping it twice. “Gonna get it for Gibby, man. Get what the man deserves, and we need. Vengeance.”
In his mirror, he saw a sea of raised fists over the lines of rumbling bikes and lifted his chin, rocking his throttle a little farther over, picking up speed for the final miles to their turnoff.
***
Carly
The van had been parked for only a few minutes—Carly would estimate less than five—but the silence around them was profound. Other than the rocking of the suspension as the driver had exited the vehicle, she hadn’t heard anything.
They’re playing with us.
“Fuck this,” she muttered, lunging towards the door and yanking on the handle. To her surprise, it moved smoothly, the unexpected click of the latch disengaging shockingly loud. Oh yeah, they were playing. The problem was, they didn’t really know who they had on the other end of the stick. Carly looked over her shoulder at the two women, both on their feet now, crouched behind her. Jenn had the Taser in one hand. It was a stab and shock model, and Carly marked her thumb resting beside the button that would light up the two prongs with an immobilizing dose of electricity. Rose’s gun was in her hand, safety off, finger laid alongside the trigger. Carly adjusted her grip on the small pistol she held, reminding herself how few shots she had. “Let’s roll, ladies.”
Darkness lay in front of them as she swung the door open wide to a seemingly endless expanse of woods. The van’s headlights had been left on, so behind them was a shining glow. Carly ducked low, angling her head around the vehicle as she saw Rose do the same on the opposite side. Spotlighted in the steady beams was a woman standing on a chair, rope reaching from her neck to a thick tree limb overhead. She had her hands in front of her face, working at the ropes binding her wrists with her teeth, but Carly had no doubts that this was the woman from the image: Darla.
“Shit.” The rough whisper meant Rose must have seen her too. Carly looked back to see Rose was still in place, but the woman was nearly vibrating in her need to get to Darla. Carly understood the urge but knew it had to be a trap. She gripped Rose’s arm, got her attention, and then motioned down. They stared at each other for a moment, then fell to their stomachs at nearly the same time. Carly shifted to the side to see around the van’s tires and felt a thrill as she saw two sets of boots directly in front of the van. If they’d rushed to help the woman, the men would have been at their backs with the blinding lights of the van to up their advantage.
Yanking on Jenn’s arm got her on the ground between Carly and Rose, and the moment she saw the men, she understood, immediately moving to crawl through the dirt underneath the vehicle. Carly put her hand on Jenn’s shoulder and got her attention before leaning close to whisper, “Aim high, over the top of their boots. It’ll work okay through the jeans but not leather.” Jenn nodded and faced forwards again, using elbows and toes to work her way towards the men.
Rose stared at her, then jerked her head towards the front of the van. “Slow and steady,” she whispered, echoing what Carly had been thinking. “Between us, we’ve got this.”
Carly gripped the back of Rose’s neck, pulling her close so their foreh
eads touched. “I knew I liked you.” Rose grinned at her words; then the expression faded, leaving a look of pure determination behind.
“Let’s go save the day.”
***
Neptune
Ryman wasn’t fucking around, trotting through the woods, deftly dodging branches and deadfalls, and in the process leading Neptune on a straight path forwards. He’d latched onto Ryman’s vest, twisting his fingers tight and keeping hold of the denim as the line of men spread out behind and beside them. Wolf was off to the right, headed the same direction, which was proof enough for Neptune that Ryman had a lock on Carly’s position just like he said he did.
Neptune saw the glow ahead as Ryman slowed. As he released his grip on the man, Neptune used the light to study the ground in front of him and pick his path. They were both moving soundlessly, revealing they’d had similar training. As the light slowly resolved into the headlights of a vehicle, he realized it was parked in the same clearing where Gibby had been found. A dark shape moved alongside the van, the form making its way towards where two men stood staring at the tree that was between where he stood and them. He moved to the side slightly and saw a figure hanging from the tree. Jesus. It took a moment to realize it was a woman—and she wasn’t hanging, but standing on a stool of some kind. There was a noose around her neck, though, and the slightest stumble would turn things bad in an instant.
Several things happened in rapid sequence. One of the men screamed, his voice shrill and pained as he arched backwards before falling to the side. The other man turned to look at his companion just as the figure rounded the front of the van directly behind him, an arm rising and falling with force. Whatever had been used to hit the man with was enough to knock him to his knees but not incapacitate him entirely. The figure moved into the light, and he realized it was Carly just as her hand lifted, aiming a small pistol directly at the man’s chest. Jesus.
A figure came around the other side of the van and rolled the prone body over, dropping a knee in the middle of his back. Rose.
Another woman shimmied out from under the van, and he saw Jenn’s expression of horror as she raised her arm to point at the woman who’d been standing on the stool. It had tipped to one side during the fracas, and she was on tiptoes trying to keep herself from choking.
Neptune and Ryman reached the woman at the same time, and in a surreal re-creation of cutting Gibby down, they circled her legs and hips with their arms, lifting and holding her in place. Wolf pushed past them to get to the women while Blade paused to set the stool upright, climbing quickly before he stretched with a knife in hand and sawed through the rope with effort. Only a moment later, the woman was free, and Neptune released his hold, giving her to Ryman, who eased her to the ground. Neptune looked around and found Carly, still holding her gun on the man while Wolf zip-tied his arms behind his back. The other man was showing signs of life, but too late, as Rose was finishing securing his ankles to his wrists.
“Get used to this.” Ryman’s words didn’t make sense, and he twisted to look at the man, locking gazes for a moment. “She doesn’t need rescuing often. My main job is usually just cleaning up after her.”
“Neptune.” At the hoarse shout, he turned to see Carly walking towards him, her labored breathing belying the gun held casually at her side. “Come tell me if it’s them. Please tell me it’s them.”
He got close, cupped her jaw in one hand, and steadied her, wrapping his fingers around the back of her skull. “You’re fuckin’ amazing.” Leaning in, he brushed his lips across hers once, twice—and on the third pass, she was the one kissing him, pursuing his mouth with a darting lap of her tongue. “You’re okay?”
“Yeah.” Her breathing was still uneven, but he hoped it was for a different reason. “Your entrance was extremely well-timed.”
“I aim to please.” Her mouth curved in a smile at his words, but it faded quickly.
“Tell me if it’s them. This is the place where it happened, right? They brought us right back here? What stupid fucking idiots.” He pulled back slightly at the vehemence of her words, giving her space. Carly’s lips thinned and her chin bumped unsteadily for a moment, tears welling in her eyes. “They killed my daddy right here, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, baby.” Neptune slipped his hands up and down her arms slowly, keeping his gaze focused on her eyes. He hated seeing her struggle with her emotions, longed to pull her close as he had in the clubhouse earlier today, giving her a safe place to let go. I can do that later, he thought. Now was not the right time for anything other than brutal honesty. “What do you need from me? I’ll give you whatever you need, Carly. You want to deal with them, we’ll make it happen. I fuckin’ swear to you. You want them gone, they’re ghosts.”
She stared at him for so long he thought he’d lost her. Whether to memories or plans, he didn’t care, as long as she came back to him. Bending closer, he regained the distance he’d given to her, and with mouths nearly touching, he breathed her in, watching. Finally, he asked cautiously, “Carly?”
She blinked, and her pupils dilated, then narrowed to pinpoints as she focused on his face. Her voice was steady and strong as she clipped, “I want justice.”
Neptune nodded, the movement ghosting his lips across hers. He made a promise to her in that moment. “Anything you need, you got it.” Arms folded around her shoulders, he pulled her against him as he stood straight, staring out at the men—Gibby’s men, his men—once again clustered in black-leather clad groups around the clearing. This time the body they’d cut from the tree was still breathing, not cold and still. That’s a win right there. Ryman stood near Darla, who’d been moved out from under the tree. Neptune saw the stool lying on its side, left behind in the dirt. Rose and Jenn were next to the van, bracketed on either side by their men.
“Wolf,” he called, pitching his voice so every person in the clearing could hear him. Carly shifted closer, and her arms encircled his waist, holding as tight to him as he was her. “Get Rose to call it in, yeah?” To Carly, he said, “We’ll have to stay until they take statements. Could be a couple of hours. When we’re done here, I want you to come to my place. Let me take care of you.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I know.” He cut her off, but not unkindly. “I know I don’t have to. What you need to understand is that I want to, Carly. Scared the fuck outta me when I realized you were gone.”
“I bet the other guys were scared, too.”
“Hell yeah. Nothing but terror for any of us. I can’t imagine a man I know not losing his shit when someone he cares for is in danger.” His immediate response seemed to surprise her, and he stared down into her face as she looked up at him. “If Ryman hadn’t had that tracking gizmo, I’d have lost my mind.”
“About Jenn and Rose?”
The uncertainty in her gaze tore something loose in his chest, and he groaned softly as he gathered her against his chest, molding her to his body.
“No, sweetheart. Well, yeah, I worried about them too. But you were the one I couldn’t quit thinking about. The things you told me the other night, stuff you survived, all the good you’ve done in the world, I couldn’t imagine anything happening to you.” He rested his cheek against the crown of her head, struggling to control his breathing. “I mean, I could imagine it all, that was the worst part. Not knowing. Scared the hell out of me.”
“So you, what? Came to rescue me?” That fine tremor was back in her voice, and he hated hearing it. “Me?”
“Ryman told me you don’t require saving often.” His words startled a laugh out of her, and he smiled to hear it. “Don’t mean I won’t try it, if I feel there’s a need.” Eyes closed, he trusted the nearby men to keep them safe as he focused on Carly. Within the safety of the darkness behind his lids, he put his mouth next to her ear and laid it out for her. “I found something in you that matches me, Carly. I’ve never felt like this before, wanna see how this plays out. But honestly? Just between you me and the fence post o
ver there,” another laugh rattled through her, this one less forced, “I don’t expect it to play out anytime soon. I’ve looked and looked and never found a match. Not even close. Kinda figured there just wasn’t a person out there for me. Then you stalk into your daddy’s kitchen and sweep the legs out from under that thinking. You might not need saving, but honey, I do.” He took a slow breath, swallowed hard, and said a quick prayer before he asked her a question that meant everything to him. “You gonna save me, Carly?”
She stirred in his arms, and he raised up in time to meet her mouth with his, opening for her as she lapped at his lips, chasing her tongue back into her mouth to tangle and stroke along it there. Long minutes passed as he kissed her, the caress renewing over and again as she angled her chin and tilted her neck, giving him a target to chase. He slanted his mouth across hers a final time, lifting to look down at her, surprised at the slashes of red and white light that danced across her face. The staties had shown while they’d been otherwise occupied, and neither Neptune nor Carly had noticed.
She lifted a hand and stroked across his cheek, her thumb toying with his lips as she smiled and watched herself touch him. He pressed a kiss to the pad of a finger, then dared a quick nip, kissing her again when she laughed.
“Guessin’ that’s a yes?”
She nodded, gaze locked with his.
“Good.”
***
Carly
It was much longer than the couple of hours Neptune had predicted before they were finally released by the police. Putnam hadn’t been unkind as he’d questioned her; in fact, it had been one of the easiest debriefings she’d ever dealt with. Carly knew Ryman felt the same way when she caught him watching her from across the clearing, a broad grin on his face. The woman, Darla, had been cuddled tight to his side, and when Carly had pointedly stared at the woman, Ryman had merely shrugged, turning away.
See You in Valhalla Page 6
