“Bags, man, it’s me!”
Recognition goes across his face, and he lets the gun fall. “Beth.” He slumps to one side and tries to open the cupboard behind him. “Beth,” he repeats as he feebly scratches at the door.
Sean bursts into the room like a wild man.
“Help me move Bags. I think Beth is in the cupboard.”
Sean grabs Bags by one of his arms and drags him out of the way. I move to get a dishcloth to apply pressure to the man’s wounds. Sean doesn’t stop to help. Instead, he throws open the cupboard, and crouching inside with her arms over her head is Beth.
“Beth, baby, you’re safe,” whispers Sean as he puts a hand to the back of her neck. A sob escapes her. “Come here.”
Her hands unlock themselves, and she holds her arms out to Sean, who scoops her up and out of the cupboard. Holding her tightly to his chest, he looks at me as I try to stop Bags from bleeding out. There’s relief mixed with anger on his features.
“Tula?”
Sean shakes his head. “It was a fucking setup. They drew us out and nearly k-killed—” His voice breaks as he squeezes Beth tighter.
“We need a doctor.”
Sean nods. “Cutter!” he yells. Cutter runs in, gun up, and quickly lowers it when he sees Beth. “Beth, baby, I’m going to give you to Cutter for a moment, okay? I need to take care of Bags just like he took care of you.”
Cutter tucks his gun into the back of his jeans as Sean hands Beth over. She whimpers but goes willingly into the other man’s arms. Sean follows them out and returns with gloves on and his black bag. Kyle follows close behind him.
Sean kneels in front of Bags and opens his black bag. “Hey, old man, you did good.”
Bags rests his head back and closes his eyes. “N-not good enough. Arrow?”
Sean flicks a glance at me. “Okay, we’re going to remove the cloth, and I’m going to put this in its place.” He holds up gauze. “Now.”
I release my hold on Bags, and Sean takes over, then I go to the kitchen sink and wash the blood off my hands. When I look back at them, Bags is staring intently at Sean.
“He needs an answer.”
Bags nods.
“No, man, he’s dead.”
“Tula?” whispers Bags.
“Not here. They must have taken her.” Sean glances at me as he works on him.
“Is it safe to move him?” asks Kyle.
“Yeah, he’s lost a lot of blood, but it’s a through and through. He got lucky.”
“Doesn’t feel fucking lucky,” Bags whispers.
I walk out of the kitchen and into the great room. My laptop is in pieces on the floor near the table. There are bullet holes across the entire back wall and a larger hole where the doorknob to the back door once was. Some of the MC are gathered around Arrow. Selfishly, my only thoughts are of Tula.
Pushing open the door, I walk outside. There’s blood splatter on the ground, and I bend to look at it. A shadow goes across me, and I look up to see Kyle staring down at me.
“It’s not hers. They need her alive if they want to find out about these secret bases.”
I scoff at him. “You don’t know she’s alive. You’re only guessing.”
“Angus, I know you’re smarter than that. It’s one of the reasons I haven’t let you into the MC.”
“Right, so you only let psychopaths like Cutter in?”
“Not what I meant.” I stand to face him, and Kyle holds up a hand. “You’re my brother, and I love you. The MC would pull you further into our world. Da wanted more for you.”
And there it is.
The real reason Kyle won’t let me in.
Da. Our grandfather.
“He’s been gone for a long time, and I’ve proved myself to you and the MC over and over again. I’ve trained. I’ve helped you and the MC. If you can’t see how valuable I could be to you, then maybe you’re right. The Loyal Rebels aren’t for me.”
I turn to leave, and Kyle grabs my arm. “What are you going to do?”
“Find Locutus and get Tula back.”
Tula
I was sitting at the dining table when all hell broke loose. There was a knock at the door, and then the backdoor exploded. Arrow was hit as soon as the front door opened. I reacted by standing and throwing Angus’ laptop as hard as I could onto the floor, then I smashed it with a chair, and for good measure, I dropped a can of soda onto its keyboard. Scared it could still have retrievable data on it, I threw it toward Bags who stepped out of the kitchen.
“Shoot it!” I yelled as I dove under the table.
He fired two bullets into it and then at the man coming through the back door, hitting him. I tried to crawl through the gunfire to the front door. My logic was sound, but when you’re the target, they will not let you go that easily. I made it to the middle of the room, near my bed, when one of the invaders flipped it over and pointed a gun right at me.
Now, I’m in the back of a van, black bag over my head, going God knows where. My hands and feet are bound. The men who took me don’t speak, but I know one of them is wounded as he occasionally groans. I think they hit Bags. As for Beth, I have no idea. I hope she got away. I was their only target, and once I was captured, they withdrew.
The van lurches to a stop.
“Get up.”
I hold up my hands. “It’s a little hard to walk.”
Someone puts their hand under my arm and yanks me to my feet.
“Brilliant! Now I’m standing. How the fuck do you expect me to walk?”
“I’m going to enjoy killing you when our boss is done with you.”
“Whatever.”
The men in the van laugh. My response was lame, but I’m scared, and I don’t know how I’m going to get myself out of this. Having been shot and now kidnapped tends to rattle a person. Someone slices through the ties at my feet, and I’m pushed forward. Stumbling, I fall out of the van and hit the ground hard.
“Sorry, princess, that first step is a doozy.”
I hold up my hand and give him the finger. There’s more laughter as I’m dragged to my feet and manhandled into a building. The temperature drops dramatically, and I shiver as I’m placed roughly into a chair. The hood is ripped from my head, and a bright light shines in my eyes, blinding me. I put my hands in front of my face, and someone yanks them upward, cutting through those bonds.
“Landru, so good to finally meet you.”
Blinking rapidly, I try to focus on the voice. “Locutus?”
A figure sits opposite me and pushes a laptop at me. “Yes.”
It takes a few more minutes for my eyes to adjust to the glaring light. The man sitting opposite me has dark skin, shoulder-length, dark curly hair, and brown eyes. He has high cheekbones and full lips. He’d be handsome if he hadn’t already tried to kill me. Locutus has on an expensive-looking charcoal suit with a crisp white shirt. Everything about him screams wealth and privilege.
“Sorry about your neck. The man who did that to you has been dealt with. It will never happen again.”
I smile at him. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I glance around the room. “As opposed to being taken at gunpoint, kidnapped no less, and brought here? Fuck you.”
He smiles, showing perfectly straight white teeth. “Such language.” He stands and walks around the metal table, opening the laptop. “Show me how you tracked down the bases, and I’ll let you go.”
“And if I don’t?”
He smiles again and shakes his head slightly. “We both know what I’ll do to you if you don’t give me what I want.”
“If I give you what you want, you’ll kill me anyway.” I straighten up in the chair. “The way I see it, I lose either way.”
Locutus chuckles and shakes a finger at me. “I’ll give you my word. After all, we were friends once.”
Staring into his eyes, I say, “Everything about you was a lie. You were never my friend.”
He nods. “True. How about this, then? Give me w
hat I want, and I won’t kill Angus MacKenny and his whole pathetic family.” He pushes the computer in front of me and taps the table. “I think you’ll make the right decision.”
Locutus moves to the other side of the table and sits. With trembling hands, I tap on the keyboard, bringing the laptop to life. Within moments, I’m on the internet.
“Who are you, anyway?”
“A visionary.”
I scoff. “I meant, what’s your name?”
He waves a hand at me, and I think he’s not going to answer when he shrugs. “Patrick.”
I stop typing and laugh. “Patrick, as in Patrick Stewart, the actor who played Locutus?”
“It seemed fitting.”
With a shake of my head, I continue to tap on the keyboard.
“Landru, if you try to contact Archon, I will know, and I’ll kill him.”
I continue to type and shrug. “I won’t. I’m not that stupid.”
He raises his eyebrows and nods. “We’ll see.”
Patrick grins, and this time instead of thinking he’s handsome, he reminds me of a shark, all teeth and dead eyes. Besides, I’ve already sent Angus a message over the dark web. If he’s as smart as I think he is, he’ll be able to find me.
Looking back at the laptop, I continue to tap on the keyboard.
“You’re finding the information I want, aren’t you?”
I nod and don’t look up at him.
Patrick reaches across the table and turns my laptop around. “Tick tack toe?”
“I like it better than Minefield.”
The smile he has on his face falls away, his lips go into a hard line, and he looks over my head to whoever is behind me. I turn my head slightly, and the person hits me hard on the side of my head, sending me to the floor.
Patrick stands and peers down at me, holding up a hand. “Don’t hit her around the head, you might break her stitches.”
A boot comes down hard on my leg, sending a sharp, shooting pain through me. The kind of pain that makes you feel nauseous as it expands and intensifies. Screaming, I try to crawl under the table, only to be roughly pulled out from under it. They put me on my feet and back into the chair.
“Now, give me the information I seek, or it’s going to get a whole lot worse for you.”
With tears streaming down my face, I nod, and he turns the laptop around.
He smiles at me as he leans back in his chair. “Get to it,” Patrick orders.
A sob escapes me, and all I can do is hope Angus finds me soon.
Angus
Kyle is looking at me as though I’ve grown another head. I’m sitting with him and Sean outside the NSA building.
It seems to be the smartest move. The only problem is I run the risk of being arrested. I’ve come close to being in their grasp a few times but have managed to get out of chat rooms and real-life places before they’ve swooped in. Now, here I am, ready to turn myself in to save a woman I barely know.
“Brother, there has to be another way,” advises Sean.
“Not to save her in time.”
After I logged onto the dark web and found a message from Tula, I traced back the IP address and found a location. It’s too far away for us to get to her before she has to give Locutus everything he wants to know. Now, this is the only way.
“You could end up in a box for a very long time. Don’t do this.”
Standing, I look down at Kyle. “There’s too much at stake.”
Kyle and Sean both stand.
“You barely know this girl.”
I nod at Kyle. “Yeah, but I owe her. So do you. Tula helped me locate Maddock when he went into witness protection. She was the one who helped me when Sean and I were on the run from the sniper who was trying to kill him, and let’s not forget, it was her who helped bring Lola home. If they get what they’re looking for, a lot of innocent people could die.”
Turning, I walk toward the building. Sean and Kyle flank me as the doors slide open.
A security guard stops what he’s doing and walks toward us, his hand firmly on his gun. “Can I help you?” His other arm is outstretched, and this garners the attention of the other three security guards who walk toward us, all with their hands on their guns.
“I don’t like this, brother,” whispers Sean.
“I-I…” Clearing my throat, I say more loudly than I intend to, “I’m here to talk to the head of your cyber division. His name is Clive Murphy.”
Kyle cocks his head to the side and stares at me. “How the fuck do you know that?”
“Know thy enemy,” I reply.
One of the security guards picks up a telephone while the others look at us as though we’re criminals. The tension in the room has me sweating. Glancing at Sean, he’s staring at the first security guard with contempt.
“Take it down a notch, brother. We don’t want anyone shooting us by mistake.”
“Trust me, Angus, if someone is going to fire at me, I’ll give them a good reason.”
“Sean, stand down. I’m not getting shot because you can’t keep it under control.”
Sean breaks eye contact with the security guard to look at Kyle. “You spoil all my fun.”
“What’s your name?” asks the security guard on the telephone.
“Angus MacKenny.”
He puts the telephone back to his ear. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but he’s nodding his head, then he looks up at me and puts the handset down. His hand is still on his gun.
We’ve only taken a few steps inside the building. People are coming and going, and they all give us a wide berth.
“I don’t like this,” whispers Sean.
“Me either.”
“Wait for it. Someone will be down soon.”
Both my brothers look at me. “And you know this how?” asks Kyle.
“It’s a stalemate. They’re trying to decide the best course of action. We’re being watched and listened to on that camera.” I point to one that’s on the ceiling directly in front of us.
“And what will they do? Arrest us? Escort us out? Shoot us?” asks Sean as he grins up at the camera.
“Nothing so melodramatic.” I take a step forward and look up at the camera. “I’m Archon. I have information about Landru, and we need your help.”
One of the security guards puts a hand to his ear, and the others withdraw their weapons. All three of us put our hands in the air. Sean goes one step further and puts his hands on his head, standing with his legs apart.
The only security guard who hasn’t drawn his weapon walks toward us. “Do you have any weapons?”
“Yes, we do,” replies Kyle.
“Walk toward the metal detectors and slowly empty all of your pockets.” He’s staring at me intently.
I’m about to go first, but Kyle puts a hand on my chest and walks ahead of me. Sean brings up the rear. Kyle pulls out a Glock, a knife, and brass knuckles along with a heap of change in his pocket. He walks through the machine only to have it blast out an alarm. He walks back through, takes off his belt and boots, then tries to go through the detector again, only for it to emit another alarm. Next, he pulls off his cut, then goes through without setting off any alarms. Once he gets to the other side, he’s handed his boots, and that’s it.
“I’ll be wanting all of that back.”
“You’ll get it on your way out,” replies one of the guards.
I have nothing except for my belt and steel-capped boots, so I leave them in a box and walk through. Both are handed back to me.
“How come he’s allowed his belt, and I’m not?” asks Kyle.
The security guard frowns, then nods at the one who has possession of Kyle’s things. Begrudgingly, he holds out the belt to Kyle, who takes it and then gives him a shit-eating grin as though he’s won some minor victory.
Next is Sean. He has a Glock, three knives, two sets of brass knuckles, and a small blade-like instrument I’ve never seen before. He takes off his belt and shoes and walks throug
h, setting off the metal detectors.
“I’ve got nothing.”
“Pull out your pockets.”
Sean does, and there’s nothing in them. The guard walks over to him with a handheld device and waves it over him. The machine beeps over Sean’s left ankle and his crotch.
“Shrapnel,” states Sean.
“Bullshit,” replies one of the guards.
Sean steps toward him, chest puffed up, attitude in his stance.
“Sean, back the fuck down,” orders Kyle.
“Okay, that’s enough. Let them through.”
We all turn to see a man in a light gray suit, white shirt, and black tie, sporting a crew cut and glasses. He can’t be more than twenty-seven.
“But, sir, he may have weapons on him.”
He nods. “Yeah, he might. But let’s make the big bad biker feel more comfortable by letting him keep them.” He looks at me. “Angus, please come this way and bring your brothers with you.”
Without waiting for a reply, he walks toward the elevators and steps in. I wait for Sean to put his boots back on, then we enter the elevator, the same way we entered the building, with my brothers flanking either side of me. The suit smiles and steps back.
The doors close, and he extends his hand. “Clive Murphy, nice to finally meet you, Archon.”
Sighing, I nod and grasp his hand in mine. “Angus MacKenny. These are my brothers…
Kyle and Sean.” He holds out his hand to them. “Yes, we know. It’s good to finally meet you all.”
Reluctantly, Kyle, then Sean, shakes his hand. The doors open, and he gestures for us to leave the elevator, then walks ahead of us down a long hallway.
“How did you know who I was?”
“I’ve seen you lurking in the chat rooms.”
Clive barks out a laugh. “I seriously doubt that.”
“Maybe it wasn’t you, maybe it was one of your spies. It pays to know who the bad guys are.”
Clive stops and opens a door. “Ahh, see, that’s where you have it wrong. I’m the good guy. I don’t sell computer hacks to college students or delve into people’s personal affairs. I protect US citizens from people like you.”
It’s my turn to laugh. “Yeah, right, you keep telling yourself that.”
Spark of Deception: MacKenny Brothers Series Book 4: An MC/Band of Brothers Romance Page 7
