SAVING GRACE: GODS OF CHAOS MC (BOOK SIX)

by Honey Palomino

  “My shit isn’t falling apart, contrary to what you think.”

  “Just keep your dick in your pants until we get this shit over with, can you do that?”

  “Yeah, yeah…”

  I hung up the phone without saying another word, feeling even worse than I had before he called. It’s not like I didn’t know how risky this all was, but what was I supposed to do about it now?

  Turning the clock back wasn’t an option.

  My heart was hooked.

  CHAPTER 32

  SOPHIA

  I couldn’t risk leaving again.

  My body ached for Eli’s touch and it was pure torture staying there in that bed for even one more night with Snake. I comforted myself with the knowledge that this would all be over tomorrow.

  Snake and his guys would leave bright and early in the morning and Grace and Ryder and their gang would swoop in and save us like a bunch of knights in shining armor. The nerves were killing me, though. My palms were sweaty and my heart didn’t slow down all night.

  I’d avoided Tiny like the plague after our encounter, but the one time I had run into him during the day, he stared me down angrily. Defiantly, I met his gaze, daring him to make a move. To remind him that I meant business, I slammed my heel into the concrete, the sound echoing through the bar. He jumped and ran away like a frightened mouse and I went about my day with a nervous smile.

  Snake got drunk again, even earlier than usual. He kept mumbling to himself, going in and out of his office with the guys. In the afternoon, they began packing up for the trip, making my heart race even faster.

  This was really happening.

  The plan was that I’d call Grace as soon as they were gone in the morning and she’d head over with her own firepower. I prayed none of the Gods would get hurt. Snake wouldn’t tell me who he was leaving behind to guard the place or exactly what time they were leaving and I could tell he was getting irritated with my questions, so I stayed away from him as much as possible throughout the day.

  It was better this way, because this way I could think. I could think about Eli, about my future, about our future together. I could think about the freedom all of the women imprisoned a few feet away from my bedroom would enjoy.

  This was a good thing. It was worth all the anxiety. It was worth putting ourselves in so much danger. Those women were worth it alone.

  But I couldn’t help but be pleased that I’d found Eli in the middle of this storm. Like a lighthouse shining through the fog to a lost fisherman, he was my saving grace.

  Getting angry with him about trying to follow some unknown rules had been stupid. I saw the way he looked at me, I felt his heart beating in time with mine. I knew his truth as much as I knew my own.

  We were meant for each other.

  And a love like this, even with a beginning that was as quick and dangerous as a lightning strike…well, nothing could get in the way of that. Not Snake. Not a bunch of rules.

  Fate doesn’t give up.

  Eli and I will do whatever it takes to be together. I’ve no doubt in my heart.

  Mercilessly, the first dim light of sunrise arrived, signaling the end of my nightmare. If we make it through today, I thought, we can make it through anything.

  CHAPTER 33

  ELI

  The night dragged on endlessly as I lay there alone, staring up at the ceiling, unable to move, unable to sleep, unable to do anything but hope like hell Sophia was safe. I knew if I moved, if I left the hotel, I couldn’t be responsible for what happened.

  The urge to blow everything out of the water and rush to save her without waiting another minute was unbelievable. So, I didn’t trust myself to move.

  I stayed put, willing my body to follow directions. I was itching to bring Snake to his knees, and thank God I wasn’t drinking, because I never would have been able to practice any sort of restraint if I was.

  And I knew where that kind of thinking led. I’d end up either dead or in prison with my father, unable to have the future that was becoming clearer and clearer in my mind. Sophia was all I could see when I thought about tomorrow.

  By now, I knew nothing would get in the way. No rules, nobody else’s opinion, Nate’s or anyone else’s. Snake was the least of my worries, but I knew I couldn’t take him alone, not realistically.

  So, I waited. And waited some more.

  I figured she wouldn’t come tonight, but the off chance that she might still show up lingered in my mind all night. But there was no knock at my door. There was nothing but silence and the sound of my own thoughts, tumbling around like a clothes dryer in my brain.

  By the time dawn broke, I was ready.

  Dressed, guns cleaned and loaded, and I’d already eaten a small breakfast.

  I was standing outside when Grace and Ryder showed up in the Mustang with a huge caravan behind them. Riot, Wreck, Bones and Slade followed them on their bikes and Lacey and Frankie were behind them in two huge vans. They unloaded and we headed up to my room to wait for Sophia’s call.

  It never came.

  CHAPTER 34

  SOPHIA

  As soon as I moved to get out of bed, Snake rolled over and wrapped his arms around me.

  “Mornin’, babe,” he mumbled, nuzzling my back with his prickly beard.

  “Morning,” I replied, attempting to inch over to the other side of the bed. He held me tighter, pulling me in and not letting me go.

  “Gotta pee,” I said, trying to free myself from his grasp. Finally, he let me go and I ran to the bathroom and closed the door. I jumped in the shower, hoping he’d fall back asleep and not follow me in. Hot water soothed my stress-filled muscles and by the time I was done, I was still wracked with nerves but downright giddy at the same time. I dried myself off and gingerly opened the door, peeking through the morning light to see what Snake was up to.

  He was gone.

  Good, I thought, maybe he’ll leave sooner than expected.

  He’d left a note on the dresser: Meet me in the clubhouse after you get dressed.

  I dressed quickly and searched for my phone. I was certain I’d left it on the dresser last night, but it wasn’t there. I looked in my clothes I was wearing yesterday, checked my purse, then looked in my coat. I couldn’t find it.

  My anxiety soared through the roof.

  Throwing on my coat, I ran out of the bedroom and ran smack into Tiny outside my bedroom door.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Snake asked me to escort you to him,” he said, grabbing my arm. I pulled away from him, slightly hobbling on my heels.

  “I know the fucking way and I don’t need an escort!”

  “You sure about that?” Tiny asked, lifting a brow sarcastically.

  “Did you fucking tell him?” I seethed, lowering my voice

  “About you sneaking out? Nah,” he shook his head. “I like my balls.”

  “Good,” I said, lifting my chin defiantly. “I really don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Just walk,” he growled, pushing me forward.

  “What the fuck is going on?”

  “Beats me,” he shrugged. “I’m just following orders.”

  We walked the rest of the way in silence, my nervousness increasing with each step. When we entered the clubhouse, Snake was alone at the bar.

  “Delivered in one piece, boss, just like you asked,” Tiny said.

  “Thanks, Tiny,” Snake replied, patting the chair next to him for me to sit at.

  I walked over, gesturing to the bottle of whiskey in front of him.

  “You’re getting an early start,” I said.

  “Little hungover from yesterday,” he replied. “Hair of the dog.”

  I sat beside him, looking over at him expectantly, waiting.

  He didn’t say a word for a while, just sat there, slowly sipping from his shot glass as he looked forward.

  “So, what’s up?” I asked, unable to endure the silence any longer.

  “I just wanted to have b
reakfast with my old lady,” he said, flashing me a friendly smile that made my stomach churn. I saw the mischievousness behind his eyes. He was up to something, but I’d play along.

  “How nice,” I said. “Want me to cook?”

  We used the bar’s kitchen on the rare times we cooked for ourselves and all I wanted to do was get away from him. I was grateful for an excuse.

  “Sure, babe, that would be great,” he said. I nodded and stopped and turned back.

  “Hey, have you seen my phone? I couldn’t find it this morning.”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled it out.

  “Oh, I must have grabbed yours by mistake,” he said, handing it to me. “Who are you going to call?”

  “Just want to check on my Mom,” I replied, sliding the phone into my pocket.

  “That’s great,” he said with a smile. “Give her my love.”

  “Sure,” I mumbled, turning away again. I was only a few steps from the kitchen when I heard a knock at the clubhouse door. I turned back again to see Tiny poke his head in.

  “They’re here, boss,” he said.

  “I’ll be right there,” Snake nodded. I watched as Tiny’s head disappeared and the door closed. Snake stood up and walked over to me. He reached into my back pocket and pulled my phone out.

  “Breakfast can wait, so can that phone call,” he said. “Come with me. There’s some people I want you to meet.”

  “Who?”

  “Just come. You’ll see…”

  I watched with dread as he slipped my phone back into the front pocket of his cut and walked away. He turned back when he got to the door.

  “Now, Sophia.”

  I put one foot in front of the other, fear creeping into my bones.

  CHAPTER 35

  ELI

  “Maybe you should try to call her,” I suggested to Grace.

  “No, I don’t want to send off any warning signals,” she replied, shaking her head, her blonde hair pulled back into a severe pony tail. “Maybe they’re leaving later than she thought.”

  We sat around, staring at the phone, which was driving me out of my mind.

  An hour crawled by and finally Grace began to seem concerned.

  “I think I should go in anyway,” she said. Ryder immediately began shaking his head.

  “Not while Snake is there,” Ryder said.

  “Well, the possibility that he didn’t leave is strong. If Eli and I go in together, we could go under the guise that I was trying to persuade him to do business with me again. If he’s there, I’ll flash another suitcase full of cash at him. If he’s not there, then I’ll call you and you all can come right away and we’ll get those victims out of there.”

  “Dammit, Grace, it’s too risky!” Ryder was upset. A thick vein throbbed at his temple and his lips were set into a firm line. I hadn’t known him for very long but I got the impression he was a man who didn’t raise his voice very often. Grace looked over at him in surprise.

  “You know what’s risky, Ryder? Leaving those women in there with such monsters. It’s been hard enough waiting these last few days and I’m not about to wait another day!”

  “Grace, I can’t let you do this.”

  She stood in front of him as we all watched with our mouths falling open.

  “You can’t stop me.”

  “Goddammit, Grace!” he yelled, his deep voice booming through the room.

  “Hey, folks, let’s give Ryder and Grace some space, shall we?” Slade said, heading for the door. We all followed behind, shutting the door. Raised, angry voices erupted behind us.

  “Grace is right,” I said. “We can’t leave them there any longer.”

  “What’s your feeling on Sophia?” Riot asked.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, avoiding his eyes and Nate’s accusing glare.

  “Do you think she’s trustworthy?” Wreck asked. “Maybe she changed her mind about the whole thing.”

  “She didn’t.”

  “How do you know?” Bones asked.

  I hesitated, glancing over at Nate.

  “You gotta tell ‘em, man,” he said.

  “Tell us what?” Riot asked.

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  Suddenly, Slade pushed me against the wall, his face inches from mine.

  “Look, brother, I know you’re new here, but we don’t lie to each other and we certainly don’t hold back information. So if you’re holding onto something we need to know, you better fucking spill it.”

  I pushed him out of my face, ignoring the anger bubbling up inside.

  “There’s nothing to tell.”

  “Eli, come on, man…” Nate shook his head.

  Slade made a move to come at me again and I threw up my hands.

  “I slept with her, alright!”

  “You slept with who?” Wreck asked.

  “Sophia. She showed up to my room a few nights ago. We spent some time together. That’s all. That’s how I know she didn’t change her mind. She can’t wait to get out of there.”

  “You banged Snake’s old lady?” Slade asked, lifting a brow, before a crooked smile spread across his face. “Damn, dude, you’ve got balls!”

  Riot and Slade shook their heads and started laughing. I didn’t think it was funny at all, in fact, I was worried sick about Sophia. I saw her bruised face, her busted lip, the look of fear in her eyes, even if she’d tried to hide it from me.

  “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I know Sophia didn’t change her mind.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Riot said. “We need her. I’ve been doing some research and putting out some feelers in the community. Snake’s a bad guy. I suspect his shit has many layers to it. He’s connected to the cops, as Sophia already told us. He’s been doing this a long time, so we know how dangerous he is. We gotta bring him down.”

  “I wish Ryder would just let us bust in there and take him down,” Slade said. “Been a long time since I had a good fight.”

  “Shut up, Slade,” Riot said. “You know that machismo shit just gets you killed.”

  “Hey, man, I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

  “Barely,” Riot said, wryly.

  “Whatever, dude, I still got the magic touch.”

  “You’re almost forty!”

  “So what? Age is only a number,” he said, flexing his bicep and slapping it hard. “Look at that bad boy right there. Tell me that doesn’t strike the fear of God in you.”

  “You’re delusional,” Riot said.

  I had a feeling they could have gone on forever, but the door at the end of the hall opened and Grace and Ryder walked out hand in hand. Grace walked over to me and nodded.

  “You ready?”

  CHAPTER 36

  GRACE

  Ryder was pissed. But what did he expect? That I was going to wait forever to save these women? No way. Enough was enough. We’d waited too long, in my opinion.

  I couldn’t sleep thinking about the nightmare these women were going through. Lacey and Frankie had done a wonderful job of taking care of the ones we’d managed to free and I’d checked on them again before I left our clubhouse this morning.

  The smiles on their faces were enough to keep me determined to get the rest of them out.

  There was no other option, as far as I was concerned.

  I wasn’t sure what we’d find at Snake’s place, but when we walked up to the gate with a suitcase full of cash, we found everything quiet and normal. Eli pushed the intercom and Snake’s voice crackled through the box.

  “Who is it?”

  “Snake, it’s Grace. I was hoping you’d have a few minutes to talk.”

  “Be right out.”

  Eli and I looked at each other nervously. We scanned the perimeter, looking out for the dogs, but it was eerily quiet.

  “Something’s weird,” Eli said. “Too quiet.”

  “Yeah. Just stay close to me.”

  “I’m not leaving your side.”

/>   Snake walked out by himself and opened the gate with a friendly smile.

  “Thanks for seeing me.”

  “I’m not one to hold a grudge, Grace. I apologize for being so short last time,” he said. He looked over at Eli and nodded. “Got a jealous streak a mile wide.”

  “I didn’t mean any disrespect,” Eli said.

  “I know, I overreacted,” Snake said, gesturing for us to come inside. “Let’s get in out of the cold, shall we?”

  We followed him into the clubhouse, which was empty.

  “Let’s go into my office,” Snake said, leading the way. I stayed inches away from Eli. His eyes darted into each and every dark corner, his hand on his gun in the hip holster he was wearing. Snake stopped in front of his office door and slowly opened it, gesturing for us to walk in first.

  It wasn’t empty.

  First, I noticed Sophia sitting in the corner, but then my eyes raked across the rest of the people and my stomach dropped.

  Rob Goddell, the police chief of Multnomah County sat in one corner. Next to him was the man I worked with at the Northeast Precinct, Toby Nunes. Across from Toby was Roman Garcia, an undercover cop that I’d trusted the most, the man who was supposed to be helping me bring down Snake after we’d gotten the girls out. We’d been planning together all week by phone.

  “What the…?” I murmured, my heart pounding. I turned back to Snake and saw the evil smile slither across his face. “Eli…”

  Tiny appeared from a dark corner, throwing his arms around Eli and wrestling him to the ground. They fought, but Tiny sat on him, punching him in the face until he stopped moving. Tiny stood up, pulling him up and setting him down in the chair next to Sophia.

  Snake pointed his gun at me.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I asked.

  “A reunion of sorts,” he sneered. “I think you know everyone here, don’t you? Rob and you go way back, right? And Toby was your first partner right out of the police academy, wasn’t he? Before the one who betrayed you during that whole mess when you first met Ryder. And Roman here, well you just talked to him yesterday, isn’t that right?”