Shade

by Jamie Begley

  “No.” Razer didn’t step back, but Shade almost laughed at his expression.

  He could tell the woman was proud of herself for standing up to Razer, not realizing the man was an inch away from throttling her.

  “Her dad is a government employee, doing some kind of secret shit for them. Employees and their families aren’t allowed to travel in certain areas. He alerted Border Patrol, trying to stop her before she went inside, but he was too late.”

  “What in the fuck are we supposed to do?” Viper asked, diverting her attention from Razer. You had to be cool and calm to deal with this bitch.

  “You have connections. I need them to get me inside so I can find her.”

  “You’re not going after her,” Train stated angrily.

  “Since when do you think you can tell me what I can do?” Killyama glared at him.

  Train didn’t back down. “Since you came up with a crazy-assed plan to try to enter a country which has made a career out of kidnapping and killing people,” he snapped.

  “Back off, lover boy. I’m going after her. Are you men going to help me or not?” From the way she said the word “men”, it was obvious she meant it as an insult.

  “Do we have a choice?” Viper asked snidely.

  “No, but don’t worry.” She curled her lip. “I have a plan. Where’s Dean?”

  “Probably hiding if he saw you,” Train said grimly.

  “Get him. We’re going to need him,” Killyama ordered. “Knox, too. They’ll have the contacts we need to find Jane. Beth told us the strings he had to pull to find Lily when she went missing.”

  Shade wasn’t about to volunteer his contacts.

  “Anything else?” Train asked sarcastically, pulling his phone out.

  “Yeah, you can shove that phone up your ass when you’re finished making those calls.”

  Train lowered the phone to his side, his face turning cold. As he took a step toward her, Killyama held her ground.

  “We don’t do jobs for free. If you want our help, you’ll pay for it like everyone else.”

  Shade raised a brow at Train’s comment. He himself didn’t like any of the women. Truthfully, there weren’t many people he would give a fuck if he never saw again in general, but Fat Louise was the most tolerable of Sex Piston’s crew. Besides, none of the women would be happy if Train charged her an outlandish sum of money for helping Fat Louise.

  “What’s your price?” She placed her hands on her hips.

  “I’ll let you know when I decide.”

  “You’re just going to hold it over my head until you decide?” she snapped.

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t have a choice, do I?”

  “No. Sucks, doesn’t it?”

  Lucky came down the steps from the clubhouse.

  “You needed me?”

  Viper filled him in about Fat Louise sneaking into Mexico, and unlike the rest of them, he voluntarily agreed to help.

  “Go get some sleep. If we need you, I’ll call,” Shade ordered Cash as his exhaustion becoming more apparent.

  “Thanks, Shade.”

  He nodded in response.

  Cash left as Shade turned back to the group.

  “Let’s go inside the factory. I don’t want to go to the clubhouse, because the women will want to know what’s going on, and I don’t want Lily worried.” Shade unlocked the door for everyone to go inside.

  Shade went into his office and picked up his iPad before going back to the main room and setting it down on a worktable.

  Pulling up a map of Mexico, he handed it to Killyama. “Tell us where she went in, and where she is now.”

  Killyama took the iPad.

  Shade listened closely, his eyes meeting Train’s. Killyama was very detailed, telling them Fat Louise’s last-known whereabouts as well as some intel of where she had been heading. The woman, to his knowledge, had never been in the military, yet she talked as if it was normal to handle an operation of this scope.

  Shade had never looked into the past of any of Beth’s friends; he hadn’t seen the need. However, Killyama handled herself a little too well for her not to have any special training. She was overly confident of her skills, and that kind of self-assurance didn’t come unearned. After she left, Shade would be making some calls to his contacts to find out more about the woman ordering them around.

  Lily was in the shower by the time he was able to make it home. Shade took off his clothes, stepping into the shower with her. The water was almost too warm for him, but he didn’t say anything as he pressed his chest to Lily’s back, slipping an arm around her waist.

  Lily leaned back against him. “You’re late.”

  “Sorry, I had some paperwork to finish.”

  “You work too hard.”

  Shade brought his mouth to her throat. “It will slow down soon. I have to go out of town on Thursday, and I’ll be gone a couple of days.”

  Lily nodded, going up on her toes as his hand slid between her thighs, finding her clit. He gently stroked it, discovering her already wet.

  “Already missing me?”

  “Yes,” she admitted softly. “Where are you going?”

  “Mexico.”

  “Mexico?”

  “Mmhmm … Fat Louise needs a ride home, so the brothers and I are going to pick her up.”

  He would tell Lily when he returned exactly why Fat Louise needed the ride home. There was no way Fat Louise wouldn’t spill the beans when she got back. She was the biggest tattletale in Jamestown and Treepoint.

  “That’s nice of you all.”

  “I thought so. As soon as Killyama asked, I offered. I had to talk the rest of the brothers into it, but they eventually gave in.”

  “That’s so sweet.”

  * * *

  “Do you see them yet?” Shade asked Killyama over the radio in his hand.

  “Dude, when I see them, you’ll be the first to know,” she snapped back at him.

  Shade flung the radio down on his lap. Taking his cap off, he ran his hand over his hair before putting it back on.

  Train was sitting at the control of the helicopter, waiting for a signal from either Killyama or Viper, who was on the roof of where the helicopter was with binoculars. The latest intel they had received had said they were thirty minutes away, and that had been over an hour ago.

  “Shit!” Viper came running across the roof. “Let’s go.”

  Shade put the radio in his front pocket then picked up his rifle. Train started the helicopter, lifting off with Cash talking over the radio he had in his ear.

  Shade looked out, seeing Killyama running toward Fat Louise and the man who had been hired to bring both her and her sister home. They were racing toward the border,

  Killyama was running toward them with soldiers parallel to her. The soldiers had the advantage of being closer and were going to reach them first.

  “I’m going to beat her. She was supposed to stay out of sight,” Train said over the intercom.

  “You really didn’t expect her to listen to anything you had to say, did you?” Cash’s amused voice was heard next.

  “Shut up with the chit-chat and get us lower so we can fucking fire before they’re all dead,” Shade snapped.

  Train dropped the helicopter, blocking the Jeeps.

  “Get in!” yelled Rider, giving cover fire to the fleeing women and Cade.

  Shots rang out as the soldiers began firing at the helicopter. Shade lifted his rifle, returning the fire with Viper by his side, giving them time to get inside.

  Bailey threw herself into the helicopter, and then Fat Louise was lifted in by Cade who flung himself inside with his body covering hers.

  Shade, Rider, and Viper kept firing, waiting for Killyama to get her ass inside. As soon as she jumped in, she yelled, “Go! Go!”

  Train lifted the helicopter, flying back toward the United States’ side of the border.

  Shade sank back into his seat right as Fat Louise threw herself into Ki
llyama’s arms, bursting into tears.

  Shade studied Killyama’s reaction. Her expression was rigidly controlled. If he hadn’t seen the bitch’s arms tighten around the sobbing woman, Shade would have thought her unaffected.

  Killyama was saying something to Fat Louise which had her nodding then talking. They went back and forth for a while before Killyama pulled out a protein bar and handed it to her.

  She had told them of Fat Louise’s medical condition, and they had used it shamelessly to get the government’s aid in helping locate her.

  Killyama stared at Cade. The poor fucker didn’t know what he was in for. He probably had thought he was home free when he had jumped into the helicopter.

  “He wasn’t doing a great job, was he?” she sneered, yelling to be heard.

  Cade stiffened. “I was doing fine until Bailey took off like a bat out of Hell.”

  Bailey flushed yet defended herself. “It worked out fine, didn’t it? We’re all safe now.”

  “No thanks to you,” snorted Killyama.

  The two women glared at each other.

  It was twenty minutes later when they safely set the helicopter down on the roof of a hotel.

  “Everybody out. I have to get this baby back before someone notices it missing,” Train yelled over the loud noise.

  Cade jumped out first to help the women out. Bailey took her time, clinging to Cade much longer than necessary, and Shade rolled his eyes at Viper as Cade lifted Fat Louise out next. Then he turned back to help Killyama, but she ignored his and Rider’s helping hands as she started to jump out.

  “Killyama!” Train yelled loud enough to be heard over the blades of the helicopter, stopping her. “Remember our deal. I’ll be calling it in soon.”

  “Deal with this!” Killyama shouted above the roar of the blades, making an obscene gesture before jumping out of the helicopter.

  “You can handle her later,” Cash told Train over the intercom. “I want to get back to Treepoint.”

  Train gave him a thumbs-up, but his angry expression showed he had been about to shut down the helicopter and show Killyama how badly she had misjudged him. He was possibly the only other Last Rider who could equal him in the number of kills made. Shade’s had been made with his rifle, whereas Train had been trained to kill with whatever he had on hand.

  “What are you laughing at?” Viper asked.

  “I’m thinking I need to start collecting Train’s IOUs. I’ve got to watch when he finally gets his hands on Killyama.”

  “I think she can take him,” Rider snorted, chiming into the conversation.

  Viper and Shade both shook their heads.

  “Killyama will chew him up and spit him out,” Cash said over the intercom.

  Shade gave each of the men an innocent look. “Wanna make a bet?”

  Chapter 75

  Shade answered the phone on the first ring.

  “Can you talk?” Evie asked.

  “Hang on.” Shade stared down at Lily lying on the bed. “I need to take this call. I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”

  He went outside the bedroom door, shutting it behind him. Walking down the steps, he went to the kitchen where he poured himself a glass of whiskey before coming back on the line.

  “Go ahead.”

  “I had a meet with Rabbit today. Remember him?” Not giving him time to acknowledge that he remembered him from the service, Evie continued, “He’s a middle man now, does transactions involving illegal commodities. He makes the buys and pays for what’s wanted then delivers the goods to whoever purchased his services.

  “He confirmed what my other sources have told me. King’s been slowly turning control over to Ice, although Desmond Hart will be the one in charge as a silent partner. He’s even transferring ownership of his strip club to Henry. He’s getting out of the business, Shade.”

  He took a drink of whiskey, hearing a tone in her voice he didn’t like.

  “Then what’s wrong?” Shade asked.

  “There’s a deal going down which could go bad. I have to see how it ends to know if he can walk away clean.”

  He didn’t say anything. She was defending King to him, which meant Evie had become close to King in the two months she had been in Queens City.

  “Shade, he’s not involved in the deal. Someone’s trying to piss on his doorstep.”

  “If he cared about Lily, he’d let them piss then hose the door down after they left.”

  “Give him a chance. He’s trying.”

  “Evie...”

  “Please, Shade?”

  “What do you care?” Shade probed.

  She didn’t say anything for a minute. “I don’t want to see Lily hurt, either, and losing her dad would hurt her, Shade.”

  “Let me know when the deal goes down and what happens. Do you need me to send a couple of brothers down as backup?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  “Tell me the truth.”

  “I’m good, I swear. If there’s any trouble, I’ll call.”

  “Okay, you better. I won’t be happy if you get hurt,” Shade warned.

  “I won’t.”

  “Later.”

  “Bye, Shade.” Evie disconnected the call.

  Shade finished his whiskey then set his glass down on the counter. He climbed the stairs to the bedroom, opening and closing the door quietly behind him before walking silently to the bed. He looked down at his wife who lay on the bed with a red scarf tied around her eyes and her hands cuffed to the hooks at the bottom of his headboard.

  He reached up, letting the tips of his fingers brush her flesh from her ankle to her pussy, finding her wet.

  “Did I keep my woman waiting long?” he crooned seductively.

  “Shade, I need you,” Lily moaned.

  “I know, angel. I’m going to make it up to you. I was gone six minutes, and that’s exactly how long you’re going to come for me.”

  * * *

  “You left your tackle box on the porch.” Lily handed him the small box.

  Shade took it from Lily, placing it in the back of the truck before turning back to her.

  “I didn’t forget. I was going to come back and get it. I wanted to say goodbye in private.” He curled his hand across the back of her neck.

  “I guess I missed out.” Lily rolled her eyes at him.

  Shade let a small smile touch his lips. He had taken an hour to say goodbye before he had started carrying his things to the truck. He didn’t want his inquisitive wife snooping through his things.

  “How long are you going to be gone?” she asked, placing her hands on his chest as he started propelling her backward, leading her into the shadows of the factory building.

  “A week,” Shade reminded her. “If the fish aren’t biting, maybe more.” He brushed his lips across her check before catching her mouth in a kiss which would have her missing him five minutes after he left.

  “Remember what I told you?”

  “Yes, Shade. How could I forget when you’ve reminded me a million times? Stay home, let Rachel handle the church store until you get back, and tell Razer or Viper if I need anything. If I don’t want to tell them, ask Beth.” Lily playfully smacked his chest. “I’m not a child. I can take care of myself.”

  Shade didn’t want to leave, but there were things which needed to be done. While he took care of that, he wanted Lily away from the church store so she didn’t have a run-in with Brooke. So far, that had been successful. However, he wasn’t taking any chances of that happening when he was out of town. He had confided other worries to Rachel who, knowing Lily’s past, had promised to hold down the store until he got back.

  “No, you can’t,” Shade disagreed, enjoying the light-hearted teasing.

  “Can, too.” Her eyes narrowed dangerously on him.

  “Did you or did you not give all your cash to Anna Barr the other day in the grocery store?”

  “I had my debit card,” she argued.

  “Which didn’t have a
cent in the account. When were you going to tell me you gave Lark Jackson money to pay his back-rent plus enough for the next two months?”

  “How did you find out? I was going to tell you.”

  Shade just shook his head at her.

  “Are you mad?” Lily bit her lip, staring up at him.

  “No, angel. I don’t get mad at you.”

  Lily looked at him suspiciously.

  “Really.” He shrugged. “I even put a little money back in your account for you.”

  “I don’t need it; you pay for everything. Besides, I get paid next week,” she stated angrily.

  “If I don’t get mad at you, then you can’t get mad at me.” Shade bent down, giving her another kiss when Cash yelled his name.

  “Gotta go. See you in a week.”

  Lily frowned at him as he turned to leave. “Exactly how much did you put in my account?”

  “Enough to do you until I get back,” he laughed. “Try not to give it all away.”

  He climbed into the front seat of the truck as Lily was pulling out her cell phone.

  They were pulling onto the road when he heard her yell his name in frustration.

  “Want me to go back?” Rider asked.

  “Fuck no. We need to keep to the schedule.” He had everything timed to a precision. Any delay would cause him to miss an opportunity to exact his justice, and for some, it had already been delayed too long.

  Lily would let him have it if they turned back, and he wouldn’t be able to resist her. She was sexy as fuck when she was mad, and she let her guard down.

  Damn, he was already regretting not having Rider turn around. He would just have to prod her memory when he returned.

  * * *

  Shade lay on his stomach in a ventilator shaft, two hundred fifty meters away from the building his target was being kept within. He had lain there for the last two days, watching as the police had swept the parking lot that morning, placing barriers so no one could get through. He hadn’t eaten and had drunk sparingly. There was barely enough room to take a piss in the tight confines of the vent he was laying in.

  He trained his rifle on the passenger window of an SUV as several officers jogged forward, moving in synchronized formation as they protected a man who didn’t deserve them putting their lives on the line.