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

by Kathleen Kelly

  “No one knows who I am.”

  “How’d they find you in the park? Were they following you or the girl?”

  Sitting back in my seat, I steeple my fingers together in front of me. “Shit.”

  “Yeah, shit. Someone knows something.” Sean grabs another piece of bacon. “What type of weapon?”

  “High-powered rifle from a good distance. It took him a bit to reload. It gave me time to get on the ground and then to get her out of the park, but he took a couple of potshots at me as I ran.”

  Sean stops eating, and his face goes hard like stone. “You got lucky.”

  Cutter and Beth come back into the room. She’s carrying a pot of coffee and mugs. Cutter has a plate filled with buttered toast and a handful of knives and forks. Beth puts everything on the table and walks off back toward the kitchen.

  Cutter swipes a piece of bacon off the platter. “What’d I miss?”

  “Nothing. Just getting a recap from my baby brother. Thanks, Cutter, for taking care of the van. Although, it might be a moot point.”

  “How so?” asks Cutter.

  “I’m thinking whoever they are, they already know who he is. He’s a loose end, which could mean trouble for the club.”

  I shake my head. “I was careful.”

  “Yet, they knew you were in the park?” Sean resumes eating his bacon.

  Looking up at the ceiling, I work through the details of the night. “They had to be following her. If they knew who I was, I’d already be dead, or they would have scooped me up then and there.”

  Sean sighs. “Let me make some calls. Give me the locations of those bases, and I’ll see what I can find out.

  “Thanks, brother. I knew you’d know what to do.”

  Beth comes back into the room with plates, more cutlery, and napkins. Without waiting to be asked, she piles bacon, eggs, and toast on four plates, then sits down next to Sean.

  “Ahh, Beth, honey, you shouldn’t really be in here.”

  “Pfft! I’m only eating.”

  “Why the extra plates?” I ask.

  “Oh, I rang Cherie and Lola. Your brothers are on their way.” Beth smiles big at us and begins to eat her meal.

  “You did what?” asks Sean.

  “You heard me.”

  “Honey, you shouldn’t have done that without speaking to me first.”

  Beth puts down her knife and fork and twists to look at her man. “I love you, but we both know you and you…” she points at me, “… are pig-headed. And I also know that family will take care of you better than anyone else. No offense, Cutter.”

  “None taken.”

  Beth smiles at him and goes back to her meal. My gaze goes from her to Sean and back again.

  “Did you ring Jamie and Lochlan, too?”

  Beth shakes her head. “No, do you want me to?”

  All of us say in unison, “No!”

  Beth winks at me and continues to eat as though she does this sort of thing every day.

  “Honey, when did you ring them?” asks Sean as he looks at the pile of food.

  “Just before we left home. They should be here at any moment.”

  “And you’re just telling me this now?” growls Sean.

  Beth smiles. “I knew the two of you would try to figure this out by yourselves without asking for help. So, before you screwed everything up and then called in family, I just skipped a step.”

  Cutter laughs. “Love it.” He hits me on my upper arm. “She skipped a step.”

  The admiration on his face is priceless.

  “Cutter, you know you’re going to get it when Kyle gets here, as you didn’t call him,” states Sean.

  “I don’t think so. I was busy helping. Kyle will understand.”

  I say nothing as Cutter and Sean continue to bicker back and forth. All talk stops when Maddock and Cherie enter the room.

  “Breakfast!” exclaims Cherie as she sits next to Beth.

  “I knew you’d be hungry.” Beth smiles warmly at her.

  Maddock looks at Sean. “Is it okay that we’re in here?”

  “Sit, brother. Seems my woman will do whatever she wants, so why not just invite the entire town in here?”

  “Oh, no, we can’t do that. This room is strictly for MC and family,” replies Beth.

  Cutter barks out a laugh as he shovels food into his mouth. Maddock makes himself and Cherie a plate and sits down next to her.

  Beth smiles at all of us. “It’s so nice when we’re all together.”

  Kyle walks in and looks at the table and the people sitting at it, his emotional state unreadable. His eyes lock with mine, and he does a head lift. I stand and walk toward him, and as I pass Beth, she hands me the empty coffee pot.

  “Could you make another, please?”

  Sean swivels around, staring at Kyle. “Want me to come with?”

  Kyle nods, and we both follow him into the kitchen. I go to the coffee machine, change out the filter, and put in more coffee and water.

  “You about done?” asks Kyle.

  “Sorry, brother. Beth has a way of making me do anything.”

  Sean grins. “I know what you mean.”

  Cutter walks into the room. “Beth told me to get more mugs.”

  Kyle points at him. “Why didn’t you ring me as soon as my little brother turned up here?”

  Cutter grabs mugs out of the cupboard. “I thought it was more important to get rid of the van, so he didn’t end up with a murder rap.” Cutter dips his head. “Sorry, Prez, I thought I was doing the right thing.”

  Kyle scrubs a hand over his face, his dissatisfaction evident. His gaze lands on me. “Who was the girl?”

  I shrug. “I’ve known her for a couple of years. We only ever used aliases. I’ve tried to find out who she is, but she’s always covered her tracks well. I only know her as Landru.”

  “And you think the Feds are involved?”

  Cutter clears his throat, and we all stare at him. “Seemed like it to me as well. Three men in black suits are guarding all the entrances to the floor she’s on and her room.”

  “You went to the hospital?”

  Cutter flinches under Kyle’s scrutiny. “Yes, I thought the more information we could gather, the better.”

  Kyle nods. “Good thinking.”

  Cutter visibly relaxes as Kyle’s approval means everything to him.

  “I need coffee.” Kyle looks at the coffeepot that isn’t quite ready. “We need to get to the girl and find out what the fuck is going on.”

  “Agreed,” states Sean.

  Both look to me, and I shrug. “How the fuck do we do that if she’s under guard by the Feds?”

  Sean shakes his head. “If it’s military bases she looked into, it doesn’t make sense that it’s the Feds.”

  “What are you saying?” asks Kyle.

  “I’m saying we don’t know much. I’ll need to make some calls. But Angus is right… if she’s under guard, how do we get her out of there?”

  Lola enters the room. “That’s the easy part.”

  “Woman, have you been listening?”

  Lola puts an arm around Kyle to placate him. She kisses his lips and smiles. “Only for a minute.” Lola rests a palm on his chest. “All you need is a distraction.”

  “And what would this distraction be?”

  Lola pulls her tank down a little, exposing more cleavage. “The female kind.”

  All of us say, “No.”

  Lola pushes herself out of Kyle’s embrace. “Do you have a better plan?”

  Kyle looks up at the ceiling and sighs. “There are three guards. You can’t distract all three.”

  “No, I can’t, but there are two other women out there who could help.”

  Sean growls. “Abso-fucking-lutely not.”

  Lola picks up the coffee pot and walks out of the room. “We’ll see.”

  “I love you, brother, but I’ll not allow my woman to be put in danger. Beth isn’t like Lola. She’s made of so
fter stuff.”

  I hold up my hands. “I don’t think any of the women should be involved. It’s my mess, and I’ll clean it up.”

  Kyle shakes his head. “We’ll clean it up.”

  I dip my head at him, grateful for the assurances. “We should get back to breakfast before it gets cold.”

  One by one, we all filter out of the kitchen and make our way back into the MC’s meeting room.

  The women are now talking in hushed tones, which is never a good sign.

  Kyle sits at the head of the table, and Lola puts a plate of food in front of him. Beth is staring at Sean like she’s weighing up his mood. From where I sit across the table, I can tell Sean is aware of this but deliberately ignores her.

  Cherie stands. “It’s a good plan.”

  Sean thumps his fist on the table. “No, it’s fucking not. I won’t hear of it. End of conversation.”

  Cherie laughs. “End of conversation? What’s this, the middle ages? Beth has a mind of her own, one you know all too well. We’re family… we want to help.”

  Sean rises, anger coming off him in waves. “Do you remember the last time you wanted to help? You nearly got yourself killed.” Spittle flies from his lips as he yells at her.

  Maddock stands and positions himself between his fiancée and his brother. “But she wasn’t. Cherie put herself in the line of fire for me. This time will be totally different. It’s not some deranged madman intent on killing us… it’s the government.”

  “And the difference is?” asks Sean as he crosses his arms, not giving Mad or Cherie an inch.

  Maddock’s face clouds over in anger, and I know he’s about to lose his temper, so I stand, drawing everyone’s attention.

  “Lola, Cherie, Beth, I love you all. But I’m not letting you get involved in a problem that I’ve created.”

  Beth leans back in her chair with her coffee mug held up to her lips. “Sean, my love, sit down. You, too, Mad.” She waits until both men are seated. “We’ll be in a public space. We won’t put ourselves in danger. There are three guards and three of us. We can do this.”

  “No,” orders Sean.

  Beth swivels in her seat and faces him, placing one of her hands over his. “Yes. How else are you going to get this woman out of the hospital unnoticed?”

  Sean faces forward, his eyes glued to me. It’s then that Kyle clears his throat. Beth leans forward to stare at him as he glares at her.

  “The last time I checked, this was my room, my MC, and I’m in charge here.” Beth nods. “Good, I’m glad we can agree on that.” Kyle pushes his empty plate away and picks up his coffee mug.

  “Kyle, I—”

  Kyle holds up a hand, silencing me. “The women will act as a distraction.”

  “Kyle, there’s no—”

  “Sean… shut the fuck up.” Sean’s face suffuses with red, but he clamps his mouth shut. “We’ll all be there. If things go sideways, we’ll come in guns blazing. My woman will be there, too. I’m not putting her at risk without protecting her.”

  Beth leans into Sean. “You know, I can take care of myself.” Sean says nothing but shakes his head. “Sean, you’ll be there. Like Kyle said, if things go awry, you can jump in and save the day.”

  “Do I get a say in any of this?”

  Kyle stares at me and shakes his head. “No, not unless you have a better plan.”

  I don’t. In fact, I think the girls’ plan is a good one, but if something happened to any of them because of me, I’m not sure I could live with myself. I shake my head, and Kyle nods. Glancing at Lola, she’s smiling like the proverbial cat who swallowed the canary. She winks at me.

  Now, I can only hope their plan goes off without a hitch.

  Angus

  The girls’ plan is simple. They are going to stagger onto the ward with balloons, acting a little drunk, and do their best to gain the guards and everyone else on the ward’s attention. I’m posing as an orderly, going from room to room collecting laundry. I’m wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses and a hospital uniform appropriated from a downstairs locker room. My hair which I usually leave to its own devices is brushed neatly. I nearly don’t recognize myself. Sean insisted on it, afraid someone might remember me.

  Kyle and Sean will wait in the stairwell and burst through if things go south. Maddock is downstairs waiting in the getaway van with Cutter. Kyle wanted to leave him at the compound, but he was adamant that if the president and VP of the MC were going to be in harm’s way, then he was too. In the end, Kyle begrudgingly agreed, as Cutter discovered Landru had been moved out of the ICU and onto a regular ward.

  “Are you supposed to be here?” asks a nurse without looking at me. Her attention is on the clipboard in her hands.

  “Yes, ma’am. Something about cutbacks, and I have to come in early to get the laundry.”

  The clipboard is lowered, and one of her hands goes to her hip. “Cutbacks? On laundry? You’ve got to be kidding me! I’ll be talking to my supervisor about this.”

  “Yes, ma’am, but for now, can I please do my job?”

  “You new?”

  “Yes, I started last week.”

  The nurse screws up her face and stares at me intently. “I was off last week. Okay, do your job. You might find it hard to get into that room.” She points to the one with the Fed standing outside. “I’ll try to tell him you’re just doing your job, but he’s a pain in my ass. Every time I go in there, he questions me. It’s not like he hasn’t seen me a hundred times before. I swear the man is driving me nuts.”

  “Fed?”

  “Yep, a surly one at that.”

  She goes back to her clipboard and pays me no more attention. I go from room to room, emptying the laundry baskets, smiling at the patients, and having the odd conversation. Most are happy to see me, and some just ignore me.

  There’s a loud noise out in the hall, and I’m guessing the girls have arrived. I push my cart out into the hallway as the three of them laugh and yell. Beth has flowers in one hand and helium balloons in the other. She’s smiling broadly and trying to talk to a nurse. Lola also has balloons but has an open bottle of champagne in her other hand, and Cherie just has balloons. All of them are wearing short skirts, high heels, and plunging necklines.

  Cherie staggers down to the guard outside Landru’s room. “Hello, handsome! What’s a guy like you doing in a place like this?” She falls into him, and he catches her. Cherie glances at me, and I roll my eyes at her pickup line.

  My hand is on the doorknob when he pushes Cherie away and pins me with a look. “Who are you?”

  “I’m here to collect the laundry.”

  The nurse from earlier comes over. “He’s fine. Let him do his job while he still can.” She nods at me and then stares at Cherie. “Now, you’re just a hot mess, honey. This ain’t no club. Get your ass out of here.”

  Cherie falls back into the suit. “But he’s so cute!”

  Opening the door, I step into Landru’s room. She’s out cold. There’s a bandage attached to her neck, and she’s hooked up to a drip. I unhook the bag and place it on top of her. Moving quickly, I shift Landru over on the bed, take out the dirty laundry from the basket, and put it next to her, then I pick her up and put her in it. Next, I pull up the sheet and try to make it look like a body. My heart is pumping, the sound pounding in my ears.

  As an afterthought, I throw in her chart, which is hooked on the end of the bed. It could be useful in caring for her. Taking a deep breath, I roll the basket out of the room as casually as I can. The guard is smiling at Cherie as she tries to get his phone number. As calmly as I can, I walk the basket to the end of the hall. The nurse is there, staring disapprovingly at Cherie and the other two ladies.

  “White girls, I’ll never understand them.” She shakes her head. “You finished on this floor?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Well, all right then. You have a good day.”

  I nod at her and keep moving. Using the basket, I push ope
n the doors at the end of the hall, and once they swing shut, I run to the elevator. When the doors close behind me, I let out the breath I’d been holding and push the button for the basement. I’m so nervous, I push it continuously. The elevator goes all the way to the bottom quickly, then the doors open, and Cutter is there waiting.

  “How’d it go?”

  “To plan, just like we thought it would.”

  “How long do we have?”

  “Are the girls out?” I ask, ignoring his question.

  Cutter nods as he helps me move the basket toward the van. “On their way down.”

  The back doors fly open, and Maddock grins at me. “The blue scrubs suit you, Angus. Maybe you’ve found your calling?”

  “Nope, I prefer black.”

  Maddock grins and then looks down. “How is she?”

  “Out cold.”

  We peer into the basket, and I reach down, placing my arms under hers while he grabs the bag that’s attached to the drip. Landru weighs next to nothing as I lift her out. Her eyelids flutter, but she doesn’t wake. Cutter climbs into the back of the van, and I pass her over as Mad hands me the bag.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Cutter

  Once the girl was taken out of the hospital, I got them to drop me near the compound so they could keep going down the highway and walked back on foot. I’m halfway down the block when I walk past a beat-up black van with black tinted windows. The advertising on the side reads, Down the Drain Plumbers. No one is in the driver’s seat, and I chuckle as I walk past. Shrugging, I keep going until I hit the clubhouse doors. Bags, who is always so happy to see me, motions me over.

  “Did you see the van?”

  “Yeah.”

  He rolls his eyes. “And?”

  “And fucking what? I saw the van. Plumber or some shit. Who cares?”

  “They’ve been there most of today.”

  “Aww, fuck.” I scrub a hand through my hair. “Feds?”

  Bags shrugs. “That’s my guess. I sent out a FAW to everyone.”

  FAW means Feds are watching, which is a general alert to all in the MC, meaning by now, Kyle and Sean will have ditched their phones, so we have no way of contacting them.