by Hope Stone
The whole time his voice remained low and steady, almost as if he was commenting on nothing more serious than the weather, but I wasn’t fooled. This man was a predator. He opened a back door and dragged me through, his buddies following behind. We entered a small and dingy room. I was in so much trouble.
The man let me go and pointed at a chair. I sat down. Not like I had a chance of fighting them off. Besides, they needed to think I was terrified. I let my fear show on my face. If they thought I had given up, they would be more lax.
“I am sorry you had to suck Pin’s dick, and it was all for nothing,” he said.
I wanted to slap him. Hard. Instead, I bit down on my tongue and remained silent. I couldn’t let him rile me. Veronica knew where I was. If I didn’t text her in thirty minutes, she was going to launch into action. I just had to survive until then.
My stomach clenched. Did I really think this had come to life and death? I looked up at the sneer on the leader’s face, and I knew that this man was capable of anything.
“Where’s Zoe?” I asked.
From the corner, Grace Vasquez scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell her anything, Wreck.”
His name was Wreck. Even in my dire straits, I noted how appropriate the nickname was. Wreck turned to me and ran his cold eyes up and down my body. I wanted to throw up.
“I commend your commitment,” he said. “But you should really know when to give up.”
“I’ll drop the case,” I said. “Zoe and Hector will be legal adults soon anyway. It will fade away. I swear, I’ll never come near your club again.”
I shrugged and tried to look like I could care less. When in fact, if I managed to walk away from this, I was going to do everything in my power to burn Las Balas to the ground. But it was a very big “if.”
Wreck let out a soft little laugh at my bid for freedom.
“Sweetheart, I don’t believe a word out of your pretty little mouth,” he said. “And trust me, you’re much more useful to us right where you are.”
I furrowed my brow. Wreck leaned in close and picked up a strand of my hair and ran it through his fingers. His scent was sweet like rose flowers, making me gag.
“After all, what do you think Pin would hand over if he knew we had you?” Wreck asked.
My eyes widened. Pin had access to the Outlaw Souls’ funds. He knew everything about the club and their territory. If Las Balas managed to blackmail Pin, that was pretty much the nail in Outlaw Souls coffin.
My self-control snapped, and I spat directly into Wreck’s eye. I would have head-butted him if I hadn’t been sure it would just end with my concussion. But seeing the glob of spit land in his face was satisfying enough.
He cursed and reeled back.
“You bitch,” he hissed.
I saw stars when he backhanded me across the face. The pain stung, but I breathed through it. Spitting on him had been a mistake. I was going to have to control myself better if I wanted to get out of this.
“Watch her,” Wreck snapped.
His cronies stepped up and leered down at me, while Wreck regained his composure.
“I’ll be back, Claire,” Wreck said. “And I hope you’ll treat me with a bit more respect.”
He bared his teeth in a smile one last time before turning and heading out of the room. I kept my head down in a gesture of defeat.
But I wasn’t defeated.
No one was going to come rescue me. I had to get out of this on my own.
Pin
“Fuck,” Moves said.
I watched as my friend paced back and forth in the back room of the Blue Dog Saloon.
“Fuck,” he said. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
For the past five minutes, he had said little else.
I had told him everything. I texted him and drove straight to the Blue Dog Saloon. The whole story had poured out of me: Claire’s investigation into missing teenagers, her notes on the Outlaw Souls, our fight, and how I was pretty sure Las Balas were the real culprits.
I had tried to keep my emotions out of it, but it was hard to hide my pain, especially when Moves was staring at me with a look of utter shock.
“Fuck,” Moves said.
“Enough,” I said. “We need to decide what to do.”
“Ok, give me a sec,” he said, throwing his arms out. “I just can’t believe Claire was playing you. I mean, I thought she was for real.”
“Well, she wasn’t,” I snapped.
I couldn’t believe Moves wanted to focus on my joke of a relationship in all this. We needed to be thinking about Las Balas. We had to consider how best to defend our own reputation.
“Are you sure?” Moves asked. “I mean, she would have to be one hell of an actress.”
“Moves, I don’t wanna talk about Claire.” I could tell Moves didn’t want to leave it alone, but he ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh.
“I told you that dealer was young,” Moves said. “Wish I could say I was surprised, but Las Balas are rotten through and through.”
“We need to tell Ryder and the others,” I said after nodding. “And then we need to figure out how to extract those kids with the least amount of collateral.”
“It’s gonna be hard,” Moves said. “I don’t want any confrontation, but it might come to that.”
Moves leaned back against the table and squinted his eyes. “It would be best to move fast. You call Ryder yet?”
“I called but he’s not picking up,” I said.
“Shit, he might be out of town,” Moves muttered. “He mentioned he might go for a ride last night.”
I crossed my arms. That wasn’t good. We had to move soon. I couldn’t explain why, but it felt like every second that passed, things got worse and worse. Something wasn’t right in our territory, and we had to fix it.
It could have been the situation, but it also could have been my desperation to not think about Claire. As long as I was focused on the drugs and the kids, I didn’t have to consider Claire and everything that had been said that morning.
How was it only a few hours ago? It already felt like another day, another person. I wanted to throw up when I thought of what I had said to her. In anger, I had reached for the words I knew would hurt the most, but now I wanted to take back each and every one. I wanted to listen to her as well. I wasn’t sure if I would believe her, but I still wanted to hear her side.
“I can reach out to my contacts,” Moves said. “Try and ask around.”
I looked up and forced myself to focus. What was done was done. It was over between me and Claire. Moves cursed again. He was pacing now too, buzzing with frantic energy. He was itching to take action as well, and I was grateful to have him by my side.
“But as soon as I start asking around, they’ll hear,” he said. “Las Balas get word of things fast.”
“You know,” Moves said, turning to me and going still. “A third party could help, if you reached out to Claire and her PI firm. All we would have to do is push them in the right direction and tell them what to expect.”
“No,” I said. “No way. I don’t want her involved at all.”
“She already is involved,” Moves pointed out. “Besides, she’s a PI, she has resources. Even police contacts.”
“I told her to stop the investigation,” I said.
“And you think she listened?” Moves asked.
He raised a cynical brow to indicate that he seriously doubted Claire was going to just call it a day on this investigation.
“Better that we give her a tip,” Moves said. “Or else she’s fumbling in the dark.”
“She thought it was us,” I said. “Do you not get it? She was using me to spy on Outlaw Souls!”
Moves twisted his mouth, and I could tell he was going to say something I didn’t like.
“But it wasn’t us,” Moves said. “She was just following a lead, and now we can help give her another lead. Her PI firm will help us out by taking care of Las Balas, and we all win.”
/>
It wasn’t the first time I wanted to hit Moves. His obstinate habit of saying whatever was on his mind and oversimplifying every situation drove me crazy.
“There is no winning,” I growled. “Not for me.”
“Call me a hopeless romantic,” Moves said, raising his hands in the air. “But I really believed in you two.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snapped. “It was all a lie, everything she did was so she could sniff for dirt on me and my brothers.”
“Are you sure?” Moves said.
I gaped at him. I could not believe he was siding with Claire.
“Would you be so casual about it if you were in my shoes?” I asked. “If you found out the woman you were with had a whole other agenda.”
“Of course not,” Moves said. “And I’m with you, it’s just a lot to take in.”
I sighed. “A lot to take in” was the understatement of the year.
“I’m not saying you should take her back or forgive her or whatever,” Moves said. “I’m just saying that giving her the relevant information would be a good way to end this whole shit show quickly. Then you can move on.”
The idea of moving on seemed so ludicrous to me that I almost laughed aloud. Moves had a point though. If we moved against Las Balas, it wouldn’t be pretty. But if we pushed Claire and her contacts to move against them, those teens actually stood a chance.
“I know she hurt you,” Moves said. “And I hate that you had to go through this, but maybe you need to deal with this first, and then we can get drunk, ok?”
I managed a small laugh at that. Moves always had a plan, even if it was flimsy. “I’ll call her.”
The phone rang out. It wasn’t surprising, but something didn’t sit right. Of course, I had left her furious and crying, so it made sense that she wouldn’t pick up. I told myself that as I typed out a text:
We need to talk about your investigation.
Moves and I are pretty sure we know where the missing kids are.
It was a pretty measly message, considering everything that had gone down. Yet I didn’t know what else to say. I longed to apologize for what I had said earlier, but my pride wouldn’t let me. And no matter what, I couldn’t apologize over text. Moves was right, I had to deal with the most pressing issue first.
Five minutes later, Claire had not responded to the message.
“Something’s off,” I muttered.
“What do you mean?” Moves said. “Give her some time.”
He was lounging in a chair and playing on his own phone. I couldn’t stop walking back and forth. “You don’t understand. Claire – she’s obsessed with this case, she would have responded by now, if just for the information.”
Moves looked up. “She could be in the shower.”
I couldn’t even respond to his weak attempt to come up with an excuse.
“Maybe I should go to her place,” I muttered.
Moves was about to answer when we heard footsteps pounding across the barroom. A moment later, the door swung open to reveal Kim, her helmet under her arm. She was breathing heavy.
“Thank God you’re here,” she said. “I need back-up, Claire’s in trouble.”
My heart stopped. Moves was on his feet and grabbing his helmet and jacket in an instant.
“What happened?” My voice was cold and foreign. It didn’t sound like it belonged to me.
“Not sure, but she’s been on a case, and she went into Las Balas territory tonight,” Kim said. “She told her partner she was headed to Fisherman’s Wharf and left my number just in case, but her partner called me to say Claire hasn’t responded to her texts in almost twenty minutes.”
All in a rush, my heart started pounding again. If Claire had walked into Fisherman’s Wharf, that meant she was a few steps ahead of us. Somehow she had figured out that Las Balas were behind this.
It also meant she was in trouble.
“I told her to stay out of it,” I hissed, even as I grabbed my helmet from Moves and headed for the door.
“Look, I don’t know what went down between you two,” Kim said. “But the way I see it, you just let your woman wander into the lion’s den unprotected.”
We all headed to the door. Kim could lecture me all she wanted, but we knew we were going to move as a unit. We had no choice.
“Hey, Kim, back off,” Moves said. “He’s hurting.”
“Whatever,” Kim snapped. “All I know is Claire had my back, now I need to have hers.”
We jumped onto our bikes and were roaring across town. We had to get to Fisherman’s Wharf before something bad happened. Although if Claire hadn’t texted Veronica back, something bad might have already happened. Claire had explained how she and Veronica had a system during cases. They always told each other where they were and agreed to stay in constant contact.
I revved my engine and urged my bike to go faster. I didn’t know why Claire had gone to Fisherman’s Wharf. She must have been telling the truth when she said that she no longer suspected Outlaw Souls. Then she must have done some more digging and put two and two together. Somehow she had figured out their headquarters. And, of course, she had waltzed right in. Because she was Claire, and she would do whatever it took to solve a case.
And I had only pushed her in that direction when I accused her of being bad at her job. When I had refused to listen to her. I should have at least listened. She had hurt me, and I knew what she had done was wrong, but I hadn’t been faking anything. My feelings for her were real, and I couldn’t stop caring about her. So I should have made sure she was ok.
But now I could pay the ultimate price.
Las Balas were unpredictable. They were led by Wreck, a biker with a dark past and a cruel sense of humor. If they somehow figured out who Claire was, they would be ruthless.
They must have figured it out. That was the only explanation for why she had not responded to Veronica’s messages.
I ground my teeth underneath my helmet as we sped closer and closer to Fisherman’s Wharf. I didn’t have the time to dwell over what had happened this morning. I could only think about one thing, and it was making sure Claire was safe.
And if she wasn’t, I was going to tear Las Balas limb from limb until she was.
Claire
“I wanna make a deal,” I said.
Wreck had returned to the back room after about twenty minutes. I didn’t know what he had been doing, but I prayed he hadn’t reached out to Pin yet.
Pin was good. Too good for me, that was for sure. No matter how much Pin hated me, he wouldn’t stand by if he knew Las Balas had me. He would do the honorable thing, no matter the cost. I couldn’t live with that. So I had to negotiate myself out of this before Pin was sucked into the mess.
Wreck raised his brow and looked down at where I sat, arms and legs crossed. “Honey, you don’t exactly have a winning hand right now.”
I bit back a retort. If he called me “honey” or “sweetheart” one more time, I was going to whip out my mace. “I have information on Outlaw Souls. And you’re more likely to get it from me than from Pin.”
Wreck paused. He grabbed a chair and dragged it across the floor until it was right across from me. He had three other bikers in the room, all men. Grace Vasquez had vanished.
Wreck sat down and leaned forward, his knees almost touching mine. I kept eye contact with him. I didn’t need him to bite on this deal. I just needed him to listen long enough for Veronica to call in the cavalry. It had been long enough, she would be concerned. I just hoped she didn’t show up alone. This situation required back-up.
“Pin pretty much hates me,” I said with a shrug. “He figured out I was using him, although he doesn’t know the details of the case.”
“That’s a funny turn of events,” Wreck said. “Because I heard from my sources that he was positively smitten with you.”
I frowned. How much did Wreck know? What had he seen? And who were his sources? If I got out of this, I would have to let Outlaw
Souls know they had a mole.
Instead of letting my questions show on my face, I gave Wreck a wry smile. “After barely a week? I’m good, but I’m not that good.”
Wreck tipped back his head and laughed. The sound made my stomach curdle, but I had to play along. I had to make him believe that I didn’t care about Pin or the Outlaw Souls at all. I was just out for myself.
“So tell me, sweetheart,” Wreck said. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
I shrugged and studied my fingernails. I needed to take my time with this discussion, but not dilly-dally so much as to make Wreck suspicious. He had my phone after all. Texts from Veronica wouldn’t show on my lock screen, but if he decided to make me log in so he could double-check, I was in trouble. He could make me text a fake message saying I was fine.
“I give you what I got on Outlaw Souls,” I said. “You let me go, and I’ll go find more for you. Pin wasn’t the only biker I got along with.”
Wreck snorted. I cringed on the inside at the way he assessed me. Let him think I was a slut who would sleep with anything to get what I wanted. He needed to think that.
“And how will I know you won’t go running to your PI friends or even back to Pin?” he asked.
“You don’t,” I said. “But I can give you enough dirt on Outlaw Souls here and now that the risk is worth it. Trust me.”
My mind was scrambling to come up with something juicy. I wish I knew more about the rivalry between the two clubs so I could at least think up an enticing lie.
Moves, I thought. Moves had to be one of their biggest enemies. I could tell them where he lived. A fake address since I didn’t have the real one. It was pretty messed up, but worth a try. Or I could tell them something about the accounting. I had never even glimpsed at Pin’s books, but I could make something up, surely.
“It’s an interesting proposition,” Wreck said. “But I think I have a better idea.”
I frowned. I got the sense that I didn’t want to know what “better” meant to Wreck.
