Spark of Deception: MacKenny Brothers Series Book 4: An MC/Band of Brothers Romance

by Kathleen Kelly

  I nod at the front of the van. “Yeah, it’s on the front seat.”

  Opening the passenger side door, I pull it out and hand it to Cutter. He looks it over, inside and out.

  “It doesn’t look like it’s got blood on it, but wipe it down with bleach. If you have any blood on it, torch it, you got me?”

  “Y-yes.”

  Cutter moves to the driver’s side door. “In the meantime, find out what you can about your date. Do your thing.” Cutter gestures toward my laptop. “Don’t tell anyone what’s happened. Keep your mouth shut until I get back.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Cutter.”

  He grins at me like a kid about to have fun. “You’re family, and it’s what I do.”

  Standing in the compound’s parking lot, I watch him drive away until I can’t see the brake lights of my van anymore, then I walk into the clubhouse. No one is in the main room, save for a lone figure asleep on the pool table, so I keep going until I reach Kyle’s room.

  Placing the laptop on his dresser, I walk into the bathroom. Under the sink are two bottles of bleach. Maybe my brother has had to do this before? I turn on the shower, take a bottle of bleach in with me, and do what I need to do.

  Cutter

  I’m driving the van out into the middle of nowhere, and the tires seem to find every rut and hole in the rough surface as I bump along at a moderate speed. I’ve done this kind of thing before—arson. Even as a kid, I’d become proficient at stealing cars and torching them, so they leave no evidence. Once I got asked to do one for an insurance job.

  Helping the MacKenny clan is a dream come true. This MC isn’t the first I’ve been in, but it’s the first that hasn’t kicked me to the curb when I show my true self. My thinking is, if I can keep in Kyle’s good books, they’ll keep me, demons and all.

  The damn thing lurches to the side, and my head bangs against the driver’s side window. Swearing to myself, I turn the engine off and get out of the van. The wheel is stuck in a deep hole, and it’s not going any further. I pull my cell out of my pocket and dial another MC member—Bags.

  He answers, his voice groggy as though I’ve woken him. “This had better be fucking good.”

  “I need your help.”

  “Call someone else, Cutter.”

  “You owe me, Bags. Besides, it’ll be fun, I promise.”

  “Somehow, I think your idea of fun and mine are two separate things.”

  “Are you coming or what?”

  Bags’ groan is his only response.

  “Bags?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” He sighs. “Where are you?”

  “Bring a car.”

  “You don’t want to ride bitch?”

  “No, I want to check out something on the way back, and I don’t want to be noticed.”

  “I’m not a fucking taxi service.”

  “No, but you do care about the MC, so get your ass out here.”

  “Where’s here?”

  “The old dirt road off Highway 5, just past the first-mile marker. Be careful, it’s a rough ride, and I’ve managed to drive into the world’s biggest fucking pothole.”

  Bags laughs. “See you when I get there.”

  “Yeah, don’t take all fucking night.”

  I can see headlights in the distance as Bags makes his slow drive toward me, bumping up and down on the rough surface. The stench of gasoline permeates the air as I’ve already doused the van. When it’s finished burning, it’ll be nothing but a frame and ashes. Flicking my lighter, it sparks to life on the first go. Lighting a rag, I throw it into the back of the van and shut the doors. Smiling to myself, I turn my back on it, knowing it’ll be a spectacular fire show and one I don’t want to be too close to when it goes up with an almighty blast. Then I walk toward the headlights.

  Opening the passenger side door, I get in and glance at Bags. He’s staring straight ahead at the van.

  “What the fuck?”

  I grin and look in the same direction as the van explodes, sending a fireball into the air.

  “Was that Angus’ van?” Bags’ mouth is hanging open, and his eyebrows are raised.

  I shrug. “Yeah, he needed some help.”

  Bags shakes his head. “He’s going to kill you.”

  I chuckle, and Bags stares at me in disbelief. “Nah, he’s going to thank me, just wait and see.” I clap my hands together. “You need to take me to Saint Michael’s.”

  “The church?”

  I laugh louder. “No, the hospital.”

  Bags gives me the once over. “You hurt?”

  “No, not me. I need to check on someone.”

  With a grunt and thankfully no more conversation, Bags turns the car around, and we drive back down the dirt road. The back of Angus’ van had a lot of blood seeped into the mattress. I’ll be surprised if the person whose blood it belonged to is still alive, but in the interests of keeping myself ingratiated with the MacKenny’s, I’m going to check.

  Bags parks in the hospital’s parking lot, turns off the engine, and stares at me. “What now?”

  “I’m going to see what I can see. I’ll only be fifteen, twenty minutes tops. Wait for me.”

  “Yeah, ’cause I don’t have anything better to do in the early hours of the morning but wait on you.”

  “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.”

  Bags shrugs. “Sue me.”

  Shaking my head, I shrug off my cut and get out of the car. It’s a short walk into the ER. Even at this hour, it’s a madhouse. Walking past the line of people, I go up to the window.

  “Hello, ma’am? A girl got brought in here a couple of hours ago. I think it’s my sister, Joyce. They said she’d been shot? Could you tell me where she is?”

  She looks up at me. I have my best concerned look on my face.

  “Ma’am?” I say again in a pleading tone.

  “She’s up on floor three in the ICU.”

  “Thank you!”

  I run for the doors, and she taps on the glass and yells, “Wait! What’s your name?”

  “Thank you!” I yell as the doors to the elevator open, and I slip into the small space.

  She throws her hands up in resignation, and then I watch as she picks up a telephone handset, her eyes glued to me as the doors close. To be safe, I get out on the second floor and find the stairs. Peering through the glass panel on the third floor, I can see a man in a black suit positioned in front of the door. He turns his head, and I can see an earpiece in his ear. Whoever he is, he’s not hospital security. To be safe, I continue up to the fourth floor, then get the elevator back down to the third. Another man in a black suit is standing next to the elevators.

  “Excuse me, sir?”

  “Is this the maternity ward?”

  He glances at me. “No.”

  “Oh, right. My wife… you see? I’m all over the place.”

  With no expression on his face, he looks back at me. “Try another floor. This is the ICU.”

  I retreat back into the elevator. “Right! Thank you.”

  He doesn’t even bother to acknowledge my presence any further. As I look further down the hall, I see another man in a black suit standing outside a room. That has to be where Angus’ friend is located.

  Walking back into the clubhouse, Angus is sitting at a table, his laptop in front of him. There’s also a bottle of whiskey and an empty glass next to it. Picking up the bottle, I pour myself a drop and sit down opposite him. Bags saunters in and sits at the table too.

  “He torched your van,” states Bags as he nods in my direction.

  “Fucking rat,” I mumble.

  Bags shakes his head and stares at Angus. He’s dressed in his brother’s clothes—a Black Sabbath T-shirt and a pair of jeans, no shoes.

  “It’s okay, Bags. I knew he was going to do it.”

  “Insurance scam?”

  Angus shakes his head. “Destroying evidence.”

  Bags laughs. “What did you do, kill someone?”

  “No, I didn
’t kill anyone.”

  The smile falls off Bags’ face as he looks at me. Usually, Bags is a happy guy, but right now, as his eyes drill into mine, I understand why no one messes with him—a dangerous streak hides underneath.

  Holding up my hands, I lean back into my chair, the wood creaking in protest. “I didn’t kill anyone either.”

  “I swear to God, Cutter, if you’ve gotten him mixed up in something, no one will be able to help you.”

  Lowering my hands, I purse my lips together and nod. “You think you can take me?”

  “Enough,” orders Angus. “I met a girl in the park, and someone shot her. Cutter was helping me. He had nothing to do with anything apart from helping me get rid of my van.”

  Bags sighs and stares at me. “Ring Kyle.”

  Angus shakes his head. “This has nothing to do with Kyle.”

  Bags stands so quickly, his chair topples over with a loud thud on the floor, and he points at me. “You used his favorite psychopath, so he needs to know.”

  “Aww shucks, Bags, I didn’t know you cared.”

  Most of the MC members don’t understand me and have no idea why Kyle keeps me around. It’s not hard to figure out. I do the things the others can’t or won’t do. Bags calling me a psychopath isn’t insulting. I wear it as a badge of honor.

  Bags sneers down at me. “You get things done for the club, and that’s good. This…” he points between Angus and me, “… this could blow back on us. We’ve had enough bad shit to last us a lifetime. You should’ve called Kyle and gone through the fucking right channels, but no…” Bags stands taller, crossing his arms over his chest, “… no, you had to be the big man on campus, didn’t you, Cutter?”

  Angus shuts his laptop and stands. “It wasn’t like that, Bags. I met this girl in a park. Someone tried to kill her and me. She got hit, I took her to the hospital but noticed suits… fucking Feds, so I ran. I came here, and Cutter helped me. There’s no conspiracy. He was trying to do me a solid.”

  “You sure they weren’t after you?” I ask Angus.

  He looks down at his hands, splaying them out in front of himself. Slowly, his eyes come back to us. “No. It might have been meant for me, but they shot her first, so…”

  Bags nods, keeping his arms folded, then he rocks his head from side to side as though he’s thinking about something. “I’m calling Kyle.”

  “Wait,” pleads Angus. “It’s still early. At least give him until the sun comes up.”

  Bags has one of those old-school watches with a leather cover over it. I sometimes think he wears it because he thinks it’s cool. He flips the leather patch off it and grunts.

  “Two hours. I’m ringing him at six. You best sort out your stories before then.”

  I chuckle. “Bags, you ain’t listening. Angus told you what happened. It was the truth of it. I was only trying to help.” I stand and put a hand on Angus’ shoulder. “Don’t want our boy here facing a murder rap, do we?”

  Bags harrumphs and walks away, then over his shoulder, he repeats, “Two hours.”

  I wait until he’s out of the room. “Fucker. He’s never liked me.” I sit back down, and the chair makes its usual creaking protest. “What did you find out?”

  “You went to the hospital?”

  For whatever reason, Angus doesn’t want to tell me what he knows. Maybe it’s Bags’ glowing recommendation, maybe he doesn’t trust me, or perhaps he wants to keep his cards close to his chest.

  I fold my hands together on the table and lean forward. “Yeah, she’s in ICU, and there are at least three suits on the ward. Gotta be Feds.”

  Angus nods. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

  “So, what are you going to do?”

  Angus sits. “Cutter, I appreciate you looking out for me.” I nod. “I’m going to call Sean. He’s ex-military and will know what to do.”

  Sean is Angus’ older brother and VP in the Loyal Rebels MC. If Bags thinks I’m a psychopath, he should take a good look at Sean.

  Angus

  Cutter left me alone once he knew I was calling Sean. The flash drive has a lot of information on it regarding military operations overseas, mostly in third-world countries, and something about medical procedures. There’s a lot of information to sift through. It had layers of encryption, and I’ve only glimpsed at some of the data stored on it. Whatever Landru found, it’s not good. Calling Sean was a smart move as he still has many friends in the armed forces.

  Beth, Sean’s woman, walks into the clubhouse. Where once she walked in here like a timid rabbit, now she walks in as if she belongs. Beth makes a beeline for me, and as I stand, she engulfs me in a hug.

  “Are you okay?”

  I pat her awkwardly on the back. She has long, thick, wavy, dark hair which is tied into a braid. Beth is best described as curvy, and my brother is thoroughly devoted to her. Sean walks into the room as Beth moves back to look up at me, but she’s still holding on. He frowns at us, and I’m sure it’s because she’s too close to me.

  I take a step back and look down at Beth, but she refuses to let go. “I’m okay.”

  “Have you eaten?”

  That’s our Beth. Out of all my brothers’ girlfriends, she’s the one with the motherly instinct, and she’s always taking care of us.

  “No.”

  Beth lets me go and takes off her jacket, hanging it on the back of a chair. She turns to face Sean. “I’m headed for the kitchen.” Beth goes up on her tiptoes to kiss Sean on the lips. “I’ll fix you something, too.”

  Sean smiles at her. “Thanks, honey.”

  “Pfft! If there’s one thing I know about the MacKenny clan, you all think better on a full stomach.” Beth pats my arm on her way past. “And, Sean, be nice.”

  “I’m always nice!”

  “Pfft,” Beth says, waving a hand in the air.

  I grin at him, and he quirks an eyebrow at me. “What have you gotten yourself into, brother?”

  “Can we move into the room?”

  The room is the place they hold church. As an outsider, I shouldn’t be allowed in. Not that I haven’t been in there before, but it’s the MC’s version of a holy place, and I wouldn’t breach it for the world.

  Sean nods and opens the door. “Come on in.”

  Picking up my laptop, I take a position at the table. Its wooden surface is scarred from many meetings. I know better than to sit at the head as that’s Kyle’s seat, so I sit to the right of it, and Sean sits opposite me.

  “What happened?”

  “It was a hit.” I hold up the flash drive. “I think they were after this.”

  Sean shakes his head. “If it were Feds, you’d be dead. Whoever they were, they’re sloppy. I would have taken you out, too, brother, so it’s not military either. What’s on it?”

  “From what I can gather, it’s a list of overseas military installations.” I frown. “But I don’t think they are strictly military. There’s medical data on here, too.” With a sigh, I say, “There’s a lot of information to go through. If not Feds, then who?”

  Sean shrugs. “Where overseas?”

  “Mostly third-world countries.”

  “Where’s the girl?”

  “She’s at Saint Michael’s in ICU. Cutter went for a look. Feds were in the building.”

  “Maybe they looked like Feds, but maybe they’re something else?”

  There’s a knock at the door, and we both look up. Cutter is standing there, freshly showered, judging by his wet hair. Sean nods at him, and he enters. Cutter holds out his hand to Sean, and they shake, which is a little weird. Usually, they bump fists or punch each other.

  “Where are we up to?”

  “I was just telling Sean where the girl is.”

  “What’s her name?” asks Sean.

  I shake my head. “I knew her as Landru, and she knows me as Archon.”

  Sean barks out a laugh.

  “They’re handles. We don’t use real names.”

  “Let me g
uess, some nerdy names for nerdy people. Did she have buck teeth and a harelip?”

  “No, she’s cute, and she has a great smile. She wanted to share this with me.” I hold up the flash drive again. “Whatever she has on here must be important.”

  Sean leans forward. “Important enough to try to silence you both.” Sean smirks and sits back. “You like her?”

  Cutter walks around the table and sits next to me.

  I shake my head at his boyish attempt to rile me. “I thought she’s cute, but not cute enough to get whacked for.”

  The smirk disappears. “Good point.” Sean turns his gaze to Cutter. “Tell me about the hospital.”

  “Three guys in suits. One on her room, one on the elevators, and one on the stairwell. There’s no way to get to her without being seen.”

  There’s a bang on the door, and we all turn around to see Beth with a platter in her hands. She must have used her foot to knock on the door, so Sean rises and opens it fully.

  “Hey.” Sean takes the platter of cooked bacon and eggs off her. “You cooking for an army?”

  “Oh, please, you lot eat more than an army.” Beth looks at Cutter. “Come help me carry the coffee and toast in.”

  Cutter is up and around the table before she finishes talking. He’s always had a bit of a crush on Beth. Sean frowns at him, and his top lip curls up in a snarl.

  Beth goes up on her tiptoes and kisses him. “We’ll be back in a minute.”

  Sean’s gaze goes to his woman, and he smiles at her, but you can tell he’s not happy. “Don’t be long.”

  Beth giggles, and Cutter follows closely behind her. Sean shakes his head and looks over at me before he retakes his seat.

  “Relax, he’s only helping her carry stuff. Beth loves you.”

  Sean grunts and picks up a piece of bacon off the platter. “Still don’t like him being alone with her.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “About the girl?” I nod. “She’s obviously found her way into something she shouldn’t have and implicated you in the process.”