If he ever needed to prove his worth to whoever this Yung guy was again, I’d be his next target.
He’d kill me, just like he killed Mom and Dad.
I closed my laptop and tossed it to the end of the bed. I slipped out from underneath the covers, pacing around my small bedroom. I ran my fingers through my hair, my entire body shaking with terror. Tears trickled down my cheeks in small rivers for the first time in years. And the only thing I could think about was Notch.
“I can’t let him kill that man,” I murmured.
I had to intervene somehow, but I didn’t know what to do. How the hell did I intervene in something like this? I didn’t have Notch’s number. He only knew how to contact me. Fucking hell, I was an idiot when it came to stuff like this. I was so closed off from the world, trying to hide myself and make a way for myself, that I didn’t even consider the idea that I’d be a threat to anyone who came into contact with me.
“No more being stupid,” I whispered.
I drew in a few deep breaths. I let my mind settle itself as my back fell against the wall. I could do this. I could help Notch out. I didn’t know why I wanted to help him out, but all I knew was I couldn't let my brother take another life out of this world. Most certainly, not mine. I walked into my bathroom and splashed some cold water in my face. I washed away the evidence of my tears and looked in the mirror, my face dripping with the cool liquid.
“No more killing,” I said to myself.
I grabbed a towel and wiped my face off. And as I centered myself, ideas slowly revealed themselves to me. Contacting my brother. Trying to reach out somehow. Getting him alone and trying to talk sense into him. No, that wouldn’t work. The Harry I knew died the day he killed my parents. The day he covered it up to give his soul over to this gang. They owned him now. They and this “Yung” character had whatever was left of my brother.
Which meant I had to play this from Notch’s side.
“I could set something up,” I said softly.
I tilted my head back and looked up at the ceiling, clearing my mind. When I was younger, my mother used to make Harry and me meditate. She always told me that clearing my mind worked best to center the body. Align the spine. Set the soul right. My brother hated the stuff. He’d always been a chaotic personality. But me? I enjoyed the stillness. The silence. The monotony of it.
I did my best work amidst the silence.
Slowly, it came to me. As I controlled my breathing and focused on my heart rate, a plan emerged. I could feed my brother false information about The Lost Boys and hope Notch—or whatever his name was—would be understanding enough to help me put a stop to this. Peacefully. Without any bloodshed, violence, or killing in the process. It was a rudimentary plan. One that still required me to get in touch with Notch when I didn’t know how.
I didn’t even know if a plan like this was possible. I didn’t know if Notch would ever be back in my studio again. To finish up the tattoo on his arm, sure. But he could just as easily go to another studio with that same design and have them finish it up. Some people did that. Paid a great deal of money for a nice outline, then went to a cheaper tattoo artist to finish it off.
Notch didn’t strike me as a man that was stupid. But he did strike me as a man who fended only for himself.
And he ran out of here pretty quickly the last time I tried to get information out of him.
The only line of communication I had was with my brother. I had his cell phone, though I never called it. I hadn’t in the year he’d been in San Diego. But I couldn't sit by and do nothing. Maybe if I acted like I had information for Harry, I could turn and warn Notch.
That still required me figuring out how to get to him, though.
The shoot out.
My eyes widened as my head tilted back up onto my shoulder. The shootout. The first time Notch and I ever talked. I recalled the conversation in my mind. The shootout that happened at that building off Highway One. The police said it was gang-related. Notch said he saved someone out there. But, if he was part of The Lost Boys and not an EMT, then that meant his crew was one of the gangs.
Did that mean the other gang was my brother’s? The Elusive?
It would be very easy to find that place. The building where the shootout happened. Maybe that would lead me to Notch somehow. Someone would spot me and snatch me up. Or word would get back to Notch and he’d come storming back into my shop.
It was worth a shot.
I walked out of the bathroom and scooped up my cell phone. I opened up my laptop and pulled up a fresh internet search, then typed in everything I could recall pertaining to the shoot out. As I dialed my brother’s number, I pulled up a local newspaper article that had several pieces done on the shootout. Complete with a picture of the building that looked out toward the ocean.
And there, in the corner of the picture, was the sign for an intersection.
“Gotcha,” I whispered.
“Maya?” my brother asked.
“Harry, hey. Listen, I really need to talk to you,” I said.
“Maya, what’s wrong? Are you all right?”
“I know it’s probably not my place, but I want you to be safe, okay?”
“What do you mean? Maya, if you’re in troub—”
“You mentioned something about a lost boy or whatever on your phone call over dinner, right?” I asked.
He paused. “Maya, this doesn’t concern—”
“I have some information you might want. I think the lost boy you’re referring to is actually a motorcycle gang.”
“How do you know that?”
“Please, Harry. Just—I don’t want you to get in trouble. I don’t want to lose my brother, too. Just, please. Please, can we meet up and talk?”
“Of course. Yes. We certainly can. When is good for you?” he asked.
I saved the picture onto my computer and sent it to myself in an email. That picture would be my guide to this building. And maybe, just maybe, the right person would see me there. Or, there would be information in the building to lead me to Notch.
Either way, this had to work.
Otherwise, it would get me killed.
15
Notch
Things were way too tense in the safe house. Asher and Stone were practically at one another’s throats, which affected Bronx’s budding relationship with Freya. Stone and Hayley fought more than ever, and Keva was getting restless. Texas didn’t know what to do with regard to how to keep her entertained, and I knew he and Ella were on the rocks. This entire issue was destroying the entire crew. Two crews, to be exact.
And me? Well, I couldn't get Maya out of my head.
I snuck out of the safe house and went for a ride. To clear my head. To breathe in the warm ocean water. To try and find some solace through this trying time in the crew’s existence. But I quickly found myself migrating toward Maya’s studio. It didn’t shock me. She’d been in my dreams for days. I woke up with the scent of her still underneath my damn nose. I pulled up to the tattoo shop and saw it was still closed. Fuck. She was still on that “vacation” of hers.
There was another car parked there I recognized, though.
A car that belonged to Harry Cheng.
“Shit,” I hissed.
I rode my bike away and circled back around. I sat in the deserted alleyway that sat between her shop and the strip that held the bars and clubs on the road. I sat there, in the shadows, waiting for someone to come out. Waiting for something to prove me wrong.
But, when the door opened, my fears were proven right.
Harry walked out with Maya.
“You should have told me all this sooner, Maya!” Harry exclaimed.
“Will you keep it down? My shop is still technically closed for a few more days,” Maya said.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were servicing one of The Lost Boys? I could have had people watching the shop! Making sure you were safe!”
“He’s harmless, Harry. Trust me. All he
wanted was some work done on his arms and stuff. That’s it.”
“I’m posting people outside your shop. This is getting out of hand. You’re going to get yourself killed, Maya. What if he targeted you for a reason!?”
“Harry, it isn’t like that. You aren’t listening to me.”
“I hear you loud and clear. You’ve been cavorting with one of The Lost Boys, and you’re just now telling me. I could have had guys posted out here that could have taken him for leverage, Maya! What the fuck is wrong with you!?”
“Leverage? Really? Is that what you’ve been reduced to in your little gang you work for?” she asked.
It took all I had not to come around that corner and put a bullet in Harry’s face. I still had my hand on my gun, in case for some reason he attacked Maya. But this was all the proof I needed. That woman was a spy. And sure, maybe our meeting was happenstance. But it was clear to me she was taking full advantage of the situation. Reporting back to her boss, or whoever Harry Cheng was to her.
A car pulled up. A blacked-out car with men sitting inside. Harry went to go stand by his car, and Maya’s face reddened with anger. I slowly slid off my bike. I kept my footsteps silent. Maya spoke too low for me to hear what was going on, but I could tell Harry wasn’t happy.
I could also tell Harry was tiptoeing around her.
How the hell do they know one another?
“Those goons are turning around, or so help me god I’ll pack up shit tomorrow and move,” Maya said.
“I’d find you. Wherever you are, I’d find you. You’re the last shred of family I have, Maya. I’ll never let you go.”
“Then get those fucking men off my damn property.”
Family. Of course. That’s why they looked so familiar. That’s why Harry hadn’t yet killed her for being so insubordinate. So, this gang was a familial syndicate. Fucking shocker there. I practically spat at myself as I watched Harry get into his car. I watched those goons follow behind him in that blacked-out car, leaving Maya standing on the pavement. Her small, petite body was crooked with anger. She ran her hands through her hair before she looked around. I slipped back around the corner, waiting until I heard the dinging of her shop bell.
Then, I headed right for her front door.
I lifted my fist and banged on the door, yelling for Maya to answer it. I told her I knew she was there. That I’d just seen her outside. In a flash, she whipped open the door. Her eyes confused and her brow furrowed. Beads of sweat shined on her forehead, and it took every ounce of energy I had not to wipe them away.
“Notch? What are you doing here, it isn’t sa—”
I barged passed her into her shop, kicking the front door closed with my foot.
“We need to talk,” I said hotly.
I whipped around in my boots and stood there, staring her in the face. She reached over and locked the door, but not before taking one last look outside.
“You shouldn't be here right now,” Maya said.
“The hell I shouldn't be. What the hell has all of this meant?” I asked.
“What?”
“Don’t you dare play stupid with me, woman. I demand answers. Were you spying on me this entire time? Biding your time just so you could get me killed? Get me out of the way so you could get to my crew?”
Her face fell as she let out a huffed sigh.
“You really think that’s what I’m doing?” she asked.
“Yes. That’s exactly what I think you’re doing. I think you’re a spy for this gang hunting down my crew, and I think you’re taking advantage of a prime opportunity that walked right through your fucking doors!” I exclaimed.
She held her hand up. “I’ve had enough yelling for one day. You want to talk? You want answers? You talk to me like a person.”
“You don’t even deserve that courtesy.”
“Then, you don’t deserve answers. Because only men get those from me,” she hissed.
She started to walk past me, but I reached out for her arm. My entire hand wrapped around it, my fingertips more than touching. I ripped her back to me. She fell against my body, stumbling on her feet. I wrapped my arm around her to hold her to me as she kicked and tried to get away.
“Let me go, Notch!” she exclaimed.
“Not until you answer my questions,” I said.
“I don’t know what the hell’s going on!”
“Convince me of it.”
“I was just trying to intervene and save your sorry ass!” she squealed.
She threw an elbow into my gut before stomping down onto my toe. I let out a grunt as my grip loosened, and she slipped away from me. She rushed around behind the register counter and I heard the clicking of a gun. And when I looked up, I stared down the barrel of what could only be described as a beginner’s pistol.
If she was a spy, why didn’t she have a better gun nearby?
“You gonna shoot me?” I asked, gasping for air.
“If you touch me again, I might,” Maya hissed.
I slowly rose up, ignoring the pain coursing through my body as her gun followed my forehead.
“You said you were trying to intervene?” I asked.
She nodded slowly. “I know my brother is part of something—”
“Wait, did you say your brother?”
She sighed. “I’m assuming you’ve barged in here because you saw me talking with a man named Harry?”
I nodded slowly. “Yes.”
“Harry is my brother. My last name is Cheng.”
The realization slapped me across the face.
“You’re his sister,” I said.
“Yes. And for years, I’ve known my brother to be wrapped up in some shady shit. We had dinner a few nights ago and he looked haggard, at best. Something is very wrong with his side of things, and he keeps barging in here saying I need protection. Saying he’s the only one that can protect me from what’s coming.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What’s coming?”
The gun in her hand faltered, and I saw the fear in her eyes.
“Maya, this is very important. To you, me, and people I care about. What’s coming?”
She drew in a shuddering breath. “I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me. But, at the dinner, I heard him mention something about The Lost Boys. And it reminded me of the tattoo on your arm. It’s why I asked you about it the last time we were together. So, when neither of you wanted to give me answers, I went searching for them on the internet.”
I paused. “You know who I am.”
“If your name is even Notch, sure.”
“It is. Well, it’s the name I go by.”
“I don’t care what your given name is or not. All I care about is why the hell my brother is hunting you. Because right now, I’m not so sure I want to protect you.”
I furrowed my brow. “Protect me?”
She snickered. “Yeah. Protect you. I know damn good and well what my brother is capable of because I’m pretty sure—”
Tears rushed her eyes and I took a chance. I slowly stepped toward the register, growing stronger with every step. I got all the way to her and reached out for the gun, and she let me wrap my hand around the cool metal. I uncocked it before my hand slid up her wrist. Up her arm. I grasped her trembling forearm and slowly lowered her arms, settling the gun onto the desk in front of her.
“You’re pretty sure of what?” I asked softly.
A tear trickled down her cheek. “I’m pretty sure my brother killed our parents.”
Oh, no.
“And if I’m right about that—if that’s what actually happened to my parents—he’s going to slaughter you guys. And I was trying to get to you, but I had no way to do that. So, I figured I could get more information out of my brother to use to find you if I fed him some information. Got him riled up enough to talk. And, I figured i-i-if that didn’t work—”
I quickly walked around the desk and drew her into my arms. The gun clattered to the desk and her arms fell around me. I held her clo
se, my eyes falling closed as she cried into my shirt. I slipped my fingers through her soft hair, trying to wrap my mind around what this woman had done for me.
It was more than anyone had ever done for me throughout my life.
Except for the crew.
“The only thing I told Harry was that you were coming into the shop for work. I figured if I fed him lies, like information you might have told me in passing, I could get him to cough up information I could then give to you,” she said, sniffling.
“Did it work?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. The second he knew you had come into the shop, he started rattling on about protection again. It didn’t work, and I’m so glad you’re here, and I need your fucking number before you leave, please.”
I chuckled. “I can leave that with you.”
She sighed. “What the hell is going on, Notch?”
I put my hands on her shoulders and moved her away from me so I could look into her eyes.
“Why go through all this?” I asked.
She paused. “What?”
“You barely know me, Maya. I’m a stranger, practically. Why go through all this to protect a stranger?”
Her eyes fell to the floor. “Because I…”
I crooked my finger underneath her chin and pulled her eyes back up to mine.
“Why, beautiful?” I asked with a whisper.
“Because I have feelings for you I can’t explain.”
I was angry with her. Irate, that she would put herself in harm’s way for me. I was upset that Harry fucking Cheng knew this was my tattoo shop now. That put me on his radar, and Stone would be pissed as fuck. For all I knew, those goons were watching from the corner now. They’d barge in here any second and overwhelm me before taking me somewhere to have me executed.
“You made some boneheaded moves today,” I said gruffly.
“I’m sorry. Notch, I am. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t know how else to—”
And when I fisted her hair and crashed our lips together, our worlds collided. She collapsed into me as I picked her up, pressing her into the back wall of her waiting room. My hands slammed into the wall. The entire building shook with the fury of my might. Her hands ran through my hair and her nails raked down my neck, clinging to me as her legs locked around me.
The Lost Boys MC Series: Books 1-4 Page 55
